April 19. 1851.] 



NOTES AND QUEKIES. 



305 



This gives a very interesting life of him by 

 himself, perfectly distinct from, and containing 

 many jjaniculars not given in the tract possessed 

 by your correspondent, which also contains matter 

 not in the above. I have likewise another tract, 

 privately printed in Holland in English, French, 

 and Dutch, in fifteen pages 12mo., the English 

 title to which is — 



" A true Manifest, 

 By S' B. Gerbier. 

 Anno 

 1653." 



In this, which gives some curious particulars as 

 to " Mr. Hughe Peeters," and the book entitled 

 The Nonsuch Charles, he refers to another " little 

 manifest" published on the 2nd day of October, 

 1652, "that the world might take notice that he 

 was not at all invested with any Ibreigne engage- 

 ment." Of the tract so referred to, 1 regret to 

 say no copy is known. Kone of the other three 

 tracts appear to have been seen by Horace W'al- 

 pole, who had collected a great number of 

 Gerbier's pamphlets, and also the MS. next men- 

 tioned, which, at the Strawberry Hill sale, came 

 together into my possession. The MS. contains 

 the original appointments of Sir Balthazar to the 

 offices he held while in England, a pedigree of his 

 family beautifully emblazoned, and a large quan- 

 tity of Ms., prose and poetrj', in his autograph ; 

 including a most extensive collection of projects 

 and proposals, which seem to have been equally 

 at the service of England or France. The best 

 account we have of Gerbier is that which Horace 

 AN'alpole has supplied in the Anecdotes of Painting 

 (see Woi-ks, vol. iii. p. 189. j ; but his di])lumatic 

 negotiations, and his career as an artist and adven- 

 turer, never foigetting his academy at A\ hiteti'iars 

 and liethnal Green, would furnish matter ibr a 

 vci-y amusing volume. Ihe general biography, 

 however, to which he would be most aj)propriately 

 remitted, and which is still a desideratum in 

 liieraiure, is that which is proposed by Ur. John- 

 son, in Chalmers's admirable parody : 



" 1 tliink a good book niiglit be made of scoundrels. 

 I would have a Buii/ra/ihia Flayitiosa, tlie Lives of 

 J^ininent Scoumliels Iroui the earliest accounts to the 

 present day." 



Jas. Ckossley. 



THE TRAVELS OF BAKON MUNCHAUSEN. 



(VoL ii., p. 519.; Vol. iii., p. 117.) 



Is not your correspondent J. !Me. in error when 

 he says the original travels of the IJaron were 

 written to ridicule liruce? 1 think this will only 

 apply to the second volume, or " Se(piel," seeing t hat 

 there exists an inViUon oi Gulliver Revived, printed 

 at Oxford, 178G, four years before liruce pub- 

 lished. J. Me. further remarks, that there was at 



one time reason to believe that James Graham 

 was the author of the well-known book in question, 

 but that circuuistauces have come to his knowledge 

 altogether precluding the possibility that the author 

 of 1 he Sabbath and The Travels of Baron Mun- 

 chausen are identical. 



To me it appears there were two of these James 

 Grahams, and that Irom their being contemjio- 

 raries, they are usually rolled into one. 1 have 

 in my library a voluiue containing Wallace, a Tra- 

 gedy, Edinburgh, 1799; and Mary Stewart, Queen 

 of Scots, an Historical JJrama, Edinburgli, IbOl, 

 which appears to have belonged to Mr. George 

 Chalmers, upon the titles of which that gentleman 

 has written, " by James Graham, Advocate, Edin- 

 burgh, son of 1. Graham, a writer of reputation 

 in Glasgow." 



From this one would think Mr. Chalmers had 

 the author of 27te Sabbath in his eye: a conclusion, 

 however, difhcult to come to in the face of a cri- 

 tique which thus characterises the tragedy of 

 h ailace : 



" The play is not unhiteresting, and the author has 

 exhibited occasional proofs ot poetical genius; but 

 there are soir.e passages in tlie piece that tall little short 

 of blasphemy : " 



— a charge which, of course, could never apply to 

 this "lo\able" and subsequently reverend author 

 of 2'he Sabbath, a poem breathing the humblest 

 piety, and published only five years after Wallace; 

 consequently here is, in the author of the tragedy 

 of Wallace, another James Graham at the service 

 of J. jMe., to whom, if his other proofis are stiong, 

 the Baron may be assigned with more probability. 



I may add, taking it for granted that Chalmers 

 was right in claiming these two plays for a James 

 Graham, that there is the strongest corroborative 

 proof of there being two of the name in the exist- 

 ence of Mary Stewart, a Dramatic Poem, the 

 acknowledged performance of the author of The 

 Sabbath (see his Poems, 2 vols. I809J, a pro- 

 duction dili'ering in title, and bearing no leseiu- 

 blance, i should think, to the first named. 



While upon the subject, and presuming that the 

 tragedy of Wallace is known to J. Me., 1 may take 

 the opportunity to ask him, as he is ayont the 

 Tweed, whether there is really any authority for 

 the assertion contained in the Abbotsford Library 

 Catalogue, and also in that of Constable's Library, 

 sold in 1S17, that of this anonymous tragedy of 

 Wallace there were only six copies printed f Upon 

 the face of mine there is nothing to indicate its 

 rarity, it being an octavo, j)rinted tor A. Constable; 

 but the remarkable book may be some other: your 

 correspondents will, however, 1 dare say, be able 

 to enlighten me. A ColljiCtor. 



Huron Munchausen (Vol. ii., p. 519.). — As it 

 was nearly thirty years since 1 had seen the Percy 

 Anecdotes, 1 was obliged to speids doubtfully of 



