70 AGRICULTURE. 



sand acres of land. When the injured parties attempted 

 to obtain redress by law, Lilburne, by his influence with 

 the Parliament, the army, and the magistrates, parried 

 their efforts for eleven years ; and though they at length 

 got a decree of the Council of State in their favour, the 

 nature of the case rendered it impossible that they should 

 receive any adequate redress. 



Here we must close our notice of this singular work : a 

 laborious structure framed on a model which is assuredly 

 little suited to the habits of modern writers, and as little 

 to the fastidious tastes of modern readers. Yet it was 

 highly esteemed by our ancestors. It has been several 

 times reprinted, and we learn from the preface to an edi- 

 tion which was published in 1772, that ten guineas was 

 the sum " at which this work when it can be met with on 

 sale, which rarely happens, is sold." It still holds a place 

 in our libraries, and the copies which come into the market 

 are freely bought at the price of some guineas. In the 

 edition of 1772 the spelling has been modernized, and the 

 black letter, in which names of persons and places was 

 originally printed, discontinued. 



If Dugdale had not detained us so long we would will- 

 ingly have given our readers an abstract of the Tract 

 entitled "The Drayner Confirmed." It was printed in 

 the year 1629, and again in London, 1647. It is anony- 

 mous, and from certain similarity of style and expression, 

 we should, but for its practical tendency, be inclined to 

 attribute it to Sir Wm. Dugdale. It contains some curious 

 Fenland history, and enumerates eight Acts of Parliament, 

 between the 9th Hen. III. and 12th Edw. IV., all passed 

 with a view to the improvement of the fens. But thB 

 main object of the writer is to incite his own countrymen 

 to a general measure for the drainage of the fens in Lin- 

 colnshire and five adjoining counties. He undertakes to 

 show : 1st, that it would be honourable to the King and 

 profitable to the Commonwealth ; 2ndly, that it is feasible ; 

 and 3rdly, how a competent reward may be apportioned for 



