236 ROBERT POCOCK. 



had he received encouragement, the contingent promise 

 thus made, since his collections for a " Topography of 

 Maidstone" alone were advanced and considerable. 

 Indeed these pursuits had been the labour of his life, 

 the collection of material illustrating the past history of 

 Kent, and its considerable towns, was ever and anon 

 a work interthreaded in his business and recreation. 



We will now give the dedication of his Dartford 

 volume : 



" DEDICATION. 



" To Thomas Caldecote, Esq., Barrister-at-Law. 



" Sir, Be pleased to accept this dedication as a tri- 

 bute of respect due to yourself, for three reasons : first, 

 that you are the only gentleman I have found on 

 record (as a barrister) having honoured the town of 

 Dartford with his residence ; secondly, your ready com- 

 pliance to lend me those scarce and valuable books the 

 Eegistrum and Customale Koffense, and also Hasted's 

 volumes of ' Kent,' &c., from which I availed myself by 

 making several relevant extracts, which acts of kind- 

 ness convince me you are a true promoter of literature; 

 and thirdly, you having been an author, an arduous 

 task, well know the tedious research and perseverance 

 which is requisite to put a book of this sort into print. 

 Also, my sincere thanks are due to those ladies and 

 gentlemen who have favoured me with their names, not 

 only as subscribers but with genuine information. They 

 truly may be called friends who have so readily come 

 forward to patronize the present volume by their sub- 

 scription ; for without that kind assistance, prematurely 

 paid through the hands of Messrs. Biidgen and Co., 

 bankers, Dartford, and their agent in London, this 



