WILLIAM CUMING, M.D. 53 



From the correspondence with Gough we learn something of 

 Cuming's taste as a collector. His instructions for the binding 

 of his copy of Hutchins' must awaken a responsive throb in the 

 heart of every true book-lover. The sheets are to be " carefully 

 folded," and the work is to be " half bound — leaves uncutt, 

 covered with marble paper, leather Back. The Cutts to be sent 

 all together separate — not bound in the books." He was thrifty 

 withal, for, when giving Gough commissions at a tempting 

 auction, he could resolutely say that he would not buy any book 

 " insano pretio." If Granger's Biographical History of England 

 " is a neat clean well bound Copy, so much under the Shop 

 price as will [J warrant) the Purchase," Gough " may buy it, 

 otherwise not." " Prints of all kinds I am glad to be possessed 

 of," he tells Gough on February 17th, 1781, and on March 31st 

 in the same year he desires that Mr. Norris (Secretary to the 

 Society of Antiquaries) will send him the print of " the great 

 Harry, as you call it," enclosed for safety "in a Cylindrical Tin 

 Case, similar to that in which he sent me the Print of the Champ 

 du Drap d'Or." He bequeathed to his niece (I\Irs. Sclham 

 Maitland) " one of my setts of the engravings taken from the 

 Ceiling of Mr. Willett's Library at Merley." A letter to Gough 

 (June i2th, 1773), conveys a list of Cuming's town-pieces. Pie 

 had then specimens issued at Dorchester, Blandford, Lyme, 

 Poole, Shaftesbury, Sherborne, Weymouth, and Wimborne ; and 

 to Gough he left by will " all my Dorsetshire Tradesmen's Tokens 

 about 76 in number." He collected English and Irish tokens 

 and town-pieces generally, and his will shows that he possessed 

 medals and coins, but no classification of them is given. Next 

 to coins his will makes mention generally of shells — the fruit, no 

 doubt, of a study of conchology pursued during his later years, 

 which was engrossing his attention when he wrote to Gough on 

 November 7th, 1778. 



jMeteorology was a subject of interest to Dr. Cuming. In his 

 pocket-book for 1766 (the only one of a long series now 

 remaining) he frequently records the weather and the temper- 

 ature. One of his miscellaneous papers exhibits comparative 



