II. — A Collection of hitherto unpublished Proverls and Rhymes, in the 

 Ancient Cornish Language ; from the Manuscript of Dr. Borlase. 

 — By "William Copeland Boklase, Castle Sornech. 



THE great interest which has of late been evinced in the ancient 

 language of the County of Cornwall has induced me to examine, 

 with some care, a Manuscript Yolume, in the hand-writing of Dr. 

 Borlase, entitled "Memorandums of the Cornish Tongue — 1748." 

 From this it appears that Dr. Borlase at that time contemplated the 

 publication of a Cornish Grammar and Yocabulary, for which he made 

 large collections ; having in his keeping at the time the MSS. of 

 Tonkin (together with his correspondence with Lhuyd), of Gwavas, 

 of Scawen, of Ustick, vicar of Breage, (from whom he also received 

 some MSS. of Hals), of Keigwin, Boson, and others ; from all of 

 which he makes lengthy extracts, adding notes and remarks of his 

 own. 



The discovery, lately made by Prince Lucien Bonaparte, of the 

 disingenuousness of Pryce has also led me to compare the Sentences, 

 Proverbs, and Rhymes, contained in the end of his Grammar, with 

 those found in Tonkin's MS. copied by Dr. Borlase; and I find them 

 to be almost word for word the same, with the exception of a few, 

 apparently erroneous, spellings on the part of Pryce. It is remark- 

 able that although, in the Preface to his Grammar, Pryce mentions 

 that he had access, not only to the MSS. of Tonkin, but also to those 

 of Gwavas, Ustick, and Boson, yet that he should omit several of the 

 most remarkable Proverbs and llhymes found in their writings. It 

 is possible, however, that the MSS. of these few never fell into his 

 hands at all; for he speaks of them as "detached papers" which 

 he had received from " Mrs. Veal, the daughter of Mr. Gwavas; from 

 Mrs. Mary Ustick, the widow of the llev. Henry Ustick, of Breage ; 

 and the papers of Mr John Boson, of Newlyn." 



The following collection therefore of hitherto, as far as I can 

 ascertain, unpublished Proverbs and Rhymes, may be of some 

 interest as forming a part of those disjointed fragments which are all 

 the ground-work left to us, on which to form any correct idea of the 

 Ancient Language of our County. 



