ash 
promife an.end to his difficulties. His abili- 
ties now had opportunity to unfold them- 
felves to obfervation ; his diligence and fru- 
gality gave effect to his talents; and the 
meekneis of his difpofition and uneffuming 
manners very foon attracted notice, and pro- 
cured efteem. His weekly falary was. in- 
Creafed ; this together with fome advantages 
he derived by his indufry in regulating the 
libraries of private gentiemen, and a imall 
afiifttance from his friend, enabled him to 
fend for his father to town, whom he imain- 
tained comfortably for fome years, till he 
diedNov. 18, 17835. Mr. Ayicough was now 
appointed an Afiiftant Librarian te the Britith 
Mufeum on the eftablihhment. His ambition 
was to obtain orders; and, after fome diffi- 
culty, he fecceeded in his with, was ordained 
to the curacy of Normanton-upon-Soar in 
Nottinghamfhbire, and afterwards appointed 
afliftant-curate of the parifh of St. Giles in 
the Fields, Mere his regular attendance on 
his duty, and his excellent character, gamed 
him the good opinion and friend{hip of Dr. 
Buckner, now bithop of Chichetter, the late 
truly excellent Mr. Southgate, the Rev. Dr. 
Willis, and other great and good men. In 
1790, he was appointed to preach the Fair- 
child Lecture on Whit-Tuefday at Shoreditch 
church before the Royal Society; which he 
continued to do till i804, when he completed 
the feries of the Diicourfes in fifteen Ser- 
mons, which will prebably be publifhed by 
fubicription. Hus labours in literature were 
of the mot ufeful caft, and manifefted a pas 
tience and aifliduity feldom to be met with 
when united to extenfive knowledge ; and 
his jaborious exertions in the vaft and inva- 
luable Library of the Britifh Mufeum is a 
ftriking inftance of his zeal and indefatigable 
attention. He foon acquired that flight de- 
gree of knowledge in feverai languages, and 
that technical acquaintance with old books 
aud ef their authors, and particularly that 
fkillin decyphering difficult writing, as am- 
ply anfwered his purpofes in cataloguifing. 
fie affiied in the adjuftment and regulation 
ot the Records in the Tower ; and, from his 
unremitting induftry, was patronifed and be- 
joved by men of the firf talents and learning. 
His fituation and falary were confiderably 
impreved in the Britihh Mufeum; and the 
prefent. Lord Chancellor, about twelve 
“months fince, gave him the living of Cudham, 
ia the county of Kent. By this improve- 
ment of income, and fome legacies from his 
relutions, he’ became more eafy; and, had 
he dived a few years longer, would have fur- 
mounted the necuniary difficulties into which 
his @nbounded generofity had unavoidably 
ted him. Hus death was occafiowed by a 
dropty inhis cheft, at the age of 59. ‘To 
trace back the virtues of his heart, through 
a hfe of anitorm and a¢live benevolence, is 
@ luxury in which the pen would indulge 
The late Rev. Samuel Ayfebughs 
[April 1, 
with grateful recollection, did the limits of 
this detail warrant it, or were the abilities of 
the writer equal to do them juftice. Never 
were his means fo fcanty as to preclude the 
exercile of doing good, which was the ruling 
principle of his:foxl; and it would be dif- 
ficult to determine whether the humility or 
generofity of his nature had the pre-eminence; 
whether his afiiduity in benefiting his fellow 
creatures out{tripped his defire of concealing 
it. He, indeed, 
« Did good by ftealth, and blufh’d te find it 
fame.”’ 
The unfcrtunate ever found in him a fteady 
friend to the extent of his ability : inftances 
without number the writer of this could res 
cord, which came under his immediate ob- 
fervation. ‘The children of diftrefled pa- 
rents he educated and fupported.at his own 
charge, even to the placing one of them at 
the Univerfity. His time was never denied, 
vor his purfe fpared, when he could affift in- 
digent merit wkerever he found it. In 1783, 
he publifhed a {mall political pamphlet, un< 
der the title of * Remarks on the Letters of 
an American Farmer; or a Dete&ion of the 
Errors of Mr. J. He€tor St. John; pointing 
out the pernicious Tendency of thofe Letters 
to Great Britain.” He was eleGted F.S.A. 
in 1789. Befides his very ufeful Catalogue 
of the MSS. in the Britith Mufeum, he com- 
piled a Catalogue of Ancient Charters in 
that matchlefs collection (amounting to about 
16,000), which is very complete, in three 
large volumes; and has a double Index. 
—His other labours it would be almoft end- 
lefsto detail. Among the principal of them 
are, no fmall portion of the “ Librorum Im- 
preflorum quiin Mufeo Britannico adfervans 
tur Catalogus, 1787,” 2 vols. folio; of which 
about two-thirds were compiled by Dr. Maty 
” 
and Mr. Harper; in the new Catalogue, . 
lately made, his perfonal aflitance confifted 
principally in altering the pofitions of the 
books in the Library, which, under Mr. Har- 
per’s direction, were reduced to claffes ; and 
the principal entries in his hand-writin 
are thofe which relate to the rich colle¢tion 
of Pamphlets prefented by his prefent Ma- 
jefty in 1762. In Index-making he was‘re< 
markably expert, and indeed bad much ex- 
perience. He lately told a friend, that he 
had indexed as much, at different umes, as 
had produced him, 13001. Among thefe 
was a verbal Index to Shakf{peare, for which 
he had 200 guineas ; an Index to Bridges’s. 
Northamptonfhire ; to Manning’s Surrey; te 
fitty-fix volumes of the Gentleman’s Maga 
zine; to Maty’s Review; to the Monthly 
Review, 1749-1791; to twenty volumes of 
the Brith Critie; to eleven volumes of 
Dedfley’s Annual Regifter; and to two of 
the lately-publifhed volumes of National Re- 
cords. Be 
PROVIN- 
\ 
