THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY REMOTE jRAG BOOKSTACKS OFFICE Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/statementinansweOOhall STi^EMENT / m ANSWER TO REPORTS WHICH HAVE BEEN SPREAD ABROAD AGAINST Mr. JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL. Various unfounded reports having been industriously cir- culated relating to certain MSS. said to have been abstracted from the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, which had subsequently found their way into the collection of Mr. James Orchard Halliwell, he has found it necessary, in justice to- himself, to publisfl the following statement. The reports alluded to have been circulated in such an insidious and cautious manner, that up to the present moment these are the only means left open to him to answer them. Among the^ collection of MSS. purchased from time to time by Mr. Halliwell, amounting in the whole to nearly three hundred, was one containing a medieval treatise on painting, in Latin, which commonly bears the title of " Theophilus de Arte Pingendi." An edition of this work was published at Paris in 1843; previous to which time Mr. Halliwell had disposed of his collection of MSS., and a few of them had passed through the bookseller who bought the whole (Mr. Rodd) to the British Museum, among which was the one of Theophilus. On the 19th February, 1844, Mr. Albert Way wrote to Mr. Halliwell a letter more than usually familiar, in which among matters of a totally different character was introduced the following - passage : — • " You had a curious MS. wliicli if not Theophilus itself, recently printed in Paris, was I think nearly the same. Do you remember whence you obtained it ? I am making some investigations towards either a new edition or a notice of the nature of the book, which has barely reached England yet. I think &ome |)ortion of it had previously appeared in Germany." Mr. Halliwell was neither acquainted with any work bear- ing.Hhis title nor aware of the particular subject* upon which it treated, but there was a miscellaneous'MS. volume of tracts of various descriptions, written in the fifteenth century, which Mr. Halliwell had lent for a long period to Mr. J, G. Nichols, of 25, Parliament Street, and which Mr. Halliwell thought was very likely to be the MS. enquired after by Mr... Way. In his afl^wer to Mr. Way's letter, dated 20th February, 1844, Mr. Halliwell made the following repA|o Mr.. Way's question: B 2 " I have kept no record of my MSS. and don't like to think of any one effect of the stupid indiscretions which obliged me to part with them. Theophilus was I suppose one of those I got at Denley's, if on any scientific subject ; unless you mean a very curious quarto volume of tracts of the fifteenth century that was in Cochrane's catalogue. I have that MS. now, and will lend it you with pleasure if you wish it." After receiving Mr. Halliwell's reply, Mr. W ay made no further inquiries on the subject. It is thought necessary to mention these circumstances because it is evident that with them originated some of the reports which have been spread abroad. The treatise of Theophilus was printed in England, in 1781, from the man- uscript then preserved in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge. It is known that in the beginning of the year 1844, Mr. Way was making researches qH this subject, and also that he was at the same period spending some time at Cambridge. There seems little room for doubt, that he had then ascertained 'that the MS. of Theophilus, said to have been in Trinity College library, was no longer there, and that it was suspected that the MS. in the British Museum derived from Mr. Halliwell's collection was the MS. which had formerly belonged to Trinity College. Mr. Halliwell has also been informed that during some months after the date of Mr. Way's letter to him, officers of the British Museum had been enquiring among the booksellers in London, for an edition of Theophilus, and for copies of Denley's catalogues, with the professed object of tracing some books said to have been stolen. On the 23rd January, 1845, Mr. Wright first heard a report, then as it appears newly propagated, that certain MSS. stolen from Trinity College library had been traced through Mr. Halliwell's hands to the British Museum under most suspicious circumstances ; that among them was a MS. of Theophilus ; that Mr. Halliwell, on being required to give an account of the manner in which they came into his possession, had declared that he had bought them of Denley the bookseller; and that some officers of the British Museum had stated that this must be untrue, because they were sure that Denley never had had MSS. of that kind in his possession, Mr. Wright immediately wrpte to Mr. Halliwell, who was then living in Oxfordshire, informing him of what he had heard, and recom- mending him at once to come to town and investigate the matter. It seems clear, from the circumstances already detailed, that there had been a deliberate attempt to make up a case against Mr. Halliwell. The only communication which had been made to Mr. Halliwell on the subject was the question insidiously introduced by Mr. Way into the middle of an unusually long and friendly letter, and Mr. Halliwell's answer 01/ REMOTE STOrwliM,. 3 was the only ground on ^ti91^§e'^fiemen?^fit he bought the MSS. of Mr. Denley could, by any possibility, have been founded. No intimation had been made in any shape whatever to Mr. Halliwell of any suspicions relating to the manner in which he had become possessed of these MSS., when the reports alluded to were set abroad — the first communication on the subject made to Mr. Halliwell, independently of the information given by Mr. Wright, was contained in the following letter from Sir Henry Ellis, the principal librarian of the British- Museum, dated on the 29th January, 1845, six days after the reports against Mr. HaUiwell had been known, by Mr. Wright's communication, to have been diligently propagated through London, British Museum, January 29th, 1845. My dear Sir, I feel it my duty to acquaint you with certain facts which have just come officially to my knowledge, strongly interesting to yourself ; feeling confident that you will be able to remove any unfavourable im- pression, which, "whilst unexplained, they are calculated to create. It seems that several manuscripts, formerly your property, bought in 1840 of Mr. Rodd by Sir Frederic Madden for the British Museum, had been, at some previous time, improperly abstracted from the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. They are stated to have been missed from thence in 1838. You will, no doubt, be most ready and anxious to show how these manuscripts came into your possession ; and that when you acquired them you had not the smallest suspicion that they had ever belonged to that collection. In the mean time, and until the case has been thoroughly investigated, you may perhaps think it proper to abstain from frequenting our Reading Rooms, or consulting our collections. Let me add that no one will rejoice more than I shall at your again making use of them. After the receipt of the present letter, you will excuse me if I decline any but written communications with you on this delicate subject. I remain, my dear Sir, Your sincere friend and servant, Henry Ellis. James Orchard Halliwell, Esq. To the above letter Mr. HaUiwell returned the following answer : — Islip, Oxfordshire, Jan. 31st, 1845. Dear Sir Henry, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 29th Inst, which has caused me unfeigned astonishment, for altholigh an 1 008007 4 unauthenticated rumour of something of the same kind had previously reached me, I attributed it to some mistake. Supposing it to be suspected that any manuscript I once possessed be- longed at one time to the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, I should undoubtedly be most anxious to trace how the particular MS. came into my hands, and of course whatever assistance or information I can give will be at once offered. I think it right, however, to state that I have not for some years had any notes at all of any part of my collection, not . having even preserved a copy of my printed catalogue, so that I have only my own recollection to depend upon. It is unfortunate that the enquiry was not made some time ago, when such things were fresh in my re- collection, for I began collecting very soon after I left school, about ten years ago. I hope, however, with respect to any particular MSS. you wish to enquire after, my memory will serve me in good stead ; but it is . as well to state in the first instance the difficulties which such an enquiry naturally presents to me after so long an interval, and I am the more induced to do so, because a few months ago Mr. Way asked me about some manuscript in the same collection, and 1 had quite forgotten I ever possessed it. Assuring you again I will assist your enquiries as far as lies in my power. I am, dear Sir Henry, Your very faithful and obliged servant, J. O. Halliwell. Sir Henry Ellis, &c. &c. &c. Sir H. Ellis acknowledged this letter as follows : — British Museum. February 3rd, 1845. My dear Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your note of Saturday's date ; but I have no enquiries to make. I remain your sincere friend and servant, Henry Ellis. James Orchard Halliwell, Esq. Before proceeding further it will be, perhaps, necessary to give a brief narrative of the circumstances under which Mr. Halliwell's collection of MSS. was made. Mr. Halliwell had commenced buying MSS. as early as the year 1835, he being then very young, and he had already gathered together a con- siderable number, when, in the month of October 1837, he entered as a pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge. He re- mained at that college during two terms, and then, in the Spring of the year 1838, by the advice of his friends he removed to Jesus College in the same University, in the hope that he would have a better chance of obtaining a fellowship there than in a large institution like Trinity College. During the two terms only that he remained at Trinity College he was 5 in the habit of consulting the MSS. in that college library, by the permission of the master, and under restrictions which he thinks would have rendered it impossible to take away a MS. without being immediately discovered. During the remainder of his residence in Cambridge, which he left in 1840, he had the most unlimited access to the MSS. of Jesus College library and to those of the University library. Mr. Halliwell con- tinued purchasing MSS. until towards the end of the year 1839. He had been abundantly supplied with money during his residence at Trinity College ; nevertheless he had been led into expenses which involved him in some debts which he was desirous of paying without applying to his family for a further advance of money, and at the date last mentioned he printed a catalogue of the manuscripts in his possession, with the in- tention of selling them by private contract. They were ac- cordingly offered to several public institutions, such as the British Museum, Trinity College library (through Dr. Pea- cock), the University library, &c., as well as private collectors ; but not succeeding in disposing of them in this manner, in June 1840 they were catalogued by Mr. Halliwell for sale by public auction by Messrs. Sotheby, and the catalogues were printed and publicly distributed by the auctioneers. Only two or three persons attending on the day of sale, the MSS. were withdrawn, and the whole were sold shortly afterwards to Mr. Rodd the bookseller, for a sum not exceeding £50. Upon the receipt of Mr. Wright's letter above alluded to, Mr. Halliwell immediately prepared to act upon the suggestion contained in it, of repairing to London, previously to which he addressed the following letter to the master of Trinity College : — Islip, Oxfordshire. February 1st, 1845. Rev. Sir, I have received a letter from Sir H. Ellis, that has caused me so much surprise that I seize the earliest opportunity of writing to you on the subject. Sir Henry informs me that a MS. now in the British Museum formerly belonging to me has been stolen from the library of your College, and such a report is calculated to do me serious injury, although I was totally unaware that any MS. in my possession had come from such a source. I bought some years ago a large quantity of manuscripts, and unfortunately never kept any account of the sources whence I obtained them, but in a few days I shall be in town and will then go and look at the MS. in question, for I have not yet been made acquainted with the particulars of it, and see if I can call to mind any circumstances connected with its purchase. I shall certainly be desirous to do all in my power to assist any enquiries that may il 6 be made on the subject, and will immediately attend to any suggestions for that purpose with which you may favour me. I beg to subscribe myself, Rev. Sir, with much respect, Your humble and faithful servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master of Trinity College. On the 3rd of February, the day after Mr. Halliwell's arrival in town, he addressed the following letter to Sir Henry Ellis :— 10, Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy Square. Feb. 3rd, 1845. Dear Sir Henry, I am just arrived in Town on purpose to investigate as far as lies in my power the subject of your letter of the 29th Inst., and am most anxious to obtain immediately all information necessary to enable me to do so. Since my arrival I have obtained a copy of the sale catalogue of my manuscripts, and I beg you will do me the kindness to give me imme- diately a list of the manuscripts, which, as I understand from your letter, are said to have belonged to Trinity College library, with the numbers by which they are entered in the Museum catalogues, as without tliis it will be totally impossible for me to attempt to trace them. I am, dear Sir Henry, Your very faithful servant, J. O. Halliwell. Sir Henry Ellis. To this letter the following reply was received from Sir Henry Ellis : — British Museum, Feb. 4th, 1845. My dear Sir, The manuscripts referred to in your note of last night are with Sir Frederic Madden, to whom I beg to refer you. I am, my dear Sir, Your faithful servant, Henry Ellis. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. On the receipt of this, Mr. Halliwell wrote as follows to Sir Frederick Madden : — Mr. Halliwell requests Sir Frederick Madden to furnish him with the titles and description of the manuscripts reported to have belonged to the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, and purchased by the Museum of Mr. Rodd from the collection of Mr. H. Mr. Halliwell is assured that Sir F. Madden will see the necessity of immediately furnishing Mr. H, 7 with this information, without which it is impossible for Mr. H. to afford any explanation. 10, Fitzroy Street, 4th Feb. 1845. The following is a copy of Sir F. Madden's answer to this letter : — ■ British Museum, 4th Feb. 1845. 4 o'clock, p. m. Sir, I beg to convey for your information the numbers of the MSS. believed to have belonged to Trinity College, Cambridge, and purchased of Mr. Rodd out of your collection. The numbers are given first as they are entered in your sale catalogue, and then according to the Museum refer- ences. I have only to add that the MSS. can be seen by you in the department of Manuscripts whenever you think proper after to-morrow. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, F. Madden. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. The numbers alluded to in this letter are given as follows by Sir Frederick Madden : — Sale Cat. Egerton MSS. 39 • 823. 67 831. 125 (part) 840. a. 132 844. 134 845. 136 846. b. 137 847. 155 851. This letter was replied to by Mr. Halliwell as follows : — 10, Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy Square. 5 th February, 1845. Sir, If it be not inconvenient to you, I shall visit the Museum to- morrow between the hours of One and Two o'clock, p. m., for the purpose of examining the MSS. to which your letter alludes. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, J. O. Halliwell. Sir Frederick Madden. On the following day Mr. Halliwell, accompanied by his friends Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Wright, visited the British Museum, and examined the MSS. in question. On the 2nd February the first communication of any kind on this subject to Mr. Halliwell from Trinity College was contained in the following letter from the college librarian ; — ■ 8 Trinity College, Cambridge, Feb, 2, 1845. Sir, Several MSS. wbich have for some time been missing from the library of this College (particularly Theophilus de Arte Pingendi and Eraclius de Artibus Romanorum) are, it appears, now in the British Museum. The officers of the Museum state that they bought these MSS. of Mr. Rodd, and Mr. Rodd states that he bought them of you. I take the liberty of requesting you to inform me how they came into your hands. I am, Sir, your obedient servant, J. Ind Smith, Librarian. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. This letter having been addressed to Mr. Halliwell in the country did not reach him till the 5th, when he answered it as follows : — • 10, Fitzroy Street, London. Feb. 5 th, 1845. Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2nd of February, which has just reached me here, having come up to town to make enquiries respecting the manuscripts to which you allude. I have made arrangements to visit the British Museum to-morrow to inspect the MSS., which I trust will enable me to give you the information you require, and to do which you may be assured I am most anxious. I am. Sir, your obedient servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. J. Ind Smith. On the 7th Mr. Halliwell received the following letter from the master of Trinity College in answer to his letter of the 1st. Trinity Lodge, Cambridge, Feb. 6, 1845. Sir, In reply to your letter on the subject of a manuscript taken from our library and now in the British Museum, I beg to send you the ac- companying lists. They contain books which, as Mr. Rodd states, you sold him along with others. They are manuscripts missing from our College library, and we think we have in most of the cases good evidence that the copies sold by you to Mr. Rodd are those which had belonged to our library. I take the liberty of begging to be informed how they came into your possession. I am, Sir, your humble servant, W. WlIEWELL. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. 9 The following are copies of the lists forwarded in this letter. In British Museum. Computus Joannis de Sacro Bosco. Tractatus Quadrantis M. Joannis in Monte Pessulano Astrolabium Messahallse Roberti Grostest Castellum Amoris. Gallice. Kalendarium Tabulae Planetarum per Petrum de Dacia Tempestatum Prognosticon Imago Mundi Ten tracts Gratsius de coloribus et artibus Romanorum partim metrice a fol. 237 ad 290. Theophilus de arte pingendi. In hands of Mr. Rodd. Progressio arithmetica De usu Astrolabii Catholici De mensuratione per bacukim De divisione orbis De Spha9ra Liber Arabicus continens tabulas quasdam. De signis zodiaci Petrus Dacus de inveniendo loco lunse Tractatus de computo. Tabula eclipsium solis ab A. D. 1415 — 1462 lunse ab A. D. 1406—1462 phasibus earum depictis Tractatus de effectu lunse in xii. signis Tractatus de domibus Planetarum. The following reply was forwarded by Mr. H., who had made an unsuccessful attempt to see the MSS. in the hands of Mr. Rodd 10, Fitzroy Street, London. 8th Feb. 1845. Sir, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter and its enclosures. I have already examined the MSS. in the British Museum) but I have not yet been able to meet with Mr. Rodd, which I hope to accomplish to-day, and shall then lose no time in forwarding to you all the information in my power respecting the missing MSS. I am. Rev. Sir, your obedient servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master of Trinity College. C 0 3 44 0 3 49 0 8 16 R. 15 15 0 1 72 R. 8 28 0 7 2 0 8 16 10 On the 8th, Mr. Pettigrew kindly called on Mr. Rodd for the purpose of procuring a sight of the MSS. in his hands alluded to by the Master of Trinity College, but Mr. Rodd could only inform him that he had sent several MSS. down to Dr. Whewell, and that he was unacquainted with the particular one in question. Upon this the following statement was sent to the Master of Trinity College : — 10, Fitzroy Street, London. 10th Feb. 1845. From a letter I received from Sir Henry Ellis of the date of Jan. 29th I was first made acquainted that several MSS. were missing from the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, and that some of these had come into the possession of the ti'ustees of the British Museum by purchase from Mr. Rodd, and that they had originally formed part of my collection which was sold to Mr. Rodd in 1840. I need scarcely remark that I am exceed- ingly anxious to give every information in my power as to the source or sources whence I obtained them, but as they are books of little value, of such common character and occurrence, I unfortunately possess no bills or documents which relate to them, and I am therefore compelled to answer from the best of my recollection at so distant a period from their purchase, and to make this perfectly understood, it will be necessary to enter upon some particulars relating to the formation of my collection. As early as 1835 I was in the habit of purchasing MSS. generally of a scientific character and relating chiefly to mathematics, geometry, physics, astrology, &c. I continued engaged in this pursuit during four or five years, in which time I had accumulated a collection amounting to about three hundred MSS. These were principally obtained by me of Denley of Brydges Street, Covent Garden, Maynard of Earl's Court, Leicester Square, Waight of Holborn, Stevenson of Cambridge, and occasionally at sales by auction, Southgate's and Hodgson's of Fleet Street, and accidentally at other booksellers. Intending them for examination at leisure, as MSS. are unlike printed books and not to be read off at the moment, I was in the habit of merely attaching to them a number, and then placing them in boxes or about my apartments referring to those chiefly which chanced to be more immediately connected with those objects which at that time especially engaged my attention. The numbers to which I allude will be found upon all my MSS. and in addition my name written at full length, sometimes with a date attached, or as Bihliotheca Halliwelliana, or stamped Biblio- iheca Halliwelliana. This is the case with the MSS. I have examined in the library of the Brit. Mus. and there it will be found that the MS. marked as Egerton 823 is in my writing marked 57, that of 831 is 61, that of 840 (consisting of three MSS.) is marked 55, 295, and 314, No. 844 is G5, No. 845 (containing three MSS.) is 68, 120, and 202, 846 is 297, 847 is 47, and 851 is 97 j by which it will clearly be seen that these MSS. were 11 acquired by me at various times, and from the extent of the difference in the' numbers necessarily at distant periods. My own full and firm conviction is that the MSS. now mentioned were obtained by me of Denley, from whom I certainly purchased the greater part of my early MSS. of the scientific class, and in the hope that the bookseller might be able to assist me in this search, I have made enquiries for him, but I regret to learn that he is dead, and that his daughter who assisted him in his business is also no more, and his son and widow, whom after much difficulty I succeeded in seeing, were not in the habit of attending in the shop, but they are fully conversant with the fact that he had a very large collection of all kinds of scientific MSS. both on velhim and paper, to which they are ready to testify, but they know of no account books that were in his possession relating to them. Denley, it appears, died in 1842, but his son states that with the exception of a few MSS. now in his posses- sion, all his father's books were sold by auction at Soiithgate's in 1840. Feeling therefore my inability to trace the MSS. further, I have closely enquired of the son and the widow as to Denley's mode of acquiring MSS. and the course he pursued in parting with them. The son positively asserts that his father never kept any account of the sources whence they were obtained, that he was very careless in all matters of the kind, and that he (the son) cannot afford any assistance in tracing any of the MSS. In the disposal of the MSS. of Trinity College it is easy to see that no difficulty could arise, for the MSS. said to have been abstracted from the library have no stamp of any kind whatever or writing upon them by which any person could form an idea that they belonged to any collection. No marks of mutilation beyond those which are common to all old MSS. worn by time and disfigured by dirt are to be observed ; there is no removal of the first or last leaves in any instance, and it is utterly out of the power of any one to form a supposition as to the place whence they may have been obtained. I may further observe that there is one MS. Tractatus de Sphaera, now marked MS. Egerton 845, which my memory more dis- tinctly tells me I purchased of Denley ; my recollection of that particular MS. is owing to the circumstance that at the time of its purchase I was very uncertain as to the date of the character in which it is written, and made several enquiries of persons skilled in MS. literature for the purpose of ascertaining its probable age. My general practice with respect to marking my MSS. will on ex- amination be found to be uniformly of the same character, but I never thought of any necessity existing to write down the name of the bookseller or of the place of auction whence I obtained them, although I may have done so in some few instances. When at the British Museum on Friday, I was shown MS. Egerton 846 (a), containing six MSS. formerly belonging to me, and not alluded to in the lists of those said to have been abstracted from Trinity College, and in no instance did I observe any memorandum to show whence they were obtained. I may in conclusion add that when desirous of parting with the collection, my attention was directed to Cambridge as the seat where I should have liked them to have been 12 deposited, and to this purpose in January, 1840, I addressed the Dean of Ely, a fellow of Trinity College, and one perhaps better acquainted with the scientific MSS. in the library of his college than any other individual, and whose reply I here subjoin. Deanery, Ely, Jan. 22, 1840. My dear Sir, I beg to thank you for your very interesting catalogue, and I beg to express my hope that such a collection of MSS. will not be dispersed. Have you written to Mr. Lodge about them ? As it is not desirable that the interesting MSS. which you placed in my hands should be separated from the rest, and as I have no collection of such MSS. and no wish to form one at present, I have forwarded it by the coach to you, and trust that it will arrive in safety. I trust that the British Museum will buy the whole of them, if the Cambridge Syndicate are not disposed to do so. Believe me, my dear Sir, Very truly your's, Geo. Peacock. A few months subsequent to this communication I determined upon submitting them to public sale, and accordingly drew up a catalogue with such remarks as occurred to me at the time. Few persons, however, at- tending on the day of sale, they were withheld, and I afterwards parted with the whole collection to Mr. Rodd. I regret exceedingly that I have not been able to trace the MSS. of Trinity College beyond what I have done, but I have made every effort in my power to accomplish this, and I trust also that I have satisfactorily shown that no want of proper care on my part in the purchase of MSS. has been exercised to prevent abstracted works from coming into my hands. Had any mark relating to the college appeared upon any of them, my suspicions would have been excited, and I trust I shall have credit for being anxious immediately to have given notice of them that they might be returned to their proper owners. J. O. Halliwell. This statement was accompanied with the following letter : — 10, Fitzroy Street, London, 10th February, 1845. Sir, In forwarding to you the accompanying statement relative to the MSS. said to have been abstracted from the library of Trinity College, Cambridge, I beg to observe that upon application to Mr. Rodd to examine those mentioned in the lists sent to me, and said to be in the possession of Mr. Rodd, I am informed that they are with you at Cambridge. I have therefore been unable to examine them, but I have no doubt they would 13 present the same appearances as those I have inspected at the British Museum. I am, Rev. Sir, Your obedient servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master of Trinity College. On the same day Mr. Wright, M. A., (of Trinity College), also sent a communication to the Master of Trinity College couched in the following terms : — 18, Gilbert Street, Grosvenor Square, London. February 10, 1845. Dear Sir, Nearly three weeks ago a rumour was spread in London relating to certain MSS. said to have been taken from Trinity College library, which had since passed from the collection of Mr. Halliwell to the British Museum, and statements reached my ears of a nature so disagreeable for Mr. Halliwell, that I felt anxious at once to investigate the truth of the matter, both in duty to the college of which I am a member, and in regard to the character of Mr. Halliwell, who is my friend. Since that I have not only joined in the investigations made by Mr. Halliwell, to whose extreme anxiety to trace the way in which the MSS. came into his hands I can bear testimony, but I have independently made all the enquiries in my power. I believe that Mr. Halliwell will immediately forward to you the result of his enquiries. Mr. Halliwell was first introduced to me in the Spring of the year 1838. He had then a considerable collection of MSS. chiefly mathematical, and was in the habit of buying others, for which purpose he frequented the smaller bookseller's shops in London, where they were to be found at a cheaper rate than at the larger booksellers. He generally showed me such MSS. as he had newly bought, and gave me very free access to all he had. I not unfrequently borrowed them, and made extracts from several which were printed in our ReliquicB Antiques. I had at that time the reputation (under which he especially knew me) of being better acquainted with the MSS. in Trinity College library than any other person, in fact I believe that every MS. in the library has passed under my eye, for I used to look them over shelf by shelf. If, therefore, Mr. Halliwell had possessed any MSS. which he suspected to have been taken from the college library, he would either have pointed them out to me to see if I confirmed his sus- picions, or he would have concealed them in order that they might not be discovered. I have heen with Mr. Halliwell to examine the MSS. in the Brit. Mus. said to have belonged to Trinity College. They are not in general of a class which would have attracted my attention, and I could neither have identified them as belonging to Trinity College, nor as having belonged to Mr. Halliwell, with the exception of two which I have the most distinct recollection of his having shown to me, 14 The first of these was the Chateau d'Amour (Castelhim Amoris) at- tributed to Robert Grosteste. I was known to have made a particular study of Anglo-Norman literature, and Mr. Halliwell showed me this MS. (he having, to the best of my recollection, newly bought it) in order to learn from me what it was. The other MS. was the Theophilus de Arte Pingendi, a subject in which also I then felt interested. It is my impression that Mr. Halliwell told me at the time where he had bought it ; and I remember perfectly well making the observation, " that it was very singular how such MSS. could get into the hands of booksellers of the description of those from whom he purchased them, but that it only showed how many curious MSS. still lay concealed in the possession of persons who were totally ignorant of their value.'' I can bear testimony to many instances of the little care which Mr. Halliwell took to preserve any account of the sources from which he obtained his MSS. and I am not at all surprised that at this distance of time he is able to give no certain account of them. He has expressed much more strongly to me in private his belief that he bought all the MSS. in question of Mr. Denley than he likes to venture to state in public. I was never in the habit of visiting Denley's shop, but I have made enquiries of some friends who frequently went there, and who assure me that he had great quantities of such MSS. as those of Mr. Halliwell 's now in the Brit. Mus., scattered very indiscriminately about his shop, and that he had a paper in the window stating that his was the principal shop in London for early mathematical and alchemical MSS. and Mr. Halliwell tells me that he feels satisfied himself that he bought there all or very nearly all his mathematical MSS. on vellum. It is unfortunate that the deaths of Mr. Denley and his daughter have cut off our hopes of tracing the MSS. any further in that direction. I will only add that having been intimate with Mr. Halliwell since 1838, I can state with some confidence that I feel perfectly assured that had he had the slightest suspicion of the source from whence these MSS. had come, he would have been the first to seek to restore them. My anxiety to relieve him from the imputation which the reports set abroad here were calculated to lay upon him, has alone led me to trouble you with this statement. I remain, dear Sir, Very respectfully and faithfully yours, Thomas Wright. The Rev. W. Whewell. Mr. Halliwell immediately forwarded to Sir Henry Ellis copies of the foregoing documents, with the following note : — 10, Fitzroy Street, 10th Feb. 1845. Dear Sir Henry, I beg to enclose you a copy of the statement forwarded by me to the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, relative to the MSS. said to have 15 been abstracted from their library, and also the copy of a communication made to the Master by Mr. Wright. I am, dear Sir Henry, Your's very sincerely, J. O. Halliwell. Sir Henry Ellis. This was answered by Sir Henry Ellis as follows : — British Museum, Feb. 11, 1845. Dear Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your note accompanying a copy of your own statement, and another of Mr. Wright's letter, both ad- dressed to the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. I will lay them before the Trustees of the Museum when they next meet. I remain. Your obedient faithful servant, Henry Ellis. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. On the morning of the 11th Mr. Halliwell received the following official communication from Sir Henry Ellis : — • British Museum, Feb. 10th, 1845. Dear Sir, It is my duty to acquaint you that I have this day received a minute from the General Meeting of Trustees of the Museum, held on Saturday last the 8th inst. of which the following is a copy. " At a General Meeting, Feb. 8th, 1845. " The Principal Librarian was directed to repeat to Mr. Halliwell in the name of the Trustees the suggestion conveyed in the Principal Librarian's letter of the 29th January, namely, that until the case of the MSS. im- properly abstracted from Trinity College library has been thoroughly investigated, he would probably think it proper to abstain from consulting the Museum collections. " J. FORSHALL, '* Secretary." I am, dear Sir, Your obedient faithful servant, Henry Ellis. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. Pr, Lib. This letter was answered by Mr. Halliwell as follows : — 10, Fitzroy Street, 11th Feb. 1845. Dear Sir Henry, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday communicating to me a minute of the General Meeting of the 16 Trustees of the British Museum of the 8th Inst. You have I presume since received my statement submitted to the master of Trinity College on the subject, and I shall be glad to be informed when the Trustees again meet, as I am anxious to refer to some MSS. in the Museum library as soon as possible in furtherance of the Dictionary of Archaic Words now in progress of publication. I will not at present indulge in any observations as to the inference which appears to have been drawn by the Trustees in consequence of the MSS. being found in my collection prior to any opportunity for explanation having been given to me. I am, dear Sir Henry, Yours sincerely, J. O. Halliwell. Sir Henry Ellis. To this letter Mr. Halliwell received the following reply from Sir Henry Ellis : — British Museum, Feb. 12, 1845. My dear Sir, I know of no Meeting of our Trustees likely to take place earlier than the 8th March ; but the note I received from you yesterday afternoon shall be laid before them at the earliest moment of their assembling. The suggestion of the Trustees you must have observed is that until the case of the manuscripts improperly abstracted from Trinity College library has been thorouglily investigated, you will probably think it proper to abstain from consulting the Museum collections. I am, my dear Sir, Your sincere friend and servant, Henry Ellis. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. Mr. Halliwell receiving from Trinity College no acknow- ledgment of his statement, on the 20th Feb. wrote the follow- ing to the Master : — 10, Fitzroy Street, London, 20th Feb. 1845. Sir, On the 10th Inst. I did myself the honour to forward to you a statement relative to some missing MSS. from the library of Trinity College. I trust this safely reached your hands, and I shall be obliged by the knowledge of this and of its proving satisfactory to you and the college, as I need not assure you that the subject is one to me painfully interesting. I shall remain in London until Wednesday next, after which any com- munication will reach me if addressed to Islip, Oxfordshire. I am, Rev. Sir, Your obedient servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master of Trinity College. 17 This note was answered by the following from the Master of Trinity : — Trinity Lodge, Cambridge, Feb. 21, 1845. Sir, The statement which you sent to me relative to the MSS. missing from the College library which have passed through your hands reached me, and has been laid before the College, under whose consideration the matter at present is. As the subject requires great deliberation, I am not at present able to say more. I am. Sir, Your obedient servant, W. Whewell. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. Mr. Halliwell having waited two months without receiving an answer, and finding that the calumnious reports highly de- rogatory to his character were being spread every day more actively, then addressed the following letter to the Master of Trinity College : — Islip, Oxfordshire, April 10th, 1845. Sir, As two months have now elapsed since my statement relating to the missing MSS. from your college library was forwarded to you, I am waiting with great anxiety the opinion formed by the college upon it. The long delay which has been permitted to take place is most painful and injurious to me, for not only has it given room for a series of scandalous reports derogatory to my character, but you will doubtless be surprised to hear that the Trustees of the Brit. Mus. have thought proper to withdraw from me the privilege of referring to the MSS. and books there, until the college have expressed themselves satisfied that I did not abstract those missing from your library. I shall therefore be grateful if you can in any way hasten the moment when I shall be cleared from such imputations. I am. Rev. Sir, Your obedient humble servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master of Trinity College. To this Mr. Halliwell received the following reply : — ■ Trinity College, Cambridge, April 12, 1845. Sir, I regret very much that the investigation relative to the manu- scripts missing from our college library has occupied so much time, and that you have thereby been put to inconvenience. I have not added D 18 unnecessarily to the delay, and I hope soon to be able to let you know what conclusion the College have come to on the subject. I regret very sincerely the pain which this matter must have given you : but it did not appear to us that we could abstain from a complete in- vestigation of the subject. Your not being able to give a distinct account of the manuscripts which passed through your hands has made the in- vestigation unavoidably long. I am, Sir, Your obedient humble servant, W. Whewell. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. After having allowed six weeks to transpire, and receiving no further communication on the subject, Mr. Halliwell made a new application to the Master of Trinity College, in the following terms : — Islip, Oxon, 28th May, 1845. Sir, Six weeks having elapsed since I had the honour of receiving your last letter from which I was led to expect an early communication respecting the MSS. missing from your library, I trust you will excuse my again addressing you on the subject. The long suspense in which this matter has been permitted to remain has afforded grounds for certain persons to cast various aspersions on my character, which have been of so extremely injurious a nature that it has now become absolutely necessary that some measures should be taken to clear myself. My friends have delayed doing so from a feeling of courtesy towards Trinity College, that your final decision might not be anticipated ; but the extent of the injury it is continuing to inflict upon me, is so great that I feel sure you will not be surprised at any efforts I may make to be relieved from this painful position. Some time has now elapsed since the opinion of counsel was taken on the whole matter, and 1 intend to seize the very first opportunity that presents itself of instituting a public investigation in a Court of Law, but in the mean time I have been strongly advised to print and distribute a defensive statement, and I need scarcely repeat that I wait impatiently in the hope of receiving the decision of Trinity College. I feel assured you must be well aware that this matter has caused the greatest pain and anxiety not only to myself but to every member of my family during the four months it has been under investigation ; but the evil has been materially increased by the industrious circulation of ex parte statements by persons wholly unconnected with Trinity College. Under these circumstances I hope you will do me the justice of protecting me from such reports. I am, Rev. Sir. Your obedient humble servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master or Trinity College, Cambridge. 19 To this letter the Master of Trinity College made the following reply : — Trinity College, Cambridge, June 4tli, 1845. Sir, I regret very much that there has been so much delay on the subject to which your letter of the 28th ult. refers. It has been unavoid- able and I hope is nearly at an end. I am in communication with the Trustees of the British Museum, on this subject, with a view to a legal proceeding, which will bring the matter before the Courts of Law ; and such a proceeding will, I hope, soon take place. It will be such, I expect, as to give you the opportunity of making any statement which you may wish to make public. I am. Sir, Your obedient humble servant, W. Whewell. J. O. Halliwell, Esq. Mr. Halliwell immediately returned the following answer to this letter : — 10, Fitzroy Street, London, 7th June, 1845. Sir, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 4th of J une, and I hasten to express my satisfaction that it is in the con- templation of the Seniority of Trinity College to institute legal proceedings in reference to certain MSS. said to have belonged to the College, and by which I shall be afforded an opportunity of making my statement. So long a period has been permitted to elapse since this subject was first brought to my notice, and so unable have I been, notwithstanding my numerous applications, to obtain information of any determination formed on the matter, that I have prepared a statement for the press which under the circumstances mentioned in your letter I shall of course for the present defer. I am, Sir, Your humble servant, J. O. Halliwell. The Rev. the Master of Trinity College. The foregoing pages contain every communication on the subject of these MSS., that has passed between Mr. Halliwell and the British Museum and Trinity College. It will be ob- served that in the correspondence with the master of Trinity College there is no expression which would lead to suppose that any suspicion was entertained that the MSS. had passed in an improper manner into the hands of Mr. Halliwell ; on the contrary, Dr. Whewell, in his letter of the 12th of April, expresses regret at the trouble which had been given to him. 20 It will also be observed that Sir Henry Ellis, on the part of the British Museum, has stated that he has " no inquiries to make." In fact, Mr. Halliwell in his statement sent to Trinity College, was obliged, by the reports spread abroad, to defend himself against charges at which the College had not even remotely hinted. Mr. Halliwell has used his utmost exertions to assist the College in tracing these MSS., which are sup- posed to have been abstracted from Trinity College library, although, as far as any information has been given to him, it appears to be unknown at what period they were taken from the library, and it does not appear to admit of absolute proof that they ever belonged to it. Subsequently to the formal state- ment sent to the master of Trinity College, Mr. Halliwell took additional steps to obtain further information which might lead to any discovery of the manner in which the MSS. had passed from the College, On the 4th of March, he again visited the son of Mr. Denley, from whom he ascertained that his father's last catalogue was not printed later than 1835. Mr. Denley's son also lent Mr. Halliwell one of his father's catalogues of printed books (interspersed among which are a few MSS.) and a fragment of one of his father's catalogues of MSS. : the MSS. mentioned in these catalogues are in general so badly described that it would be almost impossible to identify them. The following articles among others are thus in- troduced : — In the Catalogue of Printed Books. 33. Four curious and very ancient Astrological and Medical MSS. on vellum, 145. In the Catalogue of MSS. 41. Quantity of MSS., some curious, £\. 54. An ancient MS, on Metaphysics and Astronomy, curious pen and ink drawings, 14s, 62. A collection of Astrological manuscripts, 4 vols. £2. 84. Curious Astrological manuscript, in Latin, finely written, sewed, 6s. 104. Elements of Geometry, an original MS, with a number of draw- ings, 13.?. 170. Tables of Solar and Lunar Equations, &c., beautifully written, half bound, 15s. 198. Curious MS. on Arts and Sciences, drawings, 7s. 6d. 215. Mathematical MS., half bound, Ss. Though some of these titles might appear to apply to some of the MSS. in question, yet it will be evident to every one that they are so vaguely described that it is impossible to identify them. On this occasion, however, Mr. Denley's son repeated his former statement that he had a recollection of 21 having seen the MS. of Theophilus de Arte Pingendi " either in one of his father's catalogues or in his father's shop ; he having felt interested as an artist in the subject on which it treated ; he also suggested to Mr. Halliwell the possibility of finding copies of his father's catalogues by tracing out the printers who had printed them, and Mr. Halliwell spent some considerable time in following out this suggestion, but without any satisfactory result. As far as regards the MSS. them- selves, there is nothing about them which would lead anybody to suspect that they had been taken from a public collection, nor does it appear in any way a necessary or probable in- ference that either a bookseller or a private purchaser should have kept any particular memorial of the purchase. Among many other instances to the contrary, a recent case in which legal proceedings were taken against a bookseller, Mr. Rodd, to recover a public record, may be cited, in which, although this document was of a far more remarkable kind than any of the manuscripts in question, Mr. Rodd made affidavit : *' That the document which deponent is called upon by the rule of this honourable Court to deliver up to Mr. Henry Cole on behalf of the Master of the Rolls, and therein stated to be one of the Records of this Court, came into defendant's possession some time in the year 1841, having been purchased by deponent along with other parchment documents at a Sale by Public Auction ; but deponent is unable to recollect the date and particulars of such sale, as such documents are mostly sold in lots which do not specify the contents thereof, and are included with several other miscellaneous documents." This fact is of itself sufficient to show the unfairness of the insinuations which have been made, that Mr. Halliwell ought to have kept an account of the purchase of each of his manuscripts. Although no reasons for suspecting any impropriety in the manner in which Mr. Halliwell became possessed of -these Manuscripts have been intimated to him either by Trinity College or by the authorities of the British Museum, yet not only have numerous statements of a very injurious description been spread abroad, all of which are utterly unfounded on truth, but, as it will have been seen, Mr. Halliwell has been subjected to a virtual exclusion from the Museum, which is in itself calculated to confirm such reports, and which must have been made in consequence of representations with which he has not been made acquainted. He cannot but feel con- vinced that his whole line of conduct with regard to his Manuscripts is a sufficient exoneration from the suspicion of having had any knowledge that any of them had been ob- tained dishonestly. 22 It appears from the preceding statements that Mr. Halliwell was in the habit of consulting the Manuscripts of Trinity- College only at the end of 1837 and the beginning of 1838, and that it was under much greater restrictions than in the case of the Library of Jesus College and the University library. Any one who possessed manuscripts which he knew to have been improperly abstracted from a public institution, would naturally be cautious of putting any marks on them which might enable future possessors to trace them into his hands ; and would have concealed them from the view of those who might be able to identify them. In the present instance, Mr. Halliwell not only Avrote his name prominently on all the manuscripts in question, but in several he added the date at which he obtained them, that date being 1838, the only period at which he could have taken them from the library.* Is it probable that any person under such circumstances would have put upon them such a date, when he might just has well have written any date between 1835 and 1840, the limits of the period during which he purchased his manuscripts'? It will also be seen by the preceding statements that not only, immediately after these manuscripts came into his possession, Mr. Halliwell was in the habit of showing them publicly, and even to the persons most likely to recognize them, but that when led by circumstances to olTer his collection for sale, although he did retain a few, instead of holding back or con- cealing the manuscripts now claimed by Trinity College, they were actually put forth in the catalogue and pointed out to attention in a conspicuous manner. The following entry from the sale catalogue may be cited as referring to the MS. of Theophilus, of which so much has been said. 125. Three Manuscripts bound together. — ]. A Latin MS. of the XIII Century, on vellum, containing : — Miscellanea Theologica — Tractatus Lumbardicus de compositione colorum ad depingendum, extremely curious — Liber Heraclii de coloribus, &c. 2. An original Log-book, kept on board the York, in 1673, and containing a most minute account of the Action between the Dutch and English Fleets. 3. Canones Epistolee ad Romanos, per Adelbretum Aultumum, A. D, 1528. 12mo. The second Tract in the first MS. in this volume is most singularly curious and interesting. It enters into the most minute particulars regarding the method of colouring employed by foreign Artists in ancient times. * Su* Henry Ellis, in his first letter, says that the Manuscripts " are stated to have been missed from Trinity College in 1838 " ; but as no similar statement has been made by any other person, and as it appears that there are no means of ascertaining when they were taken from the College, it is supposed that this was a mere assumption founded on the date written in them by Mr. Halliwell. If the College did miss the Manuscripts in that year, it is very singular that no inquiries were made at the time. 23 It is thought right to observe, while mentioning this cir- cum'^tance, that the privately-printed catalogue of Mr. Halli- well's Manuscripts sent to Dr. Peacock in the January of 1840, described by him as " your very interesting catalogue," contains the full titles of all the manuscripts in question. It is hardly likely that any one would offer to Trinity College for purchase (through a senior fellow of the College well ac- quainted with the library) Manuscripts which he knew to have been stolen from Trinity College library only two years before. More than six months have now elapsed since the attacks on Mr. Halliwell's character arising out of this matter were set abroad, and during this long period those attacks have been rather encouraged and supported than checked, by the dila- toriness of the proceedings of Trinity College, and by the implied exclusion from the British Museum without giving him any chance of defending himself. As there appears no hope that the ulterior proceedings spoken of in Dr. Whewell's last letter will be entered upon immediately, it has not been thought advisable to defer any longer the publication of the present statement. In conclusion, Mr. Halliwell cannot re- frain from pointing out to attention one or two circumstances. In the first place, it seems evident that at the date of Mr. Way's letter of the 19th February, 1844, suspicions were entertained that the Manuscript of Theophilus had been abstracted from Trinity College library, and that that letter was written either at the suggestion or with the knowledge of the officers of the British Museum, because Mr. Halliwell's answer to that letter is the only circumstance on which a statement, distinctly traced to one of the persons employed in the manu- script department of the British Museum, that Mr. Halliwell had stated that he had purchased the MS. of Theophilus of Denley and that his statement had been found to be incorrect, could possibly have been founded. This looks as if Mr. Way had been made use of as an instrument to entrap Mr. Halliwell into some avowal which might be turned against himself; or why did he not candidly state the suspicions which existed relating to the MS., and ask him for information to clear them up ] In the second place, the fact must not be overlooked that the injurious reports relating to Mr. Halliwell were set abroad from the Museum several days before any communication had been made to him on the subject, and that the first communi- cation was the.intimation that he should discontinue the use of the Museum library, not only without alleging any distinct charge brought against him, but actually followed by an avowal that the Museum had no inquiries to make." This 24 looks very much as if unfounded reports had hrsL. been spreafi abioad against Mr. Halliwell, and immediately -afterwards those reports taken as the grounds for a public act, which was itself calculated at once to give a substantial character to those reports. ISLIP, OxrORDSHIRE. July 2