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fortune, to compensate for which, Queen Elizabeth made him keeper of three forests in Gloucestershire!"

Chatterton's incongruity will ludicrously appear in bringing down to the latter years of Elizabeth, Tilts and Tournaments! the characteristics of the chivalrous times of our Edwards, and our Henries! It however suited Henry Burgham, and nothing more was regarded by the young deceiver; who should however have known that this said William Burgham, Esq. according to the inflexible laws of chivalry, could not be admitted to any Tournament, with a train, or be found in any other capacity than the humble servitor of a knight! The squire attended on the knight, the knight on the baron, and the baron on the king.

Chatterton concludes the pedigree with the following notable words: 66 'He, William Burgham, married Mary Walworth, by whom he had one son John, who lived in the reign of Charles the Second, and James the Second." Here Chatterton discreetly terminates his inquiries; shrewdly recollecting, that, if he trespassed on a more recent period, some oral or written evidence might awkwardly contravene his assertions.

But the most singular occurrence still remains to be noticed. Chatterton had no pence to spare, and after he had determined on transcribing Mr. Burgham's Pedigree, he could command no book to appropriate to the purpose; when he happily recollected he possessed a book, written only half through, and that writing was no other than portions of most genuine ancient poems, faithfully transcribed from the originals, with the following title:

"Poems by Thomas Rowley, Priest of St. John's, in the City of Bristol, containing the Tournament, an Interlude; and a piece by Cannynge, called the Gouler's (Usurer's) Requiem."

After receiving Mr. Burgham's first generous gift of five shillings, be purchased a fair new book, for the second part of the pedigree, and, in due time, presented it to Mr. B. "unmix'd with baser matter."

At the time when Mrs. Newton received from the author, the first payment, of one hundred and eightyfour pounds, fifteen shillings, from the profits of her brother's works, (a receipt for which is retained,) as a grateful memorial, she presented him with the identical pocket book which Chatterton had taken with him to London, and in which he had kept his cash account, with a list of his different political letters. If the result had been less melancholy, it would have been amusing, to find our young bard magisterially addressing some of the first personages in the land! (See Page 5, Note.)

The following is also Chatterton's private cash account, (never before made public.)

Recd. to May 23, of Mr. Hamilton,

for Middlesex

Recd. of B.

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From this statement it will be found, that the unfortunate Chatterton, the illustrious author of Rowley! received from the booksellers, during the four months of his residence in London, (notwithstanding his dreams of

fame and fortune,) no more than four pounds, fifteen shillings, and nine pence! something less than six shillings per week! At a period a little preceding his starvation and death, he has recorded, (who can tell with what agony of mind!) that the various publishers owed him "ten pounds, nineteen shillings, and nine pence !"

It may bere be remarked, that the officers at the Heralds' College remembered, they told the writer, Mr. Burgham formerly to have submitted to them this, his pedigree, found, for the most part, in the archives of Redcliff Church. Its authenticity, he affirmed, could not be questioned for a moment, and he appeared to have brought it to the college, not to excite doubt, or to provoke discussion, but merely, as a matter of course, to receive the heralds' corroborative attestation. The affair, however, was not so soon to be settled. The officers of the institution examined this authentic pedigree, with the closest attention, this very pedigree, which was founded, professedly, on the records of March and Garter, and yet the very Heralds of March and Garter, unspeakably surprised and mortified the half-ennobled Mr. Burgham, by informing him that the whole was a hoax by that prodigy of genius and deception, the Bristol Boy, Tom Chatterton!

The authorities will now be noticed that Chatterton cites, and which will be found, (as might be expected,) for the most part, to be of no credit. We have heard of oral tradition, but oral deeds are a new, and inadmissible species of evidence; and though, with some, the authority of Rowley may still be deemed legitimate, yet March and Garter, so often referred to, are absolute nonentities; these titles being applied to officers, in perpetual succession, in different departments of heraldry, and not to particular writings.

With respect to emblazonments, also, which systematically follow every new name, Chatterton equally exposes himself to detection. The coats of arms ascribed to different individuals, throughout the work, are almost universally the direct reverse of those which the respective families have ever borne; independently of which, some are imperfectly defined, and other fields superabundantly charged, not accordant with the customs of the age; whilst there is almost a total absence of the cross and the escalop-shell, so common to the bearings of the middle ages.*

These mistakes and inadvertencies may fairly be ascribed to the haste with which the pedigree was, probably, written, designed merely to answer some temporary purpose; and they are named only to infer that no person would have been exposed to such errors, who primarily respected facts, and adhered to authori

ties.

It is evident that Chatterton had paid particular attention to heraldry, both from the present pedigree, and his letter to Ralph Bigland, but there are few who will not smile, when they find the young bard of Bristol gravely telling his relation, Mr. Stephens, Leather Breeches Maker, of Salisbury, that he traces his descent from Fitz-Stephen, Grandson of Od, Earl of Bloys, and Lord of Holderness, in the eleventh century!

With respect to the authorities which Chatterton gives for his emblazonments, they will be found to consist of

There are two Lancashire families of the name of Chatterton, but the arms of neither bear any resemblance to those in the pedi gree ascribed to Radcliff de Chatterton, (a most appropriate name!) The first being, "Gules, a Cross Potent Crossed, Or;" and the second, "Argent, a Cheveron, Gules, between three Tenter Hooks."

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a profusion of names well known in heraldry, and, as might be supposed, without any particular reference, amongst which, frequently appear March, Garter, and Rowley!

In order to ascertain, in a general way, what portion of truth was contained in the Pedigree of De Burgham, the writer examined several of the works referred to, in the margin of the MS. (through the urbanity of Sir George Nayler, Garter King at Arms, who politely allowed him access to the library of the Heralds' College,) and found, except in one instance, the whole to be fabulous. This one exception refers to Sir William Moleneux, who is stated, in the pedigree, to have died at Canterbury, on his return from the wars in Spain, in the year 1372, and at which place, it is affirmed, he was buried, with a latin inscription. This information, and inscription, are accurately taken from Weaver's Funeral Monuments, p. 234, and to which Chatterton refers the reader; but, with this work, Chatterton was acquainted, as he adverts to it in his account of the Christmas Games.

The following singular fact may be noticed. In the De Burgham Pedigree, Chatterton had the temerity to introduce several paragraphs, and epitaphs in Latin and old French, some of them extensive, without knowing one word of what he had written! He obtained these from Weaver, and other writers, and collected their meaning by the manner of their introduction. His extreme sagacity enabling him to judge of the general import, and appropriateness to his purpose, and then, by excluding the original proper names, and substituting his own, the learned references fitted with "dove-tail'd exactness." After Chatterton had crowded his pages with this imposing erudition, he was totally ignorant of

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