Showing 60 results

Commonplace book, 1818-[c. 1828], mainly in English with portions in French, Latin, German, Italian and Dutch. The volume contains facetious 'Resolutions for the Preservation of regularity at Shanes Castle during the meeting for the Performance of Cymbeline' by Frederick, Lord North, 1786 (pp. 1-2) (cf. NLW MS 11167B); miscellaneous poems including an apparently unpublished poem by Byron, 'On a Lock of Hair', commencing 'Swear not at all, but if thou must' (p. 13), another two of his poems (pp. 13, 24), poems by R. B. Sheridan (pp. 5, 7, 14) and a number of rhymes by 'Mr. Cowper' [?William Cowper] (pp. 3-4); a famous sermon on malt attributed to Dr John Dod (pp. 8-9); and humorous letters, epigrams, epitaphs, anagrams and charades including two composed by Charles James Fox (pp. 25, 28) and four composed by Professor [Richard] Porson (pp. 28-9, 31, 69). The answers to the anagrams and charades are in Greek orthography written in reverse.

Miscellaneous papers containing notes, lists, transcripts, jottings, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together in one volume. Verse items include Welsh poems by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' including an eighteen-stanza poem ?composed in connection with a bardic meeting at Llanilldud Faerdref, Glamorgan, 1797 ('a ddatganwyd yngorsedd Alban Hefin ar fynydd Garth Llanilldud Faerdref ym Morganwg, 1797') (17-29 ), six stanzas ('Salm Newydd') written in connection with 'cadair Morganwg, Alban Hefin, 1797' (35-6), four 'englynion' written in connection with 'cadair Llantrisaint, Alban Hefin, 1767' (93), and miscellaneous other poems (43-4, 53-?7, 61, 70, 73, 77-8, 82, 91, 97, 113, 120, 149-50, 312, 365); transcripts of Welsh poems by other poets including a 'cywydd' attributed to Hywel Llwyd (103-07), eleven stanzas entitled 'Can yr Hen wr o'r Coed' with a note on the author Siencyn lygad Rhawlin of the parish of Llantrisaint Misgin (143-6), three 'englynion' attributed to Siôn Tudur (151), poems attributed to Edward Dafydd and Llen. Siôn 'o Langewydd' (161- 7), an 'englyn' attributed to Ednyfed Fychan (197), 'Cywydd y Messiah' attributed to the Rev. Evan Evans ('Ieuan Wynfardd o Geredigion') (205-16), a sequence of six 'englynion' attributed to Elis Wynn with a note on the author (217-19), an 'englyn' attributed to Richard Philip (307), 'englynion' attributed to Siôn Cent and Gruff. ab Lleision (321), and a sequence of five 'englynion' attributed to D[afydd ap] Gwilym (328); transcripts of, or extracts from, miscellaneous Welsh poems, mostly anonymous (37-41, 48-52, 58-60, 65, 72, 75, 78-9, 89-90, 95, 97-8, 102, 168-72, 341, 366, 372, 380-82 (eight stanzas entitled 'Ffanni Blodau'r Ffair'), 387-8, 390); and transcripts of English poems (89-90, 92, 97, 99- 101, 147, 312, 377-9 (fourteen stanzas headed 'Neath volunteers, a new song' and having the name 'Mrs. Bevan, Neath' at the end), 387-90). Prose items include notes on Bran ab Llyr and his family referred to in the Welsh poem by Edward Williams to be found on pp. 23-9 (30-34), data relating to the birth, baptism, marriage, and death of an Edward Williams, and the birth, baptism, and death of his daughter Elizabeth, the dates ranging from 1747 to 1795 (111; see IM, tt. 80-81), a list of twenty-four personal names under the heading 'MSS. in the hands of common people in Wales' (119), brief notes on post - Roman Wales, historical and literary (121 + 123), a brief note relating to literary figures associated with Glamorgan in medieval times (125), comments, presumably by Edward Williams, on contemporary literary figures in Gwynedd, viz. [David Thomas] 'Dafydd Ddu a'i gywion' and Robert Davies, and in South Wales, viz. Lewis Hopcin of the parish of Llandyfodwg, Siôn Bradford ('Ieuan Tir Iarll'), the Reverend Edward Ifan of Aberdar, the Reverend Thos. Richards of Llangrallo, the Reverend J. Walters, the Reverend [Thomas] Llywelyn, Rhys Morgan of Pencraig Nedd, Dafydd Nicolas of Aberpergwm, and Edward Williams of Llancarvan, these latter being acquaintances of the writer (127-33), a brief note on aphoristic literature, proverbs and triads, etc., in Welsh (138), a note on the natural features of the parish of Llancarvan [co. Glamorgan] (141), a note on 'cynghanedd' attributed to Meiryg Dafydd (151), incomplete notes on bardism beginning 'Llyma Lyfr y Barddas sef Dosparth cyfarwyddyd a wnaeth Ceraint Fardd Glas ar gelfyddyd a gorwyddawd . . . Beirdd Ynys Prydain' (156-7), a list of words [in the Scottish language] headed 'Alan Ramsay's Glossary' (175-9), a medicinal recipe (184), a copy of the inscription on the tombstone of Lydia Phell (ob. 1699) in Quaker's Yard, parish of Merthyr Tydvil, and notes relating to her and her connection with the Quakers (186-7), a brief chronicle of events in Welsh history, mainly in South Wales, 1172-1280 (193-8), notes relating to Gilbert de Clare (temp. Edward I) and to a battle between Wiliam ab Ysbwrn and Iestin ab Gwrgan in 1072 (199-200), ? a copy of the title-page of Theophilus Lindsey: Conversations on the Divine Government . . . (London, 1802) (225), a Welsh version of the text of the Gospel of Nicodemus ('Llyma Efengyl Nicodemys . . . a drosed o'r Lladin gan Syr Dafydd Fychan . . . ') (239-87), horticultural notes (303), a transcript of a letter to the reader written by Dafydd Llwyd in 1663 as an introduction to a history of the Norman Conquest of Glamorgan compiled by him from such sources as the works of Caradoc of Llancarvan, Syr Edward Stradling, Syr Edward Mawnsell, and Antoni Powel of Llwydarth (305-06, 313-16; for an opinion that this prefatory letter was compiled by Edward Williams himself see TLLM., t. 201), a copy of proposals for raising funds for financing a new version of the English Bible (308-09), the music of a 'March by E. Wms' ( 310), brief notes of historical events, meteorological phenomena, etc., in Britain, 60 A.D.-1703 A.D., in non-chronological order (317-18, 322-4), a copy of an epitaph to William Collins ? in Bath abbey (329), a note relating to the mythological account of the origin of letters and subsequent additions to the original number (334), an anecdote relating to a visit to the court of the Emperor of Constantinople by Rhys ap Tewdwr and Iestin ab Gwrgant, their return to Wales, and their quarrel concerning Nest, wife of Iestin, etc. (335-6), notes on 'greeting' and 'questing' poems in Welsh and the practice of making birds, the wind, etc., messengers in such poems (337-8), notes on the early 'systematizing' of the Cimmeric language (346), chronological extracts from the Welsh chronicle 'Brut y Saeson' (349-50, 353-4), a scheme or chapter subject - headings for a proposed history of Wales ('Hanes Cymru yn wyth rhann') ( 352), 'A Table of the Roman Kalendar' (356-7), genealogical data relating to Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg')'s family on his mother's side gathered allegedly in conversations with Lewys Hopcin, a kinsman (363-4), very brief notes relating to the bards D[afy]dd ap Gwilym, Sion Cent, Rhys Goch Eryri, Iolo Goch, and Rhys Goch 'o Dir Iarll' (375), a copy of a letter from [Edward Williams] 'Iorwerth Gwilym' from Trefflemin, 1770, [to the publishers of Trysorfa Gwybodaeth] expressing his delight at their publishing venture and offering a sequence of twelve 'englynion' (also transcribed) for publication (see Trysorfa Gwybodaeth neu Eurgrawn Cymraeg, 1770) (384-6), and groups or lists of Welsh words including place-names and proper names (62, 71, 81-2, 92, 148, 341, 347-8 371, 376). Notes in a few instances have been written on the blank dorse or margins of copies of a printed leaflet announcing the publication of Edward Williams's two volumes of English verse Poems Lyric and Pastoral, and a copy of a printed leaflet announcing the publication of 'A Complete Directory and Guide to the town of Cardiff, the Town and Castle of Caerphilly, . . .' in 1813.

A volume containing miscellaneous notes, observations, extracts from printed sources, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg'), the contents, with the exception of a few literary and other items, relating almost entirely to agriculture, horticulture, botany, rural economy, and associated topics. The contents of pp. 1-252, pagination in brackets, include, inter alia, notes on the following topics, viz. sowing of haws to produce shrubs (22-5), methods of constructing hedges in Glamorgan and the various trees and shrubs which could be used for this purpose (25-31), potato planting (31), fruits in Glamorgan orchards (32-3), mazard cherry trees, chestnut trees, and wild apples (34), ancient lime quarries and marl pits on Pentrebain farm [co. Glamorgan] and the use of lime and marl as manure (35-41), and inclosing, ? in co. Glamorgan, by means of hedges and the consequent 'stair' or 'terrace' pattern to be found on 'rising grounds or uplands of easy ascent' (41-3); examples of varying courses or rotations of crops in relation to varying types of lands with notes on manuring, dressing of soil, etc., the courses being grouped as 'Old Vale Courses' and 'Gower Courses' and all presumably being related to conditions in co. Glamorgan (45-81); a note on references to types of yokes used in Wales (82); miscellaneous notes (83-8); a note on the planting of 'slips and cuttings of apple trees' in Devon and ? the Vale of Glamorgan (88-9); comments on the use of small coal-or coal slack by a Mr. Crawshay as a fertiliser (90-93); a brief comment on dissenting meeting houses in co. Glamorgan and a list of '[Glamorgan] Churches in the Mountains' (93-4); agricultural miscellanea (95-100); notes on mazard cherry trees and on the medicinal uses of salt (100-01); a list of three 'Norfolk course[s] adopted by some in Glam[organ]' (102); agricultural miscellanea (117-22); notes on 'Fish in Daw River', 'Sea fish at Aberthaw', and 'Lakes [in Glamorgan] affording fish' (122-5); a section headed 'Abstract view of Glamorgan' containing brief general observations on the soil, crops, geology, fish (in rivers and the Severn sea), landscape, seashore, appearance of villages and cottages, roads, bridges, the need for monthly markets, etc., in the county (126-31); a note on the construction of board fences for the cultivation of fruit (132); notes on references in written sources (all pre-1600) to the following in connection with Glamorgan-the existence or non-existence of inclosures, the existence of orchards and apple trees, the activities of Sir Gilbert de Clare, lord of Glamorgan, late 13th cent., in building two thousand cottages for the poor, his further activities in building village houses the upper appartments of which consisted of halls previously used for holding courts, markets, dances, etc., and then, ? in the late 18th cent., for keeping school, holding dances, meetings of benefit societies, Methodist meetings, etc., and William Herbert (Earl of Pembroke)'s action, temp. Henry VIII, in sending to France and Flanders for fruit and vegetables to restock gardens and orchards-the writers referred to including Dafydd ap Gwilym, [John] Leland, Rhys Meyrig, Ieuan ap Hywel Swrdwal, and Rhys Brydydd, and the unnamed author of 'a Ms. History in Welsh of the Lords Marchers of Glam[organ]' allegedly written in the time of Queen Mary (133-8); a list of twelve points of advantage afforded by mountainous as opposed to flat country (140-42); notes re the pruning of trees (143); notes re the saddling of cows as well as oxen to carry manure and the yoking of cows, oxen, and horses for the plough with three illustrations relating to horse yokes (144-6); comments on the possible use of coal or coal slack for manuring, experimentation in manuring, the nature of peat or bog, composts of coal or peat with lime or lime and ashes, etc. (148-55); notes relating to [rural] poverty, parish relief, and the system of parish work-houses, new proposals for a system of communal parish houses of industry 'adapted to the vale of Glamorgan or any other place where the inhabitants live in villages rather than in detached farmhouses', suggestions re free education for the children of cottagers who did not seek parish assistance in schools set up for three or four parishes and having a schoolmaster paid thirty pounds a year, proposals for holding harvest dinners, vestry meetings, and parochial markets in the hall of the parochial house of industry, and suggestions as to general principles to be observed in awarding parochial assistance which should be 'a reward in some degree at least for something meritorious' (160-75); (continued)

Brief agricultural, botanical, etc., notes headed 'Excursion to Merthyr Tidvil, May 6th 1813' (205); brief agricultural and other observations relating to certain mountains in co. Glamorgan, with a brief reference to the cessation of the iron trade in Merthyr, Aberdare, and Tredegar (206); notes relating to the nature of ? mountain soils in Glamorgan and to the manuring and dressing of soils (209-12); notes relating to crop husbandry headed 'Norfolk soils and husbandry' (213-18); and agricultural and botanical data and comments including extracts from, or notes based upon sections of, [Arthur] Young [: The Farmer's] Calendar, [Benjamin] Stillingfleet [:The] Calendar of Flora, etc. (225-45). P. 253 is inscribed 'Contents of the Agricultural Survey of the County of Glamorgan by Edward Williams 1796' and is followed on pp. 255-76 by a list of some fifty-six subject or chapter headings such as 'Geography of the County in General', 'Coal and Iron Tract', 'Metals', 'Sea Coast and Harbours . . .', 'Agricultural Produce', 'Farm Buildings', 'Implements', 'Population . . .', 'Manufactures and Trades', etc., these presumably being the main divisions of the survey referred to on p. 253. Some of these headings are accompanied by a list of the titles of sub-sections of the main heading, these in some instances amounting to over twenty in number. P. 254 contains a list of the titles of nine appendices which, presumably, were to be added to the survey. The contents of pp. 277-307 again relate mainly to agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and botany, and include extracts from, or notes based on sections of, The Transactions of the London Society for the encouragement of Arts . . ., 1798, Memoirs of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, vol. V, [William] Marshall: [The] Rural Economy of the West of England, [John] Boys: [General] View of the Agriculture of the County of Kent, and [William Beeston] Coyte: Hortus Botanicus Gippovicensis. Pp. 308-24 contain material of a literary nature including transcripts of the eighteen-stanza poem entitled 'The Exile' from [Matthew Gregory] Lewis's novel The Monk, and of sonnets, etc., from Charles Lloyd: Poems on the death of Priscilla Farmer, [Mary] Robinson: Sappho and Phaon, and Brooke Boothby: Sorrows. Sacred to the Memory of Penelope, notices of books published circa 1795-1797, and brief extracts from, or brief notes on reviews of, some of these works. From p. 325 to p. 412 the contents again relate mainly to agriculture, horticulture, rural economy, and associated topics, and consist largely of extracts from, or notes based on sections of, [William] Marshall: The Rural Economy of the Midland Counties (325-?45), [John] Billingsley [: General View of the Agriculture of the County of] Somerset (353-68), [John] Clark [: General View of the Agriculture of the County of Brecknock] (369-71), and [Arthur] Young: Tour in Wales from the Annals of Agriculture, vol. 8 (385-400, with interpolations by E[dward] W[illiams]). P. 413 is headed 'Mehefin 23. Treigl o Aberhonddi hyd Drecastell' and pp.413-28 contain notes and observations in Welsh on agriculture, forestry, etc., appertaining to the area [of co. Brecknock] specified in the heading to p. 413 and also of more general relevance. Pp. 429-64 contain a brief note on the marketing of Glamorgan cattle (429); an extract from [Arthur] Young: Annals of Agriculture, vol. 32 relating to an experiment in ploughing with three different breeds of oxen, a note by E[dward] Williams on the same three breeds of oxen, and a note relating to long-legged cattle and attempts to change characteristics by cross-breeding (429-32); notes headed 'Dairy and tillage farm in Gower' (433-5); a course of crops for light soils (435); a note on Eglwysilan [co. Glamorgan] downs sheep and a wool 'manufactory' established at Caerphilly (436); a brief note re Dorsetshire sheep (436); historical notes based upon the recollections of John Spencer of Sarce [co . ], born circa 1710, relating to the introduction of clover, trefoil, rye-grass, and turnips [into Glamorgan] and to certain liming practices in the said county (437-8); a historical note, again originating from a John Spencer, relating to Aberthaw harbour [co. Glamorgan] (439); geological notes relating to petrification in white limestone, rag or grey lias, coal mines, ironstone veins, flag lias, etc., ? in co. Glamorgan (445-7); further historical notes based partly if not entirely upon the recollections of Mr. Spencer of Sarce aforesaid, ob. 1802 aged 88, relating to the introduction of clover, trefoil, rye-grass, and turnips, and of a new system of liming into Glamorgan, and to cropping and liming practices in that county (451-4 + 456); an extract from [Nathaniel] Kent: [General] View of the Agriculture of [the County of] Norfolk concerning cropping courses (455); and a further historical note, again based on information from John Spencer, relating to the aforementioned port of Aberthaw and its trade (457-8).

Miscellaneous papers containing notes, lists, jottings, etc., of an extremely varied nature in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound into one volume. The contents, pagination in brackets, include a copy of a notice relating to the proclamation in 1816 of the holding of a bardic convention at Pen rhiw'r gwydd in the cantref of Garth Mathrin, co. Glamorgan, in the following year (30-31); a list of 'Druidical altars in Glamorgan' (38-9); brief genealogical data relating to Llywelyn Bren Ail of Sainghenydd [ob. 1317] (45); a list of 'Documents of Welsh History Translated from Ancient British Manuscripts by Edward Williams' and a list of four dissertations relating to early British history, 'ancient Welsh MSS.', etc. [by the said Edward Williams] ? to be published in part form (46-7); another list of source material headed 'By Edward Williams. Welsh Historical Documents Collections for a New History of Wales consisting of Translations of' (48); a list of events, etc., relating mainly to British history A.D. 79 - A.D. 460 (54-5); a brief note on the church and parish of Lanedarn, co. Glamorgan (61); a sketch ground plan of the lay-out of Rumney house and garden (62-3); brief lists or groups of Welsh words (64, 92, 105, 113, 117- 18, 123, 125, 133, 138, 155, 165, 204-12, 218-19, 259, 331-2, 334, 340-41, 361-2, 370, 371, 389); a short pedigree tracing the descent in direct line of Dafydd ap Hopkin from Bleddyn ap Maenarch (68); five draft stanzas of a Welsh hymn and two other stanzas of Welsh verse (70); a list of fifteen items under the heading 'Yniales' being presumably a list of items contained in an alleged manuscript volume bearing that name (74; see TLLM, sub nomine in index); an incomplete note on a meeting of bards and musicians at Castell Nedd, ? 1088, convened by Rys ap Tewdwr and attended by Iestyn ap Gwrgan and his wife and daughter Nest, and the saving of the daughter from Rys's intended abduction of her (73-4); miscellanea including Welsh triads, brief notes on Gower sheep, Hereford Ryelands in Glamorgan, the production of butter in Glamorgan, etc. (72, 75, 77); a list of Welsh names of grammatical tenses (83); a brief note on the village of Wrinston and its neighbourhood [co. Glamorgan] (84); an anecdote relating to Sir Gilbert Stradling's presence with Richard I at the siege of Acres and the creation of the order of the Knights of the Blue Garter (85); miscellaneous notes relating to Welsh triads and their attribution to fictitious names, the basic reasons for the continued existence of the bardic system of Glamorgan, etc. (87-8); a list of mythological items and persons headed 'Damhegion Beirdd Ynys Prydain' (89); an extract from the poem 'Angar Cyfyndawd' from the Book of Taliesin (91); copies of two 'englynion' by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (94); a remedy for asthma (95); a list of fifteen faults in metre and 'cynghanedd' which should be avoided by Welsh bards according to the Glamorgan system (98); a list of twelve ? subject or chapter headings under the superscription 'A brief analysis of the Cimbric or Welsh language' being ? the outline of an intended article or booklet on the said subject (101-02); a stanza of Welsh verse by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (106); a list of nine Welsh manuscript sources, e.g. 'Brut y Tywysogion', 'Brut y Saeson', 'Trioedd Ynys Prydain', under the heading 'Works in hand by Edwd. Williams. Collections for the History of Wales' (107); (continued)

Brief genealogies in direct line of Einion ap Gwalchmai and Bleddyn ab Llywarch (107); a list of Welsh proverbs or proverbial expressions (114, 186, 189, 398); nine stanzas of an English patriotic poem transcribed from the Bristol Gazette of 24 August 1803 (115-16); brief notes relating to inscribed stones in Glamorgan and the bardic 'Cadair Tir Iarll' (126); a brief note relating to Taliesin and the Welsh metres and the retention of knowledge of the ancient principles of poetry, etc., in Glamorgan (129); brief notes on Saint Caradoc (132); a note on the boundaries of Glamorgan (135-6); biographical data relating to Edward Ifan, 1716-98 [Presbyterian minister and poet], with transcripts of two commemorative 'englynion' to him attributed to Wiliam Harri 'o blwyf Penderyn' (142-5; see TLLM, and IM, sub nomine in index and more particularly TLLM, tt. 245-51); a note relating to the probable degree of civilisation prevailing amongst the early Cimmeri (149); a transcript of [Horace's Ode XXII from Book 1] (151-2); brief observations by E[dward] Williams on [Thomas] Gray' s poem '[The] Bard' (156-7); a draft version of six stanzas of English verse and a copy of an ? incomplete 'cywydd' by [Edward Williams] 'I[olo] Morganwg' (160-63); a note relating to the extent of Morgannwg and to the bardic 'Cadair Caerllion ar Wysg' and 'Cadair Dinefwr ag Ystrad Tywy' (170 ); a transcript of a 'cywydd' attributed to Ieuan Tew (173-4); a note on the bardic 'Trwyddedog Nawdd' (177); a brief note relating to Cuneddaf Wledig and his sons in North Wales (183); a draft version of an English sonnet written [by Edward Williams, 'Iolo Morganwg'] in December 1792 (185 + 190); the introductory section of proposed notes on the history of Morgannwg allegedly extracted from a volume formerly in the possession of the Reverend Edward Gamais, rector of St. Athan, and then in the hands of Mr. John Spenser of the same parish (187); notes on the implications of civilisation in social polity, religion, social economy, domestic economy, etc. (192-7); an outline of a 'Letter to Napoleon by E[dward] W[illiams] in the Character of a Quaker', in which he sets out, in nine points, his advice to the recipient and his principles for government, etc. (200-03); notes on the organisation of the bards and bardic system by King Arthur (213 + 218); a list of Latin and English names of trees, grasses, etc., under the headings 'Additions to Turton' and 'Not in Bingley' (214-17); a genealogy showing the descent in direct line of Hu Gadarn (218); a stanza of Welsh free-metre verse by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (219); sketches of, and notes on,? the ruins of Gwern y Cleppa house [co. Monmouth] (220-22); notes relating to resolutions of the Welsh bardic fraternity in 1798 (235-6); a list of 'Rare plants in Glamorgan' (239 + 244); a notice relating to an advertisement concerning a proposed harbour and tramroad at Newton [co. Glamorgan] headed 'Cambrian, Aug. 11th 1819' (241-2); a list of 'Fish in Glamorgan' (247-8); brief architectural notes relating to Coyty Castle and Coyty Church [co. Glamorgan] (250); a draft of a statement [by Edward Williams, 'Iolo Morganwg'] to the effect that certain authors who had published psalms had borrowed lines or couplets from his psalms and not he from theirs (253-4); a brief note referring to W[illiam] O[wen] P[ugh] and [Owen Jones] 'Owain Myfyr' in a derogatory manner (259-60); notes referring to developments in 'cynghanedd', etc., the Emperor Arthur and the bardic 'dosparth y Ford Gron', the rediscovery by Rhys ap Tewdwr, when in exile in Brittany, of books relating to the said 'dosparth y Ford Gron', the bardic chairs 'Cadair Morganwg', 'Cadair Gereinwg', 'Cadair Caerllion ar Wysg yn Nhir Iarll', 'Cadair Urien Reged', 'Cadair Gwynedd a Phowys', and 'Cadair Marchwiail', and 'Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain' (266-73); extracts from the Welsh Scriptures, all except one being from the New Testament (274-81); philosophical and religious observations (291-302) ? connected with the inscription 'Hints for an Essay on the Christian prophecies now fulfilling in the world' on p. 290; brief notes relating to 'flag and bastard lias' and 'rag lias' soils, an ancient course or rotation of crops on 'flag and bastard lias strong soils' in Glamorgan, species of wheat ? found in Glamorgan, etc. (310-12); (continued)

A formula for making 'water cement for cisterns, etc., or to plaister walls in houses to keep out water' (313); notes headed 'Farming Calendar, Glam[ organ], from observation', outlining the work to be done in every month of the year (314-17); names of the parts of speech in Welsh and a list of the letters of the Welsh alphabet (333 + 330); a brief note relating to Welsh literature in the Middle Ages (338); a Welsh version of an inscription on a column erected by the inhabitants of 'Môn ag Arfon' to honour Henry William, Marquis of Anglesey, and his heroism whilst fighting in Spain and at the battle of Waterloo (342); a short list of 'Silurian idioms' and 'Deudneudisms' (346); a list of Biblical texts ? containing references to the devil (347 + 352); a copy of what, by inference, was the allegedly concluding passage of the work called 'Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain' in which the reputed author, Llywelyn Siôn of Llangewydd, co. Glamorgan [poet and copyist], claims that he extracted his information from various volumes in Raglan Castle [co. Glamorgan] in the possession of Sir William Herbert ('o Lyfrau Lewys Morganwg . . . ag o hen lyfrau eraill yno nid amgen na Llyfrau Edeyrn Dafawd aur'), and a copy of a note attributed to Edward Dafydd stating that the said Sir William had intended setting up a printing press in Cardiff Castle to print the Welsh works ('i brinto'r Llyfrau Cymraeg'), that he had died before doing so, and that Raglan Castle and its library ('a'r cyfan o'r llyfrau') had been set on fire by the followers of Oliver [Cromwell] (349-50); a list of five triads headed 'Trioedd Iaith ag ymadrodd' (353); draft stanzas of Welsh religious verse ? hymns (355); notes relating to metrical feet - 'corfannau cerdd dafod' (367- 8); a brief note on Ceraint Fardd and his contribution to 'cynghanedd' (369); an extract from the Gent[leman's] Mag[azine], December 1795, relating to a brass sword discovered at Buildwas, co. Salop (370); a list of 'Gower villages' (381 + 378); a transcript of a 'cywydd' attributed to Ior[werth] Fynglwyd (385-7); pencil sketches of ? sections of Dunraven peninsula (388 + 390); a brief biographical note relating to Rhydderch ap Ieuan Llwyd of Glynn Aeron (392); miscellaneous stanzas of Welsh free- and strict-metre verse including a 'tawddgyrch cadwynog' attributed to Gwilym Tew 'o Lynn Taf' and two free-metre stanzas by [Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (393-6); versions of an 'englyn' in Latin, English, and Welsh, the Latin version bearing the name of Daf. Nicolas (399); an 'englyn' by [ Edward Williams] 'Iolo Morganwg' (399); a twenty-point plan being a 'Sketch of a New System whereon a Religious Society may be formed' (400-09); a list of 'Meteorological observations and adages collected in Glam[organ]' (422-5); brief extracts from the poems of Cynddelw (97, 104, 206), Tudur Aled (133), Rhys Goch ap Rhiccart (138), D[afydd ap] G[wilym] (141), and Ed[mund] Prys (369); and other miscellanea. Pp. 191, 255, 260, 364, 397 contain lines of musical notation being possibly in some instances the airs of tunes. Notes in some instances have been written on the verso or in the margins of the following, pagination in brackets, - an undated ? holograph letter from Thomas Rhys to Edward Williams (seeking aid for H. Walters) (53); a ? holograph letter, 1812, from John Bishop Estlin from Bristol to Thomas John of St. Athan (recipient's eyesight, the writer was sending two pairs of glasses) (71 + 76); an account from Taliesin Williams to Mr. Bradley in respect of cutting letters and painting (87); an incomplete holograph letter from Edwd. Williams to Sir Robert L. Blosse, Bart. (personal) (106); an undated holograph letter from Thos. William from Froom, Sumnerset, to his sister (he was at work 'in this town', his brother [Edward Williams, 'Iolo Morganwg'] could have work 'in the Marble way' at Devizes for fifteen shillings a week) (131 + 140); a copy of a printed prospectus advertising a proposed new edition of poems by Charles James (147-8 and two unnumbered pages between p. 154 and p. 155); a copy of a printed circular from John Walter from Piccadilly, 1790, offering his services as an agent at the approaching General Election (150 + 153); a note in the third person, January 1815, from Dr. Prichard inviting Mr. Williams and his son to dinner (158); a copy of a printed account of the receipts and payments of the Cymmrodorion Society on behalf of the churchwardens and parishioners of the parish of Trefdraeth, co. Anglesey, in their suit, 1769-1773, against Dr. Bowies, rector of the parish, concerning the legality of presenting non Welsh-speaking incumbents to livings in Wales (two unnumbered pages between p. 204 and p. 205 and two unnumbered pages between p. 210 and p. 211); an incomplete draft of a petition from Edward Lloyd, schoolmaster, to persons in the town and vicinity of Neath, recounting his war service, 1756-1763, on board H.M.S. Trident (212 + 2190); a receipt, 8 February 1794, from J. C. Matthews [bookbinder] to Mr. Williams [? Edward Williams, 'Iolo Morganwg'] for sixteen shillings received by the hand of Mr. Bingley 'for 100 Setts Poems', and a note from W. Bingley to [? Edward Williams] relating to the said account and 'your other binders bill' (234 + 237); a copy of printed proposals for publishing Edward Williams's two volumes of English poems Poems Lyric and Pastoral (263-4, 290 + 309); and a copy of printed proposals for publishing in monthly parts Hanes Bywydau, Dioddefiadau, a Marwolaethau y Merthyron Cristianogol translated from the English martyrology of [John] Fox[e] with other additional material (327 + 336).

An eighteenth century manuscript consisting of miscellaneous material in the hand of the Reverend Edward Gamage [rector of the parish of St. Athan, co. Glamorgan, 1717-1734] with additions in later eighteenth century hands (see TLLM, tt. 106-07; IM, t. 309; and IMCY, tt. 58-60, 68, 171). In Edward Gamage's own hand are transcripts of Welsh strict- and free-metre poems by Thomas Morgan 'o Dilla garw', Hopkin y Gwaedd 'o Fargam', Rob. Tho[ma]s 'o Sant y Bryd', Thomas Leyshon o'r Prysg', Miles W[illia]m, Thomas W[ilia]m 'o Dregolwyn', Thomas Llewelyn, vicar of Llancarvan, Dafydd Thomas 'o blwyf y Bettws', and Llewelyn ab Iefan, a copy of a letter in Welsh, 23 November 1726, from the said Edward Gamage himself from Sant Athan, to Llewelyn ab Iefan of the parish of Llangrallo [co. Glamorgan], poet, in reply to a request for genealogical information relating to the Stradling family, and, at the reverse end of the volume, 'A Continuation of ye Exposition of ye Church Catechism for ye use of ye Children of ye Parish of Lantwitt Major by E. Gamage, Lecturer and Catechist there', a recipe for a dog bite, and ? sermon notes. Later additions to the volume include transcripts of three stanzas of Welsh verse, one being by Ph'p Morgan b'r Sarnfawr' and one by his daughter Eleanor, miscellaneous English verse some dated 1768, and a few financial items. Four imperfect, printed leaves from a ? seventeenth century edition of metrical psalms with prayers for use in private houses have been bound in at the end of the volume.

A composite volume containing miscellaneous material in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') including pp. 9-34, a short treatise on the Welsh bardic order, its organisation, ceremonies, etc., with the superscription 'Llyma Lafar Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain . . sef ydyw hynny son Defodawl am Freiniau a Defodau Beirdd Ynys Prydain fal y bu gynt yn Amser y Prifeirdd a Thywysogion y Cymry . . .', being allegedly a transcript of material extracted by the Glamorgan scribe Llywelyn Siôn of Llangewydd from a manuscript in Raglan Castle (for the Welsh text see Iolo Manuscripts . . ., pp. 49-62, and for an English translation ibid., pp. 430-48); 39-42, notes with the superscription 'Llyma Lyfr y Barddas sef Derwyddoniaeth Beirdd Ynys Prydain . . . ac ynghyntaf y mae Traethawd hawl ag atteb Bardd ac awenydd o waith Siôn y Cent. . .', being apparently a transcript of the first section of an essay or treatise on aspects of Welsh bardism allegedly compiled by the aforementioned Llywelyn Siôn from sources at Raglan ('llyfrau . . . yng gellawl rhaglan') (for text and trans., see John Williams: Barddas . . ., vol. I, pp. 224-35); 49- 76, 89-91, 154, 166-70, 177-80, 200-09, 212-14, notes on the special alphabets, 'The Bards' Alphabet' and 'The Monks' Alphabet', which [according to Edward Williams] had been in use amongst the Welsh bards and monks, the practice of inscribing these on wooden surfaces, the 'peithynen ', i.e. the term used to denote a series of four-sided 'billets' or pieces of wood used as a writing surface on which to inscribe words or compositions in the bardic alphabet and inserted in a wooden frame, the mythological account of the origin of the first alphabet devised by human beings, the acquisition of the knowledge of the alphabet by the nation of the Cymry, etc. (for similar material see NLW MS 13093E above); 97-111, 'A Short Account of the Welsh Bards' including a list of ?twenty-two of the 'leading maxims and doctrines of Bardism'; 123-51, further notes on the history, organisation, ceremonies, etc., of the Welsh bardic order; 155-65, lists purporting to contain examples of the following alphabets - 'Gallicum vetus' (extracted from [J.] Mabillon: De re diplomatica . . .), 'Runic', 'Gothic Alphabet of Ulphilas' Gospels', 'Etruscan' (from one of the works of [A. F.] Gori), 'Ancient or Pelasgic Greek characters', 'Romano-British of the 5th Century' (from 'monumental stones at Lantwit Major, Glam[organ]'), 'Bards' Alphabet', 'Monk' Alphabet', 'Saxon Alphabet', etc.; 185-9, ? extracts from Ole Worm: [Runir] seu Danica Literatura antiquissima . . . (Hafniae, 1636); 191-5, transcripts of a 'cywydd' by, or attributed to, Gutto'r Glynn, and 'englynion' by, or attributed to, D[afydd] ab G[wily]m, and extracts from the works of various Welsh bards; 239-63, 'An Account [of] the British Bards and the Bardic or Druidic Mythology and Theology'; 267-76, notes on ceremonial procedure, etc., at bardic meetings; 283-314, a copy of an English poem described as an 'Ode on the Mythology of the Ancient British Bards in the manner of Taliesin. Recited at a Congress of Ancient British Bards assembled on Primrose Hill near London, Sepr. 22d, 1792 . . .', with an introductory 'advertizement' describing the bardic or druidic order, and copious notes on the text (for this poem, with slight textual variations and a variant version of the introductory 'advertizement', see Edward Williams: Poems Lyric and Pastoral . . . (London, 1794), Vol. II, pp. 193- 216); and 325-34, miscellaneous notes and extracts relating to the religion of ancient Gaul, the druids, etc.

A folio volume lettered on the spine 'Pennant's Literary Life', and containing transcripts or printed copies of miscellaneous compositions mainly by, or relating to, Thomas Pennant. The first and main item is a variant manuscript version (62 pp.) of The Literary Life of the Late Thomas Pennant, Esq., by himself (London, 1793), with printed title-page and advertisement inlaid. The text of this manuscript version is substantially the same as that of the published edition, with certain variations in wording and phrasing, and minor omissions or additions. Occasionally, however, the manuscript text contains passages which do not occur in the printed work, e.g., (a) the additional information (p. 41) relating to the author's pamphlet entitled American Annals . . ., viz., that some one hundred copies had been printed, and sent by post to members of parliament, and that 'the friends of the Howes endeavored all they could to suppress them, by borrowing them . . ., and never returning them again', (b) the comments (pp. 42-3) relating to the trial [1783-1784] of the Reverend- William [Davies] Shipley, dean of St. Asaph, for seditious libel, (c) references (pp. 46-7) to the critical review of the author's book on London [Of London (London, 1790)], which appeared in The Gentleman's Magazine [vol. 60, part 1, 1790], 'a paper too subservient to the malice of its principal manager, Mr. Richard Gough', and to the Dublin 'pirated edition', and the German translation of the said book, (d) the comments (pp. 49-50) on the financial difficulties of John Reinhold Forster [naturalist], during his stay in England, his lack of gratitude towards his benefactors, and his ultimate return to the continent, (e) the information (p. 56) that Thomas Roden of Denbigh, 'a most admirable binder, and so extremely elegant in his trade', had been responsible for binding the [manuscript] volumes of the author's Outlines of the Globe, which had already been written, etc. Other manuscript items, in the order in which they occur, intermixed with printed material, include a copy of a letter addressed by ? Thomas Pennant, under the pseudonym 'Laicus', to the editor of an unspecified newspaper, undated (comments on the acceptance into Holy Orders of persons totally unsuited to such a calling, occasioned by seeing a satirical print entitled 'The Church Militant', a copy of which is reproduced); an unsigned, draft copy of a letter, in the hand of Thomas Pennant [and possibly from Thomas Pennant, to Sir Roger Mostyn, 5th bart., of Mostyn, co. Flint, and Leighton, co. Chester], April 1784 (political differences between the writer and recipient) (inlaid); an incomplete, draft copy, in the hand of Thomas Pennant, of a request to the sheriff of co. Flint, to summon a meeting of the gentlemen, clergy, and freeholders of the county, to meet at Mold, ? 1780, with a view to petitioning Parliament to make a scrutiny of 'useless places, sinecures and pensions', etc. (mounted); a draft copy of a petition to be presented by the gentlemen, clergy, and freeholders of co. Flint, to the House of Commons [1780], calling for the elimination of wasteful expenditure, and the application of the money saved to a more vigorous prosecution of the war against the Bourbons (mounted); an autograph letter from R. Kenyon, from Cefn, to ? Thomas Pennant, February 1780 (suggested alterations in the aforementioned draft petition) (inlaid); a copy of the oration delivered by Samuel Forster, in Convocation at Oxford [University], 11 May 1771, when presenting Thomas Pennant for the honorary degree of LL.D. (Latin); a ? holograph letter from J. P. Andrews, from Brompton, [co.] Midd[lese]x, to T[homas] Pennant, 1791 (the recipient's book on the 'history of the Capital' [Of London (London, 1790)], observations on opinions expressed by recipient in connection with mail coaches) (mounted); a copy of a memorial inscription to John Norman, attorney at law, in Newmarket church; a note of the death at Bychton, parish of Whiteford, ?13 November 1796, of Mr. Williams, tidewaiter; and occasional marginal and other annotations in the hand of Thomas Pennant. The remaining items in the volume, apart from the illustrations, consist entirely of inlaid or mounted printed material. Under a running title Miscellanies, and paginated [1]-25, though intermixed with other items, are found copies of two poems [composed by Thomas Pennant] entitled 'Ode occasioned by a lady professing an attachment to Indifference' (Chester, 1769), and 'On a lady chosen on the same day patroness of a book society and hunting meeting' (Chester, 1771) (for a reference to both see Literary Life, p. 32); two letters written by [Thomas Pennant, under the pseudonym] 'Camber', from Hawd y lam [sic] and Old Bond Street, 1781 (the first, published in the Chester Courant, dealing with the fashion amongst ladies of wearing riding apparel, even when not intending to ride, and the second with the possible dangers resulting from flirtatious behaviour on the part of married women. See Literary Life, p. 32); and two pamphlets [by Thomas Pennant] entitled American Annals or Hints and Queries for Parlement Men, and Flintshire Petition. Other printed items, in the order in which they occur, include copies of pamphlets, etc., by Thomas Pennant called Of the Patagonians. Formed from the relation of Father. Falkener, a Jesuit, who had resided among them thirty eight years. And from the different voyagers, who had met with this tall race (Darlington, 1788), A Letter from a Welsh Freeholder to his Representative (Chester, 1784), Free Thoughts on the Militia Laws . . . addressed to the Poor Inhabitants of North Wales (London, 1781), To the Poor concerned in Mineral Counties (1773), A Letter to a Member of Parliament on Mail-Coaches (London, 1792) (some pages misplaced), Flintshire Association, and Catalogue of My Works (1786); a Navy Office certificate of exemption from the attentions of the press gang, with personal details filled in by Thomas Pennant, 1755; copies of two Latin poems, 1786 and undated, by Richard Williams, in praise of Thomas Pennant; an English translation of the second of the aforesaid poems, by the author; newspaper cuttings containing poems headed 'Verses to Mr. Pennant on the writer's being apprized of his intention to make a visit into Cornwall', and 'To the memory of Thomas Pennant, Esq., ob. 1798'; a copy of the advertisement or preface contributed by David Pennant, son of Thomas Pennant, to vols. III and IV (two in one) of his father's work Outlines of the Globe, published posthumously, 1800; and a copy of a short biography of Thomas Pennant, with a bibliography of some of his works, listing the plates in each work. The volume has some sixty-seven illustrations (some duplicated). A few of these consist of miscellaneous original drawings, chiefly in water-colour, but the majority are engravings, mostly portraits in line. To the former group belong two self-portraits (the second, 1811), by Moses Griffith. The first of these faces p. 12, at the foot of which page is a short, biographical note relating to the birth, baptism, and early schooling of the painter. This, according to an additional, pencilled note, in another hand, is in 'M. G's own hand'. To this first group also belong a water-colour sketch of the 'Approach to Pont St. Maurice' [Switzerland], and sketches for, or copies of, satirical prints relating to the trial of Dean William Davies Shipley (see above). To the second category belong the prints called 'The Church Militant' (see above), and 'The Triumph of Turbulence, or Mother Cambria possessed' (the Shipley trial), and the portraits (in the order in which they appear in the text) of Thomas Pennant, Mrs. [Hester Lynch] Piozzi [authoress], Sir Cha[rles] Linneus [botanist], G[eorge] Edwards [naturalist], John Ray [naturalist], [Francois Marie Arouet] de Voltaire, Solomon Gessner [Swiss poet and engraver], Conrad Gesner [naturalist], Christoph Jac[ob] Trew [German naturalist], Albrecht v[on] Haller [Swiss physiologist], Christoph Gottlieb von Murr [German scholar], [Daniel Charles] Solander [botanist], Sir Joseph Banks, George Allan [antiquary and topographer], and William Hutchinson [topographer] (together), Francis Grose [antiquary and draughtsman ], Benfamin] Stillingfleet [naturalist and dilettante] (with ? autograph), the Rev[erend] John Lloyd [ rector of Caerwys, and Thomas Pennant's companion], [the Honourable] Daines Barrington [lawyer and antiquary], the Reverend W[illiam] D[avies] Shipley, dean of St. Asaph, Charles I, William Seward [biographer], [the Reverend] W[illia]m Coxe [archdeacon of Wilts.], Sir Roger Mostyn [5th bart., of Mostyn, co. Flint], Richard [Howe, 1st viscount Howe of Langar, and] earl Howe, Charles [Cornwallis, 2nd] earl Cornwallis [and 1st marquess Cornwallis], General [George] Washington, and General [Horatio] Gates. The text of the 'Literary Life', and of certain other manuscript sections of the volume, such as the Oxford doctorate oration, was possibly transcribed by Thomas Jones, son of Roger Jones, parish clerk of the parish [of Whitford, co. Flint], who had been engaged by Thomas Pennant in 1791 as his secretary, 'to copy my several manuscripts' (see Literary Life, p. 39).

The Poetical Works of Richard Llwyd, The Bard of Snowdon; comprising Beaumaris by and Other Poems: with a Portrait and Memoir of the Author. London: [1837]. There are a few marginal comments by John Williams (1833-72), Beaumaris (see note under 561, below).

An album, begun by Sarah Wilson, 1827, containing copies of English poetry by James Montgomery, Felicia Hemans, T. K. Harvey, M. A. Browne, George Crabbe, and others. In 1883, the album was used by Padarn Davies, who copied into it the text of 'y sidg o Droea' with the following colophon: 'Gwallter Archiagon Rhydychain a droes y darn hwn o'r cronicl o Lading i Gymraeg. Ac Edward Kyffin ei ail ysgrifenodd fo i Siôn Trefor Trefalyn ysgwier pan oedd oed Crist 1577. A Dewi Siôn o Dref y rhyw yw'r trydydd ysgrifenydd yn oed ein Iachawdwr 1761, Mai-hafhing 9d. A John Prichard o Lanrwst yw'r Pedwerydd ysgrifenydd yn oed ein Iachawdwr 1775 Hydref y 9d. dydd. A Padarn Davies yw'r pymed ysgrifenydd ac ai ysgrifenodd i Gwilym Cowlyd (y ddau o Lanrwst) yn y dydd olaf or flwyddyn o oed ein Iachawdwr 1883 - Rhag. 31ain. Câr bob cywirdeb medd John Trevor Trefalyn'.

A holograph manuscript of Peter Bailey Williams (1763-1836), rector of Llanrug and Llanberis, Caernarvonshire, containing annotated transcripts of letters and documents from the Wynn (of Gwydir) Papers, the manuscripts of Paul Panton, Plas-gwyn and Lewis Morris ('Llewelyn Ddu o Fôn'), etc.; English translations of Welsh 'cywyddau', poetry by David Thomas ('Dafydd Ddu Eryri') and Peter Bailey Williams; etc. The volume was compiled approximately during the period 1795-9. Among the insets are two letters of John Wynn of Gwydir (1553-1627) (see Calendar of Wynn (of Gwydir) Papers 1515-1690 ..., nos. 2848, 2858). There are some notes on the upper end paper in the hand of St G. A[rmstrong] W[illiams].

English poetry mainly by, or in the hand of, Iolo Morganwg.

A volume compiled, [1710s]-[1790s], by various hands, containing poems, songs and commonplace entries, together with miscellaneous printed material including song-sheets and newspaper cuttings. Many of the items, which have been pasted on or inserted between the leaves, are connected with Brogyntyn and Wynnstay. The volume was originally used for exercises in navigation.

A composite volume ettered on the spine 'M.S.S. Vol. VI' containing miscellaneous material, chiefly in the hand of William Owen [-Pughe]. Pages 283-98 are in the hand of John Davies, Pentrefidog, and a note by him on p. 298 reads: 'Mae yn ddrwg ginni na allaswn ei wneuthur yn well yr wyf wedi mynd yn rhy garnbwl wedi gadel y 90. o oedran J:D.'. The contents include: pp. 1-6, 'The Laws of Menu. Memorandums'; p. 30, a brief word- list; pp. 45-96, a bardic grammar with examples of the twenty-four metres of Welsh poetry, beginning: 'Sillafeu a derfynant mewn dwy neu dair or bogeild . . . .', the text is preceded by a note: 'gwell [sic] y dechreu yn y Llyfr glas, Dwned S.Vn.'; p. 97, lines entitled 'To Beli', beginning: 'Mi rythiolaf buddig Beli . . .', with translation; pp. 99-101, 'Y Breiniau a roes Rhun i Wyr Arfon'; pp. 141-44, a list of the terms of rhetoric with Welsh equivalents; pp. 145-49, 'William Salbury yn danfon annerch ar Gruffudd Hiraethawc ag ar eraill of gelfyddyt, ex Autographo Salesburiano script 1552' (text published, see Henry Lewis: 'Llythyr William Salesbury at Ruffudd Hiraethog', The Bulletin of the Board of Celtic Studies, vol. II, pp. 113-18); p. 181, a note in shorthand and Hebrew; pp. 184-90, 197- 99, and 202-03, notes in shorthand; pp. 211-12, a shorthand-Hebrew vocabulary; pp. 213-14, a poem attributed to 'Gwyldrem Tarianmaon', beginning: 'Tan fyg Lywodraeth, Dewr Ymmerodraeth, Ynys Prydyn . . .'; pp. 215-17 & 222, an elegy to 'Robin Ddu o Fôn' [Robert Hughes], beginning: 'Cloed awdur gwaith clodadwy . . .'; pp. 225-28, a Welsh translation of the first two scenes of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth; p. 233, key to shorthand symbols; pp. 237-68, pages of shorthand; pp. 281- 82, 'Odlig newydd', seven stanzas beginning: 'Ar bethau o dragwyddol bwys . . .'; pp. 283-84, & 297-98, 'Cywydd yn dang[os] mor bur yw Cydymaith ag mor ffals yw un arall. o waith Thomas Price o blas yolyn', beginning 'Mae Bruson gyfion gyfion [sic] oedd gall . . .'; pp. 285-97, 'Hanes Merddyn ap Morfran', beginning: 'Y mae Prosess rhai or Awduron yn dangos fod gwr o fewn y wlad a elwir Nant Conwy . . .' and ending 'na gwr o drugiain mlwydd ar yr Awr hon'; p. 298, two 'englynion' by J:D. [John Davies, Pentrefidog], describing his handwriting in old age, beginning: 'Y llaw anhylaw yn hwylio/'r pinn . . .'; pp. 299 & 314, a note on the definition of God; pp. 300-342, notes on grammar and the parts of speech; p. 345, lines beginning : 'Hence Darkness! Light thy ancient seat regain . . .'; pp. 347 & 350, a list of place-names; and pp. 355-58 a note relating to Joanna [Southcott], dated 1803, and a passage concerning the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Miscellaneous papers containing notes, transcripts, extracts, etc., in the hand of Edward Williams ('Iolo Morganwg') bound together in one volume. The contents include pp. 10-18, notes on the royal ancestors of Iestyn ab Gwrgan, lord of Glamorgan, to the time of Morgan Mwynfawr extracted 'o Lyfr Mr. Thos. Trueman o Bantlliwydd' (for the Welsh text see Iolo Manuscripts . . ., pp. 3-11, and for an English translation ibid., pp. 331-56); 21, extracts [from Thomas Carte: A General History of England . . . (London, 1747-1755)]; 22-38, notes on the rulers of Glamorgan from the time of Morgan Mwynfawr to the time of the aforementioned Iestyn ab Gwrgan, the quarrels leading to the conquest of Glamorgan by the Normans under Robert Fitzhamon, the subsequent Norman lords of the territory, and the coming of the Flemings to Glamorgan (for the Welsh text of pp. 22-9 see Iolo Manuscripts . . ., pp. 12-17, and for an English translation ibid., pp. 357-83); 39-40, a brief chronicle of political events, earthquakes, plagues, extreme weather conditions, etc., temp. William I to temp. Edward VI; 41, a short chronicle of events in South Wales, 1030-1079; 42-3, a list of the bishops of Llandaf, 436-1396; 44- 7, miscellaneous topographical and historical notes on Glamorgan; 48-9, notes on Dafydd ap Gwilym; 50-51, 'Hanes y tri Marchog ar ddeg' (an incomplete account of the thirteen Norman knights who conquered Glamorgan); 52-4, miscellaneous historical anecdotes relating mainly to Glamorgan (see Iolo Manuscripts . . ., pp. 64-7, 450-53); 56-60, genealogical and historical notes on the Stradling family, eleventh-seventeenth cent. ('allan o hen lyfr St. Dunwyd gan y Parchedig Mr. Edward Gamage, Periglor St. Athan'); 64-7, a Welsh-English list of species of apples found in Glamorgan and Gwent and of pears ?found in the same region (see IM., tt. 334-8); 68-9, a list of mountains and rivers in Glamorgan; 72-4, further notes on the lordship of Glamorgan and its conquest by the Normans (from British Museum Harleian MS 368; see Cambrian Journal, 1859, pp. 68-71); 78-81, a brief account of the history of Glamorgan from the time of Morgan Mwynfawr to the reign of Henry VIII 'translated from a Welsh MS late in the possession of the Revd. Mr. Gamage, Rector of St. Athan, and now of Mr. John Spen[ ] of the same place'; 82-5, historical anecdotes relating to the lords of Bewper Castle [co. Glamorgan], anecdotes relating to the brothers William and Richard Twrch and the building of the porch and chapel gateway at Bewper, late sixteenth-early seventeenth cent. (see IM, tt. 272-3), a note on Inigo Jones, and notes on Dunraven Castle; 86-95, notes relating to St. Illtud, the monastic church and school at Llanilltud [or Llantwit Major, co. Glamorgan], and the abbots of the said monastery, including extracts from [Thomas] Carte: op. cit., and a manuscript sketch plan of Llantwit Major, ? late eighteenth cent. (see note in IM, t. 316); 95-115, general notes on British history to the second half of the thirteenth cent., including extracts from Carte: op. cit.; 116-23, miscellaneous brief notes on the topography, agriculture, industries, commerce, etc., of Glamorgan, with references to the iron works at Merthyr Tidvil, Aberdare Vale, Newbridge, Pentyrch, and Melin Griffith, the porcelain works at Nantgarw, etc.; 125, extracts from Archaeologia, vol. VI; 126-7, notes on the Voss family more particularly William Voss of St. Athan and Nicolas Vosse of Lantwit (circa 1750) [both of co. Glamorgan], and the latter's books; 128-31, 'Cursory Remarks on reading Camden's account of Glamorgan'; 132-3, copies of extracts from the register of the parish of Lantwit Major [co. Glamorgan] and other data relating to the Vosse family; 134, proposals [by Edward Williams] for publishing a periodical to be called Dywenydd Morganwg (see IM, tt. 214, 363, 387-91); 135, a note on 'Y modd i wneuthur Lloriau da mewn tai' (see IM, t. 363); 136, notes on the village of Llandaff [co. Glamorgan] and the vicinity; 137, anecdotes relating to the poet Dafydd o'r Nant, [the Methodist cleric, the Reverend] Daniel Rowland, and a seventeenth century poet Will Tabwr; 142-3, a ? draft copy of a letter to the clergy of the town and neighbourhood of Cowbridge [co. Glamorgan], suggesting a plan for adding [Bishop Richard Watson's work A Collection of] Theological Tracts [Cambridge, 1785] to a circulating library the writer had established in the town; 146-7, copies of three English poems headed 'Poetical Anecdotes of Glamorgan', one being by Christopher Roberts of St. Athan and ? two by Edward Williams of Lancarvan; 148 and 151, brief notes on the Glamorgan towns, etc., of Caerffily, Merthyr Tidvil, Cowbridge, Bridgend, Lantrisant, Landaff, and Cardiff; 150, a list of the products of Glamorgan which were, or could become, articles of trade and commerce; 154-7, copies of the memorial inscription ? on the tomb of Roger Seys in the church of Lantwit Major, and notes on the Seys family's connection with the Boverton estate [co. Glamorgan]; 158- 69, notes on the topography, agricultural produce and methods, horticulture, etc., of Glamorgan headed 'Remarks on J. Fox's General View of the Agriculture of [the county of] Glamorgan ([London], 1796)', and notes on the pastime known as 'Bandy playing' (see IM, tt. 54-6); 170-76, observations on Newton Down [co. Glamorgan], and on Brandon Hill and Cliffon Hill near Bristol; 181, a report on a survey of the pillars and arches dividing the nave from the south aisle in Cowbridge parish church carried out in 1810 by the churchwardens assisted by Edward Williams ['Iolo Morganwg'] and Taliesin Williams, masons, and David Jenkins, carpenter; 182-3, an incomplete draft or copy of a letter in Welsh addressed to the Protestant dissenters of Glamorgan advising them to vote for [Thomas] Wyndham of Dwnrufan (Dunraven) rather than for his opponent Captain Thomas Windsor in the Glamorgan parliamentary election [? of 1789]; 188, notes on Boverton house [co. Glamorgan]; 192-3, an anecdote relating to Penmark church [co. Glamorgan]; 196-231, a transcript of the section of [John] Leland's Itinerary which deals with Glamorgan; 232-51, miscellanea including an incomplete Welsh poem on the county of Carmarthen, its towns, etc., observations on statements in the first few pages of [Edward] Jones: [Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh] Bards . . ., 2nd ed. [1794], and further notes on 'bandy playing' (some of these on the blank versos and margins of printed proposals for publishing Edward Williams's volume of English verse Poems Lyric and Pastoral in 1792, and his Cyfrinach Beirdd Ynys Prydain in 1821); 253-4, the words and music of a 'Catch written for the Pine Apple Catch club in Bristol . . . by [Thomas] Chatterton, father of Thomas Chatterton, the poet'; 256-7, a copy of a letter in Welsh from Rhys Morgan from Pencraig nedd [co. Glamorgan], to [ ], 1751 (praise for recipient's poems, the continuance of the Welsh bardic tradition in Glamorgan, the state of the Welsh language in the county, its use in church services, the failure of the county of Monmouth to produce Welsh poets) (for the text of this letter with the opinion that it is a forgery to be attributed to Edward Williams himself see TLLM, tt. 260-61; see also ibid., tt. 101-02, and IM, tt.77-8, 274); 258-61, a copy of an eight-stanza 'Song for the Glamorgan Volunteers' by Edward Williams, with preface and notes on some of the proper names in the text; 262-73, notes on early Welsh literature, the extant manuscript sources thereof, the authenticity of the material in these manuscripts, etc., written on the verso and in the margins of copies of a printed handbill containing proposals, 1793, for publishing The Celtic Remains (vol. I by Lewis Morris, vol. II by Walter Davies), and of a printed handbill announcing an 'eisteddfod' to be held at Caerwys [co. Flint] in 1798 under the patronage of the Gwyneddigion Society (some of this material appears to be a draft version of sections of the essay 'A Short Review of the Present State of Welsh Manuscripts' which forms the preface to The Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales . . ., vol. I, (London, 1801)) (continued)

278-9, notes headed 'Llyma'r Ddosparth a wnaeth y Brenin Arthur ar achoedd a'r Cof a'r cadw arnynt ac ar fonedd Cenedl y Cymry a'u Breiniau'; 279, anecdotes relating to Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ap Seisyllt and opposition to his claim to the principality of Powys circa 1040, and a convention held at Henffordd ( Hereford) in connection therewith when matters relating to the genealogy and rights and privileges of the Welsh nobility, etc., were discussed and ? an agreed code was drawn up, and notes on the duties of the Welsh bards with regard to genealogy and heraldry; 280-85, notes relating to the Welsh bardic order and Welsh musicians including notes with the superscription 'Llyma hen Ystatut Cadair Tir Iarll fal a'i trefnwyd yn amser yr Arglwydd Clâr diweddaf . . .'; 286-9, miscellanea including notes on the meaning of the expressions 'Mab aillt' and 'Mab aillt beirdd', notes on the loss of a manuscript copy of the statutes of Grulfudd ap Cynan from the Ashmolean Museum [Oxford] and of a Welsh translation of the works of Aristotle by John David Rhys from the library of Jesus College [Oxford], a comment on Jesus College, and brief notes on the Welsh strict poetic metres; 295, a copy of an 'englyn' attributed to Dafydd ap Edmund; 303, notes on the relationship between the vocabulary of a language and the cultural and technical attainments of the speakers of the language; 305, a copy of an 'englyn' attributed to D[afydd ap] G[wilym]; 306-07, an incomplete transcript of a Welsh poem entitled 'Cynghorion Tad i'w Fab' attributed to Henry Evans 'o'r Gelli Gaer ym Morganwg'; 308-09, a transcript of twenty- two stanzas of Welsh verse entitled 'Englynion Marchwiail' and attributed to Mab claf ab Llywarch; 314, ? an extract re the Latin language from a letter from R. Flaherty to E[dward] Llwyd; 315, a note on Llywelyn Siôn, the Glamorgan scribe [late sixteenth cent.], a note on the possible origin of the 'coelbren' and 'coelfain' amongst the Welsh bards, and a transcript of four 'englynion' ? attributed to Rhys Brydydd; 316, a list of the descendants of Caw o Brydyn, a list of the achievements of the Stradling family ('Gweithredoedd y Stradlingiaid'), a note on Mauritius Morganensis, poet and rhetorician, a copy of an 'englyn' written by Prince Llywelyn ab Gruffudd after the battle of Aberconwy, a list of 'Saith Brif Glaswrdai Ynys Prydain', and a note on the castles of the kings of Morganwg; 317, notes relating to Caerfilly castle [co. Glamorgan] and to Sir Gilbert Stradling (temp. Richard I) and the origin of the Knights of the Garter; 317 + 322, notes on Sir Edward Stradling and his connection with Dr. John David Rhys and Dr. Thomas Lleison; 320, a note on the teaching activities of Glamorgan bards circa 1700, and ? a list of bards at an eisteddfod held at Llandaf in 1564; 320, 328, 329, 334-5 343, 363, 392, lists of Welsh proverbs, popular sayings, etc.; 322-7, notes on Welsh poetic metres, bardic meetings, and the tradition re the original home of the Ancient Britons (Deffrobani); 330-33, brief biographical notes on a number of Welsh bards (medieval- eighteenth cent.); 333, notes headed 'Gosgorddiadau'r ser ydynt fal hynn'; 335, a copy of six stanzas of Welsh verse entitled 'Pennillion Morganwg'; 337, lists of Welsh names for the months of the year (see John Williams: Barddas . . ., vol. I, pp. 410-17); 339, a copy of an 'englyn' attributed to Wm. Cynwal; 357, notes on an oak tree at Cefn Mabli, co. Glamorgan; 360, notes on an 'eisteddfod' held at Y Pil [co. Glamorgan], circa 1740, a brief list of Welsh triads, and a list of troubadours and Welsh poets, ob. 1122-1300; 361, notes on Dafydd ap Gwilym and the 'cywydd' measure, Dafydd o'r Llwyn, an 'eisteddfod' held at Nant Conwy [co. Caernarvon], 1 Edward IV, and the confusion concerning the date of the 'eisteddfod' held at Carmarthen, 1451 or 1461; 362, a transcript of an 'englyn' attributed to Samuel Jones 'o Fryn Llywarch'; 363, a transcript of an 'englyn' attributed to Thos. Llywelyn 'o Regoes' and a few Welsh triads; 370, a transcript of an 'englyn' attributed to Thos. Lln.; 371, a copy of an elegy in Welsh with the superscription 'Carmen Britanicum on the Death of Queen Caroline per Ned Edwards of Talgarth . . .', and a note on a copy of 'Dr. Gr. Roberts Grammar printed in Italy, A.D. 1567, in the hands of Mr. E. Evans. . .'; 381, a version of the Lord's Prayer (Welsh) in verse, and transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Rhys Cain and ?D. o'r Nant; 387, a brief note on the building of Landaff Bridge and Rumney Bridge in the seventeenth century; 388, historical notes relating to Carfilly Castle; 390, transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to Huw Llyn, Wm Llyn, Siôn Tudur, and Dr. Morgan, Esgob Llandaf; 391, miscellaneous Welsh triads; 393, seventeen maxims headed 'Llyma ymadroddion Barddas o Lyfr Ieuan ab Hywel Swrdwal' (see John Williams: Barddas . . ., vol. I, pp- 270-75; 394, miscellaneous Welsh triads; 395, 'Gwyddor Dewiniaeth Gildas Broffwyd' (see Iolo Manuscripts . . ., pp. 195-6, 608-09); 396-7, miscellaneous notes on bardism, a few Welsh triads, and transcripts of ? two 'englynion' attributed to Siôn Tudur; 401, transcripts of two 'englynion' attributed to ? y Capten Middelton and Morys Cyffin; 405, an extract from a letter from Captain Wm. Myddelton to his nephew, and transcripts of 'englynion' attributed to D. Ddu Eryri and D. Davies, Castell Hywel; 460-09, a Latin-English list of rare plants to be found in various English counties; 410-12, extracts from the English version of [William] Camden ['s Britannia]; 416-19, notes on the Welsh bardic order headed 'Llyma Llafar Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain Ile gellir gweled Breiniau a Defodau Beirdd Ynys Prydain . . .' (see John Williams: Barddas . . ., vol. II, pp. 10-23); 422-67, miscellaneous notes in English on British or Welsh bardism, its organisation, ceremonial, connection with druidism and the Christian religion, etc. (there is considerable repetition in these notes, they possibly represent several drafts of parts of an essay on the subject of bardism); 468-70, a transcript of the title-page, advertisement, and part of the introduction to Charles Wilkins: The Bhagvat-Geeta . . . (London, 1785); and 472-3, extracts from [Edward] Jones: [Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh] Bards . . ., 2nd ed. [London, 1794], pp. 83-4. Also included, pp. 278-470, are lists of Welsh words sometimes with English definitions and/or illustrative excerpts from the works of Welsh poets, notes on Welsh words or elements in Welsh words, etymological and philological notes on the Welsh language, notes on Welsh grammar, extracts of varying length (one line, 'cywydd' couplets, etc.) from the works of Welsh poets, and a multitude of miscellaneous items of historical, literary, or bardic significance.

A composite volume compiled by Owen Williams, Fronheulog, Waunfawr in 1857. It comprises: I. 'Y Gronfa' (pp. 1-200), largely in the hand of David Thomas ('Dafydd Ddu Eryri'), containing an introduction ('Y Rhagymadrodd') signed 4 October 1790; an English translation by D[avid] T[homas] of two lines of poetry by Gwalchmai; 'Cyfieithiad o Awdl Sibli (Sibyl's Ode, translated by the Revd. Gor[onwy] Owen)' ('See the above, versified in D. Thomas's poetical collection'); etymons of Mr Jones of Llanegryn, Mr L. Morris, and D. Tho[ma]s; extracts from letters from the Revd. Gor[onwy] Owen to Mr Richard Morris of the Navy Office, London, 1753-67; Welsh poetry by Bleddyn, Gwgon, Taliesin, Cynddelw [Brydydd Mawr], 'Guttun Gwrecsam' ('sef John Edwards neu Sion Ceiriog now dead'), Rhisiart Jones 'o Fôn, Syr Thomas Jones ('Iechyd i Galon yr hen offeiriad O na bai Gant o'i fath ynghymru y dydd heddyw'), Hywel ap Reinallt, Llywelyn Goch ap Meurig Hen (with a translation by Evan Evans ['Ieuan Fardd']), Hywel ap Dafydd ap Ieuan ap Rhys, Thomas Celli, Tudur Aled, D[avid] Thomas, Owen Williams (Waunfawr) (c.1820), Rhys Jones 'o'r Blaenau', and Goronwy Owen; English poetry by Alexander Pope, John Dyer, and Thomas Gray; anecdotes and biographical notes relating to Gruffydd Hiraethog, William Phylip, Sion Tudur, William Lleyn, etc.; 'Athrawiaeth y Gorphwysiadau', being rules of punctuation, copied in 1809 ('not intended for public inspection'); observations in verse on 'Barddoniaeth Gymreig', for publication in the North Wales Gazette, 1818; a holograph letter from D. Thomas to Robt. Williams, land surveyor, Bangor, 1820 (plagiarism of one of the writer's poems, comments on the poetry of 'Gutyn P[eris]', results of the Wrexham eisteddfod); 'Sibli's Prophecy. A Fragment from the Welsh', translated by D. Thomas; 'A Discourse between St Kybi and other saints on their passage to the Isle of Bardsey ...'; epithalamia to Dafydd Thomas and Elin, his wife, by [John Roberts] 'Siôn Lleyn', [Griffith Williams] 'Gutyn Peris', [William Williams] 'Gwilym Peris', and Dafydd Owain ('Bardd Gwyn o Eifion', i.e. 'Dewi Wyn o Eifion'), 1803-4; reviews by 'Adolygwr' of 'awdlau' by Walter Davies ['Gwallter Mechain'] and Edward Hughes ['Y Dryw'] on 'Amaethyddiaeth' submitted for competition at Tre Fadog eisteddfod, 1811; and critical observations on Welsh poetry entitled 'Ystyriaethau ar Brydyddiaeth Gymraeg ai pherthynasau yn gynnwysedig mewn rhai nodiadau ar waith Mr. T[homas] Jones ['Y Bardd Cloff'] yn y Greal', by 'Peblig', Glan Gwyrfai [i.e. 'Dafydd Ddu Eryri'] (published in Golud yr Oes, 1863, pp. 118-23), together with copies of two letters, 1806, to the author from 'Padarn' [i.e. 'Gutyn Peris'] and John Roberts ['Sion Lleyn'] containing their observations on the views set forth in the treatise. Pp. 61-8 are in the autograph of Owen Williams, Waunfawr. The compiler has included a few cover papers from manuscripts of 'Dafydd Ddu Eryri' bearing such inscriptions as 'This Morrisian MS (with some others) I found at a Farmhouse called Braint near Penmynydd, Anglesey, Sept. 9th 1793. D. Thomas' (p. 123) and 'This MSS (with several others) has been bequethed to me, by the Rev. David Ellis, late Rector of Cruccaith in Caernarvonshire. D. Thomas' (p. 189). Ii. The works of Griffith Williams ('Gutyn Peris'), Braich Talog, Llandegai, - 'Sef Casgliad, O Ganiadau, Carolau, a Cherddi, Ac awdlau, a Chowyddau, Ac Englynion ...', transcribed by Owen Williams, Ty ycha'r ffordd, Waun fawr, Llanbeblig, 1811, together with a few 'englynion' by Goronwy Owen (pp. 201-48). Iii. 'Bywyd a Marwolaeth Godidog Fardd, Dafydd Thomas; neu Dafydd Ddu, o Eryri', being a biography collected and transcribed by Owen Williams, Waunfawr; 'Casgliad Barddonawl O Waith Dafydd Ddu o Eryri, Y rhai a gyfansoddodd Yn ol ei argraffiad o Gorph y Gaingc' (imperfect) (1 page), 'Englynion ar Fedd Dafydd Thomas' by Dafydd Owen ('Dewi Wynn o Eifion'), Robert Williams ('Robert ap Gwilym Ddu' 'o'r Bettws Bach Eifion'), Griffith Williams ('Guttun Peris'), Richard Jones (Erw), Wm. Edward ('Gwilym Padarn'), and [Owen Williams]; 'englynion' by 'Dafydd Ddu Eryri', 1796-1815 and undated; and extracts from three letters from 'Dafydd Ddu Eryri' to P[eter] B[ailey] W[illiams], 1806-20 (the death of the recipient's parishioners in Llanberis and Llanrug, the death of the recipient's brother the Reverend Eliezer Williams, the displeasure of 'O[wain] Myfyr') (pp. 251-84). Iv. A transcript of Cofrestr o'r holl Lyfrau Printiedig ... (Llundain, 1717) (pp. 287-452). Inset are three leaves containing transcripts of a letter from Edmund Francis to [ ] (the writer's health, the recipient's preaching engagement) (incomplete) and of a letter from D. Thomas ['Dafydd Ddu Eryri'] to [John Roberts, 'Siôn Lleyn'], 1810 (the sale of the writer's [Corph y Gaingc]). Written on the inside lower cover is a long note by O[wen] Williams, Fronheulog, Waunfawr, 1857, of which the following is an extract, - 'Myfi a gesglais gynhwysedd y llyfr hwn o'r hen ysgrifiau a ddaeth i'm dwylaw oeddynt eiddo Dafydd Ddu Eryri ac a delais am eu rhwymo yn nghyd megys y gwelir yma er's llawer o flynyddoedd yn ol ...'.

A commonplace book containing transcripts of a 'Humn Taken out of a prayer Book at Ty Isa in Llans[an]tffraid [co. ]', 'A psalm concerning the Glory of Paradize Writen Chiefely by St. Agustin', '[An] Ode for his Majestys Birth Day, June 4th 1765', a lease, 2 November 1761, of a messuage called Llan, parish of Llans[an]tffraid (incomplete), ? a programme of 'A Grand Festal Symphony at ye Weding of King George the third', epitaphs, letters, verses from Scripture, etc.

Twenty-seven holograph letters, 1739-1756 and undated, from R[ichard] Hurd [later bishop successively of Lichfield and Coventry, 1775-1781, and of Worcester, 1781-1808] from [Emmanuel College] Camb[ridge], Hatton Grange [Shropshire], and Reymerston [co. Norfolk], to the Reverend [? John] Potter at Doddington near Marshfield in Gloucestershire (1), and Batcombe near Brewton (23), Shepton Mallet (1), and Axbridge near Wells (1) in Somersetshire. Some of these letters are fairly lengthy without containing much factual information, being written in a philosophic and discursive vein, with a fondness for quotations from or allusions to classical authors. The two men appear to have been fond of writing poetry, and in the present letters Hurd comments on poems received from Potter and sends him examples of his own work including poems entitled 'Zelinda' (a maiden gazing at her reflection in a stream laments the transient nature of personal beauty), ' A View of the beauties of the country particularly those of Hatton Grange in Shropshire', 'A Soliloquy' (composed when travelling through Northamptonshire and reflecting upon the contrast between the miserable condition of shepherds the writer had seen and their idyllic existence in poetry), 'Verses wrote in a Pope's Essay on Man' (? composed by Hurd or discovered by him), and 'Ode on the Peace' (in 1748), a poem written whilst ruminating on Norton gardens, and a poem reflecting on aspects of rural life. Topics referred to more specifically in these letters include the writer's change of residence to Hatton Grange in Shropshire, the delightful nature of that neighbourhood, the writer's delight in reading Virgil, the loan of a speech to deliver at Emman[uel College, Cambridge] on 5 November, the style of recipient's letters, the mental image conjured up in the writer's mind by a description sent to him by Potter of his home and its neighbourhood (1739); the lack of letters from [William] Gould, an old friend, with comments on waning friendships, the connection between physical deformities or ugliness and an evil disposition, verses on Dr . [ ] Bowden written by recipient's brother (1740); the writer's attendance at a concert held at the Tons [in Cambridge] and a meeting with Will[iam] Gould, the appearance of Mr. [Christopher] Pitt's translation of Virgil's Aeneid in 4to volumes and the expectation of a 12° edition, Mr. Pitt's translation of 'Vida's Art of Poetry' [the De Arte Poetica of Marcus Hieronymus Vida, first published in Paris in 1534 and translated by Pitt in 1725], the content and style of Dr. [Conyers] Middleton's [life of] Cicero [The History of the Life of M. Tullius Cicero, London, 1741], a comparison of recipient's verses with those of [Matthew] Prior and comments on Prior's work, a letter received by recipient's brother in answer to a poem he had sent Mr. Pitt to compliment him upon his translation, 'Dr. [Patrick] Delany's life of David' [An Historical Account of the Life and Reign of David, King of Israel, published 1740-1742], affairs at Cambridge, a visit by Bob Hudson who had come to Cambridge to be ordained priest, a concert at Trinity College Hall [Cambridge] for the benefit of Signor Caporalli 'the famous Bass Violist' [? Andrea Caporale] with Signor Pasqualli [? Niccolo Pasquali] playing the first fiddle, the writer's interest 'in drawing up a treatise on Pastoral Poetry' (1741); an offer to the writer of a living in Norfolk worth about £70 or £80 a year and an arrangement with Bob Hudson that Hudson would hold the living for him until he was qualified to hold it himself, a visit to the patron [of the living] who had an excellent collection of manuscripts, medals and paintings, the appearance of 'the new Dunciad. It is believ'd to be, and certainly is, Mr. Pope's' [Alexander Pope: The New Dunciad . . ., consisting of a fourth book of the Dunciad, 1742], the writer's ordination in St. Paul's [London] by [Joseph Butler], bishop of Bristol, on letters dimissory from [Thomas Gooch, bishop of] Norwich, visits to 'the curiosities of the Town' including Vaux Hall and Ranelagh, an offer of a fellowship [at Emmanuel College, Cambridge] vacated by [Nathaniel] Smalley, further praise for the writer's patron 'the most general Scholar I have convers'd with' who had provided him with a curacy as well as the living [? of Reymerston], a fortnight spent with Dr. [Cox] Macro who had shown the writer his manuscripts including a 'paraphrase of his upon the Revelations connected all along with & expland from History', a loan of sermons which the writer promised not to preach anywhere except in his own two parishes of Reymerston and Gaverston, hopes of obtaining the opinion of Dr. Macro and the recipient on the Life . . . of David [see above], the writer's intention of 'looking a little into Italian' with Dr. [Macro] as his instructor, queries with regard to passages from Lucretius (1742); the writer's election as a fellow [of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, in 1742], the election of Dr. [William] George as provost of King's [College, Cambridge] and the disputing of the validity of the election by [Richard Reynolds], bishop of Lincoln, who was visitor of the college, the controversy between [Conyers] Middleton and the 'new made' public orator at Cambridge [James Tunstall who had been elected in October 1741] concerning the former's book on the life of Cicero [see above], recipient's remarks on 'Dr. Young's Night Thoughts' [Edward Young: The Complaint or Night Thoughts on Life, Death and Immortality, 1742-], 'Whitehead's paltry Epistle from Ann Boleyn' [William Whitehead: Ann Boleyn to Henry the Eighth, An Heroic Epistle (versified), 1743], a French novel called Marianne [? Claude Francois Lambert: La Nouvelle Marianne, or Pierre Marivaux: La Vie de Marianne], the first epistle in the writer's proposed work on pastoral poetry to be entitled 'Thoughts on Pastoral Poetry in ten Letters on the Eclogues of Virgil', Mr. [Christopher] Hand's new living at Aller in Somersetshire worth 'near 300 pounds' a year, the recipient's new curacy [? at Shepton Mallet], [William] Gould's ordination as priest and institution to the vicarage of Hoxen in Suffolk (1743); a legacy bequeathed to recipient by his aunt, the election of [Thomas Pelham-Holles formerly Pelham, 4th] d[uke] of Newcastle [upon Tyne, later 1st duke of Newcastle under Line and baron Pelham of Stanmer, co. Sussex] to succeed [Charles Seymour, 10th] d[uke] of Somerset, as chancellor [of the University of Cambridge], the death of the professor of divinity [at Cambridge] who was also master of P[eter] House [John Whalley, regius professor of divinity, 1742-1748, and master of Peterhouse, 1733-1748], the appointment of Dr. [Edmund] Keene [later bishop successively of Chester, 1752-1771, and of Ely, 1771-1781] to the vacant mastership, the expectation that the professorship of divinity would be given to Mr. Green of St. John's [College, Cambridge] [John Green, who was appointed and later became bishop of Lincoln, 1761] (1748); and the writer's presentation to the [Emmanuel] College living of Thurcaston near Leicester, a rectory worth 'between two and three hundred pounds a year' (1756). The letters also contain frequent references to the recipient's love affair and to his brother, who appears to have been a student at Cambridge and then ? curate of Reymerston.

A volume of notes, memoranda, etc., compiled circa 1650-1667 [?by the Reverend Archibald Sparke, incumbent of Northop, 1639-1656 and again 1660-1669, and prebendary of the prebend of Llanefydd in the cathedral church of St. Asaph, 1661-1669], with later additions in an eighteenth century hand. The seventeenth century entries fall into four main groups. Ff. 1-69 contain notes in Latin on theology, points of Christian doctrine, etc., which appear in the main to be based upon or extracted from the writings of St. Augustine. Ff- 70-83 contain meditations or reflections indulged in by the writer on certain days during the years 1652, 1654, 1655, and 1659/60. They are written in English and are occasionally followed by a few lines of Latin verse. Most are of a religious, moralising nature, some arising from incidents in the writer's everyday life, others being based upon recollections of ?historical incidents such as the quarrel and the subsequent duel between Sir Hatton Cheek and Sir Thomas Dutton, two of the officers under the command of Sir Edward Cecill [aft. 1st baron Cecil of Putney and viscount Wimbledon of Wimbledon, co. Surrey], commander of the British forces at the siege of Juliers in the Netherlands [in 1610], and the alleged use of the ribbon of the Order of the Garter which had been awarded to Prince Maurice of Orange by one of his grooms to commit murder. At times the writer's royalist and Anglican leanings appear to come to light, as in his references to 'King James of euer blessed memorie (Let the deuil and his helhounds bark what they can)', and to the 'new piles of heresie and schismaticall advancements' [erected in London]. Occasionally one finds a biographical note such as 'I am now . . . 47 years old . . .' on 21 May 1655. Ff. 114-59 contain expository notes on each verse of the First Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians as far as chapter 5, verse 11 (chapter 4, verse 18 excepted), the verses being mainly in Greek and the notes in Latin and English, whilst ff. 163-221 contain similar notes on each verse of the Song of Solomon, the verses in this instance being in Hebrew and the notes almost entirely in Latin. In most instances each verse and its accompanying notes is headed by the place name Northop (Northhope, Northhopie, apud Northhope, etc.) and a date (Sundays during the period November 1650-July 1652 in the case of the Epistle to the Thessalonians, and Sundays during the period September 1654-December 1656 in the case of the Song of Solomon). This possibly indicates that these were sermon notes, though, given the dates that appear, this would imply a series of sermons on consecutive verses of the two scriptural books in question on consecutive Sundays. Ff. 259-63 contain a list of texts preached upon [by the aforesaid Archibald Sparke] at Northop and occasionally elsewhere, 1662-1667. Included also in the volume are eight lines of Latin verse with the English title 'Vpon the ruins of the Cathedrall Church of St. Asaph, 1657' (f. 84), additional notes similar to those on ff. 1-69 (ff. 270-1), and meditations on death (ff. 110-11, which appear to be in a different hand). The eighteenth century entries on blank pages or half pages, etc., include a poem entitled 'A Begging Epistle In Rhime from a poor poet' mentioning [Alexander] Pope and [Matthew] Prior, a poem dated 1732 being 'ye laments of a true lover for ye death of a Lady', a five stanza poem the fifth stanza of which exhorts the readers to let Warburton be their Member [of Parliament], Manwaring or Bennet their mayor, and Kyff. Williams their sheriff [members of the Warburton, Bennet and Manwaring families feature as members of parliament, sheriffs and mayors for the city and county of Chester in the late seventeenth and first half of the eighteenth century], other miscellaneous verse, and incomplete drafts of letters mentioning cousin Bethel Whitmore and approaches to Sir George Wynn [?1st bart. of Leeswood, co. Flint, ob. 1756] with regard to employment. All references are to the modern foliation.

Notebook, 1719-1754, of the Reverend John Phillips, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, containing verses by various authors including himself, chiefly of topical and local interest.

A composite volume, the contents including: pp. 1-2, an English prose rendering of a 'cywydd' by Tudur Aled requesting a horse from the Abbot of Aber Conwy, the first line of the original being 'Gydag un a geidw Gwynedd . . .'; p. 3, 'Names of the Horse', a list of equivalents in several languages; pp. 3-15, 'Extracts from the historical triads of Britain' followed by several quotations and extracts relating to the horse; p. 17, a formal acknowledgement, 1794, from T. W. Wrighte, secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, of the second part of William Owen [-Pughe]'s dictionary; pp. 19-44, an English translation of the beginning of Llyfr y Tri Aderyn . . . by Morgan Llwyd (for an edition of the Welsh text see Thomas E. Ellis (ed.), Gweithiau Morgan Llwyd o Wynedd, vol. 1, (Bangor, 1899), pp. 157-89); p. 45, eleven verses beginning 'Mi glowais newydd digri . . .', and an 'englyn' beginning 'Dannod lliw'r manod ai Mîn, dannod Twyll . . .'; p. 47, a list of words headed 'New Holland Language'; pp. 49-86, vocabularies, notes on languages, etc.; pp. 87-110, a Cornish-English vocabulary (A-C), headed 'from a Mss at Mr Halsells wrote about 1710' ('30 years ago' deleted), as well as Cornish versions of the Lord's Prayer; pp. 111-18, a Welsh-English vocabulary; pp. 125-56, 'Egwyddor y Prif Gristnogion Neu reol y Bywyd wedi ei adnewyddu Gyda dull o wir dduwioldeb A'r modd i brofi ein buchedd yn gyfatebol', based on Hugh Turford, Sylfaen Buchedd sanctaidd . . . (Caerfyrddin, 1773), tt. 55-103; pp. 159-68, 'Awdyl voliant i Rys ab Gruffydd ap Howel ap Gruffydd ap Ednyfed Vychan o Von', by Einion Ofeiriad [sic] dated 1280, in the hand of Edward Williams, 'Iolo Morganwg', beginning 'Rhys ap Gruffudd fudd feiddiaw rhoddiawdr rhyssedd . . .'; pp. 179-87, a holograph copy sent to Mr. Thomas Roberts, Goldsmith, of an elegy entitled 'Awdl . . . goffadwriaeth am . . . Goronwy Owain sef Testyn y Gwyneddigion . . . 1803' by 'Eliwlod' [= David Owen, 'Dewi Wyn o Eifion'] (cf. Cymdeithas y Gwyneddigion, Awdlau Coffadwriaeth am y Parchedig Goronwy Owain . . . 1803 (Llundain, [1803]), tt. [9]-18); pp. 191-3, printed proposals, 1789, for printing A Welsh and English Dictionary . . . by William Owen; pp. 195-6, five stanzas entitled 'Peace' beginning 'The Song of Peace who would not gladly sing . . .'; p. 197, a broadside containing an elegy by Dafydd Ionawr [David Richards], Marwnad y Seneddwr Enwog, Thomas Williams o Fon Esquire (Dolgellau: T. Williams, 1803); p. 199, a printed notice of an eisteddfod to be held at Caerwys, Whitsuntide 1798, under the auspices of the Gwyneddigion Society; and pp. 202-47, a draft introduction by William Owen [-Pughe] to his dictionary, most of which is crossed out, together with miscellaneous linguistic material.