written you a letter, at least since her Majefty's death. For this reason, your Grace will reasonably wonder to find a man wholly forgotten, begin a commerce by making a requeft. For which I can offer no other excuse, than that frequent application to me, by many worthy and learned perfons of this city and kingdom; who, having heard that I was not unknown to you, feldom failed any opportunity of preffing me to folicite your Grace, of whose generous nature fame has well informed them, to make a prefent of those antient records, in paper or parchment, which relate to this kingdom, that were formerly collected, as we have heard, by the late Earl of Clarendon, during his government here, and are now in your Grace's poffeffion. They can be of no ufe in England, and the fight of them will be of little value to foreign virtuofi; and they naturally belong to this poor kingdom. I could wish they were of great intrinfic value, fo as to be fold on the Exchange for ioool. because you would then part with them at the first hint, merely to gratify your darling paffion of generofity and munificence: And yet, fince they are only valuable in the place of their birth, like the rest of our natives, I hope you will be prevailed on to part with them, at the humble requeft of many very deferving perfons in this city and university. In return for which bounty, the memory of it fhall be preserved in that honourable manner, which fo generous a patron of learning as your Grace will certainly be pleased with. And, at their request alone, I defire your compliance, without the leaft mention of myself as any way inftrumental. I intreat your Grace's pardon for this interruption, and remain, with the greatest refpect, MY LORD, Your Grace's, &'c. LETTER LXI. To the Duke of DORSET. MY LORD, ΙΑ January 14th, 1734-5. Aм affured that your Grace will have feveral representations of an affair relating to the univerfity here, from fome very confiderable persons in this kingdom. However, I could not refuse the applica tion made me by a very worthy person of that Society, who was commiffioned by fome principal members of the body to defire my good offices to your Grace; because they believed you thought me an honeft man, and because I had the honour to be known to you from your early youth. The matter of their request related wholly to a dreadful apprehenfion they lie under, of Dr. Whitcomb's endeavour to procure a dispensation for holding his fellowship along with that churchpreferment beftowed on him by your Grace. The perfon fent to me on this meffage, gave me a written paper, containing the reafons why they hope your Grace will not be prevailed upon to grant fuch a difpenfation. I prefume to fend you an abstract of these reasons; because I may boldly affure your Grace, that party or faction have not the leaft concern in the whole affair; and, as to myself, it happens that I am an entire ftranger to Dr. Whitcomb. It is alledged, that this preferment given to the Doctor confifts of a very large parish, worth near fix hundred pounds a year, in a very fine country thirty miles from Dublin: That it abounds very much with Pa 4 pifts, pifts, and confequently a most important cure, requiring the Rector's refidence, befides fome other affiftant; which, being fo rich, it might well afford. That as to fuch difpenfations, they find in their college-books but three or four inftances fince the Revolution, and these in cafes very different from the prefent. For those few livings, which had dispenfations to be held with a fellowship, were finecures of fmall value, not fufficient to induce a fellow to leave his college; and, in the body of thofe difpenfations, is inferted a reason for granting them, That they were fuch livings as could be no hindrance in the discharge of a fellow's duty. That difpenfations are very hurtful to their fociety, because they put a stop to the fucceffion of fellowships, and thereby give a check to that emulation, industry, and improvement in learning, which the hopes of gaining a fellowship will best incite young ftudents with. That, if this difpenfation fhould take place, it may prove a precedent for the like practice in future times; which will be very injurious to the fociety, by encouraging fellows to apply for difpenfa tions, when they have intereft enough to That a junior fellowship is of very fmall value, and to arrive at it requires good fenfe, as well as long and close study; to which young ftudents are only encouraged by hopes of fucceeding, in a reasonable time, to be one of the feven feniors; which hopes will be quite cut off, when those seniors are perpetuated by difpenfations. That the fellows, at their admittance into their fellowships, take a folemn oath never to accept of any church-preferment above a certain value and distance from Dublin, as long as they continue fellows: To which oath the accepting of a dispenfation by Dr. Whitcomb is directly contrary, in both particulars of value and distance. That, at this time, there is a set of very hopeful young men in long and clofe ftudy, to ftand for the firft vacant fellowship, who will be altogether difcouraged, and nd fi Ι a I |