Such, then, are the facts, which, as they are chiefly drawn from Mr. Malone's own documents, demonftrate, in oppofition to his theory, that Elizabeth had neither confiftency in her fpelling, nor uniformity in her practice of orthography: If he had no confiften.y, how can a rule be formed, from that want of

(2) Howard's Col. 246; Mal. Inq. 114.

(w) Letter to Sydney, and Howard's Col. 246. (x) Inquiry, 113; Forbes, vol. i. 109.

confistency,

confiftency, to distinguish the genuine letters from the fpurious, by applying what cannot be fixed to what is equally unstable. If he were to take the word fovereign, as an example, whereby to discover fome inconfiftency, which might be fatal to the Spurious, what would he gain by his example, but a confutation of his own principles, after I have shown, diftinctly, that Elizabeth hath spelt that familiar word, in fix different modes ? He has, in fact, adopted your, fhall, ther, be, for; as words uniformly spelt by her; yet, have I fhown your, fhal, theyre, bee, fore, as direct contrarieties to that uniformity; without effaying to prove "this learned Queen, "who was mistress of eight languages, to be "fuch a dolt as not to know the true ortho

graphy of words thus familiar to her (y).” Truth ftrikes the hears and meafure from hist hand; yet does he continue to set out, with nimble hafte, but without a yard, his linfywoolfy, in open market. Candid inquirers often difcover, and establish uncertainties from a certainty: It was referved for our Inquirer, to

(y) Mal. Inquiry, p. 71: No; fhe, he, or they, only are dolts, who reason abfurdly from the plainest topics; who are continually asserting inftead of arguing; and who are, ever-and-anon, begging the question, which they ought to

prove

attempt

attempt the Herculean task of establishing the fame uncertainty from uncertainties.

Such, however, is the perfeverance, and courage, of the public accufer, that he is no whitte difmayed. He challenges all comers to fhow, that and was ever fpelt with a final e, as it is in Elizabeth's epistle to Shakspeare. "I never once found the copulative and," he affeverates, "fpelt as it is here, with a final e," though "from the time of Henry the fourth, "I have perused fome thoufand deeds and "other manuscripts (z)." This is, no doubt, a long life (from the time of Henry IV) of painful perufal, but not fuccefsful fearch! Among the black-letter books, which he has, carefully, collected, he has not, it feems, the very black-letter (a) book, which contains, not indeed fome thousands, but feveral ands with the final e. Here are two, in a short paffage: "Ande yf I have not that repentaunce, " even from the bottome of my herte, ande "belove not that I am forgeven for Chryftes "fake, as aforefayde (b)." Yet, our challenger, becaufe The Lamentacyon is not in his library, difputes the authority of this curious (z) Inquiry, 33.

(a) See The lamentacyon of a Chrifte agaift the Citye of London, for fome certaine greate vyces ufed Theri-Imprited iye yere of our Lord m. d. xlviii.

(b) Sign. e. iiii.

book,

book, which will be configned to fame, for having confuted this irrefragable critic. I will, however, quote a book, which he certainly has in his library (c). On the 24th of May 1517, the Earl of Northumberland wrote to the Earl of Shrewsbury: "Methinke I nede "not to be put to this business, if they would "have pondered the charge that they have

put of late unto me, ande the paymentes "that I have made of late." Yet, the public accufer will not be convinced; because this quotation is not from a manuscript (d). Now, then, will I convince him, by quoting a manuscript :-" Goode Mafter Stonley I doo "mofte harteylye requyre youe to have pa

cyence w me ande to concyder what ex"treme charge I have been at whyche forced "me to that I was lothe to breake w'. youe "off all men Gode by [be] they [the] juge "Nevertheles at halloutyde I will w'. godes grace fullye recompence youe fo in they [the] meane tyme I mofte hartely requyre youe to have pacyence.

"Youres afuredly, E: Duddeley (e).”

(c) Lodge's Illuftrations, vol. i. p. 22.

This,

(d) The manuscript letter is in the College of Heralds. (e) This letter, which bears upon feveral parts of this

inquiry,

This, then, is not one of the thousand manufcripts, which our critic has been perufing, from Henry the Fourth's time to the prefent (ƒ)!

He is equally pofitive, on the word forre ; a mode of orthography, I believe, unprecedented," fays he (g). Yet, he has frequently read, because he has often quoted, Fenn's Letters; in which he faw ferr and ferre for far; and Byffor, Byfore, wherffor, and wherfoir (b): But, he has not read, what would not have done him any differvice, as a

inquiry, was obligingly communicated to me by Mr. Craven Orde of Bloomsbury fquare, from his curious Collection. It is addreffed: "To my verye louyng friend Mafter Ston"ley." [Stanley-It is marked, on the back, in a hand of the time "The L. Dudley, C X, li-febr. 1572."-For this Lord Edward Dudley, who died on the 4th of July 1586, See Dugdale's Bar. tom. ii. p. 216-17.

(f) Nor, has our critic been perufing the ROLLS OF PARLIAMENT, wherein he would have feen the familiar copulative with a final e, and alfo a curious fpecimen of the English language, in Judge Rikhill's anfwer to the Commiffion of his liege Loord, during the year 1397: "Ande the fame day of Septembre, alle the matieres and "points before iknowe and confeffid be the forflaide Duk ❝ be his owne honde fully and plainly iwrete, deliverid it "to the fame William Rikhill." [ROLLS, vol. iii. p. 378.] (g) Inquiry, 34.

(b) Vol. ii. p. 204-234-244-70; vol. i. p. 21-27 -28-29-30.