Redclift church, above three centuries ago, was made in tl e year 1768, at the time of opening the new bridge at Bristol, and was owing to a publication in Farley's Weekly Journal, 1 October 1768, containing an Account of the ceremonies obferved at the opening of the old bridge, taken, as it was faid, from a very antient MS. This excited the curiofity of fome perfons to enquire atter the original. The printer, Mr. Farley, could give no account of it, or of the perfon who brought the copy; but atter much enquiry it was difcovered, that the perfon who brought the copy was a youth, between 15 and 16 years of age, whofe name was Thomas Chatterton, and whofe family had been fextons of Redclift church for near 150 years. His father, who was now dead, had also been master of the free-fchool in Pile-freet. The young man was at first very unwilling to difcover from whence he had the original; but, after many promites made to him, he was at laft prevailed on to acknowledge, that he had received this, together with many other MSS, from his father, who had found them in a large chest in an upper room over the chapel on the north fide of Redelift church." "Soon after this, Mr. Catcott commenced his acquaintance with young Chatterton*, and partly as prefents partly as purchases, procured from The hiftory of this youth is fo intimately connected with that of the poems now publifhed, that the Reader cannot be too early apprized of the principal circumftances of hii hort life. He was born on the 20th of November 1752, and educated at a charity fchool on St. Auguftin's Back, where nothing more was taught than reading, writing, and accounts. At the age of fourteen, he was articled clerk to an attorney, with whom he continued till he left Briftol in April 1770. Though his education was thus confined, he difcorered an early turn towards poetry and English antiquities, particularly heraldry. How foon he began to be an author is not known. In the Town and Country Magazine for March 1769, are two letters, probably, from him, as they are dated at Bristol, and fubfcribed with his ufual fignature, D. B. The first contains fhort extracts from two MSS., "written three hundred years ago by one Rowley, a Monk," concerning drefs in the age of Henry II.; the other, ETHELGAR, a Saxon poem," in bombatt profe. In the fame Magazine for May 1769, are three communications from Briftol, with the fame fignature, D. B. viz. Cerdick, tranflated from the Saxon (in the fame ftyle with Ethelgar), p. 233.-Obfervations upon Saxon heraldry, with drawings of Saxon at hievements, &c. p. 245.-Elenoure and Juga, written three hundred years ago by T. Rowley a fecular priest, p. 273. This laft poem is reprinted in this volume, p. 19. In the fubfequent months of 1769 and 1770 there are feveral other pieces in the fame Magazine, which are undoubtedly of his compofition. In April 1779, he left Brittol and came to London, in hopes of advancing his fortune by his talents for writing, of which, by this time, he had conceived a very high opinion. In the profecution of this fcheme, he appeats to have almost entirely depended upon the patronage of a fet of genilemen, whom an eminent author long ago pointed out, as not the very worf judges or rewarders of merit, the bookfellers of this great city. At his fit arri val indeed he was fo unlucky as to find two of his expected Macenafes, the one in the King's Bench, and the other in Newgate. But this little difappointment was alleviated by the encouragement which he received from other quarters; and on the 14th of May he writes to his mother, in high from him copies of many of his MSS. in profe and verfe. Other copie were difpofed of, in the fame way, to Mr. William Barrett, an eminen furgeon at Bristol, who has long been engaged in writing the history of that city. Mr. Barrett allo procured from him feveral fragments, fome of a confiderable length, written upon vellum*, which he afferted to be part of his original MSS. In fhort, in the fpace of a bout eighteen months, from October 1768 to April 1770, befides the l'oems now published, he produced as many compofitions, in profe and verse, under the names of Rowley, Cannynge, &c. as would nearly fill fuch another voluine. fpirits upon the change in his fituation, with the following farcaftic reflection upon his former patrons at Bristol. "As to Mr., Mr. · ~~, Mr. &c. &c. they rate literary lumber fo low, that I believe an author, in their effimation, must be poor indeed! But here matters are other-wife. Had Rowley been a Londoner inflead of a Bristowyan, I could have lived by copying bis works." In a letter to his fifter, dated 30 May, he informs her, that he is employed "in writing a volumnious hiftory of London, to appear in numbers the beginning of next winter." In the mean time, he had written fomething in praife of the Lord Mayor (Beckford), which had procured him the honour of being pref.nted to his Lordship. In the letter juft mentioned he gives the following account of his reception, with fome curious obfervations upon political writing: "The Lord Mayor received me as politely as a citizen could. But the devil of the matter is, there is no money to be got of this fide of the queftion. But he is a poor author who cannot write on both fides.-Elays on the patriotic fide will fetch no more than what the copy is fold for. As the patriots themfelves are fearching for a place, they have no gratuity to fpare.-On the other hand, unpopular effays will not even be accepted; and you must pay to have them printed: but then you feldom lofe by it, as courtiers are fo fenfible of their deficiency in merit, that they generously reward all who know how to dawb them with the appearance of it. Notwithstanding his employment on the Hiftory of London, he continued to write inceflantly in various periodical publications. On the 11th of July he tells his fifter that he had pieces laft month in the Gofpel Magazine; the Town and Country, viz. Maria Friendless; Falfe Step; Hunter of Oddities; To Mifs Bufh, &e. Court and City; London; Political Register; &c. But all thefe exertions of his genius brought in fo little profit, that he was foon reduced to real indigence; from which he was relieved by death (in what manner is not certainly known), on the 24th of Auguft or thereabout, when he wanted near three months to complete his eighteenth year. The floor of his chamber was covered with written papers, which he had torn into small pieces; but there was no appearance (as the Editor has been credibly informed) of any writings on parchment or vellum. One of thefe fragments, by Mr. Barrett's permiffion, has been copied in the manner of a Fac fimile, by that ingenious artift Mr. Strutt, and an engraving of it is inferted at p. 288. Two other fmall fragments of Poetry are printed in p. 277, 8, 9. See the Introductory Account. The fragments in profe, which are confiderably larger, Mr Barrett intends to publish in his Hiftory of Briftol, which, the Editor has the fatisfaction to inform the Publick, is very far advanced. In the fame work will be inferted A Difcorfe on Briftowe, and the other hiftorical pieces in profe, which Chatterton at different times delivered out, as copied from Rowley's MSS.; with fuch remarks by Mr. Barrett, as he of all men living is beft qualified to make, from his accurate researches into the Antiquities of Bristol. 66 In "In April 1770, Chatterton went to London, and died there in the Auguft following; fo that the whole history of this extraordinary tranfaction, cannot now probably be known with any certainty. Whatever may have been his part in it; whether he was the author or only the copier (as he constantly afferted) of all these productions; he appears to have kept the fecret entirely to himself, and not to have put it in the power of any other perfon, to bear teftimony either to his fraud or to his veracity. "The question therefore concerning the authenticity of these Poems must now be decided by an examination of the fragments upon vellum, which Mr. Barrett received from Chatterton as part of his original MSS, and by the internal evidence which the feveral pieces afford. If the fragments fhall be judged to be genuine, it will ftill remain to be determined, how far the genuineness should serve to authenticate the reft of the collection, of which no copies, older than those made by Chatterton, have ever been produced. On the other hand, if the writing of the fragments fhall be judged to be counterfeit and forged by Chatterton, it will not of neceffity follow, that the matter of them was alfo forged by him, and ttill lefs, that all the other compofitions, which he profeffed to have copied from antient MSS., were merely inventions of his own. In either cafe, the decifion maft finally depend upon the internal evidence. "It may be expected perhaps, that the Editor fhould give an opinion upon this important queftion; but he rather chooses, for many reafons, to leave it to the determination of the unprejudiced and intel ligent Reader. He had long been defirous that thefe Poems fhould be printed; and therefore readily undertook the charge of fuperintending the edition. This he has executed in the manner, which feemed to him beft fuited to fuch a publication ; and here he means that this task fhould end. Whether the Poems be really antient, or modern; the compofitions of Rowley, or the forgeries of Chatterton; they must always be confidered as a moft fingular and literary curiofity.' The pieces themselves confift of eclogues, tales, dramatic effays, and other verfes; of which the following may serve as a fpecimen. The Gioflary, annexed to the Eclogue, is by Chatterton. ECLOGUE THE THIR D. "Wouldst thou kenn nature in her better part ? 8 1 lodges, huts. 2 cottages. 3 fervant, flave, peafant. 4 if. 5 a contraction of them. 6 naked, original. 7 nature. 8 liking. 9 might. The fenfe of this line is, Would you fee every thing in its primæval ftate. Woulde Woulde ytte here phrafe of the vulgar from the hynde, MANNE. Botte whether, fayre mayde, do ye goe? WOMANN E. To Robyn and Nell, all downe in the delle, MANNE, Syr Rogerre, the parfone, hav hyred mee there, We'lle wurke 1s and we'lle fynge, and wylle drenche 16 of Arong beer 22 The fweitrie 1 fonne doth hie apace hys wayne 26 talle. 10 wife-egger, a philofopher. 1 knowledge. 12 fporting. 13 an fwered. 14 aid, or help. 15 work. 16 drink. 17 a hood, or covering for the back part of the head." 18 guilded. 19 borders of gold and filver, on which was laid thin plates of either metal counterclianged, the prefent fpangled laces. 20 lord. 21 fultry. 22 car. not unlike 23 feed. 24 quickly, pretently. 25 gather. 26 grow. 27 fate. 28 a contraction of wither. 29 dried. See See! the fwote 30 flourette 3 hath noe fwote at alle ; The cravent 33, warriouse, and the wyfe be blente 34, M'ANNE. All-a-boon 36, Syr Prieft, all-a-boon, Bye yer preeftíchype nowe faye unto mee; 41 Attourné 37 thine eyne arounde thys haied mee, thee. Syke 50 is the waie of lyffe; the loverds 5 ente s yan [ Thou wouldit eftfoones 69 fee trothe, ynne whatte I faie;" Heare thou from me the lyffes of odher menne. dead, re 38 care 30 fweet. 31 flower. 3 equal. 33 coward. 34 ceased, more. 35 lament. 36 a manner of afking a favour. 37 turn. fully, with circumfpection. 39 dry, fun-burnt. 40 valley. 41 a fong, or ballad. 42 withered. 43 arifen, or arose. 44 blossomed. 45 difdaine fully. 46. difdained. 47 glory. 48 quickly. 49 burnt. lord's. "52 a purse or bag. 53 flay. 54 eafe. .50 fuch. $5 truth. 56 happy. 57 workest. 58 the hidden or fecret part of. 59 fouls. 60 full foon, or prefently. 61 car. 62 two. 63 2 bottle.... Barte |