Letter 3836

[fol. 133] Oxendon Nov’r, 23. 1730 S’r I receiv’d yours but not till lately being absent from home. So I hope you will excuse my not answering it sooner. I am very well satisfy’d with what you offer for ye Collection and desire you to accept of ye order that I have given to Walter Corbett of Harborough Apothecary to receive ye Money of you himself or by his friend. I think myself much obliged to yo S’r for ye Respect you shew to my Father, And in order to let you know what additions he intended to his History, have sent you a coppy of some Memorandums which he left with me at his death with relation to them, which I think will give you better information then I can any otherways. They are as follows. As to my Manuscripts relation to natural history & antiquities, ye former as at present are of no great use, ye latter, particularly yt in quarto, entitled ye ancient flute of northamptonshire &c. I place a great value upon as being ye fruit of much labour, And so far approved by ye late Bishop of Peterborough, yt he has both personally & by Letter desired me to publish it. Further I do think it will be really serviceable & gratefull to ye world, but then yt shoud be at ye End of a second edition of my history. For which purpose it is only necessary yt that begining of ye third part which is to be found in yt Manuscript be wholly omitted, for I now find it is impossible to publish yt third part with sufficient exactness: Nor indeed was it published, woud it be of yt use as I at first thought. This being done it is requisite ye title shoud be changed; And I think it will fitly bear ye Title, Remarks upon yt part of doomsday book relating to Northamptonshire, with an Explication of ye Names of ye places here in Mention’d. Then to render a second edition of my natural History yet more compleat, I desire ye exemplar of it now by me wherein I have written Emendations & improvements of yt work may be imparted to my Booksellers, Wilkins & Knaplock, that they may reprint ye same from thence. Both ye History here mention’d and ye Manuscripts I have by me And with your permission will send them to you. And desire, if you please to give your self ye trouble, yt you woud peruse ’em, & make what alterations and amendments you think propper in order for yr being printed according to my Fathers desire. If you please S’r to let me know your mind, as to ys matter and I will act accordingly. I am S’r your most obliged and most obedient humble servant H: Morton