For all these mercies, just returns from me In brighter mansions may I have my share, Febr. 12°. die meo natali. 5 10 PREFACE. WHEN I first entered upon these inquiries, I had little thoughts of giving an account of the foundation of the college. A worthy friend of mine, who designed a view of Yorkshire, having 5 sent to me above twenty years ago, to desire an account of our Yorkshire benefactors, I complied with his request not very unwillingly, thinking I had nothing more to do than to transcribe the commemoration book, or at most to consult the 10 bursar's books. After I had done this, I was not satisfied, finding (as I thought) that they were both defective, and not well agreeing with one another. This put me upon a further search, and being desirous not to deceive my friend, I sought 15 for access to the treasury, that was then not very easy for me to come at, but having made my way to it with some difficulty, I found my suspicions were not groundless; I could then easily discover several mistakes, and particularly that 20 Bishop Fisher and some other private founders had not been duly regarded; and observing this, I begun to suspect that since there were such mistakes in these, the rest of our accounts might be equally authentic. And so indeed I found them: I first thought that nothing was more unquestionable than that Alan Percy was our first master, and that Robert Shorton, though he were sometimes named as master, yet had been some inconsiderable man, and had 5 had little share in the affairs of the house; I was amazed to find him not only named as master in the charter of the foundation, but in auditrolls, college books, in the several computuses for building the college, in several public instru- 10 ments and in the public register of the university, and in all these, before Alan Percy had any thing to do with the affairs of the house; and that Mr Percy, who had made so great a noise, had left us little more than the reputation 15 of his name, which, bating his family, was not great. My first thoughts were that the College was opened about the year 1508. It was very surprising to me to find it was not founded till the 20 year 1511 and was not opened till the year 1516; and I could hardly have believed it, had I not viewed the original charter of the foundation, as well as the original instrument of opening the college, and could almost have suspected the 25 latter, it being so negligently preserved, had I not found it entered upon the college register in the treasury and attested by a public notary. This still led me to further inquiries, and these inquiries usually ended in further discoveries, so 30 many, that I at last persuaded myself to think of giving a more authentic, though yet very imperfect account of these matters. When I had made some progress therein, I had intimation given me of a complete history of St John's college, wrote by Dr M., suppressed for some time for no very weighty reasons, but intended to be delivered to the society at a certain period. This, as it gave me a curiosity to see it, so it raised an expectation of somewhat very complete and perfect, and such as might supersede all my small endeavours, Dr M. having had 10 better opportunities and much greater abilities, than I can pretend to. At length I procured a sight of it by the assistance of a very worthy friend, but was as much disappointed as before. I found he had gone little further than his own 15 office (for he was a bursar), that he had delivered nothing but common things, and had swallowed down all the common mistakes. It was strange to me, that a man that had such free access to the treasury should never have seen the original 20 charter of the foundation, the act or instrument of opening the college, the several compositions with the bishop of Ely and other public instruments and scattered papers, without which a man must eternally wander and can deliver little where25 on we can depend. And yet so it was; he had either seen nothing of this kind, or if he had seen it, had never perused it, or what would be much more unaccountable, after perusal has deserted his only sure guides, to follow a cloud. And yet 30 having done this, and confirmed so many common mistakes by a fresh authority, it was the more necessary to discover his errors, lest they should gather new strength by the reputation of his name. Upon these motives and occasions I undertook this design, and went through with it in the year 1707, as low as Dr Tuckney. Since that I have met with Mr Strype's papers and several other considerable helps, and some others I have 5 in view, that would help to perfect such a design: nor do I want inclination to prosecute it, were my health less uncertain, had I such opportunities as I could wish for, or were not the expense such, to do it to purpose, as suits ill with my circum- 10 stances. For which reasons I am very doubtful whether I shall ever review and enlarge it, as I once intended, though I am much more capable of doing it now than I was some years ago. If I should not, I shall leave room for future 15 endeavours, and to those that come after; if every one will add somewhat to what I have done, it may be a complete work in time. As it is, I am sensible enough it is very imperfect, and yet with all its defects, I think I may say without 20 vanity, I could have wrote a history of England with as little trouble, I am sure with less difficulty, than I have wrote this imperfect essay'. In such a work there is little more to be done, than to copy from others; whereas in this, I have copied 25. from none, but have corrected many, and sometimes where I have not named them. Should I ever go further, as I have already done some right to the bishop of Rochester, so I owe the like to my lord Burghley, who, as 30 he was a true friend to the university, so particularly he was a constant patron and protector 1 without...essay, struck out in MS. |