*

13. Mr. LEMAN to JAMES NORRIS BREWER, Esq. *

"SIR, Crescent, Bath, Aug. 26, 1816. " I yesterday received your parcel very safe, containing three dissertations; one on the British Trackways, a second on the Roman Stations, and a third on the Roman Roads.

"The sources from which you have been obliged to draw your information have been so various, and so totally disageeing all of them with each other, that it is no wonder, spite of all your uncommon ingenuity to reconcile them, hat some confusion has occurred.

"For everything which regards the construction of Roman Roads, you may refer safely to Bergier's Histoire des grands Chemins; for what regards their Camps partly to King's Munimenta and a good deal to General Roy. As to British Trackways, I must refer you, unwillingly, to the slight and hasty Commentary I drew up, some little time since, for Mr. Hatcher. for his translation of Richard of Cirencester, and to which I added notes on the different Iters. The Map which is inserted in my friend Sir Richard Hoare's Giraldus I gave him; but it is rendered undesirable by a heap of strange names which he unfortunately added to the different roads. The only person who knew any thing about Roman roads was Dr. Mason.

"I have completed two Maps of antient Britain, the one with the British towns and trackways, as at the time of Cæsar's invasion, as far as I have been able to discover them; the other showing all the Roman Stations and Camps hitherto discovered. Were you here for a few days I would lend them to you; and point out, as far as I am able, what I think still wanting to complete them. I remain, &c. &c. THO. LEMAN."

14. "SIK,

Crescent, Bath, Feb. 11, 1917. "Do not fail to recollect that before the time of Claudius the Belge had extended their conquests northwards; and continued doing so until they were finally subdued by the Romans. Hence arises the difference between the accounts given us by Richard and Ptolemy; for the latter describes the site of their tribes as they were in Claudius's time. Thus the Hedui, who existed in Richard's account as possessors of Somersetshire, had been expelled by the Belge in the time of Ptolemy.

"In the Map you have sent me are the following omissions: the tribes Ottadini, Gadeni, the town of Bremenium or Reichester; of Deva, Chester; of Regentium, Chichester. I have made great additions to the one I return you. I have added on the sides all the towns mentioned by Richard of Cirencester; I have corrected the Trackways carefully; I have given lists of

* This and the two following letters have been obligingly communieated by that gentleman.

all the Celtic as well as Belgic tribes, and numbered them as I would advise you to describe them in the text.

"You will observe, and will see faithfully corrected in the engraving, the number placed before each Celtic and Belgic tribe; and you will observe that, to distinguish the one from the other, the Celtic tribes are written in black, with a blue line drawn underneath them (to prevent their being confused with the names of places), and that the Belgic tribes are in red.

"I do not know any means of marking accurately the limits of each tribe, either Celtic or Belgic, better than I have done in my manuscript Richard of Cirencester, of which I believe you have a copy. An attempt to do so on the Map would confound such boundaries with the trackways, and make the whole a mass of confusion. Were you here you might form another Map of the Roman roads, which would make your work more complete. Yours, &c. THO, LEMAN."

15. "DEAR SIR,

Crescent, Bath, Feb. 14, 1819. "I have been so thoroughly occupied with some family business, which has taken up the whole of my time, that I have not had it in my power to answer sooner your letter relating to the antiquities of Berks *. There can be no person who wishes better to your work than I do, nor who would be more ready at all times to afford you all the information in my power; but as to undertaking to write a memoir for this county as I did for Herts, it is totally out of my power, as I grow very old, and have so many other occupations which fill up the whole of my time that I really have scarcely a moment to myself.

"When Mr. Lysons was going to publish his short account of the County, I gave then to the Bishop of Cloyne the notes from which he drew up the statement published in it; since which I certainly have collected a good deal of additional information, which, if you pass through Bath, shall be at your

service.

"I hope that you will not neglect what is so much wanted, the genealogies of the families as far as you are able to collect them from the heraldic visitations of the county, for there is only at present the miserable work of Ashmole. I remain, your faithful humble servant, THOMAS LEMAN."

16. Recollections of the Rev. T. Leman by J. N. Brewer, Esq. "Pillerton-house, Warwickshire, Dec. 20, 1828. "I was introduced to Mr. Leman in the year 1816; and from that date until the time of his decease, was favoured with his

*This alludes to a work on the History of Berkshire, which was porjected by Mr. Brewer, but not executed.

occasional correspondence. In the year above-mentioned, I passed with him, at Bath, the greater part of a week, and received from him much valuable information in arranging the materials for my brief disquisitions on British and RomanBritish Antiquities, forming parts of the Introduction to the Beauties of England and Wales;' which assistance I have duly acknowledged in the preface to that work. I have two maps chiefly drawn by himself, and both engraved for my Introduction; the first shewing the situations of the different tribes of Britain, with their towns and trackways, as they existed at the first invasion under Cæsar; the second presenting a display of Roman stations and roads.

"The contributor to Parriana' justly remarks, that Mr. Leman's hand-writing was correct and beautiful.' It was, indeed, eminently so, as is sufficiently proved to me by numerous letters in my possession. One, alas! forms an exception. It was the last I received from him, and is dated Aug. 26, 1825. It is in some places nearly illegible, and the news of his decease too quickly followed. In it he writes, A most dreadful illness, which has confined me to my house, and I may almost say to my bed, for these last ten months, put it out of my power to reply more speedily. Besides the weakness consequent on such a lengthened illness, I have to add the irreparable and total loss of an eye, which precludes my reading and writing, except for matters of absolute necessity.'

"Mr. Hunter is equally faithful in asserting that, 'an elegance ran through every thing about Mr. Leman.' He was rather above the middle height; of a spare habit and genteel form. His features were handsome and pleasing, and his address that of an accomplished man of the world. Mr. Hunter observes, that he usually rode out in a morning on horseback.' If Boswell were collecting anecdotes concerning the deceased, it might not be superfluous to mention that he was rendered conspicuous (eleven years ago) in these rides, by a white hat, and the display of a pendent eye-glass in a golden frame much ornamented.

his

"It has been remarked, with some justice, that his manners, on a first acquaintance, would often too plainly insinuate, that he knew himself to be a rich as well as a talented man, and that he was disposed to admit to a freedom of association such only as were equally fortunate with himself. Thus, every person of title, or distinction for affluence, whom he named, was friend.' The untitled, or moderate in circumstances, whom he was obliged to mention, however great their worth or talent, were merely persons of whom he had heard, or of whom he might chance to know something, at a distance. It was curious to observe how this fantastical humour spread itself amongst his servants,—almost invariably the apes of their masI recollect calling once in the Crescent, and on inquiring

ters.

if Mr. Leman were at home? was thus answered by his man: 'No, Sir! Mr. Leman is out, and I do not exactly know where. But he is gone either to call on my Lord or some other Nobleman.'

or my Lord

"But littlenesses, like that above-noticed, were mere specks in the sun, and were speedily relinquished when he found that they obtained for him no advantage over his companion.

"Mr. Leman was, undoubtedly, an elegant scholar, and a man of great antiquarian research. He is, also, entitled to more estimable commendation. When the frivolity of his habit, as related to an affectation of grandeur, was overcome, he evinced a friendly ardour of feeling that could spring only from a heart intrinsically good.

"As regarded his literary capacity and attainments, he was shrewd and ingenious rather than profound and philosophic. His quickness of perception, and art of disentangling and simplifying abstruse subjects, cannot be readily understood by those who have not passed days with him in his library. I will venture to say, without hesitation, that no man had formed correct ideas respecting the early periods of British History until Mr. Leman directed to that subject his penetrating and ingenious mind. I have heard him speak with great praise of Mr. Whitaker of Manchester; but himself possessed all the masculine acuteness of Whitaker, without the fervour of imagination, which perhaps betrayed that writer, upon some occasions, into too great a boldness of hypothesis.

"Mr. Leman's inquiries respecting the roads and stations of the Romans, in their occupation of this island, were not less satisfactory than his disquisitions on British history. But here his considerable powers had, perhaps, a less genial direction. The patient investigations of the antiquary were sufficient for this topic, with little call upon the vigour and perspicacity of the historian. Himself and the Bishop of Cloyne personally inspected the whole line of the principal Roman roads in Britain; and their writings upon those remains are, consequently, invaluable favours to the antiquary. But they lived at too late a date for satisfactory remarks on many of the stations. I have heard him (half-jocosely) lament that they were not in being to lend a helping hand to Leland and Camden, whose opportunities were so much greater than we possess in these laggard days.'

"I cannot advert to the name of Mr. Leman's distinguished 'friend,' Dr. Bennet, Bishop of Cloyne, without paying the humble tribute of my admiration to that excellent prelate and amiable man. I was honoured with his assistance, in the same work of literary amusement that caused me to become acquainted with Mr. Leman. Possibly without so penetrating an activity of mind, he possessed a sounder, if not a finer degree of understanding whilst he could not be approached without a conviction of his profound learning, reverence for his virtues as a man, and applause of his accomplishments as a gentleman."

17. Mr. LEMAN to the Rev. SAMUEL PARR, LL. D. * "MY DEAR SIR, Crescent, Bath, Feb. 13, 1820. "I have the great satisfaction of being able to contradict the cruel report of the death of my beloved friend the Bishop of Cloyne, for at the very time the account of his loss appeared in the public papers, I received a letter from him on the morning of the 9th instant, and, as you are equally interested with myself in his welfare, I send you his own account of his situa tion at that time.

"The gout (he says) has been more tedious, as well as more severe this winter than I ever experienced. It is now ten weeks since I have ventured to cross the threshold, once excepted, when I drove out in the carriage, and was so much shaken that it did me more harm than good; and these constant attacks of pain depriving me of sleep and exercise, and coming upon me when I was beginning to recover a little my loss of appetite, and of flesh, has been very hard upon me. I literally do not think that I could have stood it if my niece had not been with me; and women, I have always agreed with you, are so careful and tender, and such excellent nurses, and so anxious to amuse one, as well as capable of doing it, that one of them is worth a host of male creatures.'

"Such, my dear Sir, is the private and confidential account I have received from my dearest friend; and, although it still leaves me greatly uneasy about him, yet I hope that the change of air, and a milder climate, may thereby restore him to his former health. As soon as he can travel with comfort to himself, I shall press upon him his coming down to this place, where I know that he will have every comfort and attention which I can give him.

"It is with great pain that I read the unpleasant account you give of yourself; and the influenza which has been laying waste all around me, has fallen upon me also with a very heavy hand; for I have been almost confined for nearly three weeks; I hope, however, I shall get over it, and nothing would give me greater pleasure then to have the satisfaction of seeing you quite well at Bath. I scarce know what I write, but I remain very faithfully your very obedient humble servant, THOMAS LEMAN."

18. "MY DEAR SIR, Crescent, Bath, July 18, 1820. "The loss of my dearest friend has so overpowered me that I can scarce see to write to you. By a letter I have this moment received from his excellent niece, I find he has appointed me his sole executor in England, which will oblige me to be in town

This and the two following letters are extracted from the Memoirs of Dr. Parr by Dr. John Johnstone, p. 486. They are particularly interesting as exhibiting Mr. Leman's affectionate attachment to his old friend Bishop Bennet, to whom he was sole executor.