¹ In the Life of Thomas Chatterton, by E. H. W. Meyerstein (1930), chapter xix, the reader will find the narrative of Percy's adventure into the controversy lightly sketched. But as the author is writing the life of Chatterton and not of Percy, he naturally treats the matter with minimum attention to Percy. One or two recent essays have touched on this topic, but so far no serious attempt has been made to print all the documents in full, and to follow up all the clues in this story of detection and mystery.

² At a meeting of the Literary Club, March 26, 1773, “Lord Charlemont read the Bristol Poetry” (Percy's Diary).

³ Boswell's Johnson (ed. Hill), iii, 50.

⁴ See Catcott MSS. (Bristol Public Library).

⁵ Nichols' Illustrations of 18th Century Literary History, iv, 573. Letter dated Jan. 13, 1772, Northumberland House.

⁶ Percy's letter to Lord Dacre, Sept. 6, 1773, printed in full below.

⁷ Ibid.

⁸ Letter to Percy, 1789. See below. Cf. Johnson's Letters (ed. Hill), i, 285.

⁹ Some of the Rowleians made great capital out of the disappearance of the supposed “original” parchments, by challenging their antagonists to find them and prove Chatterton's originals false. Cf. “Observations” on Rowley Poems, by Hickford and Fell, 1782.

¹⁰ Quoted by Sir Ernest Clarke in his New Lights on Chatterton (1914), p. 10, from the original in possession of a descendant of Chambers.

¹¹ Percy's letter to Chambers, Apr. 29, 1790. (See below for whole letter.)

¹² Nichols' Illustrs. viii, 213.

¹³ See below for whole letter.

¹⁴ “I am much obliged to you, dear Sir, for this communication, which is a complete vindication of the Bishop of Dromore. As to Rowley, when Dr. Glynn is gone, he will be as much abandoned as King Arthur.” Walpoles' letter to Dr. Lort, June 5, 1790.

¹⁵ Letter from M. Lort to Percy, June 16, 1790, in Nichols' Illustrs. vii, 510.—Nichols adds a note to the effect that Chambers' letter was not, after all, published in the European Magazine.

¹⁶ “Larger manuscript” crossed out. See below.

¹⁷ “Smaller manuscript” crossed out.

¹⁸ “Larger” crossed out.

¹⁹ As first written, “Parchments themselves”: Percy must have made these corrections after receiving Chambers' letter of Nov. 9, 1789, and getting back his own letter to Dacre. See note at end.

²⁰ “Larger manuscript” crossed out. See above.

²¹ “Parchments” crossed out.

²² Ibid.

²³ Ibid.

²⁴ Ibid.

²⁵ Ibid.

²⁶ Ibid.

²⁷ “Execution” crossed out, at first writing.

²⁸ The italics here are my own.

The text of the third unpublished letter, that of Percy to Chambers in 1790, I am able to append through the kindness of Mr. Dobell, who allowed me to make a copy of it from the original in his possession (December 10, 1926).

²⁹ For an excellent list of the host of books and pamphlets published during the Rowley Controversy, see “Chattertoniana” by Hyett and Bazeley (Reprinted from A Bibliographers' Manual of Gloucestershire Literature, 1914), also B. M. Catalogue, C. 39 f and h. I have not yet succeeded in finding this particular pamphlet.

³⁰ “Poems, supposed to have been written at Bristol by Thomas Rowley and others.—The Third Edition: To which is added An Appendix containing some Observations upon the language of these Poems; tending to prove that they were written, not by any Ancient Author but entirely by Thomas Chatterton—1778” (by Tyrwhitt).

³¹ The Life of Thomas Chatterton, Criticisms on his Genius and Writings, and A Concise View on the Controversy concerning Rowlev's Poems. Bv G. Gregory, D.D., 1789.

³² New Lights on Chatterton, pp. 16–20.

³³ Cf. Many letters addressed to him on the subject. Nichols, op. cit., vol. viii.

³⁴ New Lights etc., p. 22.

³⁵ Here Percy's Secretary, at his master's dictation has written in: “ (in his Hist. of Eng. Poetry).” The hand of Meredith Darby (cf. Diary & other MSS.).

³⁶ P. 139.—Page references are to the first edition.

³⁷ Cf. “For the Characters uniformly resemble the writing of no Era whatever, nor are in any degree uniform and consistent with themselves. … (He) had a very imperfect random guess at the old Alphabets.” (Percy's Report to Lord Dacre, 1773. See above.)

³⁸ “With regard to the Parchment itself, it is evidently stained yellow on the back with Oker, to look like old parchment … if you rub the back with a wet white handkerchief it will be stained with the Oker” (ibid.).

³⁹ “He hath also contrived an Ink … that should be very faint and yellow: etc.” (ibid.).

⁴⁰ Letter to Percy, Jan. 25, 1776. (See above.)

⁴¹ History of English Poetry, ii, 157.

⁴² Letter to Percy, Jan. 25, 1776. (See above.)

⁴³ Letter to Lord Dacre, 1773. (See above.)