letter, of which a rumour had got abroad, the Duchess of Portland made a long search for among her father’s papers, but it was not to be found. Soon after his death, Mr. West was brought into Parliament for the borough of St. Albans by the Duchess of Marlborough, and it was generally supposed that his giving up the original letter, in Lord Oxford’s handwriting, to her grace was the price of his seat. And not being found among the Harley papers appears to justify such an opinion.
“When Mr. West died, the Duchess of Portland, desirous to recover such other papers of her father as this gentleman had secreted, sent to the widow, offering any reasonable price for them, if that were an object: but she did not like to furnish proof of her husband’s criminal conduct, and refused. However, some years afterwards they were sold by Mr. West’s daughter to Lord Shelburne (now Marquis of Lansdown) for a thousand pounds.”
In pursuit of materials for Shakspeare, it will not be supposed his native town was overlooked. The date of the critic’s first trip thither does not appear, nor were visits thither at any time frequent. His inquiries were chiefly epistolary, addressed to the vicar, the Rev. Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Davenport, whose patience and politeness in reply appear to have been exemplary. Nineteen long letters were written to him on this fertile and favourite theme, from the commencement of the correspondence in April 1788, to the publication of the edition in 1790; twelve in 1793; and several others at intervals, making together, thirty-six. To the
