History was published, permit the print to be applied as originally intended. He was particularly fond of dogs, and animals of all descriptions; though I have heard him say, he never saw a partridge shot, or a hare taken, in his life. I was present when he was sitting for the portrait, and a very old favourite placed his feet on his knees; which being observed by the painter, he said, 'Pray let them stay there, it will assist the drawing.'

The late John Trotter Brockett, esq., F.S.A., who purchased the plate of Nichols, had prepared a life of Mr. Allan, which, it is probable, will be published by his son, William E. Brockett, esq.

The antiquary was succeeded at Grange by his son, another GEORGE ALLAN (born July 8, 1767,) generally known as "ALLAN THE MEMBER,' with whom, after the fashion of his father James, he had been on only indifferent terms. "It was my misfortune also," says the son, "to differ with my father for a period of three or four years, which I chiefly spent on the continent; but it is an heartfelt satisfaction to me to recollect we were reconciled some years before his death. I was not at his house when the event took place; but my sister informed me that her father executed a very short will only an hour before his death, on which occasion he said. I always promised my books and prints to George; but, as I leave little, and he will have enough, he must buy them, but you will not drive a hard bargain.' The late Mr. Todd, a very respectable bookseller, of York, was sent for; his valuation was satisfactory to all parties, and I am possessed of what I esteem more than if I had had a considerable legacy in money."

The younger George "was not more distinguished for his literary talents than for an elegant, accomplished, and generous mind, and the most bland and conciliatory manners and demeanour." The Rev. Daniel Watson, rector of Middleton-Tyas, had, while curate of Muggleswick, the tuition of Dr. John Carr* (a native of that place), who afterwards repaid the service by treating young Dan, the eldest sont of his preceptor, along with young George Allan,

* Carr's correspondence is full of "punctual pleasantry." "I think," says he to Allan, senior, "Mr. Hutchinson should be at the expense of purchasing from the Heralds' College, in London, all the Durham families recorded there. Such of his subscribers as have had fathers and grandfathers, would, no doubt, be glad to see themselves in the midst of so much good company as it is in Mr. Hutchinson's power easily to assemble. The Heralds' visitation comes down to about 1660 or 1666, but it would not be difficult (except, perhaps, for such poor devils as J. C.) to fill up the succeeding years with a suitable number of knights and esquires, all in their best apparel. If I were this moment in the church of St. Helen's Auckland, I should look about, before it went out of my mind, for a brazen ances tor, with an e to his name, Carre. Prior's Son of Adam and Eve' is a very good translation of Atavis editus, two words which I have adopted as my motto, conveying, as I think, no bad satire on family pride. However, after all, good blood is a good thing.

Carr was also chosen for young James Allan's tuition, and often had to acknowledge the receipt of salmon and goodly goose-pies, bearing evident marks of Darlington. When young George was at Chelmsford with the Durham militia, only a few months before his master's death, he wrote to him, and in a postscript added that Mrs. Allan's poor favourite Tom was dead, and that she despaired of getting a poet in the whole garrison to sound his praise. Tom was a cat that had often visited the doctor with them, and had travelled on the continent and elsewhere, constantly on their carriage. The old man once more took up pen and returned a poetical answer, full of good nature and playful humour. He died in 1807. He had a brother Joseph, who never attained any preferment higher than a curacy in Northumberland, and who died at Allendale, in 1806.

After old Allan's death, Carr had some correspondence with Gough, as to parting with the museum, which had been directed to be sold for the benefit of those to whom the personal estate was left, but the price offered by Mr. Fothergill, of York, not exceeding what young George himself, who was reluctant at parting with his father's collections, was inclined to give, he bought them all, and for a time they continued at Grange.

+He unfortunately died in 1783. His father writes in the beginning of that year to Allan, the antiquarian :-" I return George's exercises; very good ones. Dr. Carr takes great pains in grounding him in Greek. A hive of bees! Some Linnæus and Aldrovandus, or, perhaps, a Pennant, must be found for Dan; for the old trade of poring in hedges and ditches for weeds and insects still goes on. George is more usefully employed, and will

at Hertford school in the most affectionate manner. It may be mentioned to Mr. Watson's honour, that he resigned his vicarage of Leek on his appointment to Middleton-Tyas, from noble and conscientious scruples, and it is remarkable that the venerable Dr. Thomas Zouch, who stated this fact on his departed friend's monument in Bath cathedral, himself afterwards refused a bishoprick. Watson was the author of a very superior "Historical Catechism on the progress of revealed religion, &c.," of which thousands have been distributed in all parts of the world, and was intimate with all the head churchmen of his day. His correspondence was truly delightful. He died in 1804, at Bath, aged 86.

Young Allan took the degree of M.A. at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, after a brilliant curriculum in collegiate acquirements.*

In 1797, he proceeded on a continental excursion with his wife. His reasons are best given in his own words. "Some time previous to the year 1796, I had meditated a tour through the whole Russian dominions—to see at once society in its progress from a rude state to refinement, and to have it in my power to contemplate on the spot as well the splendid grandeur of a court, as the efficient means by which a government can extend its influence over such a vast and boundless empire. I had beyond this a strong inclination to look into the mysteries of the Greek church, and by attending to the general laws, commerce, manners and customs of such a distant people, I flattered myself I might have returned with some little addition to the knowledge I set out with."

Unfortunately at Memel he received letters of family importance, which precipitated a hasty return to England, through Prussia and Pomerania to Stettin. But the result was a charming MS. volume entitled "Travels and miscellaneous observations in a series of familiar letters written in the year 1797." His elegant language glides on in one unruffled stream, and depth of thought is everywhere mingled with extreme beauty of expression. In

soon be up to him. But trahit sua quemqua voluptas; and one man has as much pleasure in making mouse-traps as another has in calculating the return of the great comet.' "Dr. Carr has endangered his veracity by boasting of the improvements of his native country. It is our business to assist him. His words are, what do you think one of those very large sheep in the county of Durham, called Mugs, would weigh, put into the scales alive, with his fleece on his back? Talking on this subject lately, I endangered my credit, I am afraid, and wish for chapter and verse.' Get me well-authenticated intelligence as soon as you can, but without the trouble of weighing, from some of your most respectable gentleman farmers. A wager, at Lewes, in Sussex, once occasioned the late Billy Hodgson, in Bishop Trevor's service, to order a leg of mutton to be bought in Darlington market, and sent to Lewes; which convinced the infidels in Sussex, how much our sheep exceeded theirs in size."-Watson to Geo. Allan, sen.

"DEAR SIR,-A letter, not from your grandson, whose modesty prevented him writing himself, but from one of his friends, has given me so much satisfaction, that I cannot resist the pleasure I have in communicating it to you.

When he appeared in the soph's school, out of 16 arguments advanced against his question, he took off 12. And the moderator dismissed the combatants with these words :Domini opponentes, satis et optime disputastis: Tu autem; Domine Respondens, non sine magno acumine ingenii satis et optime disputasti, et in hoc tuo certamine, ut primus ordinis, tantum exemplum industriæ prebuisti, ut non solum de me, sed de tota academia tandem maximam mereris.

He being the first fellow commoner that ever appeared in the schools, occasioned a most astonishing audience, above 200. The compliment is equally great and just, and does him honour that will not soon be forgotten. I sincerely give you joy of it, and am, dear sir, your much obliged humble servant, D. WATSON. Middleton Tyas, March 11th, 1788. To James Allan, esq., Grange."

The severe James must have greatly delighted, for whatever might be the state of feeling between father and son, that between grandfather and grandson was of a very pleasant description.

+ Now possessed by R. H. Allan, esq.

The translation into English by A. Anderson Feldborg, of the "Great and good deeds of Danes, Norwegians, and Holsteinians, collected by Ove Malling," is thus dedicated :—

after years he chose Nichols's Literary Anecdotes (vol. viii) as a repository of most amusing memoirs of his father, and Carr, Cade, Harrison, Watson, Noble, and Heyrick, which were "freely and lightly sketched by his gentlemanly pen." "His light and elegant manner," indeed, as Surtees truly

remarks," adorned whatever it touched."+

Mr. Surtees says that he "is indebted to the kindness of many valued friends, for a large portion of the MS. collections already in existence relative to the county. Under this head his first acknowledgments are due to George Allan, of Grange, esq., M.P., for the whole of his late father's collections, enriched by the MSS. of Randall, and a large portion of those of Gyll and Hunter."

For the "unreserved communication of this invaluable collection," Sir Cuthbert Sharp, in his "History of Hartlepool," acknowledges his obligations to the antiquary's worthy son, to whom that able work is thus dedicated:"To George Allan, esq., M.A., F.S.A., Member of Parliament for the City of Durham; this attempt to delineate the ancient and modern history of Hartlepool, is dedicated with every sentiment of esteem and friendship."

Mr. Robert Harrison, one of Allan's memoralized literary heroes, was Master of Trinity School (where he had the honour to number the illustrious brothers Lords Eldon and Stowell among his pupils), in Newcastle, and a fellow tourist of the older Allan ; and afterwards lived in quiet competency at Durham. His dress at dinner was neat, a dark blue coat without a collar, but not exactly a century old in fashion. When he walked out he wore a triangular hat, and carried a cane with a large amber head to it. During his last stay at Grange (June, 1802, he died the November following, aged 884) a gentleman who had seen much of the world, and who had been introduced to Harrison, on getting into his carriage said, "Mr. Allan, when I was first introduced, I thought you possessed one of the most extraordinary pieces of library furniture I could have imagined, either of ancient or modern times; but, since dinner, I find in Mr. Harrison, if it were permanent, you would possess an ample library, if you had not a single book in the house."

He wore his beard in fashion exactly like that portrayed by Carlo Dolci in his famous Ecce Homo at Burleigh, and it was erroneously said that he let his beard grow out of respect to the memory of the Saviour, but the real fact, says Mr. Allan, was this-" He had been accustomed to shave himself: and that operation he performed, after having lathered his face, as he walked up and down his book room, with a book in one hand and a razor in the other, seldom looking at a glass. About the age of 78 his hand began to shake, and he employed a barber. This fellow often interrupted him when busy

"To George Allan, of Blackwell Grange, in the county of Durham, esq., Sir,-To your liberal patronage the following pages, principally, are indebted for their existence, and I cannot usher them into the world unaccompanied by my most grateful acknowledgements. But public testimonials, sir, are feebly expressive of private feelings;-my proud attachment lives in my heart, and will cherish every opportunity of displaying the zeal and fidelity with which I have the honor to be, most respectfully, sir, your most obedient, and most humble servant, A. ANDERSON FELDBORG. London, June 4, 1807."

*The Rev. John Noble, master of Scorton, to whom a handsome monument was erected by his quondam scholars in Bolton-on-Swale parochial chapel. The idea seems to have originated with Mr. Allan, sen.

I am indebted at almost every turn of this memoir to the brilliant effusions of his "gentlemanly pen."

Anne Harrison, of the city of Durham, late Hett, of Darlington, wife of Røb. Harrison, gent., late master of the Trinity House, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, d. 8 bur. 10 June, 1799, aged 82. Robert Harrison, of the city of Durham, gent., a widower, d. 29 Oct., bur. 2 Nov., 1802, aged 85.-Darlington Reg.

with his books, and often for two or three days together did not attend at all. I was with him one morning when he was anxious to walk with me to Bp. Cosin's library in Durham; and his patience in waiting for the tonsor being exhausted, he said suddenly, 'Let us walk, and my beard may grow on.' He permitted his beard to grow after that time, and often exulted in the comfort he said he had experienced in having dismissed the shaver."*

He constantly wore a close coif of black silk on his head, such as the serjeants formerly wore, and his profile strongly resembled that of Oliver Cromwell, and though generally known as Philosopher Harrison, and esteemed by the vulgar as a Magician and Atheist, he was a sound Christian, and the day before his death corrected a young lady who, by accident, was reading to him the wrong lesson for the day. His knowledge was astonishing, especially as a linguist and mathematician, and in alluding to any passage he could direct to any particular edition, and even to the page.

His historian concludes, "It is to me a proud recollection, that I enjoyed, as a young man, the familiar friendship of three such men as Dr. Carr, Mr. Cade, and Mr. Harrison."

The Rev. John Warcopp, sometime of St. Andrew Auckland and Coniscliffe, was one of the scholars intimate with the two Allans and Harrison. An unaccountable Bibliomania seized him after he was unable to read. Allan sen., once wrote to Harrison to say, as to some promised books for Warcopp; "It will make no difference whether you send a Latin Bible or the Pilgrim's Progress." On the cover of his will, deposited with the antiquary of Grange, was written in his own hand, "Where the tree falls, there let it lie;" and in obedience to the precept he was buried at Heighington, where he died in 1786.

In 1809 Bishop Barrington omitted the names of the Rev. Robert Spencer and Mr. Curry from the peace commission for some unintentional illegality in granting a publican's licence at Auckland. Much angry correspondence ensued, and Allan, remembering former days, rose as a lion. There is much fine offended feeling, conscious of equality in his manifesto. It reminds one of an emperor's diction :

:

"My lord, he who presumes to address your lordship is George Allan, of Blackwell Grange, in the county of Durham, Esquire, one of his Majesty's Deputy Lieutenants, a Barrister-at-Law of the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple of London, and Master of Arts of Trinity Hall, in the University of Cambridge. He is the representative of an old and respectable family of the same name; and, as is known to your Lordship, he inherits ample possessions on either side of the river that divides the two counties of York and Durham.+ It may nevertheless be a matter of surprise to many, though

* Harrison's propensities are whimsically hinted at by Allan, the M.P., in a letter to him from Memel.“18 Dec., 1797,—I could have made you a present of a pipe, as well as book, of which there is a wonderful variety in this part, but I recollect you have no contemptible collection at home. Here it is an article of most expensive luxury, and the exchange of a horse for a pipe is most common among intimate and sworn friends. I have myself smoked with a pipe highly ornamented and at least three yards in length. I could tell you something about beards also, but that perhaps will come with better effect when I get among the Jews in Poland."

"Mr. A. thought proper to commence his address in the above manner (though it may appear quaint or affected) both that he might avoid egotism, and that he might have an opportunity to inform his lordship in a note, that by statute unrepealed, justices of the peace are to be made of the most sufficient knights, esquires, and gentlemen of the law within the county. He by no means wishes to insinuate that the present bench at Durham is not as respectable as that of any county in the kingdom. On the contrary, he knows the justices to be boni et habiles, honourable men, and fully capable of the administration of their office. He has the modesty too to believe, they have not experienced any loss, in the want of his assistance, during the years his name has been omited in the commission. Whether the proceedings in his lordship's court of common pleas are conducted with the same decorum as those of the quarter sessions, he cannot tell. He remembers to have