DEVONSHIRE GEMS.

THIS collection of Gems was begun to be forined by William, the Third Duke of Devonshire, and enlarged by William, the Fourth Duke, who was desirous of having the whole series engraved. He wished the engravings to be the precise representations of the originals. In his search, therefore, he was anxious to attain an artist, whose abilities were equal to the copying of the antique, and yet so much under command as not to improve any imperfection of the more moderate, or to fling on the more beautiful a cast of style, however admirable in itself, which the Gems did not justify.

Such a plan was necessarily attended with difficulty. When an artist has acquired a sufficiently extensive taste to feel all the beauties of a work, and to disrelish its faults, it seldom happens that he can induce himself not to remove the defect in his copy. Whether it is that he has an unconquerable antipathy to deformity, or that he fears lest the blemish should be attributed to himself, certain it is, he labours to amend it, It is the same disposition which urges his endeavour to heighten even what is beautiful; and thus it arises, that in copies by our best artists, we perceive a general resemblance of the original,

ginal, with a spirit, characteristic of their own peculiar manner. It is not surprizing, therefore, that some time elapsed before the Duke's enquiries met with success.

At length, about the year 1724, Mr. Gosmond, a Frenchman, was recommended to his Grace as well qualified to answer his Grace's expectations, and indeed the specimens, which are here collected, place his talents, as an artist, in a respectable point of view. They possess no inconsiderable share of breadth and simplicity of style, and have the further recommendation of faithfulness.

The Duke, as was natural for a liberal man, evinced his satisfaction by many offices of generosity. But these, unfortunately, met with no grateful return: perhaps they were even the very cause of ingratitude. For Mr. Gosmond conceiving that he had so strong a hold of his patron's good opinion as to establish himself in the family, relaxed in his attention, and by degrees entered into dissipation. The work now went on slowly, and objects of expence continued to increase on him. His calls on the Duke, therefore, were more frequent, while his claims for patronage were diminishing; and thus every day forfeiting the esteem of his noble employer, the Duke was under the necessity of declaring to him, when the ninety-nine plates were finished, that he had already paid considerably more than

the stipulated sum for the whole work, and, with the hope of obliging him to be more attentive, refused to answer any further demand till the work should proceed less negligently.

Meeting with this unexpected refusal, and fearing the impatience of his creditors, Mr. Gosmond secretly left the kingdom, and carried many of the plates with him. What became of him after his return to the Continent, is uncertain; enquiries were made, but they proved ineffectual, Probably, as no work bearing his name has appeared, he died soon after his return to his native country.

From this unlucky accident the Duke was frustrated in his purpose, nor was he enabled to make up a few sets for his friends, of what even were done; for either impressions of several of the plates were not taken, or if they were, they had been carried away by Mr. Gosmond. It does not appear what the number of plates left in the possession of the Duke amounted to. The Rev. C. Cracherode, whose taste and munificence are well known, could never obtain, though hẹ made it an object, more than

But the scarcity of these plates may be collected from the following anecdote in Mr. West's Catalogue of Books.

The Cracherode Copy has 101 plates,

"No.

"No. 2790. The Duke of Devonshire's Cabinet of Gems, by Gosmond, 39 plates, being "all that were ever engraved,

"Mr. Gosmond, a Frenchman, was employed by the Duke of Devonshire to engrave his "Cabinet of Gems, but when he had gone "through the few here collected, he ran away, "leaving some plates behind, and carrying the "rest with him. What plates came into the "Duke's hands he favoured me with proofs "from; another parcel was purchased in France by the Hon. B. Bathurst, and presented to me "by him, A. D. 1730.”

The numbers at the bottom of the plates refer to a catalogue in the Duke of Devonshire's Library.

The above account was transcribed with the noble Earl's permission, from Lord Spencer's copy.

This copy contains only 99 plates, which are differently arranged from those in the Cracherode Collection, and many of them also are differently named.

The sum given for Lord Spencer's copy was 401.

I know of no other copies, than the Devonshire, Lord Spencer's, that in the Cracherode Library, with that which is alluded to in the above note.

The

The copy which belonged to Mr. West, is now in Dr. Hunter's Museum. It consists of only 39 plates, and was purchased for three guineas.

CAMDEN'S BRITANNIA.

To many curious collectors of books the following list of the various editions of Camden's Britannia will be acceptable, and may be depended upon as accurate;

1. 1586, printed by R. Newbery, 12mo.

published with maps.

6. 1607, printed by G. Bishop, folio.

7.

1610,

G. Bishop, folio.

All the above-mentioned editions of Camden were in Latin. The first edition in English, was in 1610, and in folio.

This was translated by the indefatigable Philemon Holland, who was supposed to have been assisted by Camden himself. "Therefore," observes Mr. Gough, "great regard has been paid

66 to