made in Scotland in 1677. In Early Travellers I reprinted the diatribe against Scotland published by Kirk under the title of A Modern Account of Scotland, by an English Gentleman. Of the Journal itself I had met with no trace, till it was pointed out to me by the kindness of Mr CochranPatrick. Its first appearance in print was as the Appendix to the Diary and Letters of the Yorkshire antiquary, Ralph Thoresby.1 The Modern Account clearly showed through all its spleen that the writer had a better acquaintance with Scotland than most of the travellers whose narratives were given along with his own; and the Journal shows us how he came by his knowledge. Kirk was rather more than three months in the country, travelled as far north as Orkney, and all the while kept careful note of what he heard and saw that struck him as worthy of record. In writing his Account, Kirk merely threw into the form of general remarks what he had made note of in his Journal, and did his best to imitate the Perfect Description of the People and Country of Scotland, attributed to Sir Anthony Weldon. the Journal we have a suggestion of the same caustic humour as appears in the Account; but the strained wit and cankered spleen of the latter proves that it was deliberately worked up for literary effect. Of the two pieces, therefore, there can be no question that the Journal is much the more valuable and interesting. As a picture of the manners of the Scottish gentry of the period, it will be admitted, indeed, that Kirk's notes are a real contribution to the history of Scotland during the 17th century.

In

Ralph Thoresby holds an honourable place among English antiquarians; and his Diary gives us a delightful picture of a simple, upright, and genial character, whose sole aim

1 The Diary of Ralph Thoresby, F.R.S., now first published from the original manuscript by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A. London, Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830 (2 vols.).

in life was to add to his knowledge, to keep a good conscience, and to perpetuate in himself the image of an excellent father. He was born at Leeds in 1658, and was the second son of John Thoresby, a merchant in the town, who had served as an officer under Fairfax during the Civil War. Having received an excellent education in the Grammar School at Leeds, he was sent to London to be trained in the business of his father. From that date, when he was only in his eighteenth year, his Diary begins, and it was continued without intermission till his death in 1724. It was at his father's suggestion that the Diary was undertaken, and it was with the memory of his father that it was ever associated in his mind. His life was as uneventful as that of an antiquary should be. By the death of his father in 1679, Ralph in his twenty-first year was left with all the responsibilities of the head of the house, but in 1704 he retired from business, and "devoted himself to his Museum, his literary pursuits, and his religious duties." 1 His Museum, a collection of antiquities begun by his father and carried on by himself, as well as two books of solid value, prove that he used his leisure to good purpose. Among his correspondents were Bishop Nicolson, the author of the Historical Library; John Ray, the Naturalist; Strype, the Church Historian; Thomas Hearne; Bishop Burnet; Dr Edmund Calamy; Matthew Henry, and other well-known men of the time, whose letters to him make a collection of singular interest, and prove, moreover, in what esteem he was held for his character and attainments. In September 1681 Thoresby

1 Diary, p. vii.

3

2 The two books are-Ducatus Leodiensis: or the Topography of the antient and populous Town and Parish of Leedes, London, fol., 1715; and Vicaria Leodiensis: or the History of the Church of Leedes in Yorkshire, London, 8vo, 1724. Thoresby's Museum came to be known not only in England but on the Continent. It was sold by public auction in 1764.

3 Letters of Eminent Men, addressed to Ralph Thoresby, F.R.S. (1832), 2 vols.

made a short tour into Scotland, of which he has given an account in a few pages of his Diary. His journey lasted only eleven days, and he followed the usual track of the visitors of that time; but as his account of his tour contains a few remarks not to be found in any other traveller, it is given here as a supplement to the Journal of Kirk.

Of Kirk Thoresby makes frequent mention in his Diary. They were neighbours with common tastes, which cemented a friendship between them in spite of differences of opinion on politics and religion. It was Thoresby's intention to write a memoir of his friend to be embodied in what he called The Historical Part of his Leeds Topography;1 but he died before completing his task, and Kirk's biography was never written. From Thoresby's casual remarks, however, we gather that Kirk was a country gentleman, a Justice of the Peace, a staunch Tory, and of a sceptical turn on points of religion. From Kirk's own Journal we also gather that he was something of a toper, and generally a person of easy morals. Thoresby, on the other hand, was of Puritan descent and upbringing, and as keen a theologian as an antiquary. That his Nonconformity was not of the extremest type, however, is proved by the fact that in middle life he joined the Church of England. But that he was still a Puritan in grain appears in such a sentence as the following, written several years after his change of denomination: "Mr Kirk and I went with the ladies to a play (at Preston); which I thought a dull and insipid thing, though the actors from London pretended to something extraordinary, but I was the better pleased to meet with no temptation there."2

In the following passage from Thoresby's Diary, in which he records the death of Kirk in 1706, we have all that we 2 Ib., p. 391.

1 Diary, p. 465.

need to know for our present purpose of the character and opinions of the two friends and of the relations in which they stood to each other. "I had now read over the entire Bible, with notes, eight times since our marriage, and have in some measure made it the rule of my life, and humbly beg divine assistance to improve ordinances and providences. I was more than ordinarily concerned for the death of dear Mr Kirk; in his sickness I took a walk to visit him, and discourse with him of soul affairs (as we had often done about matters of learning and curiosity, he being F.R.S.), and was pleased with the motto I found in some books of devotion in his closet, nulla dies sine prece. I was jealous lest his uncle Layton's heterodox notions1 about the soul's dying with the body might have influenced him. But in his last sickness, he said to the minister, 'My faith, I thank God, is firm and orthodox, and my repentance, I hope, sincere,'a far more comfortable expression than the more positive (though often too groundless) of many others." 2

On the death of Kirk, the Journal of his Scottish tour passed into the hands of Thoresby, who gave it a place among the other manuscripts 3 in his Museum at Leeds. He thus refers to it in his Ducatus Leodiensis: "The Journal of Thomas Kirk, Esq. of Cookridge, an. 1677, thro' most parts of Scotland (a tour of 963 miles). N.B. This is not his waggish description of Scotland that was twice printed, but more solid observations."

"5

1 At page 398 of his Diary Thoresby gives an interesting account of this Layton's opinions.

2 Diary, pp. 464, 465.

3 Thoresby gives a list of these manuscripts in his Ducatus Leodiensis.

4 Duc. Leod., p. 543 (edit. 1715).

5 In editing the following narratives, I should say that I have thought it unnecessary to repeat notes which have already appeared in Early Travellers.