A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE LITERARY WORKS OF JOHN BRITTON, F. S. A., &c., &c., &c. (FROM 1800 TO 1849.) BEING A SECOND PART OF HIS AUTO-BIOGRAPHY. BY T. E. JONES. + LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE SUBSCRIBERS TO THE TESTIMONIAL. MDCCCXLIX. ΤΟ DAWSON TURNER, ESQ., F.S.A. FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE PRECEDING AUTO-BIOGRAPHY. MY DEAR FRIEND, I owe you much, and now draw upon Posterity and Co., for an ad libitum sum from the Bank of Fame payable to you; and if the bill be creditably accepted, I have no doubt it will be duly honoured ;-for the credit and character of Englishmen are trustworthy to the remotest corner of the civilised world. Besides, Posterity is already more deeply indebted to You than I am, and ought therefore to join me in all the liabilities and responsibilities of the contract. You have entailed upon it many obligations and many permanent favours; and you are prepared, I know, to confer one more, which, if properly received and appreciated, will render you a creditor on Posterity to an amount, I will not say unprecedented in the annals of mankind, — but at least upon a par with its greatest benefactors. If the plan I have to suggest be carried into effect, your name and labours, in connection with Literature and Art, and with the County of Norfolk, will be honoured and revered "to the last syllable of recorded time." But first I must tell you why I have addressed the present letter, and wherein I am so deeply indebted to you. Your incitement,-your repeated urgency,-has been the primary reason for my undertaking the volume which is now submitted to your acute and discriminating criticism, and, through you, to that Public which generally pronounces a final sentence upon Authors, either to mar, or make their fame. Our connection, my dear Sir, was formed many years ago, and our intimacy has grown by time; having been nourished by mutuality of pursuit, and congeniality of feeling and sentiment. You have wrought to accumulate, not only worldly riches, but the wealth which surpasses that of gold; treasures of intellect, stores of the fruits of genius and talent, which never satiate the appetite, which never cloy, but are perennially young, ripe, and nutritious. In works of fine art, choice literature, and inedited manuscripts, your home and library are unrivalled. Thousands have amassed money,—have gloated over hoards of gold, -and have thus bound themselves to the demon of Avarice, who for ever preys upon their vitals; but you have sought for, and secured, a mass of mental treasures, which, always obedient to your call, are also subservient to the most urgent demands of curiosity,—to the most craving desire for knowledge. The twin-sisters, Art and Literature, have favoured you in a pre-eminent degree, by pouring continuously into your Treasury a succession of |