***(1) Fairfax (Charles Brandon, dean of Down, 1684-1723) [Political and Literary notes], autograph manuscript, 7pp. excluding blanks, [c. 1716]. a. Laws of Ireland. In turning over some old books in the Tholsel office, they found says he an Old Paper Book. Is age then an objection against a Law? I remember the D of Buckingham in K: C 2ds time quoted an antient Statute upon a debate in the House of Lords, And my Lds says He let me tell you, Statutes are not like Women, they are never the worse for being old. There is a certain book in the World of Great Authority, & yet much more ancient than this bylaw. The book I mean is the Bible; which I am informed is the oldest book in being; & yet there are very good Laws in it. Tho if some people had them in their Power, perhaps theyd repeal them. But then this bylaw was writt upon Paper & it might be writ with ink for ought I know. But is it ever the worse for that? Parchment may perhaps be necessary to the making of an Act of Parliament; but a poor bylaw of a Corporation may be forc'd to take up with Paper. Well but the City of Dublin he says had not heard of it for an age past. Supposing this was true; yet the constant Practise, as we have shewn was agreeable to it. And can there be a better argument of its Excellence, tho it were written on Paper, than to have it obayd like the law of Nature written upon Mens Hearts. The Recorder likewise declard upon Tryal, that he never heard of it. Now I must own it's a misfortune to any City to have its recorder know nothing of its Laws; but we can no more help that, than we could help many other strange things which have lately happened. Were every Lawyer's Ignorance of a Law an Argument against it, the Laws of the Land might be in as much danger as those of the Corporation. (1) b. An Attack on John Oldmixon (historian and political pamphleteer, author of a biography of Maynwaring 1715, 1672/3-1742) [c. 1715]. The Life of Maynwaring. This Author says of his Friends Grandfather that he was a Man of Gallantry, Mrs Turner who was in the Intrigue with the Countess of Essex to poyson Sr Thomas Overbury, for which she was hangd at Tyburn, being a known Mistress of his. That Mrs Turner gave him love powders which enflamd this man of Gallantry so that he rode fifteen miles thro a storm of Rain & Thunder to his Mistress's House p. 3. This out of the way account is given I suppose to prepare us for that of Mr Maynwaring's Amour with Oldfield [Anne Oldfield, actress, mistress of Maynwaring (1683-1730)], to shew us that his antient Family have been debauched or to use a genteeler World, Men of Gallantry in all Ages, & that Arthur did no more than his Grandfather did before him p. 43. speaking of the amour with Oldfield He says. I mean that famous & excellent Actor (a very improper place this to make Mrs Oldfield a Man in) whom Mr Maynwaring lovd for about eight or nine years before his Death & with a passion that could hardly have been stronger had it been both her & his First love. He might would have avoided this reflexion, upon the Lady, & have expressed as well the Violence of this Passion if he had he sayd Had He like his Grandfather taken Philtres. But it seems this Author has no regard for the Mistress's. He gives us to understand that Old field was Common, & tells us that Turner was hanged. What pity is that the History of the Duke of Marlborough's Campaigns was taken out of the Hands of this Judicious writer, an Injustice he complains of in his Preface p13. How would he have embellisht it with Amorous disgressions, & shewing his there to be a Man of Gallantry. He would have run back to young Intrigues with the D of C & brought them down to his Graces Passion for Miss Santloe that famous & excellent Dancer. And tho no body knows of his Graces Grandfather as to say weather or no the He kept the, the Author might wonderfully have diverted his reader, by stepping a little aside into another branch of the Family & giving us some account of the Dukes Mother in Law good Mrs Sarah Jennings. (1) c. Addison (Joseph, (writer and politician, friend of Swift, Pope and Maywaring, c. 1672-1719) 2 Extracts from the Whig Examiner, with several corrections or emendations from the printed text. "A Figure which was unknown to the Antients, & may be calld an AntiClimax. At instance of which we have in the Conduct- where it is sayd that Britain may expect to have only this glory left her that she has provd a Farm to Holland [crossed out], the Bank, a Province to Holland & jest to the whole world. I never met , says Man- upon it, so sudden a downfall in so promising a sentence a jest to the whole world gives such an unexpected Turn to this unhappy sentance that I was heartily troubled & surprizd to meet with it. I do not remember in all my readings to have met with more than two Couplets of verses that have been written in this Figure, the first are thus quotes by Dryden Not only London Ecchoes with thy fame But also Islington has heard the same." - Whig Examiner. No. 2, Thursday 21 September 1710. (1) d. Halifax (Charles Montagu, earl of, Whig politician, 1661-1715) "In Thames, the Ocean's darling England's Pride; Twixt Him, the fierce Rhine & the impetuous Seyne" [first and last lines]. Ld Halifax upon the death of King Charles the first Poem of his Lordships, which like the opening & dawning of a fine day has severall beautifull streaks of light in it, tho not equally clear & bright in every part of it." Charles Brandon Fairfax, third son of Brian Fairfax (1633-1711), scholar and courtier. Fairfax was appointed Dean of Down in 1722, perhaps due to the patronage of the duke of Grafton or alternatively, Edward Southwell, the owner of Down and a fellow graduate of Christ Church, Oxford. The various notes, at first sight disparate are perhaps all connected to Addison as they are consonant with his political opinions. Two pieces in the notes are from Addison's contribution to the Whig Examiner and it is probable that Fairfax knew him, certainly his brother Brian Fairfax the younger (1676-1749) knew Addison and subscribed to his collected works. Addison as secretary to Lord Wharton, Lieutenant of Ireland served for a short time as a member of the Irish House of Commons. Addison was a friend of Maynwaring but Pope in an edition of his collected works records how he fell out with John Oldmixon, perhaps because of Addison's attack on Grub Street biographies in the Freeholder (20 April 1716). In the last instance, one of Addion's patrons was Charles Montagu, Lord Halifax (1661-1715), politician. (2) Down. Notes taken out of ye... Erection of the Cathedral & Charter of Down 7 Jac. 1, manuscript in English and Latin, 2pp., folds, browned, [c. 1720s]. Extracts from the charter of James I establishing the Cathedral of Down, seemingly consisting of those clauses concerning the powers of the dean and chapter and probably compiled for Fairfax's benefit. (3) Sir Henry Spillman in his glossary reckneth Sr Guy Fairfax amongst the Chiefe Justices of the kings Bench, but is Mistaken..., manuscript, 1p., [late seventeenth/early eighteenth century]. (4) Williams (Thomas, ?student) Notes on biblical commentaries, manuscript, 4pp., signed by Williams and corrected "Bene DW" , folds, browned, [early eighteenth century]. (5) Schulz (Andrea) De origine Bohemorum, manuscript, 20pp., [eighteenth century]. (6) Religious notes, 2 manuscripts in Latin, in 2 hands, [eighteenth century]. .
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Books, Manuscripts, Paintings, Drawings
5:00 AM PT - Oct 16th, 2008
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Bloomsbury Auctions
Mayfair, London, W1 S1PP
