Thomas Hollis in His Dorsetshire Retirement

Thomas Hollis in his Dorsetshire retirement

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Citation Robbins, Caroline. 1975. Thomas Hollis in his Dorsetshire retirement. Harvard Library Bulletin XXIII (4), October 1975: 411-428.

Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37364384

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XE OF TM F: J JRA~-r "POPtJr.ous of Eng}jsh cou n tics, Dorsctsl1 ire enjoys delicious seener)\ dcscrlJcd by \YriIJja111 l1 jrr~ first Earl of Ch~thn.n1 ( 1708-177 8),. as ' 1l~iJI, dale~,vood and ,vatcr~ happjly n1ing1ed." 1 Its southern coast is fringed ,vith flo,1;rery cliffs. Lirg-cr to\vns :.:\ref e\·v, and sn1all corn pared ,vith those of n1Rny nth er areas. \I illages, of ten h~vjng .channing churches like

the Norn1a11 edifice at Sutton Dinghnn11 and hospitable inns like the Fox nt Corscon1bc and the l(ing,s Arnis nt Pudd}cto,vn, serve scattered habir::itioJlS+An ancient ridgc,vay spans the shire fron1 the Do\vns above Ilcaniinsrcr ,vesnvard across the Devon ]inc to the n1outh of the J\xe, 2-nd in a north-e::istcrly direction to,vards Shaftcsbt1 ry 1"hc Lyrnc,

Brit 1 nnd Stou r flo,v into the Eng li.sh Channe]; the Parrett, \r eo, and Brue find their ,vay to ,vcstcrn ,vatcJs through Son1crsct. Ruins and carth\vorks :=ifford fTequcnl rc1nindcrs of a rc111otc pasL The o]d sen- going trad c in local serge and 1i nen ,T:=tnishedab our 1760, but the ports of Lyn1c~ ,,, cyn1outh, ~nd Poole have long been kncnvn as resorts~ Chathan1 praised the pure air and dclightf ul situation of [...,yrne.. Thoinas 1-:Iollis( 1720-1 774) extolled the to,vn ::1sthe finest 1 \vinter station" for invalids, and declared th~it its n1ild c]i111ateand superiority of prospect ,vas ''111ntchlcss'~ in England .s Chatharn in r 77 1 ]cft the disrrac.:tions of \\ 7estn1instcr to seek peace

and hca 1th at ], is house j n Son1crsct ::tt Burton-P\'nsent 1 2.4 niile~ f ron1

Lyn1c~ l~oni~1 a ,ve::11thyecccntric 1 one of the be~t kno\vn benefactors of eighteenth-century I-:iarvard, the d isscnting acadcn 1y·in ,v hich his farnily had long n1aint~ined a generous interest, returned in 1754 fron1

1 ,. Correspo11dence of lVni. Pitt 1 ~nrl of Ckt1thMN,4 v~, ed. , {rn. S, To.y1or ~nd

John T-l. .Pringle (London; John !\·1urray., 184"0), JV, 82-r 83 ( i 2 Sept. 17711 Ch~iha1n to John Calera ft, Esqr.). Hci:-cll.ftcrcited tLS-CC. ::CC, ]\T., -;..67(8 J unc 1 773t Chathan1 to Lndy Chatham). Londun., Puhlic Rcc::01·dOffice, Chathi1m Paprrst 40 G. D+ 8/40,. here cited by date {l". 1-1. to Chatha1n, 9 Sept. I 7 i I and J; Sept. r 7 73).

41 I

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) 412 H nrvard L.ib'l·aryBulletin. travc1s abroad! completing an excellent and varied education+ l)is- gustcd ,,=-ithcontcnlporary political life and corruption, instead of running for parlian1ent'.Ior officer he

the past 1 as ,vell as upon the joys aff ordcd by Dorscrshire surronnd1ngs~ Fortuitously reunited by rctircn1cnt., both 111cn,in spite of so1ne recurrent sickncssJ enjoyed a brief but happy episode in their lives+ Chatham, bedevilled by financial problen1s and politic~l pressures, re- . turned to I-Iayes in l\1iddlesc:x in April 1774, a dozen ,vceks after I-Iollis fell suddenly dead on the first day of that year. Dorset did not forget then1. The Earl's recourse to the restorative qualities of Ly111e ,vas long cited: I-Iollis' singu]arit)· of character ,vas ,videly discussed. r~Iis1ne1noria]ist, Archdeacon Francis Blackburne ( 1705-1787), con- cluded a sketch of his subject by dcscrjption of a fan1ous and unusu~l

occupation. H l\1r. I-l0Bis1 in order to preserve the rncn1ory of those heroes and patriots for ,vhun1 ht had a veneration/' and ,vhose books he had distributed, "called n1any of the farms und fields in his estate at

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) Tbo111asH ol/is iu bis Do~·setrbireR. etire,neut 4 r 3 Corseom be by their n3n1es; und by these nan1cs they arc sti11d istin- gnisheda'" An1ong thcn1 1-Iarvard },"'arn1 stands today\ son1c of its lots retaining rhe dcsign:=ttionshcsro,vcd on then1 by the College's friend .. The modern Ordnance Survey n1ap records a ntnnber of others. "In the middk of one of these fields, not far f ron1 his house,'' BJackburne

condnned 1 '~he ordered his corp~e to he deposited in a gr~vc ten feet deep, and that the field should he i1nmediately plo,ved o,rer, that no trace of his burial-p]ace might rcn1nin/~ Locn11cgcnd even no,v n1ain- tains that his f a\Toritehorse lies beside I-Iollis.ri Both the bizarre grave, and the \Vork for liberty ,vcre celebrated in

1788, in ~'Le,vsdon Flil1l '' n pocn1 by ·y\'illian1 C:ro,ve ( 1745-182 9),

the then incu1nbcnt of Stoke Abbott 1 cast of Bca111instcr,and hin1self kno,vn as an ul lr2-Y\Thig:ind republican. Fain "~ou1d I vic,v thee, Corscon1bc, fatn ,vou}d hail The ground ,vhcrc I-iollis lies:; his choice retreat1 ':\'here fron1 the busv ,vorld ,vithdra,vn, he ]hTed r "

To generous yirtne 1 clnd the holy Jove Of liberty, a dedicated spirit; And left his ashes there; stiJl honouring Thy fields ,vfrh tit]e given of patrjot nnn1es, But more ·w·jth his 11ntjtled scpukhrc.ri·

The Dorset )7 ears 1 less fan1iliar than chose of absorption in his self- appointed task, and the rcnc,Yed f ricndshi p ,vith Chathan1 thcy- bJoughtl add a brief paragraph to the story of I-Io11isand hjs devotion to that ~'Good old Cause"~of Eherty against tyTanny, in \vhich so n1any of his be]ovcd authors ,vere engaged. IJocun1cntation is interesting. There -arc, of course, ]erters ren1aining of those ,\'ritten to Ne,v England pen-f ricntls.7 Though the Chathnn1

correspondence ,vas published io the ear1y nineteenth ccntury 1 and contains .son1eco1nments by lJitt on his Hma.te/l as he called J~JoHis,only one of his later conununi~a.tions to his f ricnd js incl udedl and on] v one of the t,vo dozen odd 1nissives,vritten by the latter to the Earl. B Hollis,

.r; [Archdeacon Francis B]nckburnc]t Afenioirs of Tboutas l-lollis, Er-q.1-i v. (Lon- don: prIYatcly printed, 1 780)! I, 4S-1. 111Joh rt Hutchins, Tbe History and AntiquitiE"r of t/Je Count}' of Dorset, 3rd. ed. corrected by Shipp ~nd James \J;/, Hodson, 4 v. ('~Ve&t•njnstcr: John B. Nichols-, l S6 l-I 870 ),. 1T ( r 863 }, 98- quoted from 1 t?o,1 ed. of poern, p. 3 3. 7 l\1;issachusctts I-Iistorical Society, Hollis letters] p.urhn; Bosron Vublic Library, Ch A 161, r 63. 6 CC, J\Tj 167,. 173-( to L,uly Chatham); 286-.2B7 ( 19 July 1773 to T.I-1.) j CC, 111- 200--103 (December r 762,. c-xchangc of letters); Chatharn p~ptrs] pauiu1.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) Harvard J..,)brnryBulletin notes can1e fron1 Urles Farn1 or L.y111c,offering con1plin1cnts, thanks

for entcrtai,unent 1 direction~ about iti ncrary, a

Dorsct 1 ::1ndhis cousin· firnothv .. 'fhere are also letters to Stanier Porten ( d. 1789), u A1I y old mid good f ricnd '~as the diary for 1 1 June l 7 5 9 calls hin1.,\\'titten henvcen 1 7 55 and 1760. l..,hcDorchester arc hives possess a rnost interesting survey of the T--lollisDorsetshire property. By a ,vil 1~no,v at Son1erset House, dated 1767 this property and n1ore ,vas UCtJUCathedto 1~hon1as Brand ( 17 19-1 804), another close friend~ ,vho 11pon inheritance added the nan1c of 1-lolJisto hi~ o,vn .. Brand ,YaS a bachelor.. He abandoned thoughts of matrin1ony~ so HoHis ,!trote to Porten in 1 7 56, ,v hen the ]ady he "~as courting decided that tnarriage ,voul

all used1 f\nd a. gcncr~l n1ap of the area , Ph1te I]. Page.62 provides an

11 I ~,·a~ kindly lent by R. J\1. Anthony .. Esq.1 for the purpose of notc-t~king a series of 1cttcrs bcn•:ee.n Timothy and Thon1~~ 1-lollis. (' Jhese ]etters \\.·ere acq L1ircd IJy die 1 Iarvard College Library on 19 J\-iarch 197 J through the genero11s gift of Ardu1r A. E-Ir>ughtonjJr., 3.1:9.)F 011r. letters f r

Hollis ,.,.-rote to Porten :1bout Brand in ~oYemher 1756. s~ciH en10ir.s1 l! 34, for meet-

ing :;i.t 1\1cssina, I 752 j CC, H1 3 I, n. 1 on Porten's lif ~;

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) . . . . T!JoJJursI-l ollis iu bis DorsetsbireRetire1nent 415 index to the ncar]y three thousand acres covered, indicating the g_ddi- donsn1adc by Brano-HollisrPlate 1\ 1 ], Eachfarn1 or group of cottages is skctch-n1apped on one page; on another page ,vcre listed fields~ c:uppiccs, and pastures, ,vith their dimensions and the names by ,vhich they ,vcre kno,vn. The Tra\Tcrs estate is not re]evant here. Others of the properties 1vere surveyed ,vith the l1o]dingsand their ten~nts at t1lat date, and also have no particular interest in this context. l\1any of the rest that are described, ho,vever, explain in detail to ,vhat Black- burnc and CrO\VC ,vcre ref erring~ the con11nen1oration of I-Iollis' favor i tc persons and places. The northernn1ost f nrn1 is Harvard in 1-Ialstork parjsh con1prising 111orethan 21 r acres \Vith fourteen lots ,vhose nomenclature 11111st be

exan1incda little later., Tn son1c cases noticed by J)oyle) 7 ~ natnes go back to older usage, but in m~ny others reflect HolJis' continued pre- occupation 1-vithliberty~ and the reverence due its proponents. Brand- Hollis and Disney secn1 to ha\"'Cdivided their tintc for the n1ost part bct,vecn London and Essex at the Hyde, at lc2st partiall)r designed by Sir 1, 1illi-a111Chan1bers ( 1 716-1 796). There is nothing to sho,v that they gave the Dorsctshirc property 1nuch attention. Later generations of Disneys apparently began to dispose of parts of it about 1 8 35.. The survey., like oc;casional references by Hollis hi111sclf\vhile he lived and by others a f tcr his d cathi reveals a continuance jn s different n1ude of his plan) even aftci' retire.n1ent. 11 N orhing is kno\vn about the motive ,v hich led I--ioUis,London-born of ):orkshirc ancesu·y, to purchase in 1741 these Dorsetshire farms from l~hornas Fermor, .first Earl of Potnfrct ( 172 1-1761). At that ti111che ,vns living at No .. 6 Nc,v Squnre, Lincoln's Inn~ continuing his education by· reading, and n1ost probably also by the study of virtu and art. To one of bookish propensities the house gained in value b)r having once been the residence of the bibliophile John Ilridgcs ( J 666~1724). I-Jere Hollis stayed long enough permanently to asso~ ciatc his narnc \vith these legal quarters. In July J 748 he begun, so1ne- tin1csin con1pany \Vith his friend Thon1as Brand., and SOTiletimesalone,. about six years of F.. uropcan travel, broken only., it seems, by a brief return to England in 17 50. Fron1 these ,v::i.nderingshe can1e back for

n J. i\1. Roberts-on) Esq., of Shcrhornc kindly took n1c on a tour of the Hollis country ~nd g~ve me photogr.iph.'i of II~tvard Farm and copies of the Ordnance

Survcyi sheet 177 (one inch to one n1ilc) and sheet 50 (1.1/~ inches to the 1nilc) 1 as Vi.'Cli as photo-co pi cs of 'cpla ns of the Est~ tes' t f ronl the Do re hester Archives.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) ... H nrvnrd l...ibraryBulletiJ; good in 1753-54~ Y\711ilc a,-vay he had stored h auks and other posses- sions ,vith his cousin l""jn1othyat St. J\1arytsAxe in the city of London~ After returning- he lodged ,vith l\1rs. l\4ott-in B~df ord Street~ ~nd then leased front A1rs.Anne Leighton a house in Pall J\lall off St. Jan,cs~s Square. 12 Though hy far the grcRter part of- the i)orsctshirc estate \Vas

quired in 1741 t H"o1Jjsoccasionally nddcd to it. Th~ di~ry in the years 1766-1770 contains tnany 1·cfcrenccs to negotiations for the purchase of the prcbenda] gle be ]ands ad j~cent to I~Jarvard F-arn1l 2nd north of H31stock vill~gc. The Corporation of L yn1e, ,vho held the lease f ron1 the diocese of S11ru1n,~sked -J high price, but I-I ollis, using the services of a Shcrbornc. attorney, S:.:\n1ucl·r\ 1ayl for the transnction, cvcntl1a11y paid it. According to John I-Jutchins ( 1698-1773), Dorsctshire c]crgy- n1~n and historian~ I-Iollis o,rned the "Three Cups Inn'' in Lyn1e, and used it ,vhen visiting his favorite re~ort, f onrteen n1iles frorn Urles, his habitual resjdcncc. "Liberty halr 1 ,vas the narnc he gave tu his roon1s there. In l_.,y111e. too, there ,vas a house O"\\'ncdby . llobert 1:0,vlcr Conde ,vhich E-1ollis\Vnnted to buy for hin1sclf, or 2t ]cast secure~ as a place in ,vhich the Chathan1,~ could co1nf ortably en;oy the salubrious ~ir .. Coadc died in 1 7 7 3, but his \vif e secn1s then to have been reluctant to give up the place either to l]ollis or his noble friend. \ 7cry soon after n1oving to Urlcs f ar111,its o,vncr had, in a Jetter to Ti111othy,expressed

the ,vish to leave that old 1 bad, ::i.nddecayed building for n ~'plain roo1ny tcsidcncc' 1 in Lyn1c., hut he apparently did not li,rc long enough to carry out this p1an.1 :-. 1-Io,v nluch tin1e ~nd "rtttcntionl before the rctircn1cnt of August 177 ol I-lollis ,vas ~hie to give to the n1anagcn1cnt of lands at Corscon1bc Rnd I-Ialstock is difficult to guess. RcfcrcnC:CS2re fc\'\'; niany visits n1ay sin1ply have been unkno,vn or O\'crlooked by Illackburnc in the ,l1eu1oirs, or by IIollis hin1sclf in his correspondence. TJ1c breeding in 1 748 of "1-Iob,', a favorite horse~ ,vns once recalled jn an entry in the

diaryr Letters about an anticipated vacancy in the ]iying at Corscon1be 1

i:? 1\"1,.1nydetails ~bout T-Tullis ancl his ,·vorl~ n1ay he found in C. Robbins, HThe Strcrmous \Vhj_g,1·hornas Hollis of Lincoln's lnnt H'illimn n-nd .Aft1ry Qrrnrterl:,·, 3rd scr.i \ 111:3 (July r950) i 406--45 J; ''L-ilir~ry of Liberty- Assc1nh,cd for 1-lilrv-ard College by ...rho1nas I-IoHis of Linc.:olo)sJ nn,1' HAnVi\RD L1n.RARY BuLLETJN, \ 7 ( 1951), 5-1 3 and l 81-196; and autho1·itic.scin::rl •n these ~nicfos. rdost in1porr-ant of these is the unpuh!ished diary, I 759-177oi no,.-v in 1he Houghton Library. n Hutchins, op. cir. (note 6), 11,97; G-eorgc Roberts, Tbe I-Iistory mid Antiquities of tbe Borougb of Lyn1c Regis ,rnd Cban11uutb (London: S. n11.g~ter,1 ~34), p. 291; 1rnd letters to Ch.~th~m and Timothy.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) T bo1nas1-J oliis i11bis DorsetsbireRetire1neut 41 7 ,vrjtten fro1n Naples in 175 r and f ron1 Genoa a little later, arc. quoted in the Ale111oirs.u Possibly HoHis stopped in Dorsctshirc on his Yvay to London fro1n his tour. llcf cren~cs to activities at Corsco1nbe in letters to Stanier Porten, suggest at least -a couple of expeditions there about 175 5-56. Though liollis \\'as to establish correspondence ,vith 1."'heophilusI.Jindscy ( 17 2 3-1 808) before J.,sindscyleft Pudd]eto,vn in 1763 to fill a cure at Catterick in \Torkshirc nearer his fathcr-in-hnv Il]acl{hurnc, the occasion of their acguaintancc is not noticedt and 111ay or 1nay not have been due to ::1n1ceting in Dorsctshire~ A ftcr 1756 the exc<.:utionof the plan in London kept Hollis as n111chan absentee O\"\'ner as had the years of travel abroad. Finding books to dispatch to 1nany p]accs, annotating thcn1 in his O\vn hand.,finding editors and publishers

for sorn c, con 1n1issi on in gportrait pr j n tsof i111 p orta n t au th ors 3 and rn uch correspondence kept Hol1isfully- occupied. H c reported to ·fimothy in 1 770 that the exile f ron1 Dorsctshire had lasted fourteen years; to Chatlu1n1 in 1773 he ,vrotc of fifteen.rn All the san1c

Pearson," though he did not specify, in telling his cousin about this 3 \vhich of the several nonconformist n1cctings it ,vas. The Lc,vcon1be Jiving ,vas sought in I j66 by· Jan1es s~,vl{ins, curate at Bean1instcr, and

:tfter so111cthought on the part of the patron 3 he ,yas pron1iscd it, only to run 1nto the decisive opposition of the Bishop of Bath and the Arch- bishop of Canterbury. Sa,vkins had entered into a canonically i1n- pcr1nissible n1arriage l\ 1 ith his brorher,s ,vido,v., and although the church1ncn did not rctnove hi111fron1 his curacy, they fc]t that~ under the circun1stanccs, he could not be inducted into the living at Lc,v- con1he~ At Halstock at about the sa1nc time J--Iollisapproved the candidature of I-Icnry Hayn1an; no objections ,vcrc raised and ap- parent1y· Hayn1an and~ after hirn, his son enjoyed th-at cure of souls. Hayn1an appears on the survey of 1799 as tenant of ''Russell Farm/, possibly as a rctirctnent bencfit.16 I-Io1lis ,vas conscientious. The letters to his .ste\v1ardfrom Italy,. u A1uuoiri, 1, 5"4-58. Diary, 4 July 1766, ''Hobs." death. 1~ Letters to T1 moth y n d ChRr ham. 113 The diary of ten ref crs to the matter of the l ivj ng.s; sec csped A11 y N ovcmbcr 1 7Cq through tllC sprj ng of I 7fiR.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) already n1cntioned, cont~ j ned a great deal .ihont his ideas on presenta- tion in connection ,vj th the Corscon1bc living. I-Ie intended, he ro 1nakc no financial profit fron1 the transaction, as others sornctin1es Jid. Ry this ti1ne part of the cost of ]and o,vncrship ,vas Jue to rhc possible a

scnting sects, Baptisr1 Congregational~ and Presbyterian, their de- scendant, though on friendly tcr111s,vith a nun1ber of ministers and generous in gifts to thcrn, secn1s sddon1, if -ever, to have \Yorshippcd puh- 1icly ,vith rhc1n. Passionately Protestant, and keenly 1l,vare of duties • +" -I to (]od and church~ H.olJis obviously preferred private 1neditations to the organized :;crvtccs of any dcnon1ination. An cx~n1plc of his n1unif- icencc rnay still be seen in the chancel nt Corscon1bc,. reconstructed \Vith funds given _hy himt and in the fifth hcfl added at that tin1e, in- scribed uoh Fair Britannia 1-Iail.,Corscombe, 1 i 56.'' 1T An1ong the an1enities of life in ])orset after 1771 ,Yas assocja.rion ,vith the Chutharns. 1-Iollisand Pitt h:ul nH:~t in 175 6 at the house of a friend, there f aHen into conversation about the ''Tinics,H and discoycrcd n1uch in co1nn1on in the political beliefs they he f d. Hol1is described the occasion ·at lc~1stt\vicc: soon after the 1neeting in a ietter to Porten, 2 6 Novcn1bcr 1756, and sornedrne thcrcafter\Y~rds~ in another to \X/illianl l ..aylor 1-Io,,rc, d. 1777. In the latter) dated 20 l)eccrnher

·1763., he also n1entioncd the epistoI:1ry exchange het\\ 1 een Chathanl and hitnscl( that had continued ever since 1757 .1B 1-Ioliis .sent his f rjcnd hooks and, in January r766, a head of Phocion, an Athenian g·eneral, horn about 402 B. C.~\Vhose virtue \vas ahvays ahovc suspicion,

ll ,H~n1uirr, It 47lt 490; Pol"(cn le:u:crs:;di~ry 1 J 9 January 1769 Lyn1e to recei \'e a sim1I c1 r gj ft n d inscription.

J:!: Bl'jtish i\-'luseurn, Add. NISS, 16SB9, f. 56 to Ho,vc. Porten letters.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) Tbo,nas Hollis in bis Dorselsbire l~etiren1e11t 419 ~nd ,vhose ]ikencss 1-lollis hoped ,vou}d ~dorn the hollse at Burton Pynsenr rh~r Pitt had just inherited. In one of the notes auollt this gift the proxirnity of Burton Pynscnt rind Corscon1bc ,vas rcn1arkcd~ Correspondence ceased soon af tcr b cc a.use of disillusionn1cnt, freely expressed by 1-Iollis~en used by nc\vs of Pitt's acccpt3ncc of 2 peerage, ''a piece of parciuuent~" f rotn George III. '-''hen jn i\-1ay1 7 7 1 the title to the Sornerset C;State,vas finall)r confinned by the IMiouseof Lords, and a Jong stay there planned, Chath~rn apparently decided to rcsun1c contact ,vith Ho]lis, already in residence at UrJes Farn1, in Corscornbe~ On 9 ScptcTnbcr 1-lolljsthgnkcd the EarJ for his "very honourable resri- n1ony of regard,'} rccn1lcd the 11n1agnan1inity" of his past actionsj nnd rccon11ncndcd Ly1nc highly 3S n hca1th resort. The next rc111aining con1n1unication~ just a ycnr later~ declared an intention of presenting hin1sclf to Chathan1 r1ndhjs fa111ily~ "\\'riting a fcv~r,vecks ]atCI in this year of , 772 Hollis reported - to Ti1nothy - dining ,vith the Chat- han1s. 1"'hercaftcr until 1 3 Deccn1bcr 177 3 niany letters concern visits, and nn intin1acy 111orethan rec2pl 1ucd. 1\ contcn1porary report of the reconci]iation 111:ly be found jn the diary of Tho1nas 1-Jurchinsnn ( I 7 1 1-1780)., f onncr glnrernor as ,veil as hjstorjan of l'vlass::.chusetts. I-Iutchinson, ]iYi ng in J..,ondon af tcr Ju]y 1774, n1ct and talked ,vith 11a JVfr. · Brcrctonn - probably the anti(]u~ry 0\VCIJSalushury Brereton ( J 7 J 5~ 1 798) about Dccc1nbcr of thar ycarJ concerning l-Ioilis. Ilrcrcton apparently to]d I-lutchinson that the resun1pdon of f ricndsh ip ,vas brought about by Chathnn1, ,vho continued to (~court J\1r Hollis; and kno\ving he ,vas at \\r cyn1outh, a bgrhing pJ}lce,n ,vrorc :ind asked hin1 to find accon1n1odntion there for hi1n. Thi~, according to the story, F-Iollisdidi but ]cft before the C~hatharn~arrived. w '"f'hough ,~v·eyn1outhnnd Lyn1c have here been

conf uscd 1 sornething of ,vhat happcned1 the occasion of first O\rerture in fJorsct, is suggested and l-f0Jlis1 praise of Lyrnc on 9 Scpternber l 7 7 1 is explained. Hutchinson alrcad r kne\v of the I-Iollis f an1ily. He had praised their benefactions to I-Iarvard~ particnlRrly stressing those of Thonrn.s of 1{Gray,s 11111°- perhaps nrtn1cs,vcrc not his forte - in the first voh1n1e of his 1-1istory of tbe C0}011 Jr of A1assac/Jusetts-11 ny., published in Boston in 1764J and in 1.,ondon the foJlo,ving yci\r/ 0 The History had been sent hy· Jonathan J\1ayhe\v ·( r 720-1766),, lo Thor11ast

19 lJiITry n11d Letters of Tbonwr Hutcbi,iso11 1 compikd br P. 0. Hutchinson

(Hoston: 1-loughton J"lifflin~ 1884) 1 I, 3 z z. · l-Iutchinson, History vf t!Je Colony of A1ass11c/Jusctu-1Jrry(London: i'\·1.Rich- ardson., 1 760 [for 1765J }1 I, 510-511. (The Boston edition reads 1'Grcy 1s Jnn. H)

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) 420 1-ia rva rd l.. ..i brnr y Bull eth 1 \vith a rather guarded recornmend~tion. I-loliis read the book and helped to for\vard the puh]ication of further ,vork by Hutchinson in 1 769. In 1-;--cbruaty177 3 he dre,v Chatham\ attention to the t\vo oc- tavo volun1cs the H istoty no,v filled~and ''"~rotc that they ,vcrc the \Vork of n "Studiousi good n1an.n During this year run1or~ ,vcrc increasingly current about the G·ovcrnor,s political stance. Hollis., in a later reference., dubbed the historh1n 1 'glih/J and referred to his not adn1itting ua case for rcsistenc::eJias I Joeke had. ,_._rct :-1fie] d in 1-3:arvardF ::1r1n,vas n~uncd Hutchinson., and it js unlikely to have con1me1noratcd A nnc, the Governor's seventeenth-century ancestor. Designation could, as

,vill shortly be den1onstratcd 1 connote either disapproval or estecrn ..

The field n1ay1 of coursct have honored only the virtues of the 1-IistorjJ. Other books \Vere brought to Chathan1,s attention; Nc,v Eng]and tracts and ,vorks hy contc1npor~ry French philosophers ,vcre noted or described. I-ligh praise ,vas besto\ved jn a letter of F ebru-ary 1773 upon A DissertfTtiauupon tbe Cnuon and the Feudal J..,a·w;it ,vas "'~an absolute beauty/' and 11011c of the finest political dissertations/' At the tin1e it appeared in the London press in 1765, the ~uthor, John

Adams ( 173 5-1826), ,vas not kno,vn to lI0His 1 ,vho ,vas at first con- fused about 3tlrihution. But he soon began to nrrangc for the ,vork's republication and to spread 11e,vsof its n1erits -abroad. Hollis also ,vrote very frankly to Chatham of the j11-trcarment n1eted by the English adn1inistration to ''the people of N e,v Eng]and, the first Pcop]c upon

earth for plain sense a.nd virtue.'' The present intent ,vas1 he declared, Hto hurnb]e and destroy thtrn/' and he exclai1ned, '\vhat \Vondcr they should thro\v then1selves upon their and onr tutelary to save colonies

and country·, Jibcrty, the princi plcs of the llcvolutio1~1 andi-against it- self, the I-louse of Hanover." In April he ,vrotc to Chathan1 that "the favoritcii - that ,vas the 111iniste.r- found it necessary {'to sting the People of Nc\v Eng]and into lVIadness/1 Co1111ncntary,vas not confined to the colonia] situation. Jn i\1ay 177 2 Chathan1 had brjefly returned to 1,, cstn1inster to speak in the Lords on behalf of the dissenters, still vu]ncrable under the penalties legislated in the seventeenth century for nonconformity to the ~hurch of England~ Hollis~ in a letter to "fjrnothy, referred to the proposed hill~ correctly prophesying its defeat~ although the rciicf it ,vould have brought \Vas richly deserved. He and his cousin ,verc detern1ined to cn1ploy dissenters ,vhcrc they could, the '\vorthiest, staunchest sub-

so long j n the fan1il)r scrvicc 1 sho11]d be too infirn1 to continue "\York'l he p1anncd to rccrui t i nc,v sre,vard or hailiff from atnong them. An1ong the glolving accounts sent to Tin1othy of Chatham:s character., learning~ nnd careful rtnd excellent planning of the education of hi~ children., there is also high praise of his understanding of the prin- ciples of liberty upon a ''\\ 7hig botton1~') ~l'hisniakes a passage in a letter f ron1 I-IoHis to Chn than1 diffic.:ultto inrcrprct, since ,v ide religious toleration for practically all but papists ,v~s a fnndatnental \Vith hin1. It Jooks as if the t,vo n1cn had been discussing the merits and faults of an established church. Ho11is ,1Totc that he sub1~1ittedentirely to the high authorities cired. He had conceil.rcd., he ,,/rote, that it ,va~ beyond the office of the n1agi~rrate to establish any sy:,te1n of religions ,vorship, and that the n1agistrate had only to re,v;:.rd :lnd punish the observance or breach of n1orals and la,\7 S of order in Society. Perhaps Chntha1n had defended the ~nglish Church against the dissenter. J-Jollisl ~'sub~ n1ission" n1ay ,veil have been ironic. In July I 77 3 Chathan1 \Vas lent a copy, formerly the property of "a lettered! accon1plished gcndcn1an, '' Colone] James Dornlcr ( 1679- 1741 ), of De Juro Regni Apud Scotos, Edjnburgh, 1579. The letter acconipanying the loan sugg~sts that the hook hacl also passed through the hands of Tirjdges, forn1erly occupant of No. 6 Nc,v Square, Lin- coln's Inn, but it is not explicit. The Earl ,v8s asked to enhance the vnluc of the ,Tolun1c by adding his signan1rc co a ,York '~in the root n1anifcstI y':t of the grca t ,,ri-itcrs on govcrnmc1_1tf rain i\-iilton to John

Trenchard ( 1662-17 2 3). 1-Iollis continued., he \vrotc 1 uto sprinkle his oak lcnves over the ash cs of this o Id est son of Iih erty., George Buch~n2nl the first of all Scottish n1en, and to na1ne a farn1 of hi.~,stnall yet dccorouslluclu1nan in perpetuity of his Fatnc, Urles., 21 July, 1773.'' Chathan1 duly read, sjgncdl and returned the book ,virh connnendarory comn:u:nts on its ~jn1n1orca]''2uthor. "Frccdon1 looks do,vn, ,vell- pJcnscd, upon the happy spot, to conte1np1ate the truest of her sons, strc\ving the pious oak ]eaf .ovcT the dcath]ess 111cmory.n 21 ·rflis account of the naming of Buchanan I?ar1n strengthen~ snp- posirions raised by the 11on1cnchuurc of lots in I~Ja.rvar

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) H arvarrl Library B·nlleth1

their designations, as they appear in the later survey 1 in 177 3~ AH through this year l-lollis had anticipated a necessary visit to I Jon don, this being as of ten postponed. In a letter of 1 2 N ovcn1bcr to Chathani an explanation ,vas offered for the dch1ycd departure. ~'1\ variety of circun1stanccs, but principally., th-e rc1ncn1brancc of g·ood and great n1en dcparlcd~ ,vhich he hasl sotncho,v brought into connection inti- n1arely,vith hin1sclf,nnd ,vith hi~ estate., have detained hin1.'' ~fhe Chathan1 lerrers contain political and, as vtill be seen, personal n1aners~ hut those to Tin1othy reflccL on local politics. 1~ini othy ,vas not. ~bsolurel y unfanJ11iar,vith the area, :1nd visited his cousin there at least onc;e. Apparently he thought that Tho111asmight consider representing I~yn1cin the House of C:01111nons.To this the reply \Vas, sooner i(H-11,,than that, though at an earlier period apparently the possibility had been cxan1ined. 1-Iollis,vantcd to live in Lyn1e for its air and 1 ;prospects/' but described its civie situation 2s appa11ing.As for the to,vn itsc]f, "it is old,. decc1yedtruinous and n1onop0Ji,.,cd,.kept tnider by one fan1ily ... that has not one house or foot of land in it/' The fan1ily rvas, of course., the Fancs~ earls of \\'cstn1orcland. Over n1any years, ,vhcn one of thcn1 died or succeeded to the title, another ,vas inuncdintcly non1inatcd for the borough. Hollis also reported to Timothy "rj::iingsaniong the pcoplct l\-'1oh, about I-Ionitonl Ch~rd~ Jln1inster . . . , they haYe Lalked of \?isiting· Lyn1c and this neighborhood. 1."heiranger at present see1n~ directed chicfl y agai11stthe contractors for butter~ ,vl10111 they treat very ill ,vhcn they catch then1~n Provisiqns~ he continued, ,vere high but ,vagcs ha.dalso risen. The ttou blc he a ttr1buted to "the invisible ugcn t ,vho has conducted all things rctrogr2dcly .. f rorn October 30, , 760'' ,vith the object of ruining the systen1 set up at the llevolntion of I 688. In 1772 I-loHis \Vrotc that he thought John "''ill::cs ( r 7 z 7 1 797) o,,,cd his rcpnt~tion chiefly to his suppression by the li-arl of Bute and his f ricnds~ '''ilkes1 it ,viil be rc111e1nbcred,had been in trouble o,?cr his erotic \\Titingi: his attack on the governrnent in the "/\7ortlJ Brit 011, and his scat in the Co111n1onslamong other n1atters.2 2 Save for~ rather cryptic reference to corn late in 177 3, probably on the -question of rhe control of exportation in tin1c of scarcity, II ollis does noL scern to have d,velt on these .subjects in the Jette.rs to Chathan1t but rheni as they sa,v

There is in the Harvard Collegt:: LilJ.rary 1 copy of Frsncis D1ackburne, The

CQnfessional . a the second edition (Loll don, 1767), jnscrihcd hy Hollis to \\ 1ilkcs and in the typical red morocco binding \~'Lrl-LHorns' symbolic tools.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) . . Tbo111asHollis 111biJ Dorsetsbirel{eti-re111e11t 42 3 each other n1ore frequendy, they 1nay have talked 'J.bont them in- forn1~lly. • ,.\ 1hatcvcr the occasion of rcconci]iationJ there can he no doubt that Chathatn rapidly found in I-Iollisone of the n1ost cager ~nd conscicn~ tious of advisers on a variety of practical n1atters. ']~rained ear]y in business at A1nstcrdatn~ Hol1issecn1.s al"rays to have ke.pt a shre,vd eye on his o,vn business aff ai t~s. flurton Pynscnt, hu\vcver cnthusiasdc~ll y- Cha thatn n1ight \\Tite to London friends about the country joys and occupations it :afforded.,,vas not a going concern under his n1anagcmcnt. Realizing this~ I~ollis ch:1n1ctcristicaHy offered a solution - -a bailiff or src,vard ,vho could run rhc place as~for exa,nple, i\1aher had run his property in hjs absence. He consl11tcd old and tried cn1ployees- John Ilo,vring, ,vhon1 he called 11shcpherd/? and John Petty. I-Ic sent Chatha1n a long and frank appraisal of the n1nn proposed, Pcttyis young son~ and outlined his duties. Basil "\~'illi~n1s.in his biography of C]uuhan1 states th~ t the ad vice " 1 as { ollo\vcd. :l::; If ~o - \Vit111-Iol]is dead so shortly after the arrangcinent ,vas made, and unable to super- vise its i1np]c111cntntion- it ,vas not successfu1. Chathan1 ,vas hope- lessly inipractical in such 1nundane n1atters as the budgeting of incon1c

or the direction of f :-1r1ning,and, of coun-ie1 he left Bt1 rton Jlynscnt in

April 1774. 1Io1lis also sent rernedies for the cure of sheep rot, dnr\\ 7 n fro1n the ,vork of Robert Boyle ( 162 7-169 l) _ 1-Iis o\vn f anuing cvi- dent1y ,vent ,vc}]. He obviously ddjghtcd jn sending its prod nets ::is gifts to friends. Tin10Lh)7 rccci,Tcd a turkey on SL Tho,n-as' dayi l~ady

Chathan1, at various tin1cs1 accepted nn enr]y c:ncnrnheri th1rty-yea r~ o]d nlead, fish ''f ro111our gosh en," :-indgan1e~ ,,, e nw.y be sure th{1t these recorded in the letters ,vere o_nly :1. f c,v nf th t tora 1 dispatched.

"'\~'hen his hcnlrh illlO\'icTed1 Ch-;itharn devoted h1n1selfto his fa1nilv. Hollis \Vrotc adn11ring]y of their accon 1p lishn1ents '1nd the role in their education their father played~ He becan1-c frjcndly enough ,vith lhc five to be invited to a pcrf onnancc of their play in Alcx-andrines, c"Lnrento of Claviniun1~'' l-:le discussed politics on \Vnlks ,,,jd1 young '-"'il Iian1t and accompanied the f an1ily on sjght-seeing expeditions.. 1 ...hc

eldest, Johni ,vas d cstincd for the army r I-Iollis in 1 7 5o had met in ,, cnicc, a soldicri George l(cnncdy, ,vho \V-a.sno\V nursing poor health nt I-'yn1c. l(cnncdy ,vas selected as instructor jn the rudi1nents of

~:i .Ilasil "\VHliams!T/J~ Life of JfTUlr P:fr,, Earl of Cb1ttha?H,i v. (London: J.. ong- »l~lt1S: G rc-~nj l 914), IT, 2 86.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) flnrvard L.ibrnry B1dleti11 1nilitary science. After son1e hesitation on his part caused by the realization of a lack of f orn1al training, Kennedy dccidcdl and the Chathan1s agrcedi that his varied cxpcrjencc ,vou1d an1ply Sl1fficcfor the teaching of the prelin1inaries ,vhich John needed to kno,v. Lord Pitt \Vent to l.Jy1nc,took up quarters ,vith l{ennedy'I nnd there appar- ent 1y n1ade son1e progress~ 1-..hercis no record of ~ny yisirs by the Chath-an1s to U rlcsr Ho His seen1sto have nlet therrl en route to or ::itLyn1e, or at Burton Pynscnt~ During the sun1n1er of 1773 Chathan1 and the "dear boyt/' ,vcrc at Ly1ne for an extended ,Tisir.The tutor~ the Re,Tcre!ld Ed\vard \~ 1ilson, ,vas 1vith thcrn. Ho]]js joined the company, 9-15 Junel apparently raking part in n1any acti\Tities. YVhcn he Jcft he yvas talking of that visit to J_..undon- ChathJn1 ,vrore to hi~ ,vife, 1arnenring the loss of his ''rn::ite"; there .seerns no doubt that he found I-Ioll~s very congc11ja]. I-Iollis too could scarcely find ,v.ords to describe to Ti1nothy the ~d- n1iration and affection he no,v felt for Chatha1n in rctirc1ncnt, '~a very general scholar.," a linguist, ,vell read in hi,~tory, ~nd c~evidcntlykno,v- ing n1any matters out of his o,vn proper line. Ht is/' he ,\rrotc~ "in my opinion, a greatly superior personage at this tin1et in his private dorncsticity, than he ,vas ,vhcn Secretary of State.': A brief sun1n1rtry dra\vn fron1 Doylc)r's survey of 1799 n1ay, in conclusion, also illustrate the preoccupations of l-lolhs in Dorsetshire

retireln~nt. That car) icr concern \l ..ith respect to books 1 coins, and portraits 110\v found a fn~thcr expression in the affixing of significant nan1es to his farms and their various parts. Urlcs Fann ,v~s beauti- fully situated, t(s\vect beyond a nosega)7 +'~24 Eighl) 7 lots n1ade up its 7o 3 acres, and it sccn1s to have been very \Yell ,voodcd~ T ,vc}yc coppices arc listed in 1 'Plans/' t,vo unnan1cd, one called 1'N c,v England,'' and others for Ed\vard \TI, l\iary Il Gregory XI\r, pope of only one year., Cilvin, and J ..uthcr, the lnst indicated on the n1odern Ordnance n1apr T,vo plots ,vcre named rcspecttvely Pjtt and Grenville Do,vns. If so called in the sixties, this might sho,v disapproval both of Pites title 2nd of the ro]e of George GrenYtllc ( 1 7, 2-, 77 9) in the St11n1p Act controversy and in actions ag'J.instJohn "\~T1]kes.In a sl1ghtly clif- f cren t n 1an ncr but also er iti ca liy intended , ver c th osc coppices dub bed l\1ary I and Gregory XI\ 1. An1ong adn1ircd ,,rriters 1nc111orializcd\Vere 1"'rcnchard, ,vho inveighed against standing ar1nies an

£; .Afe,noir.s,I, 441.

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) .t)/7 t"-'/

Repro du cerl by Jiennissi on of tbe Doru~t Record Office

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sun1ption; the ' 1rcal Y\'hig,'' Ilobcrt A1olcs\"vorth ( 16 56-17 2 5); and the freethinkers Anthony Col1ins ( 1676-17 29) and Anthony Ashley· Cooper, third ]~11rl of Shaf tcsbu ry ( J 6 7 1-17 1 3). Ho1ljs affixedhis o,v n nan1e to 111neadu\v hen.\ and on half~ dozen other farn1s. 1-Iis o]d tutor John "\-\1ard ( 167 9~ 1758) of Grcshan1 College, and the antiquaries, connected of course v;,rirhhis o,vn love of collecting and the study· of ,rirtu~ V{crc also pl~ccd. In a long ]ist n1ay be found miscellaneous rcn1indcrs of English hisEory in l~]frcd and IVJagnaCharta, and of the devclopn1cnt of the llcf orn1ation in nan1es Jike the r,vo fifteen th~ century 111artyrs.,John Huss and Jeron1c of Prague, the YV'aldcnsians~ and Gaspard de Co]igny..,the Huguenot 1nurdcred 111the Ilartholo1nc,v ] )a)T n1c1ssacrc. Court Ji'arm, considerably sniallcr, lay son1c,vhnt detached north nnd cast of Urlcs. One n1c~1do,v,vus called Fcr1nor for the forrner o,vner, and sonic fic]ds recalled earlier n1011asric o,vncrs. Others rc·vcalcd a certain pa,v-kjshhun1or,, ,vith Pope pasture check by jo,vl ,vith I--3:cnry \Tl] I and his n1inister 1""hon1as Cro111\vc1l-i dissolver of rnonusterics; H.. cf orn1ation ~nd John Knox \Vere not far av,.ray. 1-Inrrington, -a f arn1 of 247 acrcst ,vas norlh of Court; it contained t\venty 1otsl sotne identi-

fied only by· descriptive tenns - Stodge Park and Orchard 1 I ...ung lluni and Calf Ha)r+ A Jargc pasture \Vas nrrn1cdOceana after the nlost fan1ous ,vork by Jan1cs 1-I~rrington ( 161 1-167 7) Others reca11ed a galaxy of la,vycrs fron1 tl1c thirteenth century - I-lenry cle Bratton (d. , 268), Andre\,~ I-lorn (d. r 328), Sir John Fortescue ( 1394~1476), do\vn through Sjr Ed\vnrd Coke ( 1 5 5 2- 1 634), Sir Francis Bacon ( 1561-1626), John Selden ( 1584-1654), Sir Robert Atkyns ( 162 1- 1 709), and Sir A·lichacl F osr-cr ( 1689- [ 7 63). Only surnan1cs ,vere indicated. \l\l est of I-Iarrington \Vere JVlilton F'arn1 and 1V1udf ord J\1ill Lands, occupying about 146 acresi of ,vhose lots onl)T eight bcarl for u:s at lc~lSt, significant n~H]lCSr For e:x:unple, E,d\Vard Phiilips ( T 630- [ 696),

J\1ilton 's nephc\Y; John Toland ( 1670-1 7 2 2) 1 his editor i and San1uel T-Iartlib ( d. 1 6i o), his f rjcnd, ,vcrc to be found~ Next to and above J''lilton v,/crc f arn1s nn1ncd for Algernon Sidney ( 162 2-168 3), rcpu b-

lican 111arlyT and ,,rrilcr; Ed1nund Lndln"· ( r 61 7~1692) t 1nen1oria1ist of the Intcrrcgnu111; and I-Icnry Neville ( 162.0-1694), rcpub}ican ,vritcr and editor of the \vorks of 1\Jachfrtvc1li. Ludlov{ 3Ild l\1ilton no longer nppcar on the 1na.p, but Sidney and N cvillc rcnu1in. Sid ncy

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) 426 11nrvnrd l~ihrar,~BuJleti11 contained a field labelled "The Good Old Cause.,'~that is of liberty against tyranny for ,vhich Sidney said he died, and several celebrated opponents of Charles I~ John Pyn1 { J 584-1643 ), Parlian1enr-ary leader; Alexander lJeighton ( 1 568-1649), victin1 of Star Charnhcr oppression; and John Han1pden ( I 594~1643), fan1ed for his refusal to pay the illega] tax ~hip 111oney demanded. In l.,.udlo,v,besides tributes to the S,vjss to,vns that afforded the exile republican refuge, ,vere many titled for republicans like Sir Henry "\T}'tnc ( r 013-1662),

Tho1nas Good,vin ( 1600-1680) 1 and 1\1archan1ontNed ham ( 1620- 1678), and for regicides like Thon1as Harrison ( 1606-1660), John

Cook ( d. 1660), Thomas Scott ( d. 1660) 1 1-Ienry l\1arten ( 1 602- 1 680), and John Bradsha\v ( 1602~t65 9), ,vho presided over the trial of CharJi:sJ. Above H~lstock village and about five miles f ron1 Urles ,vas Locke Farn1 con1rnen,otating besides the philosopher, ,~ 7illia1nPopple ( 16 37~ 1 708)., I\·farvell's nephc,v and translator of A Letter on Toleratiou ( 1689), '~'il1iarn J\1olyneux ( 1 656-1698) and Philip van Liinborch (''Lin1bcrgn} ( 163 3-17 1 2) friends and feHo,v philosophers~ A fe,v relevant, but certainly odd designations~ ]leasonabicncss, Under~ .scnnding, and (still on the n1ap) Comprehension - rcn1ind us of the vtork of John Locke of course, but nlust hav-ehcen h~rd~it could be

guessed 1 for the cotunry-~folk's everyday use. NeviUe ,vas cast of l\1iiton and a little south of L,ockc. Na1nes-rhcre derive in part fro1n his ,vork, A1achiavelli, and PlatoRedirJlvus ( c. 16 8 I), a tract 011 limitation of exec- utive po,ver, cast in the fonn of a conver~ation. One of the talkers~ Dr. Richard Lo,ver ( 163 1-1691 ), aff ordcd a name for a n1eado,vt and t\VO dcistical freethinkers) Peter Annct ( 1693-1769) and Conyers i\1iddlclon ( 1683-17 50) for a couple of fie.Ids~Secker appears on the ]ist and n1ust refer to Archbishop Thon1as Secker ( 1693-1768)~ no

persecutor, ,vho shared an interest in antiquity ,vith H0His1 ,vho1n he introduced to the Speaker Onslo'"v,another coUcctor; hnt he a!ienatcd Hollis>regard coniplctcly in the sixties by a vjgorol1s ca.1np-aignto send n bishop to An1erica~ This again 111ostprobably underljnes disapproha- non.• l\-1-a.rvellFarm., remaining no,v on the map only as i\.1arvellDairy~ some,vhat south of I-larva.rd~ recalled service by the poet and politician, Andre,v J\1.arvell( 162 r-1678), to Republic. Free State~ and Conu11on- ,ve::1lth~together ,vith a rather haphazard selection of ''"rriters. . A1nong

these n1ay be noticed 'i\'il1i~1n T-Iarris ( 1720-1770) 1 biographer of O]ivcr Cron1,vell ~nd others, and living, though he died before I--Iollis 1110'vcdto l)orset, not very far a \Vay in Devonshire. l..iocrty F arn1t bordered on the cast by Buch3nan, celebrated heroes of the ancient ,vorld+ \\ 1ith these ,verc Jots narned for 1-Iollis, his stc\'\'nrd !Jeter l\1abcr, and Phiiip Carteret Y\l ebb ( 1700-1 j 7o), 211 antiquarian rather than a po1itical acquaintance of HoHis+ Son1e other ':\'ebb n1ight be intended, but if so, no one familiar no,v as his associ-a.tc. Harvard [PJatcs 11and Jll] ,vas nearest to the Son1crsct border, and sixth in acreage of the Hollis holdings. Its farn1 house j~ no\V 2 private residence. Of the fourteen 1otsi five recHl1cdEnglish history at a critical tin1e - Revolution; Scttleinent; ,, 1iUiam III~ the Protestant dc]iycrer; Hanover, house of the Protestant successors.; and Stuart C'.,oppicc, or ,vood~ perhaps so named because dark or "'aSteland. Others celebrated again Ne\v· England, and also Boston and l\·1assachu~etts, the ]ast kno\vn today <1S"l\·I"ssy field_J, John Cotton ( 1584-16 5 2) \Vns an ex- ponent of congregattonal theology in Boston af rer he en1igrated there, and thus n1en1orahle ro English a~ ,vell as An1erjcan dissent. Jo~athan Belcher ( 1682-17 57)., native-born governor of i\1assachusetts~as \Vc11 as governor at other tirncs of Nev{ Jersey and 7':orth Caroli11a)had in his day been a correspondent of the l-io]lis fa1nily. Hutchinson meado,v has already been 111entioned. 1"hrcc lots ,Ycre nan1cd for Jonathan 1'11avhc,v ( 1720-1766), Andrcvt Eliot ( 1718-177 8)~ and John Adan1s. These strengthen the supposition :ilrcady put f or\v~rd here, that the JrJol1isfield non1encL1ture\Vas the product of the sixties \vhen the plan ,vas being carrjed out, or, even more probah]y, the ,vork of 1 773'1 ,vhcn he hin1sclf noted his ahsorption at the tin1e in paying trjbutc to friends of Jibcrty+ I-lo11is111ay fir.st h~vc kno,vn 1\1gyhc,v from the rcprjnt by Ilichard Bftron (d. 1766) in 175 it of the f ~n1ous scrn1on preached on the anni- versary of the execution of Cltarlcs I nnd decrying· subniission to tyrants. A regular correspondence

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) 428 1/arvtrrd 13hrary Bulletin co1nn1on approach to politics and to the policies pursued by the n1inis- tcrs of George III. i'\1~yhc\v"spl-ace as A111cricanletter ,vriter ,Yas taken

by .A.. ndrc,v· Eliot because i, of their sitnilarity of turn. n 25 H·ollis "·as thus ,veil infor1ncd of the nlonnting discontent and anxiety of Ne\v ltt1gJand. Adn11ratjon for Adnn1s has -already heen discussed. l ...hcy nc,rer n1et, though ju visiting 1~hornasBrand-I-I oil is at the I-Iyde in 1786, Adan1s \Yas tu be interested in the 1nany n1e1norahiliathere of the n1~n he looked on as friend. I) id he kno\,r of the field in f)orset~ shire narned in his honor? 20 Fie]ds of cour~e at:quirc 11ames- the co,v pasrure, the large 11Jc:ldO\V, inevitably crop up as a 111eansof ready idenrjfication and of ten., like streets, long con11Tien1oratcfunction or even person after the sjtuation hns changed. A·Iany- perhaps n1ost Engli~h fields - have specific designations! indicating ~i,~e( eighteen acres), fornler history before

enclosure (the n1oor), e::r.rlierO\vners (Pritchards 1 or The Closes, the Glcbc, that is hind once belonging to the church! and then set ftside for the support of parisl1 buildings 8nd parson). I-=Jollis,vas unusual in hjs choice. Not that places have 11ot oftci1 celebrated heroes or events, 1,1aterloo Place, "\\1cBington Terrace arc n111nytin1cs du plicatcd in England~ but such a deliberate attc1npt to 111akefields recall the story of liberty \VJS scldon1.,if ever, n1adc. Cro,Nc, in the poen1 quoted, reinarkcd on it in tcrn1s that suggest the unusual nature of the nomcn- claturet an

i\fassachusetts Historkal Socicty1 l-lollis l~cttcrs: 881 to Eliot, 11 J\·lay 1767. Tbc lldauu P(lpr:ts, ed. L. H. Butterfield: Ditrry m1d AutobiogrnpfJJ, 111 ( C~tn- bridgc: Belknap Prc~s of Hanrard University Press, 1961) i 196--198 ( 2 4 -and 7. 5 July 1786).

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975) CONTRIBUTORS TO TI-IIS ISSUE

I-Io,vARDl\·1 UJ\lI•'ORD Jo~Est AlJhott L:nvrent.:e Lo\\Tel1 Professor of the Human- itiesi E1neritus, at Harv~rd, "~as Editor of the I·IARVARD L1BRARY Blj"LLETlK, 1966-l 967; the n1ost recent uf hi5" nurnerou~ hool.::s:( edited jn col!~bonnion ,vith his ,vife, Bessie Zuban Jone~) is Th~ A1rcuyT 7 oice-s of Roston - A His- totical A11tholGgy 1630-197 5~ published bf Atlantic/Little, Bro\vn.

JoEL l\1Yr.RSOl\T,A-ssis:tant Profes~or of English Li:lnguage and Literature at the University of South Carolina, is the author of bib]iographics of Jvlclville :ind of !viargarc t Fuller; his other published ,vri rj n gs i ricln de con tri bu ti o ns to th E Ju1y 1973 and October 1974 issues of the 1-IARVARD LIBRARY BuLLETI~~

Cr::cTLlAHcu;:.NA PAYN£-GAPOSCHK1:N is l?hiHips Professor of Astronomy, E1ller- ita.,at I-Iarvnrd; her published books include Stellr,r At1nospbcres ( 192. 5), Tl:ie

Stars of Hig!J L1nninosit-y( 1930 ), 11 ariahle Stars & Galtrctlc Structurer (, 954) I Stars in the A1ttJdn.g( 195 2) Introduction to AHronouiy ( 1954; 2nd ed., 1970)~

and Tbe Gai11cticN 01xre( 1957; :zad cJ ·i r 964).

JoN PF.AKSON PERRY ,von the \VjHian1 I-Iarrfa Arno1d and Gertrude ~' 7c1d Arnold Prize at I-Ia:rvardin 1968 ,vith on e,;;s~yon Je::10 de l~ournes; he has re- centiy con1pleted a Harvard dissertation on Polisce~in~a L-atin humanist con1edy of the c-arl y R cnais.s:an cc.

CAROL 1NF.. RonnINS, Prof es.sor En1eri tu s of I-Iistory at Bryn l\1 a,vr Col lege, hc1s edited a n111nbcr of seventeenth-century texts; her Tbe Eigbteentb-~Ce11tury Co; JnJ1onw enit 1nna-n\v:1 s published by the H ;i rva rd University Press. in 19 59 :u1d a previous attic le on Ho His, '~Library of Li bcrt y - Asscrnbl cd for If~ r n:arJ CoHcge by 'fho1nas I-Iollis of Lincoln~s lnnt appeared in the HARVARDLu3RARY IluLLETJN, \ 1 ( 195 l ), 5-2 J:t 181-J 96.

E~R;A.'fA IN 'fHE ARTICLE by A-iarceJFran\'on, ~'I·]istoric::rlBackground of French Liter· ature in the First Part of the Sixteenth Century/' XXIII: 1 (January 1975)~ 50, line i 71 rec1d Charles \ 1Ill Onstead of Charles \ 1Il); p. 5 2., line i 5, rc~d Clc1nent ,rn (instc-;iJ of Clc1ncnt \ 71); an

468

Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XXIII, Number 4 (October 1975)