manners, and so fond of conversation, that he almost literally talked himself to death. He was buried in the church-yard of Southhill, in Bedfordshire, with the following epitaph inscribed on his glare stone:
The body of Edward Dilly,
late citizen and bookseller, of London.
He was born in this parish,
July 25, 1732;
and died May 11, 1779.
The business was carried on by his younger brother Charles Dilly, who had been some time his partner, and thus became the sole proprietor of a very valuable trading concern, which he continued to cultivate with that industry and application, which in the great commercial metropolis of England almost invariably leads to opulence, till 1807, under which year see a notice.
1779, July 20. Died, Dougal Graham, the rhyming chronicler of the rebellion of 1745, and who for some time carried on the business of a printer at Glasgow; and it has been affirmed, that, like Buchan, the chronicler of Peterhead, he used to compose and set up vvhis works without ever committing them to writing. Unfortunately, no account of the parentage or early life of this eccentric individual has been preserved. It has been said that he was engaged in the rebellion of 1745 and 1746, but without sufficient authority. He had, to use his own words, "been an eve-witness to most of the movements of the armies, from the rebels first crossing the ford of Frew, to their final defeat at Culloden;" but it would seem from this expression, as well as from the recollections of some of his acquaintances, that it was only in the capacity of a follower, who supplied the troops with small wares. But Dougal's aspiring mind aimed at a higher and nobler employment,—the cultivation of the muse; and no sooner was the rebellion terminated by the battle of Culloden, than he determined to write a history of it "in vulgar rhyme."
Accordingly, the Glagow Courantof September 19, 1746, contains the following advertisement:
"That there is to be sold by James Duncan, printer in Glasgow, in the Salt-Mercat, the second shop below Gibson's Wynd, a book entitled, A full, particular, and true account of the late rebellion in the years 1745 and 1746, beginning with the Pretender's embarking for Scotland, and then an account of every battle, siege, and skirmish that has happened in either Scotland or England: to which is added, several addresses and epistles to the pope, pagans, poets, and pretender, all in metre, price fourpence. But any booksellers or packmen may have them easier from the said James Duncan, or the author, D. Graham. The like," the advertisement concludes, "has not been done in Scotland since the days of sir David Lindsay!" As the book became known, Dougal issued editions greatly enlarged and improved." That of 1771, while it contains many additions, is said to want much of the curious matter in the editio princeps. Iu 1752, Graham styles himself 'merchant in Glasgow,' but it would appear that his wealth had not increased with his fame; about this time he became a printer. The exact date at which he became bellman is not known, but it most have been after 1770. At this time the situation was one of some dignity and importance: the posting of handbills and the publishing of advertisements were not quite so common; and whether a child had "wandered,"—"salmon, herring, cod, or ling" had arrived at the Broomielaw,—or the grocers had received a new supply of "cheap butter, barley, cheese, and veal," the matter could only be proclaimed by the mouth of the public crier. After several years of, it may be supposed, extensive usefulness in this capacity, Dougal was gathered to his fathers. Besides the before-named history, Graham wrote many other poems and songs, some of which, though little known, are highly graphic. They would form a pretty large volume, but it is hardly probable that in this fastidious age any attempt will be made to collect them.—Chambers's Eminent Scotsmen.
1779, |Nov. 12. Died, John Beecroft, a considerable wholesale bookseller in Paternoster-row, many years agent to the university of Cambridge, and master of the company of stationers in 1773. He died at Walthamstow.
1779, May. 24. Henry Sampson Woodfall, printer of the General Advertiser, sentenced in the court of king's bench to pay a fine of six shillings and eight pence, and to be confined in Newgate twelve months, for publishing a Landbill expressive of joy at the acquittal of admiral Keppel.[1]
1779. Dr. Johnson published his long-expected work, the Lives of the English Poets, and fixed the price at two hundred guineas, at which Malone observes, "The booksellers, in the course of twenty-five years have probably cleared five thousand. Johnson has dignified the booksellers as the "patrons of literature." In the case of the above work, which drew forth that encomium, he had bargained for two hundred guineas; and the booksellers spontaneously added a third hundred. On this occasion the great moralist observed to a friend, "Sir, I have always said the booksellers were a generous set of men. Nor in the present instance have I reason to complain. The fact is, not that they have paid me too little, but that I have written too much." The lives were soon published in a separate edition; when for a few corrections, the doctor was presented with another hundred guineas. This work was first suggested by a literary club of booksellers,
- ↑ Augustus, viscount Keppel, was the second son of the earl of Albemarle. He accompanied commodore Anson in his voyage round the world, and in 1778 commanded the channel fleet, which, July 12, in that year, fell in with the French under count d'Orvilliers off Ushant. A partial action ensued, which the English admiral thought to have renewed in the morning, but the enemy had retired. This affair gave great dissatisfaction to the nation, which was aggravated by sir Hugh Palliser, second in command, preferring a charge against admiral Keppel, who was honourably acquitted by a court-martial at Portsmouth. Sir Hugh was then tried and censured. In 1732, admiral Keppel was raised to the peerage; he was also at two separate periods first lord of the admiralty. He died Oct. 2, 1758.
