Eastern Maudit, Dec. 31, 1763.
The same to the same.
Dear Sir,
It is with pleasure I perform all your requests: inclosed you have the transcript from Wormius which you desired. As his book relates only to the Runic letters and ancient manner of writing, it did not fall within his subject professedly to treat of the Islandic prosody; he has, therefore, only described one species of verse out of innumerable others, and this, as it were, by the bye and by way of specimen. He refers to the Edda, or old Islandic book of prosody, for the rest; this book I have not seen.—There is another Edda, which I have, that explains the Islandic mythology, and of this I shall publish, ere long, a translation, with some curious notes and dissertations of M. Mallet, the present historiographer to the King of Denmark, as you may remember I have hinted in the preface to my specimens of Runic Poetry.
When may one hope to see your Dissertatio de Bardis? I am fond of the subject, and have great expectations of your manner of handling it. I thank you for your friend’s preface; though he is not much master of English style, the particulars he produces are curious. I have turned to my learned friend Mr. Lye’s edition of Junii Etymologicon Anglicanum for the etymology of such words as your friend mentions, and I find nothing, that does not confirm his derivations; I have not time now to descend to particulars, but shall be glad to hear from you as soon as agreeable. One so much master, as you are, of British antiquities, whether historic or poetical, can never want means of entertaining,
Dear Sir, your very affectionate servant,
Thomas Percy.
Easton Maudit, April 10, 1764.
P.S. Pray, are the Welsh romances, you have described, in prose or verse? If they are in prose, then let me ask if you have ever seen any in verse? I take it, these subjects were treated in verse before they came to plain prose in most nations. This, at least, I find to be the case in the old Erse and Islandic languages, as well as in the more modern Italian, French, Spanish, and English tongues. I have got curious specimens in the last I mentioned. Pray is the word St. Great, or St. Greal, in the first article of your curious letter?
WELSH PROVERBS.
It appears that the Rev. E. Evans (Ieuan Prydydd Hir), had prepared for publication a Collection of our Ancient Welsh Proverbs; for a writer in the second volume of the “Cambro Briton,” gives the following translation of the Latin Preface preffixed to the MSS., which we here reprint.