THE

AUTHOR'S APOLOGY.

It is with infinite gratitude I review the number of subscribers to this work, and their elevated character, as well in the literary world, as the honours with which many of them are distinguished; and I acknowledge myself highly sensible of the attention the public was pleased to pay to the two first volumes.

It is incumbent upon me to refer to the public eye the circumstances which have delayed the appearance of this volume, and the adverse events which have embarassed its progress.

In the course of those suits in which I was unfortunately involved, it was necessary George Allan, Esq. should be called upon to give testimony both at law, and in equity; a matter in which I laboured with the utmost reluctance, and pursued with every degree of delicacy, that his situation, and the circumstances which my case involved, required.

As Mr Allan stood forth publicly to give his evidence, and also put in an answer upon oath to my bill in the Exchequer, those facts to which he swore cannot be doubted or controverted; and I humbly conceive they fully contain my justification.

Mr Allan having " collected many valuable materials, which "he apprehended were necessary to the compilation of a "History of the County Palatine of Durham, applied to, and "frequently importuned," me " to undertake that work, and "he accordingly delivered over many records, together with "a variety of manuscripts and printed transcripts, which had "been compiled and collected without any chronological order "or regularity, and which then lay in his custody unclassed, "and in an undigested state."undigested state."-"And" I " did accordingly "compose and write, and was solely the author of the "work.".

-At Mr Hodgson's instance, all the manuscript of the work was delivered to Mr Allan, for his revisal, before it went to the press, and in his testimony he said that he verily believed I did "esteem the delivery to be virtually a delivery to the "use of Mr Hodgson."