Samuel Henshall

Samuel Henshall's Etymological Organic Reasoner containing the Gothic Gospel of St Matthew with the corresponding English or Saxon from the Durham Book of the eighth century with Observations on the works of Whiter and Home Tooke was published in numbers during the year 1807. Some proposals appear to have been issued for a work in three volumes of which only four numbers included in the above work came out. During the course of publication, finding that persecution still followed his steps, on the recommendation of some literary friends, he added to the fourth number an Occasional Preface with a title page. The work he dedicated to the late Richard Heber Esq, whose valuable collections were freely opened to him as they were afterwards to hundreds of others with most praiseworthy liberality by their truly liberal owner.

In his preface, Henshall tells that the obstacles and falsehood that he encountered in the publication of his Gothic Gospel from Antiquarians Blackstonians Electioneering Oxonians Reviewers Low Churchmen Presbyterians Methodists and others are almost incredible. A bookseller opposite the Exchange returned the numbers he had to Mr White his publisher and would not sell them, and he complains that Mr. Cook of Oxford had written two discouraging letters from the University where a Saxon professor is established, and the minor critics reported in the Bibliopolite circle that he should never edit a second number. From these circumstances he declares himself unable to gratify the wishes of his friends, who were desirous of having his disquisitions on Saxon literature in one volume; but he adds,
"I will send them to the press with great additions, alterations, and emendations, whenever I have the names of 100 subscribers ,at six shillings each entered at Mr White's."

Still writhing under the lash which his critics unmercifully and unjustly applied to him, he was constrained to publish their names to the world. In August 1798, being requested to do so, he waited upon Mr Reeves of the Anti Jacobin Review who expressed a wish that Henshall should assist Mr John Gifford in that work. About a month afterwards Mr Reeves, he tells us, made the following observations to him: " Perhaps Mr H., you are little aware that in the October Reviews, your Saxon and English languages, reciprocally illustrative of each other, is agreed to be damned in the Gentleman's Magazine by Gough the Saxon professor, and another in the Analytical Review by Mr Home Tooke, and the two editors and I am applied to by Mr Beloe to expose your total ignorance of the Saxon language lest the British critics should comparatively be thought to possess only glimmering eyes." To prevent the possibility of any denial of this statement he refers to the several reviews of his work in the month of October 1798. To counteract such machinations, he adds, " I am reduced to the necessity of publishing my present works in octavo periodical numbers, which shall appear the first day of each month, if my health permit my appear my permit my studies. Each number will contain one sheet of the Gothic Gospels. and one sheet of Saxon from the Durham book, collations from the Rushworth Gloss, and one sheet of offensive and defensive reckonings. Next month I propose to print the first part of Alfred's Will for my introductory sketch, with illustrations of the tenures of places there mentioned from Domesday &c."

J Henshall erred in supposing that will only was required to carry into effect the plans which he had formed, whereas knowledge was equally requisite. To the latter although he made pretensions, lie could not sustain them, but as a man, he deserved at the hands of his critics and persecutors a far different treatment to that which he received.
SOURCE: An Historical Sketch of the Progress and Present State of Anglo-Saxon Literature in England By John Petheram.… (mehr)