In a
note in the edition of 1799, he says:--'The Author has been informed
that an old law exists (mentioned by Dugdale), which tolerates
husbandmen in working on Sundays in harvest; and that, in proof thereof,
a gentleman in the north has uniformly carried one load every year on a
Sunday.' He adds:--'Jan. 1799. The particulars of this note were
furnished by the late Dr. Samuel Johnson; at whose request some
considerable part of what was originally written, and _printed_ on this
subject was cancelled. That which was published and which is now offered
again to the public is, _in effect_, what Dr. Johnson approved; or, let
me put it in the most cautious terms, that of which _Dr. Johnson did not
disapprove_.' Marshall's _Minutes etc., on Agriculture_, ii. 65-70.
[925] Saturday was April 18.
[926] William Duncombe, Esq. He married the sister of John Hughes
the poet; was the authour of two tragedies and other ingenious
productions; and died 26th Feb. 1769, aged 79. MALONE. In his Life of
Hughes (_Works_, vii. 477), Johnson says 'an account of Hughes is
prefixed to his works by his relation, the late Mr. Duncombe, a man
whose blameless elegance deserved the same respect.
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