Friday 28th. At Museum from ½ past 9 of till 4. This morning
Mr Baber shewed me the Original Alexandrian MS. and
^two of the copies struck off on vellum; one of which is going to Vienna
& the other is his own. There were eleven copies on vellum in
all. Only one of an extra-sized sheet, which the D. of
Devonshire has, for the sum of 400 guineas. The rest were
charged 200 g’ns each. Of these, the K of France had one,
Lord Spencer one, the Ab’p of Canterbury & the B’p. of London
each one, the rich banker Mr Dent one — I forget where
the ####other four went. I still am a sceptic respecting the age
of this MS. and think the 6th. Centy. is as early as it can
in reason be ascribed to. The accents on the #####second fol. are
certainly added by another hand,– at least those in the
text– but I have still some slight doubts respecting the
miniated accents over the first title in red. From a ^recent note
in the MS. it appears to have been given to the Patriarchal
See of Alexandria about the end of the eleventh Centy;
& at the bottorn of the 2d fol. is an#### anathema in
Arabic against any who shall presume to take it away.
The name of the Bishop (as it ##was interpreted by Salame
& Mr Baber) is unfortunately lost, except the first letter,
which may make it Saba, or something similar, & Mr.
B. says, there was a Saba, Patriarch of Alexandria just
about this time (end of of 11th. Cent.) Judicent doctiores!
Sent the letter to Vaux. The Ab’p. has yet decided nothing,
& will not in all probability till next week.– Lord Spencer
is absent, cruizing with his son,[Capt. Robert S.] & will return in about
a week in one of the Admiralty yachts to Ryde, where
Mr Petrie is going to join him. — Met my Uncle ^Sir George M. in
Piccadilly, & he told me of young Lady Astley‘s elopement
with Garth! O tempora, O mores! In the Evg. went
to the Institutn. in Leicester Sq. to read the papers.
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