large sum by the work; and no inconsiderable portion of their success must be referred to Mr. Boys's excellent taste in their production: the portrait illustrations, mostly engraved by Fry, were admirable. JOHN TIMBS. * * * * * LADY NEVILL'S MUSIC-BOOK: MODE OF READING THE ANCIENT VIRGINAL MUSIC. (Vol. vii., p. 59.) The index to _Lady Nevill's Music-book_, printed by your correspondent L. B. L., was made known to the public in 1789, in the third volume of Dr. Burney's _History of Music_. In addition to the information given in "N. & Q.," the doctor adds: "Besides the great number of Bird's compositions for keyed instruments, which are preserved in the _Virginal book_ of Queen Elizabeth (now in the Fitzwilliam Museum), another manuscript collection of his pieces still subsists, under the title of _Lady Nevil's Music-book_. It is a thick quarto, very splendidly bound and gilt, with the family arms beautifully emblazoned and illuminated on the first page, and the initials H. N. at the lowest left-hand corner."--P. 91. The MS. in question was the property of Dr. Burney, at whose sale, in 1814, it was purchased for 10l. 10s. by Mr. Thomas Jones, of Nottingham Place. At the sale of the latter, about ten years afterwards, it was bought by Triphook, the bookseller, and by him sold to Lord Abergavenny. I remember seeing the book when in Triphook's possession, since which time I had lost sight of it, until the notice by L. B. L. in your pages. Mr. Thomas Jones was a well-known musical antiquary, and possessed many rare treasures in this department. One of the most important was the _original_ MS. of _Lady Nevill's Music-book_, in the handwriting of William Byrd the composer. This valuable relic is now in my library. John Baldwine, the person who made the splendid copy for the use of Lady Nevill, was a singular character. I have some materials for his biography which may one day see the light. He was a poet in his own time, and wrote a metrical {215} account of famous musicians. The latter part, which I extract from the MS. now before me, relates to the composer of _Lady Nevill's Music-book_: