S H A K S P EAR E

AND

H I S T IMES

INCLUDINGTHE BIOGRAPHY OF THE POET ;

CRITICISMS ON HIS GENIUS AND WRITINGS ; A NEW CHRONOLOGY OF HIS PLAYS ;A DISQUISITION ON THE OBJECT OF HIS SONNETS ;

AND

A HISTORY OF

THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND AM USEMENTS, SUPERSTITIONS,

POETRY,m ELEGANT LITERATURE OF HIS AGE .

BY NATHAN DRAKE, M.D.

AUTHOR or LITERARY n ouns, AND or ESSAYS ON PERIODICAL L ITERATURE.

Triumph 111 Britain ! thou hast one to show,

To whom 1 scenes of Europe homage owe .

Soul of the ag e,The applause, delight, the wonder of our stag

e,

My Shakspeare, rise EH J on son.

The very age and body of the time, his form and pressure .Snu sru nn.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I .

LONDON

PRINTED FOR T . CADELL AND w DAVIES, IN THE STRAND.

THE FIRST VOL UME.

J edneswd at the Free J hoot of

snd ofJ uvemle Literature m the Country at this peri f

speare’

s acqu irements as a Scholar.

Probably a

eth visited the Earl of Leicester Tradition ofAubreyQi: u Whether there is m e :

“

i"

i that, after fleav mg his Pathcr,he

VO'LO 10

CHAPJ IX :

of some of its . Superstitions WintexuNig ht’s Conversation Paeul

'

Periods devoted to Superstition St. Paul’s Day St. Swithen ’

s DaySt. Mark

’

s Day Childermas -.St. Valentine

’

8 Day Midsummer-Eve

Michaelas — All Hallow-Eve —St.Withold Olneus Charms — Symp&

thies Superstitions Cures Miscellaneous Superstitions . 8 14

CHAP. X .

Biog raphy of Shakspeare resumed His Iri'eg ularities — Deer-stealing in

Sir Thomas Lucy’s Park — Account of the Lucy family — Daisyh ill, the

Keeper’s Lodg e, where Shakspem was confined, on the Charg e of stealing

Deer— Shakspeare’s Reveng e— Ballad on Lucy

— Severe Prosecution bySir Thomas — never forg otten by Shakspeare

— this Cause, and probablyalso Debt, as his Father was now in reduced Circumstances, induced him

to leave the Country for London about l 586 — Remarks on this Removal.

40 1

PART II.

SHAKSPEARE IN LONDON .

CHAP. I.

Shakspeare’s Arrival in London about the Year 1586, when twenty-two

Years ofAg e — Leaves his Family at Stratford, visiting them

His Introduction to the Stag e — His Merits as an Actor.

CHAP. II.

Shakspeare commences a Writer ofPoetry, probably about the year 1587, bythe compos ition of his Venus and Adonis — Historical Outline of Polite

Literature, during the Ag e of Shakspeane General passion for Letters

— Shakspeare’s Prog ress in both

— History, g eneral, local, and personal,

Shakspeare’s Acquaintancewith— Miscellaneous Literature.

SHAKSPEARE‘

AND Hi s TIMES.

SHAKSPEARE IN STRATFORD.

W ILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, the object almostof our idolatry as

on the 23d op ril, 1564 , and he was baptized on the 26th of the

same month.

t is fami ly, not much that is certain can bereeorded ; but it

would appear, from an in strument in the College of Heralds, eon

firming the g rant of a coat of arms to John Shakspeare in 1599, thathis great grandfather had been rewarded by Henry the Seventh,

for his faithefull and approved service, With lands and tenements

g iven to him in those parts ofWarwickshire, where,”

proceeds this

document, they have continued by some descents in good ~reputation

and cred it.” Notwithstanding this assertion , however, no such g ran t,

after a minute examination, made by Mr. Malone in the chapel ofthe Rolls, has been discovered ; whence we have reason to infer, thatthe heralds have been mistaken in their stateme

nt, and that the

faleomwith kis myng s disp layed, sta nding on a wrethe of lu'

s caulk",

Mr. John Shakspeare married, though in what year is not ao

curately known , the daug hter and heir of Robert Ald en, of

Welling oote, in the coun ty of Waswick, who is termech i n the

Grant ofArms’

of 1596, a g entleinamofwarship .

” The Aidem'

or

Ardeth family, appears to hav e been ofeoh siderable antiquity ai for,in Fuller’sWorthies , Rob. Axden de Broinwich, ar. is ambfig sthe

names of the g entry of this county tetnrned by the commissionea's

in the twelfth year of King Henry the Sixth, 1483 s; and in othe

eleven th and s ixteenth years of Elizabeth, A D.

'

1562 and 1568,

Sim. Ardern , at . and Edw. Ardm, ar. ave enumeratemby the same

that the woodland part of this b ounty Mas fed nérly vdmomifiabed

Ardei'n , thbugh, for the sake o f - euphony; frequently soitehed

appellation of Arden ; hence it is not improbab le, that the supposition ofMr. J aeob , who reprinted, in 1770, theTragedy ofArden

be correct ; namely that Shakspeare , the poet, was descended by the

female line from the unibrtunate indiv idual whose ti ag ical death is

the subject of th is drama ; for though the nanie -of th is g entlemanwas orig inally Ardeth , he seems early to have experienced the fi te

of the coun ty d istrict, a nd to have had his surname harmonised by a.

s imilar omiss ion . In consequence of this marriage, Mr, JohnShakspeare and his posterity were allowed, by the College of

Heralds , to impale their arms with the ancient arms of the Ardrns of

Wei ling cote. 1Of the issue ofJohn Shakspeare by this connection , the accounts

are contrad ictory and perplexed ; nm is it absolutely ascerta ined ,

Seeme M rm g u q M Reed’s Shah pm voh t m edit ofwos .

1» The History of the Worthies ofEng lmd, pan fih fol J S l , 139.

t See M speu-e’

s coat of arms, Reed’

s Shaksp voLLp lw.

B 2

1 1

seeching his Divine Majesty that he will be pleased to anoyut mysenses both internal] and external] with the sacred oyle of shis-infi

nite mercy, anc1 cé pardonmet al] my s ins committed by seeing ,

5 .

Item, I J ohn Shakspear doe by this present pmtesh that l willnever through any texnptation whatsoever despe ite of the divine

g oodness, for the mu ltitude and greatness of my sinnes ; fee which,although I confesse that I have deserved hell, yet will I steadfastlyhope in God

’

s infin ite mercy, knowing that he hath heretofore patdoued many as great s inners as myself, whereof I have good warrantsealed with his sacred mouth, in holy writ, whereby he pronounceththat he is not come to call the just, but s inners .

6.

Item; I John Shakspeardo protest, that I do not knowthat I haveever done any good worke meritorious of life everlasting : and if I

have done any, I do acknowledg e that I have done it With a g reat

able to have done the least without the ass istance of his div ine g ramWherefore let the dev il] remain eonfounded : for I doe in no wise

presume to merit heaven by sud l good workes alone, but through themerits and bloud ofmy Lord and Sav iour Jesus, shed upon the cross

forme most miserable s inner.

7.

Item, [ John Shakspear do lamest by this present writing , that

I will patiently endure and sufi'

er all kind of infirmity, s ickness, y ea,ahd the paide of death itself : whe1‘ein

.

if it should happen, which

4

whether he had only one wife, or whether he might not have had

two, or even three. Mr. Rowe, whose narrative has been usuallyfollowed, has given him ten children , among whom he considers

William the poet, as the eldest son.‘ The Reg ister, however, of the

parish of StratfordJ-upon-Avon , which commences in 1558, is

incompatible with mis statement ; for, we there find cleven childrea

ascribed to John Shah peaa-

e ten baptiM and om the baptism of

buried ? The dates'

of these bopti fl ns, and of two or three other

eventa reeorded in this Reg i ster, 1t wsll be newsw y for the salte

of elucidation, to transcribe :

“ J one, daug hter of John Shalcspere, was baptized Sept. 15 , 1558.

“ Marg aret, daug hter of John Shakspere, was buried April 30, 1563.

“ Wm u m, son of John Shakspem was baptized April 26 , 1564 .

Gilbm, son of J ohn Shakspere, was baptiszed Oct.

J anet, daughter of John Shakspere, wa s baptized April 15, 1569.

Anne, daughter o e . John Shakspere, W88 bfipfiZGd Sept 98 , l 57 i .Richard, son oe . John Shakspere, was bapti zedMarch -4 .

EM , son ofMr. J ohn Shakspere, was baptized May 3, 1580.

“ J ot JmIcap ere and Marg ery Roberts were married Nov . 25, 1584.

“ Al qrg cry , wife ofl ohn Shakspa a was buried Oct 29, 1587.

Urmla , daug hter of J ohn Sha'kspere, was baptized March

‘r‘ Em brey , son of J ohn Shakspere, was baptized May

Phi lip , son ofJohn Shakspere, was baptized Sept. 21, 1591 .

Mn J ok-n Shakspere was buried Sept. 8, 1601.Mary Shakspere, widow, was buried Sept. 9, 1608 .

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. 1. p. 58, 59.

{ Reed s Shaltspearq vol. 1 p. 1 83.

1“ It was common in the ag e o ueen Elizabeth to g ive the same Christian name to

W chiifl fen successively. This was undoubtedly done in the present instance. TheW M having probably died, (thoug h I ean find no entry of her burid in the

Reg ister, nor indeed of many of the other children of J ohn Shakspeare) the na1ne of

Malone from Reed’s Shakapa nfi vol. 1.

11

5

Now it is evidenh that if the ten children whieh were baptized,according to this Register, between the years 1558 and 1591 , are to

Marg aret. He must also hav e had thré wivm for we find his

second wife, Marg ery , died m 1587, and the death of a third, Ma y,

a widow, is noticed in 1608.

It was“sugg ested . to Mr. Malonef“, that very probably, Mr. John

Simli speare had a son born fto him, aswell as a daug hter, befiore the

commencement .of the Reg ister, and tha t th is his eldest son , was , asis customary, named after his father, John ; a suppos ition which,(as no other ch ild was baptized by the Christian name of the old

gentleman ,) carries some credibil ity with it, and was subsequentlyacqu iesced in by Mx. Malone h imself.

In this case, therefore, the marriag e recorded in the Register, isthat of J ohn Shakspeare the young er with Marg ery Roberts , and thethree children born between 1588 and 1591, Ursu la, Humphrey , and

Ph ilip, the isSu e of this J ohn , not by the first, but by a second

marriage ; for as Marg ery Shakspeare .died m 1587 , and Ursula was

baptiz ed in 1588 -9, these children must have been by the MaryShakspeare , whose death is men tiomed as occurring in 1608, and as

quently have died before that date.

The result of ilth arrangement will be, that the father of oar poethad on ly nine ch ildren , and that WM IAM was not the eldest, but

the second son .

On either plan , however, the account of Mr. Rowe o is equallyinaccdrate ; and as the introduction of an elder son involves a varietyof suppos itions, and at the same time noth ing improbable is attachedto the consideration of this part of the Reg ister in the l ight in whichit m ushy appears, that is, as allus ive solely to the father, it will,

wethink, be the better and the safermode, to rely upon it, according

Reed’s Shakspenre, voL i. p. 136.

6

te am more direct and literal import. This determination will be

g reatlys treng thened by refl ecting , that old Mr. Shakspeare was, on

the authority of the last instrumen t g ranting him a coat of arms,

l iving in 1599 ; that on the testimony of the Regi ster, taken in the

comm acceptation , he was not buried until September 1601 and

that in no part of the same document is the epithet ymmg er annexed

to the name of John Shakspeare, a mark of distinction wh ich there

is every reason to suppose would have been ihtrodueed, had the

father and a son of the same Christian name been not only liv ing at

the same time in the same town , but the latter l ikewise a parent.

That the circumstances of Mr. J ohn Shakspeare were, at the

period of his marriage, and for several years afterwards, if not

affl uent, yet easy and respectable, there is every reason to suppose,

from his hav ing filled offices of the first J trust and importance in hisnative town but, from the same authority which has induced us to

draw this inference, another of a very different kind, with regard toa subsequent portion of his l ife, may with equal confidence be taken .

In the books of the corporation of Stratford it is stated, that

At the hall holden Nov . 19th, in the 2181. year of the re ig nof our sovereign lady Queen El izabeth, it is ordained, that every

Alderman shail be taxed to pay weekly M , sav{ing J ohn . Shakapm

and Robert Bruce , who shall not be taxed to pay ah y thhl g ; and

every burg ess to pay 2d.

”Again,

At the hall holden on the 6th day of September, in the 28th

At this hall William Smith and Richard Courte are chosen to

be Aldesmen in the places of J ohn Whaler and John Shakspeare,for that Mr. Wheler doth des ire to be put out of the company , and

Mx. Shakspeare doth not come to the halls , when they be warned,

nor hath not done of long time.”

The conclusion te be drawn from these memomnda must una

avoidably be, that, in 1579, ten years after he had served the office

Reed’

s Shakspwre, voLL p. 58 .

7

of High Baiiifl'

, his situation, in a pecimiary light, was so ,much

of 4d. ; and that, in 1586, the same distress still subsisting , ahd

The causes of th1s unhappy change in his'

citcurnstanoes cannot

now,with the exception of the burthen of a larg e and increas ing

m ay, be ascertained but it is probable, that to th is period is to

be referred, if there be any truth in the tradition, the report 053

Aubrey, that W illiam Shakspeare’

s hather was a butcher.

”This

anecdote, he afl irms, was received from the neighbours of the

bard, and, on this account, merits some cons ideration .1“

We ave indebted to Mr. Rowe for the first intimation concern

ing . the‘

trade of John Shakspeare ; his declaration, derived also

from tradition , that he was a i ‘ considerable dealer in w appease

confirmed by subsequen t research. From a window in a room of

the premises which orig inally fom ed part of the house at Stratford,

in which Shakspeare the poet was born , and a part ofwhich premiseshas for many years been occupied as a publ io-house, with the

s ig n of the Swan and Maidenhead, a pane of g lass was taken , aboutfive and forty years a g o, by Mr. . Peyton , the then master of the

adjoining Inn called The White Lion . This pane, now in the pos

session of his son , is nearly six inches in diametet , and perfect, and on

on a chief g ala , a lion .p assant or. It appears, from the . style in

which it is fin ished , to have been executed about the time of

Shakspeare, the father, and is undoubtedly a strong corroborat ive

proof of the authenticity of Mr. Rowe’ s relation . T

Ms. Aubrey, Mus. Ashmol. Oxon . Lives, p. 1 . fol. 78, a. (Inter Cod. Dugda l. )Vide Ree d’s Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 21 8.

1 Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. 111. p. 216. and Ireland’ss Picturesque Views on the Upperor

W arwickshire Avon, p. 190, 191 . Since this passag e was written , however, the proof

which it was supposed to contain, has been completely annihilated . If John Shaka

m w fiy ndmit of m cfl ommt, if we consida s thatbetweea é e

W W M M hh lll’

m tlwra h muvh m to imag ina botb

M W M muwb n Mid alliueuoe oi'

his son William,

nnd t'

wm tilt. M ol'

hln l pplylng to tho College d'

Heralda, 1n

1m M 1599. for 11 “mm of 1mm ; events, of which the fimt.

W a g dw dwm r of dwmh mmt dmost necessarily have

M M M tlu weond dlmmly pm appom . dlepon d” W W W 11m! respectability.

Tho only mml lnlng alrfl uml tancewhich time bu spared us, relative

mClum uonduet of John Shahl poare,

mum on hollow that. 11 short time prev ious to his death,b. M 11 mafimloa of hla 1111111. 01' spiritual will ; a document still

in “ luau“ . the dluuwary awl hlntory a l‘

which, tog ether with the

M an ila» its elf.will not improperly find a phoe at the close of

dais W ing alums : of ourw k.

About tlwyear l’i’lO, aW ' lt' ltiltlw g ofthe name ofMosely ,

W am plwed by Mr.'

l‘

lmmaa Hunt. the filth in desca lt, in 9.

W M ! ” W M RWW I fin nld'

l'

bomu Hurt constantly declu ed

M WW uM fl a Hlmu g lu ln of th h wwmwho bad the new ghfing of

du duwl wludaq hen lt lu knomufi'omDugdda M“M im mmtmduw lt lnto hh m mdowfi'

Band'l a hnpu w. vol. lll.

18

m eM W’s m m d flpa ling rm n-ng ' l-i 11119

1 W palm M i m i‘ fl am m v tin dl fl

M at thew M y. Kr. CHAm ara “ ; M h M m M “M h m -h fl fl

Hem , W ail m m M yti d y vm WQI

M emw bn nomm am tsd h d le m d syfl ahle of fi h t

AW M M W . “a w ou the n g u ti n d’

a q

m m rm thinks tha thm h m thi ga fl m m h-i gz-lmfi y M n s w a t h

rim 0mm arl plate nf mtogn phs, which is copied fimn l lr.

(M iman 'n Apnlog y, m l presents as with very perfect fio—cimiles of

MmM fl mm it in at cm“ mithm, that the assertion of the manymommmoqmulant, that the last signature, like both doe other, was

«mm M apmu,"mmrmt be m ad ; for the surname in the first

lfl lhf 1am umMMRW O.m l, in the second, Shakspe re. Nowthe

1mm in ma mwmtl nigmture in unm ounted for in the fac-simile

“Mm by Mr. Malone“ lmt in the plate ofMr. Chalme1-s it is foundon lum lwmmM onml by the intrusion of the word the of the pre«mm; 1m. 11Mrmimmnmwhich. very probably, might prevent thelntmlumom «l ll“! «mtmvcfted letter. It is likewise, we think ,n owuvlclml llml ml i lng more than a mpevj iuom stroke exists

Imlivwn "111 u «ml 1 ol‘

the last signature, and that the variation

Mnlmw‘

l lmmlm p. um 1 (‘hnlmen

‘s Apology, p. 285.

l Mnlmw‘n lmmll'y. p. NY. “I t lnqulry. Plate 11. No. 12.

Ri

atmhedwfi m ' that he is unable mascextaimwaher itmdrawn up by J ohn

'

Shakspeare t he father, or by J ohn his supposed

eldest sg n ; M t he mya,“ I have taken some pains to aseertain the

authehtieity of this mhmxsmzipt, and, after a vmy carefid inqniry, am

perfectly aatisfied that it is In the Inquiry,”however,

which he publ'

mhed i11 1 7596, relative to the Ineland papers, he has

g iven m thongh withm t as s ig n ing myi reasonst fbr hie

he

chm g e of

0pinian , a very di65erent res111t : “ En my oonjeetur”he nemafks,

“ e'

mmewing the writen of that paper, I certa inly was mistaken ; {hr

I have since obta ined documents that cleamly pmve iteonld-not have

beag theu comPosifion of any one of our poet’

s family .

”

Tla the Apology

”of Mr. Geqrg e Chalmers for the Believemm

tha Shakapeare Which hppeamed in the year dubww nt ' to

MmM anda Inquiry,”ua n ew light is thrown upon the origin . af

this eonfession .

“m the sentiment, and the langm this conr

fession/ appears to thia g entlematm, f‘ the efiimion ofwBoman

Cathol ic mind, md was pa'

obably drm up by some Rmfi an Catholic

pt iestt zp If these pxehfises be g ramtemmm fl follow1 es . a fair de

(luctioh, thst the fami ly of Shakspem were RQmm Ca tholics y a

not have been the oompoaitienmf any of our poet’

s family . The

when he first published this papeh in l’

lw Buu it was the

m stmng thened by the facg that his thther declined te attend the

Reed’s Shah peare, voL ii . 197.

1" W 8m , puma, 199.

0

1 A; a specimen, wm m mw a m m fim a wmw m sfin

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

24

heeven while he lay in the M e. He was born , as we have alreadym m on the 23d ofApril, 1564 ; and on the 30th of the June follzbwing ,

”the plag ue broke out at Stratford, the ravages ofwhich (headful d isease were so v iolent, that between this last date and the close

ef December, not les s than two hundred and thirty-eight personsperished ; of wh ich number,

"remarks Mr. Malone, probably

two hundred a nd sixteen died of that malignant disternper and one

on ly of the whole number resided, not in Stratford, but in the neighb

’

onring town ofWelcombe. From the two hundred and thirty-seven

one are to be subducted, who, it may be presumed, would have diedin six months, 111 the ordinary course of nature ; for in the five pre

eedihg year'

s, reckoning, accord ing to the style of that t ime, fromMarch 25 , 1559, to March 25, 15641 two hundred and twenty-one

pm ns werebufied at SmM of whom two hundied and'

ten weretown smen : that is, of these latter, forty

- two died each year at an

average. Suppos ing one in th irty-five to have died annually} the total

number of the inhabitants of Stratford at that o

pefiod wnas one thou

sand four hundred and seventy and consequently the plag ue, in the

last six months ofthe year 1564 , carried ofi'

more than a seventh part

of them. Fortunately formankind it did not reach the house in whichthe infant Shakspeare lay ; for not one of that name appears in the

dead list. May we suppose, that, like Horace, he lay secure and fear

less in the midst of contagion and death , protected by the Muses, to

whom his future life was to be devoted, and covered over :

Non sine Diis '

anbnom i iy‘bm.

”

mode which was adopted in the educatl on of this aspiring g en ius ; all

that time has left us on the subject is, that h e was sent, though but

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 84, 85.

21

CHAPTER II .

1 111; n oose 1 11 wmcn sn axsemae was nons — m oms Arr STRATFORD, 1 11111: 1564

sn axsrs au nnucu nn u 7 111: m x—scuoc i . 0 17 m arrow or 2 11 110 11 11 0 11 ,

11 1111 or J UVENILE m s u w ae 1 11 m e conm v AT THIS remon — zxmm of

samm aae’s sogmaammrs as a scnou a.

Tm: experience of the last half centm'

y has fully proved, that everyth ing relative to the history of our immortal dramatist has beenreceived, and received justly too, by the public with an av idity pro

portional to his increas ing fame. What, if reconded of a less

diately acqu ires, when attached to the mighty natne of Shakspwre,

necessary for the introduction of any fact or circumstance, howeverminute, which is, in the slightest deg ree, connected with his bio

g raphy ; tradition , indeed, has been so sparing of her commun ication son this subject, that every addition to her l ittle store has been

hitherto welcomed with the most lively sensation of pleasure, nor

will the attempt to collect and embody these scattered fragments be

unattended with its reward,

The birth-

place of our poet, the spot where he drew the first

breath of life, where Fancyfed the little prattler, and with song s

Oh sooth’d his v and

’ring ears,

has been the object of laudable curios ity to thousands, and happilythe irery roof that sheltered his infant innocence can still be pointed

This gmfl emamthe father

of the yonthwho endeavoured so g romly to deceive the public by the fabrication ofa large

26

the E1ghth,wh1ch, by the omdeto neen Elmabeth in her Injunctionsof 1559, was adm1tted, to the exclnsion ofall others z “ Every school

master,”

says the thirty-n inth Injunction, shall teach the grammarset forth by King Henrie the I‘h

'

ghth, of noble memorie, and continuedin the time of Edward the Sixth, md aone otlm ' f

’

and in the Booke

of eertain Cannons, 1571, it is ag ain directed,“ that no other gram

mar shd l be mug hu bnt only that which the Queen’

s Majestie hath

commanded to be read in all schooles, through the whole realm.

”

With the exception ofWolsey’

s Rudimenta Grm natices, printed in1536, and taught in his school at Ipswich, and a similar work of

Collet’

s, established in his seminary in St. Paul’

s churchyard, this wasthe grammar publicly and universally adopted, and without doubt theinstructor of Shakspeare in the lang uage ofRome.

Another initiatory work, which we may almost confidently afl irm

him to have studied under the tu ition of the master of the free-school

m. Stratford, was the production of on e Ockland, and entitled EIPH

NAPXIA, sine Emzaaa

'

rna . The object of this book, which is writtenin Latin verse, is to panegyrise the characters and government of

indelibly impressed upon the memory of every young scholas m the

king dom a matchless contrivance,”

remarks Bishop Hin d,itnprint a sense of loyalty on the minds of the people.

”

ct8, there is no doubt Shakspeare was indebted for some learningand niuch loyalty , may be added, as another resource towhich he wasdirected by his master, the Diction ary of Syr Thomas Elliot, declaring

CooPer in 1552. This lexicon , the most cop ious and celebrated of

its day, was received into almost every school, and underwen t nume

rous editions, namely, in 1559, and in 1565, under the title of The

saums Ling umRomm etM tamzicw, and agu n in 1573, 1578, and

Moral and Political Dialog ues, vol. 11. p. 28. edit. 1788.

27

professed the highest esteem for lfim mcomeqneece ef the great

she more'

snbstantially expressed her opinion of his worth by pro

moting him to the deaaery ofGloueester in lm and to the bishoprics of Lineoln and Winchester in 1570 and 1584, at wln

'

eh latter see

he died on the M ofApril, 15943“

Thus farwe may be allowed, on good grounds , to trace the Verybooks which were phwd in the hmds of Shakspeare during his short

aoviciate in d assical learning ;’

to proewd farther,wonld be to ihdtfl ge

in mere conjecture, but we may add, and with every just rea50n forthe inference, that from these productions, and from the few minoreiassics which he had time to study at this seminarymil that themost

prewdmm g eniua at such a period of life, and under so transient a

direetion of the nrind to d assic lore could acqum was obm ed f

M sfi mlm md lefi eagmphen wem notmmlly so wefl m au led, mstanding the high valne plaeed on clan ieal literature at this period, may he glmwn from

the complain t ofAscham : It is pitie,”says he, that common lie more care is bad,

yea, and thut m ong e verie wise menfl o find out rather a cunnynge msn hf their horse,than a cannyng e man for their children. They say nay in wmfiq but they do so in dbede.

For, to tl1e one tbey will g ladlie g ive a stipend of 200 crownes by ya m and loth to ofl'

er

to the other 200 shil ling s. God, that sitteth in heaven, lsug l1eth their choice to skorne,

1111 d their liberalitie as it should ; for be mfihtetb tha n to'

have tu ne, and wella deved homq t fl de wd nnformmte chfl dren ; md themfmv, in the mde, they finde

more pleasnre in their horse than comfiorte in their children .

”— Aschsm

’

s Works, Beth

1 It is more than poss ible that the Eclog ues of Man tuanns the Carmelite may have

hem me ot'

the school-books ot’

fl mkspeare. He is faufiliarly qnowd and praised in

the following passag e from Love’

s Labour' s LostHo]. Fowl er, precor g elz

'

dl qwado pam omm sub umbrd Rwaz’

aat, — 11nd so forth.

Ah sood oid Manta ! l may speak of thee as the traveUer doth oa ice

Old Mantnan ! old Man tnan l who nndm tandeth thee not, loves thee not." Act iv.

m 2. And ts m miam m wm w m mm w mhthe h fin oa tbe oppod ag q for the use of mhmla befom tbe wmmencement ol our

Pierce Pmm'

lea , 1598, appear to hm eontinned in me long l fier iu termination.“With

E 2'

28

The un iversality of class ical education about the era of 1575,when ,

it is probable, Shakspeare had not long entes-ed on the acquisitions of

became now diffused among the nobility and g entry, and even in a

fl uenced, in a considerable deg ree, the minds and manners of the

softer sex. El izabeth herself led the way in this career of eruditi sm,

and shewas soon followed by the lad ies ofher court,whowere taught,as Warton observes , not only to di stil strong waters, but to construe

Greek.‘

The fashion of the court speedily became, to a centain extent, the

fash ion of the country, and every indiv idual possessed of a decent

competency , was solicitous that hi s ch ildren should acqu ire the hmrature in vog ue. Had the father of our poet continued in prosperouscircumstances, there is eva y reason to conclude that his 8011 would

times ; but we have already seen , that in 1579 he was so reduced

in fortune, as to be excused a weekly payment of 4d. , a state of de

pression which had no doubt existed some time before it attracted the

notice of the corporation of Stratford.

One result therefore of these pecun iary difficulties was the Tenmvalofyoung Shakspeare from the free-school, an event which has 0008 4:

s ioned, among his biog raphers and numerous commentators, much

controversy and conjecture as to the extent of his class ical atta inments .

Fmm the short period which tradition allows us to suppose thatour poet continued under the instruction of a master, we have a right

the first and second leafie, he plaies very prettil ic, and, in ordinarie terms of extenuating ,verdits Pierce Pennilesse for a g rammar

-school wit ; sa ies, his marg ine is as deeply

g elz'

dd . Mantuanus was translated by Georg e Turberville in1567, and reprinted in 1594 . Vida Reed

's Shakspeare, vol . vn. p. 95 .

Warton’

s History ofEng lish Poetry, vol. iii. 11 . 49 1.

languages . That he was ca lled home to assist his father, we are told

by Mr. Rowe ; and consequen tly, as the family was numerous and

under the pressure of pov erty, it is not likely that he found muchtime to prosecute what he had commenced at school. The accounts

,

therefore, which have descended to us , on the authority ofBen J0113011,Drayton , Suckling, &c. that he had not much learn ing, that he de

pended almost exclus ively on his native g en ius, (that his Latin wassmall and his Greek less,) ought to have been , without scruple,admitted. Fuller, who was a dilig ent and accurate enquirer, has

g iven na in his Worthies, printed in 1662, the most full and express

Opinion on the subject. He was an eminent instance,”he tamatha,

of the truth of that rule, Poem non fit, sed nascitur ; one is not

made but born a poet. Indeed his learn ing was very little, so that

as Cornish dianwnds are not pol ished by any lapidary, but are po intedand smoothed even as they are taken out of the earth, so nature itselfwas all the art which was used upon him.

”

Notwiths tanding this uniform assertion of the contemporaries andimmediate successors of Shakspeare, relative to his very unperfect

knowledge of the lang uages ofGreece andRome,many of his modern

commen tators have strenuously in sisted upon his intimacy with both,among whom may be enumerated, as the most zealous and decidedon this po int, the names ofGildon , Sewell, Pope, Upton , Grey , and

Whalley. The dispute , however , has been nearly , if not'

altogetherterminated, by the Essay of Dr. Parmer on the Learning of Shak

speare, who has , by a mode of research equally ing en ious and convinc

ing , clearly proved that all the passag es which had been triumphantlybrought forward as in stances of the clas sical literature of Shak

‘

speare,

were taken from tran slations, or from original, and once popular, prof

duction’

s in his native tongue. Yet the conclusion drawn from this

essay, so far as it reSpects the portion of latin ity which our poet had

Worthies, p. iii.

80

acquired and preserved, as the result of his school—education , appearsto us g reatly too restricted. He rm a nbered,

”says the Doctor,

“per

haps enoug h qfhis school—boy M ug mput the F ig , hag , hog , mto the

time, or the course of his conversation, a fami liar phrase or two of

French or Ita lian : but his studies were most demonstratively confinedto nature and his own languag e.

‘

A very late writer, in combating th is part of the conclusion of

Dr. Farmer, has advanced an opin ion in several respects so similar toour own , that itwill be necessary, in justice to him and prev ious to any

further expan sion of the idea which we have embraced, to quote his

concludes, true enough ; but when it is added, that he only pickedup in conversation a familiar phrase or two ofFrea ch, orrememberedenough of his school-boy

’

s learn ing to put big , bag , hog , in the

mouths of others he seems to me to go beyond any ev idence produced by him of so l ittle knowledge of languages in Shakspeare.

He proves indeed sufficiently, that Shakspeare chiefl y read Engl ishbooks , by his copy ing sometimes minutely the very errors made in

them, many of which he might have corrected, if he had consulted

the original Latin books made use of by those writers : but this doesnot prove that he was not able to read Latin well enough to exam inethose originals ifhe chose ; it only proves his indolence and indifi

'

er

ence about accuracy l n mmnte articles of no importance to the chiefobject in v iew of supplying himselfwith subjects for dramatic compositions. Do we not every day meet with numberless instances of

s imilar and much greater oversights by person s well skilled inGreekas well as Latin , and professed critics also of thewritings and abilities

Reed’s Shakopeare, vol. 11. p. 85 .

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our Dramatist, which seem to imply a more than theoretic intimwywith hh fatha ’

s busin'

em. In the VVinter’s Tale, the Cle vm excla ims,“ Let me see z— Eve

‘

ry’

leven wether — tofis ; every tod yields—pound and odd

shilling : fifiem hundn d shm — What oomes the wool to ?” M W . M a

Upon this passageDr. Farmerremarks, that to tod is used as a verbby dealers in wool ; thus,

°

they say, Twenty sheep ought to tod fiftypounds ofwool,

’

&c. The mean ing, therefore, of the Clown’

s words

is , Every eleven wether tods ; i. e. will produce a tad, or twentyeig ht pounds of wool ; every tad y ields a pound and some odd shil

lings what then will thewool offifteen hundred y ield

our poet withaccurate knowledge on this subject ; for two pounds and

a half ofwool 1s, I am told, a very good produce from a sheep at the

Eveiy’

leven wether— tods, adds Mr. Ritson , has been rightlyexpounded to mean that the wool of eleven sheep would weigh ss ta t,or Each fl eece would, therefore, be 21h. 80 2 . 1 14dr., and thewhole produce offifl een hundred sham 136 tad, 1 clove, 21h. 602 . 2th;

which at pound and odd shil ling p er tad, would y ield 1431.

Our author was too familiar with the subject to be suspected of

Indeed it appears from Stafl'

ord’

s B reefe Conceipte of Eng lishPollicye, 1581 , p. 16, that the price ofa tod ofwool was at that period

twenty or two and twenty shilling s : so that the medium price wasexactly

‘

p ound and odd shilling )”

In Hamlet, the prince justly observes,

Act K'

Sceae ‘z.

Reed’s Sheltspeare, voLix. p. 322, 328 .

r 2

37

but that the father of our poet, the former bailifi'

lof Stratford, should

employ his ch ildren , instead .of servants; in the slaug hter of his

cattle, is a yosition so revolting , so unnecessarfl y dn on the

partofthe father, and, at the same fima mxwt have been so discmd

now be positively ascerta ined ; but as he was early taken from school,

for this purpose, we shall probably not err (hr, if we suppose this

change to have taken place when he was twd ve years old ; a com

Iong to hwve imbued him with just such a portion of class ical lore, as

an impartial enquirer into h is life and works would be willing to

admit.A short time prev ious to this, when our poet was in his twelfth

year, and in the summer of 1575, an event occurred which must havemade a g reat impression on his mind ; the v is it of Queen El izabethto the magnificent Earl of Le icester, at Kenelworth Castle. That

young Shskspmrewas a spectator of the festiv ities on this occas ion ,

was htat suggested by Bishop Percy" who, 1n his Essay on the Orig in

of the English Stag e, speaking of the old Coventry play of Hock

dem n the m de obm w Whatever this old play, or1m

show,

’

was at the time it was exhibited to Queen Elizabeth, it had

twelfth year, md donbtless attended with all the inhabitants of the

surrounding country at these Princely Pleasures of Kenelworth,’

Twhence W is only a fewndleodid ant. And as the Queein was

' Mr. Md one h dw ofopinion thu Shah pu n was present at this magnificem reception ofElizabeth. Vida “ Inquiry,

"p. 150. note 82.

t So denommsted fi'om a tracg written bm g e Gam

'

g-ne q , entitled “ The

Pxirwely Plu mres om elwonh Cu tle.” It ts 1merted w Nichols’: Prog rm es of

Majfl y fi'

om the g ods. Sfl w m rofl ered a mge wwdmw h md

Pomona vamms sorts of limits ; Ceres gave corn , and Bacchus win ;

Nepmne pneseuted sea cfish ; Mars the habiliments of war ; and

Fhwbuso

all kinds o f nnmical instmments: During the rest of her

knig hted Sin Thomas Cecfl s eldest son to the lord treasurer ; $3

Hent obhaay bmherlwthe l fl d obhu n ; Sir Franc is Stanhope,

and Sir Thomas Treshmn. An estimate may be formed of the

this occasion, which amounted to th ree hundred and twenty hog shead s.

To the ardent and open ing mind of our youthful Bard what exquisue dehght must this grand festival have imparted, the splendour of

in theannals of our country .

”

1' A considerable portion of the very my

thology which he had just been study ing at school, was herebrought

before his eyes, of which the costume and lang uage were under the

direction tof the first poets of the'

nge ; and the dramatic cast of the

Lifi of RohemDndley, Eu l of lc ioa ter, 1727. 8sw.

i Hmd’

s nord nnd POM Dh iom vol i Edit of 1788.

not lig ht or too sol’t or soily bydmh betmooth and firm, pleasent to walk on, as a m -shore wheh the water h availd :

then, much g rac ified hy dne proportion offcut even quarters : in the midfl ofM'

upon

a bu e a two foot square, aod hig b, seemly bordered ot'

itself, a aquare pilmter ris ing py

a twe foot of the top : whereupon for a capital, 1111 M b of a ten inchm thick : em y of

these (with his base) from the g ronnd to the top, of one whole piece ; hewn out of hu 'd

M and with g reat art and heed ahinks md thither oonveyed aud thm erecwd.

Wherq fimherahq by g ru tu stand cosg the sweam of u vw r on aUM N de w re

pin nt from theredolent plants and frag rant herbs and fl owerg in formmoloun and qumtityso deliciously variant ; and fruit-trees bedecked with appleg pears, and ripe cherriés.

“ And unto thesq in the midst ag ainst the tern ce, a squm mg q sumpmom md

beautifnhjoined batd to the north well (thut a that side g ards the g arden ” the g arden

me w dexof a rare form and excellency, was raiaed z in heig ht a twenty foog thirty long ,and a fom-teen broed. From the g round strong and close, reared hreast hig b, whereat a

aoil of a fair moulding m couched a ll about : fiom thatwwau l, four g reat windows a

front, and two at each end, every one a five foot wide, as many more even above them,

divided on all psm by a transome and architrave so hkewise rang ing about the cag e.

Eachwindow arched 111 the top, and parted from other 111 even distance by fl at fair bolted

column; all in form and beanty like, that supported a oomely oomish couched all a longupon the bole square ; which with s wire net, fine ly knit, ol

'

mu hes six oqmre, an inch

mde (as 1t were for a fl at roof) and hkewne the space of ey ery wmdowwuh g reat onnning and oomehnemw and tightwas all om —ctn ined. Under them nhh ag dmevm-ypart beautified with g rea t diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and sapphires ; pointed, tabled,

mi: and round ; g arnished with their g old, by skilfal head and hand, and by toil and pencil

so lively oxprea ed, as it moug ht be g reatm rvel and plenmre to consider how near ex~

eellency of m ccold approach unto perfection ofnature.

A6 Hole: were there also and caverns in ou lerly distance and fashion, voided into the

wal l, as well for heat, for coolness, for roost a nights and nethg e in we

ather. as also for

g lorious g olden cop, without the fresh fragrantwin e ; or the rich ring with g em, without

M W fingn ; is nothing indeed in bis proper g raoe and use : even so His

Bona n aeoounted of this mansion, till he bad placed their tenants aecording . Had it

therefore replenished with lively birds, Eng l ish French, Spanish, Canarian , and ( I umdeeeived if I saw not some) Afi zmn . Whereby, whether it became more delig htsome 111

VOL. 1. G

4a

to this‘

tradition , has. in a hote tow e’

s Life, declared his belief;

country attorney, or the seneschal of some manor court” a po

sitiou which we think improbable only in p'

oint of time ; and, in jus

tice to Mr. Malone, it must be added, that in other places he has

g iven a much wider latitude to the period of this engagement.The circumstances on which this conjecture has been founded,

m . these z— that, in the first place, tht'

oughout the dramas of Shakspeare,

‘

there is interspersed such a vast variety of legal phrasesand al lasion s, expressed with such technical accuracy, as to force upon

been intimately acquainted with the profess ion of the law ; and, se

condly, that at the close of Aubrey s manuscmpt anecdotes

young er years a schoolmfitér in the c’

ounti 'yf’

1'

On the first of these data, it has been observed by Mr.Malone, in

his Attempt to ascerta in the Orderm WhichthePlays of Shakspearewere written ,

”that the poet

’

s knowledgeoflegal terms is notmerely

such as mig ht be acquired by the casual ob sei'

va'

tion of even his all

comprehending mind it has the appearance of tecknzchl skill ; and he

is so fond of display ing it on all occasions, that I suspect he wasearly in itiated 111 at least the forms of law, and was employed, while

he g et rema ined at Stratford, in the office of some coun try-attomey ,

who was at the sakhe time a petty eonveyancer, and perhaps also theseneschal of some manor-court.

”

1 In confirmation of this opin ion ,various instances are g iven of his legal phraseology , which we havecopied in the note below and here we must remark that the exp

Reed’hShakspeare, vol. i. note 7. 1 M ’

s Shakspeare, vol. iii .

toBeed’s Shah pewe, vol.

'

1i.

9“ ‘ Forwhat in n1e was purckawd,

Falls upon thee in a mnch fairer ton’

0 2

45

0 11 1113 vis iting m ash. uafixéd ; a portioh of titne which we may1

‘

to the affirmatiomofAubrey, thatm m mm

not perfectly accurate, con tain an adumbration of the truth ; and

then adds ,“ l am strongly inclihed to th ink that the asserfion eon

ta ih s, though not the truth, yet something like it : I mean that Shakspeare had been employed for some time in his younger years as a

that he couldhot hav e beeti a teacher 01mm 1 have already sug

g ested my opin ion , that before his eoming to London he had acquiredsome share of leg al knowledg e in the otfice of a petty counti'y

-con

veyaneer, or'

in that of the steward of some manorial court If hebeg an to apply to this smdy at lhe ag e qfeig kfieenfi wo years afierwards

‘ From and afier the

determrna tion of such a term,

’is the regular lang uag e ofconveyancers.

Humbly coniplaining to Your Highness )‘

c Humbly complaining to Your Lordshif», your'

orator,’8m. are the am words or every

bil l in Chancery .

A kies in fee farin ! Ia witaess whereof th'

ese parties interchangeably have set their

heads and seals.’

Are those p u eptu ewed ?’ says Shallow to Davy, in K l Icmy IV.

M in this sense ia a word only knom in the ofl ice of a justice of peace.

Tell me what state, what dig nity, what honour,Can

’

st thou demise to any child ofmine ? K. Riékard III.

‘

f— b hmm fi gmnM and to farm let,

’is the constant lang uag e ofleases. Wha t

M bnt Shakcpu mhas used the wmd dauzked in this sense ?

Perhaps it may be said, that our author 111 the same manner may be proved to havebea r equally conversant with the terms of divinity or phys ic. Whenever as larg e a

number of instances of his ecclesiastical ormedicinal knowledg e shall"

be produced, what

Bid Nwton brew such ale as Shakspem-e fahcies

Did put Kit Sly into such lordly trances :

And iet us mwt thm fior a fit of ghdna s)And drink ourselves merry in sober sadness.

attention.

1 still famed for their skill on the pipe arid tabor : Hillboroug hV0! “ 1. H

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55

What ends this strang e eventful historyIs second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing .

Now why have recourse for an insipid prepos ition to a lan

g uag e of which he is said to have been totally ignorant I always

supposed therefore that there must have been some pecul iar circumstance well known in those times, which must have i nduced him to

g ive th is motley garb to his lang uage : — but what that circumstancewas I could not discover until I accidentally in a foreign literary

journal, met with a rev iew of a republication of that poem ofGarn ierat Paris, in which were inserted, as a specimen of the poem, a de

scription of the appearance of the ghost of Admiral Coligny on the

n ight after his murder at the massacre of St. Bartholomew, and in the

following lines

Sans p ieds , sans ma ins, sans nez, sans orczll es, sans yeur,Mawri de toutes parts la barbe et les chcveur

Poudreux, ensang la ntez, chosep resque ina edible

Tant cette vision etoit triste ct Izorn'

ble

Here it immediately appeared to what author Shakspeare had

g one for the archetype ofhis own description of the last stag e of old

ag e, which, by a parody on the above lines, he meant to represent l iketo that mutilated ghost ; and this seems to indicate that he had read

that poem in the original ; for we even find the meurtri de toutes partsimitated by sans every thing . A friend ofmine formerly mentioned thisto Mr. Steevens, and he has briefl y noticed this parody , if I recollect

rightly , in his joint edition along with Johnson but he did not copythe orig inal lines of Garn ier ; nor so far as I know any editor since ;which however are too remarkable to be altogether con sig ned to obliv ion ; and it is not very l ikely, that any Eng lishman will ever readthrough that long dull poem ; neither should I myselfhave known of

This notice does not appear in the Variorumedition of 1803.

56

those lines, if they had not been quoted as a specimen . Steeven s’

s

note is so very brief as to be quite obscure in reg ard to what conse

quence he thoug ht deducible from the imitation he seems to sug gestas if there mig ht have been some Eng lish trans lation of the poem

published, though now unknown this is the constant refuge for

Shakspeare’

s knowledg e of any thingwritten orig inally in another lan

g uag e . But even if the fact were true, yet no translator would have

preserved the repetition of thatword sans ; for this he musthave goneto the French poem itself, therefore must at least have been able to

read that line in French, if not also the whole description of the g host ;and if that, why not able also to read other French books It mayindeed, be supposed, that some friend may have shown him the abovedescription , and explained to him the meanihg of the French lines ,but this is only to make a second suppos ition in order to support a

former one made without sufficien t foundation : we may just as well

make a s ing le suppos ition at once , that he was himself able to read and

understand it, s ince he has ev iden tly derived from it his own description of the decrepitude of old ag e.

0

Upon the whole, if his copy of a

s ing le word from Holin shed, v iz . on this side Tiber,’

is a proofof his

having read that historian , why also is not his copy of the repetition of

3am, and his parody of Colig ny’

s ghost, an equally good proof of his

hav ing read the poem ofGarnier in the original French language? To

reason otherwise is to say, that when he g ives na bad French, this

proves him not to understand it ; and that when he g ives na goodFtench, applied with propriety and even with ingenuity, yet this againequally proves that he neither understood what he wrote, nor was so

much as able to read the French lines, which he has thus so wittilyimitated.

Dr. Farmer has himself g ranted that Shakspeare beg an to learn

Latin why then not allow, from premises still more copious and

convincing , that he beg an likewise to learn French and Ita lian

Censura Literaria, vol. ix. p. 287. et seq .

57

these lang uag es in his WOdKS will sufficiently evince ; that he had

some leisure at the period which we have appropriated to these

acquis itions, namely, between the years 1576 and 1588, fewwill be

disposed to deny ; and that he had books which might enable him

to make some progress in these studies, the following list will

1 . A Treatyse Eng lish and French right necessarye and profitable

for all young Ch ildren . 1560.

2. Principal Rules of the Italian Grammar, &c. Newly corrected

and imprinted by Wykes : 1560, reprinted 1567 .

3. The Italian Grammar and Dictionary : By W. Thomas . 1561 .

4 . Lentu lo’

s Italian Grammar, put into English 1 By Henry Grem

them. 1578.

5 . Ploiche, Peter, Introduction to the Ftench Tong ue 1578.

6. Ah Alvearie, or QuadrupleDictionarie, containing foure sundrie

tong ues : narnelie, Eng lish, Latina, Greeke, and French By I. Baret.1580.

In short, with reg ard to the literature of Shakspeare, the nearest

approximation to the truth will be found to arise from taking a me

diam course between the conclusions ofDr. Farmer, and of those who

he\had made some and that

the usual progress in the Latin lang uag e during the short period of

his school-education , it is, we think, in vain to deny but that he ever

attain ed the power of reading a Roman class ic with facility, cannot

with any probability be affirmed : it will be likewise, we are disposedto bel ieve, equally rational and correct, if we conclude, from the

ev idence which his g en ius and his works afford, that his acquaintancewith the French and Italian lang uages was not merely confined to

the p icking up a familiar phrase or two from the conversation or

writing s of others , but that he had actually commenced, and at an

early period too, the study of these languag es, thoug h, from his

Vide Chalmers’s Apolog y, p. 549. 11nd Bibliotheca Reediana, p. 9.

VOL. I. I

59

CHAPTER IV.

SHAKSPEARE MARRIED TO ANNE HATHAWAY ACCOUNT OF THE HATHAWAYS COTTAGEAT SHOT

’

I‘

ERY B IRTH OF HIS ELDEST CHILD, SUSANNA HAMNET AND J UDITH BAP

T IZED ANECDOTE OF SHAKSPEARE APPARENTLY SETTLED IN THE COUNTRY.

SHAKSPEARE married and became the father of a family at a very

early period ; at a period, indeed, when most young men , even in his

own days, had only completed their school-education . He had pro

bably been attached also to the object of his affection s, who residedvery near to him, for a year or two prev ious to the nuptial connec

tion, which took place in 1582 ; and Mr. Malone is inclined to

believe that the ceremony was performed either at Hampton-Lacy,

or at Billesley , in the Aug ust of that year when consequently the

poet had not attained the ag e of eighteen and a half

The maiden name of the lady who had induced her lover to enter

thus early on the world, with l ittle more than his passion to console,

and his g en ius to support them, was Anne Hathaway , the daughter of

At thie softe lure too quieke I fl ewe,Enamored of thie song e I g rew ;The distafl

'

e soone was layd aside,

And all mie woork thie straynes supply’

d.

Thou g avest at first th’

inchanting quill,

And sverla kiss convay’d thie skill

Unfelt, ye ma ides, ye cannot tell

The wondrous force of suche a spell.

Nor marvel] if thie breath transfii se

A charme repleate with everie muse ;They cluster rounde thie lippes, and thyne

Distill theire sweetes improv’d on myne.

ANNA HATHEWAY.

Reed ’s Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 139. note 4 .

60

Richard Hathaway , a substantial yeoman , residing at Shottery , a

v illag e about a mile distant from Stratford. It appears also from the

tomb-stone ofhis'

mistress in the church of Stratford, that she must

have been born in 1556, and was therefore eight years older than

Of the family of the Hathaways little now, except the record of a

few deaths and baptisms, can be ascerta ined with precision : in the

reg ister-books of the parish of Stratford, the following entry, in all

probability, refers to the father of the poet’

s wife :Johanna, daughter ofRichard Hathaway , otherwise Gardiner, of

Shottery , was baptized May 9,

As the reg ister does not commence before 1558, the baptism of

Anne could not of course be included ; but it appears o

that the familyof thi s Richard was pretty numerous, for Thomas his son was baptized at Stratford, April 12. 1569 ; J ohn, another son , Feb. 3. 1574

and Wi ll iam, another 80 11, Nov . 30. Thomas died at Strat

ford in 16546 , at the advanced ag e of e ighty-five. § That the

hood, down to the present ag e, will be ev ident from the note below,

which records their deaths to the year 1785, as inscribed on the floor,in the nave and aisle ol

'

Stratford church. ll

Heere Lyetb In terrid The Bodys c iAnne, W ife ofMr. W illiam Shakespeare, WhoDepted. This Life The 6th Day of Avg vst, 1623, Being of The Ag e of 67 Yeares.

”

Whelel’ s Stratford, p. 76.

f Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol . i. p. 133.

t Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. i. Note by Malone.

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. 1. p. 128.

II Richard Hathaway, of Shottery, died 1sth April, 1692.

'Robert Hathaway died

4 th March, 1728, ag ed 64 . Edmund Hathaway died 14th J une, 1729, ag ed 57. Janehis wife died 12th Dec. 1729, ag ed 64. J ohn Hathaway died l l lh Oct. 173 1, ag ed 39.

Abig ail, wife ofJohn Hathaway, jun . of Ludding ton, died 5th of May, 1735, ag ed 29.

Mary her daug hter died 13th July, 1735, ag ed 10 weeks. Robert Hathaway, son of

Robert and Sarah Hathaway, died the 1st of March, 1723, ag ed 2 1. Ursula, wife of

J ohn Hathaway, died the 23d ofJ anry. 178 1, ag ed 50. John Hathaway, sen. died the 5th of

Sept. 1753, aged 73. John Hathaway, of Hadding ton, died the 23d of June, 1775,

aged 67. S . H. 1756. S. H.—W heler’s History and Antiquities of Stratford

upon-Avon, p. 55.

61

The cottage at Shottery, in which Anne and her parents dwelt, is

said to be yet standing , and 18 still pointed out to strangers as a subject

ofcuriosity. It 18 now imposs ible to substantiate the truth of the tra

dition ; but Mr. Ireland, who has g iven a sketch of this cottag e in hisPictu resque Views on the Avon , observes, it is still occupied by thedescendants ofher family, who are poor and numerous . To this same

humble cottag e I was referred when pursuing the same inquiry , by thelate Mr. Harte, of Stratford, before-mentioned. He toldme there was

old oak chair, that had always m his remembrance been called Shakl

speare’

s courting cha ir, with a purse that had been likewise hi

s , and

handed down from him to his g rand-daug hterLady Bernard, and from

her through the Hathaway family to those of the present day. From .

the best information I was able to collect at the time, I was inducedto con sider this account as authentic, and from a

'

wish to obtain the

smallest trifl e apperta in ing to our Shakspeare, I became a purchaser

ofthese relics. Ofthe chair I have here g iven a sketch : it is ofa date

sufficiently ancient to justify the credibility of its history ; and as to

farther proof, it must rest on the traditiena] opinion and the character

of this poor family . The purse is about four inches square, and is

curiously wroug ht with small black and white bug les and beads ; the

tassels are of the same materials. The bed and other furn iture inth e room where the chair stood, haye the appearance of so hig h anti

quity , as to leave no doubt but that they might all hm been the

furn iture of this house long before the time of Shakspeare.

The proprietor of this furn iture, an old woman upward s of

seventy, had slept in the.

bed from her childhood, and was a lways

told it had been there s ince the house was bu ilt. Her absolute

refusa l to part with this bed at any price was one ofthe circumstan ces

which led to a persuas ion that I had n ot listened with too easy credu

lity to the tale she told me respecting the articles I had purchased.

By the same person I was informed , that’

at the time of the Jubilee,the late George Garrick obta ined from her a small inkstand, and a

pa ir of fring ed gloves, said to have been worn by Shakspearem‘

Ireland ’s Views, p. 206— 209.

62

Of the personal charma of the poet’

s mistress nothing has beentran smitted to us by which we can form the sma llest estimate, nor can

we positively ascerta in whether conven ien ce, or the attraction of a

beautiful forn1, 1was the chiefpromote r of this early connection. Mr.

Rowe merely observes , that, in order to settle in the world after a

family-manner, he thoug ht fit to marry while hewas yet very ‘ young ;”

lang uag e which seems to imply that pmdmce was the prime motme

with the youthful bard. Theobald proceeds still further, and declaresit is probable, a v iew of interest mig ht partly away his conduct in

this po int : for he married the daughter of a substantial yeoman in his

neighbourhood, and she had the start qf him in ag e no 1m . tha n eig ht

yem”

1' Capell, on the contrary , th inks that the marriag e was con

tracted ag a inst the wishes of his father, whose displeasure m the

con sequence of their un ion . 1A moment

’

s con s ideration of the character of Shakspeare will induce 11s to conclude that interest could not be his leading object in

forming the matrimon ial tie. In no s tag e of his subsequent lifedoes a motive of this kind appear strong ly to hav e in fl uenced him ;

and it is well known, from facts which we shall have occas ion shortly

to record, that his juven ility at Stratfor'

d was marked, rather by care

lessness and dissipation , than by the cool calculation s of pecun iarywisdom. In short, to adopt, with slight variation , a line of his own ,

wemay confidently assert that at this period,

Lov'

e and Liberty crept in the mind and marrow ofhis youth.

Timon q/Atlmw.

Ne ither can we ag ree with Mr. Capell in suppos ing that the fatherof our hard was averse to the connection ; a supposition which hehas bu ilt on the idea of old Mr. Shakspeare be ing a man ofno l itt lesubstance,

”and that by this marriag e of his son he was disappo inted

in a des ig n which he had formed of send ing him to an §Un ivers ityNow it has been proved that J ohn Shakspeare was , at this period, ifnot in distressed yet in embarrassed circumstances, and that neither

Reed’s Shakspearc, vol. i. p . 60. 1 Reed

’

s Shakslmare, vol. i. p . 198 .

1 Reed’

s Shakspearc, vol. i. note 1 . 5 Ibid.

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64

Our ig norance on this'

subject, however, would have been compen

sated, had any authentic documents been preserved relative to hisestablishment at Stratford, in consequence of his marriage ; but of

his domestic arrang ements , ofhis business or professional emNoyrnen t,no information , or tradition to be depended upon , has reached na.

We can only infer, from the evidence produced in the precedingchapter, and from the necess ity, which must now have occurred, of

prov iding for a family-establishment, that if, as we have reason to

conclude, he had entered on the exercise of a branch of the manoria llaw, prev ious to his marriag e, and with a view towards that event, he

would, of course, be compelled, from prudential motives , to continuethat occupation , after he had become a householder, andmost pbably to comb ine with it the bus iness of a woolstapler, either on hisown separate interest, or in concert with his father.

If any further incitement were wanting to his industry , it was soonimparted for, to the cla ims upon him as a husband, were added,

during the following year, »those which attach to the name ofa parent

his eldest child, Susanna, being born in May 1583, and baptized on

the 26th of the same month . Thus, scarcely had our poet com

pleted his n ineteenth year, when the most serious duties of life wereimperiously forced upon his attention , under circumstances perhaps

of narrow fortun e not altogether ca lculated to render their performance easy and pleasant ; a s ituation which, on a superficial v iew,

would not appear adapted to afford that leisure, that free and un incumbered state of intellect, so necessary to mental exertion ; butwith Shak

'

speare the pressure of these and of pecun iary difficultiesserved only to awaken that energy and elasticity of mind, which,ultimately directing his talents into their proper channel, called

forth the brig htest and most successful emanations of a g en ius nearly

world as the g enuine product of his g enius. It is scarcely necessary to add, that I al lude

to the Sbakspeare Papers of young Ireland ; and to a Tour in Quest ofGenealogy, by a

65

The family of the youthful bard gathered round hrmmth rapidity ;for, in l 584-5 , it was increased hy the b1rth of twms, a son and

daug hter,named Hamnet and J udifin who'

were bapti zed on Februarythe 2d, of the same year.

The boy was christened by the name of Hamnet in compliment ti)

her sponsor. Mr. Hamnet orHamlet Sadler, for theywere con sidered

as synonymous names , and therefore used indiscriminately ” appearsto have been some relation of the Shak

speare family ; he is one of the

witnesses to Shaksp

eare’

s will, and i s remembered in it in the

following manner : Item, I give and bequeath to'Hamlet Sadler

died at Stratlbrd in Octbber 1624, and ts supposed to have b een

born about the year 1550. His wife was btiried thereMaiich QS.

1613-14 , ane . Malone conjectm-es that ourf10etwas probabiy god

father to their son 11111111111, whowas baptized at Stratford, February 5 .

1597-8 . 1 In the Stratford Register are to be found entries of thebaptism of s ix of Mr. Sadler

’

s children , four som and two‘ b ughters,

William being the last but one.

An anecdote of Shakspeare, unappropriated to any particu larperiodof his life, and which may with as much, if not more, probability , beascribed to this stag e of his biography, as to any subsequent era, hasbeen preserved as a trad ition at Stratford. A drunken blacksmith,with a carbuncled face, reel ing up to Shakspeare, as he was lean ingover a mercer

’

s door, exclaimed, with much vociferation ,

Now, Mr. SHAKBPEARB, tell me, ifyou can,

The difl'

erencc between a youth and a young man

Thus in the will of Shakspeare we read,“ I g ive and bequeath to fl amId Sadler

when at the close, Mr. Sadler as a witness writes his christian name Hamlet. See

Malone'

s note on this subject, Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. i . p. 185 .

1 Reed’

s Shab peare, vol. i. p. 158, note 1 .

VOL. I. K

67

In adherence, therefore, to the plan , which we have announced, of

connecting the circumstances of the times with our author’

s life, we

have chosen this period of it, as admirably adapted for the introduction ofa survey ofcountry life andmanners, its customs, diversions andsuperstitions, as they existed in the ag e of Shakspeare. These,

therefore, will be the subject of the immediately following chapters,in which it shall be our particular aim, among the numerous autho

rities to wh ich we shall be obliged to have recourse, to drawfrom the

poet himself those passag es which throw lig ht upon the topics as theyrise to v iew ; an arrangement which, when it shall have been carried,

in all its various branches, through the work, will clearly show, that

from Shakspeare, more than from any other poet, is to be collected

the history of the times in which he lived, so far as that history re

lates to popular usag e and amusement.

(ii )

If no gentleman , why then no arms,

excla ims our poet ; the aspirants, theretbre, to this di stinction werenumerous, and in the Gentleman

’

s Academie ; 0 1 , The Books ofSt. Album , published by Gervase Markham m 1595 , which he says in

the dedication was then absolutely necessarie and behovelhll to th e

accomplishment of the g entlemen of this fl ourishing ile in the

heroicall and excellent study of Armory ,”we find n ine sortes

”and

foure maner”ofgentlemen expressly disting u ished.

Of n ine sortes of g entlemFirat, there is

'

a g entleman of an cestry and blood.

A gentleman of blood.

A g entlemanhfeoat-armour, and those are three, one of the kingsbadg e, another oflordship, and the third of kill ing a pagan .

A gentleman untriall : a g entleman Ipocrafet : a gentlemanspiritual] and temporal] : there is also a gentleman spiritual] and tem

PoralL

The divers manner of gentlemen

"There are foure maner of gentlemen , to wit, one of auncestrie,

which must needes bee of blood, and three of coate-armour, and not

of blood : as one a gentleman of coate-armour of the kings badge,which is of armes g iven him by an herauld : another is, towhome the

king g iveth a lordeshippe, to a yeoman'

by his letters pattents, and

same lordeshippe : the thirde is, if a yeoman kill a g entleman , Pagan

some holde opin ion , that if one christian doe kill an other, and if it be

lawfu ll battell , they may weare each others coate-armour, yet it is not

so good as where the christian killes the Pagan .

”

We have also the v irtues and v ices proper or contrary to the cha

teater of the gentleman , the former of which are div ided into five

amorous and four sovereig n : the five amorous are these, lordly of

Taming of the Shrew, act 11. se. 1.

70

countenance, sweet in speech,wise in answere, perfitte m government

andcherefull to faithfulnes : thefoure soveraig neare these fewe— oathes

are no swearing, patient m affl iction, knowledge ofh mowne birth, andto feare to offend his sovereigne

w" The vices which are likewiseenumerated as nine, are all modifications of cowardice, lechery, and

Of the very rare tract from which tbeae extracts are taken, the following is the entire

title~ pag e : The Gentleman’s Academia ; or, the M e of St. Albans : conta iningthree most exact and excellent 3oos the firstol

'

Hawking , the second of all the proper

Termes of Hunting , and the last of Armorie : all compiled by J uliana Barnes, in the

Yere from the Incarnation of Christ 1486 . And now reduced into a better method, byG. M. London . Prin ted forHumphrey Lownes, and are to be sold at his shop in Paules

M M This curious edition of the Book: y'

Sa d lbam, accommodated tothe days of Shakspeare, conta ins 95 leaves 4 10 . and I shall add the interesting dedi

To the Gentlemen ofEng land

ofHuntsman and

Gentlemen, this booke, intreting of Hawking , Hunting , and Armorie ; the orig i

nall cOpie of the which was doone at St Albans, about what time the excellent arte of

printing was first broug ht out of Germany, and practu ed here m Eng land : which

booke, because of the antiquitie of th'

e same, and the thing s therein contained, béng so

necm fl 'ie and behmd’ull to the aceompliahmmt of the gentlemen of this fl ourishing ile,

and others which take delig ht in either of these noble sports, or in that heroicall and ex

callent study ofArmory, I have rev ived and broug ht ag ain to light the same whichwas

nesse of the booke, smothered the same from the world, thereby to inrich themselves in

private with the knowledg e of these delig hts. Therfore [ humbly crave pardon of the

preen s and judicia l reader, if sometimes I use the words of the ancient authour, in such

plaine and homely Eng lisb, as that time afl’

oorded, not being so reg ardful, nor tying

yaelf so strictly to deliver any thing m the proper and peculiar wordes and termes of

arte, which for the love I bears to an tiquitie, and to the honest simplicitic of those

former times, I obse1-ve as wel beseeming the subject, and no whit disg raceful! to the

worka our tong being not ofo

such puritie then, as at this day the poets of our age have

raised it to : of whom, and in whose .behalf I wil say thus much, tha t our nation mayonly thinke herself beholding for the g lory and exact compendioasnes of our lwg uag e.

Thus submi tting our academy to your kind censures and friendlymceeptance of the same,and requesting you to reads with indifl

'

erency, and correctwith judg ement ; I commit youto God.

G. M.

”

Shakspeare, in hisWinter’

s Tale, written about the year 1604, or 1610,

desig nates the inferior orders of society by the term lower messes.

Lower messes,Perchance, are to this business purblind.

Bekkar, likewise, in his play called The Honest Whore, 1604, men

tions in strong terms the deg radation of sitting beneath the salt

Plag ue him, set him beneath the salt ; and let him not touch a bit,

till every one has had his full cut.”

1‘ Hall too, in the sixth satire of

his second book, published in 1597, when depicting the humiliatedstate of the squ ire’ s chaplain , says, that he must not

ever presume to sit above the salt

and Jonson , in his Cynthia’

s Revells, speaking of a coxcomb, says,his fashion is, not to take knowledge of him that is beneath him in

clothes . He never drinkes below the salt. See act i. sc. 2.

This inv idious reg ulation appears to have extended far into the

seventeenth century ; for Mass ing er in his City Madam, acted in

1632, thus notices it

My proud ladyAdmits him to her table, marry, ever

Beneath the salt, and there he sits the subjectOfher contempt and scorn

and Cartright still later

Where you are best esteem’d,

You on ly pass under the favourable name

Ofhumble cous ins that sit beneath the salt.”

The luxury of eating and of good cooking were well understood

in the days of Elizabeth, and the table of the country-squire fre

quently g roaned beneath the burden of its dishes ; at Christmas and

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 236.

1 Ancient British Drama, vol. i. p. 531 .

1 Massing er’s Plays, apud Gifl

'

ord, vol. iv. p. 7.

L 2

77

Littlecote ~House stands in a W and.

lonely ositmltion . Ou three

sides it is smmnnded by a park that spreah over theadjOM g hill ; m1

the fourth, by meadows which arewwered by the river Kennet. Close

on one side of the house is a thick gmm of lofiy tm along theiverg e

of which runs one of the principal menues to it throug'

h the pa'

nk.

It 18 an irregular building‘of great antiqu ity, and was pmbably erected

about the time of the termination of feuda l warfare, when defence

stances in the in tefim of the hom however, seem appropriate to

feudal times. The hall is very

spacious, fl oored with ston es , and

been left a prey to rust. At one end of the hall is a rang e of coats

of‘rhafl f

and helmets , and there is on every s ide shundance of olde

fashioned pistols and guns, many of them with matchlocks. Imme

diately below the cornice hang s a row of leathem jerkin s,made cin the

form of a sh irt, supposed to have been -wom as m nour by the vassals .

A large oak-table, reaching nearly from -oue end of the room to the

other, might have feasted the whole neighbourhood, and an appendag e to one end of it made it answer at other times for the old gameof shufl ie

—board. The rest of the furniture is in a suitable styl’

e,

have been used by J udg e Popharn in the reig n of Elizabeth. The

eutrance into the hall is at one end by a low door, commun icatingwith a passag e that leads from the outer door, in the front ofme

house, to a quadrangle with in ; at the other it opens upon a g loomyM e, by which you ascend to the first floor, and, pas s ing the doorsof some fbed-chambers, enter a narrow gallery, which extends alongthe back fron t of the house from one end to the other of it, and looksupon an old g arden . This gallery is hung with portra its , chiefl y in

of the s ixteenth cen tury. In on e of the bed

which you pass in going towards the g allery, is a bedsteadfurniture, which time bas

‘

nowmade dingy and threadbare,

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79

she s ate by the bed-s ide, had, with a view to discover the place, cut

out a piece of the bed-curta in , and sown it in again ; the other was ,that as she had descended the staircase, she had counted the steps.

Some suspicions fell upon one Darrell, at that time the proprietor of

Littlecote -House and the doma in around it. The house wk ex

amined, and identified by the midwife, and Darrell was tried at Salis

bury for the murder. By corrupting his judg e, he escaped the

sentence of the law but broke his neck by a fall from'

his horse in

hunting , in a few months after. The place where this happened is

still known by the name ofDarrell’s Hill : a spot to be dreaded by

the peasant whom the shades of even ing have overtaken on his

Littlecote-House is two miles from Hung erford, in Berkshire,through which the Bath rod passes.

of El izabeth All the important circumstances I have

as they are told in the country .

”

O

Rokeby, 4to. edit. notes, p. 102

106.

The usual fare of country-gentlemen , relates Harrison ,

'

was foure,

five, or six dishes, when they have but small resort and accordingly,we find that Justice Shallow, when he inv ites Falstafl

'

e to dinn er,

issues the following orders : Some pigeons, Davy ; a couple‘

of short

legged hens ; a joint ofmutton ; and any pretty l ittle tiny kickshaws,tell William Cook.

”But on feastf -days, and particularly on the

festivals above-rnentioned, the profusion and cost of the table were

astoni shing . Harrison observes that the coun try-gen tlemen and mer

chants contemned butchers meat on such occas ion s, and vied with thenobility in the production of rare and delicate v iands, of which he

g ives a long listT a.nd Mass ing er says,

88

The pou ei at'

bed-time, closed the joyous day, a custom to which

Shakspeare has oecasionally a liuded ; thus Lady Macbeth suys of the

surfeited gmoms ,ms ,”

I have drhg g’

d theirpossets“ Mrs. Quickly

tells Rug by,“ Go ; md we

’

ll hawe a possa for’

t soon at n ig htwin

faith, at the olatter ‘ end of a -sea-ooal fire ‘

ff’

and Page, cheat ing

Falstafl ie, exclaims, “Thowshalt eat a posset to-night st my i house.

”

Thomas Heywood also, a'

oontemPorary of Shah peare, has particu

larly nm a this ret'

ection as occhrfing just before bed-time : Tho u

shalt be welcome to beef and bacon , and perhaps a bag-

pudding

and niy daughter Nell shall pop a posset upon th'

ee when thou g oest

to bed.

In short, hospitality, a lov e of festiv ity , and an ardent attachmen t

to the sports of the field, were prominent tra its in the character of

the wuntry-gentleman in Shakspeare

’

s days. The fl oor of his hall

cantile world : Neither was it merrier,”

say sthe, with Eng land,

than when an Eng li shman was knowne abroad by his owne clothmnd

contmwed himselfe at home with his fine carsie hosen , and a meane

his wag gowna m d doak of browna blue, or puke, with some

Macbeth, act n . sc. 2. 1 Merry W i ves of W indsor, act i. sc. 4 .

1 Merry W ives of Windsor, s ct v . sc. 5 . Heywood’s Edward II. p. 1 .

J enson’

s Every Man in his Humour, act i. se. l . Acted in the year 1598.

88

pretie furn iture of velvet or furre, and a doublet of sad tawnie, or

blacke velv et, or other comelie silke, without such cuts and g awrish

colours as are worne in these da ies, and never brought in but by the .

con sent of the French, who thinke themselves the g aiest men, when

they have most diversities .of jag g es and change of colours aboutthem.

Of the female part of the family of the country-g entlemau, wemust

be indulged 1n giv ing one description from Drayton, which not only

sex, but is written with the most exquisite sirnplicity and beauty he

is

He had, as autique storiel f h il,A daughter cleaped Dawu bel,Amaiden fa ir and free :

And for she was her fi ther‘s beif,Full well she was ycond tbs lain

The silk well couth she twistmd twim,

And make'

the fine march-pine,And with the needle work :

And she couth help the priest to saym mm s w a hd y d‘ y’

And sing a psal ln in kirk.

She wore a frock offiélidmWhich seemly was to see ;

A hood to that so neat and fine,In colmu' like the oolumbihc, "

e oug ht full featously.

An is the g tm that g rm aby Din e,And lythe as lass offi ent.

Hc'

r skin as soft as La nster wool,As white as snow on Pu kish Hull,0 1; swan

'

that swims in Trent.

Holinshed, voli i . p. 290.

u 2

87

The eownh '

y-clerg ymmu the next ehamcter we shall attempt to

notice, was disting i ishedy in the fime op eam by the appe]

md had hawks of all kindg both long and short wing ed. I'Iis g reat ball was oonunon ly

n e uppermd of itwas hung with fom king of this md fiie last year’s killing . Here

and thele a pole cat m intermixed ; and huntef s pdles in g reat abundance. The

panlourwas a lnrge room, omnpleatly furnished in the same style. On a broad hearth,

paved whh brick, lay some of fl 1e choibest ta ricrs h0nnds md spmiel& One or tvm of

the gm t eha irs had litters of cats in M whiéh were not tti bc disturbed. Of tbese,thme or fiour always attended him at dinner,

‘and a httte white

'

wand lay hy his trenches ,to defend it, if 1 hey were too tmubleaome. h the wihdom Whiehwa e very h rg g layhis arrows, cross-bows, and other accoutremmts. The corners of the room were filled

with his best huntiug and hawking poles. ffis oyster t‘able stood at the lower end of the

room,

éinner wd mpper ; whh wifich the neig bbouring tqwn of Pool mp

plied him. At the upper end of the mom atobd a small table with a fionlfl e da k ; one

side of which held a Cn una mnz ; the other the Boox or Maa'

rm . 0 11 t

mblu iuAhe m m lay hawkh-hoadg bd lg d d ham fl th theh crowns thm hh fufl of

which uever came out but in sing le g lw eg which was the mle of tha house : for’ he

never weeeded himselt'

nor permitted others to exeeed. Answefing w thh elmeg wasa door into an old chapel , which had bem long disused for devofion ; hut in the pulpit,u the safen phm wu dwaya m be thund a cold chine of beefi a venison pastyu

him notmuch, thoug h itwas g ood to eat at. His sports supplied all, but beef and mutton

v ithout belp ; and rode to the death of the stag , ull he was past four score Gilpin’

s

26.

Mr.Dibdin, in thc seoond edition of his Bibliomania, the most pleasing and interestingbook which Bibliog raphy has ever produced, has quoted the above passage, and thus

afl ndq in his texg to the chamcterwhich it deacribes z— “ But What shall we say to In rd

Shl fia bnry's eccentric neig hbour, HENRY Ham s ? who, in spitc ol his hawks, hounds,

kitten , and oysten , could not forbear w indulge his boolt~

pmpenaitieg thoug h in a

ma len te deg ree ! Let ns fincy we see him, in his eig htieth yean just alig hted from the

toils of tha chase, and listcniug , afi.er dinner, with his‘sing le g lass

’of ale by hia side,

to somc old womm with ‘npectad e ou nmq

' wbo reads w bim a choice pu sag e out

of John Fox'

s Boob J Martyrs! A rare old boy was this Hasting s .

” Bibliomania,F 379»

91

W pfiees wherey nto thing s aregrowen, and howfl wir coamé w

that they should after their deaths leave their s ubstances t o their

wives and ch ildreh : whereas they con sider not, that iii old time such .

as had no lemans nor bastards (Verie few-were there God wot nf this

sort) did leave their goods and possess ion s to their brethren and

kinsfolk, whereby (as I can shew by good record ) man ie houses of

g entilitie have g rowen' and beene erected. If in an ie ag e some one of

them d id found a colleg e, almes-house, or schooley if you loohe unto

these our times, you shall see no’

fewer deeds of charitie doc il e, n or

better g rounded upon the right stub of pietie‘

than before . If you saiethat their wives be fond, after the decease of their hu sbands, and

bestow themselves not so advisedlie as their call ing requ ireth , whichGod knoweth these curious surveiors make small actornpt of in truth,

further than thereby to g ather matter of reprehenbion : I 'beseech

you then to look into all states of the laitie, and t ell me whether

some duchesses, countesses, barans'

, orknighm (160 not fullie so

often offend 1n the like as they : for Eve will bE Eve, though Adam

gowns, as if not our patrons but our wives were muses of ohrwo

but if it were knowne to all, that I know to have beeneperformed of

late in Essex, where a min ister taking a-ben efice (of lease than twentie

pounds in the Queen'

s bookes so farre as I remember) was inforced to

paie to his patrone, twen tie quarters of otes, ten quarters of wheat,and s ixtéene yéerlie of barleie, which he ca lled hawkes-meat ; atidanother left the like in titrme to his patrone fartm pounds hy the

yéere, which is well worth fortle at the least, the cifuse of ourthread‘

bare gown s would eas ilie appeere. for such ‘patrbnes sloo scrape the

wool] from our clokes .

”

This delineation is, upon the whole , a favourable one ; but'

the

author in the very next page admits that the country-c lergy had noti

Holinshed, voh i.

N 2

tom of some patrons to bestow advowson s of ben efices upon theirbakers , butlers, cookes, good archers , falconers , and horsekéepers ,

in sted of other recompence for their long and faithfull service and

the following letter from the Talbot papers presents us with a frig htfulview of the manners of the country

-clergy at the commencement ofQ

Ad. Slack to the Lady Bowes.Right wor

".

I understand that one Raphe Cleaton ys curate of the chappell

at Buxton ; his wages are, out of his neig hbom’

s benevolence, about

v"yearely : S

’

Charles Cavendishe had the tythes there this last yeare,ether of his owne right or my Lords, as th

’ inhabitants saye. The

min ister '

aforenamed difl'

ereth litle from those oftheworste sorte, and

bath dipt his fing er both in man slaughter and p’

jurie, &c. The

placing e or displacing of the curate there resteth in Mr. Walker,commissarie of Bakewell, of which churche Buxton is a chalipell of

I humbly thanke yo' Wor

” for yo'

I"to the justices at the

cess ions ; for 8'

Peter Frétchvell, tog ither w" Mr. Bainbrig g , were

veric earnest ag ain st the badd vicar of Hepe ; and lyltewy se S‘

Jer

mane Poole, and all the benche, sev ing e Justice Bentley, who use some

vaine on his behalte, and affirmed thatmy La. Bowes had beendisprooved before My Lord of Shrowesburie in reports touch ing thev icar ofHope ; but such answere was made therto as his mouthe was

stopped : yet the latter daie, when all the ju stic’

s but himwlfi'

e and

Holinshed, VOLi. p . 231 .

93

one other cwere rysen, he wola'

have had the said vicar lycensed

to sell ale in his v icaredg e, althoe the whole benche had comanded

the contrarye ; whereof S' Jermans Poole be ing adv ’

tised, req rned'

to

the benche (contradicting hi'

s speeche) whoe, w“I Mr. Bainbrig g efl nade

their warrant to bring e before them, him, or an ie other person that

shall, for him, or in his vicaridg e, brue, or sell ale, 8m. He ys not to

bee pun ished by the Justices for the multytude of his women, untyll

the basterds whereof he is the reputed father bee broug ht in . I am

the more boulde to wryte so longe of this sort ie matter, in respect

you maye take so much better knowledg e of”

S' Jo. Bentley, and his

p’

tialytie in so v ile a cause ; and esteeme and judge ofhim acoording e

to y'

wisdome and g ood discretion . Thus , humbly crav ing e p’

don , I

coih'

itt y'

g ood Wora. to the everlasting Lorde, who ever keepe you.

This 12th of Octob. 1609.

Yo'

La’

humble poore tenant, at comandm'

.

AD. SLACK.

To the rig ht wor“my good Ladie, the

La. Bowes o fWalton , g eive theise.

”

That men who bould thus debase themselves should be held in little

esteem, and their serv ices ill requited , cannot excite our wonder

and we consequently read without surprise, that in the days of El izabeth, the minstrel and the cook were otten better paid than the

priest - thus‘

on the books of the Stationers ’ Company for the year1560, may be found the following en try

8. d.

Item, payd to th'

e preacher v i 2

Item, payd to the min strell xij 0

Item, payd to the coke xv 0 1”

Let na not conclude, however, that the agen t Shakspeare was with

out instances of a far different kind, and that religion and v irtue were

Lodge’s I llustrations, voLiii. p. 891.

f Reed‘s Swakspeare, vol. xx. p. 22 1. note 7

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96

accordingly in the Comedy of E rrors, Pinch , in the dmmms

is described as a schoolmas te r, and a con juror,"

and the fol]

not very amiable portra it of his person is g i ve n towards the conclusion

A thm d-bm jug g ler, and a fortnne-tcller ;

A needy, hollow-eye

’

d, sharp-looking wretc h ,

A living dead man this pern icious slave,

Forsooth, took him on as conjuror.

”

A les s formidable fig ure of a schoolmaster has been given us byShak spea re, under the character of Holofernes, in Love

'

s Labour’

s

Lost, wh ere he has drawn a full- length caricature of the too frequent

been sharp and sententiou s ; pleasant without scurrility, witty withoutaffection , audacious without impudency, learned without opin ion , andstrange without heresy ,

”

j;“

iIt is very difficult,

”remarks Dr.

John

1 A“V° w’ Reed’s Shakspcare, vol. vu. p. 132. note 7.

a gen eral] plag ue and complaint of the whole land ; for, for one disorcet and able teacher, you shall finde twenty ignorant and carelesse ;who (among so urany

'fertile and delicate wits as Eng kmd afl'

ordeth)

Ascham had endeavom'

ed; by every arg ument and mode ofperm

sion in his power, to check the severe and indiscriminatwdisdphne

which pnevailed among the teachers in his time ; it would seem in

vain ; forPeacham, about the year 1620, found it necessary to recoup

mend len ity in eqlswy steefiuons terms, and has g iven a min ube fand

we have no doubt a faithfuLpicture of the various cruelties to whichscholars were then subjected ; a summary of the result of this con

duct may be l dmwn, indeed, from his own words, where he . says,

Masters for the most part so behave themselves, that their very

name is hateful] to the scholler, who trembleth at their comming ih ,rejoyceth a t their absence, and looketh his master (returned) in thethe face, as his deadly enemy .

”‘

l‘

add, I em afra id, the infinitely more weighty accusation of frequentimmorality and bufi

’oonery . Ludov icus Vives, who wrote just ibefiem

the ag e of Shahspeareg msefi a that “some schoolma ters c taught

Ovid'

s books of love to the ir scholars, and some made expos itions,and expounded the vices i f

’

and Peacham, at the close otl the era

we are considering , censures in the strong est terms their te o eomtnon

lev ity and misconduct : “ the diseases Whereanto sosne of tham a ne’

very subject, are hm our and jblly (that I may say nething-of the

grouse ig norance and in sufficiency ofmany.) whereby they become

Compleat Gentleman, p. 22. edit. of 1684. 1» Ibid. p. 25.

t Instruction of a Christian Woman, m ediu ofl ssz

0

101

yeoman , had-

no land of his own, but only a thrm of three,or four

pounds by the year at the utmost ; and -hereupon he tilled so much as

kept half‘

a dozen men . He had a walk foran hundred sheep ;-and my

mother milked thirty kine. He kept his son at school till he went tothe un ivers ity , and mainta ined him these ; he married his daug hterswith five pounds or twenty nobles a p iece he kept hospitality withhis '

neighbours, and some alms he g ave to the poor ; and all thi s he

did out of the said.

fmi i ’“

Land let, at this period, it should be remembered. at about a

shilling per acre ; but in the reign of El izabeth its value rapidly

of the farmer, who even began to exhibit the elegan cies and

i

luxuries

ofilife t he chang ewhich took place in rural economy towards the

new leases, have -for the most part learned also to g arniah their cup

our eonntrie (God be praised therefome, and g ive us grace to imploie it

ofanie man , God is my judg e, but to shew that I do rejoise rather, to

sea howGod hath blessed uswith his good g ifis ; and whilest I behold

how that in a time wherein all things are g rowen to most excessive

yet find the means to obtein and atchive such furniture as here to fi ne

hath beene unposs ible. Tha e m old men yet dwelling m the village

where I temaine, whichhave noted three th ings to be marvellouslie

lodging , for (sa id they) our fathers (yea and wee ourselves also) hav elien full oft upon strawpallets, on rough mats covered culic with a

sheet, under coverlets made of dagswain or hop harlots (I .use their

owne termes) and a good round log under their‘

heads instead of a

bolster orpillow. If it were so that '

our fathers or< the good man of

the house, had within seven yeates after “his mariag e purchased a

matteres or fl ockebed, and thereto fa sacke'

of chafie w rest his head

upon, he thought himselfe to be as well lodg ed as the lortl of the

towne, that peradventure laie seldome in a -bed of fiovme or whole

fa hm; so well were they contented, and with such m ama of

furniture : which also is not verie much amended atyet in sonie parts

of Bedfordshire, and elsewhere further off from our southerne parts.

Pillowes (said they) werethought meetouelis for'women in childlbed.

seldome had they anie under their bodies, to ‘ kéepe them from the

pricking straws that ran oft through the canvas ofthe‘

pallet, and rased

The thii‘d thing they tell of,"is the exchange

lof fv‘

ess'

ell, as of

treene platters into pewter, and wodclen spoones into s ilver or tin .

For so common was all sorts of’ tréene stufi'

in old time, that amahshould hardlie find four péeces of pewter (of which b ne was paradventure a salt) in a good farmer

’

s house, and yet for all th is fru

g alitie tif it may so be justly called) they were s caree -able -to live

and p

'

aie the ir rents at their daies without selling of a eow, or an

horsse, ormore, although they paid but foure pounds fat the uttermostby the yeare. Such also was their povertie, that if some one cd

farmer or husbandman had beene at the alehouse, a thing g reatlie

103

used in those daies, among st six.or,seven ofhis neighbours , and therein a braveme to shewwhat store he had,M (

cast dqwne his Purse , andtherein a noble or six shill ings in silver h

ntothem«for fewsuch menthen cared for g old because it was not so readie paiment, and theywere oft inforced to g ive a pen ie for the exchange of an ang ell ) itwas verie likelie that all the rest could not laie d

'

ow'

ne so much ag ainst

t be improved to fortie, fifiie, or M hundred pounds, yet will

the former as another palme or date tree thinke his g aines verie small

toward the end of his terme, if he havenot six or sev en yeates rent

lieing by hixn, therewith to purchase a new lease, beside a fa ire g arn ishof pewter on his cupbord, with so mudh m od vessell g oing about the

house, three or foure feather beds , so man ie coverlids and carpets of

tapistrie, a s ilver salt, a bowle for wine (if not an whole h east) and a

dozzen ofspoones to furn ish up the

modation of the farmer, it will be necessary ; in order to completethe sketch , to add a few thing s relative to his diet and hospitality .

Contrary towhat has taken place in modem times, the hours for

meals were laterwith the artificer‘

and the husbandman thanwith theh igher order ofsociety the tim e? and

‘

his servants usually sittingdown to dinner at one o

’

clock, and to supper at seven, while the

nobleman and g entleman took the first at eleven in the morning , and

the second at five in the afternoon .

It wonld appear that, from the cottag e to the palaoe, good eating

subsequent period ; and the.

rites of hospitality, more especially inthe country, were observed with a frequency and cordiality which a

further prog ress in civil isation has rather tended to check than to

Of the larder of the cotter and the shepherd, and of the hospitality of the former, a pretty accurate idea may be acquired from the

Holinshed, 318.

108

The farmer’

s daily diet may be drawn with sufficient accuracy from

the curious old Georgie ofTusser, a poem which, more than any other

that we possess, throws lig ht upon the agricultural manners and

customs of the ag e. In Lent, says th is enterta in ing bard, the farmermust in the first place ,

consume his red herring, and afterwards his

8311: fish, which should be kept in store, indeed , and con sidered as

g ood even when Lent is pas t, and with these leeks and peas should

be procured for pottag e, With the v iew of sav ing milk , oatmeal, and

bread : at Easter veale and bacon are to be the chief articles ; at

Martilmas salted beef, when coun try folk do da inties lack at Mid

summer, when mackrel are out of season , g rasse (that is sallad s, &c. )fresh beef and pease atMichaelmas fresh herring and fatted crones

at All Saints pork and souse, sprats and spurling s : at Christmas he

enjoins the farmer to plaie and make g ood cheere,”and he concludes

by adv ising him, as was the custom in Elizabeth ’

s time, to observe

Fridays, Saturdays, and Wednesdays as fish-days ; to keep embring s

well and fas ting dayes, and offish and fruit be scarce, to supply the irwant with butter and cheese. 1

" To these recommendations he adds,

in another place, that

Good ploug hmen look weekly of custom and rig ht,For rostmeat on sundaies, and thursday at n ig ht :

and he subsequently gives directions forwriting what he terms hus

bandlie posies,”that is, economical proverbs in rhyme, to be hung up

in the Hall, the parlour, the Ghest’

s chamber, and the g ood man’

s own

bed chamber. 1If the farmer have a v isitor, our worthy hard is not illiberal in his

allowance, but adv ises him to place three dishes on his table at

Crones are ewes whose teeth are so worn down, that they can no long er live in the ir

sheep-walk ; but will sometimes, ifput into g ood pasture, thrive exceeding ly .

f Tusser, 4to. edit. chap. 12. fol. 25, 26.

1 Tusser, 4 to. edit. fol. 188. 144 , 145 .

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113

Good husbandm shrode seketh ai wel to hu e

good huswives at home seketh al wel to save

Thus having and saving in place where they mestemake profit with pleasure suche couples to g reets

picture of the domestic economy of agricultural life in the days of

Elizabeth. This material addition to the husbandry of our author

appeared in 1570, and embraces a complete v iew of the prov ince of

the Husmfe, W ith all her daily labours and duties, which are div idedinto — l st, Morning Works ; l y, B reakfast

-Doing s ; 3dly, Dinner

Matters 4thly, Afl emoon Works 5thly , Evening Works ; 6thly, Sup

From the deta ils of th is arrangement we learn , that the servants in

summer rose at four, and in win ter at five o’

clock that in the latter

season they were called to breakfast on the appearan ce of the daystar, and that the huswise herself was the carver and distributer ofthe meat and pottage. We find, likewise, and it is the only objectionable article in the admonitions of the poet, that he recommends

his dame not to scold, but to thrash heartily her maids when te

fractory ; and he adds a circumstance rather extraordinary, but at thesame time strongly recommendatory of the effects of music, that

Such servants are oftenest painful] and good,

That sing in their labour, as birds in the wood.

”

Dinner, he enjoins, should be taken at noon ; should be quicltlydispatched ; and should exhibit plenty , but no da inties .

The bare table, he observes, will do as well, as if covered with a

cloth, which is l iable to be cut'

; and that wooden and pewter dishesand tin vessels for liquor are the best, as most secure ; and then, withhis accustomed piety, he advises the regular use of grace

Tun eu first edit. p. 14, 15.

VOL L Q

1 15

The servants are then ordered to be courteous, and attentive to eachother, especially at theirmeals, and directions are given for the next

morn ing’

s work.

The last section, entitled After-supper matters,”is introduced

and terminated in a very moral and impressive manner. The first

couplet tells us to

Remember those children, whose parents be poor,

Which hung er, yet da'

re not to crave at thy door

the ban‘

dog is then ordered to have the . bones and the scraps ; thehuswife looks carefully to the fire. the candle, and the keys , the

whole family retire to rest, at n ine in winter, and at ten in summer,

and the farmer’

8 day closes with four lin es which ought to be writtenin letters of g old, and which, if duly observed, would ensure a great

portion of the happiness obta inable by

Be lowly, not sullen, if aught g o amiss,What wresting may low thee, that win with a kiss.

Both bear and forbear, now and then as yémay,Then wench, God a mercy ! thy husband will say.

Mavor’

a Tusser, p. 247. ad p. 270.

Even this, and every other description of the duties of the Huswife, may be traced to

The Book of Husbandry,” written by Sir Anthony Fitzherbert, of Norbury, in

Derbyshire.

This g entleman, who was a Judge of the Common Pleas, in the reig n of Henry theEig hth, is justly entitled to the appella tion of the father ofEng lish Husbandry .

” Hiswork, the first edition of which was printed by Richard Pyn son, in 1528, 4 to. , under

went not less than eleven editions during the sixteenth century, and soon excited amonghis countrymen a most beneficial spirit of emulation. Notwithstanding these numerous

impressions, there are probably not ten complete copies left in the kingdom.

One of these 13, however, now before me included m a thick duodecimo, of which the

j rst article is Xenophon’

s treatise of householde,”black letter, title wanting ; the

colophon , Iniprin ted At London in fl etestrete in the house of Thomas Berthelet.

Cum privileg io ad imprimendum solum.

’

No date. The second article is The booke

of Husbandrye verye profitable and necessary for all maner of persons, newlye corrected

and amended by the auctor fitzherbard, with dyvers addicions put thereunto. Anno do.

1555 . black letter. Colophon,‘ ‘ Imprinted at London in Flete strete at the sig nc of

the Sunne over ag aynst the Conduit by John W eylande.”

Sixty-one leaves, exclum

'

ve

of the table. The Mird article is entitled Surveying e,” Ah . 1546. Colophon,

Q 2

1 16

Frug ality a nd domestic economy were not; however, the constant

attributes of the farmer’ s wife in -the ag e of which we are treating ;

Londin i in wd ibua Thoma Berthelet typis impress. Cum privileg io ad imprimeudumsolum.

”Contains sixty leaves, black letter.

From The booke of husbandrye,” I shall extract the detail of huswifely duties, as a

specimen of the work, and as a proofof the m ertion at the commencement of this note.

What worke a wyte shoulde doe in general].First in the mornyng when thou art waited and purpose to rise, lift up thy hand,

aml blis the and make a sig ne of the holy crosse. In nomine patris et filii et spiritus

saucti. Amen . In the name of the fa ther y‘sonne, and . the holy g oat. And if thou

saye a Paternoster, an Ave and a Crede, and remembre thy maker thou shalte spede

much the better, and when thou art up and readye, then firsts swepe thy house : dresse

up the dysshe bord, and set al thyngea in good ordcr within thy house, milke y‘ kie, aocle

thy calves, sile by thy milke, take up thy children , and aray them, and provide for thyhusbande

’

s breakefaste, diner, souper, and for thy children and servauntes, and take thy

parte wyth them. And to ordeyne come and malt to the myl], to bake and brue Withal

when nede is. And mete it to the myl and fro the myl, and se that thou have thymesure ag ayne bes ides the tole or elles the mylner dealeth not truly wyth the, or els thycome is not drye as it should be, thou must make butter and chess when thou may, serve

thy swine both mornyng e and even ing s, and g ive thy polen meate in the mornyng e, and

when tyme of yeare cometh thou must take hede howthy henne, duches and g eese do

lay, and to g ather up their eg g s : and when they waze broudy to set them there as no

heastes, swyne, nor other vermyne hurt them, and thou must know that al hole fetedfoule wil syt a moneth and all cloven fated foule wyll syt but three wekes except a peyhenand suche other g reat foulea as craynes, bustardes, and suche other. And when

.

theyhave broug ht forth theyr birda to se that they be well kepte from the g leyd, crowesfully martes and other vermyn, and in the begynyng of March, or a lytle before is timefor a wife to make her garden and to g et as manye good sedes and herbes as she can,

and specyally such as be g ood for the pot and for to cats and as cite as nede shall requireit must be weded, for els the wede wyll over g row the herbes

,and also in Marche is

time to sowe fl axe and hempe for I have heard olde huswyves as that better is

Marche hurdes than Apryll fl axa, the reason appereth, but howe it oulde bee sowen,weded, pulled, repealed, wetted, washen, dried, beten, braked, tawed, hecheled, span,wounden , wrapped and oven, it nedetb not for me to shewe, for they be we ynoug h,and thereof may they make shetes, bordclothes, towels, abertas, amoches, and suche

other necessaryes, and therefore lette thy dystafl'

e be a lwaye redy for .

a pastyme, tha tthou be not ydell. And undoubted a woman can not g et her liviuge honestly withspinn ing on the dystafl

'

e, but it stoppeth a g ap and must nedes be had. The bolles of

fiaxe when they be rypled of, must be rediled from the wedes and made dry with the

sunne to get out the sedes. Nowbe it one maner of linsede called loken sede wyll notopen by the sunne, and thereforewhen they be drye they must be sore brusen and broken

the wyves know how, and then wynowed and kept dry til peretime cum ag aine..

Thy

1 17

the luxury~

of dress, both in England and Scotland, had already

corrupted the simplicity of wuntry-habits . Stephen Perlet; who

femell hempe must be pulled fro the chucle hempe for this beareth no sede and thou must

doe by 1t as thou didest by the fl axe . The chuele hempe doth beere sa lt, and thou

must be ware that birdes eate it twt as it g roweth, the hempe thereof is not so g ood as

the femel hempe, but yet it wil do good service. It may fortune sometime.

that thou

shalte have so many thing es to do tha t thou shalte not we] knowwhere is best to hagyu .

Then take hede which thing should be the g reatest losse if itwere not done and in what

space it wou lde be done, and then thiuke what is the g reatest 108 and ther beg in . But Ipm case that, that thing that is of the g reatest losse wyll be long s in doing , that thou

mightdo thre or iiij other thing es in themeahe whyle then lolte wel if all these thing es were

set tog yther whiche of them were g reatest losse, and yt’

these thynges be of gm ter lou e,

and may be al done in as shorte space as the other,then do thy many thing ea fyrst. It

is convenient for a husbande to have shepe of his owh e formany causes, anti then mayhis wife hm part of the wooll to make her husbande and her seife snm clothes. And at

the least waye she may have the lockes of the shepe thersvith to make clothes or

blankets, and coverlets, or both. And if she have no wol of her owne she maye ta ke

woll to spyune of cloth makers, and by that meanes she may have a conven ien t living ,

and many tymes to do other workes . It is a wives oocupacion to winow al maner of

cornea, to make malte wash and wring , to make hey, to shere corne, and in time of nede

to helps her husbande to fyll the mucke wayne or dong e carts; dryve the ploug h, to

lode hey corne and such other. Also to g o or ride to the marltet to sell butter, chess,

mylke, eg g es, chekens, kapons, hennes, pyg g es, gees, and al maner of come. And

also to bye al maner of necessary thing es belong ing to a houshold, and to make a true

rekeniug and accompt to her husband what she hath receyved and what she hathe payed.

And yf the husbaud g o to the market to bye or sell as they ofte do, he then to 8116t

wife in lyke maner. For if one of them should use to disceive the other, he disceyveth

himselfe, and he is not lyke to thryve, and therfore they must'

betrue ether to other. I

could peraventure shew the husbande of divers poin tes that the wives disceve their hus

bandes ih , and in like maner how husbandes deceve their wives. But yf I should do ao,

I shuld shew mo subti l pointes of disceite then other of them knew of before. And

therfore me semeth best to holde my peace, leste I shald do as the knig ht of the tower

did the which had many faire dog hters, and of fatherlie love that he oug hte to them he

made a boke uuto a good in tent that they mig hte eschews and fl ee from vices and folowe

ven ues in the which bolts he sheweth tha t yf they were woed, moved, or styrred byany man after such a maner as is there shewed that they shuld withstande it, in the

which boolte he shewed so manye wayes how a man shuld atta ins to his purpose to

bryag a woman to vice, the which waies were so naturall and the wayes to come to theyr

purpose was so subtylly con trived and crafiely shewed that hard it wolde be fi t anywoman to resist or deny their desyre. A11d by the sayd boke hath made both the manand the woman to know mo vyces subtylty and crafte then ever tbq

' aboulée have

1 18

visited Scotland in 1553, and Fines Moryson, who made a similartour in 1598 agree in describing the dress of the common people

of both countries as nearly if not altog ether the same ; the picture,therefore, which Dunbar has given us of the dress of a rich farmer

’

s

wife, in Scotland, during the middle of the sixteenth century , willapply, with little fear of exaggeration , to the still wealthier dames of

Eng land. He has drawn her in a robe of fine scarlet with a whitehood ; 9. g ay purse and ging ling keys pendant at her side from a

silken belt of silver tissue ; on each fing er she wore two ring s, andround her waste was bound a sash of g rass

-

g reen silk, richly em

broidered with silver. 1" To this rural extravagancy in dress, Warner

will hear an equal testimony ; for, describing two old g ossipscowering over their cottage-fire, and chatting how the world was

chang ed in their time,

When we were maids (quoth one of them)Was no such new found pride

Then wore they shooes of ease, now of

An inch-broad, corked hye :

Black karsie stocking s, worsted now,

Yea silke of youthful’

st dye :

Garters of lystes, but now of silke,

Some edg ed deep with g old

W ith costlier toyes, for courser turns,

Than us’

d, perhaps of old.

Frin g’d and ymbroidered petticoats

Nowheg g e. But heard you nam’

d,

Till now of late, busks, perrewig s,Maskes, plumes of feathers fram

’

d,

Supporters, posters, farding ales

Above the loynes to waire,That be she near so bombe-thin, yet

She crosse-like sca ns foure- squaire ?

See Antiquarian Repertory, vol. i. p. 236 ; and Moryson’

s Itinerary, part iii. tbl.16 17.

f The Freira of Berwick ; Pinkerton’s Anc1ent Scotish Poems, 12mo. 2 vols. 1786.

v . 2 . p . 70.

1 19

Some wives, g rayheaded, shame not locks

Of youthful] borrowed haire

Some, tyring arte, attyer their heads

W ith on ly tresses bare

Some, (g rosser pride than which, think 1,No passed ag e mig ht shame)

By arte, abusing nature, heads

Of antick’

t hayre doe frame.

Once starching lack’

t the tearme, becauseW as lacking once the toy,

And lack’

t we all these toyes and tearmes,It were no g riefe but joy .

Nowdwels ech drossell in her g las

W hen I was yong , I wot,On holly

-dayes (for sildome elsSuch ydell times we g ot)

A tubb or paile of water cleere

Stood us in steede ofg las.

Luxury and extravagance soon spread beyond the female circle,and the Farmer

’

s Heir of forty pounds a year, is described by Hall ,

in 1598, as dissipating his property on the follies and fopperies of

the day .

Vilius, the wealthy farmer, left his beire

Twice twenty sterling pounds to spend by yeare

But whiles ten pound g oes to his wife’

s new g owns ,

Nor little lesse can serve to suit his owne ;

Whiles one piece pays her idle waiting -man,Or buys an boode, or silver-handled fanne,

Or hires a Friezeland trotter, halfe yard despe,

To drag his tumbrell throug h the staring Cheape ;

Or whiles he rideth with two liveries,

And’s treble rated at the subsidies ;

One end a kennel keeps of thriftlesss hounds ;

What think ye rests of all my younker’

s pounds

To diet him, or deal out at his doore,

To coffer up, or stocks his wasting store ? 1~

Warner’

s Albion ’s Eng land, book ix. chap. xlv11.

1 Hall’

s Satires, book v. satire 4 .

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a

011m m VI.

A vxsw or com ar LIFE ova ries m as s or W ras s e ; vra ms n s aas 111m

pation, contn buted very powerfully to preserve some of the best antimost striking features of our national manners and character, and

frequently mingled with that cheerful piety which forms the

most heart-felt species of devotion , where rel ig ion , mixing with the

It may be necessary here wmentiom that in enumerating the

various ceremon ial and feast days of rural life, we have purposely

omitted those which are pecul iarly occupied by superstitious chaer

wances, as they will with more propriety be included under a subse

quent chapte r, appropriated to the con sideration of popular superatitions.

jugs, presents , and goed wishesmras a custom observed, during the sixteenth century , with g reat reg ularity and parade, and was as cordiallycelebrated in the court of the prinoe as in the cottag e of the peasant.

To end the old year merri ly and beg in the new one well , and in

j ivienddnp with their neighbours, were the objects which the common

a 2

with the Snxon words just mentioned, was therefore called a Wased ahowl. A bowl or cup of this description was likewise to be found inalmost evm'

y nobleman's 11nd gentleman’s house, (and frequently of

messy silver.) until the middle of the seventeenth century, and whichm 111 perpetual requis ition during the revels et

'

Q ristmas . In “fl'he

W an W ary , vol. i. relates Mr. Donce, “ there is

an account, accompanied with 1111 engravings of an oaken chinlney"leec h a very old houae et Berlen, near firmfl and in Kent, on whichin earved 11 wmsel-bowl resting on the bm ches of an apple-tree,alluding . probably to pan of the materials of which the liquor wasirutn'm l. Oh (me side is the word W 5 and on the other

M t Mcs/nanmh. m a m m m asimih r aocount of

the nrlgln ef thhm “ m u m m u mh w m .

TM d m w h n bm mmm wm1pm

"M W W NW. fi m l mm a fi

M th tW to th m -fi d :“m1 m M W tb m ‘ ihRtu fl hm1h m i phefl h hy hh i fl u

129

brincbn'

le. This is certainly, he adds, a very great curiosity of itsk ind, and at least as old as the fourteenth century . Edmund Mor

timer, Earl of March, in his will g ave to Sir John Briddlewood a

silver cup called wassail and it appears that John Duke of Bedford,the reg ent, by his first will bequeathed to John Barton , his maitre

d’

hotel, a silver cup and cover, on Which was inscribed WASHAYL.

”

TIn consequence of the Wassa il -bowl being pecul iar to scenes of

revelry and festiv ity, the term wassa il in time became syn onymous

with feasting and carousing , and has been used, therefore, by manyof our poets either to imply drinking and merriment, or the placewhere such jov iality was expected to occur. Thus Shakspeare makesHamlet say of the king draining his draughts of Rhen ish down ,

”

that he

Keeps M 3881 : 1:

and in Macbeth, the heroine of that play declares that she will con.

Vince the two chamberlains ofDuncan

With wine and m et.

In Anthony and Cleopatra also, Caesar, adv ising Anthony to livemore temperately , tells him to leave his

Lascivious muck .

”

The ing enious remarker on this representation observes, that it is the fig ure of

the old Wassel-Bowl, so much the delight of our hardy ancestors, who on the vig il of the

New-Year never lhiled to assemble round the g lowing hearth, with their cheerful neigh

bours, and then in the spicy Wassel-Bowl (which testified the g oodness of their hearts)drowned every former animosity, an example worthy modern imitation . Wassrl was the

word, Wan d every g uest returned as he took the circling goblet from his friend, whils t

sdng and civil mirth brought in the infant year.” Brand’s Observations, by Ellis,

vol. i. p. 8.

1 Douce’s Illustrations ofShakspeare and ofAncientManners, vol. 11. p. 209, 210.

I Act i. Reed’s edit. vov iii. p. 64.

§ Act 1. se. 7. Reed, p. 88.

II Act 1. se. 4 . Reed, vol. xvii. p. 49.

130

And lastly, in Love’

s Labour’s Lost, Biron, describing the characterof Boyet, says,

He is wit’s pedler : and retails his wares

the first in his Forest, No. 8. whilst g iving an acooum of a rnral feast

in the hall ofSir Robert Wroth ; he says,

The rout ofrnral folk oome throng ing in,Their rudenesse then ia thought no sin

The jolly Wasml walks the ohen round,And in their cupe their cares are drown

’

d zf

and the second in Christmas , His Maaqas , as it was presented at

Court where Wassal l, as one of the ten children of Christmas ,

The woods, or some near town

That is a neig hbour to the bordering down,Hath drawn them thither,

’bout some lusty sport,

Or spiwd Wassel-Bod , to which resort

All the young men and maids ofmany a cote,

Whilst the trimminstrell strikes hismerry

The persons thus accompany ing theWassal bowl, especially thosewho danced and played, were called Wassa ilers, an appellation whichit was afierwards customary to bestow on all who indulg ed, at any

season , in intemperate mirth. Hence Milton introduces his Lady inComus making use of the term in the following beautiful passage :

Act v. se. z. Reed, vol. v11. p. 165.Jr Epigrammes i. booke

I Jonson’

sWorks, fol. vol. ii . 1640. 5Act v. se. 1 .

181

W it was the sound

Of riot and ill-manag’

d merriment,Such as the jocund fl ute, or g ameeome pipeStirs up among the loose unletter

’

d lands,

When for their teeming fl ocks, and g ranges full,In wanton dance, they praise the bounteous Pan,

And thank the g ods amiss. I should bc loathTo meet the mdeneus, and swill’d insolm e,

Of such late m d lers.”

During the reig ns of Elizabeth and James I. the celebration of

Twelfizh Night was, equa lly with Christmas-Day, a festival throug hthe land, and was observed with g reat ostenta tion and ceremony in

both the Un iversities, at Court, at the Temple, and at Lincoln ’

s and

Warte n’

MMilton 2d ed it. p. 160. The Peg W a rd, a species of Wassa il Bowl

introduced by the Saxona m still in usemme days of Shakspeare. I am in pon ession

ofone, which was g iven tou

a membet of my family abw tone hundred and fifiy years ag o ;

it is of chased silver, conta in ing nearly two quarts, and 18 divided by four peg s .

This form of the 'wassa il orwishobmlth boml m inuoduoefl bym with the view

ofM ug the imem anoe ofhis counnymen , which for a fime it efiected ; b1n mbw

quently the remedy was converted into an additional stimulus to excess ; for, refiningupon Dunstan

’s plan, each was oblig ed to drink precisely to a pin, whether he could sus

tain amantity of liqnor equal to others or not : and to that end it became a rule, that

whefi er they u cwded or feu shmt of the pra cfibed bnmperfi hey m d ike wmpd bd

to drinlt ag a in, until they reached the nextmarlt. In the year 1 102, the priests who had

not been backward in joining and encourag ing these drunken assemblies, were ordered to

Some d these Pes oe Cors, or Bomla and Pns oe o Tanxm s, are yet to be

found in the cabinets ofantiquaries ; and we are to traoe fi‘

om their use some common

tt ms yet current among us . When a person wmuch elated, we say he 1s “ IN A MEnaYP111,

”wh1ch no doubt or1g 1nally meant, he had reached that mark which had dq u ved

himof his usual sedateness and sobriety : we talk of taking a man “ A Ps c Lowxa,”

when We imply we sha ll check him in any forwardness ; a saying which 0

a eeg ih tion that deprived all thoee of their mm of drinking , or¢M Pg , who had

beeome tmnblewme in their liquor : from the like rule of society eame also the expression

is not in equal spirits with his company ; while we also remark of an individual, that he is

in other m d g he is taking g reeter freedoms than he

d Q which ibrmerly meant, he was either ddnking out ofhis turmormontn ry to

express reg ulation, did not confine himself to his proper portion, orpeg , but dr1mk 1nto

the nert, thereby tak ing a double quantity.

” Brady'

s Clavia Calendaria, vol. ll. p. 322,328. h t edit.

133

self'with drama afore him, mounted upon a scaffold, born by four

men ; and goeth three times round about the harthe, crying out,

aloud, A Lord, a Lord,’

&c. , then he descendeth, and g oeth to

dance.

Th is done, the Lord of Mismle (an ofl icer whose function s willbe afterwards noticed) addresseth himself to the Banquet ; which

to

Herrick, who was the contemporary of Shakspeare for the first

twenty-five years of his life, that is, from the year 1591 to 1616, has

given na the following curious and pleas ing account of the ceremon iesof Twelfth Night, sawe may suppose them to have been observed m

Must revelh as Qneene, in the court here.

Thifl nisht u yemWhe shall for the preeent delight hem,

BO a King by the lot,And who shall not

Be Twelfeodaa eme foa' the nig hthere .

Which knowne, let us makeJ oyo sops with the oa lte ;

And let not a nmn then be aeen here,

To the bu e from the brink

A health to the King md the Queene here.

Nichola’s Prog resses ofElizabeth, vol. i. Entertainments at the Temple, 8m. 24 .

1 85

It appears from a passage fromWarner’s Albion ’

s Eng land, that

between Twelfth Day and Plough -Monday, a period was customarilyfixed upon for the celebration of g ames in honour of the Distafi; and

whichwas termed ROCK-DAY. The notice in question is to be foundin the lamentations of the Northerne-man over the declin e offestiv ity,where he exclaims,

Rock, and plow-mondaies, g ems sal g ang ,W ith sa int-feasts and kirk sights

”1»

of Warner and Shakspeare, but for some time afterwards , we learn

from a little poem by Robert Herrick, which was probably writtenbetween the years 1630 and 1640. Herrick was born in 1591 , and

published hi s collection of poems, entitled Hesperides, in 1648. He

g ives na in his title the additional information that Rock, or Sa int

he advises1t should terminate the sports of Christmas.

SAINT DISTAFF’

S on THE MORROW AFTERTWELFTH-DAY.

Partly worke and partly playYe mnst on S.W s day ;

From the ploug h soone free your tsame ;Then come home and ibtherthem.

l i the Ma'

des awinn ing g oe,Em a the fl ax, and fire the tow

Scorch their plackets, but bewase

DrJ ohnson’s definition oftheword M i n the sense of the temis as lbllows

(rack, Dan ish ; rocoa , Ita lian ; nm fiwanish ; M , D11teh) AM held in the

M fromwhich the wool was spun by twirling a ball below.

”I shall add one ofhis

u

I purpos’dher ; that shonldwith even pomThe rock, the spindle, and the sheets, coa

Ofdestiny, and spin her own free hours. Ben J onson.

f Chalmers’s Poets, vol. iv. p. 564 . Alhitm's Eng land, chap. 24.

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187

innocent mirth, as well as labour. On misW Mmdhyathey hmthat they mig ht not g o

In the northern and north-westem parts of Eng land, the entireday was u suallym uméd in parading the M eetsfiand the n ight was

their shirts, bar ium with fl ame“jackets underneath, to keepmn

the cold, and these sh irts decoratedwith rose-knots of various eolom'ea

riband, went about collecting what they called “p loug hmoney for

drink.

”They were accompan ied

‘

by a plough, which they drw d

along , and by mus ic, and hot,uhfineqne11tly . two of the party were

dressed to Persomrte an old womarg,‘t whem they cafl ed B essy , and a

Fool, the latte r of these characters being covered With skins, with a

hairy cap on hishead, and the tail ofrsome auixhaLpehdehtfi‘

om his

back. Oh one of these anticswas devo lvedmoney , from the by l lmtung a

from emnorthern ancestors, and .of wh

an accurate deseription in his history of the Gothic M ODS; T4 It

m uted, for..the most path ih.forming mmus figure i

tvvithuths

m dmsheathed anti nunflheathedy wmmencmg 1h alps .tithe, and

with safety and efl ecg l

J tW ,the opinion .of Dr Johnson .that ,Shakspeare,ailufléd th the”

I

Timer Redivivus, p.

1 Olai Mag n i Ga i t. Septent. Erevish p 34“.

t See Brand on Bourne’

s Antiquitateo Vulg ares, p. 194 ;

.

and Stmtt’

s Sports md

Pu times of the People op W . edit. of 18 10. Of tlm curious exhibition

on Ploug h-Mouday , l have often, during my boyhood, at York, been a delig hted spec

tator, and, as far as l can nowreoollect, the above description appears to be an wcnrate

139

From Candlemas to Hallowmas, the tapers which had been lightedall the winter in Cathedral and Conventual Churches ceased to be

used ; and so prevalent, indeed, was the relinquishment of candles onthis day in domestic life, that it has laid the foundation of one of the

proverbs in the collection of Mr. Ray

Ou this day likewise the Christmas g reen s were removed from

churches and private houses . Herrick, who may be considered as

the contemporary of Shakapeare, being five-and-twenty at the peribd

of the poet’s death, has given us a pleas ing description of this oh

servance ; he abounds, indeed, in the history of local rites, and,

though surv iv ing beyond the middle of the seventeenth century,

paints with g reat accuracy the manners and superstitions of

the Shakspearean era. He has paid particular attention to the

festival that we are describing , and enumerates the various

g reens and fl owers appropriated to different seasons in a

CEREMONIES FOR CANDLEMASSE EVE.

DOWN with the Rosemary and Bayes,Down with the Minleto

Instead ofHolly, nowup-raise

The g reener Box (for show).

The Holly hitherto did sway ;

the dancing Easter-day ,

Eastel’ s Eve appeare.

Then youthful] Box which now hath g race,Your houses to renew;GM ! ) old, surrender must his place,Unto the crisped Yew.

150

When Yew is out, then Birch comes ia,And many Flowers beside ;

Both of a fresh and frag rant kinne,To honourWhitsontide.

Green Bushes then, and sweetest Beats,W ith cooler Oken boug hs ;

Come in for comely ornaments,To re-adom the house.

”

The usage which we have alluded to, of preserving the ChristmasCheer‘

ahd hospitality to Candlemas, is immediately afterwards re

corded and connected with a singular superstition , in the

pgems under the titles of

CEREMONIES FOR CANDLEMASSE DAY.

Kmnu : the Christmas Brand, and thenTill sunne-set, let it burne ;

Which quencht, then lay it upTill Christmas uei t returne.

Partmust be kept wherewith to teend fThe Christmas Log next yeare ;

And where ’tis safely kept, the fiend

Can do no mischiefe there.

End now the white-loofa, and the pye,And let all sports with Christmas dye. 1

To the exercising power of the Christmas Brand is added, in the

subsequent efi'

usion, a. most alarming denunclation ag ainst those

who heedlessly leave in the Hall on Candlemas Eve, any the smallest

portion of the Christmas g reens.

Hesperides, p. 887. f Ten d, to kindle.

I Hesperides, p. 387, 888.

CEREMONY UPON CANDLEMAS EVE.

Down with the Rosemu y, andDown with the Ba ies, and Misletoe

Wherewith ye drest the Christmas I-IallThat so the supeu titious find

No one leu t nch thei'e leftbehindFor b oh howmany ieav—emhm b ’

The nexto

at

Simove mB, which among the Roman Catholics was the '

thne ap

pointed for thri ving or confessioa fim, and was also observed as a

ca'

miva l before the commencement of Lent. The former of these

ceremonies was dispensed with at the Reformation ; but the ritesattending the latterwere“for a long t ime supported with a rival sp irit

fiir plays acted lietbre her (from the Council Reg ism ) is the fofl owing

1811: M 157“ To Richard Mouhcaster,phy' preaented before her on Candlemu -dny and ShmVe

-tuesdny lu t, 20mm”t

W '

s Mogu l” ,ride life of RichmlMala ria , May, J une, cad J t ly, “00.

148

mm and in the

Sm d t q iag Hmry l V. he has iatmdueed 8ilmce sing ing the

Be merry, be merry, my wife’s as all ; 1

~

Formmeum shrm both ehon and txfl

And weloome merry shrowsndq.

The third line of this song appeare te hsve beent

pmverbia}, and

of consideu ble antiquity ; for Adam Ev ie; who fl ofirished a bout

1312, has the m e img ery wtth the sme rhyme in his Lfi’

e of

And fl xe subaequent passage; quotetl by Mr. Reed fi'om awriter con

Reed’s Shah pm g voLviii. 278 . Aet a t . Warner has alto noticed

this culinary article as appropriated to Shrove-Tna day in his Albion

’s Eng land, chapter

n iv.,where, enumm ting the M md hd idup d h a fima he myg they had

At fu ts

M or fi m kew is still called, ia the North, M us, or M m E’m, at

M ng M WeM the fim day d Lent ; aud the raming of thmm mthe pm

ioyet obcerved as a feat ofdexterity and skifl .

Offl teM aM Iwhich uwdmbe rung m g xm e-Tnu doy; Tcylor, the WaterPoeghum ili ate k nowing most ahxg ular aceonnt ;—

“ Shrove-Tneoday, atwhooe entmnoe

h the moming andte whok kingdom is mqtfl eg bmby dfitfime thedocku tfikes dmwhich awy the of a km ish m u) u commmfl y befom nine, then there is a bell rnng ,

u lti ma te the m dwhereo m thom ds ofpeople

oither ol mmners orhnmanitie.

"Sca biaWorks, folio, 1680. p. 1 15 .

the schoolb boyes doe bring cockes of the game to fi eir master,and all the forenoone they delight themoelm in CockAt what period this degenerated into Coch-thmwing m not now be

ascertained ; Chmeer seems to allude to it in his Noa

Tale, where the Cock reveng es himselfm the Ph ect s sOn , became he

many of Sir Thomas More, who, describing the state ofchildhood.

speaks of his skill in casting a eok-stele, that is, a stick er cudgel tothrow at a cock, TThe first effective blow directed against this infamous sport, Was

d ivers ion s, a groupeof boys throwing at a Cock, and, as Trusler te

marks, beating the harmles s feathered an imal to jelly.

”

1 The be

nevolent satire of this great artist gradually produced the necessary

reform, and for some thne past, the mag istrates have .so generallyinterdicted the practice,

‘

that the pastime may happily be considered

as extinct.

Stan'

s Sm ey of lm dbmedih of 16 18, p. 142.

1 Vide Stmtt’s spol

-u md l’m lafl so.

gtt l a some ph eea,

”u yq . Strutt,

“ it m a common preotioe to put the eoek h tom m them va wl n nde fin the purpa q md mphee him inm h a pooifioh thut hu hmdad h il ui ght be expou d to view; the m e], with the bird in ix, m then m au l

m fi t fi m or timeteen feet fiom the grounth to be thrown ut by an h

“ M mmdm tria l of their skill ; two-pm m paié for fimr throws, and he v ho

hcohe tho pog md deliveu d thcm k fiw hio cm flm mg had him fer a m aad. At

pot, but min ed his prize ; for the owl being aet ac hh fl y, inmutly fl cwm y,whit g reatVOL. L U

147

bishops and archbisholas used, upon the continent at this period, torecreate themselveswith the ir inferior clergy” 1101: was it uncommon

for corporate bodies on this occas ion in England to amuse themselves

in a similar way‘

with their burgesses and young people ; a1fi 9h tlythis was the custom, says Mr. Brand, at Newcastle, at the fm ts of

Easter and Wh itsuntide, when the mayor, aldermen , and sheriff;accompan ied by g reat numbers of the burg esses , used to g o yearly at

these seasons to the Forth, or l ittle mall of the town , with the mace,sword, and cap of main tenance catried before them, and not onlycountenance, but frequently join in the diversions of hand-ball,

supposed to be allus ive to the bitter herba used by the J ews on thisfestival. Selden , the contemporary of M speare, speaking of our

chief holidays, remarks, that ourMeats and Sports have 111t of

them relation to Church-Works . The cofi n of our Christmas Piea, in

shape long, is in imitation of the Crateh i : our cha sing King s and

Queen s on Twelfth N ight, hath reference to the three kings . So

likewise our eating of fritters, p p ing of tops, roasting ofherring s,J ack ofLents, 8m. they are all in imitation of Church-Works, emblemsof martyrdom. Our Tamias at Easter have reference to the bitter

Herbs , thoug h at the same time ’

twas always the fashion for e manto have a Gammon of B acon, to shew himseif to be

Bonn ie’s Antiquities spud Brand, p. 277. “Why thcy should play at HM M at

time,”observes Mr. Bonrne,

“rathe1- thm any other g ame, l have hot been hble to

out, but lo

mppose it will readily be grmtedfl hat this cnstom of so

orig inal of our pm ent reoreafions and diverfiom on EusterHoly Days,”

p. 277.

1, Brand on Bourne, note. The m n i s da ncq of which m h fi'

eqnent mentionis made in our old poets, was frequen tly performed at Easter ; bug as we sha ll have

sion to notioe this amusemeng at some leng th, nnder the article“ May

-Day,” we shall here

barely notice tha tW amer hu reoorded it u an Eu ter diversion in the following linc;

At l ’aske btg am ourmorrbe : nnd ere Pentioost our May.

”

Albion? Eng land, Chap.xxiv.

5 Selden’a Tahle-Talk, art. Christmas .

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151

enough would have had worse meditation s had an ancient beg inn ingand a long oontinnal ice ; till now of late laid down , they knew no

cause why, unhéss it werc hy the zeal of certain their preachers; men

very commendable tbr'

their behaviour and learn ing, and sweet in their

Wished therefore. that as they shouhl continue their good doctrine in

pulpit, ao, formatters ofpolicy and g overnance of the city , they would

that they mig ht have their Plays upAs it is subsequ ently stated that their play was very gracio

uslyreceived by the queen , who commanded it to be represented ag ain on

the following Tuesday, and gave the performers two bucks, and five

marks in money, we must suppose, that their petition was not rejected,and that they were allowed to renewyearly at Coventry , their favom

'ite

diversion s on Hock- d ay . The observance of this day, indeed,was

stdl parh ally retamed m the tlme of Spelman , who d1ed A D 164 1 1,and ev en Plott, who lived un til 1696, mentions it then as

.

not tota lly

We have now reached that period of the year which was formerlydedicated to one of the most splendid and pleas ing of our festal rites.

Nichola’s Prog ra ms ofQueen Elizabeth, vol . i. Laneham

’s Letter, p. 82— 34 .

1 Tha fl mkd ide was gm ralg observed in the days of Shokspmrg is efi dmt from the

following passag e in W ithers’

s Abuses Stript and Whipt.”8vo. London .

Who think (fon ooth) because thet once a yeare

They can afl bord thepooi‘

e some slefi er cheere,

Or els because thag for tlce M’

s g aod,

They inMenu 91'

Hocx'

rws: custome stwd

A Whitsun-ale, or some such g oodly motion,The better to procure young men

’

s devotion :

What will they do, I say, that think to pleaseTheirmig hty God with such food thing s as these?

Suns very ill. E 282.

155

Browne al so has given a similar description of the May-day rites

in his Britann ia’s Pastorals

As I have scene the Lady of the MaySet in an arbour

Built by the May-pole, where the jocund swaines

Dance with themaidens to the bag pipe’

s straines,

When envious night commands them to be g one,Call for the merry yongs ters one by one,

And for their well performance some disposes,To this a g arland interwove with roses

To that a carved hooke, or well-wrought scrip,Gracing another with her cherry lipTo one her g arter, to another then

A handkerchiefe cast o’re and o’re ag en ;

And none returneth empty, that hath spent

His paynes to fill their rural ! merriment.”

The custom of rising early on a May-mowing to enjoy the season,

and honour the day , is thus noticed by Stow~ In the month of

May ,”he says, namely, on May

-day in the morn ing, every man,except impediment, would walke into the sweete meddowes and

g reen woods, there to rejoice their spirits, with the beauty and savour

of sweet fl owers, and with the harmony of birds, preys ing God intheir kind 1

"

and Shakspeare has repeated references to the safne

observance in M dsummer—M g ht’

s Dream, Lysander tells Hermia,

I did meet thee once withHelena,To do obsm nce to a mom q qy f

’

I

and again, in the same play, Theseus says,

Book n . Song 4 . Chalmers’s Poets; vol. vi. p.296 .1 - It was no uncommon thing

also for the milk-maids to join the procession to the May-pole on this day, leading a cow

decorated with ribands of various colours, intermmg led with knots of hov ers, and

wreathes ofoaken leaves, and with the horns of the animal g ilt.

1 Stow’s Survey ofLondon, p. 150. 1618.

1 Act i. sc. l . Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 327.

x 2

157

When as a thousand virg ins on this day,

Spring sooner than the lark, to fetch in May !

Come, my Corinna, come ; and comming marke

How each field .tums a street, each street a parke

Made g reen, and trimm’d with trees ; see how

Devotion g ives each house a boug h,

Or branch : each porch, each doore, ere this,An arke, a tabernacle is

Made up ofwhite—thorn neatly enterwove.

There’

s not a budding boy, or g irle, this dayBut is g ot up, and g one to bring in MayA deale ofyouth, ere this, is come

Back, and with white- thorn laden home.

Some have dispatcht their cakes and creame,Before that we have left to dreame

And some have wept, and woo’

d, and plig hted troth,And chose their priest, ere we can cast off sloth

Many a g reen g own has been g iven ;

Many a hisse, both odde and even

Many a g lance too has been sent

From out the eye, Love’

s firmament

Many a jest told of the keyes betrayingThis nig ht, and locks pickt, ye w

’are not a Maying

With this, the s implest mode of celebrating the rites of

was frequently un ited, in the days of Henry VIII. and Elizabeth, a

g roupe of Morris Dancers, con sisting of several characters, Whichwere often varied both in number, appellation , and dress. The

Morris Dance appears to have been introduced into this k ingdomabout the reig n ofEdward the Fourth, and is, without doubt, derivedfrom the Morison, a dance peculiar to the Moors, and g enerally

termed the Sp anish Marisco, from its notoriety in Spain , during the

dynasty of that people in the pen in sula. TheMan i a Dance in this

countrv , when performed on a May-day , and not connected with the

Games of Robin Hood, usually consisted of the Lady of the May ,

the F001, or domestic bufl'

oon of the 15th and l 6th centuries, a

Piper, and two, four, ormore, Morris Dancers. The dress of these

Herrick’s Hesperides, p. 74, 75.

culisr kind ;

co llour.

158

“ anti m atking that

161

Upon this introduction of Robin Hood and his compan ions intothe celebration ofMay

-day, his pa'

a'amour Ma id Mafia n, assumed the

ing to Mr. Ritson , no part in the original and more authentic historyof Robin Hood ; but seems to have been first brought forward whenthe story of

.

this he'

ro became dramatised, which was at a very early

period in this country and Mr. Douce is of opin ion that the name,which is a stranger to English history, has been taken from “

a prettyFrea ch pastoral drama of the eleventh or twet century, entitledLe

’

jeu da berg er ci de la berg ere, mwhich the principal characters areRbbnt and . Maria n, a shepherd and shepherdess. This appears

the more probable, as the piece was not only very popular 1n France,

but perfornwd at the s eason when the May-

g ames took place in

Eng land.

Maid Al arms , in the days of Shakspeare, was usually represented

by a delicate. smooth-faced youth, who was dressed in’

all the fhshion

able finery of the thnes and thi s assumption ofthe female garb gave,not without some reason , g reat offence to the puritan ical dissenters ,

th is, among st some other abuses. in the ibllowing very curious pas

sag e The abuses wh ich are committed in your May-

g ames are

infin ite. The first whereof is this, that you doe use to attyre in

whereby you infn ng e that straight commandment whiehe is given inDent. xxii. that then must not put on women

'

s apparrell for feare

of enormities. Nay I myself have scene in a may game a troupe, the

greater part whereof hath been men , and yet have they been attyred

so like into women, that their faces bemg hidde (as they were indeede)a man conide not disceme them from women. The second abuse,which of all other is the g reatest, is this, that it hath been toulde that

your morice dauncers have danneed naked in nettes : what g reater

enticement un to naug htines s could have been devised ? The third

Donce’s Illustrations of Shakspeara voLw

VOL. I. Y

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Drag on , with from two to ten marrie danoen ,b r,'

in lieu of them, the,

same number of Robin Hood’

s men, in costs, hoods, and hose of

green , with a pa inted pole in the centre, vepresented the most

complete establishment of the May-game.

All these characters may be traced, indeed, so far baCk .as themiddlaof the fifteenth century and, according ly, Mr. Strutt, in his interestingromance, ent itled Queen. hoo Hall,

”has introduced a very pleas ing

and accurate description of the May-games and Morris of RobinM whk lu u mm ma hvely md dmmafic l tyh md not in the

least difl'

ering from what they continued to be in the you thful daysof Shakspeare , and before they were broken 1a upon by the fanatieiamof the puritans, we shall copy in this place for fl l e emertainment of

In the front of the pav ilion , a larg e square was stakedvout, and

lenced with ropeg to prevent the crowd from pressing upon the

performers, and interrupting the diversion ; there were also twmbmat the bottom of the inclosure, through which the actors mig ht pm

Six young men first entered the equu'e, clothed in jetkihs of

bound with large g arlands of ivy-leaves intertwined With sprigs of

The Eng lish were famed,”observes Dr.Grey, for thwe

i

and such like ditiersions ;and even the old, as well as young persons, forme t

‘ly followed“

them : a remarkable instince

df v hich is g iven by Sit W illiam Ten ple, (Miscellan y l’art s, Essay of Heald ) and

14mg Life ) who makes mention of; Mai'r ies Dance in Herefordshire, from a noble pa »

son, who told himhe had a pamphlet 1n his libra ry written by a very ing enious g entlemansr thin county, wh ich g ave an account how, in such a year of King J ames

'

s reigfi , time

went about the country a sett of Morrice Dancers, composed of ten men, who danced a

Maid Ma rian, and a taber and pipe : and how time ten, one with anotl1c1, made uptwelve hundred years.

”I'

is not so much, says hq thu m m ny l n me cwn ly thould hw

to “ w a tt!“ they shonld he in vig our and hnmout to travel and danoe.” Grey

’

s

Nota onm wh l y m

168

a Six’

young maidens of the v illage, dressed ihblue kirtleé, withg arlands of primroses on their heads, fleadmg a fine sleek

and the horns of the an imal were tipped with gold. These were

‘Six foresters, eclmpped in g reen tun ics, with hoods and hosen of

the same colour ; each of them carried a bug le-horn attached to a

baidrick of silk , which he sounded as he passed the barrier. Afier

them Cani e

Peter Laus tet; the baron’

s chief falconer, who person ified Robin

gold ; his hood and his hosen were parti-coloured, blue and white ;

he had a larg e garland of rose—buds on his head, a bowben t in h is

hand, a sheaf of arrows at his g irdle, and a bugle-horn dependingfrom a baldrick of lig ht blue taran tine, embroidered W ith silver ; he

had also a sword and a dag g er, the hilts of both be ing richly embos sed

Fabian a page, as Little J ohn, walked at his right hand ; andCecil Cellerman the butler, as Will Stukely, at his left These, with

ten others of the jolly outlaw’

s attendants who followed, were habitecl

in g reen g arments, bearing their bows bent in their hands , and theirarroWs in the

i

r girdles. Then came

streWéng fl owers followed immed iately byThe ma id Marian, eleg an tly habited in a watchet-colouredf tun ic

to the ground over which she wore a white linen I rochet

sleeves , fring ed with silver, and very neatly plaited her

girdle was of silver baudekin fastened with a double how on the

left side ; her long fl axen hair was div ided into many ring lets , and

fl owed upon her shoulders ; the top part of her head was covered

W , in women’s dress, a short vest. Strutt.

1. Watchd -colma '

ed, pale blue. 8mm.

1 Rocket, a law'

n g armen t resembling a surplice g athered at thewrists. Stmtt.

Baudekin, a cloth ofgold tiss ue, with fig ures in silk, forfema le dress. Strutt.

the miller’

s son, hav ing a long pole ‘with an infl ated bladderattachedto one end “ : And a&e1- them

The May-

pole, drawn by eight fine oxen , decorated with scarfs‘

,

ribbons, and fl owers of divers colours ; and the tips of theirh omewere embellished with g old. The rearwas closed by

TheW a wd theDrag on.

When the May-

pole was drawn into the square, the foresterssounded their horns, and the 110d expres sed their pleasure by

anon and during the time the groufld was preparing for its reception, the barriers of the bottom of the inclosure were opened for the

v illagers to approach, and adorn it with ribbons, g arlands , and flowers,as the ir inclin ation prompted them.

The pole be ing sufficiently onerated with fin ery, the square wascleared from such as had no part to perform in the pag eant ; and

taters. The woodmen and the milk-maiden s danced arou nd it ao

Cheveritte, the baron'

s chief min strel, on the bagpipes accompanied

with the pipe and tabour, performed by one of his associates. Whenthe dancewas fin ished, Greg ory the jester, who undertook to play

the hbbby-horse, came forward with his appropriate equipment, and,

TheM , in this'

place, personates the character of thefizol or domestic hufimn .

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17d

Then the arehers set up a target at the lovzer pu't ofme Green,

and made trial of their skill in a'

regular success ion. Robin d

an arrow in the oentre eircle offi d, so near to each other that the

difference could not readily be decided, which eecssionedfthemt o

Stukely’

s arrowwas afl hted npon the edge.of it . ‘ Bobinwas there

fore adjudged the conqueror and the prize of honour”aga'

rlafl cl of

and to Stukely was g iven a g arland of ivy, beeause he'was th

'

e seoond

best performer in that contest.

e myipole in prom iscuous coinpan ies; secondmg fl wwhe ancientcustom.

”

In consequence of the Oppos ition , however, of the puritans , duringthe cl

ose of Elizabeth

’

s reig n, who considered the rights of May-day

Personae of this festiv ity. Somethnes instead o

'

f'

Robin and Marian ,

only a Lord or Lady of the day was adopted ; frequently the fl i erwas not suffered to appear, and still more fre quently was the hobbyh

’

orse i nterdicted. This zealous interference ofthe sectarista was ridicu led by the poets of the day , and among the test by Shakspeare, who

quotes a line from a satirica l ballad on this ssubject, and rq n esen ts

Hamlet as terming it an epitaph ; Else shall he suffer not thinkingou , says he, with the hobby

-hovse ;whose epitaph 1s, For, 0,for,0, the hobby horse is forg ot.

”

1' He has the same allusion 1n Love s

Smufl s Queenhoo-Ii alh a rommcg vfi i. p. 13. et saci.f Act iii. Reed’s Shah peare, vol. xviii. p. 198.

t Act iii. se l . lteed’

s Shakeqm 1

z 2

‘

172

But see, the Hobby-horue is forgot.

Fools, itmust be your lot,To supply his want with faces,

And some other Buti'

on g races ;

and ag ain, still more pointedly,

Clo. They should be Morris dancers by their g ing le, but they have no napkins.

Coc. No, nor a hobby-horse.

070. Oh, he’s qfl en forg otten, that

’s no rule ; but there is 110 maid Marian nor Friar

among st them, which is the surer mark.

Coc. Nor a Foole that I see.

”1

In Beaumont and Fletcher’s Trag i-comedy called Women Pleased,the avers ion of the puritans to this festive beast is striking ly depicted ;where the person whowas destined to perform the hobby

-horse, beingconverted by his wife, exclaims vehemently ag ainst the task imposed

Hob

I do defie thee and thy foot-cloth too,And tell thee to thy face, this prophane ridingI feel it in my conscience, and I dare speak it,This unedified ambling hath brought a scourg e upon as.

Far.

W ill you dance no more, neig hbour

Surely no,

Carry the beast to his crib : I have renounc’d himAnd all his works.

Shall the Hobby -horse beforg ot tim:

l e bopg‘id Hobéy lzorse, skull he {yefounder

’d

Entertainment of the Queen and Prince at Althorpe. 1608. fol. edit. vol. i. p. 99.

f The Metamophosed Gipsies, fol. edit. vol. 2. p. 65 . This folio edition of J onson’s

works, in two volumes, dated 1640, is not reg ularly pag ed to the close of each volume ;for instance, in vol. i. the Dramas terminate at p. 668, and then the Epig rammes, Forest,Masques, &c. commence with p. l .

178

I cry out on’t,

’Twas the forerunn ing sin broilg ht 111 those tilustaveg' "i d

They brandish’

g ainst the church,1

From one of these puritan s, named Stephen Gossoo

n, welikewise, thatMorrice-dancersandHobby-horses had been

even upon the s

tag e during the early part

for this writer, in a tract publi shed about

Configted, says, that the Devil beeside

dauncing of g ig g es, g aliardes ,morisces, kobbL 1‘ Bythe con

Act iv. sc. l .— j onmn in his tholmemFayrc, acted in the year 16 14, has a character

ofthis kind, a Baker, who has undergone a similar conversion, and is thus intmdqced zWw W. Wha t call you the Reverend Elder, you wid me of? your Banbury

-man.

J ob. Rabbi Sir.

Quar. O, I lmow him ! a Baker, is be not ?

Jolt. Hee was a Baker, 8113 but hee do’s dreame now, and see vm

'

ons, he has g ivenover his Trade.

Qua r. I remember that too : out of a scruple hee woke; that (in spie'd conscience)

those Cakes hee made, were serv’d to BridaIes, May pola , Mm es and such prophane

feasts and meeting s ; his Christenmame 18 Zea le-g l the-la nd Busye.

”

J onson’s W orks, fol. edit. vol. 11. p. vi. act i. m 3.

1 Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. xviii. note, Steevem.

1: Wilson, censuring these indulg ences , place; the era of the publication of the Book

of Sports under 16 17, and says of it, that“ some of the Bishops, pretendin

md liberty to servants and the common people (ofwhich they carved to

n

gwmselves toomuch already) procured the King to put out a Book to permit dancing about May

apoIes,

W I“ , and such debauched exfl cises upon the Sabbath-Day after Evening

-Prayer

(being a specious way to make the I( ing , and them, acceptable to the Rout) : which Book

came out with a command, injoyning all Min isters to read it to their parishioners, and

to approve of 11 ; and those that did not, were broug ht into the high Commission, 1111

ded. The History ofGres t Britain, being the Life and Reig n of

King h ma the gmtg rélafing to what pau ed fi'

om his fin t access to the Crown, till his

M imic, London 1653. p. 105.

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175

Several of the amusements, and some of the Characters attendant

T IDE, especially the morris-dance, which was as cuatprnary onrthis

Shakspeare, in King Henry V. , malicethe Dauph in say , alluding to

the youthful follies of the Eng l ish monarch,

- “Let us do it with no showoffear

q hh no more thm ifwe heard that Enghnd

Were busied with a Whitm

The rural sports and feasting at Whitsuntide were usually designated by the term Whitmwa les ; ale being in the time of Shakspeare;

and fora century or two, indeed, before him, synonymous w1thfestwal

our great poet, from Jonson, and from Ascham, prove that it was

famil iar, in their time, in the sense'

of s imple m ous ing , church-fieast

ing , and Wh itsuntide recreatien. Launcelot, in the Two Gentle

men of Verona , exclaims to Speed, “Thou hast not so much charityin thee, as to go to the ale with a Christiaa

’

andAscham, speakingofthe conduct ofhushandmen, m his Toxophl lus, observes that those

which have their dinner and drink in the field, have fatter barnes in

the harvest, than they which will either sleape at noonetyme of the

day , or els make merye with theyr neig hbours at the ale.

”

1 In the

chorus to the first act ofPericles, it is recorded of an old song, that

its sta tion on the East side of Sonwrseb l-Iouoe, where the new church now stands. ‘

Porn thus perpetuates its remembrance :

Amidst the area wide they took their stand,Where the tall May

-pole once o

’

erlook’

d the Strand.

”

Clavis Calendaria, vol. 1. p. 8 18.

Act n. sen t. Reed’s Shakweam vol. xn.

1» Reed’

uM peare, vaLiv. p. 2s 1. act ii. m 6.

1 Aachnm’s Works spud Bennet, p. 69, 68 .

And who ag ain the under-sotig shouid hu n’ ”

Shakspeare also, in his WiMer’

s Tale, has presented us not only

with a list of the g ood thing s necessary for a sheep-ahearing least,but he describes likewise the attentions which were due, on this occas ion , from the hostess, or Shepherd 8 Queen.

“ Let me see , says the Clowm“ what l am to huy lbr our sheep

shearing feast Three pmmdpoufl d of sug ar ; five pm d qf'currants ; race

What will this s ister ofmine do with rieeP. But my father hathmade her mistress of the feast, and d e lay : a om

,She hath made

me four—and-twenty nosegays far the shearers : three-man song—men

all ‘

f, and very good ones t but they ave moot of theln means i and

bases : but one Pmttsn amongst them, and he psalms to horn

pipes I must have sqfii‘om tO colfl m the pies ; mace,

of g ing erf hut that l

‘fl uyb eg r

-ajbw pbuhd q , and -a s fi eny

q asw'a’memw‘ The qulihdty drtiifiés iu thxs detafl m 36mm mere éxpensivethan thbse enumm d Du ywn ; md oLh Sta veamh d nose m

plaint. Thus , in

1594 : If l l: bea enter.

M ag s IITh e shepherd

’

s reproof to his adopted daughter, Pendita, as Polixenes remarks,

the prettig t low-born la y, that ever

‘ Cha lmers’

s Poets, voLiv. 1 Sing u ofmtehesig tbr'

ee pg ns ,

t By m am aremeant tenmt Reed

’

fiShakspeam votm-pom w‘l. Afi iv 39 2.

ll Reed’s Shakspeare, voL ix. p . 328. note s.

184

implies indirectly the duties which were expected by th'

e peasants , on

this day. thnn their mu ] queen, and which Seems to have

aullicivntly

m daug hter, when my old wire iiv’

d, uffonW M M m both pantlei

‘

; butler, cook ;Both deme and aervant : welcom’

d all serv’

d all

Would dng her som and danoe her tm'

n : nowhere,At appar end o

’

the table, now, ithe middle

On bis shonkhn and his : her faoe o’fire '

Withhhom'

; and the thing , she took to gnench it,Shewould to each one sip : You are retir’d,

As ifyou wa e a k asted m g and not

The hm d the meeting : Pmy yomhidThese unknown fi-iends to ns weloome : for it is

And with him rises wwping ; these are fl owersc

2“

u4 Reed

’

s Shaksp’

eme, voLix. p. 3% Act iv . sc. 8 .— I helieve the custom ofchooiing

a king and qneen at the sheep-ohearing feasg is sdn cdptinued in m erd of our ommties ;

that it was commonly ohserved, at leasg in the fimeM isefident fiomme foh

Shines o’er there“, the Pas

’tt al Que en, ahd ta

iya

Her smiles, sweebheaming on her ShepherdKing ?’

Shanna“:

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189

The horses, mm, and frisking fillies,Clad, all, in linnen, white as lillies.

The Harvest swaines, and wenches boundForjoy, to see theHocb-cart crown

’d.

About the cart, heare, howthe routOfrural] young ling s raise the shout ;

These with a shout, and thesewith laug hter.

Some blesse the cart ; some kisse the sheaves ;Some prank them up with oakeu leaves :

Some crosse the fill-horse ; somewith g reatDevotion, stroak the home-borne wheat :While other rusticks, lease attent

To prayers, then to merryment,Run afterwith their breaches rent.

Well, ou, brave boyes, to your Lord’s hearth,

Glitt’ring withfire where, for yourmirth,Ye shall see first the large and cheefe

W ith upper stories, mutton, vealeAnd bacon, which makes full the meale ;With sev’ral dishes standing by,As here a custard, there a pie,

And here all tembting frumentie.And for tomake themerry cheeta.Ifsmirking wine be wanting here,There

’s that, which drowns all care, stoutbeere ;

Which freely drink to your Lord’s health,

Then to the plough, the commonwealth ;Next to your fl ailes, your fanes, yourfats

Then to themaids with Wheaten hats ;To the rough sickle.Drink h~ollich boyes,Feed, and g rowfat ; and as ye eat,Bemindfull, that the lah

’

ring neat,

As you, may have their fill ofmeat.And know, besides, ye must revoke

The patient oxe unto the yoke,And all g oe back unto the plough

And barrow, thoug h they’re hang

'd up now.

And, you must know, your Lord’

s word true,Feed him yemust, whose food fils you.

And that this pleasure 13 likemine,Not sent ye for to drowne yourpain ,

But for to make it spring ag ain ."

Hesperides, p. 1 18— 1 15 .

On the day ofMartilmm

Some do the citie nowfi'

equmt,

Such as did pleamre Eng landee Queene,t n here her roya l Grace was seme,

’

Yet will they uot thia day let pm e,

m mm ie day ofMartilmaa-ea

Nel hath lefi her wool at home,The Flanderkin hath etnyed his lom fNo heame doth cwing e nor wheel g o rouud

Upon Gurg untums walled g round ; 1

m m moemm epdon ot'

Qneen Elizabeth atNorwich in 15713,mthe poet, wh1ch are reprmted ln Mr Nicholt’l Fragm en theae aooounts are liltewueincorporated by Ahn ham Fleming u a mpplement oliushed, and wfl l be found inthe hot edition of thit chronicler, ih voL iv . The M 11 and ma n“? W ickm a hibiwd dwhtg thit rq d wut wm md lym m w w i

“mwas taken there,

”n t hurchyard,

“ that ewy dm for m dayee , a thew of

some ttraug e devioe thould he seene ; and the maior aadaad aldertnen pppoin among them

m m mm bm hm thu no pm on u nyning wthe q nm shoufl e be aaw ,

m unbidden wdinw md wpper, dufing the spm of thon m & ya zwhichwmdfizmwell and msely oboerwed, and g amed thetr cme more fame aud ered1te, than they wot of

fir that wmd e of theim ehah rm ayne in pa pemmmemmiq whila the wafl a of theircitie

'

m doth.” mLii.

1» The wise policy ofElizabeth inm hhahing the Flm iag ia thlb eoum'

y p re hin h

to our vast superiority in the woollen trade ; and the first pag eant which met the eyes of

Elizabeth on her entrance into Norwich was the mfi zan- stmug cr: pageant, illustrative 61“

the whole process of the manufactory,“a shewe which pleased her Majestic so g reatly,

as the particularly viewed the knitting and spinn ing of the chi ldren, perused the loombea,and noted the several warkea and commodities which were made by these meenea.

”

Nichole’

s Prog ress“ , vol. ti. p. 18 .

t Gorg untum, a fahfl touo kind of Briton,who is supposed to have builtNorwich Castle

in the process ion which went out ofNorwich to meet the Queen , on the l 6th of Aug ust,1578, was onewhiche represented King Gune vn

'

r, some tyme king ofEng lande, whichehuylded the cu tle of Norwich, called Blanch Flowre, and layde the foundation of the

198

W here nowno anchorite doth dwell

To rise and pray at Lenarti’

s bell :

Martyn hath kicked at Balaam’

s ass,

So merrie be old Martilmasse.

W hen the dailie sportes be done,

Round the market crosse they runne,

Prentis laddes, and g allant blades,

Danoing e with their g amesome maids,Till the beadel, stoute and sowte,

Shakes his bell, and calls the houre ;

Then farewell ladde and farewell lasse,

To’

th’ merry nig ht ofMartilmasse.

”

Shakspeare has an allusion to this formerly conv iv ial day in the

Second Part of King Henry I V. , where Poins, asking Bardolph after

Falstaff, says Howdoth the martlemas, your master9”

an epithetby Which, as John son observes, he means the latter spring , or the

old fellowwith juven ile passions. 1‘

We have now to record the clos ing and certainly the g reatest festivel of the year, the celebration of CHRISTMAS, a period which our

ancestors were accustomed to devote to hospital ity on a very largescale, to the indulg ence indeed ofhilarity and g ood cheer for, at least,

twelve days, and sometimes, especially among the lower ranks, forsix weeks.Christmas was always ushered in by the due observance of its Eve,

first in a rel ig ious and then in a festive point of v iew. Our fore

fathers,”

remarks Bourne, when the common devotion s of the Eve

were over, and n ight was come 0 11 , were wont to lig ht up candles of

an uncommon size, which were called Christmas-candles, and to lay a

citie. He was mounted uppon a brave courser, and was thus furn ished : his body armed,his bases of g reene and white silke ; on his head a black velvet hat, with a plume ofwhite

feathers. There attended upon him three henchmen in white and g reene : one of them

did beare his helmet, the seconde his terg at, theZthirde his sta fl'

e.

” Nichols’

s Progresses,vol. ii. p. 5, 6 .

f The Cabinet, vol. 11. p. 75, 76.

1 Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 66

VOL. I.

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scriptural or convivial , the first being sung morn ing and even ing,until the twelfth day, and the second during the period of feasting or

carousmg .

As soon as the morn ing of the Nativity appears,”

says Bourne,

it is customary among the common people to s ing a Chri stmas

Carol, which 18 a song upon the birth of our Sav iour, and generallysung from the Nativity to the Twelfth-day ; this custom, he adds,

seems to be an imitation of the Gloria in Excelsis, or Glory be to

God on Hig h, &c. which was sung by the ang els , as they hovered

o’

er the fields of Bethlehem on the morn ing of the Nativity ; foreven that song, as the learned Bi shop Taylor observes, was a Christ,mas Carol. As soou, says he, as these blessed Choristm had sung their

Xmas Carol, and taug ht the Church a hynm, ta pm into her qfl ices

for ever, on the anniversary of this festivity ; [ fiemelt,"&c 1

' We

can well remember that, during the early period of our life, whichwas spent in the north ofEngland, it was in general use for the young

people to sing a carol early on the morn ing of this g reat festival, and

the burthen ofwhich was,

All the angelt in heaven do ungOn a Chrinnas day in the morniug f’

customs such as th is, laudable in themselves and highly impressive on

Brand on Bourne’s Antiquities, Ibid. p. 200, 201 .

t for collectmgas a pretaxt about the streets,

m m century ,

every mgh

homn

during the six

were su

fi

l

‘

l

fm 119 031211, indeed, were,

moneyf thisls oCaro

the lung dom ,inery town and villag ecvthroughChristmas,sung at

to thebe sungrders tothis season , which he 0forone

I

uoesi

tiihfif King Salomon.

fol. 57. edit . i586 .xxx.1 Chm

198

the youthfirl m'

md, are, we are sorry to say, nearly, if not totall1y,

To the carols, hymns, or pious chansons, which were 31mg about

the streets at n ight, during Christmasatide, Shakspeare has two

allusions ; one in Hamlet,where the Prince quotes two lines from a

popular bfl lad entitled The Song s of J epthah’

s Daug hter,”and adds ,

The first row of the pious chanson wi ll show you more “ . and

No night is nowwith 1mmor carol blest. 1

Upon the first of these passages Mr. Steevens has observed that

the p ious chansons were a kind of Christmas carols, contain ing some

scriptural history thrown into loose rhymes , and sung about the

streets by the common people ; and upon the second, that hymns

and carols, in the time of Shakspeare, during the season of Christmas ,were sung every n ight about the streets, as a pretext for collectingmoney from house to house.

”

Carols of this kind, indeed, were, during the s ixteenth century ,

sung at Christmas, through every town and villag e in the king dom ;

and Tusser, in his F ive Hundred Pointes of .

Good Husbandrie,

introduces one for this season , which he orders to be sung to the

tune of King Salomon. iThe chief. object of the common people in chaunting these nig htly

carols, from house to house, was to obtain money or Chri stmas-Boxes,

a term derived from the usage of the Romish priests, who ordered

mas ses at this time to be made to the Sd nts, in order to atone for the

excesses of the people, during the festival of the Nativity, and as

these masses were’

always purchased of the priest, the poor were

allowed to g ather money in this way with the view of liberating

Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 148 . Act 11. se. 2.

f Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. iv. Aet ii. sc.' 2.

1 Chap. xxx. fol. 57. edit . 1586.

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293

The Hall of the baron , knight; m sqd re was the seat o t e

festivities, the same gambols, wassalling , mtunmery, and mirth, wh ich

the following manner

Enter 011 11s with two or time gf the Guard.

He is attir’d in round hose, long stocking s, a close doublet, a hig h crowrrd hat with

a broach, a long thin heard, a t1 uncheon, little milks, white shoes, his scarfl'

es, and

g arters tyed crosse, and his drum beaten before him

The names ofhis Ca n vas s , with their attyres.

Mis-mle. In a velvet cap with a sprig , a short cloaks , g reat yellowrufi'

e like a

m ailer, his torch-bearer bearing a rope, a cheese and a basket.

Caroll. A long tawny coat, with a red cap, and a fl ute at his g h‘dle,

° his torch

hearer carrying a song booke open.

Mina’d Pic. Like a fine cooke’

s wife, drcst neat ; her man carrying a pie, dish, and

Gamboll . Like a tumbler, with a hoope and bells ; his torch-beamr arm’

d with a cole

staffs, and a blinding cloth.

Post And Pa ire. W i th a paire-royall of aces in bis hat ; his g ar1nent all done over

with payres, and purrs ; his squier carrying a box, cards and counters.

New-Ym -Gifl . In a blewooat, serving

-rnan like, with m m uga and a speig o‘

torch bearer carrying a march-

pa ine, with a bottle of wine on either arme.

Mumming . In a masquing pied suite, with a visor, his torch-hearer carrying the

boxe, and ring ing it.a Wam a. Like a neat sempster, and song ster; her pag e bearing a brows e bowle,

drest with ribbands, and rosemarie before her.

a Ofi n ng In a short g owne, with a porter’s stafl

‘

e in his haad ; a wyth borne before

him, and a hason by his torch-bearer.

Babic-Cbche. Drest like a hoy, in a fine long coat, hig g in, bib, muckender, and a

httle dag g er ; hh uaher beafing a gwatmke with a bm q and a pease” ‘

Of these person ified attributes we have already noticed, at some

length, themostmaterial, such as M'

m de, Caroll, New-Year’

s-Gzfi and

Wassall to the account, however, which has been given of the

Summa Lord of Misrule, from Stubbes’

s Anatomic of Abuses, it

‘ Chfim Hh Masque ; as it was preaented at Court 16 16. Jonson’s Works,

folio edit 1640. voLu.

D 11 2

204

will t neoessary to add, th at the sway of this mock prince, both

in town and country, was still more absolute during the Christmasholidays what time,

”says Hol

'

mshed, of old ordinarie course

there is alwaies one appointed tomake sport in the court, ca lled com

moh lie Lord of Misrule : whose othee is not unknowne to such as

have beene brought up in noblemen’

s houses , and among great housekeepers , which use liberal feasting in that season .

”Stowe, likewise,

has recorded, in his Survey, the un iversa l domination of this hol idaymonarch . In the feast of Christmas,

”he remarks, therewas in the

king’

s house, wheresoever he was lodg ed, a Lord of Mismle, 0 1:

Master of merry desparta, and the like had yee in the house of every

nobleman ofhonour,‘

or goodworship, were he spiritual] or temporal] .Among st the which, the Maior ofLondon, and either of the Sherifl ’eshad the ir severall Lords ofMisrule, ever conte nding without quarrellor offence, who should make the rarest pastimes to delig ht the

beholders. These Lords beginn ing their rule on Alha llow Eve, con

tinned the same til the morrow after the feast of the Purification ,

commonly called Candlemas-day : In all which space, there were fine

and subtil] disgu isings, mashes andmummeries, with play ing at cardes

for gaine. TIn short, the directions which are to be found for a g rand Christ

mas in the capital, were copied with equal splendour and profu sion inthe houses of the opulent g entlemen in the coun try, who made it a

point to be even lav ish at this season of the year. We may , there

fore, cons ider the following descri ption as apply in g accurately to the

Christmas hospitality of the Baron ’

s hall.

On Christmas-day, serv ice in the church ended, the gentlemen

presently repa ir into the hall to breakfast, with brawn , mustard, and

malmsey.

At dinner the butler, appointed for the Christmas, is to see the

tables covered and furn ished : and the ordinary butlers of the house

Holinshed’s Chronicles, voLiii. edit. 1808.

1» Stowe

’

s Survey of London, edit. 161 8.

torches of wax, next before the musician s and trumpeters, and stand

above the firewith the mus ic, till the first course be served in throughthe hall. Which performed, they, with the musick, are to return

course is to be observed in all thing s, during

the time of Christmas.

At n ight, before supper, are revels and dancing , and so also after

supper. during the twelve daies of Christmas . The Master of the

Revels is, after dinner and supper, to s ing a carol], or song ; and cominand other gentlemen then there present to sing with him and the

company and so it is very decently

Bes ide the revelry and dancing here mentioned, we may add, thatitwas customary, at this season , after the Christmas sports ahd gameshad been indulged in , until the performers were weary, to g ather

round the ruddy fire, and tell tales oflegendary lore, orpopular superstition . Herrick, recording the diversion s ofthis period, mentions oneof them as consisting of

“ winter’

s tales about the M 11”

and

Grose, speaking of the source whence he had derived many of the

superstitions narrated in the concluding section of his ProvincialGlossary ,

”says, that he gives them, as they had, from ag e to age,

been related to a clos ing circle of attentive hearers, assembled in a

winter’ s even ing , round the capacious chimney of an old hall ormanor

homse ;”

and he adds , that tales of this description formed, amongour ancestors, a prin cipal part of rural conversation , in all large

bumiug of the Yule—block. 1:

a g ood estimate may be taken by a few lines from the author of Hes

Nichola’s Prog ram and Processions o ueen Eliu beth, voLi. 2 1 . Anne

1569 .

1 1'Iesperides, 1 Prwincial Glou ary, Prdm p s. 81m. 1787.

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mWe shall close this detail Ofthe eenemonies and festiv ities ofChrist

mas with -a Walter Scott, in

which he has

stances which distinguished the celebration of this high festival, froman early period, to the close of the sixteehth eentury. They form a

picture which must delight; both fiom the nature of and

from the truth and mellowness of its colouring .

Well our Christian tires of old

Loved when the year its course had 'rolled,

And broug ht blithe Christmas back aga in,W ith all his hospitable train .

Domestic and relig ious rite

Gave honour to the holy .nig ht

The damsel donned her ltirtle sheen ;“ c hall was dressed with holly grem ;

Forth to the wood did merry-tmen go,To g ather in themisletoe.

To m mh tenang setfmd an;

And g eneral voice, the happy nig ht,That to the cottag e, as the crown,Brought tiding s of salvation down .

The fire with well .dried log s supplied,Went roaring up the chimney wide ;The hug e hall-table

’s oalten face

Scrubbed till it shone, the day to g race,Bore then upon its massive boardNo mark to part the squire and lord.

of ten ants and tenants, and the g ambols they played served as amusemm t to the lord of

the mansion and his family, who, by encourag ing every art conducive to'

mirth and enter

ta inment, endeavoured to soften the rig our of the season, and mitig ate the infl uence of

winter. The World, No. 104 .

the cu e, set apart for more g eneral conviviality and sociability ; not such as our old

11l proclaim, 111111 history confirms, in which the most frig id tempers gave way to te

laxation, and all in eag erjoy were ready to exclaim, in honourofthe festivity,

For, since such delights are thine,Cmus

'mu , with thy bands I join.

”

Clara'

s Calendanfa, vol. 11,

CHAFTER VII .

MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE COUNTRY CONTINUED— WAKES — FAIBS - WEDDINGS

HAVING described, in as brief a manner as was cons istent with thenature of our work, the various circumstances accompany ing the

ceiebration -of the most remarkable holidays and festivals, in the

positions we have drawn many pertinent illustrationson nearly all the

subjects as they passed before us we shall proceed, in the presen tchapter, to notioe those remain ing tapics which are calculated to com

plete, on the scale adopted, a tolerably correct v iewof rural manners

and oustoms, as they existed in the latter half of the si'

xteenth, and

A natural trans ition will carry us, from the description of the rural

festival, to the g aieties of theWaxs or Fara. Of these terms, indeed,the former originally implied the v ig il which preceded the festival inhonour of the Saint to whom the parish-church was dedicated ; for“on .the Eve of this day,

”remarks Mr. Borlase, in his Cornwall,

prayers were said, and hymns were sung all night in the church ;

and from these watching s the festivals were stiled Wakes ; whichname still continues in many parts of England, though the vigilshave been long abolished.

”The relig iou s in stitution, however, of

the Wake, whether held on the v igil or Saint’s day , was soon forg ot

ten ; mirth and feastin g early became the chief objects of thismeeting 1, and it, at leng th, degenerated into something approach

Brand on Bourne’s Antiquities , p. 338.

1» Mr. 8trutt, in a quotation from an old MS. leg end of St. John the Baptist, preservedinDugdale

’s W arwickshire, tells us, In the beg inn ing ofholi churche, itwas so that the

pepnl cam to the chirche with candellys hrinnyng , and wold wake and 00mm with Lig httoward the chirche in their devocions, and afl er they fell to lecheria and song s, daunces,

harping , piping , and also to g lotony and sinne, Sports and' Pastimes,

VOL. I.

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Where a coxobmb will be broke,Ere a good mrd can be spoke :

Bnt the ang er ends all here,

Drencht in clg or drowd d in beere.

Happy Rusficks beot content

Than to want the Waka t yu m)"

Of the or hawkers who, in general, formed a constituent

part of these villag e-wake : an aocurate idea may be drawn from the

character of the pedlar Autolycus, in the Winter'

s Tale of, Shaka

pw a who is dehneated with the poet’

s customary streng th ofpencil,

rich humour, and fidelity to nature. Thewares in which he dealtme

la medly handla thong h they come to him by the grou ; inkles, u ddi i ses t, cambricks,he sh ga them cver, as they were gods or goddeu es : yon wonld thinh a

smock were a che-eng el ; he so chants to the aleeve-hand, and the work about the

“ EnterAntdyaau ing ing .

Lawmas white as driven snow;Cypru black as e

’er was crow;

Hesperides, p. 300, 801 .

«t In Shab pesre’s time the bminess ofthe millinerwu trm acted by mm

1 Caddia ea — a ltind of nm owworsted g alloon .

5 Reed’s Sham vol, ix.

918

Gloves as sweet as damask roses ;

Masks for faces, and tar noses ;

Bug le bracelet, neck lace-amber,Perfume for a lady

'

s chamber

Golden quoifs, and stomachers,Formy lads to g ive their clears ;

Come, buy ofme, come ; come buy, come buy ;

At the close of the feast Autolycus is represented as

and declaring Ha, ha ! what a fool honesty 18 . and trust, his sworn

brother, a very simple gentleman ! I have sold all my trumperynot a counterfeit stone, not a riband, g lass, pomander “

I'

, brooch,

to keep my pack from fasting : they throng who should bny first ;as if my trinkets had been hallowed, and brought a benediction to

the buyer. 1In the North, the Village-Wake is still kept up, under the title

of The Hoppmg , a word derived from the Ang lo-Saxon , and thus

meetings. The reign of Elizabeth, indeed, was marked

could be pwperly celebrated without the country lads and lassesfooting it on the green or yard, or in bad weather, in the

In an old play, entitled A Woman Killed With Kindness, the

production ofThomas Heywood, and acted in 1604, is to he found a

curious, as it enumerates the names of the dances then in vogue

Reed‘s Shakspem-e, vol. ix.

f Ponmnder, — a fitde bafl ofperfi ima worn either hi the pockd or abwt the neck,

1 Reed’s Shab peare, vol. ix. p. 375, 376.

214

among these rustic performers. The poet, afie r remarking that

DOW

themod lads

And oountry M every mother's chfld,

wd hride laces in their hats,

thus introduces his couples

J enkin.

’ Come, Nick, take you Joan Miniver to trace withal ; Jack Slime, traverseyou with Sisly Milk-pail ; I will take J ane Tmbkin, and Roger Brickbat shall have

Isabel Motley ; and now strike up ; we’

ll have a crush here in the yard.

if the music overcome notmy melancholy, I shall quarrel ;strike them down .

to quarrel ; come, what shall it be ? Rog ero ?The Beg inning of the World.

’

Nickola . J hm erenow

l

deoerved a cushion ; call for the Cushiomdance.

R. Erzd '. Formy parg I like nothing so well as ‘ Tom

J en . No ; we’ll have ‘ The hun ting of the Fost.

’

like ‘ The Hay.

’

Sidy . What ? Mr. Nicholas ? What?Nick . Put on your smock a Monday?

J a n So, the dance will come cleanly ofi : come, forGod’s sake, ag ree d something ;

J en. Why, would you have as run away ?

M . No ; but l would have you shake your heels. Muéémike up

” Q

The Fair or greater wake was usually held, as hath been observed,in a central situation , and its period and duration were, a s at present,

Ancient British Drama, vol. 11. p. 485, 436 . The third edition of A"W Killed

With Kindness, was printed in 4to. 16 17.

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use his inne as his owne house in England. and have for his mon iehow g reat or little varietie of vittels , and what other service himsellieshall th inks expedient to call for. Our innes are also verie well

furn ished with naperie, bedd ing , and tapisserie, especiallie with

washed dailie, is such and so much as belong eth unto the estate and

calling of the ghest. Ech'

comrner is sure to lie in cleane sheets,

wherein no man hath béene lodg ed s ince they came from the lan

dresse. or out of the waterwherein they were last washed. If the

travellm' have an horsse, his bed dooth cost him nothing , but ifhe g oon foote he is sure to paie a penie for the same : but whether he be

horsseman or footman if his chamber be on ce appointed he may eeriethe ka le with him, as of his owne house so long as he lodg eth there .

If he loose oughts whilest he abideth 1n the 1nne, the host 1s boundby a generall custome to restore the damag e, so that there is no

greater securitie anie where for travel lers than in the g retest ins of

Eng land.

” He then , after enumerating the depredation s to whichtravellers a re subject on the road, completes the picture by the

following additional touches. In all innes we have plentie of ale,

persons, and the ir horsse s at ease. and thereto with a verie short

warn ing make such provis ion for their diet, as to him that is mmo

quain ted withall may seeme to be incredible. And it is a world to

see how ech owner of them con tendeth with other for goodnesse of

interteinrn en t of their gbeata, as about finesse and chang e of linnen,furn iture ofbedding , beautie of rooms, service at the tablemostlinesseof plate, strength of drinke, varietie ofwines, or well using of horsses.Finallie there is not so much omitted among them as the gorgeousnes of their verie s ig nes at their doores, wherein some doo consume

thirt ie or fortic pounds , a meere vanitie in mine opin ion , but so vainewill they needs be, and that not onelie to g ive some outward tokenVOL. I. P F

M fi wp. 189,

5 Reed 9 Sb“ vol. viii. p.

ll Bliu’

s d ition, 181 1. p. 37, 39,

What Th r ] Erastm objacts to Pm cekm, that he would lye

all day long with u rr-men and tapsters in a Brothel-house,amongst us, with men of better note : like

et mul ta They drown theirwits

n u n ” 8th d it. p.

r r 2

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221

The public celebrat‘

ion of this conu'

act, or what was termed eapaw

formerly in this country, as well as upon the continent, a

con stant preliminary to marriag e. It usually took place m the church.

and though nearly, if not altogether, d isused, towards the close of the

N ig ht. Olivia, address ing Sebastian , says,

Now go with me, and with this holy man,Into the chantry by : there bg breMm

And underneath that consecrated rog'

That my most jealous and too doubtful soul

May live at peace. He sha ll conceal it

Whiles you are willing it shall come to note

What time we will our celebratwn keep

A contract ofetemal bond of love

Attested by mew close q'

lr’

ps,

And all the ceremony of this

Saul’d in my function, by my testimony .

”1

espoumls to bc a cmtmd g’

fimre um -iag c, made either by a

dmpk promisq by mmw or m nfity g ivemby a rmg or hym ooth.” Douce’s l llustra

tiong voLi. p. 109.

1 Reed’s Shab peerg voLv. p. 895 .

t Reed’s Shskspmm volmv p m . Act v. sc. 1 .

924

of all colours. Mus icians came next, then a g roupe of maidens, some

thus they passed on to the church.

”

Rosemary being supposed to streng then the memory , was cousi

dered as an emblem of fidelity , and, at this period, was almost asconstantly used at wedding s as at funerals : There

’

s rosemary,”say s

Ophelia, that’

s for remembrance.

”

1“ Many pas sag es , illustrative

of this usage at wedding s, might be taken from our old plays, duringthe reign ofJames I., but two or three will sulfice.

will I bemad this morning ,Thou shalt not be there, nnr once be g raced with

A piece ofrosemmy .

"1

Were the rosemary brmches dipfi ’d, and all

The hippocras and cakes eat and drunk off;

Were these two arms encompass’d with the hands

Ofbachelors to lead me to the church.

”

5

Pitt'

s. Your master is to be married to-day ?Trim.

Of the peculiarities attending the marriage-ceremony the

church, a pretty good idea may be formed from the ludicrous wedding

1 Ram Alley, orMerryTricks, by Barry, 16 1 1 . Vide Ancient British Drama, vol. u.

5 Beaumont and Fletcher’s Scornful Lady, 1616.

uA Faire Quarrel, by Middleton and Rowley, 16 17. Besides rosemary, fl owers of

Our Brida l F latcars serve for a buried come

and more explicitly depicted in the following passag e from one ofhis contemporaries

Adriana . Come straw space, Lord sha ll I never liveTo wa lke to Church on llowers ? O

’

tis fine,

To see a Bride trip it to Church so lig htly,

As ifher newChoppines would scorne to bruise

A silly fl ower !"

Barry’s RamAlley, or Merry Tricks, sct v. sc. l . 4 10. 16 1 1.

225

of Catharine and Petrucli io in the'

Taming'

of the Shrew. It appears

immediately after the serv ice was closed, a customwhichwas followedby the Brideg room

’

s saluting the bride.

He calls for wine : — A'

health, quoth he ; as ifHehad been aboard, carousing to his mates

Afier a swm z— Quwd ofl'

the muwadel,And threw the sops all in the sexton

’

s face ;

This done, he took the bride about the neck ;

And kisa’

d her lips with such a clamorous smack,

That, at the parting , a ll the church did echo.

”

cup was carried before the bride out of this all the persons prem t,

tog ether with the new-married couple, were expeeted to drink in thechurch. This custom was prevalent, in Shakspeare

’

s time, amongevery description of people, from the reg al head to the thorough

l 4th°

day-

of February, . 16124 13 : t here was “ in comcl usion g”: he

relates,“a joy pronounced by the king and queen ; and seconded

draughts'

of lppocras out of a g reat g olden bowle, as'

an health to thé

prosperity of the marriag e, (beg an by the prince Palatine o

’

and

an swered by the princess . ) After which were served up by six or

seven baron s so many bowles filled with wafers, so much of that

work was consummate.

”

1This bri de-cup or bowl was, therefore, frequently termed the kn itting

Reed’s Shakspeare, voLix. Act iii. se. z.

1» Finst’a Philoxenis, 1656, p. 1 1. quoted by Mr. Reed in his Shakspeare, vol. ix.

p. 1 15 . note.

VOL. I.

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289

best : Well, afier th is bride, came theré by two and two, - a dozen

liness, wera aa meet for such a bride as a' treen ladle for a '

porridg e

pot ; more (but lbr fear of carrying all clean ) had been appoin ted,

Fmm a passage in Ben Jon son ’

s Tale of a Tub, we learn that the

dress of the downright rustic, on his wedding day , was as follows

He had on a lether doublet, with long points,And a peire of pin

’

d-up breech's, like pudding bag s

W ith yellow stocking s. and his ha t tum’

d up

W ith a silver claspe , on his leere side.

”

1

Nichols’

s Queen Elizabeth’s Prog rams , vol . L— IAneham’

s Letter, ’

p. 18, 19, 20.

1» Janson’

s Works, fol. edit. of 1640, vol. ii . A: Tale of a Tub, p. 72. Much of the

spirit and costume of the rural wedding of the sixteenth century continued to survive until

with in these eig hty yean . I have received,”says Mr. Braud, who wrote in 1776,

from those who have been preseut at them, the following accoun t of the customs used

at mlg ar Nartha-n Wedding s, about hay

'

a centwy ag o :

The young women in the neig hbourhood, with bride-favours (knots d ribbands ) at

their breasts, and noseg ays in their hands, attended the Bride on her wedding s day in the

morn ia g .— Fbre-Riders announced with shouts the arrival of the Brideg room ; a lter a

kind ofbreakfast, at which the brides cahe: were seton and the barrels broached, they walked

out towards the church.— The Bride was led by wa yaung men ; the Brideg room by two

y oung women . Pipers preceded them, while the crowd tossed up their hats, shouted and

clapped their hands. Ao indecent custom prevailed alter the ceremony, and that too

before the altar z— Young men strove who could first unloose, or rather pluck 06 the

Bride’s g arters : Ribbands supplied their place on this occasion ; whosoever was so fortu~

m te as to tear them thus of? from her leg g s, bore them about the church in triumph.

It is still usual for the young men presen t to sa lute the Bride immediately atten the

pa lormEg ofthe marriag e service.

Four, with their horses, were waiting without ; they saluted the Bride at the church

g ate, and immediately mounting , contended who should first carry home the good news,and W1 11 what they call the i . a. a smoking prize d qn

'

ee-broth, which stood

ready prepared to reward the v ictor in this sing ular kiml of race.

Dinner sucoeeded ; to that dancing and supper ; alter which a posset was made, of

wh ich the Bride and Brideg room were always to taste fim — Themen departed the roomtill the Bride was undressed by her mm

’

ds, and put to bed ; the Brideg room in his turn

was undressed by. his men, and the ceremony concluded wifi the w n rite of

throwing the docking .

”Bourne’s Antiquitates Vulg . spud Dm d, p. 371, 372, 373.

edit. 18 10.

234

Call unto his funeral dole

The wt the field-moum and the mole.To raise him hilloeks that shall keep him warm,

Bmheep thewolffar thenoe : that’s foe to men,

For with his nails he’

ll dig them up ag a in .

”

Ancient British Drama , vol. iii.

Even so late as the commencement of the eighteenth century, it

appears that this custom of praying during the passing-bell still lin

g ered in some parts of the country for Mr. Bourne, the first editionofWhose book Was published in 1725, after v indicating the practice,adds, I knowseveral religious fami lies in this place (Newcastle) , andI hope it is so in other places too, who always observe it, wheneverthe melancholy season offers ; a11d

° therefore itwill at least sometimeshappen , when we put up our prayers con stantly at thetolling of thehell, ,

that we shall pray for a soul departing . And thoug h itbe g ratified,that itwill ottener happen otherwise, as the regular customis solittlefollowed yet that can be no harmful pray ing for the dead.

”

Immediately after death a ceremony commenced, themost ofl’

ehsiye

part ofwhich has not been la id aside for more than half a century .

Th is was called the Lielce or Lakw ahe, a term derived from the

Anglo-Saxon L ie a corpse, and c ce a wake or watching . It ori

g inally con sisted of a meetin g of the friend s and relations of the

deceased, for the purpose of watchin g by the body from the moment

it ceased to breathe, to its exportation to the grave ; a duty which

was at first performed with soleninity and piety , accompan ied by thes ing ing of psalms and the recitation of the v irtues of the (lead. It

Speed ily , however, degenerated into a scene of levity, of feasting,and intoxication to such a deg ree, indeed, that it was thoughtnecessary at a prov incial synod held m London during the reig n of

Edward III. to issue a canon for the restriction of the watchers to

the near relations and most intimate friends 01”

the deceased, and

only to such of these as offered to repeat a fixed number of psalms

Bourne spud Brand, p. 9.

231

In the Harleian MS. Vol. 6395, occurs a scarce pamphlet, entitledMerry Passag es and J amie, from which Dr. Bird l transcribed the

fiollowing curious anecdote, “ illustrative both of the cus tom of ofi'

etingspoons, and of the intimacy which subsisted between Shakspeare and

J onson. Shakspeare,”says the author of th is collection , who names

Donne as his authority for the story, was g odfather to one of Ben

J onson’

s children , and after the christening, be ing in deepe study,

Jonson came to cheer him up, md ash’

d him why he was so M an

choly : No’

fa ith Ben , says he, not I ; but I have been considering a

g reat while wha should be the fittest g ift fiorme to hestowupon my

I'

faithg Ben , I’

ll g ive him a douzen good lana i (Latin ) spoons , andthou shalt translate th

erm

’" It was not until the close of the m a t:

deserihing the death of Falstfl though, in accordance with her cha

raster, she corrupts the term :“ ’

A made a finer end, and went

away , an it had been any christom child .

”

1'

Prev ious to the Reformation , oil was used, as well as water, in

baptism, or rather a kind ofmixture of oil and balsam, which in theGreek was called Xeca

‘

p a ; hence the white cloth worn on this occa

s ion , as an emblem of purity, was denominated the chrisnmle or

chrism-cloth. During the era of using this holy unction , with whichthe pl iest made the sigmof the cross , on the breast, shou lders, and

head of the cfl d, the dm'

m ale was worn only for seven days, as'

symbolical, it is said,. of the seven ag es of life ; but fi erj he Reformation,

“

the '

oil being omitted, it was kept on the child until the purifi

Capell’s Notes and Various Reading s on Shakspeare, vol. i. ; and Reed’s Shakspeare,

vol. xv . p. 198.— L

’Estrang e, a nephew to Sir Roger L

’Estrang e, appears to have been

the comp ilhr of thm anecdbtes . Of the truth of the story, however, as far as it rela tes

to Shakspeare and Jonson, there is reason to en terta in much doubt.

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 343. Act ii. se. 3.

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233

holy bell,wa‘

e compelled to keep aloof; according lyDnrandusmentionsit as one of the efi

’ects of belL-ring ing, ut dwnwne

‘s timcntes “fitg iant;

and in the Golden Legende, printed by Wynkyn deWorde 1498, it is

observed that the evill spirytes that hen in the regyon of the ayre,

doubte moche when they here the bells rong en and th is is the cause

why the belles ben rong en— to the ende that the feindes and wycked

spirytes ahold be abashed and flee.

”

1'

That these Opin ions, indeed, relative to the p assing -bell, continued

to‘

prevail, as thing s ofgeneral belief, during the greater part of the

seventeenth century, is ev ident from the works of the pious BishopTaylor, in which are to be found several forms of prayer for the souls

In these the v iolence of Hell is deprecated, and it is pet

the spirits of darkness may be driven far from the couch of the dy ing

80 common, indeed, was this practice, that almost every indiv idualhad an exclamation or fiorm of prayer ready to he recited on hearing

When the Bell beg ins to tollQ '

y, Lp rd hm merqy on the souI.

In the Vittoria Carambona ofWebster, this custom is alluded to in

Car. I’ll g ive you a saying which my g rand-motherW as wont, when she heard the bell, to sing o

’er unto her lute.

Ham. Do an you will, do.

Cor. Call for the robin-red-breast, and the wren ,Since o

’

er shady g roves they hover,And with leaves and Gov ers do cover

Durandi Rational. lib, i. c. 4.

t For an account of three ed itions of De Worde’s Golden Legende, see Dibdin’

s

Typog raphical Antiquit. vol. ii. p. 73:

1 These forms of prayer are transcribed by Bourne in his Antiquitates Vulg ares.Vide Brand’s edit. p. 10. Bishop Taylor died in 1667.

VOL. I . H H

235

for the bmrefit of h is Seule? Te this regulation litfl e attention, we

apptehend,’

was paid"forv them em e appears to have beemob.

served as a m'

eeting'

o fl'

revelry during the whole of the s ixteenth and

seventeenth eentm ies ; and Mr. Bourne, so late as the year o l 725 ,

deelares, that it was then “ a scene of éport and drinking and

In SeotIand during the period of which we are treating, and evan

down to th e rebellion of the L ake -wake was robserved whit

a bettee nmral result. Mr. Pennant describin g it, whau r speakingof the Highiand custommund

'

er the ' misthken etymology ot'

Late

wake, says, that '

the ' evening afier'

the death of .any t pers?on1' the

relations br fi iedds of the deceased- met a t the hom attended

by a bq-

pipe or fiddle ; the nearest of kin, be . it wife, son , or

v iolently at the mme'time '

; and this continued till dayulight, but

p ay , that the lo'

ss which occas ion ed them was often more than almpl ied by the

'

eonseq'

uenees of that nig l tJ : Mrs. Grant, however, i n

has given us a more favourable account of this ancient custom,

A peasaht ofGJlen Banchar, a dreary and secluded recess in the

ce ntral Highlands, was fortunate in all respects but one. He had

thrw tery‘fine ch ildren , who al l, in success ion , died after hav ing been

weaned, though," before, they gave every promise of health ah d firm

ness. Both parents were much affl icted ; but the father’

s grief wasclamorous and unmanly . They resolved that the next should be

melded for two years, hop ing, by this, to avoid the repetition of such

a mistbrtune. They did so ; and the child, by'liy

'

éng longer, only took

comm EOdesimical History, vot i. p. s4s.

An tiquitates Vulg ares spud Brand, p. 23. 1 Tour in Soofl and.

£1 11 2

Whilst horror waits on princes.”

Afierthe fimeral m over, 1twas c1mtomary among all ranks, to g ive

a colch and sometimes a very oatentatious, entertainment to the

mournm To this umg e Shakspeare mfera in the character of

the marriag e tables.”

a pa sage whichMr. 091a has illtrstrated 'by the following quotation

conveyed to the church, and there sollemn ly enterred, nothingomitted which necessitie or custom could claime ; a sermon , a bem

quet, and l ike observations.”1

‘

with in places remote from the metropolib, and more p articularly inthe northern counties among some of the wealthy yeomanry .

Mr. Douce oonsiders the practice as“certa inly borrowed from the

cama feralis of the Romans,”and adds, in the North this feast is

called an areal or ewi! supper ; and the loaves that are sometimes

distributed among the poor, amaL-bread. Not many years since one

of these arvals was celebrated in a v illage in Yorksh ire at a publichouse, the s ig n of which was the family arms of a nobleman whose

motto is V1a '

rus rds'r FUNERA vrvr

'

r. The undertaker, who, thoug h a

clerk, was no scholar, requested a gentleman present to explain to

Ancient British Drama, vol . 1ii . p. 36.

1~ The Trag lque Historic of the Faire Valeria ofLondon, 1598. Vide Reed’s Shakapu re, vol. xviii. p. note.

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' 240

as being said to reviv e fi'

omthe root, when apparently dead, and the

latter from its supposed Virtue in streng thening the memory~

There’

s rosemary, that’

s for remembrance.

Shfi speare has 1£requently noticed these everg reens. garlands, andfl owera as forming a part of the tributary rites of the de as

M t memorials of the dead : at the funeral of Jul iet he adopts the

Dry up your tears, and stick your rosemaryOn this fair corse , and as the custom is,In all her best array bw her to church.

”t

Gankmds of fl owers were formerly either hung up in countrychurches, as a mark of honour and esteem, over the seats of those

who had died v irgin s, or were remarkable for chastity and fidelity , or

were placed 1n the form of crowns on the coffins of the deceased, and

buried with them, for the same purpose. Of these crowns and g ar

lands, which ,were in frequent use until the commencement of the

last century , a very curious accoun t has been given by a writer in theGentleman

’

s Magazine.

In this nation (as well as others), he observes , by the abundant

zeal of our ancestors, v irgin ity was held in greatmuch that those which died in that state were

deaths , with a g arland or crown on their heads, denoting their tri

umphant v ictory over the lusts of the fl esh. Nay, this honour was

extended even to a widow that had enjoyed but one .husband (saithWeev er in his Fun. Mon . p. 12. ) And, in the year

0

sent clerk of the parish church of Bromley 1n Kent, his

a grave in that church-

yard, close to the east end the chancel

wall, dug up one of these crown s, or g arland s, which is most artifi

cially wrought 1n fillag ree work with gold ahd silver wire, iri reSem

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 294.

1 Ibid. vol. xx. p. 2 17,‘2 18.

wire of iron , now something corroded with rust, but both the goldand s ilver remains to this time very little difl

'

ereat from its originalsplendor. It was also lined with cloth of silver, a piece of which,tog ether with part of this curious garland, I keep as a choice relicof antiquity.

Bes ides these crowns , the ancients had also their depos itoryg arlands, the use of which were continued even till of late years,

(and perhaps are still retained in many parts of this nation , for myown knowledg e of these matters extends not above twenty or thirtymiles round London ,) which g arlands at the flmerals of the deceased,were carried solemn ly before the corpse by two ma ids, and after

ward hung up in some con spicuous place within the church, in me

morial of the departed person, and were (at least all that I have seen )made after the following manner, viz . the lower rim or circlet, was abroad hoop of wood , whereunto was fixed, at the sides thereof, partof two other hoops cross ing each other at the top, at rig ht angles,which formed the upper part, be ing about one third longer than the

paper, dyed horn , or s ilk, and more or less beauteous, according tothe skill and ing enuity of the performer. In the vacancy of the

ins ide, from the top, hung white paper, cut in form ofg loves, whereon

was wrote the deceased’

s name, ag e, &c. together with long slips ofvarious coloured paper, or ribbons. These were many times intermixed with g ilded or pa inted empty shells of blown eggs, as farther

ornaments ; or, it may be, as emblems of the bubbles or bitterness of

this life ; whilst other g arlands had only a solitary hour—glass hangingthu mb , as a more sig nificant symbol ofmorta lity.

order of the min ister and churchwardens, to take the g arlands domin,VOL. I.

244

m m w m my vdm ;

The lu f of eghmiue, whom not to slander,

Out-aweeten’d riot thy breath.

”

The only relic whieh yet exists in this country of a custoru so ia

teresting , is to be fouhd in the practice of protecting the hallowed .

mound by twig s of osier, an attention to the mansions of the dead,

which is still observable in most of the country-church-

yards in the

south of Eng land.

Reed’s Shah peare, vol. xviii. p. 576. — In Mr. Malkin

’

s notes on Mason ’s Elegy,we have the following eleg ant aud pleaaing deocription of this pathetic custom, asas it still

exists in Wales : he remarh ,

mig nionette, thyme, hym p, camomile, rosemary, make up the pious decoratiou of this

The white rose is alwaya planted on a virg in’s tomb. The red rom is appropriated

character.

In the Easter week most g enerally the g raves are newly dressed, and manured with

freah earth, when mch fl owers or ever-g reen s as may be wanted or wished for are plmtedIn the Whitsuntide Holidays, or rather the preceding week, the g raves are ag ain looked

alter,weeded, and othcr — This work the nearest

relations of the deoeased always do with their own hands, and never by sm'

vants or hired

person s.

When a young oouple are to be married, their ways to the Church are strewed withsweet-scented fl owers and ever-g reens. When a youug unmarried person dies, his or herways to the g rave are also strewed with sweet fl owers und ever-g reens ; and on such occa

sions it is the usual phrase, that those pemom aw goiug wtheir nupfid bedmuotwtheirg raves.

— None ever molest the fl owers that g row on g raves ; for it is deemed a kind of

sacrileg e to do so. A relation or fi' iend will oocasionally take a pink, if it can be spared,or a sprig of thyme, from the gm e of a beloved or m peaed pm omto wear it in re

membranoe ; but they never take mueh, lest they should de&oe the gmwfi1 0h the g rave.These d eg ant aud hig hly pathedc cmtoms of SouthWaleamake the ben impremon

on the mind. What u n be mom afi cfing than to see all the youth of both sexes in a

fi lh g g md h m ry vfl h g e thmug h which thewrpse pm ea drmsedmthd r bu t appamhand smwing with meet-wenwd fiowm the ways doug which om of their bdoved neigh

bours goes to his or hermarriage bed.

”

SouthWales, «20. 1804. p. 606.

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CHAPTER VIII.

n ew 0 ! COUNTRY LIFE DURING rm: AGE OF SHAXSPEARE CONTINUED DIVERSIONS.

Tm: attempt to describe all the numerous rural divers ion s Which were

prevalent during the ag e of Shakspeare, would be, in the hig hestdeg ree, superfl uous ; for the g reatest part of them, it is ev ident, must

rema in , with such slight or g radual modification as to require butlittle notice. Itwill he, therefore, our endeavour, in the course of thi s

chapter, after g iv ing a catalog ue of the principal country-diversions ofthe era in question , to dwell only upon those which are now eitherentirely obsolete, or which have subsequently undergone stlch

alterations as to render their former state an object of novelty and

This catalog ue may be taken , with tolerable accuracy, from Randal

Holme of Chester, and fromRobert Burton ; the former enumeratingthe g ames and diversions of the sixteenth century , and the latter

those of the prior part of the seventeenth . If to these, we add the

notices to be drawn from Shakspeare, the sketch will, there is reasonto suppose, prove sufl iciently extensive.

In the list of Randal Holme will be found the names of some

juven ile sports, which are now perhaps no longer explicable ; this

poetical antiquary, however, shall speak for himself)

They dare challenge for to throw the sledg e

To jumpe or lepe over ditch or hedg e ;

Towrastle, play at stool-balle, or to runne ;

To pitch the barre or to shote ofl'

e the g unne ;

To play at log g ets, n ineholes, or ten pinnes ;

To trye it out at fote belle by the shinnes ;

At ticke tacke, seize noddy, maw, or rufl'

e ;

Hot-cockles, laspa frog ge, or blindman’s bufi

'

e

To drinks the halfer pottes, or dea le att thewhole canne ;To playe at cheese, or pue, and inke

-horénne ;

mhot.”

Burton , after mention ing Hawking , Hunting , Fowling , and F ishing ,

says, many other sports and recreations there be, much in use, as

ring ing , bowling , shooting , (with the bow,) keekn'

m, tronks, coits,p itching

bars, hurling , wrestling , l eap ing , running , fencing , mash ing , swimming ,

masters,foiles,foot-ba ll, bala'wu , quintan, &c. , and many such which are

the common recreations ofthe Country folks .

”

T He subsequently addsbull and bear ba iting as common to both countrymen and I citizens,and then subjo in s to the list of rural amusements, dancing , sing ing ,

masking , mumming , and stag e-

p layers. For the ordinary recreationsof Winter as well in the country as in town , he recommends cards ,

tables and dice, shovelboord, chess-p lay , the philosopher’

s g ame, small

g ames, fi olicks, jests, ri ddles, catches, purposes, questions and comma nds,

and merry tales.

From this statement it will immediately appear, tha t many of the

rural divers ions of thi s period are those likewise of the present day,

and that no larg e portion of the catalog ue can with propriety call for amore extended notice .

At the head of those which demand some brief elucidation , we shall

place the Itinertmt Stag e, 3 country amusement, however, which, inthe days of El izabeth, was fast deg enerating into contempt. The

performa nce of secular plays by strolling compan ies ofminstrels, had

MS . Harl. Libra No . 2057, spud Strutt’s Customs, Ste.

i Burton’

s Ana tomy ofMelancholy, 8th edit. fol. 1676. p. 169, 170.

0

1 Ibid. p.

'

l 72. 5 Ibid . p . 1743 . [1 Ibid, p. 172.

249

Now, fellows, you h e welcome .

I Play . We thank your honour.

Lord. Do you intend to stay with me to nig ht ?

2 Play . So please your lordship to accept our duty.

0 0,sirrah, take them to the buttery,

And g ive them friendly welcome eyery one

Let them want nothing that my house afi'

ords.”

From this passag e it may be deduced, that the itinerant players of

thi s per1od were held in no higher estimation than men ial servants

play of A Taming of a Shrew, written about 1590, where the entry of

the players is thus marked,“ Enter two of the plaim wak pach m

their backs .

”The abject condition of these strollers, Mr. Pope has

attributed, perhaps too hastily, to the stationary performers of this

reign ; the try) of the profess ion,”he observes, were then mere

players , not g entlemen of the stage ; they were led into the battery

by the steward, not placed at the lord’

s table, or the lady’

s“

l'

toilette ;”

a pas sage on which Mr. Malone has remarked, that Pope seems not

to have observed, that the players here introduced are strollers; and

there is no reason to suppose that our author, Heming e, Burbag e,Condell 8m. who were l icen sed by King James, were treated m th ismanner. 1

'

On the other hand Mr. Steevens supports the opinion of Pope byasserting, that at the period when th is comedy (Taming of a w ere)was written , and for many years after, the profess ion of a player was

scarcely allowed to be reputable. The imag ined dig nity,”he con

tim es, of those who did not belong to itinerant compan ies , is,therefore, unworthy con sideration. I can as easily believe that the

bhmdering editors of the first folio were suffered to lean their handson Queen El izabeth

’

s chair of state, as that they were admitted to the

Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 2 1, 22. 25, 26.

f Pope’sPreface to his edition ofShakapeate, vide Reed

’sM m , voLi.

1 Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 25, note 8.

X X

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brated ;Heywood mentions 1t as notorious for yearly plays at its fair’

fland that its festiv ity on these occas ion s was equally known , ' is evidentfrom Shakspeare

‘

s comPn ison of Falstafi‘

to a roasted Mann ingtreeox with a pudfl ing in his The fash ionic fame ofManningd

the former exclairn ing in a poem, called The choosing of Valentines,

Or see a play of strang e moralitie;Shewen by bachelrie of M W ,

Whereto the countrie franklins fl ock-meele swarme f’

and‘

the latter observ ing, in a tract entitled Seven deadby Sinus : ofLondon, 1607, that Cruelty has got another part to play ; it is

This custom of stage-playing at annual fa irs continufew itinerant companies ; but mand gentry were shut against them they div ided into small parties

became mere jugglers, jesters, andlast-mentioned amusement, indeed,

the name of motions, and m fion-men, as early as the comménceinent

Apolog for Actorg lGl SZ.

f Reed’s Shakspeu

'

e, voi . p. 307.

t VEe Md one’

s m mRed ’s M W Q M xi. p. 307.

§ By the statute of the 39 EliL any baron of the realm might license a oornpany of

players ; but by the statute offirst J ames I. “ it is declared and enacted, that from thenoe~

253

an ale, or Wkitsdnwde, which was attended hy all the lads, and the

chose a Lord and Lady of the

Yuk , who were the authorized rulers of the W C revellers . There

is in the Church of Cirencester, says Rudder, an ancient monument;

in basso rel ieve, that evinces the antiqu ity ofthose games, wh ich wereknown to Shakspeare, before the accession of King J ames. Theywere known , also, to Drayton early m that reig n : for upon the map

Ascending , next, faire Cotswold’

s plaines,She revels with theW 3 swaines.”

Mr. Strutt a lso is of opin ion that the Cotsa'

mld g ames had a much '

hig her orig in thah the time of Dover, and observes that they are evi-a

dently al luded to in the following lines by J ohn Heywood the

He fometh like a bore, the beaste should seeme holde,For he is as fierce as a lyoa Cotmiold.

”1

In confirmation of these statesnents it may be added, that Mu swevens and Mr.

‘

Chahners bas e remarked, tthat in Rmdolaph’

s poems ,1638,

,

is to be found Ah eclogue on the n ohle assemblies revived on

Cotswold h il ls by Mr. Robert Doyer f’

and in D’

Avenant’

s poems

publi shed the same year, a copy of verses In celebration of the

yeately presm er of the g ames at Cotswold.

”

1The Reviver of these far-famed g ames was an enterprising attorney;

a native of Barton on the Heath in Warwickshire, and consequently a

near neig hbour to M apeare’

s country-res idence. He Obta ined per

iniSsiOn frbm King J ames'

to be the director of these'

annual sports,which he superintended in person for forty years. They were

Q xalmers’

s Supplemen tal Apology, p. 823, note 3.

1 Strutt’

a Sports and Pastimes, p . 20.

1 Reed’s Shakapeare, voh ii. p. 304 , and Chalmers

’

s Apology, p.

‘

824, note.

ing , sword and buckler fighting v pitching the bar, thmwing ¢he

sledga wss ing the pike, To these Dover added coma ing for

the g entlemen and dtmcing for the ladies ; a temporary castle of

boards being erected for the acwmmodation of the fah seg and a

To these two eras of the Cotswold Games Shakspeare alludes in

Wives of

sion, when h1 the first of these dramas he enumeratea among the

swing e-bucklera,“ Will Squeele,

9. 0018016 man h”

and to Dover’simprovement of them, when, in the second , he represents Slender

he was out-run on Cotsale. I

mce ef these Gm m and asmunedg dming his .dhection of them, a

W M ,“ had notM the .permission of James L woele

brate the Cotswold Games, .but appeared in the very cloaths whish

his a‘

ir and aapeot. lll n xl 636wthere was publ ished .“ London a small quarto, entitled,

Athena Oxon. voLn . p. 8 12. 1 Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. x11. p. 124 .

1 Reed's Shakspeare, vol. y . p. 16.

5 They were g iven him by Endymion Porter, the King’s servant.

“Biog u phicalH istory efEng land, voLii. 8vo. edit. of 1775.

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Ana out

2 1 all their Oppos itions pulled down her prey, b 1

1 ofi his faulcon, and how a 1 . fl ew from him as iflard, he whi 1

shoote m e ih , how 1 by degrm by little and little, by fl yingabout and about, she m 1 1 1 ted so high, until] shee had 1.

herselfe to the v iew of the 1 1ol 1 of a pigeon or

z the v of I]= 1 tly upon th

elanding ofthe fowle, shee m e 1

like a stone and eu ed it, ;;i'

f

upon a second landing mine (11 1 e, (1missing of it, in the

11e come reoova ed it, be fiiffii1

‘

d expectation, to the admiration of

beholder, at a long and to heare him tell a third time, howhe went forth early 111 a winter’s mor to the oody fields and

pastures to fl y the oocke, where hav ing bythe l ittle white feather 1n

1; me d him 1a a brake, he cast of a tasel gentle, and how

6 missing of it in the downcome, what working there was on both

111 8110111 11 9m as he s eel ’

u ta ssfiSee mg or sec me not i the psm idge 3,He makes his stoop ; but wanting him is forced

To mmd iex"; then, with m h speed s s if

He m ied lighming in his m g g be fl fl kfl s

The trem bird2 who even in death swears

Proud to be his qns rry.

”1~

proper to mentieh the m ioa s kinds oi? hawks useddbr this divers ion ,

the different modes of exercis ing it; md mfew oi?thecmost inteaesting

~ A Gern con : s Tercell of a Gerfs loon are dne to s King .

There is a Faleon g entleumd a Tercel g entle ; s nd fi1ese be for a

Prince.‘

There is s FaJoon of the roek ; snd thst is for- a Duke.

Also there is a Bastard ; and that hawk is for a baron .

‘

There is a Sacre md a Ss cret ; and these ben for s knig htc

There is s Lanare and a Lanrell g and these belong to a squire.

Tb m cd ier. “ Cancelier is wben s highdlown hswk in her steeping , 9111 18111 N O

or three times upon the wing , tp recover herself befqte she seizeth her prey.- Ge 11tle

11 Gifl ’ord’s Massinger, vol. iv. p,

-’

Fhe Gum lia n, fromwhich this passag e istaken , was licensed in October

'1633.

265

T he g ame pursued in hawking included a vast variety of birds ,

many ofwhich, once fashionable articles of the table, have now ceased

to be objects of the culinary art. Of those which are now obsolete

among epicures may be enumerated, heron s, bittems, swan s, cranes,curlews, sheldrakes, cootes, peacocks of those Still in use, tee] ,

mallard, g eese, ducks, pheasants, quails, partridg es, plovers, doves,turtles, sn ipes, woodcocks, rocks, larks, starlings, and sparrows.Hawking , notwithstanding the occasional ' fatig ue and hazard which

it produced, was a favourite diversion among the ladies, Who in the

pursu it of it, according to a writer of the seventeenth century, did

not hes itate to assume the male attire and posture. The“ Buryladies,

”observes he, that used hawking and hunting , were once in a

g reat vaine ofwearing breeches. T The'

same author has preserved

at hawking anecdote of some humour, and which occurred, likewise, atthe same place : Sir Thomas J ermin,

”he relates, going out with

his servants, and brooke hawkes one even ing , at Bury, they were no

sooner abroad , but fowle were found, and he called out to one of his

falconers , Offwith your jerkin the fellowbeing into the wind did not

heare him ; at which he stormed, and still cried out, Offwith your

jerkin , you knave, off with your jerkin ; now it fell out that there

was, at that instant, a plaine townsman of Bury, in a freeze jerkin ,stood betwixt him and his falconer, Who seeing Sir Thomas in such a

rag e, and thinking he had spoken to him, unbuttoned himself amaine,threw off his jerkin , and besought his worshippe not to be offended,

for he would offwith his doublet too, to g ive him content.”

IThat the tra ining ofhawkswas a work of labour, difficulty , and skill,

and that the person upon whom the task devolved, was hig hlyprized, and supported at a g reat expense, may be readily imag ined.

The Fa lconerwas, indeed, an officer ofhigh importance in the household of the opulent, and his whole time was absorbed in the duties of

Bury St. Edmunds in Suffo lk.

f Anonymous MS., entitled Merry Passag es and Jes sis . Bibl. Harl. 6395 . Art,cccliv .

t Merry Passag es t1ud J easts, art. ccxxiii

VOL . I .

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269

Thomas Heywood, in his play, entitled A Woman killed with

Kindness, and acted before 1604, has a passag e on falconry, four

lines of which have been quoted by Mr. Strutt, as allusive to the

ton ing of the Milan bells but as the whole is highly descriptive of

the diversion , and is of no great leng th,we shall venture to transcribe

it, with the exception of a few lines, entire

Sir Charles. So ; well cast off alofl , aloft ; well fl own.

0 , now she takes her at the sowse, and strikes her down

To th’

earth, like a swift thunder clap.

Now she hath seized the fowl, and’

g ins to plume her,Rebeck her not ; rather stand still and check her.

So z seize her g ets, herjesses, and her bellsAway.

Sir Francis. My hawk kill’

d too l

Sir Charles. Aye, but‘twas at the querre,

Not at themount, like mine.

Sir Fran . J udgment, my masters.

Cran'wd l . Your’s miss’d her at thefan s .

Wendell . Aye, but our Merlin first had p la n t? the lbwl,And twice rene

'w’d her from the river too

Her bells, Sir Francis, had not both one weig ht,Nor was one semi-tune above the other

Methinks these Milain bells do sound too ful l,And spoil the mounting of your hawk .

Sir Fra n . Mine likewise seized a fowl

W ithin her tslons; and you sawher paws

Full of the feathers : both her petty sing let:And her long sing les g riped her more than other;

The terriak of her leg s were stained with blood

These techical terms may admit of some explanation, from the following passage in

M arkham’

s edition of the Booke of St. Alban’s, 1595, where speaking of the fowl beingf o und in a river or pit, he adds, if shee (the hawk ) nymc or take the further side of

t h e river or pit from you, then she slnieth the foule atferejuttz'

e but if she kill it on that

s i de that you are on yourselfe, as many times it chanceth, then you shall say shes killed

t h e foule at the jutty fm y . if your hawke nime the foule alofl , you shal say she tooke it

a t the mount. If you see store ofmallards separate from the river and feeding 1n thefielde,t your hawke fl ee covertly under hedg es, or close by the g round, by WhJCh means she

I J meth one of them before they can rise, you shall say, that foulewas killed at the querm”

3 sntleman’

8 Academic, fol. 12.

m

If the commencement of the seventeenth century, sawHawking

the most splendid and prevalen t amusement of the nobility and

g entry, the close had to witness its decline and abolition ; it g aveway to a more sure and expeditions , though, perhaps, less interestingmode of killing g ame, and the adoption of the g un had, before the

year 1700, almost entirely banished the art of the Falconer.

The'

oostume of the next g reat amusement of the country, that of

Hummus , differs at present in few essential points from what it wasin the s ixteenth century . The chief variations may be included inthe disuse of killing g ame in inclosum and in the adoption of more

speed, a nd less fatig ue and stratagem in the Open chaoe ; or in other

words, it is the strength and speed of the fl eet blood~ horse, and not of

the athletic and active huntsman, o

r old steady-

paced hunter, that now

decide the sport. In themocfiéi'nchace," observes MrHaslewood,the lithsomness ofyouth is no longer exc

i

ted to pursue the an imals.Attendant footmen are discontinued and forgotten while the activeand eager rustic with a hunting pole, wont to be

'

: foremost, has longforsaken the field, nor is there a trace of the character known , exc

ept

in a country ofdeep clay, as‘

p‘

aréi of Sussex. Féwysm wilrpass'

ere

the old steady paced Eng lish linnter'and the gabbling beag leWill be

equally obsolete. All the sport now consists,of speed. A hare 11

hurried to death by dwart fox-hounds , and a leash murdered in a

shorter period than a s ing le one could generally strug g le for existence.

The hunter boasts a 050 118 10f blood, or, in plaine !"1phr1we; a racer,

sufficiently professed to render a country sweepstakes idoubtfnh This

variation is by no means an improvement, and can only advantag e

the plethoric citizen , who seeks to combatthe somhdleney aris ing fromciv ic festivals by a short and sudden excess of

T he mode of hunting , indeed , in the reig ns ofElizabeth and James,

still continued an emblem ofiand afit preparation for, thefa tig ues of

wide. It 15 the first offiveseveral names by which a falcon 1s ca lled during its first year.I llustra tions, vol. i. p. 74 .

Censura Literaria, sot x. p. 28 1.

974

oountry fi'om the time et

'

Edward the Second to the middle of the

sevenwenth century. The manuscript treatise ofWilliamTwici, grand

of J ohn Gyfi'

ord, with the title of A book qf Venerie, dialog ue f wise ;the tract called The Maidre of the Game i , 111 manuscript also, and

written by the chief huntsman of Henry the Fourth, for the instruotion of his son , afterwards Henry the Fifth

.

the Book qf Si .

M , the first pai nted treatise on the subject, and written by thes ister of Lord Bewet s, when prioress at the nunnery of Sopewell,

about 1481 ; the tract on the Nobk Art of Veneris , annexed to Tur

bewille on Falconrie 1575, and supposed to have been written by

George Gascoig ne, and the re -impression of the same in 161 1 , all

describe the ceremon ies and preparations necessary for the pursuit ofthis, now obsolete, mode of hunting , which, from its luxury and

efl'

eminscy , forms a perfect contrast tn the manly fatig ues of the

This style ofhunting, indeed, exhibited great splendour and pomp,

pared all thing s essential fi r the pnrpose ; and, if itwere a royal hunt,

the eherifi'

of the connty firmished sfi bling for h king’

s hoa'ses, and

carts for the dead game . A number of temporary build ings, covered

with green boughs, toto shade the company from the heat of the sun or

bad weather, were erected by the foresters in a proper situation , and

on the morn ing of the day chosen for the sport, the master of the

game and his officers saw the g reyhounds duly placed, and a person

Vide Warton’

s Hist. of Eng lish Poetry, vol. 11. p. 221 . note.

11 MS. Cotton Library, Vespasianns, B . 12.

1 MS. Digb. 182. Bibl. Bodl. Wsrton, vol. 11. p. 22 1. note m.

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282

with the Virg in ians, to see the rising sun : he doth

they , but worships his game more than they ; andalmost as barbarous. A slug g ard he eontemw

resting time might be shortened ; which makeobserve the same pace, and prove fall as hap l

The names of foxe, hare, and bucke; be all

cient to fum ish fifieene medes with 10 11of each. Foxe, drawee in his exploi

foxes, otters and budg ets : hareformes, eng ines, fortifications, m

1

oony , wilde-cat, rabbet, weasel“

ta ine of all, provokes him (1 .

hart, hind, stag g e, doe, p t

11 dog g ed forme of g ov 1

kept in humanitysame reason eith1

ill fortune . H1

when a wisetheir coate s .

the verv

1 1 1 1 J !

111 1 , besxdes the g roves,Luna, every reg ion near

1 1 11111111 cry : I never heard.Em ou l, such sweet thunder.

“3 sound: are bred out of the Spartan kind,u nded t; and their heads are hung

that ma p away the morning dew;

« N i l. sud dew-lap’d like Thessalian bulls

1. 1111 1 111111. butmatch’d in mouth like bells,

1

“ 1 ..wh. A cry more tuneable

..wc hulln'

d to, nor cheer’d with horn.

t'; l 50 1 1th “lit. 1688, p. 7- 9.

1 . .M m 1 11 11 hound.

11 1 1. 111 1 s tudy colour, the true denotement ofa blood-hound.

QM h-QNfl “ml. iv. p. 449

— 452, Midsummer-Nig ht’s Dream, act iv. se. 1.

80 soon as dinner’s done, we’ll forth again ;

andmimbetly twioesduring her residence with the Earl of Leieestei ,is desbribed as pmstfing this exercise in the cool of the evening .

Honest Laneham’

s n arrative of one of these royal chases wil] amuse

Munday waz hog and thearfore her fl ighness kept in till a fiirea clok in

’

the éeven ing : what time it pleasz’

d her to nide foorth into

som dmsedg and chafed by the hot pm n it efi the hoom demwaz fainoffine fm‘

s at lwt to tabe séil. Thear to behbll’d the swifi fl eeting of

sprea(for tlie q1mntitee) lyke the sd l of a sllip q theh oounds hm oingMen az hadwhey bin a

°

number of skiphs too the spoyle of a q velhthe tsenJ n

’

e’ l

'

esse eega ' in purchw of his piay, than waz the other

earnest in saveg ard of hl zi life ; se az the eaming of the hoounds in

eontinuauns of their cfig the swifiness of the deer, the mnning of

whiiez item the woods and watei' s inmd liez resound ing ; moved

psithne delecmbl in w hy a deg lm aaq, for ony'

parson to take plea

991

covetysenes, to the encreasya g e and sparyng e of your moneyoonly ; but pryncypally for your solmoe, and t cause the helthe of

your body, and specyally of your scale : formw

“

é ye purpoos to

g oo 0 11 your dysportes 111 fysshyuge , ye woll not desyre g retly many

persons wyth you, whyche myg hte lette you ofPyour g ame. And

thenne ye may serve God, devout1y, in sayehg e afi'

ectuously yourecustumable prayer ; and, thus doyug e, ye shall eschewe and voyde

many v ices.

Of this impress ion of the .Book of St. Albums by De Worde,

numerous editions were publ ished '

during the sixteenth and seven

teenth cen turies , and frequently with new titles, as the Gentleman ’s

Academie” 1595 ; the Jewell for Gentrie” . 1614 , and the Gen

tleman'

8 Recreation” 1674 . Two smal l tracts, howev er, on ang ling ,

possessing some orig inal ity, were phblished . by Leonard Mascall,

and John Taverner, the former in 1590, and the latter in ""1600,

but the most important wark on the subject, after the Treatyse on

the following title : The Seem“ q d ng h'

ng

'

; teack ing the choicest

Esquire . 80 . Lond . 1613. This is a production of confiderable

poetic merit, as will be evident from theart : after reprobating the pastimes of g aihing,wan tonness , arid drinkin g , he exclaims

The titles of these works are A Booke ofFishing with Hooker and Line, and of

a ll other Instruments thereun to belong inge, made by L. M. 40 . Lond. 1590 : the 4th

edit. of Mascall’

s Book, was reprinted in 1606 Certa in Experiments oonoemingFish and Fruit, practised by John Tavemer, Gentleman, and by him published for the

benefit of others . 4 10 . London (printed forWm. Poasonby) 1600. It wou ld appear,

from a note in W alton”s Co inplete Ang ler, that there was an impression of Tnvemer

’s

book of the same date with a differen t title, namely, Approved exg eriments touching Fishand Fruit, to be reg arded by the lovers ofAng ling .

”Vide Beg ster

’

s ed it. 1808. Life

of l ton, note.

A third was desig nated The Pleasures of Pm ces, or Good Men’

5 Recreations : con

taining 11 Dis00urse of the g eneral Art of Fi shing with the Ang le, or otherwise : and of

all the hidden Secrets belong ing thereunto. 40 . Lond.P P ?

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298

All these aml many morebf his ereation,Thatmade the heavens, the Ang ler oft dothAnd takes therein no little delectation

To thinke how strang e and Wmderfull th’

ey bee,

To set his thoug hts on other fane ies free

And whiles he looks 011 these with joyfull eye,His minds is wrapt above the starry skie.

”

The poet has entered so minutely into h1s task; as to give directions

.

for the colour of the ang ler’

s cloaths, which he wishes should berusset or Sg ray

‘

l'

; and he open s his third book with a descriptive cata

log ue of the moral v irtues and qualities of mind necm ary to a lover

of the pastime these, he informs ' us, are twelve, namely, faith,

extens ive, it might be supposed, to damp the en thus iasm of themost

edition of hi s Couwtrey Contentmentst, converted the poetry ofDavors

into prose, with the following title : The whole Art ofAng lingas it was written in a sma ll Treatise in Rime, and now for the

This beautiful encomium has been quoted 111 Walton’s Complete Aug ier, with many

alterations, and some ofthem much for the worse ; for ins tance, the very opening of the

quotation is thus g iven

Let me live harmlessly ; and near the brink

The n g hxg seg benu th the fi es low,Where lakes, and f ills, and rivulets

‘

do fl ow.

”

Bag ster's edit. p. 123.

1 Gervase Markham, 111 his ArtAfl qfd ng ling , not only recommends the'

same colours,but adds a caution which marks the rural dress of the day : Let your apparel,

”says he,

be close to your body, without any m fi skioned fiashes, or hang ing sleeves; mamloose, like sq il : about you.

”P 59.

1 The first edition of the Countrey Contentments, 16 15, does 1101 possess the Art gf'

M ag ; it probably appeared in the seomd, a year or two after ; tor the work was so

295

hi s own fancies, stirreth up sadness in him, he may remove the same

with some godly hymn or anthem, of which David g ives him ample

examples .

He must be of a well settl ed and obnstant beliefs to enjoy the

benefit of his expectation for then to despa ir, it'

were better never

to be put in practice: and he must ever th ink where the waters are

pleasant, and any thing likely, thht there the Creator of all good

not as ready as you rWishea'

yet you mu st hope still; that with perseverance you shall

'

reap the fulness b fyour harvest'

with contentment

Then he must be fit“of love both t0 his pleasure and to his neighbour : to hwpleasure, which otherwise will be irksome and tedious,

and to his neighbour, that he neither“g ive ofi’etrce in any particular,nor be g uilty of any general destructioh : then he must be exceedi

ng

pfi teh t, and neither vex e0r exemciate h imselfwith losses or mis

éhances, as in lésing the prey when'

h is almost in the hand, or bybreakin g h is tools by ig noranoeor nhghéence, but with pleased sufl hr

ance amend errors, and th ifik mischahbes instruction s to better

carefuhi ess.

He must then be full of humblethoughts, 11mo

disdain ing whenoccas ion commands to kn eel, lye

'

dhwn,’

orwet his feet or fingers, as

oft as there is any advantag e

be

thereby, unto the gaining the end

of his labour. Then must he'

strbhg anti Val iant, neither to beamazed with storms, nor afi

'

righted with thunder, but hold them

according to their natural causes , and the pleasure of the hig hest :neither must he, like the fox which preyeth upon lambs, el nploy all

his labour ag ainst the smaller frey ; but l ike the lyon that seizeth

elephants , think the greatest fish which swimmeth, a reward littleenough for the pa ins which he endureth. Then must he be liberal,and not working only for his own belly, as if it could never be satisfied ; but he must with much cheerfulness bestow the fruits of hisskill amongst his honest ne ighbours, who being partners of his g ain,will doubly renown his triumph, and that is ever a pleasing reward

to vertue.

296

Then must he be prudent, that apprehending the reasons whythe fish will not bite, and all other casual impedimen ts which hinderhis sport, and knowing the remedies for the same, he may direct his

labours to be without troublesOmeness.

Then he must have a moderate contention of the mind to be

satisfied with indifferen t thing s, and not out of any avaritious g reed i

ness think every thing too little, be it never so abundant.

Then mus t he be of a thankfii l nature, praising the author of all

g oodn ess, and shewing a larg e g ratefuln ess for the leas t satisfaction .

Then must he be of a perfect memory, quick and prompt to ca ll

into his mind all the needfull thing s which are any way in this exer

cise to be imployed, lest by omiss ion or by forg etfulness of any , he

frustrate his hopes , and make his labour effectless. Las tly , he must

be of a strong constitution of body, able to endure much fasting , andnot of a g nawing stomach, observ ing hours , in which if it be un satis

fied , it troubleth both the mind and body, and loseth that delig htwhich maketh the pastime onlyIt is impossible to read this elaborate catalogue of qua lification s

without a smile for who would suppose that g ramma r, rhetori c and

log ic, astronomy , g eog raphy , arithmetic and music, were neces sary to

form an ang ler : yet we must allow, indeed, even in the presen t

times, that hope, patience, and contentment are still articles of indisf

pen sable use to him who would catch fish for though, as Shakspeare

justly observes ,

Thepleasaut’st aag ling is to see the fish

Cut with her g olden oars the silver stream,

And g reedilfy devom' timtreacherous ba it,

”

1

yet are we so frequently di sappointed of this latter spectable, that the

art may be truly con sidered as a school for the temper, and as meriting the rational encomium ‘

of Sir HenryWotton, a dear lover of the'

Courtney Contentnwnts, 1 1th edit. p. 59— 62:

t Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 78. Much Ado about Nothing , act iii. se . l .

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299

was the pumuit of every eager and aspifing spina and varkms treatises

were written to facilitate the attainmen t of an accomplishment at Onceso useful and so fashienable. Among thesa the paeoes of fi ervase

Markham may be deemed the best ; indeed, his earliest work~

0n the

subjech which is dated 1593, olaims to be the first everwritten in

this w untry on the art of trainhrg k unnieg-hwrea ' ; and is supposed

also to be the first produetion of .Markham : it went throug h mmyimpress ions under varimts titles, and from oue of these termed

Caeelm' ice, printed in l fim, I shall select a min utely curious pictureof the “ horseman

’

s apparel.

“ F irst, when you beg in to learne to ride, you must come to the

stable, in such deoent and fit apparel, as is meet fior such an exercise,that is to say, a hat which must sit close and firme upon yeur heade,

with an indifi'

erent narrow verg e or brim, se that in the saults or

bounds of the horse, it may neither through widenesse or unweldi

nesse fall fi'

om your head, nor witll the bredth of the brim fall into

About your neck you shall weare a fi llmg band, and no rufi'

e, whose

depth or thicknesse, may, e ither with the winde, or motions of yourhorse, rufi

'

ell about your face ; or, according to the fashion ofl the

though in them is taken for a g raoe, yet in true judgment it is fbund

bodie, larg e wasted, so that you may ever be sure to ride with your

points trussed (for to ride otherwise is most vilde) and in all parts so

easye, that it may not take from you the use of anie part of your

' The title is as follews : “ A DiW of Hormnn nhippo : wherein the bmadtm

Hun ting-horses andm ing

-Iwrses : with all the secretes thereto belong ing discovered.

At London . Printed by John Charlewood for Richard Smith, 1 593, 4m.~ Dedicated

To the Rig ht Worshipfull, and his sing ular good father, Ma. Rob. Markham, of

Gotham, in the County of Nottingham, Esq. by J ervis Markham. Licensed gfi l anmry,1592 VideHerbert, v. 2. 1 102.

Q Q 2

301

sport ; and, as Veg etius informs a s , familiar to the Roman s, from an .

indiv idual of which nation, named Quintus, it is supposed to have

derived its etymolog y . During the early feudal ages of modern

Europe it continued to support its military character, was practised

by the hig her orders of society , and preceded, and probably g ave

orig in to, tilting , justs, and tournaments. These, however, as more

eleg ant and splendid in their costume, g radually superseded it duringthe prevalence of ch ivalry it then became an exercise for the middleranks , for burg esses and citizens, and at leng th towards the close of

the sixteenth century, deg enerated into a mere rustic sport.It would appear, from comparing Stowe with Shakspeare, that

about the'

year 1600, the Quinta in was made use of under two forms ;

the most s imple cons isting of a post fixed perpendicularly in the

g round, on the top of which was a cross-bar turn ing upon a pivot orsp indle, with a broad board na iled at one end and a bag of sand sus

pended at the other ; at the board they ran on horseback withspears or staves, and hee,

”says Stowe, that hit not the broad

end of the quinten was of all men laughed to soorne ; and hee that

hit it full , if be rid not the faster, had a sound blow in his neckewith a W e full of sand hang ed on the other end

)“ A more

costly and elaborate machin e, resembling the human form, is alluded

to by Shakspeare in As You L ike It, where Orlando says,

“ My better partsAre all thrown down ; and that which here slands up ,

Is but a quifl a in, a mere lifeless block.

”1~

In Italy, Germany, and Flanders, a uintain , carved in wood in

imitation of the human form, was, during the sixteenth century, in

common use. I The fig ure very generally represented a Saracen ,

armed with a shield in one hand, and a sword in the other, and, being

Survey ofLondon, 4to. 16 18, p. 145 . 1» Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. viii . p. 29.

1 Vide Pluvinel sur l’exm'

cise de monter a cheva l, part iii. p. 177. et Traite des Tour

noia Jomtea k par Gaude Fran. Mencstrier,

saddle, and t0 scape the foil of a fall : With the he1p of his hand, yet

hem med himselfl md loot not hiu fimlps (for he had none to his

saddle) ; M mm u am mmm mmm mmhinpen wd inkhom that he wu ready to weep ffl ; but

chicfl u good hap wu , thund be u fe at his g in fl e ; that cheered him

somewhat, and had good reg ard it shmdd not be filed . For thoughbu t and coolness 1111011 sundry occasions made him sometime to

sweat, and sometime rheumatic ; yet durst he be bolder to blow hisnom aml wlpe his face with the fl appetofhis lhther

’s jackea thanwith

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W eare’

s time, the broad shill'

mp of Edward VL were made me

of at shovel~ bomd instead e€ the more modem we ighta EM is

wquiring of Pistol if he pieked master Slender‘s pusse, a query to

WhichM er thus (or l wouhlI mig ht nwer wmemm e m g w mmber agah d sm) d m m

g loves. T' “That &ender mem s fl 1e broad shfl hng of one af our

-s from comparing these m rds

with the eorresponding pasu g e in the old quam : ‘ Ay by d lis

M a chid'

did he ; w two fi im shevehboard d illhm xbeddes seven

Mn Douce is of Opinion that tlw gm e of dwvel-bon d is notm oh

older than the reign ofEdwu d VL and tha it is OMy a wfiation, on

a larg er soala of what was term’d SW ROAT , a game iav ented in

the ceig n of Hem-y VIIL s ad described in the stanwes, of his 8 ,

sd

year, as a new g ame. § Shove -

g roat was

implies, with the coin of the ag e, namelys a ourmodern shill ings, and to this pastime md to the instrumen tused in performing it, Shakspeare likewise, and Jonson, allude ; thefirst in the Second Paa Kiwg

‘

Hm y l V. , where Falstafi'

, threaten ing

Sports and Pastimes, p.

t lbid .

Douce’s Illustrations ofShakspu re, vol i . p . 454 , 4 55 .

11 a 2

308

Pistol, exclaims, Quoit him down , Bardolph, l ike a Shovebgmai

drilling ?" the second in Eva y Man in his Humour, where Knowell ,

spa king of Brain-worm, says that he has translated beg g ing out

of the old haclmey pace, to a fine easy amble, and made it run as

smooth 0117 the tongue as a shove-groat shilling .

”

1'

That the game

of fl oveL-board is subsequent, in point of time, to the divers ion of

saw , is probable from the circumstance noticed by Mr. Douce ,

that no coin termed shovel-g roat is any where to be found, and con

sequently the era of the broad shi lling may be deemed that also of

to resemble, in al l essential poin ts , the ancient Shmre-g roat. 1Between the jwvenile sports which were common in the reig ns of

Of

discrepancy, worth noticing , can be . perceived ; they were, under

ormisch ievous , and Shakspeare has now and then referred to

manner, alluded to the well-known games of leap-frog § ; handy

marbles, hoops, 8m. require no description , and which, deviating littlein their prog ress from ag e to ag e, can throw no material light on the

Reed’s Shnkspeare, voa . p. 96.

t Vic ports and Pastimes, p. 267. edit of 18 10.

1 8m d PM OfHenry IV., act m w. 4

act n . sc.

‘ Hamlct, act v sc. 1 .‘ Cymbehne, sct v sc. 8.

4 Anthony and Cleopa tra, act 1v sc. 10.

Midsummer-Night’s Dream, act ii. so. z.

“ Much Ado ahout Nothmg , act t. sc. 1

Midsummer-Night’s Dream, act u. sc. 2.

allude to the diversion of BABLEY—BREAKE, of the mode of play ing

fafl ewmg fines fi'

om Sidney, 88 g iven b y John son in his Dictionary

By neighbours prais’d, she went abroad thereby,

At barlq h-bml ‘e her sweet swift feet to

and continued so until the austere zeal of the Puritans occasioned itssuppress ion : thus .

Thomas Randall, in An Eclogue .

”on

' the

To teach all scale, their owns complectiou

And Barlqy-bru ke, the ready way to hell. 1

common theme with the amatory bards of the day, and allusion s to it

Now is the month ofmaying ,

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310

Fye thm, why sitweemusing ,Youth’s sweet delig ht refusing ;Say daintie Nimphs and speake,Shall wee play barly-M .

”

There were twomodes of playing at barley-bn

one was rathermore complex than the other. M

on the Virg in-Martyr of Massinger, where this

elaborate form, is referred to, remarks, thatamusement of barley-break, allusions to it occu

old writers ; and their commentators have pupon another, without advancing a s inglewhat this celebrated pastime really was . It was

(three of each sex), who were coupled by lot.

was then chosen , and div ided into three cou par

middle onewas called hell . Itwas the object ofto this div ision, to catch the others, who at

extremities ; in which case a change of st'

was filled by the couple who were excluded

the other places. In this mew "ho‘

ficulty, as , by the reg ulations of the g a’

not to separate before they had succec

break hands whenever they found the'

all had been taken in turn , the last athe game end 1

~

That this description , explanator

He is at barley-brm

Are now in hell,”

is accurate and full, will deris

entitled Barley-breake, or

1607, and which contains a

Cantus ofThomas Morley.

1 Mu singer's Works, by G!

313

obscure their orig in or prev ious constitution . The object of thischapter being , therefore, only to mark what was peculiar in rural

pastime to the ag e under consideration , and not to notice what hadsuffered little or no modification , its articles, especially ifwe con siderthe nature of the immediately preceding section, (and that nearly all

amusements common to both town and country were referred to a

future part,) could not be e ither very numerous, or requ ire any very

extended elucidation .

What might be necessary in the minute and isolated task of the

commentator, would be tedious and superfl uous in a design which

professes , while it g ives a distinct and broad outline of the complexionof the times, to preserve among its parts an unrelaxed attention toun ity and compression .

VOL. I.

315

th e ttwfby moomlight Mueh of this ceedulity was even conueemted

by the name of seieace and profound speculation. Prospero hadnot yet bmkm wnd btm

'

ed bia ttqfi; nor drom ed bis baok dcepa lhm

did everplummet sound. Itwas nowthat the alchymist, and the judicialastrologer, conducted his occult operations by the potent intercourseof some preternatural being , who came obsequ ious to his call , and wasbound to accomplish his severest services, under certa in condition s,and for a limited duration of time. It was actually one of the pre

t feats of these fantastic philosophers, to evoke the queen of the

Fs irica in the solitude of a g loomy grove, who, preceded by a sudden

rustling of the leaves, appeared in robes of transcendent lustre. The

Shakspeare of a more instructed and polished ag e would not have

g iven us a magician darken ing the sun at noon, the sabbath of the

witches, and the cauldron of inéantation .

”

The history of the popular mythology , therefore, of this era, at a

time when it was cherished by the throne, and adopted, in its fullestextent, by the g reatest poetical genius which ever existed, must

necessarily occupy a large share of our attention. 80 extensive.

indeed, is thesuhjec

t.o

and so full of interest and curiosity, that to

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321

they generally show the occasion of the house’

s being haunted, themerry pranks of the spirit, and how it was la id. Stories of th is kindare infinite, and there are few v illages wh ich have not either had such

an house in it, or near it.”

The quotation s which we have now given from writers contem

and the t0pics which were usually discussed round the fire-s ide oi'

the cottag e or manorial.

hall, when the blast blew keen on a Decem

ber’

s n ight, and the még ot’s blasewas seen , by fits, illumining the

The progress of sbianca, of literature, and rational theology , has,in a very

‘

great degree,‘diss ipated these illuswns ; but there still

lingers, in hamlets remote from g eneral in tercourse , a somewhat

s imilar sp irit of credulity, where the leg end of unearthly agency is

yet listened to with eager curios ity and fond belief. These vestig esof superstitions which were once un iversally prevalent, have been

seized upon with av idity bymany modern poets, and form some of

Bourne’s Antiquities of the Common People spud Brand, 1 18, 1 19, 120.

VOL. I.

318

the m a, the man in the aka, the helI-waine, theM ake, the pudde

Tmn thbmbe, hobg obblin, Tomtwmbler, boneleu , and such otherbug s, that

we are afraid of our own shadowes : in so much as some nev

'

er feare

the divell , but in a darke night ; and then a polled sheepe is a perillotu

beast, and man ic times is taken for our fi ther’

s soule, speciallie in a

churchyard, where a right hardie man heretofore scant durst passe

by n ight, but his haire wou ld stand uprig ht.”

That this mode of passing away the time, the long solitarywinter n ights ,

” was as much in vogue in 1617 as in 1570 and 1580,

is apparent from Burton , who reckons among the orfi nary recreatimu

ofwinter, tales ofg iam,mm, witches,fayries, 30611113, andfriars. 1The predilection which existed, during th is period of our annals

for the marvellous , the terrible, and romantic, especially among thepeasantry, has been noticed by several of our best write rs . fl ddison,

in reference to the gen ius Of Shakspeare for the wild and wmlderfitl

in poetry, remarks, that our forefathers loved to aston ish them

selves with the apprehensions of witchcraft, prodigies, charm and

inehantmcmts. There was not a v illage in Eng land that had not a

ghost in it ; the churchyards were all haunted ; every lam eommon

had a circle of fa iries belong ing to it ; and there m scarce a fl iephead to be metwith who had not seen a spirit tf

’

an e . Grose,

after enumerating several popular superstitions, extmds the subjectin a very enterta in ing manner. In former times,

”says he. these

notiOn s were so prevalent, that it was deetned little less thm zxtbe iam

to doubt fl tem ; and in many instances the tem m camed by them

éihbittéred ' the lives of a great number of peu ons of afl ages ; by

them fi'om g oing fi'om 0ne v fl h g e to another d ter sun

-set. Th e memin wh ich the head of a family had died, was for a long time unte

fianted i parficfl afl y fi they died whhafit a wifl , or were mppoaed to

800811 d1 Vide Burton

’

s Anatomy oc l r 9 179 ‘

I Spectator, No. vol. vi. p. 1 18 . of Sharpe’s edition. See “0 Nos. 12. 1 10.

and 1 17.

OHDobbin md broke his neti f - or a carter, undet the sameyte

g iven hy Mr. Bourne ; tb e piotme was dmwn about a hundred years

ago but, thoug h even then partially appl icable, may be cons idered

“ M il l g is com oner in aumhy fl am f’

mys this him of

cnuh lity ,“ thm fin a wh01e family in a WW s EveuMg , to sit

round the fim and td l s tofies d'

lm -ifim and g hmts. Some of

tbemh ve seen spifits m the shnpea e f cowa and dog s and horses ;

wd some have s een even tthe dev il himaelfl whh a d oven foot.

Gam e’

s Provincial Glow , p. 242, 248.

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TinM dhod’

s cheek no loam g len ,

v aidens lose the rose.

The interest rises hig her,

As louder moans the wintery wind.

”Cant. 11. st. 10 .

After this brief outl ine of the common superstitions of the country ,as they existed in the days of M speare, and as they still linger

among a s, we shall proceed, in conformity with our plan , to noticethose Days Which have been pemdiarly devoted to superstitious rites

lagg e imto a detafl of theh'

cen'

emoniwmd that tommk the coind

denm of u ag g e oam ing at thesem , will be m rly an that can

on & Switbifl is Damthe pwm tieatemofweather stiil find as much

employment, and as W W W .

‘F18t. £larkit .Dluy is sfill be

heldm'

th d sead, as h hlg xhe desm’nies ofhfe sad d M ,

mas still kwps in oomttamnae thedoctrined zlucky M M W days .

Gay, in his T1-ivia, notiees, at some

“ All mpen fifion from thy breast repel

How if the M iwq PauI be dcar,

Plenty fi'

om lib’n l hom shall strow the yw

The h b’rimt all yobc them in vd n ;

But if the threut’ning winds in tempest roar,

Then mar shall bathe her wn teful swmfl in gore.

M a m mw cb nds their flm dmin,m m m pm m wimsm m m :

Nor PauLmrm mle the dmds m d ”

T T 2

825

honour ef the Saint, then m hig h esteem, she ca lled the f

the first entertainment which she gave in it, was

that the ladies should receive their loversfor

of the early Christ1 :_vowed to erad icat

ethe a 3

Bom e’s Antiquities spud Brand, p. 253.

nearly the same in Shakspeare s ag e as at the present period ; meycons

'

mted either hl dmwing lots on Valentine-evm or in wmldefing

the fira perm whom yon met early on tli e fd lowing mommg , “

the destined otjem In the forma case the mmes of a w 'tain

And I a maid at yourwindow,I b be yd mfine ”?

The practice of addressing verses, and sending presents, to the

person chosemhas been continued from the days of J ames L in

Douce’smnstn tions ol'

Shnkspeu e, p. 232, 253 .

Their paramours with mutual chirping s find 1I early roaq just at the bm k ofdny,

Before the m had chas‘d the stars away ;

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399

and leaping over the fl ames. ffeach on his departure matching a fim

Many other superstition s, however, than those mentioned byGooge, were practised on this mysterious eve. To one of the most

important Shakspeare alludes in the‘

First Part of King Henry the

also ascribed the same wonderful property to this plant, the first in

I hadNo medicine, Sir, to g o invis ible,Nofem—sced in my pocket ;

”1

second in the Fair Ma id of the 17m,

had you Gyges’

t ins»

Or the kerb that g ives invisibility

It was the belief of our credulons ancestors, that the fem-seed

became visible only on St. John ’

s Eve, and at «the precise momentof the birth of the Saint ; that it was under the peculiar protectionof the Queen of Faery, and that on this awful n ight,

‘

the most

L'orig ine de cc fen

ge tant de nations conservent encore, et qui se perd dans

Pantiquité, est trés simple. stoit nn fen de joie allumé an moment oh l’mnée oommen

coit ; car 111 prenuére de tontes les Anneg la plus ancienne dom on ait quelquo oonnois

sauce, s’

onvroit on 111018 de Juin .

Ces feux-de-joie étoient accompag nés eu meme tems de a x et de sacrifiees pour la

prospérité de peuples et des biem de la term : on dansoit aussi auteur de ee fen ; car

yap t-il qnelqne féte sans dance ? et les plns ag iles san toient par (la ma. Eu se retirmt,

chacun empartoit 1111 tison plus 0 11 moins g rand, et le ra te étoit jetté su vent, afin qn‘

il

emportfit toutmalheur comma il emportoit ces cendres.” Hist. d’Hercnle, p. 203.

1. Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. xi. p. 249. act ii . sc. 8 .

1 J onson’

s .k s, act i. se. 6.

5 Beanniont and Fletcher’

sW orks spud Colman .

VOL. I. U U

330

M entions con fl icts took place, for its possession , between sorcerers

The wond’rons one~ nig ht seeding fame,”

as Browne calls it was conceived not only to confer invisibility at

p leasure, on those who succeeded in procuring it, but it was also

esteemed of sovereig n potency in the fabrication of charms and ia

m u tions. ' Those, therefone, who were addicted to the arts of

magic, and possessed sufficient courage for the en terprise, werebel ieved to watch in solitude during this solemn period, in order

that they might seize the seed on the instant of its appearance.

The achievement, however, was accompan ied with g reat danger ;for if the adventurer were not protected by spell s of mighty power,he was exposed to the assaults of demons and spirits , who env iedhim the possession of the plant, mi d who generally took care that

he should lose either his life or his labour in the attempt. Aperson who went to gather it, reported that the spirits wh isked byhis ears, and sometimes struck his hat, and other parts of his bodyand at length, when he thought he had got a good quantity of it,

and seemed it in papers and a box, when he came home, he found

both emmy fl ’ 1,Another superstition , of a nature highly impressive and terrible,

consists in the idea that any person fasting on M dsum er-Eve, and

sitting in the church-porch, will at midn ight see the spirits of those

who are to die in the parish during that year, approach and knockat the chnrd l door, preciseiy in the order of time in which they are

doomed to depart. It is related, by the author of Pandemoniwn,

into a profound sleep, his ghost or spirit, whilst he lay in this state,

was seen by the rest of his compan ions , knocking at the church

Chalmers’s Eng lish Poets, vol. vi. Britann ia’s Pastorals, book ii. song 2.

1 Grose’s Provincia l Gim ry, 1 Ibid. p. 285 .

331

Of these wild traditions ost'

the “ olden time;’001llins has made a

most striking use in his Octe to Fear z -q

Ne’er be I found, by the o

’

eraw'ti,In that thrice-hallow’d eve, abroad,When ghostg as cottage

-maids believe,

And goblins hannh fiom fl rg or fen,

The observance of m m by rejoim'

ng s, spells, and

charms, has continued until within these fifty years, especially in

Cornwall, in the North of Eng land, and in Scotland. Bourne, in1725, tells na, that on the Eve of St. John Baptist, commonlycalled M dmmmer-Eve, it is usual in the most of country places, and

also here and there in towns and cities, for both old and young tomeet tog ether, and be merry over a large fire, which is made in the

open street. Over this th ey frequently leap and play at variousgames, such as runn ing , wrestling , dancing, &c. But th is is generallythe exercise of the young er sort ; for the old ones , for the most part,sit by as spectators, and enjoy themselves M id the ir bottle . And

thus they spend their time till mid-n ight, and sometimes till cook

crow and Borlase, in his History of Cornwall, about thirty yearslater, states, that the Corn ish make bonefires in every v illage on

the Eve of St. John Baptist’

s and St. Peter’

s Days.”

1It was a common superstition in the days of Shakspeare, and for

two centuries preceding him, that the future husband or wife mig htbe discovered on this Ev e or on St Ag nes

’

night, hy dne fasting and

Boume’s Antiquities, p. 301.

1 Stowe also mentions, that bonefires and rejoicing : were observed on the Eve of

Pau l the Apostles ; he n lflwv ine a cmiod' me M ng

W a v biob had bea rx'

l hey en Midsummer-Em, time out of mind, b

citizen s nf Lwdm md other larg e town s ; but these had ceased bem me ag e oféxbspeare, the last having been appointed by Sir John 6 mm ,m154s , thoug h u m gwas made to procure their revival, by John Mon tg omery in 1585, who published a book

on the subject, dedicated to Sir M Pnllison, then IM Msyor ; this ofi'

er however did

not succeed.

U U 2

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333

00111 ; the search was .to commence exactly at noon , and the material ,when found, to be plaeed on the pillow at n ight. Of a wihdg eose

expedition of this kind Aubrey reports himself to have b een.a

spectator. The last summer,”

says he, on the day of St. J ohn

q tist, 1694 , I accidentally was walking in the pasture beh ind

Montag ue-hml se : it was twelve o

’

clock. I saw there about two or

three and twenty young women , most of them well habited, on the irkn ees , very busy, as if they had been .a g . I could not pre

sently learn what the matter was ; ,at last, a young man told me that

they were looking for a coal under the root of a plantain , to putunder their heads that n ight, and they should dream who would be

their husbands : it was to be found that day and hour. He adds ,

row of pins, and pull out every one one after another, saying a

paternoster, or our father,’

sticking a pin in your sleeve, and you willdream of him or her you shall marry spells to which Ben J onson

On sweet St. Ag nes’nig ht

Please you with the promis’

d sig ht ;

Some of husbands, some of lovers,

Which an empty dream discovers.”

That it was the cu stom, in Elizabeth’

s and James' s days, to tell

tales or perform plays and masques on Christmas-Eve , on Twelfth

Night, and on Madmamner-Eve, may be drawn from the dramas of

Shakspeare, and the masques of J onson . The M dsununer—N zg ht’

s

Dream of the former, appears to have been so called, because its

exhibition was to take place on that n ig ht, for the time of action of

the piece itself, is the v ig il of May-Day, as is that of the l ter

’

s

Ta le the period ofsheep- shearing . It is probable also, as Mr. Steevens

has observed, that Shakspeare might have been in fl uen ced in h is

cho ice of the fanciful machinery of this play , by the recollection of

Aubrey’s Miscellan ies, p. 108 . 1 J onson

’s Works, fol. ed it. vol . i.

334

the pmverb attached tome season , aml which he has himself intro

dueed in the W n ht, whene Oliv ia remarks of Malvolio’

s

apparent distraction, that it is a very Midsumaer madness an

adage founded on the common opin ion, that the brain, be ing heatedby the intens ity of the sun

’

s rays, was more susceptible of those

filg bts of imag inl tion which border on in san ity, than at any other

period of the year.

The next m son distinguished by any very remarkable tincture of

the popuIar creed, is Michaelmau or the Feast of ST . MIOHAFEL AND

ALL ANGELL ' When em th is day comes, says Bourne, it bring sinto the minds of the people, that old opin ion of M ia Ang els,

that every man has his Guwdian Aag el ; that is one particular ang el

who attends him fi'om his coming in , till hn going out of life, who

gu ides him through the troubles of the world, and strives as much

as he can , to bring him to heaven.

”

1That the doctrine ei

’

the ministry of angels, and the ir oecmional

interferenee with d i e afia irs of nmn, is an old ofi a ioa , cannot be

den ied. It pervades the whole of the Old and NewTestaments, and

appears to have been an article of the patriarchal creed ; for from

the Book of J ob, perhaps the oldest which exists, may be drawn not

only the doctrine of the min istration of angels , but that of theirdiv ision into certa in distinct orders, such as ang els, intercessors,destroyers , &c. 1 W ith this general information we oug ht to have

been conten t : but superstition has been busy in promd g atinghierarchies , the offspring of its own heated imagination ; in minutely ascertaining the numbers and offices of angels in heaven and

on earth ; and in naming and appropriating certain of them as the

g uardian s and protectors of king doms, cities, famil ies, and individua ls.The mytholog ies of Pers ia, Arabia, and Greece, abound with these

arbitrary arrangements ; Hesiod declares that the angels appointed to

Reed'

s Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 359. act iii. se. 4 .

f 80 11s Antiquities, p. 320, 321 .

1 Vide J oh, chap. xxxiii. v. 22, 23.

835

watch over the earth, amount exactly to thirty-thwsmd "; and

Plato div ides the worid of'

spirits g oéd and bad into n ine chssea in

whieh he ha s been fbllowed by some of the philosophising Christians.

adopted ; he pmfes ses to interfere on iy with good spifits, and dividg g

his angels , perhaps in imitation of Plato, into n ine orders ; -the fimthe terms m phim, the second dm-

abbu, the third throaes, the fous‘th

eipalities, the eig hth archang els, and the n inth ang els. 1’ Not content

with th is he g oes still farther, and has as s ig ned to every bountry , and

almost to every person of eminence, a peculiar ang el, thus to Adam

he g ives Razed ; to Abraham, Zakiel ; to Isa iah, Raphael ; to Jacob,Peliel ; to Mmea Md ratomh , speakang , as Calv in obsewea not as

J f by report but as thong h he h ad sslipped down from heaven, and

told of tii e thing s which he had seen there iOf this systematic hierarchy t he greater portion formed. during

the ag e of Shakspem-e, and for nearly a century afierwards , an

in spection of Scot on Witchcrafifin 1M Heywood’

s Hiemrabie qf

in 1617, continued to re appear in frequent editions until the close of

the seve nteenth century .

f Opera et Dies, vol. i. 24 6 .

1 Dionya in ca leat I-Iim wh. capa xu s.

1 Calv. Lib. Instit l . c. xiv.

'

It iam1rthy of rew k, that fl eg ifl ald Soot, fromwhoseDiscoverie gfWitchcrafi , p. this accoun t of the hierarehy of Dionysius is taken, has

broug ht forward am e from his k insman Edward Deering , which broaches the same

doctrine as that held by Bishop Han ley in the lact sermon which he ever wrote. “ Ifyou

read Deering ,”

says Soot,“ upon the first ebopter to the Hebtm ym shafl see thia

matter (the ang elic theory ofDionysius ) notablie handled ; where he saith, thatwbensoever

archang d l is mentioned in the 80 1W “ it sig ngfd lt our saviour M , a nd no creature.

”

p. 501 .— Now in the sermou allnded to by Hon k y, the text ofwhich is Dan. iv . $17” heamfmfi, that the term “Mielmel,

”or

“Michael the Archang el,” wherever it occurs, is

nothing more than a name for our Saviour. Vide Sermons, vol. 11. p. 376.

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337

alter it happeneth so in deeds ,wh ich thyng I suppose is doone byGod, through the minesterie of ang ells. Ang ells for the most part

take upon them the shapes ofmen , wherein they appeare.

”

Mon sieur Bodin , M. Mal. and man ie other papists,”

observes

Soot, Who g ives na his Opin ion on the nature of angels, g ather

upon the seventh ofDan iel, that there are just ten mill ian s of angelsin heaven . Man ie sa ie that angels are not by nature, but by office .

Finallie, it were infinite to shew the absurd and curious'

oollections

hereabout. I for my part thinke with Calvine, that ang els are creaf

tures of God ; thoug h Moses spake nothing of their creation , who

onelie applied himselfe to the capacitie of the common people, recitingnoth ing but thing s seene. And I saie further with him, that they

are heavenlie spirits, whose ministration and service God useth : and

in that respect are ealled ang els . I ss ie yet ag aine with him, that it

is verie oerta ine , that they have no shape at all ; for they aee spirits ,Who never have an ie : and fina llie, I saie with him, that the Scriptures, for the capacitie of our wit, dooth not in vaine pa int out

angels unto us with wing s s bicause we should conceive, um they

are readie swiftlie to suecour na. And certein lie all the sounder

div ines doo conceive and g ive ou t, that both the names and al so

the number of angels are set downe in the Scripture by the B olieghost, in termes to make na understand the g reatnesse and the

manner of their mes sag es } which (I saie) are either expounded bythe number of ang els, or s ig n ified by their names .

Furthermore, the schoole doctors afl irme, that foure of the

superior orders of angels never take an ie forme or shape of bodies,neither are sen t of an ie arrand at an ie time. As for archangels, theyare sent oulia about great and secret matters ; and ang els are com

mon hackn ies about ev erie trifl e ; and that these can take what shapeor bodie they list : marie they never take the forme of women or

children . Item, they sa1e that angels take most terrible shapes : for

OfGhostes and Spirites walking by nyght, p.

VOL. 1. X X

W h’

i s d fl em of his nwivifie, a g ood aag cll and a bad. For

QOM theme is no reason in nature, nor authoritie in Scripture.

h'w not one angell , but all the angels are sa id to rejoise more of one

maven , than of ninetie and n ine just. Neither did one ord ie angel

«mvd e lu arus into Abraham'

s bosome. And therefore I conclude

With ( ?a lvine, that he Which referreth to one angel, the care that

Hod bath to everie one of na, dooth hiinselfe great wrong .

”

That Shakopeare embraced the doctrine common in his ag e, whichm tg !“ to every individual, at his birth, a good and bad ang el , an

Hu highly poetical in itseifi and therefore aoceptable to a férvid

imag ination, is evident from the 1bllowing remarkabie passages :

Th ere is a good ang el about him— but the devil out-bids him too.

”1»

You fiailow the yomg pfinm up and fl own like his ifl mgel.”1

fl y dwmon, that’s thy spirit which keeps thee, is

and in Macbeth the same imag ery is repeated

My g enius is rebult’d ; as, it is said,

Mark Antony's was by Co as t

’s.”l]

Beot‘

s ll iscoverie ofWitehcrafi, p. 505, 506.

t Rced‘s Shakspeare, vai i. p. 109. Henry IV. Fart h . act n .

$ Ibid. voi i. p. 36. Henry IV. Part ii. act i. se. 2.

5 lbid. vov ii. 95. Antony and Cleopatra, act 11. sc. 8 .

1] Ibid. vol. x.

339

founded on a pmsag e in North’

s Plutarch, where the soothsayer says

to Antony,“ thy De

mon , (that is to say, the good ang ell and spirit

that keepeth thee) is affraied of his,”

sufficiently prove that the

Roman Catholic doctrine of a g ood and ev il ang el is mmedmteg

Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth

Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep,

Al l these, with oeax less praise, his works behe ld,

Both day and n ig ht. Howoften, from the steepOf echoing hill or thicket, have we heard

Celestial voices, throug h the midnig ht air,

Sole or responsive to each otherfs note,Sing ing their g reat Cneator ! omin bmds ,While they keep watch or, n ig htly walking round,

With heavenly touch of instrumental sounds,In full harmonic numbewjo

'

ufd ; their song s

Divide the n ight, and lift our thoug hts to heaven.

We must be permitted to ebsesve, in this place, that Da Horsleyhas, with g reat propriety, d1

=awn a marked distinction between the

fulL-formed hierarchy offmciful theologians, and the Scriptuse-accountof angelic agency ; while he reps

'

obates the one, he supports the

other ; those,”says he, who broached thi s dectxine (of an h ierarchy

there are, and how many angels in each order ; that the differentorders have the ir difi

'

erent departments in government as sig ned to

them ; some, constantly atte ndw m the presence of God, form his

cabinet council ; otha '

s are his peov incial g overnors ; every king dom

Book iv. line 677.

x x 2

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To the catalog ue of Sa ints '

thus loaded with the rites efpepulm' M edu

lity,m‘agy be a dded onewhose celebfity seems to he entirely founded

en dle easnal notiee of Shak speare, In hi s Trag edyof K'

mg Lear,Ed g u mtrodnces

'

Saint‘Withold footed 'thriee thewold

Warburton irtforms as, M M agency of the Sa int is taken froma story of him in his IQ end, and that he was thence invoked as the

patron sa int against the distemper, called the n ight-mare ; but

Mr. Tyrwhitt declares, that he could not find this adventure in thecommon leg ends of St. Vitalis, whom he supposes to be synonymous

with St. VVithold. It is probable that Shakspeare took the hint, forthe ascription of this achievemen t to VVithold, from Scot

’

s Discoverie

of Witchcraft, when a similar .power is attributed to St. Georg e.

That writer, after mention ing that there are magical cures for the

n ig ht-mare, gives the following as an example

St. George, S. e g g onr ladia knig ht,He walh hy dd g w did he by night

Untill such time as he hir fmmd,He hir beat and he hir bound.

Bums’s Works, Currie

's edit. vol. iii. p. 126 . et seq.

v} Reed’s Shah peln

'e, vol. xvii. rp. 4 72— 4 74 .

Y Y Q

he plainly diseovered thevoice of his

.wife, lamenting that he had lost

her for ever.

”

formerly distinguished All-Hallow-Eve. In Eng land, except in a

few remote places in the Nm-th, they have ceu ed to be observed for

the,last half eenmry ; but in d1e West om tland they are still

retained with a kind of relig ious veneration, as is sufl iciently proved

by the in imitable poem of Burns, entitled Haaoween, wh ich, in a ve inof exquisite poetry and g enuine humour, min ute ly deta ils the varioussuperstitions, which have been practised on this n ight from timeimmemoria l. Of these, as including all which prev ailed in Eng land,and which were, in a great deg ree, common to both countries, in the

time of Shakspeare, we shall give a few sketches, nearly in the wordsof Burns, as annexed in the notes to his poem, merely observ ing thatone of the spells, that of sowing hemp-seed, is omitted, as hav ingbeen already described among the rites ofMidsummer-Eve.

The j rst ceremony of Hallow-Eve cons isted 1n the lads and lasses

pulling each a stock, or plant of kail. They were to g o ot and in

hand, with eyes shut, and to pull the firat they met with. Its

big or l ittle, sstra ight or crooked, was prophetic of the s ize and shapeof the grand object of all their spells the husband orwife. If any

y ird, or earth, stuck to the root, that was considered as the tocher,

or fortune ; and the taste of the custoc, that 18, the heart of the stem,

was deemed indicative of the natural temper and disposition . Lastly,the stems , or, to give them the ir ordinary appellation, the rants, were

plm d somewhere above the head of the door ; and the Christiannames of the people whom chance brought into the house, were,

according to the priority ofplacing the write, the names in question.

In the second, the lasses were to g o to the barn-yard, and pull each,

at three several times , a stalk of oats. If the third stalk wanted thelw okle, that 18, the grain at the top ofthe stalk, the party in questiohwould come to the marriag e-bed any thing but a maid.

Scott’s Minstrelsy, p. 22 1, 222.

845

The third depended <ot1 the burn ing of nuts, and m mfavourite

charm both in Eng lah d oaed Scotland. A lad and lass twere named

to each partiduhr nut; a s they laid them in the fire, and’aeeording ly

course and issue ofthememes}; were to be determined.

In theM success could only be obta ined by strictly adheringto the following directions. Steal ouh a ll alone, to the kiln, and,

darkhng , throw into the pet, a clue of bl ue yarn ; wind it in a new clue

efl'

dhe old one : and; towards the latter end, somethmg will hold thethread ; detnand, who holds it ? and an answerwill be retnrned from

the kiln-pot, by naming the christian and sirname of your future

spouse.

To perform thefifl k , you were to take a candle, and g o alone to a

looking —g lass you were then to eat an apple before it, combing yourhair all the time ; when the face of your conjug al companion, to be,will be seen in the glass, as ifpeeping over your shoulder.

The sixth was likewise a solitary charm, in which itwas necessary to

g o alone and unperceived to the barn, and open both doors, taking them03 the hing es, ifpos sible, least the being , about to appear, should shut

the doors, and do you some rnischiefi Then you were to take themachine used in winnowing the corn , and g o through all the attitudesof letting down the g rain ag ainst the wind ; and on the th ird repe

tition p f this ceremony, an apparition would be seen pass ing throughthe barn, in at the windy door, and out at the other, hav ing both thefig ure of your future compan ion for life, and also the appearance or

retinue, marking the employment or station in life.

To secure an effective result from the seventh, you were ordered to

take an opportun ity of g oing , unnoticed, to a B ear-stack, and fathom

it three times round when during the last fathom of the last time,

you would be sure to catch in your arms the appearance of your

In order to carry the eig hth into execution, one or more were 1n

jo ined to seek a south running spring or rivulet, where three lairdslands meet,

”and to dip into it the left shirt- sleeve. You were then

VOL. I. Y Y

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once: from the tutelary gen ius Of 3 family Were likewise m

precede the deaths of important indiv iduals a superstition toShakspw e alludes in the following lines from his

Trad. Hark ! you are u ll’d : Some my, the

”

t u m

Cries, Cam I to him that

f Md. voLn . 9 225. Aet v . m l .

1 [M VOLXV» 9 M‘

"a w. 4.

a w Len; wt. 1726. P 247

857

she, charmed, during their abode in Ireland, to v isit a friend, thehead of a sept, who res ided in his ancient baronial castle, surroundedwith a moat. At midn ig ht, she was awakened by a ghastly and

supernatural scream, and looking out of bed, beheld, by the moon

light, a fetn ale face and part of the form; hovering at the window.

The distance fi'

om the g round, as well as the circumstance of the

moat, exclofied the poss ibility that'what she beheld was ol‘ this world.

The fitce was that of a young and rather handsome woman , bat pela,and the ha ir, which was reddish, loose and dishevelled. The dress,

which Lady Fanshaw’

s terror did not prevent her remarking accu

rately, was ths t of the ancient Irish. This apparition continued toexhibit itself for some time, and then vanished with two shriekss imilar to that which had first excited Lady Fanshaw

’

s attention. In

the morn ing, with infin ite terror, she commun icated to her hostwhatshe had witnessed, and found him prepared not only to credit, but toaccount for the apparition. A near relation of my family ,

’

said he,‘expired last night in this castle. We disg tfised our oertain expea a

tion of the event from you, lest it should throw a cloud over the

happens 1n this family and castle, the female spectre whom you have

seen always 18 v isible. She 1s believed to be the spirit of a woman of

0 Lu ly ot'

the Lnke,

359

In Northumberland the fancied appearance of the corpse

lig ht was termed seeing the Waj'

(the blast or spirit) of the personwhose death was to take place.

In Wales this superstition was formerly so g eneral, especially in

the counties of Cardigan , Caermarthen, and Pembroke, that scarcelyany indiiridual was supposed to die without the prev ious

.

sig nal of a

corpse-eandle. Mr. Dav is, a Welshman , in a letter to Mr. Baxter,

observes, that they are called candles, from their resemblance, not

of the body of the candle, but the fire ; because that fire doth as much

resemble material candle-lig hts, as eggs do eg g s : sav ing that in their

journey, these candles are sometimes v isible, and sometimes disappear ;especially if any one comes near to them, or in the way to meet

them. On these occas ion s they van ish, hut presently appear ag ainbehind the observer, and hold on their course. If a little candle is

seen , of a pale or bluish colour, then follows the corpse, either of anabortive, or some infant ; if a larg e one, then the corpse of some one

come to ag e. If there be seen two, three, ormore, of different s izes,- some big , some small, — then shall so many corpses pass tog ether,

and of such ag es or deg rees . If two candles come from different

places, and be seen to meet, the corpses will do the same ; and if anyof these candles be seen to turn aside, throug h some bye-path leadingto the church, the following corpse will be found to take exactly the

same way .

”

Among the Highlanders of Scotland, likewise, the same species ofomen was so implicitly credited, that it has continued in force even

to the present day. Ofthis Mrs. Grant has g iven na, in one of her

ing en ious essays, a most remarkable instance, and on the authority,too, of a very pious and sensible clergyman , who was accustomed,she says, to g o forth and meditate at even and this solitary walkhe always directed to his churchyard, which was situated in a shaded

spot, on the banks of a river. There, in a dusky October even ing ,

O t ostes and Spirites, 1572. p. 79 .

1 Vide Grose’s Provincial Glossary, article Popular Superstitions; p. 282, 283.

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364

and famine, aga inst thieves, spirits, witches, and diseases, and of the

last class, especially against the venom of serpents, scorpion s a ndother reptiles, the epilepsy, the king

'

s ev il , and the bite of'

a mad

dog ; and in the second. to enable the wearer to releas e a woman in

travail, to conjure a thorn out of any member, or a bone out of the

throat, to open all locks and doors , to knowwhat is said and done

of a lamb carrying a fl ag on one sida aad Christ’

s head en the other ;

and in the centre a concavity sufi ciently larg e to contain the first

chapter of St. John’

s Gospel, written on fin e paper, in a very small

character. Itwa s a spell potent to protect thewearer‘ag ainst thander

and lightn ing , fire and water, sin , pestilen ce, and the perils of chad

birth .

A charm ag ainst shot, or a waiStooat of proof, was thus to beob

tained : Ou Christmas daie at night, a thread must be sponne of

fl‘

ax, by, a little virg ine gh le, in the name of the divell : and it must

be by hir woven , and also wrought with the .

needle. In the brest orforepart thereof must be made with needle worke two heads ; on the

head at the right side must be a hat, and a long beard ; the left headmust have on a cp

'

owee, and it must be so hovrible, that it ma ieresemble Belzebub , and on each side of the Wastoote must

'

hs made a

crosse.

”

That some of these spell s;.however, were net .caxrietl into execution

with quite so much ease, as the two we have just transcribed, will beev ident from the directions annexed to the following, entitled '

a charm

for one 19088888661 : .The pom sed bodie must go upen ‘his ' or hir

knees to the church, how farre soever it be off from their lodging ;and so must creepe without going out of the waie, being the common

365

high waie, in that sort, how fowle and durtie soever the same be ; or

whatsoever lie 1n the waic, not shunn ing an ie thing whatsoever, until]he come to the chu rch, where he must beere masse deweutlie, and

the s ixteenth eentury, there could be found some whe , while theyprofited by, could, at the same time, despise , the credu lity of theirneighbours.

“ A11 old woman ,

”ssays Scot,

“ that healecl all disem

of cattell (for the which she never tooke any reward but a pen ie anda loafe) being seniou slie examined by what words she broug ht these

thing s to pu se, confessed that afier she had touched the aicke cn‘eatm‘

e,

she alwaies departed immediatlie saien g :

My loafe in my lap,my pen ie in my pursse ;

Thou art never fil e better,and I em never-the wursse.

”1'

The same author, afterrelating the terrible curse or charm of St.

Adelbert against”thieves;

‘

f'

acetiously adds, But I will'

an swer this

by as honest amafi (I'daré saie) as h

« Seam.ma g m ané sis m/wafi some Delia co‘ni'pahie,

once wen t abroad a jetting , and in a moone l ight evemng robbethis éeles. The pooremillermade hismone

to sir J ohn himSelfe, who willed him to’

.hé quiet ; for he would so

cursse the theefe, and all his confederates, with bell , booke and candell,that they should have small Joy of their fish.

’And therefol'ethe n ‘

ext

sundaie, sir J ohn got him to the pulpit, with his surplisse on his backe,and his stole about his necke, and psommnced these words followingin the audience of the people.

All you that have stolne the miller’s eeles,

Soot’s Discoverie ofW itchcraft, p. 247. 7 Ibid. p. 245.

367

A more distinct allus ion to the sanative virme od'

precioua stones, is

to be found in the celebrated simile in As You Like 12:

Sweet are the uses of adversityWhich, like the toad, ug ly and venomous,

This stone or jewel was supposed to secure the possessor from the

effects ofpoison, and to be, likewise, .a sovereign remedy for the stone .

Shakspeare’

s time,— by Gesner 1

' by Batman 1 ; by Maplett by

Fenton by Lupton li by Tepsell , and, subsequently, by Fuller.

It even formed, very early indeed, a part of medical treatment ; for

Lloyd, in his Tream e qf helth, recommends its exhibition for the

stone, and orders it, after hav ing been stampt, to be geven to the

pacyent to drinke in warme wine.

the Plague and other pestilential diseases ; and Gesner has given it an

orig in even more marvellous than the cures for which it has been

celebrated ; when the hart 1s sick,”says he, and bath eaten many

serpents for his recoverie, he is brought unto se‘ grest a heate, that he

hasteth to the water, and there covereth his body unto the very eares

and eyes, atwhich time distilleth many teares fromwhich the (Bezoar)

1 De Qaadruv ip , p. 65 .

Batman nppon Banholome his booke De proprietatibus rerum, 1582, fol. article

§ AGreen Foresh or a Natmal History, 1567.

11 Secm Wondm om m 1569.

1 First Book ofNotable Thing s, 4 to.

Topsall’s History ofSerpmts, 1608. foL, p. 188. and Fuller’s ChurchHit ory, p. 151.

Printed by Copland, but without date, l 2mo.

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369

thirst, it maleeth the husband to love thewife, and the bearer. invin

cible : —Chel idonius is a stone taken out of a swallowe, iwhich

cureth'

melaneholie : howbeit, .some authors saie, it is . the hearbe

eias be picked out with an in strument. Geranites is taken out of a

crane, and Dracon ites out of a dragon . But it is to be noted, that

such stones must be taken out of the bell ies of the serpents , beasts, or

awaie with the life, and so they retein e the vertues of those starres

under which they are. Amethysus maketh a droonken man sober,

and refresheth the wit. The coral] preserveth such as beare . it from

fascin ation or bewitch ing , and in this respect they are hang ed about

ch ildren ’

s necks. But from whence that ' sueperstition is deriv ed, and

M e to g ive medit thereuntmby the mnltitnde of coralls thatwaie m

perem of lfie pasdm of h nad e Aifitea if it be shahern soundeth as

if thea‘e were a little stone in the bellie thereof : it ds gooch fon the

falling sicknesse, and tom ent untimelie birth . Chalcedonius

maketh the bearer luckié in lawe, quickeneth the power of the bedaeg

and is of fioree also agaih st the illus ion s of the div ell , and phantasticall

eog itations arising ofmelancholie . Corneolus mitigateth theLheate of

the mmd, and qualifieth malice, it stancheth bloudie fium Iris

appeere. A Saphire preserveth themembers, and maketh them livelie,and helpeth ag ues and g owts, and sufl

'

ereth not the bearer to be afraid :

it hath vertue ag a inst venome, and sta ieth bleeding at the nose, beingoften put thereto. A Smarag is good for the eiesig ht, and makethone rich and eloquent. Mephis (118 Aaron and Hermes report out of

3 s

870

Albertus Magma ) being broken into powder, andM ewithwater,maketh insens ibilitie of torture . Heemeby you may unda '

stmmd, that

q M bed um mese m m aM mmm hkeWmost excellu it and woondefih ll venues : so woordlng to Me abmpdance of humane wperstitions md fellmes ; manie ascribe unto tmeithermore v irtues, or others dmn they have

’w

This passage hs s hem cloaely imitated by Drsym in the nh th

Nymphs] of his Muse’

s Elysium he has made, hom er. some

additiem to the ceu log ue on e ofwh ich we bawe alneady notioed. and

anodxer wsill be shertly qnoted.

Virtues of a kind equnlly miraculmmwere attrihuted to bones md

sta unch es

and that lhe mfioom’

s hom is inestimabie i ; and wem we to e nume

M e thzmmdm pevfmmed by hmbg we mig ht fil l a wolume. Many

ef thm indeei were e ons idened of snch poteney as te mender the

pa s om who rightly u sed them, eithermivisible or inwfl w ablefl md.tha efin eg wmose who wehe engag ed to fig bt a leg al dueh m eath

m admiznmd vm e

”abm t thm

Seva tal éliseases were held to be inourable, by ordinary means ;md w wm mmwe h ng

’

s wi agm tk kets, and rufi mes g mdthe remed ies whid i were adopted present a most deplorable instanceof rlmman fslly . Thmoumwene tohe dicpelled by stmking them rl ine

fimm whh w dwd mm’

s d the w fl by the myd M a

the Confessor, and whave heen s inoe hereditary in the myal line, atleast to the period

'of the deoease o neen Anne. Of the dischmg e

Discoverie ofW itchm ft, p. 293- 4 295 .

t Cha lmers'

s Eng lish Poets, vol. iv.

1Discoverie of‘

W itdwmfi,

37?

passed. with the head fiwemost, thrice through the fissure. The

womuled tree was then dn wn t(g ether with a oord so as to unite it

perthctly , and as the tree healed, the child was to acquire health and

M The m e result followed if the child crept through a stone

perforated by some operation ofNature ; of stones of this kind thereare some instal loes in Cornwall, and Mr. Borlase tells as, in his His

ton of that County, that there was one of this description in the

parish ofMarden , .which had a perforation through it fourteen inchesin diameter, and was celebrated fhr its cures on those who ventured,

u nder these compla ints, to travel throug h its healing aperture.

The doctrine of sympathetic indications and cures was very prevalent

during the era ofElizabeth and James, and is

by the writers of that ag e. One of the mo

thm ww that a murdered body bled npon the touoh or approach of

mom ; an idea which has not only been adopted by oun elder

oufl loient to produce Shakspeare, who represen ts the oonpse osfHmtho Sixth as hleeding on the approach of the TyrantRichand cu

dead Henry's wonnds

Open their cong eal’

d month s, and bleed afresh

Blush, blush, thou

From cold and empty veins, where no blood dwells

Thy deed, inhuman and unnatural,

Provokes this delug e most unnatural z”

and Drayton seems to have been a firm believer in the same

M ums] effect ; forhe informs as in his forty sixth Ideay that,

ln making trial of a murther wrohg ht,If the vile actors of the heinom deed,

Roed’o Shakspeare, vold dv. p. 285. Richard the'

l‘

hind, act i. sc. 2.

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377

the partie sha ll’

feele no paine : whei'

eas if they drawe their h ugerdownewafids th

ereupon , the partiéwo

unded shall .&ele intollen ble

pain sa

under distinct heads, there remain s everal to be noticed, n ot clearlyrefen ibie

’

to any part of the above arrangement ; but which can'

not

under the term MISCELLANEOU S, which will be found to i nclude mailycuriou s particulars , in no sl ight degree illustrative of the subject undercons ideration .

In the Tempest, towards the close of the fourth act, the poetrepresents Prospero and Ariel setting on sp irits , in the shape of

hounds , to hunt Stephano and Trinculo, while, at the same time, anoise of hunters is heard. f This species of diabolical or spectral

chase was a popular article ofibelief, and‘

is menfioneci or a liuded toia

'

many of the n umerous books '

which ,wene written, d uring this

modes in which spirits act, says, heeretmto below .those thingswhich are reported touching the chasing or 1zq HM , and

also of the daunces . of deafd men , which rare

'

of sundrie'

sortes'

. I

have heard of some which have avoi ichedg that they have seene

them i f’

and in a translation fm the Frenhh Tot Peter deLoief sTreatise of Spectres, published in 1605 , a chase of this kind is mentioned under the appellation of Arthur

’

s C?aacc , which many ,”

observes this writer, bel ieve to be ln France, and th ink that it is aken nel of black dog s , followed by unknown huntsmen, with an

exceed ing g reat sound of horns, as if it was a very hunting of some

wild beas t.

Disooverie ofW itchcraft, p. 280.

t Reed’

s Shakspeare, voL iv. p. 146 .

1 OfGhostes and Spirites walking by nyg ht, p. 96.

5 Reed'

s Shakapeare, vol. iv. p. 146. note S.

von. 1. 3 c

“ I am thy father’s spirit ;

Doom’d for a oerta in term to walk the night ;

And, for the day, coqfiued tofi tt infi es,

Till the foul crimeg dome in my dsys of natnre,

Are hnmt and purg’

d away.

”

1

Imagery somewhat similar to this'

may be found in the vulgarLatin vers ion of Job xxiv . 19. 1, and in the Inferno and Purgatorio of

Dante 5 but Shakspeare had mfiicient authorities in his own lan

fy re were cast therein, it ahold torne to yeel

and Chaucer, in his

that

breakers of the h q othe to ta ine,

And lickerous folke, afier that they been dede

Sbafl whirk abwt the mrfl alwty in paine

Till many a world be pu aed.

”1

‘ Reed’s Shakspeaee, vol. v i. p. 303 -305.

f Reed’s Shah peare, vov iii p. 78.

1 Ad nimium caiorem transect ah aquis nivinm.

”In

‘

the pm phmse ou Genesis, byCedmon the Saxon poeg the same inmg ery may be found.

Of this venerable poet and monk, who fl ourished in the seventh cenmry, Mr.Tumer

has g iven us a very inwxesfing em mg mg etherwith a mmon ofwme pw of his psm

phrase. One of theoe is a pictum of the infernal reg ions in which he says,

There comes at last

the wldfiw

Hist. of the Ang lo-Saxons, 211 edit.4 to. 1807, vol. ii . p. 309. et seq.

Infer. c. iii. 86. Purg at. c. iii. 31 .

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 805, note 9.

1 Cha lmers’

s Eng lish Poets, vol. i. p. 330.

3 0 2

383

prisoned in this beautiful planet. The culpritwas g enerally supposed

to be the s inner recorded in Numbers, chap. xv. v . 32 , who was

found g athering sticks upon the sabbath day ; a crime to whichChaucer has added the in iquity of theft ; for he describes this sin

g ular inhabitant as

Bearing a bush ofthemes on his backc,W hich for his 111g] ? mig ht clime no ner the hcvcu.

The Italian s, however, appropriate this luminary for the res idence of

Cain , and one of their early poets even speaks of the planet under

the term of Ca ino e ls sp ine . 1‘

Shakspeare, with his usual attention to

propriety of character, attributes a belief in this superstition wthe

monster Caliban

CahZ. Hast thou not dropped from heaven

Step} . Out o’the moon, I do as nre thee : [ was the man in themoon, when time was.

Cd . l han seen thee in her, u 1d l do adore thee ;

My minra s she' ed me theg thy dog and bnd i .”t

The in fl uence of the moon over diseases bodily and int ellectual ;its v irtue in all mag iml rites its appearances as predictive of evil

and g ood, and its power over the weather and over many of tin

minor ooncem s of life, such as the g athering of herbs, the killing of

an ima ls for the table, Si c. &:c. were much more firmly and un iver

mllv accredited in the sixteenth century than at present although we

must admit, that traces of all these credu lities may still b e found am]

that in medica l science, the doa rine of lunar in fl uence still, an d t o a

certa in extent, perhaps with probability , exists.

me lancholy 1: te lls us, that when she comes ma re fl a t t n the earth

tha n she wa s wont,“

she makes men mad ] and that, when the is

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387

but this fish pa inted, not a holiday fool there but would give a piece

of silver : there would this momster make a man any strange f

there makes e m u : when they will not give a doit to rel ieve a lame

beg an

strange kinda Of people which the worthie Mr.Martin Four1 ,1 s;

broug ht into England in AO and Mr.

Smithwried out toNewEng land one

w named Tm tmn ; Capta ins Harlie and Hopson tran s

described as kamg ing M Ihe pichwe qf a strmag e fiah, which they

afi rm is thefifth they have shown and the following dialogue takes

place relative to the inscription oh , the place which included the

Holland. Pray, can you read that? Sir, I warrantThat tells whens it was caught, “ whatfish ’

tis.

Plotwell. Wald“ tbis plam is to

fl at. Amen 1 8be is my customer,'

a nd l

Hsve sold her bono-lsce ofien.

Brig id . Why the Queen ?”Piewrit the King .

Plat. That was to malte the rhime.

h ig h .

’

Slid, thou did’st read it u twere some picture of

1111 MM”:

Pu yn md aepom ofms awmnyne rom sef s voyage mmea lnmg nimm.

bl. l. 12mo. 1578. Vide Reed’s Shl lupeare, voLiv . note 7.

f Reed’s Shskspeare, vol. iv. p. 83. note 7. — The existence of m aid: has, within

these few yu m, been asserted by numerous testimonies ; some of which are so clear,

m umand u spm mq u w sug ger the mmt scepfid l t is not only possible, but

from the evidence d lnded to it sppears indeed somewhat pmbsbla that a creature partiallyresembling the human form exists in the ocean, and occssionally, though rarely, approaches

so near the shore as to beeome an object of wonder and superstitious horror. 1111: we

mund the l sle om m formefl y mPumdwabound mthmem nM whichwm mceived wbe of two kindg the onemahg nmt the other benevolent nnd kind.

1 Ancient British Drama, voLii. p. 877, 378.

given for the s ight thereof ; the policy of strangers,”he

r a re, laugh at our folly, either thstO‘we

telli ng 118, that a dead

s lhid. votm p zss w hi. m1 l .

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391

in ordm‘

that they might die the easier g a pmctice tbunded on the

ridiculous supposition that, if pigeons’

feathers formed a part of the

materials of the pillow, it was imposs ible the sufi m should expire

but ih great misery, and that he would probably continue to strug ie

fior a prodig ious length of time in exquisite tortme.

It m common at this period, and the pmctice, indeed, contimted

until themiddle of the last centnry, to considerWELLs and Fom m s

as peculiarly sacred and holy, and to visit thmn aa a species of pfl~

attributed to them. Many of these wells, which had been much

frequented in London , during the days of Fitzstephen , were closed,

or neg lected, when Stowe wrote’; but in the comztry the habit of

resorting to snd l qn ings , and for purposes similm' to those which

lished in 1725, speaks in lang uage peculiarly descri ptive of this

superstitious regard for wells and founta in s, not only as it was

observed in ancient times , but at the period in which he lived. In

the dark ag es of popery ,”be ssys ,

“ it was a custom, if any'wefl had

an awful situation, and was seated'

in some

if its water was clear and limpid, and bemxtififl ly marg in’

d with the

tender grass ; or if it was look’

d upon , me having a medicinal quality ;to g ift it to some Sa int, and honour it With his name. Hence it is

that we have at this day wells and founta ins called, some St. J oIm’

s,

Si . Mary Mag da len’

s, St. Mavy’

s Well, 4-0.To these kind of wells, the common people are accustomed to

g o, on a summer’

s even ing , to refresh themselves with a walk after

the toil of the day, to drink the water of the fountain, and enjoy the

pleasing prospect of shade and stream.

and harmless, and innocent) seems to be the remains of that super

stitious practice of the Papists, of paying adoration to wells and foun

Stev e'

s Servey ofLondon, p. 18 . edit. of 16 181

394

This credulity relative to the Strix or screech-owl may be traced

to Ovid and is alluded to by Shakspeare in the following lines :

We td k of gobhng oui g and elvish sprita

Ifwe obey them nou this will enme,l h cy

’fl m k m M M pinch us bh ck md blua ” ?

Another strang e legend in the history of the owl is put into the

mouth of the hapless Ophel ia :

“ Well, God’ield you ! They say the owl was a baker

’s danghterf t

Gloucestershire, and is thus related n Our Sav iour went into a

baker’8 shop where they were baking , and asked for some bread to

eat. The mistress of the shop immediately put a piece of dough intothe oven to bake for him ; but was reprimanded by her daug hter,

who in sisting that the piece of doug h was too larg e, reduced it to a

very small s ize. The dough, however, immediately afterwards began

upon the baker’

s daughter cried out Heug h, haug h, heugh,’

whichowl-like noise, probably induced our Sav iour for her wickedness totransform her into that bird.

” He adds that this story was ofien

related to children , in order to deter them from such illiberal hmv iour to poor people. gThe partiality shown to the ruddock or red-breast seems to have

been founded on the popular ballad ok e Ckildm in the Wood, andthe play ofM m . The charitable office, however, which these

productions have ascribed to Robin, has an earlier origin than their

date ; far in Thomas Johnson’

s Cm uoop ia , 4to. 1596, it is related that

the robin redbrest if he find a man or woman dead,O

Will cover all

Flint. lib. vi.

11 Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. xx p. 883, 884 . Comedy of Errors, act ii.

1 Hamlet, act 4. se . 5 .

Reed’s Shab peare, vol. xviii. p. 280. note 3.

395 .

his face with mosse, and some thinke that if the body should remaine

unburied that he would cover the whole body also.

”It is highly

probable that th is anecdote might give birth to the burial of the

babes, whom no one heeded,

Till Robin-rcd-brzast painfinllyDid cover themwith leaves

for; according to Dr. Percy th is pathetic narrative was built upon

a play published by Rob. Yarrington in 1601 . It is likewise possiblethat the same passag e occas ioned the beautifii l l ines in the play of

Cymbeline, performed about 1606, where Arvirag us, mourn ing over

Imogen , exclaims

W ith fairest fl owers,Whilst summer lasts, and I live here, Edelc,I’

ll sweeten thy sad g rave : Thou shalt not lack

The dower, that’s like thy face, pale primrose ; nor

The azur’d hare-bell, like thy veins ; no, nor

The leafof.eg lantine, whomp ot to slander,

Out-sweeten’

d not thy breath : themddoclcwould,W i th charitable bill bring thee all tl u

'

s

Yea, and furr’d moss besides, when fl owers are none,

To winter-g round thy corse.”1:

These interesting pictures of the red-breast would alone be sufh

cient to create an affectionate feel ing for him ; the attachment how

ever has been ever since kept alive by delineations of a similar kind.

In our author’

s time Drayton , Webster, and Dekker; have all alluded

to this pleasing tradition the first in his Owl

Cov’ring with moss the deads unclosed eye,The little red-breast teacheth charitie

the second in his Tragedy, called The WhiteDevil , or Vittoria Corom

bona , 1612

Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 577. note 5 .

f Reliqum ofAncient Eng lish Poetry, vol. iii. p. 171 . 4to. edit.

1 Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 576.

Chahners’

s Eng lish Poets, vol. iv. p. 408.

3 13 2

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897

To the unborrowed light of the carbuncle, Shakspeare has referred in

King Henry the Eig hth, where the Princess El izabeth is propheticallytermed,

a g em

To lighten all this 1sle

and in Titus Andron icus, (if that play can be deemed his,) upon thediscovery ofBassianus slaughtered in a pit

Martins. Upon his bloody fing er he doth wearA precious ring , that lig htens all the hole,

like a taper in some monument ; 1

He also mentions this rich jewel by way of comparison in

Coriolanus 1 ; appropriates it as an ornament to the wheels of

Phoebus’

s chariot in Cymbeline and in the Player’

s speech in

Hamlet, the eyes of Pyrrhus are said to be like carbuncles.” llDrayton describes this fabled stone with nearly as much precision

as Chaucer ; he calls it

that admired, mig hty stone,

The carbuncle that’s named ;

Which from it such a fl aming lig ht

And radiancy ejectetb,That 111 the very darkest night

The eye to it directeth. 1

A modern poet, remarkable for his powers of imag ination, hasbeautifully, and very happily availed himself of these marvellous

attributes, in describing the mag nificent palace of Shedad, a passage

which we shall transcribe, as it leads to an illustrative extract from a

writer of Shakspeare’

s ag e

Reed' s Shakspeare, vol.xv. p. 84 . Act 11. sc. 3. f Ibid. vol. n i. p. 56.

1 Ibid. vol. xvi. p. 89. Act i. sc. 4 . Ibid. vov iii. p. 632. Act v. se. 5.

11 Ibid. vol. xviii. p. 15 1 . Act ii. se. z.

1 Chalmers’

s Eng lish Poets, vol. iv. p. 465.

400

thair natmral causes : and yet l will not denye, but that many lymes

Dyvels dehude men in this manner.

”

Stephano, in the Ta npa t, attributes this phenomenon to the

is a harmless fairy, has done little better than played the J ack with

M”

famm modem chemistry asserts it to be occas ioned by hydrog en

g as , e volv ing from decay ing vegetables, and the decomposition of

to orig inate from the same g as in'

a higher state of volatility, through

the agency ofphosphoric impregnation.

The partia l v iewwhich we have now taken of the superstition s ofthe country , as

fthey existed in the ag e of Shakspeare, wi ll, in part,demonstrate how g reat was the credulity subsisting at this period ;how well calculated were many of these popular delusions for the

puzposes of the dramatic writer, and how copiously md skilfullyhave these beeu ' moulded and employed by the g reat poet of our

stage. A con siderable portion also of the manners, oostoma -and

preceding chapters, will be foundzincluded in this sketoh ot'

a part of

the poPular creed, and will contribute (x) heighten the effect of a

aid of various subsequent departments of the present work.

Ot ostes and 8piritas walking by nyght, p. 5 1 .

4} Reed’s Shab peane, vol. iv. p. Act iv. se. l .

399

mw g h the Eng lish philosohher attenmta to axplain tlw phenomenohby suppos ing that actual fl ame was concentrated and burning in the

centre of the g em.

Johannes Fernelius writeth of a strange stone latelie broughtout of India, which hath in it such a marvellous brightness putitieand sh in ing , that therewith the aire round about 1s so lightned and

dw fl that one may see to reod thereby in the du lmes of night.

It will not be conteiaed i n a close roome, but‘

requireth an open fand

fi'

ee plaee. It would not willing ly rest or staie here belowe on tlw

earth, bnt alwaies laboureth to ascend up into the air& H one

presse it downe with his hani it res isteth, ah d striveth verie slm ;fl iea

It is beautifu l] to behold, without either spot or blemish, and yet

verie unpleasant to taste or feele. If any part thereofbe taken amie,it i s nevet a whit diminished, the forme thereof being incomtmt, md

at everie mcbment mutable’“

Them rbunole was beheved mbe an animal substanoe g ew ated in

the body of a m peng to possess a sexual distinctiml , the males

the ir brmiancy on all sides in a formless blu e ; and, like other

transparent g emsg to have the power d expelling ev fl spirits.

bodies, wa mq remtrk that in the age of Shakspeam, the wanderilmlights; tanned W

'

dLo—mhp md J aolo-o-Lm were s upposed by thecommon people to be occas ioned by demons and mal ig nant fdfies,with the view

'

of leading the ben ig hted traveller to his destruction .

Many tymes,”

says Lavatera s, candles and small fiers appeare in

the n ight, and seeme to run up and downe ; those fiers some thne

seeme to come tog ither, and by and by to be severed and run

go alone in the n ight season , and put such as see them, as they travel

by nig ht, in g reat fear. But these thing s, and many suche lyke, have

Discoverie ofW itchcrafi, p. 306 .

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405

stanza. which wss the whoie that he could recollect. had tlie pre

caution to take a copy of it from his ratitaftion. and the gmndson ofthe peraen thus favoured. a Mr Wilkes. presented a tmnseript of itto ML Oldys and Mrucapell. Among the callections for a Life qfM m e left by the 50m sf these gentlemen. this stanza Wasfound. faithfiLHy transcribed.

”says its possessor. fmm the copy

which his (Ms . Jones’

s) relation very courteously commun icated to

and of°Mr. 01dys

’

s veracity it is important to add, that

Mr. Steeven s con s idered it as un impeachable, remarking , at the same

time, that it is not very probable that a ballad should be forg ed,

from which an undiscovered wag could derive no triumph over

antiquarian credulity T.

”It must he confessed that neither the wit

nor the poetry of these lines, which we are about to commun icate,deserve much praise, and that the g reater part of the point, if it canbe termed such, depends upon provincial pronunciation for in a

n ote on the copy wh ich Mr. Capell possessed, it is sa id, that the

people of those parts pronounce lowde like Lucy I but let us

Apaw mnfl ssrfl jmise efseaoe,At home a seare-crowe, at London an asse,

If lows ie is as some volito miscalls it,Then Lucy is lowsie whatever befall it :

He thinks himselfg reate,Yet an asse in his state

We ailowe by his eam but with asses to mate.

IfLucy is lowaia, as some volke misca lle it,Sing lowsie Lacy, whm m it.”

Upon the next fragment of this composition, including two

stmma an equal deg ree of eonfidenee oannot be reposed ; for it

m l‘

lmand lwo. ia whieh mmy fihehoq me bm dstm d ;

mmum am em mm w mxm ium m

M ’

s fl mkspen e, voLi. p. 62. note. at Ibid.

1: Reed'

s Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 63.

405

m m ne ither be k erne l! foolish nor oppresdv e, and thm: the

M’

grounds for assertmg’

. 0 1'

the character of the mag tstmte'

nothing certzi‘n hm tmwpired ; but it we m y be zllowed to formm

Opinion of lris temper and ab ilities , from the on ly tra§t which cm

be considered as indicatory, we.

must pronounce them to hav e been

M g which 19 one to the memory of Sir Thomas and his lady the

efi g ies of the kn ight affords a very pleasing idea of his countena nce,

hut la nnacoornpan ied by date or inscription ; over his wife , however,who reposes by his side, at the ag e of sixty-three, is a very strik ingetlwmium a fl uen by himseff, the conclus ion of which is attested m

the following emphatic terms after much apparently sincere eulogy ,

he adds, that she was, when all is spoken that can be sa id, a woman

so furn ished and g arn ished with vertue as not to be bettered, and

hardly to be equalled by any. As she lived most vertuonsly, so she

dyed most godly . Set down by him that bel t did know what hath

been written to be true. Tnosu s Lucy .

”

This may very justly be considered, we think, as a proof, not only

of the conjug al happiness of our kn ight, but of his possess ion of an

intellect far from oontempible ; yet is it very possible that resentment,even in a mind of still superior order, should for a time excite undue

warmth and animosity, especially under the lash of satire ; andwe are

the more willing to believe this to have been the case in the present

instance, both h'

om the known benevolence ofthe poet’

s character, and

from the pertinacity withwhich he continued to remember the injury ;for it is generally agreed that the open ing scene of the Merry Wines

of Windsor is intended to ridicule Sir Thomas , under the character of

Justice Shallow. Nowthe “representation of this comedy in its new

modelled and enlarged state, certainly did not take place until after theaccession of King James, and as the prosecutor of our hard died on the

.

18th of Aug ust, 1600, it is not probable that the resentment of the

407

I cannot but observe that, howevet susp icious their external ev idencemay appear, they contain with in themselves some very strikingfeatures of authenticity and may , I think, be readily conceived to

have proceeded from the pen of our young Bard, before he wasremoved from the little circle of hi s native place, when his powers ,

unformed and unpractised, were roused only by resen tment to a

Country J ustice, and destined merely to delig ht the rustic com

pan ion s of his deer- stealing adventure — As an additional evidence

to the quibble on the word deer, which appears to he intended inthese verses, we may observe that there is no topic, to which our

author so del ights to al lude, as the Horns of the Cuckold. Let me

be permitted to remark in g eneral, that the anecdotes, which havebeen del ivered down to us respecting our poet, appear to me n eitherimprobable, nor, when duly examined, incons istent with each other

even those, which seem least all ied to probability, contain in myopinion the adumbmta, if not espresso! sig na veri tatis.

”

Whatev er mig ht be the merits of this ballad as a poetical com

pos ition , its effect as a satire was severely felt ; nor can we g reatly

blame the conduct of Sir Thomas Lucy, if we con sider, on the one

hand, the len ity which was at first shown to the young offender,

and, on the other; the publicity which was industriously g iven to this

provoking l ibel ; for it is reco rded by Mr. J ones of Tarbick, that it

was the placarding of this piece of sarcasm which exasperated the

kn ight to apply to a lawyer at Warwick to proceed ag ainst 1‘ him.

”

More mw nimity , it must he confessed, would have been displayedby altog ether neg lecting this splenetic reta liation ; but still the provocation was sufficiently bitter to exc ite the resen tment of a man

who mig ht not be entitled to the appellations so liberally bestowedon Sir Thomas by one of the poet

’

s commentators of vain , weak,and v indictive The protection uf property and character, pro

v ided the means resorted to for security be proportioned to the

Whiter’s Spa imen ofa menfi q Shnkspearc,1 Reed

’

s Shakspeare, voLi.

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4 1 1

that during the first of these periods, he had been excused paying a

weekly contribution of 401 , and that (tuning the latter be ‘ was under

the necess ity of resign ing his ofl iee as alderman, not’ being able to de

fray the expen se of attendance at the common halls ; facts, whichwhile they ascerta in his impoverished state, at the same time prove

his utter inability to assist his son , now buvdened with a family, andanxiously

' looking round for the means of its support.

For the adoption of the year 1586 or 1587, as the era of our

author’

s emig ration to town , several powerful, and allnost conv incing,arg uments may be g iven , and these it will be

'

neoessary here to

It is well ascertained that Shakspeare married in the year 1582,

and Mr.-Rowe has affirmed that in this kind of settlement he con

tinned jbr some time, till an extravag ance (the deer-stealing frolic)that he was g u ilty of, forced him both out of his country, and that

way of liv ing wh ich he had taken up .

”Now that this settlement

for some time was the period which elapsed between the years 1582and 1586, will almost certa inly appear, when we recollect the domes

tic events which occurred during its progress that, according to tradition , he had embraced his father

’

s bus iness, on entering into the

marriage-State ; and that the family offthe poet in shortwas increasedin this interval, by the birth of three children, baptized at Stratfbrd

Susanna,May 26th, 1583, and Hamnet and J udith , Feb . 2d, 1584-5.

That the removal was not likely to hat e 'taken place later than

1587, will be g enerally admitted, when we advert to the commence

ment of his literary labours. The l ssue of research has rendered it

highly probable that our bard was a corrector and 1mprover of old

plays for the stag e in 1589 it has discovered from ev idence amount

ing almost to certainty, that he was a writer for the theatre on a plan

of g reater orig inal ity in 1591 , and that, even so early as 1592, he was

noticed as a dramatic poet of some celebrity. Now, ifwe compare

Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. i.

3 c 2

4 12

these facts, which will be noticed more fully hereafter, with the poet’

s

own assertion , that the Venus and Adonis was the first heir of hisit will go far to prove, that this poem, which is not a short

one, and is elaborated with great care, must have been composedbetween his departure from Stratford, and his commencemen t as a

writer for the stage, (that is between the years 1586 and 1589 g) forwhile there is no g round to surmise that it was written on the banksof the Avon , there is sufficient ev idence to as sert that it was fin ished ,

thoug h not published befbre he was known to fame.

It is imposs ible to contemplate the fl ig ht of Shakspeare from his

fami ly and native town , without pausing to refl ect upon the couse

quences which followed that event ; consequences most s ing ularlypropit ious, not only to the intellectua l character of his country in

particular, but to the excitation and prog ress of g enius throug houtthe world. Had not poverty and prosecution un ited in driv ingShakspeare from his humble occupation in Warwickshire, how manymatchless lessons of wisdom and morality, howmany unparalleleddisplays of wit and imagination, of pathos and sublimity, had beenburied in oblivion ; pictures of emotion, of character, of passion ,

more profound than mere philosophy had ever conceived, more im

press ive than poetry had ever yet embodied ; strains which shall

now sound throug h distant posterity with increasing energ and in

terest, and which shall powerfully and beneficially continue to in

fl uence and to mould both national and indiv idual feel ing.

Vide Dedication of the Poem to the Earl ofSouthampton,

SHAKSPEARE AND HIS TIMES.

SHAKSPEARE IN LONDON .

CHAPTER I.

su ansps a as’s aa anvu . 1 1: cosmos ABOUT THE w an 1586, wu s s TWENTY-TWO s ca ns

or aos — Ls aves m s mum? AT s'

rns'

rroan, vrsrrmc THEM OCCAS IONALLY — H l s

TO THE su e s — ma m an'

s as .m ACTOR.

No era in the annals of Literary History ever pashapa occurred of

g reater imponmw thm that which wimessed the entranoe ef Shaks

peare into the metropol is of his native country ; a position whieh will

event produced in the Literature of the Stag e, and the vast infl uence

which, through the medium of the most popular branch of our poetry,

it has subsequently exerted on the minds, manners, and taste of our

countrymen . Friendless, persecuted, poor, about the early ag e of

twen ty-two, was the greatest poet which the world has ever seen ,

compelled to desert his home, his wife, his children, to seek employment from the hands of strangers. Rich, however, in talent, beyondall the sons of men , bles sed with a cheerful disposition , an activemind, and a heart conscious of integrity, soon did the clouds whichoverspread his youth break away, and unveil a character which has

ever s ince been the delight, the pride, the boast ofEngland.

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4 15

so satisfactory in itself, will be streng thene

d when we recollect that

the. Poet in h18 mortgage dated the a of March, 161

v i“ po lis, nor ever considered Iwadan ,

31. e 1’ but had resolved that his wife and family should

excursions to London , the scene of his profit, and the theatre of his

0 Q 0

7k"

L5 ; v:

5 Ibid. note 11.

4 16

this evidence will not be conclus ive proof of the settled res idence of

Shakspeare For, it is a fact, as new, as it is curious, that his brotherEdmond, who was baptized on the 8d of May , 1580, became a

p layer at the Globe , lived in St. Saviour’ s ; and was buried in the

claws}: of that parish : the entry in the reg ister be ing without a blur ;1607 December 31 ,(was buried) Edmond Shakespeare, a p layer, in

the church there can be no di spute about the date, or the name, or

the profemon . It is remarkable, that the parish-clerk, who scarcely

ever mentions any other distinction of the deceased, than a man , or a

momma, should, by I know not what inspiration , have recorded

Edmond Shakespeare, as a player. There were, consequently, twoShak speares on

,the stag e, during the same period ; as there were

two Burbadg es , who were also brothers , and who acted on the same

theatre.

”

Upon the whole, we may with considerable confidence and safety

conclude, that thefami -residence of Shakspeare was always at Strat

ford ; that he himself orig inally went alone to London , and that he

spent the greater part of every year there alone, annua lly, however,

and probably for some months , return ing to the bosom of his family ,and that this alternation continued until he finally left the capital.Hav ing disposed of this question , another, even still more doubt

ful, immediately follows, with reg ard to the esn liloyment and mode

of l ife which the poet was compelled to adopt on reaching the metropolis. Mr. Rowe, recording the consequences of the prosecution inWarwickshire, observes, It is at this time, and upon this accident,

that he is said to have made his first acqua intance in the p Iay-home.

He was received into the company then in be ing, at first in a very

mean W .

”

TFrom this passag e we may in the first place infer, that Shakspeare,

inmzediately on his arrival in town , applied to the theatre for support ;an expedient to which there is reason to suppose he,

was induced, bya previous connection or acquaintance with one or more of the per

Chalm3 s’s Apology, p. 423. note a. f Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. 1. p. 68 .

4 17

formers. It appears, indeed, from the researches of Mr. Malone,

that the probability of his being known, even while at Stratford , to

Heming e, Burbadg e, and Thomas Greene, all of them celebrated

comedians of their day, is very cons iderable. I suspect,”

remarks

this acute commentator, that both he (namely , John Heming e,) and

Burbadg e were Shakspeare’

s countrymen , and that B aming e was

born‘

at Shottery, a v illag e in Warwickshire, at a very small distancefrom Stratford-upon

-Avon ; where Shakspeare found his wife. I find

two families of this name settled in that town early in the reign of

Queen Elizabeth. El izabeth, the daughter of J ohn Heming of Shot

tery , was baptized at Stratford-upon-Avon , March 12. 1567. This

J ohn mig ht have been the father of the actor, though I have found

no entry relative to his baptism : for he was probably born before the

year 1558, when the Reg ister commenced. In the villag e of Shot

tery also lived Richard Hewg ag , who had a son christened by the

name of John , March 7. 1570. Of the Burbadg e family the on ly

notice I have found, is, an entry in the Reg ister of the parish of

Stratford, October 12. 1565, on which day Philip Green

ried in that town to Ursula Bwbadg e, Who mig ht have been s ister toJ ames Burbadg e, the father of the actor, whose marriag e I suppose

to have taken place about that time. If this conjecture be well ,founded, our poet, we see, had an easy introduction to theThe same remark which concludes th is paragraph is repeated by

the commentatorwhen speaking of 77mm Greene, whom he terms,

a celebrated comedian , the townsman of Shakspeare, and perhaps his

relation. 1“ The celebrity ofGreen e as an actor is fully ascerta ined by

an address to the reader, prefixed by Thomas Heywood to his editionof John Cook’ s Green '

s Tu Quoque ; ar, The City Gal lant ; as for

Maister Greene,”

says Heywood, all that I will speak of him (andthat without flattery) is this (if I were worthy to cen sure) there wasnot an actor of his nature, in his time, of better abil ity in performance of what he undertook, more applauded by the v audience, of

1 Ibid. vol. 11. p. 280.

VOL L

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p o tion , his first expedient m to waithouse, and hold the hor of those that s; x 1

”

a

”‘Vr the practise of fl dlng m

420

were known to Mr. Rowe, it is eviden t he thoug ht‘

it so l ittle entitledto credit that he chose not to risque its insertion in his life of the

poet. In short, if we refl ect for a moment that Shakspeare, though,

he fl ed from Stratford to avoid the severity of a prosecution, could

not be destitute either of money or friends, as the necessity for thatflig ht was occas ioned by an imprudent ebullition of wit, and not byany serious delinquency that the father of his wife was a yeoman

both of respectabil ity and property ; that his own parent, thoug h

impoverished, was still in business ; and that he had, in all likel ihood,a ready admiss ion to the stage throug h the infl uence of person s of

leading weight in its concerns ; we cannot, without do ing the utmost

v iolence to probability, conceive that, under these circumstances, and

in the twenty-third year of his ag e, he would submit to the deg rading

employment of either a hm e-holder at the door of a theatre, or of

a

Setting aside, therefore, these idle tales , we may reasonably con

clude that by the phrase a very mean rank, Mr.Rowe meant to imply,that his first engagement as an actor was in the performance of cha

racters of the lowest class. That his fellow-comedians were ushered

into the dramatic world in a similarway, and rose to hig her occupancyby g radation, the history of the stage will sufficiently prove : RichardBurbadg e, for instance, who beg an his career nearly at the same time

with our author, and who subsequently became the g reatest trag edianof his ag e, had, in the year 1589, appeared in no character more

important than that of a Messeng er. If this were the case With a

performer of such acknowledg ed merit, we may readily acquiesce inthe suppos ition that the parts first given to Shakspeare were equallyas insig nificant ; and as ‘

readily allow that an actor thus circumstanced

might very pmperly be said to have been admitted into the companyatfirst in a very mean rtmlc.

As Shakspeare’

s M ediate employment, therefore, on his arrivalin town , appears to have been that of an actor, it cannot be deemed

Cha lmers’

s Supplemental Apology, p. 158 . note a .

421

irrelevant if we should here enquire into his merits and success in

h1s department.

Taro traditions, of a contradictory complexion , have reached us

relative to Shakspeare’

s powers as an actor ; one on the authority of

Mr.Aubrey, and the other on that of Mr. Rowe. In the manusc

ript

papers of the firstof en, we are told that our

744,

6 Of the play_h0118es, 4

.

0

well but, in the 11te of the poet by themention ing his admission to the th

his M M IG Wit, and the n ral turn of it to

distinguished him, if not as an attraordinw-y

excellent writer. His z“

is printed, as the

4 ff t those of the other players, before some old plays , but

md tout any particular account ofwhat sort of parts he used to playI have enquired, I could never meet with any further

f a, of him th is way, than that the top of his perf . nee was ihe

4,

fifl M9 of Hamlet. 1.

Of . u ptions thus opposed, a preference only can be given as

foundwon other ev idence ; and it happens that subsequent enquiryhas enabled us to considerMr. Aubrey

’

s acooun

nearest to the truth .

more 80

ifl their 443 Printed, in the

i

" f fl. her Of the same year, a

pamphlet, entitled Kind Harts Dreams , to which is prefixed an

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 218. 1 Ibid. wh i. p. 64 .

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425

It appears also, from the first four lines of a small poem, written

by J ohn Davies, about the year 161 1 , and in scribed, To our Eng lish

Terence, Mr. Wdh’

amShakespeare, that our bard had been accustomed

to perform king ly parts

Some say, g ood W i ll, which I in sport do sing ,

Hadst thou not play’d some king ly parts in sport,

Thou hadst been a companion for a king ,And been a king among the meaner sort ;

”

a passag e wh ich leads us to infer, that several of the regal characters

in his own plays, perhaps the parts of King Henry the Eighth, KingHenry the Sixth, and King Henry the Fourth, may have been appro

priated to him, as adapted to the general estimate of his powers inacting .

From the notices thus collected, it will be perceived, that Shakspeare attempted not the performance of characters of the first rank ;but that in the representation of those of a second-rate order, to whichhe modestly confined his exertion s, he was deemed excellent. We

have just g rounds also for concluding that of the theory of acting inits very highest departments, he was a complete master ;

.

and thoughnot competent to carry his own precepts into perfect execution , h ewas a consummate judg e of the attainments and deficiencies of his

fellow-comedians, and was accordingly employed to instruct them inhis own conception of the parts which they were destined to perform.

It may be considered, indeed, as amost fortunate circumstance for

the lovers of dramatic poetry , that our author, in point of execution ,did not attain to the loftiest summit of his profess ion. He would,in that case, it is very 'probable, have either sate down content withthe high reputation accruing to him from this sonme, or would havefound little time for the labours of

,composition , and consequently we

should have been in a g reat deg ree, if not altog ether,, deprived ofwhatnow constitute the noblest efforts ofhuman gen ius.

The Scourg e of Folly, by John Davies ofHereford, no date.

VOL. I. 3 1

427

All the commentators agree in fixing on the year 1591, as the

LATEST period “

for our author’

s commencenmnt as a dramatic poet

for th is obvious reason , that both Greene and Chettle have mentionedhim as a writer of plays in 1592, and in such a manner, likewise, as

proves that he was even then possessed of some degree of notofi ety ,

the lattermentioning his“facetimts g race in writing f

’

and the former,

after ca lling him,“afl upstwrt crowbeautified with oar jkuthm f

’

and

parodying a line from the Third Part of King Henry VI , concludes

by telling us, that he“ is in kis own conceit tfze enéy SnAKE-scm i n

the country circumstances which have naturally induced the most

sag acious critics on our bard to infer, that, thus early mhave exCited

so much envy as this ra iling accusation ev inces, he must withoutdoubt have been a corrector and improver of plays anterior to 1590,

and very probably in 1589.

Now, thoug h the first edition of the Venus and Adon is was not

published until 1593, yet the author’

s pos itive declaration , that it wasthefirst heir of his iwventionf necessarily implies that its composition

had taken place prior to any poetical attempts for the stag e ; and as

we have seen, that his arrival in town could not have occurred before1586 ; that he was then immediately employed as an actor in a veryinferior rank ; and that his earliest efforts as a dramatic poet may be

attributed to the year 1589 or 1590, it will follow, as a leg itimatededuction , if we allow the space of a twelvemonth for his settle

men t at the theatre, that the composit ion of this poem, the first

heir ofhis invention ,

”must be g iven to the interval elaps ing between

the years 1587 and 1590, a period not too extended, the nature of

his other engagements being con sidered, for the completion of a

poem very nearly amounting to twelve hundred lines .

Having thus conducted Shakspeare to his entrance on the career of

authorsh ip and fame, it wi ll now be necessary , in conformity withour plan, to take a gen eral and cursory survey of Lr'ra ss 'm as , as it

existed in the reign s of Elizabeth and James . The rema inder of thischapter will therefore be devoted to a broad outl ine on this subject,reserving , hoWever,

‘

the topics of Romance and Miscellaneous Poetry,3 1 2

429

The court, the ducal castle, and the baron ial hall , were suddenly

converted into academies , and could boast of splendid l ibraries, as

than some prebendarie of this church doth read Latin in a whole

w ,eek and while she was tran slating Isocrates or Seneca , it may be

eas ily conceived that her maids of honour found it conven ient to

praise and to adopt the dispos ition of her time . In the second,

observes Warton , the daug hter of a duchess was taught not only to

distil strong waters, but to construe Greek f and in the third, every

young lady who aspired to be fashionable was compelled, in imi

tation of the g reater world, to exhibit s imilar marks of erudition .

If such were the studious manners of the ladies, it will read ily be

credited, that an equal, if not a g reater attachmen t to literature

existed in the other sex ; in short, an intimacy with Greek, Latin , andItalian , was deemed essential to the character of the nobleman and

the courtier ; and learn ing was thus rendered a passport to promotion

and rank. That this is not an exag g erated statement, bu t founded

on contemporary authority, will be ev ident from a passage in Har

rison ’

s Description of Eng land, where, after delineating the court, he

adds, This further is not to be omitted, to the s ingular commen

dation of both sorts and sexes of our courtiers here in Eng land, thatthere are veric few of them, which have not the u se and skill ofsundrie speaches , beside an excellen t veine ofwriting before time not

g entlewomen and ladies there are, that bes ide sound knowledge of

the Greeke and Latine toong s, are thereto no lesse skilfull in the

Span ish, Ita lian , and Ftench, or in some one of them, it resteth not

in me : sith I am persuaded, that as the noblemen and gentlemendo surmount in th is behalfe, so these come verie little or nothing at

Ascham’

s W orks, Bennet’s ed it. p. 242. speaking ofWindsor.

4 Warton’

s B inary of Eng lish Poetry, vol. iii. p. 491 .

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4314

News, and that at such seasons on ly, when they cannot stir abroad,to drive away time, their sole discourse is dogs, hawks, horses, and

what NW If some one have been a traveller in Italy , or as far as

the Emperour’

s Court, wintered in Orleanee, and can court his

mi stris in broken French, wear his clothes neatly in the newest

fashion , sing some choice ou t-landish tunes , discourse of 10rds, ladies,town s, palaces , and cities, he is coml and to be admired other

wise he and they are much at one ; no dif erence betwixt the masterand the man , but worshipfu l titles : wink and choose betwixt himthat sits down (clothes excepted) and him that holds the trencher

behind him.

”

It is to the court, therefore, and its attendan ts, to the nobility ,higher g entry , and the ir preceptors, that we are to look for thatarden t love. of books and learn ing which so remarkably distingu ishedthe re ig n s of Elizabeth and J ames, and which was destined, in another

cen tury , to descend in to, and illuminate the larg er masses of our

population. Noth ing , indeed, can .more forcibly paint Elizabeth’

s

pass ion for books and learn ing , than a passag e in Harrison’

s unadorned

but faithful description of her court Finall ie,”says that in terest

ing pourtrayer of ancientmanners, to avoid idlenesse, and preventsundrie transg ress ion s, otherwise likelie to be committed and doone,

such order is taken , that everie othee hath either a bible, or the

booke of the acts and monuments of the church ofEng land, or both,bes ide some histories and chronicles Iieing there in , for the exercise of

such as come into the same : whereby the strang er that entereth into

the court of Eng land upon the sudden, shall rather imag ine himselfe tocome into some pubhke schoole qf the universities, where mimic g ive care

to one thd madd h than into a pfinces palacedfyou cmy‘

en‘

e the same

with those of other nations. Would to God all honorable personag eswould take example of himg races godlie dealing in this behalte, andshew their conformitie unto these hir so good beginning s ! which ifthey would, then should manie g rievous offenses (wherewith God is

Burton’s Anatomy ofMelancholy, fol. edit. p. 84 .

432

w W he a t “ and restreined, which now doo reig ne

esteem in min t noble and g entlemen’

s houses, whereof they sée

ac um e -ifi i Well mig ht Mr. Qibdin apos

W th is. lea ned Queen in the following picturesque and charac

team‘

s: mm : All ha il to the sovere ig n , who , bred up in severe

N reading and meditation, loved books and scholars to the veryW of her heart ! I cons ider Eu z a s z

'm as a royal bibl ioman iac

ofmascmtdant fame I see her, in imag ination , wearing her favo

rite little Vohane qf Prayers‘

t, the compos ition of Queen Catharine

Yi n . and Lady Tirwit, bound in solid g old, and hang ing by a gold

chain at her side,’

at hermorn ing and evening devotions — afterwards,

1111 she became firmly seated upon her throne, taking an interest in the

embellishments of the Prayer Book I, which g oes under her own

11111118 ; and then indulging her strong bibliomaniaca l appetites infimtering the institution for the erecting of a L ibrary , and an Academy

{hr the study of Antiquities and History .

"

Holinshed’s Chronicles, vol. i. p. 33 1 .

f The reader is referred to an account of a preciously bound diminutive g odly book

(once belong ing to Q. Elizabeth), in the first volume of my edition of the British 13470

M ml Antiquities, p. for which, I understand, the present owner asks the sum of

We find that in the 16111 year ofElizabeth’

s reig n, she was in possession of One

unwell booke, covered with tissue and g arnished on th’

inside wi th the crucifix and the

Quomc'

1 badg es of silver g uilt, poiz with wodde, leaves and all, cxii oz.

” Arche olog ia.W 1. xiii. 22 1.

i am in pou ession of the covers ofa book, bound (A.D. 1569) in thick parchment or

vellum, which has the whole length portrait of Luther omone side, and ofCalvin on the

other. These portraits, which are executed with uncommon spirit and accuracy, are en

circled with a profusion of ornamental borders of the most exquisite taste and richness .”

Bibliomanla , p. 1 58.

1 In the PRAYER Boox which goes by the name of QUEEN Eu zasmjn’

3, there ta a

11111111111 of Her Majesty kneeling upon a superb cushion, with elevated hands, in prayer.

ll book was htat printed tn 1 575 ; and 1s decorated with wood-cut borders ofcons ider

abb spirit and beauty ; representing , among other thing s , some of the subjects ofHoibein ’

s

“111100 at Death.

4 11mm"1 Bibliomania, 2d edit. 18 1 1, p. 329— 88 1. This book, the most fascinating«11W 111111 ever been written on Bibliog raphy, is already scarce. It is composed in the

M 111 1111 ofenthusiasm for the art, and its dialog ue and descriptions are g iven with a

11 warmth and raciness, which absolutely fix and enchant the reader.

488

The example of Elizabeth, whose taste for books had been fostered

under'

the tuition of Ascham, was speedily followed by some of the

first characters in the kingdom ; but by none with more ardent zeal

then by Archbishop Parker; who was such an indefatigable admirer

and collector of curious and precious books , and of every thing that

appertained to them, that, according to Strype , he kept constantly in

writers, and book-bindem— oue of these was Lylye, an excellent

writer, that could counterfeit any antique writing . Hin1 the arch

bishop customarily used to make old books oompleat.”

No

expense, in short, was spared, by this amiable and accomplisheddiv ine, in procuring the most rare and

'

valuable articles ; his librarywas da ily increased through the medium of numerous agents , whomhe employed; both at home and abroad, and among these was Bat

mm the anthor of theDoome and the commentator uppon Bartholome,

who, we are told, purchased for him not less than 6700 books in the

space of no more than four years.”

1‘

To Parker succeeded the still more wlebrhted names of Sir Robert

Cotton and Sir Thomas Bodley , men to whom the nation is indebtedfor two of the most extensive and valuable of its public libraries.The enthusiasm which an imated these illustrious characters in their

bibliog raphical researches is almost incredible, and what g ives an imp

perishable interest to their biog raphy is, that their rnomls were as

pure as their literary zeal was g lowing.

Sir Thomas Bodley‘wm sing ularly fortunate in the selection of

Dr. Thomas J ames for the keeper of his library , whom Camden terms

vir eruditus, at w e (pcAo'

GCAGu 1, and of whom Fhller says, that on

sa ious cons ideration one will conclude the Libmry made for him, and

himfirmit, l ike tallies they so fitted one another. Some men live likemothes in libraries, not being better for the books, but the booksthe worse for them, which they only soile with the ir fing ers. Not

Strype’smfe ofParker, 1 Ihid. p. 528 .

1 M ums 1n Monmouthshire.

VOL. I .

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436

The passion for letters and for books, wh ich was thus difi'

used

be paid to the preservation and decoration of libraries, the volumes of

which, however, were not arrang ed on the shelves in the manner that

we are now accustomed to ece them. The leaves, and not the back;

were placed in front, in order to exhibit the silk W or g d den

clasp : which un ited the s ides of the cover. Thus Bishop Earl,describing the character of a young gentleman of the Un iversity, says,

His stndy has commonly handsome shelves, his books neat s ilkstring s, whick hc she'ws to hia father

’

s man , and is loth to unty or take

downforfear ofmfnp lacing .

"

'

To the most costly of these embefl ishments , the g olden clarpa,

Shakspeare has referred, both in a metaphorical and literal sen se.

06

To thee the booé even ofmy secret soul g"?

and in Romeo and J ul iet, Lady Capulet observes,

T‘

hat in g old dasps locks in the g elden story.

”1

books was carried, at th is period, to a lav ish extent, jewels, as well

the directions of the judicious Peacham, on this head, a oonthm~

parary authority, who has thought it not

a care,”

says he, of keeping your

1 M aw vol. v. p1 257, 258. Act i. m 4 .

1 Ibid. voLxx. p 43. Act i. sc. 3.

43 7

are oamed to Church but for u

their outemdes. Yet foru

your owne use

withthem : neither snfi'

er thein through neg ligenoe to mold1 and he

moathg eaten , or wa11t their 8tring s or covers.-e- Sufifer theni not to lye

neglected; who must makewu reg arded ; .and g oe in torn coates,

who must appareil your mind'

with the ornaments of knowledge,

To avoyde the inconven ience of moathes and moldinesse, let

the Easty for where it looketh South er West, the aire -heing evser

tha irMe and oolours, or rotting’

upon their d eath, or paper, decay

had acquired a

lfigh deg ree of riohness and fin ishin g d uring the era of which we are

ohear, 5harp, and strong, and though the splendid art of illuminationhad oeased to be praefiwdfi n the sixteenth centurywin

'

con sequencc

ofi thé efl ablishment of printing , the lou was compensated fofr, by

the celebrated prin ters J u'

g g e, and Day, the latter ofwhom, patron isedby Archbishop

.

Parhe1-, became in his turn the patron of Fox tthe

martyrologist, in the first edition of whose book , 1563, and m Day’

s

fecte Arte q avigctiom folip , 1577, may he found an admirable

489

hwe soug ht tbr, and qttoted, a lmaost every heok to whieh he has been

h rectly or remotely hadebted. The disquisitiohs indeed 311170 which

books which pt'ifl eipahy omamented his shelves, and may preohide

comisbad ei storic, M M Peetje U tm c, 111 1111 their

Philolog iod or grammatical literature, “ appl ied to the English

m hwem mfl ew m tfl afia fiwmfi fl e of

the sin seenth oentary . We are tei d hy fie g er Aseham in 1544 , the

pa i fi of the publicaeion of hi s ’fomophflm, that M a s fer the l a thre

a fi rbeke wng ne, eéerye thing e is so exoeilwdye done in them,

thing e iw a m a ss m ama: for the matter and handelinge,

hhct noM m dowm e Toretha ein fi ie least learnedfior the most

pm , ham bene dwwyes The Toxophilus

m w m m wfim was im‘itten ia ifis native tong ue ,

with thewiewofpm emiq thefipm iwith a spechnen of a purer and

more eertfieet LEngM etyle thm thut to M they had h ithérto heen

aecustomed z and with fiw hope’

of mlling the attention of the

W J M W W fifi mresult whieh he eon

tioned haM oany'medel for Eng lish style . If we moept the

M afion of Fro issart by Bourd iier, Lord'

Bemers , ih 1823, and

the History“ Richard IIL bytSir Thomas More, oa tahfl y oompo

sitions of'

gwd mevit, we shd l fi ld -it difiicult to pmduce an author

of much value ihr fihis vemacniar prose. Ou the contrary , very soon

after the appearance of the Toxophilus, we find harmony and beauty

Ascham’s Works, Bennet’s edit. p. 57.

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444

Scarce ly had oorrnption from this source ceased to v iolate the purity11 propriety of our language, when the fashion of interlarding oom

customwhich continued un til the cloee of the reig n ofJames, and g ave

to the style of this period a oornplexion the most heterogmeous and

Eng l ish. Of this barbarous and pedantic habit, the worlts of Bishop

whe n he trusts to his native tongue, has written in a style at once

s imple and impress ive.

These afl'

ectations, arising from the use of inkhori teams , of anti

thesis , a lliteration , arbitrary orthog raphy , and the pemetud intm u’

w

hm : of Latin phm eolog y , have been deservedly and powerfullyridiculed by Sir Ph ilip Sidney and Shakspeare ; by the fon ner under

the character ofRombus, a v illag e schoolmaster, in a masque presentedto HerMajesty in Wansted Garden , and by the l atter in the person

of Honorsswss in Love’

s Labour’

s Lost. The satire of Sir Philip issupported with humour ; Her Majesty is supposed to have parted, byher presence, a v iolent contest between two shepherds for the afi

'

ec

tion of the Lady of the May, on which event Rmnbus comes forward

with a learned oration .

Now the thunder-thumping J ove transfitsed his dotes into you rexcellent formos itie, which have with your resplendent beames thus

W the enmity of these rural] an imals ; I am Potentisaima b o

mine, a Schoole-master, that is to say, a Pedagog ue , one not a littleversed in the disciplinating of the juvenal] fi

' ie, wherin (to my 1211161 I

no it) I use such geometrical proportions , as neither wanted man

awude nor correction , for, so it is described.

Yet hath not the pulchritude of my vertues protected me from

0111 m tamins ting hands of these Plebe ians ; for coming solummodo,

511 MW [mud the ir sang uinolent fray, they yeelded me no more

44 5

reverenca than if l had been some l ’ecofim Asinm. I, even L that

Troian d iam , when he sojourned in the surging anlkes of the

revertebo, the puritie of the verity is that a certa ine M a paella

prefecto, elected and constituted by the integrated determination of

afl this wpog raphieafl reg ion as the soveraig ne Ladie of this Dame

pursued by two, to whom the

crafiy eoward fi qi id had inqwm delivered his dire-dolorous dart ;”

here the May-Lady interfering calls him a tedious fool , and dismisses

him ; upon whid t in anger he exclaims0 M od , 0 Moribus ! in profess ion a childe, in dig nitie a

wom in yeares a Ladie in ce tefl s a maide, should thus turpifie the

reputation of my doctrine, with the superscription of a foole, O

Ta npori, 0 MM .

The Schoolmaster of Shakspeare appears, from the researches of

Warburton and Dr. Farmer, to have hem in tended as a satireupon John Florio, whose First Emits, or Dialogues in Italian and

Eng lish, w e published in 1578, his Second in 1591 , and his

Warlde qf Wordes”in 1598 . He was ludicrously pedantic, dog

matic, and assuming , and g ave the first afi’

ront to the dramatic poetsofhis day, by affirming that the plaies that they plaie in Eng land,are neither rig ht cm ediea, nor rig ht b ag edies but representation s of

ever, while it caricatures the peculiar folly and ostentation of Florio,holds up to ridieule, at the same time, the general pedantry and

literary affectation s of the ag e and amongst these very particularlythe absurd innovations wh1chL111y had introduced. Sir Nathaniel,

praising the specimen of all iteration which Holofernes exhibits in hisextemporal epitaph,

”calls it a rare talent upon which the

Sir Philip Sidney’s Works , 7th edit , 1629, fol. p. 6 19, 620.

f Reed’s Shab peare, voLvii. p. 86. note.

446

l master comments on the compliment in a m

accurately m m the fantastic gen i us of the autho

rof Euphues :

the pwrtty of our language and or 1

of the m , md“

from a love of novd ty md over 1

still em1tt1ng many authors of

behffirmed, that no specimens of excellence m dtgmfied

Reed’s Shakspeare, vol . vu. p. 98. 134 .

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Andfi r to cleme itfi'

ou tke noisome wétde

Wm hich kafl twa g-rm

Asfi r to bonm wlzen wée bave no néede

Itwatdd prt'

cke neere the lea‘

med tung s in streng th,

her privy-chamber by M ,

mytholog ists .morphoses Were Exhibited In 11 } 3

of an immense historic pl 1 witha deh s

basso-rel ievo of the dest a on of Troy. In the

Tritons and Nereids : the pages of the family wereWood-nymphs , who peeped from every bower : c the footmen

gamboled ov er the lawn s m the fig ure of Satyrs.”

1°

In the course of a few

450

estimated from the very accurate listwh ich is inserted in the Variorumeditions of the poet, and before the death of James the First, not a

s ingle class ic, we believe, of any salue, remained unfamiliarized to theEnglish reader.

The heightwhich class ical learn ing had atta ined about the year 1570,may be estimated from the testimony ofAscham, a most consummate

judge, who, quoting Cicero’

s assertion with regard to Brita in , that

there is not one scruple of silver in that whole isle ; or any on e

that knoweth either learnyng or la ter", thus apoW oPhizes the‘

Roman Orator

But now, master Cicero, blessed be God, and his sonne JesusChrist, when) you never knew, except it wera aa it pleased him to

lighten you by sotne shadow ; as'

covertlie in one place ye confesse ,

say ing , Veritatis mm M m +, as yourmaster Plato

did before you : bles sed be God, I say , that s iitten hundred yeare

after y'

ou were dead and g one, it may trewly be sayd, that for silver,there 13 more oomlie plate 1n one citie ofEng tdade, then 18 in four of

the proudest cities in all Italic, and take Rmne thr one of them : and

for learn ing , beside the knowledge of all learned tong es and liberalscien ces , even your own e bookes , Cicero, be as well read, and your

excellent eloquence is as well liked and loved, and as

trewly folowed

in Eng lands at th is day, as it is now, or ever was s ince your owntyme, in any place of Italie, either at Arpinum, where you was borne,

Or els at Rome, where you was broug ht up. And a little to brag

with you, Cicero, where you yourselfe, by your leave, halted in some

po int of learn ing in your own tong ue, many in Eng lande at this dayg o streight up, both ln trewe skill, and right doing therein . iNor can this prog ress in the learned languages be considered as

surpris ing , when we recollect the vast encouragement given to th

Britannici belli exitus exspectatur : constat enim aditus insole esse muuitos mirificis

neque nflm spem pm dg nisi ex mancipus : ex quibus nollos puto te literis, aut musicis

eruditos exspectare. Cic. lih. 1v Epist. ad Attic. ep. 16.

Vide Cic Ofic. lib. iii. cap. 17.

1 Ascham’s Worlxs, Besmet

’

s edit. 4to. p. 333.

45 1

M t'

only'by the n obility but by the Queen herself ; who

was, in feet, a most laborious and erudite author, who wrote a Com

mentasy 011 Plato, trans lated from the Greek ' tzwo of the Orations of

IsocrateB, a play . ofEuripides, the Hiero of Xem phon, and Plutarch

de Cun'

ositate ; from the Latin, Sallust de Belle Jug urthine, Horacede Arte Poetics, Boethius d e Comolatione Philosoph iw, a long

‘

choru s

fnommm (Btmus of Seneca, one of Cicero’s epistles, and

orig inal werks, both in‘

prose and poetry , and who spoke five lan

guag es with facil ity . The British Solomon , it is well known , was

equa lly zealous and industrious in the cause of learn ing , and both

not only patronized indiv iduals , but founded and endowed public

J esus-Colleg e, Oxford. and to James the University of Ed inburgh

mun ificence ; in 1584 , Emanuel-Colleg e, Cambridg e, rose on the

of SirWalter Nfildmay ; and in 1 5949; Sidney-Sussex College, in the

same Un iversity , sprung from the patronage of the Dowag er of

Thomas Radcliffe, Earl ef Sussex.

the l ead, and became so fashionable at the court of Elizabeth, and

amoug all who had preten sions to refinemen t, that it almost rivalledthe d am

'

ca l mania of the day . The Qum spoh km mt pmiq ,

forma ly mentioned as i the object of. Shaks peare’

s satire,was the mosteminent. He

,was pens ioned by Lord Southarnptom, and on the

accession of J ames, was appointed s'

eader of the ltalim lamg uage to

Queen Anne, with a stipend of ' 1001. ap year. 1“ So popular were

the writers of this fascinating country, that the English languagewas absolutely inundated with vers ions of the Italian poets and

Park’s edition ofLord Orford’s Roya l and Noble Authors, vol. i. article Elin beth.

1' Chalmen ’

s Apology, note.

3 11 2

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456

calls this, the first grammar for Eng lishe that everwas , except myg rammar at larg e.

”

It is not exactly ascertairied in what year the Grammar of B en

J onson was written , as it did not appear umil after his death ; but it

more indebted than to the labours certa inly of any previous , and

we may almost add, of any subsequent, grammarian , Lowth’

s and

Murray’

s even not excepted.

The next branch of our present subject embraces the depart

men t of Garma su , which was cultivated in th is period to a g reat

extent, and we are sorry to add not selclom with uncommon bitterness and malig nity . Numerous are the writers who compla in of the

very severe and sarcastic tone in which the critics of the ag e in

dulg ed ; but one in stance or two will be sufficient to prove both the

frequency and asperity of the art. Robert Armin , in his Addres s

Ad Lactarem bic .et ubique , prefixed to Tbe Itah'

an Tay lor and his

Boy , says , speaking of his pen , I wanderwith it now in a strangetime of taxation , wherein every pen and inch-horne Boy will throwup his cap at the homes

"

of the Moone in censure, although his withang there, not return ing unlease monthly in the wane : such is our

ticklish ag e, and the itch ing brain e of and in the

Troia Bri tannica of Thomas Heywood, the author, saluting his

various readers under the titles of the Courteous , the Critiche, and

the Scornefull, tells the latter, L am not so unexperienwd in the

envy of th is Ag e, but that I knowe I shall encounter most sharpe,

and severe Cen surers , such as continually carpe at other mens

labours, and superficially perusing them, with a kind of neg ligen ceand skorne, quote them by the way, Thus : This is an error, that

was.too much streacht, this too slightly neg lected, beere many thing s

might have been added, there it might have been better followed :

Warton’s History ofEng lish Poetry, vol. iii. p. 346, 347.

1 The Italian Taylor and his Boy. By Robert Armin , Servant to the King's most

excellentMajestic, 1609.

presented us with a valuable treatise on rhetoric. To these should be

added the efforts ofRichard Mulca sler, first master of the Merchant.

Taylors School, Who, in1581, published his Pos itions , wherein

the train ing up ofChildish , e ither for skill in theire Booke or Health

in their Bodie a work which was followed, in the subsequent year, by

The Position: and the Elementam of Mulcaster, thoug h inferior 1n

oo-operator in the work of education , that he was the author of the

first Eng lish Gramma r. In 1586 he printed his Bref g rammar for

Eng lish,”which is likewise entitled in fol . l . W. Bullokar

’

s abht e

v iation of his Grammar for Engl ish extractedo nt of his Grammar

at lan or the spedi parcing of Eng lish spech, and the eazier comingto the knowledge of g rammar for other lanm f

’

and Warton

adds, i n his account of Bullokar’

s writings, that among Tanner’

s

books was found a copy of his bref g rcmmar above mentioned,interpolated and corrected with the author

’

s own hand, as it appears ,

for a new impress ion . In one of these.mannscript in sertions, he

460

bee, .that becaus'

e he can pen‘

pretti lee, hold it g ospel] whatever hewritesor speakas, his

'

custome‘

is to preferre a foole to credite, to despight

a wise man, ana o poet lives by him that hath not a fl out of him.

Let him spie a man of wit in a tave'

rne, he is a hare brained

quareller. Let a soli'

oller write,'

Bu sh (saith he) I l ike not . these

common fellowes ; let him write well , he hath sto len it out of some

note booke ; let him tran slate, tut it is not of his owne let him

be n amed for preferment, he is insufficient because poore ; no man

shall rise in his world, except to feed his envy ; no man can con

tinne in his friendship who hateth all men .

” He then adds the

followinn udicious adv ice, predicting what would be the consequenceof neglecting to pursue it Div ine wits for many things as suf

ficient as all antiqu ity (I speake it not on slig ht surmise, but con

siderate judgment) to you belongs the death that doth nourish t his

poison ; to yon the paine that endure the reproofe.

’

Ln LY, thc

famous for facility in discourse ; SPENCER, best read in ancient

poetry ; DAN13L, choice in word and invention ; Dmu '

ron , dil igentand forma l] ; TH. NASH, true Eng lish Aretine. All you unnamed

professors, or friends of poetry (but by me inwardly honoured)kn it your industries in private to un ite your fames in publicke ; let

the strong stay up the weake, and the weake march under conduct

of the strong ; and all so imbattle yourselfes , that hate of vertue may

not imbase you. Butif besotted with foolish vain g lory , emulationand contempt, you fall to neg lect one another, Quad Deus omen aver

tat, doubtless it will be as infamous a th ing shortly to present any

book whatsoever learned to any Maecenas in Eng land, as it is to be

headsman in any free city in German ic.

”

Turning , however, from this abuse of critical and satiric talent,

let us direct our atten tion exclusively to those productions of the

art which are disting uished as well by moderation and urbanity, as

by learn ing and acumen .

W its Miseric And The Worlds Madnesse. Discovering the Devils incarna te of this

Ag e. 1596 .— Vide Beioe

’

s Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books, vol. ii. p. 164, 165,

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464

many an English ha ms) yet this clyme of.

oa rs hee cannot th rive

characters which he has W n of the Eng lish poets, from Chaucer to

his own time. He not ices, a lso; ‘SGdskoynes-Instructions for

lying ? and, after declaring the Shephe rd’

s Calender inferior neitherto Theocritus nor Vipg il, he expresses an arden t wish that the otherworks of Spen ser might

‘

g et abroad, and especially his Eng lish

Poet, which his friend E. K. did once promise to Publish.

”The tract

concludes with the author'

sw ention, that his onely ende”in com

piling it was not as an exquis ite cen sure concerning the matter,”

but that it might be an occas ion be h ave the s ame thoroughly, and

with greater discretion taken in hande, and ~ labou1>ed by some other

ofgreater abilitie, ofwhom I knowtthere be man ie among the famous

poets in London , who both for learning and leysure niay handie the

argument far more pythelie.”1

’

In 1588, Abraham Fra med , another encourager and Writer of

Eng lish Hexameter and Pentameter verses, published in octavo, a

critical treatise, a mixture of prose and verse, under the qua int t itleof The Arcadian Rhetoricke, or the Precepts of Rhetoricke made

plain by example, Greeke, Latyne, Eng lishe, Italyan, and Spanishe.

”

This rare volume is in the library of Mr. Malone, and is valuable,observes Warton , for its Engl ish examples . 1;In the same year which produced Fraunce

f

s work , apreared the

Touch-Stone of Witt“, written by Edward Hake, and '

printed at

Vide Nash '

s Four Letter: Confi ned,"and his Have with ye to Saffron-Walden .

M11! Wlum li’s Calamities ofAuthors, vol. 1.

Md» Oldys’s British Libran an, p. 86, and Beloe’s Anecdotes of U terg ttnte and

4163

Post, aweek which swe lam t xshould have .been suffered to perishin manuscn pt. . Its existence was first intimated to the puhlic in

adminers ef the poeh for some yems

when a kindred work issued from the Low press , under the title

of A Dhcoursa of Eng l ish Poetrie, tn g d her with the Author’

s

h dgment toud i ing the reformath n of our l ‘lng lish verse. By

WilliamWebbe, Gmduate. Inxpfinted at lm don by John Chu le

Dyer,”

Spen ser, M xfl awey, happ ily miscam ed. W The hemmetervem

”says Nash, with great g ood sense, in his controversy with

Harvey, I graunt to be a g entleman of an auncient house, (so is

vol i p. v11. and p chriii.

1» One m cofl eeti011,md onep

urchnsed

by the Marquis ofBlandford, at the Roxburgh Sale,Tor 64k !

'e newt work which, in the order of Pubh « O

fnsfalls under 011?

Qwfl M iQ Sis JO"”HARRINGTON 8 Ad

1 I oi.

“ml in his Version of the Orlando Furioso of An !

“®t t (

if some merit, displayi ng both judgmént and 1

1

h eat notice of Putt u'

s

‘

Arteof

Haslewood's Reprint, 18 1 1. p. xi.

1 Censura Literaria, vol. i. p. 839.

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468

classes poets with pipers and jesters , and terms them the cater

pillars of the commonwealth.

”

A very ingenious Comparative Discourse of our Eng lish Poets,

with the Greeke,‘ Latina, and Italian Pod s,”was published by Faancrs

Means, in 1598, under the title of Palladia Tamia , W’

s Theasuryj'

Meres is certain ly much indebted to the thirty-first chapter of the

first book of Puttenham’

s Arte of Eng lish Poes ie but he has con si

derably extended the catalogue ofpoets, and it should be added, thathis comparisons are drawn with no small portion of skill and felicity ,and that his criti cisms are, for the most part, just and tersely

expressed.

Another attempt was made, at the beginn ing of the sevenwenthcen tury, to introduce the Roman measures into English verse, in a

duodecimo entitled, Observations in the Art of Eng lish Poes ie, byTHOMAS Gammon , wherein it is demon stratively proved, and byexample confirmed, that the English toong will receive e ig ht sevetallkinds of numbers, proper to itselfe, which are all in this book set

forth, and were never before this time by any man attempted.

”Lon

don ; printed by Richard Field, .

forAndrewWise. 1602.

recommend the adoption of class ical metres, but to abolish, ifposs ible,the use of rhime. For th is end,

’

says he 1n his preface, have I

studyed to induce a true forme of versefying into our language, for

dedicated to M. Philip Sidney, Esquier, 1 57

z Palladia Tamia. W its Treasury. Being the second part ofW its Common Wealth.

By Francis Meres, Maister ofArtes of both Universities. t nr ing enimcww'

a mortis

erunt. At London printed by P. Short, for Cuthbert Barbie, and are to be solde at his

shop at the Royall Exchang e. Small 8vo. leaves‘

l 74 .,We are under many oh

lig ations to Mr. Haslewood for reprin ting the whole of the Comparative Discourse"in

the ninth volume of the Censura Literaria, as it must necessarily be to us a subject of

469

the vulgar and unartificial custome of t iming hath, I know, detered

many excellent wits from the exercise ofEnglish Poesy.

”

In consequence of th is determin ation , he has enforced his Obser

vations”by examples on the class icmodel, without rhime ; and among

them, at p. 12. is a specimen of what he calls L incentiate Iambicks,

which is, in fact, our present blank verse.

This systematic attack upon rhime speedily called forth a consum

mate master of the art in its defence ; for in 1603 appeared, A

Defence of Ryme, ag ain st a pamphlet intituled, Observations in the

Art of Poesie, wherein is demon stratively proved that ryme is the

fittest harmon ie of wordes that comports with our language.

”By

It need scarcely be said that the elegant and correct poethas obta ineda complete v ictory over his Opponent, whom he censures, not so much

for attempting the introduction of newmeasures, as for his abuse of

rhime he might have shown his skill, he justly and eloquen tlyobserves, without doing wrong to the honour of the

.

dead, wrong to

the fame of the living , and wrong to Eng land, in seeking to lay res

proach upon _her native ornaments, and to turn the fair stream and

full course of her accents, into the shallow current of a loose uncer

ta inty, clean out of the way of her known delight. Therefore here

stand I forth,”he adds in a subsequent paragraph, only to make

good the place we have thus taken up, and to defend the sacred monu

men ts erected therein , which contain the honour of the dead, the

fame.

of the living , the g lory of peace, and the best power of our

speech, and where in so many honourable spirits have sacrificed to

memory the ir dearest pass ion s, showing by what div ine infl uence theyhave been moved, and under what stars they l ived.

”

Greatmodesty and g ood sense distin g uish th is pamphlet, in whichthe author candidly allows that rhime has been sometimes too

lavishly used and where blank verse mig ht have been substituted with

Chalmers ’s Eng lish Poets, vol. iii. p. 558, 559.

471

no small space in the public eye as an historian , philolog er, and antiquery .

To this enumeration it may be necessary to add some notice of

that industrious race of critics, termed Commentators ; a specieswhich,for the last half century, has been employed as laboriously on old

English, as formerly were the German L iterati on ancient classical,literature. Of this mode of illustration , which has lately thrown so

much lig ht on the manners and learn ing of our poet’

s ag e, two early

and very ing en ious specimen s may be mentioned under the reign of

Elizabeth and J ames . The first is the Commentary of E. K. on the

Shepheards Calender of Spenser, in 1579 ; and the second, the

learned Notes of Selden on the first eig hteen Song s of the Polyolbionof Drayton , 1612 ; both production s of g reat merit, but especiallythe last, wh ich exhibits a larg e portion of acumen and research, unitedto an equal share of di scrimination and judgment.Such are the chief critics on Eng lish literature who fl ourished

during the life—time of Shakspeare. That some of them contributedvery materially towards the improvement of polite literature, and

especially ofpoetry, by stimulating the g en ius and g uiding the tasteof their contemporaries, must be read ily g ranted, and more partienlarly may these benefits be attributed to the labours ofWebbe, Pattenham, Sidney , and Meres. How far the manuscripts of Sp enser and

B olton, at the commencement and termination of our critical era,

assisted to enlighten the public mind, cannot now be ascerta ined ;but as the circulation ofworks in this state is g enerally very confined,

we cannot suppose, even admitting the industry and admiration of

their favoured readers to have been strongly excited, that their effectcould have been eitherwidely or permanently felt.

It would be a subject of still g reater curiosity , could we determine,with any approach towards precision , in what degree Shakspeare wasindebted, for his prog ress in Eng lish literature, to the authors whom

we have just enumerated, under the kindred branches of philologyand criticism.

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474

been s lmtched from nwh a model ; — it is, in fact, a broad oa sica

me d m e well lmown pedant of the day, and we mast agree

h wifl wfi ily be g ranted thag if -M speare were the amidnous

ra der which we have mppooed him to be, and no judg e, indeed, of

his works can doubt it, he must have perused with peculiar interest

and J lera wm familiar to his m ind ; and thou@he must have

M entions of the wélliontxto carq atheh‘ precepts, and e specially the

imperfeot by the openmal of Webbe and Pvttenhami; and that, as he

advanced in his professional career, the improved mechanism of hi s

dramas, and Ms W d tention to the un itim may h ave been in

some deg ree derivedfi'

om the keen invectives d ir Philip.

wettéeh and modulate his native lang uage nowfreely achn ittéd ;butM M t d in simih r-estimation by his con temporaries, and

what M am has said '

of the “poets when

ouranthe mthe foamer observ ing , in the Dedication of-his IGezdkmdnisAcademic, with referen ce to the uBooke of fi t. Alban s, owig inallyp

'

uh

lished in 1486, that “sour tongvbein g not of such puritie film,what

beholding for the g lory and exact cm mdiousnes of our lang uag e

and the latter expressly terming our poet, from hha ' superiority

475

l ily}.

Reverting to the n bject of National . Ij tm tnre, we proceed to

noticethe progress wh ich Humou r,.

Gmseu t , Loon , AND Penm an ,

may be deemed m hwe mada dnf'

mg o the era to which we are

History appears in every country to have been late 1n acquiring itsbest and most leg itimate thrm, and to have been nwafl y preoeded

by annah or chromd eg t a spmng to no nn ity 1n arrangement, and

void of atl politied or philosophical deduction, were confined ' to a

tant branch o f literature on fi le access ion of Elizabeth ; nu1nerons

Hall , but With little to recommend them, except the minnteness of

theh reéster, and the occasional illnetration ef manners and ws :

toms ; and ' more disting uishable for crednlity anfl prolifi ty than fora

a second edition in 1587, merits a higher ti‘tle.

° It is'

n1ore full and

complete than any of its predecessors , and less leaded With trifl ing

matter. We are much indebted to Reginald Wolfe, the'

Qneen’

s

printer, for stimulati xg the h istorian to the undertaking, who Was

assisted, in his laboriou s task, by 8M able tcoadjutors , and particularly by fl ae Rev. Wilfim mwhose Dm ipfioa Ehg land,

prefixed to the first volume , is the most interesting and valuable

documen t, as a picture of the eonnti'

y, and of the costume, and

mode of liv ing of its inhabitants. which the sixteenth century has

profincedt

Thaw of Hol inshed was followed, towards the (fiose of our

period.'by Stowe and Speed, writers more succinct in their narrativ e,

more correct in their style, and more philosophica l in their matter.

Meres’s Palladia Tu nic, in Ca lm” Lim it . vol. ix. 0. 46.

3 P 2

acqu ired £or a time a more extended celebrity 1n this (lepertmen t.Buchanan and Camden are, or should be, familiar to afl lov ers of

h istory and topography . The Rerum Sooticarurn Historia” of the

first of these ' historians, and the Anna lee Rerum Ang licanan nh et

Hibernieamrn"

of the second, are productions in deserved estimation ; the forms : for the class ical purity and taste exhib ited 1n its

Of that hig hly interesting and usefnl branch of I-Iistory which is

are treating affords a most abundantharvest'

The twogreat collectors,

Purchas was commenced in 1613, by the publication of the first

volume folio, with the title of Purchas , his Pilgrimag e, or Relation sof the World, and the Relig ion s observed in all Ag es and Places

discovered, from the Creation un to this present ; in four parts .

"

This'

elaberate undertaking was g reatly augmented in subsequenteditions , ofwhich the fourth and best was published in 1626, in five

vola ntes folio, the last four being entitled Hafikluy lm Posthumous, or

Punches, his Pilgrims ; contain ing a history of the world, in m

voyages, and land-travels, by Eng lishmm and others."Purchas pro

fesses to include, in this immense comp ilation, the substance ofafiove

twelve htmdrcd authors ; it contain s also'

tbe maps of Mercator and

Hondins, and numerous engrav ings.These vast and valuable collections are an honour to the reig ns of

Elizdmth and J ames and, notwithstanding the industry and research

of the modems, have not yet been.

superseded.

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482

prise a nd adventure enjoyed the marked protection tofW h ea t ;

but no class ical production in biog raphy, pmpefl y so cd led, ne ena

during‘speeimen of persenal history seems to have issued frrmp the

press ; at least we reeofl ect no examp1e, worth notice, in a separate

tbrm, and hf the general eomp ilers in th is Province, wem mdnced

tomentien thé names fom rmd Pits. The “’

Awsd nnnmmhof the Church,

”by the first ofthese writers , eotnmon ly called Fost

’

s

Bobk of Martyrs,”is a mixed composition p b

'

nt la'

s eonmnmg prin

to the departntent of biog raphy. The first edition of the Martyr

ology”was published in London in 1563, in 0118 th iek m im e felio,

and the fo’

urth in 1588, four years before the death of the anthem, in

two vohnn es folio. This popular work , which was augmented to

three volumes folio in 1632, has undergone numerous editions, and

It may reg arded,”

remarks Grang er,{ ‘as a t othie building

in which some th ing s ane superfl uous, some in e g i fl ar and others

nra'

nifestly‘ wrong : but

'

which, altog etha , infl ise“

a hin t} 015 re ligion s

reverence ; and we stand amazed at the dabOur, ifl tnbtzw e skill; n f

the architect.'

Ih is book was, hy orcier 01‘ m placed

heads at ceueg es ; and was leng lookednpon wwkwvnm fibn neait

mateJot its,m axed ih ' 1616, was a wfiter, in not

tineleg ant l a tina,

of the livesof the Roman Catholic anthors of Englm Ifis lwerh,’

wh1ch was pnbhshed atta ' hwdeath at‘Pa fl B; in 16 1291 4001 is m ahy

known and quoted by the title of De illustribmM W

To th is s nmmary of historical literature it nfill be neoesmy to add

a fewm ks on the translation s'

wh ieh were madm-dming the m

1 Granger'

s Biog raphical History ofEng land, 2d vol. i. p.m .

481

wea theL proje'

ctot of those nseful works familim' ly termed Guides,

having written a“ Guide forEng lish

1625. Richa rd Caress , the author of the Survey of Cornwall,

first prjnted in 1602, and termed, by Fuller,“ the pleasant and

faithfull descriptien of Cornwall,”was educated at Christ-Church,

years’

standing in the University , he was called out to dispute

now superseded by the more elaborate history of Dr. Borlase, is a

the naval andi

military coinmmders of the day, st a time when enter

0 W . Worthies, pu t 1.

VOL. 1. 3 q

485

Commelmtry upen Bartholome t under the title of “ Batman uppon

Bartholome h l s boob De propt ietatibm rerum,

”in 1582, folio.

Shmpw ei"s ays Mn Douce, speaking of Batman ’

s Bartholome,

was extremely well acqua inted with this an assertion whichhe has sufficiently established in the course of his

Few, indeed, were the popular books of his day , to which our

author hadm t aeoesa and fisom which he has not derived some slig ht

We

i

now approach the last branch of our presen t subject, Miscellanem ld terattw a topic which, were we not restricted by variousother demands, might occupy a volume ; for in no era of our annals

have miscellaneous writers been more abundant than during the reig n

A set ofmen at this time infested the town , in a high degree dissipmed in their manners, licentiou s in their morals, and v indictive intheirresentments, yet possess ing a large share of native and acquired

have seieed upon the press for the purpose of indulg ing an unbounded

love ef ridieule and raillery, sometimes excited by the mere spirit of

reveng e.md ofien goaded to the tu b by the pressure of deserved

poweuy . The fertility of these writers is aston ishing ; the public wasabsolute dehlg ed with 1 theirproductions, which proved incidentallyuseful, however, in their day, by the exposure of folly, and are

upon the most evanescent portion ofiout manners and customs.

Another description of miscellaneous authors, cons isted of those

As Batthah‘s Bartholomc, continues Mr. Dance, “ is likely hereafter to form an

article in a-M spw ean l j hn ry,‘ itmay be worth adding that in a mvt te diary written

at the time the orig inal price of the volume appeu'

s to have been eig ht shilling s.”

Illnstrationa, voL i. p. 9.

I have h teiy seen a copy of Batman, marked, in a Sale Catalog ue, at three g uineas

and a half !

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487

have been tnmcnte observer of the fl eeting fashibhs of his ag'

e, and'

a

participfi os in all its follies and v ices. His Gal ’s Home Booke, or

Fadnofl s to p lease all sorts ofGnls,”first pn nted in 1609, exhibits a

very cartons, minute, and interesting picture of the m um and

habits of the middle class of society, and on th is account will behereafter fre quently referred to in these pag es.

” That experience

hadtutored him in the knaveries of‘

the metropol is, the titles of thefollowing pamphlets will sufficiently ev ince. THE Bu m 01?

Lessons , b ringing to Light the most notorious Villan ies that are now

practised1 in the Kingdomefi’

1608 ; one of the earliest books professeing to disclose the slang of thieves and vag abonds ; and remarksWarton, from a contemporary writer, the most witty, elegan t, and

eloquent dhplay of the vices of London then extan tmlr “ In m nm

AND CANDLE L IGHT : Or, The Bell-Man'

s Second N ight 8 Walke. In

which he brmg s to l1g ht a B1-ood of more strange Villan ies than ever

were till th is Yes te di scovered” 4m 161 2. Villan ies discoveredby Lanthorn and Candle Lig ht, and the Helpe of a new Crier calledO-

per-se-O. Being an Addition m the Bdmm

’

a s econd N ight’sWalke; With canting 1&gn

'

g s n ever before printed.

”i to. 16 16. It

will oecasion no surprise, therefrzn'

e4 if we find thi s -describer of the

M an&M g nag e d -thievin g himself in a ja il ; he was , in tact, eon

W ih s theuKing’s Bench prison fimn 1613 to 1616, h

'

not long ers

Thembst oremarkablh transaction of .his life appears bmhave been his

quawel W ith Ben Jonson, . who, no dorfi t sufficimtly provoked,W him tn hi s Posted” , 1601 , under the character of Unhpmm ;

em phasentwhich Decker mnply repaid in his Satinomastéx, m

the Unfinisheg of the humorous Poet,”1608, where he nlashes Ben

without mercy, under the des ig nation of Horace Juniors Jonsonreplied in an address to the Reader, introduced in the 4to. edition of

his play, in place of the ep ilog ue, and points to Decker, under the

We are much obl ig ed to Dr. Nott, for a most eleg ant reprintofthis interesting tract

the accomwying notes are h i valuable and illustrative.

1 Vide arcon'

s Hist. of inh Poetry, Fragment of vol. iv1 paQS— GA.

488

appellation of the Um . Decker was an old man in 168 1 , for in

his Match ma in l a nd” , published in that year, he says :“ I hav e

been a priest in Apollo ss TemPIe many years, my vows 1s decayingwith my age f

’

he probably died m 1639, the prev ious year beingthe date of his latest production.

Of Robert Greene, the author of near fifty productions the

his tory is so highly mon itory and interesting as to demand more than

a cursory notice. It affords , indeed, one of the most melancholy

proofs of learn ing, taste, and g en ius be ing totally inadeqtiate, withouta duo control over the pass ion s, to produce either happiness or

respectability. Th is misgu ided man was born at Norwich, about the

middle of the s ixteenth century, of parents in g enteel life and much

esteemed. He was sent to St. John ’

s Colleg e, Cambridy , from

whence, at an early period of his education , he was, unfortunately

for his future peace of mind , induced to absent himself, on a tour

through Italy and Spa in . His compan ions were wild and . dissolute,and. according to his own confession 1 3 he ran headlong with theminto every species ofdissipation and v ice.

Oh his return to England, he took his degree of Batchelor ofArtsat St. John’s, in 1578, and afterwards, remoi' ing to Glare-hall, his

Masts

his nu

metmpolis, where he led a life of unrestrain ed debauchery . Graemewas one of those men who are perpetually sinning and perpemallyrepenting ; he had a large share of wit, humour, fahey, g enmrosity,

which is necessary to res ist temptation he was conscious, too, of hi s

g reat abilities, but at the same time deeply conscious of the waste of

Fm a eatnlog ue of thesg as far as tbey have hitherto been discovered, we refer the

reader to Mr. Beloe’s Anecdotes ofLiterature, vol. and to Censura Literaria, vol. VI11

f l a bis pamphlet, mfifl ed fl e RepmMm q oba i Grm he informa na tbat

wag n as lewd”as himself “ drew him to march into Italy and Spains,

” where he“ sawmd pu ctioed mch villanie as is abhominable to declare.

”

489

talent which had been committed to his care. When we find, therefore, that he was intended for the chnrch, and that he was actually

presented to the Vicarage of Tollesbury, in Essex, on the 19th of

June, we may easily conceive how a m of his temperamentand habits would feel and act ; he resig ned it, in fact, the following

his conduct ; for we find, from his own relation , that a &w yeurs

prev ious to this incident, he had felt extreme oomptmction en hear

ing a sermon “ preached by a godly learned man , in St Andr‘ew’

s

It was slmrtly afier this period that be married ; and, if any thingoould have saved Greene from himself, this was the experhent s thr

the lady he had ehosen was beautifii l in her person , amiable and

man, that his heart had been the seat of the milder v irtnes, and that

he possessed a strong relish for domestic life.

Them a lt of the

experiment must laoerate the feeling s of all who

The picture is taken from a pamphlet of our author’

s, entitledNever Too Late,

”

printed in 1590, where his career is admirablyand confessedly shadowed forth under the character of the Palmer

M aca w. It would appear from this striking narrative, if the

minutia , as well as the outline of it, are applicable to Greene, that

he married his wife contrary to the wishes of her father ; theirpecun iary distress was g reat, but prudence and affection enabled

them to realize the following some of domestic felicity Hee and

Isabel joyntly tog ether taking themselv es to a little cottage, began tobe as Ciceronicall as they were amorous ; with their hands thriftcoveting to satisfy their hearts thirst, and to be as diligent in labours ,

See Gilchrist’s Examination of the Charges of Ben J onson’s enmity to Shakspeare,

p. 22.

1 W 3 Anecdows of lj terature, voLii. p. i 80.

VOL. 1. 3 a

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{93

l ie v u g lfl l was woe,

When he hu l lefi his prettie boy,Im his sorrow, first his joy .

Wwpe mg m m m , m fl e umn my km

Fell by oonrse from his eies,

Thns he g rieved in every part,Team ofblond fell from his hes rt,When he left his prettie boy,

Weep not, my W anton , smile upon my knee,

In the mean time‘

he pursued his career of debauchery in Town,wh ilst his forsaken wife retired into L incolnshire. In July 1588, hewas incorporated at Oxfoad, at which time, says Wood, he was a

pleas ing to men and women ofhis time ? they made much sport, andwere valn ed1 among scholam”

+ In short, such had been the extra

vag anoe of Greene, that he was now compelled to write for his da ily

Greene’s Arcu l ia, 1587. Beloe’s Aneodotes, voLn. p. 191.

494

for bread. It should be recorded, however, that his pen was employed

not only for himself but for his wife ; for Wood tells a s, and it is a

mitigating fact which has been strang ely overlooked by every other

writer, that he’

wrote to ma inta in his wife, and that high and loose

course of living which poets g eneral ly follow.

” We have reason ,

indeed, to conclude, that the income which he derived from his literary labours was cons iderable, for his p0pnla1

' ity as a writer of prose

pamphlets, which, as Warton observes , may claim the appellationof satires '

t,”was unrivalled. Ben J on son alludes to them in his

Every Man out ofhis Humouri , and Sir Thomas Overbury, describinga chamber-maid, says she reads Greene: work: over and over but is

80 carried away with the Mirror of Kn ighthood, she is many times

resolv’

d to run out ofherself, and become a lady-errant.

”

It must be contessed that many of the prose tracts of Greene are

licentious and indecent ; but there are many also whose object isuseful and whose moral is pure. They are written with great v ivacity , several are remarkable for the most po ig nant raillery, all exhibita glowing warmth of imag ination, and many are interspersed withbeautiful and hig hly polished specimens of his poetical powers. On

those which are employed in expos ing the machinations of his infamous associates, he seems to place a high value, justly consideringtheir detection as an essential service done to his country and he

fervently thanks his God for enabl ing him so successfully to lay openthe most horrible Coosenag es of the common Conny-Catchers,

Gooseners and Cros se Biters ,”names which in those days des ig nated

theperpetrators of every species ofdeception and.knavery . fl

Wood’s Athein Ot en ienses, Vol. 1. col. 136.

1 History of Eng lish Poetry, Fragmen t of vol . iv. p . 8 1.

1 Act 11. m 3.

5 Vide New and choice Characters of severa l! Authors, tog ether’w‘ith‘that exquisite and

nnmatcht poems , The W ife ; written by Syr Thomas Overbnrie. La nd. 16 15 . p.

1] His trifl ing pamphlets of Love,”

as he bun self terms them, (see Repentance of

Robert Greene, ) we shall not notice ; but there are two, under the tides of Penelope’s

W ebb,”

and C iceron is Amer,” which deserve mentiormas ei shihiting'many excellent

precepts and examples for the youth ofboth sexes .

495

But the most curious and interesting of his numerous pieces, .are

those which relate to his own character, conduct, and repentance.

The titles of these, as they best unfold the laudable v iews with whichthey werewritten , we shall give at leng th.

l . Greene’

s Mourning Garment, given him by Repentance at the

Funerals of Love, which he presents for a Favour to all young Gen

tlemen that wishe to weene themselves from wanton Des ires. Both

pleasant and profitable. By R. Greene, Utriusque Academia in

Artibns Mag ister. Sero sed sen o. Lond. 1590.

2. Greene’

s Never Too L ate. Sent to all youthful Gentlemen ,

decyphering in a true Eng lish Historie those particular van ities , thatwith the ir frosty vapours n ip the Blossomes of every Braine fromatta in ing to his in tended perfection . As pleasant as profitable, be inga right Pumice Stone, apt to race out Idlenesse with delight and Follywith admon ition . By Robert Greene, In Artibns Mag ister. Lond.

1590.

3. Greene’

s Groatsworth qfWit. Bought with a million ofRepentance, describing the Folly of Youth, the Falshood of make-shifiFlatteries, the Miserie of the Neg l ig ent, and Mishaps of deceyv ingCourtezans. Publ ished at his dy in g Request, and newly corrected

and ofmany errors purg ed. Fel icem fuisse infaustum. Lond. 1592.

4 . Greene’

s Farewell to Follie. Sent to Courtiers and Scholars,

as a Pres iden t to warne them from the vaine Del ig hts that draweYouth on to Repentance. Sero sed serio. By Robert Greene.

5 . The Repentance of Robert Greene, Maister ofArtes. Wherein ,by himselfe, is la id open his loose Life, with the Manner of his Death.

Lond. 1592.

6. Greene’

s Vision.

'

Written at the instant of his death, conteyn

ing a pen itent Passion for the,folly of his Pen . Sero sed serio.

In these publications the author has endeavoured to make all the

reparation in his power, by expos ing his own weakness and folly, bydetail ing the melancholy effects of his dissipation , and by painting inthe most impress ive terms the contrition which he so bitterly felt.

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497

mM M sM wFraheesco thePalmer, “by'

one ofhis compu tions

“,mrqose bnt a iew fiienda h nd try fthose fi for the fl atterer speakes

. .If

'

thy wife' be wee, make .hm. thy m ea ty ; else locke

-thy

“ Ii she be'

faise, ha not jealous ; for Suspition cunes net womens

Ifi she bewise .wrong her not ; for sm lowest others she will

«Le t thy children’

smn tnre he their richest portion; for wisdoms,1

Be notipronde atheng st thy powe laaghbmxrs s fora pooremans1 ]

' i 1"

Never Too Late, part n. Sbe Cennm Litm r-in,

‘ j W ood’s Athm Om .

11 1 1

VOL. 3 8

498

WGfithe-debawcherys,povertysand mismy ofiGreea ahriel Harvey,with whom he rhaduw rietl on a bitten personah chntrovemywhas rlefi

as ialhighlyaeolonred warmtwm If the dash scem lofihis hfe bemot

exaggerated by this inveterate opponent, it 1preaents fus with a pictum

in comparison of most unhappy M Greene ? He never euv e

30 mach ha I r

pitied lhim frommy lhart ; especiallgdwhe'

n his hostesse

she loved him deerelyWoa ld me of '

his nlamentablehay ing oil s pennypott ofMalmesie — and how he was fa ine poore sca le, to borrowuher

husbandes sh ine, whiles his owns was a nwashing v add 1how his

dablet, and hose, and sworde were sold for three shillings : andhesidethecharg es ofhis winding sheets , which-was foim shfl ling eé, a nd the

which - wam six‘shiilinges and fonre s

penwwhewtdeeply ihee was

beseeched me to read the writing ba reath ; which was a lettet tn h is

abandoned J wifiéy-‘

in ‘ ihe lbehahie of his g entles host ametxm short as

l , 1

.

ii

j a

'

I"! i , f '0 ’I ' l", [1 1 u p

considered as hypocritical ; ihr the pamphlet whence j he above

Poets by him abnsed. Lmd. 1592. Vide Beloe’s Anecdotee, l tm '

Bid s i M d.

That over'

IoZg hastFplaid the madM neci

11nd ovarloud 11m rung el ssway»bells

VW ew17m m tepfl'

r at las ;No fitter honce for bnsie folke to dwell ;

o A Fod md aM Iifianm y ag-ee l

Angl ica n) brotben never vex thyself;

misdelh neoaa ahthbtd hi

a day, frott rihing talént and geniuswhich his productions display, and from the moral lesson to be

drawn from his conduct and his sufl'

ering s. It may be usd'

ul to

remark here, his pamphm now

M W s Calantitia ofAuthm J oi. »

3 5 2

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501

Orton.

" London, 1597. This was speedily followed‘

by another attach

that'

they are not to be snifi'

ed in a christian common weale,

a phfl ippfio‘

wlrich he dedicated to Sir Francis Walsingham, as he had

doneh is fl chwk ir PhiHPSidney ; b'

othrofvwhom con sidered thehberty wi hich he had

'

taken, rather in the light of an . insnlt than a

1583, by publishing in small 8vc. the first edition of his “ Anatomic

of Abuses : contayn ing a discoverie, or briefe summarie of such

notable v ices and imperfections as now rayne in many.

ChristianCountreyes of the Worlde z. but (espe

ciall ie) in a verie famous

Ilande called Ailg na : &c.

” A second impress ion , which now liesbefiore me was printed in 1595 , 4to. and both it and the octavo are

among'

the'

scarcest of Elizabethan books. remarksMr. Dibdin, “ did what he conld, in his Anatomy q buses, to ' diaturb

'

every secial and harmless amnsa n ent'

of the ag e. . He was the

forerunner of that isnarling'

satirist, Prynnesi bat' I b t

'

tght not thus to

Warton’s Hist. ofEng lish Poetry, vol. iii. note I.

ih

W e stmism.

Lond

. 1596 1”

am wmgbmMm mgx

chm tet d'

Lodg fl tseem to have been a love ofquaintxiess and affect

wen s; thamery titles lof his pamphlets indicate the former ; the

alliteratmn .in one just transcribed i s notorious, and another istermed Catharos. Diogen es in his Sing ularitie. Where in is com

prehended his merrie baighting fit for all men’

s benefits Christenedby him, A Nettle for Nice Noses,

"From a passag e in The

504

Retmmefima amu it is ev ident tlu t he was tbonght to be deep lyta inted with Euphuism, the literary folly of his time. The poet

~ is

peaking or dg e and Watsomboth, he says,

subject to a crittick’sm an.

of Holin shed’

s Chronicle in 1585 , was prodigiously fertile, both as

original writer and a tran slatot. In the latter capacity he gavev ersions of the Bucolics and Georgics of Virgil, both in rhyme of

Tourte'

en feet, 1575 , and in the regular Alexandrine without rhyme,

1589 ; of E lian ’

s Various History in 1576 ; of Select Epistles of

Cicero, 1576, and in the same year, a Panoph'

ze bf°Epid la fimn Tally ,

is called The Cundyt q mnfovthe Vii'tuec d ices, 1582, und a third The Diamond q ewtion,1586.

'

l'

his last is so sing ularly qnaint both in its title-page and div i

sions, so superior, indeed, in these departments, to the titles of his

mntemporary l n dg e and so indicative of the curions taste of thetimes in the methodical arrang ement of literary matter, as to call for

a fni'ther description . Thecomplete title run s thus :“The

‘

DiamondofDevotion : Cut and squared into sixe several] pointes : namelie, 1 .

The Footepath of Felicitie. 2. A Gu ide to Godlines. 8.

'

The

Schoole'

of Sk ill. 4 . A swarme of Bees. 5 A Plant of l ure.

6. AGrove ofGraces. Full ofman ie fruitfii ll lessons availeable nnto

the leading of a godhe and reformed life.

”The Footepath q efia tie

has ta r div isions, concluding with a looking glasse for the Christin

AncientW M «11 1,

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506

and ndfitmy tactics, hunting , M ag fowfiug fw and archery ,

ha u ldry , poetry, romances, ahd the drama z— all-shewed his attentionand exercised his gen ius and indhstry. His opularityfimM in

M no m mw a mw wm m amu m mmone writer, I have thong ht it desirable to endeavour to 13mm one, noticing only the first

editions, when ascertained, and referring , for the full title; to the works cited at the close

1. A Discoures of I-Iou en amhippe, 4m. 1598.

2. Thyrsys andDaphne, 1593.

3. The Gentleman ’

s Academic, or Booke of St. Albums, 4to. 1595.

4. Tbe poem of poems, or Sions muse, contaynmg me divh e m g of kinn omon,devided in to eig ht eclog nea, 8m. 1595.

5 . 1‘

he most hononrable tragedie of8ir Richard Grenvill knig ht, a heroiek poem, in

eig ht-line mmzas, Svc . 1595 .

6. Devorenx. Vermea teu s for the lou '

e ot'

the most christian kmg fl eh ty, thiul of thatname, king of Fraance : and the nntimely denth of tbe most noble and heroicall g entleman,WalterDevorenx, 8m, 4 to. 1597.

7. Ariocto’s Bog cw and Rodomantho, ac. paraphm tically trm hted. 1598.

8.'

I‘

he Tm of the M m tlie Lamenmtion of Saint Johmfitc-tto. 1600.

9. Cavelarice, or the Eng lishHorseman, 4to. 1607.

10. Eng land’s Arcadia, alluding his beg inning from Sir PhiIip Sydney

’s ending , etc.

1607.

14. The Eng lishHusbandln n in two parts, 16 18 .

15. The Art ofHusbandry, first transh ted from the Latin of Coin Heresbachito, byBamaby Goog e, 4to. 1614.

16, ( kmntry Contentments ; or the Hmhandmm’

t Rea eafiong ao. 16 15.

17. The Eng lish Huswife, 400. 16 15.

Cheap and Good I-Iusbnndry, 4m. 16 16.

19. Liebanlt’s Le Maison Rustiqne, or the Country Farm, thl ih. 1616.

m m w m m 16 17.

Horses,22. The Inrichment ot

‘

the Weald ot'

Kent, 4to.

23. Markham’s Farewel to Husbundry, 4m. 1620.

% TheAfl d Fowling , 8m. 1621 .

25. Hemd and Awawr, a Tu g edy, 4to. 1622.

26. 1h e Wbole art of 1-Insbandry cona ined in Fom-Booka s m wm.

27. The Art ofAreherie, Eve . 1634 .

cnluwe were not mperseded until the middle of the eighteenth cen

which was orig inally published in 1616, is now before ns , dated 1695.

C'tmtmtments, the first edition ofwhich appeared in 1615, had reached

the elev enth in 1675. The same good fortune attended him even as

-four times,

forming the larg est nnmber of extracts taken from any minor bard in

the ibook . He appears to have been an enthwiast in all tha rehtes

to fieldaspom, and his works, now h mmh g m n e h p sny

respecta curioas and interesting , and display g reat versatilfiy oftalent.

By far th e greater part of them, as is evident from thein dl tes, was

written befere the year 1620, though many were mh eqnently cor

M ng thns’

g iven a sketch of three g rm dau es of miseellmeons

writers, ~M be neeessm h add some notice of a fewcfircumstances

the lifieb time ofour poet.

311. Get Wealth, se . 1688

31 Farrier, etc. 1649

( 10. Marie Mag da len’sm ufionh m

Numerons edifiom d'

mmy of tha eworka with d temfions in the fidam were pub

lichen! totheya r 1700. See Ceruum Literaria, vol.

.

ii. p. 217— 225. M 3 8 1?)

5 10

his sbop‘

in Pmle'

s’warch-yard, at the signe of the Tiger’ s head .

16 14. 4th.

" "I‘

he characters in th is edition amount to twenty-two ,

but'

were'

angmehted in'

the eleventh, printed in 1622, to eiQ ty .

So W aive wai the 'sale of this collection , that the sixteenth im

pression appeared in 1638.

' Both the poem‘and the characters exhibit no small share of talent

and discrimination . In Overbm'

y’

s W ife, observes Mr. Neve, thesentiments, m inus, and observations with which it abounds, are

such as a considerable experieuce and a correctjudgment on manhindalone could furnish. The topics of jealousy, and of the credit and

behaviour of woman , are treated with g reat tmth, delicacy and per

spicn ity. The nice distinctions ofmoral character, and the pattern of

female excellenCe here drawn , contrasted as they were with the

he inous and fl ag rant enorniities of the Countess of Fm ex, rendered

this poem extremely popular, when its ingen ious author was no

The prose characters, though rather too antithetical intheir style, are drawn with a masterly hand, and are ev idently the

result of personal observation.

Numerous imitations of both were soon brought ibrward ; in 1614appeared “ The Husband.

small 8v0. . and 111 16 16, ASelect Second Husband for SirThemas

Overburie’r Wife ; now a matchlesse Widowz" '

small 8m ; which

were followed by many others. The prose characters mtablished astill

'

more ditrable precedent, for they continued to form'

s favourite

mode of composition ibr better than a cmtnry. Of these me moetimmediate ofi

'

spring were, Satyrical Characters”by John Stephens ,

8v0. 1615, and “ The Good and the Badde, or Description of the

Worthies and Unworthies of this Ag e. Where the Best may see

Three editions were probably published in 16 14 ; for Mr. Capel, in his hm'

om,

Wo n notice! one in 8m , and one in 4 10. stated in the title-pag e to be the fourth. Vide8115

’s edition, of the Microcosmog raphy, p. 258, and Censm

'

a Literaria, vol. v . p. 368.

1 01mm? h arb on AnOient Eng lish Poem, 1789. p. 27, st ocq.

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5 13

early and p1eosing speo1men' ”

0f this species of miscellaneous writing.

It conta ins observations and friendly hints on all the principalciretmistmces and events of life ; certa ine n ecessarie rules both

pleasant and profitable for preventing of sicknesse, and preserving of

concludes with certa ine pretty notes and pleasant conceits, delightfull to mmi y, and hurtfii ll to none. The author cfl oses “ A

friendly advertisement touching marriage, by enumerating time ihfelicities of the man who marries a shrew, where

“ hee shall finde

compocfi i in a little flesh, a g reat number of bones too hard to

dig est — And therefore,"adds he,

“some do thinke wedlocke to be

that same purgatorie, which learned divines have so long contended

abonh or a sharpe penance to bring sinnefii ll men to hm Amen y fellowhearing a preacher say in his sermon , that whosoever

would be saved, must take up and beare his cross, ran.

stmight to

“ Fihally , he that will live qu iet in wedlocke, must be courteous

in speech, chearefi1l in oountinance, prov ident ibr his home, w efnll

to traine up his chfl dren in vertue aod patieat'

in bearitg the in

firmitiea of his wife. Let all the keyes hmg at her g irdle, only the

purse at his ovm. He must s lso be voide of‘

jelosie, which is a

vm ity to thinke, and more folly to suspect. For eyther it needeth

not, or bootet.h nog md to be jelious without a cause is the next

way to have a oause.

Thil is the only way, to make a woman dumTo sit and 5111e and laugh her out, and not a word, but mum.

”

In'

1600, eppeared the first edition of “ The Goldm-

gmve,

rafizedfiia ooks r d worke vmy necessmy for a ll mcmas would

British Bibliog rapher, No. vI. p.

VOL. 1. 3 v

51 5

which in my stripiing

yem'

es pleased me beyond dl owera wem it fl ot l dd ig ht wm

his Apolegy of Poetry ; and if I should proceede h lfl l er'

in fiie om

mefl dmaon'

thereof,whatsoever l wnte'

m uld be eohpsed'

With the

g lor'

y of his golden eloqneme. Wheeefme l suy myselfi in this

place earnewly‘heswching a ll genfl emen, of whst qmlifie csom

they bee m sdvam p oeuie or at leastmadmim ig and not bee

so hastie sht y to aha se M wh ich they may honestly md

lcwfifl ’ly obtayhe'w

ture ofw enm’

s time by notioing one of ethe mrlieat of our

M m the producfim of ao adthor who may he bermet in allusien

to this jeu d’

eaprit, the Babd a is ofEng lmd. Hsd the wbjeet of this

acquirefl forwsm m m ig ht have been pem anent ; b 11t its g rossoess

however poigmmt. It is emitled “ A N ew 1 ) iacma f'

a M e

m m m m aapm . London, 1596 ; and is said to 'have

orig inm fl ‘fi'

om tthe aufimr’

s invention of a water-closet for his houae

“ Rela tes ? The conceity or pun upon the word Ajax, or’

o jakes,

appefl s

'

to hove been a rfamiliax-

joke of the time, and had been pre

Costard sells'

Sir Nathaniel , the C urate , on his fi ilure in the d i ameter

oTAlexmdm,“you will be

'

scraped otit of the painted cloth for tlfis

fofl r lion, fthat‘

holds his polla ax sitting ou a cloae‘ stooh will be g iven

to A-jax : he will be the n in th worthy .

”

i A similar allusion is tobefound ih fl amfia i and Bea J onson .

Brimh Bibliog rapher, No.

1. Nngc Autiqnm, vol i p. xi. edit. 1804 .

1 Reed’s Shakspmre, vol. vii. p. 187. Act v.

2

517

found that he was justly ofi'

ended with Robert Greene, for the

notice which he was pleased to take of him in his Groat’

s Worth ofmas boug ht with a Million of Repentance, and there can be no

doubt that the phil ippics of Gosson and Stubbes, being pointedlydirected against the stage,would excite his curiosity, and occasionallyrouse his indignation . The very popular satires also of Nash and

Deckermust necessarily have attracted hi s notice, nor could a mind

so excursive as his, have neglected to cull from the varied store

wh ich the numerous miscellan ies, characters, and essays of the age

presented to his v iew. It can be no difficult task to conceive the

del ight, and the mental profit, which a gen ius such as Shakspeare’

a,

of which one characteristic is its fertility in aphoristic precept, musthave derived from the study ofLord Bacon

’

s Essays The apotheg

matic treasures of Shakspeare have been lately condensed into a

single volume by the judgment and industry ofMr. Lofl t, and itmaybe safely affirmed, that no uninspired works, either in our own or anyother language, can be produced, however bulky or voluminous,which conta in a richer thine ofpreceptive wisdom than may be found

in these two books of the philosopher and the poet, the Em g a ofBacon, and the Aphorim of Shakspeare.

Part 11. chap. i.

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has appreeiated the value whehhe declares,tlmt he should have pre

essay

prefixed to his oollectjon of fl cotufi Seng s, should speak of some of

thew balhds with a zesh as if he would have sacrifioed half his

ween , of Pall-Ma ll,’

have bem

collection of Ballads — (eu edition , by the bye, which g ives as more

oi'

the genuine spirit of the Com Gon s o'mon than any with which

I . am acqua inted) - equally“

joyous would Mr. Evan s have been , to ‘

hm had the inspection of some of these ‘ honny songs. The late

Duke of Roxburgh, of never-dy ing bibliomaniaoal éelebrity, would

Nichblx’s Prog ra m, voLi. Laneham’

s Letter, p. 84— 36.

1 Dibdin’

s Bibliographica l Romance, 349, 860, and note.

in his “Arte ofEng lish Poesie, published in l 589, speaking ofhisto

fical poetry adapted mthe voiee says,“ we our selves who oompiled

this treatise C

have writtesi fbr pleasure a little brief Romance oe' histo

the round table, Sir Bwya om Mm m , Guy of Wasm cke m d

others like ; and he afterwavds notices the “ hl ind harpers or such

hke taverne minmels that g ive a fit of mirth for a g roag theirmatter

beiBg for thewtnost part stories of old time, as the tale of Sir Tapas ,

the reportes of Bevis of Sowhamptmu Guy of Wam fidce d damBell ,

t imes, made purposely for r'

ecreatim of the éofi on people at Christ

masw dinemmd bfide alea md in tswemes and ale-houses and such

Bishop'

Halb lxkewue,’

in his Sattres'

prmted'

in l s598,

“ In chimnny-cm'

nm smoli ’d with winter fires,To reod and rock asleep our drowsy sires,

”

excla ims,

“ No m his dxmbold better knom thm l

arrin Land first victory

Pottenham’

s Arte ofEng lisb Poenie, reprint of 181 1, p ss. 69.

VOL. 1. 3 x

1523

under the production ef [311068 versions from the romantic poesy'of

SO fascinating were the wild incidents and machinery of these

volumes, and so rapid was their consequent circulation , that neither

the van ed learn ing nor the theolog ical polemics of the succeedingag e, availed to interrupt the ir progress and it was not until towards

the close d the seventeenth century , that the feats of the kn ig ht and

the spells of the enchanter ceased to aston ish and exhilarate the hall sof our fathers.

In the whole course of this extens ive career, from the era of the

conquest to the ag e OfMilton , a poet whose youth, as he himwlf tells118; Was nourished among those lofty fables and romances, whichreeount, in sublime eantos, the dmds of kn ig hthood perhaps no

period ean be mentioned in which a g reater love of romantic fictionGem than that whieh marks the reig n of l‘l lizabeth ; and th e me ,M M the improvement of taste, and the progress Of else

sieal leaming ; for though the national m dulity had been chastened

by the w sil efi'

orts of reasan and scienoe yet wss the dn mgimw ofmmm still the favourite resouroe of the bard and the

novelist, who, skilfully b1ending its potent magicwith the colder.bnt

only the pecnliar and unfettened g enhmof the Elizabem mm ld

bestow,

tion of the prose rfl mm w may obwwe that five distinct classes

of it were prevalent in the ag e of Shakspm which we may designate by the appellations of Ang lo—Nom an, Orimtal , Italian, Spanish,

and Pastoral , Romance.

Under the first of these titles, the Ang Io-Normcm, we include all

those productions which have been formed on the metrical romances

See Toland’smfe ofMiltom, p. ss .

3 1: 2

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525

its : as, Syr Lancelote with the wife of King Arthure, his maister

Tristramwith the wife of King Marke, his uncle : Sy'

r Lame

vith the wife of King Lote, that was his own aunte. This is“fe for wise men to laughe at, or honest men to take pleasureknowe when God

’

s Bible was'

ban ished the court and

ire receaved into the princes chamber, what toyes theof such a booke may worke in the will of a yong g enmg maide, that liveth welthely and idlely, wise men

= onest men do pittie and the latter declaring inmwealth,

”that as the Lord de la Nonne in the

politike and military discourses cen sureth of the

Gaule, which he saith are no less hurtful] to

of Machiavell, to ag e ; so these bookes are

of, whose names follow ; Bev is of Harnpu)

‘

of the Round Table, &c.

“

l‘

no severe, and that the consequencesscholars did not necessarily follow,

to prove ; who, so far from depre

.t us as dang erous tomorality, declares that

proved to me so many enticements to the love and

.m -rvation of v irtue a passage which appears to havecl lt ‘ tl in the mind of a modern writer, a sp irited defence of the

utility of these productions, even at the present day . There is yet

a po int of v iew,

”he remarks, in which Romance may be regarded

to advantage, even in the present ag e. The most interesting qualities in a chivalrous kn ight, are his high-toned enthusiasm, and disin

terested spirit of adventure qualities to wh ich, when properlymodified and directed, society owes its highest improvements. Such are

the feeling s of benevolent gen ius yearn ing to diffuse love and peace

and happiness among the human race. The gorgeous v isions of the

Aachen ’s Works, Bennet’s edit. p. 254 . 1 Vide p. 268 .

1 Toland'

s Life ofMilton, p. 35.

528

So hee rode forth, and within three dsys hee came by s u oss.

passest thy boands this way, thm'

efore turn ag aine and it will ay aile

th e. And hw a nished am y mon ; md m hee ha rd'

Wblow as it had been the deuh of a beast. M M M M E

blown for mee ; for l am the prize aad yet am l not da d.

"

Sir Ector de Mafia the brother of Sir l a uncelot afier hwingwtg ht him in vain thmugh Btitain for seven ym hu at length the

melancholy satisfaction of reoogn isilg the body of the henmwmwjust breathed his last.

And then Sir Ector threw his shield, his sword, and his helme ,from him. And when hee bd ld d St noelm’

s v issg a hee fel l

downe in a sowne . And when hee wwaked, it were hard for any

tong ue to tell the dolefull wmplainu that he made for his brother.

Ah Sh Lmnodo d d ht hou were head of all christian knights,“

thou were nevermatched of none earthly knig bt’

s hands. And thou

wm the curtiest knig ht that ever beare shield. And thon were the

were the meekest man and the g entlest that ever eate in hall among

cons isted, but as it was

this branch of literature,

80011 111. cbsp. l 76.

529

for his “ Faerie It oonstitutes, in fect, an exemPlar and

abridgmwt of the marvels of the Round Table, such as were dis

parsed through a variety of metrical tales , and can only be found

i in this production, and of which the popularity may

'

becon sidered as an indub itable mark of the taste of the ag e in which itwas so much 1; ired 1 cherished.

did not originate g per1od, it may be

imitations of the A11g lo-Norman uI

zing of the J era, might, if J ,

Wt one Will sufi ce, this has been 881 111-

st; fro ;

1 an infl uence over the public mind 11 . f yI

the 311'

f ment reign. In what

m made “3 appearance is not

'f'

r A

..y

.

I

}.

I, I

v’

s“

g i I {135;I

'

If",

1.5

6 17_i

i: of his Faerie Queene, thefim Pm must have been before 1590 ; M d Mr. Todd,

u s to think that the ”

part was pnbhshed me

the first i s”a by the

Vide Warton’s Observations on the Faerie Q0 .

Works. vol. ii. p. lxviii.

f Vide Bib liothecs Reediana, No. 2670, and Todd’s Spa ser, vol. 11. p. 18m . note 1 .

VOL. 1.

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581

notice two collections which were more immediatety built‘

on an

0m m. foundation , and which have enjoyed, both at the epoch of

sequmtly to a very modern date, an almost unrivalled cim fl ation.

A little anterior to the birth of our g reat poet, W. Copla.nd

prmtd . without date, a romance entitled The Seven Wise Masters,

3 dmeet version from the Latin of a book published in Germany,

tales has been traoed by Mn Douce ’ to an Indiau pwtotypeo

g to

“ The Book of the Seven Counsellors, or Parables of 83111111111 11 or

Ssmu mn,”

an Indian philosopher, who 13 supposed to have lived

M k Sandabar, a vers ion which is conjectured to have been madeabout the mi

'

ddle of the fourteenth century, and 1s believed to be the

to the p1ess having been printed at Constantinople in 15 17, and at

Ven ice in 1544 111111 1608. A MS. of this Hebrew Sandabar is in

the British Museum (Harleian MSS., No. but 110 Engl ishvers ion of 1t has been hitherto attempted.

The romance of our Indian fabulist made its next appearance,though with some alterations in the incidents and names, in Greek,under the title of Syntipaa, of which many MSS. exist, the greaternumber profess ing to be translated from the Syriac ; but in the

British Museum is preserved a oopy fi'

om the Pers ic, of so late a

date as 1667.

The first Latin version is -sa id to have proceeded from the pen of

Ellis’

s Specimens ofEarly Eng lish Metrics ! Romances, voLiii. p. 4 . et seq.

3 11 2

Imprentit at Ed inburgh be John Ros, forHenry Chafi eriesf’

The prose translation by Copland, which made its appearancebetween the years 1550 and 1567, under the title of The Seven

Wise Masters,”was one of the most popular books of the s ixteenth

century . It has nndm e a variety of re- impress ions, and when no

longer occupy ing its former place in the hall of the Baron and the

Squire, descending to a less ambitious station , it became the most

delectable volume in the collection of the School-boy . This changein the field of its infl uence seems to have taken place 1n l ittle better

than a century after its introduction into the English 1ang 11ag e ; forin 1674, Francis Kirkman, publ ish ing a version from the Ital iancopy of this romance, which he entitles the History of PrinceErastus, son to the emperor Diocletian , and those famous philoso

phera called The Seven Wise Masters of Rome,” informs na, in his

prefa'

ce,“ that the book of ‘ The Seven Wise Masters

’ is in such

estimation in Ireland, that it was always put into the hands of youngch ildre

'

n immediately after the horn-book.

”

1‘

The Book of the Seven Counsellors,”in short, appears to have

and Europe, and though often interpolated and disg u ised hy the

admixture of fables from other orien tal collections, and especiallyfrom the fables of Pilpay, it has still prwerved, through everytransfus ion, a fesemblance of its Indian type. Its admiss ion in to

for Eastern romance, which had been g enerated during the period of

the Crusades, and adopted by the Anglo-Norman minstrels.If the collection of oriental apologues, to which we have alluded

under the name of Pilpay, had been as early naturalised amongst us,

This short summary has been drawn up from the larg er account detailed by Mr.

Ellis in his Specimens ofEarly Eng lish Metrical Romanca , vol. iii . p. 1 - 22.

5 Ellis’

s Specimens ofEarly Eng lish Metrics ] Romances, vol. iii. p. 17.

534

the efl ’ect in fivour of oriental fible wd nld probably have been

greater ; bnt it was thé fate of this worh thong h mpmm in merit

perhnpg and of eqnal antiquity and similat orig in with the l’arablm

of Sandabar, and alike popnlar in the Ea st, not to have aoquired an

Veeshnoo Senna, the undoubted source of Pilpay'

s stories, we, at

reasting series of fables extant. ’

Th ere is another set of ta les, however, in their oomplection almost

in their period of introduction, with the Seven Wise Masters,”

fi'om the pm s of CopIand.

In 1577 Richard Rob inson, a vohxminous anthor who lived by his

pen, published A record of ancyent historyes intituled 1n LatinGed a Rom wr-em f

’

md in a mta log ne of his producfiong written byh imself, and preserved in the Britida seum, he says of this work

that it was translated (anctore ht snppon it'

ur Iehane Leylmdo

c a Romanov-um, oollections of txles in the h tin lang tmge which,

Of the fin t, ox what may be ca lled the Cmuiuental Ga ta ,

ML Warton has g iven us a very elaborate and pleash g malysis.

No manuscript of this primary collection is known to exist, but it

printed abont l 473 ; the first six editions of it are in folio

Tbe common vereion of Pilpay m publ ished in 1747. 1t l hould be remarked,hom eg that a translation from the Italian of Doni, conta in ing many of the fables of

Pilpay, and professedly rendered hy Dom, fiom the Dinectorinm Hums t a vel

Parabole Antiquorum Sapien tmn, was g iven in Eng lish by SirThomas North, 410 . 1570,and 1601, under the title of the Moral Philosophy ofDoni.

”From this source, there

1 Douce’s Illustrations, vol. 11. p. 424 .

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537

Or, ifaug ht else g reat bards bea gle

In sag e and solemn tunes have sung ,

Ofturneys and of trophies hung ,

Offorests and inchantxnents drear,

Wheremore is meant than meets the ear.”

Of the translations of the Eng lish Gesta, which, owing to the LatinOriginal not being known upon the continent, are solely confined to .

the English language, three only have been noticed ; and of these,

the first is a manuscript in the Harleian collection , No. of the

ag e of Henry the Sixth, contain ing but seventy stories, and whichMr. Douce conjectures to have been produced either by Lydg ate,Gower, or Occleve,, as the English Gesta appears familiar to them,

and this version possesses not only several pieces by Lydg ate, butsome tales fi'

om the Confessio Amautis ofGrower. 1“

The first printed translation is said to have issued fromthe press ofWynkyn deWorde, though without a date, and this edition has beenmentioned and referred to, both by Mr. Warton I and Dr. Farmer.

Neither Herbert, however, nor Mr. Dibdin, has been fortunate

enough to detect its existence, and if it really had, or has , a being,it is probably either the manuscript version of the reign ofHenry the

Sixth, or the translation to which Robinson alludes as the work of

Leland the antiquary .

We must, therefore, look to Robinson ’s Tran slation of 1577, as

the only one which has met with a general and undisputed circu

lation ; and this was so popular, that in 1601 it had been printed six

times by Thomas Easte. II The most enlarg ed edition , however, of

Milton’s Il Penseroso.

” Warton’s History of Eng lish Poetry, vol. iii. Diu er

tation on the Gents Romanorum, p. v. vi.

1 Douce’s Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 422.

1 History ofEng lish Poetry, vol. ii. p. 18. vol. iii. p. lxxxiii.

5 Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 229.

ll According to his own assertion, in the MS. catalog ue of his works in the BritishMuseum, to which he has g iven the title ofEa m

’

a . See Douoe’s i llustrations, vol. ii.

p. 423. 425.

‘NILo l o

588

Robinson’

s

'

version, conta ins but fiony-tbttr stories, and it is, theretbre,much to be regretted, that the Hafl e

‘

ian manuscript is not committedto the press.As this was then the only English tran slation accessible to the

public, of a oollection of tales which in the orig inal Latin , and under

be exclaims , “ doe not the tenth parte

w much hu me as one of these bookes msde in lmlien nd m wed

The frequent commun ication indeed with Italy, which took placeabout the middle of the sixteenth oentm

'

y, had not only indueed an

poetry, was imported in to this island a multiplicity of their prose

fictions and tales, a species of composition that had been cultivated

These tales, by blend ing with the romantic fiction of the Norman s

and Orientals the scenes of domestic life and manners by introduc

Aschatn’s Schole Master, Bennet’s edit. 4 10 . p . 255.

589

ing g rouw wmpla hy'

and a skin iwAhe am ng ement of fible md

g reater probsbility in the natute md oemtruction of incident ; by

striking fictions of the Italian nowellists had found their /Way to the

[ tam or throngh the medium of l a tm'

Fremh , or 8pamsh°

versiomu

Of these curious oollections of'

prose narrative, real or imag inarycomic or trag io, 1t w1ll be thought neoesm y that we should mm a

‘ A M y hose work has just fallen inw my hsnds clmes a long md acwu te

analysis of the l talian Tala with the following just observations : — “ The larg er w

offictiodfi he ramrh ,“ resemble those prodnctiom of a country

whhin M whfl e h leg like the more dd ia te an d u fick s d uM Whhh ma ported fromtheir native soil, hnve g lsddened and delighted every land. They are theing redients fi

'

omwhich Shakspeam and other enchanters of his day, have distilled those

mag ical drops which tend so mnch to sweeten the lot of humanity, by occasionally with

dm t mM fiom the cold md naked m hfies of hfg to visionary wenes mdvism ary bliss.

”— Dunlop’s History ofFiction, voLii.

1 The London Chm fid eu y 1659, this wo¢k, among otheu ,” M Mr.

Steevens,“ is cried for sale by a ballad-man ;

'

lh e Seven W ise Men of Gotham; aM m ; —58ee Reed

’

s Shs hspa re,

3 2 2

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54 1

Speaks of a book tbenncomiq oat

'

nnder the title of A hM ed ma v-is

were to be satirized.

”

Though no complete translation of the Decemeron of Boeeacio was

excnted bd ore l b‘

fiO, the greater part of his novels was g iven to the

entitled The Pallace qfPleasure. This entertain ingwork occup iestwo volumes, M ; of which , the first, dedicated to Lord Warwick,appeared in the year above-mentioned, contain ing sixty novels out of

Boceacio,”and the second followed in 1567, including thirtyo four

Howard. It'

appears to hav e been the intention of the compiler , to

have added a third part ; for at the close of the second volnme, he

to g reater heape of leaves, I doe omit for this presemt time

Slmdry Novels of mery devize, reserving the same to be joyned withthe reet of an other part, wherein shall sueceede the remnant of

H angois de Belq m-wed hath selected, and the choysest don e in the

Ital ian. Some also out of Erizzo, Ser Giouanni F lorentino, Pam

bosco,

MM Strapamle, Sansom

'

no, and the best liked but of the

Queene qf Nauarra, and others ;”

a passage which is important,as showing , in a small compass, the nature and extent of his

What motive prevented the continuance of the work, is unascer

tained ; it certainly could not be want of encourag ement, for a second

edition ofthe first volume, and a third of the second, were publ ishedtog ether in 4to. in 1575, and, as the author informs na in his title,ettsones perused, corrected, and augmented” by him. The con

jecture of Warton, that Painter, in compliance with the prevaihngmode ofpublication , and for the accommodation of un iversal readers,

Illustrations, voLi. p. 168.

form of separate pamphlets,”is not improbable

The Palace of Pleasure is, without doubt, not only one of the

w hw but one of the most valuable selection s of tales which

appeared dnring the reign of Elizabeth ; and that it formed one of

the habit of referring , the industry of his commentators has sufii

ciently establ ished.

’

In the same year with the second volume of Pa in ter’s Palace,

loye, than theis Hystm-ia ;

”an estimate of the valne d

‘

his collection

in which he is bome out by his friend Turberville, who, in one of the

Ofb vyng e ladym bepb u hapg tbeyr deatheg md deadly eares."

and from a survey of its contents with which we have been indulg ed.

with regard to selection ; itmerits, however, the same honourwhich

is now paying to its rival, that of a re-print.

The m urghe wpy of the Palace ofHea-m woduoed the snm ofml.i story ofEng lish Poetry, vol. iii.

543

In 1571 a series of tfl es, somewhat similar to Fenton ’

s,m pub

lished underthe title of .

“ The Forest os' oollection o i storyes no lesse

English by Thoma s M a me. This production, which forms a

quarto in black letter, and underwent a second, and a third edition ,

in 1576 and 1596, includes many stories manifestly of I talian birth(1 structure, though the work is sa id to have been originally written

ln

Ou the authority of Bishop Tanner, as reported by Warton we

have to ascribe to the year 1580, a prose version of the Novena of

Bandello, next to Boocacio the most celebrated, at thstpet iod, among

his sen timents, and more easy and natural in the construction of his

incidents. The translation is said to be by WaW. in itials whichMr.Warton is inclined to appropriate, either to WilliamWarner or

Another collection of tales,'

several of which are from Giraldi

Cinthie and other Italian fabul ists, was g iven to the public by Georg eWhetstone, in 1582, 1mder the appefiafion of Heptanm m a term

which had been rendered fashionable by the popularity of a su ite of

tales published at Paris in 1560, and entitled, Heptameron des Nou

velles de la Royne de Navarre.

” Whetstone possessed no inconsiderable reputation inhis day ; he has been praised as a poet byMeres

and Wehbe, and his Heptamem , thoug h written in prose, with only

the occas ional interspers ion of poetry, had its share of contemporaryfame, and the still g reater celebrity of furn ishing some portion of a

plot to our great dramatic hards fThe first volume of a large collection of Ital ian tales made its

appearance at Paris in 1583, under the title of Cent Histoires

Histm-

y ofEng iish Poetry, voL iii.

f Ritm thh h that etctOne’s Heptamm n was republished in 1598, under the

tide of “Anmlia.

”In the Roxhnrghe Lim-u y, No. 6892, this romance is termed “The

Parag on ofPleasure or the ChrisUnas Pleasures ofQoeem Aurelia," 4to. 1598.

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‘

545

man romam were softened down , and a style of fiction introducedmore varied and more consonant to nature.

polished and refined by the eleg ant imag ination of the Italians, wasstill cultivated with aedour, and, towards the close of Elizabeth

’

s

through the medinm of theW and Portug uese Romances.

moral ity . There is reason to belieire,withMr. Tyrwhitt,that neither

the era of printing"; for the manuscr ipt of Amadit qf Gaul, which

has been satisfactorily proved by Mr. Southey to have been the pro

duction of Vasoo Lobeira, and written in the Portug uese lang uag e,

during the close of the fourteenth century was neverprinted, and 1s

supposed to be no longer in existence ; while the Span ish version of

g enm'

al, passed for the original, did not issue from the press beforethe year 15 10, the date of.1ts publication at Salamanoa.

1s well kno'

wn as one of the very few in Don Quixote’

s libmry which

escaped the merciless’

fiwy of the l j eentiate and the Barber. “ ’

fl l e

first that master Nicholas put intq his hands was Amadis de Gaul in

four pmrts ; and the priest said,‘ There seems to be some mystery in

th is ; fist , as l have hesrd say, th1s was the first book of chivalry

Reed’s Shakspeu

'e, voLvii. p. 22 1 .

f Vide A ikin’s General Biog raphy, vol. vi. article Lobeira.

1 Amadis ofGaul,” remarks Mr. Southey,”is among prose, what Orlando Furioso

h umong metrical Romanceg not tbe oldest of its kind, but tbe ba t.”

Preliminary Esaayto his Translation, 4 vols. 1803.

says Mr. Bm et,“ is perhapt one of the most beautiful

books that ever was written .— Specimens ofEng lish Prose Writers, vol. i. note.

VOL. 1. 4 A

546

p rintd fi l Spain , anfl all the rest hwve had thein foundation and rise

fi'

om it ; and, therefore, I think, as head of so pernicions a sect, “

ought to condemn him to the fire withont mercy.

’- ‘ Not so, air,

’

said theQ

baxber ;‘ for 1 have heard also, that it is the best of all the

books of this kind ; and therefore, as being s ingular in his art, beong ht to be spared.

’

It is true,’

said the priest,‘and for -that

8011 his l ife is granted Nor is the description which S irPh ilip Sidney has g iven of the efl

'

ects of Amadis on its readers less

impos'tant than the encomium of Cervantes on its literary merit ;

“Truly,”says the kn ig ht, I have known men, that evsen w1th reading

Amadis dc Gaul , have found their hearts moved to the exercise of

The introduction of Amad is into the Eng lish language took placein the year 1599, when the first four or five books were trmslated

from the French vers ion and printed byWolfe. I It expm eneed the

same popularity here which had attended its naturalisation in France,Italy, and Spain, and seems to have been in the zen ith of its reputationamong us at the close of the Shakspeare

an era ; for Pynes Mom ,

who publ ished his Itinerary m 1617, in his directions to a traveller

howto acquire langnages, says ,“ I think h o bock better for his difi

course than Amadis qf‘

Gaul ; for the k111ghts errant¢and the ladies of

in all languages Mand ated by the masters of doquenee ; and Bmu

ton in his Anatomy of Melancholy, written about . the same period,

fashionable volumes of his day. Such, indeed, is the merit of thisromance, that the lapse of four hundred years has not greatly dha in ished its attractions , and the admirable version of Mr. Southey,

which, by rejecting or veiling the occasional indelicacy of the orig inal,

J ervis’s Translation ofDon Quixote, vol. i. M G.

1» Sir Philip fi dney’sWorks, fol. edit. cf l 629. p. 55 1 .

1 Th is vcrsiomwhich m reprinwd in 1618, is by Antbony Mnnday .

547

has » removed the weightiest objections of Ascham, .most deservedly

Another Lspecimen of this clu s of romances of nearly equal popa

lmtywmh the preceding, though inferior in po int ofmerit, may be

instanced in the once celebnated Pahnen'

n of Eng land, which, l ike

Aanddis of Gaul, safely pas sed the ordeal of the Curate of Don

Qahoote’

8 v illage : Let Palmerin ofEng land,”says the Licentiate,

mse be made fmmas that which Al exmder found among the spoils

ofDaniwmnd appmpriated to preserve the works of the poetHomer.

Therefore, Master Nicholas, sav ing your better judgment, let thisand Amadis de Gaul be exempted fiom the fire and let all the rest

perish fi thont any fixfithfl enqfi ryfi?

Palmerin of Eng lmd, like its prototype, Amadis de Gaul, is supposed to hav

‘e m' ig inatecl in Portugal. Mn Southey, indeed, .eotfi »

dentiy attributes it to the pen of Francis de Moraes ; an aoclziptiom

wln'

ch is 2m chrect opposifion to the authority of .0erm tes, whoasserts it to have been written by a King of Portug al. It haswthe like fate, too, in this eountry, with reg a17d to its tramlatg rg wAnthony Munday having been the first to mherPdmefim ell as

Alum s ; an Eng lish pnblic » in as , thongh in its original smb

it appM d a centuryoand a hs lf later than the mmance d l n bma,

tonObs rleweod, and printed in 1580.

Balma in m£ Eng land, o ere such as to distract the g most steady

attention , and if it really deserved the encomium which the curate

library, little surprise can be ea etted 'at the mental hallncinations

which the study of such a collection might ultimately produce.

Of the vers ions of beh est Anthony, one of the most indefatigabletranslators of romance in the reign of Elizabeth, not much can be

‘ Ja vii cDon Quixote voLL chap.

4 11 2

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549

direction ; s ince which period fourteen editions have borne testimany to the merits of the work, and to the correctness of the editor

’

s

judgment

To .the publication of this far-thmed romance, which is in'

manyrespects truly beautiful, and in every respect highly moral, we

may attribute an important revolution in the annals of fictitious

writing. It appears to have been suggested to the mind of Sir

Phil ip, by two models of very differen t ages, and to have been bu ilt,in fact, on their admixture ; these are the Ethiopic History ofHelio

dorus, Bishop of Tricca, in Thessaly, and the Arcadia of Sannazaro ,

productions as widely separated as the fourth'

and the s ixteenth cen

tnries. The ir connection , however, will be more read ily expla ined,when we recollect, that a translation of Heliodorus into English had

been published only three years before the commencement of Sid

ney’

8 Arcadia. This was the work of Thomas Underdowne, who

printed a vers ion of the ten entire books in 1577, dedicating them to

Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford ! That the Eng lish Heliodorus

W88.

chiefl y instrum ntal in g iving this pecul iar direction to the

genius of Sidney , was the opin ion ,of Warton but we must l ikewise

reoofl eoh that the Arcadia of Sennazaro, with which Sir Pll ilips i18

an excellent Italian scholar, must have.been well acquaintedi

'

, pre

Sented him with the model for his shepherds, for their costume,

diction. and sentiment, and that, l ike the Englishwork, it is a mingledcompgs ition ofPoetry and prose.

romance, its magicians, enchanted castles , dragons, and giants, butreta in ing its high-toned sp irit of gallantry , heroism, and courtesy, cem

binetl with the utmost purity in morals, and with all the“traditio

naryampliqity and mnocence of rural life, the pastoral romahce ofSidneyexhibited a species of composition more reconcilable to probability

A second edition of Underdowne’

s Heliodorus was printed in 1587, and a third in

1605 .

f A complete edition of Sannm ro’

s Arcadia appeared in 1505 .

55 1

illumine, and even atone fior, the wild fictiens of the sAng lo-Norman

romance. The Astrea of D

'

Urfé, written about menty years afier

charm. 80 great, mdeed, was once the popularity of the Ancadia,

study of this moral romanCe I confess,"

says he, I have heard

some of modern pretended wits cavil at the Arcadia, because the‘

ymade it not themselves : su ch who say that his book is the occas ion

acknowledge it also the cause that many idle hours are otherwisespmt no worse than in reading thereof?

” There is nowork, in shoi't,in the departmen t of prose-fiction which conta ins more apothegmaticwisdom than the Arcadia of Sidney and it is to be reg retted that the

volume which had charmed a Shakspeare, 3 Milton , and a Waller

‘ Among the bulky romances of this prolific lady, who died J une aged 94, itmay be worth while to enumerate a few, merely as instances of her uncommon k cundity,

viz. Artumene, on 10 Grand Cyn n , 10 vols. 8m ; C lelie, 10 vols. 8m ; Almahidc

1’

Ecch vc Raine, 8 vols. Biro ; Ibrahim on l'

Ifl ustre Beam, 4 vols . Svc .

1' Tom ofAll Trades or the ploine Pathway to Prefermeng k c. By'

l‘

homu Powcll.

Lond. 1631. 4 10 . pp. 47, 48.— Vide Warton

’

s History ofEng lish Poetry, vol. iii. p. 425,

and 426.

t Fuller's Worthiec. 1662, part 11. p. 75 .

S Sec hic rses on Sacchcrim , the Lcdy Dorothy Sidney.

552

and which has been praised by Temple by Heylin and by

Cowper, shonld be s nfl'

ered, in any deference to the opinion of lm fl

Orford I, to slnmber on the shelf.

It is with pleu ure hom er, that we find a very modem critic not

on ly passing ajust and animated enlog inmon the Arcadia, butm a tin g

on his own personal knowledg e, that, even in the general classes of

society, it has still its readers and admirers. Nobody, it'has been

said, reads the Arcadia. We have known va y many persons who

baive read it, men, women , and children , and never knew one whoread it without deep interest and admiration at the genius bf thewriter, great in pmportion as tbey were capable of appreciating it.

The verses are very bad, not that he was a bad poet, (en the oon

trary,much of his p

oetry is of high merit,) but be

cause he was then

if he do not delight in the story itself, in the ski ll with which theinciilents arewoven togethermd unravelled, and in the Shakespecrem

hower and character of language, with which they are painted ; lethim be assured the fault is in himself and riot in

After this brief survey of the state of! romantic litm ture, and of

the yet lingering rel ics of chivaln c costume . That gorgeous spectacle, the Tournamen t, in which numerons kn ig hts engag ed together

In his Eu ay on Poetry.

1 In t a cfiption ofArcadia in Grewq where he u lh us thu the Aru dia,“ beddes

its excellent lang nag e mre conui vanceg and delectablc stories, hath in it all the strains of

poesy, comprehendeth the un iveru l m of speaking a nd to themwho can discerh and wfl l

t Park’s edition ofRoyal and Noble Authors, vol. ii. p. 221. An excellent defenceof

the Armdia ag ains'

t the decisiom of In rd Orford, who terms it “ a tedious, lamemable,pedantic, pastoral romance,

” may be found in the Gentleman’s Mag azine for 1767, p. 57.

See also Sir Egerton Brydg es’s edition of Phillip

’

s Theatrum Pomrum, p. 134, et seq,and Zouch

’a Memoirs of Sidney, p. 155 .

5 Aikin’

s Annual Review, vol. iv. p. 547.

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554

wh t m ag e b ng anterimwchivdric n-ag e, for he rqmmentsCoriolanns, on his way to the ctpitol. as tlms honoured

— “Thcmatrom fl nng their g loves,M e md mfi theirm rb and bmdkfl chiefi,

Upm hin n hc pu’l ”

It appears also, from a passage in the second part of King Henry

the Fourth, that an oath derived from a sing nlar observance in the

days of chivalry, was common in the days of Shakspeare ; for Shallow,

John Falstafi'

to remain with him as his visitor,not away to n ightf an

adjuration which Steeven s and Ridley refer to a. corruptionsacred name, and to a serv ice-book of the Romish church, called in

this country , previons to the Reformation, a p ie but Mr. Douce has ,more probability, advanced the origin to which weallude. It

will, no doubt, be recollected,”he observes, that 111

ancient chivalry it was the practiceto make solemn vows or engagements for the performance of some considerable enterprise . Thisceremony was usually performed during some grand feast or enter

tainment, at which a roasted peacock or pheasant, being served up byladies 111 a dish of gpld or silwer, was thus presented to each knig ht,

e particular vow which he had chosen , with greatthis custom had fallen into disuse, the peacock

nevertheless continued to be a favourite dish , and’was introduced}on

the table in a p ie, the head, with gilded beak, being proudly elevated

above the crust, and the splendid tail expand'

ed. Other birds of

smaller va lue were introduced in the same manner, and'

the recol

Reed’s Shakspeare, vov i. p m mm és nowAct v. sc. 1 .

1 Donoe’s Illustrations, vol. i. p. 4721

asid toernaments , while at the same time, a strong desire of im’

tation

divers ions , it soon became an objectwith the oommonality to estabhshsomething which might hear a striking resemblance to the favouriteamns ements of their superiors. Hence the orig in of tilting at the

quinta in, which we have already noticed in the chmter on h ttral

Diversiong and of tilting at the ring aml on the water ; sports, 0f

which even the Qneen herself eondescended not unfi'eqnemly to be a

spectator.

Tilting at the ring was con sidered as the most respectable of the

exercise to the knightly feat of jousting . The ring was suspended at

a fixed heig hg in a sheath , by the contrivmce of Wo d

the ohject of‘

the tilterwas, while riding at fii ll speed, to thmst the

poh t of hh h ncemrough the fing draw'

mg lh by the streng th of his

stroke, from its sheath, and bearing it away on the snmmit of his

lance. h this pu time the homes as well as the men, requ iredconstant training md practice aml, on the day of contest, the palm

was allowed to each candidate, oarried the point of his hmce the

Of these g ames the most vnlg ar, bnt the most productive ofmer

M m that of tfl ting on the m ter, h1 wh ich the combmm&standing in the centre ot

’their respecnve boats, were nnned M a

by e

dexterous mau g ement of h is weapom cmtrived to strike his advcr

sary in such a manner as to overturn him in the water, while he

himself remained firm and stationary. With this curious exhibitionit would appear that the Qxeen was highly g ratified, on her visit to

Sandwich, where certa in wallounds that could well swym, had

prepared two boates, and in the middle of each boate was placed a

horde, upon which horde there stood a man, and so they met toge4 3 2

556

them did overthrom another, at which the Quwne had g ood M’”

To jw sfing and to tilting at the ring, some of the most remarkable

almost scientific precision at the commencement of the seventeenth

century, Shakspeare has several allus ions in the course of his dramaa +The most striking of these '

refers to an accident which not’

unfre

of which.

was, that instead of breaking his lance in a direct l ineagainst his adversary

’

s helmet, it was broken across his breast,‘

a cir

cumstance deemed highly dishonourable, as the result either of

timidity or want ofdexterity : 0 , that

’

s a brave man . says Cel ia,speaking of Orlando, in As You L ike It,

“ hé Writes brave verses ,

spurs his horse but on one side,ubreaks his staff like a :noble goose. 11:It was about thi s , period too, the close of the sixteenth Century ,

that another remnan t of romantic usage became nearly extinct. We

allude to the profess ion of the Minstrel, which, until the year 1597 ,had been cherished or tolerated in this

’

country, from an era as

ancient as the c

onquest

During the reign ofEhzabeth , indeed, the character of theMMcombin ing the offices of the poet, ,

the s ing er, and the musician , and

that of the J estour, or mere reciter of tales and gestea g radualb lost

the noble and the opulent. Ou the accession'

of the Queen , however,

and fon about twenty years afierwards, in stances may be adduced

’ Nmbols’s Prog l

-eu es, vol. 1. p. 56 ., the year l 578

f Sée Comedy ofEn org act iv. sc. 2. Henry IV. Part I. act th sc. 3. Romeo and

J uliet act iih s . Love’s Labour’s Lost, sct v. se. 2. Taming of the Shrew, act i.

sc. 1.

t Reed's Shab pcare, voh viii. pp. Act iiiLsc. 4.

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purpose ; (we here drop the author's absurd orthography ) of a n v

years ql¢ npparelled pmly aa hewould himself. His cap Ofii his

head seemly muscled toaster-Wise ; fair W M thatwith awdainmy dipt in a htde capon s grm was finely smoothed tomakeit shine like amallard

’

swing ; his beard smugly M en ; and yet his

Shmfl fifir the newfiink m mfis fsirw eheds sleeked, and ghsm

capped Sheiheld knives hanging a $0 tilde (one on each side) : out

t is. boaawdraws forth a lanpet of his napkin; edged with a blue

lace, andmsrked with s true lovet fl heafi t’md e n for fl amism fbr

along the wri

stWith blnethreadenjoihts ; awed t toward tho hand of

de cadentbsfsse him hiswrsst. ‘ tied to am hoe. and hanging

W —wwkexwith whicb the harp is ttmed.

559

thia smsm ewseam , ufitommandwmhfpfi i m wouses. Ftorfi

his chain hung a scutcheon, with metal and colour,m m Whis bs'east, of the anémz srms of Im a m mtee w y

courtsies,‘ he

’

clw ed Ms mwwhh s hemM M M spat dfit

Wuhan; wiped his hps with fiiré hoHW t is hdfl fl fot fiIing lfis

napkin, temperdd a suéing or tw‘

e fl fi lfiéwres‘t, M tfie'

r a'

littlé

celebrated min strel of his own time,» represéhts hifii w”as oti old

fellow; low of stature, his head covered with a round cap , his bodywith a tummy coate, his legs and feete truste uppe in leather buckinghis g ray haires and furrowed faee witnesseti his ag e, his treble vial in

his hande ~

i~ front which. itwbfildi dppear that even to the last the

members of this tuneful tribe Were disting uished by some pecul iarityof d

'

ress.0

Ii i the mean time, however; they were becoming . through' the

temptible in the public estimation. Stuhbes, in the first edition ofhisAnatomic of Abuses, team s them= a pan e} ofW hen sockets,and handy paras ites, M o mange the

‘

commas,” he observes,cct iming and singing ofunclean, corrupt, and filthy songs in tavemes,

he ei elaiifis, “'

so lad‘

en with merchandiée, as their heads are-pestsed

With 31'

Kinds of

whereof,”he subjoins, who bee baudier knaves than they ?

‘ who

they ? anti Briefl ie, who nmre incl ined to all kind of insolency and

leudness than they P— I— th ink that al good minstrelx sober and

’

chast musitions, may dance the wild Moria through a -needles eye”

.

1 Kind Harts Dteame, sig . B. 2.

560

He subsequently adds that, notwithstanding their immorality, emry

tonne, citie, and countrey, is full of these minstrelles t0 a

pipe up w

dunnee

is not much W ed by the puritan icalseverity of its author, is ev ident from the language of Puttenham, a

courtier and politewriter, who calls this degraded race cautabawqui,”

s ingers “upon benches and barrels heads — min strels that g ive '

n fit

ofmirth for a g reat— ih tavern s and ale-houses , and such other places

of base resort a picture corroborated by the authority of BishopHall, who a few years afterwards , speaking of the exhilarating effect

ofhis own satirical poetry, says it is

Much better than a Paris-g arden bw e,

Or pmting poppet on a theatet ,

OrM ma ’s M fig to hixtabowet,

Selliag a laughterfi r a wld m h mmt.” f

of the gentry and nobility.

Arte cfEng lish Poesie, reprint, p. 69.

1 Chalmers’s Eng lish Poets, vol. v . p. 278 . 1. Book iv. sat. l .

t Malme’s Supplement to Shakapeare

’

s Plays, vol. i. p. 521 .

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562

entitled 't d'

AM the most populu of ha d am wonld have

been readily admitted fi-om the known conm of his stodieg even if

he had not once alluded to it in the course d'

his works. In the

n nnting of his yonthfid fests to Falstafl'

e,

Dogma in Arthur’

s xhow‘ f’

a line upon whieh Mr. Douce observea,“Whatever part Sir Dag onet took in this ahow wouid doubtless be

borrowed from Mallory’

s romance of the Moat Artun , wh ich hadbeen compiled in the re ig n of Henry VII. What there oecurs reh

ting to Sir B agonet was extracted from the excellent and ancient

story of M m de LW in which Dag onet is repw ented u the

fool of king Arthurf f’

a character oertninJy well adaph d to the

powers of the worthy justice.

It should, however, he remarked, that the Arthur’s diam in this

passag e was not, what it mig ht at first be supposed. un exact repre

scutation of the ancien t chivalric costume of that romantic Prineeand his knights, but principally an exhibition of Arcba vy by a soxo

philite society, of which Richard Robinson, the translata of the

English Gesta, has given us an account nnder ther title of “ fl e

hia kuig htly Amwa-y qf the Rownd Tabk . W h a w m

fi-iendly mfi vour and fufi herance of Eng l ich l dmha y el M M

”

1588. 4to. 1These city-wos

'thies, to the nnmber of fifty-eight, it wonld seem,

had ibr smne time m umed the am s and the names om mwi ofthe Rout able; and Bobinsomwho the y ear befin‘e had pnblihhed

his Ancient Order to M Thomas Smith, Esq , the then Prirm A‘

rthm

of this fellowship, and compliments him by deducing his society

Reed’s Shahspeate, voi i. 9 144 . Act iii . m 2.

1' Douce’s Illustrations, vol. i. p. 465 .

3 British Bibliog rapher, No. 11. p. 126.

And the most famom and vietmi oas king E a bwilded t t Win

M (m IB44 ) an houoe mfl ed the Round Table ofan exm ding

wmpasse, to the exereise of like or farre gveater Chevd ry therhum

So das most fimoui pruM pehtike and g rave pfih ee K Hemythe 7 was the fit henia -in ohusing eut a n umber ef chm Ard lers

But the hig and mighty m owned prince his son, K. R. S . (aim.

m fike a most ro ial W ed Dwid, enacting a good and g odlym m ss. H a mmfor tthe m and em e of shoofing in

every degree. And fm-thermore for the maintenance of the m e

M ble em in dnis honom bie city of l ondw by his gmtiou s

W oonfumed ul to them ahipfifl eitizm d them thism

Society z fike n in his lifiz time when he sm a g oed Awher indeede, he chose him and ordained such a one for a knig llt d f fi e

m e owden ’“

A. th’n “M and fl u ke fellow of Prince Aatlmr’sKnightes,

”as Mulcaster terms it in his Pos itions 1 3 bore little resem

In MUCH A1 10 ABOUT NOTHING, our author fiery distinctly refers

m another of Capta in Cox’

s romaa uon om deaux, a pro

tmnslated into Eng lish by Lord Berners, in the reig n of Henry the

Eighth “ under the title of Sir Hug h q ourdeaux. Benedict being

fo llowing terms Will your grace eommand’

me any service to the

that you can dev ise to send me on ; I will fetch you h tw m

Ihmmsmust '

gOe to the citie of Babylon to the Admiral Gaudisse‘,to bring me thy hmd fii ll of .the

’

heare of Ms bm fmdfi me d h s

g reatest.

teeth. Alas , my lord, (quoth the W ) we .see well

1 Hnon of Bonrdeaux, chap. xvii.

5 Chap. xlvi. edit. of 160 1 . Lord Berne1-s’s tramla tion underwent three editions. Theorig inal has had the hononr ofg iving birth to the Chefd

’v re ofWieland— “ the chfl d

ofhis g emns,”observe the Momhly Reviesm '

s,“ in moments of its pnrest conm with

the d kbemmom form of ided exoenenw;- tbe du hng ofhis fmcy, bom in me swm t

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566

a distich which the mppooed madmm in Lear has thns, shao st

verbally, adopted

Butmioq md n h and mch sma ll deer,

Dr. Percy has obaerved that M pw e had doubtless ofien heard

th is metrical romance sung to the harp‘

l'

; the popularity of these

legenda indeed, was sneh that, wwmds the md of EliM ’

s reig n ,

most of themwere oonverted into prose, a deg rmh tion which bé'

al

Sir Bevi s, SirGuy of Warwick, and many others'

of equd celebeity .

To this last romance M peave has an allusion in his King J elm,

where the bastard speaks of

Cob rand the g iant, that same mig hty man,”t

the defeat of thisDanish Golish, in sing iemmbut, by Sir Guy, beingone of the leufing i

‘

ezttm‘es of the story.

It is highly probable, that the achievement ascribed to KingRichard, in this play, of tearing

“

out m intruded !

ately derived from s copy of the old metrical minanee in the peet’

s

library. It is true that the ehronicles of Fabianand Raw! have detailed this fiction , and there is no doubt, fi

‘om the m mfi ofi y ;

but the metrical legend s? Richard Coem' de Lion being one fi‘

the

most popular of the An glo-Norman romances, and having been thrice

printed, twice by W. De Worde, and once byWill. Copland, thereis much rm to conclude that an acknowledged lover, and 001

567

astonished king of Ahnain, a feat which instantly drew fromHis

Majesty thepecul iar appellation which designates the tale

Yevis, as I understand can,This is a dev il, and no man,

That has my strong lion y- slawe,

The heart out ofhis body drawe,And has it eaten with goodwill !He may be ealleth by right okill,

Kiog y-chris tened ofmoct renown,

Suo ng RJcAard Cbm

'

l‘

he play om ry the Fifih fnmiahes a refevence to the fifth

article in Laneham’

s catalogue of the Conean wi iection . Fluellencompelling Pistol to eat his leek, tells him,

— “You oa lledme yester

day, mountain-aqnire ; but I will make you to-day a aqmre qf low

deems” ’

r

This romance, whioh was lioeneed to John Kynge on the temh of

June 1560L and printed by William Copland before l 570§, was omeof then nost popular of the s ixteenth century , and possesses some

mik ing traite of manners, and several very curious poetical sketehes.It is twice alluded to by Spemer fl in his Faerie Queene, md hubeen tappen d, thongh

‘

probably without sufficient ibundation , to

have ed mmmma ipt anterior to the ag e of (maneerJ iThere are some scenes in Shakepeare wineh appear to have been

wigh ally derived from a 'ia ttal fabie. Thus, in M fik N igM, the

la ding ideas of Malvolio's soliioquy (aet ii. bear a ntrong re

‘ t e isis Specimem of Earl hsh MmM Rm mm w u 201-1 304Weher’a Mau i Romances, vol. i.

Y Ella P'

Nf Reedfi Shakm ‘ vola ih p iSm. Act v. sc. l .

in his rhyme of Sir Thapas ; but Ritson remarkg that this rommee“ is nevermentioned

by my one writer before the tixtemth cenwry ; nor is it known to be extant in manu

568

semblance; as Mr. Tyrrwhitt observes, to these of Alnaschar, in

from Mr. Steevens the following curious and pertinent note“ Many Arabian fictions had found their way in to obscure Latin

and French books, and from thence into Eng lish ones, long before

peared. I meet with a story similar to that of Alnaschar, in The

Dialog s qf Creatures Moralysed, bl. 1. no date, but probably printedabroad : It is but foly to hope to moche of vanyteys. Whereof itis told in fablis that a lady uppon a tyme delyuered to her mayden a

g alon of mylke to sell at a cite. And by the waye as she sate and

restid her by a dyche side, she beg an to thinke y' with ye rnoney of

the mylke she wolde bye an henna, the wh ich shulde bring forthchekyn s, and when they were g rownyn to hennys she wolde sell

them and by pig g is , and eschaunge them into shepe, and the shepe

into oxen ; and so'

whan she was come to richnesss she sholde be

married right worshipfully unto some worthy man, and thus she

rejo'

ycid. And when she was thus marvelously oomfortid, and

joye she shuld be ledde towarde the churche with her hu sbond on

horsebacke, she sayde to her self, Goo wee, goo wee, sodaynelye

she smote the g rounde with her fate, myndyn g e to spurre the horse ;

but her fate slypped and she fell in the dyche, and there laye all her

mylke ; and so she was farre from her purpose, and never had that

she h0pid to have. Dial. 100, LL. ij b.

”

We may also refer the l nduction to the Tmning qf tke Shrew to the

which seems to have crept from its oriental fountain through everydern European language. Its earliest appearance in Eng lish that cannow be traced, is derived from the information oe .Warton, whp in

forms us that his friend Mr. Cohina the celebrated lyric poeh had in his

Reed’s Shah peare, vol. v. p. 326. note.

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570

alhmion to one of

mwards me dose ofmizabeth’s reign. Falstafl i in answer to the

Pfince who hadwld him that he saw no reason why he should“ be

so snpm'fiuous to demand the time of the day,

”replies,

“ Indeed,

you come near me now, Hal : for we, that take p11rses, go by the

moon and

o

seven stars ; and not by Phoebus,— he, t11at wauda ing

the best and most complete edition ,“ Espeio c rincipez, y Caval

leraa. En el qual se cuentwn los immofl a les leeches de CAVALLERO m

F330 , &c. &c. , four parts, folio, and is the subject of the M a

eu log ium in Don Quixote. He (the Don ) had frequent disputeswith the priest of his v illag e, who was a learned person , and had

taken his degrees in Cig uenza, which of the two was the better

knight, Palmerin of Eng land. or Amadis de Gaul. But master

N icholas, barber- surgeon of the same town, afiirmed; that none ever

came up to the Knig ht qf the Sun.

”

TThis production, the first part of which was translated into

Eng lish, under the title of W Mwow q aW M m ell

known in Shakspeare’

s time ; the seeond part of the first book havinghem printed in the black letter, by Thomas Esta, in 1585 . 1: The

whole occupies three volumes in 4to. , and in it the Knight of the

Sun is represented not only as“ most excellently fairs,

”but as a

prodig ions wanderer ; so that Falstaff, who, by an easy association,digresses from Phoebus to this solar kn ight-errant, has very compel»dsonsly

combined his characteristics.It is probable that the celebrated passage in Hamlet

’

s sol iloquy,where the prince speaks of

Reed’s Shakspcare, VOL» . Act i. ac. 2.

f J ae s Don Qnmote, par“. chap. l Sharpe’

s edit. p. 8.

t V’

1de B1bhotheca Reefiana, No. 2661

57 1'

‘ f The undiscovered country, fromwhoce bonmNo traveller returns,

”

may have been founded on a similar idea in the Spanish romance

entitled M in d'

Oh'

ea. The tran slation of Palmerin was first

printed in 1588, and in Part II. chap. the reader must be struckwith the following .words, before he took his journey wherein no

creature returneth aga ie.

”Now, as Hamlet, accord ing to the chto

nolog ical arrangement of Mr.Malone,‘ was not written until 1596,

fashionable romances of its day, the conjecture is entitled to atten

acqnaintanoe with romantic lore appears to be equally accurate and

this part ofHamlet’s soliloquy, refers it to a passage in the History qfValmtine and Orton, and adds, It is probable that there was an

edition of Valentine and Orson in Shakspeare'

s time, though none

such is supposed now to remain.

”1

Such an edition , it appears, is in the possession of the corres

pondent of Sir Eg erton Brydg es, who has g iven ns a description of

572

4to. b. l. sig . I. i. 5. wood The antiquity of this copy, thoughwithout date, is ascertained by the circumstance, that Will. Coplan d ,the printer, died between the years 1568 and 1569 ; and there is ev en

reason to suppose, that this is but a re- impress ion, for, after the

table of contents, a short note states , Here endeth the table newly

The reference of hi t. Douce is to pag e 63 of the edition of 1694 ,

in which occurs a sentence wh ich undoubtedly bears a striking resem

blance tothe lines of Shakspeare

“ I shall send some of you here

cen tury, is our firm belief. It would be difficult,”says the pos

sesaot of Copland’

s edition, to find a reader of the present day, who

had not in the hour of childhood .voted a portion pfh is scanty stipend

fascinating pages ;”

and equally difi cult would it have been , in

Shakspeare’

s days, to have found a person of libeml education, whohad not devoted a portion of his leisnre to the pm s

al of this sirnple

.I

teenth century, it would seem that the idea, and even the temrs in

which it has been exPresse¢may be considered as a kind of common

Of the Arcadia of Sir Ph il ip Sidney, the best pastoral romanjce,and one of the most popular books of its ag e, we cannot be surpassedthat Shakspeare should have been an ardent admirer, and that oocap

British Ibid. p. 470.

1 Douce’s Illustrations, vol. 1i. p. 240.

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574

If, fromth is catalogue of allusions, our author’

s intimacy with theromances of himag e; may be cons idered as proved, his famil iaritywith the ballads and song s of the same period will not be deemed less

extens ive, or-less admitting ofdemonstration. Throughout his dramas ,indeed, a peculiar partiality for these popular little pieces is veryman ifest ; he del ights to quote them, wherever he can find a placefor theirzintroduction, and his own d ons in this line of poetny are

How strone he felt this predilection for the strains of our elder

them, must be in the recollection of all who have ever read, or seen

in

the Duke exclaimss

Give me some musick z— but that pieoe ofwng ,

Methought it did relieve my pnn ion mnch

And the free maidg that weave their thread withbones,Do use to channt it ; it is smy sootb,And dalliu with thc innooenoe of love,

Before we notice, however, the ballads which Shakspeare has

quoted, or to which he has alluded, it will be satisfactory, if to the

articles specified inm Captain Cox’

8 Bunch of Ballets and Songs,"

has g iven us a description of the fragment of a tract in his possession,entitled THE WoaLD

’

s FOLLY, printed, as he concludes, from the

Reed’s Shakspeu'

e, voLv. Act ii. se-4.

575

readers with some vesy curious quotations. The anthos' , he

remarks, “appears to describe the p urg atory of Folly . He m da '

s

from room to mom md to each new character assig ns a bd lai that

may be presumed was disting u ished for popularity . A man , whosecredit had decayed by trusting servants, and had commenced botcher,‘ had standing by him, for meate and dfinke a pot of strong ale,

which was ofien at his m se that it kept his faoe in so good a colour,

and his braine in so kinde a heate as fos‘gettin g part of his finepas sefl

pfide mthe g ood hnmouv of g li eving pafience made himwith a

hemming sig h, ilfavomdly sing e the ballad of Whilmn l was : to thetune of Tom Icer.

’

hmring

too hig h k eeping of hawkes, and too much delighting in banquetihg es,through lacke of husbandrie, was forced to leave himself withoutlande ; afiermany a deepe s ig he, with a hollow voice, in a

solemne tune, with a heav ie hearte fell to s ing the song of 01cm leave:

beg an wither . to the tune ofHeavilie, ksch ih'

a.

’ A dapper fellowthat inhis youth had spen t more than he g ot on his person , fell to sing e theballad of the blindc beg g ar : to the tune of Heig lz ko.

’

The g enemllover, hav ing no furthere redit with beauty, howled out the dittie of

When l was faire wnd youmg : to the time ow tune. The next is

whims ically described w one that was once a v irg in , had beene a

little while a mayde, knew the name of a wife, fell to be a widclow,

’

and finafl y a procuress ;‘she would sh1g the Lamentatioa a simer

to the tune of Welladaye.

’ A decayed prostitute, who had becomelaundress to the house,

‘ stood sing ing the ballet of All a g reene

willows : to the famous tune of Ding Dong .

’ A man with g ood

personage, with a froward wife, bummed out the ballad of the

breaches to the tune of Never, never.

’ His termag ant spouse drewe

from her pocket a ballad of the tinker’

a wife that beats her buabunde.

To the last character m the fragment is also given Raleigh

’

s ballad .

He was ‘one that had beene in lov e, sat looking on his mistresse

picture, making such a leg e to it, writing such verses in honour to

it, and committing -such idolatrie with it, that poore man, I pittied

582

little fmgments of sacient bmm the entire wpies of which souls!

h ot be reooveted. Many of th ase being of the most beautiful and

pathetic simplicity, the editorwas tempted to select some of them,

and with a fewmpplementa l stanzas to oonnect thm tog ether, and

form them That much taste and poetic spirit,

exhibited in this little piece, the public approbation has unequivomlly

To the character of An tolym a in the Winter’

s Tale a very hnmo

rous exemplar of the fallen state of the min strel tribe, we a1:e in

debted dbr some illustration of the prevd eney ofballad-writing at the

commencement of the reign of J ames the First. Most‘

o£ the songsattributed to this adroit rog ue, are, there is reason to think, the com

pos ition of Shakspeare, with the exception of the catch beginn ingJ og ou, jog ou, thefoot-p ath way but, in his capacity ofba llad-ven

dfl ‘

y he thmws cons iderable l ight on the subjects to which these

motley strains were devoted. He is represented as having ballads of

all descriptions, and the prettiest love—song s for maids”

and

where some stretch-mouth’

d rascal would, as it.

were, mean mischief,and break a foul g ap into the matter, he makes the maid to answer,

Whoop do me m fiama g ood man ; puts him o fl'

, slights'

hin g with

AM ng ly at the Fair he is

applied to for these pneciows wares

0 heart, 0 heart, 0 heavy heart,sig h

’

st thou without breaking .

”

Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol . xv.

Hamlet, bantering Polonius, quotes part of the first stanza of a ballad entitled,M ata ,J udg e (f l ared . This has been published by Dr. Percy, retrieved, as he relates from

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578

two of the moct populu little madrig fl s at d le d ose of the aifl eeud :

century, entitled fl e Pau ion c to Mc Lom fi tl Ti e

attributed these piece s to the same authors, describing them as that

smooth song . which was made by Kit Marlow, now at la st fifty

choicely good ; I think much better then the strong lines that are

now in fashion in this critical Had Marlowwritten nothingbut this beautiful song, he would yet have descended to posterity as

an excellent post ; the imitations of 1t have been numerous.

catch of Thou Knave, ofwhich the words and musical notes are g ivenby Sir J . Hawkin s i ; Sir Toby compares Olivia to Peg

-a Ramsay ,

t em plat t Ang-lcr,

3 M M M VOLV. M & m s.

579

Farewell, dear heart, since l mmt needs be g one.

‘ Qf ' these the first

was a burden common to many ancient song s, and is called in The

Old M eet Tale, by George Peale, 1595, an Old Proverb, and is thus

Three metric men, and three merrie men ,And three metric meh be wee ;

I in the wood, and thon on the ground,And J sck sleepes in tbe tree z

”f

an association which acquired such notoriety as to become the fro

quent sign of an ale-house, under the appellation of The Three

Merry Boys. The second 18 the first line and the burden of a balladwhich was licensed by T. Co lwell, in 1562, under the title of The

collection , and the first stanza of it has been quoted by Dr. Percy in

his Relig uesx the burden lady , lady, is aga in alluded to by Mercutioin Romeo and J uliet, act ii. se. 4. The third has not been traced to

its source, but the fou rth, and the subsequent l ines, are taken, witha little variation , from Corydon

’

s Farewell To Phillis, publ ished in a

little black lettermiscellany, called TheGolden Garland ofPrincelyDelights,

”and reprinted antwe by Dr. Pemy.

In act iv . the clown is introduced sing ing part of the firsttwo stanzas of a song which has been discovered among the ancien tMSS. ofDr. Harrington of Bath, and there ascribed, though perhapsnot correctly , to Sir Thomas Wyat. It is ev ident that Shakspearetrusted to his memory in the quotation of these popular pieces, formost

‘

of them dev iate, in some deg ree, from the orig inals ; in the

present instance, the first two lines, as g iven by the clown,

Hey Robin. jolly Robin,Tell me how thy lady does,

”

Reed’

s Shakspeane, vol. 11. pp. 294— 297. 299.

f Ibid. v. p. 296. note by Steevens.

3Vol. i. p. 220. 5 Reliqnes, vol . i. p. 220.

4 E 2

582

not be reoovered. Msny of these being of the most besutififl and

pathetic simpl icity, the editorwas tempted to select some of them,

and with a few snpplemmtal stanzas to oonnect them together, and

form them That much mste a

nd poetic spirit,

rous exexnplar of the fal len state of the minstrel tribe, we are in

debted ibr some illustratien of the prewd ency ofballad-writing at the

commencement of the reig n of James the First. Most'

ofthe songsattributed to this adroit rog ue, are, there is reason to think, the oom

position of Shakspeare, with the exception of the catch beg inn ingJ og omjog on, thefoot-path way but, in his capacity of ballad-ven

éety he thpows oons iderable l ight on the snbjects to which these

motley stra ins were devoted. He is represented as hav ing bal lads ofall descriptions, and the prettiest love-song s for maids” and

where some stretch-mouth’

d rascal would, as it were, mean mischief,and break a foul g ap into the matter, he makes the maid to a

nswer,

mmb g ng all the fragments d ancimt minsttelsy thathave escaped our ennmemtion inthe text.

In Troilus and Cressida, Pentium, lamenting the approaching departure of Gra nds ,expresses his sorrowby quoting an old song beg inning

0 heart, 0 heart, 0 heavy heart,Why sigh

’

st thou without breaking .

”

Reed’

s Shab peare, vol. xv.

Hamlet, bantm'ing Polonius, quotes part of the first stanm of a ballad entitled,Wbeen published by Dr. Percy, retrmevfi , as he relates, how

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582

not be reooveted. Many of these being of the most besutiful and

pathetic simpl icity, the editorwas tempted to select some of them,

and with a few supplemental stanzas woonnect them tog ether, and

form them That much taste cnd poetic spirit,wg ethet with a eery suoeessfifl effort in combination, have been

To the character of Antolyens, in the Winter’

s Tale a very hnmo

rous exemplar of the fallen state of the minstrel tribe, we are in

debted for some illustration of the prevalency ofballad-writing at the

commencement of the reig n of J ames the First. Most'

of the song s

attributed to this adroit rog ue, are, there is reason to think, the oom

position of Shakspeare, with the exception of the catch beg inn ingJ og omjog ou, thefoot-path way but, in his capacity of ba llad-ven

der, he thnows oons iderable lig ht on the snbjeets to which these

motley stra ins were devoted. He is represen ted as hav ing ballads of

all descriptions , and the prettiest love-song s for maids” and

where some stretch-mouth’

d rascal would, as it were, mean mischief,and break a foul g ap into the matter, he makes the maid to answer,

m . fi m no hm'

gwd m Aacconding ly at the Fair he is

applied to for these pmciou'

s wares

Why sig h’

st thou without breaking .

”

Reed’

s Shokspeare, vol. xv.

Hamlet, hm Polonins, quotes part of the first stanza ofa ballad entitled, J q fifi a ,

J udg e qf l srasl. This has been published by Dr. Percy, retrieved, as he relates, from

583

670. What hast here ? ballsds ?0 0

Pray now, buy some : I love a ballad in print, a’-li£e : for then we are snse they

utter oblivion by a lady, who wrote it down frommemory as she‘

had formerly heard it

sung by her father. Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. and Percy

’s Reliques, val. i.

p. 189.

It is probable that Hamleg who appears to have been well versed in ballad-lore, has

ag ain introduced two morsels from this source, in his dialog ue with Horatio on the con

duct of the king at the play : they strong ly mark his triumph in the sum of his plan for

unmasking the crimes ofhis uncle

Why let the strucken deer g o weep, Ste.

Reed’s Sbokspeare, voly xviih pp. 2 l 2. 214.

Iag o in the drunken scene with Cassie, in the viewof adding to his exhfl arafiom'

sing s

a portion of two song s ; the first apparently a chorus,

the second,

‘

King Stephen was a worthy peerf

from a bhmorous'

ballad of Sooteh orig in, preserved by Percy in his Reliqnes, voLi.

p. 204.— Vide Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. xix. pp. 334 . 336.

In Romeo and Juliet, Mercutio, in the following passag e, alludes to two ballads oc n

When king Cophetua loy’d the beg wma id g

”

the first line referrin to the-eeiebrs ted ballad ofAdan ' Bell, Clq'

tlwGloug lu,lion y

’

CIoudedy. the second to King Cophctua and the Beg g ar—Ma id ; popular pieca

which are ag ain the objecmof allusion in Muck Ado a6out Nothing , act i. ; and in the

Second Part ofHenry IV. sct v. se. 3.— Reed

’

s Shakapeore, vol. 1111 . p. 77 and 1Pe1-cy’

s

Reliques, vol. i. pp. 154 . 198.

The same play will afford as three or four additional references : Mercutio, ridiculingtlie old Nurse, g ives as a ludicrous fragmen t commencing

“As old hare boar,”vol. n .

and Peter, after calling for two song s called Hca fl’s ease, andmm”“M eg

woe, wtemipn to puzzle the mu sicians‘

by asking for an explanation ofl the epithet silver in

the first stanza of d Song to the Lule in Musiclce, written by Richard Edwards, in'

the

Paradise 0! Daintie M acs,”and commencing ,

Vide Reed’s Shah peare, vol. xx. p. 220. 222.

and Percy’s Reliqneu, p. 196.

584

twenty money—bag s st a bnrden ; and how she long ed to eat cdda's hecdg and tonds w

Mop . h it true think yon ?

Ant. Va y u'

ne g and but a month old.Dar. Biess me fi‘

ommarrying a usnrer l

Aw. Here’s the midwife’s name m’

g one mistrm n lepomru nd five or six bonmwives tlmt were present : Why shonld l carry lies abrood ?

Mop.

’

Pray you now, buy it.

Clo. Comc om, lay it by : And let’s first see morc ballads ; we

’ll buy the other thing s

Ant. Here’s another ballad, Of a fish, that appeared upon the coast, on Wednesdaythe fourscore of April, forty thousand ihthom above water, and sung this ballad ag ainst

the hard hw ts of maids : it was thought she m a woman, and was tumed into a cold

fish, for she wonld not exchang e fl esh with one that loved her : The ballad is very pitifnl,and ss true.

Dar . Is it true, think you ?

Aid . Five jnstices’

hands at it ; and witnesses, more than my pock will hold.

C70. Lay it by too : Another.

Aid . This is a merry bcllad ; bnt a very prettyMap . Let

’s have some merry ones.

Ant. Why, this is a paasing merry one ; and goes to tbe tune ot; N a atds maoirg a

man :

The request, in fact, for these popular pieces of poetry was then

infinitely greater than has since obtained in more modern times not

a murder, or an execution , not a battle or a tempest, not a wonderfu l

event or a laughable adventure, could occur, but what was immediately thrown into the form of a ballad, and the muse supplied whathumble prose now deta ils to na among the miscellaneous articles of anews—paper ; a sta tement which is fully confirmed by the observationof another character in this very play, who tells na that such a deal

ofwonder is broken out within this hour, that ballad-makers cannotable to eXpress it.

”

1In the Second Part of King Henry the Fourth Falstafl

'

enters a room,

in the Boar’

s Head Tavern , sing ing the first two lines of a balladwhich Dr. Percy has reprinted under the title of Sir LaacclotDa

Reed’

s Shnkspearc, voLix. pp. 353— 355 . Act iv. sc. 3

1 Ibid. p. 4os . Act v. sc. 2.

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587

sultory recollections of derange 11 Ir

of a broken heart, and the unconnected sallies of a di sorderedmind.

Shakspeare’

s fools may be con sidered, in fact, as exact copies of theliv ing msnnérs M d costume of these singular wh

o, in his

era, formed a necessary part of the household es z v fs

g reat. To the due of their functions , a lively fancy, and a

copious fund ofwit m, togetherwith an unl imited l icenceo

f

uttering what im a ion prompted. werebut it was likewise that bittern

ess of allu

sion,

The s imple yet

whether the horrors of the scene are more heig htened by the seeming

seem rather the foot or burden of each song , than the commence

ment, and are at the same time of little poetical value, we shall

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By Gis, and by Snint a1

were, there is little doubt, sug gested to the fitir snfl'

erer’

s mind, by an

obscure and distant association with the nssue otherunfortunate amour,diss ipated by reverting to the

evmt.

Go to thy denth-bed,He m m

‘

ncm e ngnimu'

t

passag es ofwhich Dr. Percy has admirably availed himself in his Fria r

of Orders Gray , and towhich theMyustrelle’

s song in (Ella is indebtedfor its pathetic burden

M e hmy s dedde,Gonna to his MAlle underre the v yllowe tree

”;

Reed’s Smh peare, vol. xviii. p. 281, 282. Act iv . se. 5.

1 Ibid. vol. xviii. p. 292. Act iv. se. 5 . 1 Ibid. p. 299. Act iv. se. 5.

5 Poems, supposed to have been written at Bristol, hym n » Rowley, and others .

The vaciliation .,of pom . 0phohm4 mi¢1ba mm

Opk.‘ “

You must sing , Down a -down, al l you ca ll 5131 ad'

oton-a . 0, how the wheel

becomau’

ti fl' It is dhe fnlse s teward, that stole hismas ter’s dahghtm -5’~P

Foi' Uohny sweet Robin is all my joy.

”1»

We mayg emark that the 0, how theM Wit I

”ismeant to imply the popularity ofme sons,

The spfnstm and the knitters in tbetun’

Do use to chamzt it,

a custom which, as exercised in the winter, is beautifully exemplified

by Mr. Malone, in a passag e from Sir'

Th omas Overbury’

s characters,

1614 : She makes h er hands hard with labour, and her head soft

with pittie and when winter even ing s fall ehrly, s itt ing at hermerry

In the church-

yard scene of this play, one ofthe grave-d iggers, afteramusing himself and his compan ion by queries, which, as Mr. Steevens

Ohm s,“pe1h aps eomposed the chief festivity

'

of onr ahoestors byan evening fire it; sing s thnee starrZas , though somewhat corrupted

eitherby‘des ig n or accideht, of A dyttie or sonet madeby the lord

Vans, m the time of the nbble queue Marye, representing the 1mageof death.

"This poem Was originally published in Tottel

’

s

.

editionof Surrey and Wyat, and the Poems of Uncerta in Ahthors the

earliest poetieal miscellany in 0111W age, and firstpunderthetitle of Songes and sonettes by the rig hthonHoward, late earl of Stirrey, and other.

”To this very p0p11lar col

lection , whieh underwent mmy edition s during the s ixteenth cen

‘ Reedb Shah pearg a fit p N S. f lbii p M‘

1 1 1111111mQWnnon sW OfEng . Bom7, votm.

been reprinted byDr. Percy, who remarks on the apparent oorruption s

of Shakspeare’

s transcript, that they were perhaps so dw gned bythe poet himself, the better to suit the character of an iliiterate

two parts , and proves that the poet has not only mate rially alheredthe few lines which he quotes , but has chang ed also the sex of its

Lover'

s Compla in t, being forsaken of Love.

”

From the ample, we may almost any complete, enumeration, whimwe have now g ivern of the fi'

agments selected by Slmkxpa n'

e fmmthe

d y in 1565,

1 d v P ? ?

1

QM q mm a xix p fl z Act iv. £ 3. l Val i p m

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CHAgTEa IV.

cuam r omm 09 m m Wm n it zxczm ox of w h om», mm m m0&a

sm _°fnoxn.Apxil 1564; to April 1616, a pes

' iOQOffifiYfi-WQ yam ,

regard to the prodtwtion of poetical literatme. Netfi nly wece the

M M Of every bmuch of poetry chalkefkmt 'm skilhzand

m oun bmmany of its highest departments Wermfilled up andfinished 1111 1 manner so masterly as to have bid defiance to all sumquent competition. Consequently ifwe take a survey of the variouschannels through which the genius of poetry has hem accustomed

td difiuse itselfl it will befbmd, that, dun ng th1s halfieenmry, everyM its cultivator“ that poems cliic

and didactic, lyric and romantic, that satires, pastorals, and sonnetsg

song s , madrigals, and epigrams, togetherwith a multitude of trans

lations, brightened and embellished its progress.

On a subject, however, so productive, and which would fill

volumes, it is necessary, that, in consonancy with the limits and duekeep ing of our plan, the utmost solicitude for condensation be oh

served. In this chapter, accordingly, wh ich, to a certain extent, is

meant to be introductory to a critical consideration of the miscel

laneous poems of Shakspeare, the dramatic writers are omitteda future section of the work be ing appropriated to a detail of the irmore peculiar labours for the stag e.

Alter a few general observations, therefore, on the poetry of thisera, it is our intention to give short critical notices of the principa lbards who fl ourished during its transit ; and with the v iewof affordingsome idea of the extens ive culture and diffus ion of poetic taste, an

most captivating ba uty, add which promi’sed a meridhm of uncow

remained, however, hof the popular oreed, was much leas g ross and

less'

contradictory to common experience, than what had van ished

Under the first of these tclm es may be included all that sportive,

days of Shakspeare, were such as exactly su ited the bigha reg ionsof poetry, without giv ing any v iolent shock to the deductions of

advancing philosophy. The national credulity had been , in fact,

g reatly

'

chastised through the efforts of enquiry and research, and

4 o 2

the progress of civ ilisation , and certa inly much better calculated fer

The state of M M too, was phecisely of thst kind Whieh

fsvoured, in a very high degree, the nurture of poetical g enius.'

The

vocabulary of our langmge was rich, beyond al l examPle, botk i n

natives and exotios not only in“newg rafl s of old withered

but in a multitude of express ive terms borrowed from the learned

languages ; and this wealth was med freely and -without restriction,

Ah enthus ias tic spirit for literary acqu isition had been created and

Cherished by the rev ival, the study, and the translation of the sweat

classics , and through this medium an exhaustless'

mine of imagery,and allus ion was laid open to our vemacular poets ‘

Nor were these advantag es bl ighted or checked hy .the thstidious

m ons of dictatorial mum Puttenham’

s was the on ly Art ofPoetry wluch had made its appearance, and, thoug h a taste for dis

cuss ion of this kind was rapidly advancing, the poet was yet heftindepmlden t of the critic ; at liberty to indulg e every flight of una

g ination , and every sally of feeling ; to pursue his first mode of

conception, and to adopt the free diction of the moment.

The ag e of chiva lry and romance, also, had not yet passed awaythe former, it is true, was verg in g fast towards dissolution ; but itstone was still exalting and heroic, while the latter continued to threwa rich, though occasionally a fantastic light over every species of

poetic compod tion . In short, the unrestricted copiousness of. our

wild beauties of Gothic invention , and the playful sallies of Ital ianfiction, combined with a plentiful infus ion of class ic lore, and ope

rating on native gen ius , gave orig in , not p nly to an unparalleled

number of g reat bards , but to a cast of poetry unequalled in this

Preface to Gaudibert. Vide Chalmers’s Eng lish Posts, vol. vi.

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in their versification somuch high-fmishing , and such an exquis ite

pafishf asmust rendereoubtfil l, in this province, ai5l die m aul ed

sm ority ofmodem am .n . 1

Amore striking des ideratum in the poetrymf this .m'

a has arisen

from a want of economy, in the use of imagery and omama l t, and 11 1

the distribution of parts as relative to a whole. That belief, which 18

pgoduced by a judicious management of light and shade, appem to

have,

been g reatly neg lected ; the eye, after hav ing been fatigued byan unsubdued splendour and warmth of style, suddenly passes to an

emane poverty of colouring , without any intermediate tint to

fl atness and imbecillity. To this want of un ion in style, may be

added an equal dethleation in the dispos ition, connection, and de

pendency of the various portions of an extended whole. These

requisites, which are usually the result of long and elaborate study ,

have been successfhlly cultivated by the modems, who, since the

days of Pepmfihave paid a scrupulous attention to the mechanism of

v ersification , to the m um m y and keeping of style, and to the

nioeties and econemy of arrang emen t.

We earl ascribe, however, to the poets of Elizabeth’

s reig n the

g reatermerit of exeelling in energy and truth of cbntima tt, in sim

pl icity ot'

diction , i11 ths t artless lmg uag e of natune whid 1 irre

sistibly makes its way .. to u the hea t. To . excite the emotions of

sublimity , of t'

er’

ror, ef pity, ah apped w the srfifit ial g rwes of

modem g rowth wil l not be tbund successfixl ; on the oontrary, ex

sen sations of grandeur and aston ishment are to be raised, or where

the passions in all their native v ig our are to be called forth, we

must turn to the earlier stag es of the art, when the poet, unshwkled

by the overwhelming infl uence of venerated models, unawed by the

599

rious attemion to tlxeminatim of dicfim M um M W

feel ing s whieh he ww sohétous to irnpress. In eosnsequenee of

this selfivdependEnoq thisW te ofig iaal somem the poetry of

the peribd under m /hotw ‘

pmwsm a sueng tma ramn'

esa and

brilliméy ' ot‘

versifieatiofi ‘a hd

’

even én a h terand mefem eed

instanceg in“ The P1easures ef Hope

” by ww wwsome of the noblest concepuenwwpowy e lothed ww w

variety of ofW in ith

con structitm.3

°

ml 1:

m as, the e nem a” of 1m s

of oofieschxg with effects” fl iers ean -‘be '

ne doubtwhat; sehob lshoulcl hdbpt ; form wéfild

adornei hoaception otfMicheal Angelo u) the ‘g lowing

ofim m artist asJTitian ?

013mm poems efgthe ag e

mimidémfl w of-twokifl ds, either

600

firstmay be classed the lwan; of high finishing which is ,the res ults

partly' Of- its incompatib il ity with greatness of desigm.md partly as

the efi‘

ect of a just fitaste a fw mucla of the minor poetry of the re ig n

of Elizabeth, as hath been prev iously observed, is polished even to

excess ; while under the seeond are to be plaeed the pos itive defects

of wmt ofunion in style and wsnt of oonnection and arrang ement in

h is creditahle wthe present ag e that in the higher poetry several

of our bards have in a g reat deg ree reverted to the ancient school ;

that, in attempting to emulate the g enius of their predecessors, they

the ir freedom and variety Of metre, preserv ing at the "me time ,

and especially in the dispos ition of the ir materials, and the keeping'

disgusting excess by Darwin and his disciples, not only vifiate and

dilute all developm ent of intense emotion, but em paralyse that

power of pietureoque del ineation, which can only subs ist under an

The difi'

m'

emoe between them h , M WMb reM ~m the

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I will obtaine to-( lsy, alive or dead,The crownes that g race a faithfii ll souldiers head.

Blest be tby mng ue’ mplies the king ,

‘ ln thee

The streng th ofall thine ancestors I see,Extending warlike armes for England

’

s g ood,By thee theirheire, 111 valour as in blood.

”

Ou the flig ht of Catesby , who adv ises Richard to

s imilar mode of securing his personal safety, the Kingan swers,

Let cowards trust their horses’nimble feete,

And in their course with new destruction weeteGaine thou some houres to draw thy feavefull breathTo me ig noble fl ig ht is worse than death.

"

'

Of the conclus ion of Bosworth Field, Mr. Chalmers has justlyobserved, that the lines describing the death of the tyrant may be

submitted with confidence to the admirers of Shahspeare.

The tran slations and miscellaneous poems of S ir John includeseveral pieces of considerable merit. We would particularly poin tout Claudian ’

s Epig ram on the Old Man of Verona, and the verses

on hi s dear sonne Gervase Beaumont.”

Sir John died in the Winter of 1628 , aged forty-six.

2. Baa'

roxc, Nrcnom s. Of this prolific poet few authentieated

fiicts are known . His first publication, entitled) “ A small handful]

of fl a grant fl owers, was printed m 1575 ; if we therefore allew him

to have reached the.

ag e of twenty—one before he commenced a

writer, the date of his birth may, with some probability , be assignedto the year 1554. The number ofh1s productions was so g reat, that acharacter in Beaumont and Fletcher

’

s Scornful Lady , declares that hehad undertaken with labour and experience the collection of those

thousand pieces— of that our honour’

d Englishman, Nich. Breton.

”

1Ritson has given a cataIOg ue of twenty-n ine, independent of his

Chalmers’s Eng lish Poets, vol. vi. p. 4 . 1 Act 11.

608

comtribufiom wthe “ t nixNest”

and “ Englandis Helicon, and

five more are recorded by ML Park in the Cmmura Literaria.

’

Most of these are poeticah some a nuxed oemposition of rhyme and

prose, and a few entirely prose ; they are all extremely searce, cer

tainly not the consequen ce of mediocrity or want of notice, for theyhm beempra ised by PuttenhamT,Meres I, and Phillips ; and one of

his most beautiful ballads is in serted in “The Muse’

s Library, 1740.

After a lapse of twenty-five years, Dr. Percy recalled the attentionof the public to our author by inserting in his Reliques the same

piece whheh Mrs . Cowper had previously chosen § ; in 1801 Mr.

Eng land’

s HeliconH, and Mr. Park has since added two very

a more copious selection; and at the same time enable us to declare,that as a lyric and pastoral poet he possessed, if not a splendid, yet

He is supposed, on the authority of an epitaph in the church of

Norton, a villag e in NorthamPtonshire, to have died on the 22d of

June 1624.

his poefical talents ; {or m the first book of his Britannias Pactoralx,

which were published in folio, in 1613, when in his twenty-thixd

year, he speaks ofhimself, an exyres

Voh ix.

1 Arte ofEng lish Poel ie, reprint of l Sl l .

1 Vide Cenkm-a Literl ria, wh iz . p. 47.

s Percy's Beliqueu

'voh iii.

| 8pecimem of the Early Eng lish Poeu, voLn.

1 Censnra Literaria, vol. ix. pp.

Shaw’s Staffordshire, vol i. Ritson 's Bibliog raphia Poetics,

f Chalmers’s Eng lish Poets, vol. vi. p. 268. col. 2.

4 n 2

604

s ion which leads to the suppos ition that his earlierW mwritten before he had attained the ag e of tynenty. i ndeed all his

poetry appears to have been written prev ious to his thirtieth year.

In 1614 , he printed in octavo, The Shepherds Pipe, in seven

eclogues ; in 1616, the second part of his Britannia: Panama was

g iven to the public, and in 1620,‘ his Inner Ta up le Mask is supposed

to have been first exhibited.

Brown e enjoyed a large share of popularity during his life-time

numerous commendatory poems are prefixed to the first edition of

his pastorals ; and, in a copy of the second impress ion of 1625, in

the possession ofMr. Beloe, and which seems to have been a presen

tation copy to Exeter College, Oxford, of which Browne was a

member and Master of‘

Arts, there are thirteen a( iulatory addresses

to the poet, from differen t students of this society, and in the hand

writing of each. Among his earl iest eulog ists are fou nd the g rea t

respected both as a poet and as a man ; and as a stili more imperish

able honour, we must not forget to mention , that hewes a favourite

Until lately, however, he has been .under little obligation to sub

sequen t times ; nearly one hundred and fifty years elapsed before a

third edition of his poems employed the press ; this came out in

1772, under the auspices of Mr. Thomas Dav ies, and, with the

exception of some extracts in Hayward'

s Bs itish Muse, thie longinterval passed without any attempt to rev ive his M e, by any judi;

cions specimen s of his g en iusxr A more propitious era followed the

republication ofDav ies in 1787, Mr. Headley oblig ed na With some

striking proofs of, and some excellent remarks on, his beauties ; in

Beloe’s Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books, vol. vi. et seq.

1 It is sufi cient praise, however, to remark, thatMilton, both in his L’

Alleg ro and his

Lycidas, 18 undermany obligations to our author.

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607

Ou either side a crew ofdwarfish Elves,Held waxen tapers taller than themselves

Yet so well shap’

d unto their little stature,

So ang cl-like in face, so sweet in feature ;

Their rich attire so d ifl"rin yet so well

Becoming her that wore it, none could tellWhich was the fa irest

Mr. Beloe, in the first volume of his Anecdotes, p. has givenus a Latin epitaph on a John Chalkh ill, copied fromWarton

’

s Historyof Winchester. This in scription tells us, that the person whom it

commemorates died a Fellow of Winchester Colleg e, on the 2oth of

May , 1679, ag ed eig hty and yet Mr. Beloe, merely from s imilarityof name and character, contends that th is personag e must have been

the Chalkhill of Isaac Walton ; a suppos ition which a slig ht retro

spection as to dates , would have proved imposs ible. Walton , in the

title-pag e of Thealma and Clearchus, describes Chalkhill as an

acqua intant and friend ofEdmund Spenser now as Spenser died in

J anuary, 1598, and the subject of this epitaph, ag ed 80, in 1679, the

latter must consequently have been born in 1599, the year after

Spenser’

s death The coincidence of character and name is certainlyremarkable, but by no means improbable or unexampled.

5 . CHAPMAN , GEORGE, who was born in 1557 and died in 1634 , ag edseventy

- seven , is here introduced as the principal tran slator of his

ag e ; to himwe are indebted forHomer, Musseus, and part ofHesiod.His first published attempt on Homer appeared in 1592 under

the title of Seaven Bookes of the Shades of Homere, Prince of

Poets and shortly after the accession of J ames the First, the entireIliad was completed and entitled, The Il iads of Homer, Prince of

Poets . Never before in any lang uag e tru ly tran slated. With a

comment upon some of his chief places : done according to the

Greeke.

”

Muses Library, pp. 317. 8 19. 827.

1” See Beloe

’

s Anecdotes, vol. ii. p. 88 . Ritson has erroneously dated this publication

1598.

608

This vers ion, which was h ighly prized by his contemporas' ies, is

executed in rhymed couplets, each line containing fourteen syllablesa species of versification s ingularly cumbrous and void of harmony

‘

;

and, notwithstanding this protracted metre, fidelity is, by no mean s ,the characteristic of Chapman . He is not only often very paw

phrastic, but takes the liberty of omitting , without notice, what he

could not comprehend. It has been asserted by Pope, that a darin gfiery spirit, something like what we might imag ine Homer himself to

have written before he arrived to years of discretion , animates histranslation , and covers his defects "; an opin ion which seems rather

the resu lt of partiality than unbiassed judgment ; for though Chapman is certa in ly superior to his successor Hobbes , and occasion allyexhibits some splendid passages , he must be cons idered by everycritic of the present day as , in g eneral, coarse, bombastic, and often

disg usting ; a v iolator, indeed, in almost every pag e, of the dig n ityd simplicity ofhis orig inal.The mag n itude and novelty of the undertaking , however, deserved

and met with encouragement, and Chapman was induced, in 16 14 ,

to present the world with a vers ion of the Odysseyl Th is is in the

pentameter éouplet ; inferior in v igour to his Iliad, but in diction and

versification more chaste and natural. Of his Musmus and his

Georg ics ofHes iod, we shall on ly remark that the form was printed

in 16 16, the latter in 1618, and that the first, which we have alone

seen , does notmuch exceed the character ofmediocrity. As an orig in alwriter, we shall have to notice Chapman under the dramatic departmen t, and shall merely add now, that he was, in a moral l ight, a v ery

estimable character, and the friend of Spenser, Shakspeare , M arlowe ,

Daniel, and Drayton .

6. Cn uacnvs an, THOMAS. This authormerits notice ra th er fOYQ

U ‘é'

quantity than the quality ofhis productions, thoug h a few 0fH‘ s 9mm

deserve to be rescued from utter oblivion . He c ommen ced a writer,

o et l‘

Yaw h i“

Vide Pope’s Preface to the Iliad ; and Warton’s History

' d h fl fl ‘ P

p. 44 2, 44-3.

609

according to hiswown aoebunt t“ in tha néig n of Kirig Edwand the'

Sixth, and as Wood infomris us that at the ag e ofi seventeen hewentto seek his fortune at court, and l ived four years with Howard Earl

of Surry, who died 1546, it is probable that he was born about 1524.Shrewsbury had the honour of producing him, and he continued

publ ishing poetical tracts until the accession of James the First.Ritson hasgiven us a catalogue, which might be enlarged, of seven

teen of his publications, with dates, from 1558 to 1599, independentof a variéty of scattered pieces ; some of these are of such bulli es toinclude from twelve to twenty subjects, and in framing their titles

Churchyarda Charg e, 1580 ; Churchyards Chang e , Ckwchyard:

Chari ty , 1595 . 1‘ In the Mirror forMagmtrates,

”first published 111

1559, he contributed TheLeg end of J ane Shore,”which heafter

wards ang inented l n his Challenge,"by the addition ofWenty

-onge

stanzas ; th is 18 perhaps the best of his poetical labours, and con ta insseveral good stanzas. His Worthiness of Wales,

”also, first pub

lished m 1 587 , and reprinted a few years ag o, is entitled to preservThis pains-taking author, as

“Ritson aptly terms : him, died

poor on April 4th, 1604 , after a da ily exertion of his pen, in the

serv ice of the Muses, for nearly s ixty years .

7 . CONSTABLE, HENRY, of whom little more is personally known,than

.

that he took his deg ree of Bachelor of Arts at St J ohn’

s

Co lleg e, Cambridge, in 1579 1 ; that he was compelled to-leave his

native country from a zealous attachment to the Roman Catholicreligion , and that, venturing to return , he was imprisoned jn the

In his “ Challeng e,”he tells us, that his first pnblication was

“a bbok mmed Davic

Dicars Dream, in King Edward’s daies.

”

1 This publication , which was likewise called A Musicall Consort of heavenly Har

mon ie,” is not mentioned by Ritson.

VOL. I.

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6IP

Cemtablfi onee ehjoyéd,’was built upon no stabie fonnfiatiomanti that

medioa ity is anwhieh the utmost indulg ence of the presentme ean

allewhim.

8. DANIEL, SAMURL, s pect and historiaa ef nd small repute'

, was

enabled to pursue his stufi es nnder fi e pafltronage d the Em'Pof

Pembroke’s famfl y, he becafl 1e the most eorrect poet of his age Hé

oonnneneed author as eafl y as 1585, by a transiatien of FaalmJovins

’

s Discourse of rare Inventions ; but hi s 61s t published

poems appear to have been his Delia, a collection of Sofinets, withthe complaint of Rosamond, 1592. ”He continued to write untilnearly the close of his life, fi r the Second Pan of hfi

‘

fl htory d

Eng land was published in 161 8, and he tfieci dn the l i th‘ of 'Octou

be1' 1619.

Of the poetry ofDanieP, omiseisg for the presenn n nofice of his

dramatic works, the mast hnpomnt are his M mDekag-axé

History of the C‘ivil War, the CompIa iabq and’ them

houses of l ancmter and York,”the first four beoks ofwhieh were

pubhshed in lm and-the eighth and last m fomi the’mopus of Dan iel, and to which he looked for fame‘ with posterity.

That he has been discppointed, must be attributed to his having too

rig idly adhered to the truth of history ,fom pifing m atme oor.

rectness of theannalist than the fancy of the poeg he rarefy attemPtsthe elevatien of his subject by any fl ight of ixnag inatidn, or dig res

tenches of the pathetic, delivered‘

in a style of then unequalled

618

'

9. Du nes, SIR JOHN3 W bdrh at t sg lm inm m in 1570.

lished in 1599, and not on ly secured him the admiration ofi his

learned contemporaries, among whom may be recdrded the greatnames of Camden , Ham ng ton , J onson, Selden, and Coi'bet, b11t

in 'Scotland, in order te oomg ratq late'

him .on his ~

accession to the

throne of England, the king , on hearihg his mame, enqmred “ ifhe

was Nm e .p mm? ~

and'

being'

answered in ' the'

. amrmative, graciously embraced him, and took him into such fav

'

our, that he soon

made hiin his Solidtc'

n'

, and then rAttorned eneral in Ireland.

”

g nag e can boas t, Sir John prin ted, in 1596, a series of Epigrafn s,which were publ ished at Middleburg , at the close of Mar

lowe’

s translation of Ovid’s Epistles, and m the s

ame year the first

’ 9 ‘

His Nosce Teipsum 1s a piece of close reason ing in verse,

pecn‘i arly harmon iou s for the period in which '

it . appeared. It

possesses, also,‘

wit, ing enuity , v ig our and conden sation of thoug ht,

but exhibits few efforts of imag ination , and nothing that is e ither

pathetic or subfi ne. In point of argumen t, metaphys ical acuteness

and legitimate deduction , the Engli sh poet is, in every respect, supe

rior to his clas sical model Imcnetius ; but how g reatly does he fall

ben eath the ferv id gen ius and creative fancy of the Latianbard !

Sin John died suddenly on’

the 7th b ecember 1626, in the fifty

seventhyear of his age .

with this additional remark, that his vm ifim s throughout

You Nimphs thst in ths cpt inp and wnters sweet,

And ofi smidst them dom m do mest

And in the rivers fresh do wash you feet,While Progm

’s sister tels ha ‘ wefixll u le :

Such nyd and power un to my verm lmd,As may mfice this little m he to end.

And thom Boyé du t widn thy wat’ry sn y

M M M Clifies d Deiga d Week,

Thy m ther Avon m m te seek ;In whoa fairm fi e specklédm t doth pw,

and the blcike z

Teach me the skill with slmder line md hookTa h kc each fid l offim M -Nnd bmmk.

edison of “ '1‘hs Secrets of Ang ling .”

1652, md a thhd would be acoeptahle even in the present

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616

imagination, many just refl ection s, and many laboured description s,delivered in perspicuous language, and generally in smooth versifi

eation ; but they .do not interest the heart or elevate the fancy ; they

are tediously and minutely historical, vo id of pass ion , and, for the

most part, langu id and prosaic The second department exhfl fits the

their appearance in 1612, accompanied by the very erud ite notes of

Selden, and the whole was completed in thirty parts in 1622. The

chief defect in this sing nlar poem results fmm its plan ; to describe

associations, trad itionary, historical,‘and antiquarian, fortus a .task

wh ich no gen ius, however exalted, could Mould 111m an interesting

only proved an expedient Which still fauber taxes gthe patience of the

fidelity with regard to its materials so unquestioned, as to, have

mefited the referenoe ofHeame d M and the praise ofGough,who tells us that the

’

Poly-olbion has preserved many circumstanceswhich even Camden has omitted. It is a pom , in shomwhich willalways be con sulted rather for the information that it conveys, thanfor the pleasure that it produces .

To Eng land’

s Heroical Ep istles, which constitute the third class,

not much praise can nowbe allotted, notwithstanding they were once

is true, be selected, which merit approbation fox novelty of itnagwetyand beauty of express ion ; but noth ing can atone for théir wafitingwhat, from the nature of the subjects chosen , should have been their

It is chiefl y as a pastora l poet that Drayton will live in thememosyofhis countrymen . The shepherd

’

s reed was an easily favourite ; form 1593 he published his Idea : the Shepherd

’

s Garland, {hshionedin n ine Eg log s : and Rowland

’

s Sacrifice to the nine Muses,”which

6 17

were repriated under the titie of Pastorals, andwith the additioh of a

dusable as his existence ; firr the year previous to his death he

bmught fiom u d another cofl ecfion of pmtorala under the titie of

The M ass Elisium. Of these publication s, the htat is in every

respect superior, and-

g ives the author a m y h ig h rank among rural

possess a decided orig inality , and are couched in lang uag e pm’e and

pieces ;.

odes, eleg ies, sonnets , relig ious effusion s, &c. 8m. To specfl y

13. DRUMMOND, WW The birth of this truly eleg ant poet is

placed at Hawthornden 1n Scotland, on the 13th ofDecember,and the publication of the first portion ofh18 Sonnets, 111 16 16, en titles

A disappointment of the most afl i ictive nature, fer death snatched

from him the object ofhis affection almost immediately afier she had

consented to be his, has given a pecul iar and very pathetic interestto the greater part of his poetical compositions, which are endeared

to the reader of sensibility by the charm resulting from a s incere and

never-dy ing regret for the memory ofhis earliest love.

Hi s poetry, which has never yet been properly arranged, consists

principally of poems of a lyrical cast, including sonnets, madrigals,epig rams, epitaphs, miscellanies , and div ine poems .

VOL. 1. 4 K

14 . Fu m s x, EDWARD. The s ingular beauty of this gentieman’

s

translation ofTasso, and its infl uence on English versification , daw ud

a greater sham of notice than 13 due to any poetical version pseoedingthat of Pope. He was the son of Sir Thomas Fairefax, of Denton . in

l ife, retired with the object of his~

afl'

ections to Newhall, in the parish

of Fnyistone, in Knaresborough forest, where he usefully occupied

his time in the education of his ch ildren , and the indulg en ce of

literary pursu its . His Godfrey of Bulloig ne,”the work which has

published 111 1600, and dedicated to Queen Elizabeth.

This masterly vers ion , which for the last half century has been

any posterior attempt. Though rendered line by line, and in the

octave stanza of the Italians, it possesses an uncommon share of

he owed the melody of his numbers to a studious imitation of his

It is g reatly to be reg retted that the orig inal poetry ofFairefax, withthe exception of one piece, has been suffered to perish. It con sisted

’ Dn J ohmon was of ophxion that the tmnslation oe . Hoole would enfirely super

sede lhe labours of Fairefax. W ith no disa 'iminating judg e of poetr t owever will this

ever be the m e ; there is a tameness and mechocrity in the version oe . Hoole, whichmnst always plwe it far beneath the spirited oopy of the elder bard. Had Mn Brookes

oompleted the J emsalem with the m e harmony and vigonrwhich he has exhibited in the

fin t three bwkg a deuidm mm in Eng hsh fim m had bem mppha and the immormlpoem ofTw o had appeared clothed in dicfion and nnmbeu wwthy of the mmt pd hhedcra ofom'

poetry.

4 x 2

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623

The Purple Island is an allegorical descsiption, in twelve

cantos, of the corporeal and inte llectual fimctions of man. Its

interest and effecthave been g reatly injured by a too minute investi

g ation of anatomical facts ; the first five cantos being little else than a

lecture in rime, and productive more of disg ust than any other sensa

tion . In the res idue of the poem, the bard bursts forth withun shackled splendour, and the passions and menta l powers are

person ified with g reat bril liancy of imagination, and g reat warmth of

colouring . L ike his brother, however, he is defective in tas te ; the

great charm of compos ition , simplicity , is too often lost amid the

mazes of quaint conception and meretricious ornamen t.‘

Yet are

there pasam a interspersed throug h this alleg ory, of exqu isite tendesness and sweetness, al ike simple and correct in diction , chaste in

creative power, and melodious in versification .

The “‘Piscatory Eclog nes,”to novelty of scenery, add many pas

sag es of genu ine and delig htful poetry, and the music of the verse is

often highly gratifying w the ear ; but many of the same faults are

Is land pedantry and forced conceits occas ionally intrude, and,

thoug h the poet has not injured the efl'

ect of his delineations by

coarseness , or rusticity of expression , he has sometimes forg otten thes imple eleg ance which should designate the pastoral muse.

0 111 author was presented to the liv ing of Hi lg ay, in Norfolk, inand died there about the year 1650.

18. Gascommz, GEORGE, the son of Sir J ohn Gascoig ne, wasdescended from an ancient family in Essex, and, after a private edu

cation under the care of Stephen Nev in son, L L D. he was sent to

Cambridge, and from thence to Gray’

s Inn, for the purpose of study

ing the law. Like many men , however, ofwarm pass ions and strong

imagination , he neg lected his profession for the amusemen ts and

diss ipation of a court, and hav ing exhausted his paternal property ,

he found himself under the neces sity of seeking abroad , in a militarycapacity , that support which he had fa iled to acquire at home. He

according ly accepted a Capta in’

s commiss ion inHolland, in 1572,

624

underWilliam Prince of Orange, and having s ignal ised his courageat the siege of Middleburg, had the misfortune to be captured bythe Span iards near Leyden , and, after four month

’

s imprisonment,rev isited his native country.

He now resumed his profess ion and his apartments at Gray’

s Inn ;hut- in 1575, on his return from accompany ing Queen El izabeth in

her prog ress to Kenelworth Castle, he fixed his residence at his

poore at Walthamstow, where he employed himse lfin collecting and publishing his poems. He was not lon gdes tined, however, to enjoy this literary leisure ; for, according to

George Whetstone, who was an eye-witness of h is godly and cha

ritable end in this world he expired at Stamford, in Lincolnst

on the 7th of October, 1577, when he was probably under ibrty

years of ag e»

firstly, in 1572, in a quarto volume, entitled, AHundreth sundp ie

lation ) in the fyne outland ish Gardina of Euripides, Ov id, Petrarke,

Whetstone published a pamphlet, entitled, “ ARememhranoe pf the wel imployed

life and godly end of Georg e Gaskoig ne Es quire, who dem aed at Stqhnford in Idxmohm

Shire, the 7th of 0ctober 1577. The reporte of Geofg e Whetstones nt an eye wit

London for Edward Ag g as, dwelling in Pauls Chnrchyard and are there to be solde.”

Since the antiquities of poetry,”

observes Mr. Chalmers, have become a famrite

smdy, mmy psinfnl inquifies have bwn made afier thism bmh wnld not be thmd in

Tanqer’

s Library, which forms part of the Bodleian, or in any other coliecfion. ptin te or

public, and doubts were entertained whether such a pamphlet had ever existed. Aboutthree years ag o, however, it was discovered in the collection of a deceased g enfiemm, a

Mr. Voig ht, ofthe Cnstom-houae, Londomand was purchased at his sale by 1ti n

It consists of about thirteen pag es small quarto, black letter, and contains, cettamly not

much lg } , but some particulars unknown to his biog raphers.”— Eng lish Poets,

447, 44 8.F

? For further particulars of his life see Chalmen’s Eng lish Poets, voLii. et

seq” Camu s Literarm, Veh i, p. 1 10., and British Bibliog rapher, voLi. 78.

M5

able to the well smellyng noses of learnedReaders. Merittmi petere,grave. Att Lomiom, Imprin ted for Richarde Smith g

”and secefl dly

in 1575¢with the title of “The Posies ofGeorg e Gascoigne Esqnme.

Cosreeted, pérfected and augmented .by the Anthem. Tamm i,

Smith.” The echtion‘

is'

div ided into three pasts, under the appeh

Gesmyne h otmof lh snmfion mm nfing the making ot'

verse or

Glasse 0136 o 1.°

A Tragical Comedie,”1575. The Sthd e

'

Gm ~A Sa'

tyre,”1576.

°“4I'

he Psineely Pleasures, at the,

Court at

Keneiwortht’h 1576 ; and A Delicate Diet for daintie mouthde

Drunkavds,”a prose tract, 1576. Afier his death appeared, in 1586,

his 1 tract/ eh titled1, “ The Droome b oomes Day ,”

and m 1587,

m .@m m the wathb a ca tnplet'

e edition of lfis work'

s, in small

fsemn the etivy and malig nity bf his ctitics, as to indlice him to inti

irritability ofmind resulting from these attacks ; andy et,’

as fhr as m

Gratnlt tiones Vd dinensea, edit. Binnetnan, 1578, 4to. lib. iv.

11 In his Dedication pmfixsd to h is JTn ns'

ihtion bf Ten Booh of fl oshm "

§ Disconrsc ofEng lish Poetrig 1 586

l] Arte of Poeste, 1589, reprih ty pa fl .

VOL. I.

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1197

mmmypsfihm s, that nothing mdrs can bebrief character ofhis poetical genius. Werehis

neafl y fifiy are k nown wbe éstahh a most interesting iittie voimfiemight be fortned. The extreme rarity, however,

‘

of his ptoductibns,may render this an object of no easy attainment ; but of its efl hct a

M1 . Beloe, who, in his Aneodotes of l i teratme, has collected manybeautiful specimen s from the following pieces ofour author. W e

Love, 1616 ; Penelope’

s Web, 1601 ; Farewell to Follie, 1617 ; Never

Toa La'

te, 1590 ; Hid ory of Arbasto, 1617 ; Arcadia , or Menaphor,1589 ; 01ph¢miou, 1599 ; Philomela, 1592.

Though most of the productions ofGreene were written to supplythe wants '

of the pas s ing hour, yet the poetical effus ions scatteredthrough his works betray few marks of haste or sloven liness , aml

many of them, indeed; {nay be classed among the most polished and

add a nobie strain of feeling and enthusiasm, tog ether with many ex

quisite touches of the pathetic, and so many impressiv e lessons of

morality, as, in a great memate, to atone fin' the hwutionsnesa of

several of his pmse tractsu i°

20. Ht ossm , Bishop ofExeter and Norwich, was born on the

of Emanuel Colieg e, Cambridg e, at the ag e of . fifteen °

, and when

twenty-three years old, pub1ished his satires, under the title ofVirg i

demim xm, Sixe Bookes. First Three Boohes of Tooth-less Sa yre

1 . Poetical ; 2. Acmdemicall ; 3. Moral ; printed by T. Creede for

’ Beloe s Aueodotel , 110m . 19 !

i me repfint which hu jmt appu red of ourwthof smbmeh is a pmofi however,thu hu prou was ocmsim d ly the medinm d sound imtmction ; for the mon l of this

piece is unexceptionuble. W e muy d so remarh that the oonfemom wmng from him m

the hom of n penmnce m hig hly m itoq ,md u lenh ted wmuke themoa powa fifl wdn lutsry impra sion.

satine, indeeih he appears to have g iven us “the first em pie g n

honour 1111011W ham prides himself. fomin theeven ing sf hisprologue, he tells ns

1 first adventure, with foohhnrdy might,Tomad M a sha ofperilom despightu

.

I first adventure, followme who list,And be the second Eng lish satirist

”,

Ou the te-publication of the Virg idemiamm at .Oxford, in 1752,

Gray, in a letter to Dr. Wharton, speaking of these satires, says,

they are fu ll of spirit and poetry , as much of the first as Dr. Donne,

and far more of the and Warton, at the commencement

of an elaborate and extended critique on'

Hall’

3 poetic g en ius, in dieFragment of his fourth volume of the History Of! Eng lish Poetry,

g ives the following very discriminative charactei' of these satires .

They are marked,”he observes , with a class ical precision, to

which Engl ish'

poetry had yet rarely attained. They are replete

wi th an imation of style and sentiment The indig nation .

of the

satirist is always the result of g ood sense. Nor are the'

thorns of

severe invective unmixed with the fl owers s f. pure poetry.fThe

characters are del ineated in strong aad lively colouring , and thm'

r

discriminations are touched with the masterly tsaces of g enh ihe

huma n . The versification is equaily energetic and elegant, and the

fabric of the couplets approaches to the modern standard : It is no

inconsidenable proof of a g enius predominating oves' the g eneral thetic

of en ag e when every preacher was a punster, to have wfitten wei ses,where laughter was to be ra ised, and the reader to be entertained

with sallies of pleasantry, without quibbles and conce its.fault is obscurity, aris ing 110 111 a remote phraseology,

Mason’

s Gray. p. 9114 .

629

ness of expression , Penhaps somewvill th ink that his'

mahne'

r betrays »

scholar and the student. Ariosto in Italian , and Regal ia in French,

were now'

alrnost the on ly modem Waiters'

of satire ; ahd I believethere had been an Eng lish tran slation of Arioste

’

a Satires} But

Ha ll ’s acknowledged patterns care J avahal and Pers ius, not withoutseme touehes off

'

the,mban ity ofH0Paee. His paljodies efthese poets,

mm er h is adaptations of ancien t to mgderh manners, a mode of

m m unhappily practised by'

Oldham, Rochester, and Pope,

diseever g reat facility and dexterity of in vention. The moral gravityand the eehsorial dedamation ofJuvenal, he frequently enlivens witha ttai n ofmere refined refl ection ,

>or adorns with a novelty'

and varietyofiimages.

”

The Satires of Hall exhibit a very minute and curious picture of

the literature andmanners, the follies‘

and v ices of his fimbs, and

numerous Quotations in the course of muz-work will ar'

aply prove the

wit, the sag acity, and the eleg ance of his Muse. Poetry was the

occupation merely of his youth, the v ig our and decline of h is days

being emq yed in themmposition Qf prhfess ionai works, éalcufated.by: their

f piety, eloquence, and orig inal i promete, in the most

his litfl e ‘estate at Heig ham, near Norwich, on

'

the

er 1656, and in the eig hty-second year of his ag e.

ON, Sl'

a JOHN. Among the numerous trans lators of

the M ethan peridd, this gentleman merits pecul iar notice, as

new stores of fictiog and imag inatien , both of the

romantic and comic species, pt: Gethiemachinery and familiar manHis vefsien of the (Briandu Furioso, of which the first

Vide Chalmen 's Eng lish Poets, voLv . p 22&

1 Wnrton’s Hist. ofEng linh Poetry, vol. iii. p. 485 .

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632

Q3. LODGE, THOMAS, M. D. This gentleman; though possessmgcelehm' ity, in his day , as a physician, is chiefl y entitled to the mtion of posterity as a poet.

' B e was a native ef Lincolnshire, and

bom about 1556 ; educated at Oxford, ofwhieh he became a menfher

about 1578, and died of theplague at London , isi September lfifié .

He has the double honour of being the first who published, in our

hng uag g a CoHecfion of Safima m nmn e¢md of hav ing sdg gested

to Shakspeare the plot of his As 'Mov m g IT W in hi s

Theatrum Poetamm, characterises him fi ‘ fl one ofi the wfiters w

these, however, have been noticed by Meres , who m arks , thatas Horace, Lucilius, J uvenal, Persius and Lamillus are thes hesfi for

Satyre among the Latins , so with ms in the same M alt” these a re

chiefe : Piers Plowman , LODGE, Hall of Emanuel Colledge in Cam

bridg e, the author of Pig fl ialion’

s Image, 8m. 1° The work wh ich

g ives him precedence, as .a,write1' of professed satires, is entitl ed

A FIG FOB Momus ; conta in ing pleasant Varietie, included in

Satyn , Eclog ues , and Epistles, by T. L. of Lineolnes Inne, Gent.”

1595. I It is dedicated to,

f‘ Will iam, Earle ofDarbie,”

and though

published two years before the appearance ofHall’

s Satirea, possesses

a spirit, ease and hu mony,-whioh thot more oelehmted poet has not

surpassed. Than the following lin es , selected from the first satire, weknow fewwhich, in the same departmmit, can establish a better claim

“ Ali men are willing with theworld to hmlte,

30 : no man takes delig ht to bill fanltell bleer-eid Linus that his sight 1s cleere,

Edition of 1800; by Sir Egefl on Brydg es, p. 197, 198.

1 Vide Beloe’sAnecdotea ofLiterature, voLii . p. 1 14 . t M owl lw

633

A n kehell swome to prodignlitie,

That dares hot terme it liheralitie ;A lemher that hath lost both fl esh and fame,That holds not leteherie a plu sant g ame z

Thus with the world, the world dissembles still,And to their own confusions followwill,Holding it true felicitie to fl ie,

The debt of Shakspeare to our author 13 to be found 111 a pamphlet

Death in his Cell at Silexdra, by T. L. Grea t.”The poetical pie

ces

intea' spersed through this tract correspond With the character g iven

of Lodg e’

s compos ition by Phillips for they are truly pastoral, and

are fin ished 111 a style of g reat sweetness, delicacy , and feeling . Want

of taste, or want of intimacy with th is production , has induced

expressions from 1t.”

1The poetry of Lodg e is to be g leaned from his pamphlets ; parti

cularly from the two which we have mentioned, and from the two

now to he enumerated, namely, Phill is : honoured with pastorallsonnets , eleg ies and amorous del ig hts. Where-un to 1s annexed, the

delectable sonnets,”16 10, M He con tributed, likewise, to the

1600 ; wd mthe Prefgw by Sir Eg erton Brydg es, to the third

edition of the latterMiscellany, so just a tribute is paid to his g eniusas imperatively demands insertion ; more particularly if we considerthe obscurity into which this poet has fallen . In ancient writings,

”

Vide Beloe on Searce Books, vol. 11. pp. l l 6— l l7.

1» Reed’

s Shakspeare, vol. v111 p . 8.

VOL. 1. 4 l

634

observes the critic, we frequently meet with beautiful passages bu t

whole compositions are seldom free from the most striking inequa lities ; from inharmonious verses ; from lame, or laboured and quain texpress ions ; and creep ing or obscure thoughts. In Lodg e we findwhole pastorals and odes, which hav e all the ease, polish, and ele

g ance of a modern author. How natural is the sentimen t, and how

sweet the expression of the following in Old Damon’

s Pastoral

Little fen , and mickle solace ;

States suspect their bed and diet

Fear and crah do hannt the pah ee.

Little would I, little want I,Where the mind and store ngmeth ;

Smallest comfort is not scanty ;Least he longs that little seeth;

Th e lmh been that I hm long d,Foolish I to like of folly,

To converse where honour throng ed,

Now l n q md seeing mThat the day consum

’

d retnms not

m m m m mwjoum mw

charmingly he bneah out in The Solitary W ;

“ O ahady vale, O fa ir em'iched meads,

O painted fl owers, gmen' lm'bowhere Flora treads,

Refresh’d by wanton winds and watry fountains !”

“ Is tl) ere one w rd or m woent ohselete 1n thw

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686

circhmstances , but also because in his begun poem of Hero and

Leander, he seems to have a resemblance of that clean, and unsoph is

ticated wit, which 13 natural to that incomparable poet.” Marlow

translated also Locans first booke, line for line,"in blank verse ,

which was licensed in 1598, and printed in 1600 but the production

which has g iven him a cla im to immortality, and which has reta inedits popularity even to the present day, first made its appearance in

England’s Helicon,”under the appellation of The Passiona te Shep

heard to his Love. Of an ag e d isting uished for the excelleoce of its

rural poetry , this is, without doubt, the most admirable and finished

pastoral.

25. NIABSTON, JOHN, who has a claim to introduction here, fromhis powers as a satirical

'

poet. In 1598, he published The Meta

morphos is, or Pigmalion’

s Imag e. And certa ine Satyres.”

'Of these

the former is an eleg ant and luxurious description of a welL-knownfable, and to this sportive effus ion Shakspeare seems to allude 111 his“ Mea sure fbr Measure,

”where Lucio exclaims, What, is there

none of Pygmal ion’

8 imag es, newly made woman , to be had now?”

1~

His fame as a satirist was established the year followiog , by the

appearance ofhis Scourg e ofVillanie. Three Rookes of Satyres.”

A reprint of these pieces was g iven to the world by Mr. Bowles, in

the year 1764 , who terms the author the British Persius,”

and

adds, that very little is recorded of him with certa inty . Antony a

Wood, he remarks, who 18 g enerally exact in h is accounts ofmeal ,and much to be relied upon , is remarkably deficient with respect to

him ; indeed there seems to be little reason to think he was of

Oxford : it is certa in from his works, that he was of. Camlmdg e,wherehe was cotemporary with Mr. Hall, with whom, as it appears

from his satyre, called Reactio, and from the Scourg e of Villanie,sat. he had some dispute — It has not been g enerally known who

Theatrum Poetamm, edit. of 1800,4

} Reed’s Shakspeare, vol. vi. Act iii. se. 2 .

6357

was the mthor mf P1gmahon and the five W res z but fimt rtheybelohg to Marston is clear

'

fi’

om the si fxth and tenth mtyree of the

Scourg e of Villahie : and to tiris'

may be adaed'

the evidence éofi the

colleetm'

of England’s Parnassus, prin ted 1600, who cites the five

11d . Marston, p. 921 .

“These satytes ,”says Mr Wa rton ,

“ in his observation s on Spen sei'

,

conta in many well dmfi n chu wtm and sev eral tgood strokes'

of a

as BishopHall s : the truth is, they were sittyrists oi'

a difi'

erent cast

Hai l tumed his pen ag a inst his cotemporary wr1te1'

s,

'

and particularly

v ices of

Marston, which seems, notwithstan ding , the result'

rather of designthan inability ; for the vers ification of Pigma lion

’

s Image,”is in

ness, is, howe ver, the‘

characteristic of‘

the Scourg e of

and may warrant the assertion of the author of “ Thé Retame from

Parnassus,”that he was a rufl ian m his sti le.

”1" Yet he is hi ghly

complimented by Fi tz-Geofi y,‘

no mean judge of poetical merit,who ded ares that he is

satyramm proxima primm,mas si numerare dnas.

”I

96. N ICCOLS, mm . This eleg ant poet was born m 1584 , was

entened of Mag dalen Colieg e, Oxfiord, 1602, and took his bachelor’

s

deg es in 1606. In 1607, he published The Cuckow, a Poem;”

in the cduplet measure, which dispi ays very v iv id powers of descniption. His next work was a new aod enlarg ed edition of “ The

Misoeflmeous Pieces ofAnfient Eng lt omiq preface.

1 Ancient British Drama, voLi. p. 49.

1 Afl ania , lib. ii. Ad J ohanoem Man tonium.

689

point of poetia l execution, is greatly ifl fa lief td his Gueltow,~ afidWms Night’s Vision. N iccola, after residing severe years at

he ‘6obtained an employment suitable to his faeh ltyz’w

27. Ru n es , SmWALTER. Oi this g reat, this highamindeci, bhtud ortunate man, it will not be expeeted that, in his military, naval,or political chm cten, any detail should here be g iven ; it is onlywithSirWalter, a a poet, that we are at present eng aged, and therefme,after stating that he was bom in 1552, at Hayes Farm, is the pmi sh

of Ba dley in Devonshire, and that, to the eternal disgrace of J amesthe Fira , he perished on a scaffold in 1618, we proceed to record

the singular eirmumwnoe, that, until the year 1813, no lower of ourl iterature has thought it necessary to eolleot his poetry . Them ,

however, has at'

1eng t1r been perthrmedt in a most eleg ant arid

pleasing m us t, by Sir Eg ertomW 1"

, and we have ofily to

regxm thu the pieces whi ch he has beés sbte td fimwtogetfief,

shouid prove so few. Yet we fimy be allowefl

pu ss , that twd poems quoted as Sif Waltet'

s in SWEgenou’

s edifiowofPhillips

’

8 Theatrum Poetarum,

”should not have found apiece

in this cefl ection. M these, the fim is ate ibmed egmon fixe

m ossy of mss. in the British Museum, md e W e Sh

Waiver Rale igh m the Unquiet Rest of his last sWtiomequally admirable for its subl imit

‘

y andCMistiaeW WW fhf

the meng th anti concinn i ty of its expression i ; the m dfwhiwthe clos ing coup let is quoted by Puttenham § as out author’s, is

g iven entire by Oidys fi‘om a M afipt by u dy l sabens Thynne,

Whew itv is’

designwed as“ The EM se written By Sir Walter

M g !) in his younga years n.”

afid- though W hy conceit,

Athena 0x01) . voL i. ool. 402 .

Critical Introduction Dedicated to W illiam Bolland, Esq.

1 Phillips’s Theatrum spud Brydg ee, p. 808 , 809.

5 Arte ofEng lish Poesie, reprint of 18 11 . p. 168.

ll Phillipa’s Thmtrum spud Brydg es, p. 314, 315.

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Stone walls do uot a prisotimnke,Nor iron bsrs a cag e,

"

so long as the mind is free. But brolsm spirits, and indescribableinjuries amhmisfm

'tunes, do not agree with the fervour required by

the Muse. Hope, that ‘ s ings of promised pleasure,’

oould never visithim in his dreary bondag e ; aud Ambition , whose lights had hitherto

have kept entireiy aloof fmm one, whose fetters disabled him to

follow as a vott ry in her train. Imag es'

of mral beauty, quiet, and

freedom might, perhaps, have added, ~by fi1e contrast, to the poign

wcy of hia present pa infnl situation ; aud 'he might rather ptefer the

“ There ane times when we dm'

e not stir our fi ehng s er omfind es g when the only mode of reconciling oumelves to the excmv

cicting ptessm of our sorrows is the enooun g emmt of a . M

to opeu te.

of i f1a unjust incarm ation. But how oould He delight to dwell onthe td e of fl m te whom them ult ofHeroism had been oppm oion,

“ We have no proof that Bu men pou eeaed the oom v md,

and mu tive powem of Spemer nor is it pmboble that any mlti

even in the w eleu fmgmwts nowpwnented to the tenden l think

we camperceive some traits of attraction and excellence which,vox.. 1.

'

4 N

642

perhaps,’

even Spenser'

wanted.

’ If less diversified than that g iftedhard, he?would, I think, have sometimes been mbre

°

tb 1‘cible and

sublime. His images would have been more gig antic, .andf his

refl ection s more daring. With all his mental atten tion keenly'

bent

on the busy state of ex isting thing s in political society , the range of

his thoughts had been lowered down to practical wisdom ; but other

habits of intellectual exercise, excursions into the ethereal fields? of

fiction , and converse with the spirits which inhabit ' those tipper

mag nificent as the fortitude ofhis soul

28 . SACKVILLE, THOMAS, Lord Buckhurst, was how at W ithyam,in Sussex, in 1527. 1

’ Though a statesman of some celebawimthere ig n of El izabeth, his fam

'

e -With posterity rests entirely on his

merits as a poet, and these are of the h@est order. He possesses

the sing ular felicitn being the first writer of a g enuin e Eng hd l

trag edy , and the primaty inven tor of'

fl le Mimm' for Mag is

trates ? two , oblig ationsn conferred upon poetry of incaloulable

Of Gorboduc, Which was acted in 1561, and surreptitiously prmted

nofiog in this places to his celebrated J nduation'

and Leg ehd qf fl m yDuke of Buckipg ham, which were fivst publ ished in the W M

obsemation of Lord Orford be correct :°

r— “ Onr hwtoa'w ph yB,”he

remarks, “are allowed to have been tbunded on the hemic na tmtivea

in,the

,Mir1-our for 'Magistrates ; to that plan; and to the boldness 015

Biog raphiédl and Critiéal Introduction, pp. 4s— 46 .

f l jbe dswpfithis nohla nan’

s bh th bu been n fimfl y g iwen c thm Rhson afl irmi inhis Bibl i hig p. 824., he was born in 1536 ; and Sir Eg erton B 111 1118 1191;of the also expressly tells ns, that

“M not befi tfl lbnt in “The Btitisb ‘Bibhog rmher” hé hwoorrected filis m fiom‘ antf

648

Our gratitude to this nobleman 'will be still thrtherfenhanced, whenwe rees llect,

‘

that he was more ass tn'

eclly a ymddel for WSpenser the

direct, at least to stimulate, Spen ser’

s . imag ination . in fact, who

ever reads this noble poem of Lord Buckhurst with attention must

feel t bowyinte d, that it awoke into being the a llegorical groupes of

Spenserf and that, in fbroe of imag in ation , in pathos, and in awfnl

and picturesque delineation , it is not inferior. to any canto of the

Fairie Queen . Indeed from the nature of its plan , the scene beinglaid in hell, and Sorrow being the conductor of the hapless comi

plainants, it Q&en assumes a deeper tone an d exhibits a more sombre

hue than the muse of Spenser, and more in'

consonance with the

severer‘

intonations of the harp of Dante. How g reatly is it to be

lamented that the efi‘

usions of thi s div ine bard are l imited to the

pieces which we have enumerated, and that so ea rly in life he

deserted the foun ta in s na in spira tion , to embark o'

u a troubled sea of

pol itics. Lord Buckhurst died, full of honours , at the Council-Tableat Wh itehall, on April 19th, 1608, aged eig hty

-one i

Sir Egerton ,Brydw, speak'

mg of his magnificen t seat.at Knowie

in West-Ken t, tells na, ,that, though restoned With all the freshness

of modem art, it retains the character end form ot its El izabethansplendour. The visitor may behold the same walls, and walk in the

same apartments, which witnessed the in sp iration of him, who com

posed The Induction, and the Leg end of tke Duke of B ucking ham!

He may sit under the same oaks, and behold, arrayed in all the

beauty of mt, the same delig htfu l scenery, which cherished the daydremns o i

’

the g howing poet ! Perehance he may behold the same

shadowy be ings g lancing throug h the shades, and exhibiting themselves in all their pictuves

’

que attitudes to his entranced fitney29. SOUTHWELL, Ros s s 'm This amiable but unfortunate Roman

Catholic Priest . was born at St. Faith’s in Nmfolk, 1560 ; he was

British BibliographezNo.

2

1V. p. 295.

N

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645

wells z the English whereofi as it is most propeg so the sharpness

From thia period, howeqen

extracted an adfi tional pieoe from the “Mmoniw” in 1801 ; in 1802

Ritson presen ted us wtith a list of his writing s accompanied by the

notes o a Bark i ; and lastly , in 1808, ML Haslewood favoured us

Both the poetry and the prose of Southwell possess the most

decided merit ; the former, which is almost entirely restricted to

moral and religious subjects, fl ows in a vein of g reat harmony , per

spicnity, and eleg ance, and breathes a fascination resulting from the

mbject and the pathetic mode of treating it, which fixes and deeplyin terests the reader.

Mr. Haslewood, on concluding his essay on Southwell , remarks,that “ those who ‘ least love the religion,

’

still must admire and praise

the authon and reg ret that neither his simple strains in prose, nor his

for general readers. The promise of such an edition escaped fimn

the pen of Mr. Headley ; at ieast it was his intention to te-publish

a the better part of Southwell’

s poetry bu t death, most unhappily,

precluded the attempt

30. SPBNM EDMUND. This g rea poa who was bom in l n ndon

m

pnhfi ed in l fl Q; it is a w0tk v fi d n h- wuh wd upon fi h

the age in v hich it was wfiuemmd the tm oopb fi mm d'

ae'

g log nes fi rMay , J nly, and Septa nber, are my thing bnt pmSinnplicity of diction is of the va y m of p a fed fin h pfl d

poetry ; b11t vulgar, rag ed, md obowre tem m m ly be pmb e

tm pa mies d the pofi md which not afl the ing emfuy d’

hi ou

as the scholiast aptly ten ns it, are the m tt -ry,“

genuine ofl ipring of the mn l re’

ed.

delinmtion of this illnstriom bu d. h appw s t o have hem wm

m eed about the year 15 79 ; the fin t three booh m lximd m

t Pn fiee co spa ner'

s V‘

m onbe suu d hu-d, 16 3.

poet, ifhe did not absolutely fin ish the Pairie Queene, had made con

siderable progress in the work, and that his labours perished with his

appment in the Fe irie Queene the charg e of obsolete diction, which

from the just cen sure which, in this respect, was bestowed upon the

former, and the tran sference may be cons idered as a striking proof ofcritica l neg lig ence , and of the long -con tinued infl uence of opin ion ,however erroneous . The lang uag e of the Fs irie Queene is, in fact,the lang uag e of the era in which it was written , and even in the pre

sen t day , with few and trifl in g exceptions, as intell ig ible as are the

texts of Shakspeare and Milton . 1’

Had Spen ser, in this admirable poem, preserved g reatm'

un ityin the con struction of his fable ; had he, following the example of

Ariosto, employed human in stead (ff alkag oriea] henoes, he would

Epig rammatum Libri qua tuor, 1607, p. 100. For this striking testimony we are in

debted to Mr. Todd'

s valuable editm 1ot‘

Spemm‘

, voL i. p cxxi.

Spenser, I brought forward this accusation of obsolete diction, without the proper

diwfiminafiom . Vide Literary Hours, 3d edit. voh i i. p; 16 1 .— I11 every other respect

I consider tbe oriticism as correct. I had then read Spenser but twioe throug h ; a further

fani iliarity with the Pairie Queens has induced me to withdraw the censure, and toaooede

to the“

0pinion to have“perfepdy intellig ible to every readea' of poetry in the time o oeen Elimbeth,

thonghthe Sbepheards Calendar was not even then understood without a commentaryf’

See his Dryden’

s Prose Works, voLii . 94.

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649

the leading features of h is lii’e, as they still are the most delig htfiil

characteristi cs of his poetry .

‘

Yet amiable and engaging as is the gen eral cast of Spenser'

s

genius, he has nevertheless exhibited the most marked excellence

as a del ineator of those pass ions and emotions which approach to, orconstitute, the subl ime. No where do we find the agitations of

fear, aston ishment, terror, and despair, drawn with such bold and

masterly rel ief ; they start in living energy fl ow his pen, and bearawful witness to the grandeur and elevation of his powers.It is almost superfl uous to add, after what has been already

observed, that the morality of the Pairie Queene ls throughout pureand impressive. It is a poem which, more than any other, inculcatesthose mild and pas sive v irtues, that patience, resig nation , and forbear

and intemperance are developed in all their hideous deformity, those

colours : it is, in short, a work from the study . of which no human

extend the charities of l ife.

16th of January, 1598.

31 . S'

rxatme , W ILLIAM ALEXANDER, EARL or. This accomplishednobleman was born at Menstrie, in the county of Clackmannan ,

Scotland, 1580, a descendant of the family of Macdonald. He was

a favourite both of James the First, and of his son Charles, and by

the latter was created Viscount Canada, and subsequently Earl of

It is impowble to view the portrait prefixed to Mn'

l'

odd’s valuable edition of

Spenser, without being incredulous as to its authenticity. There 18 a pertneu and mtirica lahamna s in imexpra fion very incwdsteng nmwy with the dhpodfion ofthemeg bot

with the fu tum g ivm whim in wmy otha mpm enmfiw ofwhich the leadmg chM a

is an air of pensive sweetness.

VOL. I .

Ami.by the naked snowes which beautie dies ;I sweare by all the jewels of thy mind,

yet never worldly W e bought,

I sweare by thosg and by my spotless love,And by my secreg yet most fervent firea.That I have never nurc

’

d but chast desires,And such as modestie mightwell approve.Thea nince l love those vertnous parts in thee,

Royal and Noble Authors spud Park, vol. v. p. 73.

1» Chalmers's Eng lish Poets, vol. v. p. 298.

Darius, published in 1603 ; Croesus, in 1604 ; and the Al exandrean

Tragedyq and Jul ins sar, in 1 1607. These pieces are not calculatedfor the W ; but include sorh e admirable lessons for sovereign

pom , and seVerai chomses written with no

SQnall share of poefic

tigour. With the Aumm in= 1604, appeared h1s entitled; “APare nesw to the Prinee,

”a iproduetion of g reat

Wheth in a moral

ahd literary light, and ‘which must have been hrg xly aoéeptable tb a

W eo tmly noble aswas that ofHenry, towhok memory he paida fl easmg t tfi ute, by printing an Elegie on his Death,

”id ‘ 161 2

The most elaborate of th is noble1nan’

8 works was ' g iven to the

public at Edinburgh, in 16 14 ; in' 4to., and entitled, “ 'Ehn1es-day or

the W M of the Lord’

s Judgment.” It is div ided ittto ‘

twelve

the chiefmerit of this long poem, for it has little preten sion toeither

Addison ; for when-the first two boohs ofDomeSAday were‘

reé-prihfiedby Ar Jéhmtoan in IWOy their editor tells us; hail

read the author s swhole fworks w1& the g ra test mfisfastibn ,-and Had

remarked, that ‘ the beauties of our ancient fi igfish poets‘w‘ere

‘

tho

the exception of the Aurora,”in 1687, in a

'

felio vowine; isdfi fifig'

a new but unfinished poem,Wnndm' the title of J onatm This

impresa on had undetgone a most assiduous revision, antiwas the lastlabour of its author, who died on the l 9th oPFebmary,

’ 1640, in'

h is '

Orford’s Roya l and Noble Authors spud Park, vol. v. p. 76.

4 o 2

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653

That Sydney possessed an exquisite taste for, anti 9. critical knowledg e of poetry, is sufficiently ev ident from his eloquent Defenceof Poesy,

”first publ ished in 1595 . This, with his Collected Poetry,

would form a very acceptable reprint, especially if recommended byintroduction from the eleg ant and g lowing pen of Sir Eg eqon

Brydg es, whose favourite Sydaey avowedly is, and to whom he has

already paid some very interesting tributes.The moral character of this g reat man equalled his intellectual

energ y and the last years of his short l ife were'

employed in trans

lating Du Pless i’

s excellent treatise on the Truth of Christian ity .

33. Sn vss'

rs a, JO8HUA, a poet who has lately attracted a con si

derable deg ree of attention, from the discovery of his having furn ishedtoMilton the Prime Stamimz of his Paradise Lost. He was edu

cated by his uncle, Will iam Plumb, Esq , and d ied at Middleburgh,in Zealand, on the 28th of September, 1618, aged fifiy

—five. His

principa l work, a translation of the Div ine Weeks and Works ” of

Du Bartas, was commenced in 1590, prosecuted in 1592, 1598, 1599,

and completed in 1605, since which period it has undergone six

editions ; three in quarto, and three in fohe the h st heing dated

164 1 .

Both the version of Sylvester, and his original poems, p ublishedwith it, are remarkable for their inequality, for great beauties, and

for glaring defects. His versification is sometimes exquisitelymelo

(lions, and was recog n ised as such by his contemporaries, who distin

g u ished him by the appellation of silver-tong ued Sy lvester.

”

1 His

diction also is occas ionally highly nervous and en erg etic, and some

times s imply elegant ; but much more frequently is it disfig ured bytumour and bombast. Of the golden lines which his Du Bartas con

Vide Poems, 1807, 12mo. 4th. edit ; and British Bibliog rapher,.

vol . L 9 81- 105 .

1- Considerations on Milton

’

s Early Reading , and the Prima Stamina d his Paradise

Lost ; together with Extracts from a Poet of the Sixteenth Century. In a l fi tter to

1 Vide Wood’s Athena , voL i. p. 594. ; and Phillips’

s Theatmm.

655

Thim the arig ifl al ; and Fraaceo sht ll boast

the imitation of Milton.

The v irtues of Sylvester were Superior to hi s teiefits ; he was, infact, to adopt the language of one ofhis intimste friends, a poet

Whom Envy scarce could hate ; whom all admir’d,Who liv’d beloved, and a Saint expir

’d.

”1

34 . TUBBERVILLB, GEORGE, a younger son of N icholas Turberv ille,of Whitechurch, in Dorsetshire, a gen tleman of respectable famfl

‘

y,

was born about the year 1540. He was educated atW inchester andOxford, and in 1563 became a member of one of the 111119 ofCourt.

Here the reputation wh ich he hfi acquired for talents and the dis

patch of bus iness, obtained for him the appointment of secretary to

Thomas Randolph, Esq , ambassador to the Court of Russ ia, and,

whil st in this country, he employed his leisure in writing poemadescriptive of its manners and customs, addressed to Spenser, Dancie,and Park, and afterwards published in Hakluyt

’

s Voyages, 1598,vol. i. pp. 384, 385.

Ou his tetum from this tour, he added g reatly to his celé rity, as

a scholar and a g entleman , by the publ ication of his “ Epitaphem,ep igrams, songs, and sonets, with a discourse of the friefidly afihc

tion s of Tymetesto Pyndara his ladie,

”8vo. 1567. This year,

works for the press ; for, during its course, independent of the col~

lection just mentioned, he printed“ The Heroycall Episdes of3 the

learned Poet Publius Ovidius Naso : with Aulus Sabinus aunsweresto certaine of the same,

”8vo ., and The Eclog s of the poet B.

Mantnan Carmelitan, tamed into Eng l ish verse, and set find ) with

One of the Epig rams prefixed to the folio edition of Sylvester’s Works. Ten pages

in the copy of lM l are oocnpied by commendatory Pocms on the Translator.

t U na be ccara nnder the portrait of Sylvester, in the cdifion of 164 l .

656

the argument to every eglogue. 12mo. These productions, with hi sTragical Tales, translated in time of his troubles, out of Sundrie

Italians , with the argument and L’

Envoye to ech tale,”printed in

1676, and again in 1587, with annexed Epitaphs and Soneta, and

some other broken pamphlettes and Epistles ,"together with some

pieces of poetry in his“ Art of Venerie,

”and in his “ Booke of

Faulconrie or Planking, 1575, and a few commendatory stan zas

addressed to his friends, form the whole ofhis poetical works .

Turberv ille enjoyed, as a writerof songs , sonnets , andminorpoems ,

a hig h degree of popularity in his day ; it was not, hewe ver, calcu

lated for durability, and he appears to have been forgotten , as a poet,before the close of the seventeenth century. His muse has expe

rienced a temporary rev ival, through the medium ofMr. Chalmers ’ sEnglish Poets, and to the antiquary, and lover of old English l iterature, this reprint will be acceptable but, for the general reader, hewill be thund deficient in many essential points . Fancy . it is true,may be discovered in his pieces, although forced and quaint ; but ofnature, s implicity, and feeling, the portion is unfortunately small.Occasional felicity of diction , a display of classical allus ion, andimagery taken from the amusements and customs of the ag e, are not

wanting ; but the warmth, the energy, and the enthusiasm of poetryare sought for in va in.

Our author surv ived the year 1594, though the date ofhis death inot known.

85. Tusssa, THOMAS, one of the most popular, and, assuredly,

one of the most useful of our elder

Dr. Mavor, about 15 15,ushers him

and in

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658

metres, among which, as Ritson has observed, “may be traced me

papular stanza which attained so much celebrity in the pastoral

ballads of Shenstomem" Little that can be termed ornamen tal,

either in imag ery or epimde is to be found in this poem ; but the

domestic economy, are so numerous, and g iven with such fidelity ,

raciness , and spirit, as to render the work in a very uncommon

degree interesting and amus ing.

36. WARNER, WILLIAM. Of the biography of this tine old poet,little has descended to powel ' ity. He is supposed to have been bornabout the year 1558 ; and that he died at Amwell in Hertfordshire ,and was by profession an attorney , are two of the principal factswhich, by an appeal to the parish reg ister of Amvvell, have beenclearly ascertained. In a note to his poem on this v illage, Mr. Soott

first commun icated this curious document 1608— 1609. Master

William Warner, a man of g ood yeates, and of honest reputation :

Albion ’

s England, diyng e suddenly in the n ig ht in his bedde, without

any former complaynt or sicknesse, on Thursday n ight, beeinge the

9th day of March : was buried the Saturday following, and lyeth in

the church at the corner, under the stone of Gwalter Fader.

”

1“

The lines which gave occas ion to this extract Eorm a pleas ingtribute to the memory of the bard

He, who in verse his Country’s stor-y told,

.

Here dwelt awhile ; perchance here sketch’d the scene,

Where his fair Arg en tile, from crowded courts

For pride self-banish

’d, in sequester

’d shades

Sojourn’d disg uis

’d, and met the slig hted youth

Who long had sought her love the g entle hard

The words in Italics which close this passag e, were not at the

time they were written correctly true, forWarner had then been a

Bibliographin Poetics, p. 874 .

1 See Sharpe’

s British Poets, No. LXXIX . note 20.

659

subject of great and judicious praise, both to °Mrs. Cooper and

Dr. Percy ;

edited, and liberally applaucied. He ta coa to have been a

native of Warwickshire, to hav e been educated at Magdalen Hall ,Oxford, and to have left the Un iversity without a degree, for the

purpose of cultivating his poetical gen ius in the metropolis. His

Albion’

s Eng land, on which his famta is founded, was first printed in1586, when the poet was probably about eight and twenty. It nn

derwent six subsequent editions during the author’s life-time, namely,

in 1589, 1592, 1596, 1597, 1602, and

This extens ive poeti c history, which is deduced from the delugeto the reig n of El izabeth, is distributed into twelve books, and con

tains seventy-seven chapters ; it is dedicated to Henry Cary, Lord

Hunsdon, under whose patronage and protection 'Warner appears to

have spent the latter portion of h is life. Such was the popularity of

Al bion ’

s Eng land,”that it threw into the shade what had formerly

been the favourite collection , the Mirror for Mag istrates Warner

was ranked by his contemPoraries, says Dr. Percy, on a leve l withSpenser ; they were called the Homer and Virgil of their ag e “and Meres, speaking of the English tongue, declares, that by his

(Warner’

s) pen , it was much enriched and gorgeously invested“

in

rare ornaments and resplendent 1 Less hyperbolical,and, therefore, more judicious praise, was allotted him by Dmyton,

who, after noticing his in correctnesses, adds with a liberal spirit

— “yet thus let me say

Formy old fii end, some passages there be

In him, which 1 pmtest have talcen me

As yet they have been equalled by fewf f

a decision which subsequent criticism has confirmed.

Ritson’

s Bibliographie Poetics , p. 384 .

1» Reliques, voL ii . 4th edit.

1 W it’s Academy, part ii . edit. of 1598.

§ OfPoets and Poesy, Chalmers’s Eng lish Poets, voLiv. p. 399.

4 P 2

66 1

by Sir Egerton Brydges, in the twelfth number of the British

the same elegant scholar, we have drawn our account, for the originalis so scarce, as to be of hopeless acqu isition.

It will strike the reader, in the first place, that the poems which

Watson termed Sonnets, have no preten sion s, in po int of mechan ismand form, to the character of the leg itimate sonnet. In stead of the

beautiful though artificial construction of the Petrarcan model, theycon sist of eighteen l ines , including three quatra ins in alternaterhyme,

and a couplet appended to each quatrain ; a system of verse tota lly

destitute of the un ion and dign ity which d istingu ish this branch of

poetry in the practice of the Italian s. It should be remarked, however, that our poet has occas ionally g iven na a sonnet in Latin verse,

in which he confines himself to fourteen lin es, and, as he observes,

in the Introduction to his sixth sonnet, commeth somwhat neerer

unto the Italian phrase than the English doth.

” Watson was,

indeed, an eleg ant Latin poet, and in the matter prefixed to his first

and s ixth sonnets, informs na that he had written a poem De

Remedio and that he was then busied in tran slatingPetrarch his sonn ets into

_Latim— which one day may perchance

come to In fact there appears to be more of true poetry in

his Latin than in his Engl ish verse for thoug h to -the Centurie of

Love”must be attributed g reat purity , correctn ess, and persp icuity of

diction , and a vers ification uncommonly

'

polished, harmon ious , and

well sustained, yet the soul of poetry, tenderness , simplicity, and

energy of sentiment, will be found wan ting . In their place Watson

has bestowed upon us a multitude . of metaphysical conceits, an

exuberant store of classical mythology, and an abundance of learned

allusion ; but, to adopt the interesting observations of the criticmentioned m the preceding paragraph, to meditate upon a subject,

British Bibliog rapher, No. XII. p. 7. 1 Ibid. p.

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was edu

;'

cated m that un ivers ity , and that he was a

We are told . likewise by Dorrell, in his Apolog ie,”that his frian'

d

her life, e xpose ber.in this books, I found ,121g t».

Brit. Bibliog r., No. XIV. p. 248 1 Ibid., p. 245.

VOL. 1.

666

poem, in language and rhythm, makes a close approxixnation to

modern u suag e.

39. m a, Gm This very voluminous writer is introducedhere. 111 consequence of his J uvenilia, which constitute the best ofh isworks, hav ing been all printed or circulated before the death of Shak

d ied in his seventy-e ighth year in 1667. He cont inued to wield his

pen to the last month of his existence, and more than one hundred

ofhis pieces, in prose and verse, have beech enumerated by Mr. Parkin a very curious and elaborate catalogue of his works.“ We shall

confine ourselves , however, for the reason already asd g ned, to that

portion ofhis poetiy which was in circulation prev ious to 1616.

It appears from Wither’

s own catalog ue of his works T, that four ofhis earliest poems, entitled Iter Hibernicum,

” Iter Boreale,”

Patrick’s Purgatory ,”

and Philarete’

s Compla in t, were lost in

manuscript. The first of his published productions was prin ted in161 1, under the title of Abuses Strip! and Whipt : or Saty

'

ricall

Essays. Divided into two Bookes ;”8vo. , to which were an nexed

and “ Certaine Epig rams.”This book, he

tells ns i , was written in 161 1, and its unsparing severity involvedhim in persecution, and condemned him for several months to a prison .

It was nevertheless highly popular, and underwent an e ighth impress ion in 1633.

poig nant satires. The reig n of King James,”he observes, was

not propitious to the higher orders ofpoetry. All those bold featm‘

es,

which hourished the romantic energies of the ag e of his predecessor,

had been suppressed by the selfish pusillan imity and pedantic policy

Brit. Bibliog r., No. III. p. 17, et seq.

1 At the end ofhis Fides Ang lica ns ,”1660.

1 In his Warning-piece to London,

"1665 .

667

of this ixg lorions monareh. M v ing fl attery and a bme kind of

luxurious ease, he was insen sible to the ambitions of a g allant spirit,and preferred the cold and bas'ren subtletiw of scholastic learn ing to

the breath ing eloquence of those who were really inspired by the

muse. Poetical cornpositi‘

on therefore soon assumed a new character.

Its exertions were now overla id by learn ing , and the strang e ooneeits

of metaphys ical wit took p lace of the creations of a pure and unso

phisticated fancy. It was thus that Donne wasted in the proénction

of unprofitable an d short-Lived fruit the powers of a most acute and

brill iant mind. It was thu s that Phineas Fletcher threw away upon

an unman

imag ination . The understandingwas more exercised in the ing en iousdistortion of artificial stores, than the faculties which mark the poetin pouring forth the yisions of natural fiction .

Such scenes as youthful poets dream,

On summer eve, by haun ted stream,

were now deemed in sipid. The Fairy Fable s of Gorg eous Ch ivalrywere thoug ht too rude and boisterous, and too unph ilosophical

’

for the

erudite ear of the book-leamed king !As writers of verse now brought their compositions nearer to the

nature of prose, the epech was favourable to the satyt ieal class, fior

which so much foodwas furn ished by the motley and v icious m m

of the nation . Wither, therefore, bursting with indignation at the

v iew of society which presented itself to his young mind, took thisopportunity to indulg e in a sort of publ ication, to Which the prosaictaste of the times was well adapted ; but he disdained, and, perhaps,felt himself unqualified, to use that g l itter of false ornament, which wasnow substituted for the tr ue decorations of the muse. I have arrived,

’

says he to be as pla in as a pack- saddle.

’

Though you under

stand them not, yet because you see this wants somefine phrases and

Vide Preface to Abuses Stript and Whipt.”

4 Q 2

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670

Georg e Norton, tells us, had been long since mamm a l the use

of the author, to bestow on such as had vohmtarily requested it i n

way of adverduref'

words which seem to intimate, that it‘

had bee n

dispersed for the purpose of pecuniary return , and probably wid i the

intent of supporting the hard during his imprisonment in the Mar

shalsea . It has accordingly a title -

pag e which implies a second

impression , and is termed F idelia. Newly corrected and augmented.

”This is a work which oug ht to have protected the memory

ofWither from the sarcasms ofButler, Swift, and Pope ; for it displaysa vein of poetry at once highly eleg ant, itnpass ioned, and descriptive.

To F idelia was first annexed the two exquis ite song s, reprinted byDr. Percy, commencing

Shall I, wasting in dispa ire,

Hence away, thou Syren, leave me.

”

We shall close the list of thoseworks ofWither that fall within the

era to which we are limited, by noticing his Fairs Virtue : th e

Nfistresse ofPhil'arete,’ '

8vo. This beautiful production, glowingwithall the ardours of a poetic fancy, was one of his earliest compos ition s,and 18 alluded to in his Satire to the King ,

”in 1614, before which

period there is reason to suppose it was widely circulated in manuscript ; for in a prefatory ep istle to the copy of 1622, published byJ ohn Grismand, but wh ich was orig inally prefixed to an anonymou

s

edition prin ted by John Marriot, and not now supposed to be in

existence, Wither tells us, that the poem was composed many yearsagone, and, unknown to the author, got out of his custody by an ac

quaintance and he adds, when I first composed it, I well likedthereof, and it well enoug h became my years.

”To high praise of

this work in its poetical capacity, Mr. Dalrymple has annexed the

Reliques, vol. iii., 4th edit. p. 190 264 .

671

impom t remark, that i t unfolds a -more perfect system of female

tnition than h any where else to be discovered.

The great misfortune ofWitherwas , that the multitude of his sub

sequen t publications, many of which were written during the efl'

er

vescence of party zeal, and are frequently debas ed by coarseand vulgarlang uag e, Ov erwhelmed the ma l ts of his earlier productions. Yet it

must be conceded; that his prose, during the whole period of his nu

thorsh ip , g enerally exhibits g reat strength , perspicuity, and freedom

from afi'

ectation ; and on the best of his poetical effusions we maycheerfu lly assent to the following encomium of an able and impartial

judg e

If poetry be the power of command ing the imag ination , conveyedin measure and expressive epithets, Witherwas truly a poet. Perhaps

there is no where to be found a greater variety of Eng lish measure

than in his writing s, (Shakspeare amepted ,) more en erg y of thoug ht,

or more frequent developerDen t of the del icate filaments of the

human heart.”

40 . WOTTGN , SmHem . This elegan t scholar and acmmplished

g entleman was forty-eight years of ag e when Shakspeare died, being

born at Bonghton-Hatll in Kent, in 1568. His correspondence with

Milton on the subject of Comus in 1638, is on record, and it is h ighlyprobable that, on his return from the continent in 1598, after a long

residence of n ine years in Germany and Italy, he would not longremain a strang er either to the reputation or the person of the g reat

Dramatic Luminary of his times.

Having men tioned these g reat poets as contemporaries of Sir

Henry Wotton , it may be a subject of pleasing speculation to conjec

ture how ihr they could be personally known to each other. The

poss ib ility of some intercourse of this kind, though transimt, seems

to have forcibly struck the mind of an eleg an t poet and critic of the

Dalrymple's Extracts fromW ither' s J uvenilia, 1785.

and his Rema ins were collected and published by his amiable friend

Isaac Walton . SirHenry died, Provost of Eton , in December 1639,in M ementya thml year ofhis ag e.

independmt of the Drama, fl ourished during the life-time of Shak

speare, we have hem guided chicfl y by the consideration of their pos itive merit, or great incidental popnlarity ; ami few, if any, who, on

these bases, call for «adrmss ion , have probably been overlooked.There is ene poet, however, whose memory has been preserved b

yPhill ips, and of whom, from the high character g ivm of him by thts

critic, it may be necessary to say a fewwords ; for if the following

marked partiality , a 8110q stimulate u; ah‘

ardent enqu iry after

Jon) : LANE, a fine old Queen Elizabeth’

s gentleman, who was

rank to Spencer ; but they are all to be produc’

t in manuscript,namely his

‘ Poetical Vision,’

his ‘ Alarm to the Poett,’

his Twefive

Momha'

his ‘ G-uy q m-wick, a Heroic Poem

’

ht least as much

as many others that'

are so entitled), and lastly his Supplemenl to

Chaucer’

a Squif-a’s

his writing s which‘

has rmet the eye of a modern critic, has provad a

source of disappointment. Warton , afier recording that a copy of

Tha tt an Poeurnm l pud Brydgu , p. 318, 8 19.

vox.. 1. 4 a

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679

m , Bxcmutn. “ Godfiey n q oig ne, or the Beco,

15119CARPENTER, JOHN. A Serrowfidl Song for sinful] soulw.

A Dolefidl Ditty or sorowful sonet of the Lord

Cn v 'rs , AN'moNY. Hem eM mittenW the

M and Cepha lus. ICu rra n , q ocn . A BriefeoftheB ible

’sHm , l )mwg1e

1596

AW Song . 4to. 1596

Cvt nose, Eu zm m . Ane Godly Dram . 4to. Edin . 1603

Cvrwone, T. C'éltka -

poetarmn, or the Bumble Bee, 4to.

1599

Davms'ronx, Joa na. Ane ' Brief Commendation of Up

richtnes, &c. in Ing lis Meter. 1573

AMemm' iaq the Ltfe and Death of two worthye

Chrittians. In Eng lish Meter. 8vo. 1595

Dawns, Joan . The Scourg e of Folly . Consisting of saty

ricall Epigramma, &c. 8110. 161 1

M'

zcrocomnos. The Diswvery of the Ii ttle Wodd,

with the gov ernment thereof. 4to. 1603

The Muses Sacrifice , or Div ine Meditations. 12mo.

1612

a World of amorous 16

Wife. Small 8vo.

1602 |nDAVISON, Sonnets, Odes, Elsg ies, Madrig a l) ; mad

Dav ison, brethren .

'1smo. §

1 1s

1 That Wittes Pilg rimag e was written ‘before 16 1 1, is ev ident from its being

to in his Scourg efi r Paper-Persmdors : annexed to the Scourg e (f Fofljr, printed

t Beside these producticms here enumerated, Davies published, in 1617,22mt:

writer nmally desig nated himself by the title o a Davies qf'

Ha'M — See 0mm

Literaria, vola i. ii. v. vi. Brit. Bibliog rapher, No.VIII., Beloe’

s Anecdotea, voLiL, and

Wood’s Athenc Oxon. voL i. He alsowrote M Ho RM w W 3m ,

1609.

5 These poetical hrothers publiahed thcir poems with the above title, in a valuable Col

lection of Metrical Miscellanies, called “ A Poetical Rspsodie,”1602, which will be

681

of hinges , princes, dukes, lords , ladyw, kn ig hts,and g entlemen : 81C. 4to. 1

“ 1612

Denmcxs , JOHN. The Imag e of Irelands . 4to. 158 1

1589

BRANT, Tnofi a s . A Medicinable Mbmll , that is, the two

bookes of Horace his satyres, eng lyshed, Ste.

1566

Horace his Arte of Poetrie, pistles, and satyres,

1568

Rowm zs, C. The Mansion ofMyrthe 158 1

Et nsn'

rou , Wu n a u . Elderton’

s Solace in tyme ofhis sickness, contayning srmdrie soneta upon many

pithe parables. 1578

Various B allad: from 1560 to § 1590

ELVIDEN , EDMOND. The Closet of Counselles. Translated

noticed 11m . They are introduoed in the Table as being the principal contrihntori ,

1' This writerwas the most popular halladm aker of his day ; he was by trade a silk

weaver, and the compiler ofvarious Garlandg under the titles of “ The Garland ofGood

W ill ;”

Nash, in his“Have with you to Safl

'

ron

“ his muse from the first peep ing fordn hath stood at livery at

an alehouse wispe, never excwding a penny 11 u day nor n ig ht ; and this deere years ,

tog ether with the silencing of his looms, scarce that ; he being constra ined to betake him

w m ded d e z whenw h proewdeth tha t since Canfl cma s, or hisjigg e of k bnfw tbe

King , not one merrie dittie will come from him, but The thmder-bolt ag ainst mm ers,

I Drant was a copious Latin Poet, having published two miscellaniu under the titles

OIW and Pomata Van'

a .

§ A quotation from one of the song s or ballads of this drunken rhymcr, is to be found

in Mucc do abmd Nothing , (Reed s Sbskspea1-e, voLvi. commencing

The god of love,Tbat sits above.

”

VOL. I .

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688

death ofPh illis : paraphrastically tran slated out

of Latine into Eng l ish hexameters. 4to. 1588

The Arcadian Rhetm‘icke.

”Verse and Prose. 8170 .

1588

The Countess of Pembroke’

s Emanuel. Conteiningthe nativity , passion, burial, and resurrectionof Christ : tog eather with certaine psalmes of

Dav id. 4to. 1591

The Countesse of Pa nbroke’

s Ity church. Contein ingthe affectionate life, and unfortunate death of

Phillis and Amyn tas . 4to. 1‘ 1591

The Third Part of the Countesse ofPembrokes Ivychurch : entitled : Amintas Dale. 4to. 1592

Heliodorus’

s Ethiozn’

cs. 1591

FREEMAN, THOMAS. Rub and a Great Cast and Runne, and

a Great Cast. The second bowle. In 200

Epig rams. 4to. § 1614

FULWELL, ULPIAN. The Flower of Fame. Conta in ing thebright Renowne, and most fortunate taig h e of

King Henry the v iij. 4to. 1575

GALE, DUNSTAN. Pyramus and Thisbe. 1597

f This production consists of a pastoral and an elegy ; the former being a translation

of the Amin ta of Tasso.

I Praunce also published in a work of his, entitled The Lawyers Log icke, 1588, an

hexameter version ofVirg il’

s Alexis . His afl '

ectation ofLatin metres has condemned himto oblivion for as Phillips justly remarks, they neither become the Eng lish, nor anyother modern lang uag e.

” Edit. spud Brydg es, p. 109.

5 Wood tells us (Ath. Oxon . vol. i. p. that Freeman was held in esteem byDonne, Dan iel, Chapman, and Shakspeare ; and to these poets, and to Spenser, he has

addressed epig rams. For numerous specimens of this poet, see Warton, vol. iv., Ellis,and Park in Censura Lit. vol. iv. p. 129.

This poem was afierwards annexed to Greene’s History ofArbasto,

”16 17, where

it is termed a lovely poem.

”It was reprinted in 1626. Ou Greene’s authority, I have

ranked it beyond mediocrity.

4 s 2

684

Gam es , WILLIAM . L insi-Woolsie : or Two Centuries of

Epig rammes. 121110 . 1‘ 1613 [m e ss

GARTER, BARNARD. The Trag icall History of two Eng lish

1565

Gwronn, Hum an . A Posie of Gillofl owm , eche differing from other in colour and odour, yet all

sweete. 4to. 1580 4Gonnmo, Aarnua . The xv . Books: of P. Ovidius Nam,

en tytuled Metamorphos is, a works very , plea

saunt and delectable. 4to. 1567

Goos e, BARNABY. The Zodialce of Life, written by the

godly and learned poet Marcellus Palhngenius

Newly translated into Eng lish Verse. 400 . 1565 lThe Pop ish King dom , or te ig ne of Antichrist.Written in Latine verse by Thomas Naog eorg us,

and Eng lyshed by Barnaby Googe. 4to. 1 1570

verse, by cm. Balista, translated . by 11 G.

8vo. § 1577

GORDON, PATRICK. The Famous Histom of the Valiant

Bruce, 1n heroic verse. 4to. 1615

Gone“, S13 Anrn na . The Olymp ian Catastmphe, dedios ted to the memory of the most heroica ll Lord

f A collectiomwhich consists, observes Mr. Park,“of the saddest trash that ever as

sumed the name of Epig rams ; and which, with a very slig ht alteration, well merits tihesa rcasm bestowed by Shenstone on the poems of a Kidderminster bard :

Thy verses, friend, are Iinseywoolsey stufl ;And we must own you

’

ve measur’d out enoug h.

Censura Lit. vol. v. p, 348.

1 The Popish Kingdome cons ists offour books, ofwhich the last conta ins a curious

and interesting description offeasts, holidays, and Christmas g ames ; including , of course,many of the customs, and almost all the amusemen ts of the period in whtch itwaswritten.

5 Bes ides these works, Goog e published in 1569, Eg log a, Epitaph; and Sonnets,”

12mo.

685 .

Henry, late illustrious Prince of Wales, 81C.

By Sir Arthur Gorges, Kn ight. 1’

1612

Dawn’s Pharsa lia conta ining the Civill Wartes

betweene Caesar and Pompey . Written in Latine Heroicall Verse by M. Annaaus Lucanhs.

Gorg es, Kn ig ht jl: 1614 s lGOSSON, STEPHEN . Speculum Hmnanwm. In stanzas of

1580

GRANGE,del ightful to the reader, if he abuse not the

scent of the fl oures. 1577 l a:

Gamma , Tn oms s . A Poets Vision and a Prince’ s Glorie.1603

1 A Poem 1n manuscript, of con siderable leng th, tog ether with some Sonnets, pre

served among st numerous treasures of a similar nature, which belong ed to the late Duke

of Bridg ewater. and now belong to the Marquis of Stafford . Todd’

s Spenser, vol. i.

p. 87. Mr. Todd has g iven as a specimen of Sir Arthur’s talents, by the production of a

Sonnet from this manuscript treasure, which indicates no common g enius,_and induces us

to wish for the publication of the whole.

1 Sir Arthur was the intimate friend of Spenser, who lamented the death of [ d yGorges m a beautiful elegy entitled “Daphnaida : he has recorded, likewise, the con

jug al afi'

ection and the talents of her husband, under the name ofAh-yon, in the followingeleg ant lines :

And there is sad Alcyon, ben t tommmte,

Thoug h fit to {name an everlasting dittie,

Whose g entle sprig ht forDaphne’s death doth tourne

Sweet layes of love to endlesse plaints of pittie.

Ah pensive boy, pursue that brave conceipt,In thy sweet eg lantine ofMerifl ure,

Lift up thy notes unto theirwanted heig ht,Thatmay thy Muse and mates to mirth allure.

”

Todd’

ss Spemer, vol. viii. p. 23.

5 Th" poemwas printefl , says Ritson, at the end of Kenton’s Mirror ofman ’

a life,”

1580. Gom n is introduced here in consequence of the celebrity attributed to him byhe was ranked with

Sir P. Sidney, Tho. Cha loner, Edm. Spenser, Abrah. Fra 11nce, and Rich. Bernfield.

”

"Th is forms the sem d pan of a m k by the same writer, called “ Tbe GoldenAphroditis,

"and consists of 19 pieces, f0ur ofwhich are in prooe.

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688

Hs vwoon, Tnou s s. Troia Bn'

tam'

ca : or, Great Britaine’

s

Troy. A Poem, devided into 17 severall Can

tons, &c. 1‘

1609

11 100 1118, JOHN. The First Part of the Mirow of Mag is

trates, contayn ing the falles of the first informnate Princes of this Lande : from the commingof Brute to the incarnation of our Saviour, &c.

1575

HOLLAND, Ros s s '

r. The Holie EM of our Lord and

Saviour Jesus Christ’s nativ itie, l ife, aetes,

miracles, doctrine, death, passion, resun ection

and ascen sion : gathered into English meeter,&c. 8vo. § 9 1594

HOWELL , THOMAS. The Arbor of M e ; Where in 13 com

prised pleasant poems and pretie poesies .

1568

Thomas Howell’

s Devises for his own s exercise and

his friend’s pleasure. 4to . 158 1

HUBBARD, WILLIAM . The Trag ica ll and Lamentable His

toric of two faythfull mates, Ceyx kyng e of

Thrachyne, and Alcione his Wife. 1569

1 A writer known to g rea ter advan tag e by his H'

zerarcht’

e qf the Blessed Ang els, folio,1685 ; a work of sing ular curiosity and much amusement.

1 Hig g ins termed this thefirst pa rt, merely in reference to the collection by Baldwinin 1559, which, commencing at a much later period, was eiterwu 'ds called “ the h stpu t.

"

Hig g im’s publication, in 1575, contalns 17 Leg ends from Alhanact to Ireng lu ; but in

1587 he edited an ed ition ofthe Hu man including Baldwin’

3 part, and with the addition

of 24 Legends of his own composition, which carries forward his department tothe death

g In theDedication of this work, the fashionable reading of the times ishated . Novelties in these days delig ht dainty cares, and fine filed phrasesfantasy

’s, that no book except it abound with the one or the other, or both

brooked of them. Some read Gamay “, some Guevas'ia, some pn ise the Pa lace q k a.

sure, and the like, whereon they bestowwhole days, yea, some whoie months and ya rn,

that scarce bestow one minute on the Bible, albeit the work ofGod.

”

I For specimens of this volume, which is supposed to he nnique, see British BMo

g rapher, No. 11. p. 105 .

689

HUDSON, THOMAS. The Historic of J udith in forme of a

Poeme. Translated fromDu Bartas . 8vo. 1584

HUME, ALEXANDER. Hymnes, or Sacred Song es, whereinthe right U se ofPoesie may be espied. Edin .

4to. 1599

HUNNIS, WILLIAM . A Hy vefull qfHunuye, contayning the

firste booke ofMoses called Genesis. 4to. 1578

AHandfull of Honisuckles. 1578

Seven Sobs of a Son '

owfull Souls for Sinne, &c. 810.

24to. 1585

JACKSON, RICHARD. The B attle of F loddon in n ine fits . T 1564

JENEY, THOMAS. A Discours of the present troobles in

Fraunce, and miseries of this time, compyled

by Peter Ronsard, g entilman of Vandome ;

tran slated by Thomas Jeney, g entilman . 4to.

1568

JENYNGES, EDWARD. The Notable Hystory of two F a ithfull

Lovers, named Alfag us and Archelaus . Wheat inis declared the true fig ure of amytie and freynd

ship. 4to. 1574

J OHNSON, RICHARD. The N ine Worthies q ondon. 4to. 1592

Ang lorum Lachrymae, in a sad passion, complayn ingthe death of our late Queene Elizabeth . 4m.

1603

KELLY, EDMUND. Poems on Chemistry , and on the Philosophers Stone. 1 1591

KEMPE, WILLIAM . A Dutzful l Invectz’

ve again st the moste

haynous treasons of Ballard and Babington , 810.

4to. 1587

1~ A11 edition of this “ famous old ballad was published by Thomas Gent of York,

about 1740, who tells na, that it was taken from an antient manuscript, which was

transcribed by Mr. Richard Guy, late schoolmaster at Ing leton, in Yorkshire.

”Sabse

quent editions have been published by Lambe and Weber.

1: Printed in Ashmole’

s Theatrum Chendam Britanniam.

VOL. 1 . 4 '

r

690

KENDALL, TIMOTHY. Rowers q p ig-mmmes, out ofsun

drie the mest singular authors, as well auncient

as late Writers.”To which, as a second part,

Trifl es, by Timothie Kendal, dev ised and written

(for the waste part) at sundrie tymes in his

yong and tender age. 16mo. 1"

1577

KNELL, THOMAS. Ah Ep itaph on the lifh and death of

D. Boner, sometime unworthy Bishop of London , &c. 8vo. 1569

Answere to the most heretical and tray'

terous papis

tical hil, cast in the streets of Northampton,8m. 1570

KYFFIN , Ma nama. The Blessednes of Brytaine, or a cele

bration of the Quee‘

ne’

s holyday,~&c. 4170. 1587

1 Perhaps the only piece above mediocrity in Kendall’s Epig rams is the following

which I consider as very happily rendered :

M A RT I AL.

MARTIAL, the thing es that do atta ine

The hupy h‘

fe be these I findeThe riches lefis, not got with pane ;The fruitefull g round, the qu iet minde.

The egall fiend ; no‘

g u idg‘

e no strife ;

No charg e ofrule, nor g overnaunce ;

W ithout disease the healthfull life ;The household of continuance.

The mean dyét, no delicate fare ;True wisdome joynd with simplenes ;The nig ht discharg ed of all care,Where wine the witmay not oppresse.

The faithfixll wife without debate ;Such sleepes as may beg uile the night ;Content thyselfwith thine estate,Ne wishe for death, nor feare his might. Fol. 18, b.

1

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692

Christian Passions, contayned in two hundred

1597

LOVELL, THOMAS. ADialog ue between Customs and Veritie,

.concern ing the use and abuse of dauncing and

niinstrelsie. 8vo. 1581

Manam a , JOHN. The Halie Historie of King David.

410.

' 1579

Ma g n u m, Gsava ss . The Poem of Poems , or Sion’

s Muse,contayning the divine song of king Salomamdev ided into e ight eclog ues . 8

'

vo. 1595

v iii k n ig ht ; a heroick poem. 8vo. 1595

Devoreux. Vertues Tears for the losse of the most

Christian King Henry, third of that name, kingof Praun ce ; and the untimely death of the

most noble and heroicall“

g entleman, W aiter

Devoreux.

"From the Ftench of ' Madam

The Tears of the B eloved, or the Lamentation of

St. John , conta ining the death and pas sion of

Christ. 4to.

Master J esu s . 4to . 1Afi osto

'

s Satyres. 4to.

1 The 200 Sonnets are followed by 100, entitled Sundry affectionate Sonets of a

feeling conscience ;"by 20, ca lled A11 Introdution to peculiar prayers,

”and by 59,

termed Sonnets of the Author to divers .

”In The Return from Parnassus,

”is

thus, not undeservedly, sentenced to oblivion Locke and Hudson, sleep you, quietshavers, among the shaving s of thema s, and let your books lie m some old nook amonp told boots and shoes : ao, you may avoid my censure.

’ — Ancient British Drama, vol. i.p. 49.

1 This is attributed to Markham on the authority ofMr. Haslewood. See British

Bibliog rapher, No. IV. p. 381 .

Mr. Park oonceivm this translation to be the production ofRobertTolte, rather thanofMarkham. Ritson

’

a Bibliog raphin, p. 274, note.

693

the lamentable compla int of Paul ina, the

M 0118 Roman curtezan , sometimes Mrs. unto

the g reat cardinal] Hypolito, of Rat 1609

MAXWELL, J AMES. The Laudable L ife, and Dep lomble

Death, of our late peerlesse Prince Henry , 810.

16 12

MIDDLETON, Cams'

romma . The Hwton’

e of Heaven, con

tain ing the poetica l fiction s of all the starres in

the firmament. 4to. 1596

The L eg end of Humphrey Duke of Gloucester,

4to.

MIDDLETON , THOMAS. The W'

isdome of Saéaman para

phrased, 4to. 1597

MONTGOMERY, ALEXANDER . The Cherrie and the Sid e, Ed in.

4to.-

1‘

MUN CASTER, RICHARD. N cem'

a Consolans, or a comfortingcomplaint. Latinand Eng l ish. 4to. 1608

MONDAY, ANTHONY. TheMzrrour qfMutabilitie. Selected

out of the sacred Scriptures. 4to. 1579

1580

pardes and Nymphes. 1533

1- It is to be reg retted that no oomplete edition of the Works of Montgomery has

hitherto been published . Those printed by Foulis and Urie 111 175 1 and 1751, are veryimperfect ; but mig ht soon be rendered faithful by consulting the manuscript eolleetion of

Montg omery’s Poems, presented by Drummond to the Un iversity of Edinburgh. This

MS., extending to 158 pages 4 to., con tains, beside odes, psalms, and epitaphs, 70 sonnets ,

written on the Petrarcan model ; and, if we may judg e from the six published by Mx.

Irving , exhibiting a considerable portion of poetic vigour. The Ohm ic and the 3a ,

which, as the critic just men tioned observes, has maintained its popularity for the space

oftwo hundred years,” must be pronounced m some of 1ta parts, beautiful, and, as a whole,

much above mediocrity. Sibbald has printed ten of our author’s poems in the third

volume ofhis Chronicle ofScottish Poetry.

694

Munday’

s Strang est Adventure that ever

4to. 1601

MURRAY, Dawn. The fl ag ieall Death of W 1"

in seven liue stanzas , to which is added h‘

a

contain ing certa ine Sonets. 121110 . 1’

'

161 1

NEWTON, Th oma s. Atropoion Dalian : o r the Death of

Delia, with the tes tes ofher fu’

nerall. 4to . 1603

A Pleasant New HM : or, a frag rm1t posie made

of three fl owers, r03a, rosalynd, and rose

maryd : 1604 lN101101 3031, Baum . Acolastus, his after witte. 4170 . 1600

NIXON, ANTHONY. The Chfistian Navy , wherein is plsynelydescribed the perfect course to sayle to the

haven of happiness . 4to.

NORDEN, J oh n . The Storehouse of Varieties, an Mpoeme. 4to. 1601 l

and Envie’s Opposite. § 4to.

'

161 4 [ a

Ovamunv ,‘

8111 THOMAS. A Wife : now the Widdow of Sir

and singular poem of the 'Cho ise of a‘Wife.

1614 v]

f The Sonnets of Murray appeared five years anterior to those of Drummond, and

thoug h not equal to the efl'

us ions of the bard of Hawthornden, are yet entitled to the

praise of skilful con struction and frequently ofpoetic expression . A copy is now sédpmto be met with ; but specimens may be found in Campbell

’

s History of Poetry in Scot

land, and 111 Censura Literaria, voLx. 375 .

1 This poet, who, 1n the former part of his li123, practised as a physician, at Bhtky, in

Cheshire, was a Latin poet of some eminence, and one ofthe trans lators of Seneca's Tra

g edies, published im158 1.

5 For a speeilnen of this poem, see Beloe’s Anecdotes, vol. ii. p. 104.

[1 Thoug h said to be the fourth edition, this copy is supposed by Mr. Neve to be

tbe'

fin t impression . (See Cursory Remarks on Ancient Eng l ish Poets, 1 789, p.Few poems have been more popular than Overbury

’

s Wife g”

owing partly to'

the good

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810; Whereunto is annexed a tale of Troy.

1589

Polyhymn ia describing the honourable triumphs at

her Majestie, &c. 4to. 1590

the Garter : displaied in a poeme

ulatorie, 8m. 4m. T 1593

Pat: N11, Tee s DE LA . The Pleasant Fable of

1 ish. 1mo. 1Pes oY Wu n au .

f

t~ to thefairest Ce lia . 4to. 1594

Pmows , The Second Part of the Loves of Hero

and Im der, 8m 4to.

ta

ine, 8m

.

4to.

very pleasant to reade. 8vo. 1577

A Com 1 atioa of the Right Noble and

Ladye Marg l' it Dug l es o G

of Lennox, &c. 11

L.» v"

ceited J ests”wm published m in 1 7

I An ample BM IYSiS Of The Hl flWfl e Of ‘5

1

1 1 111773 MiL“: Ww fl vs

Bfl fifih Bibliog raphar, NO. X . p 5 ma .

1'iffiif,‘

.fl

rare vermon , little laudatory can be

5 Of this tr: poem, unknown to R 1 1 ;"

4bef readerwill find a dw iption by Mr.

Haslewood 111 the British Bibliog raphem, Na, 111, sf.1 Mr. Beloe conjectum this r:

R

the Production of a writer d ifferent from the

Pms'ron , Wu ma n . for the

Rig ht Reverent Father in God, John Ivele,

Doctor ofDivin itie and Bisshop of Sarisburie.

1571

1a hi. Bibliog raphin, says, that no one e xceptWarton appa ra to have metwith this publiwtiou extracts from it, however, may be found 111 the Monthlym ,

vo1. xiv . p. 17.

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STEWART, Jamesm e Fmsr, KING 0? ENGLAND. TheEssayes

of a Pra ctise in the Divine Art of Poes ie. 410 .

1584

410 . Edin . § 1591

Ta sman , Rtemum. Toyes : in Verse.

in his sieknm a little before his deathe fl 1589

clownerie : a patteme whereof I will propound to your judgm g u near u l m bd ng

pafl ofone ofhh descripfions ofa tempesg which is thns

Thm did be make heaven’s v

’

anlt to n bound

W i th thicke thwacks tburly bouncing .

”

Nash’s Prefiwe to ( 31011a Arcadia .

f Stores tfi of Wolsey, which is about to be teprinted, has a cli im 11pon our atten

M both fbr hs m tter and manner : he was a contributor also to

and has been hig hly extolled by his friend Fitzg efl'

rey, in Afl hnis, lib. 1.

I Tbe most interesting part of this volume, from the nature of its mbjecg is Ane

schort Treatise contein ing some Reulis and Cautelis to be observit and eschewit 111 Scotti:

Poesie,”in which the reg a l critic observes, that sindrie hes written of 1t in Eng lish,

”an

assertion whichwould lead to the supposition that some ofour earliest critics had perished ;for Gawa ig ne

’

s Certayne Notes of In struction concerning the making of Verse or

Rhyme,”1575, appears now to be the only piece of criticism on poetic composition which

preceded James’

s Essayes.”

9The Poetica l Exercises contain but two poems,— the Furies,

”traDslated fi '

bmD11Bath s, and The Lepanto,

”an orig inal piece. Several minor poems, introduced into

his own works and those ofothers, some sonnets and a translation of the psalms, were

[I Of this far-famed comedian and jester, Fuller says, that when Queen Elizatwth wasserious (I dare not say sullen ) and out of good humour, he could nndnmpish her at his

703

TAYLOR, JOHN . Heaven’

s B lessing and Earth’

s Joy , 8m. on

the marriage of Frederick Count Palatine, and

the Princess El izabeth ; including Epithalamia,&c. 1613

The Mpp ing or Sh ipp ing of Abuses, or the W001

gathering ofWit. 1‘ 1614

Torre, ROBERTE. Two Tales tran slated out of Ariosto,&c. With certaine other Italian stanzas and

proverbes. 4to. 1597

Laura . The toyes of a traveller ; or the feast of

fancie, div ided into 3 parts. 4to. 1597

Orlando Inamorato. The three first bookes, &c.

Done into English heroicall verse. 4to. 1598

Alba , the month’

s minde of a melancholy lover. 8vc .

1598

Honours Academy , or the famou s pastoral] of the

faire shepherdesse Julietta. Verse and prose.

F0110 . 1610

The Fruits of J ealousie. Contayning the disastrousChance of two English Lovers, overthrowne

throug h meere Conceit of J ealousie. 4to. I 1615

pleasure. Her hig hest favourites would in some cases g o to Tarlton before they would g o

to the Queen , and he was their usher to prepare their advantag eous accession to her. In

a word, he told the Queen more ofher faults than most of her chaplains, and cured her

melancholy better than all her physicians .

” Indeed, in the lang uag e ofa contemporary ,

Of all the jesters in the landeHe bare the praise awaie.

”

Vide Ri tson Bibl. p. 359.

1 Of this voluminous scribbler, whose rhyming spirit, remarks Grang er, did not eva

porate with his youth, who held the pen much long er than he did the oar, and who was

the poetaster ofha lfa century, I have o nly been able to insert two of his earliest pro

ductions, the rema inder being subsequent to 16 16, and extending to 1653. Hewas thirtytwo when Shakspcare died and the waterman,

”observes Mr. C ha lmers, must have

ofien smiled Shakspcare, who is said to have lived on The Bankside.

”— Apology, p. 101 .

1: The Emites qf J ea lousie, a long poem in octave measure, may be found at the'

close

g iven in Censura Literaria, vol. iv. p. 403.

704

Tas sao, e s u . A Da intie Noseg ay of divers smelles,

1577

Tvnos , Eu zs s s'

rn , QUEEN or ENGLAND. Two L ittle An

lhemes, or things in meeter of hir majestie. 1‘

1578

TURNER, t naan. Nosce Te (Hwnors. ) 1 1607

TWYNE, THOMAS. The whole xij Doakes of the fi ad das ofVirg ill . Whereof the first ix. and part of the

tenth, were converted into English meeter byThomas Pha

'

e'

r esquier, and the residue sup

pl ied, and the whole worke tog ether newly set

forth, by Thomas Twyne g entleman . Am. 1573

Tn , Cams 'rom a. A Notable Historys of Nastag io and

trans lated out of Italian into Eng l ish. 121 110 .

1569

Um s snowus , Tnou s s. Ovid his Invecti'oe against Ibis.Svc. 1569

fl e EM HM e of Thmm md M Q &e

Written in Eng lish Meeter. 8vo.

1 Besi de these anthems. which were l icensed to her printer, Christ. Barker, Nov .

her Msja ty wrote a mfiety ofm afl pim wme ofwhicb have been presefl ed by fl m tz

ner, Pnttenhsm, and Soothem, and reprinted by Percy, Ellis, and Ritsou. The fiurmmhPsalm also, and the Speech of the orus in the second Act of the Hercules (Eva ns of

Seneca, ha ve been published by Mn Parlt, the latter poem being a specimen of blank

m — Wde Park’s Royal and Noble Authors, vol. i. p. 102.

Of the execrable fl attery which was systems tically bestowed on this monarch, the following eulog ium upon her poetry, is a curious instance. After enumerating the best powof his ag e, Puttenham thus proceeds z

— “ But last in recital] and first in deg ree is the

Queene our sovereig ns Lady, whose learned, delicate, noble Muse, easily surmonnteth all

the rest that have written befiore her time or since, for sence, sweetna se and subtillitie, be

it Oq leg in ig rm or any other kinde ofpoeme, Heroick, Lyriclte, wherein it shd l

plu m ber Majestie wemploy her penne, even by as much oddes as her owne a cellent

ests te and deg ree exceedeth all the rest ofher most hnmble vasu lls .” -The Arte of English Poesie, reprint, p. s t.

t A Collection op ig rams.

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am

t wr, WW . m m The ghmous fiihand

honouu bie death of Sir John Chandos, 8m.

Capitall de Buz. Th e benoumble lik and lang nmh

ing death of Sir John'

de Gralhy Capitall de

- 1593 |wYarns, JAMES. The W ell of Courtest

'

e, whereunto is

adjoyned The Holde of Humihtie ; with the

11 Dialogue betweene Ag e and Youth ; and

other matters herein conteined; 4to. 1 1582

Translated out of Span ish into English. Prose

and Verse. Folio. § 1598 111'Zovcns , mem o. The Dove, or Passag es of Cosmo

College, in 1613 l

Several articles in this table, it will .be observed, are withoutmymark designating their merit in the scale, a defalcation which hasoccurred from our not hav ing been able to procure either the wotksthemselves , ore ven specimens of them, a circumstance not emitingwonder, if we consider the extreme rarity of the greater part of the

pieces which form the catalog ue.

1 These biog raphical poems wereadded to the 11q

“ True use ofArmos'ie,”1 592,

communicated a description of it in Censurs Lit. voL iii. p. 175 .

§ Th1s rom1mce, which abounds with poetry, is of the psston l species ; it h written on

the ph n d Sidney’

s Am dh m w t exhfl fiu m ny bem thhl pm ga both h pm

and verse : twen ty-seven ofits poetieal efl hsions bave been inm ted in

and several have been lately reprin ted in“Restimm,

”No. VII. aoeompm ied by some in

M ng remsrks fimn the pen of Sir Egerton Brydg es.

"For a spedmm d thh pm which “ is s ooneise geog rsphical do cription of three

and which

709

mediocrhy rnay be said to charactefi se the prodnctions d Baldwyne

In the sm e yearwhich produeed the fonrth edition of haldwyne's

Hig g ins, which, commencing at an earlier period than his predecessor’ swork, he entitled The firste Part of the NIirour for Magistrates."

This portion commences, after an Induction, with the legend of KingAlbanach the youngest son of Brutus , and terminates with that of

Lord Itang las,“slayne about the yeere before Christ -f

’ includingseventeen h1stories, the sole composition ot

i

Hig g ins. Itwas reprinted,

with l ittle or no alteratton , m 1578, and occas ion ed Baldwyne’

s prior

publication to be called The Last Part.

The year 1578, however, not only produced this second impress ion

Baldwyne’

s labours, with the addition of two leg ends , and an inter

stories, and en titled The Seconde part of the Mirrour ofMag istrates,

the Conquest of Gwaar unto the cornn of Duke Will iam the

Conquerer,”4to.

A much more complete edition of this very curious collection of

of poetic biography at length appeared in 1587, under the care of

Higgins, who, blending Baldwyne’

8 pieces with his own former pub

lications , and adding g reatly to both parts , produced a quarto volume

deemed, it was still further augmented, and, in fact, dig es ted anew byRichard N icools, who, in 1610, published his copy of the work withthe following title : A Mm ourforMag istrates, being a true Chron iclehistory of the untimely falles of such unfortunate prin ces and men of

note as have happened since the first entrance ofBrute into this Ilanduntil] th is our ag e. New1y enlarged with a last part called a WinterN ig ht

’

s Vision, being an addition of such Trag edies especially famous

711

specimen s ofdramatic speeches, incidents, and characters, and that it

has thrown into a metrical fi rm the most interesung passages of the

The na t wer k alls fbr our M on is Tne Psnm ss op

Dam mwm ofiginally yubfished in W with the following

pithie and learned inventions : dev ised and written fiw the most part

M Yloopn vith

to befsolde,”4eot

Though, until the late re -print by Sir Egerton Brydg es, th is mis

cellany had beoome extretnely mre'

t, yet numerous editions of it

Were cafl ed fm dming the first thhtf yem ofhs existence 111 1577,

and lM Dide ag s in pnblished it in qw to, and it is remarltabl'e for

being the only book of his printing which hw reached the present

May-Day ; a wittie comedic. Divers times acted at “ The Blache Fryers ;

”4to.

Act iii. fol. 39.

1 A’

copy of this Miscellany, of the edition of 1580, sold at the Roaburg he Sfi for

53 .

Ju per Hey'wood.

F. K.

M. Dewe.

R. Efi] .

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In g oing to my naked bed, as one that wonld bave slept,I hea rd a wife syng to her child, that long before hnd wept

She dg hed som and u ng fuhm wbryng the babe to mst,n at wmld nmm bat ceed sdn in m kyng at bu bm t :

She was full wearie of herwatche, and g rieved with her child,

She rocked it and ratsd lt, untill on her it smilde :Then did she saie nowe have l fotmde the prrm rbe trne to pmve,'

Ih e fafl yng out of fs ithfull fi

The happiness of the illustration ,”remarks Sh

'

rEgerton Brydges ,the facility, elegance, and tenderness of the language, and the exqu i

s ite turn of the whole, are above commendation ; and show to what

occasional polish and refinement our literature even then had arrived .

Yet has the treasure which this g em adorned, lain‘

buried and inaccess ible, except to a fl aw curioas collectors, for at ieast a century and

an halfi”1

‘

Edwards has a song offour stanzas In commendation ofMusick, 1:of which the htat has been quoted by Shakspeare in Romeo and

J ul iet affording a proof, if any were wanted, that the madnw of

Edwards were very popular in their day.

Of the poetry of WilliamHunnis the more remarkable features area pecul iar fl ow of vers ification , and a delicate turn upon the words ,

1 1 11111311 111 1 1 mine eyes did view and markThy beauty fa ir for to behold,Andm fimew e

‘

smsrhmhmm m m m m m mI would as then l hsd been free

From ears to hear and eyes to see.

Reprint, P 42 1» Preface to his reprint, p. vi. 1 Reprint, p. 55 .

$Reed's Shskspeu e, voLxx. Act iv. sc. 5.

715

And whm in mind l fid oonsent

To followthns my fancy'

s wfl l,

And when my heart did fimt relent

To taste such bait tnyself to spill,

I would my heart had been as thine,

Or else thy heart as sofi as mine '

What mischief tnore might thou devise.Than thy dear friend to have in scorn,

ing ;”

All thing es are vain ,”which is a truly beautiful poem ; t1ud

The compla int of a 81nn er Neither the productions of Heywood, nor of the Earl ofOxfbrd, surmoun t med iocrity .

Of the remain ing writers who ass isted in forming this collection ,

M Bewhas written five pieces ; Arthur Bowchm one ; 111 . Candish,

one ; Thos. Churohya1-d, one ; G. Gashe, one ; Richard Hill, seven ;

Lodowiek Lo d, one ; T.Marshall, two ; Barnaby Rich, one ; D. Saads,

five ; M Thom , two §M mmand there are fivewith the s ig namre

sist of moral precepts vers ified, an d, mong h litt1e entit1ed to the

appellation of poetry, h'

om any display either of nnag ery or invention ,are yet of high value as developing the progress both of literary and

The popularity ofEdwards’s Miscellany produced, two yen s afiu .

ward, another collectson of a similar kmd, under the titte of“A ( 10111

s toos Gau s s ? or Gu am Im nrrom. Garnishsd and M ed

with Divers Dayntie Dev ices, right delicate and delightihll, to reeveste

Reprin t, n 57. 58. 1 Ibid. p. 14 . 37. 87.

716

eche modest minde withall. mm framed'

a

'

nd fashioned in sundrie

formes, by Divers Worthy Workemen of late dayes : and nowjoyn edtogether and builded up : By T. P. Imprinted at London, fo rRichard Jones.Of th is work, one copy only,

”relates Mr. Park, is known to

have surv ived the depredation of time. This was purchased by

Dr. Farmer, with the choice poetical stores ofMr. Wynne, which hadbeen formed in the seventeenth century by Mr. Narcissus Luttrell .At Dr. Farmer

’

s book-salethis unique was procured by Mr. Malone

from whose communicative kindness a transcript was obtained, whichfurn ished the present reprint. One hiatus, occas ioned by the loss ofa leaf, occurs at p. 102, wh ich it will be hopeless to supply, unless

some chance copy should be lurking in the corner ofamusty chest, a

family-library, or neg lected lumber-closet ; thoug h, m consequence of

the estimation in which all antiquated rarities are now held, even

such hiding -

places have become very ass iduously explored.

”

By the Initials T. P. we are to understand Thomas Proctor, the

editor .oi' ’

this Gorg ions Gallery,”

and who has been noticed in thepreceding table on account of his Pretie Pamphlets,

”which com

mence at p. 125 of Mr. Park’s Reprint. His verses following thistitle are numerous, and in various metres , and indicate him to have

been no mean observer of life and manners. If he display little of

the fancy of the poet, he is not often deficient in moral we ig ht of sentimen t, and thoug h n ot remarkable for e ither the melody or correct

ness of his vers ifieation , he may be cons idered as hav ing passed the

Of the other contributors our information is so scanty , that we can

only mention Anthony Munday and Owen Rog dem‘

and this in conse

quenceb f . the htat hav ing prefixed a copy of verses In commendation of this Gallery,

”and the second a more elaborate poem, To the

curious company of Sycophants.”

It is probable that they were bothcoadjutors in the body of the work.

Vide Heliconia, Part 1. Advertisement.

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7 18

fication , and composed in a vein of muc h perspicuity with regard to

did ion. His associates, as far as we have any authority from the

work itself, amount only to five ; and these, With the exception of

Leonard Gibson, who claims only one piece, cons ist of names nu

known elsewhere in the annals of toetry. Two effusions are m i.

buted to J . Tasman ; two to Peter Picks ; one to M Richcmhou,

and one to Georg e Manning lon. This last production, denominatedA sorrowfull Sonet.

”if we make allowance for a commencement

too alliterative, possesses a large share ofmoral pathos, and unaffecteds implicity .

Thirty- two poems occupy the pages of this pleas ing little volume,

among which. at p. 23. , is ANew Courtly Souet qf the Lady Grea s

sleeves, to the new tune qf Greensleeves. alluded to by Shakspeare inthe Merry q f M ndser, Act ii. Sc h . snd which throws somecurious l ig ht on the female dress of the period.

In point of intm'

est, vivacity, and metrical harwa ty, this eomp ilation has a decided superiority over the Gorgions Gallery ofGallantInventions.” It is, in a ghas tmeasure, formed of ballads and song s.

adapted to welhknown popular tunes, and, though its poets havebeen arbitrarily eonfined in the structure of their verse by the

'

pwcomposed music, yet many of their lyrics have a smoothness and

sweetness in the compos ition of theirthe atten tion of a modem ear.

The open ing ofMr.Park’s Advertisement” to his Reprint of thisCollection includes so much just, and elegantly expressed, criticism

11 1 11001111 ,

719

on

the opportunity of trml sfes'ring it to out pages1Between the Gorgions Gallery ofGallant Inventionsf

’

he remarks;printed in 1578, and the present miscellany in 1593; an interva1 of

only fifteen years, there will be traced no inconsfi erable advance

towards poetical eleg ance and sentimental refinement. Watson ,

Breton, Peale; and Lodge, contributed very materially to the g race,

and melody, and streng th, of our amatory, lyric, and satiric v erse ;

while Spenser, Dan iel; and Drayton enlarged the sphere of the alle

g ot ie, and historic, and descriptive Muse. But the magnitude of the

works of the two latter poets, owing to the subjects they nnhappilyselected, has oonduced to deaden that reputation which several of

their minor effus ion s were calculated to keep alive. The very labours

tracted it. Their ponderous pmductions are i neorpowated indeedwith the late g eneral col lection s of British Poets, but where is the

poetic amateur who pen i ses them ? They resemble certa in drugs ina family—dispensary, which, though seldom if ever taken, still eke out

the assemblag e. From reading the fa ir speeimeens put forth by

MriEllis, utany may be allured to covet the ent ire performances ofour elder bards : but should these he obtained, they will probably befound (as Mr. Steevens said by the Shakspearian 1111111603) of littlemore worth than a squeezed orang e. The fl owers will appear to have

been culled and di stilled by the hand of judg men t and the essence

of early poetry , like most other essences, will be discovered to lie ina narrow cornpass . Old poets in g enérsl ,

’

says Mr. Southey, are

only valuable because they are old.

’

It must be showed that few

poems of the El izabethan aera are likely to afibrd complete satisfac

tion to a mere modern reader, from the fastid ious delicacy ofmodern

taste. Some antiquated alloy, e ither from incong ruous metaphor or

infelicitous express ion ,will commonly jar upon his mind or ear. The

backward foots tep of Time will be audible, if not v is ible. Yet the

song s ofour unrivalled Shakspeare combine an almost un iform exception to this remark. They are exquisite in thought, feel ing, language,

791“

At Lohdom Printed by J i er Jt ’ FF'

lasken'

and are to be sold in

Phales Glrurch-M at the sig rm of the Beare.

”4to.

The second edition was pnbfished irr 1614, and entitled, England’s

The Courts ofKing s hem no such straines,

As daily lull the Rustiche fiwaines.

Londorl : Printed for Richard More; and are to be sould at his sh0p

in s'

Dun sfan'

es Church-yard.

”8vo.

Eng land'

s Helicon , which, in its first itnpression , contaixied‘

one

hundred ahd fifty poems, and in its second one hundred and fifty

n ine, has the felioity of en roll ing among its contributors all the

principal poets of its era. These, enumerated alphabetically, are as

follow RicfiM Bq field has two p ieces Thomas Bastard, one ;

WW W ; Sir Edward Dyer, six ;

Thoma Lodgé,‘tenEJms Mmmm, two ; C

’hristopher Marlow, one ;

W‘

zfl iam Smith, one ; Edmund Sbms

'

er, thréé pw Ton ic, seven ;

twenty-five. Of anonymous contributions there are s ixteen .

Amid this g alaxy of bards we cannot fa il to distinguish for theirdecided superiority, the productions ofB reton , Greene,Lodg e,Marlow,

and Raleig h, wh ich might confer celebrity ori any selection . The

principal feature, indeed, of England’s Hel icon is its pastoral beauty ,and in this department how few hav e surpassed, or even eqtialled, the

exqu isite strains of Lodge or Marlow !

It cannot be idle or useless,”

remarks Sir Egerton Brydg es, . to

VOL. I.

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723

and spesks to

all eg es the touchin g effns ions of the heart.

If some little add itional pvejudice in favour of these compositionsbe g iven by the association in our idt as of their antiquity, if weconnect some reverence, and some increased force, with expressionswh ich were in favourite use with those who for two centuries haveslept in the g rave, the profound moral philosopherwill neither blamenor regret th is effect. It is among the most g enerous and most

ornamental, if not among the most useful habits of the mind !Su ch are among the cla ims of th is Collection to notice. But the

seal that has been hitherto put upon this treasure ; the deep oblivionin wh ich the major parts of its contents have for ages been buried,oug ht to excite curios ity, and impart a generous delight at its rev ival.Who is there so cold as to be moved with no enthusiasm at drawn

ing the mantle from the fig ure of Time ? For my part, I confess

how often I have watched the g radua l developement with eager and

breathless expectation ; and g azed upon the rev iv ing features till mywarm fin ey gave them a glowand a beauty, which perhaps the realitynever in its happ iest moments possessedb

”

That va '

y nearly two hundred years should have elapsed between

the second and third editions of this miscellany 1s a stri k ing proof ofthe neglect to which even the best of our ancien t poetry has beenhitherto subjected. The rapidly 1ncreas ing taste of the presen t ag e,

howev er, for the reliques of long-d eparted genius, cannot fail of

precluding in future any return of such undeserved obscurity .

In 1600 the industry of Robert Allot presented the public with a

large collection of extracts from the most popular poets of his times,under the title of ENGLAND’

S Panna ssvs : or the choysest fl owers of

our moderne poets, with their poeticall comparison s. Descriptionsof Bewties , Personages, Castles, Falleces, Mountaines , Groves, Seas,Springs, Rivers, &c. Whereunto are annexed other various discourses, both pleasant and profitable.

”Small 8.vo. pp. 51O.

Eng land's Helioom, reprintof 18 12, Introduction, p. Xx. xxi. xxn.

4 z 2

724

Haddhe editor of this curious volume, bes ide citing the names of

his authors, added the titles of the works from whieh he eulled his

specimen s, an infinity ed'

trouble would have been saved to subse

quent research ; yet the deficiency has served, in a peculiar manner,to mark the sncoessfnl prog ress of modern bibl iog raphy . WhenOldys wrote his Prefioe to Hayward

’

8 British Muse, which was first

published in 1738, he compla ins g rievously of this omis s ion , Observing that most of Allot

’

s poets were now 80 obsolete, that not

knowing what they wrote, we can have no recourse to their works, ifstill Since this sen tence was written , such has been the

industry of our l iterary antiquaries, that almost every paem whichAllot laid under contribution 1n forming his volume, has been ascer

tained, and rendered access ible to the curious enquirer ; and so far

from the writers be ing obsolete, after nearly eigt years have been

added to their antiqu ity , we may venttme to affirm that, exceptingabout half-ardozen, they are as famihm to w the poets of the

present reig n . It is but just, however, to acknowledg e that a con

which, by its numerous passages from bards rendered scarce by

neg lect, has stimulated the bibliographical enthusiasm of the last

contributors to Eng land’

s Parnassus, will'

serve to illustrate and confirm

1 . Thomas Achelly.

4. Thomas Churchyard.

6 . Samuel Daniel .

7. John Davies.

9. Michael Drayton .

1mEdmund Fairfax.

Preface, pp. 8, 9. This Collection of Har vard’s had threa difi

'

erent titles ; the last

dated 174 1 . The seoond edition is called The Quin tissenee ofEng lish Poetry.

”

1 1 . Charles Fitzg efi'

ey .

. Abraham Frame s.

13. Georg e Gascoig ne.14, Edward Gilpin.

15. Robert Greene.

16. Sir John Harring ton .

17. John Hig g ins.18. Thomas Hudson .

19. James, King ofSeots.

725

2 1. Thomas Kyd.

22. Thomas Lodge .

28 . Germ Markham.

25. John Marston.

26. Christopher Middleton .

27. Thoma s Natl) .

28. Oxford, Earl of.

29. Georg e Peele.

30. MatthewRoydon .

8 1 . Sackv ille, Lord Buckhurst.

32. W iUiam Shakspeare.

Though Oldys has severely blamed the judgment of the editor inhis

’

selection of authors and extracts , yet a much more consummate

critic, the highly-g ifi ed Warton , considers him as hav ing exhibitedtaste in his choice , and it must be acknowledged that the volume

has preserved many exquisite passages from poets who, but for

this selection , had probably been irrecoverably merg ed in obliv ion.

In the same year with En g land’

s Parnas sus came forth another

compilation , to which its editor, J ohn Bodenham, g ave the followingtitle : Bw vmaae; on THE GARDEN

.

or rmi: Muses.

Qnem referent Muse vivet, dam robora tellus,Dum cwlum stellas, damvehit amp le aqua .

Imprinted at London , by F . K. for Hug h Astley, dwell ing at Sa intMag nus Comer. 1600. Small 8170. pp. 236.

This collection, Which un derwen t a second imp re s saon m 1610,

with the omiss ion of its first appellative, Bel-vedere, thoug h it con

tain a vast number of quotations, is, on two accoun ts, inferior to theParnassus. Inthe first place, no authors

’

names are annexed to

the extracts, and, in the second , a much g reater defect has arisen

from the editor’s determination to confine his specimen s to one or

two lines at most, a brev ity which almost ann ihilates the interest of

the work. To obv iate, however, in some deg ree, the inconven ien

arising from the first of these plans, he has recourse, in his Prem ium ,

to the following deta il, which, as it gives a very curious narrative of

the constructionofthebook,will have its due valuewith the reader :

38. Edmund Spenser.

s

31 .

35 .

36. Sir Philip Sidney .

37. Joshua Sylvester.

33 . George Turberville .

39. W illiam W arner.

40 . Thomas W a tson.

4 1. John W eever.

4 2. W ill iam W eever.

43. Sir- Thomas Wyatt.

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Heny Constable, Esq.

Thomas Hudson . Germ Markham.

RobertW ilmot.

Richard Barnefield.

These being moderne and extant poets, that have lived together.

from many of their extant workes, and some kept in private.

Thomas Awhelow.

George Gm oig ne, Esq.

These be ing deceased, have left divers extant labours, and many

been pemsed, and their due right here g iven them in the Muteo

Garden .

Besides, what excellent sentences have been inTrag edies, Historie, Pastoral], or Comedic, they have

g athered,

had no share in England’s Parnassus and it may be worth while to

remark, that, among the verses prefixed in praise of the book, are

some lines by R.Hathway , whom Mr. Malone conjectures to have

been the kinsman of Ann Hathaway , the wife of our in1mortalbard. 1

’

0 m m m m wme n

'

me g m mmm s wy mmwin the fin t edition of the Belvedere ; its omission in the second is a cing nlar dd ect, n it

cuminn orms the most inta e-dng pm d the mpred on of l fioo.

f SeeMM e’o lnqniry.

799

For variefié and pieasere, the like nevef yet published.

The Bee and Spider by a diverse power,

Sacks hony and poyson from the selfe-same fl ower.

London. I2mo.

’

The ed itor and principal contributor, was Fran cis Davison,‘

a poetof n o mean talents, and son of that Secretary of State, who expe

rienced in so remarkable a degree the duplicity of Elizabeth, inrelation toMary Queen of Scots . In an Address to the Reader, he

thus accounts for the form which the volume as sumes Be inginduced by some private reasons, and by the instan t entreaty of

speciall frimi ds , to suffer some of my worthlesse poems to be pub

lished, I des ired to make some written by my deere friends Anonymoi,and my deeter Brother, to beare them company : both, without theirconsent ; the latter be ing in the low-country warres , and the rest

utterly ig norant thereofi My friends names I concealed ; mine owne

anti my brother’s, I willed the printer to suppresse, as well as I had

concealed'

th e other, which he hav ing put in without my priv ity, wemust now undergo a sharper cen sure perhaps than our namelesse

wmltes should have done ; and I especially . For if their poems be

liked, fl lfe praise is due to their invention ; if disliked, the blamebath by them and all men will be derived upon me, for publishingthat wh ieh they mean t to suppresse .

He then enters upon a defence of poetry, experience prov ing , herediarks, by examples of many, both dead and liv ing , that diversdelig hted and excelling here in , being princes or statesmen, have

gM ned and coun selled as wise ly ; be ing sotildiers, have commanded

armies as fortunately ; being lawyers , have pleaded as judicially and

eloquently ; being div ines, have written.

and taught as profoundly ;

and be ing of any other profess ion, have discharged it as sufficiently,

as any other men whatsoev er ;”

and concludes by alleg ing , as an

excuse for these poems inparticu lar, that those under the name of

VOL. 1. 5 A

731

posers, m seleeted by the latter from’

mann'

scripts , or rare and

insulated printed copies . Foremost among these Professors of

Mus ic, who thus indirectly contributed to enrich the stores of

English Poetry, stands Will iam Byrd. This celebrated composer’sfirst prin ted work in Eng lish was licensed in 1587, and has ‘

the {bl

made mwm e qffivem : wkereofi some qf them g oing a bt‘oad

among divm , ifl untrue coppies, are heere mmiy t w écted, and tfie

fi r the rem atioa all mck as defig ht in Musicke. By William Byrd,one of the Gent. of l ine Queene

’

s Maiesties Royali Chappefl .

”4to.

The Volume is dedicated to Sir Christopher Hatton ; and he tellshis reader, in an epistle subscribed the most as sured friend to all

that love or leerne mus iche, William Byrd, heere is offered unto

thy courteous acceptation , musicke of sun drie sorts , and to content

divers humors. If thou bee disposed to pray , heere are psalmes . If

to bee merrie, heere are sonets . If to lament for thy sin s, heere are

songs of sadnesse and pietie. If thou del ig ht in mus ickCapasse, heere are divers son g s , which beeing Orig inallyinstruments to expresse the harmony, and on e voyce to pronounce

the dittie, are now framed in all parts for voyces to s ing the same.

If thou des ire song s of smal compasse and fit for the reach of most

voyces, heere are most in number of that sort.

Next to Byrd, whose publication s of th is kind are n umerous , we‘

may mention Thomas Morley , no less remarkable for his skil l inmus ic, and for h is fertil ity in the production ofmadrig a ls, ba llets, and

canzonets. How fashionab le and un iversal had become the practiceof s ing ing these compos itions at every party of amusement,may be

drawn from one

’

of the elementary works of this writer : Being ata banquet,

”he relates, supper being ended, and music books

broug ht to table, the mistress of the house, according to custom,

presented me with a part, earnestly in treating me to sing ; when ,

after many excuses, I protested unfeignedly that I could not, every

5 A 2

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It seems probable, indeed, from Orlando Gibbons’

s dedication of

his First set ofMardrig als and Mottets"to Sir Christopher Hatton ,

dated 1612, that the courtiers of that period sometimes employedthemselve s in writing lyrics for their domestic Luten ists ; forOrlandotells his lord, They were most ofthemcomposed in your own house,

and do therefore properly belong nnto you as lord of the soil ; thelang uag e they speak you provided .them I only furn ished them withtong ues to utter the same .

”Itmay be, however, that Sir Christopher

was only a selector of poetry for the lyre of Gibbons.To enumerate the multitude of mus io-stricken individuals, who,

during this period, were occupied in procuring and collecting lyric

poetry for profess ional purposes, would fill a volume. Among the

most indefatig able, may be mentioned J ohn Wilbye, Thomas Wed lces,J ohn Dowkmd and RobertJ ones ; The Musical! Dream,

”1609, and

The Muse’

s Gardén of Delig hts, 16 10, by the last of these gentlemen , were held in g reat estemn .

We cannot olose th is subject, indeed, without acknowledging our

oblig ations to this numerous clas s for the preservation of many most

beautiful specimens of lyric poetry, which, it is h ighly probable,without the ir care and accompaniments, would either not hav e

existed, or would have perished prematurely.

11 For specimens of these interesting bolledfiom, l réfer my readin' m'

c'em wm fia,voL ix. p . l . et seq. ; vol. x. pp. 179. and to the British Bibliog rapher, No. IV.

p. 843. ; No. v. p. 563. ; No. VI. p. 53. ; No. 1Xg p ‘

. 4274 No. XL No. XII.

p. d8. ; and No. XV. p . 386 . AweIl-chosen selection fromthe now scarce volumes ofthese Prd essors of Vocal ic m ad be s watt: present tb '

the [overd of Eng lish

We have thw in as shou a oempass as the natune of the

would admit, g ivenn ve tm h a more aocurate v iew of tbe poetry of

the Shakspearean a‘

a. as it existed independent of the Drm a thmhas hitherto been attempted.

That Shakspeare was an assiduous reader of Eng lish POetry s that

poetfy ; the former concluding Venus andAdon is,”and the Rape

“Lam”and the latter the Sonnets,

”the ccPmomte Pilg rim,

”

and the “ Lover’s Cornplaint.”

The great models of Hiatoric poetry, during the

Shakspeare'

8 life, were the “ Mirror forMagistrates”

Albion ’

3 Eng land ; but for the mythological story of Venus and

735

Adon is, though dev iating in several important circumstances,from its

prototype, we are probably indebted to Golding’

s Ov id ; and for theRape ofLucrece and the structure of the stanza in which it is com

posed, to the reputation and the metre of the Rosamond of Dan iel,

printed in 1592. For the Sonnets, he had numerous examples in

the production s of Spenser, Sidney, Watson , and Constable ; and,

throug h the wide field of amatory lyric composition , excellence of

almost every kind, in the form of ode, madrigal, and song , might betraced in the varied effusions of Gascoigne, Greene and Raleigh,Breton and Lodg e.

How far our g reat bard exceeded, or fell beneath, the models wh ichhe possessed ; in what deg ree he was independent of their in fl uence,and to what portion of estimation his miscellaneous poetry is justlyentitled, will be the subjects of the next chapter, in which we shall

venture to assig n to these efforts ofhis early days a higher rank in thescale of excellence than it has hitherto been their fate to obta in .

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

Pn nted by A. Strahan,Pnntm Street, London.