Of the Contents. F the following Collection, it may be observed, it was originally planned to assist that general inquiry, pursued with much energy of late, for obtaining a better knowledge of early English literature, and was first announced in 1811, upon the appearance of the reprint of Puttenham's Arte of English Poesie, to which it may be considered as a useful continuation. The delay has arisen from the usual difficulty of obtaining access to proper authorities. It may not be unimportant to give here a brief account of the respective articles comprised in the present volume. I. Certayne Notes of Instruction concerning the making of Verse or Ryme in English, by George Gascoigne. This sensible treatise, by a well-favoured poet of his time, is certainly one of the earliest attempts in our language to establish fixed rules for the modulation of verse. It is concise; the conclusions are neither singular nor forced; and though from the date the whole might be suspected to have acquired an obsolete character, it still retains 1 GEORGE GASCOIGNE born ...., died 7th Oct. 1577. Such traits of his life as could be gleaned from his works were judiciously collected by Mr. Gilchrist, and inserted in the Censura Literaria, Vol. I. p. 109. An enlarged biographical me. moir is prefixed to his poems by Mr. A. Chalmers, in his valuable edition of the ENGLISH POETS, Vol. II. p. 447. And a copy of his portrait, with a bibliographical list of his works, may be found in the British Bibliographer, Vol. I. p. 73. See also Wood's Ath. Ox. ed. 1813. Vol. I. p. 434. b retains such a just proportion of fact with the precepts forming a close alliance to the natural order of our language, that while we hesitate to recommend any thing shaped like trammels for genius, the reading these notes may be suggested as instructive, if not of advantage to poetical composition. It was inserted in the edition of his works in 1575, again 1587; and from the first of those the present verbal and paginal reprint is given.' II. A Discourse of English Poetrie, by William Webbe. The indefatigable William Oldys gave a copious and accurate account of this work in an article of the second number of the British Librarian, and which has hitherto supplied the general information of the author's style and subject. Only two copies of the original are known;3 one is in the collection made by the late Mr. Malone, the other, it is probable, was that seen by Oldys, who has not informed us where he first discovered such a rarity, or whether it belonged to 'The verses to Lord Grey, mentioned at page 11, as written upon the plan of the "old kinde of rithme called Verlayes," may be found in Chalmers's English Pocts, Vol. II. p. 536. 2 * Of WILLIAM WEBBE, graduate, not any thing more is known than is to be found in the Discourse on Poetry. The dedication shows he was tutor to the sons of Edward Suliard, Esq. to which gentleman he had before presented a "homely translation," though its nature, or whether prose or verse, is not expressed. He also made some progress in translating the Georgics, and feared the printing in mirth by one who possessed a copy, without his obtaining some sufficient recompence, (see p. 54). That he did not live in the metropolis appears by his statement of not residing in a place where he could with facility obtain knowledge of certain works, (see p. 36.); but whether the same, or related to William Webbe, M. A. of Chester, who assisted in compiling part of the history of The Vale Royal is not certain. 3 Warton says "there is a former edition for Walley, 1585, 4to.' Hist. of Eng. Poetry. Vol. III. p. 400. n. But no copy is known, and the license of it in that year, which is mentioned by Herbert at p. 1098, may have caused the be. lief of its having been then printed. to his ingenious friend Mr. (afterwards Sir) Peter Thompson, from whom he acknowledges, in the postscript to the volume, to have had "the use of several printed books which were more scarce than many manuscripts." The possessors of that copy for above the last forty years, with the singular increase in its value, may be traced by the respective catalogues, as follows: 1773, April 8. Bibliotheca Westiana, 1778, April 22. 1800, May 19. 1812, June 2. No. 1856. 0 10 6 Pearson. The present reprint preserves, with scrupulous attention, the text verbatim, as well as the same cast of lines, page, and press signatures, after the manner of a fac simile, but running numbers for the pages are added for the convenience of the reader. III. A Treatise of the Airt of Scottis Poesie, by K. James,' 1584. This article forms a division in the "Essayes of a Prentise in the divine Art of Poësie," of which a limited impression, as a fac-simile of the original work, with a valuable critical Essay prefixed, was lately published at Edinburgh, by R. P. Gillies, Esq. IV. An Apologie of Poetrie, by Sir John Harington, Knt. 1591.2 From the first edition of the Orlando Furioso; and though some part of the apology refers only to the characters and fable of that poem, the whole, as the length was not material, has been preserved unmutilated. V. A Com 1 K. JAMES born 19th June 1566, died 27th March 1625. Of the exemplifying specimens inserted by our royal author in chap. 8. p. 114. only three have been traced to their respective originals. The Troilus verse is from the poem of Echo; the "cuttit and broken verse" from the Cherrie and Slae, both by Montgomery ; and the tumbling verse from the Flyting of Montgomery with Polwart. See Sibbald's Chronicle, vol. iii. p. 490. 2 SIR J. HARINGTON, of Kelston, Knt. born 1561, died 1612. b 2 V. A Comparative Discourse of our English Poets, by Francis Meres, M. A. 1598, taken from his Palladis Tamia, I a collection I FRANCIS MERES was born about 1565. He was the son of Thomas Meres of Kirton in Holland, in the county of Lincoln, and educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he took the degree of B. A. 1587, and of M. A. 1591. Upon July 10, 1593, he was incorporated at Oxford, and was near that time a minister and school-master. Perhaps in this double character was published the Sermon called, Gods Arithmeticke, written by Francis Meres, Maister of Arte of both Vniuersities, and Student in Divinity, 1597 oct. 25 leaves. The dedication "to the right worshipfull M. John Meres, Esquire, High Sheriffe of Lincolneshier:" illustrates his subject in the following curious manner. "There be foure parts of arithmeticke: addition, multiplication, substraction, and diuision, whereof the first two take their beginning from the right hand, and doe multiplie and increase; and these bee Gods numbers: the other two begin from the left, and doe substract and diuide, and these bee the Deuils. When God had marryed Adam and Eua together, God said to them both, increase, multiplie and replenish the earth: this is Gods arithmeticke. But when the Deuill substracted Dalila from Sampson, the Leuit's wife from her husband, and diuided Micholl from David: this was the Deuil's arithmetick." He also tells his patron of " hauing a longing desire to make knowne your worship's curtesies extended to me at your house at Auborne, your forwardnes in preferring my successclesse suite to Maister Laurence Meres of Yorke, sometimes of her Maiesties Counsell established for the North, and your willingnes and readines for my longer abode and stay at Cambridge." Dated: "From my Chamber in Saint Marie Buttolph-lane neere London-stone this 10th of October 1597." The text is from Eccles: 4. 9. "Two are better then one." In the following year appeared: Granado's Devotion. Exactly teaching how a man may trvely dedicate and deuote himselfe vnto God: and so become his acceptable votary. Written in Spanish by the learned and reuerend Diuine F. Lewes of Granada. Since translated into Latine, Italian and French; and now perused, and Englished, by Francis Meres, Master of Artes, & student in Diunity, London, 1598." 12mo. p. p. 576, without dedication and index. This is dedi cated to the worshipfyll and vertvovs Gentleman M. William Samines of the Middle Temple, Esquire," as one devout in religion and learned in knowledge, because "the wittiest Emblematists will that in presentation of gyftes wee should a collection of moral sentences from ancient writers, and which Wood considered "a noted school-book." "From the comparative discourse upon our English poets, the work obtained considerable repute. Heywood in his Apology for Actors, calls him an approved good scholar, and says his Account of Authors is learnedly done.' Oldys speaks of him as " of no small reputation at that time for his moral and poetical writings". His reading was general and extensive, and the connecting his numerous transcripts shews taste, research, and strong critical judgment. The reader will not consider it to depreciate the labour of our author, that many of his authorities were gathered from his first book of Puttenham's Art of English Poesie, and in particular 2 chap. should fitte the humour of the partie, to whome they are presented, as to send blacke to mourners, white to religious people, greene to youth and them that lyue in hope, yellow to the couetous and iealous, taunie to the man refus'd, red to martiall captaines, blew to marriners, violet to prophets and diuiners, medley, gray and russet to the poore & meaner sort. And little boies, whom shamfastnes did grace, The Romans deck'd in scarlet like their face." This dedication was dated "London the xi of May, 1598." In the same year was published Palladis Tamia, Wits Treasury. Being the second part of Wits Common-Wealth, 1598. p. p. 340. Again 1634 to which an engraved title was added as Witts Academy, a Treasuric of Golden Sentences, &c. 1636. In 1597 appeared Politeuphia, or Wits Commonwealth, &c. which was compiled by John Bodenham, and probably being well received suggested the attempt for making the Palladis Tamia a second part. They are never found together. About 1602, Meres became rector of Wing in the county of Rutland, and continued to hold it for the remainder of his life. Wood notices the Sinner's Guide of the whole Regiment of Christian Life, &c. printed 1614, 4to. He died at Wing in the 81st year of his age, 1646. 1 Apology for Actors. Somers's Tracts. Vol. III. p. 592. ed. 1810 2 Biog. Brit. Art. Drayton, p. 1746. |