priests, scholars, learned mans, physicians, lawyers, merchants, gentlemans, magistrates, and woman's lessons. The following is a portion of

The Lawiar's lesson.

Nowe come hither, thou manne of Lawe,
And marcke what I shall to the* saye;
For I intende the for to drawe

Out of thy most ungodly waye.

Thy callyng is good and godly,
If thou wouldste walke therein aryght;
But thou art so passyng gredy,
That God's feare is out of thy syght.
Thou climest so to be alofte,

That thy desyre can have no staye;

Thou haste forgotten to go soft,
Thou art so hasty on thy way.

But now I call the to repent,

And thy gredines to forsake;
For God's wrath is agaynst the bent,
If thou wylt not my warnyng take.
Fyrst, call unto thy memorye

For what cause the Laws wer fyrst made!

And then apply the busily

To the same ende to use thy trade.

The Lawes were made, undoubtedly,

That al suche men as are oppreste
Myglrt in the same fynde remedy,
their lyves in quiet reste.
Doest thou then walk in thy callyng?

And leade their

When, for to vexe the innocent
Thou wilt stande at a barre, ballyng
Wyth al the craft thou canst invente.

• Thee, according to modern orthography.

I saye ballyng-for better name:
To have it cannot be worthye;

When lyke a beast, without al shame,

Thou wilt do wrong, to get money. &c.

This lesson runs on to double the length of this extract: and might give a lesson of patience to some readers, which, if entirely extracted, they would little be disposed to bear.

T

The Golden Fleece. Whereunto bee annexed two Elegies, entitled Narcissus' Change, and Eson's Dotage.

By Richard Brathwayte, Gentleman.

London, printed by W. S. for Christopher Pursett, 1611. Small 8vo.

AFTER a dedication "to his approved kind unkle, Mr. Robert Bindlosse, Esq." follows

I'

"Pieridum Invocatio, quarum ope Egon in triviis, don in nemoribus cecinit. Quarum auspiciis rivos saltim apertos degustare licuit, tenuisque stipulæ libertate frui."

Princip. You sacred Muses, by whose divine skill
Each poet in his rank observes his measure,
Direct the progresse of Menalchas' quill,
Enrich his labour with your heavenly treasure;
And so vouchsafe to favour his poore verse,
That some may daigne his poems to rehearse.

Six stanzas follow in the same strain; and at the close of the poems announced in the above title, a second title page follows thus:

Sonnets or Madrigals. With the Art of Poesie annexed thereunto, by the same Author.

[Mottos from Horace and Ovid.]

Printed at London for Christopher Purset, 1611.

This is inscribed to "the worshipfull his approved brother, Thomas Brathwaite, Esq." Verses follow upon the dedication of the last Epistle:" and others of "The Author to his disconsolate Brother."

Let not mishap deprive you of that hope

Which yields some relish to your discontent;
Ayme your affections at Heaven's glorious scope,

Which showres downe comfort, when all comfort's spent:
Then rest secure; that Power which you adore
Will make your joyes more full than ere before.

Let not the sunne, now shadowed with a cloud,

Make you suspect the sunne will never shine;
That ill which now seems ill, may once prove good,
Time betters that, which was depravde by time.

Thus let my prayers, your teares, concord in one,
To reape heav'n's comforts, when earth's comfort's gone,

The Sonnets or Madrigals (the latter of which is the more appropriate term for poems including many stanzas) are seven in number. In the copy now before me, the Art of Poesie, which might have proved curious, is altogether wanting.

ง

Hora Vaciva, or, Essays. Some occasionall Considerations. By John Hall.

Vitiis nemo caret, optimus ille
Qui minimis urgetur.

London, printed by E. G. for J. Rothwell, at the Sun and Fountain in Paul's Church Yard, 1646.

12mo. pp. 201.

Has the Author's portrait, æt. 19, 1646. W. Marshall, sculp.

"To the Reverend Mr. John Arrowsmith, Master of St. John's Colledge in Cambridge.

BUT that (worthy Sir) you know as well how to pardon as judge, I might justly suspect your entertainment of these pieces. Faint breathings of a mind burthened with other literary employments, neither brought forth with care, nor ripened with age, yet such as if they be not now blasted, may be the first fruits of a larger harvest; let them, Sir, receive the honour and shelter of your name, since born under your government, and cherished by your candour, that if they chance to survive their father, they may testify he was,

Sir,

Your most humble Servant,

J. HALL.

To the Reader.

When thou shalt peruse these Essays, and compare them with the Author's years, I suppose thou wilt wonder to see

one, whose pulse beats short of nineteen, take such long strides in matters of this nature; and be ready to suspect, whether he walks upon his own legs, or be stilted up by what he hath borrowed from others; the truth is, he might be indebted to many, and yet few discover it, in regard of his acquaintance with the French, Spanish, and Italian: but yet I dare assure thee, what this Gentleman presents thee with, is as free from any such engagement as his father's lands are from mortgage. For the language, 'tis continued every where so like itself, any may perceive he hath nowhere stretched his own meaning to make way for another's fancy: and for the matter, know this, they who are well acquainted in the closest shops, where wares of this kind lie, say that he is a true man, and hath not robbed any author; the whole web, (such as it is) is his own, if thou wilt believe him who (alone and only) saw it woven; 'tis but a little one; it is in thy power to make it bigger; for he hath more of it upon the loom, and only stays to know of thee whether he shall go forward in the work. Most of these subjects were not of his own chusing, but (after discovery of his genius this way) imposed upon him as tasks, though he was pleased then to call, and after make them, recreations: his recreations they were; and if thou please to make them thine, it may encourage him to begin, complete, and publish what he hath either designed, begun, or perfected. Be entreated to accept of these, and he is resolved (being already provided) to acknowledge thy candour by some POEMS. As I hope thou wilt find him not altogether left-handed in prose, so I dare promise thee he will be far more dextrous in verse.

JOHN PAWSON.

John's in Camb.
June 12, 1646.