John Lindfey, a facetious man, and in great credit, as it is faid, with the Archbishop, faid to them, " If yon burn any more of "them, take my advice, and burn them in cellars; for I dare "affure you, that the fmoke of Mr. Patrick Hamilton has in"fected all that it blew upon." About the fame time one Alexander Seton, a black Friar, preached openly in the church of St. Andrew's, as it was faid, that, according to St. Paul's defcription of Bifhops, there were no Bishops in Scotland. This being reported to Archbishop Beaton, though not in very precife terms, he fent for Mr. Seton, and reproved him fharply for having faid, according to his information," that a Bifhop who did not preach was but a dumb "dog, who fed not the flock, but fed his own belly." faid, that those who had reported this were liars ; but upon this witneffes were produced, who teftified very pofitively to the fact. Upon which Seton, by way of reply, delivered himself thus: 66 Seton My Lord, you have heard, and may confider, what ears these "affes have, who cannot difcern between Paul, Isaiah, Zacha"riah, Malachi, and Friar Alexander Seton. In truth, my Lord, I did preach that Paul faith, it behoveth a Bishop "to be a teacher. Ifaiah faith, that they that feed not the "flock are dumb dogs; and the Prophet Zachariah faith, that "they are idle Paftors. Of my own head I affirmed nothing, but declared what the fpirit of GOD before pronounced; at "whom, my Lord, if you be not offended, you cannot justly be "offended with me." How much foever the Bishop might be "incenfed, he difmiffed Friar Seton, we are told, without any hurt; but he, being well acquainted with the temper of his adverfaries, foon afterwards fled out of the kingdom. The Archbishop's nephew, David Beaton, acted for the feveral laft years of his life, as his co-adjutor; and the Archbishop committed to him the charge of all ecclefiaftical affairs; being himself aged and fickly, and not often feen abroad. The King, however, retained fo much regard for the old Primate, as to permit him to difpofe of all his preferments, by which means his relation, George Dury, obtained the rich abbey of Dumfermling, and one Mr. Hamilton became Abbot of Killwining. The Archbishop, in the decline of his life, began to erect the New College in the Univerfity of St. Andrews; but he did not live to finish it. He left, however, the beft part of his eftate towards the completion of it; but that, after his death, was applied to a different purpofe. He died in 1539, and was interred in the cathedral church of St. Andrews. Archbishop Beaton enjoyed the Primacy of Scotland fixteen years. One of his fucceffors, Archbishop Spotfwood, fays that he was herein moft unfortunate, that under the fhadow of his authority, many good men were put to death for the cause of "religion, though he himself was neither violently fet, nor "much folicitous, as it was thought, how matters went in the "Church." "Church." Lefley, Bishop of Rofs, does indeed give Archbishop Beaton a very good character; but, upon the whole, the character given of him by John Knox, feems to be not an unjust one." He was (fays he) more careful of the world, than to "preach CHRIST, or yet to advance any religion but for the "fashion only; and as he fought the world, it fled him not; "for it was well known, that at once he was Archbishop of "St. Andrews, Abbot of Dunfermling, Aberbrothe, Killwining, "and Chancellor of Scotland.” ΤΗΣ The Life of JOHN SKELTON, J OHN SKELTON was defcended, according to Anthony Wood, from the Skeltons of Cumberland. He was educated in the University of Oxford; after which, entering into holy orders, he was made Rector of Dyffe in Norfolk. But " he was esteemed (fays Wood) more fit for the "ftage, than the pew or pulpit." And it appears that having been guilty of fome irregularities, not quite confiftent with the clerical character, he fell under the heavy cenfure of his Diocefan, the Bishop of Norwich: and the accufations which were brought against him had the greater weight, on account of his having ridiculed and fatirized the Monks and Dominicans with great severity in his writings. It appears, however, that his poetical talents recommended him at Court, and obtained him the poft of Poet-Laureat to King Henry VIII. who was pleafed with his productions (a). But he having indulged his talent for fatire by fome keen reflections upon Cardinal Wolfey, this drew on him fo fevere a profecution, that he was obliged to fly for fhelter to the fanctuary at Westminster. Skelton had been very fatirical upon the Cardinal more than once. When Wolfey by his legantine power had removed the convocation which was held at St. Paul's, at the Archbishop of Canterbury's call, and fummoned the Archbishop and Clergy to meet at Westminster, (a fight which had never before been seen, in England), Skelton made this diftich upon it: 9. "Gentle Paul lay down thy fword, "For Peter of Westminster hath shaved thy beard." (a) At the end of Skelton's poem called Elynour Rummin, are the following lines: Thus countrymen kinde, It now nothing fits As my empty kull. But But Skelton attacked the Cardinal ftill more directly. In one of his pieces, alluding to Wolfey's defign of erecting a College, he has thefe lines: "The goods that he hath thus gaddered, "In caufes nothinge expedient; He also thus fatirizes and defcribes the Cardinal's pompous manner of appearing in public: "With worldly pompe again incredible, " "After them follow two laye men fecular, "Then followeth my Lorde on his mule, "In everey poynts most curiously; Skelton met with much refpect and kind treatment from John Iflip, the Abbot of Weftminster. And he continued in the fanctuary there till the time of his death, which happened on the 21ft of June, 1529. He was buried in St. Margaret's chapel. It is faid, that when he was upon his death-bed, he was charged with having children by a miftrefs he kept; but he protested, that he kept her under the notion of a wife. Erafmus fpeaks very honourably of Skelton, ftiling him, in an epifle to King Henry VIII. BRITANNICARUM LITERARUM LUMEN ET DECUs; and of the like opinion (fays Wood) were many of his time; yet the generality faid, that his witty difcourfes were biting, his laughter opprobrious and fçornful, and his jokes commonly fharp and reflecting." It appears, by his poem, intitled, THE CROWN OF LAWREL, (fays Mrs. Cooper), that his performances were very numerous, though fo few of them remain. In these there is a very rich vein of wit, humour, and poetry, though much debafed by the ruft of the age he lived in. His fatires are remarkably broad, open, and illbred; the verse cramped by a very fhort measure, and incumbered with fuch a profufion of rhimes, as makes the Poet almost as fidiculous, as thofe he endeavours to expofe. In his more ferious pieces, he is not guilty of this abfurdity; and confines himself to a regular ftanza, according to the then reigning mode. His BouUGE OF COURT, is, in my opinion, a poem of great merit it abounds with wit, and imagination; and argues him well verfed in human nature, and the manners of that infinuating place. The allegorical characters are finely defcribed, and as well fuftained." 10. Wood fays, that Skelton wrote fifty feveral pieces upon various fubjects, both in profe and verfe, befides tranflations. The following are fome of them: 1. A comedy of virtue. 2. A comedy of good order. 3. Meditations on St. Anne. 4. On the virgin of Kent. 5. Sonnets on Dame Anne. 6. The peregrination of human life. 7. Solitary Sonnets. 8. The art of dying well. 9. Manners and fashions of the Court. The art of fpeaking eloquently. 11. Invective against William Lily the grammarian. An anfwer to this was published by Lily. 12. Colin Clout. 13. Poetical fancies and fatires. 14. Epitaphs, and verfes on the deaths of feveral great perfons; particularly verfes on the death of Arthur, Prince of Wales; and a Latin elegy upon Margaret, Countefs of Richmond, which is placed upon her monument in King Henry the Seventh's chapel in Weftminster-abbey. Óne of his moft humorous productions is that intitled, ELYNOUR RUMMIN, THE FAMOUS ALE-WIFE OF ENGLAND. This was printed in two fheets and a half in Quarto, with a picture in the title-page, reprefenting an ill-favoured old woman, holding in her hand a pot of ale, with these lines under-written : It was re-printed in the first volume of the HARLEIAN MISCELLANY, from an edition printed at London in 1624. We fhall close our account of Skelton, with an extract from his introduction to THE BOUGE OF COURT. "In autumpne, whan the funne in vyrgyne, As Emperes the dyademe hath worne 3 G 2 At |