being called in as a phyfician to fir John Drury, the year when cardinal Wolfey was promoted to York; but that he did not chufe to prescribe without confulting doctor Buttes, the king's phyfician. He apologises to the duke, for not writing in the ornate phrafeology now generally affected. He alfo hopes to be excufed, for ufing in his writings fo many wordes of mirth: but this, he fays, was only to make your grace merrie, and because mirth has ever been esteemed the beft medicine. Borde muft have had no small share of vanity, who could think thus highly of his own pleasantry. And to what a degree of taste and refinement must our antient dukes and lords treasurers have arrived, who could be exhilarated by the witticifms and the lively language of this facetious philofopher? John Bale, a tolerable Latin claffic, and an eminent biographer, before his converfion from popery, and his advancement to the bishoprick of Offory by king Edward the fixth, compofed many fcriptural interludes, chiefly from incidents of the New Teftament. They are, the Life of Saint John the Baptift, written in 1538. Chrift in his twelfth year. Baptism and Temptation. The Refurrection of Lazarus. The Council of the High-priests. Simon the Leper. Our Lord's Supper, and the Washing of the feet of his Difciples. Chrift's Burial and Refurrection. The Paffion of Chrift. The Comedie of the three Laws of Nature, Mofes, and Christ, corrupted by the Sodomites, Pharifees, and Papists, printed by Nicholas Bamburgh in 1538: and fo popular, that it was reprinted by Colwell in 1562". God's Promises to Man ". Our author, in his Vocacyon to the Bishoprick of Offory, informs us, that his COMEDY of John the Baptist, and his TRAGEDY of God's Promises, were acted by the youths upon a Sunday, at the market cross of Kilkenny *. What shall we think of the ftate, I will not fay of the stage, but of common fenfe, when thefe deplorable dramas could be Both in quarto. At the end is A Song of Benedictus, compiled by Johan Bale. W This was written in 1538. And firk printed under the name of a TRAGEDIE OF ENTERLUDE, by Charlewood, 1577. 4to. * Fol. 24. endured? endured? Of an age, when the Bible was profaned and ridiculed from a principle of piety? But the fashion of acting mysteries appears to have expired with this writer. He is faid, by himself, to have written a book of Hymns, and another of jefts and tales and to have tranflated the tragedy of PAMMACHIUS"; the fame perhaps which was acted at Christ's college in Cambridge in 1544, and afterwards laid before the privy council as a libel on the reformation. A low vein of abufive burlesque, which had more virulence than humour, feems to have been one of Bale's talents: two of his pamphlets against the papists, all whom he confidered as monks, are entitled the MASS OF THE GLUTTONS, and the ALCORAN OF THE PRELATES. Next to expofing the impostures of popery, literary history was his favorite pursuit: and his most celebrated performance is his account of the British writers. But this work, perhaps originally undertaken by Bale as a vehicle of his fentiments in religion, is not only full of misrepresentations and partialities, arifing from his religious prejudices, but of general inaccuracies, proceeding from negligence or mifinformation. Even thofe more antient Lives which he tranfcribes from Leland's commentary on the same subject, are often interpolated with false facts, and impertinently marked with a misapplied zeal for reformation. He is angry with many authors, who flourished before the thirteenth century, for being catholics. He tells us, that lord Cromwell frequently screened him from the fury of the more bigotted bishops, on account of the comedies he had published. But whether plays in particular, or other compofitions, are here to be understood by comedies, is uncertain. Brian Anslay, or Annesley, yeoman of the wine cellar to Henry the eighth about the year 1520, tranflated a popular French poem into English rhymes, at the exhortation of the CENT. viii. 100. p. 702. And Verheiden, p. 149. z See vol. ii. p. 377. Bale fays, "Pam VOL. III. L "machii tragœdias tranftuli." b❝Ob editas COMEDIAS." Ubi fupr. gentle gentle earl of Kent, called the CITIE OF DAMES, in three books. It was printed in 1521, by Henry Pepwell, whose prologue prefixed begins with these unpromising lines, So now of late came into my cuftode Yeoman of the feller with the eight king Henry. Another translator of French into English, much about the fame time, is Andrew Chertfey. In the year 1520, Wynkyn de Worde printed a book with this title, partly in prose and partly in verfe, Here foloweth the passyon of our lord Jefu Crist tranflated out of French into Englyfch by Andrew Chertsey gentleman the yere of our lord MDXX. I will give two stanzas of Robert Copland's prologue, as it records the diligence, and fome other performances, of this very obscure writer. The godly use of prudent-wytted men As is, the floure of Gods commaundements, With two other of the fevyn facraments, The feconde the craft to lyve well and to dye. The Floure of God's Commaundements was printed by Wynkyn de the name CHERTSEY, is added. The Lucydayre is translated from a favorite old French poem called Li Lufidaire. This is a translation of the ELUCIDARIUM, a large work in dialogue, containing the fum of chriftian theology, by fome attributed to Anfelm archbishop of Canterbury in the twelfth century. Chertsey's other verfions, mentioned in Copland's prologue, are from old French manuals of devotion, now equally forgotten, Such has been the fate of volumes fayre and large! Some of these versions have been given to George Afhby, clerk of the fignet to Margaret queen of Henry the fixth, who wrote a moral poem for the use of their fon prince Edward, on the Active policy of a prince, finished in the author's eightieth year. The prologue begins with a compliment to "Maisters Gower, Chaucer, and Lydgate," a proof of the estimation which that celebrated triumvirate still continued to maintain. I believe it was never printed. But a copy, with a small mutilation at the end, remains among bishop More's manuscripts at Cambridge. In the difperfed library of the late Mr. William Collins, I faw a thin folio of two fheets in black letter, containing a poem in the octave stanza, entitled, FABYL'S GHOSTE, printed by John Raftell in the year 1533. The piece is of no merit; and I should not perhaps have mentioned it, but as the subject serves to throw light on our early drama. Peter Fabell, whose apparition speaks in this poem, was called The Merrie Devil of Edmonton, near London. He lived in the reign of Henry the feventh, and was buried in the church of Edmonton. Weever, in his ANTIENT FUNERAL MONUMENTS, published in 1631, says under Edmonton, that in the church "lieth interred under a feemlie tombe without inscription, the body of Peter Fa"bell, as the report goes, upon whom this fable was fathered, "that he by his wittie devifes beguiled the devill. Belike he " was some ingenious-conceited gentleman, who did use some Wynkyn de Worde printed, Here begynneth a lytell treatyfe called the Lycydarye. With wooden cuts. No date. In quarto. • MSS. MORE, 492. It begins, "Right " and myghty prince and my ryght good "lorde." L 2 "fleighte "fleighte trickes for his own difportes. He lived and died in "the raigne of Henry the feventh, faith the booke of his merry "Pranks." The book of Fabell's Merry Pranks I have never feen. But there is an old anonymous comedy, written in the reign of James the first, which took its rife from this merry magician. It was printed in 1617, and is called the MERRY DEVIL OF EDMONTON, as it hath been fundry times acted by his majefties fervants at the Globe on the Banke-fide". In the Prologue, Fabell is introduced, reciting his own history. Tis Peter Fabell a renowned fcholler, famous citty: In Middle-fex his birth, and his aboade, Was cald the Merry Fiend of Edmonton. In Edmonton yet fresh vnto this day, Fixt in the wall of that old ancient church His monument remaineth to be feene: His memory yet in the mouths of men, That whilft he liu'd he could deceiue the deuill. Cafts her blacke curtaine ouer all the world, f Pag. 534. * In quarto, Lond. By |