liament under Henry the eighth; and, in 1542, imprisoned by that whimsical tyrant, perhaps very unjustly, and for some cabal now not exactly known. About the fame time, in his juridical capacity, he tranflated the MAGNA CHARTA from French into Latin and English, with fome other statutes of England". In a scarce book, William Patten's Expedition into Scotlande of the moft woortbely fortunate prince Edward duke of Somerset, printed at London in 1548', and partly incorporated into Hollinfhead's history, it appears from the following paffage that he was of the fuite of the protector Somerset. George Ferrers a "gentleman of my lord Protectors, and one of the commif"fioners of the carriage of this army." He is faid to have compiled the history of queen Mary's reign, which makes a part of Grafton's CHRONICLE. He was a compofer almost by profeffion of occafional interludes for the diverfion of the court: and in 1553, being then a member of Lincolns-inn, he bore the office of LORD OF MISRULE at the royal palace of Greenwich during the twelve days of Christmas. Stowe says, "George "Ferrers gentleman of Lincolns-inn, being lord of the difportes "all the 12 days of Christmas anno MDLIII', at Greenwich: "who so pleasantly and wifely behaved himself, that the king "had great delight in his paftymes "." No common talents were required for thefe feftivities. Bale fays that he wrote fome rhymes, rhythmos aliquot". He died at Flamstead in Hertfordfhire in 1579. Wood's account of George Ferrers, our author, who misled by Puttenham the author of the ARTE OF ENGLISH POESIE, has confounded him with Edward Ferrers a writer of plays, is full of mistakes and inconfiftencies. Our author wrote the epitaph of his friend Thomas Phayer, the old tranflator of the Eneid into English verfe, who died in 1560, and is buried in the church of Kilgarran in Pembrokeshire. Baldwyne and Ferrers, perhaps deterred by the greatnefs of the attempt, did not attend to the feries prefcribed by Sackville; but inviting fome others to their affiftance, among which are Churchyard and Phayer, chofe fuch lives from the newly publifhed chronicles of Fabyan and Hall, as feemed to display the most affecting catastrophes, and which very probably were pointed out by Sackville. The civil wars of York and Lancafter, which Hall had compiled with a laborious investigation of the fubject, appear to have been their chief resource. These legends with their authors, including Sackville's part, are as follows. Robert Trefilian chief Juftice of England, in 1388, by Ferrers. The two Mortimers, furnamed Roger, in 1329, and 1387, by Baldwyne. Thomas of Woodstock duke of Gloucefter, uncle to Richard the fecond, murdered in 1397, by Ferrers. Lord Mowbray, preferred and banished by the same king in 1398, by Churchyard. King Richard the fecond, depofed in 1399, by Baldwyne. Owen Glendour, the pretended prince of Wales, ftarved to death in 1401, by Phayer. Henry Percy earl of Northumberland, executed at York in 1407, by Baldwyne. Richard Plantagenet earl of Cambridge, executed at Southampton in 1415, by Baldwyne. Thomas Montague earl of Salisbury, in 1428, by Baldwyne. James the first of Scotland, by Baldwyne. William de la Poole duke of Suffolk, None of his plays, which, Puttenham fays, "were written with much skill and mag"nificence in his meter, and wherein the "king had fo much good recreation that "he had thereby many good rewards," are now remaining, and as I fuppofe were never printed. He died and was buried in the church of Badefley-Clinton in Warwickshire 1564. He was of Warwickhire, and educated at Oxford. See Philips's THEATR. POET. p. 221. SUPPL. Lond. 1674. 12mo. Another Ferris [Ri chard] wrote The dangerous adventure of Richard Ferris and others who undertooke to rowe from Tower wharfe to Briftowe in a Small wherry-boate, Lond. 1590. 4to. I believe the names of all three fhould be written FERRERS. P Hall's Union of the two noble and illuftrious families of Yorke and Lancafter was printed at London, for Berthelette, 1542. fol. Continued by Grafton the printer, from Hall's manuscripts, Lond. 1548. fol. banished banished for destroying Humphry duke of Gloucester in 1450, by Baldwyne. Jack Cade the rebel in 1450, by Baldwyne. Richard Plantagenet duke of Yorke, and his fon the earl of Rutland, killed in 1460, by Baldwyne. Lord Clifford, in 1461, by Baldwyne. Tiptoft earl of Worcester, in 1470, by Baldwyne. Richard Nevil earl of Warwick, and his brother John lord Montacute, killed in the battle of Barnet, 1471, by Baldwyne. King Henry the fixth murthered in the Tower London, in 1471, by Baldwyne. George Plantagenet, third fon of the duke of York, murthered by his brother Richard in 1478, by Baldwyne. Edward the fourth, who died suddenly in 1483, by Skelton'. Sir Anthony Woodville, lord Rivers and Scales, governor of prince Edward, murthered with his nephew lord. Gray in 1483, by Baldwyne'. Lord Haftings betrayed by Catesby, and murthered in the Tower by Richard duke of Gloucefter, in 1483'. Sackville's INDUCTION. Sackville's Duke of Buckingham. Collingbourne, cruelly executed for making a foolish rhyme, by Baldwyne. Richard duke of Gloucefter, flain in Bosworth field by Henry the feventh, in 1485, by Francis Seagers'. Jane Shore, by Churchyard. Edmund duke of Somerset killed in the first battle of Saint Albans in 1454, by Ferrers. Michael Joseph the blacksmith and lord Audely, in 1496, by Cavyl. It was injudicious to choose so many stories which were then recent. Most of these events were at that time too well known Printed in his WORKS. But there is an old edition of this piece alone, without date, in duodecimo. The SECONDE PARTE begins with this Life. • Subfcribed in Niccols's edition, "Mafter "D." that is, John Dolman. It was intended to introduce here The two Princes murthered in the tower," by the lord Vaulx, "who undertooke to penne it, fays Bald. 41 wyne, but what he hath done therein I "am not certaine." fol. cxiiii. b. Dolman abovementioned was of the Middle-temple.. VOL. III. to become the proper fubject of poetry, and muft have loft much of their folemnity by their notoriety. But Shakespeare has been guilty of the fame fault. The objection, however, is now worn away, and age has given a dignity to familiar circumstances. This collection, or fet of poems, was printed in quarto, in 1559, with the following title. "A MYRROVRE FOR "MAGISTRATES, Wherein may be seen by example of "others, with howe greuous plages vices are punished, and "howe frayl and vnftable worldly profperitie is founde, euen of "those whom Fortvne feemeth most highly to favour. Felix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum. Anno 1559. Londini, in "ædibus Thomæ Marshe." A Mirrour was a favorite title of a book, especially among the old French writers. Some anecdotes of the publication may be collected from Baldwyne's DEDICATION TO THE NOBILITIE, prefixed. "The wurke was begun and parte of it prynted in Queene Maries tyme, but hyndred by the Lord Chancellour that then was": never"theles, through the meanes of my lorde Stafford, the fyrst "parte was licenced, and imprynted the fyrst yeare of the 66 raygne of this our most noble and vertuous queene', and de"dicated then to your honours with this preface. Since whych "time, although I have been called to another trade of lyfe, "yet my good lord Stafford hath not ceaffed to call upon me "to publythe fo much as I had gotten at other mens hands, fo "that through his lord hyppes earnest meanes I have now also "fet furth another parte, conteyning as little of myne owne "as the fyrst parte doth of other mens 2. The plan was confeffedly borrowed from Boccace's DE CASI This chancellor must have been bishop Gardiner. * Henry lord Stafford, fon and heir of Edward laft duke of Buckingham, a scholar and a writer. See Wood, Aтн. OxÓN. i. 108. One of his books is dedicated to the Protector Somerfet. Aubrey gives us a rhyming epitaph in Howard's chapel in Lambeth church, written by this noble man to his fifter the duchefs of Norfolk. SURREY, vol. v.. p. 236. It is fubfcribed "by thy most bounden brother Henry "lord Stafford." Bale fays that he was "vir multarum rerum ac difciplinarum "notitia ornatus," and that he died in 1558. par. poft. 112. Y Elifabeth. BUS 66 BUS PRINCIPUM, a book tranflated, as we have seen, by Lydgate, but which never was popular, because it had no English examples. But Baldwyne's scope and conduct, with respect to this and other circumstances, will best appear from his Preface, which cannot easily be found, and which I fhall therefore infert at large. "When the printer had purposed with himfelfe to printe Lydgate's booke of the FALL OF PRINCES, and had "made pryvye therto many both honourable and worshipfull, "he was counfayled by dyvers of them, to procure to have the "story contynewed from where as Bochas left, unto this pre"fent time; chiefly of fuch as Fortune had dalyed with in "this ylande.-Which advyfe lyked him fo well, that he re"quyred me to take paines therin. But because it was a matter paffyng my wit and skyll, and more thankles than gaineful to "meddle in, I refufed utterly to undertake it, except I might have the help of fuche, as in wit were apte, in learnyng al"lowed, and in judgement and eftymacyon able to wield and furnysh fo weighty an enterpryfe, thinkyng even fo to shift 66 my handes. But he, earnest and diligent in his affayres, pro"cured Atlas to fet under his fhoulder. For shortly after, "divers learned men, whofe manye giftes nede fewe prayfes, "confented to take upon them parte of the travayle. And "when certaine of them, to the numbre of feven, were through "a general affent at an appoynted tyme and place gathered to"gether to devyfe thereupon, I reforted unto them, bearing the "booke of Bochas tranflated by Dan Lidgate, for the better "observation of his order. Which although we liked wel, yet "would it not cumly ferve, feeing that both Bochas and Lid"gate were dead; neither were there any alive that meddled "with like argument, to whom the UNFORTUNATE might "make make their mone. To make therefore a ftate mete for "the matter, they all agreed that I should ufurpe Bochas "rowme, and the WRETCHED PRINCES Complayne unto me: " and take upon themselves every man for his parte to be fundry perfonages, and in their behalfes to bewaile unto ME their |