MORNING.

"When March was with variand windis past,
And Aperil had with her silver showers
Tane leave at Nature with ane orient blast,
And lusty May, that mother is of flowers,
Had made the birdis to begin their hours,
Amang the tender odours red and white,
Whose harmony to hear it was delight:
"In bed at morrow, sleeping as I lay,

Methocht Aurora, with her crystal ene,
In at the window lookit by the day,

And halsit me with visage pale and green;
On whose hand a lark sang fro the spleen,
Awauk, lovers, out of your slomering;
See how the lusty morrow does upspring.'

From the "Thistle and the Rose."

Other Scotch Poets.-Among the other notable Scotch authors may be mentioned GAVIN DOUGLAS, Bishop of Dunkeld, who was the first translator of the whole of Virgil's Eneid; HENRYSON, who wrote Robin and Makyne, the first Scottish pastoral (a poem connected with shepherd life); and BLIND HARRY, who described in rhyme the adventures of William Wallace.

ENGLISH POETS.

JOHN SKELTON (b. 14, d. 1529). This poet, who was the rector of Diss, in Norfolk, is remarkable as having been the most cleverly spiteful writer in our language. His principal satires are directed against Cardinal Wolsey and the clergy, and he did not spare them. His style is peculiar. The lines are short, the language often coarse and vulgar, and many of the ideas unbecoming a clergyman. His works, nevertheless, are full of life and humour. In the following stanza Skelton very well illustrates his own manner of writing—

"For though my rime be ragged,
Tattered and jagged,
Rudely raine-beaten,
Rusty and mooth-eaten,
If ye take wel therewith
It hath in it some pith."

HENRY HOWARD, Earl of SURREY (b. 1516, d. 1547), was brought up at the court of Henry VIII.; took part in the splendid processions of the time; fought in the wars; was wounded oftener than once; was imprisoned four times, and was at length beheaded in 1547, on a trumpery charge of high treason brought against him by the King, who had once been his own brother-in-law. Surrey is remarkable as having given a smoothness and grace to the English language such as it had never hitherto possessed. This is why he is called the first English classical poet, the word classical meaning refined or elegant, when it is used in a general sense. It was Surrey who introduced the English Sonnet-a poem consisting of fourteen lines of ten syllables each, with peculiar arrangements as to the rhymes. Here is an example— "The soote* season, that bud and bloom forth brings, With green hath clad the hill and eke the vale.

The nightingale with feathers new she sings;
The turtle to her maket hath told her tale.
Summer is come, for every spray now springs;
The hart hath hung his old head on the pale,
The buck in brake his winter coat he flings;
The fishes flete with new repaired scale;
The adder all her slough away she flings;
The swift swallow pursueth the flies smale;
The busy bee her honey now she mings; +
Winter is worn that was the flower's bale. §
And thus I see among these pleasant things

Each care decays, and yet my sorrow springs."

Surrey was also the first to use Blank Verse-so called because there are no rhymes at the end of the lines, which have ten syllables in each. By way of illustration, take the following specimen from the Earl's translation of a part of The Eneid :

"It was the time when, granted from the gods, The first sleep creeps most sweet in weary folk; Lo! in my dream, before mine eyes, methought, With rueful cheer, I saw where Hector stood." A striking peculiarity about this author's poems is his

fondness for love subjects. He has an ardent affection for an unknown lady whom he calls Geraldine, and to her he writes some of his most beautiful poems. In one

of them he declares he will ever love her

Yea, rather die a thousand times, than once to false my faith;

And, when this carcass here to earth shall be refar'd, I do bequeath my wearied ghost to serve her afterward." Other English Poets. In the time of Henry VII., STEPHEN HAWES wrote the Pastime of Pleasure. Con temporary with Surrey was his friend SIR THOMAS WYATT, a good poet and excellent statesman, who greatly assisted in refining the language of his time.

PROSE AUTHORS.

SIR THOMAS MORE (b. 1480, d. 1535) was the son of a judge of the King's Bench. He was educated at Oxford, became a famous lawyer, and, when Wolsey fell, was made Lord Chancellor of England. He was kind and gentle in character, and the King (Henry VIII.) was very fond of him, so long as their opinions were the same. But More was an earnest Catholic, and could neither approve of Henry's proposed divorce from Queen Catherine, nor of his assumed supremacy as head of the Church. This offended the sovereign, and, after a mock trial, he was beheaded in 1535. His principal work was written in Latin, and was called the Utopia. This was the name of an imaginary island, where everything was so perfectly arranged that the inhabitants enjoyed unalloyed happiness and comfort. In the real world, of course, such arrangements were simply impossible; and so, when we hear of any proposal which cannot be carried out in actual practice, we call it a Utopian idea. More wrote other works in English, chiefly historical; and these are considered to be the best examples of pure English prose which had yet appeared.

DESCRIPTION OF RICHARD III.

"Richarde, the third soune of Richarde, Duke of York, was in witte and courage egall (equal) with his two brothers, in bodye

and prowesse farre vnder them bothe, little of stature, ill fetured of limmes, croke backed, his left shoulder much higher than his right. He was malicious, wrathfull, envious, and euer frowarde.

* None evil captaine was he in the warre, as to whiche his disposicion was more metely than for peace. Sundrye victories hadde he, and sometime overthrowes, but never in defaulte as for his owne persone, either of hardinesse or polytike order. Free was hee called of dyspence, and sommewhat aboue his power liberall. With large giftes hee get him vnstedfaste frendeschippe, for which we was fain to pil and spoyle in other places, and get him stedfast hatred. He was close and secrete, a deepe dissimuler lowlye of counteynaunce, arrogant of heart, outwardly coumpinable where he inwardely hated, not letting to kisse whom he thought to kyll: dispitious and cruell, not for cruell will alway, but after for ambicion, and either for the suretie or encrease of his estate. He spared no mans deathe,

whose life withstoode his purpose."

ROGER ASCHAM (b. 1515, d. 1568) was the first English writer on the subject of education. He was tutor to Queen Elizabeth and Lady Jane Grey, and taught them to read Greek and Latin with ease. He was also public orator of the University of Cambridge. His great work was the Schoolmaster, in which he gives many excellent hints as to the best manner of teaching. The Toxophilus-another of his works-discourses about archery; but it is mainly intended to show that good open-air exercise is absolutely necessary for the health of the diligent student. Ascham's style is simple, vigorous, and dignified.

LADY JANE GREY ACCOUNTS FOR HER LOVE OF LEARNING.

(Modernized.)

"One of the greatest benefits that ever God gave me, is, that he sent me so sharp and severe parents, and so gentle a schoolmaster. For when I am in presence either of father or mother, whether I speak, keep silence, sit, stand, or go, eat, drink, be merry or sad, be sewing, playing, dancing, or doing anything else, I must do it, as it were, in such weight, measure, and number, even so perfectly as God made the world, or else I am so sharply taunted, so cruelly threatened, yea, presently, sometimes with pinches, nips, and bobs, and other ways, which I will not name for the honour I bear them, so without measure misordered, that I think myself in hell, till time come that I must go to Mr.

Elmer, who teacheth me so gently, so pleasantly, with such fair allurements to learning, that I think all the time nothing, whiles I am with him. And when I am called from him, I fall on weeping, because, whatever I do else, but learning, is full of grief, trouble, fear, and whole misliking unto me. And thus my book hath been so much my pleasure, and bringeth daily to me more pleasure and more, that, in respect of it, all other pleasures, in very deed, be but trifles and troubles unto me."-From "The Schoolmaster."

Other Prose Authors.-The principal writers deserving of mention, are TYNDALE, the translator of The New Testament; CoOVERDALE, who published a translation of the whole Bible; LATIMER, notable for his clever Sermons; Fox, the author of the well known Book of Martyrs; and LORD BERNERS, the translator of Froissart's Chronicle-a book full of lively interest, relating to the times of chivalry.

CHAPTER IV.

THE POETS-FROM THE ACCESSION OF ELIZABETH TILL THE RESTORATION. A.D. 1558-1660.

Causes for the Rapid Progress of Literature at this time, and Classification of the Poets of the period. SPENSERIAN OR ALLEGORICAL SCHOOL-Spenser-Other Poets. "METAPHYSICAL "SCHOOL-Explanation of its Characteristics-DonneCowley-Other Poets. LYRIC POETS-Herrick-Other Poets. OTHER POETS—Historical-Descriptive—Satirical.

MODERN ENGLISH.

THE age we are now to consider far surpasses any previous period in the number and greatness of its authors. The art of printing had produced many writers and many readers; the translation of the Bible, and of Greek. Latin, and Italian works, had refined the taste and stored the minds of authors with ideas the most elegant and