[At the beginning of this volume occurs the one solitary instance in which it has been thought absolutely necessary to deviate in the slightest degree from the arrangement of Gifford. A glance at the edition of 1816 will shew that the printer had been supplied with materials in the most mangled and confused condition. There are two pieces numbered xcii.; two xciii.; and a leap all at once from xcv. to cvi. The pieces thus eliminated from the text, as originally contemplated, were some of them omitted altogether, and others mutilated to fit into a huge "note" of ten pages. They have now been restored as nearly as possible to the state in which they are found in the original MS. in the British Museum. I have also added several pieces which have come to light since 1816, and two of which the authenticity was disputed on what are now believed to be insufficient grounds. F. CUNNINGHAM.] Jonson's connexion with the family of this distinguished nobleman was close and of long continuance. He has monumental verses on several of its members; those which follow are extracted from the MS. volume in the British Museum. 1 CHARLES CAVENDISH TO HIS POSTERITY. ONS, seek not me among these polished stones, These only hide part of my flesh and bones, Which, did they e'er so neat and proudly dwell, Will all turn dust, and may not make me swell. EPITAPH ON LADY KATHERINE OGLE.2 HE was the light (without reflex The best of women!-Her whole life Or of a parent, or a friend! All circles had their spring and end 1 Sir Charles Cavendish, who thus addresses his children, was the third son of sir William Cavendish, deservedly known and esteemed as the faithful and confidential servant of Cardinal Wolsey. He died in 1618, and was succeeded in his vast estates by his eldest son, William, the munificent friend and protector of our poet. 2 This lady, the second wife of sir Charles Cavendish, and mother of the Duke of Newcastle, was the daughter and coheir of Cuthbert, Lord Ogle. She outlived her husband several years, and was declared Baroness Ogle in 1628. 康 In her, and what could perfect be Into a Phoenix-WHICH IS SHE. Ὁ Ζεὺς κατεῖδε χρόνιος εἰς τὰς διφθέρας. IS a record in heaven. You that were Her children, and grandchildren, read it here; To view the truth and own it? Do but look OR this did Katherine Lady Ogle die Sealed and delivered to her, in the Light EPITAPH ON THE LADY JANE. COULD begin with that grand form Here lies (And bid thee, reader, bring thy weeping eyes To see who 'tis-) a noble countess, great In blood, in birth, by match and by her state, Religious, wise, chaste, loving, gracious, good, And number attributes unto a flood; But every table in this church can say At least so great a lady-she was wife 3 This Jane was the eldest daughter of Lord Ogle, and sister of AN INTERLUDE, ETC. [The volume from which the foregoing were taken, contains also an Interlude, never yet noticed by the poet's biographers. It has neither title nor date; but appears to have been written by Jonson for the christening of a son of the earl of Newcastle, to which the king or the prince (both seem to have been present) stood godfather. It consists principally of the unrestrained and characteristic tattle of three gossips; and though the language may appear somewhat too free for the present times, yet as a matter of curiosity, I have ventured to subjoin it. The scene is the earl of Newcastle's house, in the Black Friars. GIFFORD.] At the entrance to the banquet. A Forester. IR, you are welcome to the forest: you have seen a battle upon a table, now you see a hunting. I know not what the game will prove, but the ground is well clothed with the lady just mentioned. She married Edward, eighth earl of Shrewsbury, (younger brother of the Gilbert so often noticed,) and died in 1625, having survived her husband about seven years. 4 It appears that the table represented a hunting scene in sweetmeats. We cannot easily conceive the enormous sums expended in constructing those banquets. Every object of art or nature was represented in them; and castles and towers and towns were reared of marchpane of a size that would confound the faculties of the confectioners of these degenerate days. The courtier, like the citizen, was a most fierce devourer of plums, and the ships, bulwarks, forests, &c., that were not eaten on the spot, were conveyed into the pockets of the guests, and carried off, without stint and without shame. |