or more unfashionable poetry be perused; if the fol lowing can be termed poetry.

"When cherries could not gotten be
With us, for money, love, nor fee,
I four-score miles did send in hast,
Lest that thy longing should be past,
And for one pound, five pounds I paid,
Before my man could have them weigh'd:
So got I thee, rare plumbs and nuts,
Pears, apples too to fill thy guts;
Thou sayest these were but trifles all,
Yet cost they not as trifles small."

I am tired of transcribing, as I doubt not the reader is of perusing, this lamentable epistle, which we are told had such effect on the tender heart of the lady as to deprive her of life: it is signed "Thine own once, R. M."

I am inclined to suppose the book very rare, as I cannot discover a copy of it mentioned in any of the most eminent catalogues I possess.

-P. B.

ART. XVIII. The Canticles or Balades of Salomon, phraselyke declared in Englysh Metres, by William Baldwin. Halleluiah.

Syng to the Loid sum plesaunt song

Of matter fresh and newe:

Vnto his churche it doth belong,

His prayses to renewe." Psalme cxviii.

1549. 4to. Colophon. Imprinted at London by William Baldwin, seruant with Edwarde Whitchurche. Cum priuilegio ad imprimendum solum.

The

The address to the reader is followed by a deicatdion to King Edward the Sixth, dated "at London, the first of June, 1549."

"The Canticles" are divided into eight chapters, each of which is separated into many distinct" ballades." These consist first of the text, then the argument of that portion which constitutes the Song, and lastly we have the Song itself. Of these we select one from chap. 4. no. 33.

"The Texte.

"O howe fayer are thy brestes, my syster, my spouse? they are more pleasaunt then wine, and the smell of thyne oyntmentes passeth al the spices. Thy lippes, O my loue, are a dropping hony combe, milke and hony is vnder thy tongue," &c.†

"The Argument.

"After Christe hath praysed his Spouse for thone of her iyes, and for one of her chaynes, dispraysyng the other (for she hath yet one carnal iye, and doeth sum of her wurkes through hipocrisie) he prayseth the rest of her partes throwly, syngyng before the younglynges."

"Christe to hisSpouse. xxxiii.

"How fayre thy dugges, thy charitie is my Spouse,
My syster swete, more fayre they are than wyne;

Thy sauour eke of my gyftes glorious,

Do

passe all odours, be they neuer so fine.

In all they amount to 71.

+ I omit transcribing the whole of the original text: it begins at verse 1 and continues to part of v. 16.

Thy lyppes, my loue, the hunney combe are lyke,
From whiche my prayse doeth drop al men among;
My scriptures eke, that are not muche vnlyke
Hunney and mylke, doe vnder lye thy toung;

Thy garmentes gay, my merites whiche thou hast,
Do sauour swete, lyke the mount Libanus.
My Spouse, thou art an orchard locked fast
Of pleasaunt trees, my elect most bounteous.

The planted trees and frutes whiche grow in thee,
Of pomegranates are lyke a paradise,

Beset about with fruites that pleasaunt bee,
Of cumly heygth that spryng in goodly wyse.

In thee doeth grow spykenarde and calamus,
With saffron, camphor, and swete cypres,
And all the trees that grow in Libanus:
Swete cynamome, strong myrrhe and aloes;

With all hote spices aromatical.

Those are the elect and faythfull that doe dwell In thee my church, in office seu ral:

Who all through fayth, excedyng swete do smel.

And thou my Spouse of gardeyns art a wel,
Thy dewie fayth doth moysten euery coost:
Thou art also a poole the whiche doeth wel
Vp lyuely springes, from out the holy goost.

With these thy streames, whiche calmly take their course
From Libanus, my wurde that mountayne clere,

Thou waterest the gardens fine or course

Of all good folke, that in thy waye appere.

Vp North wynde vp, vp tribulacion,

Cum blast my gardeyn, that I may it tryes
Cum south wynde eke, cum consolacion

And cherysh it, least sum part hap to dye.
That whyle ye two vpon my churche do blow,
The fragrant sinell of truth may from her flow."

The work concludes with one page containing "The interpretacion of the Hebrue wurdes." And

"Blessyng, honor, glory, and power,

Be vnto God, for euer and eueṛ.

Amen."

P. B.

ART. XIX. Extract from a Manuscript of Dr. Simon Forman.

་་

The following transcript, which cannot but be allowed of a curious if not interesting nature, considering the publicity of the character from whom it proceeds, may not be unacceptable to the readers of CENSURA LITERARIA. It is taken from a manuscript in the handwriting of the celebrated doctor Simon Forman, whose base conduct with Mistress Turner in the affair relative to the depraved although beautiful Countess of Essex, is too well known to be here repeated. * The manuscript was discovered prefixed to a volume of very old and valuable tracts formerly in Dr. Forman's possession, to which he has added a vast number of notes:

* For a very satisfactory account of this shameful, or rather shameless transaction, see Brydges's Memoirs of Peers, Vol. I. pp. 96, 97, et seq.

it

it is here copied literally, and should the perusal prove interesting, the trouble of deciphering will be amply repaid to the person who now communicates it.

"Of Lucifer's creation, and of the wordle's creation.

"Lucifer was the first angel that God created, and was created by the Father the first person in Trinity, and was an angel moste brighte, and gloriouse; and wente before all other, and was the greateste among them, and was created before this wordelie the terme of 5004 yers.

"Lucifer staid in glory, before he fell, the space of 500 years.

"He fell before the creation of this wordle 4504 yeres, and

"He and his compani remayned in the darknes of chaos included in the mundo intelligibili 2004.

And after they had bin included in that perpetuall darknes of chaos aforsaid the space of 2004 yers, then the Lord created the celestialle wordle, and out of the beste and suprem matter of the chaos he drue out and made the prima mobile, the watri firmamente, the christallen heauen, the and all the fixed stars, and orbes, and all the plannets in order as they ar. And included them into a leess rom for their prid and arrogancy. And ther they remained 1800 years more in that darknes, before the Lord created the sonn or mone, and made them to giue lighte over all

After much trouble and fruitless endeavour, I am compelled to pass over two words he e, which I can by no means discover. The whole is written very unintelligibly.