Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

in those very times when that Court did the rest of those her pious works, for which she is now fall'n from the Starres with Lucifer. Whereby ye may guesse what kinde of State prudence, what love of the people, what care of Religion, or good manners there was at the contriving, although with fingular hypocrifie it pretended to bind books to their good behaviour. And how it got the upper hand of your precedent Order fo well constituted before, if we may beleeve those men whose profeffion gives them caufe to enquire moft, it may be doubted there was in it the fraud of fome old patentees and monopolizers in the trade of book-felling; who under pretence of the poor in their Company not to be defrauded, and the just retaining of each man his severall copy, which God forbid fhould be gainsaid, brought divers glofing colours to the House, which were indeed but colours, and ferving to no end except it be to exercife a fuperiority over their neighbours, men who doe not therefore labour in an honeft profeffion to which learning is indetted, that they should be made other mens vaffals. Another end is thought was aym'd at by fome of them in procuring by petition this Order, that having power in their hands, malignant books might the easier scape abroad, as the event fhews. But of these Sophifms and Elenchs of marchandize I skill not: This I know, that errors in a good government and in a bad are equally almoft incident; for what Magiftrate may not be mif-inform'd, and much the fooner, if liberty of Printing be reduc't into the power of a few; but to redreffe willingly and speedily what hath bin err'd, in highest autority to esteem a plain advertisement more then others have done a fumptuous bribe, is a vertue (honour'd Lords and Commons) anfwerable to Your highest actions, and whereof none can participat but greatest and wifeft men."

The End

and

1. AREOPAGITICA-that which appertains to the Areopagus. There is at Athens a hill, formerly called ò "Apelos máуog, 'the hill of Ares,' the 'Mar's Hill' of Acts xvii. 22, whereon used to affemble a Council, called 'The Council of the Areiopagus.' Befides fupreme judicial authority in cafes of wilful murder, this Council poffeffed very large focial influence; having the general undefined fuperintendence of religion, morals, education, and the like. It was held in veneration by the whole people. It appears to have been strongly confervative in tone, and feems to have occupied a fomewhat fimilar position in the Athenian republic to that of the House of Lords in the British constitution. 2. There were two Wardens in the Stationers' Company. 3. Reprinted at page 25.

4. BERNARDO DAVANZATI BOSTICHI [b. 30 August 1529-d. 20 March 1606]. A Florentine author of confiderable repute. He wrote several works. I have not, as yet, been able to identify the particular one referred to by Milton.

5. ROBERT GREVIL, LORD BROOKE-The title of this book is, A difcourfe opening the nature of that Epifcopacie, which is exercifed in England. Wherein, with all Humility, are reprefented fome Coniderations tending to the much-defired Peace, and long expected Reformation, of This our Mother Church. By the Right Honourable ROBERT Lord BROOKE.-London, Printed by R. C. for Samuel Cartwright, and are to be fold at the figne of the Hand and Bible in Ducke-Lane 1641. This Lord Brooke was born in 1607, and was the son of the celebrated Fulk Grevil, Lord Brooke of Beauchamps-court, the friend of Sir Philip Sidney. He was killed on 2 March 1642, while commanding the parlia mentary forces attacking the Church-clofe at Litchfield. 'It fell out, that he having planted his great guns against the SouthEaft-gate of the Clofe, he was, tho' harneffed with plate-armour cap-a-pe, fhot from the church in the eye by one Diot, a 'Clergy-man's fon, (who could neither hear or speak) as he stood in a door (whither he came to fee the occafion of a fudden 'fhout made by the foldiers) of which he inftantly died.'-A. àWood. Athena Oxonienfes, II. 433, Ed: by Blifs, 1815. 6. Reprinted at page 24.

7. Reprinted at page 7.

8. GILBERT MABBOTT, gentleman, was licenfer of pamphlets. He refigned on 22nd May, 1649, giving as his reafons arguments fimilar to those in the 'Areopagitica.'

Rinis

GEORGE VILLIERS,

Second Duke of Buckingham.

THE REHEARSAL.

First acted 7 Dec. 1671. Published [? July] 1672.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PREVIOUS PLAYS, ETC.

Edited by EDWARD ARBER, F.S.A., etc.,

LECTURER IN ENGLISH LITERATURE, ETC.,
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LONDON.

SOUTHGATE, LONDON, N.

2 November, 1868.

No. 10.

(All rights reserved.)

LIFE and TIMES of GEORGE VILLIERS, Duke of Buckingham

[ocr errors]

(1) Brian Fairfax's Memorials of him

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

3 3- 10

(2) Other characters of him, by Lord Peterborough, Bp. Burnet, Count Grammont, S. Butler, and J. Dryden 10-12 INTRODUCTION,

BIBLIOGRAPHY, "The Rehearsal'

13

18

[ocr errors]
[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

(3) The TEXT, on odd numbered pages.

(4) The ILLUSTRATIONS, on even numbered pages, principally taken from the following Plays:—

Mrs. A. Behn, The Amorous Prince.

Sir W. D'Avenant, Love and Honour.

(Poet-laureate) Play Houfe to be let.

1671. 1649.

Siege of Rhodes, Part I. 1656.

J. Dryden, Conquest of Granada, Parts I. and II.

1672.

(Poet-laureate) The Indian Emperor. 1667.

Marriage-à-la-mode. 1691.

Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen. 1668.

Tyrannic Love. 1670 and 1672.

The Wild Gallant. 1669.

Sir R. Fanshawe's tranflation (1654) of

Don A. H. de Mendoza's Querer pro folo querer. 1623.

Col. H. Howard,

The Hon. J. Howard,

(To love only for love's fake) 1671. United Kingdoms.

English Monfieur. 1674.

Sir W. Killigrew, Ormafdes, or Love and Friendship.

1665.

Pandora, or The Converts. 1665.

T. Porter, The Villain. 1663.

F. Quarles, The Virgin Widow. 1649. Sir R. Stapylton, The Slighted Maid. 1663. (5) Epilogue

136

of

GEORGE VILLIERS,

Second Duke of Buckingham.

INSTEAD of the usual brief Chronicle, we shall on this occasion adduce a series of testimonies that have come down to us from contemporaries, all intimately acquainted with Villiers.

1. In the year 1758, was published in London, a 4to Catalogue of the Curious Collection of Pictures of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, The Catalogue is prefaced by the following

ADVERTISEMENT.

pur

WE proceed to gratify the curiosity of the public with some other lists of valuable collections; the principal one belonged to that magnificent favourite, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham; and was only such part of his Museum as was preserved by an old servant of the family, Mr. Traylman, and by him sent to Antwerp to the young duke, to be sold for his subsistence; great part having been embezzled, when the estate was sequestered by the parliament. Some of the pictures, on the assassination of the first duke, had been chased by the king, the earl of Northumberland, and Abbot Montagu. The collection was kept at York-house in the Strand, and had been bought by the duke at great prices. He gave 10,000 for what had been collected by Sir Peter Paul Rubens; and Sir Henry Wootton, when ambassador at Venice, purchased many other capital ones for his grace. One may judge a little how valuable the entire collection must have been, by this list of what remained, where we find no fewer than nineteen by Titian, seventeen by Tintoret, twenty-one by Bassan, two by Julio Romano, two by Giorgione, thirteen by Paul Veronese, eight by Palma, three by Guido, thirteen by Rubens, three by Leonardo da Vinci, two by Corregio, and three by Raphael; besides other esteemed and scarce masters.

Mr. Duart of Antwerp bought some of them, but the greater part were purchased by the archduke Leopold, and added to his noble collection in the castle of Prague. He bought the chief picture, the Ecce Homo by Titian, in which were introduced the portraits of the pope, the emperor Charles the Fifth, and Solyman the magnificent. It appears by a note of Mr. Vertue, in the original manuscript, that Thomas earl of Arundel offered the first duke the value of £7,000 in money or land for that single piece. There is a copy of it at Northumberland house.

It may not be improper to mention in this place, that Villiers, when sent with the earl of Holland to the States, to negociate the restoration of the Palatinate, purchased a curious collection of Arabic manuscripts, collected by Erpinius, a famous linguist; which, according to the duke's designation of them, were after his death, bestowed on the university of Cambridge, of which his grace had been chancellor.

Embedded in this Catalogue, at pp. 24-39, is the following Life of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, the celebrated Poet. Written by Brian Fairfax Esq. and never before published. This Life is both able and graphic; and apparently authentic. As it will be new to most readers, we give it entire. BRIAN FAIRFAX, Esq, was the second son of Rev. Henry Fairfax, rector of Bolton Percy, and cousin to Thomas, 4th Lord Fairfax (the Parliamentary general), brother to Henry, 5th Lord, and uncle of Thomas oth Lord Fairfax. [See The Fairfax Correspondence. Ed. by G. W. Johnson, i. cxxCXXV. 1848.] I1: 1599, he edited Short Memorials of Thomas [4th] Lord Fairfax. Written by himself. The following gives the most favourable account of Villiers; and would seem to show that up to the Restoration, he was apparently no worse than his neighbours.

The original papers from whence this manuscript
is faithfully taken, were written by Mr.
BRIAN FAIRFAX, and in the possession of

the late bishop Atterbury.

Memoirs of the Life of GEORGE Villiers,
Duke of BUCKINGHAM.

GEORGE Villiers, duke of Buckingham, was the son of that noble favourit :

« AnteriorContinuar »