they had so long been enthralled, and by which the Bible was now translated and thrown open to the people at large, gave rise to numerous poems and pasquinades, which often exceeded the bounds of moderation and propriety, and were filled with rancour and bitter hostility; and even the popular ballads and interludes became the common means of carrying on the great controversy between the two churches. Amongst other matters of dispute the Mass formed a leading subject of attack on the part of the followers of the new religion, and more than one poetical tract has been noticed in the present work in which it was a topic of severe satire and caustic raillery. In these qualities the very rare volume which we are about to describe strongly abounds. It is written on the abuses of the Mass, and other Romish corruptions, by one who was violently opposed to the old faith, and was most probably printed in the year given above, although the date of 1548 is only in a manuscript hand of the time; but we know that Oswen, the printer, removed to Worcester at the end of the same year, and therefore that it could not have been later.

The title is within a neat woodcut border, and the initial letter G contains the head of our Saviour crowned with thorns, on a napkin. The poem is written in thirty-seven stanzas of eight lines each, and is very severe against the Papistical ceremonies and usages which, by their number and absurdities, afforded so much scope for burlesque, as will be seen from the following

stanzas:

In ye stede of goddes word we had holy bread and water

Holy palmes holy ashes, holy candles holy fyer

Holy bones holy stones, holy crewittes at the aulter
Holy censars holy bannars, holy crosses holy atyer
Holy wax holy pax, holy smoke holy smyer
Holy oyle holy creame, holy wyne for veneration
Holy coope holy canepy, holy reliques in ye quier

Thus gods word could not florish, ye light of our saluation.

We haue had belles christened, vestimentes consecrated
Chalices anointed, high altares washed and halowed

Images tabernacled, dead mens bones shryned

Coniured Crosses censed, spittled and spattled

With turne and half turne, the people was deceyued

Seist me or seist me not, and mocke more abhominacion

Feattes of legerdemayne, by these iugglers inuented

That goddes worde shulde not floryshe, the light of our saluacion.

Upon the high holy euennes, as they do them call,
They range all the belles a solempne noys to heare
There had we euensong: complyne, and salue w'all
Of y' was song or sayd, themselues were neuer the nere
For it was in a foren tonge, as it doth well appere

Nother to them nor us, was there edification

For it was all lippe labor, song they neuer so cleare

Syldome preache they christ, to be the light of our saluatiō.

The nexte day folowing we had matynes, with prime and howres holy
Many a dens in adiutorium, all in the latten tonge
Coniuring of holy water, folowed then immediatly
Procession after ydolles, all the churche yarde long
Hygh masse with deuout sensinges, ruffling it in priksong
Then ranne we to take holy bread, withoute signification
These plantes be pluckt up, be they neuer so stronge

They were not graffed on goddes word, the hight of our saluation.

With these old customes and such lyke, god is displeased sore

As in the first of Esay, ther is demaunded playne

Who required these of you, such thinges I do abhor

Your Sabothes and your solempne dayes, your fastinges are in vayne
Newe holy dayes and fastinges, from my hart I do disdayne

God saith he is wery both of you and your oblacion

He byddeth you labour in his vyneyarde, and therein take payne
To teach the people Gods word, the light of our saluacion.

The author's expectations from the youthful and pious Edward for the settlement of the reformed religion were, no doubt, like those of many others at that period, raised to a high degree; and from the known piety and amiable qualities of the young king, joined to the partiality which youth always excites, and the religious freedom already obtained from their former yoke of bondage, it was no wonder that he should express himself in the terms of panegyric conveyed in the ensuing stanzas:

Let us be thankefull to our God, for his etern verite

With which he hath moste plenteously endewed our noble kynge
So that amonge all his affaires, he maye set forth goddes glorye
With no lesse zeale than he hathe done, sence his firste begynninge
I meane, Edward the sixt, ouer us now rayninge

Right Inheritour by dissent, of this realm or dominion

That oute of his Princely harte, there maye dystyll and springe

Gods power and lyuely worde, the light of our saluacion.

Also for those good ladyes, of the same stock and lynage
Mary and Elyzabeth, systers unto his grace

The heauenly Lorde endewe them, unto their last age
Euen as their noble father dyd, all Popery to deface
And Gods eternall Testament, alway to embrace
For there in shall they learne, by the heauenly instigation
To folow the frute of the spirite, and thereby to purchace
The Celestiall kyngdome, the lyght of our saluacion.

For the most honorable Councell, with my Lorde Protector
Which stryeth strongely with the enemyes of God night and daye
In his procedynges and doynges, the Lorde be his director
With his holy spirite also, to rule their hartes alwaye
That thorowe their spirituall laboure, all Poperye may decaye
And utterly banyshed the lande, with Godly reformacion
Suppressinge all false doctrine, and to set suche a staye

That Goddes worde maye increace, the lyght of our saluacion.

And that it may please the (O God) to illumine the spiritualties
As Bysshoppes and all ministers, with knowledge and understandinge
Of thy most blessed worde, to set it forth with synceritie
And unfaynedly folowe, both in doctrine and lyuinge
Fedinge Christes flocke, with the worde euerlastinge
Not compelled thereunto, nor for hope of promocion

But for fauour which they beare to it aboue all thinge

And thus shall Goddes worde floryshe, the lyght of our saluacion.

Four various quotations of texts from the Holy Scriptures, with the author's name, 66 Quod Peter Moone," close the volume, the Colophon, as given before, being on a separate leaf. The work is slightly noticed by Herbert, vol. iii, p. 1,458; by Warton in his Hist. Eng. Poet., vol. iv, p. 145, 8vo edition; and by Ritson in his Bibliogr. Poet., p. 279. Of the author, Peter Moone, nothing appears to be known, nor are we acquainted with any other copy of his poem than the present, which was formerly in the collection of Mr. B. H. Bright.

Bound in Calf, neat.

MUNDAY, (ANTHONY.) — The Mirrour of Mutabilitie, or Principall part of the Mirrour for Magistrates. Describing the fall of diucrs famous Princes, and other memorable Personages.

Selected out of the sacred Scriptures by Anthony Munday, and dedicated to the Right Honorable the Earle of Oxenford.

Honos alit Artes.

Imprinted at London by Iohn Allde and are to be solde by Richard Ballard, at Saint Magnus Corner. 1579. 1579. 4to, blk. lett.

The Mirror for Magistrates, which had been first printed in 1559, twenty years before the present publication, having become so highly popular, gave rise to many imitations of various kinds and degrees of merit, of which the present singular work by Anthony Munday was one of the earliest. The title is within a neat woodcut border, and has on the reverse a large woodcut of the arms of Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, to whom the work is dedicatad, with his motto, "Vero nihil verius," and four lines of verse underneath. The dedication to this nobleman, who was the seventeenth Earl of Oxford, celebrated for his patronage of literature and literary men, and one of the contributors to The Paradise of Dainty Devises, 4to, 1576, The Phoenix Nest, 4to, 1593, England's Helicon, 4to, 1600, and other poetical works, is highly curious, and gives us some insight into Munday's early life and travels, from which it appears, that after having presented his patron with a former "book intituled Galien of Fraunce, being very desirous," says he, "to attaine to some understanding in the languages, considering in time to come, I might reap thereby some commoditie, since as yet my webbe of youthful time was not fully wouen, and my wilde oates required to be furrowed in a forreyne ground, to satisfye the trifling toyes that dayly more and more frequented my busied braine: yeelded myself to God and good Fortune, taking on the habit of a Traueler. And hauing sustayned in the colde Countrey of Fraunce diuers contagious calamities, and sundry sorts of mishaps. As first, being but newly ariued, and not acquainted with the usage of the Countrey, betweene Bulloin and Abeuile, my Companion and I were stripped into our shirts by soldiers, who, (if rescue had not come) would haue endamaged our liues also. Methought this was but an unfreendly welcome, considering before I thought that euery man beyond the Seas was as frank as an Emperour, and that a man might liue there a Gentleman's life, and doe nothing but walke at his pleasure but finding it not so, I wished myself at home again, with sorrowe to my sugred sops. But calling to minde that he which fainteth at the first

assault, would hardly endure to fight out the Battell; tooke courage afresh, hoping my hap would prove better in the end, since it had such a bitter beginning, and so passed forward to Paris."

From Paris, having been well received there, and newly clothed, after some delay and consultation "with my Lord the English ambassador, then lying at Paris," Munday and his companion journeyed into Italy, to Rome, Naples, Venice, Padua, and divers other excellent cities, and then returned home.

After the Epistle Dedicatory are some anagrammatic lines, entitled "The authors Commendation of the Right Honorable Earle of Oxenford," and "Verses written by the author upon his Lords Posey Vero nihil verius.'" These are followed by a short prose address "To the Reader," in which the writer speaks of this as being "now the third time he had presumed on the clemency of the reader." His first work appears to have been "The Defence of Pouertie against the Desire of worldlie riches. Dialogue wise. Collected by Anthonie Munday," which was licensed to John Charlewood in November, 1577. Of his book intituled Galiens Fraunce," which was probably his second publication, we know nothing beyond the mention made of it in the commencement of the Dedication to Lord Oxford. These works must have been published by Munday at an early period of life, and he speaks in the present volume of his "want of learning and his Idolocencye." It appears also from this address, that he intended to write a third part to the present work, "desiring them to accept this till the third part of this work be finished": which, however, he seems never to have completed. Next occur commendatory verses by Claudius Hollyband, his schoolmaster, in French, and the same in English,-Thomas Procter, T. N. (probably Thomas Nuce or Newton), E. K. (Edward Knight), Mathew Wighthand, William Hall his kinsman, and Thomas Spigurnel. Those by Thomas Procter, who was the author of the rare work, "A gorgious Gallery of gallant Inventions, &c. London. 1578," and to whom Munday returned the compliment by affixing commendatory verses to that work, are not devoid of merit, and will bear the quotation of a few stanzas:

He showes how fraile our earthly Honor is,
How soone our pleasures perish unto nought:
What daunger turnes to bale our worldly blisse,
By elder Age which haue such frailtie sought.

At length how Death eche state to earth hath brought
The hautyest hart that vaunts of Victors force:
His direfull dart unbreathes without remorce.