wherein our forefathers valiant acts (that have been long buried in rustie brasse and worme-eaten bookes) are reuiued, and they themselves raised from the Grave of Obliuion," he says:

How would it haue ioyed braue Talbot (the terror of the French) to thinke that after he had lyne two hundred yeares in his Tombe, hee should triumphe againe on the stage, and haue his bones newe embalmed with the teares of ten thousand spectators at least (at seuerall times) who in the Tragedian that represents his person, imagine they behold him fresh bleeding.

And he concludes this part of the subject with a panegyric upon the celebrated actor of that time, Edward Allen, the founder of Dulwich College, who died in 1626:

Not Roscius nor Esope those admyred tragedians that haue liued euer since before Christ was borne; could euer performe more in action, than famous Ned Allen. I must accuse our Poets of sloth and partialitie that they will not boast in large impressions what worthy men (aboue all nations) England affords. Other Countries cannot have a Fiddler breake a string, but they will put it in print, and the old Romanes in the writings they published thought scorne to use any but domestical examples of their owne home-bred Actors, Schollers, and Champions, and them they would extoll to the third and fourth Generation: Coblers, Tinkers, Fencers, none escapt them, but they mingled them all in one Gallimafrey of glory.

Heere I haue used a like method, not of tying myself to mine owne Coutrie, but by insisting in the experience of our time: and if I euer write any thing in Latine, (as I hope one day I shall) not a man of any desert here amongst us, but I will haue up, Tarlton, Ned Allen, Knell, Bentlie, shall be made knowne to France, Spaine, and Italie and not a part that they surmounted in, more than other, but I will there note and set downe, with the manner of theyr habites and attyre.

Allen's great reputation is also mentioned by Nash in his Strange Newes, one of his tracts against Gabriel Harvey, published in the same year as the present work, 1592. See Collier's Annals of the Stage, vol. iii, p. 313.

We forbear to quote the beautiful and elegant passage at the end of the book which contains the panegyric upon his patron, Ferindando, Earl of Derby, under the title of "Iones Eagle-borne Ganimed, thrice noble Amyntas," and the mention of the "heauenlie Spencer," with a "Sonnet to the reuerence of this renowned Lord" on the omission by Spenser of his name "in that honourable catalogue of our English Heroes" at the conclusion of the Fairie Queene; because the whole passage has been already given in the Cens. Liter., vol. vi, p. 92.

This tract was answered by Gabriel Harvey in his "Pierce's Supererogation; or a new Prayse of the old asse: a Preparative to certaine larger Discourses intituled Nashes S. Fame." 4to., Lond., 1593, which was re

printed in the second vol. of Archaica. Ritson quotes only the edition of 1595 of the present work in the Bibliog. Poet. as if he was ignorant of the two earlier editions of 1592. An account of this work, with long extracts from it, is given in the Cens. Liter. vol vi, p. 76, with a list of prices which this and other publications of Nash brought at Reed's sale. See also Collier's Annals of the Stage, vol. iii, p. 223, and Bridgew. Catal., p. 209. Beloe's Anecd. vol. i, p. 265; Drake's Shakespeare and his Times, vol. i, p. 457; Collier's Poet. Decam., vol. i, p. 215; Lowndes's Bibliogr. Man., p. 1320; and the Biblioth. Heber., pt. 4, 1589.

:

Collation Title and Epistle, two leaves, then Sig. A. to I 4, in fours. The present is a very fine and clean copy of this rare tract of Nash, and is beautifully

NASH, (THOMAS.)-Pierce Penilesse his Supplication to the Diuell.

Barbaria grandis habere nihil.

Written by Tho. Nash, Gent.

London, printed by Abell Ieffes, for I.R. 1593. 4to. blk. lett.

Another edition of this popular production, which may be styled the fourth, three having already appeared in 1592. The variations in this impression are very slight, consisting merely in the alteration of a few words, and some trifling typographical corrections. It may here be remarked that the sonnet at the end of the work is supposed to be addressed by Nash to the Earl of Southampton, the patron of Shakespeare, whose name he accuses Spenser of having omitted in the list of sonnets at the end of the Fairie Queene addressed to the nobility.

Because fewer words might not comprise thy fame.

Collation: Title A 1, Sig. A to I 4 in fours.

Sir Egerton Brydges's Copy.

NASH, (THOMAS.)-Pierce Penilesse his Supplication to the Diuell. Barbaria grandis habere nihil.

Written by Tho. Nash, Gent.

London Printed for Nicholas Ling, and are to be sold at his shop, at the North west doore of S. Paules, 1595. 4to blk. lett.

Ritson mentions this edition, but appears not to have known of any earlier. It was printed by Thomas Creede (as we learn from the Colophon) for Nicholas Ling, and has his device of the ling and honeysuckle on the title page. The few alterations in this impression, probably the fifth, are chiefly of a typographical kind. Nash, whose talents and ability as a satirist, were of a most extraordinary and superior kind, and whose wit and learning, had it not been disfigured by a taste for low and vulgar ribaldry, would have been considered worthy of all praise, died about 1604, and not in 1600, as has been generally reported. As a minute and correct discriber of the customs and habits of his own period, and as illustrative of Shakespeare and of ancient manners, few works have been more generally quoted by writers on such subjects than the present and other similar tracts by Nash.

The title of the annoymous second part or answer to this pamphlet, published in 1606, is "The Returne of the Knight of the Poste from Hell, with the Diuels auns were to the Supplication of Pierce Penilesse, with some Relation of the last Treasons." 4to. London, 1606, but this was not written by Nash, who was then dead. Copies of this edition have sold at Perry's sale, pt. ii, No. 1197, for 37. 15s.; Hibbert's do, No. 5796, for 3l. 9s.; Woodhouses do., 31. 68.; Nassau's do., pt. ii, No. 387, 4l. 48.; Bindley's do., pt. iii, No. 770, 4l. 14s. 6d.

Collation: The same as the preceding.

NASH, (THOMAS.) - The Terrors of the Night, or, A Discourse of Apparitions. Post Tenebras Dies. Tho: Nashe.

London, Printed by John Danter for William Jones, and

are to be sold at the signe of the Gunne nere Holburne Conduit. 1574. 4to, pp. 62.

Few works in this collection of early English literature are of greater rarity than the present. For a long period, until very lately, it was supposed that the only copy in existence was the one in the Bridgewater Collection belonging to the Earl of Ellesmere. Since then, however, two other copies have come to light which are all that are known to exist―one, a very fine copy, which was sold in Mr. Heber's collection, pt. iv, No. 1592, for 5l. 188., bound in red morocco, uniform with the other works of Nash, and is now in the library of the late William H. Miller, Esq., at Britwell House, Bucks; and the present one, from the unrivalled collection of the same gentleman, which was sold in pt. viii of Biblioth. Heber., No. 1767. This, which is not so fine a copy as the former, originally belonged to Mr. Brand, at whose sale, in 1807, it was bought with some other tracts, No. 7749, by Mr. Malone, at whose death it passed into the hands of Mr. James Boswell, and at the sale of that gentleman's library in 1825, No. 1626, was purchased by Mr. Heber for 5l. 158. 6d. It is not only an "exquisitely rare piece," but is also curious and valuable on other accounts. It is dedicated "To the new kindled cleare Lampe of Virginitie, and the excellent adored high Wonder of sharpe Wit and sweete Beautie, Mistres Elizabeth Carey; sole Daughter and Heire to the thrice noble and renowned Sir George Carey, Knight Marshall," &c. The following is the commencement of it: "Rare adorned Mistris, whom al that know admire, and not malice itselfe but doth honor. True Stemme of Nobilitie, outflourishing your sexe or your age; pure saint-like picture of Sobrietie and Modestie, sacred and immaculate virgin Starre, cleare (if anie liuing) from the original sin of thought: giue me leave (though contemptible and abject) once more to sacrifice my worthless wit to your glorie. Many feruent vowes and protestations of obseruance, your bountifull gracious deserts towards mee, haue entrancedly extracted, which yet remaine in the ore vnwrought and vntride. As touching this short glose or annotation on the foolish Terrors of the Night, you partly are acquainted from whose motiue imposition at first proceeded, as also what strange sodaine cause necessarily produced that motion. A long time since hath it laine suppressed by mee; vntil the vrgent importunitie of a kinde frend of mine (to whom I was sundrie waies beholding) wrested a Coppie from me. That Coppie progressed from one scriuener's shop to another, and at length grew so common

that it was readie to bee hung out for one of their signes, like a paire of indentures. Whereuppon I thought it as good for mee to reape the frute of my owne labours, as to let some vnskilfull pen-man or Nouerint-maker startch his ruffe and new spade his beard with the benefite he made of them." He afterwards goes on to say: "Miraculous is your wit; and so is acknowledged by the wittiest Poets of our age, who haue vowed to enshrine you as their second Delia," alluding to Daniel's popular poem under that title, which had been twice printed in 1592. Nash subsequently alludes to her mother, "A worthie Daughter are you of so worthie a Mother; borrowing (as another Phoebe from her bright Sunne-like resplendaunce) the orient beames of your radiaunce. Into the Muses societie her selfe she hath lately adopted and purchast diuine Petrarch another monument in England. Euer honored may she be of the royallest breed of wits whose purse is so open to her poore beadsmens distresses. Well may I say it, because I haue tride it, neuer liu'd a more magnificent Ladie of her degree on this earth." What the particular translation from Petrarch was which is here alluded to is not at present known, and the work has probably been lost. The daughter to whom the dedication is addressed was herself a literary character, and the author of a tragedy called Mariam, the fair Queen of Jewry, 4to, 1613, probably never acted, but not without merit. The dedication is followed by an address from the author "To Master or Goodman Reader, generally dispersed East or West," occupying one page, in which is the following passage: "Martin Momus, and splatefooted Zoilus that in the eight and sixt age of Poetrie, and first yere of the reigne of Tarltons toies kept a foule stir in Poules Church-yard, are now reuiued againe and like wanton Whalpes that haue wormes in their tungs, slauer and betouse euerie paper they meete withall. . . . . . Come, come, I know their dull tricks well inough, you shal haue them lie in child-bed one and thirtie weeks and eight daies of three bad lines and a halfe, and afterward spend a whole twelue month in spunging and sprucing them; honest thriftie Peter Littleton discharging their commons all the while: but such poore fellows as I, that cannot put out money to be paide againe when wee come from Constantinople, either must haue our work dispatcht by the weeks end or els we may go beg." A newe booke in English verse intituled Tarlton's Toyes was licensed to Richard Jones in 1576, and there is little doubt was printed, but no copy of the work is known to be in existence. The body of the work contains allusions to Scot's Discoverie of Witchcraft, Camden's Britannia, and other learned works, and contains some slight references to

VOL. V. PART I.

I