1595. The Old Wives Tale. A pleasant conceited Comedie, played by the queenes majesties players. Written by George Peele.[1] Printed at London by John Danter, and are to be sold by Ralph Hancocke and John Hardie.[2]
It appears very probable that Milton had seen this very curious and rare tract. The story is the same with that in Comus, namely, two brothers are represented as in search of a sister, confined by the power of a magician. In the Old Wives Tale, as in Comus, the brothers aloud call their sister by name, and Echo makes reply. See a long and interesting account of George Peele, the author of this dramatic piece, and the piece itself, in Todd's edition of Comus, published separately in 1798. See also Walton's edition of Milton's Minor Poems, page 126.
1595, Feb. 21. Robert Southwell, called the English jesuit, was executed at Tyburn, on this day. Among the bards of the Elizabethan era Southwell shone with no inferior lustre. With much of the general character of the period, fully participating in its peculiarities, often led away by antithesis, and sometimes concerted in the choice of words, there is an overflowing of mind, a richness of imagination, and a felicity of versification in this author which eminently entitle his productions to the regard of aftertimes. His melancholy life, and dreadful fate, would spread a deep interest over his works, even were they in themselves destitute of it, which is very far from being the case. Southwell was also an elegant and powerful prose writer, and a deep casuist. He was of a good family in Norfolk, educated at Douay, and at sixteen entered in the society of jesuits at Rome. In 1584, he came as a missionary to England, and was domestic chaplain to Anne, countess of Arundel, in which situation he remained till 1592; when he was apprehended at Uxenden, in Middlesex, and sent to the tower, where he remained three years, during which time, he was racked ten times,[3] with a view to extort from him a disclosure of certain supposed conspiracies against the government. At the end of this period he sent a letter to lord Burleigh humbly intreating his lordship, that he might either be brought upon his trial to answer for himself, or at least that his friends might have leave to come and see him. Burleigh answered, "that if he was in such haste to be hanged, he should quickly have his desire." Shortly after he was removed to Newgate, tried at Westminster for remaining in England contrary to the statute, convicted, and condemned to death: when the unhappy sufferer was only in his thirty-fifth year.
It may be mentioned that this was the age when collections of fugitive and miscellaneous poetry first became common. Several volumes of this kind were published about this time, and contain some lyrical poetry of the greatest merit, without any author's name. The following poem, by Southwell, will be a good specimen of the forms of composition:—
THE IMAGE OF DEATH.
Before my face the picture hangs,
That daily should put me in mind
Of these oold names and bitter pangs
That shortly I am like to find;
But yet, alas! full little I
Do think hereon, that I must die.
Continually at my bed's head
A hearse doth hang, which doth me tell
That I ere morning may be dead,
Though now I feel myself full well:
But yet, alas! for all this, I
Have little mind that I must die!
The gown which I am used to wear,
The knife wherewith I cut my meat;
And eke that old and ancient chair.
Which is my only usual seat;
All these do tell me I must die,
And yet my life amend not I.
My ancestors are turn'd to clay,
And many of my mates are gone;
My youngers daily drop away.
And can I think to 'scape alone?
No, no; I know that I must die,
And yet my life amend not I.
Not Solomon, for all his wit.
Nor Samson, though he were so strong,
No king nor power ever yet
Could 'scape, but death laid him along.
Wherefore I know that I must die.
And yet my life amend not I.
If none can 'scape Death's dreadful dart.
If rich and poor his beck obey;
If strong, if wise, if all do smart.
Then I to 'scape shall have no way:
Then, grant me grace, O God! that I
My life may mend, since I must die.
1595. Davis's Worldes Hydographical Description, wherein is proved that the world in all his places is inhabited, and the seas universally navigable. Mr. Beloe says that this tract is to be reckoned among the rarest of our English books. It was written by John Davis, the celebrated navigator, who gave his name to the straights so called. It consists of 24 leaves, 8vo., and a copy was sold by auction, by Mr. Evans, January, 1830, for £7 10s. Two copies are all that are known.
- ↑ George Peele, the scholar, the poet, the wit, and, in every sense, the actor, after revelling in all the license of an age unparalleled in this country for the variety and extent of talent, as well as the vices it engendered, in the extremity of age, disease, remorse, and poverty, the scorn of those who, by report or experience, were familiar with his life, deserted by most of his friends and associates, and written down by the rivals of his quill, was in his old age reduced literally to want, and died at last, the bitter sport, both in his person and writings, of insolence, want, and revenge. He was born in Devonshire, and was a student of Christ church college, Oxford, when he took his degree of M.A., on the 6th of July, 1579, "at which time he was esteemed a most noted poet in the university," quoth Anthony a Wood. He was a good pastoral poet, and his plays, four in number, were acted with great applause in the university. He died, 1598.
- ↑ Sold at Wright's sale for ₤5 7s. 6d.
- ↑ Criminal process in those days was the mere application of physical torture, to extort an avowal of the crime imputed; for the law had humanely provided that no criminal could be convicted but upon his own confession. The rack was therefore termed the question; and was, in fact, the only form of interrogatory. Thus, if an accused was innocent, and had energy of soul to brave the torture, he must bear it till he died; but if nature was subdued by pain, he accused himself falsely, and was put to death on the scaffold. Such was the justice of men calling themselves Christian prelates.—Madame Junot's Memoirs of Celebrated Women, page 74.
