books which our worthy bibliopoles designate as "standard works." These are the books of competent workmen—books which are the result of honest labour and research, and which from the moment of their publication assume a permanent station in our national literature. Even in such books there are many things incomplete, many things erroneous. But it is the interest of every man that such books should be rendered as complete as possible; and whatever tends to illustrate or correct works of that class will be sure of insertion in our columns.
We would point to Macaulay's England, and Hallam's Introduction to the Literary History of the 15th, 16th, and 17th Centuries, his Middle Ages, and his Constitutional History, and we may add, as illustrations of a different kind, The Annals of the Stage of our excellent friend Mr. Collier, and The Handbook of London of our valued contributor Mr. Peter Cunningham, as examples of the sort of publications to which we allude. Such were the books we had in our mind, when we spoke in our Prospectus of the "Notes and Queries" becoming, through the inter-communication of our literary friends, "a most useful supplement to works already in existence—a treasury towards enriching future editions of them."
Another correspondent—a bibliographical friend—suggests that, for various reasons, which bibliographers will appreciate, our Prospectus should have a place in the body of our work. We believe that many of our readers concur in a wish for its preservation, and it will therefore be found in the Number now before them.
One suggestion again urges us to look carefully to Foreign Literature, and another points out the propriety of our making our paper as British as possible, so that our topographical facts should, as far as practicable, be restricted to the illustration of British counties, and our biographical ones to such as should contribute towards a Biographia Britannica.
All these, and many other expressions of sympathy and promises of support, poured in upon us within a few hours after our birth. No one of them shall be forgotten; and if for a time our pages seem to indicate that we have made a Query as to the adoption of any suggestion, let our kind contributors be assured that there is no hint which reaches us, whether at present practicable or not, that we do not seriously and thankfully "make a Note of."
BISHOP AYLMER'S LETTER, AND THE POEM ON THE ARMADA.
As I am in a condition to answer the inquiry of your "Hearty Well-wisher," on p. 12. of your last Number of "Notes and Queries," I proceed to give him the information he asks. I shall be happy if what follows is of any use to your correspondent, taking it for granted that he is as zealous for your success as his signature indicates.
The "foolish rhyme," to which the attention of the Bishop of London had been directed by Lord Burghley, has the subsequent doggrel title:—
"A Skeltonicall Salvtation,
Or condigne gratvlation,
And iust vexation
Of the Spanishe nation,
That in a bravado
Spent many a crvsado,
In setting forth an armado
England to invado."
This is as the title stands in the Oxford impression (of which I never saw more than one copy, because, we may presume, it was suppressed by the authorities of the University, and the following is the imprint at the bottom of it:—"Printed at Oxford by Ioseph Barnes, and are to bee sold in Paules Churchyard, at the signe of the Tygres head, 1589."
There exist several exemplars of the London edition—"Imprinted at London for Toby Cooke. 1589,"—the title-page of which, as well as the rest of the poem, differs only literally from that of Oxford, excepting that to the later is appended a Latin version, also in rhyme, and in close imitation of the English. I subjoin a brief specimen of it:—
