phon, dated 1567. Malone's copy of this edition was once the property of Edward Alleyn, the rich actor and founder of Dulwich College.

TURBERVILE, GEORGE. - Tragical Tales, translated by Turbervile in time of his troubles, out of sundry Italians, with the Argument and Lenvoye to eche Tale. Nocet empta dolore voluptas. - Imprinted at London by Abell Jeffs, dwelling in the Forestreete without Crepelgate at the signe of the Bel. Anno Dom. 1587. 4to. B. L. 200 leaves.

As fifty copies of this work were reprinted at Edinburgh in 1837, we do not propose to give more than a cursory notice of its contents. Turbervile had commenced his literary labors full twenty years before the date of these "Tragical Tales,” and we cannot avoid thinking that there was an earlier impression of them than that of 1787, although it has not come down to our day. At all events, a small fragment with a different, and as we apprehend an earlier, type is lying before us, while we write : it is part of the "Argument" to the first tale, and of the preceding address, "The Authour to the Reader." From the last, and for the purpose of comparison, we quote the praise, well deserved, but perhaps not very disinterested, which Turbervile gives to Lord Buckhurst, so created in 1567: we have not seen it quoted elsewhere. Melpomene addresses Turbervile in a dream, and thus warns him not to continue a commenced translation of Lucan : —

"Let loftie Lucans verse alone,

a deede of deepe devise,

A stately stile, a peerelesse pen,

a worke of weighty prise;

More meete for noble Buckhurst braine,
where Pallas built her bowre,

Of purpose there to lodge her selfe,
and shew her princelie powre.
His swelling vaine would better blase

those royall Romane peeres,

Than any one in Brutus land
that livde these many yeeres.
And yet within that little Ile
of golden wittes is store;

Great change and choise of learned ympes
as ever was of yore.

I none dislike, I fancy some,

but yet of all the rest

Sance envy let my verdit passe,

Lord Buckhurst is the best.
We all, that Ladie Muses are,
who be in number nine,

With one accord did blesse this babe;
eche said This ympe is mine:
Eche one of us at time of birth
with Juno were in place,
And eche uppon this tender childe
bestowd a gift of grace.

My selfe among the moe alowde

him Poets praysed skill;

And to commend his gallant verse,
I gave him wordes at will.
Minerva held him in her lappe,

and lent him many a kisse,

As who should say, when all is done,

they all shall yeeld to this.

This matter were more meete for him,

and farre unfitte for thee:

My sister Clio with thy kinde

doth best of all agree."

Here we see various, more or less minute, differences, besides the more important substitution of lent for "let," in the line "and lent him many a kisse," which last must, we think, have been the poet's word. So in "the Argument” to the first tale we have "Might nothing rive or pierce her marble harte,"

instead of "Might nothing rize," &c.; and in the next stanza, fronion of our fragment is "frotion” in the copy of 1587, and, of course, in the Edinburgh reprint.

These changes establish, at all events, that there was another old impression, if indeed it were not earlier than the only extant copy, among Malone's books at Oxford.

Those who have touched upon the biography of Turbervile

have regretted the absence of all materials, and it seems never to have struck them that, on the very title-page of the work under consideration, he emphatically notes his "troubles,”"translated by Turbervile in time of his troubles." He again refers to them in some preliminary lines "to his verie friend Ro. Baynes":

"Impute it to the troubles of my minde,

Whose late mishap made this be hatcht in haste;"

and, again, he tells the Reader,

"Yet being that my present plight

is stufte with all anoye,

And late mishaps have me bereft

my rimes of roisting joye."

This may mean that by some "mishaps" (here spoken of in the plural) he had been bereft of "roisting rimes " which he had intended to publish. Probably, however, he refers to some personal bereavement, of which we have no other account, and he does not elsewhere advert to his "troubles."

We have taken the pains to collate every line of the reprint of 1837, and we can highly praise its general accuracy. In some instances it is almost too faithful to the original, because it adopts even barefaced misprints, which ought at least to have been pointed out in notes, if it were thought necessary to include the errors in the text: thus, " Phalatis" stands for Phalaris, "plants" for plaints, "Latinus" for Latmus, "usage" for visage, &c. Here and there we regret to meet with corruptions from which the original copy is free, as peffred for "pestred," bigger for "beggar," and, worst of all, image for "linage," referring to the family and lineage of one of the heroines.

"Put case her byrth were base, her image lowe,"

is nonsense; and, as we say, it stands "linage" in the edition of 1587. On the whole, nevertheless, the work was well edited in 1837, although we might wish for some further information as to the sources to which Turbervile resorted for his stories. We are not even told that his first "tale" is the same as that which C. T. in 1569 had called the "notable Historye of Nastagio and Traversari," reviewed in Vol. III. p. 25. In all, there are ten of these

novels in verse, several of them derived from Boccaccio, but others from Bandello and Belleforest. It is in the miscellaneous poems at the end of the volume that Turbervile addresses some epistles from Russia (where he was in 1569, as Secretary to Randolph) to a person of the name of Spenser, giving no Christian name. It is probable that his correspondent was the author of "The Shepherd's Calendar," which made its appearance in print in 1579; but it nowhere appears that Turbervile's friend was named Edmund, although Anthony Wood incautiously so gave it (Ath. Oxon. I. 627, edit. Bliss), and others (like the editor of the volume in our hands) have more incautiously repeated. The epistles themselves afford no internal evidence upon the interesting point; and it may seem singular that Turbervile should say nothing about the poetical propensities of Spenser, if Edmund Spenser were the person to whom they were really transmitted. Still, we feel much confidence that Spenser and Turbervile were early friends. We may notice here, that we have before us a copy of the Works of Sir Thomas More, folio, 1557, on which, in the handwriting of a George Turbervyle, we meet with the following inscription : —

"He that feareth not God when he dothe bye his grace knowe his powre shall be shamefullye confounded.

Turbervile, or Turberville, was, however, not an uncommon name in the west of England, and under date of the 17th March, 1579-80, we meet the following curious entry in the Registers of the Stationers' Company :

"Ric. Jones. -Lycenced unto him a Dittie of Mr Turbervyle murthered, and John Morgan that murdered him, with a letter of the said Morgan to his mother, and another to his sister Turbervyle."

This Turbervyle could neither have been our poet, who was living in 1587 (and probably long afterwards), nor the writer of the inscription of 14th November, 1584, in the copy of Sir Thomas More's Works.

TWYNE, THOMAS. The Schoolemaster, or Teacher of Table Phylosophie. A most pleasant and merie Companion, well worthy to be welcomed (for a dayly Gheast) not onelye to all mens boorde, to guide them with moderate and holsome dyet, but also into every man's Companie at all tymes to recreat their mindes with honest mirth and delectable devises: to sundry pleasant purposes of pleasure and pastyme. Gathered out of divers the best approved Aucthors, and devided into foure pithy and pleasant Treatises, as it may appeare by the contentes. — Imprinted at London by Richarde Johnes dwelling at the signe of the Rose and the Crown, neere Holburne Bridge. 1583. 4to. B. L. 68 leaves.

:

There was an earlier impression of this amusing work in 1576, which we have not seen: it is a translation by Thomas Twine, the versifier of the portion of the Æneid (see Vol. III. p. 189) left unfinished by Phaer, and his initials T. T. are placed after the dedication to Alex. Nowell, Dean of St. Paul's. Twyne's original was mainly the Saturnaliorum Conviviorum Libri VII of Macrobius, and he tells us that much more might have been added to the volume.

As it is well known, we mention it chiefly for the sake of what has sometimes escaped notice by those who have given an account of it, namely, that Richard Jones, the notorious printer and stationer, appears in it in the capacity of a poet, if rhyme may be called poetry. He inserts what he heads "The Printer's Preamble," in six six-line stanzas, addressed to all readers. The measure, to be sure, is not very exactly observed, but the verses have meaning and merit, and we quote the last two:

"His problemes fine wil (doubtles) please you all,

And queint demaundes, so pithie in each point:
His jestes, I knowe, will like both great and small,
And hit your veyne, and nick you on the joinct:
What so you be, or where you do sojourne,
This pleasant pithy booke wyll surely serve your turne.