thus distinguished is pasted in, and the ordinary title-page removed.

The dedication is to Prince Charles, followed by addresses to the King's Council, and to the New-England Adventurers: to these succeed verses in praise of the author, by John Davies of Hereford, J. Codrinton, N. Smith, R. Gunnell, George Wither, and Rawly Croshaw. Michael and William Phettiplace, and Richard Whiting, who had served under Captain Smith, also prefix verses; and others (which perhaps came too late) are added at the conclusion, signed Ed. Robinson, and Thomas Carlton, who call the author their "honest captain." We need not enter into it, but the general object of the tract is to show the advantages likely to arise to adventurers in New England. We have noticed another tract upon the same subject, the authorship of which is disputed between Captain Smith and Thomas Watson, under the heading VIRGINIA.

SMITH, SIR THOMAS. Sir Thomas Smithes Voiage and Entertainment in Rushia. With the tragicall ends of two Emperors, and one Empresse, within one Moneth during his being there: And the miraculous preservation of the now raigning Emperor, esteemed dead for 18 yeares.

Si quid novisti rectius istis

Candidus impertie si non, His utere mecum. -Printed at London for Nathanyell Butter, 1605. 4to. 47 leaves.

This account reads as if it had been drawn up by one of the persons who attended Sir Thomas Smith in his embassy; but, in an address "to the Reader," the writer speaks of the scattered and contradictory information that had got into circulation on the subject, and adds: "But I, taking the truth from the mouths of divers gentlemen that went in the Journey, and having some good notes bestowed upon me in writing, wrought them into this body, because neither thou shouldst be abused with false reports, nor

the Voyage receive slaunder." Farther on he tells us, that he had done so without the consent of Sir T. Smith, or of anybody else. Nevertheless, the details are often very particular, and no doubt in most cases authentic, but obviously put together and printed in great haste. The writer was some person, not ill acquainted with the literature of the time, whom Butter, the publisher, employed. He often makes excursions a little out of his way, in order to allude to persons and publications of the time, in this style mentioning Sidney, Fulk Greville, and Ben Jonson by their names.

"Oh, for some excellent pen-man to deplore their state: but he which would lively, naturally, or indeed poetically, delyneate or enumerate these occurrents, shall either lead you thereunto by a poeticall spirit, as could well, if well he might, the dead-living, life-giving Sydney, Prince of Poesie; or deifie you with the Lord Salustius devinity, or in the earthdeploring sententious high rapt Tragedie with the noble Foulk Grevill, not onely give you the Idea, but the soule of the acting Idea; as well could, if so he would, the elaborate English Horace, that gives number, weight and measure to every word, to teach the reader by his industries, even our Lawreat, worthy Benjamen, whose Muze approves him with (our mother) the Ebrew signification to bee the elder Sonne, and happely to have been the childe of Sorrow. It were worthy so excellent rare witt: for my selfe I am neither Apollo nor Apelles, no nor any heire to the Muses; yet happely a younger brother, though I have as little bequeathed me as many elder brothers and right borne heires gain by them: but Hic labor, Hoc opus est."

In the following passage, in an earlier part of the tract, the author or compiler, among other matters, speaks of Prince Plangus in Sidney's "Arcadia," and of the Earl of Essex.

"It might be fitting for me to speake somewhat of this famous river [Volga] as is, I think, for length and bredth any (one) excepted in the world; but so many excellent writers, as in the worthy labors of Master Richard Hacklyute, have made particular mention therof, as it induseth me to leave the description of this river and towne to those that have largely and painfully wrote of such things; especially M. Doct. Fletchers true relation, sometime Ambas. to this Emperor. The 21 of September we went from Yeri-slane, being well accompanied from the Citty, passing through Shefetscoy (where wee lay) and dwels an English gentleman named Georg Garland, sometime servant to that noble but unfortunate E. of Essex, of whom many through the world do make in divers kinds, but (as that learned and heroycall Poet Sir Phil Sidney speaks of Prince Plangus) never any can make but honorable mention."

The whole of this is evidently confused and corrupt, though a meaning can be made out of it. Many other sentences in the tract are in the same predicament, and the abbreviations may show with what speed the materials were put together.

On the second page is an anecdote of Henry Howard, Earl of Northampton, which is not much in his favor.

"But the king wondering that the detention there would be so long (for Sir Thomas said it would be full xv moneths by reason of the winters cruelty, whose frosts were so extream, that the seas were not at those times navigable) pleasantly said—It seemes then that Sir Thomas goes from the Sun:- upon which the Earle of Northampton, standing by, replyed - He must needes go from the Sunne, departing from his resplendant Ma. At which the King smiled, giving Sir Thomas his hand to kisse, and bestowing the like grace upon all the gentlem. that were for the voyage."

The author refers afterwards to the "Quadrones of the Lord of Pibrac," and thus inserts four lines of translated quotation from them: "Petit source ont les grosses Rivieres," &c.

"Even as from smallest springs the greatest rivers rise,

So those that rore aloud, and proud at first,

Runne seldom farre; for soon their glorie dies

In some neere Bogg, by their self-furie burst."

Subsequently we have another highly laudatory, but strangely jumbled, allusion to the Earl of Essex, in these terms: —

"For our being at Colmigro, it was not much unlike (for the strangenes of reports, troublesomnes of the State, and mutable events of time) to that one and the only unhappie day of the unfortunate (too sudden rysing) Earle of Essex; wherein most mens mindes, for as many dayes as wee weekes, weare bewondered as much with the not well directed beginning, as the unhallowed successe or the bemoaned (oh be it ever lamentable, such conclusions, but as farre different in the rarenes as the goodnes between them) ill-advised, well-intended, ever good resolutions in the one, illintended work enacted, never-good-conclusions in the other: One as the unhappie time-falling of a great Noble, with some others: but by the goodnes of God and the gratiousnes of our renowned King, within short and memorable time restored in his posteritie and theires. The other the fatall and finall overthrow of a mightie Emperour and his posteritie and familie, never till the Resurrection to be raysed: and then, oh then! it is to be feared to a terrible Judgement for their high-offending, Heaven-crying sinnes."

There is a good deal of this rhapsodical matter interspersed, but the personal allusions, as in the above instance, as far as the sense can be made out, are interesting. In one place we have the following not very apposite mention of “Hamlet.”

"That his fathers Empire and Government was but as the poeticall furie in a Stage-action, compleat, yet with horrid and wofull tragedies; a first, but no second to any Hamlet; and that now Revenge, just revenge, was comming with his sworde drawne against him, his royall Mother, and dearest Sister, to fill up those murdering sceanes; the embryon whereof was long since modeld, yea digested (but unlawfully and too-too vively) by his dead selfe-murdering Father."

Shakspeare's "Hamlet" had been brought out two or three years before this tract was published; but it may be doubted whether the reference be not to the older play on the same story, which Lodge had noticed in 1596 in his "Wits Misery and the Worlds Madness," when he spoke of "the ghost who cried so miserably at the Theatre, Hamlet, revenge!" That tragedy of "Hamlet" had been acted at Henslowe's Theatre on 9th June, 1594, and was not then a new play; (Diary, p. 35.) We see, by the reference above quoted from the tract in our hands, that it had not gone out of recollection in 1605, in spite of the superior attraction and greater novelty of Shakspeare's drama. It it possible, too, that there had been a second part to the old tragedy.

SMITH, WALTer.

XII mery Jests of the wyddow Edyth.

This lying widow, false and craftie,

Late i Englad hath decevied many,
Both man and woman of every degree,
As well of the spirituall, as temporaltie,
Lordes, Knights and Gentlemen also,
Yemen, Groomes, and that not long ago;
For in the time of King Henry the eight
She hath used many a suttle sleight,
What with lieng, weepyng and laughyng,
Dissemblyng, boastyng and flatteryng,
As by this Booke hereafter doth appere,

1573.

Who so list the matter now for to here:
No fayned stories, but matter in deed,
Of xii of her Jestes here may ye reede.
Now newly printed this present yeare

For such as delite mery Jests for to here.

4to. B. L. 32 leaves.

The above is the whole of the title-page of a tract, of which no older copy is now known, although Ames records (and Herbert and Dibdin refer to no other authority) that it was originally printed by John Rastell in 1525. (Dibd. Typ. Ant. III. 87.) It does not seem as if Ames had copied the lines on the title-page correctly, for, independently of the two last lines, which may have been added in 1573, he omitted the tenth line, so that “laughyng” has no corresponding rhyme. There are also other variations, besides the differences of spelling; and as a copy of Rastell's edition (once in the Harleian Library, and included in the Catalogue) is not now forthcoming, we are compelled to take the whole matter upon the representation of Richard Johnes, who printed the edition of 1573: at the end of it we read as follows:

"FINIS. by Walter Smith

Imprinted at London, in Fleetlane

by Richard Johnes."

On the leaf next to the title-page we meet with "The Contentes of these xii mery Jestes folowyng"; and as the work has only been mentioned, never quoted, by bibliographers and antiquaries, we subjoin the list exactly as it stands:

"The first mery Jest declareth how this faire and merye Mayden was maryed to one Thomas Ellys, and how she ran away with another, by whom she had a bastard Doughter; and how she deceived a Gentleman, bearynge him in hand, how her Doughter was heire to faire Landes and great Richesse.

"The second merye Jest: how this lying Edyth made a poore man to unthatch his house, bearyng him in hand that she would cover it with Lead; and how she deceived a Barbour, makyng him beleeve she was a widow, and had great aboundance of Gooddes.

"The thyrd mery Jest: how this wydow Edyth deceived her Hoste at Hormynger, and her Hoste at Brandonfery, and borowed money of them both; and also one mayster Guy, of whome she borowed iiii Marke.

"The fourth mery Jest: how this wydow Edyth deceived a Doctor of