I'le tel you plaine, the matter is fresh,
They gin in sprite, but end in flesh.

A displing rod must needs be had;
Good Martins say not so;

This displing rod, will make you nod,

And cause your heads to grow:

Get home, keepe house, ware tounes so pure:
Their zeale is hot, they'le plaie you sure.

When home you come, ioine faith & loue,
Let priest his portion haue,
Let neighbours field be as it was,

Cast off your garments braue;
Loue God and gospel as you ought,
And let that goe, that was il sought.

Must churches doune to maintaine pride
And make your sailes to swel?

Few mighty subiects fit a state,

A few doe verie wel.

Crack me this nut, thou gentle blood,
Whose father was but Robin-hood..

Shall prince say no, and pearlesse men
Detest this wrangling broode;
Who neither prince nor peere will knowe
In this their traiterous moode?

And do they liue, and liue they stil
Their poisoned cup of gal to fil?

Martin's farewel, and let's be friends,
And thanke God for his word,
And prince and peers, and peace and al,
And skaping forraine sword;

Yet no man's sword could strike so sore

As Martin's would. I'le say no more."

This is succeeded by six ten-line stanzas of a strange epithetical compound of garbled sentences, with a studied phraseology, in part imitating the Scotish language. A few lines will suffice.

"Thou caytif kerne, vncouth thou art, vnkist thou eke sal bee,
For aiming thus in coverture at prelatis hie in gree.

Thy spell is borrell, spokis bin blunt, thy sconce rude rusticall,
But to the heefor fell and fierce short hornis done eft befall.-St. 1.

Quhat zeale were thilke that kingis gwerdons, whae are iclad in

clay,

Quhilk they bequeathit to the kirke as monuments for aie,

Should be so robd and ransackit, contrair to their behests,

To make new vpstart Jacks Lor-Danes, with coin to cram their

chests?

That they whaes fathers were bot kernis, knauis, pesants, clownis

& booris,

Moght perke as paddocks, ligg in soft, & swath their paramoris.--St. 3. Thilke men of elde that han from God the sprite of prophecie, Quhilk thou dost reke, did not as thou, spekes scoffes and ribaudrie. Weil lettred clarkis endite thair warkes (quoth Horace) slow &

geasoun,

But thou can wise forth buike by buike at euery spurt & seasoun. For men of litrature t' endite so fast, them doth not sitte,

Enaunter in them, as in thee, thail pen outrun thair witt;

The shaftis of foolis are soone shotte out, bot fro the merke they

stray,

So art thou glibbe to guibe and taunte, but rouest all the way. Quhen thou hast parbrackt out thy gorge, & shot out all thy arrowes, See that thou hold thy clacke, & hang thy quiver on the gallowes." St. 5.

The epigrams have more abuse than wit.

"New-fangled bores I thought to terme the birdes of Martin's nets, But that I see in getting boies, like men they doe their best.

The veriest knaves cheefe Pruritans, and Martinists are found;

And why they saie where sin was great, there grace will most

abound."

The merit or demerit of controversial publications is seldom a matter worth inquiry; their ephemerical purpose served, they are generally destroyed and forgotten. In the present instance, tracts that once created an universal ferment in this kingdom, now only occur among the rarest preservations of chance, and the most industrious research will not gratify the collector with obtaining possession of the whole pro and con. Literary curiosities they must remain while the history of the press forms a prominent feature in that of our country; but of their origin the following lines give such an indifferent description, as to leave that scarcity unregretted by general readers.

"If any mervaile at the man, and doe desire to see,

The stile and phrase of Martin's booke, come learn it here of me:

Holde my cloke boy, chill haue a vliag at Martin, O the boore,
And if his horse play like him well, of such he shall haue store.
He thus bumfeges his bousing mates, and who is Martin's mate?
O that the steale counters were knoune, chood catch them by the

pate,

Th' vnsauorie snuffes first iesting booke, though clownish, knauish

was,

But keeping still one stile, he prooues a sodden headed asse.
Beare with his ingramnesse awhile, his seasoned wainscot face,
That brought that godly cobler Cliffe,* for to disproue his grace.

But, O, that godly cobler Cliffe, as honest an olde lad,
As Martin (O the libeller) of hangbyes ever had:
If I berime thy worshipnes, as thou beliest thy betters,
For railing see which of vs two shall be the greatest getters.
But if in flinging at such states, thy noddle be no slower;
Thy brother hangman will thee make, be pulde three asses lower.
Then mend these manners Martin, or in spite of Martin's nose,
My rithme shall be as dogrell, as vnlearned is thy prose.

* See Herbert, p. 1687.

These tinker termes, and barber's iestes first Tarleton on the stage,
Then Martin in his bookes of lies, hath put in euery page:
The common sort of simple swads, I can there state but pitie,
That will vouch safe, or deygne to laugh at libelles so vnwittie.®
Let Martin thinke some pen as badde, some head to be as knavish,
Some tongue to be as glibbe as his, some rayling all as lavish;
And be content, if not because we know not where to find thee,
We hope to se thee where deserts of treason haue assign'd thee."
Conduit street.
J. H.

ART. LXXIV. Lord Chandos. The glorious life and honourable death of Sir John Chandos, Lord of St. Salviour, le Viscount, great Seneschall of Poyctow, high Constable of Acquitaine, Knight of the honourable order of the Garter, elected by the first founder King Edward the third at his institution thereof.-4to. 1592.

THE title of this poem is subjoined to a scarce book, entitled "The true use of Armorie;* showed by historie, and plainly proved by example: the necessitie thereof also discovered: with the manner of differings in ancient time, the lawfulness of honorable funerals and moniments: with other matters of antiquitie, incident to the advauncing of banners, ensignes, and markes of noblenesse and chevalrie. By William Wyrley. Imprinted at London by J. Jackson, for Gabriell Cawood, 1592." 4to.

The above poem of Lord Chandos begins at p. 29, and ends at p. 108-then follows another poem en

* This treatise was republished by Dugdale under the title of "The ancient usage of bearing arms." Duod. It is a sensible and instructive little book.

titled "Capitall de Buz. The Honourable life and languishing death of Sir John de Gralhy Capitall de Buz, one of the Knights elected by the first founder of the Garter into that noble order, and sometime one of the principall Governors of Guyen, ancestor to the French King that now is." This poem consists of fifty pages.

A very short specimen of the first poem will satisfy my readers.

STANZA 1.

Let none rejoice too much in fortune's state,
Reading the story of my tragic death,
But watchful be t' attend some turning fate
Which like wild whirlwind all our doings sway 'th.

For as grave Senec', in wise morals, saith,
No mortal man with Gods gain favor might
Of warrantize, to see next morning's light.

STANZA 10.

When first that worthy golden book began,

"For Magistrates" bright " Mirror" clear indeed, Through which eternal praise the authors

wan,

Strait I believ'd as truly as my creed,
My hard mishap so happily would speed,
As that some one of those rare learned men,
My bliss and bale would have vouchsaf'd to pen.

STANZA 374.

Sweet gentle Knight, he said, † fair peerless flower,
Of Mars his train, good valiant champion stout,
What wicked wight to forge bad gleave had power,
Whereby bright lamp of life was stricken out?

*The Mirror for Magistrates, 1559.

+ One who bewaileth his fate.