The latter part of this Collection is devoted to the Apotheguns of Sir Thomas More, by no means few in number, and which we beg leave to recommend to his future Biographers. We shall only quote the concluding tale: "This usuall speech of Sir Thomas Moore, both of himself and other Bookbreeders, which is also extant in an Epistle of his, I have resolved to close up this part. Book-makers are full wise folke, who paine and pine themselves away by writing, to subject themselves to the censure of such which in Ordinaries and on Ale-benches will pill and pull them by their words, phrases, and lines, as that they have not one baire of honesty, or to use his owne words, Ne pilum boni hominis. But these he resembleth to those unmanBerly guests, which, when they have bin well and kindly entertained, flinch away, never giving thanks, but depraving and dispraising their curteous entertainment." Few of our Critical brethren (nor do we wish to exclude ourselves from the number) from the Quarterly Review down to the Investigator, will be able to peruse the foregoing passage without feeling an awkward twinge. Criticism in the days of Sir Thomas More was merely Oral, if we except the labours of the Commentators; but had he lived to read the numerous Reviews, by which public opinion is directed, he would have seen no reason to alter his idea. "Wits, Fits, and Fancies; or, a generall and serious collection of the sententious Speeches, Answers, Jests, and Behaviour of all sorts of Estates, from the Throne to the Cottage.' B. L. Lond. 1614, 4to. In Longman's Catalogue of Old Books for 1814, a copy of this tract is marked 251. "Helpe to Discourse; or, more Merriment mixed with Serious Matters; as also Epigrams, Epitaphs, Riddles, Jests, Posies, Love-toyes,' &c. Lond. 1635. ARCHIBALD ARMSTRONG *, better known by the name of Archee, was Jester to the Court of James and Charles 1. He had a particular spleen against Archbishop Laud, who was, on more occasions than one, the butt of his wit. After the Liturgy had been rejected in Scotland, he had the temerity to ask the prelate, 'Who is fool now?' and termed the stool which was thrown at Forbes's head Neale, Hist. Purit. II. 332. in the pulpit, the stool of repentance. For this, insolence the King ordered him to pull off his fool's coat, and to suffer flagellation and dismis sal; and appointed as his successor a person called Muckle John,' who was the last Jester in this country t. Armstrong, about a week after his discharge, put on a suit of black, and being interrogated concerning his coat, said, "O, my Lord of Canterbury hath taken it from me, because either he or some of the Scots Bishops may have use for it themselves: but he hath given me a black coat for it, to colour my knavery with, and now I speak what I please (so it be not against the prelates) for this coat hath a far greater privilege than the other had ‡." Few will think but what it was necessary to put a stop to the impertirence of this man; for, of all others, a Jester should never meddle with affairs not in his immediate vocation. His Jests were printed in 12mo, with his portrait by Cecill, in which he is represented in a long parti coloured cloak, with a hat and feather. Subjoined to the print are these lines: "Archee, by kings and princes grac'd of late, Jested himself into a fair estate; And in this book, doth to his friends commend, His jeers, taunts, tales, which no man can offend." These verses seem to hint that Arm strong had acquired a handsome competency. Granger doubts the authenticity of the bon-mots, and says that they are indeed, in general, very unworthy of him.' "A Banquet of Jests, or Change of Cheare. Being a Collection of Moderne Jests, Witty Jeeres, Pleasant Taunts, Merry Tales:" the 5th impression, "Printed for Richard Royston, and are to be sold at bis shoppe in Ivie-lane, at the signe of the Angell, 1639," pp. 190. When the first edition was printed, we are not informed, but are inclined to fix it in 1631: another appeared in 1636. No. 15. "Of a Freese Jerkin.-An honest good fellow, having worne a threadbare Jerkin for the space of two yeares and an halfe; as soon as he had compast 24 Progress of Anecdotal Literature. another suit, for the good service it had commer, Of two cold Winters, and one scorching Summer." p. 10. No. 37. A Spanish Traveller.-A Spaniard travelling from Dover towards London, being benighted, was forc'd to knock at a poore Alehouse for lodging; the Hos tesse demanding his name, he told her it was Don Pedro Gonzales Gaietan, de Guevezra: to whom the good woman answered, Alas, Sir, my small house neither affords roome nor meat for so many." p. 25. No. 106. "A Gormondizer. A Gormondizing fellow protesting to a friend of his, that hee loved him as well as he loved his soule: I thanke you, Sir (said he) with all my heart; but I had rather you loved me as well as you love your body." p. 89. The second part of this Work was printed by M. Flesher, for Richard Royston, in Ivy-lane, 1633, p. 156; and is accompanied by the following poetical apology: "My eldest brother, having had the grace, Of three Impressions (late) in two yeares space, Now ready for the fourth, imboldens me To presse unto the world hoping as free A welcome as he had, since to your view, I come in colours fresh, in habit new. Borne without teeth we both were, that's to excite [bite. To mirth and sport, neither to snarle nor And in the second course you shall not faile, [Tale." Jeare for his Jest, Taunt ready for his. No. 143. "One being demanded why great men were not so liberall to Poets in these our dayes, as in former times, and they have been made answer: that their consciences tell them how unworthy they are of praises given them by Poets." p. 119. No. 186. "Hard of Beliefe.-I have heard of a great Magistrate, that being often deceived by false rumours of Queen Elizabeth's death, protested that hee would never believe shee was dead, untill he saw it under her owne hand." p. 146. This story has since found its way into more recent collections. Such are the leading features in Anecdotal History, prior to the Rebellion, when Wit was proscribed in common with Art and Science. We have traced its progress as far as the year 1639, at which period every person was so taken up with the Pole mic publications of the time, that little upon any other subject could ob [Jan. tain a sale. The horrors of War were followed by the gloom of Puritanism, and, although we respect the good order and regularity which it maintained in every family, we cannot but regret that sour sternness, which blighted both science and conviviality; and the times when the man who was so bold as to profess himself a Wit, or to enliven those cheerless days by occasional hilarity, was certain to be looked upon as one of the ungodly. Yet were Pembroke, Marten, and Chaloner, men who ranked amongst the reformers in Church and State, not boon-companions only, but unprincipled libertines, and of far less morality than the calumniated Royalists. We have now passed the anecdotes of former ages, and are about to tively modern, when a more sprightly enter upon a series comparastyle was introduced: in order, however, to connect the Jests of the reign of Charles II. with the Apothegmes of the preceding æra, it was necessary to explain why, during the Usurpation, specimens of this department of literature are not to be found. Yet there is a work to be included in the antient class, which appears to be the last of them, and in the perusal of which, we divest ourselves utterly of the Critic, and approach it with true Bibliomaniac gratification: it is entitled, "Worcester's Apothegmes; or, Witty Sayings of the Right Honourable Henry (late) Marquess of Worcester, delivered upon several occasions, and now published for the benefit of the Reader. By T. B. a constant observer, and no lesse admirer of his Lordship's wisdom and loyalty." "Et prodesse volunt et delectare.” "London: printed by J. Clowes, for Edward Blackmore, at the Angel in St. Paul's Church-yard, 1660," pp. 114. Apoth. 60. Prefixed to this volume is a curious wood-cut, representing King Charles I. and the Marquess, with a third person standing behind a king with a pair of scales, in which his Majesty puts a piece of money. In external appearance it differs but little from the collections which have already passed in long review,' but in spirit and interest excels them all: instead of the neat but light airy sketches sketches of character which the editors of Peele and Tarleton have given us, we have here the full portrait drawn by a master's hand, and executed with true dignity. Yet were it possessed of no other qualification whatsoever, it bears indisputable claim to notice as the only work of this kind during the gloom of the Usurpation as a Chronicle of Piety, Loyalty, and Affection, it deserves a place in every Library, and is well worthy the attention of a spirited Editor. Before we proceed to its contents, it will be proper to give a brief account of the Nobleman, whose name it bears. HENRY SOMERSET *, second son to Edward, Earl of Worcester, was born in Herefordshire, 1577: he was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, which he quitted for the sake of travel; and on the death of his elder brother, became Lord Herbert of Ragland in 1627 he succeeded to the Earldom. In private life he was domestic, virtuous, and devout ; and ventured but little into public till the Rebellion, when he came forward to assist his Sovereign, and was created Marquis of Worcester at Oxford, November 2, 1642. In 1645, after the fatal battle of Naseby, he entertained the King at Ragland Castle, which fortress he afterwards defended against the Rebels, and which was the last garrison in England or Wales that held out for Charles I. It was surrendered, August 19, 1646, on honourable terms, which were basely violated, and the Marquis himself seized, and committed to custody in London, where he died in the same year, and was interred at Windsor. His sayings were collected and published by his loyal friend, and fellowsufferer, Dr. Thomas Bayley; many of them were afterwards incorporated into a small tract, entitled, " Witty Apothegms delivered at several times and upon several occasions, by K. James I. K. Charles I. Marquis of Worcester, Lord Bacon, and Sir Thomas More;" Lond. 12mo, 1658: a work which Granger considers as decidedly spurious. Apoth. 8. "When the King first entered the Castle of Raglan, the Marquesse kiss'd the King's hand, and rising up Wood, Ath. Ox. edit. Bliss, vol. III. col. 199. GENT. MAG. January, 1821. Apoth. 27. "He was wont to say, councel was requited with choller, and That a plain dealing friend, whose friendly disgust, was like a [kindled] turfe, that (whilst a man bestowed breath upon it to enliven it) returnes thankes to the wellwiller, by spitting fire in his face." Apoth. 57. "When it was told his Lordship not many hours before he dyed, that leave was obtained by the Parliament, that he might be buried in Windsor Castle: (where there is a peculiar for the family, within the great chappell, and wherein divers of his ancestors lies [lie] buried) with some sprightlinesse he spake aloud, God bless us all! why then I shall take a better Castle when I am dead, than they took from me whilst I was alive?" Such was the salt of that despotic age; but Wit was about to experience a much warmer reception under a happier reign. The change, however, produced little benefit; the broad indelicacy of our earlier Jest ers was forgotten, and with it that coarseness of language which once passed for pleasantry : while the carelessness which prevailed under Charles II. although it served to polish our tongue, rendered its poisons more deadly, as it shed a gloss over them, afterwards unveiled by Collier, and palliated by Congreve. At Court, conversation was merriment itself, and the model was but too closely imitated in private life; the courtiers who thus trifled away their time, may find some extenuation, if not excuse, for their conduct; they were men, who having been well born, and well educated, had not only shewn great personal courage during the late wars, but endured numerous hardships for the sake of their Sovereign. The Usurpation drove them into exile, where they lived in indigence, and braved poverty as they had before braved death. At length the mighty work of Providence, once more settled England, and they were restored to the gaieties of the Court, and the favour of their King; and the man must 2 26 Dr. Francis Mansel.-Court of Portugal. must have been of a disposition peculiarly cold, who could not testify his gratification at his country's welfare by unrestrained rejoicings. The good-humoured Monarch (for we have no just reason here to view him in any other light), was pleased with the hilarity of his subjects, and observed a line of conduct which was calculated to gratify their prejudices, when it could not win their esteem: still we must accuse him of neglect to the needy Loyalists, who had lost all in his cause; of this, Butler is a sad and shameful example, and the reader cannot but pity the man who was deserted with ingratitude, and whose wit, bright as it beamed, could scarcely insure him existence. In the mean time, conviviality, in its widest sense, was professed by the Court, and followed by the nation; hence the levity which thence prevailed, and hence the numerous collections of Jests which now load the shelves of the Bibliomaniac; the greater portion of them, however, are deservedly forgotten, and we may exclaim, curst be he that moves these bones,' without any great offence to Literature. <as Before we enter upon the Jest Books of this reign, we wish to take a decent leave of the Apothegms, from which we have derived so much pleasure. The last specimens that occur, are from the mouth of Dr. Francis Mausel, Principal of Jesus College, Oxford, a man excellent for his sufferings as for his extraction." He resigned his Headship of Jesus to Sir Eubule Thelwall, knt. on whose decease he was again chosen, but ejected in 1643-a proceeding which cannot but excite the indignation of every Loyalist against the Visitors. At the Restoration he was reinstated, and refused a Bishoprick, on account of his age and infirmities; after which he resigned his situation to Dr. Jenkins, whom he had brought up to loyalty. Lloyd has preserved three, which he calls the most remarkable of his sayings; viz. "That the mind should be always bent and plödding, for slackness breeds worms. Keep your own virtues, and by observation and imitation, naturalize other * Æsop thought differently. [Jan. men's. A good digestion turneth all to health." He died in 1661, leaving the remains of his sequestered estate to Jesus College. As a proof of his unimpeachable life, it is sufficient to observe, that in the Cambrian Register he is classed among the Worthies of Wales. Extracts from the Memoirs of the Anecdotes will be Tacceptable, particularly at the present unsettled state of affairs in the Peninsula. "The Favourite * was now raised to the post of Prime-minister, created an Earl, and had a regiment assigned to him as a guard to his person. He was preceded through the streets by drums beating, and a law was pub lished making it treason to speak ill of the Minister. "Arrived at this zenith of grandeur and power, he displayed his rage against the antient nobility of Portugal, in a very extraordinary manner; and exhibited a resentment not to be satiated. He proceeded to exasperate his Master at the whole order of the Grandees, by representing them as a factious and disloyal body, and in consequence was permitted to tyrannize at pleasure over them. Almost every day brought with it the imprisonment of some or other of the Portuguese nobility: among them the Count de Ribiera was arrested, and caried to prison, where he still continues, though his crime is yet unknown, "Cagliaris, the Captain of the Queen's Guard, soon followed; his abilities, integrity, and resolution, rendered him incapable of stifling reflections which were too obvious to the meanest Portuguese. He was arrested whilst ill of an ague and fever, and in that dangerous condition conveyed to a damp dungeon, in the fort of Saint Geam, situate on a rock at the mouth of the Tagus, the spring-tides in which often overflowed the floor of the cave where he was confined. His physician represented *Count D'Oeyras. his ill state of health, and the dangers that must arise to his patient from a confinement in such a place; but this remonstrance not being at tended to, death soon put a period to Cagliari's sufferings. His body was buried in the most obscure manner, in the neighbourhood of the fort, and his widow, a lady, of the house of Holstein, banished to a solitary habitation, where she drags out a miserable life, in want and distress, not being so much as permitted even to return to her own country, though she has frequently petitioned for that purpose. His two sons are confined in the fort of St. Uvall, and probably for life. "This nobleman had two brothers, one a Knight of Malta, who happened to be at Paris at the time of Cagliari's misfortune, the other was then in Portugal; the latter was instantly banished to Mertola, where he still continues, and the former was ordered to return home; but being aware of the Minister's power, and unrelenting temper, he refused to obey, and was outlawed; the French King, commiserating his condition, gave him the command of a regiment in his service. "The next victim of this Minister's fury was the Count d'Ovedos, a nobleman of the royal blood, advanced in years, and so zealous of his Sovereign's and Country's dignity, that he had greatly impaired his fortune by maintaining a figure in his Master's service, superior to his abilities. This nobleman never loved the Favourite; and the King having observed that Carvalho's house had escaped the earthquake, which his Majesty attributed to the kindness of heaven, in return for his Minister's virtues aud goodness, the Count d'Ove. dos, who happened to be present, jocularly said, that if it was a mark of Heaven's approbation of the Minister's virtues, that his house had escaped the earthquake, the common prostitutes must equally be esteemed paragons of virtue, and high in the favour of their Maker, as the Rua Suja, or street where they lived, had not suffered. "The Count d'Ovedos had suffered immensely by the earthquake, he had lost two whole streets by that calamity, so that this royal eulogy on the Favourite seemed an indirect satire on the Count, as it touched him very sensibly in his reputation; it is not to be doubted therefore, but that this. nobleman was stimulated by the recollection of his own ill fortune, to resentment, on hearing the Minister's character thus recommended on so unreasonable an account. The answer, however, cost the Count his liberty, and probably his life, for he was soon after arrested and thrown into prison, where he still continues, if alive, without being ever admitted to know his offence. "This aged nobleman, when arrested, was used very cruelly by the magistrate who took him into custody. For, the latter went to the Count's house before his usual hour of rising, and understanding, as he expected, that the Count was not stirring, he burst into his bed-chamber, drew his poignard, and laying his hand on the Count's breast, told him he was the King's prisoner, and that if he moved he was a dead man. The Count awaking, and recollecting himself a little, said, Doctor, it is not your poignard that frightens me, but the King's commands compel my submission; and my allegiance to my Prince obliges me to obey his orders, by whatever messenger hesends them.' "When it is reflected, that the Count was a soldier from his cradle, and the magistrate, a Doctor at Law, this answer of the Count's not only shows his coolness, and the peculiar temper for which he was famous; but displays, in a very humorous light, the absurd behaviour of a man, who, being a civil magistrate, knew so little of his office as to think his poignard of more efficacy than his orders, especially in a place where the Count, with a single call, could have ́had assistants who would soon have dispatched him. "The Duke de la Foens, a Prince of the blood, and next heir to the crown, after the extinction of that branch of the royal family now on the throne, has been many years in banishment, and at present resides in Germany. The cause of his exile is variously talked of; by some it is said, that this misfortune befel him on account of a passion he entertained for the grand-daughter of the Marchioness de Tavora, who was beheaded; and that his crime consisted in being seen on his knees before this young |