ART. V. The General History of Spain from the first peopling of it by Tubal, till the death of King Ferdinand, who united the Crowns of Castile and Arragon; with a continuation to the death of King Philip III. Written in Spanish, by the R. F. F. John de Mariana. To which are added two Supplements; the First by F. Ferdinand Camargo y Salcedo; the other by F. Basil Varen de Soto; bringing it down to the present reign. The whole translated from the Spanish, by Captain J. Stevens. London. Printed for R. Sare, F. Saunders, and T. Bennet, 1699. Fol. The History contains pp. 563. The Supplements, pp. 91.

The reputation of Mariana, the original author of this history, is sufficiently established. It first appeared in Latin, and was dedicated to Philip II. King of Spain: he afterwards translated it into Spanish; and put it under the protection of Philip III. It begins at the first peopling of the world by the posterity of Noah; and is brought down by Mariana to the end of Philip III's reign.

The history is divided into thirty books. The last twenty books comprehend the history of Spain from the time of the invasion made by the Almohades to the death of King Ferdinand, who united the crowns of Castile and Arragon; a period of 303 years.

In the whole work there are, besides matters of fact related candidly and fairly, several political and useful reflections made by the author on several important transactions. To this he has added a compendious supplement from the year 1515 to the year 1621. F. Ferdinand Ferdinand Camargo y Salcedo, Preacher and Historiǝgrapher of the order of St. Augustin, has carried the history down to the year 1649; and from thence F. Basil Varen de Soto, once Provincial of the Regular Clergy, has continued it down to the year 1669.*

This translation of Captain Stevens still retains its reputation, and bears a considerable price.

ART. VI. Additional extracts from Hawes's Pastime of Pleasure. See CENS. LIT. VOL. III.

The author having, in the preceding chapter, digressed from the tale, in order to introduce "a comendation of Gower, Chaucer, and Lidgate," thus continues. We must, however, premise that the hero, " Graund Amoure," is now in the castle of Doctrine, that he has been received by Grammar, Logic, and Rethoric, and is now about to enter the chamber of Arithmetic.

Chapt. xv.

"Now in my boke, ferder to procede,

To a chambre J wente, replete wyth rychesse,
Where sat Arysmatryke, in a golden wede
Lyke a lady pure, and of great worthynes;
The walles about, dyd full well expres,
Wyth golde depaynted, euery perfyte nombre
To adde, detraye, and to deuyde asonder.

The rofe was paynted, with golden beames,
The wyndowes cristall, clerely claryfyde

* Memoirs, ut supr. 1699, Voh I. p. 565.

The golden rayes, and depured streames
Of radyant Phebus, that was puryfyde
Right in the bull, that tyme to domysyde
Through wyndowes, was resplendyshaunt
About the chambre, fayre and radyaunt.

J kneled downe, right soone on my kne,
And to her J sayd, o lady maueylous,
J right humbly beseche your maieste
Your arte to shewe, me so facundyous
Whyche is defuse, and right fallacyous."

"Arysmatryke" grants his request, and explains the nature and utility of her science; from thence Grand Amour proceeds to "the tower of musike," where he meets with La Bell Pucell, and discloses his passion. "The description of her person is," says Warton, "very elegant." Grand Amour relates his various adventures in a supplication to Venus, and describes his first meeting with the lady, who,

Chap. xx.

"Her shining here so properly she dresses
Alofe her forehed with fayre golden tresses.

Her forehead stepe, with fayre browes ybent,
Her eyen gray, her nose streyght and fayre,
In her whyte chekes the fayre bloud it went,
As among the whyte the rede to repayre,
Her mouth right small, her breth swete of ayre,
Her lyppes softe and ruddy as a rose,
No hert on lyue but it wold him appose.

With a lyttle pytte in her well fauoured chynne,
Her necke longe and whyte as ony lylly,

Wyth

Wyth vaynes blew in which the blode ran inne,
Her paypes round and therto right prety,
Her armes sclender and of goodly body,
Her fingers small, and therto right longe;
White as the milke, with blew vaynes among.

Her fete proper, she gartered well her hose,
I neuer saw so swete a creature;
Nothing she lacketh as I do suppose
That is longing to fayre dame nature;
Yet more ouer her countenaunce so pure,
So swete, so louely, wold any hert inspyre
Wyth feruent loue to attayne his desyre."

Hawes concludes his volume with the following
excusation of the aucthoure."

"Unto all Poetes, J do me excuse

If that J offende, for lacke of science,
This lyttle boke yet do ye not refuse,
Though it be deuoyde of famous eloquence,
Adde or detra, by your hye sapience,
And pardon me of my hye enterpryse,
Whiche, of late, this fable dyd fayne and deuise.

Go, little boke, I praye God the saue

From misse metryng, by wrong impression,
And who that euer list the for to haue,
That he perceyue well thyne intencion
For to be grounded, without presumption,
As for to eschue the synne of ydlenes,
To make suche bokes J apply my busines,

Besechyng God, for to geue me grace
Bokes to compyle, of moral vertue,
Of my maister Lidgate to folowe the trace,

His

!

His noble fame for to laude and renue,
Whiche in his lyfe the slouthe did eschue,

Makyng great bokes, to be in meinory;
On whose soule, J pray God haue mercy.
FINIS."

Another edition of this poem, not mentioned in p. 225, is "Historie of Graunde Amoure and La Bell Pucel," &c. printed by Jn. Waylande, 1554, 4to. black letter.*

P. B.

ART. VII. The most Elegant and Witty Epigrams of Sir John Harington, Knight, digested into four bookes.

Fama bonum quo non felicius ullum. London. Printed by T. S. for John Budge, and are to be sold at his shop in Paules Churchyard at the signe of the Greene Dragon. 1625. Sm. 8vo. not paged, but ends with sign. M.

It seems that this collection had been already published in 1618; and it was appended to the third edition + of the Translation of "Orlando Furioso," in