prince and the Duke of Burgundy, and was subsequently in the employment of Lady Margaret, the duke's wife.

Some years after he commenced his residence in the Netherlands, Caxton acquired a knowledge of the art of printing, and at the request of the duchess he translated The Recuyell of the Histories of Troye, from the French, and printed it at Cologne 1471. This is the earliest typographical production in the English language, and is now very scarce, and therefore of very great value. Soon after this event he returned to England, and in 1476, established a printing press in Westminster Abbey, the first work issued from which was the Game and Playe of Chesse. From this period he continued his typographical labors for about eighteen years, and died 1492, in his eighty-third year. From the writings of this author we quote the following characteristic passage, found at the conclusion of his translation of the Golden Legends.

LEGEND OF ST. FRANCIS.

Francis, servant and friend of Almighty God, was born in the city of Assyse, and was made a merchant unto the 25th year of his age, and wasted his time by living vainly, whom our Lord corrected by the scourge of sickness, and suddenly changed him into an other man; so that he began to shine by the spirit of prophecy. For on a time, he, with other men of Peruse, was taken prisoner, and were put in a cruel prison, where all the other wailed and sorrowed, and he only was glad and enjoyed. And when they had repreved1 him thereof, he answered Know ye,' said he, that I am joyful: for I shall be worshipped as a saint throughout all the world' * * * On a time as this holy man was in prayer, the devil called him thrice by his own name. And when the holy man had answered him, he said, none in this world is so great a sinner, but if he convert him, our Lord would pardon him; but who that sleeth himself with hard penance, shall never find mercy. And anon, this holy man knew by revelation the fallacy and deceit of the fiend, how he would have withdrawn him fro to do well. And when the devil saw that he might not prevail against him, he tempted him by grievous temptation of the flesh. And when this holy servant of God felt that, he despoiled his cloaths, and beat himself right hard with an hard cord, saying, 'Thus, brother ass, it behoveth thee to remain and to be beaten.' And when the temptation departed not, he went out and plunged himself in the snow, all naked, and made seven great balls of snow, and purposed to have taken them into3 his body, and said, 'This greatest is thy wife; and these four, two ben thy daughters and two thy sons; and the other twain, that one thy chambrere, and that other thy valet or yeman; haste and clothe them: for they all die for cold. And if thy business that thou hast about them, grieve ye sore, then serve our Lord perfectly.' And anon, the devil departed all confused; and St. Francis returned again unto his cell glorifying God.

*

* and the very death,

He was ennobled in his life by many miracles which is to all men horrible and hateful, he admonished them to praise it. And also he warned and admonished death to come to him, and said, 'Death, my sister, welcome be you.' And when he came at the last hour, he slept in our Lord; of whom a friar saw the soul, in manner of a star, like to the moon in quantity, and the sun in clearness.

1 Reproved.

2 Took off.

3 Unto.

Lecture the Fifth.

ROBERT FABIAN AND EDWARD HALL-SIR THOMAS MORE-ALEXANDER BARCLAY -JOHN FISCHER-SIR THOMAS ELYOT-HUGH LATIMER-JOHN BALE.

TOW

TOWARD the close of the last lecture we commenced our remarks upon the prose writers of the period at present under consideration. This subject we shall now resume.

Of English historical prose writers, the earliest of whom we have any knowledge are Robert Fabian, and Edward Hall. They both were extremely simple in their manner of writing, and aimed in their compositions at no literary excellence, not even perspicuity of arrangement-their object being merely to narrate minutely, and as far as opportunity afforded, faithfully, the events in the history of their country, of which they were treating. These Chronicles, therefore, form masses of matter which a modern writer in search of materials alone, would now be likely to peruse. Yet it must be admitted, that to their minute and indiscriminate character, we are indebted for the preservation of many curious facts, and illustrations of manners, which otherwise would have been lost.

FABIAN flourished during the reign of Henry the Seventh. He was an alderman and afterward sheriff of London, and died 1512, but at what age is uncertain. He wrote a general chronicle of English history under the title of The Concordance of Stories. His work is particularly minute with regard to what would probably appear the most important of all things to the worthy alderman-the succession of officers of all kinds in the city of London; and he also carefully repeats all the fabulous stories of early English history, first circulated by Geoffrey of Monmouth. In order to present an idea of the first English historical writer's style, we quote the following passage:

THE DEPOSITION OF KING VORTIGERN.

An heresy, called Arian's heresy, began then to spring up in Britain. For the which, two holy bishops, named Germanus and Lupus, as of Gaufryde is witnessed, came into Britain to reform the king, and all other that erred from the way of truth.

Of this holy man, Germanus, Vincent Historial saith, that upon an evening when the weather was passing cold, and the snow fell very fast, he axed lodging of the King of Britain, for him and his compeers, which was denied. Then he, after sitting under a bush in the field, the king's herdman passed by, and seeing this bishop with his company sitting in the weather, desired him to his house to take there such poor lodging as he had. Whereof the bishop being glad and fain, yode1 unto the house of the said herdman, the which received him with glad cheer. And for him and his company, willed his wife to kill his only calf, and to dress it for his guests' supper; the which was also done. When the holy man had supped, he called to him his hostess, willing and desiring her, that she should diligently gather together all the bones of the dead calf; and them so gathered, to wrap together within the skin of the said calf. And then it lay in the stall before the rack near unto the dame. Which done according to the commandment of the holy man, shortly after the calf was restored to life; and forewith ate hay with the dam at the rack. At which marvel all the house was greatly astonished, and yielded thanking unto Almighty God, and to that holy bishop.

Upon the morrow, the holy bishop took with him the herdman, and yode unto the presence of the king, and axed of him in sharp wise, why that over-night he had denied to him lodging. Wherewith the king was so abashed, that he had no power to give unto the holy man answer. Then, St. Germain said to him: I charge thee, in the name of the Lord God, that thou and thine depart from this palace, and resign it and the rule of thy land to him that is more worthy this room than thou art. The which all things by power divine was observed and done; and the said herdman, by the holy bishop's authority, was set into the same dignity; of whom after descended all the kings of Britain.

HALL was a man of greatly superior attainments to Fabian, being an accomplished scholar, a lawyer, and a judge in the sheriff's court of London. He flourished throughout the whole of the reign of Henry the Eighth, and died at an advanced age, 1547. He compiled a copious Chronicle of English history during the reigns of the houses of Lancaster and York, under the title of The Union of the two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and York, with all the actes done in both the tymes of the Princes both of the one lineage and the other.

very

Hall is minute in his narratives of the fashions of the times; and when his work is considered as the only compilation of English history at the command of the wits of Elizabeth's reign, and as furnishing the foundations of many scenes and even whole plays by the most illustrious of those wits, the Chronicles' have a value in our eyes beyond that which intrinsically belongs to them. In the following extract, the materials of a remarkable scene in Richard the Third are found; and it is worth our attention to notice, how well the prose narration reads by the side of the poetical one :-

SCENE IN THE COUNCIL-ROOM OF THE PROTECTOR GLOUCESTER.

The Lord Protector caused a council to be set at the Tower, on Friday the thirteenth day of June, where there was much communing for the honourable solemnity of the coronation, of the which the time appointed approached so near, that the pageants were a making day and night at Westminster, and victual killed, which afterwards was cast away.

1 Went.

These lords thus sitting, communing of this matter, the Protector came in among them, about nine of the clock, saluting them courteously, excusing himself that he had been from them so long, saying merrily that he had been a sleeper that day. And after a little talking with him, he said to the Bishop of Ely, 'My Lord, you have very good strawberries in your garden at Holborn; I require you let us have a mess of them.''Gladly my Lord,' quoth he, 'I would I had some better thing, as ready to your pleasure as that;' and with that in all haste he sent his servant for a dish of strawberries. The Protector set the lords fast in communing, and thereupon prayed them to spare him a little; and so he departed, and came again between ten and eleven of the clock into the chamber, all changed, with a sour angry countenance, knitting the brows, frowning and fretting, and gnawing on his lips; and so set him down in his place. All the lords were dismayed, and sore marvelled of this manner and sudden change, and what thing should him ail. When he had sitten a while, thus he began: 'What were they worthy to have, that compass and imagine the destruction of me, being so near of blood to the king, and protector of this his royal realm? At which question, all the lords sat sore astonished, musing much by whom the question should be meant, of which every man knew himself clear.

Then the Lord Hastings, as he that, for the familiarity that was between them, thought he might be boldest with him, answered and said, that they were worthy to be punished as heinous traitors, whatsoever they were; and all the other affirmed the same. 'That is,' quoth he, 'yonder sorceress, my brother's wife, and other with her;' meaning the queen. Many of the lords were sore abashed which favoured her; but the Lord Hastings was better content in his mind, that it was moved by her than by any other that he loved better; albeit his heart grudged that he was not afore made of counsel of this matter, as well as he was of the taking of her kindred, and of their putting to death, which were by his assent before devised to be beheaded at Pomfret, this self-same day; in the which he was not ware, that it was by other devised that he himself should the same day be beheaded at London. Then,' said the Protector, 'in what wise that sorceress and other of her counsel, as Shore's wife, with her affinity, have by their sorcery and witchcraft thus wasted my body!' and therewith plucked up his doublet sleeve to his elbow, on his left arm, where he showed a very withered arm, and small, as it was never other. And thereupon every man's mind misgave them, well perceiving that this matter was but a quarrel; for well they wist that the queen was both too wise to go about any such folly, and also, if she would, yet would she of all folk make Shore's wife least of her counsel, whom of all woman she most hated, as that concubine whom the king, her husband, most loved.

Also, there was no man there but knew that his arm was ever such, sith the day of his birth. Nevertheless, the Lord Hastings, which from the death of King Edward, kept Shore's wife, his heart somewhat grudged to have her whom he loved so highly accused, and that as he knew well untruly; therefore he answered and said, Certainly, my Lord, if they have so done, they be worthy of heinous punishment.' 'What!' quoth the Protector, 'thou servest me, I ween, with if and with and; I tell thee, they have done it, and that will I make good on thy body, traitor!' And therewith, as in a great anger, he clapped his fist on the board with a great rap, at which token given, one cried treason without the chamber, and therewith a door clapped, and in came rushing men in harness, as many as the chamber could hold. And anon the Protector said to the Lord Hastings, 'I arrest thee, traitor!' 'What! me! my Lord,' quoth he. 'Yea, the traitor,' quoth the Protector. And one let fly at the Lord Stanley, which shrunk at the stroke, and fell under the table, or else his head had been cleft to the teeth; for as shortly as he shrunk, yet ran the blood about his ears. Then was the Archbishop of York, and Doctor Morton, Bishop of Ely, and the Lord Stanley taken, and divers others which were bestowed in divers chambers, save the Lord Hastings, whom the Protector commanded to