contrary be shewn, most people will join him in looking on Mr. Greatrakes as the person who actually copied the letters, and then communicated with Woodfall. It is said that Mr. Greatrakes stated he was the author of those letters. I entirely disbelieve it. He was incapable of such deceit, and the gratification of so silly a piece of vanity would be irreconcileable with the smallest share of discretion, as his friend and patron Lord Shelburne was then living. But Mr. Greatrakes has left behind him an unblemished character. Whilst residing on his own property in this county, he was several times sole arbitrator on matters relative to disputed property. I have in my possession the minute of an arbitration between two parties in a chancery suit, one of whom was related to himself. Mr. Britton remarks a discrepancy between two different accounts as to the contents of a trunk of papers. This is, I think, easily cleared up. His executor, Capt. S. took possession of those with Mr. Greatrakes at the time of his death; others must have remained at his residence in Ireland, and it must have been one of these containing papers which was examined by Mr. Richard Wigmore, a friend and neighbour, and who, indeed, was related to the husband of Mrs. Courtenay, Mr. Greatrakes's sister. We cannot doubt there were then discovered papers relating to the "Letters of Junius," of which Mr. Wigmore afterwards spoke, but certainly he never could have represented Mr. Greatrakes as the author of Junius. In the course of time, however, the report, like the "fama" of antiquity, "vires acquirit eundo," gains strength, and grows into a general belief in this corner of the world. I knew Mr. Wigmore intimately, and can vouch that he was an upright man, entirely incapable of misrepresenting the matter, and who, though of incomplete education, possessed a thoughtful mind, had read much, and was fully competent to appreciate the value of such a discovery as that of the authorship of the "Letters of Junius." Mr. Britton has remarked, and rightly, several errors in the letter of Mr. Charles Butler, who describes, with more of romance than accuracy, the arrival of "an old man, seemingly poverty-stricken, at an inn in Devizes," &c. Mr. Greatrakes was then, as at all times of his life, in easy circumstances, and was not old, being in the 52nd year of his age, or thereabouts. In fine, Mr. Greatrakes seems to have had many advantages, and nearly the best education-using the term in its broadest sense-attainable. Born a gentleman, he had the honour of ancestors to sustain. After the usual time devoted to elementary studies, he remained at the Temple long enough to become acquainted with the laws of his country, and, without the depression and narrowing of the mind too often the consequence of continued legal practice, he adopted the first of all professions, that of arms. Here he had the opportunity of meeting people of the world, and of varied politics, of maturing his opinions, and developing those talents which led to his intimacy with Lord Shelburne and Colonel Barré. I may be permitted to remark that Mr. Butler concludes, "from several expressions which could only be familiar to a person of this country, that the author of Junius must have been an Irishman," &c. As to the implied claim of being English, when addressing "the English nation," Junius says, "I dedicate to you a collection of letters written by one of yourselves,”—he may have used the expression in a general or British sense. If not, I must observe that, in his day, the better classes of our people were of English descent, of which they never lost sight or feeling; and even the descendants of French refugees, like Colonel Barré, being amongst the classes alluded to, entirely identified themselves with them. Mr. Britton describes the letter which appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine of 1813 as bearing the unusual signature of "One of the Pack." The letter came from the country of" unusual" sayings and doings, and I believe the signature meant,-one of those who were hunting for the true author of Junius. Yours, &c. F. H. RETROSPECTIVE REVIEW. The History of the most vile Dimagorus, who by Treachery and Poison blasted the incomparable Beauty of Divine Parthenia, interwoven with the History of Amoronzo and Celania. By John Quarles, Gent. 12mo. 1656. ANTHONY WOOD gives us the following account of the author of this little volume. "John Quarles, son of Francis Quarles the poet, was an Essexian born, became a Batler of Exeter College in the latter end of 1642, and in that of his age 18, bore arms with them in the garrison of Oxford for his Majesty, and was afterwards, it was said, a captain in one of his armies; but upon the declining of his Majesty's cause, he retired to London in a mean condition, where he wrote several things merely for maintenance' sake, among which were these: "1. Regale Lectum Miseriæ, or the English Bed of Miserie, in which is contained a Dream, 1649. "2. Elegy upon that never-to-be-forgotten Ch. I. late (but too soon martyred) King of England. "3. Elegy and Epitaph on Arthur Lord Capell, beheaded 9 Mar. 1648. "4. A Curse against the Enemies of Peace. "5. His Farewell to England. These 4 last things were printed with Reg. Lect. Miseria. Afterwards he took his rambles beyond the seas, but whether in the condition of a tutor, or bare traveller, or pilgrime, I know not. After his return he lived as occasion served, and published "6. Fons Lacrymarum; or, a Fountain of Tears, from whence doth flow England's Complaint. แ 7. Jeremiah's Lamentations paraphrased, with Divine Meditations. "8. Elegy upon that Son of Valor Sir Charles Lucas. These three last things were several times printed in octavo, one edition whereof came out in 1677. "9. The Tyranny of the Dutch against the English. Lond. 1693. oct. Written in prose. "10. Continuation of the History of Argalus and Parthenia. Lond. 1659. in 4to. He also published in verse The Rape of Lucrece, committed by Tarquin the Sixth, &c. Lond. 1655. in oct. written by W. Shakspeare, Gent.: and added to it, Tarquin Banished; or, the Reward of Lust. Lond. 1655. oct. in verse. He hath also written Divine Meditations upon Several Subjects, whereunto is annexed God's Love and Man's Unworthiness, with several Divine Ejaculations. Lond. 1659, &c. "11. Triumphant Chastity; or, Joseph's Self-Conflict, when by his Mistress was enticed to Adultery, showing the powerful Motives betwixt the Flesh and the Spirit. Lond. 1683. oct. A divine poem. "This person, J. Quarles, who perhaps hath written other things, was esteemed a good poet and a great royalist, for which he suffered, and lived therefore mostly in a poor condition." At length, upon the raging of the plague in and near London, he was swept away there among thousands that died of that disease, in sixteen hundred and sixty-five, but where his carcass was lodged I cannot tell. One Joh. Quarles occurs Archdeacon of Northampton an. 1640, and was living after the restoration of King Charles the 2d, but he is not to be taken with Joh. Quarles the Poet."-Ath. Ox. vol. ii. p. 244. This little volume is of very considerable rarity, which we must reluctantly confess will to many be a greater recommendation than its poetical merits. The story is intended as a continuation of the Argalus and Parthenia of his father Francis Quarles, which was in those days a favourite with the public. Philips, in his Theatrum Poetarum (p. xxxiii), says, "That the Poet should check his fancy for such, either men or ladies, whose conversation will not Mr. Campbell has done injustice to this poem of Quarles in accusing it of indecency. See his Specimens, vol. iii. p. 306.—REV. ascend above Argalus and Parthenia." And we are informed by the author of "Woodstock" (ii. p. 312), "The volume treating of the lives of these celebrated Arcadians (Argalus and Parthenia) was the favourite study of swains and damsels throughout merry England." It is some time since we read the poem, not considering such amorous toys now suitable to our time of life, but one line has remained imprinted on our memory for the many intervening years: "She sternly shook her dewy locks and brake A melancholy smile," &c. But we must leave "this old Puritanical poet (as Wood calls him), the sometime darling of our plebeian judgments," and come to what Mr. Hayley would designate as "the filial volume."* It is dedicated to his honoured friend Richard Culmne, of Canalee, in the county of Devon, to whom he recommends his poem, and whom he "advises to meditate on the unworthiness of Dimagorus with detestation; upon the puissance of Amoronzo with admiration; upon the hospitality of Kalendo with emulation; upon the virtues of Celania with affectation," and so gather delight from the story. But this story to us is very tedious, and somewhat confused, and we find it rather difficult to keep our interest in the events and actions always awake. The ladies cry, and the gentlemen boast, a little too much for our taste, and, instead of wishing success to any one party, we felt very easy and unconcerned as to the issues that might befal any; but we must say that much of the versification is smooth and harmonious, and a few of the lines and couplets not unworthy of being remembered, as― And then wele give what we can best afford; A pen oftimes cuts deeper than a sword. Take courage in thy ruine, haste away; Love is the ground of love, a thing divine, We now add two of the lyrical pieces interspersed in the narrative. THE PILGRIM'S SONG. Sail, gentle sail, the wind blows fair, Despair is buried in despair; For wind and tide now seem to court, And lead us to our wished-for port. The wanton billows seem in state to dance, 2. The pilot smiles, the ship prevails, The storm submits,-the swelling sails, More than post-haste to kiss the sun. * Mr. Hayley, in his "Memoirs," calls his son "the filial sculptor."-REV. + i. e. Columb, of Canonleigh: see Lysons, Devonshire, p. 91. The following is a ditty sung by four damosels sitting on the ground cushioned with hillocks near a neighbouring brook. Whose silver streams, long proud to overflow Those verdant banks, stood still, as 'twere to show An admiration, seeming to express An humble duty to each shepherdess, &c. Feign would I love, but dare not trust, Therefore I'll love-I know not when. Were I like fair Parthenia, And had an Argalus to woo me, Dimagorus might undo me. Happy and blest is she that can I will not love, nor will I hate, But constant to my vows I'll prove. When men prove just I'll learn to love. Live without this thing-called man. How truly blest is she that can Live without this thing-called man. So fare thee well, Master John Quarles. We have done to thee even as thou hast desired-"When defects are not watched, a little virtue may go far;" and we agree with thee, "that money is not accounted base unless the alloy exceed the pure." So fare thee well! we have fulfilled thy wishes-"We have with a pleasing horror read and seriously perpended the mischievous designs of Dimagorus; and with a sad delight we have ruminated upon the obstacles of the sacred loves of Amoronzo and Celania; and so, our conceit being thereby doubled therein, is doubled thy recompense." NOTE. In this poem by John Quarles two expressions occur which we meet with also in Milton's Paradise Lost; as P. 5. To which Dimagorus yielding, soon reposed See Paradise Lost, Book x1. v. 536. So mayest thou live, till like ripe fruit thou drop The other, p. 65. But even like the sun, The world's great eye, that may be overrun See Paradise Lost, Book v. v. 174.— Thou sun, of this great world both eye and soul. Quarles' Poem was printed in 1658; Paradise Lost in 1669.-The expressions are probably accidental coincidences of language-the images taken from the ancient poets.-REV. REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. Edited Certaine Considerations upon the Government of England; by Sir Roger Twysden, Knt. and Bart. from the unpublished manuscript by John Mitchell Kemble, Esq. M.A., &c. [Camden Society.] 4to. In our THIS important and valuable contribution to the series of the Camden Society possesses many claims upon the attention of all historical and antiquarian readers. The subject to which Sir Roger Twysden's book relates was, in his own day, the most important that could well be conceived. times it has happily ceased to have that direct practical bearing upon passing events of the highest and most urgent moment which it then possessed, but it relates to what is still, and, as long as the name or fame of England shall exist, will never cease to be, a subject of the highest curiosity and historical importance, namely, the origin and growth of that well-balanced public liberty which has distinguished the government of England from that of all other countries in ancient or in modern times. Sir Roger's treatise leads us, in the first place, to consider the source of all government; the nature of the supremacy attributed to English kings; and the title of the then actual reigning family. Under the last point he traces the operation of the principle of election as exhibited in the selection of a sovereign out of one certain family from the earliest period down to Henry VII. From that time the descent had then been in a strict hereditary succession; but the old prin... ciple of election was still to be traced, as it is even to the present time, in the coronation service, and in the proceedings of that important ceremony. "It seemed to me," Sir Roger remarks, "no good omen, when at the coronation of this King Charles, the bishop informing the people that his majesty came thither to bee settled on that throne God and his birth had appoynted for him, and did therefore exhort them by their acclamations to testifie their consent and willingness thereunto, and yet GENT. MAG. VOL. XXXI. not any one answered till the earle of Arundell told them they should crye, 'God save Kinge Charles!' by which they may bee thought rather to have been prompted to it then to have accepted him willingly."* (p. 76.) was Sir Roger next considers the liberty of the people of England, the limitation of the royal authority, and the several ways in which English people had at various times vindicated their ancient freedom. The first of these ways is, by force. He shews that an express power of "raising the commons reserved in case of a breach of Magna Charta, and remarks that although if there be no such stipulation it is a question of great difficulty whether subjects may forcibly resist, yet "no man can renounce his natural defence, and I do hardly know any (not to mention Buchanan, Goodman, Knox, etc. who are held opposers of monarchy), but propound some cases in which they permit the people the taking arms." He also alludes to certain cases cited by Bishop Bilson in his treatise on obedience, in which that author had laid it down that lords and commons might join to oppose the king. This very passage, Sir Roger adds, was, "as I have been credibly informed, shewed to Queen Elizabeth, and by her permitted to stand, with this asseverance, that when she did so govern her subjects she would not disallow it in *The same circumstance was remarked by D'Ewes. "Upon which," he says, "whether some expected he [Laud, then Bishop of St. David's] should have spoken more, others hearing not well what he said hindered those by questioning which might have heard, or that the newness and greatness of the action busied men's thoughts, or the presence of so dear a king drew admiring silence, or that those which were nearest doubted what to do, but not one word followed, till my lord of Arundel told them, they should cry out God save king Charles. Upon which, as ashamed of their first oversight, a little shouting followed." (Ellis's Letters, 1st ser. III. 217.) 4 I |