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Garrick Plays.

No. II.

[From the "Parliament of Bees," a Masque, by John Day, printed 1607. Whether this singular production, in which the Characters are all Bees, was ever acted, I have no information to determine. It is at least as capable of representation, as we can conceive the "Birds" of Aristophanes to have been.]

Ulania, a female Bee, confesses her passion for Meletus, who loves Arethusa.

-not a village Fly, nor meadow Bee,
That trafficks daily on the neighbour plain,
But will report, how all the Winged Train
Have sued to me for Love; when we have flown
In swarms out to discover fields new blown.
Happy was he could find the forward'st tree,
And cull the choicest blossoms out for me;
Of all their labours they allow'd me some

And (like my champions) mann'd me out, and home:
Yet loved I none of them. Philon, a Bee
Well-skill'd in verse and amorous poetry,
As we have sate at work, both of one Rose,

Has humm'd sweet Canzons, both in verse and prose,
Which I ne'er minded. Astrophel, a Bee
(Although not so poetical as he)

Yet in his full invention quick and ripe,
In summer evenings, on his well-tuned pipe,

Upon a woodbine blossom in the sun,

(Our hive being clean-swept, and our day's work doɔɔ), Would play me twenty several tunes; yet I Nor minded Astrophel, nor his melody.

Then there's Amniter, for whose love fair Leade (That pretty Bee) flies up and down the mead With rivers in her eyes; without deserving Sent me trim Acorn bowls of his own carving, To drink May dews and mead in. Yet none of these, My hive-born Playfellows and fellow Bees, Could I affect, until this strange Bee came; And him I love with such an ardent flame, Discretion cannot quench.

He labours and toils,

Extracts more honey out of barren soils
Than twenty lazy Drones. I have heard my Father,
Steward of the Hive, profess that he had rather

Lose half the Swarm than him. If a Bee, poor or weak,
Grows faint on his way, or by misfortune break

A wing or leg against a twig; alive,
Or dead, he'll bring into the Master's Hive
Him and his burthen. But the other day,
On the next plain there grew a fatal fray

Prettily pilfered from the sweet passage in the Midsummer Night's Dream, where Helena recounts to Hermia their school-days' friendship:

We, Hermia, like two artificial Gods,
Created with our needles both one flower,
Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion.

Betwixt the Wasps and us; the wind grew high, And a rough storm raged so impetuously,

Our Bees could scarce keep wing; then fell such rain, It made our Colony forsake the plain,

And fly to garrison: yet still He stood,

And 'gainst the whole swarm made his party good;
And at each blow he gave, cried out His Vow,
His Vow, and Arethusa!-On each bough
And tender blossom he engraves her name

With his sharp sting. To Arethusa's fame
He consecrates his actions; all his worth
Is only spent to character her forth.
On damask roses, and the leaves of pines,

I have seen him write such amorous moving lines

In Arethusa's praise, as my poor heart
Has, when I read them, envied her desert;
And wept and sigh'd to think that he should be
To her so constant, yet not pity me.

Porrex, Vice Roy of Bees under King Oberon, describes his large prerogative.

To Us (who, warranted by Oberon's love,
Write Ourself Master Bee), both field and grove,
Garden and orchard, lawns and flowery meads,
(Where the amorous wind plays with the golden heads
Of wanton cowslips, daisies in their prime,
Sun-loving marigolds; the blossom'd thyme,
The blue-vein'd violets and the damask rose;
The stately lily, Mistress of all those);
Are allow'd and giv'n, by Oberon's free areed,
Pasture for me, and all my swarms to feed.

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Biographical Memoranda.

JOHN SCOT, A FASTING FANATIC.

In the year 1539, there lived in Scotland one John Scot, no way commended for his learning, for he had none, nor for his good qualities, which were as few. This man, being overthrown in a suit of law, and knowing himself unable to pay that wherein he was adjudged, took sanctuary in the abbey of Holyrood-house; where, out of discontent, he abstained from all meat and drink, by the space of thirty or forty days together.

Fame having spread this abroad, the

king would have it put to trial, and to that effect shut him up in a private room within the castle of Edinburgh, whereunto no man had access. He caused a little water and bread to be set by him, which he was found not to have diminished in the end of thirty days and two. Upon this he was dismissed, and, after a short time, he went to Rome, where he gave the like proof of his fasting to pope Clement VII.; from whence he went to Venice, carrying with him a testimony of his long fasting under the pope's seal: and there also he gave the like proof thereof. After long time, returning into England, he went up into the pulpit in St. Paul's Church-yard, where he gave forth many speeches against the divorce of king Henry VIII. from his queen Katherine, inveighing bitterly against him for his defection from the see of Rome; whereupon he was thrust into prison, where he continued fasting for the space of fifty days: what his end was I read not.-Spotswood, &c.

HART THE ASTROLOGER.

There lived in Houndsditch, about the year 1632, one Alexander Hart, who had been a soldier formerly, a comely old man, of good aspect, he professed questionary astrology and a little of physic; his greatest skill was to elect young gentlemen fit times to play at dice, that they might win or get money. Lilly relates that "he went unto him for resolutions for three questions at several times, and he erred in every one." He says, that to speak soberly of him he was but a cheat, as appeared suddenly after; for a rustical fellow of the city, desirous of knowledge, contracted with Hart, to assist for a conference with a spirit, and paid him twenty pounds of thirty pounds the contract. At last, after many delays, and no spirit appearing, nor money returned, the young man indicted him for a cheat at the Old Bailey in London. The jury found the bill, and at the hearing of the cause this jest happened: some of the bench inquired what Hart did?" He sat like an alderman in his gown," quoth the fellow; at which the court fell into a laughter, most of the court being aldermen. He was to have been set upon the pillory for this cheat; but John Taylor the water poet being his great friend, got the lord chief justice Richardson to bail him, ere he stood upon the pillory, and so Hart fled presently into Holland, where he ended his days.*

Autobiography. vol. ii. Lilly's Life.

REV. THOMAS COOKE.

The verses at the end of the following letter may excuse the insertion of a query, which would otherwise be out of place in a publication not designed to be a channel of inquiry.

To the Editor.

Sir, I should feel much obliged, if the Table Book can supply some account of a clergyman of the name of Thomas Cooke, who, it is supposed, resided in Shropshire, and was the author of a very beautiful poem, in folio, (published by subscription, about ninety years since,) entitled "The Immortality of the Soul." I have a very imperfect copy of this work, and am de sirous of ascertaining, from any of your multifarious readers, whether or not the poem ever became public, and where it is probable I could obtain a glimpse of a perfect impression. Mine has no title-page, and about one moiety of the work has been destroyed by the sacrilegious hands of some worthless animal on two legs!

The list of subscribers plainly proves that Mr. Cooke must have been a man of

good family, and exalted conections. On one of the blank leaves in my copy, the following lines appear, written by Mr. Cooke himself; and, considering the trammels by which he was confined, I think the verses are not without merit; at any rate, the subject of them appears to have been a beautiful creature.

By giving this article a place in the Table Book, you will much oblige Your subscriber and admirer, G. J. D.

Islington-green.

AN ACROSTIC

On a most beautiful and accomplished young Lady. London, 1748.

Meekness-good-humour-each transcendent grace,
I s seen conspicuous on thy joyous face;
Sweet's the carnation to the rambling bee,
So art thou, CHARLOTTE! always sweet to me!

Can aught compare successfully with those
High beauties which thy countenance compose,
All doubly heighten'd by that gentle mind,
Renown'd on earth, and prais'd by ev'ry wind?
Lov'd object no-then let it be thy care
O f fawning friends, at all times, to beware-
To shun this world's delusions and disguise,
The knave's soft speeches, and the flatt'rer's lies,
Esteeming virtue, and discarding vice!

Go where I may, howe'er remote the elime,
Where'er my feet may stray, thy charms sublime,
Illustrious maid! approv'd and prais'd by all,

ike some enchantment shall my soul enthrall-
Light ev'ry path-illuminate my mind-
I aspire my pen with sentiments refin'd-

A ad teach my tongue on this fond pray'r to dwell,
May Heav'n preserve the maid it loves so well!"
THOMAS COOKE.

Varieties.

CURIOUS PLAY BILL.

The following remarkable theatrical announcement is a mixed appeal of vanity and poverty to the taste and feelings of the inhabitants of a town in Sussex.

(Copy.)

At the old theatre in East Grinstead, on Saturday, May, 1758, will be represented (by particular desire, and for the benefit of Mrs. P.) the deep and affecting Tragedy of Theodosius, or the Force of Love, with magnificent scenes, dresses, &c.

Varanes, by Mr. P., who will strive, as far as possible, to support the character of this fiery Persian Prince, in which he was so much admired and applauded at Hastings, Arundel, Petworth, Midworth, Lewes, &c.

Theodosius, by a young gentleman from the University of Oxford, who never appeared on any stage.

Athenais, by Mrs. P. Though her present condition will not permit her to wait on gentlemen and ladies out of the town with tickets, she hopes, as on former occasions, for their liberality and support.

Nothing in Italy can exceed the altar, in the first scene of the play. Nevertheless, should any of the Nobility or Gentry wish to see it ornamented with flowers, the bearer will bring away as many as they choose to favour him with.

As the coronation of Athenais, to be introduced in the fifth act, contains a number of personages, more than sufficient to fill all the dressing-rooms, &c., it is hoped no gentlemen and ladies will be offended at being refused admission behind the scenes.

N. B. The great yard dog, that made so much noise on Thursday night, during the last act of King Richard the Third, will be sent to a neighbour's over the way; and on account of the prodigious demand for places, part of the stable will be laid into the boxes on one side, and the granary be open for the same purpose on the other. Vivat Rex.*

Boaden's Life of Mrs. Siddons.

Ir's NEVER TOO LATE TO MEND

At Chester, in the beginning of the year 1790, a reputable farmer, on the evening of a market-day, called at the shop of Mr. Poole, bookseller, and, desiring to speak with him at the door, put a shilling into his hand, telling him, "he had owed it to him many years." The latter asked, for what? To which the farmer replied, that "When a boy, in buying a book-almanac at his shop, he had stolen another-the reflection of which had frequently given him much uneasiness." If any one who sees this ever wronged his neighbour, let him be encouraged by the courage of the farmer of Chester, to make reparation in like manner, and so make clean his conscience.

CONSCIENCE.

-There is no power in holy men,
Nor charm in prayer-nor purifying form
Of penitence-nor outward look-nor fast-
Nor agony-nor, greater than all these,
The innate tortures of that deep despair,
Which is remorse without the fear of hell,
But all in all sufficient to itself

Would make a hell of heaven-can exorcise
From out the unbounded spirit, the quick sense
Of its own sins, wrongs, sufferance, and revenge
Upon itself; there is no future pang
Can deal that justice on the self-condemn'd
He deals on his own soul.

Byron.

EPITAPH BY DR. LowтH, late bishop of
London, on a monument in the church of
Cudesden, Oxfordshire, to the memory of
his daughter, translated from the Latin :—

Dear as thou didst in modest worth excel,
More dear than in a daughter's name-farewell!
Farewell, dear Mary-but the hour is nigh
When, if I'm worthy, we shall meet on high:
Then shall I say, triumphant from the tomb,
"Come, to thy father's arms, dear Mary, come !"

INSCRIPTION

From the book at Rigi, in Switzerland.
Nine weary up-hill miles we sped
The setting sun to see;
Sulky and grim he went to bed,

Sulky and grim went we.

Seven sleepless hours we past, and then,
The rising sun to see,
Sulky and grim we rose again,
Sulky and grim rose he.

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Antiquarian Hall, ALIAS Will. Will-be-so, of Lynn,

A goose-herd in the fen-lands; next, he Be-doctor'd Norfolk cows; much vext, he Turn'd bookseller, and poetaster,

And was a tolerable master

Of title-pages, but his rhymes

Were shocking, at the best of times.

However, he was very honest,

And now, poor fellow, he is--" non est."

For the Table Book.

WILLIAM HALL, or as he used to style himself, "Antiquarian Hall," "Will. Willbe-so," and "Low-Fen-Bill-Hall," or, as .e was more generally termed by the public, "Old Hall," died at Lynn, in Norfolk, on the 24th of January, 1825. From some curious autobiographical sketches in rhyme, published by himself, in the decline of life, it appears that he was born on June 1, O. S. 1748, at Willow Booth, a small island in the fens of Lincolnshire, near Heckington Ease, in the parish of South Kyme.

"Kyme, God knows,

Where no corn grows, Nothing but a little hay;

And the water comes,

And takes it all away."

His ancestors on the father's side were all "fen slodgers," having lived there for many generations; his mother was

--"a half Yorkshire

The other half was Heckington, Vulgar a place as and one.""

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"overstretching took a slip,

And popp'd beneath a merchant's ship;*
No soul at hand but me and mother;

Nor could I call for one or other."

She, however, at the hazard of her own life, succeeded in saving her son's. At eleven years old, he went to school, in Brothertoft chapel, for about six months, in which time he derived all the education he ever received. His love of reading was so great, that as soon as he could manage a gunningboat, he used to employ his Sundays either in seeking for water-birds' eggs, or to

"shouve the boat

A catching fish, to make a groat,
And sometimes with a snare or hook;
Well, what was't for ?-to buy a book,
Propensity so in him lay."

Before he arrived at man's estate, he lost his mother, and soon afterwards his father

A coal-lighter.

married again. Wil.. himself, on arriving at man's estate, married "Suke Holmes,' and became a "gozzard," or gooseherd; that is, a keeper and breeder of geese, for which the fens were, at that time, famous throughout the kingdom, supplying the London markets with fowls, and the warehouses with feathers and quills. In these parts, the small feathers are plucked from the live geese five times a year, at Lady-tide, Midsummer, Lammas, Michaelmas, and Martinmas, and the larger feathers and quills are pulled twice. Goslings even are not spared, for it is thought that early plucking tends to increase the succeeding feathers. It is said that the mere plucking hurts the fowl very little, as the owners are careful not to pull until the feathers are ripe those plucked after the geese are dead, are affirmed not to be so good. The number of geese kept by Will. must have been very great, for his "brood geese," alone, required five coombs of corn for daily consumption.

:

The inundations to which the fens were then liable, from breaches, or overflowing of the banks, overwhelmed him with difficulties, and ruined his prospects.

"The poor old geese away were floated,
Till some high lands got lit'rally coated;
Nor did most peasants think it duty
Them to preserve, but made their booty;
And those who were not worth a goose,'
Cn other people's liv'd profuse."

After many vicissitudes and changes of residence, he settled at Marshland, in Norfolk, where his wife practised phlebotomy and midwifery, while he officiated as an auctioneeer, cowleech, &c. &c. Indeed he appeared to have been almost bred to the doctoring profession, for his own mother

was

"a good cow-doctor,

And always doctor'd all her own,

Being cowleech both in flesh and bone."

His mother-in-law was no less skilful, for in Will.'s words

She in live stock had took her care,

And of recipes had ample share,

Which I retain unto this day."

His father-in-law was an equally eminent practitioner; when, says Will.,

"I married Sukey Holmes, her father
Did more than them put altogether;
Imparted all his skill to me,
Farrier, cowleech, and surgery,
All which he practised with success."

Will. tells of a remarkable and surprising accident, which closed his career as a cow.eech.

"The rheumatism, (dreadful charm,
Had fix'd so close in my left arm,

So violent throbb'd, that without stroke
To touch-it absolutely broke!
Went with a spring, made a report,
And hence in cowleech spoil'd my sport;
Remain'd so tender, weak, and sore,

I never dare attempt it more."

Thus disqualified, he removed to Lynn, and opening a shop in Ferry-street, commenced his operations as a purchaser and vender of old books, odds and ends, and old articles of various descriptions; from whence he obtained the popular appellation of "Old Hall." On a board over the door, he designated this shop the

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Antiquarian Library,"

and thus quaintly announced his establishment to the public:

"In Lynn, Ferry-street,
Where, should a stranger set his feet,
Just cast an eye, read Artiquary !'
Turn in, and but one hour tarry,
Depend upon't, to his surprise, sir,

He would turn out somewhat the wiser."

He had great opportunity to indulge in "Bibliomania," for he acquired an extensive collection of scarce, curious, and valuable books, and became, in fact, the only dealer in "old literature at Lynn. He versified on almost every occasion that seemed opportune for giving himself and his verses publicity; and, in one of his rhyming advertisements, he alphabetised the names of ancient and modern authors, by way of catalogue. In addition to his bookselling business, he continued to practise as an auctioneer. He regularly kept a book-stall, &c. in Lynn Tuesday-market, from whence he occasionally knocked down his articles to the best bidder; and he announced his sales in his usual whimsical style. His hand-bill, on one of these occasions, runs thus:

LYNN, 19th SEPTEMBER, 1810.
"First Tuesday in the next October,
Now do not doubt but we'll be sober!
If Providence permits us action,
You may depend upon

AN AUCTION,

At the stall

That's occupied by WILLIAM HALL
To enumerate a task would be,

So best way is to come and see;
But not to come too vague an errant,
We'll give a sketch which we will warrant.
"About one hundred books, in due lots,
And pretty near the same in shoe-lasts ;

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