writ a letter to his wife, which Mr. Winftanly has preferved, and which, as it has fomewhat tender in it I fhall infert. It has often been observed, that half the unhappy marriages in the world, are more owing to the men than the women : That women are in general much better beings, in the moral fenfe, than the men; who, as they buftle lefs in life, are generally unacquainted with thofe artifices and tricks, which are acquired by a knowledge of the world; and that then their yokefellows need only be tender and indulgent, to win them. But I believe it may be generally allowed, that women are the best or worst part of the human creation: none excel them in virtue; but when they depart from it, none exceed them in vice. In the cafe of Green, we fhall fee by the letter he fent his wife how much fhe was injured.

"THE remembrance of many wrongs offered "thee, and thy unreproved virtues, add greater "forrow t my miferable ftate than I can utter, or thou conceive; neither is it leffened by con"fideration of thy abfence, (tho' fhame would ́ "let me hardly behold thy face) but exceedingly

66

aggravated, for that I cannot as I ought to thy own"felf reconcile myself, that thou might'ft witnefs my "inward woe at this inftant, that hath made thee a "woful wife for fo long a time. But equal heaven has "denied that comfort, giving at my laft need, like "fuccour as I have fought all my life, being in "this extrémity as void of help, as thou haft been of hope. Reason would that after fo long waste, "I fhould not fend thee a child to bring thee

66

charge; but confider he is the fruit of thy "womb, in whose face regard not the father, fo "much as thy own perfections: He is yet green, "and may grow ftrait, if he be carefully tended, "otherwife apt enough to follow his father's folly. That I have offended thee highly, I know that thou canft forget my injuries, I hardly be

❝lieve

"lieve; yet I perfwade myself, that if thou saweft my wretched eftate, thou couldst not but lament "it, nay certainly I know, thou wouldft. All thy 66 wrongs mufter themselves about me, and every evil at once plagues me; for my contempt of God, I am contemned of men; for my fwear"ing and forfwearing, no man will believe me;

for my gluttony, I fuffer hunger; for my "drunkenness, thirft; for my adultery, ulcerous "fores. Thus God hath caft me down that I

might be humbled, and punished for example "of others; and though he suffers me in this "world to perish without fuccour, yet I trust in the "world to come, to find mercy by the merits of 66 my Saviour, to whom I commend thee, and commit my foul."

Thy repentant husband,

for his disloyalty,

ROBERT GREEN.

This author's works are chiefly thefe,

The Honourable Hiftory of Fryar Bacon, and Fryar Bungy; play'd by the Prince of Palatine's fervants. I know not whence our author borrowed his plot, but this famous fryar Minor lived in the reign of Henry III. and died in the reign of Edward I. in the year 1284. He joined with Dr. Lodge in one play, called a Looking Glafs for London; he writ alfo the Comedies of Fryar Bacon and Fair Enome. His other pieces are, Quip for an upftart Courtier, aud Doraftus and Fawnia. Winstanley imputes likewife to him the following pieces. Tully's Loves; Philomela, the Lady Fitzwater's Nightingale; Green's News too Late, first and fecond part; Green's Arcadia Green's

Green's Farewel to Folly; Green's Groatsworth of Wit.

It is faid by Wood in his Fafti, p. 137, vol. i. that our author died in the year 1592, of a furfeit taken by eating pickled herrings, and drinking with them rhenifh wine. At this fatal banquet, Thomas Nafh, his cotemporary at Cambridge was with him, who rallies him in his Apo logy of Pierce Pennylefs. Thus, died Robert Green, whofe end may be looked upon as a kind of punishment for a life spent in riot and infamy.

EDMUND SPENSER

WAS born in London, and educated at Pem

broke Hall in Cambridge. The accounts of the birth and family of this great man are but obfcure and imperfect, and at his firft fetting out into life, his fortune and intereft feem to have been very inconfiderable.

After he had for fome time continued at the college, and laid that foundation of learning, which, joined to his natural genius, qualified him to rife to fo great an excellency, he ftood for a fellowfhip, in competition with Mr. Andrews, a gentleman in holy orders, and afterwards lord bishop of Winchester, in which he was unfuccefsful. This difappointment, joined with the narrowness of his circumftances, forced him to quit the university and we find him next refiding at the house of a friend in the North, where he fell in love with his

*

* Hughes's Life of Spenfer, prefixed to the edition of our au thor's works.

Rofalind,

Rofalind, whom he finely celebrates in his pastoral poems, and of whofe cruelty he has written fuch pathetical complaints.

It is probable that about this time Spenfer's genius began first to diftinguish itself; for the Shepherd's Calendar, which is fo full of his unprofperous paffion for Rofalind, was amongst the firft of his works of note, and the fuppofition is ftrengthened, by the confideration of Poetry's being frequently the offspring of love and retirement. This work he addreffed by a fhort dedication to the Mæcenas of his age, the immortal Sir Philip Sidney. This gentleman was now in the highest reputation, both for wit and gallantry, and the moft popular of all the courtiers of his age, and as he was himfelf a writer, and efpecially excelled in the fabulous or inventive part of poetry; it is no wonder he was ftruck with our author's genius, and became fenfible of his merit. A ftory is told of him by Mr. Hughes, which I fhall present the reader, as it ferves to illuftrate the great worth and penetration of Sidney, as well as the excellent genius of Spenfer. It is faid that our poet was a tranger to this gentleman, when he began to write his Fairy Queen, and that he took occafion to go to Leicefter-houfe, and introduce himself by fending in to Mr. Sidney a copy of the ninth Canto of the firft book of that poem. Sidney was much furprized with the defcription of defpair in that Canto, and is faid to have fhewn an unusual kind of tranfport on the difcovery of fo new and uncommon a genius. After he had read fome tanza's, he turned to his fteward, and bid him give the perfon that brought thofe verfes fifty pounds; but upon reading the next ftanza, he ordered the fum to be doubled. The steward was no lefs furprized than his mafter, and thought it his duty to make fome delay in executing fo fudden and lavish a bounty; but upon reading one

ftanza more, Mr. Sidney raised the gratuity to two hundred pounds, and commanded the fteward to give it immediately, left as he read further he might be tempted to give away his whole eftate. From this time he admitted the author to his acquaintance and conversation, and prepared the way for his being known and received at court.

Tho' this feemed a promising omen, to be thus introduced to court, yet he did not inftantly reap any advantage from it. He was indeed created poet laureat to Queen Elizabeth, but he for fome time wore a barren laurel, and poffeffed only the place without the penfion *. Lord treasurer Burleigh, under whofe difpleasure Spenfer laboured, took care to intercept the Queen's favours to this unhappy great man. As misfortunes have the most influence on elegant and polished minds, fo it was no wonder that Spenfer was much depreffed by the cold reception he met with from the great; a circumstance which not a little detracts from the merit of the ministers then in power: for I know not if all the political tranfactions of Burleigh, are fufficient to counterballance the infamy affixed on his name, by profecuting refentment against distressed merit, and keeping him who was the ornament of the times, as much diftant as poffible from the ap-. proach of competence. Thefe difcouragements greatly funk our author's fpirit, and accordingly we find him pouring out his heart, in complaints of fo injurious and undeferved a treatment ; which probably, would have been lefs unfortunate to him, if his noble patron Sir Philip Sidney ́ ́had not been so much abfent from court, as by his employments abroad, and the fhare he had in the Low-Country wars, he was obliged to be. In a poem called, The Ruins of Time, which was written fome time after Sidney's death, the au