Shapt like a Ladies head, exceeding shone, ΧΧΧΙ, His haughtie helmet, horrid all with gold, Both glorious brightnesse and great terrour bredd: With greedie pawes, and over all did spredd XXXII. Upon the top of all his loftie crest, A bounch of heares discolourd diversly, With sprincled pearle and gold full richly drest, Like to an almond tree ymounted hye On top of greene Selinis2 all alone, With blossoms brave bedecked daintily; Whose tender locks do tremble every one At everie little breath, that under heaven is blowne. Book I. Canto VII DESCRIPTION OF BELPHEBE. XXI. Eftsoone3 there stepped foorth A goodly Ladie' clad in hunters weed, That seemd to be a woman of great worth, And by her stately portance borne of heavenly birth. XXII. Her face so faire, as flesh it seemed not, The which ambrosiall odours from them threw, 1 Slights-devices. 2 Greene Selinis.-Selinis is evidently the name of some hill or mountain, which I do not find in any book of reference within reach. Upton, strangely enough, supposes it to be Selinus, a city in Cilicia, to which he applies an epithet, "Palmosa," applied by Virgil to another city of the same nam in Sicily. After this double blunder, he remarks, with amusing simplicity, "The simile of the almond tree is exceeding elegant, and much after the cast of that admired image in Homer," &c. Todd copies the whole without comment.-Hillard. 8 Eftsoone-immediately. 4 A goodly Ladie, &c.-In the beautiful and elaborate portrait of Belphoebe, Spenser has drawn & Battered likeness of Queen Elizabeth. 6 Portance-demeanor. And gizers sence with double pleasure fea, XXIII. In her faire eyes two living lamps did fiame, For, with dredd maiestie and awfullyre She broke his wanton darts, and quenched bace desyre XXIV. Her yvoire forhead, full of bountie brave, All good and honour might therein be red; For there their dwelling was. And, when she spake, XXV. Upon her eyelids many Graces sate, And soveraine moniment of mortall vowes, How shall frayle pen descrive her heavenly face, XXVI. So faire, and thousand thousand times more faire, And was yclad, for heat of scorching aire, All in a silken camus5 lilly whight, Purfled upon with many a folded plight," Which all above besprinckled was throughout XXX. Her yellow lockes,9 crisped like golden wyre, And, when the winde emongst them did inspyre,10 1 Persant-piercing. 2 Rubins-rubies. 8 Belgardes-sweet looks. 1 Retrate-picture. Camus-thin dress. • Purfled-embroidered. 7 Plight-plait. 8 Aygulets-tagged poir.:s. The yellow locks of Queen Elizabeth enter largely into the descriptions of beauty by the ports of her reign. 10 Inspyre-breathe. And low behinde her backe were scattered: Book II. Canto III. THE CARE OF ANGELS OVER MEN. I. And is there care in heaven? And is there love In heavenly spirits to these creatures bace, There is-else much more wretched were the cace Of men then beasts: But O! th' exceeding grace Of Highest God that loves his creatures so, II. How oft do they their silver bowers leave O, why should Hevenly God to men have such regard! Book II. Canto VIII. THE SEASONS. XXVIII. So forth issew'd the Seasons of the yeare: And in his hand a iavelin he did beare, And on his head (as fit for warlike stoures1) A guilt engraven morion® he did weare; That as some did him love, so others did him feare. ΧΧΙΧ. Then came the folly Sommer, being dight He wore, from which, as he had chauffed been, Had hunted late the libbard' or the bore, And now would bathe his limbes with labor heated sore. Then came the Autumne all in yellow clad, As though he ioyed in his plentious store, Laden with fruits that made him laugh, full glad To reape the ripened fruits the which the earth had yold. XXXI. Lastly, came Winter cloathed all in frize, Chattering his teeth for cold that did him chill; Book VII. Canto VII.7 The chief prose work of Spenser is his " View of the State of Ireland." I. gives an excellent account of the customs, manners, and national character of the Irish, and there is no contemporary piece of prose to compare with it in purity. From it we have room to select the following short extract, only upon 2 Yielded. 8 Nose. 4 Retort. 6 Old age. 1 Leopard. 6 Wield, move. 7 "I have just finished 'The Faerie Queen.' I never parted from a long poem with so much regret. He is a poet of a most musical ear-of a tender heart-of a peculiarly soft, rich, fertile, and flowery fancy. His verse always flows with ease and nature, most abundantly and sweetly; his diffusion is not only pardonable, but agreeable. Grandeur and energy are not his characteristic qualities. He seems to me a most genuine poet, and to be justly placed after Shakspeare and Milton, and above all other English poets."-Sir James Mackintosh. "Spenser excels in the two qualities in which Chaucer is most deficient-invention and fancy. The Invention shown in his allegorical personages is endless, as the fancy shown in his description of them is gorgeous and delightful. He is the poet of romance. He describes things as . a splendid and voluptuous dream."-Hazlitt. "H command of imagery is wide, easy, and luxuriant. He threw the soul of harmony 'nto om verse, and made it more warmly, tenderly, and magnificently descriptive than it ever was before, or, with a few exceptions, than it ever has been since. It must certainly be owned that in description he exhibits nothing of the brief strokes and robust power which characterize the very greatest poets; but we shall nowhere find more airy and expansive images of visionary things, a sweeter tone of sentiment, or a finer flush in the colors of language, than in this Rubens of English poetry.' -Campbell's Specimens, i. 125. The best, or variorum edition of Spenser, (so called because it has all the notes of the various commentators,) is that of Todd, 8 vols. 8vo. London, 1805. Read-an article on Spenser's Minor Poems in Retrospective Review, xil. 142: also, Edinburgh Review, xxiv. also, a brilliant series of papers on the Faerie Queene, in Blackwood's Magazine, 1834 and 1835, by Professor Wilso:: aiso, “Ob servations on the Faerie Queene," by Thomas Warton. THE IRISH BARDS. There is amongst the Irish a certain kind of people called Bards, which are to them instead of poets, whose profession is to set forth the praises or dispraises of men, in their poems or rithmes; the which are had in so high regard and estimation amongst them, that none dare displease them for fear to run into reproach through their offence, and to be made infamous in the mouths of all men. For their verses are taken up with a general applause, and usually sung at all feasts and meetings by certain other whose proper persons, function that is, who also receive for the same great rewards and reputation amongst them. Such poets as in their writings do labor to better the manners of men, and through the sweet bait of their numbers to steal into the young spirits a desire of honor and virtue, are worthy to be had in great respect. But these Irish bards are for the most part of another mind, and so far from instructing young men in moral discipline, that they themselves do more deserve to be sharply disciplined for they seldom use to choose unto themselves the doings of good men for the arguments of their poems, but whomsoever they find to be most licentious of life, most bold and lawless in his doings, most dangerous and desperate in all parts of disobedience and rebellious disposition; him they set up and glorify in their rithmes, him they praise to the people, and to young men make an example to follow. RICHARD HOOKER. 1553-1600 ONE of the most learned and distinguished prose writers in the age of Elizabeth, was RICHARD HOOKER. He was born near Exeter in 1553. His parents, being poor, destined him for a trade; but he displayed at school so much aptitude for learning, and gentleness of disposition, that through the efforts of the bishop of Salisbury he was sent to Oxford. Here he pursued his studies with great ardor and success, and became much respected for his modesty, learning, and piety. In 1577 he was elected fellow of his college, and in 1581 took orders in the Episcopal church. Soon after this he went to preach in London, at Paul's Cross, and took lodgings in a house set apart for the reception of the preachers. The hostess, an artful and designing woman. perceiving Hooker's great simplicity of character, soon inveigled him into a marriage with her daughter, which proved a source of disquietude and vexation to him throughout his life. He was soon advanced in ecclesiastical preferment, and made master of the Temple, where he commenced his labors as forenoon preacher. But this situation accorded neither with his temper nor his literary pursuits, and he petitioned the archbishop of Canterbury to remove him to "some quiet parsonage." He obtained his desire, and was presented ov Elizabeth to the rectory of Bishop's Bourne, in Kent, where |