By having incountred fierce Mars in his way,
That now not a God, his Godhead is flowen.
The glorious deeds which the world had raised
To the highest roome, when viewing thy acts;
Start backe and gave place, as things all amazed,
Vndoing the done, and hiding their facts.
To say that thou doest surpasse and excell
All the whole world; thy battels and deeds
Do say now the same, thy standerds it tell:
To search for antiquities, which proove now but weeds,
Is for to go warme us by smoke of wet strawe,
Thou winnest more glorie than yet any sawe.'
George Peele personated her as Astræa. †
"Our faire Astræa, our Pandora faire,
Our faire Eliza, or Zabeta faire.

"'*

Sweet Cynthia's darling, beauteous Cyprias peere:
As deere to England and true English heartes,
As Pompey to the Citizens of Rome:

As merciful as Cæsar in his might:
As mightie as the Macedonian king,

Or Troian Hector, terror to the Greekes."

The author of the Polimanteia, (1595) calls her a Queene matchles, in whome honors vnsteined pure die hath set foorth such liuely colours, as enemies must and doe feare: friends ought and should loue: whome the age now present must admire, and the time following still praising, wonder at: more courteous then the churle-sauing Abigail: more courtly then the friendes honoring Hester: more valiant then princekilling Judith: who, blessing me [England] by her meanes with a plentious peace & beautifying her courte with eternall praise hath made both to bee enuies marke in her enemies eye, the shadowing Cedar to her distressed friends and the force conquering sworde to her professed foes." §

An Answer to the Vntrothes published and printed in Spaine, 1589. See p. 370 of this Number.

† So did Sir John Davis, in his acrostical hymns.

↑ Descensus Astrææ. The Device of a Pageant borne before M, William Web, Lord Maior of the Citie of London on the day he tooke his oath, beeing the 29 of October, 1591. Wherevnto is annexed A Speech delivered by one clad like a Sea Nymph, who presented a Pinesse on the water brauely rigd and mand, to the Lord Maior, at the time he tooke Barge to go to Westminster. Done by G. Peele, Master of Arts, Oxford. Printed for William Wright. qto. four leaves.

§ Vide Polimanteia. England to all her inhabitants.

These

These courtly comfits were scattered round even when Elizabeth stood on the brink of the grave. The triumphs of Oriana, a collection of Madrigals, published by Thomas Morley, in 1601, extols her "angel face" and all the blandishments of the "Virgin Queen" attended by "a thousand graces."

"Fair Citherea presents her doues, sweet Minerva singeth,
Joue brings a crown, a garland Juno bringeth:
Fame summoned each celestial power

To bring their gifts to Orianae's bower.

Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana,
Long liue faire Oriana." *

Another delineation of the character of Elizabeth, drawn in the best manner of its author, (Nicholas Breton), which could have scarcely issued from the press at the time of her decease, may serve to conclude this exordium.

"If shee bee Queene I say not only with Antonio, God preserue her, by knowing such a queene in a little; but I may say a greatly blessed Ilande, whome according to the excellencie of her nature the beaue's haue worthily named Bazile thea:† I say such a Queen' as, not the greatest monarchie in the worlde hath the like, to loue and honour. Let me say this much in her due, that what dignitie soever may be iustly giuen vnto man aboue all other creatures, that, and much more may be giuen vnto her Maiestie, aboue all other: who in all the iudgements of the worthiest wittes on the earth, is worthily held, not only the grace of all her court, but vnder heauen the verie glorie of her kingdome: whose patience in all trouble, whose temper in all passion, whose bountie to the well deseruing, and justice ouer the obstinate, whose mercy to the offendant, and loue to the vertuous: whose beautie in nature, whose wisedome in iudgement, whose magnanimitie in daungers and constancy in religion, whose prouidence in care and resolution in performance, makes her the true figure of the Phoenix, and the worthy honoured wonder of the world: whose praises so farre passe the reach of humane reason to set downe, that admiration may rather contemplate, then conceit expresse them: for while the wise serue, the vertuous loue, the valiant feare, and the mightie admire. What can be said? but that since in the dignitie of humane nature she is the worthy

• Further specimen in CENSURA, Vol. IX. p. 8.

↑ Elizabetha.

wonder

wonder of her dayes; let her subiects euer pray that in the euer wonder of the world, she may liue the blessed Maiestie of her kingdome, and be perswaded that where the vertue of beautie, and beautie of vertue, the mercy of Justice, and care of iudgement in the eye of Grace, the heart of Truth and the hand of Bountie makes that Angell of a woman which propues the glory of a creature. Let the Phoenix be drawne from her spirit and the dignitie of man in this worlde vnder heauen from her Maiestie: whom the Chronicles of neuer ending ages, may eternize for the most gratious Queene of the world: of which Truth, while Enuy is eating of her snaky haires with anger to heare of, Fame ioyfully soundeth her name in eternell tryumph. But least I blot my paper, in seeking to shewe a faire hand and abridge much of her worth, in so litle touching the wonder of her worthinesse, I wil only leaue princes to admire her, the vertuous to loue her, the honourable to attend her, the learned to commend her, the deuout to pray for her, that God, who by his Almightie power for the good of her kingdome did in her seate of Maiestie place her, will so in his glorious mercy, in the same euer preserue her, that while the whole world is full of her worthy fame, her subiects may iny to behold the Maiestie of her person: and while the greatest part of the worlde doth admire her, the heart of Englande may euer ioy to enioy her: to which prayer I hope he liues not so vnworthily borne, that will not ioyfully say, Amen."

Lloyd was not deficient in his labours. Having gathered a goodly set of dames from ancient history, he next scaled the heaven of mythology to pilfer from the creations of fable, apposite characters, and mingled the whole as shadows to form a back ground for displaying with greater brilliance his royal Mistress. The bead-roll of names, in the following rhimes, might be serviceable to con over by the ancient beldame left to exhibit the deserted mansion, who commences a description at the statue of Diana, placed in the vestibule, and ends with the leaden Mermaid that spouts water in the grotto. This Ditty appears to have been licensed to Richard Jones the 13th of August, 1579, as "A Ballad of Brittishe Sidanen, applied by a courtier to the praise of the Quene:" and the probability is suggested by Ritson of its

A Dialogue full of pithe and pleasure, between three Phylosophers, &c. 1603.

VOL. I.

author

author being Puttenham. * It is now given from a manuscript collection of poems in my possession.

"A Dittie to the tune of Welshe Sydanen,+ made to the Queenes maj. Eliz. by Lodov. Lloyd,

Flee stately Juno Samos fro, from Delos straight Diana go;
Minerva Athens must forsake, Sylanen Queen your seat must take ;
Sidanen conquers kinges with quill;
Sidanen governs states at will;
Sidanen feares her foes with pen;
With peas Sidanen conquers men.

Sibilla must from Cuma flee; in Egipt Isis may not be ;

Thy Troian seat Cassandra shun; thy fame from Grece Penelope is won i With Judithes sworde, with Debores mace,

Sidanen sittes in sacred place;

With Graces three, with Muses nyne,

Sydanen doth like Phebus shine.

Lett Lucrece lurke, lett Helene blushe; Atlanta kneel on knee to this;
Lett Sapho serve, lett Dido yelde; Sidanen wynes the fame in fielde.
In Rome Cornelia bare the belle,
Sidanen doth Cornelia excelle;
In Ethiope floorisht Sabaes' fame,
Sidanen farr surmountes the same.

Through Afrike spredd Zenobias name; all Asia range Semiramis fame;
In Scithia soile by bluddy blade, Tomiris queen great conquest made:

Sidanen, crwell Centaures kilde;

Sidanen, Synors sleight hath spilde:
Sidanen, clensde Augeas stall
slewe‡

Sidanen, Stymphalides all.

On seas doth Neptune serve her beck; on earth doth Eolus tend her check In field doth Mars her fame defend, in skies doth Jove her state comende.

The Sone, the mone, the starres confesse

Sidanen must the skies possesse;
Earth, water, fire, and also alle

With Eccho, sownde Sidanen faire.

In woodes the Dryades dawnce for ioye; on hilles the Oriades skippes so coye
In fieldes the Fawnes and Satyrs plaie; on fludds the Nayades thus do sale;
Sidanen fedd on Pallas papp,
Sidanen Julde in Junos lapp;

Sidanen taught in Vestas towre;

Sidanen nurst in Venus bowre.

Bibl. Poetica, p. 304, note.

In the Golden Fleece, 1626, by William Vaughan, is a diaJogue, where Skelton tells Saint David,

With godds Pandora is her name: with men Pamphila is the same,
Eche where she is Pausophia stalld, in Brvttain she Sidanen cauld:
From Brutus stemme, from Dardan line,

Sidanen is a Phenix fine;

From Cambers soile, from Hector's seed,
Sidanen princely doth exceed.

The eagles youth I wishe this Queen. Acanthus like to floorishe green,
As serpents old do cast their skin, so she being old may yonge begin:
In ioyfull dates with Nestors yeres,

I wishe to her and to i.er peeres,
That when Sidanen d'eth I crave
Mausolus tombe that she maye have.
Finis."

"The Pilgrimage of Princes, penned out of sundry Greeke and Latine auct hours," was printed by William Jones, without date, probably the same as mentioned by Ritson in 1573-again, 1586, by W. White, 1607, and revived by R. C. M. A. 1653. The prefixes are accurately noticed in Herbert, p. 1318, and therefore now omitted; but "The Pilgrimage of Queens," in Alexandrines, mentioned there as at the end of the present volume, I have never seen. This work is divided under various heads; it displays a great extent of reading and proof of the industry of the author. The following passage will serve as a specimen of his manner and prose.

"Of the first beginning of shauing, and of the vse thereof, with much making of the hears of the head.

"The Lacedemonians were woont to excell all other nations in letting their heires of their heades and beardes to growe, as an ornament and comely setting foorth of man. Wherefore Licurgus dyd defend the same, saying that as the heyres of the head were comely and seemelve vnto bewtifull menne: so were they a terrour and a fearefull sight vpon the deformed man for the enimies to look vnto. Nicander therefore beeyng demaunded why the Lacedemonians and the people of Sparta did so esteeme theyr beardes and hearie lockes of haires vpon theyr heades: he sayd, because it is a moste naturall garment, & most comely vnto man to haue that which is best in sight and least in charges. The auntient Greekes and

Having inspected several copies, I suppose it was not printed after the first edition.