1658 he published at the Hague another original play, ‘The Enchanted Lovers: a Pastoral;’ a copy, with manuscript notes, which he gave to his only child, ‘Mrs. Elizabeth Lower,’ belonged to Heber. In 1660, during the negotiations between Charles II and the English parliament, Lower prepared his sumptuous ‘Relation in the form of a Journal of the Voiage and Residence which the most mighty and excellent Prince Charles II … hath made in Holland from 25 May to 2 June 1660, rendered into English out of the Original French.’ The work, a thin royal folio, was issued in September (in Dutch and French, as well as English), by Adrian Ulack of the Hague, with an apology for its ‘tardive appearance due to those men that graved the plates.’ The latter are beautifully executed, and contain some two hundred portraits, both foreign and English (cf. Gent. Mag. 1825, i. 216–18). The volume concludes with a number of ill-conditioned acrostics and poems by Lower.
In June 1660 Lower wrote to Secretary Nicholas from the Hague, asking for a place in the king's service (Cal. State Papers, Dom. s.a. 54). The death of his cousin Thomas, only son of Sir William Lower of Treventy (d. 1615), by which he became sole heir, executor, and chief representative of the family, recalled him to England in 1661. He died early in the following year, his will being proved 7 May 1662 (P. C. C. Laud, 76), and was buried, Wood believed, in the church of St. Clement Danes, though there is no record of his interment either there or at St. Winnow or at Landulph, where his inherited estate was situate. His daughter Elizabeth survived him, and was his chief legatee.
Though there are a few good lines in ‘The Phœnix,’ most of Lower's verse is very commonplace, and his translations, without being even laborious, are dull. Dr. Lower described him to Wood as ‘an ill poet, and a worse man.’ His long residence abroad seems to have completely alienated him from his relations. When the estate which he inherited put him in a position to do them good, ‘he did not, but followed the vices of poets.’ A portrait is prefixed to his ‘Three New Playes’ (infra), together with his arms and motto, ‘Amico Rosa, inimico Spina,’ which also appears on several of his titles.
Besides the works mentioned above, Lower wrote: 1. ‘Polyeuctes, or The Martyr, a Tragedy’ (from the French of Corneille), 1655, 4to; described by Genest, x. 70. 2. ‘The Innocent Lord, or the Divine Providence, the Incomparable History of Joseph, written originally in French by the unparallel'd pen of the learned Ceriziers, Almoner to my Lord the King's Brother,’ 1655, 8vo. 3. ‘The Triumphant Lady, or the Crowned Innocence, a choice and authentick piece of the famous De Ceriziers,’ 1656, 8vo. 4. ‘Horatius, a Roman Tragedy’ (from Corneille), 1656, 4to. 5. ‘The Amorous Fantasme,’ the Hague, 1659 [from the ‘Fantôme Amoureux’ of Philippe Quinault], dedicated to the Princess Royal. 6. ‘Three New Playes, viz: “The Noble Ingratitude,” a pastoral tragicomedy, “The Enchanted Lovers,” “The Amorous Fantasme,”’ dedicated to the queen of Bohemia, London, 1661. There are also extant in manuscript: ‘The Three Dorothies, or Jodelet box'd,’ a comedy from the French of Paul Scarron, 1657, and ‘Don Japhet of Armenia,’ a comedy, also from Scarron, autograph, sm. 4to, 1657 (Addit. MS. 28723). Wood also mentions a manuscript copy of Lower's ‘The Pleasures of the Ladies’ as being in the possession of Mr. Bowle.
[Wood's Athenæ Oxon. ed. Bliss, iii. 544; Langbaine's English Dramatists, 1691, pp. 332–334; Granger's Biog. Hist. 1779, iii. 98; Baker's Biog. Dram.; Addit. MS. 5875, f. 142 (Cole's Athenæ Cantabr.); Literæ Cromwellii, 1676, p. 123; Genest's History of the Stage, x. 69, 70; Chalmers's Biog. Dict.; Maclean's Trigg Minor, iii. 387; Boase and Courtney's Bibliotheca Cornub.; Hazlitt's Handbook, p. 355; Cat. Malone Collection (Bodleian); Heber's Cat. of Early English Poetry; Cat. of Additions to MSS. Brit. Mus. 1835–74, ii. 542; Notes and Queries, 5th ser. ix. 187, 7th ser. v. 354.]
LOWICK, ROBERT (d. 1696), conspirator, was born of Roman catholic parentage in Yorkshire. In August 1689 he was serving for James II as lieutenant in colonel John Parker's regiment of horse at Drogheda. During the campaign against William III he distinguished himself by his bravery and humanity, and rose to be major. After the capitulation of Limerick he lived obscurely in London (D'Alton, King James's Irish Army List, 2nd ed. i. 246, 255). Sir George Barclay [q. v.], enlisted him as one of his ‘janissaries’ for the Assassination Plot. On the discovery of the conspiracy Lowick was arrested, brought to trial on 22 April 1696, found guilty, and executed on 29 April. He was unmarried.
[Howell's State Trials, xiii. 267; Luttrell's Brief Relation, vol. iv.; Macaulay's Hist. of England.]
LOWIN, JOHN (1576–1659), actor, whose name is also spelt Lowine, Lowen, and Lowyn, and perhaps Lewen, the son of Richard Lowin, a carpenter, was born in the parish of St. Giles, Cripplegate, where he was baptised 9 Dec. 1576. He was one of the Earl of Worcester's men at the Rose Theatre
