300
NOTES AND QUERIES. [9* s. v. APRIL u,
second and penultimate volume of the greatest of
biographical dictionaries makes its appearance.
Practically the work is complete, the whole of the
matter not yet given to the world being in type,
and by the arrival of the longest day it will, it may
safely be assumed, be in the hands of subscribers
and readers. What public or national tribute will
mark the conclusion of a work the production of
which is a credit to English energy, ability, and
enterprise, it perhaps is too early to inquire. There
is a talk about public manifestations. To be on a
scale adequate to the occasion these should be
such as have not before been attempted in the
case of any English work of letters. With this we
may have hereafter to deal.
Among the biographies supplied to the present volume by the editor, who has been throughout the mainstay of the work, that of most interest is on George Wither, the poet. Mr. Lee's estimate of Wither so long and so unjustly decried by men who had not a tithe of his poetical gifts is, as might be expected, generous and sympathetic. An admirable account is given of the rise of a reputa- tion at which Pope sneered, and of which Johnson took no cognizance. Wither is described as "a poet of exquisite grace." It is, of course, unfor- tunate for Wither that he turned his muse into a " maid-of-all-work " ; but at his best he is the most inspiring poet of his day. The portrait of Wither given witn his ' Collection of Emblems,' 1635, is, we hold, the loveliest engraved portrait of the epoch. W 7 e do not understand the assertion that the only perfect copy of this book is in the British Museum. A copy which we have always regarded as perfect is in our own collection, and two copies with no defect mentioned are included in the 'Bibliotheca Anglo - Poetica.' Henry Willoughby, the epony- mous hero of ' Willobie's Avisa,' a book noteworthy as containing the first direct reference in print to Shakespeare, is treated as a real person which, of course, he was but not as the author of ' Avisa,' which apparently he was not. The fact that he is said to nave been intimate with a W. S., who is probably William Shakespeare, makes us wish that we knew more concerning him. William Win- stanley, of the ' Worthies,' known also as Poor Robin, is in Mr. Lee's hands, as is John Wilmot, the debauched Earl of Rochester. Full credit is given to Rochester for the spirit of his ' Satires,' which others beside Andrew Marvell have held the best of their day. For the authorship of the infamous play with which his name is associated Mr. Lee holds him responsible. There are, Mr. Lee says, in existence two MSS., one of them in the British Museum. A MS., reported to be original, was offered us twoscore years ago by a London book- seller. As we declined to look at it, we are in no position to speak of its authenticity. Henry Wil- mot, the first Earl of Rochester, 1612-58, is one of Mr. C. H. Firth's admirably condensed biographies. For the life of Cardinal Wolsey, perhaps the most important personage dealt with in the volume, Dr. James Gairdner is responsible. Cavendish's life supplies the basis of this, as it must of every life of Wolsey. Brewer's ' Reign of Henry VIII.' has also, of course, been laid under contribution. Writers of secondary rank are, as they have long been, assigned to Mr. Thomas Seccombe, who gives an account, at once sympathetic and veracious not too easy a task-of W. G. Wills (Willie Wills, as his friends affectionately called him), a species of belated Goldsmith. Harriette Wilson, of the scan-
dalous memoirs, is in the same hands, as are John
Winthrop, the Governor of Massachusetts, and
many others. John Wilson (Christopher North) is
treated by Dr. Garnett, who gives an animated
account of his subject. The estimate of Wilson is
a very sound piece of criticism. Anthony a Wood
is presented by the Rev. A. Clark, and John Wolcot
(Peter Pindar) by Mr. William Carr. A not too
easy task is accomplished by Mr. Charles Kent, who
supplies the life of Cardinal Wiseman. Other im-
portant biographies are by such well-known con-
tributors as Mr. W. P. Courtney, Sir E. Clarke,
Mr. Thompson Cooper, Mr. Lionel Gust, Dr.
Norman Moore, Mr. A. F. Pollard, Mr. Fraser
Rae, Mr. Thomas Bayne, Prof. Laughton, and
others to whom we would draw attention but for
fear of making our list a mere nomenclature.
WE have received from the Cambridge Anti- quarian Society An Index to the Reports and Abstract* of Proceedings, including Subjects and Authors of Communications and Publications, 1840- 1897 (Cambridge, Deighton, Bell & Co.). This most useful book of reference has been very carefully compiled ; it will be a great help, not only to those fortunate persons who possess a set of the publica- tions of this important society, but to almost every one who is engaged in archaeological inquiries. We wish that all other provincial "societies would follow the example set them by their Cambridge brethren. We could mention journals which con- tain a rich fund of information now almost inac- cessible to the student on account of their index- less condition.
We must call special attention to the following
notices :
ON all communications must be written the name and address of the sender, not necessarily for pub- lication, but as a guarantee of good faith.
W T E cannot undertake to answer queries privately.
To secure insertion of communications corre- spondents must observe the following rules. Let each note, query, or reply be written on a separate slip of paper, with the signature of the writer and such address as he wishes to appear. When answer- ing queries, or making notes with regard to previous entries in the paper, contributors are requested to put in parentheses, immediately after the exact heading, the series, volume, and page or pages to which they refer. Correspondents who repeat queries are requested to head the second com- munication " Duplicate."
H. COMBER,. It seems clear from the other verses you send that "lay" is used for "lies." Such a form is incorrect, and ought not to pass because a few poets have adopted it.
NOTICE.
Editorial Communications should be addressed to " The Editor of ' Notes and Queries ' "Advertise- ments and Business Letters to "The Publisher" at the Office, Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, E. C.
We beg leave to state that we decline to return communications which, for any reason, we do not print ; and to this rule we can make no exception.
