LF 108 S27 /-fW- S57 CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 189I BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE DATE DUE, B 6 jPK^I M^JA^^ 01 Cornell University Library LF108 .S27 Cambridge fragments / olin 3 1924 030 636 066 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030636066 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS Plate i. Pattern used for a Beam Paper at Christ's College, Cambridge, probably in or soon after 1509. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS Cambridge : at the University Press 3r> UWiVMr-MY ! U',V,'Lu 4 ' ■■? i-+ ^ ^: ^-' //-' / A' ti/J'4^' VM' :; ;\ ll'ili ■'■" vii /, ''1 ni.i ^ PREFACE. " I ""HE following pages, in their first form, appeared in ■^ The Library of October 191 1. By the kind per- mission of the Editor of that journal, they were reprinted in the Chrisfs College Magazine, Vol. xxvi, when con- siderable additions were made to the text. At the request of the Master I have re-cast the whole, in the light of additional information. c.s.-...^.^ 31 January 1913. TABLE OF FRAGMENTS. PAGE 1— 10. Proclamation. 10 April 1509. Ed. A ... 15 II— 14. II II Ed. B . 16 15— M. „ ?3 April „ Ed. B 17 23— 31- Miscellaneous fragments of the Proclamation s 17 32- Poem on the death of Henry VII. 17 33- Indulgence 20 34. Primer 21 35- Donatus Melior 21 36. Virgil 22 37- Horace 22 38. MS. Charter A. D. 1327 13 39- „ Thompson agreement, ab. 1520 . 13 40. „ Petition to the Master 24 41. ,, Geometrical Fragments 24 42. „ Theological Exercise . «4 43- „ Grammatical and other fragments 24 44- Playing Cards M 4S. The Cowslip PLATES. ^S Pattern used for a Beam Paper at Christ's College, Cambridge, probably in or soon after 1509. Arms of Pope Julius II (p. 27). Text of Proclamation, 10 April 1509. „ „ 23 April 1509. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS. CHRIST'S College, Cambridge, was founded by Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, Mother of King Henry VII, on i May 1505. The charter still exists. The College was to consist of sixty members, namely a Master, twelve fellows, and forty-seven scholars. By January 1506 the buildings were well advanced, and con- tained, adjoining the chapel, rooms in the first quadrangle, on the first floor, designated in the statutes as ' the primary chambers,' which were built for the use of the Foundress herself, 'and in our absence for John [Fisher], Bishop of Rochester, so often as he may choose to visit the College, and for so long a time as he may desire to reside within it^' The Master occupied the lower chambers beneath those of the Foundress. On 22 April 1509 King Henry the Seventh died, and two months and a week later, on June 29, his Mother followed him. There is no record of Lady Margaret residing at Christ's College, but there is a well preserved tradition of her visit 'to behold it when partly built".' The following narrative, recording certain discoveries which were made, while the rooms of the Foundress and the Master's Chambers, now merged together and forming 1 Willis and Clark, Architectural History of the University of Cambridge, Vol. II. p. 194. 2 Ibid. 1—5 lO CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS the Master's Lodge of later times, were being restored, relates for the most part to the period of their first completion, and may be found of interest. ON the afternoon of May 23rd, 191 1, the Master of Christ's sent me a message asking if I could call on him. When I arrived he told me that in the work of restoration at the Lodge the workmen had found the original beams of the ceiling of the entrance hall covered with a paper of a black and white design, on the other side of which there appeared to be some early printing. The Lodge had been "completed or nearly so^" by the end of 1509, so that I was prepared for anything. We were not able to go to the Lodge until after six o'clock, when the workmen had gone, and when we opened the door we found that all the paper, or nearly all, had been cleared away. It is easier to imagine than to describe our feelings; but luckily we soon found that Mr Kett, who was carrying out the restorations, had very carefully preserved every fragment which had been removed. It was important to recover the pattern of the design, for which it would be necessary to employ a careful draughtsman, and Mr Edwin Wilson undertook the task. The equally delicate operation of removing the more recalcitrant fragments on the joists was entrusted to Mr A. Baldrey, of the University Library. On the following day it appeared that not only the beams of the hall, but those of the dining-room also, had been covered with this stamped paper; and eventually every scrap that could be saved was carried off into safe custody at the University Library. The design appeared to be printed from a wood-block, and on the verso was English ' Willis and Clark, Vol. 11. p. 200. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS II black letter printing of the type, apparently, of Wynkyn de Worde or Pynson. One of the first fragments which we looked at con- tained a poem on the death of King Henry the Seventh ; and very soon we found that on the recto of a great mass of the paper, on the side which had been affixed to the beams, was a proclamation announcing the accession of King Henry the Eighth. We found also fragments of another proclamation, and of an Indulgence. Incidentally we may remind ourselves that Lady Margaret was "a valuable and early patron to Caxton and Wynkyn de Worde, who undertook the composition and printing of several books at her special desire and command," and that Wynkyn de Worde in this very year styled himself "Printer unto the most excellent princess my lady the King's Grandame'." All this can be found in the Dictionary of National Bio- graphy. But discoveries were not yet at an end. A day or two later, in searching under the boards of the floor of the Lady Margaret's room, which is over the old dining-room, and under the boards of her larger room, the workmen found the mummified remains of four rats^, which had taken ' Pynson was appointed Royal Printer in 1508. ^ ' Under the floor boards, and between them and the ground-floor ceiling, were found four specimens of mummified rats. These were very well preserved, even to the tips of their tails. Various anato- mical points showed quite clearly that these animals belonged to the species Mus rattus — the black rat — which is of slenderer build than the now common Norwegian rat Mus decumanus, which only reached our shores two centuries later, has larger ears and a longer tail. These specimens were dried up, with the skin still covering the bones, except in places. According to Helm, this rat was not known in Europe till the "Vollierwanderung." There is no yrord for "rat" in the Welsh 1—6 12 CAMB JUDGE FRAGMENTS to themselves coverings or shrouds; and upon investigation these proved to consist of a vellum deed relating to the College, some paper documents relating to Thomas Thomp- son, who was Master of the College from isioto 1517, and some fragments of printed matter which turned out to be part of an early Virgil; four leaves of a Horace; two leaves of a primer of Wynkyn de Worde; and finally a leaf by Caxton. In addition two or three playing cards of the seventeenth century were found, and scraps of a child's book, printed early in the nineteenth century, which had been pasted on to a piece of thick paper. Such briefly was the nature of the find, and I believe that it is of suflficient interest to set out an account of each of these objects in detail. First, it must be under- stood that it was quite out of the question to leave the paper in position. The paper had perished where it had not been covered with the ink; and it was owing no doubt to some quality of the pigment, oily or otherwise, that anything was still left. The design was apparently printed from a single wood-block, measuring 16 by 11 inches, and consisted of a conventional pine-cone centre, surrounded by strap-work and flourishes. In the middle of the border of the long sides is the mark of the artist, a Lombardic "H" on the left, and a bird, facing to the spectator's right, on the right. The design is Venetian in character, but who is the artist? language. Bell* states that this rat was unknown in our country before the middle of the sixteenth century ; at least, he says, no author more ancient than that period has described, or even alluded to it as being in Great Britain, Gesner being the first to do so.' (Note by the Master of Christ's.) * A History of British Quadrupeds, 2nd ed. London, 1874. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS 1 3 There can be little doubt that he was none other than Hugo Goes, whose work is described in Herbert's Typo- graphical Antiquities, Vol. iii. p. 1439, and by Mr Gordon Duff in his English Provincial Printers (Sandars Lectures 191 1). The description of a woodcut by him printed at Beverley, and since lost, is sufficiently illuminating : A wooden cut of a man on horseback with a, spear in his right hand and a shield, with the arms of France in his left. Emprinted at Beverley in the Hye-gate by me Hewe Goes with his mark or rebus of a great H and a goose; Goes was living in Steengate, York, and printing there on 18 February 1509^ Goes was himself the printer of a proclamation''. What more likely then that these proclamations were printed by Goes himself? Mr Duff further points out that the type pf one of the three proclamations is not exactly Pynson's type, and that the initial letter is a close copy of a Pynson initial, but not an actual Pynson block. Further, the wood-block at the head of the proclamation is not exactly one known to have been used by Pynson'- Moreover Mr Duff is of opinion that the types of the three proclamations do not exactly agree. It is possible therefore that we are here in possession of some of the actual printing of Hugo Goes, of which no other vestige remains. But why should Hugo Goes be at work in Christ's ^ See also G. Oliver, History and Antiquities of the Town and Minster of Beverley, 1829, 4°, p. 175. The author of that work asserts that Goes was printing at Beverley in 1506. For his London work see Mr Duffs volume. Herbert, Typ. Ant. in. 1437. I have to thank Mr Duff for drawing my attention to this reference. ' See post, p. 16. 14 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS College, for Lady Margaret's new Lodge, when she was employing Wynkyn de Worde as her printer? The reply to this throws a curious light on the enquiry. Bishop Fisher was born in Beverley. Is it too fanciful to suggest that Fisher and Goes may have been acquainted, and that Fisher in advising Lady Margaret in her work at her new foundation at Cambridge^ may have employed a Beverley man? It is possible to claim that we have here the earliest known example of paper with a stamped design, in use for a decorative purpose in England^. The earlier custom was to use a stencilled pattern on the surface itself, and Mr T. G. Jackson has found an example at St Cross, near Winchester, as the work of Cardinal Beaufort about 1500'. Dr W. Morley Fletcher, who has paid particular attention to the history of interior arrangements in Cambridge at Trinity College, has found similar designs on the plaster ' Mr T. D. Barlow of Manchester had earlier suggested that the block of the beam-paper was executed by a Cambridge workman. Fisher, in fact, was employing local talent. I have to thank Miss Ruth Bickersteth of Cottingham for drawing my attention to the connexion between Fisher and Beverley. (Letter from Miss Ruth Bickersteth, 21 May 1912.) " Specimens of block-stamped paper in use abroad, in the fifteenth century, are figured in T. O. Weigel and A. Zestermann's Anfiinge der Druckerkunst, 1866, F", Bd I, and in Heinecken's Idie Ginirale cPnne collection compute des Estampes, 1571, 8° (plates 27 a and b). (Infor- mation kindly supplied by Mr DuflF.) Mr R. R. Hewlett, F.S.A., of Park House, Walton-on-Thames, after reading these remarks given in the text in the Library, kindly sent me a specimen of such stamped paper for inspection, which had been preserved in the original binding of a Confessionale of 1487, in his possession [Hain* 1196, Proctor 2368]. ' In litt. to the Master of Christ's, July 20th, 191 1. Mr Jackson adds that wall papers came in with Queen Anne. In the spring of 1911, CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS 1$ in the late sixteenth century. He has found no trace of paper^ We come now to the second object of enquiry, namely, the printed matter upon the recto of the paper. Very early came the welcome date, "the x day of Aprille the furste yere of our raigne "; and a reference to Lord Craw- ford's new volume of Tudor and Stuart Proclamations' showed us that we had a copy of "Steele No. 53" (as I propose to call it), hitherto not found in print, but of which four manuscript copies are preserved in the Record Office'. Mr J. W. RejTiolds, Librarian of Sidney Sussex College, shewed me among the College muniments some fragments of old wall-paper on which was printed the name "Christopher Boyes". Is anything known of him and his work? ' He sent me the following extract on room decoration in May, 1577 : (From Lansdowne MSS. 25, f. 46 [quoted in Lives and Letters of the Devereux, Earls of Essex, by W. B. Devereux. London, 1853. Appendix D, p. 489, Vol. 11.]). Among the parcels which Robert Devereux, ind Earl, bought at his entrance to his chambers at Trinity College, Cambridge, were, inter alia : 20 yards of new green broad serges, £2. i6s.\ 40 foot of quarters under the hangings, 2s.; new hangings in the study of painted cloth, 16s. ; for painting both chamber and study overhead, is.; shelves in the study, is. 6d, And again : Painted cloths in the chamber and painting in the bed-chamber, £1. \%s, ^d.; a great green cloth curtain in the chamber window, 6s.; a piece ot neyi painted cloth in the chamber, 3^. ; {ox painting the study, 6d. ; for a green cloth in the study window, ts. ; etc., etc. '^ Bibliotheca Lindesiana, Vol. v. A Bibliography of Royal Pro- clamations of the Tudor and Stuart Sovereigns and of others published under authority, 1485 — 17 14, with an historical essay on their origin and use, by Robert Steele. 2 vols. Oxford, 1910. s The original is also at the Record Office. (Information kindly supplied by Mr Steele, who tells me that our printed version differs considerably from it. Lines 19—34 come in the authoritative original between our 13 and 14.) For the text see pp. 30—31 (plate 3). 1 6 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS The fragments were so brittle or decayed that immediate steps were taken to place them between glass, and in the process we found that we had the remains of no fewer than eight copies of this Proclamation. At the head are two cuts — one of the royal arms supported by angels, which also resembles "Steele 54"; the other of the King and Council, at present not identified in any other book '. Then we found that fragments belonged to another edition of the same Proclamation, more elaborately printed, with a wood-cut ribbon at the top reading "The Newe Proclamation," with side ornaments, line endings, and another ribbon at the foot with the words "God save the Kynge." But with all these numerous copies it was still impossible to reconstruct the complete text, and therefore impossible to fit in the unidentified fragments of this huge jig-saw puzzle. In a few days Mr C. Hilary Jenkinson, of the Record Office, in collaboration with his wife, furnished us with a copy of the only known text. It appeared in the process that all the four manuscript copies there preserved differed verbally from one another, and further that a whole paragraph of our printed text (lines 29-34) is misplaced in the manu- script. It is, therefore, worth while to reprint the whole Proclamation, as now recovered, reconstructed from these fragments. (See also p. 41.) ^ The cut is similar in character to those in The Destruction of Jerusalem printed by Pynson. This book also contains the florets alluded to in the text. By an oversight in examining Mr Steele's book I did not notice the series of blocks reproduced on p. 449 of his second volume. The cut of the royal aims and angels is similar to, but not identical with, his block No. i, used by Pynson. Ours may be identified by the fact that the smgle tuft of grass on the left consists of four blades and not of three. There is another border ornament not mentioned in the text, nor reproduced by Mr Steele, containing two birds. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS IJ If we take the plain printed copy as representing Edition A, Edition B may be identified by its reading "mysteryes and ocupacyons" in the last line but one, and "Kynge" in the ribbon. The next fragments were those of the Proclamation of Pardon for all crimes committed before April 23rd, 1509, of which the only copy previously known is in our Uni- versity Library at Cambridge, and catalogued by Mr Steele as No. 54. But again the new fragments are of another edition, and they are further useful as containing part of line 21, "H Intrusyons / and entries in to the Temporaltyes of Archebusshopes/Busshoppes/Abbotes/Priburs &," which is missing in the edition in the library. This contains, as I have said, the cut of the royal arms at top, as in our newly- found Steele 53. The new edition of No. 54 starts with a large calligraphic initial, but of this very little remains^. Next comes the poem on the death of Henry the Seventh. At the hea.d are the royal arms of England and France, and below are two florets, which are so familiar in English printing of this date. There are four fragments altogether, the first containing the arms and florets and the beginnings of five lines. The other three preserve a substantial part of five and a half seven-line stanzas, and these are here printed in full. Seep. 41. To wryte all his no But Englonde may say He hath do...as...oche h to T....euer dyde...JE w But cryst on hym haue mercy ge ryall His subjet I was /and his bedeman shall dye Our est his son noble Seventh Henry ' See plate 4 at pp. 34-5 for the text. 1—9 1 8 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS O pang' sed is my herte With th of mortal absence Ponder Kynge whiche lately did departe For all as of hycn dyde seke prudence In t fte...by sage sapyence A nges dyde afore eth my herte sore. c tendre youth of our kynge his sone that god hath hym lente t more vertuously hath begone th all thynges conuenyente lyfe/may say that god hath lente wronge and to mayntayne the ryghte ural kynge & goddes faythful k[nyghte]* undesyr and his uncle a kynge . .grete oncle / whiche [w]as a Kynges broder kynge his fader of...te dep...cy was a quene and a queene was his mo[der] ene/and a quene shall be the other natural souerayne lorde and kynge to lou de aboue all lyuynge thyge un For lyuynge thou m called one of the worthy And now for all this vy... [is] no remedye but deed Thy softe body lyeth/all [wra]pped in leed ^ Professor W. W. Skeat, in a letter to me dated 15 June 1912, told me that this is the earliest known example of the use of the word 'PANG.' The N.E.D. gives it as first printed by Wynkyn de Worde in the year 1526, seventeen years later than this fragment. This was my last communication from Dr Skeat, who died on October 6. ^ Sir John Sandys, Public Orator, has kindly suggested the com- pletion of the lacunae of the last two lines. [To ryghte the] wronge and to mayntayne the ryghte [As our own nat]ural kynge etc. In Hit. 13 December 191 1. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS 1 9 Golde suffyseth not to contente thy mynde For his honourahle and precyous pure body Comen of no grosse blod but of gentyl kynde As ensample in his persone he shewed dayly Takynge his unde with liberte so demurely And his virtue and many other to wryte and rede No remedy [ ] out pray /for he lyeth ilede. Fragment No. 2 was one of the first to come to light, and it gave us the only example of the Caxton " I " (in line 4) which was found affixed to the walls. This Caxton " I " was only used by Caxton and his immediate successor Wynkyn de Worde. While it was satisfactory thus early to have evidence of Wynkyn de Worde's work, the " malice of inanimate objects " could hardly be better illustrated, i had expected to find this poem in Stephen Hawes' fovfull medytacyon to all Englonde of the coronacyon of our moost naturall Souerayne lord Kynge Henry the eyght, Wynkyn dt: Worde, 1509, 4°, the only known copy of which is in the Cambridge University Library^. The two poems are in the same metre, and it is difficult not to hazard a guess as to the author of the newly-found lines. But at present we must be content to wait. Mr Strickland Gibson, of the Bodleian Library, has drawn my attention to a similar fragment of an elegy of Henry the Seventh among the Douce fragments (e. 20) there. "It is a small folio single sheet," he writes, "printed on the back in quarto. Probably it was a proof" At the head are these cuts : (i) royal arms, as in our fragment, (2) the King lying dead, (3) Tudor rose crowned. These are separated from each other by apparently the same florets. The text, so far as it remains, has been printed by Dyce in ■^ See Appendix, p. 28. 20 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS an Appendix to his Edition of Skelton, Vol. ii. pp. 399 sq. In the first four stanzas the beginnings of every line have been cut off, but the next three stanzas are intact, and of these the last may be quoted for comparison : And nowe for conclysyon about his herse Let this be grauyd for endeless memorye With sorowful tunes of Thesyphenes verse : Here lyeth the puyssaunt and myghty henry Hector in batayle, Ulyxes in polecy Salamon in wysdome, the noble rose rede, Creses in rychess, Julyus in glory, Henty the Seventh ingraued here lyeth dede. We may next turn to another broadside, the Indulgence. This contains the Delia Rovere arms at the top, obviously those of Julius II (1503-13). The fragment consists of a mere strip off the left-hand side^ and the only other orna- ments are two grotesque initial letters, such as were used by Wynkyn de Worde. Two other varieties are known of the use in English of the arms of Julius the Second in contem- porary printing, preserved in the Bodleian Library (Arch. Bod I. A. IV. 43), but neither agrees with that found at Christ's College". Mr Wordsworth's list of Indulgences preserved in Yorkshire offers no clue'. (Plate 2, p. 27.) ' To aid identification it may be noted that the following words come under each other in the lines ^ — 10 of the strip: prycypall : synger : kes y" sp : Lest th : where : bre of : to saye : der the s : of mon. ^ Information kindly supplied by Mr Strickland Gibson of the Bodleian Library (4 Sept. 1912). One variety is dated 3 May 1508. From the same pope Lady Margaret had obtained a dispensation, enabling the Master to hold two benefices. C. H. Cooper, Life of Lady Margaret, p. 102. [See additional MQi&, post, p. 41,] " The Yorkshire Archaeological Journal,\o\, XVI. p. 369 jf. ('On some pardons or indulgences preserved in Yorkshire.' By the Rev. C. Wordsworth. ) CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS 21 We now come to the funeral piles of the rats. As if we had not had fresh fragments enough, it next appeared that the two leaves of the long duodecimo Primer, also in Wynkyn de Worde's type, probably belonged to an unregistered edition \ Only three editions are at present known, and all these only from single copies. The new fragment agrees neither with the copy in the University Library [Hoskins 46], nor with that in Clare College Library [Hoskins 44], and the third only known edition, in the British Museum, Mr Pollard tells me, wants the part of the volume containing these leaves. It is worth while, therefore, to put these also on record. The leaves are without signature, but the text of them occurs on signature b 5 and 6 in the edition in the University Library, and contains the Benedicite, the Bene- dictus, and other psalms. I give the first and last words of each page. b i, a b ^b d 6 a b 6 b quesierunt dno cres bilatiois coUes volu= iu= ipso. We may now turn to the handful of scraps — for it was no more — in Caxton's type 5. Mr Francis Jenkinson, Uni- versity Librarian, simplified the task of identifying these by placing in my hand a copy of the Donatus Melior of Mancinellus, printed at Milan in 1499^ quarto. The only other fragments of Caxton's edition of the Donatus Melior were found by Mr Robert Proctor in the binding of a book at New College, Oxford', and of these luckily Mr Hessels 1 See Mr E. Gordon Duffs collations of all known editions of the "long-twelve" English Primers in the Cambridge University Library. [MS. Add. 5126.] * Copinger 11. 3802 (the only copy recorded by him). ' Copinger II. 3801, corrected. S. De Ricci, Census No. 41. 22 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS had photographs, which he kindly allowed me to see. There are some discrepancies between this text and that of the Milanese edition, for while this leads off each declension with general remarks, in the Caxton edition these general remarks follow the examples. The text of this leaf of the Donatus is here printed' (p. 38). The verso of the frag- ment is in large parts so badly discoloured with a brown deposit that it has not been possible to decipher all of it. The page of 31 lines was that adopted by Caxton in the Speculum Vitae Christi and the Royal Book, both of which were printed in the same type. The page of type in these measures 185 by 120 mm. Two kinds of initials appear: (r) the two-line initials O, M, P, with a white streak, used in the Governal of Health and in the Royal Book, (2) the two-line black initial P. See Additional Note, p. 42. Three small fragments remain to be described. The first is of a Virgil, for the rats were evidently determined to die like scholars"- The edition selected by the rats contained 20 lines to the page, and may be identified from the top of "Fol. Ixxxij," where the first two lines end "q; relicti" and ") per tela/per hostes" (Aep.. 11. 357). If any reader of these pages should chance to have a Virgil so constituted, I should be glad of the information, for I have searched the University Library and the libraries of Trinity College and St John's College in vain. The rats had a more plentiful supply of Horace, for of this poet they took four whole octavo leaves, with marginal ' Line 9 contains the crux which may be commended to the curious grammarian, for it has so far defeated the enquirer. What is the word before desinit ? ^ Sir John Sandys, again, reminds me of Juvenal, Sat. iii. 107 : Et divina Opici rodebant carmina mures. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS 2% notes, text and notes both printed in italics. The leaves are paged pp. 227-234, and the edition may be thus identified from the top of the first. SERMONUM LIB. II. ^^^ Aufidius forti miscebat mella Falerno ieiuno stoma- Again, I have searched the three libraries mentioned above in vain'. There is only one other printed scrap which it has been possible to identify, and that is part of a heraldic initial T (31 mm.), used by Pynson in The Destruction of Jerusalem (sig. E 2), and in his editions of the Sarum Missal of 1512, and oi Fabyan's Chronicles, 1515, F°. The manuscripts remain to be described. The oldest of these is dated November 29th, 1327, and is a Charter of Confirmation, on vellum, from a person unknown, to John the son of Richard de Redham de Quarflet apud Brad[ ] and to Thomas [ ] and his heirs". The second document is an agreement, on paper, be- tween Thomas Thompson yeoman of London and Thomas Thompson' Master of Christ's College and the fellows of the Society as to a certain number of marcs, dated 1520. On the verso the yeoman is described as "fermor of the prebend callid the More belonging to the Cathedral Chirche '■ The nearest I can find is the edition printed by Paul fitienne, Editio tertia, in 1600. The first edition printed by Henri ^tienne, about 157s, has no marginal notes. Perhaps a. search among the Christie collection of editions of Horace preserved in the University Library at Manchester might be successful. " See Document 38 at end (p. 40). " The contracting parties may have been cousins. Thomas Thompson, Master of Christ's (1510 — 1517), was Vicar of Enfield, Middlesex, as late as 7 May 1539. (Willis and Clark, 11. 213.) 24 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS of Saynt Polle of London," and is "for certeyn londes belonging to" — and there the writing stops, unfinished'. A third document is a poorly-written appeal to "your Mastership," and refers to the "Macypyll." The writing which is that of an illiterate petitioner has been deciphered and transcribed by Mr Alfred Rogers, of the University Library. The date is probably about 1520 — 1530. Document 40. ] nobyll & worshypfuU mayster in the lowlyst man [ ] I Recommend me vnto your mayster shypp. Ryght glad [ [ ] ] to here of your mayster shypes welfar the wyche I besych Hefne long to continu to hys pleser etc. Desyryn your mayster shypp to continu god mayster to me as I stryst (sic) yow wyll & I shall be joor daily bedman as long as I leve also desyryn your mayster shypp to Remember shuch thynges as I dyd wryt to yow befor for and also I besych your maystershypp to send sum monny to pay for my Commans and my sysyn for the mancypyll doth ca[ ] every day. A fourth is a Latin fragment, on paper, dealing with a geometrical problem^ There are broken fragments of a theological exercise, but it is of no importance. The playing cards are, unfortunately, not court cards, but a ten of diamonds and a ten of spades of one pack (85 by 45 mm.), ' I have endeavoured in vain to follow up this clue. The Rev. L. Gilbertson, Librarian of St Paul's Cathedral, kindly draws my attention to Dugdale's History of St Pauts Cathedral, 1658, F°, to Archdeacon Hale's Domesday Book of St PauTs, to Dean Milman's Annals, and to the Index to Maxwell Lyte's Report on the Cathedral archives (Hist. MSS. Commission, Ninth Report, Appendix, p. i). But none of these has so far given me any direct help. See the document 38 at end (p. 40). 2 Dr W. W. Rouse Ball informs me that this is of no special interest. It was also examined by the late Sir G. H. Darwin. CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS 25 and a five of diamonds (100 by 58 mm.) of another pack, all with plain backs, of the seventeenth century '- Finally there were the remains of the child's book of about the year 1820, with pictures, which the workmen found. The verses do not occur in Mr Tuer's Forgotten Children's Books. I will spare the reader more than two extracts of a book which charmed the eyes of children of a bygone generation. Filial Love. Miss Jane's mamma was very ill^, And felt such pain she could not sleep, And Jane would quietly sit still Or sometimes through the curtains peep. VIII. The Purloiner. As Joe was at play, Near the cupboard one day, When he thought no one by but himself, How sorry I am He ate raspberry jam, And currants that stood on the shelf. There are pictures of Jane and Joe, and allusions to brother Henry, and Headstrong, and Ann, and Master Edward^ ^ I am indebted to Dr W. Morley Fletcher for information on this point. " For the illness of Miss Jane's mamma cf. A. W. Tuer, op. cit. p. 422. ^ Cf. ibid. p. 404. The verses occur in The Cowslip, by Mrs Elizabeth Turner, first published in 181 1. It went through numerous editions before 1850, and was reproduced at Birmingham in 1899, 26 CAMBRIDGE FRAGMENTS The unravelling of all these secrets was an interesting task. One is reminded of the find of the leaves printed by Wynkyn de Worde mentioned by Blades in the Enemies of Books^. The present discoveries we owe entirely to the reverent piety of the Master and Fellows of Christ's College in endeavouring to restore to its original beauty the home of their Foundress. and in facsimile binding in an illustrated Shilling Series of Forgotten Children's Books, in 1899 — 1900, at the Leadenhall Press, London. ^ For an account of some "Antiquities found in Corpus Christi College in 1852," written by C. C. Babington, see Cambridge Anti- quarian Society, Communications, I. 51-4. Plate 2. [See p. 10.] 27 Arms of Pope Julius II. (Indulgence.) 28 APPENDIX. [See p. 19.] Specimen verses from Stephen Hawes' JoyfuU Medytacyon to all Englondt of the Coronacyon of our most natural Souerayne lord Kynge Henry the eyght. Wynkyn de Worde. 1509. 4°. Verse \o. Who is the floure that dothe this grace dystyll But onely Henry the . viii . kynge of his name With golden droppes all Englonde to fiilfyll To shewe his larges his honour and his fame His dedes therto exemplefeye the same Wherfore nowe Englonde with hole deuocyon For this yonge kynge make dayly orayson Verse 24. Ryght myghty prynce our good souerayne lorde To god enclyuynge be hardy and gladde Of you and your realme he wyll se Concorde Though other nacyons be therfore full sadde Agaynst you murmurynge with theyr werkes badde Yet drede ye nothynge for god with his myght Wyll be alwaye redy to defende the ryght Cambridge University Library (Sel. 5. 55). 29 PROCLAMATION lo April 1509 [See p. IS] Plate 3. 1 /'^^ HE Kyng our souu[erain L]ord H[enry by the grace of God King of England] and of France / and [Lord of Ireland of this] i 2 V^ Name the . VIII [doeth you] t[o] und[re]stan[d that for as moche as the King hi]s Fadre of moost noble [memorie] whos sowle 2 3 (^1 )s°^ £done of his [blessed dis]posicion And for the suertie and comfute of his louyng subgictis in his lyftyme gaue & grau 3 ^ ^^fefl' ted . to alle & euery of th[eym] A generall {don of Misprisons felonyes trespases forfaytures outlawries certein recogni 4 5 sane' & many other offensys d[oon and comytted] before yo . x. day of Aprille last passed as more [p]Iaynly appereth by y= same 5 6 ITThe King our souuerain lord that [now is] Kyng Henry the . VIII. cosidering that the said jjdone is by the deth of his 6 7 said Fader expired annetised and of nofi effecte his grace for the teder zele / and entier loue that he bereth to his subgiettis_ & to put them 7 8 in good quietnesse of Mynde and oute of all doubt and fear to be troubled or vexed in their bodies or goodys by hym or his officers by an 8 9 y oflFenc' doon or comitted in the King his fadres dales or byfore the furste day of his Reigne of his Speciale grace Meremocon frewill and 9 10 good hart hath geueii & graunted to all his said subject of what estate codicon or degre soeu they be A generall |2donne of almafl offeces 10 11 trespaces outlawries / forfacturies [and all other matters deptes & accomptes oonly excepted which is] more ample gracioux & be. it 12 neficiall then was the said ^donne [graunted by the King hi]s said Fader euery of his subgietes . to haue his said ^donne undre his great 12 13 seal at any tyme that they shall list to sue for it to his Chauncellor of England 13 14 IT Also our said souuerain lord comaudeth & ordeigneth that [all such oersojnes as were auctorised by the King his Fader Comissons to 14 15 be shiref or Justic' of y" peax within this Shire they all toged[er for t]he whole shire & euery of them apte in the quarter where they dwell 15 16 haue spe[cial] regarde : to the keping of the Kinges peax puttyng themself [to the b]est of their powers in full deuoir : & diligece for the ob 16 17 seruing of the same. And if any thing fortune to be attepted by any misruled ^soile or jjsones . to the breche of the Kinges peax or the co 17 18 mocon of his peple that then & in that case the said shiref & Justic' and euery of the[y]m in their quarters put forthwith in their lyke deuoir to 18 19 represse & subdue the same & to comitte alle [suche] Misdoers to warde withi[n the] next gaole ther to remaigne without bayle or Many< 19 20 prise till our said souuerain lord be thereof [adv]tised . & his pleasur knowen [in that beh]alf & for the better acoplishmet of this our said 20 21 souuerain lordys comaundemet his highness wol that if the case soo require [& that it be] thought good expediet soo to be done : that then 21 22 the said shirif and Justices by the warnyng & calling of the said shirif assem[ble the]mself togeders in some couenient place . or places as 22 23 ofte & whasoeu it shalbe thought good to deuise treate comen and coclude [for] the bett pformance & execucon of this oure said souue 23 34 rain lordys comaundement & that they & euery of them [lay] apart alle other busynesse for the season & geue their attendauncs and to do 24 25 ther true diligece in aboutes the pmisses [as] if they & euery of theym stode at this tyme in suche auctorite com[ission & p]ower as they did 25 26 in the lif of the Kingz [said Fa]der : & as they wol diserue to be [put] herafter to [semlable] auctorite & as they all to[geder] for the hole shire & 26 27 euery of theym for his [quarte]r wol aunswere unto our said souuerain lord at their pilles . & our said souuerain lord as sone as goodly 27 28 may be doon that shall send [h]is comissions. Wherby they may be mor parfietly auctorised for the executing of the premises. 28 29 IT And ouer this our souuerain lord woUeth & estroictly chargeth & comaQdeth that no man of ^son what estate or condicion 29 30 soeu he be for any occcasion cause or quarell of tyme passed reuenge his owne or any other £s6nes cause by way of faite of his 30 31 owne hand : but that euery gsonne Kepe the Kinges peax euery of them agenst other without any riotte affraies quarelles unle 31 32 full assembles or c6[mot]ions making of the Kinges peple wherby his jpeax may by in Any maner wise broke or trobled upon the utter> 32 33 most pille & payne that may ther upon ensue . And euery Man that fyndeth liym greuyd and wronged sue for his remedie at the com 33 34 lawe or to the Kinges grace : & his Coiisaill by bille of c5playnt &. they shal have Justice mistred with resonable spede & lawful fauour 34 36 36 37 ITAnd ouer this our said souerain lord of his more habudaut grace woU & straitly chargeth & comaiideth that his said Chaucellour 37 38 of Englad the Justices of both his Benchis / the Tresorers / & Barons of his Eschequier the Justices of Assises the Justices of the peax 38 39 Shirefs Maiers Escheatours and alle other his officers & ministres of Justice from hesforth do / & ministre Justice / & in euery cause / & 3y 40 ma? doo / & execute their offices frely rightuously and indeferently to euery of his [s]ubgiettys aftre the lawes of his [land] good coscience 40 41 equitie & discrecon As wel ouer his highnes is thone ptie as also twixt ptie and gtie not letting so to doo neyther for fear nor disple 41 42 asour of our said souuerain lord nor for his Ires if it shall fortune any suche [to be written to them in tyme to come to the c]otrarie 42 43 nor for no speche wiytyng Monicon or charge to be geuen to any of th[em' to the contrarie by any of his counsaill whatsoeuer] he be 43 44 And inlikewise that non of his Subgietz forbeer no[r m]ake no [doubte nor difficultie in all causes leful to make them trauerses] For his 44 45 highnes wol expresly & estraictly [charg]eth and comaundeth his said Chau[cellor Tresorer & Barons that they not only admit] 45 46 such trauerses : but also grau[nt] the fermes. Where the case shall re[quire according to the old true course of hi]s lawes 46 47 IT Also his highnes for the auauncemet of the comen wele [of . his Royne and the universal wele and profitt of his] subgiet[s wol that almaner] 47 48 of Marchautz denysens & straungers / clothiers / Artificers [& folkes of almaner of misteries and occupacons do] exercisz & oc[cupy ther fa] 48 49 ctes misteries occupacons craftes & marchaOdises frely qu[ietly & peasibly & without fear of forfeiture by reason] of any [light and] 49 50 untrew iformacon or wroi^ surmyse of Custumiers CompftroUers or serchers or of any jsones calling themself promoters or by re-] jo 51 ason of any statute or ordenaunces made of long tyme past and neuer put in u[se or execucon] till now [of late tyme . And his Grace] 51 52 shall puide for thereform [the reformjacion of the greate extremitie & rigour wherewith his said subgietz haue be grea[ously vexed & troubled in ty-] 52 53 me past so that they shall [ ] mo we frely quietly & suerly without fere of any such wronges herafter occupie th[er faites of march]aundi 53 54 ses cloth making : and all other misteries : and occupacions. C4. HGod save the Kyng 33 PROCLAMATION 23 April 1509 [See p. 17] Plate 4. [Woodcut] [These be the articles fojlowyng the whiche the kynges grace hath [pardojned. c ^^^ [yrste hyghe tre]ason pet[y treason] and all otherman of treason. I [C Mur]de[r] and all [maner of f]elonyes. 5 I C AH gementes execucyons / and outlawryes of and for the same / and thyssues proflfites goodes / and catalles forfayted by reason of the same. 7 #[ All escapes of euery of the same both willfuU and necligent of all prisoners atteynted conuict or otherwyse. ([ All Rebell done insurrecyons / & mesprisons &c. 9 C All Trespasses / Ryottes conspyracyes / forcible / entries / [em]bracyrye / pariurye / maytenaunce and extorcyon. C Myseuse noy[ou]se and vsurpacyon of liber[tes] and fraun[chys]es / and profit taken for the same. 1 1 C All Mysdemeanor / of sheryefz / eschetour[s] / Stewardes / Mayres / Baylyfz / Constables all Justices & Comuners / and all forfaytures / and penaltyes by reason of the same. 13 C For huntyng in forestz parkys and chases orelles where and fellyng of wood in the same. C AH offences tochyng sewars w[ey]ars &c. and all penaltyes / and Jugements for the same. 15 C All paymentes of gold or Bullion &c. to Straungers. C Alienacyons in to Mortmayne without the kynges licence o[r to] eny other to that use. 17 C Intrusyons / and entries in to the Temporaltyes of Archebushoppes / Busshoppes / Abbotes / Priours &c. for thissu es / and profifites of the same / Deodandes / Tresure troue wrek w[ayfes] and [sjtraye 19 t Preminirez and suetes in spirytuall courtes in derogacyon of the kynges Crowne / and penalties for the same. C All Intrusyons / and entryes / and alienacyons withoute the kynges licence / with thyssues & profittes of the same 2 1 C Rauisshemet of wards entryes in[to theyr l]6des & the valour of the mariage of the same wardes beyng maried & mariage of the kynges wedows / and of heyres females withoute licence / and thyssues and profittes for the same. 23 C AH wastes of [londes of heyres within age] and that to the kyng should be long by reason of the same. C Benyuolenses [quindecim]ys subsidyes dymes and aydes. 25 <[ The seasyng [of id]eottes lunatykes / and of thyssues of there Londes. C [Buyyjng and sellyng of allome 27 C Usuryes corrupt bargaynes unlawful makig of cloth ledig for dayes to Straugers cheuysauc' & unlawful exchaii ges & al other forfaytures 'cernig inchautes or mchaudyses by reaso of any statut or otherwise and al penalties of y= same 29 C Forstallyng Regratynge / Usynge of false weyghtes / and Mesures C Concelamentes / and withdrawyng of customes / and subsidyes / and wrongfull entryes of merchaundyses 31 C All dettes and forfaytures by reason of any recognysauces [may]npris Iniunctyons oblygacio to the kyng or to any other to his use made onely for the kepyng of his peace for good aberyng allegeance / and apparaunce. 33 C All maner outlawryes goodes / and catalles issues / and profyttes forfet for the same. C All forfaytures for Misusynge of apparell statute laborers for all unlawfull games. 35 C All unlawful reteynours. C Castyng and lettyng down [of house]s agaynst the statute. 37 C Byldyng of towers and enbaytelyng &c C Fynes and amercyamentes of cytees boroughs and townes. 39 C And ouer al this y" kyng of his most habudaut grace hath pdoned the breche & violacio of [al] statutes restreyntes and ordynauces & al 'depnacios / lugemetes execu[cyon] 3 det[tes] penalties y<= shuld or myght growe by reason of the same. 41 And al thes pmyssez haue [relacyon] to y'^ xxiii. day of ap[ryle : the fyrste yere] of our said souaygii lord kig Hery the viii. C And by the same pardon his grace hath grau[ted that it shall be interpretate] and declared and taken fauorably graci 43 ously and beneficyally to all his subgyettes. 44 Proclamation of 23 April 1509. (See p. 17.) 37 THE CAXTON FRAGMENT 38 Document 35. Recto. I [Vto o hoo. Abl'o ab hoc & ab] hac hole. Et plnraliter n[to hi & hae botes] [Gto ho2f & ha2f hoium. Dto] his hoib[us]. Acto hos & has holes. Vto] 3 r "XT to hie & haec oinis] & hoc oine [C] o hoies. A[bro ab his hoibus.] L .1- ' Gto hui^ oiiiis D]to huic oini. [Actjo hCc & ha[c omem & ho]c ome [Vto o omis & otne Ab]l'o ab hoc & ab hac & ab hoc [oi. Et] pl'r nto 6 [hi & hae omes & haec omia]. Gto ho2|. & ha[2f ] & ho[2f o]mniu [Dto] his oibz [Acto hos oe]s & [has oe]s & o[ia Vto o oes &] oi[a Abl'o] ab his P' I "ertia declinatio nominis est cui^] gtus singul[aris in is] C omnibz 9 L -^ dativus in i ]t desinit. ut hie pater hni[^ patris D]to h[aic patr]i rTV T to hie visus Gto] hui^ visas Dto huic visui. Ac]to hOc vi[s]u L J- ' vto o visus Abr]o ab hoc visu Et pl'r nto hi [vi]sus Gt5 hozj. 12 [visuu. Dto his visib^. Act]o hos visus vto o visus [A]bro ab his vi rTV T to hie auditus Gto] hui^ auditus Dt[o huic au]di C sibus L .*■ ^ tui. Acto hue auditum Vto o audi]tus Abl'o ab hoc [audi]tu Et 15 [Fluraliter nto hi auditus Gt5 ho2|. a]udi[tuii Dt]o his auditib[us Acto] hos [ ] auditus vto [o auditus] Abl'o ab hs au[ditibus] rTV T to haec manus] Gto hui^ manus Dto [huic] manui A[c]to [hac] manii 18 L'^ ' vto o ina]nus Abl'o ab hac manu [Et] pl'r nto he man[us Gt]oharu [manuu D]to his manibus Acto [has] man^ vto o [ma]nus Abl'o r TV T to hoc] cornu Gto hui^ comu Dto huic C ab his manibz 21 L -L ' cornui Act]o hoc com[u Vto o c]omu Abl'o ab hoc comu Et [pl'r] [hsec cornua Gt]o ho2f com[uu Dt]o his comibus Acto hec [cor] [/^uarta declina] C nu[a Vto o] cornua Abl'o ab his comibus. 24 rV-^tio nois est : cui^ Gtus singularis] in us vel in [u . D]atiu^ in . ni [productum desinit.] ut hie vis^ hui^ [vis]^ huic visui rTV T to hie vel hec dies Gto] hui^ diei Dto hu[ic di]ei Acto hue 17 L -^ ^ vel hanc diem Vto o dies Ab]l'o ab hoc vel ab [hac die. Et p]lr [Nto hi vel hae dies Gto hozj. dieZf Dto his] diebz A]cto ho[s vel has dies Vto o dies] r IVT *° ^'^'^ ^^ ^'° '*"'^] '^' ^*'° ^ [Abl'o ab his diebus.] 30 L •'■ ' liuic rei. Acto hac rem Vto o res Abl'o ab hac re. Et plr] [Nto hae res Gto ha2f reZf Dto his reb® Acto has res Vto o res Abl'o] 39 Verso. [ na n^ [ ]er desinit [ ] 3 [Pluraliter Nto] hi duo hse duse & hec [duo Gto ho2f duorum] [ha2f duarum hoZf ] duorum Dto his [duobus duab^ duob^. Acto] [hos duos & has] duas et hec duo vto o duo o [duae & o duo, Abl'o] 6 his d[uobus ab his duabus ab his duobus. Sic usus] Pluralliter n]to hi [tres & hse] tres & hec tria 4L h[et] [Gto h]o2|. & haij. [& ho2j. trium Dto his trib^. Acto hos] 9 T) & has tres ve]l tris & hec t[ria Vto o tres & tria Abl'o ab his trib^] -i lu[ralit]er nto hi & he & hec qtuor [Gto ho2{. & haiif. & ho2f ] quatuor Dto his quatuor Acto hos & h[as & hec quatuor Vto o] 12 /^^Mni[a no]ia numeralia a. C quatuor [Abl'o ab his quatuor] V-/quatu[or] usqj ad centum sut ois |j;eneris pl'is nuei Idecliabilia] BO[n]us melior optimus, b[ona melior optima] bonii melius opti[mum. £t in adverbio bene melius optime] M[alu]s peior pessim[^. Mala peior pessima. Halu peius pessimu] M] E[t] in adverbio [male pei^ pessime] I 1° iVJL [agnu]s maior max[imus] magna maio[r maxima] P [magnum maiu"] maximum & in [adu]erbio magne mai^ maxima aruus [m]inor minim[us Pa]rua minor minima. Paruum min^ 11 TAOctus , doc . C minimu . & in aduerbio parve [minus minime] X-J tior doctissim^ . docta docti[or do]ctissima [Et in] A mo que pars est uer C [a]duerbio d[octe docti^ doctissie] -^ bu . [ q]uare est. verbii. [quia cu m]odis & [formis] [& teporib^ est sig]nificatiuii [agendi. Accidetla sut Genus] Tepus Mo[dus] Species Fig[ura Conjugatio Persona in] Vj nuero . Cui^ [generis Amo ? quare , quia in o desinens potest] [facere trasitione in aliquod ratioale anial unde possit] [fieri couersa locutio i pria uel secuda persona nel salte] 30 [in secuda per assumptioem. Cui^ generis amor.] [ 1 40 c o n s rt w O :ai— > a (y goS S =3 ga S "^ en as s s I o a B H - Co* JTs ch us s-rg|> ■J3' a o " S s o a E-> O u o p "gs '' al) M -i-i _0 -S . o-S 9 S^ 01 « o s :3 -- Ju^'S'f (J V ^ a P a V 2M Si O cfl U 01 .-. "I s o g .2 S S g la? fg--3 a as 5. 3 o H o S :: « « -s 8P^ s » a 1 1^ MS ill ■a =.- a-O g u " s a S-sa|2^-o - 'c '''•S S 3 s I— 1 ui g 8 ^4-^ , . bioS to I' O S »4 O u Of a -<^ §•5 a •3^-g,^ s^a g o js^ja Ell 1- ° S p ■^ i - ^ n o w aa§-^ !^ e ° S l; o u — tri ti 01 m S t4 .is . a-s-s ■" ••3 -B a '3 "^ a 2 u " IS'Q Ul = U (U u ^ou N( e» po -^ ifiVO r*oo ON O I 41 ADDITIONAL NOTES. Page i6, Note i. Nothing except photography is of any avail in identifying these baffling cuts. A cut of the royal arms and angels, similar to Mr Steele's block No. 2, but with four blades to the tuft of grass, is to be found on the title-page of Tie mirroure of goldefor the Synfull soule, printed by Wynkyn de Worde in 1522; but the lines of the angel's robe are quite different. Page 17. Document 32. From the overlapping of one letter it is plain that vire have remains of two copies of the poem. The remains of the first fragment may here be added : [Cut of royal arms.] [Row of florets.] TO...sume ....ede Frome co All thyng Where is b That all lond Certes a kynge lye Page 20. Arms of Julius II. For the transcription of an indulgence in favour of St Katharine's Hospital at Lincoln, with the arms of Julius II in the top right-hand comer, see MS. Add. 3303 (18) in the Cambridge University Library. 42 Page 21. The Caxton Fragment. Compare Shakespeare, Tie Merry Wives of Windsor, Act IV. Scene i. Evans, What is he, William, that does lend articles? William. Articles are borrowed of the pronoun, and be thus declined, Singulariter, nominativo, hie, haec, hoc. Evans. Nominativo, hig, hag, hog; pray you, mark : genitivo, hujus. Well, what is your accusative case? Will. Accusativo, hinc. Evans. I pray you, have your remembrance, child ; accusativo, hung, hang, hog. Quickly. "Hang-hog" is Latin for bacon, I warrant you. Evans. Leave your prabbles, 'oman. — What is the focative case, William? Will. O, — ^vocativo, O. Evans. Remember, William; focative is caret. Quick. And that's a good root. Evans. 'Oman, forbear. Mrs Page. Peace 1 Evans. What is your genitive case plural, William? Will. Genitive case ! Evans. Ay. Will. Genitive, — horum, harum, horum. POSTSCRIPT. The design given in the frontispiece, with slight alterations, is repro- duced in a damask by Mr T. D. Barlow, and is on sale at Messrs Liberty's of Regent Street, London. 43 On Queen Carolines rebuilding the Lodgings of the Black Prince, and Henry V. at Queen's College, Oxford, WHERE bold and graceful soars, secure of fame, The pile, now worthy great Philippa's name, Mark that old ruin, Gothic and uncouth, Where the Black Edward pass'd his beardless youth; And the Fifth Henry, for his first renown, Out-stripp'd each rival in a student's gown. In that coarse age were princes fond to dwell With meagre monks, and haunt the silent cell : Sent from the monarch's to the muse's court, Their meals were frugal, and their sleeps were short; To couch at curfeu-time they thought no scorn. And froze at matins every winter mom ; They read, an early book, the starry frame, And lisped each constellation by its name ; Art after art still dawning to their view. And their mind opening as their stature grew. Yet, whose ripe manhood spread our fame so far. Sages in peace, and demi-gods in war ! Who, stern in fight, made echoing Cressi ring. And, mild in conquest, serv'd his captive king! Who gain'd, at Agincourt, the victor's bays; Nor took himself, but gave good heaven, the praise ! Thy nurselings, ancient dome ! to virtue form'd ; To mercy listening, whilst in fields they storm'd; Fierce to the fierce; and warm th' opprest to save; Through life rever'd, and worship'd in the grave ! In tenfold pride the mouldering roofs shall shine, The stately work of bounteous Caroline ; And blest Philippa, with unenvious eyes. From heaven behold her rival's fabric rise. If still, bright saint, this spot deserves thy care. Incline thee to th' ambitious muse's prayer; O! could'st thou win young William's bloom to grace His mother's walls, and fill thy Edward's place. How would that genius, whose propitious wings Have here twice hover'd o'er the sons of kings. Descend triumphant to his ancient seat. And take in charge a third Plantagenet ! Thomas Tickell (1733). Cambritst t PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY, M.A. AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS f j% 'a;