10. The Beggar's Daughter of Bednal Green 11. Fancy and Defire. By the Earl of Oxford 13. Lady Anne Bothwell's Lament. A Scottish Song 14. The Murder of the King of Scotts 16. The K.of Scots and And. Browne. By Elderton 17. The Bonny Earl of Murray. A Scottish Song 18. Young Waters. A Scottish Song BOOK THE THIRD. Effay on the Metre of Pierce Plowman's Vifions 1. The Complaint of Conscience 4. The Lye. By Sir Walter Raleigh* 5. Verfes (viz. two Sonnets) by K. James I. 6. K. John and the Abbot of Canterbury 7. You I meaner Beauties. By Sir H. Wotton 9. Sir John Suckling's Campaigne to. To Althea from Prison. By Col. Lovelace 11. The Downfall of Charing-Cross 18. The Distracted Puritan. Mad Song the Second 19. The Lunatic Lover. Mad Song the third 20. The Lady distracted with Love. Mad Song the 24. The Braes of Yarrow. In imitation of the ancient Scottish Manner. By W. Hamilton Lord Thomas and Fair Annet, fee in Vol. 3. p. 240. Though fome make flight of LIBELS, yet you may fee by them how the wind fits: As take a straw and throw it up into the air, you may see by that which way the wind is, which you fhall not do by cafting up a ftone. More folid things do not fhew the complexion of the times fo well as BALLADS and Libels. SELDEN'S TABLE-TALK. 1 RELIQUES 66 I. RICHARD OF ALMAIGNE, "A ballad made by one of the adherents to Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, foon after the battle of Lewes, "which was fought May 14, 1264,” affords a curious fpecimen of ancient Satire, and fews that the liberty, affumed by the good people of this realm, of VOL. II. B abyfingTM abufing their kings and princes at pleasure, is a privilege of very long ftanding. To render this antique libel intelligible, the reader is to understand that just before the battle of Lewes which proved fo fatal to the interefts of Henry III. the barons had offered his brother Richard King of the Romans 30,000l. to procure a peace upon fuch terms, as would have divested Henry of all his regal power, and therefore the treaty proved abortive. The confequences of that battle are well known: the king, prince Edward his fon, his brother Richard, and many of his friends fell into the hands of their enemies : while two great barons of the king's party, John earl of Warren, and Hugh Bigot the king's Jufticiary, had been glad to escape into France. In the ft ftanza the aforefaid fum of THIRTY THOU SAND pounds is alluded to, but with the ufual mifreprefentation of party malevolence, is afferted to have been the exorbitant demand of the king's brother. With regard to the 2d ft. the Reader is to note that Richard, along with the earldom of Cornwall, had the honours of WALINGFORD and Eyre confirmed to him on his marriage with Sanchia daughter of the Count of Provence, in 1243. WINDSOR caftle was the chief fortress belonging to the king, and had been garrisoned by foreigners: a circumstance, which furnishes out the burthen of each stanza. The 3d ft. very humorously alludes to fome little fact, which history hath not condefcended to record. Earl Richard poffeffed fome large WATER-MILLS near Iftleworth, which had been plundered and burnt by the Londoners: in these perhaps by way of defence he had lodged a party of sola diers. The 4th ft. is of obvious interpretation: Richard, who had been elected king of the Romans in 1256, and had afterwards gone over to take poffeffion of his dignity, was in the year 1259 about to return into England, when the barons railed a popular clamour, that he was bringing with him foreigners to over-run the kingdom; upon which he was forced |