gery. He was alfo fitted for the more folid and laborious parts of literature. He tranflated the second and fourth books of Virgil's Eneid into blank verfe; the firft inftance of that kind in the language;† a noble attempt to break the bondage of rhyme. On the whole, Warton pronounces that for his juftnefs of thought, correctness of ftyle, and purity of expreffion, he may be pronounced the firft English claffical poet. § He was beheaded by the cruel tyranny of Hen. VIII. under pretence of treason, 19 Jan. 154,

6

SIR THOMAS WYAT.

"Sir Thomas Wiat of Allington Castle, in "Kent; a perfon of great efteem and reputa"tion in the reign of King Henry the 8th, with "whom for his honefty and fingular parts, he

was in high favour; which nevertheless he "had like to have loft about the bufinefs of "Anne Bullein, had not his prudence brought "him fafely off. For his tranflation of David's pfalms into english metre, and other poetical writings, Leland forbears not to compare him

26

66

*Warton ut fupra, p. 19. † Ibid. p. 21. Ibid. p. 24. § Ibid. p. 27.

66 [0

66

to Dante and Petrarch. Being fent Embaffador "from King Henry to the Emperor Charles "the fifth, then in Spain; he died of the pef"tilence in the weft country, before he could "take fhipping, an. 1541."

Warton fays, he is confeffedly inferior to Surrey in harmony of numbers, perfpicuity of expreffion, and facility of phrafeology. Nor is he equal to Surrey in elegance of fentiment, in nature and fenfibility. The truth is, his genius was of the moral and didactic fpecies: and his poems abound more in good fenfe, fatire, and observations on life, than in pathos, or imagination. He may juftly be esteemed the first polished English satirift.+ Wood and Warton affert, that being fent to conduct the Emperor's ambaffador from Falmouth to London, from too eager and a needlefs defire of executing his commiffion with dispatch and punctuality, he caught a fever by riding in an hot day, and in his return died on the road at Shirburn, æt. 38. He left iffue by Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Brooke, Lord Cobham, the unfortunate Sir Thomas Wyat, who was beheaded in the reign of Q. Mary for an infurrection in Kent.

*Warton, p. 29. † Ibid. p. 38. Athenæ, f. 60.

GEORGE

GEORGE BOLEYN,

VISCOUNT ROCHFORD.

"George Bullen, Lord Rochford, Brother "to Queen Anne, 2d wife to K. Henry the "8th, among other things hath the fame of

being the author of Songs and Sonnets, "which doubtlefs wanted not the applaufe of "thofe times."

To the poems of Surry and Wyat, in the Edition of Tottel, in 1557, in quarto, are annexed those of uncertain authors. This latter collection forms the first printed poetical mifcellany in the English language. Many of these pieces are much in the manner of Surry and Wyat, which was the fashion of the times. They are all anonymous; but probably SIR FRANCIS BRYAN, GEORGE BOLEYN, VISCOUNT ROCHFORD, and LORD VAUX, all profeffed rhymers and fonnet writers, were large contributors.*

The hiftory of this accomplished young no

* Warton, III. p. 41.

bleman

bleman, who was fufpected of a criminal familiarity with his unfortunate fifter, the Queen, is well known. He was cruelly facrificed to the jealousy and fickleness of the bloody Henry, by being beheaded on Tower-hill, 17 May 1536.* His poems are now loft, unless fuch as may be contained in the above mentioned collection, which cannot now be diftinguished from the reft.

LORD VA U X.

"Nicholas Lord Vaux, a poetical writer << among the nobility, in the reign of King "Henry the 8th; whose commendation, faith "the author of the Art of English Poefy, lyeth "chiefly in the facility of his metre, and the "aptnefs of his defcriptions, fuch as he takes દ upon him to make, namely in fundry of his fongs, wherein he fheweth the counterfeit "action very lively and pleasantly."

The name of NICHOLAS, Warton has proved to be a mistake. LORD VAUX the poet, muft

* See Wood's Athenæ, I. 44. Walpole's R. and N. authors; and Warton ut fupra.

have been LORD THOMAS, (the fon of Lord Nicholas) who was fummoned to parliament in 1531, and feems to have lived till the latter end of the reign of Queen Mary. Two poems in the collection abovementioned are known to have been written by Lord Vaux: " A dyttie or fonnet made by the Lord Vaus, in the time of the noble Queen Mary reprefenting the image of Death." This is what is vulgarly faid to have been written on his death-bed, and is reprinted in Percy's Ballads, and Anderson's Collection of Poets. The other is "The Affault of Cupid, upon the fort, in which the lover's heart lay wounded." This is also reprinted by Anderfon. Great numbers of Vaux's poems are extant in the " Paradise of Dainty Devifes;" another collection published in 1578, in quarto.

There was another favourite poet of the fame period generally claffed with Lord Rochford, and Lord Vaux, but not mentioned by Phillips. This was SIR FRANCIS BRYAN, Wyat's particular friend. He was born of a good family, educated at Oxford, employed in feveral honourable embaffies during the reign of Hen. the VIII, and gentleman of the Privy Chamber to that king. He was Captain of the Light