of reform were very offensive to a lawless nobility; a conspiracy was formed against him, and he was murdered at Perth, in 1437.

The chief poem of James I., as mentioned above, consists of one hundred and ninety-seven stanzas. It contains various particulars of his own life; is full of simplicity and feeling, and, as has been correctly said, is superior to any poetry besides that of Chaucer produced in England before the reign of Elizabeth, as will be testified by the following stanzas.

2 Haste.

3 he gardens of this period seem to have been very small. In Chaucer's Troilus and Cresseide we ad U e same place indifferently called a garden and a yard; and this, at windsor, fast by the Tourn wat, was probably either in the yard or on the terrace.

Frol bly an arbour, though the word is also very frequently used for an herbary, or garden of simpler Living person.

Mrytler imagines that this relates to the pairing of the birds; but the word couple seems here to be 1 d as a musical term.

Come, summer, come! the sweet season and sun!
Awake, for shame! that have your heavens won!!
And amorously lift up your headis all;

Thank Love, that list you to his mercy call!'"

When they this song had sung a little throw,2
They stent3 awhile, and, therewith unafraid
As I beheld, and cast mine eyen a-lowe,

From bough to bough they hipped and they play'd,
And freshly, in their birdis kind, array'd
Their feathers new, and frets them in the sun,
And thanked Love that had their makis won.

And therewith cast I down mine eye again,
Whereas I saw, walking under the Tower
Full secretly, new comyn her to pleyne,7

The fairest, or the freshest younge flower
That ever I saw, methought, before that hour;
For which sudden abate anon astert8

The blood of all my body to my heart.

And though I stood abased tho a lyte,9

No wonder was; for why? my wittis all
Were so o'ercome with pleasance and delight
Only through letting of mine eyen fall,
That suddenly my heart become her thrall
For ever; of free will; for of menáce
There was no token in her sweete face.

And in my head I drew right hastily;
And eft-soones I lent it forth again:
And saw her walk that very womanly,
With no wight mo10 but only women twain.
Then gan I study in myself, and sayr,
"Ah sweet, are ye a worldly créature,
Or heavenly thing in likeness of nature?

"Or are ye god Cupidis own princess,

And comen are to loose me out of band?
Or are ye very Nature the goddess,

That have depainted with your heavenly hand
This garden full of flouris as they stand?
What shall I think, alas! what reverence
Shall I mester" [un] to your excellence?

"Giff 12 ye a goddess be, and that ye like
To do me pain, I may it not astert:
Giff ye be worldly wight, that doth me sike,13

MI. Tytler explains this as follows: "Ye that have attained your highest bliss, by winning your mates."-See the last line of the next stanza.

4 Hopped.

2 A little time.

6 Pecked.

8 Stopped

6 Mates.

13 Make me sigh

This seems to mean complain; but should it not rather be playen, to play or sport!
12 IL.
8 Started back.
11 Administer I

Then a little.

10 More.

About her neck, white as the fyre amaille,
A goodly chain of small orfeverye ;10
Whereby there hung a ruby without fail,
Like to an heart [y-] shapen verily,

That as a spark of lowe," so wantonly
Seemned burning upon her white throat;
Now gif there was good party, God it wote.

And for to walk, that freshe Maye's morrow,
And hook she had upon her tissue white,
That goodlier had not been seen to-forrow,12
As I suppose; and girt she was a lyte ;13
Thus halfling 14 loose for haste, to such delight
It was to see her youth in good lihead,
That, for rudenéss, to speak thereof I dread.

In her was youth, beauty, with humble aport,
Bounty, richess, and womanly feature;
God better wote than my pen can report:
Wisdom, largéss, estate, and cunning sure,
In every point so guided her measure,
In word, in deed, in shape, in countenance,
That Nature might no more her child avance.

1 Plutsed: that is, "If thou art a goddess, I cannot resist thy power; but if only a mortal crea are, God surely cannot lest or incline you to grieve or give pain to a poor creature that loves .su."-Tyller. 8 A sort of precious stone. 4 Shining.

2 Inlaid like fret-work. 5 Spangles. 6 "Made in the form of a love-knot or garland.”—Tytler. "A kind of lily. It is conjectured that the royal poet may here allude covertly to the name of lim mistress, which, in the diminutive, was Janet or Jonet.—Thomson's Edition of King's Quhair. Ayr, 1824. 8 The repetition of this word is apparently a mistake of the original transcriber. Qu. Is this an error for fair email, i. e. enamel ? 11 Fire, flame. 18 A little. 14 Half.

12 Before.

10 Gold-work.

THE name of William Caxton will ever be held in grateful remembrance by the world of letters, for he it was who introduced the art of printing into England. He was born in the county of Kent in the year 1413, and at the age of fifteen was put as an apprentice to a merchant of London. In consideration of his integrity and good behavior, his master bequeathed him a small sum of money as a capital with which to trade. He was soon chosen by the Mercer's Company to be their agent in Holland and Flanders, in which countries he spent about twenty-three years. While there, the new invention of the art of printing2 was everywhere spoken of; and Caxton, at a great

1 "It would, perhaps, be difficult to select even from Chaucer's most finished works a long specimen of descriptive poetry so uniformly elegant as this: indeed some of the verses are so highly finished, that they would not disfigure the compositions of Dryden, Pope, or Gray."—Ellis.

2 It is not a little singular that the history of printing, that art which commemorates all other inventions, and which hands down to posterity every important event, is so enveloped in mystery that the ablest minds in Europe have had long and acrimonious disputations respecting the question to what place and to what person the invention is rightfully due. There is not space here to give even an outline of these controversies; I can merely give the result. The two cities which claim the discovery are Haarlem or Haerlem, a city of North Holland, and Mentz, in Germany on the Rhine. The dispute, however, as Mr. Timperley properly observes, has turned rather on words than facts, arising from the different definitions of the word PRINTING. If the honor is to be awarded from the discovery of the principle, it is unquestionably due to Lawrence Coster, of Haarlem, who first found out the method of impressing characters on paper, by means of blocks of carved wood, about 1430. If movable types be considered the criterion, as it seems to me they must, the merit of the invention is due to John Guttenburg, of Mentz, who used them about 1440: while Schoeffer, in conjunction with Faust, was the first who founded types of metal.

From all the arguments and opinions, therefore, which have been adduced in this important controversy, the following conclusion may be satisfactorily drawn. To JOHN GUTTENBURG, of Mencz, is due the appellation of FATHER OF PRINTING; to PETER SCHOEFFER that of FATHER OF LETTER-FOUNDING; and to JOHN FAUST that of ENERGETIC PATRON, by whose pecuniary aid the wonderful discovery was brought rapidly to perfection

expense of time and labor, and with an industry to which all obstacles will ever give way, made himself complete master of it, as then known. He first employed himself in translating from French into English, The Recuyell1 of the Histories of Troye, which was published at Cologne, 1471, and is the first book ever printed in the English language. The next year Caxton returned to Eng and, and in 1474 put forth The Game of Chess, remarkable as being the first book ever printed in England. It was entitled, The Game and Playe of the Chesse: Translated out of the French, and imprynted by William Caxton. Fynyshed the last day of Marche, the yer of our Lord God, a thousand foure hundred, lrruÿ.

Caxton was a man who united great modesty and simplicity of character to indefatigable industry. He styled himself "simple William Caxton." He. printed, in all, about sixty-four different works, a great number of which he translated as well as printed; and those which he did not translate, he often revised and altered; so that, in point of language, they may be considered as his own. He continued to prepare works for the press to the very close of his life; and though of no brilliancy of talent, he exemplifies, in a remarkable degree, how much good one man may do, of even moderate powers, provided he industriously and faithfully employs all that has been given to him with an eye single to one great object.

Among other works3 printed by Caxton were the Chronicles of England, which contained indeed some true history, but much more of romantic fable. As a specimen of the latter, the following may be given upon the

ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF ALBION.

Before that I will speak of Brute, it shall be shewed how the land of England was first named Albion, and by what encheson3 it was so named.

Of the noble land of Syria, there was a royal king and mighty, and a man of great renown, that was called Dioclesian, that well and worthily him governed and ruled thro' his noble chivalry; so that he conquered all the lands about him; so that almost all the kings of the world to him were attendant. It befel thus that this Dioclesian spoused a gentle damsel that was wonder fair, that was his uncle's daughter, Labana. And she loved him as reason would; so that he had by her thirty-three daughters; of the which the eldest was called Albine. And these damsels, when they came unto age, became so fair that it was wonder. Whereof Dioclesian anon let make a summoning, and commanded by his letters, that all the kings that held of him, should come at a cer tain day, as in his letters were contained, to make a feast royal. At which day, thither they came, and brought with them admirals, princes, and dukes, and noble chivalry. The feast was royally arrayed; and there they lived in joy and mirth enough, that

1 Compilation-selection.

fusion of Useful Knowledge.

2 Read-"Life of Caxton," published by the Society for the D8 For a full list of his works, see Ames's "Typographical Antiquities," or "Timperley's History of Printing," page 155. 4 This Brute was the grandson of Encas and the old chronicles derived the descent of the Britons from the Trojans. 6 Chance