July, 1581. He was one of the learned men whom Archbishop Parker retained in his family; and at the time of that Prelate's death, in 1575, was his secretary. He wrote a latin narrative of the Norfolk insurrection under Kett, which is dedicated to Archbishop Parker, and was printed in 1575. To this he added a latin account of Norwich, printed the same year, called Norvicus, the plates of which were executed by Lyne and Hogenberg, the Archbishop's domestic engravers, in 1574. He published the Cambridge verses on the death of Sir Philip Sidney, which he dedicated to Lord Leicester in 1587. He was the author of another latin work, Apologia ad Wallic proceres, London, 1576. He projected, but probably never completed, a translation of Livy, in 1577. He died October 4th, 1614."

An article in the Kentish Register, for January, 1795, signed Ant. A-r-, furnishes us with the following paragraph:

"His brother, the Dean, seems to have survived him only until the 14th of May following, and they were both buried in an ancient Chauntry in the Cathedral of Canterbury, which had been founded in 1447, by Lady Joan Brenchley, and having fallen into decay, was repaired and beautified by the Dean, as a burial place for his family. In it a marble monument was placed by him to the memory of his father, mother, and uncle; and another to himself and his brother. 1787 when the cathedral was newly paved, it was thought proper to remove this small chapel, as a blemish to the outside appearance of the venerable structure to which it was attached. At the time it was said that the rich and beautiful moruments in it, would be moved

In

with care, and replaced with the utmost fidelity, in some more convenient spot. But they were, (as the lovers of the ancient arts saw with great concern,) little regarded when pulled down; but moved among other rubbish from place to place, untill they were nearly destroyed, when by the earnest exertions of a respectable character lately deceased, (Mr. John Hayward), then a resident of Canterbury, but formerly a Surgeon at Ash, and an ingenious Antiquarian,) the mutilated relics of the figures of the Dean and his brother, were placed in the chapel of the Virgin Mary."*.

The translation by Neville occurs in a volume of which the following is the title - Seneca, his ten tragedies translated into English. Imprinted at London, in Fleet-street, near unto Saint Dunstan's Church, by Thomas Marsh, 1581, 4to." The translations were made by different hands, and at different times..

Neville seems to have been a learned man and an elegant writer of the latin language; many complimentary addresses from his pen, are to be found in the various publications of the day, and he bore his part in the volume published by the university to which he belonged, on the death of Sir Philip Sidney. As a writer of English poetry, little need be said, what he printed was the exercise of a boy, and as such, has

This elegant and beautiful chapel, is on the east side of the Martyrdom, and now commonly called the Dean's Chapel, several of them having been buried there. On the remains of the Neville monument, the effigy of the Dean is the most perfect; he is kneeling at a reading desk, in his habit; that of Alexander is in the same posture, in armour. The inscription. which is placed between the two figures, remains entire, but, as the monument was probably erected in their lives's time, the blanks left for the dates, have not been filled up. Beneath is, the family motto-" NE VILE VELIS."

merit. The following short specimen will perhaps suffice.

Nothing alas remains at all in wonted old estate,

But all are turned topset down, quite void and desolate ;
The fainting horse for sudden pain his back from burden tats,
And after on his master's breast his lifeless limbs he squats,
Who cries for help, but all in vain; the beasts in field that

bide

Unkept, unknowen ways and paths do range and overstride;
The bull for lack of food and meat in field all fainting lies,
And all his flock dispersed quite, the sely shepherd dies.
The herdsman eke among his beasts his fatal breath expires,
And to the heavens with piteous cries commends his last desires.
The harts without all fear of wolves, do live in wretched peace,
The rage and wrathful roaring sounds of ramping lions cease;
The vengeful wild outrageous bears are now as tame as sheep;
The ugly serpent that was wont in rocky dens to keep,

Oft quaffing poisoned venom sups in inward heat she boils,
And all inflamed and scorched, in vain for longer life she toils;
The woods are not adorned now with fresh and lively hue,
The wonted shades are gone. All things are quite out of their

cue.

No greenish grass on ground doth grow, the earth no moisture soups,

The vine withouten any sap his drowsy head down droops. What shall I say? all things alas! are writhen out of course, And as it seem to me are like to fare still worse and worse.

This is part of the chorus at the end of the first act, which gives minute particulars of the misery arising from the wrath of the gods.

SIR PHILIP SIDNEY.

BORN 1554.-DIED 1586.

Thy SIDNEY, CANTIUM !-He, from court retired,
In Penshurst's sweet Elysium sung delight,
Sung transport to the soft responding stream
Of Medway-and enlivened all her groves.

66

(SMART.)

"The life of Sir Philip Sidney" says Mr. Campbell, was poetry put into action." "As his heart was all virtue," says Miss Porter, so his soul was all poetry: poetical thoughts burst and bloom even in his gravest prose." Yet, strange to say, his poems have never been admitted into any collection, and are in a great measure unknown to the poetical reader. The truth is, that it has been a fashion for more than two hundred years, to praise Sir Philip Sidney, and in praising him, language itself has been exhausted. Much of this adulation has passed current from one author to another, without any examination of its merits, or the foundations upon which it was at first erected. It is certainly proper to approach this idol of his country with respect; but, if we desire to do justice to his character, we must endeavour to divest our minds of prejudice; to forget all that has been written of him; and to form our opinions solely from what he himself has written.

Sir Philip Sidney was the eldest son of Sir Henry Sidney, and of Mary, eldest daughter of John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, and, what is of more

consequence to the reader of his life to remember, nephew to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester.

He was

born at Penshurst in Kent, his father's residence, November the 29th, 1554.

The family of Sidney is of French extraction, and cannot be traced, in this country, higher than the reign of Henry the second, to whom William de Sidney was Chamberlain.

The grandfather of our hero, Sir William de Sidney, was one of the Commanders at the battle of Flodden, and was made a Knight Banneret in consequence.He was Chamberlain and Steward of the Household to Henry the Eighth..

Sir Henry Sidney, his father, the only surviving son of Sir William de Sidney, was, from his earliest infancy, the companion and bosom friend of King Edward the Sixth; who knighted him, selected him as his representative at the court of France, and afterwards promoted him to several appointments near his person. During the succeeding reign, he conducted himself with so much prudence, as not only to obtain honour and promotion, but also most effectually to serve the obnoxious family to which he was allied by marriage. By Queen Mary, he was first appointed: Vice-Treasurer, and afterwards Governor General of the Revenue, and Lord Justice of Ireland. He was so much in favour with the Queen, as to obtain the especial honour of giving to his eldest son the name of the haughty Spanish monarch, to whom she was united.. Upon the accession of Queen Elizabeth, all his honours and employments were confirmed to him. He was, in addition, made Lord President of Wales, and a Knight