thread-bare, but ever appeared in exchange, and variety of new manner of punishments.

A very pleasing episode occurs in the detail of the crimes of Andronicus, in the history and retirement of the patriarch Theodorus, to which full justice is done by the pen of Fuller.

"During this raging cruelty of Andronicus, wee may commend, in Theodorus the patriark, rather his successe, than policie, (his simple goodnesse being incapable of the later) who seasonably withdrew himselfe from Constantinople, to a private place he had provided in the isle of Terebynthus: here hee had built him an handsome house, equally distant from envy and contempt, bravery and basnesse, so that if security and sweetnesse had a minde to dwell together, they could not have found a fitter place for that purpose. Severall reasons moved him to his speedy removall, besides the avoiding the fury of Andronicus. First, because Basilius undermined him at the court in his patriarkship, Theodorus being absent thence, when present there; bearing only the name and blame, when the other had the power and profit thereof.

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Secondly, to avoid the sight of people, conceiving every eye which did behold, did accuse him, as a principall cause of their miseryes, for helping Andronicus to the empire, in whom Theodorus had been strangely mistook, as the best men are soonest deceived with the painted piety, and pensive looks of hypocrites, counting all gold that shines, all sooth, that is said; betraid by their owne charitie into a good opinion of others. Lastly, it grieved him to see ignorance and impiety so rampant, base hands committing dayly rapes on the virgin muses; so that they might now even ring out the bell, for dying learning, and sadly toll the knell for gasping religion. Wherefore as divines solemnly observe, to goe off of the bench just before the sentence of condemnation is pronounced upon the malefactor; so this patriark, perceiving the city of Constantinople, cast, by her owne guiltinesse, and by the confession of her crying sinnes against her self; thought it not fit for him to stay there, till Divine Justice should passe a finall fatall doome upon the place, (which he every minute expected) but embraced this private opportunity of departure.

"Soon after his retiring, he ended his life; we neede not enquire into his disease, if we consider his age, accounting now fourescore and foure winters. And well might his yeares be reckoned by winters, as wanting both springs, and summers of prosperity, living in constant affliction. And yet the last foure yeares, made more wounds in his heart, then all the former plow'd wrinkles in his face. He dyed not guilty of any wealth, who long before had made the poore his heires, and his owne hands, his executors. After hearty prayers, that religion might shine when he was set, falling into a pious meditation; hee went out as a lampe, for lack of oyle: no warning groane was sighed forth to take his last farewell, but even he smiled himselfe into a corps; enough to confute those, that they bely death, who call her grim and grizely; which in him seemed lovely and of a good com

plexion. The few servants hee left, proportioned the funerall, rather to their masters estate, than deserts, supplying in their sorrow, the want of spices and balme, which surely must bee so much the more pretious, as the teares of men are to bee preferr'd before gums, which are but the weeping of trees."

The young widow of Alexius, Anne, was, shortly after her husband's death, wooed and wedded by the aged Andronicus: Fuller draws a parallel between this Anne and her who, under similar circumstances, married Richard Duke of Gloucester. Her second match was not more happy than her first: she divided the affections of Andronicus with Maraptica, his mistress, and "half an old husband," says Fuller, "was too much for a young bride to share." Her history is thus sketched by the historian.

'Daughter shee was to the king of France, being married a childe (having little list to love, and lesse, to aspire) to the young emperour Alexius, whilst both their yeares, put together, could not spell thirty. After this, shee had time too much, to bemoane, but none at al, to amend, her condition, being slighted and neglected by her husband. Oft-times being alone (as sorrow loves no witnesse) having roome, and leisure to bewaile herselfe, shee would relate the chronicle of her unhappinesse to the walls, as hoping to finde pitie from stones, when men prov'd unkind unto her. Much did shee envie the felicity of those milk-maids, which each morning passe over the virgin-dew, and pearled grasse, sweetly singing by day, and soundly sleeping at night, who had the priviledge freely to bestow their affections, and wed them, which were high in love, though low in condition: whereas, royall birth had denyed her that happinesse, having neither liberty to chuse, nor leave to refuse; being compell'd to love, and sacrificed to the politique ends of her potent parents."

Put

Andronicus was harassed by a prophecy which had been made before him, as to his successor, by an old conjuror whom he had engaged to look into futurity. The indications were, however, very dubious," because," says Fuller, "it stands not with the prince of darkness to be over-clear in his acts, and those that vend bad wares love to keep blind shops." First a great S. appeared at the bottom of a basin of water, and then an I. these two letters together, S.I., and read them backwards, I. S., by the figure Hysterosis; and taking a part for the whole by a Synecdoche, and then Andronicus was told he had the name of his successor. "For," says our author, "all favourable figures must be used to piece out the Devil's short skill in future contingents. Ask not me," he adds, "why hell's alphabet must be read backwards: let Satan give an account of his own cozenage, whether out of an apish imitation of the Hebrew, which is read retrograde, or because that ugly, filthy serpent crawls cancer-like." Andronicus, by this I. S., understood Isaurus Comnenus; and

perceived, when it was too late, that Isaacius Angelus was the right person. Thus, writes Fuller, "those that are correspondents with the Devil for such intelligence have need, when they have received the text of his answers, to borrow his comment too.' When Andronicus was driven from Constantinople by the revolt of the people, under Isaacius Angelus, he put to sea; but being compelled by a storm to return, he was seized and thrown into a prison. Two heavy chains were put about his neck, in metal and weight" different from them he wore before;" and, laden with insults and fetters, he was brought into the presence of Isaacius. Here he was treated with every species of indignity and cruelty; his beard was twitched out, the hair which remained to him pulled up by the roots, his teeth dashed out, one of his eyes extinguished, and his right hand cut off. Thus bruised and maimed, he was thrust into the public prison among thieves and robbers.

"All these were but the beginning of evill unto him. Some dayes after, with a shaved head crowned with garlick, he was set on a scab'd cammell, with his face backwards, holding the taile thereof for a bridle, and was led cleane through the city. All the cruelties which he in two yeares and upwards, had committed upon severall persons, were now abbreviated and epitomised on him, in as large a character, as the shortnesse of the time would give leave, and the subject it selfe was capable of: they burnt him with torches and fire-brands, tortur'd him with pincers, threw abundance of dirt upon him; and withall, such filthinesse, that the reader woulde stop his nose, if I should tell him the composition thereof; it is enough to say, that the worst thing that comes from man, was the best in the mixture thereof.

"After multitudes of other cruelties, tedious to us to rehearse, (and how painfull then to him to endure!) hee was hanged by the heeles betwixt two pillars: in this posture, hee put the stump of his right arme, whose wound bleeded afresh, to his mouth, so to quench (as some suppose) the extremity of his thirst, with his owne bloud, having no other moysture allowed him. When one ranne a sword thorough his back and belly, so that his very entralls were seen, and seemed to call (though in vaine) on the bowells of the spectators, to have some compassion upon him. At last, with much adoe, his soul (which had so many doores opened for it) found a passage out of his body, into another world."

Drexelius, in his book on Eternity, considers that, by this short but intense period of suffering, Andronicus purchased immortal happiness. "But doth not so strong a charity," asks Fuller, argue a weak judgment? Although," says he, "the arm of his body was cut off, the hand of his faith might hold. Still, all that I wish to add is this, that if Andronicus's soul went to heaven, it is a pity that any should know of it, lest they be encouraged to imitate the wicked premises of his life, hoping by his example to obtain the same happy conclusion after death."

We shall conclude our extracts and our article together, with the historian's "true and particular" account "of the person, character, manner, and fate," with which he also concludes his biographical sketch of "the unfortunate Politician."

"I. His stature.-Hee was higher then the ordinary sort of men. He was seven full feet in length (if there be no mistake in the difference of the measure). And whereas, often the cock-loft is empty, in those which nature hath built many stories high; his head was sufficiently stored with all abilities.

"II. His temper.-Of a most healthfull constitution; of a lively colour, and vigorous limbes, so that he was used to say, that he could endure the violence of any disease for a twelvemonth together by his sole naturall strength, without being beholding to art, or any assistance of physick.

"III. His learning.-Hee had a quicke apprehension, and solid judgement, and was able on any emergent occasion, to speake rationally on any controversie in divinity. Hee would not abide to heare any fundamentall point of religion brought into question; insomuch, that when once two bishops began to contend about the meaning of that noted place, My Father is greater than I am, Andronicus suspecting that they would fall foule upon the Arrian heresie, vowed to throw them both into the river, except they would bee quiet, a way to quench the hottest disputation, by an in-artificiall answer, drawne from such authoritie.

"IV. His wives.-First, Theodora Comnenia, daughter of Isaacius Sebasto Crator, his nearest kinswoman; so that the marriage was most incestuous.

"The second, Anna, daughter to the king of France: of whom, largely before.

"V. His lawful issue, both by his first wife.-John Comnenius, his eldest sonne. It seemes hee was much deformed, and his soule, as cruell, as his body, ugly. He assisted Hagio Christophorita-Stephanus in the stifling of Xene.

"Manuel, his second sonne, of a most vertuous disposition. Let those, that undertake the ensuing history, shew how both had their eyes bored out by Isaacius.

"VI. His natural issue.-I meet with none of their names, and though he lived wantonly with many harlots, and concubines: yet (what a Father observeth) πολυγαμια ποιεῖ ἀτεκνίαν, Many wives make few children. And it may be imputed to the providence of nature, that monsters (such as Andronicus) in this particular, are happy that they are barren.

"VII. His buriall.-By publicke edict it was prohibited that any should bury his body; however, some were found, who bestowed, though not a solemne grave, yet an obscure hole upon him, not out of pitty to him, but out of love to themselves; except any will say, that his corps, by extraordinary stinch, provided its owne buriall, to avoyd a generall annoyance."

Vita illustrissima ac piissimæ Domina Magdalena Montis-Acuti in Anglia Vice-Comitissa. Scripta per Richardum Smitheum, Lincolniensem, Sacræ Theologia Doctorem, qui illi erat a sacris Confessionibus: Ad Eduvardum Farnesium Cardinalem et Anglia Protectorem. Proverb. 3. Superiorum per

Mulier timens Dominum ipsa laudabitur. Roma, apud Jacobum Mascardum, 1609.

missu.

So insatiable was the literary curiosity of Anthony à Wood, and so favourable were the circumstances in which he was placed for the gratification of it, that when we meet with a book of English biography, of which he says that he had never seen it', we may at least congratulate ourselves on the acquisition of a rarity. But independently of Wood's admission, we have other reasons to think that the book of which the title is now announced is to be classed amongst the libri rariores. It was unknown to Dodd, the Catholic historian. We will not venture to say that it is "inter libros rariores rarissimus:" but one of the most indefatigable and sagacious of modern book-collectors, after inquiring for it in England and on the continent in vain, caused a transcript to be made of the copy in the Vatican, and on that transcript it is that our present review of the work is founded.

We venture to think, however, that this work has superior claims upon public attention. As to its general character, it is the "livelie portraiture" of a lady of high rank, born in the reign of Henry VIII., nurtured in the court of Queen Mary, and living through the reign of Elizabeth, and a part of that of her successor, still adhering to the catholic faith, and making an open profession of it. Though the life of an individual, it may be regarded as presenting us with a view of the situation in which a very interesting class of persons was placed, the families of high rank, who, in the early Protestant reigns, continued in a conscientious adherence to the forms of the Catholic church. Such is its general character. We find in it also agreeable traits of the manners of the times, and a few anecdotes of considerable persons of the age, not perhaps elsewhere recorded.

The writer, we may apprise the reader, was the same Richard Smith who in the early part of the reign of Charles I. appeared in England with the title of Bishop of Chalcedon; having been commissioned by the Pope to exercise episcopal jurisdiction in England over the Catholics. Wood says, that "the chief stage

1 Athenæ Oxon. vol. ii. fol. 115. Edit. 1692.