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itable words, whether forgotten them. The rest of ve-song or a hymn. his portraits are of Elizaat once a born singer bethans whose names are summate artist." familiar to us all-Drayton er of Bullen's dis- and Daniel, Chapman and Dekis William Bullein, ker. For Drayton, Bullen has, ekin he was, and of course, a kindly feeling. He s in duty bound, he was not merely an Elizabethan ; pack to the knowledge he was also a poet, and a WarLike Campion, Bullein wickshire man. He knew the etor, and, unlike Cam- country round about Stratford practised his craft, and as well as Bullen knew it, and atises about it. The he was filled with the patriotent of Health' is ism which became his time and s works, and far less place. None has celebrated lace, in title at any more eloquently than he the 'Bulleyn's Bulwarke glory of England. For him ce against all Sick- St Crispin's Day is as gallant eness, and Woundes an occasion as it is for Shakedaily assault Man- speare. And Bullen, with his But his masterpiece, sure judgment, picks out for by Bullen with many his approval the familiar epistles 5, is entitled 'A Dia- which Drayton wrote to his pleasaunte and pitie- friends, which recall the ease ein is a goodly regi- of Horace and foreshadow the inst the fever Pesti- elegance of Pope. How shall we na consolacion and ever forget the tribute he pays, gainst death. Newly in his epistle to Henry Reynolds, by William Bullein, to Christopher Marlowe :— thereof' (1564). The dialogue, or rather a alogues, and it opens don citizen's house. s as clear and sonorsense of drama is The north-country le citizen and his doctor, speak, one heir own authentic

And Bullen cites h of it to make us he whole work were sible in a fair reprint. and Bullein were brilliant recoveries. t them back from a world which had V.-NO. MOCCIV.

"Marlowe, bathed in the Thespian springs,

Had in him those brave translunary things

That the first Poets had; his raptures

were

All air and fire, which made his verses clear;

For that fine madness still he did retain

Which rightly should possess a Poet's brain?"

Drayton fell out of fashion. Pope dismissed him scornfully and ungratefully, since he had surely read his epistles, as "a mediocre poet"; and Horace Walpole, when Mason offered him a portrait of Dray

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As Mr Masefield once said, you have added a name to the "He talked of Elizabethan roll of English poets, and one books and people much as that can never be overlooked. though they were alive in the Certainly his long-neglected streets outside, like the time ghost ought now to be rejoic come back." For him the time ing in Elysium." If Campion's had not come back: it was ghost rejoiced, Bullen characalways there; and by a natural teristically uttered a note of sympathy he lived where the warning. He presently foresaw Elizabethans themselves would that Campion, lately recovered, have (and had) been at home. It was Stratford which sheltered him, in the heart of Shakespeare's own country; and Bullen had not far to go if he would encounter the

of Shakespeare and Drayton and other unforgotten worthies of Warwickshire. And when he visited London, infrequently, it was natural that he should take up his abode in Southwark, which might remind him at once of Chaucer's pilgrims and of Shakespeare's theatre. Nor was there the slightest suspicion of pose in this choice of abode. Bullen was incapable of pose or affectation, and he visited Southwark not as a curious tourist, indulging a whim, but as a true Elizabethan, who could not be asked to care for a London which had grown up after his time.

He writes of the Elizabethans out of the fulness of knowledge and sympathy. Thomas Campion, one of the poets celebrated in this admirable book, he brought back from oblivion. "I must congratulate you as cordially as I thank you," wrote Swinburne to Bullen when he had completed his discovery. "In issuing this first edition of Campion's works,

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'now ran the risk of uncritical adulation," and he thought it right that he, his only begetter, should thus moderate the enthusiasm of his readers. Moderation is, indeed, the mark of all Bullen's criticism. He was too sound a scholar, he knew too well the drudgery of mak ing a fair text, to lose himself in a mist of vague admiration. He gathers together the few facts that can be found of Campion's life and character, and then lets him speak for himself. He was a physician; he wrote a volume of Latin verse, a treatise on versification, in which he condemns the practise of rhyming, which he had always followed, and an essay on counterpoint. For the rest, says Bullen, he "tells in one of his epigrams that he was lean, and that he envied fat men; he tells us, too, the names of a few of his friends." Though his fame stood high in his own time, "his poetry was quickly forgotten, being hidden away in music-books that nobody opened." Thus writes Bullen, and he praises especially Campion's sureness of touch and variety. "Whatever he essayed," so he brings his chapter to an end, "he did well: he always found the

e-song or a hymn. once a born singer ummate artist."

cable words, whether forgotten them. The rest of his portraits are of Elizabethans whose names are familiar to us all-Drayton and Daniel, Chapman and Dekker. For Drayton, Bullen has, of course, a kindly feeling. He was not merely an Elizabethan ; he was also a poet, and a Warwickshire man. He knew the country round about Stratford as well as Bullen knew it, and he was filled with the patriotism which became his time and place. None has celebrated more eloquently than he the glory of England. For him St Crispin's Day is as gallant an occasion as it is for Shakespeare. And Bullen, with his sure judgment, picks out for his approval the familiar epistles which Drayton wrote to his friends, which recall the ease of Horace and foreshadow the elegance of Pope. How shall we ever forget the tribute he pays, in his epistle to Henry Reynolds, to Christopher Marlowe :—

of Bullen's disis William Bullein, kin he was, and in duty bound, he ck to the knowledge ike Campion, Bullein or, and, unlike Camactised his craft, and ises about it. The t of Health is works, and far less ce, in title at any Bulleyn's Bulwarke o against all Sickness, and Woundes daily assault Manut his masterpiece, y Bullen with many is entitled 'A Diapleasaunte and pitien is a goodly reginst the fever Pestia consolacion and ainst death. Newly by William Bullein, hereof' (1564). The ialogue, or rather a logues, and it opens on citizen's house. as clear and sonorsense of drama is le north-country › citizen and his loctor, speak, one eir own authentic And Bullen cites of it to make us e whole work were ible in a fair reprint. and Bullein were brilliant recoveries. them back from a world which had .-NO. MOCCIV.

"Marlowe, bathed in the Thespian springs,

Had in him those brave translunary things

That the first Poets had; his raptures

were

All air and fire, which made his verses clear;

For that fine madness still he did retain

Which rightly should possess a Poet's brain?"

Drayton fell out of fashion. Pope dismissed him scornfully and ungratefully, since he had surely read his epistles, as "a mediocre poet"; and Horace Walpole, when Mason offered him a portrait of Dray

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ton for five guineas, said that Learning's praise will live as he did not think "all Drayton long as Learning is respected." ever wrote worth five guineas." But much as Bullen likes Daniel, Nor, as Bullen admits, is he to it is Dekker who is nearest to the taste of to-day. If he is his mind and heart. And this known at all, it is by his ballad preference is easily intelligible. of Agincourt and by his famous Dekker was a true Elizabethan, sonnet : "Since ther's no helpe, who could turn his hand to come let us kiss and part.' anything. Prose or poetry, The reason may be," says Bullen, "that the world grows older and life more sombre; the gospel of Science is spreading, the revels of Oberon have long been broken up, and not the Sicily of Theocritus is more remote from us than the London of Shakespeare." Yet Bullen was Drayton's faithful follower to the end; he at least held his memory dear, and has amply repaid the debt he owes him by a delicate appreciation.

Bullen, indeed, had a deft hand at the lapidary style. He knew how to explain, in a few lines, the virtues of the poets whom he chose for his own and criticised. Admirable is his summing up of the qual

ities which make Samuel Daniel memorable. "Few men," said Bullen, "ever cultivated literature with the frank wholehearted devotion of Samuel Daniel-literature for its own sake, and not for what it may bring of advantage or reward. He was impressed by the dignity of his high calling; he knew that a perfect poem outlives the downfall of dynasties, and he longed to be numbered with those who have spoken things worthy of Apollo. His 'Civil Wars' and his Senecan tragedies may be forgotten, but his eloquent poems in

satires, were all compass, and he a living with his pen as a soldier of fortune fights with his sword. If he were unfortunate, he could bear his sufferings like a man, and, as Bullen says, "by no poet and no divine has the worth of patience been so touchingly described as in this thricenoble utterance of Dekker :

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Patience, my lord: why, 'tis the soul of peace:

Of all the virtues 'tis nearest kin to heaven,

It makes men look like gods. The best

of men

That e'er wore earth about him was a

sufferer,

A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranThe first true gentleman that ever quil spirit,

breathed.'"

Thus Bullen, with a well-balanced judgment, defines the qualities and the limitations of Dekker. He is not blind to his faults, and he would not have him other than he was. With the sympathy which comes of understanding, he has composed the best portrait of him that we know. But in portraiture, as in criticism, Bullen never fails us, and wherever you turn in his book you will find either a luminous judgment or a piece of genuine discovery.

INDEX TO VOL. CCXV.

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Fox, The Journal of the Hon. Henry
Edward,' notice of, 583-a famous
prig, 585-his contempt for men of
letters, 586-his worship of Napoleon,

589.

Franchise folly of 1917-18, the, 283
et seq.-its immediate result: acces-
sion of Mr Ramsay MacDonald and
his friends to office, 286.
French Elections, the, 882.
FROM THE OUTPOSTS :-

THE JUJU Rock, 266.

THE KHAN'S TREASURE, 105.
FROM TWO POINTS OF VIEW: Part I.-
His Friend's Wife, Chaps. I.-IX.,
369. Part II.-His Friend's Cousin,
Chaps. I.-VI., 468; Chaps. VII.-
XIV., 660.

FULANAIN: THE HARVEST OF ABU
SABA', 342.

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