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C.

CHARLES BEST.

ONE of the contributors to Davison's "Poetical Rhapsody;" beyond which nothing is known to the editor concerning him.

CI.

ANONYMOUS

WROTE "The Lamentation of a lost Sinner," included in the Old Version of Psalms.

CII.

ANTHONY FLETCHER.

THE poem annexed to this author's name is derived from a prose volume entitled "Certaine very proper and most profitable Similies, wherein sundrie, and very many most foule vices and dangerous sinnes of all sorts are so plainly laid open, and displaied in their kindes, and so pointed out with the finger of God, in his sacred and holy Scriptures, to signifie his wrath and indignation belonging vnto them, that the Christian reader being seasoned with the Spirit of grace, and hauing God before his eies, will be very fearful, euen in loue that he beareth to God, to pollute and to defile his hart, his mind, his mouth or hands, with any such forbidden things. And also manie very notable vertues, with their due commendations, so liuely and truly expressed, according to the holy word, that the godly reader, being of a Christian inclination, will be mightily inflamed with a loue vnto them. Collected by Anthonie Fletcher, minister of the word of God, in vnfained loue in the Lord Jesu, to do the best, and all that he can, to pleasure and to profite all those that desire to know the Lord's waies, and to walke in the same." This work was published in 1595.

CIII.

ROBERT HOLLAND.

ROBERT HOLLAND, "Master of Arts, and Minister of the church of Prendergast," wrote "The holie Historie of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's natiuitie, life, acts, miracles, death, passion, resurrection, and ascension." This work, from which the extract is derived, was first published in 1594. It was dedicated "To the Right Worshipfull Mistress Anne Phillips, of Picton."

CIV.

H. C.

H. C. wrote "The Forrest of Fancy. Wherein is conteined very pretty apothegmes and pleasant histories both in meeter and prose," etc. This was published in 1579, and is chiefly of a secular character. Who H. C. was, is not known. Warton considers the initials as appertaining to Henry Constable; but, as Sir Egerton Brydges observes, this perhaps proceeded from the difficulty of finding another coeval claimant, as there is nothing in the style which assimilates it to the poetical productions which that author published about fifteen years afterwards.

CV.

THOMAS STERNHOLD.

STERNHOLD was groom of the robes to Henry the Eighth an office which he retained in the court of Edward the Sixth. Braithwait says that he obtained his situation by his poetical talents; and he appears, indeed, to have had a reputation about the court not only for his poetry, but also for his piety. As is well known, Sternhold was one of the principal contributors to the Old Version of the Psalms of David. It is generally believed that he composed fifty

one; but this is an error. Sternhold died in 1549, in which year thirty-seven, and not fifty-one, were first published by Day under the title of "Psalmes of Dauid, drawen into English Metre by Thomas Sternholde." In 1551, another edition was published, with seven added from the pen of John Hopkins; and seven more were added in 1556 by William Whittingham, then an exile at Geneva. The remaining Psalms were versified by different individuals, and they were first printed all together at the end of the Book of Common Prayer, in 1562, under the title of "The whole Book of Psalmes, collected into English Metre, by T. Sternhold, J. Hopkins, and others. Set forth and allowed to be sung in all Churches before and after Morning and Evening Prayer, and also before and after Sermons." In the early editions of "The whole Book of Psalmes" Sternhold's initials are affixed to the first and twentysecond inclusive, and to the 25th, 26th, 28th, 32d, 34th, 41st, 43rd, 44th, 63rd, 68th, 73rd, 103rd, 120th, 123rd, and 128th: in the whole thirty-seven, the number published.

CVI.

W. P.

THE fragment annexed to these initials is derived from scraps (preserved in some volumes of ballads in the British Museum) of a work entitled "Medivs: Psalmes in fourer parts which may be song to all musicall instrumentes, set forth for the encrease of vertue and abolishying of other vayne and triflying ballads. Imprinted at London by John Day, 1563. The other two or three fragments preserved are from the Old Version of Psalms, except a prayer in prose. The whole is set to music.

CVII.

JOHN HOPKINS.

NEARLY all that is known of Hopkins, beyond the fact of his being the principal contributor to the Old Version of Psalms, and the occurrence of his name subscribed to some Latin stanzas prefixed to Foxe's Martyrology, is, that he was a clergyman and schoolmaster of Suffolk, and "perhaps a graduate at Oxford," about the year 1544. Although Hopkins at first only published seven of the Psalms, and those anonymously; yet he subsequently translated fiftyeight, as indicated by his initials prefixed. Hopkins, moreover, was the ostensible editor of the collected Psalms of the Old Version, when first published in 1562.

CVIII.

THOMAS NORTON.

NORTON was born in Bedfordshire, and became a barrister-at-law, and a poet of considerable reputation among his contemporaries. Next to Hopkins he was the largest contributor towards completing the Old Version: but some few now ascribed to him were written by John Mardley.

CIX.

WILLIAM WHITTINGHAM.

THIS learned puritanical divine was educated at Oxford, after which he went abroad, and studied in some of the German universities. Subsequently he became minister of an English congregation at Geneva; but after the accession of Queen Elizabeth he returned to England, and was appointed Dean of Durham. While at Geneva, he took an active part in the translation of that version of the Scriptures known as the Geneva Bible; and also rendered those Psalms into metre which are distinguished in the Old Version by his initials, and some others, which are only to be found in the earliest editions.

CX.

WILLIAM KETHE.

LITTLE is known of Kethe beyond the fact that he was one of those who left England to avoid persecution during the reign of Queen Mary, and that he resided at Geneva, where he composed those Psalms in the Old Version to which his initials are affixed. Warton and Strype call him a native of Scotland: he appears however to have been an Englishman. Kethe likewise contributed to the Scottish Version; arising, apparently, from the fact, that Hopkins rejected many of his translations, as he did many others.

CXI.

ROBERT WISDOM.

ROBERT WISDOM was a clergyman of the Church of England and archdeacon of Ely. He appears to have been not only a champion of the Reformation, but a firm vindicator of the Book of Common Prayer against the puritans. Like many other clergymen, Wisdom took refuge at Geneva during the reign of Queen Mary. Strype says, that "besides other books, Wisdom penned a very godly and fruitful exposition upon certain Psalms of David; of which he translated some into English metre: there is one of them, and I think no more, still remaining in our ordinary singing Psalms-namely, the hundred twenty-fifth." The initials of Wisdom are affixed in the early editions of the Old Version to this Psalm only; but there is a hymn of his preserved at the end of the singing Psalms in our old Bibles and Psalters, which will be found in these pages.

JELIZ. FOFTS.]

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