John Gower.-Friendship between him and Chaucer.-Origin and Family of Gower

disputed by Historians.-Doubtful whether he ever became a Judge, or not.—

Conclusions drawn from his wearing the Collar of SS.-His adherence to

Thomas of Woodstock.-Supposed to be the First Crowned Poet in England.—

The Chaplet he wore adduced as a proof.-Fuller's angry Observations on this

point.-Gower's Works.-The 'Confessio Amantis,' or Lover's Confession, de-

scribed.--Gower acknowledged to have been, with Chaucer, the Father or Restorer

of English Poetry.-As a Poet highly moral.-Chaucer's Lines to him.-Spe-

cimen of Gower's style.-His Death.-Description of his Tomb in St. Marie

Overies
p. 53

CHAPTER IV.

Court of Henry VIII.-All Halloween.-Hawking.-Skelton.-Revels at Hampton

Court.-Wolsey.-Henry.-Will Sommers.-Anne Boleyn.-Wyatt; the risk he

ran.-His Passion for Anne Boleyn.-Wyatt a Poet of Social Life; Warton's

Opinion of him. His Retirement at Allington Castle.-Wyatt's Love Poetry

introduces him to Surrey

CHAPTER V.

p. 67

Court Festivities in the time of Henry VIII.; Ladies introduced into them.-Earl of

Surrey; his Birth; his Early Training, and Residence at Windsor. - Henry

Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond.—The Friendship of Richmond and Surrey.—They

Study together at Christ Church.-Death of the Duke of Richmond.-- Surrey's

passion for the Fair Geraldine.—Sketch of her Life. He marries; Falls into

disgrace with Henry.—His Death.-Extracts from his Poems.-Contempora-

ries of Surrey, George Boleyn, Lord Rochford, Sir Francis Bryan, and Lord

Vaux

CHAPTER VI.

p. 85

Mary Tudor; her Sadness and Obstinacy.-Henry's Brutality.-Intends at one time

putting her to Death.-John Heywood, the only Person who could make her

smile. His Life and Poems.-Sackville; his Mirrour of Magistrates.'-Spenser ;

his Early Life and Struggles.-Anecdote of Sir Philip Sidney of Burleigh.

-Spenser retires to the North of England.-Falls in Love.-His Friendship

for Gabriel Harvey and Ralegh.-His Misfortunes in Ireland.-Last Days and

Death.-Spenser's Works

CHAPTER VII.

P. 103

England distinguished for Literature in the time of James I.-Lillie the Grammarian

his Euphues. Sir Philip Sidney, called 'The Darling of his Time;' his

;

'Arcadia' and other Poems.-Horace Walpole's Opinion of Sidney.-Anecdote

of his reading the Faery Queen.'-Sir Walter Ralegh; his Works.-Abraham

Cowley'; his Life, Character, and Writings; his Opinion of the Faery Queen.'—

Pope's Tribute to him.-Other Writers.-Denham's Verses.-Anecdote of Dr.

Donne and James I.

p. 135

CHAPTER VIII.

Origin of Newspapers.-The various Places of Resort for Newsmongers in the Days of

the Stuarts.-Whitehall, Chelsea, Paul's Cross, the Exchange, Westminster Hall.

-Nathaniel Butter; his Office.-Ben Jonson's 'Staple of News.'-Newsletters;

how transmitted.-' Parlour Window Miscellanies.'-Sir Thomas Overbury's

'Characters.'-His Life.-The Story of his Poisoning.-His Death.-Extracts

from his Works

CHAPTER IX.

p. 157

Masques; their Popularity during James the First's reign.-Anecdote of Shakespeare

and Davenant.-Ben Jonson; his Unpopularity as a Dramatist.-Success of his

Masques. His 'Hymenei' and 'Masque of Queens' performed before the Court.

-The English Stage owes the Classical Drama to Jonson.-Quarrels of Jonson

and Inigo Jones.-Shakespeare and Jonson.-The Club in the Devil Tavern.—

The Tone of Literature in the Time of Elizabeth and Charles II.

CHAPTER X.

p. 187

Samuel Butler, son of an obscure Farmer; his Acquaintance with John Selden.—

Selden's Birth and Parentage.-His Learning.-His Liberality to Poor Scholars.

-Butler is appointed Secretary to Sir Samuel Luke.-May-day in the Olden

Time.-The Character of Sir Hudibras disputed.-Butler receives a Present from

the King. Latter part of his Career obscure.-His Death.-His Monument in

Westminster Abbey.-Extracts from Hudibras.-Dr. Johnson's opinion of that

Poem.

CHAPTER XI.

p. 205

The Letter Writers and Diary Writers of the Seventeenth Century.-Howell.-

Pepys; his Birth and Education.-His Diary found at Cambridge.-The Scenes

and Characters introduced by him.-Sir John Suckling.—Sir William Davenant;

Pepys' Account of his Funeral.—Davenant's Poem on the Death of Shakespeare.—

Scenic Decoration due to him.-Sir John and Lady Denham.-Death of Lady

Denham.-Denham's Poems.-Lord Roscommon; his Life and Works; anecdote

of his Generous Conduct.-His Marriage.-The Purity of his Verses.-Pope's

Lines on him

p. 227

State of the Times at the Accession of Charles II.-Favourable to Light Literature.—

Quotations from Pepys.-De Grammont at the Coronation of Charles II.-The

Earl of Rochester.-Some Anecdotes of him.-His Poem upon Nothing.'-His

Lines on Sir Car Scroop.-Sir Car's answer.-Rochester's Death.-Sir Charles

Sedley.-Etherege.-De Grammont.-St. Evremond's Epitaph on him.-The

Court at Whitehall.-The Plague.-Conduct of Pepys and of Evelyn at that

crisis.-Effects of the Plague on Light Literature

CHAPTER XIII.

p. 265

John Evelyn. The obligations we owe to him and Pepys as Diarists.-Evelyn's

lighter Works.—Tyrannus, or the Mode;' extracts from that Work.-Scarcity of

Books.-Evelyn's Strictures upon the Deficiencies of Public Libraries. The

Golden Book of St. Chrysostom' and his various other Works.-Cowley's Picture

of Evelyn at Wotton.-Marriage of the Duke of Monmouth and Lady Sunderland.

—John Dryden; his Parentage.-The Character of his Relatives.-His Ode to

Cromwell.-The Commencement of his Career

p. 285

PRELIMINARY CHAPTER.

SOCIAL LIFE.

OF WARTON.

WARTON'S OBSERVATION ON THE INTEREST ATTACHED TO THE PROGRESS OF IT APPLIES MORE CLOSELY TO OUR AGE THAN TO THAT THE LITERATURE OF SOCIETY DATES MOST DISTINCTLY FROM THE PERIOD SUCCEEDING THE WARS OF THE ROSES. ORIGIN OF ROMANTIC FICTION. IT PASSES FROM AFRICA INTO SPAIN AND BASSE BRETAGNE. CONNEXION OF BRETAGNE WITH WALES AND CORNWALL. SIMILARITY OF DIALECT. SCARCITY OF BOOKS. THE ATTENTION PAID THEREFORE TO MINSTRELS BY THE HIGHER CLASSES. THEIR PRIVI

THE ANECDOTE OF HIS CAPTIVITY.-THE

ROMANCE FOUNDED ON HIS NAME AND EXPLOITS.

WRITTEN BY ROBERT DE

BRUNNE.-EXTRACT FROM THAT POEM.

VOL. I.

B