The MUSES RECREATION,
WIT
RESTORED,
AND
WITS RECREATIONS.
>/■<■ '//,- <'<„
Musarum Delicise :
or,
The Muses Recreation.
conteining severall pieces of poetique
wit.
By Sr. J. M. and Ja: S. 1656.
Wit Restor'd,
'in severall select poems, not formerly
publish't. 1658.
Wits Recreations,
selected from the finest fancies of
moderne muses.
with a thousand
out-landish proverbs. 1640.
The whole diligently compared with the
Originals; with all the Wood
Engravings, Plates, Memoirs, and
Notes.
New Edition.
With additional Notes, Indexes, and a
portrait of Sir John Mennis, K*-.
In two Volumes.
Vol. I.
London:
JOHN CAMDEN HOTTEN,
PICCADILLY.
I
ADVERTISEMENT.
OF the poets of the Restoration there are
none whose
works are more rare than those of Sir John Mennis,
and Dr.
James Smith. The small volume entitled
"Musarum Delicice or the Muses
Recreations" which
contains the productions of these two friends, was
not
accessible to Mr. Freeman when he compiled his " Kentish
Poets;"
and has since become so rare that it is now only to
be found in the
cabinets of the curious.*
A reprint (limited to 150 copies) of the
"Musarum
Delicice" together with several kindred pieces of the
same
period, appeared in 1817, forming two volumes of
Facetke,
edited by Mr. E. Dubois, author of " The Wreath"
&c.,
and these volumes have in turn become exceedingly scarce,
f
The publisher has therefore ventured to
put forth the
present New Edition, in which it will be found that,
while
nothing has been omitted, great pains have been taken to
render it
more complete and elegant than any that has yet
appeared. The type, plates,
and woodcuts of the originals
have been accurately followed, and the notes of
the editor
of 1817 considerably augmented. Indexes have also been
added,
together with a portrait of Sir John Mennis from a
painting by Vandyke in
Lord Clarendon's collection.
This small volume, a l2mo of 101 pages,
realized £2 13s. at the
sale of the Rev. T. Corser's library by
Messrs. Sotheby and Co. in
J87o, and has since fetched ^3
10s.
1 A copy was recently catalogued at £$
5s.
b
PREFACE
. The EDITION OF 1817.
TheSE Facetiae, or drolleries•,
having been committed
to the care of the present editor by the
publishers,
who were desirous of a limited reprint of them for the
con-
venience and satisfaction of the curious in such rarities of
" th'
olden time," it now becomes his duty more minutely to
explain the nature of
the undertaking.
It is here proposed to form two volumes
of three distinct
publications ; Musarum Delicle ; Wit Restor'd ;
and
Wit's Recreations. The first and second are given entire,
as they
appear in editions 1656 and 1658. The third, Wifs
Recreations, is
reprinted after the collation of four editions,
1640-41-54 and 63, for
the purpose of bringing together in
one body all the various articles spread
throughout, and not
to be found in any one edition. For instance, there
are
many pieces in ed. 1640 that are not in 1641, many in 1641
not in
1640, and many in 1640 and 1641 not in 1654, and
vice versa. The edit.
1663* is a reprint of 1654, with a
^ There are, as the editor reads in the
Censura Literaria, two later
editions, one of 1667 and the other of 1683, but
he has been unable to
b2
viii
Preface.
small addition towards the end, from
"On a patched up J
Madam" to " The farewell to love and to
his mistresse" |
inclusive. The first edition, 1640, contains neither the
3
plates,* nor the Fane es and Fa?itasticks, nor the lines "
ad' 1
Lector em."
|
The titles to the e books are replete
with delightful \
promise. Musariwi Delicice is potently
attractive ; Wifs J
meet with them. A MS. note remarks that
the frontispiece in edit. I
1667 is retouched, and AzrshalFs name
erased. It is to be observed J
that the date at the end of ed. 1654 is
1667.
J
* This statement was made on the
authority of several copies of the 1
date 1640, when the editor accidentally
met Mr. P. Bliss, of St. John's, I
Oxford, to whom he is obliged for the
information, that the copy 1640, |
in the Bodleian, has a
f-ontispiece, which differs from the one here J
engraved in the
following particulars. The two compartments on the ;]
right (as it is viewed)
of the plate 1640, represent, the one above, a bee*' ,'j
hive and a swarm,
with the words "non nobis" inscribed on it; and |
the lower one,
"windy musick," such as a bag-pipe, flute, trumpet, &c. .j
On the
opposite page is an explanation in twelve verses, where, instead j
of the
couplet:
I
'* This foole, that knave,
stands here to th5 view of others, J
" To shew that in the book th'ave many
brothers,"
I
are introduced, or rather there stood
originally, these four lines I
explanatory: ,
|
*' These patnefull Bees, presented to
thy vietv,
j
" Shewes th' Author works not for
himselfe, but you.
.1
" The windy musick, that salutes thine
eye,
I
<l Bespeakes thine eare,
thy judgement standing by.n
j
The title on the table in the middle runs
thus :
J
"Witts Recreations, selected from the
finest fancies of moderns
I
Muses. Hith a Thousand out-Landish
Proverbs."
I
These Proverbs, a copy in the
valuable collection of Mr. James
I
Perry has, with his kind permission,
supplied.
*
I
Preface.
ix
Recreations exceedingly
fascinating: and Wit Restored is
enough to make one jump for joy. The
reader really " stupet
in Titulis." Yet is it to be feared that what
was said of
Sulpicia's, often but too truly describes our
author's
<<--------:-------DELiCIAS,
FACETIASQUE.
" Cujus Carmina qui bene
cestimarit,
" Nullam dixerit esse nequiorem"
It is confessed that there are pieces,
which display some
very poetical and harmonious numbers, and it may also
be
affirmed that there is no want of wit and pleasantry, but the
lack of
grace and bimseance is superabundant; for which it
may be doubted
whether by any, except the black-letter
tribe, Sir William Padfs
excuse will be received :
««------------------l
dare assure 'em,
" Though't be contra modestiam,
'tis not contra naturem."
Mus. Del. p. 69.
No apology is necessary to those .for
whom this publica-
tion is almost exclusively intended, as the editor
has
frequently remarked that very grave collectors can smile
with infinite
complacency on impurities in an old book, no
particle of which would for an
instant be endured by them
*n a new one. This love and reverence for the
antique
mother is not however peculiar to them, as it is not rarely
seen
in classical old gentlemen of much piety and worth,
who, though
they would frown the utterer of an English
double entendre into dust,
will chuckle at and enjoy a
quotation from Juvenal, or Horace, or certain
Latin
ePigrams, which, if translated and delivered in societies,
by
X
Preface.
no means puritanical, would speedily send
the speaker on j
his travels by the nearest outlet, door or
window.
1
The wits of other days were remarkably
facetious and
happy in the formation of title-pages; like signs at a
fair,
they are often the best part of the exhibition; and there
\
you may stop if you please—
" Lemmata si quceris cur sint
adscripta, docebo :
" Ul, si maluerisy lemmata sola
legas."
To the title and frontispiece of a copy
of " Witts Recrea- \
tions, 1641," is suffixed this couplet in
MS.
" Take my advice, no further
look,
"This only page is worth the book;"
which seems to have been borrowed from
some other title-
page, probably more worthy of it. But as these titles
are
such important matters, it will be just not to defraud the
reader of
the variety of the editions of Wits Recreations.
Edit.
1641.
" Wits Recreations. Containing
630
Epigrams.
160 Epitaphs.
I
Fancies
and^
Fantasticks
Good for melancholly humours.
Mart.
Non cuique datur habere nasunt.
London, Printed by Thomas Cotes, for
Humphry
Blunden at the Castle in Corn-hill. 1641."
Preface.
xi
Edit 1654.
* Recreation for ingenious
Head-peeces* Or a Pleasant
Grove for their Wits to walk in.
/Epigrams
70a
J Epitaphs 200.
] Fancies, a number.
vFantasticks,
abundance.
With their addition, multiplication, and division.
Mart. Non
cuique datur habere nasum.
London, Printed by M. Simmons, in
Aldersgate-Street,
1654."
At the end we have the date " 1667."
Edit.
1663 differs from the last in nothing but the date,
and " S.w for
M, Simmons. The date 1663 is repeated after
Finis.
Wit*s Recreations being a mass oijeux
d? esprit, written
and collected at various periods, it would be idle to
attempt
to speak of the authors; but the editor has given some
account of
Sir John Mennis and Dr. James Smith, which,
as their names respect the
Musarum Delias and Wit Re-
stor'dh will, it is
hoped, at this hour of the day, be found
reasonably satisfactory.
Notes might be written, as they
have been in better cases,
to a surfeit, supplying a gloss to obsolete terms,
explaining
allusions, and pointing out borrowers, who have exercised
ail
the freedom of Englishmen, perfectly uncontaminated
^ith their honesty.* This
would here however be " in tenui
This literary freebooting has always
obtained, but it undoubtedly
appears in a very uncommon point of view, when
we find some of
Xll
Preface.
labor" and very pmall the glory.
Still, as a specimen, f
which maybe agreeable to those, who make researches
in to* J
such trifles, for there are "yet some, who praise
-a note
li More than the verse, on
which the Critic wrote,"*
a
few illustrative comments shall be offered.
Remembering the fatal consequence of
scouring the 1
Connoisseur's Roman Vase, the editor has not presumed
I
to brush off any of the sacred dust from these volumes.
Here is the
ancient metal with all its precious cerugo—the
spelling and what not
being carefully preserved, and sent:
forth, according to the edition printed
from, with rarely a.
single imperfection removed to warrant the gentlest sigh
of
«doting lamentation.
" Carbine. The very mutilations of
this piece are worth all
the most perfect performances of modern
artists.
Baron be Groningen. Upon my honour, *tis
a very,
fine bust; but where is de nose ?
our most approved Irish Bulls in
the asreia of HiEROCLES, the platonic
philosopher! Take, for a
sample, the first in his collection, which
shall be given in his own words,
as it can have no claim to novelty in
any other shape.
2^;oXa«rrt/iros Ko\vfiftq.v
^ovXoj^eyos irapa piKpov eirpiyt}. Qjj,o<T€p ovv
ja7) a^affOai vdaros,
ecw firj irpuirov fiaBy Ko\vfif3q,p.
* Lord Byron's Thoughts suggested by a
College Examination*
1807.
Preface.
xiii
Novice. The nose ; what care I for the
nose ? Where is
de nose ? Why, sir, if it had a nose, I would not give
six-
pence for it—How the devil should we distinguish the works
of the
ancients, if they were perfect7" Foote's Taste, act ii.
This is the inscription, which these
authors ought to have
placed over their threshold :
Si quis tam ambitiose tristis est, ut
apud ilium in nulla
pagina Latine loqui sat est, potest Titulo contentus
esse.
Epigrammata illis scribuntur, qui. solent spectare Florales,
Non
intret Cato theatrum nostrum.
Mart. Epist. ad Lector
em.
January, 1817,
CONTENTS.
The MUSES RECREATION.
PAGE
Advertisement................ v
The Preface................. vii
Memoirs of Sir John Mennis / . . . . . .
. . . . 3
Memoirs of Dr. James
Smith........... 10
To Parson Weeks, an invitation to
London...... 19
To a friend upon a journey to Epsam
Well...... 21
To a friend upon his Marriage ." . . . .
. . ... 26
In answer to certaine Letters which he
received from London
whilst he was engaged to follow the
Camp..... 28
In answer to this last, or some such like
Letter..... 30
Description of three'Beauties . . . . ...
. . * • 32
A journey into France............ .
. 35
Hankins Heigh-ho . .
............ 41
Some Gentlemen shut out of their seats in
Pauls while they
went to drink . . . .
,'.'.",".''...... 43
Upon a lame tired Horse .
........... 44
Upon a Surfeit caught by drinking bad
Sack at the George
Tavern in Southwark . '1 . . . . .
. . ... 46
The Lowse's
Peregrination............
48
King Oberon's Apparell . . . .
......... 49
A Poet's farewell to his thred bare
Cloak....... 52
Upon a Fart unluckily
let............ 55
A young Man courting an old Widow *-.;;■«
# . . ^ . 57
Upon Chesse-play. To Dr. Bidden. * .
. .- .... 59
The loose Wooer . . . . ... . ..
# , . , V .
63
Upon the biting of|Fleas . . . .- .- . .
. .' . . . 64
Up°ri Madam Chevereuze swimmjng over the
Thames . 66
Upon Aglaura in
folio............. 68
uPon Lute-strings
Cat-eaten........... 69
xvi
Contents.
PAGE
To a Lady vexed with a Jealous
Husband...... 72
Invitation to
dalliance.............
75
The Countreymans Song in the " Spanish
Curate " . . -75
Upon the sight of an old decay'd patched Bed, with a
Pillow
having T.R. as a marke on
it......... 76
A letter to Sir John Mennis when the
Parliament denied
the King Money to pay the Army,
&c....... 80
The Fart censured in the Parliament
House..... 82
The Farts
Epitaph..............
88
Will Bagnalls
Ballet.............
88
Dr. Smiths Ballet......
........ 91
Upon Sir John Sucklings most warlike
preparations for
the Scotish
Warre.............
96
The old Cloaks reply to the Poets
Farewell..... 98
Partus Chaucheri posthumus Gulielmi
Nelson .... 99
Upon the same............... 101
Imitatio Chauceri altera, in
Eundem........ 102
The
Nightingale...............
104
Epitaph on Mistrisse Mary
Prideaux........ 105
Upon Drinking in the Crown of a
Hat....... 106
An Epitaph upon Doctor Prideauxs
Son....... 107
On his Mistrisse having the Green
sicknesse ..... 108
Upon the naked Bedlams, and spotted Beasts
we see in
Covent Garden.............. 109
To Sir John Mennis on a rich prize which
he took on the
Seas................. 112
A Defiance to K.A. and his round Table.
Incipit J.A. . . 114
WIT RESTOR'D.
Mr. Smith to Captain Mennis, then
commanding a Troop
of Horse in the North, against the Scots
. . . . . 119
The same, to the
same............. i2r
The same, to the
same............. 123
The same, to the
same............. 126
The same, to the
same............. 128
The same, to the
same............. 130
Contents.
xvii
PAGE
The same, to the
same............. 132
The Gallants of the Times, supposed to be
made by Mr.
William Murrey of His Majesties Bed
Chamber . . 134
The Answer, by Mr. Peter
Apsley......... 136
The Bursse of Reformation .
.......... 138
The Answer................ 142
On S.W.S. and
L.P.............. 145
The Tytre-Tues, or A Mock Songe to the
Tune of Chive-
Chase. By Mr. George Chambers....... 147
A Northern
Ballet.............. 148
By Mr. Richard
Barnslay............ 151
Ad Johannuelem
Leporem............ 153
BagnalFs Ballet, supplied of what was
left out in Musarum
Delicias................ 157
Mr. Smith, to Sir John Mennis, upon the
surrender of
Conway Castle.............. 161
An Answer to a Letter from Sr. John
Mennis, wherein he
jeeres him for falling so quickly into the use of
the
Directory................ 164
Mr. Smith's taking a
Purge........... 166
The Miller and the King's Daughter, by
Mr. Smith . . . 169
Mr. Smith, to Tom Pollard, and Mr. Mering
... . . 172
Upon John Felton's hanging in Chaines at
Portsmouth . 173
To Felton in the
Tower............ 174
To the Duke of
Buckingham........... 175
To the same................ 176
The Lawyer................ 176
The Clients Transcription of the same
Copy, having ex-
perienced the contrary........... 177
The reverend Canvase . ......... . *.
. 177
A non sequitur. by Dr. Corbett........*.
. 17^
On Oxford Schollers going to Woodstock to
hear Dr.
Corbet preach before the
King........ 186
Horat. 34. Carm. od. 10. ad.
Ligurinum....... 181
To his Mistris . . .
............. 182
UPon a Cobler............'
\ * " Y{2
On the death of the Lord Treasurer ......
. .183
The lover's Melancholy .... . . . . . .
. 183
xviii Contents.
\
PAGE* '!|
The answer, by Dr. Stroad .
.......... 184
J
A Blush.................. 185 I
To his
Mistris................ 186
1
On Christ-church windowe, and Magdalen
Colledge wall . 186
j
An Elegie................. 191 I
In Imitation of Sir Philip Sydnie's
Encomium of Mopsa . 194
j
A Scholler that sold his
Cussion......... 195
j
On the death of Cut.
Cobler........... 196
j
A letter to Ben.
Johnson............ 196
.J
On a young Lady and h r
Knight......... 198
On a Welch-man's devo
ion........... 199
- On a Maid's
Legge.............. 199
,«
To his Sister................ 200 i
On the death of Hobson the
Cambridge-Carrier .... 200
Another on the
same............. 201
Another.................. 202 j
Fr. Clark, Porter of St. Johns, to the
President .... 203
|
An Epitaph................. 203 J
A Wife.................. 204 1
The constant
man.............. 204
j
To his Mistris .
............... 205
1
Swearing................. 206 1
On a good Legg and
Foot........... 206
J
Vpon the view of his Misstresse face in a
Glasse .... 208
I
On Bond the
Userer............. 208
1
To the Duke of
Buckingham.......... 209
1
The Gentlemans verses before he Killed
him selfe . . . 210
I
A Song in commendation of
Musicke....... 211
i
A Dialogue betwixt Cupid and a
Country-Swaine . . . 212
1
Sighes.................. 214 1
Weomen.................. 216 j
On a
dissembler...............
216 1
To a Friend........"......... 217 1
A Poeticall Poem, by Mr, Stephen Locket
to Mistrisse
|
Bess Sarney........ . ....... 218 1
Thanks for a
welcome............. 220
I
To Phillis................. 221 I
Women.................. 223 1
Contents.
xix
J>AGE
The World.................222
On his absent
Mistresse............ 224
The Constant
Lover............. 225
The Irish
Beggar.............. 226
Answer.................. 228
A Question................. 229
The Reply ................. 230
The Mock-Song.............. . 231
The Moderatrix............... 233
A discourse between a Poet and a
Painter...... 234
To B. R. for her Bracelets .
.......... 237
On Tom Holland and Nell Cotton . . . . .
. . . . 239
A Welchman................ 239
A Woman that scratcht her
Husband........ 239
A Mistris................. 240
One fighting with his wife
............ 240
Ambition................. 241
Upon a
Gardiner............... 241
On his first
Love................ 242
To his Mistris
................ 243
To his letter................ 244
An Epitaph upon Hurry the
Taylor........ 246
Scylla
toothlesse...............
246
A Vicar.................. 246
On a ribband................ 247
To a Gentlewoman desiring a copie of
Verses..... 248
On Dr. Corbett's
Marriage........... 248
Mart: Epigr. 59 lib :
5............. 252
In Richardum quendam, Divitem,
Avarum...... 253
In Thomam quendam
Catharum......... 253
Epilc-gus Incerti Authoris
........... 254
The Innovation of Penelope and Vlysses,
Title .... 255
The Epistle
Dedicatory............ 257
dedicatory Verses—
^^^^^^^0lthJFxiendJ'S......259
......261
-r , ~
o— -~ "*"
kjkhw.^......
262
J-tennis to his deare Friend Mr. J.
S.....".263
To his Precious Friend J.
S.....
26l
Philip Massenger to his Sonne
xx
Contents.
PAGE
Dedicatory Verses
(continued)—-
The Author to the
Author.......... 264
The Author to
himselfe........... 267
The Preface to Penelope and
Vlysses....... 269
The Innovation of Vlysses and Penelope .
. ... . 273
The Black-Smith.............. 278
A prologue to the Mayor of
Quinborough...... 284
A Song.................. 285
The drunken
Lover.............. 287
To the tune of The beginning of the
World..... 290
An old Song................ 293
The Sowgelder's Song in the
Beggers-Bush..... 294
A Song.................. 295
Phillada flouts
me.............. 298
The Milk-maids............... 3or
The old Ballet of shepheard
Tom......... 302
Obsequies................. 305
Of a Taylor and a
Lowse............ 307
The old Ballad of Little Musgrave and the
Lady Barnard 308
The Scots arrears ............ .
. 313
Rebellis
Scotus............... 316
The Rebell
Scot............... 317
MEMOIRS
OF
SIR JOHN MENNIS,
AND
DR. JAMES SMITH,
VOL. I.
B
MEMOIRS OF SIR JOHN MENNIS.
The slight memoirs, which we have to
present of Sir
John Mennis, (as the name is properly spelt) are
collected
from Anthony Wood ; with such additions as our
best researches could
supply.
"John Mennes, the third son of Andrew
Mennes, Esq. ; (by Jane,
his second wife, daughter oijokn
Blenchendon*', Esq.;) son of Matthew
Mennes, was born in the parish of S.
Peter, in Sandwich, in Kent, on
the nth of May, 1598, and was educated in
grammar learning in the
free-school there. In the 17th year of his age, or
thereabouts, he
became a Com. of Corp. Ch. Coll. where continuing for some
years did
advance himself much in several sorts of learning, especially in
humanity "7
and poetry, and something in history. Afterwards he became a
great!
traveller, a most noted seaman, and as well skilled in marine afiairs,
I
in building of ships, and all belonging thereunto, as any man in his
|
time. In the reign of King James I. he had a place in the
Navy-office,"*"
* Blenchendm is the spelling, and not
Blenchend<?n, as Wood writes
it. The Blenchendens are an ancient family of
Monkton, in the Isle of
Thanet; but we believe that this John Blenchenden was
of Aldington,
m Kent, who married his cousin Frances, daughter of Thomas
Blench-
enden, Esq., of Monkton, widow of Thomas Epps, of New
Romney,
Kent, and widow and relict of Nich. Robinson. So says the
monu-
ment of this "modest gentlewoman," who had issue by each of
her
husbands. She died Dec. 25, 1611, wanting only twenty-eight days
of
forty-eight years : and what may perhaps be thought a little oddly
ex'
pressed on the marble, " She enjoyed three Husbands.
"—Ed.
*
B 2
4
Memoirs of
and in the reign of King Charles I. was
made Controller of it. * In 1636
I find him a militia captain, and in 1639 he
was captain of a troop of
horse in the expedition against the Scots. In 1641
I find him a vice-
admiral, and by that title did he receive the honour of
Knighthood from'
his Majesty at Dover, in the month of February the same
year. After-
wards upon the breaking out of the rebellion, he closely adhered
to the
cause of his majesty, and in 1642 I find him captain of a ship called
the
Rainbow, for his majesty's service, while Robert, Earl of Warwick,
was
vice-admiral, but how long he continued in that employment I
cannot
tell; sure I am that when his majesty's cause declined, he left
the
nation, and for a time adhered to Prince Rupert, while he roved on
the
seas against the usurpers in England ; who being successless, he
retired
to King Charles II. in exile, took his fortune as other royalists
did, yet
always in a gay, cheerful, and merry condition. After the return
of
his majesty from his exile, he was made governor of Dover\ Castle,
and
had the place of Chief Comptroller of the Navy conferred on
him, which
he kept to his dying day, being accounted by all that knew him to
be an
honest and stout man, generous and religious, and well skilled in
physic
and chymistry. This person, who was always poetically given,
and
therefore his company was delightful to all ingenious and witty
men,'
was author of the greater part of a book entit.
" Musarum delici^E : or, the Muses
recreation, containing several
pieces of poetic wit. Lond. 1655.
oct. 2d. edit. 1656. James Smith,
whom I have mentioned under the year 1667,
had so great a hand in
that book that he is esteemed the author almost of
half of it. Sir John
Mennes hath also written :
" JSpsom Wells, a poem, printed in
qu, and divers other poems,
scattered in other men's works. He hath also
extant a mock poem on
Sir Will. Davenant and his Gondibert; and
did assist, as I have been
credibly informed, Sir John Suckling in the
composition of some of his
* 1661, Nov. 2nd.—"At the office all the
morning ; where Sir John
Minnes, our new Comptroller, was fetched by Sir Wm.
Pen and myself
from Sir Wm. Batten's, & led to his place in the office.
The first time
that he had come thither, and he seems in a good fair
condition, and
one that I am glad hath the office."—Pepys' Diary.
■'+ Not Dover but Walmer. "Captain of
Walmer Castle. John
Mennes, appointed Nov. 10. 1637."—Hasted, Kent.
Aug. 11, 1662—
" Petition of Sir John Mennes, governor of Walmer
Castle."—Calendar
of State Papers.
Sir yohn Mennis.
5
poetry; on whom, and his fine troop of
horse that ran away, when they
were to engage with the enemy, he wrote a
scoffing ballad. At length,
he having lived beyond the age of man, concluded
his last day in the
JSfavy Office, in Seething Lane, within the
city of London, on Saturday,
the 18th of February, 1670 : whereupon his body
was buried at the
upper end of the chancel of the church of S. CZaves,
in Hart Street, on
'the 27th day of the same month. Soon after was
a neat monument
erected over his grave, with an inscription thereon, much
becoming
the person for whom it was set up. His eldest brother, which his
father
had by his first wife Elizabeth Warham*, was named
Matthezvf,
who was created Knight of the Bath at the coronation of K.
Charles I.
The second was named Thomas, who was buried in the church
of S.
Peter, in Sandwich, in Jan. 1631."—Athen. Oxon. vol. ii. p.
482.
We have, out of respect for Anthony Wood,
transcribed
all that he has said on this head, and more might be
added
from other sources, but we refrain from giving any further
taste of
the family tree.
After a diligent search through all the
histories of the
civil wars, and the state papers, we can gather nothing
to
our purpose prior to the Restoration, except from
Lord
Clarendon.
Of the revolt of the fleet in the reign
of Charles I. his
lordship observes:
"The rear-admiral, Sir John Memtes,
who was of unquestionable
integrity, and Captain Burly, were the only two
who refused to submit
to the Earl of Warwick, the Parliament high-admiral.
They were
quickly discharged, and set on shore, and the rest, without any
scruple
or'hesitation, obliged themselves to obey the Earl of Warwick in
the
* No doubt related to Archbishop
Warkam.—Ed.
t Sir Matthew Mennis is, in Anstis Garter's
Observations introductory
to an Historical Essay upon the Knighthood of the
Bath, erroneously
called Sir Matthew Monins. The Mennis family bore
gules, a chevron
vairy azure and or, betw. three leopards' faces of the last;
and were
mentioned in a visitation of Kent by the heralds in 1619. Hasted,
the
Kentish historian, had the MS. but it was burnt.— Ed.
6
Memoirs of
service of the parliament : so that the
storm was now over, and the
parliament fully and entirel possessed of the royal navy and militia by
sea, for they quickly dispos d of two
other honest captains, Kettleby
and Stradlin, whom they co Id not corrupt,
who guarded the Irish seas,
and got those ships likew e in their
service. And thus his majesty
was without one ship of h own
in his three kingdoms, at his devo-
tion."
This noble fidelity is a lasting honour
to Sir John and the
three brave captains, who durst remain loyal and true in
a
time of universal treason. When Prince Rupert undertook
the care of the
little but faithful fleet, which he had col-
lected together, he app inted
Sir J. Mennis commander of
the Swallow•, a ship o which he had many
years before
been captain. This squadron sailed to Helvoetsluys, but
the
prevailing party def ated the great object of the expe-
dition. Sir John
afterw rds appears to have been appointed
to co-operate with the loyal
Colonel Penruddock, in the
revolt against Cromwell, but the cause was weakly
supported,
and terminated in the ruin of several on land—happily Sir
John
was safe. He continued with his sovereign till the
Restoration, when his
merit was well remembered. The
gaiety of his spirits, and his mental
abilities, greatly assisted
his interest. Nautical men are generally sent to
sea with'
very little learning; but he, being both a scholar and
a
gentleman, was probably the most accomplished seaman in
the fleet, with
the exception of the Earl of Sandwich, who
was able to distinguish himself by
his pen and his pencil, as
well as by his sword, as his MSS. abuntantly
testify. By
these MSS. it is evident that his lordship highly valued Sir
\
John Minns, as he writes the name. In 1661-2 he was with
;
that nobleman at Tangier, when a mole was to be formed
Sir John Mennis.
f
there. In 1662 we find him with Lord
Sandwich at Lisbon,
to whose court he went to receive Catherine, the
infanta, the1
consort of Charles II. We here see him employed
in
taking and valuing the jewels, which composed a part of the
queen's
fortune. At this period he was vice-admiral of the
fleet, and without doubt
received some valuable presents, as
well from the court of Portugal, as from
his own. Whatever
his gallantry, however, it must have been put exceedingly
to
the test by the Portuguese maids of honour, who accompanied
her
majesty to England, for they seem to have been care-
fully and most skilfully
selected for their extreme ugliness.
We hear little of him after this time,
when indeed his age
and services required retirement. He had outlived
the
wits of his youthful days, and England was more strange to .
him than
the continent, where he had spent so large a
portion of his life. Were it
worth the enquiry, many notices
of him and Dr. Smith might perhaps be found
in the writings
of their contemporaries*. Neither Sir John, nor any of
his
family, sat in parliament after the return of Charles II.
The monument referred to by Anthony Wood
is fixed to
* In Sir John Denhamts poems is an
epistle "To Sir John Mennis,
being invited from Calais to Bologne to
eat a pig." It begins thus :
" All on a weeping Monday
With a fat
Bulgarian sloven,
Little Admiral John
To Bologne is gone,"
&c.
And in Rich. Fleckno's Diarium,
1656, are these lines :
------"our English Dr.
Smith,
Whose muse so bonny is and blithe
;
Or, in fine, of Sir John Mennis,
For excellence yieldeth not to
anys."
8
Memoirs of
the south angle of the chancel wall in
the church of St, \
Olave, Hart Street, and bears this inscription
:
.
\
Heic situs est
■!
D. Johannes Mennesius Eq Aurat. Sandovisi
Cantianus
.>.
Andrae M nnes Ar (Matthsei filii)
films
\;
Ex J ana Johannis Blenchenden Ar
Filia
» \
Vir probus, Fortis, Benignus,
Pius
;j
Rei, Medicse, Chymicse, Poeticae,
Gnarus
• ' f
Omni m quibus notus delicise
,. 'i
Vix adultus orbis omnes fere oras
appulit
|
Situs Regimi is comercii, morum
explorator
;
Terr marique et peduelles
j>
Jacobo, Carolo primo & secundo
Regibus
'J
Hypparchus, Strategus,
Hypo-Thalarsiarcha
Rei Cla siariae Inspector summus
;
Var s et arduis confectus ;
,;
Clarse pro apiae decus nominis
ultimus
' ■
Natus I Martii 1598
|,
i8v Febr 1670
Denatus
. ,
The Ceiisura Literar'a, yo\. iv.
p. 398-9, quotes a curious \
tract, entitled " A Relation of this
Insurrection," 1650, i2rao.
by Matthew Carter, which relates to the Kentish
insurrection, '
1648, in favour of the king, in which Sir John was
implicated; J
and also gives, from Topogr. iii. p. 154, this epitaph
on a \
mural tablet at Nonington, Kent, to the memory of his wife :
}.
'!
Hie sunt depositee Janse
reliquiae
,i
Ab antiqua generosorum Liddellorum
familia oriundse
i
Ex castello de Ravensworth in agro
Dunelmensi
Johannis Mennes Equitis
aurati
?
Anglo-Cantiani conjugis, maris Anglicani
Vice-AdmirallL
Ilia, absente sub velis Marito
Regiis
Reginam ex Gallia Mariam
revehentibus
A pud Fredville Johannis Boys armigeri
occumbens
Hospitali istius humanitate
Hie inhumatur
In sacram dilectissimse consortis
memoriam
Mariti pietate hoc marmor
erigitur.
Nata anno circiter 1602, Julii 23, 1662,
Denata.
Arms, Mennes, impaling arg. fretty gules
on a chief of the second, three
leopards' heads for Liddle.
Sir John Mennis.
9
The will of Sir John Mennis, of which an
abstract is here
given, is deposited in the Principal Registry of the Court
of
Probate, Doctors' Commons.
Sir John Mennes, Kt., dated 15
May, 1669. "All my
messuages, lands, tenements, &c, in Loughton or
elsewhere in
co. Essex, holden of the manor there, to my nephew
Francis
Hammon, son of my late sister, Mary Hammon, deceased,
and to his
heirs for ever; also to said Francis Hammon my
right, &c, in the moiety
of the rectory of Woodnesborrow in
Kent, on condition that he assign to my
executrix his lease
of the rectory and Grange of Walmer, in said co. Kent,
my
said executrix, her executors, &c. to hold same to use of my
niece
Mrs. Jane Moyle, wife of Anthony Moyle, Esq., for
her life, remainder to use
of her children living at her decease,
my executrix to expend ^100 in placing
out to some good
calling John Moyle, son of said Jane Moyle; to my niece,
the
Lady Heath, my great Portugal Jewell containing 180
diamonds set in
gold; to my goddaughter Margaret Heath,
daughter of my said niece Heath, a
small gold cross with seven
diamonds in it, and the monie due as a bond of
Col. Robt.
Phillipps ; to Mrs Turner, wife of Mr. Thos. Turner, of
Dept-
ford in Kent, ^100 ; to my servant, George Arrington, ^20 ;
and each
other servant half a year's wages; to building and
repairing the parish
church of St. Peter in Sandwich, co.
Kent, £>S°; to my cousin, John
Cason the elder, of Wood-
nesborrow, co. Kent, Esq., ^50. Appoint executrix
my niece,
Elizabeth Hammon, one of the daughters of my said late
sister,
Mary Hammon, deceased, and give her residue of all
^y Personalty."
Proved 9th March 1670-1 by
executrix.
MEMOIRS OF Dr. JAMES SMITH. |
JAMES SMITH, son of Tho. Smith, rector of
Merston, in j
Bedfordshire, and brother to Dr. Tho. Smith, sometimes
an
eminent physician of Brasen Coll. was born," says Wood,
" in the said town of
Merston, matriculated as a member of J
Ch. Ch. in Lent term i62§, aged 18
years, and soon after 1
was transplanted to Line. Coll., where he
continued for som6 I
years a commoner. Thence he was preferred to be chaplant
1
at sea to Henry, Earl of Holland, who was admiral of a I
squadron
of ships sent for a supply to the Isle of Ree. 1
Afterwards he was domestic
chaplain to Tho. Earl of Cleev-1
land, who had an especial respect for him
for his ingenuity and |
excellent parts. In his service he continued six
years, had a 1
benefice in Lincolnshire which he kept for a time, and
in 1633 I
took the degree of Bach, of Div. by accumulation, being
then
much in esteem with the poetical wits of that time, \
particularly
with Philip Massenger^ who called him his son,
Will. Havenant, yohn
Mennes, &c. From his benefice in
Lincolnsh. he removed to Kings
Nimphton, in Devonsh.,
and leaving a curat there, he went as
chaplain to the before-
mentioned Earl of Holland, lieutenant-general of the
English
forces in the first expedition against the Scots.
Returning
Memoirs of Dr. James
Smith.
11
thence soon after, he settled at Kings
Nimphton, where he
resided during all the changes of government, by
compliance
with the power that was uppermost. After his majesty's
return
he was made one of the canons of & Peter's cathedral
in Exeter,
archdeacon of Barnstaple, chaplain to Edw. Earl
of
Clarendon, and in July, 1661, he was actually created
Doct. of Divinity. In
the next year he became chauntor of
Exeter, in the place of Dr. S.
Ward, promoted to the epis-
copal see of that place, and in 1663 was
presented to the
rectory of Alphyngton, in Devonshire, (at which time
he re-
signed Kings Nymphton, and his archdeaconry), where he
finished his
course. His chief works that are of poetry,
are in
*' Musarum Delict : or, the Muses
Recreation, con-
taining several pieces of poetic wit. Lond. 1656,
oct
second edit, and also in another book, entit.
" Wit restored, in several select Poems.
Lond. 1658. oct
Which book, I say, is mostly of our author Smith's
composi-
tion. At the end of which is his translation, or poem,
called
The innovation of Penelope and Ulysses, a mock poem.
Lond. 1658. oct.
And at the end of that also, is Cleaveland's
Rebel Scot, translated
into Latin. He also composed
" Certain Anthems—not the musical,
but poetical part of
them—which are to this day used and sung in the cath.
ch.
at Exeter. At length paying his last debt to nature
at
Alphyngton, on the 20th day of June, 1667, his body was
conveyed to
Kings Nymphton before mentioned, and was
ouried in the chancel belonging to
the church there, near to
the body of Elizabeth, his first wife. Over
their graves was
s°on after put a comely monument, with an
inscription
12
Memoirs of
thereon (enlarged after the death of his
second wife, who
died four years after him) the contents of which shall
now
for brevity's sake be omitted." Athen, Oxon. vol. ii. p.
398.
The name of Smith is so common
that it almost defies
the possibility of identifying persons. We have no
means
of consulting the history of any part of Bedfordshire, whence
,
he sprung, and Ritson's Survey of Devon, the county in
which he
died, says nothing of him. The place, where he
lies buried, is now spelt
King's Nympton. His easy com-
pliance with the times, not making him a
Co?ifessor, is the
reason why he is unnoticed by either party. Walker
and
Calamy leave him and his history in silent neglect. Le
Neve, in his
Monumenta Anglicana, makes no mention of
him, nor does Smith, in his
obituary, either touch on him
or Sir John Mennis: and, what is more
surprising, their
works are omitted in the Catalogue of the most
vendible
Books in England, printed in London 1658. Bishop White
Kennet, in
his Register and Chronicle Ecclesiastical and
Civil, notices him as S. T. P.
and as installed precentor of
the church of Exeter by proxy Feb. 7, 1661, and
in person
April 12, 1662, and agrees with Wood and Isaak, in
his
Antiquities of the City of Exeter, in the date of his decease.
Dr. Smith lived in cheerless times, and
amongst a sour
people. Mirth was then a mortal sin, and however in-
nocent
a fair, fat, laughing face might be, it was considered
as the portrait of
Lucifer; and poetry, except Sternhold and
Hopkins', (if that be an exception)
as little less than the
sign of a reprobate mind, void of all grace. It is
strange
that he had the hardihood to publish his poems during
the
usurpation; but the restoration was at hand, when such a
Dr. James Smith.
*3
muse could breathe freely, in an
atmosphere perfectly con-
genial to her.
Lasciva est nobis paging vita proba
est—seems, from all
we can learn of them, very applicable to Sir J.
Mennis and
Dr. Smith; and it must be owned that the admission leaves
an
abundance to marvel at in a " religious" Knight, and aj
Doctor of
Divinity.
|