It has not been hitherto observed that Jonson was in possession of a most excellent library, which, assisted by a readiness of memory altogether surprising, facilitated the acquirement of that information for which he was so frequently solicited by his own countrymen, as well as strangers. He began to collect the best editions of the classics at an early period, and it may be doubted whether any private library in the kingdom was, at that time, so rich in scarce and valuable books as his own. He was ever ready to communicate them to his friends. Not only was his study open to their researches,' but its contents were always at their disposal. It cannot be too often repeated, that this writer, who has been described as a mere mass of spleen and ill nature, was, in fact, the frankest and most liberal of mankind. I am fully warranted in saying that more valuable books given to individuals by Jonson are yet to be met with, than by any person of that age. Scores of them have fallen under my own inspection, and I have heard of abundance of others. The following passage may amuse the reader from the exquisite absurdity of its conclusion. "In the Upper Library of Trinity College," (it is Warton who speaks,) "is a Vossius's Greek Historians, with a series of MS. notes. It appears, by a Latin mem. in Dr. Bathurst's handwriting, that this book originally belonged to BEN JONSON, who gave it to Dr. Langbaine. Jonson's name being mentioned, I cannot forbear adding," (here I verily expected some compliment to his learning or liberality,) "that in the character of Volpone, Aubrey tells us, Jonson intended Sutton, the founder of the Charter House! — Life of Bathurst, 8vo. p. 148. It seems as if it were indispensable that the name of Jonson must always be followed by some stupid calumny.3 We have long lost sight of Inigo Jones. He now reappears as Jonson's coadjutor in the masque of Time Vindicated, 1623. As none of those pieces which appear in the folio of 1641 were given to the press by Jonson, it is not possible to say whether he shared in any produced previously to the present one. At all events, no symptoms of ill will are to be found; and there is good reason to suppose that hitherto nothing had occurred to interrupt their friendship. In Pan's Anniversary, (1625,) Inigo again assisted Jonson, and his name is duly mentioned in the title page, where it takes place of the poet's a circumstance, as it appears, of some protegas, et faveas homini in tanto sale, epulisque Mart. nec insulsonec jejuno. Dignus enim est, qui Virgiliis suis mereatur, ut foret Toto notus in orbe Martialis, quod de se ingeniosissimus poeta prædicare ausus sit, et vere; suffragante etiam Qui r. Aug. M. DCXXIII. JONSONIO TUO. amicitiæ et studii ergo hoc levidense 1 The learned Selden, in speaking of a book which he had occasion to examine, and which was not in his extensive collection, says, "I presume that I have sufficiently manifested this out of Euripides his Orestes, which when I was to use, not having the scholiast, out of whom I hoped some aid, I went, for this purpose, to see it in the well-furnisht librarie of my beloved friend, that singular poet, Master BEN JONSON, whose special worth in literature, accurate judgment, and performance, known only to that FEW which are truly able to know him, hath had from me, ever since I began to learn, an increasing admiration.”—Titles of Honor, 1614. fol. p. 93. * I have great pleasure in copying the following passage from Mr. D'Israeli, because it is the result of conviction acting on a liberal mind. "No poet has left behind him, in MS., so many testimonies of personal fondness as Jonson, by inscriptions and addresses, in the copies of his works, which he presented to his friends. Of these I have seen more than one, fervent and impressive."- Quar. of Authors, vol. iii. p. 25. 3 It may be added here, that Warton appears to have known about as much of Jonson and his writings as Mr. Headley. In his notes on Milton's Arcades, he says (but with no friendly voice) that “Echo frequently appears in the masques of Jonson " Frequently! In Pan's Anniversary (as I think) a musical close is directed to be repeated ; — and this is all the Echo. Again: "Jonson was too proud to assist or be assisted "—a sentiment quoted for its justice by Mr. Chalmers. Now, Jonson solicited and accepted assistance, or, as he calls it, "succor," from Selden, Cotton, Carew, and many oth ers; and he undoubtedly assisted, or joined with, more writers than any person of the age in which he lived! ♦ The mention of this masque gives me an opportunity of noticing a well-known song by G. Wither, "Shall I, wasting in despair," &c., published in a little vol., 1625, with an "Answere to each verse by Master Johnson." If the reader will turn to "Time Vindicated,” (vol. viii. p. 3; ed. 1816,) where I have pointed out, for the first time, the object of the poet's satire, he will need no further proof that Jonson was little likely to busy himself with parodying the verses of Wither. however popular. He was not prone, at any time, to mix his heels with other men's heads; and least of all would he have joined in this kind of chase with a declared enemy. That the "Song" is printed with his name, signifies nothing. I was current with the public; and he gave himself no concern about the matter. -- moment. This little piece was the last which Jonson had the good fortune to write for James I., who died on the 27th of March in this year, and in whom he lost the most indulgent of masters the most benevolent of sovereigns. Charles, indeed, both knew and valued Jonson; but he was not so competent a judge of literary talents, nor was he, either by nature or habit, so familiar with his servants, or so condescending to their affairs, as the easy and goodnatured James. A long series of years had now elapsed since our author turned his thoughts to the theatre. From 1616 to 1625, he appears to have forgotten that there was such a place;' he was now, however, forcibly reminded of it, and wrote the Staple of News, a comedy of no ordinary merit. Two evils were, at this time, rapidly gaining upon the poet-want and disease. The first he certainly might have warded off, at least for some time, had he been gifted with the slightest portion of economy; but he was altogether thoughtless and profuse, and his long sickness, therefore, overtook him totally unprovided. From the accession to the death of James, nothing is to be found respecting his necessities -not a complaint, not a murmur; but other times were at hand, and we shall soon hear of petitionary poems, and supplications for relief. The disease which attacked him about the end of this year was the palsy. He seems to have labored from his youth under a scorbutic affection, (derived, probably, from his parents,) and which assailed him with increasing virulence as his constitution gave way; to this must be added a tendency to dropsy. not the least of his evils. From the first stroke of the palsy he gradually recovered, so far, at least, as to be able, in some measure, to pursue his usual avocations; and, in 1626, produced the pleasant Antimasque of Jophiel, to vary a preceding entertainment. The masques, for the three following years, do not appear; nor is it known that any were written by our author; indeed, from a hint in the epilogue to his next play, it seems as if the court had ceased to call on him for the customary contribution. Meanwhile his infirmities rapidly increased, and with them his He was no longer able to leave his room, or to move in it without assistance; and, in this condition, he applied again to the theatre, and produced the comedy of the New Inn, which was brought out Jan. 19, 1629-30. The fate of this drama is well known. It was driven from the stage, and pursued with brutal hostility by his ungenerous and unrelenting enemies." The epilogue forms a melancholy contrast to some of his earlier productions, and cannot, indeed, be contemplated without a feeling of pity: wants. "If you expect more than you had to-night; The maker is sick and sad:-3 he sent things fit In all the numbers both of verse and wit, If they have not miscarried; if they have, All that his faint and faltering tongue doth crave, 1 See p. 37 Censure of the New Iun. "Thou sayst no palsye doth thy braine-pan vex, These are the softest lines which I could pick out from about fourscore; and these, with the verses of Gill (vol. vi. p. 123, d. 1816. and Chapman, (p. 32,) furnish a correct sample of the disposition of those who attacked our author in his own times. Of all the libels on him which have fallen in my way, I do not recollect one that possessed common humanity or common sense: they never speak of any injury or provocation received from the poet, but claim to be the mero effusions of wanton malice; yet the Walpoles, et id genus omne, dream of nothing but " the overpowering brutality of Jonson." 3 It should be recorded to his praise, that nothing could suppress his ardor for improvement. It is in the midst of these afflicting circumstances that he writes a poetical epistle to Howell, earnestly soliciting his aid to procure Davies's Welsh Grammar, for which he was unable to seek himself. Jonson's lines are lost: but Howell has given his reply to them Howell notices the extensive collection of grammars, of which Jonson was already possessed. Is, that you not impute it to his brain; That's yet unhurt, although, set round with pain, An allusion to the king and queen, which follows this extract, awoke the slumbering kindness at Charles, and he instantly sent him a hundred pounds, (a truly royal present,) for which the poet, with an overflowing heart, returned him thanks in three poems, written at short intervals, and all laboring for adequate language to express the fulness of gratitude, respect, and duty.' This timely relief appears to have produced a favorable change in the poet's mind, and encouraged him to apply to the benevolence of his sovereign for an extension of kindness. There is a flow of gayety and good humor in the little poem which he wrote, and called a humble Petition to the best of Monarchs, Masters, Men, that contrasts very happily with the gloomy and desponding tone of the passage in the preceding page. It is to the honor of Charles, that he not only granted the prayer of the petition, ("that he would be pleased to make the 100 marks of his father 100 pounds,") but liberally added of himself a tierce of canary,2 (Jonson's favorite wine,) which has been continued to his successors, and of which the first glass should, in gratitude, be offered by them to the poet's memory. The warrant is given below.3 1 This transaction is thus wilfully perverted by Shiels. "In 1629 Ben fell sick. Charles I. was supplicated in his favor, and sent him ten guincas. When the inessenger delivered the sum, Ben said, "His majesty has sent me ten guineas bocause I am poor, and live in an alley: go and tell him, that his soul lives in an alley." This impudent falsehood is still repeated, even by those who have the poet's own acknowledgments for a hundred pounds before them; and Smollett was eager to insert it in his History of England, because it bore hard upon Charles. The writers of the Bio. Brit. have given one of Jonson's grateful poems to the king-"not so much," they properly say, "to confute, as to shame the story.” — But who shames a slanderer? 2 Milton has been unjustly charged with reflecting on Charles for his attachment to the drama. But though Milton did not urge this as a crime against the king, other writers of that disastrous period did. "Had King Charles (says one of them) but studied Scripture half so much as BEN JONSON OF SHAKSPEARE, he would have learned that when Amaziah," &c.— Appeal to all Rational Men on King Charles's Trial, by J. Cooke, 1649. 3 CHARLES, R. Charles, by the grace of God, Kinge of England, Scotland, Fraunce, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. to the Theasurer, Chancellour, under Theasurer, Chamberlens, and Barons of the Exchequer of vs, our heirs and successours, now beinge, and that hereafter shall be, and to all other the officers and ministers of the said court, and of the receipt, there now beinge, and that hereafter shall be; and to all others to whom these presents shall come, or to whom it shall or may apperteyn, greeting. Whereas our late most deare father King James of happy memorie, by his letters pattents under the great seale of England, bearing date at Westminster, the first day of February, in the thirteenth year of his reign of England (for the considerations therein expressed) did give and graunt unto our well beloved servaunt, Benjamin Jonson, one annuitie or yearly pension of one hundred marks of lawful money of Englande, during his life, to be paid out of the said Exchequer, at the feast of the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of St. John Baptist, St. Michael the Archangel, and the birth of our Lord God, quarterly, as by the said letters patents more at large may appear. Which annuity or pension, together with the said letters patents, the said Benjamin Jonson hath lately surrendered vnto vs. Know yee nowe, that wee, for divers good considerations vs at this present especially movinge, and in consideration of the good and acceptable service, done vnto vs and our said father by the said Benjamin Johnson, and especially to encourage him to proceede in those services of his witt and penn, which wee have enioined vnto him, and which we expect from him, are graciously pleased to augment and encrease the said annuitie or pension of one hundred marks, vnto an annuitie of one hundred pounds of lawful money of England for his life. And for the better effecting thereof of our especial grace, certen knowledge and meer motion, we have given and graunted, and by these presents for vs, our heirs and successors, upon the surrender aforesaid, do give and graunt unto the said Benjamin Johnson, one annuitie or yearly pension of one hundred pounds of England by the year, to have, hold, and yearly to receive the said annuitie or yearly pension of one hundred pounds of lawful money of England, by the year, unto the said Benjamin Johnson or his assignes. from the feast of ovr Lord God last past, before the date hereof, for and during the natural life of him the said Benjamin Johnson, at the receipt of the Exchequer of vs, our heirs and successours, out of the treasure of vs, our heirs and succesours, from time to time there remayning, by the Theasurer and Chamberlens of vs, our heirs, and successours there, for the time beinge, as the foresaid four usual terms of the year (that is to say) at the feast of the Annuntiation of the blessed Virgin Mary, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, St. Michael the Archangel, and the birth of our Lord God, by even and equal portions quarterly to be paid. The first payment thereof to begin at the feast of the Annuntiation of the blessed Virgin Mary, next before the date of these presents. Wherefore our will and pleasure is, and we do by these presents for vs, our heirs and successors, require, command, and authorise the said Theasurer, Chancellour, under Theasurer Chamberlens, and Barons, and other officers and ministers of the said Exchequer, ne v and for the time being, not only From 1627, the date of the Fortunate Isles, no masque appears to have been written by our author; at this period, however, the king, whose kindness had 1evived in all its force, cominanded him, in conjunction with Inigo Jones, to prepare the usual entertainments for the festivity of the new year. The first piece was Love's Triumph through Callipolis, which seems to have been well received; the second, which was produced about two months after it, was Chloridia, better known by its having given birth to the dispute between these ancient friends, than by any merit of its own. Both masques were printed before the end of the year, and the "Inventors" were said, in the title page, to be Ben Jonson and Inigo Jones; a fatal collocation of names for the declining poet. His complaints, meanwhile, increased; and, with them, his necessities. He rarely went abroad; and, as his helpless state made assistance absolutely necessary, he seems, about this time, to have taken into his service a respectable woman, who managed his little household, and continued with him till he died. It has been already observed, that Jonson was utterly devoid of worldly prudence; what was liberally given was lavishly spent, and he was seldom free from want. He was, indeed, like his mother, "no churl;" his table was ever free to his friends; and we learn from Howell, that he gave repasts, even in those evil days, which an epicure might have shared with delight. Wine he always considered as necessary- and perhaps it was so — to counteract the occasional influence of that morbid tendency to melancholy generated by a constitutional affection of the scurvy, which also rendered society desirable, and, in some measure, indispensable to him. Jonson was not called on for a masque in the following year; and this source of emolument, which he could ill forego, was therefore lost to him. Those who have been accustomed to hear of nothing but his unprovoked persecution of Inigo Jones will be somewhat startled to find that this person, forgetful of old attachments, made use of his growing favor at court to depress and ruin a bed-ridden and necessitous friend. For the knowledge of his ungenerous conduct, in this instance, not a little important in the history of our calumniated poet, I am again indebted to the kindness of Mr. D'Israeli. "Extract of a Letter from Mr. Pory to Sir Thomas Puckering, Bart. “The last Sunday, at night, the king's mask was acted in the banquetting house, the queen s to paie or cause to be paide vnto the said Benjamin Johnson, or his assignes, the said annuitie or yearly pension of one hundred pounds of lawful money of England according to our pleasure before expressed: and also from time to time to give full allowance of the same, according to the true meaning of these presents. And these presents, and the enrollment thereof, shall be unto all men whom it shall concern, sufficient warrant and discharge for the payinge and allowInge of the same accordingly, without any farther or other warrant to be in that behalf procured or obtained. And further know yee, that wee of our more especial grace, certain knowledge and meer motion, have given and granted, and by these presents for us, our heires and successors, do give and graunt unto the said Benjamin Johnson and his assigns, one terse of Canary Spanish wine yearly: to have, hold, perceive, receive, and take the said terse of Canary Spanish wine unto the said Benjamin Jonson and his assigns during the term of his natural life out of our store of wines yearly, and from time to time remayninge at or in our cellars within or belonging to our palace of Whitehall. And for the better effecting of our will and pleasure herein, we do hereby require and command all and singular officers and ministers whom it shall or may concerne, or who shall have the care or charge of our said wines, that they or some one of them do deliver or cause to be delivered the said terse of wine yearly, and once in every year vnto the said Benjamin Johnson or his assignes, during the terme of his natural life, at such time and times as he or they shall demand or desire the same And these presents or the inrollment thereof shall be unto all men whom it shall concerne a sufficient warrant and discharge in that behalf, although express mention, &c. In witness, &c Witness, &c. Maie it please your most excellent Majestie, Ex. per Ro. Heath. This conteyneth your Majestie's graunte unto Benjamin Johnson, your majestie's servaunte, during his life, of a pension of 1001. per annum, and of a terse of Spanish wine yearly out of your majestic's store remaining at White-hall. And is done upon surrender of a former letters patents granted unto him by your late royal father, of a pension of 190 nacks per annum. Signified to be your Majestie's pleasure by the Lord Theasurer, RO. HEATH Endorsed thus March 1030. Expl. apud Westm' vicesimo sexto die Martii anno R Ris Caroli quinto. per WINDEBANK. being suspended till another time, by reason of a soreness which fell into one of her delicate eyes. "The inventor or poet of this mask was Mr. Aurelian Townshend, sometime toward (steward) to the lord treasurer Salisbury; Ben Jonson being, for this time, discarded by reason of the predominant power of his antagonist Inigo Jones, who, this time twelvemonth, was angry with him for putting his own name before his in the title page, which Ben Jonson has made the subject of a bitter satire or two against Inigo." Jan. 12, 1634. "Whoever was the aggressor," says Walpole, "the turbulence and brutality of Jonson were sure to place him most in the wrong." This assertion is not quite clear in the present case, in which the magnanimity of Jones is as disputable as his humanity. He seems, indeed, to have persecuted Jonson with implacable malice. Not only for this time was the poet laid aside by his influence, but for the residue of his melancholy existence. His conduct, for the rest, fully justifies the strongest lines in the Expostulation, p. 658 : "O shows, shows, shows! The eloquence of masques! what need of prose — since it cannot be denied that, whatever ravages disease had made on the faculties of Jonson, he was yet many degrees above Master Aurelian Townshend, of whom no one, I believe, ever heard before. The truth is, that Jones wanted, as Jonson has it, to be the Dominus Do-all of the work, and to engross all the praise. This avarice of credit is not unpleasantly touched in the ridiculous interlude annexed to the Tale of a Tub: "Med. I have a little knowledge in design, Which I can vary, sir, to infinito. Tub. Ad infinitum, sir, you mean. Med. I do ; I stand not on my Latin: I'll invent; But I must be alone then, join'd with no man." In fact, Jones had no taste for poetry, and an obscure ballad maker, who could string together a few rhymes to explain the scenery, was more acceptable to him than a man of talent, who might aspire to a share of the praise given to the entertainment. The cruelty of Jones in depriving our author of the court patronage had an unfavorable effect upon his circumstances in many respects. The city, from whom he had been accustomed to receive an annual sum by way of securing his services, when occasion called for them, seem to have watched the moment of declining. favor, and withdrawn their bounty.' ! Of this Jonson complains with great indignation to the Cari of Newcastle, in a petitionary letter, written with some humor as well as spirit. He calls it their chenderly pension, It deserve a beter nane, for it was a hundred nobles per ann., a sum which could ill be spared by him at such a time. The Court of aldermen withdrew it Dec. 19, 1631. It appears from this letter that Jonson had somewhat recovered from the first stroke of the palsy; the second, the fatal stroke, he places in 1628. [Gifford was not aware that the “annual sum,” which Jonson received from the city, was his salary as City Chronolo ger, in which office he succeeded Thomas Middleton the dramatist,—that his salary was for a considerable time with drawn, because he had presented no "fruits of his labors in that his place,” — and that it was afterwards restored with arrearages, at the intercession of the king. These facts are ascertained by the following entries in the City Records: Hamersly Mayor. Whitmore Mayor. "Martis Secundo die Septembris 1628 Annoque R Rs Caroli Angliæ &c quarto Item: this daie Beniamyn Johnson Gent is by this Court admitted to be the Citties Chronologer in place of Mr. Thomas Middleton deceased, to have hold exercise and enioye the same place and to have and receive for that his service out of the Chamber of London the some of one hundred Nobles per Annum to contynue duringe the pleasure of this Court and the First quarters payment to begin att Michaelmas next." "Jovis decimo die Novembris 1631 Annoque Regni Regis Caroli Angliæ &c septimo. Item: it is ordered by this Court that Mr. Chamberlen shall forbeare to pay any more fee o wages unto Beniamine Johnson the Citties Chronologer until he shall haue presented unto thit Court some fruits of his labours in that his place." |