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again transferred to Latin words and the mafs, both of 

 which had been excommunicated during the reign of her 

 brother, Edward VI. But metrical pfalmody had not yet 

 been generally received in our parochial churches. Mary 

 was herfelf a performer on the virginal and lute, as appears 

 by a letter fent to her by her mother, queen Katherine, 

 after her fcparation from the king, in which " fhe encourages 

 her to fuffer chearfuUy, to trull to God, and keep her 

 heart clean. She charged her in all things to obey the 

 king's commands, except in matters of religion. She fent 

 her two Latin books, the one ' De Vita Chriiti,' and the 

 other the ' Epiftles of St. Jerom ;' in them, ifays the 

 queen,) I truft you (hall fee good things. And fometimee, 

 for your recreation, ufe your virginals or lute, if you have 

 any." 



Fuller tells us, that " eight weeks and upwards pafTed 

 between the proclaiming of queen Mary and her affembling 

 the parliament ; during which time two rehgions were 

 together fet on foot, Proteflantifme and Poperie ; the former 

 hoping to be continued, the latter labouring to be reftored; 

 — and during this interim the churches and chapels in Eng- 

 land had a mongrel celebration of their divine fervices be- 

 twixt reformation and fuperllition. For the obfequies for 

 king Edward were held by the queen in the Tower, 

 Auguil 7th, 1553, with the dirige fung in Latin, and on 

 the morrow a mafl'e of requiem, and on the fame day his 

 corps were buried at Weftminfter with a fermon ferrice, 

 and communion in Englifh." 



In Oilober following the laws of her predeceffor, Ed- 

 ward, concerning religion, were all repealed. And in 

 November 1554, bifliop Bonner " fet up the old worfhip 

 at Paul's, on St. Katherine's day ; and it being the cuftom, 

 that on fome holydays, the quire went up to the Iteeple to 

 fing the anthems, that fell on that night : — and the next 

 day, being St. Andrew's, he did officiate himfelf, and had 

 a folemn procefiion." 



After this period, during the fubfequent years of Mary's 

 reign, the public fervice was every where performed in the 

 Roman Catholic manner, throughout the kingdom ; and 

 we may imagine that the numerous compofitions to Latin 

 words, which have been preferved of Dr. Tyt, White, TaUis, 

 Bird, and the reft of our moft eminent liarmonifts, were 

 produced and performed at this time, while the Romi/h 

 religion had the afcendant. And indeed it appears by a 

 record, now in the poffedion of the Antiquarian Society, 

 that the lift of Mary's chapel eftabliftiment contains nearly 

 the fame names as that of her brother Edward. 



Queen Elizabeth. (,See Elizabeth.) In fpeaking of 

 mufic during the long and profperous reign of queen 

 Elizabeth, our nation's honour feems to require a more dif- 

 fufe detail than at any other time : for perhaps we never had 

 fo juft aclaim to equality with the reil of Europe, where 

 mufic was the moft fuccefsfuUy cultivated, as at this period ; 

 when indeed there was but little melody any where. Yet, 

 with refpeft to harmony, canon, fugue, and fuch laboured 

 and learned contrivances as were then chiefly ftudied and 

 admired, we can produce fuch proofs of great abilities in 

 the compofitions of our countrymen, as candid judges of 

 their merit muft allow to abound in every kind of excel- 

 lence that was then known or expefled. 



Elizabeth, as well as the rtft^ or Henry VIII. 's children, 

 and indeed all the princes of Europe at that time, had been 

 taught mufic early in hfe. For Camden, in giving an ac- 

 count of her ftudies, fays, that " ftie underftood well the 

 Latin, French, and Italian tongues, and was) indiff'erencly 

 well feen in the Greek. Neither did ihe uegleft muficke, 



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fo far forthe as might become a princed'e, being able to fmg- 



and play on the lute prettily and fweetly." 



There is reafon to coiulude, that (he continued to amufe 

 h.'rfelt with mufic many years after (he alceaded the throne. 

 Sir James Melvil gives an account of a curious converfation 

 which he had with this princcfs, to whom he was fent on 

 an embafly by Mary, queen gf Scots, in 1564. After her 

 majefty had allied him how his queen dreiled ? What was 

 the colour of her hair ? Whether that or her's was bed ? 

 Which of them two was faireft ? And which of them was 

 higheft in ftature ? " Then (lie aflced, what kind of ex- 

 ercifes (he ufed I" I anfwered, fays Melvil, " that when 

 I received my difpatch, the queen was lately come from the 

 Highland hunting : that when her more ferious aflTairs per- 

 mitted, file was taken up with reading of hiftories : that 

 fometimes flie recreated herfelf in playing upon the lute and 

 virginals. She afl^'ed if (he played well ? I faid, reafon- 

 ably for a queen." 



" The fame day, after dinner, ray lord of Hunfden drew 

 me up to a quiet gallery, that I might hear fome mulic, 

 (but he faid, that he duril not avow it,) where I might 

 hear the queen play upon her virginals. After I had 

 hearkened a while, I took by the tapell. y that hung before 

 the door of the chamber, and feeing her back was toward 

 the door, I entered within the chamber, and (lood a pretty 

 fpace hearing her play excellently well. But (he left otf 

 immediately, fo foon as- (he turned about and faw me. She 

 appaared to be furprifed to fee roe, and came forward, 

 feeming to ftrike me with her hand ; alleging, (he uled 

 not to play before men, but when (he was folitary, to (hun 

 melancholy. She afked how I came there ? I anfwered, 

 as I was walking with my lord Hunfden, as we paffed by 

 the chamber door, I heard fuch a melody as ravi{hed me, 

 whereby I was drawn in ere I knew how ; cxcufing my 

 fault of homelinefs, as being brought up in the court of 

 France, where fuch freedom was allowed ; declaring myfclf 

 willing to endure what kind of puni(hment her majefty 

 (hould be pleafed to inflicl upon me for fo great offence. 

 Then (he fate down low upon a cu(hion, and I upon my 

 knees by her ; but with her own hand (he gave me a cu(hion, 

 to lay under my knee ; which at iirft I refufed, but (he 

 compelled me to take it. She enquired whether my queen 

 or (he played bell. In that I found myfelf obliged to 

 give her the praife." 



If her majefty was ever able to execute any of the pieces 

 that are preferved in a MS. which goes under the name of 

 " Queen Elizabeth's Virginal Book," fhe mull have been 

 a very great player: as fome of thefe pieces, which were 

 compofed by Tallis, Bird, Giles, Farnaby, Dr. Bull, and 

 others, are fo difficult, that it would be hardly poffible to 

 find a mailer in Europe, who would undertake to play one 

 of them at the end of a month's pradtice. 



Lefides the lute and virginals, Elizabeth was a performer 

 on the violin, and on an iiiftrument fomething like a lute, 

 but ftrung with wire, and called the poliphant. A violin 

 of a fingular conftrudlion, with the arms of England, and 

 the crelt of Dudley, earl of Leiceller, tliis queen's favourite, 

 engraved upon it, was purchafed at the fale of the late 

 duke of Dorfet's effefts. The date of its make, 1578. It 

 is very curioufty carved ; but the feveral parts are (o thick 

 and loaded with ornaments, that it has not more tone than 

 a mute, or violin with a fordine ; and the neck, which is 

 too tliick for the gTafp of the hand, has a hole cut in it 

 for the thumb of the player, by which the hand is fo con- 

 fined, as to be rendered incapable of (hifting, fo that no- 

 thing can be performed upan this inftrument, but what lies 

 within the reach of the hand in its tirft pofition. Playford 

 I - tells 



