STRAWBERRY HILL.

3

Till the gay variegated Garland proves,
Worthy of BEAUCLERC's taſte, and WALPOLE's groves.(4)
Nor to ſuch germes of fancy, are confin'd
The treaſur'd wonders, in theſe walls enſhrin'd.
A thouſand rarities the fight amaze,
A thouſand ſpecimens of beauty blaze.
Soft o'er the circle Faſcination ſteals,
And the Eye banquets, while the Boſom feels.
If more is wanting to complete the ſeaſt,
WALPOLE himſelf will furniſh out the reſt.
For like his Pen, his Manners can diſpenſe
Inſtruſtion, Pleaſure, Wit, and Eloquence.
Reſign enthufſaſtic Mufe! the Theme,
Nor of high flights, or Bays poetic dream;
Tho' WALPOLE's Genius, Eagle like, prefumes,
From Fame's broad wing, to pluck the brighteſt plumes,
Thefe humble ſtrains, no other merit claim,
Than a vain wiſh to celebrate his name;
How vain the wiſh! Iuperior Mufes, weave
For Him, the faireſt Wreaths that Fame can give,
Yet this Apology my verſe ſhall bear,
That none, who prieſe him, can be more ſincere.

(4) Lady Di. BEAUCLERC's drawings furnish an entire room, at STRAWBERRY HILL, which Mr. WALPOLE has elegantly fitted up, on purpose to receive them.

Newport, Isle of Wight, Printed by J. ALBIN, 1791.

STRAWBERRY-HILL.

43

Two blue china beakers.

The pierced arches of the screen from the gates of the choir of Rouen;
the rest of the screen was designed by Mr. Bentley.

In the bow windows some fine painted glafs, and the arms of England,
and those of George prince of Denmark; the ground is a beautiful mosaic of
crimson, blue, and pearls, designed and painted by Price of Hatton-garden.

A table and fix chairs of ebony. On the table a tray with four ancient
combs; one of ivory is extremely ancient, carved with figures, on one side
representing persons bathing and going to bed, on the other, two men and a
woman with musical instruments; another comb said to have belonged to
the queen of Scots, is of tortoiseshell studded with silver hearts and roses; the
two others of tortoiseshell likewise, of which the one with very long teeth
belonged to the father of the first lord Edgcumbe, and was used when the
large flowing wigs were in fashion: two bottles of Roman fayence, and a
bason and ewer of purple and white Seve china.

A very ancient chair of oak, which came out of Glastonbury-Abbey; on
it are carved these sentences, *Joannes Arthurus Monacus Glastonie, salvet
eum Deus: Da pacem Domine: Sit Laus Deo.* Lord Bathurst had several
chairs copied from this.

Another chair covered with purple cloth, made from one in a pane of
painted glafs in the breakfrast-room.

The bed is of purple cloth lined with white fattin, a plume of white and
purple feathers on the center of the tefter; the room is hung with purple paper.
By the bed,

The red hat of cardinal Wolfey, found in the great wardrobe by bishop
Burnet when clerk of the closet. From his son the judge it came to the
countess dowager of Albemarle, who gave it to Mr. Walpole.

Chrift crowned with thorns, by Mabeufe; bought at monfieur Hareng's
fale, 1764.

Over the chimney, an ancient painting of the emperor Maximilian and
his son Philip the Fair: from the collection of Mr. Bryan Fairfax.

Lady Arabella Stuart, in white, whole length in water-colours; copied
by Vertue from the original at Welbeck.

A man's head with a book; by Quintin Matfis: it was in fir Robert
Walpole's collection.

Anne Stanhope duchefs of Somerset, second wife of the protector, whose
portrait he holds in one hand: a present to Mr. Walpole from Mr. Bateman.

G 2

Catherine

408 Roundels, and their Use, farther illustrated.

5. In Godlie treade ronne well thy race:
And from the poore torne not thy face:

6. Mye come off pride tooke thou beware:
To carde the so de kett all thy care:

7. Thy hautie mynde dothe cause the smarte:
And makes the leape with careful harte:

8. Thy youthe in folie thou hafte spentt:
Defere not name for to repent.

Whilst the light and curfory readers of your excellent Miscellany will deride the subject of this effay, and think already too much ado has been made about nothing, I beg leave to think differently, and join the respectable corps of Antiquaries, in afferting, that the pains in investigating even the nugatory amusements of our ancestors, tending to develope their manners and customs, sufficient to elucidate the page of history, are truly præfeful. To this purpose I required of the poffessor of these roundels to know something of their history; but could only learn as follows. They came into his poffession from his father, whom, as they often incited his curiosity, he had frequently interrogated respecting their origin and ufe; and could only gather, that he apprehended them to be one antient amusement, and that they came into the family with his grandmother, a Mids Arthington, of Arthington, in the county of York. I believe, Mr. Urban, they have been the vehicle of entertainment, in the days of yore, to the immured ladies of the convent; perhaps to contribute to the amuse ment of their confeftors, or other occasional male visitors en parleur; and a very excellent collection they contain of adages, moral and religious, which proves them to be of a very different fquad from some which your correspon dents have introduced, which seem to favour no little of levity and impurity *.

1. HONEY-SUCKLE.

Dolfon and hony from my kocke proceedes,
The bee and flyder of me suckes and feedes.

2. PEA.

Mealcods are reftorative, and hardly founde,
Tichen for ...... † some winten give a pounde.

* Your correspondent M. vol. LXIII. p. 1183, fays of what he saw, "In point of composition, some of them are worfe than trivial." Mr. Ives's SUPPOSITION, of their being "trenchers for cheefe or sweetmeats," is a truly ridiculous idea. He had no notion of their origin or ufe. I am forry to differ from S. E. in the fame page, in SUPPOSITION their date about the time of Henry VIII. I apprehend them to be of superior antiquity, from the age of Edward IV. or Richard III. at the lowest.

† Here is a small chafm, to indicate that it is not worth supplying.

5. ROSE.

[May,

1794.] *Pieses for Trenchers.*—*History of Parsons the Jesuit.*

409

3. **ROSE.** Ekeeme of me as one in worth that standes, Sweetes can I give you, and water for your hands.

4. **MARYGOLD.** My leaves doe welcome forth the lonne, and shuttes them at his fall.

A wyke of such a propertie in thrifftexceeds you all.

5. **CARNATION.** As snowe and bloode together women beare, So leates my lippes within my mykris heare.

6. **STRAWBERRY.** And if thy fortune be advanced like myne, Oren thou kant thy mykris lippes betweene.

7. **CHERRY.** For dayntes I am served to make our geftes fit merge, For cherries out of season in season heers a charie.

8. **HEARTSEASE.** Mothinge on earth can better please Than a kayer wyke and hartes cae.

9. **LILY.** My roote sweete orris, my toppe a purple dye; Princes riche dames ekeeme my collers hee.

10. **SWEET-BRIER.** Deface me not, nor with dilgrace doe sticke me, Though I am sweete, dryers have power to prick yee.

11. (A flower; but) Sweete is my smell, but better is my tafe: I know not its name.) Such are my gifts as good words badly plakke.

12. (Unknown.) I take your wyne, and am a cordiall flower, And prove as women come tyme sweete and lower.

If Mr. Urban thinks this worthy a place in his Magazine, I shall feel myself well repaid for transferring it.

Yours, &c., A. M. R.

Mr. URBAN,

May 6.

In addition to what you have given on roundels, I would transcribe for you a fet which I find in a MS. written near the beginning of the last century, under the title of *POSYES FOR TRENCHERS*; but that I fear you will think the subject tiresome, and (which is more material) on a second perusal I find eleven out of the twelve, though highly witty, too closely bordering on indecency. Take however, one that is not exceptional.

"Who dare bupe firft a pretious Pearle

Must be as great as any earle:
If he have worth, tect him not scare,
The Jewell cannot be too dear.