Illustrations of Old English Literature Author:John Payne Collier Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE PASSION DISCONTENTED MINDE. LONDON: Printed by T. C. for John Baily, and are to be fold at his fhop at the doore of the Office of the fixe ... more »Clarkes in Chancerie Lane. 1602. INTRODUCTION. I the lists of Nieholas Breton's produetions this poem is attributed to him, but without the slightest evidenee to support the position : it does not bear his name or initials, it was not even published by a stationer whom he was in the habit of employing, and it seems hardly likely that the same pen would write and print, and in the same year, this pious " Passion of a diseontented Mind," and " Old Madeaps new Gallimawfry made into a merry Mess of Mingle-mangle." The ineonsisteney is, however, possible, though not probable; and the style of what follows is superior to Breton's usual manner. Some of the stanzas are as powerful and eloquent as any that Southwell left behind him ; and were we to form a eonjeeture, we should be mueh more disposed to give it to him, as a posthumous effusion, than to assign it to sueh a money-making pen as that of the author of " The Soul's Harmony," or " Wonders worth the Hearing," both of whieh, like the work in our hands, made their appearanee in 1602. Were we to aeeept the traet now reprinted as the work of Breton, it would make the fourth effusion of his muse published in the same year. In " The Passion of a diseontented Mind" there is eertainly little poetry, properly so ealled, but mueh religious fervour and piety. We never saw more than a single eopy of the edition we have used, but it was reprinted in 1621, and of that impression two exemplars appear to remain to us. We apprehend that it is unique in the form in whieh we have reprodueed it. The printer's initials, T. C., are those of Thomas Creede, one of the best typo...« less