_Legend of Montrose_.

Seleucus.

* * * * *

WILLIAM BASSE AND HIS POEMS.

I regret that I am unable to offer any information in answer to "Mr. P.
Collier's" inquiry (No. 13. p. 200.) respecting the existence of a
perfect or imperfect copy of a poem by William Basse on the Death of
Prince Henry, printed at Oxford by Joseph Barnes, 1613, and am only
aware of such a poem from the slight mention of it by Sir Harris Nicolas
in his beautiful edition of Walton's _Complete Angler_, p. 422. But as
the possessor of the 4to. MS. volume of poems by Basse, called
_Polyhymnia_, formerly belonging to Mr. Heber, I feel greatly interested
in endeavouring to obtain some further biographical particulars of
Basse,--of whom, although personally known to Isaac Walton, the author
of one or two printed volumes of poems, and of the excellent old songs
of "the Hunter in his Career" and "Tom of Bedlam," and worthy of having
his verses on Shakspeare inserted among his collected poems, yet the
notices we at present possess are exceedingly slight. We learn from
Anth. Wood, in his _Ath. Oxon._, vol. iv. p. 222., that Basse was a
native of Moreton, near Thame in Oxfordshire, and was for some time a
retainer of Sir Richard Wenman, Knt., afterwards Viscount Wenman, in the
peerage of Ireland. He seems also to have been attached to the noble
family of Norreys of Ricot in Oxfordshire, which is not far from Thame;
and addressed some verses to Francis Lord Norreys, Earl of Berkshire,
from which I quote one or two stanzas, and in the last of which there is
an allusion to the [plainness of the] author's personal appearance: