in us, as naturally as it is for the night to succeed the day: for, as the physicians hold there is no perfection of corporal health in the life, but a convalescence at best, which is a medium 'twixt health and sickness, so is it in the state of the mind. This extends from the lord to the lacquey, from the peasant to the prince, whose crown is oftentimes inlaid with thorns, whose robe is furred with fears, whereof the ermine is no ill emblem, having as many black spots in it as white. Nor is there anything so hereditary to mankind as vexation of spirit, which, doubtless, was the ground the Pagan philosopher built his opinion upon, that the rational soul was given to man for his self-punishment and martyrdom :

Man often is

A tyrant to himself, a Phalaris.

"But as, when we go abroad, we cannot hinder the birds of the air to fly and flutter about our heads, yet we may hinder them to root or nestle within our hair; so, while we travel in this life, we cannot prevent but myriads of melancholy cogitations, and thoughtful cares and longings, will often seize upon our imaginations, yet we may hinder these thoughts to build their nests within our bosoms, and to descend from the head to the heart, and take footing there; if they do, I told you, before, what is the best cordial to expel them thence."

In the paragraphs we shall next quote, the author touches upon the poetical literature of France, and then turns to some general conclusions with respect to the life of a traveller.

"There be some French poets will afford excellent entertainment; especially Du Bartas; and 'twere not amiss to give a slight salute to Ronzard, Desportes, and the late Theophile: and, touching poets, they must be used like flowers; some must be only smelt unto; but some are good to be thrown into a limbique, to be distilled, whence the memory may carry away the elixir of them; for true poesy is the quintessence, or rather the luxury of learning. Let him run over, also, the proverbs of every country, and cull out the choicest of them; for many of them carry much weight, wit, and caution with them.

"And every nation hath certain proverbs and adages peculiar to itself; neither would it be time ill spent, to read Esop in every tongue, and make it his task to relate some fable, every day, to his governor, or some other, by heart.

"Thus, the life of a traveller is spent, either in reading, in meditation, or in discourse: by the first, he converseth with the dead; by the second, with himself; by the last, with the living, which, of all three, is most advantageous for attaining a language, the life whereof consists in society and communication. Let his chamber be streetward, to take in the common cry and language, and see how the town is served; for it will be no unprofitable diversion unto him: but for his closet, let it be in the inner part.”

Concerning the expenses of travelling, we find this notice :

"As for expenses, he must make account, that every servant he hath, (whereof there should be none English, but his governor,) every one will stand him in £50 a piece, per annum; and, for his own expenses, he cannot allow himself less than £300. I include herein all sorts of exercises; his riding, dancing, fencing, the racket, coach-hire, with other casual charges, together with his apparel, which, if it be fashionable, it matters not how plain it is, being a ridiculous vanity to be gaudy amongst strangers; it is as if one should light a candle to the sun.

"The time that he spends in Paris, must be chiefly employed to improve himself in the exercises aforesaid; for there the choicest masters are of any part of Christendom. He must apply himself, also, to know the fashion and garb of the court, observe the person and genius of the prince, inquire of the greatest noblemen and their pedigree, (which I recommend to his special consideration,) of the favourites and prime councillors of state, the most eminent courtiers; and, if there be any famous man, to seek conversation with him, for it was the saying of a great emperor, that he had rather go fifty miles to hear a wise man, than five to see a fair city.

"For private gentlemen and cadets, there be divers academies in Paris, college-like, where for 150 pistoles a year, which come to about £110 sterling per annum of our money, one may be very well accommodated with lodging and diet for himself and a man, and be taught to ride, to fence, to manage arms, to dance, vault, and ply the mathematics."

Some literary information may be had from the following short extract:

“There are in Paris, every week commonly, some odd pamphlets and pasquils dispersed, and dropped up and down; for there is no where else that monstrous liberty, (yet London hath exceeded her far now of late, the more I am sorry ;) which, with the Gazettes and Courantes, he should do well to read weekly, and raise discourse thereon; for though there may be many trivial passages in them, yet they are couched in very good language, and one shall feel the general pulse of Christendom in them, and know the names of the most famous men that are up and down the world in action.

"Some do use to have a small ledger-book, fairly bound up tablebook-will, wherein, when they meet with any person of note and eminency, and journey or pension with him any time, they desire him to write his name, with some short sentence, which they call the mot of remembrance, the perusal whereof will fill one with no unpleasing thoughts of dangers and accidents passed."

It is curious to find, that, even in Howell's time, it should be necessary to caution Englishmen from mixing with their countrymen on the continent. The advice cannot be too often repeated at the present day.

"Being come to France, his best course will be to retire to some

university about the Loire, unfrequented by the English, for the greatest bane of English gentlemen abroad, is too much frequency and communication with their own countrymen."

We shall not transfer any thing more from the Instructions we have left in it not much that is remarkable, though the whole is well worth the perusal of any one who may chance to meet with the original. Howell was a man, not only of learning, but of some liveliness of fancy: he had good sense, and considerable experience and knowledge of the world. We shall have occasion to return again to him and his works; although very frequent mention has been made of him in our former volumes, and one of his works reviewed.

ART. III.—The History of Sir Owain Glyndwr ; Lord of Corwen and Glyndwrdwy. MS. in the Mostyn Collection.

In two Articles, inserted in the earlier numbers of the Retrospective Review,* we endeavoured to give-in one, a succinct account of the Conquest of Wales; and in the other, a brief view of the state to which the Welsh were reduced by that conquest, as well as by the consequent arbitrary measures, to which the English monarch deemed it necessary to have recourse, in order to keep the turbulent mountaineers in due and dutiful subjection. When we commenced the subject, it was our intention to have completed it long ere this, by bringing down our record to the present day; and we intended to show the effects of the union by Henry VIII., chiefly as influencing the manners and morals of the people, by making them equal participators in the rights and privileges of the English themselves, as well as by establishing one common spirit of good will and intercourse between such hostile and pugnacious rivals. By such a plan, we knew that we should be able to present our readers with much curious information as to the local traditions, customs, superstitions, and peculiar pastoral pastimes of our secluded countrymen. A portion of our proposed scheme has recently been performed in a paper, on the Popular Superstitions of the Welsh: but circumstances, unforeseen and not to be controlled, have occurred to prevent the speedier execution of our purpose. An opportunity, however, has at length occurred, and we now resume our plan, by filling up the chasm

* See Numbers vii. and x.

which was left between the conquest by Edward, in 1284, and the prevalence of those dreadful outrages which were related in the article on the history of the Gwedir Family; this chasm being principally occupied with the insurrection of Owen Glendowr.

It will be remembered, perhaps, that the Welsh, after the conquest, were cast into the most dismal and oppressive bondage. To remedy, in some degree, their miserable condition, their conqueror made only such alterations in their own native and peculiar laws, as should establish his conquest on a firmer foundation, while, at the same time, it should have the effect of ameliorating the miseries of their subjection. These alterations were well calculated to heal the wounds of the irritated Welshmen, and the advantages which they ought to have derived from such temperate and judicious enactments, would eventually have cancelled the obstinacy of national prejudice. But the officers to whom the execution of these laws was entrusted, abused the power conferred upon them by their prince, and used every means most assiduously to oppress and torment their subjugated enemies. Shamefully, indeed, were the Welsh treated by the king's officers; and we select a few curious examples of their unjustifiable tyranny, from a long "Memorial of the Greefes and Injuries offered by the King and his officers to the men of Ros.

1. The Lord the King did promise the men of Ros that they should have justice in their suits: after granting of the which articles, the said men did homage to the king. And then the king promised them with his own mouth faithfully to observe the said articles. This notwithstanding, a certain noble man passing by the king's high way, with his wife, in the king's peace, met certain English labourers and masons going to Ruthlan, where they did their work: who attempted by force to take away his wife from him, and while he defended her as well as he could, one of them killed the wife, and he who killed her, with his fellows, was taken: and when the kindred of her which was slain, required law at the justice of Chester's hands (for their kinswoman), they were put in prison, and the murderers were delivered. 2. Item, a certain man killed a gentleman, who had killed the son of Grono ab Heilyn, and was taken: but when certain of the kindred required justice before the justice of Chester, certain of them were imprisoned, the offender set at liberty, and justice denied to the kindred.

3. Item, certain gentlemen claimed some lands, and offered the king a great piece of money, to have justice by the verdict of good and lawful men of the country: then the lands being adjudged to the claimers, Reginald Gray took the same lands, corn, goods, and all upon the ground, so that they lost their money, corn, and cattle.

4. Item, it is our right that no stranger shall cut our woods without

our leave yet this notwithstanding, there was a proclamation at Ruthlan, that it should be lawful for all other men to cut down our woods, but to us it was forbidden.

5. Item, when any cometh to Ruthlan with merchandize, if he refuse whatsoever any Englishman offereth, he is forthwith sent to the castle to prison, and the buyer hath the thing, and the king hath the price then the soldiers of the castle first spoil and beat the party, and then cause him to pay the porter, and let him go.

6. Item, if any Welshman buy any thing in Ruthlan, and any Englishman do meet him, he will take it from him, and give him less than he paid for it.

7. Item, certain gentlemen of the Cantred (hundred) of Ros bought certain offices, and paid their money for the same; yet the justice of Chester took the said offices from them without cause.

8. Item, Grono ab Heilyn took to farm for four years of Godfrey Marliney, Maynan and Llysfayn; then Robert Cruquer came with his horses and arms to get the said lands by force, and for that Grono would not suffer him to have the said lands before his years came out, he was called to the law, and then Reginald Gray came with twentyfour horsemen to take the said Grono. And for that they could not that day have their purpose, they called Grono the next day to RuthJan and then Grono had counsel not to go to Ruthlan. Then they called him again to answer at Caerwys; but the said Grono durst not go thither but by the conduct of the bishop of S. Asaph, for that Reginald Gray was there and his men in harness.

9. Item, our causes ought to be decided after the custom of our laws; but our men be compelled to swear against their consciences, else they be not suffered to swear at all; furthermore, we spent three hundred marks in going to the king for justice in the foresaid articles. And when we believed to recover full justice, the king sent to our parties the Lord Reginald Gray, to whom the king hath set all the lands to farm, to handle the men of the said Cantreds (hundreds) as it pleaseth him: who compelled us to swear in his name, whereas we should swear only in the king's name. And where the king's cross ought to be erected, he caused his cross to be erected, in token that he was the very true lord. And the said Lord Reginald, at his coming to those parts of Wales, sold to certain servants of the king, offices of sixty marks, which the said servants bought before of the king for twenty-four marks, which offices ought not to be sold at the choice of the lord."*

This Reginald Gray appears to have been a most terrible despot, and no unworthy ancestor of the nobleman of the same name, whose oppressive persecutions first roused Owen Glendowr to assert the trampled rights and liberties of his injured countrymen. It is elsewhere said of the former rapacious robber, that as soon as he returned to Wales, he determined to take twenty-four men of every cantred, and either behead them,

* From a MS. in the Hengwrt collection.