Add MS 4455

COMMONPLACE-BOOK OF JOHN BENNET, of Hart Hall, Oxford (see note on f. 3 'Sum e libris Johannis Bennet ex aula Cervina, Sept. 29, 1672, pret. 6 [d]'). The parts of the MS. left blank by Bennet were later used as a commonplace book by the Rev. John King (1652-1732), of Exeter College, Oxford, D.D., afterwards Rector of Chelsea, Prebendary of York (1718), etc. The chief contents are as follows:-

A. Bennet's commonplace-book. (a) Notes on Sir Robert Stapleton's Juvenal. ff. 9-11 b;- (b) Extracts from The Discovery of a World in the Moone, 1638, by Dr John Wilkins, Bishop of Chester. ff. 12-13;- (c) The last part of a valedictory epistle in Latin verse addressed to the University of Oxford by Johannes Adamus, a Transylvanian (printed, circ. 1675). Beg. 'O quam vos memorem'. f. 26;- (d) 'The Prologue [by Dryden] of a Play entitl'd Witt without money [by Beaumont and Fletcher] spoken at the Duke's old Theatre (after the King's was burnt) by the King's Players, Feb. 26, 1671'. Beg. 'So shipwrackt passengers escape to land'. f. 26b;- (e) 'Oratio m[agist]ri [Matthei?] Hunter e. Coll. Regin. Oxon. Grammaticae Professoris, Julii 20, 1651': a burlesque lecture, partly in Latin, partly in English. ff. 27-32;- (f) Tripos speeches of the 'Terrae Filii' at Cambridge in 1631, viz. Henry Vintner 'praevaricator prior' and James Duport (Dean of Peterborough, 1664), 'praevaricator posterior'. Latin. ff. 32b-42;- (g) 'A Prologue to [the Hon.] Edw. Howard's Eutopia [Six days' adventure: or the New Utopia, 16711, made by Mr. Buckherst'. According to Add. MS. 18226, f. 31, it is by Charles, Lord Buckhurst, 6th Earl of Dorset, 1677. Beg. 'Come on you Criticks'. f. 42b;- (h) 'Oratio habita in vesperiis Oxonii primo die Julii, 1652', on the subject 'an poeta nascatur'. ff. 43-45b;- (i) 'Numeralia 8 linguarum', viz. Hebrew, French, Italian, German, Belgian, Spanish, Polish, and Hungarian. f. 49;- (j) 'A Musick Speech made by Mr [Thomas] Laurence of Univ. Coll., July the 11, 1669'. The prologue begins 'Bless me, what sight'. ff. 60-64;- (k) Short extracts from two sermons in English, apparently by Mr. - of Magdalen College, 1672. f. 65;- (l) Latin inscription in honour of William Camden the historian, by Degory Whear, first Camden Professor, 1622. f. 72;- (m) 'A Hue and Cry after Good Friday lost in the Oxford Almanack', beg. 'How now, Oxonian' (l18 lines). ff. 72b-73; (n) Epitaph in verse on Cardinal Mazarin (d. 1661), beg. 'Hic jacet Julius Mazarinus'. f. 73b. B. King's commonplace book.

(1) Miscellaneous verses in English, in King's hand. Among them are:-

(a) Song (2 x 7 lines), beg. 'Ianthe the lovely, the joy [of] the plain'. f. lb;- (b) On Flora's birthday (9 x 4 lines), beg. 'Flora today prepares a feast'. f. 4;- (c) 'On reviving the K[night]ts of the B[ath]': six couplets, beg. 'Quoth R-n [Sir Robert Walpole?], o[u]r ribbons, I see, are too few'. f. 4;- (d) 'To the Night Guard of Ch. Lane [i.e. Church Street, Chelsea] Bounds' (2 x 8 lines), beg. 'S[ir]s, being inform'd Phill has been gadding'. f.5b;- (e) To R—ph P—r Esq' (l2 lines), beg. 'S[i]r, you are chosen one of th' standing guards-to Chelsea Nymphs'. f. 7b;- (f) 'To Lady Nor-ff' (Frances, widow of Sir Thomas Norcliff, married afterwards Moses Goodyear); 3 Dec. 1725. Beg. 'Twas so much pain' (12 lines). f. 8;- (g) 'To the Ingenious Mrs. Ann Hungerford', beg. 'Since indignation verse inspires' (3 stanzas of 8, 7, 8 lines). f. 46;- (h) 'A Rejoinder to the Partridge scare-Crow' (31 lines), beg. 'Dost judge thyself an equal'; by Nicholas Strelley of Nottingham; with other verses in reply. ff. 46b-48;-

(i) 'Mrs. A[nn] H[ungerford?] to Mrs. Eliz. King' (King's second wife?), beg. 'As glorious Actions Generous souls inspire' (2 x 12 lines), with rough drafts of Mrs. King's answer, and a further invitation by the latter to Mrs. Hungerford in verse. ff. 48b, 49b-54;- (j) A riddle on coals, by Lady Ann Howard, beg. 'A Negro I, tho' sprung from northern clime'. f. 54; and many other verse riddles, including one (f. 58b) on the South Sea Company's Directors, beg. 'Thirty baboons'. ff. 54b-59, 65, 90;- (k) Mr G- on Nahum Tate's Panacea-a Poem on Tea, 1700, beg. 'So dull a theme' (20 lines). f. 57b;-(l) Two translations of Mazarin's epitaph (see A, art. n). Beg. Here Mazarin's confin'd by chance', or 'Here Julius Mazarin's confin'd'. ff. 74-74b;- (m) Verses on the death (1726) of Sophia Dorothea, consort of George I, viz. 'A mother dead' (8 lines), with allusion to the Duchess of Kendal; and 'Poor Dorothy confin'd for life' (3 x 4 lines). f. 87;- (n) 'Eginard and Emma' (i.e.Imma) beg. 'Of all the Gods, that rule in Heaven above' (191 lines). ff. 91-94b;- (o) 'Blenheim', beg. 'Parent of Arts, whose skillful hand first taught' (30 lines). f. 95.

(2) Latin verses 'On a Monster brought out of Hungary & shown in London ... two Girls Joyned', etc., 1701. Beg. 'Corpora binarum sic concrevere sororum'; f. 7; with an English translation by King, beg. 'Nature did thus two pretty Sisters join' (14 lines), and a rough drawing, on the opposite page (f. 6b).

(3) 'A Supplement of some things Relating to S[i]r Thomas More ... taken out of his Life written by Tho. [i.e. Cresacrel More his gt. Granson [published in 1626] and some other Authors. With some remarks', in King's hand; followed by the draft of a letter from him to J. Hearne, 1716/7, with notes relating to the identification of More's house in Chelsea. Published by T. Faulkner in An historical and topographical description of Chelsea, 1810. ff. 13b-21b.

(4) Diagram of the celestial spheres. f. 22.

(5) Letter of King to Sir William Dawes, Archbishop of York; 11 Oct. 1718. Draft. f. 23.

(6) 'Hearne's Preface to Camden's Elizabeth [1717 ed.] considered', giving the passages in which Dr. White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, is covertly alluded to. ff. 24b-25.

(7) Extracts from a letter to William Bunbury, Rector of Catworth, co. Hunt, about the date of the Venerable Bede's death, 1716/7; followed by some queries of Bunbury's relating to astronomical matters. ff. 66b- 67.

(8) Letter of Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich, to John Chamberlayne, July 1716, on circumcision among the ancients, etc.; followed by a draft of a letter in King's hand thanking Chamberlayne for sending him the above letter of the Dean, with remarks of his own on the same subject, 21 Dec. 1716. ff. 67b-68b (cf. also note on f. 2).

(9) Epitaphs in King's hand, viz. (a) of Humphrey Perye, formerly of Bilston, afterwards Mayor of Stafford, and of his two wives; 1716. In Latin, Hebrew, and Greek. ff. 69b-71 b;- (b) of Thomas Thynne of Longleat ('Tom of 10,000'), from his monument in Westminster Abbey; 1681/2. f. 75.

(10) 'Oratio habita in Theatro Sheldoniano in Comitiis a Magistro [Johanne] Rotheram ex aede Christi, Terrae filio, 1671'; nominally on the subject 'An terra sit mobilis', but actually a satire on the leading Oxford dons of the day, whose names are given in the margins, with a special allusion to Balliol College. ff. 76-82.

(11) Two Latin speeches of King's, viz. (a) delivered at the Natural Philosophy School, in 1679. ff. 83-84;-and (b) at Exeter College, in 1674. ff. 85-86.

(12) Poem on the month of May (94 lines), beg. 'Fly, Fly, far hence, corroding Cares' altered from the poem attributed in Add. MS. 14936, f. 89b, to the Rev. Thomas Owen, of Aberffraw, Anglesey. ff. 88-89b.

(13) Five lines, beg. 'next to the Ravens the Pylian King [Nestor]'; apparently by Dryden. f. 96.

(14) Epitaphs on (a) Susanna Gooldwing, and (b) Moses Wood. f.99b;- (c) Joanna Wells. f.100 (see also f.58 b for others on T. Williams, etc.). Paper; ff. 100. Small quarto. Circa 1672-1725.

John King, DD; Rector of Chelsea: Miscellaneous extracts and original compositions, in prose and verse: early 18th cent.

Poetry TWO OR MORE LANGUAGES: J. King: poems collected by: 17th-18th centt.: Engl and Lat.

includes:

• ff. 3-72 passim John Bennet, of Hart Hall, Oxford: Commonplace-book: 17th cent.
• f. 4 Orders Military. Bath: Verses on reintroduction of: early 18th cent.
• f. 8 Frances Norcliff, afterwards Goodyear; widow of Sir T Norcliff: Verses to: 1725.
• f. 9b John Dryden, poet and dramatist: Verses by(?): 18th cent.
• ff. 9-11b Decimus Junius Juvenalis: Notes on Stapleton's translation of: late 17th cent.
• ff. 9-11b Sir Robert Stapleton, d 1669 dramatist: Notes on his translation of Juvenal: late 17th cent.
• ff. 12-13 John Wilkins, DD, Bishop of Chester 1668: Extracts from his 'The Discovery of a World in the Moone' (1638),: late 17th cent.
• ff. 13b-21b Sir Thomas More, Lord Chancellor: Notes on his life, etc., by J. King: early 18th cent.
• ff. 13b-21b passim Cresacre More, d 1649 great-grandson of Sir Thomas More: Extracts from his life of Sir T. More, etc.: early 18th cent.
• f. 15b Chelsea, Middlesex: Enquiries rel. to Sir T. More's house at: early 18th cent.
• f. 20 John King, DD; Rector of Chelsea: Letter to T. Hearne: 1717.
• f. 21b Joan Dudley, wife of John, Duke of Northumberland: Epitaph on, in Chelsea church: 1555: Copy, early 18th cent.
• f. 22 Astronomy: Diagram of the celestial spheres: 17th cent.
• f. 23 John King, DD; Rector of Chelsea: Letter to the Abp. of York: 1718.: Draft.
• f. 24b White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough: Allusions to: circ. 1717.
• f. 24b Thomas Hearne, antiquary: Remarks on his preface to Camden's 'Annales ... Elizabetha': circ. 1717.
• f. 24b William Camden, antiquary; Clarenceux King of Arms: Note on Hearne's preface to his 'Elizabeth': early 18th cent.
• f. 26 Johannes Adamus, of Transylvania: Verses: circ. 1675.: Lat.: Imperf.
• f. 26b Francis Beaumont, dramatist: Prologue, by Dryden, to his 'Witt without Money': 1672.
• f. 26b John Fletcher, dramatist: Prologue, by Dryden, to his 'Witt without money': 1672.
• f. 26b John Dryden, poet and dramatist: Prologue to Beaumont and Fletcher's 'Witt without money': 1672.: Copy.
• f. 26b Drama: Prologue by Dryden to J. Fletcher's 'Witt without Money': 1672.
• ff. 27, 43, 77, 83, 85 University of Oxford: Academic orations: 1651-1679.
• ff. 27-32 M[atthew?] Hunter, of Queen's College, Oxford: Burlesque lecture: 1651.: Engl. and Lat.: Copy.
• ff. 32b-42 University of Cambridge: Tripos speeches of the 'Terrx filii', 1631. Copy: late 17th cent.
• ff. 32b-42 Henry Vintner, Fellow of King's College, Cambridge: Tripos speech,: 1631: Lat.: Copy, late 17th cent.
• f. 35b James Duport, Regius Professor of Greek, Cambridge: Tripos speech: 1631.: Lat.: Copy.
• f. 42b Edward Howard, dramatist; son of Thomas, 1st Earl of Berkshire: Satirical verse prologue to his 'Six days adventures; or the New Utopia': 1671.: Copy.
• f. 42b Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex; Lord Buckhurst: Satirical verse prologue to play by E. Howard: circ. 1671.: Copy.
• ff. 46-54 Ann Hungerford, of Chelsea: Verses to and by: early 18th cent.
• ff. 46b-48 Nicholas Strelley, of Nottingham: Verses by: early 18th cent.: Copy.
• f. 47b John King, DD; Rector of Chelsea: Letter to -: early 18th cent.
• ff. 48b-54 Elizabeth King, (?) wife of Reverend J King, of Chelsea: Verses to and by: early 18th cent.
• f. 54 Lady Ann Howard: A riddle in verse: 18th cent.
• f. 57b Nahum Tate, poet laureate: Verses on his 'Panacea' (1700),: 18th cent.
• f. 58b T. Williams: Epitaph on: early 18th cent.
• f. 58b South Sea Company: Verses on: early 18th cent.
• f. 60 Thomas Laurence, of University College, Oxford: Speech in the Music School, Oxford: 1669.: Copy.
• f. 66b John King, DD; Rector of Chelsea: Letter to W. Bunbury: 1717.: Extr.
• f. 67b Humphrey Prideaux, Dean of Norwich: Letter to J. Chamberlayne: 1716.: Copy.
• f. 68b John King, DD; Rector of Chelsea: Letter to J. Chamberlayne: 1716.: Draft.
• ff.69b-71b Humphrey Perye, Mayor of Stafford: Epitaph on, 1716.: 18th cent.: Hebr., Gr. and Lat.: Copy.
• f. 72 William Camden, antiquary; Clarenceux King of Arms: Inscription in his honour: 1627.: Lat.: Copy.
• f. 72 Degory Wheare, Camden Professor of History at Oxford: Inscription by: 1622.: Lat.: Copy.
• ff. 73b-74b Jules Mazarin, d 1661 Cardinal: Epitaphs on: 17th- 18th centt.: Lat., Fr. and Engl.
• f. 75 Thomas Thynne, of Longleat: Epitaph: 1682,: Lat.
• ff. 76-82 John Rotherham, of Christ Church, Oxford; Rector of Springfield 1677: Speech in the Sheldonian theatre: 1671.: Copy.
• f. 87 George I of England: Verses on the death of his consort, Sophia Dorothea: 1726.
• f. 88 Reverend Thomas Owen, of Anglesey: Adaptation of a poem attrib. to: early 18th cent.
• f. 99b Susanna Gooldwing: Epitaph on: 18th cent.
• f. 99b Moses Wood: Epitaph on: 18th cent.
• f. 100 Joanna Wells: Epitaph on: 18th cent.