to the world's Creator.

Your Honor's in all humble service,
THOMAS WEELKES."

In 1608 appeared Weelkes' last work, "Airs or Fantastic Spirits for
three voices," a collection of lively and humorous ditties. Oliphant
writes:--"For originality of ideas, and ingenuity of construction in
part writing, (I allude more especially to his ballets,) Weelkes in my
opinion leaves all other composers of his time far behind." The verses
in Weelkes' song-books are never heavy or laboured; they are always
bright, cheerful, and arch.

_Page_ 3. Robert Jones was a famous performer on the lute. He had a
share in the management of the theatre in the Whitefriars (Collier's
"Annals of the Stage," i. 395). His works are of the highest rarity. The
delightful lyrics in Jones' song-books have escaped the notice of all
the editors of anthologies.

_Page_ 4. Thomas Morley, who was a pupil of William Byrd, was the author
of the first systematic treatise on music published in this country--"A
plain and easy Introduction to practical Music," 1597, quaintly set down
in form of a dialogue. The verses in his collections are mere airy
trifles, and hardly bear to be separated from the music.

"About the maypole new," &c., is a translation of some Italian lines,
beginning--

"Al suon d'una sampogn' e d'una citera,
Sopra l'herbette floride
Dansava Tirsi con l'amata Cloride," &c.

In Morley's "Canzonets to three Voices," 1593, we have the following
pleasant description of the preparations for a country wedding:--

"Arise, get up, my dear, make haste, begone thee:
Lo! where the bride, fair Daphne, tarries on thee.
Hark! O hark! yon merry maidens squealing
Spice-cakes, sops-in-wine are a-dealing.
Run, then run apace
And get a bride-lace
And gilt rosemary branch the while there yet is catching
And then hold fast for fear of old snatching.

Alas! my dear, why weep ye?
O fear not that, dear love, the next day keep we.
List, yon minstrels! hark how fine they firk it,
And how the maidens jerk it!
With Kate and Will,
Tom and Gill,
Now a skip,
Then a trip,
Finely fet aloft,
There again as oft;
Hey ho! blessed holiday!
All for Daphne's wedding day!"

_Page_ 9. John Wilbye is styled by Oliphant "the first of madrigal
writers." He published his "First Set of English Madrigals" in 1598, and
his "Second Set" in 1609. The Sec