ons receiving punishment
at the cart's tail from the hands of a beadle.]

_Imprinted
at London in Fletestret at the signe of the
Faulcon by Wylliam Gryffith, and are to be
solde at his shoppe in Saynt Dunstones
Churche yarde in the West._

[4to. black letter, containing thirty folios, very incorrectly numbered.]

I commence my list of _Characters_, with a volume, which, although earlier
than the period I originally intended to begin from, is of sufficient
curiosity and interest to warrant introduction, and, I trust, to obtain
pardon from the reader for the additional trouble I am thus preparing for
him.

Mr. Warton, in his _History of English Poetry_, (iv. 74.) has given, with
some trifling errors, a transcript of the title, and says he has a faint
remembrance of a Collection of Epigrams, by the author, printed about
1599: these I have never been fortunate enough to meet with, nor do they
appear in the collections of Ames or Herbert, neither of whom had seen a
copy of the present work, although they mention Griffith's licence to
print it as dated in 1566[BV].

It is dedicated to Elizabeth, countess of Shrewsbury; Mr. Warton thinks
"with singular impropriety," although the motive appears at least to
justify the measure, if it does not entitle the author to commendation. He
addresses this noble lady as a person of extreme benevolence, and "as also
aboundantly powrynge out dayly [her] ardent and bountifull charytie vppon
all such as commeth for reliefe."--"I thought it good," he continues,
"necessary, and my bounden dutye, to acquaynte your goodnes with the
abhominable, wycked, and detestable behauor of all these rowsey, ragged
rabblement of rake helles, that vnder the pretence of great misery,
dyseases, and other innumerable calamites whiche they fayne through great
hipocrisye, do wyn and gayne great almes in all places where they wyly
wander."--On this account, therefore, and to preserve the kindness and
liberality of the countess from imposition, Harman dedicates his book to
that lady.

The notorious characters mentioned, are a "ruffler[BW]; a upright man[BX];
a hoker or angglear[BY]; a roge[BZ]; a wylde roge[CA]; a prygger of
prauncers; a pallyarde[CB]; a frater[CC]; a Abraham man[CD]; a fresh water
mariner, or whipiacke; a counterfet cranke[CE]; a dommerar[CF]; a dronken
tinckar[CG]; a swadder or pedler; a jarke man, and a patrico[CH]; a
demaunder for glymmar[CI]; a bawdy basket[CJ]; a antem morte[