Mr. William Cartwright a Student of Christ Church in Oxford, where he lived in Fame and Reputation, for his singular Parts and Ingenuity; being none of the least of Apollo’s Sons; for his excelling vein in Poetry, which produc’d a Volume of Poems, publisht not long after his Death, and usher’d into the World by Commendatory Verses of the choicest Wits at that time; enough to have made a Volume of it self:  So much was he reverenced by the Lovers of the Muses.  He wrote, besides his Poems, The Ordinary, a Comedy; the Royal Slave, Lady Errant, and The Seige, Or, Loves Convert, Tragi-Comedies.

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Sir ASTON COCKAIN.

Sir Aston Cockain laies Claim to a place in our Book, being remembred to Posterity by four Plays which he wrote, viz. The Obstinate Lady, a Comedy; Trapolin supposed a Prince, Tyrannical Government, Tragi-Comedies; and Thersites an Interlude.

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Sir JOHN DAVIS.

This worthy Knight, to whom Posterity is indebted for his learned Works, was well beloved of Queen Elizabeth, and in great Favour with King James.  His younger Years he addicted to the study of Poetry, which produced two excellent Poems, Nosce Teipsum, and Ochestra:  Works which speak themselves their own Commendations:  He also wrote a judicious Metaphrase on several of David’s Psalms, which first made him known at Court:  afterwards addicting himself to the Study of the Common-Law of England; he was first made the Kings Serjeant, and after his Attorney-General in Ireland.

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THOMAS MAY.

Thomas May was one in his time highly esteemed, not only for his Translation of Virgils Georgicks and Lucans Pharsalia into English, but what he hath written Propria Minerva, as his Supplement to Lucan, till the Death of Julius Caesar:  His History of Henry the Second in Verse; besides what he wrote of Dramatick, as his Tragedies of Antigone, Agrippina, and Cleopatra; The Heir, a Tragi-Comedy; The Old Couple, and the Old Wives Tale, Comedies; and the History of Orlando Furioso; of these his Tragi-Comedy of The Heir is done to the life, both for Plot and Language; and good had it been for his Memory to Posterity, if he had left off Writing here; but taking disgust at Court for being frustrated in his Expectation of being the Queens Poet, for which he stood Candidate with Sir William Davenant, who was preferred before him, out of meer Spleen, as it is thought for his Repulse, he vented his Spite in his History of the late Civil Wars of England; wherein he shews all the Spleen of a Male-contented Poet, making thereby his Friends his Foes, and rendring his Fame odious to Posterity; such is the Nature of Malice, that as the Poet saith,