Note 337 — The Drawing Room. (continued 2)

"The Anatomie of Abuses: contayning a discoverie, or briefe summarie of such notable vices and imperfections as now raigne in many Christian Countreyes of the Worlde: but (especiallie) in a very famous Ilande called Ailgna:" &c. Printed by Richard Jones, 1583, small 8vo. Vide Herbert's Typographical Antiquities, vol. iii., p. 1044, for the whole title. Sir John Hawkins, in his History of Music, vol iii., 419, calls this "a curious and very scarce book;" and so does my friend, Mr. Utterson; who revels in his morocco-coated copy of it—"Exemplar olim Farmerianum!" But let us be candid; and not sacrifice our better judgments to our book-passions. After all, Stubbes's work is a caricatured drawing. It has strong passages, and a few original thoughts; and, is moreover, one of the very few works printed in days of yore which have running titles to the subjects discussed in them. These may be recommendations with the bibliomaniac; but he should be informed that this volume contains a great deal of puritanical cant, and licentious language; that vices are magnified in it in order to be lashed, and virtues diminished that they might not be noticed. Stubbes equals Prynne in his anathemas against "Plays and Interludes:" and in his chapters upon "Dress" and "Dancing" he rakes together every coarse and pungent phrase in order to describe "these horrible sins" with due severity. He is sometimes so indecent that, for the credit of the age, and of a virgin reign, we must hope that every virtuous dame threw the copy of his book, which came into her possession, behind the fire. This may reasonably account for its present rarity. I do not discover it in the catalogues of the libraries of Pearson, Steevens, or Brand; but see Bibl. Wright, no. 1390.