"I once tasted," Nash writes in 1593,[c] "the full
spring of the Earl's liberality." Record is also made of a visit paid
by him to Lord Southampton and Sir George Carey, while the former was
Governor, and the latter Captain-General, of the Isle of Wight.
From internal evidence it would seem that this poem was called forth
by the Earl's bounty to its author. "My muse devorst from deeper (the
_Rawl. MS._ reads _deepest_) care, presents thee with a wanton
elegie;" and further on, the dedication promises "better lines" which
should "ere long" be penned in "honour" of his noble patron. This
promise is renewed in the epilogue:--
"My mynde once purg'd of such lascivious witt,
With purifide words and hallowed verse,
Thy praises in large volumes shall rehearse,
That better maie thy grauer view befitt."
Does this refer to "The Unfortunate Traveller; or, The Life of Jack
Wilton," generally regarded as Nash's most ambitious work, and which
he dedicated to Lord Southampton in 1593? If so, and there is no
evidence to gainsay the conclusion, we can fix the date of the present
poem as, at all events, prior to 17th September of that year, when
"The Unfortunate Traveller" was entered on the Stationers'
Register.
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