BIRKENHEAD or BERKENHEAD (SIR JOHN), a political author in the seventeenth century, was the son of Richard Birkenhead, of Northwych, in the county of Cheshire, an honest saddler, who, if some authors may deserve credit, kept also a little ale-house. Our author was born about 1615, and having received some tincture of learning in the common grammar-schools, came to Oxford, and was entered in 1632, a servitor of Oriel college, under the tuition of the learned Dr. Humphrey Lloyd, afterwards bishop of Bangor. Dr. Lloyd recommended him to Laud, archbishop of Canterbury, as his amanuensis, and in that capacity he discovered such talents, that the archbishop, by his diploma, created him A. M. in 1639, and the year following, by letter commendatory from the same great prelate, he was chosen probationary fellow of Ali-souls college. This preferment brought him to reside constantly in Oxford, and on king Charles I. making that city his head-quarters,during the civil war, our author was employed to write a kind of journal in support of the royal cause, by which he gained great reputation; and his majesty recommended him to be chosen reader in moral philosophy, which employment he enjoyed, though with very small profit, till 1648, when he was expelled by the parliament visitors. He retired afterwards to London, where adhering steadily to his principles, he acquired, among those of his own sentiments, the title of "The Loyal Poet," and suffered, from such as had then the power in their hands, several imprisonments, which served only to sharpen his wit, without abating his courage. He published, while he thus lived in obscurity, and, as Wood says, by his wits, some very tart performances, which were then very highly relished, and are still admired by the curious. These were, like his former productions, levelled against the republican leaders, and were written with the same vindictive poignancy that was then fashionable. Upon the restoration of king Charles II. he was created April 6, 1661, on the king's letters sent for that purpose, D. C. L. by the university of Oxford; and in that quality was one of the eminent civilians consulted by the convocation on the question" Whether bishops ought to be present in capital cases?" and with the rest, Feb. 2, 1661-2, gave it under his hand, they ought and might. He was, about the same time, elected a burgess, to serve in parliament for Wilton, in the county of Wilts, and continuing his

services to his master, was by him promoted, on the first vacancy, to some, office at court, which he quitted afterwards, and became master in the Faculty office. He was knighted November 14, 1662, and upon sir Richard Fanshaw's going with a public character to the court of Madrid, sir John Birkenhead succeeded him as master of requests. He was also elected a member of the royal society, an honour at that time conferred on noue who were not well known in the republic of letters, as men capable of promoting the truly noble designs of that learned body. He lived afterwards in credit and esteem with men of wit and learning, and received various favours from the court, in consideration of the past, and to instigate him to other services; which, however, drew upon him some very severe attacks from those who opposed the court. Anthony Wood has preserved some of their coarsest imputations, for what reason is not very obvious, as Wood is in general very partial to the loyalist writers. He died in West

minster, December 4, 1679, and was interred at St. Martin's in the Fields, leaving to his executors, sir Richard Mason, and sir Muddiford Bamston, a large and curious collection of pamphlets on all subjects.

Sir John's newspaper which he wrote at Oxford, was entitled "Mercurius Aulicus, communicating the intelligence and affairs of the court to the rest of the kingdom." It was printed weekly in one sheet, and sometimes more, in 4to; and was chiefly calculated to raise the reputation of the king's friends and commanders, and ridicule those who sided with the parliament. They came out regularly from the beginning of 1642, to the latter end of 1645, and afterwards, occasionally. When Birkenhead was otherwise engaged, Dr. Peter Heylyn supplied his place, but was not thought so capable of that species of writing, as he did not excel in popular wit, which is necessary to render such kind of pieces acceptable to the public. The parliament thought fit to oppose this court-journal by another on their side of the question, under the title of "Mercurius Britannicus," written by Marchmont Nedham, to whom the royalists gave the name of "foul-mouthed Nedham;" who, finding himself somewhat unequal to the Oxford writer, thought fit to ascribe the " Mercurius Aulicus" to several persons, that his deficiency might do the less prejudice to his party. Jacob blunderingly calls the "Mercurius Aulicus," a poem. Sir John's other satirical

works were: 1. "The Assembly-man," written in 1647, but printed, as Wood tells us, 1662-3. 2. "News from Pembroke and Montgomery; or, Oxford Manchestered," &c. 1648. 3. "St. Paul's church-yard; libri theologici, politici, historici, nundinis Paulinis (una cum templo) prostant venales, &c." printed in three sheets, 1649, 4to. These sheets were published separately, as if they had been parts of one general catalogue. An account of them is in the Cens. Lit. vol. IV. 4. "The four-legged Quaker, a ballad, to the tune of the dog and elder's maid," 5. "A new ballad of a famous German prince, without date," &c.

Our author has also several verses and translations extant, set to music by Mr. Henry Lawes; as particularly Anacreon's ode, called the Lute, translated from the Greek, and to be sung by a bass alone; and an Anniversary on the nuptials of John earl of Bridgwater, 22d July, 1652. He wrote, likewise, a poem on his staying in London after the Act of Banishment for cavaliers; and another called the Jolt, made upon Cromwell the protector's being thrown out of his coach-box in Hyde-Park. He published Mr. Robert Waring's "Effigies Amoris, sive quid sit Amor efflagitanti responsum," London, 1649, 12mo, from the original, at the author's desire, who was willing to be concealed. The third edition was published after the restoration, by William Griffith, of Oxford, with an epistle before it, written by him to sir John Birkenhead; wherein he gives the character of that gentleman, as well as of the author. This was the same piece afterwards translated into English by the famous Mr. Norris of Bemerton, and published under the title of "The Picture of Love unveiled." We meet also with several copies of verses written by this gentleman, and prefixed to the works of the most eminent wits and greatest poets of his time; but satire was his principal excellence, and in genuine powers of ridicule he had no superior, at a time when those powers were called forth, and well rewarded by both parties.

BIRKHEAD (HENRY), a modern Latin poet, was born in 1617, near St. Paul's cathedral, in Loudon, and after having been educated under the famous Farnaby, was entered a commoner at Trinity college, Oxford, in 1633;

1 Biog. Brit.-Cibber's Lives.-Ath Ox. vol. II.-Censura Literaria, vol. IV. -Wood's Annals.

admitted scholar there, May 28, 1635, and soon after was seduced to become a member of the college of Jesuits, at St. Omer's. He soon, however, returned to the church of England, and by the patronage of archbishop Laud, was elected fellow of All Souls, in 1638, being then bachelor of arts, and esteemed a good philologist. He proceeded in that faculty, was made senior of the act celebrated in 1641, and entered on the law faculty. He kept bis fellowship during the usurpation, but resigned it after the restoration, when he became registrar of the diocese of Norwich. This too he resigned in 1684, and resided first in the Middle Temple, and then in other places, in a retired condition for many years. The time of his death is not mentioned; but in the title of Trapp's "Lectures on Poetry," Henry Birkhead, LL. D. some time fellow of All Souls college, is styled "Founder of the poetical lectures," the date of which foundation is 1707. He wrote: 1. "Poemata in Elegiaca, Iambica, Polymetra, &c. membranatim quadripartita," 1656, 8vo. 2. 66 Otium Literarium, sive miscellanea quædam Poemata," 1656, 8vo. He also published in 4to, with a preface, some of the philological works of his intimate friend Henry Jacob, who had the honour of teaching Selden the Hebrew language; and he wrote several Latin elegies on the loyalists who suffered in the cause of Charles I. which are scattered in various printed books, and many of them subscribed H. G.1

BISCIONI (ANTHONY MARIA), a celebrated Italian scholar of the last century, was born at Florence, Aug. 14, 1674. After finishing his studies, he taught a school, which produced Bottari, the prelate, and some other eminent men. The grand duke Cosmo III. having given him some benefices, he took priest's orders, and the degree of doctor in the university of Florence, and spent several years in preaching, particularly in the cathedral church of St. Laurence. The chapter, in 1713, appointed him keeper of the Mediceo-Laurentian library, and to this office he was re-elected in 1725, 1729, and 1739, but he could not, with all his endeavours, prevail on the chapter to grant it him for life. While here, however, he began a new course of studies, learned Greek, Hebrew, and other oriental languages, and applied himself particularly to the Tuscan here also he found a very useful patron in Nicolas

Ath. Ox. vol. II-Biog. Brit. vol. VII. p. 174.

Panciatichi, a very opulent Florentine nobleman, who received him into his house, where he remained eleven years, and made him his children's tutor, his librarian, secretary, archivist, &c. and amply rewarded him for his services in all these departments. He was also appointed apostolic prothonotary, synodal examiner at Florence and Fiesola, and reviser of cases of conscience in these dioceses. At length, in 1741, the grand duke of his own accord made him royal librarian of the Laurentian library, and in 1745, gave him a canonry of St. Laurence. In his place as librarian, he was of essential service to men of letters, and was engaged in many literary undertakings which were interrupted by his death, May 4, 1756. He left a very capital collection of rare editions and manuscripts, which the grand duke purchased and divided between the Laurentian and Magliabechian libraries. Biscioni during his life-time was a man of great reputation, and many writers have spoken highly in his praise. He published very little that could be called original, his writings consisting principally of the notes, commentaries, prefaces, letters, and dissertations, with which he enriched the works of others : such as the preface and notes to his edition of the "Prose di Dante Alighieri e di Gio. Boccaccio," Florence, 1713 -1728, 4to; his notes on "Menzini's Satires;" his preface and notes on the "Riposo" of Raphael Borghini, Florence, 1730, 4to, &c. &c. The only work he published not of this description, was a vindication of the first edition of the "Canti Carnascialeschi," against a reprint of that work by the abbé Bracci, entitled "Parere sopra la seconda edizione de' Canti Carnascialeschi e in difesa della prima edizione," &c. Florence, 1750, 8vo. He had begun the catalogue of the Mediceo-Laurentian library, of which the first volume, containing the oriental manuscripts, was magnificently printed at Florence, 1752, folio, and the rest continued by the canon Giulanelli, many years after, who added the Greek MSS. Biscioni left many notes, critical remarks, &c. on books, a history of the Panciatichi family, and of his own family, and some satires on those who had so long prevented him from being perpetual keeper of the Laurentian library, an injury he seems never to have forgotten.

Biog. Universelle.-Mazzuchelli.