The pretty sounding tale related by Sir John Hawkins, that the work in question was undertaken with a view to alleviate the grief of the queen for the death of the Earl of Essex, and that prizes were given by the Earl of Nottingham for the best composition for that purpose, is entirely without foundation. Sir John Hawkins gives no authority for his statement, and I believe it rests entirely upon conjecture.
_The Triumphs of Oriana_ (as we have seen) was printed at London in the year 1601. In the same year was published at Antwerp a collection of madrigals with the following title: _Il Trionfo di Dori, descritto da diversa, et posti in Musica, da altretranti Autori a Sei Voci, In Anversa, Appresso Pietro Phalesio_, 1601. From the date of these two collections, it appears almost impossible that either should have been an imitation of the other; and yet, by an extraordinary similarity in point of _style, number, variety of composers, and burthen of the poetry_, there can be but little doubt such was the case. The point will be therefore to ascertain if either of these works was printed previously to this date, 1601. I have no doubt that the _Orianas_ is the first and only edition of the work. On the other hand, there is good reason (from a variety of circumstances) to suppose that the copy of _Il Trionfo di Dori_ with this date will turn out to be the _second_ edition.
The poetry (if such it can be called) of the _Orianas_ is a paraphrase of _Il Trionfo di Dori_. The Italian burden or conclusion is always--
"Cantiam Ninfe e Pastori Viva la bella Dori."
"Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana, Long live faire Oriana."
Mr. Oliphant, in his collection of poetry entitled _La Musa Madrigalesca_, is perhaps not far wrong when he says that the rhymes of the _Orianas_ would "disgrace the veriest tyro in Grub Street;" but, nevertheless, I have extracted a few specimens, premising that they are the best I could find among the "twenty-five":--
1. "Hence! stars, too dim of light; You dazle but the sight; You teach to grope by night; See here the shepherd's star, Excelling you so far. Then Phoebus wiped his eies, And Zephirus cleer'd the skies. In sweet accented cries, Then sang the shepherds and nymphs of Diana, Long live fair Oriana."