Page:Dictionary of National Biography. Sup. Vol III (1901).djvu/152

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Manuche
138
Manuche

    nicle of Ethelfled,' 1861, 8vo.

  1. A Noble Purpose Nobly Won' (Joan of Arc), 1862, 8vo; 2nd ed. 1862; 3rd ed. 1870, 8vo.
  2. 'Meadowleigh,' 1863, 8vo.
  3. 'The Duchess of Trajetto,' 1863, 8vo.
  4. 'An Interrupted Wedding,' 1864, 8vo.
  5. 'Belforest,' 1865, 8vo.
  6. 'Selvaggio: a Tale of Italian Country Life,' Edinburgh, 1865, 8vo.
  7. 'Miss Biddy Frobisher,' 1866, 8vo.
  8. 'The Lincolnshire Tragedy: Passages in the Life of the Faire Gospeller, Mistress Anne Askewe, recounted by Nicholas Moldwarp,' 1866, 8vo.
  9. 'The Masque at Ludlow and other Romanesques,' 1866, 8vo.
  10. 'Jacques Bonneval,' 1868, 16ino.
  11. 'The Spanish Barber,' 1869, 8vo.
  12. . 'One Trip More,' 1870, 8vo.
  13. 'Compton Friars,' 1872, 8vo.
  14. 'The Lady of Limited Income,' 1872, 8vo.
  15. 'Monk's Norton,' 1874, 8vo.
  16. 'Heroes of the Desert: the Story of the Lives of Moffat and Livingstone,' 1875, 8vo; 2nd ed. 1885, 8vo.
  17. ' An Idyll of the Alps,' 1876, 8vo.

From 1868 to 1876 Miss Manning contributed regularly articles, verse, and stories to Dr. Whittemore's magazine, 'Golden Hours,' in which the following serials by her, apparently never republished, appeared: 'Madame Prosni and Madame Bleay: a Story of the Siege of LaRochelle,' 1868; 'Rosita,' 1869; 'On the Grand Tour,' 1870; 'Octa via Solara,' 1871; 'Illusions Dispelled,' 1871.

[Passages in an Authoress's Life in Golden Hours, January to May 1872; Women Novelists of Queen Victoria's Reign, article by Charlotte Mary Yonge; Englishwoman's Review, February 1880, notes by Mrs. Batty; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. viii. 16; Athenæum, 30 Nov. 1878; private information.]

MANUCHE or MANUCCI, COSMO (fl. 1652), dramatist, of Italian origin, probably belonged to the Florentine family of Mannucci, some members of which were in the service of the Medici (cf. Crollalanza, Dizionario Storico-Blasonico, ii. 66; Ademollo, Marrietta de' Ricci, ed. Passerini, ii. 632-3). In 1587 one Giacopo Manucci was among the agents in Italy who were in correspondence with the English foreign office (Hatfield Papers, iii. 262). Cosmo was doubtless related to Francesco Manucci, who was at one time in the domestic service of Edward Wotton, first baron Wotton [q. v.], and from 1624 in that of Edward Conway, first viscount Conway (cf. Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1623-5, pp. 263, 288, 426, 434; 1628-9, p. 348). He seems to have himself joined the household of James Compton, third earl of Northampton, who encouraged his literary tastes and ambitions. During the civil wars he joined the royalists and obtained commissions in the king's army as captain and major of foot. He commonly described himself as Major Cosmo Manuche. He served continuously to the end of the war in England, and then joined the royalists in Ireland. Returning to England, he sought a livelihood by 'boarding scholars' and writing plays, most of which he dedicated to Lord Northampton. His poverty was great. In his need he did not disdain the service of the Protector. On 4 June 1656 he sent, through Secretary Thurloe, a petition to Cromwell begging for the payment of 20l., which he claimed to be the balance of an account due to him for 'making discoveries of the disturbers of our present happy government' (Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1655-6, p. 348). At the time of the Restoration he represented to adherents of Charles II that he had often suffered imprisonment during the Protectorate for his loyalty to the cause of the king. On 12 Dec. 1661 Lord Berkeley of Stratton, Sir Gilbert Talbot, and Sir Lewis Dyve signed a certificate attesting Manuche's military achievements in Charles I's behalf, and the present ill-health and destitution not only of himself but of his wife and two children (Egerton MS. 2623, f. 34).

No less than twelve plays—three in print and nine in manuscript—have been assigned to Manuche. The two by which he is best known were published in 1652, with his name on the title-page. The titles run: 'The Just General: a Tragi:Comedy, written by Major Cosmo:Manuche. London, Printed for M.M. T.C. and G.Bedell, and are to be sold at their Shop at the Middle Temple gate in Fleet Street, 1652;' and 'The Loyal Lovers: a Tragi Comedy Written by Major Cosmo Manuche. London, Printed for Thomas Eglesneld at the Brazen Serpent in St. Paul's Church-yard, 1652.' Each is described as a tragi-comedy. In neither does the language show any trace of its author's foreign origin. According to his own account 'The Just General' was his first literary effort. Neither piece was acted. 'The Just General' is dedicated to the Marquis of Northampton and his wife Isabella, and has, by way of prologue, a dialogue between characters called 'Prologue' and 'Critick.' 'The Loyal Lovers' is defaced by much coarseness. Hugh Peters is furiously denounced under the name of 'Sodome.' Manuche's metrical methods are curious. In the 'Loyal Lovers' there is some prose, but the rest of that play and the whole of the 'Just General' are written in an eccentrically irregular form of blank verse, which is rhythmical and not metrical, and is barely distinguishable from