[The _Britannia Sancta_, 4to. 1745, contains the following notice
of St. Richard compiled from the collections of the
Bollandists:--"St. Richard, whose name occurs on Feb. 7 in the
Roman Martyrology, is styled there, as well as in divers other
monuments, _King of the English_, though in the catalogues of our
Saxon kings there is no one found of that name; the reason of
which is, because the catalogues of the kings, during the
Heptarchy, are very imperfect, as might be proved, if it were
necessary, by several instances of kings whose names are there
omitted. As for St. Richard, it is that he was one of those
princes who, as we learn from St. Bede, lib. iv. ch. 12., ruled
the West Saxons after the year 673, till they were forced to give
way to King Ceadwall; which is the more probable, because he
flourished about that time, and was of the province of the West
Saxons, as appears from his being a kinsman to St. Winifred, or
Boniface, born and brought up in those parts (at Crediton in
Devonshire), and from his son Willibald's being brought up in a
monastery of the same province, and from his own setting out upon
his pilgrimage from Hamble Haven, which belonged to the West
Saxons." Some account of St. Richard and his tomb at Lucca will be
found in the _Gentleman's Magazine_, vol. lxix., pt. i. p. 14.]
"_Coming Events cast their Shadows before._"--Where does this couplet
occur?
"'Tis the sunset of life gives me mystical lore,
And coming events cast their shadows before."