"Shortly after the publication of his parliamentary history he died,
miserable and neglected, and deserves to be forgotten."
The fact is, he was found dead in his bed in Nov. 1650; but that he was
"neglected" is not altogether correct. At any rate, he was honoured with a
public funeral, a marble monument, and a laudatory epitaph in Westminster
Abbey,--short-lived dignities! for, at the Restoration, the memorial of his
fame was torn down, whilst his body was exhumed, and, after being treated
with much ignominy, hurled into a large pit in St. Margaret's churchyard
adjoining.--Besides the works above noticed, May also wrote _The
Description of Henry II._, in verse, with _A Short Survey of the Changes of
his Reign_, and _The Single and Comparative Character of Henry and Richard
his Sons_, in prose. Nor was that of Lucan his only translation, for he
rendered into English verse _Virgil's Georgics_ and _Selected Epigrams of
Martial_. He was also the author of five dramas, two of which are given in
Dodsley's _Old Plays_. A now forgotten critic, Henry Headley, B.A., of
Norwich, observes concerning his historical poetics, that May--
"Has caught no small portion of the energy and declamatory spirit which
characterises the Roman poet, whom, as he translated, he insensibly
made his model. His battle pieces," our critic continues, "highly merit
being brought forward to notice; they possess the requisites, in a
remarkable degree, for interesting the feelings of an Englishman. While
in accuracy they vie with a gazette, they are managed with such
dexterity, as to busy the mind with unceasing agitation, with scenes
highly diversified and impassioned by striking character, minute
incident, and alarming situation."[6]
In confirmation of the general propriety and justness of these remarks, I
would refer to the description of "The Den of the Vices" (H. II. b. i.),
and to the accounts of "The Death of Rosamond" (H. II. b. v.), "The Battle
of Cressy" (E. III. b. iii.), and "The Capture of Mortimer" (E. III. b.
i.). These pieces can only be thus vindicated, being much too long for
extracting; but I think a republication of the entire poems would be an
acceptable boon to the public.