bed-chamber to Henry VIII., and had put thirty-seven Psalms into
English verse, in hopes of improving the morals of the Court. John
Hopkins and Robert Wisdom completed the translation of the Psalms,
which Fuller in his history says was at first derided and scoffed at
as piety rather than poetry, adding that the good gentleman had drunk
more of Jordan than of Helicon. In his Worthies, however, he says:
"He was afterwards (saith my author) ab intimo cubiculo to King
Edward the Sixth; though I am not satisfied whether thereby he meant
gentleman of his privy chamber or groom of his bed-chamber. He was a
principal instrument of translating the Psalms into English metre;
the first twenty-six (and seven-and-thirty in all) {28} being by him
performed. Yet had he other assistance in that work. Many a bitter
scoff hath since been passed on their endeavours by some wits, which
might have been better employed. Some have miscalled these their
translations Geneva gigs (i.e. jigs); and which is the worst, father
(or mother rather) the expression on our virgin queen, as falsely as
other things have been charged upon her. Some have not sticked to
say 'that David hath been as much persecuted by bungling translators
as by Saul himself.' Some have made libellous verses in abuse of
them, and no wonder if songs were made on the translators of the
Psalms, seeing drunkards made them on David the author thereof.

"But let these translations be beheld by impartial eyes, and they
will be allowed to go in equipage with the best poems in that age.
However, it were to be wished that some bald rhymes therein were
bettered; till which time, such as sing them must endeavour to amend
them by singing them with understanding heads and gracious hearts,
whereby that which is bad metre on earth will be made good music in
heaven. As for our Thomas Sternhold, it was happy for him that he
died before his good master, anno 1549, in the month of August; so