In the “Grave Poem” of Bishop Corbet, Emmanuel College is thus satirised:—
But th’ poor house of Emmanuel
Would not be like proud Jesabel,
Nor shew herself before the King,
An hypocrite, or painted thing;
[And images she would have none,
For fear of superstition, or]
But that the ways might seem more fair,
Conceived a tedious mile of prayer.[[73]]
The plot of “Ignoramus” was borrowed from the Trappolaria of Giamballista Porta, an Italian dramatist, but the characters were taken from life. “Ignoramus” was designed to personify Mr. Francis Brakyn, the Recorder of Cambridge, who had rendered himself obnoxious to the University in a dispute about precedence between the Mayor of the town and the Vice-Chancellor. Mr. Brakyn was a barrister, and the ridicule cast upon him was as much enjoyed by the dignified heads of houses as by noisy undergraduates.[[74]]