FOOTNOTES

Merry Drollery, Completeis not only amusing, but as an historical document is of great value. It is here reproduced, with the utmost exactitude, for students of our old literature, from the edition of 1691. The few rectifications of a corrupt text are invariably held within square brackets, when not reserved for the Appendix of Notes, Illustrations, and Emendations. Thirty-four Songs, additional, that appeared only in the 1661 edition, will be given separately; the intermediate edition of 1670 being also collated. A special Introduction has been prefixed, drawing attention to the political events of the time referred to, and some account of the authors of the Songs in thisMerry Drollery.

The work is quite distinct in character from theWestminster Drolleries, 1671-72, but forms an indispensable companion to that ten-years-later volume. Twenty-five songs and poems, that had not appeared in the 1661 edition, were added to the after editions ofMerry Drollery; but without important change to the book. It was essentially an offspring of the Restoration, the year 1660-61, and it thus gives us a genuine record of the Cavaliers in their festivity. Whatever is offensive, therefore, is still of historical importance. Even the bitterness of sarcasm against the Rump Parliament, under whose rule so many families had long groaned; the personal invective, and unsparing ridicule of leading Republicans and Puritans; were such as not unnaturally had found favour during the recent Civil War and Usurpation. The preponderance of Songs in praise of Sack and loose revelry is not without significance. A few pieces of coarse humour,double entendre, and breaches of decorum attest the fact that already among the Cavaliers were spread immorality and licentiousness. The fault of an impaired discipline had home evil fruit, beyond defeat in the field and exile from positions of power. Mockery and impurity had been welcomed as allies, during the warfare against bigotry, hypocrisy, and selfish ambition. We find, it is true, few of the sweeter graces of poetry inChoice Drolleryand inMerry Drollery; but, instead, much that helps us to a sounder understanding of the social, military, and political life of those disturbed times immediately preceding the Restoration.

Of the more than two hundred pieces, contained inMerry Drollery, fully a third are elsewhere unattainable, and the rest are scarce. Among the numerous attractions we may mention the rare Song of “Love lies a bleeding” (p. 191), an earnest protest against the evils of the day; the revelations of intolerant military violence, such as The Power of the Sword (125), Mardyke (12), Pym’s Anarchy (70), The Scotch War (93), The New Medley of the Country-man, Citizen, and Soldier (182), The Rebel Red-Coat (190), and “Cromwell’s Coronation” (254), with the masterly description of Oliver’s Routing the Rump (62). Several Anti-Puritan Songs about New England are here, and provincial descriptions of London (95, 275, 323). Rollicking staves meet us, as from the Vagabond (204), The Tinker of Turvey (27), The Jovial Loyallist, with the Answer to it, in a nobler strain, by one who sees the ruinous vileness of debauchery (pp. 207, 209); and a multitude of Bacchanalian Catches. The two songs on the Blacksmith (225, 319), and both of those on The Brewer (221, 252), referring to Cromwell, are here; as well as the ferocious exultation over the Regicides in a dialogue betwixt Tower-hill and Tyburn (131). More than a few of the spirited Mad-songs were favourites. Nor are absent such ditties as tell of gallantry, though few are of refined affection and exalted heroism. The absurd impossibilities of a Medicine for the Quartan Ague (277, cf. 170), the sly humour of the delightful “How to woo a Zealous Lady” (77), the stately description of a Cock-fight (242), the Praise of Chocolate (48), the Power of Money (115), and the innocent merriment of rare Arthur o’ Bradley’s Wedding (312), are certain to please. Added, are some of the choicest poems by Suckling, Cartwright, Ben Jonson, Alexander Brome, Fletcher, D’Avenant, Dryden, Bishop Corbet, and others. “The Cavalier’s Complaint,” with the Answer to it, has true dramatic force. The character of a Mistress (60), shows one of the seductive Dalilahs who were ever ready to betray. The lampoons on D’Avenant’s “Gondibert” (100, 118) are memorials of unscrupulous ridicule from malicious wits. “News, that’s No News” (159), with the grave buffoonery of “The Bow Goose” (153), and the account of a Fire on London Bridge (87), in the manner of pious ballad-mongers (the original of our modern “Three Children Sliding on the Ice”), are enough to make Heraclitus laugh. Some of the dialogues, such as “Resolved not to Part” (113), “The Bull’s Feather” (i.e. the Horn, p. 264), and that between a Hare and the hounds that are chasing him (296), lend variety to the volume; which contains, moreover, some whimsical stories in verse, (one being “A Merry Song” of a Husbandman whose wife gets him off a bad bargain, p. 17: compare p. 200), told in a manner that would have delighted Mat Prior in later days.

It is printed on Ribbed Toned paper, and the Impression is limited to 400 copies, fcap. 8vo. 10s. 6d.; and 50 copies large paper, demy 8vo. 21s. Subscribers’ names should be sent at once to the Publisher,

Robert Roberts, Boston, Lincolnshire.Every copy is numbered and sent out in the order of Subscription.

Robert Roberts, Boston, Lincolnshire.

Every copy is numbered and sent out in the order of Subscription.

☞ This series of Re-prints from the rareDrolleriesis now completed in Three Volumes (of which the first published was theWestminster Drollery): that number being sufficient to afford a correct picture of the times preceding and following the Restoration 1660, without repetition. The third volume contains “Choice Drollery,” 1656, and all of the “Antidote against Melancholy,” 1661, which has not been already included in the two previous volumes; with separate Notes, and Illustrations drawn from other contemporary Drolleries.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS, &c.

“Strafford Lodge, Oatlands Park,Surrey, Feb. 4, 1875.

Dear Sir,

I received the “Westminster Drolleries” yesterday evening. I have spent nearly the whole of this day in reading it. I can but give unqualified praise to the editor, both for his extensive knowledge and for his admirable style. The printing and the paper do great credit to your press.... I enclose a post-office order to pay for my copy.

Yours truly,

Wm. Chappell.”

Mr. Robert Roberts.

From J. O. Halliwell, Esqre.

“No. 11, Tregunter Road, West Brompton,London, S. W.,25th Feby. 1875.

Dear Sir,

I am charmed with the edition of the “Westminster Drollery.” One half of the reprints of the present day are rendered nearly useless to exact students either by alterations or omissions, or by attempts to make eclectic texts out of more than one edition. By all means let us have introductions and notes, especially when as good as Mr. Ebsworth’s, but it is essential for objects of reference that one edition only of the old text be accurately reproduced. The book is certainly admirably edited.

Yours truly,

J. O. Phillipps.”

To Mr. R. Roberts.

From F. J. Furnivall, Esq.

“3, St. George’s Square, Primrose Hill, London, N.W.,2nd February, 1875.

My Dear Sir,

I have received the handsome large paper copy of your “Westminster Drolleries.” I am very glad to see that the book is reallyedited, and that well, by a man so thoroughly up in the subject as Mr. Ebsworth.

Truly yours,

F. J. F.”

From the Editor of the “Fuller’s Worthies Library,” “Wordsworth’s Prose Works,” &c.

“Park View, Blackburn,Lancashire, 13th July, 1875.

Dear Sir,

I got the “Westminster Drolleries”at once, and I will see after the “Merry Drollery” when published.

Go on and prosper. Mr. Ebsworth is a splendid fellow, evidently.

Yours,

A. B. Grosart.”

J. P. Collier, Esqre., has also written warmly commending the work, in private letters to the Editor, which he holds in especial honour.

From the “Academy” July 10th, 1875.

“It would be a curious though perhaps an unprofitable speculation, how far the ‘Conservative reaction’ has been reflected in our literature.... Reprints are an important part of modern literature, and in them there is a perceptible relaxation of severity. Their interest is no longer mainly philological. Of late, the Restoration has been the favourite period for revival. Its dramatists are marching down upon us from Edinburgh, and the invasion is seconded by a royalist movement in Lincolnshire. A Boston publisher has begun a series of drolleries—intended, not for the general public, but for those students who can afford to pay handsomely for their predilection for the byways of letters.

“The Introduction is delightful reading, with quaint fancies here and there, as in the ‘imagined limbo of unfinished books.’ ... There is truth and pathos in his excuses for the royalist versifiers who ‘snatched hastily, recklessly, at such pleasures as came within their reach, heedless of price or consequences.’ We may not admit that they were ‘outcasts without degradation,’ but we can hardly help allowing that ‘there is a manhood visible in their failures, a generosity in their profusion and unrest. They are not stainless, but they affect no concealment of faults. Our heart goes to the losing side, even when the loss has been in great part deserved.’ ... The fact is, that in his contemplation of the follies and vices of ‘that very distant time’ he loses all apprehension of their grosser elements, and retains only an appreciation of their wit, their elegance, and their vivacity. Without offence be it said, in Lancelot’s phrase, ‘he does something smack, something grow to; he has a kind of taste,’—and so have we too, as we read him. These trite and ticklish themes he touches with so charming a liberality that his generous allowance is contagious. We feel in thoroughly honest company, and are ready to be heartily charitable along with him. For his is no unworthy tolerance of vice, still less any desire to polish its hardness into such factitious brilliancy as glistens in Grammont. It is a manly pity for human weakness, and an unwillingness to see, much less to pry into, human depravity. ‘It would have been a joy for us to know that these songs were wholly speck must go hungry through many an orchard, even unobjectionable; but he who waits to eat of fruit without past the apples of the Hesperides.’ ... The little book is well worth the attention of any one desirous to have a bird’s-eye view of the Restoration ‘Society.’ Its scope is far wider than its title would indicate. The ‘Drolleries’ include not only the rollicking rouse of the staggering blades who ‘love their humour well, boys,’ the burlesque of the Olympian revels in ‘Hunting the Hare,’ the wild vagary of Tom of Bedlam, and the gibes of the Benedicks of that day against the holy estate, but lays of a delicate and airy beauty, a dirge or two of exquisite pathos, homely ditties awaking patriotic memories of the Armada and the Low Country wars, and ‘loyal cantons’ sung to the praise and glory of King Charles. The ‘late and true story of a furious scold’ might have enriched the budget of Autolycus, and Feste would have found here a store of ‘love-songs,’ and a few ‘songs of good life.’ The collection is of course highly miscellaneous. After the stately measure may come a jig with homely ‘duck and nod,’ or even a dissonant strain from the ‘riot and ill-managed merriment’ of Comus,

‘Midnight shout, and revelry,Tipsy dance, and jollity.’”

‘Midnight shout, and revelry,

Tipsy dance, and jollity.’”

From the “Bookseller,” March, 1875.

“If we wish to read the history of public opinion we must read the songs of the times: and those who help us to do this confer a real favour. Mr. Thomas Wright has done enormous service in this way by his collections of political songs. Mr. Chappell has done better by giving us the music with them; but much remains to be done. On examining the volume before us, we are surprised to find so many really beautiful pieces, and so few of the coarse and vulgar. Even the latter will compare favourably with the songs in vogue amongst the fast men in the early part of the present century.

The “Westminster Drolleries” consist of two collections of poems and songs sung at Court and theatres, the first published in 1671, and the second in 1672. Now for the first time reprinted. The editor, Mr. J. Woodfall Ebsworth, has prefaced the volume with an interesting introduction ... and, in an appendix of nearly eighty pages at the end, has collected a considerable amount of bibliographical and anecdotical literature. Altogether,we think this may be pronounced the best edited of all the reprints of old literature, which are now pretty numerous. A word of commendation must also be given to Mr. Roberts, of Boston, the publisher and printer—the volume is a credit to his press, and could have been produced in its all but perfect condition only by the most careful attention and watchful oversight.”

From the “Athenæum,” April 10th, 1875.

“Mr. Ebsworth has, we think, made out a fair case in his Introduction for reprinting the volume without excision. The book is not intendedvirginibus puerisque, but to convey to grown men a sufficient idea of the manners and ideas which pervaded all classes in society at the time of the reaction from the Puritan domination.... Mr. Ebsworth’s Introduction is well written. He speaks with zest of the pleasant aspects of the Restoration period, and has some words of praise to bestow upon the ‘Merry Monarch’ himself.... Let us add that his own “Prelude,” “Entr’ Acte,” and “Finale” are fair specimens of versification.”

FOOTNOTES[1]Elizabeth Cromwell.—A contemporary writes, “How many of the Royalist prisoners got she not freed? How many did she not save from death whom the Laws had condemned? How many persecuted Christians hath she not snatched out of the hands of the tormentors; quite contrary unto that [daughter of] Herodias who could do anything with her [step] father? She imployed her Prayers even with Tears to spare such men whose ill fortune had designed them to suffer,” &c. (S. Carrington’sHistory of the Life and Death of His most Serene Highness OLIVER, Late Lord Protector. 1659. p. 264.)Elizabeth Cromwell, here contrasted with Salome, more resembled the Celia ofAs you Like It, in that she, through prizing truth and justice, showed loving care of those whom her father treated as enemies.By the way, our initial-letter W. onopening page 11(representing Salome receiving from the Σπεκουλάτωρ, sent by Herod, the head of S. John the Baptist)—is copied from the Address to the Reader prefixed to Part II. ofMerry Drollery, 1661.Vide postea, p. 232.Our initial letters in M. D., C., pp. 3, 5, are infac simileof the original.[2]Cromwell “seemed much afflicted at the death of his Friend the Earl ofWarwick; with whom he had a fast friendship, though neither their humours, nor their natures, were like. And the Heir of that House, who had married his youngest Daughter [Frances], died about the same time [or, rather, two months earlier]; so that all his relation to, or confidence in that Family was at an end; the other branches of it abhorring his Alliance. His domestick delights were lessened every day; he plainly discovered that his son [in-law, who had married Mary Cromwell,] Falconbridge’s heart was set upon an Interest destructive to his, and grew to hate him perfectly.But that which chiefly broke his Peace was the death of his daughter [Elizabeth] Claypole; who had been always his greatest joy, and who, in her sickness, which was of a nature the Physicians knew not how to deal with, had several Conferences with him, which exceedingly perplexed him. Though no body was near enough to hear the particulars, yet her often mentioning, in the pains she endured, the blood her Father had spilt, made people conclude, that she had presented his worst Actions to his consideration. And though he never made the least show of remorse for any of those Actions, it is very certain, thateither what she said, or her death, affected him wonderfully.” (Clarendon’sHist. of the Rebellion. Book xv., p. 647, edit. 1720.)[3]John Cleveland wrote a satirical address to Mr. Hammond, the Puritan preacher of Beudley, who had exerted himself “for the Pulling down of the Maypole.” It begins, in mock praise, “The mighty zeal which thou hast put on,” &c.; and is printed inParnassus Biceps, 1656, p. 18; and among “J. Cleveland Revived: Poems,” 1662, p. 96.[4]Here the thought is enveloped amid tender fancies. Compare the more passionate and solemn earnestness of the loyal churchman, Henry King, Bishop of Chichester, in his poem ofThe Exequy, addressed “To his never-to-be-forgotten Friend,” wherein he says:—“Sleep on, my Love, in thy cold bed,Never to be disquieted!My last good-night! Thou wilt not wake,Till I thy fate shall overtake;Till age, or grief, or sickness, mustMarry my body to that dustIt so much loves; and fill the roomMy heart keeps empty in thy Tomb.Stay for me there; I will not faileTo meet thee in that hollow Vale.And think not much of my delay;I am already on the way,And follow thee with all the speedDesire can make, or sorrows breed,” &c.[5]For special reasons, the Editor felt it nearly impossible to avoid the omission of a few letters in one of the most objectionable of these pieces, the twelfth in order, ofChoyce Drollery. He mentions this at once, because he holds to his confirmed opinion that in Reprints of scarce and valuable historical memorialsno tampering with the original is permissible. (But seeAppendix, Part IV.and pp.230,288.) He incurs blame from judicious antiquariesby even this small and acknowledged violation of exactitude. Probably, he might have given pleasure to the general public if he had omitted much more, not thirty letters only, but entire poems or songs; as the books deserved in punishment. But he leaves others to produce expurgated editions, suitable for unlearned triflers. Any reader can here erase from the Reprint what offends his individual taste (as we know that Ann, Countess of Strafford, cut out the poem of “Woman” from our copy of Dryden’sMiscellany Poems, Pt. 6, 1709).No Editor has any business to thus mutilate every printed copy.[6]Hautgoust.[7]Prefixed to “The Ex-Ale-tation of Ale” is given a Table of Contents (on page 112), enlarged from the one in the original “Antidote against Melancholy, made up in Pills,” 1661, by references to such pages of “Merry Drollery, Compleat,” 1670, 1691, as bear songs or poems in common with the “Antidote.”[8]George Thomason.It was in 1640 that this bookseller commenced systematically to preserve a copy of every pamphlet, broadside, and printed book connected with the political disturbances. Until after the Restoration in 1660, he continued his valuable collection, so far as possible without omission, but not without danger and interruption. In his will he speaks of it as “not to be paralleled,” and it was intact at Oxford when he died in 1666. Charles II. had too many feminine claimants on his money and time to allow him to purchase the invaluable series of printed documents, as it had been desired that he should do. The sum of £4,000 was refused for this collection of 30,000 pamphlets, bound in 2,000 volumes; but, after several changes of ownership, they were ultimately purchased by King George the Third, for only three or four hundred pounds, and were presented by him to the nation. They are in the British Museum, known as the King’s Pamphlets, and theAntidote against Melancholyis among the small quartos. See Isaac D’Israeli’sAmenities of Literature, for an interesting account of the difficulties and perils attending their collection: articlePamphlets, pp. 685-691, edition 1868.[9]J. P. Collier, in his invaluable “Bibliographical and Critical Account of the Rarest Books in the English Language,” 1865, acknowledges, in reference to “An Antidote against Melancholy,” that “We are without information by whom this collection of Poems, Ballads, Songs, and Catches was made; but Thomas Durfey, about sixty years afterwards, imitated the title, when he called his six volumes ‘Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy,’ 8vo., 1719-20.” (Bibliog. & Crit. Account, vol. i. p. 26.) Again, “If N. D., whose initials are at the end of the rhyming address ‘to the Reader,’ were the person who made the selection, we are without any other clue to his name. There is no ground for imputing it to Thomas Jordan, excepting that he was accustomed to deal in productions of this class; but the songs and ballads he printed were usually of his own composition, and not the works of anterior versifyers.” (Ibid., i. 27.)[10]It was a week of supreme rejoicing and frollic, being five days before the Coronation of Charles II. in Westminster Abbey, April 23rd. On the 19th were the ceremonies of the Knights of the Bath, at the Painted Chamber, and in the Chapel at Whitehall. On the 22nd, Charles went from the Tower to Whitehall, through well-built triumphal arches, and amid enthusiasm.[11]These are the Blacksmith, the Brewer, Suckling’s Parley between two West Countrymen concerning a Wedding, St. George and the Dragon, the Gelding of the Devil, the Old and Young Courtier, the Welchman’s Praise of Wales, Ben Jonson’s Cook Lorrel, “Fetch me Ben Jonson’s scull,” a Combat of Cocks, “Am I mad, O noble Festus?” “Old Poets Hypocrin admire,” and “’Tis Wine that inspires.” The Catches are “Drink, drink, all you that think;” “If any so wise is,” “What are we met?” and “The thirsty earth drinks up the rain.”[12]Ball at Court.—“31st. [December, 1662.] Mr. Povy and I to White Hall; he taking me thither on purpose to carry me into the ball this night before the King. He brought me first to the Duke [of York]’s chamber, where I saw him and the Duchesse at supper; and thence into the room where the ball was to be; crammed with fine ladies, the greatest of the Court. By and by, comes the King and Queene, the Duke and Duchesse, and all the great ones; and after seating themselves, the King takes out the Duchesse of York; and the Duke, the Duchesse of Buckingham; the Duke of Monmouth, my Lady Castlemaine; and so other lords other ladies: and they danced the Brantle [?Braule]. After that the King led a lady a single Coranto; and then the rest of the lords, one after another, other ladies: very noble it was, and great pleasure to see. Then to country dances; the King leading the first, which he called for, which was, says he, ‘Cuckolds all awry [a-row],’ the old dance of England. Of the ladies that danced, the Duke of Monmouth’s mistress, and my Lady Castlemaine, and a daughter of Sir Harry de Vicke’s, were the best. The manner was, when the King dances, all the ladies in the room, and the Queene herself, stand up: and indeed he dances rarely, and much better than the Duke of York. Having staid here as long as I thought fit, to my infinite content, it being the greatest pleasure I could wish now to see at Court, I went home, leaving them dancing.”—(Diary of Samuel Pepys, Esq., F.R.S., Secretary to the Admiralty, &c.)[13][In margin, a later-inserted line reads:“Godolphin,Cartwright,Beaumont,Montague.”]

[1]Elizabeth Cromwell.—A contemporary writes, “How many of the Royalist prisoners got she not freed? How many did she not save from death whom the Laws had condemned? How many persecuted Christians hath she not snatched out of the hands of the tormentors; quite contrary unto that [daughter of] Herodias who could do anything with her [step] father? She imployed her Prayers even with Tears to spare such men whose ill fortune had designed them to suffer,” &c. (S. Carrington’sHistory of the Life and Death of His most Serene Highness OLIVER, Late Lord Protector. 1659. p. 264.)Elizabeth Cromwell, here contrasted with Salome, more resembled the Celia ofAs you Like It, in that she, through prizing truth and justice, showed loving care of those whom her father treated as enemies.By the way, our initial-letter W. onopening page 11(representing Salome receiving from the Σπεκουλάτωρ, sent by Herod, the head of S. John the Baptist)—is copied from the Address to the Reader prefixed to Part II. ofMerry Drollery, 1661.Vide postea, p. 232.Our initial letters in M. D., C., pp. 3, 5, are infac simileof the original.

Elizabeth Cromwell, here contrasted with Salome, more resembled the Celia ofAs you Like It, in that she, through prizing truth and justice, showed loving care of those whom her father treated as enemies.

By the way, our initial-letter W. onopening page 11(representing Salome receiving from the Σπεκουλάτωρ, sent by Herod, the head of S. John the Baptist)—is copied from the Address to the Reader prefixed to Part II. ofMerry Drollery, 1661.Vide postea, p. 232.

Our initial letters in M. D., C., pp. 3, 5, are infac simileof the original.

[2]Cromwell “seemed much afflicted at the death of his Friend the Earl ofWarwick; with whom he had a fast friendship, though neither their humours, nor their natures, were like. And the Heir of that House, who had married his youngest Daughter [Frances], died about the same time [or, rather, two months earlier]; so that all his relation to, or confidence in that Family was at an end; the other branches of it abhorring his Alliance. His domestick delights were lessened every day; he plainly discovered that his son [in-law, who had married Mary Cromwell,] Falconbridge’s heart was set upon an Interest destructive to his, and grew to hate him perfectly.But that which chiefly broke his Peace was the death of his daughter [Elizabeth] Claypole; who had been always his greatest joy, and who, in her sickness, which was of a nature the Physicians knew not how to deal with, had several Conferences with him, which exceedingly perplexed him. Though no body was near enough to hear the particulars, yet her often mentioning, in the pains she endured, the blood her Father had spilt, made people conclude, that she had presented his worst Actions to his consideration. And though he never made the least show of remorse for any of those Actions, it is very certain, thateither what she said, or her death, affected him wonderfully.” (Clarendon’sHist. of the Rebellion. Book xv., p. 647, edit. 1720.)

[3]John Cleveland wrote a satirical address to Mr. Hammond, the Puritan preacher of Beudley, who had exerted himself “for the Pulling down of the Maypole.” It begins, in mock praise, “The mighty zeal which thou hast put on,” &c.; and is printed inParnassus Biceps, 1656, p. 18; and among “J. Cleveland Revived: Poems,” 1662, p. 96.

[4]Here the thought is enveloped amid tender fancies. Compare the more passionate and solemn earnestness of the loyal churchman, Henry King, Bishop of Chichester, in his poem ofThe Exequy, addressed “To his never-to-be-forgotten Friend,” wherein he says:—“Sleep on, my Love, in thy cold bed,Never to be disquieted!My last good-night! Thou wilt not wake,Till I thy fate shall overtake;Till age, or grief, or sickness, mustMarry my body to that dustIt so much loves; and fill the roomMy heart keeps empty in thy Tomb.Stay for me there; I will not faileTo meet thee in that hollow Vale.And think not much of my delay;I am already on the way,And follow thee with all the speedDesire can make, or sorrows breed,” &c.

“Sleep on, my Love, in thy cold bed,Never to be disquieted!My last good-night! Thou wilt not wake,Till I thy fate shall overtake;Till age, or grief, or sickness, mustMarry my body to that dustIt so much loves; and fill the roomMy heart keeps empty in thy Tomb.Stay for me there; I will not faileTo meet thee in that hollow Vale.And think not much of my delay;I am already on the way,And follow thee with all the speedDesire can make, or sorrows breed,” &c.

“Sleep on, my Love, in thy cold bed,

Never to be disquieted!

My last good-night! Thou wilt not wake,

Till I thy fate shall overtake;

Till age, or grief, or sickness, must

Marry my body to that dust

It so much loves; and fill the room

My heart keeps empty in thy Tomb.

Stay for me there; I will not faile

To meet thee in that hollow Vale.

And think not much of my delay;

I am already on the way,

And follow thee with all the speed

Desire can make, or sorrows breed,” &c.

[5]For special reasons, the Editor felt it nearly impossible to avoid the omission of a few letters in one of the most objectionable of these pieces, the twelfth in order, ofChoyce Drollery. He mentions this at once, because he holds to his confirmed opinion that in Reprints of scarce and valuable historical memorialsno tampering with the original is permissible. (But seeAppendix, Part IV.and pp.230,288.) He incurs blame from judicious antiquariesby even this small and acknowledged violation of exactitude. Probably, he might have given pleasure to the general public if he had omitted much more, not thirty letters only, but entire poems or songs; as the books deserved in punishment. But he leaves others to produce expurgated editions, suitable for unlearned triflers. Any reader can here erase from the Reprint what offends his individual taste (as we know that Ann, Countess of Strafford, cut out the poem of “Woman” from our copy of Dryden’sMiscellany Poems, Pt. 6, 1709).No Editor has any business to thus mutilate every printed copy.

[6]Hautgoust.

[7]Prefixed to “The Ex-Ale-tation of Ale” is given a Table of Contents (on page 112), enlarged from the one in the original “Antidote against Melancholy, made up in Pills,” 1661, by references to such pages of “Merry Drollery, Compleat,” 1670, 1691, as bear songs or poems in common with the “Antidote.”

[8]George Thomason.It was in 1640 that this bookseller commenced systematically to preserve a copy of every pamphlet, broadside, and printed book connected with the political disturbances. Until after the Restoration in 1660, he continued his valuable collection, so far as possible without omission, but not without danger and interruption. In his will he speaks of it as “not to be paralleled,” and it was intact at Oxford when he died in 1666. Charles II. had too many feminine claimants on his money and time to allow him to purchase the invaluable series of printed documents, as it had been desired that he should do. The sum of £4,000 was refused for this collection of 30,000 pamphlets, bound in 2,000 volumes; but, after several changes of ownership, they were ultimately purchased by King George the Third, for only three or four hundred pounds, and were presented by him to the nation. They are in the British Museum, known as the King’s Pamphlets, and theAntidote against Melancholyis among the small quartos. See Isaac D’Israeli’sAmenities of Literature, for an interesting account of the difficulties and perils attending their collection: articlePamphlets, pp. 685-691, edition 1868.

[9]J. P. Collier, in his invaluable “Bibliographical and Critical Account of the Rarest Books in the English Language,” 1865, acknowledges, in reference to “An Antidote against Melancholy,” that “We are without information by whom this collection of Poems, Ballads, Songs, and Catches was made; but Thomas Durfey, about sixty years afterwards, imitated the title, when he called his six volumes ‘Wit and Mirth, or Pills to Purge Melancholy,’ 8vo., 1719-20.” (Bibliog. & Crit. Account, vol. i. p. 26.) Again, “If N. D., whose initials are at the end of the rhyming address ‘to the Reader,’ were the person who made the selection, we are without any other clue to his name. There is no ground for imputing it to Thomas Jordan, excepting that he was accustomed to deal in productions of this class; but the songs and ballads he printed were usually of his own composition, and not the works of anterior versifyers.” (Ibid., i. 27.)

[10]It was a week of supreme rejoicing and frollic, being five days before the Coronation of Charles II. in Westminster Abbey, April 23rd. On the 19th were the ceremonies of the Knights of the Bath, at the Painted Chamber, and in the Chapel at Whitehall. On the 22nd, Charles went from the Tower to Whitehall, through well-built triumphal arches, and amid enthusiasm.

[11]These are the Blacksmith, the Brewer, Suckling’s Parley between two West Countrymen concerning a Wedding, St. George and the Dragon, the Gelding of the Devil, the Old and Young Courtier, the Welchman’s Praise of Wales, Ben Jonson’s Cook Lorrel, “Fetch me Ben Jonson’s scull,” a Combat of Cocks, “Am I mad, O noble Festus?” “Old Poets Hypocrin admire,” and “’Tis Wine that inspires.” The Catches are “Drink, drink, all you that think;” “If any so wise is,” “What are we met?” and “The thirsty earth drinks up the rain.”

[12]Ball at Court.—“31st. [December, 1662.] Mr. Povy and I to White Hall; he taking me thither on purpose to carry me into the ball this night before the King. He brought me first to the Duke [of York]’s chamber, where I saw him and the Duchesse at supper; and thence into the room where the ball was to be; crammed with fine ladies, the greatest of the Court. By and by, comes the King and Queene, the Duke and Duchesse, and all the great ones; and after seating themselves, the King takes out the Duchesse of York; and the Duke, the Duchesse of Buckingham; the Duke of Monmouth, my Lady Castlemaine; and so other lords other ladies: and they danced the Brantle [?Braule]. After that the King led a lady a single Coranto; and then the rest of the lords, one after another, other ladies: very noble it was, and great pleasure to see. Then to country dances; the King leading the first, which he called for, which was, says he, ‘Cuckolds all awry [a-row],’ the old dance of England. Of the ladies that danced, the Duke of Monmouth’s mistress, and my Lady Castlemaine, and a daughter of Sir Harry de Vicke’s, were the best. The manner was, when the King dances, all the ladies in the room, and the Queene herself, stand up: and indeed he dances rarely, and much better than the Duke of York. Having staid here as long as I thought fit, to my infinite content, it being the greatest pleasure I could wish now to see at Court, I went home, leaving them dancing.”—(Diary of Samuel Pepys, Esq., F.R.S., Secretary to the Admiralty, &c.)

[13][In margin, a later-inserted line reads:“Godolphin,Cartwright,Beaumont,Montague.”]

[13][In margin, a later-inserted line reads:

“Godolphin,Cartwright,Beaumont,Montague.”]

In a book of this kind, it can be hard to tell when something is a misprint or misspelling, and for the most part this e-text errs on the side of caution and preserves the original printing with all its inconsistencies. Only the following probable errors have been corrected.

We do not have theSupplementcontaining the songs the editor thought too immodest to include.

Page 4, duplicate word “him” removed (Oh do not censure him for this)Page 14, duplicate word “am” removed (And all shall say when I am dead)Page 40, stanza number “3.” addedPage 46, “Aed” changed to “And” (And took her up with speed)Page 79, “tewelfth” changed to “twelfth” (On the twelfth day all in the morn)Page 101, “keeep” changed to “keep” (I keep my horse)Page 102, “Gysie” changed to “Gypsie” (No Gypsie nor no Blackamore)Page 108, “befitingly” changed to “befittingly” (befittingly in his notes and comments)Page 125, “and” changed to “an” (With an old Lady whose anger)Page 168, “stifly” changed to “stiffly” (dancing somewhat stiffly)Page 189, the original page number [p. 121] has been added in what seems closest to the correct place.Pages240and243, reference to “p. 213” changed to “p. 230”, where the matter referenced will actually be found; it is the paragraph starting “[A song follows, beginning”Page 241, “domine” changed to “Domine” in second verse (Libera nos Domine)Page 244, duplicate word “as” removed (As big as Estriges)Page 284, “8th.” changed to “9th.” (Verse 9th.Gondomarwas)Page 330, “encouragment” changed to “encouragement” (encouragement is given to gambling)Page 360, “Collectiom” changed to “Collection” (In Pepy’s Collection, vol. i.)Page 364, “sheephcrd” changed to “sheepherd” (A silly poor sheepherd was folding his sheep)Page 384, “fify” changed to “fifty” (Nineteen of these fifty-one surrendered)Page 384, “refering” changed to “referring” (dozens of ballads referring to)Page 387, “Viotcria” changed to “Victoria” (was opened by Queen Victoria)Page 397, “trustworty” changed to “trustworthy” (trustworthy prints of so many MSS.)

Page 4, duplicate word “him” removed (Oh do not censure him for this)

Page 14, duplicate word “am” removed (And all shall say when I am dead)

Page 40, stanza number “3.” added

Page 46, “Aed” changed to “And” (And took her up with speed)

Page 79, “tewelfth” changed to “twelfth” (On the twelfth day all in the morn)

Page 101, “keeep” changed to “keep” (I keep my horse)

Page 102, “Gysie” changed to “Gypsie” (No Gypsie nor no Blackamore)

Page 108, “befitingly” changed to “befittingly” (befittingly in his notes and comments)

Page 125, “and” changed to “an” (With an old Lady whose anger)

Page 168, “stifly” changed to “stiffly” (dancing somewhat stiffly)

Page 189, the original page number [p. 121] has been added in what seems closest to the correct place.

Pages240and243, reference to “p. 213” changed to “p. 230”, where the matter referenced will actually be found; it is the paragraph starting “[A song follows, beginning”

Page 241, “domine” changed to “Domine” in second verse (Libera nos Domine)

Page 244, duplicate word “as” removed (As big as Estriges)

Page 284, “8th.” changed to “9th.” (Verse 9th.Gondomarwas)

Page 330, “encouragment” changed to “encouragement” (encouragement is given to gambling)

Page 360, “Collectiom” changed to “Collection” (In Pepy’s Collection, vol. i.)

Page 364, “sheephcrd” changed to “sheepherd” (A silly poor sheepherd was folding his sheep)

Page 384, “fify” changed to “fifty” (Nineteen of these fifty-one surrendered)

Page 384, “refering” changed to “referring” (dozens of ballads referring to)

Page 387, “Viotcria” changed to “Victoria” (was opened by Queen Victoria)

Page 397, “trustworty” changed to “trustworthy” (trustworthy prints of so many MSS.)

Evident errors such as u for n were changed without further note.

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