Chapter 16

15 [8]."To Bed, to Bed,sweetTurtles now, and writeThis the shortest day,† this the longest nightAndyet too short for you; 'tis weWho count this night as long as three,Lying aloneHearingthe clockgoTen, Eleven, Twelve, One:Quickly, quickly then prepare.And let the young men and the Bridemaids shareYour garters, and their jointsEncircle with the Bridegroom's points.

15 [8].

"To Bed, to Bed,sweetTurtles now, and writeThis the shortest day,† this the longest nightAndyet too short for you; 'tis weWho count this night as long as three,Lying aloneHearingthe clockgoTen, Eleven, Twelve, One:Quickly, quickly then prepare.And let the young men and the Bridemaids shareYour garters, and their jointsEncircle with the Bridegroom's points.

16 [9]."By the Bride's eyes, and by the teeming lifeOf her green hopes, we charge you that no strife,Furtherthanvirtue lends, gets placeAmongyou catching ather Lace.Oh, do not fallFoul in these noble pastimes, lest you callDiscord in, and so divideThegentleBridegroom and thefragrousBride,Which Love forefend: but spokenBe't to your praise: 'No peace was broken'.

16 [9].

"By the Bride's eyes, and by the teeming lifeOf her green hopes, we charge you that no strife,Furtherthanvirtue lends, gets placeAmongyou catching ather Lace.Oh, do not fallFoul in these noble pastimes, lest you callDiscord in, and so divideThegentleBridegroom and thefragrousBride,Which Love forefend: but spokenBe't to your praise: 'No peace was broken'.

17[10]."Strip her of spring-time, tender whimpering maids,Now Autumn's come, when allthoseflowery aidsOf her delays must end, disposeThat Lady-smock, that pansy and that RoseNeatly apart;But for prick-madam, and for gentle-heart,And soft maiden-blush, the BrideMakes holy these, all others lay aside:Then strip her, or unto herLet him come who dares undo her.

17[10].

"Strip her of spring-time, tender whimpering maids,Now Autumn's come, when allthoseflowery aidsOf her delays must end, disposeThat Lady-smock, that pansy and that RoseNeatly apart;But for prick-madam, and for gentle-heart,And soft maiden-blush, the BrideMakes holy these, all others lay aside:Then strip her, or unto herLet him come who dares undo her.

18 [11].ye]"And to enchantyoumore,vieweverywhereAbout the roof a Syren in a sphere,As we think, singing to the dinOf many a warbling cherubin:List, oh list!howye]Even heaven gives up his soul between younow,Mark howthousand Cupids flyTo light their Tapers at the Bride's bright eye;To bed, or her they'll tire,Were she an element of fire.

18 [11].

ye]"And to enchantyoumore,vieweverywhereAbout the roof a Syren in a sphere,As we think, singing to the dinOf many a warbling cherubin:List, oh list!howye]Even heaven gives up his soul between younow,Mark howthousand Cupids flyTo light their Tapers at the Bride's bright eye;To bed, or her they'll tire,Were she an element of fire.

19 [12]."And to your more bewitching, see the proudPlump bed bear up, andrisinglike a cloud,Temptingthee, too, toomodest; canYou see it brussle like a swanAnd you be coldTo meet it, when it woos and seems to foldThe arms to hugyou? throw, throwYourselves intothat main, in the fullflowOfthewhite pride, and drownThestarswith you in floods of down.

19 [12].

"And to your more bewitching, see the proudPlump bed bear up, andrisinglike a cloud,Temptingthee, too, toomodest; canYou see it brussle like a swanAnd you be coldTo meet it, when it woos and seems to foldThe arms to hugyou? throw, throwYourselves intothat main, in the fullflowOfthewhite pride, and drownThestarswith you in floods of down.

20 [13]."You see 'tisready, and the maze of loveLooks for the treaders; everywhere is woveWit and new mystery, read andPut in practice, to understandAnd know each wile,Each Hieroglyphic of a kiss or smile;And do itinthe full, reachHigh in your own conceipts, andratherteachNature and Art one moreSportthan they ever knew before.

20 [13].

"You see 'tisready, and the maze of loveLooks for the treaders; everywhere is woveWit and new mystery, read andPut in practice, to understandAnd know each wile,Each Hieroglyphic of a kiss or smile;And do itinthe full, reachHigh in your own conceipts, andratherteachNature and Art one moreSportthan they ever knew before.

21.To the Maidens:]the]"And now y' have wept enough, depart; yon starsBegin to pink, as weary that the warsKnow so long Treaties; beat the DrumAloft, and like two armies, comeAnd guild the field,Fight bravely for the flame of mankind, yieldNot to this, or that assault,For that would prove more Heresy than faultIn combatants to fly'Fore this or that hath got the victory.

21.

To the Maidens:]

the]"And now y' have wept enough, depart; yon starsBegin to pink, as weary that the warsKnow so long Treaties; beat the DrumAloft, and like two armies, comeAnd guild the field,Fight bravely for the flame of mankind, yieldNot to this, or that assault,For that would prove more Heresy than faultIn combatants to fly'Fore this or that hath got the victory.

22 [15]."But since it must be done, despatch and sewUp in a sheet your Bride, and what if soIt be withrib of Rock andBrass,ye]Yeatower her up, as Danae was,Think you that this,Or Hell itself, a powerful Bulwark is?ye]I tellyouno; but like aBold bolt of thunder he will make his way,And rend the cloud, and throwThe sheet about, like flakes of snow.

22 [15].

"But since it must be done, despatch and sewUp in a sheet your Bride, and what if soIt be withrib of Rock andBrass,ye]Yeatower her up, as Danae was,Think you that this,Or Hell itself, a powerful Bulwark is?ye]I tellyouno; but like aBold bolt of thunder he will make his way,And rend the cloud, and throwThe sheet about, like flakes of snow.

23 [16]."All now is hushed in silence: Midwife-moonWith all her Owl-ey'd issue begs a boonWhich you must grant; that's entrance withWhich extract, all we † call pithAnd quintessenceOf Planetary bodies; so commence,All fair constellationsLooking uponyouthattheNationsSpringing from to such FiresMay blaze the virtue of their Sires."—R. Herrick.

23 [16].

"All now is hushed in silence: Midwife-moonWith all her Owl-ey'd issue begs a boonWhich you must grant; that's entrance withWhich extract, all we † call pithAnd quintessenceOf Planetary bodies; so commence,All fair constellationsLooking uponyouthattheNationsSpringing from to such FiresMay blaze the virtue of their Sires."

—R. Herrick.

The variants in this version are not very important; one of the most noteworthy,roundforground, in stanza 5 [4], was overlooked by Dr. Grosart in his collation. Of the seven stanzas subsequently omitted several are of great beauty. There are few happier images in Herrick than that ofTime throned in a saffron eveningin stanza 11. It is only whenthe earlier version is read as a whole that Herrick's taste in omitting is vindicated. Each stanza is good in itself, but in the MSS. the poem drags from excessive length, and the reduction of its twenty-three stanzas to sixteen greatly improves it.

286.Ever full of pensive fear.Ovid,Heroid.i. 12: Res est solliciti plena timoris amor.

287.Reverence to riches.Perhaps from Tacit.Ann.ii. 33: Neque in familia et argento quæque ad usum parantur nimium aliquid aut modicum, nisi ex fortuna possidentis.

288.Who forms a godhead.From Martial, VIII. xxiv. 5:—

Qui fingit sacros auro vel marmore vultusNon facit ille deos: qui rogat, ille facit.

290.The eyes be first that conquered are.From Tacitus,Germ.43: Primi in omnibus proeliis oculi vincuntur.

293.Oberon's Feast.For a note on Herrick's Fairy Poems and on theDescription of the King and Queene of the Fayries(1635), in which part of this poem was first printed, seeAppendix. Add. MS. 22, 603, at the British Museum, and Ashmole MS. 38, at the Bodleian, contain early versions of the poem substantially agreeing. I transcribe the Museum copy:—

"A little mushroom table spreadAfterthe dance, they set on bread,Ayellow corn of heckywheatWith some smallsandygrit to eatHis choice bits; withwhichin a triceThey make a feast less great than nice.But allthewhile his eyewasservedWedarenot think his ear was sterved:But that there was in place to stirHisfirethepitteringGrasshopper;The merry Cricket, puling Fly,The piping Gnat for minstralcy.The Humming Dor, the dying Swan,And each a choice Musician.And now we must imagine first,The Elves present to quench his thirstA pure seed-pearl of infant dew,Brought andbeswettedin a blueAnd pregnant violet; which done,His kitling eyes begin to runQuite through the table, where he spiesThe horns of papery Butterflies:Of which he eats,but witha littleNeat cool allayof Cuckoo's spittle;A little Fuz-ball pudding standsBy, yet not blessed by his hands—That was too coarse, buthe not sparesTo feed upon the candid hairsOf a dried canker, with asaggAnd wellbestuffedBee's sweet bag:Strokinghis pallet with some storeOf Emmeteggs. What would he more,But Beards of Mice,an Ewt'sstew'd thigh,A pickled maggot and a dryHipp, with aRed cap worm, that's shutWithin the concave of a NutBrown as his tooth,and with the fatAnd well-boiled inchpin of a Bat.A bloated Earwig with the PithOf sugared rush aglads him with;But most of all the Glow-worm's fire.As most betickling his desireTo know his Queen, mixt with the far-Fetcht binding-jelly of a star.The silk-worm's seed, a little mothLatelyfattened in a piece of cloth;Withered cherries; Mandrake's ears;Mole's eyes; to these the slain stag's tears;The unctuous dewlaps of a Snail;The broke heart of a NightingaleO'er-come in music; with a wineNe'er ravished from the flattering Vine,But gently pressed from the soft sideOf the most sweet and dainty Bride,Brought in adaisy chalice, whichHe fully quaffsoffto bewitchHis bloodtoo high. This done, commendedGrace by his Priest, the feast is ended."

The Shapcott to whom thisOberon's FeastandOberon's Palaceare dedicated is Herrick's "peculiar friend, Master Thomas Shapcott, Lawyer," of a later poem. Dr. Grosart again suggests that it may have been a character-name, but, as in the case of John Merrifield, the owner was a West country-man and a member of the Inner Temple, where he was admitted in 1632 as the "son and heir of Thomas Shapcott," of Exeter.

298.That man lives twice.From Martial, X. xxiii. 7:—

Ampliat aetatis spatium sibi vir bonus: hoc estVivere bis vita posse priore frui.

301.Master Edward Norgate, Clerk of the Signet of his Majesty:—

Son to Robert Norgate, D.D., Master of Bene't College, Cambridge. He was employed by the Earl of Arundel to purchase pictures, and on one occasion found himself at Marseilles without remittances, and had to tramp through France on foot. According to the Calendars of State Papers in 1625, it was ordered that, "forasmuch as his Majesty's letters to the Grand Signior, the King of Persia, the Emperor of Russia, the Great Mogul, and other remote Princes, had been written, limned, and garnished with gold and colours by scriveners abroad, thenceforth they should be so written, limned, and garnished by Edward Norgate, Clerk of the Signet in reversion". Six years later this order was renewed, the "Kings of Bantam, Macassar, Barbary, Siam, Achine, Fez, and Sus" being added to the previous list, and Norgate being now designated as a Clerk of the Signet Extraordinary. In the same year, having previously been Bluemantle Pursuivant, he was promoted to be Windsor Herald, in which capacity he received numerous fees during the next few years, and was excused ship money. He still, however, retained his clerkship, for he writes in 1639: "The poor Office of Arms is fain to blazon the Council books and Signet". The phraseoccurs in a series of nineteen letters of extraordinary interest, which Norgate wrote from the North, chiefly to his friend, Robert Reade, secretary to Windebank, on the course of affairs. In Sept., 1641, "Ned Norgate" was ordered personally to attend the king. "It is his Majesty's pleasure that the master should wait and not the men, andthatthey shall find." Henceforth I find no certain reference to him; according to Fuller he died at the Herald's Office in 1649. It would be interesting if we could be sure that this Edward Norgate is the same as the one who in 1611 was appointed Tuner of his Majesty's "virginals, organs, and other instruments," and in 1637 received a grant of £140 for the repair of the organ at Hampton Court. Herrick's love of music makes us expect to find a similar trait in his friends.

313.The Entertainment, or Porch Verse.The wordsYe wrong the threshold-godand the allusion to the porch in the Clipsby Crew Epithalamium (stanza 4) show that there is no reference here (as Brand thinks, ii. 135) to the old custom of reading part of the marriage service at the church door or porch (cp. Chaucer: "Husbands at churchë door she had had five"). The porch of the house is meant, and the allusions are to the ceremonies at the threshold (cp. the Southwell Epithalamium). Dr. Grosart quotes from the Dean Prior register the entry of the marriage of Henry Northleigh, gentleman, and Mistress Lettice Yard on September 5, 1639, by licence from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

319.No noise of late-spawned Tittyries.In theCamden Society's edition of theDiary of Walter Yonge, p. 70 (kindly shown me by the Rev. J. H. Ward), we have a contemporary account of the Club known as the Tityre Tues, which took its name from the first words of Virgil's firstEclogue. "The beginning of December, 1623, there was a great number in London, haunting taverns and other debauched places, who swore themselves in a brotherhood and named themselvesTityre Tues. The oath they gave in this manner: he that was to be sworn did put his dagger into a pottle of wine, and held his hand upon the pommel thereof, and then was to make oath that he would aid and assist all other of his fellowship and not disclose their council. There were divers knights, some young noblemen and gentlemen of this brotherhood, and they were to know one the other by a black bugle which they wore, and their followers to be known by a blue ribbond. There are discovered of them about 80 or 100 persons, and have been examined by the Privy Council, but nothing discovered of any intent they had. It is said that the king hath given commandment that they shall be re-examined." In Mennis'sMusarum Deliciæthe brotherhood is celebrated in a poem headed "The Tytre Tues; or, a Mocke Song. To the tune of Chive Chase. By Mr. George Chambers." The second verse runs:—

"They call themselves the Tytere-tues,And wore a blue rib-bin;And when a-drie would not refuseTo drink. O fearful sin!"The council, which is thought most wise,Did sit so long upon it,That they grew weary and did rise,And could make nothing on it."

"They call themselves the Tytere-tues,And wore a blue rib-bin;And when a-drie would not refuseTo drink. O fearful sin!

"The council, which is thought most wise,Did sit so long upon it,That they grew weary and did rise,And could make nothing on it."

According to a letter of Chamberlain to Carleton, indexed among theState Papers, the Tityres were a secret society first formed in Lord Vaux's regiment in the Low Countries, and their "prince" was called Ottoman. Another entry shows that the "Bugle" mentioned by Yonge was the badge of a society originally distinct from the Tityres, which afterwards joined with it. The date of Herrick's poem is thus fixed as December, 162¾, and this is confirmed by another sentence in the same passage inYonge's Diary, in which he says: "The Jesuits and Papists do wonderfully swarm in the city, and rumours lately have been given out for firing the Navy and House of Munition, on which are set a double guard". The Parliament to which Herrick alludes was actually summoned in January, 1624, to meet on February 12. Sir Simeon Steward, to whom the poem is addressed, was of the family of the Stewards of Stantney, in the Isle of Ely. He was knighted with his father, Mark Steward, in 1603, and afterwards became a fellow-commoner of Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He was at different times Sheriff and Deputy-Lieutenant for Cambridgeshire, and while serving in the latter capacity got into some trouble for unlawful exactions. In 1627 he wrote a poem on theKing of the Fairies Clothesin the same vein as Herrick's fairy pieces.

321.Then is the work half done.As Dr. Grosart suggests, Herrick may have had in mind the "Dimidium facti qui cœpit habet" of Horace, I.Epist.ii. 40. But here the emphasis is on beginningwell, there onbeginning.

Begin with Joveis doubtless from the "Ab Jove principium, Musæ," of Virg.Ecl.iii. 60.

323.Fears not the fierce sedition of the seas.A reminiscence of Horace, III.Od.i. 25-32.

328.Gold before goodness.Printed inWitts Recreations, 1650, asA Foolish Querie. The sentiment is from Seneca,Ep.cxv.: An dives, omnes quærimus; nemo, an bonus. Cp. Juvenal, III. 140 sqq.; Plaut.Menæchm.IV. ii. 6.

331.To his honoured kinsman, Sir William Soame.The second son of Sir Stephen Soame, Lord Mayor of London in 1598. Herrick's father and Sir Stephen married sisters.

As benjamin and storax when they meet.Instances of the use of "Benjamin" for gum benzoin will be found in the Dictionaries. Dr. Grosart's gloss, "Benjamin, the favourite youngest son of the Patriarch," is unfortunate.

336.His Age: dedicated to ... M. John Wickes under the name of Posthumus.There is an important version of this poem in Egerton MS., 2725, where it is entitledMr. Herrick's Old Age to Mr. Weekes. I do not think it has been collated before. Stanzas i.-vi. contain few variants; ii. 6 reads: "Dislikes to care for what's behind"; iii. 6: "Like a lost maidenhead," for "Like to a lily lost"; v. 8: "With the best and whitest stone"; vi. 1: "We'llnot be poor". After this we have two stanzas omitted in 1648:—

"We have no vineyards which do bearTheir lustful clusters all the year,Nor odoriferousOrchards, like to Alcinous;Nor gall the seasOur witty appetites to pleaseWith mullet, turbot, gilt-head boughtAt a high rate and further brought."Nor can we glory of a greatAnd stuffed magazine of wheat;We have no bathOf oil, but only rich in faithO'er which the handOf fortune can have no command,But what she gives not, she not takes,But of her own a spoil she makes."

"Nor can we glory of a greatAnd stuffed magazine of wheat;We have no bathOf oil, but only rich in faithO'er which the handOf fortune can have no command,But what she gives not, she not takes,But of her own a spoil she makes."

Stanza vii., l. 2, has "close" for "both"; l. 3 "see" for "have"; l. 6, "open" for "that cheap"; l. 7, "full" for "same". Stanzas x.-xvii. have so many variants that I am obliged to transcribe them in full, though they show Herrick not at his best, and the poem is not one to linger over:—

10."Live in thy peace; as for myself,When I am bruisèd on the shelfOf Time, andreadEternal daylight o'er my head:When with the rheum,Withcoughandptisick, I consumeInto an heap of cinders:thenThe Ages fled I'll call again,

10.

"Live in thy peace; as for myself,When I am bruisèd on the shelfOf Time, andreadEternal daylight o'er my head:When with the rheum,Withcoughandptisick, I consumeInto an heap of cinders:thenThe Ages fled I'll call again,

11."And with a tear compare these lastAnd cold times untothose are past,While Baucis byWith her lean lipsshall kissthem dryThen will wesitBy the fire, foretelling snow and sleetAnd weather by our aches, grown†Old enough to be our own

11.

"And with a tear compare these lastAnd cold times untothose are past,While Baucis byWith her lean lipsshall kissthem dryThen will wesitBy the fire, foretelling snow and sleetAnd weather by our aches, grown†Old enough to be our own

12."True Calendar [ ]Is for to knowwhat change is near,Then to assuageThe gripingsinthe chine by age,I'll call my youngIülus to sing such a songI made upon mymistress'breast;Or such ablush at such a feast.

12.

"True Calendar [ ]Is for to knowwhat change is near,Then to assuageThe gripingsinthe chine by age,I'll call my youngIülus to sing such a songI made upon mymistress'breast;Or such ablush at such a feast.

13."Then shall he readmy Lily fineEntomb'dwithin a crystal shrine:MyPrimrose next:A piece then of a higher text;For to begetIn me a more transcendent heatThan that insinuating fireWhich crept into eachreverendSire,

13.

"Then shall he readmy Lily fineEntomb'dwithin a crystal shrine:MyPrimrose next:A piece then of a higher text;For to begetIn me a more transcendent heatThan that insinuating fireWhich crept into eachreverendSire,

14."When thehighHelenher fair cheeksShowed to the army of the Greeks;At which I'llrise(Blind though as midnight in my eyes),And hearing it,Flutter and crow,and, in a fitOfyoungconcupiscence, andfeelNew flames within the aged steal.

14.

"When thehighHelenher fair cheeksShowed to the army of the Greeks;At which I'llrise(Blind though as midnight in my eyes),And hearing it,Flutter and crow,and, in a fitOfyoungconcupiscence, andfeelNew flames within the aged steal.

15."Thus frantic, crazy man (God wot),I'll call to mindthe timesforgotAnd oft betweenSigh outthe Times thatwehave seen!And shed a tear,And twisting my Iülushair,Doting, I'll weep and say (in truth)Baucis, these werethesins of youth.

15.

"Thus frantic, crazy man (God wot),I'll call to mindthe timesforgotAnd oft betweenSigh outthe Times thatwehave seen!And shed a tear,And twisting my Iülushair,Doting, I'll weep and say (in truth)Baucis, these werethesins of youth.

16."Thenwill Icause my hopeful Lad(If a wild Apple can be had)To crown the Hearth(Lar thus conspiring with our mirth);Nextto infuseOurbetter beerinto the cruse:Which, neatly spiced, we'll first carouseUnto theVestaof the house.

16.

"Thenwill Icause my hopeful Lad(If a wild Apple can be had)To crown the Hearth(Lar thus conspiring with our mirth);Nextto infuseOurbetter beerinto the cruse:Which, neatly spiced, we'll first carouseUnto theVestaof the house.

17."Then the next health to friends of mineIn oysters, andBurgundian wine,Hind, Goderiske, Smith,And Nansagge, sons ofclune[M]andpith,Suchwho knowwellTo boardthe magicbowl, andspillAll mighty blood, and can do moreThan Jove and Chaos them before."

17.

"Then the next health to friends of mineIn oysters, andBurgundian wine,Hind, Goderiske, Smith,And Nansagge, sons ofclune[M]andpith,Suchwho knowwellTo boardthe magicbowl, andspillAll mighty blood, and can do moreThan Jove and Chaos them before."

This John Wickes or Weekes is spoken of by Anthony à Wood as a "jocular person" and a popular preacher. He enters Wood'sFastiby right of his co-optation as a D.D. in 1643, while the court was at Oxford; his education had been at Cambridge. He was a prebendary of Bristol and Dean of St. Burian in Cornwall, and suffered some persecution as a royalist. Herrick later on, when himself shedless and cottageless, addresses another poem to him as his "peculiar friend,"

To whose glad threshold and free doorI may, a poet, come, though poor.

A friend suggests that Hind may have been John Hind, an Anacreontic poet and friend of Greene, and has found references to a Thomas Goodricke of St. John's Coll., Camb., author of two poems on the accession of James I., and a Martin Nansogge, B.A. of Trinity Hall, 1614, afterwards vicar of Cornwood, Devon. Smith is certainlyJames Smith, who, with Sir John Mennis, edited theMusarum Deliciæ, in which the first poem is addressed "to Parson Weekes: an invitation to London," and contains a reference to—

"That old sackYoung Herrick took to entertainThe Muses in a sprightly vein".

The early part of this poem contains, along with the name Posthumus, many Horatian reminiscences: cp. especially II.Od.xiv. 1-8, and IV.Od.vii. 14. It may be noted that in the imitation of the latter passage in stanza iv. the MS. copy at the Museum corrects the misplacement of the epithet, reading:—

"But we must on and thither tendWhere Tullus and rich Ancus blend," etc.,

for "Where Ancus and rich Tullus".

Again the variant, "Opencandle baudery," in verse 7, is an additional argument against Dr. Grosart's explanation: "Obscene words and figures made with candle-smoke," the allusion being merely to the blackened ceilings produced by cheap candles without a shade.

337.A Short Hymn to Venus.Printed inWitts Recreations, 1650, asA vow to Cupid, with variants: l. 1,CupidforGoddess; l. 2,likeforwith; l. 3,that I mayforI may but; l. 5,doforwill.

340.Upon a delaying lady.Printed inWitts Recreations, 1650, asA Check to her delay.

341.The Lady Mary Villars, niece of the first Duke of Buckingham, married successively Charles, son of Philip, Earl of Pembroke, Esme Stuart, Dukeof Richmond and Lennox, and Thomas Howard. Died 1685.

355.Hath filed upon my silver hairs.Cp. Ben Jonson,The King's Entertainment:—

"What all the minutes, hours, weeks, months, and yearsThat hang in file upon these silver hairsCould not produce," etc.

359.Philip, Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery.Philip Herbert (born 1584, died 1650), despite his foul mouth, ill temper, and devotion to sport ("He would make an excellent chancellor to the mews were Oxford turned into a kennel of hounds," wrote the author ofMercurius Menippeuswhen Pembroke succeeded Laud as chancellor), was also a patron of literature. He was one of the "incomparable pair of brethren" to whom the Shakespeare folio of 1623 was dedicated, and he was a good friend to Massinger. His fondness for scribbling in the margins of books may, or may not, be considered as further evidence of a respect for literature.

366.Thou shall not all die.Horace's "non omnis moriar".

367.Upon Wrinkles.Printed inWitts Recreations, 1650, under the titleTo a Stale Lady. The first line there reads:—

"Thy wrinkles are no more nor less".

375.Anne Soame, now Lady Abdie, eldest daughter of Sir Thomas Soame, and second wife of Sir Thomas Abdy, Bart., of Felix Hall, Essex. Herrick's poem is modelled on Mart. III. lxv.

376.Upon his Kinswoman, Mistress Elizabeth Herrick, daughter of the poet's brother Nicholas.

377.A Panegyric to Sir Lewis Pembertonof Rushden, in Northamptonshire, sheriff of the county in 1622; married Alice, daughter of Tho. Bowles. Died 1641. With this poem cp. Ben Jonson'sEpig.ci.

But great and large she spreads by dust and sweat.Dr. Grosart very appositely quotes Montaigne: "For it seemeth that the verie name of vertue presupposeth difficultie and inferreth resistance, and cannot well exercise it selfe without an enemie" (Florio's tr., p. 233). But I think the two passages have a common origin in some version of Hesiod'sτῆς ἀρετῆς ἱδρῶτα θεοὶ προπάροιθεν ἔθηκαν, which is twice quoted by Plato.

382.After the rare arch-poet, Jonson, died.Perhaps suggested by the Epitaph of Plautus on himself,ap.Gell. i. 24:—

Postquam est mortem aptus Plautus, comoedia luget;Scena deserta, dein risus, ludu' jocusque,Et numeri innumeri simul omnes collacrumarunt.

384.To his nephew, to be prosperous in painting.This artistic nephew may have been a Wingfield, son of Mercy Herrick, who married John Wingfield, of Brantham, Suffolk; or one of three sons of Nicholas Herrick and Susanna Salter, or Thomas, or some unknown son of Thomas Herrick. There is no record of any painter Herrick's achievements.

392.Sir Edward Fish, Knight Baronet, of Chertsey, in Surrey. Died 1658.

405.Nor fear or spice or fish.Herrick is remembering Persius, i. 43: Nec scombros metuentia carmina, nec thus. To form the paper jacket ortunicawhich wrapt the mackerel in Roman cookery seems to have been the ultimate employment of many poems. Cp. Mart. III. l. 9; IV. lxxxvii. 8; and Catullus, XCV. 8.

The farting Tanner and familiar King.The ballad here alluded to is that ofKing Edward IV. and the tanner of Tamworth, printed in Prof. Child's collection. "The dancing friar tattered in the bush" of the next line is one of the heroes of the old ballad ofThe Fryar and the Boye, printed by Wynkyn de Worde, and included in the Appendix to Furnivall and Hales' edition of the Percy folio. The boy was the possessor of a "magic flute," and, having got the friar into a bush, made him dance there.

"Jack, as he piped, laughed among,The Friar with briars was vilely stung,He hopped wondrous high.At last the Friar held up his handAnd said: I can no longer stand,Oh! I shall dancing die."

"Those monstrous lies of little Robin Rush" is explained by Dr. Grosart as an allusion to "The Historie of Friar Rush, how he came to a House of Religion to seek a Service, and being entertained by the Prior was made First Cook, being full of pleasant Mirth and Delight for young people". Of "TomChipperfield and pretty lisping Ned" I can find nothing. "The flying Pilchard and the frisking Dace" probably belong to the fish monsters alluded to in theTempest. In "Tim Trundell" Herrick seems for the sake of alliteration to have taken a liberty with the Christian name of a well-known ballad publisher.

He's greedy of his life.From Seneca,Thyestes, 884-85:—

Vitæ est avidus quisquis non vultMundo secum pereunte mori.

407.Upon Himself.408.Another.Both printed inWitts Recreations, 1650, the second under the title ofLove and Liberty. This last is taken from Corn. Gall.Eleg.i. 6, quoted by Montaigne, iii. 5:—

Et mihi dulce magis resoluto vivere collo.

412.The Mad Maid's Song.A manuscript version of this song is contained in Harleian MS. 6917, fol. 48, ver. 80. The chief variants are: st. i. l. 2,morrowformorning; l. 4,all dabbledforbedabbled; st. ii. l. 1,cowslipforprimrose; l. 3,tearsforflowers; l. 4,wasforis; st. v. l. 1,hopeforknow; st. vii. l. 2,balsamforcowslips.

415.Whither dost thou whorry me.Quo me, Bacche, rapis tui Plenum? Hor. III.Od.xxv. 1.

430.As Sallust saith,i.e., the pseudo-Sallust in theEpist. ad Cai. Cæs. de Repub. Ordinanda.

431.Every time seems short.Epigr. in Farnabii,Florileg.[a. 1629]:—

Τοῖσι μὲν εὖ πράττουσιν ἅπας ὁ βίος βραχύς ἐστιν·Τοῖς δὲ κακῶς, μία νὺξ ἄπλετός ἐστι χρόνος.

443.Oberon's Palace.—After the feast (my Shapcott) see.See223,293, from which it is a pity that this poem should have been divorced. Of thePalacethere are as many as three MS. versions, viz., Add. 22, 603 (p. 59), and Add. 25, 303 (p. 157), at the British Museum, both of which I have collated, and Ashmole MS. 38, which I only know through my predecessors. The three MSS. appear to agree very harmoniously, and they unite in increasing our knowledge of Herrick by a passage of twenty-seven lines, following on the words "And here and there and farther off," and in lieu of the next four and a half lines inHesperides. They read as follows:—

"Some sort of pear,Apple or plum, is neatly laid(As if it was a tribute paid)By the round urchin; some mixt wheatThe which the ant did taste, not eat;Deaf nuts, soft Jews'-ears, and some thinChippings, the mice filched from the binOf the gray farmer, and to theseThe scraps of lentils, chitted peas,Dried honeycombs, brown acorn cups,Out of the which he sometimes supsHis herby broth, and there close byAre pucker'd bullace, cankers (?), dryKernels, and withered haws; the restAre trinkets fal'n from the kite's nest,As butter'd bread, the which the wildBird snatched away from the crying child,Blue pins, tags, fesenes, beads and thingsOf higher price, as half-jet rings,Ribbons and then some silken shreaksThe virgins lost at barley-breaks.Many a purse-string, many a threadOf gold and silver therein spread,Many a counter, many a die,Half rotten and without an eye,Lies here about, and, as we guess,Some bits of thimbles seem to dressThe brave cheap work;and for to paveThe excellency of this cave,Squirrels and children's teeth late shed,Serve here, both whichenchequeredWith castors' doucets, which poor theyBite off themselves to 'scape away:Browntoadstones, ferrets' eyes,the gumThat shines," etc.

The italicised words in the last few lines appear inHesperides; all the rest are new. Other variants are: "The grass of Lemster ore soberly sparkling" for "the finest Lemster ore mildly disparkling"; "girdle" for "ceston"; "The eyes of all doth strait bewitch" for "All with temptation doth bewitch"; "choicely hung" for "neatly hung"; "silver roach" for "silvery fish"; "cave" for "room"; "get reflection" for "make reflected"; "Candlemas" for "taper-light"; "moon-tane" for "moon-tanned," etc., etc.

Kings though they're hated.The "Oderint dum metuant" of theAtreusof Accius, quoted by Cicero and Seneca.

446.To Oenone.Printed inWitts Recreations,1650, under the title: "The Farewell to Love and to his Mistress," and with the unlucky misprint "court" for "covet" (also "for" for "but") in the stanza iii. l. i.

447.Grief breaks the stoutest heart.Frangit fortia corda dolor. Tibull. III. ii. 6.

451.To the right gracious Prince, Lodowick, Duke of Richmond and Lennox.There appears to me to be a blunder here which Dr. Grosart and Mr. Hazlitt do not elucidate, by recording the birth of Lodowick, first Duke of Richmond, in 1574, his succession to the Lennox title in 1583, creation as Duke of Richmond in May, 1623, and death in the following February. For this first duke was no "stem" left "of all those three brave brothers fallen in the war," and the allusion here is undoubtedly to his nephews—George, Lord d'Aubigny, who fell at Edgehill; Lord John Stewart, who fell at Alresford; and Lord Bernard Stewart (Earl of Lichfield), who fell at Rowton Heath. In elucidation of Herrick's Dirge (219) over the last of these three brothers, I have already quoted Clarendon's remark, that he was "the third brother of that illustrious family that sacrificed his life in this quarrel," and it cannot be doubted that Herrick is here alluding to the same fact. The poem must therefore have been written after 1645,i.e., more than twenty years after the death of Duke Lodowick. But the duke then living was James, who succeeded his father Esme in 1624, was recreated Duke of Richmond in 1641, and did not die till 1655. It is true that there was a brother named Lodovic, but he was an abbot in France and neversucceeded to the title. Herrick, therefore, seems to have blundered in the Christian name.

453.Let's live in haste.From Martial, VII. xlvii. 11, 12:—

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