an
1
old Woman
who
2
was his Housekeeper, as she sat with him at her Work by the Chimney-Corner; and could foretel the Success of his Play in the Theatre, from the Reception it met at his Fire-side: For he tells us the Audience always followed the old Woman, and never failed to laugh in the same Place
3
.
I know nothing which more shews the essential and inherent Perfection of Simplicity of Thought, above that which I call the Gothick Manner in Writing, than this, that the first pleases all Kinds of Palates, and the latter only such as have formed to themselves a wrong artificial Taste upon little fanciful Authors and Writers of Epigram.
Homer
,
Virgil
, or
Milton
, so far as the Language of their Poems is understood, will please a Reader of plain common Sense, who would neither relish nor comprehend an Epigram of
Martial
, or a Poem of
Cowley
: So, on the contrary, an ordinary Song or Ballad that is the Delight of the common People, cannot fail to please all such Readers as are not unqualified for the Entertainment by their Affectation or Ignorance; and the Reason is plain, because the same Paintings of Nature which recommend it to the most ordinary Reader, will appear Beautiful to the most refined.
The old Song of
Chevey Chase
is the favourite Ballad of the common People of
England
; and
Ben Johnson
used to say he had rather have been the Author of it than of all his Works.
Sir
Philip Sidney
in his
Discourse of Poetry
4
speaks of it in the following Words;
I never heard the old Song ofPiercyandDouglas,that I found not my Heart more moved than with a Trumpet; and yet it is sung by some blind Crowder with no rougher Voice than rude Stile; which being so evil apparelled in the Dust and Cobweb of that uncivil Age, what would it work trimmed in the gorgeous Eloquence ofPindar?
For my own part I am so professed an Admirer of this antiquated Song, that I shall give my Reader a Critick upon it, without any further Apology for so doing.
The greatest Modern Criticks have laid it down as a Rule, that an Heroick Poem should be founded upon some important Precept of Morality, adapted to the Constitution of the Country in which the Poet writes.
Homer
and
Virgil
have formed their Plans in this View. As
Greece
was a Collection of many Governments, who suffered very much among themselves, and gave the
Persian
Emperor, who was their common Enemy, many Advantages over them by their mutual Jealousies and Animosities,
Homer
, in order to establish among them an Union, which was so necessary for their Safety, grounds his Poem upon the Discords of the several
Grecian
Princes who were engaged in a Confederacy against an
Asiatick
Prince, and the several Advantages which the Enemy gained by such their Discords.
At
the Time the Poem we are now treating of was written, the Dissentions of the Barons, who were then so many petty Princes, ran very high, whether they quarrelled among themselves, or with their Neighbours, and produced unspeakable Calamities to the Country
5
: The Poet, to deter Men from such unnatural Contentions, describes a bloody Battle and dreadful Scene of Death, occasioned by the mutual Feuds which reigned in the Families of an
English
and
Scotch
Nobleman: That he designed this for the Instruction of his Poem, we may learn from his four last Lines, in which, after the Example of the modern Tragedians, he draws from it a Precept for the Benefit of his Readers.
God save the King, and bless the LandIn Plenty, Joy, and Peace;And grant henceforth that foul Debate'Twixt Noblemen may cease.
The next Point observed by the greatest Heroic Poets, hath been to celebrate Persons and Actions which do Honour to their Country: Thus
Virgil's
Hero was the Founder of
Rome
,
Homer's
a Prince of
Greece
; and for this Reason
Valerius Flaccus
and
Statius
, who were both
Romans
, might be justly derided for having chosen the Expedition of the
Golden Fleece
, and the
Wars of Thebes
for the Subjects of their Epic Writings.
The Poet before us has not only found out an Hero in his own Country, but raises the Reputation of it by several beautiful Incidents.
The
English
are the first
who
6
take the Field, and the last
who
7
quit it. The
English
bring only Fifteen hundred to the Battle, the
Scotch
Two thousand. The
English
keep the Field with Fifty three: The
Scotch
retire with Fifty five: All the rest on each side being slain in Battle.
But
the most remarkable Circumstance of this kind, is the different Manner in which the
Scotch
and
English
Kings
receive
8
the News of this Fight, and of the great Men's Deaths who commanded in it.
This News was brought toEdinburgh,WhereScotland'sKing did reign,That brave EarlDouglassuddenlyWas with an Arrow slain.O heavy News, King James did say,Scotlandcan Witness be,I have not any Captain moreOf such Account as he.Like Tydings to KingHenrycameWithin as short a Space,ThatPiercyofNorthumberlandWas slain inChevy-Chase.Now God be with him, said our King,Sith 'twill no better be,I trust I have within my RealmFive hundred as good as he.Yet shall notScotnorScotlandsayBut I will Vengeance take,And be revenged on them allFor brave LordPiercy'sSake.This Vow full well the King performedAfter onHumble-down,In one Day fifty Knights were slain,With Lords of great Renown.And of the rest of small AccountDid many Thousands dye,&c.
At the same time that our Poet shews a laudable Partiality to his Countrymen, he represents the
Scots
after a Manner not unbecoming so bold and brave a People.
Earl Douglas on a milk-white Steed,Most like a Baron bold,Rode foremost of the CompanyWhose Armour shone like Gold.
His Sentiments and Actions are every Way suitable to an Hero.
One
of us two, says he, must dye: I am an Earl as well as your self, so that you can have no Pretence for refusing the Combat: However, says he, 'tis Pity, and indeed would be a Sin, that so many innocent Men should perish for our sakes, rather let you and I end our Quarrel
in single Fight.
9
Ere thus I will out-braved be,One of us two shall dye;I know thee well, an Earl thou art,Lord Piercy, so am I.But trust me, Piercy,Pity it were,And great Offence, to killAny of these our harmless Men,For they have done no Ill.Let thou and I the Battle try,And set our Men aside;Accurst be he, LordPiercysaid,By whom this is deny'd.
When these brave Men had distinguished themselves in the Battle and a single Combat with each other, in the Midst of a generous Parly, full of heroic Sentiments, the
Scotch
Earl falls; and with his dying Words encourages his Men to revenge his Death, representing to them, as the most bitter Circumstance of it, that his Rival saw him fall.
With that there came an Arrow keenOut of anEnglishBow,Which struck EarlDouglasto the HeartA deep and deadly Blow.Who never spoke more Words than these,Fight on, my merry Men all,For why, my Life is at an End,LordPiercy seesmy Fall.
Merry Men
, in the Language of those Times, is no more than a cheerful Word for Companions and Fellow-Soldiers. A Passage in the Eleventh Book of
Virgil's Æneid
is very much to be admired, where
Camilla
in her last Agonies instead of weeping over the Wound she had received, as one might have expected from a Warrior of her Sex, considers only (like the Hero of whom we are now speaking) how the Battle should be continued after her Death.
Tum sic exspirans, &c.A gathering Mist overclouds her chearful Eyes;And from her Cheeks the rosie Colour flies.Then turns to her, whom, of her Female Train,She trusted most, and thus she speaks with Pain.Acca, 'tis past! He swims before my Sight,Inexorable Death; and claims his Right.Bear my last Words to Turnus, fly with Speed,And bid him timely to my Charge succeed;Repel the Trojans, and the Town relieve:Farewel...
Turnus
did not die in so heroic a Manner; tho' our Poet seems to have had his Eye upon
Turnus's
Speech in the last Verse,
Lord Piercy sees my Fall.... Vicisti, et victum tendere palmasAusonii videre...
Earl
Piercy's
Lamentation over his Enemy is generous, beautiful, and passionate; I must only caution the Reader not to let the Simplicity of the Stile, which one may well pardon in so old a Poet, prejudice him against the Greatness of the Thought.
Then leaving Life, Earl Piercy tookThe dead Man by the Hand,And said, Earl Douglas, for thy LifeWould I had lost my Land.O Christ! my very heart doth bleedWith Sorrow for thy Sake;For sure a more renowned KnightMischance did never take.
That beautiful Line,
Taking the dead Man by the Hand
, will put the Reader in mind of
Æneas's
Behaviour towards
Lausus
, whom he himself had slain as he came to the Rescue of his aged Father.
At vero ut vultum vidit morientis, et ora,Ora modis Anchisiades, pallentia miris;Ingemuit, miserans graviter, dextramque tetendit, &c.The pious Prince beheld young Lausus dead;He grieved, he wept; then grasped his Hand, and said,Poor hapless Youth! What Praises can be paidTo worth so great ...
I shall take another Opportunity to consider the other Part of this old Song.
Footnote 1:
a little
return to footnote mark
Footnote 2:
that
return
Footnote 3:
Besides the old woman, Molière is said to have relied on the children of the Comedians, read his pieces to them, and corrected passages at which they did not show themselves to be amused.
return
Footnote 4:
Defence of Poesy.
return
Footnote 5:
The author of
Chevy Chase
was not contemporary with the dissensions of the Barons, even if the ballad of the
Hunting of the Cheviot
was a celebration of the Battle of Otterbourne, fought in 1388, some 30 miles from Newcastle. The battle of Chevy Chase, between the Percy and the Douglas, was fought in Teviotdale, and the ballad which moved Philip Sidney's heart was written in the fifteenth century. It may have referred to a Battle of Pepperden, fought near the Cheviot Hills, between the Earl of Northumberland and Earl William Douglas of Angus, in 1436. The ballad quoted by Addison is not that of which Sidney spoke, but a version of it, written after Sidney's death, and after the best plays of Shakespeare had been written.
return
Footnote 6:
that
return
Footnote 7:
that
return
Footnote 8:
received
return
Footnote 9:
by a single Combat.
return
ContentsContents p.3
... Scribere jussit Amor.Ovid.
The entire Conquest of our Passions is so difficult a Work, that they who despair of it should think of a less difficult Task, and only attempt to Regulate them. But there is a third thing which may contribute not only to the Ease, but also to the Pleasure of our Life; and that is refining our Passions to a greater Elegance, than we receive them from Nature. When the Passion is Love, this Work is performed in innocent, though rude and uncultivated Minds, by the mere Force and Dignity of the Object. There are Forms which naturally create Respect in the Beholders, and at once Inflame and Chastise the Imagination. Such an Impression as this gives an immediate Ambition to deserve, in order to please. This Cause and Effect are beautifully described by Mr.
Dryden
in the Fable of
Cymon
and
Iphigenia
. After he has represented
Cymon
so stupid, that
He Whistled as he went, for want of Thought,
he makes him fall into the following Scene, and shews its Influence upon him so excellently, that it appears as Natural as Wonderful.
It happen'd on a Summer's Holiday,That to the Greenwood-shade he took his Way;His Quarter-staff, which he cou'd ne'er forsake,Hung half before, and half behind his Back.He trudg'd along unknowing what he sought,And whistled as he went, for want of Thought.ByChance conducted, or by Thirst constrain'd,The deep recesses of the Grove he gain'd;Where in a Plain, defended by the Wood,Crept thro' the matted Grass a Crystal Flood,By which an Alabaster Fountain stood:And on the Margin of the Fount was laid,(Attended by her Slaves) a sleeping Maid,LikeDian,and her Nymphs, when, tir'd with Sport,To rest by coolEurotasthey resort:The Dame herself the Goddess well expressed,Not more distinguished by her Purple Vest,Than by the charming Features of her Face,And even in Slumber a superior Grace:Her comely Limbs composed with decent Care,Her Body shaded with a slight Cymarr;Her Bosom to the View was only bare:1...The fanning Wind upon her Bosom blows,To meet the fanning Wind the Bosom rose;The fanning Wind and purling Streams continue her Repose.The Fool of Nature stood with stupid EyesAnd gaping Mouth, that testify'd Surprize,Fix'd on her Face, nor could remove his Sight,New as he was to Love, and Novice in Delight:Long mute he stood, and leaning on his Staff,His Wonder witness'd with an Idiot Laugh;Then would have spoke, but by his glimmering SenseFirst found his want of Words, and fear'd Offence:Doubted for what he was he should be known,By his Clown-Accent, and his Country Tone.
But
lest this fine Description should be excepted against, as the Creation of that great Master, Mr.
Dryden
, and not an Account of what has really ever happened in the World; I shall give you,
verbatim
, the Epistle of an enamoured Footman in the Country to his Mistress
2
. Their Sirnames shall not be inserted, because their Passion demands a greater Respect than is due to their Quality.
James
is Servant in a great Family, and Elizabeth waits upon the Daughter of one as numerous, some Miles off of her Lover.
James
, before he beheld
Betty
, was vain of his Strength, a rough Wrestler, and quarrelsome Cudgel-Player;
Betty
a Publick Dancer at Maypoles, a Romp at Stool-Ball: He always following idle Women, she playing among the Peasants: He a Country Bully, she a Country Coquet. But Love has made her constantly in her Mistress's Chamber, where the young Lady gratifies a secret Passion of her own, by making
Betty
talk of
James
; and
James
is become a constant Waiter near his Master's Apartment, in reading, as well as he can, Romances. I cannot learn who
Molly
is, who it seems walked Ten Mile to carry the angry Message, which gave Occasion to what follows.
ToElizabeth...My Dear Betty, May 14, 1711.Remember your bleeding Lover,who lies bleeding at the ...Where two beginning Paps were scarcely spy'd,For yet their Places were but signify'd.WoundsCupidmade with the Arrows he borrowed at the Eyes ofVenus, which is your sweet Person.Nay more, with the Token you sent me for my Love and Service offered to your sweet Person; which was your base Respects to my ill Conditions; when alas! there is no ill Conditions in me, but quite contrary; all Love and Purity, especially to your sweet Person; but all this I take as a Jest.But the sad and dismal News whichMollybrought me, struck me to the Heart, which was, it seems, and is your ill Conditions for my Love and Respects to you.For she told me, if I came Forty times to you, you would not speak with me, which Words I am sure is a great Grief to me.Now, my Dear, if I may not be permitted to your sweet Company, and to have the Happiness of speaking with your sweet Person, I beg the Favour of you to accept of this my secret Mind and Thoughts, which hath so long lodged in my Breast; the which if you do not accept, I believe will go nigh to break my Heart.For indeed, my Dear, I Love you above all the Beauties I ever saw in all my Life.The young Gentleman, and my Masters Daughter, theLondonerthat is come down to marry her, sat in the Arbour most part of last Night. Oh! dearBetty, must the Nightingales sing to those who marry for Mony, and not to us true Lovers! Oh my dearBetty, that we could meet this Night where we used to do in the Wood!Now, my Dear, if I may not have the Blessing of kissing your sweet Lips, I beg I may have the Happiness of kissing your fair Hand, with a few Lines from your dear self, presented by whom you please or think fit. I believe, if Time would permit me, I could write all Day; but the Time being short, and Paper little, no more from your never-failing Lover till Death, James ...
Poor James! Since his Time and Paper were so short; I, that have more than I can use well of both, will put the Sentiments of his kind Letter (the Stile of which seems to be confused with Scraps he had got in hearing and reading what he did not understand) into what he meant to express.
Dear Creature, Can you then neglect him who has forgot all his Recreations and Enjoyments, to pine away his Life in thinking of you?When I do so, you appear more amiable to me thanVenusdoes in the most beautiful Description that ever was made of her. All this Kindness you return with an Accusation, that I do not love you: But the contrary is so manifest, that I cannot think you in earnest. But the Certainty given me in your Message byMolly, that you do not love me, is what robs me of all Comfort. She says you will not see me: If you can have so much Cruelty, at least write to me, that I may kiss the Impression made by your fair Hand. I love you above all things, and, in my Condition, what you look upon with Indifference is to me the most exquisite Pleasure or Pain. Our young Lady, and a fine Gentleman fromLondon, who are to marry for mercenary Ends, walk about our Gardens, and hear the Voice of Evening Nightingales, as if for Fashion-sake they courted those Solitudes, because they have heard Lovers do so. OhBetty!could I hear these Rivulets murmur, and Birds sing while you stood near me, how little sensible should I be that we are both Servants, that there is anything on Earth above us. Oh! I could write to you as long as I love you, till Death it self.James.
N.B.
By the Words
Ill-Conditions
, James means in a Woman
Coquetry
, in a Man
Inconstancy
.
R.
Footnote 1:
The next couplet Steele omits:
return to footnote mark
Footnote 2:
James Hirst, a servant to the Hon. Edward Wortley (who was familiar with Steele, and a close friend of Addison's), by mistake gave to his master, with a parcel of letters, one that he had himself written to his sweetheart. Mr. Wortley opened it, read it, and would not return it.
'No, James,' he said, 'you shall be a great man. This letter must appear in the Spectator.'
And so it did. The end of the love story is that Betty died when on the point of marriage to James, who, out of love to her, married her sister.
return
ContentsContents p.3
... Genus immortale manet, multosque per annosStat fortuna Domus, et avi numerantur avorum.Virg.
Having already given my Reader an Account of several extraordinary Clubs both ancient and modern, I did not design to have troubled him with any more Narratives of this Nature; but I have lately received Information of a Club which I can call neither ancient nor modern, that I dare say will be no less surprising to my Reader than it was to my self; for which Reason I shall communicate it to the Publick as one of the greatest Curiosities in its kind.
A Friend of mine complaining of a Tradesman who is related to him, after having represented him as a very idle worthless Fellow, who neglected his Family, and spent most of his Time over a Bottle, told me, to conclude his Character, that he was a Member of the
Everlasting Club
. So very odd a Title raised my Curiosity to enquire into the Nature of a Club that had such a sounding Name; upon which my Friend gave me the following Account.
The
Everlasting Club consists of a hundred Members, who divide the whole twenty four Hours among them in such a Manner, that the Club sits Day and Night from one end of the Year to
another
1
, no Party presuming to rise till they are relieved by those who are in course to succeed them.
By
this means a Member of the Everlasting Club never wants Company; for tho' he is not upon Duty himself, he is sure to find some
who
2
are; so that if he be disposed to take a Whet, a Nooning, an Evening's Draught, or a Bottle after Midnight, he goes to the Club and finds a Knot of Friends to his Mind.