MARVELL P. 136 CLORINDA AND DAMON. In line 8 vade, from the Latin vadere, to depart; "useful in poetry, but not received," says Dr. Johnson. Used by Shakspere, as distinct from fade. Brathwaite again marks the difference :- Thy form's divine, no fading vading flower. P. 138. Our Pan's quire: old spelling for choir, as quirister for chorister. Dear quirister! writes Drummond. BROME P. 142BEGGARS' SONG. Remore-hinder: a word I can not find in another author; nor in the dictionaries. It is from the Latin, Remora, the name of a fish supposed "to stick to ships and retard their progress." Milton makes it English : The sum is, they thought to limit or take away the remora of his negative voice. Richard Brome was the author of fifteen plays: his brother, Alexander, of one. VAUGHAN P. 143-EPITHALAMIUM. From "Olor Iscanus, a collection of select poems and translations by Henry Vaughan, Silurist, published by a friend, 1651." Ellis gives three broken stanzas, apologizing for their "too much quaintness and conceit." The second stanza in my copy has he and his. I hesitated before altering this (for all the strangeness of a he Rose and a she Sun), for the author may have so written. The pronouns are often confused in these old texts. HALL P. 147 — EPITAPH. From Poems of John Hall of Durham. 1646, reprinted at Longman's Private Press, 1846. FLETCHER P. 148. Of whom I find nothing except the date of 1656 to a small volume of Translations from Martial, Epigrams, &c. FLECKNOE P. 149. Who had some poetic gift, notwithstanding Dryden. CHLORIS is in a little book, containing also his "Diarium or Journal, divided into 12 Jornadas, in burlesque rhyme or drolling verse," 1656. BULTEEL P. 150. Ritson speaks of him as secretary to Clarendon. He was the author of one play, Amorous Oruntus, or The Love in fashion. Campbell gives a song by him. The one I give should perhaps have had place among the poems by authors unknown, coming in "a collection written by several persons, never printed before” (156 pp.), lettered on the back and also written inside" by John Bultiel." 1674. TOTTEL'S MISCELLANY The first edition of this earliest of collections has for all title: SONGS AND SONETTES written by the ryght honorable Lorde Henry Howard late Earl of Sur rey, and other. Apud Richardum Tottel, 1557. Cum privilegio. This first edition, published June 5, contains 36 poems by Surrey, 90 by Wyatt, 40 by Grimaold; and 95 by "uncertain authors," of which last two are attributable to Vaux, one to Heywood (that I have printed at p. 3), and one to Somerset. The second edition, July 31 in this same year 1557, contains 39 additional poems by anonymous writers. My selection is mainly from the first 95, only the last three from those added. The book was reprinted, carefully edited by Arber, in 1870. Pp. 153-4-THE MEAN ESTATE HAPPIEST. Rule is enmy to quietness. That quite nights he had more slept. Arber has P. 155 LOVE'S DISDAINER. The second and fourth lines of the third stanza give saught and laught as rhymes; in the fifth stanza are caught and laught; and in the last caught and taught. Was laught pronounced hard? P. 158 PROMISE OF A CONSTANT LOVER. Tene grief, grievous trouble; let - hindrance. In place of let Arber has thret: but he has also thrette in the second line. I but guess it should be let. However, the poet himself may be in fault. Spenser has the identical duplication: in canto XI, stanza 21, of The Legend of Holiness : When wintry storm his wrathful wreck does threat — Then 'gin the blustering brethren boldly threat. And canto VI, stanza 36, new with knew, and red with red: That in his armour bare a croslet red To tell the sad sight which mine eies have red. Let it be confessed that all our difficulties are not chargeable to the printer. P. 160 OF THE CHOICE OF A WIFE. In Tottel - That, in third line of third stanza, is used for what. Pp. 161-2 OTHERS PREFERRED. In Tottel The worse I speed the longer I watch. Since my will is at others lust. That helpeth them, lo! cruelty doth me kill. In the first edition of Tottel this is attributed to Wyatt; in the second placed among the uncertain. Is this the only one too hastily attributed? Were these collecting publishers worthy of much trust? Was it all fish in their nets? P. 162 - No JOY HAVE I. Relesse is release; lesse, loss. is nor; wonnes inhabits; ruing — perhaps only a misprint for rising; one self Jove - one same, one self-same Jove; by assuage (elision not infrequent). course - in turn; 'suage P. 164-THE PRAISE OF A TRUE FRIEND. Reave-reive, bereave; eke. - also. These last three pieces come together in the Miscellany, and seem to be by one hand. I had hardly thought them worth giving but for the construction of verse. THE PARADISE OF DAINTY DEVICES, first appeared in 1576, purporting to be "devised and written for the most part by M. Edwards, sometime of her Majestie's Chappel; the rest by sundry learned gentlemen both of honour and worshippe." Richard Edwards died in 1566. Was it the clever publisher's device? this putting his name, he, as Ellis tells us, "being much esteemed for the variety of his talents, at once the best fiddler, mimic, and sonneteer, of the Court." An able composer also of church music and madrigals. His name very taking on a title-page. But "written for the most part." There are 100 poems in the first edition: only eleven of which are attributed to Edwards. In the edition of 1580 is an Appendix with 25 more, two by Edwards. In 1576 ten of the poems have M. Edwards subscribed; one (at our p. 168) has M. Edwardes May superscribed. In the Appendix, four years later, there is a Reply to M. Edwards May; and in the same a rejoinder to that (surely not by Edwards, then dead fourteen years), Maister Edwards his I may not. Finding no other testimony, the doubtful look of this leads me to class "M. Edwards'" writings with those of authors uncertain. P. 168 MAY. In the British Bibliography of Brydges and Hazlewood this is printed in three stanzas of six lines each. P. 165- LIFE'S STAY. All but the first two lines in Dana's Household Book of Poetry. He mis-dates it 17th century. BYRD'S SONGS P. 169— RIGHT CAREFULNESS. This is generally given to Byrd; but I can find no authority to justify the gift. William Byrd, born about 1545, was a musician. Till 1588, says Oliphant in his Musa Madrigalesca, he seems to have 66 These confined himself to the composition of sacred songs, motets, &c. to Latin words; but when about that time an importation of lighter strains arrived from Italy, he found it advisable to follow the new fashion." Byrd himself calls his first collection of Psalms and Sonnets the "first printed work of mine in English," meaning, I suppose, his first music with English words. The words Out of M. Birds Set Songs, in England's Helicon, I think, only imply that he wrote the music. Set Songs I take to be his Songs of sundrie natures, 47 in all, some of gravitie and others of mirth, fit for all companies and voyces, lately made and composed into musick of three, four, five and six parts, and published for the delight of all such as take pleasure in the exercise of that art. Imprinted at London by Thomas Este, the Assigne of William Byrd, 1589." There is nothing to affirm a claim as poet. 66 P. 171 — LOVE'S ARROWS. In Collier's Lyrical Poems — There careless thoughts are freed of that flame. Presumptuous and sumptuous, with the different sounds of s, rhyme well, p. 173. Ellis does not give this stanza. P. 175 BROWN IS MY LOVE and CYNTHIA are from Byrd's Musica Transalpina: free translations probably. CYNTHIA, writes Oliphant, "is quite unintelligible and sets all the rules of common sense at defiance." He may well think so, with a semicolon ending the second line. Yet I conceive there is no lack of either sense or grammatical correctness. Cynthia! of Syrens the most commended, for that thou neither killest nor woundest, thy song awaketh in gentle hearts Surely he is The music may a dull reader who can not understand this. require wanton Love maketh; but Love wanton maketh had been better reading. Oliphant quotes it to praise the music. |