Part 18

Produced in 1643. The author was a famous ballad-monger of Charles I.’s time. The original refrain was ‘When the King comes home in peace again’ (_Roxburghe Collection of Ballads_, iii. 256; _Loyal Garland_, 1671 and 1686; Ritson, _Ancient Songs_). The song was written to support the declining cause of the Royal Martyr. It helped to keep up the spirits of the Cavaliers in the days before the Restoration (1660), which event it was used to celebrate. When the Revolution (1688) drove the Stuarts into exile, this song became a weapon in the hands of the Jacobites.

XVI

This was a very popular loyal song in the reign of Charles II. Both words and music are given in Playford’s _Musical Companion_ (1667).

XVII--XVIII

The first is from Dryden’s opera, _King Arthur, or the British Worthy_ (1691). As to the first: ‘A battle is supposed to be given behind the scenes, with drums, trumpets, and military shouts and excursions; after which, the Britons, expressing their joy for the victory, sing this song of triumph.’--Author’s Note.

The second is an extract from _Annus Mirabilis_ (1667).

XIX

This famous song, which Heine once declared expressed the whole character of the English people, made its first appearance in _The Masque of Alfred_ (1740).

XX

This song is at least as old as the reign of Queen Anne. In the British Museum there are many half-sheet copies, with music. The earliest begins, ‘Here’s a health to the Queen,’ &c.

XXI

The first print of our National Anthem is to be found in _Harmonica Anglicana_, a collation of part songs (_circa_ 1742). This copy consists of two stanzas only. The third made its appearance when _Harmonica Anglicana_ was extended to two volumes, with the new title _Thesaurus Musicus_. The copy printed in the _Gentleman’s Magazine_ (October 1745) contains the three stanzas given here, and is called, ‘A Song for Two Voices sung at both play-houses.’

XXII

Sung in Garrick’s pantomime, _The Harlequin’s Invasion_, produced December 31, 1759.

XXIII

_Odes_ (‘Printed for A. Millar in the Strand,’ 1746), and Dodsley’s _Museum_ (iv., 1749).

XXIV-XXV

The first was written ‘after reading Hume’s _History_ in 1780’ (Benham). The second was written in September 1782. The _Royal George_ (108 guns) was being repaired at Spithead (August 29, 1782), when she capsized and sank instantly. Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt was then under orders to proceed to the relief of Gibraltar.

XXVI-XXVIII

The first is from _The Oddities, a Table Entertainment_ (1789-1790), and its original title was _Poor Tom, or the Sailor’s Epitaph_. The second was first sung in _The Wags, or the Camp of Pleasure_ (October 18, 1790). The third was first sung in _A Tour to Land’s End_ (1798), and its original title was _Yo heave ho!_ The first collected edition of Charles Dibdin’s songs was issued in five volumes from 1790 to 1799.

XXIX

The air of _The British Grenadiers_ is at least as old as the reign of Elizabeth, and is one of the most characteristic of the English National airs. The words here given are from a copy (with music) about a hundred and fifty years old.

XXX

Chappell dates this song 1758. The matter is not free from doubt, but the reference in the second stanza to ‘Brighton Camp’ is a clue. There were encampments along the south coast (1758-9) when Hawke and Rodney were watching the French fleet in Brest Harbour. The song appears to be English, although it has appeared in several collections of Irish music. I have omitted several stanzas which appear in Chappell’s version (_Popular Music of the Olden Time_, vol. ii. p. 710).

XXXI

From _Lock and Key_, ‘a musical entertainment,’ first performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (_circa_ 1790).

XXXII

From two of the _Prophetic Books_ entitled _Jerusalem_ and _Milton_ respectively, and both published in 1804.

XXXIII

_Poems_ (1807). Composed August 1802. ‘On August 29th left Calais at 12 in the morning for Dover.... Bathed and sat on the Dover Cliffs, looked upon France. We could see the shores about as plain as if it were an English lake. Mounted the coach at half-past four, arrived in London at six.’--(Dorothy Wordsworth’s Journal.)

XXXIV-XL

_Poems_ (1807). The first and second were composed in September 1802, the third in 1803, and the fourth in 1806. The fifth is from the third stanza of the _Thanksgiving Ode_ (1816). The sixth and seventh were ‘composed or suggested during a Tour in the Summer of 1833,’ and were published in _Yarrow Revisited and Other Poems_ (1835).

XLI

From the Introduction to the first canto of _Marmion_ (1808).

XLII-XLIII

_The Snug Little Island, or The March of Invasion_ was first sung by ‘Jew’ Davis in _The British Raft_ at Sadler’s Wells on Easter Monday, 1797. Tune--‘The Rogue’s March.’ The author’s title for the next number (_Last Lays_, 1833) is _A Soldier’s Life_.

XLIV

_Poetical Works_, vol. iii. (Longmans, 1838). This is number xxxiii. of the ‘Inscriptions.’

XLV-XLVII

The first two were published with _Gertrude of Wyoming_ (1809). The first (written at Altona during the winter of 1800-1) is based on a seventeenth-century song which Campbell used to sing. As to the second (written in 1805), I omit stanzas 5, 6, and 8, an improvement suggested by Mr. Henley. The third appeared in _Theodoric and Other Poems_ (Longmans, 1824).

XLVIII

_Songs and Poems_ (edited by Peter Cunningham, 1847).

XLIX-LI

The first is from _Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage_ (canto iii. stanza 2, and canto iv. stanzas 8, 9, 10). The third canto was published in 1816, and the fourth in 1818. Byron left England--never to return--on April 24, 1816.

l. 22. The poet’s body was sent home to England, and was buried in the family vault at Hucknall Torkard, near Newstead Abbey, Nottinghamshire.

32. The answer of the mother of Brasidas, the Spartan General, to the strangers who praised the memory of her son.

The second is from the third canto of _Don Juan_ (1821).

The third is from _Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage_ (canto iii. stanzas 21-28). The Duchess of Richmond’s famous ball took place on June 15, 1815, the eve of Quatre Bras, at the Duke’s house in the Rue de la Blanchisserie, Brussels.

20. _Brunswick’s fated chieftain._ The Duke of Brunswick (1771-1815) was killed at Quatre Bras. His father, author of the famous manifesto against the French Republic (July 15, 1792), had fallen at Jena (1806).

54. _Evan’s--Donald’s._ Sir Evan Cameron (1629-1719) and his grandson Donald Cameron of Lochiel (1695-1748). The former fought at Killiecrankie (1689), and the latter, celebrated by Campbell in _Lochiel’s Warning_, was wounded at Culloden (1746).

55. _Ardennes._ The general term is applied to the forest of Soignies, which at this time occupied the whole country between Brussels and Waterloo.

LII

First published (without the author’s permission) in the _Newry Telegraph_ (April 19, 1817), and reprinted in many other journals. Highly praised by Byron (1822)--‘Such an ode as only Campbell could have written’--this poem was attributed to Byron himself, and claimed by many impostors. The question of authorship was settled in 1841 by the discovery of an autograph copy in a letter from Wolfe to a college friend.

LIII-LIV

_Works, with a Memoir_ (7 vols., William Blackwood & Sons, 1839). Most of Mrs. Hemans’ poems were first published in periodicals, such as _The Edinburgh Monthly Magazine_ and _The New Monthly Magazine_. The latter was, for a time, edited by Thomas Campbell, not very successfully. The ‘Author’s Note’ on the first number is as follows:--‘It is supposed that war was anciently proclaimed in Britain by sending messengers in different directions through the land, each bearing a _bended bow_; and that peace was in like manner announced by a bow unstrung, and, therefore, straight.’

LV-LVI

The first (reprinted from _Knight’s Quarterly Magazine_) was included in the 1848 edition of the _Lays of Ancient Rome_. It is dated 1832.

LVII-LVIII

_Alma and other Poems_ (1855), and _Poems_ (New Edition, 2 vols., Macmillan & Co., 1885). By permission of Mr. A. Chenevix Trench.

LIX

_Last Poems_ (Smith, Elder & Co., 1862). This volume was published after the author’s death. By permission of the publishers.

LX-LXVI

The first two appeared in _Poems_ (2 vols., Edward Moxon, 1842). The third is from _The Princess: a Medley_ (Edward Moxon, 1847). The fourth is from the lines entitled, _To the Queen_, forming the Dedication of the Seventh Edition of _Poems_ (London: 1851). The fifth and sixth first appeared in _The Examiner_, in 1852; the former on January 31, and the latter on February 7. The seventh is from the _Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington_, published separately in November 1852 (Edward Moxon), and reprinted with _Maud_ (1855).

LXVII-LXVIII

The first appeared in _The Examiner_, December 9, 1854, and was reprinted with _Maud_ (1855). Written on December 2nd, in a few minutes, after reading the description in _The Times_, in which occurred the phrase ‘someone had blundered.’ (_Memoir_, i. p. 381.) The second is from _Maud_.

LXIX

_The Return of the Guards and Other Poems_ (Macmillan & Co., 1866). By permission of the publishers. The poem deals with an incident of the war with China (1860):--‘Some Seiks (Sikhs) and a private of the Buffs (or East Kent Regiment) having remained behind with the grog-carts, fell into the hands of the Chinese. On the next morning they were brought before the authorities, and commanded to perform the _Ko tou_. The Seiks obeyed; but Moyse, the English soldier, declaring that he would not prostrate himself before any Chinaman alive, was immediately knocked upon the head, and his body thrown upon a dunghill.’ Quoted by the author from _The Times_.

LXX-LXXI

_Bells and Pomegranates_ (vii. 1845). The first was written in Italy. The second was written in pencil on the cover of an Italian book during Browning’s first journey to Italy. He sailed in a merchant vessel from London to Trieste, and was the only passenger (1838). A letter from the poet to Miss Haworth gives an account of the voyage. (_Life and Letters_, edited by Mrs. Sutherland Orr, 2nd edition, p. 97.)

LXXII

_Songs for Music_ (Routledge, 1856), a reprint of a series of songs from _The Illustrated London News_ (1852-1855).

LXXIII-LXXIV

The first is from _Songs in Absence_ (1852), and was probably composed during the author’s voyage across the Atlantic. The second appears in _Poems with Memoir by F. T. Palgrave_ (Macmillan & Co., 1862). By permission of Messrs. Macmillan & Co.

LXXV

_Andromeda and Other Poems_ (1858). Written in 1854.

LXXVI

_Edinburgh Courant_, 1852.

l. 3. _The Vengeur’s crew._ The _Vengeur_ was sunk in Lord Howe’s action against the French fleet on ‘the glorious first of June’ (1794), off the coast of Brittany. For the final account of her sinking see Carlyle (_Miscellanies_--‘Sinking of the _Vengeur_’).

LXXVII

_Ionica_ (George Allen, 1891). By permission of Mrs. Cory. The poem was written in 1861, and was privately printed in 1877. The ‘School Fencibles’ are the members of the Volunteer Corps of Eton College, whose grey uniform, with light-blue facings, is the ‘meek attire of blue and grey’ referred to in l. 10.

LXXVIII

Verses 1, 2, 4, and 9 of Hymn No. 143 in _Hymns Ancient and Modern_. By permission of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

LXXIX

_Sonnets and Other Poems_ (A. & C. Black, 1900). By permission of author and publishers.

LXXX

_Points of War_ (Bell & Daldy, 1855), and _Wagers of Battle_ (Macmillan & Co., 1900). By permission of the author and Messrs. Macmillan.

LXXXI-LXXXII

Both from _Visions of England_ (Macmillan & Co., 1881). By permission of the publishers.

l. 1. _Isle of Roses._ Within the temple of Athena at Lindus, in the island of Rhodes, Pindar’s seventh Olympian Ode was engraved in golden letters.

40. _Changing at the font._ Alfred was god-father to Guthrun, the Danish leader, when baptized after his defeat at Ethandún (872).

LXXXIII

_Balder_ (Smith & Elder, 1854).

LXXXIV

This poem first appeared in _The Times_ (October 31, 1899), was reprinted separately by Messrs. Skeffington & Sons, and is included in the author’s last volume, _The Finding of the Book and Other Poems_ (Hodder & Stoughton, 1900). By permission of the author, the editor of _The Times_, and the publishers above mentioned.

LXXXV

_Legends and Lyrics_ (1858). Written in 1855.

LXXXVI

_Havelock’s March and Other Poems_ (Trübner & Co., 1859). By permission of the author.

LXXXVII

_Collected Poems_ (Macmillan & Co., 1900). By permission of the publishers.

LXXXVIII

_Songs and Rhymes_ (Elliot Stock, 1896). By permission of the author.

LXXXIX

_Poems Narrative and Lyrical_ (Pickering, 1853). By permission of the author.

XC

_Poems_ (Elkin Mathews, 1893). By permission of the author.

XCI

_The Bab Ballads, with which are included Songs of a Savoyard_ (George Routledge & Sons, 1897). By permission of the author. This is one of the songs in the comic opera _Utopia, Limited_.

XCII-XCIII

Both from _A Jubilee Greeting at Spithead_ (John Lane, 1897). By permission of the author.

XCIV-XCVII

The first three numbers are from _Poems and Ballads_, 3rd series (Chatto & Windus, 1889). The first is part viii. section ii. of _The Armada_.

As to the second, Drumossie Muir (l. 16), in Inverness-shire, was the scene of the battle of Culloden (1746).

l. 17. _ayont._ Beyond.

25. _mool._ Mould. _laps._ Wraps.

40. _wotsna._ Knows not.

45. _weird for dreeing._ To ‘dree a weird’ is to abide a fate.

47. _thole._ To endure.

65. _Wansbeck._ A Northumberland stream.

69. _thae._ Those.

The fourth number is from the dedicatory lines in _Astrophel and Other Poems_ (Chatto & Windus, 1894). By permission of author and publishers.

XCVIII

_The Graphic_ (November 11, 1899). By permission of the author and the editor of _The Graphic_.

XCIX-C

The first appeared in _The St. James’s Magazine_ (now defunct), October, 1877, and was included in the second edition of _Proverbs in Porcelain_ (1878), and in _At the Sign of the Lyre_ (Kegan Paul, 1889). By permission of author and publisher.

_Gloriana_ (l. 25)=Queen Elizabeth.

The second appeared in _The Sphere_ (February 3, 1900). By permission of the author and the editor of _The Sphere_.

CI

_Poetical Works_ (vol. ii., Smith, Elder & Co., 1899). By permission of author and publishers.

CII-CIII

_Songs of the Maid_ (A. Constable & Co., 1896). By permission of author and publishers.

CIV

_London Voluntaries and Other Poems_ (David Nutt, 1894), and _Poems_ (David Nutt, 1898). By permission of author and publisher.

CV

_A Song of the Sea and Other Poems_ (Methuen & Co., 1895). By permission of Miss Marie Corelli and the publishers.

CVI

_Literature_ (July 1, 1899). By permission of the author and the editor of _Literature_.

CVII

_The Violet Crown and Songs of England_ (Edward Arnold, 1891). By permission of author and publishers. This poem is dated ‘Athens, 1890.’

CVIII

_Collected Poems_ (John Lane, 1895). By permission of the publisher.

CIX-CX

_Songs of Action_ (Smith, Elder & Co., 1898). By permission of author and publishers. _The Song of the Bow_ first appeared in _The White Company_ (Smith, Elder & Co., 1891).

CXI

_The Daily Chronicle_, October 28, 1899. By permission of the author and the editor of _The Daily Chronicle_.

CXII-CXIV

_Admirals All_ (Elkin Matthews, 1897). By permission of author and publisher. As to the first:--

l. 1. _Effingham._ Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham (1536-1624), commanded the English fleet sent against the Spanish Armada (1588).

_Grenville._ Sir Richard Grenville, naval commander (1541?-1591). See Mr. Gerald Massey’s poem, _supra_, p. 113.

_Raleigh._ Sir Walter Raleigh (1552-1616), soldier, sailor, courtier, adventurer, and writer.

_Drake._ Sir Francis Drake (1540?-1596).

3. _Benbow._ Vice-admiral John Benbow (1653-1702).

_Collingwood._ Vice-admiral Cuthbert, Lord Collingwood (1750-1810), second in command at Trafalgar.

_Byron._ Vice-admiral John Byron (1723-1786), grandfather of the poet.

_Blake._ Robert Blake (1599-1657), next to Nelson, the greatest English admiral.

8. _Nelson._ Horatio, Viscount Nelson (1758-1805).

13. _Essex._ Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex (1567-1601), commanded the land attack on Cadiz (1596) when the city was taken by the English.

30. _Duncan._ Admiral Adam, Viscount Duncan (1731-1804), who defeated the Dutch in the fight off Camperdown (October 11, 1797).

31. _Texel._ One of the mouths of the Zuyder Zee.

38. _The Sound._ The strait between Sweden and Denmark leading into the Baltic Sea. The English fleet entered the Sound on April 1, 1801, and next morning Nelson, acting under orders from Sir Hyde Parker, attacked the Danish batteries.

52. _Rodneys._ Admiral George Brydges, first Baron Rodney (1719-1792).

The third is an extract from the poem entitled _Laudabunt Alii_.

CXV

_The Seven Seas._ (Methuen & Co., 1896.) By permission of author and publishers.

l. 9. _Bergen._ A town on the west coast of Norway.

10. _Disko._ An island off the west coast of Greenland. _floe._ The surface ice of polar seas.

12. _Dogger._ A sandbank in the middle of the North Sea.

18. _Musk-ox._ A long-haired animal of the ox tribe, found in Arctic America.

21. _Virgins._ A group of small islands in the West Indies.

23. _sea-egg._ Sea-urchin.

25. _Keys._ Islands near the coast (Spanish _cayo_, a sandbank).

37. _Kuriles._ A group of islands in the North Pacific.

39. _Praya._ Capital of the Cape Verde Islands. _Kowloon._ A town in China, near Hong-Kong.

43. _Hoogli._ The Ganges.

50. _Winds._ Scents, smells.

CXVI

_The Times_ (July 17, 1897). Suggested by the celebration of Queen Victoria’s ‘Diamond Jubilee’ (June 22). By permission of the author and the editor of _The Times_.

CXVII

_The Spectator_ (December 16, 1899). By permission of the author and the editor of _The Spectator_. The poem is written to an old Gaelic air.

CXVIII

_A Gun-Room Ditty Box_ (Cassell & Co., 1898). By permission of author and publishers. ‘Snotties’ is the naval equivalent of ‘midshipmen.’

II.--WALES

CXIX

Published (with _The Progress of Poetry_) in 1757.

l. 5. _hauberk._ Coat of mail.

8. _Cambria._ Wales; a Latinised form of ‘Cymru.’

13-14. _Gloster._ _Mortimer._ English nobles and Lords of the Welsh Marches.

28. _Hoel._ King of Brittany and nephew of King Arthur. _Llewellyn._ A famous Welsh prince of the eleventh century.

29. _Cadwallo._ King of North Wales in the seventh century.

31. _Urien._ A Welsh hero of the fifth century.

33. _Mordred._ Nephew of Arthur.

34. _Plinlimmon._ A mountain in Cardiganshire.

35. _Arvon._ ‘The shores of Carnarvonshire opposite the Isle of Anglesea.’--Gray.

56. Edward II. was murdered in Berkeley Castle (September 21, 1327).

57. Isabella, wife of Edward II.

67. Edward, the Black Prince.

71, &c. The reign of Richard II.

83-96. The Wars of the Roses.

87. The Tower of London was said to have been begun by Julius Cæsar.

89. _Consort._ Margaret of Anjou. _father._ Henry V.

90. _meek usurper._ Henry VI.

93. The silver boar was the badge of Richard III.

115. Queen Elizabeth.

121. _Taliessin._ A Welsh bard of the sixth century.

126. Spenser’s _Faerie Queene_.

128. Shakespeare’s plays.

131. Milton.

133. ‘The succession of poets after Milton’s time.’--Gray.

CXX

_Poetical Works_ (1832). Bodryddan is near Rhuddlan, in Flintshire.

CXXI-CXXII

_Works, with a Memoir_ (Wm. Blackwood & Sons, 1839). As to the first,--

l. 2. _Hirlas._ From ‘hir,’ long, and ‘glas,’ blue or azure.

14. Eryri is the Welsh name for the Snowdon Mountains.

As to the second,--

Prince Madog, a natural son of Llywelyn, was the leader of the Welsh Rebellion (1294-1295), occasioned by the levying of taxes by Edward I. to pay for his projected expedition to Gascony.

CXXIII

_Poems_ (Roberts, 1869). Translated from the Welsh.

l. 1. _Glyndwr._ Owain ap Gruffydd, commonly called Owen Glendower (1359?-1416?), joined the Percies and Mortimers in their rebellion against Henry IV.

CXXIV

From the Ode written at the request of the Llywelyn Memorial Committee (Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1895). By permission of the author. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (died 1282) was the last champion of Welsh liberty.

l. 29. _Lloegrian._ Lloegria was one of the ancient names of Britain.

40. _Cwmhir._ Cwmhir Abbey in Radnorshire.

67. _Iorwerth’s happier son._ Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (died 1240), commonly called Llywelyn the Great.

CXXV

This translation of the famous Welsh poem, _Morfa Rhuddlan_ (_i.e._, ‘Red Marsh’) is in the metre of the original. Published (September, 1894) in _Wales_, a monthly magazine. By permission of the editor of _Wales_ and the author’s representatives. Three stanzas (2, 5, and 6) are omitted. Morfa Rhuddlan, on the banks of the Clwyd in Flintshire, was the scene of many battles between Britons and Saxons. In the battle described in the poem (A.D. 795), the Britons under Caradoc were defeated and their leader slain. Those who escaped the sword were driven into the river. The original poem is said to have been composed by Caradoc’s bard immediately after the battle.

CXXVI-CXXVII

_Welsh Lyrics of the Nineteenth Century_, First Series (Bangor: Jarvis & Foster, 1896). By permission of author and publishers.

As to the first,--Idris (=Cader Idris), Berwin, and Plynlimmon (l. 8, &c.) are mountains in Wales.

As to the second,--Cymru (l. 1)=Wales.

III.--SCOTLAND

CXXVIII

_The Tea-Table Miscellany: a Collection of Choice Songs_ (Edinburgh, 4 vols., 1724-7).

CXXIX

This ‘matchless wail’ (as Scott called it) was written in 1756. For some time it was thought to be a genuine relic of the past. Burns was one of the first to insist that it was a modern composition. The ‘Forest’ is, of course, Ettrick Forest, that romantic district comprising most of Selkirkshire and the neighbouring parts of Peebles and Edinburgh shires. A few straggling thorns and solitary birches are the sole remaining traces of this ‘fein foreste,’ once the favourite hunting-ground of the Scottish kings.

_bandsters._ Binders of sheaves. _bogle._ ‘Hide and seek.’ _buchts._ Pen in which ewes are enclosed at milking-time. _daffin’._ Making merry. _dool._ Sorrow. _dowie._ Doleful. _fleechin’._ Coaxing. _gabbin’._ Talking pertly. _har’st._ Harvest. _ilk, ilka._ Every. _liltin’._ Singing. _loanin’._ Lane. _laighlin._ Milking pail. _lyart._ Hoary-headed. _mair._ More. _runkled._ Wrinkled. _swankies._ Lively young fellows. _wae._ Sad. _wede._ Weeded.

CXXX

Written on the Marquess of Huntley’s departure for Holland, with the English forces, under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby, in 1799.

CXXXI-CXXXIV

The first is number 259 in vol. iii. of Johnson’s _Musical Museum_ (1790), signed ‘Z.’ ‘The first half stanza of this song is old--the rest is mine.’--Author’s note in interleaved copy.

The second was written in 1793, and first published in the _Morning Chronicle_ (May, 1794). The old air, _Hey, tuttie, taitie_, to which Burns ‘fitted’ this poem, is said to have been Bruce’s marching tune at Bannockburn.

The third appeared in the _Edinburgh Courant_ (May 4, 1795), and in the _Dumfries Journal_ (May 5, 1795), and is number 546 in vol. ii. of Johnson’s _Musical Museum_ (1803).

The fourth was written in 1795 for the Irish air _Humours of Glen_, and published in the _Edinburgh Magazine_ (May, 1797), and in vol. ii. of Thomson’s _Scottish Airs_ (1799).

CXXXV-CXXXVII

The first is the opening stanza of the sixth canto of _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_ (1805).

The second consists of part of stanza 33, and the whole of stanza 34 of the sixth canto of _Marmion_ (1808).

l. 5. _vaward._ Vanguard.