Tixall Poetry/Notes to the Miscellaneous Poems
Notes
to the
Miscellaneous Poems.
I have no other authority to produce, in proof of this Ode being the production of Dryden, but what is contained in the title, which is printed, just as it is in the original MS. The internal evidence is strongly in its favour. It has all the characters of Dryden's genius, and manner.
When Dryden, on the accession of James II. became a Roman Catholic, it is very probable, that he would form an acquaintance with the principal families of that persuasion, in England, in his time. Among these, that of Stafford was one of the most conspicuous; and the more so, from the circumstance of Lord Stafford having most unjustly been put to death, in 1680, for his supposed participation in Oates's plot. The principal witness against him, was one Dugdale, who had been steward to Lord Aston, but was discharged from his service, for having defrauded his lordship of a large sum of money. This perjured wretch declared, that he had assisted at a great consultation of Catholics, at Tixall, at which Lord Stafford was present; and swore, that his Lordship, on that occasion, had given his full particular assent to take away the life of the king.—(See Hume's Hist. vol. viii. p. 145. Fox's Hist, of James II. p. 37—44.)
As Tixall is only four miles from Stafford castle, which was the ancient seat of the Staffords; and, as there was always a close connexion between the two families, it can excite no surprise, that a copy of Dryden's poem should have been discovered there.
Of George Holman, Esq. and his family, the only information I have been able to obtain, is contained in the following account, which was transmitted to my friend, the Rev. John Kirk, of Lichfield, by that intelligent antiquary, Mr Sharp, of Coventry.
"Philip Holman, Esq. purchased the manor of Warkworth, (co. Northampton,) of Richard Chetwood, Esq. son of Sir Richard Chetwood. Clarke's "Mirror" is dedicated to him, by which it appears, that he was born in the parish of Ben-net-Fis, London, (of which, Clarke was dissenting minister,) and was a benefactor to the parish, giving a house for the minister, See. This dedication is dated, 'from my study in Thredneedle street, this seventinth of November, 1656.'
He was buried in Warkworth church, and upon a modern white marble, under these arms, a cheveron, between three pheons, is this inscription, (in capitals:)
Hic jacet Philippin Holman Dominus de Warkworth, &c. Qui obiit A. Salutis, 1669. Ætatis suæ 76.
Upon a marble, on the ground, near the chancel, under these arms: Holman impaling Howard, quartering a cheveron; crest, a cross-bow, between two wings, is this inscription:
Hic jacet Georgius Holman, dominus de Warkworth, &c. qui duxit in uxorem, Anastasiam, filiam minimum natu, Gulielmi, Vicecomitis Stafford, et Marie Vicecomitissæ Stafford, qua novem illi liberos peperit, é quibus, sunt superstites quinque, Gulielmus, et Carolus, Maria, Anna, et Isabella novissima posthumaque, obiit, 19, die Maii.
| Anno | Salutis, 1698. | |
| Ætatis suæ, 67. | ||
| Cujus animæ propitietur Deus. Amen. | ||
In the cross aisle, under the arms and crest of Holman, is the following inscription, on a white marble:
Hicjacet Carolus Holman, flius Georgii Holman, de Warkworth, Armigeri, et Anastasia, filiæ Gulielmi, Vicecomitis de Stafford, qui obiit Calebs die ix Aprilis, anno ætatis xxv. salutis MDCCXVII.
The mansion was last inhabited by Mr Eyre, (the antagonist of Churton,) but about five years since was pulled down, materials sold, the ponds filled up, and the garden, with a pigeon-house at a small distance, is all that remains to mark the scite of it."
From the epitaph on George Holman, Esq. it appears, that he died in 1698; and that he had by his lady nine children. Dryden became a Catholic in 1684, and I think it probable, that Mr Holman's marriage took place that same year, or the following; which consequently fixes the date of the poem.
And fair St Lucy with the borrowed light
Of moon and stars, had lengthened night.
Dryden here shows his knowledge of the Roman calendar, and martyrology. The feast of St Lucy, Virgin, and Martyr, is kept on the 18th of December, which is within eight days of the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.
P. 207. l. 9.From her their glorious resurrection came.
Anastasia, in Greek, means resurrection. The feast of St Anastasia, martyr, is kept on Christmas day, probably from the circumstance, that the popes anciently said their second mass of Christmas night, or rather that of the morning, in the church of St Anastasia, in Rome; whence, a commemoration of her is made in the second mass.—(Butler's "Saints' Lives," vol. xii. p. 336.)
l. 13.And she, to marriage then, her second birth was born.
From this line, I think, we may infer that the marriage was celebrated on Christmas day.
When we combine all these circumstances, that the lady, her husband, and the poet, were Roman Catholics, for which religion Lord Stafford had lately suffered; that her name was Anastasia, and that her marriage took place on Christmas day, on which also the feast of St Anastasia is kept; we must allow that Dryden has shown his usual skill, and address, in adapting these topics to the occasion, and has exhibited them with the fancy and language of a poet.
P. 209. l. 9.Their father's innocence and truth to show.
Both Hume, and Fox, in the places cited above, have borne ample testimony to the innocence of Lord Stafford.
Then, as the storms are more allay'd,
And waves decay'd,
Send out the beauteous blooming maid:
And let that virgin dove bring to her house again
An olive-branch of peace in triumph o'er the main.
These beautiful lines afford a further proof, that this marriage did not take place, till some years after the execution of Lord Stafford. I imagine, that soon after his death, his family, to avoid the persecution of the times, went abroad; and that their return, probably to celebrate this marriage, is alluded to in the conclusion of the last line.
P. 211.When innocence and truth became a crime, &c.
It is probable, that Mr Holman, and many other Catholics, with their families, would leave England at this most unfortunate and turbulent period. The poet has given him a high character.
This Pindaric ode appears to me, to be, in every respect, worthy of the genius, and fame of Dryden.
P. 213. Of Sir Richard Fanshaw, the reader will find some account, in the "General Biographical Dictionary," in Wood's "Fasti," xi. 43. and in Ellis's Specimens." He distinguished himself so much as a translator, as to draw from Sir John Denham, the following high encomium:
That servile path thou nobly dost decline,
Of tracing word by word, and line by line.
Those are the laboured births of slavish brains,
Not the effects of poetry, but pains.
A new and nobler way thou dost pursue,
To make translations, and translators too.
They but preserve the ashes, thou the flame:
True to his sense, but truer to his fame.
His poetical talents, however, are not held in such high estimation, at the present day, as they were by bis contemporaries. His principal performance, the translation of the Lusiad of Camoens, has been entirely superseded by that of Mickle; though he must be allowed the merit, of having been the first, who introduced the Portuguese poet to the English reader.
The occasion of his composing the two little poems, in this Collection, is related in the letter subjoined to them; which was written on the same sheet as the poems. The writer of the letter, was the Honourable Constantia Aston, youngest daughter of the first Lord Aston, and wife of Walter Fowler, Esq. of St Thomas Priory, near Tixall. It was addressed to Herbert Aston, her second brother, who was then at Madrid, with his father, Lord Aston, ambassador to the court of Spain, from King Charles I. The letter, and poems, were probably sent in a parcel, with others, and conveyed to Madrid, by Sir Richard Fan-shaw, who appears to have been very intimate with the Aston family. Among the letters, which I found at Tixall, there are eight very curious and interesting ones, from the same Constantia Fowler, to her brother Herbert Aston. The first is dated, "Colton, the 11th of August, 1636." I shall now give some extracts from it, and from some of the others:—"Wee here Mr Fan-shew is in London, and porpeses to com downe, which I rejoyce at mightyly." Mr Fanshew has made us beleeve a great while he would come downe, but it seemes his bisnes is such it will not permit him, for he has just this day sent us letters of yours from him, which he has kept all this time, thinking to bring them himselfe. I will send your letter safe to Mrs Thimelby."—"You writt me word in your letter by Mr Fanshaw, that heretofore you sent me verses which began (Whilest here Eclipesed) this letter I did never receave, nor verses which I am most truly afflicted att, and if you doe truely love me doe not denye me, but send them me againe; for you knowe not how much I suffer that they are lost; therefore, prethee, dere brother, send them me agane and I hope they will have better locke. Ah when shall I see you."—"Mr Fanshaw sent us word he went within two dayes, and soe I was fayne to send won up secretly to him post with a box which I hope he will saefely bring you; for I was soe desirus you might have it by him, because I know not when I should get it so saefly convay'd to you."
Colton, the place from which these letters are dated, and where Sir R. Fanshaw wrote the poems, was a seat of Lord Aston's, about six miles from Tixall. It was, according to Pennant,[1] a magnificent old mansion, and contained eighty lodging rooms; but it was burnt to the ground, a few years after this time, by the carelessness of a servant. On the spot where it stood, which commands a delightful view of the river, and vale, of Trent, there is now a farmhouse, the property of Lord Viscount Anson, of Shugborough.
During Lord Aston's absence in Spain, it appears to have been the occasional residence of his three daughters, Lady Persall, Gertrude Aston, afterwards Mrs Henry Thimelby, (who in the letter is called my sister Gatt,) and Mrs Fowler.
When Sir R. Fanshaw had this "Dreame," he certainly was sleeping on the same part of Parnassus, as Spenser was on, when he wrote his "Prothalamion, or a Spousall Verse," as I think will appear by the following extract:
"With that I saw two swannes of goodly hewe,
Come softly swimming downe along the lee;
The snow which doth the top of Pindus strew,
Did never whiter shew,
Nor Jove himselfe, when he a swan would be
For love of Leda, whiter did appeare;
Yet Leda was, (they say) as white as he,
Yet not so white as these, nor nothing near."
And soon after he mentions the
lovely fowles,
Which through the skie draw Venus' silver teeme.
The plagiarism was rather too glaring, but the ladies probably knew nothing of it.
The Trent, at least in these parts, is famous for swans. I once counted on each side of Wolseley Bridge, which is about two miles from Colton, altogether five-and-thirty.
The other poem, entitled "Celia," is neat and elegant, and a fair specimen of courtly gallantry. It is a proof that Sir R. Fanshaw possessed a lively and refined imagination, when he could take advantage of such a trifling circumstance.
Towards the end of a copy of Sir R. Fanshaw's poems, in the library at Tixall, there are some latin verses "Ad Dominam navigantem," with an English translation, of which the four first lines are so uncommonly elegant, so highly polished, and so sweetly melodious, that I cannot refrain from inserting them here; though I do not believe them to be the production of Sir R. Fanshaw.
O Diva, O Formosa vale: non ventus, et æquor,
Cordibus intumeant oculisque simillima nostris:
Sed vultus imitata tuos, pectusque serenum
Mulceat Aura aures, blandumque arrideat æquor.
Farewell, fair saint; let not the seas, and wind,
Swell like the eyes, and hearts, you leave behind;
But smooth, and gentle, as the looks you wear,
Smile in your face, and whisper in your ear.
The reader will be struck with the resemblance between these exquisite verses, and the following tender lines, from one of Collins's Eclogues:
Farewell the youth, whom sighs could not detain
Whom Zara's breaking heart implored in vain!
Yet as thou go'st, may every blast arise,
Weak, and unfelt, as these rejected sighs!
P. 216. Sidney Godolphin was brother to the treasurer Godolphin; "a young gentleman of incomparable parts," says Lord Clarendon; who has given him a very high character, drawn with great minuteness, in the account of his own life, and in the history of the rebellion. He was born in 1610, sent to Exeter College, Oxford, 1629, where he continued seven years. He was killed at the attack of Chagford, in Devonshire, 1643. His translation of the fourth book of the Æneid, in which he was assisted by Waller, was printed in 1658, 12mo. and may be found in Dryden's "Miscellanies," (ed. 1716,) vol. iv. p. 134.—(Ellis's "Specimens.")
Hobbes dedicated his "Leviathan" to S. Godolphin's brother, and the dedication opens as follows;
"Your most worthy brother, Mr Sidney Godolphin, when he lived, was pleased to think my studies something, and otherwise to oblige me, as you know, with reall testimonies of his good opinion, great in themselves, and the greater for the worthinesse of his person. For there is not any vertue that disposeth a man either to the service of God, or to the service of his country, to civill society, or private friendship, that did not manifestly appear in his conversation, not as acquired by necessity, or affected upon occasion, but inherent, and shining in a generous constitution of his nature. Therefore, in honour and gratitude to him, and with devotion to yourselfe, I humbly dedicate unto you this my discourse of Common-wealth."
I do not know if any collection of S. Godolphin's poems has been published, or if these lines, "For Love," have ever appeared in print before. They exhibit ajustness, and propriety of thought, and a spirit, and vigour of expression, which may justly excite regret that his poetical compositions are not more numerous.
P. 219. These verses do not appear in the common editions of Waller's poems. They are much in his style. The title is remarkable; "Mr Waller, when he was at sea." "From the verses written at Penshurst, (says Johnson,) it has been collected, that he diverted his disappointment by a voyage; and bis biographers, from his poem on the Whales, think it not improbable that he visited the Bermudas; but it seems much more likely, that he should amuse himself with forming an imaginary scene, than that so important an incident, as a visit to America, should have been left floating in conjectural probability."
P. 220. Ephelia is a poetical name, which I have not met with elsewhere. There is in this poem both nature, and real passion, forcibly expressed.
In the "Answer to Ephelia," the lines on the Sultan, deserve to be pointed out, particularly this couplet:
Thy crouching slaves, all silent as the night,
But at thy nod, all active as the light.
P. 226. The reader will recollect that Gertrude Aston was Mrs Henry Thimelby.
P. 227. Henry Somerset, Esq. of Pentley Court, in Gloucestershire, was eldest son of Lord John Somerset, second son of the first, and renowned Marquis of Worcester: author of "Certamen Religiosum," and "The Golden Apothegms." Henry Somerset married Anne, daughter of Walter, second Lord Aston; and by her had a daughter, who was a nun; and one son, Edward Maria; who married two wives, Clare, and Anne, sisters, and daughters of Charles Calvert, Lord Baltimore, but died without issue in 1711.
I think it probable, that these two poems were written by Herbert Aston, uncle to Mrs Henry Somerset. The second poem is very obscure. Of the names, Marcelin, Parthenia, and Arcasia, I can make nothing.
P. 234. This ode, on Cowley's retirement, was written by Mrs Catherine Philips. It is much superior, in every respect, to a poem, which Cowley wrote on her death.
P. 240. There is something grand, and awful, in this picture of human life, compared with the tempestuous ocean, which imposes on the imagination. The diction, and versification, are not inferior to the images, and sentiments. The easy, and rapid flow of the verse, and the variety, and exactness, of the rhymes are very remarkable.
I have found this poem in a miscellany, entitled "Chorus Poetarum; or Poems on Several Occasions. By the Duke of Buckingham, the Lord Rochester, Sir John Denham, Sir George Etherege, Andrew Marvel, Esq.; the famous Spencer, Madam Behn, and several other eminent persons of this age. Never before printed. London, 1674." Prefixed, is an epistle dedicatory, to Sir Fleetwood Shepherd, by Charles Gildon. In this miscellany, this poem is ascribed to a Mr Motteux, who was a French refugee, and much connected with the wits, and scholars, of his time. He is said to have been killed, in some quarrel, in a brothel in London.
Where all dissolved to dust, in nature's mass are lost.
A smoke! a flower! a shadow! and a breath!
Are real things, compared with life and death:
Like bubbles, on the stream of time we pass,
Swell, burst, and mingle with the common mass.—Boyse.
P. 241. These lines on "Conscience," were written by Sir Edward Sherburne, Kt. descended from an ancient family, seated at Stonyhurst, near Preston, and Blackburn, in Lancashire. He was born in 1618, was a zealous royalist, and in 1641, was appointed clerk of the ordnance. He was well acquainted with the duties of his station, to the discharge of which he dedicated a long life, and was the principal person concerned in drawing up the "Rules, Orders, and Instructions," given to the office of Ordnance in 1683, which, with very few alterations, have been confirmed at the beginning of every reign since, and are those by which the office is now governed. He died in 1702, and was interred in the chapel belonging to the Tower of London.
Sir E. Sherburne was a Roman Catholic; and the fine old mansion, at Stonyhurst, "half castellated, half monastic,"[2] devolved, about the middle of the last century, together with the estate, to the Roman Catholic family of the Welds, of Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire. The late Mr Weld gave it, as an asylum, to the English Jesuits of Liege, when they were driven from that city, by the French, in the year 1794. A short time before his death, he aliened it entirely, and transferred it to them as their property. They have made great alterations in it, and have completed very large additions to the old building; and what is very curious, and remarkable, they have introduced into all the principal apartments, the class, and recreation rooms, the refectory, dormitories, &c. the modern invention of gas lights. The bouse now contains above 200 persons, and is the largest Roman Catholic academy, or college in the kingdom. The grounds about it were formerly laid out in terraces, and ponds, and were adorned with many statues of lead, and stone, after the antique; there was also a large and intricate labyrinth of yew-trees. All this has now given place to a spacious play-ground for the boys.
In the year 1795, the editor of these poems, resided at Stonyhurst, for nearly five months, for the purpose of continuing his education. At that time his elder brother, the Reverend Walter Clifford, who had come there from Liege, was also an inmate of it, and a few years after became a professed member of the society of the Jesuits, to which he was ardently and enthusiastically attached. But alas! he died in the flower of his age, in the year 1806, in the Jesuits' College, at Palermo, in Sicily, whither he had gone for the recovery of his health.
Multis ille bonis flebilis occidit
Nulli flebilior quam (mihi.)
He was a young man, of very superior talents, of great literary attainments, a poet, a scholar, and a saint, of the most amiable disposition, and the most engaging manners. For many years he kept up a constant correspondence with the editor, chiefly on literary subjects. He has therefore felt his loss, not only as a brother, but as a companion, and director of his studies, whom he regrets, and laments, from year to year. Truly can he say,
I lost him too soon, and I loved him too late.
He however feels very happy, in this opportunity of coupling the remembrance of his name, with the mention of Stonyhurst; a spot, which be loved, and cherished, during life, and to which his last thoughts were turned in death.
Oh! if sometimes thy spotless form descend,
To me thy aid; thou guardian genius, lend.
When rage misguides me, or when fear alarms,
When pain distresses, or when pleasure charms,
In silent whisperings purer thoughts impart,
And turn from ill a frail and feeble heart
Lead through the paths, thy virtue trod before,
Till bliss shall join, nor death can part us more.
In the library at Tixall, there is a copy of an edition of Sir Ed. Sherburne's poems, published by himself, and dedicated to the learned Stanley, editor of Eschylus, and author of the "History of Philosophy." It is entitled "Salmacis, Lyrian and Sylvia, Forsaken Lydia, The Rape of Helen, a Commentary thereon; with several other poems, and translations. By Edward Sherburne, Esq. London, printed for Thomas Dring, at the sign of the George, near Clifford's Inn, in Fleet-Street, 1651." His poems have lately been admitted into a collection of the English poets, (vol. vi.) by Mr Chalmers, in 21 volumes, to which is prefixed a short life of the author.
In these lines on "Conscience," the accumulation of images is noble, and impressive; though, perhaps, the "file" and "hammer" are rather degrading. How natural, how lively, how striking is the couplet in italics! It recalls to my memory, a most beautiful passage in "Samson Agonistes."
Retiring from the popular noise, I seek
This unfrequented place, to find some ease;
Ease to the body some, none to the mind
From restless thoughts, that like a deadly swarm
Of hornets armed, no sooner found alone,
But rush upon me thronging, and present
Times past, what once I was, and what am now.
P. 242. In Sir William Jones's "Commentaries on Asiatic poetry," (cap. 4. de Cann. Pers.) there is an Arabic poem, with a Latin translation, which is so similar in the general cast of sentiment, and turn of expression, to this "Pastoral Protest," that I cannot refuse the reader, the entertainment, of comparing them together. Sir William Jones introduces it with this high encomium. "Hanc poematis speciem haud multum excoluisse videntur Arabes; nam Elegiæ venustatem et elegantiam sibi quasi suo jure vindicantes, carminis amatorii laudem Persis concedunt, quos Turcæ, ut soient imitantur. Subjiciam tamen carmen Arabicum, à poeta mihi quidem ignoto scriptum, sed ornatum summâ numero rum dulcedine, dictionis suavitate, imaginum splendore, translationum pulchritudine; et quod cum optiinis Persarum odis audeo conferre. Complectilur form osæ adolescentulæ descriptionem.
Juro per arcum supercilii, et per medium corpus,
Perque sagittas quibus fascinum suutn vibrat;
Et per lateruin ejusmoliitiem, et acutum aspectûs ensem,
Et frontis splendidi albedinem, et criniuin nigrorem,
Perque supercilium, quod somnum ab oculo meo abigit,
Et in me, seu jubet, seu vetat, injuste agit:
Per scorpiones qui a cincinnis ejus emiltuntur,
Et veneno imbuuntur ad necandos amatores ob ejus discessum.
Perque rosas genæ ejus, et myrtum lanuginis,
Et rubinum ridentis (labri) et dentium margaritas;
Et per suavein ejusodorem, et aquam dulce labentem
Ab ore ejus, cum favis, et vini guttulis; (verba scilicet)
Per collum ejus, cum staturæ ejus ramulo,
Et mamillas in pectore ex tantes, tanquam mala Punica;
Tergumque dum inovet leviter vacillans,
Et dum quiescit; ac per medii corporis gracilitatem;
Et per sericum tactûs illius, et levitatem spiritûs,
Ac per omnes pulchritudinis formas quas complectitur:
Perque benevolentem ejus indolem, et linguæ veritatem;
Per bonam ejus nativitatem, et potentiæ altitudinem,
Nullum esse moscho odorem, si ilium olfacimus, præterodorem hujus puellæ,
Et auram ab ejus halitu halitum suum dulcem reddere:
Solem porro nitidum illi esse inferiorem,
Ac lunam (si cuin illa comparetur) abjectissimam videri.
P. 244. This song occurs in "A Collection of Poems written upon several occasions, by several persons. London, 1673." Rilson has inserted it in his "Collection of Songs;" vol. i. p. 276, and ascribes it to Sir George Etherege? "The note of interrogation annexed to this name, (says Mr Park) bespeaks it as uncertainly ascribed to this witty and wanton author, who, in the licentious reign of our second Charles, was one of the mob of gentlemen who wrote with ease."
The concluding paragraph of Hume's Essay, entitled the "Epicurean," is so very similar to this song, that we might almost suppose he had merely dilated it, and turned it into prose. The reader will judge.
"But why does your bosom heave with these sighs, while tears bathe your glowing cheeks? Why disturb your heart with such vain anxieties? Why so often ask me, How long shall my love yet endure? Alps! my Celia, can I resolve this question? Do I know how long my life shall endure? But does this also disturb your tender breast? And is the image of our frail mortality for ever present with you, to throw a damp on your gayest hours, and poison even those joys which love inspires? Consider rather, that if life be frail, if youth be transitory, we should well employ the present moment, and lose no part of so perishable an existence. Yet a little moment, and these shall be no more, we shall be as if we had never been; not a memory of us be left upon earth, and even the fabulous shades below will not afford us a habitation. Our fruitless anxieties, our vain projects, our uncertain speculations, shall all be swallowed up and lost. Our present doubts concerning the original cause of all things, must never, alas! be resolved. This alone we may be certain of, that if any governing mind preside, he must be pleased to see us fulfil the ends of our being, and enjoy that pleasure for which we were created. Let this reflection give ease to your anxious thoughts, but render not your joys too serious, by dwelling for ever upon it. It is sufficient to be once acquainted with this philosophy, in order to give an unbounded loose to love and jollity, and remove all the scruples of a vain superstition; but while youth and passion, my fair one, prompt our eager desires, we must find gayer subjects of discourse to intermix with these amorous caresses."
P. 245. This spirited song I have found in a miscellany, with this singular title: "Wit at a Venture, or Clio's Privy Garden; containing Songs and Poems on several occasions, never before in print.
Potare, et spargere flores
Incipiam, patiarque vel inconsultus haberi.
London, printed for John Edwin, at the Three Roses in Ludgate Street, 1674." P. 246. The title of the miscellany, in which this poem is to be found, is still more strange than the foregoing: "Holborn Drollery, or the Beautiful Chloret surprised in the Sheets: All the Love Songs and Poems with which she hath been treated this long vacation being published. To which is annexed Flora's Cabinet unlocked. London, 1673."
I do not recollect to have met with a happier, or more expressive description of what is commonly meant by low spirits, vapours, and the blue devils.
P. 248. This song occurs, in a collection, entitled "New Court Songs and Poems. By R. V. Gent. London, printed for R. Paslac, at the Stationer's Arms and Ink-Bottle, in Lumbard Street, 1672."
P. 249. In a collection of "Divers Hymns and Poems on several occasions, by several eminent hands, London, 1708 these lines are ascribed to Mr Flatman.
P. 250. This happy, and elegant imitation of Ovid, in which are introduced all the great names in English poetry, down to the close of the 17th centuiy, wTas written, I believe, by Mr John Evelyn, son of the celebrated author of "Sylva," and other ingenious, and useful works.
P. 254. These stanzas were the production of Habington, author of "Castara."
P. 256. I found these beautiful lines, on a scrap of paper, which belonged to a letter, part of the direction on the back of it, being still legible as follows: "These for Mrs Constance Aston, at the Lady Marchiones of Clanricard's, dowager, Red Lion Square—." This must have been written at least as early as 1634, for about that time, or sooner, Constance Aston changed her name, and became Mrs Fowler.
P. 257. These lines afford a presumption, that the poem at page 21, was the production of Edward Thimelby. The thought in the four last lines appears to me original.
P. 259. Mrs E. C. was perhaps Eliza Thimelby, daughter of Sir John Thimelby, and wife of Mr Cottington; probably, Francis Cottington, nephew of Lord Cottington. Of this lady, I have four letters, addressed to her uncle, Herbert Aston, at Bellamour; by whom, these lines to her, on "New Yeares Day," were probably composed. Lord Cottington was twice ambassador in Spain, and died without issue, at Valladolid, in 1653. See his character in Clarendon's "History," vol. i. p. 151.
P. 265. The lines at the top of this page, contain allusions to the commonwealth, and usurpation of Cromwell.
P. 266. I have thought this poem worth preserving for the singularity of the subject, and the manner in which the poet has treated it. Cowley, in his elegy on Crashaw, who died at Loretto, says,
Angels, (they say) brought the famed chapel there,
And bore the sacred load in triumph through the air.
P. 268. This effusion on love, I ascribe to Herbert Aston.
P. 272. These lines were probably written by Edward Thimelby. His friend was perhaps Henry Neville, a man of some celebrity in his day, who was second son of Sir Henry Neville, Bart, of Billingbere, in Berkshire. The reader will find some account of him, in Wood, vol. ii. p. 918. and in Brydges's Collins's Peerage, vol. viii. p. 156.
P. 273. These lines were addressed to Walter, third Lord Aston, on his second marriage; with "Catherine Gage," daughter of Sir Thomas Gage of Firle, in Suffolk: Which marriage took place about the year 1680. Catherine Gage, Lady Aston, was the collector of the poems in the Third Division of the Tixall Poetry. The allusions to good love, both in the verses and letter which accompanies them, will be explained below.
P. 276. There is, I believe, a poem by Quarles, entitled "Argalus and Parthenia," in which probably this epitaph may be found.
P. 277. I think this pastoral beautiful. It is easy, perspicuous, elegant, and natural. The images are rural, and the verse is melodious. The comparison, between the pleasure of thinking of an absent friend, and the enjoyment of sunshine, through the thick branches of a wood, is highly poetical, and original. I have often contemplated the imagery there described, with great delight, but never met with it in description before. Millon had an eye to the effect, in the expression, chequered shade.
P. 283. I must here inform the reader, that Lord Talbot, of Ingestrie, (which is only a mile from Tixall,) has in his possession, a folio MS. beautifully, as well as accurately written, which contains a clear, and concise account of nearly all the parishes, together with the pedigrees of the families, in the Hundred of Pyrehill, in which Tixall stands. This folio MS. was compiled by Walter Chetwynd, Esq. of Ingestrie, the contemporary, and friend of Dr Plot, and of Burton, author of "The History of Leicestershire," one of the first county histories published in England. It had been lent by Lord Talbot, to the late Reverend Stebbing Shaw, and, about two years ago, was in the possession of my learned friend, Samuel Pipe Wolferstan, Esq. of Stadfold, near Tamworth; by whose kindness, I was enabled to make several valuable extracts from it, and among them the following:
"Trent having left Wolseley, and Bishton, passeth by Colton, and so takes its farewell of Pyrehill Hundred. In 20 Conq. Goiffridus held Colton, of Robert de Stadford, there being then one hide of land, containing 6 carucates, 16 acres of meadow, and a mill, with woods a mile long, and 3 quarters broad; all which was then valued at 50s. and had been the possessions of Odo, and Ulfric, before ye conquest. In ye next age, Hardulfe de Gastenois, (or Wastneys) was lord of it, from whome it came by descent to Sr Thomas de Wastneys, Kt, whose daughter and heir, Thomasine, brought it in marriage, Temp. R. 2. to Sr Nicholas de Greseley, of Drakelow, Kt. In 7. lac. Sr George Greisley Bart, aliened it to Sr Walter Aston, (then Kt. of ye Bath, but after Lord Aston of Forfare, in Scotland,) whose son, Waller, Lord Aston, Ao 1658, sold the scite of the manor house, and a great part of the demesnes, to William Chetwynd of Rugeley, Esq. most of ye tenements to ye several occupants, and ye rest, (with the Royalty and Advowson) to his brother, Herbert Aston, Esq. who had also other lands here by his father's gift, on which he built and resided, giving his house the name of Bellamour, in regard it was finished by ye benevolence and affection of his friends."
Had it not been for this MS. of Walter Chetwynd, the knowledge of this last curious fact, respecting the origin of Bellaraore, and its name, must have perished. It was totally unknown to my mother, and aunt, the last possessors of it, as well as to all the present descendants of the Aston family. These lines also, on the death of Mrs Katherine Aston, with the epitaph, and the verses and letter, at p. 273, would have been involved in considerable obscurity; in the "darkness visible," of uncertain conjecture, while they are now as clear as noon day. For it appears, that, while Herbert Aston, (for the reason assigned by Walter Chetwynd,) gave to his house, the foreign, and well-sounding name of "Bellamore," he at the same time gave his wife the name of "Good Love," which is the meaning of that same name, in English. It has been variously written: Bellamore, (which I prefer) from the Italian, Bel Amore, or Bellamour, from the French.
Herbert Aston's house, "founded on the rock Good Love," is still standing, but greatly altered, and now converted into offices. An elegant, and very commodious modern mansion, was built close by it, a few years ago, by my aunt, the late Honourable Dowager Lady Blount, and is now the property, and seat of Edward Blount, Esq. her second son.
Most willingly, would I here pour forth my mind, and heart, in an attempt to delineate the character of the late Dowager Lady Blount. But the limits I am forced to observe in these Notes, compel me to desist. I could not find room to express all that I wish, and affection, and gratitude, would forbid me to say less. I must therefore wait for another, and a better opportunity. I shall only observe in this place, that if by the name "Good Love," which Herbert Aston gave his wife, he meant to express all that is excellent, and amiable, in the female character, the name was equally applicable to the late possessor, and restorer of Bellamore. But I must check my feelings and proceed with my work.
P. 285. These elegant lines are much in the manner of Dryden. I cannot point out the author.
P. 287. The "Sick Poetesse," was probably Gertrude Aston.
P. 289. There is much ingenuity, and fancy, in this poem, and the "Recantation particularly in the latter. They were probably the production of Edward Tbimelby. In one of his "Letters," (without date,) he writes, "At my Lady Englefeild's I shall spend most of my time which Mr Carrall gives me in England, into whose passe I am inserted for Flanders, (here being no other way of going over." And in a poem in the quarto MS. most likely by entitled "A New Yeares Gift," this is the first stanza:
Come, Janus, thou shalt be my muse to day,
While I this new yeares debt of verses pay,
Unto my Normington's and Carrell's bay.
To Caryl, we are indebted for the "Rape of the Lock;" and to him it is dedicated.
This verse to Caryl, muse! is due.
On which Warburton has this note: "Caryl, a gentleman who was secretary to Queen Mary wife of James H. whose fortunes he followed into France, author of he comedy of Sir Solomon Single," and of several translation, in Dryden's Miscellany, originally proposed the subject to him, in a view of putting an end, by this piece of ridicule, to a quarrel that was risen between two noble families, those of Lord Petre, and of Mrs Fermor, on the trifling occasion of his having cut off a lock of her hair.”
P. 292. These lines, dictated by affection, and good sense, appear to have been written by, or in the name of, several individuals of the Aston family, probably collected at Tixall, or Bellamore, and were addressed perhaps to the Thimelbyes of Irnharn. But I am puzzled to make out some of the Christian names. They may, however, be read, John, Constantia, Katherine, Gertrude, R ? Walter, Frances, and Mary, a daughter of the second Lord Aston.
I am surprised that H. for Herbert, is not among them ; but as the A. is quite in his hand, I suspect he held the pen, on this occasion ; and the lines being sent perhaps from Bellamore, his signature was therefore considered unnecessary.
P. 294. This, and the following poem, are in the MS. subscribed “Kath. Thym.” and in her hand. I therefore consider them as her‘composition; and they must have been written, in, or before the year 1638 ; as about that time she was married to Herbert Aston.
Sleep, the best ease of the most troubled minde,
Rest of our labours, nurse of human kinde.
ὕπνοςλύων μελεδήματα
Νήδυμος ἀμφιχυθείς.
Λυσιμέριμνε, κόπων ἡδεῖαν ἒχων ἀνάπαυσιν.
Somne, quies rerum, placidissime somne deorum,
Pax animi, quern cura fugit, qui corpora duris
Fessa ministeriis mulces, reparasque labori.
Tired nature’s sweet restorer, balmy sleep!
"On this subject," says Headley, "poets of all ages and nations have been very eloquent; suffice it to say, that Shakespeare, in his Henry the Fourth, Part II. Act III. Sc. 1. has surpassed every thing that has hitherto appeared on the same subject." Daniel has a sonnet to sleep, which concludes thus:
Still let me sleep, embracing clouds in vain,
And never wake to feel the day's disdain.
P. 295. "The Golden Mean." See a poem at p. 88, entitled "Contented Poverty."
P. 297. This pleasing poem has been ascribed to Sir Henry Wotton, a man of great celebrity in his time. My copy has great variations from all the others which I have seen, and the title is quite different. In the other copies it is entitled, "A Description of the Country's Recreations."
P. 300. I am puzzled to make out who is meant by Mrs E. T. It probably means Eliza Thimelby, the same who is celebrated in the Pastoral, p. 277, and also atp. 230; but then I am still at a loss to make out who she was. Sir John Thimelby had an aunt called Eliza, who was married to one Henry Clifford, but who he was, or what became of them, I have not ascertained. Sir John's wife was Lady Elizabeth Thimelby; his sister Eliza, was married to Richard Conquest, Esq. in 1634, and bis daughter Eliza, to Mr Cottington. Here are four Eliza Thimelbys. The one meant in these poems, I suspect was Sir J. Thimelby's sister, afterwards wife of Richard Conquest; and to clear up the matter, I have imagined, that Herbert Aston, on his first acquaintance with the Thimelbyes, became enamoured of Eliza, but afterwards married her sister Catherine. On this supposition, I ascribe to him the lines at p. 230, the Pastoral, and these Stanzas:
In such soft whispers, &c.
So Pope,
Soft as the slumbers of a saint forgiven,
And mild, as opening gleams of promised heaven.
P. 302. l. 17.So toade to tulip, &c.
I do not understand the meaning of this allusion.
P. 303. These stanzas on happy love are very beautiful.
l. 14.The least propriety in any sense.
Propriety, is to be understood here, for property, in the same sense as in that exquisite passage in Paradise Lost:
Hail, wedded love! mysterious law, true source
Of human offspring, sole propriety
In Paradise, of all things common else.
P. 305. I am much amused with the ingenious theory of the gout, and tooth-ach, with which this song concludes. But I do not know, that it would afford much alleviation, under the torture of those painful complaints, to think that they were occasioned by Queen Mab, or Oberon; or by a dance of the fairies.
P. 309. I suppose this was addressed to the second Lord Aston, who was married in the year 1629; which fixes the date of this poem to the year 1653. The hope of the poet,
to see
(His) joyes growne up into a jubilye,
Was very nearly fulfilled; for Lord Aston lived to the year 1678, having been married 49 years. His lady survived him.
P. 311. This poem may be found towards the end of Howell's Letters: "A work, containing numberless anecdotes, and historical narratives, and forming one of the most amusing and instructive volumes of the 17th century."—(Cens. Lit. vol. vii. 232.)
Whose every sun does still beget
An age of woes before it set.
What a dismal picture, and how forcibly expressed!
P. 319. The passion of love is well described, and finely contrasted with the calmer enjoyments of real friendship.
P. 320. There is a pleasing selection of rural images, in the concluding lines of this little poem, and it is remarkable, that they are all double rhymes. I have discovered this, with some variations, in "A Collection of Miscellaneous Poems, Letters, &c. By Mr Brown, &c. to which is added the Character of a Latitudinarian. London, 1699." It is there entitled "An Imitation of a French Ode, in the ingenious Monsieur St Evremond's Works, tom. ii."
P. 321. This is another Elegy on the death of Catherine Thimelby, Mrs Herbert Aston, and written, I suppose, by her brother Edward. (See above, p. 283. and the note.) As she lived beloved, so she did not die unlamented.
Nothing is wanting to the perfection of this elegy, but a little more clearness of expression, and smoothness of verse. The sentiments are tender, natural, and just. The conflict between reason and affection, between sorrow and resignation, is feelingly described. It appears to have flowed warm from the heart. The conclusion is rational and pious.
End of the Notes.