The Poems of Sir George Etherege 9781400876310

Table of contents :
Preface
Contents
The Poems of Sir George Etherege
To a Very Young Lady
To a Lady, Asking Him How Long He Would Love Her
The Forsaken Mistress
To a Lady Who Fled the Sight of Him
Voiture's Urania
The Imperfect Enjoyment
Ephelia to Bajazet
A Song on Basset
Song
To Her Excellence the Marchioness of Newcastle After the Reading of Her Incomparable Poems
A Prologue Spoken at the Opening of the Duke's New Playhouse
To Mr. J. N. on his Translations out of French and Italian
Song. When Phillis watched her harmless sheep
Song. Ladies, though to your conquering eyes
Song If she be not as kind as fair
Song. To little or no purpose I spent many days
Song. Tell me no more you love; in vain
The Divided Heart
Silvia
Song. When first Amintas charmed my heart
Song. The pleasures of love and the joys of good wine
Song. How charming Phillis is, how fair
Song. Tell me no more I am deceived
Song. See how fair Corinna lies
Song. Ye happy youths, whose hearts are free
Song. Cease, anxious World, your fruitless pain
Song. In some kind dream upon her slumbers steal
A Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. George Etherege
Mr. Etherege's Answer
Another Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. Etherege
Mr. Etherege's Answer
A Letter to Lord Middleton
A Second Letter to Lord Middleton
Mr. Oryden's Letter to Sir George Etherege
Poems of Doubtful Authorship
Upon Love in Imitation of Cowley
Song. Fair Iris, all our time is spent
On a Lady Drinking the Waters
Song. Since Death on all lays his impartial hand
The Rival
Mrs. Nelly's Complaint
Notes
Notes. Text
Notes. Poems of Doubtful Authorship
Notes. Poems Wrongly Attributed to Etherege
Index of Titles and First Lines

Citation preview

The Poems of Sir George Etherege

The Poems of Sir George Etherege

EDITED BY J A M E S

PRINCETON, PRINCETON

NEW

THORPE

JERSEY

UNIVERSITY

1963

PRESS

Copyright © 1963 by Princeton University Press L.C. Card 63-9987 ALL

RIGHTS

RESERVED

Publication of this book has been aided by the Ford Foundation program to support publication, through university presses, of work in the humanities and social sciences. •ΦPrinted in the United States of America by Princeton University Press Princeton, New Jersey

PREFACE concluded his article in the Dictionary of National Biography on Sir George Etherege's life and works with this admirably compact sentence: "Etherege also wrote some short poems." Had Stephen been more kindly disposed to Etherege, he could perhaps have amplified his account} but the number of Etherege poems which had been assembled was in fact a rather small part of the whole, and that situation has con­ tinued to prevail. The earliest collection of Etherege's Works, in 1704, contained only five poems. And they do not deserve a place of privilege in the canon: apparently they were re­ printed simply because they chanced to be the Etherege po­ ems in a poetical miscellany, Sylvae, which the same book­ seller had issued two years earlier and which was at hand to serve as copytext. A. W. Verity copied those five poems into his edition of Etherege's Works (1888) and added nineteen others, of which two are not by Etherege and two are of doubtful attribution. H. F. B. Brett-Smith projected an edi­ tion of the poems and selected prose, to supplement his ad­ mirable two volumes of The Dramatic Works of Sir George Etherege (Oxford, 1927), but the plan was thwarted by his untimely death. Professor V. de Sola Pinto presented, in his Restoration Carnival (London, 1954), an excellent selection of Etherege's poems; but it was intended only as a selection, less extensive than Verity had printed, though it has the great advantage of Professor Pinto's wide learning and good taste. The collection which I offer includes a total of forty poems. Of these, however, three are verse letters in reply to epistles by Etherege, and six others are of doubtful authorship. In addition, there are notes on five poems which have been as­ cribed to Etherege but which are ( I argue) not by him. I have included the six set songs from his plays because they LESLIE STEPHEN

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have been treated, ever since the first publication of each play, as detached poems; each one has appeared in numerous printed and manuscript collections from the Restoration to the present. For the same reason I have included the one "catch" which has frequently appeared in collections of poems. In sum, this collection of Etherege's poems is a little less than twice as extensive as any heretofore printed. Although I have looked for Etherege poems with care, I am sure that some, perhaps many, have escaped my search. As Jacob Tonson observed of the poetry of the time, in his preface to Examen Poeticum (1693), "I have known several Celebrated Pieces so utterly lost in three or four years time after they were written, as not to be recoverable by all the search I cou'd make after 'em." It is now three hundred years since Etherege began to write, and I do not possess Tonson's magnet. In his own time, Etherege was regarded as a poet of some consequence. He was known as the writer of "airy songs and soft lampoons,/ The best of any man." It was said of him that "of all men that writ,/ There's none had more fancy, sense, judgment, and wit." Even a lordly poetaster, it was claimed, "to the bays in time may rise/ If Etherege will but supervise/ To make his verse more soft and tame." Etherege's songs were set to music, time and again, by more than a dozen composers of the time, including Henry Purcell. His poems were frequently copied and widely known, without the aid of any collection and often without the encouragement of an attribution. I have found them in more than fifty contemporary manuscripts and in about a hundred and fifty printed books of the Restoration and early eighteenth century. For the majority of the poems I can record about ten appearances; for a handful I have found five or fewer appearances, and another small group occurs more than fifteen or twenty times. They have continued to be popular. They turn up Vl

with regularity in various anthologies of the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries, though frequently without attribution and usually in corrupt form. His poems seem to deserve continuing attention. Of course he does not reach the level of Dryden or Rochester, but to claim him as the equal of Sedley, Dorset, Buckingham, and the other Wits is to attribute some appreciable importance to him as a poet. In his occasional lyrics, he generally took conventional subjects, such as the mistress who had been forsaken by her lover or the praise of a very young lady. But he gave an edge to the blunt theme. By sharpness of phrasing, economy of expression, and deft control of metaphor he created vitality and point for subjects which seem windy extravagance in Waller and tortured blandness in Cowley. A satirical bent is frequently evident in his verses. The gaming impulse in women, the pride of a noble lord, the faddishness of the theatre audience: these are some of his subjects, which he treated with cleverness and wit. His satire was thought of as "refined" and he as a "sheer original" in this style of writing. A tone of affection generally characterizes his satire; he was commonly referred to as "gentle George" or "easy Etherege." Songs constitute the most numerous type of Etherege's verses. About half of his poems were set to music by contemporary composers, and others are frequently entitled "Song" in their earliest appearances. His tuneful age set and sang many poems which we are inclined to call occasional poems, or even satires. The main characteristic of those poems which were treated as songs—whatever else they may be called—is smoothness. They are easy, charming, and verbally melodious. Songs are notoriously difficult to transport without their music, but these have their own lyric grace. An editor of a Restoration verse writer is usually con-

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fronted by very difficult problems in trying to determine which poems are genuine and which version most nearly represents the author's text. Etherege is no exception, and for some problems the solutions are necessarily tentative. In trying to determine authorship, I have had to rely mainly on attributions in contemporary manuscripts and printed books. These sources usually do not name authors, and sometimes the information which they offer is unreliable. Frequently the textual evidence has a bearing on the value of the attribution by indicating its source. I have tried to evaluate the reliability of each piece of information which I could come by, and to form the conclusion to which the available evidence, duly weighted, seems to lead. In establishing the text, I have taken each poem as a separate problem. After collating the versions in all the scattered appearances which I found, I have tried to establish the relationship of the various texts. I have chosen as the copytext the version which appears to derive most directly from the author's copy, and I have adopted emendations only when the textual evidence of the other versions seems to identify errors of transmission in the copytext. Since we have no evidence that Etherege ever revised any of his poems after they left his hands, I have assumed that later changes are "improvements" or errors made by compositors, compilers, or editors—and I have tried to avoid perpetuating them. The texts for a number of the poems will be unfamiliar, in varying degrees, to persons who know versions of them from common printed sources. That the words now replaced (to paraphrase Samuel Johnson on his greater subject) are better, I do not undertake to provej it is sufficient to show that they are nearer Etherege's. I have been led to twenty-six sources (thirteen of them manuscripts and thirteen printed books) for the copytexts of these forty poems. The copytexts which I have selected ex-

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hibit an almost endless variety in the treatment of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling: one is devoid of capitals, another capitalizes most important words j one is without punctuation, another is heavily pointed} one spells out words in full, another abbreviates and elides on most possible occasions. One thing which they share is inconsistency in these matters. The treatment of accidentals generally reflected the habits and whims of the copyist or compiler or compositor. Since I did not wish each poem to confront the reader with a different (and perhaps obtrusive) example of the uses of accidentals, I felt obliged to modernize the texts of the poems. Professor John Harold Wilson's warning in The Court Wits of the Restoration is almost as true today as it was in 1948: "No modern editor can prepare an edition of any of the major Wits with even fair assurance that he has not made several wrong attributions, or that he has recovered all the pieces extant. With the lesser Wits, the task of identification and editing is nearly impossible." Little by little these difficulties can be partially overcome, and the recovery of the work of the Restoration poets from the obscurity of their repose in widely dispersed manuscript and printed poetical miscellanies will make it increasingly possible to read, understand, and assess their poems. The interrelationship of the poets and of their work is such that studies of one author or of one collection can contribute to a gradual untangling of the whole body of Restoration verse and an evaluation of its achievement. Many acts of generosity and kindness have smoothed the path I followed in the preparation of this edition. Professor James M. Osborn gave me free and hospitable access to his remarkable collection of manuscripts. Professor David M. Vieth has been most generous, over a period of years, in sharing the fruits of his study of Restoration poetry. Professors R. C. Boys, W. J. Cameron, and Arthur Mizener gave IX

me the benefit of their extensive knowledge of the appear­ ances of poems in printed sources. Professor George deF. Lord allowed me to consult certain microfilms of manuscript collections. Mr. John R. B. Brett-Smith kindly examined the papers of his father, the late H . F. B. Brett-Smith, in search of material that might be useful to me. I am indebted to the officials of various libraries for many courtesies; I wish to mention the Huntington Library, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the Houghton Library of Harvard University, and to thank Professor V. de Sola Pinto for his generous help in connection with the Portland manuscripts at the Uni­ versity of Nottingham. Professors Fredson Bowers, Vinton A. Dearing, H. T. Swedenberg, Jr., David M. Vieth, and John Harold Wilson graciously consented to read substantial portions of my manuscript, and each of them offered valuable suggestions which have led to improvements in this edition.

J. T.

χ

CONTENTS Text

Notes

V

PREFACE TO A VERY YOUNG LADY

70

Sweetest bud of beauty, may TO A LADY, ASKING HIM HOW LONG HE WOULD LOVE HER

71

Cloris, it is not in our power THE FORSAKEN MISTRESS: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN PHILLIS AND STREPHON

Tell me, gentle Strephon, why TO A LADY WHO FLED THE SIGHT OF HIM

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5

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6

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7

77

9

79

I

85

3

88

14

90

If I my Celia could persuade VOITURE'S URANIA

Hopeless I languish out my days THE IMPERFECT ENJOYMENT

After a pretty amorous discourse EPHELIA TO BAJAZET

How far are they deceived who hope in vain A SONG ON BASSET

Let equipage and dress despair SONG

Garde Ie secret de ton Ame TO HER EXCELLENCE THE MARCHIONESS OF NEWCASTLE AFTER THE READING OF HER INCOMPARABLE POEMS

With so much wonder we are struck Xl

Text A PROLOGUE SPOKEN AT T H E OPENING OF THE DUKE'S NEW PLAYHOUSE

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SONG When first Amintas charmed my heart

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SONG

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SONG How charming PhilUs is, how fair

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103

SONG

30

104

'Tis not in this as in the former age TO MR. J . N. ON HIS TRANSLATIONS OUT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN

While others toil our country to supply SONG

When PhilUs watched her harmless

sheep

SONG

Ladies, though to your conquering

eyes

SONG

If she be not as kind as fair SONG

To little or no purpose I spent many

days

SONG

Tell me no more you love; in vain THE DIVIDED HEART

Ah Celia, that I were but sure SILVIA

The nymph that undoes me is fair and unkind

The pleasures of love and the joys of good wine

Tell me no more I am deceived

xii

SONG

Text

Notes

31

105

32

I06

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107

34

I08

35

IOQ

38

109

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109

43

109

4,6

114

48

114

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II4

See how fair Corinna lies SONG

Ye happy youths, whose hearts are free SONG

Cease, anxious World, your fruitless pain SONG

In some kind dream upon her slumbers steal A LETTER F R O M LORD BUCKHURST TO

MR. GEORGE ETHEREGE

Dreaming last night on Mrs. Farley As crafty harlots use to shrink A N O T H E R LETTER FROM LORD B U C K H U R S T TO MR.

ETHEREGE

If I can guess the Devil choke me M R . ETHEREGE'S ANSWER

So soft and amorously you write A LETTER TO LORD MIDDLETON

From hunting whores and haunting play SECOND LETTER TO LORD MIDDLETON

Since love and verse, as well as wine ETHEREGE

To you who Uve in chill degree

Poems of Doubtful

Authorship

UPON LOVE: IN IMITATION OF COWLEY

Whether we mortals love or no XlU

55

130

Text SONG

Notes

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132

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133

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134

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136

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139

Fair Iris, all our time is spent ON A L A D Y D R I N K I N G T H E W A T E R S

Phillis, lay aside your

thinking

SONG

Since Death on all lays his impartial hand, THE

RIVAL

Of all the torments, all the cares MRS. N E L L Y ´ S C O M P L A I N T

If Sylla's ghost made bloody Catiline start

Poems Wrongly Attributed to Etherege THE

L A D Y OF P L E A S U R E

[AUTHOR

UNKNOWN]

142

I SING THE SONG OF A SCOUNDREL LASS SONG

[BY

EDMUND ASHTON]

144

UPON THE DOWNS WHEN SHALL I BREATHE AT EASE SONG

[BY

SIR CAR SCROOPE]

144

AS AMORET WITH PHILLIS SAT SONG

[AUTHOR

UNKNOWN]

145

CAELIA WITH MOURNFUL PLEASURE HEARS SONG

[AUTHOR

UNKNOWN]

I46

THAT YOU ALONE MY HEART POSSES NOTES

67

INDEX OF T I T L E S A N D FIRST L I N E S

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147

The Poems of Sir George Etherege

To a Very Young Lady Sweetest bud of beauty, may No untimely frost decay The early glories which we trace, Blooming in thy matchless face; But kindly opening, like the rose, Fresh beauties every day disclose, Such as by nature are not shown In all the blossoms she has blown— And then what conquest shall you make, Who hearts already daily take? Scorched in the morning with thy beams, How shall we bear those sad extremes Which must attend thy threatening eyes When thou shalt to thy noon arise?

ι

To a Lady, Asking Him How Long He Would Love Her

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Cloris, it is not in our power To say how long our love will last, It may be we within this hour May lose those joys we now may taste; The blessed that immortal be From change in love are only free. And though you now immortal seem (Such is the exactness of your frame), Those that your beauty so esteem Will find it cannot last the same; Love from your eyes has stolen my fire, As apt to waste and to expire. Then since we mortal lovers are, Let's question not how long 'twill last, But while we love let us take care Each minute be with pleasure past; It were a madness to deny To live because we're sure to die. Fear not, though love and beauty fail, My reason shall my heart direct, Your kindness now will then prevail And passion turn into respect; Cloris, at worst you'll in the end But change your lover for a friend.

2

The Forsaken Mistress A DIALOGUE

BETWEEN

P H I L L I S AND

STREPHON

Phillis Tell me, gentle Strephon, why You from my embraces fly? Does my love thy love destroy? Tell me, I will yet be coy. 5

io

Stay, ο stay, and I will feign (Though I break my heart) disdain j But lest I too unkind appear, For every frown I'll shed a tear. And if in vain I court thy love, Let mine at least thy pity movej Ah! while I scorn, vouchsafe to woo— Methinks you may dissemble too. Strefhon

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Ah Phillis, that you would contrive A way to keep my love alive j But all your other charms must fail When kindness ceases to prevail. Alas! no less than you I grieve My dying flame has no reprieve j For I can never hope to find, Should all the nymphs I court be kind, One beauty able to renew Those pleasures I enjoyed in you, When love and youth did both conspire To fill our breasts and veins with fire.

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25

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'Tis true, some other nymph may gain That heart which merits your disdain j But second love has still allay, The joys grow aged and decay. Then blame me not for losing more Than love and beauty can restore, And let this truth thy comfort prove, I would, but can no longer love.

4

To a Lady Who Fled the Sight of Him If I my Celia could persuade To see those wounds her eyes have made, And hear whilst I that passion tell, Which, like herself, does so excel, How soon we might be freed from care! She need not fear, nor I despair. Such beauty does the nymph protect, That all approach her with respect j And can I offer violence Where love does join in her defence? This guard might all her fears disperse, Did she with savages converse. Then I my Celia would surprise With what's produced by her own eyes— Those matchless flames which they inspire In her own breast should raise a fire; For love, but with more subtle art, As well as beauty charms the heart.

5

Voiture's Urania Hopeless I languish out my days, Struck with Urania's conquering eyes; The wretch at whom she darts these rays Must feel the wound until he dies. Though endless be her cruelty, Calling her beauties to my mind, I bow beneath her tyranny And dare not murmur she's unkind. Reason this tameness does upbraid, Proffering to arm in my defence; But when I call her to my aid, She's more a traitor than my sense. No sooner I the war declare But strait her succor she denies, And joining forces with the fair Confirms the conquest of her eyes.

6

The Imperfect Enjoyment

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After a pretty amorous discourse, She does resist my love with pleasing force, Moved not with anger but with modesty: Against her will she is my enemy. Her eyes the rudeness of her arms excuse, Those do accept what these seem to refuse; To ease my passion and to make me blest, The linen of itself falls from her breast} Then with her lovely hands she does conceal Those wonders chance so kindly did reveal. In vain, alas, her nimble fingers strove To keep her beauties from my greedy love; Guarding her breasts, they do her lips expose, To save a lily she must lose a rose. What charms are here in every part? what grace? A hundred hands can't shield each beauteous place. Now she consents, her force she does recall, And since I must have part she'll give me all. Her arms, which did repulse me, now embrace And seem to guide me to the fought-for place. Her love is in her sparkling eyes expressed, She falls on the bed for pleasure more than rest. But oh, strange passions! oh, abortive joy! My zeal does my devotion quite destroy: Come to the temple where I should implore My saint, I worship at the sacred door. Oh cruel chance! the town which did oppose My strength so long now yields to my dispose When, overjoyed with victory, I fall Dead at the foot of the surrendered wall. Without the usual ceremony, we Have both fulfilled the amorous mystery;

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The action which we should have jointly done, Each has unluckily performed alone; The union which our bodies should enjoy, The union of our eager souls destroy. Our flames are punished by their own excess— We'd had more pleasure had our love been less. She blushed and frowned, perceiving we had done The sport she thought we had not yet begun. Alas, said I, condemn yourself, not me; This is the effect of too much modesty. Hence with that harmful virtue, the delight Of both our victories was lost in the fight; From my defeat your glory does arise, My weakness proves the vigor of your eyes; They did consume the victim, ere it came Unto the altar, with a purer flame. Phillis, let this same comfort ease your care, You'd been more happy had you been less fair.

8

Ephelia to Bajazet

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How far are they deceived who hope in vain A lasting lease of joys from love t'obtain! AU the dear sweets we promise or expect, After enjoyment turns to cold neglect} Could love a constant happiness have known, The mighty wonder had in me been shown. Our passions were so favored by fate, As if she meant 'em an eternal datej So kind he looked, such tender words he spoke, 'Twas past belief such vows should e'er be broke. Fixed on my eyes, how often would he say He could with pleasure gaze an age away; When thoughts too great for words had made him mute, In kisses he would tell my hand his suit. So great his passion was, so far above The common gallantries that pass for love, At worst I thought if he unkind should prove, His ebbing passion would be kinder far Than the first transports of all others are. Nor was my love weaker or less than his, In him I centered all my hopes of bliss; For him my duty to my friends forgot, For him I lost—alas! what lost I not? Fame, all the valuable things of life, To meet his love by a less name than wife. How happy was I then, how dearly blest, When this great man lay panting on my breast, Looking such things as ne'er can be expressed! Thousand fresh looks he gave me every hour, Whilst greedily I did his looks devour— Till quite o'ercome with charms I trembling lay, 9

35

40

45

50

SS

At every look he gave melted away; I was so highly happy in his love, Methought I pitied them that dwelt above! Think then, thou greatest, loveliest, falsest man, How you have vowed, how I have loved, and then, My faithless dear, be cruel if you can! How I have loved, I cannot, need not tell— No, every act has shown I loved too well. Since first I saw you, I ne'er had a thought Was not entirely yours; to you I brought My virgin innocence and freely made My love an offering to your noble bed. Since when, you've been the Star by which I steered, And nothing else but you I loved or feared. Your smiles I only live by and I must, Whene'er you frown, be shattered into dust. Oh! can the coldness that you show me now Suit with the generous heat you once did show? I cannot live on pity or respect— A thought so mean would my whole frame infect; Less than your love I scorn, Sir, to expect. Let me not live in dull indifferency, But give me rage enough to make me die! For if from you I needs must meet my fate, Before your pity I would choose your hate.

10

A Song on Basset Let equipage and dress despair j Since Basset is come in, There's nothing can engage the fair But money and Morin. 5

io

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20

Is any countess in distress? She flies not to the beauj 'Tis coney only can redress Her grief with a rouleau. By this bewitching game betrayed, Poor love is bought and sold, And that which should be a free trade Is all ingrossed by gold. Even sense is brought into disgrace Where company is met, Or silent stands or leaves the place While all the talk's Basset. Why, ladies, will you stake your hearts Where a plain cheat is found? You first are rooked out of those darts That give yourselves the wound. The time which should be kindly lent To plays and witty men, In waiting for a knave is spent, Or wishing for a ten.

25

Stand in defence of your own charms: Throw down this favorite, Who threatens, with his dazzling arms, Your beauty and your wit. 11

30

What pity 'tis those conquering eyes, Which all the world subdue, Should, while the lover gazing dies, Be minding an alpue.

12

Song Garde Ie secret de ton Ame, Et ne te laisse pas natter Qu'Iris espargnera ta flamme Si tu luy permets d'eclatter; Son humeur, a I'amour rebelle, Exile tous ses doux desirs; Et la tendresse est criminelle Qui veut luy parler en soupirs. Puis que tu vis sous son Empire, Il faut luy cacher ton destin. Si tu ne veux Ie rendre pire, Perce du trait de son dedainj D'une rigeur si delicate Ton coeur ne peut rien esperer: Derobe done a. cette ingrate La vanite d'en trionfer.

13

To Her Excellence the Marchioness of Newcastle After the Reading of Her Incomparable Poems MADAM,

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With so much wonder we are struck When we begin to read your matchless book, A while your own excess of merit stays Our forward pens, and does suspend your praise Till time our minds does gently recompose, Allays this wonder, and our duty shows; Instructs us how your virtues to proclaim And what we ought to pay to your great fame— Your fame which in your country has no bounds, But wheresoever learning's known it sounds. Those graces nature did till now divide (Your sex's glory, and our sex's pride) Are joined in you, and all to you submit, The brightest beauty and the sharpest wit. No faction here or fiercer envy sways, They give you myrtle, while we offer bays. What mortal dares dispute those wreaths with you, Armed thus with lightning and with thunder too. This made the great Newcastle's heart your prize; Your charming soul and your victorious eyes Had only power his martial mind to tame, And raise in his heroic breast a flame: A flame which with his courage still aspires, As if immortal fuel fed those fires. This mighty chief and your great self made one, Together the same race of glory run; Together on the wings of fame you move, Like yours his virtue, and like his your love.

H

While we, your praise endeavoring to rehearse. 30 Pay that great duty in our humble verse, Such as may justly move your anger; you Like heaven forgive them, and accept them too. But what we cannot your brave Hero pays, He builds those monuments we strive to raise} 35 Such as to after-ages shall make known, While he records your deathless fame, his own; So when an artist some rare beauty draws, Both in our wonder share and our applause; His skill, from time, secures the glorious dame, 40 And makes himself immortal in her fame.

15

A Prologue Spoken at the Opening of the Duke's New Playhouse

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'Tis not in this as in the former age, When wit alone sufficed t'adorn the stage, When things well said an audience could invite, Without the hope of such a gaudy sight. What with your fathers took would take with you, If wit had still the charm of being new; Had not enjoyment dulled your appetite, She in her homely dress would yet delight; Such stately Theaters we need not raise, Our old House would put off our dullest plays. You gallants know, a fresh wench of sixteen May drive the trade in honest bombasine And never want good custom, should she lie In a back room, two or three stories high. But such a beauty as has long been known, Though not decayed but to perfection grown, Must, if she mean to thrive in this lewd Town, Wear points, laced petticoats, and a rich gown; Her lodgings too must with her dress agree, Be hung with damask or with tapestry, Have china, cabinets, and a great glass To strike respect into an amorous ass. Without the help of stratagems and arts, An old acquaintance cannot touch your hearts. Methinks 'tis hard our authors should submit So tamely to their predecessors' wit, Since (I am sure) among you there are few Would grant your grandfathers had more than you. But hold! I in this business may proceed too far, 16

30 And raise a storm against our Theater; And then what would the wise adventurers say, Who are in a much greater fright today Than ever poet was about his play? Our apprehensions none can justly blame, 25 Money is dearer much to us than fame: This thought on, let our poets justify The reputation of their poetry. We are resolved we will not have to do With what's between those gentlemen and you. 40 Be kind, and let our House have but your praise, You're welcome every day to damn their plays.

17

To Mr. J. N. on his Translations out of French and Italian

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While others toil our country to supply With what we need only for luxury, Spices and silk in the rich East provide, To glut our avarice and feed our pride; You foreign learning prosperously transmit, To raise our virtue and provoke our wit. Such brave designs your generous soul inflame To be a bold adventurer for fame; How much obliged are Italy and France, While with your voice their music you advance! Your growing fame with envy can oppose, Who sing with no less art than they compose; In these attempts so few have had success, Their beauties suffer in our English dress: By artless hands spoiled of their native air, They seldom pass for moderately fair. As if you meant these injuries to atone, You give them charms more conquering than their own; Not like the dull laborious flatterer, With secret art those graces you confer. The skilful painters with slight strokes impart That subtle beauty which affects the heart. There are who publicly profess they hate Translations, and yet all they write translate: So proud they scorn to drive a lawful trade, Yet by their wants are shameless pirates made. These you incense while you their thefts reveal, Or else prevent in what they mean to steal; From all besides you are secure of praise, But you so high our expectations raise, 18

A general discontent we shall declare If such a workman only should repair. You to the dead your piety have shown, Adorned their monuments, now build your own 25 Drawn in the East; we in your lines may trace That genius which of old inspired the place. The banished muses back to Greece you bring, Where their best airs you so divinely sing} The world must own they are by you restored 40 To sacred shades, where they were first adored.

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Song When Phillis watched her harmless sheep, Not one poor lamb was made a preyj Yet she had cause enough to weep, Her silly heart did go astray: Then flying to the neighboring grove, She left the tender flock to rove, And to the winds did breathe her love. She sought in vain To ease her pain; The heedless winds did fan her fire: Venting her grief Gave no relief, But rather did increase desire. Then sitting with her arms across, Her sorrows streaming from each eye, She fixed her thoughts upon her loss, And in despair resolved to die.

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Song Ladies, though to your conquering eyes Love owes his chiefest victories, And borrows those bright arms from you With which he does the world subdue, Yet you yourselves are not above The empire nor the griefs of love. Then wrack not lovers with disdain, Lest love on you revenge their pain; You are not free because you're fair: The boy did not his mother spare. Beauty's but an offensive dart— It is no armor for the heart.

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Song If she be not as kind as fair, But peevish and unhandy, Leave her—she's only worth the care Of some spruce Jack-a-dandy. I would not have thee such an ass, Hadst thou ne'er so much leisure, To sigh and whine for such a lass Whose pride's above her pleasure. Make much of every buxom girl Which needs but little courting; Her value is above the pearl, That takes delight in sporting.

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Song To little or no purpose I spent many days, In ranging the Park, the Exchange, and the Plays; For ne'er in my rambles till now did I prove So lucky to meet with the man I could love. Oh! how I am pleased when I think on this man, That I find I must love, let me do what I can! How long I shall love him, I can no more tell, Than had I a fever when I should be well. My passion shall kill me before I will show it, And yet I would give all the world he did know it; But oh how I sigh when I think should he woo me, I cannot deny what I know would undo me!

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Song Tell me no more you love; in vain, Fair Celia, you this passion feign. Can those pretend to love that do Refuse what Love persuades us to? Who once has felt his active flame, Dull laws of Honor does disdain. You would be thought his slave, and yet You will not to his power submit. More cruel then those beauties are Whose coyness wounds us with despair: For all the kindness which you show, Each smile and kiss which you bestow, Are like those cordials which we give To dying men, to make them live, And languish out an hour in pain— Be kinder, Celia, or disdain.

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The Divided Heart

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Ah Celia, that I were but sure Thy love, like mine, could still endure j That time and absence, which destroy The cares of lovers and their joy, Could never rob me of that part Which you have given me of your heart} Others unenvied might possess Whole hearts, and boast that happiness. 'Twas nobler fortune to divide The Roman Empire in her pride, Than on some low and barbarous throne, Obscurely placed, to rule alone. Love only from thy heart exacts The several debts thy face contracts, And by that new and juster way Secures thy Empire and his sway; Favoring but one, he might compel The hopeless lover to rebel. But should he other hearts thus share, That in the whole so worthless are, Should into several squadrons draw That strength which kept entire could awe, Men would his scattered powers deride, And conquering him those spoils divide.

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Silvia The nymph that undoes me is fair and unkind, No less than a wonder by Nature designed} She's the grief of my heart, the joy of my eye, And the cause of a flame that never can die. Her mouth, from whence wit still obligingly flows, Has the beautiful blush and the smell of the rose; Love and destiny both attend on her will, She wounds with a look, with a frown she can kill. The desperate lover can hope no redress Where beauty and rigor are both in excess; In Silvia they meet, so unhappy am I, Who sees her must love and who loves her must die.

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Song When first Amintas charmed my heart, My heedless sheep began to stray; The wolves soon stole the greatest part, And all will now be made a prey. Ah, let not love your thoughts possess, 'Tis fatal to a shepherdess} The dangerous passion you must shun, Or else like me be quite undone.

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The pleasures of love and the joys of good wine, To perfect our happiness wisely we join. We to beauty all day Give the sovereign sway And her favorite nymphs devoutly obey. At the plays we are constantly making our court, And when they are ended we follow the sport To the Mall and the Park, Where we love till 'tis dark; Then sparkling champagne Puts an end to their reign; It quickly recovers Poor languishing lovers, Makes us frolic and gay, and drowns all our sorrow. But alas! we relapse again on the morrow. Let every man stand With his glass in his hand, And briskly discharge at the word of command. Here's a health to all those Whom tonight we depose: Wine and beauty by turns great souls should inspire. Present all together—and now, boys, give fire!

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Song How charming Phillis is, how fair! Ah that she were as willing, To ease my wounded heart of care And make her eyes less killing. I sigh! I sigh! I languish now, And Love will not let me rest, I drive about the Park and bow Still as I meet my dearest.

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Song Tell me no more I am deceived; While Silvia seems so kind, And takes such care to be believed, The cheat I fear to find. To flatter me, should falsehood lie Concealed in her soft youth, A thousand times I'd rather die Than see the unhappy truth. My love all malice shall outbrave, Let fops in libels rail; If she the appearances will save, No scandal can prevail. She makes me think I have her heart, How much for that is due? Though she but act the tender part, The joy she gives is true.

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See how fair Corinna lies, Kindly calling with her eyes: In the tender minute prove her; Shepherd! why so dull a lover? Prithee, why so dull a lover? In her blushes see your shame, Anger they with love proclaim; You too coldly entertain her: Lay your pipe a little by, If no other charms you try, You will never, never gain her. While the happy minute is, Court her, you may get a kiss, Maybe favors that are greater; Leave your piping, to her fly: When the nymph you love is nigh, Is it with a tune you treat her? Dull Amintor! fie, oh fie! Now your shepherdess is nigh, Can you pass your time no better?

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Song Ye happy youths, whose hearts are free From Love's imperial chain, Henceforth be warned and taught by me T'avoid the enchanting pain. Fatal the wolves to trembling flocks, Sharp winds to blossoms prove, To careless seamen hidden rocks, To human quiet Love. Fly the fair sex if bliss you prize, The snake's beneath the flower; Who ever gazed on beauteous eyes That tasted quiet more? How faithless is the lover's joy! How constant is his care! The kind with falsehood do destroy, The cruel with despair.

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Song Cease, anxious World, your fruitless pain To grasp forbidden store; Your studied labors shall prove vain, Your alchemy unblest, Whilst seeds of far more precious ore Are ripened in my breast. My breast, the forge of happier love, Where my Lucinda lives; And the rich stock does so improve As she her art employs, That every smile and touch she gives Turns all to golden joys. Since then we can such treasures raise, Let's no expense refuse; In love let's lay out all our days— How can we e'er be poor, When every blessing that we use Begets a thousand more?

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Song In some kind dream upon her slumbers steal, And to Lucinda all I beg reveal} Breathe gentlest words into her ears, Words full of love but full of fears: Such words as may prevail, like prayers From a poor dying martyr's tongue, By the sweet voice of pity sung. Touch with the voice the more enchanting lute, To make the charms strike all repulses mute; These may insensibly impart My tender wishes to her heart, And by a sympathetic force So tune its strings to love's discourse That when my griefs compel a groan, Her sighs may echo to my moan.

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A Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. George Ethereg e

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Dreaming last night on Mrs. Farley, My prick was up this morning early; And I was fain without my gown To rise in the cold to get him down. Hard shift, alas, but yet a sure, Although it be no pleasing cure. Of old the fair Egyptian slattern, For luxury that had no pattern, To fortify her Roman swinger, Instead of nutmeg, mace and ginger, Did spice his bowls (as story tells) With warts of rocks and spawn of shells. It had been happy for her Grace Had I been in the rascal's place. I who do scorn that any stone Should raise my pintle but my own, Had laid her down on every couch And saved her pearl and diamond brooch Until her hot-tailed Majesty, Being happily reclaimed by me From all her wild expensive ways, Had worn her gems on holidays. But since her cunt has long done itching, Let us discourse of modern bitching. I must entreat you by this letter To enquire for whores, the more the better: Hunger makes any man a glutton. If Roberts, Thomas, Mrs. Dutton Or any other bawds of note, Inform of a fresh petticoat, 35

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Enquire, I pray, with friendly care, Where their respective lodgings are. Some do compare a man t'a bark— A pretty metaphor, pray mark— And with a long and tedious story Will all the tackling lay before ye: The sails are hope, the masts desire, Till they the gentlest reader tire. But howsoe'er they keep a pudder, I'm sure the pintle is the rudder: The powerful rudder which of force To Town will shortly steer my course j And if you do not there provide A port where I may safely ride, Landing in haste, in some foul creek, 'Tis ten to one I spring a leak. Next, I must make it my request, If you have any interest, Or can by any means discover Some lamentable rhyming lover, Who shall in numbers harsh and vile His mistress "Nymph" or "Goddess" style, Send all his labors down to me By the first opportunity. Or any Knights of your Round Table, To other scribblers formidable, Guilty themselves of the same crime Dress nonsense up in ragged rhyme, As once a week they seldom fail Inspired by love and Gridiron ale.

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Or any paltry poetry, Though from the University, Who when the King and Queen were there Did both their wit and learning spare, And have (I hope) endeavored since To make the world some recompense. Such damned fustian, when you meet, Be not too rash or indiscreet (Though they can plead no just excuses) To put 'em to their proper uses— The fatal privy or the fire, Their nobler foe—at my desire Restrain your natural profuseness, And spare 'em, though you have a looseness. BUCKHURST.

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Mr. Etherege's Answer

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As crafty harlots use to shrink From lechers, dozed with sleep and drink, When they intend to make up pack By filching sheets or shirt from back, So were you pleased to steal away From me, whilst on your bed I lay. But long you had not been departed When pinched with cold from thence I started; Where missing you I stamped and stared, Like Bacon when he waked and heard His Brazen Head in vain had spoke And saw it lie in pieces broke. Sighing I to my chamber make, Where every limb was stiff as stake, Unless poor pego, which did feel Like slimy skin of new-stripped eel, Or pudding that mischance had got And spent itself half in the pot. With care I cleansed the sneaking varlet Which late had been in pool of harlot; But neither shirt nor water could Remove the stench of lecherous mud. The Queen of Love from sea did spring, Whence the best cunts still smell like ling. But sure this damned notorious bitch Was made of the foam of Jane Shore's ditch— Or else her cunt could never stink Like pump that's foul, or nasty sink. When this was done, to bed I went

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30 Where that whole day in sleep I spent; But the next morning, fresh and gay As citizen on holiday, I wandered in the spacious Town Amongst the bawds of best renown, 35 Making enquiry far and near To find out fresh and wholesome gear. To Temple I a visit made— Temple, the Beauty of her trade! The only bawd that ever I 40 For want of whore could occupy. She made me friends with Mrs. Cuffley, Whom we indeed had used too roughly; For by a gentler way I found The nymph would fuck under ten pound. 45 So resty jades that scorn to stir, Though oft provoked by whip and spur, By milder usage may be got To fall into their wonted trot. But what success I further had, 50 And what discoveries good and bad I made by roving up and down I'll tell you when you come to Town. Further, I have obeyed your motion, Though much provoked by pill and potion, 55 And sent you down some paltry rhymes, The greatest grievance of our times, When such as Nature never made For poets daily do invade Wit's Empire, both the stage and press— 60 And what is worse, with good success. ETHEREGE.

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Another Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. Etherege

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If I can guess the Devil choke me What horrid fury could provoke thee To use thy railing, scurrilous wit Gainst prick and cunt, the source of it: For what but prick and cunt does raise Our thoughts to songs and roundelays, Enables us to anagrams And other amorous Aim flams? Then we write plays and so proceed To bays, the poet's sacred weed. Hast no respect for God Priapus? That ancient story should not scape us: Priapus was a Roman God, (But in plain English, prick and cod) Who pleased their sisters, wives, and daughters, Guarded their pippins and pomwaters, For at the orchard's utmost entry This mighty Deity stood sentry, Invested in a tattered blanket, To scare the magpies irom their banquet. But this may serve to show we trample On rule and method by example Of modern writers who, to snap at all, Will talk of Caesar in the Capitol, Of Cynthia's beams and Sol's bright ray, Known foe to buttermilk and whey, Which softens wax and hardens clay. AU this without the least connection, Which to say truth's enough to vex onej But farewell all poetic dizziness, 40

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And now to come unto the business. Tell the bright nymph how sad and pensively— E'er since we used her so offensively, In dismal shades—with arms across I sit lamenting of my loss. To Echo I her name commend, Who has it now at her tongue's end, And parrot-like repeats the same; For should you talk of Tamberlaine, Cuffley! she cries at the same time, Though the last accent does not rhyme— Far more than Echo e'er did yet For Phyllis or bright Amoret. With penknife keen, of moderate size, As bright and piercing as her eyes, (A glittering weapon, which would scorn To pare a nail or cut a corn) Upon the trees of smoothest bark I carve her name or else her mark, Which commonly's a bleeding heart, A weeping eye, or flaming dart. Here on a beech, like amorous sot, I sometimes carve a true-love's knot. There a tall oak her name does wear, In a large spreading character. I chose the fairest and the best Of all the grove: among the rest I carved it on a lofty pine, Who wept a pint of turpentine; Such was the terror of her name,

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By the report of evil fame Who tired with immoderate flight Had lodged upon his boughs all night. The wary tree, who feared a clap, And knew the virtue of his sap, Dropped balsam into every wound And in an hour's time was sound. But you are unacquainted yet With half the power of Amoret. For she can drink as well as swive, Her growing empire still must thrive; Our hearts' weak forts we must resign When beauty does its forces join With man's strong enemy, good wine. This I was told by my Lord O'Brian, A man whose words I much rely on: He kept touch and came down hither When you were scared by the foul weather; But if thou wouldst forgiven be, Say that a cunt detained thee. Cunt! whose strong charms the world bewitches, The joy of kings! the beggar's riches! The courtier's business! statesman's leisure! The tired tinker's ease and pleasure! Of which alas I've leave to prate But oh the rigor of my fate! For want of bouncing bona roba Lasciva est nobis pagina vita proba. For that rhyme I was fain to fumble; When Pegasus begins to stumble, 'Tis time to rest, your very humble. BUCKHURST.

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Mr. Etherege's Answer

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So soft and amorously you write Of cunt and prick, the cunt's delight, That were I still in lantern sweating, Swallowing of bolus or a-spitting, I should forgive each injury The pocky whores have offered me, And only of my fate complain Because I must from cunt abstain. The powerful cunt! whose very name Kindles in me an amorous flame! Begins to make my pintle rise, And long again to fight Love's prize! Forgetful of those many scars Which he has gotten in those wars. This shows Love's chiefest magic lies In women's cunts, not in their eyes: There Cupid does his revels keep, There lovers all their sorrows steep j For having once but tasted that, Their mysteries are quite forgot. This may suffice to let you know That I to cunt am not a foe, Though you are pleased to think me so; 'Tis strange his zeal should be in suspicion Who dies a martyr for's religion. But now to give you an account Of Cuffley, that whore paramount! Cuffley! whose beauty warms the age, And fills our youth with love and rage, Who like fierce wolves pursue the game,

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While secretly the lecherous dame With some choice gallant takes her flight And in a corner fucks all night. Then the next morning we all hunt To find whose fingers smell of cunt, With jealousy and envy moved Against the man that was beloved. Whilst you to Echo teach her name, Thus it becomes the voice of fame In every corner of the Town. We here proclaim her high renown Whilst you within some neighboring grove Indite the story of your love, And with your penknife keen and bright, On stately trees your passion write, So that each nymph that passes through Must envy her and pity you. We at the Fleece or at the Bear, With good case knife, well whet on stair (A gentle weapon, made to feed Mankind and not to let him bleed) A thousand amorous fancies scrape. There's not a pewter dish can scape Without her name or arms which are The same that Love himself does bear. Here one, to show you love's no glutton, In the midst of supper leaves his mutton, And on his greasy plate, with care, Carves the bright image of the fair. Another, though a drunken sot,

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Neglects his wine and on the pot A band of naked Cupids draws, With pricks no bigger than wheat straws. Then on a nasty candlestick One figures Love's hieroglyphic, A couchant cunt and rampant prick. And that the sight may more inflame, The lookers-on subscribe her name: CufHey!—her sex's pride and shame. There's not a man but does discover By some such action he's her lover. But now 'tis time to give her over, And let your Lordship know you are The mistress that employs our care. Your absence makes us melancholy, Nor drink nor cunt can make us jolly, Unless we've you within our arms, In whom there dwells diviner charms. Then quit with speed your pensive grove, And here in Town pursue your love; Where at your coming you shall find Your servants glad, your mistress kind, All things devoted to your mind. ETHEREGE.

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A Letter to Lord Middleton

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From hunting whores and haunting play, And minding nothing else all day (And all the night too you will say), To make grave legs in formal fetters, Converse with fops, and write dull letters; To go to bed 'twixt eight and nine, And sleep away my precious time In such an idle sneaking place, Where vice and folly hide their face, And, in a troublesome disguise, The wife seems modest, husband wise. For pleasure here has the same fate Which does attend Affairs of State: The plague of ceremony infects, Even in love, the softer sex, Who an essential will neglect Rather than lose the least respect; With regular approach we storm, And never visit but in form— That is, sending to know before At what o'clock they'll play the whore. The nymphs are constant, gallants private, One scarce can guess who 'tis they drive at; This seems to me a scurvy fashion, Who have been bred in a free nation, With liberty of speech and passion. Yet I cannot forbear to spark it And make the best of a bad market; Meeting with one by chance kind-hearted, Who no preliminaries started,

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I entered beyond expectation Into a close negotiation Of which hereafter a relation. Humble to fortune, not her slave, I still was pleased with what she gave, And with a firm and cheerful mind I steer my course with every wind To all the ports she has designed.

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A Second Letter to Lord Middleton

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Since love and verse, as well as wine, Are brisker where the sun doth shine, 'Tis something to lose two degrees Now age itself begins to freeze} Yet this I patiently could bear If the rough Danube's beauties were But only two degrees less fair Than the kind nymphs of gentle Thames, Who warm me hither with their beams: Such power they have they can dispense Five hundred miles their influence. But hunger forces men to eat, Though no temptation's in the meat. How would the ogling sparks despise The darling damsel of my eyes, Did they behold her at a play, As she's tricked up on holiday, When the whole family combine For public pride to make her shine. Her hair which long before lay matted Are on this day combed out and platted, A diamond bodkin in each tress The badges of her nobleness; For every stone as well as she Can boast an ancient pedigree. These formed the jewel erst did grace The cap of the first Graf of the race, Now preferred by Grafen Marian T'adorn the handle of her fan,

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And as by old records appears Worn since in Kunigunda's ears, Now sparkling in the fraulein's hair: No serpent breaking in the air Can with her starry head compare. Such ropes of pearls her hands encumber, She scarce can deal the cards at ombre; So many rings each finger freight, They tremble with the mighty weight: The like in England ne'er was seen Since Holbein drew Hal and his Queen. But after these fantastic sights The luster's meaner than the lights. She that bears this glittering pomp Is but a tawdry ill-bred ramp Whose brawny limbs and martial face Proclaim her of the Gothic race, More than the painted pageantry Of all her father's heraldry. But there's another sort of creatures Whose ruddy look and grotesque features Are so much out of nature's way You'd think them stamped on other clay, No lawful daughters of old Adam. From these behold a city madam, With arms in mittens, head in muff, A dapper cloak and reverend ruff; No farce so pleasant as this malkin, The pretty jet she has in walking, And the soft sound of High Dutch talking. Here unattended by the Graces,

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The Queen of Love in a sad case is: Nature, her active minister, Neglects affairs and will not stir, Thinks it not worth her while to please But when she does it for her ease. Even I, her most devout adorer, With wandering thoughts appear before her, And when I'm making an oblation Am fain to spur imagination With some old London inclination. The bow is bent at German dame, The arrow flies at English game. Kindness that can indifference warm, And blow that calm into a storm, Has in the very tenderest hour Over my gentleness no power— True to my country-women's charms, Whilst kissed and pressed in foreign arms.

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Mr. Oryden's Letter to Sir George Etherege

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To you who live in chill degree (As map informs) of fifty-three, And do not much for cold atone By bringing thither fifty-one: Methinks all climes should be alike, From tropic even to pole arctique, Since you have such a constitution As nowhere suffers diminution. You can be old in grave debate And young in love's affairs of state, And both to wives and husbands show The vigor of a Plenipo. Like mighty missioner you come Ad partes infidelium— A work of wondrous merit sure, So far to go, so much endure, And all to preach to German dame Where sound of Cupid never came. Less had you done, had you been sent As far as Drake or Pinto went, For cloves and nutmegs to the Line a Or even for oranges to China; That had indeed been charity, Where lovesick ladies helpless lie, Chopped, and for want of liquor dry. But you have made your zeal appear Within the circle of the Bear; What region of the earth so dull That is not of your labors full? Triptolemus (so sing the Nine)

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Strewed plenty from his cart divine; But spite of all those fable makers He never sowed on Almain acres. No, that was left, by fate's decree, To be performed and sung by thee. Thou breakst through forms with as much ease As the French King through articles; In grand affairs thy days are spent Of waging weighty compliment, With such as monarchs represent. They who such vast fatigues attend Want some soft minutes to unbend, To show the world that now and then Great ministers are mortal men. Then Rhenish rummers walk the round, In bumpers every King is crowned, Besides three Holy Mitered Hectors And the whole College of Electors; No health of Potentate is sunk That pays to make his Envoy drunk. These Dutch delights I mentioned last Suit not, I know, your English taste; For wine to leave a whore or play Was ne'er Your Excellence's way. Nor need the title give offense, For here you were His Excellence For gaming, writing, speaking, keeping— His Excellence for all but sleeping. Now if you tope in form and treat, 'Tis the sour sauce to the sweet meat,

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The fine you pay for being great; Nay, there's a harder imposition, Which is indeed the Court's petition: That setting worldly pomp aside (Which poet has at font defied) You would be pleased in humble way To write a trifle called a play. This truly is a degradation But would oblige the Crown and Nation, Next to your wise negotiation. If you pretend (as well you may) Your high degree, your friends will say That Duke St. Aignan made a play; If Gallic Peer convince you scarce, His Grace of Bucks has writ a farce; And you, whose comic wit is terse all, Can hardly fall below Rehearsal. Then finish what you here began But scribble faster, if you can, For yet no George to our discerning Has writ without a ten years' warning.

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Poems of Doubtful Authorship Upon Love in Imitation of Cowley Whether we mortals love or no, 'Tis the same case whate'er we do: For Love does killing pleasures give, And without Love 'tis death to live. 5 If then to love so painful be, And not to love be misery, What a sad case must he be in, Who has disgraced and jilted been— Banished forever from those eyes IO Which conquer fools and fool the wise, And none but stoics can despise; They conquer, but they will not yield. Love knows no such unequal field, But in lovers' gentle fight, 15 Both conquer when they both submit. Sometimes the better to persuade I call in heraldry to my aid: I speak my sire's and grand-sire's praise, Tell her how brave, how good he was; 20 Then magnify myself and say How wise, how witty, and how gay I am; and (as the times go now) How constant, and how sober too. But she, instead of this, demands 25 "What stock? what money, sir? what lands? Shepherds and clowns inherit life; 55

Do you e'er think to get a wife Because your dad was born before ye? That, sir, is but an idle story. 30 Though men be witty, wise, or gay, Fools may love as well as they; Wit will not please at night, nor profit in the day." Curse on this money! would he were Sunk beneath hell, to languish there, 35 Condemned to everlasting chains Where the rich miser, Pluto, reigns, Who first called counters happiness. What an improper thing is this, That money is the common cause of strife, 40 The common barrator of human life: Sets brethren into mortal fray, Makes children, parents disobey, Makes wars and slaughters to abound, Where peace and joy before were found, 45 And, which is worst of all, it does Love's gentle votaries abuse; It does to Love its powerful aids deny, Whilst yet for want of it the lovers die.

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Song Fair Iris, all our time is spent In trifling whilst we dally, The lovers who're indifferent Commit the grossest folly. Ah! stint not then the flowing pleasure To such a wretched scanty measure; Since boundless passion boundless joys will prove, Excess can only justify our love. Excess in other things so bad In love's the justest measure, No other reason's to be had In that seraphic pleasure. From growing love, bright nymphs, your faces Receive ten thousand sweeter graces; My Iris, then, that you may be divine, Let your soft flame spread night and day like mine.

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On a Lady Drinking the Waters Phillis, lay aside your thinking, Youth and beauty should be gay, Laugh and talk and mind your drinking Whilst we pass the time away. Laugh and talk and mind your drinking Whilst we pass the time away. They ought only to be pensive Who dare not their grief declare, Lest their story be offensive But still languish in despair. Lest their story be offensive But still languish in despair. Yet what more torments your lovers, They are jealous they obey, One whose restless mind discovers She's no less a slave than they. One whose restless mind discovers She's no less a slave than they.

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Since Death on all lays his impartial hand, And all resign at his command, The Stoic too as well as I With all his gravity must die, Let's wisely manage this last span, The momentary life of man, And still in pleasure's circle move, Giving to our friends the day, and all our nights to love. Thus, thus, while we are here, let's perfectly live, And taste all the pleasures that nature can give; Fresh heat, when life's fading, our wine will inspire, And fill all our veins with a nobler fire. II

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When we are sapless, old, and impotent, Then we shall grieve for youth misspent; Wine and women only can Cherish the heavy heart of man. Let's drink until our blood o'erflows Its channels and luxuriant grows; Then when our whores have drained each vein, And the thin mass fresh spirits crave, let's drink again. Thus, thus, &c. Ill

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The happy King, whom Heaven itself called wise, Saw all was vanity but vice; His active mind, ever in quest of bliss, Surveyed all things and stuck to this:

59

30

Myriads of harlots round him strove, Some sung while others acted love. Who then our frailties can condemn, Since one by Heaven inspired left Heaven to follow them. Thus, thus, &c.

60

The Rival Of all the torments, all the cares With which our lives are cursed, Of all the plagues a lover bears, Sure rivals are the worst. By partners in another kind Afflictions easier grow, In love alone we hate to find Companions in our woe. Cynthia, for all the pains you see Are laboring in my breast, I beg not that you'd pity me But that you'd slight the rest. How great so e'er your rigors are, With them alone I'll cope; I can endure my own despair But not another's hope.

61

Mrs. Nelly's Complaint If Sylla's ghost made bloody Catiline start, And shook the fabric of his marble heart, If Samuel's shade could wicked Saul affright, When Endor raised him from the depths of night, 5 Pity poor Nell, that's haunted by Mall Knight. You that have seen me in my youthful age, Preferred from stall of turnips to the stage, Those sympathetic griefs you did bestow, And tears to scenic sufferings once allow, IO Employ 'em on my real torments now. Knight, cruel Knight, that once lay in my breast, My constant crony and eternal guest, The applauder of my beauty, and my jest: She, she, that cruel she to France is fled, 15 Yet lets me not enjoy my quiet bed. Whene'er I lay me down to love or sleep, She through the opening curtains seems to peep, Dreadful as Gorgon, turning all to stone, Unpainted, and without her plumpers on, 20 Her eyes and cheeks all hollow, so her voice, And this she utters with a dreadful noise: Pug! cruel Pug! with whom so long I lived, For whom so well I faithfully contrived; Wherein have I deserved so ill of thee, 25 That thou shouldst part my dearest Colt and me? Of brawny blockheads hadst thou not before, By my industrious care a numerous store? Cleveland herself was never crammed with more. By her when first of Wycherley bereft,

62

30

35

40

45

50

My charming Colt was still a treasure left. Nor to my wishes did he disagree, I ogled him, and he would squint at me; But when his charming limbs the first time pressed My hectic body, ne'er was bawd so blessed! Lansdowne himself for Colt I did despise, Lansdowne, in whom each hour new charms arise, Lansdowne the gay, the sprightly, and the wise. Big with my joys, to thee I still did run, Declared how oft the sacred act was done, While, as the melting history I told, My twinkling eyes in their old sockets rolled. All which by faithless thee with craft was heard, No blush in sign of kindling lust appeared— Blushing's a thing thou'st conquered long ago, And modesty has always been thy foe; If e'er thou affect it, 'tis with awkward grace, For bawd is always opened in thy face. Bawd is thy art, thy accomplishment and trade, For that, not love, thou wert a mistress made. No hero ever to thy arms was won, But in some drunken hour, when love was gone, To wallow, fumble, grunt, and spew upon, Till my false squinter thou didst lead astray, And her that too much trusted thee betray.

55 Thus I, poor nymph, am plagued and must not rest, Because in that Adonis Colt I'm blest: Colt, who for close intrigues was doubtless made, Whose love was never by his looks betrayed, For while his melting eyes did mine survey, 60 They craftily still seemed another way;

63

6ζ

70

75

80

85

Which when fond Knight, our confidante, did see, She claimed the homage that was paid to me. Till to redress the mighty wrong sustained, I to my God-like Sovereign complained, And by his justice I my right maintained. Let mountebanks make market houses ring, Of what great feats they've done before the King, Let learned Sir Sam his Windsor Engine try, Before great Charles let quacks and seamen lie: H e ne'er heard swearers till Mall Knight and I, Never heard oaths less valued or less true, (And yet, 'tis said, he has paid for swearing too). Loudlier we swore than plundering dragoons, 'Sblood followed 'Sblood, and Zoons succeeded Zoons, Till at the last the bawd's weak forces failed, And I by noise and impudence prevailed. To France my baffled squeaking rival's gone, And Colt and all his eyes are now my own. Should she pretend to what's so much my due, She might as well take lovely Duncombe too— Duncombe, by my great sway and power preferred, For mounting me well first now mounts the Guard. Help, Church and State, to do a Princess right, Guard me from wrongs, and exorcise this spright; Even now in terror on my bed I lie, Send Doctor Burnet to me, or I die.

64

Notes

S^OTES T H E note for each poem includes an explanatory comment, a list of early appearances, and a textual commentary. The note for a given poem can be located by reference to the Table of Contents or to the Index of Titles and First Lines. The marginal references in the notes, which refer to the page or pages on which the text of the poem under discussion occurs, serve as a cross reference between the text and the notes for each poem. The explanatory comments present information and observations that may be useful in understanding the poem. The main topics dealt with are obscure terms, topical allusions, imitation, relations to other poems, and conventional themes. I have assumed that the reader of this book is likely to be acquainted with a considerable body of Restoration verse. Each list of appearances presents information on the MS and printed sources in which I have found the poem. In general, seventeenth-century sources are identified in detail, appearances in the early eighteenth century are briefly mentioned, and later occurrences are not included. I indicate all attributions which are given in the sources; whenever authorship is not mentioned in my identification of a source, the poem is without attribution in that appearance. For most poems, the text is based on the single source which, from textual and bibliographical evidence, appears most nearly to represent the archetypal version of the poem; I have amended this copytext from other sources only when textual evidence indicates that it incorporates errors of transmission, and I have indicated any readings which are amended. For a few poems, it was necessary to reconstruct the text from the various copies when they are all corrupt and all derive independently from lost sources; the textual discussion for these poems describes the textual situation and procedure. 67

The textual commentary includes any discussion that is necessary in order to indicate the basis for my choice of the copytext. I have not presented textual diagrams, nor have I given detailed demonstrations of the precise relationships among the various texts which neither merit consideration as copytext nor can be shown to preserve archetypal readings that are otherwise lost. Frequently the relationships of the derivative texts are complicated, and a considerable amount of space would be required to offer the various possibilities, to call attention to the relevant textual and bibliographical evidence, and to present the reasoning which is involved in making each decision. Reasons of space also precluded detailed bibliographical discussions of the manuscript sources. The collations with which each note concludes are limited to substantive variants; even from these, however, it is usually possible to check the conclusions reached in the textual discussion. I have come to realize that the interpretation of evidence in complex textual criticism generally involves an element of uncertainty; and I do not presume to think that I could be perfectly convincing even with unlimited space. In some cases, where textual matters are associated with other general topics, it proved more logical to include these remarks in the explanatory comments; and in some cases it was more convenient to indicate the textual derivations in the list of appearances. I include the variant readings only from the earliest edition of a book which went through a number of editions, such as The New Academy of Comflements (1669) or A Collection of Poems, Written ufon several Occasions (1671), since the variant readings introduced into the later editions of these books seem to have no textual value—being mainly compositorial changes—to include them would complicate the notes without adding any information of value for the present purpose. It is probable that I have not found all of the early MS or 68

printed copies of these poems, even of the copies which are still extant. Since some texts which I do not record are likely to be important in determining the copytext, I assume that I have made certain errors in establishing texts on the basis of incomplete evidence. I can only hope that these inevitable mistakes are of a minor nature. I have followed the tradition of the earliest texts in the assignment of titles to the poems. In general, it can be assumed that the titles—like those for most individual poems of the period which slipped into the public domain of MS or printed miscellany books—have no demonstrable authenticity· The following short titles are used in the notes. Brett-Smith: H . F. B. Brett-Smith, ed., The Dramatic Works of Sir George Etherege, 2 vols., Oxford, 1927. Case: Arthur E. Case, comp., A Bibliography of English Poetical Miscellanies 1521-1750, The Bibliographical Society, 1935. D&M: Cyrus Lawrence Day and Eleanore Boswell Murrie, comp., English Song-Books 1651-1702: A Bibliogra-phy, The Bibliographical Society, 1940. Letterbook: Sybil Rosenfeld, ed., The Letterbook of Sir George Etkerege, Oxford, 1928. As there are a few small slips in this modernized text, I print quotations directly from BM Add MSS 11513 but retain page references to this useful book as a matter of convenience to the reader. There are two other Etherege letterbooks (Harvard fMs Thr 11 and Harvard fiws Thr 11.1) and a group of more than 200 Etherege holograph letters (BM Add MSS 41836-7) which have never been printed. Pinto, Sedley: V. de Sola Pinto, ed., The Poetical and

69

Dramatic Works of Sir Charles Sedley, 2 vols., London, 1928. Pinto, Restoration Carnival: V. de Sola Pinto, ed., Restoration Carnival: Five Courtier Poets, London, 1954. Thorpe: James Thorpe, ed., Rochester's Poems on Several Occasions, Princeton, 1950. Verity: A. Wilson Verity, ed., The Works of Sir George Ether edge, London, 1888. Vieth: David Vieth, Attribution in Restoration Poetry: Rochester's "Poems" of 1680. Forthcoming from the Yale University Press. Professor Vieth has kindly supplied me with chapter references to his book (which I have not seen) so that I could direct the reader to his discussions of several poems which appeared in Rochester's Poems of 1680. Wilson: John Harold Wilson, The Court Wits of the Restoration: An Introduction, Princeton, 1948. W i n g : Donald Wing, comp., Short Title Catalogue . . . 1641-ijoo, 3 vols., New York, 1945-1951. page l

TO A VERY YOUNG LADY (Sweetest bud of beauty, may) The theme and subject of this gracefully sustained poem are conventional. This poem is strongly reminiscent of Waller's "To a Very Young Lady" (Why came I so untimely forth) (printed 1645); indeed, it may be an imitation of Waller's poem. Waller used the figure of the girl as an opening blossom, and he developed the conceit that the blossom warms the beholder increasingly from morning to noon. Etherege appears to be using the same fancy rather than switching from the elaborated figure of the girl as a flower to the girl as the rising sun. The poems are otherwise dissimilar: Etherege's is economical, concretely phrased, and with a point of view; Waller's is repetitious, abstract, and divided in its effect. Etherege was certainly familiar with Waller's poems: in The Man of Mode, of the nine snatches of verse quoted by Dorimant, seven turn out to be from Waller. The figure associating a girl, flowers, and the rising sun had 70

been used by Voiture, as in his "Sonnet" (Sous vn habit de fleurs, la Nymphe que i'adore) (printed 1650, but written considerably earlier). Etherege probably knew Voiture's poem: he had a copy of "Les Oeuvres de Voiture" in his library (Letterbook, p. 377), and his "Voiture's Urania" (Hopeless I languish out my days) is an imitation of a Voiture "Sonnet" (Il faut finir mes iours en l'amour d'Vranie) which immediately follows the sonnet cited above in the seventeenth-century French editions of Voiture that I have seen. The title has been re-used. In Steele's Poetical Miscellanies (1714), for example, a poem by William Harison appears under the same title. MSS

Princeton AM 14401, pp. 385-386, as "To a very young Lady." [P] James M. Osborn, Chest π #36, p. 24, as "To A Very Young Lady." [O] PRINT

The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing N529), p. 93, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing N531) and 1713. [69] A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, p. 33, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), as "To a very young Lady," attributed to Etherege in the last five; it is attributed to Etherege in a contemporary hand in the Harvard copy of the 1673 edition. From an examination of accidentals, it appears that 72 derives from 69. [72] Also in: The Diverting Post, no. 4, 1704; The Choice, H, 1733; and various modern collections. TEXT. 1669, with a correction of what appears to be a copyist's error in 1. 8. 8 she] 72 P O; he 69. 69 72 P ; these O.

9

conquest] 69 72 0; conquestsP.

12

those]

TO A LADY, ASKING HIM HOW LONG HE WOULD LOVE HER (Cloris, it is not in our power) This particular application of the forsaken lover theme—the candid lover's refusal to commit himself to continued affection for his mistress—bears a remarkable resemblance to Rochester's famous "Love and Life: A Song" (AU my past life is mine no 71

Pw 2

more), which first appeared about ten years after the Etherege verses. The idea had been given earlier form, as by Cowley in "Inconstancy" (Five years ago (says Story) I lov'd you) and by Donne in "Elegy XVII" (The heavens rejoyce in motion, why should I ) . Etherege's "The Forsaken Mistress" (Tell me, gentle Strephon, why) is a dramatic rendering of the idea, and the last nine lines of his "Ephelia to Bajazet" (How far are they deceived who hope in vain) is a female response to the same kind of antisep­ tic male offer made in the last stanza of this poem. Dorimant, in The Man of Mode, is a model spokesman for the kind of inconstancy here offered. "What we swear at such a time may be a certain proof of a present passion, but to say truth, in Love there is no security to be given for the future" (n.ii.216-218). "Constancy at my years! 'tis not a Vertue in season, you might as well expect the Fruit the Autumn ripens i'the Spring" (n.ii.191193). There are several versions of the poem: the four stanzas as here printed, and shorter versions which include stanzas 1 and 2, 1 and 3, and 1 only. Despite the fact that modern editors have ordinarily chosen a version consisting of the first and third stanzas (with the variant first line " I t is not, Celia, in our power"), the textual evi­ dence indicates that the short versions were produced by cutting stanzas from the full text. The sources of the several texts are indicated below. Moreover, the full poem is a consistent and pro­ gressive elaboration of a single theme. MSS

BM Harleian 3991, ff. 13Γ-132. Derived from 69 or one of its later editions. [BM] Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, f. 74, attributed to Etherege; stanzas 1 and 3 only. Derived from 72a or one of its later editions. [B] PRINT

Catch that Catch Can, 1667 (D&M 26), pp. 194-195, with music by M. Locke. [67] The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing NS29), p. 105, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing N531) and 1713. Derived from 67. [69] A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 55-56, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), attributed

72

to Etherege in the last five; attributed to "C: S:" in the Firth copy of 1672 (Pinto, Sedley, n, 241); stanzas 1 and 3 only. Derived either from an editorial revision of 67 or from a lost MS source. [72a] Windsor Drollery, 1672 (Case 154), p. 127. Probably derived from 69 or its later edition of 1671 with some editorial revision. [72b] Synopsis of Vocal Music, 1680 (D&M 53), pp. 74-75, with music by M. Locke; stanzas 1 and 2 only. Derived from 67. [80] New Songs A-la-mode in The Academy of Complements, 1684 (Wing G1406), pp. 347-348. Derived from 72b. [84] A Collection of New Songs, 1696 (D&M 143), no. 3; stanza 1 only. Derived from 72a or one of its later editions. [96] Also in: The Hive, i, 1724 and 1726 and 1732; The Choice, 1729 and 1732 and 1737; A Complete Collection. . . English and Scotch Songs, in, 1736; The Vocal Miscellany, n, 1738; The Syren, 1738 and 1739; The Merry Companion, 1742; Philomel, 1744; and in many collections of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. TEXT. 1667. Title from 72a; the poem is untitled except in this collection and versions that derive from it. 1 CIoris, it is not] 67 69 BM 80; Phillis it is not 72b 84; It is not, Celia 72a B 96. 1 our] 67 72a B 96; your 69 BM 72b 80 84. 4 may] 67 69 BM 72b 80 84; do 72a B 96. 7-12 om72aB. 7-24 o»»96. 8 frame] 6772b 80 84; fame 69 BM. 11 your eyes] 67 80; my eyes 69 BM; mine eyes 72b 84. 11 my fire] 67 69 BM 80; his fire 72b 84. 13-24 om 80. 13 are] 67 69 BM 72a-b B; as are 84. 14 Let's question not how long 'twill] 67 69 BM 72b 84; Ask not how long our love will 72a B. IS we love] 67 69 BM; we live 72b 84; it does 72a B. 17 It were a] 67 69 BM 72b 84; Were it not 72a B. 19-24 om 72a B. 23 CIoris] 67 69 BM; Phillis 72b 84.

THE FORSAKEN MISTRESS: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN PHILLIS AND STREPHON {Tell me, gentle Strephon, why) In comparison with the preceding poem, this one represents another state of the forsaken lover theme, in which the candid male politely but firmly tells his mistress that his love for her is irrecoverably past. Rochester treats precisely the same idea, also with Strephon as the lover and also in the form of a pastoral dialogue, in the first forty lines of "A Dialogue between Strephon and Daphne" (Prithee now, fond Fool, give o're). (In the remaining thirty-two lines of the Rochester poem, a new twist is developed

73

pages 3-4

with a cynicism which is frequently evident in Rochester and rarely in Etherege: that the mistress had been frequently false to Strephon in the course of their affair.) It seems impossible to say which poem came first: Etherege's was printed in 1669 (when Rochester was 22) and Rochester's (which seems very much like a typical extension of what had quickly become a common attitude) not until after his death in 1680; but Rochester's could conceivably have preceded the Etherege verses, and no model need be sought for the idea. Strephon was a pastoral name commonly attached to Rochester. There are two versions of Etherege's poem: with 32 lines, as here printed; and with 24 lines, the last eight lines being omitted. The last lines seem necessary to complete the sense of the poem, and they appear in an early and generally reliable source. I retain the stanzaic form in which the poem is generally, though inconsistently, printed in the early appearances. MSS

BM Harleian 3991, ff. 129M30. Apparently derived from 69. [BM] James M. Osborn, Chest n #39, p. 29. Apparently derived from one of the later editions of 69. [O] PRINT

The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing N529), pp. 91-92, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing NS31) and 1713. The earliest printed text, but incomplete and corrupt. [69] A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 34-36, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five. [72] Sylvae: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, 1702, pp. 303-304, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 2 d-f), attributed to Etherege. Derived from a later edition of 72, either 1693, 1695, or 1701. [02] Also in: The Works of Sir George Etherege, 1704 and 1715 and 1723 and 1735, with 1704 set from 02; The Hive, in, 1725 and 1729 and 1732; The Choice, n, 1733; The Syren, 1738 and 1739. TEXT. 1672. 11-12 omBM. 17 no less] 72 02; No more 69 BM; farre more O [and 1671 and 1681 eds. of 69] 22 in] 72 02; by 69 BM O. 25-32 om 69 BM O.

74

TO A LADY WHO FLED T H E SIGHT OF HIM (J/ J my Celia could persuade)

page 5

This very proper lover's complaint, on the theme of the unkind mistress, contains a reminiscence of Horace's Ode xxni, Book I (Vitas hinnuleo me similis, Chloe): both present a timid maid who runs away, with denial of violent intent on the part of the speaker; and the machinery of Etherege's savages takes the place of Horace's tiger and lion. The power of beauty to protect the nymph against any molesta­ tion derives from the power enjoyed by the chaste Diana and Minerva in common classical myth; the fullest treatment of this power, associated with chastity, is of course contained in Milton's Comus, 11. 418-475. MS

James M. Osborn, Chest π #36, p. 22, as "To a Lady who Fled the Sight of Him." [OS] PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 54-55, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), as "To a Lady, who fled the sight of him," attributed to Etherege in the last five; it is attributed to " C : S:" in the Firth copy of 1672 (Pinto, Sedley, π, 241). [72] Amphion Anglicus, 1700 (D&M 183), pp. 111-114, the first stanza only, attributed to Etherege and with music by Blow. [00] TEXT. 1672. The variants are limited to a few copyists' errors in OS and 00, and the omission of the last two stanzas in 00. 5 excel] 72 OS; exceed 00. 13 I m y ] 7 2 ; m y O S .

6

freed] 72 00; free OS.

7-18

om 00.

VOITURE'S URANIA (Hopeless I languish out my days) This complaint on the cruelty of a mistress is an imitation of a famous sonnet by Voiture, who was considered the wittiest and most gallant man of his time: Il f aut finir mes iours en l'amour d'Vranie! L'absence ni Ie temps ne m'en sgauroient guerir: Et ie ne voy plus rien, qui me put secourir; Ni qui sQeust r'appeller ma liberie bannie. Des long-temps ie connois sa rigueur infinie!

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Page 6

Mais pensant aux beautez pour qui ie dois perir: Ie benis mon martyre; et content de mourir, Ie n'ose murmurer contre sa tyrannic Quelquefois ma raison, par de foibles discours, M'incite a, la reuolte, et me promet secours. Mais lors qu'a mon besoin ie me veux seruir d'elle; Apres beaucoup de peine et d'efforts impuissans, ElIe dit qu'Vranie est seule aymable et belle, Et m'y rengage plus, que ne font tous mes sens. Voiture's poem, written about 1630, was included in the many editions of his works, which began to appear in 1650, two years after his death. (I quote it from the 7th ed., Paris, 1665, n, 35.) This poem, popularly called the "Sonnet d'Uranie," was pitted against Benserade's "Sonnet de Job" in the Querelle des deux Sonnets; the controversy split Parisian society, court, and academies during 1649 until Voiture's was declared superior by the Academie des Palinods de Caen—and Benserade acknowledged defeat. The two poems are said to have been as well-known as popular song hits are in the United States today. For a brief resume of the controversy, see Charles I. Silin, Benserade and His Ballets de Cour (Baltimore, 1940), pp. 63-76. Etherege had a copy of "Les Oeuvres de Voiture" in his library (Letterbook, p. 377). For another possible relationship with Voiture, see the notes to Etherege's "To a Very Young Lady" (Sweetest bud of beauty, may). Sedley's "The Indifference" (Thanks, fair Vrania; to your Scorn) is a reply to Urania by one who has cured himself of the hopeless languishing expressed in the Voiture and Etherege poems. MS

Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, f. 62, as "Voiture's Urania. Love more prevalent than Reason," attributed to Etherege. [B] PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 90-91, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five. The title is given as "Virtue's Urania" in the first four and corrected to "Voiture's Urania" in the last three. [72]

76

Thesaurus Musicus, Fourth Book, 1695 (D&M 140), p. 24. [95] Also in: The Hive, in, 1725 and 1729 and 1732. 1672. All other texts appear to derive from later editions of this collection. TEXT.

1 Hopeless I] 72 95; I hopeless B. 3 these] 72 95; those B. 4 wound] 72 95; wounds B. 6 beauties] 72 B ; Beauty 95. 8 And] 72 B; yet 95. 10 my] 72 B ; her 95. 12 sense] 72 B ; Friend 95.

T H E IMPERFECT ENJOYMENT (After a pretty amorous discourse) The Imperfect Enjoyment, or untimely inability to perform the sex act, was a popular subject for verses in France and England during the seventeenth century. For example, Aphra Behn's "The Disappointment" (One day the Am'rous Lysander), paraphrased from Cantenac; and "The Imperfect Enjoyment" (Naked she lay, claspt in my longing Arms), ascribed to Rochester. The prototypes for the several poems on this subject are Ovid's Atnores, m, vii and Petronius's Satyricon, ch. 128-140. Etherege's poem is an imitation of "La Iovissance Imparfaite. Caprice" by Charles Beys. The French poem, which appeared in Les Oevvres Poetiqves Dv Sievr Beys (Paris, 1652, pp. 153-164) and in several later French miscellanies, consists of 92 lines; Etherege's version condenses the poem to 50 lines. Perhaps a comparison of the first eight lines of Beys's poem with Etherege's first four lines offers a reasonable approximation of the nature of the imitation, even though the departures are more marked in the latter part of the poem. Apres mille amoureux discours Interrompus d'vn long silence; ElIe repousse mes Amours D'vne agreable violence. Ie scay qu'en cette occasion, Ce qui cause nostre querelle, Ce n'est pas son auersion, Mais c'est sa pudeur naturelle. In comparison with Beys's poem—and in comparison with other seventeenth-century poems on this subject—Etherege is more witty

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pages 7-8

and mannerly, less crude and bawdy. In style, Etherege approaches the fluency and smoothness of Ovid. For a further discussion of the relationship of the poems by Beys and Etherege, see the full and illuminating article by Richard E. Quaintance, Jr., "French Sources of the Restoration 'Imperfect Enjoyment' Poem," to be published in PQ in 1963. By coincidence, Mr. Quaintance and I came independently upon the French poem which Etherege imitated. The last line of Etherege's poem—"You'd been more happy had you been less fair," which is derived from Beys—is paralleled in Etherege's Comical Revenge: "Had you less beauteous been, y'ad known less care" (v. iii.42). If this poem actually dates from the period 1660-1662—as is suggested by its place among the dated poems in the National Library of Scotland MS noted below—it is the earliest of Etherege's extant poems for which a date can be offered. MSS

National Library of Scotland, Advocate 19.3.4, f. 122, between poems dated 1660 and 1662, immediately preceding a poem dated 1662. [N] James M. Osborn, Chest π #36, pp. 43-44. Apparently derived from a later edition of 72, 1693 or after. [O] Bodleian Rawl D 1171, f. 40, attributed to Etherege. Apparently derived from a later edition of 72, 1693 or after. [Bl] Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, f. 97, attributed to Etherege. Apparent­ ly derived from a later edition of 72, 1693 or after. [B2] PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 64-66, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five; it is attributed to Etherege in a con­ temporary hand in the Harvard copy of the 1673 edition. [72] Also in: Athenian Sport, 1707. TEXT. National Library of Scotland, MS Advocate 19.3.4. N and 72 appear to derive independently from lost MS sources; all other texts which I record seem to derive from a later edition of 72. N and 72 have 17 variant readings, mostly single words, with little difference in sense, and generally indistinguishable as to

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which perpetuates copyists' errors. On the basis of the usual textual evidence, it cannot be determined which of the two better reflects the archetypal readings. I choose N as copytext for two reasons. First, it appears to be about ten years earlier than 72. Second, a comparison of the variant readings of N and 72 with the Beys poem being imitated reveals that the diction of N parallels the French poem more closely in cases where a distinction is observable. For example, in 1. 8 N reads: "The linnen of itt self falls from her brest." 72 reads: "Th' obliging smock falls from her whiter breast." The Beys poem reads: "Le Linge qui couuroit son sein,/ Est tombe presque de luy-mesme." The N reading thus appears to derive from the French, while 72 offers a freer and smoother reading which would presumably represent a revision of the original imitation. (For other examples, compare the variants in 11. 13, 15, 16, 19, 45 with the French.) Though Etherege may have made the revision which is printed in 72, I know of no basis for such an hypothesis: it was more usual for such changes to be made by compilers. It is likely that N perpetuates or introduces certain copyists' errors which do not occur in 72; since there is no textual basis for distinguishing the errors of transmission, I do not amend N. 6 Those do] N; Whilst those 72 O B1 -2. 8 The linen of itself] N ; Th' obliging smock 72 O Bl-2. 8 falls] N 72 O B l ; fell B2. 8 breast] N ; whiter breast 72 O Bl-2. 9 lovely] N 72 O B l ; Lillie B2. 12 keep] N ; shield 72 O Bl-2. 13 they do her lips] N ; her lips she did 72 O B l ; her Lips he did B2. 15 What charms are here in every part ? what grace ?] N ; So many charms she has in ev'ry place 72 O Bl-2. 16 can't shield each beauteous place] N ; cannot defend each grace 72 O B l 2. 17 Now she consents] N ; Sighing, at length 72 O B l ; Sighing at last B2. 18 And] N ; For 72 O Bl-2. 19 which did repulse me now] N ; the joyful conqueror 72 B l - 2 ; the Conqueror O. 20 fought] N 72; sought O Bl-2 [and all edns of 72 after 1673], 23 passions] N ; passion 72 O B l ; pleasure B2. 25 implore] N ; adore 72 O Bl-2. 33 should have jointly] N 72 O B l ; joyntly shou'd have B2. 38 We'd] N 72 O B l ; We B2. 38 love] N ; loves 72 O Bl-2. 40 had not yet] N ; scarce had yet 72 O; had scarce yet B l ; scarcely had B2. 43 harmful] N ; peevish 72 O Bl-2. 45 From my defeat] N ; Yet from my shame 72 O Bl-2. 49 this same] N ; then this 72 O Bl-2.

EPHELIA TO BAJAZET (How far are they deceived who hope in vain) This poem is the first of a linked group of four satires which begin as an attack on John Sheffield, Earl of Mulgrave (later

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Marquis of Normanby and Duke of Buckinghamshire). The sec ond poem in the group is usually entitled "A very Heroical Epistli in Answer to Ephelia" (Madam, If you're deceiv'd, it is not by nr cheat), the third "On Poet Ninny" (Crusht by that just contemp his follies bring), the fourth "My Lord All-Pride" (Bursting witl Pride, the loath'd impostume swells). This satire attains a high degree of dramatic indirection througl adopting the device of an address to Mulgrave by his forsaken mis tress. One or two topical allusions can be identified. The severa references to Bajazet's method of looking at Ephelia (11-12, 9, 28 29), to his handsomeness (35), to his greatness (27, 35, 43), anc to astonishment at his inconstancy appear to allude satirically t( facts or opinions alleged by lampoonists, that Mulgrave was goggleeyed, uncommonly ugly, extraordinarily proud, and fickle. Th< reference to Mulgrave as Ephelia's "Star" alludes to the delight h( took in wearing his star of the Order of the Garter, a matter morf fully adverted to in the "Answer" to this poem. Among the nicknames by which Mulgrave was frequently known are Bajazet, Lore All-Pride, and King John; his traits most frequently attacked wen pride, lust, and avarice. A particular affair of Mulgrave's may be referred to in this poem. Wilson suggested that the "Answer" was written "at the climax of Mulgrave's ridiculous affair over MaI' Kirke in 1675" (p. 117). The internal and external evidence: match rather well. One of the points of the "Answer" is envy toward the Sultan who "fearst no injured kinsman's threatening blade' as a consequence of an affair; in July 1675 Mulgrave was challenged by Mall Kirke's brother "for haveing debauch'd and abus'd his sister" and was seriously injured in the consequent duel. There is equal probability that the same affair gave the occasion foi Etherege's poem. Lines 22-25 may be taken as an allusion to the alleged fact that Mall Kirke was, at the time of her affair with Mulgrave, mistress both to the Duke of York and to the Duke oi Monmouth, and that Monmouth caught Mulgrave poaching. (Foi commentary on Mulgrave, see: J. W. Ebsworth, The Roxburghe Ballads, rv, 560-576; Wilson, pp. 30-31, 117-119, 212-213, and elsewhere; Bodleian MS Firth c.15, p. 274; Bodleian MS Don b.8, p. 638; BM MS Harleian 6913, p. 115.) Bajazet is the proud, raging Emperor of the Turks defeated and caged in Marlowe's Tamburlaine. In view of the slight knowledge 80

of Marlowe in the time, it seems likely that the name and characteristics were derived from sources more readily available: Racine's Bajazet (1672), Richard Knolles's popular General History of the Turks, Thomas Goffe's The Raging Turk, or Bajazet the Second (1631, 1656), or one of the cockpit plays on the "Scythian Shepherd." Although the poem was almost always entitled "Ephelia to Bajazet," it is sometimes referred to as "Ephelia's Lamentation." The main evidence for ascribing the poem to Etherege is a couplet from "A Familiar Epistle to Mr. Julian, Secretary to the Muses" (Thou common shore of this poetic town), apparently by Buckingham: Poor George grows old, his Muse worn out of fashion, Hoarsely she sings Ephelia's Lamentation. A contemporary marginal note in a MS collection owned by Mr. Robert H. Taylor identifies "Poor George" as "S r George Etheridge." The Buckingham poem frequently follows this linked group of four satires and seems to be a part of it, as in BM Egerton MS 2623 (where the five poems are preserved in a Ms pamphlet), Osborn Chest n #14, and the Yale MS, all of which are noted below. In the third poem of the linked group, these lines appear: But never Satyr did so softly bite, Or gentle George himself more gently write. If the third poem is an attack on the author of the poem which precedes it, which in turn is a complement to Etherege's poem by supplying a supposititious answer from Bajazet to Ephelia, then this couplet can be taken as a further ascription of the first poem to Etherege. Attributions in early sources shed no light on the authorship of the Etherege poem, as it is without ascription in all but one of the MSS (Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, which attributes it to Rochester but appears to be derived in part from printed sources). The linked group was printed in Rochester's Poems of 1680, but it was included in the section of miscellany poems; as David Vieth has conclusively demonstrated, the appearance of a poem in that section of the book should not be taken as an attribution of the poem to Rochester ("Order of Contents as Evidence of Authorship: Rochester's Poems of 1680," PBSA, LIII [1959], 293-308); the 8i

same limitation applies to its appearances in the linked group in the various later collections of Rochester and Rochesteriana which were derived from the 1680 Poems. Etherege's poem must have been written between 1674 and 1679. Mulgrave was made a Knight of the Order of the Garter on 23 April 1674, and the poem was in print in 1679. The 1679 version of the poem is badly corrupted; one of the MS appearances (Osborn Chest Ii #14) is in a collection dated 1677 and containing poems of the period 1676-1679; "A Familiar Epistle to Mr. Julian," dis­ cussed above, is dated 1677 in the Ohio State MS "Choyce Collec­ tion," Bodleian MS Firth c.15, BM Harleian MS 7319, and Robert H. Taylor MS; and it contains a reference to Charles Sackville (Lord Buckhurst) as "Middlesex," thus presumably indicating composition prior to 27 August 1677, when he became Earl of Dorset. A date of about 1675-1677 seems likely and appropriate in relation to Mulgrave's activities during these five years. The fact that the first printed appearance of the poem is in Female Poems On several Occasions. Written by Ephelia (1679) has, I think, no bearing on the title of the poem or of its authorship. The version in this collection is a conflation of the two textual groups; it contains numerous corrupt readings; the poem is quite out of keeping with the remainder of the contents of the collection; the title of "Ephelia to Bajazet" is used in the seven MS versions which are titled, but in this collection it is headed "In the Person of a Lady to Bajazet, Her unconstant Gallant." It was apparently the happy coincidence of an available poem with an appropriate title which drew it into this collection rather than a case of the poem being derived from the collection of "Ephelia." The form and manner of the poem may have been calculated as a burlesque reminder of Ovid's female letters in The Heroides, particularly such an address of a woman to her unconstant lover as ν π (Dido to Aeneas). The dramatic construction of a letter from a forsaken mistress to her false lover had been conventional; such poems were written by Tasso, Randolph, Lovelace, and Carew. (See Rhodes Dunlap, ed., The Poems of Thomas Carew [Oxford, 1949], pp. 232-233.) For further details on the poems in this linked group, see Vieth, chapter 13.

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MSS

BM Add 28253, ff. 158-159, without title. [BMl] BM Egerton 2623, f. 78, as "Ephelia to Bajazett." [BM2] Harvard Eng 602F*, f. 56, as "Ephelia to Bajacet." [H] Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, ff. 66T-67T, as "Epelia (a Deserted Lover) to Bajaset. which may serve as a caveat to Women. By L d Rofchester]." [B] Edinburgh University DC 1.3, pp. 22-23, as "Ephelia to Bajazett." [E] Portland PwV 40, pp. 32-33, as "Ephelia To Bajacet." [P] Huntington Ellesmere 8736, f. 1, as "Ephelia to Bajazett." [HU] James M. Osborn, Chest n #14, pp. 1180-1181, as "Ephelia to Bajazett." [O] Yale "Songs & Verses Upon severall occasions," pp. 340-343, as "Ephelia to Bajazet." [Y] PRINT

Female Poems On several Occasions. Written by Ephelia, 1679 (Wing P2030), pp. 104-106, and 1682 (Wing P2031). [79] Poems on Several Occasions By the Right Honourable, the E. of R[ochester], 1680, pp. 138-140. Many editions: see Thorpe, pp. xi-xxvii, for a list, for symbols, and for relationships; and p. 168 for variant readings of the recorded editions. [80] Also in various later collections of Rochester and Rochesteriana, derived from the 1680 Poems, without apparent authority for text or authorship: 1685, 1701, 1707, 1709, 1709, 1713, 1714, 1721,1731, 1739, 1777, and others. Also in The Triumph of Wit, 1688 and 1692 and 1707, apparently derived from the 1685 edition of 80, with various changes, including the addition of eight preliminary lines. TEXT. 1680 [Huntington edition]/ Yale MS (substantively identical). The relationship of the 9 MSS and the 2 earliest printed versions recorded above is rather complicated. (One of the printed versions is, in fact, a constellation of at least ten editions that exhibit conflation and recourse to two lost MS sources.) I should guess, from the textual evidence, that this poem (along with the other poems of its linked group) was very widely distributed in MS form by pro-

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fessional copyists and vendors of lampoons and satires, that only a very small fraction of the total output is extant, and that the course of transmission was marked by vagaries which are not yet altogether familiar. A tentative diagram of the recorded texts would necessarily have to infer a large number of lost intermediate and antecedent copies and a considerable amount of conflation. For the present purpose, the textual problem can be limited to the choice of 80/Y as the copytext. There are three groups of texts: 1) 80 Y BMl, 2) BM2 HU O E, and 3) H B P; the third of these groups derives, I think, from a conflation of the other two and therefore should not supply the copytext. (This grouping, as well as the further conflation and corruption of 79, can be seen from an inspection of the complex variants in 11. 7, 151, 20, 31 1 , 45, and 51; the terminal readings of all texts except 80 and Y; and the terminalpair readings in U. 3, 4, 9, 13, 301, 32, 393, 46.) Since each of the exemplars of the second group bears the signs of corruption in the form of terminal readings, only a reconstructed text could be provided from them. On the other hand, 80 and Y (which are without terminal readings either singly or as a pair) can conveniently stand as an exemplar of their group and serve as copytext. In the six variants which distinguish the two unconflated groups, I retain the readings of the first group in 11. 31 1 (where the other group is almost certainly corrupt), IS1, and 45; I have amended 11. 7, 20, and Sl, however, in favor of the more plausible readings of the second group. 1 who] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E P H U O ; that 79. 3 we promise] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E H U O; we're promis'd P 79. 4 turns] 80 Y BM1-2 B E P H U O ; turn H 79. 6 The] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E P H U O; That 79. 7 were] BM2 H B E P H U O 79; are 80 Y B M l . 8 As] 80 Y B M 1 - 2 H B P H U 0 7 9 ; And E. 9 sueh] 80 Y BM1-2 E P H U O 79; so H B [and PRa and P F edns of 80]. 10 should] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E H U 0 7 9 ; c o u l d P . 13 thoughts] 80 Y BM1-2 H E P H U O; thought B 79. 14 his] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E H U O 79; twas P. IS great] 80 Y BMl H B; fierce BM2 E P H U O ; strong 79. 15 passion] 80 Y B M l - 2 H B P H U 0 79;passionsE. IS was] 80 Y BMl H B P H U O 79; o m B M 2 ; w e r e E . 16 pass]80 Y BM1-2 H B P H U O 79; past E. 20 weaker or] BM2 E P H U O 79; or fondness 80 Y BMl H B. 21 I ] 8 0 Y B M 2 H B E P H U O 7 9 ; o m B M l . 22 m y ] 8 0 Y B M l - 2 H B E P 0 7 9 ; o m H U . 23 what lost I] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E H U O 79; I know not P. 29 looks] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E P H U O; Loves 79. 30 Whilst] 80 Y BM1-2 H P H U O; While E 79; When B. 30

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greedily] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E P H U O; eagerly 79. 30 his looks] 80 Y B M l - 2 H B E H U 0 79;eachlookeP. 31 Till] 80 Y B M l H B ; I B M 2 H U O ; And P ; om E 79. 31 charms] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E HU O 79; shame P. 32 melted] 80 Y BM2 H B E H U O 79; melting BMl P [and PRb and BMa edns of 80]. 38 cannot, need not] 80 Y BM2 H B E P H U O 79; need not cannot BMl. 39 No] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E P H U 79; Now O. 39 act has] 80 YBM1-2 H B E H U O 79; lookhaue P. 39 shown] 80 Y BM1-2 E P HU O 79; show'd H B . 44 when] 8 0 Y B M l - 2 H E P H U O 7 9 ; w h i c h B . 45 or] 80 Y B M l H B P 79; a n d B M 2 E H U O . 46 live] 80 YBM1-2 B E P H U O ; liv'dH 79. 47 shattered] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E P H U 79; crumbled O. 48-49 om 79. 48 that] 80 Y BM1-2 H B P HU O; which E. 49 the] 80 Y B M l H B E H U O ; that P ; om BM2. 49 show] 80 Y BM1-2 H B E H U 0 7 9 ; v o w P . 51 f rame] BM2 E P H U O 79; love 80 Y H B ; life B M l . 52 om H. 52 expect] 80 Y BM1-2 B E H U O; except P ; accept 79. 55 m e e t ] 8 0 Y B M l H B E P H U 7 9 ; m a k e B M 2 ; t a k e O .

A SONG ON BASSET (Let equipage and dress despair) Basset is a card game which originated in Italy, was introduced into England from France, and became popular in court circles. The play depended mainly on chance, little skill being necessary or useful; each gamester played separately against the dealer, who enjoyed a great advantage; the odds multiplied rapidly as the game progressed. "Morin" (4) is the name of an unscrupulous Frenchman who was well known as a dealer at basset, notably at the house of the Duchess of Mazarin in London, and who is reputed to have introduced the game into England in 1677; see the following paragraph for details. A "rouleau" (8) is a roll of gold coins, here in the possession of a gullible male from whom the Countess would contrive to replenish her stock of gambling money by the exchange of her charms. The "alpue" (32) (or "alpieu") for which the ladies wait is the turn of a winning card by which the amount wagered will be multiplied 7, 15, 33, or 67 times, depending on the stage of the game. The Compleat Gamester, attributed to Charles Cotton, has a full description of basset in 5th ed., 1725. "Morin" (or "Morine" or "morein," depending on which text one consults) was long taken to be a variant spelling of "moreen," a strong cloth made of wool or wool and cotton. The OED quotes the entire first stanza of this poem under "moreen"; the entry is more than a hundred years earlier than the second citation given. Verity used the reading "moreen" (Works, p. 383); Pinto followed the spelling "Morine," cited the OED, and reasonably presumed that it was "used for covers of card tables, like baize in later times"

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(Restoration Carnival, p. 100). But Etherege is certainly referring to Morin, the dealer at basset. In a letter to Lord Dover on 4/14 June 1688, Etherege wrote: "I am wean'd from the very thought of play, but my minde dayly travells to a place where there was a famous Basset in Morin's time there I have envy'd a sitter by more than the deepest player at the table, and tooke a picture wch I find suffors as little from time as the original" (Harvard MS Thr 11.1). St. Evremond complained repeatedly to the Duchess of Mazarin about her preoccupation with gambling, and Morin stood as a symbol for it. This is his conclusion to a poetic lament that she spent her time at basset with Morin rather than in conversation: Beaux yeux, quel est votre destin! Perirez-vous, beaux yeux, a regarder Morin. Etherege played basset at the Duchess of Mazarin's house, where Morin was the dealer: "La Bassette a ses charmes en certains endroits, et j'aimerois mieux y perdre mon Argent en voyant Madame Mazarine, que de gagner les bonnes graces de toutes les Dames, et meme de Demoiselles d'ici (letter from Ratisbon to the French Ambassador in England, 11/21 Nov. 1686, Letterbook, p. 118). See C. H. Hartmann, The Vagabond Duchess: The Life of Hortense Mancini Duchesse Mazarin (London, 1926), pp. 236237 and the references therein to St. Evremond. John Hayward noted the relation between Morin and Etherege's poem in his edition of The Letters of Saint Evremond (London, 1930), p. 296n. Etherege was, of course, an ardent gamester, and the conflicting claims in the poem between gambling and sex are borne out in his own experience. "I can assure yor Lop that I find I can live wthout play, a thing my best ffriends will hardly believe. I have really no more concerne for Basset than I us'd to have for an old Mistres in her absence" (Letterbook, p. 409). But gaming generally gave place only to sex: "I need not tell you I have preferr'd my pleasure to my profit, & have followed what was likelier to ruin a fortune already made, than make one: play, and women; of the two the Sex is my strongest passion" (letter to Lord Dover, 4/14 June 1688, Harvard MS Thr 11.1). Moral testimony about the consequences of the fascination of basset for ladies is contained in a "Song on the Duke of Nor—k" (Alas! I now am weary growne), which precedes Etherege's poem in Folger MS 473.1:

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3 Yet some say 'twas not Jermin's Charmes But looseing at Basset She gave herself e up to his armes And that way paid the debt. 4 Let not the Envious Witts for shame Then triumph in her fall Since 'twas by that intrigueing Game Which will betray them all. S For while at Play they're hurried on As Pushing Gamesters doe When all the ready money's gone They'I loose their Honnour too. In The Man of Mode, Harriet uses a similar gaming figure to provide a wise gloss on cautionary advices: "Because some who want temper have been undone by gaming, must others who have it wholly deny themselves the pleasure of Play?" (iH.iii.49-51) To find Etherege's poem set to music by John Blow and included in one of the elegant songbooks issued by the estimable John Playford is to be reminded of the range of subjects in Restoration song. MSS

Harvard Eng 585* (and a transcript as Harvard Eng 633*), pp. 326-327, as "Song, on Basset." [H] Folger 473.1, pp. 104-106, as "Song On Basset." [F] Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 620-622, as "A Song on Basset" dated 1685. [VA] Portland PwV 43, pp. 133-135, as "A Song on Basset" dated 1685. [P] Vienna 14090, pp. 659-660, as "A Song on Basset." [V] BM Harl 6914, pp. 103-104, as "A Song on Basset," between poems dated 1685 and 1686. [BM] Bodleian Firth c.16, pp. 55-56, as "Song on Bassett." [B] PRINT

Choice Ayres and Songs, Fourth Book, 1683 (D&M 59), p. 72,

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first 16 11. only, with music by Blow, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Mustek, 1695 (D&M 134), as "A Song upon the CourtGame Basset." [83] Lycidus, 1688 (Case 184), pp. 118-119, as "Song of Basset, by Sir George Ethrege." [88] Sylvae: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, 1702, pp. 204-206, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 2 d-f), as "Song of Basset, by Sir George Ethrege." 1702 was set from 88. Also in: The Works of Sir George Etherege, 1704 and 1715 and 1723 and 1735. 1704 was set from 02. Harvard MS Eng 585* Six of the Mss appear to be the work of professional copyists who substituted copies of copies as their source while continuing the transmission of the text; a perceptible deterioration away from the state represented by H is evident, in the following order: H, F/VA, P, V/BM. (I take the conflicting reading of F in 1. 20 as a copyist's error and its concurrence at that point with 88 and B as accidental.) For the other three basic texts, 88 and B have a common ancestor, and that and 83 have a common ancestor. 88 and B appear to have undergone considerable editorial revision; 88, which is the ultimate textual authority for all later printed appearances that I have seen, thus seems to offer a corrupted text. 83 and H concur in all readings except for 1. 8, where H perpetuates a copyist's garbling in the line of transmission of which it is the most pristine example; since 83 is limited to the first 16 11. of the poem, H is used as copytext with the correction of 1. 8 from 83. TEXT.

3 There's] H 83; That F VA P V BM; For 88 B. 3 engage] H 83 F VA P V BM B; oblige 88. 4 But] H 83 F VA P V BM B; Like 88. 5 Is] H 83 88 B; If F VA P V BM. 5 any] H 83 F V A P V BM 88; a B. 7 coney only] H 83 F VA P ; mony onely V BM; only Cony 88 B. 8 Her grief with a] 83 88; Their grief w i t h a B ; with grief a H F VA P V BM. 12 all] H 83 F VA P V BM B; now 88. 15 Or silent stands or leaves the place] H F VA P 88 B; Or leaves the place or silent stands V BM; It silent stands or leaves the place 83. 16 While] H 83 F VA P 88 B; since V BM. 17-32 om 83. 20 give] H VA P V BM; gave F 88 B. 21 should be kindly] H F VA P 88 B ; kindly should be V BM. 27 Who] H F VA P V BM; That 88 B. 31 lover gazing] H F VA 88 B; gazing lover P V BM. 32 minding an] H F VA P V BM; only on 88 B.

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SONG {Garde Ie secret de ton Ante) A precise occasion for this poem can be suggested with confidence.

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It celebrates a latter stage of Etherege's affair at Ratisbon in the winter of 1686/87 with the comedienne from Nuremberg. (She has commonly been called Julia—miscalled so, as J. H. Wilson has shown in MLN, LXII [1947], 40-42.) The text of these French verses is included in the calendaring of a letter to the Earl of Middleton on 30 Dec/9 Jan. 1686/87, with this introduction: "Inclos'd this French song following" (Letterbook, p. 129). Neither the verses nor the introduction are included in the Harvard MS Letterbook (fais Thr 11), which does, however, have a transcript of the letter in question. In the holograph version of the letter which transmitted the verses, but which now lacks the enclosure, Etherege said: "tho' Germany be not very fertill in Beauty, I have seen a Lady so very handsome as wou'd puzzle most Countrys to match her. the scarsety makes them very cruelle; as you will perceive by the Song I send you. the first, and onely one I ever made in french. it is a venture for tho' the Dutch have not abounded in wits, they have had their share of Criticks" (BM, Middleton papers, Add MSS 41836). On 1/11 January 1686/87, two days after the letter transmitting the extant text of the poem, Etherege wrote more fully of the occasion for the poem, in a letter to Henry Guy, Secretary of the Treasury: "here is at present a Lady, who lives commonly near Nuremberg, she is soe very handsom, y* it may be sayde she has robb'd the whole Countrey, for the rest of the women look as if nature had spar'd from them what she has bestow'd on this. She is as fiere as she is fair which may be allow'd to a beauty that has noe Rivall. "I send you [a] french song which she has been the occasion of. Mr. Vice-Chamberlain is soe able a frenchman, that I fear his Critisismes, but pray tell him I am not the onely man, who have engag'd myself in a love business without considering whether I was able to go thro' with it" (Letterbook, p. 130). The song transmitted with this explanation is not preserved, but it seems inescapable that it was another copy of the one sent to Middleton two days earlier, when Etherege said that he had written only one song in French; moreover, his comment in the second letter matches the verses and the comment in the earlier letter. The comedienne from Nuremberg arrived in Ratisbon early in November 1686 and brought new zest into Etherege's life (Letter-

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book, pp. 116-117), their intimacy was in progress by the middle of November (pp. 388-391), she was obliged to leave shortly after the middle of November (pp. 392-393), she returned to the environs of Ratisbon and was met by Etherege sometime in December-January (pp. 393-394), and the affair was apparently concluded by February (pp. 39SfE). If the song seems rather elevated for the occasion, one may recall that it is a conventional complaint and that the tone seems well adjusted to a woman who is "as fiere as she is fair." Moreover, Etherege's references to her in his letters (pp. 117, 130, 293) make it apparent that to him she was not an easy conquest and an "errant whore," as his malicious secretary described her (pp. 388-394). TEXT. BM Add MSS 11513, f. 43. A secretarial transcript of the verses, retained in one of Etherege's letterbooks. I have altered the text only to the extent of supplying punctuation. The poem is printed in Letterbook, p. 129, in a modernized fashion. I have found no other appearances of the poem. pages 14-15 TO HER EXCELLENCE THE MARCHIONESS OF NEWCASTLE AFTER THE READING OF HER INCOMPARABLE POEMS {With so much wonder we are struck) This commendatory poem is among Etherege's earliest datable verses. Although it was not printed until 1672, the fact that the address is to the "Marchioness" dates the poem before her husband was created Duke of Newcastle, on 16 March 1664/5. The underlying suggestion in 11. 29-40, that a comparison could be drawn between the literary efforts of Newcastle and Etherege, would be more reasonable after the performance of Etherege's first play, in March 1663/4; only a handful of his poems can be dated earlier, and none of them is known to have been in print by that time. The Marchioness's "incomparable poems" had long been available; her Poems, and Fancies were printed in 1653, with a second edition in 1664; one may guess that the appearance of this edition helped to set Etherege's muse in motion. I do not know why he ventured to aspire for favor, nor what practical benefit he hoped for. Etherege's poem stands first among the commendatory poems which the Duke caused to be published in 1676, along with letters, 90

elegies, and epitaphs, in memory of his wife. This collection is a high water mark for fulsome adulation, even in an age which knew little bounds for egregiously excessive praise for the nobility on a ripe occasion; Etherege's poem competes with testimonials by Henry More, Joseph Glanvil, Thomas Hobbes, Kenelm Digby, the Senate of Cambridge University, and the Master and Fellows of Trinity and of St. John's. Another opinion of her is contained in the couplet, purportedly in the hand of Waller, written on the flyleaf of the Huntington copy of her Philosophical and Physical Opinions, 1663: New castles in the air this Lady builds, While nonsense with Philosophy she guilds. She was treated with utter contempt in some lampoons. In one of the many Sessions of the Poets, Newcastle stands before Apollo and "pulls out his Wiues poems, playes, Essays, & speeches." Whoope, quoth Apollo, what y* Diuell haue we here? put up thy Wiues trumpery good Noble Marquesse And home againe, home againe take thy Careere, To prouide her fresh straw, & a Chamber, that darke is. (Bodleian MS Don b.8, p. 177) MSS

BM Harl 3991, f. 128. [BM] Bodleian Sancroft 53, pp. 3-4. Apparently derived from 72 with emendations. [B] PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 58-60, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five. [72] Letters and Poems in Honour of . . . Margaret, Dutchess of Newcastle, 1676 (Case 160), pp. 153-154, and 1678 (Case 160 b), attributed to Etherege. [76] TEXT.

1676.

Three basic texts (BM, 72, 76) all appear, from the substantive evidence, to derive independently from lost sources; and the accidentals to not suggest any intercopying. Of the three, BM is perhaps the earliest bibliographically; to judge from the other poems included and the occasional dates given, it may date from 1669 9i

or shortly thereafter: all of the six other Etherege poems included, for example, came into print between 1664 and 1669, and some are derived from a printed miscellany of 1669. I choose 76 as the text which preserves archetypal readings because either 72 or BM always concurs with 76 whenever the other offers a variant, except in the case of the title; the high-flown title of 76 thus appears to have been fabricated for the commemorative volume, and I have retained the more modest title concurred in by the other texts. Title To her Excellence . . . ] 72 BM; To the most Illustrious and most Excellent Princess . . . 76; On the Dutchess of Newcastle B. 7 Instructs] 76 72 B ; Instruct BM. 9-10 om B. 10 it sounds] 76 BM; resounds 72. 15 fiercer] 76 BM; fiery 72 B. 21 only] 76 72 B ; one BM. 27 on] 76 BM B ; in 72. 28 his your love] 76 BM; yours, his Love 72; yours, his Love and interlineatty his your Love B. 16.17

A PROLOGUE SPOKEN AT THE OPENING OF THE DUKE'S NEW PLAYHOUSE ('Tis not in this as in the former age) This prologue was written for the opening (on 9 Nov. 1671) of the new theatre in Dorset Garden, which was built for the Duke's Men and to which they removed from Lisle's Tennis Court in Lincoln's Inn Fields. The play for the opening day was a revival of Dryden's Sir Martin Mar-all, which had been first performed four years earlier in Lincoln's Inn Fields and for which Dryden had written a prologue which is included in the editions of the play. Etherege's prologue adopts the point of view of a theatre owner and by deft characterization of him satirizes both the taste of the audience and the mercantilism of the supposed speaker. The theatre was owned by the company, ten shares being held by the proprietors and ten shares by the actors. Thomas Betterton, who owned 3¾ shares in 1674, is known to have been a friend of Etherege (Letterbook, pp. 208-209). All three of Etherege's plays were presented by the Duke's Men, two of them earlier than this prologue. The basic metaphor of the prologue is the comparison of a play in the theatre with a woman of the town in her lodgings. The sequence of the states of woman used is the inevitable Progress of Beauty; her need for increasingly elaborate surroundings is the witty defence for the ornate and stately new theatre, which was more elaborate than any of its predecessors. The point "in this business" 92

where he "may proceed too far,/ And raise a storm against our Theater" is not only offending the audience by further criticism but also of having to suffer from the backlash of the figure if it is taken to the last stage in the Progress, that of the revoltingly decayed whore. Sedley's prologue to The Mulberry Garden (1668) commences with a comparison of playwright and woman of the town, with the Progress of Beauty implied; but his point is different. When Dryden wrote the prologue which was spoken at the opening of the new Theatre Royal in Drury Lane nearly three years later (26 March 1674), he devoted it to an attempt at justifying the plainness of their theatre in comparison with the magnificence of the Duke's House. PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 67-69, and six subsequent editions (Case ISl a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five. [72] Poetical Miscellanies: The Fifth Part, 1704, pp. 296-298, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 S a-c). (1704 was set from 72.) [04] TEXT. 1672. "bombasine" (12) reads "bombarine" in all texts; I have made the alteration since the received spelling is illogical, not recorded in the OED, and apparently an error of transmission. 17 mean] 72; think 04.

TO MR. J. N. ON HIS TRANSLATIONS OUT OF FRENCH AND ITALIAN (While others toil our country to supply) Addresses to an individual in praise of his translations had been made a usual subject for verse by Waller, who wrote six such poems. I have been unable to identify "Mr. J. N." Since the same possibilities which occurred to me may also suggest themselves to other readers, I will indicate why I consider them unlikely. The first two are John Naylor and John Newton. In Jane Barker's Poetical Recreations (1688) occurs a poem entitled "To my Much-esteemed Friend Mr. J. N. on his Reading the first line of Pindar," signed J. Whitehall. (It was included in the 1722 edition of Sedley's works; but that attribution is unfounded, as Pinto has shown, i, xvi.) Also in Poetical Recreations appear three poems "By J. N. Fellow of St. John's Colledge in Cambridge," possibly the same person addressed by Whitehall; the poems by

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the latter J. N. exhibit an interest in translation, and at least some of the contributors to the volume are joined by mutual acquaintance with Mrs. Barker. Only two Fellows of St. John's are possible, John Naylor and John Newton. The third possibility is John Norris, who was associated with Mulgrave in translating the latter's "Essay on Poetry" into Latin and was identified as "J. N." in that work; he wrote a quantity of verse and did a good deal of translating before turning to his major efforts in theology and philosophy. But none of these three possibilities seems to me likely. In 1672, when Etherege's poem was printed, Naylor and Norris were fifteen years old and still schoolboys, while Newton was ten. The tone and substance of Etherege's poem suggest a person junior to him, it is true, but one whose translations are generally available and considerable and whose reputation is growing in literary circles. Since no relevant information is available about the schoolboy years of these three candidates for fame, I can only conclude that they are not likely. A further search has not yielded any other reasonable possibilities. The evidence for the authorship of this poem is thin. PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 38-40, and six subsequent editions (Case ISl a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five. TEXT.

page 20

1672.

SONG (When Phillis watched her harmless sheep) This pastoral song is sung in parts by Aurelia and her waitingwoman Letitia in The Comical Revenge (n.ii.153-169). Aurelia is in distress for secret love of Lord Bruce, whose suit to her sister she tries to forward at his request; Letitia is memorializing her passion for one above her humble birth. They join their mournful voices as shepherdesses and repeat "the saddest tales we ever learn'd of Love" to vent their grief, but the song does not ease their pain. MS

James M. Osborn, Chest n #39, pp. 67-68. [O]

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PRINT

Etherege's The Comical Revenge, 1664 and all later editions. [64] The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing N529), pp. 89-90, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing N531) and 1713. [69] Choice Ayres and Songs, Fourth Book, 1683 (D&M 59), p. 9, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Musick, 1695 (D&M 134). [83] Also in several modern anthologies. TEXT. 1664. All other texts appear to derive from this one. 1 her] 64 69 83; the O. 69].

7 to] 64 69 83; om O [and 1671 and 1681 eds. of

SONG (Ladies, though to your conquering eyes) This song is sung in The Comical Revenge (v.iii.9-20) by a waiting woman for the refreshment of the honor-crippled Graciana, who is loved so faithfully by two men that they have engaged in a duel. Out of respect for the one who initiated the encounter and undertook to kill himself after being generously treated by the successful rival, she has commemorated his noble conduct by declaring (contrary to the facts) that it is he on whom her affections rest. Torn in the conflict of Love and Honor, she sees some applicability of the song to her condition and suffers the more. The Boy who did not spare his Mother (1. 10) is Cupid, whose arrow wounded Venus and caused her to fall in love with Adonis. MS

BM Harl 3991, f. 133T. [BM] PRINT

Etherege's The Comical Revenge, 1664 and all later editions. [64] The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing N529), pp. 121-122, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing N531) and 1713. [69] Also in: The Hive, i, 1724 and 1726 and 1732; and about a dozen collections published since the middle of the nineteenth century. TEXT. 1664. All other texts appear to derive from 8 their] 64; her 69; his BM. 12 is] 64 69; has BM.

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this one.

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page 22

SONG {If she be not as kind as fair) This song is admirably adapted to the circumstances under which it is presented, in a tavern scene in The Comical Revenge (n.iii.174-187). It is sung by Palmer while he and Wheadle are befuddling Sir Nicholas Cully with wine in preparation for cheat­ ing him at dice. The sentiments of the song are dramatically ap­ propriate to Sir Nicholas's rather crude instincts for wenching, and the theatrical context should not be overlooked in considering the detached song. Wilson observed (p. 92) that the attitude of the Court Wits "toward unrequited love is well expressed by a poem [this one] of Etherege's which is sharply reminiscent of Suckling's 'Why so pale and wan, fond lover?' " It appears to me that this attitude toward unrequited love is only one of several which are prominent (even in Etherege's poems) and that the main relationship with the Suck­ ling poem is their exemplification of a common convention. For a possible reminiscence of the Suckling poem, see the notes to Ether­ ege's "Song" (See how fair Corinna lies). MS

BM Harl 3991, f. 91 T . [BM] PRINT

Etherege's The Comical Revenge, 1664 and all later editions. [64] The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing NS 29), p. 121, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (WingN531) and 1713. [69] Also in: The Hive, τα, 1725 and 1729 and 1732; The Choice, 1729 and 1732 and 1739; A Complete Collection of Old and New English and Scotch Songs, m, 1736; The Syren, 1738 and 1739; more than a dozen editions of The Tea-Table Miscellany, begin­ ning with 1729; and various twentieth-century anthologies. TEXT. 1664. All other texts appear to derive from this one. Modern reprints have frequently been limited to the first eight lines, pre­ sumably because of a brief interruption in the song at that point in the play. The third stanza completes the sense, however, and was included in the seventeenth-century appearances. 1 as kind] 64; kind 69 BM.

96

SONG (To little or no purpose I spent many days) This song in She wou'd if she cou'd (v.i.312-323) is sung by Gatty as the climax of the secret admissions that she and Ariana entertain affection for Courtall and Freeman—who overhear all from their hiding place in the closet. The disclaimer, in 11. 7-8, of the permanence of love is a rather early example of female intrusion into this conventional masculine province; Gatty is called a wan­ ton by her sister for singing this song instead of dissembling. MSS

BM Harl 3991, f. 9Γ. [BM] James M. Osborn, Chest π #39, pp. 30-31. [O] Huntington HM 712, p. 61, a nineteenth-century transcript de­ rived from 71. PRINT

Etherege's She wou'd if she cou'd, 1668 and all later editions. [68] The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing N529), p. I l l , and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing NS31) and 1713. [69] Westminster Drollery, 1671 (Case ISO 1 b), pp. 47-48, and 1671 (Wing W14S9) and 1672 (Case ISO 1 d). [71] Windsor-Drollery, 1672 (Case 154), pp. 10-11. [72] The Canting Academy, 1673 (Case 155), p. 177. [73] New Songs A-la-mode in The Academy of Complements, 1684 (WingG1406),p. 190. [84] Also in: John Eccles, A Collection of Songs for One Two and Three Voices, [1704], with music by Eccles; The Triumph of Wit, 1735; The Lark, 1742; Calliope, [c.1746], with music by Stanley; and several twentieth-century anthologies. A version of the song, extended by eight additional stanzas, ap­ pears on two broadsides: one edition is preserved in Bodleian MS Wood E.25; the other in Pepys Ballads, Magdalene College, #2507, πι, 310. I assume that this lengthened version is a catchpenny in­ vention. TEXT. 1668. The other texts have no substantive value. BM and O were derived from 69 or one of its later editions, 84 was set from 72, and the variants in the other early printed texts (69, 71, 72, and 73) seem to represent copyists' and compositors' errors in the process of transmission.

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1 I] 68 69 73 BM O; have 1 7 1 ; I've 72 84. 1 many] 68 69 72 73 84 BM O; all my 71. 3 For] 68 69 BM O; Yet 71 72 73 84. 3 rambles] 68 69 73 BM O; ramble 71 72 84. 4 lucky] 68 69 73 BM O; happy 717284. 5 Oh!] 68; Foroh 69 B M O ; But O 71 7284; Now oh 73. S I am] 6 8 6 9 7 2 8 4 B M ; I ' m 7 1 7 3 ; a m I O [and 1671 edn of 69]. 5 on this] 68; of this 69 73 BM O; of the 71; on the 72 84. 7 I shall] 68 69 7172 73 0 ; I may 84; shall I BM. 8 I should] 68 69 71 72 73 84 O ; should I B M . 10 I would] 68 69 72 73 84 BM O; would 171. 11 should he] 68; he should 69 73 BM O; he shall 71 72 84. 11 how] 68 69 72 73 84 BM O ; o m 71. 12 I cannot] 68 69 73 B M O ; That I cannot 71 72 84. 12 would] 68 69 73 BM O ; will 71 72 84.

page 24 SONG (Tell me no more you love; in vain) This poem is Etherege's contribution to the extensive tradition of poems to the Coy Mistress. It does not bear comparison with Marvell's poem—the inventiveness and wit of which can hardly be sufficiently admired; but it may be set beside Rochester's "Womans Honour: A Song" (Love bid me hope, and I obey'd) and "A Song" (Phillis be gentler, I advise). Rochester characteristically opens with a witty or dramatic turn and (as in many of his poems addressed to women) moves toward wrangling or abusiveness; Etherege takes the middle voice of rhetorical persuasion and concludes with wit which leaves much unspoken. Etherege compresses into his last line one of the best-known themes in the tradition of the lover's complaint. For example, Carew's "Mediocritie in love rejected" (Give me more love, or more disdaine) is devoted exclusively to this theme. For commentary on its widespread use, see Rhodes Dunlap, ed., The Poems of Thomas Carew (Oxford, 1949), p. 220. Although the conventional names used in Restoration lyrics are generally interchangeable, "Celia" appears rather often as a coy or disdainful mistress. For example, Sedley's two poems "To Celia" (You tell me, Celia, you approve AND Princes make Laws, by which their Subjects live); Rochester's "The Advice" (All Things submit themselves to your Command) and "The Discovery" (Caelia, that faithful Servant you disown); and Richard Duke's "To Caelia" (Mistress of all my Senses can invite) and "A Pastoral. Caelia and Dorinda" (When first the young Alexis saw). Compare 11. 13-15 with Loveit's remark in The Man of Mode (ni.iii.211-213): " T i s the strongest Cordial we can give to dying Love, it often brings it back when there's no sign of life remaining.»

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The syntactical difficulty of 11. 9-10 turns on whether "then" in the early texts is taken to mean "then" or "than": it is the ordinary spelling for both words. As "then," the couplet can be given this sense: "All beauties are cruel; you are, from what has been said of you, among those beauties who are more cruel because your coyness wounds us with despair." As "than," the couplet can be taken to mean: "You are even more cruel than are those beauties whose coyness wounds us with despair." Each of the senses is open to the objection that it fits the general context of the poem imperfectly. So far from revelling in an ambiguity, I am inclined to suppose that Etherege did not quite know what he wanted to say. MSS

BM Harl 3991, f. 135. Derived from 69. [BMl Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, f. 75, as "A Song by Sr Geo: Etherege. Love's last Tryall." Derived from one of the later editions of 72. [B] PRINT

The New Academy of Complements, 1669 (Wing N529), pp. 164-165, and 1671 (Case 148) and 1681 (Wing N531) and 1713. [69] A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 56-57, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), attributed to Etherege in the last five; attributed to "C: S:" in the Firth copy of 1672 (Pinto, n, 241). [72] Also in: Amphion Anglicus, 1700 (D&M 183), the first 8 11. only, with music by John Blow; The Diverting Post, number 4, 1704; The Choice, n, 1733; The Vocal Miscellany, n, 1738. 1669. From a study of the accidentals of 69 and 72, it appears that 72 derives from 69; thus, the variant readings in 72 must represent editorial efforts to improve the text.

TEXT.

3 those] 69 BM; they 72 B. 3 that] 69 BM; who 72 B. 4 us] 69 BM; them 72 B. 6 does] 69 BM; will 72 B. 10 with] 69 BM; to 72 B. 11 the] 69 72 BM; this B. 12 smile] 69 72 BM; touch B.

THE DIVIDED HEART (Ah Celia, that I were but sure) These tortured verses fall in the older courtly tradition of polite love poetry. In "The Heart-breaking" (It gave a piteous groan, and so it broke), Cowley also used, though for a rather different

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purpose, the analogies of the rule of a state and the activity of a divided army while dealing with a much divided heart. PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, pp. 36-37, and six subsequent editions (Case 151 a-g), as "The divided Heart," attributed to Etherege in the last five. Songs for 12 & 3 Voyces, 1677 (D&M 44), pp. 7-8, and 1678 (D&M 47) and 1679 (D&M 50), the first 12 11. only, with music by Henry Bowman. Also in: The Choice, n, 1733; The Syren, 1738 and 1739. TEXT. 1672. There are no variant readings. page 26

SILVIA (The nymph that undoes me is fair and unkind) This song was probably Etherege's most popular poem. I have found more than twenty appearances of it in the seventeenth cen­ tury, and an equal number in the first half of the eighteenth cen­ tury. It was set to music by four different composers—Stafford, Church, Gooch, and Green. It is ironic that in 1938 it should have been a proper and accepted candidate for inclusion in Norman Ault's Treasury of Unfamiliar Lyrics. The rush of the rhythm is accelerated by its anapestic meter. The conventional lament of the despairing lover for his cruel mistress is mostly obscured by the gaiety of the movement. MSS

James M. Osborn, Chest π #39, p. 15, as "The Pleasant Death," the first 8 11. [O] James M. Osborn, Chest π #39, p. 31, as "The Beauty," the first 8 11., verbally identical with the preceding appearance. Bodleian Ballard 50, f. 108, as "Charming Sylvia sett by Dr. Gooch." [B] Folger 4108, #57, an early eighteenth-century transcript. MUSICAL

BROADSIDES

Folger 1363 D π #131, as "Charming Silvia" with music by Green. [F] Folger 1363 D i n #304, as "Charming Silvia" with music by Green, verbally identical with the preceding appearance. IOO

PRINT

A Collection of Poems, Written upon several Occasions, 1672, p. 42, and six subsequent editions (Case ISl a-g), as "Silvia," at­ tributed to Etherege in the last five. [72a] New Court-Songs, And Poems, 1672 (Case 153), pp. 101-102, as "A Song." [72b] Westminster Drollery, The Second Part, 1672 (Case 150 2 a), pp. 99-100, and 1672 (Case 150 2 b) and 1672 (Wing L472 [actually two editions: Huntington 148352 and Huntington 144843]), as "The Faire but Cruel Girle." [72c] Windsor-Drollery, 1672 (Case 154), p. 148. [72d] Choice Songs and Ayres for One Voyce, 1673 (D&M 35), p. 36, and as Choice Ayres, Songs & Dialogues, 1675 (D&M 40) and in reissue 1676 (D&M 42), all with music by Stafford. [73] New Songs A-la-mode in The Academy of Complements, 1684 (Wing G1406), pp. 368-369. [84] Also in: Twelve New Songs, With a Thorow-Bass to each Song, 1699 (D&M 181), with music by Church; The Virgin Muse, 1717 and 1722 and 1731, attributed to Etherege; The Hive, I, 1724 and 1726 and 1732; Fables, and Other Short Poems, 1731 and 1737 as "To Sylvia," attributed to Etherege; The Choice, n, 1733; The Vocal Miscellany, 1733 and 1734 and 1738 and 1738; Joseph Yarrow, A Choice Collection of Poetry, n, 1738 as "The Dying Lover"; The Syren, 1738 and 1739; Calliope, i, [c.1739], with music by Green; The Cupid, 1739; The Merry Companion, 1739 and 1742; The Musical Companion, 1741. TEXT. 1672a, with "the" supplied in 1. 6; this omission, apparently a compositor's error, is corrected in all later editions of this collec­ tion. All other appearances listed seem to derive from this collec­ tion. 1 and] 72a-d 73 84 B F ; but O. 3 the joy] 72a-b 7 3 B F ; yet the joy O; but joy 72c; and the joy 72d 84. 4 And] 72a-b 72d 73 84 O B F ; om 72c. 4 a] 72a-b 72d 73 84 O B F ; my 72c. S mouth] 72a-b 72d 84 O B F ; Lips 72c 73. 5 still obligingly] 72a-b F ; still obliging B; so obligingly O; obligingly 72c-d 73 84. 6 beautiful blush] 72a-b 72d 84 O B F ; colour of cherryes 72c 73. 6 the smell of the] B F ; the smell of a O; smell of the 72a-d 73 84. 7 attend] 72a-b 72d 84 O B F ; attends 72c 73. 8 wounds with a look] 72a-b 72d 84 O B F ; saves with a smile 72c 73. 9-12 on» O. 9 redress] 72a-d 73 84 F ; Address B. 11 Silvia] 72a-b 72d 8 4 B F ; Caelia 72c 73. 12 love and] 72a 72d 8 4 B F ; love her, 72b; love, 72c 73. ΙΟΙ

page 27 SONG (When first Amintas charmed my heart) This pastoral song is sung to Harriet by her waiting-woman, Busy, in The Man of Mode, m.i.64-71: Harriet. Leave your prating, and sing some foolish Song or other. Busy. I will, the Song you love so well ever since you saw Mr. Dorimant. Amintas, the shepherd of the song, seems to possess something of the charming ability attributed to Dorimant: "Oh! he has a Tongue, they say, would tempt the Angels to a second fall" (m.iii. 123-124). "I know he is a Devil, but he has something of the Angel yet undefac'd in him, which makes him so charming and agreeable, that I must love him be he never so wicked" (n.ii.17-19). But Harriet, though unsettled by Dorimant, is far from "undone." One of Rochester's pastoral songs (As Cloris full of harmless thoughts) also concerns a shepherd whose ineffable charms can rouse the dangerous passion of love in shepherdesses and undo them, as does Sir Car Scroope's "As Amoret with Phillis sat." This song should not be confused with "When first Amintas su'd for a kiss," which is by Thomas D'Urfey and appears (for example) in BM Add MSS 30303. PRINT

Etherege's The Man of Mode, 1676 and all later editions. [76] A New Collection of the Choicest Songs, 1676 (Case 161), p. A2, as "Song by Sir Fopling Flutter." [76b] Choice Ayres and Songs, Fifth Book, 1684 (D&M 68), p. 38, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Mustek, 1695 (D&M 134), both with music by Staggins. [84] Also in: Wit and Mirth, in, 1707 (D&M 215) and in, 1712 (D&M 223) and v, 1719 (D&M 240) and as Songs Compleat, v, 1719 (D&M 235), all with music by Staggins; The Monthly Masks of Vocal Mustek, June 1709, # 3 , with music by Ramondon. TEXT.

1676. All other texts appear to derive from this one.

2 My] 76 76b; the 84.

page 28 SONG (The pleasures of love and the joys of good wine) This drinking song, from The Man of Mode, rv.i.413-434, is sung near the end of an evening of merriment by the revelers, in102

eluding Sir Fopling Flutter and Medley. Sir Fopling calls it "the new Bachique," which Medley defines as a "Catch or drinking song." The melancholy reflection that the cheer from wine is temporary —however odd in a drinking song—doubtless echoes Etherege's limited allegiance to Bacchus: he had neither the head nor the stomach for extensive drinking, and he sometimes had recourse to watering his wine or avoiding it altogether (Letterbook, pp. 274, 413-414, 416). Or, as Dryden put it, "For wine to leave a whore or play/ Was ne'er Your Excellence's way." For insipid reading, drinking songs can challenge almost any other form of writing. PRINT

Etherege's The Man of Mode, 1676 and all later editions. [76] A New Collection of the Choicest Songs, 1676 (Case 161), p. A2V, as "Drinking Song in [Sir Fopling Flutter]." [76b] Also in: The Hive, i, 1726 and 1732; The Triumphs of Bacchus, 1729; A Collection of Bacchanalian Songs, 1729; and several modern anthologies. 1676. All other texts derive from this one. S her] 76; our 76b. TEXT.

SONG (How charming Phillis is, how fair!) The satirical intent of this song in its original dramatic context is naturally lost when the words appear in songbooks or collections. It is presented in The Man of Mode (iv.ii.131-139) as the composition of Sir Fopling Flutter, that eminent coxcomb and "pattern of modern Foppery." The intrusion of vanity into the song continues the jest on Sir Fopling's folly and makes the song almost a parody of the conventional complaint against an unkind mistress. Young Bellair reads the song, Sir Fopling sings it, and the comments of the wits lead Sir Fopling to expose himself further: Dorimant. Ay marry! now 'tis something. I shall not flatter you, Sir Fopling, there is not much thought in't. But 'tis passionate and well turn'd. Medley. After the French way. Sir Fopling. That I aim'd at—does it not give you a lively image of the thing ? Slap, down goes the Glass, and thus we are at it. 103

page 29

PRINT

Etherege's The Man of Mode, 1676 and all later editions. [76] Wit and Mirth, in, 1707 (D&M 215), pp. 285-286, and HI, 1712 (D&M 223) and v, 1714 (D&M 228) and v, 1719 (D&M 240) and Vi, 1720 (D&M 242) and as Songs Compleat, v, 1719 (D&M 235), all with music by Ramondon. [07] TEXT. 2

page 30

1676. The other texts derive from this one.

Ah]76;O07.

8

Still as] 76; Where e'er 07.

SONG (Tell me no more I am deceived) This song first appeared, attributed to Etherege, in Nahum Tate's A Duke and no Duke (1685, first performed 1684). It is printed with its music at the end of the play, followed by two other songs. Since the songs have no relation to the text of the play, it is assumed that they were used as incidental music, presumably between the acts. There is no evidence as to how Tate came by Etherege's song; Brett-Smith's assertion (p. xxxi) that Etherege gave it to Tate seems a fair enough assumption. The convention of the mistreated but uncomplaining, even happy, lover was more congenial to poets of the earlier seventeenth century, such as Suckling: "I prithee send me back my heart" is an example of interest in comparison with this poem. Willard Thorp printed the music and text of this song and a valuable note on the composer in his Songs From the Restoration Theater (Princeton, 1934), pp. 44-45, 102-103. Etherege's song should not be confused with the Congreve poem which has a first line identical with this one and which continues "That Cloe's false and common." MS

Harvard Eng 602F, f. 12. [H] PRINT

N. Tate, A Duke and no Duke, 1685, pp. 45-47, as "A Song written by Sir George Etheridge, and set to music by Signior Baptist" (Wing T181) and 1693 as "A SONG written by Sir George Etheridge" without music (Wing T182). [85] TEXT.

1685.

11 she] 85; ow H. 104

SONG (See how fair Corinna lies) This pastoral song first appeared in Thomas Southerne's The Disappointment, or The Mother in Fashion (1684, first performed 1684) and was there attributed to Etherege. It is sung by Alberto preparatory to launching an attack on Erminia, with whom he supposes that he had an assignation the preceding night. (Actually, his cast-off mistress had been substituted, in the manner of Measure for Measure.) The assumption of the song that the nymph is in a state of readiness creates an awkward situation: the pure Erminia is baffled and offended, while her suspicious husband (hidden in the next room) takes the song as evidence of her guilt. It is not known how Southerne procured the song; one of the other songs in the play is headed "A SONG by an unknown hand," and it is only an assumption that Etherege gave this one to him. Willard Thorp printed the music and text of Etherege's song and a note including original information about the composer in his Songs From the Restoration Theater (Princeton, 1934), pp. 41-43, 99102. "Shepherd! why so dull a lover?/ Prithee, why so dull a lover?" These lines (4-5) seem reminiscent of Suckling's "Song," "Why so pale and wan, fond lover?/ Prithee, why so pale?" The situation in the first two stanzas of each of the two songs is similar: each features a lover whose lack of success with his mistress appears to be attributed to his lack of skilful aggressiveness. The resolution differs, of course: the Etherege song demands action and the Suckling verses suggest withdrawal. On the mystique of proper timing—"In the tender minute prove her" (1. 3)—compare Rochester's "Song" (As Cloris full of harmless thoughts) in which Cloris "Was, in the lucky Minute, try'd,/ And yielded to a Swain." MS

BM Sloane 3752, f. 2T, as from "the disappointment, or the Mother in fashion." Derived from 85T. [BM] PRINT

Thomas Southerne, The Disappointment, or The Mother in Fashion, 1684 (Wing S4755), pp. 60-61, and in all later editions, as "A SONG written by Sir George Ethridge." [84] 105

page 31

The Theater of Music, First Book, 1685 (D&M 78), pp. 2-3, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Mustek, 1695 (D&M 134), as from "the Disappointment, or The Mother in Fashion," with music by Pack. [85T] A Collection of Twenty Four Songs, 1685 (D&M 76), p. B4, with unattributed music. [85C] Also in: The Hive, n, 1724 and 1727 and 1733; A Collection of Poems on Several Occasions . . . Last Century, 1747. 1684. The other early printed texts seem to derive from this one; if the concurrence against 84 in 1. 3 is not accidental, a lost intermediary stands between them. TEXT.

1 Corinna] 84 8ST 85C; Clorinda BM. 3 minute] 84; moment 85T 85C BM. S om EM. 7 Anger] 84 8ST BM; Angry 85C. 7 proclaim] 84 8ST BM; complain 85C. 10 charms] 84 85C; charm 85T BM. 11 never, never] 84 85T BM; never 85C. 15 piping] 84 85C; tune, and 85T BM. 16 the nymph you love] 84 8SC; your Shepherdess 85T BM. 17 I s i t w i t h a tune you treat her] 84 8SC; can you pass your time no better 85T BM. 18 Amintor] 84 8ST BM; Amintas 8SC.

page 32

SONG (Ye happy youths, whose hearts are free) This song is Etherege's modest contribution to the tradition of anti-feminist poetry. The great classical example is Juvenal's Sixth Satire (Credo Pudicitiam Saturno rege moratam), of which Etherege had a French edition in his library (Letterbook, p. 377). While Donne and a few other poets of the early seventeenth century made forays into the anti-feminist preserve, it was left to Etherege's contemporaries to occupy it. For discussion and examples, see Wilson, pp. 99-105. MS

Harvard Eng 585* (and a transcript, as Harvard Eng 633*), p. 107. [H] MUSICAL BROADSIDE

Folger 1363 D in #505, as "Good Advice Set by D r Green." Text derived from 1702 or 1704. Cannot date much before 1730; see Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians under Greene, Maurice. PRINT

Choice Ayres and Songs, Fifth Book, 1684 (D&M 68), pp. 1819, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Mustek, 1695 (D&M 134), with music by Damascene. [84] 106

Miscellany, Being a Collection of Poems by several Hands, 1685 (Case 177), p. 86, attributed to Etherege. [85] Also in: Sylvae: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, 1702 and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 2 d-f), attributed to Etherege, with text of 1702 set from 85; The Works of Sir George Etherege, 1704 and 1715 and 1723 and 1735, with text of 1704 set from 1702; Wit and Mirth, HI, 1707 (D&M 215) and in, 1712 (D&M 223) and v, 1719 (D&M 240) and as Songs Compleat, v, 1719 (D&M 235), all with music by Damascene, with text of 1707 set from 1684; The Hive, I, 1724 and 1726 and 1732; Joseph Yarrow, A Choice Collection of Poetry, i, 1738, as "The Advice." Harvard MS Eng 585*, with correction of copyist's obvious slips in the first and sixth words of 1. 3. The text here printed will be unfamiliar to those who know the poem from printed sources. The sources for all texts except the three basic ones (H, 84, 85) have been indicated above. I have chosen H as the copytext because it seems to be an exemplar of the archetype from which there are deviations in the two lines of transmission first represented by 84 and 85. In all the variants, now 84 and now 85 agrees with H, and they never agree against H. Since authorial revision is not being considered, two logical possibilities follow, neither of which can be conclusively demonstrated: H represents their common source; H is a conflation of 84 and 85. I have decided, perhaps arbitrarily, that the second possibility is less likely in this case: the readings of H, as in the full lines 1 and 14, do not suggest conflation ; and a textual analysis of other poems in H indicates simple transmission. On the other hand, H seems to date from the late 1680's; but this fact need not, of course, argue against its transmission of an earlier state of the text. TEXT.

1 Ye] H 85; You 84. 1 youths] H 84; Swains 85. 3 Henceforth be warned and taught by] 84; Henceforths be warnd and Taught be H ; Take warning and be taught by 85. 6 Sharp] H 84; Fierce 85. 11 beauteous] H 85; Beauties 84. 13 How faithless is the lover's joy] H 85; The Kind with restless Jealousie 84. 14 How constant is his] H ; How constant is their 85; The Cruel fill with 84. 15 The kind with falsehood do destroy] H 85; With baser Falshood those betray 84. 16 The cruel] H 85; These kill us 84.

SONG (Cease, anxious World, your fruitless pain) This poem has the appearance of a lyric treatment of the theme of love opposed to gold, which is directly handled in the last part 107

page 33

of "Upon Love: In Imitation of Cowley" (Whether we mortals love or no), doubtfully ascribed to Etherege. But here the images and figures attach to love the favorable attributes of gold, and the opposition fades away. MS

Folger 1634.4, pp. 48-49, an early eighteenth-century transcript, with music unattributed [but by H. Purcell]. [F] PRINT

The Theater of Music, Fourth Book, 1687 (D&M 94), pp. 6061, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Mustek, 1695 (D&M 134), attributed to Etherege, with music by H. Purcell. [87] Orpheus Britannicus, 1698 (D&M 166), pp. 12-13, attributed to Etherege, with music by H. Purcell. [98] Also in: Deliciae Poeticae, 1706 and 1708 and 1709, attributed to Etherege [06]; The Second Part of Miscellany Poems, 1716 and 1727, attributed to Etherege [16]. 1687, from which all other texts derive. I have included an emendation from 1716 in 1. 8 to correct a perpetuated copyist's error; that it is an error is evident from the fact that 1. 8 should rhyme with 1. 11. 8 lives] 16; lies 87 98 06 F. TEXT.

page 34

SONG (In some kind dream upon her slumbers steal) Each stanza has a consistency, unusual for a song of this period, in the elaboration of its figure. The first is straightforward in concept but insinuating in method. The second is more intricate in developing the "sweet voice" of the first stanza. The man and the mistress are figured as the voice and the lute respectively, and the interaction of both pairs must be understood simultaneously while the lute responds to the voice with sympathetic vibrations. Etherege's interest in music can be illustrated by his letter to Thomas Betterton from Ratisbon: he speaks of the three musicians in his household, mentions that they get all the new operas from Paris, and asks for "some of the best composition with the several parts" (Letterbook, p. 209). PRINT

The Theater of Music, Fourth Book, 1687 (D&M 94), pp. 6971, and in reissue as The New Treasury of Mustek, 1695 (D&M

io8

134), attributed to Etherege and with music by H. Purcell. Also in: Deliciae Poeticae, 1706 and 1708 and 1709, attributed to Etherege; The Second Part of Miscellany Poems, 1716 and 1727, attributed to Etherege. 1687. The other texts are derived from this one. 1706 confused the lineation and introduced a new reading in 1. 12 ("part" for "force"); and 1716 (which Verity used as copytext) ignored the stanzaic form and introduced a new reading in 1. 1 (", Slumber," for "slumbers"). TEXT.

I. A LETTER FROM LORD BUCKHURST TO MR. GEORGE ETHEREGE {Dreaming last night on Mrs. Farley)

pages 35-37

II. MR. ETHEREGE'S ANSWER {As crafty harlots use to shrink)

pages 38-39

III. ANOTHER LETTER FROM LORD BUCKHURST TO MR. ETHEREGE {If I can guess the Devil choke me)

pages 40-42

IV. MR. ETHEREGE'S ANSWER {So soft and amorously you write)

pages 43-45

These four verse letters are high in what John Oldham, in his "Apology" for his "Satyr against Vertue," called Damn'd placket Rhimes Such as our Nobles write— Whose nauseous Poetry can reach no higher Than what the Codpiece, or its God inspire. These letters have, indeed, little literary merit aside from an occasional turn of phrase, a comic rhyme, or a witty thrust. What they possess in abundance is spirit, energy, buoyancy—and a preoccupation with sexual experience. They have a certain historic interest, however. I have become convinced that they were, in all probability, actually written by Lord Buckhurst (Charles Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, in 1675 Earl of Middlesex, in 1677 Earl of Dorset) and Etherege. Thus they are among the few extant examples of true familiar verse epistles which joined absent friends by an exchange of ordinary discourse or tavern talk, and they tell a good deal about the poses and manners adopted between intimate friends. I have also become convinced that they were, in all probability, written during the winter of 1663/64, when Buckhurst was 20 and Etherege about 109

29. The epistles by Buckhurst are included in this edition because the group of letters is so inextricably linked that Etherege's answers would otherwise be almost unintelligible. As to authorship, they are attributed to Buckhurst and Etherege in all but one of their appearances, and there is nowhere the slightest hint that they are a dramatic invention of one or more other hands. Their appearance in the 1680 Poems of Rochester as letters between Buckhurst and Etherege, and in later "Rochester" collections derived from this edition, should not be taken as attributions to Rochester; they appear in the miscellany section of the 1680 Poems, and David Vieth has conclusively demonstrated that the appearance of a poem in that section is not an ascription to Rochester ("Order of Contents as Evidence of Authorship: Rochester's Poems of 1680," PBSA, Lin [1959], 293-308). A letter from Etherege to Buckhurst (then Dorset) on 25 July 1687 contains a relevant reminiscence: "you and I were n'er so bold to turn the faire Cuffie, when she fled us into a tree not dreaming she wou'd grow as big as one of Evelins Oaks nor our selves into Bulls, when we carried the two dragle-tayl'd nymphs one bitter frosty night over the Thames to Lambeth" (Letterbook, p. 240). This event had provided a major theme for the verse letters. After a reference (in Etherege's first answer) to Cuffley and their use of her, the last two letters hash and re-hash the details of the tree episode and of fair Cuffley in general. Although other people may have known about the incident, it seems most unlikely that anyone other than Buckhurst and Etherege would have written about it with the loving recollection displayed in these letters. As to the date of composition of the verse letters, they were obviously written before 1675, when Lord Buckhurst became Earl of Middlesex. It seems clear that they are separated by short intervals of time and that they were all written in the course of a single absence of Buckhurst from London in the country. One topical reference should be examined, 11. 61-66 of Buckhurst's first letter, concerning the rhyming which greeted the King and Queen when they visited the University. The occasion was, I presume, the Royal Progress during which the King and Queen visited Oxford from 25 through 30 September 1663, when a notable quantity of orating and versifying greeted and commemorated the royal presence. From Buckhurst's way of referring to the occasion, it would appear to HO

have been in the recent past when the first letter was written. Buckhurst's second letter appears in National Library of Scotland MS Advocate 19.3.4 (which includes MS poems of the early 1660's, many of them dated, and in a chronological order which is sometimes inaccurate) after poems which are dated 1663 and before those which are dated 1664. In his dedication of The Comical Revenge (1664) to Buckhurst, Etherege observed that "the Writing of it was a means to make me known to your Lordship." The play had been first produced in March 1664; since Etherege was probably slow about writing this play—as he was with his other two— there was doubtless time for him to be on familiar terms with Buckhurst by the winter before the play was produced. For an independent discussion of these verse letters, see Vieth, chapter 9. Unless otherwise noted, all sources listed below present the letters under the names of the purported correspondents and contain all four letters. MSS

Harvard Eng 636F*, pp. 99-114. [H] Edinburgh University DC 1.3, pp. 72-74. [E] Portland PwV 40, pp. 19-31, without the names of the correspondents. [P] National Library of Scotland Advocate 19.3.4, ff. 136-137T, Buckhurst's Second Letter only, between poems dated 1663 and 1664. [N] Yale "Songs & Verses Upon severall occasions," p. 185, only the last 6 II. of Etherege's Second Answer, the prior portion of this linked group having presumably been removed in the sixth gap in the MS; this MS is related to the Rochester 1680 Poems through a common antecedent. [Y] PRINT

Poems on Several Occasions By the Right Honourable, the E. of R[ochester], 1680, pp. 77-87. Many editions: see Thorpe, pp. xi-xxvii, for a list, for symbols, and for relationships; and p. 165 for variant readings of the recorded editions. [80] Also in various later collections of Rochester and Rochesteriana, without apparent authority for text or authorship, derived from the 1680 editions: 1685, 1701, 1713, 1714, 1721, 1731, 1739,1777, and others. Ill

TEXT. Reconstructed. The basic texts for all four poems are three Mss and one printed text; for poem III there is a fourth MS, and for IV a fragment of a fourth MS. Within this group each text is terminal, and hence independently derived from lost sources. All of these basic texts are quite corrupt; they are about equal in the frequency with which they omit apparently genuine lines, add or drop words, and display usual copyists' errors. 80 and P share a common intermediary antecedent, now lost, as do H and E; but in each case it may be at more than one remove from the extant text. There is considerable evidence of conflation having taken place among antecedent texts. The transmission appears to have been the work, mainly, of professional copyists. I have attempted to recover the archetype which lies behind the extant texts through observing their concurrence in variant readings; I have retained the readings in which the majority concur, though not without trying the possibility that a minor variant preserves an original reading and the concurred variant perpetuates an early copyist's error. This procedure serves to settle the textual problem in all but twenty-six readings in the four poems; in each of those cases there are two readings, each shared by two basic texts, thus presumably identifying distinctive readings in two lost antecedent sources. (117, 183, 51 1 , 54, 55, 57, 581, 582, 69, 72; II 2,32 1 , 44, 451, 46, 58, 60 1 ; IV 9, 141, 142, 152, 20, 51 1 , 541, 57, 64.) Since I have no textual evidence to prefer one or the other of the two lost sources, my choice in these particular instances is arbitrary; I have sought to avoid a reading which can be reasonably thought to perpetuate a copyist's error. 'pages 35-37)

I . A LETTER FROM LORD BUCKHURST TO M R . G E O R G E E T H E R E G E

{Dreaming last night on Mrs. Farley) 1 on] 8 0 E P ; of H . 5-6 o m P . 8 For luxury that had] 80 E ; for luxury who had P ; That had for Luxury H. 10 nutmeg] H E P ; Nutmegs 80. 11 tells] 8 0 H E ; tell P . 15 that] 8 0 H E ; if P . 17 Had laid her down on every couch] 80 P ; I'd swiv'd her sure into a swound E ; » i » H , 18 saved] E H P ; spar'd 80. 18 her] 80 E P ; the H. 18 diamond brooch] 80 P ; diamond H E. 21 all] 8 0 H E ; om P. 22 Had] 80 H P ; And E. 26 the better] 8 0 E P ; better H. 27 any] 8 0 H P ; every E. 29 bawds] H E P ; Bawd 80. 33 t'a] 80 H P ; to E. 34 pray] 80 H P ; doo E. 37 hope] 80 H P ; hopes E. 38 gentlest] 8 0 H E ; gentler P. 42 will] H E P ; must 80. 50 rhyming] 80 E P ; Chimeing H. 51 Who] 80 P ; That H E. 51 harsh] 8 0 H E ; hors P. 52 or] 80 P ; and E ; A H. 53-54 follow 60 P 53 his] 8 0 H E ; their P. 54 first] 80 E; next H P. 55 Knights] 80 P ;

112

Knight H E . 57 crime] 80 P ; crimes H E . 58 Dress] 80 P ; Draw H E . 58 rhyme] 80 P ; rhymes H E . 60 by] H E P ; with 80. 63 were] 80 H P ; was E . 69 plead] H E ; find 80 P. 71 The] H E P ; Tho 80. 71 or] 8 0 H P ; & E . 72 Their] 80 P ; The H E . 74 a ] 8 0 E P ; n o e H . I I . MR. ETHEREGE'S ANSWER (AS crafty harlots use to shrink) 2 lechers] 80 E ; Leacher H P . 6 whilst] 80 E P ; when H. 6 on] 80 H P ; in E. 8 om E. 9 Where] 80 H P ; When E . 10 waked] 80 H P ; walk'd E . 12 lie] 80 E P ; lay H. 14 Where] H E ; When P ; And 80. 20 Which] H E P ; That 80. 20 pool] 80 E P ; podd H. 21 shirt] 80 H P ; skirt E . 23-24 follow 27 P. 24 like] 80 H E ; of P. 25 But] 80 H E ; For P. 25 this] 80 E P ; the H. 26 foam] H E P ; froth 80. 27 could] 80 E P ; would H. 28 om P. 28 nasty] 80 E ; nastier H. 30 Where that] H E P ; And the 80. 32 citizen] 80 P ; citizens H E . 32 on] 80 H E ; of P. 35-36 om 80. 35 enquiry] H P ; inquiries E. 35 and] H E ; a P. 42 indeed had used] 80 H P ; had us'd indeed E . 44 nymph] H E ; Whore 80 P. 45 that] H E ; which 80 P. 45 scorn] 80 H P ; scorns E . 46 whip] H E ; Switch 80 P. 50 and bad] 80 H P ; or bad E . 52 you come] 80 E P ; I come H. 54 much] 80 E P ; oft H. 58 do]H E ; will 80 P. 60 what] H E ; which 80 P. 60 worse] 80 H P ; more E .

(pages 38-3

I I I . ANOTHER LETTER FROM LORD BUCKHURST TO MR. E T H -

(Pages

EREGE (If I can guess the Devil choke me) 1 I f l e a n ] 80 H E P ; I cannot N. 2 could] 80 H E P ; did N. 4 prick and cunt] H E N ; c—t, and pr—k 80 P. 5 prick and cunt] H E N ; c—t, and pr—k 80 P. 5 what] 80 H N P ; whats E . 5 does] 80 N P ; could E ; can H. 6 to songs and] 80 E N P ; and Songs to H. 7 Enables] 80 E N P ; Enable H. 7 anagrams] 80 H N P ; Anagram E . 8 Aim flams] 80 H N P ; Flim-flam E . 9 Then] 80 H N P ; When E . 9 proceed] 80 H N P ; succeed E . 10 poet's sacred weed] 80 E N P ; Sacred Poetts reedH. 11 Hast] 80 E N P ; H a s H . 11 for] 80 E P ; to H N. 11 God] 8 0 H N P ; goodE. 12 should] H E N ; shall80P. 15 Who] H N P ; That 80 E. 15 their] 80 E P ; the N ; his H. 16 Guarded their pippins and pomwaters] 80 P ; Guarded the Pippins and Pomwaters N ; om H ; Whose pretty toyes caus'd amourous Laughters E . 23 writers] H N P ; Authors 80; witts E. 23 to] H N P ; do 80; om E . 26 om H. 26 foe] 80 N P ; so E . 28 this] 80 H E N ; which P. 29 truth's] 80 E N P ; truth is H. 31 now] 80 E N P ; om H. 31 to] 80 E H P ; wee N. 32 bright] 80 H N P ; sayd E. 32 pensively] 80 H N P ; pensive E . 33 offensively] 80 H N P ; offencive E. 34 shades] 80 H N ; shaid E P. 37 her] 80 H E P ; hisN. 38 And] 80 E N P ; Butt H. 41 accent does] H E P ; accents do 80 N. 44 of] 80 H E P ; & N. 46 glittering] 80 H E P ; glistening N. 48 the trees] 80 N P ; a tree H E . 49 carve] 80 H N P ; craueE. 50 which commonly's] 80 E N P ; with Commonly H. 51 or] 80 H E N ; of P. 54 wear] H E N P ; bear 80. 56 chose] 80 H E P ; choose N. 58 lofty] 80 N P ; stately H E . 59 Who] H E N P ; Which who 80. 59 wept] 80 H N P ; weeps E . 63 his] N P ; its 80 E ; her H. 63 all] 80 E N P ; att H. 65 his] 80 N P ; her H ; its E . 71 thrive] 80 H E N ;

3

40-4

striue P . 73 its] 80 H E N ; his P . 74 man's] 80 H E P ; men's N. 74 strong] 80 H E P ; strange N. 75 m y ] 8 0 H N P ; o « E . 75 O'Brian] H E N P ; O B — 8 0 . 76 words] E N P ; word 80 H. 77 He] 80 N P ; For he H E . 77 kept] 80 H N P ; keep's E . 78 you] H E N ; thou 80 P. 78 were] E N ; wert 80; warst P ; was H. 78 scared] 80 H E P ; staid N. 78 by] H E N P ; with 80. 79 forgiven] 80 H E N ; forbidden P. 82 the beggar's] 80 N ; of Beggars P ; and poor man's H E . 83 statesman's] 80 E P ; the Statsmans H ; the Statesmen's N. 85 I've] 80 E P ; I haue H ; I'le N. 90 om E . 91 'Tis] 80 H E P ; It's N. 91 rest] 80 E N P ; write H. (pages

43-45)

pages 46-47

I V . MR. ETHEREGE'S ANSWER (So soft and amorously you write) 2 the cunt's] 80 P ; and Cunts H ; & their E . 4 a-spitting] 80 E P ; spitting H. 5 forgive] H E P ; forget 80. 8 Because] 80 H P ; Being E . 9 very] 80 P ; charming H E . 10 in] 80 E P ; om H. 12 long] 80 E P ; longs H. 14 Which he] H E ; He 80 P . 14 gotten] H E ; received 80 P. 14 those] 80 H P ; the E . 15 shows] 80 E P ; shews that H. 15 chiefest] 80 P ; strongest H E . 17 There] 80 H P ; The E . 17 his] 80 H P ; the E . 17 revels] 80 E P ; RivallsH. 18 sorrows] 80 E P ; Sorrow H. 20 Their] H E ; Our 80 P. 21-43 om E . 25 for's] 80 P ; for H. 27 that whore] 80 P ; the whole H. 28 the] 80 H E ; her P. 32 gallant takes] 80 H E ; galants take P. 38-41 om 80 P. 44 with] 80 H P ; not E . 49 case] 80 H E ; kene P. 51 let] H E ; make 80 P. 51 him] H E P ; 'em 80. 52 scrape] 80 E P ; shape H. 54 her] 80 P ; the H E . 54 name] 80 E P ; namesH. 54 o r ] 8 0 H P ; & E . 55 same] 80 E P ; sames H. 55 bear] 80 E P ; we are H. 57 In the] 80 P ; In H E . 58 his] H E P ; a 80. 61 his] 80 H P ; the E . 64 a] 80 P ; the H E . 65 figures] 80 E P ; feignes H. 69 Cuffley!] 80 H E ; omP. 71 action] 80 H E ; actions P. 71 her] 80 H P ; a E . 76 Nor drink] 80 E P ; Not wine H. 77 we've] 80 H E ; we haue P. 78 dwells] 80 H E P ; dwell Y . 79 your] H E P ; thee 80 Y . 83 All] H E P Y ; And all 80. I. A

LETTER

whores pages 48-50

and

LORD

MIDDLETON

(From

III. MR.

as well as

DRYDEN'S

E R E G E (To

hunting

play)

II. S E C O N D L E T T E R T O L O R D M I D D L E T O N and verse,

pages 51-53

TO

haunting

(Since

love

wine) LETTER

you who live in chill

TO

SIR

GEORGE

ETH-

degree)

EXPLANATORY NOTES T h e s e three verse epistles are, like the four between Etherege and Buckhurst, a private correspondence which has been happily preserved. T h e y a r e among the few examples of familiar letters in verse which are still extant from the latter seventeenth century. T h e first two epistles were sent by Etherege from his post at Ratisbon to the E a r l of Middleton in London. A s Secretary of State, Middle-

114

ton was the recipient of Etherege's formal reports, generally twice a week, sometimes garnished with personal references. Middleton was also a friend of long standing, and his earlier service as Envoy at Vienna doubtless made him a sympathetic audience for Etherege's witty characterization of the female game in Ratisbon. It is a reasonable assumption that Middleton turned to Dryden to supply III, as an answer in kind to Etherege. Middleton apparently transmitted III to Etherege without identifying the author, but even Etherege's secretary suspected Dryden. This attribution is confirmed in all other MSS and printed texts, which derive (as we shall see) from another source. In all early printed and MS sources which include I and II, the order is reversed, and I is usually called "Another" or "A Second" letter. That the order here given is correct can be shown from the dated entries in Etherege's letterbook concerning the time of transmission of these two epistles, I being dated 9/19 Jan. 1685/6 and II 19/29 April 1686. Like the earlier verse epistles between Etherege and Buckhurst, these three trip along in octosyllabic couplets. So far as I know, it is the only time Dryden used this hudibrastic meter, for which he elsewhere expressed contempt. The main—almost the only—subject of I and II is the women in Ratisbon, counterpointed against Etherege's homesickness for London. His reactions to the women are further set forth in his letter to Corbet of 23 August 1688: "The women here are not generally handsome, yet there is a file of young ladys in this Town, whose arms wa glitter were they drawn up ag st the maids of Honor; but the Devill's in't marriage is so much their business, that they cannot satisfy a Lover, who has desires more fervent than Franck Villars; 'tis a fine thing for a man; who has been nurrish'd so many years wth good substantiall flesh, & blood to be reduc'd to sighs, & wishes, & all those airy courses, wch are serv'd up to entertaine a belle passion, but to comfort myself in my misfortune, I have learn'd to ogle, & languish in publick like any Walcop, & to content my self in private with a piece of houshold bread as well as Whitaker" (Harvard MS Thr 11.1; a version with a number of variations is printed in Letterbook, p. 422, from Familiar Letters, n, 1697). "Here are two very handsome young Ladies, but their unconscionable price is marriage" (Letterbook, p. 304). HS

Etherege's two epistles gain in dimension when read in the light of his homesickness for London as expressed in this passage from his letter of 28 November 1687 to John Cooke: "You can do no less than pitty me who have been forc'd from the shoar of delightfull Thames to be confm'd to live on the banks of the unwholesome Danube where we have been this moneth choack'd with fogs, and cannot now set a foot out of doors, without being up to the knee in snow, the muses when they were banish'd Greece travell'd westward, and have establish'd themselves in other Countries, but cou'd never find in their hearts to dwell here, the mountaignes are the aboade of wolves & bears, and the inhabitants of the towns have some thing as fierce and rugged in their natures, my weak fancy may well suffer here, when the noble Genius of Ovid was dejected at Pontus, & you cannot but forgive the fondness I have for London shou'd I cry out when I shutt this letter: Hei mihi quod Domino non licet ire tuo" (Letterbook, p. 293). pages 46-47)

[I. A Letter. . . {From hunting whores and haunting play)] Etherege's mind constantly dwelt on the comparison between the women in Ratisbon and those in London. "As for our women they are a Comodity, wch will turn to no account in England, especially to you who as well as myself, have by a long experince of the frailties of the Sex, allmost acquir'd a perfect Chastity" (Letterbook, p. 283). As for making "the best of a bad market" he observed: "I have onely a plain Bavarian, with her sandy coluor'd locks, brawny limbs, and a brick complection, & yet I find myself often very hearty" (Letterbook, p. 190). Concerning the "plague of ceremony," he noted that "few foul their fingers with touching of a Cunt that dos not belong to a Countesse" (Letterbook, p. 338). His secretary saw things differently: that Etherege ignored "the punctilios of honour" so much and so properly observed in Ratisbon and instead caressed "every dirty drab" and "lepp'd his maids like buck and doe" (Letterbook, pp. 389, 379, 343).

pages 48-50)

[II. Second Letter. . . (Since love and verse, as well as wine)] 3-11. It has been usual to point to Etherege's latitudinarian geography—Ratisbon is actually two degrees south of London—but his climatic sense is sound enough as a basis for the merry figure that follows. (See the further commentary below on 11. 1-4 of poem III.) One might as well add that his statement of the mileage from Lon-

n6

don to Ratisbon (1. 11) minimizes the power of the kind nymphs; they were actually removed by a distance more like the 800 miles which he elsewhere mentioned (Letterbook, p. 161). 23-34. The mock pedigree of the diamond bodkin is presumably related to the progress of Agamemnon's scepter (Iliad, n, lOOff.). For the pedigree which Pope (apparently with his eye or mind on Etherege's poem) gives to Belinda's bodkin, see The Rape of the Lock, v, 89-96: seal rings to buckle to whistle and bells to bodkin. 31. I cannot with certainty identify which Kunigunda is referred to. Pinto says that she was "a famous Bavarian duchess of the sixteenth century of whom Etherege would have heard in the Bavarian city of Regensburg" (Restoration Carnival, p. 106). 33. serpent: a common form of fireworks, so called because it burned with a serpentine motion. "Mrs. Mercer's son had provided a great many serpents, and so I made the women all fire some serpents" (Pepys, Diary, 6 June 1666). 40. The portrait by Holbein of Hal (Henry VIII) and his Queen is probably the famous and impressively realistic fresco (1537) in the Privy Chamber at Whitehall (#179 in Paul Ganz, The Paintings of Hans Holbein, New York, 1950); it was destroyed in the 1698 fire, but an oil copy of 1667 is preserved. It shows (in full length, standing) Henry VIII and Lady Jane Seymour in front, with Henry VII and Elizabeth behind: the jewelry is very impressive, and the setting is a richly ornamented Renaissance room. Marie Neville may overstate the case for this portrait ("Etherege and Holbein," N&Q, cxcix [1954], 157) by overlooking the several Holbein diptychs of Henry and one or another of his queens; these were also well known and widely distributed, thanks to the replicas made by Holbein and his imitators, and to Henry's propensity for presenting them. 44. ramp: a vulgar, ill-behaved female. Immodesty and lack of breeding (rather than lewdness) are here implied. 57. malkin: a slut, a lewd woman. She is of "another sort of creatures" from the ramp. "The dull heavy-tail'd maukin melts him down with her modesty" (Vanbrugh, False Friend, 1702, i.i). 58. jet: a sexually attractive movement of the buttocks. "And yonder goes an odd Fellow, with a very pretty Wench: what a Toss she has with her head, and a jett with her breech" (Sedley, Bellamira, 1687, i.ii). 117

66-68. The religious basis of this figure is a reminiscence of the service of the Holy Communion. The girl is the goddess to whom Etherege presents his body to be a living sacrifice. All too frequently Etherege's goddesses received his offering of venereal health and repaid him with a case of the pox. 71-72. Etherege repeated the bow-and-arrow figure in a letter to Mulgrave on 31 March 1687: "It is but seldome I have had occasion in this grave place to draw my bow, and when I have I did not perceive my nerves were slacken'd" (Letterbook, p. 182). The following verses are appended to this poem in the letterbook Ms under the heading "Fragments left out." A line has been carefully drawn through each verse. None of these verses appear in any of Etherege's poems, but his letters contain many phrasal reminiscences of them. With thousand Diamonds whose prises You must not guess at by their Seizes Their antick cut, & want of lustre Which in a Shop will not past muster But by the Laws of Herauldry Th' ear's the Judge and not the Eye. Let them who live in plenty fioute I must make shift with sauer Kraut What matter is't what this stone cost Or what t' will yield since it can boast These are the charmes of this great Nation No Coquetrie nor no belle passion To force the lock of Natur's Door And make her lavish out her Store Diffring in faith in birth & dress When I ingeniously confess They all agree in ugliness The Virgins of the Church of Rome The Daughters wrought on Luther's loom Have in this world the same sad doom [III. Mr. Dryden's Letter. . . (To you who live in chill degree)] An amusing parody of this poem, under the title of "An Inversion of Mr. Dryden's Answer to Sir George Etherege's Letter to the Earl of Middleton By Way of Essay" (To you who hang like Il8

Media's tomb), was written as a satirical attack on Dryden. It appears in various sources, such as National Library of Scotland Advocate MS 19.1.12, dated 1686, and in Familiar Letters, i, 1724. 1-4. These opening lines have usually been made to serve as a basis for elaborate calculations of Etherege's date of birth. For example, "By bringing thither fifty-one" is taken to mean that Etherege was 51 years old when he composed II in 1686 and thus was born in 1635. By playing with the numbers in 1. 2 and 1. 4 and by some unusual subtractions, 1632, 1633, and 1634 have also been offered. (See Edmund Gosse, Seventeenth-Century Studies, 1883, pp. 234-235; Verity, pp. vii-viii; Brett-Smith, p. xiii; Letterbook, pp. 3-4.) I think that these lines do not refer to Etherege's age. In responding to U. 1-4 of II, Dryden translated Etherege's geographical references into statements of latitude. There is in fact a difference of two degrees in latitude between London and Ratisbon; since the climate was painfully colder in Ratisbon, Etherege apparently assumed that it was further north ('"Tis something to lose two degrees/ Now age itself begins to freeze"). Dryden, knowing that the latitude of London was 51°, must have reasoned that the alleged loss of two degrees would make Ratisbon 53°; "as map informs" is sleight of hand for "as I deduce from your information." Both poems suppose a direct relationship between latitude and climate. You do not much make amends for that alleged cold of 53°, says Dryden, by "bringing thither" the climate of 51°. The question of Etherege's age does enter the two epistles, but not (I think) in a way which bears on the date of his birth. Etherege's conventional comment about his advancing years ("Now age itself begins to freeze") is gracefully answered by Dryden in 11. 5-12 with a polite refusal to talk about age: it does not matter, says Dryden, what climate you are in, since you can perform the role of the wise greybeard and the young gallant anywhere. I suppose it could be argued that Dryden's lines include, beyond the statement of latitudes and the corollary figure of climate, a punning reference to the date of Etherege's birth. Such an hypothesis would seem altogether remote. It would have to be assumed, in the first place, that Dryden knew when Etherege was born: no evidence has yet been discovered of any contemporary reference to his age 119

or date of birth, and it seems unlikely that Dryden (who was not an intimate friend) would have the date on the tip of his tongue to work into a pun in a familiar letter. Further, such a reminder of the exact degree of advancing years would be mildly cruel in this context, and Dryden was certainly a tactful man. Moreover, the results of most of the calculations based on Dryden's lines are demonstrably incorrect, as Etherege could hardly have been born before 1635: his parents were married in October 1634 after suitable financial arrangements had been carefully negotiated between their fathers, and the bridegroom had returned to England in the spring of 1634 from a stay of some four years in Bermuda. G. R. Noyes has ingeniously argued (The Poetical Works of Dryden, Boston, 1950, p. 1064) that Dryden "stupidly" misunderstood Etherege, who "meant that he lost two degrees from 51, giving 49, and thereby came into a 'brisker' or hotter climate." James Kinsley adopted a similar interpretation of the lines (The Poems of John Dryden, Oxford, 1958, p. 2002). This argument seems to me utterly unsupportable: in his letters, Etherege repeatedly complained about the fog, frost, snow, and hail of Ratisbon in contrast with the conditions on "the shoar of delightfull Thames" (see, for example, Letterbook, pp. 182, 293); while recovering from a fever shortly after his arrival in Ratisbon, he observed, "I shall be glad if I pay no dearer for my entrance into this rough Climate" (letter to Middleton, 7/17 Dec. 1685, BM Add MSS 41,836); and his idea of the relative warmth of London seems to shine through the verses of poem II which Noyes is glossing, as 11. 2, 6, 9. 25. chopped: thirsty, dry; fissured, cracked. Partridge, Dictionary of the Underworld, chapped; OED, chopped ppl a*2; cf. Dryden's use in The Third Book of Georgics, 1. 656; The Flower and the Leaf, 1. 420; All for Love, i.i.342. It appears that a bawdy meaning is intended in U. 24-25, with "chopped" signifying a dry crack and "liquor" a fluid involved in sexual activity. The passage which follows (11. 26-35) continues the praise of Etherege's sexual prowess, using the figure of fertility. 27. the Bear: an eating house in Drury Lane with a number of private rooms sometimes used for assignations. It is used as a scene in She wou'd if she cou'd (in.iii); Courtall tells Lady Cockwood that "the Bear in Drury-lane is the fittest place for our purpose" (ni.i.221); Sir Joslin calls it "the privat'st place in Town" (m ii. 12O

53-54). Dryden may also be punning on "the Bear" as Ursa Major; in this sense, Etherege's prowess is grandly extended to all those parts of the earth circled by Ursa Major. 30. Triptolemus: the hero of agriculture who drove Ceres's chariot ind scattered seeds of grain on the untilled earth and on fields that "iad long lain fallow. 11. fatigues: that which causes weariness, in this case attendance at :eremonial affairs. "I hope, that after the glorious fatigues which ave hitherto been the diversion of your Highness, you will now find pleasure in the softness of repose" (Sir William Temple to the Prince of Tuscany, S Dec. 1669). 15. rummers: large drinking glasses or cups. "The best Furniture af their Parlours. . . are tall overgrown Rummers. . . . Drinking is the Hereditary Sin of this Country" (Letterbook, p. 414). "Whilst in full rummers we our friendship crown" (Dryden, Amboyna, r . last line). 4-7-48. The College of Electors of the German Empire comprised i'.e King of Bohemia, the Dukes of Saxony and Bavaria, the Margrave of Brandenburg, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, and the 'three Holy Miter'd Hectors" (the Archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, md Trier). 50. Kinsley noted that this line is a proverbial expression, M839 in Morris P. Tilley, A Dictionary of the Proverbs in England in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Ann Arbor, 1950. 54-65. An allusion to the service of Holy Baptism in which the world, the flesh, and the devil ("worldly pomp") are renounced ("defied"). To. Frangois de Beauvillier, Due de Saint-Aignan (1610-1687). Bradamante, a tragi-comedy which appeared anonymously in 1637, has been attributed to him but without much evidence. The allusion is sufficiently obscure to make one think that Dryden is [esting at his own proposition. 75-77. The first version of the Duke of Buckingham's The Rehearsal was well underway by 1663, but the farce was not performed until 7 Dec. 1671. The delay was occasioned in part by the closing of the theatres in 1665 and the consequent need to include allusions to Dryden (by then the most notable practitioner of the art of the heroic play) in the exemplary Mr. Bayes. Dryden's reference to The Rehearsal (for which he elsewhere expressed 121

professional scorn) is a model of tactful restraint: Etherege and Buckingham were on friendly terms. See Arthur Mizener's unpublished dissertation, "George Villiers, Second Duke of Buckingham: His Life and a Canon of His Works," Princeton, 1934, pp. 388-395. 78-81. Etherege is enrolled among the slow Georges (along with Buckingham [George Villiers]) partly because of his well-known tardiness in completing plays and partly because both Etherege and Dryden espoused the "darling sin" of laziness, which was the main subject in their exchange of letters the following year {Letterbook, pp. 167-169, 355-357). Although 11. 78-79 are a trifle ambiguous, they seem to allude to a play which Etherege began (or perhaps spoke of writing) before he left London in 1685; but I have seen no other reference to such a play. TEXTUAL NOTES

These three poems present an interesting problem in textual transmission because one extant MS of each is both demonstrably close to authorial copy and not the source of the various other MSS and printed texts. In the reconstruction of authorial copy, the useful textual principle of verification by independent concurrence can be developed and applied. These are the relevant facts and inferences. 1) BM Add MSS 11513 is close to authorial copy for each poem. This MS, one of Etherege's letterbooks while he was envoy at Ratisbon, is in the hand of Henry Hughes, Etherege's secretary. His text of I is a fair copy of the poem: whether it was made from the transmitted text or the other way around cannot be determined; in either event, it is removed from authorial copy only by Hughes's errors (if any) in transcription. His text of II is a revised working copy of the poem. Two major and two minor changes are evident, all (it would appear) in Etherege's hand: a) what are now 11. 2425 are written in the margin with asterisks to indicate their place in the text; b) what are now 11. 26-31 originally followed 1. 34 and were marked to be moved to their present place; c) the first two words of what is now 1. 26 replace an earlier reading ("This was"), which is stricken out; d) the first word in 1. 43 ("For") is stricken out, no substitution is made, and "she" is left to begin the line. The first three revised readings are common to all other texts of the 122

poem; for the fourth revision, all other texts concur in reading "The Thing" instead of "she." It seems likely that Hughes (or possibly Etherege) made a fair copy of this MS for transmission to Middleton; though it is possible that there were further authorial changes, the relatively small number of readings (10 words) in which all other texts concur against this MS argues against a further intermediate copy but does not rule out the possibility that Etherege copied the poem for transmission and made further verbal revisions. Except for that possibility, this MS seems to represent authorial copy for II. Hughes's copy of III is followed by the note "Thought to be writen by M r Dryden & sent to S r G by my Ld Middleton." Hughes was thus copying from the text (no longer extant) which had come from Middleton; it may have been Dryden's holograph or a transcript made for Middleton or Dryden. The text of this MS thus appears to represent authorial copy with errors of transmission (if any) made by one or two copyists. One fact suggests that Hughes made a careful transcript: after reversing the order of the fourth and fifth words in 1. 78, he numbered them interlineally to indicate transposition. 2) BM Add MSS 11S13 appears not to be the source of any other seventeenth-century texts of these three poems. This letterbook was retained by Hughes after Etherege took refuge in Paris in 1689, and Hughes used it latterly for his anti-Etherege verses and letters. Hughes continued as envoy in Ratisbon at least until 1692; he was back in England (recently, it would seem) in 169S, but there is no record of this letterbook until it was acquired by the British Museum in the nineteenth century. A number of the other texts for these three poems were in MS and print before Hughes returned to England, and there is no textual evidence to suggest that any later texts were derived from the letterbook. There is no evidence of any other dissemination of any of these three poems by Etherege or Hughes. An inference from lack of evidence is reasonable in this case. The available evidence about letters and enclosures despatched is relatively full, since three letterbooks and the Middleton papers (containing Etherege's holograph letters) are extant; there is no hint to suggest the possibility that any of these poems may have been transmitted at any time other than as noted above. The possibility of local transmission of the texts in Ratisbon is most unlikely, as there seems to have been no one there who would have been inter123

ested in reading the poems, much less in copying them. In all probability, therefore, the letterbook text for these three poems was not the direct source for any of the other texts. 3) All other texts for each poem can be taken together as deriving from a single source through a very complex process of recopying during which the text became progressively more corrupt. The texts for all copies of I and II must ultimately derive from the poems as received by Middleton. Both the texts of these poems and the letters which transmitted them are missing from the collection of more than 200 Etherege holograph letters in the BM Middleton papers. The method of dating given in two MSS of II, as "Ratisbone May the 10th 1686," indicates that the text received by Middleton, with its endorsement, was the ultimate source. The fact that all the early sources which include both poems have them in reverse order (and with what is really the first letter usually entitled "second") suggests that they all derive from a single transcription (apparently lost) in which the copyist confused the order and perpetuated the reversal by his titling. The texts for all copies of III derive from one or more copies shown about by Dryden or Middleton at approximately the time that the poem was sent to Etherege. Dryden never printed the poem, which is personal, occasional, and in hudibrastic verse—a meter which he generally scorned. There is no evidence to suggest that he ever revised the verses or that he retained a copy; if this is true (as seems most probable) the variant readings of the text in question are occasioned by errors in transmission. An inspection of the variant readings recorded below for all three poems reveals that it is possible to construct a stemma for all the texts under discussion in this paragraph (i.e., all texts except BM Add MSS 11513) only by postulating a large number of lost intermediary and antecedent copies and by inferring several instances of conflation; thus any text established from them would be subject to an indefinable degree of error. In view of these facts and inferences, a text which comes closest to an authorial copy in all substantive readings for each poem can be established by using the letterbook MS as copytext and by identifying and eliminating any corruptions caused by copyists' errors of transcription. We can first apply the following principle. If a reading of the letterbook MS is shared by any other text in the case of any variant 124

reading, then the reading of the letterbook MS can be said to have been verified and the other readings to represent errors in transmission. To put it another way, the existence of a reading of the letterbook MS in even one of the other texts demonstrates that the reading was necessarily present in the copy that passed through Middleton's hands and that variants from the reading—no matter how numerous or uniform—-are the perpetuation of a copyist's error. (The reasonableness of coincidental error is, of course, always to be considered.) This principle of verification by independent concurrence is, of course, applicable in any situation where one text which derives from authorial copy has not been involved in the transmission of the other texts. The application of this principle settles the textual problems for almost all of the variant readings by confirming the letterbook reading—in fact, only thirteen are left for all three poems out of about a hundred variants. A corollary principle enables us to deal with the remaining problems. If a reading of the letterbook MS is unique—i.e., all other texts either concur against it or offer more than one reading without perpetuating the letterbook reading— then the reading in question involves either a) a copyist's error in the letterbook, b) a copyist's error made in London in a lost copy from which all other texts derive, or c) a case of authorial revision. So far as the third possibility is concerned, the evidence given earlier suggests that it is unlikely except for poem II. In cases where it is impossible to determine which of the possibilities is most likely to account for the variant, then I retain the letterbook reading on the conservative ground that it has passed through no more than two copyists, each of whom would have had some reason to do relatively careful work, while the copyists from Middleton's texts are of indeterminate number and of unknown motives. The application of this principle to I identifies one variant (1. I I 1 ) ; since there is uncertainty as to the source of change, I retain the letterbook reading. For II, 10 variants appear. In one case (1. 31), the letterbook reading is demonstrably correct and all others perpetuate a copyist's error; two cases (11. 351, 78) are trivial variations; seven (11. 8, 16, 20, 281, 352, 43, 54) are substantive changes. While it is possible that these last represent authorial changes, I have retained the letterbook reading for all ten on the ground that a perpetuated copyist's error is likely (particularly in 125

view of the example in 1. 31) and the source of error cannot be fixed. For III, two readings are brought into question (11. 43, 60). In both cases I amend the letterbook text. Although an argument can be made to attribute either reading to a copyist, the letterbook seems less likely to represent an authorial reading for this poem when all other texts concur against it: the textual evidence for III (unlike that for I and II) does not suggest that all texts (the letterbook aside) derive from a single copying of the DrydenMiddleton MS; if this negative evidence does mirror an otherwise undemonstrable fact, then concurrence in these texts will, of course, identify copyists' errors in the letterbook. The text of III in the most recent edition of Dryden (ed. James Kinsley, Oxford, 1958, II, 578-580) is based on a collation of 1691 and 1702, both of which seem relatively corrupt; all other printed texts and all MSS were ignored. For the twenty variants between those two editions, the editor chose 1702 once and 1691 nineteen times. So far as the thirty-nine variants which I record are concerned, this procedure leads to the inclusion of ten readings which are (according to my reasoning) corrupt: one which had been unique in the early texts (1. 8), six which had been shared by only one other text (11. 28, 41, 63, 742, 78, 81), and three which had been shared by more than one other text (11. 39, 73, 75). >ages 46-47)

[I. A Letter.. . (From hunting whores and haunting play)]

MSS

BM Add 11513, ff. 5T-6. Etherege's letterbook, in his secretary's hand, under the following entry: "Ratisbonne 9/19 Jan. 1685/6 To my Lord Middleton with the following Copie of Verses." Printed in modernized fashion in Letterbook, pp. 62-63. [BMl] Harvard Eng 585* (and a transcript as Eng 633*), pp. 390391, as "S r George Etheridge, to the Earl of Middleton. 2d Letter." [H] National Library of Scotland, Advocate 19.1.12, f. 152, as "S r George Etheridge to the Earl of Middleton 2d Letter" dated 1686. [N] Bodleian Firth c.16, pp. 172-173, as "Sir George Etheredge to the Earl of Middleton Greeting." [Bl] (Also includes the first eight lines, crossed out, on p. 86, recorded in textual notes below as B2.) 126

BM Stowe 969, ff. 53-54, as " S r George Etheridge to the Earl of Middleton." |BM2] Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 672-674, as " S r George Etheridge to the Earl of Middleton." [VA] PRINT

The History of Adolphus, 1691 (Case 196), pp. 74-75, as "An­ other from Sir G. E. to the E. of M—Greeting." [91] Familiar Letters, II, 1697 (Wing R1746), pp. 59-60, and Π, 1699 (Wing R1748) and n, 1705 and i, 1718 and i, 1724, as "Sir G. Etheridge's Letters. To the Earl of Middleton." [97] Sylvae: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, 1702, pp. 231-232, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 2 d-f), as "Sir George Etheridge's Second Letter to the Lord Middleton." [02] Also in: The Works of Sir George Etherege, 1704 and 1715 and 1723 and 1735, as "A Second Letter to the Lord Middleton." 1704 was set from 02. 1 hunting] EM1-2 H Bl-2 N 97 02; haunting VA 91. 1 play] BM1-2 H Bl-2 N VA 97 02; Plays 91. S fops] B M l Bl 91 97; Fools H B2 N BM2 VA 02. 6 bed] BM1-2 Bl-2 N VA 91 97 02; Beg H. 8 idle sneaking] B M l Bl-2 91 97; Sneaking Idle H N BM2 VA 02. 11 modest] B M l ; Honest H Bl N BM2 VA 91 97 02. 11 husband] BM1-2 H Bl N VA 97 02; the Husband 91. 18 With] B M l Bl 91; In H N BM2 VA 97 02. 21 they'll] BMl Bl N 91 97; she'l H BM2 VA 02. 23 who] BM1-2 H B l N VA 91 97; what 02. 25 Who] BM1-2 H Bl N VA 91 97; Which 02. 25 in] BM1-2 H Bl VA 91 97 02; om N . 27 I cannot] BM1-2 H B l N VA 91 02; cannot I 97. 32-33 reversed N . 33 hereafter] BM1-2 H B l VA 91 97 02; here's after N .

[II. Second Letter... (Since love and verse, as well as wine)] MSS

BM Add 11513, ff. 15-16. Etherege's letterbook, in his secretary's hand, in the calendaring of a letter to Lord Middleton, 19/29 April 1686, as the retained copy of verses sent to Middleton. Printed in modernized fashion in Letterbook, pp. 80-82. [BMl] Harvard Eng 585* (and a transcript as Eng 633*), pp. 382r 385, as " S George Etheridge, to the Earl of Middleton." [H] National Library of Scotland, Advocate 19.1.12, ff. 151-152, as " S r George Etheridge, to the Earle of Middleton" dated 1686. [N] Bodleian Firth c.16, pp. 170-172, as "Sir George Etherege's Letter to the Lord Middleton." [B] 127

(pages 48-5

James M. Osborn, Chest n # 1 . 1 sheet, as "S r George Etheridge to my Lord Middleton," dated "Ratisbone May the 10th 1686," and endorsed "Sir G. Etheridge to my Lord Middleton." [OS1] James M. Osborn, Chest ii # 2 , 1 sheet, as "Sir George Etheridge to my Lord Middleton," dated "Ratisbone May the 10th 1686," and endorsed "S r George Etheridge to my Ld Middleton." [OS2] BM Stowe 969, ff. 47-49, as "S r George Etheridge to the Earl of Middleton." [BM2] Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 666-669, as "S r George Etheridge to the Earle of Middleton." [VA] PRINT

The History of Adolphus, 1691 (Case 196), pp. 71-74, as "A Letter from Sir G. E. to the E. of M . " [91] Familiar Letters, n, 1697 (Wing R1746), pp. 56-58, and n, 1699 (Wing R 1 7 4 8 ) and n, 1705 and i, 1718 and I, 1724, as "Sir G. Etheridge's Letters. To the Earl of Middleton." [97] Sylvae: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, 1702, pp. 223-226, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 2 d-f), as "Sir George Etheridge to the Earl of Middleton." [02] Also in: The Works of Sir George Etherege, 1704 and 1715 and 1723 and 1735, as "A Letter to the Earl of Middleton." 1704 was set from 02. 5 could] B M l - 2 VA H B OS 1-2 91 97 02; wou'd N. 6 rough] B M 1-2 VA H B OS 1-2 N 91 02; rich 97. 8 kind] B M 1 ; bright BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 13 temptation's] B M l - 2 VA H OS1-2 N 97 02; Temptation B 91. 16 Did] B M 1 ; Should BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 16 a] B M l - 2 H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02; om VA. 17 she's] B M l - 2 V A H N 97 02; these B O S 1 91; those OS2. 18 When] B M l - 2 VA H B OS1-2 N 97 02; Where 91. 19 shine] B M l - 2 VA H B N 91 97 02; fine OS1-2. 20 Hair] B M 1 ; Locks B M 2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 23 badges] B M l - 2 VA H B OS1-2 N 97 02; Token91. 26 erst] B M l - 2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 02; Crest 97. 27 Graf] BM1 B OS1-2; Grave B M 2 V A H N 97 02; Grass 91. 28 Now] B M 1 ; om B M 2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 28 Grafen] B M l - 2 VA H B O S 1 - 2 97 02; GraftonN; Graffier91. 30 records] B M 1 VA N ; Record B M 2 H B OS1-2 91 97 02. 31 Kunigunda's] B M 1 ; Renigundas BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 97 02; Kemiyunda's 91. 31 ears] B M 1 VA H B OS1-2 N 91; Years BM2 97 02. 32 fraulein's] B M 1 97; Frokin's B M 2 VA H B OS 1-2 N 02; Trokins 91. 33 serpent] B M 1 B OS1-2 N 91; Rocket B M 2 VA H 97 02. 35 pearls] B M 1 ; pearl BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 35 hands] B M 1 ; Arms BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 37 freight] B M l - 2 VA H B N 9 7 ; fraught OS1-2; fright 91 02. 41 sights] B M 1 91; flights B M 2 VA

128

H B OS1-2 N 97 02. 42 The luster's meaner] BM1-2 VA H OS1-2 N 97 02; And lustre brighter B 91. 43 she] B M 1 ; The Thing BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 44 ramp] BM1-2 VA H OS1-2 97 02; Rump B N 91. 47 painted] BM1-2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97; mangled 02. 48 her] B M 1 B 91 97; the BM2 H VA OS1-2 N 02. 50 look] B M 1 VA H 02; Looks BM2 B OS1-2 N 91 97. 53 daughters] B M 1 VA H B OS1-2 91 97 02; daughter VA N . 54 F r o m ] B M l ; 'Mongst BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 55 head] BM1-2 VA H B OS1-2 N 97 02; hand 91. 57 farce] BM1-2 VA H OS1 97 02; Face B OS2 91; star N. 58-59 reversed 97. 58 om B M 2 02. 61 The] BM1-2 VA H N 97 02; This B OS1-2 91. 62 her] BM1-2 VA H B N 91 97 02; the OS1-2. 64 worth her] BM1 B ; worth the BM2 VA H OS1-2 91 97 02; t h e N . 69 fain] BM1-2 VA H OS1-2 N 97 02; forc'dB 91. 70 om B M 2 . 70 old] B M 1 97; sham VA H B OS1-2 N 91 02. 71 T h e ] BM1-2 VA H B OS 1-2 N 97 02; Tho' 91. 75 Has] BM1-2 VA H OS1-2 N 97 02; That B 91. 76 no] BM1-2 VA H OS1-2 N 97; has B 91; a 02. 78 Whilst] B M 1 ; When BM2 VA H B OS1-2 N 91 97 02. 78 kissed] BM1 H B OS1-2 N 97 02; kiss BM2 VA; kill'd 91.

[III. Mr. Dryden's Letter. . . (To you who live in chill degree)] MSS

BM Add 11513, ff. 174-175. Etherege's letterbook, in his secretary's hand; the poem is followed by this notation: "Thought to be writen by M r Dryden & sent to S r G by my Ld Middleton"; it is among "Letters Received," between letters dated 22 Jan. 1686 [i.e. 1 6 8 5 / 6 ] and 11 Feb. 1 6 8 6 / 7 ; it is reprinted in modernized fashion in Letterbook, pp. 346-348. [BM1] Harvard Eng 585* (and a transcript as Eng 6 3 3 * ) , pp. 386389, as "M r Dryden's Letter to S r George Etheridge." [ H ] National Library of Scotland, Advocate 19.1.12, ff. 153-154, as "A Letter from M r Drydell to S r George Etheridge" dated 1686. [N] Bodleian Firth c.16, pp. 173-175, as " M r Dryden's Answer." [Bl] Bodleian Don. e. 24, pp. 22-25, as "M r Dryden's letter to S r G. Etheridge at Rattisbone." [ B 2 ] Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 669-672, as "A Letter from M r Dryden to S r Geo: Etheridge." [VA] BM Stowe 969, ff. 50-52 T , as "A Letter from M r Dryden to S r George Etheridge." [BM2] PRINT

The History of Adolphus, 1691 (Case 196), pp. 75-78, as "Mr. D—Answer." [91]

129

(pages Sl-t

Familiar Letters, n, 1697 (Wing R1746), pp. 61-64, and n, 1699 (Wing R1748) and n, 1705, as "A Letter, from England. To Sir George Etheridge, Kt." [97] Sylvae: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, 1702, pp. 227-230, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 2 d-f), as "A Letter From Mr. Dryden to Sir George Etheridge." [02] 4 fifty-one] BMl VA H N Bl-2 91 97 02; fifty BM2. 6 even to] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 91 02; to the 97. 8 nowhere suffers] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 97 02; cannot suffer 91. 10 love's] BMl Bl 91; love BM2 VA H N B2 97 02. 11 husbands] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 97 02; husband 91. 16 endure] BMl Bl-2 91 97; t'endure BM2 VA H N 02. 21 and] BMl E l 91; or BM2 VA H B2 97 02; of N . 24 Where] BMl-2 VA H N Bl 91 97 02; When B2. 25 Chopped] BMl Bl-2 91 97; Chapt BM2 VA H N 02. 25 dry] BMl VA H N Bl-2 91 97 02; Dy BM2. 28 earth] BMl-2 VA H N B2 97; Earth's 02; World Bl 91. 30 Triptolemus] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 91 02; Triptolemy 97. 30 sing] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 91; sung 97 02. 32 those] BMl-2 VA H N Bl 91; these B2 97 02. 37 the French King through] BMl-2 VA H N Bl 91 97 02; French King does B2. 39 Of] BMl B2; I n B M 2 VA H N Bl 91 97 02. 41 who] BMl-2 V A H N Bl-2 02; whom 91 97. 42 soft] BMl-2 VA H Bl-2 91 97 02; om N . 43 world that] BM2 VA H N Bl-2 91 97 02; world B M l . 45 rummers] BMl-2 VA H Bl-2 91 97 02; rumours N. 49 sunk] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 91 97; drunk 02. 51 These] BMl Bl-2 91 97 02; Those BM2 VA H N . 52 your] BMl-2 VA H Bl-2 91 97 02; our N . 55 the] BMl Bl-2 91 97; this BM2 VA H N 02. 56 his] BMl Bl-2 91 97; your BM2 VA H N 02. 58 sleeping] BMl VA H N Bl-2 91 97 02; keeping BM2. 60 the sweet] BM2 VA H N Bl-2 91 97 02; your sweet B M l . 62 there's] BMl Bl-2 91 97; here's BM2 VA H N 02. 63 Court's] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 02; Court 91 97. 64 That] BMl-2 VA H Bl-2 91 97 02; which N . 65 defied] BMl Bl-2 91 97; deny'd BM2 VA H N 02. 73 That] BMl B2; The BM2 VA H N B l 91 97 02. 74 Peer] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 91 97; Wit 02. 74 convince] BMl-2 VA H N B2 97 02; affect Bl 91. 75 writ] BMl B2 97; made BM2 VA H N Bl 91 02. 78 here began] BMl B2; have began BM2 VA H Bl 02; have begun N ; once began 91 97. 80 our] BMl-2 VA H N Bl 91 97 02; your B2. 81 Has] BMl-2 VA H N B2 02;'Ere B 1 9 1 ; H a s e ' r e 9 7 . 81 without a] BMl-2 VA H N Bl-2 91 02; under 97.

Poems of Doubtful

Authorship

pages 55-56 UPON LOVE: IN IMITATION OF COWLEY (Whether we mortals love or no) The authorship of these verses is uncertain. Although Etherege is given as the author in the only attribution I have found, there are reasons for doubting that he wrote the poem. Of the two printed appearances which I can record, the earlier dates only from 1698, in a spurious continuation of Poems on Affairs of State; although 130

an effort was made to attach the names of prominent writers to the volume, this poem was not attributed and Etherege's name was not printed on the titlepage. The other printed appearance, in the second volume of Buckingham's Miscellaneous Works (1705), is attributed to Etherege; but the volume is unreliable in its attributions, and the text of this poem is there manifestly corrupt. The three MSS cannot be dated with any certainty, but they can hardly be placed before about 1688-90. Beyond the suspiciously late date of the first recorded appearance of this poem and the doubtful source of its one attribution, I will record my impression that the crude assertiveness of the second and third sections of the poem is quite unlike the manner of any of the authenticated Etherege poems; the bare rhetoric and awkward commonplaces of the first section hardly suggest any of Etherege's styles. It seems to me possible, in fact, that this poem was fabricated by putting together two (or possibly even three) separate poems or parts of poems. To call this poem an "Imitation of Cowley" is to stretch that loose term. The poem by Cowley adverted to is presumably "The Given Love" (I'll on; for what should hinder me). The first fifteen lines of the "Etherege" poem are not involved in the parallel; the remaining thirty-three lines and the Cowley poem are animadversions against money as a necessity or an aid in transacting affairs of love. The last sixteen lines of the "Etherege" poem, however, are strikingly reminiscent of Cowley's "Gold" (A Mighty pain to Love it is), which is in turn a paraphrastic translation of the forty-sixth ode (in the Barnes ordering) of the Anacreontea. A "barrator" (1. 40) is, in the legal sense, a person who incites litigation or raises discord among neighbors, either from maliciousness or for the sake of profit. MSS

Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 729-731, as "Upon Love. In Imitation of Cowley." [VA] Portland PwV 43, pp. 215-218, as "Upon Love/ In Imitation of Cowley." [P] Vienna 14090, pp. 765-767, as "Upon Love/ In Imitation of M r Cowley." [V] PRINT

Poems on Affairs of State, Part in, 1698 (Case 215), pp. 105107, as "Upon Love: In Imitation of Cowley." [98] 131

The Second Volume of Miscellaneous Works . . . Buckingham, 1705 (Case 232 2), ff. Aa5-Aa6T, as "Upon Love. By Sir George Etherege." [05] TEXT. 1698. 98 and the three MS versions all appear to exemplify the work of professional copyists, but 98 seems to be free from copyists' errors. Bibliographically, the MSS are perhaps earlier than the printed versions; textually, they are more corrupt than 98: two (V and P) are terminal in minor copyists' errors, while the third (VA) is substantively identical with 98 except for one reading (1. 10) in which all three MSS concur in a minor copyist's error against 98. 05 is a very corrupt version of the poem, but V shows signs of conflation between the copy which was the source of 05 (11. 11, 34) and a copy from which the other MSS derive (e.g., 11. 10, 17). (Despite the state of the 05 text, it is entirely possible that it preserves one archetypal reading, in 1. 17, even though all other texts concur against it with a more obvious reading.) 10 fool the] 98 05; fools the VA P V. 11 o«tV05. 15 when] 98 VA P 0 5 ; t h o V . 17 heraldry] 98 VA P V; Guillim 05. 19 her] 98 V A P V; om 05. 19 he] 98 VA P 05; om V. 21 wise, how witty, and how] 98 VA P V ; Witty, Wise I am, and 05. 22 I am; and] 98 VA P V; And05. 22 times] 98 VA P V; wicked times 05. 23 constant] 98 VA P V; constantly 05. 28-29 om 05. 30 or] 98 VA V 05; and P. 33 he] 98 VA P 05; it V. 34 beneath] 98 VA P ; to V 05. 36 Pluto] 98 VA P 05; om V. 39 That money is] 98 VA P V; Money !05. 40 barrator] 98 VA P V; plague 05. 41 brethren] 98 VA P V; Brothers 05. 44 were] 98 VA 05; was P ; we V. 47 aids] 98 VA 05; aid P V. 48 yet for want of it the] 98 VA P V; for its want the pining 05.

page 57

SONG {Fair Iris, all our time is spent) The available evidence on the authorship of this poem is sufficient only to feel reservations about the attribution to Etherege. I have found it in only one source, the Chorus Poetarum, which was twice reissued with a new titlepage. The late date of this collection and the auspices under which it was issued raise doubts about the reliability of its attribution of the poem to Etherege: it did not appear until 1694, with Charles Gildon the compiler and Benjamin Bragge the bookseller. Gildon was a hackwriter whose "venal quill" scribbled endlessly and without notable regard for facts; the ostentatious display on the titlepage of the names of seven prominent writers (including Etherege, on the basis of this single poem) seems a typical example of misleading advertising practised 132

by such piratical booksellers as Bragge. Of course Gildon may have had a sound basis for his attribution, but the kind of evidence that we have does not make it seem very likely. Verity accepted the poem as Etherege's (p. 401), as did Edward Arber (The Dryden Anthology, 1899). The poem itself is a rather interesting example of the lover's complaint on the indifference of his mistress. It can be taken as an apt, and politely exhortational, response to "The Platonick Lady" (I could Love thee till I dye), which is attributed to Rochester and included in Pinto, pp. 142-143. Both poems fall in the tradition exemplified by a series of Cowley's poems, including "Platonick Love" (Indeed I must confess), "Answer to the Platonicks" (So Angels love; so let them love for me), and "The vain Love" (What new-found Witchcraft was in thee). The interesting stanzaic form of this poem is a variation of the eight-line stanza which Cowley used more than a dozen times in some of his most famous poems, nearly each time shifting the pattern of rhyme and line length. The rhyme scheme is identical with that of Cowley's "Eccho" (Tired with the rough denials of my Prayer), but the pattern of line lengths does not happen to coincide with any used by Cowley. James Shirley also used variations of this stanzaic form; four of his poems have the rhyme scheme of these verses. PRINT

Chorus Poetarum, 1694 (Case 202), pp. 167-168, attributed to Etherege. Also in reissue with a new titlepage as Poems, on Several Occasions. By . . . Buckingham, . . . Rochester, 1696 (Case 202b), and as The Poetical Remains of the Duke of Buckingham, Sir George Etheridge, 1698 (Case 202c). TEXT. 1694. There are, of course, no variant readings. In 1. 13, "glowing" would perhaps fit the context better than "growing," but there is no textual evidence to support the suggested reading. ON A LADY DRINKING THE WATERS (PhUUs, lay aside your thinking) I have been able to discover this song in only one series of songbooks. Despite the attribution to Etherege in all editions of that collection, it seems to me that the authorship should be regarded as doubtful. The first appearance, 1706, is very late for an Etherege 133

Page 58

poem; the authority of Thomas D'Urfey, who was responsible for the collection, does not carry much weight; and there is a kind of prim gentility about the song which is not characteristic of the authenticated Etherege poems. PRINT

Wit and Mirth, rv, 1706 (D&M 210A), p. 241, and rv, 1707 (D&M 216) and rv, 1709 (D&M 218) and Vi, 1720 (D&M 242) [and as Songs Compleat, vi, 1720], in each attributed to Etherege and with music by J. Hart. TEXT.

1706.

jges 59-60 SONG {Since Death on all lays his impartial hand) This poem is attributed to three different persons in the sources listed below: Etherege, Rochester, and Charles Blount. It seems impossible to determine the author. The claim for Etherege depends on the attribution in two editions of the first volume of Buckingham's Miscellaneous Works, a volume which is not particularly reliable. The claim for Rochester is based on the attribution in Examen Miscellaneum, a slender basis; this single attribution has not been taken seriously by Rochester scholars, and Pinto ignored the poem completely in his edition of Rochester. The claim for Blount rests on the dated attribution in one Ms miscellany of some interest. Two other poems are attributed to him in the same collection: "A Conference between K. James and K: Wm at the River Boyn the Day before the Battle (1690)" (If Injur'd Monarchs may Their Cause explore); and "A Supplement to the Opening of The Session (1691)" (No sooner had the royall Senet met). The first of these (as David Vieth pointed out to me) is appended to "A Just Vindication of Learning, and the Liberty of the Press" in Blount's posthumous Miscellaneous Works, 169S; both poems appeared, attributed to Blount, in the second volume of Buckingham's Miscellaneous Works, 1705 (Case 231 2). This evidence, though only suggestive, seems to point "Since Death on all lays his impartial hand" toward Blount. On the other hand, other attributions in the MS miscellany and in the Buckingham volume are not always reliable, and Blount's interest in English verse seems otherwise to have been limited: on occasion he quoted a poem by someone else for the purpose of furthering the argument 134

of his own freethinking and polemical prose, and he wrote a short imitation of Petronius, printed in Poems on Affairs of State, 1698 (Case 215) and in The Satyrical Works of Titus Petronius Arbiter, 1708 (Case 249). Wilson referred to this poem as if he thought Etherege wrote it (p. 105); from the title which he used and the reading of the passage he quoted, it appears that his source was Buckingham's Miscellaneous Works. In an earlier essay (MLN, LIV [1939], 458460), Wilson expressed the conviction (on the basis of the one attribution and of the limpid style of the poem) that Etherege was the author, and he recorded the opinion of Brett-Smith, communicated to him privately, that the poem is in all reasonable probability by Etherege. I am reduced to setting down impressions. Since there were conflicting contemporary claims for the authorship, one requires more evidence than has yet appeared before feeling comfortable about a solution. Blount seems the best guess. I doubt very much that Etherege was responsible for this poem. It appears to me that the ascription may have been based on the fact that the sentiments of the poem accorded with Etherege's reputation as a man who tried to hang onto his youth through continued service to Bacchus and Venus. The poem (actually an elaborate drinking song) seems to me quite unlike the well-authenticated Etherege poems in its turgidity, dullness, and lack of wit. If the hand that penned this poem was experienced at versifying, the skill was not exercised on this occasion. The textual notes reveal some corruptions in the text which contains the attribution to Etherege, and at least two of the other three basic texts are of an earlier date. However, all the texts that I have found are relatively late for Etherege poems. All but one can be shown to date from 1691 or after; and the single exception (the Osborn MS), while it can be indicated only that it is later than 1686 on the grounds that it follows at a distance in the MS after a poem written in that year, is more than likely of the 1690's. The poem has generally been referred to by recent scholars under the title of "The Libertine," which derives only from that text which attributes the poem to Etherege; I believe that that title, like the attribution to Etherege, is not supported by sufficient evidence to warrant its acceptance. It could have been added without much ingenuity, as the association of this title and the sentiments of the 135

poem was commonplace. For example, Shadwell's The Libertine (1675) has, in each of its last four acts, a song of several stanzas, with a chorus, with varying line lengths, and with the equivalent of the alexandrine in this poem; the song in Act n (Since Liberty, Nature for all has design'd) also exhibits the same tone and gen­ eral sentiments set forth in this poem. MSS

James M. Osborn, Chest π # 1 , 2 pp., as "Song." [O] BM Add 21094, f. 42T, a collection with many dated poems, in two chronological runs; as "Song. By Cha: Blount Esqr 1691." [BM] Bodleian Rawl Poet 173, f. 139T, derived from 04 and similarly attributed to Etherege. [B] PRINT

Examen Miscellanenm, 1702 (Case 228), pp. 12-13, as "SONG. By the late Lord Rochester." [02] Miscellaneous Works, Written by . . . Buckingham, i, 1704, pp. 120-121, and 1707 (Case 232 1 a-b), as "The Libertine," at­ tributed to Etherege. [04] TEXT. James M. Osborn, Chest n # 1 . Four texts (O, BM, 02, 04) are basic. O appears to preserve archetypal readings. At various points, BM, 02, and 04 offer variants; but each time that one of them shows a variant, the other two concur with O. 1 hand] O BM 02 04; hands B. 2 at] O BM 02 04; to B. 5 this] O BM 02; the 04 B. 7 circle] O 02 04 B; circles BM. 8 to our friends the day] O BM 04 B; our Days to Friends 02. 9 Thus, thus] O BM 04 B; Then 02. 9 let's] O BM 04 B; let's thus 02. 12 nobler fire] O BM 02; noble desire 04 B. 16 heavy] O BM 02; drooping 04 B. 18 luxuriant] O BM 02; luxurious 04 B. 26 harlots] O 02 04 B; Angells BM. 27 others] O BM 02 04; other B. 28 then our frailties can] O BM 02; shall our Frailty then 04 B. 29 by Heaven inspired left Heaven] O BM 04 B; so wise left all 02.

page 61

T H E RIVAL (Of all the torments, all the cares) It seems impossible to establish the authorship of this witty little lament. Etherege, William Walsh, and Sir John Vanbrugh are the Rival Poets. The poem is attributed to Etherege in the second volume of Buckingham's Miscellaneous Works (1705), in the section which is headed "A Collection of Poems, Satyrs, and Letters: By Persons

136

of Honour and Quality Corrected and Revised by the Late In­ genious Mr. Tho. Brown"; nevertheless, the attributions in this volume are perhaps less convincing than those in vol. ι and those carried forward to the 1707 and 1715 editions. The poem is attributed to Walsh in the Folger MS in a second try at ascription by a hand of unknown date. It is attributed to Walsh in Portland MS PWV 44 by a second hand of unknown date. It is included among the additional Walsh poems in A Supplement to the Works of the Most Celebrated Minor Poets in 1750. While the attributions in these volumes are generally reliable, it is not particularly reassuring to discover that the text for this poem derives from Poetical Miscellanies: The Fifth Part (1704 or 1716 or 1727), where the poem is not attributed but stands two pages in front of a group of Walsh poems. The poem is attributed to Vanbrugh in Portland MS PWV 48. It was attributed to Vanbrugh in the Folger MS by a second hand of unknown date, but the ascription was stricken out by a third hand. On the whole, my impression is that Walsh is the most likely. The poem was quite popular and was reprinted rather frequently after its first appearance. But the earliest printed appearance I know is 1699, and the earliest MS dating is 1698—a long time after Etherege's death for such a poem to lie hidden. The theme and tone of the poem follow a vein that was a favorite with Walsh. MSS

Folger M.b.12, ff. 215T-216, dated 1699, in the section headed "A Collection of Poems From 1688 to 1699. 1703/4"; at unknown times, a second hand added the attribution "By M r Vanbrook" and a third hand scratched through "Vanbrook" and substituted "Walsh." [F] Portland PwV 44, pp. 302-304, dated 1699 and attributed to "Mr. Walsh" by a second hand of unknown date. [P] Portland PwV 48, pp. 241-242, dated 1698 and attributed to "Mr. Vanbrook." [P2] MUSICAL BROADSIDE

Folger 1363 D m #135, with unattributed music. [F2] 137

PRINT

A Collection of New Songs, Second Book, 1699 (D&M 171), ff. 9-10, with music by Matteis. [99] Amphion AngUcus, 1700 (D&M 183), pp. 10-13, with music by Blow. [00] Poetical Miscellanies: The Fifth Part, 1704, p. 317, and 1716 and 1727 (Case 172 5 a-c). [04] The Second Volume of Miscellaneous Works . . . Buckingham^ 1705 (Case 232 2), ff. Dd5T-Dd6, attributed to Etherege. [05] A Supplement to the Works of the Most Celebrated Minor Poets, 1750 (Case 467 3), pp. 198-199, attributed to Walsh. [50] Also in: The Hive, i, 1724 and 1726 and 1732; Bacchus and Venus, Π37; The Syren, 1738 and 1739; The Cupid, 1739; Cal­ liope, ι [c.1739], with music by Boyce. TEXT. F/P/P2. These three versions are substantively identical except for a copyist's error in 1. 16 of F. They appear to be tran­ scripts by professional scribes from a common archetype; 05 seems to derive from a similar source, probably in the same manner. 99 seems also to derive from an exemplar of the common source, with minor modifications while setting the song for music, and from 99 successively derive 00, 04, and 50. F2 shows signs of conflation, probably of 04 and 05. As is common with songs, par­ ticularly from songbooks with musical settings, several minor copyists' errors are corrected in the course of later transmission: for 99 at 1. 5; for 00 at 11. 6, 92, and 10. These variants are not, therefore, necessarily terminal readings. The order of texts may be most easily verified by examining the variants of title, stanzaic form, and 11. 8, 91, 11, 12. Title "The Rival" F P P2 05; "The Rival or Desponding Lover" F2; untitled 99; "A Love Song" 00; "Song" 04 SO. Stanzaic form 4 stanzas F P P2 05; continuous 99 00; 2 stanzas 04 50 F2. 2 With] F P P2 99 00 04 05 50; By F2. 3 plagues a lover bears] F P P2 99 00 04 50; Plague a Lover bears 05; Sorrows that we bear F2. 4 Sure rivals are] F P P2 99 00 04 05 50; A Rival is F2. 5 another] F P P2 05 F2; anothers 99; each other 00 04 50. 6 grow] F P P2 99 04 05 50 F 2 ; grown 00. 8 in] F P P2 05 F2; of 99 00 04 50. 9 Cynthia] F P P2 99 05; Sylvia 00 04 50 F2. 9 the pains] F P P2 05; the pangs 99 04 50; those pangs 00; those griefs F2. 10 Are laboring] F P P2 99 04 05 50; as labouring 00; Arising F2. 11 that you'd pity] F P P2 05 F 2 ; that you'd favour 99 00; you would favour 04 50. 12 But that you'd] F P P2 99 00 05; Would you but 04 50 F2. 13 How great so e'er] F P P2 99 00 04 05 50; Howe're Severe F2. 14 With them alone I'll] F P

I38

P2 99 OO 04 SO; With them in Love I'll OS; Alone with them I'd F2. another's] P P2 99 00 04 OS SO F2; another F.

16

MRS. NELLY'S COMPLAINT {If Sylla's ghost made bloody Catiline start) This lampoon on Nell Gwyn is one of a numerous group of scurrilous attacks on "the Court Ladies"—mistresses of Charles II, the Maids of Honour, and mistresses of prominent noblemen. Such lampoons often had political motives, and through them attacks could be mounted against the King, the Ministry, the French, the nobility, the evils of taxation, and the morals of the Court. The mistresses of Charles II received the lion's share of this attention, particularly Barbara Palmer (the Duchess of Cleveland), Louise Keroualle (the Duchess of Portsmouth), and Nell Gwyn (with seventeen years of royal service but a title only for her son). For another lampoon on Nell Gwyn, falsely ascribed to Etherege, see "The Lady of Pleasure" (I sing the song of a scoundrel lass). "Mrs. Nelly's Complaint" also attacks various other persons: Mary (Mall) Knight, a singer and friend of Nell's who enjoyed noble custom as a mistress and procuress; William Dutton Colt, Prince Rupert's Master of the Horse; Charles Grenville, Lord Lansdowne; Lieutenant Stint Duncombe of the King's FootGuards; and Charles II himself. For a brief account of the incidents, see Wilson, Nell Gwyn: Royal Mistress (New York, 1952), p. 248. "Sir Sam" (1. 68) is identified in a marginal note in the Taylor and Portland MSS as "Moreland"—i.e., Sir Samuel Morland, the inventor. The allusion to Gilbert Burnet (1. 86) refers to his deathbed ministrations to the Earl of Rochester in 1680 and his popular book on the subject in the same year. The events in this lampoon seem to have taken place in the summer of 1682. The verses were apparently written in the same year. They are dated 1682 in four MSS which include dated poems in chronological order. The vulgarity of this poem is cushioned by the objectification of its form as a dramatic monologue, by its rhetorical structure, and by its pervasive play of wit. The lampoon is perhaps the most difficult type of poem for determination of authorship. This poem is included in the first volume of Buckingham's Miscellaneous Works and attributed to Etherege in all three editions (1704, 1707, and 1715). This is the only attribution I have found, and it seems a late and slender basis

139

pages 62-6

for a firm declaration that Etherege was the author. The poem is without attribution in all its twelve MS appearances. I am not aware of any other evidence which would tend to prove or disprove Etherege's authorship. Etherege apparently had the reputation for writing libels on the "Court Ladies." In a satire entitled "Answer to the Satyr on the Court Ladies" these lines appear: Yet there's S r George, that honest man ne'r fails; Always of Women Writes, and always Rails, For which the Gods haue plagu'd him to the heighth And for his Comfort sent him such a wife A wife that represents all forms, a Bitch, A Wizard, Wrincl'd Woman and a Witch. This poem appears in several MS collections that include the two lampoons on Nell Gwyn (Ohio State University MS, Bodleian Firth c.15, and BM Harleian 7319), but it is dated 1680 and ap­ pears in its proper chronological place, two years before the earlier lampoon on Nell. To what poem or poems it refers I do not know. It is possible that this passage served as a suggestion to the com­ piler of the Buckingham volume to lay the two Nell lampoons at the door of a recognized writer. Etherege's "railing, scurrilous wit" was referred to as early as Buckhurst's second verse letter to him. I record my personal impression, based only on stylistic tests, that Etherege did not write this poem. MSS

Bodleian Firth c.15, pp. 129-132. [B] Bodleian Firth c.16, pp. 13-15. [B2] Bodleian Douce 357, ff. 45τ-46ν. [B3] Harvard Eng 585*, pp. 145-149. [H] Ohio State University "A Choyce Collection of Poems &c," pp. 105-108. [OSU] Robert H. Taylor "A Collection of Choyce Poems, Lampoons, and Satyrs," pp. 117-121. [T] BM Harleian 7319, ff. 83-85. [BM] BM Harleian 6913, ff. 155-157. [BM2] James M. Osbom, Box 22 # 3 , pp. 35-41. [OSB] Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 407-410. [VA] Portland PwV 42, pp. 172-175. [P] Vienna 14090, pp. 416-420. [V] 14.Ο

(In Edinburgh MS DC 1. 3, "Mrs Nellys Complaint" is listed in the index, but the indicated pages are missing from the MS.) (In Bodleian MS Don. b.8, "Nellyes Complaint" appears in the index, but the poem, of 12 11., bears no resemblance to this one.) PRINT

Miscellaneous Works, Written by . . . Buckingham, i, 1704, pp. 29-33, and 1707 and 1715 (Case 232 1 a,b,[c]), attributed to Etherege. [04] TEXT. B/VA. These two texts, which are substantively identical, are the only ones which have no demonstrable errors of transmission. Almost all of the variants in the other texts are clearly errors of transmission: the omission of a necessary word or line, the reversal of a pair of lines or words, and simple substitutions caused by misreading. In only a few verbal variants are both readings plausible. From the constant participation of B and VA in the concurred readings, they appear to perpetuate the archetypal version. The multiplication of copies was, I imagine, the work of one or more professional scribes and vendors of lampoons, and the MS collections listed contain an excellent sample of such work. Doubtless there were—and probably still are—many other similar collections which contain this poem. As one might expect, the textual notes indicate that, while direct interderivation cannot be shown, some of the versions (such as B2 and 04) perpetuate errors in common sources short of the archetype. The thirteen texts of the poem are accounted for in the following notes; all texts not mentioned agree with the base reading. 04 gives initials for names; MSS give names in full. Title Mrs. Nelly's Complaint. 1682] B BM T OSU P ; Mrs. Nelly's Complaint OSB B2 VA; Mrs. Nelly's complaint An Elegy BM2 B3; Nelly's Complaint H V; Madam Nelley's Complaint, A Satyr 04. 2 fabric] fibres V. 3 shade] Shades B2. 4 depths] depth V 04. 8 griefs] Greif V. 9 sufferings] suff'ring T. 10 torments] torment B3; Suff'rings P. 12-13 order reversed H. 13 beauty] Bounty OSB. 15 Yet lets me not enjoy my quiet] & yet lets me not lye quiet in my V. 16 When] Where BM2. 19 her]hisBM2. 21 this] that OSU. 21 dreadful] dolefull BM2; wofull B2-3. 21 noise] voice P. 22 lived] live V. 23 I] so BM2 B3. 30 charming] om V. 32 would] did V. 36 om B2 04. 36 each hour new charms] new Charms each howr V. 36 arise] did rise OSB. 38 to thee I still did] I still to thee did V; to thee I must still 04. 39 act] deed B3. 40 While] Which V. 42 which] this BM OSB 04. 43 blush in] blushing B2 P 04. 44 Blushing's] Blushing B2 04. 46 thou] th' P. 47 opened]

HI

open V. 48 om B2. 48 Bawd is thy] Bawdry thou B3; Bawdry's thy BM2. 48 thy accomplishment and] th'accomplishment and BM 2; accomplishment and OSB P 04; & thy accomplishd V. 51 hour] fit B3. 51 gone] done 04. 53 lead] leap P. 54 her] she BM2 B2. 55 must] canB2-3. 56 in that] that, in BM. 57 intrigues] designee B2. 58 looks] Love T . 59 while] when B3. 61 fond] false OSB. 62 paid] dueB2. 65 I ] om B3; all 04. 65 right] Rights 04. 66 make]omV. 66 market] om P. 66 houses] howers B2. 68 Sam] Samuel P. 69 quacks] Quack V. 70 till] before V. 71-72 omV. 72 'tis said] they say B3. 72 for] om B2. 73 Loudlier] Lowder B2 P ; Lewdlier BM2. 74 succeeded] succeeding B2. 80 as] so V. 80 lovely] loveing V. 81-86 ο»» B3. 82 Guard] Guards B2. 84 exorcise] exercise B M T OSU B2.

Poems Wrongly Attributed to Etherege THE LADY OF PLEASURE (I sing the song of a scoundrel lass) This poem is a lampoon on Nell Gwyn; see the notes to "Mrs. Nelly's Complaint" (If Sylla's ghost made bloody Catiline start), which is doubtfully attributed to Etherege. The two poems are notably different in outlook, tone, and style; I believe that they were not written by the same person and that the ascription of this one to Etherege is incorrect. These verses offer a comprehensive account of Nell's life, includ­ ing her birthplace and parentage, the merchant who discovered her, her liaisons with Hart and Buckhurst and the King, and her re­ union with her royal lover in hell. The tone of the lampoon is con­ spicuously ill-tempered; a malicious and vulgar stroke is offered to every target that appears; it is coarse and crude in sentiment and phrasing; and its narrative structure keeps it unrelievedly personal, direct, and purposeful. The verses are dated 1686 in four MSS which include dated poems in chronological order, and in one MS it falls between poems dated 1687 and those dated 1688. Since Nell did not die until 14 November 1687, the earlier dating is impossible unless we take the reference in the poem to her death as a dramatic anticipation of the event—which may possibly be the case. The poem is without attribution in all MS appearances. It is at­ tributed to Etherege in the first volume of Buckingham's Miscel­ laneous Works in all three editions (1704, 1707, 1715), but there are reasons against Etherege's authorship. If one accepts either of the dates given for the poem—1686 or 1687/8—Etherege's author142

ship becomes exceedingly unlikely. He left for Ratisbon at the end of August 1685 and never returned to England; the records of his writings and activities are quite full from then through 1688 and contain no hint that would lead one to expect any such lampoon; the writing of lampoons was purposeful and for circulation, not a poetic act done in another land with uncertainty of transmission to a possible audience; the tone of spite is otherwise absent from Etherege's writings and conduct; and it seems improbable that he should, in this lampoon, be discharging venomous malice in general and on Dorset and Buckingham in particular while engaging in a cordial correspondence with them. I recognize that this reasoning does not constitute proof, but a rational basis for judgment is the best that can be hoped for with the evidence at hand. Moreover, the kinds of crudeness which characterize this lampoon make it remarkably different from any of the other poems which are attributed to Etherege, even doubtfully. MSS (In all appearances the poem is titled "The Lady of Pleasure") Bodleian Firth c.15, pp. 254-260, dated 1686. Ohio State University "A Choyce Collection of Poems &c," pp. 223-229, between poems dated 1687 and 1688 in the chronological order. Robert H. Taylor "A Collection of Choyce Poems, Lampoons, and Satyrs," pp. 176-182, dated 1686. BM Harleian 7319, ff. 269-272T, dated 1686 in a later hand. Portland PwV 42, pp. 316-324, dated 1686. Victoria and Albert Dyce 43, pp. 320-326. Vienna 14090, pp. 331-338. PMNT

Miscellaneous Works, Written by . . . Buckingham, i, 1704, pp. 34-41, and 1707 and 1715 (Case 232 1 a,b,[c]), as "The Lady of Pleasure, A Satyr. By Sir George Etheridge, Knight." It does not seem worthwhile for the present purpose to print a text or the variant readings. A constructed text comes to 143 11. The texts are generally terminal: of some 80 variant readings all but about a dozen are type-1, and only very general relationships can be sketched. TEXT.

H3

SONG (Upon the downs when shall I breathe at ease) This song, 11 lines in length, was attributed to Etherege by Gosse, Verity, and Dobree. But it has long appeared probable that it was written by Edmund Ashton, Lieut.-Col. of the King's Troop of Life Guards. See Brett-Smith, RES, m (1927), 234-237; and for a discussion of Ashton, Vieth, chapter 10. The poem appears in one of Etherege's letterbooks (BM Add MSS 11513, f. 186, printed in Letterbook, pp. 364-365); but it is in the "Letters Received" section with the following notation after it: "Coll. Ashtons." It is attributed to "M. ur Aston" in Bodleian MS Firth c. 16, p. 111. It appears without attribution in Harvard MS Eng 585* (and in a late transcript, Harvard MS Eng 633*), p. 403, and in Poems on Affairs of State, Part IH, 1698 (Case 215), p. 222. The poem is actually an extended paraphrase of Horace, Satires, n.vi.60-62—the same passage to which Matthew Bramble longingly refers in Humphry Clinker in his letter of May 8 to Dr. Lewis from Bath. SONG (As Amoret with Phillis sat) Although this song appears in Etherege's The Man of Mode (1676), v.ii.76-91, it has long been clear that it was written by Sir Car Scroope. A marginal gloss in the early editions of the play identifies it as a "Song by Sir C. S." Brett-Smith gave reasons for Scroope as the author rather than Sedley, indicated the French original which was imitated, and referred to Radcliffe's burlesque of it (pp. 323-324); see also Pinto, Sedley, i, xiv, and J. W. Ebsworth, Bagford Ballads, 1878, p. 567. It was an unusually popular song. It appears, always without attribution, in the following seventeenth-century sources: BM MS Sloane 1009, f. 389; BM MS Stowe 970; James M. Osborn MS Chest II #39, p. 30; as a musical broadside, with a second part, in Folger 1363 D IV #55 and in Pepys Ballads, Magdalene College, #2507, in, 240; A New Collection of the Choicest Songs, 1676, p. A3; The Wits Academy, 1677; Choice Ayres & Songs, Second Book, 1679, p. 5.1 have also noticed more than a dozen appearances in the early eighteenth century, with occasional attribution to Etherege or Sedley. 144

SONG (Caelia with mournful pleasure hears) This song, consisting of two stanzas of 8 11. each, is attributed to Etherege in Wing (E 3380A) as "A song in the comedy called Sir Fopling Flutter [London? 1676.] brs" with unique copy at the William A. Clark Library. The broadside is headed "A Song in the Comedy calld Sr Fopling Flutter Set / by Mr John Eccles Sung by Mrs Hudson & exactly / engrav'd by Tho: Cross." It could not date from 1676: Eccles was not born until 1668, and he began to compose about 1690. 1676 was presumably assigned to this broadside because it is the date of the first edition of the play. This song does not appear in any of the editions of the play that I have seen. John Eccles composed incidental music for a revival of the play about 1698 (Grove's Dictionary of Music, Eccles), and this song was presumably used on that occasion. The song also appears in Mercurius Musicus, 1699, two issues (D&M 174), without attribution, with music by Eccles. There is no reason for believing that Etherege wrote it. SONG (That you alone my Heart posses) Brett-Smith noted that the British Museum has two copies of "A Song in S1 Fopling Flutter Set by M1 John Eccles Sung by MT Fowell, and exactly engrav'd by Tho: Cross" with this first line, and he gave reasons for not attributing it to Etherege (p. 314). The notes for the preceding song are applicable to this one, which also appears in Mercurius Musicus, 1699 (D&M 174), without attribution, with music by Eccles. This song has not yet (so far as I know) been attributed to Etherege, and I add this note in the hope that it will not be.

H5

INDEX

OF TITLES

AND FIRST

LINES

Titles are printed in italic type. "D" indicates a poem of doubt­ ful authorship; "F" indicates a poem wrongly attributed to Etherege. Text Notes A Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. George Etherege 35 109 A Letter to Lord Middleton 46 114 A Prologue Spoken at the Opening of the Duke's New Playhouse 16 92 A Second Letter to Lord Middleton 48 114 Λ Song on Basset 11 85 After a pretty amorous discourse 7 77 Ah Celia, that I were but sure 25 99 Another Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. Etherege 40 109 — As Amoret with Phillis sat (F) 144 As crafty harlots use to shrink 38 109 — Caelia with mournful pleasure hears (F) 145 Cease, anxious World, your fruitless pain 33 107 Cloris, it is not in our power 2 71 Divided Heart, The 25 99 Dreaming last night on Mrs. Farley 35 109 Ephelia to Bajazet 9 79 Fair Iris, all our time is spent (D) 57 132 Forsaken Mistress, The: A Dialogue Between Phillis and Strephon 3 73 From hunting whores and haunting play 46 114 Garde Ie secret de ton Ame 13 88 Hopeless I languish out my days 6 75 How charming Phillis is, how fair 29 103 How far are they deceived who hope in vain 9 79 — I sing the song of a scoundrel lass (F) 142 If I can guess the Devil choke me 40 109 5 If I my Celia could persuade 75 22 If she be not as kind as fair 96 62 If Sylla's ghost made bloody Catiline start (D) 139 Imperfect Enjoyment, The 7 77 34 In some kind dream upon her slumbers steal 108 It is not, Celia, in our power (See Cloris, it is not in our power) 71 147

Text Notes

Ladies, though to your conquering eyes Lady of Pleasure, The (F) Let equipage and dress despair Letter from Lord Buckhurst to Mr. George Etherege, A Letter to Lord Middleton, A Mr. Dryden's Letter to Sir George Etherege Mr. Etherege's Answer (As crafty harlots) Mr. Etherege's Answer (So soft and amorously) Mrs. Nelly's Complaint (D) nymph that undoes me is fair and unkind, The Of all the torments, all the cares (D) On a Lady Drinking the Waters (D) Phillis, lay aside your thinking (D) pleasures of love and the joys of good wine, The Prologue Spoken at the Opening of the Duke's New Playhouse, A Rival, The (D) Second Letter to Lord Middleton, A See how fair Corinna lies Silvia Since Death on all lays his impartial hand (D) Since love and verse, as well as wine So soft and amorously you write Song—see the appropriate first line Song on Basset, A Sweetest bud of beauty, may Tell me, gentle Strephon, why Tell me no more I am deceived Tell me no more you love; in vain That you alone my Heart posses (F) The Divided Heart The Forsaken Mistress: A Dialogue Between Phillis and Strephon The Imperfect Enjoyment The Lady of Pleasure (F) The nymph that undoes me is fair and unkind The pleasures of love and the joys of good wine The Rival (D) 148

21 — 11 35 46 51 38 43 62 26 61 58 58 28

95 142 85 109 114 114 109 109 139 100 136 133 133 102

16 61 48 31 26 59 48 43

92 136 114 105 100 134 114 109

11 1 3 30 24 — 25

85 70 73 104 98 146 99

3 7 — 26 28 61

73 77 142 100 102 136

Text Notes 'Tis not in this as in the former age To a Lady, Asking Him How Long He Would Love Her To a Lady Who Fled the Sight of Him To a Very Young Lady To Her Excellence the Marchioness of Newcastle After the Reading of Her Incomparable Poems To little or no purpose I spent many days To Mr. J. N. On His Translations out of French and Italian To you who live in chill degree Upon Love: In Imitation of Cowley (D) Upon the downs when shall I breathe at ease (F) Voiture's Urania When first Amintas charmed my heart When Phillis watched her harmless sheep Whether we mortals love or no (D) While others toil our country to supply With so much wonder we are struck Ye happy youths, whose hearts are free You happy swains, whose hearts are free (See Ye happy youths . . .)

149

16

92

2 S 1

71 75 70

14 23

90 97

18 51 55 — 6 27 20 55 18 14 32

93 114 130 144 75 102 94 130 93 90 106

32

106