"Canynge, awaie! By Godde in heav'n, I wylle nott taste a bitt of breade Whilst thys Syr Charles dothe lyve. "By Marie, and alle Seinctes ynne heav'n, Wyth herte brymm-fulle of gnawynge grief, And sat hymm downe uponne a stoole, "Wee all must die," quod brave Syr Charles; "Whatte bootes ytte howe or whenne? Dethe ys the sure, the certaine fate Of all wee mortall menne. "Saye why, my friende, thie honest soul Is ytte for my most welcome doome Quod godlie Canynge, "I doe weepe "Thenne drie the tears thatt out thyne eye Of Edwarde, traytour kynge. Whan through the tyrant's welcome means The Godde I serve wylle soone provyde Before I sawe the lyghtsome sunne, Howe oft ynne battaile have I stoode, Howe dydd I knowe thatt ev'ry darte, Thatt cutte the airie waie, Lyghte nott fynde passage toe my harte, And close myne eyes for aie? And shall I nowe, forr feere of dethe, "Ah, goddelyke Henrie! Godde forefende, And guarde thee and thye sonne, Yff 'tis hys wylle; but yff 'tis nott, "My honest friende, my faulte has beene "Ynne Londonne citye was I borne, "I make ne doubte butt hee ys gone "Hee taughte mee justice and the laws With pitie to unite ; And eke hee taughte mee howe to knowe "And none can saye butt alle mye lyfe "I have a spouse, goe aske of her I have a kynge, and none can laie "Ynne Lent, and onne the holie eve, "Ne, hapless Henrie! I rejoyce "Oh, fickle people! rewyn'd londe ! Thou wylt kenne peace ne moe; Whyle Richard's sonnes exalt themselves Thye brookes wyth bloude wylle flowe. "Saie, were ye tyr'd of godlie peace, And godlie Henrie's reigne, "Whatte though I onne a sledde be drawne, And mangled by a hynde, I doe defye the traytor's pow'r, "Whatte though, uphoisted onne a pole, Mye lymbes shall rotte ynne ayre, And ne ryche monument of brasse Charles Bawdin's name shall bear ; "Yett ynne the holie book above, Whyche tyme can't eate awaie, There wythe the servants of the Lorde Mye name shall lyve for aie. "Thenne welcome dethe! for lyfe eterne I leave thys mortall lyfe : "Nowe dethe as welcome to mee comes Quod Canynge, ""Tys a goodlie thynge And from thys worlde of peyne and grefe And nowe the belle began to tolle, Syr Charles hee herde the horses feete And just before the officers His lovynge wyfe came ynne, Weepynge unfeigned teeres of woe, Wythe loude and dysmalle dynne. "Sweet Florence! nowe I praie forbere, Praie Godde that ev'ry Christian soule "Sweet Florence! why these brinie teeres? ""Tys butt a journie I shall goe Untoe the lande of blysse ; Nowe, as a proofe of husbande's love, Thenne Florence, fault'ring ynne her saie, "Ah, sweete Syr Charles! why wylt thou goe And nowe the officers came ynne "I goe to lyfe, and nott to dethe; "Teache them to runne the nobile race Thatt I theyre fader runne; Florence! shou'd dethe thee take-adieu ! Yee officers, leade onne." Thenne Florence raved as anie madde, And dydd her tresses tere; "Oh staie mye husbande, lorde, and lyfe!”Syr Charles thenne dropt a teare. 'Tyll tyredd oute wythe ravynge loude, Syr Charles exerted alle hys myghte, Uponne a sledde hee mounted thenne, Before hym went the council-menne, The freers of Seincte Augustyne next Alle cladd ynne homelic russett weedes, Ynne diffraunt partes a godlie psaume Thenne fyve-and-twenty archers came, Bolde as a lyon came Syr Charles, Drawne onne a cloth-layde sledde, Bye two blacke stedes ynne trappynges white, Wyth plumes uponne theyre hedde: Behynde hym fyve-and-twenty moe Of archers stronge and stoute, Scincte Jameses Freers marched next, Echone hys parte dydd chaunt ; Behynde theyre backes syx mynstrelles came, Who tun'd the strunge bataunt : Thenne came the maior and eldermenne, Ynne clothe of scarlett deck't; And theyre attendyng menne echone, And after them a multitude Of citizens dydd thronge; And whenne hee came to the hyghe crosse, Att the grete mynster wyndowe sat Soone as the sledde drewe nyghe enowe The brave Syr Charles hee dydd stande uppe, "Thou seest me, Edwarde! traytour vile! Butt bee assur'd, disloyall manne ! "Bye foule proceedyngs, murdre, bloude, "Thou thynkest I shall dye to-daie ; "Whylst thou, perhapps, for som few yeares, Shalt rule thys fickle lande, To lett them knowe howe wyde the rule "Twixt kynge and tyrant hande : "Thye pow'r unjust, thou traytour slave! Shall falle onne thye owne hedde.”— Fromm out of hearyng of the kynge Departed thenne the sledde. Kynge Edwarde's soule rush'd to hys face, Hee turn'd hys hedde awaie, And to hys broder Gloucester Hee thus dydd speke and saie: To hym that soe much dreaded dethe, Ne ghastlie terrors brynge, Beholde the manne! hee spake the truthe, Hee's greater thanne a kynge!" Soe lett hym die !" Duke Richard sayde; "And maye echone oure foes Bende downe theyre neckes to bloudie axe, And feede the carryon crowes." And nowe the horses gentlie drewe Syr Charles dydd uppe the scaffold goe, Of victorye, bye val'rous chiefs Gayn'd ynne the bloudie warre : And to the people hee dyd saie, "As longe as Edwarde rules thys lande, And brookes wythe bloude shall flowe. "You leave your goode and lawfulle kynge Lyke mee, untoe the true cause stycke, Thenne hee, wyth preestes, uponne hys knees, Thenne, keeelynge downe, hee layd hys hedde CHRISTOPHER SMART. [Born, 1792. Died, 1770.] CHRISTOPHER SMART was born at Shipbourne, in Kent. Being an eight months child, he had from his birth an infirm constitution, which unfortunately his habits of life never tended to strengthen. His father, who was steward of the Kentish estates of Lord Barnard (afterwards Earl of Darlington), possessed a property in the neighbourhood of Shipbourne of about 3007. a year; but it was so much encumbered by debt that his widow was obliged to sell it at his death at a considerable loss. This happened in our poet's eleventh year, at which time he was taken from the school of Maidstone, in Kent, and placed at that of Durham. Some of his paternal relations resided in the latter place. An ancestor of the family, Mr. Peter Smart, had been a prebendary of Durham in the reign of Charles the First, and was regarded by the puritans as a proto-martyr in their cause, having been degraded, fined, and imprisoned for eleven years, on account of a Latin poem which he published in 1643, and which the high-church party chose to consider as a libel. What services young Smart met with at Durham from his father's relations we are not informed ; but he was kindly received by Lord Barnard, at his seat of Raby Castle; and through the interest of his lordship's family obtained the patronage of the Duchess of Cleveland, who allowed him for several years an annuity of forty pounds. In his seventeenth year he went from the school of Durham to the university of Cambridge, where he obtained a fellowship of Pembroke-hall, and took the degree | of master of arts. About the time of his obtaining his fellowship he wrote a farce, entitled "the Grateful Fair, or the trip to Cambridge," which was acted in the hall of his college. Of this production only a few songs, and the mockheroic soliloquy of the Princess Periwinkle, have been preserved; but from the draught of the plot given by his biographer, the comic ingenuity of the piece seems not to have been remarkable. * He distinguished himself at the university, both by his Latin and English verses among the former was his translation of Pope's Ode on St. Cecilia's Day, on the subject of which, and of other versions which he projected from the same author, he had the honour of corresponding with Pope. He also obtained, during several years, the Seatonian prize for poetical essays on the attributes of the Deity. He afterwards printed those compositions, and probably rested on them his chief claims to the name of a [* See Gray's Works by Mitford, vol. iii. p. 41 and 47.] poet. In one of them he rather too loftily denominates himself "the poet of his God." From his verses upon the Eagle chained in a College Court, in which he addresses the bird, "Thou type of wit and sense, confined, Chain'd by th' oppressors of the mind," it does not appear that he had great respect for his college teachers; nor is it pretended that the oppressors of the mind, as he calls them, had much reason to admire the application of his eagle genius to the graver studies of the university; for the life which he led was so dissipated, as to oblige him to sequester his fellowship for tavern debts. In the year 1753 he quitted college, upon his marriage with a Miss Carnan, the step-daughter of Mr. Newbery the bookseller. With Newbery he had already been engaged in several schemes of authorship, having been a frequent contributor to the "Student, or Oxford and Cambridge Miscellany," and having besides conducted the "Midwife, or Old Woman's Magazine." He had also published a collection of his poems, and having either detected or suspected that the notorious Sir John (formerly Dr.) Hill had reviewed them unfavourably, he proclaimed war with the paper knight, and wrote a satire on him, entitled the Hilliad. One of the bad effects of the Dunciad had been to afford to indignant witlings, an easily copied example of allegory and vituperation. Every versifier, who could echo Pope's numbers, and add an iad to the name of the man or thing that offended him, thought himself a Pope for the time being, and however dull, an hereditary champion against the powers of Dulness. Sir John Hill, who wrote also a book upon Cookery, replied in a Smartiad; and probably both of his books were in their different ways useful to the pastry-cooks. If the town was interested in such a warfare, it was to be pitied for the dearth of amusement. But though Smart was thus engaged, his manners were so agreeable, and his personal character so inoffensive, as to find friends among some of the most eminent men of his day, such as Dr. Johnson, Garrick, and Dr. Burney. Distress, brought on by imprudence, and insanity, produced by distress, soon made him too dependent on the kindness of his friends. Some of them contributed money, Garrick gave him a free benefit at Drury-lane theatre, and Dr. Johnson furnished him with several papers for one of his periodical publications. During the confinement which his alienation of mind rendered necessary, he was deprived of pen and ink and paper; and used to indent his poetical thoughts with a key on the wainscot of the wall. On his recovery he resumed his literary employments, and for some time conducted himself with industry. Among the compositions of his saner period, was a verse translation of the Fables of Phædrus, executed with tolerable spirit and accuracy. But he gave a lamentable proof of his declining powers in his translation of the Psalms, and in his "Parables of Jesus Christ, done into familiar verse," which were dedicated to Master Bonnel Thornton, a child in the nursery. He was also committed for debt to the King's Bench prison, within the Rules of which he died, after a short illness, of a dis order in the liver. IN THE MOCK PLAY OF "A TRIP TO CAMBRIDGE, OR THE GRATEFUL FAIR." SOLILOQUY OF THE PRINCESS PERIWINKLE. The PRINCESS PERIWINKLE sola, attended by fourteen maids of great honour.] URE such a wretch as I was never born, ride, love, and reason, will not let me rest, ut tender, gentle love, with every wish complies. ride, love, and reason, fight till they are cloy'd, nd each by each in mutual wounds destroy'd. hus when a barber and a collier fight, he barber beats the luckless collier-white; he dusty collier heaves his ponderous sack, nd, big with vengeance, beats the barber-black. comes the brick-dust man, with grime o'erspread, nd beats the collier and the barber-red; Jack, red, and white, in various clouds are toss'd, ad in the dust they raise the combatants are lost. If Smart had any talent above mediocrity, it was a slight turn for humour*. In his serious attempts at poetry, he reminds us of those "Whom Phoebus in his ire Hath blasted with poetic fire †." The history of his life is but melancholy. Such was his habitual imprudence, that he would bring home guests to dine at his house, when his wife and family had neither a meal, nor money to provide one. He engaged, on one occasion, to write the Universal Visitor, and for no other work, by a contract which was to last ninety-nine years. The publication stopped at the end of two years. During his bad health, he was advised to walk for exercise, and he used to walk for that purpose to the ale-house; but he was always carried back. O, cruel fate! what barbarous hand, At some fierce tyrant's dread command, Has placed thee in this servile cell, Where genius ne'er was seen to roam; But lurks and sneaks at home! Though dimm'd thine eye, and clipt thy wing, In tenderest lays thy fate. Nor on thy mis'ry casts a care, • An instance of his wit is given in his extemporary spondaic on the three fat beadles of the university: Pinguia tergeminorum abdomina bedellorum. [† See however an extract made by Mr. Southey from his "Song of David," in the Quarterly Review, vol. xi. p. 497. He sung of God the mighty source On which all things depend: From whose right arm, beneath whose eyes, Commence and reign and end. The world, the clustering spheres He made, Dale, champaign, grove and hill; The multitudinous abyss Tell them, I AM Jehovah said To Moses, while earth heard in dread, At once above, beneath, around, This Smart when in a state of insanity indented with a key on the wainscot of a madhouse. Poor Nat. Lee when on the verge of madness made a sensible saying, "It is very difficult to write like a madman, but very easy to write like a fool!] |