[Bagford Collection, III. 30.] To the most Illustrious Prince his Highnesse James Duke of York, &c. A Votive Song for her Sacred MAJESTIES happy Arrivall. Ast, hast, fair Thamesis, and tell the Sea, That the Ocean may the joyfull news conveigh, Unto the bay of Lisbon, shee to all The Loyal loving hearts in Portugall, That Katharine of Briganza must forsake Her Native soyle and joyfull Voyage make. 1 Chorus. Fear not, a grander Providence doth guard the Seas, Then thy renown'd and sacred Lady of Terez.2 4 8 1 Queen Catharine's father, Juan, Duke of Braganza, had "nobly thrown off the yoke of Spain, and restored monarchy to Portugal, after an interruption of nearly sixty years."-J. H. Jesse: Memoirs, Court of England under the Stuarts, 1840, iii. 385. 2 Santa Teresa, or Theresa. See Mrs. Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art. See how the effused Nations leave their Coasts, 2 Chorus. That Nest of pyrates once, reduced by us doth gain What general joy is here in our glad Land! 2 3 And swear, if ever, now they're like t' have pay, 1 Dunkirk had always been of importance during wars between England and France, from its sending out destructive privateers to waylay merchantmen. Under Cromwell, the two nations being in alliance, Dunkirk was captured from Spain, in 1658. It was retained by England until between July and October of this year 1662, when Louis XIV. bought it from Charles II. for four hundred thousand pounds. 2 As to this "general joy," the poetic licence of the verse is directly contradicted by an entry in Pepys' Diary, under date of 15th May, 1662:-"At night, all the bells of the towne rung, and bonfires made for the joy of the Queene's arrival, who landed at Portsmouth last night. But I do not see much thorough joy, but only an indifferent one, in the hearts of people, who are much discontented at the pride and luxury of the Court, and running in debt."— Diary, ed. 1875, i. 447. 3 Amid the wastefulness of the Court, favourites squandering large sums in gambling and for cosmetics to preserve their beauty, the payments due to the navy and the army fell hopelessly in arrears. Pepys laments over this. William Penn's father, the Admiral, was one of the Cavaliers to whom the Crown was indebted see introduction to Bagford Coll., iii. 56. Again, we find this adulatory statement contradicted by the Diary of Pepys, May 10th, 1662:-"My Lady do tell me how my Lady Castlemaine do speak of going to lie in at Hampton Court: which she and all our ladies are much troubled at, because of the King's being forced to show her countenance in the sight of the Queene when she comes." May 21st. "Sarah told me how the King dined at my Lady Castlemaine's, and supped, every day and night the last week; and that the night that the bonfires were made for joy of the Queene's arrivall, the King was there; but there was no fire at her [Castlemaine's] door, though at all the rest of the doors in the street; which was much observed: and that the King and she did send for a pair of scales and weighed one another; and she, being with child, was said to be heaviest."-Ibid, i. 450. Catharine was compelled to receive her shameless rival with public favour, soon after the arrival from Portugal. (See Jesse, Mem. Court of England, Stuarts, iii. 397.) 3 Chorus. The rigid angry Faction (though 'tis late) will joine The æmulous subjects do contend to meet, 4 Chorus. Jamaica will beget new Collonies, and shew Rescu'd Tangeirs 2 by thee from Spanish pride Thou'lt make thy King Christian and Catholick, Queen of two Worlds, the Great and Britanie. 5 Chorus. Hast then unto his Royal armes, which stretcht-out be 'Tis not your fragrant Oranges are wanting This probably refers to the ultra-Protestant agitators, who had recently made such exertions to promote the "Exclusion Bill," to divert the succession from the legitimate heir, James Duke of York; in favour of the illegitimate, and not more chaste, James Duke of Monmouth. We suppose that a comma was intended to be added after the word "joine." 2 Tangiers was a part of the Queen's dowry, and is often referred to in contemporary verses. It was considered to be of importance for the Mediterranean trade. Considerable sums of money were spent on its defences. It was declared a free port in December, 1662, and invested with great privileges. Under date of April 24, 1662, Pepys relates the difficulties of obtaining the dowry; insomuch as Mr. Creed told him: "That my Lord [Sandwich] was forced to have some clashing with the Council of Portugall about payment of the portion, before he could get it; which was, beside Tangier and a free trade in the [East] Indys, two millions of crownes, half now, and the other half in twelve months."-Diary, ed. 1875, i. 452. Of this half a million of money, the part first paid was not in cash, but in jewels, cotton, sugar, etc., although it had been stipulated to be entirely in gold. Nor your rare Bacon fed from Chestnut-trees Thou art the Purchase, which thy CHARLES will hold. Until he see the Heir Apparent1 of his blood, A Royal Charls of Charls the Great, from Charls the Good. 2. Until from Thee proceed a most Majestick SON, Amen. 44 47 50 Your most humble and obedient servant Gratefully designes these Fancies. LONDON, printed by Peter Lillicrop, and are to be sold by Peter Kent on Addling hill near Barnards Castle. [In White-letter. Date, probably, April, 1662. No woodcut. The portrait of James II., on p. 634, is from Bagf. Coll., ii. 169.] 1 A slanderous report was circulated in later years, by the Orange party, that Clarendon had from the first advocated the eligibility of Catharine as Queen Consort for Charles, expressly because she was believed to be incapable of bearing children. In short, that Clarendon advocated the royal union, because he wished no legitimate heir to be born to Charles; so that the succession might come to his grandchildren, the offspring of Mary and Anne. A Ballad, on George Villiers. "In the worst inn's worst room, with mat half hung, Of mimic statesmen, and their merry king. No fool to laugh at, which he valued more. There, victor of his health, of fortune, friends, And fame, this lord of useless thousands ends."-Pope. EDMUND GAYTON'S "Votive Song" is followed by a Poem, "printed in the year 1666" (Bagford Coll., iii. 31) entitled "The Scotch Riddle Unfolded: or, Reflections upon R. W[ilde], his most Lamentable Ballad, called the LOYAL Non-Conformist. Not being a ballad, we can omit it (which we may not do with the present verses): it begins, Stand up Smectymnuus,' and bear thy tryal; Thy monstrous Title puts me to a pause: Loves he the King who disobeys his Laws? &c. The libellous "Ballad," beginning "I sing the praise of a worthy Wight," &c., was made on George Villiers, second Duke of Buckingham, author of "The Rehearsal"; son of the first George Villiers, who was the favourite "Steenie" of James I., and of Charles I. Allusions to his failure in 1625 at the adjacent island of Rhé, and to the assassination (by John Felton at Portsmouth, in 1628), are found in the ballad, with exultation at his downfall, although he had been about to renew his attempt to relieve the Huguenots of Rochelle. We attach no weight whatever to the ascription of this unscrupulous lampoon to John Dryden, on the doubtful authority of a mutilated reprint in 1703; apparently from a different 1 Smectymnuus here is not so strictly applied as it had been during the Civil War: when it represented the preachers whose initials combined to make up the word. See note on a later page, 653. A similarity of doctrine revived the name. 2 As usual with Poems on Affairs of State, it was most inaccurately printed, words dropped out, and (in addition to verses 7-11 justifiably omitted) verses 21 and 22 also. The sense is often obscured in it, but we gain one or two small corrections. It fails to indicate the burden" With a fa la la," &c. |