2. It is an active flame, that flies First to the babies of the eyes, And charms them there with lullabies: Chor. And stills the bride, too, when she cries: 2. Then to the chin, the cheek, the ear, It frisks and flies: now here, now there; "Tis now far off, and then 'tis near: Chor. And here, and there, and everywhere. 1. Has it a body ?-2. Ay, and wings, Chor.-Love honey yields, but never stings. To the Virgins, to make much of their Time. Gather the rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying, And this same flower that smiles to-day The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun, That age is best which is the first, When youth and blood are warmer; But, being spent, the worse, and worst Time shall succeed the former. Then be not coy, but use your time, Twelfth Night, or King and Queen. Now, now the mirth. comes,* The pea also Must revel as queen in the court here. Begin then to choose, And who shall not Be Twelfth-day queen for the night here. Which known, let us make And let not a man then be seen here," Along the dark and silent night, To whose dismal bar, we there Who unurged will not drink, A health to the king and the queen here, Next crown the bowl full And thus ye must do To make the wassail a swinger. Give them to the king And though with ale ye be wet here; As free from offense, As when ye innocent met here. Amongst the sports proper to Twelfth-night in England, was the partition of a cake with a bean and pea in it; the individuals who got the bean and pea were respectively king and queen for the evening. 1 drink of warm ale, with roasted apples and spices in it. The term is a corruption from the Celtic. Julia. Some asked me where the rubies grew, And nothing did I say, But with my finger pointed to The lips of Julia. To part her lips, and shew me there One asked me where the roses grew, Some asked how pearls did grow, and But forthwith bade my Julia shew Upon a Child that Died. Epitaph upon a Child. A Thanksgiving for his House. Good words or meat. A little buttery, and therein Which keeps my little loaf of bread Some brittle sticks of thorn or brier Make me a fire, Close by whose living coal I sit, And glow like it. Lord, I confess, too, when I dine, And all those other bits that be To Corinna, to go a-Maying. Get up, get up for shame, the blooming morn See how Aurora throws her fair Each flower has wept, and bowed toward the east, When all the birds have matins said, And sung their thankful hymns: 'tis sin, When as a thousand virgins on this day, Rise, and put on your foliage, and be seen To come forth, like the spring-time, fresh and green, For jewels for your gown or hair; Retires himself, or else stands still Till you come forth. Wash, dress, be brief in praying; Come, my Corinna, come; and, coming, mark Made green, and trimmed with trees; see how Or branch; each porch, each door, ere this, Made up of white thorn neatly interwove; And sin no more, as we have done, by staying, There's not a budding boy or girl this day, A deal of youth, ere this, is come Back, and with white thorn laden home. And some have wept, and wooed, and plighted troth, Many a glance, too, has been sent Many a jest told of the key's betraying This night, and locks picked; yet we're not a-Maying. Come, let us go, while we are in our prime, We shall grow old apace, and die; And as a vapour, or a drop of rain Once lost, can ne'er be found again; So when or you or I are made All love, all liking, all delight Lies drowned with us in endless night. Then, when time serves, and we are but decaying, Come, my Corinna, come, let's go a-Maying, *Herrick here alludes to the multitudes which were to be seen roaming in the fields on May morning: he afterwards refers to the appearance of the towns and villages bedecked with evergreens. SIR WILLIAM DAVENANT. SIR WILLIAM DAVENANT, whose life occupies an important space in the history of the stage, preceding and after the Restoration, wrote a heroic poem entitled Gondibert,' and some copies of miscellaneous verses. Davenant, or D'Avenant-for so he wrote his name-was born in February 1605-6, and was the son of a vintner at Oxford. There is a scandalous story, that he was the natural son of Shakspeare, who was in the habit of stopping at the Crown Tavern-kept by the elder Davenant-on his journeys between London and Stratford. This story was related to Pope by Betterton the player; but it seems to rest on no authority but idle tradition. Young Davenant is said to have admired Shakspeare above all other poets, and ‘one of the first essays of his muse,' when a mere boy, was an Ode to Shakspeare, which was afterwards included in a volume entitled Madagascar and other Poems,' 1638. It opens in the following strain: Beware, delighted poets, when you sing, The banks of Avon, for each flower- About It is to be regretted-for the sake of Davenant, as well as of the world -that the great dramatist did not live to guide the taste and foster the genius of his youthful admirer, whose life presented some strange adventures. He was entered at Lincoln College, but left without taking a degree; he then became page to the Duchess of Richmond, and afterwards was in the service of the poet, Lord Brooke. the year 1628, Davenant began to write for the stage; and in 1637, on the death of Ben Jonson, he was appointed laureate. He was afterwards manager of Drury Lane, but entering into the commotions and intrigues of the civil war, he was apprehended and confined in the Tower. He afterwards escaped to France. When the queen sent over to the Earl of Newcastle a quantity of military stores, Davenant resolved to return to England, and he distinguished himself so much in the cause of the royalists, that he was knighted for his skill and bravery. On the decline of the king's affairs, he returned to France, and wrote part of his 'Gondibert.' His next step was to sail for Virginia as a colonial projector; but the vessel was captured by one of the parliamentary ships-of-war, and Davenant was lodged in prison at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight. In 1650, he was removed to the Tower, preparatory to his being tried by the High Commission Court. His life was considered in danger, but he was released after two years' imprisonment. Milton is said to have interposed in his behalf; and as Davenant is reported to have interfered in favour of Milton when the royalists were again in the ascendant, after the Restoration, we would gladly believe the statement to be true. Such incidents give a peculiar grace and relief to E. L. v. ii.-5 |