Parodies of Ballad Criticism (1711-1787) Part 2

----Ipse Uno graditur comitatus Achate.

There is scarcely any Scene more moving than this that follows, and is _such an one as wou'd have s.h.i.+ned in *Homer* or *Virgil*_. When he was favour'd with his Prince's Ear, and might have ask'd the most profitable and important Posts in the Government, and been indemnified if guilty of a _Peculatus_; He only used his Interest to relieve the Necessities of his Parents, when another _Person_ wou'd have scarcely own'd 'em for his _Relations_. This discovers such a Generosity of Soul, such an Humility in the greatest Prosperity, such a tender Affection for his Parents, as is hardly to be met with, but in our Author.

And being near his Highness Heart He crav'd a wealthy Boon, A n.o.ble Gift, the which the King Commanded to be done; To relieve his Father's Wants, And Mother being old.

The rest of this Canto relates the Visit to his Father, in which there is something very soft and tender, something _that may move the Mind of the most polite Reader, with the inward Meltings of Humanity and Compa.s.sion_.

The Next Canto of the Tilts and Tournaments, is much like the Fifth Book of _Virgil_, and tho' we can't suppose our Poet ever saw that Author, yet we may believe he was directed to almost the same Pa.s.sages, _by the same kind of Poetical Genius, and the same Copyings after Nature_.

Now he with Tilts and Tournaments, Was entertained so, That all the rest of _Arthur_'s Knights Did him much Pleasure show; And good Sir _Lancelot_ of _Lake_, Sir _Tristram_, and Sir _Guy_; But none like to _Tom Thumb_ For Acts of Chivalry.

Longeque ante omnia Corpora Nisus Emicat----

And agen,

Post Elymus subit, & nunc tertia palma Diores.

In Honour of which n.o.ble Day, And for his Lady's Sake, A Challenge in King _Arthur_'s Court, _Tom Thumb_ did bravely make.

Talis prima Dares caput altum in praelia tollit, Ostendit[que] humeros latos, alterna[que] Iactat Brachia portendens, & verberat Ictibus auras, Quaeritur huic alius:----

'Gainst whom those n.o.ble Knights did run, Sir _Chion_ and the rest, But, still _Tom Thumb_ with all his Might Did bear away the best.

Et primum ante omnes victorem appellat Acesten.

At the same time our Poet shews a laudable Partiality for his Hero, he represents Sir _Lancelot_ after a manner not unbecoming so bold and brave a Knight.

At last Sir _Lancelot_ of _Lake_, In manly sort came in, And with this stout and hardy Knight A Battle to begin.

Huic contra aeneas, speculatus in agmine longo Obvius ire parat----

Which made the Courtiers all aghast.

Obstupuere animi----

This Canto concludes with the Presents made by the King to the Champion according to the Custom of the _Greeks_ and _Romans_ in such Cases; only his tumbling thro' the Queen's Ring is observable, and may serve to give some Light into the Original of that ingenious Exercise so much practis'd by the Moderns, of tumbling thro' an Hoop.

The last Canto treats of the Champion's Sickness and Death, and whoever considers the Beauty, Regularity and majestic Simplicity of the Relation, cannot but be surpris'd at the Advances that may be made in Poetry by the Strength of an uncultivated Genius, and may see how far Nature can proceed without the Ornamental Helps and a.s.sistances of Art.

The Poet don't attribute his Sickness to a Debauch, to the Irregularity or Intemperance of his Life, but to an Exercise becoming an Hero; and tho' he dies quietly in his Bed, he may be said in some measure to die in the Bed of Honour. And to shew the great Affection the King had for him, he sends for his Physicians, and orders all the Care imaginable to be taken for the Conservation of his Life.

He being slender and tall, This cunning Doctor took A fine perspective Gla.s.s, with which, He did in Secret look.

It is a Wonder that the learned World shou'd differ so in their Opinions concerning the Invention and Antiquity of Optic Gla.s.ses, and that any one should contend for _Metius_ of _Alcmaer_, or, as Dr. _Plot_ does, for _Fryar Bacon_, when, if this Author had been consulted, Matters might have been so easily adjusted. Some great Men indeed wou'd prove from hence, our Knight was the Inventor of 'em, that his Valet might the more commodiously see to dress him; but if we consider there were no Beau's in that Age, or reflect more maturely on the Epithet here given to the Doctor, we may readily conclude, that the Honour of this Invention belongs more particularly to that ingenious Profession.

How lovely is the Account of the Departure of his Soul from his Body:

And so with Peace and Quietness He left the World below.

Placida[que] demum ibi morte quievit.

And up into the Fairy Land His Soul did fleeting go.

----At aethereas repet.i.t mens ignea sedes.

Whereas the Fairy Queen receiv'd With happy Mourning Cheer The Body of this valiant Knight, Whom she esteem'd so dear; For with her dancing Nymphs in Green She fetch'd him from his Bed, With Musick and with Melody, As soon as Life was fled.

----Et fotum gremio Dea tollit in Altos Idaliae lucos----

So one of our Modern Poets;

Thither the Fairys and their Train resort, And leave their Revels, and their midnight Sport.

We find in all the most celebrated Poets some G.o.ddess that takes upon her to be the peculiar Guardian of the Hero, which has been carry'd on very elegantly in this Author.

But agen;

For whom King _Arthur_ and his Knights, Full forty Days did mourn, And in Remembrance of his name, Who was so strangely born, He built a Tomb of Marble grey, And Year by Year did come, To celebrate the Mournful Day, And Burial of _Tom Thumb_, Whose Fame lives here in _England_ still, Among the Country sort, Of whom their Wives and Children small, Tell Tales of pleasant Sport.

So _Ovid_;

----Luctus monumenta manebunt Semper Adoni mei, repet.i.ta[que] mortis Imago Annua plangoris peragit simulamina Nostri.

Nor is this Conclusion unlike one of the best Latin Poems this Age has produc'd.

Tu Taffi aeternum vives, tua munera Cambri Nunc etiam Celebrant, quoties[que] revolvitur Annus Te memorant, Patrium Gens tota tuetur Honorem, Et cingunt viridi redolentia tempora Porro.

And now, tho' I am very well satisfied with this Performance, yet, according to the usual Modesty of us Authors, I am oblig'd to tell the World, _it will be a great Satisfaction to me, knowing my own Insufficiency_, if I have given but some Hints of the Beauties of this Poem, which are capable of being improv'd by those of greater Learning and Abilities. And I am glad to find by a Letter I have receiv'd from one of the _Literati_ in _Holland_, That the learned _Huffius_, a great Man of our Nation, is about the Translation of this Piece into _Latin_ Verse, which he a.s.sures me will be done with a great deal of Judgment, in case he has enough of that Language to furnish out the Undertaking.

I am very well Appris'd, That there has been publish'd Two Poems lately, Int.i.tuled, The Second and Third Parts of this Author; which treat of our little Hero's rising from the Dead in the Days of King _Edgar_: But I am inform'd by my Friend the _Schoolmaster_, and others, That they were compos'd by an Enthusiast in the last Century, and have been since Printed for the Establishment of the Doctrine of Monsieur _Marion_ and his Followers, and the Resurrection of Dr. _Ems_.

I hope no Body will be offended at my a.s.serting Things so positively, since 'tis the Priviledge of us _Commentators_, who understand the meaning of an Author Seventeen Hundred Years after he has wrote, much better than ever he cou'd be suppos'd to do himself. And certainly, a Critick ought not only to know what his Authors Thoughts were when he was Writing such and such Pa.s.sages, but how those Thoughts came into his Head, where he was when he wrote, or what he was doing of; whether he wrote in a Garden, a Garret, or a Coach; upon a Lady, or a Milkmaid; whether at that Time he was scratching his Elbow, drinking a Bottle, or playing at Questions and Commands. These are material and important Circ.u.mstances so well known to the _True Commentator_, that were _Virgil_ and _Horace_ to revisit the World at this time, they'd be wonderfully surpris'd to see the minutest of their Perfections discover'd by the a.s.sistances of _Modern Criticism_. Nor have the Cla.s.sicks only reap'd Benefit from Inquiries of this Nature, but Divinity it self seems to be render'd more intelligible. I know a Divine, who understands what St. _Paul_ meant by _Higher Powers_, much better than that Apostle cou'd pretend to do; and another, That can unfold all the Mysteries of the _Revelations_ without Spectacles.

I know there are some People that cast an Odium on me, and others, for pointing out the Beauties of such Authors, as have, they say, been hitherto unknown, and argue, That 'tis a sort of Heresie in Wit, and is like the fruitless Endeavours of proving the Apostolical Const.i.tutions _Genuine_, that have been indisputably _Spurious_ for so many Ages: But let these Gentlemen consider, whether they pa.s.s not the same Judgment on an Author, as a Woman does on a Man, by the gayety of his Dress, or the gaudy Equipage of his Epithets. And however they may call me _second-sighted_, for discerning what they are Blind to, I must tell them this Poem has not been altogether so obscure, but that the most refin'd _Writers_ of this Age have been delighted with the reading it.

Mr. _Tho. D'Urfey_, I am told, is an Admirer, and Mr. _John Dunton_ has been heard to say, more than once, he had rather be the Author of it than all his Works.

How often, _says my Author_, have I seen the Tears trickle down the Face of the Polite _Woodwardius_ upon reading some of the most pathetical Encounters of _Tom Thumb_! How soft, how musically sorrowful was his Voice! How good Natur'd, how gentle, how unaffected was the Ceremoniale of his Gesture, and how unfit for a Profession so Merciless and Inhumane!

I was persuaded by a Friend to write some Copies of Verses and place 'em in the Frontispiece of this Poem, in Commendation of My self and my _Comment_, suppos'd to be compos'd by _AG. FT. LM. RW._ and so forth.

_To their very worthy and honour'd Friend_ C. D. upon his admirable and useful _Comment_ on the History of _Tom Thumb_; but my Bookseller told me the Trick was so common, 'twou'd not answer. Then I propos'd a Dedication to my Lord _such an One_, or Sir _Thomas such an One_; but he told me the Stock to be rais'd on Dedications was so small now a Days, and the Discount to my Lord's Gentleman, _&c._ so high, that 'twou'd not be worth while; besides, says he, it is the Opinion of some Patrons, that a Dinner now and then, with, _Sir, I shall expect to see you sometimes_, is a suitable Reward for a publick Compliment in Print. But if, continues my Bookseller, you have a Mind it shou'd turn to Advantage, write Treason or Heresy, get censur'd by the Parliament or Convocation, and condemn'd to be burnt by the Hands of the common Hangman, and you can't fail having a Mult.i.tude of Readers, by the same Reason, _A notorious Rogue has such a Number of Followers to the Gallows_.

_FINIS._

[Ill.u.s.tration]