Literary Byways Part 15

In the lighter vein she produced some verses in imitation of the poetry of Wordsworth.

"There is a river clear and fair, 'Tis neither broad nor narrow; It winds a little here and there, It winds about like any hare; And then it takes as straight a course As on the turnpike road a horse, Or through the air an arrow.

The trees that grow upon the sh.o.r.e, Have grown a hundred years or more, So long, there is no knowing.

Old Daniel Dobson does not know, When first these trees began to grow; But still they grew, and grew, and grew, As if they'd nothing else to do, But ever to be growing.

The impulses of air and sky Have reared their stately stems so high, And clothed their boughs with green; Their leaves the dews of evening quaff,-- And when the wind blows loud and keen, I've seen the jolly timbers laugh, And shake their sides with merry glee-- Wagging their heads in mockery.

Fix'd are their feet in solid earth, Where winds can never blow; But visitings of deeper birth Have reached their roots below.

For they have gained the river's brink, And of the living waters drink.

There's little Will, a five year's child-- He is my youngest boy; To look on eyes so fair and wild, It is a very joy:-- He hath conversed with sun and shower, And dwelt with every idle flower, As fresh and gay as them.

He loiters with the briar rose, The blue-bells are his play-fellows, That dance upon their slender stem.

And I have said, my little Will Why should not he continue still A thing of Nature's rearing?

A thing beyond the world's control-- A living vegetable soul,-- No human sorrow fearing.

It were a blessed sight to see That child become a willow tree, His brother trees among.

He'd be four time as tall as me, And live three times as long."

It was related by the Rev. William Harness, who did much to make known the merits of Miss Fanshawe's works, that when the foregoing lines were read to a distinguished admirer of Wordsworth's poetry, she thought them beautiful, and wondered why the poet had never shown them to her!

Miss Fanshawe's fame rests on the authors.h.i.+p of the celebrated riddle on the letter H, which has frequently been attributed to Byron, and appeared in more than one edition of his poems. At a party held one evening at the house of her friend, Mr. Hope, of Deep Dene, the conversation turned upon the abuse of the aspirate. After the guests had withdrawn, Miss Fanshawe retired to her room and composed her noted poem. Next morning she read it at the breakfast table, much to the surprise and delight of the company.

It is as follows:--

"'Twas in heaven p.r.o.nounced, and 'twas muttered in h.e.l.l, And echo caught faintly the sound as it fell; On the confines of earth 'twas permitted to rest, And the depths of the ocean its presence confest.

'Twill be found in the sphere, when 'tis riven asunder, Be seen in the lightning, and heard in the thunder.

'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath, Attends at his birth, and awaits him in death, Presides o'er his happiness, honour, and health, Is the prop of his house, and the end of his wealth.

In the heaps of the miser 'tis h.o.a.rded with care, But is sure to be lost on his prodigal heir, It begins every hope, every wish it must bound, With the husbandman toils, and with monarchs is crown'd, Without it the soldier, the seaman may roam, But woe to the wretch who expels it from home!

In the whispers of conscience its voice will be found, Nor e'en in the whirlpool of pa.s.sion be drown'd, 'Twill not soften the heart; but though deaf to the ear, It will make it acutely and instantly hear.

Yet in shade let it rest like a delicate flower, Ah, breathe on it softly--it dies in an hour.

Some other riddles and charades appear in her collected poems, but none are of equal merit to the riddle on the letter H.

Our next example bears the t.i.tle of an "Ode":--

"Lo! where the gaily vestur'd throng, Fair learning's train, are seen, Wedg'd in close ranks her walls along, And up her benches green.[2]

Unfolded to their mental eye Thy awful form, Sublimity!

The moral teacher shows-- Sublimity of Silence born, And Solitude 'mid caves forlorn And dimly vision'd woes; Or Stedfast Worth, that inly great Mocks the malignity of faith.

While whisper'd pleasure's dulcet sound Murmurs the crowded room around, And Wisdom, borne on Fas.h.i.+on's pinions, Exulting hails her new dominions.

Oh! both on me your influence shed, Dwell in my heart and deck my head!

Where'er a broader, browner shade The s.h.a.ggy beaver throws, And with the ample feather's aid O'er canopies the nose; Where'er with smooth and silken pile, Ling'ring in solemn pause awhile, The crimson velvet glows; From some high benches giddy brink, Clinton with me begins to think (As bolt upright we sit) That dress, like dogs, should have its day, That beavers are too hot for May, And velvets quite unfit.

Then taste, in maxims sweet, I draw From her unerring lip; How light, how simple are the straw, How delicate the chip!

Hush'd is the speaker's powerful voice, The audience melt away, I fly to fix my final choice And bless th' instructive day.

The milliner officious pours Of hats and caps her ready stores, The unbought elegance of spring; Some wide, disclose the full round face, Some shadowy, lend a modest grace And stretch their sheltering wing.

Here cl.u.s.tering grapes appear to shed Their luscious juices on the head, And cheat the longing eye; So round the Phrygian monarch hung Fair fruits that from his parched tongue For ever seem'd to fly.

Here early blooms the summer rose; Her ribbons wreathe fantastic bows; Here plays gay plumage of a thousand dyes-- Visions of beauty, spare my aching eyes!

Ye c.u.mbrous fas.h.i.+ons, crowd not on my head!

Mine be the chip of purest white, Swan-like, and as her feathers light When on the still wave spread; And let it wear the graceful dress, Of unadorned simpleness.

Ah! frugal wish; ah! pleasing thought; Ah! hope indulged in vain; Of modest fancy chiefly bought A stranger yet to Payne.[3]

With undissembled grief I tell,-- For sorrow never comes too late,-- The simplest bonnet in Pall Mall Is sold for 1 8_s._

To Calculation's sober view, That searches ev'ry plan, Who keep the old, or buy the new, Shall end where they began.

Alike the shabby and the gay Must meet the sun's meridian ray; The air, the dust, the damp.

This, shall the sudden shower despoil; That slow decay by gradual soil; Those, envious boxes cramp.

Who will, their squander'd gold may pay; Who will, our taste deride; We'll scorn the fas.h.i.+on of the day With philosophic pride.

Methinks we thus, in accents low, Might Sydney Smith address, 'Poor moralist! and what art thou, Who never spoke of dress!'

'Thy mental hero never hung Suspended on a tailor's tongue, In agonising doubt; Thy tale no flutt'ring female show'd, Who languish'd for the newest mode, Yet dar'd to live without.'"

In Miss Mary Russell Mitford's "Recollections of a Literary Life" are some genial allusions to Miss Fanshawe. "Besides," wrote Miss Mitford, "her remarkable talent for graceful and polished pleasantry, whether in prose or verse, Miss Catherine Fanshawe was admirable as a letter-writer, and as a designer in almost every style." Her drawings and etchings met with praise from those capable of judging their merits.

After Miss Fanshawe's death, in 1834, her friend, the Rev. William Harness, printed for private circulation a small collection of her poems, expressing his wish "that some enduring memorial may exist of one who, in her varied accomplishments, her acute perception of the beautiful, her playful fancy, her charming conversation, her gentle and retiring manners, her lively sympathy with the sorrows and joys of others, and above all, her simple piety, was so cherished a member of a society, not very extended but intimately united by a common love of literature, and art, and science, which existed in London at the close of the last and the opening of the present century, and which, perhaps, taken for all in all, has never been surpa.s.sed." In 1876, Mr. Basil Montagu Pickering issued "The Literary Remains of Catherine Maria Fanshawe," with notes by the Rev. William Harness. Doubtless his admiration of the productions of the author prompted him to publish the volume. Only two hundred and fifty copies were printed. Mr. Pickering is ent.i.tled to the grat.i.tude of lovers of choice poetry for publis.h.i.+ng the charming volume.

A Popular Song Writer:

Mrs. John Hunter.

The name of Mrs. John Hunter stands high on the roll of English song writers. She is one of the most gifted women in her particular literary field Hull has produced, and it is most remarkable that she is not noticed in any local work devoted to history or biography. Her maiden name was Anne Home, and she was the eldest daughter of Robert Home, of Greenlaw, Berwicks.h.i.+re, surgeon of Burgoyne's Regiment of Light Horse, and subsequently a physician in Savoy. He greatly displeased his parents by marrying at an early age, and on this account they declined to a.s.sist him in the outset of his professional career. He proceeded to Hull, and practised as a surgeon. In the year 1742, Anne, his eldest daughter, was born. She received a liberal education, and at an early age displayed considerable poetical gifts. Her early work found its way into the periodicals, and in one ent.i.tled the _Lark_, published at Edinburgh, at the age of twenty-three years, she contributed her well-known song, "The Flowers of the Forest," and a song we quote as a specimen of her style:--

"Adieu, ye streams that smoothly glide Through mazy windings o'er the plain; I'll in some lonely cave reside, And ever mourn my faithful swain.

Flower of the forest was my love, Soft as the sighing summer's gale; Gentle and constant as the dove, Blooming as roses in the vale.

Alas! by Tweed my love did stray, For me he searched the banks around; But, ah! the sad and fatal day, My love, the pride of swains, was drown'd.

Now droops the willow o'er the stream; Pale stalks his ghost in yonder grove; Dire fancy paints him in my dream; Awake I mourn my hopeless love."

Such is one of her many songs, several of which were set to music by Haydn. Her best known song is, perhaps, "My Mother bids me bind my Hair":--

"My mother bids me bind my hair With bands of rosy hue, Tie up my sleeves with ribbons rare, And lace my bodice blue.

"For why," she cries, "sit still and weep, While others dance and play?"

Alas! I scarce can go or creep While Lubin is away.

'Tis sad to think the days are gone When those we love were near; I sit upon this mossy stone, And sigh when none can hear.