Nor may the life that gives their eye-lids light O may'st thou thus make all the year thine own, 145 And see such names of joy sit white upon The brow of every month and when th' hast done. Mayst in a son of his find every son Repeated, and that son still in another, And so in each child, often prove a mother. 150 Pardon (bright Excellence,) an untun'd string, 155 That in thy cares thus keeps a murmuring. O speake a lowly Muse's pardon, speake Thy silence. Speake, and she shall take from thence Confessing thee. Or (if too long I stay,) O speake thou, and my pipe hath nought to say: For see Apollo all this while stands mute, Expecting by thy voice to tune his lute. 160 But gods are gracious; and their altars make 165 Pretious the offrings that their altars take. Give then this rurall wreath fire from thine eyes, NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. This poem was originally entitled (as supra) ‘Upon the Duke of York's Birth.' As new children were born additions were made to it and the title altered. Cf. the Latin poem in our vol. ii. ad Reginam. The children celebrated were the following: Charles James, born May 13, 1628, died the same day; the Queen's first child : Charles II., born May 29, 1630: James, who is placed before his sister Mary, who was older than he; born Oct. 14, 1633; afterwards James II.: Princess Mary, born Nov. 4, 1631, afterwards mother of William III.: Princess Elizabeth, born Dec. 28, 1635; died of grief at her father's tragical end, Sept. 8, 1650; was buried in the church at Newport, Isle of Wight, where her remains were found in 1793. Vaughan the Silurist has a fine poem to her memory (our edition, vol. ii. pp. 115-17): Anne, born March 17, 1636-7; she died Dec. 8, 1640 (Crashaw from first to last keeps Death out of his poem): Henry, born July 8, 1640, afterwards Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Cambridge. Henrietta Anne, born June 16, 1644, is not named. The title in 1646 is Vpon the Duke of Yorke his Birth: a Panegyricke;' and so in 1670, which throughout agrees with that very imperfect text, except in one deplorable blunder of its own left uncorrected by TURNBULL, as noted below. The heading in the SANCROFT MS. is 'A Panegyrick vpon the birth of the Duke of Yorke. R. CR.' Line 7, in 1646 glories' for 'honours.' In the SANCROFT Ms. line 8 reads 'As sitts alone . . . .' 16, ib. Th' art.' 29-32 restored from 1648. Not in SANCROFT MS. 33. These headings here and onward omitted hitherto. 34, in 1646 great' for bright.' 43, our text (1648) misprints owne' for 'one' of Voces 6 Line 50, 1646 oddly misprints these Cherrimock.' Nor may the life that gives their eye-lids light O may'st thou thus make all the year thine own, 145 And see such names of joy sit white upon The brow of every month! and when th' hast done, Mayst in a son of his find every son Repeated, and that son still in another, And so in each child, often prove a mother. Long may'st thou, laden with such clusters, lean 150 Pardon (bright Excellence,) an untun'd string, 155 That in thy cares thus keeps a murmuring. O speake a lowly Muse's pardon, speake Her pardon, or her sentence; onely breake Thy silence. Speake, and she shall take from thence Numbers, and sweetnesse, and an influence Confessing thee. Or (if too long I stay,) O speake thou, and my pipe hath nought to say: For see Apollo all this while stands mute, Expecting by thy voice to tune his lute. 160 But gods are gracious; and their altars make 165 Pretions the offrings that their altars take. Give then this rurall wreath fire from thine eyes, NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. This poem was originally entitled (as supra) Upon the Duke of York's Birth.' As new children were born additions were made to it and the title altered. Cf. the Latin poem in our vol. ii. ad Reginam. The children celebrated were the following: Charles James, born May 13, 1628, died the same day; the Queen's first child : Charles II., born May 29, 1630: James, who is placed before his sister Mary, who was older than he; born Oct. 14, 1633; afterwards James II.: Princess Mary, born Nov. 4, 1631, afterwards mother of William III.: Princess Elizabeth, born Dec. 28, 1635; died of grief at her father's tragical end, Sept. 8, 1650; was buried in the church at Newport, Isle of Wight, where her remains were found in 1793. Vaughan the Silurist has a fine poem to her memory (our edition, vol. ii. pp. 115-17): Anne, born March 17, 1636-7; she died Dec. 8, 1640 (Crashaw from first to last keeps Death out of his poem): Henry, born July 8, 1640, afterwards Duke of Gloucester and Earl of Cambridge. Henrietta Anne, born June 16, 1644, is not named. The title in 1646 is Vpon the Duke of Yorke his Birth: a Panegyricke;' and so in 1670, which throughout agrees with that very imperfect text, except in one deplorable blunder of its own left uncorrected by TURNBULL, as noted below. The heading in the SANCROFT MS. is 'A Panegyrick vpon the birth of the Duke of Yorke. R. CR.' Line 7, in 1646 'glories' for 'honours.' In the SANCROFT Ms. line 8 reads 'As sitts alone. . . .' 29-32 restored from 1648. Not in SANCROFT MS. 33. These headings here and onward omitted hitherto. 34, in 1646 great' for bright.' 43, our text (1648) misprints owne' for 'one' of Voces Line 50, 1646 oddly misprints' these Cherrimock.' 71, 1616, pearls' for 'tears. So the SANCROFT MS. 78-118, all these lines-most characteristic-restored TURNBULL Overlooked them. Not in the SAN from 1618. CROFT MS. Line 110, 1670 drops a line here, and thus confuses, * A brood of phenixes, and still the mother: PEREGRINE PHILLIPS in his selections from CRASHAW (1785), following the text of 1670, says in a foot-note, A line seems wanting, but is so in the original copy.' TURNBULL follows suit and says, 'Here a line seems deficient.' If either had consulted the original' editions, which both professed to know, it would have saved them from this and numerous kindred blunders. Line 145, 1616, 'light' for 'life.' 151, ib. that's.' 170, ib. their for the offerings." In line 27 Thee therefore &c.' is a thought not unfrequent with the panegyrists of James. BEN JONSON makes use of it at least twice. In the Masque of Blackness we have, With that great name Britannia, this blest isle The abstract of it, in his general pride.' SHAKESPEARE used the same thought more nobly when he made it the theme of that glorious outburst of patriotism from the lips of the dying Gaunt. G. |