XVIII.1 The Distracted Puritan, MAD SONG THE SECOND, I kept him aloof -WAS written about the beginning of the | When I sack'd the seven-hill'd city, seventeenth century by the witty bishop Cor- I met the great red dragon; bet, and is printed from the third edition of his poems, 12mo. 1672, compared with a more ancient copy in the Editor's folio MS. AM I mad, O noble Festus, To deal with the pope, As well as the best in the college? With the armour of proof, With a fiery sword and target, 30 35 Boldly I preach, hate a cross, hate a sur- And all my deeds misconster. * Alluding to some visionary exposition of Zech, ch. v. ver. 1; or, if the date of this song would permit, one might suppose it aimed at one Coppe, a strange enthusiast, whose Of the beast's ten horns (God bless us!) 25 life may be seen in Wood's Athen. vol. II., p. 501. He was I have knock'd off three already; If they let me alone I'll leave him none: But they say I am too heady. Boldly I preach, &c. author of a book, intituled, "The Fiery Flying Roll:" and afterwards published a Recantation, part of whose title is, "The Fiery Flying Roll's Wings elipt," &c. † See Greenham's Works, fol. 1605, particularly the tract intituled "A sweet Comfort for an Afflicted Conscience." See Perkin's Works, fol. 1616, vol. I. p. 11; where is a large half sheet folded, containing "A survey, or table, declaring the order of the causes of salvation and damua * Emanuel College, Cambridge, was originally a seminary tion," &c., the pedigree of damnation being distinguished of Puritans. by a broad black zig-zag line. GRIM king of the ghosts, make haste, And bring hither all your train ; See how the pale moon does waste, And just now is in the wane. Distraction I see is my doom, Of this I am now too sure; A rival is got in my room, While torments I do endure. Strange fancies do fill my head, While wandering in despair, I am to the desarts lead, Expecting to find her there. Come, you night-hags, with all your charms, Methinks in a spangled cloud And revelling witches away, And hug me close in your arms; To you my respects I'll pay. I'll court you, and think you fair, Since love does distract my brain: I'll go, I'll wedd the night-mare, And kiss her, and kiss her again : But if she preve peevish and proud, Then, a pise on her love! let her go; I'll seek me a winding shroud, And down to the shades below. A lunacy sad I endure, Since reason departs away; I call to those hags for a cure, As knowing not what I say. The beauty, whom I do adore, Now slights me with scorn and disdain; I never shall see her more: Ah! how shall I bear my pain! I ramble, and range about To find out my charming saint; While she at my grief does flout, And smiles at my loud complaint. * Abp. Laud. 30 35 6 10 15 When thus I have raved awhile, And wearyed myself in vain, I dream that my charming fair 20 Then this doth my passion inflame, Grim king of the ghosts, be true, And hurry me hence away, 25 My languishing life to you A tribute I freely pay. To the Elysian shades I post, In hopes to be freed from care, Where many a bleeding ghost Is hovering in the air. 45 50 55 6C XX. The Lady Distracted with Love, MAD SONG THE FOURTH, Falls on my breast; bleak winds in tempests blow; 20 -WAS originally sung in one of Tom D'Ur- | Ah! 'tis in vain! 'tis all, 'tis all in vain! fey's comedies of Don Quixote, acted in 1694, Death and despair must end the fatal pain: and 1696; and probably composed by him- Cold, cold despair, disguis'd like snow and self. In the several stanzas, the author rerain, presents his pretty Mad-woman as, 1. sullenly mad; 2. mirthfully mad: 3. melancholy mad: 4. fantastically mad: and, 5. stark mad. Both this and Num. XXII. are printed from D'Urfey's "Pills to purge Melanchol " 1719, vol. 1. My veins all shiver, and my fingers glow: is froze. I'll charm, like beauty's goddess. XXI. The Distracted Lover, MAD SONG THE FIFTH, -WAS written by Henry Carey, a celebrated composer of music in the beginning of the eighteenth century, and author of several little theatrical entertainments, which the reader may find enumerated in the "Companion to the Play-house," &c. The sprightliness of this songster's fancy could not pre serve him from a very melancholy catastro- "Gods, I can never this endure, XXIII. Lilli Burlero. The following rhymes, slight and insignificant as they may now seem, had once a more powerful effect than either the Philippics of Demosthenes or Cicero; and contributed not a little towards the great revolution in 1688. Let us hear a contemporary writer. "A foolish ballad was made at that time, treating the Papists, and chiefly the Irish, in a very ridiculous manner, which had a burden said to be Irish words, 'Lero, lero, liliburlero,' that made an impression on the [king's] army, that cannot be imagined by those that saw it not. The whole army, and at last the people, both in city and country, were singing it perpetually. And perhaps never had so slight a thing so great an effect."-Burnet. It was written, or at least republished, on the Earl of Tyrconnel's going a second time to Ireland in October, 1688. Perhaps it is unnecessary to mention, that General Richard Talbot, newly created Earl of Tyrconnel, had been nominated by King James II. to the lieutenancy of Ireland in 1686, on account of his being a furious papist, who had recommended himself to his bigoted master by his arbitrary treatment of the protestants in the preceding year, when only lieutenant-general, and whose subsequent conduct fully justified his expectations and their fears. The violence of his administration may be seen in any of the histories of those times: particularly in Bishop King's "State of the Protestants in Ireland," 1691, 4to. Lilliburlero and Bullen-a-lah are said to have been the words of distinction used among the Irish Papists in their massacre of the Protestants in 1641. Ho! broder Teague, dost hear de decree? Dat we shall have a new deputie, Lero lero, lilli burlero, lero lero, bullen 5 Lilli, &c. Lero lero, lilli burlero, lero lero, bullen a-la. Ver. 7, Ho by my shoul, al. ed. |