Cavalier Songs and Ballads of England from 1642 to 1684

Part 6 out of 6



From the King's Pamphlets, British Museum.


Unwelcome news! Whitehall its sable wears,
And each good subject lies dissolved in tears!
Justly indeed; for Charles is dead, the great,
(Who can so much as such great griefs repeat?)
King Charles the good, in whom that day there fell
More than one tribe in this our Israel!
Ah! cruel Death! we find thy fatal sting
In losing him who was so good a King, -
A King so wise, so just, and he'd great part
In Solomon's wisdom and in David's heart;
A King! whose virtues only to rehearse
Rather requires a volume than a verse.
Sprung from the loyns of Charles of blessed fame,
A worthy son of his great father's name,
His parent's and his grandsire's virtues he,
As h' did their crown, enjoy'd EX TRADUCE,
Of th' best and greatest of Kings the epitome.
His justice such as him none could affright
From doing t'all to God and subjects right.
Punish he could, but, like Heaven's Majesty,
Would that a traitor should repent, not die.
His prudence to the laws due vigour gave,
He saved others and himself did save.
His valour and his courage, write who can?
Being a good souldier ere he was a man.
Wrestling with sorrows in a land unknown,
Whilst Herod did usurp his royal throne,
Banish'd his native country, every day,
Like Moses, at the brink of death he lay.
But that storm's over, and blest be that hand
That gave him conduct to his peaceful land;
Where this great King the Gordian knot unties,
Of Heaven's, the kingdom's, and his enemies;
Not with the sword, but with his grace and love,
Giving to those their lives that for his strove:
Never did person so much mercy breath
Since our blest Saviour's and his father's death.
In fine, his actions may our pattern be,
His godly life, the Christian diary;
But now he's dead, alas! our David's gone,
And having served his generation,
Is fall'n asleep; that glorious star's no more
That English wise men led unto the shore
Of peace, where gospel-truth's protest
Cherished within our pious mother's breast,
And with protection of such Kings still blest;
Blest with his piety and the nation too,
Happy in's reign, with milk and honey flew;
Yea, blest so much with peace and nature's store
Heaven could scarce give or we desire he more;
But yet, alas! he's dead! Mourn, England, mourn,
And all your scarlet into black cloth turn;
Let dust and ashes with your tears comply.
To weep, not sing, his mournful elegy;
And let your love to Charles be shown hereby
In rendering James your prayers and loyalty.
Long may Great James these kingdoms' sceptre sway,
And may his subjects lovingly obey,
Whilst with joint comfort all agree to sing,
Heaven bless these kingdoms and "God save the King!"


London: printed by F. Millet for W. Thackeray, at the sign of the
Angel in Duck Lane, 1685.



Ballad: Accession Of James II



From "Read's 'Weekly Journal, or British Gazetteer." Saturday, May
15th, 1731. This was a Jacobite Journal, and this song was
reproduced at the time, from an earlier period. The allusions are
evidently to the death of Charles II. and the succession of James
II.


What means, honest shepherd, this cloud on thy brow?
Say, where is thy mirth and thy melody now?
Thy pipe thrown aside, and thy looks full of thought,
As silent and sad as a bird newly caught.
Has any misfortune befallen thy flocks,
Some lamb been betray'd by the craft of the fox;
Or murrain, more fatal, just seized on thy herd;
Or has thy dear Phyllis let slip a cross word?

The season indeed may to musing incline,
Now that grey-bearded Winter makes Autumn resign;
The hills all around us their russet put on,
And the skies seem in mourning for loss of the sun.
The winds make the tree, where thou sitt'st, shake its head;
Yet tho' with dry leaves mother earth's lap is spread,
Her bosom, to cheer it, is verdant with wheat,
And the woods can supply us with pastime and meat.

Oh! no, says the shepherd, I mourn none of these,
Content with such changes as Heaven shall please;
Tho' now we have got the wrong side of the year,
'Twill turn up again, and fresh beauties appear:
But the loss that I grieve for no time can restore;
Our master that lov'd us so well is no more;
That oak which we hop'd wou'd long shelter us all,
Is fallen; then well may we shake at its fall.

Where find we a pastor so kind and so good,
So careful to feed us with wholesomest food,
To watch for our safety, and drive far away
The sly prouling fox that would make us his prey?
Oh! may his remembrance for ever remain
To shame those hard shepherds who, mindful of gain,
Only look at their sheep with an eye to the fleece,
And watch 'em but so as the fox watch'd the geese.

Whom now shall I choose for the theme of my song?
Or must my poor pipe on the willow be hung?
No more to commend that good nature and sense,
Which always cou'd please, but ne'er once gave offence.
What honour directed he firmly pursu'd,
Yet would not his judgment on others intrude;
Still ready to help with his service and vote,
But ne'er to thrust oar in another man's boat.

No more, honest shepherd, these sorrows resound,
The virtues thou praisest, so hard to be found,
Are yet not all fled, for the swain who succeeds
To his fields and his herds is true heir to his deeds;
His pattern he'll follow, his gentleness use,
Take care of the shepherds and cherish the muse:
Then cease for the dead thy impertinent care,
Rejoice, he survives in his brother and heir.



Ballad: On The Most High And Mighty Monarch King James



On his exaltation on the throne of England.

Being an excellent new song. From a "Collection of One Hundred and
Eighty Loyal Songs, written since 1678."

To the tune of "Hark! the Thundering Cannons roar."


Hark! the bells and steeples ring!
A health to James our royal King;
Heaven approves the offering,
Resounding in chorus;
Let our sacrifice aspire,
Richest gems perfume the fire,
Angels and the sacred quire
Have led the way before us.

Thro' loud storms and tempests driven,
This wrong'd prince to us was given,
The mighty James, preserved by Heaven
To be a future blessing;
The anointed instrument,
Good great Charles to represent,
And fill our souls with that content
Which we are now possessing.

Justice, plenty, wealth, and peace,
With the fruitful land's increase,
All the treasures of the seas,
With him to us are given;
As the brother, just and good,
From whose royal father's blood
Clemency runs like a flood,
A legacy from Heaven.

Summon'd young to fierce alarms,
Born a man in midst of arms,
His good angels kept from harms -
The people's joy and wonder;
Early laurels crown'd his brow,
And the crowd did praise allow,
Whilst against the Belgick foe
Great Jove implored his thunder.

Like him none e'er fill'd the throne,
Never courage yet was known
With so much conduct met in one,
To claim our due devotion;
Who made the Belgick lion roar,
Drove 'em back to their own shore,
To humble and encroach no more
Upon the British ocean.

When poor Holland first grew proud,
Saucy, insolent, and loud,
Great James subdued the boisterous crowd,
The foaming ocean stemming;
His country's glory and its good
He valued dearer than his blood,
And rid sole sovereign o'er his flood,
In spight of French or Fleming.

When he the foe had overcome,
Brought them peace and conquest home,
Exiled in foreign parts to roam,
Ungrateful rebels vote him;
But spite of all their insolence,
Inspired with god-like patience,
The rightful heir, kind Providence
Did to a throne promote him.

May justice at his elbow wait
To defend the Church and State,
The subject and this monarch's date
May no storm e'er dissever:
May he long adorn this place
With his royal brother's grace,
His mercy and his tenderness,
To rule this land for ever.



Ballad: In A Summer's Day



From Hogg's Jacobite Relics.


In a summer's day when all was gay
The lads and lasses met
In a flowery mead, when each lovely maid
Was by her true love set.
Dick took the glass, and drank to his lass,
And JAMIE'S health around did pass;
Huzza! they cried; Huzza! they all replied,
God bless our noble King.

To the Queen, quothiwell; Drink it off, says Nell,
They say she is wondrous pretty;
And the prince, says Hugh; That's right, says Sue;
God send him home, says Katy;
May the powers above this tribe remove,
And send us back the man we love.
Huzza! they cried; Huzza! they all replied,
God bless our noble King.

The liquor spent, they to dancing went,
Each gamester took his mate;
Ralph bow'd to Moll, and Hodge to Doll,
Hal took out black-eyed Kate.
Name your dance, quoth John; Bid him, says Anne,
Play, The King shall enjoy his own again.
Huzza! they cried; Huzza! they all replied,
God bless our noble King.




Footnotes:

(1) This stanza is omitted in most collections. Walker was a
colonel in the parliamentary army; and afterwards a member of the
Committee of Safety.

(2) The Directory for the Public Worship of God, ordered by the
Assembly of Divines at Westminster in 1644, to supersede the Book
of Common Prayer.

(3) The Earl of Thomond.

(4) The Excise, first introduced by the Long Parliament, was
particularly obnoxious to the Tory party. Dr Johnson more than a
hundred years later shared all the antipathy of his party to it,
and in his Dictionary defined it to be "a hateful tax levied upon
commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but
by wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid."

(5) Henry the Eighth. The comparison is made in other ballads of
the age. To play old Harry with any one is a phrase that seems to
have originated with those who suffered by the confiscation of
church property.

(6) The Marquis of Winchester, the brave defender of his house at
Basing, had been made prisoner by Cromwell at the storming of that
house in 1645. Waller had been foiled in his attempt on this place
in the year preceding. - T. W.

(7) Sir John Ogle, one of the Royalist commanders, who was
intrusted with the defence of Winchester Castle, which he
surrendered on conditions just before the siege of Basing House. -
T. W.

(8) Wren, bishop of Ely, was committed to the Tower in 1641,
accused with high "misdemeanours" in his diocese.

(9) David Jenkins, a Welsh Judge, who had been made prisoner at
the taking of Hereford, and committed first to Newgate and
afterwards to the Tower. He refused to acknowledge the authority
of the Parliament, and was the author of several tracts published
during the year (while he was prisoner in the Tower), which made a
great noise. - T. W.

(10) Sir Francis Wortley, Bart., was made a prisoner in 1644, at
the taking of Walton House, near Wakefield, by Sir Thomas Fairfax.

(11) Sir Edward Hales, Bart., of Woodchurch, in Kent, had been
member for Queenborough in the Isle of Sheppey. He was not a
Royalist.

(12) Sir George Strangways, Bart., according to the marginal note
in the original. Another of the name, Sir John Strangways, was
taken at the surrender of Sherborne Castle.

(13) Sir Henry Bedingfield, Bart., of Norfolk; Sir Walter Blount,
Bart., of Worcester; and Sir Francis Howard, Bart., of the North,
were committed to the Tower on the 22nd of January, 1646.

(14) The horrible barbarities committed by the Irish rebels had
made the Catholics so much abhorred in England, that every English
member of that community was suspected of plotting the same
massacres in England. - T. W.

(15) Sir John Hewet, of Huntingdonshire, was committed to the
Tower on the 28th of January, 1645(-6).

(16) Sir Thomas Lunsford, Bart., the celebrated Royalist officer,
was committed to the Tower on the 22nd of January, 1646. The
violence and barbarities which he and his troop were said to have
perpetrated led to the popular belief that he was in the habit of
eating children.

From Fielding and from Vavasour,
Both ill-affected men;
From Lunsford eke dilver us,
That eateth up children.
Loyal Songs, ed. 1731, i. 38.
T. W.

(17) Sir William Lewis, one of the eleven members who had been
impeached by the army.

(18) Col. Giles Strangwaies, of Dorsetshire, taken with Sir Lewis
Dives, at the surrender of Sherborne, was committed to the Tower on
the 28th August, 1645. He was member for Bridport in the Long
Parliament, and was one of those who attended Charles's "Mongrel"
Parliament at Oxford.

(19) Sir Lewis Dives, an active Royalist, was governor of
Sherborne Castle for the King, and had been made a prisoner by
Fairfax in August, 1645, when that fortress was taken by storm. He
was brother-in-law to Lord Digby.

(20) Sir John Morley, of Newcastle, committed to the Tower on the
18th of July, 1645.

(21) King was a Royalist general, in the north, who was slain
July, 1643.

(22) Sir William Morton, of Gloucestershire, committed to the
Tower on the 17th August, 1644. Cardinal Morton, Archbishop of
Canterbury, brought about the marriage between King Henry VII. and
the daughter of Edward IV., and thus effected the unison of the
rival houses of York and Lancaster.

(23) Thomas Coningsby, Esq., of Northmyus in Hertfordshire,
committed to the Tower in November, 1642, for reading the King's
commission of array in that county.

(24) Sir Wingfield Bodenham, of the county of Rutland, committed
to the Tower on the 31st of July, 1643.

(25) Sir Henry Vaughan, a Welsh knight, committed to the Tower on
the 18th July, 1645.

(26) Lilburn was, as has been observed, in the Tower for his
practices against the present order of things, he being an advocate
of extreme democratic principles; and he was there instructed in
knotty points of law by Judge Jenkins, to enable him to torment and
baffle the party in power. It was Jenkins who said of Lilburne
that "If the world were emptied of all but John Lilburne, Lilburne
would quarrel with John, and John with Lilburne." - T. W.

(27) Mr Thomas Violet, of London, goldsmith, committed to the
Tower January 6th, 1643(-4), for carrying a letter from the King to
the mayor and common council of London.

(28) Dr Hudson had been concerned in the King's transactions with
the Scots, previous to his delivering himself up to them, and he
and Ashburnham had been his sole attendants in his flight from
Oxford for that purpose. - T. W.

(29) Poyntz and Massey were staunch Presbyterians, and their party
counted on their assistance in opposing the army: but they
withdrew, when the quarrel seemed to be near coming to extremities.

(30) Glynn was one of the eleven members impeached by the army.

(31) It was believed at this time that Fairfax was favourable to
the restoration of the King.

(32) The "Jack Ketch" of the day.

(33) The copy in the "Rump Songs" has "Smee and his tub."

(34) The old proverbial expression of "the devil and his dam" was
founded on an article of popular superstition which is now
obsolete. In 1598, a Welshman, or borderer, writes to Lord
Burghley for leave "to drive the devill and his dam" from the
castle of Skenfrith, where they were said to watch over hidden
treasure: "The voyce of the countrey goeth there is a dyvell and
his dame, one sitts upon a hogshed of gold, the other upon a
hogshed of silver." (Queen Elizabeth and her Times, ii. 397.) The
expression is common in our earlier dramatic poets: thus
Shakespeare, -

- "I'll have a bout with thee;
Devil, or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee:
Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch."
(Hen. V. Part I. Act I. sc. 5.)
T. W.

(35) The prediction was not QUITE so speedily verified.

(36) Colonel Hewson, originally a shoemaker.

(37) Newspapers.

(38) In the seventeenth century Lancashire enjoyed an unhappy pre-
eminence in the annals of superstition, and it was regarded
especially as a land of witches. This fame appears to have
originated partly in the execution of a number of persons in 1612,
who were pretended to have been associated together in the crime of
witchcraft, and who held their unearthly meetings at the Malkin
Tower, in the forest of Pendle. In 1613 was published an account
of the trials, in a thick pamphlet, entitled "The Wonderful
Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster. With the
Arraignment and Triall of nineteene notorious Witches, at the
Assizes and general Goale Deliverie, holden in the Castle of
Lancaster, on Monday, the seventeenth of August last, 1612.
Published and set forth by commandment of his Majesties Justices of
Assize in the North Parts, by Thomas Potts, Esquier." "The famous
History of the Lancashire Witches" continued to be popular as a
chap-book up to the beginning of the nineteenth century. - T.
WRIGHT.

(39) An allusion to the Dutch War of 1651 and 1652.

(40) Oliver Cromwell.

(41) The Welsh were frequently the subject of satirical allusions
during the civil wars and the Commonwealth.

(42) Speaker of the Long Parliament.

(43) Cromwell's wife.

(44) Cromwell's two sons, Richard and Henry.

(45) Cromwell's daughter.

(46) Col. Pride, originally a brewer's drayman.

(47) Walter Strickland, M.P. for a Cornish borough.

(48) Monk was with his troops in Scotland, but had declared
himself an approver of the proceedings of the Parliament.

(49) Dr John Owen, Joseph Caryl, and Philip Nye, were three of the
most eminent divines of this eventful age. Caryl, who was a
moderate independent, was the author of the well-known "Commentary
on Job." Dr Owen enjoyed the especial favour of Cromwell, who made
him Dean of Christchurch, Oxford; in his youth he had shown an
inclination to Presbyterianism, but early in the war he embraced
the party of the Independents. He was a most prolific writer. Nye
was also an eminent writer: previous to 1647 he had been a zealous
Presbyterian, but on the rise of Cromwell's influence he joined the
Independents, and was employed on several occasions by that party.
- T. W.

(50) Col. John Ireton was the brother of the more celebrated Henry
Ireton, and was an alderman of London. He appears to have been
clerk of the Council of Officers at Wallingford House.

(51) Col. Robert Tichbourne was also an alderman, and had been
Lord Mayor in 1658. He was an enthusiast in religion of the
Independent party, and published several books, among which one was
very celebrated, and is often referred to in the tracts of this
period, entitled, "A Cluster of Canaan's Grapes. Being severall
experimented truths received through private communion with God by
his Spirit, grounded on Scripture, and presented to open view for
publique edification." London, 4to, Feb. 16, 1649. In a satirical
tract of the year 1660 he is made to say, "I made my mother, the
city, drunk with the clusters which I brought from Canaan, and she
in her drink made me a colonel." After the return of the secluded
members to the House, and the triumph of the city and the
Presbyterian party, Ireton and Tichbourne were committed to the
Tower, charged with aiming at the overthrow of the liberties of the
city, and other grave misdemeanours. There are in the British
Museum two satirical tracts relating to their imprisonment: 1.
"The Apology of Robert Tichborn and John Ireton. Being a serious
Vindication of themselves and the Good old Cause, from the
imputations cast upon them and it by the triumphing city and nation
in this their day of desertion. Printed for everybody but the
light-heeled apprentices and head-strong masters of this wincing
city of London." (March 12, 1659-60.) 2. "Brethren in Iniquity:
or, a Beardless Pair; held forth in a Dialogue betwixt Tichburn and
Ireton, Prisoners in the Tower of London." 4to. (April 30, 1660.)

(52) George Monk and John Lambert.

(53) The eleventh of February was the day on which Monck overthrew
the Rump, by declaring for the admission of the secluded members.

(54) On the tenth of February Monk, by order of the Parliament,
had entered the city in a hostile manner. "Mr Fage told me," says
Pepys, "what Monck had done in the city, how he had pulled down the
most parts of the gates and chains that he could break down, and
that he was now gone back to Whitehall. The city look mighty
blank, and cannot tell what in the world to do." The next day he
turned from the Parliament, and took part with the city.

(55) Thomas Scot and Luke Robinson were sent by the Parliament to
expostulate with Monk, but without effect.

(56) Pepys gives the following description of the rejoicings in
the city on the evening of the eleventh of February:- "In Cheapside
there were a great many bonfires, and Bow bells and all the bells
in all the churches as we went home were a-ringing. Hence we went
homewards, it being about ten at night. But the common joy that
was everywhere to be seen! The number of bonfires! there being
fourteen between St Dunstan's and Temple Bar, and at Strand Bridge
I could at one time tell thirty-one fires. In King-street seven or
eight; and all along burning, and roasting, and drinking for Rumps,
there being rumps tied upon sticks and carried up and down. The
butchers at the May Pole in the Strand rang a peal with their
knives when they were going to sacrifice their rump. On Ludgate
Hill there was one turning of a spit that had a rump tied upon it,
and another basting of it. Indeed it was past imagination, both
the greatness and the suddenness of it. At one end of the street
you would think there was a whole lane of fire, and so hot that we
were fain to keep on the further side."

(57) In a satirical tract, entitled "Free Parliament Quaeries,"
4to, April 10, 1660, it is inquired "Whether Sir Arthur did not act
the Raging Turk in Westminster Hall, when he saw the admission of
the secluded members?" Pepys gives the following account of the
reception of Monck's letter from the city on the 11th of February:-
"So I went up to the lobby, where I saw the Speaker reading of the
letter; and after it was read Sir A. Haselrigge came out very
angry, and Billing, standing by the door, took him by the arm and
cried, 'Thou man, will thy beast carry thee no longer? thou must
fall!'"

(58) Haselrigge was accused of having been a dupe to Monck's
cunning intrigues.

(59) The celebrated Praise-God Barebone, at the head of a body of
fanatics, had (February 9th) presented a strong petition to the
House in support of the Good old Cause, which gave great offence to
the Presbyterian party and the citizens, although it was received
with thanks. According to Pepys, one of Monck's complaints against
the Parliament was, "That the late petition of the fanatique people
presented by Barebone, for the imposing of an oath upon all sorts
of people, was received by the House with thanks." The citizens
did not omit to show their hostility against the presenter of the
petition. On the 12th, Pepys says, "Charles Glascocke. . . told me
the boys had last night broke Barebone's windows." And again, on
the 22nd, "I observed this day how abominably Barebone's windows
are broke again last night."

(60) Miles Corbet, as well as Tichbourn, had sat upon the King in
judgment. In a satirical tract, published about the same time as
the present ballad, Tichbourn is made to say, "They say I am as
notorious as Miles Corbet the Jew." In another, entitled "The
Private Debates, etc., of the Rump," 4to, April 2, 1660, we read,
"Call in the Jews, cryes Corbet, there is a certain sympathy (quoth
he), methinks, between them and me. Those wandering pedlers and I
were doubtless made of the same mould; they have all such blote-
herring faces as myself, and the devil himself is in 'um for
cruelty." He was one of those who fled on the Restoration, but he
was afterwards taken treacherously in Holland, and, being brought
to London, was executed as a regicide. In another satirical tract,
entitled "A Continuation of the Acts and Monuments of our late
Parliament" (Dec. 1659), it is stated that, "July 1, This very day
the House made two serjeants-at-law, William Steele and Miles
Corbet, and that was work enough for one day." And, in a fourth,
"Resolved, That Miles Corbet and Robert Goodwin be freed from the
trouble of the Chief Register Office in Chancery." MERCURIUS
HONESTUS, No. 1. (March 21, 1659-60.)

(61) William Lord Monson, Viscount Castlemaine, was member for
Ryegate in the Long Parliament. He was degraded from his honour at
the Restoration, and was condemned to be drawn on a sledge with a
rope round his neck from the Tower to Tyburn, and back again, and
to be imprisoned there for life. It appears, by the satirical
tracts of the day, that he was chiefly famous for being beaten by
his wife. In one, entitled "Your Servant, Gentlemen," 4to, 1659,
it is asked, "Whether that member who lives nearest the church
ought not to ride Skimmington next time my Lady Mounson cudgels her
husband?" And in another ("The Rump Despairing," 4to, London,
March 26, 1660) we find the following passage:- "To my Lord Monson.
A sceptre is one thing, and a ladle is another, and though his wife
can tell how to use one, yet he is not fit to hold the other."

(62) Pudding John, or Jack Pudding, was a proverbial expression of
the times for a Merry Andrew. In an old English-German Dictionary
it is explained thus:- "JACK-PUDDING, un buffon de theatre,
deliciae populi, ein Hanswurst, Pickelhering." The term was
applied as a soubriquet to any man who played the fool to serve
another person's ends. "And first Sir Thomas Wrothe (JACK PUDDING
to Prideaux the post-master) had his cue to go high, and feele the
pulse of the hous." History of Independency, p. 69 (4to, 1648).

(63) An allusion to James Harrington's "Oceana."

(64) James Harrington, a remarkable political writer of this time,
had founded a club called the Rota, in 1659, for the debating of
political questions. This club met at Miles's Coffee-house, in Old
Palace Yard, and lasted a few mouths. At the beginning of the
present year was published the result of their deliberations, under
the title of "The Rota: or, a Model of a Free State, or Equall
Commonwealth; once proposed and debated in brief, and to be again
more at large proposed to, and debated by, a free and open Society
of ingenious Gentlemen." 4to, London, 1660 (Jan. 9).

(65) William Prynne, the lawyer, who had been so active a member
of the Long Parliament when the Presbyterians were in power, was
one of the secluded members. He returned to the House on the 21st
of January, this year. Pepys says, "Mr Prin came with an old
basket-hilt sword on, and had a great many shouts upon his going
into the hall."

(66) John Wilde was one of the members for Worcestershire in the
Long Parliament. In Cromwell's last Parliament he represented
Droitwich, and was made by the Protector "Lord Chief Baron of the
publick Exchequer." In a satirical pamphlet, contemporary with the
present ballad, he is spoken of as "Sarjeant Wilde, best known by
the name of the Wilde Serjeant." Another old song describes his
personal appearance:

"But, Baron Wild, come out here,
Show your ferret face and snout here,
For you, being both a fool and a knave,
Are a monster in the rout here."
Loyal songs II. 55.

(67) See footnote (60).

(68) Alderman Atkins.

(69) Ludlow was well known as a staunch Republican. The incident
alluded to was a subject of much merriment, and exercised the pen
of some of the choicest poets of the latter half of the seventeenth
century. - T. W.

(70) Lambert, with his army, was in the North, and amid the
contradictory intelligence which daily came in, we find some people
who, according to Pepys, spread reports that Lambert was gaining
strength. - T. W.

(71) Marchamont Nedham.

(72) Lambert and "his bears" are frequently mentioned in the
satirical writings of this period. Cromwell is said to have sworn
"by the living God," when he dissolved the Long Parliament. - T. W.

(73) Speaker of the Long Parliament.

(74) Harry Marten, member for Berkshire, a man of equivocal
private character. In the heat of the civil wars he had been
committed to the Tower for a short time by the Parliament, for
speaking too openly against the person of the King. When he
attempted to speak against the violent dissolution of the Long
Parliament by Cromwell, the latter reproached him with the
licentiousness of his life. - T. W.

(75) William Lord Monson, Viscount Castlemaine, was member for
Ryegate. He was degraded from his honours at the Restoration, and
was condemned to be drawn on a sledge with a rope round his neck
from the Tower to Tyburn, and back again, and to be imprisoned
there for life. It appears, by the satirical tracts of the day,
that he was chiefly famous for being beaten by his wife. - T. W.

(76) Sir Arthur Haselrigge, member for Leicestershire.

(77) Noise or disturbance.

(78) Dr John Hewit, an episcopal clergyman, executed for high
treason in 1658, for having held an active correspondence with the
Royalists abroad, and having zealously contributed to the
insurrection headed by Penruddock.

(79) John Lowry, member for Cambridge.

(80) Sir Edmund Prideaux, Bart., member for Lyme Regis. He was
Cromwell's Attorney-General.

(81) Oliver St John, member for Totness, and Lord Chief Justice of
the Common Pleas.

(82) John Wilde, one of the members for Worcestershire. In
Cromwell's last Parliament he represented Droitwich, and was made
by the Protector "Lord Chief Baron of the Public Exchequer."

(83) Sir Henry Slingsby and Dr Hewet were executed for treason
against the government of Oliver Cromwell in 1658. Colonel John
Gerard was brought to the block at the beginning of the
Protectorate, in 1654, for being engaged in a plot to assassinate
Cromwell.

(84) John Lord Lisle represented Yarmouth in the Long Parliament.
He sat for Kent in the Parliament of 1653, and was afterwards a
member of Cromwell's "other House," and held the office of Lord
Commissioner of the Great Seal. He was president of the High
Courts of Justice which tried Gerard, Slingsby, and Hewet.

(85) Nathaniel Fiennes, member for Banbury. In the Parliament of
1654 he represented Oxfordshire. He was afterwards, as Nathaniel
Lord Fiennes, a member of Cromwell's "other House." Fiennes was
accused of cowardice in surrendering Bristol (of which he was
governor) to Prince Rupert, somewhat hastily, in 1643. His father,
Lord Say and Sele, opposing Cromwell, was obliged to retire to the
Isle of Lundy.

(86) John Lord Glynn, member of Cromwell's "other House," was
"Chief Justice assigned to hold pleas in the Upper Bench." He was
engaged in the prosecution of the Earl of Strafford. He was one of
the eleven members impeached by the army in 1647. In the Long
Parliament, as well as in Cromwell's Parliaments, he was member for
Carnarvon. - T. W.

(87) Henry Nevil, member for Abingdon. In Cromwell's last
Parliament he represented Reading. In a satirical tract, he is
spoken of as "religious Harry Nevill;" and we find in Burton's
Diary, that some months before the date of the present song (on the
16th Feb. 1658-9) there was "a great debate" on a charge of atheism
and blasphemy which had been brought against him. - T. W.

(88) In the satirical tract entitled "England's Confusion," this
member is described as "hastily rich Cornelius Holland." He
appears to have risen from a low station, and is characterized in
the songs of the day as having been a link-bearer. - T. W.

(89) Major Salwey was an officer in the Parliamentary array. On
the 17th January, 1660, he incurred the displeasure of the House,
and was sequestered from his seat and sent to the Tower. He is
described as "a smart, prating apprentice, newly set for himself."
He appears to have been originally a grocer and tobacconist; a
ballad of the time speaks of him as,

"Salloway with tobacco
Inspired, turned State quack-o;
And got more by his feigned zeal
Then by his, WHAT D'YE LACK-O?"

In another he is introduced thus,

"The tobacco-man Salway, with a heart tall of gall
Puffs down bells, steeples, priests, churches and all,
As old superstitions relicks of Baal."

A third ballad, alluding to his attitude in the House, couples
together

"Mr William Lilly's astrological lyes,
And the meditations of Salloway biting his thumbs." - T. W.

(90) Roger Hill was member for Bridport, in Dorsetshire. He
bought a grant of the Bishop of Winchester's manor of Taunton Dean,
valued at 1200 pounds a year. A ballad written towards the end of
1659 says of him,

"Baron Hill was but a valley,
And born scarce to an alley;
But now is lord of Taunton Dean,
And thousands he can rally."

(91) With the revival of the Long Parliament, the old Republican
feelings arose again under the denomination of the "Good old
Cause." Innumerable pamphlets were published for and against "The
Cause." Even Prynne, the fierce old Presbyterian, who was now
turning against the patriots, lifted up his pen against it, and
published "The Republicans and others spurious Good old Cause
briefly and truly Anatomized," 4to, May 13, 1659.

(92) Robert Cecil, Esq., was one of the members of the Old Long
Parliament who were now brought together to form the Rump. He
represented Old Sarum, Wilts.

(93) Luke Robinson, of Pickering Lyth, in Yorkshire, was member
for Scarborough. An old ballad says of him,

"Luke Robinson, that clownado,
Though his heart be a granado,
Yet a high shoe with his hand in his poke
Is his most perfect shadow."

(94) Sir Harry Vane.

(95) Thomas Scott was member for Aylesbury, in Buckinghamshire, in
the Long Parliament.

(96) Hugh Peters, the celebrated fanatic. In the margin of the
original, opposite to the words "the Devil's fees," is the
following note - "His numps and his kidneys." - T. W.

(97) To save his tithe pig: - probably the origin of the well
known slang phrase of the present day.

(98) Coloured, or dyed.

(99) Faustus.

(100) An allusion to a popular old story and song. A copy of the
words and tune of "The Fryar and the Nun" is preserved in the
valuable collection of ballads in the possession of Mr Thorpe of
Piccadilly. - T. W.

(101) "October 13th. I went out to Charing Cross to see Major-
General Harrison hanged, drawn, and quartered, which was done
there, he looking as cheerful as any man could do in that
condition." - Pepys. Thomas Harrison was the son of a butcher at
Newcastle-under-Line; he conveyed Charles I. from Windsor to
Whitehall to his trial, and afterwards sat as one of the judges.

(102) "October 15th. This morning Mr Carew was hanged and
quartered at Charing Cross; but his quarters, by a great favour,
are not to be hanged up." - Pepys. Colonel John Carew, like
Harrison, was one of the Fifth-monarchy men, a violent and
visionary but honest enthusiast.

(103) Hugh Peters, for his zeal in encouraging the Commonwealth
soldiery, was particularly hated by the Royalists. John Coke, the
able lawyer, conducted the prosecution of the King.

(104) Gregory Clement, John Jones, Thomas Scott, and Adrian
Scrope, were charged with sitting in the High Court of Justice
which tried the King. Scott was further charged with having,
during the sitting of the Rump Parliament, expressed his
approbation of the sentence against the King. Colonel Scrope,
although he had been admitted to pardon, was selected as one of the
objects of vengeance, and was condemned chiefly on a reported
conversation, in which, when one person had strongly blamed what he
called the "murder" of the King, Scrope observed, "Some are of one
opinion, and some of another."

(105) "October 19th. This morning Hacker and Axtell were hanged
and quartered, as the rest are." - Pepys. Colonel Francis Hacker
commanded the guards at the King's execution. Axtell was captain
of the guard of the High Court of Justice at which the King was
tried.

(106) Richard Brown, one of Cromwell's Major-generals, Governor of
Abingdon, and member for London in the Long Parliament. He had
been imprisoned by the Rump.

(107) The Earl of Norwich was George Lord Goring, who, with his
son, acted a prominent part in the Civil Wars. He was created Earl
of Norwich in 1644.

(108) John Mordaunt, son of the Earl of Peterborough, celebrated
for his exertions to raise insurrections for the King during the
Protectorate, was one of the bearers of the letters of the King to
Monck. He was created Baron Mordaunt, July 10, 1659. Charles Lord
Gerard, afterwards created Earl of Macclesfield, was a very
distinguished Royalist officer. Thomas Wentworth, Earl of
Cleveland, who had suffered much for his loyalty to Charles I.,
headed a body of three hundred noblemen and gentlemen in the
triumphal procession of Charles II. into London.

(109) Charles Stuart, a gallant Royalist officer, who had been
created Earl of Litchfield by Charles I. in 1645, and who
immediately after the Restoration succeeded his cousin Esme Stuart
as Duke of Richmond. Charles Stanley, Earl of Derby, was son of
the Earl of Derby who was beheaded after the battle of Worcester,
and of the Countess who so gallantly defended Latham House in 1644.

(110) The Nursery Rhyme, "The Man in the Moon drinks claret."

(111) Philip Nye.

(112) William Kiffin was a celebrated preacher of this time, and
had been an officer in the Parliamentary army. A little before the
publication of the present ballad a tract had appeared, with the
title, "The Life and Approaching Death of William Kiffin.
Extracted out of the Visitation Book by a Church Member." 4to,
London, March 13, 1659-60. He is here said to have been originally
'prentice to a glover, and to have been in good credit with
Cromwell, who made him a lieutenant-colonel. He appears to have
been busy among the sectaries at the period of the Restoration. He
is thus mentioned in a satirical pamphlet of that time, entitled
"Select City Quaeries:" - "Whether the Anabaptists' late manifesto
can be said to be forged, false, and scandalous (as Politicus terms
it), it being well known to be writ by one of Kiffin's disciples;
and whether the author thereof or Politicus may be accounted the
greater incendiary?" - T. W.

(113) Fox and Naylor were the founders of the sect of Quakers.
Naylor, in particular, was celebrated as an enthusiast. Jacob
Boehmen, or Behmen, was a celebrated German visionary and
enthusiast, who lived at the end of the sixteenth and beginning of
the seventeenth centuries, and the founder of a sect.

(114) There was a story that Charles II. was really married to
Lucy Walters, the mother of the Duke of Monmouth, and that the
contract of marriage was in existence in a "black box," in the
custody of the Bishop of Durham, suggested apparently by the
endeavours of that Bishop to change the succession to the crown in
favour of the Duke of Monmouth, to the exclusion of James II.

(115) Titus Oates, the inventor of the Popish plot.

(116) Patience Ward, the alderman.







 


Back to Full Books