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Further Additions to Bond's Register of
Burlesque Poems
by
A. B. England
This is to supplement my earlier note, "Further Additions to Bond's Register of Burlesque Poems," SB, XXVII (1974), 236-240.
The following poems are not listed in the 'Register of Burlesque Poems' at the end of Richmond P. Bond's English Burlesque Poetry 1700-1750, New York, 1932, reissued 1964, or in A.J. Sambrook's "Additions to Bond's Register of Burlesque Poems," SB, XXIII (1970), 176-179. The eighth and and tenth poems in this additional list are also cited by Edward Ames Richards in Hudibras in the Burlesque Tradition, New York, 1937. The data for all twelve poems are given in Bond's pattern.
1712
An Elegy Balladwise on the Death of John Dolben, Esq; who departed this Life at Epsom, on Monday May the 28th, 1710.
[in]
Whig and Tory: Or, Wit on both Sides. Being a Collection of Poems, by the Ablest Pens of the High and Low Parties, upon the Most Remarkable Occasions, from the Change of the Ministry, to this Time. London. Printed, and Sold by the Booksellers, 1712. [B.M.]
pp. 11-13. l.c.
Mock-elegy.
In joyful Elegies I'll ring his Knell;
For tho' he liv'd so so, he dy'd very well,
If you'll believe the loose W-gs, that still take his Part,
And first contributed to break his poor Heart.
'Tis true, Repentance might wipe out the Stains
Of his polluted Life, and mercenary Brains;
His hir'd Tongue and brib'd Conscience
Might check him into a religious Sense
Of his high Crimes and Misdemeanors great,
And he might Mercy find at Mercy's Seat.
What, tho' they say he kept a little Whore?
What W—g's exempted, that keeps open Door,
And's not bewitch'd, or miserably poor? [Opening]
Dolben, a Whig politician, was one of the managers of the unpopular impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell until his death in 1710.
1716
A full and ample Explanation, / Of one King James's Declaration.
[in]
A Collection of State Songs, Poems, &c. That have been
Publish'd since the Rebellion: And Sung in the several Mug-Houses in the
Cities of London and Westminster, &c. To be Publish'd Annually.
London: Printed for Andrew and
pp. 66-68. o.c.
Hudibrastic.
A burlesque of the Pretender's Declaration of 1715, the year of the Scottish rising in his support.
I to my Native Country come;
Popery in one Hand, (from our Mother)
And Slavery I bring in th'other,
To Rescue you from the Oppression
Of Laws and Protestant Succession:
I doubt not but each honest Tory
Will own my Right Hereditary.
Know then I am the very Man,
Descended from the Warming-Pan.
I've hir'd some Priests with ready Rino,
To prove my Right Jure Divino. [Opening]
1727
The Totness Address, Versified. To which is Annex'd, The Original Address, as presented to His Majesty. [Motto] Prior. The Seventh Edition. London: Printed for H. Whitridge, at the Royal-Exchange. M.DCC.XXVII. [B.M.]
pp. 3-8. o.c. and h.c.
Travesty of "The Humble Address of the Mayor, Aldermen, Burgesses, &c. of the Town and Borough of Totness, in the County of Devon. To the King's Most Excellent Majesty."
The original address is a patriotic declaration of support for the king made soon after the union of Spain and Austria threatened the peace of Europe.
Forsooth, we know their former Feats;
And value, like so many Posts,
Spanish ARMADA's, German HOSTS!
Such scare-crow Potentates may vaunt,
But not your valiant Britons daunt.
Alas! their whimsical Chimeras
Can ne'er affright a Land of Heroes!
Especially, since You, no doubt,
Have been at Pains to look sharp out;
And, timely, taken such wise Measures,
As will ensure our Lives and Treasures.
Then, there's your Parliament, so able!
And Ministry, incomparable,
With Spirits, indefatigable! [pp. 4-5]
1727
The Totness Address Transversed. By Captain Gulliver. [Motto] Chevy Chase. To which is added Somewhat beside. London: Printed for H. Curll in the Strand. 1727. [B.M.]
pp. 3-8. o.c.
Travesty of the same address.
As in our Chronicles is told,
Many a Hero has been given
From our own County, that of Devon:
The Sons of Spain still shake to hear it!
And several more, as well as he,
In Fuller's Worthys you may see,
Who fought for Glory—or for Pension;
Another we beg leave to mention,
Churchill, who liv'd not long ago,
Who sav'd the Empire at a Blow;
Immortal, tho', as Heroes must
Be, he and Drake are laid in Dust. [pp. 5-6]
1728
Sawney. An Heroic Poem. Occasion'd by the Dunciad. Together with a Critique on that Poem address'd to Mr. T---d, Mr. M---r, Mr. Eu---n, &c. [Motto].
London: Printed; and Sold by J. Roberts in Warwick-Lane. 1728. Price One Shilling. [B.M.]
James Ralph. pp. 1-45. h.c. and b.v.
Mock-heroic.
After reviewing Sawney's (Pope's) poetical career, the author describes the approach of a crowd of poets "to hail / Their boasted Chief, and rear a Column to / His Praise . . ." (14). Sawney climbs the column, on the top of which is a statue of himself, and announces his intention to translate Ulysses and modernize Shakespeare. When these completed projects fail to receive critical approbation, Sawney laments:
That taints our Names thro' all the Years to come,
If they survive so long; but ah! I dread
They'll fleet away e'er we our selves are dead;
At least our Honours will, and what remains
To crown our Labours, and reward our Pains? [p. 23]
Their Forces to o'erturn the Flatt'ring Pile,
Unjustly rear'd to SAWNEY's Name. The Base
Gives way, and, with a hideous Rumble, down
The Building falls, and in its Ruins, heaps
The Idol there adored: But, as they gaze
On the subverted Frame, a rising Cloud
Ascends, till all is vanish'd like a Mist,
Before the Wind, away: No more the Crowd
Of Witlings pay their empty vows, no more
The Beaus, the Ladies, worship at his Shrine,
But sneering Satyrs haunt the abandon'd Waste,
And dance in Triumph round; while SAWNEY, lost
In Anger, and Vexation, at his melted Fame,
Snarls at Mankind, and takes a final Leap
Into the vast Profund. . . [p. 43]
1728
An Heroic Poem, on the Powerful and Commanding Art of Brewing. Tho' of later Invention than other Crafts; yet far Superior to the most ancient Occupations of Men, in the great Virility it brings to Princes, as well as Peasants in the British Isles. By M. Aston. Mathemat. [Motto] Hor. Dublin: Printed by Edward Waters, MDCCXXVIII. [B.M.]
120 lines. h.c.
Mock-heroic.
Ale is praised as the basis of Britain's economic and political prosperity:
And Purchase Peace at Home, with Arms Abroad,
To british Flags, make stubborn Nations bow,
When Icy Baltick, or the Straights they plow;
Reduc'd to Dust, with solid Globes of Fire,
The tow'ring Pride of every coasting Spire;
And all the Navys in Subjection keep,
That skim the Surface of the furrow'd Deep:
These dreadful Bulwarks of the Publick Weal,
Are paid and victual'd, by Excise of Ale.
1730
An Ode to Mira. [Motto] Hor. Epod. XVII. Printed in the Year, 1730. [B.M.]
128 lines. ode.
Mock-ode.
Some traditional rhetorical devices of love-poetry are travestied.
Mighty Sorc'ress, give me Ease!
Like thy self a Convert grown,
I thy mighty Magick own,
See me now with suppliant Hands,
Meanest Slave of thy Commands.
Be thou pleas'd, my Voice I'll raise.
Tune my Lyre to sound thy Praise;
I will form thee all Divine,
And no Muse shall Lie like mine. [Opening]
1732
—Risum Teneatis? Amici: Or, A True and Diverting Account of a Late Battle Between a Priest and a Porter. In Hudibrastick Verse. Address'd to the Orator of Clare-Market. To which is added, The Fat Vicar's Race: Or, A merry New Song of a Wager, between Parson V—gh—n, a Country Vicar, and a Gentleman in Staffordshire; which was won by the former. Wrote by a Gentleman, who saw the Race perform'd. Printed for J. Roberts, in Warwick-Lane. MDCCXXXII. Price Sixpence. [B.M.]
pp. 3-8. o.c.
Hudibrastic.
Of Bangs and Bruises, Knocks and Scars,
That pass'd betwixt a Priest,—and One,
Who carry'd Goods, but not his own,
I write. Oh you! to whom belong
The Charms of Verse and Sacred Song,
Be present at my Call, and hear
(For what have Goddesses to fear;)
To give is yours, to ask is mine.
And as ye did, in happier Days,
Assist the Bard, whose witty Lays
Immortaliz'd the glorious Load
Of Blows that Hudibras bestow'd
On Sidrophel; so now impart
To me some Portion of your Art. [Opening]
1739
The Harlot's Progress. Founded Upon Mr. Hogarth's Six Paintings. Dublin: Printed by S. Powell, For Edward Exshaw at the Bible on Cork-hill, . . . The rest of the title page is cut off. But the British Museum General Catalogue of Printed Books gives the date as 1739. [B.M.]
pp. 5-28. h.c.
Mock-heroic.
The tone varies throughout the six cantos, and at times comes close to a genuine solemnity. But The Harlot's Progress is essentially a mock-heroic poem. The following passage, which describes the heroine's response to falling out of favour with an "old Letcher" called Francisco, is typical of the author's style:
She next resolves, and mourns her hapless Case,
Raves, frets, and weeps, and tears her lovely Hair,
And seems quite lost in Sorrow and Despair.
A thousand Thoughts torment her anxious Breast,
Rack her poor Heart, and rob her of her Rest;
This Way and that she roves from Room to Room,
But finds no Refuge from impending Doom. [p. 11]
Pale are those lovely Cheeks, and clos'd those Eyes.
Whose pleasing Fires did ev'ry Youth enflame,
Whose Lightning darken'd Love where'er it came.
How marr'd that beauteous Skin, whose Lilly White,
Fill'd ev'ry Eye with Wonder and Delight.
Unhappy Nymph! Thee did I dearly love,
Ne'er shall thy Image from my Heart remove.
O cruel Death! couldst not thou find a Prey,
Who sought thy Dart, and curs'd thy dull Delay.
But thou must strike my Friend, in whom was seen
Each tempting Grace, and fair as Beauty's Queen.
By all the Brave was her lov'd Converse sought,
To her the Rich and Great their Offerings brought. [p. 24]
1743
The Progress of Methodism in Bristol: Or, The Methodist
Unmask'd. Wherein The Doctrines, Discipline, Policy, Divisions and
Successes of that Novel Sect are fully detected, and properly display'd, in
Hudibrastick Verse. By an Impartial Hand. To
which is added, by Way of Appendix, [List of contents].
Bristol:
pp. 5-41. o.c.
Hudibrastic.
The Hudibrastic manner is a major weapon in the author's attempt to make the theological tenets of Methodism sound absurd. The following description of a "Love-Feast" is typical of his style:
The Charge of that is no great Matter;
Yet so much Time is spent, by some,
To feast Abroad, they fast at Home.
This Feast (and Fasting) is their Duty,
The Doctor, only, reaps the Booty;
But recommends to them the Tryal,
Of Abstinence, and Self-Denial.
This loving Feast (if that be right)
Is celebrated, too, by Night;
Which Time, and Thing, they much admire,
For why? it suits with their Desire,
Their Ghostly Father to revere,
When he and all his Sons draw near
The pious Sisters, Wives, and Misses,
And greet them, well, with holy Kisses. [p. 23]
Did each, with Gain, encrease their Talents;
They were not idle, no not they,
Each flung the Napkin quite away;
But yet, say some judicious Men,
Where George gain'd five, that John gain'd ten;
Because, say they, we plainly wist,
How John's the best Oeconomist; . . . [p. 37]
1748
Dr. Woodward's Ghost. Occasion'd by a Passage in Dr. Mead's Preface to his Treatise of the Small-Pox and Measles, Severely reflecting on that Gentleman's Memory. With An Introductory Discourse; By way of vindicating the Doctor's Character from the Aspersions cast on him by his unmerciful Antagonist. By Dr. Andrew Tripe, Nephew to the late Doctor. [Motto] Virg. Aen. X. London: Printed for Jeremiah Reason, in Flower de Luce-Court, Fleet Street: 1748. Price Six-pence. [B.M.]
William Wagstaffe. pp. 1-8. o.c.
Hudibrastic.
John Woodward's ghost rises from "soft Elysium's fair Retreats" to answer the criticisms that have been made of him by Richard Mead:
Having receiv'd a hundred Lashes,
From Post to rugged Pillar bounc'd,
Keel-hawl'd, and De'el-hawl'd, sadly trounc'd,
Swift-skimming thro' the rising Gloom,
A discontented GHOST I come:
Come to avenge enormous Wrongs,
Which nor I, nor a thousand Tongues
In Verse, proportion'd to the Woe. [p. 1]
Must you then swagger, bounce, and vapour;
And your invet'rate Spleen ne'er drop,
Because I once was in a Shop? [p. 4]
1748
The Small-Pox. A Poem. In Five Cantos. Form'd on the Plan of Dr. Mead's Prose on that Subject. After the Manner of Mr. Prior, in his Alma Mater. Canto I. By Andrew Tripe, M.D. [Motto] Virg. Georg. London. Printed for Jeremiah Reason, in Flower de Luce Court; Fleet-street. 1748. Price Sixpence. [B.M.]
William Wagstaffe. pp. 1-18 o.c.
Hudibrastic.
And justly o'er and o'er debated,
O Ye sagacious Sons of Art,
Hear and attend what I impart.
Know that, beneath whatever Sky
The Climes and various Regions lie,
Vexatious Ills in ev'ry Age
Exert and propagate their Rage;
Nor that by ways obscure and latent,
But as they had a roy-l Pat—nt;
Or Sort of native Right, to mawl
Our culprit Bodies Natural.
Stil'd Epidemical were These
By our old Sire HIPPOCRATES. [p. 5]
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