sit' University of California. GIFT OF I I P ^ a GEORGE MOREY RICHARDSON. Received, ^August, i8g8, Accession No. 73Jji.Z.^ Class No. . J] J>^ f^l M^^^hrMIM MlM^ ?-^ ,P^%' ^-^ *-„1r^ m '^0- -^. n-^mm. •'- A l^x ■^ '\>.v . ^ s ^i ^'■-,1 ^feii.*^> t. £ ^, 1^ 'I ■.Wl. //'J^.-... ^w^ SPECIMENS OF iWataronfc Jloetra* OT run XJNIVERSITT LONDON : RICHARD BECKLEY, 42, PICCADILLY. 1831. B^. W llhri^rv-i O A^^-^^' ' 7 34^^"^ LONDON : PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLKV, Dorset Street, Fleet Street. ai^IVERSITY INTRODUCTION. The following collection comprises the best specimens of Macaronic poetry, containing a few that are but little known ; and although in some instances the difficult na- ture of the composition may be the principal recommenda- tion to notice, yet in others will be found genuine wit and humour. The substance of this introduction has already appeared in the Gentleman's Magazine in the course of last year. Previously to mentioning the Macaronic authors, it may not be out of character to refer shortly to some other pecu- liar and affected styles of writing, having some affinity to their labours. Many of the examples will probably be familiar to the reader, and others will readily suggest themselves. The classic writers contain specimens of accidental alli- teration, as Homer. "Efaxra a ^ cos tirairiv 'EA.A.jj»«» offot. Medea, Euripid. Infans namque pudor prohibebat plura profari. Horace. Libera lingua loquuntur ludis liberalibus. Navius. Nor must we overlook Cicero's unlucky line, O fortunatam natam me consule Romam, which, with the satirist's remark upon it, is well known to the readers of Juvenal, though probably only to a small 11 INTRODUCTION. portion of those who are so fond of using the "si sic omnia." But affected alliteration alone is akin to the present purpose, as the line of Ennius — O Tite, tute, Tati, tibi tanta, Tyranne, tulisti : to which may be added, Machina multa minax minitatur maxima muris ; and At Tuba terribili tonitru taratantara trusit. The following are attributed to Person : — Cane decane cane, ne tu cane cane decane, De cane sed canis cane decane cane. The lines on Cardinal Wolsey are old acquaintance. — Begot by butchers, but by bishops bred, How high his Highness holds his haughty head ! The lipogrammatists were writers who excluded some particular letter of the alphabet from their compositions, like skilful chess-players giving up a piece to an inferior antagonist. Of these, Tryphiodorus, a Greek poet and grammarian of Egypt, in the sixth century, was the most laborious. Anxious to outdo Homer, he wrote a poem on the destruction of Troy, in twenty-four books, from the first of which the a was carefully excluded; from the second book the /3, and so on through the alphabet. D'ls- raeli, in his " Curiosities of Literature," mentions a prose work by Fulgentius, in twenty-three chapters, wherein a similar system of exclusion is adopted for the Latin alpha- bet : also an ode of Pindar, where the letter 5 is pur- posely omitted ; and five novels by Lopes de Vega, the first of which is without the letter a, the second without e, &c. Gregorio Leti presented a discourse to the Academy of the Humorists at Rome, wherein the letter r was ex- cluded ; and a friend having requested a copy as a literary curiosity, he replied by a copious answer of seven pages, written in the same manner. An anecdote given by D'ls- raeli, after stating that the Orientalists have this literary folly, may illustrate these lipogrammatists. INTRODUCTION. Hi " A Persian poet read to the celebrated Jami a gazel of his own composition, which Jami did not like : but the writer replied, it was, notwithstanding, a curious sonnet, for the letter Aliffwas not to be found in any one of the words I Jami sarcastically replied, ^ You can do a better thing yet — take away all the letters from every word you have written.' " In the Anthologia Graeca, edit. H. Steph. i. 58, are poems in praise of Bacchus, and of Apollo, on a different plan. They consist of twenty-four lines, each word in the first line beginning with a, in the second line with /3, and so on, e. gr. (from poem to Bacchus.) MiX^ufiiv (iafftXria, (ptksvviov, sioeKpiurtjVt A^^oxofA*iv, ecy^oTxov, uothfAov, ayXocofiiootpoVf BoieuTov, (i^ofAtoVy liccx^iurs^a, fier^vox<>itTviVt Tnioirvvov, yovoivTU,^ yiyocvroXirriv, ytXouvrUf Aioyivijy diyovoVt Oi6u^a,fjt,^oyivriy ^lovvirov, &C. There are some English lines in the same style, ridicu- ling the siege of Belgrade, beginning — An Austrian army awfully arrayM, Boldly by battery besieged Belgrade. Lord North, a polished courtier in the time of James the First, wrote a set of sonnets, each beginning with a succes- sive letter of the alphabet. A pedantic specimen appears in the Bannatyne Ancient Scottish Poems, being one of the stanzas from " Ane New Yere Gift, To the Queue, quhen scho come first hame, 1562," by Alexander Scott. Fresch, fulgent, flurist, fragrant flour, formois, Lantern to lufe, of ladeis lamp and lot, Cherie maist chaist, cheif charbucle and cliois ; Smaill sweit smaragde, smelling but smit of smot j Noblest natour, nurice to nurtoiir not. This dull indyte, dulce, dowble dasy deir. Sent be thy sempill servand Sanderis Scott, ' Greiting grit God to grant thy Grace guid year. This sort of absurdity is humorously exposed by Ken- nedy in his invective addressed to Dunbar. St. 37. Deilheir, thy speir of weir, but feir thow yeild, Hangit, mangit, eddir-stangit, stryndie stuUorum ; B 2 IV INTRODUCTION. To me, maist he, Kennedie, and flie the field, Pickit, wickit, strickit, convickit, lamp lullardorum, DifFamit, schamit, blamit primtis Paganorum; Out, out, I schout, upon that snout that snevellis. Tail- teller, rebellar, indwellar with the divellis, Spink, sink, with stink ad Tartara Termagorum. After this jargon it may be allowable, as a relief, to in- troduce a song founded on the peculiarity of the Newcastle burr, published in a provincial collection in December 1791. It purports to be an address from one of the rooks, which then built their nests on the vane of the Exchange, to the good people of Burcastle. Rough roll'd the roaring river's stream, And rapid ran the rain. When Robert Rutter dreamt a dream, Which rack'd his heart with pain : He dreamt there was a raging bear Rush'd from the rugged rocks ; And strutting round with horrid stare, Breath'd terror to the brocks.* But Robert Rutter drew his sword, And rushing forward right, The horrid creature's thrapple gor'd. And barr'd his rueful spite. Then, stretching forth his brawny arm To drag him to the stream. He grappled grizzle, rough and warm, Which rouz'd him from his dream. Even the learned Aldhelm indulges in some curious fan- cies. In the Preface to his poem De Laude Virginum, consisting of thirty-eight lines, the first and last lines con- tain the same words, but in the last they are retrograde. The respective lines begin with the successive letters of the first line, and finish with those of the last line : thus, the first and last lines, and the collected initial and final letters of the lines, consist of the same words ; but in the last line they occur backwards, and the final letters must be read upwards. There is a curiously complicated acrostick cross by Rabanus, containing thirty-five lines, and each of them thirty-five letters; but to explain this properly, * Badgers. INTRODUCTION. V would require a plan or copy. This cross will remind the reader of the fantastically shaped poems mentioned in the Spectator, as axes, altars, eggs, &c. of which a Greek poet called Theodoric, is said to have been the inventor. Nash, in his invective against Gabriel Harvey, says, "he had writ verses in all kinds ; in form of a pair of gloves, a pair of spectacles, and a pair of pothooks,'' &c. Mr. Warren, of No. 30, Strand, should take a hint from this and treat the public with a set of verses in honour of his " shining river" of blacking in the shape of a boot-jack. Anagrams are sometimes ingenious, but generally in prose, and there- fore foreign to the present purpose. They will remind us of the numerous beings now to be met with, especially east of Charing Cross, with their hands in their coat- pockets, and arms a-kimbo: all the limbs are there, but not in the right places. We may consider them as peri- patetic anagrams — of gentlemen I was about to add; but gentlemen do not walk in this way. There is a well-known story in The Spectator, of a lover of Lady Mary Boon, who, after six months' hard study, contrived to anagrammatize her as Moll Boon ; and upon being told by his mistress, in- dignant at such a metamorphosis, that her name was Mary Bohun, he went mad, Rhopalic verses (from po-raXov, the club of Hercules) begin with a monosyllable, and gradually increase, as, And, Also, Rem tibi confeci, doctissime, dulcisonoram. Spes Deus aeternae stationis conciliator. Ex quibus insignis pulcherrima Deiopeia. Firg. II. y. 182. The following line is the reverse. Vectigalibus armamenta referre jubet Rex. Another class consists of Palindromes, (from 'reiKiv and i^ofiia) sometimes called Sotadic verses, from Sotades, who is said to have invented them : though a higher authority is sometimes given, as the first specimen, according to one account, was the extemporary effusion of an unfortunate demon, when carrying most unwillingly, a certain portly '^\ B R A ^ OF THB VI INTRODUCTION. canon of Combremer, from Bayeux to Rome. It reads the same, whether backwards or forwards, Signa te, signa, temere me tangis et angis, Roma tibi subito motibus ibit amor. Other examples are. Also, Si bene te tua laus taxat, sua laute tenebis. Sole medere pede, ede, perede melos. Et necat eger amor non Roma rege tacente, Roma reges una non anus eger amor, where the word non serves as a pivot. In the following line, every word is a palindrome : Odo tenet mulum, mappam madidam tenet Anna, There is a well-known Greek inscription, occurring on the font at Sandbach in Cheshire, and other places, among which, it is said, is the Church of St. Sophia at Constan- tinople.. "Siypiv avofx,^/>tara, fiti f/,ovecv ^-^tv. A lawyer once chose for his motto " Si nummi immu- nis." And in the time of Queen Elizabeth, a noble lady who had been forbidden to appear at Court in consequence of some suspicions against her, took for the device on her seal, the Moon, partly obscured by a Cloud, and the motto, " Ablata at alba.'' Taylor, the water poet, writes. Lewd did I live and evil I did dwel. There is an enigma occasionally to be found in Ladies* Albums, in which the initials of five palindromic words are to be sought for to form the required answer : they may be discovered with little attention : First find out a word that doth silence proclaim, And that backwards and forwards is always the same, Then next you must find out a feminine name. That backwards and forwards is always the same ; An act, or a writing on parchment, whose name Both backwards and forwards is always the same ; A fruit that is rare, whose botanical name Read backwards and forwards is always the same ; INTRODUCTION. VU A note used in music, which time doth proclaim, And backwards and forwards is always the same ; Their initials connected, a title will frame. That is justly the due of the fair married dame. Which backwards and forwards is all the same. Another invention is, that of verses, which may be read either forwards or backwards, and in the latter case general- ly containing a meaning quite the reverse of the former, and possessing sarcasm or satire. This is sometimes called Verse Lyon, said to have been invented, or frequently made use of, by Sidonius. The following have been fre- quently cited, as specimens of the style ; written in praise of Pope Clement VI. or Pius II. but of which, learned authorities do not agree. It seems that the poet was afraid he might not obtain such a reward, as according to his own estimate he deserved, and therefore retained the power of converting his flattery into abuse, by simply giving his friends their cue, to commence from the last word and read backwards. Pauperibus tua das gratis, nee munera curas Curia Papalis, quod modo percipimus. Laus tua, non tua fraus, virtus non copia rerum, Scandere te faciunt, hoc decus eximium. Conditio tua sit stabilis, nee tempore parvo Vivere te faciat hie Deus ommpotens. Of a similar description are these three distichs by Du Bellay, a French poet. Ad Julium III. Pontificem Maximum, Pontifici sua sint Divino Numine tuta Culmina, nee montes hos petat Omnipotens. y4d Carolum V, Ccesarem, Caesareum tibi sit felici sidere nomen, Carole, nee fatum sit tibi Caesareum. Ad Ferdinandum Romanprum Regem. Romulidum bone Rex, magno sis Caesare major. Nomine, nee fatis, aut minor imperio. A complete specimen appears in a line applicable either to Cain or Abel, being also hexameter one way, and penta- meter the other. Abel says, Sacrum pingue dabo, nee macrum sacrificabo. Vlll INTRODUCTION. To which Cain replies, Sacrificabo macrum, nee dabo pingue sacram. The following line is of similar efficacy, applied by two persons disputing on religion. One says, Patrum dicta probo, nee sacris belligerabo. The other answers, Belligerabo saeris, nee probo dicta Patrum. Other examples may be found in French and English : in the latter language there is one, I think, on the Vicar of Bray. These remind us of the prints where, by a little management, the representation of a face is preserved either way ; looking very amiable, perhaps, when viewed direct, but quite the reverse if turned topsy-turvy, or topside t'other way, according to the most approved etymology.* Haydn, amongst other playful ebullitions of fancy, has introduced into one of his Symphonies a minuet and trio, which are first to be played in the regular way, and then repeated backwards. Some writers have constructed or selected Virgilian and Homeric centos, wherein portions of the Old or New Testa- ment are related in lines taken entirely from Virgil or Homer. Another ambitious genius signalized himself by inserting a pentatneter verse after every line of Homer. Echo verses, and various other poetical fantasies might be described if necessary, but it is time to refer to Macaronic Poetiy, from which this Introduction hitherto has been a complete digression. This species of writing is thus described by Folengi, one of the best authors of the class : " Ars ista poetica nuncu- patur ars Macaronica, a Macaronibus derivata : qui Maca- • This same etymology, like some of Izaak Walton's fish, requires delicate handling. As a specimen, it will prove most satisfactorily that the word perriwi^, notwithstanding the old story of pilus, pelutus, &c. is derived from the Cornish words, Pyr ha veag, literally signifying round and hollow. The thing containing, being put, I suppose, by figure, for the thing con- tained. INTRODUCTION. IX rones suntquoddam pulmentum, farina, caseo, butyro com- paginatum ; grossum, rude, et rusticanum. Ideo Maca- ronica nil nisi grossedinem, ruditatem, et Vocabulezzos, debet in se continere.'' The Italian word Maccherone sig- nifies a pudding-pated fellow. Dr. Geddes says, " It is the characteristic of a Macaronic poem to be written in Latin hexameters j but so as to admit occasionally ver- nacular words, either in their native form, or with a Latin inflexion. Other licences, too, are allowed, in the measure of the lines, contrary to the strict rules of prosody." It is curious that Dr. Geddes should have broken through his own rule as to the metre of the Macaronic muse in the ode hereafter printed. There is a treatise " De Latini- tate Macaronica," by Bidermann ; but not having met with it, I am unacquainted with its style or intention. The subject is of too light a nature to demand any bib- liographical account of the different writers and their pro- ductions ; how many eighths of an inch of margin one edi- tion has more than another ; which are presg'introuvable ; lihri rarissimi ; uncut copies ; printed on vellum ; privately printed ; on pink, blue, or coquelicot coloured paper ; if any have the rare good fortune to possess a word or two printed upside down ; or contain any other invaluable defect in the eyes of book collectors. Those persons who wish to study the subject critically and bibliographically, and can read German, will find ample information in " Ge- schichte der Macaronischen Poesie," by Dr. F. W. Genthe. Leipsic, 1829. 8vo. The present sketch, with its examples, only professes to offer a little amusement in one of tnose leisure half-hours (what the Cornish call "touch-pipe") that will occur in the life of the most laborious student. In this intellectual age, when things are conducted on principles somewhat similar to the kingdom of Laputa, and boys are taught the philosophy of their hoops and marbles before allowed to use them, this compilation must be content to take rank with the lucubrations of Mr. Joseph Miller. Macaronic poetry was much in vogue in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There are indeed some poems in Baudius, with a mixture of the Greek and Latin lan- guages; and as early as the twelfth century quaint mixtures of English, Latin, and French, may be found in the monk- X INTRODUCTION. ish writers; but these cannot be considered Macaronic. Ducange mentions Epistolae Farcitae, composed in mixed Latin and Gallic idiom. Walter Mapes, the facetious Archdeacon of Oxford in the time of Henry the Second, and Golias, whoever he was, were great manufacturers of burlesque Latin, but cannot be classed with Macaronic writers ; still, a short specimen of Mapes may be allowed td show his faceie style. — Suum cuique proprium dat natura munus, Ego nunquam potui scribere jejunus : Me jejunum vincere posset puer unus. Sitim et jejunium, odi tanquam funus. Unicuique proprium dat natura donum, Ego versus faciens, vinum bibo bonum, Et quod habent melius dolia cauponum, Tale vinum generat copiam sermonum. Tales versus facio, quale vinum bibo. Nihil possum scribere, nisi sumpto cibo. Nihil valet penitus, quod jejunus scribo, Nasonem post calices carmine praeibo.* These lines have nothing Macaronic about them, but are rhyming Latin, on which subject an interesting little work has recently been published by Sir A. Croke. They will however bring to recollection an amusing burlesque of the old monkish Latin legends introduced into Whistle- craft's (Hon. J. H. Frere's) National Work, and its merit will excuse this further digression. Erant rumores et timores varii j Dies horroris et confusionis Evenit in calendis Januarii, Gigantes, semen maledictionis, Nostri potentes impii adversarii, Irascebantur czmipanarum sonis, Hor^ secunda centum tres gigantes Venerunt ante januam ululantes. At fratres pleni desolationis, Stabant ad necessarium praesidium, Perterriti pro vitis et pro bonis, Et perduravit hoc crudele obsidium, • Camden's Remains, 4to. 1614. pp. 337-8. INTRODUCTION. XI Nostri claustralis pauperis Sionis, Ad primutn diem proximorum Iduum ; Tunc in triumpho fracto tintinnabulo, Gigantes ibant alibi pro pabulo. Sed frater Isodorus decumbebat In lecto per tres mensas brachio fracto. Nam lapides Mangonellus jaciebat, Et fregit tintinnabulum lapide jacto j Et omne vicinagium destruebat, Et nihil relinquebat de intacto, Ardens molinos, casas, messuagia, Et alia multa damna atque outragia. The first writer in the Macaronic style of whom we have any account was Typhis Odaxius, or rather Tifi degli Odasj, who composed about the end of the fifteenth cen- tury " Carmen Macaronicum de Patavinis quibusdam arte magic^ delusis." 4to. without place or date, catchwords, or signatures. " Libellus longe rarissimus." There were several editions, of which all are equally rare. About the same time appeared, " Macharronea varia, diversis Unguis conscripta, praesertim Latinfe, et caractere Gothico impressa;" small 8vo. without place or date. This rare volume, whose author, according to Brunet, was Georgio Aglione d'Asti, contains fourteen small pieces, of which the first is *' Macharonea contra Macharoneam Bas- sani ad spectabilem D. Baltasarem Lupum asten. studen- tem Papiae." The remainder are principally fai'ces in Lombard and Piedmontese verse. In the year 1516 were first published at Paris, " Fruc- tuosissimi atque amenissimi Sermones,'' by Gabried Barlette, a Dominican friar. They are written in the lowest Maca- ronic style, one sentence often consisting of two or three languages, and mixing ludicrous with serious subjects ; not- withstanding which, they passed through several editions. The first edition of the well-known work of Merlin Coc- caie, or Merlinus Cocaius, was at Venice in 1517. The" real name of this author was Teofilo Folengi, (descended from a noble family in Mantua,) afterwards a Benedictine monk. He was born in 1491, and died at his Priory, near Bassano, in 1544. The complete title of his book, as in the edition of 1521, is — " Opus Merlini Cocaii, Poetae Mantuani Macaronifcorum. Xll INTRODUCTION. Totum in pristinam formam per me Magistrum Acquarium Lodolam optime redactum, in his infra notatis titulis divisum. '* Zanitonella, quae de amore Tonelli erga Zaninam trac- tat. Quae constat ex tredecim Sonolegiis, septem Eclogis, et una Strambottolegia. " Phantasiae Macaronicon, divisum in viginti quinque Macaronicis, tractans de gestis magnanimi et prudentissimi Baldi. " Moschea facetus liber in tribus partibus divisus, et tractans de cruento certamine muscarum et formicarum. *' Libellus Epistolarum et Epigrammatum ad varias per- sonas directarum." These poems, which are embellished with several curi- ous plates, are written in a medley of Latin and Italian. They contain some sober maxims expressed in facetious terms : the high-sounding titles of grandees are turned into ridicule with much address ; and the vices of mankind are depicted in such a jocose manner, that the work may be considered a satire without venom. The adventures of Baldus constitute a mock-heroic romance, founded on the exploits of an imaginary grandson of Charlemagne, accom- panied by a trusty knave, a giant, a centaur, &c. There have been several editions; the best is that of 1768, 2 vols, in one, Mantua, 4to., with notes and engravings. In the edition of 1561 many alterations are made, and passages objectionable to particular families are omitted. There is also a French translation, of which the best edition is that of 1606. Of the French edition of 1734 a few copies were printed on vellum. Folengi is supposed to have written other Macaronic pieces, as the following titles appear in a list of his works at the end of his Life, annexed to the edi- tion of the " Opus" of 1692. " Opusculum aliud versibus Macaronicis, cui Titulus : II Libro della Gatta," Also, in MS. " Satirae carmine Macaronico : quarum Titulus Le Gratticie." He also composed a curious allegorical poem, called " Chaos del Triperuno,*' and several other pieces not Macaronic. His " Orlaridino," in ottava rima, was pub- lished in 1526, under the feigned name of Limerno Pi- tocco. A copious extract from Merlin will be found among the specimens. In 1526 a small and rare book was printed, with the INTRODUCTION. Xtll title " Guarini Capella, Macharonea in Cabrinum Goga- magogae Regem composita, multum delectabilis ad legen- dum, ex sex libris distincta. Arimini, per Hieronymum Soncinum anno D'ni 1526. 8vo." Antonius de Arena, a lawyer at Avignon, who died in 1544, was a celebrated macaronic writer. The best of his works in this style is considered to be " Meygra Entre- priza Catoliqui Iraperatoris, quando de Anno D. 1536 veniebat per Provensam bene carrozatus, in postara pren- dere Fransam cum villis de Provensa, propter grossas et minutas gentes rejouire, per Antonium de Arena Bastifau- satam. Gallus regnat, Gallus regiiavit, Gallus regnabit.'' Avenione, 1537. 12rao. — Bruxellae, 1748. Svo. — Lyon, 1760, Svo. It is sometimes found with the following title: " Poema Macaronicum : id est, Historia bravissima Caroli Quinti Imperatoris h Provincialibus Paysanis triumphanter desbifati, Macaronico carmine recitans, per Joannem Ger- manum. 1536." The book concludes thus : " Scribatura estando cum gailhardis Paysanis per Boscos, Montagnos, Forestas de Provensa, de anno mille cccccxxxvi. quando Imperairus d'Espagna, et tota sua Gendarmeria pro fauta de panibus per Vignas roygabant Rasinos, et post veniebant fort benfe Acambram sine Cresteris, et Candeletis d'Apoticaris in Villa de Aquis." It is a pleasant satire on the wars of Chai-les the Fifth, and was suppressed by the ministry of those times; but whether it was the subject of an ex officio information, does not appear. Another work of his, of which there have been several editions, is, " Antonius de Arena de Bragardissira^, vill^ de Soieriis. Ad suos Com- pagnones studiantes qui sunt de persona friantes, bassas dansas in galanti stylo bisognatas; cum Guerra Roman^ et NeopoUtan^, Revolta Genuensi, Guerra Avenionensi, et Epistola ad fallotissimam suam garsam Roseam, pro pas- sando lo tempus allegramente, &c. Stamp, in Stampatura Stampatorura, anno 1670." — The following is given as the description of Dance. " Quid sit Dansa ?" " Est una grossissima consolatio, quam prendunt bragardi homines cum bellis garsis sive mulieribus, dansando, chorisando, fringando, balando de corpore gayo et frisco, quando me- nestrius, carlamuairus, floutairus, juglairus, tamborinairus bassas et hautas dansas, tordiones, branlos, martingalas et XIV INTRODUCTION. alias sautarellas tocat, siblat, carlamuat, fifi-at, tamborinat, harpat, rebecat, floutat, laudat, organat, cantat de gorgia, de carlamusa clara, de carlamusa surda," &c. There was evidently no galopade, or mazurka in those days, or they would doubtless have obtained special notice ; the last, however, appears of too serious a nature to be trifled with, when we see grown-up gentlemen perform their parts as gravely and steadily as the ci-devant figures at St. Dun- stan's clock. The following poem is found annexed to one edition of those of A. de Arena : — " Nova Novorum Novissima, sive poemata stylo macaronico conscripta : quae faciunt crepare lectores et saltare capias ob nimium risum, res nunquam antea visa; composita et jam de novo magna diligentia revisata et augmentata per Bartholomaeum Bollam, Ber- gamascum, Poetarum ApoUinem, et nostro saeculo alterura Cocaium. Accesserunt ejusdem auctoris Poemata Italica, sed ex valle Bergamascorum. Stampatus in Stampatur^ Stampatorum." 1670. 12mo. The remaining Continental macaronic works of any note are " Macaronica de syndicatu et condemnatione D. Sam- sonis Lethi. Dialogus facetus et singularis, non minus eruditionis quam Macaronices complectens ex obscurorum virorura salibus ciibratus." 8vo. " Fabula Macharonea, cui titulus est ; Came vale. Brac- ciani apud Andr. Phacum." 1620. 8vo. by Andrea Bajano. " Harenga Macaronica habita in Monasterio Cluniacensi die quinta mensis Aprilis anni 1566 ad rev. et illust. Car- dinalem de Lotharingia, ejusdem Monasterii Abbatem Commendatarium, per doctum Fratrem Vincentium Jus- tinianum, Genovensem, Generalem Ord. Fratr. Praedicato- rum, deputatum per Capitulum generale, una cum certis aliis ejusdem ordinis Fratribus Ambassatorem versus eun- dem Reverendissimum ; pro repetenda Corona aurea, quam abstulit ^ Jacobitis urbis Metensis Rhenis, in Campania." 1566. 8vo. " Magistri Stoppini, Poetse Ponzanensis Capriccia Ma- caronica, Illustrissimo ac Excellentissimo Domino Jacobo superantio Paduae praefecto. D. Padua apud Gasparum Ganassum." 1638. 8vo. Of this there have been several editions : the author, according to Barbier, was Cesare Orsini. INTRODUCTION. XV " Cittadinus macaronicus metrificatus, overum de pia- cevoli conversantis costumantia, Sorania trente quinque." 1647. 8vo. by Parth. Zanclaio. "Dictamen metrificum de bello Hugenotico et Reistro- rum Pigliamine ad Sodales," by Reray Belleau. This piece, containing about two hundred and fifty lines, repre- sents, in a grotesque manner, the ravages committed by the soldiery in time of war. It is printed with the bur- lesque poem, " UEschole de Salerne, a Paris," 1650. The publisher says, with respect to it, " Au reste, on en doit faire d'autant plus d'estime, que c'est le seul Poeme de cette nature que nous avons en nostre langue; car ceux d'Antoine de Arena approchent plus du Provenpal que du Francois, et ceux de Merlin Coccaye sont Italiens." " Cacasagno Reystro-Suysso-lansquenetorum, per Ma- gistrum Joannera Baptistam Lichardum Recatholica- tum spaliposcinum Poetam. Cum Responso, per Joan. Cransfeltum, Germanum." Paris. 1558. Bvo. by Etienne Taburot. " Recitus veritabilis super Esmeuta terribili Paysano- rum de Ruellio k Jano Caecilio Fray." s. a. *' Epistola macaronica Arthusii ad D. de Parisiis super attestatione su^, justificante et nitidante Patres Jesui- tas." s. a. " Epitaphia honorandi Magistri nostri Petri k Coruibus." Paris, 1542. Bvo. " Carmen arenaicum de quorundam nugigerolorum piafFa insupportabili." In the Nugae Venales (ed. 1720, 12mo.) there are four short Macaronic pieces, which it is not necessaiy to de- scribe. Many of the pieces in this collection contain gross ideas, a defect unfortunately too common in the generality of Macaronic poetry, the wit being obscured by coarseness of expression. Before quitting this division of macaronicism, we must not forget the amusing specimen given by Molifere in the troisieme intermede of Le Malade Imaginaire, where Argan the invalid is to be admitted a doctor. " QUATRIEME DOCTEUR. " — si non ennuyo dominum Praesidem, Doctissimam Facultatem, XVI INTRODUCTION. Et totam honorabilem Companiam ecoutantem, Faciam illi unam quaestiohem. Des hiero maladus unus Tombavit in meas manus ; Habet grandam fievram cum redoublamentis, Grandam dolorem capitis, Et grandum malum au c6t6, Cum grandS. difficultate Et pena a respirare, Veillas mihi dire, Docte Bacheliere, Quid illi fa^ere. Argan. Clysterium donare, Postea seignare, Ensuita purgare. ClNQUI^ME DoCTEUn. Mais si maladia Opiniatria Non vult se garire, Quid illi facere 1 Argan. Clysterium donare, Postea seignare, Ensuita purgare ; Reseignare, repurgare, et reclysterisare. Ch(eur. Bene, bene, bene, bene respondere ; Dignus, dignus est intrare In nostro docto corpore," &c. This scene was imagined at a supper in the house of Madame de la Sablifere, where the celebrated Ninon, La Fontaine, and Despreaux were present, with Molifere and other distinguished persons. Each furnished a portion towards the completion of the intermedey in imitation of the style of Folengi. Another description of poetry usually classed with Ma- caronic, though not strictly coming under the denomina- tion, is that wherein every word of a poem begins with the same letter. Of this class, the best known is Pugna Por- corum, containing about three hundred lines, every word of INTRODUCTION. XVII which begins with the letter P. There have been several editions ; the original and best, according to De Bure, being that of 1530. It is a satire on the clergy; and, as is the case with most pieces in this style, is more to be sought for as a literary curiosity, than for any intrinsic merit. The edition printed with the Nugae Venales has a portrait of the supposed author with a pig's head and a pilgrim hat, and also an engraving of the battle. In the same collection is an amusing poem of nearly one hun- dred lines, entitled " Canum cum Catis Cerlamen car- mine compositum currente calamo C. CatuUi Caninii. Auctor est Henricus Harderus." Here every word begins with the letter C, and there is also a burlesque engraving of the battle. The letter C is a favourite for this species of composi- tion, probably because one of the easiest for the purpose. Hugbald, a monk, about the year 876, wrote a poem of nearly one hundred and forty lines in honour of Charles the Bold, every word beginning with C. It has passed through several editions, but is a rare work. It will be. found among the specimens, together with the two last- mentioned poems. Of still rarer occurrence is the compo- sition of Christianus Pierius, a German, called Christus Crucifixus, consisting of nearly one thousand two hundred lines. The following may serve as an example : — Currite Castalides Christo comitate Camoenae, Concelebraturae cunctorum carmine certum Confugium collapsorum ; concurrite, cantus Concinnaturae celebres celebresque cothurnos." There is a poem by Hamconius, of about the same length, called " Certamen Catholicorum cum Calvinistis, continue caractere C, conscriptum per Martinum Ham- conium, Frisium." Lovanii, 1612. 4to. By way of variety, a Jew, called Anbonet Abraham, who lived in the 13th century, composed an oration, wherein every word began with an M. Some lines on Charles IX. combine the acrostic with alliteration : the F in the last line is superabundant. Carole, cui clarius cui cultae cunctae camoena; Aspirant, altis altior aethereis, Relligio regni recta ratione regatur. Omnibus ohjicias obsequiosus opem. c XVlll INTRODUCTION. Laurea lex laudes lucentes lata loquatur, Vexillum vafrum vis violenta vehat. Suspice Sicelidum solemnia sacro superstes, Florescat foelix Francia fac faveas. These on Viole, Bishop of Bourgogne, afford an ex- ample of the initial V. Vim vernae violae visu veneramur vtroque, Virtutes varias vulgus vti Violi. Ventorum violat violas violentia, verum Virtutem Violi ventus vbique vehet. In the Nugae Venales are the foUovvring lines, where the F is the selected letter ; one that it would appear difficult to accommodate. Foemellas furtim facies formosa fefellit, Fortuito faciens ferventi furta furore. Fur foritas fertur fatuens flagroque feritur. Our quaint and persecuted countryman, Lythgoe, the traveller, tries his skill by pressing the letter G into the service, though it must be confessed there is little to be said in favour of the euphony, Glance, glorious Geneve, gospel-guiding gem ; Great God, govern good Geneve's ghostly game ! It is now necessary to give some account of the British macaronic writers, of whom Drummond of Hawthornden, and Dr. Geddes, are the best known. The alliteration, which appears to have been essential to the complicated construction of the Celtic poetry,* with its terminal, in- ternal, and cyrchic rhymes ; and to the Saxon poetry, with pieces similar to Pierce Plowman's Vision, do not of course come within the scope of this Introduction. Skelton, wlio was Poet Laureat about the end of the 15th century, the humour of whose works is well known, has examples of this sort of writing, as in his Boke of Colin Clout. • Conybeare, in his Illustrations of Anglo-Saxon Poetry, gives a Celtic distich of twelve words only, that contains seven rhymes. INTRODUCTION. XIX Of such vagabundus Speaketh totus mundus, How some syag let abundus, &c. Cum ipsis et illis Qui manent in villis Est uxor vel ancilla. Welcome Jacke and Gilla, My pretty Petronilla, An you will be stilla You shall have your willa," Sec. In Harsenet's Detection are some humorous lines, being " Sir John of Grantam's curse for the miller's eeles that were stolne." All you that stolen the miller's eeles, Laudate dominum de ccelis, And all they that have consented thereto, Benedicamus domino. These will remind the reader of Dominie Sampson with Meg Merrilies, ^^ Sceleratissima ! — which means, Mrs. Margaret ;" " Conjuro te I — that is, I thank you heartily ;" " Exorciso te ! — that is, I have dined." Dunbar, a Scotch poet in the 15th century, occasionally wrote in this style. "The testament of Mr. Andro Ken- nedy," by him, which represents the character of a drunken scholar, will be found among the specimens ; but it may be wished that some parts were of a more sober description. In " An Answere to a Romish Rime,'' &c. imprinted by Simon Stafford, 1602, is the following song, said to be pro- bably of the time of Henry VIII. (Cens. Liter, vol. viii. p. 368,) A merry song, and a very song. Sospltati pickt our purse with Popish illusio. Purgatory, scala coeli, pardons cum jubilio. Pilgrimage-gate, where idoles sale with all abominatio, Channon, fryers, common lyers, that filthy generatio, Nunnes pulmg, pretty puling, as cat in milke-pannio ; See what knavene was in monkerie, and what superstitio ; Becking, belling, ducking, yelling, was their whole religio. And when women came unto them, fewe went sine filio. But Abbeyes all are now downe fall, Dei beneficio. And we doe pray, day by day, that all abominatio May come to desolatio. — Amen. c 2 XX INTRODUCTION. Stanyhurst, a translator of part of Virgil in the 16th century, uses an extraordinary method of versification, which seems peculiarly his own ; for who would wish to appropriate such lines as these ? — Then did he make heaven's vault to rebound With rounce robble bobble, Of ruffe raffe roaring. With thicke thwacke thurly bouncing. There are a few macaronicisms in a poem at the end of Leland's Itineraiy, vol. vi. being an account of a fight between the scholars and townsmen at Oxford, 10th Fe- bruary, 1354, and two following days, begun at Swyndolne- stock or Swindlestock tavern : many of the former were killed, for which the town was afterwards severely punish- ed. There are also some in Coryat's Odcombian Banquet, and in his Crambe, or Colwarts, &c : likewise, I believe, (for in this instance I am obliged to speak from report) in the " Poems Lyrique, Macaronique, Heroique," &c. of Henry Bold, of New College, Oxford, afterwards of the Examiner*s office in Chancery, (where the system of So- cratic instruction carried on must have puzzled his poetry a little,) published in London, 1664. 8vo. An amusing specimen is given in Percy's Reliques, (vol. iii. p. 374,) addressed to a friend of Mr. John Grubb, of Christ Church, Oxford, urging him to print Mr. Grubb's poem called " The British Heroes," or the second part of St. George for England. It is short enough to be inserted here. " Expostulaiiuncula, sive Querimoniuncula ad Antonium {Atherton), ob Poema Johannis Grubb, Viri rev traw ingeniossissimi in lucem nondum editi. " Toni ! Tune sines divina poemata Grubbi Intomb'd in secret thus still to remain any longer, Tevvofia ffov shall last, n T^u^Qt ha/iA^tfiis ati. Grubbe, tuum nomen vivet dum nobilis ale-a Efficit heroas, dignamque heroe puellam. Est genus heroum, quos nobilis efficit ale-a. Qui pro niperkin clamant, quaternque liquoris. Quern vocitent Homines Brandy, Superi Cherry Brandy. Sajpe illi long-cut, vel small-cut flare tobacco Sunt soliti pipos. Ast si generosior herba (Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum) INTRODUCTION. XXl Mundungus desit, turn non funcaie recusant Brown-paper tost^, vel quctfl fit arundine bed-mat. Hie labor, hoc opus est heroum ascendere sedes ! Ast ego quo rapiar ? quo me feret entheus ardor, Grubbe, tui memorem ? Divinum expande poema. Quae mora 1 quae ratio est, quin Grubbi protinus anser Virgilii Flaccique simul canat inter oloresl" Dr. Wm. King, in the beginning of last century, pub- lished a satirical work on the scientific proceedings of the age, called " Useful Transactions in Philosophy, and other sorts of learning." In No. 5, professing to be an account of Meursius his book of the plays of the Grecian boys, he gives the following burlesque translation of " Boys, boys, come out to play," &c. as a quotation from his Greek author. Kv/tAfiiTt MuSans, MuSotig, xvfifitTt TkamV Muvn tffaffi^iTUf B-yiSi^ti Tota vouvec ^tSii Kv/u,fAiTi trtni ovru, vvv Xov^a KUfAfAiri xecvXa/, AivtrtTi ffvr-ripeiv, MuSoits, ktvffiTi St^^ov, 2i»v TOif KOfi^Ki^oifftv ivi q'^ririffffi ^kecovrts. Drummond's Polemo-middinia, is a well-known work, and its celebrity has no doubt been increased from the circumstance of Bishop Gibson having in his earlier days published an edition with Latin notes, Oxford, 1691, 4to. William Drummond, the poet, and also an historian, was the son of Sir John Drummond, of Hawthornden ; he was bom in 1585, and died in 1649. This, the earliest regu- lar British macaronic poem, was probably written when Drummond was on a visit to his brother-in-law at Scot- starvet, and contains a ludicrous account of a battle be- tween Lady Scotstarvet under the title of Vitarva, and Lady Newbams as Neberna, with their respective depend- ants. There is an edition by Messrs. Foulis of Glasgow, 1 768 ; and it is also to be found in the collection hereafter mentioned, called " Carminum rariorum Macaronicorum delectus." It opens thus, but great part of it is better adapted to the age in which the poet lived, than to the present. Nymphae, quai colitis highissima monta Fifoca, Seu vos Pittenwema tenent, seu Cretia, crofta, Sive Anstraa domus, ubi nat haddocus in undis, CodlineusijHe ingens, et /leucca et sketta pererrant, XXll INTRODUCTION. Per costam et scopulis Lolster manifootus in udis Creepat, et in mediis ludit Whitenius undis : • Et vos Skipperii, soliti qui per mare breddum Valde procul lanchare foras, iterumque redire, Linquite Skellatas botas, Shippasque picatas, Whistlantesque simul fechtam memorate bloodseam, Fechtam terribilem, quam marvellaverat omnis Banda Deftm, quoque Nympharum Cockelsheleanim, Maia ubi Sheepifeda, et solgosifera Bassa Swellant in pelago, cum Sol bootatus Edenum Postabit radiis madidis et shouribus atris. We must not omit to notice Ruggles, the facetious au- thor of Ignoramus, as he has introduced some laughable macaronicisms in tiiat amusing play. Prefixed to it are these lines by Dulman " In laudem Ignorami." Non inter plaios gallantos et bene gaios. Est alter bookus deservat qui modo lookos, O Lector friendleie, tuos : hunc buye libellum, Atque tibi wittum, tibi jestaque plurima sellam. Hie est lawyerus, simul hie est undique clems, Et Dulman merus (quod vis non credere verus) ; Hie multum Frenchum, quo possis vincere wenchum ; Hie est Latinum, quo possis sumere vinum. Hunc bookum amamus, simul hunc et jure probamus ; Qui non buyamus, cuncti sumus Ignoramus. Ignoramus himself thus recites how he will endow his mistress Rosabella ; what we may consider his instructions for a marriage settlement. Fersus Legates de Rosabella. Si possem, vellem pro te, Rosa, ponere pellem : Quicquid tu vis, crava, et habebis singula brava : Et ddihojee-simple, si monstras Lovers pretty dimple, Gownos, silkcoatos, kirtellos, et petticoatos. Farthingales biggos, stomacheros, et periwiggos, Pantofflos, cufFos, garteros, Spanica ruffos, Buskos et soccos, tifFanas, et Cambrica smockos, Pimpillos, pursos ; ad ludos ibis et ursos. Among the specimens will be found a short scene from this play, containing a humorous burlesque of Law-Latin, though that venerable dialect scarcely requires a caricature to display its powers : what will the uninitiated say to a Writ de pipa vini cariandd, i. e. for negligently carrying a pipe of wine ? INTRODUCTION. XXlll But our most regular macaronic writer is Dr. Geddes, who was born in Banff in the year 1737, and died in 1802. The following are his productions in this style : — 1790. Epistola Macaronica ad Fratrem de iis quae gesta sunt in nupero Dissentientium Conventu, Londini habito, prid. id. Feb. 1790. 4to. pp. 21. Epistola Macaronica, &c. with an English ver- sion for the use of the ladies and country gentlemen. 4to. pp. 30. 1795. Ode Pindarico-Sapphico-Macaronica, in Gug- lielmi Pitti, &c. Laudem. Morning Chronicle, Jan. 13. Translation of the same. Ditto Jan. 30. 1800. Bardomachia, Poeraa Macaronico-Latinum. 4to. pp. 14. Bardomachia, or the Battle of the Bards ; trans- lated from the original Latin. 4to. pp. 16. This was written on the subject of a battle (celebrated at the time) between two rival authors in a bookseller's shop. In the year 1801, a collection was printed (I believe not published) under the superintendance of Dr. A. Duncan, as appears from aMS. observation in the copy penes me.* It is entitled, " Carminum rariorum Macaronicorum delectus, in usum ludorum Apollinarium. Edinburgh, 1801. 8vo." and includes several clever classical jeux d'esprit, but scarcely any thing strictly macaronic, except the " Polemo-mid- dinia,'' and a burlesque diploma for Dr. Wm. Sutherland, which is printed in the latter part of the present volume. It is now high time to close this introduction, and I beg to remind any readers, that this work is only intended for light reading, and to request that if inclined to exercise their critical powers, they will seek some book of more pretence, and not break an insect on the wheel. * That is, I fancy, fashionable literary parlance for my copy, and has the benefit of being rather less intelligible to ladies, and boys— I beg their pardon — ^young gentlemen (there are no boys in these intellectual times) of the under forms. There is no- thing like observing these technicalities occasionally ; they cause a sort of sacred mist, a kind of g*aj lari (it€tiXoi shade, which scares unauthorized intruders. What an undefinable air of mys- tery do they throw about a lawyer's or a carpenter's bill, or a physician's prescription ! PUGNA PORCORUM PER P. PORCIUM POilTAM. Paraclesis pro Potore. Perlege porcorum pulcherrima praelia, Potor, Potando poteris placidam proferre poesin. NIVERSTADII : APUD CASPARUM MYRRHEUM, MELCHIOREM THUREUM, & BALTHASARUM AUREUM. 1720. Crispa cadat contra a Columnia cirro. Calvorum Charites cantatae carmine claro Conticeant cum clangenti concita canore Conciderint coeli cum Christi culmina cultu. Caesareae capides, cauti cata cista Catonis Concludant cleri captantia carmina culpas. Carmina calvorum comtrix conclude Camoena. Carole cum calvis, Caesar clarissime canta, Crucifere Christo clara conamina Cleri. Clausa Camoena capit cum Caesare congrua curam, Comta corona cave; cum Caesare condita Calvo Caroleos comant celebrantia carmina calvos. Christe caput calvum cum comto contueare, Crux cujus cunctis condonant crimina calvis. £ 2 28 THE TESTAMENT OF Mr. ANDRO KENNEDY. From Ancient Scottish Poems from BannatyneMS. Edinburgh, 1770. I Master Andro Kennedy, A (matre) quando sum vocatus, Begotten with sum incuby, Or with sum freir infatuatus ; In faith I can nocht tell redely, Unde aut ubi fui natus, Bot in truth I trow trewly, Quod sum diabolus incarnatus. II. Cum nihil sit certius morte, We man all de' quhen we haif done ; Nescimus quando, vel qua sorte. Nor blynd allane wait of the mone. Ego patior in pectore. Throw nicht I mycht nocht sleip a wink ; Licet aeger in corpore. Yet wald my mouth be watt with drink. III. Nunc condo testamentum meum, I leif my saule for evirmair, Per omnipotentem Deum, Into my lordis wyne-cellar ; TESTAMENT OF KENNEDY. 29 Semper ibi ad remanendum Till domesday cum without dissiver, Bonum vinum ad bibendum With sweit Cuthbert that lufit me nevir. IV. Ipse est dulcis ad amandum. He wuld oft ban me in his breth, Det mihi modo ad potandum, And I forgaif him iaith and wreth. Quia in cellar cum cervisid, I had lever ly baith air and lait, Nudus solus in camisid. Than in my lordis bed of stait. V. Ane barrel being ay at my bosum, Of warldly gude I bad na mair ; Et corpus meum ebriosum, I leif unto the town of Air, In ane draff midding for evir and ay, Ut ibi sepeliri queam, Quhair drink and draff may ilka day Be castin super faciem meam. VI. I leif my hairt that nevir wes sicker, Sed semper variabile, That evermair wald flow and flicker, Consort! meo Jacobo Wylie : Thoch I wald bind it with a wicker, Verum Deum renui ; Bot and I hecht to turne a bicker, Hoc pactum semper tenui. VII. Syne leif I the best aucht I bocht, Quod est Latinum propter cape, To the heid of my kin ; but waite I nocht, Quis est ille, than schro my skape. ^ THE TESTAMENT OF 1 tald my Lord my heid, but hiddill, Sed nuUi alii hoc sciverunt, We wer als sib as seif and riddill, In und silvd quse creverunt. VIII. Quia mea solatia They were bot lesingis all and ane, Cum omni fraude et fallacia. I leive the maister of Sanct Anthane, William Gray, sine gratis, My ain deir cusine, as I wene ; Qui nunquam fabricat mendacia, But quhen the Holene tree growis grene. IX, My fenyeing, and my fals winning, Relinquo falsis fratribus ; For that is God's awin bidding, Disparsit, dedit pauperibus. For men's saulis they say and sing, Mentientes pro muneribus ; Now God give thaime ane evill ending, Pro suis pravis operibus. X. To J ok the fule, my foly fre Lego post corpus sepultum ; In faith I am mair fule than he. Licet ostendo bonum vultum. Of come and cattell, gold and fie. Ipse habet valde multum, And yit he bleiris my lordis ee, Fingendo eum fore stultum. XI. To Maister Johney Clerk syne, Do et lego intime God's braid malesone, and myne ; Nam ipse est causa mortis meae. MR. ANDRO KENNEDY. 31 Wer I a doig and he a swyne, Multi mirantur super me, Bot 1 sould gar that lurdoun quhryne, Scribendo dentes sine D. XII. Residuum omnium bonorum For to dispone my J^rd sal haif, Cum tutela puerorum, Baith Adie, Kittie, and all the laif. In faith I will na langer raif. Pro sepulturd ordino On the new gyse, sa God me saif Non sicut more solito. XIII. In die meae sepulturse, I will have nane but our awin gang, Et duos rusticos de rure Berand ane barrell on a stang, Drinkand and playand cap-out ; even Sicut egomet solebam. Singand and greitand with the stevin, Potum meum cum fletu miscebam. XIV. I will no preistis for me sing, Dies ille, dies irae ; Nor yet na bellis for me ring, Sicut semper solet fieri ; But a bag-pyp to play a spring, Et unum ale-wisp ante me ; Insteid of torchis, for to bring Quatuor lagenas cervisise, Within the graif to sett, fit thing, In modum crucis, juxta me, To fie the feyndis, than hardly sing De terr^ plasmasti me. William Dunbar. 32 IGNORAMUS. Actus I. — Scena III. Argumentum. Ignoramus, clericis suis vocatis Dulman & Pecus, amorem suum erga Rosabellam narrat, irridetque Museum quasi hominem academicum. Intrant Ignoramus, Dulman, Pecus, Mus^eus. Igno. Phi, phi : tanta pressa, tan turn crou- dum, ut fui pene trusus ad mortem. Habebo actionem de intrusione contra omnes et singulos. Aha Mounsieurs, voulez voz intruder par joint tenant ? il est playne case, il est point droite de le bien seance. O valde caleor: O chaud, chaud, chaud : precor Deum non meltavi meum pingue. Phi, phi. In nomine Dei, ubi sunt clerici mei jam ? Dulman, Dulman. DuL. Hie, Magister Ignoramus, vous avez Dulman. Igno. Meltor, Dulman, meltor. Rubba me cum towallio, rubba. Ubi est Pecus ? Pec Hie, Sir. Igno. Fac ventum, Pecus. Ita, sic, sic. Ubi est Fledwit ? DuL. Non est inventus. Igno. Ponite nunc chlamydes vestras super me, ne capiam frigus. Sic, sic. Ainsi, bien faict. In- ter omnes poenas meas, valde leetor, et gaudeo nunc, quod feci bonum aggreamentum inter Anglos nos- IGNORAMUS. 33 tros : aggreamentum, quasi aggregatio mentium. Super inde eras hoysabimus vela, et retornabimus itefum erga Londinum: tempus est, nam hue veni- mus Oetabis Hillarii, et nune fere est Quindena Pasehe. DuL. Juro, magister, titillasti punetum legis hodie. Igno, Ha, ha, he ! Puto titillabam, Si le notn del granteur, ou graiite soit rased, ou interlined en faict pol, le faiet est grandement suspieious. DuL. Et nient obstant, si faiet pol, &e. &c. Oh illud etiam in Covin. Igno. Ha, ha, he ! Pec. At id, de un faiet pendu en le smoak, nunquam audivi titillatum melius. Igno. Ha, ha, he ! Quid tu dieis, Mussee? Mus. Equidem ego parum intellexi. Igno. Tu es gallicrista, voeatus a coxeomb; nunquam faciam te Legistam. Dttl. Nunquam, nunquam ; nam ille fuit Uni- versitans. Igno. Sunt magni idiotse, et elerici nihilorum, isti Universitantes : miror quomodo spendisti tuum tempus inter eos. Mus. Ut plurimum versatus sum in Logied. Igno. Logiea ? Quae villa, quod burgum est Logiea ? Mus. Est una artium liberalium. Igno. Liberalium ? Sie putabam. In nomine Dei, stude artes pareas et luerosas : non est mun- dus pro artibus liberalibus jam. Mus. Deditus etiam fui amori Philosophiae. Igno. Amori ? Quid ! Es pro bagasehiis et strumpetis ? Si custodis malam regulam, non es pro me, sursum reddam te in manus parentum iterum. Mus. Dii faxint. 34 IGNORAMUS. Igno. Quota est clocka nunc ? DuL. Est inter octo et nina. Igno. Inter octo et nina ? Ite igitur ad man- sorium nostrum cum baggis et rotulis. — Quid id est ? videam hoc instrumentum ; mane petit, dum calceo spectacula super nasum. O ho, ho, scio jam. Haec indentura, facta, &c. inter Rogerum Ratledoke de Caxton in comitatu Brecknocke, &c. O ho, Richard Fen, John Den. O ho, Proud Buz- zard plaintiff, adversus Peakegoose, defendant. O ho, vide hie est defalta literae ; emenda, emenda ; nam in nostra lege una comma evertit totum Pla- citum. Ite jam, copiato tu hoc, tu hoc ingrossa, tu Universitans trussato sumptoriam pro jorne^. [Exeunt Clerici. Ignoramus solus. Hi, ho! Rosabella, hi, ho! Ego nunc eo ad Veneris curiam letam, tentam hie apud Torcol : Vicecomes ejus Cupido nunquam cessavit, donee invenit me in baliva su^ : Primum cum amabam Rosabella mnisi parvum, misit parvum Cape, tum magnum Cape, et post, alias Capias et pluries Capias, & Capias infinitas ; & sic misit tot Capias, ut tandem capavit me utlegatum ex omni sensu et ratione me^. Ita sum sicut musca sine caput; buzzo & turno circumcirca, et nescio quid facio. Cum scribo instrumentum, si femina nominatur, scribo Rosabellam : pro Corpus cum caus4, corpus cum caudS- ; pro Noverint universi, Amaverint uni- versi ; pro habere ad rectum, habere ad lectum ; et sic vasto totum instrumentum. Hei, ho! ho, hei, ho ! 36 VIRI HUMANI, SALSI ET FACETI, GULIELMI SUTHERLANDI, MULTARUM ARTIUM ET SCIENTIARUM DOCTORIS DOCTISSIMI, DIPLOMA.' Ubique gentium et terrarum, From Sutherland to Padanarum, From those who have six months of day, Ad Caput usque Bonse Spei, And farther yet, si forte tendat, Ne ignorantiam quis praetendat, — We Doctors of the Merry Meeting, To all and sundry do send greeting, Ut omnes habeant compertum. Per hanc prsesentem nostram chartam, Gulielmum Sutherlandum Scotum, At home per nomen Bogsie notum. Who studied stoutly at our College, And gave good specimens of knowledge. In multis artibus versatum, Nunc factum esse doctoratum. Quoth Preses, Strictum post examen, Nunc esto Doctor; we said, Amen. So to you all hunc commendamus, Ut juvenem quem nos amamus, ^ This Diploma was written by William Meston, A.M. who was Professor of Philosophy in the Marischal College, Aberdeen, about the beginning of tne last century. It has been published in different editions of his poetical works, which are now, how- ever, very rarely to be met with in the shops of the booksellers, and, to use their language, are at present out of print. 36 GULIELMI SUTHERLANDI Qui multas habet qualitates, To please all humours and aetates. He vies, if sober, with Duns Scotus, Sed multo magis si sit potus. In disputando just as keen as Calvin, John Knox, or Tom Aquinas. In every question of theology, Versatus multum in trickology ; Et in catalogis librorum Frazer could never stand before him ; For he, by page and leaf, can quote More books than Solomon ere wrote. A lover of the Mathematicks He is, but hates the hydrostatics, Because he thinks it a cold study, To deal in water clear or muddy. Doctissimus est medicinae. Almost as Boerhaave or Bellini. He thinks the diet of Cornaro, In meat and drink too scrimp and narrow, And that the rules of Leonard Lessius, Are good for nothing but to stress us. By solid arguments and keen He has confuted Doctor Cheyne, And clearly prov'd by demonstration. That claret is a good collation, Sanis et aegris, always better Than coffee, tea, or milk and water ; That cheerful company, cum risu, Cum vino forti, suavi visu, Gustatu dulci, still has been A cure for hyppo and the spleen ; That hen and capon, vervecina, Beef, duck and pasties, cum ferina, Are good stomachics, and the best Of cordials, probatum est. He knows the symptoms of the phthisis, Et per salivam sees diseases, DIPLOxMA. 37 And can discover in urina, Quando sit opus medicina. A good French nightcap still has been, He says, a proper anodyne, Better than laudanum or poppy, Ut dormiamus like a toppy. Affirmat lusum alearum, Medicamentum esse clarum, Or else a touch at three-hand ombre When toil or care our spirits cumber. Which graft wings on our hours of leisure, And make them fly with ease and pleasure. Aucupium et venationem. Post longam nimis potationem. He has discover'd to be good Both for the stomach and the blood, As frequent exercise and travel Are good against the gout and gravel. He clearly proves the cause of death Is nothing but the want of breath. And that indeed is a disaster, When 'tis occasioned by a plaster Of hemp and pitch, laid closely on Somewhat above the collar bone. Well does he know the proper doses Which will prevent the fall of noses. E'en keep them qui privantur illis, ^gre utuntur conspicillis. To this, and ten times more, his skill Extends when he could cure or kill. Immensam cognitiohem legum Ne prorsus hie silentio tegam. Cum sociis artis, grease his fist Torquebat illas as you list. If laws for bribes are made, 'tis plain, They may be bought and sold again ; Spectando aurum, now we find That Madam Justice is stone blind. 38 GULIELMI SUTHERLANDI So deaf and dull in both her ears, The clink of gold she only hears ; Nought else but a loud party shout Will make her start or look about. His other talents to rehearse, Brevissime in prose or verse, To tell how gracefully he dances. And artfully contrives romances; How well he arches, and shoots flying, (Let no man think that we mean lying), How well he fences, rides and sings, And does ten thousand other things ; Allow a line, nay, but a comma, To each, turgeret hoc diploma; Quare ; ut tandem concludamus, Qui brevitatem approbamus, (For brevity is always good, Providing we be understood). In rerum omnium naturis, Non minus quam scientia juris Et medicinas, Doctoratum Bogsaeum novimus versatum ; Nor shall we here say more about him, But you may dacker if you doubt him. Addamus tamen hoc tantiilum, Duntaxat nostrum hoc sigillum, Huic testimonio appensum, Ad confirmandum ejus sensum, Junctis chirographis cunctorum, Blyth, honest, hearty sociorum. Dabamus at a large punch-bowl, Within our proper common school, The twenty-sixth day of November, Ten years, the date we may remember. After the race of SheritFmuir, (Scotsmen will count from a black hour). Ab omni probo nunc signetur. Qui denegabit extrudetur. DIPLOMA. 39 FORMULA GRADUS DANDI. Eadem nos auctoritate, Reges memorise beatae, Pontifices et papae laeti, Nam alii sunt k nobis spreti, Quam quondam nobis indulserunt. Quae privilegia semper erunt, Collegio nostro safe and sound, As long 's the earth and cups go round. Te Bogsaeum hie creamus, Statuimus et proclamamus, Artium Magistrum et Doctorem, Si libet etiam Professorem ; Tibique damns potestatem Potandi ad hilaritatem, Ludendi porro et jocandi, Et moestos vino medicandi, Ad risum etiam fabulandi ; In promissionis tuae signum Caput, honore tanto dignum Hoc cyatho condecoramus,' Ut tibi felix sit oramus ; Praeterea in manum damus Hunc calicem, ex quo potamus, Spumantem generoso vino, Ut bibas more Palatino. Sir, pull it off and on your thumb Cernamus supernaculum, Ut specimen ingenii Post studia decennii. * Here he was crowned with the punch-bowl. 40 GUL. SUTHERLANDI DIPLOMA. (While he is drinking, the chorus sings) En calicem spumantem, Falerni epotantem ; En calicem spumantem, lo, io, io. (After he has drunk, and turned the glass on his thumb, they embrace him, and sing again.) Laudamus hunc Doctorem, Et fidum compotorem ; Laudamus hunc Doctorem, Io, io, io. 41 ODE PINDARICO-SAPPHICO-MACARONICA, IN CELEBERRIMI ET IMMACULATl VIRI GULIELMI PITTII, C^TERORUMQUE GEORGII TERTII MAGNiE BRITANNIA. FRANCIS, ET HIBERNIiE, NEC NON CORSICA REGIS, DIGNISSIMORUM MINISTRORUM LAUDEM. AUCTORE JODOCO COCAIO, MERLINI COCAII PRONEPOTE. Emma ! fer chartam, calamos, et inkum ; Musa Merlini Cocaii, befriend me : Per Deos volo lepidum ac sonorum Condere carmen. Volo Thebarum eximii Poetae Grande, divinum, simulare songum ; Lesbise volo numeros puellae Jungere suaves. Quern virum sumes, cithara Judaea Fistula aut Scot^ celebrare diva Sportica ! ac qualem capiti coronam Nectere vis tu 1 Aqua, without doubt very gooda thinga est, Aurum et, inter divitias superbas Glisterans, fulget velut ignis ardens Nocte seren4. F 42 ODE IN GUL. PITTII Sed, my dear heart, (si libeat ministros Dicere,) ut nullum magis est coruscum Sole sydus, cum vacuum per aether Solus he shines forth : Sic, cave credas alium micare Regios inter celebres alumnos, Billio nostro celebratiorem, Orbe globoso. Quid prius dicam ? Pueri pudici Castitatem num ? nive puriorem ? Vah, Venus ! non tam glacialis Hecla Friget ut ille. Quodque plus rarum— abstinuisse nunquam Pabulis lautis poculisve plenis Fertur ; et Baccho Cererique vota Daily resolvit. An canam miram memoremque mentem Nulla quae forgets, meminisse quorum Interest; quorum juvat oblivisci Nulla remembrat ! Larga verborum potius canenda Flumina ; istudque eloquium bewitchans. Quo sacrosancti patulas senat{is Fascinat aures ! Cerne tercentos homines hiantes Hujus ad nutum subito moveri Hue et illuc, just veluti puparum Agmina muta ! Ille with ease can facere alba nigra ; Rendere et lucem piceas tenebras Ille can ; rursum piceas tenebras Rendere lucem ! C^TERORUMQUE MINISTRGRUM LAUDEM. 43 Qui queara magnam Juvenis sagacis Bella plannandi celebrare skillem ? Totius terrae tremuere gentes Nomine Pitti ! Ille Russorum intrepidam tyrannam Unico blasto tremefecit oris ! Unico gestu timidos Iberos Terruit omnes ! Ille Gallorum impavidas catervas Certids certo Zabulo dedisset, Si bonas plannas bonus Imperator Executasset. Interim tremblate, homines scelesti ! Bella qui sacris geritis monarchis ! Quis potest Pitti simul et Deorum Ferre furorem ? Billius, qukm sit homo bellicosus Vidimus ; jam nunc videamus, also, Quomodo fiscum managet Britannum, Tempore pacis ? Ille — sed praestat, puto, temperare Laudibus : — novit populus Britannus Quam leves taxas, tenue et tributum Pendimus — heigh, hoh ! Jurium nee est magis imperitus : Criminum obscuras, minimas et umbras Rite discernit : — melius vel ipse Non potuit Coke. Ille saevorum insidias retexit Civium Regi exitium minantiim ! Ille traytores draguit latentes , Auram in apertam ! F 2 44 ODE IN GUL. PITTII llle, too, pufF-plot, oculis acutis, Primus et unus valuit videre : Ah ! Georgi ! quam vigilein ministrum Sors tibi donat ! Non, tamen, laudes aliis negandae Optimi Regis meritae ministris : Stella plus Stella rutilat, sed omnis Stella refulget. Billio next is Boreale Sydus ; Scotiae lumen, bonus Henericus ; Roseus, post hunc, Bpa^virovg Bootes, Scotus et ipse. Proximus illi sapiens et audax Dux ducum, Regis moderans tonitru : Impio h, Gallo nihil est timendum, Sospite Richmond, Subeunt, Regis moderans carinas Pervigil Chatham, moderansque mentem Regiam, Scotus, senior Sophistes, Nomine notus. Hicce, 'tis true, was inimicus ardens Pittio et Pitti sociis, at one time ; Forsitan ardens iterum futurus Pitti inimicus. Transeat : — magnam video cohortem Bravium heroiim Jacobina castra Linquere, et nostris ducibus libenter Dedere dextras. Ecce ! Portlandus, furiosus olim Whiggus, Whiggorum caput ac verendum, Billii blandis precibus Toraeus Flammeus est nunc ! CiETERORUMQUE MINISTRORUM LAUDEM. 45 Ecce ! Mansfeldus, patiens laboris, Syllabas longas phraseasque grandes Viribus magnis, validaque dextrd Torquet in hostem ! Ecce ! Windhamus, XoyoTruXeovTMv Primus — baud pridem populi patronus, Spoiite convei'sus, populi querelas Cares not a fig for ! Cseteram turbam loyalem, atq; amantem Regis, et Regis Pueri ministri, Non opus multis celebrare verbis ; Nam — numeri sunt. Musa Merlini, satis est : sileto ! Emma, chartam, inkum, calamos repone; Fer, puer, vinum cyatbumque magnum : — Volo potare. (From the Morning Chronicle.) 46 EPISTOLA MACARONICA AD FRATREM : DE IIS QVM GESTA SUNT IN NUPERO DISSENTIENTIUM CONVENTU, LONDINI HABITO, PRID. ID. FEBR. 1790. Rem magnam poscis, Frater carissime, cum vis Me tibi quod said was, quod done was, quodque resolved was Nostro in conventu generali, cunque referre. Attamen I try will ; modo Macaronica Musa Faverit, et smoothos donarit condere versus. Est locus in London (Londini dicta Taberua) Insignis Celebris ; cives quo saepe solemus Eatare, et drinkare — et disceptare aliquando I Hic, un^ in Halla magnaque altaque, treceni Meetavere viri, ex diversis nomine sectis : Hi quibus et cordi est audacis dogma Socini, Hi quibus arrident potius dictamina Arii ; Hi, qui Calvini mysteria sacra tuentur ; Hi quibus affixum est a bibaptismate nomen : All in a word qui se oppresses most heavily credunt Legibus injustis, test-oathibus atque profanis ! While high-church homines in pomp et luxury vivunt, Et placeas, postas, mercedes, munia, graspant. Hi cuncti keen were ; fari aut pugnare parati Prised pro causa. Bravus Beaufoius heros Adfuit, et Sawbridge ansterus, et ater Adairi Vultus, Bourgoigni et frons pallida. Proximus illi Watson grandiloquus ; post hunc argutus leffries Perdignus Chairman — et post hunc Foxius ipse ; Foxius, eloquii nostro Demosthenis aevo Unicus adsertor ; et libertatis amator EPISTOLA AD FRATREM. 47 Unicus ; et nondum venalis! — Plaudite, Gives ! Plaudite magnanimum concivem ; plaudite verum Humani juris ultorem ; et ducite plausus Ter ternos, donee reboabunt voce columnse. Nee taceam Milford, Hayward; BrandhoUis et ilium Cui Saxum est nomen,* sed cui non saxeus est heart, Aut placid um Thornton, aut asperitate carentem Shore, aut solertem populum suspendere naso Toulmin, aut praedictum in sacro codice Payneum !^ Quid referam Cleri clarissima nomina ? Reesum, Lindsaeum, Kippis, conspicillisque Toerum Insignem, et (woe 's me !) violenta sorte coactum Belshamum ;' niveo candentem pectore Disney ; Et Price, humani generis totius amicum. Non aderas, Priestley ! — potior te cura tenebat Rure, ubi, magna inter centum miracula rerum, Horslgei caput in rutilantia fulmina forgis; Sulphuris et satagis subtilia grana parare, Church quibus, et church-men in coelum upblowere possis ;* Sedimus ad ternas tabulas longo ordine postas, Et mappis mundi coveratas, et china-plattis, Spoonibus, et knivis sharpis, furcisque trisulcis Stratas ; cum largis glassis, vinoque repletis Bottellis, saltis, vinegarique cruetis. Tandem Caupo ipsus, magna comitante caterva Servorum, intravit Isetus, recteque catinos Deposuit lautos et magni ponderis. — Inde Surrexit Mystes, palmisque oculisque levatis * Mr. Stone of London Field. * This alludes to a gentleman's having, by way of joke, found in the name of John Augustus Payne, the Apocalyptical number of Antichrist, 666. 3 Mr. Belsham is a strong necessarian. * See his Letter to Mr. Pitt. 48 DE IIS QU^ GESTA SUNT Ad coelos, numen votis precibusque rogavit Ut nobis nostrisque epulis benedicere vellet. Extemplo coveris sublatis, atque retectis Viandis calidis, omnes apprendimus arma ; Impetu et unanimi prostrata in fercula fertur. Quam vehemens onset, strages quamque exitiales, O Musa, edidimus ! tu dicere sola valebis. Die, first, quas acies e contra instruxerit hostis. Bos ingens, pinguis, torvus ; qui fronte minaci Cocknaeos olim timidos frightaverat omnes : Nunc butcherorum manibus, flammaque subactus, Nulli est terribilis ; facilem praebetque triumphum Imbelli cuivis sartori, shoemakerove ! Hunc simul aggressi sex fortes Cheapsideani (Talibus adsueti pugnis) in frustula slashant. Huic bini vituli subjuncti ; nulla dedere Valoris signa aut mugitus (T<^olpd tremendos ; Hos igitur subigunt prentice-boys atque scholares. Tres turn lanigeri, lana at jam turn spoliati, Apparent ; adeo sed tame, ancillula ut illos, (Illorum " Ba, Ba," non territa) caedere posset; Et csedi a quovis sese sunt sillily passi ! Hos porci totidem (hammati plerumque) se- quuntur ; Cum sex porcellis, heu nuper ab ubere inatrum Cruelly subtractis, et saeva in praelia missis. Illorum visu, subito et simul, impetus ingens Factus ; et in parvo momento temporis, omnes Porci et porcelli lacerati rraw jacebant. Sex pavidi lepores ; pavidi sex postea coneys Segniter accedunt, humiles et pignora pacis Poscere suppliciter vultu gestuque videntur. In Va,in ! nam nullam veniam dabit angrius hostis, Sic coneys leporesque unam subiere ruinam. Hactenus agminibus solis cum quadrupedatis Certatum — nunc jam memora quibus aspera pugna Birdis cum aeriis orta est, fishisque marinis. IN NUPERO DISSENTIENTIUM CONVENTU. 49 Amnicola imprimis grandaevus prodiit anser (Anser centenum qui jam reachaverat annum) Ut Nestor sapiens; yet still animosus ut Ajax! Hunc tamen aggreditur certus great, great city- grocer Solus, et in quatuor (multo sudore fluente) Desecuit partes ! populorum non sine plausu. Anseri in auxilium duckorum pair veniunt sex Plumporum fattorum, in prima flore juventae ; Sed quibus aeque animi defecit corporis et vis. Tvvelve illos manly juvenes straightway jugularunt. Tres turcae, quondam thrasones atque tyranni Cortis, et ora etiam gestantes plena minamur, Procedunt (magicis guardatis breastibus herbis) Et, shame ! shame ! nostris audent defy dare trooppis. Cujusvis nostrum subita tumuit jecur ira ; Utpote qui infidam teneamur perdere gentem, Arreptas, igitur, laevis jam sanguine tinctas Plungimus illorum scelerata in pectora furcas ; Dum simul invictis dextris fulgentia ferra Stringimus, et tremulos magna vi caedimus hostes. Non ipse Austriacas acies qui nuper ad arcem Instruxit Belgrade, Laudhonius, eximiorem Obtinuit palmam, vel plus memoranda trophaea; Quam nos in clade hac memoranda turciniana! Gallini generis struttantis maxima venit Turma ; ast Gallini generis quid turma valeret Maxima pugnantis cum bold, bravisque Britannis ? Non citius quondam De-Grassi maxima flotta, Gallorum boasta, Anglorum virtute subacta est ; Quam nos Gallinam banc gentem subjecimus omnem ! Perdices, merulas, turdos, larkosque canoros Quid memorem, Cleri manibus plerumque subactos ? 50 DE IIS QUiE GESTA SUNT Turn cum pinniferis pugnandum erat ordine fishis : Sed haec non fuit aut perlonga aut aspera pugna. Nam licet, one coddus fauces monstraret hiantes Et qui coeruleis valde metuendus in undis Hand dubium fuerat ; sed nunc ex sequore tractus Nolens, et sicco jussus confligere campo, Tam fessus, fragilis, fractus seemabat et excors. Ilium ut non infans vel lactens jam timuisset. Nullo adeo nisu bankeri clerkius ilium, Ferro non duro sed silverspoone subegit ! Turbam aliam ignaviam fishorum et fishiculorum ; Squatinas, rhombos, haddocos et mackarellos. Whitingos, carpos, et parvo corpore smeltos, Et sprattos minimos — opus baud est commemorare, Parva illi laus est, tales qui fuderit hostes. Lobsterus tantum, loricae tegmine fretus, Obstitit, et renuit nullo certamine vinci. Tunc ego belligero Mavorti hoc voveo votum : 'Apeg, Ap£(; ! ByOoroXotyf, fiiai^ove^ reiy(^E