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My father's Usher, but the world's beside, Because he goes before it all in folly.

Garrick Plays.

No. XXIX.

[From the "Gentleman Usher," a Comedy, [From the "Bastard," a Tragedy, Author by G. Chapman, 1606.]

Vincentio, a Prince (to gain him over to his interest in a love-affair) gulls Bassiolo, a formal Gentleman Usher to a Great Lord, with commendations of his wise house-ordering at a great Entertainment.

Vinc. besides, good Sir, your Show did shew so well

Bass. Did it indeed, my Lord?

Vinc. O Sir, believe it,

'Twas the best fashion'd and well-order'd thing,
That ever eye beheld: and therewithal,
The fit attendance by the servants used,
The gentle guise in serving every guest,
In other entertainments; every thing
About your house so sortfully disposed,
That ev'n as in a turn-spit (call'd a Jack)
One vice assists another; the great wheels,
Turning but softly, make the less to whirr
About their business; every different part
Concurring to one commendable end:

So, and in such conformance, with rare grace
Were all things order'd in your good Lord's house.
Bass. The most fit Simile that ever was.
Vinc. But shall I tell you plainly my conceit,
Touching the man that (I think) caused this order?
Bass. Aye, good my Lord.

Vinc. You note my Simile?
Bass. Drawn from the turn-spit
Vinc. I see, you have me.

Even as in that quaint engine you have seen
A little man in shreds stand at the winder,
And seems to put in act all things about him,
Lifting and pulling with a mighty stir,-
Yet adds no force to it, nor nothing does:
So, though your Lord be a brave gentleman,
And seems to do this business, he does nothing."
Some man about him was the festival robe

That made him shew so glorious and divine.

Bass, I cannot tell, my Lord; but I should know, If such there were. any

Vine. Should know, quoth you?

I warrant, you know well. Well, some there be,
Shall have the fortune to have such rare men
(Like brave Beasts to their arms) support their state;
When others, of as high a worth and breed,
Are made the wasteful food of them they feed.-
What state hath your Lord made you for your service?

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Unknown, 1652.]

Lover's Frown.

Roderiguez. Thy uncle, Love, holds still a jealous

eye

On all my actions; and I am advised,
That his suspicious ears

Are still behind the hangings; that the servants
Have from him in command to watch who visits.
'Tis safest, in my judgment, in his presence
That thou forbear to cast a smile upon me;

And that, like old December, I should look
With an unpleasant and contracted brow.
Varina. What, can'st thou change thy heart, my
dear, that heart

Of flesh thou gav'st me, into adamant,

Or rigid marble? can'st thou frown on me?

Rod. You do mistake me, sweet, I mean not so To change my heart; I'll change my countenance, But keep my heart as loyal as before.

Var. In truth I cannot credit it, that thou Can'st cast a frown on me; I prithee, try. Rod. Then thus:

(he tries, and cannot; they smile on each other.) Var. I prithee, sweet, betake thyself to school; This lesson thou must learn; in faith thou art out. Rod. Well, I must learn, and practice it, or we Shall blast our budding hopes.

Var. Come, try again.

Rod. But if I try, and prove a good proficient; If I do act my part discretely, you

Must take it as a play, not as a truth;

Think it a formal, not a real frown.

Var. I shall

Rod. Then thus: i'faith, minion, I'll look to thee.

(she swoons.)

Rod. Why, how now, sweet!-I did mistrust thy weakness:

Now I have learn'd my part, you are to seek.

Var. 'Faith, 'twas my weakness; when I did perceive

A cloud of rage condensed on thy brow,
My heart began to melt.

[From "Love Tricks," a Comedy, by James Shirley.]

Passionate Courtship.

Infortunio. I must have other answer, for I love

you.

Selina. Must! but I don't see any necessity that I must love you. I do confess you are

A proper man.

Inf. O do not mock, Selina; let not excellence, Which you are full of, make you proud and scornful. I am a Gentleman; though my outward part Cannot attract affection, yet some have told me, Nature hath made me what she need not shame. Yet look into my heart; there you shall see What you cannot despise, for there you are With all your graces waiting on you; there Love hath made you a throne to sit, and rule O'er Infortunio; all my thoughts obeying, And honouring you as queen. Pass by my outside, My breast I dare compare with any man.

you

Sel. But who can see this breast you boast of so? Inf. O'tis an easy work; for though it be Not to be pierced by the dull eye, whose beam, Is spent on outward shapes, there is a way To make a search into its hidden'st passage,' I know I would not love, to please your sense. A tree, that bears a ragged unleav'd top In depth of winter, may when summer comes Speak by his fruit he is not dead but youthful,` Though once he shew'd no sap: my heart's a plant Kept down by colder thoughts and doubtful fears. Your frowns like winter storms make it seem dead, But yet it is not so; make it but yours,

And

you shall see it spring, and shoot forth leaves Worthy your eye, and the oppressed sap Ascend to every part to make it green,

And pay your love with fruit when harvest comes. Sel. Then you confess your love is cold as yet, And winter's in your heart.

Inf. Mistake me not, Selina, for I say

My heart is cold, not love.

Sel. And yet your love is from your heart, I'll war

rant.

Inf. O you are nimble to mistake.

My heart is cold in your displeasures only,
And yet my love is fervent; for your eye,
Casting out beams, maintains the flame it burns in.
Again, sweet Love,

My heart is not mine own,
'tis yours, you have it;
And while it naked lies, not deign'd your bosom
To keep it warm, how can it be but cold,
In danger to be frozen? blame not it,
You only are in fault it hath no heat.

Sel. Well, Sir; I know you have rhetoric, but I Can without art give you a final answer.

Inf. O stay, and think awhile; I cannot relish
You should say final: sweet, deliberate ;
It doth concern all the estate I have;

I mean not dunghill treasure, but my life
Doth stand or fall to it; if your answer be
That

you can love me, be as swift as light'ning;
But if you mean to kill me, and reject
My so long love-devotions, which I've paid,
As to an altar, stay a little longer,
And let me count the riches I shall lose
By one poor airy word; first give me back
That part of Infortunio that is lost
Within your love; play not the tyrant with me.

C. L.

RIDICULE.

In many cases ridicule might be used in the place of severe chastisement, and sometimes with a more lasting effect, especially among young people. One scheme of this kind was tried with great success by the elder Dr. Newcome, who governed a school at Hackney about forty years ago. When a pupil mistook in the pronunciation of a Latin word, he used to make the faulty lad repeat after him, before the whole school, "Nos Germani, non curămus, quantītǎtem, syllabǎrum." The penalty of uttering, in false quantity, this absurd assertion, supposed to be made by a German, importing that "His countrymen minded not how they pronounced Latin," was more dreaded by the boys than the ferula or the rod.

RIDICULOUS SITUATIONS.

LITERARY NURSERYMEN.

Melancthon studied the gravest points of theology, while he held his book in one hand, and in the other the edge of a cradle, which he incessantly rocked.

"M. Esprit," a celebrated author and scholar, "has been caught by me," says M. Marville, " reading Plato with great. attention, considering the interruptions which he met, from the necessity of frequently sounding his little child's whistle."

A PRINCESS A-PICK-A-PACK.}'

The great constable of France, Anne de Montmorency, a man whose valour and military skill was only exceeded by his pride, his cruelty, and his bigotry, was ordered by Francis I. to carry on his shoulders, or any way that he could contrive it, his niece, the princess of Navarre, to the altar, where she was, against her will, to be married to the duc de Cleves. Brantome observes, that this was a hard task, as the little lady was so loaded with jewels, and rich brocade of gold and silver, that she could scarcely walk. The whole court were amazed at the king's command; the queen' of Navarre was pleased, as she wished her daughter to be humbled, on account of her having imbibed Lutheran principles; but the constable was much hurt, at being exposed to the ridicule of the whole world, and said, "It is henceforward over with me; my favour at court is passed away :" accordingly, he was dismissed as soon as the wedding was over.

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Running at the "Quintain," an old sport formerly common in England, unexpectedly occurs, and is sufficiently described, in the following report of a recent fashionable entertainment:

COURT CIRCULAR.

Viscount and viscountess Gage gave a grand fête on Friday, (August 3, 1827,) at their seat at Firle-place, Sussex, to about a hundred and sixty of the nobility and gentry, at which the ancient game of quintain was revived. The sports commenced by gentlemen riding with light spiked staves at rings and apples, suspended by a string, after which they changed their weapons to stout poles, and attacked the two quintains, which consisted of logs of wood fashioned to resemble the head and body of a man, and set upright upon a high bench, on which they were kept by a chain passing through the platform, and having a weight suspended to it, so that if the log was not struck full and forcibly the figure resumed its seat. One was also divided in the middle, and the upper part being fixed on a pivot turned, if not struck in the centre, and requited its assailant by a blow with a staff, to which was suspended a small bag of flour.

The purses for unhorsing this quintain were won by John Slater and Thomas Trebeck, Esqrs. The other figure which did not turn, opposed a lance towards the assailant's face, and the rider was to (avoid the lance, and unhorse the quintain at the same time. The purses were won by Sheffield Neave, Esq. and the hon. John Pelham,

A third pair of purses were offered for unhorsing the quintain, by striking on a coloured bell, which hooped round the waist of the figure, thereby raising the weight, which was considerable, by a much shorter lever than when struck higher up. This was a feat requiring great strength of arm and firmness of seat, and though not fairly won according to the rules of the game, the purses were ultimately assigned to the very spirited exertions of Messrs. Cayley and Gardener.

Viscountess Gage distributed the prizes to the conquerors.

About six o'clock the numerous party sat down to a cold collation of upwards of three hundred dishes, consisting of every delicacy the season could possibly afford, including the choicest collection of fruits, and wines of the finest quality: after which many recontinued the game of quintain; others diverted themselves at rifling the target.

The ladies amused themselves at archery. In the evening the assemblage of nobility and gentry retired to the grand hall, were fashionable quadrilles concluded the amusements of the day.*

Combating the quintain is presumed to have preceded jousts and tournaments. It was originally nothing more than the trunk of a tree, or a post, set up for the practice of tyros in chivalry. Afterwards a staff or spear was fixed in the earth, and a shield being hung upon it was the mark to strike at: the dexterity of the performer consisted

*Times, August 7, 1827.

in smiting the shield so as to break the ligatures, and throw it to the ground. In process of time this diversion was improved, and instead of the staff and the shield, the resemblance of a human figure carved in wood was introduced. To render its appearance formidable it was generally made in the likeness of an armed Turk or Saracen, with a shield on his left arm, and brandishing a club or sabre with his right. The quintain was placed upon a pivot, so as to move round with facility. In running at this figure the horseman directed his lance to strike the forehead, between the eyes or on the nose; for if he struck wide of those parts, especially upon the shield, the quintain turned about with much velocity, and unless he was exceedingly careful gave him a severe blow upon the back with the wooden sabre; when this occurred it was deemed disgraceful to the performer, and excited the laughter and ridicule of the spectators.

The quintain is more particularly described by the late Mr. Strutt in his account of "The Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," a large quarto volume, with plates, which, from its increasing scarcity and price, is scarcely attainable by the general reader. The above representation of the armed quintain is one of a series of illustrations for a new and correct edition of Mr. Strutt's "Sports," which is now preparing for the press under the superintendence of the editor of the Table Book. It will be accurately printed in octavo. Each of the engravings will be fac-simile, and of the same size as the engravings in the quarto volume. The price of the new edition will not exceed one-sixth of the cost of the original, and it will be published in shilling parts.

DAVID LOVE.

For the Table Book.

Died, on Tuesday afternoon, June 12th, 1827, David Love; of whom there is a portrait, with a memoir, in the Every-Day Book, vol. ii. p. 225, with a further notice at p. 1575. He had nearly attained his seventy-seventh year; and, till within a few weeks of his death, pursued his avocation of "walking stationer " in Nottingham. It was unnecessary for him to take out an hawker's license, as the commodities in

which he dealt were entirely of his own manufacture.

According to the memoirs of David Love's life, (a curious specimen of "autobiography,") which he published in twentyfour penny numbers, in 1824, and which he sold very numerously, he was born near Edinburgh in the year 1750; at three years of age he was abandoned by his father, and his mother shortly afterwards became blind; he led her about, and was an "unlucky urchin ;" when older grown [he worked in a coal-pit, but broke his arm, and was discharged, and commenced hawking tracts and small books. At twenty-five he was worth upwards of three pounds. Then, thinking of settling in the world, he wooed, won, and married a young woman: a small shop was established, which succeeded at first; but finding his fortune wasting, he paid his first court to the Muses, by composing two songs, of which the titles only are now extant:-"The Pride and Vanity of Young Women, with Advice to Young Men, that they may take care who they marry ;" and "The Pride and Vanity of Young men, with Advice to the Maids, to beware of being ensnared by their Flatteries and enticing Words." These versifyings he printed, and first started at a distant fair. Their sale exceeded his expectations; he discontinued his shop, paid his debts, and soon after (during the American war) enlisted into the duke of Buccleugh's regiment of South Fencibles. His wife quickly presented him with a son, which being "the first man child born in the regiment," the duke accepted as his name-son. After experiencing the vicissitudes of a soldier's life, and getting out of the "black hole" two or three times by his verses, he was discharged, in consequence of a weakness in his arm. He then had his soldier's poems printed, resumed his old trade of walking stationer, turned his face to the south, and was the more successful the farther he went from home. After travelling for some years he settled at Gosport, commenced bookseller with his old stock of old books, and printed a fourpenny volume of original poems. He then lived for three years in London, and composed many poems. Bristol was his next place of residence, and there he performed several remarkable cures out of an old receipt-book, but was too conscientious to turn quack doctor. Here he saw his father, who died shortly after 66 a repenting sinner," aged ninety-three. Still travelling, he reached Newbury, in Berkshire, where he tells us he was "converted," and he dates his " new birth" or

the 17th of April, 1796. Many pages of ELEGY, WRITTEN IN ST. MARY'S CHURCH his work are occupied by his religious exYARD, NOTTINGHAM. perience, and various texts of scripture, whence he derived consolation.

In 1804 David Love buried his wife, (aged fifty-one,) after a long illness, at Rugby, in Warwickshire. He journeyed to Leicester, and thence to Nottingham, where he from that time continued to reside, except at intervals, and where he married again. In eighteen months his second wife died suddenly, also at Rugby. The follow ing is the commencement of a long elegy on the subject:→

"In this vain world my troubles still abound,
My two wives lie in Rugby burial ground;
Both of one name, and both of them one age,
And in one house both were called off the stage."

These lines refer to a singular coincidence respecting his wives; both their maiden names were Mary Thompson, and both were aged fifty-one at their death. In 1810, May 21, he married his third and surviving wife at St. Mary's church, Nottingham; and, excepting a journey to Edin burgh, and another to London, they lived in various parts of the town till his decease. David's forte lay principally in religious acrostics and hymns, for which he had a good demand among the pious inhabitants. The following is inserted as being a short

one:

TO ANN SHORT,

Who said, "I am short of every thing.”

Am short, O Lord, of praising thee,
Nothing I can do right;

Needy and naked, poor I be,
Short, Lord, I am of sight:

How short I am of love and grace!
Of every thing I'm short:
Renew me, then I'll follow peace
Through good and bad report.

In person David was below the middle stature; his features were not unhandsome for an old man; his walk was exceedingly slow, deliberately placing one foot before the other, in order perhaps to give his customers time to hear what he had got; his voice was clear, and strongly marked with the Scotch accent. He possessed a readiness of wit and repartee, which is often united with aspiring talents in lower life. A tribute to Love's memory, written on the day of his burial, may not be unac ceptable,

The sexton tolls the knell of David Love,

The funeral train treads slowly thro' the street, Old General,* wand in hand, with crape above, Conducts the pageant with demeanour meet. Now stops the mournful train beside the grave, And all the air a solemn stillness holds; Save when the clerk repeats his twanging stave, And on the coffin fall the pattering moulds;

Save that from yonder grass-surrounded stone, The whining schoolboy loudly does complain Of such, as crowding round his mossy throne, Invade his tottering transitory reign.

Beneath those rugged stones, that corner's shade, And trodden grass in rough mis-shapen heap, (Unless by Friday's art away convey'd,t)

In order due, what various bodies sleep.

The call of" coals," the cry of sooty sweep,

The twist machine + loud lumbering over head; The jacks' shrill whirring, oft disturbing sleep

No more shall rouse them from their well-flock'd bed.

For them no more the Indian weed shall burn,

Or bustling landlord fill his beverage rare ;
No shopmates hail their comrade's wish'd return,
Applaud his song, and in his chorus share.

Perhaps in this hard-beaten spot is laid

Some head once vers'd in the mechanic powers, Hands that the bat at cricket oft have sway'd,

Or won the cup for gooseberries and flowers. Slow through the streets on tottering footsteps borne, Muttering his humble ditties he would rove, Singing "Goose Fair," or "Tread Mill" where for lorn

Consign'd by Lincoln 'squires trod David Love.

Old General. See Every-Day Book, vol. ii. col. 1570, for a memoir of this worthy.

Old Friday. The nickname of the ex-deputy sexton of St. Mary's parish, who was more than sus pected of participating in resurrectioning. In Feb. 1827, a discovery was made of some bodies about to be removed to London; an examination ensued, when it was found that, for many months, the dissecting rooms of the metropolis were supplied wholesale from the various grounds of the parish; and for many days nothing was heard of but the opening of graves, which were discovered to be empty.

Machines for making lace.

Part of a stocking-frame, which makes a great noise in working.

Goose fair. A great holiday fair at Nottingham, so called probably from its occurrence immediately after Michaelmas day, (viz. on October 2, 3, 4,) and the great quantity of geese slaughtered and eaten. One of David's best songs is on this subject, but it is entirely local. Popular tradition, however, has as signed a far different origin to its name: a farmer who for some reason or other (whether grief for the less of his wife, or her infidelity, or from mere curiosity, ot dread of the fair sex, or some other reason equally un reasonable, according to various accounts) had brought up his three sons in total seclusion, during which they

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