The Press.
London, England, 1854-08-19 00:00:00

786

more for the thought and the sentiment than
the words. The " wits " of the Restoration
were particularly careless in this respect, and
few specimens of finished composition are to
be found amongst them. But though Sedley,
like his contemporaries, was often as careless
as ho was gross, he had genuine talent, with
wit and poetic feeling. Mr. Bell quotes only
one spacimen of Sedley's, " Ah, Chloris, that
I now could sit," of which one stanza has
always been much admired :

Your charms in harmless childhood lay,
Like metals in the mine ;
Age from no face took more away
Than youth conceal'd in thine.
Which would be perfect but for the harsh
iteration of the syllable " arm" in the first
line. One of Sedley's most perfect songs we
heard sung recently in fashionable society, and
the words to most of the company appeared
perfectly novel. Apart from the musical pro
ficiency of the performer, the poetry of the
song was greatly admired, proving that true
poetical pieces, though concealed like antique
gems amidst heaps of rubbish, are sure of
being one day exhumed. The song runs
thus:—

Phillia is my only joy,
Faithless as the winds or seas,
Sometitnes coming, sometimes coy,
Yet she never fails to please ;
If with a frown
I am cast down,
nails, smiling

And beguiling,
Makes me happier than before.

Though, alas ! too late I find
Nothing can her fancy fix,
Yet the moment she is kind,
I forgive her all her tricks;
Which, though I see,
I can't get free,
She deceiving,
I believing—
What need lovers wish for more.
The songs to " Evadne," and the well-known
verses " Love still has something of the sea,"
ought, in our opinion, to have been printed by
Mr. Bell. It naturally results from the care-
lessness of writers like Sedley that we find in
their songs some excellent lines, though the
composition as a whole may be imperfect. A
verse expressive of anscreontic sentiment must
have been popular with the dissolute careless-
ness of Charles's court :
Let us indulge the joys we know,
Of music, wine, and love :
We are sure of what we find below,
Uncertain what's above.
On comparing Sedley with such writers as
Torn D'Urfey we scarcely wonder at his popu
larity. He was one of the best wits of his day,
though that is not saying much for him, as
there was really little wit in that time, though
great pretension to it. One of his happiest
pleasantries is to be found in a speech of his
in Parliament when complaining of the eager-
ness of courtiers—or placemen, as we should
call them—to impose taxes :
Truly, Mr. Speaker, it's a sad reflection that some men
should wallow in wealth and places, whilst others pay away
in taxes the fourth part of the revenue for the support of
the Gvernment. We are not upon equal terms for his
Majes oty's service. The courtiers antl great officers charge
as it were in armour ; they feel not the taxes by reason of
their places, while the country gentlemen are shot through
and through by them."
There is much critical writing of a very high
order interspersed through this volume. which,
RS an editorial exereitation, is one of the best yet
seen in this annotated edition of the poets. We
think, however, that Mr. Bell has been too ex-
clusive, and that he should have given us
• several more songs from Sheridan. Only seven
pages altogether are assigned to the " drama-
tists " from Congreve to Farquhar inclusively !
He concludes the volume with " Let the toast
pass," from the School
,for Scandal, and leaves
out " Had I a heart for falsehood framed,"
while he prints the song " Give Isaac the
nymph." A verse from Congreve's drinking
song runs thus :
We'll drink and we'll never ha' done, boys,
Put the glass then around with the bull, boys,
Let Aeollo's example invite us ;
For he's drunk every night,
And that makes him so bright
That he's able next morning to light us.
Which Sheridan seems to have recollected in
his drinking glee :