May Day with the Muses Part 1

May Day with the Muses.

by Robert Bloomfield.

PREFACE.

I am of opinion that Prefaces are very useless things in cases like the present, where the Author must talk of himself, with little amus.e.m.e.nt to his readers. I have hesitated whether I should say any thing or nothing; but as it is the fashion to say something, I suppose I must comply. I am well aware that many readers will exclaim--"It is not the common practice of English baronets to remit half a year's rent to their tenants for poetry, or for any thing else." This may be very true; but I have found a character in the Rambler, No. 82, who made a very different bargain, and who says, "And as Alfred received the tribute of the Welsh in wolves'

heads, I allowed my tenants to pay their rents in b.u.t.terflies, till I had exhausted the papilionaceous tribe. I then directed them to the pursuit of other animals, and obtained, by this easy method, most of the grubs and insects which land, air, or water can supply.........I have, from my own ground, the longest blade of gra.s.s upon record, and once accepted, as a half year's rent for a field of wheat, an ear, containing more grains than had been seen before upon a single stem."

I hope my old Sir Ambrose stands in no need of defence from me or from any one; a man has a right to do what he likes with his own estate. The characters I have introduced as candidates may not come off so easily; a cl.u.s.ter of poets is not likely to be found in one village, and the following lines, written by my good friend T. Park. Esq. of Hampstead, are not only true, but beautifully true, and I cannot omit them.

WRITTEN IN THE ISLE OF THANET,

August, 1790.

The bard, who paints from rural plains, Must oft himself the void supply Of damsels pure and artless swains, Of innocence and industry:

For sad experience shows the heart Of human beings much the same; Or polish'd by insidious art, Or rude as from the clod it came.

And he who roams the village round, Or strays amid the harvest sere, Will hear, as now, too many a sound Quiet would never wish to hear.

The wrangling rustics' loud abuse, The coa.r.s.e, unfeeling, witless jest, The threat obscene, the oath profuse, And all that cultured minds detest.

Hence let those Sylvan poets glean, Who picture life without a flaw; Nature may form a perfect scene, But Fancy must the figures draw.

The word "fancy" connects itself with my very childhood, fifty years back.

The fancy of those who wrote the songs which I was obliged to hear in infancy was a very inanimate and sleepy fancy. I could enumerate a dozen songs at least which all described sleeping shepherds and shepherdesses, and, in one instance, where they both went to sleep: this is not fair certainly; it is not even "watch and watch."

"As Damon and Phillis were keeping of sheep, Being free from all care they retired to sleep," &c.

I must say, that if I understand any thing at all about keeping sheep, this is not the way to go to work with them. But such characters and such writings were fashionable, and fashion will beat common sense at any time.

With all the beauty and spirit of Cunningham's "Kate of Aberdeen," and some others, I never found any thing to strike my mind so forcibly as the last stanza of Dibdin's "Sailor's Journal"--

"At length, 'twas in the month of May, Our crew, it being lovely weather, At three A.M. discovered day And England's chalky cliffs together!

At seven, up channel how we bore, Whilst hopes and fears rush'd o'er each fancy!

At twelve, I gaily jump'd on sh.o.r.e, And to my throbbing heart press'd Nancy."

This, to my feelings, is a balm at all times; it is spirit, animation, and imagery, all at once.

I will plead no excuses for any thing which the reader may find in this little volume, but merely state, that I once met with a lady in London, who, though otherwise of strong mind and good information, would maintain that "it is impossible for a blind man to fall in love." I always thought her wrong, and the present tale of "Alfred and Jennet" is written to elucidate my side of the question.

I have been reported to be dead; but I can a.s.sure the reader that this, like many other reports, is not true. I have written these tales in anxiety, and in a wretched state of health; and if these formidable foes have not incapacitated me, but left me free to meet the public eye with any degree of credit, that degree of credit I am sure I shall gain.

I am, with remembrance of what is past,

Most respectfully,

ROBERT BLOOMFIELD.

_Shefford, Bedfordshire,_

_April 10th_, 1822.

MAY-DAY WITH THE MUSES.

THE INVITATION

O for the strength to paint my joy once more!

That joy I feel when Winter's reign is o'er; When the dark despot lifts his h.o.a.ry brow, And seeks his polar-realm's eternal snow.

Though black November's fogs oppress my brain, Shake every nerve, and struggling fancy chain; Though time creeps o'er me with his palsied hand, And frost-like bids the stream of pa.s.sion stand, And through his dry teeth sends a shivering blast, And points to more than fifty winters past, Why should I droop with heartless, aimless eye?

Friends start around, and all my phantoms fly, And Hope, upsoaring with expanded wing, Unfolds a scroll, inscribed "Remember Spring."

Stay, sweet enchantress, charmer of my days, And glance thy rainbow colours o'er my lays; Be to poor Giles what thou hast ever been, His heart's warm solace and his sovereign queen; Dance with his rustics when the laugh runs high, Live in the lover's heart, the maiden's eye; Still be propitious when his feet shall stray Beneath the bursting hawthorn-buds of May; Warm every thought, and brighten every hour, And let him feel thy presence and thy power.

SIR AMBROSE HIGHAM, in his eightieth year, With memory unimpair'd, and conscience clear, His English heart untrammell'd, and full blown His senatorial honours and renown, Now, basking in his plenitude of fame, Resolved, in concert with his n.o.ble dame, To drive to town no more--no more by night To meet in crowded courts a blaze of light, In streets a roaring mob with flags unfurl'd, And all the senseless discord of the world,-- But calmly wait the hour of his decay, The broad bright sunset of his glorious day; And where he first drew breath at last to fall, Beneath the towering shades of Oakly Hall[A].

[Footnote A: The seat of Sir Ambrose is situated in the author's imagination only; the reader must build Oakly Hall where he pleases.]

Quick spread the news through hamlet, field, and farm, The labourer wiped his brow and staid his arm; 'Twas news to him of more importance far Than change of empires or the yells of war; It breathed a hope which nothing could destroy, Poor widows rose, and clapp'd their hands for joy, Glad voices rang at every cottage door, "Good old Sir Ambrose goes to town no more."

Well might the village bells the triumph sound, Well might the voice of gladness ring around; Where sickness raged, or want allied to shame, Sure as the sun his well-timed succour came; Food for the starving child, and warmth and wine For age that totter'd in its last decline.

From him they shared the embers' social glow; _He_ fed the flame that glanced along the snow, When winter drove his storms across the sky, And pierced the bones of shrinking poverty.

Sir Ambrose loved the Muses, and would pay Due honours even to the ploughman's lay; Would cheer the feebler bard, and with the strong Soar to the n.o.blest energies of song; Catch the rib-shaking laugh, or from his eye Dash silently the tear of sympathy.

Happy old man!--with feelings such as these The seasons all can charm, and trifles please; And hence a sudden thought, a new-born whim, Would shake his cup of pleasure to the brim, Turn scoffs and doubts and obstacles aside, And instant action follow like a tide.

Time past, he had on his paternal ground With pride the latent sparks of genius found In many a local ballad, many a tale, As wild and brief as cowslips in the dale, Though unrecorded as the gleams of light That vanish in the quietness of night "Why not," he cried, as from his couch he rose, "To cheer my age, and sweeten my repose, "Why not be just and generous in time, "And bid my tenants pay their rents in rhyme?

"For one half year they shall.--A feast shall bring "A crowd of merry faces in the spring;-- "Here, pens, boy, pens; I'll weigh the case no more, "But write the summons:--go, go, shut the door.

"'All ye on Oakly manor dwelling, 'Farming, labouring, buying, selling, 'Neighbours! banish gloomy looks, 'My grey old steward shuts his books.

'Let not a thought of winter's rent 'Destroy one evening's merriment; 'I ask not gold, but tribute found 'Abundant on Parna.s.sian ground.

'Choose, ye who boast the gift, your themes 'Of joy or pathos, tales or dreams, 'Choose each a theme;--but, harkye, bring 'No stupid ghost, no vulgar thing; 'Fairies, indeed, may wind their way, 'And sparkle through the brightest lay: 'I love their pranks, their favourite green, 'And, could the little sprites be seen, 'Were I a king, I'd sport with them, 'And dance beneath my diadem.

'But surely fancy need not brood 'O'er midnight darkness, crimes, and blood, 'In magic cave or monk's retreat, 'Whilst the bright world is at her feet; 'Whilst to her boundless range is given, 'By night, by day, the lights of heaven, 'And all they shine upon; whilst Love 'Still reigns the monarch of the grove, 'And real life before her lies 'In all its thousand, thousand dies.

'Then bring me nature, bring me sense, 'And joy shall be your recompense: 'On Old May-day I hope to see 'All happy:--leave the rest to me.

'A general feast shall cheer us all 'Upon the lawn that fronts the hall, 'With tents for shelter, laurel boughs 'And wreaths of every flower that blows.

'The months are wending fast away; 'Farewell,--remember Old May-day.'"

Surprise, and mirth, and grat.i.tude, and jeers, The clown's broad wonder, th' enthusiast's tears, Fresh gleams of comfort on the brow of care, The sectary's cold shrug, the miser's stare, Were all excited, for the tidings flew As quick as scandal the whole country through.

"Rent paid by rhymes at Oakly may be great, "But rhymes for taxes would appal the state,"

Exclaim'd th' exciseman,--"and then t.i.thes, alas!

"Why there, again, 'twill never come to pa.s.s."-- Thus all still ventured, as the whim inclined, Remarks as various as the varying mind: For here Sir Ambrose sent a challenge forth, That claim'd a tribute due to sterling worth; And all, whatever might their host regale, Agreed to share the feast and drink his ale.

Now shot through many a heart a secret fire, A new born spirit, an intense desire For once to catch a spark of local fame, And bear a poet's honourable name!

Already some aloft began to soar, And some to think who never thought before; But O, what numbers all their strength applied, Then threw despairingly the task aside With feign'd contempt, and vow'd they'd never tried.

Did dairy-wife neglect to turn her cheese, Or idling miller lose the favouring breeze; Did the young ploughman o'er the furrows stand, Or stalking sower swing an empty hand, One common sentence on their heads would fall, 'Twas Oakly banquet had bewitch'd them all.