The Complete Works of Richard Crashaw Volume I Part 42

In the SANCROFT MS. the heading is 'Epitaphium Conjugum vna mortuor. et sepultor. R. CR.' It was reprinted in 1648 'Delights' (p. 26), where it is ent.i.tled as _supra_, and 1670 (p. 95). Our text is that of 1648, which yields the five lines (11-14), and which ELLIS in his 'Specimens'

(iii. 208, 1845) introduced from a MS. copy, but as doubtful from not having appeared in any of the editions; a mistake on his part, as the lines appear in 1648 and 1652. His note is, nevertheless, 'The lines included in brackets are in _no printed edition_: they were found in a MS. copy, and are perhaps not Crashaw's.' As usual, TURNBULL overlooked them. I add a few slight various readings from 1646.

Line 2, 'the.'

" 5, 'sever.'

" 6, 'Because they both liv'd but one life.'

" 10, I accept 'that' in 1646 and SANCROFT MS. as it is confirmed by HARLEIAN MS. 6917-18, as before.

Line 17, I adopt 'And' for 'Till' from 1648.

" 19, 'waken with that Light,' and so SANCROFT MS.: 1648 reads 'And they wake into that Light:' HARLEIAN MS. as before, 'And they waken with.'

Line 20, 'sleep' for 'dy,' which I adopt as agreeing with the 'wake,' and as being confirmed by HARLEIAN MS. as before. G.

DEATH'S LECTVRE AND THE FVNERAL OF A YOVNG GENTLEMAN.[74]

Dear reliques of a dislodg'd sovl, whose lack 1 Makes many a mourning paper put on black!

O stay a while, ere thou draw in thy head And wind thy self vp close in thy cold bed.

Stay but a little while, vntill I call 5 A summon's worthy of thy funerall.

Come then, Youth, Beavty, Blood! all ye soft powres, Whose sylken flatteryes swell a few fond howres Into a false aeternity. Come man; Hyperbolized nothing! know thy span; 10 Take thine own measure here, down, down, and bow Before thy self in thine idaea; thou Huge emptynes! contract thy bulke; and shrinke All thy wild circle to a point. O sink Lower and lower yet; till thy leane size 15 Call Heaun to look on thee with narrow eyes.

Lesser and lesser yet; till thou begin To show a face, fitt to confesse thy kin, Thy neighbourhood to Nothing!

Proud lookes, and lofty eyliddes, here putt on 20 Your selues in your vnfaign'd reflexion; Here, gallant ladyes! this vnpartiall gla.s.se (Through all your painting) showes you your true face.

These death-seal'd lippes are they dare giue the ly To the lowd boasts of poor Mortality; 25 These curtain'd windows, this retired eye Outstares the liddes of larg-look't Tyranny.

This posture is the braue one, this that lyes Thus low, stands vp (me thinkes) thus and defies The World. All-daring dust and ashes! only you 30 Of all interpreters read Nature true.

NOTES AND ILl.u.s.tRATIONS.

These various readings are worthy of record:

Line 7 in our text (1652) is misprinted as two lines, the first ending with 'blood,' a repeated blunder of the Paris printer. It reads also 'the' for 'ye' of 1646. I adopt the latter. I have also cancelled 'and'

before 'blood' as a misprint.

Line 8 in 1652 is misprinted 'svlken' for 'sylken.'

" 12, ib. 'thy self,' and so in 1648 and 1670: 'bulke' from 1646 is preferable, and so adopted.

Line 15, 1646 has 'small' for 'lean,' which is inferior.

" 16, our text (1652) misspells 'norrow.'

" 19, in 1646 the readings here are,

'Thy neighbourhood to nothing I here put on Thy selfe in this unfeign'd reflection.'

1648 and our text as given. 'Nothing' is intended to rhyme with 'kin'

and 'begin,' and so to form a triplet.

Line 23, our text (1652), 1648 and 1670 read 'Though ye be painted:'

1646 reads 'Through all your painting,' which is much more powerful, and therefore adopted by us. It reminds us (from line 22, 'gallant ladyes') of Hamlet's apostrophe to the skull of poor Yorick.

Line 25, 1646 reads poorly,

'To the proud hopes of poor Mortality.'

" 26, in 1646 reads curiously, 'this selfe-prison'd eye.' G.

AN EPITAPH VPON DOCTOR BROOKE.[75]

A Brooke, whose streame so great, so good, 1 Was lov'd, was honour'd, as a flood: Whose bankes the Muses dwelt upon, More than their owne Helicon; Here at length, hath gladly found 5 A quiet pa.s.sage under ground; Meane while his loved bankes, now dry The Muses with their teares supply.

ON A FOULE MORNING, BEING THEN TO TAKE A JOURNEY.[76]

Where art thou Sol, while thus the blind-fold Day 1 Staggers out of the East, loses her way Stumbling on Night? Rouze thee ill.u.s.trious youth, And let no dull mists choake thy Light's faire growth.

Point here thy beames: O glance on yonder flocks, 5 And make their fleeces golden as thy locks.

Vnfold thy faire front, and there shall appeare Full glory, flaming in her owne free spheare.

Gladnesse shall cloath the Earth, we will instile The face of things, an universall smile. 10 Say to the sullen Morne, thou com'st to court her; And wilt command proud Zephirus to sport her With wanton gales: his balmy breath shall licke The tender drops which tremble on her cheeke; Which rarified, and in a gentle raine 15 On those delicious bankes distill'd againe, Shall rise in a sweet Harvest, which discloses Two ever-blushing bed[s] of new-borne roses.

Hee'l fan her bright locks, teaching them to flow, And friske in curl'd maeanders: hee will throw 20 A fragrant breath suckt from the spicy nest O' th' pretious phoenix, warme upon her breast.

Hee with a dainty and soft hand will trim And brush her azure mantle, which shall swim In silken volumes; wheresoe're shee'l tread, 25 Bright clouds like golden fleeces shall be spread.

Rise then (faire blew-ey'd maid!) rise and discover Thy silver brow, and meet thy golden lover.

See how hee runs, with what a hasty flight, Into thy bosome, bath'd with liquid light. 30 Fly, fly prophane fogs, farre hence fly away, Taint not the pure streames of the springing Day, With your dull influence; it is for you To sit and scoule upon Night's heavy brow, Not on the fresh cheekes of the virgin Morne, 35 Where nought but smiles, and ruddy joyes are worne.

Fly then, and doe not thinke with her to stay; Let it suffice, shee'l weare no maske to day.

NOTES AND ILl.u.s.tRATIONS.

In the SANCROFT MS. this is headed 'An Invitation to faire weather. In itinere adurgeretur matutinum coelum tali carmine invitabatur serenitas.

R. CR.' In line 12 the MS. reads 'smooth' for 'proud' (TURNBULL here, after 1670, as usual misreads 'demand' for 'command'): line 18 corrects the misreading of all the editions, which is 'To every blushing...:'

line 23 reads 'soft and dainty:' line 36, 'is' for 'are:' other orthographic differences only.

The opening lines of this poem seem to be adapted from remembrance of the Friar's in _Romeo and Juliet_:

'The grey-eyed Morn smiles on the frowning Night ...

And flecked Darkness like a drunkard reels From forth Day's path and t.i.tan's burning wheels.' (ii. 3.)