THE MESSENGER OF MORTALITY;
OR LIFE AND DEATH CONTRASTED IN A DIALOGUE BETWIXT DEATH AND A LADY.
[One of Charles Lamb’s most beautiful and plaintive poems was suggested by this old dialogue. The tune is given in Chappell’s Popular Music, p. 167. In Carey’s Musical Century, 1738, it is called the ‘Old tune of Death and the Lady.’ The four concluding lines of the present copy of Death and the Lady are found inscribed on tomb-stones in village church-yards in every part of England. They are not contained, however, in the broadside with which our reprint has been carefully collated.]
DEATH.
Fair lady, lay your costly robes aside,
No longer may you glory in your pride;
Take leave of all your carnal vain delight,
I’m come to summon you away this night!
What bold attempt is this? pray let me know
From whence you come, and whither I must go?
Must I, who am a lady, stoop or bow
To such a pale-faced visage? Who art thou?
DEATH.
Do you not know me? well! I tell thee, then,
It’s I that conquer all the sons of men!
No pitch of honour from my dart is free;
My name is Death! have you not heard of me?
LADY.
Yes! I have heard of thee time after time,
But being in the glory of my prime,
I did not think you would have called so soon.
Why must my morning sun go down at noon?
DEATH.
Talk not of noon! you may as well be mute;
This is no time at all for to dispute:
Your riches, garments, gold, and jewels brave,
Houses and lands must all new owners have;
Though thy vain heart to riches was inclined,
Yet thou must die and leave them all behind.
LADY.
My heart is cold; I tremble at the news;
There’s bags of gold, if thou wilt me excuse,
And seize on them, and finish thou the strife
Of those that are aweary of their life.
Are there not many bound in prison strong,
In bitter grief of soul have languished long,
Who could but find the grave a place of rest,
From all the grief in which they are oppressed?
Besides, there’s many with a hoary head,
And palsy joints, by which their joys are fled;
Release thou them whose sorrows are so great,
But spare my life to have a longer date.
DEATH.
Though some by age be full of grief and pain,
Yet their appointed time they must remain:
I come to none before their warrant’s sealed,
And when it is, they must submit and yield.
I take no bribe, believe me, this is true;
Prepare yourself to go; I’m come for you.
LADY.
Death, be not so severe, let me obtain
A little longer time to live and reign!
Fain would I stay if thou my life will spare;
I have a daughter beautiful and fair,
I’d live to see her wed whom I adore:
Grant me but this and I will ask no more.
DEATH.
This is a slender frivolous excuse;
I have you fast, and will not let you loose;
Leave her to Providence, for you must go
Along with me, whether you will or no;
I, Death, command the King to leave his crown,
And at my feet he lays his sceptre down!
Then if to kings I don’t this favour give,
But cut them off, can you expect to live
Beyond the limits of your time and space!
No! I must send you to another place.
LADY.
You learnèd doctors, now express your skill,
And let not Death of me obtain his will;
Prepare your cordials, let me comfort find,
My gold shall fly like chaff before the wind.
DEATH.
Forbear to call, their skill will never do,
They are but mortals here as well as you:
I give the fatal wound, my dart is sure,
And far beyond the doctor’s skill to cure.
How freely can you let your riches fly
To purchase life, rather than yield to die!
But while you flourish here with all your store,
You will not give one penny to the poor;
Though in God’s name their suit to you they make,
You would not spare one penny for His sake!
The Lord beheld wherein you did amiss,
And calls you hence to give account for this!
LADY.
Oh! heavy news! must I no longer stay?
How shall I stand in the great judgment-day?
[Down from her eyes the crystal tears did flow:
She said], None knows what I do undergo:
Upon my bed of sorrow here I lie;
My carnal life makes me afraid to die.
My sins, alas! are many, gross and foul,
Oh, righteous Lord! have mercy on my soul!
And though I do deserve thy righteous frown,
Yet pardon, Lord, and pour a blessing down.
[Then with a dying sigh her heart did break,
And did the pleasures of this world forsake.]
Thus may we see the high and mighty fall,
For cruel Death shows no respect at all
To any one of high or low degree
Great men submit to Death as well as we.
Though they are gay, their life is but a span—
A lump of clay—so vile a creature’s man.
Then happy those whom Christ has made his care,
Who die in the Lord, and ever blessèd are.
The grave’s the market-place where all men meet,
Both rich and poor, as well as small and great.
If life were merchandise that gold could buy,
The rich would live, the poor alone would die.
ENGLAND’S ALARM;
OR THE PIOUS CHRISTIAN’S SPEEDY CALL TO REPENTANCE
For the many aggravating sins too much practised in our present mournful times: as Pride, Drunkenness, Blasphemous Swearing, together with the Profanation of the Sabbath; concluding with the sin of wantonness and disobedience; that upon our hearty sorrow and forsaking the same the Lord may save us for his mercy’s sake.
[From the cluster of ‘ornaments’ alluded to in the ninth verse of the following poem, we are inclined to fix the date about 1653. The present reprint is from an old broadside, without printer’s name or date, in possession of Mr. J. R. Smith.]
You sober-minded christians now draw near,
Labour to learn these pious lessons here;
For by the same you will be taught to know
What is the cause of all our grief and woe.
We have a God who sits enthroned above;
He sends us many tokens of his love:
Yet we, like disobedient children, still
Deny to yield submission to His will.
The just command which He upon us lays,
We must confess we have ten thousand ways
Transgressed; for see how men their sins pursue,
As if they did not fear what God could do.
Behold the wretched sinner void of shame,
He values not how he blasphemes the name
Of that good God who gave him life and breath,
And who can strike him with the darts of death!
The very little children which we meet,
Amongst the sports and pastimes in the street,
We very often hear them curse and swear,
Before they’ve learned a word of any prayer.
’Tis much to be lamented, for I fear
The same they learn from what they daily hear;
Be careful then, and don’t instruct them so,
For fear you prove their dismal overthrow.
Both young and old, that dreadful sin forbear;
The tongue of man was never made to swear,
But to adore and praise the blessèd name,
By whom alone our dear salvation came.
Pride is another reigning sin likewise;
Let us behold in what a strange disguise
Young damsels do appear, both rich and poor;
The like was ne’er in any age before.
What artificial ornaments they wear,
Black patches, paint, and locks of powdered hair;
Likewise in lofty hoops they are arrayed,
As if they would correct what God had made.
Yet let ’em know, for all those youthful charms,
They must lie down in death’s cold frozen arms!
Oh think on this, and raise your thoughts above
The sin of pride, which you so dearly love.
Likewise, the wilful sinners that transgress
The righteous laws of God by drunkenness,
They do abuse the creatures which were sent
Purely for man’s refreshing nourishment.
Many diseases doth that sin attend,
But what is worst of all, the fatal end:
Let not the pleasures of a quaffing bowl
Destroy and stupify thy active soul.
Perhaps the jovial drunkard over night,
May seem to reap the pleasures of delight,
While for his wine he doth in plenty call;
But oh! the sting of conscience, after all,
Is like a gnawing worm upon the mind.
Then if you would the peace of conscience find,
A sober conversation learn with speed,
For that’s the sweetest life that man can lead.
Be careful that thou art not drawn away,
By foolishness, to break the Sabbath-day;
Be constant at the pious house of prayer,
That thou mayst learn the christian duties there.
For tell me, wherefore should we carp and care
For what we eat and drink, and what we wear;
And the meanwhile our fainting souls exclude
From that refreshing sweet celestial food?
Yet so it is, we, by experience, find
Many young wanton gallants seldom mind
The church of God, but scornfully deride
That sacred word by which they must be tried.
A tavern, or an alehouse, they adore,
And will not come within the church before
They’re brought to lodge under a silent tomb,
And then who knows how dismal is their doom!
Though for awhile, perhaps, they flourish here,
And seem to scorn the very thoughts of fear,
Yet when they’re summoned to resign their breath,
They can’t outbrave the bitter stroke of death!
Consider this, young gallants, whilst you may,
Swift-wingèd time and tide for none will stay;
And therefore let it be your christian care,
To serve the Lord, and for your death prepare.
There is another crying sin likewise:
Behold young gallants cast their wanton eyes
On painted harlots, which they often meet
At every creek and corner of the street,
By whom they are like dismal captives led
To their destruction; grace and fear is fled,
Till at the length they find themselves betrayed,
And for that sin most sad examples made.
Then, then, perhaps, in bitter tears they’ll cry,
With wringing hands, against their company,
Which did betray them to that dismal state!
Consider this before it is too late.
Likewise, sons and daughters, far and near,
Honour your loving friends, and parents dear;
Let not your disobedience grieve them so,
Nor cause their agèd eyes with tears to flow.
What a heart-breaking sorrow it must be,
To dear indulgent parents, when they see
Their stubborn children wilfully run on
Against the wholesome laws of God and man!
Oh! let these things a deep impression make
Upon your hearts, with speed your sins forsake;
For, true it is, the Lord will never bless
Those children that do wilfully transgress.
Now, to conclude, both young and old I pray,
Reform your sinful lives this very day,
That God in mercy may his love extend,
And bring the nation’s troubles to an end.