which he had set to music. He composed “Gaze not on Swans,” on the 11th of February, 1661–62; but his grand achievement was the setting to music of the song,
“Beauty retire; thou doest my pitty move,
Believe my pitty, and then trust my love,” &c.,
from Davenant’s Second Part of “The Siege of Rhodes,” (act iv. sc. 2). Mrs. Knipp sang the song so well that the composer is forced to exclaim, that it seems to be a very fine song, and Captain Downing, “who loves and understands music,” “extols it above everything he had ever heard.”[137] Further evidence of the pride of the composer is seen in the fact that he had his portrait painted with the music of “Beauty retire” in his hand.
On April 6th, 1666, he began “putting notes” to Ben Jonson’s song,
“It is decreed—nor shall thy fate, O Rome!
Resist my vow, though hills were set on hills,”
but he did not finish it until November 11th, 1666. He thought himself that it was even better than “Beauty retire,” but the opinion of others is not given.
In the Pepysian Library is a volume of music, entitled, “Songs and other Compositions, Light, Grave and Sacred, for a single voice adjusted to the particular compass of mine; with a thorough base on ye ghitare, by Cesare Morelli,” which contains, among others, “Beauty retire,” “It is decreed,” and “To be or not to be.” We find in the “Diary” that on November 13th, 1664, Pepys was learning to recite this speech of Hamlet.