The ‘Woodpecker’ song is referred to in an illustrative way by Mrs. Finching (L.D.), who says that her papa
is sitting prosily breaking his new-laid egg in the back parlour like the woodpecker tapping.
Captain Cuttle
Captain Cuttle is almost as full of melody as Micawber, though his repertoire is chiefly confined to naval ditties. His great song is ‘Lovely Peg,’ and his admiration for Florence Dombey induces him to substitute her name in the song, though the best he can accomplish is ‘Lovely Fleg.’
There are at least three eighteenth-century ballads with Peg, or Lovely Peg, for the subject, and it is not certain which of these the Captain favoured. This is one of them:
Once more I'll tune the vocal shell,
To Hills and Dales my passion tell,
A flame which time can never quell,
That burns for lovely Peggy.
Then comes this tuneful refrain:
[[MIDI]]
Lovely Peggy, lovely Peggy,
Lovely, lovely, lovely Peggy;
The heav'ns should sound with echoes rung
In praise of lovely Peggy.
The two others of this period that I have seen are called ‘Peggy’ and ‘Lovely Peggy, an imitation.’ However, it is most probable that the one that the Captain favoured—in spite of the mixture of names—was C. Dibdin's ‘Lovely Polly.’
LOVELY POLLY
[[MIDI]]
A seaman's love is void of art,
Plain sailing to his port the heart;
He knows no jealous folly,
He knows no jealous folly.'Tis hard enough at sea to war
With boist'rous elements that jar—
All's peace with lovely Polly,
All's peace with lovely Polly,
with lovely Polly, lovely Polly,
All's peace with lovely Polly.