Makes others proud; but as these serv'd to unlocke
That Cabinet, his mind, where such a stock
Of knowledge was repos'd, that I lament
Our just and generall cause of discontent.
But the poem in its final form is included in the many reprints of Walton's Lives, and it is unnecessary to note the numerous verbal variations. The most interesting is in ll. 25-6.
Did his youth scatter Poetry, wherein
Lay Loves Philosophy?
Professor Norton notes that 'the name of the author of this' (the seventh) 'Elegy is given as Carie or Cary in all the early editions, by mistake for Carew'. But the spelling (common in the MSS.) simply represents the way in which the name was pronounced. Thomas Carew (1598?-1639?) was sewer-in-ordinary to King Charles in 1633, and in February 163¾ his most elaborate work, the Coelum Britannicum, was performed at Whitehall, on Shrove Tuesday. It was published immediately afterwards, 1634. His collected Poems were issued in 1640 and contained this Elegie. I note the following variants from the text of 1640 as reproduced by Arthur Vincent (Muses Library, 1899):
3. dare we not trust 1633: did we not trust 1640; 5. Churchman 1633: lecturer 1640; 8. thy Ashes 1633: the ashes 1640; 9. no voice, no tune? 1633: nor tune, nor voice? 1640; 17. our Will, 1633: the will, 1640; 44. dust 1633: dung 1640; rak'd 1633: search'd 1640; 50. stubborne language 1633: troublesome language 1640; 58. is purely thine 1633: was only thine 1640; 59. thy smallest worke 1633: their smallest work 1640; 63. repeale 1633: recall 1640; 65. Were banish'd 1633: Was banish'd 1640; 66. o'th'Metamorphoses 1633: i'th'Metamorphoses 1640;
68-9.