Sung in Garrick’s pantomime, The Harlequin’s Invasion, produced December 31, 1759.
[XXIII]
Odes (‘Printed for A. Millar in the Strand,’ 1746), and Dodsley’s Museum (iv., 1749).
[XXIV]–[XXV]
The first was written ‘after reading Hume’s History in 1780’ (Benham). The second was written in September 1782. The Royal George (108 guns) was being repaired at Spithead (August 29, 1782), when she capsized and sank instantly. Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt was then under orders to proceed to the relief of Gibraltar.
[XXVI]–[XXVIII]
The first is from The Oddities, a Table Entertainment (1789–1790), and its original title was Poor Tom, or the Sailor’s Epitaph. The second was first sung in The Wags, or the Camp of Pleasure (October 18, 1790). The third was first sung in A Tour to Land’s End (1798), and its original title was Yo heave ho! The first collected edition of Charles Dibdin’s songs was issued in five volumes from 1790 to 1799.
[XXIX]
The air of The British Grenadiers is at least as old as the reign of Elizabeth, and is one of the most characteristic of the English National airs. The words here given are from a copy (with music) about a hundred and fifty years old.