Scrap, No. I.
Water-grass-hill.
There flourishes, I hear, in London, a Mr. Hudson, whose reputation as a comic lyrist, it would seem, has firmly taken root in the great metropolis. Many are the laughter-compelling productions of his merry genius; but "Barney Brallaghan's Courtship" may be termed his opus magnum. It has been my lot to pick a few dry leaves from the laurel-wreath of Mr. Moore, who could well afford the loss: I know not whether I can meddle rightly after a similar fashion with Hudson's bay. Yet is there a strange coincidence of thought and expression, and even metre, between the following remnant of antiquity, and his never-sufficiently-to-be-encored song.
The original may be seen at Bobbio in the Apennines,—a Benedictine settlement, well known as the earliest asylum opened to learning after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Irish monk Colombanus had the merit of founding it, and it long remained tenanted by natives of Ireland. Among them it has been ascertained that Dante lived for some time, and composed Latin verses; but I cannot recognise any trace of his stern phraseology in the ballad. It appears rather the production of some rustic of the Augustan age; perhaps one of Horace's ploughmen. It is addressed to a certain Julia Callapygé, Καλλπνγη, a name which (for shortness I suppose) the rural poet contracts into Julia "Callagé." I have diligently compared it with the vulgate version, as sung by Fitzwilliam at the Freemasons' Tavern; and little doubt can remain of its identity and authenticity.
P. P.
The Sabine Farmer's Serenade;
BEING A NEWLY RECOVERED FRAGMENT OF A LATIN OPERA.
| I. | 1. |
| Erat turbida nox | 'Twas on a windy night, |
| Horâ secundâ mané | At two o'clock in the morning |
| Quando proruit vox | An Irish lad so tight, |
| Carmen in hoc inané; | All wind and weather scorning, |
| Viri misera mens | At Judy Callaghan's door, |
| Meditabatur hymen, | Sitting upon the palings, |
| Hinc puellæ flens | His love-tale he did pour, |
| Stabat obsidens limen; | And this was part of his wailings:— |
| Semel tantum dic | Only say |
| Eris nostra Lalagé; | You'll be Mrs. Brallaghan; |
| Ne recuses sic, | Don't say nay, |
| Dulcis Julia Callagé. | Charming Judy Callaghan. |
| II. | 2. |
| Planctibus aurem fer, | Oh! list to what I say, |
| Venere tu formosior | Charms you've got like Venus; |
| Dic, hos muros per, | Own your love you may, |
| Tuo favore potior! | There's but the wall between us. |
| Voce beatum fac; | You lie fast asleep, |
| En, dum dormis, vigilo, | Snug in bed and snoring; |
| Nocte obambulans hâc | Round the house I creep, |
| Domum planctu stridulo. | Your hard heart imploring. |
| Semel tantum dic | Only say |
| Eris nostra Lalagé; | You'll have Mr. Brallaghan; |
| Ne recuses sic, | Don't say nay, |
| Dulcis Julia Callagé. | Charming Judy Callaghan. |
| III. | 3. |
| Est mihi prægnans sus, | I've got a pig and a sow, |
| Et porcellis stabulum; | I've got a sty to sleep 'em; |
| Villula, grex, et rus[8] | A calf and a brindled cow, |
| Ad vaccarum pabulum; | And a cabin too, to keep 'em; |
| Feriis cerneres me | Sunday hat and coat, |
| Splendido vestimento, | An old grey mare to ride on; |
| Tunc, heus! quàm benè te | Saddle and bridle to boot, |
| Veherem in jumento![9] | Which you may ride astride on. |
| Semel tantum dic | Only say |
| Eris nostra Lalagé; | You'll be Mrs. Brallaghan; |
| Ne recuses sic, | Don't say nay, |
| Dulcis Julia Callagé. | Charming Judy Callaghan. |
| IV. | 4. |
| Vis poma terræ? sum | I've got an acre of ground, |
| Uno dives jugere; | I've got it set with praties; |
| Vis lac et mella,[10] cùm | I've got of 'baccy a pound, |
| Bacchi succo,[11] sugere? | I've got some tea for the ladies; |
| Vis aquæ-vitæ vim?[12] | I've got the ring to wed, |
| Plumoso somnum sacculo?[13] | Some whisky to make us gaily; |
| Vis ut paratus sim | I've got a feather-bed |
| Vel annulo vel baculo?[14] | And a handsome new shilelagh. |
| Semel tantum dic | Only say |
| Eris nostra Lalagé; | You'll be Mrs. Brallaghan; |
| Ne recuses sic, | Don't say nay, |
| Dulcis Julia Callagé. | Charming Judy Callaghan. |
| V. | 5. |
| Litteris operam das; | You've got a charming eye |
| Lucido fulges oculo; | You've got some spelling and reading; |
| Dotes insuper quas | You've got, and so have I, |
| Nummi sunt in loculo. | A taste for genteel breeding; |
| Novi quad apta sis[15] | You're rich, and fair, and young, |
| Ad procreandam sobolem! | As everybody's knowing; |
| Possides (nesciat quis?) | You've got a decent tongue |
| Linguam satis mobilem.[16] | Whene'er 'tis set a-going. |
| Semel tantum dic | Only say |
| Eris nostra Lalagé; | You'll have Mr. Brallaghan; |
| Ne recuses sic, | Don't say nay, |
| Dulcis Julia Callagé. | Charming Judy Callaghan. |
| VI. | 6. |
| Conjux utinam tu | For a wife till death |
| Fieres, lepidum cor, mî! | I am willing to take ye; |
| Halitum perdimus, heu, | But, och! I waste my breath, |
| Te sopor urget. Dormi! | The devil himself can't wake ye. |
| Ingruit imber trux— | 'Tis just beginning to rain, |
| Jam sub tecto pellitur | So I'll get under cover; |
| Is quem crastina lux[17] | Tomorrow I'll come again, |
| Referet hùc fidelitèr. | And be your constant lover. |
| Semel tantum dic | Only say |
| Eris nostra Lalagé; | You'll be Mrs. Brallaghan; |
| Ne recuses sic, | Don't say nay, |
| Dulcis Julia Callagé. | Charming Judy Callaghan. |