It is clear that Purcell attained the highest pinnacle in the estimation of his countrymen;[53] but his fame was not confined to England. I have seen a MS. volume of music written by a contemporary musician, a native of France, and in it he designates Purcell as M. Pourselle. Roger of Amsterdam engraved and printed a set of his Sonatas; and the following anecdote is told in some of the biographies of Corelli:—
"While Corelli flourished with such éclat at Rome, Harry Purcell was famous in England, and Corelli was so greatly affected with the character and abilities of this famous English musician, that, as fame reports, he declared him to be then the only thing worth seeing in England. Accordingly the great opinion he held of Purcell made him resolve to make a journey into this kingdom on purpose to visit him," but the journey was abandoned on hearing of Purcell's death.
Another version of the story makes Corelli start on his journey, but hearing of Purcell's death on shipboard, when nearing Dover, he returns immediately to Rome.
Purcell's secular music undoubtedly frequently suffered from the worthless trash he had to accept as poetry; too often it was not only devoid of literary merit, but still worse, indecent; that was, however, the fault of the age, and pervaded most of the dramatic literature then in vogue. Even the well-known and estimable Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, Dr. Aldrich, condescended to set music to such words as shame would not permit us to print at this day.
Tom D'Urfey was a notorious offender against good taste, and for him Purcell composed very largely.
"Oh! who can view without a tear
Great Pindar's muse and D'Urfey near?
Whose soaring wit ne'er higher flew
Than to endite for Barthol'mew,