| A COPY OF CHRISTMAS VERSES, | ||
|---|---|---|
| PRESENTED |  | TO THE |
| INHABITANTS | OF BUNGAY, | |
| BY THEIR HUMBLE | SERVANTS, | |
| THE LATE | WATCHMEN | |
| John Pye and | John Tye. | |
YOUR pardon, Gentles, while we thus implore,
In strains not less awakening than of yore,
Those smiles we deem our best reward to catch,
And for the which we’ve long been on the Watch;
Well pleas’d if we that recompence obtain,
Which we have ta’en so many steps to gain.
Think of the perils in our calling past,
The chilling coldness of the midnight blast,
The beating rain, the swiftly-driving snow,
The various ills that we must undergo,
Who roam, the glow-worms of the human race,
The living Jack-a-lanthorns of the place.
’Tis said by some, perchance, to mock our toil,
That we are prone to “waste the midnight oil!”
And that, a task thus idle to pursue,
Would be an idle waste of money too!
How hard, that we the dark designs should rue
Of those who’d fain make light of all we do!
But such the fate which oft doth merit greet,
And which now drives us fairly off our beat!
Thus it appears from this our dismal plight,
That some love darkness, rather than the light.
Henceforth let riot and disorder reign,
With all the ills that follow in their train;
Let Toms and Jerrys unmolested brawl,
(No Charlies have they now to floor withal,)
And “rogues and vagabonds” infest the Town,
For cheaper ’tis to save than crack a crown!
To brighter scenes we now direct our view—
And first, fair Ladies, let us turn to you.
May each New Year new joys, new pleasures bring,
And Life for you be one delightful spring!
No summer’s sun annoy with fev’rish rays,
No winter chill the evening of your days!
To you, kind Sirs, we next our tribute pay:
May smiles and sunshine greet you on your way!
If married, calm and peaceful be your lives;
If single, may you forthwith get you wives!
Thus, whether Male or Female, Old or Young,
Or Wed or Single, be this burden sung:
Long may you live to hear, and we to call,
A Happy Christmas and New Year to all!
J. and R. Childs, Printers, Bungay.
Previous to Christmas 1825, a trio of foreign minstrels appeared in London, ushering the season with melody from instruments seldom performed on in the streets. These were Genoese with their guitars. Musicians of this order are common in Naples and all over Italy; at the carnival time they are fully employed, and at other periods are hired to assist in those serenades whereof English ladies hear nothing, unless they travel, save by the reports of those who publish accounts of their adventures. The three now spoken of took up their abode in London, at the King’s-head public-house, in Leather-lane, from whence ever and anon, to wit, daily, they sallied forth to “discourse most excellent music.” They are represented in the [engraving] below, from a sketch hastily taken by a gentleman who was of a dinner party, by whom they were called into the house of a street in the suburbs.
Italian Minstrels in London,
AT CHRISTMAS, 1825.
Ranged in a row, with guitars slung
Before them thus, they played and sung:
Their instruments and choral voice
Did each glad guest still more rejoice;
And each guest wish’d again to hear
Their wild guitars and voices clear.