Page:Notes and Queries - Series 9 - Volume 4.djvu/473

 9«h S. IV. Dec. 16, '99.] 505 NOTES AND QUERIES. transcription in rivalry with his, and I hope he will accept my excuses for having appeared to do so ; but it was, I can assure Mr. Page. an accident that the two versions appeared so near together. It is to be observed that no reference was added to my communication, from which it would appear that the Editor, as well as myself, had overlooked Mr. Page's note, and I think in fairness the Editor should share a portion of the blame with me. John Hebb. Canonbury Mansions, N. "My lodging is on the cold ground" (9th S. iv. 397).—In case no one has replied to the query which you kindly inserted, I send the version of "My lodging is on the cold ground" printed in Davenant's 'Rivals,' 1668, which, aided by a reference given by Ohappell, my friend Mr. Walter Worrall, of Oxford, has kindly copied for me :— Here she [Cclania] sings. My lodging it is on the Cold ground, and very hard is my fare, But that which troubles me most, is the unkindness of my dear, Yet still I cry, 0 turn Love, and I prethee Love turn to me, For thou art the Man that I long for, and alack, what remedy ? 1 '1 Crown thee with a Garland of straw then, and I'le Marry thee with a Rush ring, My frozen hopes shall thaw then, and merrily we will Sing, O turn to me my dear Love, and prethee Love turn to me, For thou art the Man that alone canst procure my Liberty. But if thou wilt harden thy heart, still, and be deaf to my pittyful moan, Then I must endure the smart still, and tumble in straw alone, Yet still I cry, O turn Love, and I prethee Love turn to me. For thou art the Man that alone art the cause of my misery. [That done, she lies down and fals a sleep. ' The Rivals,' Act V. p. 48 (1668). It will be seen that this version contains the verse which was missing in the song as printed by Boosey. As the play had been acted in 1664, if not earlier, it would appear as if the Latin translation, dated 1666, had been made when the song was the " rage." Miss Moll Davies, who sang it, is said to have made such a success in it as to attract the attention of his Majesty King Charles II., who, inconsequence, treated her with marked favour. The questions still unsolved are : (1) Was the song written by Davenant, or was it earlier] (2) Who recast it? According to Boosey, it was Gay, but is there any evidence of this ? (3) 'Is the Latin translation other- wise known? G. C. Mooke Smith. University College, Sheffield. Unless I am mistaken, there is no trace of this song before its appearance in 'The Rivals,' Sir Wm. D'Avenant's alteration of ' The Two Noble Kinsmen.' The play was & reduced (see Downes's 'Roscius Anglican us ') etween 1662and 1665,and publishedanonym- ously in quarto, 1668. It is not in the 1673 folio of D'Avenant's works, but was reprinted by his editors in 1874, with the very mis- leading statement that " the two plays bear little resemblance to each other in the scenes or dialogue, very few lines of the original having been retained in the ' alteration.' The pretty snatches of song written by D'Avenant for the mad maiden's part usually replace sonas of which only the first lines are given in the 1679 folio of Beaumont and Fletcher, and presumably also in the quarto, from which it professes to reprint 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' for the first time. " My lodging," itc, occupies the place of a song represented only by the words I will be true, my stars, my fate, kc. The later version given by Prof. Moore Smith is not an improvement on D'Avenant's song : " coldness " tor unkindness does not commend itself; much less for For thou art the only one, love, That art ador'd by me, For thou art the man that I long for, And alack ! what remedy? D'Avenant's reference to the custom of mock marriage with a rush ring was probably sug- gested by the following passage in ' The Two Noble Kinsmen,' IV. i.:— Rings she made Of rushes that grew by, and to 'em spoke The prettiest posies. Robert H. Case. Many particulars concerning this lyric will be found in my 'Stories of Famous Songs.' The original seventeenth-century version of the words is in 'One Thousand Gems of Songs' and also in Chappell's ' Old English Popular Music' Information concerning the song will also be discovered in Baring-Gould's ' English Minstrelsie.' It would l>e interest- ing to know why Messrs. Boosey, or rather their editor, should attribute the lines given by Mr. Moore Smith to John Gay. They are identical, with one or two slight changes, with the original as introduced into an altera- tion of 'The Two Noble Kinsmen' called ' The Rivals.' The words of the ma/1 song are generally understood to be by Sir William