Charles Dickens and Music Part 9

I.--_National Songs_

There are numerous references to 'Rule Britannia.' Besides those mentioned elsewhere we have the picture of little David Copperfield in his dismal home.

What evenings when the candles came, and I was expected to employ myself, but not daring to read an entertaining book, pored over some hard-headed, harder-hearted treatise on arithmetic; when the tables of weights and measures set themselves to tunes as 'Rule Britannia,' or 'Away with Melancholy'!

No wonder he finally went to sleep over them!

In _Dombey and Son_ Old Sol has a wonderful story of the _Charming Sally_ being wrecked in the Baltic, while the crew sang 'Rule Britannia' as the s.h.i.+p went down, 'ending with one awful scream in chorus.' Walter gives the date of the tragedy as 1749. (The song was written in 1740.)

Captain Cuttle had a theory that 'Rule Britannia,' 'which the garden angels sang about so many times over,' embodied the outlines of the British Const.i.tution. It is perhaps unnecessary to explain that the Captain's 'garden angels' appear in the song as 'guardian angels.'

Mark Tapley, when in America, entertained a grey-haired black man by whistling this tune with all his might and main. The entry of Martin Chuzzlewit caused him to stop the tune

at that point where Britons generally are supposed to declare (when it is whistled) that they never, never, never--

In the article on 'Wapping Workhouse' (_U.T._) d.i.c.kens introduces the first verse of the song in criticizing the workhouse system and its treatment of old people, and in the _American Notes_ he tells us that he left Canada with 'Rule Britannia' sounding in his ears.

'British Grenadiers,' said Mr. Bucket to Mr. Bagnet, 'there's a tune to warm an Englishman up! _Could_ you give us "British Grenadiers," my fine fellow?' And the 'fine fellow,' who was none other than Bagnet junior (also known as 'Woolwich'), promptly

fetches his fife and performs the stirring melody, during which performance Mr. Bucket, much enlivened, beats time, and never fails to come in sharp with the burden 'Brit Ish Gra-a-anadeers.'

Our national anthem is frequently referred to. In the description of the public dinner (_S.B.S._ 19)--

'G.o.d Save the Queen' is sung by the professional gentlemen, the unprofessional gentlemen joining in the chorus, and giving the national anthem an effect which the newspapers, with great justice, describe as 'perfectly electrical.'

On another occasion we are told the company, sang the national anthem with national independence, each one singing it according to his own ideas of time and tune. This is the usual way of singing it at the present day.

In addition to those above mentioned we find references to 'The Ma.r.s.eillaise' and 'ca ira,' both of which d.i.c.kens says he heard in Paris. In _Little Dorrit_ Mr. Meagles says:

As to Ma.r.s.eilles, we know what Ma.r.s.eilles is. It sent the most insurrectionary tune into the world that was ever composed.

Without disputing the decided opinion expressed by the speaker, there is no doubt that some would give the palm to 'ca ira,'

which the novelist refers to in one of his letters. The words of this song were adapted in 1790 to the tune of 'Carillon National.' This was a favourite air of Marie Antoinette, and she frequently played it on the harpsichord. After her downfall she heard it as a cry of hatred against herself--it followed her from Versailles to the capital, and she would hear it from her prison and even when going to her death.

When Martin Chuzzlewit and Mark Tapley were on their way to America, one of their fellow travellers was

an English gentleman who was strongly suspected of having run away from a bank, with something in his possession belonging to its strong-box besides the key [and who] grew eloquent upon the subject of the rights of man, and hummed the Ma.r.s.eillaise Hymn constantly.

In an article on this tune in the _Choir_ (Nov., 1911) it is stated that it was composed in 1792 at Strasburg, but received its name from the fact that a band of soldiers going from Ma.r.s.eilles to Paris made the new melody their marching tune. A casual note about it appears to be the only musical reference in _A Tale of Two Cities_.

From America we have 'Hail Columbia' and 'Yankee Doodle.' In _Martin Chuzzlewit_ we meet the musical coach-driver who played s.n.a.t.c.hes of tunes on the key bugle. A friend of his went to America, and wrote home saying he was always singing 'Ale Columbia.' In his _American Notes_ d.i.c.kens tells about a Cleveland newspaper which announced that America had 'whipped England twice, and that soon they would sing "Yankee Doodle"

in Hyde Park and "Hail Columbia" in the scarlet courts of Westminster.'

II.--_Songs from 1780-1840_

We then come to a group of songs dating, roughly, from 1780. This includes several popular sea songs by Charles Dibdin and others, some ballad opera airs, the _Irish Melodies_ and other songs by Thomas Moore, and a few sentimental ditties.

Following these we have the songs of the early Victorian period, consisting of more sentimental ditties of a somewhat feebler type, with a few comic and n.i.g.g.e.r minstrel songs.

The task of identifying the numerous songs referred to has been interesting, but by no means easy. No one who has not had occasion to refer to them can have any idea of the hundreds, nay, of the thousands, of song-books that were turned out from the various presses under an infinitude of t.i.tles during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. There is nothing like them at the present day, and the reasons for their publication have long ceased to exist. It should be explained that the great majority of these books contained the words only, very few of them being furnished with the musical notes. d.i.c.kens has made use of considerably over a hundred different songs. In some cases the references are somewhat obscure, but their elucidation is necessary to a proper understanding of the text. An example of this occurs in Chapter IX of _Martin Chuzzlewit_, where we are told the history of the various names given to the young red-haired boy at Mrs. Todgers'

commercial boarding-house. When the Pecksniffs visited the house

he was generally known among the gentlemen as Bailey Junior, a name bestowed upon him in contradistinction perhaps to Old Bailey, and possibly as involving the recollection of an unfortunate lady of the same name, who perished by her own hand early in life and has been immortalized in a ballad.

The song referred to here is 'Unfortunate Miss Bailey,' by George Colman, and sung by Mr. Mathews in the comic opera of _Love Laughs at Locksmiths_. It tells the story of a maid who hung herself, while her persecutor took to drinking ratafia.

d.i.c.kens often refers to these old song-books, either under real or imaginary names. Captain Cuttle gives 'Stanfell's Budget' as the authority for one of his songs, and this was probably the song-book that formed one of the ornaments which he placed in the room he was preparing for Florence Dombey.

Other common t.i.tles are the 'Prentice's Warbler,' which Simon Tappert.i.t used, 'Fairburn's Comic Songster,' and the 'Little Warbler,' which is mentioned two or three times. Of the songs belonging to this second period, some are embedded in ballad operas and plays, popular enough in their day, but long since forgotten. An example is Mr. Jingle's quotation when he tells the blus.h.i.+ng Rachel that he is going

In hurry, post haste for a licence, In hurry, ding dong I come back,

though he omitted the last two lines:

For that you shan't need bid me twice hence, I'll be here and there in a crack.

This verse is sung by Lord Grizzle in Fielding's _Tom Thumb_, as arranged by Kane O'Hara.

_Paul and Virginia_ is mentioned by Mrs. Flora Finching (_L.D._) as being one of the things that ought to have been returned to Arthur Clennam when their engagement was broken off. This was a ballad opera by Reeve and Mazzinghi, and the opening number is the popular duet 'See from ocean rising,'

concerning which there is a humorous pa.s.sage in 'The Steam Excursion' (_S.B._), where it is sung by one of the Miss Tauntons and Captain Helves. The last-named, 'after a great deal of preparatory crowing and humming,' began

in that grunting tone in which a man gets down, heaven knows where, without the remotest chance of ever getting up again. This in private circles is frequently designated a 'ba.s.s voice.'

[Figure 1]

See from ocean rising Bright flame, the orb of day; From yon grove the varied song Shall slumber from Virginia chase, chase away, Slumber from Virginia chase, chase away.

d.i.c.kens is not quite correct in this description, as the part of Paul was created by Incledon, the celebrated tenor, but there are still to be found ba.s.ses who insist on singing tenor when they think that part wants their a.s.sistance.

III.--_Contemporary Comic Songs_

When d.i.c.kens visited Vauxhall (_S.B.S._ 14) in 1836, he heard a variety entertainment, to which some reference has already been made. Amongst the performers was a comic singer who bore the name of one of the English counties, and who

sang a very good song about the seven ages, the first half hour of which afforded the a.s.sembly the purest delight.

The name of this singer was Mr. Bedford, though there was also a Mr. Buckingham in the Vauxhall programmes of those days. There are at least four songs, all of them lengthy, though not to the extent d.i.c.kens suggests, which bear on the subject. They are:

1.--'All the World's a Stage,' a popular medley written by Mr. L. Rede, and sung by Mrs. Kelley in the _Frolic of the Fairies_.

2.--'Paddy McShane's Seven Ages,' sung by Mr. Johnstone at Drury Lane.

3.--'The Seven Ages,' as sung by Mr. Fuller (eight very long verses).

4.--'The Seven Ages of Woman,' as sung by Mr. Harley.

You've heard the seven ages of great Mister Man, And now Mistress Woman's I'll chaunt, if I can.

This was also a very long song, each verse being sung to a different tune.