1839; the "Historical Songs of Ireland, illustrative of the Revolutionary Struggle between James II. and William III.,” 1841; and the four parts that followed, on "The French Invasions of Ireland," 1845-47. Twelve others of our Bagford ballads were selected for the Percy Society's second volume, Naval Songs, by Mr. J. O. Halliwell. We give, unmutilated, T. Crofton Croker's brief introduction to the ballad entitled "The Protestant Commander" : "On the 20th of March, 1690, in compliance with a royal summons,1 a new parliament met at Westminster. On the following day, King William addressed himself to both houses, stating that he was resolved to leave nothing unattempted on his part which might contribute to the prosperity of the nation; and finding his presence in Ireland would be absolutely necessary for the more speedy reducing of that kingdom, he continued his resolution of going thither as soon as might be, and he had now called them together for their assistance, to enable him to prosecute the war with speed and vigour. The King concluded a long speech by observing, that the season of the year and his journey into Ireland would admit but of a very short session, so that he recommended to them the making such despatch, that they might not be engaged in debates when their enemies were in the field. [William's well-deserved contempt for the truckling members of both Houses is plainly visible, even thus early.] "All the people,' says Dean Story, were now big with hopes of His Majesty's coming to Ireland, who left Kensington the 4th of June, 1690, took shipping at Hylake on the 12th, and on the 14th, being Saturday, he landed, about four in the afternoon, at Carigfergus; 2 from whence, being upon the road to Belfast, he was met by the general, Major-General Kirk, and a great many more officers of the army, that were expecting His Majesty's landing. And that evening landed his highness Prince George [of Denmark, Anne's unwieldy husband, another revolted son-in-law. Truly King James would have been luckier if he had, like his brother Charles, possessed no legitimate offspring], the Duke of Ormond, Earl of Oxford, Earl of Portland, Earl of Scarborough, Earl of Manchester, my Lord Overkirk, my Lord Sidney, with a great many other persons of quality, some of them officers in the army, and others volunteers.'"-Percy Society Publications, vol. i. Part Third, p. 52. 1841. The reader will find that we have plenty more of these boastful Orange songs to give, with the insufferable "Protestant boys" noisily belauded to the echo. The ballad itself was one of the many tricks used to get up a factitious interest in the least romantic of Paladins. Some hired bard (ready to write odes and pæans for any party that held the purse-strings) did his little best to earn a silver coin-" one of the Thirty." But elsewhere, later (p. 66), T. C. Croker recognizes the fact of William not being at this time legally entitled to be regarded as King of either England or Ireland: "The Prince of Orange (for, until after that battle [of the Boyne Water, July 1st, 1690], William, although proclaimed in England, and acknowledged by several foreign powers, can scarcely be called King)," &c. A large stone at the point of the quay is still called "King William's Stone," from his having set his foot on it when landing.'-McSkimmin's History of Carrickfergus." He was a man who had seen many changes, And being fluent (save indeed when feed'd ill), There was no doubt he earn'd his laureate pension. The ballad is announced to be sung to the tune of "Let Cæsar live Long!" Music and words of this meet us in the Collection of 180 Loyal Songs, all written since 1678, published by Nat. Thompson, in 1685 (3rd edit.) and 1694 (4th edit.), p. 326, where it is entitled "The King's Health." It was written in 1680, in honour of King Charles the Second; but as his brother, then Duke of York, was also celebrated in it, under the title of Almanzor, there was a characteristic knavery in stealing this very tune, to accompany words of adulation to his Dutch enemy. Such, indeed, enhanced the piquancy of the transaction, and as most of William's allies had distinguished themselves by treachery and selfishness, there is great probability that sharp practice of this sort must have won their admiration. Here is the original, L' THE KING'S HEALTH. ET Cæsar live long, and his Temper abide, Let twenty and twenty be counted too few, Still every season consisting of new; Till tyr'd with the Joys which this world does afford, Let Royal Almanzor Great Cæsar succeed, In the ninth verse of "The Protestant Commander" may be found a reference to two songs connected with Ireland: one being "Lilli burlero;" the other "Ah! hone, ah! hone."1 The former has gained importance from being reported, no doubt most erroneously, to have been the chief instrument in driving James II. out of Ireland. Mismanagement, folly, lack of nerve, as well 1 "Ah hone!" or "O hone!" is the burden of the other ballad, known as "Franklin is fled away, O hone!" See Popular Music, 370, for first verse. The whole is in Bagford Coll., ii, 69, &c., beginning, "Franklin, my loyal friend, Ohone! O hone!" as absence of tact and generosity, did far more to bring about his failure in Ireland than a score of such party squibs as "Lilli burlero" could have ever done, even amid so unthinking a nation. When we wrote of it (vide ante, p. 74) as a "Teague-land ditty," we simply meant, one assuming to be connected with Irish "Teague"-a blundering bog-trotter, or savage Rapparee,'-and his native land. We never for a moment intended to signify by the term that either words or music were indisputably Irish. Far from it there seems not any evidence to this effect. The words are generally assigned (and small credit to him, if they were correctly) to Lord Wharton. Bishop Percy quotes from "a small pamphlet, entitled 'A true Relation of the several Facts and Circumstances of the intended Riot and Tumult on Queen Elizabeth's Birthday,' &c. 3rd edit. London, 1712, p. 5, viz.-A late Viceroy [of Ireland-Lord Wharton] who has often boasted himself upon his talent for mischief, invention, lying, and for making a certain Lilli burlero song, with which, if you may believe himself, he sung a deluded Prince out of three kingdoms.' Gilbert Burnet, who acknowledges that it was "a foolish ballad," declares in his "Own Times" that Lilli burlero "made an impression on the [William of Orange's] army, that cannot be We use these words, "Rapparee," &c., simply quotationally. There were splendid fellows among the so-called "Rapparees" and original "Tories" who fought for James II. in Ireland. They maintained a guerrilla warfare, but were of less service in a pitched battle-field. Their valour showed itself in the defence of Limerick under Sarsfield, Lord Lucan. Still later, at Fontenoy, in May, 1745, the "Irish Brigade" covered itself with glory, against George II. The "Rapparees," somewhat distinct from the original "Tories" of Ireland, were undisciplined gangs of men, loyal to James II. (whom they accounted their only lawful sovereign), and zealous for the Roman Catholic religion, which they knew to be in danger. Their fanatical excesses, and free-booting, left them in ill odour. Macaulay paints an exaggerated picture of a Rapparee's feast of raw flesh cut from a living ox (Hist. Eng., ii. 318, ed. 1864), but it, being taken from a Bartholomew Fair spectacular-drama, cannot be deemed accurate. That there were savage deeds wrought by all parties in Ireland during the struggles of 1689-90, is incontestable. But even the Rapparees were not so bad as they are described. Glenlyon's brutal massacre of the unarmed Macdonalds of Glencoe, in February, 1691-2, was a worse deed, that no sophistries can justify or palliate. Sarsfield died in the hour of victory, at the Battle of Landen (vide ante pp. 178-9); again successful against William, as he had been at Steinkirk. John Mitchell writes:-"It was a happy moment. Before he fell, he could see the standards of England swept along by the tide of headlong flight, or trailing in the muddy waters of the Gette; he could see the scarlet ranks that he had once hurled back from the ramparts of Limerick, now rent and riven, fast falling in their wild flight, while there was sent peeling after them the vengeful shout, 'Remember Limerick.'"-Hist. of Ireland, 1869, p. 23. Sarsfield's portrait adorns J. C. O'Callaghan's History of Irish Brigades, 1870, p. 62: a work which seems to have been most laboriously compiled, and truthfully written. imagined by those that saw it not. The whole army, and at last the people, both in city and country, were singing it perpetually; and, perhaps, never had so slight a thing so great an effect." Unfortunately, Burnet's veracity cannot stand even the slightest test. For him to affirm anything is almost equal to a demonstration of it being false. Such crawling creatures are singularly spiteful, biting hard, as though six-footed. According to Lord Dartmouth's account, we believe, it may with much more probability be assumed that the Earl of Dorset was author of the words of "Lilli burlero" (Percy Soc., i. Pt. 3, p. 3). As to the music of it (-Sterne's Uncle Toby loved to whistle the notes, many years later), there seems to be a certainty that it was composed by Henry Purcell; and had appeared in print long before the words, which were written in 1688. We return to "Lilli burlero" in Bagford Coll., ii. 100, 101, 116; all three being sung to the tune. [Bagford Collection, II. 91.] The Protestant Commander ; Dr, A Dialogue betwixt him and his Loving Lady, at his Departure hence with his Majesty, King William, for the Expedition in Ireland. TO THE TUNE OF, Let Cæsar Live Long. [In the original are three cuts; that to the right is printed on p. 307.] And Crown him with Trophies of Honour and Fame. An Army we have of true Protestant Boys, The Sword of King William his Name shall proclaim, 6 12 |