Scan 375
The violin, its famous makers and their imitators, 1887
30 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1From whence men borrow ev'ry kind
2Of minstrelsy, by string or wind.
3His grisly beard was long and thick,
4With which he strung his Fiddle-stick;
5For he to horse-tail scorned to owe
6For what on his own chin did grow.
8And now the field of death, the lists,
9We enter'd by antagonists,
10And blood was ready to be broach'd,
11When Hudibras in haste approach'd
12With Squire and weapons, to attack 'em;
13But first thus from his horse bespok 'em,
14'What rage, O citizens! What fury
15Doth you to these dire actions hurry?
17In name of King and Parliament
18I charge ye all—no more foment.
20The Fiddler as the prime offender,
21Th' incendiary vile, that is chief
22Author and engineer of mischief;
23That makes division between friends
24For profane and malignant ends.¹
26¹ This passage evidently refers to Violists meeting to make division to a ground, namely, in the words of Christopher Simpson, "A ground, subject, or bass (call it which you please) is prickt (written) down in two several papers, one for him who is to play the ground (upon an organ, harpsichord, or other instrument), the other for him who plays upon the Viol, who having the said ground before his eye (as his theme or subject) plays such variety of descant and division thereupon as his skill and present invention do then suggest to him." The poet's allusion to "Th' incendiary vile (Viol) that is chief author and engineer of mischief" humorously points to the popularity of the Viol. The poet's mention of persons meeting and performing on their Viols, thus making
28"division between friends,
29For profane and malignant ends,"
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.