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Oldham And His Poetry. The Poetical Work...
6 howed : the sincerity of Ms desire to promote the famous satirist ' s pecuniary interests , bj offering him the place of private chaplain to his . household . Here was a provision for life , -waiting the acceptance of a man . absolutely without certain resources of any kind—and' the man refused it . Theposition of a chaplain in a nobleman ' s family yras ,- in ; those * days ^ . a degraded ' one ; aadimanly OldHam would not stoops dependency so much a & one-inch towards- all tihe ease and competence which all . the noblenienu in the world could offer him .- Lord Kingston ' s conduct ^ on receiving the poet ' s refusal is beyond all'praise . He showed most delicately ami nobly he appreciated Oldham ' s character , by asking him to his house as guest and friend . This invitation was gratefully accepted . It was the fit . reward for a brave-and an honourable life . But though it came early ^ Oldham -was then only thirty )^ it cametoo late .. While staying in Lordi Kingston ' s house ,, the poet
was attacked by the small-pox . In the . prime , of his life and of . his . intellectual powers , in the house where he had at last gained the honour and the ease which had so long been his due , John Oldhani died . He had not gained the fame of his illustrious friend Dryden ; . but he had done what neither Dryden nor any other author of that time could do—he had respected his vocation as a man of letters , and had " kept himself unspotted from the world . " In an age of abjeet dedications , not a line of flattery disgraced the pages of John Oldham . His was the true- manhood , andthe genuine greatness ^ and- in virtue of his : life alone—leaving the meriti of his writings out of the question—he haa better claims to be rememberedt by posterity than many of his luckier inferiors , who have left notorious names behind , them .
The fate of . his poeins has been a strange one . Having been widely successful durmg : his lifetime * they were collected after his death , and published , accompanied'by tributes' to his memory from , all ; the famous poets of his time ; . In . Ji 7 > lQ- they got to a- seventh * edition-. ; , . wereiagain : printed in 1 : 7 : 22 ; and > were for the . last time republished in L 770 . Since that : period they have most unfairly and ignorantly been , refused admission ,, even in detached portions , into all collections of English poetry . On the score of TUstice as well" asof taste , every credit is due to Mr . Bell for having restored Oldham to his proper place among our national poets . If coarseness is to be considered-: an objection tohirn ^ the objectors must . be : referred to I ) ryden , ¦ who is quite as coarse . If poetical ; merit be considered * as a , claim ,, lie has , with all . his faults , a better title to be included among , the classical English poets than , many of the writers who figure at full length in all our Authologies . Sfuch poets as Dyer , Granger , and'Philli ps * for instance , are not to b & mentioned in the same breath with him .
The great merit' of his life is also the great merit of his poetry- ^ -he lived in earnest and he wrote in earnest . Bie has ho graces of expression . *—his lines are oftenclumsy and halting— -his rhymes no rhymes at allr— of the delicaciesjvsubtleties , and refinements of poetical , act he : knew , and cared toknow , nothing . He feels strongly , impetuously , fiercely $ and writes exactly as he feels . He never stops to consider his subject under various aspects , but dashes at it at once from- hi & own poimV o £ view . Occasionally he hits on some ferocious felicities of expression , which ave unsurpassed by any other poet . As a satirist ( and satires form the great bulk of his works ) he hardly ever sneexs- at corruption and vice—he always storms- at them * with- might and main .. He is often , unmst , sometimes absolutely inexcusable , in hia
Satires against the Jesuits—but his hatred of priests is . a genuine fanaticism , — -he firmly believes hinwelf in the justice and- truth of every wildiuid wanton word thai he utters against . them * . As he w-as a . true man uiihis ; life , soj with > all his faults ,-. he- is a true man . inhis poetry * .. We will now give our readers such specimens o £ Qldham ' s genius as we . hope will induce them to read and ) appreciate the volume of hia collected ¦ works . We are not afraid to match him , at the outset ,, with , two- famous men . Boileau first imitated the thircl satire of Juvenal , and ; applied , it to Paris ; Oldham followed him ,. and appvliedit . to London ; and Johnson ,. in one of the noblest moral poems- ever written ^ followed . Qldhanu These lines appear to us to be superior to Boileau ,- and to be ini point . of , vigour ,, fully equal to Johnson : — I live in London I "What should I do tllera ? I cannot lie , nor flatter , nor forswear ; I can ' t commend a book , or piece oC wit ,. Though a lord were the autlior ,. d \ illy -writ 5 I'm no Sir Sidrophel' to read the stars , And . cast nativities for longing , heirs , When , fathers shall drop oil "; no Gadbury To tell the minute when the king oliall die , AjmI you know what—corao in ; nor can I steer , Aoid tack about my conscience , whensoever To a now point I see religion veer . ' Let others pimp to courtiers lechery ^ I'll draw no city cuckold ' s curse on- me ; Nor would I do it , though to bo made groaty And raised , to be chief minister of state . Theifeforo I think , it : flt to rid the . town > , Of oue , that i * an useless member grown . u Besides , who lias pretence to favour now ,. But ho , who hidden viUany does Iciiqw , "Whoso broo-st docs wltU some burning sccrot glow ? By none thou shnlt preferred or valued bo , That trusts theo with < tn honest Hecrccy ; Ho only may to great rncn ' s friendship roach , 1 Who grout men , when ho ploaaoS ) can impeach . I < et othevH thus aspire to dignity ; Ii \> r mo , I'd not their envied grandeur buy Vox nil tho Exchange is worth , t ) u » t Paul ' s will coat , Or was of lute in tlxo Scotch voyugo lost . "What would it boot , if I , to gain my end , l' \ n'ogo my quiet s and my ease of mind , Still fonrol , 'it laat betrayed by my groat friend ? Hero is another passage from tho same Satire which , in , addition to ita indubitable poetical merit , exhibits the value oi'Oldham to the present ago as a tlelinontov of manners and customs , among our . ancestors in the s « ventcouth century : i— "Besides , wiliot . otoro of gibing , seoffn are thrown On one thai ' a poor nad meanly dtul . in . towM
If his apparel seem but overworn , His stockings out afe heel , or breeches torn , One takes occasion his ripped shoe to flout , * And swears 't tas been at . prison-gates hung out ; Another shrewdly jeers his coarse cravat ,. Because himself wears point 5 a third his hat * And most unmercifully shows his -wit , If it be old , or does not cock aright . Notlung in poverty so ill is borne , As its exposing men to grinning scom , To be by tawdry coxcombs jeered upon , And made the jesting stock of each , buffoon . ' Turn out there , friend ! ' cries one at church , 'the pew Is not for snehmean scoundrel curs as you ; "Tis for your betters kept ; ' belike some sot That knew no father , was on bulks begot , But now is raised to an . estate and pride , By having the kind proverb on his-. side ; Let Gripe and CheatweH take their places there , And Dash } tlie scrivener's gaudy , sparkishheir , That wears three ruined orphans on his back ; Meanwhile you in the alley stand , and sneak : And you therewith must rest contented , since Almighty wealth does put such difference . What citizen , a son-in-law will take , Bred ne'er so well , 'that can't a jointure make ? What man of sense , that's poor , o ' er summoned is Amongst the common council to advise ? At vestry-consults when does he appear , For choosing of some parish officer , Or making leather buckets for the choir ? " 'Ti » hard for any man to rise , that feela Has virtue clogged with , poverty at heels , ; But harder 'tis by much in iondonj where A sorry lodging , coarse and slender fare , Fire , water , breathing , everything is > dear ; Yet such as these an earthen dislv disdainj , With which their ancestors , in Edgar ' s reign , Were served , and thought it no disgrace to dine , Though they were rieh , had store of leather coin . Low aS ' their fortune-is , yet they despise A man that waUis the streets in homely frieze ^ . To speak the truth , great part of England now ,, In their own cloth will scarce voxichsafe to go ; Only , the statute ' s penalty to save , Some few perhaps wear " woollen in the grav , e . Here all go daily dressed , although it be Above their means , their rank , and quality ; The most in borrowed gallantry are clad , Eor which the tradesmen ' s books are still unpaid \ This fault is common in the meaner sort That they must needs affect to bear the port Of gentlemen , though they want income for't . " How true is much of this as applied to ourselves in these modern days . One more extract and we must have done . The following passage is from the Satire . Addressed * to . a Piuend . " Oldham ' s own free * fine , -spirit speaks inakaostievery line , of .. it . As aipicture of the condition . of domestic chap ^ lains it supplied Macaulay with material for an admirable passage in . - tuQ History of Etigland . Some think themselves exalted to tho sky , If they light in some noble family ; Uietj a horae r and tbirty pounds , a year ; Besides the advantage of his lordship ' s ear ; , The credit of the business , and the state , Are things that in a youngster ' s sense sound great . Little tli © inexperienced wretch does know , What slawery he ofd must undergp , Who though , in silken scarf and cassock dressed , Wears but a gayer livery at best ; When dinner calls , the implement must vraitj With holy "words to consecrate the . meat , But hold it for a favour seldom known , If he . be deigned tho honour to sit down . Soon as tlie tarta appear , Sir Crape , withdraw ! Those dainties ara not for a spiritual maw y Observe your distance , and bo sure , to stand Hard by the cistern with your cap in hand ; There for diversion you may pick your t < 3 Oth , Till tho kind voider comes for your rfcliof . Ifor mere board wages such , tlicir freedom acll ; Slaves to an- hour , and vassals to a bell ; And if the enjoyment of one day bo stole , They aro but prisoners out upon parole j Always tho . marks of slavery remain , And they , though loose , still drag about their chain . And whero's tlie mighty prospect after all , A choplahitthin served up , and seven years ? thrall ;? Tho menial thing , perhaps , for a reward ,. Ih to some slender benefice preferred , With this jiroviHO hound , that ho must "wed My lady ' s antiquated waiting maid , In dressing only uliillcd , mid marmalade * Let others , who such moanueascn can brook , Strike countenance to every great man ' s look ; Let those that havo a mind , turn slaves to cat " , And live contented by another ' s plate ; I rate my freedom , higher , nor will 1 For foo « l and raiment truck my liberty . But , if I nvuHt to my last Hliiftn bo put , To IlEa blnddoi ' , nnd . twclvo yards of guf ^ . liuthor with counterfeited wooden , leg , And my right urnm tied up , I'll choooo to beg ; I'll rathor chooHo to atarvo at largo , than bo Th © gnv « lie » t v « hb « 1 to defwndenoy . 'T Iiaa ever bow * tihto t ^»|) , « fi my doHbrw , ' TUo utmost height to whl « Mn > jy wibluaspiroB .
Mm. T><M® Leapsb-Rs. [S^Ro^R ,
mm . T >< m ® LEAPsB-Rs . [ S ^ ro ^ r ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 7, 1854, page 14, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07101854/page/14/
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