The ſo much talk'd of and expected Old Woman's DUNCIAD.
OR, MIDWIFE's MASTER-PIECE.
CONTAINING The moſt choice Collection of Humdrums and Drivellers, that was ever expos'd to public View.
BY MARY MIDNIGHT.
WITH Hiſtorical, Critical, and Explanatory NOTES, BY Margelina Scribelinda Macularia.
Publiſh'd purſuant to Act of Parliament, as the greateſt Work ever before attempted in any Age, Country, or Language.
LONDON: Printed for THEO. CARNAN, and ſold by F. STAMPER, in Pope's-Head Alley, Cornhill; J. ROBINSON, at the Golden-Lion, Ludgate-ſtreet; R. WILSON, in Pall-Mall; and at all the Pamphlet-Shops. MDCCLI.
PREFACE
[]AS there are ſo many Impoſtors and Imitators Abroad, it is highly requiſite the Public ſhould be ſatisfied, that this is the true and genuine Dunciad of Mrs. Mary Midnight; to which End I have wrote this ſhort Preface. The Reader, there⯑fore, is deſir'd to attend to me with a little Patience, before he en⯑ters upon this great and wonderful Work. The extenſive Fame our Author has gain'd, by her learned Lucubrations, in all the Courts and Univerſities in Europe, has excited many (who have, by ſome Means or other, met with ſome of her Fragments) to vend among them their Heaps of Traſh in her Name; but it is hop'd the World will do her the Juſtice, to think ſhe is not the Author of ſuch poor paul⯑try, wiſhy, waſhy, ſhim-ſham Performances.
To reward, among many others, the Authors of ſuch Proceed⯑ings in a Manner due to their Deſerts, Mrs. Midnight has deſign'd and executed this Work; but, as an Affair of ſo much Conſequence could not but get Air in the World, ſeveral of theſe, who were conſ⯑cious of their Guilt, applied to her to be excus'd a Place; or, in other Words, to be left out of her Dunciad: Among which came the celebrated Pentweazle, and meanly offer'd her five Guineas in part, on Subſcription to her Miſcellany of Poems, to be publiſh'd ſome Time in February next. But Mrs. Midnight being above any mercenary View, was deaf to all Overtures, however conſiderable, of this kind: Upon which, with their uſual Aſſurance, her Enemies ad⯑vertis'd even this intended Work, the Old Woman's Dunciad, in her's and in my Name, intending to impoſe ſome Trumpery or other on the World, before this Poem could appear; and, with the moſt conſummate Impudence, put out Advertiſements againſt the fictitious [] Imitators of Mrs. Midnight's Works, to out-face, if poſſible, the very Truth itſelf. But we have, thro' a ſurpriſing Quickneſs of Ge⯑nius, peculiar to our Author, anticipated their Deſigns, to their utter Confuſion: Since the World will, by reading the following Work, be convinc'd of the genuine and elevated Spirit of Mrs. Midnight, and will not, for the future, be ſo eaſily impos'd on. I ſhall juſt add a Word or two on our Author's Character in general, and on this Work in particular. As to Mrs. Midnight's Reputation as an Au⯑thor, notwithſtanding ſhe has made herſelf known but lately under that Name, yet it has been very extenſive, under the more general one of Old Woman; ſhe having had the principal Hand in moſt of the Performances that have been wrote within theſe few Years paſt; all which have been infallibly known by the Critics, who upon Peru⯑ſal of them, have immediately laid them down, and crying out, the Author's an Old Woman; intimating thereby their Knowledge of her Works, and her eſtabliſh'd Reputation that rais'd them above Criti⯑ciſm. As to this Poem in particular, the Publick can never enough acknowledge the Obligations they owe her, in theſe Improvements of our Language; which, however, fall vaſtly ſhort of what ſhe pur⯑poſes to do, having ſelected ſeveral thouſands of the moſt curious and copious in the * Gemerian or Welch Tongue, which will far exceed any Embelliſhment whatſoever drawn from the Greek or Latin.
THE Old Woman's DUNCIAD.
[3]* INTERPRETATION.
[3]Line I. O thou, &c.] Our judicious and learned Author, Mrs. Midnight ſeems, at firſt ſetting out, to give us an Inſtance, that ſhe knows what ſhe is about, by this Imita⯑tion of the great Satyriſt Mr. Pope; in whoſe Dunciad are the following Lines addreſs'd to Swift, as are the above to Fielding.
Line 5. Apex excelſe! —high Top!] We ne⯑ver can enough admire this Inſtance of the ſuperexcellent Beauty of Expreſſion, made uſe of by our modern Poets; in endeavour⯑ing to make our Tongue ſo nearly reſemble that truly noble and elevated Language the Latin. Martina Scribeinda Macularia.
Line 7. Of Noſe obeſete-ſnotty Noſes This Epithet, which, as a compound one, is not a little to be commended, is yet more admi⯑rable, as it has its Derivation from the Latin; in which Language a judicious and witty Man is ſignified by a Man with his Noſe wip'd; and a Blockhead by a Fellow with a naſty or fat Noſe, according to our vulgar Phraſe a ſnotty one. Martina Scribelinda Ma⯑cularia.
Line 11. Cull more Flowers—nor Roſemary cull] The Text is here extremely well ex⯑preſs'd in the Interpretation, as the ſo often repeated Thought of the Muſes gathering Flowers upon the Banks of the River Avon, for Shakeſpear, can certainly mean no more than the old faſhioned Cuſtom of gathering Roſemary for the Dead.—The Reader may find the above Thought in the Pleaſures of Imagination, alſo in a late Piece called the Roſciad and many others; whoſe Merit is a ſufficient Reaſon, I ſuppoſe, for its being in⯑ſerted here.
Line 16. When Auſtor its Euroclydon di⯑lates] Mrs. Midnight is here openly indebted to the Author of the Roſciad, Line 58. We have before obſerved the Beauty of Latinizing our Language, we have in this Line a happy Inſtance of both Greek and Latin, without the leaſt Variation in the Idiom, becoming eaſy and flowing Engliſh, very intelligible to the meaneſt Reader, and notwithſtanding the Herd of Critics of low Taſte, inveigh bitterly againſt this Practice, and call it a baſtardiz'd Innovation of Dialect, I adviſe all, who would make any Figure in theſe Days, to lug in by the Ears all Manner of uncommon Phraſes and Epithets they can lay hold of, and ſubject them to their own Uſe as lawful Prizes. Margelina Scribelinda Macularia.
Line 26. The meaner emulating Tribe a⯑bove.] I cannot think Mrs. Midnight the Au⯑thor of that ſurprizing Beauty in this Line, by the Poſition of the Prepoſition above, it ſeeming to me, that ſhe has borrowed the Hint from the celebrated Dr. Young, whoſe Elegances of that Kind are numerous; he ſays, if I miſtake not, Life is a Stage. ‘Inch high the Grave above—’
Line 28. Like Alps on Alps, &c] This and the following Line are taken from Cam⯑bria, where they ſeem to be the Effect, to uſe the Author's own Words, of a Regard for ‘A Land renown'd of old for nobelſt Deeds,’ For which Reaſon every Mountain muſt be the higheſt in the World, as he ſays
Now, it is not to be ſuppoſed that the Au⯑thor has ever ſeen Italy, France or Spain; or that he has taken the Altitude of his own Country Hills with the Barometer—No,— Reader, there is a Figure in Rhetoric called the Hyperbole, by which a Man may aſſert what he knows nothing at all of, and tell as many Lies as he pleaſes—It is by this Figure, Reader, that Mrs. Midnight has ornamented her Poem by this Simile from the above fa⯑mous Writer, for it is impoſſible ſhe ſhould know ſo little as to imagine the Alps, &c. ſtand in the ſame Compariſon below the Welch Mountains as the common Pariſh Churches do to St. Paul's—Margelina Seri⯑belinda Macularia.
Line 30. As antient as the Pen of Time] Endleſs have been the Diſputes that Mrs. Mid⯑night has had with ſome Critics, to which ſhe has communicated this Deſign on this Paſ⯑ſage —they aſſert that it is the firſt Time, Time ever was taken for an Author (as giv⯑ing him a Pen ſeems to imitate he is) but that, on the contrary, they are a Set of People he has a mortal Averſion to; as they are Ene⯑mies to his Employment, by immortalizing thoſe very Perſons and Things he endeavours to eraſe—in anſwer to this, let them only ſee Cambria, Line 33. Book I. and be ſatisfied, from the Credit of that Author, of its Pro⯑priety; whoſe very Words ſhe has borrow'd, Margelina Scribelinda Macularia.
Line 37. Th' illucid Lopſe, &c.] The Reader may obſerve how our Author has imitated the great Men of our own Day in five or ſix of the preceding Lines; in which ſhe has not an elegant Word but belongs to ſome of them. Nay, ſhe has even almoſt copied whole Lines from them, in particular, from Cambria; and the beautiful Expreſſion of the lucid Lapſe, from the Excurſion of Mr. Mallet—I am ſomewhat ſurprized, however, that Mrs. Midnight could condeſcend to imi⯑tate, in ſo unpoetical a Line as ‘There is a Cave faſt by this Houſe of Pray'r,’ a Writer of ſo little Credit in Point of Lan⯑guage as Milton; ſince it might have been modernized beautifully thus; ‘This Deme eretial near, a Cave exiſts.’ but there is no Work, as Mr. Pope ſays, without ſome Blemiſh,
it is therefore excuſeable if in a Poem, like this, ſo crammed with Beauties, there ſhould he found one Fault.
Line 39. The torpid Wretch] The Reader, to taſte the Beauty of this Picture, and come to a right Underſtanding of our Author, muſt turn to the Frontiſpiece of the Old Wo⯑man's Magazine,(a Work of which Notice has been taken in our Preface) where he will find the Pictures of Dullneſs and Poverty re⯑preſented under the Characters of Mrs. Mary Midnight and her Conſederate Succubus Ca⯑nidia—See Front to Old Wom. Mag. and Page 97. No. III.
Line 40. By that Name, &c.] It is a Mat⯑ter of no little Diſpute whether the Conſede⯑rate of Dullneſs ſhould be called Succubus Ca⯑nidia —the Chriſtian Name, ſignifying a De⯑vil in the Shape of an old Woman, and the Surname being taken from that of a Neapoli⯑tan Jezebel, whom Horace calls a Witch— the Query is (ſince we know the Figure re⯑preſented is Poverty) whether Poverty can be juſtly called a Witch? Some have aſ⯑ſerted, yes; becauſe Witches are always poor, and old. But this is conſuted by the learned and judicious Author of the Spectator, who ſays, that tho' Poverty and Age make Wo⯑men ſuſpected of being Witches, it is, never⯑theleſs, no Proof of their, being ſo. And as to Shakeſpear's repreſenting his Witches in this Manner, every Body knows his poetical Genius, never conſined himſelf to hiſtorical Truth. It is, in fine, ſo abſtruſe and intri⯑cate a Point, that tho' I have conſulted Glan⯑ville, Moreton and others, I muſt leave it to the Deciſion of abler Critics.
Line 42. In culmiferous, &c] The Pro⯑priety of theſe Epithets are admirable, and particularly conſonant to Horace's Rule— they ſeem to be borrow'd from Cambria, and are not a little a-kin to the Author of this Line
here we ſee the Beauty of the latinized Eng⯑liſh, ſince it would elſe have been the rough Roughneſs, which would have been a very rough Expreſſion indeed. Martina Scribe⯑linda Macularia.
Line 48. In her better Hand.] Doubtleſs many People will wonder why the Left Hand ſhould be here expreſſed by the better, and will diſpute why one Hand is better than the other, but Mrs. Midnight has not wrote this without a Precedent, the Reader will find this ſame Epithet in the Roſciad, Ver. 69, to ſpecify the Right Hand, which ſhe has here given to the Left; admirably intimating that Dullneſs is Left-handed; or in other Terms, unlucky. Martina Scribelinda Ma⯑cularia.
Line 51. Daily Lucubrations!] The Rea⯑der will do well to conſider, that as Dullneſs lives in a Cellar, it is no Wonder ſhe burns Candle in the Day-Time-beſide the Text ſays they are Thoughts her Owl inſpires: And who knows but her Owl may be in as bad a Situation as Mr. Smart, who wanted Light to ſee that it was dark, as a late Epi⯑gram intimates.—See Kapelion, No. 4. It is however, certain that all Authors have not the cleareſt Ideas of Day and Night—You will find in the Roſciad that at Night
Line 51. —Thoughts prelaute] Doubt⯑leſs the Critics, of a fine Ear for the Flow of Verſe, will be as much offended at the diſagreeable Sound (I might have ſaid Ca⯑cophony) of theſe two open Words com⯑ing together, as were the fine tympanum'd Gentry, in the Court of Anguſtus, againſt a certain Line in Virgil (which as I don't re⯑member I muſt paſs over) but Mrs. Midnight has in this ſhewn her Reſpect for the Moder⯑nizes of Poetry—I will give you an In⯑ſtance—A certain Writer, who ſtands much on his Merit in this Point, has uſed often theſe two Words together, natal Land. Now there is a ſurpriſing Harſhneſs in the two Els, and almoſt an Impoſſibility of pro⯑nouncing them both, without making a Stop between the Words—It is true, Mr. Rowe, with wonderful Sweetneſs, has uſed the Word native here ‘More than myſelf I prize my native Land.’
Here now is a ſoftening Syllable to har⯑monize the Strength of the preceding and following ones—but what of this? Native is a vulgar Word, and every Conſideration ſhould be given up for an Epithet obſolete or uncommon, as the abovementioned Refiner of plain Engliſh has ſhewn us, ſuch as, ‘Patriotic Worth—Treaty of Pacification,’ and numberleſs others—it muſt be owned—Patriot worth—Treaty of Peace, would be equally expreſſive, and a thouſand Times more elegant and beautiful; but, as that would be a common Way of Speech, the Dignity of the Language would have been degraded.
Line 65. Steed pendent.] It is probable ſome of the witty Gentlemen, of the preſent Age, may laugh here, and accuſe the Author of Hibernianiſm and ſay it is only a mean Imitation of a Saying of the celebrated Bar⯑naby Buxtm, who told an Acquaintance, he ſteed like a Man hanging in Chains: But, with Submiſſion to theſe facetious Critics, if they reflect upon the Situation of a Bird perched in a hanging Cage, it is poſſible they may reconcile this Paſſage to Engliſh.
Line 67. As'tween her Nods.] This is a true and lively Image of any Author who writes for Pay, whoſe Genius is never awake but when he is hungry.
Line 72. How Ebenezer] Ebenezer Pent⯑weazle, of Truro in the County of Cornwall, Eſq a celebrated Epigrammatiſt.
Line 73. Into bubonic Form.] The Me⯑tamorphoſis of Pentweazle into an Owl, is ſo admirably fancied, that I can't help preferring it to every thing I have met with in Ovid. The Similitude of an Author's being confined to Study in his, or his Bookſeller's, Garret, for Means of Livelihood, is prodigiouſly ſi⯑milar to an Owl's perching on the Beam of a Barn, meditating on the Mice which ſhe is to have—if ſhe can catch them.
Line 76. Solertial, Smart.] This Paſſage bears ſome Diſpute; as it is queſtioned, by many, whether there ſhould be a Comma be⯑tween theſe two Words—Some aſſert the former to be an Adjective, and the laſt a Sub⯑ſtantive, and ſuſpect Mrs. Midnight of a Pun in Heroics; others will have the Comma ſtand, and aſſert they are hoth Adjectives. I have conſidered the Point very ſeriouſly and, finding ſo many Reaſons on both Sides, muſt leave it to the Deciſion of the Grammarians.
Line 79. Woere in the Form of Vacuum.] It is likely many of our Brother Authors, eſ⯑pecially thoſe of the mathematical and philo⯑ſophical Turn, will very learnedly and wit⯑tily ask in what Form is the Form of no⯑thing; however, I muſt confeſs, for my own part, that I think Mrs. Midnight goes, in this Place, as infinitely beyond herſelf as all other Authors have fallen ſhort of her—this is a very bold and caring Expreſſion, and is beyond Criticiſm itſelf; and whether the Writers of the preſent Day will allow the Beauty and Juſtice of this Paſſage or not; they have, un⯑doubtedly, often experienced it: So that, I think, their Diſputes of the Exiſtence of a Vacuum in the Univerſe, would be better ſupplied by a Study to deſtroy the Vacuum they find in their Pockets.
Line 80. Golden, rhyming Thought.] Not⯑withſtanding Tom Brown has written a long and learned Diſſertation, in Praiſe of Po⯑verty, and Mr. Moore an admirable Fable to prove that Want is ths greateſt Help to Ge⯑nius; yet there are few, even Poets, I be⯑lieve, but think the jingling of one Guinea againſt another, infinitely better Rhime than Pope, Gay or Moore ever wrote in their Lives, and would approve a Bank Note of an hundred Pounds, as the beſt Proſe they ever read. Nay, I believe, with a little Per⯑ſuaſion, Mr. R—t himſelf would be brought to accept it, notwithſtanding there ſhould be no hard Word in it.
Line 94. Or he's pent.
Line 95. In Shape muſtelar.] This is the ſecond Time, in this Work, where a Pun may be ſuſpected—in the former Paſſage, I forbore to give my Judgment; but here, I muſt own, the Words point immediately to the Name Pentweazle; yet is not this Paſſage to be degraded, ſince it is only intro⯑ducing a new and bold Figure called the Al⯑luſ [...]la, which I would recommend to all the Refiners of Language whatever. Mar⯑gelina Seribelinda Macularia.
Line 98. Cracks kernell'd Nuts] Some of our Readers may perhaps imagine here are meant Nuts with Kernels in them—to free them from that Miſtake, I beg Leave to aſ⯑ſure them that Mrs. Midnight means Nuts without Kernels; as is expreſſed in the Inter⯑pretation: To come at the true and full Meaning of the Text, it is neceſſary we ſub⯑join the following Advertiſement given out by the fictitious, &c. To make you all mer⯑ry at Chriſtmas, and to open the New Year with Pleaſure and ſatisfaction, my Publiſher will exhibit on the 26th of this Inſtant, to all who are pleaſed to purchaſe the ſame, A moſt admirable, learned, and judicious Work intitled,
The NUT-CRACKER. Containing an agreeable Variety of well-ſeaſoned Jeſts, Epi⯑grams, Epitaphs, &c. collected from the moſt Sprightly Wits of the preſent Age. Together with ſuch Inſtructions as will enable any Man to tell a Story with a good Grace, and crack a Nut without loſing the Kernel. With o⯑ther Particulars equally uſeful and entertain⯑ing, and for which the gentle, kind, and cour⯑teous Reader, will be pleaſed to look into the Book itſelf. Publiſhed with the Approbation of the Learned in all Faculties, by Ferdi⯑nando Foot, Eſq
Now, Reader, theſe Nuts, here ſo bragged of, have been cracked before by Joe Miller, and the whole Tribe of Nut-crackers, who have been wiſe enough to ſecure the Ker⯑nels.
Line 99. Or mumbles Grace 'twice o'er] The Reader will find the ſame Preface to the above Nut-cracker as to the Old Woman's Magazine: A Sign their own Wit is not ve⯑ry plenty.
Line 99. And grinning Shews] Mrs. Mid⯑night here ſeems to point at ſome late Adver⯑tiſements, put out in her Name; by the fic⯑titious Attempters to her Humour and Ge⯑nius; which, as they are remarkable In⯑ſtances of the Conſidence of theſe People, we ſhall give an Inſtance or two.
ADVERTISEMENT.
WHEREAS ſeveral egregious Ideots have been flinging Dirt at Mrs. Midnight and her Works. The Publick is deſired to take No⯑tice, that there is now in the Preſs, and ſpee⯑dily will be publiſhed, the Old Woman's Dun⯑ciad with Notes.
THE Gentleman who ſent five Guineas to be excuſed a Place, or, in other Words, to be left out of my Dunciad, is deſired to call at my Publiſher's and receive his Money; for, upon Enquiry, he appears to be ſuch an egregious Blockhead, and is in all Reſpects ſo fit for Celebration, and ſo worthy of pub⯑lick Notice, that I can't prevail on myſelf to omit any Character which will afford my Friends ſuch high Entertainment.
The Reader is here deſired to recollect, or: turn back to the Preface.
Line 106. Into a Monedule turn'd] Who⯑ever has the Honour of knowing this learned and ingenious Gentleman will ſee a great deal of Prepriety in his being converted to a Jack-daw; as his natural Gift of chattering might probably inſpire Dullneſs with that In⯑tention. We are, however, ſerry this Mis⯑fortune ſhould happen to him before the fi⯑niſhing of the Tragedy he is engaged in as a Work of Nature requires undoubtedly a great deal of Solidity.
Line 107. Roſtrate th' ingenial Cloac] This is admirably natural, and peculiarly a⯑dapted to the Nature of a Jackdaw, who is pecking among all the Filth and Rubbiſh he comes near.
Line 111. Domes too dearly bought!] The Gentleman, who is the Owner of theſe Ca⯑ſtles, and employs this mighty Builder, com⯑plains very much of the Charges he is at in erecting them. Margelina, &c.
Line 112, &c.] —Where Art ne'er pil'd The ſculptur'd Stone, nor glow'd enflam⯑ing Kilns To denſe the conculcated Clay. CAMBRIA.
Line 117. Frigidio calls my Song.] A Per⯑ſonage who needs no Celebration from any other Pen than his own.
Line 118. Feme's loud retrovert.] Many of our Readers will perhaps think this Senti⯑ment rather ludicrous than momentary; but it is ſeldom, very ſeldom that our Author writes without a Meaning, though it is poſ⯑ſible an ordinary Genius may be at a Loſs to find it out, I preſume, by Fame's proclaiming the Name of this Gentleman backwards, is intended the Pains and Trouble he himſelf takes to tell People he is a great Man, which is undoubtedly the reverſe Way to Fame.
Line 121. Manducating Thoughts.] Here is not a little Beauty in this Expreſſion, which it is probable the Reader, of little Penetra⯑tion, will ſuffer to eſcape him—chewing Thoughts—intimating hereby that this Au⯑thor chews his Sentiments ſo long that they come from him, with all the Sweetneſs ſucked out of them like dried Sticks.
Line 122. In vaccal Rumination]. Here ſeems to be a very extraordinary Meaning couched under the Epithet vaccal—ruminat⯑ing like a C [...]w—It is a Queſtion well wer⯑tly the study and Deciſion of our candid Diſputants and free Enquirers in what Man⯑ner Cows may be ſaid to ruminate; or how for thoſe Ideas may comprehend; or whe⯑ther they are in a Capacity of entertaining complex or only ſimple Ideas—for my own Part, as I never imagined a Cow, chewing the Cud, a Picture of Reflection, ſo I never gave myſelf the Trouble to ask any one what ſhe was thinking of. I imagine our Author, Mrs. Midnight, is indebted for this Thought to a late Work, where is this Paſſage.
You ſee, from hence, that the Sentiment is however a very good one: But perhaps this Gentleman, as well as Mrs. Midnight, might be acquainted with ſome Cow of Genius, and therefore have done this Honour to their Species.
Line 129. Smack'em. &c.] The Reader will be better acquainted with this celebrated Perſonage by peruſing the following Adver⯑tiſement. The MAGAZINES blown up; or they are all in the Suds. Being a full, true, and particular Account of the apprehending, ſeiz⯑ing and taking of the notified Pentweazle, an Oxford Scholar, in the Shape of an Old Wo⯑man: With his Examination before the right worſhipful juſtice Banter, and his Commit⯑ment to the New Priſon. Together with an Account of his Impeachment of divers others, who were concerned in many late barbarous Attempts on the Senſes of his Majeſty's liege Subjects.—With a right and true Liſt of all their Names, who were taken, laſt Night, at a Houſe of ill Fame near St. Paul's—With their whole Examination and Commitment by the ſaid Gentleman. To which is added, a Key to the Back-Door. The whole done in plain Engliſh, by Whacum Smack'em, the greateſt Satiriſt now living;
at ſo ſmall and eaſy a Charge as Three-Pence.
Line 131. Verboſe Stentorian, &c.] Taken from the Roſciad,
Line 138. The Laſanon's no more.] The Reader will eaſily comprehend this Paſſage, by turning to the Frontiſpieces of the Old Wa⯑man's Magazine and the Magazines blown up, in the firſt of which the Jakes of Genius is placed near the Goddeſs Dullneſs, and in the laſt it is blazing on the Fire.
Line 140. Dire Amazement! ab!] No⯑thing can add more to the Dignity of Verſe then the frequent Uſe of the Ecpheneſis or Ex⯑clamation—it being a Privilege peculiar to Poetry, which renders ordinary Affairs, or thoſe of no Conſequence at all, Matters of the greateſt Moment. Thus, a modern Au⯑thor, introducing a Sentiment as common as that of one Day paſſeth away, and another com⯑eth, beautifully exclaims, — Dire Amazement! ah! Is that ſmall Mart, is Newport all the Spoil Of glorious Iſca?
Line 149. And in Euthanaſy the Stench decays.] In the Roſciad, the Author, deſcrib⯑ing the Decreaſe of the Wind, ſays ‘And in Euthanaſy the Breeze decays.’ It may here be obſerved how far the Poets of the preſent Day exceed, in point of Stile, all that ever went before them; and how igno⯑rant, in the true Beauties of Expreſſion, were the moſt celebrated Critics of Yeſterday— Says Mr. Pope,
Again,
And again he ſays,
Now how foreign is the Sound of the Word Euthanaſy to its Meaning, a gentle dying— And yet the Beauty and Propriety of this Word, as it derives from the Greek, is be⯑yond all Doubt. Margelina Scribelinda Macularia.
Line 150. O fam'd Carnan.] T. Carnan not the true and genuine Theophilus Carnan, Mrs. Midnight's only Bookſeller.
Line 155. It beam refulgent] Notwith⯑ſtanding the numerous Excellencies already exemplified in this Poem, I cannot help pre⯑ferring this Paſſage to any other—Here, Reader, is the Elegance and the Art of a Poet; to make a Sentiment which is, in it ſelſ, mean and deſpicable equal to the moſt refined and ſublime—Here is a Specimen of true Wit,
I imagine Mrs. Midnight has given this, as an Inſtance of that Power and Beauty of Language ſhe is Mistreſs of; which may not only ſerve to enlighten all who may write hereafter; but may alſo convince them of the ignorance of the beſt of our Predeceſſors in this Point—ſays Mr.Pope, A vile Conceit, in pompous Words expreſt, Is like a Clown in regal Purple dreſt. An undeniable Proof of the injudicicus Taſte of this Author, in ſo material a Point!— and how widely does he miſtake the Truth of the Matter, in ſaying,
Now, who does not ſee in the above Paſ⯑ſage in the Text, that the Sentiment is ſo alter'd, that it is ſcarce diſcern'd to be the ſame. Who would imagine that, like Horreal Valve. It beam refulgent. Signified no more than it ſhines like a ſhitten Born Door: Or, as the Reader may recollect ſeveral of the preceed⯑ing Paſſages, that
Intimated nothing elſe than
To enumerate theſe Remarks would here be needleſs as this whole Work may be ſaid to be one continual Beauty of this Kind. Mar⯑gelina Scribelinda Macularia.
Line 160. Like the fam'd Naiads] See Fielding's Tom Jones, where he compares the Oyſter-Wenches to the Naiads. An Inſtance (as well as Mrs. Midnight's) of fine Writing.
Line 161. In monomachial War] Our Au⯑thor ſeems here to have an Eye to a Paſſage in the Kapelion—See Archimagirus's Addreſs to his Cuſtomers; where he challenges his Brother Scribblers to fight them, Pen, Ink, and Paper, upon any Spot of Ground in England, and ſends them the Length of his Quills and the Price of his Paper, to ſhew he ſcorns to engage them at unequal Wea⯑pons.
Line 163.—Dunciadus thou] The Rea⯑der, for an Information concerning this Cha⯑racter, may turn to the Magazines blown up —Whimſey Banter ſays there, his Bookſeller's Sign is his Emblem, and that he is the Pack⯑horſe of Authors. Another Evidence ſays, he is a Beaſt of Prey, and loves Carrion and bad Meat.
Line 165. Thou greateſt Crocodile and greater yet.] A particular Deſcription of all theſe Characters may be found in the above mentioned Pamphlet—Doubtleſs the Critics will here fall foul upon Mrs. Midnight, and deſire to know if Crocodile is greateſt, how Woodville can be greater—but ſure, Gentle⯑men, it is impoſſible but you muſt have heard of the new Degree of Compariſon, founded on a bold Figure in Rhetorick and called the ſuper-ſuperLnive. —It is by this, that the ce⯑lebrated Author of the ACTOR ſays that the Tragic Player requires fire in the greateſt De⯑gree, but the Comic Player in a much g [...]at⯑er. Margelina Scribelinda Macularia.
Line 167. Our caſtern BRAMIN]—It is preſum'd no Body is ignorant of the cele⯑brated Author of the Oeconomy of Human Life, whoſe Name, coming from ſo great a Diſtance, has made the World not a little ſuſpicious of an Impoſture—The conteſt here pointed at, is that between the original Bra⯑min and the Authors of ſecond Parts, Sup⯑pliments, &c. which Gentlemen are a Set of Writers, who, rather than go without a Dinner at all, are contented to take up with the Victuals half cold, after others have made a Meal, yet boaſt much of their Dining at the ſame Table.—It is, however, to be diſ⯑puted which has the moſt Right to the Name of a Profeſſor of Virtue and Philoſophy, the Bramin of Grubſtrect or the Bramin of Pal⯑Mall.
Line 169. Magiriſt, Student, &c. —By the former of theſe is meant, Archimagirus Metaphoricus, Author of the Kapelion, a Work that requires no Celebration. By the Student, is hinted the Author of a Six-penny Pamphet, under that Name, publiſhed Monthly by the Aſſiſtance and Approbation of the two famous Univerſities OXFORD and CAMBRIDGE. A ſurprizing and wonderful Example of the vaſt and extenſive produc⯑tions of thoſe two great Seminaries! both of which, we are told, are employed in the compoſing of this PAMPHLET of important Articles. What then may not the World expect from, their joint Aſſiſtance in ſo great a Work?
Line 172. Ev'n me to nod.—The Her⯑miſtics in this Poem I cannot help imputing to a wilful Neglect, which, however, would be unpardonable in a Work of leſs Merit than this Dunciad, Virgil's Aeneids and ſome others of equal Worth in this Day.
Line 173. Now is that Work, &c. Mrs. Midnight has clos'd this Poem with as much Confidence and as juſtly as the celebrated Ovid; whoſe Words are,
The following Lines to the End are bor⯑row'd from the moſt modeſt Writer of the preſent Age
- Citation Suggestion for this Object
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 4357 The so much talk d of and expected old woman s Dunciad Or midwife s master piece By Mary Midnight With historical critical and explanatory notes by Margelina Scribelinda Macularia. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-57A4-9