ANONYMOUS

“SYLVIA on her LOVER’s making the Campaign in Flanders”

Since honur call my love away,
Shall I inglorious cort his stay?
No—I am charm’d the yuth I love,
Ha’now the lot himself to prove,
A soldier stout, humane and free,                               5
Firm in the cause of liburty;
And heav’n furbid, thro’ me his fame
Be blasted with a coward’s name.
Chearful he leave the rural sports,
And honur’s mart, the camp, he corts;                        10
Wheer William, George his marshial son,
Do all the soldier’s danger run,
And base that Brittun sure mun be,
Who fears to face the enemy,
Led by so brafe a prince as he.                                     15
Although the world my Dicky range
His love is too sinsere to change;
Nor shall his absence make me stray,
No happier man shall find the way
To Sylvia’s hart; for he alone                                           20
Is monarc ther, and ther’s his throne.
Ye kindly pow’rs surround and shield
My champion in the hostil field.
Purtect him wher the bullets fly,
And place his gardian angel nye;                                   25
And when his country’s cause no more
Demands his sword, to Britain’s shore
Return my lover free from harms,
And bless me in his fathful arms.

NOTES:

Title the Campaign in Flanders Refers to England’s involvement in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) (Britannica).

11 William, George his marshial son Prince William, later Duke of Cumberland (1721-1765) was the youngest son of George II (c. 1683-1760), reigned from 1727.  William became a major-general in 1742 and was known for his martial exploits in several battles during the War of the Austrian Succession (Britannica).

16 Dicky Nickname derived from Richard.

20 Sylvia Derived from the Latin “silva,” meaning “a wood, forest, woodland” (OED).

SOURCE: The Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. XV (August, 1745), p. 439.

Edited by Zoe Crowe

“DOROTHY”

“SYLVIA Seconded”

Shame to the lass whose fatal beauty
Retains her lover from his duty.
An honest country girl am I,
Untaught to patch, or paint—or lye;
I never led assembly dance,                                                5
Nor ap’d the monkey-modes of France;
Nor ever fainted at a ball,
These are no tricks for artless Doll.
Yet, chearful, with the ruddy dawn,
I sing along the russet lawn;                                              10
I milk the cows in yonder dale,
And home I bring the smoaking pail;
Each has her charge, of sisters three,
And the sweet dairy falls to me.
Yet tho’ I tend my rural care,                                      15
Our shepherds tell me I am fair;
And Will, I fear, has found the art
To steal a corner in my heart;
Yet, if he should refuse his hand,
Now, when his country does demand,                              20
I’d scorn the man I lov’d before,
Nor ever own his courtship more.
Would maidens but of high degree
Submit to be advis’d by me,
They would employ each grace and charm,                       25
For freedom ev’ry breast to warm;
No courtier at their feet should sigh,
Who for his king refus’d to die;
No lover meet their kind applause,
His sword undrawn in Britain’s cause.                                   30
Now—all that’s dear is lay’d at stake,
Ye fair, your fond admirers wake!
Bid them draw forth th’ avenging steel,
Till rebel foes their rashness feel.
Then—when the glorious task is o’er,                                    35
And peace restor’d to Albion’s shore,
Inform them your consenting smile
Shall meet their vows—and crown their toil.
Staffordshire.

NOTES:

Title (See p. 439).  [Editor’s note]

4 patch, or paint Makeup and patches, or beauty spots (la mouches), were popularized by French court circles in the mid-eighteenth century (Gardiner Museum).

6 monkey-modes of France “Modes,” here likely meaning “a prevailing fashion, custom, practice, or style, esp. one characteristic of a particular place or period” (OED). In the eighteenth century, France was considered the predominant pioneer in European fashion and popularized lavish styles of formal dress, such as the grand habit, which stood in stark contrast with trends within England that favored “egalitarian styles and fabrics” (Textile History).

23 degree “A stage or position in the scale of dignity or rank; relative social or official rank” (OED).

30 Britain’s cause Britain entered the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748) to prevent the French from capturing the Austrian Netherlands and to protect its territory in Hanover (National Army Museum).

36 Albion’s shore “Originally: the island of Britain. Later: the nation of Britain or England, often with reference to past times, or to a romanticized concept of the nation” (OED).

39 Staffordshire Ceremonial county in the English West Midlands.

SOURCE: The Gentleman’s Magazine, vol. XV (October, 1745), p. 551.

Edited by Zoe Crowe