| Citation |
SCAGG.769.008
6-13 Feb 1769:31 (12/536)
London, December 3, 1768. [ ] concordia fratram Ovid.
[The following is a political satire which uses musical
terminology in several places.]
From the beginning of time no persons upon earth have been
so apt to quarrel as brothers.
To enumerate such quarrels would exceed the bounds of a
newspaper; many books, both sacred and prophane, are full of
them.
But I do not know how it happened, they were generally
divided, two in one set and two in another; they never could
agree about calling a tune, nor about the true method of
footing. In short, every flip of their's seemed to be a
fling aimed at the opposite set, and all their ambitions
tended to obstruct each other; Bouncing Will had gone over
to Hanover, where he learnt a new dance called the
Allemande, which he performed with great applause from the
boxes along with his brother Squire Gawky, and so fond was
he of this foreign jig, that he publickly declared he
preferred it to all the country dances he had learnt in his
youth. Emboldened by so great success, he wanted to open
the next ball with a Spanish fandango, but he gave himself
such [intolerable] airs that brother George and the rest of
the set would not suffer him to proceed; on which he and
Gawky in great dudgeon flounced out of the house, swearing
they would soon make it too hot for them.
George being now master of the ceremonies, made the musick
play just as he pleased, and one night (after an extra dose
of cyder) called aloud to the musick to play up Yankee
Doodle, but the fiddlers not playing fast enough, he roared
and stamp'd at such a rate, that some boards in the flooring
gave way, and down he went like a ghost in a tragedy.
Bouncing Will became once more master of the ceremonies,
upon which Squire Gawky went off and joined brother George,
whilst Jemmy Trimmer stuck close to Bounce, still keeping up
the equal division of the brotherhood, two against two.
In this manner things have continued for some time, but at
last common fame reports that there is likely to be an
unitas fratrum, a general reconciliation of all the four,
and that this grand partie quarree after dancing the Hayes
most amiably in the county of Kent, will sacrifice to the
Goddess Concond in the county of Bucks.
[signed] Quidnunc
|