Public-domain ebook
Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, Vol. 5 of 6
Language: en5,664 downloads on Project Gutenberg
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #26679.
About this book
Wit and Mirth: or Pills to Purge Melancholy, Volume V, is a seventeenth‑century anthology of ballads, songs, and comic verses assembled by Thomas D’UrfeY. The volume opens with a meticulous front matter that explains the preservation of original spellings, the correction of obvious printer’s errors, and the rendering of black‑letter words in uppercase. An alphabetical table then lists more than three hundred entries, each title followed by a brief incipit that hints at the bawdy humor, moral satire, and pastoral scenes that dominate the collection. The first full piece presented is the ribald “Four‑Legged Elder,” a mock‑heroic narrative about a dog‑married maid that proceeds in a rapid, rhymed dialogue peppered with contemporary political references.
The language is unmistakably early‑modern English, complete with hyphenated compounds, archaic orthography, and occasional capitalized words that echo the original printing. Its tone is lively and irreverent, employing witty wordplay, satirical commentary on religious and civic authorities, and a brisk, song‑like rhythm. Readers who enjoy historical folk literature, Restoration‑era humor, or the raw energy of early English balladry will find this volume a rewarding glimpse into the popular culture that once animated London’s taverns and stages.
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Produced by David Newman, Linda Cantoni, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net. Music transcribed by Linda Cantoni.
[Transcriber's Note: This e-book is volume 5 of Thomas D'Urfey's Wit and Mirth: Or Pills to Purge Melancholy, published in six volumes in 1719-20 by J. Tonson, London. It was prepared from a 1959 facsimile reprint by Folklore Library Publishers, Inc., New York, of an 1876 reprint (publisher unidentified).
The 1719-20 edition was published in two issues. The first issue was published under the title Songs Compleat, Pleasant and Divertive; the second, under the Wit and Mirth title. The 1876 reprint apparently used a combination of the two issues, and volume 5 bears the Songs Compleat title. Moreover, the 1876 reprint was not an exact facsimile of the 1719-20 edition, as the typography and music notation were modernized. For more information on the various editions, see Cyrus L. Day, "Pills to Purge Melancholy," The Review of English Studies, Vol. 8, No. 30 (Apr. 1932), pp. 177-184, available at http://www.jstor.org/stable/508831 (login required).
Archaic and inconsistent spellings and hyphenation have been preserved as they appear in the original, except that "VV" is rendered as "W." The original order of titles in the Alphabetical Table has also been preserved. Obvious printer errors have been corrected.
Some words are rendered in the original in blackletter font. They are rendered here in uppercase letters. Italics are indicated with underscores.]
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