...(17th century), in the ' Duchesfc of Malfi,' alludes to them thus : — " Call for the robin redbreast and the wren, Since o'er shady groves they hover,...flowers do cover The friendless bodies of unburied men." And Mr. Harting has noticed Shakspeare's and Isaak Walton's allusions to this charity of the " honest...

...hear them, — Ding, dong, Bell. XLVH A LAND DIRGE /~"*ALL for the robin-redbreast and the wren, V_x Since o'er shady groves they hover And with leaves...funeral dole The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm And (when gay tombs are robb'd) sustain no harm ; But keep...

...are prominent throughout Webster's chief works. Here are one or two instances. First, a dirge : — Call for the robin-redbreast and the wren, Since o'er shady groves they hover, And with flowers and leaves do cover The friendless bodies of unburied men. Call unto his funeral dole The ant,...

...'Duchess of Malfi ' and other dramas. Mr. Dyce has made a collection of his writings. (London, 1830).] LL for the robin-redbreast and the wren, Since o'er shady...funeral dole The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm And (when gay tombs are robb'd) sustain no harm ; But keep...

...five thy father lies)." There is a pretty piece by Webster, called " A Land Dirge," and beginning " Call for the robin-redbreast and the wren, Since o'er shady groves they hover.'' There is the beautiful " Diaphenia," by H. Constable. Marlowe's ' Passionate Shepherd " might properly...

...worn-out emigrant could not even hope for the quiet grave desired in that grand old English dirge, Call unto his funeral dole The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole, To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm, And (when gay tombs are robbed) sustain no harm ; But keep...

...aright, Though namelesse there his bodie now doth lie." There was none to cry over the hapless Priam : " Call for the robin-redbreast and the wren, Since o'er...funeral dole The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole, To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm, And, when gay tombs are robbed, sustain no harm." Webster,...

...Compare Webster, Vittoria Corombona: 'Call for the robin-red-breast and the wren, Since o'er shady boughs they hover, And with leaves and flowers do cover The...funeral dole The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole, To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm, And (when gay tombs are robb'd) Sustain no harm; But keep...

...notion has been found in an earlier book of natural history." John Webster, writing in 1638, says : " Call for the robin-redbreast and the wren, Since o'er...flowers do cover The friendless bodies of unburied men." Izaak Walton, in his " Compleat Angler," 1653, speaks of " the honest robin that loves mankind, both...

...for a robin redbreast, and the wren, lEjEgHI Since o'er shady groves they hover, And with leaves of flowers do cover The friendless bodies of unburied...funeral dole The ant, the field-mouse, and the mole, To rear him hillocks that shall keep him warm. JI— IEL I F—LE EI U Z 1C fj. WEBSTER, an old dramatist,...