Thought lingers pleasantly over this sunset period. Handel throughout
life was so wedded to his art, that he cared nothing for the delights of
woman's love. His recreations were simple--rowing, walking, visiting his
friends, and playing on the organ. He would sometimes try to play the
people out at St. Paul's Cathedral, and hold them indefinitely. He would
resort at night to his favorite tavern, the "Queen's Head," where
he would smoke and drink beer with his chosen friends. Here he would
indulge in roaring conviviality and fun, and delight his friends with
sparkling satire and pungent humor, of which he was a great master,
helped by his amusing compound of English, Italian, and German. Often
he would visit the picture galleries, of which he was passionately fond.
His clumsy but noble figure could be seen almost any morning rolling
through Charing Cross; and every one who met old Father Handel treated
him with the deepest reverence.
The following graphic narrative, taken from the "Somerset House
Gazette," offers a vivid portraiture. Schoelcher, in his "Life of
Handel," says that "its author had a relative, Zachary Hardcastle,
a retired merchant, who was intimately acquainted with all the
most distinguished men of his time, artists, poets, musicians, and
physicians." This old gentleman, who lived at Paper Buildings, was
accustomed to take his morning walk in the garden of Somerset House,
where he happened to meet with another old man, Colley Cibber, and
proposed to him to go and hear a competition which was to take place
at midday for the post of organist to the Temple, and he invited him to
breakfast, telling him at the same time that Dr. Pepusch and Dr.
Arne were to be with him at nine o'clock. They go in; Pepusch arrives
punctually at the stroke of nine; presently there is a knock, the door
is opened, and Handel unexpectedly presents himself. Then follows the
scene:
"Handel: 'Vat! mein dear friend Hardgasdle--vat! you are merry py
dimes! Vat! and Misder Golley Cibbers too! ay, and Togder Peepbush
as veil! Vell, dat is gomigal. Veil, mein friendts, andt how vags the
vorldt wid you, mein tdears? Bray, bray, do let me sit town a momend.'
"Pepusch took the great man's hat, Colley Cibber took his stick, and my
great-uncle wheeled round his reading-chair, which was somewhat about
the dimensions of that in which our kings and queens are crowned; and
then the great man sat him down.
"'Vell, I thank you, gentlemen; now I am at mein ease vonce more. Upon
mein vord, dat is a picture of a ham. It is very pold of me to gome
to preak my fastd wid you uninvided; and I have brought along wid me
a nodable abbetite; for the wader of old Fader Dems is it not a fine
pracer of the stomach?'
"'You do me great honor, Mr. Handel,' said my great-uncle. 'I take this
early visit as a great kindness.'
"'A delightful morning for the water,' said Colley Cibber.
"'Pray, did you come with oars or scullers, Mr. Handel?' said Pepusch.
"'Now, how gan you demand of me dat zilly question, you who are a
musician and a man of science, Togder Peepbush? Vat gan it concern you
whether I have one votdermans or two votd-ermans--whether I bull out
mine burce for to pay von shilling or two? Diavolo! I gannot go here, or
I gannot go dere, but some one shall send it to some newsbaber, as
how Misder Chorge Vreder-ick Handel did go somedimes last week in a
votderman's wherry, to preak his fastd wid Misder Zac. Hardgasdle; but
it shall be all the fault wid himself, if it shall be but in print,
whether I was rowed by one votdermans or by two votdermans. So, Togder
Peepbush, you will blease to excuse me from dat.'
"Poor Dr. Pepusch was for a moment disconcerted, but it was soon
forgotten in the first dish of coffee.
"'Well, gentlemen,' said my great-uncle Zachary, looking at his tompion,
'it is ten minutes past nine. Shall we wait more for Dr. Arne?"
"'Let us give him another five minutes' chance, Master Hardcastle,' said
Colley Cibber; 'he is too great a genius to keep time.'
"'Let us put it to the vote,' said Dr. Pepusch, smiling. 'Who holds up
hands?'
"'I will segond your motion wid all mine heardt,' said Handel. 'I will
hold up mine feeble hands for mine oldt friendt Custos (Arne's name was
Augustine), for I know not who I wouldt waidt for, over andt above mine
oldt rival, Master Dom (meaning Pepusch). Only by your bermission, I
vill dake a snag of your ham, andt a slice of French roll, or a modicum
of chicken; for to dell you the honest fagd, I am all pote famished,
for I laid me down on mine billow in bed the lastd nightd widout
mine supper, at the instance of mine physician, for which I am not
altogeddere inglined to extend mine fastd no longer.' Then, laughing:
'Berhaps, Mister Golley Cibbers, you may like to pote this to the vote?
But I shall not segond the motion, nor shall I holdt up mine hand, as I
will, by bermission, embloy it some dime in a better office. So, if you
blease, do me the kindness for to gut me a small slice of ham.'
"At this instant a hasty footstep was heard on the stairs, accompanied
by the humming of an air, all as gay as the morning, which was beautiful
and bright. It was the month of May.
"'Bresto! be quick,' said Handel; he knew it was Arne; 'fifteen minutes
of dime is butty well for an _ad libitum_.'
"'Mr. Arne,' said my great-uncle's man.
"A chair was placed, and the social party commenced their déjeuner.
"'Well, and how do you find yourself, my dear sir?' inquired Arne, with
friendly warmth.
"'Why, by the mercy of Heaven, and the waders of Aix-la-Chapelle, andt
the addentions of mine togders andt physicians, and oggulists, of lade
years, under Providence, I am surbrizingly pedder--thank you kindly,
Misder Custos. Andt you have also been doing well of lade, as I am
bleased to hear. You see, sir,' pointing to his plate, 'you see, sir,
dat I am in the way for to regruit mine flesh wid the good viands of
Misder Zachary Hardgasdle.'
"'So, sir, I presume you are come to witness the trial of skill at
the old round church? I understand the amateurs expect a pretty sharp
contest,' said Arne.
"'Gondest,' echoed Handel, laying down his knife and fork. 'Yes, no
doubt; your amadeurs have a bassion for gondest. Not vot it vos in our
remembrance. Hey, mine friendt? Ha, ha, ha!'
"'No, sir, I am happy to say those days of envy and bickering, and party
feeling, are gone and past. To be sure we had enough of such disgraceful
warfare: it lasted too long.'
"'Why, yes; it tid last too long, it bereft me of mine poor limbs: it
tid bereave of that vot is the most blessed gift of Him vot made us,
andt not wee ourselves. And for vot? Vy, for nod-ing in the vorldt pode
the bleasure and bastime of them who, having no widt, nor no want, set
at loggerheads such men as live by their widts, to worry and destroy
one andt anodere as wild beasts in the Golloseum in the dimes of the
Romans.'
"Poor Dr. Pepusch during this conversation, as my great-uncle observed,
was sitting on thorns; he was in the confederacy professionally only.
"'I hope, sir,' observed the doctor, 'you do not include me among those
who did injustice to your talents?'
"'Nod at all, nod at all, God forbid! I am a great admirer of the airs
of the 'Peggar's Obéra,' andt every professional gendtleman must do
his best for to live.'
"This mild return, couched under an apparent compliment, was well
received; but Handel, who had a talent for sarcastic drolling, added:
"'Pute why blay the Peggar yourself, togder, andt adapt oldt pallad
humsdrum, ven, as a man of science, you could gombose original airs of
your own? Here is mine friendt, Custos Arne, who has made a road for
himself, for to drive along his own genius to the demple of fame.' Then,
turning to our illustrious Arne, he continued, 'Min friendt Custos,
you and I must meed togeder some dimes before it is long, and hold a
_têde-à-têde_ of old days vat is gone; ha, ha! Oh! it is gomigal now dat
id is all gone by. Custos, to nod you remember as it was almost only of
yesterday dat she-devil Guzzoni, andt dat other brecious taugh-ter of
iniquity, Pelzebub's spoiled child, the bretty-f aced Faustina? Oh! the
mad rage vot I have to answer for, vot with one and the oder of these
fine latdies' airs andt graces. Again, to you nod remember dat ubstardt
buppy Senesino, and the goxgomb Farinelli? Next, again, mine some-dimes
nodtable rival Bononcini, and old Borbora? Ha, ha, ha! all at war wid
me, andt all at war wid themselves. Such a gonfusion of rivalshibs, andt
double-facedness, andt hybocrisy, and malice, vot would make a gomigal
subject for a boem in rhymes, or a biece for the stage, as I hopes to be
saved.'"