Prominent among the gay cavaliers at the court of Charles I. of England,
was Sir John Suckling, a dashing, reckless, improvident fellow, who
acted the gallant to the ladies, played skillfully at bowls and deeply
at cards, was always ready at a frolic and merry-making, and died when
scarcely more than thirty years of age; the author of three or four
dramas of no more than ordinary merit, and of a few snatches of poetry,
chiefly love-songs, betraying talent sufficient to have rendered his
name of no inconsiderable interest down to the present day. It is an
interest, however, growing not out of a familiarity with the
circumstances of his life and character, but from a curiosity to know a
little more concerning one of whom, as yet, we know almost nothing at
all, albeit his name is of the most familiar.
Materials for his biography are scanty enough, made up for the most part
of gossip from such antiquarians as Aubrey, who imitates Herodotus, in a
fondness for the marvelous and romantic, to a degree that weakens our
faith in him as a trustworthy historian. Not until the middle of the
present century were we in possession of a memoir claiming to be in any
respect complete. In 1838, there appeared in London an edition of his
writings, with a prefatory sketch of his life, by the Rev. Alfred
Suckling, LL.B. The editor had access to a few private MSS., which, in
our judgment, have not served to modify the previous accounts of Sir
John's character, in spite of the labored efforts of his namesake--and,
it may be, descendant--to that effect. The memoir and critical remarks
appended are well written, though partial; and the work is the more
valuable for the reason that only a few hundred copies of it were
printed.
All accounts agree in ascribing to Suckling, as an individual and as to
his _personnel_, the same careless and unstudied manner so conspicuous
in his literary efforts. He must have expended at least a moderate
degree of labor on his dramas; all dramas require it. On the other hand,
there is hardly a doubt that he threw off his poems in the mere fancy of
an idle moment, with no care for their subsequent revision; indeed, a
collected publication was not made until the lapse of four or five years
after his death. A certain vivacity and sprightliness is the secret of
their popularity, which, from their first appearance to the present day,
has never been totally lost, though at no period could they be said to
have commanded an extensive range of readers. Previous to the collection
of 1838, four or five editions of his poems, dramas, and letters had
been published at London, at wide intervals during the last two
centuries.
Whether Sir John Suckling was ushered into this world in 1608-9, or in
1613, has never been positively ascertained, though a discrepancy of
five years would imply a state of the family record open, to say the
least, to a little free criticism. If the poet himself was aware of the
correct date, he has not taken the trouble to enlighten the public upon
it. It would be well were that public always so good-natured as to err
on the side of youth, giving the more credit to success, and accepting
inexperience as an excuse in part for mistake and failure. But in
doubtful cases, one is likely to get credit for more years than he is
fairly entitled to--a deception we are ready to believe not unpalatable
sometimes to active men of early or middle age, though proverbially
annoying to spinsters. There is, too, an inherent tendency among
scholars toward antiquarianism, which always induces them to take the
earliest possible year. In the present instance, at any rate, most
authorities favor the first date, fixing his birth at Whitton, in
Middlesex, in 1608-9.
Sir John Suckling, the father, had been Secretary of State under James
I., and was Comptroller of the Household to Charles I. He was said to
have been a quiet, grave, and serious man, of sound judgment and good
business habits. Aubrey disposes of him summarily enough, with the
remark that 'he was but a dull fellow.' Had his wife been of the same
pattern, the worthy couple might well have been astonished at the lively
capers of their progeny; but we have reason to believe that the
frolicksome courtier and poet drew upon a bountiful store of good
'mother wit.' Quite all that we know of her, however, in an authentic
way, is contained in a professional and curious item that the family
physician saw fit to jot down in his note-book, as follows, 'Sir John's
mother went till the eleventh month with him;' which, to be sure, in
popular opinion, betokened a deal of future consequence.
To the subject of our narrative is assigned the customary precocity of
intellect; for he is said to have spoken Latin at five, and written it
at nine. Add four years to conform with the true date, and the facts
assume a little more reasonable aspect. In 1623, he was matriculated at
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he remained three or four years, but
did not take a degree, probably having shown himself a little more
'progressive' than the laws of that institution allowed. After leaving
Cambridge, he traveled over a large part of the Continent, which,
besides increasing his knowledge of the world, brought still nearer
perfection that easy carriage and polished manner which had already
attracted the observation of the court.
While in Germany, he united himself to an expedition of six thousand
troops sent by Charles to the aid of Gustavus Adolphus, and was one of
forty gentlemen's sons forming the body-guard of the Marquis of
Hamilton, who had been commissioned as General in command. He was
present at the first great victory over Tilly near Leipsic, and in other
battles and sieges. How valuable a military experience accrued from this
service we are not informed, but no great amount of it was ever
displayed upon his return to England. When the 'League and Covenant'
ended in open rebellion, Suckling eagerly espoused the royal cause, and
accompanied the King in his expedition against the Scots. It was the
custom for each retainer to fit out his men according to his own taste,
and at his own expense. Sir John arrayed one hundred horsemen in a
gorgeous attire of scarlet and white, to the admiration of the fair sex,
and at the expense of twelve thousand pounds. On arriving in sight of
the enemy, it seems that they resolved not to soil their attire with
such vulgar contact. If they had been told in the early day to follow
their gallant leader, they obeyed the order now; for Sir John was making
excellent good time away from the field, and, as nearly as he could
judge, in the direction of London. This inglorious maneuver was improved
by Sir John Mennes, Rear-Admiral of the Fleet, and the author of
_Musarum Deliciæ_, (who never suffered an opportunity of this kind to go
by without blazing away in a lampoon;) and a jaunty song,
'Sir John he got him an ambling nag,
To Scotland for to ride--á!'
became the delight of the town.
Suckling was of slight figure and middle stature, with a face handsome
and full of animation. His fine appearance, due also in part to
excellent taste in dress, made him a universal favorite at court. He was
no doubt as faithful a friend as a volatile disposition would allow; a
fair specimen, in short, of the elegant gentleman of the times. Aubrey
speaks of him as 'incomparable at reparteeing, the bull that was bayted,
his witt beinge most sparkling, when most set on and provoked.' His
expenditures went beyond liberality; they were extravagant. His credit
with the tradesmen soon became worthless. The greater part of his money
was made at gaming. He was one of the most skillful men of his age at
cards and at bowls. So absorbed would he become in the former, that he
would often lie in bed the greater part of the day studying their
various changes. He became notorious in an age when every one played to
excess. No one 'fought the tiger' (to borrow the modern expression) with
more indomitable pluck than Sir John; for, as his friend Will Davenant
tells us, 'at his lowest ebb he would make himself glorious in apparel,
and said that it exalted his spirits'--a curious philosophy, suggestive
not a little of Dickens' Mark Tapley. Pope has accused Suckling of being
an 'immoral man, as well as debauched.' One is ready, with Leigh Hunt,
to ask for the difference between these qualities of vice. The
explanation is, that dissipation in general was excused by the times,
but Sir John was suspected of unfair play at cards--a suspicion which
appears to have rested upon a mere trifle for its foundation.
In 1641, while a member of the Long Parliament, he was found guilty by
the Commons of having assisted Lord Stafford in his attempt to escape
from the Tower. Davenant and Jermyn were concerned in the affair.
Suckling, as usual, took to his heels, and arrived safe in France. His
flight was the signal for the appearance of a number of ballads about
London. One, with forty-two wretchedly-conceived stanzas, was entitled:
'A letter sent by Sir John Suckling from France, deploring his sad
estate and flight, with a discoverie of the plot and conspiracie
intended by him and his adherents against England.' A tolerably
well-executed engraving, on a folio sheet, was also circulated,
representing two cavaliers lounging among cards, dice-boxes, and
drinking-cups, and set off with wholesome Scriptural quotations, and
verses in praise of the temperate.
'Hee is a frugal man indeede,
That with a leafe can dine;
'He needes no napkin for his handes,
His fingers for to wipe;
He hath his kitchen in a box,
His roast meat in a pipe.'
The title to this choice bit of satire was in staring letters: