"And every shepherd tells his tale
Under the hawthorn, in the dale."
I have read with interest the "Notes" (Vol. i., pp. 286. 316.) on these
lines of the Allegro; because, in spite of early prepossession in favour
of the idea commonly attached to them, I was converted some years ago, by
the late Mr. Constable, R.A., whose close observation of rural scenery
and employments no one can question.
His account of the matter was this:
"It is usual in Suffolk, and I have seen it often myself, for
the shepherd, assisted by another man or boy, to make the whole
flock pass through a gap, in order to facilitate the _tale_.
One fellow drives them through the opening, by moving about,
shouting, and clapping his hands, while his comrade, on the
other side of the hedge, and under cover of a thorn or other
thick bush, counts them as they leap through. I have not only
seen but assisted, when a boy, at the shepherd's tale; and I
do believe Milton had no other idea in his mind. For, indeed,
the early morning is not the time the poets choose for lovers
to woo, or maids to listen; and Milton has described a scene
where all were up and stirring. Neither is the word 'every'
appropriate, according to the common interpretation of the
passage; _every_ shepherd would not woo on the same spot; but
that spot might be particularly favourable for making the tale
of his sheep."
Your correspondent J. M. M. adduces an argument in favour of the romantic
_versus_ the pastoral, which seems to me entirely devoid of weight. He
thinks that Handel's "'Let no wander' breathes the shepherd's tale of
love." Surely there is more imagination than truth in this. There is a
_series_ of images in the words of that song: it was necessary, unless
the music varied unreasonably to suit them all, to choose a pleasing, but
not very significant, melody, and, above all, to make the close of it a
fit introduction for the "merry bells," and "jocund Rebecs," which burst
in immediately after. I confess I find nothing of the amatory style in
Handel's setting of the two disputed lines. He chose the Pastorale or 6/8
time, as for "He shall feed his flock," "O lovely Peace," &c. But were it
so, I could not admit Handel as an authority, because, as a foreigner,
and an inhabitant of towns, he could not possibly be conversant with the
rural customs of England.