as Swiveller, Micawber, Cuttle, and many others,
all of whom are of a very musical turn of mind. These songs
may be conveniently divided into three classes, the first
containing the national and popular airs of the eighteenth
century, of which 'Rule Britannia' and 'Sally in our Alley'
are notable examples. Many of these are referred to in the
following pages, while a full list will be found on pp. 135-163.

I.--_National Songs_

There are numerous references to 'Rule Britannia.' Besides
those mentioned elsewhere we have the picture of little David
Copperfield in his dismal home.

What evenings when the candles came, and I was
expected to employ myself, but not daring to read
an entertaining book, pored over some hard-headed,
harder-hearted treatise on arithmetic; when the tables
of weights and measures set themselves to tunes as
'Rule Britannia,' or 'Away with Melancholy'!

No wonder he finally went to sleep over them!

In _Dombey and Son_ Old Sol has a wonderful story of the
_Charming Sally_ being wrecked in the Baltic, while the crew
sang 'Rule Britannia' as the ship went down, 'ending with one
awful scream in chorus.' Walter gives the date of the tragedy
as 1749. (The song was written in 1740.)

Captain Cuttle had a theory that 'Rule Britannia,' 'which the
garden angels sang about so many times over,' embodied the
outlines of the British Constitution. It is perhaps unnecessary
to explain that the Captain's 'garden angels' appear in the
song as 'guardian angels.'

Mark Tapley, when in America, entertained a grey-haired black
man by whistling this tune with all his might and main. The
entry of Martin Chuzzlewit caused him to stop the tune

at that point where Britons generally are supposed
to declare (when it is whistled) that they never,
never, never--

In the article on 'Wapping Workhouse' (_U.T._) Dickens
introduces the first verse of the song in criticizing the
workhouse system and its treatment of old people, and in the
_American Notes_ he tells us that he left Canada with 'Rule
Britannia' sounding in his ears.

'British Grenadiers,' said Mr. Bucket to Mr. Bagnet, 'there's
a tune to warm an Englishman up! _Could_ you give us "British
Grenadiers," my fine fellow?' And the 'fine fellow,' who
was none other than Bagnet junior (also known as 'Woolwich'),
promptly

fetches his fife and performs the stirring melody,
during which performance Mr. Bucket, muc