last century, and demolished in 1856.

CHAPTER VII

SOME NOTED SINGERS

_The Micawbers_

Dickens presents us with such an array of characters
who reckon singing amongst their various accomplishments
that it is difficult to know where to begin. Perhaps the
marvellous talents of the Micawber family entitle them to first
place. Mrs. Micawber was famous for her interpretation of 'The
Dashing White Sergeant' and 'Little Taffline' when she lived
at home with her papa and mamma, and it was her rendering of
these songs that gained her a spouse, for, as Mr. Micawber
told Copperfield,

when he heard her sing the first one, on the first
occasion of his seeing her beneath the parental roof,
she had attracted his attention in an extraordinary
degree, but that when it came to 'Little Tafflin,' he
had resolved to win that woman or perish in the attempt.

It will be remembered that Mr. Bucket (_B.H._) gained a wife by
a similar display of vocal talent. After singing 'Believe me,
if all those endearing young charms,' he informs his friend
Mrs. Bagnet that this ballad was

his most powerful ally in moving the heart of
Mrs. Bucket when a maiden, and inducing her to approach
the altar. Mr. Bucket's own words are 'to come up to
the scratch.'

Mrs. Micawber's 'Little Taffline' was a song in Storace's
ballad opera _Three and the Deuce_, words by Prince Hoare. It
will be interesting to see what the song which helped to mould
Micawber's fate was like.

LITTLE TAFFLINE.

[Figure 5]

Should e'er the fortune be my lot
To be made a wealthy bride,
I'll glad my parents' lowly cot,
All their pleasure and their pride:

And when I'm drest all in my best,
I'll trip away like lady gay,
I'll trip, I'll trip away.

And the lads will say, Dear heart, what a flash!
Look at little Taffline with a silken sash,
And the lads will say, Dear heart, what a flash!
And the lads will say, Dear heart, what a flash!
Look at little Taffline, Look at little Taffline,
Oh, look at little Taffline with the silken sash!

There was also a character called Little Taffline in T. Dibdin's
_St. David's Day_, the music for which was compiled and composed
by Thomas Attwood, organist of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Her other song, 'The Dashing White Sergeant,' was a martial
and very popular setting of some words by General Burgoyne.

Micawber could both sing a