THOMAS CAREW


July 28, 1894. A Note on his Name.

Even as there is an M alike in Macedon and Monmouth, so Thomas Carew
and I have a common grievance--that our names are constantly
mispronounced. It is their own fault, of course; on the face of it
they ought to rhyme with "few" and "vouch." And if it be urged
(impolitely but with a fair amount of plausibility) that what my name
may or may not rhyme with is of no concern to anybody, I have only to
reply that, until a month or so back, I cheerfully shared this opinion
and acquiesced in the general error. Had I dreamed then of becoming a
subject for poetry, I had pointed out--as I do now--for the benefit of
all intending bards, that I do not legitimately rhyme with "vouch" (so
liable is human judgment to err, even in trifles), unless they
pronounce it "vooch," which is awkward. I believe, indeed (speaking as
one who has never had occasion to own a Rhyming Dictionary), that the
number of English words consonant with my name is exceedingly small;
but leave the difficulty to the ingenious Dr. Alexander H. Japp,
LL.D., F.R.S.E., who has lately been at the pains to compose and put
into private circulation a sprightly lampoon upon me. As it is not my
intention to reply with a set of verses upon Dr. Japp, it seems
superfluous to inquire if _his_ name should be pronounced as it is
spelt.

But Carew's case is rather important; and it is really odd that his
latest and most learned editor, the Rev. J.F. Ebsworth, should fall
into the old error. In a "dedicatory prelude" to his edition of "The
Poems and Masque of Thomas Carew" (London: Reeves & Turner), Mr.