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diff --git a/old/oleng10.txt b/old/oleng10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7f3b110 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/oleng10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11291 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of England +by Robert Bell + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of England + +Author: Robert Bell + +Release Date: September, 1996 [EBook #649] +[This file was first posted on September 17, 1996] +[Most recently updated: September 2, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ANCIENT POEMS OF ENGLAND *** + + + + +Transcribed from the 1857 John W. Parker and Son edition by David +Price, email ccx074@coventry.ac.uk + + + + +ANCIENT POEMS, BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE PEASANTRY OF ENGLAND. +TAKEN DOWN FROM ORAL RECITATION AND TRANSCRIBED FROM PRIVATE +MANUSCRIPTS, RARE BROADSIDES AND SCARCE PUBLICATIONS. + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + + +In 1846, the Percy Society issued to its members a volume entitled +Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, +edited by Mr. James Henry Dixon. The sources drawn upon by Mr. +Dixon are intimated in the following extract from his preface:- + + +He who, in travelling through the rural districts of England, has +made the road-side inn his resting-place, who has visited the lowly +dwellings of the villagers and yeomanry, and been present at their +feasts and festivals, must have observed that there are certain old +poems, ballads, and songs, which are favourites with the masses, +and have been said and sung from generation to generation. + + +This traditional, and, for the most part, unprinted literature,-- +cherished in remote villages, resisting everywhere the invasion of +modern namby-pamby verse and jaunty melody, and possessing, in an +historical point of view, especial value as a faithful record of +the feeling, usages, and modes of life of the rural population,-- +had been almost wholly passed over amongst the antiquarian revivals +which constitute one of the distinguishing features of the present +age. While attention was successfully drawn to other forms of our +early poetry, this peasant minstrelsy was scarcely touched, and +might be considered unexplored ground. There was great difficulty +in collecting materials which lay scattered so widely, and which +could be procured in their genuine simplicity only from the people +amongst whom they originated, and with whom they are as 'familiar +as household words.' It was even still more difficult to find an +editor who combined genial literary taste with the local knowledge +of character, customs, and dialect, indispensable to the collation +of such reliques; and thus, although their national interest was +universally recognised, they were silently permitted to fall into +comparative oblivion. To supply this manifest desideratum, Mr. +Dixon compiled his volume for the Percy Society; and its pages, +embracing only a selection from the rich stores he had gathered, +abundantly exemplified that gentleman's remarkable qualifications +for the labour he had undertaken. After stating in his preface +that contributions from various quarters had accumulated so largely +on his hands as to compel him to omit many pieces he was desirous +of preserving, he thus describes generally the contents of the +work:- + + +In what we have retained will be found every variety, + +'From grave to gay, from lively to severe,' + +from the moral poem and the religious dialogue, - + +'The scrolls that teach us to live and to die,' - + +to the legendary, the historical, or the domestic ballad; from the +strains that enliven the harvest-home and festival, to the love- +ditties which the country lass warbles, or the comic song with +which the rustic sets the village hostel in a roar. In our +collection are several pieces exceedingly scarce, and hitherto to +be met with only in broadsides and chap-books of the utmost rarity; +in addition to which we have given several others never before in +print, and obtained by the editor and his friends, either from the +oral recitation of the peasantry, or from manuscripts in the +possession of private individuals. + + +The novelty of the matter, and the copious resources disclosed by +the editor, acquired for the volume a popularity extending far +beyond the limited circle to which it was addressed; and although +the edition was necessarily restricted to the members of the Percy +Society, the book was quoted not only by English writers, but by +some of the most distinguished archaeologists on the continent. + +It had always been my intention to form a collection of local +songs, illustrative of popular festivals, customs, manners, and +dialects. As the merit of having anticipated, and, in a great +measure, accomplished this project belongs exclusively to Mr. +Dixon, so to that gentleman I have now the pleasure of tendering my +acknowledgments for the means of enriching the Annotated Edition of +the English Poets with a volume which, in some respects, is the +most curious and interesting of the series. + +Subsequently to the publication of his collection by the Percy +Society, Mr. Dixon had amassed additional materials of great value; +and, conscious that the work admitted of considerable improvement, +both in the way of omission and augmentation, he resolved upon the +preparation of a new edition. His reasons for rejecting certain +portions of the former volume are stated in the following extract +from a communication with which he has obliged me, and which may be +considered as his own introduction to the ensuing pages. + + +The editor had passed his earliest years in a romantic mountain- +district in the North of England, where old customs and manners, +and old songs and ballads still linger. Under the influence of +these associations, he imbibed a passionate love for peasant +rhymes; having little notion at that time that the simple +minstrelsy which afforded him so much delight could yield hardly +less pleasure to those who cultivated more artificial modes of +poetry, and who knew little of the life of the peasantry. His +collection was not issued without diffidence; but the result +dissipated all apprehension as to the estimate in which these +essentially popular productions are held. The reception of the +book, indeed, far exceeded its merits; for he is bound in candour +to say that it was neither so complete nor so judiciously selected +as it might have been. Like almost all books issued by societies, +it was got up in haste, and hurried through the press. It +contained some things which were out of place in such a work, but +which were inserted upon solicitations that could not have been +very easily refused; and even where the matter was unexceptionable, +it sometimes happened that it was printed from comparatively modern +broadsides, for want of time to consult earlier editions. In the +interval which has since elapsed, all these defects and short- +comings have been remedied. Several pieces, which had no +legitimate claims to the places they occupied, have been removed; +others have been collated with more ancient copies than the editor +had had access to previously; and the whole work has been +considerably enlarged. In its present form it is strictly what its +title-page implies--a collection of poems, ballads, and songs +preserved by tradition, and in actual circulation, amongst the +peasantry. + +Bex, Canton de Vaud. +Switzerland. + + +The present volume differs in many important particulars from the +former, of the deficiencies of which Mr. Dixon makes so frank an +avowal. It has not only undergone a careful revision, but has +received additions to an extent which renders it almost a new work. +Many of there accessions are taken from extremely rare originals, +and others are here printed for the first time, including amongst +the latter the ballad of Earl Brand, a traditional lyric of great +antiquity, long familiar to the dales of the North of England; and +the Death of Queen Jane, a relic of more than ordinary intesest. +Nearly forty songs, noted down from recitation, or gathered from +sources not generally accessible, have been added to the former +collection, illustrative, for the most part, of historical events, +country pastimes, and local customs. Not the least suggestive +feature in this department are the political songs it contains, +which have long outlived the occasions that gave them birth, and +which still retain their popularity, although their allusions are +no longer understood. Amongst this class of songs may be specially +indicated Jack and Tom, Joan's Ale was New, George Ridler's Oven, +and The Carrion Crow. The songs of a strictly rural character, +having reference to the occupations and intercourse of the people, +possess an interest which cannot be adequately measured by their +poetical pretensions. The very defects of art with which they are +chargeable, constitute their highest claim to consideration as +authentic specimens of country lore. The songs in praise of the +dairy, or the plough; or in celebration of the harvest-home, or the +churn-supper; or descriptive of the pleasures of the milk-maid, or +the courtship in the farm-house; or those that give us glimpses of +the ways of life of the waggoner, the poacher, the horse-dealer, +and the boon companion of the road-side hostelrie, are no less +curious for their idiomatic and primitive forms of expression, than +for their pictures of rustic modes and manners. Of special +interest, too, are the songs which relate to festival and customs; +such as the Sword Dancer's Song and Interlude, the Swearing-in +Song, or Rhyme, at Highgate, the Cornish Midsummer Bonfire Song, +and the Fairlop Fair Song. + +In the arrangement of so multifarious an anthology, gathered from +nearly all parts of the kingdom, the observance of chronological +order, for obvious reasons, has not been attempted; but pieces +which possess any kind of affinity to each other have been kept +together as nearly as other considerations would permit. + +The value of this volume consists in the genuineness of its +contents, and the healthiness of its tone. While fashionable life +was masquerading in imaginary Arcadias, and deluging theatres and +concert rooms with shams, the English peasant remained true to the +realities of his own experience, and produced and sang songs which +faithfully reflected the actual life around him. Whatever these +songs describe is true to that life. There are no fictitious +raptures in them. Love here never dresses its emotions in +artificial images, nor disguises itself in the mask of a Strephon +or a Daphne. It is in this particular aspect that the poetry of +the country possesses a permanent and moral interest. + +R. B. + + + +ANCIENT POEMS, BALLADS, AND SONGS OF THE PEASANTRY. + + + + +Contents + +Poems: + +The plain-dealing man. +The vanities of life. +The life and age of man. +The young man's wish. +The midnight messenger; or, a sudden call from an earthly glory to +the cold grave. +A dialogue betwixt an exciseman and death. +The messenger of mortality; or life and death contrasted in a +dialogue betwixt death and a lady. +England's alarm; or the pious christian's speedy call to repentance +Smoking spiritualized. +The masonic hymn. +God speed the plow, and bless the corn-mow. A dialogue between the +husbandman and servingman. +A dialogue between the husbandman and the servingman. +The Catholick. +The three knights. +The blind beggar of Bednall Green. + +Ballads: + +The bold pedlar and Robin Hood. +The outlandish knight. +Lord Delaware. +Lord Bateman. +The golden glove; or, the squire of tamworth. +King James I. And the tinkler. +The Keach i' the Creel. +The Merry Broomfield; or, the west country wager. +Sir John Barleycorn. +Blow the winds, i-ho! +The beautiful lady of Kent; or, the seaman of Dover. +The Berkshire lady's garland. +The nobleman's generous kindness. +The drunkard's legacy. +The Bowes tragedy. +The crafty lover; or, the lawyer outwitted. +The death of Queen Jane. +The wandering young gentlewoman; or, Catskin. +The brave Earl Brand and the King of England's Daughter. +The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove; or, the old man and his three +sons. +Lady Alice. +The felon sewe of rokeby and the freeres of Richmond. +Arthur o'Bradley's wedding. +The painful plough. +The useful plow; or, the plough's praise. +The farmer's son. +The farmer's boy. +Richard of Taunton Dean; or, dumble dum deary. +Wooing song of a yeoman of Kent's sonne. +The clown's courtship. +Harry's courtship. +Harvest-home song. +Harvest-home. +The mow. +The barley-mow song. +The barley-mow song. (Suffolk version.) +The craven churn-supper song. +The rural dance about the may-pole. +The Hitchin may-day song. +The Helstone furry-day song. +Cornish midsummer bonfire song. +Suffolk harvest-home song. +The haymaker's song. +The sword-dancers' song. +The sword-dancers' song and interlude. +The maskers' song. +Gloucestershire wassailers' song. +The mummers' song; or, the poor old horse. +Fragment of the hagmena song. +The greenside wakes song. +The swearing-in song or rhyme. +Fairlop fair song. +As Tom was a-walking. +The miller and his sons. +Jack and Tom. +Joan's ale was new. +George Ridler's oven. +The carrion crow. +The leathern bottel. +The farmer's old wife. +Old Wichet and his wife. +The Jolly Waggoner. +The Yorkshire horse-dealer. +The King and the countryman. +Jone o' Greenfield's ramble. +Thornehagh-moor woods. +The Lincolnshire poacher. +Somersetshire hunting song. +The trotting horse. +The seeds of love. +The garden-gate. +The new-mown hay. +The praise of a dairy. +The milk-maid's life. +The milking-pail. +The summer's morning. +Old Adam. +Tobacco. +The Spanish Ladies. +Harry the Tailor. +Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee. +There was an old man came over the lea. +Why should we quarrel for riches. +The merry fellows; or, he that will not merry, merry be. +The old man's song. +Robin Hood's hill. +Begone dull care. +Full merrily sings the cuckoo. +Jockey to the fair. +Long Preston Peg. +The sweet nightingale; or, down in those valleys below. +The old man and his three sons. +A begging we will go. + + + +Poem: THE PLAIN-DEALING MAN. + + + +[The oldest copy of the Plain Dealing Man with which we have been +able to meet is in black letter, printed by T. Vere at the sign 'Of +the Angel without Newgate.' Vere was living in 1609.] + +A crotchet comes into my mind +Concerning a proverb of old, +Plain dealing's a jewel most rare, +And more precious than silver or gold: +And therefore with patience give ear, +And listen to what here is penned, +These verses were written on purpose +The honest man's cause to defend. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +Yet some are so impudent grown, +They'll domineer, vapour, and swagger, +And say that the plain-dealing man +Was born to die a beggar: +But men that are honestly given +Do such evil actions detest, +And every one that is well-minded +Will say that plain dealing is best. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +For my part I am a poor man, +And sometimes scarce muster a shilling, +Yet to live upright in the world, +Heaven knows I am wondrous willing. +Although that my clothes be threadbare, +And my calling be simple and poor, +Yet will I endeavour myself +To keep off the wolf from the door. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +And now, to be brief in discourse, +In plain terms I'll tell you my mind; +My qualities you shall all know, +And to what my humour's inclined: +I hate all dissembling base knaves +And pickthanks whoever they be, +And for painted-faced drabs, and such like, +They shall never get penny of me. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +Nor can I abide any tongues +That will prattle and prate against reason, +About that which doth not concern them; +Which thing is no better than treason. +Wherefore I'd wish all that do hear me +Not to meddle with matters of state, +Lest they be in question called for it, +And repent them when it is too late. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +O fie upon spiteful neighbours, +Whose malicious humours are bent, +And do practise and strive every day +To wrong the poor innocent. +By means of such persons as they, +There hath many a good mother's son +Been utterly brought to decay, +Their wives and their children undone. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +O fie upon forsworn knaves, +That do no conscience make +To swear and forswear themselves +At every third word they do speak: +So they may get profit and gain, +They care not what lies they do tell; +Such cursed dissemblers as they +Are worse than the devils of hell. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +O fie upon greedy bribe takers, +'Tis pity they ever drew breath, +For they, like to base caterpillars, +Devour up the fruits of the earth. +They're apt to take money with both hands, +On one side and also the other, +And care not what men they undo, +Though it be their own father or brother. +Therefore I will make it appear, +And show very good reasons I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +O fie upon cheaters and thieves, +That liveth by fraud and deceit; +The gallows do for such blades groan, +And the hangmen do for their clothes wait. +Though poverty be a disgrace, +And want is a pitiful grief, +'Tis better to go like a beggar +Than to ride in a cart like a thief. +For this I will make it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +And now let all honest men judge, +If such men as I have here named +For their wicked and impudent dealings, +Deserveth not much to be blamed. +And now here, before I conclude, +One item to the world I will give, +Which may direct some the right way, +And teach them the better to live. +For now I have made it appear, +And many men witness it can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + +1. I' th' first place I'd wish you beware +What company you come in, +For those that are wicked themselves +May quickly tempt others to sin. + +2. If youths be induced with wealth, +And have plenty of silver and gold, +I'd wish them keep something in store, +To comfort them when they are old. + +3. I have known many young prodigals, +Which have wasted their money so fast, +That they have been driven in want, +And were forced to beg at the last. + +4. I'd wish all men bear a good conscience, +And in all their actions be just; +For he's a false varlet indeed +That will not be true to his trust. + +And now to conclude my new song, +And draw to a perfect conclusion, +I have told you what is in my mind, +And what is my [firm] resolution. +For this I have made it appear, +And prove by experience I can, +'Tis the excellen'st thing in the world +To be a plain-dealing man. + + + +Poem: THE VANITIES OF LIFE. + + + +[The following verses were copied by John Clare, the +Northamptonshire peasant, from a MS. on the fly-leaves of an old +book in the possession of a poor man, entitled The World's best +Wealth; a Collection of choice Councils in Verse and Prose. +Printed for A. Bettesworth, at the Red Lion in Paternoster-row, +1720. They were written in a 'crabbed, quaint hand, and difficult +to decipher.' Clare remitted the poem (along with the original +MS.) to Montgomery, the author of The World before the Flood, &c. +&c., by whom it was published in the Sheffield Iris. Montgomery's +criticism is as follows:- 'Long as the poem appears to the eye, it +will abundantly repay the trouble of perusal, being full of +condensed and admirable thought, as well as diversified with +exuberant imagery, and embellished with peculiar felicity of +language: the moral points in the closing couplets of the stanzas +are often powerfully enforced.' Most readers will agree in the +justice of these remarks. The poem was, probably, as Clare +supposes, written about the commencement of the 18th century; and +the unknown author appears to have been deeply imbued with the +spirit of the popular devotional writers of the preceding century, +as Herbert, Quarles, &c., but seems to have modelled his smoother +and more elegant versification after that of the poetic school of +his own times.] + +'Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.'--SOLOMON. + + +What are life's joys and gains? +What pleasures crowd its ways, +That man should take such pains +To seek them all his days? +Sift this untoward strife +On which thy mind is bent, +See if this chaff of life +Is worth the trouble spent. + +Is pride thy heart's desire? +Is power thy climbing aim? +Is love thy folly's fire? +Is wealth thy restless game? +Pride, power, love, wealth and all, +Time's touchstone shall destroy, +And, like base coin, prove all +Vain substitutes for joy. + +Dost think that pride exalts +Thyself in other's eyes, +And hides thy folly's faults, +Which reason will despise? +Dost strut, and turn, and stride, +Like walking weathercocks? +The shadow by thy side +Becomes thy ape, and mocks. + +Dost think that power's disguise +Can make thee mighty seem? +It may in folly's eyes, +But not in worth's esteem: +When all that thou canst ask, +And all that she can give, +Is but a paltry mask +Which tyants wear and live. + +Go, let thy fancies range +And ramble where they may; +View power in every change, +And what is the display? +- The country magistrate, +The lowest shade in power, +To rulers of the state, +The meteors of an hour: - + +View all, and mark the end +Of every proud extreme, +Where flattery turns a friend, +And counterfeits esteem; +Where worth is aped in show, +That doth her name purloin, +Like toys of golden glow +That's sold for copper coin. + +Ambition's haughty nod, +With fancies may deceive, +Nay, tell thee thou'rt a god, - +And wilt thou such believe? +Go, bid the seas be dry, +Go, hold earth like a ball, +Or throw her fancies by, +For God can do it all. + +Dost thou possess the dower +Of laws to spare or kill? +Call it not heav'nly power +When but a tyrant's will; +Know what a God will do, +And know thyself a fool, +Nor tyrant-like pursue +Where He alone should rule. + +Dost think, when wealth is won, +Thy heart has its desire? +Hold ice up to the sun, +And wax before the fire; +Nor triumph o'er the reign +Which they so soon resign; +In this world weigh the gain, +Insurance safe is thine. + +Dost think life's peace secure +In houses and in land? +Go, read the fairy lure +To twist a cord of sand; +Lodge stones upon the sky, +Hold water in a sieve, +Nor give such tales the lie, +And still thine own believe. + +Whoso with riches deals, +And thinks peace bought and sold, +Will find them slippery eels, +That slide the firmest hold: +Though sweet as sleep with health, +Thy lulling luck may be, +Pride may o'erstride thy wealth, +And check prosperity. + +Dost think that beauty's power, +Life's sweetest pleasure gives? +Go, pluck the summer flower, +And see how long it lives: +Behold, the rays glide on, +Along the summer plain, +Ere thou canst say, they're gone, - +And measure beauty's reign. + +Look on the brightest eye, +Nor teach it to be proud, +But view the clearest sky +And thou shalt find a cloud; +Nor call each face ye meet +An angel's, 'cause it's fair, +But look beneath your feet, +And think of what ye are. + +Who thinks that love doth live +In beauty's tempting show, +Shall find his hopes ungive, +And melt in reason's thaw; +Who thinks that pleasure lies +In every fairy bower, +Shall oft, to his surprise, +Find poison in the flower. + +Dost lawless pleasures grasp? +Judge not thou deal'st in joy; +Its flowers but hide the asp, +Thy revels to destroy: +Who trusts a harlot's smile, +And by her wiles is led, +Plays with a sword the while, +Hung dropping o'er his head. + +Dost doubt my warning song? +Then doubt the sun gives light, +Doubt truth to teach thee wrong, +And wrong alone as right; +And live as lives the knave, +Intrigue's deceiving guest, +Be tyrant, or be slave, +As suits thy ends the best. + +Or pause amid thy toils, +For visions won and lost, +And count the fancied spoils, +If e'er they quit the cost; +And if they still possess +Thy mind, as worthy things, +Pick straws with Bedlam Bess, +And call them diamond rings. + +Thy folly's past advice, +Thy heart's already won, +Thy fall's above all price, +So go, and be undone; +For all who thus prefer +The seeming great for small, +Shall make wine vinegar, +And sweetest honey gall. + +Wouldst heed the truths I sing, +To profit wherewithal, +Clip folly's wanton wing, +And keep her within call: +I've little else to give, +What thou canst easy try, +The lesson how to live, +Is but to learn to die. + + + +Poem: THE LIFE AND AGE OF MAN. + + + +[From one of Thackeray's Catalogues, preserved in the British +Museum, it appears that The Life and Age of Man was one of the +productions printed by him at the 'Angel in Duck Lane, London.' +Thackeray's imprint is found attached to broadsides published +between 1672 and 1688, and he probably commenced printing soon +after the accession of Charles II. The present reprint, the +correctness of which is very questionable, is taken from a modern +broadside, the editor not having been fortunate enough to meet with +any earlier edition. This old poem is said to have been a great +favourite with the father of Robert Burns.] + + +In prime of years, when I was young, +I took delight in youthful ways, +Not knowing then what did belong +Unto the pleasures of those days. +At seven years old I was a child, +And subject then to be beguiled. + +At two times seven I went to learn +What discipline is taught at school: +When good from ill I could discern, +I thought myself no more a fool: +My parents were contriving than, +How I might live when I were man. + +At three times seven I waxed wild, +When manhood led me to be bold; +I thought myself no more a child, +My own conceit it so me told: +Then did I venture far and near, +To buy delight at price full dear. + +At four times seven I take a wife, +And leave off all my wanton ways, +Thinking thereby perhaps to thrive, +And save myself from sad disgrace. +So farewell my companions all, +For other business doth me call. + +At five times seven I must hard strive, +What I could gain by mighty skill; +But still against the stream I drive, +And bowl up stones against the hill; +The more I laboured might and main, +The more I strove against the stream. + +At six times seven all covetise +Began to harbour in my breast; +My mind still then contriving was +How I might gain this worldly wealth; +To purchase lands and live on them, +So make my children mighty men. + +At seven times seven all worldly thought +Began to harbour in my brain; +Then did I drink a heavy draught +Of water of experience plain; +There none so ready was as I, +To purchase bargains, sell, or buy. + +At eight times seven I waxed old, +And took myself unto my rest, +Neighbours then sought my counsel bold, +And I was held in great request; +But age did so abate my strength, +That I was forced to yield at length. + +At nine times seven take my leave +Of former vain delights must I; +It then full sorely did me grieve - +I fetched many a heavy sigh; +To rise up early, and sit up late, +My former life, I loathe and hate. + +At ten times seven my glass is run, +And I poor silly man must die; +I looked up, and saw the sun +Had overcome the crystal sky. +So now I must this world forsake, +Another man my place must take. + +Now you may see, as in a glass, +The whole estate of mortal men; +How they from seven to seven do pass, +Until they are threescore and ten; +And when their glass is fully run, +They must leave off as they begun. + + + +Poem: THE YOUNG MAN'S WISH. + + + +[From an old copy, without printer's name; probably one from the +Aldermary Church-yard press. Poems in triplets were very popular +during the reign of Charles I., and are frequently to be met with +during the Interregnum, and the reign of Charles II.] + + +If I could but attain my wish, +I'd have each day one wholesome dish, +Of plain meat, or fowl, or fish. + +A glass of port, with good old beer, +In winter time a fire burnt clear, +Tobacco, pipes, an easy chair. + +In some clean town a snug retreat, +A little garden 'fore my gate, +With thousand pounds a year estate. + +After my house expense was clear, +Whatever I could have to spare, +The neighbouring poor should freely share. + +To keep content and peace through life, +I'd have a prudent cleanly wife, +Stranger to noise, and eke to strife. + +Then I, when blest with such estate, +With such a house, and such a mate, +Would envy not the worldly great. + +Let them for noisy honours try, +Let them seek worldly praise, while I +Unnoticed would live and die. + +But since dame Fortune's not thought fit +To place me in affluence, yet +I'll be content with what I get. + +He's happiest far whose humble mind, +Is unto Providence resigned, +And thinketh fortune always kind. + +Then I will strive to bound my wish, +And take, instead of fowl and fish, +Whate'er is thrown into my dish. + +Instead of wealth and fortune great, +Garden and house and loving mate, +I'll rest content in servile state. + +I'll from each folly strive to fly, +Each virtue to attain I'll try, +And live as I would wish to die. + + + +Poem: THE MIDNIGHT MESSENGER; OR, A SUDDEN CALL FROM AN EARTHLY +GLORY TO THE COLD GRAVE. + +In a Dialogue between Death and a Rich Man; who, in the midst of +all his Wealth, received the tidings of his Last Day, to his +unspeakable and sorrowful Lamentation. + +To the tune of Aim not too high, {1} &c. + + + +[The following poem, and the two that immediately follow, belong to +a class of publications which have always been peculiar favourites +with the peasantry, in whose cottages they may be frequently seen, +neatly framed and glazed, and suspended from the white-washed +walls. They belong to the school of Quarles, and can be traced to +the time when that writer was in the height of his popularity. +These religious dialogues are numerous, but the majority of them +are very namby-pamby productions, and unworthy of a reprint. The +modern editions preserve the old form of the broadside of the +seventeenth century, and are adorned with rude woodcuts, probably +copies of ruder originals - + + +- 'wooden cuts +Strange, and uncouth; dire faces, figures dire, +Sharp-kneed, sharp-elbowed, and lean-ankled too, +With long and ghostly shanks, forms which once seen, +Can never be forgotten!'--WORDSWORTH'S Excursion.] + + +DEATH. + +Thou wealthy man of large possessions here, +Amounting to some thousand pounds a year, +Extorted by oppression from the poor, +The time is come that thou shalt be no more; +Thy house therefore in order set with speed, +And call to mind how you your life do lead. +Let true repentance be thy chiefest care, +And for another world now, NOW prepare. +For notwithstanding all your heaps of gold, +Your lands and lofty buildings manifold, +Take notice you must die this very day; +And therefore kiss your bags and come away. + +RICH MAN. + +[He started straight and turned his head aside, +Where seeing pale-faced Death, aloud he cried], +Lean famished slave! why do you threaten so, +Whence come you, pray, and whither must I go? + +DEATH. + +I come from ranging round the universe, +Through courts and kingdoms far and near I pass, +Where rich and poor, distressed, bond and free, +Fall soon or late a sacrifice to me. +From crowned kings to captives bound in chains +My power reaches, sir; the longest reigns +That ever were, I put a period to; +And now I'm come in fine to conquer you. + +RICH MAN. + +I can't nor won't believe that you, pale Death, +Were sent this day to stop my vital breath, +By reason I in perfect health remain, +Free from diseases, sorrow, grief, and pain; +No heavy heart, nor fainting fits have I, +And do you say that I am drawing nigh +The latter minute? sure it cannot be; +Depart, therefore, you are not sent for me! + +DEATH. + +Yes, yes, I am, for did you never know, +The tender grass and pleasant flowers that grow +Perhaps one minute, are the next cut down? +And so is man, though famed with high renown. +Have you not heard the doleful passing bell +Ring out for those that were alive and well +The other day, in health and pleasure too, +And had as little thoughts of death as you? +For let me tell you, when my warrant's sealed, +The sweetest beauty that the earth doth yield +At my approach shall turn as pale as lead; +'Tis I that lay them on their dying bed. + +I kill with dropsy, phthisic, stone, and gout; +But when my raging fevers fly about, +I strike the man, perhaps, but over-night, +Who hardly lives to see the morning light; +I'm sent each hour, like to a nimble page, +To infant, hoary heads, and middle age; +Time after time I sweep the world quite through; +Then it's in vain to think I'll favour you. + +RICH MAN. + +Proud Death, you see what awful sway I bear, +For when I frown none of my servants dare +Approach my presence, but in corners hide +Until I am appeased and pacified. +Nay, men of greater rank I keep in awe +Nor did I ever fear the force of law, +But ever did my enemies subdue, +And must I after all submit to you? + +DEATH. + +'Tis very true, for why thy daring soul, +Which never could endure the least control, +I'll thrust thee from this earthly tenement, +And thou shalt to another world be sent. + +RICH MAN. + +What! must I die and leave a vast estate, +Which, with my gold, I purchased but of late? +Besides what I had many years ago? - +What! must my wealth and I be parted so? +If you your darts and arrows must let fly, +Go search the jails, where mourning debtors lie; +Release them from their sorrow, grief, and woe, +For I am rich and therefore loth to go. + +DEATH. + +I'll search no jails, but the right mark I'll hit; +And though you are unwilling to submit, +Yet die you must, no other friend can do, - +Prepare yourself to go, I'm come for you. +If you had all the world and ten times more, +Yet die you must,--there's millions gone before; +The greatest kings on earth yield and obey, +And at my feet their crowns and sceptres lay: +If crowned heads and right renowned peers +Die in the prime and blossoms of their years, +Can you suppose to gain a longer space? +No! I will send you to another place. + +RICH MAN. + +Oh! stay thy hand and be not so severe, +I have a hopeful son and daughter dear, +All that I beg is but to let me live +That I may them in lawful marriage give: +They being young when I am laid in the grave, +I fear they will be wronged of what they have: +Although of me you will no pity take, +Yet spare me for my little infants' sake. + +DEATH. + +If such a vain excuse as this might do, +It would be long ere mortals would go through +The shades of death; for every man would find +Something to say that he might stay behind. +Yet, if ten thousand arguments they'd use, +The destiny of dying to excuse, +They'll find it is in vain with me to strive, +For why, I part the dearest friends alive; +Poor parents die, and leave their children small +With nothing to support them here withal, +But the kind hand of gracious Providence, +Who is their father, friend, and sole defence. +Though I have held you long in disrepute, +Yet after all here with a sharp salute +I'll put a period to your days and years, +Causing your eyes to flow with dying tears. + +RICH MAN. + +[Then with a groan he made this sad complaint]: +My heart is dying, and my spirits faint; +To my close chamber let me be conveyed; +Farewell, false world, for thou hast me betrayed. +Would I had never wronged the fatherless, +Nor mourning widows when in sad distress; +Would I had ne'er been guilty of that sin, +Would I had never known what gold had been; +For by the same my heart was drawn away +To search for gold: but now this very day, +I find it is but like a slender reed, +Which fails me most when most I stand in need; +For, woe is me! the time is come at last, +Now I am on a bed of sorrow cast, +Where in lamenting tears I weeping lie, +Because my sins make me afraid to die: +Oh! Death, be pleased to spare me yet awhile, +That I to God myself may reconcile, +For true repentance some small time allow; +I never feared a future state till now! +My bags of gold and land I'd freely give, +For to obtain the favour here to live, +Until I have a sure foundation laid. +Let me not die before my peace be made! + +DEATH. + +Thou hast not many minutes here to stay, +Lift up your heart to God without delay, +Implore his pardon now for what is past, +Who knows but He may save your soul at last? + +RICH MAN. + +I'll water now with tears my dying bed, +Before the Lord my sad complaint I'll spread, +And if He will vouchsafe to pardon me, +To die and leave this world I could be free. +False world! false world, farewell! farewell! adieu! +I find, I find, there is no trust in you! +For when upon a dying bed we lie, +Your gilded baits are nought but misery. +My youthful son and loving daughter dear, +Take warning by your dying father here; +Let not the world deceive you at this rate, +For fear a sad repentance comes too late. +Sweet babes, I little thought the other day, +I should so suddenly be snatched away +By Death, and leave you weeping here behind; +But life's a most uncertain thing, I find. +When in the grave my head is lain full low, +Pray let not folly prove your overthrow; +Serve ye the Lord, obey his holy will, +That he may have a blessing for you still. +[Having saluted them, he turned aside, +These were the very words before he died]: + +A painful life I ready am to leave, +Wherefore, in mercy, Lord, my soul receive. + + + +Poem: A DIALOGUE BETWIXT AN EXCISEMAN AND DEATH. + + + +[Transcribed from a copy in the British Museum, printed in London +by J. C[larke]., 1659. The idea of Death being employed to execute +a writ, recalls an epitaph which we remember to have seen in a +village church-yard at the foot of the Wrekin, in Shropshire, +commencing thus:- + +'The King of Heaven a warrant got, +And sealed it without delay, +And he did give the same to Death, +For him to serve straightway,' &c.] + + +Upon a time when Titan's steeds were driven +To drench themselves beneath the western heaven; +And sable Morpheus had his curtains spread, +And silent night had laid the world to bed; +'Mongst other night-birds which did seek for prey, +A blunt exciseman, which abhorred the day, +Was rambling forth to seek himself a booty +'Mongst merchant's goods which had not paid the duty; +But walking all alone, Death chanced to meet him, +And in this manner did begin to greet him. + +DEATH. + +Stand, who comes here? what means this knave to peep +And skulk abroad, when honest men should sleep? +Speak, what's thy name? and quickly tell me this, +Whither thou goest, and what thy business is? + +EXCISEMAN. + +Whate'er my business is, thou foul-mouthed scold, +I'd have you know I scorn to be controlled +By any man that lives; much less by thou, +Who blurtest out thou know'st not what, nor how; +I go about my lawful business; and +I'll make you smart for bidding of me stand. + +DEATH. + +Imperious coxcomb! is your stomach vexed? +Pray slack your rage, and hearken what comes next: +I have a writ to take you up; therefore, +To chafe your blood, I bid you stand, once more. + +EXCISEMAN. + +A writ to take ME up! excuse me, sir, +You do mistake, I am an officer +In public service, for my private wealth; +My business is, if any seek by stealth +To undermine the state, I do discover +Their falsehood; therefore hold your hand,--give over. + +DEATH. + +Nay, fair and soft! 'tis not so quickly done +As you conceive it is: I am not gone +A jot the sooner for your hasty chat, +Nor bragging language; for I tell you flat +'Tis more than so, though fortune seem to thwart us, +Such easy terms I don't intend shall part us. +With this impartial arm I'll make you feel +My fingers first, and with this shaft of steel +I'll peck thy bones! AS THOU ALIVE WERT HATED, +SO DEAD, TO DOGS THOU SHALT BE SEGREGATED. + +EXCISEMAN. + +I'd laugh at that; I would thou didst but dare +To lay thy fingers on me; I'd not spare +To hack thy carcass till my sword was broken, +I'd make thee eat the words which thou hast spoken; +All men should warning take by thy transgression, +How they molested men of my profession. +My service to the State is so well known, +That should I but complain, they'd quickly own +My public grievances; and give me right +To cut your ears, before tomorrow night. + +DEATH. + +Well said, indeed! but bootless all, for I +Am well acquainted with thy villany; +I know thy office, and thy trade is such, +Thy service little, and thy gains are much: +Thy brags are many; but 'tis vain to swagger, +And think to fight me with thy gilded dagger: +AS I ABHOR THY PERSON, PLACE, AND THREAT, +So now I'll bring thee to the judgment-seat. + +EXCISEMAN. + +The judgment-seat! I must confess that word +Doth cut my heart, like any sharpened sword: +What! come t' account! methinks the dreadful sound +Of every word doth make a mortal wound, +Which sticks not only in my outward skin, +But penetrates my very soul within. +'Twas least of all my thoughts that ever Death +Would once attempt to stop excisemen's breath. +But since 'tis so, that now I do perceive +You are in earnest, then I must relieve +Myself another way: come, we'll be friends; +If I have wronged thee, I'll make th' amends. +Let's join together; I'll pass my word this night +Shall yield us grub, before the morning light. +Or otherwise (to mitigate my sorrow), +Stay here, I'll bring you gold enough to-morrow. + +DEATH. + +To-morrow's gold I will not have; and thou +Shalt have no gold upon to-morrow: now +My final writ shall to th' execution have thee, +All earthly treasure cannot help or save thee. + +EXCISEMAN. + +Then woe is me! ah! how was I befooled! +I thought that gold (which answereth all things) could +Have stood my friend at any time to bail me! +But grief grows great, and now my trust doth fail me. +Oh! that my conscience were but clear within, +Which now is racked with my former sin; +With horror I behold my secret stealing, +My bribes, oppression, and my graceless dealing; +My office-sins, which I had clean forgotten, +Will gnaw my soul when all my bones are rotten: +I must confess it, very grief doth force me, +Dead or alive, both God and man doth curse me. +LET ALL EXCISEMEN hereby warning take, +To shun their practice for their conscience sake. + + + +Poem: THE MESSENGER OF MORTALITY; OR LIFE AND DEATH CONTRASTED IN +A DIALOGUE BETWIXT DEATH AND A LADY. + + + +[One of Charles Lamb's most beautiful and plaintive poems was +suggested by this old dialogue. The tune is given in Chappell's +Popular Music, p. 167. In Carey's Musical Century, 1738, it is +called the 'Old tune of Death and the Lady.' The four concluding +lines of the present copy of Death and the Lady are found inscribed +on tomb-stones in village church-yards in every part of England. +They are not contained, however, in the broadside with which our +reprint has been carefully collated.] + + +DEATH. + +Fair lady, lay your costly robes aside, +No longer may you glory in your pride; +Take leave of all your carnal vain delight, +I'm come to summon you away this night! + +LADY. + +What bold attempt is this? pray let me know +From whence you come, and whither I must go? +Must I, who am a lady, stoop or bow +To such a pale-faced visage? Who art thou? + +DEATH. + +Do you not know me? well! I tell thee, then, +It's I that conquer all the sons of men! +No pitch of honour from my dart is free; +My name is Death! have you not heard of me? + +LADY. + +Yes! I have heard of thee time after time, +But being in the glory of my prime, +I did not think you would have called so soon. +Why must my morning sun go down at noon? + +DEATH. + +Talk not of noon! you may as well be mute; +This is no time at all for to dispute: +Your riches, garments, gold, and jewels brave, +Houses and lands must all new owners have; +Though thy vain heart to riches was inclined, +Yet thou must die and leave them all behind. + +LADY. + +My heart is cold; I tremble at the news; +There's bags of gold, if thou wilt me excuse, +And seize on them, and finish thou the strife +Of those that are aweary of their life. +Are there not many bound in prison strong, +In bitter grief of soul have languished long, +Who could but find the grave a place of rest, +From all the grief in which they are oppressed? +Besides, there's many with a hoary head, +And palsy joints, by which their joys are fled; +Release thou them whose sorrows are so great, +But spare my life to have a longer date. + +DEATH. + +Though some by age be full of grief and pain, +Yet their appointed time they must remain: +I come to none before their warrant's sealed, +And when it is, they must submit and yield. +I take no bribe, believe me, this is true; +Prepare yourself to go; I'm come for you. + +LADY. + +Death, be not so severe, let me obtain +A little longer time to live and reign! +Fain would I stay if thou my life will spare; +I have a daughter beautiful and fair, +I'd live to see her wed whom I adore: +Grant me but this and I will ask no more. + +DEATH. + +This is a slender frivolous excuse; +I have you fast, and will not let you loose; +Leave her to Providence, for you must go +Along with me, whether you will or no; +I, Death, command the King to leave his crown, +And at my feet he lays his sceptre down! +Then if to kings I don't this favour give, +But cut them off, can you expect to live +Beyond the limits of your time and space! +No! I must send you to another place. + +LADY. + +You learned doctors, now express your skill, +And let not Death of me obtain his will; +Prepare your cordials, let me comfort find, +My gold shall fly like chaff before the wind. + +DEATH. + +Forbear to call, their skill will never do, +They are but mortals here as well as you: +I give the fatal wound, my dart is sure, +And far beyond the doctor's skill to cure. +How freely can you let your riches fly +To purchase life, rather than yield to die! +But while you flourish here with all your store, +You will not give one penny to the poor; +Though in God's name their suit to you they make, +You would not spare one penny for His sake! +The Lord beheld wherein you did amiss, +And calls you hence to give account for this! + +LADY. + +Oh! heavy news! must I no longer stay? +How shall I stand in the great judgment-day? +[Down from her eyes the crystal tears did flow: +She said], None knows what I do undergo: +Upon my bed of sorrow here I lie; +My carnal life makes me afraid to die. +My sins, alas! are many, gross and foul, +Oh, righteous Lord! have mercy on my soul! +And though I do deserve thy righteous frown, +Yet pardon, Lord, and pour a blessing down. +[Then with a dying sigh her heart did break, +And did the pleasures of this world forsake.] + + +Thus may we see the high and mighty fall, +For cruel Death shows no respect at all +To any one of high or low degree +Great men submit to Death as well as we. +Though they are gay, their life is but a span - +A lump of clay--so vile a creature's man. +Then happy those whom Christ has made his care, +Who die in the Lord, and ever blessed are. +The grave's the market-place where all men meet, +Both rich and poor, as well as small and great. +If life were merchandise that gold could buy, +The rich would live, the poor alone would die. + + + +Poem: ENGLAND'S ALARM; OR THE PIOUS CHRISTIAN'S SPEEDY CALL TO +REPENTANCE + +For the many aggravating sins too much practised in our present +mournful times: as Pride, Drunkenness, Blasphemous Swearing, +together with the Profanation of the Sabbath; concluding with the +sin of wantonness and disobedience; that upon our hearty sorrow and +forsaking the same the Lord may save us for his mercy's sake. + + + +[From the cluster of 'ornaments' alluded to in the ninth verse of +the following poem, we are inclined to fix the date about 1653. +The present reprint is from an old broadside, without printer's +name or date, in possession of Mr. J. R. Smith.] + + +You sober-minded christians now draw near, +Labour to learn these pious lessons here; +For by the same you will be taught to know +What is the cause of all our grief and woe. + +We have a God who sits enthroned above; +He sends us many tokens of his love: +Yet we, like disobedient children, still +Deny to yield submission to His will. + +The just command which He upon us lays, +We must confess we have ten thousand ways +Transgressed; for see how men their sins pursue, +As if they did not fear what God could do. + +Behold the wretched sinner void of shame, +He values not how he blasphemes the name +Of that good God who gave him life and breath, +And who can strike him with the darts of death! + +The very little children which we meet, +Amongst the sports and pastimes in the street, +We very often hear them curse and swear, +Before they've learned a word of any prayer. + +'Tis much to be lamented, for I fear +The same they learn from what they daily hear; +Be careful then, and don't instruct them so, +For fear you prove their dismal overthrow. + +Both young and old, that dreadful sin forbear; +The tongue of man was never made to swear, +But to adore and praise the blessed name, +By whom alone our dear salvation came. + +Pride is another reigning sin likewise; +Let us behold in what a strange disguise +Young damsels do appear, both rich and poor; +The like was ne'er in any age before. + +What artificial ornaments they wear, +Black patches, paint, and locks of powdered hair; +Likewise in lofty hoops they are arrayed, +As if they would correct what God had made. + +Yet let 'em know, for all those youthful charms, +They must lie down in death's cold frozen arms! +Oh think on this, and raise your thoughts above +The sin of pride, which you so dearly love. + +Likewise, the wilful sinners that transgress +The righteous laws of God by drunkenness, +They do abuse the creatures which were sent +Purely for man's refreshing nourishment. + +Many diseases doth that sin attend, +But what is worst of all, the fatal end: +Let not the pleasures of a quaffing bowl +Destroy and stupify thy active soul. + +Perhaps the jovial drunkard over night, +May seem to reap the pleasures of delight, +While for his wine he doth in plenty call; +But oh! the sting of conscience, after all, + +Is like a gnawing worm upon the mind. +Then if you would the peace of conscience find, +A sober conversation learn with speed, +For that's the sweetest life that man can lead. + +Be careful that thou art not drawn away, +By foolishness, to break the Sabbath-day; +Be constant at the pious house of prayer, +That thou mayst learn the christian duties there. + +For tell me, wherefore should we carp and care +For what we eat and drink, and what we wear; +And the meanwhile our fainting souls exclude +From that refreshing sweet celestial food? + +Yet so it is, we, by experience, find +Many young wanton gallants seldom mind +The church of God, but scornfully deride +That sacred word by which they must be tried. + +A tavern, or an alehouse, they adore, +And will not come within the church before +They're brought to lodge under a silent tomb, +And then who knows how dismal is their doom! + +Though for awhile, perhaps, they flourish here, +And seem to scorn the very thoughts of fear, +Yet when they're summoned to resign their breath, +They can't outbrave the bitter stroke of death! + +Consider this, young gallants, whilst you may, +Swift-winged time and tide for none will stay; +And therefore let it be your christian care, +To serve the Lord, and for your death prepare. + +There is another crying sin likewise: +Behold young gallants cast their wanton eyes +On painted harlots, which they often meet +At every creek and corner of the street, + +By whom they are like dismal captives led +To their destruction; grace and fear is fled, +Till at the length they find themselves betrayed, +And for that sin most sad examples made. + +Then, then, perhaps, in bitter tears they'll cry, +With wringing hands, against their company, +Which did betray them to that dismal state! +Consider this before it is too late. + +Likewise, sons and daughters, far and near, +Honour your loving friends, and parents dear; +Let not your disobedience grieve them so, +Nor cause their aged eyes with tears to flow. + +What a heart-breaking sorrow it must be, +To dear indulgent parents, when they see +Their stubborn children wilfully run on +Against the wholesome laws of God and man! + +Oh! let these things a deep impression make +Upon your hearts, with speed your sins forsake; +For, true it is, the Lord will never bless +Those children that do wilfully transgress. + +Now, to conclude, both young and old I pray, +Reform your sinful lives this very day, +That God in mercy may his love extend, +And bring the nation's troubles to an end. + + + +Poem: SMOKING SPIRITUALIZED. + + + +[The following old poem was long ascribed, on apparently sufficient +grounds, to the Rev. Ralph Erskine, or, as he designated himself, +'Ralph Erskine, V.D.M.' The peasantry throughout the north of +England always call it 'Erskine's song,' and not only is his name +given as the author in numerous chap-books, but in his own volume +of Gospel Sonnets, from an early copy of which our version is +transcribed. The discovery however, by Mr. Collier, of the First +Part in a MS. temp. Jac. I., with the initials G. W. affixed to it, +has disposed of Erskine's claim to the honour of the entire +authorship. G. W. is supposed to be George Withers; but this is +purely conjectural; and it is not at all improbable that G. W. +really stands for W. G., as it was a common practice amongst +anonymous writers to reverse their initials. The history, then, of +the poem, seems to be this: that the First Part, as it is now +printed, originally constituted the whole production, being +complete in itself; that the Second Part was afterwards added by +the Rev. Ralph Erskine; and that both parts came subsequently to +be ascribed to him, as his was the only name published in connexion +with the song. The Rev. Ralph Erskine was born at Monilaws, +Northumberland, on the 15th March, 1685. He was one of the thirty- +three children of Ralph Erskine of Shieldfield, a family of repute +descended from the ancient house of Marr. He was educated at the +college in Edinburgh, obtained his licence to preach in June, 1709, +and was ordained, on an unanimous invitation, over the church at +Dunfermline in August, 1711. He was twice married: in 1714 to +Margaret Dewar, daughter of the Laird of Lassodie, by whom he had +five sons and five daughters, all of whom died in the prime of +life; and in 1732 to Margaret, daughter of Mr. Simson of Edinburgh, +by whom he had four sons, one of whom, with his wife, survived him. +He died in November, 1752. Erskine was the author of a great +number of Sermons; a Paraphrase on the Canticles; Scripture Songs; +a Treatise on Mental Images; and Gospel Sonnets. + +Smoking Spiritualized is, at the present day, a standard +publication with modern ballad-printers, but their copies are +exceedingly corrupt. Many versions and paraphrases of the song +exist. Several are referred to in Notes and Queries, and, amongst +them, a broadside of the date of 1670, and another dated 1672 (both +printed before Erskine was born), presenting different readings of +the First Part, or original poem. In both these the burthen, or +refrain, differs from that of our copy by the employment of the +expression 'DRINK tobacco,' instead of 'SMOKE tobacco.' The former +was the ancient term for drawing in the smoke, swallowing it, and +emitting it through the nostrils. A correspondent of Notes and +Queries says, that the natives of India to this day use the phrase +'hooka peue,' to DRINK the hooka.] + + +PART I. + +This Indian weed, now withered quite, +Though green at noon, cut down at night, +Shows thy decay; +All flesh is hay: +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +The pipe so lily-like and weak, +Does thus thy mortal state bespeak; +Thou art e'en such, - +Gone with a touch: +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +And when the smoke ascends on high, +Then thou behold'st the vanity +Of worldly stuff, +Gone with a puff: +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +And when the pipe grows foul within, +Think on thy soul defiled with sin; +For then the fire +It does require: +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +And seest the ashes cast away, +Then to thyself thou mayest say, +That to the dust +Return thou must. +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +PART II. + +Was this small plant for thee cut down? +So was the plant of great renown, +Which Mercy sends +For nobler ends. +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +Doth juice medicinal proceed +From such a naughty foreign weed? +Then what's the power +Of Jesse's flower? +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +The promise, like the pipe, inlays, +And by the mouth of faith conveys, +What virtue flows +From Sharon's rose. +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +In vain the unlighted pipe you blow, +Your pains in outward means are so, +Till heavenly fire +Your heart inspire. +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + +The smoke, like burning incense, towers, +So should a praying heart of yours, +With ardent cries, +Surmount the skies. +Thus think, and smoke tobacco. + + + +Poem: THE MASONIC HYMN. + + + +[This is a very ancient production, though given from a modern +copy; it has always been popular amongst the poor 'brethren of the +mystic tie.' The late Henry O'Brien, A.B., quotes the seventh +verse in his essay On the Round Towers of Ireland. He generally +had a common copy of the hymn in his pocket, and on meeting with +any of his antiquarian friends who were not Masons, was in the +habit of thrusting it into their hands, and telling them that if +they understood the mystic allusions it contained, they would be in +possession of a key which would unlock the pyramids of Egypt! The +tune to the hymn is peculiar to it, and is of a plaintive and +solemn character.] + + +Come all you freemasons that dwell around the globe, +That wear the badge of innocence, I mean the royal robe, +Which Noah he did wear when in the ark he stood, +When the world was destroyed by a deluging flood. + +Noah he was virtuous in the sight of the Lord, +He loved a freemason that kept the secret word; +For he built the ark, and he planted the first vine, +Now his soul in heaven like an angel doth shine. + +Once I was blind, and could not see the light, +Then up to Jerusalem I took my flight, +I was led by the evangelist through a wilderness of care, +You may see by the sign and the badge that I wear. + +On the 13th rose the ark, let us join hand in hand, +For the Lord spake to Moses by water and by land, +Unto the pleasant river where by Eden it did rin, +And Eve tempted Adam by the serpent of sin. + +When I think of Moses it makes me to blush, +All on mount Horeb where I saw the burning bush; +My shoes I'll throw off, and my staff I'll cast away, +And I'll wander like a pilgrim unto my dying day. + +When I think of Aaron it makes me to weep, +Likewise of the Virgin Mary who lay at our Saviour's feet; +'Twas in the garden of Gethsemane where he had the bloody sweat; +Repent, my dearest brethren, before it is too late. + +I thought I saw twelve dazzling lights, which put me in surprise, +And gazing all around me I heard a dismal noise; +The serpent passed by me which fell unto the ground, +With great joy and comfort the secret word I found. + +Some say it is lost, but surely it is found, +And so is our Saviour, it is known to all around; +Search all the Scriptures over, and there it will be shown; +The tree that will bear no fruit must be cut down. + +Abraham was a man well beloved by the Lord, +He was true to be found in great Jehovah's word, +He stretched forth his hand, and took a knife to slay his son, +An angel appearing said, The Lord's will be done! + +O, Abraham! O, Abraham! lay no hand upon the lad, +He sent him unto thee to make thy heart glad; +Thy seed shall increase like stars in the sky, +And thy soul into heaven like Gabriel shall fly. + +O, never, O, never will I hear an orphan cry, +Nor yet a gentle virgin until the day I die; +You wandering Jews that travel the wide world round, +May knock at the door where truth is to be found. + +Often against the Turks and Infidels we fight, +To let the wandering world know we're in the right, +For in heaven there's a lodge, and St. Peter keeps the door, +And none can enter in but those that are pure. + +St. Peter he opened, and so we entered in, +Into the holy seat secure, which is all free from sin; +St. Peter he opened, and so we entered there, +And the glory of the temple no man can compare. + + + +Poem: GOD SPEED THE PLOW, AND BLESS THE CORN-MOW. A DIALOGUE +BETWEEN THE HUSBANDMAN AND SERVINGMAN. + +The tune is, I am the Duke of Norfolk. + + + +[This ancient dialogue, though in a somewhat altered form (see the +ensuing poem), has long been used at country merry-makings. It is +transcribed from a black-letter copy in the third volume of the +Roxburgh collection, apparently one of the imprints of Peter +Brooksby, which would make the composition at least as old as the +close of the fifteenth century. There are several dialogues of a +similar character.] + + +ARGUMENT. + +The servingman the plowman would invite +To leave his calling and to take delight; +But he to that by no means will agree, +Lest he thereby should come to beggary. +He makes it plain appear a country life +Doth far excel: and so they end the strife. + + +My noble friends give ear, if mirth you love to hear, +I'll tell you as fast as I can, +A story very true, then mark what doth ensue, +Concerning of a husbandman. +A servingman did meet a husbandman in the street, +And thus unto him began: + +SERVINGMAN. + +I pray you tell to me of what calling you be, +Or if you be a servingman? + +HUSBANDMAN. + +Quoth he, my brother dear, the coast I mean to clear, +And the truth you shall understand: +I do no one disdain, but this I tell you plain, +I am an honest husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +If a husbandman you be, then come along with me, +I'll help you as soon as I can +Unto a gallant place, where in a little space, +You shall be a servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +Sir, for your diligence I give you many thanks, +These things I receive at your hand; +I pray you to me show, whereby that I might know, +What pleasures hath a servingman? + +SERVINGMAN. + +A servingman hath pleasure, which passeth time and measure, +When the hawk on his fist doth stand; +His hood, and his verrils brave, and other things, we have, +Which yield joy to a servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +My pleasure's more than that to see my oxen fat, +And to prosper well under my hand; +And therefore I do mean, with my horse, and with my team, +To keep myself a husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +O 'tis a gallant thing in the prime time of the spring, +To hear the huntsman now and than +His bugle for to blow, and the hounds run all a row: +This is pleasure for a servingman! +To hear the beagle cry, and to see the falcon fly, +And the hare trip over the plain, +And the huntsmen and the hound make hill and dale rebound: +This is pleasure for a servingman! + +HUSBANDMAN. + +'Tis pleasure, too, you know, to see the corn to grow, +And to grow so well on the land; +The plowing and the sowing, the reaping and the mowing, +Yield pleasure to the husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +At our table you may eat all sorts of dainty meat, +Pig, cony, goose, capon, and swan; +And with lords and ladies fine, you may drink beer, ale, and wine! +This is pleasure for a servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +While you eat goose and capon, I'll feed on beef and bacon, +And piece of hard cheese now and than; +We pudding have, and souse, always ready in the house, +Which contents the honest husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +At the court you may have your garments fine and brave, +And cloak with gold lace laid upon, +A shirt as white as milk, and wrought with finest silk: +That's pleasure for a servingman! + +HUSBANDMAN. + +Such proud and costly gear is not for us to wear; +Amongst the briers and brambles many a one, +A good strong russet coat, and at your need a groat, +Will suffice the husbandman. +A proverb here I tell, which likes my humour well, +And remember it well I can, +If a courtier be too bold, he'll want when he is old. +Then farewell the servingman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +It needs must be confest that your calling is the best, +No longer discourse with you I can; +But henceforth I will pray, by night and by day, +Heaven bless the honest husbandman. + + + +Poem: A DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE HUSBANDMAN AND THE SERVINGMAN. + + + +[This traditional version of the preceding ancient dialogue has +long been popular at country festivals. At a harvest-home feast at +Selborne, in Hampshire, in 1836, we heard it recited by two +countrymen, who gave it with considerable humour, and dramatic +effect. It was delivered in a sort of chant, or recitative. +Davies Gilbert published a very similar copy in his Ancient +Christmas Carols. In the modern printed editions, which are almost +identical with ours, the term 'servantman' has been substituted for +the more ancient designation.] + + +SERVINGMAN. + +Well met, my brother friend, all at this highway end, +So simple all alone, as you can, +I pray you tell to me, what may your calling be, +Are you not a servingman? + +HUSBANDMAN. + +No, no, my brother dear, what makes you to inquire +Of any such a thing at my hand? +Indeed I shall not feign, but I will tell you plain, +I am a downright husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +If a husbandman you be, then go along with me, +And quickly you shall see out of hand, +How in a little space I will help you to a place, +Where you may be a servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +Kind sir! I 'turn you thanks for your intelligence, +These things I receive at your hand; +But something pray now show, that first I may plainly know +The pleasures of a servingman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +Why a servingman has pleasure beyond all sort of measure, +With his hawk on his fist, as he does stand; +For the game that he does kill, and the meat that does him fill, +Are pleasures for the servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +And my pleasure's more than that, to see my oxen fat, +And a good stock of hay by them stand; +My plowing and my sowing, my reaping and my mowing, +Are pleasures for the husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +Why it is a gallant thing to ride out with a king, +With a lord, duke, or any such man; +To hear the horns to blow, and see the hounds all in a row, +That is pleasure for the servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +But my pleasure's more I know, to see my corn to grow, +So thriving all over my land; +And, therefore, I do mean, with my plowing with my team, +To keep myself a husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +Why the diet that we eat is the choicest of all meat, +Such as pig, goose, capon, and swan; +Our pastry is so fine, we drink sugar in our wine, +That is living for the servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +Talk not of goose nor capon, give me good beef or bacon, +And good bread and cheese, now at hand; +With pudding, brawn, and souse, all in a farmer's house, +That is living for the husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +Why the clothing that we wear is delicate and rare, +With our coat, lace, buckles, and band; +Our shirts are white as milk, and our stockings they are silk, +That is clothing for a servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +But I value not a hair your delicate fine wear, +Such as gold is laced upon; +Give me a good grey coat, and in my purse a groat, +That is clothing for the husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +Kind sir! it would be bad if none could be had +Those tables for to wait upon; +There is no lord, duke, nor squire, nor member for the shire, +Can do without a servingman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +But, Jack! it would be worse if there was none of us +To follow the plowing of the land; +There is neither king, lord, nor squire, nor member for the shire, +Can do without the husbandman. + +SERVINGMAN. + +Kind sir! I must confess't, and I humbly protest +I will give you the uppermost hand; +Although your labour's painful, and mine it is so very gainful, +I wish I were a husbandman. + +HUSBANDMAN. + +So come now, let us all, both great as well as small, +Pray for the grain of our land; +And let us, whatsoever, do all our best endeavour, +For to maintain the good husbandman. + + + +Poem: THE CATHOLICK. + + + +[The following ingenious production has been copied literally from +a broadside posted against the 'parlour' wall of a country inn in +Gloucestershire. The verses are susceptible of two +interpretations, being Catholic if read in the columns, but +Protestant if read across.] + + +I HOLD as faith What ENGLAND'S CHURCH alows +What ROME'S church saith My conscience disavows +Where the KING'S head That CHURCH can have no shame +The flocks misled That holds the POPE supreame. +Where the ALTARS drest There's service scarce divine +The peoples blest With table, bread, and wine. +He's but an asse Who the COMMUNION flies +Who shuns the MASSE Is CATHOLICK and wise. + + +London: printed for George Eversden, at the signe of the +Maidenhead, in St. Powle's Church-yard, 1655. Cum privilegio. + + + +Ballad: THE THREE KNIGHTS. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[The Three Knights was first printed by the late Davies Gilbert, +F.R.S., in the appendix to his work on Christmas Carols. Mr. +Gilbert thought that some verses were wanting after the eighth +stanza; but we entertain a different opinion. A conjectural +emendation made in the ninth verse, viz., the substitution of FAR +for FOR, seems to render the ballad perfect. The ballad is still +popular amongst the peasantry in the West of England. The tune is +given by Gilbert. The refrain, in the second and fourth lines, +printed with the first verse, should be repeated in recitation in +every verse.] + + +There did three Knights come from the west, +With the high and the lily oh! +And these three Knights courted one ladye, +As the rose was so sweetly blown. +The first Knight came was all in white, +And asked of her if she'd be his delight. +The next Knight came was all in green, +And asked of her if she'd be his queen. +The third Knight came was all in red, +And asked of her if she would wed. +'Then have you asked of my father dear? +Likewise of her who did me bear? +'And have you asked of my brother John? +And also of my sister Anne?' +'Yes, I've asked of your father dear, +Likewise of her who did you bear. +'And I've asked of your sister Anne, +But I've not asked of your brother John.' +Far on the road as they rode along, +There did they meet with her brother John. +She stooped low to kiss him sweet, +He to her heart did a dagger meet. {2} +'Ride on, ride on,' cried the servingman, +'Methinks your bride she looks wondrous wan.' +'I wish I were on yonder stile, +For there I would sit and bleed awhile. +'I wish I were on yonder hill, +There I'd alight and make my will.' +'What would you give to your father dear?' +'The gallant steed which doth me bear.' +'What would you give to your mother dear?' +'My wedding shift which I do wear. +'But she must wash it very clean, +For my heart's blood sticks in every seam.' +'What would you give to your sister Anne?' +'My gay gold ring, and my feathered fan.' +'What would you give to your brother John?' +'A rope, and a gallows to hang him on.' +'What would you give to your brother John's wife?' +'A widow's weeds, and a quiet life.' + + + +Poem: THE BLIND BEGGAR OF BEDNALL GREEN. SHOWING HOW HIS DAUGHTER +WAS MARRIED TO A KNIGHT, AND HAD THREE THOUSAND POUND TO HER +PORTION. + + + +[Percy's copy of The Beggar's Daughter of Bednall Green is known to +be very incorrect: besides many alterations and improvements which +it received at the hands of the Bishop, it contains no less than +eight stanzas written by Robert Dodsley, the author of The Economy +of Human Life. So far as poetry is concerned, there cannot be a +question that the version in the Reliques is far superior to the +original, which is still a popular favourite, and a correct copy of +which is now given, as it appears in all the common broadside +editions that have been printed from 1672 to the present time. +Although the original copies have all perished, the ballad has been +very satisfactorily proved by Percy to have been written in the +reign of Elizabeth. The present reprint is from a modern copy, +carefully collated with one in the Bagford Collection, entitled, + + +'The rarest ballad that ever was seen, +Of the Blind Beggar's Daughter of Bednal Green.' + + +The imprint to it is, 'Printed by and for W. Onley; and are to be +sold by C. Bates, at the sign of the Sun and Bible, in Pye Corner.' +The very antiquated orthography adopted in some editions does not +rest on any authority. For two tunes to The Blind Beggar, see +Popular Music.] + +PART I. + +This song's of a beggar who long lost his sight, +And had a fair daughter, most pleasant and bright, +And many a gallant brave suitor had she, +And none was so comely as pretty Bessee. + +And though she was of complexion most fair, +And seeing she was but a beggar his heir, +Of ancient housekeepers despised was she, +Whose sons came as suitors to pretty Bessee. + +Wherefore in great sorrow fair Bessee did say: +'Good father and mother, let me now go away, +To seek out my fortune, whatever it be.' +This suit then was granted to pretty Bessee. + +This Bessee, that was of a beauty most bright, +They clad in grey russet; and late in the night +From father and mother alone parted she, +Who sighed and sobbed for pretty Bessee. + +She went till she came to Stratford-at-Bow, +Then she know not whither or which way to go, +With tears she lamented her sad destiny; +So sad and so heavy was pretty Bessee. + +She kept on her journey until it was day, +And went unto Rumford, along the highway; +And at the King's Arms entertained was she, +So fair and well favoured was pretty Bessee. + +She had not been there one month at an end, +But master and mistress and all was her friend: +And every brave gallant that once did her see, +Was straightway in love with pretty Bessee. + +Great gifts they did send her of silver and gold, +And in their songs daily her love they extolled: +Her beauty was blazed in every decree, +So fair and so comely was pretty Bessee. + +The young men of Rumford in her had their joy, +She showed herself courteous, but never too coy, +And at their commandment still she would be, +So fair and so comely was pretty Bessee. + +Four suitors at once unto her did go, +They craved her favour, but still she said no; +I would not have gentlemen marry with me! +Yet ever they honoured pretty Bessee. + +Now one of them was a gallant young knight, +And he came unto her disguised in the night; +The second, a gentleman of high degree, +Who wooed and sued for pretty Bessee. + +A merchant of London, whose wealth was not small, +Was then the third suitor, and proper withal; +Her master's own son the fourth man must be, +Who swore he would die for pretty Bessee. + +'If that thou wilt marry with me,' quoth the knight, +'I'll make thee a lady with joy and delight; +My heart is enthralled in thy fair beauty, +Then grant me thy favour, my pretty Bessee.' + +The gentleman said, 'Come marry with me, +In silks and in velvet my Bessee shall be; +My heart lies distracted, oh! hear me,' quoth he, +'And grant me thy love, my dear pretty Bessee.' + +'Let me be thy husband,' the merchant did say, +'Thou shalt live in London most gallant and gay; +My ships shall bring home rich jewels for thee, +And I will for ever love pretty Bessee.' + +Then Bessee she sighed and thus she did say: +'My father and mother I mean to obey; +First get their good will, and be faithful to me, +And you shall enjoy your dear pretty Bessee.' + +To every one of them that answer she made, +Therefore unto her they joyfully said: +'This thing to fulfil we all now agree, +But where dwells thy father, my pretty Bessee?' + +'My father,' quoth she, 'is soon to be seen: +The silly blind beggar of Bednall Green, +That daily sits begging for charity, +He is the kind father of pretty Bessee. + +'His marks and his token are knowen full well, +He always is led by a dog and a bell; +A poor silly old man, God knoweth, is he, +Yet he's the true father of pretty Bessee.' + +'Nay, nay,' quoth the merchant, 'thou art not for me.' +'She,' quoth the innholder, 'my wife shall not be.' +'I loathe,' said the gentleman, 'a beggar's degree, +Therefore, now farewell, my pretty Bessee.' + +'Why then,' quoth the knight, 'hap better or worse, +I weigh not true love by the weight of the purse, +And beauty is beauty in every degree, +Then welcome to me, my dear pretty Bessee. + +'With thee to thy father forthwith I will go.' +'Nay, forbear,' quoth his kinsman, 'it must not be so: +A poor beggar's daughter a lady shan't be; +Then take thy adieu of thy pretty Bessee.' + +As soon then as it was break of the day, +The knight had from Rumford stole Bessee away; +The young men of Rumford, so sick as may be, +Rode after to fetch again pretty Bessee. + +As swift as the wind to ride they were seen, +Until they came near unto Bednall Green, +And as the knight lighted most courteously, +They fought against him for pretty Bessee. + +But rescue came presently over the plain, +Or else the knight there for his love had been slain; +The fray being ended, they straightway did see +His kinsman come railing at pretty Bessee. + +Then bespoke the blind beggar, 'Although I be poor, +Rail not against my child at my own door, +Though she be not decked in velvet and pearl, +Yet I will drop angels with thee for my girl; + +'And then if my gold should better her birth, +And equal the gold you lay on the earth, +Then neither rail you, nor grudge you to see +The blind beggar's daughter a lady to be. + +'But first, I will hear, and have it well known, +The gold that you drop it shall be all your own.' +With that they replied, 'Contented we be!' +'Then here's,' quoth the beggar, 'for pretty Bessee!' + +With that an angel he dropped on the ground, +And dropped, in angels, full three thousand pound; +And oftentimes it proved most plain, +For the gentleman's one, the beggar dropped twain; + +So that the whole place wherein they did sit, +With gold was covered every whit. +The gentleman having dropped all his store, +Said, 'Beggar! your hand hold, for I have no more.' + +'Thou hast fulfilled thy promise aright, +Then marry my girl,' quoth he to the knight; +'And then,' quoth he, 'I will throw you down, +An hundred pound more to buy her a gown.' + +The gentlemen all, who his treasure had seen, +Admired the beggar of Bednall Green; +And those that had been her suitors before, +Their tender flesh for anger they tore. + +Thus was the fair Bessee matched to a knight, +And made a lady in other's despite. +A fairer lady there never was seen +Than the blind beggar's daughter of Bednall Green. + +But of her sumptuous marriage and feast, +And what fine lords and ladies there prest, +The second part shall set forth to your sight, +With marvellous pleasure and wished-for delight. + +Of a blind beggar's daughter so bright, +That late was betrothed to a young knight, +All the whole discourse therefore you may see; +But now comes the wedding of pretty Bessee. + +PART II. + +It was in a gallant palace most brave, +Adorned with all the cost they could have, +This wedding it was kept most sumptuously, +And all for the love of pretty Bessee. + +And all kind of dainties and delicates sweet, +Was brought to their banquet, as it was thought meet, +Partridge, and plover, and venison most free, +Against the brave wedding of pretty Bessee. + +The wedding through England was spread by report, +So that a great number thereto did resort +Of nobles and gentles of every degree, +And all for the fame of pretty Bessee. + +To church then away went this gallant young knight, +His bride followed after, an angel most bright, +With troops of ladies, the like was ne'er seen, +As went with sweet Bessee of Bednall Green. + +This wedding being solemnized then, +With music performed by skilfullest men, +The nobles and gentlemen down at the side, +Each one beholding the beautiful bride. + +But after the sumptuous dinner was done, +To talk and to reason a number begun, +And of the blind beggar's daughter most bright; +And what with his daughter he gave to the knight. + +Then spoke the nobles, 'Much marvel have we +This jolly blind beggar we cannot yet see!' +'My lords,' quoth the bride, 'my father so base +Is loth with his presence these states to disgrace.' + +'The praise of a woman in question to bring, +Before her own face is a flattering thing; +But we think thy father's baseness,' quoth they, +'Might by thy beauty be clean put away.' + +They no sooner this pleasant word spoke, +But in comes the beggar in a silken cloak, +A velvet cap and a feather had he, +And now a musician, forsooth, he would be. + +And being led in from catching of harm, +He had a dainty lute under his arm, +Said, 'Please you to hear any music of me, +A song I will sing you of pretty Bessee.' + +With that his lute he twanged straightway, +And thereon began most sweetly to play, +And after a lesson was played two or three, +He strained out this song most delicately:- + +'A beggar's daughter did dwell on a green, +Who for her beauty may well be a queen, +A blithe bonny lass, and dainty was she, +And many one called her pretty Bessee. + +'Her father he had no goods nor no lands, +But begged for a penny all day with his hands, +And yet for her marriage gave thousands three, +Yet still he hath somewhat for pretty Bessee. + +'And here if any one do her disdain, +Her father is ready with might and with main +To prove she is come of noble degree, +Therefore let none flout at my pretty Bessee.' + +With that the lords and the company round +With a hearty laughter were ready to swound; +At last said the lords, 'Full well we may see, +The bride and the bridegroom's beholden to thee.' + +With that the fair bride all blushing did rise, +With crystal water all in her bright eyes, +'Pardon my father, brave nobles,' quoth she, +'That through blind affection thus doats upon me.' + +'If this be thy father,' the nobles did say, +'Well may he be proud of this happy day, +Yet by his countenance well may we see, +His birth with his fortune could never agree; + +And therefore, blind beggar, we pray thee bewray, +And look to us then the truth thou dost say, +Thy birth and thy parentage what it may be, +E'en for the love thou bearest pretty Bessee.' + +'Then give me leave, ye gentles each one, +A song more to sing and then I'll begone, +And if that I do not win good report, +Then do not give me one groat for my sport:- + +'When first our king his fame did advance, +And sought his title in delicate France, +In many places great perils passed he; +But then was not born my pretty Bessee. + +'And at those wars went over to fight, +Many a brave duke, a lord, and a knight, +And with them young Monford of courage so free; +But then was not born my pretty Bessee. + +'And there did young Monford with a blow on the face +Lose both his eyes in a very short space; +His life had been gone away with his sight, +Had not a young woman gone forth in the night. + +'Among the said men, her fancy did move, +To search and to seek for her own true love, +Who seeing young Monford there gasping to die, +She saved his life through her charity. + +'And then all our victuals in beggar's attire, +At the hands of good people we then did require; +At last into England, as now it is seen, +We came, and remained in Bednall Green. + +'And thus we have lived in Fortune's despite, +Though poor, yet contented with humble delight, +And in my old years, a comfort to me, +God sent me a daughter called pretty Bessee. + +And thus, ye nobles, my song I do end, +Hoping by the same no man to offend; +Full forty long winters thus I have been, +A silly blind beggar of Bednall Green.' + +Now when the company every one, +Did hear the strange tale he told in his song, +They were amazed, as well they might be, +Both at the blind beggar and pretty Bessee. + +With that the fair bride they all did embrace, +Saying, 'You are come of an honourable race, +Thy father likewise is of high degree, +And thou art right worthy a lady to be.' + +Thus was the feast ended with joy and delight, +A happy bridegroom was made the young knight, +Who lived in great joy and felicity, +With his fair lady dear pretty Bessee. + + + +Ballad: THE BOLD PEDLAR AND ROBIN HOOD. + + + +[This ballad is of considerable antiquity, and no doubt much older +than some of those inserted in the common Garlands. It appears to +have escaped the notice of Ritson, Percy, and other collectors of +Robin Hood ballads. The tune is given in Popular Music. An aged +woman in Bermondsey, Surrey, from whose oral recitation the present +version was taken down, said that she had often heard her +grandmother sing it, and that it was never in print; but we have +since met with several common stall copies. The subject is the +same as that of the old ballad called Robin Hood newly revived; or, +the Meeting and Fighting with his Cousin Scarlett.] + + +There chanced to be a pedlar bold, +A pedlar bold he chanced to be; +He rolled his pack all on his back, +And he came tripping o'er the lee. +Down, a down, a down, a down, +Down, a down, a down. + +By chance he met two troublesome blades, +Two troublesome blades they chanced to be; +The one of them was bold Robin Hood, +And the other was Little John, so free. + +'Oh! pedlar, pedlar, what is in thy pack, +Come speedilie and tell to me?' +'I've several suits of the gay green silks, +And silken bowstrings two or three.' + +'If you have several suits of the gay green silk, +And silken bowstrings two or three, +Then it's by my body,' cries BITTLE John, +'One half your pack shall belong to me.' + +Oh! nay, oh! nay,' says the pedlar bold, +'Oh! nay, oh! nay, that never can be, +For there's never a man from fair Nottingham +Can take one half my pack from me.' + +Then the pedlar he pulled off his pack, +And put it a little below his knee, +Saying, 'If you do move me one perch from this, +My pack and all shall gang with thee.' + +Then Little John he drew his sword; +The pedlar by his pack did stand; +They fought until they both did sweat, +Till he cried, 'Pedlar, pray hold your hand!' + +Then Robin Hood he was standing by, +And he did laugh most heartilie, +Saying, 'I could find a man of a smaller scale, +Could thrash the pedlar, and also thee.' + +'Go, you try, master,' says Little John, +'Go, you try, master, most speedilie, +Or by my body,' says Little John, +'I am sure this night you will not know me.' + +Then Robin Hood he drew his sword, +And the pedlar by his pack did stand, +They fought till the blood in streams did flow, +Till he cried, 'Pedlar, pray hold your hand!' + +'Pedlar, pedlar! what is thy name? +Come speedilie and tell to me.' +'My name! my name, I ne'er will tell, +Till both your names you have told to me.' + +'The one of us is bold Robin Hood, +And the other Little John, so free.' +'Now,' says the pedlar, 'it lays to my good will, +Whether my name I chuse to tell to thee. + +'I am Gamble Gold {3} of the gay green woods, +And travelled far beyond the sea; +For killing a man in my father's land, +From my country I was forced to flee.' + +'If you are Gamble Gold of the gay green woods, +And travelled far beyond the sea, +You are my mother's own sister's son; +What nearer cousins then can we be?' + +They sheathed their swords with friendly words, +So merrily they did agree; +They went to a tavern and there they dined, +And bottles cracked most merrilie. + + + +Ballad: THE OUTLANDISH KNIGHT. + + + +[This is the common English stall copy of a ballad of which there +are a variety of versions, for an account of which, and of the +presumed origin of the story, the reader is referred to the notes +on the Water o' Wearie's Well, in the Scottish Traditional Versions +of Ancient Ballads, published by the Percy Society. By the term +'outlandish' is signified an inhabitant of that portion of the +border which was formerly known by the name of 'the Debateable +Land,' a district which, though claimed by both England and +Scotland, could not be said to belong to either country. The +people on each side of the border applied the term 'outlandish' to +the Debateable residents. The tune to The Outlandish Knight has +never been printed; it is peculiar to the ballad, and, from its +popularity, is well known.] + + +An Outlandish knight came from the North lands, +And he came a wooing to me; +He told me he'd take me unto the North lands, +And there he would marry me. + +'Come, fetch me some of your father's gold, +And some of your mother's fee; +And two of the best nags out of the stable, +Where they stand thirty and three.' + +She fetched him some of her father's gold, +And some of the mother's fee; +And two of the best nags out of the stable, +Where they stood thirty and three. + +She mounted her on her milk-white steed, +He on the dapple grey; +They rode till they came unto the sea side, +Three hours before it was day. + +'Light off, light off thy milk-white steed, +And deliver it unto me; +Six pretty maids have I drowned here, +And thou the seventh shall be. + +'Pull off, pull off thy silken gown, +And deliver it unto me, +Methinks it looks too rich and too gay +To rot in the salt sea. + +'Pull off, pull of thy silken stays, +And deliver them unto me; +Methinks they are too fine and gay +To rot in the salt sea. + +'Pull off, pull off thy Holland smock, +And deliver it unto me; +Methinks it looks too rich and gay, +To rot in the salt sea.' + +'If I must pull off my Holland smock, +Pray turn thy back unto me, +For it is not fitting that such a ruffian +A naked woman should see.' + +He turned his back towards her, +And viewed the leaves so green; +She catched him round the middle so small, +And tumbled him into the stream. + +He dropped high, and he dropped low, +Until he came to the side, - +'Catch hold of my hand, my pretty maiden, +And I will make you my bride.' + +'Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man, +Lie there instead of me; +Six pretty maids have you drowned here, +And the seventh has drowned thee.' + +She mounted on her milk-white steed, +And led the dapple grey, +She rode till she came to her own father's hall, +Three hours before it was day. + +The parrot being in the window so high, +Hearing the lady, did say, +'I'm afraid that some ruffian has led you astray, +That you have tarried so long away.' + +'Don't prittle nor prattle, my pretty parrot, +Nor tell no tales of me; +Thy cage shall be made of the glittering gold, +Although it is made of a tree.' + +The king being in the chamber so high, +And hearing the parrot, did say, +'What ails you, what ails you, my pretty parrot, +That you prattle so long before day?' + +'It's no laughing matter,' the parrot did say, +'But so loudly I call unto thee; +For the cats have got into the window so high, +And I'm afraid they will have me.' + +'Well turned, well turned, my pretty parrot, +Well turned, well turned for me; +Thy cage shall be made of the glittering gold, +And the door of the best ivory.' {4} + + + +Ballad: LORD DELAWARE. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[This interesting traditional ballad was first published by Mr. +Thomas Lyle in his Ancient Ballads and Songs, London, 1827. 'We +have not as yet,' says Mr. Lyle, 'been able to trace out the +historical incident upon which this ballad appears to have been +founded; yet those curious in such matters may consult, if they +list, Proceedings and Debates in the House of Commons, for 1621 and +1662, where they will find that some stormy debating in these +several years had been agitated in parliament regarding the corn +laws, which bear pretty close upon the leading features of the +ballad.' Does not the ballad, however, belong to a much earlier +period? The description of the combat, the presence of heralds, +the wearing of armour, &c., justify the conjecture. For De la +Ware, ought we not to read De la Mare? and is not Sir Thomas De la +Mare the hero? the De la Mare who in the reign of Edward III., A.D. +1377, was Speaker of the House of Commons. All historians are +agreed in representing him as a person using 'great freedom of +speach,' and which, indeed, he carried to such an extent as to +endanger his personal liberty. As bearing somewhat upon the +subject of the ballad, it may he observed that De la Mare was a +great advocate of popular rights, and particularly protested +against the inhabitants of England being subject to 'purveyance,' +asserting that 'if the royal revenue was faithfully administered, +there could be no necessity for laying burdens on the people.' In +the subsequent reign of Richard II, De In Mare was a prominent +character, and though history is silent on the subject, it is not +improbable that such a man might, even in the royal presence, have +defended the rights of the poor, and spoken in extenuation of the +agrarian insurrectionary movements which were then so prevalent and +so alarming. On the hypothesis of De la Mare being the hero, there +are other incidents in the tale which cannot be reconciled with +history, such as the title given to De la Mare, who certainly was +never ennobled; nor can we ascertain that he was ever mixed up in +any duel; nor does it appear clear who can be meant by the 'Welsh +Lord, the brave Duke of Devonshire,' that dukedom not having been +created till 1694 and no nobleman having derived any title whatever +from Devonshire previously to 1618, when Baron Cavendish, of +Hardwick, was created the first EARL of Devonshire. We may +therefore presume that for 'Devonshire' ought to be inserted the +name of some other county or place. Strict historical accuracy is, +however, hardly to be expected in any ballad, particularly in one +which, like the present, has evidently been corrupted in floating +down the stream of time. There is only one quarrel recorded at the +supposed period of our tale as having taken place betwixt two +noblemen, and which resulted in a hostile meeting, viz., that +wherein the belligerent parties were the Duke of Hereford (who +might by a 'ballad-monger' be deemed a WELSH lord) and the Duke of +Norfolk. This was in the reign of Richard II. No fight, however, +took place, owing to the interference of the king. Our minstrel +author may have had rather confused historical ideas, and so mixed +up certain passages in De la Mare's history with this squabble; and +we are strongly inclined to suspect that such is the case, and that +it will be found the real clue to the story. Vide Hume's History +of England, chap. XVII. A.D. 1398. Lyle acknowledges that he has +taken some liberties with the oral version, but does not state what +they were, beyond that they consisted merely in 'smoothing down.' +Would that he had left it 'in the ROUGH!' The last verse has every +appearance of being apocryphal; it looks like one of those +benedictory verses with which minstrels were, and still are, in the +habit of concluding their songs. Lyle says the tune 'is pleasing, +and peculiar to the ballad.' A homely version, presenting only +trivial variations from that of Mr. Lyle, is still printed and +sung.] + + +In the Parliament House, a great rout has been there, +Betwixt our good King and the Lord Delaware: +Says Lord Delaware to his Majesty full soon, +'Will it please you, my liege, to grant me a boon?' + +'What's your boon,' says the King, 'now let me understand?' +'It's, give me all the poor men we've starving in this land; +And without delay, I'll hie me to Lincolnshire, +To sow hemp-seed and flax-seed, and hang them all there. + +'For with hempen cord it's better to stop each poor man's breath, +Than with famine you should see your subjects starve to death.' +Up starts a Dutch Lord, who to Delaware did say, +'Thou deserves to be stabbed!' then he turned himself away; + +'Thou deserves to be stabbed, and the dogs have thine ears, +For insulting our King in this Parliament of peers.' +Up sprang a Welsh Lord, the brave Duke of Devonshire, +'In young Delaware's defence, I'll fight this Dutch Lord, my sire; + +'For he is in the right, and I'll make it so appear: +Him I dare to single combat, for insulting Delaware.' +A stage was soon erected, and to combat they went, +For to kill, or to be killed, it was either's full intent. + +But the very first flourish, when the heralds gave command, +The sword of brave Devonshire bent backward on his hand; +In suspense he paused awhile, scanned his foe before he strake, +Then against the King's armour, his bent sword he brake. + +Then he sprang from the stage, to a soldier in the ring, +Saying, 'Lend your sword, that to an end this tragedy we bring: +Though he's fighting me in armour, while I am fighting bare, +Even more than this I'd venture for young Lord Delaware.' + +Leaping back on the stage, sword to buckler now resounds, +Till he left the Dutch Lord a bleeding in his wounds: +This seeing, cries the King to his guards without delay, +'Call Devonshire down,--take the dead man away!' + +'No,' says brave Devonshire, 'I've fought him as a man, +Since he's dead, I will keep the trophies I have won; +For he fought me in your armour, while I fought him bare, +And the same you must win back, my liege, if ever you them wear.' + +God bless the Church of England, may it prosper on each hand, +And also every poor man now starving in this land; +And while I pray success may crown our King upon his throne, +I'll wish that every poor man may long enjoy his own. + + + +Ballad: LORD BATEMAN. + + + +[This is a ludicrously corrupt abridgment of the ballad of Lord +Beichan, a copy of which will be found inserted amongst the Early +Ballads, An. Ed. p. 144. The following grotesque version was +published several years ago by Tilt, London, and also, according to +the title-page, by Mustapha Syried, Constantinople! under the title +of The loving Ballad of Lord Bateman. It is, however, the only +ancient form in which the ballad has existed in print, and is one +of the publications mentioned in Thackeray's Catalogue, see ante, +p. 20. The air printed in Tilt's edition is the one to which the +ballad is sung in the South of England, but it is totally different +to the Northern tune, which has never been published.] + + +Lord Bateman he was a noble lord, +A noble lord of high degree; +He shipped himself on board a ship, +Some foreign country he would go see. + +He sailed east, and he sailed west, +Until he came to proud Turkey; +Where he was taken, and put to prison, +Until his life was almost weary. + +And in this prison there grew a tree, +It grew so stout, and grew so strong; +Where he was chained by the middle, +Until his life was almost gone. + +This Turk he had one only daughter, +The fairest creature my eyes did see; +She stole the keys of her father's prison, +And swore Lord Bateman she would set free. + +'Have you got houses? have you got lands? +Or does Northumberland belong to thee? +What would you give to the fair young lady +That out of prison would set you free?' + +'I have got houses, I have got lands, +And half Northumberland belongs to me +I'll give it all to the fair young lady +That out of prison would set me free.' + +O! then she took him to her father's hall, +And gave to him the best of wine; +And every health she drank unto him, +'I wish, Lord Bateman, that you were mine! + +'Now in seven years I'll make a vow, +And seven years I'll keep it strong, +If you'll wed with no other woman, +I will wed with no other man.' + +O! then she took him to her father's harbour, +And gave to him a ship of fame; +'Farewell, farewell to you, Lord Bateman, +I'm afraid I ne'er shall see you again.' + +Now seven long years are gone and past, +And fourteen days, well known to thee; +She packed up all her gay clothing, +And swore Lord Bateman she would go see. + +But when she came to Lord Bateman's castle, +So boldly she rang the bell; +'Who's there? who's there?' cried the proud porter, +'Who's there? unto me come tell.' + +'O! is this Lord Bateman's castle? +Or is his Lordship here within?' +'O, yes! O, yes!' cried the young porter, +'He's just now taken his new bride in.' + +'O! tell him to send me a slice of bread, +And a bottle of the best wine; +And not forgetting the fair young lady +Who did release him when close confine.' + +Away, away went this proud young porter, +Away, away, and away went he, +Until he came to Lord Bateman's chamber, +Down on his bended knees fell he. + +'What news, what news, my proud young porter? +What news hast thou brought unto me?' +'There is the fairest of all young creatures +That ever my two eyes did see! + +'She has got rings on every finger, +And round one of them she has got three, +And as much gay clothing round her middle +As would buy all Northumberlea. + +'She bids you send her a slice of bread, +And a bottle of the best wine; +And not forgetting the fair young lady +Who did release you when close confine.' + +Lord Bateman he then in a passion flew, +And broke his sword in splinters three; +Saying, 'I will give all my father's riches +If Sophia has crossed the sea.' + +Then up spoke the young bride's mother, +Who never was heard to speak so free, +'You'll not forget my only daughter, +If Sophia has crossed the sea.' + +'I own I made a bride of your daughter, +She's neither the better nor worse for me; +She came to me with her horse and saddle, +She may go back in her coach and three.' + +Lord Bateman prepared another marriage, +And sang, with heart so full of glee, +I'll range no more in foreign countries, +Now since Sophia has crossed the sea.' + + + +Ballad: THE GOLDEN GLOVE; OR, THE SQUIRE OF TAMWORTH. + + + +[This is a very popular ballad, and sung in every part of England. +It is traditionally reported to be founded on an incident which +occurred in the reign of Elizabeth. It has been published in the +broadside form from the commencement of the eighteenth century, but +is no doubt much older. It does not appear to have been previously +inserted in any collection.] + + +A wealthy young squire of Tamworth, we hear, +He courted a nobleman's daughter so fair; +And for to marry her it was his intent, +All friends and relations gave their consent. + +The time was appointed for the wedding-day, +A young farmer chosen to give her away; +As soon as the farmer the young lady did spy, +He inflamed her heart; 'O, my heart!' she did cry. + +She turned from the squire, but nothing she said, +Instead of being married she took to her bed; +The thought of the farmer soon run in her mind, +A way for to have him she quickly did find. + +Coat, waistcoat, and breeches she then did put on, +And a hunting she went with her dog and her gun; +She hunted all round where the farmer did dwell, +Because in her heart she did love him full well: + +She oftentimes fired, but nothing she killed, +At length the young farmer came into the field; +And to discourse with him it was her intent, +With her dog and her gun to meet him she went. + +'I thought you had been at the wedding,' she cried, +'To wait on the squire, and give him his bride.' +'No, sir,' said the farmer, 'if the truth I may tell, +I'll not give her away, for I love her too well' + +'Suppose that the lady should grant you her love, +You know that the squire your rival will prove.' +'Why, then,' says the farmer, 'I'll take sword in hand, +By honour I'll gain her when she shall command.' + +It pleased the lady to find him so bold; +She gave him a glove that was flowered with gold, +And told him she found it when coming along, +As she was a hunting with her dog and gun. + +The lady went home with a heart full of love, +And gave out a notice that she'd lost a glove; +And said, 'Who has found it, and brings it to me, +Whoever he is, he my husband shall be.' + +The farmer was pleased when he heard of the news, +With heart full of joy to the lady he goes: +'Dear, honoured lady, I've picked up your glove, +And hope you'll be pleased to grant me your love.' + +'It's already granted, I will be your bride; +I love the sweet breath of a farmer,' she cried. +'I'll be mistress of my dairy, and milking my cow, +While my jolly brisk farmer is whistling at plough.' + +And when she was married she told of her fun, +How she went a hunting with her dog and gun: +'And now I've got him so fast in my snare, +I'll enjoy him for ever, I vow and declare!' + + + +Ballad: KING JAMES I. AND THE TINKLER. {5} (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[This ballad of King James I. and the Tinkler was probably written +either in, or shortly after, the reign of the monarch who is the +hero. The incident recorded is said to be a fact, though the +locality is doubtful. By some the scene is laid at Norwood, in +Surrey; by others in some part of the English border. The ballad +is alluded to by Percy, but is not inserted either in the Reliques, +or in any other popular collection. It is to be found only in a +few broadsides and chap-books of modern date. The present version +is a traditional one, taken down, as here given, from the recital +of the late Francis King. {6} It is much superior to the common +broadside edition with which it has been collated, and from which +the thirteenth and fifteenth verses were obtained. The ballad is +very popular on the Border, and in the dales of Cumberland, +Westmoreland, and Craven. The late Robert Anderson, the Cumbrian +bard, represents Deavie, in his song of the Clay Daubin, as singing +The King and the Tinkler.] + + +And now, to be brief, let's pass over the rest, +Who seldom or never were given to jest, +And come to King Jamie, the first of our throne, +A pleasanter monarch sure never was known. + +As he was a hunting the swift fallow-deer, +He dropped all his nobles; and when he got clear, +In hope of some pastime away he did ride, +Till he came to an alehouse, hard by a wood-side. + +And there with a tinkler he happened to meet, +And him in kind sort he so freely did greet: +'Pray thee, good fellow, what hast in thy jug, +Which under thy arm thou dost lovingly hug?' + +'By the mass!' quoth the tinkler, 'it's nappy brown ale, +And for to drink to thee, friend, I will not fail; +For although thy jacket looks gallant and fine, +I think that my twopence as good is as thine.' + +'By my soul! honest fellow, the truth thou hast spoke,' +And straight he sat down with the tinkler to joke; +They drank to the King, and they pledged to each other; +Who'd seen 'em had thought they were brother and brother. + +As they were a-drinking the King pleased to say, +'What news, honest fellow? come tell me, I pray?' +'There's nothing of news, beyond that I hear +The King's on the border a-chasing the deer. + +'And truly I wish I so happy may be +Whilst he is a hunting the King I might see; +For although I've travelled the land many ways +I never have yet seen a King in my days.' + +The King, with a hearty brisk laughter, replied, +'I tell thee, good fellow, if thou canst but ride, +Thou shalt get up behind me, and I will thee bring +To the presence of Jamie, thy sovereign King.' + +'But he'll be surrounded with nobles so gay, +And how shall we tell him from them, sir, I pray?' +'Thou'lt easily ken him when once thou art there; +The King will be covered, his nobles all bare.' + +He got up behind him and likewise his sack, +His budget of leather, and tools at his back; +They rode till they came to the merry greenwood, +His nobles came round him, bareheaded they stood. + +The tinkler then seeing so many appear, +He slily did whisper the King in his ear: +Saying, 'They're all clothed so gloriously gay, +But which amongst them is the King, sir, I pray?' + +The King did with hearty good laughter, reply, +'By my soul! my good fellow, it's thou or it's I! +The rest are bareheaded, uncovered all round.' - +With his bag and his budget he fell to the ground, + +Like one that was frightened quite out of his wits, +Then on his knees he instantly gets, +Beseeching for mercy; the King to him said, +'Thou art a good fellow, so be not afraid. + +'Come, tell thy name?' 'I am John of the Dale, +A mender of kettles, a lover of ale.' +'Rise up, Sir John, I will honour thee here, - +I make thee a knight of three thousand a year!' + +This was a good thing for the tinkler indeed; +Then unto the court he was sent for with speed, +Where great store of pleasure and pastime was seen, +In the royal presence of King and of Queen. + +Sir John of the Dale he has land, he has fee, +At the court of the king who so happy as he? +Yet still in his hall hangs the tinkler's old sack, +And the budget of tools which he bore at his back. + + + +Ballad: THE KEACH I' THE CREEL. + + + +[This old and very humorous ballad has long been a favourite on +both sides of the Border, but had never appeared in print till +about 1845, when a Northumbrian gentleman printed a few copies for +private circulation, from one of which the following is taken. In +the present impression some trifling typographical mistakes are +corrected, and the phraseology has been rendered uniform +throughout. Keach i' the Creel means the catch in the basket.] + + +A fair young May went up the street, +Some white fish for to buy; +And a bonny clerk's fa'n i' luve wi' her, +And he's followed her by and by, by, +And he's followed her by and by. + +'O! where live ye my bonny lass, +I pray thee tell to me; +For gin the nicht were ever sae mirk, +I wad come and visit thee, thee; +I wad come and visit thee.' + +'O! my father he aye locks the door, +My mither keeps the key; +And gin ye were ever sic a wily wicht, +Ye canna win in to me, me; +Ye canna win in to me.' + +But the clerk he had ae true brother, +And a wily wicht was he; +And he has made a lang ladder, +Was thirty steps and three, three; +Was thirty steps and three. + +He has made a cleek but and a creel - +A creel but and a pin; +And he's away to the chimley-top, +And he's letten the bonny clerk in, in; +And he's letten the bonny clerk in. + +The auld wife, being not asleep, +Tho' late, late was the hour; +I'll lay my life,' quo' the silly auld wife, +'There's a man i' our dochter's bower, bower; +There's a man i' our dochter's bower.' + +The auld man he gat owre the bed, +To see if the thing was true; +But she's ta'en the bonny clerk in her arms, +And covered him owre wi' blue, blue; +And covered him owre wi' blue. + +'O! where are ye gaun now, father?' she says, +'And where are ye gaun sae late? +Ye've disturbed me in my evening prayers, +And O! but they were sweit, sweit; +And O! but they were sweit.' + +'O! ill betide ye, silly auld wife, +And an ill death may ye dee; +She has the muckle buik in her arms, +And she's prayin' for you and me, me; +And she's prayin' for you and me.' + +The auld wife being not asleep, +Then something mair was said; +'I'll lay my life,' quo' the silly auld wife, +'There's a man by our dochter's bed, bed; +There's a man by our dochter's bed.' + +The auld wife she gat owre the bed, +To see if the thing was true; +But what the wrack took the auld wife's fit? +For into the creel she flew, flew; +For into the creel she flew. + +The man that was at the chimley-top, +Finding the creel was fu', +He wrappit the rape round his left shouther, +And fast to him he drew, drew: +And fast to him he drew. + +'O, help! O, help! O, hinny, noo, help! +O, help! O, hinny, do! +For HIM that ye aye wished me at, +He's carryin' me off just noo, noo; +He's carryin' me off just noo.' + +'O! if the foul thief's gotten ye, +I wish he may keep his haud; +For a' the lee lang winter nicht, +Ye'll never lie in your bed, bed; +Ye'll never lie in your bed.' + +He's towed her up, he's towed her down, +He's towed her through an' through; +'O, Gude! assist,' quo' the silly auld wife, +'For I'm just departin' noo, noo; +For I'm just departin' noo.' + +He's towed her up, he's towed her down, +He's gien her a richt down fa', +Till every rib i' the auld wife's side, +Played nick nack on the wa', wa'; +Played nick nack on the wa'. + +O! the blue, the bonny, bonny blue, +And I wish the blue may do weel; +And every auld wife that's sae jealous o' her dochter, +May she get a good keach i' the creel, creel; +May she get a good keach i' the creel! + + + +Ballad: THE MERRY BROOMFIELD; OR, THE WEST COUNTRY WAGER. + + + +[This old West-country ballad was one of the broadsides printed at +the Aldermary press. We have not met with any older impression, +though we have been assured that there are black-letter copies. In +Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border is a ballad called the +Broomfield Hill; it is a mere fragment, but is evidently taken from +the present ballad, and can be considered only as one of the many +modern antiques to be found in that work.] + + +A noble young squire that lived in the West, +He courted a young lady gay; +And as he was merry he put forth a jest, +A wager with her he would lay. + +'A wager with me,' the young lady replied, +'I pray about what must it be? +If I like the humour you shan't be denied, +I love to be merry and free.' + +Quoth he, 'I will lay you a hundred pounds, +A hundred pounds, aye, and ten, +That a maid if you go to the merry Broomfield, +That a maid you return not again.' + +'I'll lay you that wager,' the lady she said, +Then the money she flung down amain; +'To the merry Broomfield I'll go a pure maid, +The same I'll return home again.' + +He covered her bet in the midst of the hall, +With a hundred and ten jolly pounds; +And then to his servant he straightway did call, +For to bring forth his hawk and his hounds. + +A ready obedience the servant did yield, +And all was made ready o'er night; +Next morning he went to the merry Broomfield, +To meet with his love and delight. + +Now when he came there, having waited a while, +Among the green broom down he lies; +The lady came to him, and could not but smile, +For sleep then had closed his eyes. + +Upon his right hand a gold ring she secured, +Drawn from her own fingers so fair; +That when he awaked he might be assured +His lady and love had been there. + +She left him a posie of pleasant perfume, +Then stepped from the place where he lay, +Then hid herself close in the besom of broom, +To hear what her true love did say. + +He wakened and found the gold ring on his hand, +Then sorrow of heart he was in; +'My love has been here, I do well understand, +And this wager I now shall not win. + +'Oh! where was you, my goodly goshawk, +The which I have purchased so dear, +Why did you not waken me out of my sleep, +When the lady, my love, was here?' + +'O! with my bells did I ring, master, +And eke with my feet did I run; +And still did I cry, pray awake! master, +She's here now, and soon will be gone.' + +'O! where was you, my gallant greyhound, +Whose collar is flourished with gold; +Why hadst thou not wakened me out of my sleep, +When thou didst my lady behold?' + +'Dear master, I barked with my mouth when she came, +And likewise my collar I shook; +And told you that here was the beautiful dame, +But no notice of me then you took.' + +'O! where wast thou, my servingman, +Whom I have clothed so fine? +If you had waked me when she was here, +The wager then had been mine.' + +In the night you should have slept, master, +And kept awake in the day; +Had you not been sleeping when hither she came, +Then a maid she had not gone away.' + +Then home he returned when the wager was lost, +With sorrow of heart, I may say; +The lady she laughed to find her love crost, - +This was upon midsummer-day. + +'O, squire! I laid in the bushes concealed, +And heard you, when you did complain; +And thus I have been to the merry Broomfield, +And a maid returned back again. + +'Be cheerful! be cheerful! and do not repine, +For now 'tis as clear as the sun, +The money, the money, the money is mine, +The wager I fairly have won.' + + + +Ballad: SIR JOHN BARLEYCORN. + + + +[The West-country ballad of Sir John Barleycorn is very ancient, +and being the only version that has ever been sung at English +merry-makings and country feasts, can certainly set up a better +claim to antiquity than any of the three ballads on the same +subject to be found in Evans's Old Ballads; viz., John Barleycorn, +The Little Barleycorn, and Mas Mault. Our west-country version +bears the greatest resemblance to The Little Barleycorn, but it is +very dissimilar to any of the three. Burns altered the old ditty, +but on referring to his version it will be seen that his +corrections and additions want the simplicity of the original, and +certainly cannot be considered improvements. The common ballad +does not appear to have been inserted in any of our popular +collections. Sir John Barleycorn is very appropriately sung to the +tune of Stingo. See Popular Music, p. 305.] + + +There came three men out of the West, +Their victory to try; +And they have taken a solemn oath, +Poor Barleycorn should die. + +They took a plough and ploughed him in, +And harrowed clods on his head; +And then they took a solemn oath, +Poor Barleycorn was dead. + +There he lay sleeping in the ground, +Till rain from the sky did fall: +Then Barleycorn sprung up his head, +And so amazed them all. + +There he remained till Midsummer, +And looked both pale and wan; +Then Barleycorn he got a beard, +And so became a man. + +Then they sent men with scythes so sharp, +To cut him off at knee; +And then poor little Barleycorn, +They served him barbarously. + +Then they sent men with pitchforks strong +To pierce him through the heart; +And like a dreadful tragedy, +They bound him to a cart. + +And then they brought him to a barn, +A prisoner to endure; +And so they fetched him out again, +And laid him on the floor. + +Then they set men with holly clubs, +To beat the flesh from his bones; +But the miller he served him worse than that, +For he ground him betwixt two stones. + +O! Barleycorn is the choicest grain +That ever was sown on land; +It will do more than any grain, +By the turning of your hand. + +It will make a boy into a man, +And a man into an ass; +It will change your gold into silver, +And your silver into brass. + +It will make the huntsman hunt the fox, +That never wound his horn; +It will bring the tinker to the stocks, +That people may him scorn. + +It will put sack into a glass, +And claret in the can; +And it will cause a man to drink +Till he neither can go nor stand. + + + +Ballad: BLOW THE WINDS, I-HO! + + + +[This Northumbrian ballad is of great antiquity, and bears +considerable resemblance to The Baffled Knight; or, Lady's Policy, +inserted in Percy's Reliques. It is not in any popular collection. +In the broadside from which it is here printed, the title and +chorus are given, Blow the Winds, I-O, a form common to many +ballads and songs, but only to those of great antiquity. Chappell, +in his Popular Music, has an example in a song as old as 1698:- + +'Here's a health to jolly Bacchus, +I-ho! I-ho! I-ho!' + +and in another well-known old catch the same form appears:- + +'A pye sat on a pear-tree, +I-ho, I-ho, I-ho.' + +'Io!' or, as we find it given in these lyrics, 'I-ho!' was an +ancient form of acclamation or triumph on joyful occasions and +anniversaries. It is common, with slight variations, to different +languages. In the Gothic, for example, Iola signifies to make +merry. It has been supposed by some etymologists that the word +'yule' is a corruption of 'Io!'] + + +There was a shepherd's son, +He kept sheep on yonder hill; +He laid his pipe and his crook aside, +And there he slept his fill. + +And blow the winds, I-ho! +Sing, blow the winds, I-ho! +Clear away the morning dew, +And blow the winds, I-ho! + +He looked east, and he looked west, +He took another look, +And there he spied a lady gay, +Was dipping in a brook. + +She said, 'Sir, don't touch my mantle, +Come, let my clothes alone; +I will give you as much money +As you can carry home.' + +'I will not touch your mantle, +I'll let your clothes alone; +I'll take you out of the water clear, +My dear, to be my own.' + +He did not touch her mantle, +He let her clothes alone; +But he took her from the clear water, +And all to be his own. + +He set her on a milk-white steed, +Himself upon another; +And there they rode along the road, +Like sister, and like brother. + +And as they rode along the road, +He spied some cocks of hay; +'Yonder,' he says, 'is a lovely place +For men and maids to play!' + +And when they came to her father's gate, +She pulled at a ring; +And ready was the proud porter +For to let the lady in. + +And when the gates were open, +This lady jumped in; +She says, 'You are a fool without, +And I'm a maid within. + +'Good morrow to you, modest boy, +I thank you for your care; +If you had been what you should have been, +I would not have left you there. + +'There is a horse in my father's stable, +He stands beyond the thorn; +He shakes his head above the trough, +But dares not prie the corn. + +'There is a bird in my father's flock, +A double comb he wears; +He flaps his wings, and crows full loud, +But a capon's crest he bears. + +'There is a flower in my father's garden, +They call it marygold; +The fool that will not when he may, +He shall not when he wold.' + +Said the shepherd's son, as he doft his shoon, +'My feet they shall run bare, +And if ever I meet another maid, +I rede that maid beware.' + + + +Ballad: THE BEAUTIFUL LADY OF KENT; OR, THE SEAMAN OF DOVER. + + + +[We have met with two copies of this genuine English ballad; the +older one is without printer's name, but from the appearance of the +type and the paper, it must have been published about the middle of +the last century. It is certainly not one of the original +impressions, for the other copy, though of recent date, has +evidently been taken from some still older and better edition. In +the modern broadside the ballad is in four parts, whereas, in our +older one, there is no such expressed division, but a word at the +commencement of each part is printed in capital letters.] + + +PART I. + +A seaman of Dover, whose excellent parts, +For wisdom and learning, had conquered the hearts +Of many young damsels, of beauty so bright, +Of him this new ditty in brief I shall write; + +And show of his turnings, and windings of fate, +His passions and sorrows, so many and great: +And how he was blessed with true love at last, +When all the rough storms of his troubles were past. + +Now, to be brief, I shall tell you the truth: +A beautiful lady, whose name it was Ruth, +A squire's young daughter, near Sandwich, in Kent, +Proves all his heart's treasure, his joy and content. + +Unknown to their parents in private they meet, +Where many love lessons they'd often repeat, +With kisses, and many embraces likewise, +She granted him love, and thus gained the prize. + +She said, 'I consent to be thy sweet bride, +Whatever becomes of my fortune,' she cried. +'The frowns of my father I never will fear, +But freely will go through the world with my dear.' + +A jewel he gave her, in token of love, +And vowed, by the sacred powers above, +To wed the next morning; but they were betrayed, +And all by the means of a treacherous maid. + +She told her parents that they were agreed: +With that they fell into a passion with speed, +And said, ere a seaman their daughter should have, +They rather would follow her corpse to the grave. + +The lady was straight to her chamber confined, +Here long she continued in sorrow of mind, +And so did her love, for the loss of his dear, - +No sorrow was ever so sharp and severe. + +When long he had mourned for his love and delight, +Close under the window he came in the night, +And sung forth this ditty:- 'My dearest, farewell! +Behold, in this nation no longer I dwell. + +'I am going from hence to the kingdom of Spain, +Because I am willing that you should obtain +Your freedom once more; for my heart it will break +If longer thou liest confined for my sake.' + +The words which he uttered, they caused her to weep; +Yet, nevertheless, she was forced to keep +Deep silence that minute, that minute for fear +Her honoured father and mother should hear. + +PART II. + +Soon after, bold Henry he entered on board, +The heavens a prosperous gale did afford, +And brought him with speed to the kingdom of Spain, +There he with a merchant some time did remain; + +Who, finding that he was both faithful and just, +Preferred him to places of honour and trust; +He made him as great as his heart could request, +Yet, wanting his Ruth, he with grief was oppressed. + +So great was his grief it could not be concealed, +Both honour and riches no pleasure could yield; +In private he often would weep and lament, +For Ruth, the fair, beautiful lady of Kent. + +Now, while he lamented the loss of his dear, +A lady of Spain did before him appear, +Bedecked with rich jewels both costly and gay, +Who earnestly sought for his favour that day. + +Said she, 'Gentle swain, I am wounded with love, +And you are the person I honour above +The greatest of nobles that ever was born; - +Then pity my tears, and my sorrowful mourn!' + +'I pity thy sorrowful tears,' he replied, +'And wish I were worthy to make thee my bride; +But, lady, thy grandeur is greater than mine, +Therefore, I am fearful my heart to resign.' + +'O! never be doubtful of what will ensue, +No manner of danger will happen to you; +At my own disposal I am, I declare, +Receive me with love, or destroy me with care.' + +'Dear madam, don't fix your affection on me, +You are fit for some lord of a noble degree, +That is able to keep up your honour and fame; +I am but a poor sailor, from England who came. + +'A man of mean fortune, whose substance is small, +I have not wherewith to maintain you withal, +Sweet lady, according to honour and state; +Now this is the truth, which I freely relate.' + +The lady she lovingly squeezed his hand, +And said with a smile, 'Ever blessed be the land +That bred such a noble, brave seaman as thee; +I value no honours, thou'rt welcome to me; + +'My parents are dead, I have jewels untold, +Besides in possession a million of gold; +And thou shalt be lord of whatever I have, +Grant me but thy love, which I earnestly crave.' + +Then, turning aside, to himself he replied, +'I am courted with riches and beauty beside; +This love I may have, but my Ruth is denied.' +Wherefore he consented to make her his bride. + +The lady she clothed him costly and great; +His noble deportment, both proper and straight, +So charmed the innocent eye of his dove, +And added a second new flame to her love. + +Then married they were without longer delay; +Now here we will leave them both glorious and gay, +To speak of fair Ruth, who in sorrow was left +At home with her parents, of comfort bereft. + +PART III. + +When under the window with an aching heart, +He told his fair Ruth he so soon must depart, +Her parents they heard, and well pleased they were, +But Ruth was afflicted with sorrow and care. + +Now, after her lover had quitted the shore, +They kept her confined a fall twelvemonth or more, +And then they were pleased to set her at large, +With laying upon her a wonderful charge: + +To fly from a seaman as she would from death; +She promised she would, with a faltering breath; +Yet, nevertheless, the truth you shall hear, +She found out a way for to follow her dear. + +Then, taking her gold and her silver also, +In seaman's apparel away she did go, +And found out a master, with whom she agreed, +To carry her over the ocean with speed. + +Now, when she arrived at the kingdom of Spain, +From city to city she travelled amain, +Enquiring about everywhere for her love, +Who now had been gone seven years and above. + +In Cadiz, as she walked along in the street, +Her love and his lady she happened to meet, +But in such a garb as she never had seen, - +She looked like an angel, or beautiful queen. + +With sorrowful tears she turned her aside: +'My jewel is gone, I shall ne'er be his bride; +But, nevertheless, though my hopes are in vain, +I'll never return to old England again. + +'But here, in this place, I will now be confined; +It will be a comfort and joy to my mind, +To see him sometimes, though he thinks not of me, +Since he has a lady of noble degree.' + +Now, while in the city fair Ruth did reside, +Of a sudden this beautiful lady she died, +And, though he was in the possession of all, +Yet tears from his eyes in abundance did fall. + +As he was expressing his piteous moan, +Fair Ruth came unto him, and made herself known; +He started to see her, but seemed not coy, +Said he, 'Now my sorrows are mingled with joy!' + +The time of the mourning he kept it in Spain, +And then he came back to old England again, +With thousands, and thousands, which he did possess; +Then glorious and gay was sweet Ruth in her dress. + +PART IV. + +When over the seas to fair Sandwich he came, +With Ruth, and a number of persons of fame, +Then all did appear most splendid and gay, +As if it had been a great festival day. + +Now, when that they took up their lodgings, behold! +He stripped off his coat of embroidered gold, +And presently borrows a mariner's suit, +That he with her parents might have some dispute, + +Before they were sensible he was so great; +And when he came in and knocked at the gate, +He soon saw her father, and mother likewise, +Expressing their sorrow with tears in their eyes, + +To them, with obeisance, he modestly said, +'Pray where is my jewel, that innocent maid, +Whose sweet lovely beauty doth thousands excel? +I fear, by your weeping, that all is not well!' + +'No, no! she is gone, she is utterly lost; +We have not heard of her a twelvemonth at most! +Which makes us distracted with sorrow and care, +And drowns us in tears at the point of despair.' + +'I'm grieved to hear these sad tidings,' he cried. +'Alas! honest young man,' her father replied, +'I heartily wish she'd been wedded to you, +For then we this sorrow had never gone through.' + +Sweet Henry he made them this answer again; +'I am newly come home from the kingdom of Spain, +From whence I have brought me a beautiful bride, +And am to be married to-morrow,' he cried; + +'And if you will go to my wedding,' said he, +'Both you and your lady right welcome shall be.' +They promised they would, and accordingly came, +Not thinking to meet with such persons of fame. + +All decked with their jewels of rubies and pearls, +As equal companions of lords and of earls, +Fair Ruth, with her love, was as gay as the rest, +So they in their marriage were happily blessed. + +Now, as they returned from the church to an inn, +The father and mother of Ruth did begin +Their daughter to know, by a mole they behold, +Although she was clothed in a garment of gold. + +With transports of joy they flew to the bride, +'O! where hast thou been, sweetest daughter?' they cried, +'Thy tedious absence has grieved us sore, +As fearing, alas! we should see thee no more.' + +'Dear parents,' said she, 'many hazards I run, +To fetch home my love, and your dutiful son; +Receive him with joy, for 'tis very well known, +He seeks not your wealth, he's enough of his own.' + +Her father replied, and he merrily smiled, +'He's brought home enough, as he's brought home my child; +A thousand times welcome you are, I declare, +Whose presence disperses both sorrow and care.' + +Full seven long days in feasting they spent; +The bells in the steeple they merrily went, +And many fair pounds were bestowed on the poor, - +The like of this wedding was never before! + + + +Ballad: THE BERKSHIRE LADY'S GARLAND. +IN FOUR PARTS. +To the tune of The Royal Forester. + + + +[When we first met with this very pleasing English ballad, we +deemed the story to be wholly fictitious, but 'strange' as the +'relation' may appear, the incidents narrated are 'true' or at +least founded on fact. The scene of the ballad is Whitley Park, +near Reading, in Berkshire, and not, as some suppose, Calcot House, +which was not built till 1759. Whitley is mentioned as 'the +Abbot's Park, being at the entrance of Redding town.' At the +Dissolution the estate passed to the crown, and the mansion seems, +from time to time, to have been used as a royal 'palace' till the +reign of Elizabeth, by whom it was granted, along with the estate, +to Sir Francis Knollys; it was afterwards, by purchase, the +property of the Kendricks, an ancient race, descended from the +Saxon kings. William Kendrick, of Whitley, armr. was created a +baronet in 1679, and died in 1685, leaving issue one son, Sir +William Kendrick, of Whitley, Bart., who married Miss Mary House, +of Reading, and died in 1699, without issue male, leaving an only +daughter. It was this rich heiress, who possessed 'store of wealth +and beauty bright,' that is the heroine of the ballad. She married +Benjamin Child, Esq., a young and handsome, but very poor attorney +of Reading, and the marriage is traditionally reported to have been +brought about exactly as related in the ballad. We have not been +able to ascertain the exact date of the marriage, which was +celebrated in St. Mary's Church, Reading, the bride wearing a thick +veil; but the ceremony must have taken place some time about 1705. +In 1714, Mr. Child was high sheriff of Berkshire. As he was an +humble and obscure personage previously to his espousing the +heiress of Whitley, and, in fact, owed all his wealth and influence +to his marriage, it cannot be supposed that IMMEDIATELY after his +union he would be elevated to so important and dignified a post as +the high-shrievalty of the very aristocratical county of Berks. We +may, therefore, consider nine or ten years to have elapsed betwixt +his marriage and his holding the office of high sheriff, which he +filled when he was about thirty-two years of age. The author of +the ballad is unknown: supposing him to have composed it shortly +after the events which he records, we cannot be far wrong in fixing +its date about 1706. The earliest broadside we have seen contains +a rudely executed, but by no means bad likeness of Queen Anne, the +reigning monarch at that period.] + + +PART I. + +SHOWING CUPID'S CONQUEST OVER A COY LADY OF FIVE THOUSAND A YEAR. + +Bachelors of every station, +Mark this strange and true relation, +Which in brief to you I bring, - +Never was a stranger thing! + +You shall find it worth the hearing; +Loyal love is most endearing, +When it takes the deepest root, +Yielding charms and gold to boot. + +Some will wed for love of treasure; +But the sweetest joy and pleasure +Is in faithful love, you'll find, +Graced with a noble mind. + +Such a noble disposition +Had this lady, with submission, +Of whom I this sonnet write, +Store of wealth, and beauty bright. + +She had left, by a good grannum, +Full five thousand pounds per annum, +Which she held without control; +Thus she did in riches roll. + +Though she had vast store of riches, +Which some persons much bewitches, +Yet she bore a virtuous mind, +Not the least to pride inclined. + +Many noble persons courted +This young lady, 'tis reported; +But their labour proved in vain, +They could not her favour gain. + +Though she made a strong resistance, +Yet by Cupid's true assistance, +She was conquered after all; +How it was declare I shall. + +Being at a noble wedding, +Near the famous town of Redding, {7} +A young gentleman she saw, +Who belonged to the law. + +As she viewed his sweet behaviour, +Every courteous carriage gave her +New addition to her grief; +Forced she was to seek relief. + +Privately she then enquired +About him, so much admired; +Both his name, and where he dwelt, - +Such was the hot flame she felt. + +Then, at night, this youthful lady +Called her coach, which being ready, +Homewards straight she did return; +But her heart with flames did burn. + +PART II. + +SHOWING THE LADY'S LETTER OF A CHALLENGE TO FIGHT HIM UPON HIS +REFUSING TO WED HER IN A MASK, WITHOUT KNOWING WHO SHE WAS. + +Night and morning, for a season, +In her closet would she reason +With herself, and often said, +'Why has love my heart betrayed? + +'I, that have so many slighted, +Am at length so well requited; +For my griefs are not a few! +Now I find what love can do. + +'He that has my heart in keeping, +Though I for his sake be weeping, +Little knows what grief I feel; +But I'll try it out with steel. + +'For I will a challenge send him, +And appoint where I'll attend him, +In a grove, without delay, +By the dawning of the day. + +'He shall not the least discover +That I am a virgin lover, +By the challenge which I send; +But for justice I contend. + +'He has caused sad distraction, +And I come for satisfaction, +Which if he denies to give, +One of us shall cease to live.' + +Having thus her mind revealed, +She her letter closed and sealed; +Which, when it came to his hand, +The young man was at a stand. + +In her letter she conjured him +For to meet, and well assured him, +Recompence he must afford, +Or dispute it with the sword. + +Having read this strange relation, +He was in a consternation; +But, advising with his friend, +He persuades him to attend. + +'Be of courage, and make ready, +Faint heart never won fair lady; +In regard it must be so, +I along with you must go.' + +PART III. + +SHOWING HOW THEY MET BY APPOINTMENT IN A GROVE, WHERE SHE OBLIGED +HIM TO FIGHT OR WED HER. + +Early on a summer's morning, +When bright Phoebus was adorning +Every bower with his beams, +The fair lady came, it seems. + +At the bottom of a mountain, +Near a pleasant crystal fountain, +There she left her gilded coach, +While the grove she did approach. + +Covered with her mask, and walking, +There she met her lover talking +With a friend that he had brought; +So she asked him whom he sought. + +'I am challenged by a gallant, +Who resolves to try my talent; +Who he is I cannot say, +But I hope to show him play.' + +'It is I that did invite you, +You shall wed me, or I'll fight you, +Underneath those spreading trees; +Therefore, choose you which you please. + +'You shall find I do not vapour, +I have brought my trusty rapier; +Therefore, take your choice,' said she, +'Either fight or marry me.' + +Said he, 'Madam, pray what mean you? +In my life I've never seen you; +Pray unmask, your visage show, +Then I'll tell you aye or no.' + +'I will not my face uncover +Till the marriage ties are over; +Therefore, choose you which you will, +Wed me, sir, or try your skill. + +'Step within that pleasant bower, +With your friend one single hour; +Strive your thoughts to reconcile, +And I'll wander here the while.' + +While this beauteous lady waited, +The young bachelors debated +What was best for to be done: +Quoth his friend, 'The hazard run. + +'If my judgment can be trusted, +Wed her first, you can't be worsted; +If she's rich, you'll rise to fame, +If she's poor, why! you're the same.' + +He consented to be married; +All three in a coach were carried +To a church without delay, +Where he weds the lady gay. + +Though sweet pretty Cupids hovered +Round her eyes, her face was covered +With a mask,--he took her thus, +Just for better or for worse. + +With a courteous kind behaviour, +She presents his friend a favour, +And withal dismissed him straight, +That he might no longer wait. + +PART IV. + +SHOWING HOW THEY RODE TOGETHER IN HER GILDED COACH TO HER NOBLE +SEAT, OR CASTLE, ETC. + +As the gilded coach stood ready, +The young lawyer and his lady +Rode together, till they came +To her house of state and fame; + +Which appeared like a castle, +Where you might behold a parcel +Of young cedars, tall and straight, +Just before her palace gate. + +Hand in hand they walked together, +To a hall, or parlour, rather, +Which was beautiful and fair, - +All alone she left him there. + +Two long hours there he waited +Her return;--at length he fretted, +And began to grieve at last, +For he had not broke his fast. + +Still he sat like one amazed, +Round a spacious room he gazed, +Which was richly beautified; +But, alas! he lost his bride. + +There was peeping, laughing, sneering, +All within the lawyer's hearing; +But his bride he could not see; +'Would I were at home!' thought he. + +While his heart was melancholy, +Said the steward, brisk and jolly, +'Tell me, friend, how came you here? +You've some bad design, I fear.' + +He replied, 'Dear loving master, +You shall meet with no disaster +Through my means, in any case, - +Madam brought me to this place.' + +Then the steward did retire, +Saying, that he would enquire +Whether it was true or no: +Ne'er was lover hampered so. + +Now the lady who had filled him +With those fears, full well beheld him +From a window, as she dressed, +Pleased at the merry jest. + +When she had herself attired +In rich robes, to be admired, +She appeared in his sight, +Like a moving angel bright. + +'Sir! my servants have related, +How some hours you have waited +In my parlour,--tell me who +In my house you ever knew?' + +'Madam! if I have offended, +It is more than I intended; +A young lady brought me here:' - +'That is true,' said she, 'my dear. + +'I can be no longer cruel +To my joy, and only jewel; +Thou art mine, and I am thine, +Hand and heart I do resign! + +'Once I was a wounded lover, +Now these fears are fairly over; +By receiving what I gave, +Thou art lord of what I have.' + +Beauty, honour, love, and treasure, +A rich golden stream of pleasure, +With his lady he enjoys; +Thanks to Cupid's kind decoys. + +Now he's clothed in rich attire, +Not inferior to a squire; +Beauty, honour, riches' store, +What can man desire more? + + + +Ballad: THE NOBLEMAN'S GENEROUS KINDNESS. + +Giving an account of a nobleman, who, taking notice of a poor man's +industrious care and pains for the maintaining of his charge of +seven small children, met him upon a day, and discoursing with him, +invited him, and his wife and his children, home to his house, and +bestowed upon them a farm of thirty acres of land, to be continued +to him and his heirs for ever. + +To the tune of The Two English Travellers. + + + +[This still popular ballad is entitled in the modern copies, The +Nobleman and Thrasher; or, the Generous Gift. There is a copy +preserved in the Roxburgh Collection, with which our version has +been collated. It is taken from a broadside printed by Robert +Marchbank, in the Custom-house Entry, Newcastle.] + + +A nobleman lived in a village of late, +Hard by a poor thrasher, whose charge it was great; +For he had seven children, and most of them small, +And nought but his labour to support them withal. + +He never was given to idle and lurk, +For this nobleman saw him go daily to work, +With his flail and his bag, and his bottle of beer, +As cheerful as those that have hundreds a year. + +Thus careful, and constant, each morning he went, +Unto his daily labour with joy and content; +So jocular and jolly he'd whistle and sing, +As blithe and as brisk as the birds in the spring. + +One morning, this nobleman taking a walk, +He met this poor man, and he freely did talk; +He asked him [at first] many questions at large, +And then began talking concerning his charge. + +'Thou hast many children, I very well know, +Thy labour is hard, and thy wages are low, +And yet thou art cheerful; I pray tell me true, +How can you maintain them as well as you do?' + +'I carefully carry home what I do earn, +My daily expenses by this I do learn; +And find it is possible, though we be poor, +To still keep the ravenous wolf from the door. + +'I reap and I mow, and I harrow and sow, +Sometimes a hedging and ditching I go; +No work comes amiss, for I thrash, and I plough, +Thus my bread I do earn by the sweat of my brow. + +'My wife she is willing to pull in a yoke, +We live like two lambs, nor each other provoke; +We both of us strive, like the labouring ant, +And do our endeavours to keep us from want. + +'And when I come home from my labour at night, +To my wife and my children, in whom I delight; +To see them come round me with prattling noise, - +Now these are the riches a poor man enjoys. + +'Though I am as weary as weary may be, +The youngest I commonly dance on my knee; +I find that content is a moderate feast, +I never repine at my lot in the least.' + +Now the nobleman hearing what he did say, +Was pleased, and invited him home the next day; +His wife and his children he charged him to bring; +In token of favour he gave him a ring. + +He thanked his honour, and taking his leave, +He went to his wife, who would hardly believe +But this same story himself he might raise; +Yet seeing the ring she was [lost] in amaze. + +Betimes in the morning the good wife she arose, +And made them all fine, in the best of their clothes; +The good man with his good wife, and children small, +They all went to dine at the nobleman's hall. + +But when they came there, as truth does report, +All things were prepared in a plentiful sort; +And they at the nobleman's table did dine, +With all kinds of dainties, and plenty of wine. + +The feast being over, he soon let them know, +That he then intended on them to bestow +A farm-house, with thirty good acres of land; +And gave them the writings then, with his own hand. + +'Because thou art careful, and good to thy wife, +I'll make thy days happy the rest of thy life; +It shall be for ever, for thee and thy heirs, +Because I beheld thy industrious cares.' + +No tongue then is able in full to express +The depth of their joy, and true thankfulness; +With many a curtsey, and bow to the ground, - +Such noblemen there are but few to be found. + + + +Ballad: THE DRUNKARD'S LEGACY. IN THREE PARTS. + +First, giving an account of a gentlemen a having a wild son, and +who, foreseeing he would come to poverty, had a cottage built with +one door to it, always kept fast; and how, on his dying bed, he +charged him not to open it till he was poor and slighted, which the +young man promised he would perform. Secondly, of the young man's +pawning his estate to a vintner, who, when poor, kicked him out of +doors; when thinking it time to see his legacy, he broke open the +cottage door, where instead of money he found a gibbet and halter, +which he put round his neck, and jumping off the stool, the gibbet +broke, and a thousand pounds came down upon his head, which lay hid +in the ceiling. Thirdly, of his redeeming his estate, and fooling +the vintner out of two hundred pounds; who, for being jeered by his +neighbours, cut his own throat. And lastly, of the young man's +reformation. Very proper to be read by all who are given to +drunkenness. + + + +[Percy, in the introductory remarks to the ballad of The Heir of +Linne, says, 'the original of this ballad [The Heir of Linne] is +found in the editor's folio MS.; the breaches and defects of which +rendered the insertion of supplemental stanzas necessary. These it +is hoped the reader will pardon, as, indeed, the completion of the +story was suggested by a modern ballad on a similar subject.' The +ballad thus alluded to by Percy is The Drunkard's Legacy, which, it +may be remarked, although styled by him a MODERN ballad, is only so +comparatively speaking; for it must have been written long anterior +to Percy's time, and, by his own admission, must be older than the +latter portion of the Heir of Linne. Our copy is taken from an old +chap-book, without date or printer's name, and which is decorated +with three rudely executed wood-cuts.] + + +Young people all, I pray draw near, +And listen to my ditty here; +Which subject shows that drunkenness +Brings many mortals to distress! + +As, for example, now I can +Tell you of one, a gentleman, +Who had a very good estate, +His earthly travails they were great. + +We understand he had one son +Who a lewd wicked race did run; +He daily spent his father's store, +When moneyless, he came for more. + +The father oftentimes with tears, +Would this alarm sound in his ears; +'Son! thou dost all my comfort blast, +And thou wilt come to want at last.' + +The son these words did little mind, +To cards and dice he was inclined; +Feeding his drunken appetite +In taverns, which was his delight. + +The father, ere it was too late, +He had a project in his pate, +Before his aged days were run, +To make provision for his son. + +Near to his house, we understand, +He had a waste plat of land, +Which did but little profit yield, +On which he did a cottage build. + +The Wise Man's Project was its name; +There were few windows in the same; +Only one door, substantial thing, +Shut by a lock, went by a spring. + +Soon after he had played this trick, +It was his lot for to fall sick; +As on his bed he did lament, +Then for his drunken son he sent. + +He shortly came to his bedside; +Seeing his son, he thus replied: +'I have sent for you to make my will, +Which you must faithfully fulfil. + +'In such a cottage is one door, +Ne'er open it, do thou be sure, +Until thou art so poor, that all +Do then despise you, great and small. + +'For, to my grief, I do perceive, +When I am dead, this life you live +Will soon melt all thou hast away; +Do not forget these words, I pray. + +'When thou hast made thy friends thy foes, +Pawned all thy lands, and sold thy clothes; +Break ope the door, and there depend +To find something thy griefs to end.' + +This being spoke, the son did say, +'Your dying words I will obey.' +Soon after this his father dear +Did die, and buried was, we hear. + +PART II. + +Now, pray observe the second part, +And you shall hear his sottish heart; +He did the tavern so frequent, +Till he three hundred pounds had spent. + +This being done, we understand +He pawned the deeds of all his land +Unto a tavern-keeper, who, +When poor, did him no favour show. + +For, to fulfil his father's will, +He did command this cottage still: +At length great sorrow was his share, +Quite moneyless, with garments bare. + +Being not able for to work, +He in the tavern there did lurk; +From box to box, among rich men, +Who oftentimes reviled him then. + +To see him sneak so up and down, +The vintner on him he did frown; +And one night kicked him out of door, +Charging him to come there no more. + +He in a stall did lie all night, +In this most sad and wretched plight; +Then thought it was high time to see +His father's promised legacy. + +Next morning, then, oppressed with woe, +This young man got an iron crow; +And, as in tears he did lament, +Unto this little cottage went. + +When he the door had open got, +This poor, distressed, drunken sot, +Who did for store of money hope, +He saw a gibbet and a rope. + +Under this rope was placed a stool, +Which made him look just like a fool; +Crying, 'Alas! what shall I do? +Destruction now appears in view! + +'As my father foresaw this thing, +What sottishness to me would bring; +As moneyless, and free of grace, +His legacy I will embrace.' + +So then, oppressed with discontent, +Upon the stool he sighing went; +And then, his precious life to check, +Did place the rope about his neck. + +Crying, 'Thou, God, who sitt'st on high, +And on my sorrow casts an eye; +Thou knowest that I've not done well, - +Preserve my precious soul from hell. + +''Tis true the slighting of thy grace, +Has brought me to this wretched case; +And as through folly I'm undone, +I'll now eclipse my morning sun.' + +When he with sighs these words had spoke, +Jumped off, and down the gibbet broke; +In falling, as it plain appears, +Dropped down about this young man's ears, + +In shining gold, a thousand pound! +Which made the blood his ears surround: +Though in amaze, he cried, 'I'm sure +This golden salve the sore will cure! + +'Blessed be my father, then,' he cried, +'Who did this part for me so hide; +And while I do alive remain, +I never will get drunk again.' + +PART III. + +Now, by the third part you will hear, +This young man, as it doth appear, +With care he then secured his chink, +And to the vintner's went to drink. + +When the proud vintner did him see, +He frowned on him immediately, +And said, 'Begone! or else with speed, +I'll kick thee out of doors, indeed.' + +Smiling, the young man he did say, +'Thou cruel knave! tell me, I pray, +As I have here consumed my store, +How durst thee kick me out of door? + +'To me thou hast been too severe; +The deeds of eightscore pounds a-year, +I pawned them for three hundred pounds, +That I spent here;--what makes such frowns?' + +The vintner said unto him, 'Sirrah! +Bring me one hundred pounds to-morrow +By nine o'clock,--take them again; +So get you out of doors till then.' + +He answered, 'If this chink I bring, +I fear thou wilt do no such thing. +He said, 'I'll give under my hand, +A note, that I to this will stand.' + +Having the note, away he goes, +And straightway went to one of those +That made him drink when moneyless, +And did the truth to him confess. + +They both went to this heap of gold, +And in a bag he fairly told +A thousand pounds, ill yellow-boys, +And to the tavern went their ways. + +This bag they on the table set, +Making the vintner for to fret; +He said, 'Young man! this will not do, +For I was but in jest with you.' + +So then bespoke the young man's friend: +'Vintner! thou mayest sure depend, +In law this note it will you cast, +And he must have his land at last.' + +This made the vintner to comply, - +He fetched the deeds immediately; +He had one hundred pounds, and then +The young man got his deeds again. + +At length the vintner 'gan to think +How he was fooled out of his chink; +Said, 'When 'tis found how I came off, +My neighbours will me game and scoff.' + +So to prevent their noise and clatter +The vintner he, to mend the matter, +In two days after, it doth appear, +Did cut his throat from ear to ear. + +Thus he untimely left the world, +That to this young man proved a churl. +Now he who followed drunkenness, +Lives sober, and doth lands possess. + +Instead of wasting of his store, +As formerly, resolves no more +To act the same, but does indeed +Relieve all those that are in need. + +Let all young men now, for my sake, +Take care how they such havoc make; +For drunkenness, you plain may see, +Had like his ruin for to be. + + + +Ballad: THE BOWES TRAGEDY. + +Being a true relation of the Lives and Characters of ROGER +WRIGHTSON and MARTHA RAILTON, of the Town of Bowes, in the County +of York, who died for love of each other, in March, 1714/5 + +Tune of Queen Dido. + + + +[The Bowes Tragedy is the original of Mallet's Edition and Emma. +In these verses are preserved the village record of the incident +which suggested that poem. When Mallet published his ballad he +subjoined an attestation of the facts, which may be found in Evans' +Old Ballads, vol. ii. p. 237. Edit. 1784. Mallet alludes to the +statement in the parish registry of Bowes, that 'they both died of +love, and were buried in the same grave,' &c. The following is an +exact copy of the entry, as transcribed by Mr. Denham, 17th April, +1847. The words which we have printed in brackets are found +interlined in another and a later hand by some person who had +inspected the register:- + +'RoDger Wrightson, Jun., and Martha Railton, both of Bowes, Buried +in one grave: He Died in a Fever, and upon tolling his passing +Bell, she cry'd out My heart is broke, and in a Few hours expir'd, +purely [OR SUPPOSED] thro' Love, March 15, 1714/5, aged about 20 +years each.' + +Mr. Denham says:- + +'The Bowes Tragedy was, I understand, written immediately after the +death of the lovers, by the then master of Bowes Grammar School. +His name I never heard. My father, who died a few years ago (aged +nearly 80), knew a younger sister of Martha Railton's, who used to +sing it to strangers passing through Bowes. She was a poor woman, +advanced in years, and it brought her in many a piece of money.'] + + +Let Carthage Queen be now no more +The subject of our mournful song; +Nor such old tales which, heretofore, +Did so amuse the teeming throng; +Since the sad story which I'll tell, +All other tragedies excel. + +Remote in Yorkshire, near to Bowes, +Of late did Roger Wrightson dwell; +He courted Martha Railton, whose +Repute for virtue did excel; +Yet Roger's friends would not agree, +That he to her should married be. + +Their love continued one whole year, +Full sore against their parents' will; +And when he found them so severe, +His loyal heart began to chill: +And last Shrove Tuesday, took his bed, +With grief and woe encompassed. + +Thus he continued twelve days' space, +In anguish and in grief of mind; +And no sweet peace in any case, +This ardent lover's heart could find; +But languished in a train of grief, +Which pierced his heart beyond relief. + +Now anxious Martha sore distressed, +A private message did him send, +Lamenting that she could not rest, +Till she had seen her loving friend: +His answer was, 'Nay, nay, my dear, +Our folks will angry be I fear.' + +Full fraught with grief, she took no rest, +But spent her time in pain and fear, +Till a few days before his death +She sent an orange to her dear; +But's cruel mother in disdain, +Did send the orange back again. + +Three days before her lover died, +Poor Martha with a bleeding heart, +To see her dying lover hied, +In hopes to ease him of his smart; +Where she's conducted to the bed, +In which this faithful young man laid. + +Where she with doleful cries beheld, +Her fainting lover in despair; +At which her heart with sorrow filled, +Small was the comfort she had there; +Though's mother showed her great respect, +His sister did her much reject. + +She stayed two hours with her dear, +In hopes for to declare her mind; +But Hannah Wrightson {8} stood so near, +No time to do it she could find: +So that being almost dead with grief, +Away she went without relief. + +Tears from her eyes did flow amain, +And she full oft would sighing say, +'My constant love, alas! is slain, +And to pale death, become a prey: +Oh, Hannah, Hannah thou art base; +Thy pride will turn to foul disgrace!' + +She spent her time in godly prayers, +And quiet rest did from her fly; +She to her friends full oft declares, +She could not live if he did die: +Thus she continued till the bell, +Began to sound his fatal knell. + +And when she heard the dismal sound, +Her godly book she cast away, +With bitter cries would pierce the ground. +Her fainting heart 'gan to decay: +She to her pensive mother said, +'I cannot live now he is dead.' + +Then after three short minutes' space, +As she in sorrow groaning lay, +A gentleman {9} did her embrace, +And mildly unto her did say, +'Dear melting soul be not so sad, +But let your passion be allayed.' + +Her answer was, 'My heart is burst, +My span of life is near an end; +My love from me by death is forced, +My grief no soul can comprehend.' +Then her poor heart it waxed faint, +When she had ended her complaint. + +For three hours' space, as in a trance, +This broken-hearted creature lay, +Her mother wailing her mischance, +To pacify her did essay: +But all in vain, for strength being past, +She seemingly did breathe her last. + +Her mother, thinking she was dead, +Began to shriek and cry amain; +And heavy lamentations made, +Which called her spirit back again; +To be an object of hard fate, +And give to grief a longer date. + +Distorted with convulsions, she, +In dreadful manner gasping lay, +Of twelve long hours no moment free, +Her bitter groans did her dismay: +Then her poor heart being sadly broke, +Submitted to the fatal stroke. + +When things were to this issue brought, +Both in one grave were to be laid: +But flinty-hearted Hannah thought, +By stubborn means for to persuade, +Their friends and neighbours from the same, +For which she surely was to blame. + +And being asked the reason why, +Such base objections she did make, +She answered thus scornfully, +In words not fit for Billingsgate: +'She might have taken fairer on - +Or else be hanged:' Oh heart of stone! + +What hell-born fury had possessed, +Thy vile inhuman spirit thus? +What swelling rage was in thy breast, +That could occasion this disgust, +And make thee show such spleen and rage, +Which life can't cure nor death assuage? + +Sure some of Satan's minor imps, +Ordained were to be thy guide; +To act the part of sordid pimps, +And fill thy heart with haughty pride; +But take this caveat once for all, +Such devilish pride must have a fall. + +But when to church the corpse was brought, +And both of them met at the gate; +What mournful tears by friends were shed, +When that alas it was too late, - +When they in silent grave were laid, +Instead of pleasing marriage-bed. + +You parents all both far and near, +By this sad story warning take; +Nor to your children be severe, +When they their choice in love do make; +Let not the love of cursed gold, +True lovers from their love withhold. + + + +Ballad: THE CRAFTY LOVER; OR, THE LAWYER OUTWITTED. + +Tune of I love thee more and more. + + + +[This excellent old ballad is transcribed from a copy printed in +Aldermary church-yard. It still continues to be published in the +old broadside form.] + + +Of a rich counsellor I write, +Who had one only daughter, +Who was of youthful beauty bright; +Now mark what follows after. {10} +Her uncle left her, I declare, +A sumptuous large possession; +Her father he was to take care +Of her at his discretion. + +She had ten thousand pounds a-year, +And gold and silver ready, +And courted was by many a peer, +Yet none could gain this lady. +At length a squire's youngest son +In private came a-wooing, +And when he had her favour won, +He feared his utter ruin. + +The youthful lady straightway cried, +'I must confess I love thee, +Though lords and knights I have denied, +Yet none I prize above thee: +Thou art a jewel in my eye, +But here,' said she, 'the care is, - +I fear you will be doomed to die +For stealing of an heiress.' + +The young man he replied to her +Like a true politician; +'Thy father is a counsellor, +I'll tell him my condition. +Ten guineas they shall be his fee, +He'll think it is some stranger; +Thus for the gold he'll counsel me, +And keep me safe from danger.' + +Unto her father he did go, +The very next day after; +But did not let the lawyer know +The lady was his daughter. +Now when the lawyer saw the gold +That he should be she gainer, +A pleasant trick to him he told +With safety to obtain her. + +'Let her provide a horse,' he cried, +'And take you up behind her; +Then with you to some parson ride +Before her parents find her: +That she steals you, you may complain, +And so avoid their fury. +Now this is law I will maintain +Before or judge or jury. + +'Now take my writing and my seal, +Which I cannot deny thee, +And if you any trouble feel, +In court I will stand by thee.' +'I give you thanks,' the young man cried, +'By you I am befriended, +And to your house I'll bring my bride +After the work is ended.' + +Next morning, ere the day did break, +This news to her he carried; +She did her father's counsel take +And they were fairly married, +And now they felt but ill at case, +And, doubts and fears expressing, +They home returned, and on their knees +They asked their father's blessing, + +But when he had beheld them both, +He seemed like one distracted, +And vowed to be revenged on oath +For what they now had acted. +With that bespoke his new-made son - +'There can be no deceiving, +That this is law which we have done +Here is your hand and sealing!' + +The counsellor did then reply, +Was ever man so fitted; +'My hand and seal I can't deny, +By you I am outwitted. +'Ten thousand pounds a-year in store +'She was left by my brother, +And when I die there will be more, +For child I have no other. + +'She might have had a lord or knight, +From royal loins descended; +But, since thou art her heart's delight, +I will not be offended; +'If I the gordian knot should part, +'Twere cruel out of measure; +Enjoy thy love, with all my heart, +In plenty, peace, and pleasure.' + + + +Ballad: THE DEATH OF QUEEN JANE. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[We have seen an old printed copy of this ballad, which was written +probably about the date of the event it records, 1537. Our version +was taken down from the singing of a young gipsy girl, to whom it +had descended orally through two generations. She could not +recollect the whole of it. In Miss Strickland's Lives of the +Queens of England, we find the following passage: 'An English +ballad is extant, which, dwelling on the elaborate mourning of +Queen Jane's ladies, informs the world, in a line of pure bathos, + +In black were her ladies, and black were their faces.' + +Miss Strickland does not appear to have seen the ballad to which +she refers; and as we are not aware of the existence of any other +ballad on the subject, we presume that her line of 'pure bathos' is +merely a corruption of one of the ensuing verses.] + + +Queen Jane was in travail +For six weeks or more, +Till the women grew tired, +And fain would give o'er. +'O women! O women! +Good wives if ye be, +Go, send for King Henrie, +And bring him to me.' + +King Henrie was sent for, +He came with all speed, +In a gownd of green velvet +From heel to the head. +'King Henrie! King Henrie! +If kind Henrie you be, +Send for a surgeon, +And bring him to me.' + +The surgeon was sent for, +He came with all speed, +In a gownd of black velvet +From heel to the head. +He gave her rich caudle, +But the death-sleep slept she. +Then her right side was opened, +And the babe was set free. + +The babe it was christened, +And put out and nursed, +While the royal Queen Jane +She lay cold in the dust. + +* * * * * + +So black was the mourning, +And white were the wands, +Yellow, yellow the torches, +They bore in their hands. + +The bells they were muffled, +And mournful did play, +While the royal Queen Jane +She lay cold in the clay. + +Six knights and six lords +Bore her corpse through the grounds; +Six dukes followed after, +In black mourning gownds. + +The flower of Old England +Was laid in cold clay, +Whilst the royal King Henrie +Came weeping away. + + + +Ballad: THE WANDERING YOUNG GENTLEWOMAN; OR, CATSKIN. + + + +[The following version of this ancient English ballad has been +collated with three copies. In some editions it is called +Catskin's Garland; or, the Wandering Young Gentlewoman. The story +has a close similarity to that of Cinderella, and is supposed to be +of oriental origin. Several versions of it are current in +Scandinavia, Germany, Italy, Poland, and Wales. For some account +of it see Pictorial Book of Ballads, ii. 153, edited by Mr. J. S. +Moore.] + + +PART 1. + +You fathers and mothers, and children also, +Draw near unto me, and soon you shall know +The sense of my ditty, and I dare to say, +The like's not been heard of this many a day. + +The subject which to you I am to relate, +It is of a young squire of vast estate; +The first dear infant his wife did him bear, +It was a young daughter of beauty most rare. + +He said to his wife, 'Had this child been a boy, +'Twould have pleased me better, and increased my joy, +If the next be the same sort, I declare, +Of what I'm possessed it shall have no share.' + +In twelve months' time after, this woman, we hear, +Had another daughter of beauty most clear; +And when that he knew it was but a female, +Into a bitter passion he presently fell, + +Saying, 'Since this is of the same sort as the first, +In my habitation she shall not be nursed; +Pray let her be sent into the countrie, +For where I am, truly, this child shall not be.' + +With tears his dear wife unto him did say, +'Husband, be contented, I'll send her away.' +Then to the countrie with speed her did send, +For to be brought up by one was her friend. + +Although that her father he hated her so, +He a good education on her did bestow; +And with a gold locket, and robes of the best, +This slighted young damsel was commonly dressed. + +And when unto stature this damsel was grown, +And found from her father she had no love shown, +She cried, 'Before I will lay under his frown, +I'm resolved to travel the country around.' + +PART II. + +But now mark, good people, the cream of the jest, +In what sort of manner this creature was dressed; +With cat-skins she made her a robe, I declare, +The which for her covering she daily did wear. + +Her own rich attire, and jewels beside, +Then up in a bundle by her they were tied, +And to seek her fortune she wandered away; +And when she had travelled a cold winter's day, + +In the evening-tide she came to a town, +Where at a knight's door she sat herself down, +For to rest herself, who was tired sore; - +This noble knight's lady then came to the door. + +This fair creature seeing in such sort of dress, +The lady unto her these words did express: +'Whence camest thou, girl, and what wouldst thou have?' +She said, 'A night's rest in your stable I crave.' + +The lady said to her, 'I'll grant thy desire, +Come into the kitchen, and stand by the fire.' +Then she thanked the lady, and went in with haste; +And there she was gazed on from highest to least. + +And, being well warmed, her hunger was great, +They gave her a plate of good food for to eat, +And then to an outhouse this creature was led, +Where with fresh straw she soon made her a bed. + +And when in the morning the daylight she saw, +Her riches and jewels she hid in the straw; +And, being very cold, she then did retire +Into the kitchen, and stood by the fire. + +The cook said, 'My lady hath promised that thee +Shall be as a scullion to wait upon me; +What say'st thou girl, art thou willing to bide?' +'With all my heart truly,' to him she replied. + +To work at her needle she could very well, +And for raising of paste few could her excel; +She being so handy, the cook's heart did win, +And then she was called by the name of Catskin. + +PART III. + +The lady a son had both comely and tall, +Who oftentimes used to be at a ball +A mile out of town; and one evening-tide, +To dance at this ball away he did ride. + +Catskin said to his mother, 'Pray, madam, let me +Go after your son now, this ball for to see.' +With that in a passion this lady she grew, +And struck her with the ladle, and broke it in two. + +On being thus served she quick got away, +And in her rich garments herself did array; +And then to this ball she with speed did retire, +Where she danced so bravely that all did admire. + +The sport being done, the young squire did say, +'Young lady, where do you live? tell me, I pray.' +Her answer was to him, 'Sir, that I will tell, - +At the sign of the broken ladle I dwell.' + +She being very nimble, got home first, 'tis said, +And in her catskin robes she soon was arrayed; +And into the kitchen again she did go, +But where she had been they did none of them know. + +Next night this young squire, to give him content, +To dance at this ball again forth he went. +She said, 'Pray let me go this ball for to view.' +Then she struck with the skimmer, and broke it in two. + +Then out of the doors she ran full of heaviness, +And in her rich garments herself soon did dress; +And to this ball ran away with all speed, +Where to see her dancing all wondered indeed. + +The ball being ended, the young squire said, +'Where is it you live?' She again answered, +'Sir, because you ask me, account I will give, +At the sign of the broken skimmer I live.' + +Being dark when she left him, she homeward did hie, +And in her catskin robes she was dressed presently, +And into the kitchen amongst them she went, +But where she had been they were all innocent. + +When the squire dame home, and found Catskin there, +He was in amaze and began for to swear; +'For two nights at the ball has been a lady, +The sweetest of beauties that ever I did see. + +'She was the best dancer in all the whole place, +And very much like our Catskin in the face; +Had she not been dressed in that costly degree, +I should have swore it was Catskin's body. + +Next night to the ball he did go once more, +And she asked his mother to go as before, +Who, having a basin of water in hand, +She threw it at Catskin, as I understand. + +Shaking her wet ears, out of doors she did run, +And dressed herself when this thing she had done. +To the ball once more she then went her ways; +To see her fine dancing they all gave her praise. + +And having concluded, the young squire said he, +'From whence might you come, pray, lady, tell me?' +Her answer was, 'Sir, you shall soon know the same, +From the sign of the basin of water I came.' + +Then homeward she hurried, as fast as could be; +This young squire then was resolved to see +Whereto she belonged, and, following Catskin, +Into an old straw house he saw her creep in. + +He said, 'O brave Catskin, I find it is thee, +Who these three nights together has so charmed me; +Thou'rt the sweetest of creatures my eyes e'er beheld, +With joy and content my heart now is filled. + +'Thou art our cook's scullion, but as I have life, +Grant me but thy love, and I'll make thee my wife, +And thou shalt have maids for to be at thy call.' +'Sir, that cannot be, I've no portion at all.' + +'Thy beauty's a portion, my joy and my dear, +I prize it far better than thousands a year, +And to have my friends' consent I have got a trick, +I'll go to my bed, and feign myself sick. + +'There no one shall tend me but thee I profess; +So one day or another in thy richest dress, +Thou shalt be clad, and if my parents come nigh, +I'll tell them 'tis for thee that sick I do lie.' + +PART IV. + +Thus having consulted, this couple parted. +Next day this young squire he took to his bed; +And when his dear parents this thing both perceived, +For fear of his death they were right sorely grieved. + +To tend him they send for a nurse speedily, +He said, 'None but Catskin my nurse now shall be.' +His parents said, 'No, son.' He said, 'But she shall, +Or else I'll have none for to nurse me at all.' + +His parents both wondered to hear him say thus, +That no one but Catskin must be his nurse; +So then his dear parents their son to content, +Up into his chamber poor Catskin they sent. + +Sweet cordials and other rich things were prepared, +Which between this young couple were equally shared; +And when all alone they in each other's arms, +Enjoyed one another in love's pleasant charms. + +And at length on a time poor Catskin, 'tis said, +In her rich attire again was arrayed, +And when that his mother to the chamber drew near, +Then much like a goddess did Catskin appear; + +Which caused her to stare, and thus for to say, +'What young lady is this, come tell me, I pray?' +He said, 'It is Catskin for whom sick I lie, +And except I do have her with speed I shall die.' + +His mother then hastened to call up the knight, +Who ran up to see this amazing great sight; +He said, 'Is this Catskin we held in such scorn? +I ne'er saw a finer dame since I was born.' + +The old knight he said to her, 'I prithee tell me, +From whence thou didst come and of what family?' +Then who were her parents she gave them to know, +And what was the cause of her wandering so. + +The young squire he cried, 'If you will save my life, +Pray grant this young creature she may be my wife.' +His father replied, 'Thy life for to save, +If you have agreed, my consent you may have.' + +Next day, with great triumph and joy as we hear, +There were many coaches came far and near; +Then much like a goddess dressed in rich array, +Catskin was married to the squire that day. + +For several days this wedding did last, +Where was many a topping and gallant repast, +And for joy the bells rung out all over the town, +And bottles of canary rolled merrily round. + +When Catskin was married, her fame for to raise, +Who saw her modest carriage they all gave her praise; +Thus her charming beauty the squire did win; +And who lives so great now as he and Catskin. + +PART V. + +Now in the fifth part I'll endeavour to show, +How things with her parents and sister did go; +Her mother and sister of life are bereft, +And now all alone the old squire is left. + +Who hearing his daughter was married so brave, +He said, 'In my noddle a fancy I have; +Dressed like a poor man now a journey I'll make, +And see if she on me some pity will take.' + +Then dressed like a beggar he went to her gate, +Where stood his daughter, who looked very great; +He cried, 'Noble lady, a poor man I be, +And am now forced to crave charity.' + +With a blush she asked him from whence that he came; +And with that he told her, and likewise his name. +She cried 'I'm your daughter, whom you slighted so, +Yet, nevertheless, to you kindness I'll show. + +'Through mercy the Lord hath provided for me; +Pray, father, come in and sit down then,' said she. +Then the best provisions the house could afford, +For to make him welcome was set on the board. + +She said, 'You are welcome, feed hearty, I pray, +And, if you are willing, with me you shall stay, +So long as you live.' Then he made this reply: +'I only am come now thy love for to try. + +'Through mercy, my dear child, I'm rich and not poor, +I have gold and silver enough now in store; +And for this love which at thy hands I have found, +For thy portion I'll give thee ten thousand pound.' + +So in a few days after, as I understand, +This man he went home, and sold off all his land, +And ten thousand pounds to his daughter did give, +And now altogether in love they do live. + + + +Ballad: THE BRAVE EARL BRAND AND THE KING OF ENGLAND'S DAUGHTER. +(TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[This ballad, which resembles the Danish ballad of Ribolt, was +taken down from the recitation of an old fiddler in Northumberland: +in one verse there is an hiatus, owing to the failure of the +reciter's memory. The refrain should be repeated in every verse.] + + +O did you ever hear of the brave Earl Brand, +Hey lillie, ho lillie lallie; +His courted the king's daughter o' fair England, +I' the brave nights so early! + +She was scarcely fifteen years that tide, +When sae boldly she came to his bed-side, +'O, Earl Brand, how fain wad I see +A pack of hounds let loose on the lea.' + +'O, lady fair, I have no steed but one, +But thou shalt ride and I will run.' +'O, Earl Brand, but my father has two, +And thou shalt have the best of tho'.' + +Now they have ridden o'er moss and moor, +And they have met neither rich nor poor; +Till at last they met with old Carl Hood, +He's aye for ill, and never for good. + +'Now Earl Brand, an ye love me, +Slay this old Carl and gar him dee.' +'O, lady fair, but that would be sair, +To slay an auld Carl that wears grey hair. + +'My own lady fair, I'll not do that, +I'll pay him his fee . . . . . . ' +'O, where have ye ridden this lee lang day, +And where have ye stown this fair lady away?' + +'I have not ridden this lee lang day, +Nor yet have I stown this lady away; +'For she is, I trow, my sick sister, +Whom I have been bringing fra' Winchester.' + +'If she's been sick, and nigh to dead, +What makes her wear the ribbon so red? +'If she's been sick, and like to die, +What makes her wear the gold sae high?' + +When came the Carl to the lady's yett, +He rudely, rudely rapped thereat. +'Now where is the lady of this hall?' +'She's out with her maids a playing at the ball.' + +'Ha, ha, ha! ye are all mista'en, +Ye may count your maidens owre again. +'I met her far beyond the lea +With the young Earl Brand his leman to be.' + +Her father of his best men armed fifteen, +And they're ridden after them bidene. +The lady looked owre her left shoulder then, +Says, 'O Earl Brand we are both of us ta'en.' + +'If they come on me one by one, +You may stand by till the fights be done; +'But if they come on me one and all, +You may stand by and see me fall.' + +They came upon him one by one, +Till fourteen battles he has won; +And fourteen men he has them slain, +Each after each upon the plain. + +But the fifteenth man behind stole round, +And dealt him a deep and a deadly wound. +Though he was wounded to the deid, +He set his lady on her steed. + +They rode till they came to the river Doune, +And there they lighted to wash his wound. +'O, Earl Brand, I see your heart's blood!' +'It's nothing but the glent and my scarlet hood.' + +They rode till they came to his mother's yett, +So faint and feebly he rapped thereat. +'O, my son's slain, he is falling to swoon, +And it's all for the sake of an English loon.' + +'O, say not so, my dearest mother, +But marry her to my youngest brother - +'To a maiden true he'll give his hand, +Hey lillie, ho lillie lallie. + +To the king's daughter o' fair England, +To a prize that was won by a slain brother's brand, +I' the brave nights so early!' + + + +Ballad: THE JOVIAL HUNTER OF BROMSGROVE; OR, THE OLD MAN AND HIS +THREE SONS. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[The following ballad has long been popular in Worcestershire and +some of the adjoining counties. It was printed for the first time +by Mr. Allies of Worcester, under the title of The Jovial Hunter of +Bromsgrove; but amongst the peasantry of that county, and the +adjoining county of Warwick, it has always been called The Old Man +and his Three Sons--the name given to a fragment of the ballad +still used as a nursery song in the north of England, the chorus of +which slightly varies from that of the ballad. See post, p. 250. +The title of The Old Man and his Three Sons is derived from the +usage of calling a ballad after the first line--a practice that has +descended to the present day. In Shakspeare's comedy of As You +Like It there appears to be an allusion to this ballad. Le Beau +says, - + + +There comes an old man and his three sons, + + +to which Celia replies, + + +I could match this beginning with an old tale.--i. 2. + + +Whether The Jovial Hunter belongs to either Worcestershire or +Warwickshire is rather questionable. The probability is that it is +a north country ballad connected with the family of Bolton, of +Bolton, in Wensleydale. A tomb, said to be that of Sir Ryalas +Bolton, the Jovial Hunter, is shown in Bromsgrove church, +Worcestershire; but there is no evidence beyond tradition to +connect it with the name or deeds of any 'Bolton;' indeed it is +well known that the tomb belongs to a family of another name. In +the following version are preserved some of the peculiarities of +the Worcestershire dialect.] + + +Old Sir Robert Bolton had three sons, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +And one of them was Sir Ryalas, +For he was a jovial hunter. + +He ranged all round down by the wood side, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter, +Till in a tree-top a gay lady he spied, +For he was a jovial hunter. + +'Oh, what dost thee mean, fair lady,' said he, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +'The wild boar's killed my lord, and has thirty men gored, +And thou beest a jovial hunter.' + +'Oh, what shall I do this wild boar for to see?' +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +'Oh, thee blow a blast and he'll come unto thee, +As thou beest a jovial hunter.' + +Then he blowed a blast, full north, east, west, and south, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +And the wild boar then heard him full in his den, +As he was a jovial hunter. + +Then he made the best of his speed unto him, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +[Swift flew the boar, with his tusks smeared with [gore], {11} +To Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter. + +Then the wild boar, being so stout and so strong, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +Thrashed down the trees as he ramped him along, +To Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter. + +'Oh, what dost thee want of me?' wild boar, said he, {12} +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +'Oh, I think in my heart I can do enough for thee, +For I am the jovial hunter.' + +Then they fought four hours in a long summer day, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +Till the wild boar fain would have got him away +From Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter. + +Then Sir Ryalas drawed his broad sword with might, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +And he fairly cut the boar's head off quite, +For he was a jovial hunter. + +Then out of the wood the wild woman flew, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +'Oh, my pretty spotted pig thou hast slew, +For thou beest a jovial hunter. + +'There are three things, I demand them of thee,' +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +'It's thy horn, and thy hound, and thy gay lady, +As thou beest a jovial hunter.' + +'If these three things thou dost ask of me,' +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +'It's just as my sword and thy neck can agree, +For I am a jovial hunter.' + +Then into his long locks the wild woman flew, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +Till she thought in her heart to tear him through, +Though he was a jovial hunter. + +Then Sir Ryalas drawed his broad sword again, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter, +And he fairly split her head into twain, +For he was a jovial hunter. + +In Bromsgrove church, the knight he doth lie, +Wind well thy horn, good hunter; +And the wild boar's head is pictured thereby, +Sir Ryalas, the jovial hunter. + + + +Ballad: LADY ALICE. + + + +[This old ballad is regularly published by the stall printers. The +termination resembles that of Lord Lovel and other ballads. See +Early Ballads, Ann. Ed. p. 134. An imperfect traditional copy was +printed in Notes and Queries.] + + +Lady Alice was sitting in her bower window, +At midnight mending her quoif; +And there she saw as fine a corpse +As ever she saw in her life. + +'What bear ye, what bear ye, ye six men tall? +What bear ye on your shoulders?' +'We bear the corpse of Giles Collins, +An old and true lover of yours.' + +'O, lay him down gently, ye six men tall, +All on the grass so green, +And to-morrow when the sun goes down, +Lady Alice a corpse shall be seen. + +'And bury me in Saint Mary's Church, +All for my love so true; +And make me a garland of marjoram, +And of lemon thyme, and rue.' + +Giles Collins was buried all in the east, +Lady Alice all in the west; +And the roses that grew on Giles Collins's grave, +They reached Lady Alice's breast. + +The priest of the parish he chanced to pass, +And he severed those roses in twain. +Sure never were seen such true lovers before, +Nor e'er will there be again. + + + +Ballad: THE FELON SEWE OF ROKEBY AND THE FREERES OF RICHMOND. + + + +[This very curious ballad, or, more properly, metrical romance, was +originally published by the late Doctor Whitaker in his History of +Craven, from an ancient MS., which was supposed to be unique. +Whitaker's version was transferred to Evan's Old Ballads, the +editor of which work introduced some judicious conjectural +emendations. In reference to this republication, Dr. Whitaker +inserted the following note in the second edition of his History:- + + +This tale, saith my MS., was known of old to a few families only, +and by them held so precious, that it was never intrusted to the +memory of the son till the father was on his death-bed. But times +are altered, for since the first edition of this work, a certain +bookseller [the late Mr. Evans] has printed it verbatim, with +little acknowledgment to the first editor. He might have +recollected that The Felon Sewe had been already reclaimed PROPERTY +VESTED. However, as he is an ingenious and deserving man, this +hint shall suffice.--History of Craven, second edition, London, +1812. + + +When Sir Walter Scott published his poem of Rokeby, Doctor Whitaker +discovered that The Felon Sewe was not of such 'exceeding rarity' +as he had been led to suppose; for he was then made acquainted with +the fact that another MS. of the 'unique' ballad was preserved in +the archives of the Rokeby family. This version was published by +Scott, who considered it superior to that printed by Whitaker; and +it must undoubtedly be admitted to be more complete, and, in +general, more correct. It has also the advantage of being +authenticated by the traditions of an ardent family; while of Dr. +Whitaker's version we know nothing more than that it was 'printed +from a MS. in his possession.' The readings of the Rokeby MS., +however, are not always to be preferred; and in order to produce as +full and accurate a version as the materials would yield, the +following text has been founded upon a careful collation of both +MSS. A few alterations have been adopted, but only when the +necessity for them appeared to be self-evident; and the orthography +has been rendered tolerably uniform, for there is no good reason +why we should have 'sewe,' 'scho,' and 'sike,' in some places, and +the more modern forms of 'sow,' 'she,' and 'such,' in others. If +the MSS. were correctly transcribed, which we have no ground for +doubting, they must both be referred to a much later period than +the era when the author flourished. The language of the poem is +that of Craven, in Yorkshire; and, although the composition is +acknowledged on all hands to be one of the reign of Henry VII., the +provincialisms of that most interesting mountain district have been +so little affected by the spread of education, that the Felon Sewe +is at the present day perfectly comprehensible to any Craven +peasant, and to such a reader neither note nor glossary is +necessary. Dr. Whitaker's explanations are, therefore, few and +brief, for he was thoroughly acquainted with the language and the +district. Scott, on the contrary, who knew nothing of the dialect, +and confounded its pure Saxon with his Lowland Scotch, gives +numerous notes, which only display his want of the requisite local +knowledge, and are, consequently, calculated to mislead. + +The Felon Sewe belongs to the same class of compositions as the +Hunting of the Hare, reprinted by Weber, and the Tournament of +Tottenham, in Percy's Reliques. Scott says that 'the comic romance +was a sort of parody upon the usual subjects of minstrel poetry.' +This idea may be extended, for the old comic romances were in many +instances not merely 'sorts of parodies,' but real parodies on +compositions which were popular in their day, although they have +not descended to us. We certainly remember to have met with an old +chivalric romance, in which the leading incidents were similar to +those of the Felon Sewe. + +It may be observed, also, in reference to this poem, that the +design is twofold, the ridicule being equally aimed at the +minstrels and the clergy. The author was in all probability a +follower of Wickliffe. There are many sly satirical allusions to +the Romish faith and practices, in which no orthodox Catholic would +have ventured to indulge. + +Ralph Rokeby, who gave the sow to the Franciscan Friars of +Richmond, is believed to have been the Ralph who lived in the reign +of Henry VII. Tradition represents the Baron as having been 'a +fellow of infinite jest,' and the very man to bestow so valuable a +gift on the convent! The Mistress Rokeby of the ballad was, +according to the pedigree of the family, a daughter and heiress of +Danby, of Yafforth. Friar Theobald cannot be traced, and therefore +we may suppose that the monk had some other name; the minstrel +author, albeit a Wickliffite, not thinking it quite prudent, +perhaps, to introduce a priest in propria persona. The story is +told with spirit, and the verse is graceful and flowing.] + + +FITTE THE FIRSTE. + +Ye men that will of aunters wynne, +That late within this lande hath bin, +Of on I will yow telle; +And of a sewe that was sea strang, +Alas! that ever scho lived sea lang, +For fell folk did scho wele. {13} + +Scho was mare than other three, +The grizeliest beast that ere mote bee +Her hede was greate and graye; +Scho was bred in Rokebye woode, +Ther war few that thither yoode, {14} +But cam belive awaye. + +Her walke was endlang Greta syde, +Was no barne that colde her byde, +That was fra heven or helle; {15} +Ne never man that had that myght, +That ever durst com in her syght, +Her force it was sea felle. + +Raphe {16} of Rokebye, with full gode wyll, +The freers of Richmonde gav her tyll, +Full wele to gar thayme fare; +Freer Myddeltone by name, +Hee was sent to fetch her hame, +Yt rewed him syne full sare. + +Wyth hym tooke hee wyght men two, +Peter of Dale was on of tho, +Tother was Bryan of Beare; {17} +Thatte wele durst strike wyth swerde and knife, +And fyght full manlie for theyr lyfe, +What tyme as musters were. {18} + +These three men wended at theyr wyll, +This wickede sewe gwhyl they cam tyll, +Liggand under a tree; +Rugg'd and rustic was her here, +Scho rase up wyth a felon fere, {19} +To fyght agen the three. + +Grizely was scho for to meete, +Scho rave the earthe up wyth her feete, +The barke cam fra' the tree: +When Freer Myddeltone her saugh, +Wete yow wele hee list not laugh, +Full earnestful luik'd hee. + +These men of auncestors {20} were so wight, +They bound them bauldly for to fyght, +And strake at her full sare; +Until a kilne they garred her flee, +Wolde God sende thayme the victorye, +They wolde aske hym na maire. + +The sewe was in the kilne hoile doone, +And they wer on the bawke aboone, +For hurting of theyr feete; +They wer sea sauted {21} wyth this sewe, +That 'mang thayme was a stalwarth stewe, +The kilne began to reeke! + +Durst noe man nighe her wyth his hande, +But put a rape downe wyth a wande, +And heltered her ful meete; +They hauled her furth agen her wyll, +Qunyl they cam until a hille, +A little fra the streete. {22} + +And ther scho made thayme sike a fray, +As, had they lived until Domesday, +They colde yt nere forgette: +Scho brayded upon every syde, +And ranne on thayme gapyng ful wyde, +For nathing wolde scho lette. + +Scho gaf sike hard braydes at the bande +That Peter of Dale had in his hande, +Hee myght not holde hys feete; +Scho chased thayme sea to and fro, +The wight men never wer sea woe, +Ther mesure was not mete. + +Scho bound her boldly to abide, +To Peter of Dale scho cam aside, +Wyth mony a hideous yelle; +Scho gaped sea wide and cryed sea hee, +The freer sayd, 'I conjure thee, +Thou art a fiend of helle! + +'Thou art comed hider for sum trayne, +I conjure thee to go agayne, +Wher thou was wont to dwell.' +He sained hym wyth crosse and creede, +Tooke furth a booke, began to reade, +In Ste Johan hys gospell. + +The sewe scho wolde not Latyne heare, +But rudely rushed at the freer, +That blynked all his blee; {23} +And when scho wolde have takken holde, +The freer leapt as I. H. S. wolde, {24} +And bealed hym wyth a tree. + +Scho was brim as anie beare, +For all their meete to laboure there, +To thayme yt was noe boote; +On tree and bushe that by her stode, +Scho venged her as scho wer woode, +And rave thayme up by roote. + +Hee sayd, 'Alas that I wer freer, +I shal bee hugged asunder here, +Hard is my destinie! +Wiste my brederen, in this houre, +That I was set in sike a stoure, +They wolde pray for mee!' + +This wicked beaste thatte wrought the woe, +Tooke that rape from the other two, +And than they fledd all three; +They fledd away by Watling streete, +They had no succour but their feete, +Yt was the maire pittye. + +The fielde it was both loste and wonne, +The sewe wente hame, and thatte ful soone, +To Morton-on-the-Greene. +When Raphe of Rokeby saw the rape, +He wist that there had bin debate, +Whereat the sewe had beene. + +He bade thayme stand out of her waye, +For scho had had a sudden fraye, - +'I saw never sewe sea keene, +Some new thingis shall wee heare, +Of her and Myddeltone the freer, +Some battel hath ther beene.' + +But all that served him for nought, - +Had they not better succour sought, {25} +They wer served therfore loe. +Then Mistress Rokebye came anon, +And for her brought scho meete ful soone, +The sewe cam her untoe. + +Scho gav her meete upon the flower; +[Scho made a bed beneath a bower, +With moss and broom besprent; +The sewe was gentle as mote be, +Ne rage ne ire flashed fra her e'e, +Scho seemed wele content.] + +FITTE THE SECONDE. + +When Freer Myddeltone com home, +Hys breders war ful faine ilchone, +And thanked God for hys lyfe; +He told thayme all unto the ende, +How hee had foughten wyth a fiende, +And lived thro' mickle stryfe. + +'Wee gav her battel half a daye, +And was faine to flee awaye +For saving of oure lyfe; +And Peter Dale wolde never blin, +But ran as faste as he colde rinn, +Till he cam till hys wyfe.' + +The Warden sayde, 'I am ful woe +That yow sholde bee torment soe, +But wee had wyth yow beene! +Had wee bene ther, yowr breders alle, +Wee wolde hav garred the warlo {26} falle, +That wrought yow all thys teene.' + +Freer Myddeltone, he sayde soon, 'Naye, +In faythe ye wolde hav ren awaye, +When moste misstirre had bin; +Ye all can speke safte wordes at home, +The fiend wolde ding yow doone ilk on, +An yt bee als I wene, + +Hee luik'd sea grizely al that nyght.' +The Warden sayde, 'Yon man wol fyght +If ye saye ought but gode, +Yon guest {27} hath grieved hym sea sore; +Holde your tongues, and speake ne more, +Hee luiks als hee wer woode.' + +The Warden waged {28} on the morne, +Two boldest men that ever wer borne, +I weyne, or ere shall bee: +Tone was Gilbert Griffin sonne, +Ful mickle worship hadde hee wonne, +Both by land and sea. + +Tother a bastard sonne of Spaine, +Mony a Sarazin hadde hee slaine; +Hys dint hadde garred thayme dye. +Theis men the battel undertoke +Agen the sewe, as saythe the boke, +And sealed securitye, + +That they shold boldly bide and fyghte, +And scomfit her in maine and myghte, +Or therfor sholde they dye. +The Warden sealed toe thayme againe, +And sayde, 'If ye in fielde be slaine, +This condition make I: + +'Wee shall for yow praye, syng, and reade, +Until Domesdaye wyth heartye speede, +With al our progenie.' +Then the lettres wer wele made, +The bondes wer bounde wyth seales brade, +As deeds of arms sholde bee. + +Theise men-at-arms thatte wer sea wight, +And wyth theire armour burnished bryght, +They went the sewe toe see. +Scho made at thayme sike a roare, +That for her they fear it sore, +And almaiste bounde to flee. + +Scho cam runnyng thayme agayne, +And saw the bastarde sonne of Spaine, +Hee brayded owt hys brande; +Ful spiteouslie at her hee strake, +Yet for the fence that he colde make, +Scho strake it fro hys hande, +And rave asander half hys sheelde, +And bare hym backwerde in the fielde, +Hee mought not her gainstande. + +Scho wolde hav riven hys privich geare, +But Gilbert wyth hys swerde of warre, +Hee strake at her ful strang. +In her shouther hee held the swerde; +Than was Gilbert sore afearde, +When the blade brak in twang. + +And whan in hande hee had her ta'en, +Scho toke hym by the shouther bane, +And held her hold ful faste; +Scho strave sea stifflie in thatte stoure, +Scho byt thro' ale hys rich armoure, +Till bloud cam owt at laste. + +Than Gilbert grieved was sea sare, +That hee rave off the hyde of haire; +The flesh cam fra the bane, +And wyth force hee held her ther, +And wanne her worthilie in warre, +And band her hym alane; + +And lifte her on a horse sea hee, +Into two panyers made of a tree, +And toe Richmond anon. +When they sawe the felon come, +They sange merrilye Te Deum! +The freers evrich one. + +They thankyd God and Saynte Frauncis, +That they had wonne the beaste of pris, +And nere a man was sleyne: +There never didde man more manlye, +The Knyght Marone, or Sir Guye, +Nor Louis of Lothraine. + +If yow wyl any more of thys, +I' the fryarie at Richmond {29} written yt is, +In parchment gude and fyne, +How Freer Myddeltone sea hende, +Att Greta Bridge conjured a fiende, +In lykeness of a swyne. + +Yt is wel knowen toe manie a man, +That Freer Theobald was warden than, +And thys fel in hys tyme. +And Chryst thayme bles both ferre and nere, +Al that for solas this doe here, +And hym that made the ryme. + +Raphe of Rokeby wid ful gode wyl, +The freers of Richmond gav her tyll, +This sewe toe mende ther fare; +Freer Myddeltone by name, +He wold bring the felon hame, +That rewed hym sine ful sare. + + + +Ballad: ARTHUR O'BRADLEY'S WEDDING. + + + +[In the ballad called Robin Hood, his Birth, Breeding, Valour and +Marriage, occurs the following line:- + + +And some singing Arthur-a-Bradley. + + +Antiquaries are by no means agreed as to what is the song of +Arthur-a-Bradley, there alluded to, for it so happens that there +are no less than three different songs about this same Arthur-a- +Bradley. Ritson gives one of them in his Robin Hood, commencing +thus:- + + +See you not Pierce the piper. + + +He took it from a black-letter copy in a private collection, +compared with, and very much corrected by, a copy contained in An +Antidote against Melancholy, made up in pills compounded of witty +Ballads, jovial Songs, and merry Catches, 1661. Ritson quotes +another, and apparently much more modern song on the same subject, +and to the same tune, beginning, - + +All in the merry month of May. + + +It is a miserable composition, as may be seen by referring to a +copy preserved in the third volume of the Roxburgh Ballads. There +is another song, the one given by us, which appears to be as +ancient as any of those of which Arthur O'Bradley is the hero, and +from its subject being a wedding, as also from its being the only +Arthur O'Bradley song that we have been enabled to trace in +broadside and chap-books of the last century, we are induced to +believe that it may be the song mentioned in the old ballad, which +is supposed to have been written in the reign of Charles I. An +obscure music publisher, who about thirty years ago resided in the +Metropolis, brought out an edition of Arthur O'Bradley's Wedding, +with the prefix 'Written by Mr. Taylor.' This Mr. Taylor was, +however, only a low comedian of the day, and the ascribed +authorship was a mere trick on the publisher's part to increase the +sale of the song. We are not able to give any account of the hero, +but from his being alluded to by so many of our old writers, he +was, perhaps, not altogether a fictitious personage. Ben Jonson +names him in one of his plays, and he is also mentioned in Dekker's +Honest Whore. Of one of the tunes mentioned in the song, viz., +Hence, Melancholy! we can give no account; the other,--Mad Moll, +may be found in Playford's Dancing-Master, 1698: it is the same +tune as the one known by the names of Yellow Stockings and the +Virgin Queen, the latter title seeming to connect it with Queen +Elizabeth, as the name of Mad Moll does with the history of Mary, +who was subject to mental aberration. The words of Mad Moll are +not known to exist, but probably consisted of some fulsome +panegyric on the virgin queen, at the expense of her unpopular +sister. From the mention of Hence, Melancholy, and Mad Moll, it is +presumed that they were both popular favourites when Arthur +O'Bradley's Wedding was written. A good deal of vulgar grossness +has been at different times introduced into this song, which seems +in this respect to be as elastic as the French chanson, Cadet +Rouselle, which is always being altered, and of which there are no +two copies alike. The tune of Arthur O'Bradley is given by Mr. +Chappell in his Popular Music.] + + +Come, neighbours, and listen awhile, +If ever you wished to smile, +Or hear a true story of old, +Attend to what I now unfold! +'Tis of a lad whose fame did resound +Through every village and town around, +For fun, for frolic, and for whim, +None ever was to equal him, +And his name was Arthur O'Bradley! +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Now, Arthur being stout and bold, +And near upon thirty years old, +He needs a wooing would go, +To get him a helpmate, you know. +So, gaining young Dolly's consent, +Next to be married they went; +And to make himself noble appear, +He mounted the old padded mare; +He chose her because she was blood, +And the prime of his old daddy's stud. +She was wind-galled, spavined, and blind, +And had lost a near leg behind; +She was cropped, and docked, and fired, +And seldom, if ever, was tired, +She had such an abundance of bone; +So he called her his high-bred roan, +A credit to Arthur O'Bradley! +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Then he packed up his drudgery hose, +And put on his holiday clothes; +His coat was of scarlet so fine, +Full trimmed with buttons behind; +Two sleeves it had it is true, +One yellow, the other was blue, +And the cuffs and the capes were of green, +And the longest that ever were seen; +His hat, though greasy and tore, +Cocked up with a feather before, +And under his chin it was tied, +With a strip from an old cow's hide; +His breeches three times had been turned, +And two holes through the left side were burned; +Two boots he had, but not kin, +One leather, the other was tin; +And for stirrups he had two patten rings, +Tied fast to the girth with two strings; +Yet he wanted a good saddle cloth, +Which long had been eat by the moth. +'Twas a sad misfortune, you'll say, +But still he looked gallant and gay, +And his name it was Arthur O'Bradley! +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Thus accoutred, away he did ride, +While Dolly she walked by his side; +Till coming up to the church door, +In the midst of five thousand or more, +Then from the old mare he did alight, +Which put the clerk in a fright; +And the parson so fumbled and shook, +That presently down dropped his book. +Then Arthur began for to sing, +And made the whole church to ring; +Crying, 'Dolly, my dear, come hither, +And let us be tacked together; +For the honour of Arthur O'Bradley!' +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Then the vicar discharged his duty, +Without either reward or fee, +Declaring no money he'd have; +And poor Arthur he'd none to give: +So, to make him a little amends, +He invited him home with his friends, +To have a sweet kiss at the bride, +And eat a good dinner beside. +The dishes, though few, were good, +And the sweetest of animal food: +First, a roast guinea-pig and a bantam, +A sheep's head stewed in a lanthorn, {30} +Two calves' feet, and a bull's trotter, +The fore and hind leg of an otter, +With craw-fish, cockles, and crabs, +Lump-fish, limpets, and dabs, +Red herrings and sprats, by dozens, +To feast all their uncles and cousins; +Who seemed well pleased with their treat, +And heartily they did all eat, +For the honour of Arthur O'Bradley! +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Now, the guests being well satisfied, +The fragments were laid on one side, +When Arthur, to make their hearts merry, +Brought ale, and parkin, {31} and perry; +When Timothy Twig stept in, +With his pipe, and a pipkin of gin. +A lad that was pleasant and jolly, +And scorned to meet melancholy; +He would chant and pipe so well, +No youth could him excel. +Not Pan the god of the swains, +Could ever produce such strains; +But Arthur, being first in the throng, +He swore he would sing the first song, +And one that was pleasant and jolly: +And that should be 'Hence, Melancholy!' +'Now give me a dance,' quoth Doll, +'Come, Jeffrery, play up Mad Moll, +'Tis time to be merry and frisky, - +But first I must have some more whiskey.' +'Oh! you're right,' says Arthur, 'my love! +My daffy-down-dilly! my dove! +My everything! my wife! +I ne'er was so pleased in my life, +Since my name it was Arthur O'Bradley!' +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Then the piper he screwed up his bags, +And the girls began shaking their rags; +First up jumped old Mother Crewe, +Two stockings, and never a shoe. +Her nose was crooked and long, +Which she could easily reach with her tongue; +And a hump on her back she did not lack, +But you should take no notice of that; +And her mouth stood all awry, +And she never was heard to lie, +For she had been dumb from her birth; +So she nodded consent to the mirth, +For honour of Arthur O'Bradley. +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + +Then the parson led off at the top, +Some danced, while others did hop; +While some ran foul of the wall, +And others down backwards did fall. +There was lead up and down, figure in, +Four hands across, then back again. +So in dancing they spent the whole night, +Till bright Phoebus appeared in their sight; +When each had a kiss of the bride, +And hopped home to his own fire-side: +Well pleased was Arthur O'Bradley! +O! rare Arthur O'Bradley! wonderful Arthur O'Bradley! +Sweet Arthur O'Bradley, O! + + + +Ballad: THE PAINFUL PLOUGH. + + + +[This is one of our oldest agricultural ditties, and maintains its +popularity to the present hour. It is called for at merry-makings +and feasts in every part of the country. The tune is in the minor +key, and of a pleasing character.] + + +'Come, all you jolly ploughmen, of courage stout and bold, +That labour all the winter in stormy winds, and cold; +To clothe the fields with plenty, your farm-yards to renew, +To crown them with contentment, behold the painful plough!' + +'Hold! ploughman,' said the gardener, 'don't count your trade with +ours, +Walk through the garden, and view the early flowers; +Also the curious border and pleasant walks go view, - +There's none such peace and plenty performed by the plough!' + +'Hold! gardener,' said the ploughman, 'my calling don't despise, +Each man for his living upon his trade relies; +Were it not for the ploughman, both rich and poor would rue, +For we are all dependent upon the painful plough. + +'Adam in the garden was sent to keep it right, +But the length of time he stayed there, I believe it was one night; +Yet of his own labour, I call it not his due, +Soon he lost his garden, and went to hold the plough. + +'For Adam was a ploughman when ploughing first begun, +The next that did succeed him was Cain, the eldest son; +Some of the generation this calling now pursue; +That bread may not be wanting, remains the painful plough. + +Samson was the strongest man, and Solomon was wise, +Alexander for to conquer 'twas all his daily prise; +King David was valiant, and many thousands slew, +Yet none of these brave heroes could live without the plough! + +Behold the wealthy merchant, that trades in foreign seas, +And brings home gold and treasure for those who live at ease; +With fine silks and spices, and fruits also, too, +They are brought from the Indies by virtue of the plough. + +'For they must have bread, biscuit, rice pudding, flour and peas, +To feed the jolly sailors as they sail o'er the seas; +And the man that brings them will own to what is true, +He cannot sail the ocean without the painful plough! + +'I hope there's none offended at me for singing this, +For it is not intended for anything amiss. +If you consider rightly, you'll find what I say is true, +For all that you can mention depends upon the plough.' + + + +Ballad: THE USEFUL PLOW; OR, THE PLOUGH'S PRAISE. + + + +[The common editions of this popular song inform us that it is +taken 'from an Old Ballad,' alluding probably to the dialogue given +at page 44. This song is quoted by Farquhar.] + + +A country life is sweet! +In moderate cold and heat, +To walk in the air, how pleasant and fair! +In every field of wheat, +The fairest of flowers adorning the bowers, +And every meadow's brow; +To that I say, no courtier may +Compare with they who clothe in grey, +And follow the useful plow. + +They rise with the morning lark, +And labour till almost dark; +Then folding their sheep, they hasten to sleep; +While every pleasant park +Next morning is ringing with birds that are singing, +On each green, tender bough. +With what content, and merriment, +Their days are spent, whose minds are bent +To follow the useful plow. + +The gallant that dresses fine, +And drinks his bottles of wine, +Were he to be tried, his feathers of pride, +Which deck and adorn his back, +Are tailors' and mercers', and other men dressers, +For which they do dun them now. +But Ralph and Will no compters fill +For tailor's bill, or garments still, +But follow the useful plow. + +Their hundreds, without remorse, +Some spend to keep dogs and horse, +Who never would give, as long as they live, +Not two-pence to help the poor; +Their wives are neglected, and harlots respected; +This grieves the nation now; +But 'tis not so with us that go +Where pleasures flow, to reap and mow, +And follow the useful plow. + + + +Ballad: THE FARMER'S SON. + + + +[This song, familiar to the dwellers in the dales of Yorkshire, was +published in 1729, in the Vocal Miscellany; a collection of about +four hundred celebrated songs. As the Miscellany was merely an +anthology of songs already well known, the date of this song must +have been sometime anterior to 1729. It was republished in the +British Musical Miscellany, or the Delightful Grove, 1796, and in a +few other old song books. It was evidently founded on an old +black-letter dialogue preserved in the Roxburgh collection, called +A Mad Kinde of Wooing; or, a Dialogue between Will the Simple and +Nan the Subtill, with their loving argument. To the tune of the +New Dance at the Red Bull Playhouse. Printed by the assignees of +Thomas Symcock.] + + +'Sweet Nelly! my heart's delight! +Be loving, and do not slight +The proffer I make, for modesty's sake:- +I honour your beauty bright. +For love, I profess, I can do no less, +Thou hast my favour won: +And since I see your modesty, +I pray agree, and fancy me, +Though I'm but a farmer's son. + +'No! I am a lady gay, +'Tis very well known I may +Have men of renown, in country or town; +So! Roger, without delay, +Court Bridget or Sue, Kate, Nancy, or Prue, +Their loves will soon be won; +But don't you dare to speak me fair, +As if I were at my last prayer, +To marry a farmer's son.' + +'My father has riches' store, +Two hundred a year, and more; +Beside sheep and cows, carts, harrows, and ploughs; +His age is above threescore. +And when he does die, then merrily I +Shall have what he has won; +Both land and kine, all shall be thine, +If thou'lt incline, and wilt be mine, +And marry a farmer's son.' + +'A fig for your cattle and corn! +Your proffered love I scorn! +'Tis known very well, my name is Nell, +And you're but a bumpkin born.' +'Well! since it is so, away I will go, - +And I hope no harm is done; +Farewell, adieu!--I hope to woo +As good as you,--and win her, too, +Though I'm but a farmer's son.' + +'Be not in such haste,' quoth she, +'Perhaps we may still agree; +For, man, I protest I was but in jest! +Come, prythee sit down by me; +For thou art the man that verily can +Win me, if e'er I'm won; +Both straight and tall, genteel withal; +Therefore, I shall be at your call, +To marry a farmer's son.' + +'Dear lady! believe me now +I solemnly swear and vow, +No lords in their lives take pleasure in wives, +Like fellows that drive the plough: +For whatever they gain with labour and pain, +They don't with 't to harlots run, +As courtiers do. I never knew +A London beau that could outdo +A country farmer's son.' + + + +Ballad: THE FARMER'S BOY. + + + +[Mr Denham of Piersbridge, who communicates the following, says-- +'there is no question that the Farmer's Boy is a very ancient song; +it is highly popular amongst the north country lads and lasses.' +The date of the composition may probably be referred to the +commencement of the last century, when there prevailed amongst the +ballad-mongers a great rage for Farmers' Sons, Plough Boys, Milk +Maids, Farmers' Boys, &c. &c. The song is popular all over the +country, and there are numerous printed copies, ancient and +modern.] + + +The sun had set behind yon hills, +Across yon dreary moor, +Weary and lame, a boy there came +Up to a farmer's door: +'Can you tell me if any there be +That will give me employ, +To plow and sow, and reap and mow, +And be a farmer's boy? + +'My father is dead, and mother is left +With five children, great and small; +And what is worse for mother still, +I'm the oldest of them all. +Though little, I'll work as hard as a Turk, +If you'll give me employ, +To plow and sow, and reap and mow, +And be a farmer's boy. + +'And if that you won't me employ, +One favour I've to ask, - +Will you shelter me, till break of day, +From this cold winter's blast? +At break of day, I'll trudge away +Elsewhere to seek employ, +To plow and sow, and reap and mow, +And be a farmer's boy.' + +'Come, try the lad,' the mistress said, +'Let him no further seek.' +'O, do, dear father!' the daughter cried, +While tears ran down her cheek: +'He'd work if he could, so 'tis hard to want food, +And wander for employ; +Don't turn him away, but let him stay, +And be a farmer's boy.' + +And when the lad became a man, +The good old farmer died, +And left the lad the farm he had, +And his daughter for his bride. +The lad that was, the farm now has, +Oft smiles, and thinks with joy +Of the lucky day he came that way, +To be a farmer's boy. + + + +Ballad: RICHARD OF TAUNTON DEAN; OR, DUMBLE DUM DEARY. + + + +[This song is very popular with the country people in every part of +England, but more particularly with the inhabitants of the counties +of Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall. The chorus is peculiar to +country songs of the West of England. There are many different +versions. The following one, communicated by Mr. Sandys, was taken +down from the singing of an old blind fiddler, 'who,' says Mr. +Sandys, 'used to accompany it on his instrument in an original and +humorous manner; a representative of the old minstrels!' The air +is in Popular Music. In Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England +there is a version of this song, called Richard of Dalton Dale. + +The popularity of this West-country song has extended even to +Ireland, as appears from two Irish versions, supplied by the late +Mr. T. Crofton Croker. One of them is entitled Last New-Year's +Day, and is printed by Haly, Hanover-street, Cork. It follows the +English song almost verbatim, with the exception of the first and +second verses, which we subjoin:- + + +'Last New-Year's day, as I heard say, +Dick mounted on his dapple gray; +He mounted high and he mounted low, +Until he came to SWEET RAPHOE! +Sing fal de dol de ree, +Fol de dol, righ fol dee. +'My buckskin does I did put on, +My spladdery clogs, TO SAVE MY BROGUES! +And in my pocket a lump of bread, +And round my hat a ribbon red.' + + +The other version is entitled Dicky of Ballyman, and a note informs +us that 'Dicky of Ballyman's sirname was Byrne!' As our readers +may like to hear how the Somersetshire bumpkin behaved after he had +located himself in the town of Ballyman, and taken the sirname of +Byrne, we give the whole of his amatory adventures in the sister- +island. We discover from them, inter alia, that he had found 'the +best of friends' in his 'Uncle,'--that he had made a grand +discovery in natural history, viz., that a rabbit is a FOWL!--that +he had taken the temperance pledge, which, however, his Mistress +Ann had certainly not done; and, moreover, that he had become an +enthusiast in potatoes! + + +DICKY OF BALLYMAN. + + +'On New-Year's day, as I heard say, +Dicky he saddled his dapple gray; +He put on his Sunday clothes, +His scarlet vest, and his new made hose. +Diddle dum di, diddle dum do, +Diddle dum di, diddle dum do. + +'He rode till he came to Wilson Hall, +There he rapped, and loud did call; +Mistress Ann came down straightway, +And asked him what he had to say? + +''Don't you know me, Mistress Ann? +I am Dicky of Ballyman; +An honest lad, though I am poor, - +I never was in love before. + +''I have an uncle, the best of friends, +Sometimes to me a fat rabbit he sends; +And many other dainty fowl, +To please my life, my joy, my soul. + +''Sometimes I reap, sometimes I mow, +And to the market I do go, +To sell my father's corn and hay, - +I earn my sixpence every day!' + +''Oh, Dicky! you go beneath your mark, - +You only wander in the dark; +Sixpence a day will never do, +I must have silks, and satins, too! + +''Besides, Dicky, I must have tea +For my breakfast, every day; +And after dinner a bottle of wine, - +For without it I cannot dine.' + +''If on fine clothes our money is spent, +Pray how shall my lord be paid his rent? +He'll expect it when 'tis due, - +Believe me, what I say is true. + +''As for tea, good stirabout +Will do far better, I make no doubt; +And spring water, when you dine, +Is far wholesomer than wine. + +''Potatoes, too, are very nice food, - +I don't know any half so good: +You may have them boiled or roast, +Whichever way you like them most.' + +'This gave the company much delight, +And made them all to laugh outright; +So Dicky had no more to say, +But saddled his dapple and rode away. +Diddle dum di, &c.'] + + +Last New-Year's day, as I've heerd say, {32} +Young Richard he mounted his dapple grey, +And he trotted along to Taunton Dean, +To court the parson's daughter, Jean. +Dumble dum deary, dumble dum deary, +Dumble dum deary, dumble dum dee. + +With buckskin breeches, shoes and hose, +And Dicky put on his Sunday clothes; +Likewise a hat upon his head, +All bedaubed with ribbons red. + +Young Richard he rode without dread or fear, +Till he came to the house where lived his sweet dear, +When he knocked, and shouted, and bellowed, 'Hallo! +Be the folks at home? say aye or no.' + +A trusty servant let him in, +That he his courtship might begin; +Young Richard he walked along the great hall, +And loudly for mistress Jean did call. + +Miss Jean she came without delay, +To hear what Dicky had got to say; +'I s'pose you knaw me, mistress Jean, +I'm honest Richard of Taunton Dean. + +'I'm an honest fellow, although I be poor, +And I never was in love afore; +My mother she bid me come here for to woo, +And I can fancy none but you.' + +'Suppose that I would be your bride, +Pray how would you for me provide? +For I can neither sew nor spin; - +Pray what will your day's work bring in?' + +'Why, I can plough, and I can zow, +And zometimes to the market go +With Gaffer Johnson's straw or hay, +And yarn my ninepence every day!' + +'Ninepence a-day will never do, +For I must have silks and satins too! +Ninepence a day won't buy us meat!' +'Adzooks!' says Dick, 'I've a zack of wheat; + +'Besides, I have a house hard by, +'Tis all my awn, when mammy do die; +If thee and I were married now, +Ods! I'd feed thee as fat as my feyther's old zow.' + +Dick's compliments did so delight, +They made the family laugh outright; +Young Richard took huff, and no more would say, +He kicked up old Dobbin, and trotted away, +Singing, dumble dum deary, &c. + + + +Ballad: WOOING SONG OF A YEOMAN OF KENT'S SONNE. + + + +[The following song is the original of a well-known and popular +Scottish song:- + +'I hae laid a herring in saut; +Lass, 'gin ye lo'e me, tell me now! +I ha'e brewed a forpit o' maut, +An' I canna come ilka day to woo.' + +There are modern copies of our Kentish Wooing Song, but the present +version is taken from Melismata, Musical phansies fitting the +court, citie, and countree. To 3, 4, and 5 voyces. London, +printed by William Stansby, for Thomas Adams, 1611. The tune will +be found in Popular Music, I., 90. The words are in the Kentish +dialect.] + + +Ich have house and land in Kent, +And if you'll love me, love me now; +Two-pence half-penny is my rent, - +Ich cannot come every day to woo. +Chorus. Two-pence half-penny is his rent, +And he cannot come every day to woo. + +Ich am my vather's eldest zonne, +My mouther eke doth love me well! +For Ich can bravely clout my shoone, +And Ich full-well can ring a bell. +Cho. For he can bravely clout his shoone, +And he full well can ring a bell. {33} + +My vather he gave me a hogge, +My mouther she gave me a zow; +Ich have a god-vather dwells there by, +And he on me bestowed a plow. +Cho. He has a god-vather dwells there by, +And he on him bestowed a plow. + +One time Ich gave thee a paper of pins, +Anoder time a taudry lace; +And if thou wilt not grant me love, +In truth Ich die bevore thy vace. +Cho. And if thou wilt not grant his love, +In truth he'll die bevore thy vace. + +Ich have been twice our Whitson Lord, +Ich have had ladies many vare; +And eke thou hast my heart in hold, +And in my minde zeemes passing rare. +Cho. And eke thou hast his heart in hold, +And in his minde zeemes passing rare. + +Ich will put on my best white sloppe, +And Ich will weare my yellow hose; +And on my head a good gray hat, +And in't Ich sticke a lovely rose. +Cho. And on his head a good grey hat, +And in't he'll stick a lovely rose. + +Wherefore cease off, make no delay, +And if you'll love me, love me now; +Or els Ich zeeke zome oder where, - +For Ich cannot come every day to woo. +Cho. Or else he'll zeeke zome oder where, +For he cannot come every day to woo. {34} + + + +Ballad: THE CLOWN'S COURTSHIP. + + + +[This song, on the same subject as the preceding, is as old as the +reign of Henry VIII., the first verse, says Mr. Chappell, being +found elaborately set to music in a manuscript of that date. The +air is given in Popular Music, I., 87.] + + +Quoth John to Joan, wilt thou have me? +I prythee now, wilt? and I'ze marry with thee, +My cow, my calf, my house, my rents, +And all my lands and tenements: +Oh, say, my Joan, will not that do? +I cannot come every day to woo. + +I've corn and hay in the barn hard by, +And three fat hogs pent up in the sty: +I have a mare, and she is coal black, +I ride on her tail to save my back. +Then say, &c. + +I have a cheese upon the shelf, +And I cannot eat it all myself; +I've three good marks that lie in a rag, +In the nook of the chimney, instead of a bag. +Then say, &c. + +To marry I would have thy consent, +But faith I never could compliment; +I can say nought but 'hoy, gee ho,' +Words that belong to the cart and the plow. +Then say, &c. + + + +Ballad: HARRY'S COURTSHIP. + + + +[This old ditty, in its incidents, bears a resemblance to Dumble- +dum-deary, see ante, p. 149. It used to be a popular song in the +Yorkshire dales. We have been obliged to supply an hiatus in the +second verse, and to make an alteration in the last, where we have +converted the 'red-nosed parson' of the original into a squire.] + + +Harry courted modest Mary, +Mary was always brisk and airy; +Harry was country neat as could be, +But his words were rough, and his duds were muddy. + +Harry when he first bespoke her, +[Kept a dandling the kitchen poker;] +Mary spoke her words like Venus, +But said, 'There's something I fear between us. + +'Have you got cups of China mettle, +Canister, cream-jug, tongs, or kettle?' +'Odzooks, I've bowls, and siles, and dishes, +Enow to supply any prudent wishes. + +'I've got none o' your cups of Chaney, +Canister, cream-jug, I've not any; +I've a three-footed pot and a good brass kettle, +Pray what do you want with your Chaney mettle? + +'A shippen full of rye for to fother, +A house full of goods, one mack or another; +I'll thrash in the lathe while you sit spinning, +O, Molly, I think that's a good beginning.' + +'I'll not sit at my wheel a-spinning, +Or rise in the morn to wash your linen; +I'll lie in bed till the clock strikes eleven--' +'Oh, grant me patience gracious Heaven! + +'Why then thou must marry some red-nosed squire, +[Who'll buy thee a settle to sit by the fire,] +For I'll to Margery in the valley, +She is my girl, so farewell Malley.' + + + +Ballad: HARVEST-HOME SONG. + + + +[Our copy of this song is taken from one in the Roxburgh +Collection, where it is called, The Country Farmer's vain glory; in +a new song of Harvest Home, sung to a new tune much in request. +Licensed according to order. The tune is published in Popular +Music. A copy of this song, with the music, may be found in +D'Urfey's Pills to purge Melancholy. It varies from ours; but +D'Urfey is so loose and inaccurate in his texts, that any other +version is more likely to be correct. The broadside from which the +following is copied was 'Printed for P. Brooksby, J. Dencon +[Deacon], J. Blai[r], and J. Back.'] + + +Our oats they are howed, and our barley's reaped, +Our hay is mowed, and our hovels heaped; +Harvest home! harvest home! +We'll merrily roar out our harvest home! +Harvest home! harvest home! +We'll merrily roar out our harvest home! +We'll merrily roar out our harvest home! + +We cheated the parson, we'll cheat him again; +For why should the vicar have one in ten? +One in ten! one in ten! +For why should the vicar have one in ten? +For why should the vicar have one in ten? +For staying while dinner is cold and hot, +And pudding and dumpling's burnt to pot; +Burnt to pot! burnt to pot! +Till pudding and dumpling's burnt to pot, +Burnt to pot! burnt to pot! + +We'll drink off the liquor while we can stand, +And hey for the honour of old England! +Old England! old England! +And hey for the honour of old England! +Old England! old England! + + + +Ballad: HARVEST-HOME. + + + +[From an old copy without printer's name or date.] + + +Come, Roger and Nell, +Come, Simpkin and Bell, +Each lad with his lass hither come; +With singing and dancing, +And pleasure advancing, +To celebrate harvest-home! + +Chorus. 'Tis Ceres bids play, +And keep holiday, +To celebrate harvest-home! +Harvest-home! +Harvest-home! +To celebrate harvest-home! + +Our labour is o'er, +Our barns, in full store, +Now swell with rich gifts of the land; +Let each man then take, +For the prong and the rake, +His can and his lass in his hand. +For Ceres, &c. + +No courtier can be +So happy as we, +In innocence, pastime, and mirth; +While thus we carouse, +With our sweetheart or spouse, +And rejoice o'er the fruits of the earth. +For Ceres, &c. + + + +Ballad: THE MOW. A HARVEST HOME SONG. Tune, Where the bee sucks. + + + +[This favourite song, copied from a chap-book called The Whistling +Ploughman, published at the commencement of the present century, is +written in imitation of Ariel's song, in the Tempest. It is +probably taken from some defunct ballad-opera.] + + +Now our work's done, thus we feast, +After labour comes our rest; +Joy shall reign in every breast, +And right welcome is each guest: +After harvest merrily, +Merrily, merrily, will we sing now, +After the harvest that heaps up the mow. + +Now the plowman he shall plow, +And shall whistle as he go, +Whether it be fair or blow, +For another barley mow, +O'er the furrow merrily: +Merrily, merrily, will we sing now, +After the harvest, the fruit of the plow. + +Toil and plenty, toil and ease, +Still the husbandman he sees; +Whether when the winter freeze, +Or in summer's gentle breeze; +Still he labours merrily, +Merrily, merrily, after the plow, +He looks to the harvest, that gives us the mow. + + + +Ballad: THE BARLEY-MOW SONG. + + + +[This song is sung at country meetings in Devon and Cornwall, +particularly on completing the carrying of the barley, when the +rick, or mow of barley, is finished. On putting up the last sheaf, +which is called the craw (or crow) sheaf, the man who has it cries +out 'I have it, I have it, I have it;' another demands, 'What have +'ee, what have 'ee, what have 'ee?' and the answer is, 'A craw! a +craw! a craw!' upon which there is some cheering, &c., and a supper +afterwards. The effect of the Barley-mow Song cannot be given in +words; it should be heard, to be appreciated properly,-- +particularly with the West-country dialect.] + + +Here's a health to the barley-mow, my brave boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +We'll drink it out of the jolly brown bowl, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +Cho. Here's a health to the barley-mow, my brave boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! + +We'll drink it out of the nipperkin, boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The nipperkin and the jolly brown bowl, +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the quarter-pint, boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The quarter-pint, nipperkin, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the half-a-pint, boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The half-a-pint, quarter-pint, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the pint, my brave boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The pint, the half-a-pint, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the quart, my brave boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The quart, the pint, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +Well drink it out of the pottle, my boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The pottle, the quart, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the gallon, my boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The gallon, the pottle, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the half-anker, boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The half-anker, gallon, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the anker, my boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The anker, the half-anker, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the half-hogshead, boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The half-hogshead, anker, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the hogshead, my boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The hogshead, the half-hogshead, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the pipe, my brave boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The pipe, the hogshead, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the well, my brave boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The well, the pipe, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the river, my boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The river, the well, &c. +Cho. Here's a health, &c. + +We'll drink it out of the ocean, my boys, +Here's a health to the barley-mow! +The ocean, the river, the well, the pipe, the hogshead, +the half-hogshead, the anker, the half-anker, +the gallon, the pottle, the quart, the pint, the +half-a-pint, the quarter-pint, the nipperkin, and +the jolly brown bowl! +Cho. Here's a health to the barley-mow, my brave boys! +Here's a health to the barley-mow! + +[The above verses are very much ad libitum, but always in the third +line repeating the whole of the previously-named measures; as we +have shown in the recapitulation at the close of the last verse.] + + + +Ballad: THE BARLEY-MOW SONG. (SUFFOLK VERSION.) + + + +[The peasantry of Suffolk sing the following version of the Barley- +Mow Song.] + + +Here's a health to the barley mow! +Here's a health to the man +Who very well can +Both harrow and plow and sow! + +When it is well sown +See it is well mown, +Both raked and gavelled clean, +And a barn to lay it in. +He's a health to the man +Who very well can +Both thrash and fan it clean! + + + +Ballad: THE CRAVEN CHURN-SUPPER SONG. + + + +[In some of the more remote dales of Craven it is customary at the +close of the hay-harvest for the farmers to give an entertainment +to their men; this is called the churn supper; a name which Eugene +Aram traces to 'the immemorial usage of producing at such suppers a +great quantity of cream in a churn, and circulating it in cups to +each of the rustic company, to be eaten with bread.' At these +churn-suppers the masters and their families attend the +entertainment, and share in the general mirth. The men mask +themselves, and dress in a grotesque manner, and are allowed the +privilege of playing harmless practical jokes on their employers, +&c. The churn-supper song varies in different dales, but the +following used to be the most popular version. In the third verse +there seems to be an allusion to the clergyman's taking tythe in +kind, on which occasions he is generally accompanied by two or +three men, and the parish clerk. The song has never before been +printed. There is a marked resemblance between it and a song of +the date of 1650, called A Cup of Old Stingo. See Popular Music of +the Olden Time, I., 308.] + + +God rest you, merry gentlemen! +Be not moved at my strain, +For nothing study shall my brain, +But for to make you laugh: +For I came here to this feast, +For to laugh, carouse, and jest, +And welcome shall be every guest, +To take his cup and quaff. +Cho. Be frolicsome, every one, +Melancholy none; +Drink about! +See it out, +And then we'll all go home, +And then we'll all go home! + +This ale it is a gallant thing, +It cheers the spirits of a king; +It makes a dumb man strive to sing, +Aye, and a beggar play! +A cripple that is lame and halt, +And scarce a mile a day can walk, +When he feels the juice of malt, +Will throw his crutch away. +Cho. Be frolicsome, &c. + +'Twill make the parson forget his men, - +'Twill make his clerk forget his pen; +'Twill turn a tailor's giddy brain, +And make him break his wand, +The blacksmith loves it as his life, - +It makes the tinkler bang his wife, - +Aye, and the butcher seek his knife +When he has it in his hand! +Cho. Be frolicsome, &c. + +So now to conclude, my merry boys, all, +Let's with strong liquor take a fall, +Although the weakest goes to the wall, +The best is but a play! +For water it concludes in noise, +Good ale will cheer our hearts, brave boys; +Then put it round with a cheerful voice, +We meet not every day. +Cho. Be frolicsome, &c. + + + +Ballad: THE RURAL DANCE ABOUT THE MAY-POLE. + + + +[The most correct copy of this song is that given in The +Westminster Drollery, Part II. p. 80. It is there called The Rural +Dance about the May-pole, the tune, the first-figure dance at Mr. +Young's ball, May, 1671. The tune is in Popular Music. The May- +pole, for so the song is called in modern collections, is a very +popular ditty at the present time. The common copies vary +considerably from the following version, which is much more correct +than any hitherto published.] + + +Come, lasses and lads, take leave of your dads, +And away to the may-pole hie; +For every he has got him a she, +And the minstrel's standing by; +For Willie has gotten his Jill, +And Johnny has got his Joan, +To jig it, jig it, jig it, +Jig it up and down. + +'Strike up,' says Wat; 'Agreed,' says Kate, +'And I prithee, fiddler, play;' +'Content,' says Hodge, and so says Madge, +For this is a holiday. +Then every man did put +His hat off to his lass, +And every girl did curchy, +Curchy, curchy on the grass. + +'Begin,' says Hall; 'Aye, aye,' says Mall, +'We'll lead up PACKINGTON'S POUND;' +'No, no,' says Noll, and so says Doll, +'We'll first have SELLENGER'S ROUND.' {35} +Then every man began +To foot it round about; +And every girl did jet it, +Jet it, jet it, in and out. + +'You're out,' says Dick; ''Tis a lie,' says Nick, +'The fiddler played it false;' +''Tis true,' says Hugh, and so says Sue, +And so says nimble Alice. +The fiddler then began +To play the tune again; +And every girl did trip it, trip it, +Trip it to the men. + +'Let's kiss,' says Jane, {36} 'Content,' says Nan, +And so says every she; +'How many?' says Batt; 'Why three,' says Matt, +'For that's a maiden's fee.' +But they, instead of three, +Did give them half a score, +And they in kindness gave 'em, gave 'em, +Gave 'em as many more. + +Then after an hour, they went to a bower, +And played for ale and cakes; +And kisses, too;--until they were due, +The lasses kept the stakes: +The girls did then begin +To quarrel with the men; +And bid 'em take their kisses back, +And give them their own again. + +Yet there they sate, until it was late, +And tired the fiddler quite, +With singing and playing, without any paying, +From morning unto night: +They told the fiddler then, +They'd pay him for his play; +And each a two-pence, two-pence, +Gave him, and went away. + +'Good night,' says Harry; 'Good night,' says Mary; +'Good night,' says Dolly to John; +'Good night,' says Sue; 'Good night,' says Hugh; +'Good night,' says every one. +Some walked, and some did run, +Some loitered on the way; +And bound themselves with love-knots, love-knots, +To meet the next holiday. + + + +Ballad: THE HITCHIN MAY-DAY SONG. + + + +[The following song is sung by the Mayers at Hitchin in the county +of Herts. For an account of the manner in which May-day is +observed at Hitchin, see Hone's Every-Day Book.] + + +Remember us poor Mayers all! +And thus do we begin +To lead our lives in righteousness, +Or else we die in sin. + +We have been rambling all the night, +And almost all the day; +And now returned back again, +We have brought you a branch of May. + +A branch of May we have brought you, +And at your door it stands; +It is but a sprout, +But it's well budded out +By the work of our Lord's hand. + +The hedges and trees they are so green, +As green as any leek; +Our heavenly Father he watered them +With his heavenly dew so sweet. + +The heavenly gates are open wide, +Our paths are beaten plain; +And if a man be not too far gone, +He may return again. + +The life of man is but a span, +It flourishes like a flower; +We are here to-day, and gone to-morrow, +And we are dead in an hour. + +The moon shines bright, and the stars give a light, +A little before it is day; +So God bless you all, both great and small, +And send you a joyful May! + + + +Ballad: THE HELSTONE FURRY-DAY SONG. + + + +[At Helstone, in Cornwall, the 8th of May is a day devoted to +revelry and gaiety. It is called the Furry-day, supposed to be a +corruption of Flora's day, from the garlands worn and carried in +procession during the festival. {37} A writer in the Gentleman's +Magazine for June, 1790, says, 'In the morning, very early, some +troublesome rogues go round the streets [of Helstone], with drums +and other noisy instruments, disturbing their sober neighbours, and +singing parts of a song, the whole of which nobody now re-collects, +and of which I know no more than that there is mention in it of the +'grey goose quill,' and of going 'to the green wood' to bring home +'the Summer and the May, O!'' During the festival, the gentry, +tradespeople, servants, &c., dance through the streets, and thread +through certain of the houses to a very old dance tune, given in +the appendix to Davies Gilbert's Christmas Carols, and which may +also be found in Chappell's Popular Music, and other collections. +The Furry-day Song possesses no literary merit whatever; but as a +part of an old and really interesting festival, it is worthy of +preservation. The dance-tune has been confounded with that of the +song, but Mr. Sandys, to whom we are indebted for this +communication, observes that 'the dance-tune is quite different.'] + + +Robin Hood and Little John, +They both are gone to the fair, O! +And we will go to the merry green-wood, +To see what they do there, O! +And for to chase, O! +To chase the buck and doe. +With ha-lan-tow, rumble, O! +For we were up as soon as any day, O! +And for to fetch the summer home, +The summer and the may, O! +For summer is a-come, O! +And winter is a-gone, O! + +Where are those Spaniards +That make so great a boast, O? +They shall eat the grey goose feather, +And we will eat the roast, O! +In every land, O! +The land where'er we go. +With ha-lan-tow, &c + +As for Saint George, O! +Saint George he was a knight, O! +Of all the knights in Christendom, +Saint George is the right, O! +In every land, O! +The land where'er we go. +With ha-lan-tow, &c. + + + +Ballad: CORNISH MIDSUMMER BONFIRE SONG. + + + +[The very ancient custom of lighting fires on Midsummer-eve, being +the vigil of St. John the Baptist, is still kept up in several +parts of Cornwall. On these occasions the fishermen and others +dance about the fires, and sing appropriate songs. The following +has been sung for a long series of years at Penzance and the +neighbourhood, and is taken down from the recitation of the leader +of a West-country choir. It is communicated to our pages by Mr. +Sandys. The origin of the Midsummer bonfires is fully explained in +Brand's Popular Antiquities. See Sir H. Ellis's edition of that +work, vol. i. pp. 166-186.] + + +The bonny month of June is crowned +With the sweet scarlet rose; +The groves and meadows all around +With lovely pleasure flows. + +As I walked out to yonder green, +One evening so fair; +All where the fair maids may be seen +Playing at the bonfire. + +Hail! lovely nymphs, be not too coy, +But freely yield your charms; +Let love inspire with mirth and joy, +In Cupid's lovely arms. + +Bright Luna spreads its light around, +The gallants for to cheer; +As they lay sporting on the ground, +At the fair June bonfire. + +All on the pleasant dewy mead, +They shared each other's charms; +Till Phoebus' beams began to spread, +And coming day alarms. + +Whilst larks and linnets sing so sweet, +To cheer each lovely swain; +Let each prove true unto their love, +And so farewell the plain. + + + +Ballad: SUFFOLK HARVEST-HOME SONG. + + + +[In no part of England are the harvest-homes kept up with greater +spirit than in Suffolk. The following old song is a general +favourite on such occasions.] + + +Here's a health unto our master, +The founder of the feast! +I wish, with all my heart and soul, +In heaven he may find rest. +I hope all things may prosper, +That ever be takes in hand; +For we are all his servants, +And all at his command. + +Drink, boys, drink, and see you do not spill, +For if you do, you must drink two,--it is your master's will. + +Now our harvest is ended, +And supper is past; +Here's our mistress' good health, +In a full flowing glass! +She is a good woman, - +She prepared us good cheer; +Come, all my brave boys, +And drink off your beer. + +Drink, my boys, drink till you come unto me, +The longer we sit, my boys, the merrier shall we be! + +In yon green wood there lies an old fox, +Close by his den you may catch him, or no; +Ten thousand to one you catch him, or no. +His beard and his brush are all of one colour, - +[Takes the glass and empties it off. +I am sorry, kind sir, that your glass is no fuller. +'Tis down the red lane! 'tis down the red lane! +So merrily hunt the fox down the red lane! {38} + + + +Ballad: THE HAYMAKER'S SONG. + + + +[An old and very favourite ditty sung in many parts of England at +merry-makings, especially at those which occur during the hay- +harvest. It is not in any collection.] + + +In the merry month of June, +In the prime time of the year; +Down in yonder meadows +There runs a river clear: +And many a little fish +Doth in that river play; +And many a lad, and many a lass, +Go abroad a-making hay. + +In come the jolly mowers, +To mow the meadows down; +With budget and with bottle +Of ale, both stout and brown, +All labouring men of courage bold +Come here their strength to try; +They sweat and blow, and cut and mow, +For the grass cuts very dry. + +Here's nimble Ben and Tom, +With pitchfork, and with rake; +Here's Molly, Liz, and Susan, +Come here their hay to make. +While sweet, jug, jug, jug! +The nightingale doth sing, +From morning unto even-song, +As they are hay-making. + +And when that bright day faded, +And the sun was going down, +There was a merry piper +Approached from the town: +He pulled out his pipe and tabor, +So sweetly he did play, +Which made all lay down their rakes, +And leave off making hay. + +Then joining in a dance, +They jig it o'er the green; +Though tired with their labour, +No one less was seen. +But sporting like some fairies, +Their dance they did pursue, +In leading up, and casting off, +Till morning was in view. + +And when that bright daylight, +The morning it was come, +They lay down and rested +Till the rising of the sun: +Till the rising of the sun, +When the merry larks do sing, +And each lad did rise and take his lass, +And away to hay-making. + + + +Ballad: THE SWORD-DANCERS' SONG. + + + +[Sword-dancing is not so common in the North of England as it was a +few years ago; but a troop of rustic practitioners of the art may +still be occasionally met with at Christmas time, in some of the +most secluded of the Yorkshire dales. The following is a copy of +the introductory song, as it used to be sung by the Wharfdale +sword-dancers. It has been transcribed from a MS. in the +possession of Mr. Holmes, surgeon, at Grassington, in Craven. At +the conclusion of the song a dance ensues, and sometimes a rustic +drama is performed. See post, p. 175. Jumping Joan, alluded to in +the last verse, is a well-known old country dance tune.] + +The spectators being assembled, the CLOWN enters, and after drawing +a circle with his sword, walks round it, and calls in the actors in +the following lines, which are sung to the accompaniment of a +violin played outside, or behind the door. + + +The first that enters on the floor, +His name is Captain Brown; +I think he is as smart a youth +As any in this town: +In courting of the ladies gay, +He fixes his delight; +He will not stay from them all day, +And is with them all the night. + +The next's a tailor by his trade, +Called Obadiah Trim; +You may quickly guess, by his plain dress, +And hat of broadest brim, +That he is of the Quaking sect, +Who would seem to act by merit +Of yeas and nays, and hums and hahs, +And motions of the spirit. + +The next that enters on the floor, +He is a foppish knight; +The first to be in modish dress, +He studies day and night. +Observe his habit round about, - +Even from top to toe; +The fashion late from France was brought, - +He's finer than a beau! + +Next I present unto your view +A very worthy man; +He is a vintner, by his trade, +And Love-ale is his name. +If gentlemen propose a glass, +He seldom says 'em nay, +But does always think it's right to drink, +While other people pay. + +The next that enters on the floor, +It is my beauteous dame; +Most dearly I do her adore, +And Bridget is her name. +At needlework she does excel +All that e'er learnt to sew, +And when I choose, she'll ne'er refuse, +What I command her do. + +And I myself am come long since, +And Thomas is my name; +Though some are pleased to call me Tom, +I think they're much to blame: +Folks should not use their betters thus, +But I value it not a groat, +Though the tailors, too, that botching crew, +Have patched it on my coat. + +I pray who's this we've met with here, +That tickles his trunk wame? {39} +We've picked him up as here we came, +And cannot learn his name: +But sooner than he's go without, +I'll call him my son Tom; +And if he'll play, be it night or day, +We'll dance you JUMPING JOAN. + + + +Ballad: THE SWORD-DANCERS' SONG AND INTERLUDE. AS NOW PERFORMED +AT CHRISTMAS, IN THE COUNTY OF DURHAM. + + + +[The late Sir Cuthbert Sharp remarks, that 'It is still the +practice during the Christmas holidays for companies of fifteen to +perform a sort of play or dance, accompanied by song or music.' +The following version of the song, or interlude, has been +transcribed from Sir C. Sharp's Bishoprick Garland, corrected by +collation with a MS. copy recently remitted to the editor by a +countryman of Durham. The Devonshire peasants have a version +almost identical with this, but laths are used instead of swords, +and a few different characters are introduced to suit the locality. +The pageant called The Fool Plough, which consists of a number of +sword-dancers dragging a plough with music, was anciently observed +in the North of England, not only at Christmas time, but also in +the beginning of Lent. Wallis thinks that the Sword Dance is the +antic dance, or chorus armatus of the Romans. Brand supposes that +it is a composition made up of the gleaning of several obsolete +customs anciently followed in England and other countries. The +Germans still practise the Sword Dance at Christmas and Easter. We +once witnessed a Sword Dance in the Eifel mountains, which closely +resembled our own, but no interlude, or drama, was performed.] + + +Enter Dancers, decorated with swords and ribbons; the CAPTAIN of +the band wearing a cocked hat and a peacock's feather in it by way +of cockade, and the CLOWN, or 'BESSY,' who acts as treasurer, being +decorated with a hairy cap and a fox's brush dependent. + +The CAPTAIN forms with his sword a circle, around which walks. + +The BESSY opens the proceedings by singing - + +Good gentlemen all, to our captain take heed, +And hear what he's got for to sing; +He's lived among music these forty long year, +And drunk of the elegant {40} spring. + +The CAPTAIN then proceeds as follows, his song being accompanied by +a violin, generally played by the BESSY - + +Six actors I have brought +Who were ne'er on a stage before; +But they will do their best, +And they can do no more. + +The first that I call in +He is a squire's son; +He's like to lose his sweetheart +Because he is too young. + +But though he is too young, +He has money for to rove, +And he will spend it all +Before he'll lose his love. + +Chorus. Fal lal de ral, lal de dal, fal lal de ra ral da. + +Followed by a symphony on the fiddle, during which the introduced +actor walks round the circle. + +The CAPTAIN proceeds - + +The next that I call in +He is a tailor fine; +What think you of his work? +He made this coat of mine! + +Here the CAPTAIN turns round and exhibits his coat, which, of +course, is ragged, and full of holes. + +So comes good master Snip, +His best respects to pay: +He joins us in our trip +To drive dull care away. + +Chorus and symphony as above. +Here the TAILOR walks round, accompanied by the SQUIRE'S SON. This +form is observed after each subsequent introduction, all the new +comers taking apart. + +The next I do call in, +The prodigal son is he; +By spending of his gold +He's come to poverty. + +But though he all has spent, +Again he'll wield the plow, +And sing right merrily +As any of us now. {41} + +Next comes a skipper bold, +He'll do his part right weel - +A clever blade I'm told +As ever pozed a keel. + +He is a bonny lad, +As you must understand; +It's he can dance on deck, +And you'll see him dance on land. + +To join us in this play +Here comes a jolly dog, +Who's sober all the day - +If he can get no grog. + +But though he likes his grog, +As all his friends do say, +He always likes it best +When other people pay. + +Last I come in myself, +The leader of this crew; +And if you'd know my name, +My name it is 'True Blue.' + +Here the BESSY gives an account of himself. + +My mother was burnt for a witch, +My father was hanged on a tree, +And it's because I'm a fool +There's nobody meddled wi' me. + +The dance now commences. It is an ingenious performance, and the +swords of the actors are placed in a variety of graceful positions, +so as to form stars, hearts, squares, circles, &c. &c. The dance +is so elaborate that it requires frequent rehearsals, a quick eye, +and a strict adherence to time and tune. Before it concludes, +grace and elegance have given place to disorder, and at last all +the actors are seen fighting. The PARISH CLERGYMAN rushes in to +prevent bloodshed, and receives a death-blow. While on the ground, +the actors walk round the body, and sing as follows, to a slow, +psalm-like tune:- + +Alas! our parson's dead, +And on the ground is laid; +Some of us will suffer for't, +Young men, I'm sore afraid. + +I'm sure 'twas none of me, +I'm clear of THAT crime; +'Twas him that follows me +That drew his sword so fine. + +I'm sure it was NOT me, +I'm clear of the fact; +'Twas him that follows me +That did this dreadful act. + +I'm sure 'twas none of me, +Who say't be villains all; +For both my eyes were closed +When this good priest did fall. + +The BESSY sings - + +Cheer up, cheer up, my bonny lads, +And be of courage brave, +We'll take him to his church, +And bury him in the grave. + +The CAPTAIN speaks in a sort of recitative - + +Oh, for a doctor, +A ten pound doctor, oh. + +Enter DOCTOR. + +Doctor. Here I am, I. +Captain. Doctor, what's your fee? +Doctor. Ten pounds is my fee! + +But nine pounds nineteen shillings eleven pence three farthings I +will take from thee. + +The Bessy. There's ge-ne-ro-si-ty! + +The DOCTOR sings - + +I'm a doctor, a doctor rare, +Who travels much at home; +My famous pills they cure all ills, +Past, present, and to come. + +My famous pills who'd be without, +They cure the plague, the sickness {42} and gout, +Anything but a love-sick maid; +If YOU'RE one, my dear, you're beyond my aid! + +Here the DOCTOR occasionally salutes one of the fair spectators; he +then takes out his snuff-box, which is always of very capacious +dimensions (a sort of miniature warming-pan), and empties the +contents (flour or meal) on the CLERGYMAN'S face, singing at the +time - + +Take a little of my nif-naf, +Put it on your tif-taf; +Parson rise up and preach again, +The doctor says you are not slain. + +The CLERGYMAN here sneezes several times, and gradually recovers, +and all shake him by the hand. + +The ceremony terminates by the CAPTAIN singing - + +Our play is at an end, +And now we'll taste your cheer; +We wish you a merry Christmas, +And a happy new year. +The Bessy. And your pockets full of brass, +And your cellars full of beer! + +A general dance concludes the play. + + + +Ballad: THE MASKERS' SONG. + + + +[In the Yorkshire dales the young men are in the habit of going +about at Christmas time in grotesque masks, and of performing in +the farm-houses a sort of rude drama, accompanied by singing and +music. {43} The maskers have wooden swords, and the performance is +an evening one. The following version of their introductory song +was taken down literally from the recitation of a young besom- +maker, now residing at Linton in Craven, who for some years past +has himself been one of these rustic actors. From the allusion to +the pace, or paschal-egg, it is evident that the play was +originally an Easter pageant, which, in consequence of the decline +of the gorgeous rites formerly connected with that season, has been +transferred to Christmas, the only festival which, in the rural +districts of Protestant England, is observed after the olden +fashion. The maskers generally consist of five characters, one of +whom officiates in the threefold capacity of clown, fiddler, and +master of the ceremonies. The custom of masking at Christmas is +common to many parts of Europe, and is observed with especial zest +in the Swiss cantons, where the maskers are all children, and the +performances closely resemble those of England. In Switzerland, +however, more care is bestowed upon the costume, and the songs are +better sung.] + + +Enter CLOWN, who sings in a sort of chant, or recitative. + +I open this door, I enter in, +I hope your favour for to win; +Whether we shall stand or fall, +We do endeavour to please you all. + +A room! a room! a gallant room, +A room to let us ride! +We are not of the raggald sort, +But of the royal tribe: +Stir up the fire, and make a light, +To see the bloody act to-night! + +Here another of the party introduces his companions by singing to a +violin accompaniment, as follows: + +Here's two or three jolly boys, all in one mind; +We've come a pace-egging, {44} I hope you'll prove kind: +I hope you'll prove kind with your money and beer, +We shall come no more near you until the next year. +Fal de ral, lal de lal, &c. + +The first that steps up is Lord [Nelson] {45} you'll see, +With a bunch of blue ribbons tied down to his knee; +With a star on his breast, like silver doth shine; +I hope you'll remember this pace-egging time. +Fal de ral, &c. + +O! the next that steps up is a jolly Jack tar, +He sailed with Lord [Nelson], during last war: +He's right on the sea, Old England to view: +He's come a pace-egging with so jolly a crew. +Fal de ral, &c. + +O! the next that steps up is old Toss-Pot, you'll see, +He's a valiant old man, in every degree, +He's a valiant old man, and he wears a pig-tail; +And all his delight is drinking mulled ale. +Fal de ral, &c. + +O! the next that steps up is old Miser, you'll see; +She heaps up her white and her yellow money; +She wears her old rags till she starves and she begs; +And she's come here to ask for a dish of pace eggs. +Fal de ral, &a + +The characters being thus duly introduced, the following lines are +sung in chorus by all the party. + +Gentlemen and ladies, that sit by the fire, +Put your hand in your pocket, 'tis all we desire; +Put your hand in your pocket, and pull out your purse, +And give us a trifle,--you'll not be much worse. + +Here follows a dance, and this is generally succeeded by a dialogue +of an ad libitum character, which varies in different districts, +being sometimes similar to the one performed by the sword-dancers. + + + +Ballad: GLOUCESTERSHIRE WASSAILERS' SONG. + + + +[It is still customary in many parts of England to hand round the +wassail, or health-bowl, on New-Year's Eve. The custom is supposed +to be of Saxon origin, and to be derived from one of the +observances of the Feast of Yule. The tune of this song is given +in Popular Music. It is a universal favourite in Gloucestershire, +particularly in the neighbourhood of + +'Stair on the wold, +Where the winds blow cold,' + +as the old rhyme says.] + + +Wassail! wassail! all over the town, +Our toast it is white, and our ale it is brown; +Our bowl is made of a maplin tree; +We be good fellows all;--I drink to thee. + +Here's to our horse, {46} and to his right ear, +God send our measter a happy new year: +A happy new year as e'er he did see, - +With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee. + +Here's to our mare, and to her right eye, +God send our mistress a good Christmas pie; +A good Christmas pie as e'er I did see, - +With my wassailing bowl I drink to thee. + +Here's to our cow, and to her long tail, +God send our measter us never may fail +Of a cup of good beer: I pray you draw near, +And our jolly wassail it's then you shall hear. + +Be here any maids? I suppose here be some; +Sure they will not let young men stand on the cold stone! +Sing hey O, maids! come trole back the pin, +And the fairest maid in the house let us all in. + +Come, butler, come, bring us a bowl of the best; +I hope your soul in heaven will rest; +But if you do bring us a bowl of the small, +Then down fall butler, and bowl and all. + + + +Ballad: THE MUMMERS' SONG; OR, THE POOR OLD HORSE. + +As sung by the Mummers in the Neighbourhood of Richmond, Yorkshire, +at the merrie time of Christmas. + + + +[The rustic actor who sings the following song is dressed as an old +horse, and at the end of every verse the jaws are snapped in +chorus. It is a very old composition, and is now printed for the +first time. The 'old horse' is, probably, of Scandinavian origin,- +-a reminiscence of Odin's Sleipnor.] + + +You gentlemen and sportsmen, +And men of courage bold, +All you that's got a good horse, +Take care of him when he is old; +Then put him in your stable, +And keep him there so warm; +Give him good corn and hay, +Pray let him take no harm. +Poor old horse! poor old horse! + +Once I had my clothing +Of linsey-woolsey fine, +My tail and mane of length, +And my body it did shine; +But now I'm growing old, +And my nature does decay, +My master frowns upon me, +These words I heard him say, - +Poor old horse! poor old horse! + +These pretty little shoulders, +That once were plump and round, +They are decayed and rotten, - +I'm afraid they are not sound. +Likewise these little nimble legs, +That have run many miles, +Over hedges, over ditches, +Over valleys, gates, and stiles. +Poor old horse! poor old horse! + +I used to be kept +On the best corn and hay +That in fields could be grown, +Or in any meadows gay; +But now, alas! it's not so, - +There's no such food at all! +I'm forced to nip the short grass +That grows beneath your wall. +Poor old horse! poor old horse! + +I used to be kept up +All in a stable warm, +To keep my tender body +From any cold or harm; +But now I'm turned out +In the open fields to go, +To face all kinds of weather, +The wind, cold, frost, and snow. +Poor old horse! poor old horse! + +My hide unto the huntsman +So freely I would give, +My body to the hounds, +For I'd rather die than live: +So shoot him, whip him, strip him, +To the huntsman let him go; +For he's neither fit to ride upon, +Nor in any team to draw. +Poor old horse! you must die! + + + +Ballad: FRAGMENT OF THE HAGMENA SONG. + +As sung at Richmond, Yorkshire, on the eve of the New Year, by the +Corporation Pinder. + + + +[The custom of singing Hagmena songs is observed in different parts +of both England and Scotland. The origin of the term is a matter +of dispute. Some derive it from 'au guy l'an neuf,' i.e., TO THE +MISLETOE THIS NEW YEAR, and a French Hagmena song still in use +seems to give some authority to such a derivation; others, +dissatisfied with a heathen source, find the term to be a +corruption of [Greek text which cannot be reproduced], i.e., THE +HOLY MONTH. The Hagmena songs are sometimes sung on Christmas Eve +and a few of the preceding nights, and sometimes, as at Richmond, +on the eve of the new year. For further information the reader is +referred to Brand's Popular Antiquities, vol. i. 247-8, Sir H. +Ellis's edit. 1842.] + + +To-night it is the New-year's night, to-morrow is the day, +And we are come for our right, and for our ray, +As we used to do in old King Henry's day. +Sing, fellows, sing, Hagman-heigh. + +If you go to the bacon-flick, cut me a good bit; +Cut, cut and low, beware of your maw; +Cut, cut and round, beware of your thumb, +That me and my merry men may have some, +Sing, fellows, sing, Hagman-heigh. + +If you go to the black-ark, bring me X mark; +Ten mark, ten pound, throw it down upon the ground, +That me and my merry men may have some. +Sing, fellows, sing, Hagman-heigh. + + + +Ballad: THE GREENSIDE WAKES SONG. + + + +[The wakes, feasts, or tides of the North of England, were +originally religious festivals in honour of the saints to whom the +parish churches were dedicated. But now-a-days, even in Catholic +Lancashire, all traces of their pristine character have departed, +and the hymns and prayers by which their observance was once +hallowed have given place to dancing and merry-making. At +Greenside, near Manchester, during the wakes, two persons, dressed +in a grotesque manner, the one a male, the other a female, appear +in the village on horseback, with spinning-wheels before them; and +the following is the dialogue, or song, which they sing on these +occasions.] + + +''Tis Greenside wakes, we've come to the town +To show you some sport of great renown; +And if my old wife will let me begin, +I'll show you how fast and how well I can spin. +Tread the wheel, tread the wheel, den, don, dell O.' + +'Thou brags of thyself, but I don't think it true, +For I will uphold thy faults are not a few; +For when thou hast done, and spun very hard, +Of this I'm well sure, thy work is ill marred. +Tread the wheel, tread the wheel, den, don, dell O.' + +'Thou'rt a saucy old jade, and pray hold thy tongue, +Or I shall be thumping thee ere it be long; +And if that I do, I shall make thee to rue, +For I can have many a one as good as you. +Tread the wheel, tread the wheel, dan, don, dell O.' + +'What is it to me who you can have? +I shall not be long ere I'm laid in my grave; +And when I am dead you may find if you can, +One that'll spin as hard as I've done. +Tread the wheel, tread the wheel, dan, don, dell O.' + +'Come, come, my dear wife, here endeth my song, +I hope it has pleased this numerous throng; +But if it has missed, you need not to fear, +We'll do our endeavour to please them next year. +Tread the wheel, tread the wheel, dan, don, dell O.' + + + +Ballad: THE SWEARING-IN SONG OR RHYME. + +As formerly sung or said at Highgate, in the county of Middlesex. + + + +[The proverb, 'He has been sworn at Highgate,' is more widely +circulated than understood. In its ordinary signification it is +applied to a 'knowing' fellow who is well acquainted with the 'good +things,' and always helps himself to the best; and it has its +origin in an old usage still kept up at Highgate, in Middlesex. +Grose, in his Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, London, +1785, says, - + + +A ridiculous custom formerly prevailed at the public-houses of +Highgate, to administer a ludicrous oath to all the men of the +middling rank who stopped there. The party was sworn on a pair of +horns fastened on a stick; the substance of the oath was never to +kiss the maid when he could kiss the mistress, never to drink small +beer when be could get strong, with many other injunctions of the +like kind to all of which was added a saving clause--Unless you +like it best! The person administering the oath was always to be +called father by the juror, and he in return was to style him son, +under the penalty of a bottle. + + +From this extract it is evident that in 1786 the custom was +ancient, and had somewhat fallen into desuetude. Hone's Year-Book +contains a very complete account of the ceremony, with full +particulars of the mode in which the 'swearing-in' was then +performed in the 'Fox under the Hill.' Hone does not throw any +light on the origin of the practice, nor does he seem to have been +aware of its comparative antiquity. He treated the ceremony as a +piece of modern foolery, got up by some landlord for 'the good of +the house,' and adopted from the same interested motive by others +of the tribe. A subsequent correspondent of Mr. Hone, however, +points out the antiquity of the custom, and shows that it could be +traced back long before the year 1782, when it was introduced into +a pantomime called Harlequin Teague; or, the Giant's Causeway, +which was performed at the Haymarket on Saturday, August 17, 1782. +One of the scenes was Highgate, where, in the 'parlour' of a public +house, the ceremony was performed. Mr. Hone's correspondent sends +a copy of the old initiation song, which varies considerably from +our version, supplied to us in 1851 by a very old man (an ostler) +at Highgate. The reciter said that the COPY OF VERSES was not +often used now, as there was no landlord who could sing, and +gentlemen preferred the speech. He said, moreover, 'that the +verses were not always alike--some said one way, and some another-- +some made them long, and some CUT 'EM SHORT.' + +Grose was in error when he supposed that the ceremony was confined +to the inferior classes, for even in his day such was not the case. +In subsequent times the oath has been frequently taken by people of +rank, and also by several persons of the highest literary and +political celebrity. An inspection of any one of the register- +books will show that the jurors have belonged to all sorts of +classes, and that amongst them the Harrovians have always made a +conspicuous figure. When the stage-coaches ceased to pass through +the village in consequence of the opening of railways, the custom +declined, and was kept up only at three houses, which were called +the 'original house,' the 'old original,' and the 'real old +original.' Two of the above houses have latterly ceased to hold +courts, and the custom is now confined to the 'Fox under the Hill,' +where the rite is celebrated with every attention to ancient forms +and costume, and for a fee which, in deference to modern notions of +economy, is only one shilling. + +Byron, in the first canto of Childe Harold, alludes to the custom +of Highgate:- + + +Some o'er thy Thamis row the ribboned fair, +Others along the safer turnpike fly; +Some Richmond-hill ascend, some wend to Wara +And many to the steep of Highgate hie. +Ask ye, Boeotian shades! the reason why? +'Tis to the worship of the solemn horn, +Grasped in the holy hand of mystery, +In whose dread name both men and maids {47} are sworn, +And consecrate the oath with draught, and dance till morn. + +Canto I, stanza 70.] + + +Enter LANDLORD, dressed in a black gown and bands, and wearing an +antique-fashioned wig, followed by the CLERK OF THE COURT, also in +appropriate costume, and carrying the registry-book and the horns. + +Landlord. Do you wish to be sworn at Highgate? +Candidate. I do, Father. +Clerk. Amen. + +The LANDLORD then sings, or says, as follows:- + +Silence! O, yes! you are my son! +Full to your old father turn, sir; +This is an oath you may take as you run, +So lay your hand thus on the horn, sir. + +Here the CANDIDATE places his right hand on the horn. + +You shall spend not with cheaters or cozeners your life, +Nor waste it on profligate beauty; +And when you are wedded be kind to your wife, +And true to all petticoat duty. + +The CANDIDATE says 'I will,' and kisses the horn in obedience to +the command of the CLERK, who exclaims in a loud and solemn tone, +'Kiss the horn, sir!' + +And while you thus solemnly swear to be kind, +And shield and protect from disaster, +This part of your oath you must bear it in mind, +That you, and not she, is the master. + +Clerk. 'Kiss the horn, sir!' + +You shall pledge no man first when a woman is near, +For neither 'tis proper nor right, sir; +Nor, unless you prefer it, drink small for strong beer, +Nor eat brown bread when you can get white, sir. + +Clerk. 'Kiss the horn, sir!' + +You shall never drink brandy when wine you can get, +Say when good port or sherry is handy; +Unless that your taste on spirit is set, +In which case--you MAY, sir, drink brandy! + +Clerk. 'Kiss the horn, sir!' + +To kiss with the maid when the mistress is kind, +Remember that you must be loth, sir; +But if the maid's fairest, your oath doesn't bind, - +Or you may, if you like it, kiss both, sir! + +Clerk. 'Kiss the horn, sir!' + +Should you ever return, take this oath here again, +Like a man of good sense, leal and true, sir; +And be sure to bring with you some more merry men, +That they on the horn may swear too, sir. + +Landlord. Now, sir, if you please, sign your name in that book, +and if you can't write, make your mark, and the clerk of the court +will attest it. + +Here one of the above requests is complied with. + +Landlord. You will please pay half-a-crown for court fees, and +what you please to the clerk. + +This necessary ceremony being gone through, the important business +terminates by the LANDLORD saying, 'God bless the King [or Queen] +and the lord of the manor;' to which the CLERK responds, 'Amen, +amen!' + +N.B. The court fees are always returned in wines, spirits, or +porter, of which the Landlord and Clerk are invited to partake. + + + +Ballad: FAIRLOP FAIR SONG. + + + +[The following song is sung at Fairlop fair, one of the gayest of +the numerous saturnalia kept by the good citizens of London. The +venerable oak has disappeared; but the song is nevertheless song, +and the curious custom of riding through the fair, seated in boats, +still continues to be observed.] + + +Come, come, my boys, with a hearty glee, +To Fairlop fair, bear chorus with me; +At Hainault forest is known very well, +This famous oak has long bore the bell. + +Cho. Let music sound as the boat goes round, +If we tumble on the ground, we'll be merry, I'll be bound; +We will booze it away, dull care we will defy, +And be happy on the first Friday in July. + +At Tainhall forest, Queen Anne she did ride, +And beheld the beautiful oak by her side, +And after viewing it from bottom to top, +She said that her court should be at Fairlop. + +It is eight fathom round, spreads an acre of ground, +They plastered it round to keep the tree sound. +So we'll booze it away, dull care we'll defy, +And be happy on the first Friday in July. + +About a century ago, as I have heard say, +This fair it was kept by one Daniel Day, +A hearty good fellow as ever could be, +His coffin was made of a limb of the tree. + +With black-strap and perry he made his friends merry, +All sorrow for to drown with brandy and sherry. +So we'll booze it away, dull care we'll defy, +And be happy on the first Friday in July. + +At Tainhall forest there stands a tree, +And it has performed a wonderful bounty, +It is surrounded by woods and plains, +The merry little warblers chant their strains. + +So we'll dance round the tree, and merry we will be, +Every year we'll agree the fair for to see; +And we'll booze it away, dull care we'll defy, +And be happy on the first Friday in July. + + + +Ballad: AS TOM WAS A-WALKING. AN ANCIENT CORNISH SONG. + + + +[This song, said to be translated from the Cornish, 'was taken +down,' says Mr. Sandys, 'from the recital of a modern Corypheus, or +leader of a parish choir,' who assigned to it a very remote, but +indefinite, antiquity.] + + +As Tom was a-walking one fine summer's morn, +When the dazies and goldcups the fields did adorn; +He met Cozen Mal, with a tub on her head, +Says Tom, 'Cozen Mal, you might speak if you we'd.' + +But Mal stamped along, and appeared to be shy, +And Tom singed out, 'Zounds! I'll knaw of thee why?' +So back he tore a'ter, in a terrible fuss, +And axed cozen Mal, 'What's the reason of thus?' + +'Tom Treloar,' cried out Mal, 'I'll nothing do wi' 'ee, +Go to Fanny Trembaa, she do knaw how I'm shy; +Tom, this here t'other daa, down the hill thee didst stap, +And dab'd a great doat fig {48} in Fan Trembaa's lap.' + +'As for Fanny Trembaa, I ne'er taalked wi' her twice, +And gived her a doat fig, they are so very nice; +So I'll tell thee, I went to the fear t'other day, +And the doat figs I boft, why I saved them away.' + +Says Mal, 'Tom Treloar, ef that be the caase, +May the Lord bless for ever that sweet pretty faace; +Ef thee'st give me thy doat figs thee'st boft in the fear, +I'll swear to thee now, thee shu'st marry me here.' + + + +Ballad: THE MILLER AND HIS SONS. + + + +[A miller, especially if he happen to be the owner of a soke-mill, +has always been deemed fair game for the village satirist. Of the +numerous songs written in ridicule of the calling of the 'rogues in +grain,' the following is one of the best and most popular: its +quaint humour will recommend it to our readers. For the tune, see +Popular Music.] + + +There was a crafty miller, and he +Had lusty sons, one, two, and three: +He called them all, and asked their will, +If that to them he left his mill. + +He called first to his eldest son, +Saying, 'My life is almost run; +If I to you this mill do make, +What toll do you intend to take?' + +'Father,' said he, 'my name is Jack; +Out of a bushel I'll take a peck, +From every bushel that I grind, +That I may a good living find.' + +'Thou art a fool!' the old man said, +'Thou hast not well learned thy trade; +This mill to thee I ne'er will give, +For by such toll no man can live.' + +He called for his middlemost son, +Saying, 'My life is almost run; +If I to you this mill do make, +What toll do you intend to take?' + +'Father,' says he, 'my name is Ralph; +Out of a bushel I'll take a half, +From every bushel that I grind, +That I may a good living find.' + +'Thou art a fool!' the old man said, +'Thou hast not well learned thy trade; +This mill to thee I ne'er will give, +For by such toll no man can live.' + +He called for his youngest son, +Saying, 'My life is almost run; +If I to you this mill do make, +What toll do you intend to take?' + +'Father,' said he, 'I'm your only boy, +For taking toll is all my joy! +Before I will a good living lack, +I'll take it all, and forswear the sack!' + +'Thou art my boy!' the old man said, +'For thou hast right well learned thy trade; +This mill to thee I give,' he cried, - +And then he turned up his toes and died. + + + +Ballad: JACK AND TOM. AN OULD BORDER DITTIE. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[The following song was taken down from recitation in 1847. Of its +history nothing is known; but we are strongly inclined to believe +that it may be assigned to the early part of the seventeenth +century, and that it relates to the visit of Prince Charles and +Buckingham, under the assumed names of Jack and Tom, to Spain, in +1623. Some curious references to the adventures of the Prince and +his companion, on their masquerading tour, will be found in +Halliwell's Letters of the Kings of England, vol. ii.] + +I'm a north countrie-man, in Redesdale born, +Where our land lies lea, and grows ne corn, - +And such two lads to my house never com, +As them two lads called Jack and Tom! + +Now, Jack and Tom, they're going to the sea; +I wish them both in good companie! +They're going to seek their fortunes ayont the wide sea, +Far, far away frae their oan countrie! + +They mounted their horses, and rode over the moor, +Till they came to a house, when they rapped at the door; +And out came Jockey, the hostler-man. +'D'ye brew ony ale? D'ye sell ony beer? +Or have ye ony lodgings for strangers here?' + +'Ne, we brew ne ale, nor we sell ne beer, +Nor we have ne lodgings for strangers here.' +So he bolted the door, and bade them begone, +For there was ne lodgings there for poor Jack and Tom. + +They mounted their horses, and rode over the plain; - +Dark was the night, and down fell the rain; +Till a twinkling light they happened to spy, +And a castle and a house they were close by. + +They rode up to the house, and they rapped at the door, +And out came Jockey, the hosteler. +'D'ye brew ony ale? D'ye sell ony beer? +Or have ye ony lodgings for strangers here?' + +'Yes, we have brewed ale this fifty lang year, +And we have got lodgings for strangers here.' +So the roast to the fire, and the pot hung on, +'Twas all to accommodate poor Jack and Tom. + +When supper was over, and all was SIDED DOWN, +The glasses of wine did go merrily roun'. +'Here is to thee, Jack, and here is to thee, +And all the bonny lasses in our countrie!' +'Here is to thee, Tom, and here is to thee, +And look they may LEUK for thee and me!' + +'Twas early next morning, before the break of day, +They mounted their horses, and so they rode away. +Poor Jack, he died upon a far foreign shore, +And Tom, he was never, never heard of more! + + + +Ballad: JOAN'S ALE WAS NEW. + + + +[Ours is the common version of this popular song; it varies +considerably from the one given by D'Urfey, in the Pills to purge +Melancholy. From the names of Nolly and Joan and the allusion to +ale, we are inclined to consider the song as a lampoon levelled at +Cromwell, and his wife, whom the Royalist party nick-named 'Joan.' +The Protector's acquaintances (depicted as low and vulgar +tradesmen) are here humorously represented paying him a +congratulatory visit on his change of fortune, and regaling +themselves with the 'Brewer's' ale. The song is mentioned in +Thackeray's Catalogue, under the title of Joan's Ale's New; which +may be regarded as circumstantial evidence in favour of our +hypothesis. The air is published in Popular Music, accompanying +three stanzas of a version copied from the Douce collection. The +first verse in Mr. Chappell's book runs as follows:- + + +There was a jovial tinker, +Who was a good ale drinker, +He never was a shrinker, +Believe me this is true; +And he came from the Weald of Kent, +When all his money was gone and spent, +Which made him look like a Jack a-lent. +And Joan's ale is new, my boys, +And Joan's ale is new.] + + +There were six jovial tradesmen, +And they all sat down to drinking, +For they were a jovial crew; +They sat themselves down to be merry; +And they called for a bottle of sherry, +You're welcome as the hills, says Nolly, +While Joan's ale is new, brave boys, +While Joan's ale is new. + +The first that came in was a soldier, +With his firelock over his shoulder, +Sure no one could be bolder, +And a long broad-sword he drew: +He swore he would fight for England's ground, +Before the nation should be run down; +He boldly drank their healths all round, +While Joan's ale was new. + +The next that came in was a hatter, +Sure no one could be blacker, +And he began to chatter, +Among the jovial crew: +He threw his hat upon the ground, +And swore every man should spend his pound, +And boldly drank their hearths all round, +While Joan's ale was new. + +The next that came in was a dyer, +And he sat himself down by the fire, +For it was his heart's desire +To drink with the jovial crew: +He told the landlord to his face, +The chimney-corner should be his place, +And there he'd sit and dye his face, +While Joan's ale was new. + +The next that came in was a tinker, +And he was no small beer drinker, +And he was no strong ale shrinker, +Among the jovial crew: +For his brass nails were made of metal, +And he swore he'd go and mend a kettle, +Good heart, how his hammer and nails did rattle, +When Joan's ale was new! + +The next that came in was a tailor, +With his bodkin, shears, and thimble, +He swore he would be nimble +Among the jovial crew: +They sat and they called for ale so stout, +Till the poor tailor was almost broke, +And was forced to go and pawn his coat, +While Joan's ale was new. + +The next that came in was a ragman, +With his rag-bag over his shoulder, +Sure no one could be bolder +Among the jovial crew. +They sat and called for pots and glasses, +Till they were all drunk as asses, +And burnt the old ragman's bag to ashes, +While Joan's ale was new. + + + +Ballad: GEORGE RIDLER'S OVEN. + + + +[This ancient Gloucestershire song has been sung at the annual +dinners of the Gloucestershire Society, from the earliest period of +the existence of that institution; and in 1776 there was an +Harmonic Society at Cirencester, which always opened its meetings +with George Ridler's Oven in full chorus. + +The substance of the following key to this very curious song is +furnished by Mr. H. Gingell, who extracts it from the Annual Report +of the Gloucestershire Society for 1835. The annual meeting of +this Society is held at Bristol in the month of August, when the +members dine, and a branch meeting, which was formerly held at the +Crown and Anchor in the Strand, is now annually held at the +Thatched House Tavern, St. James's. George Ridler's Oven is sung +at both meetings, and the late Duke of Beaufort used to lead off +the glee in capital style. The words have a secret meaning, well +known to the members of the Gloucestershire Society, which was +founded in 1657, three years before the Restoration of Charles II. +The Society consisted of Royalists, who combined together for the +purpose of restoring the Stuarts. The Cavalier party was supported +by all the old Roman Catholic families of the kingdom; and some of +the Dissenters, who were disgusted with Cromwell, occasionally lent +them a kind of passive aid. + +First Verse.--By 'George Ridler' is meant King Charles I. The +'oven' was the Cavalier party. The 'stwons' that 'built the oven,' +and that 'came out of the Bleakney quaar,' were the immediate +followers of the Marquis of Worcester, who held out long and +steadfastly for the Royal cause at Raglan Castle, which was not +surrendered till 1646, and was in fact the last stronghold retained +for the King. 'His head did grow above his hair,' is an allusion +to the crown, the head of the State, which the King wore 'above his +hair.' + +Second Verse.--This means that the King, 'before he died,' boasted +that notwithstanding his present adversity, the ancient +constitution of the kingdom was so good, and its vitality so great, +that it would surpass and outlive every other form of government. + +Third Verse.--'Dick the treble, Jack the mean, and George the +bass,' mean King, Lords, and Commons. The injunction to 'let every +man sing in his own place,' is a warning to each of the three +estates of the realm to preserve its proper position, and not to +encroach on each other's prerogative. + +Fourth Verse.--'Mine hostess's maid' is an allusion to the Queen, +who was a Roman Catholic, and her maid, the Church. The singer we +must suppose was one of the leaders of the party, and his 'dog' a +companion, or faithful official of the Society, and the song was +sung on occasions when the members met together socially; and thus, +as the Roman Catholics were Royalists, the allusion to the mutual +attachment between the 'maid' and 'my dog and I,' is plain and +consistent. + +Fifth Verse.--The 'dog' had a 'trick of visiting maids when they +were sick.' The meaning is, that when any of the members were in +distress or desponding, or likely to give up the Royal cause in +despair, the officials, or active members visited, counselled, and +assisted them. + +Sixth Verse.--The 'dog' was 'good to catch a hen,' a 'duck,' or a +'goose.'--That is, to enlist as members of the Society any who were +well affected to the Royal cause. + +Seventh Verse.--'The good ale tap' is an allusion, under cover of +the similarity in sound between the words ale and aisle, to the +Church, of which it was dangerous at the time to be an avowed +follower; and so the members were cautioned that indiscretion might +lead to their discovery and 'overthrow.' + +Eighth Verse.--The allusion here is to those unfaithful supporters +of the Royal cause, who 'welcomed' the members of the Society when +it appeared to be prospering, but 'parted' from them in adversity. + +Ninth Verse.--An expression of the singer's wish that if he should +die he may be buried with his faithful companion, as representing +the principles of the Society, under the good aisles of the church. + +The following text has been collated with a version published in +Notes and Queries, from the 'fragments of a MS. found in the +speech-house of Dean.' The tune is the same as that of the +Wassailers' Song, and is printed in Popular Music. Other ditties +appear to have been founded on this ancient piece. The fourth, +seventh, and ninth verses are in the old ditty called My Dog and I: +and the eighth verse appears in another old song. The air and +words bear some resemblance to Todlen Hame.] + + +The stwons that built George Ridler's oven, +And thauy keam vrom the Bleakney quaar, +And George he wur a jolly old mon, +And his yead it grow'd above his yare. + +One thing of George Ridler I must commend, +And that wur vor a notable thing; +He mead his brags avoore he died, +Wi' any dree brooders his zons zshould zing. + +There's Dick the treble, and John the meean, +(Let every mon zing in his auwn pleace,) +And George he wur the elder brother, +And therevoor he would zing the beass. + +Mine hostess's moid, (and her neaum 'twour Nell,) +A pretty wench, and I lov'd her well; +I lov'd her well, good reauzon why, +Because zshe loved my dog and I. + +My dog is good to catch a hen; +A dug or goose is vood for men; +And where good company I spy, +O thether gwoes my dog and I. + +My mwother told I, when I wur young, +If I did vollow the strong-beer pwoot, +That drenk would prov my awverdrow, +And meauk me wear a threadbare cwoat. + +My dog has gotten zitch a trick, +To visit moids when thauy be zick; +When thauy be zick and like to die, +O thether gwoes my dog and I. + +When I have dree zixpences under my thumb, +O then I be welcome wherever I come; +But when I have none, O, then I pass by, - +'Tis poverty pearts good companie. + +If I should die, as it may hap, +My greauve shall be under the good yeal tap; +In voulded yarms there wool us lie, +Cheek by jowl, my dog and I. + + + +Ballad: THE CARRION CROW. + + + +[This still popular song is quoted by Grose in his Olio, where it +is made the subject of a burlesque commentary, the covert political +allusions having evidently escaped the penetration of the +antiquary. The reader familiar with the annals of the Commonwealth +and the Restoration, will readily detect the leading points of the +allegory. The 'Carrion Crow' in the oak is Charles II., who is +represented as that bird of voracious appetite, because he deprived +the puritan clergy of their livings; perhaps, also, because he +ordered the bodies of the regicides to be exhumed--as Ainsworth +says in one of his ballads:- + +The carrion crow is a sexton bold, +He raketh the dead from out of the mould. + +The religion of the 'old sow,' whoever she may be, is clearly +pointed out by her little pigs praying for her soul. The 'tailor' +is not easily identified. It is possibly intended for some puritan +divine of the name of Taylor, who wrote and preached against both +prelacy and papacy, but with an especial hatred of the latter. In +the last verse he consoles himself by the reflection that, +notwithstanding the deprivations, his party will have enough +remaining from the voluntary contributions of their adherents. The +'cloak' which the tailor is engaged in cutting out, is the Genevan +gown, or cloak; the 'spoon' in which he desires his wife to bring +treacle, is apparently an allusion to the 'spatula' upon which the +wafer is placed in the administration of the Eucharist; and the +introduction of 'chitterlings and black-puddings' into the last +verse seems to refer to a passage in Rabelais, where the same +dainties are brought in to personify those who, in the matter of +fasting, are opposed to Romish practices. The song is found in +collections of the time of Charles II.] + + +The carrion crow he sat upon an oak, +And he spied an old tailor a cutting out a cloak. +Heigho! the carrion crow. + +The carrion crow he began for to rave, +And he called the tailor a lousy knave! +Heigho! the carrion crow. + +'Wife, go fetch me my arrow and my bow, +I'll have a shot at that carrion crow.' +Heigho! the carrion crow. + +The tailor he shot, and he missed his mark, +But he shot the old sow through the heart. +Heigho! the carrion crow. + +'Wife, go fetch me some treacle in a spoon, +For the old sow's in a terrible swoon!' +Heigho! the carrion crow. + +The old sow died, and the bells they did toll, +And the little pigs prayed for the old sow's soul! +Heigho! the carrion crow. + +'Never mind,' said the tailor, 'I don't care a flea, +There'll be still black-puddings, souse, and chitterlings for me.' +Heigho! the carrion crow. + + + +Ballad: THE LEATHERN BOTTEL. SOMERSETSHIRE VERSION. + + + +[In Chappell's Popular Music is a much longer version of The +Leathern Bottel. The following copy is the one sung at the present +time by the country-people in the county of Somerset. It has been +communicated to our pages by Mr. Sandys.] + + +God above, who rules all things, +Monks and abbots, and beggars and kings, +The ships that in the sea do swim, +The earth, and all that is therein; +Not forgetting the old cow's hide, +And everything else in the world beside: +And I wish his soul in heaven may dwell, +Who first invented this leathern bottel! + +Oh! what do you say to the glasses fine? +Oh! they shall have no praise of mine; +Suppose a gentleman sends his man +To fill them with liquor, as fast as he can, +The man he falls, in coming away, +And sheds the liquor so fine and gay; +But had it been in the leathern bottel, +And the stopper been in, 'twould all have been well! + +Oh! what do you say to the tankard fine? +Oh! it shall have no praise of mine; +Suppose a man and his wife fall out, - +And such things happen sometimes, no doubt, - +They pull and they haul; in the midst of the fray +They shed the liquor so fine and gay; +But had it been in the leathern bottel, +And the stopper been in, 'twould all have been well! + +Now, when this bottel it is worn out, +Out of its sides you may cut a clout; +This you may hang upon a pin, - +'Twill serve to put odd trifles in; +Ink and soap, and candle-ends, +For young beginners have need of such friends. +And I wish his soul in heaven may dwell, +Who first invented the leathern bottel! + + + +Ballad: THE FARMER'S OLD WIFE. A SUSSEX WHISTLING SONG. + + + +[This is a countryman's whistling song, and the only one of the +kind which we remember to have heard. It is very ancient, and a +great favourite. The farmer's wife has an adventure somewhat +resembling the hero's in the burlesque version of Don Giovanni. +The tune is Lilli burlero, and the song is sung as follows:- the +first line of each verse is given as a solo; then the tune is +continued by a chorus of whistlers, who whistle that portion of the +air which in Lilli burlero would be sung to the words, Lilli +burlero bullen a la. The songster then proceeds with the tune, and +sings the whole of the verse through, after which the strain is +resumed and concluded by the whistlers. The effect, when +accompanied by the strong whistles of a group of lusty countrymen, +is very striking, and cannot be adequately conveyed by description. +This song constitutes the 'traditionary verses' upon which Burns +founded his Carle of Killyburn Braes.] + + +There was an old farmer in Sussex did dwell, + +[Chorus of whistlers.] + +There was an old farmer in Sussex did dwell, +And he had a bad wife, as many knew well. + +[Chorus of whistlers.] + +Then Satan came to the old man at the plough, - +'One of your family I must have now. + +'It is not your eldest son that I crave, +But it is your old wife, and she I will have.' + +'O, welcome! good Satan, with all my heart, +I hope you and she will never more part.' + +Now Satan has got the old wife on his back, +And he lugged her along, like a pedlar's pack. + +He trudged away till they came to his hall-gate, +Says he, 'Here! take in an old Sussex chap's mate!' + +O! then she did kick the young imps about, - +Says one to the other, 'Let's try turn her out.' + +She spied thirteen imps all dancing in chains, +She up with her pattens, and beat out their brains. + +She knocked the old Satan against the wall, - +'Let's try turn her out, or she'll murder us all!' + +Now he's bundled her up on his back amain, +And to her old husband he took her again. + +'I have been a tormenter the whole of my life, +But I ne'er was tormenter till I met with your wife.' + + + +Ballad: OLD WICHET AND HIS WIFE. + + + +[This song still retains its popularity in the North of England, +and, when sung with humour, never fails to elicit roars of +laughter. A Scotch version may be found in Herd's Collection, +1769, and also in Cunningham's Songs of England and Scotland, +London, 1835. We cannot venture to give an opinion as to which is +the original; but the English set is of unquestionable antiquity. +Our copy was obtained from Yorkshire. It has been collated with +one printed at the Aldermary press, and preserved in the third +volume of the Roxburgh Collection. The tune is peculiar to the +song.] + + +O! I went into the stable, and there for to see, {49} +And there I saw three horses stand, by one, by two, and by three; +O! I called to my loving wife, and 'Anon, kind sir!' quoth she; +'O! what do these three horses here, without the leave of me?' + +'Why, you old fool! blind fool! can't you very well see, +These are three milking cows my mother sent to me?' +'Ods bobs! well done! milking cows with saddles on! +The like was never known!' +Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! + +O! I went into the kitchen, and there for to see, +And there I saw three swords hang, by one, by two, quoth she; +O! I called to my loving wife, and 'Anon, kind sir!' +'O! what do these three swords do here, without the leave of me?' + +'Why, you old fool! blind fool! can't you very well see, +These are three roasting spits my mother sent to me?' +'Ods bobs! well done! roasting spits with scabbards on! +The like was never known!' +Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! + +O! I went into the parlour, and there for to see, +And there I saw three cloaks hang, by one, by two, and by three; +O! I called to my loving wife, and 'Anon, kind sir!' quoth she; +'O! what do these three cloaks do here, without the leave of me?' + +'Why, you old fool! blind fool! can't you very well see, +These are three mantuas my mother sent to me?' +'Ods bobs! well done! mantuas with capes on! +The like was never known!' +Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! + +O! I went into the pantry, and there for to see, +And there I saw three pair of boots, {50} by one, by two, and by +three; +O! I called to my loving wife, and 'Anon, kind sir!' quoth she; +'O! what do these three pair of boots here, without the leave of +me?' + +'Why, you old fool! blind fool! can't you very well see, +These are three pudding-bags my mother sent to me?' +'Ods bobs! well done! pudding-bags with spurs on! +The like was never known!' +Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! + +O! I went into the dairy, and there for to see, +And there I saw three hats hang, by one, by two, and by three; +O! I called to my loving wife, and 'Anon, kind sir!' quoth she; +'Pray what do these three hats here, without the leave of me?' + +'Why, you old fool! blind fool! can't you very well see, +These are three skimming-dishes my mother sent to me?' +'Ods bobs! well done! skimming-dishes with hat-bands on! +The like was never known!' +Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! + +O! I went into the chamber, and there for to see, +And there I saw three men in bed, by one, by two, and by three; +O! I called to my loving wife, and 'Anon, kind sir!' quoth she; +'O! what do these three men here, without the leave of me?' + +'Why, you old fool! blind fool! can't you very well see, +They are three milking-maids my mother sent to me?' +'Ods bobs! well done! milking-maids with beards on! +The like was never known!' +Old Wichet a cuckold went out, and a cuckold he came home! + + + +Ballad: THE JOLLY WAGGONER. + + + +[This country song can be traced back a century at least, but is, +no doubt, much older. It is very popular in the West of England. +The words are spirited and characteristic. We may, perhaps, refer +the song to the days of transition, when the waggon displaced the +packhorse.] + + +When first I went a-waggoning, a-waggoning did go, +I filled my parents' hearts full of sorrow, grief, and woe. {51} +And many are the hardships that I have since gone through. +And sing wo, my lads, sing wo! +Drive on my lads, I-ho! {52} +And who wouldn't lead the life of a jolly waggoner? + +It is a cold and stormy night, and I'm wet to the skin, +I will bear it with contentment till I get unto the inn. +And then I'll get a drinking with the landlord and his kin. +And sing, &c. + +Now summer it is coming,--what pleasure we shall see; +The small birds are a-singing on every green tree, +The blackbirds and the thrushes are a-whistling merrilie. +And sing, &c. + +Now Michaelmas is coming,--what pleasure we shall find; +It will make the gold to fly, my boys, like chaff before the wind; +And every lad shall take his lass, so loving and so kind. +And sing, &c. + + + +Ballad: THE YORKSHIRE HORSE-DEALER. + + + +[This ludicrous and genuine Yorkshire song, the production of some +unknown country minstrel, obtained considerable popularity a few +years ago from the admirable singing of Emery. The incidents +actually occurred at the close of the last century, and some of the +descendants of 'Tommy Towers' were resident at Clapham till within +a very recent period, and used to take great delight in relating +the laughable adventure of their progenitor. Abey Muggins is +understood to be a sobriquet for a then Clapham innkeeper. The +village of Clapham is in the west of Yorkshire, on the high road +between Skipton and Kendal.] + + +Bane {53} ta Claapam town-gate {54} lived an ond Yorkshire tike, +Who i' dealing i' horseflesh hed ne'er met his like; +'Twor his pride that i' aw the hard bargains he'd hit, +He'd bit a girt monny, but nivver bin bit. + +This ond Tommy Towers (bi that naam he wor knaan), +Hed an oud carrion tit that wor sheer skin an' baan; +Ta hev killed him for t' curs wad hev bin quite as well, +But 'twor Tommy opinion {55} he'd dee on himsel! + +Well! yan Abey Muggins, a neighborin cheat, +Thowt ta diddle ond Tommy wad be a girt treat; +Hee'd a horse, too, 'twor war than ond Tommy's, ye see, +Fort' neet afore that hee'd thowt proper ta dee! + +Thinks Abey, t' oud codger 'll nivver smoak t' trick, +I'll swop wi' him my poor deead horse for his wick, {56} +An' if Tommy I nobbut {57} can happen ta trap, +'Twill be a fine feather i' Aberram cap! + +Soa to Tommy he goas, an' the question he pops: +'Betwin thy horse and mine, prithee, Tommy, what swops? +What wilt gi' me ta boot? for mine's t'better horse still!' +'Nout,' says Tommy, 'I'll swop ivven hands, an' ye will.' + +Abey preaached a lang time about summat ta boot, +Insistin' that his war the liveliest brute; +But Tommy stuck fast where he first had begun, +Till Abey shook hands, and sed, 'Well, Tommy, done! + +'O! Tommy,' sed Abey, 'I'ze sorry for thee, +I thowt thou'd a hadden mair white i' thy 'ee; +Good luck's wi' thy bargin, for my horse is deead.' +'Hey!' says Tommy, 'my lad, soa is min, an it's fleead?' + +Soa Tommy got t' better of t' bargin, a vast, +An' cam off wi' a Yorkshireman's triumph at last; +For thof 'twixt deead horses there's not mitch to choose, +Yet Tommy war richer by t' hide an' fower shooes. + + + +Ballad: THE KING AND THE COUNTRYMAN. + + + +[This popular favourite is a mere abridgment and alteration of a +poem preserved in the Roxburgh Collection, called The King and +Northern Man, shewing how a poor Northumberland man (tenant to the +King) being wronged by a lawyer (his neighbour) went to the King +himself to make known his grievance. To the tune of Slut. Printed +by and for Alex. Melbourne, at the Stationer's Arms in Green Arbour +Court, in the Little Old Baily. The Percy Society printed The King +and Northern Man from an edition published in 1640. There is also +a copy preserved in the Bagford Collection, which is one of the +imprints of W. Onley. The edition of 1640 has the initials of +Martin Parker at the end, but, as Mr. Collier observes, 'There is +little doubt that the story is much older than 1640.' See preface +to Percy Society's Edition.] + + +There was an old chap in the west country, +A flaw in the lease the lawyers had found, +'Twas all about felling of five oak trees, +And building a house upon his own ground. +Right too looral, looral, looral--right too looral la! + +Now, this old chap to Lunnun would go, +To tell the king a part of his woe, +Likewise to tell him a part of his grief, +In hopes the king would give him relief. + +Now, when this old chap to Lunnun had come, +He found the king to Windsor had gone; +But if he'd known he'd not been at home, +He danged his buttons if ever he'd come. + +Now, when this old chap to Windsor did stump, +The gates were barred, and all secure, +But he knocked and thumped with his oaken clump, +There's room within for I to be sure. + +But when he got there, how he did stare, +To see the yeomen strutting about; +He scratched his head, and rubbed down his hair, +In the ear of a noble he gave a great shout: + +'Pray, Mr. Noble, show I the King; +Is that the King that I see there? +I seed an old chap at Bartlemy fair +Look more like a king than that chap there. + +'Well, Mr. King, pray how d'ye do? +I gotten for you a bit of a job, +Which if you'll be so kind as to do, +I gotten a summat for you in my fob.' + +The king he took the lease in hand, +To sign it, too, he was likewise willing; +And the old chap to make a little amends, +He lugg'd out his bag, and gave him a shilling. + +The king, to carry on the joke, +Ordered ten pounds to be paid down; +The farmer he stared, but nothing spoke, +And stared again, and he scratched his crown. + +The farmer he stared to see so much money, +And to take it up he was likewise willing; +But if he'd a known King had got so much money, +He danged his wig if he'd gien him that shilling! + + + +Ballad: JONE O' GREENFIELD'S RAMBLE. + + + +[The county of Lancaster has always been famed for its admirable +patois songs; but they are in general the productions of modern +authors, and consequently, however popular they may be, are not +within the scope of the present work. In the following humorous +production, however, we have a composition of the last century. It +is the oldest and most popular Lancashire song we have been able to +procure; and, unlike most pieces of its class, it is entirely free +from grossness and vulgarity.] + + +Says Jone to his wife, on a hot summer's day, +'I'm resolved i' Grinfilt no lunger to stay; +For I'll go to Owdham os fast os I can, +So fare thee weel, Grinfilt, un fare thee weel, Nan; +A soger I'll be, un brave Owdham I'll see, +Un I'll ha'e a battle wi' th' French.' + +'Dear Jone,' then said Nan, un hoo bitterly cried, +Wilt be one o' th' foote, or tha meons to ride?' +'Odsounds! wench, I'll ride oather ass or a mule, +Ere I'll kewer i' Grinfilt os black as te dule, +Booath clemmink {58} un starvink, un never a fardink, +Ecod! it would drive ony mon mad. + +'Aye, Jone, sin' wi' coom i' Grinfilt for t' dwell, +We'n had mony a bare meal, I con vara weel tell.' +'Bare meal! ecod! aye, that I vara weel know, +There's bin two days this wick ot we'n had nowt at o: +I'm vara near sided, afore I'll abide it, +I'll feight oather Spanish or French.' + +Then says my Aunt Marget, 'Ah! Jone, thee'rt so hot, +I'd ne'er go to Owdham, boh i' Englond I'd stop.' +'It matters nowt, Madge, for to Owdham I'll go, +I'll naw clam to deeoth, boh sumbry shalt know: +Furst Frenchman I find, I'll tell him meh mind, +Un if he'll naw feight, he shall run.' + +Then down th' broo I coom, for we livent at top, +I thowt I'd reach Owdharn ere ever I'd stop; +Ecod! heaw they stared when I getten to th' Mumps, +Meh owd hat i' my hond, un meh clogs full o'stumps; +Boh I soon towd um, I'r gooink to Owdham, +Un I'd ha'e battle wi' th' French. + +I kept eendway thro' th' lone, un to Owdham I went, +I ask'd a recruit if te'd made up their keawnt? +'No, no, honest lad' (for he tawked like a king), +'Go wi' meh thro' the street, un thee I will bring +Where, if theaw'rt willink, theaw may ha'e a shillink.' +Ecod! I thowt this wur rare news. + +He browt me to th' pleck where te measurn their height, +Un if they bin height, there's nowt said about weight; +I retched me, un stretched me, un never did flinch, +Says th' mon, 'I believe theaw 'rt meh lad to an inch.' +I thowt this'll do, I'st ha'e guineas enow, +Ecod! Owdham, brave Owdham for me. + +So fare thee weel, Grinfilt, a soger I'm made, +I'n getten new shoon, un a rare cockade; +I'll feight for Owd Englond os hard os I con, +Oather French, Dutch, or Spanish, to me it's o one, +I'll make 'em to stare like a new-started hare, +Un I'll tell 'em fro' Owdham I coom. + + + +Ballad: THORNEHAGH-MOOR WOODS. A CELEBRATED NOTTINGHAMSHIRE +POACHER'S SONG. + + + +[Nottinghamshire was, in the olden day, famous in song for the +achievements of Robin Hood and his merry men. In our times the +reckless daring of the heroes of the 'greenwood tree' has descended +to the poachers of the county, who have also found poets to +proclaim and exult over THEIR lawless exploits; and in Thornehagh- +Moor Woods we have a specimen of one of these rude, but mischievous +and exciting lyrics. The air is beautiful, and of a lively +character; and will be found in Popular Music. There is it +prevalent idea that the song is not the production of an ordinary +ballad-writer, but was written about the middle of the last century +by a gentleman of rank and education, who, detesting the English +game-laws, adopted a too successful mode of inspiring the peasantry +with a love of poaching. The song finds locality in the village of +Thornehagh, in the hundred of Newark. The common, or Moor-fields, +was inclosed about 1797, and is now no longer called by the ancient +designation. It contains eight hundred acres. The manor of +Thornehagh is the property of the ancient family of Nevile, who +have a residence on the estate.] + + +In Thornehagh-Moor woods, in Nottinghamshire, +Fol de rol, la re, right fol laddie, dee; +In Robin Hood's bold Nottinghamshire, +Fol de rol, la re da; + +Three keepers' houses stood three-square, +And about a mile from each other they were; - +Their orders were to look after the deer. +Fol de rol, la re da. + +I went out with my dogs one night, - +The moon shone clear, and the stars gave light; +Over hedges and ditches, and steyls +With my two dogs close at my heels, +To catch a fine buck in Thornehagh-Moor fields. + +Oh! that night we had bad luck, +One of my very best dogs was stuck; +He came to me both breeding and lame, - +Right sorry was I to see the same, - +He was not able to follow the game. + +I searched his wounds, and found them slight, +Some keeper has done this out of spite; +But I'll take my pike-staff,--that's the plan! +I'll range the woods till I find the man, +And I'll tan his hide right well,--if I can! + +I ranged the woods and groves all night, +I ranged the woods till it proved daylight; +The very first thing that then I found, +Was a good fat buck that lay dead on the ground; +I knew my dogs gave him his death-wound. + +I hired a butcher to skin the game, +Likewise another to sell the same; +The very first buck he offered for sale, +Was to an old [hag] that sold bad ale, +And she sent us three poor lads to gaol. + +The quarter sessions we soon espied, +At which we all were for to be tried; +The Chairman laughed the matter to scorn, +He said the old woman was all forsworn, +And unto pieces she ought to be torn. + +The sessions are over, and we are clear! +The sessions are over, and we sit here, +Singing fol de rol, la re da! +The very best game I ever did see, +Is a buck or a deer, but a deer for me! +In Thornehagh-Moor woods this night we'll be! +Fol de rol, la re da! + + + +Ballad: THE LINCOLNSHIRE POACHER. + + + +[This very old ditty has been transformed into the dialects of +Somersetshire, Northamptonshire, and Leicestershire; but it +properly belongs to Lincolnshire. Nor is this the only liberty +that his been taken with it. The original tune is that of a +Lancashire air, well known as The Manchester Angel; but a florid +modern tune has been substituted. The Lincolnshire Poacher was a +favourite ditty with George IV., and it is said that he often had +it sung for his amusement by a band of Berkshire ploughmen. He +also commanded it to be sung at his harvest-homes, but we believe +it was always on such occasions sung to the 'playhouse tune,' and +not to the genuine music. It is often very difficult to trace the +locality of countrymen's songs, in consequence of the licence +adopted by printers of changing the names of places to suit their +own neighbourhoods; but there is no such difficulty about The +Lincolnshire Poacher. The oldest copy we have seen, printed at +York about 1776, reads 'Lincolnshire,' and it is only in very +modern copies that the venue is removed to other counties. In the +Somersetshire version the local vernacular is skilfully substituted +for that of the original; but the deception may, nevertheless, be +very easily detected.] + + +When I was bound apprentice, in famous Lincolnsheer, +Full well I served my master for more than seven year, +Till I took up with poaching, as you shall quickly hear:- +Oh! 'tis my delight of a shiny night, in the season of the year. + +As me and my comrades were setting of a snare, +'Twas then we seed the gamekeeper--for him we did not care, +For we can wrestle and fight, my boys, and jump o'er everywhere:- +Oh! 'tis my delight of a shiny night, in the season of the year. + +As me and my comrades were setting four or five, +And taking on him up again, we caught the hare alive; +We caught the hare alive, my boys, and through the woods did +steer:- +Oh! 'tis my delight of a shiny night, in the season of the year. + +Bad luck to every magistrate that lives in Lincolnsheer; {59} +Success to every poacher that wants to sell a hare; +Bad luck to every gamekeeper that will not sell his deer:- +Oh! 'tis my delight of a shiny night, in the season of the year. + + + +Ballad: SOMERSETSHIRE HUNTING SONG. + + + +[This following song, which is very popular with the peasantry of +Somersetshire, is given as a curious specimen of the dialect still +spoken in some parts of that county. Though the song is a genuine +peasant's ditty, it is heard in other circles, and frequently +roared out at hunting dinners. It is here reprinted from a copy +communicated by Mr. Sandys.] + + +There's no pleasures can compare +Wi' the hunting o' the hare, +In the morning, in the morning, +In fine and pleasant weather. + +Cho. With our hosses and our hounds, +We will scamps it o'er the grounds, +And sing traro, huzza! +And sing traro, huzza! +And sing traro, brave boys, we will foller. + +And when poor puss arise, +Then away from us she flies; +And we'll gives her, boys, we'll gives her, +One thundering and loud holler! +Cho. With our hosses, &c. + +And when poor puss is killed, +We'll retires from the field; +And we'll count boys, and we'll count +On the same good ren to-morrer. +Cho. With our bosses and our hounds, &c. + + + +Ballad: THE TROTTING HORSE. + + + +[The common copies of this old highwayman's song are very corrupt. +We are indebted for the following version, which contains several +emendations, to Mr. W. H. Ainsworth. The song, which may probably +be referred to the age of Charles II., is a spirited specimen of +its class.] + + +I can sport as fine a trotting horse as any swell in town, +To trot you fourteen miles an hour, I'll bet you fifty crown; +He is such a one to bend his knees, and tuck his haunches in, +And throw the dust in people's face, and think it not a sin. +For to ride away, trot away, +Ri, fa lar, la, &c. + +He has an eye like any hawk, a neck like any swan, +A foot light as the stag's, the while his back is scarce a span; +Kind Nature hath so formed him, he is everything that's good, - +Aye! everything a man could wish, in bottom, bone, and blood. +For to ride away, &c. + +If you drop therein, he'll nod his head, and boldly walk away, +While others kick and bounce about, to him it's only play; +There never was a finer horse e'er went on English ground, +He is rising six years old, and is all over right and sound. +For to ride away, &c. + +If any frisk or milling match should call me out of town, +I can pass the blades with white cockades, their whiskers hanging +down; +With large jack-towels round their necks, they think they're first +and fast, +But, with their gapers open wide, they find that they are last. +Whilst I ride away, &c. + +If threescore miles I am from home, I darkness never mind, +My friend is gone, and I am left, with pipe and pot behind; +Up comes some saucy kiddy, a scampsman on the hot, +But ere he pulls the trigger I am off just like a shot. +For I ride away, &c. + +If Fortune e'er should fickle be, and wish to have again +That which she so freely gave, I'd give it without pain; +I would part with it most freely, and without the least remorse, +Only grant to me what God hath gave, my mistress and my horse! +That I may ride away, &c. + + + +Ballad: THE SEEDS OF LOVE. + + + +[This very curious old song is not only a favourite with our +peasantry, but, in consequence of having been introduced into the +modern dramatic entertainment of The Loan of a Lover, has obtained +popularity in higher circles. Its sweetly plaintive tune will be +found in Popular Music. The words are quaint, but by no means +wanting in beauty; they are, no doubt, corrupted, as we have +derived them from common broadsides, the only form in which we have +been able to meet with them. The author of the song was Mrs. +Fleetwood Habergham, of Habergham, in the county of Lancaster. +'Ruined by the extravagance, and disgraced by the vices of her +husband, she soothed her sorrows,' says Dr. Whitaker, 'by some +stanzas yet remembered among the old people of her neighbourhood.'- +-History of Whalley. Mrs. Habergham died in 1703, and was buried +at Padiham.] + + +I sowed the seeds of love, it was all in the spring, +In April, May, and June, likewise, when small birds they do sing; +My garden's well planted with flowers everywhere, +Yet I had not the liberty to choose for myself the flower that I +loved so dear. + +My gardener he stood by, I asked him to choose for me, +He chose me the violet, the lily and pink, but those I refused all +three; +The violet I forsook, because it fades so soon, +The lily and the pink I did o'erlook, and I vowed I'd stay till +June. + +In June there's a red rose-bud, and that's the flower for me! +But often have I plucked at the red rose-bud till I gained the +willow-tree; +The willow-tree will twist, and the willow-tree will twice, - +O! I wish I was in the dear youth's arms that once had the heart of +mine. + +My gardener he stood by, he told me to take great care, +For in the middle of a red rose-bud there grows a sharp thorn +there; +I told him I'd take no care till I did feel the smart, +And often I plucked at the red rose-bud till I pierced it to the +heart. + +I'll make me a posy of hyssop,--no other I can touch, - +That all the world may plainly see I love one flower too much; +My garden is run wild! where shall I plant anew - +For my bed, that once was covered with thyme, is all overrun with +rue? {60} + + + +Ballad: THE GARDEN-GATE. + + + +[One of our most pleasing rural ditties. The air is very +beautiful. We first heard it sung in Malhamdale, Yorkshire, by +Willy Bolton, an old Dales'-minstrel, who accompanied himself on +the union-pipes. {61}] + + +The day was spent, the moon shone bright, +The village clock struck eight; +Young Mary hastened, with delight, +Unto the garden-gate: +But what was there that made her sad? - +The gate was there, but not the lad, +Which made poor Mary say and sigh, +'Was ever poor girl so sad as I?' + +She traced the garden here and there, +The village clock struck nine; +Which made poor Mary sigh, and say, +'You shan't, you shan't be mine! +You promised to meet at the gate at eight, +You ne'er shall keep me, nor make me wait, +For I'll let all such creatures see, +They ne'er shall make a fool of me!' + +She traced the garden here and there, +The village clock struck ten; +Young William caught her in his arms, +No more to part again: +For he'd been to buy the ring that day, +And O! he had been a long, long way; - +Then, how could Mary cruel prove, +To banish the lad she so dearly did love? + +Up with the morning sun they rose, +To church they went away, +And all the village joyful were, +Upon their wedding-day: +Now in a cot, by a river side, +William and Mary both reside; +And she blesses the night that she did wait +For her absent swain, at the garden-gate. + + + +Ballad: THE NEW-MOWN HAY. + + + +[This song is a village-version of an incident which occurred in +the Cecil family. The same English adventure has, strangely +enough, been made the subject of one of the most romantic of +Moore's Irish Melodies, viz., You remember Helen, the hamlet's +pride.] + + +As I walked forth one summer's morn, +Hard by a river's side, +Where yellow cowslips did adorn +The blushing field with pride; +I spied a damsel on the grass, +More blooming than the may; +Her looks the Queen of Love surpassed, +Among the new-mown hay. + +I said, 'Good morning, pretty maid, +How came you here so soon?' +'To keep my father's sheep,' she said, +'The thing that must be done: +While they are feeding 'mong the dew, +To pass the time away, +I sit me down to knit or sew, +Among the new-mown hay.' + +Delighted with her simple tale, +I sat down by her side; +With vows of love I did prevail +On her to be my bride: +In strains of simple melody, +She sung a rural lay; +The little lambs stood listening by, +Among the new-mown hay. + +Then to the church they went with speed, +And Hymen joined them there; +No more her ewes and lambs to feed, +For she's a lady fair: +A lord he was that married her, +To town they came straightway: +She may bless the day he spied her there, +Among the new-mown hay. + + + +Ballad: THE PRAISE OF A DAIRY. + + + +[This excellent old country song, which can be traced to 1687, is +sung to the air of Packington's Pound, for the history of which see +Popular Music.] + + +In praise of a dairy I purpose to sing, +But all things in order, first, God save the King! {62} +And the Queen, I may say, +That every May-day, +Has many fair dairy-maids all fine and gay. +Assist me, fair damsels, to finish my theme, +Inspiring my fancy with strawberry cream. + +The first of fair dairy-maids, if you'll believe, +Was Adam's own wife, our great grandmother Eve, +Who oft milked a cow, +As well she knew how. +Though butter was not then as cheap as 'tis now, +She hoarded no butter nor cheese on her shelves, +For butter and cheese in those days made themselves. + +In that age or time there was no horrid money, +Yet the children of Israel had both milk and honey; +No Queen you could see, +Of the highest degree, +But would milk the brown cow with the meanest she. +Their lambs gave them clothing, their cows gave them meat, +And in plenty and peace all their joys wore complete. + +Amongst the rare virtues that milk does produce, +For a thousand of dainties it's daily in use: +Now a pudding I'll tell 'ee, +And so can maid Nelly, +Must have from good milk both the cream and the jelly: +For a dainty fine pudding, without cream or milk, +Is a citizen's wife, without satin or silk. + +In the virtues of milk there is more to be mustered: +O! the charming delights both of cheesecake and custard! +If to wakes {63} you resort, +You can have no sport, +Unless you give custards and cheesecake too for't: +And what's the jack-pudding that makes us to laugh, +Unless he hath got a great custard to quaff? + +Both pancake and fritter of milk have good store, +But a Devonshire white-pot must needs have much more; +Of no brew {64} you can think, +Though you study and wink, +From the lusty sack posset to poor posset drink, +But milk's the ingredient, though wine's {65} ne'er the worse, +For 'tis wine makes the man, though 'tis milk makes the nurse. + + + +Ballad: THE MILK-MAID'S LIFE. + + + +[Of this popular country song there are a variety of versions. The +following, which is the most ancient, is transcribed from a black- +letter broadside in the Roxburgh Collection, entitled The Milke- +maid's Life; or, a pretty new ditty composed and penned, the praise +of the Milking-pail to defend. To a curious new tune called the +Milke-maid's Dump. It is subscribed with the initials M. P.; +probably those of Martin Parker.] + + +You rural goddesses, +That woods and fields possess, +Assist me with your skill, that may direct my quill, +More jocundly to express, +The mirth and delight, both morning and night, +On mountain or in dale, +Of them who choose this trade to use, +And, through cold dews, do never refuse +To carry the milking-pail. + +The bravest lasses gay, +Live not so merry as they; +In honest civil sort they make each other sport, +As they trudge on their way; +Come fair or foul weather, they're fearful of neither, +Their courages never quail. +In wet and dry, though winds be high, +And dark's the sky, they ne'er deny +To carry the milking-pail. + +Their hearts are free from care, +They never will despair; +Whatever them befal, they bravely bear out all, +And fortune's frowns outdare. +They pleasantly sing to welcome the spring, +'Gainst heaven they never rail; +If grass well grow, their thanks they show, +And, frost or snow, they merrily go +Along with the milking-pail: + +Base idleness they do scorn, +They rise very early i' th' morn, +And walk into the field, where pretty birds do yield +Brave music on every thorn. +The linnet and thrush do sing on each bush, +And the dulcet nightingale +Her note doth strain, by jocund vein, +To entertain that worthy train, +Which carry the milking-pail. + +Their labour doth health preserve, +No doctor's rules they observe, +While others too nice in taking their advice, +Look always as though they would starve. +Their meat is digested, they ne'er are molested, +No sickness doth them assail; +Their time is spent in merriment, +While limbs are lent, they are content, +To carry the milking-pail. + +Upon the first of May, +With garlands, fresh and gay, +With mirth and music sweet, for such a season meet, +They pass the time away. +They dance away sorrow, and all the day thorough +Their legs do never fail, +For they nimbly their feet do ply, +And bravely try the victory, +In honour o' the milking-pail. + +If any think that I +Do practise flattery, +In seeking thus to raise the merry milkmaids' praise, +I'll to them thus reply:- +It is their desert inviteth my art, +To study this pleasant tale; +In their defence, whose innocence, +And providence, gets honest pence +Out of the milking-pail. + + + +Ballad: THE MILKING-PAIL. + + + +[The following is another version of the preceding ditty, and is +the one most commonly sung.] + + +Ye nymphs and sylvan gods, +That love green fields and woods, +When spring newly-born herself does adorn, +With flowers and blooming buds: +Come sing in the praise, while flocks do graze, +On yonder pleasant vale, +Of those that choose to milk their ewes, +And in cold dews, with clouted shoes, +To carry the milking-pail. + +You goddess of the morn, +With blushes you adorn, +And take the fresh air, whilst linnets prepare +A concert on each green thorn; +The blackbird and thrush on every bush, +And the charming nightingale, +In merry vein, their throats do strain +To entertain, the jolly train +Of those of the milking-pail. + +When cold bleak winds do roar, +And flowers will spring no more, +The fields that were seen so pleasant and green, +With winter all candied o'er, +See now the town lass, with her white face, +And her lips so deadly pale; +But it is not so, with those that go +Through frost and snow, with cheeks that glow, +And carry the milking-pail. + +The country lad is free +From fears and jealousy, +Whilst upon the green he oft is seen, +With his lass upon his knee. +With kisses most sweet he doth her so treat, +And swears her charms won't fail; +But the London lass, in every place, +With brazen face, despises the grace +Of those of the milking-pail. + + + +Ballad: THE SUMMER'S MORNING. + + + +[This is a very old ditty, and a favourite with the peasantry in +every part of England; but more particularly in the mining +districts of the North. The tune is pleasing, but uncommon. R. W. +Dixon, Esq., of Seaton-Carew, Durham, by whom the song was +communicated to his brother for publication, says, 'I have written +down the above, verbatim, as generally sung. It will be seen that +the last lines of each verse are not of equal length. The singer, +however, makes all right and smooth! The words underlined in each +verse are sung five times, thus:- They ad-van-ced, they ad-van-ced, +they ad-van-ced, they ad-van-ced, they ad-van-ced me some money,-- +ten guineas and a crown. The last line is thus sung:- We'll be +married, (as the word is usually pronounced), We'll be married, +we'll be married, we'll be married, we'll be married, we'll be mar- +ri-ed when I return again.' The tune is given in Popular Music. +Since this song appeared in the volume issued by the Percy Society, +we have met with a copy printed at Devonport. The readings are in +general not so good; but in one or two instances they are +apparently more ancient, and are, consequently, here adopted. The +Devonport copy contains two verses, not preserved in our +traditional version. These we have incorporated in our present +text, in which they form the third and last stanzas.] + + +It was one summer's morning, as I went o'er the moss, +I had no thought of 'listing, till the soldiers did me cross; +They kindly did invite me to a flowing bowl, and down, +THEY ADVANCED me some money,--ten guineas and a crown. + +'It's true my love has listed, he wears a white cockade, +He is a handsome tall young man, besides a roving blade; +He is a handsome young man, and he's gone to serve the king, +OH! MY VERY heart is breaking for the loss of him. + +'My love is tall and handsome, and comely for to see, +And by a sad misfortune a soldier now is he; +I hope the man that listed him may not prosper night nor day, +FOR I WISH THAT the Hollanders may sink him in the sea. + +'Oh! may he never prosper, oh! may he never thrive, +Nor anything he takes in hand so long as he's alive; +May the very grass he treads upon the ground refuse to grow, +SINCE HE'S BEEN the only cause of my sorrow, grief, and woe!' + +Then he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her flowing eyes, - +'Leave off those lamentations, likewise those mournful cries; +Leave of your grief and sorrow, while I march o'er the plain, +WE'LL BE MARRIED when I return again.' + +'O now my love has listed, and I for him will rove, +I'll write his name on every tree that grows in yonder grove, +Where the huntsman he does hollow, and the hounds do sweetly cry, +TO REMIND ME of my ploughboy until the day I die.' + + + +Ballad: OLD ADAM. + + + +[We have had considerable trouble in procuring a copy of this old +song, which used, in former days, to be very popular with aged +people resident in the North of England. It has been long out of +print, and handed down traditionally. By the kindness, however, of +Mr. S. Swindells, printer, Manchester, we have been favoured with +an ancient printed copy, which Mr. Swindells observes he had great +difficulty in obtaining. Some improvements have been made in the +present edition from the recital of Mr. Effingham Wilson, who was +familiar with the song in his youth.] + + +Both sexes give ear to my fancy, +While in praise of dear woman I sing; +Confined not to Moll, Sue, or Nancy, +But mates from a beggar to king. + +When old Adam first was created, +And lord of the universe crowned, +His happiness was not completed, +Until that an helpmate was found. + +He'd all things in food that were wanting +To keep and support him through life; +He'd horses and foxes for hunting, +Which some men love better than wife. + +He'd a garden so planted by nature, +Man cannot produce in his life; +But yet the all-wise great Creator +Still saw that he wanted a wife. + +Then Adam he laid in a slumber, +And there he lost part of his side; +And when he awoke, with a wonder, +Beheld his most beautiful bride! + +In transport he gazed upon her, +His happiness now was complete! +He praised his bountiful donor, +Who thus had bestowed him a mate. + +She was not took out of his head, sir, +To reign and triumph over man; +Nor was she took out of his feet, sir, +By man to be trampled upon. + +But she was took out of his side, sir, +His equal and partner to be; +But as they're united in one, sir, +The man is the top of the tree. + +Then let not the fair be despised +By man, as she's part of himself; +For woman by Adam was prized +More than the whole globe full of wealth. + +Man without a woman's a beggar, +Suppose the whole world he possessed; +And the beggar that's got a good woman, +With more than the world he is blest. + + + +Ballad: TOBACCO. + + + +[This song is a mere adaptation of Smoking Spiritualized; see ante, +p. 39. The earliest copy of the abridgment we have been able to +meet with, is published in D'Urfey's Pills to purge Melancholy, +1719; but whether we are indebted for it to the author of the +original poem, or to 'that bright genius, Tom D'Urfey,' as Burns +calls him, we are not able to determine. The song has always been +popular. The tune is in Popular Music.] + + +Tobacco's but an Indian weed, +Grows green in the morn, cut down at eve; +It shows our decay, +We are but clay; +Think of this when you smoke tobacco! + +The pipe that is so lily white, +Wherein so many take delight, +It's broken with a touch, - +Man's life is such; +Think of this when you take tobacco! + +The pipe that is so foul within, +It shows man's soul is stained with sin; +It doth require +To be purred with fire; +Think of this when you smoke tobacco! + +The dust that from the pipe doth fall, +It shows we are nothing but dust at all; +For we came from the dust, +And return we must; +Think of this when you smoke tobacco! + +The ashes that are left behind, +Do serve to put us all in mind +That unto dust +Return we must; +Think of this when you take tobacco! + +The smoke that does so high ascend, +Shows that man's life must have an end; +The vapour's gone, - +Man's life is done; +Think of this when you take tobacco! + + + +Ballad: THE SPANISH LADIES. + + + +[This song is ancient, but we have no means of ascertaining at what +period it was written. Captain Marryat, in his novel of Poor Jack, +introduces it, and says it is OLD. It is a general favourite. The +air is plaintive, and in the minor key. See Popular Music.] + + +Farewell, and adieu to you Spanish ladies, +Farewell, and adieu to you ladies of Spain! +For we've received orders for to sail for old England, +But we hope in a short time to see you again. + +We'll rant and we'll roar {66} like true British heroes, +We'll rant and we'll roar across the salt seas, +Until we strike soundings in the channel of old England; +From Ushant to Scilly is thirty-five leagues. + +Then we hove our ship to, with the wind at sou'-west, boys, +We hove our ship to, for to strike soundings clear; +We got soundings in ninety-five fathom, and boldly +Up the channel of old England our course we did steer. + +The first land we made it was called the Deadman, +Next, Ram'shead off Plymouth, Start, Portland, and Wight; +We passed by Beachy, by Fairleigh, and Dungeness, +And hove our ship to, off the South Foreland light. + +Then a signal was made for the grand fleet to anchor +All in the Downs, that night for to sleep; +Then stand by your stoppers, let go your shank-painters, +Haul all your clew-garnets, stick out tacks and sheets. + +So let every man toss off a full bumper, +Let every man toss off his full bowls; +We'll drink and be jolly, and drown melancholy, +So here's a good health to all true-hearted souls! + + + +Ballad: HARRY THE TAILOR. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[The following song was taken down some years ago from the +recitation of a country curate, who said he had learned it from a +very old inhabitant of Methley, near Pontefract, Yorkshire. We +have never seen it in print.] + + +When Harry the tailor was twenty years old, +He began for to look with courage so bold; +He told his old mother he was not in jest, +But he would have a wife as well as the rest. + +Then Harry next morning, before it was day, +To the house of his fair maid took his way. +He found his dear Dolly a making of cheese, +Says he, 'You must give me a buss, if you please!' + +She up with the bowl, the butter-milk flew, +And Harry the tailor looked wonderful blue. +'O, Dolly, my dear, what hast thou done? +From my back to my breeks has thy butter-milk run.' + +She gave him a push, he stumbled and fell +Down from the dairy into the drawwell. +Then Harry, the ploughboy, ran amain, +And soon brought him up in the bucket again. + +Then Harry went home like a drowned rat, +And told his old mother what he had been at. +With butter-milk, bowl, and a terrible fall, +O, if this be called love, may the devil take all! + + + +Ballad: SIR ARTHUR AND CHARMING MOLLEE. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[For this old Northumbrian song we are indebted to Mr. Robert +Chambers. It was taken down from the recitation of a lady. The +'Sir Arthur' is no less a personage than Sir Arthur Haslerigg, the +Governor of Tynemouth Castle during the Protectorate of Cromwell.] + + +As noble Sir Arthur one morning did ride, +With his hounds at his feet, and his sword by his side, +He saw a fair maid sitting under a tree, +He asked her name, and she said 'twas Mollee. + +'Oh, charming Mollee, you my butler shall be, +To draw the red wine for yourself and for me! +I'll make you a lady so high in degree, +If you will but love me, my charming Mollee! + +'I'll give you fine ribbons, I'll give you fine rings, +I'll give you fine jewels, and many fine things; +I'll give you a petticoat flounced to the knee, +If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!' + +'I'll have none of your ribbons, and none of your rings, +None of your jewels, and other fine things; +And I've got a petticoat suits my degree, +And I'll ne'er love a married man till his wife dee.' + +'Oh, charming Mollee, lend me then your penknife, +And I will go home, and I'll kill my own wife; +I'll kill my own wife, and my bairnies three, +If you will but love me, my charming Mollee!' + +'Oh, noble Sir Arthur, it must not be so, +Go home to your wife, and let nobody know; +For seven long years I will wait upon thee, +But I'll ne'er love a married man till his wife dee.' + +Now seven long years are gone and are past, +The old woman went to her long home at last; +The old woman died, and Sir Arthur was free, +And he soon came a-courting to charming Mollee. + +Now charming Mollee in her carriage doth ride, +With her hounds at her feet, and her lord by her side: +Now all ye fair maids take a warning by me, +And ne'er love a married man till his wife dee. + + + +Ballad: THERE WAS AN OLD MAN CAME OVER THE LEA. + + + +[This is a version of the Baillie of Berwick, which will be found +in the Local Historian's Table-Book. It was originally obtained +from Morpeth, and communicated by W. H. Longstaffe, Esq., of +Darlington, who says, 'in many respects the Baillie of Berwick is +the better edition--still mine may furnish an extra stanza or two, +and the ha! ha! ha! is better than heigho, though the notes suit +either version.'] + + +There was an old man came over the Lea, +Ha-ha-ha-ha! but I won't have him. {67} +He came over the Lea, +A-courting to me, +With his grey beard newly-shaven. + +My mother she bid me open the door: +I opened the door, +And he fell on the floor. + +My mother she bid me set him a stool: +I set him a stool, +And he looked like a fool. + +My mother she bid me give him some beer: +I gave him some beer, +And he thought it good cheer. + +My mother she bid me cut him some bread: +I cut him some bread, +And I threw't at his head. + +My mother she bid me light him to bed. +I lit him to bed, +And wished he were dead. + +My mother she bid me tell him to rise: +I told him to rise, +And he opened his eyes. + +My mother she bid me take him to church: +I took him to church, +And left him in the lurch; +With his grey beard newly-shaven. + + + +Ballad: WHY SHOULD WE QUARREL FOR RICHES. + + + +[A version of this very favourite song may be found in Ramsay's +Tea-Table Miscellany. Though a sailor's song, we question whether +it is not a greater favourite with landsmen. The chorus is become +proverbial, and its philosophy has often been invoked to mitigate +the evils and misfortunes of life.] + + +How pleasant a sailor's life passes, +Who roams o'er the watery main! +No treasure he ever amasses, +But cheerfully spends all his gain. +We're strangers to party and faction, +To honour and honesty true; +And would not commit a bad action +For power or profit in view. +Then why should we quarrel for riches, +Or any such glittering toys; +A light heart, and a thin pair of breeches, +Will go through the world, my brave boys! + +The world is a beautiful garden, +Enriched with the blessings of life, +The toiler with plenty rewarding, +Which plenty too often breeds strife. +When terrible tempests assail us, +And mountainous billows affright, +No grandeur or wealth can avail us, +But skilful industry steers right. +Then why, &c. + +The courtier's more subject to dangers, +Who rules at the helm of the state, +Than we that, to politics strangers, +Escape the snares laid for the great. +The various blessings of nature, +In various nations we try; +No mortals than us can be greater, +Who merrily live till we die. +Then why should, &c. + + + +Ballad: THE MERRY FELLOWS; OR, HE THAT WILL NOT MERRY, MERRY BE. + + + +[The popularity of this old lyric, of which ours is the ballad- +printer's version, has been increased by the lively and appropriate +music recently adapted to it by Mr. Holderness. The date of this +song is about the era of Charles II.] + + +Now, since we're met, let's merry, merry be, +In spite of all our foes; +And he that will not merry be, +We'll pull him by the nose. +Cho. Let him be merry, merry there, +While we're all merry, merry here, +For who can know where he shall go, +To be merry another year. + +He that will not merry, merry be, +With a generous bowl and a toast, +May he in Bridewell be shut up, +And fast bound to a post. +Let him, &c. + +He that will not merry, merry be, +And take his glass in course, +May he be obliged to drink small beer, +Ne'er a penny in his purse. +Let him, &c. + +He that will not merry, merry be, +With a company of jolly boys; +May he be plagued with a scolding wife, +To confound him with her noise. +Let him, &c. + +[He that will not merry, merry be, +With his sweetheart by his side, +Let him be laid in the cold churchyard, +With a head-stone for his bride. +Let him, &c.] + + + +Ballad: THE OLD MAN'S SONG. + + + +[This ditty, still occasionally heard in the country districts, +seems to be the original of the very beautiful song, The Downhill +of Life. The Old Man's Song may be found in Playford's Theatre of +Music, 1685; but we are inclined to refer it to an earlier period. +The song is also published by D'Urfey, accompanied by two +objectionable parodies.] + + +If I live to grow old, for I find I go down, +Let this be my fate in a country town:- +May I have a warm house, with a stone at the gate, +And a cleanly young girl to rub my bald pate; +May I govern my passions with absolute sway, +And grow wiser and better as strength wears away, +Without gout or stone, by a gentle decay. + +In a country town, by a murmuring brook, +With the ocean at distance on which I may look; +With a spacious plain, without hedge or stile, +And an easy pad nag to ride out a mile. +May I govern, &c. + +With Horace and Plutarch, and one or two more +Of the best wits that lived in the age before; +With a dish of roast mutton, not venison or teal, +And clean, though coarse, linen at every meal. +May I govern, &c. + +With a pudding on Sunday, and stout humming liquor, +And remnants of Latin to welcome the vicar; +With a hidden reserve of good Burgundy wine, +To drink the king's health in as oft as I dine. +May I govern, &c. + +When the days are grown short, and it freezes and snows, +May I have a coal fire as high as my nose; +A fire (which once stirred up with a prong), +Will keep the room temperate all the night long. +May I govern, &c. + +With a courage undaunted may I face my last day; +And when I am dead may the better sort say - +'In the morning when sober, in the evening when mellow, +He's gone, and he leaves not behind him his fellow!' +May I govern, &c. + + + +Ballad: ROBIN HOOD'S HILL. + + + +[Ritson speaks of a Robin Hood's Hill near Gloucester, and of a +'foolish song' about it. Whether this is the song to which he +alludes we cannot determine. We find it in Notes and Queries, +where it is stated to be printed from a MS. of the latter part of +the last century, and described as a song well known in the +district to which it refers.] + + +Ye bards who extol the gay valleys and glades, +The jessamine bowers, and amorous shades, +Who prospects so rural can boast at your will, +Yet never once mentioned sweet 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +This spot, which of nature displays every smile, +From famed Glo'ster city is distanced two mile, +Of which you a view may obtain at your will, +From the sweet rural summit of 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +Where a clear crystal spring does incessantly flow, +To supply and refresh the fair valley below; +No dog-star's brisk heat e'er diminished the rill +Which sweetly doth prattle on 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +Here, gazing around, you find objects still new, +Of Severn's sweet windings, how pleasing the view, +Whose stream with the fruits of blessed commerce doth fill +The sweet-smelling vale beneath 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +This hill, though so lofty, yet fertile and rare, +Few valleys can with it for herbage compare; +Some far greater bard should his lyre and his quill +Direct to the praise of sweet 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +Here lads and gay lasses in couples resort, +For sweet rural pastime and innocent sport; +Sure pleasures ne'er flowed from gay nature or skill, +Like those that are found on sweet 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +Had I all the riches of matchless Peru, +To revel in splendour as emperors do, +I'd forfeit the whole with a hearty good will, +To dwell in a cottage on 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + +Then, poets, record my loved theme in your lays: +First view;--then you'll own that 'tis worthy of praise; +Nay, Envy herself must acknowledge it still, +That no spot's so delightful as 'Robin Hood's Hill.' + + + +Ballad: BEGONE DULL CARE. (TRADITIONAL.) + + + +[We cannot trace this popular ditty beyond the reign of James II, +but we believe it to be older. The origin is to be found in an +early French chanson. The present version has been taken down from +the singing of an old Yorkshire yeoman. The third verse we have +never seen in print, but it is always sung in the west of +Yorkshire.] + + +Begone, dull care! +I prithee begone from me; +Begone, dull care! +Thou and I can never agree. +Long while thou hast been tarrying here, +And fain thou wouldst me kill; +But i' faith, dull care, +Thou never shalt have thy will. + +Too much care +Will make a young man grey; +Too much care +Will turn an old man to clay. +My wife shall dance, and I shall sing, +So merrily pass the day; +For I hold it is the wisest thing, +To drive dull care away. + +Hence, dull care, +I'll none of thy company; +Hence, dull care, +Thou art no pair {68} for me. +We'll hunt the wild boar through the wold, +So merrily pass the day; +And then at night, o'er a cheerful bowl, +We'll drive dull care away. + + + +Ballad: FULL MERRILY SINGS THE CUCKOO. + + + +[The earliest copy of this playful song is one contained in a MS. +of the reign of James I., preserved amongst the registers of the +Stationers' Company; but the song can be traced back to 1566.] + + +Full merrily sings the cuckoo +Upon the beechen tree; +Your wives you well should look to, +If you take advice of me. +Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the morn, +When of married men +Full nine in ten +Must be content to wear the horn. + +Full merrily sings the cuckoo +Upon the oaken tree; +Your wives you well should look to, +If you take advice of me. +Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the day! +For married men +But now and then, +Can 'scape to bear the horn away. + +Full merrily sings the cuckoo +Upon the ashen tree; +Your wives you well should look to, +If you take advice of me. +Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the noon, +When married men +Must watch the hen, +Or some strange fox will steal her soon. + +Full merrily sings the cuckoo +Upon the alder tree; +Your wives you well should look to, +If you take advice of me. +Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the eve, +When married men +Must bid good den +To such as horns to them do give. + +Full merrily sings the cuckoo +Upon the aspen tree; +Your wives you well should look to, +If you take advice of me. +Cuckoo! cuckoo! alack the night, +When married men, +Again and again, +Must hide their horns in their despite. + + + +Ballad: JOCKEY TO THE FAIR. + + + +[A version of this song, not quite so accurate as the following was +published from an old broadside in Notes and Queries, vol. vii., p. +49, where it is described as a 'very celebrated Gloucestershire +ballad.' But Gloucestershire is not exclusively entitled to the +honour of this genuine old country song, which is well known in +Westmoreland and other counties. 'Jockey' songs constitute a +distinct and numerous class, and belong for the most part to the +middle of the last century, when Jockey and Jenny were formidable +rivals to the Strephons and Chloes of the artificial school of +pastoral poetry. The author of this song, whoever he was, drew +upon real rural life, and not upon its fashionable masquerade. We +have been unable to trace the exact date of this ditty, which still +enjoys in some districts a wide popularity. It is not to be found +in any of several large collections of Ranelagh and Vauxhall songs, +and other anthologies, which we have examined. From the christian +names of the lovers, it might be supposed to be of Scotch or Border +origin; but Jockey to the Fair is not confined to the North; indeed +it is much better known, and more frequently sung, in the South and +West.] + + +'Twas on the morn of sweet May-day, +When nature painted all things gay, +Taught birds to sing, and lambs to play, +And gild the meadows fair; +Young Jockey, early in the dawn, +Arose and tripped it o'er the lawn; +His Sunday clothes the youth put on, +For Jenny had vowed away to run +With Jockey to the fair; +For Jenny had vowed, &c. + +The cheerful parish bells had rung, +With eager steps he trudged along, +While flowery garlands round him hung, +Which shepherds use to wear; +He tapped the window; 'Haste, my dear!' +Jenny impatient cried, 'Who's there?' +''Tis I, my love, and no one near; +Step gently down, you've nought to fear, +With Jockey to the fair.' +Step gently down, &c. + +'My dad and mam are fast asleep, +My brother's up, and with the sheep; +And will you still your promise keep, +Which I have heard you swear? +And will you ever constant prove?' +'I will, by all the powers above, +And ne'er deceive my charming dove; +Dispel these doubts, and haste, my love, +With Jockey to the fair.' +Dispel, &c. + +'Behold, the ring,' the shepherd cried; +'Will Jenny be my charming bride? +Let Cupid be our happy guide, +And Hymen meet us there.' +Then Jockey did his vows renew; +He would be constant, would he true, +His word was pledged; away she flew, +O'er cowslips tipped with balmy dew, +With Jockey to the fair. +O'er cowslips, &c. + +In raptures meet the joyful throng; +Their gay companions, blithe and young, +Each join the dance, each raise the song, +To hail the happy pair. +In turns there's none so loud as they, +They bless the kind propitious day, +The smiling morn of blooming May, +When lovely Jenny ran away +With Jockey to the fair. +When lovely, &c. + + + +Ballad: LONG PRESTON PEG. (A FRAGMENT.) + + + +[Mr. Birkbeck, of Threapland House, Lintondale, in Craven, has +favoured us with the following fragment. The tune is well known in +the North, but all attempts on the part of Mr. Birkbeck to obtain +the remaining verses have been unsuccessful. The song is evidently +of the date of the first rebellion, 1715.] + + +Long Preston Peg to proud Preston went, +To see the Scotch rebels it was her intent. +A noble Scotch lord, as he passed by, +On this Yorkshire damsel did soon cast an eye. + +He called to his servant, which on him did wait, +'Go down to yon girl who stands in the gate, {69} +That sings with a voice so soft and so sweet, +And in my name do her lovingly greet.' + + + +Ballad: THE SWEET NIGHTINGALE; OR, DOWN IN THOSE VALLEYS BELOW. +AN ANCIENT CORNISH SONG. + + + +[This curious ditty, which may be confidently assigned to the +seventeenth century, is said to be a translation from the ancient +Cornish tongue. We first heard it in Germany, in the pleasure- +gardens of the Marienberg, on the Moselle. The singers were four +Cornish miners, who were at that time, 1854, employed at some lead +mines near the town of Zell. The leader or 'Captain,' John +Stocker, said that the song was an established favourite with the +lead miners of Cornwall and Devonshire, and was always sung on the +pay-days, and at the wakes; and that his grandfather, who died +thirty years before, at the age of a hundred years, used to sing +the song, and say that it was very old. Stocker promised to make a +copy of it, but there was no opportunity of procuring it before we +left Germany. The following version has been supplied by a +gentleman in Plymouth, who writes:- + +I have had a great deal of trouble about The Valley Below. It is +not in print. I first met with one person who knew one part, then +with another person who knew another part, but nobody could sing +the whole. At last, chance directed me to an old man at work on +the roads, and he sung and recited it throughout, not exactly, +however, as I send it, for I was obliged to supply a little here +and there, but only where a bad rhyme, or rather none at all, made +it evident what the real rhyme was. I have read it over to a +mining gentleman at Truro, and he says 'It is pretty near the way +we sing it.' + +The tune is plaintive and original.] + + +'My sweetheart, come along! +Don't you hear the fond song, +The sweet notes of the nightingale flow? +Don't you hear the fond tale +Of the sweet nightingale, +As she sings in those valleys below? +So be not afraid +To walk in the shade, +Nor yet in those valleys below, +Nor yet in those valleys below. + +'Pretty Betsy, don't fail, +For I'll carry your pail, +Safe home to your cot as we go; +You shall hear the fond tale +Of the sweet nightingale, +As she sings in those valleys below.' +But she was afraid +To walk in the shade, +To walk in those valleys below, +To walk in those valleys below. + +'Pray let me alone, +I have hands of my own; +Along with you I will not go, +To hear the fond tale +Of the sweet nightingale, +As she sings in those valleys below; +For I am afraid +To walk in the shade, +To walk in those valleys below, +To walk in those valleys below.' + +'Pray sit yourself down +With me on the ground, +On this bank where sweet primroses grow; +You shall hear the fond tale +Of the sweet nightingale, +As she sings in those valleys below; +So be not afraid +To walk in the shade, +Nor yet in those valleys below, +Nor yet in those valleys below.' + +This couple agreed; +They were married with speed, +And soon to the church they did go. +She was no more afraid +For to {70} walk in the shade, +Nor yet in those valleys below: +Nor to hear the fond tale +Of the sweet nightingale, +As she sung in those valleys below, +As she sung in those valleys below. + + + +Ballad: THE OLD MAN AND HIS THREE SONS. + + + +[This traditional ditty, founded upon the old ballad inserted ante, +p. 124, is current as a nursery song in the North of England.] + + +There was an old man, and sons he had three, {71} +Wind well, Lion, good hunter. +A friar he being one of the three, +With pleasure he ranged the north country, +For he was a jovial hunter. + +As he went to the woods some pastime to see, +Wind well, Lion, good hunter, +He spied a fair lady under a tree, +Sighing and moaning mournfully. +He was a jovial hunter. + +'What are you doing, my fair lady!' +Wind well, Lion, good hunter. +'I'm frightened, the wild boar he will kill me, +He has worried my lord, and wounded thirty, +As thou art a jovial hunter.' + +Then the friar he put his horn to his mouth, +Wind well, Lion, good hunter. +And he blew a blast, east, west, north, and south, +And the wild boar from his den he came forth +Unto the jovial hunter. + + + +Ballad: A BEGGING WE WILL GO. + + + +[The authorship of this song is attributed to Richard Brome--(he +who once 'performed a servant's faithful part' for Ben Jonson)--in +a black-letter copy in the Bagford Collection, where it is entitled +The Beggars' Chorus in the 'Jovial Crew,' to an excellent new tune. +No such chorus, however, appears in the play, which was produced at +the Cock-pit in 1641; and the probability is, as Mr. Chappell +conjectures, that it was only interpolated in the performance. It +is sometimes called The Jovial Beggar. The tune has been from time +to time introduced into several ballad operas; and the song, says +Mr. Chappell, who publishes the air in his Popular Music, 'is the +prototype of many others, such as A bowling we will go, A fishing +we will go, A hawking we will go, and A fishing we will go. The +last named is still popular with those who take delight in hunting, +and the air is now scarcely known by any other title.] + + +There was a jovial beggar, +He had a wooden leg, +Lame from his cradle, +And forced for to beg. +And a begging we will go, we'll go, we'll go; +And a begging we will go! + +A bag for his oatmeal, +Another for his salt; +And a pair of crutches, +To show that he can halt. +And a begging, &c. + +A bag for his wheat, +Another for his rye; +A little bottle by his side, +To drink when he's a-dry. +And a begging, &c. + +Seven years I begged +For my old Master Wild, +He taught me to beg +When I was but a child. +And a begging, &c. + +I begged for my master, +And got him store of pelf; +But now, Jove be praised! +I'm begging for myself. +And a begging, &c. + +In a hollow tree +I live, and pay no rent; +Providence provides for me, +And I am well content. +And a begging, &c. + +Of all the occupations, +A beggar's life's the best; +For whene'er he's weary, +He'll lay him down and rest. +And a begging, &c. + +I fear no plots against me, +I live in open cell; +Then who would be a king +When beggars live so well? +And a begging we will go, we'll go, we'll go; +And a begging we will go! + + + + +Footnotes: + +{1} This is the same tune as Fortune my foe.--See Popular Music of +the Olden Time, p. 162. + +{2} This word seems to be used here in the sense of the French +verb mettre, to put, to place. + +{3} The stall copies read 'Gamble bold.' + +{4} In the Roxburgh Collection is a copy of this ballad, in which +the catastrophe is brought about in a different manner. When the +young lady finds that she is to be drowned, she very leisurely +makes a particular examination of the place of her intended +destruction, and raises an objection to some nettles which are +growing on the banks of the stream; these she requires to be +removed, in the following poetical stanza:- + +'Go fetch the sickle, to crop the nettle, +That grows so near the brim; +For fear it should tangle my golden locks, +Or freckle my milk-white skin.' + +A request so elegantly made is gallantly complied with by the +treacherous knight, who, while engaged in 'cropping' the nettles, +is pushed into the stream. + +{5} A tinker is still so called in the north of England. + +{6} This poor minstrel was born at the village of Rylstone, in +Craven, the scene of Wordsworth's White Doe of Rylstone. King was +always called 'the Skipton Minstrel;' and he merited that name, for +he was not a mere player of jigs and country dances, but a singer +of heroic ballads, carrying his hearers back to the days of +chivalry and royal adventure, when the King of England called up +Cheshire and Lancashire to fight the King of France, and monarchs +sought the greenwood tree, and hob-a-nobbed with tinkers, knighting +these Johns of the Dale as a matter of poetical justice and high +sovereign prerogative. Francis King was a character. His +physiognomy was striking and peculiar; and, although there was +nothing of the rogue in its expression, for an honester fellow +never breathed, he might have sat for Wordsworth's 'Peter Bell.' +He combined in a rare degree the qualities of the mime and the +minstrel, and his old jokes, and older ballads and songs, always +ensured him a hearty welcome. He was lame, in consequence of one +leg being shorter than the other, and his limping gait used to give +occasion to the remark that 'few Kings had had more ups and downs +in the world.' He met his death by drowning on the night of +December 13, 1844. He had been at a 'merry-making' at Gargrave, in +Craven, and it is supposed that, owing to the darkness of the +night, he mistook the road, and walked into the river. As a +musician his talents were creditable; and his name will long +survive in the village records. The minstrel's grave is in the +quiet churchyard of Gargrave. Further particulars of Francis King +may be seen in Dixon's Stories of the Craven Dales, published by +Tasker and Son, of Skipton. + +{7} This is the ancient way of spelling the name of Reading. In +Percy's version of Barbara Allen, that ballad commences 'In Scarlet +town,' which, in the common stall copies, is rendered 'In Redding +town.' The former is apparently a pun upon the old orthography-- +REDding. + +{8} The sister of Roger. + +{9} This gentleman was Mr. Thomas Petty. + +{10} We here, and in a subsequent verse, find 'daughter' made to +rhyme with 'after;' but we must not therefore conclude that the +rhyme is of cockney origin. In many parts of England, the word +'daughter' is pronounced 'dafter' by the peasantry, who, upon the +same principle, pronounce 'slaughter' as if it were spelt +'slafter.' + +{11} Added to complete the sense. + +{12} That is, 'said he, the wild boar.' + +{13} Scott has strangely misunderstood this line, which he +interprets - + +'Many people did she KILL.' + +'Fell' is to knock down, and the meaning is that she could 'well' +knock down, or 'fell' people. + +{14} Went. + +{15} The meaning appears to be that no 'wiseman' or wizard, no +matter from whence his magic, was derived, durst face her. Craven +has always been famed for its wizards, or wisemen, and several of +such impostors may be found there at the present day. + +{16} Scott's MS. reads Ralph, but Raphe is the ancient form. + +{17} Scott reads 'brim as beare,' which he interprets 'fierce as a +bear.' Whitaker's rendering is correct. Beare is a small hamlet +on the Bay of Morecambe, no great distance, as the crow files, from +the locale of the poem. There is also a Bear-park in the county of +Durham, of which place Bryan might be an inhabitant. Utrum horum, +&c. + +{18} That is, they were good soldiers when the MUSTERS were--when +the regiments were called up. + +{19} Fierce look. + +{20} Descended from an ancient race famed for fighting. + +{21} Assaulted. They were, although out of danger, terrified by +the attacks of the sow, and their fear was shared by the kiln, +which began to smoke! + +{22} Watling-street, the Roman way from Catterick to Bowes. + +{23} Lost his colour. + +{24} Scott, not understanding this expression, has inserted +'Jesus' for the initials 'I. H. S.,' and so has given a profane +interpretation to the passage. By a figure of speech the friar is +called an I. H. S., from these letters being conspicuously wrought +on his robes, just as we might call a livery-servant by his +master's motto, because it was stamped on his buttons. + +{25} The meaning here is obscure. The verse is not in Whitaker. + +{26} Warlock or wizard. + +{27} It is probable that by guest is meant an allusion to the +spectre dog of Yorkshire (the Barguest), to which the sow is +compared. + +{28} Hired. + +{29} The monastery of Gray Friars at Richmond.--See LELAND, Itin., +vol. iii, p. 109. + +{30} This appears to have been a cant saying in the reign of +Charles II. It occurs in several novels, jest books and satires of +the time, and was probably as unmeaning as such vulgarisms are in +general. + +{31} A cake composed of oatmeal, caraway-seeds, and treacle. 'Ale +and parkin' is a common morning meal in the north of England. + +{32} We have heard a Yorkshire yeoman sing a version, which +commenced with this line:- + +' It was at the time of a high holiday.' + +{33} Bell-ringing was formerly a great amusement of the English, +and the allusions to it are of frequent occurrence. Numerous +payments to bell-ringers are generally to be found in +Churchwarden's accounts of the sixteenth and seventeenth +centuries.--CHAPPELL. + +{34} The subject and burthen of this song are identical with those +of the song which immediately follows, called in some copies The +Clown's Courtship, sung to the King at Windsor, and in others, I +cannot come everyday to woo. The Kentish ditty cannot be traced to +so remote a date as the Clown's Courtship; but it probably belongs +to the same period. + +{35} The common modern copies read 'St. Leger's Round.' + +{36} The common stall copies read 'Pan,' which not only furnishes +a more accurate rhyme to 'Nan,' but is, probably, the true reading. +About the time when this song was written, there appears to have +been some country minstrel or fiddler, who was well known by the +sobriquet of 'Pan.' Frequent allusions to such a personage may be +found in popular ditties of the period, and it is evidently that +individual, and not the heathen deity, who is referred to in the +song of Arthur O'Bradley:- + +'Not Pan, the god of the swains, +Could e'er produce such strains.'--See ante, p. 142. + +{37} A correspondent of Notes and Queries says that, although +there is some resemblance between Flora and Furry, the latter word +is derived from an old Cornish term, and signifies jubilee or fair. + +{38} There is another version of these concluding lines:- + +'Down the red lane there lives an old fox, +There does he sit a-mumping his chops; +Catch him, boys, catch him, catch if you can; +'Tis twenty to one if you catch him or Nan.' + +{39} A cant term for a fiddle. In its literal sense, it means +trunk, or box-belly. + +{40} 'Helicon,' as observed by Sir C. Sharp, is, of course, the +true reading. + +{41} In the introduction of the 'prodigal son,' we have a relic +derived from the old mysteries and moralities. Of late years, the +'prodigal son' has been left out, and his place supplied by a +'sailor.' + +{42} Probably the disease here pointed at is the sweating sickness +of old times. + +{43} Robert Kearton, a working miner, and librarian and lecturer +at the Grassington Mechanics' institution, informs us that at +Coniston, in Lancashire, and the neighbourhood, the maskers go +about at the proper season, viz., Easter. Their introductory song +is different to the one given above. He has favoured us with two +verses of the delectable composition; he says, 'I dare say they'll +be quite sufficient!' + +'The next that comes on +Is a gentleman's son; - +A gentleman's son he was born; +For mutton and beef, +You may look at his teeth, +He's a laddie for picking a bone! + +'The next that comes on +Is a tailor so bold - +He can stitch up a hole in the dark! +There's never a 'prentice +In famed London city +Can find any fault with his WARK!' + +{44} For the history of the paschal egg, see a paper by Mr. J. H. +Dixon, in the Local Historian's Table Book (Traditional Division). +Newcastle. 1843. + +{45} We suspect that Lord Nelson's name was introduced out of +respect to the late Jack Rider, of Linton (who is himself +introduced into the following verse), an old tar who, for many +years, was one of the 'maskers' in the district from whence our +version was obtained. Jack was 'loblolly boy' on board the +'Victory,' and one of the group that surrounded the dying Hero of +Trafalgar. Amongst his many miscellaneous duties, Jack had to help +the doctor; and while so employed, he once set fire to the ship as +he was engaged investigating, by candlelight, the contents of a +bottle of ether. The fire was soon extinguished, but not without +considerable noise and confusion. Lord Nelson, when the accident +happened, was busy writing his despatches. 'What's all that noise +about?' he demanded. The answer was, 'Loblolly boy's set fire to +an empty bottle, and it has set fire to the doctor's shop!' 'Oh, +that's all, is it?' said Nelson, 'then I wish you and loblolly +would put the fire out without making such a confusion'--and he +went on writing with the greatest coolness, although the accident +might have been attended by the most disastrous consequences, as an +immense quantity of powder was on board, and some of it close to +the scene of the disaster. The third day after the above incident +Nelson was no more, and the poor 'loblolly boy' left the service +minus two fingers. 'Old Jack' used often to relate his 'accident;' +and Captain Carslake, now of Sidmouth, who, at the time was one of +the officers, permits us to add his corroboration of its truth. + +{46} In this place, and in the first line of the following verse, +the name of the horse is generally inserted by the singer; and +'Filpail' is often substituted for 'the cow' in a subsequent verse. + +{47} The 'swearing-in' is gone through by females as well as the +male sex. See Hone's Year-Book. + +{48} A fig newly gathered from the tree; so called to distinguish +it from a grocer's, or preserved fig. + +{49} This line is sometimes sung - + +O! I went into the stable, to see what I could see. + +{50} Three cabbage-nets, according to some versions. + +{51} This is a common phrase in old English songs and ballads. +See The Summer's Morning, post, p. 229. + +{52} See ante, p. 82. + +{53} Near. + +{54} The high-road through a town or village. + +{55} That is Tommy's opinion. In the Yorkshire dialect, when the +possessive case is followed by the relative substantive, it is +customary to omit the S; but if the relative be understood, and not +expressed, the possessive case is formed in the usual manner, as in +a subsequent line of this song:- + +'Hee'd a horse, too, 'twor war than ond Tommy's, ye see.' + +{56} Alive, quick. + +{57} Only. + +{58} Famished. The line in which this word occurs exhibits one of +the most striking peculiarities of the Lancashire dialect, which +is, that in words ending in ING, the termination is changed into +INK. Ex. gr., for starving, starvink, farthing, fardink. + +{59} In one version this line has been altered, probably by some +printer who had a wholesome fear of the 'Bench of Justices,' into - + +'Success to every gentleman +That lives in Lincolnsheer.' + +{60} Dr. Whitaker gives a traditional version of part of this song +as follows:- + +'The gardener standing by proferred to chuse for me, +The pink, the primrose, and the rose, but I refused the three; +The primrose I forsook because it came too soon, +The violet I o'erlooked, and vowed to wait till June. + +In June, the red rose sprung, bat was no flower for me, +I plucked it up, lo! by the stalk, and planted the willow-tree. +The willow I must wear with sorrow twined among, +That all the world may know I falshood loved too long.' + +{61} The following account of Billy Bolton may, with propriety, be +inserted here:- It was a lovely September day, and the scene was +Arncliffe, a retired village in Littondale, one of the most +secluded of the Yorkshire dales. While sitting at the open window +of the humble hostelrie, we heard what we, at first, thought was a +RANTER parson, but, on inquiry, were told it was old Billy Bolton +reading to a crowd of villagers. Curious to ascertain what the +minstrel was reading, we joined the crowd, and found the text-book +was a volume of Hume's England, which contained the reign of +Elizabeth. Billy read in a clear voice, with proper emphasis, and +correct pronunciation, interlarding his reading with numerous +comments, the nature of some of which may be readily inferred from +the fact that the minstrel belonged to what he called 'the ancient +church.' It was a scene for a painter; the village situate in one +of the deepest parts of the dale, the twilight hour, the attentive +listeners, and the old man, leaning on his knife-grinding machine, +and conveying popular information to a simple peasantry. Bolton is +in the constant habit of so doing, and is really an extraordinary +man, uniting, as he does, the opposite occupations of minstrel, +conjuror, knife-grinder, and schoolmaster. Such a labourer (though +an humble one) in the great cause of human improvement is well +deserving of this brief notice, which it would be unjust to +conclude without stating that whenever the itinerant teacher takes +occasion to speak of his own creed, and contrast it with others, he +does so in a spirit of charity; and he never performs any of his +sleight-of-hand tricks without a few introductory remarks on the +evil of superstition, and the folly of supposing that in the +present age any mortal is endowed with supernatural attainments. + +{62} This elastic opening might be adapted to existing +circumstances by a slight alteration:- + +The praise of a dairy to tell you I mean, +But all things in order, first God save the Queen. + +The common copies print 'God save the Queen,' which of course +destroys the rhyme. + +{63} This is the reading of a common stall copy. Chappell reads - + +'For at Tottenham-court,' + +which is no doubt correct, though inapplicable to a rural assembly +in our days. + +{64} Brew, or broo, or broth. Chappell's version reads, 'No state +you can think,' which is apparently a mistake. The reading of the +common copies is to be preferred. + +{65} No doubt the original word in these places was SACK, as in +Chappell's copy--but what would a peasant understand by SACK? +Dryden's receipt for a sack posset is as follows:- + +'From fair Barbadoes, on the western main, +Fetch sugar half-a-pound: fetch sack, from Spain, +A pint: then fetch, from India's fertile coast, +Nutmeg, the glory of the British toast.' +Miscellany Poem, v. 138. + +{66} Corrupted in modern copies into 'we'll range and we'll rove.' +The reading in the text is the old reading. The phrase occurs in +several old songs. + +{67} We should, probably, read 'he.' + +{68} Peer--equal. + +{69} The road or street. + +{70} This is the only instance of this peculiar form in the +present version. The miners in the Marienberg invariably said 'for +to' wherever the preposition 'to' occurred before a verb. + +{71} Three is a favourite number in the nursery rhymes. The +following is one of numerous examples:- + +There was an old woman had three sons, +Jerry and James and John: +Jerry was hung, James was drowned, +John was lost and never was found; +And there was an end of her three sons, +Jerry, and James, and John! + + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, ANCIENT POEMS OF ENGLAND *** + +This file should be named oleng10.txt or oleng10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, oleng11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, oleng10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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