JAMES HALLIWELL (ed): The Nursery Rhymes of England, 1842, first edition abridged.

[ABRIDGED VERSION of the First Edition of The Nursery Rhymes of England. This consists solely of the poems which cannot be found in, or which have differences with, the Fourth Edition and omits the preface and footnotes, apart from those with verses. The complete (first) edition was originally published in the Percy Society's Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages, edited from original manuscripts and scarce publications, Volume 4, 1842.]

[ p.i ]

THE NURSERY RHYMES

ENGLAND,

Collected principally from Oral Tradition

EDITED BY

JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ.

"Roscia, die sodes, melior lex, an puerorum
Nænia."

HORACE.

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY,

BY T. RICHARDS, FOR THE EXECUTORS OF THE LATE

C. RICHARDS, 100, ST. MARTIN'S LANE.

MDCCXLII.

/ p.1 /

NURSERY RHYMES.

First Class. — Historical.

/ p.6 /

IV.

[THE following version of a popular rhyme is in one of Douce's books. I consider it to refer to the rebellious times of Richard II.]

MY father he died, I cannot tell how,
But he left me six horses to drive out my plough:
With a wimmy lo! wommy lo! Jack Straw blazey boys!
Wimmy lo! Wommy lo! Wob, wob, wob!

/ p.8 /

VI.

[The same song as the preceding, dictated by a lady now living in the Isle of Man, but a far better version.]

MY daddy is dead, but I can't tell you how;
But he left me six horses to follow the plough:
      With my whim wham waddle ho!
      Strim stram straddle ho!
      Bubble ho! pretty boy,
      Over the brow.

I sold my six horses to buy me a cow,
And wasn't that a pretty thing to follow the plough?
With my, &c.

I sold my cow to buy me a calf,
For I never made a bargain, but I lost the best half.
With my, &c.

I sold my calf to buy me a cat,
To sit down before the fire, to warm her little back:
With my, &c.

I sold my cat to buy me a mouse,
But she took fire in her tail, and so burnt up my house:
With my, &c.

/ p.9 /

VII.

[THERE is an old proverb which says that "a cat may look at a king." Whether the same adage applies equally to a female sovereign, and is referred to in the following nursery song, or whether it alludes to the glorious Queen Bess, is now a matter of uncertainty.]

PUSSY cat, pussy, cat, where have you been?
I've been to London to see the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there?
I frighten'd a little mouse under the chair.

/ p.10 /

XI.

[The following nursery song alludes to William III, and George, Prince of Denmark.]

WILLIAM and Mary, George and Anne,
Four such children had never a man:
They turn'd their father out of door,
And call'd their brother the son of a whore.

/ p.12 /

XV.

THE king of France went up the hill,
With twenty thousand men;
The King of France came down the hill,
And ne'er went up again.

/ p.13 /

Second Class.—Tales.

XVII.

THERE was a man in Thessaly,
    And he was wondrous wise,
He jump'd into a quickset hedge.
    And scratch'd out both his eyes;
And when he saw his eyes were out,
    And he was in great pain,
He jump'd into a holly bush,
    And scratch'd 'em in again.

/ p.14 /

XVIII.

WHEN I was a bachelor, I lived by myself,
And all the bread and cheese I laid upon the shelf;
The rats and the mice they made such a strife,
I was forced to go to London to buy me a wife;
The roads were so bad, and the lanes were so narrow,
I was forced to bring my wife home in a wheelbarrow.
The wheelbarrow broke, and my wife had a fall;
Deuce take the wheelbarrow, wife, and all.

/ p.15 /

XX.

ROBIN and Richard
    Were two pretty men;
They laid in bed
    Till the clock struck ten;
Then up starts Robin
    And looks at the sky,
Oh! brother Richard,
    The sun's very high.
You go before with the bottle and bag,
And I will come after on little Jack Nag.
You go first, and open the gate,
And I'll come after, and break your pate.

XXI. [From MS. Bib. Reg. 8 A. V. fol. 52, of the time of Henry VIII.]

WE make no spare
Of John Hunkes' mare;
And now I
Think she will die:
He thought it good
To put her in the wood,
To seek where she might ly dry;
If the mare should chance to fale,
Then the crownes would for her sale.

/ p.16 /

XXIII.

    THERE was a little man,
    And he woo'd a little maid,
And he said, little maid, will you wed, wed, wed?
    I have little more to say,
    Than will you, yea or nay,
For least said is soonest mended—ded, ded, ded.

    The little maid replied,
    Some say a little sighed,
But what shall we have for to eat, eat, eat?
    Will the love that you're so rich in,
    Make a fire in the kitchen?
Or the little god of Love turn the spit—spit, spit?

/ p.18 /

XXVII.

DID you not hear of Betty Pringle's pig?
It was not very little, nor yet very big;
The pig sat down upon a dunghill,
And then poor piggy he made his will.

Betty Pringle came to see this pretty pig,
That was not very little, nor yet very big;
This little piggy it lay down and died,
And Betty Pringle sat down and cried.

Then Johnny Pringle buried this very pretty pig,
That was not very little, nor yet very big;
So here's an end of the song of all three,
Johnny Pringle, Betty Pringle, and the little Piggie.

/ p.19 /

XXIX.

[THE following was most probably taken from a poetical tale in the "Choyce Poems," 12mo. Lond. 1662. As it is a very popular nursery song, I shall give the tale to which I allude in No.30.]

THREE children sliding on the ice,
Upon a summer's day,
As it fell out, they all fell in,
The rest they ran away.

Now had these children been at home,
Or sliding on dry ground,
Ten thousand pounds to one penny,
They had not all been drown'd.

XXX.

[From "Ovid de Arte Amandi &c. Englished, together with Choice Poems, and rare Pieces of Drollery." 1662.]

SOME Christian people all give ear,
Unto the grief of us,
Caused by the death of three children dear;
The which it hapned thus.

/ p.20 /

And eke there befel an accident,
By fault of a carpenter's son,
Who to saw chips his sharp axe lent,
Wo woeth the time may Lon—

May London say, wo woeth the carpenter,
And all such block-head fools,
Would he were hang'd up like a serpent here,
For jesting with edge-tools.

For into the chips there fell a spark,
Which put out in such flames,
That it was known in Southwark,
Which lies beyond the Thames.

For lo, the bridge was wondrous high,
With water underneath,
O'er which as many fishes fly,
As birds therein doth breath.

And yet the fire consum'd the bridge,
Not far from place of landing;
And though the building was full big,
It fell down not-with-standing.

And eke into the water fell
So many pewter dishes,
That a man might have taken up very well
Both boil'd and roasted fishes.

/ p.21 /

And that the bridge of London town,
For building that was sumptuous,
Was all by fire half burnt down,
For being too contumptious:

And thus you have all but half my song,
Pray list to what comes after;
For now I have cool'd you with the fire,
I'll warm you with the water.

I'll tell you what the river's name is,
Where these children did slide-a,
It was fair London's swiftest Thames,
That keeps both time and tide-a.

All on the tenth of January,
To the wonder of much people,
'Twas frozen o'er, that well 'twould bear
Almost a country steeple.

Three children sliding thereabouts,
Upon a place too thin,
That so at last it did fall out,
That they did all fall in.

A great lord there was that laid with the king,
And with the king great wager makes:
But when he saw he could not win,
He seight, and would have drawn stakes.

/ p.22 /

He said it would bear a man for to slide,
And laid a hundred pound;
The king said it would break, and so it did,
For three children there were drown'd.

Of which one's head was from his should-
ers stricken, whose name was John,
Who then cry'd out as loud as he could,
"O Lon-a, Lon-a, London !

"Oh! tut, -tut, -turn from thy sinful race,"
Thus did his speech decay:
I wonder that in such a case
He had no more to say.

And thus being drown'd, alack, alack,
The water ran down their throats,
And stopt their breath three hours by the clock,
Before they could get any boats.

Ye parents all that children have,
And ye that have none yet;
Preserve your children from the grave,
And teach them at home to sit.

For had they at a sermon been,
Or else upon dry ground,
Why then I would have never been seen,
If that they had been drown'd.

/ p.23 /

Even as a huntsman ties his dogs,
For fear they should go from him;
So tie your children with severity's clogs,
Untie 'em, and you'll undo 'em.

God bless our noble parliament,
And rid them from all fears !
God bless all th' commons of this land,
And God bless some o' th' peers !

XXXI.

THERE was an old man in a velvet coat,
He kiss'd a maid and gave her a groat;
The groat was crack'd, and would not go,—
Ah, old man, d'ye serve me so?

XXXII.

THERE was an old man,
And he had a calf,
And that's half:
He took him out of the stall,
And put him on the wall;
And that's all.

/ p.26 /

XLI.

[THE last verse of the following song is popular in our nurseries, and must be of great antiquity, as it is alluded to in MS. Lansd. 760, in a poem of the time of Henry VII.]

COME all ye brisk young bachelors,
    That wish to have good wives;
I'd have you be precautious,
    How you spend your lives.
For women they are as various,
    As the fish are in the sea;
They're ten times more precarious,
    Than a winter or summer's day!

/ p.27 /

When first you begin to court them,
    They're as mild as any dove,
And you will think them,
    Full worthy of your love;
But when you do get married,
    The case is altered then;
For you will find, my friend,
    They can let loose their tongues!

Now Aristotle chose
    A most commodious wife,
As ever was in this land, Sir,
    A partner for his life;
But soon he found out
    'Twas all a hum,
You must not stay to pick them,
    But take them as they come !

Blank or prize 'tis all a chance,
Shut your eyes and then advance!
Whiche'er you touch be pleased at once,
For you must pay, let who will dance.

There was a victim in a cart,
    One day for to be hung;
And his reprieve was granted,
    And the cart was made to stand:
"Come marry a wife and save your life !"
    The judge aloud did cry.

/ p.28 /

"Oh why should I corrupt my life?"
The victim did reply:
"For here's a crowd of every sort,
And why should I prevent the sport?
The bargain's bad in every part—
The wife's the worst; drive on the cart!"

/ p.29 /

XLIV.

LITTLE Miss Mopsey,
Sat in the shopsey,
Eating curds and whey;
There came a little spider,
Who sat down beside her,
And frightened little Miss Mopsey away!

XLV.

TOM married a wife on Sunday,
Beat her well on Monday,
Bad was she on Tuesday,
Midling was she on Wednesday,
Worse was she on Thursday,
Dead was she on Friday;
Glad was Tom on Saturday night,
To bury his wife on Sunday.

/ p.35 /

LII.

    THERE was a little man,
    And he had a little gun,
And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead.
    He went to a brook,
    And fired at a duck,
And shot him through the head, head, head.

    He carried it home,
    To his old wife Joan,
And bid her a fire for to make, make make.
    To roast the little duck,
    He'd shot in the brook,
And he'd go and fetch her the drake, drake, drake.

    The drake was a swimming,
    With his curly tail;
The little man made it his mark, mark, mark !
    He let off his gun,
    But he fir'd too soon,
And the drake flew away with a quack, quack, quack.

/ p.36 /

LIII.

LUCY Locket lost her pocket,
Kitty Fisher found it:
Nothing in it, nothing in it,
But the binding round it.

LIV.

SAYS Aaron to Moses,
Let's cut off our noses:
Says Moses to Aaron,
'Tis the fashion to wear 'em.

LV.

SAYS Moses to Aaron,
That fellow's a swearing:
Says Aaron to Moses,
He's drunk I supposes.

/ p.38 /

LVIII.

ROBIN the Bobbin, the big-bellied Ben,
He eat more meat than fourscore men ;
He eat a cow, he eat a calf,
He eat a butcher and a half;
He eat a church, he eat a steeple,
He eat the priest and all the people !

/ p.39 /

LXI.

[THIS nursery song may probably commemorate a part of Tom Thumb's history, extant in a little Danish work, treating of "Swain Tomling, a man no bigger than a thumb, who would be married to a woman three ells and three quarters long." See Mr. Thoms' Preface to "Tom à Lincoln," p. xi.]

I HAD a little husband,
    No bigger than my thumb;
I put him in a pint pot,
    And then I bade him drum:
I bridled him, and saddled him,
    And sent him out of town:
I gave him a pair of garters
    To tie up his little hose;
And a little silk handkerchief,
    To wipe his little nose.

/ p.40 /

LXIII. [The following is a Scotch version of the same song.]

THERE was a wee bit wifie,
    Who lived in a shoe;
She had so many bairns,
    She kenn'd na what to do.
She gaed to the market
    To buy a sheep-head;
When she came back
    They were a'lying dead.
She went to the wright
    To get them a coffin;
When she came back
    They were a'lying laughing.
She gaed up the stair,
    To ring the bell;
The bell-rope broke,
    And down she fell.

/ p.41 /

LXVI.

MARY had a pretty bird,
Feathers bright and yellow,
Slender legs,—upon my word
He was a pretty fellow.

The sweetest note he always sung,
Which much delighted Mary;
She often where the cage was hung,
Sate to hear her canary.

/ p.42 /

LXVII.

THE carrion crow, he sat upon an oak,
And he called the tailor a cheating folk;
"Sing heigho, the carrion crow,
Fol de rol, de rol, de rol, de rhino."

Wife, fetch me my good strong bow,
That I may kill the carrion crow.
"Sing heigho," &c.

The tailor shot, and missed his mark,
And shot the old sow through the heart.
"Sing heigho," &c.

LXVIII. [Another version of one given p.23.]

THERE was an old woman sat spinning,
And that's the first beginning;
She had a calf,
And that's half;
She took it by the tail,
And threw it over the wall,
And that's all !

/ p.43 /

LXX.

THREE blind mice, the three blind mice,
They all ran after the farmer's wife,
Who cut off their tails with the carving-knife.

/ p.44 /

LXXIV.

THERE was a lady lov'd a swine,
Honey, quoth she,
Pig, Hog, wilt thou be mine?
Hoogh, quoth he.

I'll build thee a silver sty,
Honey, quoth she;
And in it thou shalt lie,
Hoogh, quoth he.

Pinn'd with a silver pin,
Honey, quoth she;
That you may go out and in,
Hoogh, quoth he.

Wilt thou have me now,
Honey? quoth she;
Hoogh, hoogh, hoogh, quoth he,
And went his way.

/ p.46 /

LXXVI.

LITTLE Mary Ester sat upon a tester,
Eating curds and whey;
There came a spider, and sat down beside her,
And frightened little Mary Ester away !

LXXVII.

[This nursery rhyme is quoted in Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca, Act. V. sc. 2.]

SING a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie;

When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Was not that a dainty dish
To set before the king?

The king was in the parlour
Counting out his money;
The queen was in her closet
Eating bread and honey;

The maid was in the garden
Hanging out the clothes,
Up comes a little blackbird,
And snaps off her nose.

/ p.47 /

LXXVIII.

A CARRION crow sat on an oak,
Watching a tailor shape his cloak.
"Wife," cried he, "bring me my bow,
That I may shoot you [lit. possibly 'yon'] carrion crow."

The tailor shot and miss'd his mark,
And shot his own sow through the heart.
"Wife, bring me some brandy in a spoon,
For our old sow is in a swoon." *

LXXIX.

[THIS apparently alludes to the celebrated General Monk; but as it seems to be altogether apocryphal, I have not admitted it into the historical class.]

    LITTLE General Monk
    Sat upon a trunk,
Eating a crust of bread;
    There fell a hot coal
    And burnt in his clothes a hole,
Now Little General Monk is dead.
    Keep always from the fire:
    If it catch your attire,
You too, like Monk, will be dead.

* See p.42

/ p.48 /

LXXX.

LITTLE Jenny Wren fell sick upon a time,
When in came Robin Red-breast, and brought her bread and wine;
"Eat, Jenny, drink, Jenny, all shall be thine!"
Then Jenny she got better, and stood upon her feet,
And says to little Robin, "I love thee not a bit!"
Then Robin he was angry and flew upon a twig,
"Hoot upon thee, fie upon thee, ungrateful chit!"

/ p.57 /

LXXXII.

SAYS Robin to Jenny, "if you will be mine,
We'll have cherry tart, and drink currant wine."
So Jenny consented,—the day was nam'd,
The joyful news the cock proclaim'd:

/ p.58 /

Together came the Rook and Lark,
One was parson, the other clerk:
The goldfinch gave the bride away,
Who promised always to obey:
The feathered tenants of the air,
Towards the feast gave each a share;
Some brought grain, and some brought meat,
Some brought savours, some brought sweet:
And as it was most pleasant weather,
The jovial party dined together;
And long did Robin and his mate,
Live in the happy married state.
Till, doleful to relate ! one day
A hawk with Jenny flew away,
And Robin, by the cruel sparrow,
Was shot quite dead with bow and arrow.

/ p.60 /

LXXXVI.

OLD mother Hubbard,
Went to the cupboard,
To get her poor dog a bone;
But when she came there,
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.

She went to the baker's
To buy him some bread,
But when she came back
The poor dog was dead.

She went to the joiner's
To buy him a coffin,
But when she came back
The poor dog was laughing.

/ p.61 /

She took a clean dish
To get him some tripe,
But when she came back
He was smoking his pipe.

She went to the ale-house
To get him some beer,
But when she came back
The dog sat in a chair.

She went to the tavern
For white wine and red,
But when she came back
The dog stood on his head.

She went to the hatter's
To buy him a hat,
But when she came back
He was feeding the cat.

She went to the barber's
To buy him a wig,
But when she came back
He was dancing a jig.

She went to the fruiterer's
To buy him some fruit,
But when she came back
He was playing the flute.

/ p.62 /

She went to the tailor's
To buy him a coat,
But when she came back
He was riding a goat.

She went to the cobler's
To buy him some shoes,
But when she came back
He was reading the news.

She went to the sempstress
To buy him some linen,
But when she came back
The dog was spinning.

She went to the hosier's
To buy him some hose,
But when she came back
He was dress'd in his clothes.

The dame made a curtsey,
The dog made a bow;
The dame said, your servant,
The dog said, bow, wow.

/ p.63 /

LXXVII. [lit.]

Old King Cole
Was a merry old soul,
And a merry old soul was he;
And he called for his pipe,
And he called for his glass,
And he called for his fiddlers three.
And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle,
And a very fine fiddle had he;
"Tweedle dee, tweedle dee," said the fiddlers.
Oh there's none so rare,
As can compare,
With King Cole and his fiddlers three!

LXXIX. [lit.]

Tom he was a piper's son
He learn'd to play when he was young,
And all the tunes that he could play,
Was "Over the hills and far away;"
Over the hills, and a great way off,
And the wind will blow my top-knot off.

Now Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
That he pleas'd both the girls and boys,
And they stopp'd to hear him play,
"Over the hills and far away."

/ p.64 /

Tom with his pipe did play with such skill,
That those who heard him could never keep still;
Whenever they heard they began for to dance,
Even pigs on their hind legs would after him prance.

As Dolly was milking her cow one day,
Tom took out his pipe and began for to play;
So Doll and the cow danced the Cheshire round,
Till the pail was broke and the milk ran on the ground.

He met old dame Trot with a basket of eggs,
He used his pipe and she used her legs;
She danced about till the eggs were all broke,
She began for to fret, but he laughed at the joke.

He saw a cross fellow was beating an ass,
Heavy laden with pots, pans, dishes, and glass;
He took out his pipe and played them a tune.
And the jackass's load was lightened full soon.

/ p.66 /

XCI.

SATURDAY-night my wife did die,
    I buried her on the Sunday,
I courted another a coming from church,
    And married her on the Monday.
On Tuesday night I stole a horse,
    On Wednesday was apprehended,
On Thursday I was tried and cast,
    And on Friday I was hanged.

XCII.

LITTLE Tom Trigger,
Before he was bigger,
Thought he would go out with his gun;

/ p.67 /

Left off bow and arrows,
With which he shot sparrows,
And said he would have some fun.

He shot at a pig,
That was not very big,
But pig away did run;
Says he, to be sure,
I am not very poor,
I'll put some more shot in my gun.

He shot at a cat,
That had caught a rat,
And hit her right on the pate;
I'll have your furry skin
To put my powder in,
Your venison, no matter for that.

He started a hare,
The people did stare,
Says he, I'll have you for my dinner;
It being almost dark,
He missed his mark,
For he was a young beginner.

He came to a stile,
A man all the while
A pitchfork had in his hand;
Says he, give me the gun,
But he began to run,
All over the ploughed land.

/ p.68 /

Unhappy was his lot,
Into a hedge he got,
The man came behind to beat him;
Tom cannot get through,
He had the man in view,
But he contrived to cheat him.

A house was in the vale,
And Margery sold ale,
Says he, I'll have some beer;
Soon it will be night,
And not a bit of light,
My roundabout way home to cheer.

A sow in the sty,
As Tommy came by,
Was calling her pigs to repose;
Says Tom, I love fun,
And at the pigs did run,
But fell down and hurt his nose.

Margery came out,
To see what it was about,
And she said, Master Tommy, O fye !
He took up his gun,
And he began to run,
From the pigs that were in the sty.

Tom at last got home,
He would no longer roam,
And his mother began to scold;

/ p.69 /

Now he plays at taw,
Sometimes at see-saw,
And is not quite so bold.

Tom and his dog Tray,
In the month of May,
Went to play with a ball,
Which he threw up to the sky,
Yet not so very high,
It soon came down with a fall.

He had a little stick,
It was not very thick,
He hit the ball to make it go faster;
His little dog Tray,
Soon scampered away,
To bring the ball back to his master.

He got up a tree,
As high as may be,
Some eggs from a nest to obtain;
A bough bent in two,
(You see it in the view),
And he fell to the ground in great pain.

A doctor they did call
To cure him of the fall,
A long while he kept his bed;
At last he got well
Of all that him befel,
So this time he shall not be dead.

/ p.70 /

Tom has now got better,
Writes a pretty letter,
And is always reading his book;
He is not quite so wild,
As when he was a child
And no pains with his learning he took.

/ p.72 /

XCIV.

THERE was an old woman toss'd up in a blanket,
Ninety-nine times as high as the moon:
But where she was going no mortal could tell,
For under her arm she carried a broom.

Old woman, old woman, old woman, said I,
Whither, ah ! whither, whither so high?
Oh ! I'm sweeping the cobwebs off the sky,
And I'll be with you by and by.

/ p.76 /

THERE was a mad man and he had a mad wife,
And they liv'd in a mad town:
And they had children three at a birth,
And mad they were every one.

/ p.77 /

The father was mad, the mother was mad,
And the children mad beside;
And they all got on a mad horse,
And madly they did ride.

They rode by night and they rode by day,
Yet never a one of them fell;
They rode so madly all the way,
Till they came to the gates of hell.

Old Nick was glad to see them so mad,
And gladly let them in:
But he soon grew sorry to see them so merry,
And let them out again.

CI.

THERE was an old man, and he liv'd in a wood;
    And his lazy son Jack would snooze till noon:
Nor followed his trade, although it was good,
    With a bill and stump for making of brooms, green brooms;
    With a bill and a stump for making of brooms.

One morn in a passion, and sore with vexation,
He swore he would fire the room,
If he did not get up and go to his work,
And fall to the cutting of brooms, green brooms, &c.

/ p.78 /

Then Jack arose and slipt on his clothes,
And away to the woods very soon,
Where he made up his pack, and put it on his back,
Crying, Maids, do you want any brooms? green brooms, &c.

/ p.79 /

Third Class.—Jingles.

CII.

HUB a dub dub,
Three men in a tub;
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick-maker,
They all fell out of a rotten potato.

CIII.

LITTLE Jack-a-dandy,
Loved plumb cake, and sugar-candy,
He bought some at a grocer's shop,
And out he came, hop hop hop.

CIV.

DING, dong, bell,
Puss is in the well!
Who put her in,
Little Tommy Lin;

/ p.80 /

Who pulled her out,
Dog with long snout;
What a trick was that,
To drown my granny's cat,
Who never did any harm,
But catch the mice in the barn.

CV.

DINGTY diddledy,
    My mammy's maid,
She stole oranges,
    I am afraid;
Some in her pocket,
    Some in her sleeve,
She stole oranges,
    I do believe.

CVI.

COCK a doodle doo
My dame has lost her shoe;
And master's lost his fiddling stick,
And don't know what to do.

Cock a doodle doo,
What is my dame to do?
Till master finds his fiddling stick
She'll dance without her shoe.

/ p.81 /

Cock a doodle doo
My dame has found her shoe;
And master's found his fiddling stick,
Sing doodle doodle doo.

Cock a doodle doo,
My dame will dance with you,
While master fiddles his fiddling stick
For dame and doodle doo.

CVIII.

DEEDLE, deedle, dumpling, my son John
Went to the bed with his trousers on;
One shoe off, the other shoe on,
Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John.

/ p.82 /

CX.

YANKEE Doodle came to town,
Upon a Kentish poney;
He stuck a feather in his hat,
And called him Macaroni.

CXI.

COME dance a jig
To my Granny's pig,
With a raudy, rowdy, dowdy;
Come dance a jig
To my Granny's pig,
And pussy-cat shall crowdy [i. e. fiddle.]

/ p.83 /

CXII. [From Devonshire.]

DRIDDLETY drum, driddlety drum,
There you see the beggars are come;
Some are here and some are there,
And some are gone to Chidlely fair.

CXIII.

[The following may possibly be a game, but I am without any evidence for so attributing it.]

INTERY, mintery, cutery-corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn;
Wine, brier, limber-lock,
Five geese in a flock,
Sit and sing by a spring,
O-U-T, and in again

/ p.84 /

CXVI.

SEEK a thing, give a thing,
The old man's gold ring;
Lie butt, lie ben,
Lie among the dead men.

CXVII.

HIE! diddle diddle,
The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon,
The little dog laughed to see such sport,
While the dish ran after the spoon.

/ p.85 /

CXX.

[Magot-pie is the original name of the chattering and ominous bird. See Macbeth, Act iii. SC. 4, where the same word is used.].

ROUND about, round about
Maggotty pie,
My father loves good ale,
And so do I.

/ p.86 /

CXXII. [From Shropshire.]

ONE, two, three,
I love coffee,
And Billy loves tea,
How good you be,
One, two, three,
I love coffee,
And Billy loves tea.

/ p.87 /

CXXV.

TOMMY Tibule, Harry Wibule,
Tommy Tissile, Harry Whistle,
Little wee, wee, wee.

CXXVI.

[A Scottish ditty, sung on whirling round a piece of lighted paper to a child.]

DINGLE, dingle, doosey ;
The cat's in the well;
The dog's away to Bellingen,
To buy the bairn a bell.

/ p.88 /

CXXVII. [Water-skimming.]

    A DUCK and a drake,
    A nice barley cake,
With a penny to pay the old baker:
    A hop and a skotch,
    Is another notch,
Slitherum, slatherum, take her.

CXXIX.

SEE, saw, Margery Daw,
Jackey shall have a new master;
He shall have only a penny a-day,
Because he can work no faster.

/ p.89 /

CXXX.

[See Jamieson's Glossary, voc. zickety, and Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Aug. 1821, p. 36.]

ZICKETY, dickety, dock,
The mouse ran up the nock;
The nock struck one,
Down the mouse run,
Zickety, dickety, dock.

CXXXI.

SEE Saw, Margery Daw,
Sold her bed and lay upon straw;
Was not she a dirty slut,
To sell her bed and lie upon dirt?

/ p.90 /

CXXXIV.

RIDE to the market to buy a fat pig
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig;
Ride to the market to buy a fat hog,
Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.

/ p.91 /

Fourth Class.—Riddles.

/ p.92 /

CXL. [AN EGG.]

HUMPTY DUMPTY sate on a wall,
Humpti dumpti had a great fall;
Three score men and three score more,
Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before

CXLI. [AN EGG.]

    GOOSY goosy gander !
    Where shall I wander?
Up stairs and down stairs,
    And in my lady's chamber;
There I met an old man,
    That would not say his prayers.
I took him by the left leg,
    And threw him down stairs.

/ p.93 /

CXLIII. [A CANDLE.]

LITTLE Nancy Etticoat
In a white petticoat;
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows

/ p.97 /

CLVI.

I HAD a little sister, they call'd her peep, peep,
She waded the waters deep, deep, deep,
She climbed up the mountains high, high, high,
Poor little creature she wanted an eye.

/ p.98 /

Fifth Class.—Proverbs.

CLVII.

A SEMPSTRESS that sews,
And would make her work redde [i.e. scarce],
Must use a long needle,
And a short thread.

CLVIII.

[The following old saw is generally believed to refer to the Teutonic method of numbering. See Brand's Popular Antiquities, edited by Sir H. Ellis, vol. ii, p.324.]

FIVE score of men, money, and pins,
Six score of all other things.

/ p.99 /

CLXII.

To make your candles last for aye,
You wives and maids give ear-o !
To put 'em out 's the only way,
Says honest John Boldero.

/ p.100 /

CLXV.

RIDDLE me, riddle me, riddle me ree !
None are so blind as those that won't see.

/ p.102 /

Sixth Class.—Lullabies.

/ p.103 /

CLXXIII.

CRY, baby, cry,
Put your finger in your eye,
And tell your mother it was I.

/ p.104 /

Seventh Class.—Charms.

CLXXV.

[The three following charms are for the hiccup, and each one must be said thrice in one breath, to render the specific of service.]

WHEN a twister twisting would twist him a twist,
For twisting a twist three twists he will twist;
But if one of the twists untwists from the twist,
The twist untwisting untwists the twist.

/ p.106 /

CLXXXI.

[THE present charm, which appears to be only another version of the one just given, is preserved by Aubrey, in MS. Lansd. 231, fol.114. It may likewise be found in Ady's "Candle in the Dark," 4to. Lond, 1655, p.58.]

MATTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless the bed that I lye on !
And blessed guardian-angel, keep
Me safe from danger whilst I sleep !

CLXXXII.

[The following charm was learnt by the late Sir Humphrey Davy, when a boy, as a cure for the cramp.]

MATTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John, ease us, I beg!
The devil has tied up a knot in my leg.
Crosses three [here are three small Maltese crosses] we make to ease us;
Two for the robbers, and one for Christ Jesus.

/ p.107 /

Eighth Class.—Games.

CLXXXIII.

WE are three brethren out of Spain,
Come to court your daughter Jane.
My daughter Jane she is too young,
And has not learn'd her mother-tongue.

Be she young, or be she old,
For her beauty she must be sold.
So fare you well, my lady gay,
We'll call again another day,

Turn back, turn back, thou scornful knight;
And rub thy spurs till they be bright.
Of my spurs take you no thought,
For in this town they were not bought.
So fare you well, my lady gay,
We'll call again another day.

Turn back, turn back, thou scornful knight,
And take the fairest in your sight.
The fairest maid that I can see,
Is pretty Nancy, come to me.

/ p.108 /

Here comes your daughter safe and sound,
Every pocket with a thousand pound;
Every finger with a gay gold ring;
Please to take your daughter in.

/ p.109 /

CLXXXVIII.

RIDE a cock horse,
To Banbury Cross,
To see what Tommy can buy ;

/ p.110 /

A penny white loaf,
A penny white cake,
And a two-penny apple pie.

CLXXXIX.

SEE saw, Jack in a hedge
Which is the way to London bridge?
One foot up, and one foot down,
That is the best way to London town.

/ p.111 /

CXCII. [The following is a song to a nursery dance.]

GAY go up and gay go down,
To ring the bells of London Town.

Bull's eyes and targets,
Say the bells of St. Marg'ret's.

Brickbats and tiles,
Say the bells of St. Giles.

Halfpence and farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's.

Pancakes and fritters,
Say the bells at St. Peter's.

Two sticks and an apple,
Say the bells at Whitechapel.

Old Father Baldpate,
Say the slow bells at Aldgate.

You owe me ten shillings,
Say the bells at St. Helen's

/ p.112 /

When will you pay me?
Say the bells at Old Bailey.

When I shall grow rich,
Say the bells at Shoreditch.

Pray, when will that be?
Say the bells at Stepney.

I am sure I don't know,
Says the great bell at Bow.

CXCIII.

SNAIL, snail,
Come out of your hole,
Or else I will beat you
As black as a coal.

/ p.113 /

CXCV.

DANCE, Bumpkin, dance,

(Keep the thumb in motion.)

Dance, ye merrymen, every one;

(All the fingers in motion.)

For Bumpkin, he can dance alone,

(The thumb only moving.)

Bumpkin, he can dance alone.

(Ditto.)

Dance, Foreman, dance,

(The first finger moving.)

Dance ye merrymen every one;

(The whole moving.)

But Foreman, he can dance alone,
Foreman, he can dance alone.

And so on with the others—naming the 2d finger Middleman —the 3d finger Ringman—and the 4th finger Littleman. Littleman cannot dance alone.

/ p.114 /

CXCVIII.

RIDE a cock-horse to Coventry cross;
To see what Emma can buy;
A penny white cake I'll buy for her sake,
And a twopenny tart or a pie.

CXCIX.

RIDE a cock-horse to Banbury cross,
To see an old lady upon a white horse,
Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes,
She will have music wherever she goes.

CC.

TO market ride the gentlemen,
So do we, so do we;
Then comes the country clown,
Hobbledy gee, Hobbledy gee !

/ p.116 /

CCIV.

[I believe the following is only a portion of a dialogue,
but I have not been able to recover it.]

HERE comes a poor woman from baby-land,
With three small children in her hand:
One can brew, the other can bake,
The other can make a pretty round cake.

/ p.117 /

CCVI.

ELEVEN comets in the sky
Some low and some high;
Nine peacocks in the air,
I wonder how they all came there.
I do not know and I do not care;
Seven lobsters in a dish,
As fresh as any heart could wish;
Six beetles against the wall,
Close by an old woman's apple-stall;
Four horses stuck in a bog,
Three monkeys tied to a clog;
Two pudding-ends would choke a dog,
With a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.

CCVII.

[A Scotch version of the song already given at p.109]

LAZY dukes, that sit in your neuks,
And winna come out to play ;

/ p.118 /

Leave your supper, leave your sleep,
Come out and play at hide-and-seek.
I've a cherry, I've a chess,
I've a bonny blue glass,
I've a dog among the corn,
Blow Willie Buckhorn.
Three score of Highland kye,
One booly-backed,
One blind of an eye,
An' a' the rest hawkit.
Laddie wi' the shelly-coat
Help me owre the ferry-boat;
The ferry-boat is owre dear,
Ten pounds every year.
The fiddler's in the Canongate,
The piper's in the Abbey,
Huzza! cocks and hens,
Flee awa' to your cavey.

/ p.119 /

CCIX. [Song set to five fingers.]

1.  THIS little pig went to market;
2.  This little pig staid at home;
3.  This little pig had a bit of bread and butter;
4.  This little pig had none;
5.  This little pig said, Wee, wee, wee !
        I can't find my way home.

/ p.120 /

CCX. [A game at ball.]

CUCKO, cherry tree,
Catch a bird, and give it to me ;
Let the tree be high or low,
Let it hail, rain, or snow.

/ p.121 /

CCXIII.

[The following is the Oxfordshire version of the game of the Confessional, as shown in shadows on the wall.]

FATHER, O father, I'm come to confess
Well, my daughter, well!
Last night I call'd the cat a beast.
Shocking, my daughter, shocking!
What penance? my father, what penance?
What penance! my daughter, what penance!
What penance shall I do?
Kiss me.

CCXIV. [The Kentish version of the same game.]

GOOD morning, father Francis.
Good morning, Mrs. Sheckleton. What has brought you abroad so early, Mrs. Sheckleton?
I have come to confess a great sin, father Francis.
What's it, Mrs. Sheckleton?
Your cat stole a pound of my butter, father Francis !
O, no sin at all, Mrs. Sheckleton.
But I kill'd your cat for it, father Francis.
O a very great sin indeed, Mrs. Sheckleton, you must do penance.
What penance, father Francis?
Kiss me.
O no, O yes, O no, O yes, &c. ad libitum.

/ p.122 /

CCXVI.

[THIS is acted by two or more girls, who walk or dance up and down, turning, when they say, "turn, cheeses, turn." The "green cheeses," as I am informed, are made with sage and potatoe-tops. Two girls are said to be "cheese and cheese."]

GREEN cheeses, yellow laces
Up and down the market-places,
Turn, cheeses, turn !

/ p.123 /

CCXVIII.

[CHILDREN stand round, and are counted one by one, by means of this rhyme, which I have already given in a different form at p. 89. The child upon whom the last number falls is out, for "Hide or Seek," or any other game where a victim is required. A cock and bull story of this kind is related of the historian Josephus.]

HICKORY (1), Dickory (2), Dock (3),
The mouse ran up the clock (4),
The clock struck one (5),
The mouse was gone (6);
O (7), U (8), T (9), spells OUT !

/ p.124 /

CCXX.

SEE-SAW, sacradown;
Which is the way to London town?
One foot up, and the other down,
And that is the way to London town.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,
I caught a hare alive;
6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
I let him go again.

/ p.125 /

CCXXIII. [Another version of No.219]

AS I go round ring by ring,
A maiden goes a maying,
And here 's a flower and there's a flower,
As red as any daisy. If you set your foot awry,
Gentle John will make you cry;
If you set your foot amiss,
Gentle John will give you a good kiss.

/ p.129 /

Ninth Class.—Paradoxes.

CCLXXIX. [lit.]

[The conclusion of the following resembles a verse in the nursery history of Mother Hubbard.]

THERE was an old woman and what do you think ?
She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink.
Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet,
And yet this old woman could never be quiet.

/ p.130 /

She went to the baker, to buy her some bread,
And when she came home, her old husband was dead;
She went to the clerk to toll the bell,
And when she came back her old husband was well.

CCXXX.

THE rule of the road is a paradox quite,
And custom has prov'd it so long :
He that goes to the left is sure to go right,
And he that goes right must go wrong.

/ p.131 /

Tenth Class.—Literal.

/ p.133 /

CCXXXVII.

[The following is taken from MS. Sloan. 2497, of the sixteenth century.]

N. for a word of deniance,
E. with a figure fiftie,
Spelleth his name that newer
Will be thriftie.

CCXXXVIII.

MISS one two and three, could never agree,
While they gossiped round a tea caddy.

/ p.134 /

Eleventh Class.—Scholastic.

CCXL.

A DILLER, a doller,
A ten o'clock scholar,
What makes you come so soon ?
You us'd to come at ten o'clock,
And now you come at noon.

CCXLI.

MISTRESS Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With cockle shells, and silver bells,
And cowslips all a row.

CCXLII.

Donkey walks on four legs
And I walk on two;
The last I saw,
Was very like you.

/ p.135 /

CCXLIII.

LIAR, liar, lick spit
Turn about the candlestick,
What's good for liar?
Brimstone and fire.

/ p.136 /

Twelfth Class.—Customs.*

CCXLVII.

[The following is sung at the Christmas mummings in Somersetshire.]

HERE comes I,
Liddle man Jan
Wi my zword
In my han!

If you don't all do,
As you be told by I,
I'll zend you all to York,
Vor to make apple-pie.

* This class might be extended to great length, but I shall content myself with giving a few, and referring to Sir H. Ellis's edition of Brand's Popular Antiquities for more.

/ p.137 /

CCXLIX.

[IT was probably the custom, on repeating these lines, to hold the snail to a candle, in order to make it quit the shell. In Normandy it was the practice at Christmas for boys to run round fruit trees, with lighted torches, singing these lines:

Taupes et mulots,
Sortez de vos clos,
Sinon vous brulerai et la barbe et les os.]

SNAIL, snail, come out of your hole,
Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal.

CCL.

I SEE the moon, and the moon sees me
God bless the moon, and God bless me.

CCLI.

[AUBREY, in his "Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme," gives another version of this song, as current in the seventeenth century, very curious, but unfortunately much too indelicate to be printed in a book emanating from the Percy Society, or indeed any other.]

WHEN I was a little girl,
I wash'd my mother's dishes;
I put my finger in my eye,
And pull'd out little fishes.

/ p.138 /

CCLII.

HERRINGS, herrings, white and red,
Ten a penny, Lent's dead.
Rise dame and give an egg,
Or else a piece of bacon.
    One for Peter, two for Paul,
    Three for Jack a Lent's all,
        Away, Lent, away.

CCLIII.

[The unmarried ladies in the north address the new moon in the following lines:]

ALL hail to the moon! all hail to thee!
I prithee, good moon, declare to me
This night who my husband must be!

/ p.139 /

Thirteenth Class.—Songs.

/ p.140 /

CCLVIII.

[The following song is given in Whiter's Specimen of a Commentary on Shakespeare, 8vo. Lond. 1794, p. 19, as peculiar to Cambridge and Norfolk.]

HEIGH, ho ! heigh, ho !
Dame what makes your ducks to die ?
What a pize ails 'em, what a pize ails 'em ?
Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !
Dame, what ails your ducks to die ?
Eating o'polly wigs, eating o'polly wigs, [i.e. Tadpoles.]
Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !

/ p.141 /

CCLX.

[Out of the many songs relating to the heroine of the following stanza, one only has been deemed eligible for insertion in this volume.]

NANCY Dawson was so fine,
She wouldn't get up to serve the swine,
She lies in bed till eight or nine,
So its oh! poor Nancy Dawson.

/ p.143 /

CCLXV.

I'LL sing you a song,
Nine verses long,
For a pin;
Three and three are six,
And three are nine;
You are a fool,
And the pin is mine.

/ p.144 /

CCLXVIII.

WE'LL go a shooting, says Robin to Bobbin
We'll go a shooting, says Richard to Robin;
We'll go a shooting, says John all alone;
We'll go a shooting, says every one.

What shall we kill, says Robin to Bobbin;
What shall we kill, says Richard to Robin;
What shall we kill, says John all alone;
What shall we kill, says every one.

We'll shoot at that wren, says Robin to Bobbin;
We'll shoot at that wren, says Richard to Robin;
We'll shoot at that wren, says John all alone;
We'll shoot at that wren, says every one.

She's down, she's down, says Robin to Bobbin;
She's down, she's down, says Richard to Robin;
She's down, she's down, says John all alone;
She's down, she's down, says every one.

How shall we get her home, says Robin to Bobbin;
How shall we get her home, says Richard to Robin;
How shall we get her home, says John all alone;
How shall we get her home, says every one.

We'll hire a cart, says Robin to Bobbin;
We'll hire a cart, says Richard to Robin;
We'll hire a cart, says John all alone;
We'll hire a cart, says every one.

/ p.145 /

Then hoist, boys, hoist says Robin to Bobbin;
Then hoist, boys, hoist, says Richard to Robin;
Then hoist, boys, hoist, says John all alone;
Then hoist, boys, hoist, says every one.

So they brought her away, after each pluck'd a feather,
And when they go home, shar'd the booty together.

CCLXX.

AS I was going up Pippen-hill
Pippen-hill was dirty,
There I met a pretty mis,
And she dropt me a curtesy.

/ p.146 /

Little miss, pretty miss,
Blessings light upon you,
If I had half-a-crown a day,
I'd spend it all upon you.

/ p.149 /

CCLXXIX.

THOMAS a Didymus, king of the Jews
Jumped into the fire and burned both his shoes.

CCLXXXII.

BOBBY SHAFT is gone to sea
With silver buckles at his knee;
When he'll come home he'll marry me,
Pretty Bobby Shaft !

Bobby Shaft is fat and fair,
Combing down his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore !
Pretty Bobby Shaft !

/ p.150 /

CCLXXXIV.

THE rose is red, the violet's blue
The honey's sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love, and I am thine;
I drew thee to my Valentine;
The lot was cast, and then I drew,
And fortune said it should be you.

/ p.155 /

CCXCII.

LITTLE Tommy Tacket,
    Sits upon his cracket ; *
Half a yard of cloth will make him coat and jacket;
    Make him coat and jacket,
    Breeches to the knee.
And if you will not have him, you may let him be.

* A little three-legged stool seen by the ingle of every cottage in the north of England.

/ p.156 /

Fourteenth Class.—Fragments.

CCXCV.

    CROSS patch,
    Draw the latch,
Sit by the fire and spin;
    Take a cup,
    And drink it up,
And call your neighbours in.

/ p.157 /

CCXCVI.

ROCK-A-BYE, baby, the cradle is green;
Father's a nobleman, mother's a queen;
And Betty's a lady, and wears a gold ring ;
And Johnny's a drummer, and drums for the king.

[ p.159 ]

NOTES.

P.2, l. 16. The house that Jack built. The Hebrew tale which I have given, may possibly be the original of all accumulative stories of the same kind. The tale of the old woman and the crooked sixpence is one of this class, and I here insert two versions of it:

[NOTE: Version 1 is the same as that published
as 4th edition nursery rhyme no CCCC, pp.182-184]
"AN old woman was sweeping her house,
and she found a little crooked sixpence. ...."

/ p.160 /

(the story continues,)..."She went a little further, and she met a butcher..."

[The 1st edition also gives another version:]

      "THERE was an old woman, that lived in a house: and, sweeping under her bed, she found a silver penny. So she went to / p.161 / market and bought a pig: but as she came home, the pig would not go over the stile.
      "She went a little further, and she met a dog; and she said to the dog, Good dog! bite pig: pig won't go; and it's time that I was at home an hour and a half ago. But the dog would not. (And so forth, as in the other story, mutatis mutandis, to the Rat.)
      "She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said to the cat. Good cat! kill rat; rat won't bite rope; rope won't hang butcher; butcher won't kill ox; ox won't drink water; water won't quench fire; fire won't burn stick; stick won't beat pig; pig won't go. And it's time that I was at home an hour and a half ago.
      "The cat began to kill the rat; the rat began (and so forth, as in the other story;) the pig began to go. And so the old woman got home at last."

It will be observed that these two versions, for which I am indebted to Mr. Black, are much more like the Hebrew tale than The House that Jack built; but as our collection would scarcely be complete without this latter, I shall insert a copy of it:

1.	THIS is the house that Jack built.
2.	This is the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
3.	This is the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
4.	This is the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
5.	This is the dog, That worried the cat That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
6.	This is the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog,

/ p.162 /

	That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
7.	This is the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
8.	This is the man all tatter'd and torn, That kissed the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
9.	This is the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kissed the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.
10.	This is the cock that crow'd in the morn, That wak'd the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kissed the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That tossed the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built.

/ p.163 /

11.

This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That kept the cock that crow'd in the morn,
That wak'd the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.

P.12, l. 1. The king of France. In a little tract, called "The Pigges Corantoe, or Newes from the North," 4to. Lond. 1642, this is called "Old Tarlton's Song." This fact is mentioned in Mr. Collier's Hist. Dram. Poet. vol. ii. p.352, and also in the preface to Mr. Wright's Political Ballads, printed for the Percy Society. It is perhaps a parody on the popular epigram on Jack and Jill:

"Jack and Jill went up the hill,
To fetch a pail of water;
Jack fell down, and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after."

There was an old play, now lost, called "Jack and Jill." I may here take the opportunity of inserting the following, which was accidentally omitted in the historical class:

"High diddle ding!
Did you hear the bells ring?
The parliament soldiers are gone to the king.
Some they did laugh, some they did cry.
To see the parliament soldiers pass by."

/ p.164 /

P.16, l. 9. There was a little man. Sung to the same tune as No. 52. The following version is taken from a broadside printed at Strawberry Hill in the last century:

"There was a little man, and he woo'd a little maid,
And he said, my little maid, will you wed?
I have little more to say, than will you yea or nay?
For little said is soon mended.

"Then this little maid she said, little sir, you've little said,
To induce a little maid for to wed;
You must say a little more, and must add a little dower,
E'er I make a little print in your bed.

"Then this little man reply'd, if you'll be my little bride,
I'll raise my love note a little higher;
Tho' I little love to prate, yet you'll find my heart is great,
With the little God of Love all on fire.

"Then the little maid she said, your fire may warm the bed,
But what shall we do for to eat?
Will the flames you're only rich in, make a fire in the kitchen,
And the Little God of Love turn the spit?

"Then this little man he sigh'd, and some say a little cry'd,
And his little heart was big all with sorrow;
I'll be your little slave, and if the little that I have
Be too little, little dear, I will borrow.

"Then this little man so shent, made the little maid relent,
And set her little soul a-thinking;
Tho' his little was but small, yet she had his little all,
And could have of a cat but her skin."

/ p.165 /

P.38, l. 13. The merriment of Jack Horner has, I believe, long since departed from the modern series, and I therefore give the following copy of it from Douce's collection: "The History of Jack Horner, containing the witty pranks he play'd, from his youth to his riper years, being pleasant for Winter Evenings."

Of his birth and education.

JACK HORNER was a pretty lad,
near London he did dwell,
His father's heart he made full glad,
his mother loved him well.

/ p.166 /

She often sat him on her lap,
to turn him dry beneath,
And fed him with sweet sugar-pap,
because he had no teeth.

While little Jack was sweet and young,
if he by chance should cry,
His mother pretty sonnets sung,
with lulla-baby-by.

A pretty boy, a curious wit,
all people spoke his praise,
And in the corner he would sit,
on Christmas holidays.

And said, Jack Horner in the corner,
eats good Christmas pye;
With his thumbs pulls out the plumbs,
crying what a good boy was I.

These pretty verses which he made
upon his Christmas cheer,
Did gain him love, as it is said,
of all both far and near;

For lasses lov'd his company,
each day above another;
For why? they knew that he would be
a man before his mother.

He grew, I say, at any rate
both proper, straight, and trim,
So that young Nancy, Sue, and Kate,
were all in love with him.

Happy was she that could enjoy
from him one kind embrace;
Though once he was a little boy,
yet now he grows apace.

So few were like him far and near,
and match for him was none;
As being thirteen inches high,
a giant to Tom Thumb.

/ p.167 /

Whene'er he took a sword in hand,
he made his foes to bleed,
As you shall come to understand,
when you this story read.

II.

Jack frights a tailor for cabbaging cloath out of his coat.

JACK being twenty years of age,
liv'd with a worthy knight.
In manner of a pretty page,
to yield him much delight:

The knight right generous and free,
did for a taylor send,
For to make Jack a livery,
so much he was his friend,

Of half a yard of good broad cloth
the coat was to be made,
But yet the taylor he was loth
to quit his thievish trade.

The knavish taylor was to blame,
(a crafty cunning wag,)
Be pinch'd as much out of the same
as made a marble bag.

His coat was spoil'd then being made,