Nursery Rhymes - Forgotten Books

NUR S E RY RH YME SENGLAND

,

MQBb ta in eh pr in ci pa l l y f rom QBt a I QEr a

‘

fl i t i o n .

COLLECT ED AND E D I TED BY

JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ .

Ro sc ia , (h e sode s , me l io r le x , an pue ro rum

N ze n ia .

HOBAT .

SECOND EDITION,

W ITH A LT E RAT I ON S AN D AD D IT I ON S .

L OND ON

JOHN RUSSELL SMITH,

4 , OLD COMPTON STRE ET , SOHO SQUARE.

MD CCCX L1H .

IF IT BE NOT SA CR ILEGE TO A SSOC IATE TH E N AME

fin QEmiuent W riter

W ITH TH E

TRAD ITIONAL POETRY OF OUR CH ILDHOOD ,

T H E FOLLOW ING COLLECT I ON

IS INSCRIBED,

A TRIFLINGMARK OF EST EEMAND FRIENDSH IP,

J . R . PLANCHE, ESQ .

PREFACE.

TH E first edi tion of thi s work was printed at the

close of the year 184 1 , wi th a vi ew onl y to a limi ted

circul ation among the members of the PERCY SOC IETY

but a demand for it, somewhat unusual when it is con

sidered that its appearance was never advert ised to the

public, has occasioned the present edi t ion, in whi ch it

is beli eved considerable improvement s as well as addi

tion s wi ll be found .

I t has been the Editor’ s principal obj ect to form as

genui ne a coll ection of the o ld vernacul ar rhymes of

the English nursery as he possibly coul d, wi thout ad

mitting any very modern composit ions, at least n one

belonging to the present century . I t may, perhaps , b e

di fficult t o prove the antiquity of all of them—in fact

viii PREFACE .

very few can be traced back even as far as the s ixteenth

century ; but there i s a peculi ar style in most of the

an cien t on es that coul d not very well be im itated without

dete ction by a practised ear .

Many of the most popul ar nursery rhymes are merely

fragments of o ld ball ads, and some of my readers will

probably detect more plagiarisms of this kind than I

have ye t been en abled to di scover . The subj ect i s a

trulv curious one, and it would perhaps occasion some

difficul ty to the most ingen ious theorist to form a co n

j ecture , that woul d account for the universal di ssemina

t ion of these strange scraps, and their t radi tion through

s everal cen turies .

An ingenious writer has lately endeavoured t o find

the “ original s” of our nursery rhymes in the ancien t

German language, and i f the odd s imilarities produced

by him in aid of his theory had been discovered in stead

of inven t ed, it would have formed an interest ing subj ect

for an t iquarian investigation . But as it is , I am afraid

Mr . Ker will rarely receive thanks for t reat ing s o bar

barously our dear o ld na mia certai nl y n o t from the

humble Edi tor, and those who w ith him regard with n o

very favorable eyes the attempts that have been made

PREFACE . ix

by Mrs . Child, and other American writers, to substitute

popular scien ce in that place in the educat ion of infan ts ,

whi ch these trul y English compositions have so long

occupied . I cannot help thi nking that harml ess and

euphonious n on sense may reasonably be considered a

more useful instrument in the hands of chil dren than

that overstrain ing of the in tellect in very early age,

which must unavoidably be the result of a more refined

system .

If the indulgence of the public should be so far ex

tended to my efforts in this very humble walk of

literature, as to enabl e me at some future period to

at t empt a more complete collection , I shall hOpe to

render the classification less Open to criticism than it i s

at present . Th e difficul ties of doing so in many cases

must be my apology and it is ev ident that the correct

nomenclature cannot always be obtain ed .

Should my readers remember any nursery rhymes not

inserted in this volume, or any different version s of those

here printed, and . co n fe r the gr eat favour of communi

cating them to me ,* they wil l be dul y and thankfully

D irected to me , care o fMr . J .R . Smi th , 4, Old Compto n Street,Soho Square, Lo ndo n .

PREFACE .

acknowl edged . On a former occasion I had to acknow

ledge my obli gations to S ir E . F . BROMH EAD , Bart . ,

and WI LL IAM HENRY BLACK , Esq . I have n ow to

add my best thanks to R . S . SHARPE , Esq . , WI LL IAM

CHAPPELL, E sq . , and E . F . RIMBAULT , Esq . ,for a

few interesting contribution s .

J . O . HALLIWELL .

I O .

CONTENTS.

H I STOR I CAL

TALE S

JINGLE S

RID D LE S

PROV ERBS

LULLAB IE S

CHARMS .

GAM ES

PARAD OX E S

L ITERAL

SCHOLA ST I C

CUSTOMS

xii CONTENTS .

SONGS

FRAGMENTS

TRAN SLAT I ON S

APPE N D Ix

NOTES

IN D EX

NURSERY RHYME S.

FIRST CLASS H ISTORICAL .

[TE E tradi tio na l Nursery Rhymes o f England commence w ith alegendary sat ire o n King Co le, who re igned in B rita in, as the o ld

chro n icles info rm us , in the third cen tury after Christ . Acco rd ingto Robert o f G loucester, he was the father o f St. Helena, and i f so ,But ler must be w ro ng in ascribing an o bscure o rigin to the celebra ied mo ther o f Constan tine . King Co le w as a brave and po pularman in his day, and ascended the thro ne o f B rita in o n the death o fAscle piod, amidst the acclama t io ns o f the peo p le, o r as Ro bert o fG loucester expresses himself, the fo lc w as tho o f this lo nd y-pa idw e l y

-nou .” The fo llow ing curious metr ica l h is to ry o f King Co le

is taken from Robert o f G loucester ’

s Chro n icle, inMS. Co t to n .

Calig . , A . xi . fo l . 30

Co le was a nob le mo n, and gret po er adde an ho ndeErl he was o f Co lche stre , here in thisse lo nde,And Co lche stre a fter is name i -clupe d is ich unde rs to nde .

Ure lo verd, amo ng o ther thinge s , h im sende a va ir so nde,That he adde an h o l i doghte r at Co lche stre in this 10 nd,That Se int Eleyne is i-cluped, that the ho li ro de vo nd .

NURSERY RHYME S .

Bita ene ure k ing Asclepiod and th is e rl w i thoute fa i le,Ther w e r a gret w o rre , and tha t h i i smi te b ata ileAnd the e rl Co le s lou then k ing and, tho he adde thun o ver ho nd,King he l e t h im crowne n here o f th is Io nd.

That fo lo w as tho o f th is Io nd y-pa i d w e l y-nou,Tha t he adde y-w o nne the kinedom and he the o ther slou.

Th e tydinge to Rome come , tha t the kyng as lawe w as ,That h o rn adde i -do n so mo che ss ame, h i i were glad o f that cas .The no b le prince hi i sende h ider the go de kn igh t Co stance ,That w an hom a l le po er o f Spaine and ak o f France.Th at he ss o lde ek t h is 10 nd w inne agen to Rome,So that thi s no b le prince and is me n h ider come.Tho the k ing Co le i t under ge t , he dradde in is mod,V o r he w a s s o no b le kn igh t tha t no mo n himme w iths to dT o h im he sende o f aco rd , gif i t were is w i lle ,That he w o lde to Rome abuye and lete al co ntek be st ille ;And under he re is truage , o ther dude b iv o re ,V o r w a t he hu lde the kinedom w anne the truage w ere y -bo re ,C o n s tance i t graun te de and nom is truage ,

And nom a lso to be s iker o f him go o d o s tage ,And graunte d him tha t k ine dom and tha t pe s o f Rome ,

And b i le ve de in th is Io nd to -gadere bo the i -some.

A mouthe i t w as the ra fte r that Co le w e l s ik lay,And deals , as God i t w o lde, w i thinne the e igh te the day .

I find a ls o ano ther h isto ry o f K ing Co le in the Chro n icle o f

Brute ,MS . Harl . 4690 , fo l . 1 1 , as fo llow s Thenne re igned th isAsclepade s in pees, fl

'

o r tha tt o o n o f h is erles tha t h ight Co le madea fa rm tow ne aycns te the kingge s w i lle, and cleped that towneC o le che s te r by h is name ; w e re fo re the k ing w as w ro the, and w o ldhave des troyed the erle, and beganne to w erre, and had gretes tre ngthe , and ga ff bate i lle to the erle : butte the erle defended himmyghtly w ith his pow er, and slowghe the k ing h imself in the batai le ;a nd tha nne w as Co el y-crowned k ing o f th is lo nde, and he re igneda nd governed the ream nobe ly, and was a go de man and welbelo ved among the Bryto nn e s. Whe nne the i o f Rome herden thatAscle pade s w as y-sleye , they w ere w onderly glad, and senten ano ther

H I STOR ICAL . 3

grete prince o f the Romayne s , the whiche hete Constance, andcome to the King Co le to chale nge his trewage thatt was w o ne d to

paie dd to Rome. But the k ing answ e ryd and seid thatt re sounw o lde and right, and so the i acco rde denne w itho ute conte kke , anddwe llede nne togede r w i th fl

'

rye nschippe . And thenne the kynggafi

'

to this Co ns tance his daughter E lyna to wyfe , fo r she was fayreand w yse, and w el l y- le ttred ; and thanne this Co nstance weddedhe r W i th grete w o rsch ipp. Than ano ne a fter tha t, Co le dyghed inthe xi i i . yere o f h is re ign e , and is en t ier entered atte Co lches ter.”

At Co lches ter there is a large earth -w o rk , suppo sed to have been a

Roman amph i thea tre, wh ich go es po pularly by the name o f KingCOIe ’

s k itchen .

” Acco rding to Jeffery o f Monmouth , King C o le’sdaugh ter w as w ell sk il led in mus ic, but we. un fo rtuna tely have noevidence to show that he r father w as a ttached to that science,further than w ha t is co n ta ined in the fo l low ing l ines, which are o f

doubtful an t iqu ity . The song w as very po pular a cen tury ago , andmay be fo und in Gay ’s ba l lad Opera o f Ach i lle s , pr inted in 1733 ,

and o ther s imi lar pieces . I may ment io n a ls o that in Lew is ’s“ H is to ry o f Grea t B rita in,” fo l . Lo nd . 1729 , three kings o f

Britain o f the same name are. men t io ned .]

OLD King Cole

Was a merry o ld soul,

And a merry o ld soul was he ;He called for hi s pipe,And he call ed for hi s bowl,And he called for his fiddl e rs three .

Every fiddl er, he had a fin e fiddle,

And a very fin e fiddl e had he

Twee tweedl e dee, tweedl e dee, went the fiddlers .

Oh, there’

s none so rare,As can compare

With King Cole and his fiddl ers three l

4 NURSERY RHYME S .

I I .

WH EN good king Arthur rul ed this land,He was a goodly king ;

He s tole three pecks of barley-meal ,To make a bag-puddi ng .

A bag-pudding the king did make,And stuff

"

d it well wi th plums

And in it put great lumps of fat,As big as my two thumbs .

The king and queen did e at thereof,And noblemen beside ;

And what they coul d not eat that night,

The queen next morning fried .

[The fo llow ing so ng, relating to Ro bin Ho o d, the celebratedo utlaw , is wel l known at Wo rkso p , in No tt inghamsh ire, w here itco nst itutes o ne o f the nursery ser ies .]

ROB IN HOOD , Robin Hood,Is in the mickle wood !

Little John, Little John ,

He to the town is gone .

Oi

H I STOR I CAL .

Robin Hood, Robin Hood,Is tell ing his beads ,

All in the green wood,Among the green weeds .

Little John, Little John,If he comes no more,

Robin Hood, Robin Hood,He will fret full sore

[St. Hugh o f L inco ln, a chi ld’

s bal lad. From Godalming In Surrey.]

HE tossed the ball so hi gh, so hi gh,He t ossed the ball so low ;

He tossed the ball in the Jews’ garden,And the Jews were all below .

Oh ! then out came the Jew’ s daughter,She was dr essed all in green ;

Come hi ther, come hither, my sweet pretty

And fetch your ball again .

6 NURSERY RHYME S .

V.

[The o rigina l o f The house that Jack bui lt” is presumed to bea hymn in Sephe r Hagga i/ah . fo l . 23 , a translat io n o f w h ich is heregiven . The his tor ica l interpretat io n was first given by P . N .

Leberecht, at Lei ps ic in 173 1 , and is prin ted in the “ Christ ianReformer,” vo l. xvi i . p . 28 . The o rigina l is in the Cha ldeelanguage, and i t may be ment io ned that a very fine Hebrewmanuscri pt o f the fab le, w ith i l luminat io ns , is in the po ssess io n o f

Geo rge O il'o r, Esq. o f Hackney.]

1 . A hid, a hid, my father bought

For two pieces of money

A kid, a kid .

2 . Then came the ca t, and ate the kid

That my father bought


A kid, a kid .

Then came the dog , and bit the cat,That ate the kid,That my father bought


A kid, a kid .

Then came the s taf , and beat the dog,That bit the cat ,That ate the kid,That my father bought


A kid, a kid .

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NURSERY RHYM E S .

That quenched the fire ,That burned the staff,That beat the dog,That bit the cat,That ate the kid,That my father bought


A kid, a kid .

9 Then came the ang e l of dea thandkill ed the butcher,That slew the ox,That drank the water,That quenched the fire,That burned the staff,That beat the dog,That bit the cat,That ate the kid,That my father bought


A kid, a kid .

10 . Then came the H o ly One, blessed

And kil led the angel of death,That kill ed the butcher

,

That slew the ox,

That drank the water,

That quenched the fire,

That burned the staff,That beat the dog,

H I STORICAL . 9

That bit the cat,That ate the kid,That my father bought

For two piece s of mon ey

A kid, a kid .

The fo llow ing is the interpretat ion1 . The k id , w h ich w as o ne o f the pure an imals , deno tes the

Hebrew s .The father, by w hom i t w as purchased , is Jeho vah, who re

presents himself a s susta in ing this rela t io n to the Hebrew nat io n.

The two pieces o f money signify Mo ses and Aaro n , thro ugh w ho semedia t io n the Hebrew s w ere brough t out o f Egypt .2 . The cat deno tes the Assyrians, by w hom the te n tribes w ere

carried in to capt i vity.3 . The dog is symbo l ica l o f the Babylo n ians.4 . The sta ff s ign ifies the Pers ians .

5 . The fire indicates the Grecian emp ire under A lexander theGreat .6 . The w ater betokens the Roman, o r the fo urth o f the grea t

mo narchies to w ho se domin ion the Jew s w ere subj ecte d .7 . The o x i s a symbo l o f the Saracens

,who subdued Pa lest ine,

and brought i t under the cal i phate.8 . The butcher that k i lled the o x deno tes the crusaders, by

w hom the H o ly Land w as wrested o ut o f the hands o f the

Saracens .9 . The angel o f death si gn ifies the Turkish pow er, by which theland o f Pa lest ine was taken from the Franks, and to wh ich i t issti ll subj ect .10. The commencement o f the ten th s tanz a , is designed to sh ow

that God w i ll take s igna l vengeance o n the Turks , immedia telyafter w ho se overthrow the Jew s are to be resto red to the ir own

land, and l ive under the go vernment o f their lo ng-expected Mess iah.

IO NURSERY RHYMES .

[The fo llow ing vers ion o f a popular rhyme is in o ne o f Douce’sbo o ks . I co ns ider it to refer to the rebell ious t imes o f Richard I I .]MY father he di ed, I cannot tell how,

But he left me six horses to dr ive out my plough

With a w infiny lo ! wommy lo Jack S traw blazey boys !

Wimmy lo ! Wommy lo ! Wob, wob, wob '

MY father he died, but I can’ t tell you how,

He left me six horses to drive in my plough

With my wing wang waddl e oh,

Jack sing saddle oh,Blowsey boys bubble oh,Under the broom .

I sold my six horses and I bought me a cow,

I ’d fain have made a fortune, but did not know how

With my, &c .

I sold my Cow, and I bought me a calf ;I ’d fain have made a fortune, but lost the best half

With my, &c.

H I STOR I CAL . 1 1

I sold my calf, and I bought me a cat

A pretty thi ng she was, in my chimney corner sat

With my, &c .

I sold my cat, and bought me a mouse ;He carried fire in his tail , and burnt down my house .

With my, &c .

VI I I .

[The same so ng as the preceding, dictated by alady now l ivingin the Isle o fMan , but a far better vers io n ]

daddy is dead, but I can’ t tell

he left me six horses to foll ow

With my whim wham waddl e

Strim stram straddl e ho l

Bubbl e ho ! pretty boy,Over the brow .

I sold my six horses to b uy me a cow,

And wasn’ t that a pretty thing to follow the plough ?

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

With my, &c .

1 2 NURSERY RHYME S .

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 .

IX .

[The fo llow ing perhaps refers to Jo anna o f Cast i le, who vis i tedthe co urt o f Henry the Seventh , in the year

I had a little nut-tree, nothi ng woul d it bear

But a golden nutmeg and a silver pear ;The king of Spain’ s daughter came to vi sit me

,

And all for the sake ofmy little nut-tree .

X .

[There is an o ld pro verb w h ich says that a cat may loo k a t ak ing.” Whether the same adage appl ies equa l ly to a femal eso vere ign , and is referred to in the fo llow ing nursery so ng , o r

w hether i t al ludes to the glorio us Queen Bess, is now a ma tter o funcerta inty .]

PUSSY cat, pussy cat, where have you been ?

I ’ve been up to London to look at the Queen .

Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there ?

I frighten’

d a littl e mouse under the chair .

H I STOR ICAL .

XI .

TH E rose is red, the grass is green,Serve Queen Bess our noble queen !

Kitty the spinn er

Will sit down to dinner,And e at the leg of a frog

All good peopl e

Look over the steeple,And se e the cat play with the dog .

X I I .

[FromMS. Slo ane, 1489 , fo l . 19, wr itte n about the year 1600 .

Wright info rms me th is relates to events in the reign o f James

THERE was a monkey climbed up a tree, .

When he fell down, then down fell he .

There was a crow sat on a stone,Wh en he was gone, then was there one .

There was an old wi f e did e at an apple,Wh en she had e at two, she had eat a couple .

There was a horse going to the mi ll ,When he went on, he stood not still .

There was a butcher cut hi s thumb,Wh en it di d bleed, the blood. di d come .

13

14 NURSERY RHYMES .

There was a lackey ran a race,

When he ran fast, he ran apace .

There was a cobbler clowt ing shoon,When they were mended, they were done .

There was a chandl er making candl e,When he them stript, he did them handl e .

There was a navy went into Spain ,

Wh en it returned it came again .

XII I .

L ITTLE General Monk

Sat upon a t runk,Eating a crust of bread ;

There fell a ho t coal

And burnt in his clothes a hole,Now little General Monk i s dead .

Keep always from the fir e

If it catch your attire,You too

,like Monk, will be dead .


16 NURSERY RHYM ES .

XVI I .

[Taken fromMS. Do uce, 357, fo l . 124. Se e Echard ’s H isto ry o fEngland,” bo ok i i i. chap . l .]

SE E saw, sack-a-day ;Monmouth i s a pre t ie boy,Richmond i s an other,

Graft on is my onely joy,And why shoul d I these three de stroy,

To please a pious brother

XV I I I .

[Writ te n on o ccas ion o f the marriage o f Mary, the daughter o fJames Duke o f York , a fterwards James I I ., w ith the young Princeo f Orange. Se e the ent ire so ng in the next number, but the fo llow ing three l ines are tho se now appro pr iated to the nursery ]

WHAT i s the rhyme for p orring e r .

7

The king he had a daughter fair,And gave the Prince of Orange her .

H I STOR I CAL .

XIX .

[From Jaco bite M instrelsy,” l 2mo , G lasgow, 1828, p.

OH what’ s the rhyme to porringer ?

Ken ye the rhyme to porringer ?

King James the S eventh had ae daughter,And he gae her to an Oranger .

Ken ye how he requited him ?

Ken ye how he requi ted him ?

Th e lad has into England come,And ta’ en the crown in spite of him .

The dog, he shall na keep it long,To flinch we’ ll make him fain again ;We’ ll hi ng him high upon a tree

,

And James shall hae hi s ain again .

Ken ye the rhyme to grasshopper ?

Ken ye the rhym e to gras shopper ?

A hempen rein , and a horse 0 tree,A psalm book—and a presbyt er .

XX .

[The fo l low ing nursery song alludes to Wi ll iam I I I . andGeo rge, Prince o f Denmark .]

WILL IAM and Mary, George and Anne,Four such chil dren had never a man

They put their father to fli ght and shame,

And call ’d their brother a s hocking bad name .

18 NURSERY RHYMES .

XXI.

OV ER the water, and over the l e e ,And over the water to Charley .

Charley loves good al e and wine,And Charley loves good brandy,And Charley loves a pretty girl ,As sweet as sugar-candy .

XXI I .

BOBBY SH AFTO’

S gone to s e a,With silver buckl es at hi s knee ;He’ ll come home and marry me ,

Pret ty Bobby Shafto !

Bobby Shafto ’

s fat and fair,Combing down his yell ow hair

He’

s my love for evermore !

Pretty Bobby Shafto

H I STOR I CAL . 19

XXII I .

[The fo llow ing may po ss ibly a llude to King Geo rge and

the Pretender.]

JIMand George were two great lords ,They fought all in a churn

And when that Jim got George by the nose,Then George began to gern .

XXIV .

[The fo llow ing is a fragment o f a so ng o n the subj ect, w hich w asintroduced by Russell in the character o f Jerry Sneak .Mr. Sharpeshowed me a co py o f the song w ith the mus ic to it .]

POOR old Robinson Crusoe

Poor o ld Robinson Crusoe

They made him a coat ,Of an old nanny goat,I wonder how they could do

With a ring a ting tang,And a ring a ting tang,Poor o ld Robinson Crusoe !

20 NURSERY RHYMES .

XXV .

[ In a l i ttle tract, cal led The Pigge s Co ranto e , o r Newes fromthe No rth ,” 4to , Lo nd. 1642 , this is cal led O ld Tarlto n ’

s So ng.”

This fact is ment io ned inMr. Co l l ier’s H ist . Dram.Po e t.” vo l. i i .p . 352 , and also in the preface toMr. Wright ’s Po l itica l Ba llads ,”

prin ted fo r the Percy So ciety. I t is perhaps a paro dy o n the

po pular epigram o n Jack and J i l l . I do no t know the perio d o fthe battle to which it appears to al lude.]

TH E kin g of France went up the hi ll ,With twenty thousand men ;

The king of France came down the hill ,And ne’ er went up again .

XXVI .

[FromMS. Slo ane, 1489 , fo l. 19 , w ritten about the year

TH E king of France, and four thous and men,They drew their swords and put ’ em up again .

SECOND CLASS—TALES .

XXV I I .

THERE was an o ld 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

XXV I I I .

THERE was a man of Newington,And he was wondr ous wise,

He jump’

d into a qui ckset hedge,And scratched out both his eyes

But when he saw hi s eyes were out,With all hi s mi ght and main

He jump’

d into another hedge,And scratch’

d’ em in again .

N)

N)

NURSERY RHYME S .

XXIX .

WH EN I was a bachelor, I li ved by myself,An d all the bread and cheese I laid upon the shelf ;The rat s and the mi ce they made such a strif e,I w as forc’

d to go to London to buy me a wi fe ;The roads were so bad, and the lanes were so narrow,

I w as forced to bring my wi fe home in a wheelbarrow .

The wheelbarrow broke, and my wife had a fall

Deuce t ake the wheelbarrow, wife, and all .

ROW STY dowt, my fire’ s all out,

My lit tle dame i s not at home !

I’

ll saddl e my cock, and bridl e my hen ,

And fetch my little dame home again !

Home she came, trit ty trot,She asked for the porridge she left in the pot

Some She ate and some she shod,And some she gave to the truckler’ s dog

She took up the ladl e and kn ocked its head,And now poor Dapsy dog is dead


24 NURSERY RHYME S .

XXXII I.

I HAD a littl e dog, and hi s name was Blue Bell,I gave him some work, and he did it very well ;I sent him up stairs to pick up a pin,He st epped in the coal- scuttle up to the chin .

I sent him to the garden to pick some sage,He tumbled down and fell in a rage ;I s ent him to the cellar, to draw a pot of beer,He came up again and said there was none there .

XXXIV .

THERE was a little man,And he woo’d a little mai d,

And he said, little maid, w ill you wed, wed,I have littl e more to say,Than will you, ye a or nay,

For least sai d is soonest mended—ded,ded

,

The little maid replied,Some say a little sighed,

But what shal l 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,

TALES .

XXXV .

I HAD a little moppet,

I put it in my pocket,And fed it with corn and hay ;Then came a proud beggar,And swore he woul d have her

,

And stole little moppet away .

XXXV I.

TH ERE were two birds sat on a stone,Fa, la,la, la, lal , de

One flew away, and then there was one,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de ;

The other flew after, and then there was none,Fa, la, la, la, lal , de

And so the poor ston e was left all alone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de !

XXXVII.

THERE was a little Guinea-pig,Who, being little, was not big,He always walked upon his feet,And never fasted when he eat .


Wh en from a place he ran away,He never at that place di d stay

And whil e he ran, as I am told,He n e’ er stood still for young or o ld.

He often squeak’

d, and sometimes v i’

len t,

And when he squeak’

d he ne’er was silent

Though ne’ er instructed by a cat,He knew a mouse was not a rat .

On e day, as I am certified,He took a whim and fairly died

And, as I’m told by men of sense,

He never has been living since .

XXXV I I I .

D I D you not hear of Betty Pringle’ s pig 7

It was n o t very little, nor yet very big ;The pig sat down upon a dunghill ,And then poor piggy he made his wi ll .

Bet ty 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 .

TALES . 27

XXXIX .

THREE wise men of Gotham

Went to sea in a bowl

And if the bowl had been stronger,

My song woul d have been longe r.

[The fo llow ing was mo stfpro b ab ly taken from a po et ical tale inthe Choyce Po ems,” l 2mo , Lo nd . 1662 . As i t is a very po pularnursery song, I sha ll give the tale to which I a l lude in No . XL1.]

THREE children slidi ng on the ice,Upon a summer’ s day,

As it fell out, they a ll fell in,The re s t they ran away .

Now had these chil dren been at home,Or sliding on dry ground,

Ten thousand pounds to one penny,They had not al l been drown’ d .

You parents all that childr en have,And you that have got none ;

Ifyou would have them safe abroad,

Pray keep them safe at home .

28 NURSERY RHYMES .

XL I .

[From “ Ovid de Arte Amandi , & c. Engl ished, together w ithCho ice Po ems, and rare Pieces o f Dro llery.”

COME Christian people, a ll give e ar

Unto the grief of us,Caused by the death of three children dear

The which it hap’

n ed thus .

And eke there b e fel an accident,By faul t of a carpenter’ s son,

Wh o to saw chi ps his sharp axe lent,W0 wo e th the time may Lon

May Lon don say, wo w o e th the carpenter,And all such block-head fools,

Would he were hang’

d up like a serpent here,For j esting with edge- tools .

For into the chips there fell a spark,

Which p ut 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 a s manyfishes fly,As birds therein doth breathe .

TALE S .

And yet the fire con sum’

d the bridge,

Not far from place of landi ng

And though the buildi ng was full big,It f e ll down not-with s tanding .

And eke into the water fell

So many pewter di shes,That a man might have taken up very

Both bo i l ’d and roas t ed fishes .

And that the bridg e of London town,For buil din g that was sumptuous

,

Was a ll by fire ha lf burnt down ,

For being too con tumpt ious

And thus you have al l but half my song,Pray list to what comes after ;

For now I have coo l’d you with thefire ,I’

ll wa rm you with the wa t e r .

I’

ll te ll you what the river’ s name i s ,Where these chil dr en 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,

’Tw as frozen o’ er, that well’ twould bear

Almost a country steeple .

29


Thre e childre n 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 theking,And with the king great wager makes

But when he saw he could not win ,

He se ight, and would have drawn stake s .

He said it would bear a man for to slide,And laid a hundr e d pound ;

The king said it would break, and so it di d,For three childr en there were drown’ d .

Ofwhich one’ s head was from his should

Ers stricken, wh ose 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 hi s speech decay

I wonder that in such a case

He had no more to say .

And thus being drown’ d, alack, alack,The water run down their throats,

And stopt their breath three hours by the clock,Before they could get any boats .


32 NUR SERY RHYM E S .

XL I I I .

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 .

XLIV.

I’

LL tell you a story,About Jack a Nory,

And now my story’ s begun

I’ll tell you another

About Jack his brother,And now my story’ s done .

XLV .

TH E man in the moon,Came tumbling down,

And ask’

d his way to Norwich .

He went by the south,And burnt hi s mouth,

With supping cold pease porridge .

TALES . 33

XLVI .

[The fo llow ing 15 quo ted in the so ng o fMad Tom. Se e my Introduct io n to Shakspe are

’

s M ids . N ight ’s Dream, p.

TH E man in the moon drinks claret,But he is a dull Jack-a-Dandy ;

Woul d he know a sheep’ s head from a carrot,He shoul d learn to dr ink cider and brandy .

XLVI I .

TOM, Tom, the piper’ s son,

Stole a pig, and away he run

The pig was eat, and Tom was beat ,And Tom went roaring down the street !

XLVI I I.

THERE was an o ld woman

Liv’

d under a hill ,She put a mouse in a bag,And sent it to mill

The mill er di d swear,By the point of his knife,

He never t ook toll

Of a mouse in hi s life !

NURSERY RHYM ES .

XL IX .

FOUR and twenty tail ors went to kill a snail ,The best man among them durst not touch her tail

She put out her horns like a l ittle kyloe cow,

Run, tail ors, run, or she’ll kill you all e’ en now .

JACK Sprat could eat no fat ,His wife coul d cat no lean

And so, betwixt them both, you see,They lick’

d the platter clean .

LITTLE Jack Jingl e,He used to live singl

But when he got tired of this kind of life,He left o ff being single, and liv

’

d with his

TALES . 35

[The last verse o f the fo llow ing song is popular in o ur nurse rie

and mus t be o f great ant iquity, as i t is a lluded to inMS . Lansd.

76 2 , in a po em o f the t ime o f Henry VI I . Se e Rel iquiae Antique ,

vo l. i . p .

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 se a

They’ re t en times more precarious,Than a winter or summer’ s day !

Wh en first you begin to cour t 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 al tered then ;

For you wi ll find, my friend,They can le t loose their tongues

Now Aristotle chose

A most commodi ous wife,

As ever was in this land, sir,A partner for hi s lif e ;


But soon he found out’Twas all a hum,

You must not stay to pick them,

But take them as they come

Blank or priz e ’ tis all a chance,Shut your eyes and then advance

Whiche ’ er you teach b e pleased at once ,For you must pay, le t who will dance .

There was a victim in a cart,One day for t o b e hung :

And hi s reprieve was granted,And the cart was made to stand

Come marry a wi fet

and save your life !”

The judge alouddid cry .

Oh why should I corrupt my li fe

The victim did reply :

For here’ s a crowd of every sort,And why shoul d I prevent the sport ?

The bargain’ s bad in every part

The wife’ s the worst drive on the cart l”

TALE S .

LI I] .

TH E lion and the unicorn,Were fighting for the crown

The lion beat the unicorn,All round about the town .

Some gave him whi te bread,And some gave him brown

Some gave him plum cake,And sent him out of town .

DOCTOR Faustu s was a good man

He whi pt hi s scholars now and then

When he whipp’

d them he made them dance

Out of Scotland into France,Out of France into Spain,And then he whipp

’

d them back again

LV .

L ITTLE Miss Mopsey,Sat in the shopsey,Eating of curds and whey

There came a little spider,Who sat down beside her

,

And frightened Miss Mopsey away

37

38 NURSERY RHYMES .

LVI .

TOMmarried a wife on Sunday,Beat her well on Monday,Bad was she on Tuesday,Middling was she on Wednesday,Worse was She on Thursday,Dead was she on Friday ;Glad was Tom on Saturday night,To bury his wif e on Sunday .

LVI I

SOLOMON GRUNDY,Born on Monday,Christened on Tuesday

,

Married on Wednesday,

Took il l on Thursday,Worse on Friday,Died on Saturday,Buried on Sunday ;This is the end

Of Solomon Grundy .



The fox when he came to yonder stil e,He li fted his lugs and he listened a whil e !

Oh, ho ! said the fox, it’ s but a short mil e

From this unto yonder w e e town, e -oh !

The fox when he came to the farmer’ s gate,

Who shoul d he see but the farmer’ s drake ;I love you well for your master’ s sake,And long to be picking your bone, e - oh !

Th e grey goose she ran round the haystack,Oh

,ho said the fox, you are very fat ;

You’ ll greas e my beard and ride on my back,From this into yonder wee town, e -oh !

The farmer’ s wife she jump’

d out of bed,And out of the Wi ndow she popped her head !

Oh, husband ! oh, husband ! the geese are all dead,For the fox has been through the town, e - oh

The farmer he loaded his pistol with lead,And shot the old rogue of a fox through the head ;Ah, ha, said the farmer, I think you

’ re quite dead ;And no more you’ll trouble the town, e -oh !

LX I .

[The Song o f the Fa lse Fox ,” printed from aMS. at Cambridge,o f the fifteenth century in Reliqui ae An tiqu es , vo l . i , p . 4, i s heregiven on account o f its s imi larity to the preced ing so ng.]

TH E fal s fox camme un to owre croft,And so our e gese ful fast he sought ;

With how, fox, how ! With hey, fox, hey

Comme no more unto our e howse to bere owre

gese aw eye .

The fals fox camme unto oure stye,And toke oure gese there by and by

With how,&c.

The fal s fox camme into oure yerde ,And there he made the gese af erde ;

With how, &c.

The fal s fox camme unto oure gate,And toke our gese there were they sate

With how, &c .

The fals fox cam e to owr e hall e dore,And shrove oure gese there in the flore ;

With how, &c .

The fal s fox cam e into oure hal le,And as soyled oure gese both grete and small ;

With how, &c.


The fals fox camme ufit o oure cowp e,And there he made our gese to stowp e

With how, &c .

He toke a gose fast by the neck,And the goos e thoo begann to quek

With how, &c .

The good wyfe camme out in her smok,

And at the fox she threw hir rok ;With how, &c .

The good mann cam e out with hi s flayle ,And smot e the fox upon the tayle ;

With how,&c .

He threw a gose upon hi s bak,And furth he went thoo wi th his pak ;

With how,&c .

The good man swore, yf that he myght ,He wolde hym slee or it were nyght ;

With how,&c .

The fals fox went into hi s denne,And there he was ful l mery thenne ;

With how,

He camme agene the next wek,

And toke aw ey both henne and chek ;With how, &c .

TALE S .

The good man saide unto his wyf e ,This fal s fox lyv e th a mery lyf e

With how, &c.

The fal s fox camme uppon a day,And with oure gese he made a ffray ;

With how, &c.

He toke a gose fast by the nek,And made her to sey wheccumquek

With how, &c .

I pray the , fox, sai d the goose thoo,Take of my fe thers, but not of my to .

With how,&c .

LXII .

THERE was an Old man, who lived in a wood,As you may plainly se e

He said he could do as much work in a day,As his wife coul d do in thr ee .

With all my heart, the o ld woman said,If that you will allow,

To-morrow you’ ll stay at home in my stead,And I ’ll go drive the plough .

43

44 NURSERY RHYMES .

But you must milk the Tidy cow,

For fear that she go dry ;And you must feed the little pigs

That are wi thin the styAnd you must mind the speckl ed hen,

For fear she lay away

And you must reel the spool of yarn

That I spun yesterday .

The o ld woman took a staff in her hand,And went to drive the plough ;

Th e old man took a pail in hi s hand,And went to milk the cow

But Ti dy hin ched, and Tidy flin ched,And Ti dy broke hi s nose,

And Tidy gave him such a blow,

That the blood ran down to his toes

High ! Ti dy ! Ho ! Tidy ! high !

Tidy ! do stan d st ill ,If ever I milk you, Ti dy, again,

’Twill be sore again st my will !

He went to feed the little pigs,That were within the s ty ;

He hit hi s head again st the beam,

And he made the blood to fly.

He went to mi nd the speckl ed hen,For fear she’ d lay astray

And he forgot the spool of yarn

His wife spun yesterday .

TALE S . 45

So he swore by the sun, the moon, and the stars,And the green leaves on the tree,

If hi swif e didn ’ t do a day’ s work in her lif e,She shoul d ne’ er be rul ’d by he .

LXII I .

THERE was a man in our toone, in our toone, in our

toone,There was a man in our toone , and hi s name was Billy

Pod ;And he played upon an old razor, an old razor, an o ld

razor,And he played upon an old razor, with my fiddl e fiddl e

fe fum f o .

And his hat it was made of the good roast beef, the

good roast beef, &c.

And his hat it was made of the good roast beef, and hi s

name was Billy Pod ;And he played upon an o ld razor, &c. &c.

And his coat it was made of the good fat tripe,the

good fat tripe, the good fat tripe,And hi s coat it was made of the good fat tripe , and his

name was Billy Pod ;And he played upon an o ld razor, &c.


And his breeks they were made of the bawbie baps,the b awb ie baps, &c.

And his breeks they were made of the b awb ie baps, and

his name was Billy Pod

And he played upon an o ld razor, &c .

And there was a man in tither toone, in tither toone,in tither toone,

And there was a man in tither toone, and his name was

Edrin Drum ;And he played upon an o ld laadle , an o ld laadl e , an o ld

laadl e ,

And he played upon an o ld laadle , with my fiddle

fiddle fe fum fo .

And he eat up all the good roast beef, the good roast

beef, &c . &c.

And he e at up all the good fat tripe, the good fat

t ripe, &c. &c .

And he e at up all the bawpie baps, &c. and his name

was Edr in Drum .



LXVI.

LUCY LOCK ET lost her pocket,Kitty Fisher found it ;

But the devil a penny was there

Except the bindin g round it .

LXVI I .

JACK and Jill went up the

To fetch a pail of wat er

Jack fell down, and broke hi s crown,And Jill came tumbli ng aft er .

LXVI I I .

SAYS Aaron to Moses,Let’ s cut o ff our noses

Says Moses to Aaron,’Tis the fashion to wear

LXIX .

SAYS Moses to Aaron,That fell ow’

s a swearing

Says Aaron to Mos es,He ’ s drunk I supposes .

TALES .

AARON said unto Moses,Let’ s sit down and fuddl e our noses, *

Then said Mos es un to Aaron,

’Twill do us more harm than you’ re aware on,

49

So lend us your tobacco-box, for I’

v e got ne’ er a one .

LXXL

BESSY BELL andMary Gray,They were two bonnie lasses

They buil t their house upon the

And covered it with rushes .

Bessy kept the garden gate,And Mary kept the pantry

Bessy always had to wait,While Mary lived in plenty .

Se e a s imi lar l ine in Ri tson’

s No rthern Garlands, Svo ,


LXXII .

MY lady Wind, my lady Wind,Went round about the house to find

A chink to get her foot in

She tried the key-hol e in the door,

She tried the crevice in the floor,

And drove the chimney soot in .

And then one night when i t was dark,

She blew up such a tiny spark,That all the house was pothered

From it She rais’

d up such a flame,As flamed away to Belting Lane,And White Cross folks were smothered .

And thus when once, my little dears,A whisper reaches itching ears,The same will come, you

’

ll find

Take my advi ce, restrain the tongue,Remember what old nurse has sung

Of busy lady Wind !

TALES .

LXXI I I .

UP street and down street,Each wi ndow’ s made of glass

If you go to Tommy Tickler’ s house,You’ ll find a pretty lass

Hug her and kiss her,

And take her on your'

knee ;And whisper very close,Darling girl, do you love me 7

LXX IV .

ROB IN the Bobbin, the big-belli ed Ben,He eat more meat than four score men ;He eat a cow, he eat a calf,He eat a butcher and a half ;He eat a chur ch, he eat a steeple,He e at the priest and all the people

LXXV .

PEG, Peg, with a wooden leg,Her father was a mi ller

He tossed the dumpling at her head,And said he coul d not ki ll her.


LXXVI .

[The ta le o f Jack H orner has lo ng been appro priated to the

nursery. The fo ur l ines w h ich fo llow are the tradit io na l o nes ,a nd they fo rm part o f “ The p leasant H is to ry o f Jack H o rner,co ntain ing h is w itty Tricks and pleasan t Pranks , w h ich he pla iedfrom h is Yo uth to his r iper Years , l 2mo ; a co py o f w hich is in theBo d leian L ibrary. I have repr inted i t a t the e nd o f this vo lume.]

L ITTLE Jack Horner sat in the corner,Eating a Christmas pie

He put in hi s thumb , and he took out a plum,

And said,

“What a good boy am I !”

LXXV I I .

[This nursery so ng may pro bab ly commemo rate a part o f TomThumb ’s histo ry, extant in a l i ttle Dan ish w o rk , treat ing o f

Swa in Toml ing, a man n o bigger than a thumb, who w ould bema rried to a w oman three ells and three quarters lo ng.” Se eMr. Thoms ’ Preface to Tom a L inco ln ,” p . xi .]

I HAD a little husband,No bigger than my thumb

I put'

him in a pint pot,And there I bade him drum

I bridled him, and saddl ed 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 .

TALE S . 53

LXXVI I I.

THERE was an o ld woman who lived in a shoe,

She had so many chil dren she di dn ’ t know what to do

She gave them some broth without any bread,

She whipped them all well and put them to bed .

LXXIX .

[Ano ther vers io n, from Infant Ins t itutes,” 8vo , Lo n . 1797 p . 3 1

THERE was an o ld woman, and she liv’

d in a shoe,She had so many chil dren , she didn

’ t know what to do

She crumm’

d’

em some porridge without any bread,And she borrow’ d a beetle, and she kno ck’

d’

em all

0’

th’ head .

[The fo l low ing Is a Sco tch vers io n o f the same so ng. The concluding stanz as appear to be bo rrowed from Mo ther Hubbard.

THERE was a wee bit wifie ,Who l ived in a shoe

She had so many bairns,She kenn’ d na what to do .

54 NURSERY RHYM ES .

She gaed to the market

To buy a sheep-head

Wh en she came back

They were a’ lyi ng dead .

She went to the wri ght

To get them a coffin

When she came back

They were a’ lying laughing .

She gaed up the s tair,To ring the bell

The bell -rope broke,And down she fell .

LXXX ] .

As I went over the water,The water wen t over me,

I heard an o ld woman crying,Will you buy some furmity

LXXX I I .

TAFFY was a Welchman, Taffy was a thief

Taffy came to my house, and stol e a piece of beef

I went to Taffy’ s house, Taffy was not at home

Taffy came to my house, and stole a marrow-bone .


56 NURSERY RHYMES .

LXXXV .

TH E carrion crow, he sat upon an oak,And he call ed the tail or a cheating folk

Sing heigho, the carrion crow,

Fo l de ro l, de ro l, de rol , de rhino .

Wife, fetch me my good strong b ow,

That I may kill the carrion crow .

Sin g heigho, &c.

The tailor shot, and missed his mark,And shot the o ld sow through the heart .

Sing heigho,”&c.

LXXXVI .

[Ano ther vers io n.]

A carrion crow sat on an oak,Watching a tailor shape his cloak

Wife, said he, bring me my bow,

That I may shoot you carrion crow .

The tailor shot andmi ss’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 .

TALES . O i

LXXXVI I .

[Ano ther vers ion fromMS. Slo ane , 1489, fo l . 17 , written abo utthe year

H I C hoc, the carrion crow,

Fo r I ’ve shot somethi ng too low

I have qui te missed my mark,And shot the poor sow to the heart ;Wife, bring treacle in a spoon ,

Or else the poor sow’ s heart wi ll down .

LXXXVI I I .

THERE was an o ld woman sat spinn ing,

And that’ s the first beginning

She had a calf,And that’ s half ;She took it by the ta il,And threw it over the wall ,And that’ s all .

LXXXIX .

SOME l ittle mice sat in a barn to spin

Pussy came by, and she popped her head in

Shall I come in, and cut your threads o ff ?

Oh ! no,kind sir, you will snap our heads o ff ?

3 §


XC .

THREE blind mice, see how they runThey all ran after the farmer’ s wi fe,Who cut off their tail s with the carving-knife ,Did you ever se e such fools in your life

Three blind mice .

XC I .

ST . DUNSTAN, as the story goes,Once pulled the devil by the nose ,With red-hot tongs, which made him roar,That he was heard ten mil es or more .

XC I I .

As I was walking o’ er littleMo orfie lds ,I saw St . Paul ’ s a running on wheels,

With a fee, f o , fum .

Then for further frolics I ’ ll go to France,

Whil e Jack shall sing and his wi fe shall dance,With a fee, fo , f um .

TALE S .

XCI I I .

[FromWo rcestersh ire.]

TH ERE was a littl e nobby colt,His name was Nobby Grey ;His head was made of pouce straw,

His tail was made of hay ;He could ramble, he coul d t rot,He could carry a mustard-po t ,Round the town of Woodstock .

XC IV.

TOMMY TROT, a man of law ,

Sold his bed and lay upon straw

Sold the straw and slept on grass ,To buy his wif e a looking-glass .

XCV .

THERE was a ladylov’d a swine,

Honey, quoth she,Pig, Hog, wil t thou b e mine

Ho ogh, quoth b e .

I’

ll build thee a silver sty,Honey, quoth she ;

And in it thou shalt lie

Hoogh, quoth he .

59

60 NURSERY RHYM E S .

Pinn’

d wi th a silver pin,Honey, quoth she ;

That you may go out and in

Hoogh, quoth he .

Wil t thou have me now,

Honey ? quoth she ;

Hoogh, hoogh, hoogh, quoth he ,And went his way .

XCVI .

TH ERE was an o ld woman, as I’ve heard tell ,

She went to market her eggs for to sell ;She went to market all on a market- day .

And she fell asleep on the king’ s hi ghway .

There came by a pedl ar whose name was Stout ,He cut her petticoats all roun d about

He cut her petticoats up t o the knees,W hich made the o ld woman to shi ver and freeze .

When this lit tle woman first did wake,She began to shiver and she began to shake,She began to wonder and she began to cry,Lauk a mercy on me, this is none of I

TALES . 61

But if it be I, as I do hope it b e ,I’ve a li ttle dog at home, and he

’

ll know me ;If it be I

,he’ ll wag his little tail ,

And if it be not I, he’

ll loudly bark and wail !”

Home went the little woman all in the dark,Up got the li ttle dog, and he began t o bark ;He began to bark, so she began to cry,Lauk a mercy on me, this i s none of I !

”

XCVI I .

L ITTLE Jack Dandy-prat was my first sui tor ;He had a di sh and a spoon, and he

’ d some pewter ;He’ d li n en and wooll en, and wooll en and lin en

A little pig in a string cost him five shill ing .

XcV I l I .

L ITTLE Mary E ster,Sat -upon a tester,

Eating of curds and whey ;There came a l ittle spider,And sat him down beside her,

And frightened Mary Es ter away .


XC IX .

[This nursery rhyme is quo ted in Beaumont and F letcher’

Ro nduce ,” Act v. so . 2 . I t is pro bab le also that Sir To by a l ludesto this song in “ Tw elfth N ight,” Act i i . so. 3 , when he says ,Come o n ; there is Sixpence fo r you ; let ’s have a so ng.”

S ING a song of Sixpence,A bag full of rye

Four and twenty blackbirds

Baked in a pie

When the pie was open’

d,

The birds began to sing ;Was not that a dainty dish

To set before the king ?

The king was in his counting-house

Counting out hi s money ;The queen was in the parlour

Eating bread and honey ;

The maid was in the garden

Hanging out the clothes,There came a little blackbird,And snapt o ff her nose .

Jenny was so mad,She di dn’ t know what to do ;

She put her finger in her ear,And crackt it right in two .


64 NURSERY RHYMES .

C I I I .

[Ano ther vers ion .]

JENNY WREN fell sick

Upon a merry time

In came Robin Red-breast,And brought her sops and

Eat well of the Sop, Jenny,Drink well of the wine

Thank you, Robin, kindly,You shall be mine .

Jenny, she got well,And stood upon her feet,

And t old Robin plainly,She lov ’

d him not a b it .

Robin being angry,Hopped on a twig,

Sayi ng, out upon you,Fy upon you, bold fac

’d j ig !

TALES .65

TH E STORY OF CATSK IN .

[As related by an o ld nurse, aged eighty-o ne . The sto ry is o f

o r ienta l o r igin ; but the so ng, as reci ted , w as so very imperfect ,that a few necessary additio ns and a l tera tions have been made.]

THERE once was a gentleman grand,Wh o lived at his country- s eat

He wanted an heir to hi s land,For he’ d nothing but daughters yet .

His lady’ s again in the way,So she sai d to her husband with j oy ;I hope some or other fin e day,To present you, my dear, with a boy .

The gentlemen answered grufl‘

,

If’ t shoul d turn o ut a maid or a mous e,For of both we have more than enough,She shan’ t stay to li ve in my house .”

The lady at this declaration,Almost fainted away with pain

But what was her sad con sternation,When a swee t little girl came again !

66 NURSERY RHYMES .

She sent her away to b e nurs ’d,Without seeing her gruff papa ;

And when she was o ld en ough,To a school she was packed away .

Fifteen summers are fled,Now she left goodMrs . Jervis

To see home she was forbid,She determined t o go and seek service .

Her dr esses so grand and so gay,She carefully roll ed in a kn ob

Which she hid in a forest away,And put on a Catskin robe .

She kno ck ’

d at a castle gate,And pray’ d for charity ;

They sent her some meat on a plate,And kept her a scullion to be .

My lady look’

d long in her face,And prais

’

d her great beauty ;I ’m sorry I ’ve no better place,And you must our scull ion be .

So Catskin was under the cook,A very sad life she led,

For often a ladl e she took,And broke poor Catskin’ s head .

TALES . 67

There is now a grand ball to be ,When ladies their beauties show ;Mrs . Cook,

” said Catskin, “ dear

How much I should like to go .

”

You go with your Catskin-rob e,You dirty impudent slut !

Among the fin e ladi es and lords ,A very fine figure you’d cut !”

A basin of water she took,And dash’

d in poor Catskin’ s face

But briskly her ears she shook,And went t o her hi ding place .

She washed every stain from her skin

In some crystal waterfall

Then put on a beautiful dres s,And hast ed away to the ball .

Wh en she entered,the ladies were mute ,

Overcome by her figure and face

But the lord, her young master, at once

Fell in love with her beauty and grace

He pray’

d her his partner to be,She said, “ Yes,

” with a sweet smiling glance

All night with no other lady

But Catskin, our young lord would dance .


Pray tell me, fair maid, where you live,For now was the sad parting time

But she no other an swer would give,

Than thi s dist ich of mystical rhyme,

Rinh sir, if the truth Itmust tell ,fi t the Sign o f the i fiasin o f W ater ll b ia tll .

Then She flew from the ball -room, and put

On her Catskin robe again

And sl ipt in unseen by the cook,

Who li ttle thought where she had been .

The young lord the very next day,To hi s mother his passion betray’d,

And declared he never would rest,Till he’d found out his beautiful maid !

There’ s another grand ball to be,Where ladies their beauty show ;Mrs . Cook,

” sai d Catskin , dear me,How much I shoul d lik e to go .”

You go with your Catskin robe,

You dirty, impuden t slut !

Among the fine ladies and lords,

A very fin e figure you’ d cut !”

In a rage the ladl e she took,And broke poor Catskin’ s head

But o ff she went shaking her ears,And swift to her forest she fled .

TALES .

She washed every blood stain o ff ,

In some crystal waterfallPut on a more beautiful dress ,And hasted away to the ball .

My lord at the ball -room door,Was waiting with pl easure and pain ;

He longed to see nothing so much,As the beautiful Catskin again .

When he asked her to dance, she agai n

Said Ye s,” with her first smili ng glance

And again all the night my young lord, ’With none but fair Catskin did dance

Pray tell me, said he, where you live

For now ’ twas the parting time

But she no other an swer woul d give,Than this distich of mystical rhyme,

i3q air, if the truth ll must tell ,fi t the Sign o f the iBt oken ILaUIe Ii b tneII.

Then she flew from the ball , and put on

Her Catskin robe again ;And slipt in unseen by the cook,Who little thought where she had been .

My lord did again the next day,Declare to his mother his mind,

That he never more happy should be,Unless he hi s charmer should find .


Now another grand ball is to be,When ladies their beauty show

Mrs . Cook,” said Catskin

,dear me

,

How much I should like to go .

”

You go with your Catskin robe,

You impudent, dirty slut !

Among the fine ladies and lords,A very fine figur e you’d cut

In a fury she took the skimmer,And broke poor Catskin’ s head !

But heart-whole and lively as ever,Away to her forest she fled !

She washed the stains of blood,In some crystal waterfall

Then put on her most beautiful dress,And hasted away to the ball .

My lord at the ball-room door,Was waiting with pleasure and pain ;

He longed to see nothing so much,As the beautiful Catskin again .

When he asked her to dance, she again

Said Ye s,” with her first smiling glance ;

And all the night long, my young lord

With none but fair Cat skin would dance !


NURSERY RHYM ES .

Then my lord got qui ckly well ,When he was his charmer to wed ;

And Catskin before a twelvemonth,Of a young lord was brought to bed .

To a way-faring woman and child,Lady Catskin o n e day sent an alms

The nurs e did the erran d, and carried

The sweet little lord in her arms .

The chil d gave the alms to the child,This was s een by the o ld lady mother ;On ly s e e ,

’said that wicked o ld woman,

How the beggars ’ brats take to each other I”

This throw went to Catskin’ s heart,She flung herself down on h erknees,

And pray’

d her young master and lord,To seek out her paren ts would please .

They set out in my lord’ s own coach,

And trav e ll ’d ; but n ought b e f e l ,Till they reach’

d the town hard by,

Where Catskin’ s father did dwell .

They put up at the head inn ,

Where Catskin was left alone ;But my lord wen t to try if her father,His natural child would own .

TALE S .

When folks are away, in short time

Wh at great al terations appear !

For the cold touch of death had all chill’d

The hearts of her sisters dear .

Her father repented too late,And the loss of his youngest b emoan ’

d ;

In his old and childless state,He his pride and cruelty own

’

d !

The o ld gentleman sat by the fire,And hardly looked up at my lord ;

He had no hopes of comfort ,A stranger could afford .

But my lord drew a chair close by,And said, in a feeli ng tone,Have you not, sir, a daughter, I pray,You never would see or own ?

The old man alarm’

d, cried aloud,A harden ed sinner am I !

I would give all my worldly goods,To see her before I di e !”

Then my lord brought hi s wif e and child,To their home and parent’ s face ;

Who fell down and thanks re turn ’

d

To God, for his mercy and grace !

73


The bells ringing up in the tower,Are sendin g a sound to the heart ;

There’ s a charm in the o ld church bell s,Which nothing in li f e can impart !

CV .

L ITTLE Robin Red-breast

Sat upon a rail ;Niddl e ne ddle went hi s head,Wiggle waggle went his tail .

CVI .

TH E cock’ s on the dunghill a blowing his horn ;The bull’ s in the barn a threshing of corn ;The mai ds in the meadows are making of hay ;The ducks in the river are swimming away .

CV I I .

[The ta le o f Simple Simo n fo rms o ne o f the chap-bo oks , butfo llow ing verses are tho se genera lly sung in the nursery.]

S IMPLE Simon met a pieman,Going to the fair

Says S imple Simon to the pieman,Let me taste your ware .”

TALE S .

Says the pieman to Simple S imon,Show me first your penny .

”

Says Simple Simon to the pieman,“ Indeed I have not any .

”

Simple S imon went to town,To buy a piece of meat :

He t ied it to hi s horse’ s tail ,To keep it clean and sweet .

S imple S imon wen t a fishi ng,For to catch a whale

All the water he had got

Was in his mother’ s pail .

S imple S imon went to look

If plums grew on a thistle ;He pricked his fingers very much,Which made poor Simon whistle .

CVI I I .

THERE was an o ld woman of Norwich,Who li ved upon nothi ng but porridge !

Parading the town,She turn ed cloak into gown ;

This thrifty o ld woman of Norwich .

75

76 NURSERY RHYMES .

C IX .

BARNABY BR IGHT he was a sharp cur ,

He always woul d bark if a mouse did but stir

But now he’ s grown o ld, and can no longer bark,He’ s condemn ’

d by the parson to be hang’

d by the clerk .

CX .

TH ERE was an o ld woman of Leeds ,Who spent all her time in good deeds

She worked for the poor,Till her fingers were sore,

This pious o ld woman of Leeds !

CX I .

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 .

TALE S . 77

She went to the baker’ s

To buy him some bread,But when she came back

Th e poor dog was dead .

She went t o the j oiner’ s

To buy him a coffin,Bu t when she came back

The po or dog was laughing.

*

She t ook a clean dish

To get him some tripe,But when she came back

He was smoking hi s pip e .

She went to the ale -house

To get him some beer,But when she came back

The dog sat in a chair .

She went t o the tavern

For whi te wi n e and red,But when she came back

The dog stood on hi s head .

Probab ly lofi ng or lofiin’

, to comp lete the rhyme. So in

Shakspe are’s“M ids. N ight’s D ream,

” Act i i . Sc. 1

And then the w ho le quire h o ld the ir hips, and lofi'

e .”

NURSERY RHYME S .

She wén t 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 frui terer’s

To buy him some fruit,But when she came back

He was playing the flute .

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 cobbler’ s

To buy him some shoes,But when she came back

He was readi ng the news .

She went to the sempstress

To buy him some linen,But when she came back

The dog was spinning .


80 NURSERY RHYMES .

Now Tom with hi s 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 .

”

Tom with his pipe did play with such skil l,

That those who heard him coul d never keep stil l ;Whenever they heard they began for to dance,Even pigs on their hi nd legs would after him prance .

As Doll y was milking her cow one day,Tom took out hi s pipe and began for to play ;So Doll and the cow danced “ the Cheshire round,Till the pail was broke and the mi lk ran on the ground .

He met o ld 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 j oke .

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 light ened full soon .

TALE S . 8 1

CXIV.

TH ERE was a lady all skin and bone,Sure such a lady was never known :

This lady went to church one day,She went to church all for to pray .

And when she came to the church stile,She sat her down to rest a littl e whi le

When she came to the churchyard,There the bell s so loud she heard .

When she came to the church door,She s topt to rest a little more

Wh en she came the church within,Th e parson pray

’

d’ gainst pride and sin .

On looking up, on looking down ,She saw a dead man on the ground

And from hi s nose unto hi s chi n ,

The worms crawl’d out, the worms craw l’

d

This l ine has been ado pted in the mo dern ba llad o f A lo nz oand the fa ir Imogene.” The vers i o n given above was o bta inedfrom

I

Linco lnshire , and d i ff e rs s lightly from the o ne in GammerGurton

’

s Garland ,”8vo . Lond. 1810, p . 29-30 .

8 2 NURSERY RHYM ES .

Then she unto the parson said,Shall I be so when I am dead ?

Oh ye s ! oh ye s ! the parson said,You will be so when you are dead .

CXV .

L ITTLE John Jiggy Jag,He rode a penny nag,And went to Wigan to woo

When he came to a beck,He fell and broke his neck,Johnny, how dost thou now

I made him a hat,Of my coat-lap,And stockings of pearly blue

A hat and a feather,To keep out cold weather ;So, Johnny, how dost thou now ?

TALES .

CXVI .

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 n ight I stole a horse,On Wednesday was apprehended,

On Thursday -I was tried and cast,And on Friday I was hanged .

CXVI I .

L ITTLE Tom Trigger,Before he was bigger,Thought he would go out with his

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

83


He shot at a cat,That had caught a rat,And hi t 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 b are ,The people did stare ,Says he , I

’

ll hav e you for my dinn er ;It being almost dark,He missed hi s 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 t o run,Al l over the ploughed land .

Unhappy was his lo t ,Into a hedge he got,The man came behind to beat

Tom cannot get through,Hehad the man in view,

But he contrived to cheat him .

TALE S .

A house was in the val e,And Margery sold ale ,Says he, I

’

ll have some bee r ;Soon it will be night

,

And not a bit of light,My roundabout way home to che er .

A sow in the sty,As Tommy came by,Was call ing her pigs to repose ;Says Tom, I love fun ,And at the pigs di d run;But fell down and hurt hi s 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 woul d no longer roam,

And hi s mother began to

Now he plays at taw,

Sometimes at se e - saw,

And i s not quite so bold .

85


Tom and hi s 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 brin g the ball back to his master .

He got up a tree,As hi gh 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

A doctor they did call

To cure him of the fal l,A longwhil e he kept his bed ;

At last he got well

Of all that him b efe l,So this time he shall not be dead .


88 NU RSERY RHYM E S .

He rode till he came to my Lady Mouse

Kitty alone, &c .

He rode till he came to my Lady Mouse

And there he di d both knock and call ,Cock me cary, &c .

Quoth he, Miss Mouse, I’m come

Kitty alone, &c.

Quoth he, Mis s Mous e, I’m come

To se e if thou canst fan cy me,Cock me cary, &c .

Quoth she , answer I’

ll give you none,

Kitty alone, &c .

Quoth she, answer I’

ll give you none,Un til my uncle Rat come home

,

Cock me cary, &c .

And when her uncle Rat came home,

Kitty alone, &c .

And when her uncle Rat came home,

Who’ s been here since I ’v e been gone

Cock me cary, &c .

S ir, there’

s been a worthy gentleman ,

Kitty alon e, &c .

S ir, there’ s been a worthy gentleman

,

That’ s been here since you’ve been gone,

Cock me cary, &c .

TALE S .

The frog he came whi stling through the brook,

Kitty al one, &c.

The frog he came whistling thr ough the brook,And there he met with a dainty duck .

Cock me cary, &c .

This duck She swallow’

d him up with a pluck,Kitty alone, Kitty al one,

Thi s duck she swallowed him up with a pluck,So there’ s an end of my history book .

Cock me cary, Kitty alone ,Kitty alone and I .

CX IX .

L ITTLE Tom Tucker,Sings for his supper

What shall he eat ?

White bread and butter.

How shall he cut it

Without e’ er a knife ?

How w ill he be married,Without e ’ er a wife ?

! CXX .

THERE was an o ld woman t o ss ’d up in a blanke t,Nine ty-nine times as high as the moon

But where she was going no mortal coul d tell,For under her arm she carried a broom .

8 9

90 NURSERY RHYMES .

Old woman, o ld woman, o ld woman, said I,Whither, ah ! whi ther, whither so hi gh ?

Oh ! I ’m sweeping the cobweb s o ff the sky,And I ’ll be with you by and by .

CXXI .

[Ano ther vers io n, from Infant Ins ti tutes , 8 vc . Lo nd .p .

I SAW an o ld woman t o ss’d up in a basket ,Nineteen times as high as the moon ;

Where she was gomg I coul dn’ t but ask i t ,

For in her hand she carried a broom .

Old woman, o ld woman, o ld woman, quoth I

O whither,O whither, O whi ther, so high ?

To brush the cobwebs o ff the sky

Shall I go with thee ? Aye, by and by .

CXXI I .

THERE was an o ld woman

Lived under a hill

And if she ’ s not gone,

She lives there still .


92 NURSERY RHYMES .

His mother she made him some water-gruel,And stirred it round with a spoon ;

Giles Coll in s he ate up hi s water-gruel,And died before ’ twas noon,And died before ’ twas noon .

Lady Anna was sitting at her window,

Mending her night-robe and coif

She saw the very prettiest corpse,She’ d s een in all her lif e, li fe ,She’ d seen in all her li f e .

What bear ye there, ye six strong men,Upon your shoulders so hi gh ?

We bear the body of Gil es Collins,Who for love of you di d die, die,Who for love of you did di e .

S et him down ! set him down ! Lady Anna, she

On the grass that grows so green

To-morrow before the clock strikes t en ,

My body Shal l li e by his’n, his’n,

My body shall li e by his’n .

Lady Anna was buried in the east

Giles Collins was buried in the west ;There grew a lily from Giles Collin s,That t oueh ’

d Lady Ann a’ s breast, breast,That touch’

d Lady Anna’ s breast .

TALES .

There blew a cold north-eas terly wi nd,And cut this 1h in twa in

Which never there was seen before,And it never will again , again,And it never will again .

CXXVI.

LITTLE Bo -peep has lost her sheep,And can’ t tell where to find them

Leave them alone , and they’

ll come home,And bring their tail s behind them .

Little Bo -peep fell fast asleep,And dreamt she heard them bleating

But when she awoke, she found it a j oke .

For they still were all fleeting.

Then up she to ok . her littl e crook,De t ermin

’

d for to find them

She found them in deed, but it made her heart

For they”d left all their tail s behin d ’ em .

It happen’ d on e day, as Bo -pe ep did stray,Under a meadow hard by

There she e spy’

d their tail s side by side,

All hung on a tree to dry.

93

94 NURSERY RHYMES .

She heav’d a sigh, and wip

’d her eye,

And over the hill ocks went stump-o

And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,

To t ack again each to its rump-o .

CXXVII .

JOHN COOK had a little grey mare he, haw, hum '

Her back stood up, and her bones they were bare he,haw, hum .

John Cook was ridi ng up Shut er ’ s bank ; he, haw, hum .

And there his nag di d kick and prank ; he, haw , hum .

John Cook was riding up Shuter’ s hill he, haw, hum

His mare fell down, and she made her will ; he, haw,

hum .

The bridl e and saddl e where laid on the shelf ; he, haw,

hum

If you want any more you may sing it yourself ; he,haw, hum .


96°

NURSERY RHYMES .

CXXDL

THERE was an o ld man, and he liv’

d in a wood ;And his lazy son Jack would sn ooze till noon

Nor followed hi s trade, al though it was good,With a bill and stump for making of brooms, gree

brooms

With a bil l and a stump for making of brooms .

One“

morn in a passion, and sore with vexation,He swore he woul d fire the room,

If he did not get up and go to his work,And fall to the cutting of brooms, gre en brooms, &c .

Then Jack arose and slipt on hi s clothe s,And away to the woods very soon,

Where he made up hi s pack, and put it on his back,Crying, Maids, do you want any brooms ? green

brooms, &c.

CXXX .

JACK S PRAT

Had a cat,It had but on e ear

It went to buy but ter,When butter was dear .

TH IRD CLASS—J INGLE S .

CXXXI .

HUB a dub dub,Thr ee men in a tub ;

And how do you think they got there ?

The butcher, the baker,The candl estick-maker,They all jump

’

d out of a rotten potato’Twas enough to make a man stare !

CXXXI I .

HANDY S PANDY, Jack-a-dandy,

Loved plum cake and sugar-candy ;He bought some at a grocer’ s shop

,

And out he came, hop, hOp, hop .

98 NURSERY RHYMES .

CXXXII I .

D ING, dong, bell ,Pussy’ s in the well !

Who put her in,Little Tommy Lin

Who pull ed her out ,Dog with long snout

What a naughty boy was that

To drown poor pussy cat,Who never did any harm,

But kill ’d the mice in his father s barn .

CXXXIV.

D IN GTY di ddl edy,

My mammy’ s maid,She stole oranges,I am afraid ;

Some in her pocket,Some in her sleeve,

She s t ole oranges ,I do believe .



CXXXVII .

BEED LE, de edle , dumpling, my son John

Went to bed with hi s breeches on

One shoe o ff, the other shoe on,Beedl e, de edle , dumpling, my son John .

CXXXVII I .

FE E D UM, fiddl edum fee,The cat ’ s got into the tree .

Pus sy,come down,

Or I ’ ll crack your crown,And toss you into the sea .

CXXXIX .

YANK EE DOODLE came to town,Upon a Ken tish poney ;

He stuck a feather in his hat,And call ed him Macaroni .

J INGLE S .

CXL .

COME dance a JIgTo 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 . fiddl e .]

CXL I .

[From D evo nsh ire .]

DR I D D LETY drum, driddl e ty drum,

There you se e the beggars are come

Some are here and some are there,And some are gone to Chi dlely fair .

CXLI I .

[The fo llow ing may probab ly be a game .]

IN TE RY, min tery , cutery-corn,

Apple s eed and apple thorn

Win e, brier, limber- lock,Five geese in a flock,Sit and sin g by a spring,O-U-T, and in again .

10 1

102 NURSERY RHYMES .

CXLI I I .

A CAT came fiddling o ut of a barn,With a pair of bag-pipes under her arm

She coul d Sing n othing but fiddl e cum fee,The mouse has married the humble bee

Pipe, cat, dance, mouse,We ’ ll have a weddin g at our good house .

CX LIV.

HEY, doro lo t, dorolo t !

Hey, doro lay, dorolay !

Hey, my bonny boat , bonny boat ,Hey, drag away, drag away

CXLV.

SEEK a thing, give a thing,The o ld man’ s gold ring

Lie but t, lie ben,Lie among the dead men .



CXLIX .

[Maggot-p i e is the o riginal name o f the chattering and omino usbird. Se e Macbeth ,” Act i i i . so . 4

, where the same wo rd is used ]

ROUND about, round about,Maggoty pie,

My father loves good ale ,And so do I .

CL .

DOOD LE DY, do odl edy, do odledy, dan,I’

ll have a piper to be my good man

And if I get less meat, I shall ge t game ,Do odledy, doodl edy, doodl edy, dan .

C LI .

We ’re all in the dumps,For diamonds are trumps ;

The kittens are gone to St . Paul ’ s !

The babies are bit,The moon’ s in a fit,

And the house s are built without walls .

J INGLE S . 105

CLI I .

[From Shro psh ire.]

ON E , two, three ,I love coffee,An d Billy loves tea .

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

CLI I I.

D I CK and Tom, Will and John,Brought me from Nottingham .

CLIV .

[Th is is a game as well as a gang la ]

ONE -ERY, two- ery,Ziccary z an

Holl ow bone, crack a bone,Nin ery ten

Spitt ery spot,It must be done ;

Twiddl eum twaddleum,

Twenty-one .

1

106 NURSE RY RHYME S .

Hink spink, the puddi ngs stink,The fat begin s t o fry,

Nobody at home, but jumping Joan,Father, mother, and I .

Stick, stock, stone dead,Blind man can’ t see,

Every kn ave will have a slave,You or I must be he .

CLV .

HARK, hark,The dogs do bark

,

Beggars are coming to townSome in jags

,

Some in rags ,And some in velvet gowns .

CLV L

TOMMY T IEULE , Harry Wibule ,Tommy Tissile , Harry Whistle,Little wee, wee, wee .



CLX.

G I LLY Silly Jarter,Who has lost a garter

In a shower of rain,The mill er found it,The mill er ground it,And the mi ller gave it

CLXL

SE E , saw, Margery Daw,

Little Jackey shall have a n ew master ;Little Jackey shall have but a penny a day

,

Because he can’ t work any faster .

CLX H .

SE E , Saw, Margery Daw,

Sold her bed and lay upon straw ;Was not she a dirty slut,To sell her b ed and lie in the di rt ?

J INGLE S . 109

CLX I l l .

Jamie son ’

s Glo ssary,” voc. Z icke ty , and B lackwo o d ’sEd inburgh Magaz ine,” Aug. 182 1 , p .

Z I C K ETY, di cke ty, dock,The mous e ran up the nock

The nock struck one,Down the mouse r un ,

Zicke ty, dicke ty, dock .

CLXIV.

D ING, dong, darrow,

The cat and the sparrow ;The littl e dog has burnt hi s tail ,And he shall be hang

’

d to-morrow .

CLXV .

PU SS I CAT , wus sicat , with a white foot,When is your wedding, for I

’

ll come to’ t .

The beer’ s to brew, the bread’ s to bake

,

Pussy cat, pussy cat, don’ t be too late

1 10 NURSERY RHYME S .

CLXVI .

TO market, to market, to buy a fat pig

Home again, home again, dancing a j IgRide to the market to buy a fat hog,Home again , home again, j iggety-j og .

CLXVI I .

LEG over leg,As the dog went to Dover ;

When he came to a st ile,Jump he went over .


1 12 NURSERY RHYMES .

CLXX.

[A C INDE R-S I FTE R .]

A R IDDLE , a riddle , as I suppose,A hundred eye s, and never a nose .

CLXXI.

OLD father Greybeard,Without tooth or tongue

If you’ ll give me your finger,I’

ll give you my thumb .

CLXXII .

[A W E LL .]

AS roun d as an apple, as deep as a cup,And all the king’ s horses can’ t pull it up .

R I DDLE S .

CLXXII I .

[AN EGG .]

HUM PTY DUMPTY sate on a wall ,Humpty dumpty had a great fall

Three score men and three score more ,Cannot place Humpty Dumpty as he was

CLXXIV .

GOOSEY goos ey gander,Where shall I wander ?

Up stairs, 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 .

CLXXV .

[A RAIN BOW .)

[The allus io n to O l iver C romwell sa tisfacto ri ly fixes the da teth is r iddle to belo ng to the seventeenth century .]

PURPLE, yell ow, red and green,The king cannot reach it nor the queen

Nor can o ld Noll , whose p'

ower’ s so great

Tell me this riddle whil e I count eight .

Somet imes the last two l ines run as fo llow sA ll the k ing ’s ho rses and a ll the k ing ’sme n ,

Could no t se t Humpty Dumpty up aga in .

”


CLXXV ] .

[A CANDLE ]

LITTLE Nancy Et t ico at ,In a whit e petticoat,And a red nose

The longer she stands,The shorter she grows .

CLXXVII.

[ PAIR O F TONGS .]

LONG legs, crooked thighs ,Little head and no eyes .

CLXXVI I I .

[A HORSE -SHOER .]

WHAT shoe-maker makes shoes without leather,With all the four el ements put together 7

Fire and water, earth and air ,Ev’ry customer has two pair .


1 16 NURSE RY RHYMES .

CLXXXI I.

[FromMS. Slo ane , 1489 , fo l . 16 , w ritten about the year

THERE were three sist ers in a hall ,There came a knight amongst them all ;

Good morrow, aun t, to the one ,Good morrow, aunt, to the other,Good morrow, gen twoman , to the third,

r

If you were my aunt,

As the other two he ,I woul d say good morrow

,

Then, aunts all three .

CLXXXII I .

[From the same Manuscri pt.]

CONGEAL’

D water and Cain’ s brother,That was my lover’ s name, and no other .

CLXXX IV .

[TE ETH AND GUMS .]

TH IRTY white horses on a red hill ,Now they tramp, now they champ, now they stand still .

R I DDLES . 1 17

-l

As I went through the garden gap,

Who should I meet but Dick Red- cap !

A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat,If you’ll tell me this riddl e

, I’

ll give you a groat.

CLXXXVI .

EL IZABETH, Elspeth, Betsy and Bess,They all went together to seek a bird’ s

They found a bird’ s nest with five eggs

They all took one, and left four in .

CLXXX V I I .

As I was going to St . Ives,I met a man with s even wives,Every wife had seven sacks,Every sack had s even cats,Every cat had seven kits

Kit s, cats, sacks , and wives,How many where there going to


CLXXXVII I.

SEE , see ! what Shall I see ?

A horse’ s head where his tail should be .

CLXXXIX .

I HAD a little castle upon the sea-Side,One half was water, the other was land ;I Open

’

d my li ttle castle door, and guess what I found

I found a fair lady with a cup in her hand .

The cup was gold, filled with wine ;Drink, fair lady, and thou shalt be mine .

CXC.

WHEN I went up sandy hill ,I met a sandy boy ;I cut his throat, I sucked his blood,And left his skin a hanging-o .

CXCI .

[TH E HOLLY TREE .]

H IGHTY, t ighty, paradighty clothed in green,The king could not read it, no more could the queen ;They sent for a wise man out of the East,Who said it had horns, but was not a beast !


FIFTH CLASS PROVERBS .

CXCVI .

A sempstress that sews,And woul d make her work scarce),

Must use a long needle,And a short thread .

CXCVI I .

[The fo llowing o ld saw is general ly bel ieved to refer to the

Teuto nic metho d o f numbering . Se e Brand ’s Po pular Ant iquit ies ,” ed ited by Sir H . E l lis, vo l. i i . p .

F IV E score of men, money, and pins,S ix score of all other things .

CxCV l l l .

SEE a pin and pick it up,All the day you’ ll have good luck

Se e a pin and l e t it lay,Bad luck you’

ll have all the day

PROV ERB S.

CXC IX .

A SWARM of bees in May

Is worth a load of hay ;A swarm of bees in June

Is worth a silver spoon ;A swarm of bees in July

Is not worth a fly .

CC .

ST . Swithin’ s day, if thou dost rain ,

For forty days it will remain

St . Swithi n ’ s day,if thou be fair,

For forty days ’ twill rain na mair .

CCl .

To mak e your candl es last for aye,Your wives and maids give ear-o !

To put ’

em out ’

s the only way,Says honest John Boldero .

CCI I .

BOUN CE BUCKRAM velvet’ s dear ;Christmas comes but once a year .

122 NURSE RY RHYMES .

CCI I I .

TH E tailor of Bisit er,He has but one eye ;

He cann ot cut a pair of green galagaskin s,If he were to try .

CC IV.

NEE DLES and pin s, ne edl es and pins,When a man marries hi s trouble begins .

CCV .

R IDDLE me, riddl e me, riddle me ree !

None are SO blind as those that won’ t see .

CCVI .

[One vers io n o f the fo llow ing so ng, which I bel ieve to be thegenu ine o ne , i s wr itten o n the last lea f o fMS. Harl . 6580

,in a

hand o f th e e nd o f the Seven te enth cen tury , but unfortunately i t isscarcely adapted for the ears po l ite” o f mo dern days .]

A MAN of words and not of deeds

l s like a garden full of weeds ;And when the weeds begin to grow,

I t’

s like a garden full of snow ;


S IXTH CLASS—LULLAB IES .

CCVI I I .

HUSH a bye, baby, on the tree top,When the wi nd blows, the cradl e will rock ;When the bough bends, the cradl e will fall,

Down will come baby, bough, cradle, and all .*

CCIX.

BYE , baby bun ting,Daddy’

s gon e a hunting,To get a li ttle hare’ s skin,To wrap a baby bunting in .

Ritso n , who gives in the fo llo w ing vers io n, says that the comme ncing w o rds are a co rruptio n o f the French nurse ’s threa t inthe fable He bas , la le lo up ! H

’

ush , there ’s the w o lf l”

Bee baw babby lo u , o n a tree top,When the w ind blow s the cradle w i ll ro ckWhen the w ind ceases the cradle w i l l fa ll,Down comes baby and crad le a nd al l .

(Gammer Gurton’

s Garland , p‘

.

LuLLAB I E s . 125

CCX .

[Ano ther vers io n .]

BYE , baby bunting,Father’ s gone a hunting,To get a rabbit skin

To wrap baby bunting in .

CCXI .

HUSHY baby, my doll , I pray you don’

t cry,And I ’ll give you some bread and some milk by and bye

Or, perhaps you like custard, or may-b e a tart ,Then to either you’ re welcome, with all my whole heart .

CCXI I .

DANTY baby diddy,What can mammy do wid’ e,But sit in a lap,And give ’

un a pap,S in g danty baby diddy .


CCXI I I .

BYE , O my baby,When I was a lady,

0 then my poor baby did’nt cry

But my baby is weeping,For want of good keeping,

Oh, I fear my poor baby will die .

CCXIV .

HUSH thee, my babby,Lie still w ith thy daddy

,

Thy mammy has gone to the

To grind thee some wheat,To make thee some meat,And so, my dear babby, lie still .

CCXV.

HUSH a bye a b a lamb,Hush a bye a milk cow,

You shal l have a little s tick,To beat the naughty bow-wow .


SEVENTH CLASS—CHARMS .

CCXVI I I .

The three fo llow ing charms are fo r the h iccup, and each o ne mustbe sa i d thrice in o n e breath , to render the Specific o f service.]

WH EN a twister twi sting woul d twi st him a twist,For twisting a twist thr ee twi sts he will twi st

But if one of the twists untwists from the twist,The twist untwistin g untwists the twist .

CCXIX .

RO BE RT ROW LEY rolled a round roll round,

A round roll Robert Rowley rolled round ;Where rolled the round roll Robert Rowley roll ed round

CHARMS . 129

CCXX .

PETE R P I PE R picked a peck of pickl ed pepper

A peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked ;If Peter Piper

’

picked a pe ek of pickled pepper,Where’ s the peck of pickl ed pepper Peter Piper picked ?

CCXXI .

[Ady, in his Cand le in the Dark,” 4 to . Lo nd . 1655 , p . 58 , saysthat th is is a charm used fo r mak ing butter come from the churn .

I t w as to be sa id thrice.]

COME, butter, come,Come, but t er, come !

Peter stan ds at the gat e,Wait ing for a but t e r ’

d cake

Come, butter, come !

CCXXII .

W ENT to the toad that lies under the wall,charmed him out, and he came at my call ;scratch

’

d out the eyes of the owl before,t ore the bat’ s wing, what woul d you have more ?


CCXXI I I .

[A charm somewhat s imi lar to the fo llow ing may be seen in the

Townley Mys teries ,” p . 9 1 . Se e a paper in the Archte o logia ,”

vo l . xxvi i . p . 253 , by the Rev . Lancelo t Sharpe,M.A.]

MATTH EW , Mark, Luk e, and John,Guard the bed that I lay on

Four corners to my bed,Four angel s roun d my head !

One to watch, one to pray,And two to hear my soul away !

CCXXIV .

[The present charm, wh ich appears to be o n ly ano ther vers ion o f

the o ne j ust gi ven , is preserved by Aubrey, inMS. Lansd. 23 1,

fo l . 1 14. I t may l ikew ise be found in Ady ’s

“ Cand le in theDark,” 4to , Lo nd . 1655 , p .

MATTH EW , Mark, Luke, and John ,Bless the bed that I li e on

And blessed guardian-angel, keep

Me safe from danger whilst I sleep!


E IGHTH CLASS GAMES .

CCXXVI .

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 o ld,

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 faires t maid that I can see,l s pretty Nancy, come to me .

GAMES . 133

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

CCXXVI I .

S IE V E my lady’ s oatmeal

,

Grind my lady’ s flour,

Put it in a chesnut,

Le t it stand an hour

One may rush, two may rush,Come, my girls, walk under the

CCXXVII I .

I W ON ’T be my father’ s Jack,

I w”

on’ t be my mother’ s Gill ,I will be the fiddler’ s wife,And have music when I will .

T ’ other li ttle tun e,T’ other little tune,Pr’ythee, love, play me

T’ other little tune .


CCXXIX .

BABY and I

Were baked in a pie,The gravy was wonderful hot

We had nothing to pay

To the baker that day,And so we crept out of the pot .

CCXXX .

TH E RE we re two blackbirds,Sitting on a hill ,

The one nam’

d Jack,The other nam’

d Jill ;Fly away Jack !

Fly away Jill !

Come again Jack !

Come again Jill !

CCXXXI .

TOMBROWN ’ S two little Indian boys ,One ran away,The other wouldn’ t stay,

Tom Brown’ s two little Indian boys .



Pokers and tongs ,Say the bell s at St . John’ s .

Kettles and pans,Say the bell s at St . Ann’

s .

When will you pay me

Say the bells at Old Bailey .

When I grow rich,Say the bell s at Shoreditch .

Pray when will that be ?

Say the bell s at Stepney .

I am sure I don’ t know,

Says the great bell at Bow .

CCXXXI I I .

[One ch i ld ho lds a wand to the face o f ano ther, repeat ing thesel ines , and mak ing grimaces , to cause the latter to laugh , and so tothe o thers tho se w ho laugh paying a forfe it ]

BU FF says Buf f to all his men ,

And I say Buff to you again ;Bufl

"

neither laughs nor smil es,But carries hi s face

With a very good grace,And passes the stick to the very next place !

GAMES . 137

CCXXXIV .

DAN CE , Thumbkin, dance,

(K e ep the thumb in mo t ion .)Dance, ye merrymen, every one

(All thefing ers in mo t ion .)For Thumbkin, he can dance alone,

(The thumb on ly moving .)Thumbkin , he can dance al one. (D i t to )Dance, Foreman, dan ce,

(Thefirs tfing er moving .)Dance, ye merrymen, every one ;

(The who le mov ing .)But Foreman, he can dance alone,Foreman, he can dance alone .

And so o n w ith the o thers- naming the 2d fingerMiddlema nthe 3d finger Ringman—and the 4th finger Li ttlema n . L ittle

man canno t dance a lo ne.

CCXXXV .

QUEEN Anne, queen Anne, you sit in the sun,AS fair as a lily, as whi te as a wand .

I send you thr ee letters , and pray read one,You must read one, if you can

’ t read all ,So pray, Miss or Master, throw up the ball .


CCXXXVI .


HERE we come a piping,First in spring and then in May

The queen She Sits upon the sand,Fair as a lily, white as a wand

T King John has sent you letters three,And begs you’

ll read them unto me ;We can’ t re ad one without them all ,

So pray, Miss Bridget, deliver the ball !

CCXXXVII .

R I DE a cock-hors e to Banbury-cross,To see what Tommy can buy ;

A penny whi te loaf, a penny white cake,And a twopenny apple-pie .

CCXXXVII I .

R IDE a cock-horse to Banbury-cross,To buy little Johnny a galloping-horse

It trots behind, and it ambles before,And Johnny shall ride till. he can ride no more .



CCXLI I.

TH I S is the key of the kingdom .

In that kingdom there is a city .

In that city there is a town .

In that town there is a street .

In that street there is a lane .

In that lane there is a yard .

In that yard there is a house .

In that house there i s a room .

In that room there is a bed .

On that bed there is a basket .

In that basket there are some flowers .

Flowers in the basket, basket in the b ed,the room,

&c . &c .

CCXLI I I.

[Song se t to five to es ]

LET us go to the wood, says thi s pig ;What to do there ? says that pig

To look for my mother, says thi s pig

What to do with her ? says that pig

5 . Kiss her to death, says this pig .

GAMES . 14 1

CCXLIV .

IS John Smith within

Ye s, that he i s

Can he se t a shoe ?

Ay, marry, two,Here a nail , there a

Tick, tack, too .

CCXLV .

EGGS, butter, cheese, bread,Stick

,stock

,ston e

,dead !

Stick him up, stick him down,Stick him in the o ld man’

s crown

CCXLVI .

bel ieve the fo llow ing is o n ly a po rt io n o f a d ia logue ,have no t been ab le to reco ver it.]

HERE comes a poor woman from baby-land,With three small childr en in her hand

One can brew, the other can bake,The other can make a pretty round cake .


CCXLVI I .

[A string o f ch ildren, hand in h and , s tand in a row . A ch i ld( A) s tands in fro nt Of them, as leader tw o o ther chi ldren (B and 0 )fo rm an arch , each ho ld ing bo th the hands o f the o ther.]

A . DRAW a pail of water,For my lady

’ S daughter

My father’ s a king, and my mother’ s a queen,

My tw o littl e sisters are dre ss’d in green,S tamping grass and parsley,Marigold l eaves and daisies .

B . One rush, two rush,Pray thee, fine lady, come under my bush .

[A pas se s under th e arch , fo llowed by the who le string o f ch i ldren , the last o f w hom is taken capt ive by B and c. The verses arerepeated, unt i l al l are taken.]

CCXLVI I I .

TW ELV E huntsmen with horns and hounds,Hunting over other men’ s grounds ;E leven shi ps sailing o’ er the main

Some boun d for Fran ce and some for Spain ;I wi sh them all saf e home again :

Ten comets in the sky,Some low and some high ;



CCL .

[A Sco tch vers ion o f the abo ve .]

LAZ Y dukes, that sit on their neuks,And winna come out to play ;Leave your supper, leave your Sleep,Come out and play at hi de-and-seek .

I ’ve a cherry, I’ve a chess,

I’

v e a bonny blue glass

I ’ve a dog among the corn,Blow, Willi e, Buckhorn .

Three score of Highl and kye,One booly-backed,One bli nd 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,Te n poun ds every year .

The fiddler ’

s in the Can ongat e ,The piper’ s in the Abbey,Huzza ! cocks and hens ,Flee awa’ to your cavey .

GAMES . 145

CCLI .

THE RE were three j ovial Welshmen,AS I have heard them say,

And they would go a-hunting

Upon St . David’ s day .

All the day they hunted,And nothing could they find,

But a ship a-sail ing,A-sailing with the wind .

One said it was a ship,The other he said, nay ;

The third said it was a house,With the chimney blown away .

And all the night they hunted,

And nothing could they find,But the moon a-glidin g,A-glidi ng with the wind .

One said it was the moon,The other he said, nay ;

The third said it was a chees e,And half o ’

t cut away .


CCLI I .

[A song se t to five fingers ]

This pig went to market

This pig staid at home

This pig ' had a bit of meat ;And this pig had non e ;Thi s pig said

,Wee, wee, wee !

I can’ t find my way home .

CCLI I I .

My nose is green,Your’ s is blue ;

Sister has got a red one,What’ s that to you ?

CCLIV .

[A game at ball.]

CUCKOO, cherry tree,Catch a bird, and give it to

Let the tree be high or low ,

Le t it hail, rain, or snow .



CCLVI I I .

[The fo l low ing is the Oxfo rdsh ire vers ion Of the gameCo nfess io na l, as shown in shadows o n the wa l l.]

FATHER,O father, I

’m come to confess .

Well, my daughter, well !

Last night I call ’d the e at 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 .

CCLIX.

[The Kent ish vers io n o f the same game.]

GOOD morning, father Francis .

Good morning, Mrs . She ckle ton . What has brought

you abroad so early, Mrs . Sheckle ton ?

I have come to confess a great sin, father Francis .

What’ s it, Mrs . Sheckle t on ?

Your cat stol e a pound of my butter, father Francis

0 , n o Sin at al l,Mrs . Sheckl e ton .

But I kill ’d your cat for it, father Francis .

0 , a very great Sin indeed, Mrs . Sheckle ton , you must

do penance .

What penance, father Francis ?

GAMES . 149

Kiss me three times,Oh ! but I can’ t !

Oh ! but you must !

Oh ! but I can’ t, &c. ad lib .

Well, what must be must,So ki ss, kiss, kiss, and away .

CCLX .

[Chi ldren hun ting bats ]

BAT, bat, (clap hands)Come under my hat

,

And I ’ ll give you a slice of bacon ;And when I bake

,

I’

ll give you a cake,

If I am not mistaken .

CCLXI .

[Th is acted by two o r mo re girls, who w alk o r dance up and

down , turn ing, when they say, turn , cheeses , turn.

” Thegreen cheeses,

”as I am info rmed, are made w ith sage and po

tato -to ps . Two girls are sa id to he cheese and

GREEN cheese, yell ow laces,Up and down the -marketLplaces

,

Turn, cheeses, turn !


CCLXI I .

[Two o f the strongest ch i ldren are selected , A and B . A standsw i th in a r ing Of the ch i ldren , B being o uts ide .]

A. WH O i s going round my Sheepfold ?

B . Only poor old Jacky Lingo .

A . , Don’

t steal any of my black sheep .

B . No, no more I wi ll , only by one,Up, says Jacky Lingo . (S tr ikes one .)

[The chi ld s truck leaves the r ing, and takes ho ld o f B behind ;B in the same manner takes the o ther chi ldren , o ne by o ne , gradua l ly increas ing his ta i l o n each repet it ion o f the verses , unt i l heha sfgo t the w ho le. A then tr ies to ge t them back ; B run s aw ayw ith them ; they try to shel ter themselves behind B ; A drags themOff , o ne by o ne , setting th em aga inst a w al l , un ti l he has reco vereda ll . A regular tearing game , as ch i ldren say .]

CCLXI I I .

[Ch i ldren s tand ro und , and are counted o ne by o ne by meanso f this rhyme, w h ich I have a lready given in a di ff erent fo rm at

p . 89 . The ch i ld upo n w hom the las t number falls is out , fo rH i de o r Seek ,” o r any o ther game w here a vict im is required .A co ck and bu l l s to ry o f this k ind i s related o f the h is to rianJo sephus .]

H I CKORY Dickory Dock

The mouse ran up the clock

The clock struck one

The mouse was gone (6)O U T spell s OUT !



CCLXV .

[Ano ther vers io n

AS I go round ring by ring,A maiden goes a maying,And here’ s a flowe r and there’ s a flower,As red as any daisy .

If you set your foot awry,Gentl e John will make you cry

If you set your foot amiss,Gentle John will give you a good kiss .

CCLXV I .

SEE -SAW , sacradown

Which is the way to London town 7

On e foot up, and the other down,And that is the way to London town .

CCLXVI I .

[Ano ther vers io n .]

SE E -SAW , Jack in a hedge,Wh ich is the way to London bridge ?

One foot up, the other foot down,That is the way to London town .

GAMES . 153

CCLXVI I I.

HIGH TY cock 0 !

To London we go,To York we ride

And Edward has pussy-cat tied to hi s side

He Shall have little dog tied to the other,And then he goes trid trod to se e his grandmother .

CCLXIX .

SE E -SAW , jack a daw,

Wh at is a craw to do wi ’ her ;She has not a stocking to put on her,And the craw has not one for to gi

’ her .

CCLXX .

ON E o ld Oxford ox opening oysters ;Two tee to tums totally tired of trying to trot to

berry ;Thr ee tall tigers tippling ten-penny tea

Four fat friars fanning fainting flies

Five frippy Frenchmen foolishl y fishi ng for flies

S ix sportsmen shooting sni pes

Seven Severn salmons swall owing shrimps ;


E ight Englishmen eagerly examining Europe

Nine nimbl e noblemen nibbling nonpareil s

Ten tinkers tinkling upon ten tin tinder-boxes with ten

tenpenny tacks

Eleven el ephants elegantly equipt

Twelve typ ographical topographers typically translating

types .

CCLXXI.

[A s tands w ith a row o f girls (he r daughters ) behind he r ;B , a suito r advances ]

B . TR I P trap over the grass ; If you please will you

le t one of your [eldest] daughters come,Come and dance with me ?

I will give you pots and pans , I will give you brass,I will give you anything for a pretty las s .

A says No .

”

B . I will give you gold and Silver, I will give you pearl ,I will give you anything for a pretty girl .

A. Take one, take one, the fairest you may see .

B . The fairest one that I can s e e

Is pretty Nancy, come to me .

[B carries one o ff , and says

You shall have a duck, my dear,And you Shall have a drake,And you shall have a young man apprentice for

your sake .



The eighth, &c .

E ight ladi es dancing,The ninth, &c .

Nine lords a leaping, &c .

The tenth, &c .

Ten ships a sailing, &c .

The eleventh, &c .

Eleven ladies spinning, &c .

The twelfth, &c .

Twelve bell s ri nging, &c .

[Each ch i ld in success io n repeats the gifts o f the day, and fo rfe i ts fo r each mistake. Th is accumulat ive pro cess is a favouritew i th ch i ldren ; in early writers , such as Homer, the repetitio n o f

messages , & c. pleases o n the same princi p le.]

NINTH CLASS—PARADOXES .

CCLXXI I I .

0 THAT I was where I woul d be,Then woul d I b e where I am not ;But where I am I must be,And where I would b e I cannot .

CCLXXIV .

In all the world was apple-pie,And all the sea was ink ;

And al l the trees were bread and chee se ,What shoul d we have for drink ?

CCLXXV .

TH E man in the wil derness asked me,How many strawberr ies grew in the sea ?

I answered him, as I thought good,As many as red herrings grew in the wood .


CCLXXVI .

HERE am I, littl e jumping Joan ;When nobody’ s with me ,I’

m always alone .

CCLXXVI I.

[The co nclus io n o f th e fo llow ing resembles a verse in the

nursery hi story o f Mo ther Hubbard ]

THERE was an o ld woman, and what do you think ?

She l ived upon nothing but victuals and drink .

Victual s and drink were the chief of her diet,This plaguy o ld woman could n ever be quiet .

She wen t t o th e baker, to buy her some bread,An d when she came home, her o ld husband w as dead ;She went t o the cle rk .t o toll the bell,And when she came back her o ld husband was well .

CCLXXVI I I .

TH ERE was an o ld woman had n othing,And there came thieves to rob her

When she cried out she made no noise ,

But all the coun try heard her .


TENTH CLASS—LITERAL .

CCLXXXI .

A, B, C, tumble down D,

The cat’ s in the cupboard and can’ t see me .

CCLXXXI I.

1 , 2, 3 , 4, 5,

I caught a hare al ive

6, 7, 8, 9, 10,

I le t her go again .

CCLXXXII I .

GREAT A, l ittle a,Bouncing B

,

The cat’ s in the cupboard,And she can’ t see .

L ITERAL . 16 1

CCLXXXIV .

ON E , two,Buckle my shoe

Three, four,Shut the door ;Five, s ix,Pick up sticks

Seven, eight,Lay them straight

Nine, ten,A good fat hen

Eleven, twelve,Who will delve ?

Thirteen, fourteen,Maids a courting ;Fifteen, sixteen,Maids a kissing

S eventeen, eighteen,Maids a waiting ;N ineteen, twenty,My stomach’ s empty .

CCLXXXV .

PAT -a- cake , pat-a- cake, baker’ s man

So I will , master, as fast as I can

Pat it,and prick it, and mark it with

Put in the oven for Tommy and me .


CCLXXXVI .

[The fo llo w ing is taken fromMS. Slo an . 2497 , o f the s i xteen thcentury. Pro bably an epigram o n o ne o f the family o f the No els , o rNowells .]

N . for a word of den ian ce ,E . with a figur e of L . fif tie .

Spelle th his name that newer

Wil l be thrif tie .

CCLXXXVII .

M ISS one two and three, could never agree,Whil e they gossiped round a tea-caddy .

CCLXXXVII I .

ON E’s none ;

Two ’ s someI,

Three ’ s a many

Four’ s a penny

Five i s a lit t le hundred .



CCXC I .

A DONKEY walks on four legs,And I walk on two ;

The last donkey I saw

Was ve ry like you .

CCXCI I .

L IAR, liar, li ck spit,Turn about the candlestick .

What’ s good for liar

Brimstone and fire .

C CXCI I I .

WHEN I was a little boy my mammy kept me in,But now I am a great boy I’m fit to serve the king ;I can hand a musket, and l ean smoke a pipe,And I can kiss a pretty girl at twelve o ’ clock at night .

SCHOLAST I C . 165

CCXCIV.

TELL tale, tit !

Your tongue Shall be slit,And all the dogs in the town

Shall have a little bit .

CCXCV

MULT I PL I CAT ION is vexation,

Division i s as bad ;The Rul e of Three does puz zle me,And Practice drives me mad .

TWELFTH CLASS CUSTOMS .*

CCXCVI .

fo l low ing i s sung at the Chr is tmas mummingsSomersetshire.]

HERE comes I,Liddl e man Jan

,

Wi my zwo rd

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 .

Th is class migh t be extended to great length , but I sha l lco ntent myself w i th g ivmg a few , and referring to Sir H . E l lis ’sed i tio n o f Brand ’s Po pular An tiqu it ies fo r mo re.



CCC.

[Aubrey, i n his “Remaine s o f Ge ntilisme and J uda isme ,”

gives ano ther ve rs io n o f this so ng, as current in the seventeenthcentury , very curious, but unfo rtunately to o indelicate to be prin ted .

Se e No tes .]

WH EN 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 .

CCCI .

HERR INGS, herrin gs, 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 Len t’ s all,

Away, Lent, away .

CCCII .

unmarried ladies in the no rth address the new mo o nfo l low ing l ines

ALL hail to the moon ! all hail to thee !

I prithee, good moon , declare to me

This night who my husband must be !

CUSTOMS .

CCCII I.

SHOE the colt,Shoe the colt ,

Shoe the wil d mare ;Here a nail,There a nail,

Yet she goes bare .

169

TH IRTEENTH CLASS—SONGS .

CCCIV .

PARSON Darby wore a black gown ,

And every button cost half a crown ;From port to port, and toe to toe,Turn the ship and away we go

CCCV .

I HAD a little pony,

His name was Dapple-grey,I lent him to a lady,To ride a mi le away ;

She whi pped him, she slashed him,

She rode him through the mire

I would not lend my pony now

For all the lady’ s hire .



CCC IX .

[The fo l low ing song i s given in Wh iter’s Specimen o f a

C ommentary o n Shake spe are ,” 8 vo , Lo nd. 1794, p . 19 , as commo ni n Cambridgeshire and No rfo lk .]

DAME, what makes your ducks to die ?

What the pize ails ’

em ? what the piz e ail s ’ em

They kick up their heels, and there they li e ,What the pize ails ’

em now ?

Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !

Dame what makes your ducks to die ?

What a pize ail s ’ em ? what a piz e ail s ’ em 7

Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !

Dame, what ail s your ducks to di e ?

Eating o ’

po lly wigs , eating o’

polly Wigs . [i . e . tadpoles ]Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !

CCCX .

BUZ , quoth the blue fly,Hum, quoth the bee,

Buz and hum they cry,And so do we

In his car, in his nose,Thus, do you see

He ate the dormouse,Els e it was thee .

SONGS . 173

CCCXI.

[Out o f the many songs relat ing to the hero ine o f the fo l low ingstanz a , o ne o n ly has been deemed el igible fo r insert io n in thisvo lume.]

NAN CY DAW SON was so fine,She wouldn ’ t get up to serve the swine,She lies I n bed till eight or nine,So it’ s oh ! poor Nancy Dawson .

CCCXI I.

WE ’ RE all dry with dri nking on’

t ,

We’ re all dry with drinkin g on’ t

The piper ki ss ’d the fiddl e r’ s wife ,And I can’ t sleep for thinking on’ t .

CCCXI I I.

[The ta i lo r’s co urtship .]

IN love be I, fif th button high,On velvet runs my courting,

Shee r buckram twist, best broadcloth

I have for others sporting.

NURSE RY RHYMES .

From needle, thread, my fin gers fled,My heart is set a throbbin g

And no one by, I cross-legg’

d sigh,For charmi ng Betsy Bobbin .

Betsy Bobbin, Betsy Bobbin,For charmi ng Betsy Bobbin .

Her lips so swe et, are velveret,Her eyes do well their duty ;

Her skin’ s to me, lik e dimity,The pattern gay of beauty .

Her hand sque e z’

d oft, is satin soft,And sets my heart a throbbing ;

Her cheeks, oh dear, red cassimere,Lord ! what a Betsy Bobbin &c .

Her roguish smil e can well beguil e,Her every look bewitches ;

Yet never stir, when tacked to her,For Tim wi ll w ear the breeches

I ’ve face and mien, am spruce and keen,And though my heart keeps throbbing,

There’ s not, in fine, one man in n ine,SO fit for Betsy Bobbin, &c .



CCCXVII .

[Ano ther vers io n. FromKer’s Nursery Rhymes, vo l . i i . p.

PUSSY cat, pussy cat, Wil t thou be mine ?

Thou shalt neither wash di shes nor feed the

But sit on a cushion and sew a silk seam,

And eat fine strawberrie s, sugar and cream .

CCCXVII I .

BAH , bah, black sheep .

Have you any wool ?

Yes marry have I,Three bags full

On e for my master,One for my dame ,

But none for the lit tle boy

Who cries in the lane .

CCCXIX .

O the little rusty, dusty, rusty miller,I’

ll not change my wif e for e ither gold or sill er.

SONGS . 177

CCCXX .

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 mi ne .

CCCXXI .

TH E quaker’ s wife go t up to bake,Her children all about her,

She gave them every one a cake,And the mill er wants his moul ter .

CCCXXII .

BARBE R, barber, shave a pig,How many hair s will make a wig ?

Four and twenty, that’ s enough .

Give the poor barber a pinch of snuff.


CCCXXI I I .

HERE comes a lusty wooer,

My a dildi n , my a daldin ;

Here comes a lusty wooer,

Lily bright and shine a .

Pray, who do you woo,My a dil di n , my a daldin

Pray, who do you woo,Lily bright and shine a .

For your fairest daught er,My a dildin , my a daldi n

For your fairest daughter,Lily bright and shine a .

Then there She is for you,My a dildi n , my a daldin ;

Then there she is for you,Lily bright and Shine a .

CCCXXIV .

ABOUT the bush, Willy,About the bee-hive,

About the bush, Willy,I’

ll meet thee alive .



CCCXXV ]

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 al one ;

We ’ ll go a Shooting, says every one .

What Shall we kil l ? says Robin t o Bobbin ;

What shall we kill ? says Richard to Robin

What Shall we kill says John all al one

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 al one

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 alon e

She’ s down, she’ s down

,says every one .

How shall we ge t her home ? says Robin to Bobbin ;How shall we ge t 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 al one ;We ’ ll hire a cart, says every one .

SONGS .

Then hoist,boys, hoist, says Robin to Bobbin ;

Then hoist, boys, hoist, says Richard to Robin ;Then hois t

,boys

,hoist, says John all alone ;

Th en hoist, boys , hoist, says every one .

So they brought her away, after each pluck’d a feather,

And when they got home, Shared the booty together .

CCCXXVII.

UP hill and down dal e ;Butter is made in every vale ;And if that Nancy Cook

IS a good gir l,

She shal l have a Spouse,

And make butter an on ,

Before her o ld grandmother

Grows a young man .

CCCXXVII I .

AS I was going up Pippen-hill

Pippen-hill was dirty,

There I met a pretty mi ss,And she dr opt me a curtsey .


Littl e mi ss, pretty miss ,Bless in gs light upon you

,

If I had half-a-crown a day,

I ’d spend it all on you .

CCCXXIX.

0 RARE Harry Parry,

When will you marry ?

When apples and pears are ripe .

I’

ll come to your wedding,Without any bidding,

And li e with your bri de all night .

CCCXXX .

I AM a pretty wench,And I come a great way hence,sweethearts I can get none

But every di rty sow,

Can get sweethearts enow,

I,pretty wench, can get never a one .



Yet didn ’ t you se e , yet didn’ t you see,

What n aughty tricks they put upon me

They broke my pitcher,And spil t the water,

And hufl "

d my mother,And chid her daughter,

And k iss ’d my sister in stead of me .

CCCXXXIV

COME, let’ s to bed,

Says Sleepy-head ;Tarry a while

,says Slow

Put on the pot,Says Greedy-gut,Let’ s sup before we go .

CCCXXXV

I’

LL sing you a song

The days are long,The woodcock and the sparrow

The little dog has burnt his tail,And he must be hang

’

d to-morrow .

SONGS . 185

CCCXXXVI .

[Ano ther version , from “ Infan t Institutes ,” 8vo , Lo ndo n ,

1797, p.

I’

LL sing you a song of two days long,A woodcock and a sparrow :

The little dog has burnt his tail,And bid hi s dame good morrow .

CCCXXXVI I .

TH E cat sat asleep by the side of the fire,The mistress snored loud as a pig

Jack took up his fiddl e, by Jenny’ s desire,

And struck up a bit of a j ig .

CCCXXXVII I .

L ITTLE mai d, pretty mai d, whither goe st thou ?

Down in the forest to milk my cow .

Shall I go with thee ? No, not now ;When I send for thee , then come thou .


CCCXXXIX .

i [A No rfo lk nursery rhyme.]

BURN IE Bee, Burn ie Bee,Tel l me when your weddi ng be

If it be to-morrow day,Take your wings and flee away .

CCCXL .

TH E sow came in w ith the saddl e,The litt le pig rock ’

d the cradl e,The dish jump

’

d over the table,To s e e the po t with the ladl e .

The broom behind the butt

Call’

d the di sh-clout a nasty Slut

Odds -bobs, says the gridiron, can’ t you agree ?

I’m the head constable, —come along with me .

CCCXLI .

AROUND the green gravel the grass grows green ,

And all the pretty mai ds are plain to be seen ;Wash them with milk , and clothe them with silk,And writ e their names with a pen and ink .



Lay her in the pig- stye, mother, &c .

Where are the pigs to lay ? daughter, &c .

Lay them at the stai r-foot, mother, &c .

There they ’

ll be trod to death, daughter, &c.

Lay them by the water-side, mother, &c.

There th ey will b e drowned, daughter, &c .

Then take a rope and hang yourself, mother, &c.

Go and do thou the same , daughter, &c.

CCCXLIV.

THOMAS A D IDYMUS had a black beard,Kissed Nanny Fitchett, and made her afeard .

CCCXLV .

THOMAS A D I DYMUS, ki ng of the Jews,Jumped into the fire and burnt both hi s shoes .

SONGS . 189

CCCXLVI .

WHAT care I how black I be,Twenty pounds wil l marry me

If twenty won’ t,forty Shall ,

I am my mother’ s boun cing girl

CCCXLVII.

A L ITTLE o ld man and I fell out ;How Shall we bring this mat ter about

Bring it about as well as you can ,

Get you gone, you little o ld man

CCCXLVI I I .

JOHN,come sell thy fiddl e,

And buy thy wife a gown

No, I’

ll not s ell my fiddl e,For ne’ er a wi fe in town .


CCCXLIX .

I W ILL tell my own daddy when he comes home,What little good work my mammy has done .

She has e arn t a penny, spent a groat ,And burnt a hole in the child’ s new coat .

CCCL .MY little o ld man and I fell out ,I’

ll tell you What ’ twas all about

I had mon ey and he had none,

And that’ s the way the row begun .

CCCLI .

R IDE , baby, ride,Pret ty baby shall ride

,

And have little puppy-dog tied to her side,

And l ittle pussy-cat tied to the other,

And away she shal l ride to see her grandmother.To see her grandmother

,

To see her grandmother .


192 NU RSERY RHYMES .

Can you wash it in yonder well ,Parsley, &c.

Where never sprung water, nor rain ever fell ?

And you, &c.

Can you dry it on yonder thorn,Parsl ey, &c .

Which never bore blossom since Adam was born ?

And you, &c .

Now you have ask’d me questions thr ee,

Parsley, &c .

I hope you ’

ll answer as many for me,

And you, &c.

Can you find me an acre of land,Parsley, &c .

Between the salt water and the sea sand ?

And you, &c.

Can you plough it with a ram’ s horn,Parsley, &c .

And sow it all over with one pepper-corn ?

And you, &c.

Can you reap it with a sickl e of leather,

Parsley, &c.

And bind it up with a peacock’ s feather ?

And you, &c .

S ONGS . 193

When you have don e and fin ish’

d your work,

Parsley, &c.

Then come to me for your cambric shirt 7

And you, &c .

CCCLV .

I LOV E sixpence, pretty little sixpence,I love Sixpence better than my li fe

I Spent a pen ny of i t , I spen t another,And took fourpence home to my wife .

Oh, my little fourpence, pretty littl e fourpen ce,I love fourpence better than my life

I spent a penny of it, I Spent another,And I took twopence home to my wife .

Oh, my little twopence, my pretty little twopence,I love twopen ce better than my life

I spen t a penny of it, I spent an other,And I took nothing home t o my wife .

Oh,my little nothi ng, my pretty little nothing,What will n othing buy for my wife

I have nothing, I spend n othing,I love nothing better than my wife .


CCCLVI .

OF all the gay birds that e ’ er I di d see,The owl is the fairest by far to me

For all the day lon g She Sits on a tree,And when the night comes away fli es She .

CCCLVI I .

LONDON bridge is broken down,Dance o’ er my lady le e

London bridge i s broken down ,

With a gay lady .

How Shall we build it up again

Dance o’ er my lady le e

How Shall we build it up again ?

With a gay lady .

S ilver and gold wi ll be stol e away,Dance o ’

er my lady le e

S ilver an d gold will he s tol e away,With a gay lady .

Build it up again with iron and steel,

Dance o’ er my lady le e ;Build it up with iron and steel,With a gay lady .



CCCLIX .

I HAD a lit tle hobby-horse, and it was well shod,I t carIi ed me to the mill -door, trod, trod, trod ;W hen I got there I gave a great shout ,Down came the hobby-hors e

,and I cried out .

Fi ii upon the mill er, he was a grea t beast ,He would not come to my hous e, I made a little feast

I had but little,but I woul d give him some,

For playing of his bagpipes and beating his dr um .

CCCLX .

D AN CE, little baby, dance up hi gh,Never mind, baby, mother is by ;

Crow and caper, caper and crow,

There, little baby, there you go

Up t o the ceiling, down to the ground,Backwards and forwards, roun d and round

Dance,little baby, and mother wi ll sing,

With the merry coral , ding, ding, ding .

SONGS .

CCCLXI .

I F all the s eas were one se a ,What a g re a t se a would that be !

And if all the trees were o n e tree,What a gr ea t tree that would be

And if all the axes were one axe,What a g re a t axe that woul d b e

And if al l the men were one man ,

What a gre a t man he would be

And if the g r ea t man took the g re a t

And cut down the g rea t tree,And le t it fal l into the g re a t s e a ,What a spli sh splash tha t would be

CCCLXI I .

J OHN BALL shot them all ;

John Scot t made the shot,

But John Bal l shot them all .

John Wyming made the priming,And John Brammer made the rammer,And John Scott made the shot ,But John Ball Shot them all .

19 /


John Block made the st ock,And John Brammer made the rammer,And John Wyming made the priming,And John Scott made the shot

,

But John Ball shot them all .

John Crowder made the powder,And John Block made the sto ck,And John Wymi ng made the priming,And John Brammer made the rammer,And John Scott made the Shot,But John Ball shot them al l .

John Puzzle made the muzzl e,And John Crowder made the powder

,

And John Block made the stock,And John Wymi ng made th e primi ng,And John Brammer made the rammer,And John Scott made the shot,But John Ball Shot them all .

John Clint made the flint,And John Puzzle made the muzzl e

,

And John Crowder made the powder,

And John Block made the s tock,And John Wyming made the priming,And John Brammer made the rammer,And John Scott made the Shot,But John Ball shot them all .



CCCLXV .

GO to bed, Tom !

Go t o bed, Tom !

Drunk or sober,Go to bed, Tom !

CCCLXVI .

OLD woman , o ld woman, shall we go a shearing ?

Speak a litt le louder, sir, I am very thi ck of hear ing .

Old woman, o ld woman , Shall I kiss you dearly ?

Thank you, kind sir, I hear you very clearly

CCCLXVI I .

[From“ H istri o -maxtix , o r, the Player Wh ip t , 4to , Lo nd .

16 10 .Mr. Rimbau l t tel ls me this is commo n in Yo rksh ire .]

SOME up, some down,

There are players, in town,

You wot well who they be ;The sun doth rise

,

To three companies,

One, two, three, four make wee !

SONGS . 20 1

Besides we that travel,With pumps full of gravel ,

Made of such runn ing leather '

That on ce in a week,New masters we s eek,

And never can hold together .

F OURTEENTH CLASS—FRAGMENTS .

CCCLXVII I .

L ITTLE boy, pretty boy, where was you born ?

In Lincolnshir e, master come blow the cow’

s horn .

A half-penny puddi ng, a penny pie,A shoulder of mutton, and that love I .

CCCLXIX .

WH EN I was a little boy, I had but little wit,It is some time ago and I ’ve no more yet ;Nor ever ever shall, until that I di e ,For the longer I l ive, the more fool am I .



CCCLXXI I I .

How many mil e s is it to Babylon

Threescore mi l es and ten .

Can I get there by candl e-light ?

Ye s , and back again !

If your heels are nimble and light,You may get there by candle-light .

CCCLXXIV .

[ The fo l low ing s tanz a is Of very consi derable antiqui ty, and

commo n in Yo rkshire—Se e H un ter ’s Ha llamshire G lo ssary p .

LADY-COW , lady-cow, fly thy way home,Thy house is on fire, thy chil dr en all gone,All but one that ligs un der a ston e,Ply thee home, lady- cow, ere it be gone .

CCCLXXV .


Lady-bird ! Lady-bird

Fly away home,Your house is on fire

,

Your children will burn .

FRAGMENTS .

CCCLXXVI .

S ING j igmij o le , the pudding-bowl,The table and the frame

My master he di d cudgel me ,

For kiss ing of my dame .

CCCLxx vu .

HERE stan ds a fis t ,Who set i t there

A better man than you, sir,Touch him if you dare

205

FIFTEENTH CLASS TRANSLATIONS .

CCCLXXVI I I. (p .

[By Pro fesso r Po rso n , o rigina lly printed in a new spaperfragment o f an o ld Greek p1ay.]

v o aMowr’zxr o v g rp in'

r vxo r xbpo t {7o"

9 s Oépo v g zlva tpo v r eg eb rdpo org wo o-i,

Ama l g E'

m rr‘

r o v , o l a (inw irr'r ew (pixel ,“

An a v r eg'

ei r'

f tpw yo v o i heha paév or.

cl a sp flo a t! éy ic sich ewpév o t p oxho’

i g,”

H n o o iv bhw edv o v r eg t i l Enpcfiwédq) ,

v o d'

mdv fiGéhno a n eprdéoGa t o r a 9pdw,

E lmi pépog r t 7 47mvéwv éo ai Ze ‘

r o .

(I) r oxei g, 30mg pév T v yxc'

we i,

0 6 0 19 63m), fiha o rnp a r’

e z’

zréicv o v o rropc'

i g,”

H v ebr vxéi g s iixnUGe r dg v a'

Z’650 09

To i g wa tch) , 553 opting i n dbh o tg (pvhofo o sr e .

CCCLXXIX . (p.

ILLE citharistae fili us,

Thomas,Thomas n ominatus,

Porculo surrepto currit :

Porcus cito man ducatus,

Thomas, cito v erb e ratus,Ulul an s per Vi cum fur it,Ulul ans per v icum fur it .



CCCLXXXI I I . (p .

HE I didulum ! atque iterum di dulum ! f e li sque fide sque ,Vacca super lun ae cornua pro silui t

Nescio qua catulus risit dul cedin e ludi

Ab stuli t e t turpi lanx cochl eare fuga .

CCCLXXXIV. ( p .

Humtius in muro requi evi t Dumtius alto

Humtius e muro Dumtius heu ce cidit !

Sed non regis equi, regin ae exercitus omn i s,Humti , te, Dumti , re sti tuere loco !

CccLxxxv . ( p.

HUMPTI E Dumpt ie pen dait au mur,Humpt ie Dumpt ie tomba Si dur ;

Ni tous le s chevaux, ui le s hommes du roi,

Mettront Humptie Dumptie comme autrefois .

TRAN SLAT ION S . 209

CCCLXXXVI . (p.

IN FAN S , quadrivium ad Banburie n sium

Manno t e ce lerem corripe ligneo

Nigro ve ctam ibi equo co n spici e s anum .

En quin que in digit is sex habet annulo s .

CCCLXXXVII . (p .

GARCON S e t fille s, ven ez toujours ,La lun e e st brill ante comme le j our ;Ven ez nu brui t d’

un j oyeux éclat ,Venez de b on coeur, ou n e ven ez pas .

CCCLXXXVI I I . (p .

QU IDAM in de sertis blanda me v oce rogavi t ,Fraga quot in pelagi fluct ibus orta putes

Ncc mal e quae sitis hoc respondere v ideb ar,Salsa quot alecum mill ia sylva f e rat .

’


CCCLXXXIX. (p .

[L’H isto rie t te suivante e st empruntée fidéleme nt d’une ancienne

chanson qui a été prese rve j usqu’a ce j our avec une so l icitude

vra ieme nt religieus e par le s n o urr ices e t tous le s grands po '

etesde l ’Angle te rre . La l igne premiere de l ’o rigina l commence avecTH ERE WAS AN OI D WOMAN” (qui, i l es t ne

’

cessa ire de d ire e npassan t, il ne faut pas co nfo ndre avec cette femme intéressan te del ’H isto ire , qui L I V ED IN A SHOE”) e t elle fin it par, AN D WHAT

D o YOU TH INK ? ]

IL y avait une vieille femme, qui—e st ce pos sible a croire ?

Ne pouvait pas vivr e sans manger e t boire .

Ell e mangeait si bien,—que son pauvr e mari

Ne trouvait pas meme un e croute lai ssée pour lui .

Mais elle sortit nu j our,pour acheter du pain ,

Et , avan t son retour, il n’

avait plus fairn

Elle sortit encore pour faire sonn er l ’egl ise,Et, quand elle revi n t, il savourait une pris e .

cccxc . ( p.

LACERPI C I FE RO jugo sedeb at ,Et si non ab e at , di u sedeb it ,

Spes ill e ultima Pil l ico ccio rum .


A P P E N D I X.

CCCXCI I .

[From “ Bracebridge Hall ,” 8vo , Lo nd . 1 822 , vo l .

WH O goes roun d the house at n ight ?

Non e but bloody Tom !

Who steals all the Sheep at n ight ?

Non e, but on e by on e .

CCCXCII I .

BRYAN O’

Lin had n o watch to put o n ,

SO he scooped out a turnip to make himself

He caught a cricket and put it withi n ,

And called it a ticker did Bryan O’

Lin !

CCCXC IV .

BRYAN O’

Lin had no breeches to wear,So he bought him a sheepskin to make him a

With the skinny side out, and the woolly side

Oh ! how nice and warm,cried Bryan O’

Lin .

AP PENDIX . 2 13

CCCXCV .

[Theman had o ne eye, and the tree o ne app le upo n i t. ]

THE RE was a man who had no eyes,

He wen t abroad to view the Skies :

He saw a tree with apples on it,He t ook no apples o ff, yet left no apples on i t .

CCCXCVI .

[A game at fo rfei ts ]MY lady’ s lap-dog .

Two Pers ian cherry trees and my lady’ s

,&c .

Three grey elephants , two, &c .

Four Indi an monkeys singing a merry song o n

Kill igrew’

s wedding-day, three, &c .

Five flat floating fly-boat s saili ng from Madagascar t o

Moun t Cornelia, four, &c .

S ix score of Italian dan cing-masters teaching a raven

and a magpie to Sing, five, &c .

Seven pair of Don Rons with two pair of whiskers 0 11 ,six, &c.

Eight concubines taken from the grand Signior’ s

seragli o, seven, &c.

Nine Turkey merchants clothed in green and grey,standing before the Porto Bristo, eight, &c .

Ten sons ofMahackmedash , going from Incul o to

Pinculo , to marry the ten daughters of Abednego,nine, &c .


CCCXCVI I .

CUSHY cow bonny, le t down thy milk ,

And I will give thee a gown of silk

A gown of silk and a silver t e e ,If thou wil t le t down thy milk to me .

CCCXCVI I I.

W ILLY boy, Willy boy, where are you going .

I’

ll go with you, if I may

I ’m going to the meadow to se e them a mowing,I ’m going to help them make hay .

CCCXCIX.

RAIN, rain, go away,Come again another day

Little ArthurWants to play .


2 16 NUR SERY RHYMES .

CCCC I I I .

TH ERE was an o ld woman call ed Nothing-at -all,

Who rej oiced in a dwelli ng exce edingly small

A man stretched his mouth to its utmost exten t,And down at one gulp house and o ld woman went .

CCCCIV .

H I N x , mi nx ! the o ld witch winks,The fat begin s to fry

There’ s nobody at home but jumping

Fa ther, mother, and I !

CCCCV .

To market, to market,To buy a plum bun

Home again, home again ,

Market is done .

AP PEND IX .

CCCCV I .

AS I was going o’ er Westminst er bridge,I met with a Westminster scholar ;

He pull ed o ff his cap and drew o ff hi s glove,And wished me a very good morrow .

CCCCV I I .

E V ERY lady in this land

Has twen ty n ails upon each hand,Five and twen ty han ds and feet,Al l this is true without deceit .

CCCCV I II .

WH I SKUMwhaskumover the knee

Thank you, mama,for slapping of me .

2 17

NURSERY RHYMES.

CCCCX .

BLACK we are, but much admiredMen seek for us till they are tired .

We t ire the hors e, but comfort man

Tell me this riddl e if you can .

CCCC IX .

fir tar is,oak none is

mud e el is,clay none is .


220 NOTES .

S ixpence ? I w i l l go to market, and buy a l i ttle p ig . As she was

coming home, she came to a s ti le : but piggy w o uld no t go o verthe s tyle.

She went a l i ttle further, and she me t a dog. So she sa id tothe dog , D o g ! b ite p ig ; piggy w o n

’t go o ver the s tyle ; and I

shan ’t ge t home to n igh t. B ut the do g w o uld no t.She w ent a li tt le further, and she me t a stick . So she sa id ,

S t ick s t ick ! bea t dog ; dog w o n’t bi te pig ; piggy wo n

’t ge t o ver

the s ti le ; and I shan’

t ge t home to n ight . B ut the s t ick wouldn o t

She w ent a l ittle further, and she me t a fire . So she sa i d ,F ire ! fire burn s tick s t ick w o n ’

t beat dog ; dog w o n’

t b i te pig ,( a nd s o f or th , a lways r epe a ti ng the f oreg o ing w ords .) B ut the fire

w o u ld no t.“ She w ent a l i ttle fdrthe r ; and she me t s ome w a ter. So She

sa id , Wa ter ! w ater ! quench fire ; fire w on’

t burn st ick . But the

wa ter w o uld n o t. a

She w ent a l i tt le further, and she me t an o x . SO she sa id,Ox ! o x ! d rink water ; water wo n ’

t quench fire , & c. But the o x

w o uld n o t.She w ent a l i ttle fur ther, and she me t a butcher. So She sa id ,

Butcher ! butcher ! ki l l o x o x wo n’

t drink w a te r, 81 0 . B ut the

butcher wo uld no t.She w e nt a l ittle further, and she me t a ro pe . So she sa id

,

Ro pe l ro pe l hang butcher ; butcher w o n’

t k i l l ox , & c. But the

ro pe wo u ld no t.“ She w ent a l i ttle further, a nd she me t a rat . So she sa id

,

Ra t ! ra t ! gnaw ro pe ; ro pe wo n ’ t hang butcher, & c. But the

ra t w o uld no t .“ She w en t a l i tt le further, and she me t a ca t. So she sa id ,

C a t ! ca t ! k i ll ra t ; ra t w o n ’ t gnaw rope , & c . But the ca t sa id,

to he r, i f yo u w i ll go to yo nder co w , and fetch me a s aucer o f

mi lk , I w il l k i ll the rat. So away w e n t the o ld w oman to the cow .

" B ut the co w sa id to he r, I f yo u w i l l go to yo nder hays tack, ‘

Or haymake rs , pro ce e d ing thus i n the s te ad o f th e re s t o f th is pai a !

graph and fe tch me a w isp o f ha y , I ’ll g ive you the m i lk. So awa y th e

o ld woman we n t , but the haymake rs sa id to h e r, I f yo u w i l l go to yo nde r

NOTE S . 22 1

and fetch me a handful o f hay ; I ’ l l give yo u the mi lk . So aw ayw ent the o ld w oman to the haystack and She brought the b ay tothe cow .

As so on as the cow had eaten the hay , she gave the o ldw omanthe mi lk and aw ay she w ent w ith i t in a saucer to the ca t.

As so o n as the ca t had lapped up the mi lk , the ca t began to

ki l l the rat ; the ra t began to gnaw the ro pe ; the ro pe began tohang the butcher ; the butcher began to k i l l the o x ; the o x beganto drink the w ater ; the w a ter began to quench the fire ; the fire

began to burn the st ick the stick began to beat the dog ; the dogbegan to b ite the pig ; the l i ttle pig in a frigh t j umped o ver th es t i le and SO the o ld w oman go t home tha t n ight .

THERE w as an o ld w oman , that l ived in a house : and, sweeping under he r bed, she found a s ilver penny . So she went tomarket and bo ugh t a pig bu t as she came home, the pig w ouldno t go o ver the st i le.

She w en t a l itt le further, and she me t a dog ; and she sa id tothe dog , Go o d dog ! bite pig : pig w o n

’t go ; and it

’s t ime that I

w as at h ome an ho ur and a ha lf ago . But the dog w o uld no t .

(An d so f or th , a s in th e o the r s torg , mu ta t i s mu tandis , to the Ra t . )

She w ent a l ittle fur ther, and she me t a cat . So She sa i d tothe cat

,Go o d ca t ! ki ll ra t ; ra t w o n

’

t bite ro pe ro pe w o n’t hang

butcher ; butcher w o n ’

t k il l o x ; o x w o n’

t dri nk w ater ; w aterw o n

’ t quench fire ; fire w o n’t burn s t ick ; s tick w o n

’

t beat pig ;pig w o n ’

t go . And i t'

s t ime that I w as at home a n h o ur and a

ha lf ago .

The cat began to ki l l the rat ; the ra t began ( and so f or th ,in the o the r s tory the pig began to go . And so the o ld w oman

go t home at last.

s tre am, and fe tch us a bucke t o f wa t e r , w e ’l l give y o u th e h ay . So awav the

o ld w oman w e n t , b u t wh e n sh e go t t o th e s tre am , sh e fo und th e buck e t w asfu l l o f ho le s. So sh e co ve re d t he b o t t om w i th pe b b le s , and th e n fi l l e d th ebucke t w i th wa te r , and aw ay sh e w e n t back w i th i t t o th e h aymake rs an d

the y gave h e r a w i sp o f hay .

222 NOTES .

It will be observed that these two versions, for which

I am indebted to Mr. Black, are much more like the

Hebrew tal e than The H ous e tha t Jack bui lt ; but as our

coll ection woul d scarcely be comple teWithout this latter

I shall insert a w ry of it

I . Tm s is the house that Jack bui lt.

2 . Th is is the malt,That lay in the ho use tha t Jack bu i lt.

3 . Th is is the ra t,Tha t a te the ma lt,That lay in the ho use that Jack buil t .

4. This is the cat,

Tha t k ill ’d the ra tThat a te the ma lt,That lay in the ho use tha t Jack bui lt .

5 . This is the dog,Tha t w orried the cat ,That k i ll ’d the ra t,Tha t ’ate the ma lt,That lay in the ho use that Jack bui lt .

6 . ! This is the cow w ith the crump led ho rn ,

Tha t to ssed the dog,Tha t w o rried the cat,

That ki ll ’d the rat,That a te the ma l t,That lay in the house that Jack bui lt .

7 . This is the ma iden a ll fo rlo rn,That milk ’d the cow w i th a crumpled ho rn ,That to ssed the dog,


224 NOTES .

That w ak’

d the priest a ll shaven and sho rn,That married the man a ll tatte r

’

d a nd to rn ,

Tha t k issed the ma i de n all fo r lo rn ,Tha t mi lk ’

d the cow w ith the crumpled ho rn ,

Tha t to ss ’d the dog ,That w o rr ied the cat,

That k ille d the rat,Tha t a te the me lt,That lay in the ho use that Jack bui lt.

P . 13, l . 1 . The ros e is r ed . The tune to this may

be found in the Engli sh Dancing Master,”1650 .

P . 19, l . 6 . To g ern . That is, to cry as a child .

P 22 l . 8 . D euce take the . Sometimes, “ down

came .

P . 24, l . 9 . There was a li t t le man . Sung to the

same tune as No . 64 . The foll owing version is taken

from a broadside printed at Strawberry Hill in the last

century

There w as a l i ttle man, and he w o o ’d a l ittle ma i d ,And he sa id , my l i ttle ma id , w i l l you w ed ?

I have l ittle mo re to say, than w i ll yo u ye a o r nay ?Fo r little sa id i s so on mended.

Then this l ittle ma i d she sa id , L ittle s ir, yo u’ve l i ttle sa id,

To induce a l itt le ma i d fo r to w edYo u mus t say a l i ttle mo re, and must add a l ittle dower,Ere I make a l i tt le prin t in yo ur bed.

Then th is lit t le man re ply’d, i f yo u

’ ll be my l i ttle br ide,I ’l l ra i se my lo ve no te a l ittle h igher ;

Tho’ I l i ttle lo ve to prate, ye t yo u

’l l find my heart is great,W i th the l i ttle God o f Lo ve a l l o n fire .

[0 N

)

Or

NOTES .

Then the l ittle ma id she sa id , yo ur fire may w arm the bed,B ut what sha l l w e do fo r to e at ?

W i ll the flames you ’re o n ly rich in , make a fire in the k i tchen.

And the l ittle God o f Lo ve turn the spit ?

Then th is l i ttle man he s igh’

d, and some say a li tt le cry’

d ,

And his l ittle heart w as big al l w ith so rrowI ’l l be yo ur l ittle s lave, and i f the l i ttle tha t I haveBe to o l it tle, l ittle dear, I w il l bo rrow .

Then th is l ittle man so shent, made the l itt le ma id relent ,And se t he r l ittle s o u l a - th inking ;

T ho ’ h is li ttle w as b ut sma l l, ye t she had his l it tle a ll ,And cou ld have o f a ca t b ut he r sk in .

”

P . 25, l . l . I had a li t t le mopp e t . This is a game .

P . 27, l . 8 . Thr e e chi ldren s liding on the ice . Sung

to the tune of the Babes in the Wood

P . 28, l . 3 . Some Chris t i an p eop le . Music in

D’

Urfey’

s“ Pills t o purge Melan choly .

” Alluded to

in Gay’ s Trivia . Wrongly printed, “ Come, Chris t ian

people .”

P . 33 , l . 1 1 The r e was a n o ld woman . The first

two l in es are the same with those of a song in D ’

Urf ey’

s

Pil ls to purge Melan choly .

P . 34, l . 3 . Ky lo e . The diminutive of kye,a small

breed of cattle so call ed in the North of England .

P . 39, l . 5 . Li t t le blue B e t ty liv ed in a den . The

following is another version of this

L i ttle Brow n Bet ty l iv ’

d under a pan,She b rew

’d go o d a le fo r a gen tlema n

A gen tleman came every day,So l ittle Brown B e tty hopp ’d away.

226 NOTE S .

P . 37, l . 9. Faus tus . Perhaps Foster .

P . 43, l . 13 . There was an o ld man . A similar story i s

related in a MS . of the fif teen th cen tury in the Che tham

Library at Manchester, which I here insert

Jhesu that arte j e n tyl le , (f o r j o ye ofi'

thy dame,As thu wrough t thys wyde w o rlde , in bevyn is thi h ome ,Save a l le thys compe ny and sheld them from schame ,

That wylle lystyn to me and tende to thys game.

Go d kepe a l le w omen that to thys towne lo nge,Mayde ns, w e dows , and wyvys amonge ;Fo r mo che the ar b lamyd and some tyme w i th w ro nge ,I take wytte ne s o f a l le fi

‘

o lke that he rythe thys so ng.

Lystyn, goo d se rrys , bo the yo ng and o lde,By a go o d how sbande thys ta le shalbe to lde ;H e w eddyd a wome ne that w as fi

‘

ayre and bo lde,

And b ade go o d i-now t o w ende as they w o lde.

She w as a go o d huswyfe , curte ys and heynd,And he w as an angry man, and s o ne w o ld be te nyd,Chydyng and brawlynge , and fa rde leyke a fe ynd,

As they that o ftyn wylbe w ro the w i th ther best frend.

Tylle i tt be fe lle uppo n a day , sh o rtt talle to make ,The go o dman w o ld to the plo w ,

his h o rse gan he takeHe ca lyd fo rthe hys o xsyn, the whyt and the b lake,And he seyd, dame , dyght o ur denner be tyme , fo r G o des sak e .

The go o dman an hys lade to the p low be go ne,The go o dwyf b ade meche to do o , and servant had se no ne ,Many sma le chylde rn to kepe b e syd hyrse lfe a lo ne,She dyde mo r then she myght w ithyn he r owh e wo ne .

H ome com the go o dman be tyme o ff the day ,

To loke that a l th ing w e r aco rdyng to he s pay,D ame,” he sed,

“ is owr dyner dyght “ Syr, sche sayd , naveH ow w o ld yo u have me do o mo r then I may ?

”


228 NOTE S .

D ame,” sed the go o dman, the de ve lle have thy bo nes !Thou ne dyst no t bake no r brew in fo rtnyght pas t o nys ;I sey no go o d that tho u do s t w i th in thes wyd w onys ,But ever thow e xcusyst the w ith gro n te s and gro nys .

Yefe a pe ce o ff le nyn and wo le n I make o nys a ye re,Fo r to c lo the owre self and ow r che ldre n in fere ;E lles w e sho ld go to the market, and by he t ful de e r,I ame as bessy as I may in every [yere.]

Whan I have so do nne,I lo ke o n the so nne ,

I o rdene me t fo r ow r bes tes agen tha t yow come h ome,And me t fi

'

o r owr selfe agen b e t be no ne,Ye t I have no t a fi'

eyr w o rd Wh an I h ave do ne .

$0 0 I lo ke to owr go o d w i thow t and w i thyn ,

That ther be no ne aw ay node r mo r no rmyn ,

G lade to p les yow to pay, l est any ba te begyn ,

And fo rt to ch id thus w i th me , i - fe yght yow be in synne.

Then se d the go odman in a sory tyme ,All e thys wo ld a go o d hows ewyf do lo ng ar he t w ere prime

And sene the go o d that w e have is halfe dele thyn ,

Thow sha l t laber fo r thy part as I do o fo r myne.”

The rfi'

o r, dame , make the redy , I warne the , ano ne,T o mo row w i th my lade to the p lowe thou sha lt goneAnd I wylb e how sewyfe a nd kype ow r h ow se a t home,And take myn e se as tho u hast do ne, by God and Seih t Jo hn

I graun t, quo d the go odwyfe , as I w nde rs to nde ,

To mo row e in the mo rnyng I wylb e w a lke ndeYe t wylle I ryse Whyl le ye be s le pande ,And se e that a lle theng be redy led to yo ur b and.

8 0 0 i t pas t al le to the morow that b e t w as dayleyght ;

The go odwyfi'

e thoght o n he r ded and upe she ro se ryghtDame,” se id the go o dmane , I swe re be Go des myght II wyl ie fette hom ow r bes tes , and helpe tha t the w ar de gh t.

NOTE S . 229

The go o dman to the feeld hyed bym fulle yarneThe godwy fe made butter, he r dedes w ar fulle derne,She toke ayen the butte n me lke and put b e t in the che yrn e ,

And se id ye t o f? o n pynt ow r syer shalbe to lerne.

H ome come the go o dman and t o ke go o d kype,

Ho w the w yfe had layd he r hesche fo r to s tepaShe sayd , Sir, al thes day ye ne d no t to s le pe ,

Kype wylle o wr che lde rne and le t them no t w epa .

Yfi'

yow go o to the kelmema lt fo r to make,Put sma l feyr o nde rne the , s ir, fo r G o des sak e ;The kelme is low e and dry , go o d tend that ye take,Fo r and b e t ie styn o n a feyr i t wylb[e ] evi lle to blake.

H e r s itt lJ. gese abrode , kype them wyl ie from w o o .

And thei may com to go o d, tha t wyl le w esk so row i o now .

Dame,” seid the go o dmane , by the to the p low e,Teche me no mo re howsewy fre , fo r I can i -no we.”

Fo rthe w ent t he go odwyfl“, curte s and hende,Sche ca llyd to he r lade, and to the plow e they w end ;Th e y w e r beséa t day , a fytte here I fynde ,And I had dro nke o nes , ye sha lle heyre the bes t b e bynd .

P . 48 , l . 1 . Lucy Lo cke t . Lucy Locket and K it ty

Fisher were two celebrated courtezan s of the t ime of

Charles I I . I t w as to the tune of this nursery rhyme

that the song of Yankee Doodle” was written .

P . 49, l . 6 . B essy B e ll a nd Ill a ry Gray . These

tw o stan zas are founded o n the well -kn own Scot ch

s tory .

P . 51 , l . 9 . The first lin e is sometimes as follows

Ro bin a Bo bbin , a Bi lberry h e n .

”

230 NOTES .

P . 52, l . 7. The merriment of Jack H orner has, I

be lieve , long since departed from the modern s eries, and

I therefore give the foll owi ng copy of it from Douce ’ s

coll ection The History of Jack Horner, con taining

the witty pranks he play’d, from his youth to his riper

years, being ple asant for Winter Evenings .

Of his bir th a nd educa ti on .

J ACK HORNER w as a pretty lad ,near Lo ndo n h e d id dwell,

H is father ’s heart he made full glad ,his mo ther lo ved h im well.

She o ften se t h im o n he r lap ,

to turn h im dry benea th ,And fed h im w i th sw eet sugar-pap,because he had no teeth .

Wh i le li ttle Jack w as sweet and yo ung,i f b e by chance shou ld cry,

H is mo ther pretty so nnets sung ,w ith lulla-bahy-hy .

A pretty b oy , a cur ious w it,a ll peo pl e spo ke in h is pra ise,

And in the co rner he w o uld s i t,o n Chris tmas ho l idays .

And sa id , Jack H om er in the co rner,eats go o d Chris tmas pyeW i th h is thumbs pul ls o ut the p lums,crying w ha t a g o o d b o y was I .


232 NOTE S .

The kn igh t righ t genero us and free ,d id fo r a taylor send ,

Fo r to make Jack a l ivery,so much w as b e his friend.

O f ha lf a yard o f go o d broad clo ththe co a t w as to be made,

But ye t the taylo r he w as lo thto qu i t his th ievish trade.

The knavish taylo r w as to blame ,( a crafty cunn ing w ag ,)

H e pinch’

d as much o ut o f the sameas made a marble bag.

H is co at w as spo il’d then be ing made ,

i t came no t to h is kneeJack in a raging pa ss io n said ,I’ll be revenged o n thee.

The kn igh t b e having k i ll ’d a go a t,w ho se sk in w as ful l as b lackI do declare as any s o o t ;

this proj ect p leas e d J ack .

He w rapt i t ro und h im l ike a gow nat twelve o

’

clo ck a t n igh t,

And then he ramb led thro ’

the tow n ,

th is tay lo r to afi'

right .

H e thro ugh a w indow did advance ,n ear to the tay lo r’s bed ;

And ro und the ro om did skip and danceWi th h o rns upo n h is head .

He grow l’

d a nd grumbled l ike a bear,and did such anticks play

As made the tay lo r then to stare,and tremble w here he lay .

NOTE S . 233

Seeing the ho rns hang o ’e r his head,

his bo dy sho rt and th ick ,The tay lo r sa id, speak , who art tho u ?quo th Jack , thy frien d o ld N ick

Thou hast o bey ’d my o rder w ellI find in each degree

And therefo re in my glo omy cel l,I have a p lace fo r thee .

Fo r you have been a friend indeed,I such a tay lo r lackTherefo re come away w i th speed ,I ’ll bear thee o n my back

SweetMr. Devil, then he cry ’d,

O pardo n me , I prayI can ’t , I wo n

’

t, b e then re ply

’d,

make haste and come away .

The taylo r naked to the sk in,his bed he did refra in

,

And down the town thro ’ th ick and th in,he ran w ith might and ma in .

I I I .

se rved the cook-ma id , who broke his he ad w i th a

f or making a s op in the dr ipping-

p an .

ANOTH ER p leasant prank he play’

d,

upon a ho l iday ,Unto his master’s servant ma id,w h ich w as a b lo o dy fray .

Now she w as lusty Jane by name,and w as the ir co nstan t co o k :

And w hen he to the k itchen came,she w o uld him o verlo o k .

234 NOTE S .

Upo n a certa in day yo ung Jack,a s l ice o f bread did take,

And threw i t in the dripp ing-pan ,that he a sop might make.

So so o n as she the same d id s e e ,

i t put he r in a rage ,And w i th the bast ing ladle sheJack Ho rner did engage.

She gave him crack s upo n the crown,

so hard and s truck so fas t,Tha t he a t length did tumb le dow n ,

and gasping a t the las t.

B ut though he d id a t first retreat ,he s o on returned aga in

Fo r standing fas t upo n h is feet ,b e fought w i th might and ma in .

He w as but th irteen i nches h igh ,and she ful l s ix t imes mo re,

Ye t, by his ingenuity,he brought he r to the flo o r.

So cruel hard he made he r ro ar,She cry

’d Le t me a lone,And I w i l l ne ’er o ff end thee mo re ,Jack , w hi le my name is Jo an .

Why , then, sa i d Jack , i f i t be sothat yo u ’ ll no tme o ffend ,I w i l l th is minute le t you goand so the fray did e nd.


236 NOTE S .

I have a pi pe w h ich I ’ l l be s to wupo n you,—never do ubt ,

Who ever hears the same yo u b lo w ,

shall dance and sk ip abo ut ;

I have a co at fo r thee l ikew ise.invis ible I mean ;

And i t shal l so bedim the ir eyes ,tha t tho u shalt no t be seen

I f tho u should w i th an hundred meetw hen thus yo u pass a lo ng ,A ltho ugh upo n the Open stree t,no t one o f al l the thro ng

Sha ll ever se e yo u in the least.but bear the mus ic so und

And w o nder that bo th man and beas tis fo rc ’d to dance around .

J ack to o k the co a t and bag-pipes to o ,

and thankfully d id say ,O ld Father, I w i ll ca l l o n yo uw hene ’er I come this way .

V .

making s ix/iddlers dance ove r hedge and

bro/re a ll the ir g las se s a nd crowds .

T H I S co at and p ipe b e having go t ,he homewards t rudg ’d w ith speed

At length i t w as h is happy lo tto cro s s a pleasant mead

Where b e s ix fiddle rs so o n e spy’

d

return ing from the fa ir ;Unde r the ir co ats crowds by their s ides ,w i th many o thers there.

ti ll they

NOTES .

Jack presently h is co at put on ,tha t scre e n ’d h im from their s igh t,

Saying I ’ ll do the be s t I canto p lague them a l l this n igh t ;

H is pipes b e stra ight began to p lay ,the cro wders they did dance ;The tradesmen to o , as fas t as they,did caper, sk ip , and prance.

St il l he play ’d up a merry stra ino n h is pipes loud and shri ll ,

So they daue ’d and j ump’d ama in ,tho

’

so re aga inst their w i ll .

Sa i d they this is enchanted gro und ,fo r tho ugh no so ul w e se e ,

Ye t s ti l l the mus ic’s pleasant so und ,makes us dance ve h’

me ntly .

Jack Ho rner danc ’d and pip ing w ent

isstra ight dow n in to the ho l low ,

So all these dancers by co nsen t,they after him did fo llow .

He led them o n thro ’ ho gs and s lo ughs ,nay , l ikew ise po nds and di tches,

And in the tho rny br iary boughs ,po o r rogues , they to re the ir breeches

At last i t being s omewhat late,Jack did his pip ing leave,

So ce a s’

d,seeing the ir w retched s ta te

w h ich made them s igh and grieve .

Sure th is same is o ld N ick , I know ,

the autho r o f this ev i lAnd o thers cry

’

d, i f i t be so ,

he is a merry devi l .

J a ck’

s kindnes s to the innke ep e r , who he puts in a

NOTES .

Jack Ho rner laugh ’d and went away,and left them in despa ir

So ever s ince that very day ,no crow ders w o uld come there.

V I .

to p ay his de bts .

AN ho nest man , a n innkeeper,a friend to honest Jack ,Who w as in debt a las so far

that he was l ike to crack ;

Now this man had a handsome w i fe,sw eet, fa ir, and beauteous to o ,A Quaker lov ’d he r as h is l i fe,

and th is Jack Homer knew .

The Quaker w a s an esqu ire bo rn,and did in w ea lth abo und

Sa i d b e , I ’l l ca tch h im in the corn,

and put him in the po nd.

F irst to the innkeeper I ’ l l go ,

and w hen I do h im find,

H e so o n shal l understand and knowthat I ’l l be true and k ind .

He me t him in a n arrow la ne,and sai d, my friend , go o d morrow

But the i nnkee per re ply’

d aga in ,my heart is full o f so rrow ;

Two hundred pounds I am in debt,w h ich I must pay next w eek ;

I t makes me s igh , lamen t, and fret,having the co in to seek.


240 NOTES .

She seemingly began to w eep ,and w i th sad s ighs reply ’d

You know , a las ! I canno t s le epw itho ut yo u by my s ide.

Cries b e , kin d w i fe, do no t repine ,why sho uld you s igh and gr ie ve 5

I go o ut to a friend o f minesome mo ney to receive.

Th is sa i d , w i th w oman fo nd decei t,she stra igh tway ce as ’d to mo urn ,

And gave him twenty kisses sweet,w ishing h is safe return.

So so o n as he w as o ut o f s igh t,she fo r the Quaker sen t ,

And o rde red h im to come a t n igh t,tha t to their heart ’s co ntent

They may be merry, sport, and p lay ,as he r husband was from home.The Quaker sa id, by ye a and nay ,

I w i ll no t fa i l to come.

Now j ust about the clo se o f daythey did to supper fa l l

Now Jack was there as w ell as they,and wa lk’d abo ut the b all ,

And d id he r fo n d behav io ur no te,she o n he r frien d did lean ,

Jack having his enchan t ing coa tw a s no t fo r to be s een .

Who perfectly did hear and se e

when they did toy and p layTho ugh t b e , I ’ll be re ve ng ’d o n ye,befo re the mo rn ing day .

>l< >l< >is

NOTE S 241

VI I .

J a ck 310 313 a mons trous g ian t, and ma rr i e s a kn ight’s daughte r .

JACK HORNER. a fierce giant kill ’d ,o ne Ga ll igan tus sto ut,

As large as ever man beheldin al l the w o rl d throughout .

Th is very gian t co u ld w ith ease,step fifteen yards in length

Up by the ro o t he pluck ’d o ak trees .s o mighty w as h is strength .

H is l ips did Open l ike two gates,his bea rd hung down l ike w ire,

H is eyes were l ike twopew ter p lates ,he breathed smoke and fire .

’Tis sa id that he de stroy’

d as muchas te n sco re me n co u ld e a t ;

So that the peo p le d id him grudgeevery b it o f meat.

H is mess w as s til l con t inua llytw o bullo cks in a d ishThen he w o uld drink w ho le ri vers dry ,and thus he s tarv ’

d the fish

He w en t to dr ink i t seems o ne dayby a deep r i ver s ide ,Wherea t a ligh ter ful l o f strawd id then a t ancho r ri de

Bes ides ano ther ful l o f haya third w i th b lo ck and bi l let ;

He cramm ’d al l these in to his maw ,

and ye t they did no t fil l i t .

242 NOTE S .

H e did annoy the nat io ns then ,by n igh t and eke by day

Who ever passed by h is de n ,

be came h is fata l prey .

H ard by there l iv ’

d a nob le kn ight ,who had o ne daughter dear ;

Fo r youth and splendid beauty brigh tbut few cou ld he r come near.

He pre fe rr’d he r to be the wi fe

o f h im that w ould destro yThe brut ish cruel gian t ’s l ife,w ho d id them so anno y .

A t length Jack H o rner be ing to ld ,w ho ever d id h im s lay ,

M ight have go ld a nd s i lver eke ,l ikew ise a lady gay ;

Quo th Jack , now le t me l ive o r d ie ,I ’ ll fight th is sw inging bo arTho ugh I ’m but th irteen inches h igh ,

and b e te n yards a nd more .

A swo rd he go t five inches long ,a l ittle cap o f steel ;A breas t-p late to o bo th s to ut and s tro ngquo th Jack , I ’ ll mak e him reel .

Upo n a badger’s back h e go t,in o rder to pro ceedThus being moun ted cap-a-pie,aw ay he ro de full speed .

W i th do uble co urage s tout and bra lle ,

he d id h is valo ur keepThen coming to the giant ’s cave ,he found h im fast as leep .


244 NOTE S .

P . 77, l . 9 . She took a clean dish. Sometimes thus

She wen t to the tripe r’s .

”

P . 8 1, l . 1 . The re was a lady a ll shin and bone . The

following version was obtained from Yorkshi r e, Where

it is used in a nursery game

There was an o ld woman she w ent to church to prayAnd when she go t to the churchyard s t i le ,She sa t he r down to th ink a l ittle whi le ;And when she go t to the churchyard do o r,She sat he r down , to think a l ittle mo reAnd when she go t to the church w i th in,She knelt her down to pray fo r sinShe lo ok

’d abo ve, she loo k

’

d below ,

She saw a dead man lying lowThe wo rms crept in . and the wo rms crept o ut ;She ask ’d the parso n , may I go o ut ?

’

Ye s , you may,”& c.

P . 87, l . 7. The re was a f rog lived in a w e ll . The

to thi s is given in a scarce work,call ed “ The

Merry Musician, or a Cure for the Spleen ,”12mo, and

also in “An Antidote to Melancholy,”1719 . The well

kn own song, A frog he would a wooing go,appears

to have been borrowed from this . See Dauney’

s

“ Ancien t Scottish Melodi es,” p . 53 .

P . 8 9, l . 20 . There was an o ld woman . Sung to

the air of Li llibur le ro . S ee “ Musick’ s Handmaid,

”

1673, where the air is call ed, “ Lilliburlero, or Old

Woman, whi ther so high .

”

NOTES . 245

P . 98 , l . 1 . D ing , dong , be ll . The burden to a song

in the “ Tempest,” act i . scene 2 ; and al so to on e in

the Merchant ofVen ice .

P . 98 , l . 6 D og wi th long snout . Sometimes, “ Little

Johnny Grout .

P . 102, l . 1 1 . S e ek a thing , g ive a thing . Another

version run s thus

G ive a thing,

Take a thing,That ’s the devi l’s go lden r ing.

P . 106, l . 15 . Tommy Tihule . A game on a chil d ’

toes .

P . 1 10, l . 1 . To ma rke t, to marke t . A game on the

nurse’ s knee .

P . 122, l . l . Bis i ter . That is, Bicester, in Oxford

shire .

P . 127, l . 3 . Was . Probably

P . 128, l . 3 . Th is is said to have been writ ten byDr . Walli s .

P . 130, l . 2 . The charm in the “ TownleyMysteries,to which I refer, is as follows

Fo r ferde w e be fryght a cro sse le t us kest ,Cryst cro sse , b e ne dyght , ees t and w est,

Fo r dre e de .

Jesus 0 ’ Na z o rus ,

Crucyefixus,

Marcus , Andreas,God be our spede .

”

246 NOTES .

P . 130, l . 10 . The last two lines of thi s charm are

perhaps imitated from the following in Bishop Ken’

s

E vening Hymn

Le t my blest guardian, w h i le I SleepH is watch ful s ta tio n near me keep .

P . 132, l . 1 . We a re thre e bre thren . Sometimes

kn ights . The version s of this game vary consider

ably from each other .

P . 136, No . 233 , The foll owing is a Scotch vers ion

of this game

l . Buff says B uff to a ll h is me n ,

2 . I say Buff to yo u aga in .

1 . Methinks B uff smiles .2 . No , Bufl

'

never smi les ,But s trokes h is faceW i th a very go o d grace ,And passes the s ta ff to a no ther.”

P . 13 9, l 1 1 . The n comes . Sometimes

comes down .

P . 14 1, l . 7. A game on a Slate .

P . 142 , l . 15 . Tw e lve hun tsmen w i th ho rns a nd

hounds . This ought t o be said in on e breath . The

following is another version of it

E igh t Shi ps o n the ma in ,

I w ish them al l safe back aga inSeven eagle s in the a i r,

I w o nder how they al l came thereI do n ’t know , no r I do n

’

t care .


248 NOTE S .

P . 176, l . 12, 13 . Sometimes these lines are thus

given

And o ne fo r the l ittle b oyTha t l i ves in the lane.

P . 180, l . l . FV e’

ll go a shoo t ing . This is an Engl ish

version of a very curious song, us ed on the occasion of“ hunting the wran,

” on S t . Stephen’

s Day, in the Isle

of Man . On that day the children of the villagers pro

cure a wren, attach i t with a string to a branch of holly,decorate the bran ch with pieces of ribbon that they beg

from the various houses, and carry it through the vi llage,singing these lines . An extract from an Irish work

,

from which it appears that this custom is lik ewise pre

valent in Ireland, is given in Sir Henry Elli s’

s

’

edi tion of

Brand’ s Popular Antiquities,”v o l . ii . p . 5 16 The

Druids represented thi s as the king of all birds . The

great respect shown to this bird gave great offence to

the first Christian mission aries, and, by their command,he is still hunted and killed by the peasants on Christ

mas-day, and on the foll owing (St . Stephen’ s Day) he

i s carried about hung by the leg in the centre of two

hoop s, crossing each other at right angles, and a pro

cession made in every vi ll age, of men, women, and

children,importing him to be the king of birds . I

am glad to be able to give the genuine traditional song,as recited in the Isle of Man

NOTES .

THE HUNT ING OF THE WRAN .

We ’ll hun t the w ran, says Ro bin to Bo bbinWe ’ ll hunt the w ran , says Richard to Robin ;We ’ l l hunt the w ran , says Jack 0 ’ th ’ land ;We’ ll hun t the w ran, says every on e .

Where sha l l w e find h im ? says Robin to Bo bbin ;Where shall w e find him ?

says Richard to RobinWhere sha l l w e find him says Jack 0 ’

th’ land

Where sha l l w e find him ? says every o ne .

In yon green bush , says Robin to B obbin ;In yo n green bush, says Richard to Ro binI n yo n gree n bush , says Jack 0

’th

’ landI n yo n green bush , says every o ne .

H ow shal l w e k i ll him says Ro bin to Bo bbinH ow shal l w e k i ll h im ? says R ich ard to RobinH ow sha ll w e k i ll h im ? says Jack 0 ’

th ’ lan dH ow sha l l w e k i l l him ? s ays every o ne .

W i th s t icks and sto nes , says Ro bin to B obbi nWi th st icks and stones , says Richard to RobinWi th s t icks and sto nes . says Jack 0 ’ th

’ land ;Wi th s ticks and sto nes , says every o ne .

H ow shal l w e ge t him'

home ? says Ro bin to Bo bbinH ow shall we ge t h im h ome ? says Richard to RobinH ow sha ll w e ge t him home ? says Jack 0

’

th’ land

H ow sha ll w e ge t him home ? says every o ne .

We ’ll bo rrow 5cart, says Ro b in to B o bbinWe’ l l bo rrow a cart , says Richard to Ro binWe’ ll borrow a cart , says Jack 0 ’ th

’ landWe ’ll bo rrow a cart , says every o ne .

H ow sha l l w e bo i l h im ? says Robin to Bo bbinHOW sha ll w e bo i l him says Richard to Ro bi nH ow shall w e bo i l h im ? says Jack 0 ’

th ’ land ;H ow sha ll w e bo i l h im ? says every o ne .

249

250 NOTES .

In the brewery pan , says Ro bin to B o bbinIn the brewery pan, s ays Richard to Ro binI n the brewery pan , says Jack 0

’

th’ land

In the brew ery pan , says every o ne .

”

In the copy which was given to me, there were two

addi t ional stan zas, begin ning respectively, How shall

we eat him and, With kni ves an d forks but these

are probably modern interpolations .

P . 194, l . 1 . Of a ll the gag birds . These four lin es

are part of an o ld song, the whole of which may be found

in “ D eut e rome li a,”4to, Lond . 1609, and i t is singul ar

that it shoul d have come down t o us from oral t radit ion .

This version w as obtain ed from Lin colnshir e. The f o l

lowing copy is taken from the work here quot ed : bu t

there are considerable variat ions in lat er copies , some of

which may be more correct .

Of a l l the bi rds tha t ever I s e e ,The ow ls is the fayre st in he r degreeFo r a l l the day lo ng she s i ts in a tre e,And w hen the n igh t comes , aw ay fl ies she ITe w h i t, te wh ow !S ir kna ve to tho u,This so ng is w ell sung , I mak e yo u a vow

,

And he is a k nave tha t drinketh now .

N o se, n o s e, no se, n o se !And w ho gave yo u tha t j o l ly re d no se ?Sinamo nt , a nd ginger, nutmegs a nd c lo ves ,And tha t gave me my j o l ly red no se 5”


252 INDEX .

B ah , b ah , b lack sheepBarber, barber, shave a pigBarnaby B righ t he w a s a sharp

.

cur

B a t, ba t

Bell ho rses , bell h o rsesB essy Bell and Mary GrayBetty ’s go ne a mi lking , mo ther, mo therB lack w e are , b ut much admiredB o bby Sha fto ’

s go ne to se a

Bounce Buckram velvet’s dearB ryan O’L in had no breeches to wearB ryan O’

L in . and h is w ife, and w i fe ’s mo therBryan O ’ l . in had no w atch to put o nBufi

'

says Buff to al l his me n

Burn ie bee, burn ie beeB uz , quo th the blue flyBye

,baby bunt ing

Bye,O my baby

C an yo u make me a cambric sh irtCatsk in , the s to ry o fC o ok a do o dle do oC ome, a ll ye brisk young bachelo rsCome, but ter, comeCome dance a jig .

Come let’s to bedCo nge a l

’

d water and Ca in ’s bro ther

Cri pp le D ick upo n a st ickC ro ss pa tchC ry , baby, cryCuck o o , cherry treeCurly lo cks , curly lo cks, w i lt tho u be m ine .

Cushy cow bo nny, le t dow n thy milkD ame, what make’ s your duck s to die ?Dan ce, l i ttle baby, dance up h ighDance, Thumpkin , danceD anty baby diddyB eedle, de e dle , dumpl ing, my so n Jo hnD ibb i ty , dibb ity , dibb ity , do e

D ick a nd T om,W i ll a nd J o hn

D id yo u no t hear o f Betty Pringle ’s pigO

P.

D ing, do ng. bel lD ing , do ng, darrowD ingle, d ingle , do o seyD ingty diddle tyD o odle dy , do odledy, do odledy , dan

D raw a pa i l Of waterD r. Faustus w as a go o d man

INDEX . 253

D riddle ty drum, driddle ty drumEggs, butter, cheese, breadE igh t sh i ps o n the ma inE l iz abeth , E lspeth , Betsy and BessEvery lady i n th is landFa ther, O father , I

’

m come to con fessFe e dum, fiddle dum feeF idd le-de-dee

,fiddle -de-dee

F ive sco re o f me n, mo ney, and p insFo rmed lo ng ago , ye t made to -dayFo ur and twenty ta i lo rs w en t to k i ll a sna i lGay go up a nd gay go dow n

G i les Co ll ins he sa id to h is Old mo therG illy Si lly JarterG irls and boys , come o ut to p layG i ve a th ing, take a th ingGo o d ho rses , bad ho rsesG o o d mo rn ing, father FrancisGo o sy go o sy gan derGo to bed, TomGreat A , l i ttle aGreen cheeses, yellow lacesGreen leaves and pudding piesH andy SpandyHark , hark , the do gs do barkH e to ssed the ba ll s o h ighH e re am 1, l i ttle j ump ing Jo anH e re comes a po o r w oman from baby-landHere comes a lus ty w o o erHere comes IHere s tands a fist

Here w e come a p ipingHerrings, herrings , w h i te and redH ey ! didd le didd leH ey ding a ding, what sha l l I S ing .

Hey do ro lo t, do ro lo tH ey, my k i tten , my k ittenH ic, ho c, the carrion crow

H icko ry , dicko ry, do ckH igh d iddle d ingH igh ding a d ing, and ho d ing a d ingH ighty co ck 0 .

H ighty , t ighty , paradighty clo thedin greenH inx, mi i i x ! the o ld w i tch w inksH ow many mi les is i t to Baby lonH ub a dub dub

H ump ty Dumpty sat o n a w al l

254 INDEX .

Hush a bye a b a lambHush a bye, baby, o n the tree topHush thee , my babbyHushy baby , my do l l , I pray you don’t cryI am a pretty w enchI can make d iet breadI f a ll the sea s w ere o n e s e a

I f all the w o rld w as app le-pieI f I ’d as much mo ney as I co uld spendI had a l i tt le cast le upo n the se a-s ideI had a l i tt le do g , a nd h is name w as B lue BellI had a l it tle ho bby-ho rse and i t w as well sho dI had a l ittle husbandI had a l i ttle mo ppetI had a l i t t le nut- treeI had a l i t tle po nyI had a l itt le s ister, they cal l

’

d he r peep , peepI ’ l l s ing yo u a s ongI ’ ll tell yo u a sto ryI love s ixpence, pretty l ittle S i xpenceI n fir tar i s

I n lo ve be I fifth bu tto n h ighI nte ry, minte ry, cute ry-co rn

I saw an Old w oman

I se e the mo o n , and the mo o n sees meI s Jo hn Smi th w i th in ?

I wen t to the to ad that l ies under the wa llI w i ll tel l my ow n daddy w hen he comes homeI w o n ’

t be my fa ther’s JackJack and J il lJack Ho rner w as a pretty ladJack Sprat cou ld ca t no fa tJack Spi a t had a cat

Jenny Wren fell s ickJ im and Geo rge w ere tw o grea t lo rdsJo hn Bal l sho t them a l l

Jo hn, come sel l thy fiddleJo hn Co o k had a l i ttle grey mareJ im Crow ’

s s is terKing Charles w a lked a nd ta lkedKing Stephen w as a w o rthy ki ngLady-bird , lady-birdLady-cow , lady - cow , fly thy w ay homeLaz y dukes , that s i t o n the ir n euksLeg o ver legLe t us go t o the w o o d , says this pigL iar, l ia r, l ick spi t


256 INDEX .

O ld mo ther HubbardO ld mo ther N iddity No d sw o re by the pudd ing-bagO ld mo ther W iddle Waddle j umpt o ut o f bedOne - e ry , two

-e ryOne mis ty mo isty mo rn ingOne Old Oxfo rd OX Opening o ystersOne’s no neOne , two , buck le my sho eOne , two , threeOne , tw o , three, fo ur, fiveOver the w ater, and o ver the leeParso n Darby w o re a black gownPat-a cake , pa t-a cake, baker

’

s man

Pease-po rridge ho t , pease-po rridge co ldP eg, peg, w i th a w o o den legPeter P i per picked a peck o f pick led pepperPeter Wh ite w i ll ne ’er go rightPillyco ck, Pi llyco ck , sa te -o n a hi l lPo o r o ld Ro binso n Cruso e !Purp le , yellow , re d and greenPussicat , wussica t , w i th a w h ite fo o tPussy e at, pussy cat, w here have you beenPussy cat , pus sy ca t, w i ll thou be mine ?Queen Anne, Queen Anne, yo u s i t in the sun

Ra in , ra in, go aw ayRidd le me , r iddle me , ridd le me re e

Ride a co ck -ho rse to Banbury Cro ssRide a co ck-ho rse to Co ventry Cro ssRide, baby, r ideRing me , ring me , r ing me raryRo bert Row ley ro lled a round ro ll roundRobert Barnes, fellow fine

Ro bin a B o bbin, a Bilberry he nRo bin and Richard .

Ro bin H o o d , Ro bin Ho o dRo bin the Bobb in

,the big bell ied Be n

Ro ck a-bye, baby, the crad le is greenRound abo ut, round aboutRows ty dow t, my fire

’

s a ll out

Sa turday n igh t my w i fe did d ieSays Aaro n to Mo sesSays M o ses to AaronSays t ’auld man t i t o ak treeSe e a pin and p ick i t upSeek a thing , give a thingSe e saw

, Jack a daw

INDEX . 2

PAGESe e saw , Jack in a hedge 152

Se e saw , Margery D aw 108

Se e saw , sack-a -day 16

Se e saw , sacradown 152

Se e ! s e e ! w hat sha ll I se e ? 1 1 8

Shake a leg, w ag a leg, when w i ll you gang ?

Sho e the co lt 169

S ieve my lady ’s o atmea l 133

S imp le Simo n me t a pieman 74

S ing a so ng o f S i xpenceS ing j 1gmij o le the puddi ng bowl 205

Sing, s ing, w ha t Sha ll I s ing ? 107

Sna i l, sna i l, come out o f yo ur ho le 167

So lomo n Grundy 38

Some up, some dow n 200

Some Chris t ian peo p le a l l give e ar 28

Some l ittle mice sa t i n a barn to spin 57

St . Duns tan , as the sto ry go es 58

St. Sw ith in ’

s day, i f th ou do st ra in 12 1

Tafi‘

y w as a We lshman ,Ta ffy w as a th ief 54

Tell-ta le, t it 165

The carrio n crow he sa t u po n an o ak 56

The ca t sat asleep by the s ide o f the fire 185

The co ck ’s o n the dungh i ll a b low ing his ho rn 63 , 74

The fa ls fo x camme unto owre cro ft 41

The firs t day o f Chris tmas 155

The fo x and his w i fe , they had a great stri fe 39

The k ing o f France, and four tho usand me n 20

The k ing o f France w ent up the h i ll ih.

The ho n and the un ico rn 37

The l itt le priest Of Felto n 47

The l i ttle Ro bin re d-breastThe man in the mo on 3 2

The man in the mo o n drinks claret 33

The man in the w i lderness asked meThe quaker’s w i fe go t up to bake 1 77

The ro se is re d, the grass is green 13

The ro se is re d, the V io let ’s blue 19 1

The sow came in w i th the saddle 186

The tai lo r o f B isite r 122

There once w as a gen tleman grand 65

There w a s a cro oked man, and he went a cro oked mi le 39There w as e trog liv ’

d i n a w e l l 87

There w as a lady all skin and bone 8 1

There was a lady lo v ’d a sw ine 59

There w as a li tt le b oy and a l ittle girl 183

57

258 INDEX .

PAGEThere w as a l ittle guinea-pig 25

There w as a l itt le manThere w as a l ittle n o bby co lt 59

There was a l i ttle man,and he w o o ’da l i tt1e _ma1d 2 1 , 224

There w as a mad man and he had a mad w i fe 95

There w as a man in o ur to one 45

There w as a man o f New ingto n 2 1

There w as a man w ho had no eyes 2 13

There w as a mo nkey cl imbed up a tre e 13

There w as a w e e b it w ifie 53

There w as an o ld man

There w as an Old man , and he l iv ’d in a wo o d 96

There w a s an Old man in a velvet co a t 3 1

There wa s an o ld man who l ived in a w o o d 43

There w as an o ld man w ho liv’

d in M idd le- row 1 75

There w as an o ld man o f To bago 2 15

There w a s an Old w oman 33 , 90- 1

There w as an o ld w oman , and w ha t do you th ink 158 , 2 10

There w as an o ld w oman as I ’ve heard tell 6 0

There w as an o ld w oman had n o thing 158

There w as an o ld w oman had three so ns 2 1

There w aS an o ld woman Of Leeds 76

There w as an o ld w oman o f No rw ich 75

There w as an o ld w oman sat spinn ing 57

There w as an o ld w oman she went to church to pray 244

There w as an o ld w oman to ss ’d up in a b lanket 89

There was an o ld w oman w ho l iv ’d in a sho e 53

There w as an o ld woman ca lled No th ing- at - a ll 2 16

There w ere thre e j o via l Welshmen 145

There w ere three s is ters in a hal l 1 16

There w ere tw o birds sa t o n a sto ne 25

There w ere .two blackbirds 134

Thirty w h i te h o rses o n a re d hi l l 1 16

Thi s is the ho use tha t Jack bui ltTh is i s the key o f the k ingdom 140

Th is p ig wen t to market 146

Thomas a D idymus , k ing o f the Jew s 18 8

Thoma s a D idymus had a b lack beard ih.

Three b l ind mice , se e ho w the y run 58

Three b l ind mice, three b l ind mice 243

Three ch i ldren s l id ing 0 11 the ice 27 , 206

Three w ise me n o f G o tham 2 7

To make yo ur cand le s las t '

fo r aye 12 1

To market ride the gen tlemen 139

T om Brown ’s two l i ttle Ind ian boys 134

T om li e w as a piper’s so n 79

TO market , to ma rke t


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JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ .

ON SA LE BY

JOHN RUSSELL SM ITH,

1 , OLD COMPTON STREET, SOHO SQUARE , LONDON.

1 . ACCOUNT o r TH E LIFE , WRITINGS, AN D INVENT IONS o r

S I R SAMUEL MORLAND, Mast e r o f Me chan ics to Charle s I I . 8v o , I s.

2 . JOHANN IS D E SACRO-BOSCO ANGL I CI DE ARTE NUMERAND I TRACTATUS . 8 vo , I s .

3 . TWO ESSAYS . 1. ON rm: BOCETIAN NUMERICAL CONTRACT IONS . I I . NOTES o n EARLY ALMANA CS . 8vo , Is .

4 . A FEW H INTS T o NOVICES I N MANUSCRIPT LITERATURE. 8 vo , I s .

5 . A LETTER To LORD FRANCIS EGERTON , Pres ide nt o f

th e Camde n So c i e t y, on the pro pr i e ty o f co nfin ing th e e ffo r ts o f tha t bo dy to th ei l lustra t ion o f a str ict ly e arly pe rio d o f His tory and Li te ra ture . 8vo , I s. 1839.

6 . RARA MATHEMAT I CA ; o r a C o l lect io n o f Treat ises on theMa thema t ics and Sub j e cts conne cte d w i th them, from ancien t in e di te dMSS . 8vo ,

seco n d e d i t ion , clo th , 3S . 6d .

Con t en ts . —Johann i s de Sacro—Bo sco Tracta tus de Art e -Nume randi—Me tho d use din Eng lan d in th e X V th Ce n tury f o r taking th e A l t i tude o f a S t e e p le—Tre at ise o nthe Nume ra t io n o f Algo r ism Tre a t ise o n G lasse s f o r Opt ica l Purpo se s , b y

W . Bo urn e—Johann is Ro byns de Come t is Comme n taria—Two Table s show ing theT ime o f H igh Wa t e r a t Lo ndo n Bridge , and the Dura t io n o f Mo o n l igh t , from aMS .

o f th e XI I I th Ce n tu ry—Ou th e Me nsura t ion o f He igh ts and D is tance s—Alexandr i deV i lla D e i Carme n de A lgo r ismo—Pre face to a Ca le ndar o r Almanac f o r 14311

Jo hann i s No rfo lk in art em p i ogre ssio n is summula—No t e s on Ear ly A lman a cs , b y

th e Ed i to r, & c . & c .

7 . A CHRONI CLE o r T E E F IRST TH IRTEEN YEARS OF TH EREIGN o r KING EDWARD IV . By JOHN WARKWORTH , D .O . , Mas te r o fS t . Pe te r ’s Co l lege , Cambridge , e di t e d from th eMS . 4to , clo th , (Camden Soc ie ty ),4s . 6d .

8 . A CATALOGUE OF TH E CONTENTS OF TH E CODEXHOLBROOK IANUS . 8 v o , I s .

9 . THE CONNEXION o r WALES W ITH TH E EARLY SCIENCEo r ENGLAND . 8vo , l s.

10 . THE HARROWING OF HELL , a M iracle Play. w r i tten i n

the re ign o f Edward I I . , n ow firs t p ub li sh edfi '

om th eMS . i n the B r i t i shMus eum, w i th

In tro duct io n . mo de rn re ad ing , and no t e s . 8 y o , 2s. 1840 .

This cur io us p i e ce is suppo se d to b e th e e ar l i e s t specime n o f drama t ic compo s it io nin th e Eng l ish language v ide th e w o rks o f S trut t , Warton , Sharo n Turn e r , H a llam,

J . P . Co l li e r, who a ll re fe r to th e manuscript .

1 1. A FEW NOTES ON T H E H ISTORY OF TH E D ISCOVERYo f th e COMPOS IT ION o f WATER . 8V 0 , I s .

12 . H ISTORIA COLLEGI I JESU CANTABRIGI ENSIS 5. J .

SHERMANNO, o l im praes . ej usdem C o l leg i i . 8vo , ( Cambr idg e An t iqua r ia nSo c ie ty ), 28 .

13 . THE CHRON ICLE OF W ILLIAM DE RISHANGER OF THEBARONS ’ WARS . Th eMiracle s o f Simo n de Mon tfo rt . Ed i t e d fromMSS . in th e

Co t to n ian Library . 4to , clo th , (Camde n Soc i e ty ), 7s . 6d .

14. A SELECT ION FROMTH E M INOR POEMS OF DAN JOHNLYDGATE , Mo nk Of Bury . Po st 8v o , (Percy Soc ie ty ), 95 .

15 . THE EARLY H ISTORY OF FREE MASONRY I N ENGLANDi l lustra te d by an ENGLISH POEM o f th e X I V th CENTURY , w i th No te s. Po s t8v o , 2s.

‘

IG. THE MERRY TALES OF TH E WISE MEN OF GOTHAM .

Po s t 8 v o , l s .

The se ta le s are suppo se d to ha ve be en compo se d in th e e ar ly part o f th e s ixte en thce n t ury , b y D r .An dre w Bo rde , th e we l l-kno wn prog en i to r o fMe rry Andr ews . In

th e t ime o f H e n ry th e V I I I . , and afte r, ” says Anna -Wo o d , “ i t was accoun t e d a bo okfu l l o f w i t and m ir th b y scho lars an d ge n t leme n .

”

I7 . A CATALOGUE OF TH E MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTSpre se rve d in th e LIBRARY o i th e ROYAL SOC IETY . 8vo , 2s.

1 8 . SHAK E SPEARIANA. A Cata logue Of the Early Edit io ns o fShake sp e a re ’

s P lays , and o f th e Comme n tarie s and o the r Pub lica t io n s i l lustra t ive o fh is Wo rks . 8 v o , clo th , 3s. 1841 .

In d i spe nsab le to e ve ryb o dy wh o w ish e s to carry o n any inqu irie s con ne cte d withShake spe are , o r wh o may have a fan cy f o r Shake spe arian b ib l io graphy .

”—Sp ecta tmI t o ught t o b e place d b y the s ide o f e ve ry e d i t i o n . I t i s th e mo s t con ci se , ye t th e

mo st co p i o us i l lus tra t i o n o f th e subj e ct wh ich has h i the rto be en g i ven to th e pub l ic .

"

—L i te ra ry Ga z e t te .

T HE MANUSCRIPT RARIT IES OF THE UN IVERSITY OF

CAMBRIDGE . 8 vo , bds . 63 .

20 . A COLLECT ION OF LETTERS I L LUSTRAT I V E OF TH E PROGRESS o f SC IENCE in ENGLAND from ELI ZABETH to CHARLES I I . 8vo ,

clo th , (H is to r ica l Socze ty of Sc ience ), 65 .

2 1. LUDUS COV ENTRIE . A C o llect io n Of Mysteries fo rmerlyre pre se n t e d a t Co ve n try , o n th e Fe as t o f Co rpus Chri st i, e d i te d w i th No t e s and G lo ssary, th ick 8 y o , cloth , (Shakesp e a re Soc i e ty ), 145 .


M I SCELLANEOUS .

LOWER’ S (M . A .) ENGLISH SURNAMESA S e r ie s o f Essays o n Fami ly Nome nc la ture , H i sto rica l , Et ymo logical , and

Humo rous , w i th Chap te rs o n C an t ing Arms , Re buse s , t he Ro l l Of Bat te lAbbe y , a Lis t o f La t in i z e d Surname s , & c., po s t 8vo , pp . 260, w i th 20 w oodcu t s ,c lo th , 65.—a f ew cop ie s on LA RG E PAPER , 8v o , cloth , 105. 6d .

TO th e un le arn e d we mu st say , tha t i t is a ve ry p le asan t hour’s (day's re ad ing ,co nce rn ing th e o rig in Of Fam i ly Name s . Am ids t some dro l l s to ri e s , and no t a f ew

an t i quarian con ce i ts , th e a fo re sa id un l e arne d may p ick up sun dry scraps o f knowl e dge o f use fu l app lica t io n , i f i t b e

XOn ly to asto n ish the ir s imp le r fri e nds w i tha l

Ath e nwum.

Th i s i s a curi o us vo lume , and fu l l o f d ive rs mat te r, wh ich come s home to e ve ryb o dy , b o th i n th e way o f i n fo rmat io n and amuseme n t .” -L i te ra ry Ga z e t te .

An instruct ive and amus ing vo lume wh ich o ugh t to b e po pu lar . Pe rhaps no

subj e c t i s more cur io us than th e h is to ry Of pro p e r n ame s . H o w f ew p e rso ns are th e rewho have n o t o n o ne o ccas io n o r o the r be en s truck w i th th e singu lar name s whichhave fa l le n und e r the ir o wn Obse rva t ion , an d who have n o t so ugh t fo r info rmat io n

as to th e ir o rig in ? Ye t w e kno w Of no wo rk o f any va lue , much mo re a po pularwo rk , wh ich t re a ts o n th e subj e ct . Mr . Low e r h as w ri t t e n a ve ry go o d and we l la rrange d bo ok , which w e can w i th co n fidence re commen d to o ur

A: chce o log is t .

Th is i s a cur ious bo o k o f i ts k ind , wri t t e n b y a man o f some an t iquar ian reading,and po sse sse d o f a ce r ta in ve in o f dry humour . H e apo log i z e s to th e u t i l i tarian f o rth e fr ivo l i t y Of h is subj e ct ; b u t th e o r igin o f surname s i s a branch Of the h is to ry o fth e fo rma t io n Of language , and o f th e na tura l o pe ra t io ns o f th e m in d i n mak ingknown o r supp ly in g i ts w an ts . Take n as a who le th e bo o k i s re a l ly e n t e rta in ing ,as w e l l as info rm ing .

—Ta i t’sMag .

Th is i s a mo s t amu smg vo lume , m ing l ing w i t and p l easan try w i than t iquarianre search and h isto rica l in te res t .” W— e ckly Chron i cle .

RELIQUES O F ANC IENT ENGLISH POETRY .

C onsist ing o f Old H e ro ic Ba l lads , So ngs , and o the r Pi e ce s o f our Earl ie r Po e ts , i llust ra t i v e o f th e Manne rs , Customs , and Amuseme n t s Of th e Engl ish Pe o p le pre ce dedb y an Essay o n Anc ie n t M instre lsy , No te s , and G lo ssary , b y Bisho p PERCY.

Me d ium 8vo , bea ut if ully pr in ted, clo th , 8s . 6d .—or ca lf extra , ma rbled lea ves , 125.

But , abo ve al l , I th e n first be came acqua in te d w i th Bisho p Pe rcy's Re l ique s o fAnci e n t Po e try . T h e firs t t ime I co u ld scrape t og e the r a f ew sh i l l ings , I b o ugh t untomyse lf a co py Of th e se be lo ve d vo lume s n o r do I b e l ie ve I e v e r re ad a bo ok ha lf sofreque n t ly , o r w i th h a lf the e n thus iasm.

”S ir W. Sco t t

’

s Autob iog raphy .

MASS INGER ’ S DRAMATIC WORKS .

W i th No t e s , b y W. G IFFORD , Edi to r o f B e n Jo nson , Fo rd , Sh i rle y ,” &c.Me dium 8 v o , be a ut if u lly p r in ted, un if o rm w i th Pe rcy ’

s Re l iquee ,”w i thfin e por tra i t

a nd v ig n e t te t i tle -pag e , clo th extr a , 135. R EDUC ED To 75. 6d .

One o f th e ch e ape st bo o ks e ve r Off e re d to the pub l ic.

Th is e le gan t and co rre ct re prin t Of Mass inge r , from th e t ext o f Gifl‘

o rd , wi th h i scri t ica l and e xp lana to ry no t e s , and the ge ne ra l cr i t ica l remarks o f D r. Ire land appen de d to e ach p lay—th is n ew e d i t io n Of o n e o f the n o ble s t Of o ur o ld drama tis ts,me r its o ur h ighe s t comm e nda t io n , and can scarce ly fa i l to command an exte nsiveshare Of pub l ic favo ur. E le gan t ly prin t e d , and in a ll o the r re spe cts fi tte d to ado rnthe first l ibrarie s o f the land .

”-NewMon th lyMaga z in e .

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Nursery Rhymes - Forgotten Books