| [ABRIDGED VERSION of the First Edition of The Nursery Rhymes of England. This consists solely of the poems which cannot be found in, or which have differences with, the Fourth Edition and omits the preface and footnotes, apart from those with verses. The complete (first) edition was originally published in the Percy Society's Early English Poetry, Ballads, and Popular Literature of the Middle Ages, edited from original manuscripts and scarce publications, Volume 4, 1842.] |
[ p.i ]
OF
ENGLAND,
Collected principally from Oral Tradition
EDITED BY
JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ.
|
"Roscia, die sodes, melior lex, an puerorum Nænia." HORACE.
|
LONDON:
MDCCXLII.
/ p.1 /
|
[THE following version of a popular rhyme is in one of Douce's books. I consider it to refer to the rebellious times of Richard II.] |
|
But he left me six horses to drive out my plough : With a wimmy lo ! wommy lo ! Jack Straw blazey boys ! Wimmy lo ! Wommy lo ! Wob, wob, wob !
|
|
|
|
But he left me six horses to follow the plough : With my whim wham waddle ho ! Strim stram straddle ho ! Bubble ho ! pretty boy, Over the brow.
I sold my six horses to buy me a cow,
I sold my cow to buy me a calf,
I sold my calf to buy me a cat,
I sold my cat to buy me a mouse,
|
/ p.9 /
| [THERE is an old proverb which says that "a cat may look at a king." Whether the same adage applies equally to a female sovereign, and is referred to in the following nursery song, or whether it alludes to the glorious Queen Bess, is now a matter of uncertainty.] |
|
PUSSY cat, pussy, cat, where have you been ? I've been to London to see the Queen. Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there ? I frighten'd a little mouse under the chair.
|
/ p.10 /
|
Four such children had never a man : They turn'd their father out of door, And call'd their brother the son of a whore.
|
/ p.12 /
|
THE king of France went up the hill, With twenty thousand men ; The King of France came down the hill, And ne'er went up again. |
/ p.13 /
|
THERE was a man in Thessaly, And he was wondrous wise, He jump'd into a quickset hedge. And scratch'd out both his eyes ; And when he saw his eyes were out, And he was in great pain, He jump'd into a holly bush, And scratch'd 'em in again.
|
/ p.14 /
|
WHEN I was a bachelor, I lived by myself, And all the bread and cheese I laid upon the shelf ; The rats and the mice they made such a strife, I was forced to go to London to buy me a wife ; The roads were so bad, and the lanes were so narrow, I was forced to bring my wife home in a wheelbarrow. The wheelbarrow broke, and my wife had a fall ; Deuce take the wheelbarrow, wife, and all.
|
/ p.15 /
|
ROBIN and Richard Were two pretty men ; They laid in bed Till the clock struck ten ; Then up starts Robin And looks at the sky, Oh ! brother Richard, The sun's very high. You go before with the bottle and bag, And I will come after on little Jack Nag. You go first, and open the gate, And I'll come after, and break your pate. |
|
WE make no spare Of John Hunkes' mare ; And now I Think she will die : He thought it good To put her in the wood, To seek where she might ly dry ; If the mare should chance to fale, Then the crownes would for her sale.
|
/ p.16 /
|
THERE was a little man, And he woo'd a little maid, And he said, little maid, will you wed, wed, wed ? I have little more to say, Than will you, yea or nay, For least said is soonest mended—ded, ded, ded.
The little maid replied,
|
/ p.18 /
|
DID you not hear of Betty Pringle's pig ? It was not very little, nor yet very big ; The pig sat down upon a dunghill, And then poor piggy he made his will.
Betty Pringle came to see this pretty pig,
Then Johnny Pringle buried this very pretty pig, |
/ p.19 /
| [THE following was most probably taken from a poetical tale in the "Choyce Poems," 12mo. Lond. 1662. As it is a very popular nursery song, I shall give the tale to which I allude in No.30.] |
|
THREE children sliding on the ice, Upon a summer's day, As it fell out, they all fell in, The rest they ran away.
Now had these children been at home, |
|
|
|
SOME Christian people all give ear, Unto the grief of us, Caused by the death of three children dear ; The which it hapned thus. |
|
And eke there befel an accident, By fault of a carpenter's son, Who to saw chips his sharp axe lent, Wo woeth the time may Lon—
May London say, wo woeth the carpenter,
For into the chips there fell a spark,
For lo, the bridge was wondrous high,
And yet the fire consum'd the bridge,
And eke into the water fell |
|
And that the bridge of London town, For building that was sumptuous, Was all by fire half burnt down, For being too contumptious:
And thus you have all but half my song,
I'll tell you what the river's name is,
All on the tenth of January,
Three children sliding thereabouts,
A great lord there was that laid with the king, |
|
He said it would bear a man for to slide, And laid a hundred pound ; The king said it would break, and so it did, For three children there were drown'd.
Of which one's head was from his should-
"Oh ! tut,-tut,-turn from thy sinful race,"
And thus being drown'd, alack, alack,
Ye parents all that children have,
For had they at a sermon been, |
|
Even as a huntsman ties his dogs, For fear they should go from him ; So tie your children with severity's clogs, Untie 'em, and you'll undo 'em.
God bless our noble parliament,
|
|
THERE was an old man in a velvet coat, He kiss'd a maid and gave her a groat ; The groat was crack'd, and would not go,— Ah, old man, d'ye serve me so ?
|
|
THERE was an old man, And he had a calf, And that's half : He took him out of the stall, And put him on the wall ; And that's all.
|
/ p.26 /
| [THE last verse of the following song is popular in our nurseries, and must be of great antiquity, as it is alluded to in MS. Lansd. 760, in a poem of the time of Henry VII.] |
|
COME all ye brisk young bachelors, That wish to have good wives ; I'd have you be precautious, How you spend your lives. For women they are as various, As the fish are in the sea ; They're ten times more precarious, Than a winter or summer's day ! |
|
When first you begin to court them, They're as mild as any dove, And you will think them, Full worthy of your love ; But when you do get married, The case is altered then ; For you will find, my friend, They can let loose their tongues !
Now Aristotle chose
Blank or prize 'tis all a chance,
There was a victim in a cart, |
|
"Oh why should I corrupt my life ?" The victim did reply : "For here's a crowd of every sort, And why should I prevent the sport ? The bargain's bad in every part— The wife's the worst ; drive on the cart !" |
|
LITTLE Miss Mopsey, Sat in the shopsey, Eating curds and whey ; There came a little spider, Who sat down beside her, And frightened little Miss Mopsey away !
|
|
TOM married a wife on Sunday, Beat her well on Monday, Bad was she on Tuesday, Midling was she on Wednesday, Worse was she on Thursday, Dead was she on Friday ; Glad was Tom on Saturday night, To bury his wife on Sunday. |
/ p.35 /
|
THERE was a little man, And he had a little gun, And his bullets were made of lead, lead, lead. He went to a brook, And fired at a duck, And shot him through the head, head, head.
He carried it home,
The drake was a swimming,
|
/ p.36 /
|
LUCY Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it : Nothing in it, nothing in it, But the binding round it.
|
|
SAYS Aaron to Moses, Let's cut off our noses : Says Moses to Aaron, 'Tis the fashion to wear 'em.
|
|
SAYS Moses to Aaron, That fellow's a swearing : Says Aaron to Moses, He's drunk I supposes.
|
/ p.38 /
|
ROBIN the Bobbin, the big-bellied Ben, He eat more meat than fourscore men ; He eat a cow, he eat a calf, He eat a butcher and a half ; He eat a church, he eat a steeple, He eat the priest and all the people !
|
/ p.39 /
|
[THIS nursery song may probably commemorate a part of Tom Thumb's history, extant in a little Danish work, treating of "Swain Tomling, a man no bigger than a thumb, who would be married to a woman three ells and three quarters long." See Mr. Thoms' Preface to "Tom à Lincoln," p. xi.] |
|
I HAD a little husband, No bigger than my thumb ; I put him in a pint pot, And then I bade him drum : I bridled him, and saddled him, And sent him out of town : I gave him a pair of garters To tie up his little hose ; And a little silk handkerchief, To wipe his little nose.
|
/ p.40 /
|
THERE was a wee bit wifie, Who lived in a shoe ; She had so many bairns, She kenn'd na what to do. She gaed to the market To buy a sheep-head ; When she came back They were a'lying dead. She went to the wright To get them a coffin ; When she came back They were a'lying laughing. She gaed up the stair, To ring the bell ; The bell-rope broke, And down she fell.
|
/ p.41 /
|
MARY had a pretty bird, Feathers bright and yellow, Slender legs,—upon my word He was a pretty fellow.
The sweetest note he always sung,
|
/ p.42 /
|
THE carrion crow, he sat upon an oak, And he called the tailor a cheating folk ; "Sing heigho, the carrion crow, Fol de rol, de rol, de rol, de rhino."
Wife, fetch me my good strong bow,
The tailor shot, and missed his mark,
|
|
THERE was an old woman sat spinning, And that's the first beginning ; She had a calf, And that's half ; She took it by the tail, And threw it over the wall, And that's all !
|
/ p.43 /
|
THREE blind mice, the three blind mice, They all ran after the farmer's wife, Who cut off their tails with the carving-knife.
|
/ p.44 /
|
THERE was a lady lov'd a swine, Honey, quoth she, Pig, Hog, wilt thou be mine ? Hoogh, quoth he.
I'll build thee a silver sty,
Pinn'd with a silver pin,
Wilt thou have me now, |
/ p.46 /
|
LITTLE Mary Ester sat upon a tester, Eating curds and whey ; There came a spider, and sat down beside her, And frightened little Mary Ester away !
|
|
|
|
SING a song of sixpence, A pocket full of rye ; Four-and-twenty blackbirds Baked in a pie ;
When the pie was opened,
The king was in the parlour
The maid was in the garden
|
|
A CARRION crow sat on an oak, Watching a tailor shape his cloak. "Wife," cried he, "bring me my bow, That I may shoot you [lit. possibly 'yon'] carrion crow."
The tailor shot and miss'd his mark,
|
|
|
|
LITTLE General Monk Sat upon a trunk, Eating a crust of bread ; There fell a hot coal And burnt in his clothes a hole, Now Little General Monk is dead. Keep always from the fire : If it catch your attire, You too, like Monk, will be dead.
|
/ p.48 /
|
LITTLE Jenny Wren fell sick upon a time, When in came Robin Red-breast, and brought her bread and wine ; "Eat, Jenny, drink, Jenny, all shall be thine !" Then Jenny she got better, and stood upon her feet, And says to little Robin, "I love thee not a bit !" Then Robin he was angry and flew upon a twig, "Hoot upon thee, fie upon thee, ungrateful chit !"
|
/ p.57 /
|
SAYS Robin to Jenny, "if you will be mine, We'll have cherry tart, and drink currant wine." So Jenny consented,—the day was nam'd, The joyful news the cock proclaim'd : |
|
Together came the Rook and Lark, One was parson, the other clerk : The goldfinch gave the bride away, Who promised always to obey : The feathered tenants of the air, Towards the feast gave each a share ; Some brought grain, and some brought meat, Some brought savours, some brought sweet : And as it was most pleasant weather, The jovial party dined together ; And long did Robin and his mate, Live in the happy married state. Till, doleful to relate ! one day A hawk with Jenny flew away, And Robin, by the cruel sparrow, Was shot quite dead with bow and arrow.
|
/ p.60 /
|
OLD mother Hubbard, Went to the cupboard, To get her poor dog a bone ; But when she came there, The cupboard was bare, And so the poor dog had none.
She went to the baker's
She went to the joiner's |
|
She took a clean dish To get him some tripe, But when she came back He was smoking his pipe.
She went to the ale-house
She went to the tavern
She went to the hatter's
She went to the barber's
She went to the fruiterer's |
|
She went to the tailor's To buy him a coat, But when she came back He was riding a goat.
She went to the cobler's
She went to the sempstress
She went to the hosier's
The dame made a curtsey,
|
|
Old King Cole Was a merry old soul, And a merry old soul was he ; And he called for his pipe, And he called for his glass, And he called for his fiddlers three. And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle, And a very fine fiddle had he ; "Tweedle dee, tweedle dee," said the fiddlers. Oh there's none so rare, As can compare, With King Cole and his fiddlers three !
|
|
Tom he was a piper's son He learn'd to play when he was young, And all the tunes that he could play, Was "Over the hills and far away ;" Over the hills, and a great way off, And the wind will blow my top-knot off.
Now Tom with his pipe made such a noise, |
|
Tom with his pipe did play with such skill, That those who heard him could never keep still ; Whenever they heard they began for to dance, Even pigs on their hind legs would after him prance.
As Dolly was milking her cow one day,
He met old dame Trot with a basket of eggs,
He saw a cross fellow was beating an ass,
|
/ p.66 /
|
SATURDAY-night my wife did die, I buried her on the Sunday, I courted another a coming from church, And married her on the Monday. On Tuesday night I stole a horse, On Wednesday was apprehended, On Thursday I was tried and cast, And on Friday I was hanged.
|
|
LITTLE Tom Trigger, Before he was bigger, Thought he would go out with his gun ; |
|
Left off bow and arrows, With which he shot sparrows, And said he would have some fun.
He shot at a pig,
He shot at a cat,
He started a hare,
He came to a stile, |
|
Unhappy was his lot, Into a hedge he got, The man came behind to beat him ; Tom cannot get through, He had the man in view, But he contrived to cheat him.
A house was in the vale,
A sow in the sty,
Margery came out,
Tom at last got home, |
|
Now he plays at taw, Sometimes at see-saw, And is not quite so bold.
Tom and his dog Tray,
He had a little stick,
He got up a tree,
A doctor they did call |
|
Tom has now got better, Writes a pretty letter, And is always reading his book ; He is not quite so wild, As when he was a child And no pains with his learning he took.
|
/ p.72 /
|
THERE was an old woman toss'd up in a blanket, Ninety-nine times as high as the moon : But where she was going no mortal could tell, For under her arm she carried a broom.
Old woman, old woman, old woman, said I,
|
/ p.76 /
|
THERE was a mad man and he had a mad wife, And they liv'd in a mad town : And they had children three at a birth, And mad they were every one. |
|
The father was mad, the mother was mad, And the children mad beside ; And they all got on a mad horse, And madly they did ride.
They rode by night and they rode by day,
Old Nick was glad to see them so mad,
|
|
THERE was an old man, and he liv'd in a wood ; And his lazy son Jack would snooze till noon : Nor followed his trade, although it was good, With a bill and stump for making of brooms, green brooms ; With a bill and a stump for making of brooms.
One morn in a passion, and sore with vexation, |
|
Then Jack arose and slipt on his clothes, And away to the woods very soon, Where he made up his pack, and put it on his back, Crying, Maids, do you want any brooms ? green brooms, &c.
|
/ p.79 /
|
HUB a dub dub, Three men in a tub ; The butcher, the baker, The candlestick-maker, They all fell out of a rotten potato.
|
|
LITTLE Jack-a-dandy, Loved plum cake, and sugar-candy, He bought some at a grocer's shop, And out he came, hop hop hop.
|
|
DING, dong, bell, Puss is in the well ! Who put her in, Little Tommy Lin : |
|
Who pulled her out, Dog with long snout ; What a trick was that, To drown my granny's cat, Who never did any harm, But catch the mice in the barn.
|
|
DINGTY diddledy, My mammy's maid, She stole oranges, I am afraid ; Some in her pocket, Some in her sleeve, She stole oranges, I do believe.
|
|
COCK a doodle doo My dame has lost her shoe ; And master's lost his fiddling stick, And don't know what to do.
Cock a doodle doo, |
|
Cock a doodle doo My dame has found her shoe ; And master's found his fiddling stick, Sing doodle doodle doo.
Cock a doodle doo,
|
|
DEEDLE, deedle, dumpling, my son John Went to the bed with his trousers on ; One shoe off, the other shoe on, Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John.
|
/ p.82 /
|
YANKEE Doodle came to town, Upon a Kentish poney ; He stuck a feather in his hat, And called him Macaroni.
|
|
COME dance a jig To my Granny's pig, With a raudy, rowdy, dowdy ; Come dance a jig To my Granny's pig, And pussy-cat shall crowdy [i. e. fiddle.]
|
/ p.83 /
|
DRIDDLETY drum, driddlety drum, There you see the beggars are come ; Some are here and some are there, And some are gone to Chidlely fair.
|
|
|
|
INTERY, mintery, cutery-corn, Apple seed and apple thorn ; Wine, brier, limber-lock, Five geese in a flock, Sit and sing by a spring, O-U-T, and in again
|
/ p.84 /
|
SEEK a thing, give a thing, The old man's gold ring ; Lie butt, lie ben, Lie among the dead men.
|
|
HIE ! diddle diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon, The little dog laughed to see such sport, While the dish ran after the spoon.
|
/ p.85 /
| [Magot-pie is the original name of the chattering and ominous bird. See Macbeth, Act iii. sc. 4, where the same word is used.]. |
|
ROUND about, round about Maggotty pie, My father loves good ale, And so do I.
|
/ p.86 /
|
ONE, two, three, I love coffee, And Billy loves tea, How good you be, One, two, three, I love coffee, And Billy loves tea.
|
/ p.87 /
|
TOMMY Tibule, Harry Wibule, Tommy Tissile, Harry Whistle, Little wee, wee, wee.
|
|
|
|
DINGLE, dingle, doosey ; The cat's in the well ; The dog's away to Bellingen, To buy the bairn a bell.
|
/ p.88 /
|
A DUCK and a drake, A nice barley cake, With a penny to pay the old baker : A hop and a skotch, Is another notch, Slitherum, slatherum, take her.
|
|
SEE, saw, Margery Daw, Jackey shall have a new master ; He shall have only a penny a-day, Because he can work no faster.
|
/ p.89 /
|
|
|
ZICKETY, dickety, dock, The mouse ran up the nock ; The nock struck one, Down the mouse run, Zickety, dickety, dock.
|
|
SEE Saw, Margery Daw, Sold her bed and lay upon straw ; Was not she a dirty slut, To sell her bed and lie upon dirt ?
|
/ p.90 /
|
RIDE to the market to buy a fat pig, Home again, home again, jiggety-jig ; Ride to the market to buy a fat hog, Home again, home again, jiggety-jog.
|
/ p.91 /
|
HUMPTY DUMPTY sate on a wall, Humpti dumpti had a great fall ; Three score men and three score more, Cannot place Humpty dumpty as he was before
|
|
GOOSY goosy gander ! Where shall I wander ? Up stairs and down stairs, And in my lady's chamber ; There I met an old man, That would not say his prayers. I took him by the left leg, And threw him down stairs.
|
/ p.93 /
|
LITTLE Nancy Etticoat In a white petticoat ; The longer she stands, The shorter she grows.
|
/ p.97 /
|
I HAD a little sister, they call'd her peep, peep, She waded the waters deep, deep, deep, She climbed up the mountains high, high, high, Poor little creature she wanted an eye.
|
/ p.98 /
|
A SEMPSTRESS that sews, And would make her work redde [i.e. scarce], Must use a long needle, And a short thread.
|
|
|
|
FIVE score of men, money, and pins, Six score of all other things.
|
/ p.99 /
|
To make your candles last for aye, You wives and maids give ear-o ! To put 'em out 's the only way, Says honest John Boldero.
|
/ p.100 /
|
RIDDLE me, riddle me, riddle me ree ! None are so blind as those that won't see.
|
/ p.102 /
|
CRY, baby, cry, Put your finger in your eye, And tell your mother it was I.
|
/ p.104 /
| [The three following charms are for the hiccup, and each one must be said thrice in one breath, to render the specific of service.] |
|
WHEN a twister twisting would twist him a twist, For twisting a twist three twists he will twist ; But if one of the twists untwists from the twist, The twist untwisting untwists the twist.
|
/ p.106 /
| [THE present charm, which appears to be only another version of the one just given, is preserved by Aubrey, in MS. Lansd. 231, fol.114. It may likewise be found in Ady's "Candle in the Dark," 4to. Lond, 1655, p.58.] |
|
MATTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John, Bless the bed that I lye on ! And blessed guardian-angel, keep Me safe from danger whilst I sleep !
|
|
|
|
MATTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John, ease us, I beg ! The devil has tied up a knot in my leg. Crosses three XXX we make to ease us ; Two for the robbers, and one for Christ Jesus.
|
/ p.107 /
|
WE are three brethren out of Spain, Come to court your daughter Jane. My daughter Jane she is too young, And has not learn'd her mother-tongue.
Be she young, or be she old,
Turn back, turn back, thou scornful knight ;
Turn back, turn back, thou scornful knight, |
|
Here comes your daughter safe and sound, Every pocket with a thousand pound ; Every finger with a gay gold ring ; Please to take your daughter in.
|
/ p.109 /
|
RIDE a cock horse, To Banbury Cross, To see what Tommy can buy ; |
|
A penny white loaf, A penny white cake, And a two-penny apple pie.
|
|
SEE saw, Jack in a hedge, Which is the way to London bridge ? One foot up, and one foot down, That is the best way to London town.
|
/ p.111 /
|
GAY go up and gay go down, To ring the bells of London Town.
Bull's eyes and targets,
Brickbats and tiles,
Halfpence and farthings,
Oranges and lemons,
Pancakes and fritters,
Two sticks and an apple,
Old Father Baldpate,
You owe me ten shillings, |
|
When will you pay me ? Say the bells at Old Bailey.
When I shall grow rich,
Pray, when will that be ?
I am sure I don't know,
|
|
SNAIL, snail, Come out of your hole, Or else I will beat you As black as a coal.
|
/ p.113 /
|
DANCE, Bumpkin, dance, (Keep the thumb in motion.)
Dance, ye merrymen, every one;(All the fingers in motion.)
For Bumpkin, he can dance alone,(The thumb only moving.)
Bumpkin, he can dance alone.(Ditto.)
Dance, Foreman, dance,(The first finger moving.)
Dance ye merrymen every one;(The whole moving.)
But Foreman, he can dance alone,Foreman, he can dance alone. |
|
And so on with the others—naming the 2d finger Middleman —the 3d finger Ringman—and the 4th finger Littleman. Littleman cannot dance alone.
|
/ p.114 /
|
RIDE a cock-horse to Coventry cross ; To see what Emma can buy ; A penny white cake I'll buy for her sake, And a twopenny tart or a pie.
|
|
RIDE a cock-horse to Banbury cross, To see an old lady upon a white horse, Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes, She will have music wherever she goes.
|
|
TO market ride the gentlemen, So do we, so do we ; Then comes the country clown, Hobbledy gee, Hobbledy gee !
|
|
|
|
HERE comes a poor woman from baby-land, With three small children in her hand : One can brew, the other can bake, The other can make a pretty round cake.
|
|
ELEVEN comets in the sky Some low and some high ; Nine peacocks in the air, I wonder how they all came there. I do not know and I do not care ; Seven lobsters in a dish, As fresh as any heart could wish ; Six beetles against the wall, Close by an old woman's apple-stall ; Four horses stuck in a bog, Three monkeys tied to a clog; Two pudding-ends would choke a dog, With a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.
|
|
|
|
LAZY dukes, that sit in your neuks, And winna come out to play ; |
|
Leave your supper, leave your sleep, Come out and play at hide-and-seek. I've a cherry, I've a chess, I've a bonny blue glass, I've a dog among the corn, Blow Willie Buckhorn. Three score of Highland kye, One booly-backed, One blind of an eye, An' a' the rest hawkit. Laddie wi' the shelly-coat Help me owre the ferry-boat ; The ferry-boat is owre dear, Ten pounds every year. The fiddler's in the Canongate, The piper's in the Abbey, Huzza ! cocks and hens, Flee awa' to your cavey.
|
/ p.119 /
|
1. THIS little pig went to market ; 2. This little pig staid at home ; 3. This little pig had a bit of bread and butter ; 4. This little pig had none ; 5. This little pig said, Wee, wee, wee ! I can't find my way home.
|
/ p.120 /
|
CUCKO, cherry tree, Catch a bird, and give it to me ; Let the tree be high or low, Let it hail, rain, or snow.
|
/ p.121 /
|
|
|
FATHER, O father, I'm come to confess, Well, my daughter, well ! Last night I call'd the cat a beast. Shocking, my daughter, shocking ! What penance ? my father, what penance ? What penance ! my daughter, what penance ! What penance shall I do ? Kiss me.
|
|
GOOD morning, father Francis. Good morning, Mrs. Sheckleton. What has brought you abroad so early, Mrs. Sheckleton ? I have come to confess a great sin, father Francis. What's it, Mrs. Sheckleton ? Your cat stole a pound of my butter, father Francis ! O, no sin at all, Mrs. Sheckleton. But I kill'd your cat for it, father Francis. O a very great sin indeed, Mrs. Sheckleton, you must do penance. What penance, father Francis ? Kiss me. O no, O yes, O no, O yes, &c. ad libitum.
|
| [THIS is acted by two or more girls, who walk or dance up and down, turning, when they say, "turn, cheeses, turn." The "green cheeses," as I am informed, are made with sage and potatoe-tops [lit.]. Two girls are said to be "cheese and cheese."] |
|
GREEN cheeses, yellow laces Up and down the market-places, Turn, cheeses, turn !
|
| [CHILDREN stand round, and are counted one by one, by means of this rhyme, which I have already given in a different form at p. 89. The child upon whom the last number falls is out, for "Hide or Seek," or any other game where a victim is required. A cock and bull story of this kind is related of the historian Josephus.] |
|
HICKORY (1), Dickory (2), Dock (3), The mouse ran up the clock (4), The clock struck one (5), The mouse was gone (6); O (7), U (8), T (9), spells OUT !
|
/ p.124 /
|
SEE-SAW, sacradown ; Which is the way to London town ? One foot up, and the other down, And that is the way to London town. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I caught a hare alive ; 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, I let him go again.
|
/ p.125 /
|
AS I go round ring by ring, A maiden goes a maying, And here 's a flower and there 's a flower, As red as any daisy. If you set your foot awry, Gentle John will make you cry ; If you set your foot amiss, Gentle John will give you a good kiss.
|
/ p.129 /
|
|
|
THERE was an old woman and what do you think ? She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink. Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet, And yet this old woman could never be quiet. |
|
She went to the baker, to buy her some bread, And when she came home, her old husband was dead ; She went to the clerk to toll the bell, And when she came back her old husband was well.
|
|
THE rule of the road is a paradox quite, And custom has prov'd it so long : He that goes to the left is sure to go right, And he that goes right must go wrong.
|
/ p.131 /
|
|
|
N. for a word of deniance, E. with a figure fiftie, Spelleth his name that newer Will be thriftie.
|
|
MISS one two and three, could never agree, While they gossiped round a tea caddy.
|
/ p.134 /
|
A DILLER, a doller, A ten o'clock scholar, What makes you come so soon ? You us'd to come at ten o'clock, And now you come at noon.
|
|
MISTRESS Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow ? With cockle shells, and silver bells, And cowslips all a row.
|
|
Donkey walks on four legs, And I walk on two ; The last I saw, Was very like you.
|
|
LIAR, liar, lick spit Turn about the candlestick, What's good for liar ? Brimstone and fire.
|
|
|
|
HERE comes I, Liddle man Jan Wi my zword In my han !
If you don't all do, Vor to make apple-pie.
|
|
* This class might be extended to great length, but I shall content myself with giving a few, and referring to Sir H. Ellis's edition of Brand's Popular Antiquities for more. |
/ p.137 /
[IT was probably the custom, on repeating these lines, to hold the snail to a candle, in order to make it quit the shell. In Normandy it was the practice at Christmas for boys to run round fruit trees, with lighted torches, singing these lines :
|
|
SNAIL, snail, come out of your hole, Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal.
|
|
I SEE the moon, and the moon sees me, God bless the moon, and God bless me.
|
| [AUBREY, in his "Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme," gives another version of this song, as current in the seventeenth century, very curious, but unfortunately much too indelicate to be printed in a book emanating from the Percy Society, or indeed any other.] |
|
WHEN I was a little girl, I wash'd my mother's dishes ; I put my finger in my eye, And pull'd out little fishes.
|
|
HERRINGS, herrings, white and red, Ten a penny, Lent's dead. Rise dame and give an egg, Or else a piece of bacon. One for Peter, two for Paul, Three for Jack a Lent's all, Away, Lent, away.
|
|
|
|
ALL hail to the moon ! all hail to thee ! I prithee, good moon, declare to me This night who my husband must be !
|
/ p.139 /
|
|
|
HEIGH, ho ! heigh, ho ! Dame what makes your ducks to die ? What a pize ails 'em, what a pize ails 'em ? Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho ! Dame, what ails your ducks to die ? Eating o'polly wigs, eating o'polly wigs, [i.e. Tadpoles.] Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho ! |
/ p.141 /
|
|
|
NANCY Dawson was so fine, She wouldn't get up to serve the swine, She lies in bed till eight or nine, So its oh ! poor Nancy Dawson.
|
/ p.143 /
|
I'LL sing you a song, Nine verses long, For a pin ; Three and three are six, And three are nine ; You are a fool, And the pin is mine.
|
/ p.144 /
|
WE'LL go a shooting, says Robin to Bobbin We'll go a shooting, says Richard to Robin ; We'll go a shooting, says John all alone ; We'll go a shooting, says every one.
What shall we kill, says Robin to Bobbin ;
We'll shoot at that wren, says Robin to Bobbin ;
She's down, she's down, says Robin to Bobbin ;
How shall we get her home, says Robin to Bobbin ;
We'll hire a cart, says Robin to Bobbin ; |
|
Then hoist, boys, hoist says Robin to Bobbin ; Then hoist, boys, hoist, says Richard to Robin ; Then hoist, boys, hoist, says John all alone ; Then hoist, boys, hoist, says every one.
So they brought her away, after each pluck'd a feather,
|
|
AS I was going up Pippen-hill Pippen-hill was dirty, There I met a pretty mis, And she dropt me a curtesy. |
|
Little miss, pretty miss, Blessings light upon you, If I had half-a-crown a day, I'd spend it all upon you.
|
/ p.149 /
|
THOMAS a Didymus, king of the Jews Jumped into the fire and burned both his shoes.
|
|
BOBBY
SHAFT is gone to sea With silver buckles at his knee ; When he'll come home he'll marry me, Pretty Bobby Shaft !
Bobby Shaft is fat and fair,
|
|
THE rose is red, the violet's blue The honey's sweet, and so are you. Thou art my love, and I am thine ; I drew thee to my Valentine ; The lot was cast, and then I drew, And fortune said it should be you.
|
/ p.155 /
|
LITTLE Tommy Tacket, Sits upon his cracket ; * Half a yard of cloth will make him coat and jacket; Make him coat and jacket, Breeches to the knee. And if you will not have him, you may let him be.
|
|
* A little three-legged stool seen by the ingle of every cottage in the north of England. |
/ p.156 /
|
CROSS patch, Draw the latch, Sit by the fire and spin ; Take a cup, And drink it up, And call your neighbours in.
|
|
ROCK-A-BYE, baby, the cradle is green ; Father's a nobleman, mother's a queen ; And Betty's a lady, and wears a gold ring ; And Johnny's a drummer, and drums for the king.
|
[ p.159 ]
|
P.2, l. 16. The house that Jack built. The Hebrew tale which I have given, may possibly be the original of all accumulative stories of the same kind. The tale of the old woman and the crooked sixpence is one of this class, and I here insert two versions of it :
[NOTE : The following is the same as that published as 4th edition nursery rhyme no CCCC, pp.182-184] "AN old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a little crooked sixpence. ...." |
|
P.12, l. 1. The king of France. In a little tract, called "The Pigges Corantoe, or Newes from the North," 4to. Lond. 1642, this is called "Old Tarlton's Song." This fact is mentioned in Mr. Collier's Hist. Dram. Poet. vol. ii. p.352, and also in the preface to Mr. Wright's Political Ballads, printed for the Percy Society. It is perhaps a parody on the popular epigram on Jack and Jill :
There was an old play, now lost, called "Jack and Jill." I may here take the opportunity of inserting the following, which was accidentally omitted in the historical class :
|
|
P.16, l. 9. There was a little man. Sung to the same tune as No. 52. The following version is taken from a broadside printed at Strawberry Hill in the last century :
|
P.38, l. 13. The merriment of Jack Horner has, I believe, long since departed from the modern series, and I therefore give the following copy of it from Douce's collection : "The History of Jack Horner, containing the witty pranks he play'd, from his youth to his riper years, being pleasant for Winter Evenings."
|
|