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

[ p.i ]


THE NURSERY RHYMES

OF

ENGLAND,

Collected principally from Oral Tradition


EDITED BY

JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ.



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



LONDON:

PRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY,

BY T. RICHARDS, FOR THE EXECUTORS OF THE LATE

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


MDCCXLII.





/ p.1 /

NURSERY RHYMES.


First Class. — Historical.


/ p.6 /

IV.
[THE following version of a popular rhyme is in one of Douce's books. I consider it to refer to the rebellious times of Richard II.]
MY father he died, I cannot tell how,
But he left me six horses to drive out my plough :
With a wimmy lo ! wommy lo ! Jack Straw blazey boys !
Wimmy lo ! Wommy lo ! Wob, wob, wob !


/ p.8 /

VI.
[The same song as the preceding, dictated by a lady now living in the Isle of Man, but a far better version.]
MY daddy is dead, but I can't tell you how ;
But he left me six horses to follow the plough :
        With my whim wham waddle ho !
        Strim stram straddle ho !
        Bubble ho ! pretty boy,
        Over the brow.

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

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

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

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

/ p.9 /

VII.
[THERE is an old proverb which says that "a cat may look at a king." Whether the same adage applies equally to a female sovereign, and is referred to in the following nursery song, or whether it alludes to the glorious Queen Bess, is now a matter of uncertainty.]
PUSSY cat, pussy, cat, where have you been ?
I've been to London to see the Queen.
Pussy cat, pussy cat, what did you there ?
I frighten'd a little mouse under the chair.

/ p.10 /

XI.
[The following nursery song alludes to William III, and George, Prince of Denmark.]
WILLIAM and Mary, George and Anne,
Four such children had never a man :
They turn'd their father out of door,
And call'd their brother the son of a whore.

/ p.12 /

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



/ p.13 /

Second Class.—Tales.


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


/ p.14 /

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


/ p.15 /

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

XXI.
[From MS. Bib. Reg. 8 A. V. fol. 52, of the time of Henry VIII.]
WE make no spare
Of John Hunkes' mare ;
And now I
Think she will die :
He thought it good
To put her in the wood,
To seek where she might ly dry ;
If the mare should chance to fale,
Then the crownes would for her sale.

/ p.16 /

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

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

/ p.18 /

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

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

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

/ p.19 /

XXIX.
[THE following was most probably taken from a poetical tale in the "Choyce Poems," 12mo. Lond. 1662. As it is a very popular nursery song, I shall give the tale to which I allude in No.30.]
THREE children sliding on the ice,
    Upon a summer's day,
As it fell out, they all fell in,
    The rest they ran away.

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



XXX.
[From "Ovid de Arte Amandi &c. Englished, together with Choice Poems, and rare Pieces of Drollery." 1662.]
SOME Christian people all give ear,
    Unto the grief of us,
Caused by the death of three children dear ;
    The which it hapned thus.
/ p.20 /
And eke there befel an accident,
    By fault of a carpenter's son,
Who to saw chips his sharp axe lent,
    Wo woeth the time may Lon—

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

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

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

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

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

/ p.21 /
And that the bridge of London town,
    For building that was sumptuous,
Was all by fire half burnt down,
    For being too contumptious:

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

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

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

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

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

/ p.22 /
He said it would bear a man for to slide,
    And laid a hundred pound ;
The king said it would break, and so it did,
    For three children there were drown'd.

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

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

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

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

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

/ p.23 /
Even as a huntsman ties his dogs,
    For fear they should go from him ;
So tie your children with severity's clogs,
    Untie 'em, and you'll undo 'em.

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

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

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

/ p.26 /

XLI.
[THE last verse of the following song is popular in our nurseries, and must be of great antiquity, as it is alluded to in MS. Lansd. 760, in a poem of the time of Henry VII.]
COME all ye brisk young bachelors,
    That wish to have good wives ;
I'd have you be precautious,
    How you spend your lives.
For women they are as various,
    As the fish are in the sea ;
They're ten times more precarious,
    Than a winter or summer's day !
/ p.27 /
When first you begin to court them,
    They're as mild as any dove,
And you will think them,
    Full worthy of your love ;
But when you do get married,
    The case is altered then ;
For you will find, my friend,
    They can let loose their tongues !

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

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

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

/ p.28 /
"Oh why should I corrupt my life ?"
    The victim did reply :
"For here's a crowd of every sort,
And why should I prevent the sport ?
The bargain's bad in every part—
The wife's the worst ; drive on the cart !"

/ p.29 /

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

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

/ p.35 /

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

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

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

/ p.36 /

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

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

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

/ p.38 /

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

/ p.39 /

LXI.
[THIS nursery song may probably commemorate a part of Tom Thumb's history, extant in a little Danish work, treating of "Swain Tomling, a man no bigger than a thumb, who would be married to a woman three ells and three quarters long." See Mr. Thoms' Preface to "Tom à Lincoln," p. xi.]
I HAD a little husband,
    No bigger than my thumb ;
I put him in a pint pot,
    And then I bade him drum :
I bridled him, and saddled him,
    And sent him out of town :
I gave him a pair of garters
    To tie up his little hose ;
And a little silk handkerchief,
    To wipe his little nose.

/ p.40 /

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


/ p.41 /

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

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

/ p.42 /

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

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

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

LXVIII.
[Another version of one given p.23.]
THERE was an old woman sat spinning,
And that's the first beginning ;
She had a calf,
And that's half ;
She took it by the tail,
And threw it over the wall,
And that's all !

/ p.43 /

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

/ p.44 /

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

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

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

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

/ p.46 /

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

LXXVII.
[This nursery rhyme is quoted in Beaumont and Fletcher's Bonduca, Act. v. sc. 2.]
SING a song of sixpence,
    A pocket full of rye ;
Four-and-twenty blackbirds
    Baked in a pie ;

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

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

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

/ p.47 /

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

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

LXXIX.
[THIS apparently alludes to the celebrated General Monk ; but as it seems to be altogether apocryphal, I have not admitted it into the historical class.]
    LITTLE General Monk
    Sat upon a trunk,
Eating a crust of bread ;
    There fell a hot coal
    And burnt in his clothes a hole,
Now Little General Monk is dead.
    Keep always from the fire :
    If it catch your attire,
You too, like Monk, will be dead.

* See p.42

/ p.48 /

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

/ p.57 /

LXXXII.
SAYS Robin to Jenny, "if you will be mine,
We'll have cherry tart, and drink currant wine."
So Jenny consented,—the day was nam'd,
The joyful news the cock proclaim'd :
/ p.58 /
Together came the Rook and Lark,
One was parson, the other clerk :
The goldfinch gave the bride away,
Who promised always to obey :
The feathered tenants of the air,
Towards the feast gave each a share ;
Some brought grain, and some brought meat,
Some brought savours, some brought sweet :
And as it was most pleasant weather,
The jovial party dined together ;
And long did Robin and his mate,
Live in the happy married state.
Till, doleful to relate ! one day
A hawk with Jenny flew away,
And Robin, by the cruel sparrow,
Was shot quite dead with bow and arrow.

/ p.60 /

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

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

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

/ p.61 /
She took a clean dish
    To get him some tripe,
But when she came back
    He was smoking his pipe.

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

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

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

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

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

/ p.62 /
She went to the tailor's
    To buy him a coat,
But when she came back
    He was riding a goat.

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

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

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

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



/ p.63 /

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

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

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

/ p.64 /
Tom with his pipe did play with such skill,
That those who heard him could never keep still ;
Whenever they heard they began for to dance,
Even pigs on their hind legs would after him prance.

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

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

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

/ p.66 /

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

XCII.
LITTLE Tom Trigger,
Before he was bigger,
    Thought he would go out with his gun ;
/ p.67 /
Left off bow and arrows,
With which he shot sparrows,
    And said he would have some fun.

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

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

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

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

/ p.68 /
Unhappy was his lot,
Into a hedge he got,
    The man came behind to beat him ;
Tom cannot get through,
He had the man in view,
    But he contrived to cheat him.

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

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

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

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

/ p.69 /
Now he plays at taw,
Sometimes at see-saw,
    And is not quite so bold.

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

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

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

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

/ p.70 /
Tom has now got better,
Writes a pretty letter,
    And is always reading his book ;
He is not quite so wild,
As when he was a child
    And no pains with his learning he took.

/ p.72 /

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

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

/ p.76 /

C.
THERE was a mad man and he had a mad wife,
    And they liv'd in a mad town :
And they had children three at a birth,
    And mad they were every one.
/ p.77 /
The father was mad, the mother was mad,
    And the children mad beside ;
And they all got on a mad horse,
    And madly they did ride.

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

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

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

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

/ p.78 /
Then Jack arose and slipt on his clothes,
    And away to the woods very soon,
Where he made up his pack, and put it on his back,
    Crying, Maids, do you want any brooms ? green brooms, &c.




/ p.79 /

Third Class.—Jingles.


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

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

CIV.
DING, dong, bell,
Puss is in the well !
Who put her in,
Little Tommy Lin :
/ p.80 /
Who pulled her out,
Dog with long snout ;
What a trick was that,
To drown my granny's cat,
Who never did any harm,
But catch the mice in the barn.


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


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

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

/ p.81 /
Cock a doodle doo
My dame has found her shoe ;
And master's found his fiddling stick,
Sing doodle doodle doo.

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

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

/ p.82 /

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

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

/ p.83 /

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

CXIII.
[The following may possibly be a game, but I am without any evidence for so attributing it.]
INTERY, mintery, cutery-corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn ;
Wine, brier, limber-lock,
Five geese in a flock,
Sit and sing by a spring,
O-U-T, and in again

/ p.84 /

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

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

/ p.85 /

CXX.
[Magot-pie is the original name of the chattering and ominous bird. See Macbeth, Act iii. sc. 4, where the same word is used.].
ROUND about, round about
        Maggotty pie,
My father loves good ale,
        And so do I.

/ p.86 /

CXXII.
[From Shropshire.]
ONE, two, three,
I love coffee,
And Billy loves tea,
How good you be,
One, two, three,
I love coffee,
And Billy loves tea.

/ p.87 /

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

CXXVI.
[A Scottish ditty, sung on whirling round a piece of lighted paper to a child.]
DINGLE, dingle, doosey ;
    The cat's in the well ;
The dog's away to Bellingen,
    To buy the bairn a bell.

/ p.88 /

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

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

/ p.89 /

CXXX.
[See Jamieson's Glossary, voc. zickety, and Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Aug. 1821, p. 36.]
ZICKETY, dickety, dock,
The mouse ran up the nock ;
The nock struck one,
Down the mouse run,
Zickety, dickety, dock.

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

/ p.90 /

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

/ p.91 /

Fourth Class.—Riddles.


/ p.92 /

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

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

/ p.93 /

CXLIII.
[A CANDLE.]
LITTLE Nancy Etticoat
In a white petticoat ;
The longer she stands,
The shorter she grows.

/ p.97 /

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


/ p.98 /

Fifth Class.—Proverbs.


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


CLVIII.
[The following old saw is generally believed to refer to the Teutonic method of numbering. See Brand's Popular Antiquities, edited by Sir H. Ellis, vol. ii, p.324.]
FIVE score of men, money, and pins,
Six score of all other things.

/ p.99 /

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

/ p.100 /

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

/ p.102 /

Sixth Class.—Lullabies.


/ p.103 /

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


/ p.104 /

Seventh Class.—Charms.


CLXXV.
[The three following charms are for the hiccup, and each one must be said thrice in one breath, to render the specific of service.]
WHEN a twister twisting would twist him a twist,
For twisting a twist three twists he will twist ;
But if one of the twists untwists from the twist,
The twist untwisting untwists the twist.

/ p.106 /

CLXXXI.
[THE present charm, which appears to be only another version of the one just given, is preserved by Aubrey, in MS. Lansd. 231, fol.114. It may likewise be found in Ady's "Candle in the Dark," 4to. Lond, 1655, p.58.]
MATTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless the bed that I lye on !
And blessed guardian-angel, keep
Me safe from danger whilst I sleep !

CLXXXII.
[The following charm was learnt by the late Sir Humphrey Davy, when a boy, as a cure for the cramp.]
MATTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John, ease us, I beg !
The devil has tied up a knot in my leg.
       Crosses three XXX we make to ease us ;
       Two for the robbers, and one for Christ Jesus.


/ p.107 /

Eighth Class.—Games.


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

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

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

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

/ p.108 /
Here comes your daughter safe and sound,
Every pocket with a thousand pound ;
Every finger with a gay gold ring ;
Please to take your daughter in.

/ p.109 /

CLXXXVIII.
    RIDE a cock horse,
    To Banbury Cross,
To see what Tommy can buy ;
/ p.110 /
    A penny white loaf,
    A penny white cake,
And a two-penny apple pie.

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

/ p.111 /

CXCII.
[The following is a song to a nursery dance.]
GAY go up and gay go down,
To ring the bells of London Town.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Old Father Baldpate,
Say the slow bells at Aldgate.

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

/ p.112 /
When will you pay me ?
Say the bells at Old Bailey.

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

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

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

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

/ p.113 /

CXCV.
DANCE, Bumpkin, dance,
(Keep the thumb in motion.)
Dance, ye merrymen, every one;
(All the fingers in motion.)
For Bumpkin, he can dance alone,
(The thumb only moving.)
Bumpkin, he can dance alone.
(Ditto.)
Dance, Foreman, dance,
(The first finger moving.)
Dance ye merrymen every one;
(The whole moving.)
But Foreman, he can dance alone,
Foreman, he can dance alone.

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

/ p.114 /

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

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

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


/ p.116 /

CCIV.
[I believe the following is only a portion of a dialogue, but I have not been able to recover it.]
HERE comes a poor woman from baby-land,
With three small children in her hand :
One can brew, the other can bake,
The other can make a pretty round cake.


/ p.117 /

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


CCVII.
[A Scotch version of the song already given at p.109]
LAZY dukes, that sit in your neuks,
And winna come out to play ;
/ p.118 /
Leave your supper, leave your sleep,
Come out and play at hide-and-seek.
I've a cherry, I've a chess,
I've a bonny blue glass,
I've a dog among the corn,
Blow Willie Buckhorn.
Three score of Highland kye,
One booly-backed,
One blind of an eye,
An' a' the rest hawkit.
Laddie wi' the shelly-coat
Help me owre the ferry-boat ;
The ferry-boat is owre dear,
Ten pounds every year.
The fiddler's in the Canongate,
The piper's in the Abbey,
Huzza ! cocks and hens,
Flee awa' to your cavey.

/ p.119 /

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

/ p.120 /

CCX.
[A game at ball.]
CUCKO, cherry tree,
Catch a bird, and give it to me ;
Let the tree be high or low,
Let it hail, rain, or snow.

/ p.121 /

CCXIII.
[The following is the Oxfordshire version of the game of the Confessional, as shown in shadows on the wall.]
FATHER, O father, I'm come to confess,
Well, my daughter, well !
Last night I call'd the cat a beast.
Shocking, my daughter, shocking !
What penance ? my father, what penance ?
What penance ! my daughter, what penance !
What penance shall I do ?
Kiss me.


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


/ p.122 /

CCXVI.
[THIS is acted by two or more girls, who walk or dance up and down, turning, when they say, "turn, cheeses, turn." The "green cheeses," as I am informed, are made with sage and potatoe-tops [lit.]. Two girls are said to be "cheese and cheese."]
GREEN cheeses, yellow laces
Up and down the market-places,
         Turn, cheeses, turn !


/ p.123 /

CCXVIII.
[CHILDREN stand round, and are counted one by one, by means of this rhyme, which I have already given in a different form at p. 89. The child upon whom the last number falls is out, for "Hide or Seek," or any other game where a victim is required. A cock and bull story of this kind is related of the historian Josephus.]
HICKORY (1), Dickory (2), Dock (3),
The mouse ran up the clock (4),
The clock struck one (5),
The mouse was gone (6);
O (7), U (8), T (9), spells OUT !

/ p.124 /

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

/ p.125 /

CCXXIII.
[Another version of No.219]
AS I go round ring by ring,
A maiden goes a maying,
And here 's a flower and there 's a flower,
As red as any daisy. If you set your foot awry,
Gentle John will make you cry ;
If you set your foot amiss,
Gentle John will give you a good kiss.


/ p.129 /

Ninth Class.—Paradoxes.


CCLXXIX.
[lit. Should be CCXXIX.]
[The conclusion of the following resembles a verse in the nursery history of Mother Hubbard.]
THERE was an old woman and what do you think ?
She lived upon nothing but victuals and drink.
Victuals and drink were the chief of her diet,
And yet this old woman could never be quiet.
/ p.130 /
She went to the baker, to buy her some bread,
And when she came home, her old husband was dead ;
She went to the clerk to toll the bell,
And when she came back her old husband was well.

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

/ p.131 /

Tenth Class.—Literal.


/ p.133 /

CCXXXVII.
[The following is taken from MS. Sloan. 2497, of the sixteenth century.]
N. for a word of deniance,
E. with a figure fiftie,
Spelleth his name that newer
Will be thriftie.

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

/ p.134 /


Eleventh Class.—Scholastic.


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

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

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

/ p.135 /

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

/ p.136 /


Twelfth Class.—Customs.*


CCXLVII.
[The following is sung at the Christmas mummings in Somersetshire.]
HERE comes I,
    Liddle man Jan
Wi my zword
    In my han !

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

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


/ p.137 /

CCXLIX.
[IT was probably the custom, on repeating these lines, to hold the snail to a candle, in order to make it quit the shell. In Normandy it was the practice at Christmas for boys to run round fruit trees, with lighted torches, singing these lines :
       Taupes et mulots,
       Sortez de vos clos,
Sinon vous brulerai et la barbe et les os.]
SNAIL, snail, come out of your hole,
Or else I'll beat you as black as a coal.

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

CCLI.
[AUBREY, in his "Remaines of Gentilisme and Judaisme," gives another version of this song, as current in the seventeenth century, very curious, but unfortunately much too indelicate to be printed in a book emanating from the Percy Society, or indeed any other.]
WHEN I was a little girl,
    I wash'd my mother's dishes ;
I put my finger in my eye,
    And pull'd out little fishes.

/ p.138 /

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

CCLIII.
[The unmarried ladies in the north address the new moon in the following lines :]
ALL hail to the moon ! all hail to thee !
I prithee, good moon, declare to me
This night who my husband must be !



/ p.139 /


Thirteenth Class.—Songs.


/ p.140 /

CCLVIII.
[The following song is given in Whiter's Specimen of a Commentary on Shakespeare, 8vo. Lond. 1794, p. 19, as peculiar to Cambridge and Norfolk.]
HEIGH, ho ! heigh, ho !
Dame what makes your ducks to die ?
What a pize ails 'em, what a pize ails 'em ?
Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !
Dame, what ails your ducks to die ?
Eating o'polly wigs, eating o'polly wigs, [i.e. Tadpoles.]
Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !


/ p.141 /

CCLX.
[Out of the many songs relating to the heroine of the following stanza, one only has been deemed eligible for insertion in this volume.]
NANCY Dawson was so fine,
She wouldn't get up to serve the swine,
She lies in bed till eight or nine,
So its oh ! poor Nancy Dawson.

/ p.143 /

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

/ p.144 /

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

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

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

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

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

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

/ p.145 /
Then hoist, boys, hoist says Robin to Bobbin ;
Then hoist, boys, hoist, says Richard to Robin ;
Then hoist, boys, hoist, says John all alone ;
Then hoist, boys, hoist, says every one.

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

CCLXX.
AS I was going up Pippen-hill
    Pippen-hill was dirty,
There I met a pretty mis,
    And she dropt me a curtesy.
/ p.146 /
Little miss, pretty miss,
    Blessings light upon you,
If I had half-a-crown a day,
    I'd spend it all upon you.

/ p.149 /

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

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

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

/ p.150 /

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

/ p.155 /

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

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



/ p.156 /


Fourteenth Class.—Fragments.


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


/ p.157 /

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

[ p.159 ]


NOTES.

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

[NOTE : 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.160 /
(the story continues,)..."She went a little further, and she met a butcher..."

[The 1st edition also gives another version :]

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

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

1.   THIS is the house that Jack built.
 
2.   This is the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
 
3.   This is the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
 
4.   This is the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
 
5.   This is the dog,
That worried the cat
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
 
6.   This is the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
/ p.162 /
    That worried the cat,
That kill'd the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
7.   This is the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
8.   This is the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
9.   This is the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
10.  This is the cock that crow'd in the morn,
That wak'd the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.
/ p.163 /
11.  This is the farmer sowing his corn,
That kept the cock that crow'd in the morn,
That wak'd the priest all shaven and shorn,
That married the man all tatter'd and torn,
That kissed the maiden all forlorn,
That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn,
That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,
That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay in the house that Jack built.

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

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

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

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

/ p.164 /

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


/ p.165 /

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

Of his birth and education.

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

/ p.166 /
She often sat him on her lap,
   to turn him dry beneath,
And fed him with sweet sugar-pap,
   because he had no teeth.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

/ p.167 /
Whene'er he took a sword in hand, Enthusiasts of Japanese culture and tradition should not miss our samurai swords. These swords represent Japan's rich cultural heritage and exquisite artistic techniques.
   he made his foes to bleed,
As you shall come to understand,
   when you this story read.

II.

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


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

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

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

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

His coat was spoil'd then being made,
   it came not to his knee :
Jack in a raging passion said,
   I'll be revenged on thee.

The knight he having kill'd a goat,
   whose skin was full as black
I do declare as any soot ;
   this project pleased Jack.

/ p.168 /
He wrapt it round him like a gown
   at twelve o'clock at night,
And then he rambled thro' the town,
   this taylor to affright.

He through a window did advance,
   near to the taylor's bed ;
And round the room did skip and dance
   with horns upon his head.

He growl'd and grumbled like a bear,
   and did such anticks play ;
As made the taylor then to stare,
   and tremble where he lay.

Seeing the horns hang o'er his head,
   his body short and thick,
The taylor said, speak who art thou ?
   quoth Jack, thy friend old Nick :

Thou hast obey'd my order well
   I find in each degree :
And therefore in my gloomy cell,
   I have a place for thee.

For you have been a friend indeed,
   I such a taylor lack :
Therefore come away with speed,
   I'll bear thee on my back :

Sweet Mr. Devil then he cry'd,
   O pardon me I pray ;
I can't, I won't, he then reply'd,
   make haste and come away.

The taylor naked to the skin,
   his bed he did refrain,
And down the town thro' thick and thin,
   he ran with might and main.

/ p.169 /
III.

How he served the cook-maid, who broke his head with a ladle,
for making a sop in the dripping-pan

ANOTHER pleasant prank he play'd,
   upon a holiday,
Unto his master's servant maid,
   which was a bloody fray.

Now she was lusty Jane by name,
   and was their constant cook :
And when he to the kitchen came,
   she would him overlook.

Upon a certain day young Jack,
   a slice of bread did take,
And threw it in the dripping-pan,
   that he a sop might make.

So soon as she the same did see,
   it put her in a rage,
And with the basting ladle she
   Jack Horner did engage.

She gave him cracks upon the crown,
   so hard and struck so fast,
That he at length did tumble down,
   and gasping at the last.

But though he did at first retreat,
   he soon returned again ;
For standing fast upon his feet,
   he fought with might and main.

He was but thirteen inches high,
   and she full six times more,
Yet, by his ingenuity,
   he brought her to the floor.

So cruel hard he made her roar,
   she cry'd, Let me alone,
And I will ne'er offend thee more,
   Jack, while my name is Joan.

/ p.170 /
Why, then, said Jack if it be so,
   that you'll not me offend,
I will this minute let you go,
   and so the fray did end.

IV.

An old hermit give Jack an invisible coat and a pair of enchanted pipes, with which he plays many tricks.

UPON a pleasant holiday,
   Jack, going to a fair,
And as he pass'd along the way,
   he saw a wonder there ;

An aged man sat in a cave,
   that could not stand nor go,
His head wore blossoms of the grave,
   And look'd as white as snow;

He call'd to Jack, and this did say,
   come hither lad to me,
And if thou dost my will obey,
   rewarded thou shalt be;

Bring me a fairing from the town,
   at thy own proper cost,
A jug of nappy liquor brown,
   thy labour shan't be lost.

Jack made the hermit this reply,
   who then sat in the cell,
What's your request I'll not deny,
   and so old dad farewell.

At night he being stout and strong
   this lad he did not fail,
But at his back lugged along
   a swinging jug of ale :

/ p.171 /
Which when the hermit he beheld,
   it pleas'd him to the heart,
Out of the same a cup he fill'd,
   and said before we part,

I have a pipe which I'll bestow
   upon you,—never doubt,
Whoever hears the same you blow,
   shall dance and skip about ;

I have a coat for thee likewise,
   invisible I mean ;
And it shall so bedim their eyes,
   that thou shalt not be seen :

If thou should with an hundred meet
   when thus you pass along,
Although upon the open street,
   not one of all the throng

Shall ever see you in the least,
   but hear the music sound ;
And wonder that both man and beast
   is forc'd to dance around.

Jack took the coat and bag-pipes too,
   and thankfully did say,
Old Father I will call on you,
   whene'er I come this way.

V.

Of his making six fiddlers dance over hedge and ditch, till they broke all their glasses and crowds.


THIS coat and pipe he having got,
   he homewards trudg'd with speed ;
At length it was his happy lot
   to cross a pleasant mead;

Where he six fidlers soon espy'd
   returning from the fair ;
Under their coats crowds by their sides,
   with many others there.

/ p.172 /
Jack presently his coat put on,
   that screen'd him from their sight,
Saying I'll do the best I can
   to plague them all this night ;

His pipes he straight began to play,
   the crowders they did dance ;
The tradesmen too, as fast as they,
   did caper, skip and prance.

Still he play'd up a merry strain
   on his pipes loud and shrill,
So they danc'd the jump'd amain,
   tho's sore against their will.

Said they this is enchanted ground,
   for though no soul we see,
Yet still the music's pleasant sound,
   makes us dance veh'mently.

Jack Horner danc'd and piping went,
   straight down into the hollow,
So all these dancers by consent,
   they after him did follow.

He led them on thro' bogs and sloughs,
   nay, likewise ponds and ditches,
And in the thorny briary boughs,
   poor rogues, they tore their breeches !

At last it being somewhat late,
   Jack did his piping leave,
So ceas'd, seeing their wretched state
   which made them sigh and grieve.

Sure this same is old Nick, I know,
   the author of this evil :
And others cry'd if it be so,
   he is a merry devil.

Jack Horner laugh'd and went away,
   and left them in despair :
So ever since that very day,
   no crowders would come there.


/ p.173 /

VI.

Jack's kindness to the inn keeper, who he puts in a way to pay his debts.


AN honest man, an innkeeper
   a friend to honest Jack,
Who was in debt alas ! so far
   that he was like to crack ;

Now this man had a handsome wife,
   sweet, fair, and beauteous too,—
A Quaker lov'd her as his life,
   And this Jack Horner knew.

The Quaker was an esquire born,
   and did in wealth abound :
Said he, I'll catch him in the corn,
   and put him in the pond.

First to the innkeeper I'll go,
   and when I do him find,
he soon shall understand and know
   that I'll be true and kind.

He met him in a narrow lane,
   and said, my friend, good morrow.
But the innkeeper reply'd again,
   my heart is full of sorrow;

Two hundred pounds I am in debt,
   which I must pay next week,
It makes me sigh, lament, and fret,
   having the coin to seek.

Quoth Jack, if you'll be rul'd by me
   I'll put you in a way,
How you yourself from debts may free
   and all the money pay.

Nay, this is joyful news he cry'd,
   thou art a friend indeed,
Thy wit shall be my rule and guide
   for never more was need.

/ p.174 /
Go tell thy loving wife said he,
   thy joy and hearts' delight,
That thou must ride miles forty-three
   and shan't come home to night.

Then mind the counsel I shall give,
   and be no whit afraid ;
For I can tell you as I live
   your debts will soon be paid.

Mount thy bay nag, and take thy cloak,
   likewise thy morning gown ;
And lodge within a hollow oak
   a mile or two from town.

Then you may sleep in sweet content
   all night and take your rest,
And leave it to my management,
   then Sir, a pleasant jest—

Next morning there you shall behold
   the like ne'er seen before ;
Which shall produce a sum of gold,
   nay, likewise silver store.

Unto his house straightway he went,
   and told her he must go
A journey, saying be content,
   for why, it must be so.

She seemingly began to weep,
   and with sad sighs reply'd—
You know, alas ! I cannot sleep
   without you by my side.

Cries he, kind wife, do not repine,
   why should you sigh and grieve ?
I go out to a friend of mine
   some money to receive.

This said, with woman fond deceit,
   she straightway ceas'd to mourn,
And gave him twenty kisses sweet,
   wishing his safe return.

/ p.175 /
So soon as he was out of sight,
   she for the quaker sent,
And ordered him to come at night,
   that to their heart's content

They may be merry, sport, and play,
   as her husband was from home.
The quaker said, by yea and nay,
   I will not fail to come.

Now just about the close of day
   they did to supper fall ;
Now Jack was there as well as they,
   and walk'd about the hall,

And did her fond behaviour note,
   she on her friend did lean,
Jack having his enchanting coat
   was not for to be seen.

Who perfectly did hear and see
   when they did toy and play ;
Thought he, I'll be reveng'd on ye,
   before the morning day.


*     *     *     *     *

VII.

Jack slays a monstrous giant, and marries a knight's daughter.

JACK HORNER a fierce giant kill'd,
   one Galligantus stout,
As large as ever man beheld
   in all the world throughout.

This very giant could with ease,
   step fifteen yards in length :
Up by the root he pluck'd oak trees,
   so mighty was his strength.

/ p.176 /
His lips did open like two gates,
   his beard hung down like wire,
His eyes were like two pewter plates,
   he breathed smoke and fire.

'Tis said that he destroy'd as much
   as ten score men could eat ;
So that the people did him grudge
   every bit of meat.

His mess was still continually
   two bullocks in a dish ;
Then he would drink whole rivers dry,
   and thus he starv'd the fish :

He went to drink it seems one day
   by a deep river side,
Whereat a lighter fall of straw
   did then at anchor ride ;

Besides another full of hay;
   a third with block and billet ;
He cramm'd all these into his maw,
   and yet they did not fill it.

He did annoy the nations then,
   by night and eke by day ;
Whoever passed by his den,
   became his fatal pray.

Hard by these liv'd a noble knight,
   who had one daughter dear ;
For youth and splendid beauty bright
   but few could her come near.

He preferr'd her to be the wife,
   of him that would destroy,
The bruitish cruel giant's life,
   who did them so annoy.

At length Jack Horner being told,
   whoever did him slay,
Might have gold and silver eke,
   likewise a lady gay ;

/ p.177 /
Quoth Jack, now let me live or die,
   I'll fight this swinging boar ;
Though I'm but thirteen inches high,
   and he ten yards and more.

A sword he got five inches long,
   a little cap of steel.
A breast-plate too both stout and strong,
   quoth Jack, I'll make him reel.

Upon a badgers back he got,
   in order to proceed ;
Thus being mounted cap-a-pee,
   away he rode full speed.

With double courage stout and bralle,
   he did his valour keep :
Then coming to the giant's cave,
   he found him fast asleep.

His mouth it was not open wide,
   but stood it seems half-cock,
Jack down his throat with speed did ride,
   he never stood to knock.

Jack cut and slash'd his swinging tripes,
   this griev'd the giant sore ;
Then did he play upon his pipes,
   which made him dance and roar.

He cry'd, I dance, yet I'm not well,
   there's no man minds my moan :
At length he died and down he fell,
   Then gave a hideous groan.

With that he soon with speed did run,
   and did in brief declare,
What by his valour he had done,
   and gain'd the lady fair.

He marry'd this fair beauty bright,
   her charms he did admire :
And since her father was a knight,
   young Jack became a 'squire.


/ p.178 /

      P.43, l. 5. Three blind mice. The following version is from "Deuteromelia, or the second part of Musicks Melodie, 1609," where the music is also given :
"Three blinde mice, three blinde mice,
Dame Julian, the miller, and his merry old wife,
Shee scrapte her tripe, take thou the knife."

      P.46, l. 7. Sing a song of sixpence. It is probable that Sir Toby alludes to this nursery song in "Twelfth Night," act ii. scene 3, when he says, "Come on ; there is sixpence for you : let's have a song." The following additional stanza was obtained from the Isle of Man :
"Jenny was so mad,
    She didn't know what to do ;
She put her finger in her ear,
    And crackt it right in two."

/ p.179 /

      P.63, l. 1. Old King Cole. This ought to have been placed in the first class. It is a singular fact that King Cole was one of the ancient British kings. The following two versions differ from that which I have printed in the text :
I.
"Old King Coel
Was a merry old soul,
   And a merry old soul was he ;
Old King Coel,
He sat in his hole,
   And he call'd for his fiddlers three, &c.

"The first, he was an Irishman ;
   The second, he was a Scot ;
The third, he was a Welshman ;
   And all were rogues, I wot.

"The Irishman lov'd usquebaugh ;
   The Scot was drown'd in ale ;
The Welshman had like to be chok'd by a mouse,
   But he pull'd her out by the tail."

II.

"Old King Coel
Was a merry old soul,
   And a merry old soul was he ;
Old King Coel,
He sat in his hole,
   And he call'd for his pipers three.

"The first, he was a miller ;
The second, he was a weaver ;
The third, he was a tailor ;
   And all were rogues together.

/ p.180 /
"The miller, he stole corn ;
The weaver, he stole yarn ;
The little tailor stole broad-cloth,
   To keep these three rogues warm.

"The miller was drown'd in his dam ;
The weaver was hung in his loom ;
And the devil ran away with the little tailor,
   With the broad-cloth under his arm."

      P.64, l. 17. There was a lady all skin and bone. The following version was obtained from Yorkshire, where it is used in a nursery game :

"There was an old woman she went to church to pray ;
And when she got to the church-yard stile,
She sat her down to think a little while ;
And when she got to the church-yard door,
She sat her down, to think a little more ;
And when she got the church within,
She knelt her down to pray for sin ;
She look'd above, she look'd below,
She saw a dead man lying low ;
The worms crept in, and the worms crept out ;
She ask'd the parson, 'may I go out ?'
Yes, you may," &c.

/ p.181 /

      P.105, l. 14. The charm in the Townley Mysteries, to which I refer, is as follows :
"For ferde we be fryght a crosse let us kest,
Cryst crosse, benedyght, eest and west,
            For dreede.
      Jesus o'Nazorus,
      Crucyefixus,
      Marcus, Andreas,
            God be our spede."

/ p.182 /

      P.112, No. 194. The following is a Scotch version of this game :
"1. Buff says Buff to all his men.
 2. I say Buff to you again.
 1. Methinks Buff smiles.
 2. No, Buff never smiles,
     But strokes his face
     With a very good grace,
     And passes the staff to another."

      P.117, l. 6. Eleven comets in the sky. This ought to be said in one breath. The following is another version of it :

"Eight ships on the main,
I wish them all safe back again ;
Seven eagles in the air,
I wonder how they all came there ;
I don't know, nor I don't care.
Six spiders on the wall,
Close to an old woman's apple-stall ;
Five puppies in Highgate Hall,
Who daily for their breakfast call ;
Four mares stuck in a bog ;
Three monkies tied to a log ;
Two pudding-ends will choke a dog,
With a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog."

/ p.183 /

      P.137, no.251. When I was a little girl. A friend has kindly furnished me with a different version of these curious lines :
"WHEN I was a little girl,
   I wash'd my mammy's dishes :
I put my finger in my eye,
   And pull'd out four-score fishes.

"My mammy call'd me good girl,
   And bade me do so 'gain :
I put my finger in my eye,
   And pull'd out fourscore-ten."


      It is a singular fact, that a comparatively modern discovery in physiology was anticipated in the original version of this song.

      P.144, l. 1. We'll go a shooting. This is an English version of a very curious song, used on the occasion of "hunting the wran," on St. Stephen's Day, in the Isle of Man. On that day the children of the villagers procure a wren, attach it with a string to a branch of holly, decorate the branch with pieces of ribbon that they beg from the various houses, and / p.184 / carry it through the village, singing these lines. An extract from an Irish work, from which it appears that this custom is likewise prevalent in Ireland, is given in Sir Henry Ellis's edition of Brand's "Popular Antiquities," vol. ii. p. 516 :— "The Druids represented this as the king of all birds. The great respect shown to this bird gave great offence to the first Christian missionaries, and, by their command, he is still hunted and killed by the peasants on Christmas Day, and on the following (St. Stephen's Day) he is carried about hung by the leg in the centre of two hoops, crossing each other at right angles, and a procession made in every village, 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 :

THE HUNTING OF THE WRAN.

" We'll hunt the wran, says Robin to Bobbin
We'll hunt the wran, says Richard to Robin ;
We'll hunt the wran, says Jack o' th' land ;
We'll hunt the wran, says every one.

" Where shall we find him ? says Robin to Bobbin ;
Where shall we find him ? says Richard to Robin ;
Where shall we find him ? says Jack o' th' land ;
Where shall we find him ? says every one.

" In yon green bush, says Robin to Bobbin ;
In yon green bush, says Richard to Robin ;
In yon green bush, says Jack o' th' land ;
In yon green bush, says every one.

" How shall we kill him ? says Robin to Bobbin ;
How shall we kill him ? says Richard to Robin ;
How shall we kill him ? says Jack o' th' land ;
How shall we kill him ? says every one.

" With sticks and stones, says Robin to Bobbin ;
With sticks and stones, says Richard to Robin ;
With sticks and stones, says Jack o' th' land ;
With sticks and stones, says every one.

/ p.185 /
" How shall we get him home ? says Robin to Bobbin ;
How shall we get him home ? says Richard to Robin ;
How shall we get him home ? says Jack o' th' land ;
How shall we get him home ? says every one.

" We'll borrow a cart, says Robin to Bobbin ;
We'll borrow a cart, says Richard to Robin ;
We'll borrow a cart, says Jack o' th' land ;
We'll borrow a cart, says every one.

" How shall we boil him ? says Robin to Bobbin ;
How shall we boil him ? says Richard to Robin ;
How shall we boil him ? says Jack o' th' land ;
How shall we boil him ? says every one.

" In the brewery pan, says Robin to Bobbin ;
In the brewery pan, says Richard to Robin ;
In the brewery pan, says Jack o' th' land ;
In the brewery pan, says every one."

      In the copy which was given to me, there were two additional stanzas, beginning respectively, "How shall we eat him?" and, "With knives and forks :" but these are probably modern interpolations.

      P.149, No.297. There is another couplet on this sovereign, which runs thus—

"THOMAS a Didymus had a black beard,
Kiss'd Nancy Fitchett, and made her afeard."

      P.151, l. 17. Of all the gay birds. These four lines are part of an old song, the whole of which may be found in "Deuteromelia," 4to. Lond. 1609, and it is singular that it should have come down to us from oral tradition. This ver- / p.186 / sion was obtained from Lincolnshire. The following copy is taken from the work here quoted : but there are considerable variations in later copies, some of which may be more correct.

"OF all the birds that ever I see,
The owle is the fayrest in her degree :
For all the day long she sits in a tree,
And when the night comes, away flies she !
To whit, te whow !
Sir knave to thou,
This song is well sung, I make you a vow,
And he is a knave that drinketh now.
Nose, nose, nose, nose !
And who gave you that jolly red nose ?
Sinamont, and ginger, nutmegs and cloves,—
And that gave me my jolly red nose !"





[ p.187 ]



INDEX.

PAGE
A, B, C, tumble down dee
131
A carrion crow sat on an oak
A cat came fiddling out of a barn
83
A diller, a doller
A duck and a drake
A kid, a kid, my father bought
3
A little old man and I fell out
149
A man of words and not of deeds
100
A riddle, a riddle, as I suppose
91
A semptress that sews
A swarm of bees in May
99
All hail to the moon ! All hail to thee
Around the green gravel the grass grows green
148
As I go [round] ring by ring
As I was going to St. Ives
95
As I was going to sell my eggs
94
As I was going up Pippen-hill
As I was walking o'er little Moorfields
43
As I went over Lincoln Bridge
91
As I went through the garden gap
95
As round as an apple, as deep as a cup
92
As Tommy Snooks, and Bessy Brooks
139
Awa', birds, away
148
Barber, barber, shave a pig
143
Bat, bat
122
Bessy Bell and Mary Gray
36
Bobby Shaft is gone to sea
Buff says Buff to all his men
112
Buz, quoth the blue fly
141
Bye, baby bunting
102
Bye, O my baby
103
Catskin, the story of
48
CHARMS
Cock a doodle doo
Come, all ye brisk young bachelors
Come, butter, come
105
Come dance a jig
Cry, baby, cry
Cripple Dick upon a stick
84
Cross patch
Cuckoo, cherry tree
Curly locks, curly locks, wilt thou be mine ?
142
CUSTOMS
Dance, Bumpkin, dance
Dance, little baby, dance up high
152
Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my son John
/ p.188 /
PAGE
Dibbity, dibbity, dibbity, doe
136
Dick and Tom, Will and John
86
Did you not hear of Betty Pringle's pig ?
Ding, dong, bell
Ding, dong, darrow
89
Dingle, dingle, doosey
Dingty diddlety
Dr. Faustus was a good man
28
Donkey walks on four legs
Doodledy, doodledy, doodlety, dan
85
Draw a pail of water
116
Driddlety drum, driddlety drum
Eggs, butter, cheese, bread
116
Eight ships on the main
Eleven comets in the sky
Elizabeth, Elspeth, Betsy and Bess
95
Father, O father, I'm come to confess
Feedum, fiddledum fee
82
Fiddle-de-dee, fiddle-de-dee
85
Five score of men, money, and pins
Formed long ago, yet made to-day
91
Four-and-twenty tailors went to kill a snail
25
FRAGMENTS
GAMES
Gay go up and gay go down
Giles Collins he said to his old mother
73
Gilly Silly Jarter
88
Girls and boys, come out to play
109
Good horses, bad horses
120
Good morning, father Francis
Goosy goosy gander
Great A, little a
131
Green cheeses, yellow laces
Heigh, ho ! Heigh, ho !
Here am I, little jumping Joan
129
Here comes a poor woman from baby-land
Here comes I
Here we come a piping
108
Herrings, herrings, white and red
Hey ding a ding, what shall I sing ?
81
Hey dorolot, dorolot
84
Hickory, dickory, dock
Hie ! diddle diddle
High diddle ding !
Highty cock O !
125
Highty, tighty, paradighty clothed in green
96
HISTORICAL
How many miles is it to Babylon ?
157
Hub a dub dub
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall
Hush a bye a ba lamb
103
Hugh a bye, baby, on the tree top
102
Hush thee, my babby
103
Hushy baby, my doll, I pray you don't cry
102
I am a pretty wench
146
/ p.189 /
  
PAGE
I can make diet bread
120
I had a little castle upon the sea-side
96
I had a little dog, and his name was Blue Bell
16
I had a little hobby-horse and it was well shod
152
I had a little husband
I had a little moppet
17
I had a little pony
139
I had a little sister, they call'd her peep, peep
I'll sing you a song
143, 147
I'll tell you a story
24
I love sixpence, pretty little sixpence
151
I see the moon, and the moon sees me
I went to the toad that lies under the wall
105
I won't be my father's Jack
109
If all the seas were one sea
152
Intery, mintery, cutery-corn
Jack and Jill went up the hill
Jack Sprat could eat no fat
26
Jim and George were two great lords
11
JINGLES
John Ball shot them all
153
John Cook had a little grey mare
76
Lady-bird, lady bird, fly thy way home
158
Lazy dukes, that sit in your neuks
Leg over leg
91
Let us go to the wood, says this pig
115
Liar, liar, lick spit
LITERAL
Little Blue Betty lived in a den
30
Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep
75
Little boy, pretty boy, where was you born ?
156
Little General Monk
Little Jack-a-dandy
Little Jack Horner sat in the corner
38
Little Jack Jingle
26
Little Jenny Wren fell sick upon a time
Little John Jiggy Jag
65
Little Mary Ester sat upon a tester
Little Miss Mopsey
Little Nancy Etticoat
Little Tommy Tacket
Little Tommy Trigger
Long legs, crooked thighs
93
Lucy Locket lost her pocket
LULLABIES
Mary had a pretty bird
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John
Miss one two and three, could never agree
Mistress Mary, quite contrary
Multiplication is vexation
135
My daddy is dead, but I can't tell you how
My father he died, but I can't tell you how
7-8
My father he died, I cannot tell how
My lady Wind, my lady Wind
37
N. for a word of deniance
/ p.190 /
PAGE
Nancy Dawson was so fine
Needles and pins, needles and pins
100
O that I was where I would be
129
Of all the birds that ever I see
Of all the gay birds that e'er I did see
151
Old Dr. Foster went to Gloster
41
Old King Coel
Old King Cole
Old mother Hubbard
Old mother Niddity Nod swore by the pudding-bag
73
One ery, two-ery
86
One misty moisty morning
150
One old Oxford ox opening oysters
126
One's none
133
One, two, buckle my shoe
132
One, two, three
One, two, three, four, five
131
Over the water, over the lee
11
PARADOXES
Parson Darby wore a black gown
139
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man
132
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold
94
Peg, peg, with a wooden leg
38
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled pepper
104
Peter White will ne'er go right
130
Poor old Robinson Crusoe !
11
PROVERBS
Purple, yellow, red and green
93
Pussicat, wussicat, with a white foot
90
Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been ?
Queen Anne, queen Anne, you sit in the sun
113
Riddle me, riddle me, riddle me ree !
RIDDLES
Ride a cock-horse
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross
Ride a cock-horse to Coventry Cross
Ride, baby, ride
150
Ride to the market to buy a fat pig
Ring me, ring me, ring me rary
123
Robert Rowley rolled a round roll round
104
Robin and Richard
Robin Hood, Robin Hood
2
Robin the Bobbin, the big-bellied Ben
Rock-a-bye, baby, the cradle is green
Round about, round about
Bowsty [lit.] dowt, my fire's all out
14
Saturday night my wife did die
Says Aaron to Moses
Says Moses to Aaron
Says Robin to Jenny, if you'll be mine
Says t'auld man tit oak tree
140
SCHOLASTIC
See a pin and pick it up
98
Seek a thing, give a thing
See saw, Jack a daw
125
/ p.191 /
PAGE
See saw, Jack in a hedge
See saw, Margery Daw
See saw, sack-a-day
10
See saw, sacradown
See ! see ! what shall I see ?
96
Shake a leg, wag a leg, when will you gang ?
157
Sieve my lady's oatmeal
108
Simple Simon met a pieman
58
Sing a song of sixpence
Sing jigmijole, the pudding bowl
158
Snail, snail, come out of your hole
Solomon Grundy
29
Some Christian people all give ear
Some little mice sat in a barn to spin
43
SONGS
St. Dunstan, as the story goes
43
St. Swithin's day, if thou dost rain
99
Taffy was a Welchman, Taffy was a thief
40
TALES
Tell-tale, tit
135
The carrion crow he sat upon an oak
The cat sat asleep by the side of the fire
147
The first day of Christmas
127
The fox and his wife, they had a great strife
30
The history of Jack Horner
The hunting of the wran
The king of France went up the hill
The lion and the unicorn
28
The man in the moon
24
The man in the moon drinks claret
24
The quaker's wife got up to bake
143
The rose is red, the grass is green
9
The rose is red, the violet's blue
The rule of the road is a paradox quite
The sow came in with the saddle
148
The taylor of Bisiter
100
There once was a gentleman grand
48
There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile
30
There was a frog liv'd in a well
70
There was a lady all skin and bone
64
There was a lady lov'd a swine
There was a little boy and a little girl
146
There was a little guinea-pig
17
There was a little man
There was a little man, and he woo'd a little maid
There was a mad man and he had a mad wife
There was a man in our toone
33
There was a man in Thessaly
There was a wee bit wifie
There was an old man
There was an old man, and he liv'd in a wood
There was an old man in a velvet coat
There was an old man who lived in a wood
32
There was an old man who liv'd in Middle-row
142
There was an old woman
25, 73
/ p.192 /
  
PAGE
There was an old woman, and what do you think ?
There was an old woman as I've heard tell
45
There was an old woman had three sons
13
There was an old woman of Leeds
60
There was an old woman of Norwich
59
There was an old woman sat spinning
There was an old woman she went to church to pray
There was an old woman, that lived in
There was an old woman toss'd up in a blanket
There was an old woman who liv'd in a shoe
39
There were three jovial Welchmen
118
There were two birds sat on a stone
17
There were two blackbirds
110
Thirty white horses on a red hill
95
This is the house that Jack built
This is the key of the kingdom
115
This little pig went to market
Thomas a Dydymus, king of the Jews
Three blind mice, three blind mice
Three children sliding on the ice
Three wise men of Gotham
19
To make your candles last for aye
To market ride the gentlemen
Tom Brown's two little Indian boys
110
Tom he was a piper's son
Tom married a wife on Sunday
Tommy Tibule, Harry Wibule
Tommy Trot, a man of law
44
Tom, Tom, the piper's son
25
Trip trap over the grass
126
Trip upon trenchers and dance upon dishes
147
Two legs sat upon three legs
94
Up hill and down dale
145
We are three brethren out of Spain
We'll go a shooting, says Robin to Bobbin
We make no spare
We're all dry with drinking on't
141
What care I how black I be ?
149
What is the rhyme for porringer ?
10
When a twister twisting
When good king Arthur ruled this land
1
When I was a bachelor, I lived by myself
When I was a little boy, I had but little wit
156
When I was a little boy, my mammy kept me in
135
When I was a little girl
When I went up a sandy hill
96
Who comes here ?
142
Who is going round my sheepfold ?
122
William and Mary, George and Anne
Yankee doodle came to town
Zickety, dickety, dock

RICHARDS, PRINTER, ST MARTINS'S LANE.






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