第54章

You goddess of the morn, With blushes you adorn, And take the fresh air, whilst linnets prepare A concert on each green thorn;The blackbird and thrush on every bush, And the charming nightingale, In merry vein, their throats do strain To entertain, the jolly train Of those of the milking-pail.

When cold bleak winds do roar, And flowers will spring no more, The fields that were seen so pleasant and green, With winter all candied o'er, See now the town lass, with her white face, And her lips so deadly pale;But it is not so, with those that go Through frost and snow, with cheeks that glow, And carry the milking-pail.

The country lad is free From fears and jealousy, Whilst upon the green he oft is seen, With his lass upon his knee.

With kisses most sweet he doth her so treat, And swears her charms won't fail;But the London lass, in every place, With brazen face, despises the grace Of those of the milking-pail.

Ballad: THE SUMMER'S MORNING.

[THIS is a very old ditty, and a favourite with the peasantry in every part of England; but more particularly in the mining districts of the North. The tune is pleasing, but uncommon. R. W.

Dixon, Esq., of Seaton-Carew, Durham, by whom the song was communicated to his brother for publication, says, 'I have written down the above, VERBATIM, as generally sung. It will be seen that the last lines of each verse are not of equal length. The singer, however, makes all right and smooth! The words underlined in each verse are sung five times, thus:- THEY AD-VAN-CED, THEY AD-VAN-CED, THEY AD-VAN-CED, THEY AD-VAN-CED, THEY AD-VAN-CED ME SOME MONEY, -TEN GUINEAS AND A CROWN. The last line is thus sung:- WE'LL BEMARRIED, (as the word is usually pronounced), WE'LL BE MARRIED, WE'LL BE MARRIED, WE'LL BE MARRIED, WE'LL BE MARRIED, WE'LL BE MAR-RI-ED WHEN I RETURN AGAIN.' The tune is given in POPULAR MUSIC.

Since this song appeared in the volume issued by the Percy Society, we have met with a copy printed at Devonport. The readings are in general not so good; but in one or two instances they are apparently more ancient, and are, consequently, here adopted. The Devonport copy contains two verses, not preserved in our traditional version. These we have incorporated in our present text, in which they form the third and last stanzas.]

IT was one summer's morning, as I went o'er the moss, I had no thought of 'listing, till the soldiers did me cross;They kindly did invite me to a flowing bowl, and down, THEY ADVANCED me some money, - ten guineas and a crown.

'It's true my love has listed, he wears a white cockade, He is a handsome tall young man, besides a roving blade;He is a handsome young man, and he's gone to serve the king, OH! MY VERY heart is breaking for the loss of him.

'My love is tall and handsome, and comely for to see, And by a sad misfortune a soldier now is he;I hope the man that listed him may not prosper night nor day, FOR I WISH THAT the Hollanders may sink him in the sea.

'Oh! may he never prosper, oh! may he never thrive, Nor anything he takes in hand so long as he's alive;May the very grass he treads upon the ground refuse to grow, SINCE HE'S BEEN the only cause of my sorrow, grief, and woe!'

Then he pulled out a handkerchief to wipe her flowing eyes, -'Leave off those lamentations, likewise those mournful cries;Leave of your grief and sorrow, while I march o'er the plain, WE'LL BE MARRIED when I return again.'

'O now my love has listed, and I for him will rove, I'll write his name on every tree that grows in yonder grove, Where the huntsman he does hollow, and the hounds do sweetly cry, TO REMIND ME of my ploughboy until the day I die.'

Ballad: OLD ADAM.

[WE have had considerable trouble in procuring a copy of this old song, which used, in former days, to be very popular with aged people resident in the North of England. It has been long out of print, and handed down traditionally. By the kindness, however, of Mr. S. Swindells, printer, Manchester, we have been favoured with an ancient printed copy, which Mr. Swindells observes he had great difficulty in obtaining. Some improvements have been made in the present edition from the recital of Mr. Effingham Wilson, who was familiar with the song in his youth.]

BOTH sexes give ear to my fancy, While in praise of dear woman I sing;Confined not to Moll, Sue, or Nancy, But mates from a beggar to king.

When old Adam first was created, And lord of the universe crowned, His happiness was not completed, Until that an helpmate was found.

He'd all things in food that were wanting To keep and support him through life;He'd horses and foxes for hunting, Which some men love better than wife.

He'd a garden so planted by nature, Man cannot produce in his life;But yet the all-wise great Creator Still saw that he wanted a wife.

Then Adam he laid in a slumber, And there he lost part of his side;And when he awoke, with a wonder, Beheld his most beautiful bride!

In transport he gazed upon her, His happiness now was complete!

He praised his bountiful donor, Who thus had bestowed him a mate.

She was not took out of his head, sir, To reign and triumph over man;Nor was she took out of his feet, sir, By man to be trampled upon.

But she was took out of his side, sir, His equal and partner to be;But as they're united in one, sir, The man is the top of the tree.

Then let not the fair be despised By man, as she's part of himself;For woman by Adam was prized More than the whole globe full of wealth.

Man without a woman's a beggar, Suppose the whole world he possessed;And the beggar that's got a good woman, With more than the world he is blest.

Ballad: TOBACCO.

[THIS song is a mere adaptation of SMOKING SPIRITUALIZED; see ANTE, p. 39. The earliest copy of the abridgment we have been able to meet with, is published in D'Urfey's PILLS TO PURGE MELANCHOLY, 1719; but whether we are indebted for it to the author of the original poem, or to 'that bright genius, Tom D'Urfey,' as Burns calls him, we are not able to determine. The song has always been popular. The tune is in POPULAR MUSIC.]