t3>
COLLECTION OF SEVENTY- NINE
etter ^allatos anti
PRINTED IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH,
BETWEEN THE YEARS 1559
AND 1597.
ACCOMPANIED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND
ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES.
r
LONDON :
JOSEPH LILLY, 17 AND 18, NEW STREET,
AND 51, GARRICK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1867.
\*\
PREFACE.
LOVE a ballad in print," are the
words put by Shakefpeare into the
mouth of one of his characters, and
from his evident fondnefs for them
we muft infer that he is conveying his own
feelings through the mouth of the fpeaker.
Another great writer of our own days, Sir Walter
Scott, had an equal predilection for this fpecies of
literature, and has availed himfelf of them in the
fafcinating productions of his pen.
The Collections of Phillips, Percy, Evans,
Ritfon, Pinkerton, Jamiefon and others, are a
convincing proof of the favour with which they
have been received by the public.
It may be confidently afterted that the prefent
collection is not lefs interefting, and is certainly
much more curious, than any that have preceded
it, illuftrating as it does the language, opinions,
manners, ufages, the feelings and pafling events
of the greater part of the reign of Queen Eliza
beth.
iv PREFACE.
Thefe ballads, all of the higher! intereft and
curiofity, hitherto unknown and prefumed to be
unique, are reprinted without the flighteft altera
tion from the celebrated Collection formerly in the
library of Mr. George Daniel, of Canonburyj
Square, at the fale of whofe library it was pur-
chafed by the publifher for Henry Huth, Efq., to
whom his beft thanks are due for his kindnefs
and liberality in permitting the prefent publication.
The Introduction and Notes are fupplied by
two gentlemen profoundly verfed in early Eng-
lifh literature.
JOSEPH LILLY.
INTRODUCTION.
T is remarkable how Toon after its in
vention the art of printing became an
inftrument of popular amufement and
inftruction, an active agent in the
development of the mind of the people. This cha
racter, however, arofe in fome degree out of the
neceflity which called the art itfelf into exiftence,
and which would naturally extend itfelf rapidly in
proportion as it was indulged. The works which
the firft experimenters in printing fought to pro
duce were prints and fmall books intended for
religious teaching, which had been previoufly
drawn and written by the hand, and which were
thus necerTarily fold at higher prices than the
majority of the clafs for whom they were intended
could afford to pay. The great want, therefore,
to be fupplied, was the means of producing an
indefinite number of copies of a book in the
fame time and at the fame coft which had for
merly been employed in producing one, and thus
reducing the coft of each individual copy to a
very fmall fra6tion of the whole. In moft coun
tries, for fome length of time after the introduc
tion of printing, the full advantage of the art was
imperfectly appreciated, perhaps for want of an
agency by which a great number of copies of a
b
vi INTRODUCTION.
book could be rapidly and widely circulated ; anc
the firft books were bulky, no doubt expenfive
and calculated for anything but what we fhoulc
call popular reading. It was in France that the
art of printing firft aflumed a more popular cha
racter. There already exifted in that country
during the laft twenty years of the fifteenth cen
tury, which muft, therefore, have originatec
within very few years of the invention of the art,
an extenfive literature of a very popular character,
confifting chiefly of farces and drolleries in a
dramatic fhape, poetical tracts on various fub-
jects, tales in verfe and profe, fatires on contem
porary manners and fentiments, almanacks and
facetiae, many of the later degenerating into
fimple coarfe obfcenities, fo early did the objec
tionable ufes of printing accompany this more
than ufeful art. All thefe appeared in the form
of fmall pamphlets, of a few, often not more
than three or four, leaves each. They appear to
have been fold by itinerant bookfellers, who
hawked them about the country, and were called
technically bifouarts^ and who ftill preferve in
France another of their old names, that of
colporteurs.
This literature fpread from France into Italy
and Spain at an early period. It was introduced
into England at the beginning of the fixteenth
century, no doubt from France, becaufe nearly
all the Englifri famples of it we know are tranf-
lations or adaptations from the language of that
country. Our literary antiquaries call them chap-
books. They were a clafs of books expofed by
their nature to fpeedy deftruction, but a fufficient
number of them are preferved, though in unique
INTRODUCTION. vii
or very rare copies, to leave no doubt that they
were very numerous, even at an early period.
There was another clafs of literature, we may
perhaps fay ftill more popular, which appears
to have flourimed moft in England, and which
we ufually call broadfides. The Germans call
them fliegende Blatter, and the French feuilles
volantes, both comparatively modern terms, and
the laft perhaps tranflated from the other.
Thefe broadfides became far more popular in
England than in other countries, and during a
long period they have been the ufual mode of
publiming popular ballads. They were the form
employed with us for royal proclamations and
fimilar documents from a very early period in
the hiftory of printing. Setting thefe afide, the
broadfide appears to have been employed firft
for printing papal indulgences, feveral examples
of which, dating from 1513 to 1527, will be
found in the collection of broadfides preferred in
the library of the Society of Antiquaries, of
which a valuable catalogue, compiled by Mr.
Robert Lemon, has been recently publifhed. ^ In
this collection, which is, for the earlier! period,
the richeft and moft valuable in exiftence, we find
no example before the middle of the fixteenth
century of what we now underftand more fpe-
cially by the name of ballad, of that peculiar
clafs of popular literature which belonged to the
long period of tranfition in our country between
mediaeval fociety and the fociety of our own
times. We foon find the printed broadfide em
ployed in the various circumftances of temporary
agitation, whether political or focial. In fact,
the prefs was deftined very foon to become the
viii INTRODUCTION.
moft powerful agent in all focial agitation. On
the nth of June, 1540, late in the reign of
Henry VIII., Thomas Lord Cromwell, that ; |
king's minifter and counfellor in all his acts of j
hoftility againft the Church of Rome, fell into -\
difgrace, and was committed to the Tower. To 1
the papal party it was of courfe a fubject of i
exultation, which was difplayed in a ballad, pub-
limed no doubt foon after his imprifonment, at
all events before his execution on the 28th of
July following. The Proteftant party took up
the caufe of their protector, and the refult was a ]
rather bitter warfare carried on by means of
poetical broadfides, eight of which are contained
in the collection of the Society of Antiquaries.
The original ballad againft Cromwell is printed
in Percy's " Reliques." Cromwell's afTailants
offended the king, who was perfonally identified
with the ads for which they cenfured Cromwell,
and it is curious that the writer of moft of the
ballads in defence of the fallen minifter was
Thomas Smith, who defcribes himfelf as " fer-
vaunt to the kynges royall majeftye ; and clerke
of the queenes graces counfell, though moft un
worthy." Three or four known broadfides of a
fimilar character belong to the clofing years of
the reign of Henry VIII. When we enter the
reign of his fon and fuccefTor, Edward VI., we
find rhyming broadfides of the fame character.
Firft in date of thofe preferved in the collection
of the Society of Antiquaries are two ballads for
and againft Bifhop Gardner, printed probably in
1 548, when that prelate was committed to the
Tower. We now fall in with the names of
printers who were fubfequently remarkable for
INTRODUCTION. ix
the number of ballads which iflued from their
prefles. John Waley, who lived in Fofter Lane
in London, printed " A Newe Balade made by
Nicholas Balthorp, which fuffered in Calys the 20
daie of Marche, M.D.L.," which means March,
1551. In the year following, another of the
great printers of ballad literature, Richard Lant,
introduces us to a new controversy in thefe poeti
cal broadfides. It was provoked by a young
man in literature who afterwards rofe to confi-
derable celebrity, Thomas Churchyard, who
wrote a (hort metrical fatire on contemporary fo-
ciety entitled cc Davy Dycars Dreame." Church
yard found an opponent in a man who figned
himfelf T. Camel, and whofe printer was Henry
Sutton, another well-known printer of ballads,
who dwelt in St. Paul's Churchyard. In the
collection of the Society of Antiquaries there
are no lefs than thirteen broadfide poems belong
ing to this controverfy, thofe by Churchyard and
his friends printed by Lant, and thofe of his af-
failant by Sutton, and all within the year 1552.
The number of broadfides of this defcription be
longing to Edward's reign is very fmall, but
among them is the earlieft example of which
we have any knowledge of the true ballad litera
ture, though it is not written in what was after
wards confidered as fpecially ballad verfe. John
Waley printed, as it is prefumed, in the reign of
Edward VI., a broadfide in verfe, entitled, " A
new mery balad of a maid that wold mary wyth
a fervyng man," the author of which informs us
that his name was Thomas Emley. Two or three
poetical broadfides printed in the reign of Queen
Mary are all more or lefs of a political character.
x INTRODUCTION.
One only, which is afcribed by conjecture to
Mary's reign, and which is entitled, " A new
ballet entituled howe to wyve well," is a veritable
ballad, and is written in ballad metre. The au
thor was Lewis Evans, and it was printed by Owen
Rogers, " at the Spread Egle, betwyxte both the
Saynct Bartholomews." It is probable, however,
that it belongs to the beginning of the reign of
Elizabeth, rather than to that of her predecefTor.
We are thus only able to point out one liter
ary ballad printed in England previous to the
middle of the fixteenth century, and that belong
ing to fo late a period as the reign of the Sixth
Edward, and we can hardly imagine that this
clafs of literature was very common at that
period. We know that it was circulated in a
very perifhable form, and we fhould not expect
to find now any very large remains of it from fo
early a date, yet ftill we ought to find more fre
quent allufions to it. We are unable to fay
exactly when the literature of the ballad firft
came into exiftence, but it appears to have
become fuddenly very popular. It was a new
branch of commerce, and which, as is often
the cafe, created a new want. The Stationers'
Company was incorporated in the year 1556,
and its regifters begin in the following year.
When we look at thefe, we are aftonifhed at the
great number of ballads which, from the firft
opening, were licenfed for publication, and yet,
of them all, there is only a rare example here and
there of which we have any trace beyond the
entry of the title in thefe regifters. But it would
feem that this multiplicity of broadfide ballads
was then only beginning, for at the commence-
INTRODUCTION. xi
ment of the Stationers' Regifters we find only
one or two printers of ballads, and it is a year or
two later when they become more numerous.
During the firft ten years of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, the names of about forty printers
rrom whofe prefTes ballads were iflued appear in
the regifters of the Stationers' Company, and
other names of ballad-printers are met with which
are not to be found in the regifters.
It is chiefly to this moft interefting period of
the hiftory of our ballad literature that we owe
the ballads printed in the prefent volume. The
greater number of them range from 1560 to
1570, and only a very fmall number pafs the
year 1572. They have no doubt been originally
collected by fome man of pofition who lived at
that time and took a lively intereft in all that
was patting around hi"m, and were moft likely
preferved among his family papers. Mr. Payne
Collier, in 1840, edited for the Percy Society
twenty-five ballads of the fame character, and
belonging to the fame period, which are known
to have belonged to the fame collection. Alto
gether they form, no doubt, the moft extraordi
nary and valuable collection of early Englifh
ballads now known to exift. They are the more
interefting, becaufe they have not been collected
by one whofe tafte ran upon any particular clafs
of fuch productions, but they prefent a variety
which embraces the whole field of broadfide lite
rature ; and it will be worth our while, in our pre
fent consideration of them, to treat them in detail
in this point of view. In the firft place, they
naturally feparate into two great divifions, thofe
of a purely literary character, and thofe which
X ii INTRODUCTION.
are more or lefs political or relate to contempo
rary events or feelings.
To the former of thefe divifions belong fenti-
mental and love poetry, romances and ftories,
and facetiae A part of the latter clafs was taken
or imitated from the French popular literature ;
they were the fabliaux of an earlier period.
Many of them were fatires upon the failings of
the other fex, which then formed a favourite
theme. Of thefe we have examples in the pre-
fent volume, in the ballad of " The Pinnyng of
the Bafket," (p. 105), in " A mery Balade, how
a wife entreated her hufband to haue her owne
wyll," (p. 1 29), and in cc A very proper dittie, to
the tune of Lightie Loue," (p. 113). Some are
loofe and indelicate ftories, fuch as that of the
Brewer and Cooper, (p. 60), a true reprefen-
tative of the ancient fabliaux, which appears to
have been very popular, as two or three editions
of it have been traced. Others, again, are more
or lefs openly obfcene, of which there is one ex
ample only in the prefent volume, the ballad of
" Mother Watkins Ale," (p. 251). This, alfo,
appears to have been extremely popular, for it is
not unfrequently alluded to in the lighter litera
ture of the Elizabethan age, though no traces of
its exiftence had been difcovered until the prefent
collection came to light. Perhaps we may con-
fider as belonging to this clafs the dittie cc Shew
ing what vnkindnes befell by a kifle," (p. 214),
and the verfes entitled, " Adewe, Sweete Harte,"
(p. 222). This defcription of literature appears
to have been fufficiently abundant in Elizabeth's,
as it was indeed in the ages which followed.
Among the " Old Ballads" is one by a preacher
INTRODUCTION. xiii
named Thomas Brice, who is known as the
author of fome other publications, and died before
1570, "Againft filthy writing, and fuch like de
lighting." This ballad f appears to have been
directed againft two of the licentious writers of
the day, who had written ballads in defence of
their productions, and it commences with the
lines,
What meane the rimes that run thus large in every (hop
to fell,
With wanton found and filthie fenfe ? Me thinke it grees
not well.
We are not Ethnickes, we forfoth at leaft profefle not fo;
Why range we then to Ethnickes trade ? Come back,
where will ye go?
Tel me, is Chriit or Cupide lord ? Doth God or Venus
reigne ?
In the prefent collection, we have another
fatirical ballad on the contemporary literature, or
at leaft on the poets, which has for its title the
following rather clumfy lines (p. 205),
To fuch as write in metres, I write
Of fmall matters an exhortation,
By readyng of which men may delite
In fuch as be worthy commendation.
My verfe alfo it hath relation
To fuch as print, that they dee it well,
The better they (hall their metres fell.
The writer of this ballad, who feems to think
that it was the duty of the printer to look to
the goodnefs of what came from his prefs, pro-
fefles to imitate the example of Horace, who
protefts againft the inferior poets among the
Romans, fuch as Lucilius for example, and there
were plenty of fuch wretched rhymefters in the
days of Elizabeth,
xiv INTRODUCTION.
Wherfore let vs not open a gate,
Eyther the printer, or they which write
To fuch as they be, knowyng their ftate.
And he Tingles out efpecially for his criticifm
the writers on love,
Your balades of loue, not worth a beane,
A number there be, although not all ;
Some be pithie, fome weake, fome leane,
Some doe runne as round as a ball ;
Some verfes haue fuch a pleafant fall,
That pleafure it is for any man,
Whether his knowledge be great or fmall,
So that of a verfe fome fkyll he can.
Of thefe love ballads there is no great number
in our collection, and many of them to which
we can give a date, as well, indeed, as of all the
purely literary divifion, belong to rather a later
period than moft of the hiftorical and political
ballads, fo that they were perhaps collected by
another and younger member of the family,
who afterwards mixed them with the others.
To this clafs of amorous and fentimental ballads
belong, " A Newe Ballade of a Louer extollinge
his Ladye," (p. 24), a meet of poems of this de-
fcription preferved in manufcript (pp. 190-194),
and "A prettie newe Ballad, intytuled,
" The Crowe fits vpon the wall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all."
The writer of the latter, who is unufuaky
large and liberal in his fentiments, recommends
his reader to pay his homage to the whole fex
and not to confine himfelf to an individual.
There are three ballads in this collection
which belong to the clafs of novels and romance.
One has for its fubjed the well-known ftory of
INTRODUCTION. xv
Patient Griflel (Grifeldis), which has been a
favourite with Englifh poets fince the days of
Chaucer, and appears here in its earlieft ballad
form, under the title of " A moft pleafant Ballad
of Patient Griflell," (p. 17). The other two
are, the ballad of " The Marchants Daughter
of Briftow," (p. 66), which was no lefs popular
than Patient Griflel, and that of "The Faire
Widow of Watling-Street, and her j daughters,"
both of them in two parts. Thefe are both the
earlieft editions known, belonging to a period
approaching near to the clofe of the fixteenth
century, when this clafs of ballad hiftories was
coming into great popularity.
The political and hiftorical ballads in the pre-
fent collection pofTefs an extraordinary intereft,
for they belong to one of the moft momentous
periods of our national hiftory. Little more
than a generation had patted fince the overthrow
of feudalifm. Henry VIII. had broken the
power of the papacy in England, and his fon,
Edward VI., feemed to have eftabli fried Pro-
teftantifm ; but, on the death of the latter, the
older religion, in the perfon of Mary, refumed
its fway during more than five years, under its
leaft pleafing attribute, that of perfecution.
Mary alfo was juft dead, and her fifter Elizabeth
had ftepped into her place with a cautioufnefs
which, although the proteftant party looked
upon her as their friend, almoft left room to
doubt which party me intended to efpoufe.
The cloud, which was already burfting over
Weftern Europe, added greatly to people's
doubts and fears, and they were filled with
anxiety, not only to be made acquainted with
xvi INTRODUCTION.
the prefent, but to get even a flight glimpfe
into the probabilities of the future. The publi
cation of news, whether true or falfe, and the
latter was, perhaps, the moft faleable, becaufe it
was the moft extraordinary, became thus a pro
fitable trade. For thefe reafons the political
ballads and broadfide literature are now very
important evidence not only of the popular feel
ings of the time, but of the means employed to
influence thofe feelings. In the fuperftition of
thofe days, every unknown or unufual natural
phenomenon was looked upon as a warning from
heaven of focial and political difafter, and was,
therefore, watched with the moft intenfe intereft.
Among thefe figns, none created greater ap-
prehenfion than monftrous births, which we find
continually recorded even by the hiftorians and
more ferious writers of the day. The year 1562,
the fourth of Elizabeth's reign, is recorded by
the Englifli chroniclers, fuch as Hollinfhed and
Stowe, as efpecially fertile in monfters. The
prefent collection contains nearly a dozen broad-
fides defcriptive of thefe prodigies, generally
accompanied with a picture. No lefs than five
of them belong to the year juft mentioned, i 562.
The firft (p. 27) is a " true reporte" of a child born
at Great Horkefley, near Colchefter, having neither
legs nor arms ; the defcription of the child is
prefaced by verfes fetting forth the myfterious
defign of thefe monfters. The next (p. 45) is
. an account of a monftrous pig with a dolphin's
head, born at Charing Crofs a few days fub-
fequently, fimilarly accompanied with verfes
moralizing upon the phenomenon. Another
pig, farrowed at Hampftead, near London, in
INTRODUCTION. xvii
the October of that year, is defcribed in a third
broadfide, "imprinted" by Alexander Lacy
(p. 112). A fourth broadfide (p. 186), alfo
belonging to the year 1562, as we learn
from the entry in the Stationers' Regifters,
defcribes another monftrous pig, and is accom
panied with a poetical "exhortacion or warnynge
to all men, for amendment of lyfe." And
another of the fame year (p. 201), entirely in
ballad verfe, reprefents a monftrous child born
at Chichefter. Another monftrous child, born
at Frefhwater, in the Ifle of Wight, in 1564, is
defcribed and explained in a moral or religious
light, in a ballad by John Barker (p. 63). The
year 1566 produced twins joined together at the
ftomach, defcribed in a ballad by one John Mellys
of Norwich (p. 217), and a child with ruffs round
the neck, born at Mitcham in Surrey (p. 243).
In 1 568, we have a monftrous child born at Maid-
ftone, in Kent (p. 194), having "firft the mouth
flitted on the right fide, like a libarde's (leopard's)
mouth, terrible to beholde," which the author of
the ballad explains as a rebuke to the kingdom
for its wickednefs, and as a fign of God's dif-
pleafure,
This monftrous fhape to thee, England,
Playn fhevves thy monftrous vice,
If thou ech part wylt vnderftand,
And take thereby aduice.
And finally we have a defcription of a cc mar-
ueilous ftraunge fifhe," caught between Calais
and Dover, in June, 1569 (p. 145).
People lived in that condition which naturally
arifes out of the breaking up of one great focial
fyftem, and the tranfition towards another, the
xviii INTRODUCTION.
character of which is as yet unknown. Men were
confcious that the whole frame of fociety was
disjointed and corrupt, and looked forward
anxioufly to the coming reform. Latterly the
revolution had taken a ftrongly religious charac
ter, and the feeling of difcontent partook alfo of
a religious {hade, and one clafs of the popular
ballads, of which there are fome good examples
in the prefent collection, formed a powerful
agent in fowing and cherifhing the feeds of that
puritanifm which was to exercife fo great an
influence on the deftinies of our country in the
next generation. None of thefe ballads, indeed,
are more curious than thofe which attempt to
picture the vices and corruptions of the times
during the earlier, and, perhaps we may fay, lefs
fettled part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
One of the earlieft of thefe, belonging to the
year 1561 is entitled, "A balade declaryng how
neybourhed (neighbourlinefs), loue, and trew
dealyng, is gone" (p. 134). The author, John
Barker, complains of the illcondition of the
world generally,
How ftraunge it is to men of age,
The which they fe before their face,
This world to be in fuch outrage,
It was neuer fene in fo bad cafe.
Neibourhed nor loue is none,
Trew dealyng now is fled and gone.
Thefe two lines form the burthen of the fong,
if one can call it a fong. John Barker complains
that flattery and deceit were then the means of
fuccefs; that wickednefs prevailed everywhere;
that covetoufnefs was the great principle of
men's aftions; that the landlords acted unjuftly
INTRODUCTION. xix
towards their tenants ; and that every man was
the enemy of his neighbour. Another ballad,
publi died in the fame year, bearing the name of
a better known writer, John Heywood, is
entitled, "A Ballad againft Slander and Detrac
tion" (p. 9). Another ballad of this clafs,
which appears from the Stationers' Regifters to
have been publimed in 1566 or 1567, is directed
againft the crime of bribery, and, the text being
taken from Scripture, is entitled, "A proper
new Balad of the bryber Gehefie" (p. 42).
Another ballad, printed in November, 1566
(p. 101), is directed againft the licentioufnefs of
the age; as is alfo one publimed a few years
later, under the title, "Of the horrible and
wofull deftruclion of Sodome and Gomorra"
(p. 125). With thefe may be clafled "A new
Ballad againft Unthrifts" (p. 153), which is aimed
againft the then numerous clafs of fpendthrifts
and rioters, who, the writer tells us, fpent their
money in the tavern, or threw it away at dice,
until they fell into ftill worfe practices, and
finifhed with Tyburn and the gallows,
Then fome at Newgate doo take fhip,
Sailing ful fall vp Holborne Hil ;
And at Tiborn their anckers piche,
Ful fore indeed againft their wil.
Another ballad, c< The xxv. orders of Fooles "
(p. 88), which, according to the Stationers'
Regifters, belongs to the year 1569, is more
playfully fatirical. It had long been the famion
to reprefent mankind, as then exifting, in the
garb of fools, and clarifying thefe according to
their various weaknefles and peculiarities. The
Ship of Fools, of Sebaftian Brandt, is well
xx INTRODUCTION.
known, and it was popular here in an Englifh
verfion as well as in its original form in
Germany; and our own Sir Thomas More
wrote in praife of Folly. The writer of the
ballad divides the fools of this world into
twenty-five orders. Some fools, according to
his view, look upon wifdom with difdain ; feme
preach to others virtues which they do not
practife themfelves; others fpend all in their
youth, and make no provifion for their old
age; others again delight in difcord and ftrife ;
and fo on to the end of the lift. One of
the moft curious broadfides in the whole
collection is the ballad which pictures the various
orders in the flate, arranged under the heads of
the prieft, the king, the harlot, the lawyer, and
the clown, each boafting of the power he holds
over the others (p. 98). The prieft alleges
that he prays for the other four ; the king that he
defends and protects them; the harlot, introduced
in a manner which would feem to mow a low ftate
of morals at that period, fays, <c I vanquefh you
fower;" the lawyer, "I helpe yov iiij. to yovr
right ;" the clown, cc I feede yov fower ;" and
death comes in and proclaims his errand, "I kill
yov all." This fubject is found, treated a little
differently, in the French popular literature of
that age, from which the idea was taken
by the Englifh ballad-writer, who has, no
doubt, modified it a little to make it accord with
the difference of Englifh fentiments. It is to
be remarked that we have here alfo (p. 173) one
of the moft curious and earlieft of the Englifh
reprefentations of that well-known allegory, the
Dance of Death, a very popular fubject during
Elizabeth's reign.
INTRODUCTION. xxi
The earlieft dated ballad in this collection is
of the year 1559 (the firft of the reign of Queen
Elizabeth), and is entitled, "The Wonders of
England" (p. 94). It is a brief retrofpedive
review of Englifh hiftory flnce 1553, when God,
as a punifhment for the fins with which the land
abounded, took away from us the good King
Edward. The people had fince fuffered from
mental darknefs and perfecution, until God re
lented and fent us Elizabeth, and,
Straightway the people out dyd cry
Pray led be God, and God faue thee,
Quene of England !
It may be remarked that this ballad is one of
the poetical productions of the printer from
whofe prefs it ifTued, John Awdeley, who feems
to have fought frequently to exhibit his talents
as a ballad-writer. There is another ballad of
a fatirical character, which belongs apparently to
the earlier part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
which defcribes the defects of contemporary
fociety by their contraries. It has for title,
"Other (i. e. either} thus it is, or thus it fhoulde
bee" (p. 247), and ends with a prayer that Eliza
beth might rule her fubjects well, and that they
might prove true in their obedience. We have
a ballad breathing a fimilar vein of fatire
(p. 208), which unfortunately bears no direct
evidence of date, though it is believed to be
very early. This ballad declares that the gofpel
was then read in its original purity throughout
Chriftendom ; that all people led their lives
" after Chrifte's rule ;" all neighbours lived
lovingly together as though they were kinsfolk ;
the earth had become like heaven, and the people
xxii INTRODUCTION.
in it like angels ; the prifons were empty; and
all things went on fo flourishingly, that it was
believed that doomfday was near at hand ; but!
the writer adds, rather waggifhly, f c O wounders
good tydynges, yf al fayinges be tru !"
The religious and moral poems are hardly fo
numerous in the following collection as might be
expeded. A poet named Chriftopher Wilfon is
the author of a ballad written in 1566 (p. 166),
in which an acroftic, containing his name, runs
through the initial letters of the lines from be
ginning to end. In another ballad, printed in
1568 (p. 138), the well-known writer Elderton has
expounded the fayings of the ancient philofo-
phers in verfe. A third poet, John Symon, has
given a metrical commemoration of Scripture
worthies, under the title of "A pleafant pofie,
or fweete^nofegay of fragrant fmellyng flowers,
gathered in the garden of heauenly pleafure"
(p. 5). This belongs to the year 1572. The
ballads againft popery are more numerous, and
every incident which could be made the ground
of an attack upon the Romifh party appears to
have been feized upon with eagernefs. We have
here "A Balade of a Preift that lofte his nofe"
(p. 141), to which the writer adds, as a rhyme,
ec for fayinge of mafTe, as I fuppofe." It is a
very fatirical defcription of the mifhap of a
prieft, ftated to have been the vicar of Lee,
who had been waylaid, it would appear, on his
return from mafs, robbed, and his nofe cut off.
A broadfide, probably of a later date than the
laft, gives an engraving, accompanied with
verfes, of two friars of the order of Capuchins
(p. 156). The pope's bull, hung againft the
INTRODUCTION.
Bifhop of London's palace-gate, in 1571, is the
fubieft of two ballads in this collection (pp.
224). We have alfo a rather earned pro-
teft againft the mafs, in a ballad printed in 1566
Cn ifo and a rather good ballad, belonging
apparently to a rather early period of the queen's
reign, and publifhed under the fimple title of a
A newe Ballade" (p. 30), was intended to warn
her aeainft the hoftile defigns of the fpmtualty,
meaning thereby the Romifh party, by the
examples of fuch of her predeceffors as had
fallen viclims to the unfcrupulous ambition c
the clergy. The ftrong feelings of the pro-
teftant party in England at this time led to a
fpirit of exaggerated loyalty and devotion which
not unfrequently difplays itfelf m thefe ballads.
A curious ballad by Elderton, entitled, " Prepare
ye to the Plowe" (p. 174), and to be fung to
the rather fingular tune of "Pepper is blacke,
reprefents the queen as holding the plough and
exhorts her fubjetts to be always ready to help
her,
The queene holdes the plowe, to continew good feede;
Truftie fubieaes, be readie to helpe, if (he neede.
This loyalty, which led Elizabeth's fubjetfs
to employ the extreme of flattery, is Ihown m a
ballad by a not unknown writer of that age,
named Bernard Garter, entitled, "A ftnfe be-
twene Appelles and Pigmalion" (p. 15 A who
feigns a conteft between thofe two artifts for
fuperiority, the refult of which was a ftatue, by
the latter, of a woman of fuch furpaffing beauty
as had never been feen before, and dame nature
took it away, gave life to it, and reftored
xxiv INTRODUCTION.
earth in the perfon of Queen Elizabeth. The
pious Englifhman of that day imagined, in his
devotion, that no beauty could furpafs that of
the great champion of Proteftantifm.
Thefe earlier years of the reign of Elizabeth
formed, indeed, a period of anxiety and uncer
tainty among all clafles. Elizabeth and her
minifters knew that the catholic party, not only
at home but on the Continent, were confpiring
againft her, and that not only her religion, but
her throne, and even her life, were in danger.
People's doubts were not leiTened by occasional
difplays of exultation on the part of fome of the
lefs difcreet of the catholic party, who could not
conceal their hopes of fuccefs ; and by the know
ledge that a very great part of the population
of the country was ready to join to whichever
fortune mould feem to promife fuccefs. People
were, by no means, aflured of the fate of Pro-
teftantifm, until the rebellion of the Dukes of
Northumberland and Weftmoreland, in the au
tumn of 1569, which difplayed the real weaknefs
of the other party. The alarm which this
rifing created, not only among the people, but
in Elizabeth and her court, was very great ; but
it did not laft long : before the end of the year
the rebellion was crufhed, and the two earls were
fugitives. This fuccefs evidently drew forth a
great number of broadfide ballads, the titles of
many of which are entered in the Stationers*
Regifters, and a few of which are preferred.
No lefs than five of thefe are in the prefent col
lection, the earlieft of which is a metrical prayer
for divine protection againft the rebels (p. 121) ;
the others all relate to the period which followed
INTRODUCTION. xxv
Ihe fuppreflion of the rebellion. The firft ballad
Jin the prefent volume commemorates the exe
cution of a prieft named Plumtree, who had
taken pofTeflion of the church of St. Nicholas, in
[Durham, and of the flight of the leaders of the
[rebellion. Another, entitled "The Plagues of
Northomberland" (p. 56), is alfo fomething like
a fong of triumph over the defeat of the rebels ;
and a third (p. 231), having for its title the
diftich,
Joyfull Newes for true Subiedks to God and the Crowne,
The Rebelles are cooled, their Bragges be put downe,
is written in the fame fpirit, but in a more fcorn-
ful tone. Laftly, we have " A Newe Ballade,
intituled, Agaynft Rebellious and falfe rumours "
(p. 239), bearing the date 1570, and publifhed
no doubt early in the year. Before thefe curious
pieces were made known by the difcovery of the
collection now printed, only two or three contem
porary ballads on the northern rebellion of 1569
were known to exift. Two, publifhed by Bimop
Percy in his R cliques, from his folio manufcript,
are border ballads, compofed by minftrels who
feem to have fympathized more or lefs with the
two Earls and their followers, and they are of an
entirely different character from thofe here
printed. Among the " Old Ballads" printed by
Mr. Payne Collier, which had originally formed
part of the prefent collection, there is alfo a
ballad on this rebellion, written by Thomas Pref-
ton, and entitled,
A lamentation from Rome how the Pope doth bewayle,
That rebelles in England can not prevayle.
And there is one in the collection of broadfides
xxvi INTRODUCTION.
in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, alfdl
exulting over the defeat of the rebellion, and en
titled, " Newes from Northumberland." Thefe
are, we believe, all the popular ballads now
known to exift relating to this important event ;
and they are very curious as illuftrating the po
pular feelings which it excited.
The other hiftorical ballads in this collection
are chiefly of a lefs degree of importance, becaufe
they relate generally to events of no great inter-
eft at the prefent day, with two efpecial excep
tions. Thefe are two Scottifh ballads, both by
Sempill, a known Scottifh poet. The fubject of
the firft is the marTacre of the Proteftants in Paris
on St. Bartholomew's Day, 1572, and it is enti
tled, " Ane new Ballet fet out be ane fugitiue
Scottifman that fled out of Paris at this kit mur-
ther" (p. 37). The Scots, who were of courfe
by their form of religion more clofely allied
in feeling with the French Proteftants than
the Englifh, were greatly affected by thefe fan-
guinary perfecutions in France, and, under the
terror they created, the Scottifh government then
in power fought to draw ftill clofer its relations
with Queen Elizabeth. Such is the fpirit of the
prefent ballad. It preffes upon Elizabeth the
prudence of united and vigorous meafures of
defence,
Now, wyfe Quene Elizabeth, luik to yourfelf,
Difpite them, and wryte thame ane bill of defyance,
The Papiftis and Spaniards hes partit Jour pelf,
As newly and trewly was tald me thir tythance.
Beleue thay to land heir, and get vs for nocht ;
Will je do as we do, it fal be deir bocht.
The other of thefe Scottim ballads (p. 49) is en-
INTRODUCTION. xx vii
titled, " Ane Complaint vpon Fortoun," and was
publifhed early in 1581, on Mortons fall, but
before he was brought to trial and executed.
Of the Englifh hiftorical ballads, or broadfides,
which remain to be mentioned, one (p. 236) is a
poem by " Ber. Gar." (Bernard Garter), entitled
" A dittie in the worthie praife of an high and
mightie Prince," who appears from the context
to have been Thomas Howard Earl of Norfolk,
but the occafion on which it was written is not
explained. There are three ballads on the deaths
of eminent perfons, who were, firft, " my Ladie
Marques" (p. 14), (perhaps the Marchionefs of
Southampton), which was entered in the Sta
tioners' Regifters in 1569; fecond, "the Ladie
Maioreffe" of London (p. 178) ; the third, " the
Earl of Huntingdon," which bears the date of
1596. A ballad named Saparton's Alarum"
(p. 1 1 8), bears the name of John Saparton as its
author, and appears, from another Ballad on the
fame individual entered in the Stationers' books,
to belong to about the year 1569; its meaning
is not very clear. We have " A famous dittie"
on a fomewhat memorable vifit of the queen to
the city on the I2th of November, 1584 (p.
182); and "A mournfull dittie" (p. 197) on a
fudden mortality which took place among the
judges and others at the Lincoln Aflizes of 1590.
There are two ballads on another accident which
happened in the provinces, the burning of the
town of Beccles, in Suffolk, in 1586 (pp. 78,
81); they were both printed by Robert Ro-
binfon in London for Nicholas Colman of Nor
wich, fo that even at this time ballad-printers
appear to have been only to be found in London.
ixviii INTRODUCTION.
Laftly, we have a ballad entitled cc Franklin's
Farewell to the World" (p. 85). James Frank
lin was the apothecary who fupplied the poifons
ufed in the Overbury murders, and was con
demned and executed on the 9th of December,
1615. Another ballad, on the fame fubject, is
preferred in the collection of the Society of An
tiquaries. This ballad muft have been added to
our collection long after the original collector
had departed from the fcene of his labours.
With the mafs of ballad literature here revealed
to us, we may naturally be curious to learn fome-
thing of the ballad-writers, but we can collect
little beyond a few obfcure names, and others
which are merely hinted to us by their initials.
Among them, however, are the names of one or
two writers who are better known in the fmaller
literature of the Elizabethan period. Such is
Thomas Churchyard, whofe name is found at
tached to one of the ballads feparated from the
prefent collection, and printed by Mr. Collier.
Such alfo are William Elclerton, and Thomas
Deloney. The firft of thefe was celebrated for
his tippling propenfities, as well as for his rhymes,
and is faid to have drunk himfelf to death, fome
time before 1592. His fpecial character i ft ic is
commemorated in a contemporary epitaph, re
corded by Camden, and tranflated by Oldys, as
follows :
Hicjttus eftfitiens, atque ebrius Eldertonus,
Quid dico bicfnus eft? bic potius fitis eft.
Dead drunk here Elderton doth lie ;
Dead as he is, he ftill is dry ;
So of him it may well be faid,
Here he, but not his thirft, is laid.
INTRODUCTION. xxix
He was the author of three ballads in the pre-
fent volume (pp. 16, 140, 178), and of two of
thofe edited by Mr. Collier. One of the latter
was printed on the 2 2nd of March, 1559, which,
in our reckoning, means 1560. Deloney was a
profefTed ballad- writer on all patting events.
His only production in the prefent volume is
one of the poems on the burning of the town of
Beccles, in 1586 (p. 84); one in Mr. Collier's
volume, printed in the fame year, has for its fub-
ject the execution of the confpirators in the cele
brated Babington Confpiracy. Deloney ufually
figns only with his initials, T. D. John Hey-
wood, who alio is a well-known writer of the
middle of the fixteenth century, was a firm
Roman Catholic, and went into voluntary exile
on the death of Mary, dying at Mechlin, in Bra
bant, in 1565. If he be the author of the
" Ballad againft Slander and Detraction" (p. 9),
to which the name of Hay wood is attached, it
muft have been intended as a proteft againft per-
fonal abufe to which fome of the Catholics,
perhaps himfelf, had been fubjected. Richard
Tarlton, another well-known minor Elizabethan
writer, is the author of one of the moft fprightly
ballads in the prefent collection (p. 259) ; as well
as of one in Mr. Collier's collection, to which
his name is given in full. John Awdeley, the
printer, appears not unfrequently to have written
his own ballads. Two of them occur in our pre
fent volume, the firft (p. 97) printed in 1559,
the fecond (p. 123) in 1569 ; and there is a third
in Collier's volume, fuppofed to belong to about
the fame date as the former. A few alfo of the
other names of authors attached to thefe ballads
xxx INTRODUCTION.
are known by fome other contributions to the
literature of the age. John Barker, who wrote
three of our ballads (pp. 59, 66, and 138), one
of them printed in 1564, and another entered in
the Stationers' Regifters in 1569-70, is alfo
known as the author of a ballad " Of the hor
rible and wofull deftru&ion of Jerufalem," printed
by Colwell about 1568. The initials T. Gr."
attached to one of our ballads (p. 94) probably
{land for Thomas Greepe, who was the author of
a poem on the exploits of Sir Francis Drake,
printed in 1587. Leonard Gibfon, whofe name
occurs here as the writer of a ballad on the light-
nefs of the ladies (p. 117), was the author of a
little book called " The Tower of Truftinefle,"
in verfe and profe, printed in 1555 ; and there is
a fong called "L. Gibfon's Tantara" in the
"Handefull of Pleafant Delites," 1584. The
individual defigned under the abbreviated form
Ber. Gar. (pp. 153, 239), and in one cafe merely
by the initials, B. G. (p. 150), was Bernard
Garter, who wrote the " Tragical Hiftory of Two
Englifh Lovers," printed in a fmall volume in
1565, and "A New Yeares Gifte," printed in
quarto in 1579, and fome of whofe verfes are
prefixed to " Pafquine in a Traunce," 1584.
John Philip, whofe name is attached to one of
our ballads printed in 1570 (p. 182), and to
whom probably belong the initials I. P. attached
to the lines added to the account of the Wonder
ful Swine (p. 1 90), is known by feveral poetical
works ftill extant, of which perhaps the moft
curious is " A rare and ftrange hiftoricall Novell
of Cleomenes and Sophonifba," printed in 1577.
John Mellys, of Norwich, the author of a
INTRODUCTION. xxxi
ballad on two monftrous children, printed in
1566 (p. 220), was perhaps the fame perfon, for
he bears the fame name, as the compiler of " A
briefe Inftruction how to keepe Bookes of Ac-
compts," which bears the date 1588. The other
names and initials found in our collection of
ballads appear to be entirely unknown. When
we compare them with the few other ballads of
this period now known, which prefent us with
many new names, we cannot but be furprifed at
the great number of individuals who muft have
found employment in writing ballads at this very
early period in the hiftory of ballad literature.
CONTENTS.
ques
5
BALLAD intituled A newe Well a daye,
As playne, maifter papift, as Donftable
waye, by W. Elderton
2. A pleafant Pofie or fweete Nofegay
of fragrant fmellyng Flowers gathered in
the Garden of heauenly Pleafure, the holy and blefled
Bible, by John Symon, 1572 .
3. A Ballad againft Slander and Detraction, by Hay-
wood .........
4. A proper new Balad in praife of my Ladie Mar-
by W. Elderton
The Prifoners' Petition
6. A mod pleafant Ballad of Patient Griflell .
7. A Newe Ballade of a Louer extollinge his Ladye,
by M. Ofb., 1568
8. The true reporte of the forme and ihape of a mon-
ftrous Childe borne at Muche Horkefleye, co. Eflex,
1562 .........
9. A newe Ballade (againft the hoftile defigns of the
fpiritualty) ........
10. The Pope in his fury doth anfwer returne, To
a letter the which to Rome is late come
1 1. Lines underneath a Portrait of Queen Elizabeth
12. Ane new Ballet fet out be ane fugitiue Scottif-
man that fled out of Paris at this lait Murther, by
Simpell, 1572 . .
13. A proper New Balad of the Bryber Gehefie, by
George Mell ........
14. The fliape of ii. monfters, 1562
Page
H
16
27-
30
33
36
37
42
45
xxxiv CONTENTS.
15. Ane Complaint vpon Fortoun, by Sempill
1 6. The Plagues of Northomberland, by John Barker
17. A merry new Song how a Bruer meant to make
a Cooper cuckold, and how deere the Bruer paid for the
bargaine ........
/ 1 8. The true defcription of a monfterous Chylde
borne in the He of Wight, 1564, by John Barkar
19. The Marchants Daughter of Briflow
20. A briefe fonet declaring the lamentation of
Beckles, a Market Towne in Suffolke, which was piti
fully burned with fire, 1586, by D. Sterne
21. A proper newe fonet declaring the lamentation
of Beckles, 1586, by T. Deloney .
22. Franklins Farewell to the World, with his Chrift-
ian Contrition in Prifon before his death .
23. The xxv. Orders of Fooles ....
24. The Wonders of England, 1559 .
25. A ballad defcriptive of the powers of the Prieft,
the King, the Harlot, the Lawyer, the Clown, and
Death .
26. A godly ballad declaring by the Scriptures the
plagues that haue infued whordome ....
27. A merie newe Ballad intituled the Pinnyngof the
Baflcet, by T. Rider . . . . .
28. The defcription of a monflrous pig, the which
was farrowed at Hamfted befyde London, 1562 .
29. A very proper Dittie to the tune of Lightie Loue,
by Leonarde Gybfon ......
30. Sapartons Alarum to all fuch as do beare the
name of true fouldiers in England or elfwheare .
31. A Godly ditty or prayer to be fong vnto God
for the preferuation of his Church, our Queene and
Realme, againft all Traytours, Rebels, and papiflicall
enemies, by John A wdely . . .
32. The Groome-porters Lawes at Mawe, to be ob-
ferued in fulfilling the due orders of the game
33. Of the horrible and wofull deftruftion of So-
dome and Gomorra
34. A mery balade, how a wife entreated her hufband
to haue her owne wyll ......
35. The Othe of euerie Freeman of the City of
London
CONTENTS. xxxv
Page
36. A Balade declaryng how neybourhed, loue, and
trevv dcalyng is gone, by John Barker . . . 134
37. A proper newe Ballad fheweing that philofophers
learnynges are full of good warnynges, by W. Elderton 138
38. A Balade of a Preift that loile his nofe, For fay -
inge of MafTe, as I fuppofe . . . . . 141
39. The true difcripcion of this marueilous uraunge
Fiftie, vvhiche was taken the xvj. day of June, 1569 . 145
40. The fantafies of a troubled mannes head . . 147
41. Of euyll tounges, by I. Canand . . . 149
42. Of Truft and Triall 150
43. A Strife betwene Appelles and Pigmalion, by Ber
nard Garter . . . . . . . .151
44. A new Ballad againfl Unthrifts . . 153
45. A newe Sede of Friars called Capichini . .156
46. The ballad of the faire Widow of Wading Street
and her 3 daughters . . . . . 157
47. A ballad of religious exhortation, by Chriftopher
Wilfon 166
48. A Song againfl the Mafs, 1566 . . -171
49. The Daunce and Song of Death . . -173
50. A Ballad intituled, Prepare ye to the Plowe, by
W. Elderton. . . . . . . .174
51. An Epitaph on the death of the Ladie MaiorefTe,
wyfe to the right Honorable Lorde Alexander Auenet,
1570, by John Phillip 178
52. A famous dittie of the joyful receauing of the
Queens molte excellent maieftie by the worthy citizens
of London, 1584, by Richard Harrington . . .182
53. A meruaylous ftraunge deformed Swyne . .186
54. Love deferveth Love . . . . .190
55. A fpell for Jone ...... 191
56. A Paradox 192
57. The Ficklenefs of Women . . . .193
58. An Epitaph on Edmund Sandford, written in
gould 194
59. The forme and ihape of a monftrous Child borne
at Maydftone, 1568 . . . . . 194 v
60. A mournfull Dittieon the death of certaine Judges
and Juftices of the Peace, &c., who died immediatly
after the Affifes holden at Lincoln, 1590 . . . 197
6 1. A difcription of a monftrous Chylde borne at
Chychefter in SuiTex, 1562 ..... 201 -
ixxvi CONTENTS.
Pace
62. An exhortation to fuch as write in metres, a new
balade ........ 205
63. A ballad of maruelous tydynges, yf many mens
wordes be tru . . . . . . . 208
64. As pleafant a dittie as your hart can wifh, mew
ing what vnkindnes befell by a kiffe .... 214
v 65. The true defcription of two monfterous children,
laufully begotten in the parifh of Svvanburne, co. Bucks,
1566, by John Mellys of Norwich . . . .217
66. A newe Ballade intytuled, Good fellowes muft
go learne to daunce, 1569 . . . . .221
67. Adewe, Sweete Harte, 1569 . . . . 222
68. The braineles bleffing of the Bull . . . 224
69. A Ballad, What lyfe is beft? . . . .227
70. The crie of the poore for the death of the right
Honourable Earle of Huntington, 1596 . . . 228
71. Joyfull Newes for true Subiedes, a ballad on the
defeat of the rebels in the North, by W. Kyrkham . 231
72. A dittie in the worthie praife of an high and
mightie Prince, the Duke of Norfolk, by Bernard Garter 236
73. A newe Ballade intituled, Agaynft Rebellious
and falfe rumours, by Thomas Bette, 1570 . . 239
74. The true Difcripcion of a Childe with ruffes,
borne in the parifh of Micheham, in the countie of
Surrey, 1566 . 243
75. Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee . . 247
76. A Ditty delightful! of mother Watkins ale . 251
77. A prettie newe Ballad, intytuled, Pleafe one and
pleafe all, by Richard Tarlton .... 255
78. An Epitaph on the death of the Earle of South
ampton, 1581, by John Phillip .... 260
79. A Ballad rejoyfinge the fodaine fall, Of rebels
that thought to deuower vs all .... 266
NOTES 271
ANCIENT BALLADS AND
BROADSIDES.
A Ballad intituled, A newe Well a daye,
As playne, maifter papift, as Don/table waye.
Well a daye, well a daye, well a daye, woe is mee,
Syr Thomas Plomtrie is hanged on a tree.
MONGE manye newes reported of late
As touchinge the rebelles their
wicked eftate,
Yet Syr Thomas Plomtrie their
preacher, they faie,
Hath made the North countrie to crie well a
daye.
Well adaye, well a daye, well a daye, woe is me,
Syr Thomas Plomtrie is hanged on a tree.
And now manie fathers and mothers be theare,
Are put to their trialles with terrible feare,
Not all the gaye crofles nor goddes they adore
Will make them as merie as they haue ben
before ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
2 ANCIENT BALLADS
The widowes be woful whofe hufbandes be taken,
The childerne lament them that are fo forfaken,
The church men thei chaunted the morowe mafle
bell,
Their pardons be graunted, they hang verie wel.
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
It is knowne they bee fled that were the beginers,
It is time they were ded, poore forofull tinners ;
For all there great hafte they are hedged at a ftaye,
With weeping and waylinge to fing well a daye ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
Yet feme holdopynion, all is well with thehigheft;
They are in good faftie wher freedome is niefte ;
Northumberland need not be doutefull, fome faye,
And Weftmorlande is not yet brought to the
bay;
Well a daye, well a daye, &C.
No more is not Norton, nor a nomber befide,
But all in good feafon they maye hap to be fpide ;
It is well they be wandred whether no man can fay,
But it will be remembered, they crie well a dale ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
Where be the fyne fellowes that caried the crofles ?
Where be the deuifers of idoles and afles ?
Wher be the gaie banners were wont to be borne ?
Where is the deuocion of gentyll John Shorne ?
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
Saint Pall and Saint Peter haue laid them a-bord,
And faie it is feetter to cleaue to Gods worde,
AND BROADSIDES. 3
Their beades and their babies are beft to be burnd,
And Moifes tables towardes them to be turnde ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
And well a daye wandreth ftill to and froe,
Bewailinge the wonders of rumors that goe ;
Yet faie the ftiffe-necked, let be as be maye,
Though fome be fore checked, yet fome fkape
awaie ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
And fuch fome be fowers of feedes of fedicion,
And faie the Popes pardon mall giue them re-
minion,
That kepe themfelues fecrete, and preeuilie faie,
It is no greate matter for this, well a daye ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
You mall haue more newes er Candelmas come,
Their be matters diffufe, yet lookte for of fome ;
Looke on, and looke ftill, as ye longe to here newes,
I thinke Tower Hill will make ye all mufe ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
If they that leaue tumblynge begin to wax climing,
For all your momblinge and merie paftimeing
Ye will then beleeue, I am fure as I faie,
That matter will meeue a newe well a daye ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
But as ye be faithleffe of God and his lawe,
So till ye fee hedles the traitors in ftrawe,
You wil be ftill whifperinge of this and of that,
Well a daye, woe is me, you remember it not ;
Well a daie, well a daie, &c
4 ANCIENT BALLADS
Leaue of your lyinge, and fall to trewe reafon,
Leaue of your fonde fpieng, and marke euery
feafon ;
Againft God and your countrie to taulke of!
rebelling
Not Syr Thomas Plumtrie can bide by the
telling ;
Well a daye, well a daye, &c.
And fuch as feduce the people with blyndnes,
And byd them to truft the Pope and his
kyndnes,
Make worke for the tynker, as prouerbes doth
faie,
By fuch popifhe patching ftill comes well a
daye;
Well a daye, well a daie, &c.
And me that is rightfull your Queene to fubdue
7 e >
Althoughe you be fpitfull, hath gyuen no caufe
^ to ye ;
But if ye will vexe her, to trie her hole force,
Let him that comes next her take heed of her
horfe ;
Well a daie, well a daie, &c.
Shee is the lieftennante of him that is ftowteft,
Shee is defender of all the deuowteft ;
It is not the Pope, nor all the Pope may,
Can make her aftonyed, or finge well a daie ;
Well a daie, well a daie, &c.
God profper her highnes, and fend her his peace
To gouerne good people with grace and increafe ;
AND BROADSIDES. 5
And fend the deferuers, that feeke the wronge
way,
At Ty borne fome earners, to finge well a dale;
Well a dale, well a dale, &c.
Finis. W. E.
Imprinted at London in Fleeftrete beneath the
Conduit, at the figne of S. John Euan-
gelift, by Thomas Colwell.
A pie af ant Poefie, or Jweete Nofegay of frag
rant fmellyng Flowers gathered in the Garden
of heauenly Pleafure, the holy and blejfed Bible ;
to the tune of the Black Almayne.
STOCK of flowers, bedewed with
mowers,
In a garden now there fprings ;
With mirth and glee, vpon a tree,
A byrd there fits and fings ;
So pleafant is her voyce,
K T * doth my hart reioyce :
She fets her tunes and noates fo meete,
That vnto me it feemes fo fweete,
hat all the flowers, that euer could be,
Was neuer fo fwete as this to me ;
The lyke before I dyd neuer fe.
ANCIENT BALLADS
C The Bible it is, that garden i-wys,
Which God preferue alwayes :
Lykewyfe Gods worde it is that byrde,
That now fo much I prayfe.
Alfo thofe goodly flowers,
So well bedewed with fhowers,
I wyll now go about to gather,
And put them in a pofy together ;
I wyll not put them in no cheft,
But bynd them vp as I thinke beft,
And kepe them alway next my breft.
C The fyrft I fynd, to pleafe my mind,
Abell be had to name ;
Enoch alwayes is worthy of prayfe,
Likewyfe of worthy fame.
Looke you what Mofes wrytes,
And in Genefis there refites,
How God tooke hym the ftory fayth,
That he mould neuer taft of death :
And alfo Noe, that righteous man,
A curious worke dyd take in hand,
To make the arke we vnderftand.
Good Abraham, that faithfull man,
In God dyd truft alway :
He dyd not feare, nor once difpayre
His onely fon to flay ;
Ifacke was no weede,
Nor Jacob in very deede :
Jofeph was a flower of price,
God dyd hym faue from cruell deuice ;
Alfo Mofes eke we fynd,
And Aaron lykewyfe vp we bynd,
Jofua is not out of mynd.
AND BROADSIDES.
C The Judges alfo, both lefle and mo,
They were of worthy fame :
To fpeake of all, my tyme is fmal,
To rehearce them all by name.
The prophet Samuell,
Our God dyd loue him well :
Dauid was a flower fo fweete,
To make hym kyng God thought it meete,
For great Golias he hath flayne ;
And Sallomon after him dyd raygne,
Which vnto wyfedome dyd attayne.
CWhen Achab dyd florym, the rauens did
norifti
Elia, a man of God ;
Kynge Jofias and Efdras
We finde, and pacient Job.
They feared our God of might,
And ferued him day and night :
No ioy nor payne could them procure,
But alwayes by hym to endure :
Efay lykewyfe and Jeremy,
They preached alway earneftly,
And dyd their duty faithfully.
C And Daniell deftroyed Bell,
The Babilonians God :
The dragon alfo he brought to wo,
Without either fword or rod.
To rehearce the Prophets all,
By their names them for to call,
Although they be of worthy fame,
It is to long them for to name :
We may not Tobyas leaue behynd,
Yet was he almoft out of mind,
But few fuch flowers now can we fynd.
8 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Full wel we know, no flowers can blow,
But boyfterous ftormes muft fynd :
For that is no flower, that euery fhowre
Doth driue away with wynd.
For all thefe goodly flowers
Had many ftormy fhowers,
Before that they could blow or bud,
Or bring forth feede to doe any good :
They dyd abyde both cold and blaft,
Yet allwayes dyd they ftand ftedfaft,
Tyll all the ftormes were gone and paft.
C Now at this time, for our gracious Queene,
Let vs geue harty prayes :
God may her defend, from enemies hand,
At this time and alwayes ;
And fend her profperous raygne,
With vs for to remayne,
For to defend Gods word fo pure,
And euer with it for to endure :
That {he may be to vs a bower,
To kepe vs alway when it doth fhowre ;
I pray God faue that princly flower !
C Finis. John Symon.
C Imprinted at London by Richard
Johnes, dwellyng in the upper end
of Fleet Lane, 1572.
AND BROADSIDES.
A Ballad againft Slander and Detraction.
{[ Gar call him downe, gar call him downe, gar call him
downe downe a :
f[ God fend the faclion, of all detraction, calld downe and
cad away.
ILMYGHTY God
Dooth make his rod
Of iuftife, and all thofe,
That vniuftly,
DetracTyfly,
Detract their freends or foes.
He telthe eche one,
Thou (halt iudge none ;
And if thou iudge unbiden,
Thyfelf, faith he,
Shall iudged be ;
This leflbn is not hiden.
To this now fturd,
This is concord,
Whiche wilthe vs in eche dout ;
To deem the beft,
That may be geft,
Till time the trueth try out.
Knowing by this,
That think amifle
Againft no man we may ;
10 ANCIENT BALLADS
Muche more muft we
111 langage flee,
And call it downe downe a ;
Gar call him downe, &c.
C With fwoord or fkaine
To fee babes flaine,
Abhorth to look upon ;
Attend to me,
And ye (hall fee
Murder and flaunder one.
Like as a knife
By reuing life,
So flaunder fame hath {lain ;
And bothe ones doone,
Bothe alike foone
May be vndoon again.
Then what more ill
With knife to kill,
Or with the tung to fting :
With knife or tung
Strike olde or yung,
Bothe in effect one thing.
Thefe woords are fliort,
But they import
Sentence at length to way :
Of all whiche fence,
To flee offence,
Call flaunder downe I fay ;
Gar call him downe, &c.
AND BROADSIDES.
f[ When vice is fought,
Al vice is nought,
But Tome vice wors then fome :
And eche man fees
Sundry degrees
In eche vice felf dooth come.
Now fins the leaft,
We mould deteft
Vice or degree in vice :
If in the mofte
We fhowe our bofte,
That fhoweth vs mofte unwice.
If I in thee
Suche faults ones fee.
As no man ells doth knowe ;
To thee alone,
And other none,
Thefe faults I ought to fhowe.
Then of intent
If I inuent
Pauls tales, and them difplay :
That is mofte vile,
Whiche to exile,
God calleth this down, downe a.
Gar call him downe, &c.
C Some count no charge
To talke at large
Suche il as they doo heare ;
But Gods account
Dooth not amount
To take fuche talkers heere.
1 1
12 ANCIENT BALLADS
Of woork il wrought,
When it is fought,
In telling foorth the fame,
Though it be true,
The talke may brew
Drink of damnable blame.
To frame excufe,
Of tungs mifufe,
We haue no maner mene ;
So that by this,
No way ther is
II talles to cary clene.
Whiche makes me call
Vpon you all,
As calling cal you may ;
Tales falfe or true,
Me to enfue,
To call them downe, down a.
Gar call him downe, &c.
C Chrifte crieth out ftil,
Say good for il,
But we fay harme for harme ;
Yea ill for good
111 tungs doo brood,
Wrath is in them fo warme.
Slander to fere
And to forbere,
This text ftands well in place ;
Wo by the tung,
Wherby is fprung
Slander in any cace !
AND BROADSIDES.
To fleke this fier
Of flanders yre,
Repentance muft deuife
To fet all hands,
To quenche the brands
With water of our eies.
Whiche brand then blowe
To make loue glowe,
That loue by grace may ftay,
And by refort
Of good report,
Call {lander downe I fay.
Gar call him down, &c.
FINIS, q d Haywood.
Imprinted at
London, at the long Shop
adioining vnto Saint
Mildreds Churche
in the Pultrie, by
JohnAllde.
1 4 ANCIENT BALLADS
A proper new Ealad in praife of my
Ladle Marques,
wbofe Death is bewailed to the Tune of New lufty gallant.
[ADIES, I thinke you maruell that
I writ no mery report to you,
And what is the caufe I court it not
So merye as I was wont to dooe ;
Alas ! I let you vnderftand,
It is no newes for me to fhow ;
The faireft flower of my garland
Was caught from court a great while agoe.
For, vnder the roufe of fweete Saint Paull,
There lyeth my Ladie buryed in claye,
Where I make memory for her foule
With weepinge eyes once euerye daye ;
All other fightes I haue forgot,
That euer in court I ioyed to fee,
And that is the caufe I court it not,
So mery as I was wont to be.
And though that fhee be dead and gone,
Whofe courting need not to be tolde,
And natures mould of flefhe and bone,
Whofe lyke now Hues not to beholde,
Me thinkes I fee her walke in blacke,
In euery corner where I goe,
To looke if anie bodie do lacke
A frend to helpe them of theyr woe.
AND BROADSIDES. 15
Mee thinkes I fee her forowfull teares,
To princelye ftate approching nye ;
Mee thinkes I fee her tremblinge feares,
Lefte anie her fuites fhulde hit awrie ;
Mee thinkes (he fhuld be ftill in place,
A pitifull fpeaker to a Queene,
Bewailinge every poore mans cafe,
As many a time fhee hath ben feene.
Mee thinkes I fee her modefte mood,
Her comlie clothing plainlie clad,
Her face fo fweete, her cheere fo good,
The courtlie countenance that fhee had ;
But, chefe of all, mee thinkes I fee
Her vertues deutie daie by daie,
Homblie kneeling one her knee,
As her defire was ftill to praie.
Mee thinkes I cold from morow to night
Do no thing ells with verie good will,
But fpend the time to fpeake and writte
The praife of my good ladies ftill ;
Though reafon faith, now me is dead,
Go feeke and farue as good as fhee ;
It will not finke fo in my head,
That euer the like in courte will bee.
But fure I am, ther liueth yet
In court a dearer frinde to mee,
Whome I to farue am fo vnfit,
I am fure the like will neuer bee ;
For I with all that I can dooe,
Vnworthie moft maie feeme to bee,
To undoo the lachet of her fhooe,
Yet will I come to courte and fee.
16 ANCIENT BALLADS
Then haue amongfte ye once againe,
Faint harts faire ladies neuer win ;
I truft ye will confider my payne,
When any good venifon cometh in ;
And, gentill ladies, I you praie,
If my abfentinge breede to blame,
In my behalfe that ye will faie,
In court is remedie for the fame.
C Finis, q d W. ELDERTON.
C Imprinted at London in Fleteftreat
beneath the Conduit, at the figne
of S. John Euangelift, by
Thomas Colwell.
The Prifoners' Petition.
To the wormipful our good benefadtor.
|N all lamentable manner, moft humbly
befeecheth your good Worfhip, wee,
the miferable multitude of very poore
diftrefled prifoners, in the hole of
Wood-ftreet Counter, in nomber fiftie poore men
or thereabouts, lying vpon the bare boordes,
ftill languifhing in great neede, colde and
miferie, who, by reafon of this daungerous and
troublefome time, be almoft famifhed and hunger-
ftarued to death ; others very fore ficke, and
difeafed for want of reliefe and fuftenance, by
AND BROADSIDES. 17
reafon of the great number, which dayly increaf-
th, dooth in all humblenes moft humbly be-
eech your good worfhip, euen for Gods fake,
o pitie our poore lamentable and diftrefled cafes ;
and nowe helpe to relieue and comfort us with
our Chriftian and Godly charitie againft this
olie and blefled time of Eafter. And wee, ac-
ording to our bounden duties, do and will
ayly pray vnto Almighty God for your long
ife and happy profperitie.
We humbly pray, your Chriftian and
Godly charitie to be fent vnto vs by
fome of your feruants.
A mojl pleafant Ballad of patient Griffell,
To the tune of tbe Brides Good-morrow.
NOBLE Marques as he did ride on
hunting,
Hard by a forreft fide ;
A proper mayden, as fhe did fit a
fpinning,
His gentle eye efpide.
Moft faire, and louely, and of curteous grace was
fhe,
Although in fimple attire ;
She fung full fweet with pleafant voyce melod-
ioufly,
Which fet the lords hart on fire.
18 ANCIENT BALLADS
The more he looked the more he might,
Beautie bred his hartes delight,
And to this dainty damfell then he went ;
God fpeede, quoth he, thou famous flower,
Faire miftres of this homely bower,
Where loue and vertue Hues with fweete content.
With comely iefture and curteous milde behauiour,
She bad him welcome then ;
She entertain'd him in faithful friendly maner,
And all his gentlemen.
The noble marques in his hart felt fuch a flame.
Which fet his fences at ftrife ;
Quoth he, faire maiden, (hew me foone what is^
thy name ?
I meane to make thee my wife.
GrifTell is my name, quoth me,
Farre vnfit for your degree,
A filly mayden and of parents poore.
Nay, GrifTell, thou art rich, he fayd,
A vertuous, faire and comely mayd ;
Graunt me thy loue, and I wil aike no more.
At length me confented, and being both contented,
They married were with fpeed ;
Her contrey ruflet was changd to filk and veluet,
As to her ftate agreed.
And when (he was trimly tyred in the fame,
Her beauty fhined moft bright,
Far ftaining euery other braue and comly dame,
L hat did appeare in her fight.
Many enuied her therefore,
Becaufe fhe was of parents poore,
And twixt her lord and fhe great ftrife did raife.
AND BROADSIDES. 19
Some fayd this and fome fayd that,
Some did call her beggers brat,
And to her lord they would her foone difpraife.
noble Marques, quoth they, why doe you
wrong vs,
Thus bacely for to wed,
That might haue gotten an honorable lady,
Into your princely bed ?
Who will not now your noble iflue ftill deride,
Which mall hereafter be borne ?
That are of blood fo bafe by their mothers fide,
The which will bring them in fcorne ;
Put her therefore quite away,
Take to you a lady gay,
Whereby your linage may renowned be ;
Thus euery day they feemde to prate,
That malift Griflelles good eftate,
Who tooke all this moft milde and patiently.
When that the marques did fee that they were
bent thus
Againft his faithfull wife,
Whom he moft deerely, tenderly and entirely,
Beloued as his life ;
Minding in fecret for to proue her patient hart,
Therby her foes to difgrace ;
Thinking to play a hard vncurteous part,
That men might pittie her cafe.
Great with childe this lady was,
And at length it came to pafTe,
Two goodly children at one birth me had ;
A fonne and daughter God had fent,
Which did their father well content,
And which did make their mothers hart full glad.
20 ANCIENT BALLADS
Great royall feafting was at thefe childrens
chriftnings,
And princely triumph made ;
Sixe weeks together, al nobles that came thither
Were entertaind and ftaid ;
And when that al thofe pleafant fportings quite
were done,
The Marques a merTenger fent
For his yong daughter, and his prety fmiling fon,
Declaring his full intent,
How that the babes muft murdred be,
For fo the Marques did decree,
Come, let me haue the children, then he fayd.
With that faire GrifTell wept full fore,
She wrung her hands and fayd no more,
My gracious lord muft haue his will obaid.
She tooke the babies, euen from their nurfing
ladies,
Betweene her tender armes ;
She often wifhes, with many forrowful kifles,
That me might helpe their harmes.
Farewel, farewel, a thoufand times, my children
deere,
Neuer (hall I fee you againe ;
Tis long of me, your fad and woful mother
heere,
For whofe fake both muft be flaine.
Had I been borne of royall race,
You might haue liu'd in happy cafe,
But you muft die for my vnworthines ;
Come, meflenger of death, faid fhee,
Take my defpifed babes to thee,
And to their father my complaints expres.
AND BROADSIDES. 21
rle tooke the children, and to his noble maifter
He brings them both with fpeed ;
Who fecret fent them vnto a noble lady,
To be nurft vp indeed ;
Then to faire GrifTel with a heauy hart he goes,
Where me fate mildly alone ;
pleafant iefture and a louely looke me fhowes,
As if this griefe me neuer had knowen.
he, my children now are flaine !
What thinkes faire GrifTell of the fame ?
Sweet GrifTell, now declare thy mind to mee.
Sith you, my lord, are pleaf 'd in it,
'oore GrirTell thinkes the action fit ;
Both I and mine at your command will be.
Vly nobles murmur, faire GrirTell, at thy honor,
And I no ioy can haue,
Til thou be banifht both from my court and pre-
fence,
As they vnjuftly craue ;
Thou muft be ftript out of thy coftly garments
all,
And as thou cameft to me,
n homely gray, infteed of bifTe and pureft pall,
Now all thy cloathing muft be ;
Vly lady thou malt be no more,
Sbr I thy lord, which grieues me fore ;
The pooreft life muft now content thy minde ;
A groat to thee I muft not giue,
To maintaine thee while I doe Hue,
Againft my GrifTel fuch great foes I finde.
When gentle GrifTell did heare thefe wofull
tidings,
The teares flood in her eyes.
22 ANCIENT BALLADS
She nothing anfwered, no words of difcontent
Did from her lips arife ;
Her veluet gown moft patiently fhe flipped off,
Her kirtles of filke with the fame ;
Her ruflet gown was broght again with many aj
fcoffe,
To beare them all herfelfe me did frame.
When fhe was dreft in this array.
And ready was to part away,
God fend long life vnto my lord, quoth fhee ;
Let no offence be found in this,
To giue my lord a parting kifle.
With watry eyes, Farewel, my deere, quoth he.;
From ftately pallace vnto her fathers cottage,
Poore Griffell now is gone ;
Full fixteene winters fhe liued there contented,
No wrong fhe thought vpon ;
And at that time through all the land the fpeaches
went,
The Marques fhould married be
Vnto a lady of high and great difcent ;
To the fame all parties did agree.
The Marques fent for GrifTell faire,
The brides bedchamber to prepare,
That nothing therein fhould be found awrye ;
The bride was with her brother come,
Which was great ioy to all and fome ;
And GrifTell tooke all this moft patiently.
And, in the morning, when they fhould to the
wedding,
Her patience now was tride ;
GrifTel was charged herfelf in princely maner
For to attire the bride.
AND BROADSIDES. 23
[oft willingly fhe gaue confent to do the fame ;
The bride in her brauery was dreft,
,nd prefently the noble Marques thither came,
With all his lords, as he requeft :
Griflel, I would afke, quoth he,
[f fhe would to this match agree ;
Me thinkes her lookes are waxen wondrous coy ;
[With that they all began to fmile,
(And Griflell fhe replide the while,
God fend Lord Marques many yeres of joy !
!The Marques was moued to fee his beft beloued,
Thus patient in diftrefle ;
He ftept vnto her, and by the hand he tooke her,
Thefe wordes he did exprefle ;
Thou art my bride and all the brides I meane to
haue;
Thefe two thine owne children be !
The youthful! lady on her knees did blefling
craue,
Her brother as willing as fhe ;
And you that enuied her eftate,
Whom I haue made my louing mate,
Now blufh for fhame, and honor vertuous life ;
The chronicles of lafting fame,
Shall euer more extol! the name,
Of patient Griflell, my moft conftant wife.
FINIS.
24 ANCIENT BALLADS
A Newe Ballade of a Louer extollinge
his Ladye.
To the tune of Damon and Pithias.
LAS, my harte doth boyle,
And burne within my brefte,
To. fhowe to thee, myne onely deere,
My fute and my requeft.
My loue no toung can tell,
Ne pen can well defcrye ;
Extend thy loue for loue againe,
Or els for loue I dye.
C My loue is fet fo fuer,
And fixed on thee fo,
That by no meanes I can abftaine,
My faythfull loue to mowe ;
My wounded harte, theirfore,
To thee for helpe doth crye ;
Extend thy loue for loue againe,
Or els for loue I dye.
C Although the gods were bent,
With greedie mynde to flaye
My corpes with cruell panges of death,
And lyfe to take awaye.
Yet mould my faythfull harte
At no tyme from thee flye ;
Show loue therfore for loue againe,
Or els for loue I dye.
AND BROADSIDES. 25
C Although the fun were bent
To burne me with his beames ;
And that mine eyes, throw greous pangs,
Should fend forth bloudy ftreames ;
Yet would I not forfake,
But ftyll to thee woulde crye,
To fhowe me loue for loue again,
Or els for loue I dye.
C Ye though ech fterre were tournd
Untyll a fiery darte,
And were all ready bent with payne,
To perce throwe-out my harte ;
Yet coulde I not forfake
To loue thee faythfullye ;
Extend thy loue for loue again<
Or els for loue I dye.
ic.
C Ye though eche foule were formde,
A ferpent fell to be,
My corps to flay with bloudy wounds,
And to deuower me ;
Yet would I be thine owne,
To loue full hartelye ;
Extend thy loue for loue againe,
Or els for loue I dye.
C Ye though the lyon were,
With gapinge gredye jawe,
Readye with rygorus raggye teeth,
. My fleme to teare and gnawe ;
Yet woulde I be thine owne,
To ferue moft earneftlye ;
Extend thy loue for loue againe,
Or els for loue I dye.
26 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Ye though the fifties all,
That fwymes in furginge feafe,
Should fwallowe me with gredy mouth,
Yet could thee not apeafe.
My earneft harte to thee,
To loue entyerlye ;
Extend thy loue for loue againe,
Or els for loue I dye.
C Ye though the earth would gape,
And fwallowe me there-in,
And that I fhould tormentyd be
In hell, with euery fyn ;
Yet would I be thy owne,
To faue or els to fpyll ;
Show me therfore lyke loue againe,
Or els thou doft me kyll.
Finis, q M. Ofb.
Imprinted at London, in Fletftrete, at the
figne of the Faucon, by Wylliam
Gryffith, 1568.
AND BROADSIDES. 27
The true reporte of the forme and Jhape of a
monflrous Childe borne at Muche Horkejleye, a
village three myles from Colchejler y in the
County e of Effex, the xxi daye of Apryll in this
yeare 1562.
O prayfe ye God, and blefTe his name;
His mightye hande hath wrought the fame.
IHIS monftrous world that monfters
bredes as rife,
As men tofore it bred by native
kinde,
By birthes that fhewe corrupted natures ftrife,
Declares what finnes befet the fecrete minde.
I meane not this, as though deformed fhape
Were alwayes linkd with fraughted minde with
vice,
But that in nature God fuch draughtes doth fhape,
Refemblyng finnes that fo bin had in price.
So grofTeft faultes braft out in bodyes forme,
And monfter caufed of want or to much (lore
matter, fhewes the fea of finne, whofe ftorme
Oreflowes and whelmes vertues barren fhore ;
Faultye alike in ebbe and eke in flowd,
Like diftaunt both from meane, both like ex-
treames ;
Yet greatft excefle the want of meane doth
fhrowde,
28 ANCIENT BALLADS
And want of meanes excefle from vertues
meanes.
So contraryeft extreames confent in finne,
Which to bewray to blinded eyes by fyght,
Beholde a calfe hath clapt about his chinne
His chauderne, reft whence nature placed it
right,
Andruffd, driues doubtful 1 feers toprouebyfpeache
Themfelues not calues, and makes the fafhion
ftale.
In him behold by excefle from meane our breache,
And midds excefle yet want of natures (nape.
To fhowe our mifle beholde a guiltlefle babe
Reft of his limmes, for fuch is vertues want
Himfelfe and parentes both infamous made
With finful byrth ; and yet a worldlyng fcant.
Feares midwyfes route, bewrayeing his parentes
fault
In want of honeftye and excefle of finne ;
Made lawfull by all lawes of men, yet halt
Of limmes by God, fcapd not the mamefull
marke
Of baftard fonne in baftard fhape defcryed.
Better, fare better, vngyuen were his lyfe,
Than geuen fo. For nature iuft enuyed
Her gyft to hym, and cropd wyth mayming
knyfe
His limmes, to wreake her fpyte on parentes
finne;
Which, if fhe fpare vnwares fo many fcapes
As wycked world to breede wil neuer linne,
Theyr Hues declare theyr maims faued from
their fhapes,
Scorchd in theyr mindes. O cruel priuye mayme,
That feftreth ftyll ! O vnrecured fore !
AND BROADSIDES. 29
Where thothers quiting wyth theyr bodyes fhame
Theyr parentes guilt, oft linger not their lyues
In lothed fhapes, but naked flye to fkyes.
As this may do, whofe forme tofore thine eyes
Through want thou feeft, a monftrous vglyefhape,
Whom frendly world to finne doth terme a fcape.
On Tuyfday being the xxi day of Apryll, in
this yeare of our Lorde God a thoufand fyue
hundred thre fcore and two, there was borne a
man-childe of this maymed forme at Muche
Horkefley in Eflex, a village about thre myles
from Colchefter, betwene a naturall father and a
naturall mother, hauing neyther hande, foote,
legge, nor arme, but on the left fyde it hath a
ftumpe growynge out of the moulder, and the
ende thereof is rounde, and not fo long as it mould
go to the elbowe ; and on the ryghte fyde no men-
cion of any thing where any arme mould be, but
a litel ftumpe of one ynche in length ; alfo on the
left buttocke there is a ftumpe comming out of
the length of the thygh almoft to the knee, and
round at the ende, and groweth fomething ouer-
thwart towardes the place where the ryght legge
mould be, and where the ryghte legge mould be,
there is no mencion of anye legge or ftumpe.
Alfo it hath a codde and ftones, but no yearde,
but a lytell hole for the water to iflue out.
Finallye, it hath by eftimation no tounge, by
reafon whereof it fucketh not, but is fuccoured
wyth liquide fubftaunce put into the mouth by
droppes, and nowe begynneth to feede wyth
pappe, beyng very well fauoured, and of good
and cheareful face.
30 ANCIENT BALLADS
C The aforefayde Anthony Smyth of Much
Horkefley, hufbandman, and his wyfe, were both
maryed to others before, and haue had dyuers
chyldren, but this deformed childe is the fyrft
that the fayd Anthony and his wyfe had betwene
them two ; it is a man chylde. This chylde was
begot out of matrimony, but borne in matri-
monye ; and at the makynge hereof was liuing,
and like to continue.
Imprinted at London in Fleteftrete nere
to S. Dunftons Church, by
Thomas Mar/he.
A newe Ballade.
DERE Lady Elyfabeth, which art
our right and|vertous Quene,
God hath endued the w t mercy and
fayth, as by thy workes it may
be fene,
Wherefore, good Quene, I counfayle thee, Lady,
Lady,
For to beware of the fpiritualtie, moil dere
Lady.
Haue you not rede of your progenitours, which
was before you many a yere,
How they endured many fharpe fhowers, as
by the cronicles it doth appere,
AND BROADSIDES. 31
And many of them came to euell hap, Lady, Lady,
And all was through the forked cap, moft dere
Lady ?
C Haue you nat rede of Wyllyam Rufus the
fecond kyng hereof that name,
How he was flayne mofte maruelous, all through
the curried feede of Caine ?
Tyrell kyllede hym with an arrowe, Lady, Lady,
Yet fome men fayed he mot at a fparow, mofte
dere Lady.
C Haue you not rede of good kyng John, how
by them he was vndone ?
The Bimop of Canterbury, y e wicked man, ac-
cufed him to the court of Rome ;
They enterdyted his lande as the cronicle fayeth,
Lady, Lady,
A monke poyfoned him to his death, mofte
dere Lady.
C Haue you not rede of the fecond Richard,
who was the black princes fonne,
How they handled him full hard, and famimed
him till lyfe was donne ?
In Powles they made him a funerall, Lady, Lady,
To blinde the peoples eyes withall, moofte dere
Lady.
C Haue you not rede of the fixt Henry, which
was a good and a fimple man ?
The Cardinall of Wynchefter truly made him
lofe that hys father wanne,
The good Protector his vncle dere, Lady, Lady,
The prieftes kept war with him a longe yere,
mofte dere Lady.
32 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Then came your father, King Henry y c . viiL
which was a prince of victory.
And he depofed them all ftraight, when he had
fpyed their idolatry ;
If this be trewe, as trewe it was, Lady, Lady,
God graunt your grace may do no lefle, moft
dere Lady.
C Then came your brother King Edward, which
was a good and vertuous child,
And to God's word he had regarde, but the
wicked prieftes hath hym begilde,
And rayfed vp trentalles in euery place, Lady,
Lady,
And fome of them preached agaynft his Grace,
moft dere Lady.
C Then came your fyfter Quene Mary, and for
fiue yeres that me did rayne,
All that was done (by) Edward and Hary her
wicked prieftes made it but vaine ;
They brought in agayne the Romyfhe lore, Lady,
Lady,
Whiche was banimed longe before, mofte dere
Lady.
C Then God fent vs your noble Grace, as in dede
it was highe tyme,
Whiche dothe all Popery cleane deface, and
fet vs forth God's trewe deuine,
For whome we are all bound to praye, Lady,
Lady,
Longe life to raigne bothe night and day, mofte
dere Ladye.
Finis. quod R. M.
AND BROADSIDES.
33
The Pope in his fury doth anpwer returne-
To a letter y e which to Rome is late come.
DOE efteme your kyndnes much
For fendyng worde fo fone,
Your diligence it hath ben fuch,
It is ariued at Rome :
But when I had pervfd your byl,
In that you fet thereto your wyl,
And eke your mynd applyed vntyl
The writyng of the fame,
I did beleue it to be true ;
But furely I muft fay to you,
It greued mee thofe lines to vew
Were written in your name.
And fure it is no maruell, loe !
For daylye I doe heare,
The matter femeth to be fo,
As amply doth appeare :
For euery man doth tell for true
The fame that late was fent of you,
But, out alas ! your tidynges new
Doth much appall my fpirite,
And makes me fweare and makes me teare,
To pull and hale, and rend my heare,
And brynges me dayly in difpaire
To thinke on this defpite.
C But (ith there is no remedye
That mine obedient chylde
34 ANCIENT BALLADS
Is hanged vp vpon a tree,
And to-to much reuylde :
What fhoulde I doe but curfe and ban.
And hurte them toe the worft I can.
For hanging vp fo good a man
That bare mee fuch good wyll ?
But yf I had him here at Rome,
His body mould be fhryued foone,
And mafTe at mornyng and at noone,
With chantyng of each bell,
C For euer fhoulde be fayd and foung
The deuyls to controvle,
And prayers all aboute his tombe
With fenceyng for his foule :
That neuer a deuyll fo deepe in hell
Shoulde once prefume with him to mell,
For once approch his body tyll
To vexe him any way,
And I wolde kepe his body fo,
That it from hence mould neuer go,
And dyuers of my fryers mo
For him mould dayly pray.
C And gladly wolde I be reuengd
On England, yf I might,
Becaufe they haue toe much abufd
My Bull with great defpight :
And make thereat a laughing game,
And fet but little by my name,
And much my holynes defame,
And dayly me difpyfe.
Their queene hath chaft the rebels all
That loued to bow their knees to Ball,
And hanged their quarters on the wall
As meat for crowes and pyes.
AND BROADSIDES. 35
C But I wyll walke and dayly feke
My purgatorie thorow,
And caufe all the deuyls at my becke
To me their knees to bow :
And whereas I may any fynde
That to their prince haue ben vnkynde,
Be fure, with mee they (hall be mrynde
As they deferued haue.
And cheefly now John Felton hee
Shall euer be beloued of mee,
Becaufe that he fo louinglye
My Bull did feeme to faue.
C But yf that I coulde haue at once
The paryng of his toe,
His head, his quarters, or his bones,
That with the wynde doe bloe :
Then fhoulde they be layd vp by mee
As reliques of great dignitie,
For euery man that comes to fee
Thofe jewels of fuch grace.
The Nortons' bones mould be fo fhrynd
That now hanges wauering in the wynd,
Yf that I coulde deuyfe or fynd
To bryng them to this place.
C And I wyll curfe and ban them all
That fpeake againft my powre,
And feekes to make my kyngdome fall,
My curfe mall them deuowre :
And yf that here I might you fee,
For wrytyng lately vnto mee,
Be fure, ye mould rewarded bee
As beft I coulde bethynke.
And as for Wylliam Elderton
That lately fent me worde to Rome,
36 ANCIENT BALLADS
Be fure that he fhould haue lyke dome
To bye him pen and ynke.
C Take this as written from our grace
That vnto you we fend,
Becaufe we want both time and place
To recompence you, frend :
As for the boyes that frump and feoff,
And at my holynes doe laugh,
I mynd to drefle them wel enough,
Yf cafe I had them here.
And for my feruants that abyde,
And long haue had their pacience tryde,
From Romaine faith that wyl not flyde,
I wyfh them all good chere.
C Finis. S. P.
C Imprinted by Alexander Lacie for Henrie
Kyrkham, dwelling at the figne of the Blacke
Boy at the middle North dore of Paules
Church.
Lines underneath a Portrait of Queen
Elizabeth.
OE here the pearle,
Whom God and man doth loue
Loe here on earth
The onely ftarre of light :
Loe here the queene,
Whom no mifhap can moue
AND BROADSIDES. 37
To chaunge her mynde
From vertues chief delight !
Loe here the heart
That fo hath honord God,
That, for her loue,
We feele not of his rod :
Pray for her health,
Such as good fubiectes bee :
Oh Princely Dame,
There is none like to thee !
Ane new Ballet fet out be anefugitiue Scott if-
man that fled out of Paris at this
lait Murther.
OW Katherine de Medicis hes maid
fie a gyis,
To tary in Paris the papiftes ar
tykit,
At Baftianes brydell howbeit fcho denyis,
Giue Mary flew Hary, it was not vnlykit ;
3it a man is nane refpecland this number,
I dar not fay wemen hes wyte of this cummer.
3one mafk the Quene Mother hes maid thame in
France,
Was maikles and faikles, and fchamfully (lane,
Bot Mary conuoyit and come with ane dance,
Quhill princes in fences was fyrit with ane trane ;
Baith treflbnabill murtheris the ane and the vther,
I go not in mafking mair with the Quene Mother.
38 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Italianes ar tyranis, and treffonabill tratoris ;
For gy fours, deuyfours, the Guyfianis ar gude ;
Bot Frenche men ar trew men, and not of thair
natouris ;
Than, Charlie, I farlie thow drank thy awin
blude,
I wyte hot thy mother wit, wemen ar vane,
In greis neir to Ganzelon, nor grit Charlie Mane.
C Thy ftyle was Trefchriftien, maift Criften
King,
Baith hieft and frieft, and neift the impyre ;
Bot now Proueft Marfchell in playing this fpring,
And refToun for trerToun prouokis God to ire ;
Beleuis thow this trumprie fall ftablifche thy
ftyle ?
Our God is not deed, jit be doand ane quhyle.
C Suppois that the Papiftes deuyfit this at Trent,
To ding vs and bring vs with mony lowd
lauchter,
With fie cruell murther is Chrift fa content,
To take the and make the ane Sanct for our
flauchter ?
Albeit he correct vs, and fcurge vs in ire,
Be war with the wand fyne he wapis in the fyre.
C For better is pure men nor princes periurit,
Baith fchameles and fameles, we find thame fa
fals;
With fangis lyke the feryne our lyfis thow
allurit ;
Ouirfylit vs, begylit vs, with baitis in our hals ;
Or as the fals fowler, his fang for to get,
Deuoiris the pure volatill he wylis to the net.
AND BROADSIDES. 39
C In His nor in Orknay, in Ireland Oneill,
Thay dar not, thay gar not thair lieges be
ftickit :
Solyman, Tamerlan, nor yit the mekle Deill,
Proud Pharao, nor Nero, was neuer fa wickit ;
Nouther Turk nor Infidell vfis fie thing,
As be their awin burreo, being ane king.
C Baith auld men and wemen, with babis on thair
breift,
Not luking nor huking, to hurll thame in
Sane,
All beand murdreift downe, quhat do 5e neift ?
Proceffioun, confeffion, and vp Mes agane ;
Proud King Antiochus was fum tyme als haly,
And yet our God gufchit out the guttis of his
belly.
Thy fyfter thou maryit, thy faces was four,
Sic cuikrie for luikrie was euill interprifit ;
3e maid vs the Reid Freiris, and rais in an hour,
Abhorring na gorring that micht be deuifit ;
Thou playit the fals hypocreit fenzeing the fray,
But inwart ane rageing wolf waitand thy pray.
That France was confidderat with Scotland I grant,
Baith adit, contractit and keipit in deid ;
The kyndnes of cutthrottis we cure not to want,
Denyis thame, defyis thame, and al thair fals feid ;
It was bot with honeft men we maid the band,
And thou hes left leifand bot few in that land.
Our faith is not warldly, we feir not thy braulis,
Thocht hangmen ouirgang men, for gaddaring
our geir ;
40 ANCIENT BALLADS
3e kill hot the carcafe, 36 get not our faulis,
Not douting our fhouting is hard in Goddis eir;
The fame God from Pharo defendit his pepill,
And not 3one round Robene that ftandis in 3our,
ftepffl.
C Now, wyfe Quene Elizabeth, luik to yourfelf,
Difpite them, and wryte thame ane bill of de-
fyance ;
The Papiftis and Span3ards hes partit 3our pelf,
As newly and trewly was tald me thir tythance ;
Beleue thay to land heir, and get vs for nocht,
Will 36 do as we do, it fal be deir bocht.
Giue pleis God we gre fa, and hald vs togidder,
Baith furely and fturely, and ftoutly gainftand
thame ;
They culdnot weill conqueis vs, culd.3e confidder,
For our men are dour men, and likis weill to
land thame ;
Quhen Cefar himfelf was chaift, haue 36 fo^et,
And baith the realmes be aggreit, tak that thay
get.
C For better it is to fecht it, defendant our lyfis,
With fpeir men and weir men, and ventour our
fellis,
Nor for to fe Frenchemen deflorand our wyfis,
Difplace vs, and chace vs, as thay haue done ellis ;
I meane quhen the Inglifmen helpit at Leith,
And gart thame gang hame agane fpyte of thair
teith.
C I cannot trow firmely that Frenchmen ar cummen,
Perfayfand thame haifand thamefelfis into
parrell ;
AND BROADSIDES. 41
The Lord faue Elizabeth, thair ane gude woman,
That cauldly and bauldly debait will our
quarrell
With men and with money, baith armour andgraith,
As fcho hes befoir tyme defendit this Faith.
Thocht France for thair falfet be drownit in
dangeris,
For caufis and paufis thay plait- into Pareis,
3it we ar in war eftait, waitand on ftrangeris,
Not gyding, deuyding our awin men from
Mareis ;
So weid the calf from the corn, calk me thair dures,
And flay or 36 be flane, gif fie thing occures.
Bot how can 36 traift thame that trumpit 3ow ellis,
Decoir thame, do for thame, or fofter thair feid ;
And thay may anis fe thair time, tent to 3our-
-fellis,
Baith haitfull, diflaitfull, 3e deill with in deid ;
Anis wod and ay the war, wit quhat 36 do,
And mak thame faft in the ruit gif thay cum to.
C God blis 3ow, my brether, and biddis 3ow gud
nicht,
Obey God, go fay God, with prayer and fafting,
Chrift keip this pure ile of ouris in the auld richt,
Defend vs and fend vs the life euerlafting ;
The Lord fend vs quyetnes, and keip our 3oung
king,
The Quene of Inglands Maieftie, and lang mot
thai ring.
C Finis, quod Simpell.
C Imprintit at Sanclandrois, be Robert
Lekpriuik. Anno Do. 1572.
42 ANCIENT BALLADS
A proper New Ealad of the Eryber Gehefte. \
Taken out of the fourth booke of Kinges, the v.
chapter 5 to the tune of Kynge Salomon.
AS not the bryber Gehezie
Rewarded iuftly of the Lord,
Which for example verelie,
The Holie Scripture doth recorde ?
If this be true, as true it was,
Of his rewarde,
Why fhould not Chriftan men, alas,
Than haue regarde ?
When that the prophet Elizae
Had clenfed from the leprofie
Naaman of Arliria,
Thorow the workes of God on hye,
Then Naaman wolde him conftraine
To take rewarde ;
But Elizae from that refrainde,
And had regarde.
But Gehezie of falfehed minde,
. When Naaman did pafle awaie,
Did hie him fafte that was behinde,
And unto Naaman did faie,
Beholde, my mafter hath me fente
For a rewarde ;
To prophetes children he is bente
To haue regarde.
AND BROADSIDES. 43
With right good will, faid Naaman,
Him to rewarde and did proceede ;
And Gehezie conuaide it then
So preuilie in verie deede,
Forgetting that the prophete tho
Of his rewarde
Could, by the fprite of God, it knowe,
And haue regard e.
Alas, how was thou, Gehezie,
Rauifhed in worldly gaine !
How was thou brought to mizerie,
Of God appointed for thy paine,
And all thy ofspringe after thee,
For thy rewarde !
The Lorde that hateth briberie
Hath his regarde.
Then Gehezie deceitfulie,
To-fore the prophet tooke his waie,
Who faid to hime, O Gertie,
Went not my harte with thee, I faie,
When Naaman from charret came
Thee to rewarde,
And thou haft falfelie hid the fame,
Without regarde P
Gehezie, is it now a time
Thy bribes (he faid) for to receaue ?
Beholde, for this thy wicked crime
That leprofeie to thee fhall cleaue,
The which was vpon Naaman,
For thy rewarde,
And to thy feede thee after than,
To haue regarde.
44 ANCIENT BALLADS
Incontinent then Gehezie
Departed from his prefence fo,
As the Texte doth verefie,
A leper white as is the fnowe ;
Example to fuch bribers all,
To haue regarde ;
With Gehezie at lengthe they mall
Haue their rewarde.
If they doe not their faultes confeffe,
Detecting of their bryberie,
Elfe God will fpie ther wickednefTe,
Though they it cloke with Gehezie ;
And can them paie accordinglie
The like rewarde,
As he hath done to Gehezie ;
O haue regarde !
The Lord he is that fame God ftill
That he was than vndoubtedlie ;
Such Gehezies he punifh will,
That bribes receiue fo wickedlie,
Though they fo preuilie do hide
Their falfe rewarde ;
Yet of the Lorde it will be fpide,
Who hath regarde.
O Lorde, vs guide in all our waies,
That we may leade our Hues aright ;
To deale with trueth at all afTaies,
Giue vnto us thy Holie Sprite ;
And that our Queene and her Councell
Maie haue regarde,
In this lande bribers to expell
That take rewarde.
AND BROADSIDES. 45
C Finis, quod George Mell.
Imprinted at London, in Flete Streate,
beneath the Conduit, at the iigne
of S. John Evangelift, by
Thomas Colwell.
C The Jhape of ii monjiers, M D Ixii.
| HIS prefent yere of oure Lord God a
thoufande fiue hundred thre fcore and
two, one Marke Finkle, a joiner, dwell
ing betide Charing CrofTe by Weft-
minfter, had a fow that brought forth one pigge
onely, vpon the feuenth of Maye, beinge Afcen-
tion daye, the whiche pigge had a head muche
lyke vnto a dolphines head, with the left eare
(landing vp forked, and the right eare being like
as it were halfe a litle leafe, being deuided in the
middes, fharpe toward thend, lying downward flat
to the head, without any holes into the headward.
The two fore feet, like vnto handes, eche hande
hauinge thre long ringers and a thumbe, bothe the
thumbes growinge on the outfides of the handes,
the hinder legges growing very much backwarde
otherwife then the common natural forme hath
ben feen, beeing of no good fhape, but fmaller
from the body to the middle joint then they be
from the fame joint toward the foot. And the
46 ANCIENT BALLADS
taile growing an inche neare vnto the back thenjl
it doth of any that is of right fhape.
Thefe ftraunge fights the Allmighty God
fendeth vnto vs, that we fhould not be forgetfull !
of his mighty power, nor vnthankful for his fo
greate mercies ; the which hee fheweth fpecially byl
geuing vnto vs his holy word, wherby our Hues
ought to be guided, and alfo his wonderful!
tokens wherby we are moft gentilly warned.
But if we will not be warned, neither by hisj
word, nor yet by his wonderful workes, then let vs
be afTured that thefe ftraunge monftruous fightesj
doe premonftrate vnto vs that his heauy indigna-j
cion wyl fhortly come vpon vs for our monftruous 1
lyuinge. Wherfore let vs earneftly pray vntol
God that he wyl geue vs grace earneftly to re-j
pent our wickednes, faithfully to beleue his word,
and fincerely to frame our Hues after the doctrine]
of the fame.
C An Admonition vnto the Reader.
ET vs knowe by thefe vgly fights,
And eke conflder well,
That our God is the Lord of mights,
Who rules both heauen and hell.
By whofe ftrong hand thefe monfters here
Were formed as ye fee,
That it mighte to the world appere,
Almightie him to bee.
AND BROADSIDES. 47
Who might alfo vs men haue formde
After a ftraunge deuife,
As by the childe of late deformde,
Appeareth in plaine wife.
What might thefe monfters to vs teache,
Which now are fent fo rife,
But that we haue Goddes wurd well preacht,
And will not mend our life ?
At which ftraunge fightes we meruel muche,
When that we doe them fee ;
Yet can there not be found one fuche,
That fo will warned bee.
And loke what great deformitie
In bodies ye beholde ;
Much more is in our mindes truly,
An hundreth thoufand folde.
So that we haue great caufe in deede,
Our finnes for to confeffe,
And eke to call to God with fpeede,
The fame for to redrefle.
Which if we wyl not fayle to doo,
And purely to repent,
He wyl, no doubt, vs comfort fo,
As fhal our foules contente.
Now fith our God fo louing is,
And ready to forgeue,
Why doe we not abhorre all vice,
And only to him cleaue ?
48 ANCIENT BALLADS
Sith he alfo his hande can {hake,
And fone deftroy vs all,
Why doe we not then feare and quake,
And downe before him fall?
Why doe we not amend, I faye,
Either for loue or feare ?
Why driue we of from day to daye,
And (inning not forbeare ?
Good lawes of late renewde wee fee,
Much finne for to fupprefTe ;
God graunt that they fulfilde maye bee,
To ouerthrow excefle.
O Lord, graunt vs alfo thy grace,
That, by repentance pure,
In heauen to haue a dwelling place,
For euer to endure.
Amen, quod W. F.
C Imprinted at London, at the Long Shop
in the Pultry, by John Aide.
C D
AND BROADSIDES. 49
Ane Complaint vpon Fortoun.
INCONSTANT warld, fragill and
friuolus,
With fein3eit Fortoun, quha con-
^^ fides in the
Sail find his lyfe cairfull and cruellus,
Led in this vale of wofull miferie ;
Quhat potent princes in profperitie,
Hes mo depofd from their imperiall places !
Hir craft quotidian we may cleirly fe,
As men in mirrouris may behauld their faces.
The worthie Bocas, in his morall buke,
The Fall of Princes plainly dois compyle ;
Amangs them all quha euer lykes to luke,
Sail finde Dame Fortounis fauour for a quhyle ;
For with the one eye mo can lauch and fmyle,
And with the vther lurke and play the loun ;
Sum to promotioun, and fome to plaine exile,
Lyke draw-well bukkets dowkand vp anddoun.
50 ANCIENT BALLADS
To pen the fpeciallis it paflis mony a hunder,
And makis the tyme ouer tidious to declare ;
Sum mo promouis and fum fho puttis to vnder,
And Turn rewardes with wandring heir and thair ;
And fum incaftrat captiues in the fhair,
And fum for flattie dois hir freindmip find ;
To all eftates vntruethfull, quhat fould mair,
Turnand her volt lyke woddercok in wind?
To paint her out it paflis mine ingyne,
How wonderfully me wirkes in all thir thingis !
Sum fra thair birth brocht vp with doggis and
fwine,
Tane fra the pleuch and placit in fait of kingis.
The brutell beift ane barbour wolfe vpbringis
The firft borne Remain callit Romulus,
Quhais blude as ^it into that regioun ringis,
By expectatioun of auld Amelius.
Cyrus ficlyke was be ane bitche vpbrocht,
Ground as a king ane cruell man of weir.
Pareis in Troy that all the toun forthocht,
Preferuit from flauchter be fouking of a beir.
And iwa was Thylaphus with ane hinde, I heir,
Medas with imates and maid ane michtie prince ;
Plato with beis quha did fie prudence leir,
That all men meruelled of his eloquence.
Without refpecl to blude royall or clan,
Pureanis promouit that na man wald prefume ;
Torquinius Prifcus, a baneift marchant man,
Chaift out of Corinth and cround a king in
Rome.
Siclyke was Seruius from ane fhipherd grome,
And Tullus Hoftilius fand her fauour neift ;
Is, was, and falbe quhill the day of dome,
Sic doubill dealing in Dame Fortounis breift I
AND BROADSIDES. 51
Quha findis hir freindfhip of fauour hes aneuch,
To warldly glore fho gydes them all the gait ;
Tuke fho not Gordias from the fpaid and pleuch,
And quickly placit him in a princes fait?
How far may Darius bragge of her debait,
Tane fra the ftabil ouer Perfia to ring ;
Pure Agathocles from a law eftait,
Ane potteris boy to be ane potent King ?
Of Juftine the fuinehird mo maid ane empriour,
Ouer Conftantinople ane king and cround him
thair ;
Gyges the gait-hird ane michtie conquerour,
To Lydia land me maid him lord and aire ;
And Wallancianus from his landwart fair,
Tane fra the pleuch to place imperiall ;
Cambyfes, Nero, be the contrair clair,
Was thair awin burreois to thair buriall.
Sa Fortoun mountit neuer man fa hie,
Foftered with folie,fuppofe me make them faine ;
Bot with ane tit fho turnis the quheill, 3e fie,
Doun gois their heid, vp gois their heillis againe !
Of Alexander to write I war bot vaine,
Ouer fifty landis he lord was at the leift ;
jit threttie dayis lay efter he was flaine,
Unbureit in Babell lyke a brutell beift.
Xerxes, quhofe armeis maid the riueris dry,
And fchippis fubumbragit all the feyis on breid,
Did fho not wait him with fie foule inuy,
Pray to Pericles, that put him to his fpeid ?
Of Julius Cefar gif thow lykes to reid,
In his triumphant toun victorious,
Slaine be his Senatis, fchamefully in deid,
By his awin kinfmen Brutus and CafTus
52 ANCIENT BALLADS
Sum auld examples heir I man induce,
To bring my purpofe to more fpeciall ;
Quha was mair worthie git I wald make rufe,
More ftout, more trew, nor hardy Hanniball ?
Dauter of Romaines, to Carthage ane caftell
wall,
The onely thing quhairin he maift reioyfit ;
Do quhar he docht in deidis marciall,
By his awin pepill petioufly depofed.
Siclyke was Sipio, faiklefly fchot furth,
That vinqueift Hanniball lyke a warriour wicht,
His vailiant'workes was weyit bot litils worth,
Quhen he was baneift with a bair gude nicht ;
Not lyke a captaine, nor a kindly knicht,
Bot lyke ane beggar baneift in exile ;
Sa Fortoun montit neuer man on hicht,
Bot mo can law him within a litill quhyle.
Alchebead of Athenis was Duke,
Of princely parents and ane royall race,
To keip his toun fie trauell undertuke,
He maid his fo-men fle befoir his face ;
To his rewarde he gat nane vther grace,
Ingraitly baneift to their awin grit fkaith :
And Tymiftocles in that famin place,
By their awin burgeffis thay wer baneift baith.
Experience teiches me not to flyte with Fortoun,
With auld examples that doisna thing belang vs ;
Marke James of Dowglas prefent Erie of Morton,
Ane of the beft that euer was borne amang vs ;
Danter of theuis that dayly dois ouer-gang vs,
Key of this countre that kepit vs from Ikaith ;
I fpeik na farther in feir thay fould gar hang vs,
Preichouris and poiettis are put to filence baith.
AND BROADSIDES. 53
Few things wer done hot Mortoun interprifit them,
Dumbar and Brichane and mony vthair bloke ;
Speik quhat thay pleis, he wrocht them and deuifit
them;
He and his freindis ay formeft in the flocke ;
He faucht 3our querrell as kein as ony cok,
Reuengit 3our murthers ma nor twa or thrie ;
Ane nobillman and of ane ancient ftoke,
His valiant deidis demereitis not to die.
C Ane of the fpeciallis did mentene 3our croun,
3our ferme proteclour in 3our tender 3eiris ;
He maid 3ow vp and all 3our fo-men doun,
His marciall manheid did mentein 3our weiris ;
Gif he did wrang, rewarde him as effeiris,
Gif he did gud, God wald he fould be tret ;
Bot as the prouerbe fpeikis, it plaine appeiris,
Auld men will die and barnes will fone fo^et.
Was he not rewler ouer 3our realme and
rigioun,
Quhill all was pacifeit be his prudent wit ?
Stude he not ftoutly be the true religioun,
Ane of the firft that maid the freiris to flit ?
Franke on the feildis, and formeft at the bit,
Without refpect to baggis or bodie to ;
faithfull fubiect, and fua he fal be 3it,
To do gude feruice, as I haue feene him do.
Than at Carbarrie hill he held a day,
With litill bludefhed Bothwell was put a-bake,
Quha flew 3our father and fibilly fled away,
Syne focht 3ourfelfe to bring this realme to fake.
How mony clawbackes than fuppofe thay crak,
Conuenit with Mortoun quhan Bothwel tuk the
chafe ?
54 ANCIENT BALLADS
Try or 36 tine him and trow not all thay fpak,
Lat workes beir witnes, vaine wordis fould haue
na place.
Sone efter that the Counfell cround 3ourfell,
Quhan godly Murray as a regent rang,
3it thair was fome that bauldly did rebell,
That to 3our lawis wald nouther ryde nor
gang.
Quha thair conuenit for to reuenge 3our wrang,
Albeit 3our action was thocht innocent?
It was the Dowglaffis douchtaly them dang,
And pleit 3our proces in that parliament.
Quha could declare our langfum lyfe in Leith,
Fechtand all day and fyne lay in our clais ?
Gif Lindefay lykes, that lord can tell 3ow eith,
Quha was 3our friendis or quha3our mortall fais,
Or quha gaid formeft breiftand vp the braies.
I dar not pen the fpeciallis, I do plaine 3ow;
Bot weill I wait, howeuer the warld now gais,
Thai find maift freindfhipwasfardeft than again
Syne at Langfyde feild 3our grace may ken,
Mortoun was thair ane man amang the reft ;
In Striuiling toun, out of his dowie den,
Maift lyke a fox thay fyrit him in his neft.
In Edinburgh Caftell quhair thay war pofleft,
He them deplaced that purpofit to undo 3ow.
Quhan 36 grow auld, I wait 36 will confeft,
Mortoun hes bene ane faithfull faruand to 3o
Quhan Regentis deit and all the lytes inlaikit,
The Counfell did conuene and fet ane day ;
AND BROADSIDES. 55
Thaycheifit him Regent in that rowme that waikit,
With fad adwife, for few or nane faid nay ;
Bot 3it I think thay playit 3our grace foule play,
Gif he was knawin than of thir crymes conuitf,
Gif he be faikles, furely I dar fay,
Thay haue defamit him with ane fulich trick.
To dant the theuis had he nocht mekill ado,
Abandoned the borders that na man durft rebell?
The Armeftrangis, Eluottis and the Johneftons to,
With twentie vther clans I can not tell,
During his dayis thai durft not ryde ane ell ;
The hirdis and hinde men in their labeis lay ;
Bot thair eftait, as now 36 fie 3ourfell,
All nicht to walke and fane to wirk all day.
Aganis grit lordis committing fmall offence,
With iniuft challenge thay aucht na man to
cheflbun ;
Mortoun hes ay bene vpricht with his prince,
But fpot of cryme or ony point of treflbun.
Albeit gude faruice be not tane in feafoun,
His workes may witnes he neuer fparit for
perrell ;
Laitly accufit but outher ryme or reffoun,
As findrie fchawis me for a faikles querrell.
Daft fulis defyis him becaufe thay finde him fage,
And cowartis contrarious for his hardiment ;
Young men for glaikrie can not agrie with age,
And waifteris inuyis him for his gouernement.
And facreit counfell can not be content
To fuffer lorfhippis in equalitie ;
3it I befeik 3our grace of gude intent,
To play the prince but parcialitie.
56 ANCIENT BALLADS
Adwife 30W weill, fen he hes not offendit ;
To keip fie fenattis it fall decore 3our land ;
Of rafche detreitis cums revv and may not
mend it,
As Scottifmens wifdome dois behinde the hand.
Wyfe lordis are ill ta make I vnderftand,
And trewly in kingis is to abhorre ;
This fempill counfall, fyr, is na command,
Bot wald to God that na man louit ^ow war.
FINIS, quod Sempill.
Imprintit at Edinburgh, be Robert Lekprewicke,
dwelling at the Netherbow.
The Plagues ofNorthomberland.
To the tune of Appelles.
HEN that the Moone, in Northum
berland,
After the chaynge, in age wellconne,
Did rife with force, then to withftande
^ The lyght and bright beames of the Sonne,
The forowfull dolers foone began,
Through Percies pryde, to many a man.
But then anone, the Weftmere Bull
Behelde the ryfmge of this Moone ;
Thinking that fhee had byn at full,
He haftyd then anone full foone,
With horfe and armes, and all his might,
From parfecl: daye to vncertaine lyght.
AND BROADSIDES. 57
When they in one confent were pyght,
With them was many an ignorant man ;
The Romyme lawes they wold redyght,
Through councell of fome blind Syr John,
Who neuer knewe Codes veryte,
But to rebellion then dyd agree.
For if they would of Gods word knowen,
Longe xxx yeres they haue had tyme,
Rebellion then had not byn fowen,
To brynge ther countre in fuch cryme ;
Their poyfon now, all men may fee,
That vnder fuger longe did lie.
What myfchyfe mouid the Perfies hart,
This enterpryfe to take in hand,
This for to playe a Rebelles parte,
In raifinge vp Northomberland ?
But looke, what feede by hym is fowen,
With fharp fythes downe it was foone mowen.
C That countre is in full fore plyght
That doth agaynft their pry nee contend,
Seeking their owne dreames to redyght,
The Popes precepts for to defend,
Lyke brutyfhe, peruerit, ignorant men,
That feekes before a lawe to ren.
C This venym longe a-breedinge was,
Which in the Perfies brefte did growe ;
The Bull in bellinge did not ceafle,
Till that the poyfon oute did flowe ;
So farr abroade the ftreames did ronne,
That backe agayne cold not retourne.
58 ANCIENT BALLADS
C This hatefull poyfon longe was hyde,
Under the cloake of amytie ;
The outward treafone was not fpyde,
But couerid with all courtefie ;
Their clofe vnlawfull confpiracion
Hath brought them to great dyfolacion.
C The hope vnfure was tranfytorye,
The which was in that clowdy Moone ;
Her falfe eclypes with all the glorye,
Her ioye vnflable was endid foone ;
Her fudden chaynge now tells vs all
That fuger fweet was blent with gall.
C What ftate now maye hymfelfe aflure
Longe here to lyue in quyetnes ?
What worldely ioye maye here indure,
In thofe where is no ftablenes ?
Wher lords and yerles in welth doth flowe,
From their hye ftate muft fall downe lowe.
C Now by their fall learne to be wyfe,
Both hye and lowe in eche degree ;
Let no falfe lyght deceaue your eyes,
As it hath done of late, you fee.
The falfe beames of the glyftringe Moone,
Now many a man it hath vndoone.
C For in the north me did fhine longe,
But now eclypfyd is her lyght ;
The Weftmere Bull that held fo ftronge,
Hee is depreuyd of his myght ;
For many tongs of them will tell,
How thefe to yerles falfe did rebell.
AND BROADSIDES. 59
And many a man more, as I heare,
That with thefe rebelles did take part,
Which can not thinke themfelues now cleare,
That in breft beares a doble hart ;
But as you haue begonne to brewe,
So are you found rebelles vntrue !
C The countre cleane you haue vndone ;
The Lord graunt ther fome better ftaye,
Or els will many a mothers fonne
For this curfle you another daye !
You leaue your wyues and childrene deare,
Lamentinge in moft wofull cheare.
C Now let vs praye, as we are bound,
All for our Queenes hyghe maiefte,
That fhee her enemies may confound,
And all that to rebelles agre ;
And plant true men vp in their place ;
The Lord from heauen now gyue her grace !
Finis, quod John Barker.
C Imprinted at London, in Fleete Streate, beneath
the Conduyt, at the figne of Saint John
Euangelift, by Thomas Colwell.
60 ANCIENT BALLADS
A merry new Song bow a Bruer meant to
make a Cooper cuckold, and how deere the Bruer
paid for the bargaine.
To the tune of, In Somer time.
F that you lift, now merry be,
Lend liftning eares a while to me,
To heare a Jong of a Bruer bold,
That meant a Cooper to cuckold.
The Cooper walked downe the ftreete,
And with the Bruer chanc'd to meete :
He called, Worke for a Cooper, dame ;
The Bruer was glad to heare the fame.
Cooper, quoth the Bruer, come hether to me,
Perchance I haue fome worke for thee :
If that thy doings I doe well like,
Thou malt haue worke for all this weeke.
The Cooper with cap and curtefie low,
Said, ready I am my tunning to mow ;
To doe your worke, fir, euery deale.
I doe not doubt to doe it well.
Then, quoth this luftie Bruer tho,
If thou my worke doeft meane to doe,
Come to me to morrow before it be day,
To hoope vp thefe olde tubs out of the way.
AND BROADSIDES. 61
And fo to make vp my merry rime,
The Cooper the next day rofe betime ;
To the Bruers gate he tooke his race,
And knocked there a great pace.
The Bruer leapt from his bed to the flore,
And to the Cooper he opned the dore ;
He mewed him his worke without delay ;
To the Coopers wife then he tooke the way.
The Cooper he called at mind at laft,
His hatchet he had left at home for haft :
And home for his hatchet he muft goe,
Before he could worke ; the caufe it was fo.
But when he came his houfe fomwhat nere,
"His wife by fortune did him heare :
Alas ! faid me, what fhift mail we make ?
My hufband is come, you will be take !
O Lord ! fayd the Bruer, what fhall I doe ?
How mail I hide me ? where mail I goe ?
Said fhee, if you will not be efpide,
Creepe vnder this fat yourfelfe to hide.
The Bruer he crept vnder the fame,
And blundering in the Cooper came :
About the /hop his tubs he caft,
To finde out his hatchet all in haft.
Then his curft wife began to prate,
If thou let out my pig, ile breake thy pate !
A pig, faid the Cooper, I knew of none ;
If thou hadft not fpoke, the pig had bin gone.
62 ANCIENT BALLADS
If it be a fow-pig, faid the Cooper,
Let me haue him rotted for my fupper :
It is a bore-pig, man, faid me,
For my owne dyet, and not for thee.
It is hard if a woman cannot haue a bit,
But ftraightway her hufband muft know of it.
A bore-pig, faid the Cooper, fo me thinks ;
He is fo ramim, fie, how he flinkes !
Well, fayd the Cooper, fo I might thriue,
I would he were in thy belly aliue.
I thanke you for your wim, good man ;
It may chance it mall be there anon.
The Bruer that vnder the fat did lye,
Like a pig did aflay to grunt and crie :
But, alas ! his voice was nothing fmall ;
He cryed fo big that he mard all.
Wife, faid the Cooper, this is no pig,
But an old hog, he grunteth fo big !
He lift vp the fat then by and by ;
There lay the Bruer like a bore in a {lie.
Wife, faid the Cooper, thou wilt lie like a dog !
This is no pig, but a very old hog :
I fweare, quoth the Cooper, I doe not like him ;
He knock him on the head ere ile keepe him.
O Lord ! faid the Bruer, ferue me not fo ;
Hold thy hand, Cooper, and let me goe,
And I will giue thee both ale and beere,
To find thy houfe this fixe or feauen yeare.
AND BROADSIDES. 63
I will none of thy ale nor yet of thy beere,
For feare I be poifoned within feauen yeere !
Why, fayd the Bruer, if thou miftruft,
Hold here the keyes of my beft cheft ;
And there is gold and filuer ftore,
Will ferue thee fo long and fomewhat more :
If there be ftore, quoth the Cooper, I fay,
I will not come emptie-handed away.
The Cooper went and filled his hat ;
The Bruer fhall pay for vfing my fat !
The hooping of twentie tubs euery day,
And not gaind me .fo much as I doe this way.
When he came againe his houfe within,
Packeaway, quod he, Bruer, with your broken fhin ;
And vnder my fat creepe you no more,
Except you make wifer bargaines before.
The true defcription of a monfterous Chylde,
borne in the lie of Wight , in this prejent yeare
of oure Lord God MDlxiiij. the month of
Qftober, after this forme , with a clufter of longe
beare about the nauell : the Fathers name is
James Johnjun, in the parys of Frefwater.
OR mercy, Lorde, with one accorde,
To the we call and crye,
That fo doth fhow, in earth below,
Thy wonderous workes daylye.
64 ANCIENT BALLADS
Within the rafe of fyue yeres fpace
Moche monfterous fights hath byn,
Of fundry kynde ; man, bare in mynde,
And fone turne from thy fyn.
Repent and pray, amende, I fay,
Leue of thy wicked wayes ;
The tyme drawes on, thou muft be gone.
Beholde this later dayes.
Of infans yonge, agone not longe,
With calues and pigges which were,
The tookens, loo, rmfhappen foo,
Whiche cryeth to vs great feare.
Now this late fyght in He of Wight,
Straungely it is to tell,
Two children borne, neuer beforne
Suche wonders there befell.
The one I fynde, of woman kynde,
Hauyng her fhape all right ;
The other is tranfpofed this,
As pleafeth the Lorde of myght.
Where natures art doth not her part,
In workyng of her fkylle,
To fhape aright, eche lyuely wight ;
Beholde, it is Gods wyll !
Loo, here you fee, before your eye,
A man-childe to beholde ;
A babe gyltles, deformyd this,
Mode wonderous to be tolde.
AND BROADSIDES. 65
No caruer can, nor paynter then,
The fhape more ugly make,
As itfelfe dothe declare the truthe ;
A fyghte to make vs quake !
Let vs all feare, and in mynde beare,
This forme fo monfterous :
That no hurt wraught, nor euill hath thaught,
What mall become of vs.
That doth ftill fyn, and neuer lyn,
As men heapyng vp treafure,
Agyanft the day of wrath, for aye,
Of Gods heauy difpleafure.
Nowe praye wee all, bothe great and fmall,
Unto the Lorde of might,
To gyue vs grace in heauen a place
There to attayne his fight !
All ye that dothe beholde and fee this monftrous
fight fo ftraunge,
Let it to you a preachy ng be, from fynfull lyfe
to chaunge :
For in this latter dayes trulye, the Lord ftraunge
fyghts doth mowe,
By tokens in the heauens hye, and on the yearth
belowe.
This dothe demonftrate to vs, the lyfe whiche we
lyue in ;
A monfter, oughly to beholde, conceyued was in fyn:
In fhape vnparfett here to vewe, that nature hathe
not dreft,
A chylde now borne, by porte mofte true, this
from the mothers breft :
66 ANCIENT BALLADS
For he that doth this fhape beholde, and his owne
ftate will knowe,
Will make the proude pecocke fo bolde, beare
downe his tayll full lowe :
Nowe, Lorde, fende downe thy Holy Spryte, the
confortor of joye,
For to direct owr wayes aright, to dwell with
thee for aye ;
And graunt we maye amende our lyfe, accordyng
to thy worde,
In euery age, bothe manne and wyfe, nowe
graunt vs this, good Lorde !
Finis, quod John Barkar.
C Imprynted at London, in Flete Strete, at the
fygne of the Faucon, by Wylliam Gryffi th, and
are to be folde at his fhop in Saint Dunftons
churchyarde, in the weft of London, the viij.
daye of Nouember.
The Jirft part of the Mar chants Daughter
of Brijlow.
To the tune of The May dens Joy.
|EHOLD the touchftone of true loue,
Maudlin the Mar chants daughter
of Briftow towne,
Whofe firme affedlion nothing could
moue,
Such fauour beares the louely browne.
AND BROADSIDES. 67
ff A gallant youth was dwelling by,
Which many yeeres had borne this mayden
great good will ;
She loued him as faythfully,
But all her friendes withftood it ftill.
I The young man now, perceiuing well,
He could not get nor win the fauour of her
friendes,
The force of forrowes to expell,
To view ftrange countries he intendes.
C And now to take his laft farewell
Of his tnue loue, his faire and conftant Maudlin,
With muficke fweete that did excell
He playes under her window fine.
C Farewell, quoth he, my owne true loue !
Farewell, my deare and cheefeft treafure of my
hart!
Through fortunes fpight, that falfe did proue,
I am inforc't from thee to part.
Into the land of Italy
There will I wafte and wearie out my dayes in
woe ;
Seeing my true loue is kept from me,
I hold my life a mortal! foe.
C Faire Briftow towne, therefore, adue,
For Padua muft be my habitation now,
Although my loue doth lodge in thee,
To whom alone my hart I vow.
With trickling teares thus did he fing,
With fighes and fobs defcending from his hart
ful fore ;
68 ANCIENT BALLADS
He fayth, when he his hands did wring,
Farewell, fweete loue, for euermore !
Faire Maudlin, from a window hie,
Beholdes her true loue with his muficke where
he flood,
But not a word fhe durft reply,
Fearing her parents angry mood.
C In teares (he fpendes the dolefull night,
Wifhing herfelfe (though naked) with her
faithful friend ;
She blames her friendes and fortunes fpight,
That wrought their loues fuch luckles end.
C And in her hart fhe makes a vow
Cleaneto forfake her countrey and her kinsfolke
_ all,
And for to follow her true loue now,
To bide all chaunces that might fall.
C The night is gone, and the day is come,
And in the morning very early doth fhe arife ;
She gets her downe to the lower roome,
Where fundry feamen me efpies.
C A gallant maifler among them all
The maifler of a faire and goodly fhip was he
Which there flood waighting in the hall,
To fpeake with her father, if it might be.
C She kindly takes him by the hand^
Good fir, fhe fayd, and would you fpeake with
any heere :
Quoth he, faire mayde, therefore I fland.
Then, gentle fir, I pray you come neere.
AND BROADSIDES. 69
C Into a pleafant parlour by,
With hand in hand fhe bringes this feaman all
alone,
Jighing to him moft pitteoufly,
She thus to him did make her mone.
:C She falles upon her tender knee,
Good fir, me fayd, now pitty you a maydens
woe,
And proue a faythfull friend to me,
That I to you my griefe may mew.
Sith you repofe fuch truft, he fayd,
To me that am unknowne, and eke a ftranger
heere,
Be you affured, proper mayde,
Moft faythfull ftill I will appeare.
IE I haue a brother, fir, quoth me,
Whom as my lyfe I loue and fauour tenderly ;
[n Padua, alas ! is he,
Full ficke, God wot, and like to die.
IE And faine I would my brother fee,
But that my father will not yeeld to let me go ;
Wherefore, good fir, be good to me,
And vnto me this fauour fhow.
C Some fhip-boyes garments bring to me,
That I difguifd may get away from hence un
knowne,
And vnto fea He goe with thee,
If thus much friendfhyp may be fhowne.
C Faire mayde, quoth he, take here my hand,
I will fulfill each thing that now you defire :
70 ANCIENT BALLADS
And fet you fafe in that fame land,
And in the place where you require.
C Then giues me him a tender kifle,
And fayth, your feruant, gallant maifter, I will
be,
And proue your faythfull friend for this,
Sweete maifter, then forget not me.
C This done, as they had both decreed,
Soone after, early, euen before the breake of
m day,
He bringes her garments then with fpeed,
Wherein me doth herfelfe array.
C And ere her father did arife,
She meetes her maifter as he walked in the hall ;
She did attend on him likewife,
Euen till her father did him call.
C But ere the mar chant made an end
Of all thofe matters to the maifter he could fay,
His wife came weeping in with fpeed,
Saying, our daughter is gone away.
C The marchant, much amazed in minde,
Yonder vilde wretch entic't away my child,
quoth he ;
But well I wot I fhall him find
At Padua in Italic.
C With that befpake the maifter braue :
Worfhipfull marchant, thither goes this pretty
youth,
And any thing that you would haue
He will performe it, and write the trueth.
AND BROADSIDES. 71
!C Sweete youth, quoth he, if it be fo,
Bearemealetterto the Englifh marchants there,
| And gold on thee I will beftow,
My daughters welfare I do feare.
C Her mother takes her by the hand,
Faire youth, quoth me, if there thou doft my
daughter fee,
Let me thereof foone vnderftand,
And there is twenty crownes for thee.
C Thus through the daughters ftrange difguife,
The mother knew not when me fpake vnto her
child :
And after her maifter ftraight (he hies,
Taking her leaue with countenance milde.
C Thus to the fea faire Maudlin is gone,
With her gentle maifter, God fend them a
merry wind !
Where we a while muft leaue them alone,
Till you the fecond part do finde. FINIS.
"he fecond part of the Marchants Daughter
of Brijiow.
To the tune of The Maidens Joy.
ELCOME, fweet Maudlin, from thefea,
Where bitter ftorms and cruel tem-
pefts did arife :
The pleafant banks of Italy
We may behold with ioyfull eies.
72 ANCIENT BALLADS
Thankes, gentle maifter, then quoth (he,
A faithful friend in al my forows thou haft
beene;
If fortune once doth fmile on me,
My thankfull heart mall well be feene.
Bleft be the land that feedes my loue,
Bleft be that place whereas he doth abide ;
No trauell will I fticke to proue,
Whereby my good will may be tride.
Now will I walke, with ioyfull heart,
To view the town wheras my darling doth re-
maine,
And feek him out in euery part,
Untill I do his fight attaine.
And I, quoth he, will not forfake
Sweete M. in al her iorneys vp and downe ;
In wealth and woe thy part He take,
And bring thee fafe to Padua towne.
And, after many weary fteps,
In Padua they fafe ariued at the laft ;
For verie ioy her heart it leapes,
She thinkes not on her perills paft.
But now, alas, behold the lucke !
Her own true loue in woful prifon doth me find,
Which did her heart in peeces plucke,
And greeude her gentle mind.
Condemnd he was to die, alas,
Except he would his faith and his religion turne :
But rather then he would go to mafle,
In fiery flames he vowed to burne.
AND BROADSIDES. 73
Now doth faire Maudlin weepe and waile,
Her ioy is changd to weeping, forow, greefe
and care ;
But nothing can her plaints preuaile,
For death alone muft be his fharei
She walkes vnder the prifon walles,
Where her true loue doth ly and languifh in
diftrefle ;-
Moft wofully for foode he calls,
When hunger did his heart opprefle.
He fighes, and fobs, and makes great mone ;
Farwel, faid he, fweet England, now for euer ;
And al my friends that haue me known
In Briftow towne with wealth and ftore !
But moft of al, farewel, quoth he,
My owne true loue, fweete M., whom I left
behind !
For neuer more I fhal thee fee ;
Woe to thy father moft unkind !
How wel were I, if thou waft here
With thy fair hands to clofe vp both thefe
wretched eyes ;
My torments eafie would appeere,
My foule with ioy mould fcale the ikies.
When M. heard her louers mone,
Her eies with tears, her hart with forowfilled was;
To fpeak with him no means was known,
Such grieuous ... on him did pafTe.
Then caft me off her ladies attire,
A maidens weede upon her back me feemly fet ;
74 ANCIENT BALLADS
To the iudges houfe me did enquire,
And there fhe did a feruice get.
She did her dutie there fo wel,
And eke fo prudently herfelf fhe did behaue,
With her in loue her maifter fell,
His feruants fauour he doth craue.
Maudlin, quoth he, my hearts delight !
To whom my hart in nrme affections tide,
Breede not my death through thy difpight,
A faythful friend I will be tride.
Graunt me thy loue, faire maide, quoth he,
And at my hands defire what thou canft deuife,
And I wil grant it vnto thee,
Whereby thy credite may arife.
fir, fhe faid, how bleft am I,
With fuch a kind and gentle maifter for to meete !
1 will not your requeft denie,
So you will grant what I do feeke.
I haue a brother, fir, fhe faid,
For his religion is now condemnde to die ;
In loathfome prifon he is laide,
Oppreft with care and miferie.
Graunt me my brothers life, fhe faid,
And to you my loue and liking I wil giue :
That may not be, quoth he, faire maide,
Except he turne, he may not Hue.
An Englifh friar there is, fhe faid,
Of learning great, and of a parTmg pure life ;
AND BROADSIDES. 75
Let him be to my brother fent,
And he will finifh foone the ftrife.
Her maifter granted this requeft.
The mariner in friars weed me doth aray,
And to her loue, that lay diftreft,
She doth a letter ftraightway conuay.
When he had read her gentle lines,
His heauy hart was rauifhed with inward ioy ;
Where now me was ful wel he finds,
The friar likewife was not coy,
But did declare to him at large
The enterprife his loue for him had taken in
hand :
The yong man did the friar charge,
His loue mould ftraight depart the land.
Here is no place for her, he faid,
But woful death and danger of her harmles life ;
ProfefTing truth I was betraid,
And feareful flames muft end our ftrife.
For ere I wil my faith denie,
And fweare myfelf to follow damnde antichrift,
He yeeld my bodie for to die,
To liue in heauen with the higheft.
O fir, the gentle friar faid,
For your fweete loue recant and faue your
wiftied life :
A wofull match, quoth he, is made,
Where Chrift is loft, to winne a wife.
76 ANCIENT BALLADS
When fhe had wroght al means me might
To faue her friend, and that me faw it wold not
be,
Then of the iudge me claimd her right
To die the death as well as he.
For looke what faith he doth profefle,
In that fame faith be furethat I williueand dy ;
Then eafe vs both in our diftrefle,
Let vs not Hue in miferie.
When no perfwafion would preuaile,
Nor change her mind in anything that fhe had
faid,
She was with him condemnd to die,
And for them both one fire made.
And arme in arme, moft ioy fully,
Thefe louers twain vnto the fire then did go,
The mariners, moft faithfully,
Were likewife partners of their woe.
But when the iudges vnderftood
The faithful frindfhip in them al that did re-
maine,
They faude their Hues, and afterward
To England fent them home againe.
Now was their forrowes turnde to ioy,
And faithful louers had now their harts defire ;
Their paines fo wel they did imploy,
God granted what they did require.
And when they were in England come,
And to mery Briftow arriued at the laft,
AND BROADSIDES.
77
Great ioy there was of al and fome,
That heard the dangers they had pad.
Her father he was dead, God wot,
And eke her mother was ioyful of her fight ;
Their wifhes (he denied not,
But wedded them with hearts delight.
Her gentle maifter me defirde
To be her father, and at church to giue her then;
It was fulfild as me requirde,
Unto the ioy of all good men !
Finis.
Printed at London for William Blackwall.
78 ANCIENT BALLADS
A briefe fonet declaring the lamentation of
Beckles y a Market 'Towne in Suffolke, which
was in the great winde vpon S. Andrewes eue
pitifully burned with fire, to the value by efti-
mation of tweentie thoufande pounds ^ and to the
number of four ejc ore dwelling houfes, befides a
great number of other houfes, 1586.
To the tune of Labandalajhotte.
Y louing good neighbours, that comes
to beholde
Me, fillie poore Beckles, in cares many-
folde ;
In forrow all drowned, which floated of late,
With teares all bedewed, at my wofull ftate :
With fire fo confumed, moft wofull to vewe,
Whofe fpoyle my poore people for euer may rue ;
When well you have vewed my dolefull decay,
And pittie haue pierced your heartes as it may,
Say thus, my good neighbours, that God in his ire
For finne hath confumed me, Beckles, with fire.
For one onely parifh myfelfe mought vaunt,
To match with the braueft for who but will graunt ;
The fea and the countrey me fitting fo nye,
The frefh-water river fo fweete running by,
My medowes and commons fuchprofpect of health,
My fayers in fomer fo garnifht with wealth,
My market fo ferued with corne, flefh, and fifh,
And all kinde of victuals that poore men would
wilh;
AND BROADSIDES. 79
That who but knewe Beckles, with fighing may
faye,
Would God of his mercie had fparde my decaye !
But, O my definition ! O moft difmall day !
My temple is fpoyled, and brought in decay,
My market fted burned, my beautie defaced,
My wealth ouerwhelmed, my people difplaced !
My muficke is wayling, my mirth it is moone,
My ioyes are departed, my comfort is gone ;
My people, poore creatures, are mourning in woe,
Still wandring, not wotting which waye for to goe,
Like fillie poore Troians, whom Sinon betrayde ; A rude feiowe,
But, God, of thy mercy releeue them with ayde ! b . fiering his
* * J chimney, pro
cured their ca-
O daye moft vnluckie ! the winde lowde in flue, lamltic '
The water harde frofen, the houfes fo drye ;
To fee fuch a burning, fuch flaming of fire,
Such wayling, fuch crying, through fcourge of
Gods ire,
Such running, fuch working, fuch taking ofpayne,
Such whirling, fuch haling, fuch reauing in vaine ;
Such robbing, fuch ftealing, from more to the lefle,
Such difhoneft dealing, in time of diftrefTe ;
That who fo hard-hearted, and worne out of grace,
But pittie may pierce him to thinke of my cafe.
But, O my good neighbours, that fee mine eftate,
Be all one as Chriftians, not Hue in debate;
With wrapping and trapping each other in thrall,
With watching and pryeng at each others fall,
With houing, and fhouing, and ftriuing in lawe,
Of God nor his Gofpell once ftanding in awe ;
Lyue not in heart-burning, at God neuer wreft,
To Chrift ance be turning, not vfe him in ieft,
8o ANCIENT BALLADS
Liue louely together, and not in difcorde ;
Let me be your mirrour to Hue in the Lorde !
But, though God haue pleafed, for finne to
plague me,
Let none thinke there liuing is caufe they fcape
free ;
But let them remember how Chrift once did tell,
Their finnes were not greater on whom the wall
fell:
But leaft you repent ye, thus much he doth fay,
Be fure and certaine ye alfo decaye.
Let none, then, perfwade them fo free from all
thrall,
But that their ill-liuing deferueth a fall ;
Thus, farewell ! Forget not my wofull annoye ;
God fend you good new yeare and blefle me with
ioye !
Finis quod D. Sterrie.
Foelix quern faciunt aliena pericula cautum.
Ech ftately towre with mightie walks vp prope,
Ech loftie roofe which golden wealth hath raifed,
All flickering wealth which flies in firmed hope,
All glittering hew, fo haught and highly praifde,
I fee, by fodaine ruine of Beckles towne,
Is but a blaft if mightie loue doe frowne.
At London :
Imprinted by Robert Robinfon, for Nicholas
Colman of Norwich, dwelling in S.
Andrewes Church Yarde.
AND BROADSIDES.
81
A proper newe fonet declaring the lamentation
of Beckles [a market towne iri\ Suffolke, which
was in the great winde vpon S. Andrewes eue
lafl paft moft pittifully burned with fire, to the
lojfe by eft im at ion of t wen tie thoufande found
and vpwarde, and to the number of foure /core
dwelling houfes, 1586.
To Wilforfs Tune.
ITH fobbing fighes, and trickling teares,
My ftate I doe lament,
Perceiuing how God's heavie wrath
Again ft my finnes is bent ;
Let all men viewe my woefull fall,
And rue my woefull cafe,
And learne hereby in fpeedy fort
Repentaunce to embrace.
For late in SufFoclke was I feen
To be a ftately towne,
Replenimed with riches ftore,
And had in great renowne ;
Yea, planted on a pleafant foyle,
So faire as heart could wifh,
And had my markets, once a weeke,
Well ftorde with flefh and fifh.
A faire frefh riuer running by,
To profite me withall,
Who with a criftall cleered ftreame
About my bankes did fall ;
82 ANCIENT BALLADS
My fayres in fomer welthely
For to increafe my ftore ;
My medowes greene and commons great,
What could I wifh for more ?
But now beholde my great decay,
Which on a fodaine came ;
My fumptuous buildings burned be
By force of fires flame :
A carelefTe wretch, moft rude in life,
His chymney fet on fire,
The inftrument, I muft confefle,
Of God's moft heauie ire.
The flame whereof increafing ftil
The bluftering windes did blowe,
And into diuers buildings by
Difperft it to and fro ;
So, kindling in moft grieuous fort,
It waxed huge and hie ;
The riuer then was frozen, fo
No water they could come by.
Great was the crye that then was made
Among both great and fmall ;
The wemen wept, and wrong their handes,
Whofe goods confumed all ;
No helpe was found to flacke the fyre,
Theyr paines was fpent in vaine ;
To beare theyr goods into the fieldes
For fafegarde they were fayne.
And yet, amid this great diftrefle,
A number fet theyr minde
To filtch, and fteale, and beare away
So much as they could finde ;
AND BROADSIDES. 83
Theyr neighbors wealth, which wafted lay
About the ftreetes that time,
They fecretly conuayde away,
O moft accurfed crime !
Thus, from the morning nyne a clocke
Till four aclocke at night,
Fourefcore houfes in Beckle's towne
Was burnd to afhes quite ;
And that which moft laments my heart,
The houfe of God, I fay,
The church and temple by this fyre
Is cleane confumde away.
The market-place and houfes fay re,
That ftood about the fame,
Hath felt the force and violence
Of this moft fearefull flame ;
So that there is no Chriftian man
But in his heart would grieue,
To fee the fmart I did fuftaine
Vpon faint Andrewes eue.
Wherefore, good Chriftian people, now
Take warning by my fall,
Liue not in ftrife and enuious hate
To breed each other thrall ;
Seeke not your neighbors lafting fpoyle
By greedy fute in lawe ;
Liue not in difcord and debate,
Which doth deftruction draw.
And flatter not yourfelues in finne,
Holde not Gods worde in fcorne,
Repine not at his minifters,
Nor be not falfe forfworne ;
84 ANCIENT BALLADS
For, where fuch vices doth remaine,
Gods grace will neuer be ;
And, in your health and happie ftate,
Haue yet fome minde on me,
Whofe fonges is changd to forrowes fore,
My ioyes to wayling woe,
My mirth to mourning fighes and grones,
The which from griefe doth growe ;
My wealth to want and fcarfetie,
My pleafure into payne,
All for the finne and wickednefTe
Which did in me remaine.
If then you wifh profperitie,
Be louing, meeke and kinde,
Lay rage and rancour cleane afide,
Set malice from your minde ;
And liue in loue and charitie,
All hatefull pride deteft,
And fo you mall with happie dayes
For euermore be bleft.
And thus I ende my wo full fong,
Befeeching God I may
Remaine a mirrour to all fuch
That doe in pleafure ftay ;
And that amongeft their greateft mirth
And chiefeft ioye of all,
They yet may haue a heart to thinke
Of Beckles fodaine fall.
Finis, T. D.
At London :
Imprinted by Robert Robinfon, for Nicholas
Colma[n], of Norwich, dwelling in S.
Andrewes church yard.
AND BROADSIDES. 85
Franklins Farewell to the World.
With his Chriftian Contrition in Prifon> before
his Death.
ARWELL, vaine world, whofe com
forts all are cares,
Whofe gaines are lofle, whofe liberty
are fnares,
Whofe gold is droffe, whofe wifedome is meere
folly,
W T hofe wealth is woe, whofe feruice is vnholly,
Whofe life is death, whofe ioy is grief e and
fadnes,
And all that's in thee is a map of madnes.
Who fo (like me) long in the world hath beene,
And hath fo many alterations feene,
How fome from greatnes fall, fome rife from little,
How mans foundation flip'ry is and brittle,
How tranfitory things doe mount and fall
At His great pleafure, that created all ?
Who fo doth note, and beare thefe things in minde,
Shall fee how Fortunes breath, like wau'ring winde,
Doth blow vp men like bladders with ambition,
And caft them headlong downe to black perdition.
That this is true the world may plainly fee,
And view a fearefull fpectacle in mee ;
For I that had enough of fading pelfe,
And need not want (except I would myfelfe),
I that had fence, difcretion, reafon, wit,
And could difcerne things fitting and vnfit,
86 ANCIENT BALLADS
I whom my high Creator made a creature,
Adorning me with guifts of art and nature ;
Yet of all this I made no further vfe,
But Gods, kings, countryes, and my foules abufe.
From crime to crime ftill plundging further in,
With my continuall adding finne to finne,
Till finne on finne at laft brought fhame on fhame,
And fhame on fhame paid the defert of blame.
My thoughts furmis'd th' Almighties eyes were hid,
And that he faw not what I fecret did,
But He (whofe fight eclipfeth moone and fun)
Hath brought to light the deeds in darknes done ;
He, in his iuftice, iuftly hath reueaPd
My hainous faults, which I had long conceal'd ;
He hath laid open my notorious crimes
To bee a warning to enfuing times ;
That they mall neuer dare to doe the like,
Leaft (like to me) his vengeance them doe ftrike.
Then let a dying friend good counfell giue
To all eftates and fexes how they Hue :
Oh, let my ending of my loathed breath
Make all men care to fhun eternall death !
And though my life hath bin polluted foule,
Yet iudge with charity my finfull foule ;
For were the finnes of all the world in me,
Yet (with the eye of faith) I cleerely fee
That Gods great mercy, like a boundles flood,
Through my bleft Sauiour and Redeemers blood,
Hath freely pardon'd all that I haue done,
(By th' interceffion of his onely Sonne,)
So that my ftedfaft faith doth me perfwade
My peace for euer with my God is made.
Hee that raif'd Lazarus from out his graue,
He that vpon the Croffe the theife did faue,
J Tis he alone, and onely none but hee,
AND BROADSIDES. 87
Hath raifd me vp from death, and faued me.
Yea, though I all my life-time haue liu'd euill,
A feruant and a flaue vnto the deuill,
Yet heer's the ioy that makes my courage bolde,
My Sauiour (Thrift hath tooke me to his folde ;
Hee true repentance vnto me hath giu'n,
And for me (through his merits) purchas'dHeau'n.
Then world, flem, Sathan, and grim death, auaunt !
Doe all your worft, my faith you cannot daunt :
He, that for me hath conquered death and hell,
Hath granted me that I with him fhall dwell ;
And though my life eternall fire did merit,
Yet God in mercy hath receiu'd my fpirit.
Farwell, my countrey, by whofe iuftice I
For mine vniuft and bloody a6lion dye !
Farewell, moft facred and renowned king,
Whofe equall iudgement through the world doth
rin g>
Whofe zeale to right, and whofe impartiall hand
Are the maine prop on which this ftate doth ftand !
Long may he raigne in his maieftick feate,
And, as on earth, bee made in Heau'n more great.
Let his pofterity and royall race
Be all infpir'd with the fupernall grace,
And of his feed let vs haue alwaies one
To fway the fcepter of Great Britaines throne !
Defend them, Lord, from foule and body harmes,
From home-bred traytors, and from foreigne
armes,
That in thy fauour they may Hue and dye,
And dye to liue with thee immortally !
FINIS.
Printed at London, for Henry GofTon.
88 ANCIENT BALLADS
C The xxv. orders of Fooles.
T A Y a while with pacience, my freends,
I you pray,
Of the orders of fooles fomewhat I
wyll fay :
Fiue and twentie iuft a quarterne is, ye know,
Euery foole in his foolifhnes wyll I fhow.
And, as the prouerbe doth fhow very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C Many fooles the carte of fin now-a-dayes doth
draw,
Nowrifhyng their finne againft all right and law ;
Though that the way to hell be very playne,
Yet lyke a foole I aduife thee to returne agayne.
If thou in foolifhnes ftyll doeft dwell,
Thou malt haue a bable and a bell.
C He is a foole that his finnes can not hate,
Naught young, worfe olde, fuch is his eftate :
This olde foole is glad of that name,
Defiryng all men to take parte of the fame.
This foole muft haue in hand, without fayle,
A bable, a bell, or els a fox-tayle.
C Of fooles yet I fynd another forte,
Which are caufers of lying and yll reporte ;
And he is a foole, both euen and morrow,
That nothyng wyll lend, but all thynges borrow ;
AND BROADSIDES. 89
And, as the prouerbe doth fhow very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C Of fooles yet another forte doth come,
Which neuer feketh for to haue wifedome ;
Many fuch fooles wifedome difdayne,
Yet for their foolifhnes they mall fuffer payne ;
And, as the prouerbe doth {hew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole which to others doth preach and
tell,
And yet this foole is ready himfelf to go vnto hell :
Liue thou vprightly, be caufe of no blame,
If thou doo not, the more is thy fhame;
And, as the prouerbe doth fay very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole, and euer be {hall,
That others iudgeth, and himfelf worft of all :
This foole is blynd, frantike, and wood,
Without all reafon iudgeth bad thinges good ;
And, as the prouerbe doth {hew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole that wifedome doth efchue,
For no good counfell can bring him to vertue :
This foole, which fcorneth his neighbour faft,
Shall be fcorned iuftly himfelf at the laft ;
And, as the prouerbe doth {hew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
90 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Another foole yet I doe here fynd,
Which can not kepe clofe the fecrets of his mynd : \
This is a naturall foole, and vndifcrete,
Which can not hyde his owne counfell and fecrete ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole that in youth wyll not prouyde,
In age muft he fterue, or in pouertie abyde :
This is a foole, and of the number one,
Which in the fommer can make no prouifion ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole that getteth his goods wrongfullye,
For his heires after him wyll fpend it vnthriftelye :
This fooles golde is his God, wrongfull ye got,
Why, thou foole ! thy golde is muk and clay,
knoweft thou not ?
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole, whether he be man or wyfe,
Whiche ftyll deliteth in difcorde and ftryfe :
Such fooles their owne flefhto the bones may gnaw,
That contendeth in matters fcant worth a ftraw ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole that on mefTage is fent,
And, when he is on his way, forget whether he went :
AND BROADSIDES. 91
This foole is worthy of the bable and the bell,
For of all other fooles he doth excell ;
And, as the prouerbe doth (hew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C Yet of fooles a whole dozen I haue efpyed,
And lead in a ftryng, together they are tyed :
Thefe fooles you may know by their fauour,
For, lyke the afpen leafe, with euery wynd they
wauer ;
And, as the prouerbe doth mew very playne,
A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from
the rayne.
C He is a foole that thinketh it great wonder,
When God ftryketh by lightnyng and thunder :
Alas ! we dayly, without all dread, commit
Much curfed vice, for lacke of godly wit ;
And, as the prouerbe doth mew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C All youth I doo lyken vnto fooles blynd,
That vnto their parents are rebels vnkynd ;
Thow vnkynd chylde, and foole difobedient,
Remember what goods thy freends on thee fpent ;
And, as the prouerbe doth mew very playne,
A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from
the rayne.
C He is a foole that greatly doth flatter and boaft,
When he thinks leaft, he (hall taft of the roft !
This foole at laft is caft out of fauour,
For flatteryng pleafeth no wife man of honour ;
92 ANCIENT BALLADS
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole, and voyd of all prudence,
Which to vayne tales doth geue all his credence
Therfore remember this, both low and hye,
That flatterers fpeake fayre when they doo lye ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a naturall foole, and a very daw,
That from doing good his neighbour doth with
draw :
Such fro ward fooles, all goodnes they defile,
If their neighbours doe good, then they reuile ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole, and greatly vnprouable,
That in all his doings he is vnfortunable,
But in his misfortune he is fo blynd,
He neuer confidereth no remedy in mynd ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
C He is a foole, that himfelf doth applye
Behynd his neighbours backe to fclander with
enuye :
Such beaftly fooles commonly are well apayd,
Which thinke all is well, that falfely is wayd ;
AND BROADSIDES. 93
And, as the prouerbe doth {hew very playne,
A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the
rayne.
Yet more fooles there be, which be vncom-
mendable,
That vfeth yll manners alway at the table :
Df pleafant nurtour they haue no heede,
3ut beaftly entend as fwyne alway to feede ;
And, as the prouerbe doth mew very playne,
A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from
the rayne.
[ Many fooles there be, in thefe our dayes,
Which feeme to be wyfe, yet folow foolifh wayes ;
fherfore I haue tolde vnto you very playne,
What foolifh nes in thefe dayes in many doth re-
may ne ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from
the rayne.
He is a foole, that wyll ftyll defyre
-lis owne death, to runne into the fyre :
And he is a foole, that hath no mynd deuoute,
3ut in the temple ftyll walketh aboute ;
And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne,
A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from
the rayne.
GOD grant that all fooles wifedome may learne,
And that they may good from yll alway difcerne ;
Then no more fooles we may them call,
But wyfe men, and wifedome fhew they {hall.
94 ANCIENT BALLADS
God grant that on all partes we may now begin
To repent of our follye, and flye from our fin !
FINIS quod T. Gr.
C Imprinted at London by Alexander Lacie, for
Henrie Kyrkham, dwellyng at the figne of the
Blacke Boye, at the middle North dore of
Paules church.
The wonders of England.
-
'559-
HEN date of (1553) was expirde ful,
And Gods wrath rypt, ready to fall,
His fworde from (heath did ferce out
pul,
And to the heauens beganne to call,
Saying : on England now I mall
Plage prince, prophet, and people all,
For contemptes fake !
Go, Death, inclofe their kyng in clay,
And, Sunne, withdraw the light of day,
And darkenes make.
No fooner fayd, but ftraight was done,
The Englifh kyng Edward God tooke ;
Light of foule from England gone,
Darkenes made them blyndely looke ;
AND BROADSIDES. 95
Truth and fayth of people forfooke,
Their prophetes taken from the booke,
And pryfoners made ;
The bats and owles from holes out came,
Wolues and beares, and cruel Caim
Did England inuade.
When darknes thus echwhere was fen,
And nightly vermin rulde the roft,
No birds might fyng in that late euen,
By land, by fea, or by the coaft,
But ftraight were brought to firy poft,
Or els to Lolers tower toft,
And kept in cage,
From meate and frend fomtimes fo bard,
That lomy wales they fed on hard,
Hunger to fwage.
Thys darkenes fo extremely bode,
That none from other fcarce were known ;
On noble, fage, learned and good,
Thefe wormes of darknes fpared none,
And pourde their poifon abrod fo flowne
On prophet, people, and prince their own,
Whych is by name
Elizabeth, by God nowe Quene,
To Englands ioy ryght wel is fene,
They fought to fhame.
The fun thus quentch, and day made dark,
And cockes in coopes from croing kept,
Then ftraight thefe owles began to wark,
And to the churches fearcely lept,
And with new broumes them clene out fwept,
From God, from king and Scripture fet
96 ANCIENT BALLADS
Vpon the wall,
And in their ftede fet ydols long,
And made people, with prayfe and fong,
On them to call.
Thus vermin darke the maftry had
Of realme, of prince, of noble and all :
And yet not herewith fully glad,
Away they fought to faue theyr fall,
And counfayle gaue a forayne, to call
To match our quene and crowne royal,
All for their pope
To haue their kingdome raygne alway,
And they themfelues to beare the fway,
And blindly grope.
Al this not yet their mindes fyllyng,
For no regarde to natiue land,
Fearing again Gods light mould fpring,
Brought mermial law forthwith in hand
Againft al fuch as would withftand
Their wicked raygne and cruell band,
And Gods part take ;
Or els in priuye places founde,
Praying to God proftrate on ground,
His wrath to flake.
Thus, rulyng all in darkenes blynde,
Came miferies with heape on heape ;
No lore was taught to fyl the mynde,
Godly to lyue, and good fruite reape,
But al for Church they cride and threape,
Reftore, reftore, euen as good cheape,
As ye dyd take !
And be ye fure ye mall attayne
To heauens blyffe wythout more payne,
And fo mendes make.
AND BROADSIDES. 97
Lories of townes and holdes came on,
Ruine of people beganne eche-where ;
Rich men made beggers, and captains bond,
Armour for warre our enmyes toke clere ;
When al thys was fene in this realme here,
Yet, fayd thefe owles, we nede not feare,
For all was well.
No lofle haue we by heritikes gone,
Ne for Calis for whych ye mone
Whych here do dwell.
Yet God as God, ftyll alwaies one,
Though angry, yet began to ftay,
Plaging the realme and people eche one,
At laft with teares beganne to faye :
Oh England! England! fore doeft thou ftray ;
My martirs bloud med out thys day,
In wofull plyght !
The infantes yong that fatherles be,
Wyth wydowes poore crying to me,
Wythdrawes my fpyte.
With that the flcies their hue did change,
And light out-fhone in darkenes fteede ;
Up, faid this God with voice not ftrange,
Elizabeth, thys realme nowe guyde !
My wyll in thee doo not thou hyde,
And vermine darke let not abyde
In thys thy land !
Straightway the people out dyd cry,
Prayfed be God and God faue thee,
Quene of England !
Finis, quod I. A.
C Imprinted at London by lohn Awdeley.
H
98 ANCIENT BALLADS
A Ballad without title, having a large cut
reprejenting five figures, that of Death with his
dart purfuing them, with legends underneath
each, as follows :
The Prieft. " I praye for yov lower."
The King. " I defende yov fower."
The Harlot. " I vanquelh yov fower."
The Lawyer. <f I helpe yov iiij to yovr right."
The Clown. " I feede yov fower."
Death. " I kill yov all."
In the background in a bower are feated the foldier, the
harlot, the lawyer, and prieft. A feftive board furnifhed with
viands is fupported on the back of the clown, who refts on his
hands and knees. Death approaching with his dart clutches
at fomething on the table. Birds of prey are hovering in the
air.
A.RKE well the effect: purtreyed here
in all :
The prelate with his dignities renowne,
The king that rules, the lawyer in the
hall, *
The harlot and the countrey toyling clowne,
Howe and which way together they agree.
And what their talke and conference might be.
Ech to their caufe, for gard of their degree,
And yet death is the conquerour, you fee.
The bifhop vaunts to pray for thother fower,
As who wold fay, he holds the palme and prife,
And that in him and his moil holy power
It doth depend their caufes to fuffife ;
I pray, faith he, that Chrifts continual grace
May them conduct: and guide in euery place.
AND BROADSIDES. 99
The puifTant king, he claimeth to defend,
The bifhop and the other three like cafe,
In all conflictes or broyles vnto the end,
Who but his power their enemies doth deface ;
He mufters men, and fends them forth afarre
In their behalf to maintaine deadly warre.
The fmiling queane, the harlot cald by name,
Stands ftifFe vpon the blafe of beauty braue ;
To vanquim all me makes her prized clame,
And that me ought the golden fpurs to haue,
For by her flights me can bewitch the beft,
The ftrong, the lawyer, and the reft.
The lawyer he, in title of his clame,
Prefumeth next, by law and iuftice true,
Somwhat the more to eleuate his name ;
For law, faith he, all difcord doth fubdue,
It endeth ftrife, it giues to ech his right,
And wholy doth contention vanquifh quight.
The contry clowne, full loth to lofe his right,
Puts in his foot and pleads to be the chiefe ;
What can they do, faith he, by power or might,
If that by me they haue not their reliefe ?
For want of food they mould all perim than ;
What fay you now to me, the countrey man ?
For want of me they mould both Hue and lacke,
For want of me they could not till the earth,
,And thats the caufe I cary on my backe
This table here of plenty not of dearth ;
I feaft them all, their hunger I appeafe,
For by my toyle they feede euen at their eafe.
ioo ANCIENT BALLADS
Death that aloofe in ftealing wife doth ftand,
Hearing the vaunts that they begin to make,
Straight fteppeth forth, with piercing dart in hand,
And boldly feemes the quarell vp to take,
Are they, faith he, fo proud in their degree ?
Lo, here by me foone conquered mall they bee !
And ftanding by to giue their later foode,
He entreth ftraight, the conquer! to attaine ;
Thers none of them, faith he, the chiefeft bloud,
That valiant death intendeth to refraine.
He crop their crowne and garlands frefh and gay,
And at the laft He mrine them all in clay.
I pray for you all, I vanquifh you all,
I help you all to your right, I feede you all,
I defend you all, I will kill you all.
(***) The authors apoftrophe to the reader.
Here may you fee what as the world might be,
The rich, the poore, Earle, Cefar, Duke and King,
Death fpareth not the chiefeft high degree,
He triumphes ftill on euery earthly thing ;
While then we Hue, let vs endeuour ftill
That all our works agree with Gods good will.
AND BROADSIDES. 101
C A godly ballad declaring by the Scriptures
the plagues that haue infued ivhordome.
EFRAIN of youth thy vain defire,
Subdue thy lufts inordinate ;
SupprefTe the fparks, left in the fire,
To quenche them it wilbe to late.
Thou knowfte not what a poifon ftrong,
Thou letteft breed within thy breft,
Whiche, if thou keep within thee long,
Wil caufe thee care and muche vnreft.
Though it feem fweet in thy conceit,
Beware thou neuer nurifh it ;
The fifh is by a plefant bait
Conftrained to the deadly bit.
Like as the woorm, in Affrick bred,
Whofe fling deftroith with venem colde,
Is not fo noifome to be fled,
As luft that reigneth vncontrolde.
If reafon cannot rule thy wil,
But vice wil reign through appetite,
Then let the harmes, that happen ftil
Through lufts, refrain thy fond delight.
Remember eke that in Noes dayes,
When vice through luft was rifly growne,
The whole world by fuche wicked waies,
By rage of rain was ouerthrowne.
102 ANCIENT BALLADS
The king of Egipt, Pharao,
Was he not plagued of God mofte iuft ?
Bothe he and all his houfe alfo,
Onely for he gaue place to Iuft.
So read we of Abimelech,
The mighty king of Gerera,
That God gaue him a greuous check
For lufting after Saraa.
Luft did deftroy the Sodomites,
As is in Scripture manifeft ;
For Iuft were flain the Sichamites,
When Sichem Dina had oppreft.
Luft did the wits fo muche inchaunt
Of Putipher, thegipcians wife,
That Jofeph, for he would not graunt
Her fute, me brought nigh from his life.
Bethfaba, naked in bath,
Bewitched fo king Dauids brain,
That giltles he procured hath
Her hufband Vry to be flain.
The cheef among the Ifraelites,
For noughty Iuft and eke offence,
Wrought by the meanes of Moabites,
Were hanged vp by Gods fentence.
For Iuft Zimry the Ifraelite,
As witnefTeth Gods holy woord,
And Cofby eke the Madianite,
Perifhed bothe through Zimphas fwoord.
AND BROADSIDES. 103
The Ifraelites, through flefhly luft
Towards their enmies doughters, were
Alluerd by them falfe Gods to truft,
Whiche all their thraldomes caufed clere.
Sampfon the fonne of Monoa,
That mighty judge in Ifrael,
For luft he had to Dalila,
Himfelf to kil greef did compel.
Lo, him that none coulde foil in fight,
Whofe puiflant arme the lion flew,
Whofe ftrength put thoufands vnto flight,
By luft one woman ouerthrew.
Luft in the tribe of Beniamin
Caft twenty thoufand down and flue ;
So that in all, for that one fin,
Were but fix hundred left on Hue.
If Ammons luft had not defilde
His fifter Thamar with inceft,
He had not of his life been fpoild,
At Abfolon his brothers feaft.
If luft had not impaird the name
Of Salomon, that witty king,
He had not loft his roiall fame,
Nor fallen to idolls wormiping.
If Herod, in his finful life,
Had not by luft been fore mifled,
[e had not kept his brothers wife,
Nor ftricken of John Baptifts head,
104 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Now what be thefe but tokens fure,
That God wil plage all thofe that vfe
To lead their Hues in luft vnpure,
And without fear themfelues abufe ?
But fome doo think God dooth not fee,
To eche mannes dooing in all things,
Becaufe fome feem ful fafe to be,
And profper ftil in il liuings.
But if fuche wil geue ear vnto
Gods woord, which dooth the truth vs tel,
Shal foon perceiue thofe that liue fo
Shall fudenly go down to hel.
Therfore to God now let vs pray
That he wil gide our harts aright,
To flee from filthy lufts alway,
And him to pleafe with all our might.
And alfo for our gracious Queene,
That God long profper her, and then
Good dayes among vs may be feene,
Whiche unto vs he graunt. Amen !
Finis, A. I.
{[ Imprinted at London, at the long mop adioin-
ing vnto Saindt Mildreds churche in the Poul-
trie, by John Allde, Anno Domini 1566,
Nouembris 25.
AND BROADSIDES.
105
A merie newe Ballad intituled, the Pinnyng
of the Bafket : and is to beejonge to the tune of
the doune right Squire.
WAS my hap of late to heare
A pretie iefte,
The which by me, as may appeare,
Is here exprefte,
With tantara, tantara, tantara,
For this belonges thereto;
With bitter broyles, and bickeryng blofe,
And ftrife, with muche adoe.
Marke then, for now this maruell ftrange
I will declare :
A joigner fent his man to change
Money for ware,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
Unto the toune he gofe,
And hafted to the chandlers mop,
His money to difpofe.
But fee the chaunce, the chandler drie
Was gone to drinke,
Or els, poore foule, to plaie thereby
At fice and fincke,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
Whereat his wife did chafe,
And out me went then, in a rage,
To feeke her good man, Rafe.
io6 ANCIENT BALLADS
She ranged forthe, and could not refte
Vpon the molde,
When fhe hym founde, the bedlam beafte
Beganne to fcolde,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
Quoth fhe, Vnthriftie knaue,
If thou be at the good ale tappe,
Thou haft that thou wouldeft haue !
This quiet man acquainted was
With her rough talke,
And paciently doeth with her pafTe,
And homeward walke,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
At home me founde hym plaie,
Till he had ferued his cuftomer,
And then beganne the fraie.
For hauyng doen, Hold here, quoth he,
The bafket, dame ;
Goe, goffip, giue it hym, and fee,
You pinne the fame,
Tantara, tara, tantara ; :
Now doeth the fporte beginne ;
Knowe thou, quoth me, fir knaue, that I
The bafket will not pinne !
Her houfebande, fore infenfte, did fweare
By ftockes and ftones,
She mould, or els he would prepare
To bafte her bones,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
Quoth he, He tame your tongue,
And make you pinne the bafket to,
Doubt not, ere it be long.
AND BROADSIDES.
Then with a baftian that ftoode by,
Whiche he did fmell,
At her he freely did let flie,
And bumbde her well,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
Vnguentum Bakaline
Did make this houfwife quickly pinne
The bafket paflyng fine.
This paftyme pleafed well the page,
That all this while
Sat on his horfe, and fawe this rage
And bitter broyle,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
The good wife doeth retire,
And fwears me will no more deny
Her houfebandes iuft defire.
The bafket pinde, the page departes,
When all is paied ;
He fpurres his cutte, the jade ftartes,
He was fo fraied,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
In hafte he homewarde rides,
Yet when he comes, for tariyng long,
His maifter chafes and chides.
His miftres too, as one halfe madde,
Beganne to raue ;
Becaufe too long he taried had,
She calde hym knaue,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
He fpake his miftres faire,
And tolde her me mould knowe the caufe
Of his long tariyng there.
107
108 ANCIENT BALLADS
Then boldly he began his tale,
And tolde them all,
Betwixt thefe two, how Beaudly Ale
Had bred a braull,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
Quoth he, the chandlers wife
Would not intreated be to pinne
The balket for her life,
Till he to beate her did beginne,
With bounfyng bloofe,
Then quickly fhe in pofte to pinne
The bafket goofe,
Tantara, tara, tantara;
The joigner ioyes at this,
But fure his wife, to heare this tale,
Was quite bereft of blifTe.
The joigners wife ame,
Whofe gallant grace
Was chaunged, now beganne to frame
A frounyng face,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
Quoth fhe, For all his bloofe,
The knaue the bafket mould haue pinde
Hymfelf, fpight of his nofe !
Here then her houfebande did beginne,
Quoth he, If I
Should bid you, wife, the bafket pinne,
Would you deny ?
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
To hym fhe plainly tolde
That fhe the bafket would not pinne,
Thereof he might be bolde !
AND BROADSIDES. 109
Then thei hereof for to conferre
Doe hafte to bedde,
And here you fee a feconde iarre,
The bafket bredde,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
The thirde doeth now beginne,
The fillie page, to get fome meate,
In hafte doeth hye hym in.
No whit amazde, vnto the maide
He ftraight doeth goe,
The queane of hym no more afraide,
Beganne to crowe,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
Caulyng hym knaue and fot,
And vfed hym, that, in the ende,
A broken head he got.
Henceforthe take heede of makyng ftrife,
Thou knaue, quoth me,
Betwixt thy maifter and his wife,
Where loue fhould be,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
With greef her wordes he heares ;
But yet it grieued hym more to feele
The blood about his eares.
Yet vp he ftept full ftoutly then,
And bomde me Jone ;
That me lent he fo paide againe,
He made her grone,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
And getts his fupper too,
And made her fitte and eate with hym,
Although with muche adoe.
no ANCIENT BALLADS
His maifter on the morowe nexte
Of this was glad ;
His miftres was herewith fo vexte,
It made her mad,
Tantara, tara, tantara ;
This happe brynges ioye and care,
For now the joigners wife to pinne
The bafket muft prepare.
Her houfebande by his mans good happe
Doeth hope to winne,
And makes her now, fpite of her cappe,
The baiket pinne,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
Againe he doeth replie ;
Will you the bafket pinne or no ?
She ftoutly doeth denie.
Then with a bedftaffe he to bafte
Her doeth beginne :
Yet would me not, for all his hafte,
The bafket pinne ;
Tantara, tara, tantara,
This combate beyng doen,
Unto a Juftice houfe hard by,
In hafte this dame doeth runne.
And to this ioylly Juftice wife
Difcoueryng all,
Betwixt her fpoufe and her what ftrife
Did late befall,-
Tantara, tara, tantara,
Whom me would faine haue bounde
Unto the peace, if by the happe
There might fuche meanes be founde.
AND BROADSIDES.
\ 1 1
Of this her frende the francke confent
She feme had wone,
To doe for her incontinent
What might be doen,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
This Juftice wife now gofe,
Her goflipps fute in hafte vnto
Her houfebande to difclofe.
Her houfebande, hearyng by this tale
How all thynges flood,
In mynde he at this iefte fo ftale
Did laugh a-good ;
Tantara, tara, tantara,
A little more adoe,
This Juftice would have taught his wife
To pinne the bafket too.
Now all good wiues, beware by this
Your names to blot ;
The bafket pinne with quietnefle,
Denie it not,
Tantara, tara, tantara,
Be counfailed by your frende ;
And of this bafkettes pinnyng now
Enough, and fo an ende.
Finis, quod T. Rider.
C Imprinted at London, for Henrie Kirkham,
and are to be fold at his (hop, at the little North
doore of Paules, at the figne of theBlackeBoye.
112 ANCIENT BALLADS
C The defcription of a monftrous pig, the
which was farrowed at Hamfled befyde London,
the xv i day of October, this frefent ye are of our
Lord God, M.D. Ixii.
HIS prefent yeare of our Lord God, a
thoufand, fyue hundred, three fcore
and two, one Robert Martin of Ham-
fted, in the countie of Mid. befyde
London, had a fow, the which brought forth viii
piggs, the xvi day of October, whereof vii were
of right fhape and faffion, but the eight was a
wonderous monfter, and more monftrous then any]
that hath bene feene before this time, as you may
fe by this picture. It hath a head contrary to all
other of that kynd ; it hath a face without a nofe
or eyes, fauing a hole {landing directly betwen
the two eares, which eares be broad and long, lyke
the eares of a bloude-hound, and a monftrous body,
like vnto a thing that were flean, without heare.
It hath feet very monftrous with the endes of
them turning vp wards, lyke vnto forked endes.
This monfter lyued two houres, and the reft of
them lyued about halfe a day.
C Thefe ftraunge and monftrous thinges
Almighty God fendeth amongeft vs, that we
fhuld not be forgetfull of his almighty power,
nor vnthankeful for his great mercies fo plenti
fully powred vpon vs, and efpecially for geuyng
vnto vs his moft holy word, whereby our lyues
ought to be guyded : and alfo his wonderful
tokens, wherby we ought to be warned. But if
AND BROADSIDES. 113
we will not be inftrudled by his worde nor warned
by his wonderfull workes, then let vs be aflured
that thefe ftraunge monftrous fightes do forefhew
vnto vs that his heauy indignation wyl ftiortly
come vpon vs for our monftrous liuyng. Where
fore let vs earneftly pray vnto God that he wyll
geue vs grace fpedely to repent our wickednefles,
Faithfully to beleue his holy Gofpel, and cencerely
to frame our lyues after the doctrine of the fame,
to whome be all prayfe, honour, and glory.
Amen.
C Imprinted at London, by Alexander Lacy, for
Garat Dewes, dwellyng in Poules church yarde,
at the eaft end of the church.
C A very proper Dittie :
To the tune of Light ie Loue.
|[ Leaue lightie loue, Ladies, for feare of yll name,
And true loue embrace ye, to purchace your Fame.
| Y force I am fixed my fancie to write,
Ingratitude willeth mee not to re-
fraine :
Then blame me not, Ladies, although
I indite
What lighty loue now amongft you doth raigne.
Your traces in places, with outward allurements,
Doth mooue my endeuour to be the more
playne :
114 ANCIENT BALLADS
Your nicyngs and ticings, with fundrie procure-
mentes,
To publifh your lightie loue doth mee con-
ftrayne.
C Deceite is not daintie, it corns at eche dim,
Fraude goes a fifshyng with frendly lookes ;
Throughe frendfhip is fpoyled the feely poore fifti,
That hoouer and fhouer vpon your falfe hookes ;
With baight you lay waight, to catch here and
there,
Whiche caufeth poore fifshes their freedome to
lofe:
Then loute ye and floute ye, wherby doth appere
Your lighty loue, Ladies, ftyll cloaked with
glofe.
C With DIAN fo chafte you feeme to compare,
When H EL LENS you bee, and hang on her
trayne :
Mee thinkes faithfull Thifbies be now very rare,
Not one CLEOPATRA, I doubt, doth remayne ;
You wincke and you twincke, tyll Cupid haue
caught,
And forceth through flames your louers to fue :
Your lyghtie loue, Ladies, too deere they haue
bought,
When nothyng wyll mooue you their caufes
to rue.
C I fpeake not for fpite, ne do I difdayne
Your beautie, fayre ladies, in any refpect :
But ones ingratitude doth mee conftrayne,
As childe hurt with fire, the fame to neglect ;
For proouing in louyng, I finde by good triall,
When beautie had brought mee vnto her becke,
AND BROADSIDES. 115
She flaying, not waying, but made a deniall,
And, fhewyng her lightie loue, gaue mee the
checke.
C Thus fraude for frendfhip did lodge in her breft ;
Suche are moft women, that, when they efpie
Their louers inflamed with forowes oppreft,
They ftandethen with Cupid againft their replie;
They taunte, and they vaunte ; they fmile when
they vew
How Cupid had caught them vnder his trayne ;
But warned, difcerned the proofe is moft true
That lightie loue, Ladies, amongft you doth
reigne.
C It feemes, by your doynges, that Crefled doth
fcoole ye,
Penelopeys vertues are cleane out of thought :
Mee thinkes, by your conftantnefle, Heleyne doth
rule ye,
Whiche both Greece and Troy to ruyne hath
brought.
No doubt, to tell out your manyfolde driftes,
Would mew you as conftant as is the fea fande :
To trufte fo vniuft, that all is but fhieftes,
With lightie loue bearyng your louers in hande
C If ARGVS were lyuyng, whofe eyes were in
nomber
The peacockes plume painted, as writers replie,
Yet women by wiles full fore would him cumber,
For all his quicke eyes, their driftes to efpie ;
Suche feates, with difceates, they dayly frequent,
To conquere mennes mindes, their humours to
feede,
That bouldly I may geue arbittrement
Of this your lightie loue, ladies, indeede.
ii6 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Ye men that are fubiect to Cupid his ftrooke,
And therin feemeth to haue your delight,
Thinke, when you fee baight, theres hidden a
hooke,
Whiche fare wyll bane you, if that you do bight :
Suche wiles and fuche guiles by women are wrought,
That halfe their mifchefes men cannot preuent ;
When they are moft pleafant vnto your thought,
Then nothyng but lightie loue is their intent.
C Confider that poyfon doth lurke oftentyme
In fhape of fugre, to put fome to payne,
And fayre wordes paynted, as dames can define,
The olde prouerbe faith, doth make fome fooles
faine !
Be wife and precife, take warning by mee ;
Truft not the crocodile, leaft you do rue ;
To womens faire wordes do neuer agree,
For all is but lightie loue, this is moft true.
C ANEXES fo daintie example may bee,
Whofe lightie loue caufed yong IPHIS his woe ;
His true loue was tryed by death, as you fee,
Her lightie loue forced the knight therunto ;
For fhame then refrayne, you ladies, therfore,
The cloudes they doo vanim, and light doth
appeare ;
You cannot diflemble, nor hide it no more,
Your loue is but lightie loue, this is moft cleare.
C For Troylus tried the fame ouer well,
In louyng his ladie, as Fame doth reporte ;
And likewife Menander, as ftories doth tell,
Who fwam the fait feas to his loue to reforte,
So true, that I rue fuch louers fhould lofe
Their labour in feekyng their ladies vnkinde,
AND BROADSIDES. 117
Whofe loue thei did prooue, as the prouerbe
now goes,
Euen very lightie loue lodgde in their minde.
C I touche no fuche ladies as true loue imbrace,
But fuche as to lightie loue dayly applie ;
And none wyll be grieued, in this kinde of cafe,
Saue fuche as are minded true loue to denie ;
Yet frendly and kindly I mew you my minde ;
Fayre ladies, I wifli you to vfe it no more ;
But fay what you lift, thus I haue definde,
That lightie loue, ladies, you ought to abhore.
C To truft womens wordes in any refpect
The danger by mee right well it is feene,
And loue and his lawes who would not neglect,
The tryall wherof mofte peryllous beene ?
Pretendyng the endyng if I haue offended,-
I craue of you, ladies, an anfwere againe ;
Amende, and whats faid mail foone be amended,
If cafe that your lightie loue no longer do rayne.
C FINIS. By Leonarde Gybfon.
Imprinted at London, in the vpper end of
Fleetlane, by Richard Jhones ; and are to be
folde at his mop, ioyning to the South-wefte
Dore of Saint Paules church.
ANCIENT BALLADS
Sapartons Alarum to all fuch as do beare
the name of true Jouldiers, in England or elf-
wheare.
L Mars his men, drawe neere,
That warlike feates embrace,
Sit downe a while, and harken heere,
A feruinge fouldiers cafe.
Laye downe the fhiuered fpeare,
And eke the battered fhielde ;
From trumpets found withdraw thine eare,
And harke, in open field,
The true complaint of one,
Whofe gaine by feruice got
Will fcarfely yelde a hungry boone
To caft into the pot.
If euer warlike wighte
Hath ferued his time in vaine,
In hope to haue bin well requighte,
And hath receiued difdaine,
In faith, then, I am he,
Such one that for my parte
Haue ready bin full willinglye,
With hand and eeke with harte,
To ferue my prince in fielde,
Whiles life had bearing breath,
As one that minded not to yelde,
Nor forced life or death.
AND BROADSIDES. 119
The fiery cannons thump
The cragged fcull that Hues,
Whofe force by inwarde charge is wonte
To fpoyle poore fouldiers Hues,
Could neuer force me yet
The enemies face to fhonne,
If captaines courage femed fit
The conqueft to haue wonne.
And for the time, perchaunce,
I was accepted then,
And promifed to haue aduaunce
As foone as other men.
I fpeake as founde I haue ;
What thoe ? I am contente,
For Saparton now waxeth graue,
Some youthfull yeares are fpente.
Tis not the curled head,
Nor yet the frifled heare,
That courage giues in time of neede
To weld thunweldy fpeare.
Some youthfull imps I knowe,
That beares a patting grace,
If they to pitched fielde mould goe,
Durft fcarfly (hew their face.
But when that all is don,
Tis manhood makes the man ;
Match not the candell with the funne,
No praife deferue you than.
If courage craues a fame,
Remaining in the breaft,
120 ANCIENT BALLADS
Then manhood needes muft make his claime
For to excell the refte.
Though Venus ftriue with Mars
To get the vpper grounde,
At length yet fhall the barded horfe
Exceede both hauke and hounde.
And, luftie laddes, to you,
Let not your courage quell ;
Good hap hereafter may enfue,
Though I good hap do fell.
C Coafte on apace, althoe
Light horfeman trace the fbyle ;
Encounter marpely with thy foe,
Make hauocke of the fpoyle.
Efteeme not my yll hap,
Nor weye it ought at all ;
The wight that fcapes the cannons clap
Runnes yet to further thrall.
O Mars, bewaile thy man,
Becaufe he hath fuche wronge !
In dolefull tunes, O ruftick Pan !
Now helpe to waile this fonge.
So thus my leaue I take ;
O fouldier, now farewell :
No more to do now will I make,
But God preferue Queene EL.
Finis. lohn Saparton.
Imprinted at London, in Fleeteftreete, by William
How, for Richard Johnes, and are to be folde
at his ihoppe vnder the Lotterie houfe.
AND BROADSIDES.
121
A godly ditty or prayer to be fong vnto God
for the preferuation of his Church, our Queene
and Realme, againft all Traytours, Rebels, and
papifticall enemies.
Preferue thy feruaunt, Lord,
Elizabeth, our Queene ;
Be thou her fhield and fword,
Now let thy power be feene.
That this, our queene annoynted,
May vanquifh al her foes ;
And, as by thee appoynted,
Let her lay fword on thofe.
Geue, Lord, true faythful hartes
To vs, her fubiecles al,
That we play not the partes
Of thefe traitours that fal
Both from their God and prince,
And from their lawful othes ;
All fuch, O Lord, conuince,
And geue them ouerthrowes.
Syng this after the tune of the cxxxvij Pfalme, which begins,
When as we fat in Babilon ; or fuch lyke.
|UR liuyng God, to thee we cry,
Now tend vnto our playnt ;
Behold thy church and family,
Which enmies feeke to faynt ;
And though our fyns haue moued thee
Juft plagues on vs to poure,
Yet let thy Chriftes death fliortly
Thy wrath vp cleane deuour.
122 ANCIENT BALLADS
Correct vs, Lord, by thine own hand,
And leaue vs not to thofe
That do thee and thy truth withftand,
Like diulyfh deadly foes ;
For better is it for vs, Lord,
Into thy handes to fall,
Then vnto them for to accord
Which in hell perim {hall.
Behold, O Lord, thine enmies rage
Againft thee and thy Chrift ;
Not our fyns they feeke to afwage,
But thy truth to refift.
And {hall our fyns then be a let
For thee them to withftand,
Seing againft thee they be fet ?
No, Lord, fet to thy hand.
For thine the glory is, not ours,
Which they feeke to fuppres ;
Bend, therfore, Lord, thine hoft of powrs,
And this thy caufe redres ;
Refift thefe rebels and traytours,
With papiftes euery one,
Which thy poore people fo deuours
In euery nacion.
Let not the wicked thus preuayle,
To vexe thy church and fayntes ;
But ftroy them from the head to tayle,
Let none bewayle their playntes !
Lord, heare the cry of fatherles
And wyddowes, which do mone,
The which thefe enmies do oppres
With mifchiefes many one !
AND BROADSIDES. 123
Defend, O God, our gracious queene
From pope, rebel, and all ;
And as by her thy woorkes be feene,
So let thy wrath now fall
Upon all thofe that vexe thy truth,
Our queene, our realme and ftate,
And let their vicious prankes of ruth
Light vpon their own pate !
So fhall thy name be magnified ;
So mail thy power be knowne ;
So mail our Chrift be fanclified
By them that be his owne :
Wherefore, O Lord, graunt our requeftes,
Which here to thee we make,
And make vs loue and lyue thy heftes
For thy Chrift Jefus fake !
Finis, quoth loh. Awdely.
C Imprynted at London, by lohn Awdely.
The Groome -porters /awes at Mawe, to be
obferued in fulfilling the due orders
of the game.
i.
|F you chaunge hands, it is the lofle of
the fet.
2. If you renounce, it is the lofTe of
the fet.
3. If you leade when your mate fhoulde, it is
the lofle of that game and vied cardes.
124 ANCIENT BALLADS
4. If you lofe dealing, it is the lofle of fower
cardes ; but if the lofer of the dealing deale not
againe, you acquite the fower, and no gaine to
either of both parties.
5. If you looke either on the afked carde or
the bottome carde, it is the lofTe of that game and
vied cardes, in whom the fault is found.
6. If you roub (not hauing the ace) you lofe
fower and al the vied cards, although you lay
downe the fame carde which you tooke vp.
7. If you make out the carde when your mate
rubbeth, it is the lofTe of fower, for the roubber
muft make out the carde himfelfe.
8. If you turne vp the ace of hartes, you
gaine fower thereby.
9. If you turne vp the ace of hartes, and
thereby make either partie aboue xxvj, the contrary
part muft haue liuings ; but if the contrary parte
bee xxv, by meanes whereof liuings fets them out,
then is he who turned vp the ace of hartes to
make for the fet, fo that he make not one game
nor the firft tricke, without the confent of both
parties.
10. The partie that afketh a carde may not
vie any carde before the firft tricke be played.
11. You may not vie it after your card is led,
but the contrary part may.
12. Three cardes crofled, no carde by any
meanes giuen backe.
13. Neither partie may giue backe his owne
vied card, though none be crofled.
14. You may not afke a carde to fet the con
trary parte or your felfe at liuings or out.
15. Prouided alwaies that, if the contrary parte
bee xxiij or aboue, by reafon that fower fets the
AND BROADSIDES. 125
other partie behinde the liuinges, it fhalbe law-
full for the partie which is behinde to afke a carde,
although the carde fo afked put the other to liuings.
1 6. Prouided alfo that, if you meane to lead
a helpe, you may vie it vpon your owne afked
carde, fo as it be done before the helpe be out of
your hand ; the contrary part may pledge you a
card after he feeth your helpe vpon the boord, fo
as it be done before his owne card be played.
C Of the horrible and wofull dejiruttion of
So dome and Gomorra.
To the tune of the Nine Mufes.
HE Scripture playne doth mow and
tell
How Lot in Sodome towne did dwell,
Amongft the Sodomites vile ;
He did rebuke their noughty Hues,
Both yong and olde, both men and wiues,
Why do you yourfelues defile ?
He often times, with watry eyes,
Their caufe he did lament.
He wept in hart, in greeuous wife,
And bad them to repent,
Defiring, and praying,
From finne they mould refrayne,
Leaft body and foule bee
In euerlaflyng payne.
126 ANCIENT BALLADS
C God doth abhorre that whorifh bed,
Whiche thoufands now therin are led,
And therin ftyll doth dwell ;
They yeld their foules for facrifice
To filthy finne in diuers wife,
Vnto the paynes of hell.
You rauenyng needy men, quoth he,
That riches haue in ftoare,
Geue to the poore, I fay to thee,
The whiche corns to thy doore ;
To fatherlefle and wydowes, too,
To pyttie them take payne ;
You furffetters and dronkardes, now
From this your finne refrayne.
C Then all in vayne Lot preached ftyll,
They all did folow their felfe wyll,
For that was their defire ;
For his counfell good they parTed' fmall,
In filthy finne they wallowed all,
As filthy fwyne in myre ;
Then did the Lorde commaund that Lot,
That he mould foone depart
From amongft the Sodomites fo whot,
For they mould feele great fmart ;
The angell then to hym he faide,
Come, Lot, and hafte awaye,
For tyll the tyme that thou be gone,
Nothynge be done there maye.
C The angell faid, Looke you not backe,
To fee that wofull fight and wracke,
Which on them now {hall light ;
For you out of the towne are brought,
And are efcaped from their wicked thoughts,
Wherin they do delyght :
AND BROADSIDES. 127
Yet Lots wyfe me turnde backe agayne,
As foone as fhe was gone ;
For her offence fhe turned was
Into a huge fait ftone,
Where fhe doth ftande continually,
By Goddes decreed judgement,
Becaufe fhe brake, and did forfake
Goddes good commaundement.
C The gates of Heauen God opened than,
So fyer and brymftone from thence came,
And on Sodome downe did rayne :
Gomorra towne they did excell,
As thicke as hayle the fyre it fell,
And deftroyed was euery man ;
Both man and beaft were burnd to mucke,
And babes in mothers lap,
And eke the chyldren that did fucke
On mothers tender pap ;
With fier were they burned,
O wofull, grieuous fight!
They cryed and fhryked,
To healpe no boote it might.
C The damfelles teare their coftly guyfe,
Their yelow lockes downe to their eyes,
And their heare like filuer wyer ;
Their fownde did reach vnto the clowdes,
With bitter teares they cryed alowde,
All burnynge in the fier !
Thefe townes like gold that fhyned fo bright,
With flamy ng fier is confumed ;
The mighty God hath deftroyed quite,
And brought it to the grounde,
That nought is left, the trueth to fay,
But ftinkynge pooles and welles,
128 ANCIENT BALLADS
Whiche was a place of braue delyghtes,
And eke of pleafant fmelles.
C Thus were thefe towns brought to decay,
Both all and fom, the trouth to fay,
Sauyng Lots houfeholde then :
And Lot hymfelfe was counted iuft,
Tyll his doughters tempted hym to luft,
As the ftory fheweth playne ;
Loe, wanton girles whiche fo doth burne
In Venus pleafant games,
If that they may content their turnes,
And eake their youthfull flames,
They do defire their fathers bed,
The cankred flefh to pleafe :
Alas, that ye fo wanton bee,
That you wyll neuer ceafe !
C Thou mightie God that fitter! on hie,
O turne our hartes for thy mercie,
That now amend we may !
O Lorde, thou faydft, and it may fo be,
The Sodomits mould witnes be
Againft vs at the latter day :
O heauy fayng ! yf that thefe men
Shall fooner mercy craue,
Then we which know Gods fainges, then
What iudgement mall we haue ?
O let vs bewayle vs,
Our finnes doth fo abound,
For in fhort fpace, I feare, the Lorde
In wrath wyll vs confound !
C O England, thou like Sodome art,
In filthy finne doth play thy part,
AND BROADSIDES. 129
What finnes are found in thee !
Thou dooeft exceede Sodome in fmne,
Thou careft not for Lots preaching ;
O, thefe heauy newes wyll be !
Ye, be thou fure, and fure agayne,
The ftones that lieth in wall,
Becaufe we doo fo fore offend,
To God for plagues wyll call ;
Therfore let fee, amends to be,
And euery one amende :
Good Lorde, I fay, graunt this airway,
And thus I make an end.
C FINIS.
C Imprinted at London, by Richard Johnes, for
Henrie Kyrkham, dwellyng at the figne of the
Blacke Boy, at the middle North dore of Paules
church.
*
C A mery balade, how a wife entreated her
hujband to haue her owne wyll.
N May, when floures fwetely fmel,
The people romyng abrode ful ryfe,
A mery tale I lhal you tel,
That then was herd, but no great
ftrife ;
130 ANCIENT BALLADS
In clofe a yong man and his wife
Sate reafonyng fore, but for none yl ;
She faid, I am wery of this lyfe,
Good hufband, let me haue mine owne will.
C Wyfe, quoth he, then muft I nedes know
What is your wyll, then, for to haue :
At me you muft neither mocke nor mow,
Nor yet loute me, nor call me knaue ;
Nor VENVS game vpon me craue,
Nor yet your honeftye for to fpill,
And make me neyther boy nor flaue,
But do good, and therin take your owne wyl.
C Turn, quoth me, fir, as for that
I wyll be honeft, to dye therefore ;
But, hufband, hufband, wot ye what ?
I haue bene your wyfe this month and more,
And haue not gone but to the dore,
Such keping in my heart doth fpyll ;
By houfe-kepers neighbours fet no ftore,
Good hufband, let me haue mine owne wyll !
C Wyfe, quoth he, be you content ;
You fhall to church and to market go,
And to neighbours to, at time conuenient,
But not to goflip, the truth is fo ;
Tauernes to haunt ? no wyfe, no, no !
Nor yet alehoufes, with Jacke nor Gyll ;
You know my mynd for friend or fo,
Doe good, and therein take your owne wyll.
C Hufband, quoth me, you be to blame
To kepe me in, and fo playne withall ;
Me thinke I muld be a fyne dame,
Whereby great prayfe to you might fall :
AND BROADSIDES. 131
I being fayre, nice, and fmall,
Yf I had gay clothes my body to hyll,
Then gentlewomen for me wold call,
Good hufband, let me haue myne owne wyll.
C No, wyfe, quoth he, it wyll not be borne
For you to go fyne and gayly clad ;
To go as I will haue you, thinke ye no fcorne,
That is, comely and cleane, fober and fad ;
Wherefore, be you neyther ficke nor yet mad,
Becaufe ye may not your mynd fulfyll,
For your defyre is wicked and bad,
Doe good, and therein take your owne wyll.
C Not mad, quoth me ; alas, good man,
What woman culd your wordes abyde ?
I entreatyng you as fayre as I can,
And yet my wordes you fet afyde ;
Though I be fayre, I loue no pryde,
For I ferue your fwyne with draffe and fwyl ;
Unto my friendes I wold fayne ryde,
Good hufband, let me haue myne owne wyll.
C Wyfe, quoth he, what nedeth all this ?
You craue a great deale more then neede ;
Your friendes haue no need of vs, I wis,
Wherefore be flayed, good gentle Beede :
Now let vs plow and fow our feede,
Our wynter land is yet to tyll ;
How to thryue let vs firft take heede,
And do good, and therin take your owne wyl.
C Oh hufband, quoth me, I am but yong,
Wherefore, I pray you, graunt me one thyng,
At libertie let me haue my toung,
Eyther to chyde, or els to fyng ;
1 3 2 ANCIENT BALLADS
To daunce, to kyfle, not ouer-workyng,
But once a weke to go to myll ;
My time is fhort, my death is cumming,
Good hufband, let me haue mine owne wyll.
C No, wyfe, quoth he, I am your head,
Wherefore, I pray you, my counfell take,
And let fuch tricks in you be dead,
Leaft that for it your bones doe ake ;
Therefore learne betime to brue and bake,
And Hue no longer in ydlenefle ftyll ;
Wherefore, for your owne eafe fake,
Doe good, and therein take your owne wyll.
C Alas, quoth me, what chaunce haue I,
To couple myfelfe with fuch a one,
That had rather to fee me dye,
Then to decke me gay, as I wold haue gone,
To chyde, nor fyng, nor to daunce alone ?
I wold I had maried John Goofequyll,
Then nede I not to haue made this mone,
For by him I might haue had all my wyll.
C No more of thefe twayne culd be hard,
But home they went together playne ;
But let no wyues this wyfe regard,
For her requeft was all in vayne.
And yet with fhrewes fome men take payne,
And abydeth the iob of the deuylles byll,
From the which, all good wyues, refrayne !
God geue vs all grace to doe his wyll. Amen.
C Finis, quod T. W. T.
C Imprinted at London by Alexander Lacy.
AND BROADSIDES. 133
The Othe of euerle Freeman of the City
of London.
E fhall fweare that yee fhall bee good
and true to our Souereigne ladie Queene
Elizabeth, &c, and to the heires of
our faid fouereigne ladie the Queene.
Obeyfant and obedient ye fhall be to the Mayor and
Miniftersof thiscitie. The franchifes andcuftomes
thereof yee fhall mainteine, and this citie keepe
harmeles in that that in you is. Ye fhall be con-
tributorie to all manner of charges within this
citie, as fummons, watches, contributions, tafkes,
tallages, lot and fcot, and all other charges, bear
ing your part as a freeman ought to doo. Yee
{hall colour no forreines goods, vnder or in your
name, whereby the Queene or this citie might or
may loofe their cuftomes or aduantages. Ye
fhall know no forreine to buy or fell anie mar-
chandife with any other forreine within the citie
or the franchife thereof, but yee fhall warne the
Chamberlaine thereof, or fome minifter of the
chamber. Yee fhall implead or fue no freeman
out of this citie, whiles yee may haue right and
law within the fame citie. Yee fhall take none
apprentice, but if hee bee free borne (that is to fay)
no bond man's fonne, nor the childe of any alien,
and for no lefle terme then for feuen yeeres ; with
in the firft yeere yee fhall caufe him to be enrolled,
and at his termes end ye fhall make him free of
this citie, (if he haue well and truely ferued you.)
Ye fhall alfo keepe the Queenes peace in your
134 ANCIENT BALLADS
owne perfons; ye (hall know no gatherings, con-
uenticles, nor confpiracies made againft the Queenes
peace, but ye fhall warn the Mayor thereof, or let
it to your power. All thefe points and articles
yee fhall well and truely keepe, according to the
lawes and cuftomes of this citie to your power.
So God you help, and by the holie contentes of
this Booke. God faue the Queene.
Printed at London, by Hugh Singleton.
A Ealade declaryng how neybourhed, loue,
and trew dealyng is gone.
OW ftraunge it is to men of age,
The which they fe before their
face,
This world to be in fuch outrage,
It was neuer fene in fo bad cafe.
Neibourhed nor loue is none,
Trew dealyng now is fled and gone.
Where fhall one fynde a man to truft,
Alwaye to ftande in tyme of neede ?
The moft parte now they are vniuft,
Fayre in wordes, but falfe in deede.
Neybourhed nor loue is none,
True dealyng now is fled and gone.
AND BROADSIDES. 135
Who can flatter now beft fhall fpeede ;
Who can deceyue is gaynes well won :
Of deceytfull tongues who can take hede ?
Many a man they haue undone.
Neibourhed nor loue is none, &c.
The wickednefle that doth abounde,
More then I can with tongue expreffe,
To fee vnfaithfull men are founde ;
Of frendfhip there was neuer lefle.
Neiborhed nor loue is none, &c.
On couetoufnefle moft men defyre ;
Their neibours houfe fome doth procure,
And ouer his hed they wyll it hyre,
Or bye a leace to make it fure.
Neiborhed nor loue is none, &c.
To pourchace and bye, for lucre and gaine,
Both leace and houfe, both wood and grounde,
Thei double the rent, to poore mens payne ;
Of landlordes no we fewe good are founde.
Neiborhed nor loue is none, &c.
This is vfed now euery where,
And wyll be tyll we haue redrefle ;
With them I thought the Lorde dyd fere,
Becaufe his worde they doo profefTe,
Neiborhed nor loue is none, &c.
What neiborhed is this you call,
That one another doth backbite,
And daily wyll both fkolde and brail
With flaunderous wordes in moft defpite ?
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
136 ANCIENT BALLADS
For matters fmall feme fuffre wronge,
Upon difpleafure in prifon caft,
And there fhall lye, without pitie, long,
Tyll that his goodes are fpent and waft.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
Thungodly riche the poore opprefle,
On them few haue co/npaffion ;
Their caufe is here remedilefTe,
Without all confolacion.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
If any membre be hurte in man,
The whole body lamentes therfore ;
The poore oppreft, who cureth than
Or helpes him for to falue his fore ?
Neiborhed nor loue is none, &c.
The percialnefle that now doth raigne
With fome that haue fuche caufe in hande,
The riche men doth the poore difdayne,
And fekes the meanes to make them band.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
Truly to deale one with another
In thefe dayes now ar very fewe ;
The fitter wyll begyle the brother,
The brother agayne deceyte wyll fhewe.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
The father wyll deceyue the chylde,
The chylde the father likewife agayne;
Thus one another dothe begylde,
By falfe deceyt that now doth raigne.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
AND BROADSIDES. 137
To fpeake fomwhat of vfurye,
The whiche the Lorde doth daily curfe ;
Yet fome doo vfe it priuely
To fyll their vncontented purfe.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
To ft Hue or fpeake it is no boote,
In couetoufnefle there is no order ;
Of mifchiefe it is the very roote,
All thinges it fpoyles in euery border.
Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c.
Our preachers with Gods word doth cry
On couetoufmen that wyll not ceife ;
Their wordes are herde with yeres fo (lye,
Their filthy gaynes they ftyll encrefle.
Neybourhed nor loue is none, &c.
How many doth their rentes abate,
Or now a dayes their tenentes eafe ?
They fet their rentes at a new rate,
Both fines and leafles they daily reafe.
Neybourhed nor loue is none, &c.
Couetoufnefle hathe now the way,
Wronge and briberye dothe not refrayne ;
In euery coft pride bereth the fway,
Amonges the whole now it doth raygne.
Neybourhed nor loue is none, &c.
What is the caufe neibourhed is gone,
Which here hath reigned many a daye ?
I heare the poore men make great mone,
And fayth hit is falne in decaye.
Neibourhed nor loue is none, &c.
138 ANCIENT BALLADS
True dealyng dare not once appeare,
Deceit hath put him out of place ;
Euery where, both farre and nere,
He raigneth now in moft mens face.
Neibourhed nor loue is none, &c.
Graunt, oh God, for thy mercyes fake,
That neigbourhed and dealyng trewe
May once agayne our fprites awake,
That we our lyues may chaunge a-new ;
That neybourhed and loue alone
May come agayne to euery one.
quod Jhon Barker.
Imprinted at London, by Richard Lant.
A proper newe Eallad flieweing that philofo-
phers learnynges are full of good warnynges.
And Jonge to the tune of my Lorde Marques
Galyarde, or the fir ft e traces of Que pajfa.
HILOSOPHERS learnings are ful of
good warnings,
Tn memorye yet left to fcoole vs,
So be ther contayned, in poietries
fained,
Great documentes to rate and rule vs ;
As well for continuance of life, helth, andfubftance,
Whofe vanities the world requireth,
As for the derection of life by correction
From lyberties that luft defireth.
AND BROADSIDES. 139
VIenander being afked what life was, he anfwered,
A miferie that neuer ceafeth,
Tormenting minds worldly for goods goton hardly,
With contraries as time increafeth,
Wherin is no furance of hope nor induraunce,
But jeoberdies as fortune fendyth ;
Vow ficklie, now helthie, nowpoorelie, now welthy,
With casualties as life contendith.
Of Chilo thus reed we, whofe councel moft need
we,
No memorye ought more to moue vs,
Then for to know throwly ourfelues and our dewty,
To notifie what doth behoue vs ;
And as we feeme faultie, reiecte folyes noughtie,
With practefinge all waies to fhone them ;
So may we, triumphing, geue praife to ech good
thing,
Recomfortinge that we haue done them.
ixcefle that delighteth, as Plutarche well writeth,
In greedines that life requireth,
n furfeitinge difshes, ill workinge, ill wiflies,
Suche filthines as, flefhe defyrethe ;
Withdraw wyth their pleafurs dame natures dew
meafures,
Whofe gouernaunce is fo defaced ;
What man can difpofe them when luft ouerthrows
them,
To temperaunce that mould be placed ?
Periander of liuinge good counfell once geuinge,
Said merilie, Looke well within thee ;
[f confience accufe thee, ill reft will abbufe thee,
No libertie hath leaue to win thee.
140 ANCIENT BALLADS
Kepe concience then clearly, that life may Hue
chearly,
As Socrates doth wifelie will thee ;
No corzye fhall greeue thee, found fleepes fhall
reliue thee,
Unquietnes can no waye fpill thee.
If fortune difpleafe vs, whofe wrackes may difeafe
vs,
Let Sophacles his doctrine ikoole vs,
Who writes that no furetie on earth gettethviftrye,
But pacience in paines to rule vs ;
In fuche pointes prefifely, good counfel moft wifely
Exuperate blinde fortunes fcourges,
As the marriner fteareth the {hip when he feareth
The violence of fait fea fourges.
Ten thoufand and ten to of theafe and like men to,
Lyke documentes haue left behinde them ;
Methinks that thefe pagons may counfel good
Chriftians
With diligence to heare and mind them.
Sith life hath no fuertie, nor longe time of puertie,
For accedence that can preuaile vs,
Let wifdome now win vs to plant vertue in vs,
With penitence, eare life doth faile vs.
C Finis, qd W. Elderton.
C Imprinted at London, in Fleeteftreet, beneath
the Conduit, at the Signe of Sainte John
Evangelift, by Thomas Colwell.
AND BROADSIDES. 141
A Ealade of a Preift that lojle his nofe,
For fayinge of majje, as Ifuppofe.
HO fo lift, heare of a wonderous
chaunce !
Of late I mette with one did me tell,
The craftieft prieft in England or
Fraunce,
Hath loft his nofe, and how fhould he fmell ?
He went to his freinde his mynde to difclofe,
And, as he came home, one cut of his nofe.
It is a gentleman, a prieft he tolde me,
To tell you his name I do not much paffe ;
It is olde fyr John, the vycar of Lee,
Which rayles at Gods boke and reeks at his
mafic.
His cankarde mynde he cannot kepe clofe,
Yet he ferued him fhrewdly that cut of his nofe.
His fmeller is fmitten cleane from his face,
Yet was there but one, as he did faye,
Which caught him and pluckt of his nofe in that
place ;
A hie man, a lowe man, a foxe or a graye ?
Tenne millinges, he faith, in his purfe he did lofe ;
I thinke he lied therof, but not of his nofe.
Great ferching was fence that fmeller to feke ;
Some for haft left their fcabbert at home,
Some had gunnes, fome halberts, fome forked
pikes,
Some in fhyrts of maile like a lufty mome ;
142 ANCIENT BALLADS
There was neuer fene before, I fuppofe,
Such toiling and tombling for a prieftes nofe.
Som men that thought him no harme in ther life,
But becaufe they feare God and do go about
To Hue with pure confcience and be without ftrife,
Thei ar bound to the peas now for a priefts
fnout ;
But becaufe he can kepe mens horedom fo clofe,
Therfore they make fuch a worke for his nofe.
Becaufe his fcollers did mock at his mafTe,
Hefaidhewoldemake bloud run by their heles,
But God hath turned the plage from their arfe,
And he with his nofe did bloudy the ftiles.
With bloud, I hard faye, as red as a rofe ;
He dronke well, belike, before he loft his nofe.
What maner of nofe was it, fir, ye fought for ?
A black nofe, a red nofe, or one like my fift ?
To be without nofe was the marke of an whore,
And now it is the marke of an whorifhe prieft.
And now you are ryd right well of the pofe,
Why do you make fuche a worke for your nofe ?
Or was your nofe fomewhat wan or pale ?
A blewe nofe, a bottle nofe, or was it yellowe ?
Nos autem haue fene it fometime at the ale ;
Libera nos, falua nos, from the fwap of the
fwalowe.
But why did ye vfe, fyr, to lye fo and glofe ?
Was it any meruayle though ye loft your nofe ?
Some men are liuing to whom he did fay,
Seing he knew the truth, if euer he fayd mafTe,
AND BROADSIDES. 143
He wimt that fome membre might be cut away ;
Now at his requeft it is come to pafle.
Much work he doth make for the lomp he did
lofe
Well, what will ye geue, fyr, for a newe nofe ?
But what fhal we fay, yf men do not lye ?
Who cut of the prieftes nofe it is harde to iudge,
But he himfelf, I think, did it of enuy,
And then to bewite it to them he did grudge,
That therby they might ther kingdom vp clofe,
As fometime Sopirus did fnap of his nofe.
For fometime he fayth it was but a mome,
And eftfone a talle man this he doth name ;
But ftyll he affyrmeth it was but one,
Which caught him and brought his nofe oute
of frame.
Could one man fo do it, as you fuppofe,
Except he were willing to haue of his nofe ?
Remedie is none, but this thinge is true,
His fnout is fnapt of, howfoeuer it was ;
I thinke it were beft to make him a new,
As fone he may do it as God at his mafle ;
Yf he cannot make him a fnout, I fuppofe,
He can not make God no more then his nofe.
Semg the true God is gone from your towne,
And god Pean and Baccus doth rule in his ftede,
With hoyfty and foyfty ouer moulder and crowne,
Yet hath he no more life then a lompe of leade ;
Yf he haue, then charge him that man to difclofe,
Which met you and caught you, and cut of your
nofe.
144 ANCIENT BALLADS
But yf you do vfe the true God to mocke,
And geue his honor to your god in the purfe,
Loke whom ye blefTe, and in blyndnerTe rocke,
The liuing God will you and your bleflinges
curfe ;
And at length your falfehed to all men difclofe,
And then, no dout, your head wyl folow your
nofe.
Take hede, I faye, you chaplyns of Balle,
Though ye haue fed longe at Jefabels borde,
Not longe but Helias mall geue you a fall ;
Repent and returne to the liuinge Lorde.
Though ye pricke till bloud runne by your toes,
Ther wil a worfe chance com then lefing your
nofe.
I wyll not pray for you, let them do that Me,
For feare God with me fhould be mifcontent,
Seyng of purpofe the Holy Ghoft you refifte ;
And if ye haue cleane forgotten to repent,
When God fhall the fecretes of all men difclofe,
Ye mal haue as much help as the preift of his nofe.
But you haue a vauntage, fyr, if you mark all ;
If a mous catch your god, when ye haue made it,
Then ye may catche the moufe faft by the walle,
For how can you hurt your nofe except ye
had it P
The prouerbe is true in you, I fuppofe,
He cannot tell where to turne his nofe.
FINIS.
God faue the Quene.
AND BROADSIDES. 145
The true difcripcion of this mar ueilous ftraunge
Fifhe, whiche was taken on 'Thurfday was Jen-
night , the xvj. day of June, this prejent month,
in the year e of our Lord God, M.D.lxix.
|[ A declaration of the taking of this ftraunge Fifhe, with
the length and bredth, &c.
GOING you to vnderftande that on
Thurfdaye, the xvj.daye of this prefent
month of June, in the yeare of our
Lord God M. D. Ixix. this ftraunge
fifhe was taken betweene Callis and Douer, by
fertayne Englifh fisfher-men whych were a fyfh-
ynge for mackrell. And this ftraunge and mer-
ueylous fyftie, folowynge after the fcooles of
mackrell, came ruftiinge in to the fimer-mens
netts, and brake and tore their nettes marueilouflie,
in fuch forte, that at the fyrft they weare muche
amafed therat, and marueiled what it mould bee
that kept fuche a fturr with their netts, for they
were verie much harmed by it with breking and
fpoyling their netts.
And then they, feing and perceiuyng that the
netts wold not ferue, by reafon of the greatnes of
this ftraung fifhe, then they with fuch inftrue-
ments, ingins, and thinges that they had, made
fuch fhift that they tooke this ftraung fifhe. And
vppon Fridaye, the morowe after, brought it vpp
to Billyngefgate in London, whyche was the xvij.
daye of June, and ther it was feene and vewid of
manie, which marueiled much at the ftraungnes of
L
146 ANCIENT BALLADS
it ; for here hath neuer the lyke of it ben feene :
and on Saterdaye, being the xviij. daye, fertayne
fi (he-mongers in New Fifhftreat agreeid with them
that caught it, for and in confideracion of the
harme whych they receiued by fpoylinge of ther
netts, and for their paines, to haue this ftraunge
fifhe. And hauinge it, did open it and flaied of
the fkinn, and faued it hole. And, adiudging the
meat of it to be good, broyled a peece and tafted
of hit, and it looked whit like veale when it was
broiled, and was good and fauerie (though fum-
what ftraung) in the eating, and then they fold of
it that fame Saterdaye to fuche as would buy of
the fame, and they themfelues did bake of it, and
eate it for daintie ; and for the more fertaintie
and opening of the truth, the good men of the
Caftle and the Kinges Head in new Fifhftreat did
bui a great deale and bakte of it, and this is mofte
true.
The ftraunge fifhe is in length xvij. foote
and iij. foote broad, and in compas about the
bodie vj . foote ; and is round fnowted, fhort
headdid, hauing iij. ranckes of teeth on eyther
iawe, maruaylous fharpe and very fhort, ij. eyes
growing neare his fnout, and as big as a horfes
eyes, and his hart as big as an oxes hart, and like-
wyfe his liuer and lightes bige as an oxes ; but all
the garbidge that was in hys bellie befides would
haue gone into a felt hat. Alfo ix. finns, and ij. of
the formoft bee iij. quarters of a yeard longe from
the body, and a verie big one on the fore parte
of his backe, blackifh on the backe, and a litle
whitifhe on the belly, a flender tayle, and had but
one bone, and that was a great rydge-bone, run-
ninge a-longe his backe from the head vnto the
AND BROADSIDES. 147
tayle, and had great force in his tayle when he wa s
in the water. Alfo it hath v. gills of cache fide of
the head, fhoing white. Ther is no proper name
for it that I knowe, but that fertayne men of
Captayne Haukinfes doth call it a marke. And
it is to bee feene in London, at the Red Lyon in
Fleteftreete.
Finis, quod C. R.
Imprynted at London, in Fleetftreate, beneathe
the Conduit, at the figne of Saint John
Euangelift, by Thomas Colwell.
C The fantafies of a troubled marines head.
|Y fortune, as I lay in bed, my fortune
was to fynd
Such fancies as my careful thought
hath brought into my mynd ;
And when each one was gone to reft, all fofte in
bed to lye,
I would haue flept, but that the watch did folow
ftyl mine eye.
And fodeinlie I faw a fea of wofull forrowes preft,
Whofe wicked wayes of fharpe repulfe bred mine
vnquiet reft :
I faw this world, and how it went, ech ftate in his
degree,
And that from Wealth ygraunted is both lyfe and
libertie :
148 ANCIENT BALLADS
i
I faw eke how Envie did raigne, and bare the
greatift price,
Yet greatter poifon is not found within the cock
atrice :
I faw alfo how fowle Difdaine oft times, to forge
my woe,
Gaue me the cup of bitter fweete, to pledge my
mortal foe :
I faw alfo how that Defier to reft no place could ;
fynd,
But ftyl conftraind, in endles paine, to follow ;
natures kynd :
I faw alfo (moft ftraunge of all) how Nature did
forfake
The bloud that in her womb was wrought, as doth
the lothed fnake :
I faw how fancie would retaine no longer then
fhee luft,
And as the wynd how mee doth chaunge, - and is
not for to truft :
I faw how fteadfaftnes did flye with wynges of
often chaunge,
A flyeng bird but feldome feen, her nature is fo !
ftraunge :
I faw how pleafaunt times did pafle, as flowers do j
in the mede,
To-day that rifeth red as rofe, to-morow falleth
deade :
I faw my time how it did run, as fand out of a
glafle,
Euen as each owre appointed is from time and
tide to pafle :
I faw the yeares that I had fpent, and lofle of all
my payne,
And how the fporte of youthly plaies my follie
did retayne :
AND BROADSIDES. 149
I faw how that the little ants in fomer ftyl doth
rome,
To feke their foode, wherby to liue in winter for
to come.
I faw eke Vertue how fhee fate, the threede of
life to fpin,
Which fheweth the end of euery worke before it
doth begin;
And when all thefe I thus behelde, with manie
mo pardie,
In me, me thought, each one had wrought a
perfect propertie ;
And then I faid vnto myfelfe, a leflbn this mall bee
For other that fhall after come, for to beware by
mee.
Thus all the night I did diuife which way I might
conftrayne
To forme a plot that wit might worke thes
braunches in my brayne.
C Finis. I. C.
Ofeuylltounges.
EU YLL tounges, which clap at euerie
wynd,
Ye flea the quicke, and eke the dead
defame ;
Thofe that liue well fome fault in them ye fynd,
150 ANCIENT BALLADS
Ye take no thought in fclaundring their good
name.
Ye put iuft men oft times to open fhame ;
Ye ryng fo lowde, ye found vnto the fkyes,
And yet in proofe ye fowe nothyng but lyes.
C Ye make great hatred where peace hath ben of
long,
You bring good order to ruine and eke decaye ;
Yepluckedowneright, ye doe enhaunce the wrong.
Ye tourne fwete myrth to wo and wallawaye.
Of mifcheifs all you are the ground, I faye,
Happie is he that liueth on fuch a forte,
That nedes not feare fuch tounges of falfe reporte.
C Finis, quod I. Canand.
C Of Trujl and Triall.
HO trufts before he tries may foone
his trail repent,
Who tries before he trufts doth fo his
care preuent ;
Thus truft may not be caufe of triall, then, we fee,
But triall muft be caufe of truft in ech degree.
C Finis. B. G.
AND BROADSIDES. 151
A Strife betwene Appelles and Pigmalion.
HEN that Appelles liued in Grece,
Pigmalion alfo raigned than :
Thefe two did ftriue to frame a pece,
Which mould amaze the fight of
man,
Whereby they might win fuch a name,
As mould deferue immortall fame.
C Appelles then ftrayed euerie where,
To marke and viewe ech courtlie dame,
And when he heard where any were
Did well deferue the prayfe and fame,
He thither rode, with willyng harte,
Of her to take the cumlieft parte.
C And when he had, with trauaile great,
A thoufand wights knit vp in one,
He found therewith to wurke his feat,
A paterne fuch as earft was none ;
And then with ioye retourned backe,
For to thofe limmes but lyfe did lacke.
C Pigmalion eke, to (hew his arte,
Did then conclude in iuorie white
To forme and frame in euerie parte
A woman fayre to his delighte,
Wherein was euerie limme fo coucht,
As not a vayne he lefte vntoucht.
152 ANCIENT BALLADS
C When their two cunnings ioyned were,
A worlde it was to fee their wurke ;
But yet it may greue euerie eare,
To heare the chaunce did therein lurke;
For through the pece they framed had,
For loue Pigmalion did run mad.
C Which feene, Appelles fhut his booke,
And durft no longer viewe that fight ;
For why ? her comelie limmes and looke
In one did pafTe ech other wight ;
And while Appelles wiped his eye,
The pece did mount vnto the fkye.
C Whereas Dame Nature toke it ftraight,
And wrapt it vp in linnen folde,
Efteeming it more then the waight
Had ten times ben of gliftryng golde ;
Shee lockt it vp faft in a cheft,
To pleafure him that fhee loued beft.
C Appelles then, difmayed much,
Did throw his booke into the fire ;
He feared left the gods did grutch
That wurkemen ihould fo high afpire ;
Yet once agayne he trauailed Grece
With lefle effect, and made a pece,
C Which long time did hold great renowne,
For Venus all men did it call,
Tyll in our dayes gan Nature frowne,
And gaue the workemannes worke a fall ;
For from her cheft, t'auoyde all ftryfe,
Shee tooke the pece, and gaue it lyfe ;
AND BROADSIDES. 153
C And for a token gaue the fame
Vnto the higher! man of ftate,
And faid, Since thou art crownd by Fame,
Take to thee here this worthie mate,
The fame which kyld the caruers ftrife,
Before that Nature gaue it life.
C Lorde ! yf Appelles now did know,
Or yf Pigmalion once mould heare,
Of this their worke the worthie mow,
Since Nature gaue it life to beare ;
No doubt at all her worthie prayfe
Thofe felie Grekes from death wold rayfe.
C Then thofe that daylie fee her grace,
Whofe vertue pafTeth euerie wight,
Her comelie corps, her chriftall face,
They ought to pray, both day and night,
That God may graunt mod happie ftate
Vnto that Princefle and her mate.
C Finis. Ber. Gar.
C Imprinted at London without Alderfgate, in
Little Britaine, by A. Lacy.
A new Ballad againft Unthrifts.
HEN raging louts, with feble braines,
Mofte wilfully wyl fpend awaye,
And eke confume more then their
gaines,
In riotyng al the longe day,
And fpend with him that wil fpend mofte,
Yet of their gaine they need not bofte.
154 ANCIENT BALLADS
When drunken drunkerds will not fpare
The alehous daily for to plye,
But fit and tipple there full fquare,
And to their gaines will haue no eye,
Nor will not ceafe, I warrant ye,
So long as they haue one penny.
When rufling roifters wil beftowe
Vpon their backs fuche fine aray,
And be not wurth that whiche they owe,
Falling therby into decay ;
Yet wil they fet theron a face,
And bragge and crake it out a-pace.
When liuely lads wil plye the dice,
Confuming there away their good,
No man wil count them to be wice,
But rather to be mad or wood ;
For when that all their money is gone,
Then are they drefled like a mome.
When lafie loiterers will not wurk,
And honeftly their liuings get,
But had rather in corners lurk
Then that they wold with labor fwet,
Therfore no welth they can attain,
But Hue in trouble and in pain,
When doting doltes wil enterprife
To wurk fuche feates as I haue tolde,
Not ceaffing for to exercife
Worfe deeds then thofe with courage bold,
Then fome do lay their cotes to gage,
Til that they haue receiued their wage.
AND BROADSIDES. 155
Then fome the Counter oft doo kifle,
If that the money be not paid,
Or if that they their day doe miffe,
For whiche to gage their cote was laid ;
Yet wil they not by this take heed,
But ftil continew to proceed.
Then fome therby their credit lofe,
So that no wife man wil them truft,
Wherfore they can no lenger glofe,
But rub and reuel not they muft,
For wherfoeuer they be come,
They are not fo wel truft as knowne.
Then fome at length do beg their bread,
Who, if in time they had been wife,
Might wel haue had inough to fed
Themfelues, their children, and their wiues ;
But when that all is gone and fpent,
It is to late then to repent.
Then fome to pilfer doo begin,
But aflbne as they be efpied,
With whips they are laid on the (kin,
At a carts ars being wel tied ;
But al this can not thofe amend,
That wil doo mifchefe to the end.
Then fome proceed to rob and kyl,
Counting al fifti that comes to net ;
And yf that they might haue their wil,
For right or wrong they wuld not let,
Til at the laft they fall in bands,
And can not efcape out of hands.
156 ANCIENT BALLADS
Then fome at Newgate doo take fhip,
Sailing ful faft vp Holborne Hil;
And at Tiborn their anckers piche,
Ful fore indeed againft their wil ;
But then it is to late, I fay,
To cal againe the yefterday.
Wherfore al ye that vfe this trade,
Leaue of betimes, yf ye be wife,
Left that perchaunce this way ye wade
Ful fore againft your owne deuife ;
For heer ye fee the end of fuche,
As litle haue and wil fpend muche.
C Finis, quoth W. F.
C Imprinted at London, at the long mop ad-
ioining vnto Saint Mildreds Churche, in the
Poultry, by John Aide.
newe Sefte of Friars, called Capichini.
HESE newe freme come Friars, being
fprong vp of late,
Doe nowe within Andwarpe keepe
their abidinge,
Seducinge muche people to their damned eftate,
By their newe falfe founde doctrine the Gofpel
deridinge ;
Sayinge and affirminge, which is no newe falfe
tidinge,
AND BROADSIDES. 157
That all fuche as doe the Popes doctrine
difpife,
As damned foules to hell mufte be ridinge ;
For they doe condemne them with their newe
found lies.
Thefe be the children of the worlde counted wife,
Whofe wifedome is folly to God and his elect ;
But let Sathan worke all that he can deuife,
God it is alone which the Gofpel doeth protect.
The fir ft part of the fair e Widow of Wat ling
flreet and her 3 daughters, and how her wicked
Jonne accufed her to be a harlot y and his fifters
y only to deceiue them of their portions.
To the tune of Bragandarj.
|F the kind Widdow of Watling ftreet
I will the ftory tell,
Who by her hufband deere was left,
In fubftance rich and well ;
A prodigall fonne likewife had me,
And faire yong daughters louely three ;
Great mifery, forrow and mifery,
Commeth for want of grace.
C For by his dayly practifes,
Which were both lewd and ill,
His fathers hart from him was drawne,
His loue and his good will ;
But yet, what chance fo ere befell,
His mother loued him deerely well.
158 ANCIENT BALLADS
C When he in prifon lay full poore,
For debt which he did owe,
His father would not ftur out of doore,
For to releafe his woe ;
But when his mother his griefe did fee,
She found the meanes to fet him free.
C And when her hufband fell full fick,
And went to make his will,
hufband, remember your fonne, me faid,
Although he hath beene ill ;
But yet no doubt he may returne,
Repenting the euill that he hath done.
C Remember, wife, what forrow and care
Through him I dayly found ;
Who, through his lewd vngratious deeds,
Hath fpent me many a pound ;
And therefore, let him finke or fwim,
1 meane not for to deale with him.
C And therefore fole executor here
I do thee onely make,
To pay the debts and legacies,
The reft vnto thee take.
Not fo, my hufband deare, quoth me,
But let your fonne be ioynd with me ;
C For-why he is our child, fhe faid,
We can it not deny,
The firft that euer graced you
With fathers dignity ;
O, if that euer you did me loue,
Graunt this requeft for his behoue.
AND BROADSIDES. 159
C Thy loue, deere wife, was euermore
Mott precious vnto me,
And therefore, for thy fweet loues fake,
I graunt thy fuite to thee ;
But, ere the yeare is fully fpent,
I know thou wilt the fame repent.
C Now was his fonne receiued home,
And with his mother deere
Was ioyn'd executor of the will,
Which did his courage cheare.
The old man dying, buryed was,
But now behold what came to pafle.
The funeral being ended quite,
It fel vpon a day
Some friends did fetch the widdow foorth,
To driue conceits away.
While fhe was forth, and thought no ill,
Her wicked fonne doth worke his will.
Pofleflion of the houfe he took
In moft defpitful wife,
Throwing his fitters out of dores,
With fad lamenting cryes.
When this they did his mother mow,
She would not beleeue he would do fo.
But when fhe came vnto her houfe,
And found it true indeed,
She cald vnto her fon, and faid,
Althogh her hart did bleed,
Come down, my fonne, come downe, quod fhe,
Let in thy mother and fitters three.
160 ANCIENT BALLADS
C I will not let in my mother, he faid,
Nor fitters any one ;
The houfe is mine, I will it keepe,
Therefore, away ! be gone !
fonne, canft thou indure to fee't,
Thy mother and fitters to lie in the ftreete ?
C Did not thy father, by his will,
For terme of this my life,
Giue me this houfe for to enioy
Without al further ftrife ;
And more, of all his goods, quoth me,
1 am executor ioynd with thee.
C My father left you the houfe, he faid,
But this was his intent,
That you therefore, during your life,
Should pay me yearely rent ;
A hundred pound a yeare, therefore,
You mall me giue, or giue it ore.
C And fith the citties cuftome is,
That you the thirds mutt haue
Of all my fathers moueables,
I graunt what law doth craue ;
But not a peny more will I
Difcharge of any legafie.
C O wicked fonne, quoth me, that feekes
Thy mother thus to fleece,
Thy father to his daughters gaue
Three hundred pound a peece :
Tell me who mall their porcions pay,
Appointed at their marriage day.
AND BROADSIDES. 161
C Then, with a fcornefull fmile, he faid,
What talke you of fo much ?
Ten pound a peece I will them giue,
My charitie is fuch.
Now fie vpon thee, beaft, quoth me,
That thus doth deale with them and me !
C But ere that they and I will take
This iniury at thy hand,
The chiefeft peeres of England mail
The matter vnderftand.
Nay, if you go to that, quoth he,
Mark well what I fhall tell to thee :
Thou haft a fecret harlot bin,
And this ile proue full plaine,
That in my fathers lifetime did
Lewd ruffians entertaine,
The which did then beget of thee,
In wicked fort, thefe baftards three.
C No daughters to my father then
Were they in any wife,
As he fuppofd them for to be,
Thou blinding fo his eyes ;
Therefore no right at all haue they
To any peny giuen this day.
C When me did heare her fhameles fonne
For to defame her fo,
She with her louely daughters three,
With griefe away did goe ;
But how this matter forth did fall,
The fecond part fhall (hew you all.
Great mifery, forow, &c. Finis.
Imprinted at London for T. P.
M
162 ANCIENT BALLADS
The fecond part of the Widdow of Watllng-
ftreete and her three Daughters.
To the tune of the Wanton Wife.
HE beautifull widdow of Watling
ftreete,
Being thus falfly accufde by her
fonne,
With her three daughters of fauor fo fweet,
Whofe beauty the loue of fo many had wonne,
With her daughters three, for fuccour went (he,
Vnto the kings counfaile of noble degree.
Now fie vpon falfhood and forgerie fraile,
For great is the truth, and it fhall preuaile !
4E Her fonne by a writ now fommoned is
At the Star-chamber with fpeed to appeare,
To anfwere there the abufes of his ;
The Lords of the Counfel the matter will heare.
The news was brought ; his wits he fought,
Which way his villanie beft might be wrought.
C Then vp and downe the citty fo faire
He feeketh companions to ferue his turne,
A fort of vacabonds, naked and bare,
The which to worke murders for money is won :
Thefe wretches behold, for money and golde,
He hired for witnefles his lyes to vphold, &c.
C ,My maifters, quoth he, my mother by name
To be a lewd ftrumpet accufed I haue ;
AND BROADSIDES. 163
And, hauing no witnefTe to proue that fame,
Your ayde and afliftance herein I do craue :
Therefore, without feare, before the Lords there,
Yet this thing is certaine, you fixe fhall it fweare.
C The firft two, quoth he, fhal fweare on a booke,
That fixteene yeares paft they plainely did fee,
As they through the garden hedge fadlydid looke,
That fhe in one houre was abufed by three ;
And how it fell, as they markt it wel,
That iuft nine moneths after fhe had hir firft
girle.
C The fecond couple fhall fweare in this fort,
That at Briftow Faire, about xvij. yeares paft,
She with her owne apprentife did fal in fuch fport,
That her fecond daughter was got at the laft.
Now truft vs, quod they, weele fweare what you
fay,
Or anything elfe for money, this day, &c.
And thus the third couple their oath now fhal
take,
That as at the bath fhe ftaid on a day,
For ach in her bones, as the fcufe fhe did make,
How fhe with a courtier the wanton did play ;
And how well you wot, in the pleafant plot,
Her deareft yong daughter for certaine was got.
But now, you mafters, your names let me know,
That I may prouide you apparell with fpeed ;
Like fixe graue cittizens fo muft you go.
The better your fpeeches the Lords will heed ;
So fhal I with fcorne, ere Saturday morne,
Proue her a harlot, my fifters bafe borne, &c.
164 ANCIENT BALLADS
C My name is Make-fhift, the firft man did fay ;
And Francis Light-finger, the fecond likewife ;
Cutbert Creepe-window, the third to difplay ;
And Rowland Rob-man, with foule flaring
eyes;
Jack Shameles comes then, with Hary Steale-hen.
You are, quod the widdow, fome right honeft
men!
C Before the lords moft prudent and graue,
This wretch doth with his witnefle come :
The mother complains, and juftice doth craue
Of all the offences that he hath her done.
My Lords, then quod he, I pray you heare me,
The law for my deeds my warrant mall be.
I fay, me is a harlot moft vilde,
And thofe be her baftards that ftandeth in
place,
And that me hath often her body defilde
By very good witnes ile proue to her face.
This thing of thy mother thou oughtft for to
fmother,
'Tis fhame for a child to fpeake [fo] of his mother!
C But if this matter be proued vntrue,
And thou a falfe lyar be found to thy face,
Worfe then an infidell, Pagon, or Jew,
Thou oughtft to be punifht and plagd in this
cafe;
And therefore draw neere, and now let vs heare
What faies the witnes that here doth appeare.
C When the firft couple did come for to fweare,
They quiuerd and quakt in moft wondrous fort;
AND BROADSIDES. 165
The lords very countenance did put them in feare,
And now they knew not what to report ;
The fecond likewife ftard fo with his eyes,
They ftamberd and knew not what to deuife.
C The lords, perceiuing the cafe how it went,
Did afke the laft couple what they had to fay,
Who fell on their knees incontinent,
Saying, they were hird for mony that day :
Quoth they, it is fo, the truth for to (how,
Againft the good widow no harme we do know.
C Thus was the widow deliuered from blame,
With her three daughters of beauty mod bright,
Her fonne reproached with forrow and mame,
Hauing his iudgment appointed him right,
To loofe, at the leaft, the goods he poffeft,
To loofe both his eares, and banimt to reft.
When he heard this iudgment pronounced to be,
The teares full bitterly fell down from his face,
To mother and fitters he kneeled on his knee,
Confefling that lucre had wrought his difgrace ;
That for my own gaine I fought to detaine
My fitters three portions, this lye I did faine !
Therefore, deare mother, forgiuenes I craue
Of you and my fitters, offended fo fore ;
My body from perill if you will but faue,
I fweare I will grieue and offend you no more.
The lords then replide, the law iuftly tride,
The punifhment now thou art like to abide :
C Therefore to prifon now thou malt go,
Where thou ihalt the king's pleafure abide ;
166 ANCIENT BALLADS
From thence to be brought, with fhame and with
wo,
To furTer the punifhment due to thy pride :
Then out of hand, thou fhalt vnderftand
That prefently thou fhalt be banifht the land.
C Now, while in prifon this prifoner did reft,
Himfelfe he hanged in defperate wife
Such horror of confcience poiTerTed his breft ;
And being caft forth, the rauens pickt out his
eies.
All children, behold what here hath bin tolde,
Accufe no man falfly for lucre of golde !
Now fie vpon falfhood and forgerie fraile,
For great is the truth, and it will prevaile.
FINIS.
Imprinted at London for T. P.
Almightie God I pray his Holy Sprite to fend \
iuft mannes hart jledfafl to flay ', and wicked
Hues to mend.
RUE tryall touchyng truth time
trimly here doth trye,
E xcept the fcribes therfore we pafTe
in righteoufnes, we dye.
M yndes many mooued bee all truth to eftablyfh ;
P apes popifh, puft in Plutoes pride, all popery
here doe wyfh ;
AND BROADSIDES. 167
Voyde from them all, good men, which godly
be in mynde,
S ith Sathan aflaileth fome fo fore, and ftyl their
harts doth blynde.
E mbrace and loue the truth ; on Chrifts fyde
ftifly ftand ;
D eny the Pope, Sathan, the Turke, reiecl: them
quite from hand.
A nd neuer wifh in wyll with wicked men t'agree,
X pe faith we can not their wayes hould, and
eke his feruaunts be.
R eiect and expell quite that which difpleafe
God may ;
Encline to Chrift, the truth embrace, be fure
thereon to ftay ;
R eioyce, though rigour raunge, and run for to
obtayne ;
V pon thee perfecution beare, great ioyes to haue
agayne ;
M ufe nothyng on thefe dayes, but wey the time
now frayle.
T he tryed truth time vndertreades, in time truth
wyl preuayle,
I n time the wicked laugh, in time the iuft lament:
M ufe not, therfore, the iuft to trie, the Lordes
wyl now is bent ;
Employ thy wyll and mynd to the Scriptures
deuine.
B e not feduced in no wyfe, from truth doe not
decline ;
R efufe (yf faith thou haft) a Chriftian dumme to
bee;
168 ANCIENT BALLADS
Y elde out thy talent with encreafe, and looke thy
faith be free.
N o doubt, yf dumme thou lurke, clokyng thy
faith for feare,
G od wyl thee plague, and to good men thy faint
faith wyl appeare ;
E nclyne thine eare hereto, and this well vnder-
ftand ;-
T rie out the fence hereof by truth, all wicked-
nefle withftand ;
H eauen with the Lorde of Lordes we mall not
inherite
E xcept our righteoufnes far pafle the fcribe and
hipocrite.
A 11 wicked men we fee now glorie much in
mynd,
L ookyng for mafTe, an idoll which to them hath
ben full kynd.
T ruely thofe naughtie men thinke now, within
fhort time,
H ere, for Jefus Chriftes true worde, to plant
Sathans doctrine ;
Y ea, ftyll they hope indeede, and ftyll looke for
a day,
N o doubt, Chrifts gofpel to exclude, and popes
lawes to beare fway.
G od faue our noble queene, Lorde, graunt this,
we requyre ;
E mong vs here long fhee may raigne, and cut
fhort papes defyre ;
S end out thy wrath, O Lorde, confound with
open fhame
AND BROADSIDES. 169
Thofe which in hart vnto her grace long lyfe
doe not proclaime !
O ut pull thofe hatefull harts, which in fpight
rage and boyle
A gainft thy truth, her grace, good men ; O Lorde,
thou canft them foyle.
N othyng but wickednefTe, fuch in their hartes
embrace,
E mong vs here although they fay, and beare out
a fmooth face.
N ow, Lorde, thy flocke defend ; Lorde, blefle
thine heritage ;
D irect thy fpirit ouer vs all, in this our time and
age;
E ncourage vs againft rageyng Sathan alway.
Quicken our myndes, ftrength vs herein, O
Lorde, to thee we pray ;
V ouchfafe eke on thofe men thy heauenlie fpirite
to fend ;
Lorde, enfpire them with thy grace, their err-
yng Hues t'amend ;
D eftroy all errours here, illuminate their hart.
C all home all thofe which haue run wyde, to the
truth them conuart ;
H eale thofe which broken be, O Lorde, I fay,
in mynd !
R educe and bryng to thee in truth all wicked
Jewes vnkynd,
1 nfidels and eke Turkes, Paganes which know
thee not :
S o (hall we all be to thee one inheritaunce and
lot.
170 ANCIENT BALLADS
T read vnder and fupprefTe all vice, and eke
expell
Our hollow-harted hipocrites, which loue not
thy Gofpell ;
P ut in their harts fuch grace, O Lorde, that they
may now
H ope in thee, their eternall God, and to thee
their hartes bow !
E uer to watch and pray, as thou haft taught the
fame,
R eady to be with oyle in lampe, heauenwith thee
to attaine.
W ee, hopyng on thee thus, all vayne hope now
confound,
I n heauen with thee at length wyl we thy worthy
praife forth found.
L orde, graunt that we may raigne in ioyes ce-
leftiall ;
S uch as wyl ftyl thy foes remaine, fhall to paynes
infernall.
O Lorde, graunt this requeft, Lorde, let thy
kyngdome cum :
Now watch and pray we wyll ; for whye ? Tem-
pus edax rerum.
C Finis, quod Chriftopher Wilfon.
AND BROADSIDES.
171
A Song again/1 the Mafs.
OME hope you fee,
The more pitie,
Not in the Lorde of might ;
Whofe harts and mynd
His wayes mould fynd,
To prayfe him day and night.
C With hart and voyce
They mould reioyce
Onely in Chrift, I fay ;
And not to hope
To fee the pope,
With his lawes to beare fway.
C Lament I doe,
Here to fee nowe,
The ioyes that fome be in,
Wyfhyng for Mafle,
I fay, alas !
The cloke of filthy fin !
C I may here write,
And truth endite,
Affyrme plainely, and fay :
The worde of truth,
The more is ruth,
Is fowne in ftonie way.
C For all teachyng
And true preachy ng,
i?2 ANCIENT BALLADS
Some harts be hard as fteele ;
There is no way
Their harts to ftay,
Or caufe them truth to feele.
C But ftoute they be
In all poperie,
As by this man doth feeme ;
Whofe fhamelefle face
Put forth this cafe,
And bad his neighbours deme :
C Where beft fhould be,
To make, quod he,
An aulter for our MafTe ?
Let vs firft be
Herein, quod he,
It wyll thus come to pafle.
C This freend of popes
OfFred ten grotes
This aulter there to make,
Where mafic fhould be ;
Haue here, quod he,
This money mine here take.
C Lorde, our Queene faue,
We cry and craue,
In godlie ftate alway ;
Defend her grace
Long time and fpace
Emong vs here, we pray !
C Imprinted at London without Alderfgate, in
little Britaine, by Alex. Lacy. The 16 of
Auguft, 1566.
AND BROADSIDES. 173
The Daunce and Song of Death.
At the four corners four engravings^ with verfes.
Under a pifture of the Mifer (or rich man) counting his
gold, with Death at his elbow, the following quatrain.
From your gold and filuer
To graue ye muft daunce ;
Though you loue it fo deare,
And haue therein affiaunce.
2. Over a pidure of a Prifoner fettered to an iron ring, with
Death at his fide.
Thy pryfon and chaynes
From graue cannot keepe ;
But daunce, though in paynes,
Thou malt thereto creepe.
3. Engraving of a Judge upon the bench of juflice, with Death
befide him, thefe lines under :
From trone of iuft Judgement,
Syr Judge, daunce with vs ;
To graue come incontinent
From flate fo glorious.
4. A Man careffing a Lady in a bower, a table fpread with
wine and fruit, Death feated behind them ; the following
infcribed.
Ye dallying fyne louers,
In mydtl of your chere,
To daunce here be partners,
And to graue draw ye nere.
174 ANCIENT BALLADS
In the centre a figure playing the pipe and tabor upon a feat
made of crofs- bones, mattock, and (hovel, acrofs a yawning
grave, with this placard, " Sycknes, Deathes minftrel."
Around him in a circle, joined hand in hand, are the
following figures, Death leading the dance, the king,
the begger, the old man, the childe, the wyfe man, the
foole, with thele lines.
Come, daunce this trace, ye people all,
Both prince and begger, I fay ;
Yea, old, yong, wyfe, and fooles I call,
To graue, come, take your way.
For ficknes pipes thereto,
By griefes and panges of wo.
A Ballad intituled. Prepare ye to the p/owe.
To the tune of Pepper is blacke.
|[ The queene holdes the plow, to continew good feede;
Truftie fubieftes, be readie to helpe, if me neede.
OOKE vp, my Lordes, and marke my
wordes,
And heare what I mail fing ye :
And fubie&s alJ, both great and fmall,
Now marke what word I bring ye.
Parnafo Hill, not all the {kill
Of Nimphs or Mufes fayned,
Can bring about that I finde out,
By Chrift himfelfe ordayned.
early love was only dream !
a uream too fair for earth,
I iti a faint far gleam,
Whei ;: the fairest flowers have birth,
no stain e'er trouble
;ic murmur, limpid bubble !
lere two spirits in the calm
Of moonlight memory may go,
inding pure refreshing balm,
: life traileth wounded, slow
Jim ways of common dust,
As dull lives of mortals must.
love, fair fount of waters,
i- by enchantment flowing,
two snakes, her innocent daughters,
r-j wont to swim among the blowing,
Wilding flowera thou knowe.st well,
In the wood of our sweet spell !
Never Fear found out the place,
iver eyes nor feet profane 1
Of our iunoceut youth and grace
! . , was born ; if born to wane,
We will keep remembrance holy
1'Vom tho soil of care and folly.
No weariness of life made wise,
No ranker in a youngling bud,
iiling from our eyes,
Nr-r ardour puling in the blood !
: ever seemed Icsa fair
To the other playing there.
Still asleep, we drift asunder,
Who met and loved bat in a dream ;
N< v> ki>.-iii clossly, wcke to wonder
Why wo are not what we seem 1
: doom dies when we press
youri Zjpbyr may caress.
I Tare you well ! more might have been !
Nay, v/e know more night not be !
tent only I may lean
i hi your bosom, ere you flee,
. Ere tLe weary sultry day
iiid-j my morning and my May !
i iry fountain glistens
; ii. l^ted leaves,
f ul spirit ! i
>i;o that glow a and grieves,
-ing, when my heart would fail,
iry vale,
"Where tings u, nightingale.
l\ r ocl, in " Good Word*.
.-crs was held last cvoi;
iotel. The room was gaiiy decorated^]
^riate mottoes and flowers. Lieut. Kerby:
.., and the vice-chair was filled by Lieut. :
company, which numbered about 70, included Col. Hay
M.P., Col. Ford, Captain and Adjutant BampfJ
Captains Moger, Appleby, Turner, and
(Bristol Engineers) ; Lieutenants Dawson, Edrnoi
Carter, Noke, Sincoek ; Quarter- Master Moutrie, Mei
A. A. Fry, and J. Kicketts.
The usual loyal toasts having been honoured, Cap
TURNER proposed the health of the "Bishop ar<i CL-r;-
the Diocese and the Ministers of all religions < euora
tions."
The next toast was " the Army, Navy and AuxiM
Forces " proposed by Captain APPLEBY.
Colonel FORD responded for the army, and roado si
remarks in favour of the system of pensions. He obsej
from his experience of the army and soldiers that
country would have no difficulty in getting non-com
gioned officers if they held out a reward to thcM.
Colonel HA YTER, M.P., who was .well received,
eponded for the auxiliary forces. He said it gave
the greatest pleasure to be present amongst, them
evening, and he was sure, when he saw the stab
forms and powerful arms assembled around that t
the Volunteer movement had not fallen off in the g
city of Bath. During the time that he had the hot
of holding a commission in the Guards, and du
the four years which he had commanded a Volunj
corps, he had seen a great deal of the men of Somei
shire, for whilst he was in the former regiment theyl
recruiting parties at Bristol, Bath and Weils, and amo
the finest recruits they had for Her Majesty".
were some of the men of Somersetshire, and particuj
the men of Bath (hear, hear). And in the auti
manosuvres, at which he was present in rornaiar/d 1
battalion, he had seen, under Colonel >L
Major Paget, some of the finest Volunteer fo.
and he recognized the same grey uniform \vhidb
saw so -largely represented that evening. He was
that there was nothing tended to the greatness
country so much as the feeling of patriotism wj
must animate every one of them to give up so n
of their time and labour to the service of the country,
might bo; allowed to say that he thought the volui
force was largely increasing both in numbers and in
excellence of its shooting, and he thought the time c
not be far distant when the Government would ha\
find every efficient volunteer with a Martini-Henry e
to that supplied to the line (hear, hear, and applause).
was sure the system of brigading the volunteers with
regulars increased the efficiency of the volunteers, am
not at all deteriorate the efficient nf t>> r^nmiorcj
AND BROADSIDES. 175
Let wifdom be, as it is, I fee,
A gift moft worth the telling,
Which neuer was fo brought to pafle
Where Pagans haue ben dwelling,
Is now, in fine, by power deuine,
Among vs Englifh planted;
Which many a day was kept away,
And many a one it wanted.
And by that wifdom haue we had
Such proofe as yet was neuer,
To judge and deeme both good and bad,
To our great comfort euer.
Which tithes we haue, now let vs hold,
This tutchftone is the triall,
To beate the baggage from the gold,
And truth from falfe deniall.
And by this knowledge we do know
That euery thing is vaine
Beneath the fonn, which heare below
We couet to attaine.
Let not the fpright geue vs delight
To labour and attend vs,
To feke to haue before our graue
The ioy that Chrifte may fend vs.
In feking that, then, muft we nat
Build on the fandy furges,
Nor fow our feede where euery weede
His grace and bounty vrges;
Nor put our hope in Preefte or Pope,
In mafle or other matters,
Or, by our dole, to fave our foule
With filling empty platters.
176 ANCIENT BALLADS
Or by a pardon to appeafe
The furfits of our finning,
Although our fathers had all theafe
By wicked mens beginning.
Nor let vs make our ftock and ftore
A burden to accufe vs ;
For, doing fo, fo much the more
We tempt GOD to refufe vs.
Neither let vs once prefume fo far,
Of mercy or of meekenes,
To counterfait, to make or mar
This image or this likenefle,
That our forefathers did beleue
Were Gods to giue and guide them :
Such follies did the Chriftians greeue,
And Pagans now deride them.
Remember once the latter law
Left yet in Moyfes table, -
That neighbourly to Hue in awe
It is moft commendable :
Then fhouldft thou not defire to craue
Thy neighbours lofTe or lacke ;
Neither exceffe defire to haue,
That puts thy foule to wracke.
Neither vfery, nor vfe at all
Of women, wealth, or wine ;
Neither of aboundance, great or fmall,
111 gotten, mould be thine :
Neither mould contencion, craft, increafe,
Nor fwearing beare the fway,
Nor God vnferued men as beafls
Would break the Sabboth day.
AND BROADSIDES. 177
Then would the honour duly hit,
To parents, lord, or king ;
Then would ther be no doubt a whit
To haue ftore of euerything :
All this the new law, with the old,
Doth nip vs to remember,
Euen as the froft, that waxeth cold,
Doth nip vs in December.
And as, vpon a fodain heat,
We foone forget that freefmg,
When God doth of his mercy great
Spare vs for lack of leefing,
So let vs think, as Sommer mows
Grene grafle to our deliting,
We fe that all the grafTe that growes
Goth down with litle fmiting ;
And when the mowyer corns to mowe,
'Tis fone both ripe and rotten :
This tale, I truft, of hye and low
Will neuer be forgotten.
On Gods good booke then let vs loke
For that which neuer faileth ;
Without which boke, by hooke or crooke,
No worldly wit preuaileth.
God faue her Grace that holds the plow,
To fowe this trufty treafure ;
Though many a one be ftubborn now,
And harrow it but at leafure :
God graunt that he that harrowed Hell
In guardon ftill may haue her,
N
i?8 ANCIENT BALLADS
And fend you grace that thinke not well
Of God, that fo doth faue hir.
W. Elderton.
ft Imprinted at London, in Fleeteftreete, by
William How for Richard Johnes : and are
to be folde at his Shop, ioyning to the
fouthweft doore of Paules Church.
An Epitaph on the death of the vertuous Mat-
rone the Ladle MaioreJJe, late wyfe to the right
Honorable Lor de (Alexander Auenet,) Lord Maior
of the Ci tie of London, who deceafedthe vij. dale
of July, 1570.
IELPE nowe, ye Mufes nyne, powre
out your noates of woe !
Aide me, with pitious piercing plaints,
the loffe of her to fhoe,
Whofe virtues, maugre Death! fhall lyue and
laft for aye,
As fliyng Fame in golden trump doth cherefully
difplay.
Ye ladyes, leave your fportes, your paftymes fet
afyde ;
To weepe this ladyes fatall fine, conduicles of
ftreames prouide:
Caft off your coftly filkes, your juelles nowe for-
fake,
AND BROADSIDES. 179
To decke yourfelues in mournynge weedes, now
poaftynge hafte do make.
Helpe now, ye faythfull wyues, to wayle this
faythfull wyfe,
Whofe flowynge vertues were not hyd whyle fhe
enioyed lyfe ;
Aswellto frende as foe hercurtefiewas knowne ;
But now the goddes haue thought it good to
clayme agayne their owne.
LVCINA hath forgot her chardge, the fatall Fates
haue don ;
CLOTHO hath left the rocke of lyfe, and LACHAS
longe hath fpon.
Thefe werie of their wonted toyle, at mightie
IOVES decree
To whom the heauens, the earth, and fea, and
all thynges fubiect bee,
The fitter dire, fearce ATROPOS, with f '.ortchyng
cuttynge knyfe,
Hath fhred the threede that longe dyd holde this
godly ladies lyfe;
Whofe lofle, deare dames, bewayle, and weepe
with many a teare,
For you mall mifle a matrone graue in daunger
you to cheare,
Whofe counfell in their neede her neighbours
could not want.
Her helpe vnto the comfortlefle could neuer yet
bee fcant ;
Vnto the poore, oppreft with fickenefle, griefe and
payne,
To minifter and giue reliefe her hart was euer
fayne.
The poore haue loft a nurfe to helpe their nedie
ftate,
i8o ANCIENT BALLADS
The ritche {hall want a perfecte frende, as they
can well relate.
Thus ritche and poore {hall want her aide at
euerie neede ;
For both eftates in daunger deepe {he laboured to
feede,
The ritche with counfelles fwete to chearifti ftyll
{he thought,
The poore by almes and lyberall giftes to tender
longe {he fought.
But who fhall haue the greateft lofle I knowe is
not vnknowen,
Her beft beloued, the wight whom fhee accompted
for her owne,
The Lorde MAI OR, whiche no we doth rule in
LONDON, noble citie,
Shall want her fight, the greater griefe to mifle
a mate fo wittie ;
A phenyx rare, a turtell true, fo conftant in her
loue,
That Nature nedes muft mowe her force, her
hufbandes teares to moue.
Who for the lofle of fuche a wyfe can fobbyng
fighes refrayne,
In whom fo many vertues dyd continue and
remayne ?
You damfelles deare domefticall, whiche in her
houfe abyde,
Haue caufe to wayle, for you haue loft a good and
godly^guide,
Whofe lenytie and gentell hart you all haue
knowen and felt,
For vnto you in courteous forte her giftes me
euer dealt.
You officers, that dayly feme her lorde at euery
neede,
AND BROADSIDES. 181
Can teftifie that you haue loft a ladle kynde in
deede,
So gentell, graue, demure, and wife, as ye your-
felues expreffe,
That needes ye muft gufti foorth your teares, and
weepe with bytternefTe.
In fyne, both ritche and poore haue iuft caufe
giuen to wayle ;
The ritch in counfell lacke a frende, the poore
their comfort fayle.
The troupe of maryed dames, whiche mall her
vertues knowe,
Haue offered caufe in bytter teares fome tyme
for to beftowe.
But fith it is the goddes decree, to whom all flefh
muft bende,
To take this ladie from the earth, and- bringe her
dayes to ende,
Who can withholde that they wyll haue? who
dare their wyll withftande ?
To vayne it were for mortall men the caufe to take
in hande.
Her vertues were fo great, that they haue thought
it meete
To take from hence vnto the heauens her chriftall
foule fo fweete,
Which now inclofed is with aungelles rownde
aboute.
Suche hoape we haue, no other caufe is giuen vs
for to doubt.
Her corps (hall mrowde in claye, the earth her
right doth craue,
This ladie yeldes her parent too, her tombe, her
cell and graue ;
From whence no kynge nor keyfar can, nor ruler
bearynge fwaye,
182 ANCIENT BALLADS
For all their force and puiflaunce, once ftarte or
go awaye.
All flefshe fhall haue an ende, as goddes do graunt
and wyll,
And reape rewarde as they deferue, hap good, or
hap it yll.
But thoughe that death haue done his worfte, this
dame to take awaye,
In fpite of death her vertues fhall endure and laft
for aye.
C Farewell, O ladye deare ! the heauens haue
chofen thee,
Receyue this VALE ; I haue done; thou getteft no
more of mee.
Poft funera viuit virtus, quoth John Phillip.
Imprinted at London by Richarde Johnes.
C A famous dittie of the joyful receauing of
the Queens mofte excellent maieftie by the worthy
citizens of London, the xij. day of Nouember y
1584, at her grace: comming to Saint James.
To the tune of Wigmores Galliard.
HE -twelfe day of Nouember laft,
Elizabeth, our noble queen,
To Londen-warde me hied faft,
Which in the cuntry long had been.
The citizens went then apace,
On ftately fteeds, to meet her grace,
In veluet coats and chaines of golde,
Mofte gorgioufly for to beholce.
AND BROADSIDES. 183
C Each company in his degree
Stood orderly in good aray,
To entertaine Her Maiefty,
As (he did pafle along the way.
And by each man did duly ftand
A wayter with a torch in hand,
Becaufe it drue on toward night,
Along the way her grace to light.
C The people flocked there amain,
The multitude was great to fee ;
Their joyful harts were glad, and fain
To view her princely maiefty,
Who at the length came riding by,
Within her chariot openly ;
Euen with a noble princely train
Of lords and ladies of great fame.
C Her maiefty was glad to fee
Her fubiecls in fo good a cafe,
Which then fell humbly on their knee,
' Defiring God to faue her grace.
And like a noble prince that day
For them in like forte did me pray ;
And curteoufly (he anfwered ftill,
I thank you all for your good will.
C And bowing down on euery fide,
Mofte louingly vnto them all,
A poor man at the length (he fpied,
Which down before her grace did fall.
And curteoufly fhe then did ftay,
To heer what he had then to fay ;
To whome he did prefent anon,
An humble fupplication.
184 ANCIENT BALLADS
Then plefantly me pafTed on,
Til fhe vnto Saint James came,
And alwaies, as fhe went along,
The people cri'd with might and main,
O Lord, preferue your noble grace,
And all your fecret foes deface !
God blefle and keep our noble queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen !
What traitors hart can be fo hard
To hurt or harme that princely flower ?
What wretch from grace is fo debard,
That can againft her feem to lower,
Which is the onely ftar of light,
That doth amaze all princes fight,
A mofte renowned virgin queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen ?
The daughter of a noble king,
Defending of a royall race,
Whofe fame through all the world doth ring,
Whofe vertues mines in euery place ;
The diamond of delight and ioy,
Which guides her cuntry from anoy ;
A mofte renowned virgin queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen.
C The peerles pearle of princes all,
So ful of pitty, peace, and loue,
Whofe mercy is not proued fmall,
When foule offenders doo her mooue.
A phenix of mofte noble minde,
Vnto her fubiecls good and kinde ;
A mofte renowned virgin queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen.
AND BROADSIDES. 185
C The feruant of the mighty God,
Which dooth preferue her day and night,
For whome we feel not of his rod,
Although the pope hath doon his fpite.
The cheef maintainer of his Woord,
Wherein confifts our heauenly food ;
O Lord, preferue our noble queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen !
C And fuch as hollow-harted be,
Partakers of the Romifti rout,
Which thinketh mifcheef fecretly,
The Lord wil fuerly finde them out,
And giue them their deferuings due,
Which to her grace is found vntrue ;
But, Lord, preferue our noble queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen !
C In many dangers hath me been,
But God was euermore her guide ;
He wil not fee our gratious queen
To fuffer harme through traitors pride ;
But euery one which fought her fall,
The Lord did ftil confound them all,
And fuch as thought her life to fpill
Themfelues mofte defperately did kil.
C And euery traitor in this land,
Whofe wicked thoughts are yet vn known,
The Lord confume them out of hand,
Before they be more riper grown;
Whofe harts are fet with one accord
Againft th* annointed of the Lord ;
But, God, preferue our noble queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen !
186 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Lord, fend her long and happy dales,
In England for to rule and raigne,
Gods glory euermore to raife,
True Juftice alwaies to maintain,
Which now, thefe fix and twenty yeers,
So royally with vs appeers ;
O Lord, preferue our noble queen,
Whofe like on earth was neuer feen !
Finis. Richard Harrington.
C At London : printed by Edward Allde for
Yarath James, and are to be folde in Newgate
Market againft Chrift church gate. 1584.
A meruaylous ftraunge deformed Swyne.
|ERE, good reader, malt thou beholde
a ftraunge and deformed iwyne,
farowed and brought foorth in Den-
marke, and there bought and brought
ouer by an Englifhman, which hath it at this
prefent ; and is to be feen aliue, the proportion
wherof is wonderous ftraunge to beholde and
vew ; the forepart therof from the fnoute beneath
the foremoulders are in al pointes like vnto a
fwine, except the eares only, which refemble the
eares of a lion ; the hinder parte (contrarie to
kinde) is proportioned in all pointes like vnto a
ram, hauing fofte wooll, both white and blacke,
mixed monge the hard heare, and fo groweth
AND BROADSIDES. 187
from the fhoulders downewarde, all the body ouer ;
and it is a boare pyg> howbeit there doth nothing
appeare outwarde, but onely the pyfell vnder his
belly ; but if a man lift to feele and gripe it in
the grindes, there ye may feele his coddes within
his belly ; and the moft ftraungeft thinge of all
is the mifshapen and deformed feete, wheron grow
certayne tallents and very harde clawes, doubling
vnder his feete, euery claw fo byg as a mans
fynger, and blacke of colour, and the length of
euery of them are full x inches, very ftraunge and
wonderfull to beholde. It feedeth and eateth
diuers and fundrie thinges, as well haye and grafle
as breade and apples, with fuch other thinges as
fheepe and fwyne do feede on.
C An exhortation or warnynge to all men, for
amendment of lyfe.
COME neere, good Chriftians all,
Beholde a monfter rare,
Whofe monftrous fhape, no doubt, fortels,
Gods wrath we mould beware.
His wondrous works we ought not iudge,
As toyes and trifles vaine ;
Whither it be childe or brutifh beaft,
Forwarnings they are playne.
As now this mingled brutifh bead
Gods creature is, we fee,
Although as ftraunge of fhape and forme
As poflyblie may be;
For if you do way well ech poynt,
His nature and his fhape,
188 ANCIENT BALLADS
I feare, refembles fome of thofe
As on the fame do gape ;
For-why moft fwinifh are our Hues,
And monftrous, that is fure.
Though we refemble fimple fheepe,
Or lambes that be moft pure,
But euery tree itfelfe will try,
At laft by his owne fruite ;
Though on our backs we cary woll,
Our confcience is pollute ;
Though fmilingly, with flattering face,
We feeme Gods word to loue,
Contrary wife fom hate the fame,
As well their deedes did prooue,
Who ment the ruine of our realme ;
As tray tours to our queene,
Som white-fade lambs, haue fought to do,
Nay, monftrous fwine, I weene.
I meane not here at large to fhowe
Offences as they bee,
In whom they raigne, in hie or low,
I name here no degree ;
But generally I fay to all,
Repent, amend your life ;
The greedy rich, the needy poore,
Yea, yong man, maide, and wife !
The proteftant, the papift eke,
What fefte fo that ye be,
Gripe your own confcience, learne to do
As God commaundeth ye ;
For all are finners, Dauid faith,
Yea, do the be ft we may,
Vnprofitable feruaunts ftill we be,
We can it not denay.
Judge ye therfore how far amifle
All thofe their liues do frame,
AND BROADSIDES. 189
That outwardly profefle Gods truth,
And inward hate the fame.
Judge ye againe that hate your prince,
And feeke the realme to fpoyle,
What monftrous fwine you proue at length,
For all your couert coyle.
Experience late by Felton falfe,
And Nortons two, I weene ;
Their treafon known were wondred at,
As they had monfters been ;
And furely I can iudge no lefle
But that they monfters were,
Quite changed from true fubjects mape,
Their deedes did fo appere.
Then let their deedes example be
To vs that fubiects are,
For treafon ends by fhamfull death,
Therfore by them beware.
I fpeake not here of monftrous pride
In man, in mayde, and wife ;
Nor whoordom, which is daily vfde
In England ranke and rife.
Of couetoufneffe what mould I fay,
Or vfery daily don ?
It booteth not to fpeake therof,
So much therby is wonne.
But if they well do count their cardes,
How God they do offend,
I wis their fweete ill-gotten gaines
Hath fowre and bitter end.
From the which end deliuer vs, Lord,
And graunt both hie and low
To become thy feruaunts iuft and true,
And then our end we know.
God grant our gracious fouerain queen
Long ouer vs may raigne ;
igo ANCIENT BALLADS
And this life parl, with Chrift our Lord
Heauens ioyes fhe may attaine !
Finis, I. P.
Imprinted at London by William How, for
Richard lohnes, and are to be folde at his
fhop ioyning to the fouth weft doore of Paules
Churche.
Love deferveth Love.
YOONGE man that on VENVS fporte
doth raunge,
Taking delight his miftrefefTe to
chaunge,
In lewe of LOVE doth hope to be regarded,
And with a gentle looke to be rewarded.
He proffers feruice, vowing all he maye,
That, were me deade, there neuer would be daie !
Saying then, Phoebe, thow art more deuine,
Shee borroweth Phoebus light, and Phoebus thine ;
And one the top his eftridge plumed helme
He beares her gloue, his foes to ouerwhelme ;
And for reward he nothinge doth requier
But loues fweet-water to aiTwage lufte' fier ;
He feekes not for abundance out of meafure,
But loue's reward is all his hop'te for treafure,
T. W.
AND BROADSIDES.
191
Afpellfor lone.
ELL me, fweete girle, how fpellft thou
lone ;
Tell me but that, is all I craue,
I mail not neede to lye alone,
When fuch a louely mate I haue.
That thou arte one who can denye,
O one whofe praife no tonge can tell ?
And all will graunt that I am I,
happy I, if right thou fpell ;
If I am I, and thou art one,
Tell me, fweete wench, how fpellft thou lone ?
lONE.
He tell you, fir, and tell you true,
For I am I and I am one,
So can I fpell lone without you,
And fpelling fo, can lye alone :
My I to one is confonant,
But as for yours, it is not fo ;
If then your I agrement want,
1 to your I muft aunfwer no ;
Wherfor leaue of your fpelling plea,
And let your I be I per fe.
RES.
Your aunfwer makes me almoft blind,
To put out one and leaue one I ;
Unlefs herein fome hope I find,
Therfor I muft difpayre and dye ;
192 ANCIENT BALLADS
But I am you, when you doe fpeake ;
O fpeak againe, and tell me fo !
My hart with forrow canot break
To heare fo kinde a graunting, no ;
For this is all for which I fue,
That I may be turnd into you.
lONE.
Nay, if you turne and wind and prefs,
And in the crofs-row haue fuch {kill,
I am put down, I muft confefs ;
It bootes me not to crofs your will.
If you fpeak tru, fay I ftand to it,
For you and I are now but one ;
And I will ly that you may doe it,
Now put together we fpell lone ;
But how will lone be fpeld, I wonder,
When you and I mall part afunder ?
A Paradox.
HAT lyfe is beft to lead in citty or in
towne ?
In thone both witt and wealth, court
getts vs great renown ;
The country keepes in health, bringes quietnes of
mind,
Where wholfome ay re with exerfice and pretty
fportes we find.
Wed, and thou haft a bed of follace and of ioye ;
Wed not, and haue a reft without anoy ;
AND BROADSIDES.
193
The fetled loue is fafe, fwete is the loue at large ;
Thy children are thy comforters, no childrun are
no charge ;
Youth lufty is and getts, age honnord is and wife ;
Then not to dye or be vnborne is beft, by my
aduife.
Thefe verfes found I thus placed on a wall,
For want of ink, twas written with a coale,
By one who fince hath chaungd his ftat of lyf,
For liuing fingle now hath gott a wife.
So that, howere we men think ftraung to mary,
It is our cheif defyr, though long we tary ;
Witnefs this party, who thefe lines hath penned,
Which doutles then was of an other mind.
But graunt this tru, that here is fayd of menn,
Much more in maydes and widowes I thinke then ;
Yett left I mould proue tedious with my rime,
Here will I end, wifhing you a good hufband in
time. I. G.
*The Fickknefs of Women.
DUST is lighter then a fether,
And the wind more light then ether ;
But a womans fickle minde
More light then feather, duft or wind,
194 ANCIENT BALLADS
An Epitaph on Edmund Sandf or d> written ingould.
Y fand ftill refts, though lyfe doth pafle
Fleete as the ford, parting my name ;
So parte remaines, though run my glafs,
For what was fand is ftill the fame.
Thus death dicaies not all my truft,
For fand I was, and now am duft.
C The forme and Jhape of a monjlrous Child,
borne at Maydflone in Kent, the xxiiij. of
Oftober, 1568.
As ye this (hape abhorre
In body for to haue,
So flee fuch vices farre
As might the foule depraue.
In Gods power all flefh flands,
As the clay in the potters hands,
To fafhion euen as he wyll,
In good {hape or in yll.
T Maydftone in Kent there was one
Marget Mere, daughter to Richard
Mere, of thefaydtowne of Maydftone,
who, being vnmaryed, played the
naughty packe, and was gotten with childe, being
deliuered of the fame childe the xxiiij. daye of
Odlober laft paft, in the yeare of our Lord 1568,
at vij. of the clocke in the afternoone of the fame
AND BROADSIDES.
195
day, being Sonday; which child, being a man-child,
had firft the mouth flitted on the right fide, like
a libardes mouth, terrible to beholde, the left
arme lying vpon the breft, faft therto ioyned, hau-
ing as it were ftumps on the handes, the left leg
I growing vpward toward the head, and the ryght
leg bending toward the left leg, the foote therof
growing into the buttocke of the fayd left leg.
In the middeft of the backe there was a broade
lump of flefh, in famion lyke a rofe, in the myddeft
| whereof was a hole, which voyded like an ifliie.
Thys fayd childe was borne alyue, and lyued xxiiij.
houres, and then departed this lyfe, which may
be a terrour as well to all fuch workers of filthynes
and iniquity, as to thofe vngodly liuers who (if
in them any feare of God be) may mooue them
to repentance and amendement of lyfe, which
God for Chriftes fake graunt both to them and
vs. Amen ! Witneffes hereof were thefe :
William Plomer, John Squier, glafier, John
Sadler, goldfmith, befides diuers other credible
perfons, both men and women.
A warnyng to England.
THIS monftrous fhape to thee, England,
Playn fhewes thy monftrous vice,
If thou ech part wylt vnderftand,
And take thereby aduice.
For waying firft the gafpyng mouth,
It doth full well declare
What rauine and oppreffion both
Is vfed wyth greedy care.
ig6 ANCIENT BALLADS
For, for the backe and gorging paunch,
To lyue in wealth and eafe
Such toyl men take, that none may ftaunch
Their greedy minde, nor pleafe.
For in fuch fort their mouthes they infeft
With lying othes and flaightes,
Blafpheming God, and prince reiect,
As they were brutifh beaftes.
Their filthy talke and poyfoned fpeech
Disfigures fo the mouth,
That fom wold think ther flood the breech,
Such filth it breatheth forth.
The hands which haue no fingers right,
But ftumps fit for no vfe,
Doth well fet forth the idle plight
Which we in thefe daies chufe.
For rich and poore, for age and youth,
Eche one would labour flye ;
Few feekes to do the deedes of truth,
To helpe others thereby.
The leg fo clyming to the head,
What meaneth it but this,
That fome do feeke not to be lead,
But for to leade amis ?
And as this makes it moft monftrous
For foote to clyme to head,
So thofe fubiects be moft vicious
That refufe to be lead.
AND BROADSIDES. 197
The hinder part doth fhew vs playne
Our clofe and hidden vice,
Which doth behind vs run amayne
In vyle and fhameful wyfe.
Wherefore to ech in England now,
Let this monfter them teach
To mend the monftrous life they fhow,
Leaft endles death them reach.
C Imprinted at London by John Awdeley, dwell -
yngin Little Britain ftreete without Alderfgate,
the xxiij. of December.
A mournfull Dittie on the death of certaine
Judges and Jujlices of the Peace, and diuers
other Gentlemen, who died immediatly after
the Aflijes holden at Lincolne laft paft.
To the tune of Fortune.
ECOUNTING griefes and dolors long
tyme done,
Or blazyng forth the danger none
can fhon,
Might feeme a ftudy altogether vayne ;
Yet outwarde words oft eafeth inward payne.
Then patiently my woefull tale attend,
Where forrowe doth each feuerall peryod end,
And euery word a bitter figh doth found,
For thofe great plagues which we haue often found.
198 ANCIENT BALLADS
At Oxford firft the iufteft judge of all
Our earthly judges firft to count dyd call,
And fecondly at Excefter againe ;
And laft of all did Lincolne witnes plaine
How fore for finne the Lord offended was,
How fore for finne his wrath from him did pas,
And how for finne the prudent of our land
Hath felt the force of his moft heauie hand.
Come, Shute, I faie, make vp the number then,
Thou worthie judge among vnworthie men ;
Thy godly zeale and wifedome plaine did fhow,
Thou waft too good for wretched men below.
Thy fodaine death at Lincolne Sifes wrought,
Remaines a terror to each feuerall thought ;
Although with life thou didft from thence depart,
Yet there did ficknes flaie thy tender hart.
And like lament for Hollice may we make,
Whofe life likewife moft cruell death did take ;
A vertuous man and juftice of the peace,
Whom Creflus wealth cannot from graue releafe.
Copartner with thefe breathles perfons here,
Lies maifter Tyrwhite, bound vpon the beere ;
O fickle life, how brittle is thy ftate,
And how vncertaine is thy finall date !
And Littlebury, by birth a good efquier,
Whofe feruice then the lawe did well requier,
The foreman of a jurie there was he,
Whom death arefted with a deadly fee.
AND BROADSIDES. 199
The fkilfull clarke which to the peace pertaind,
That long in credit in the place remaind,
Welby, I faie, his name was called fo,
Which at that place receiude a deadly bio.
Nor could graue Cauthron fcape from cruel death,
Though likely long to harber vitall breath ;
His wit, his wifedome, and his fage aduice
With life was loft and turned to a trice.
Where fhould I finde meete wordes for to exprefle
Our inward woe, our griefe and heauines, *
For Butlers death, a man of good degree,
And for the lofle of many more then hee.
Let this fuffice, that our eternall God
In fecret wifedome had prepard this rod
For our examples that remaine behind,
To cleere our eyes that Sathan fo did blind.
Thrice in this fort our judges haue bin flaine,
At three Aflifes, as is proued plaine,
And warning thrice herein our eies haue feene,
But more then thrice haue our offences beene.
Some iudge of this, and fome doe iudge of that,
Some fpeak and prate, and faie they know not what ;
Then learne of Chrift this leflbn tolde to thee,
Judge not at all, leaft that thou Judged be.
The caufe hereof to God is onely knowen,
No caufe at all by any man was fhowen ;
Yet without caufe God neuer wrought the fame,
As chiefeft caufe ourfelues our finnes may blame.
200 ANCIENT BALLADS
And like as men, by natural! defcent
From Adams loines, to wicked finne is bent,
So may I faie, the lawyer is not cleere
From vile corruption, while he liueth heere.
Then they, as we muft both with one accord,
Repent their finnes before the mightie Lord,
Leaft in his wrath a greater plague be fent
On flintie hearts that would not once relent.
Vprightly deale with euerie poore mans caufe,
Agairlft the truth wring not nor wreaft the lawes,
And haue a confcience in your common fees,
For God, thou knowft, all inward motions fees.
Let not your hearts with bribes polute your hands,
And by oppreffion do not inlarge your lands ;
For curfed gold fell not your foules away,
A practife found too common at this day.
Haue thou an eare vnto the wronged wight,
Defpife not him that fimple is in fight ;
Do right and iuftice vnto each degree,
Then in the end thou malt moft bleffed bee.
And for our queene of moft exceeding fame,
Let vs defire, in Jefus Chriftes name,
That God will ftill preferue her royall grace,
That me may runne a long and ioyfull race.
FINIS.
Imprinted at London by John Wolfe, for
William Wright. 1590.
AND BROADSIDES.
201
C A difcription of a monftrous Chylde y borne
at Chychefter in Suffex, the xxiiii. daye of May.
This being the very length , and bygnes of the
fame. MCCCCCLXII.
[Here is an engraving of the child, 6f inches in height.]
HEN God for fynne to plage hath
merit,
Although he longe defarde,
He tokens truly ftraunge hath fent
To make hys foes afearde ;
That they thereby might take remorce
Of their yll lyfe mifpent,
And, more of loue then feare or force,
Their formall faultes repent.
Before the earth was ouerflowen
With waters huge throughout,
He fent them Noe, that holy one,
Who dayly went about
To call them then to godly lyfe,
At whome they laugh te and fumde;
He was contemde of man and wyfe,
Tyll they were all confumde.
Loth did preache moft earneftly,
But it did not preuayle ;
When fyre and brymftone verely
Upon them doune did hayle.
202 ANCIENT BALLADS
Pharaoes heart had no remorce,
Though wounders ftraunge he fawe,
But rather was therfore the worce,
Without all feare or awe;
Untyll bothe he and his therfore,
By iuftice fent of God,
In raginge feas were all forlore,
And then he felt the rod.
Ten tymes truely were the Jewes
In captiue brought and led ;
Before eche tyme, our God did vfe
Hys tokens ftrange, we red.
The yeare before Vafpatian came,
The Jewes a heyfer dreft,
Whiche beynge flayne, did calue a lame,
This fygne they fone did wreft,
As others doe, and ftyll haue done,
In making it as vayne ;
Or els good lucke, they faye, fhal come,
As pleafe their foolifh brayne.
The heathen could forefe and faye
That when fuche wounders were,
It did forefhew to them alwaye
That fome yll hap drew nere.
The Scripture fayth, before the ende
Of all thinges mail appeare,
God will wounders flraunge thinges fende,
As fome is fene this yeare.
AND BROADSIDES. 203
The felye infantes, voyde of fhape,
The calues and pygges fo ftraunge,
With other mo of fuche mi fhape,
Declareth this worldes chaunge.
But here, lo ! fee, aboue the reft,
A monfter to beholde,
Procedinge from a Chriftian breft,
To monftrous to be tolde!
No caruer can, nor paynter maye,
The fame fo ougly make,
As doeth itfelf fhewe at this daye,
A fight to make the quake !
But here thou hafte, by printing arte,
A figne therof to fe ;
Let eche man faye within his harte,
It preacheth now to me,
That I fhoulde feke to lyue hencefoorth
In godly lyfe alwaye,
For thefe be tokens now fent foorth
To preache the later daye.
Alfo it doeth demonftrate playne
The great abufe and vyce,
That here in Englande now doeth raygne,
That monftrous is the guyfe.
By readinge ftories we (hall fynde,
In Scripture and elles-where,
That when fuche thinges came out of kynde,
Gods wrath it did declare.
204 ANCIENT BALLADS
But if we lightely weye the fame,
And make but nyne dayes wonder,
The Lord our ftoutnes fone will tame,
And fharpely bringe vs vnder.
Then ponder wel, be tymes long paft,
The fequel of fuche fignes,
And call to God by prayer in haft
From finne to chaunge oure myndes.
Repent, amende, both hygh and lowe,
The woorde of God embrace,
To lyue therto as we mould doe
God gyue vs all the grace !
Quod Jhon D.
C The father hereof is one Vyncent, a boutcher ;
bothe he and hys wyfe being of honeft and quiet
conuerfation, they hauing had chyldren before
in natural proportion, and went with this her
full tyme.
C Imprynted at London by Leonard Afkel, for
Fraunces Godlyf, in the yeare of oure Lorde
1562.
AND BROADSIDES. 205
C A new balade entituled asfoloweth :
{[ To fuch as write in metres I write
Of fmall matters an exhortation,
By readyng of which men may delite
In fuch as be worthy commendation.
My verfe alfo it hath relation
To fuch as print, that they doe it well,
The better they mail their metres fell.
|[ And when we haue doen al that euer we can,
Let vs neuer feke prayfe at the mouth of man.
| OR ACE, that noble poet, did write
In his learned booke, the Arte of
Poetrie,
Notable thinges of which to refite ;
One is now to be noted fpeciallie
In thefe our dayes, and wot ye whie ?
For fome there be, take matters in hand
Chiefly in metre, to mew their fancie,
As did in his dayes a certaine band.
C Read in his bookes, and then vnderftand,
They vexed his eares, they troubled his eyes,
With metres in number compared to the fand,
And lacked not fuch as wolde to the fkyes
So prayfe their workes fuch was their guyfe,
And alfo extoll their metres fo
With wordes freuolous and manifeft lyes,
That lyke vnto them there was no mo.
C But what faith HORACE, afore we go
Any further herein ? Becaufe they did vfe
To procure freendes, left that their fo
Shoulde paint them out, and fo accufe
206 ANCIENT BALLADS
Their doinges in verfe and their abufe,
Which men to praife them were not fo preft,
As Horace agayne wolde ftyll refufe
To admit that number into his breft.
C Suche coulde not dwell in his ftudie or cheft.
LVCILIVS, with other in Horace dayes,
Was one which he coulde not difgeft ;
His verfe in wordes or fence alwayes
For the mo ft parte deferued fmall prayfe,
And why ? becaufe he had more refpect
To couet the garland of lawrel or bayes,
For number rather then verfe felect.
C For when by writing men doe detect
Their wyfedome or els their follie in deede,
Yf it be foolifh, they doe correct,
Or ought that can, and that with fpeede,
As HORACE did, the vnfkylfull breede
Of poets that wrote in his time, I fay ;
The workes of fuch, as ye may read,
Continue not long, but fall away.
C Such fpices and wares as come from the fea,
They be good to vfe from towne to towne,
To the pedler they be a right good ftay
To put in his fluff, blacke, white orbrowne ;
Good for the mafter, and good for the clowne ;
So make as ye know the matter cleane,
Good to take vp, and good to caft downe ;
When ye haue doen, ye know what I meane.
C Your balades of loue, not worth a beane,
A number there be, although not all ;
Some be pithie, fome weake, fome leane,
Some doe runne as round as a ball ;
AND BROADSIDES. 207
Some verfes haue fuch a pleafant fall,
That pleafure it is for any man,
Whether his knowledge be great or fmall,
So that of a verfe fome fkyll he can.
C But fome yf ye take in hand to (kan,
They lacke their grace, they lacke good fence ;
The printer fhoulde, therfore, with his fan
Pourge chaff from corne, to avoyde offence ;
And not for lucre, vnder pretence
Of newes, to print what commeth to hand,
But that which is meete to bring in pence
Let him print, the matter well fcand.
C Our Englyfhmen, fome out of the land,
A forte of rebelles fturdye and ftoute,
With our pope, holy men, that ouerthwart band,
At Louaine, with open fclander breath oute
What enuie can doe, to bryng in doubte
The godly workes, well written of late
Of learned men, and now go aboute
To ftirre vp againft vs warre and debate.
C Wherfore let vs not open a gate,
Eyther the printer, or they which write,
To fuch as they be, knowyng their ftate,
Their fclanderous pen doth cruelly byte.
Let them not fay that thofe which endyte
Lacke knowledge in that the pen doth expreffe ;
Let them not fay that a rauenyng kyte
Is as good as a larke at a printers mefle.
C But now, left ye thinke me to vfe excefle,
I wyll to an end myfelf prepare,
Wyfhyng all them that wyll adreffe
Their pen to metres, let them not fpare
2o8 ANCIENT BALLADS
To folow Chawcer, a man very rare,
Lidgate, Wager, Barclay and Bale,
With many other that excellent are,
In thefe our dayes, extant to fale.
C Let writers not couet the bottom or dale,
Yf they may come to the hyll or brinke ;
And, when they haue written their learned tale,
The printer muft vfe good paper and inke,
Or els the reader may fometime mrinke,
When faulte by inke or paper is feene ;
And thus euery day, before we drinke,
Let vs pray God to faue our queene. Amen.
C FINIS. By R. B.
C Imprinted at S. Katherins, befyde the Towre
of London, by Alexander Lacie.
C maruelous tydynges, both wonders old and new,
The Deuyll is endited,yf many mens wordes be tru.
N all chriftendom Chriftes godfpell now
is rad
Of man, woman and chyld; it maketh
their harts glad,
Whiche with mamefull fyns before were full fad ;
O wounders good tydynges, yf al fay inges be tru !
C It is rad fo oft, and with foch diligence,
That no text is wrefted thorow raifche negligence;
AND BROADSIDES. 209
Playn declarations help moche to the true fenfe.
We all haue caufe to reioyfe, yf thefe tydyngs
be tru.
Now after Chriftes rule all folk do lead theyr lyfe,
They abhor all chydyng, braulyng, fyghtyng,
and ftryfe;
Crete feruent charytie is betwyne man and wyfe,
No worfe wordes then honycomb, fweet hart
of gold moft tru.
C One neybur reforteth fryndly to another,
As though all were kynsfolk, lyke brother and
brother ;
Greter loue was neuer betwyne chyld and mother.
This world is no world, yf all tydynges be tru ;
It is rather lyke heuyn, or pleafaunt paradyfe,
The folk be lyke angels, difcrete,fober, and wyfe;
If one fall through fraylty, he, repentyng more
then twyfe,
Ryfeth ftyll a new man, a good Chriftian and
tru.
C Folk fad, pray, and ferue God not hipocritically,
Only to be feen of men for folyfli vayn glory,
But from the very hart, the Lord God to gloryfy,
Defpyfyng fond fantafyes, as falfe thynges and
not tru.
C Euery body now, in fom trade of lyuyng,
Doth labour for his foode with trauell or fwetyng;
Som dyggyng, fom fpynnyng, fom wrytyng, fom
redyng,
Som geuyng good counfell, lyke honeft folk
and tru.
p
210 ANCIENT BALLADS
C They knowe that they muft make a rekenyng
to God
Of theyr difpenfacion, theyfeere gretely Gods rod ;
The ryche do helpe the poore with roft meat or
with fod,
None lye ftaruyng in ftreets, yf all mens
tonges be tru.
C Great ryche men be afrayd leaft they dye
fodaynly,
Leaft theyre goods (after them) be fpent in foolery ;
Leaft God wyll call them fooles, therfore liberally
They fpend moche in theyr lyfe vpon poore
folk and tru.
C They be redy, alfo, fomwhat topryfons to fend,
If any through frayltie chaunfe folyfhly to offend ;
But now prifons be empty; the world doth fo
amende,
There be but iiij . fcore and ten in Kynges Benche,
it was tru.
C Of them that be in pryfon fom be tyed with
clogges,
Som gnaw broun cruftes of bred, fom burnifh
boones like doggs ;
Som wyfh to fyll theyr gutts with catts, ratts,
myfe, or froggs ;
Specyally this deere yere, now, they fay, they
wyll be tru.
How many be in Ludgate and Neugate I can
not tel,
But they that be abrode be afrayd, I truft well,
Andfalltowourkluftely thorow theyr exampell,
They abhorre Clinkerum, they fay they wyll be
tru.
AND BROADSIDES. 211
C A man may goo now ouer Fynfbery fylde
Without fweard and buckler, without fpeare or
fhylde,
With an houndred poundes,as fafeaswith a nylde,
In a myfty mornyng and by nyght, yf tales be
tru.
C All England and Spayn, all Scotland and
Germany,
All Fraunce and Ireland, all Denmark and
Hungary,
Be purged fo, I truft, from vice and idolatry,
That the Turk doth beghyn to thynk the
Godfpele tru.
C The Saracens and Jewes, I truft, do now conuert,
Moued with godly nes that is in Chriftians harte;
They fere leaft Chryfts fcourge wyll make theyr
bones to fmart,
I truft they receyue baptyme, and belyue the
Godfpell is tru.
They hire it fo difcufled by calculacyon
That Doomefday is at hand ; yf mens fpeculacion
In aftronomye be tru, the worldes transformacyon
Wyl be within x.y eres, ftraunge newes yf it be tru.
C I one of xl. yeres thought to prouyde for
Houfe for one and twenty yere, or fom fat
perfonage,
Som prebend, deanery, or fom vicarage,
But now I pas not moche,yf aftronomersbetru.
C Yea, whither aftronomers be true eyther no,
Or that generall iugement be commyng to or fro,
This one thyng I kno fure, that I fhall hence go,
I kno nor day nor ooure, no thyng is more tru.
212 ANCIENT BALLADS
C And douteles yf all men wolde be of mymynde,
We wold fom better way for to lyue here out fynde ;
Men fhulde be fet awurk, onlefTe they were ftark
blynd,
Yea, blynde fhuld do fomwhat to kepe them-
felfe tru.
C Helthy folke lackyng wourk fhuld reforte to
a place
With theyr tooles and inftrumentes, as fom vfe
to fhew their face ;
Then fet awourk, or fed, of mens fauour and grace,
With fom comon purfe, to kepe themfelfs tru.
C So that it fhuld be a ftraunge thyng for to fee
Any theft or murder euer committed to be,
As thankes be to God ! folk burne fo in
charytie,
That no knauery raigneth, yf all mens wordes
be tru.
C The Deuyll hath ben a knaue, and hath kylde
many men,
Yea, bothfoule and body, moe perchaunfe then ten;
Now he is endyted, as witnerTeth my pen,
His queft is empayneld, he is founde falfe, not
tru.
Here folowe the names of the xij. men that goo vpon
the Deuyll.
C Gen. iii. i Paralip. xxj. Job i. ii. Sapien. ii. }
Chriftin Math.xiij. and inLukeviij. Math. iiij.
Mar. i. Luke xxij. Joan xiij. and i Joan iij. j
Paull to the Ephefians vj. i Pet. v. Jacob iiij. \
AND BROADSIDES.
213
C It wyl be hard to kyll fuche an immortal] knaue,
He recoueryth fo oft, though a ftronge hoofte we
haue ;
Call in Turkes and Saracens, that they alfo may
be faue,
Through Gods help, we may breke Satans hed,
it is tru.
C To breke Satans hed, of all wayes this is one,
With the buckler of fayth to refyft fuggeftion,
And ftrongly to belyue that Chriftes paflion,
Chriftes wordes and myrakels all, be moftfurely
tru.
All Chriftian kyngs do now theyr wittes bende
Theyr letters in print to the Turkes for to fende,
With many New Teftamentes, theyr blynd lyfe to
amend,
For fere of hell fyre, I truft it wyl be tru.
C When Satan the Deuyll feeth fuch a great
hooft,
Suche a fort of Chriftians, to diminim his booft,
He muft nedes be compelld to graunt his great
ftrenght loft,
When his pate is broken, God graunte this may
be tru.
C Then the golden world, I truft, wyll com agayn,
That folk may lyue eafyly without any great
payn;
Many egges for a peny at London I wolde fe fayn,
Flefche and fifche better chepe, I truft it wyl be
tru.
214 ANCIENT BALLADS
C All other thynges good chepe I truft to fe er I
dye,
Coynes, meafures, and weyghtes in good vnifor-
mitie
Thorow all the world, I truft to fe fchortely,
Onles that diuerfitie doth more good, it be tru.
Jentyll reder, farewell ! Thou knoeft part of my
mynde,
There lye in my harte many fuch thynges be-
hynde ;
Whiche towards the brekyng of Satans hed I fynde,
That all may be mery and wyfe in Chrift : It
is tru.
C Printed by Cornelis Woltrop, dwellyng
at Saynt Antonies.
As pie of ant a dittie as your hart can wifh,
Shewing what vnkindnes befell by a kiffe.
Y miftris fings none other fong,
But ftil complains I do her wrong ;
Beleeue her not, it is not fo,
For I did but kifTe her,
For I did but kiffe her,
And fo let her goe.
And now me fwears I did but what ?
Nay, nay, I muft not tell you that ;
AND BROADSIDES. 215
And yet I will, it is fo fweet,
As teehe taha,
As teehe taha,
When louers do meete.
But womens words they are heedles,
To tell you more it were needles ;
I ran and caught her by the arme,
And then I kift her,
And then I kift her,
Was this any harme ?
Yet out, alas ! fhees angry ftill,
Which fheweth but a womans will ;
She bites the lippe, and cries, fie, fie !
And kifling fweetly,
And kitting fweetly,
Away {he doth fly.
Acteon for one fight did die,
So for one fillie kifle muft I ;
Vnwares fond loue did me betray,
When I gaue her vantage,
When I gaue her vantage,
And fhe fled away.
She ftriued and wrangled ful fore with me,
And cryedft, For fhame, let it be !
You doe me wrong to vfe me fo,
Therefore be quiet,
Therefore be quiet,
And now let me goe.
Yet ftill I held her by the hand,
Her words could not my will withftand ;
216 ANCIENT BALLADS
She fround, me pouted, me lookt fower,
And ftill I held her,
And ftil I held her
Within my power.
At laft fhe gan for anger cry,
And then my hart with griefe did die ;
I could no longer her containe,
But thus we parted,
But thus we parted,
Vnto my great paine.
And fince, when I with her do meete,
With words vnkind me doth me greet ;
At me her wanton head me makes,
And as a ftranger,
And as a ftranger,
My fauours fhe takes.
But yet her looks bewrayes content,
And cunningly her brawles are ment,
As louers vfe to play and fport,
When time and leafure,
When time and leafure
Is too-too mort. Finis.
At London : printed for T. P.
AND BROADSIDES.
217
The true difcription of two monjierous children,
laufully begotten betwene George Steuens and
Margerie his wyfe, and borne in the parifh
of Swanburne in Buckynghamjhyre the iiij. of
Aprill, Anno Domini 1566; the two children
hauing both their belies faft ioyned together y and
imbracyng one another with their armes : which
children wer both alyue by the fpace of half an
hower 9 and wer baptized and named the one
John, and the other Joan.
READ how Affrique land was fraught,
For their moft filthy life,
With monftrous fhapes confuzedly,
That therin wer full rife.
C But England now purfues their vyle
And deteftable path,
Embracyng eke all mifcheefs great,
That moues Gods mightie wrath.
C As thefe vnnaturall fhapes and formes,
Thus brought forth in our dayes,
Are tokens true and manifeft
How God by dyuers wayes
Doth ftyrre vs to amendment of
Our vyle and cankred lyfe,
Which to-to much abufed is
In man, in chylde, and wyfe.
/
218 ANCIENT BALLADS
C We wallow fo in filthie fin,
And naught at all regarde,
Nor wyll not feare the threats of God,
Tyll we, for iuft rewarde,
Be ouerwhelmd with mifcheefs great,
Which, ready bent for vs,
Full long ago decreed wer,
As Scriptures doth difcus.
C Both tender babes and eke brute beaftes
In fhape disfourmed bee;
Full manie wayes he plagues the earth,
As dayly we may fee.
C Thus mightie loue, to pearce our harts,
Thefe tokens ftraunge doth fend,
To call vs from our filthie lyfe,
Our wicked wayes t'amend.
And thus, by thefe two children here,
Forewarnes both man and wyfe,
How both eftates ought to bewayle
Their vile and wretched lyfe.
C For fure we all may be agaft
To fee thefe fhapes vnkynd,
And tremblyng feare may pearce our harts,
Our God to haue in mynd.
For yf we printed in our breft,
Thefe fignes and tokens ftraunge
Wold make vs from our finnes to ihrinke,
Our Hues anew to chaunge.
AND BROADSIDES.
C But fome proude boaftyng Pharifie
The parents wyll detect,
And iudge with heapes of vglie vice
Their Hues to be infect.
C No, no ; but leflbns for vs all,
Which dayly doe offend;
Yea, more, perhaps, then hath the freends
Whom God this birth did lend.
219
C For yf you wyll, with fingle eye,
Note well and view the text,
And marke our Sauiours aunfwer eke
That thereto is annext,
Where his difciples afked him,
To know therein his mynd,
Yf greatter wer the parents finnes,
Or his that was borne blynd.
C To whom Chrift aunfwered in a breef,
That neither hee nor they
Defer ued had that crooked fate,
Although they fin each day ;
But to the end Gods glorie great,
And miracles diuine,
Might on the earth apparaunt be,
His workes for to define.
C Such lyke examples moued me,
In thefe forgetfull dayes,
To rue our ftate, that vs among
Vice beares fuch fwings and fwayes;
220 ANCIENT BALLADS
C Wherein the goodnefTe great of God
We way and fet fo light ;
By fuch examples callyng vs
From fin both day and night.
Where we doe runne at randon wyde,
Ourfelues flatteryng ftyll,
And blazyng others faults and crimes,
Yet we ourfelues moft yll.
C But if we doe confider right,
And in euen balaunce way
The ruine great of hartie loue
Among vs at this day ;
And -well behyld, with inward eyes,
Th' embracyng of thefe twinnes,
That God by them vpbraides vs for
Our falfe difcemblyng finnes ;
We would with Niniuie repent
Our former pafTed yeares,
Bewaylyng eke our fecret finnes
In fackecloth and in teares.
C Therfore in time amend your ftate,
And call to God for grace,
Bewayle your former lyfe and finnes,
While you haue time and fpace.
C Finis, quod John Mellys Nor.
C Imprinted at London by Alexander Lacy, for
William Lewes, dwellyng in Cow Lane, aboue
Holborne Cundit, ouer againft the figne of the
Plough.
AND BROADSIDES.
221
A newe Ballade intytuled. Good Fellowes
mujl go learne to daunce.
OOD fellowes muft go learne to daunce.
The brydeall is full nere a ;
There is a brail come out of Fraunce,
The tryxt ye harde this yeare a ;
For I muft leape, and thou muft hoppe,
And we muft turne all three a;
The fourth muft bounce it lyke a toppe,
And fo we fhall agree a.
I praye thee, mynftrell, make no ftoppe,
For we wyll merye be a.
The brydegrome would giue twentie pounde
The manage daye were pafte a;
Ye knowe, whyles louers are vnbounde,
The knotte is ilyper fafte a ;
A better man maye come in place,
And take the bryde awaye a.
God fend our Wilkin better grace,
Our pretie Tom, doth faye a,
God vycar, axe the banes apace,
And hafte the mariage daye a.
A bande of belles, in bauderycke wyfe,
Woulde decke vs in our kynde a ;
A fhurte after the Moryce guyfe,
To flounce it in the wynde a.
A wyffler for to make the waye,
And Maye brought in withall a,
Is brauer then the funne, I faye,
And pafleth round or brail a ;
222 ANCIENT BALLADS
For we will trype fo tricke and gaye,
That we wyll pafTe them all a.
Drawe to dauncinge, neyghboures all,
Good fellowfhyppe is beft a,
It fkylles not yf we take a fall,
In honoringe this fefte a.
The bryde wyll thanke vs for oure glee,
The worlde wyll vs beholde a ;
O where fhall all this dauncinge bee,
In Kent or at Cotfolde a ?
Oure Lorde doth knowe, then axe not mee,-
And fo my tale is tolde a.
Adewe, Sweete Harte.
|DEWE, fweete harte, adewe !
Syth we muft parte !
To lofe the loue of you
It greues my harte.
Once againe come kyfTe me,
Syth I fo long muft mys thee,
[My w]illinge harte fhall wyfhe thee,
To eafe me of my fmarte.
And thoughe I nowe do leaue thee,
It wyll I not deceaue thee,
But come againe and wedde thee,
Euen for thy iuft defarte.
Syr Launcelotte comes againe, fyr,
So men do faye;
Tom Tofle wyll fayle to Spayne, fir,
By Tyborne awaye.
AND BROADSIDES. 223
Subtoll finne wyll haue her ;
Thoughe wyttie Watte do craue her,
Yet cuttinge clowne fhall faue her,
Vnlefle he lofe his praye.
And though ye be fo wyleye,
And fhe do loke fo hyleye,
At length fhe wyll begyle ye,
And [ftriue] the beft ye maye.
L is fo coye, fir,
She ... be folde,
W s her ioye, fir,
T . . . . tolde,
Ra .... wyll not blade it,
Jack . . . r wyll not fwade it,
The byllbowes are not made it,
Therof ye maye be bolde.
Although ye now haue cought her,
Ye wyll repent hereafter,
For farder ye haue fought her
Then I haue thought ye would.
Finis.
C Imprinted at London, in Flete ftrete at the
figne of the Faucon, by Wylliam Gryffith, and
are to be folde at his fhoppe in S. Dunftones
Churchyearde, 1569.
224 ANCIENT BALLADS
C The braineles blejjing of the Bull.
The homes, the heads, and all,
Light on their fquint-eyed fkonfes full,
That boweth their knees to Ball.
The cancred curfe, that wolde confume this real me with wracke
and ruine,
Returne to Rome with fyre and fume, to bryng the pope in
tune !
If neither curfe nor bleflyng bare may mend thefe parties
throwe,
I them bequeath curft as they are to Plutoes kyngdome
nowe !
AS neuer worlde fo farre from orders
rule,
That men durft fpeake fiich fawcie
words of kings,
Nor neuer pope fo lyke an afTe or mule,
Or dunghyll cocke, to crow and clap his winges.
Stand backe, good dogs, the bul he leapes and
flinges,
He bleates and bleathes as he a-baightyng were,
And fomes at mouth, lyke boare with briftled
heare ;
A beaftlye found comes runnyng from his paunch,
He beates the ground with foote, with hip and
haunch,
As though hell gates fhould open at his call,
And at his becke the heauens high fhould fall.
C O SathanS fonne ! O pope puft vp with pryde !
What makes thee clayme the clowdes where
God doth dwel,
When thou art knowne the glorious greedie guyde
AND BROADSIDES.
225
That leades in pompe poore feelye foules to hell ?
The pumpe of fhip hath not fo fowle a fmell
As hath the fmoke and fume that flames from
thee;
O graceles grace, O rotten hollow tree !
The branches bud, but neuer bryng forth leaues ;
Thy corne is dead when reaper lookes for fheaues ;
Thy golde is glafle, and gliftereth gay a whyle,
Tyll tromperie comes, and makes the worlde to
fmyle.
C Who bad thee blifle ? O buzzarde blynd of
fight,
Buylt God his church vpon fuch clots of clay ?
Thou doeft blafpheme thereby the GOD of might,
And robbeft with craft his honour cleane away.
Curfe whome thoulift, he better thryues that day;
Blefle whome thou wylt, and I dare gage my head,
For all thy charmes, he brynges a foole to bed.
Booke, bell and fyfe are babies fit for thofe
That gape for flyes where wafpes and hornets
blowes ;
The pardonles boxe, wherein thy reliques lye,
Doth fmell lyke fox, or fwyne (hut vp in ftye.
C A pope was wont to be an odious name
Within our land, and fcrapt out of our fcroules ;
And now the pope is growne fo farre paft fhame,
That he can walke with open face in Poules.
Go home, mad bull, to Rome, and pardon foules
That pyne away in purgatorie paynes,
Go triumph there, where credit moft remaines.
Thy date is out in England long ago,
For Ridley gaue the bull fo great a blow,
He neuer durft apeach this land tyll now,
In bullyng time, he met with Hardyngs cow.
0.
226 ANCIENT BALLADS
|[ A calfe or twayne hath here ben gotten fince,
Whofe heades were folde of late in Butcher Row ;
Come cheape calues heads, and bring in Peter pence !
Though fome are bought, our butchers looke
for mo,
For Walthams calues to Tiburne needes muft go
To fucke a bull and meete a butchers axe ;
The fhambles full is ftuft with prettie knacks,
As goate and lambe, and fhepe of three fcore yeare.
We haue good hope calues heads wyll not be \
deare ;
If Hardyngs cow be bulled as fhee ought,
Calues heads enough for little wyll be bought.
C The pope doth nought but practize mifcheif
ftyii,
And lets his bul runne ryot for his eafe ;
But whiles his calues are drawne vp Holborne hyll,
Both bull and cow are fafe beyond the feas.
that it might our holy father pleafe
To come himfelfe, and hang but halfe an hower
With fuch poore freendes as here maintaine his
power !
I fay no more, for feare the babes awake
That holde with pope, and hang for Hardyngs fake ;
Some knackes now lurkes that we fhal know ful
playne,
When Hoballes oxe bulles Hardyngs cow agayne.
I fcorne to write a vearce in any frame,
To anfwer wordes that ray led haue fo much,
Yet baightyng oft may make a bull fo tame,
That euery dog that comes may haue a twitch.
1 here proteft, if that my power were fuch,
By pen or fkyll to chaffe the bull at ftake,
I wolde be glad fome further fporte to make ;
AND BROADSIDES.
227
But fince I want the cunnyng and the arte
To baight the beaft, and play the maftiffs parte,
Let this fuffife to let you thinke in deede,
I hate the bull and all the Romifh breede.
C Finis.
C Imprinted at S. Katherins, befide the Tower
of London, ouer againft the Beare Daunce, by
Alexander Lacie.
A Ballad.
HAT lyfe is beft ? The nedy is full of
woe and awe,
The wel thy full of brawles and quarells
of the lawe ;
To be a maryed man how much art thou beguiled,
Seeking thy reft by carking ftill for houfhold,
wif, and child !
To till it is a toyle to grace a gredy gaine,
Andfuch as gotten is with drudging and with paine.
A fhrewd wyfe bringes debate, wiue not and
neuer thriue ;
Children are charge, childlefs, the greateft lack
^^ aliue ;
Youth witlefe is and frayle, age fickly and forlorne;
Then beft it is to dye betime, or neuer to be borne.
228 ANCIENT BALLADS
The crie of the poor e for the death of the right
Honourable Earle of Huntington.
To the tune of the Earle of Bedford.
GOD, of thy mercie remember the
poore,
And grant vs thy blefTmgs, thy plenty
and ftore ;
For dead is LordHaftinges, the more is our griefe ;
And now vp to heauen we cry for reliefe.
Then waile we, then weepe we, then mourne we
ech one,
The good Earle of Huntington from vs is gone.
To poore and to needie, to high and to low,
Lord Haftinges was friendly, all people doth know ;
His gates were ftill open the ftraunger to feede,
And comfort the fuccourles alwaies in neede.
Then waile we, &c.
The hufbandles widdow he euer did cherrim,
And fatherles infants he likewife would nourim ;
To weake and to ficke, to lame and to blinde,
Our good Earle of Huntington euer was kinde.
Then waile we, &c.
The naked he clothed with garments from cold,
And frankely beftowed his filuer and gold,
His purfe was ftill open in giuing the poore,
That alwaies came flocking to Huntingtons doore.
Then waile we, &c.
AND BROADSIDES. 229
His tennants, that daylie repairde to his houfe,
Was fed with his bacon, his beefe and his foufe ;
Their rents were not raifed, their fines were but
fmall,
And manie poore tennants paide nothing at all.
Then waile we, &c.
Such landlordes in England we feldome fhall finde,
That to their poore tennants will beare the like
minde,
Lord Haftinges therefore is ioyfully crownde
With angels in heauen, where peace doth abound.
Then waile we, &c.
His wifedome fo pleafed the queene of this land,
The fword of true juftice me put in his hand ;
Of Yorke he was Prefldent made by her grace,
Her lawes to maintaine and rule in her place.
Then waile we, &c.
Such mercifull pittie remainde in his breft,
That all men had juftice and none were opreft ;
His office in vertue fo godly he fpent,
That prince and his countrie his lofTe may lament.
Then waile we, &c.
L nd likewife Lord Haftings, S. Georges true
knight,
Did weare the goold garter of England fo bright,
The gift of a prince, King Edward firft gaue,
A gem for a fouldier and counceller graue.
Then waile we, &c.
His coyne was not whorded to flourifh in pride,
His kings and his jewels and chaines to prouide ;
230 ANCIENT BALLADS
But gaue it to fouldiers wounded in warres,
That pike and the bullet hath lamed with fcarres.
Then waile we, &c.
He built vp no pallace nor purchafte no towne,
But gaue it to fchollers to get him renowne,
As Oxford and Cambridge can rightly declare
How many poore fchollers maintained are there.
Then waile we, &c.
No groues he inclofed, nor felled no woodes,
No paftures he paled to doe himfelfe good ;
To commons and countrie he liude a good friend,
And gaue to the needie what God did him fend.
Then waile we, &c.
He likewife prouided, in time of great neede,
If England were forced with warres to proceede,
Both men and munition, with horfes of warre,
The proude foes of England at all times to fcarre.
Then waile we, &c.
Our queene and our countrie hath caufe to com-
plaine,
That death in his furie this noble hath flaine ;
Yet England reioyce, we reioyce without feare,
Lord Haftinges hath left a moft noble heire.
Then waile we, &c.
A thoufand poore widdowes for Huntingtons fake,
As manie poore children their praiers will make,
That God may long profperhis heire left behinde,
And graunt him old Hunting tons true noble minde.
Then waile we, &c.
AND BROADSIDES.
231
Then pray we for countrie, for prince and for peares,
That God may indew them with mod happie yeares ;
Lord, blefle vs with vertue, with plentie and peace,
And manie more fubiects like him to increafe !
Then waile we, then weepe we, then mourne
we ech one,
Our good Earle of Huntington from vs is gone.
FINIS.
Printed at London for William Blackwall, and
are to be fold at his fhoppe, nere
Guild Hall gate. 1596.
Joy full Newes for true SubieRes, to God and the
Crowne,
The Rebelles are cooled^ their Eragges be put downe.
Come, humble ye downe, come, humble ye downe,
Perforce now fubmyt ye to the queen and the crowne.
L true Englim fubieds, both mofte and
lefte,
Geue thanks vnto God, with humble
knees downe,
That it hath pleazde him, at our requeft,
To vanquifh the rebels that troubled the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, come, humble ye
downe,
Perforce now fubmit ye to the quene and the
crowne.
232 ANCIENT BALLADS
C The Weftmerlande bull and man in the moone,
The beare hath brought their brauerie downe ;
I dare faye for forowe they are redy to fwoone,
That euer they ymagynde to trouble the crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C And fir John Shorne, as fame doth reporte,
Is hangde vp fo hye that he cannot come downe,
Becaufe he thought it fo good a fporte,
To playe the traytour againft the crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C And becaufe he mould not hange alone,
To honor his priefthoode of holy renowne,
Sir John Swingbreeche, his felow, a rebell well
knowen,
They fay, is hangde with hym for troubling the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C The reft that are fled wyll foone be caught,
Though yet they lye lurkyng in countrey and
towne ;
And than they be trufde vp by and by ftrayght,
Except the quenes mercie that weareth the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C But her Maieftie of mercie is endued with ftore ;
That knewe they full well that nowe are put
downe,
Els would they not aventerd to rayfe this vprore.
Now be they foorth commyng, as pleafeth the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
AND BROADSIDES. 233
C The reft of the rebelles and traytours forfworne,
To fee them trufde vp, I would gage my gowne,
And fpecially the fed of Syr John Shorne,
To teache them to trouble the realme and the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C But that pertayneth no matter of mine ;
Yet for my good will on me do not frowne ;
It muft be as pleafeth God to afligne
The hart of our quene that weareth the crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C But, thankes bee to God ! their fpyte is donne,
They haue fpyt their venom, both knyght and
clowne ;
In deede, I muft faye, verye fayre haue they
fponne ;
They had better haue kept them true to the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C No doubt the deuill had them bewitcht,
They lackt bifhop Boner, to cuniure him
downe ;
If he had liued till now, his eares would haue icht
For joye to heare how they trouble the crowne.
Com, humble ye downe, &c.
C And fure he would haue written in hafte
To his holy father of hie renowne,
For helpe to fpoyle, confume and wafte,
All thofe that defpifed his triple crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
234 ANCIENT BALLADS
And that was the meaning of thofe that began
To roote out Chriftes doctrine, fupprefTe and
put downe ;
They haue mift their purpofe, now fhift how they
can,
God hath preuented them from troubling the
crowne.
Com, humble ye downe, &c.
C If they had preuayled, then had we been wo,
Then had ben olde wayling in countrie and
towne ;
Then mould many a woman her hufband forgoe,
All longe of the rebelles that troubled the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C Then had ben many a fatherlefle childe,
That fhoulde haue gon begging vp and
downe ;
Yea, many a chafte damfell mould haue ben defilde
By thofe popifh prieftes that troubled the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
Yea, many a good preacher mould haue loft his
lyfe,
Many a lorde and lady of noble renowne ;
Yea, many an infant and many a wyfe,
By thofe cruell rebelles that troubled the
crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, cVc.
C To fpoyle common wealth it was the next waye,
Example by other realmes of renowne,
AND BROADSIDES. 235
How warre and rebellyon bred their decaye,
And all for matters perteynynge the crowne.
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C But prayfed be God, they haue not theyr will !
The hurt they ment other to them doth
redowne,
In daunger both life and goods to fpill,
Thefe fruicts do they reape for troubling the
crowne.
Com, humble ye downe, &c.
God faue the queenes maieftie and confound hir
foes,
Els turne their hartes quite vpfldowne
To become true fubiecfles, as well as thofe .
That faythfully and truely haue ferued the
crowne !
Come, humble ye downe, &c.
C God graunt euery one, after his vocation,
To remember the accompt he muft laye downe ;
And that we maye all, in this Englyfh nation,
Be true to God, the queene and the crowne !
Come, humble ye down, come, humble ye
downe,
God graunt Queene Elizabeth longe to
weare the crowne !
FINIS. W. Kyrkh.
C Imprinted at London, in Fleet ftreete, by
Wyllyam How for Richard Johnes.
236 ANCIENT BALLADS
C A dittie in the wort hie praife of an high
and mlghtie Prince.
)HEN heapes of heauie hap had fild
my harte right full,
And forrow fet forth penfiuenes, my
ioyes away to pull,
I raunged then the woods, I romde the fields
aboute, -
A thoufand fighes I fet at large, to feeke their
paflage out ;
And walkyng in a dompe, or rather in difpaire,
I carl my weeping eye afide, I faw a fielde full
faire ;
And lokyng vpwarde than I fpied a mount
therein,
Which Flora had, euen for her life, dect as you
haue not feen ;
Then could I not but thinke the fame fome facred
place,
Where god or goddes fuch did dwell as might
releue my cafe.
I fat me downe, for whie ? Death could but ftop
my breath,
And to a man fo forrowfull what fweter is then
death ?
No fooner was I fet, but flepe approcht mine eye,
Wherein the nymphes of Helicon appeared by
and by,
And ftraight thofe fitters nine, the ground of
mufkks arte,
My thought did ftriue who might preuaile to eafe
my heauie harte.
AND BROADSIDES. 237
The cunning they fhewed there, the fubtile notes
they foung,
As were awreft clene from my hart, my thought
the cares they wrong.
Celeftiall were the notes which then, amazde, I
hearde,
Their ditties eke were wonderfull, note ye whome
they preferde.
for thy bloud, quod they, right noble, we
confefle,
'hy pettigree, to long for vs, the heralds can
expreffe ;
But, happie, happie Duke, the fecond chylde of
Fame,
Which, next vnto the higheft, me doth fo
recoumpt the fame!
And happie Thomas ones, twife happie Norffblke
toe,
Thrife happie men that leade your Hues where
Howard hath to doe,
Which Howards happie daies they praied God to
encreafe
Three times the fpace of Natures courfe, like
Neftor Hue in peace !
What age hath feen his like, fo free of purfe and
toung ?
Where Hues a iufter juftice now, though rare in
one fo young ?
What plaint can there be tolde to his moft godlie
eare,
But that he kepes the other ftyll, the blamed foule
to heare ?
In mekenes he more meke then is the mekeft doue,
Yet is his fecret wifedome fuch he knoweth whome
to loue ;
238 ANCIENT BALLADS
In freendfhip he furmounts Gifippus and his Tite,
All nobles may well note his race, and thereby take
their lighte ;
In peace a Salomon, in warre fo ftoute a prince
As raigned not tyll Hector came, nor liued neuer
fmce,
Then Sceuola more firme, which, for his cuntries
turne,
His hand from arme before his foes in fierie flame
did burne ;
He in the prideof peace delights in marciall fhowe,
Doe marke his turnoys vpon horfe, note well his
vfe of bowe ;
Nay, marke him yet that mail note well his payne-
fulnes,
No fugred flepe can make him freendtofluggifh
Idlenes.
What that becomes a prince in his good grace
doth want ?
In peace a courtier for the courte, a fecond Mars
in camp.
Thus ftyll they foung, whofe notes were caufe of
my releefe,
And I be-wrapped in a traunce had cleane forgot
^my greefe;
And triple were my ioyes, ones caufe my paynes
were paft,
Andtwife agayne, becaufe that prince amongft vs
here is plaft,
I clapt my handes for ioye, alas ! I wakt withall,
And then my mufes and their fonges, my ioyes,
were gone and all.
And then retournd my greefe, I felt a further
care,
Becaufe to fhew what I had feen did pafle my
power fo farre ;
AND BROADSIDES. 239
And that a man vnlearnd, of arte that hath no
fcyll,
Should haue a charge fo great as this, and could
doe it fo yll.
Yet thus I gan to wright I knew right well that he,
Which duedefert did thus commend, fhould (hade
the want in me ;
To whome I pray the Lorde to fend like yeares
as Noye,
In happie health and quiet date, to his and all our
ioye.
C Finis, Ber. Gar.
C Imprinted at London, without Alderfgate, in
Little Britaine, by Alexander Lacy.
C A newe Ballade, intituled, Agaynji Rebel
lious and falje rumours. 'To the newe tune of
the Blacke Almalne vpon Sciffillia.
HAT rumores now are raifed of late,
Within this Englifh lande,
Which is not much for to be pray fed,
The cafe fo harde doth (land.
For euery one doth talke,
There tongues contrary walke,
And femes to meddell of this and that,
There babling tongues fo large doth chatte,
As foolifhe fancye moues them faye,
So out there foolifti talke they braye ;
240 ANCIENT BALLADS
And euery one doth befie him ftill
About the thing he hath no {kill.
C Some of his neighbors doth inquire
What newes abrode there is,
If that he any thinge doth here,
Of thofe that dyd amifle.
Some longeth to here tell
Of thofe that dyd rebell,
And whether they be fled or take,
Thus ftill inquirie they do make ;
Some fayth to Scotland they be goe,
And other fayth it is not fo ;
The rumerous deuell is now abrode,
Which makes them fo to laye on lode.
C Some fayth this yeare there fhal be hapte
Much trouble in the lande ;
Of proprieties they carpe and clappe,
As they that haue them fkande.
Doth tell them fo abrode,
And thus they laye on lode,
And filles the peoples eares with lyes ;
Thus rumor ftill abrode he flyes,
Which makes them now in fuch a rore,
As all true hartes may well deplore.
And praye to God if that he pleafe
Thefe foolifh rumores once maye ceafe.
C And let vs nowe applye our tyme
In prayer to the Lorde,
That he may ceafe this furious cryme,
That now is blowne abrode.
And euery one to ftaye
His tongue, and nothing faye
AND BROADSIDES. 241
But of the thinges he hath in hand,
And fee his befynes well be fcand,
And not to meddle of princes a&es,
What they will do, nor of their fades.
If occupied well we thus abyde,
The Lorde for vs will well jtrouide.
C For furely plagues we do defarue
Moft horrable and great,
Becaufe from God we ftill do fwarue,
And dayly doth him frette.
And ftill prouoke his ieare,
Which glous as hotte as fyare ;
His bow is now all redye bent,
Therfore in tyme let vs repent,
Leaft he for fmne do vs depriue,
For warned folkes, they faye, may Hue,
And warning take by other men,
Which we before our eyes haue fene.
C We haue hard in Fraunce the rumur there,
That hath bene many a daye,
There countrey fpoyled in ruth and feare,
Vnto there cleane decaye,
With lofle of many a man,
Since firft that fturre began,
And many a noble hath bene flayne,
A duke, and eake a prince certayne,
Which weare the chiefe ftayes of that land,
Wherfore in hazarde now they ftande;
For where the chiefe are taken awaye,
The reft muft nedes runne to decaye.
C In what eftate doth fouldiers ftand,
Great ruth it is to here ;
R
242 ANCIENT BALLADS
That there is wrought the tirants hand,
We nede not to declare.
Experiaunce well may ihowe
What numbers here doth flowe
Of Flemminges fled from tirantes hand,
Which dayly Commeth to this land ;
Whofe harts in wrath full long hath boyld,
And eake there countrye cleane difpoyld ;
Which thing may warne vs well, I faye,
Leaft that we feele the lyke decaye.
C The Lorde hath fufFered vs full longe,
And fpared hath his rodde,
What peace hath bene vs now among
Aleuen yeares, prayfed be God !
And round about vs hath
Bene warre and cruell fayth,
And all to caufe vs to repent,
For we defarue worfle punnifhment
Then any of thefe landes haue done ;
I feare we fhall be plagued right fone ;
Thy judgement fure our God hath had,
To plague the good ftill for the bad.
C Wherefore let vs with one accorde
Fall all to fad and praye,
And pardon craue now of the Lorde,
To kepe vs from decaye ;
And.leaue this murmoring fpight,
Which God doth not delight ;
The Scripture playnely doth declare
The Ifralites they plagued weare,
Becaufe the murmered at there God,
Therin we do defarue lyke rod.
AND BROADSIDES. 243
With hartes deuoute now let vs praye,
To kepe this realme from all decaye.
Finis, quod Thomas Bette.
C Imprinted at London, in Fleteftreat, at the
figne of the Faucon, by Wylliam Gryffith, and
are to be fold at his fhoppe in Sainct Dunftones
Churchy arde, 1570.
The true Difcripcion of a Childe 'with Ruffes,
borne in the pari/b of Micheham, in the countie
of Surrey , in the yeere of our Lord MDLXVI.
| HIS prefent yeere of our Lord MDLXVJ.
the vij. day of June, one Helene
Jermin, the wife of John Jermin,
hufbandman, dwelling in the parifhe
of Micheham, was deliuered of a woman-childe,
named Chriftian, beeing after this maner and
fourme following : that is to fay, the face
comly and of a cheerful countenaunce ; the
armes and hands, leggs and feet, of right fhape,
and the body, with all other members therunto
apperteining, wel proporcioned in due fourme and
order, fauing that it is as it were wunderfully
clothed with fuche a flesmy fkin as the like at
no time hath ben feene. For it hath the faid
flesmy fkin behinde like vnto a neckerchef
growing from the veines of the back vp vnto
the neck, as it were with many ruffes fet one
244 ANCIENT BALLADS
after another, and beeing as it were fomthing
gathered, euery ruf about an inche brode, hailing
here growing on the edges of the fame, and
fo with ruffes comming ouer the fhoulders
and couering fome part of the armes, preceding
vp vnto the nape of the neck behinde, and almofte
round about the neck, like as many womens gownes
be, not cloce togither before, but that the throte
beeing (with a faire white {kin) bare betweene
bothe the fides of the ruffes, the faid ruffes about
the neck beeing double, and as it were thick ga- j
thered, muche like vnto the ruffes that many do
vfe to weare about their necks.
C This childe beforfaid (the day of the date
vnder written) was to be feene in Glene Alley, in
Suthwark, beeing aliue and x. weeks olde and iiij.
dayes, not vnlikly to Hue long.
C An admonition vnto the Reader.
THIS picture, preft in paper white,
Our natures dooth declare,
Whofe fourme fo ftraunge by natures fpite
May lerne vs to beware.
C By natures fpite, what doo I faye ?
Dooth nature rule the rofte ?
Nay, God it is, fay wel I may,
By whom nature is toft.
C The face ful faire, the members all
In order ftand and place ;
But yet too muche by natures thrall
Dooth woork a great difgrace.
AND BROADSIDES. 245
C This ruffeling world, in ruffes al rolde,
Dooth God deteft and hate ;
As we may lerne the tale wel tolde
Of children borne of late.
C What meanes this childe, by natures woork
Thus ruffed for to be ?
But by thefe ruffes our natures fpurk
We might beholde and fee.
C Her fquares our fquaring dooth fet out,
This here our heres dooth checke ;
This monftroufe monfter, out of dout,
Agreeth in eche refped:.
C Our filthy Hues in pigges are fhewd ;
Our pride this childe dooth bere ;
Our ragges and ruffes, that are fo lewd,
Beholde her flefhe and here.
C Our beaftes and cattel plagued are,
All monftroufe in their fhape ;
And eke this childe dooth wel declare
The pride we vfe of late.
C Our curled here her here dooth preche,
Our ruffes and gifes gaie,
Our ftraunge attire wherto we reche,
Our flefhe that plefe we may.
C The poet telleth how Daphenes was
Transformd into a tree ;
And lo to a cow did paffe,
A ftraunge thing for to fee.
246 ANCIENT BALLADS
C But poets tales may pafTe and go
As trifels and vntrueth,
When ruffes of flesfhe, as I doo trowe,
Shall moue vs vnto ruthe.
C Deformed are the things we were,
Deformed is our hart ;
The Lord is wroth with all this geere,
Repent for fere of fmarte !
C Pray we the Lord our hartes to turn,
Whileft we haue time and fpace,
Left that our foules in hel doo burn,
For voiding of his grace.
C And thou, O England, whofe womankinde
In ruffes doo walke to oft,
Parfwade them ftil to here in minde
This childe with ruffes fo foft.
C In fourme as they, in nature fo,
A maid me is indeed ;
God graunt vs grace, howeuer we go,
For to repent with fpeed !
FINIS, quod H. B.
C Imprinted at London by John Allde and
Richarde Johnes, and are to be folde at the long
mop adioining vnto S. Mildreds churche, in the
Pultrie, and at the litle mop adioining to the
North-weft doore of Paules churche, anno
domini M, D. Ixvi. the xx. of Auguft.
AND BROADSIDES.
247
C Other thus it is, or thus it Jhoulde bee.
HE golden world is now come agayne,
God is knowen, beleued, loued and
obeyed ;
True doctryne is taught and falfe ex-
yled cleane,
Sinne is mortified, all vice is decayed ;
Peace doeth take place, all warres be delayed ;
Youth is brought vp in learnyng vertuouflye ;
Commonwealth doeth flourim, pouertie hath
ayde ; ^
Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde be.
C Kynges and princes doe Gods lawes aduaunce,
Juftice and equitie alfo they doe maintayne ;
They loue peace, they hate war and variaunce,
Vice they fupprefle, and vertue caufe to raigne ;
To get learning and knowledge they take great
payne ;
They make good lawes, and fee them kepte iuftlie ;
To defend their cuntries great trauel they
fuftaine ;
Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee.
C Maieftrates and officers, each one in their degree,
Geue good enfample of obedience and liuyng ;
For the commonwealth alfo they take great ftudie,
They execute iuftice iuftlie in euery kynd of
thyng;
To the poore pouertie they be good and louyng,
The wylfull they reftrayne from their : liquitie ;
248 ANCIENT BALLADS
To the humble and good they be gentle and
benigne ;
Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee.
C Bifhops and minifters doe themfelues apply
Sincerelie to preach Gods holie law and gofpell,
Accordyng to their doftrine they Hue vertuoufly,
In hofpitalitie and almes deed they greatly excell;
They geue good example for other to doe well,
They be chafte and fobre, and full of humilitie,
They ftudie the Scriptures, all vice they doe
expell ;
Other thus it is, or thus it moulde bee.
C Judges that fit in Judgement, matters for to
heare,
Be fo vncorrupte that no bribes they wyll take,
Tyll they heare both parties they ftop the one eare,
By the lawe deliberately the cafes they debate,
By euidence and witnefles the truth they out
beate,
Falfehod they fetter, but right they doe fet free,
Jufl Judgement they geue, none can entreate;
Other thus it is, or thus it moulde bee.
C Juftices and gentlemen peace doe maintayne,
The queenes lawes and ftatutes they fee executed,
Contention and variaunce they doe fubdue cleane,
The opprefTour they punim, the naughty is
rebuked ;
The fturdy they correcte, the poor* 3 be refrefhed,
They lyue on their landes rented rei r onablie,
Matters before them be iuftly and foo. ended ; >
Other thus it is, or thus it (houlae bee.
AND BROADSIDES.
249
C Mayours and bayliffes, and all other officers
Of cities, boroughes, and of townes corporate,
They ftudie fuch decrees and fuch godly orders,
That the people be wel ruled ; great paine they
take
For the commonweale ; tumult and debate
They deftroy ; but they encreace godly vnitie,
They caufe plentie by prudence, dearth they
abate ;
Other thus it is, or thus it moulde bee.
All lawyers doe perfwade their clients to agree
Rather then at the lawe to fpend out their money ;
Yf they wyl not, they fearch their cafe profoundlie,
And therein they proceed without fraude or
delay ;
They bryng it to Judgement, or to fome godly
ftay;
Yf they promife their clientes, they performe
iuftly ;
They take reafonable fees for their paynes
alway ;
Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee.
The commons feare God and obey the queene,
They come to heare Gods wurd and together
pray ;
Difobedience in no cafe is now no more feene,
Contention they hate, they loue peace alway.
Euery one is content to Hue as he may,
The rich helpe the poore, yea, and that gladly ;
Thepoore be content and for them doe pray;
Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee.
Parents doe bryng vp their children very godly,
Children obey their elders and folow their aduice ;
250 ANCIENT BALLADS
Hufbandes loue their wiues, and they them hartely ;
Women be fober and gentle, neither proude nor
nice ;
Seruants be faithful, they need no warning twice ;
To vertue and learning youth geueth all their
ftudie ;
Yf any fall in decay, he is holpen agayne to
arice ;
Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee.
C All fubiefts faithfully pray for their queene,
That God may endue her royall hart alway
With faith, feare, and loue, before him to be feene,
And for her honorable counfell they humbly
pray,
That good lawes and ftatutes fet furth they
may,
To the wealth of the realme and communaltie ;
That the queene may rule wel, and they truly
obey ;
Amen. God graunt that fo it may bee !
C Finis.
C Imprinted at London without Alderfgate in
Little Brittaine, by Alexander Lacy.
AND BROADSIDES. 251
A Ditty delightfull of mother Wat kins ale,
A warning we I wayed, though counted a tale.
HERE was a maid this other day,
And fhe would needs go forth to play;
And as fhe walked fhe fithd and faid,
I am afraid to die a mayd.
With that, behard a lad
What talke this maiden had,
Whereof he was full glad,
And did not fpare
To fay, faire mayd, I pray,
Whether goe you to play ?
Good fir, then did me fay,
What do you care ?
For I will, without faile,
Mayden, giue you Watkins ale ;
Watkins ale, good fir, quoth fhe,
What is that I pray you tel me ?
Tis fweeter farre then fuger fine,
And pleafanter than mufkadine ;
And if you pleafe, faire mayd, to flay
A little while, with me to play,
I will giue you the fame,
Watkins ale cald by name,
Or els If were to blame,
In truth, faire mayd.
Good fir, quoth fhe againe,
Yf you will take the paine,
t I will it not refraine,
Nor be difmayd.
252 ANCIENT BALLADS
He toke this mayden then afide,
And led her where fhe was not fpyde,
And told her many a prety tale,
And gaue her well of Watkins ale.
Good fir, quoth fhe, in fmiling fort,
What doe you call this prety fport ?
Or what is this you do to me ?
Tis called Watkins ale, quoth he,
Wherein, faire mayd, you may
Report another day,
When you go forth to play,
How you did fpeed.
Indeed, good fir, quoth me,
It is a prety glee,
And well it pleafeth me,
No doubt indeed.
Thus they fported and they playd,
This yong man and this prety mayd,
Vnder a banke whereas they lay,
Not long agoe this other day.
When he had done to her his will,
They talkt, but what it mall not {kill ;
At laft, quoth fhe, fauing your tale,
Giue me fome more of Watkins ale,
Or elfe I will not ftay,
. For I muft needs away,
My mother bad meiplay,
The time is part ;
Therfore, good fir, quoth me,
If you haue done with me.
Nay, {"oft, faire maid, quoth he,
Againe at laft
AND BROADSIDES. 253
Let vs talke a little while.
With that the mayd began to fmile,
And faide, good fir, full well I know,
Your ale, I fee, runs very low.
This yong man then, being fo blamd,
Did blufh as one being afhamde ;
He tooke her by the midle fmall,
And gaue her more of Watkins ale ;
And faide, faire maid, I pray,
When you goe forth to play,
Remember what I fay,
Walke not alone.
Good fir, quoth me againe,
I thanke you for your paine,
For feare of further ftaine,
I will be gone.
Farewell, mayden, then quoth he ;
Adue, good fir, againe quoth me.
Thus they parted at laft,
Till thrice three months were gone and paft.
This mayden then fell very ficke,
Her maydenhead began to kicke,
Her colour waxed wan and pale
With taking much of Watkins ale.
I wifh all maydens coy,
That heare this prety toy,
Wherein moft women ioy,
How they doe fport ;
For furely Watkins ale,
And if it be not ftale,
Will turne them to fome bale,
As hath report.
254 ANCIENT BALLADS
New ale will make their bellies bowne,
As trial by this fame is knowne ;
This prouerbe hath bin taught in fchools,-
It is no iefting with edge tooles.
Thrife fcarcely changed hath the moon
Since firft this pretty tricke was done,
Which being harde of one by chance,
He made thereof a country dance ;
And, as I heard the tale,
He cald it Watkins ale,
Which neuer will be ftale,
I doe beleeue ;
This dance is now in prime,
And chiefly vfde this time,
And lately put in rime.
Let no man greeue
To heare this merry iefting tale,
The which is called Watkins ale;
It is not long fince it was made,
The fineft flower will fooneft fade.
Good maydes and wiues, I pardon craue,
And lack not that which you would haue ;
To blufh it is a womans grace,
And well becometh a maidens face,
For women will refufe
The thing that they would chufe,
Caufe men fhould them excufe
Of thinking ill ;
Cat will after kind,
All winkers are not blind,
Faire maydes, you know my mind,
Say what you will.
A ND BROADSIDES.
When you drinke ale beware the toaft,
For therein lay the danger moft.
If any heere offended be,
Then blame the author, blame not me.
FINIS.
255
A prettie newe Ballad, intytuled:
Crowe fits vpon the wall,
Pleafe one and fie of e all.
To the tune of, Pleafe one and pleafe all.
LEASE one and pleafe all,
Be they great, be they fmall,
Be they little, be they lowe,
So pypeth the crowe,
Sitting vpon a wall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Be they white, be they black,
Haue they a fmock on their back,
Or a kircher on their head,
Whether they fpin filke or thred,
Whatfoeuer they them call,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
256 ANCIENT BALLADS
Be they fluttim, be they gay,
Loue they worke, or loue they play,
Whatfoeuer be theyr cheere,
Drinke they ale, or drinke they beere,
Whether it be ftrong or fmall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Be they fower, be they fweete,
Be they fhrewifh, be they meeke,
Weare they filke or cloth fo good,
Veluet bonnet or French hood,
Vppon their head a cap or call,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Be they halt, be they lame,
Be {he lady, be fhe dame,
If that me doo weare a pinne,
Keepe fhe tauerne or keepe fhe inne,
Either bulke, bouth, or ftall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
The goodwife I doo meane,
Be fhee fat or be fhe leane,
Whatfoeuer that fhe be,
This the crowe tolde me,
Sitting vppon a wall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
If the goodwife fpeake aloft,
See that you then fpeake foft ;
Whether it be good or ill,
Let her doo what fhe will ;
AND BROADSIDES. 257
And, to keepe yourfelfe from thrall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
If the goodwife be difpleafed,
All the whole houfe is difeafed,
And therefore, by my will,
To pleafe her learne the {kill,
Leaft that fhe mould alwaies brail,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
If that you bid her doo ought,
If that fhe doo it not,
And though that you be her goodman,
You yourfelfe muft doo it than,
Be it in kitchin or in hall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Let her haue her owne will,
Thus the crowe pypeth ftill,
Whatfoeuer me command
See that you doo it out of hand,
Whenfoeuer me dooth call,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Be they wanton, be they wilde,
Be they gentle, be they milde,
Be fhee white, be (he browne,
Dooth me ikould or dooth me frowne,
Let her doo what me mall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
258 ANCIENT BALLADS
Be (he coy, be fhe proud,
Speake fhe foft or fpeake fhe loud,
Be fhe fimple, be fhe flaunt,
Dooth fhe trip or dooth fhe taunt,
The crowe fits vpon the wall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Is fhe hufwife, is fhe none,
Dooth fhe drudge, dooth fhe grone,
Is fhe nimble, is fhe quicke,
Is fhe fhort, is fhe thicke,
Let her be what fhe fhall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Be they ritch, be they poore,
Is fhe honeft, is fhe whore,
Weare fhe cloth or veluet braue,
Dooth fhe beg or dooth fhe craue,
Weare fhe hat or filken call,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Be fhe cruel], be fhe curft,
Come fhe laft, come fhe firft,
Be they young, be they olde,
Doo they fmile, doo they fkould,
Though they doo nought at all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Though it be fome crowes guife
Oftentimes to tell lyes,
Yet this crowes words dooth try
That her tale is no lye,
AND BROADSIDES. 259
For thus it is and euer (hall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Be they great, be they fmall,
Be they little, be they lowe,
So pipeth the crowe,
Sitting vpon a wall,
Pleafe one and pleafe all,
Pleafe one and pleafe all.
Finis. R. T.
Imprinted at London for Henry Kyrkham,
dwelling at the little north doore of Paules,
at the figne of the Blacke Boy.
260 ANCIENT BALLADS
An Epitaph on the death of the Right honor-
able and vertuous Lord Henry Wrijley, the
Noble Earle of Southampton, who lieth interred
at Touchfeelde in the countie of Hamfliyre, the
30 day of Nouember, 1581, and in the 24 yeare
of our mofl drad andjoueraigne Ladie Elizabeth ,
by the grace of God, of England, Fraunce and
Ireland Queene, &c.
OU noble peeres, refraine your courtly
fportes awhyle,
Caft on your wailefull weedes of woe,
Dame Pleafure doo exile.
Beholde a platforme playne of death, fit for the
graue,
Who late inioyed a lyuing foule, as you this
feafon haue ;
His birth right noble was, honour befet him
rounde,
But Death amidft his luftie yeeres hath (hrind
him in the ground.
When time is come, he waightes, according Gods
decree,
To conquer lyfe, refpecting not the mightieft in
degree;
Intreatie cannot ferue, Death feekes no golden
gift,
For from his reache no potentate to flye can
make the fhift.
AND BROADSIDES. 261
The glafle runne forth at large, the howre fully
fpent,
To fhare lifes thred a-funder hee by mightie
Joue is fent.
The Daunce of Death no king nor kayfer but
muft trace,
The duke, the earle, the lord and knight to him
muft yeeld a place ;
The aged olde, the midle fort, the luftie youth
in prime,
To Hue on earth cannot inioy the certentie of
time.
For as time hath no ftaie, but fleeteth euerie
howre,
So is the lyfe of mortall men compared to a
flowre,
Whofe beautie knowne to daie, to-morrow fadeth
quight,
And vanimeth, as though therof man neuer had
the fight.
So fickle is our ftate, we fading flowres bee,
To-daie aliue, to-morrow dead, according Gods
decree.
Of lyfe no charters giuen to any worldly
wight,
Oh, who can fay that he mall Hue from morne
vnto the night !
He that at fyrft gaue lyfe, of lyfe will beare the
fway,
And when him lykes, as pleafeth him, will take
this lyfe away.
Sith he workes all in all, and rules as feemes him
beft,
Lets learne that earth we are, and earth to claime
her owne is preft ;
262 ANCIENT BALLADS
The perfect proofe wherof apparently is feene
By this good earle, whofe lufty yeeres did florifh
faire and greene ;
But in a moment chaunged and withered lyke
the haie,
Bereft of lyfe and honor great, and coutched
clofe in claie.
Yet though he fencelefle lye, Southamtons Earle
by name,
Yet Death in him lyes dead, no doubt, by meane
of noble fame ;
For whilft on earth he liu'de to vertue he was
bent,
And after wifdomes lore to hunt he gaue his
frank confent ;
In juftice was his ioye, and iuftly he did deale,
As they can tell that for his aide had caufe for
to appeale ;
The widow poore oppreft he carefully did
fhield,
And to the orphane in his right did dayly comfort
yeeld ;
The needie poore he fed with mutton, bread, and
beeffe,
His hand was neuer flack to giue the comfortlefTe
releefe ;
The naked back to cloth he euer ready was,
No needy poore without reward from this earles
gates could pas ;
His houfe-keeping right good, there plentie bare
the fway,
No honeft man forbidden was within his houfe
to ftaie ;
His faith brought foorth iweete fruite the Lord
God to delight,
AND BROADSIDES. 263
And made him, as a feruant good, accepted in his
fight;
Vnto his tennauntes poore this earle was euer
kinde,
To work their weale he carefully did alwaies
yeeld his minde ;
Inhaunfing of his rentes did ne enlarge his ftore,
He alwaies had a care to help and aide his farmers
pore;
His feruauntes weale to worke no time he did
forbeare,
To doo them good that wel deferu'd his zeale
did ftill appeare ;
On God his hart was fet, in Chrift his hope did
reft,
And of the mightie Lord of hoaftes this noble
earle was bleft ;
To Prince he was moft iuft, to countrie alwaies
true,
The fruites of loue and loyaltie in him all ftates
might view ;
In wedlock hee obferued the vow that he had
made,
In breach of troth through lewd Iuft he ne would
feeme to wade.
Thrice happy thou, of God and man belou'de,
That euer foughtft to make a peace where difcorde
ftriffe had mou'd ;
Though thou from vs be gone, and taken hence
by death,
Among the fonnes of mortall men thy prayfe
mail Hue on earth ;
For as thy lyfe was iuft, fo godly was thy ende,
Not on this world, but on fweet Chrift, thou
alwaies didft depend ;
264 ANCIENT BALLADS
And as in health his name thou reuerently didft
praife,
So in his feare in ficknefle thou didft fpend thy
lotted daies ;
This world thou heldft as vaine, thy lyfe thou
thoughteft no lofTe,
In hope of heauen and heauenly blifTe thou
deemft al things but dros ;
Thus houering ftill in hope, to heauen thou tookft
thyflyght,
Wherewith thy Chrift, the juelle of ioy, thy hart
is pight ;
And he in extreeme paine, when anguifh did
abounde,
To giue thee comfort from aboue was euer ready
found.
Amidft his mercie he, though iuftice wrought thy
fmart,
Euen lyke a louing fauiour did al waies take thy part ;
When Sathan, finne, and death about thee round
were fet,
To pray for thee mod earneftly he neuer did
forget;
And like a fouldier iuft by faith thou fought ft
the feelde,
And arm ft thyfelf gainft all thy foes, to whom
thou woldft not yeeld,
But fo didft keepe the fort that all thy foes did
flye,
And lyke a lambe in Jefus Chrift preparedft
thyfelfe to die.
Of court thou take ft thy leaue, thy prince thou
bidft farewell,
or whofe eftate thou praydft to God her enemies
to quell.
AND BROADSIDES. 265
'he noble peeres eclie one with hart thou bidft
adue,
And praiedft that they to glad her hart may
loyaltie enfue.
all thy louing friendes thou takeft a fynall
leaue,
id vnto God moft conftantly for comfort thou
doeft cleaue.
ly noble children thou right louingly doeft
bleffe,
'o feruants all thou giueft adue, they may thee
not poflefTe,
From them thou doeft prepare thy pafTage ftraight
to make,
And vnto Chrift with cheareful voice thy foule
thou doeft betake,
Who, with outftretched armes, receiues it to his
grace,
And with his faintes in glorie great appointes the
happye place.
Thy freendes thy lofle lament, thy children waile
and weepe
To fee their father and their freend in clay in-
clofed deepe.
"hy feruants ftreme foorth teares, they wring
their wofull handes
fee that all to foone of lyfe death hath de-
folued the bandes.
tennants all doo mourne, their fmoking fobs
abounde,
1 to the fkies the needie poore their pitious
plaints refounde ;
iir fofter freend from them by death they fay
is hent,
lofe want in court and towne eche-where both
old and yong lament.
266 ANCIENT BALLADS
But teares are fpent in vaine ; though they fuppofe
him dead,
He Hues in heauen where Jefus Chrift with glory
crownes his head.
And thus, right noble earle, thy laft adue receiue,
To thine auaile behinde thee thou good name
and fame doeft leaue,
Which fo mall conquer Death that Death in thee
fhall die,
And moue the fonnes of mortall men to heaue
thy praife to fkie.
Omnis caro fenum, quod John Phillip.
A Ballad reioyjlnge the fodaine fall,
Of Rebels that thought to deuower vs all.
EIOYCE with me, ye Chriftians all,
To God geue laude and prayfe,
The rebels ftoute haue now the fall,
Their force and ftrength decay es.
Which hoped, through their traitrous traine,
Their prince and natiue foyle
To put by their deuifes vaine
Vnto a deadly foile.
And with their armies ftoute in feilde
Againft their prince did rife,
And thought by force of fpeare and fheilde
To win their enterprife.
AND BROADSIDES.
It was the Erie of Weftmerland
That thought himfelfe fo fure,
By the aide of his rebellious bande,
His countrie to deuoure.
The Erie eke of Northumberland
His traitorous parte did take,
With other rebels of this lande,
For Aue Maries fake.
267
Saying they fought for no debate,
Nor nothing els did meane,
But would this realme weare in the ftate
That it before hath ben.
What is that ftate, I would faine know,
That they would haue againe ?
The popifh marie it is, I trowe,
With her abufes vaine,
As by their doings may apeare,
In comming through ech towne ;
The Bibles they did rent and teare,
Like traytours to the crowne.
And traytours vnto God, likewife,
By right we may them call,
That do his lawes and worde defpife,
Their country, queene and all.
The lawes that me eftablifhed
According to Gods word,
They feeke to haue abolifhed
By force of warre and fword,
268 ANCIENT BALLADS
Forgetting cleane their loyaltie
That to their prince they owe,
Their faith, and eke fidelitie,
That they to hir fhould fhow.
And rather feeke to helpe the Pope
His honour loft to winne,
In whom they put their faith and hope
To pardon al their finne ;
That if they fhould their natiue land,
Their queene and God denie,
They fhould haue pardon at his hand
For their iniquitie.
Therfore with thofe that loue the Pope
They did their ftrength employ,
And therby fteadfaftly did hope
Gods flocke cleane to deftroy.
And then fet vp within this land,
In euery churche and towne,
Their idols on roodeloftes to ftand,
Like gods of greate renowne.
Their aulters and tradicions olde,
With painted ftocke and ftone,
Pardons and mattes to be folde,
With Keryeleyfon.
Friers fhoulde weare their olde graye gownes
And maides to fhrift fhould com,
Then prieftes fhould fmge with ihauen crownes,
Dominus vobifcum.
AND BROADSIDES.
All thefe and fuch-like vaneties
Should then beare all the fway,
And Gods word through fuch fantafies
Should cleane be layd away.
But like as God did them defpife
Which were in Moyfes dayes,
That did a calfe of gold deuife
As God, to giue him prayfe ;
And for the fame idolatry,
In one day with the fword
Did thre and twenty thoufand dye,
That did neglect his worde.
The children eke of Ifraell,
In Ezechias time,
He made among their foes to dwell,
That did committe that crime.
But when that Ezechias praied
To God to helpe his owne,
The Lorde forthwith did fend them aide,
Their foes weare ouerthrowne.
A hundred thoufande eightie fiue,
By Gods aungelles weare flaine,
And none of them were left aliue
That toke his name in vaine.
Senacherib alfo, the kinge
Then of the AfTirians,
As he his God was honouring,
Was flaine by his two fonnes.
269
270 ANCIENT BALLADS.
Like as he did thofe rebels ftill,
Which did his flocke purfewe,
From time to time, of his free will,
By force of warre fubdewe.
As Hollifernus and the reft
He put them ftill to flight,
That had his little flocke oppreft
In prefence of his fighte.
So hath he now thefe rebels all,
Through their vngodly trade,
Caft downe into the pit to fall
That they for others made.
To whom ftill daily let vs praye,
Our noble queene to fende
A profperous raigne, both night and day,
From her foes to defende
Her and her counfaile, realme and all,
During her noble life,
And that ill hap may them befall
That feeke for warre and ftrife.
Finis.
Imprinted at London, in Fleete ftreete, by William
How, for Henry Kirkham, and are to be
folde at his fhop at the middle north doore of
Paules Churche.
Notes.
[AGE I, line 2. As Don/table waye. <c As
plain as Dunftable road. It is applied to
things plain and fimple, without welt or
guard to adorn them, as alfo to matters
eafie and obvious to be found, without any difficulty or
dire&ion," Bedfordftiire Proverbs in Fuller's Worthies.
Howell gives the proverb in a flightly different form,
" as plain as Dunftable high-way." The author of the
Cobler of Canterburie, 1608, fpeaks of the " clownes
plaine Dunftable dogrell."
Page i, line 4. Syr Thomas Plomtrle. Sir is here
the title of a prieft, anfwering to the Latin dominus.
This clergyman took a confpicuous part in the rebellion,
and was amongft thofe executed at Durham early in
the year 1570. "The 4. and 5. of January did fuffer
at Durham to the number of three fcore and fix,
conftables and other, among whom an alderman of
the towne named Struthar, and a prieft called Parfon
Plomtree, were the moft notable," Stow's Annales, ed.
1615, p. 664.
Page 2, line 13. Northumberland. The Earl fell
into the hands of outlaws on the Borders, and was
treated with great indignity. He was fubfequently
betrayed, and confined in the caftle of Loch Leven.
See Sir C. Sharp's Memorials, 1841, p. 323. Weft-
moreland made his efcape to Flanders, and fpent the
remainder of his life on the Continent, dying, at a very
advanced age, in November, 1601. He concealed
himfelf in Scotland for a time immediately after the
272 NOTES.
rebellion, and Elderton, in another ballad, preferred in
the library of the Society of Antiquaries, fays of the
two earls,
And to Saint Androwe be they gone,
With very harde fhyfte, to make theare moane,
And fom of theare ladies lefte behinde.
Page 2, line 16. No more h not Norton. Several
members of this family were concerned in the rebellion,
but the perfon here alluded to was Richard Norton, of
Norton Conyers, generally called " old Norton," a
very confpicuous leader in the movement. On the
flight of the rebels, a fpy, named Conftable, en
deavoured to perfuade him to put himfelf under his
protection in England until a pardon could be obtained ;
but he wifely declined. He fled into Flanders, and
received a penfion from the King of Spain. The
period of his death is uncertain. There is a portrait
of him ftill preferved at Grantley Hall. " The
countenance," obferves Sir C. Sharp, " is florid ; the
hair grey, but the flight beard on the chin and upper
lip is of a fandy colour ; his eyes are fmall and grey ;
the contour is pleafmg, and the general expreffion is
grave, but not ftern, vigilant, wary, and contem
plative," Sharp's Memorials, p. 277.
Page 2, line 24. Gentyll "John Shorne. This was
the name of a Kentifh faint, whofe (hrine was much
vifited by pilgrims in the early part of the fixteenth
century. Latimer, in one of his fermons, fays he
prefers not to " fpeak of the popifh pilgrimage, which
we were wont to ufe in times paft, in running hither
and thither to Mafter John Shorne or to our Lady of
Walfmgham." The bones of Shorne were originally
depofited at Canterbury, where bis {hrine remained,
but it would appear from MS. Aflimole 1125, f. 107,
that they were removed in 1478, probably to Windfor,
where there was a chapel confecrated to him. The
name of John Shorne afterwards became to be ufed as
a generic term for a Roman Catholic prieft.
Page 6, line 4. Aftonyed. " Troubled in minde,
aftonied, made fore afeard," Baret's Alvearie, 1580.
NOTES. 273
Page 5, line 7. By Thomas Colwell. " Receved
of Thomas Colwell, for his lycenfe for the^ pryntinge
of a ballett intituled a newe wel a daye, as playne, m r .
>apefte, as Dunftable waye, iiij.*/.," Regifters of the
Jtationers' Company, 1569-70. A tune called Well-
a-day is frequently mentioned. See Chappell's Popular
Mufic, p. 175.
Page 5, line I r. The Black Almayne. A tune often
referred to, for inftance in a Handeful of Pleafant
Delites, 1584, in Collier's Old Ballads, p. 53, &c.
The tune itfelf is unknown.
Page 6, line I. I-wys. Certainly; truly. This
old Anglo-Saxon adverb was now beginning to be
corrupted into the pronoun and verb, 1 wis^ I know.
Page 8, line 25. The upper end of Fleet lane.
Vloft of the pieces which iflued from the prefs of
Richard Jones are dated from St. Paul's. This was
one of his early publications, mentioning a refidence
not heretofore noticed. He was living at St. Paul's in
the following year, 1573.
Page 9, line 2. Gar. Literally, make, The late
VIr. Bright poflefled an early MS. mifcellany, in which
there was a copy of this ballad, fubfcribed, " Fynis,
quod Jhon Heywood." This ballad was licenfed to
Aide, as a ballad " agaynfte detre&ion," in 1561-2.
Page 9, line 8. And all thofe. So in the original,
imt it appears from the MS. copy that and is an error
: or on.
Page 10, line 5. Skaine. A kind of fcimitar.
Hall, in his Chronicle, 1548, fpeaks of "a band of
[ryfhmen armed in mayle with dartes and Jkaynes,
after the manner of their countrey." Palfgrave, how
ever, in 1530, explains Jkeyne, "a knyfe," a word
frequently fynonymous with dagger.
Page 10, line 22. Eothe. All, Bright MS.
Page n, line 31. Heere. Cleere, MS. Bright. In
the next page, line 2, for it /j, we here, MS. ibid.
Page 12, line 17. Me to enfue. Meete to efchewe,
MS. Bright.
Page 12, line 29. Wo by. Wo be, MS. Bright.
T
274 NOTES.
This and the previous ftanza are tranfpofed in the
MS. In ^ the next page, line 8, the manufcript
reads :
To make them glowe,
As grace by grace may ftay.
Page 13, line i. To Jleke. "I flecke, I quenche
a fyre ; whan you flecke a hoote fyre with water,
it maketh a noyfe lyke thunder," Palfgrave, 1530.
Page 14, line 3. New lufty gallant. The favourite
tune of the Lufty Gallant is frequently alluded to, but
Mr. Chappell confiders that the prefent ballad was
intended for another air, becaufe there are feven lines
in each ftanza. See his Popular Mufic of the Olden
Time, vol. i. p. 91. Breton, in his Workes of a
Young Wyt, 1577, mentions a dance tune called the
Old Lufty Gallant. An early notice of the tune
occurs in MS. Ammole 48, f. 112.
The prefent ballad was printed in the year 1569, as
appears from the following entry in the books of the
Stationers' Company, "Receved of Thomas Colwell
for his lycenfe for pryntinge of a ballett intituled the
prayfe of my lady marques, \\i].d. y> Marques , mar-
chionefs. Shakefpeare makes Henry the Eighth fpeak
of the " lady marquis Dorfet," acl: v. fc. 2. In the
original ballad there are five woodcuts, in a line at the
top of the meet. The fourth, which reprefents a
fage holding up the forefinger of the left hand, is alfo
found, with the addition of three ftars, in the title-
page of Larke's Boke of Wifdome, 1565.
Page 16, line 9. Finis quod IV. Elder ton. Drayton,
in his Elegies, fpeaking of his beginning to read the
daffies as a boy, fays,
I fcorn'd your ballet then, though it were done
And had for Finis , William Elderton.
Page 1 6, line 14. The Prifoners* Petition. This
title is not in the original, which is printed on a flip of
paper meafuring 5 by 3^- inches, and appears to be a
NOTES.
275
hand-bill fent round to the wealthy inhabitants of the
City.
rage 16, line 19. The bole of Wood-Jlreet Counter.
There is no doubt that the beft portion of Wood-
ftreet Counter was very far from being an agreeable
place of refidence, but the hole, as it was called, was
the very worft part of the prifon.
Put. Well, wee cannot impute it to any lacke of
good-will in your worfhip, you did but as another
would haue done ; twas our hard fortunes to mifle the
purchafe, but if ere wee clutch him againe, the Counter
(hall charme him.
Rauen. The hole (hall rotte him.
The Puritaine, or the Widdow of Watling-
Jireete^ ed. 1607, fig. F.
Next from the ftocks, the Hole, and Little-eafe,
Sad places, which kind nature do difpleale.
The Walks of Hogsdon, 410. 1657.
On the eaft fide of this ftreet (Wood Street) is one
of the prifon houfes pertayning to the {hiriffes of
London, and is called the Compter in Wood-ftreet,
which was prepared to be a prifon houfe in the yere
1555, and, on the Eue of S. Michaell the Archangell,
the prifoners that lay in the Compter in Bred-ftreete
were remoued to this Compter in Wood-ftreete.
Stow's Survay of London, ed. 1603, p. 298.
Page 17, line 14. Ballad of Patient Grijfell. This
is the earlieft copy known of a ballad which was
frequently reprinted. There are numerous variations
in the later editions, few, however, of which are of
much importance. The ftory was introduced to
Englifh readers by Chaucer, who derived the incidents
from Boccaccio ; and in the fixteenth century it was
extremely popular in this country, becoming the
fubjeft of plays, chap-books, and ballads. See notices
of thefe collected in the Shakefpeare Society's reprint
of the comedy of Patient Griflil, 1841. The prefent
ballad forms the larger portion of a little chap-book of
the feventeenth century entitled, " The Pleafant and
276 NOTES.
Sweet Hiftory of Patient Griflell, {hewing how fhe,
from a poore mans daughter, came to be a great lady
in France, being a patterne to all vertuous women.
Tranflated out of Italian. London: Printed by E. P. for
John Wright, dwelling in Giltfpur Street at the figne of
the Bible," n.d. The poem is here introduced by the
following epifode, " In the countrey of Salufa, which
lyeth neere Italy and France, there lived a noble and \
wealthy prince named Gualter, MarquefTe and Lord of
Salufa, a man of fuch vertues that the world did ring
of j beloved of his fubjecT:s for his good parts, that,
before his dayes nor fince, was very few the like for
his continual! care of his fubje&s good, and they, in
their dutifulneffe, fought to out-ftrip him in love.
From his youth his onely exercife was hunting,
wherein he tooke fuch delight, that nothing was more
pleafmg unto him ; withall the fubje&s loyalty to this
worthy prince, in their carefulnefle that fuch excellent
vertues mould not faile for want of iffue, intreated him
by humble petition to marry, that from his loynes their
children might enjoy the like happinefle. This fpeech
thus fpoke to the prince drave fuch love and affe&ion
into his mind, that moft gracioufly he made them
anfwer that when it fhould pleafe God that hee fhould
fee one that he could love, hee moft willingly would
fulfill their good and honeft requeft. Withall this
anfwer gave them fuch content, that they earneftly
prayed to fee that day."
Page 17, line 15. The Brides Good-morrow. The
ballad of the Bride's Good-Morrow, " to a pleafant
new tune," is in the Roxburghe Collection, i. 15,
" Printed by the Aflignes of Thomas Symcocke," but
the ballad itfelf is older than the period of that printer.
It commences thus,
The night is pa/Ted, and joyfull day appeareth,
Moft cleare on every fide ;
With pleafant mufick we therefore falute you,
Good morrow, Miftris Bride.
The exclamation, " Good morrow, Miftrefs Bride," is
found, obferves Mr. Collier, " as a quotation, in more
NOTES. 277
ban one play of the time of Shakefpeare, with other
allufions to this ballad." The tune itfelf has not been
bund under this title. Did Shakefpeare have the
>allad in his recolle&ion when he makes Petruchio
fay,
But what a fool am I, to chat with you,
When I fliould bid good-morrow to my bride,
And feal the title with a lovely kifs ?
Page 19, line 16. Malifl. Maliced ; envied.
Page 21, line 6. Alone. " All alone," chap-
wok ed.
Page 21, line 21. ElJJe and pure/i pall. Bifs and
>all were filk and cloth of expenfive and fine textures.
They are frequently mentioned in the old Englifh
romances as figns of the wealth of their pofleflors.
c< That grete cite that was clothed with biffe and pur-
jur, and overgyld with gold and prefious ftonys,"
Wimbleton's Sermon, 1388. u And on hym were
the purpull palle," MS. Afhmole 61.
Page 22, line 25. All and feme. That is, every
body
We are betrayd, and y-nome,
Horfe and harnefs, lords, all and form.
The Romance of Richard Coer de Lioit, 2284.
Page 23, line 2. Erauery. That is, rich apparel.
" Lionello he haftes him home, and futes him in his
braverye," Tarlton's Newes out of Purgatorie, 1590.
Page 23, line 4. As he. " At his/' later verfion.
And, in the next line, " I will afk of thee." The
chap-book verfion, at the conclufion of the ballad,
adds the following, " The lords and gentlemen, be
ing aftonifhed, looked one upon another, and feeing
no remedy, but that the noble Marquefle had an
unremoveable love upon her, befought her to pardon
them of their envy towards her, and to take them into
her favour, which (he, with a modeft behaviour, pro-
mifed to doe. The noble Marquefle, feeing all in
peace, ordained a great and fumptuous feaft, where
patient Griflel fate miftrefle of the feaft; the Mar-
278 NOTES.
quefle on her right hand, on her left her aged father,
old Janicola ; her two children betweene them both,
the lords and gentlemen doing them fervice. This
feaft continued fourteene dayes, to the comfort of the
commons. When this folemne feaft was ended, the
Marquefle, to {hew his love to his GrifTell, made her
father one of his counfel, and governour of his palace,
where for many yeeres he lived in the love of the
whole court. The noble Marquefle and his faire
Griflell lived almoft thirty yeeres, faw their children's
children, and then dyed, beloved and bewayled of their
fubjeas."
Page 24, line I. Ballade of a Lover. This ballad
was originally printed by Colwell in i 563, as appears
from the Regifters of the Stationers' Company,
" receved of Thomas Colwell for his lycenfe for
pryntinge of a ballett intituled the lover extollynge
hys ladyes, iiij.^." In the original, the firft eight
lines are fet to mufic. "The tune," obferves Mr.
Chappell, "is worthlefs as mufic, and, I fufpecl:, very
incorrectly printed. It feems a mere claptrap jumble
to take in the countryman."
Page 24, line 3. Damon aud Pitkias. "This,"
obferves Mr. Chappell, " is probably a tune from the
very old drama of Damon and Pithias."
Page 25, line 6. Woulde. " Wolude," original,
Page 27, line I. A monftrous childe. It is a curious
fact that the woodcut of this child, and of fome other
monfters defcribed in the prefent colle&ion, fhould be
copied by hand on the margins of the regifter-book of
Wills in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury for the
year 1562, headed by the following note, here copied
exactly as it ftands in the original, Prodigta qute-
dam contra folltum nature curfum nata et in lucem tzdit:
anno Domini 1562. In addition to thofe found in thefe
broadfides may be mentioned drawings pf a caterpillar
and of a dog with a band round its neck. " Item,
ther was (a) pyge brothe to London in May with ij
alfFbodys, behyngwith viij fette, that mony pepull dyd
fe ytt ; and after cam a fyne and token of a monftorous
NOTES. 279
chyld that was borne be-fyd Colchefter at a town callyd
(blank\" Machyn's Diary, 1562, ed. J. G. Nichols,
p. 281.
Page 27, line 16. Bra/I. Burft. " Braft in the
middes, or in fundre," Huloet's Di6tionarie, 1572.
Page 28, line 4. Beholde a calfe. " In Aprell was
browth to London a pyde calff with a great ruffe about
ys neke, a token of grett ruff that bowth men and
women," Machyn's Diary, 1562, ed. J. G. Nichols,
p. 280.
Page 28, line 24. Linne. Ceafe. " He never
linns ) he gives it not over, he is alwaies doing," Terence
in Englifh, 1614.
Page 29, line 6. A fcape. So Shakefpeare, in
King John, fpeaks of a " fcape of nature."
Page 30, line 16. Lady y Lady. A favourite burden
to a fong, as in that of the Conftancy of Sufanna, quoted
by Shakefpeare in Twelfth Night. Compare a fong in
the old interlude of the Trial of Treafure, 1567,
Thou parted Venus far away,
Lady, lady j
Love thee I will both night and day,
My dere lady !
Page 31, line 2. Forked cap. The mitre.
Page 3 1 , line 1 2 . Andfamijhed him till lyfe was donne.
The author does not here follow the ordinary popular
belief of the time, which was afterwards adopted by
Shakefpeare. According to Stow, who quotes an in-
edited MS. by Sir John Fortefcue as his authority, the
king "was imprifoned in Pomfrait Caftle, where xv.
dayes and nightes they vexed him with continuall
hunger, thirft and cold, and finally bereft him of his
life with fuch a kind of death as never before that time
was knowen in England." The Percies, in the
manifefto which they iflued againft Henry the Fourth
the day before the battle of Shrewfbury, exprefsly
charge him with the refponfibility of this crime.
Page 32, line 7. Trenta/les. " Trentals or trigin-
tals were a number of maffes, to the tale of thirty, faid
280 NOTES.
on the fame account, according to a certain order
inftituted by Saint Gregory," Ayliffe's Parergon.
Page 33, line I. The Pope in his fury. This
ballad was licenfed to Kirkham, or Kyrham, as it is
written in the regifter, in 1570-1, " his lycenfe for
pryntinge of a ballett, the Pope in greate fury doth."
So the words of the entry conclude.
Page 33, line 2. To a letter the which to Rome is
late come. This perhaps refers and is a fuppofed reply
to another ballad, by Stephen Peele, now in the Miller
Collection, u to the Tune of Row well ye Mariners,"
which is headed,
A Letter to Rome, to declare to the Pope,
John Felton, his freend, is hang'd in a rope ;
And farther, aright his Grace to enforme,
He dyed a Papift, and feemed not to turne.
The fame day (4 Auguft, 1571) was arraigned at
Guildhal of London Tohn Felton, for hanging a bull at
the gate of the Bifhop of London's palace, and alfo two
young men for coyning and clipping of coine, who all
were found guilty of high treafon, and had judgement
to be drawne, hanged and quartered. Stowes Annales,
ed. 1615, p. 666. The eight of Auguft, John Felton
was drawne from Newgate into Paules Church-yeard,
and there hanged on a gallowes new fet up that morn
ing before the Bimoppes palace gate, and being cut
downe aliue, he was bowelled and quartered. Ibld.^
p. 667.
Page 34, line 2. To-to. Exceedingly. " Too-too^
ufed abfolutely for very well or good," Ray's Englifh
Words, ed. 1674, p. 49.
Page 34, line 14. Senceyng. That is, incenfmg.
" And whan thei comen there, thei taken enfenfe and
other aromatyk thinges of noble fmelle, and fenfen the
ydole, as we wolde don here Goddes precyoufe body,"
Maundevile's Travels, p. 174, ed. 1839.
Page 34, line 16. Mell. That is, to meddle with.
" Hence, ye profane ; mell not with holy things,"
Hall's Satires.
Page 35, line 21. The Norton*' bones. Two of
NOTES. 281
this family, Thomas and his nephew Chriftopher
Norton, were executed for their implication in the
Northern rebellion, at Tyburn, in May, 1570. Their
heads were fet upon London Bridge, and their quarters
upon the various gates. There was a little poem by
Sampfon Davie on them printed the fame vear.
" Receved of Wylliam Pekerynge for his lycenfe for
pryntinge of the ende and confeflion of Thomas
Norton and Chriftofer Norton, rebelles in Yorkefhyre,
which dyed the xxvij. of Maye, 1570," Stationers'
Regifters.
Page 36,line7. Frump. Thatis, mock. u Mocqutr y
to mock, flowt, frump, fcofte, deride," Cotgrave.
" To frump, illiido" Coles.
Page 36, line 20. )ueen Elizabeth. Thefe lines
under a portrait form together a fingularly curious
broadfide. In the State Paper Office is an undated
draft of a proclamation, in the handwriting of Cecil,
prohibiting all " payntors, pryntors, and gravors "
from drawing Queen Elizabeth's picture, until " fome
conning perfon mete therefor (hall make a naturall
reprefentation of Her Majefty's perfon, favour, or
grace," as a pattern for other perfons to copy. This
proclamation was moft likely never publiftied, as it is
not mentioned in Humfrey Difon's lift of the pro
clamations of Queen Elizabeth. The " py&ure of
quene Elyzabeth " was entered to Gyles Godhed on
the books of the Stationers' Company, 1562-3.
Page 37, line u. Ane new Ballet. The date of
this ballad fixes it to the period of the author's
efcape from Paris at the time of the St. Bartholomew
maffacre.
Page 37, line 15. Tyklt. Tied, bound?
Page 37, line 16. At Baftianes brydell. The allu-
fion here is to Queen Mary's leaving Darnley, on the
night of his murder, to attend a ball at Holyrood, on
the occafion of the marriage of one of her attendants
named Baftian. The intention of the author of the
ballad is obvioufly to eftablifh a parallel between the
murder of Darnley and the maflacre at Paris.
282 NOTES.
Page 37, line 19. Wyte of this cummer. That is,
blame of this trouble or vexation. " Delivir us fra
all dangears and perrellis of fire and wattir, of
fyirflauchtis and thundir, of hungar and derth, fedi-
tioun and battel, of pleyis and cummar^ feiknes and
peftilence," Hamiltoun's Catechifme, ap. Jamiefon.
Page 37, line 22. Conuoyit. By artful contrivance,
deceitfully.
Page 38, line 4. Far lie. Wonder.
Page 38, line 6. Ganzelon. Ganelon, the cele
brated traitor of the romances of Charlemagne, the
perfon who was bribed into betraying the French
army to the King of the Saracens. He was executed
at Aix-la-Chapelle by order of Charlemagne.
Page 38, line 12. Be doand ane quhyle. Go on for
a time.
Page 38, line 14. Ding. To overcome.
Page 38, line 18. JVapis. That is, cafts or
throws. So, in Ramfay's poems,
Get Johnny's hand in haly band,
Syne <wap ye'r wealth together.
Page 38, line 21. The feryne. That is, the fyren.
Ouirjylit, circumvented.
Page 38, line 24. Volatlll. Bird. " Make we man
to cure ymage and liknefle, and be he fovereyn to the
fifchis of the fee, and to the volatils of hevene,"
Bible, MS. Bodl. " Volatile, wyld fowle," Prompt.
Parv.
Page 39, line 6. Burreo. Executioner. Bour-
reau, Fr.
Page 39, line 8. Sane. That is, the river Seine.
Huking, confidering, regarding.
Page 29, line 13. Thy faces was four. Thy fauce
was four, taftelefs, or infipid.
Page 40, line 8. Tythance. Tidings.
Page 41, line 3. Graith. Accoutrements.
Page 41, line 9. Calk. That is, chalk (to mark
with). Mark their doors with chalk.
Page 41, line 18. Go fay. So in the original.
NOTES.
283
Can thefe words be erroneoufly printed for aflay?
In the next line thie in the original, clearly a mif-
print for this.
Page 42, line I. The Bryber Gehefte. " Receved
of Thomas Colwell, for his lycenfe for pryntinge of a
ballett intituled of bryber Jehefye, taken out of the
vth chapter of the iiijth Bokes of Kynges, iiij.*/," Sta
tioners' Regifters, 1566-7. The reference, in the
modern tranflations of the Bible, is to the Second
Book of Kings.
Page 42, line 3. To the tune of Kynge Salomon. It
appears, from the Newe Enterlude of Vice,conteyninge
the Hiftorye of Horeftes, 1567, that this is the fame
tune as u Lady, lady." The ftage-dire&ion is,
" Enter Egiftus and Clytemneftra, fmginge this fonge
to the tune of King Salomon ;" and then follows the
fong, commencing,
And was it not a worthy fight
Of Venus childe, Kinge Priames fonne,
To fteale from Grece a ladye hryght,
For whom the wares of Troye begon,
Naught fearinge daunger that might faull,
Lady, ladie !
From Grece to Troye he went withall,
My deare lady !
It appears, from the regifters of the Stationers' Com
pany, that Tyfdale had a licenfe in 1561-2 for printing
" a new ballett after the tune of Kynge Salomon."
Page 45, line 6. The Jhape of ii mongers. This
broadfide is probably that mentioned in the following
entry in the Stationers' Regifters, 1561-2, " Receved
of John Aide for his lycenfe for pryntinge of a
picture of a monfterus pygge, m].d." It is alfo
alluded to in another ballad. See p. 64. There are
engravings of two " monftrous pigs " in the original
broadfide, but only one is defcribed in the text.
Page 49, line 3. Fetn^elt. That is, feigned. The
word cruellus, in the next line, is invented for the fake
of the rhyme. This ballad evidently belongs to the
earlier part of the year 1581, before James Earl of
284 NOTES.
Morton was brought to trial, and executed on the fol
lowing day.
Page 49, line 17. Dowkand. That is, diving.
Page 50, line 8. Volt. Face; countenance.
Page 50, line 9. Ingyne. Capacity ; ability.
Page 51, line 8. Potteris. " Porteris," original.
The claffical allufions in this ballad are too trite to
require annotation.
Page 51, line 13. Landwart. That is, country. It
is hardly neceflary to fay that pleuch^ here and in other
places, ftands for plough.
Page 51, line 19. Ane tit. A quick pull; a hafty
turn of the wheel.
Page 51, line 26. Subumbragit. Overfhadowed.
Page 52, line 3. Git. The laft letter of this word
in the original appears, on clofe examination, to be an
imperfect/, not a /. Read gif^ if.
Page 52, line n. Lltils. So in the original, but
probably a mifprint for //////.
Page 52, line 16. Law. To lower or humble.
Page 52, line 29. Danter. Conqueror ; fubduer.
Under the firm government of Morton, the Border
diftricls, which had become the fcene of great lawlefT-
nefs, were reduced into order. " He was very wyfe,
and a guid juftitiar in adminiftration. His fyve yeirs
war eftimed to be als happie and peaceable as euer
Scotland faw. The name of a Papift durft nocht be
hard of; ther was na theiff nor oppreflbur that durft
kythe." Melvill's Diary, 1577.
Page 53, line 21. Franke. So in the original, but
it may poffibly be an error for fracke, active, diligent.
So in a poem cited by Jamiefon,
He wald not lat the Papifts caufe ga bak,
Gif it were juft, hot wald be for himfrak.
Page 54, line I o. Pleit. Maintained; debated.
Page 54, line 13. Eitb. That is, eafy.
Page 54, line 21. Dowle. Dull; melancholy.
Page 55, line 9. Eluottis. So in the original. It
may be right, and a mere fpecimen of cacography, but
more probably a mifprint for Elyottis.
NOTES.
285
Page 55, line 12. Labels. Jamiefon has, " Lebbie,
the lap or fore-fkirt of a man's coat, S. B. Loth."
P a g e 55> li ne 2 5- Glalkrle. Idle wantonnefs.
Page 56, line 3. Detreitis. So in the original,
obvioufly intended for decreitis. In the previous line,
decor e, that is, decorate.
P a g e 56, line 7. Semplll. Can it be that the author
is here quibbling upon his own name ?
Page 56, line 10. Robert Lekprewicke. This printer
was at Edinburgh from about the year 1561 until
1570. In 1571, he is found at Stirling, and in 1572
at St. Andrew's. See p. 41. In 1573, he na ^ re "
turned to Edinburgh.
Page 56, line 12. The Plagues of North omber land.
" Receved of Thomas Colwell, for his lycenfe for
pryntinge of a ballett intituled, Plaiges of Northum-
berlande, iiij.^," Regifters of the Stationers' Company,
1569-70. At the top of this broadfide is a row of five
woodcuts.
Page 56, line 13. dppelles. This tune is referred
to in Googe's Eglogs, 1 563, in the Handeful of Pleafant
Delites, 1584, and in the Crown Garland of Golden
Rofes, 1659. A " ballett intituled Kynge Pollicrate,
to the tune of Apelles," was entered to Colwell in the
Stationers' Regifters, 1565-6.
Page 56, line 14. When that theMoone^in Northom-
berland. The Silver Crefcent is a well-known creft
or badge of the Northumberland family. It was
probably brought home from fome of the Crufades
againft the Saracens. In an ancient pedigree in verfe,
finely illuminated on a roll of vellum, and written in
the reign of Henry VII, we have this fabulous account
given of its original. The author begins with ac
counting for the name of Gernon or Algernon, often
borne by the Percies ; who, he fays, were
Gernons fyrft named Brutys bloude of Troy :
Which valliantly fyghtynge in the land of Perse
At pointe terrible ayance the milcreants on nyght,
An hevynly myftery was fchewyd hym, old bookys reherfe ;
In hys icheld did fchyne a Mone veryfying her lyght,
286 NOTES.
Which to all the oofte yave a perfytte fyght,
To vaynquys his enemys, and to deth them perfue :
And therefore the Perses the Creflant doth renew.
From a Note by Bt/bop Percy.
Page 56, line 24. With horfe and armes. " I have
certaine advertyfement that all reteyners and hufehold
fervants appertening the Erie of Weftmorland, with
the mofte part of all others his tennants, beyng
furnimed with armour and weapon, of his lordfhip of
Raby, in their warlike apparel, repared to Branfepeth
yefterday and this nyght paft, and all the reft of his
tennants ar by his lordfhip's officers commandyt to fet
forthe upon one hour's warning," Letter of Sir George
Bowes to the Duke of Suflex, 7 November, 1569.
Page 57, line i. Pygbt. That is, placed, fixed,
to reftore, (Lat.)
57> li ne 2 7- Bellinge. That is, bellowing.
" Bellynge of nete," Prompt. Parv. " Becking,
belling, ducking, yelling, was their whole religio,"
Anfwere to a Romim Rime, 1602.
Page 60, line 4. In Somer time. This is the fame
tune which is mentioned in a ballad in the Pepys'
Collection, u The Rimer's New Trimming, to the
tune of In Sommer time" which commences as
follows,
A rimer of late in a barber's (hop
Sate by for a trimming to take his lot ;
Being minded with mirth, until his turn came
To drive away time he thus began.
Page 61, line 20, Fat. A vat or brewing-tub.
" Fatte, a veflel, quevue" Palfgrave, 1530. " A vate
or fat, labrum" Rider's Di&ionarie, ed. 1617.
Page 63, line 17. A monfterous Chylde. In 1564-5,
there was entered on the books of the Stationers'
Company, " Receved of William Greffeth, for his
lycenfe for pryntinge of a py&ure of a chylde borne in
the He of Wyghte, with a clufter of grapes about ys
navell, iiij.^." Notwithftanding the variation in this
defcription, there can be little doubt that this entry
NOTES. 287
refers to the broadfide printed in the text. If fo, the
ingenious compiler of the narrative altered the charac
ter of the " clufter " between the date of entry and the
period of iflue.
Page 65, line 23. Vnparfett. An unufual form of
the word. Huloethas, " unperfe&e, imperfeftus" ed.
1572 ; and unparfited, for unperfefted^ occurs in
Surrey's Songs and Sonnets, 1557. In the next line,
the word porte^ by a fingular licenfe, appears to be ufed
for report.
Page 66, line 3. Confortor. A genuine old form
of the word, derived from the Anglo-Norman.
Page 66, line 12. The Marchants Daughter. This
is the earlieft copy of this ballad known to exift.
William Blackwall, its printer, dwelt " over againft
Guildhall Gate," but very few productions from his
prefs are known to exift. See another fpecimen at p.
231. He is alluded to by the author of the Declaration
of the true Caufes, 1592, as the printer "of obfcure
and trifling matters.'* This ballad was extremely
popular. The fiddler in Fletcher's Monfieur Thomas,
1639, mentions it as one of the fongs he is beft verfed
in. A later copy, a few of the ftanzas being omitted,
is preferved in the Roxburghe collection.
Page 66, line 13. Briftow. The ufual old way of
fpelling the name of the town of Briftol.
Page 66, line 14. The May dens Joy. This tune is
referred to in Anthony Wood's collection of ballads at
Oxford, in Old Ballads, 1729, vol. iii. p. 201, &c.
Page 67, line 12. Fine. "Then," ed. Roxburghe.
Page 67, line 18. Wafte. "Waile," ed. Roxburghe.
Page 68, line 7. She. " He," in the original.
Page 68, line 8. Though naked. Even as lately
as the fixteenth century, the ufe of night linen was far
from being univerfal. " To bed he goes, and Jetny
ever ufed to lye naked, as is the ufe of a number,
amongft which number fhe knew Jemy was one,"
Armin's Neft of Ninnies, 1608. Hence arofe the ex-
prefiion, naked bed, of which Shakefpeare has made fuch
a pretty ufe,
288 NOTES.
Who fees his true love in her naked bed,
Teaching the fheets a whiter hue than white.
Page 71, line 23. Joy full. " Mortall," ed. Rox-
burghe.
Page 72, line 7. Trauell. " Triall," ed. Rox-
burghe.
Page 72, line 14. Alher iorneys. " Her forrow,"
ed. Roxburghe.
Page 72, line 20. On her penlh. " Of her
forrowes," ed. Roxburghe. The next ftanza is omit
ted in this later copy.
Page 73, line 10. Euer. This fhould be evermore ,
as required by the rhyme, and as it ftands in the Rox
burghe copy.
Page 73, line 18. Eyes. " Eys" in the original.
Page 73, line 24. Such grleuous. The fpace for
the word following thefe is alfo left blank in the original.
" Such grievous doome" ed. Roxburghe. In the next
line, ladies is a mifprint in the original for laddes.
Page 74, line 28. And of a paffmg pure life. " And
paffing pure of life," ed. Roxburghe.
Page 75, line 18. Feareful. " Freareful" in the
original.
Page 78, line 8. To the tune of Labandalajhotte.
This tune is the fame as " I waile in woe, I plunge in
pain." See the Handeful of Pleafant Delites, 1584,
and Ritfon's Ancient Songs, p. 151. The tune is re
ferred to for " A fong of King Edgar, {hewing how he
was deceivedof his Love." That ballad commences,
Whenas King Edgar did govern this land,
Adown, adown, down, down, down j
And in the ftrength of his years he did ftand,
Call him down-a, &c.
Mrs. Quickly fings this burden in the Merry Wives
of Windfor, a<5t i. fc. 4, and Ophelia fang one of her
fnatches to the tune of Labandalafhotte. " You muft
fing, Down-a-down, an you call him a-down-aj* Hamlet,
a6l iv. fc. 5. " Filibuftacchina^ the burden of a coun-
trie fong, as we fay, hay doune a doune douna,"
NOTES. 289
Florio's Worlde of Wordes, 1598, p. 131. The fame
tune is clearly referred to in the Ballad againft Slander
and Detraction, p. 9 ; and Rhodes, in his Anfwere to
a Romifh Rime, 4to. 1602, fays, u I found it fet to
nocertaine tune, but becaufe it goeth moft neere to the
olde tune of Labandalajhot^ therefore I have made that
all may be fung to that tune, if neede be."
Page 79, line 5. Marketfted. A market-place.
" And their beft archers plac'd the market- fled about,"
Drayton's Polyolbion.
Page 79, line 30. Ance. That is, once, in the
fenfe of, once for all. " Once, twenty-four ducattes
he coft me," Gafcoigne's Suppofes.
Page 80, line 22. Nicholas Colman of Norwich. A
new name in the hiftory of Englifh publifhing. The
ballads were printed for him in London.
Page 8 1, line I. A 'proper newe fonet. It is pro
bably this ballad, not the preceding one, which is
thus entered in the Stationers' Registers for 1586,
Nicholas Colman, receved of him for printinge a
ballad of the lamentation of Beckles, a market towne
of Suffblke, on St. Andrewes day lafte pafte, beinge
burnt with fier, to the number of Ixxx. houfe, and
lofTe of xx. m. //'." Contributions in aid of the
fufferers from this fire were raifed throughout the
counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Blomefield men
tions a fum of money as having been collected in the
farifh of Harpham " for the burning of Beccles."
n the book of the Mayor's Court at Norwich is
this entry, " William Fleming, preacher of Beccles,
raifed in Court of Mr. Mayor, 30. 10.8, which
was collected in this city towards the re-edifying of
Beccles Church, which was lately burnt," Suckling's
Suffolk, vol. i. p. 12.
Page 8i,line 8. To Wil/on's Tune. This tune
does not appear to be known. In the library of the
Society of Antiquaries is, A proper newe Ballad declaring
the fubftaunce of all the late pretended Treafons againft
the Queenes Majeftie, 1586, To Wil/on's new Tune.
Page 83, line n. The church and temple by this
2QO NOTES.
fyre. " The roof, feats, and woodwork of the church
were confumed, though the walls and the ftonework
of the windows efcaped deftru6tion. The lower part
of the fteeple remains blackened with fmoke in a very
remarkable degree to the prefent day," Suckling's
Hiftory and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk,
vol. i. p. 12. The parifh regifters were, probably,
deftroyed, the prefent books commencing in the year
1586.
Page 85, line I. Franklins Farewell. James
Franklin was the apothecary whofe poverty or whofe
will confented to furniih the poifons, according to
order, in the Overbury murders. See his Trial in
Cobbett's State Trials, vol. ii. col. 947. According
to his own account, he bought the poifons at the
entreaty of the Countefs and Mrs. Turner, protefting
his ignorance of what they intended to do with them.
See further particulars in Amos's Great Oyer of
Poifoning, 1846. In the library of the Society of
Antiquaries is a broadfide, entitled, " James Franklin,
a Kentifhman of Maidftone, his owne Arraignment,
Confeffion, Condemnation, and Judgment of Himfelfe,
whilft hee lay Prifoner in the Kings Bench for the
Poifoning of Sir Thomas Overbury. He was exe
cuted the 9 of December, 1615."
Page 88, line I. The xxv. orders of Fooles.
" Receved of Henry Kyrham, for his lycenfe for the
pryntinge of a ballett, intituled the xx. orders of
fooles, i'nj.dy" Regifters of the Stationers' Company,
1569-70.
Page 88, line 4. A quarterne. That is, a quarter
(of a hundred). Maundevile fpeaks of the moon be
ing in "the feconde quarteroun," Travels, p. 301.
Page 88, line 19. Or els a fox-tayle. One of the
diftinguifhing badges of a fool. " I fhall prove him
fuch a noddy before I leave him, that all the world
will deeme him worthy to weare in his forehead a
coxcombe for his foolifhnefs, and on his back a fox
tayle for his badge," The Pope's Funerall, 1605.
Page 89, line 17. Wood. That is, mad. "Phoebus
NOTES.
291
grows ftark wood for love and fancie to Daphne,"
Countefs of Pembroke's Ivy-Church, 1591. "The
name Woden fignifies fierce or furious ; and in like
fenfe we ftill retain it, faying, when one is in a great
rage, that he is wood, or taketh on as if he were wood"
Verftegan's Reftitution of Decayed Intelligence, 1605.
ic Woode or madde^yi/ra/.x 1 ," Palfgrave.
Page 91, line I. Foole. "Feele" in the original.
Page 92, line 23. Apayd. Satisfied; pleafed. "In
herte I wolde be wele apayede," MS. Lincoln. u I
am well apayed,y>yw/j blen content" Palfgrave, 1530.
Page 95, line 12. Or els to Lolers tower toji. "At
eyther corner of this weft end (of St. Paul's) is alfo
of auncient building a ftrong tower of ftone, made
for bell towers, the one of them, to wit, next to the
pallace is at this prefent to the vfe of the fame
pallace ; the other, towardes the fouth, is called the
Lowlardes Tower, and hath beene ufed as the
Biftioppes prifon, for fuch as were detected for
opinions in religion contrary to the faith of the
church," Stow's Survay of London, ed. 1603, p.
372-
Page 95, line 1 6. To fwage. "I fwage, I abate
the fwellyng of a thyng " Palfgrave, 1530. "Swage,
or to mitigate or appeafe, complacare" Huloet's Dic-
tionarie, 1572.
But wicked wrath had fome fo farre enraged,
As by no meanes their malice could be fwaged.
Gafcoigne^s Works y 410. 1587.
Page 96, line 9. A forayne. That is, a foreigner.
(Fr.)
Page 96, line 29. Threape. That is, obftinately
maintained. " I threpe a mater upon one, I beare
one in hande that he hath doone or faide a thing
amyfle ; this terme is alfo farre northren ; he wolde
threpe upon me that I have his penne," Palfgrave,
1530.
Page 98, line I. A Ballad. This is probably the
earlieft, as it undoubtedly is the moft curious, of
the Englifh verfions of a notion which fubfequentlv
292 NOTES.
became familiar as the Five Alls. As late as the reign
of George the Third, there was iflued a fatirical print
by Kay in five compartments, the firft of which repre-
fented a clergyman in his defk, with the infcription,
" I pray for all ;" the fecond a barrifter, " I plead for
all ;" the third a farmer, " I maintain all ; " the fourth
a foldier, " I fight for all ;" the fifth his Satanic ma-
jefty, " I take all." There are feveral old epigrams,
each line ending with the word all. See copies of two
in Larwood and Hotten's Hiftory of Signboards, p.
452. Inns called the Four Alls are ftill well-known ;
but the fign appears to be gradually going out of
fafhion.
Page 101, line i. A godly Ballad. This ballad is
printed on the back of a wafte fheet of an old alma
nac, one fide only having been printed of the latter,
which was a Prognoftication for the year then follow
ing, 1567. Each month is illuftrated by a fmall wood
cut.
" Receved of John Aide for his lycenfe for prynt-
inge of a ballett intituled declarynge by the Scriptures
the plages that have infued of whoredom, iiij.^," Sta
tioners' Regifters, 1566-7.
Page 101, line 5. Left In. " Left if" in the ori
ginal. Perhaps the correct reading may be, left m.
Page 101, line 15. The woorm. That is, the fer-
pent. The ufe of the word in this fenfe is very com
mon in early Englifli.
Page 1 01, line 21. The barmes. "Thyharmes'' in
the original.
Page 105, line 8. Tantara. This odd word was
ufually employed to fignify the noife made by a drum.
So, in the old ballad of the Winning of Cales,
Long the proud Spaniards had vaunted to conquer us,
Threatning our country with fyer and fword $
Often preparing their navy moft fumptuous
With as great plenty as Spain could afford.
Dub a dub, dub a dub, thus ftrike their drums :
Tantara, tantara, the Englifhman comes.
It was alfo, however, the name of a tune. A fong
NOTES.
293
called Gibfon's Tantara is given in the Handeful of
Pleafant Delites, 1584. In the Miller collection is a
ballad, dated 1590, " to the tune of the new Tantara."
The uncouth orthography ufed by the writer of this
ballad, and the allufion to Bewdley ale, indicate a pro
vincial origin. Such words as blofe^ blows, Rafe y
Ralph, fmcke, cinque, gofe y goes, hardly require expla
nation.
Page 106, line 2. Upon the molde. Upon the ground
or earth. This was a favourite expreflion in the old
Englifh romances. " Moold or foyle of erthe,/>/w,"
Prompt. Parv.
Page 1 06, line 14. Plate . " Plate" in the original.
Page 1 06, line 28. To bajie. That is, to beat.
" To baft, beat, fufte cadere^ Coles. Bajlian, a
cudgel. a Bacu/us y a bafton, a ftaffe," Nomenclator,
1585. Bumbde, ftruck, beat. The verb to bum, to
beat, is ftill in ufe in the North, fnguentum Bakaline,
ointment for the back.
Page 107, line 19. He fpurres bis cutte. That is,
his horfe. u Am I their cutt ? muft Jack march with
bag and baggage," Play of Sir Thomas More. " But
mafter, 'pray ye, let me ride uoon Cut," Sir John
Oldcaftle.
He's buy me a white cut forth for to ride,
And ile goe feeke him throw the world that is fo wide.
The Two Noble Kinfmen y 1634, p. 4.1.
Page 108, line 8. Her life. His life" in the
original.
Page no, line 17. Bedftaffe. A wooden pin in the
fide of the bedftead for holding in the bed-clothes.
" Hoftefle, lend vs another bedftaffe here quickly,"
Every Man in his Humour, ed. 1601, fig. C. 4.
Page in, line 12. Did laugh a-good. In good
earneft. " The world laughed a-good at thefe jefts,"
Armin'sNeft of Ninnies, 1608. u This mery aunfwer
made them all laughe a-good," North's Plutarch.
Page 112, line I. Defcription of a monjirous pig.
" Receved of Garrad Dewes, for his lycenfe for
294 NOTES.
pryntinge of a py&ure of a monfterus pygge at Hamfted,"
Regifters of the Company of Stationers, 1562. There
are two views of the pig in the original broadfide.
Page 112, line 19. Flean. That is, flayed.
Page 113, line 15. The tune of Li gh tie Loue. This
tune, which is conftantly alluded to by our early
writers, and twice by Shakefpeare, will be found in
Chappell's Popular Mufic of the Olden Time, p. 224.
The words of the original fong have not been dif-
covered. " Hee'l dance the morris twenty mile an
houre, and gallops to the tune of Light a love" Two
Noble Kinfmen, 1634, p. 77. The earlieft notice of
the tune yet met with occurs in Pro&or's Gorgious
Gallery of Gallant Inventions, 1578, in which " the
louer exhorteth his lady to be conftant, to the tune of,
Attend thee, go play thee." It commences,
Not light of loue, lady,
Though fancy doo prick thee.
Page 114, line I. Nicyngs and ticings. Pretty
follies and allurements. Tyfing for enticing occurs in
Aminta, 1628.
Page 114, line 6. Shouer. Perhaps for Jhiver^
tremble.
Page 114, line 10. Glofe. Diffimulation ; falfehood.
Tell me, Gobrias, doft thou fimplie thinke
That this difcourie is naught but naked truth,
Or elfe fome forged or diflembled glofe.
The Warres of Cyrus , King of Perjia, 1594-
Page 114, line 15. And you twincke. " Twynkyne
wythe the eye, conniveoj* Prompt. Parv.
Some turne the whites up, fome looke to the foote ;
Some winke, fome twinke, fome blinke, &c.
Lane's 'Tom Tel-Troths Me/age, 1 600.
Page 115, line 18. Bearyng your louer s in hande.
To bear in hand, that is, to perfuade to a falfe
conclufion. " I beare in hande, I threp upon a man
that he hath done a dede or make hym byleve fo,"
Palfgrave, 1530.
NOTES.
295
Page 1 1 8, line i. Sapartons Alarum. There was
licenfed to Colwell, in 1569-70, " a ballett intituled
my gentle John Saperton," who may be the fame
perfon with the author of the prefent ballad.
Page 119, line 14. What thoe? What then?
This expreffion alfo occurs in Shakefpeare. See
Henry the Fifth, a6t ii. fc. I.
Page 1 20, line 5. The barded horfe. The horfe
equipped with military trappings or ornaments. u Their
horfes were barded for feareofarrowefhotte,"Palfgrave,
1530. " At all alarmes he was the firft man armed,
and that at all points, and his horfe ever barded,"
Comine's Hittory, 1596. The word is fometimes
written barbed.
Page 1 20, line 30. Vnder the Lotterie houfe. The
Lottery Houfe was fituated for many years near the
weftern gate of St. Paul's Cathedral. It is defcribed
by Stow as " an houfe of timber and boord." See his
Annales, ed. 1615, p. 719.
Page 122, line 13. A let. That is, a hindrance.
Let, impedimentumj' Huloet's Diclionarie, 1572.
u Let, impediment, hinderaunce," Baret's Alvearie,
1580.
Page 122, line 27. Stray. That is, deftroy.
" Some they ftroye and fome they brenne," MS.
Cantab. " Stroyed in difhonour," Antony and
Cleopatra, acl: iii. fc. 9.
Diflblving all her circles and her knots,
And graying all her figures and her lots.
Haringtorfs Orlando Furiofo, 1591.
P. 123, line 19. The Groome-porters law es at Maw e.
The Groom-porter was an officer of the royal houfe-
hold, whofe chief bufmefs it was to provide cards and
dice, and to decide all difputes refpecling games of
chance. Mawe was a favourite old game at cards,
and is frequently alluded to. Braithwait obferves that
" in games at cards, the maw requires a quicke con
ceit or prefent pregnancy," which implies that it was
a game of unufual difficulty. All the games at cards
played by our anceftors were, however, more difficult
296 NOTES.
and complicated than thofe in vogue at the prefent
day.
Page 123, line 27. Vied cardes. Cards which have
been betted upon. So, in Hall's Satires,
More than who <vies his pence to fee fome tricke
Of ftrange Morocco's dumb arithmeticke.
Page 125, line 12. Sodome and Gomorra. Kyrkham
had a licenfe, in 1570-1, " for pryntinge of a ballett of
Sodom and Gomore."
Page 127, line 21. Shryked. " I fhrike, I kry out,
as one dothe that is fodaynly afrayde, je me efcrie"
Palfgrave, 1530.
Page 129, line 18. Amery balade. Alexander Lacy,
the printer of this ballad, appears to have either died
or retired from bufmefs about the year 1571.
Page 130, line 7. Neither mocke nor mow. " I
mowe with the mouthe, I mocke one ; he ufeth fo
moche to mocke and mowe, that he disfygureth his
face," Palfgrave, 1530. Loute, in the next line, has a
fimilar meaning, perhaps to contemn. " Lowted and
forfaken of theym by whom in tyme he myght have
bene ayded and relieved," Hall's Chronicle. This is
alfo probably the meaning of the term in a paflage in
the Firft Part of Henry the Sixth, a& iv. fc. 3.
Page 130, line 19. Houfe-kepers. Perfons who keep
at home. Shakefpeare ufes the term in the fame fenfe
in the play of Coriolanus.
Page 131, line 2. To hyll. That is, to cover.
" You muft hyll you wel nowe anyghtes, the wether
is colde," Palfgrave, 1530.
Page 131, line 8. Sad. That is, ferious. The
ufe of the term in this fenfe was very common,
Page 132, line 26. The lob. The peck or ftroke.
" Jobbyn wythe the bylle, byllen or jobbyn as bryddys,"
Prompt. Parv.
Page 133, line I. The Othe of euerie Freeman. A
woodcut of the City arms is at the top of this broad-
fide. Hugh Singleton, the printer, appears to have
ftarted in bufmefs about the year 1562. He died in 1592
NOTES.
297
or 1593. A later copy of this oath is given in Stow's
Survey of London, ed. 1633, p. 689.
Page 133, line 7. Obeyjant. Submiflive. "That
were obeiflant to his hefte," Gower.
Page 1 34, line 10. Neybourbed, loue^ &c. " Receved
of Rychard Lante for his lycenfe for pryntinge of a
ballett intituled, how neyghborhed, love, and tru deal-
inge ys gonne, iiij^.," Regifters of the Stationers' Com
pany, 1561.
Page 136, line 16. Perclalnejje. Partiality.
Page 138, line 14. Philofophers learnyngei. There
is a row of five woodcuts at the top of this (heet.
The firft one is alfo introduced by Colwell into Larke's
Boke of Wifdome, ed. 1565, fig. B. i. Colwell had a
licenfe " for pryntinge of a ballett intituled the philofifor
lernynges" in 1568-9.
Page 138, line 17. Que paffa. A dance, properly
called hii paffa^ but fometimes fpelt quipafcie or ky-
pafcie. There is a fong " to the tune of Kypafcie" in
the Handeful of Pleafant Delites, 1584.
Page 139, line 5. Surance. Warrant; fecurity ;
aflurance. " Now give fome furance that thou art
Revenge," Titus Andronicus, at v. fc. 2.
Page 140, line 3. Corzye. Diftrefs ; inconve
nience. " To have a great hurt or domage, which we
call a corfey to the herte," Eliote's Ditionarie, 1559.
Page 140, line 10. Exuperate. Surmount. (Lat.)
Page 141, line u. // is olde fyr John. The title
of fir was formerly the defignation of a Bachelor of
Arts, and, in confequence, the Englifh clergy were
diftinguifhed by this title affixed to their Chriftian
names. Hence Shakefpeare introduces Sir Hugh, Sir
Topas, &c. " Within the limits of myne own me
mory, all readers in chapels were called firs," Ma-
chell's MSS., temp. Car. II.
Page 141, line 18. A gray e. A badger. u Grey,
beeft, taxus" Prompt. Parv. " Graye, a beeft, taxe"
Palfgrave, 1530. " Graye, bagger, brocke, a beaft,"
Huloet's Diclionarie, 1572.
Page 142, line 24. The fwap of the fwalowe. The
298 NOTES.
flang expreffions in this and fome other of thefe bal
lads can only be conje&urally explained. Can this
mean, the blow of the drunkard ?
Page 143, line 8. To bewite. To hinder.
Page 143, line n. Mome. A blockhead. " Ca-
parrone, a pugge, an ape, a munkie, a babuine, a gull,
a ninnie, a mome, a fot," Florio's Worlde of Wordes,
1 598. " She will make a mome of thee, if fhee get the
upper hand once," Withals' Di6Honarie, ed. 1608,
p. 460.
And pluck up thy hart, thou faint-harted mome ;
As long as I lyve, thou (halt take no harme.
The Conflict of Confctence, by N. Woodes, 1581.
And yet, to fpeake the veritie, I roame not farre from home ;
My yeeres be not expyred yet that bound me for a mome.
The CaftettofCourtefie, by James Tates, 1582.
Page 143, line 12. Talk. Valiant; warlike. "He
is as tall a man as any in Illyria," Twelfth Night.
Page 145, line I. Maruellous Jiraunge Fijhe. This
is one of the earlieft broadfides relating to " ftrange
fifties" known to exift, and is a modeft account
in comparifon with that given by Stowe of a fifh taken
near Ramfgate in 1574, one of the eyes of which,
" being taken out of his head, was more then fix
horfes in a cart could draw ; a man ftoode upright
in the place from whence the eye was taken;" An-
nales, ed. 1615, p. 677. The fondnefs of the public
for exaggerated accounts of fuch things is pleafantly
ridiculed by Shakefpeare, " Here's another ballad, Of
a fifh, that appeared upon the coaft, on Wednefday the
fourfcore of April, forty thoufand fathom above water,
and fung this ballad againft the hard hearts of maids."
I am not acquainted with any very early ballad refpecr.-
ing a fifh, but in the Miller collection is a broadfide,
<c The Difcription of a rare or rather moft monftrous
fiftie, taken on the Eaft Coft of Holland the xvii. of
Nouember, anno 1566," at the conclufion of which
are fome verfes commencing thus,
NOTES. 299
As thou this formed fifhe doeft fee
I-chaunged from his (late,
So many men in eche degree
From kynd degenerate;
To monfters men are turned now,
Difguiled in their raye,
For in theyr fonde inuentions new
They kepe no meane ne Itaye.
Page 145, line 14. Scooles. Shoals. "Into the
town of Rochell, they fay, God hath fent njkull of fifh
for their relief," MS. Harl. 388.
Page 146, line 15. Daye fertayne. The comma
here fhould be placed after the word daye. In the I5th
line of this page the laft word in the line is, in the
original, mifprintedferteintaintte.
Page 146, line 17. The Kinges Head In new Fifl)-
Jlreat. A celebrated tavern for the " faft" men of the
time of Elizabeth, noted for its wines. " Ha' your
diet-drinke ever in bottles ready, which muft come
from the Kings-head," Ben Jonfon's Magnetick
Lady, ed. 1640, p. 37. " The King's-head in New
Fifh-ftreet, where royfters do range," Newes from
Bartholomew Fayre.
Page 147, line 12. Thefantafies. This poem and the
three following are printed together in double columns
on one page of a large broadfide. This firft one is alfo
found amongft the " Songes and Sonnettes of Uncer
tain Au&ours," in Tottel's Mifcellany, 1557, there
headed, " Of the mutabilitie of the world." Lacy,
in 1565-6, had a licenfe " for prynting of a ballett
intituled a fonge of Appelles, with another dytty ;"
and Griffith, in the fame year, " for prynting of a
ballett intituled of Apelles and Pygmalyne, to the
tune of the fyrft Apelles.'' Lacy, however, alfoin
the fame year, had a licenfe " for pryntinge of a
ballett intituled the Fantifes of a trubbled mans hed ;"
fo that the firft poem in the prefent broadfide may
have been iflued feparately.
Page 147, line 17. A Jea ofwofullforrowes. " Or to
take arms againft a fea of troubles," Hamlet.
Page 148, line 10. And is. "As is," ed. 1557.
300 NOTES.
Page 148, line 17. Payne. " Gaine," ed. 1557,
which has alfo runne for rorne in the next line but
one.
Page 149, line 12. Of euyll tounges. This is alfo
printed in TottePs Mifcellany, 1557, the prefent copy
giving the name of the author, which was unknown
to the compiler of that work.
Page 150, line 5. Te make great hatred. In ed.
1557 tms ftanza commences thus,
Ye make great warre, where peace hath been of long ;
Ye bring rich realmes to mine and decay.
Page 151, line 24. Coucbt. Laid; placed. This
term was fpecially applied to artiftic work.
Alle of palle werke fyne,
Conjuchide with newyne. MS. Lincoln.
Page 152, line 2. A worlde It was to fee. That is,
it was worth a world to fee, it was wonderful to fee.
" It is a worlde to fe him lowte and knele," Palfgrave,
1530. " It is a worlde to fee what a wit wickednefle
hath," Racfter's Booke of the Seven Planets, 1598.
It is a worlde to fee cache feate difplaying wife,
Of Venus nimphes, of curtizans, whom folly doth difguife.
Grangers Golden Aphroditis, 1577.
But, Lord, it is a world to fee how foolifh fickle youth
Accompts the fchoole a purgatorie, a place of paine and ruth.
The Chariot of Chaftitie, by James Tates, 1582.
Page 154, line 7. Roi/ters. Rioters.
If he not reeke what ruffian roifters take his part,
He weeldes unwifely then the mace of Mars in hand.
Mir r our for Magiftrates^ ap. Nares.
Page 154, line 12. Crake. " I crake, I bofte, je
me vante ; whan he is well whyttelled, he wyll crake
goodly of his manhode," Palfgrave, 1530. " Cracke
or to bragge foolyfhely, exultare" Huloet's Diclion-
arie, 1572.
Page 154, line 29. Gage. A pledge or pawn. "He
NOTES. 301
that taketh a gage for a furetie of payment," Baret's
Alvearie, 1580.
Page 156, line 2. Ho/borne Hill. Holborn Hill
was always the road through which criminals, taken
from Newgate to be hung at Tyburn, were conducted.
There are innumerable references to this in our old
writers.
Page 156, line 17. Capichini. So in the original.
" Behold yet a new fwarm of locufts, the order of the
Capuchins, and of thofe fhamelefs companions which
attribute unto themfelves the name of the companie
of Jefus, which are within thefe forty years crawled
out of the bottomlefs pit," Sermon publifhed in 1587.
Page 157, line 3. Lies. "Lie" in the original.
Page 157, line 8. The faire Widow of Watling
Jtreet. This ballad has no connection with the play
fo called. It was entered in the Stationers' Regifters
by Richard Jones in Auguft, 1597, as "two ballads,
being the firft and fecond partes of the Widowe of
Watling Street." No copy printed by Jones is known
to exiit, the prefent, iflued by Pavier, being the
earlieft edition yet difcovered. There is a later copy
in the Roxburghe collection " printed for Fr. Cowles. "
Page 157, line 12. To the tune of Bragandary. In
Anthony Wood's collection of ballads at Oxford is
one entitled, " A Defcription of a ftrange and mira
culous fifh caft upon the fands in the meads, in the
hundred of Worwell in the county Palatine of Chefter
or Cheflieire; to the tune of Bragandary."
Page 158, line 25. Far-why. Becaufe.
Page 162, line 6. Fauor. Countenance. "He
was a youth of fine favour and fhape," Bacon's Hiftory
of Henry the Seventh.
Page 162, line 20. A fort. A company. "What
care I for waking a forte of clubbifh loutes," Enter-
lude of Jacob and Efau, 1568. "A fort of country
fellows," Tale of a Tub. " Ye (hall be (lain, all
the fort of you," Pfalms.
Page 162, line 23. Witness. " Witnefle" in the
original, and fo alfo in the Roxburghe copy.
302 NOTES.
Page 163, line 9. And how it fell. " And how it
befell, they two mark'd it well," Roxburghe ed.
Page 163, line 19. As the fcufe. " An excufe," ed.
Roxburghe. This is (imply a modernization. Scuje
for excufe occurs in Shakefpeare.
Page 163, line 23. You majlers. cc My matters,"
Roxburghe ed.
Page 164, line 6. )uod the wlddow. " Quoth
the young man," Roxburghe ed.
Page 164, line u. He. " She" in the original, cor
rected in the Roxburghe copy.
Page 164, line 18. To jpeake Jo. The word fo,
wanting in the original, is fupplied by conjecture.
The Roxburghe copy reads ill.
Page 165, line 4. Stamberd. Stammered. " Stam-
ber, or to ftutte, titubo" Huloet's Diclionarie, 1572.
" Playes on thoughts, as girls with beads, when their
mafle they ftamber," Armin's Neft of Ninnies, 1608.
Page 165, line 15. To loofe, at the leajl. Thefe two
lines are thus given in the Roxburghe edition,
For forfeit even all the goods he pofleft,
To loofe both his eares, and banifht ib reft.
Page 1 66, line 15. Almightie God I pray. This and
the next article are printed on one broadfide page.
The initial letters of the lines in the prefent poem read,
when placed together, " Tempvs edax rervm^ Time
bryngethe al thynges to an ende, qvod Chriftopher
Wilfon."
Page 167, line 6. Xpe. Chrifte.
Page 169, line 15. Reduce. Bring back (Lat.)
tc The mornynge, forfakyng the golden bed of Titan,
reduced the defyred day," Hiftory of Lucres and
Eurialus, 1560.
Page 173, line 17. Trone. " Trone or feate royall,
thronus ; trone-fitter, or he that fytteth in Maieftye,
altitronus" Huloet's Di6tionarie, 1572.
Page 174, line 15. Pepper Is blacke. There was a
dance-tune fo called. " When his wench or frifkin
was footing it aloft on the greene, with foote out and
NOTES.
303
foote in, and as bufie as might be at Rogero, Bafilino,
Turkelony, all the flowers of the broom, Pepper is
black," &c., Nafh's Have With Youto SaftYon-Walden,
1 596. The tune is found in the Dancing Mafter, 1650.
See it in Chappell's Popular Mufic, p. 121.
Page 175, line 15. Baggage. Refufe. " Scum oft'
the green baggage from it, and it will be a water,"
Lupton's Thoufand Notable Things.
Page 178, line 8. An Epitaph. The name of the
Lord Mayor was Avenon, not Avenet, as here given.
The death of this eftimable lady in July was, fingularly
enough, followed by the widower's marriage on
October 22nd in the fame year. " 1570, O6t. 22,
was married Sir Alexander Avenon, Lord Mayor, and
miftrefs Blunden, widow, by a licenfe, within his own
houfe," Regifter of Allhallows, Bread Street, ap.
Malcolm, ii. 12. The epitaph upon this lady is
recorded in Stow's Survay of London, ed. 1618, p.
496. His firft wife, the lady commemorated in the
ballad, was Elizabeth, daughter of John Slow of
King's Norton. See a pedigree in MS. Harl. 1096.
Page 1 78, line 18. Fine. End. This word is now
only ufed in the expreflion, in fine.
Page 179, line 10. Scbortchyng. The r is probably
inferted by miftake in this word, which feems to be
merely a form offcotcbing.
Page 179, line 14. Could not want. That is, could
not do without. " I myfle, I wante a thyng that I
feke for," Palfgrave, 1530. " De cela je ne puispajfir,
I can by no meanes want it, I cannot bee without it,"
Cotgrave.
And he is one that cannot wanted be,
But ftill God keepe him farre enough from me.
Workes of Taylor ) the Water-Poet, 1630, ii. 134.
Page i8i,line 18. Keyfar. An old term for an
emperor, confidered by fome to be a corruption of
Caefar. " Es there any kyde knyghte, kayfere or
other," Morte Arthure, MS. Lincoln. " Mighty
kings and kefars into thraldom brought," Spenfer.
304 NOTES.
" To be kaifer or kyng of the kyngdom of Juda,"
Piers Ploughman.
Page 182, line 10. A famous dlttie. " The 12. of
Nouember the queenes maieftie, returning after her
progrefle, came to her manor of S. James, where the
citizens of London, to the number of 200, the graueft
fort in coats of veluet and chaines of gould, on horfe-
back, and 1000 of the companies on foote, hauing with
them 1000 men with torches ready there to giue light
on euery fide, for that the night drew on, receiued and
welcomed her." Sto^vs Annales^ p. 700.
Page 182, line 14. Wigmores Galiiard. This tune
is given in Chappell's Popular Mufic of the Olden
Time, p. 242, from William Ballet's MS. Lute-Book.
It is frequently alluded to by our early writers.
" This will make my matter leap out of the bed for
joy, and dance Wigmore's Galiiard in his fhirt about
his chamber," Middleton's Five Gallants.
Page 1 86, line 13. A meruaylous ftraunge deformed
Swyne. This and other marvels of the time are
thus alluded to in a letter from Bifhop Jewell to
H. Bullinger, written in Auguft, 1562, " Incredibilis
fuit hoc anno toto apud nos cceli atque aeris
intemperies. Nee fol, nee luna, nee hyems, nee ver,
nee aeftas, nee autumnus, fatisfecit officium fuum. Ita
effatim et pene fine intermiffione pluvit, quafi facere jam
aliud ccelum non queat. Ex hac contagione nata funt
monftra : infantes foedum in modum deformatis
corporibus, alii prorfus fine capitibus, alii capitibus
alienis ; alii trunci fine brachiis, fine tibiis, fine
cruribus ; alii offibus folis cohaerentes, prorfus fine
ullis carnibus, quales fere imagines mortis pingi folent.
Similia alia complura nata funt e porcis, ex equabus, e
vaccis, e gallinis. Meffis hoc tempore apud nos
anguftius quidem provenit, ita tamen ut non poflimus
multum conqueri."
Page 187, line 8. Tallents. Talons. This form
of the word was very common, and the occafion of
many a quibble. " Are you the kite, Beaufort ?
Where's your talents ?" Firft Part of the Contention,
1600.
NOTES.
305
Page 188, line 17. White-fafte. That is, white-
faced.
Page 190, line 8. Love deferveth Love. This, and
the four pieces which follow, are not printed, but ac
company the ballads in contemporary manufcript.
Page 190, line 19. He beares her gloue. The glove
of a lady, worn in a helmet as a favour, was confidered
a very honourable token, and much of the wearer's
fuccefs was fuppofed to be derived from the virtue of
the lady. See Nares, in v.
Page IQI, line 2. Tell me^fweete girle. There is
another MS. of this ballad in MS. Afhmole 781, be
ginning, " Tell mee, fweete harte" fol. 145.
Page 192, line 9. Crofs-row. The alphabet, faid
to be fo called from the crofs prefixed to it in the early
horn-book.
Thine eies taught me the alphabet of love,
To kon my croi's-rowe ere I learn 'd to ipell.
Draytons Idea.
Page 194, line 8. A monftrous Child. " Receved
of John Sampfon, for his lycenfe for the pryntinge of
a monfterus chylde which was bornne at Maydeftone,
\\\}.d" Regifters of the Stationers' Company, 1568-9.
This entry is not inconfiftent with the imprint,
Sampfon frequently ftyling himfelf Awdeley, which
was, in fa&, his alias. The original is embellifhed
with two hideous wood-engravings, fhowing the front
and back of the child.
Page 194, line 22. Played the naughty packe. "A
whore, queane, punke, drab, flurt, ftrumpet, harlot,
cockatrice, naughty pack, light hufwife, common hack
ney," Cotgrave.
Page 195, line 3. Libardes. " Libarde, leopardus,"
Huloet's Di&ionarie, 1572. " Hee is a moft excel
lent turner, and wil turne you waifel-bowles and pof-
fet-cuppes, carv'd with libberdes faces and lyons
heades, with fpoutes in their mouthes to let out the
poflet-ale moft artificially," Sir Gyles Goofecappe,
1606.
306 NOTES.
Page 197, line 16. To the tune of Fortune. This
favourite old tune is given in Queen Elizabeth's Vir
ginal Book, and in various other mufical compilations.
See a long account of it in ChappelPs Popular Mufic,
p. 162.
Page 198, line 9. Shute. Robert Shute was a
Juftice of the Queen's Bench from the year 1586
until his death in 1590. See Fofs's Judges of Eng
land, vol. v. p. 541.
Page 20 1, line I. Adifcrlption of a monftrous Cbylde.
" The iiij day of June ther was a chyld browth to the
cowrte in a boxe, of a ftrange fegur, with a longe
ftrynge commyng from the navyll, browth from
Chechefter," Machyn's Diary, 1562, ed. J. G. Ni
chols, p. 284. Francis Godliff had a licenfe, in 1562,
for " the py&ure of a monftrus chylde which was
bourne at Chechefter." See Herbert's Ames, p. 1325.
Page 202, line u. Our. The original has it, and
the alteration may be unneceflary. When it was
made, it was not recollected that it occafionally ftands
for yet. " And /'/, God knowes what may befall,"
Marriage of Wit and Wifdome, 1579.
Page 202, line 15. A lame. A lamb. " Lam or
loom, yonge fcheep, a gnus ^ Prompt. Parv. " Agnus,
a lame ; agna^ a new lame," Nominale MS.
Page 203, line 2. The calues and pygges foftraunge.
"This yeare (1562) in England were manie mon-
ftruous births. In March, a mare brought foorth a
foale with one bodie and two heads, and, as it were, a
long taile growing out betweene the two heads. Alfo
a fow farrowed a pig with foure legs like to the armes
of a manchild with armes and fingers, &c. In Aprill,
a fow farrowed a pig with two bodies, eight feet, and
but one head. Manie calves and lambs were mon-
ftruous, fome with collars of fkin growing about their
necks like to the double ruftes of fhirts and necker-
chers then ufed. The foure and twentith of Maie, a
manchild was borne at Chichefter in Suflex, the head,
armes and legs whereof were like to an anatomic, the
breaft and bellie monftruous big, from the navill as it
NOTES.
307
were a long firing hanging ; about the necke a great
collar of flefh and fkin growing like the ruffe of a ihirt
or neckercher comming up above the eares, pleited
and folded, c." Holinfhed's Chronicles, ed. 1*587,
vol. 3, p. 1195. Cf. Stow's Annales, ed. 1615,
p. 647.
Page 206, line 7. Dlfatft, A common form of
dlgeft. " I have fet you downe one or two examples
to try how ye can difgejl the maner of the devife,"
Puttenham.
Page 206, line 27. Take. "Toke" in the original.
Page 207, line 28. Meffe. Entertainment. The
term is generally applied to a party of four. "And
you are the fourth, to make up the mefle," WapulPs
Tyde Taryeth no Man, 1576. "The mefle of
conftables were fhrunke to three," Taylor's Workes,
fol. Lond. 1630.
Page 208, line 2. Lidgate, IVager^ Barclay and
Bale. There was a William Wager, the author of
the comedy called, The Longer thou Liueft the more
Foole thou Art, n.d. Another comedy by him, enti
tled, 'Tis Good fleeping in a Whole Skin, was amongft
the number of plays deitroyed by Warburton's fervant,
and Winftanley afcribes the play of the Trial of
Chivalry to the fame writer. The perfon alluded to
in the text may, however, be Lewis Wager, the
author of "A new Enterlude, never before this tyme
imprinted, entreating of the Life and Repentaunce
of Marie Magdalene," 1567. The other writers
alluded to in the text are too well known to require
a note.
Page 211, line I. Fynfbery fylde. Open fields
outfide Moorgate. They were ufed for archery meet
ings, and, at a period later than the probable date of
this ballad, they were the favourite refort of the
citizens for walking. It would appear, from the
fatirical remarks of the writer, that Finfbury Fields
were, at this early period, infefted with thieves. There
is a long and interefting account of the hiftory of this
fpot in Stow's Survey of London, ed. 1633, p. 475.
308 NOTES.
Page 211, line 3. A nylde. A needle. "Like
pricking neelds, or points of fwords," Lucan's Phar-
falia by Sir A. Gorges, 1614.
Page 211, line 20. / pas not moche. I care not
much. "To pafle (care), moror ; I pafs not for it,
quid mea ; I pafle not for his help, ejus operam nlbil
moror ," Coles.
Page 214, line 9. Cornells Caltrop. No printer of
this name is mentioned by Ames or Herbert.
Page 214, line 1 1. As pleafant a dittie. This popular
ballad is printed in Robert Jones's Firft Booke of
Songs and Ayres, 1 60 1, with the mufic. In Marfton's
Dutch Courtezan, 1605, Francifchina, who is the
Dutch courtezan, fings in broken Englim,
Mine mettre fing non oder fong,
But ftill complaine me doe her wrong,
For me did but kifle her,
For me did but kis her,
And fo let her go !
That its popularity extended to Holland is proved
by the Dutch words to the tune printed in Starter's
Boertigheden, 4to. Amft. 1634. It is alfo quoted more
than once by Shirley.
Page 2 14, line 14. 1 do. " I did," ed. Jones, 1601 ;
and in the next line, was for is.
Page 215, line 2. As teehe. This jocular term
was ufed to fignify the noife made in laughing. " Ye
tee-heeing pixy," Exmoor Scolding.
Page 215, line 10. Was this any harme. "This
was no harme," ed. Jones, 1601. In the next line,
that printed copy reads, "But fhee, alas, is angrie
ftill j" and, after this ftanza, there is only the following
one, correfponding to the laft verfe in our copy,
Yet fure her lookes bewraies content,
And cunningly her brales are meant j
As louers vfe to play and fport,
When time and leifure is too-too fhort.
Page 219, line 17. In a breef. We now fay, in
brief. The form of the phrafe, as it occurs in the
text, is very unufual.
NOTES. 309
Page 220, line 5. At randon. A common old form,
and the more correct, (Fr.)
Oh yes, it may, thou haft no eyes to fee,
But hatefully at randon doeft thou hit.
Venus and Adonis, ed. 1593, fig. F. 4, v.
Page 221, line I. Good Pel/owes. This and the
next ballad are on one broadfide page. There appears
to have been an earlier edition, for Griffith had a
licenfe, in 1567-8, u for the pryntinge of a ballett
intituled, Good felowes mufte go learne to daunce,
&c."
Page 221, line 5. A brail. " Branjle y a brawle,
or daunce, wherein many men and women, holding
by the hands, fometimes in a ring, and otherwhiles
at length, moue all together," Cotgrave's Di&ionarie,
ed. 1611.
Page 221, line 6. The tryxt. That is, the neateft.
"Tricke, gallaunt and trymme, cultus^ eligans; tricke,
gallaunt or trimme wench," Huloet's Diclionarie,
ed. 1572.
Page 221, line 16. Slyper fafte. Fattened in a
flippery manner. 4< Slypper, glijfont" Palfgrave,
1530-
Page 221, line 23. In bauderycke wyfe. That is,
in the manner of a belt. It appears to have been a
technical term applied to bells. " Payd to goodman
Godden, for makinge the buckelle to the baldrike, and
truflinge up the belle, ij.j. viij.^," MS. Accounts,
Stratford-on-Avon, 1592.
Page 221, line 25. A Jhurte after the Moryce guyfe.
Alluding, perhaps, to the ftreamers worn by Morris-
dancers on their fleeves, which fluttered in the wind,
fpecimens of which are feen in the celebrated Tollett
window.
Page 221, line 27. A wyffler. Wiflers were per-
fons who went before a leading perfonage in a pro-
ceffion to clear the way. They were furniftied with
wands, and formerly were an eflential part of every
proceffion of any magnitude. " Pafling the gate,
310 NOTES.
wifflers, fuch officers as were appointed by the mayor
to make me way through the throng of the people
which preft fo mightily upon me, with great labour I
got thorow that narrow preaze into the open market
place," Kemp's Nine Daies Wonder, 1600.
Page 222, line 5. // Jkylles not. It matters not.
u It fkills not greatly who impugns our doom," Second
Part of Henry the Sixth, at iii. fc. i.
Page 222, line 10, Or at Cotfolde. The allufion
to dancing on the Cotfwold hills may here probably
refer to the fhepherds' feftivals in that locality alluded
to by Drayton. The Cotfwold games were not
inftituted until a later period.
Page 223, line 2. IVyttie Watte. Wat was an
old name for a hare, and hence ufed for a wily
perfon. The more ufual expreffion was Wily Wat.
Cutting?, fwaggering. " Wherefore have I fuch a
companie of cutting knaves to waite upon me ? "
Hiftorie of Friar Bacon.
Page 223, line 6. Hyleye. That is, highly.
Page 223, line 15. The byllbowes are not made it.
That is, not made yet. The bilboes were a fpecies of
flocks ufed for the punifhment of failors. u The pore
feloe was put into the bilboes, he being the firft upon
whom any punyfhment was fhewd," MS. Journal of a
Sea Voyage, temp. Eliz.
Page 224, line I . The braineles blejjing of the Bull.
Lacy had a licenfe in 1570 u for pryntinge of a ballett
intituled the brayneles bleiTynge of the bull."
<fc The 25. of May in the morning was found hanging
at the Bifhop of Londons palace gate, in Paules Church
yard, a Bull which lately had beene fent from Rome
containing diuerfe horrible treafons againft the Queenes
maiefty, for the which one lohn Felton was mortly
after apprehended, and committed to the Tower of
London." Stow's Annales, ed 1615, p. 666.
This ballad is equalled in fiercenefs, and is well
illuftrated, by an exceedingly curious contemporary
trat entitled, " A Difclofmg of the great Bull, and
certain calues that he hath gotten, and fpecially the
NOTES. 311
Monfter Bull that roared at my Lord Byftiops gate,"
n.d.
Page 224, line 14. Bleatbes. Bellows ? This
word may poflibly be connected with the provincial
term blether, to make a great noife. " The felfe fame
monfter Bull is he that lately roared out at the Bifhops
Palace gate, in the greateft citie of England, horrible
blafphemies agaynft God, and villanous diftionors
agaynft the nobleft queene in the world, Elizabeth,
the lawfull Queene of England ; he ftamped and
fcraped on the ground, flong duft of fpitefull fpeches
and vaine curfes about him, puttied with his homes
at her noble counfellors and true fubiedles, and for pure
anger all to berayed the place where he ftoode," A
Difclofing of the great Bull, n. d.
Page 225, line 10. Clots. " Clodde or to clotte
lande, occo," Huloet's Diclionarie, ed. 1572. " No
clot in clay," Legen. Cathol., p. 2.
Page 225, line 14. Gage my head. A common
jocular form of a wager. So Biron exclaims,
I'll lay my head to any good man's hat,
Thele oaths and laws will prove an idle fcorn.
Page 225, line 16. Syfe. " Syfe, waxe candell,
bougee," Palfgrave, 1530. In the folemn form of
excommunication, the bell was tolled, the book of
offices for the purpofe ufed, and three candles
extinguiftied, with certain ceremonies. See further in
Nares, in v. Bell) Book, and Candle.
Page 225, line 30. Hardyngs cow. u Since he
(the bull) came ouer fo lately difguifed, he hath light
upon certaine ranke kyen, who I thinke by their long
forbearing are become the luftier, that is, treafon,
fuperftition, rebellion and fuch other, and with them
he hath fo beftirred him that, by the helpe of maifter
Dq6lor Harding, Sanders, and other, fome there, fome
here, iolly cowkeepers and herdemen of Popifh clergie,
which fent and brought him ouer, and brake open for
him the feuerall hedges and fenfes of true religion,
obedience, allegeance, fayth, and honeftie, he hath be-
312 NOTES.
gotten a marueilous number of calues in fewe yeares,"
A Difclofmg of the great Bull, n. d.
Page 226, line 2. Butcher Row. There was
a place fo called near the Strand, u from the butchers'
fhambles on the fouth fide," Strype, iv. 118, ap.
Cunningham.
Page 226, line 5. Walthams calues. In allufion
to the old proverb about Waltham's calf, which ran
nine miles to fuck a bull. " Some running and
gadding calues, wifer than Walthams calfe that ranne
nine miles to fucke a bull, for thefe runne aboue nine
hundred miles, 5 " A Difclofmg of the great Bull, n. d.
Page 226, line 26, A twitch. A touch. So we
have twiche-boX) a touch-box, in the play of Damon and
Pithias.
Page 227, line 10. What lyfe is left. This is in
manufcript and figned by the initials I. G. in a
monogram. It is fimilar in character and evidently by
the fame writer as the poem already printed at p. 192,
but it is on a feparate paper, and apparently another
eflav.
Page 228, line I. The crie of the poore. Henry,
the third Earl of Huntingdon, married Catherine,
daughter to John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland,
and dying at York in December, 1595, in the fixty-
rirft year of his age, was buried at Afhby-de-la-Zouch
with great folemnity. The expenfes of his funeral
amounted to nearly =1400. The corpfe was embalmed
at an expenfe of .28 ; liveries to fixty poor men, <6o;
in alms to the poor of divers parimes, .26 1 3*. 4^. The
wood-engraving which illuftrates the original ballad was
probably intended for fome other fimilar fcene, and may
have been previoufly ufed for another purpofe. Certain
it is, at leaft, that the Earl died inteftate, adminiftration
to his effects having been granted in June, 1596, to
his brother George, who fucceeded to the title. See
the Adminiitrations in the Court of Probate, London,
3 June, 1596. The Earl, whofe death is here la
mented by one to whom he had probably been a kind
patron, was diftinguifhed by his piety and goodnefs.
NOTES. 313
There are letters of his to the Bifhop of Chefter, ftill
extant, in which he fpeaks of his ftrenuous endeavours
to obtain good preachers for the people.
Page 229, line 2. Soufe. " I fouce meate, I laye
it in fome tarte thynge, as they do brawne or fuche
lyke," Palfgrave, 1530.
Page 229, line 13. OfTorke he was Prefidentmade
by her grace. <c Henry Earle of Huntingdon was made
Prefident of the Councell in the North. This Prefi-
dentfhip, which is now full of honour, hath from a
poore beginning grown up in fhort time to this great-
nefle," Camden's Annales of 1574, ed. 163*5, p. 179.
Page 232, line I. The Wtftmerlande bull. So, in
the ballad of the Rifmg in the North,
Lord Wettmorland his ancyent raifde,
The Dun Bull he rays'd on hye.
" The fupporters of the Nevilles, Earls of Weftmore-
land, were Two Bulls Argent, ducally collar'd Gold,
armed Or, &c. In another ballad his banner is thus
defcribed,
Sett me up my faire dun bull,
With gilden homes, hee beares all foe hye."
Note by Btfiop Percy.
Page 232, line 13. Sir John Swlngbreeche. The
Proteftants of this time were fond of giving jocular
names to priefts. So, in a contemporary manufcript,
we have the names of Sir John Lack-Latin, Sir John
Mumble-Matins, and Sir John Smell-fmoke.
Page 232, line 17. Though yet they lye lurkyng.
" What a fond and folifhe ende thefe rebells have
made of their traiterous rebellion. They alwais fled
afore us after we cam firft within xij. myles of them,
and we folowed after them as faft as we might, with
out reft j neverthelefs you fee how they bee efcaped,
which they might eafily do in this waft and defolat
country," Sadler to Cecil, State Papers.
Page 232, line 21. But her Maiejlie of mercie is en
dued with /lore. So, in a rare poem, An Aunfwere to
the Proclamation of the Rebels in the North, 1569,
3H NOTES.
If lenity may make men rife,
Or rneekneffe gender yre,
If cold may cauie the coles to burne,
Or water kindell fire;
If adamant may thruft away
The iron or the fteel,
Or fhining fun the naked man
May caufe the colde to feele ;
Then may our Queene Elizabeth
Be thought to be the caufe,
Why thefe rebels do go about
The breaking of hir lawes.
Page 234, line 7. Olde. A common augmenta
tive. " On Sunday at mafic, there was olde ringing
of bels," Tarlton's Newes out of Purgatorie, 1590.
" We fhall have old fwearing," Merchant of Venice,
a6l iv. fc. 2.
Page 234, line 21. Next. Nigheft ; neareft.
" Home, home, the next way," Winter's Tale, a6t
iii. fc. 3.
Page 235, line 10. Vpfidowne. Upfide-down.
Thus es this worlde torned upfodowne,
Tyll many mans dampnacyowne. Hampole.
"Tornyng upfodowne, fubvercion" Palfgrave, 1530.
Page 236, line i. A dlttie. This ballad in honour
of Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, was
probably written about the year 1561, when the Duke
was ftill young, but yet had diftinguifhed himfelf as a
fuccefsful commander, two fats which are mentioned
by the writer.
Page 237, line 6. Thy pettigree. " Petygrewe,
genealogie" Palfgrave, 1530. " Petigrewe, petigree,
or geneologie, ftemma" Huloet's Diclionarie, 1572.
Page 238, line i. Gifippus and his Tlte. An allu-
fion to the well-known ftory of Titus and Gifippus,
related in the Decameron, x. 8. In 1562 appeared a
poem by Edward Lewicke entitled, "The moft won-
derfull and pleafaunt Hiftory of Titus and Gifippus,
whereby is fully declared the figure of perfecl: frend-
fnyp."
NOTES.
315
Page 238, line 8. Turnoys. " Torno* a turne, a
twirle," Florio's Worlde of Worries, 1598.
Page 239, line 5. As Noye. "A Noye" in the
original, Noye being of courfe an old form of Noah.
Page 239, line 10. A newe Ballade. The allufion
to the uncertain fate of the rebels fixes the date of the
compofition of this ballad to the earlier part of the
year 1570.
Page 241, line 11. hare. That is, ire.
Page 242, line 14.
and
nine maides,
line 20. Plagued.
Aleuen. Eleven. " Aleuen
Merchant of Venice,
Plagud " in the
widdowes
ed. 1623.
Page 242,
original.
i j age 242, line 24. And. " Ond " in the original.
Page 243, line 8. The true Difcripcion. There
was a ballad at a later period on a fimilar odd birth,
which was licenfed in 1586-7^5 "a newe ballad inti
tuled Stowp gallant, concerning a child borne with
great ruftes." In the original copy of the broadfide
here printed, each fide of the leaf is filled with exactly
the fame matter. There are two hideous woodcuts
reprefenting the front and back of the child.
Page 245, line 7. Spurk. That is, fpirt.
Page 251, line I. Mother JVatkins ale. This ballad
is mentioned in a letter with the fignature of T. N. to
his good friend A. M. [Anthony Munday], prefixed to
the latter's tranflation of " Gerileon of England,"
1592, " I fhould hardly be perfwaded, that anie pro-
feflbr of fo excellent a fcience (as printing) would be
fo impudent to print fuch ribauldrie as fratkin's Ale,
the Carman's Whiftle, and fundrie fuch other."
The tune is preferved in Queen Elizabeth's Virginal
Book in the Fitzwilliam Mufeum, Cambridge. See
the mufic in Chappell's Popular Mufic of the Olden
Time, p. 137. It has been ftated in print that the
mufic, without the words, has been difcovered among
the papers of Dr. Pepufch. This ftatement, however,
is a filly and mifchievous fabrication.
Page 251, line 4. Needs. "Needs" in the ori
ginal. Sithd) in the next line, fighed.
316 NOTES.
Page 251, line 7. Bekard. Beheard, i. e., heard.
Page 251, line 20. Mufkadlne. A kind of fweet
wine, frequently alluded to by our early writers. Cot-
grave, in v. Muf cadet) fpeaks of " a cyder which,
made of a verie fmall and fweet apple, refembles muf-
cadine in colour, taft, and fmell."
Page 254, line I. Boivne. That is, fwell. The
term is ftill in ufe in the provinces. Palfgrave has
bowlne^ 1530.
Page 254, line 29. Cat will after kind. A common
old proverbial faying, immortalized by Touchftone,
If the cat will after kind,
So, be fure, will Rofalind.
<c Cat after kinde, faith the proverbe, fwete milke
wil lap," Enterlude of Jacob and Efau, 1568.
u What is hatcht by a hen will fcrape like a hen,
and cat after kinde will either hunt or fcratch, and
you are an ill bird fo fowly to defile your neft."
F/orio's Second Frutes^ 1591.
" An evill bird layeth an ill egge, the cat will after
her kinde, and ill tree cannot bring foorth good fruit,
the young cub groweth craftie like the damme.'' Ar
raignment of Lewd, Idle, Froward, and Unconjtant
IVomen^ 1617, p. 44.
Page 255, line 7. The Crowe fits vpon the wall.
Entered on the Regifters of the Stationers' Company
in 1591-2, " xviij. die Januarii, 1591, Henry Kirk-
ham entred for his copie under Mr. Watkin's hande
a ballad intituled the Crowe fhee fittes uppon the wall ;
pleafe one and pleafe all." This ballad is of great
intereft, being the only copy known of the one re
ferred to by Malvolio, u But what of that, if it
pleafe the eye of one, it is with me as the very true
fonnet is, Pleafe one, and pleafe all."
Page 255, line 19. Their. This word is here, and
alfo in line 12 of the next page, mifprinted her in the
original copy of the ballad. Kircher^ kerchief.
Page 256, line 19. Bulke. A fort of board or
ledge outfide a houfe upon which articles were expofed
NOTES.
317
for fale. " Balcone, a bulke, a ftall of a (hop," Florio's
Worlde of Wordes, 1598.
Page 258, line 3. Be Jhe flaunt. That is, be {he
fine or fafhionable. Shakefpeare ufes the fubftantive
flaunts, fineries, in the Winter's Tale, aft iv. fc. 3.
" The one a flaunting fellow, ufeth to wear a fcarlet
cloak over a crimfon fattin fuit," Gee's Foot out of
the Snare, 1624.
Page 260, line 2. Lord Henry Wrifley. The
fecond Earl, born 30 November, 1546. See Efc.
4 Edw. VI., ii. 78. He was a devoted adherent of
Mary Queen of Scots, an attachment which occafioned
his being imprifoned in the Tower in 1572. Camden
afligns the date of his death to the year 1583. See
his Annales, ed. 1635, p. 255. This, however, is
undoubtedly an error, for he died at the early age of
thirty-five, on October 4th, 1581, as appears from the
inquifition taken after his deceafe (Efc. 24 Eliz., i. 46).
The date of the month, as given in the title of the
ballad, is therefore erroneous. By his will, he direcls
his body to be interred in the Chapel of Tichfield
Church, bequeathing fufficient money to his executors
to renovate the faid chapel, which was to be divided
by iron grating from the reft of the church. He alfo
bequeaths the fum of .200 to the poor. Warton's
account of Tichfield is interefting and curious, " I
vifited Tichfield-houfe, Aug. 19, 1786, and made the
following obfervations on what is now remaining there.
The abbey of Tichfield being granted to the firft Earl,
Thomas, in 1538, he converted it into a family man-
fion, yet with many additions and alterations : we
enter, to the fouth, through a fuperb tower, or Gothic
portico, of ftone, having four large angular turrets.
Of the monaftic chapel only two or three low arches
remain, with the moor-ftone pilafters. The greater
part of what may properly be called the houfe, forming
a quadrangle, was pulled down about forty years ago.
But the refectory, or hall of the abbey, ftill remains
complete, with its original raftered roof of good work-
manfhip : it is embattelled ; and has three Gothic
318 NOTES.
windows on each fide, with an oreille or oriel window.
It is entered by a portico which feems to have been
added by the new proprietor at the diiTolution ; by
whom alfo the royal arms painted^ with the portcullis
and H. R. (Henricus Rex), were undoubtedly placed
over the high-table. At the other end is a mufic-
gallery. Underneath is the cellar of the monaftery,
a well- wrought crypt of chalk-built arches ; the ribs
and interfe&ions in a good ftyle. In a long cove-ceiled
room, with fmall parallel femicircular arches, are the
arms of King Charles the Firft on tapeftry; he was
prote&ed here in his flight from Hampton-court.
Two or three Gothic-fhaped windows, perhaps of the
abbey, in a part of the houfe now inhabited by a fteward
and other fervants. In thefe and other windows fome
beautiful fliields of painted glafs are preferved ; parti
cularly one of Henry the Eighth impaling Lady Jane
Seymour, who were married at Maxwell, twenty miles
ofF, and who feem from thence to have paid a vifit at
this place to Lord Southampton. Here are fome fine
old wreathed chimneys in brick. In an angle of the
dilapidated buildings, to the weft of the grand entrance
or tower, is an elegant fhaft of a pilafter of polifhed
flone, with the fpringing of an arch which muft have
taken a bold and lofty fweep : thefe are fymptoms of
fome confiderable room or office of the monaftery."
Page 263, line 4. Ne. That is, not.
Page 266, line 6. Moue. "More" in the original.
Page 267, line 19. The Bibles they did rent and teare.
" Rent," that is, rend. " While with his fingers he
his haire doth rent," Legend of Orpheus and Eury-
dice, 1597.
"Chriftians I can not terme you that haue defaced
the Communion of Chriftians, and in deftroying the
booke of Chryftes moft holy Teftament, renounced
your parts by his Teftament bequethed unto you."
Norton, To the Queene's Male/lies poore deceiued SubieEls
of the Northe Contrey^ 1569.
"The carles have beeae at Durefme, with ther force
in armor, to perfwade the people to take ther partes,
NOTES. 319
and fome of ther company have throwen downe the
comunion table, and torne the Holy Bible in pieces,
fo as it appereth directly they intende to make religion
ther grownd." Letter from the Council of the North to
the >ueen y November I5th, 1569.
FINIS.
CHIS WICK PRESS: PRINTED BY WHITTINGHAM AND W1LKINS,
TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANK.
i
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
PR A collection of seventy-nine
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