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1 > 
 
 COLLECTION OF SEVENTY- NINE 
 
 iiSIacK ' letter jSaUatJis antJ 
 iiroalifities, 
 
 PRINTED IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, 
 
 BETWEEN THE YEAR'S 1 559 
 
 AND 1597. 
 
 ACCOMPANIED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND 
 ILLUSTRATIVE NOTES. 
 
 r 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 JOSEPH LILLY, 17 and 18, NEW STREET, 
 
 AND 5a, Garrick Street, Covent Garden. 
 1867. 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 LOVE a ballad in print," arc the (x I 
 words put by Shakefpcare into the 
 mouth of one of his charadters, and 
 from his evident fondnefs for them 
 we muft infer that he is conveying his own 
 feelings through the mouth of the fpeaker. 
 vnother great writer of our own days, Sir Walter 
 Scott, had an equal prediledlion for this fpecies of 
 literature, and has availed himfelf of them in the 
 fafcinating produdions of his pen. 
 
 The CollcdHons of Phillips, Percy, Evans, 
 Ritfon, Pinkerton, Jamiefon and others, arc 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 pafTmg events 
 of the greater part of the reign of Queen Eliza- 
 beth. 
 
 457196 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 Thefe ballads, all of the higheft intereft and 
 curiofity, hitherto unknown and prefumed to be 
 unique, are reprinted without the flighteft altera- 
 tion from the celebrated Colledlion formerly in the 
 library of Mr. George Daniel, of Canonbury 
 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 Introdudion and Notes are fupplied by 
 two gentlemen profoundly verfed in early Eng- 
 lifh literature. 
 
 Joseph Lilly. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 T is remarkable how foon after its in- 
 vention the art of printing became an 
 inftrument of popular amufement and 
 inftrudion, — an adive agent in the 
 developmentof themindofthe people. Thischa- 
 radler, 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 neceflarily 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 fraction 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 
 imperfedlly 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 ; and 
 the firft books were bulky, no doubt expenfive, 
 and calculated for anything but what we fhould 
 call popular reading. It was in France that the 
 art of printing firft aflumed a more popular cha- 
 radler. There already exifted in that country 
 during the laft twenty years of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, which muft, therefore, have originated 
 within very few years of the invention of the art, 
 an extenfive literature of a very popular charadler, 
 confifting chiefly of farces and drolleries in a 
 dramatic fhape, poetical tra6ls on various fub- 
 jedts, 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 bi/ouarts^ 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 FVance, becaufe nearly 
 all the Englifh 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 deftrudion, but a fufficlent 
 number of them are prefer ved, 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 flourifhed mo ft in England, and which 
 we ufually call broad/ides. The Germans call 
 them fliegende Blatter^ and the French feuilles 
 volanteSy both comparatively modern terms, and 
 the laft perhaps translated 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 
 publifhing 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 15 13 to 1527, will be 
 found in the colledlion of broadfides preferved 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 earlieft 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 fad, 
 the prefs was deftined very foon to become the 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 moft powerful agent in all fecial 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 ads of 
 hoftility againft the Church of Rome, fell into 
 difgrace, and was committed to the Tower. To 
 the papal party it was of courfe a fubjedl of 
 exultation, which was difplayed in a ballad, pub- 
 lifhed no doubt foon after his imprifonment, at 
 all events before his execution on the 28 th of 
 July following. The Proteftant party took up 
 the caufe of their protedlor, 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 " R cliques." Cromwell's aflailants 
 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 charader 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 charader. 
 Firft in date of thofe preferved in the colledion 
 of the Society of Antiquaries are two ballads for 
 
 V and againft Bifhop Gardner, printed probably in 
 
 /1548, 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 ifliied from their 
 prefTes. 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, 
 1 55 1. In the year following, another of the I 
 great printers of ballad literature, Richard Lant, I 
 introduces us to a new controverfy in thefe poeti- — ^ 
 cal broadfides. It was provoked by a young 
 man in literature who afterwards rofe to confi- 
 derable celebrity, Thomas Churchyard, who 
 
 wrQte a fhort metrical fatire on contemporary fo — 
 
 ciety entitled " 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 
 coUedlion 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- y 
 failant by Sutton, and all within the year 1 5 5 2/ 
 The number of broadfides of this defcription be-v^ 
 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 charadler. 
 
 n 
 
^ 
 
 X INTRODUCTION, 
 
 One only, which is afcribed by conjedlure to 
 Mary's reign, and which is entitled, " A new 
 ballet entituled ho we 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 
 Saynft 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 exped 
 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 
 C . 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* Reglfters we find only- 
 one or two printers of ballads, and it is a year oi^ 
 two later when they become more numerous. 
 During the firft ten years of the reign of Queen" 
 Elizabeth, the names of about forty printers "7 
 from whofe prefles ballads were ifTued appear in! 
 the regiflers of the Stationers' Company, and 
 other names of ballad-printers are met with which; 
 are not to be found in the regillers. 
 
 It is chiefly to this moft interefl:ing 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 
 colledled by fome man of pofition who lived at 
 that time and took a lively intereft in all that 
 was pafTmg around him, 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 charader, and 
 belonging to the fame period, which are known 
 to have belonged to the fame colledion. Alto- 
 gether they form, no doubt, the moft extraordi- 
 nary and valuable colledion of early Englifti 
 ballads now known to exift. They are the more 
 interefting, becaufe they have not been colledled 
 by one whofe tafte ran upon any particular clafs 
 of fuch produdlions, 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 confideration 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 charader, and thofe which 
 
xii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 are more or lefs political or relate to contempo- 
 rary events or feelings. 
 
 To the former of thefe divlfions 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 
 therpe. 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 " A very proper dittie, to 
 the tune of Lightie Loue," (p. 1 13). 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 
 jor 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 
 colledlion came to light. Perhaps we may con- 
 fider as belonging to this clafs the dittie '^ Shew- 
 ing what vnkindnes befell by a kiffe," (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 
 1 570, " Againft filthy writing, and fuch like de- 
 lighting." This ballad appears to hav^e been 
 diredled 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 ftiop 
 
 to fell, _ , 
 
 With wanton found and filthie fenfe ? Me thinke it grees 
 
 not well. 
 We are not Ethnickes, we forfoth at leaft profefie not fo; /' 
 Why range we then to Ethnickes trade ? Come back, / 
 
 where will ye go? ' | 
 
 Tel me, is Chrift or Cupide lord ? Doth God or Venus | 
 
 reigne ? 
 
 In the prefent collection, we have another 1 
 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 doe 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 Hate. 
 
 And he (ingles out efpecially for his critlcifm 
 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 ikyll he can. 
 
 Of thefe love ballads there is no great number 
 in our colledlion, 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 
 <^ y period than mod of the hiftorical and political 
 bjllads, fo that they were perhaps colleded 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 fheet 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 unufuafly 
 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 colledlion 
 
 ^hich belong to the clafs of novels and romance. 
 
 One has for its fubjedt the well-known ftory of 
 
INTRODUCTION. xv 
 
 Patient GrifTel (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 3 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 colle6lion poflefs an extraordinary intereft, 
 for they belong to one of the moft momentous 
 periods of our national hiftory. Little more 
 than a generation had pafted fince the overthrow 
 of feudalifm. Henry VIII. had broken the 
 power of the papacy in England, and his fon, 
 Edward VI., feemed to have eftabliftied 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 (he 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 mod faleable, becaufe it 
 was the mod extraordinary, — became thus a pro- 
 fitable trade. For thefe reafons the political 
 ballads and broad fide 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 Englifh chroniclers, fuch as Hollinfhed and 
 Stowe, as efpecially fertile in monfters. The 
 . prefent colleftion contains nearly a dozen broad- 
 x^ fides defcriptive of thefe prodigies, generally 
 accompanied with a picflure. No lefs than ^vt 
 of them belong to the year juft mentioned, i ^62. 
 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. x\ni 
 
 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 verf^ reprefents a monftrous child born 
 at Chichefter. Another monftrous child, born 
 at Freftiwater, in the Ifle of Wight, in 1564, is 
 defcribed and explained in a moral or religious 
 light, in a ballad by John Barker (p. G^). 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 ruft^s round 
 the neck, born at Mitcham in Surrey (p. 243). 
 In 1 56 8, 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 fhewes thy monftrous vice. 
 
 If thou ech part wylt vnderftand. 
 And take thereby aduice. 
 
 And finally we have a defcription of a "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. 
 
 chara<5ter 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 
 >^ religious (hade, and one clafs of the popular 
 ballads, of which there are fome good examples 
 in the prefent colledion, 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 
 L next generation. None of thefe ballads, indeed, 
 are more curious than thofe which attempt to 
 pic5lure 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 adions ; that the landlords adled unjuftly 
 
INTRODUCTION. xix 
 
 towards their tenants ; and that every man was 
 the enemy of his neighbour. Another balla4, 
 pubhfhed 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 pubHfhed 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. lOi), is directed againft the licentioufnefs of 
 the age; as is alfo one publiftied a few years 
 later, under the title, "Of the horrible and 
 wofull deftrudtion of Sodome and Gomorra" 
 (p. 125). With thefe may be clafTed "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 pradtices, 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, " 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 faftiion ^^ 
 to reprefent mankind, as then exifting, in the { 
 garb of fools, and clafTifying thefe according to } 
 their various weaknefTes 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 ; fome 
 preach to others virtues which they do not 
 pradife 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 
 colledion is the ballad which pidures the various 
 orders in the ft ate, 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 pro teds them ; the harlot, introduced 
 in a manner which would feem to fhow a low ftate 
 of morals at that period, fays, " I vanquefti you 
 fower;" the lawyer, "I helpe yov iiij. to yovr 
 right ;" the clown, " I feede yov fower ;" and 
 death comes in and proclaims his errand, "I kill 
 yov all." This fubjedt is found, treated a little 
 differently, in the French popular literature of 
 that age, from which the idea was taken 
 by the Englifti ballad-writer, who has, no 
 doubt, modified it a little to make it accord with 
 the difi^erence of Englifti fentiments. It is to 
 be remarked that we have here alfo (p. 173) one 
 of the moft curious and earlieft of the Englifti 
 reprefentations of that well-known allegory, the 
 Dance of Death, a very popular fubjed during 
 Elizabeth's reign. 
 
INTRODUCTION, xxi 
 
 The earlieft dated ballad in this colledion 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 retrofpedlive 
 review of Englifh hiftory fince 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 pebple out dyd cry — 
 Prayled be God, and God faue thee, 
 Quene of England ! 
 
 It may be remarked that this ballad is one of 
 the poetical produdions 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 iatirical charader, which belongs apparently to 
 the earlier part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, 
 which defcribes the defedls 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 fubjeds 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 diredl 
 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 j 
 " after Chrifle'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 flourifhingly, that it was 
 believed that doomfday was near at hand ; but 
 the writer adds, rather waggifhly, " O wounders 
 good tydynges, yf al fayinges be tru !" 
 
 The religious and moral poems are hardly fo 
 numerous in the following colledlion as might be 
 expedted. A poet nam^ed 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. 1 3 8), 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, 
 "for fayinge of mafle, as I fuppofe." It is a 
 very fatirical defcription of the mifhap of a 
 prieft, fl:ated 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. xxiii 
 
 Bifhop of London's palace-gate, in 157I5 is the 
 fubjedt of two ballads in this colledion (pp. 
 22 y 224). We have alfo a rather earneft pro- 
 tell: againft the mafs, in a ballad printed in 1566 
 (p. 171) ; and a rather good ballad, belonging 
 apparently to a rather early period of the queen's 
 reign, and publilhed under the fimple title of a 
 ^' A newe Ballade" (p. 30), was intended to warn 
 her againft the hoftile defigns of the fpiritualty, 
 meaning thereby the Romifh party, by the 
 examples of fuch of her predeceftbrs as had 
 fallen vidims to the unfcrupulous ambition of 
 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 in 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 fubjedls to be always ready to help 
 her, — 
 
 The queene holdes the plowe, to continew good feede ; 
 Truftie fubiedles, be readie to helpe, if fhe neede. 
 
 This loyalty, which led Elizabeth's fubjec5ls 
 to employ the extreme of flattery, is fhown in a 
 ballad by a not unknown writer of that age, 
 named Bernard Garter, entitled, "A ftrife be- 
 twene Appelles and Pigmalion" (p. 151), 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 furpafting beauty 
 as had never been feen before, and dame nature 
 took it away, gave Hfe to it, and reftored it to 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTION, j 
 
 earth in the perfon of Queen Elizabeth. The , 
 
 pious Enghfhman of that day imagined, in his I 
 
 P devotion, that no beauty could furpafs that of '■ 
 
 Vthe great champion of Proteftantifm. 
 
 Thefe earHer years of the reign of Elizabeth \ 
 formed, indeed, a period of anxiety and uncer- 
 tainty among all clafTes. Elizabeth and her '\ 
 minifters knew that the catholic party, not only j 
 at home but on the Continent, were confpiring ; 
 againft her, and that not only her religion, but i 
 her throne, and even her life, were in danger. I 
 People's doubts were not leflened by occafional \ 
 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 (hould feem to promife fuccefs. People ■ 
 were, by no means, aflured of the fate of Pro- j 
 teftantifm, until the rebellion of the Dukes of \ 
 Northumberland and Weftmoreland, in the au- j 
 tumn of 1 569, which difplayed the real weaknefs j 
 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 j 
 fugitives. This fuccefs evidently drew forth a | 
 
 I great number of broadfide ballads, the titles, of : 
 
 1 many of which are entered in the Stationers' | 
 
 Regifters, and a few of which are preferved. \ 
 
 No lefs than five of thefe are in the prefent col- ' 
 
 ledlion, the earlieft of which is a metrical prayer I 
 
 for divine prote6lion againft the rebels (p. 121) ; j 
 
 the others all relate to the period which followed i 
 
 A 1 ft* ri^. o 4 1 \ P 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxv 
 
 the fuppreflion of the rebellion. The fir ft ballad 
 in the prefent volume commemorates the exe- 
 cution of a prieft named Plumtree, who had 
 taken poflefTion 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. c^G)^ 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 Nevves for true Subieftes 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 publiflied 
 no doubt early in the year. Before thefe curious 
 pieces were made known by the difcovery of the 
 colledlion now printed, only two or three contem- 
 porary ballads on the northern rebellion ot 1569 
 were known to exift. Two, publifhed by Bifhop 
 Percy in his Reliques, 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 colledlion, 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 colledion of broadfides 
 
xxvi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 in the library of the Society of Antiquaries, alfo 
 exulting over the defeat of the rebellion, and en- 
 titled, " Newes from Northumberland." Thefe 
 are, we believe, all the popular ballads now 
 known to exill relating to this important event ; 
 I and they are very curious as illuftrating the po- 
 ^ pular feelings which it excited. 
 
 The other hiftorical ballads in this colledlion 
 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 fubjedl of 
 the firft is the maflacre 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 lait 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 Englifti, were greatly aff^ec5i:ed by thefe fan- 
 guinary perfecutions in France, and, under the 
 terror they created, the Scottifti government then 
 in power fought to draw ftill clofer its relations 
 with Queen Elizabeth. Such is the fpirit of the 
 prefent ballad. It preftes 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 ofdefyance. 
 The Papiftis and Spanjards 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 Scottifti ballads (p. 49) is en- 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxvii 
 
 titled, " Ane Complaint vpon Fortoun," and was 
 publifhed early in 1581, on Morton's 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 .1 
 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 
 MaiorefTe" of London (p. 178) ; the third, " the 
 Earl of Huntingdon," which bears the date of 
 1596. A ballad named " Saparton's Alarum" 
 (p. 1 18), 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 12th of November, 1584 (p. 
 182); and "A mournful! dittie" (p. 197) on a 
 fudden mortality which took place among the 
 judges and others at the Lincoln AfTizes 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. 
 
xxviii INTRODUCTION. \ 
 
 i 
 
 Laftly, we have a ballad entitled " Franklin's \ 
 Farewell to the World" (p. 85). James Frank- i 
 lin was the apothecary who fupplied the poifons \ 
 ufed in the Overbury murders, and was con-' 
 demned and executed on the 9th of December, '■ 
 161 5. Another ballad, on the fame fubjed:, is| 
 preferved in the colledion of the Society of An- i 
 tiquaries. This ballad muft have been added to ; 
 our colledlion long after the original colledor^ 
 had departed from the fcene of his labours. j 
 
 With the mafs of ballad literature here revealed ! 
 to us, we may naturally be curious to learn fome- j 
 
 Y thing of the ballad- writers, but we can colledt 1 
 
 V little beyond a few obfcure names, and others* 
 which are merely hinted to us by their initials, i 
 Among them, however, are the names of one or 1 
 two writers who are better known in the fmaller i 
 literature of the Elizabethan period. Such is^ 
 
 - — -Thomas Churchyard, whofe name is found at-: 
 tached to one of the ballads feparated from thei 
 prefent colledion, and printed by Mr. Collier. ; 
 Such alfo are William Elderton, and Thomas i 
 Deloney. The firft of thefe was celebrated for " 
 his tippHngpropenfities, as well as for his rhymes, 1 
 and is faid to have drunk himfelf to death, fome \ 
 time before 1592. His fpecial charadleriftic is| 
 commemorated in a contemporary epitaph, re- i 
 corded by Camden, and translated by Oldys, as i 
 follows : — ! 
 
 ( 
 
 Hie Jit us ejl fitiensy at que ebrius Eldertonus, 
 ^id dico hie Jit us eji ? hie potius Jitis ejl. 
 
 Dead drunk here Elderton doth lie ; 
 Dead as he is, he Itill is dry ; 
 So of him it may well be faid. 
 Here he, but not his thirft, is laid. 
 
INTROD UCTION, xxix 
 
 He was the author of three ballads in the pre- 
 fent volume (pp. i6, 140, 178), and of two of - 
 thofe edited by Mr. Collier. One of the latter 
 was printed on the 22nd of March, 1559, which, 
 in our reckoning, means 1560. Deloney was a I 
 profefled ballad-writer on all paffing 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- 
 jed the execution of the confpirators in the cele- 
 brated Babington Confpiracy. Deloney ufually 
 figns only with his initials, T. D. John Hey- 
 wood, who alfo 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 Haywood is attached, it S 
 muft have been intended as a proteft againft per- 
 fonal abufe to which fome of the Catholics, 
 perhaps himfelf, had been fubjeded. Richard 
 Tarlton, another well-known minor Elizabethan v 
 writer, is the author of one of the moft fprightly 
 ballads in the prefent colledlion (p. 259) ; as well 
 as of one in Mr. Collier's collecflion, 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 
 
 ^£*t \vM \\vXi 
 
 
XXX INTRODUCTION. \ 
 
 are known by fome other contributions to the j 
 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 inj 
 the Stationers' Regifters in 1569-70, is alfo 
 known as the author of a ballad " Of the hor- j 
 rible and wofull deftrudion of Jerufalem," printed! 
 by Colwell about 1568. The initials "T. Gr."; 
 attached to one of cur ballads (p. 94) probably] 
 ftand for Thomas Greepe, who was the author of ^ 
 a poem on the exploits of Sir Francis Drake,j 
 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 I 
 a fong called "L. Gibfon's Tantara" in the; 
 "Handefull of Pleafant DeHtes," J584. Thej 
 individual defigned under the abbreviated formj 
 Ber. Gar. (pp. 153, 239), and in one cafe merely 1 
 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 arei 
 prefixed to " Pafquine in a Traunce," 1584.J 
 John Philip, whofe name is attached to one o/l 
 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-j 
 ful Swine (p. 190), is known by feveral poetical' 
 works ftill extant, of which perhaps the moftj 
 curious is " A rare and ftrange hiftoricall Novelli 
 of Cleomenes and Sophonifba," printed in 1577. 1 
 John Mellys, of Norwich, the author of ai 
 
INTRODUCTION. xxxi 
 
 ballad on two monftrous children, printed in 
 1566 (p. 220)5 was perhaps the fame perfon, for 
 he bears the fame name, as the compiler of " A 
 briefe Inftrudlion how to keepe Bookes of Ac- 
 compts," which bears the date 1588. The other 
 names and initials found in our colledion 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 j 
 found employment in writing ballads at this very / 
 early period in the hiftory of ballad literature. / 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 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 Detradion, by Hay- 
 wood ......... 
 
 4. A proper new Balad in praife of my Ladie Mar- 
 ques, by W. Elderton 
 
 5. The Prifoners' Petition 
 
 6. A moft 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 fliape of a mon- 
 ftrous Childe borne at Muche Horkefleye, co. EfTex, 
 1562 .... 
 
 9. A newe Ballade (againft the hoftile deligns of the 
 fpiritualty) 3° 
 
 10. The Pope in his fury doth anfwer returne, To 
 
 a letter the which to Rome is late come . . • 33 
 
 11. Lines underneath a Portrait of Queen Elizabeth 36 
 
 12. Ane new Ballet fet out be ane fugitiue Scottif- 
 man that fled out of Paris at this lait Murther, by 
 Simpell, 1572 ....... 37 
 
 13. A proper New Balad of the Bryber Gehefie, by 
 George Mell 42 
 
 14. The (hape of ii. monllers, 1562 ... 45 
 
 16 
 
 17 
 
 24 
 
 27 
 
xxxiv CONTENTS. 
 
 15. Ane Complaint vpon Fortoun, by Sempill 
 
 16. 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 ........ 
 
 18. The true defcription of a monfterous Chylde 
 borne in the He of Wight, 1564, by John Barkar 
 
 19. The Marchants Daughter of Briftow 
 
 20. A briefe fonet declaring the lamentation of 
 Beckles, a Market Towne in SufFolke, which was piti- 
 fully burned with fire, 1586, by D. Sterrie 
 
 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 Priell, 
 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 nierie newe Ballad intituled the Pinnyng of the 
 Bafket, by T. Rider 
 
 28. The defcription of a monftrous 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 papifticall 
 enemies, by John Awdely ..... 
 
 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 deftrudlion 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 
 
 36. A Balade declaryng how neybourhed, loue, and 
 
 trew dealyng is gone, by John Barker . . . 134 
 
 37. A proper newe Ballad Iheweing that philofophers 
 learnynges are full of good warnynges, by W. Elderton 138 
 
 38. A Balade of a Preifh that lolte his nofe. For fay- 
 
 inge of MafTe, as I fuppofe ..... 141 
 
 39. The true difcripcion of this marueilous rtraunge 
 Fiflie, vvhiche was taken the xvj. day of June, 1569 . 145 
 
 40. The fantafies of a troubled mannes head . -HZ 
 
 41. Of euyll tounges, by I. Canand . . . 149 
 
 42. OfTruft and Triall 1 50 
 
 43. A Strife betwene Appelles and Pigmalion, by Ber- 
 nard Garter . . . . . . . • ^ 5 ^ 
 
 44. A new Ballad againft Unthrifts . . • '53 
 
 45. A newe Sedle of Friars called Capichini . .156 
 
 46. The ballad of the faire Widow of Watling Street 
 
 and her 3 daughters . . . . . .157 
 
 47. A ballad of religious exhortation, by Chriftopher 
 Wilfon 166 
 
 48. A Song againft 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 Maioreffe, 
 wyfe to the right Honorable Lorde Alexander Auenet, 
 1570, by John Phillip . . . . . ,178 
 
 52. A famous dittie of the joyful receauing of the 
 Queens mofte 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 fhape of a monftrous Child borne 
 
 at Maydftone, 1568 . . . • . • ^94 
 
 60. A mournfuUDittieon the death of certaine Judges 
 and Juftices of the Peace, &c., who died immediatly 
 after the Affifes holden at Lincoln, 1590 . . . 197 
 
 61. A difcription of a monftrous Chylde borne at 
 Chychefter in SufTex, 1562 ..... 201 
 
xxxvi CONTENTS. 
 
 62. An exhortation to fuch as write in metres, a new 
 e . . . . . . . . 
 
 63. A ballad of maruelous tydynges, yf many mens 
 wordes be tru 
 
 64. As pleafant a dittie as your hart can wilh, (hew- 
 ing what vnkindnes befell by a kiffe .... 
 
 65. The true defcription of two monfterous children, 
 laufully begotten in the parifli of Swanburne, co. Bucks, 
 1566, by John Mellys of Norwich .... 
 
 66. A newe Ballade intytuled, Good fellowes muft 
 go learne to daunce, 1569 ..... 
 
 67. Adewe, Sweete Harte, 1569. 
 
 68. The braineles bleffing of the Bull . 
 
 69. A Ballad, What lyfe is beft? . 
 
 70. The crie of the poore for the death of the right 
 Honourable Earle of Huntington, 1596 
 
 71. Joyfull Newes for true Subie6les, a ballad on the 
 defeat of the rebels in the North, by W. Kyrkham 
 
 72. A dittie in the worthie praife of an high and 
 mightie Prince, the Duke of Norfolk, by Bernard Garter 
 
 73. A newe Ballade intituled, Agaynft Rebellious 
 and falfe rumours, by Thomas Bette, 1570 
 
 74. The true Difcripcion of a Childe with ruffes, 
 borne in the parifh of Micheham, in the countie of 
 Surrey, 1566 ....... 
 
 75. Other thus it is, or thus it (houlde bee . 
 jS. A Ditty delightfull of mother Watkins ale 
 yy. A prettie newe Ballad, intytuled, Pieafe one and 
 
 pleafe all, by Richard Tarlton .... 
 
 78. An Epitaph on the death of the Earle of South- 
 ampton, I 581, by John Phillip .... 
 
 79. A Ballad rejoyfinge the fodaine fail. Of rebels 
 that thought to deuower vs all 
 
 Notes 271 
 
ANCIENT BALLADS AND 
 BROADSIDES. 
 
 A Ballad intituled, A newe Well a daye, 
 As playney maijler papijl, as Donjiable 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 a daye, 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 crofTes nor goddes they adore. 
 Will make them as merie as they haue ben 
 before ; 
 Well a daye, well a daye, &c. 
 
: :^'.'^,' '[X^r.^A'N'C'lENT 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 hangverie 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 finners ; 
 
 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. 
 
 Yetfome 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 crofTes ? 
 
 Where be the deuifers of idoles and affes ? 
 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, 
 
 £ i vv. w (Oirw H (too \/MLi4-iAj 
 
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 fhall giue them re- 
 miffion. 
 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 fhall haue more newes er Candelmas come, 
 Their be matters diiFufe, yet lookte for of fome; 
 
 Looke on, and looke ftill,as yelonge 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 j 
 
 Not Syr Thomas Plum trie 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, I 
 
 By fuch popifhe patching ftill comes well a i 
 
 daye ; j 
 
 Well a daye, well a daie, &c. ! 
 
 And fhe that is rightfull your Queene to fubdue I 
 
 ye, ^ 
 
 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 I 
 
 horfe ; 1 
 
 Well a daie, well a daie, &c. j 
 
 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. j 
 
 4 
 
 God profper her highnes, and fend her his peace i 
 To gouerne good people with grace and increafe ; \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 5 
 
 And fend the deferuers, that feeke the wronge 
 way, 
 At Tyborne fome caruers, to finge well a dale ; 
 Well a daie, 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 Poejie^or fweete Nofegay of frag- 
 rant fmellyng Flowers gathered in the Garden 
 of heauenly Pleafure, the holy and hlejfed Bible ; 
 to the tune of the Black Almayne. 
 
 STOCK of flowers, bedewed with 
 fhowers. 
 In a garden now there fprings ; 
 With mirth and glee, vpon a tree, 
 A byrd there fits and fings ; 
 So pleafant is her voyce. 
 It doth my hart reioyce : 
 
 She fets her tunes and noates fo meete. 
 That vnto me it feemes fo fweete. 
 That all the flowers, that euer could be. 
 Was neuer fo fwete as this to me ; 
 The lyke before I dyd neuer fe. 
 
ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 |[ 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 chefl:. 
 But bynd them vp as I thinke befl. 
 And kepe them alway next my breft. 
 
 C The fyrfl: 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 fhould neuer taft of death : 
 And alfo Noe, that righteous man, 
 A curious worke dyd take in hand. 
 
 To make the arke we vnderftand. 
 
 C 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. 7 1 
 
 C The Judges alfo, both lefTe and mo, \ 
 
 They were of worthy fame : \ 
 
 To fpeake of all, my tyme is fmal, I 
 
 To rehearce them all by name. ] 
 
 The prophet Samuell, 
 
 Our God dyd loue him well : | 
 
 Dauid was a flower fo fweete, j 
 
 To make hym kyng God thought it meete, j 
 
 For great Golias he hath flayne ; I 
 
 And Sallomon after him dyd raygne, l 
 Which vnto wyfedome dyd attayne. 
 
 CWhen Achab dyd floryfh, the rauens did j 
 
 norifh > 
 
 Elia, a man of God ; 
 Kynge Jofias and Efdras 
 
 We finde, and pacient Job. ' 
 
 They feared our God of might, j 
 
 And ferued him day and night : \ 
 
 No ioy nor payne could them procure. 
 
 But alwayes by hym to endure : ; 
 
 Efay lykewyfe and Jeremy, 1 
 
 They preached alway earnefl:ly, \ 
 
 And dyd their duty faithfully. 
 
 C And Daniell deftroyed Bell, j 
 
 The Babilonians God : 
 
 The dragon alfo he brought to wo, ; 
 
 Without either fword or rod. 
 
 To rehearce the Prophets all, I 
 
 By their names them for to call, 3 
 
 Although they be of worthy fame, , 
 
 It is to long them for to name : 
 
 We may not Toby as leaue behynd, i 
 
 Yet was he almoft out of mind, I 
 
 But few flich flowers now can we fynd. j 
 
ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C Full wel we know, no flowers can blow, ; 
 
 But boyfterous {lormes muft fynd : i 
 
 For that is no flower, that euery ftiowre l. 
 
 Doth driue away with wynd. \ 
 
 For all thefe goodly flowers ! 
 
 Had many ftormy fhowers, i 
 
 Before that they could blow or bud, 1 
 
 Or bring forth feede to doe any good : 
 
 They dyd abyde both cold and blaft, j 
 
 Yet allwayes dyd they ftand fl:edfafl:, i 
 
 Tyll all the fl:ormes were gone and paft. 
 
 C Now at this time, for our gracious Queene, i 
 
 Let vs geue harty prayes : i 
 
 God may her defend, from enemies hand, i 
 
 At this time and alwayes ; ; 
 And fend her profperous raygne. 
 
 With vs for to remayne, \ 
 
 For to defend Gods word fo pure, 1 
 
 And euer with it for to endure : 
 
 That flie 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 I 
 
 Johnes, dwellyng in the upper end \ 
 
 of Fleet Lane, 1572. j 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 
 
 A Ballad againfi Slander and Detraction. 
 
 |[ Gar call him downe, gar call him downe, gar call him 
 
 downe downe a : 
 |[ God fend the fadion, of all detradion, calld downe and 
 
 call away. 
 
 LMYGHTY God 
 
 Dooth fhake his rod 
 
 Of iuftife, and all thofe. 
 That vniuftly, 
 Detradlyfly, 
 
 Detrad their freends or foes. 
 
 He telthe eche one. 
 Thou fhalt 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 ; 
 
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 fhall fee 
 
 Murder and flaunder one. 
 
 Like as a knife 
 By reuing life. 
 
 So flaunder fame hath flain ; 
 And bothe ones doone, 
 Bothe alike foone 
 
 May be vndoon again. 
 
 Then what more ill 
 With knife to kill. 
 
 Or with the tung to fl:ing : 
 With knife or tung 
 Strike olde or yung, 
 
 Bothe in eflfed one thing. 
 
 Thefe woords are fliort. 
 But they import 
 
 Sentence at length to way : 
 Of all whiche fence. 
 To flee off^ence. 
 
 Call flaunder downe I fay ; 
 Gar call him downe, &c. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. ii | 
 
 U; When vice is fought, \ 
 
 Al vice is nought, ^ 
 
 But fome vice wors then fome : ] 
 
 And eche man fees j 
 
 Sundry degrees ] 
 
 In eche vice felf dooth come. 1 
 
 i 
 
 Now fins the leaft, 1 
 
 We fhould deteft ; 
 
 Vice or degree in vice : i 
 
 If in the mofte \ 
 
 We fhowe our bofte, \ 
 
 That fhoweth vs mofte unwice. | 
 
 \ 
 
 If I in thee \ 
 
 Suche fauhs 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 \ 
 
 Fauls tales, and them difplay : I 
 
 That is mofte vile, j 
 Whiche to exile, 
 
 God calleth this down, downe a. J 
 
 Gar call him downe, &c. i 
 
 C Some count no charge 1 
 
 To talke at large : 
 
 Suche il as they doo heare ; \ 
 
 But Gods account \ 
 
 Dooth not amount j 
 
 To take fuche talkers heere. I 
 
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. 13 ' 
 
 To fleke this fier ; 
 
 Of flanders yre, | 
 
 Repentance muft deuife ^ 
 
 To fet all hands, j 
 
 To quenche the brands 1 
 
 With water of our eies. ; 
 
 j 
 
 Whiche brand then blowe ] 
 
 To make loue glowe, ^ 
 
 That loue by grace may ftay, \ 
 
 And by refort 1 
 
 Of good report, I 
 
 Call flander downe I fay. j 
 
 Gar call him down, &c. 
 
 FINIS, q^ Haywood. I 
 
 i 
 
 Imprinted at j 
 
 London, at the long Shop ! 
 
 adioining vnto Saint \ 
 
 Mildreds Churche 1 
 
 in the Pultrie, by ,\ 
 
 John Allde. i 
 
14 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 A proper new Balad in praife of my , 
 
 \ 
 Ladie Marquesy 
 
 wbofe Death is bewailed to the Tune of New iafty gallant, i 
 
 ADIES, I thinke you maruell that \ 
 
 I writ no mery report to you, | 
 
 And what is the caufe I court it not I 
 
 So merye as I was wont to dooe ; | 
 
 Alas ! I let you vnderftand, j 
 
 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, j 
 
 That euer in court I ioyed to fee, i 
 And that is the caufe I court it not. 
 
 So mery as I was wont to be. j 
 
 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 liues not to beholde, | 
 
 Me thinkes I fee her walke in blacke, i 
 
 In euery corner where I goe, j 
 
 To looke if anie bodie do lacke \ 
 
 \ A frend to helpe them of theyr woe. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES, i 
 
 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 fhe fhuld be ftill in place, 
 
 A pitifull fpeaker to a Queene, 
 Bewailinge every poore mans cafe. 
 
 As many a time fhee hath ben {Qcne. 
 
 Mee thinkes I fee her modefte mood. 
 
 Her comHe 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 fhe is dead. 
 
 Go feeke and farue as good as fhee ; — ^ 0^ 
 It will not finke fo m 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. 
 
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"^ 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 worfhipful our good benefador. 
 
 N all lamentable manner, moft humbly] 
 befeecheth your good Worfhip, wee,; 
 the miferable multitude of verypoore; 
 diftrefled prifbners, in the hole ofl 
 Wood-ftreet Counter, in nomber fiftie poore men i 
 or thereabouts, lying vpon the bare boordes,! 
 ftill languifhing in great neede, colde andj 
 miferie, w^ho, by reafon of this daungerous and ; 
 troublefbme time, be almoft famifhed and hunger- 1 
 ftarued to death ; others very fore ficke, and \ 
 difeafed for want of reliefe and fuftenance, byj 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 17 
 
 reafon of the great number, which dayly increaf- 
 eth, dooth in all humblenes moft humbly be- 
 feech your good worfhip, euen for Gods fake, 
 to pi tie our poore lamentable and diftrefled cafes ; 
 and nowe helpe to relieue and comfort us with 
 your Chriftian and Godly charitie againft this 
 holie and blefled time of Eafter. And wee, ac- 
 cording to our bounden duties, do and will 
 dayly pray vnto Almighty God for your long 
 life and happy profperitie. 
 
 We humbly pray, your Chriftian and 
 Godly charitie to be fent vnto vs by 
 fome of your feruants. 
 
 A moji plea/ant Ballad of patient Grijfell, 
 
 To the tune of the 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 
 flie. 
 Although in fimple attire ; 
 She fung full fweet with pleafant voyce melod- 
 ioufly. 
 Which fet the lords hart on fire. 
 
l8 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, j 
 
 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, fliew me foone what is : 
 
 thy name ? j 
 
 I meane to make thee my wife. \ 
 
 Grifl^ll is my name, quoth (he, 
 Farrevnfit for your degree, '] 
 
 A filly mayden and of parents poore. -^ 
 
 Nay, Grifl^ell, thou art rich, he fayd, t 
 
 A vertuous, faire and comely mayd ; '-j 
 
 Graunt me thy loue, and I wil aflce no more. ; 
 
 At length flie confented, and being both contented, i 
 
 They married were with fpeed ; \ 
 
 Her contrey ruflet was changd to filk and veluet, j 
 
 As to her ftate agreed. I 
 
 And when fhe was trimly tyred in the fame, | 
 
 Her beauty fliined moft bright, i 
 
 Far ftaining euery other braue and comly dame, | 
 
 That did appeare in her fight. i 
 
 Many enuied her therefore, \ 
 
 Becaufe fhe was of parents poore, ! 
 
 And twixt her lord and fhe great flrife 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. 
 
 O 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 iiTue ftill deride. 
 
 Which fhall 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 maUft 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 paiTe, 
 
 Two goodly children at one birth fhe 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 \ 
 
 i 
 
 Great royall feafting was at thefe childrens ; 
 
 chriftnings, \ 
 
 And princely triumph made ; ■ 
 
 Sixe weeks together, al nobles that came thither 
 
 Were entertaind and ftaid ; j 
 
 And when that al thofe pleafant fportings quite | 
 
 were done, ' 
 
 The Marques a meflenger fent ' i 
 
 For his yong daughter, and his prety fmiling fon, j 
 
 Declaring his full intent, — I 
 
 How that the babes muft murdred be, \ 
 
 For fo the Marques did decree, — i 
 
 Come, let me haue the children, then he fayd. i 
 With that faire GrifTell wept full fore, ! 
 
 She wrung her hands and fayd no more, — 
 
 My gracious lord muft haue his will obaid. i 
 
 She tooke the babies, euen from their nurfing ! 
 ladies, 
 
 Betweene her tender armes ; \ 
 
 She often wifhes, with many forrowful kiffes, " 
 
 That fhe might helpe their harmes. 
 Farewel, farewel, a thoufand times, my children i 
 deere, ^ \ 
 
 Neuer fhall I fee you againe ; | 
 
 Tis long of me, your fad and woful mother 
 
 heere, i 
 
 For whofe fake both muft be flaine. j 
 
 Had I been borne of royall race, \ 
 
 You might haue liu'd in happy cafe, i 
 
 But you muft die for my vnworthines ; \ 
 
 Come, meflenger of death, faid ftiee, j 
 
 Take my defpifed babes to thee, i 
 
 And to their father my complaints expres. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 21 
 
 He 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 Griflel with a heauy hart he goes. 
 
 Where ihe fate mildly alone ; 
 A pleafant iefture and a louely looke ihe fhowes. 
 
 As if this griefe fhe neuer had knowen. 
 Quoth he, my children now are flaine ! 
 What thinkes faire Griflell of the fame ? 
 
 Sweet GrifTell, now declare thy mind to mee. 
 Sith you, my lord, are pleaf 'd in it, 
 Poore GrifTell thinkes the adion fit ; 
 
 Both I and mine at your command will be. 
 
 My nobles murmur, faire GrifTell, at thy honor. 
 
 And I no ioy can haue. 
 Til thou be banifht both from my court and pre- 
 fence. 
 
 As they vnjuflly craue ; 
 Thou mufl be flript out of thy coflly garments 
 all. 
 
 And as thou camefl to me. 
 In homely gray, infleed of bifTe and pureft pall, 
 
 Now all thy cloathing mufl be ; 
 My lady thou fhalt be no more. 
 Nor I thy lord, which grieues me fore ; 
 
 The poorefl life mufl now content thy minde ; 
 A groat to thee I mufl not giue. 
 To maintaine thee while I doe Hue, 
 
 Againfl 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 I 
 
 Did from her Hps arife ; i 
 
 Her veluet gown moft patiently fhe flipped off, ! 
 
 Her kirtles of filke with the fame ; I 
 
 Her ruffet gown was broght again with many a 
 fcofFe, I 
 
 To beare them all herfelfe fhe did frame. 
 When fhe was drefl 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. ' 
 
 i 
 
 ,( 
 
 From {lately pallace vnto her fathers cottage, 
 
 Poore Griffell now is gone ; I 
 Full fixteene winters fhe liued there contented. 
 
 No wrong fhe thought vpon ; 
 
 And at that time through all the land the fpeaches j 
 
 went, \ 
 
 The Marques fhould married be j 
 
 Vnto a lady of high and great difcent ; \ 
 
 To the fame all parties did agree. \ 
 
 The Marques fent for Griffell faire, l 
 
 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 Griffell tooke all this mofl patiently. - 
 
 And, in the morning, when they fhould to the 
 wedding. 
 
 Her patience now was tride ; ■ 
 
 Griffel was charged herfelf in princely maner i 
 
 For to attire the bride. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 23 1 
 
 Moft willingly fhe gaue confent to do the fame ; .: 
 
 The bride in her brauery was dreft. 
 
 And prefently the noble Marques thither came, . 
 
 With all his lords, as he requeft : j 
 
 O GrilTel, I would afke, quoth he, \ 
 
 If fhe would to this match agree ; j 
 
 Me thinkes her lookes are waxen wondrous coy ; 1 
 
 With that they all began to fmile, \ 
 And Griflell (he replide the while, 
 
 God fend Lord Marques many yeres of joy ! '. 
 
 The Marques was moued to fee his beft beloued, j 
 
 Thus patient in diftrefle ; \ 
 
 He ftept vnto her, and by the hand he tooke her,— j 
 
 Thefe wordes he did exprefle ; — ; 
 
 Thou art my bride and all the brides I meane to \ 
 
 haue ; • 
 
 Thefe two thine owne children be ! j 
 
 The youthful! lady on her knees did bleffmg J 
 
 craue, \ 
 
 Her brother as willing as fhe ; — 
 
 And you that enuied her eflate, ] 
 
 Whom I haue made my louing mate, ■ 
 
 Now blufh for fhame, and honor vertuous life; . I 
 The chronicles of lafling fame, J j^^^^^^ ^/JL, ^wjL , 
 
 Shall euer more extoU the name, <^ O^ 
 
 Of patient Griflell, my moft conftant wife. ; 
 
 i 
 i 
 FINIS, 
 
I 
 
 24 ANCIENT BALLADS j 
 
 A Newe Ballade of a Louer extollinge 
 his Ladye, 
 
 To the tune of Damon and Pithias, 
 
 ^B^ 
 
 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 faythfuU loue to fhowe ; 
 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 fhould my faythfull harte 
 
 At no tyme from thee flye ; 
 Show loue therfore for loue againe. 
 
 Or els for loue I dye. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 2$ 
 
 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 againe, 
 
 Or els for loue I dye. 
 
 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, > 
 
 Withgapingegredyejawe, I A., f'i^.i 
 
 Ready e with rygorus raggye teeth, j »^ ^"^ ^ ' *^ 
 
 My fleftie to teare and gnawe ; |^V^ , 
 
 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 fifhes 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 
 
 T/ie true report e of the forme and Jhape of a 
 monftrous Childe home at Muche Horkejleye, a 
 village three myles from Colchefter^ in the 
 County e of Effex, the xxi daye of Apryll in this 
 yeare 1562. 
 
 O prayfe ye God, and bleffe his name ; 
 His mightye hande hath wrought the fame. 
 
 HIS 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. (r 
 I meane not this, as though deformed fhape c 
 
 Were alwayes linkd with fraughted minde with j 
 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 ftore 
 Of 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 excefTe the want of meane doth 
 
 fhrowde, v 
 
28 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 And want of meanes excefle from vertues ^j 
 meanes. Ij 
 
 So contraryeft extreames confent in finne, ^ 
 
 Which to bewray to blindeft eyes by fyght, — | 
 Beholde a calfe hath clapt about his chinne 
 X His chauderne, reft whence nature placed it! 
 right, i 
 
 Andruffd, driuesdoubtfull feers toproueby fpeache : 
 Themfelues not calues, and makes the fafhion 
 ftale. 
 In him behold by excefle from meane our breache. 
 And midds excefle yet want of natures fliape. 
 To fliowe our mifl^e beholde a guiltlefl!e babe 
 
 Reft of his limmes, — for fuch is vertues want — '. 
 Himfelfe and parentes both infamous made 
 
 With flnful byrth ; and yet a worldlyng fcant.i 
 Feares midwyfes route, bewrayeing his parentes j 
 fault j 
 
 In want of honefl:ye and excefle of finne ; \ 
 
 Made lawfull by all lawes of men, yet halt 
 Of limmes by God, fcapd not the fliamefuU 
 marke J 
 
 Of baft:ard fonne in bafl:ard ftiape defcryed. I 
 
 Better, fare better, vngyuen were his lyfe, • 
 Than geuen fo. For nature iufl: enuyed ; 
 
 Her gyft to hym, and cropd wyth mayming \ 
 knyfe \ 
 
 His limmes, to wreake her fpyte on parentes 
 
 flnne ; i 
 
 Which, if fhe fpare vnwares fo many fcapes 
 
 As wycked world to breede wil neuer linne, ; 
 
 Theyr Hues declare theyr maims faued from i 
 
 their fliapes, \ 
 
 Scorchd in theyr mindes. O cruel priuye mayme^ 
 
 That fefl:reth fl:yll ! O vnrecured fore ! 
 
 (X feyW^ tKaM.A;trw - Xsk.^ u cV<^ 
 
 <Kv^3 
 
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 iVpryll, 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 EfTex, 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 fhoulder, and the 
 
 ende thereof is rounde, and not fo long as it fhould 
 
 go to the elbowe ; and on the ryghte fyde no men- 
 
 cion of any thing where any arme fhould 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 
 
 fhould be, and where the ryghte legge fhould 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 ifTue 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. 
 
 C Imprinted at London in Fleteftrete nere 
 to S. Dunftons Church, by 
 Thomas Marfhe. 
 
 A newe Ballade. 
 
 DERE Lady Elyfabeth, which art 
 our right and vertous Quene, 
 God hath endued the w* 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, moft 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 flaynemofte maruelous, all through 
 the curfled feede of Caine ? 
 Tyrell kyllede hym with an arrowe. Lady, Lady, 
 Yet fome men fayed he (hot at a fparow, mofte 
 dere Lady. 
 
 C Haue you not rede of good kyng John, how 
 by them he was vndone ? 
 The Bifhop of Canterbury, y^ 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 famifhed 
 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 Protedor 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^. viil. j 
 
 which was a prince of vidlory, | 
 
 And he depofed them all ftraight, when he had i 
 
 fpyed their idolatry ; • 
 
 If this be trewe, as trewe it was. Lady, Lady, 
 
 God graunt your grace may do no lefTe, 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 ray fed vp trentalles in euery place. Lady, i 
 
 Lady, ^ I 
 
 And fome of them preached agaynft his Grace, ; 
 
 moft dere Lady. 
 
 C Then came your fyfter Quene Mary, and for \ 
 
 fiue yeres that fhe did rayne, ; 
 
 All that was done (by) Edward and Hary her ! 
 
 wicked prieftes made it but vaine ; 
 
 They brought in agayne the Romyftie lore. Lady, \ 
 
 Lady, * 
 
 Whiche was baniftied longe before, mofte dere \ 
 
 Lady. i 
 
 C Then God fent vs your noble Grace, as in dede 
 
 it was highe tyme, \ 
 
 Whiche dothe all Popery cleane deface, and i 
 
 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. j 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 33 
 
 T^e Pope in his fury doth anfwer returne 
 'To a letter y' which to Rome is late come. 
 
 DOE efteme your kyndnes much 
 
 For fendyng worde fo Tone, 
 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 vrrtyl 
 
 The writyng of the famej-- 
 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. 
 
 C And fure it is no maruell, loe" ! 
 
 For daylye I doe heaEe, 
 The matter femeth to be fo. 
 
 As -amply doth appeared 
 For.euery man doth tell for trt^ 
 The fame that late was fent of Y^^3t^ 
 But, out alas ! your tidynges new^ ^ 
 
 Doth much appall my fpiritc. 
 And makes me fweare and makes me teare. 
 To pull and hale, and rend my heare, • 
 And brynges me dayly in difpaire 
 
 Tx) thinke on this defpite. 
 
 C But fith there is no remedye 
 That mine obedient chylde 
 
34 ANCIENT BALLADS ' 
 
 Is hanged vp vpon a tree, 
 
 And to-to much reuylde : 
 What fhoulde 1 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 fhould 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 fhould neuer go. 
 And dyuers of my fryers mo 
 
 For him fhould 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 chafl 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. 
 
 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 fhall be fhrynde 
 
 As they deferued haue. 
 And cheefly now John Felton hee 
 Shall euer be beloued of mee, 
 Becaufe that he (o 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 fhould 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 fhall them deuowre : 
 
 And yf that here I might you fee. 
 
 For wrytyng lately vnto mee. 
 
 Be fure, ye fhould rewarded bee 
 As beft I coulde bethynke. 
 
 And as for Wylliam Elderton 
 
 That lately fent me worde to Rome, 
 
 35 
 
36 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 Be fure that he ihould 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 fcofF, 
 
 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 ^een 
 Elizabeth, 
 
 OE heKe 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 fubiedles bee : 
 Oh Princely Dame, 
 
 There is none like to thee ! 
 
 -I 
 
 Ane new Ballet fet out be anefugittue Scottif- 
 man that fie d out of Paris at this ^ 
 
 lait Murther. J(^ f\ oJIa /< ^^aaxmT 
 
 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 refpedand 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 flane, 
 Bot Mary conuoyit and come with ane dance, 
 
 Quhill princes in fences was fyrit with ane trane ; 
 Baith trefTonabill murtheris the ane and the vther, 
 I go not in malking mair with the Quene Mother. 
 
 i() OA/WVi) 
 
 \ 
 
38 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C Itallanes ar tyranis, and trefTonabill tratorls ; 
 
 For gyfours, 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 bot 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 Tpring, 
 
 And reflbun for treflbun prouokis God to ire ; 
 
 Beleuis thow this trumprie fall ftablifche thy 
 
 ftyle ? 
 Our God is not deed, 5it 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 San6l for our 
 flauchter ? 
 Albeit he corred: 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 fic 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 ? 
 ProcefTioun, 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, contradit 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 faulls, 
 
 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 30ur 
 ftepill. 
 
 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 3e 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 culd not weill conqueis vs, culd 3e confidder. 
 For our men are dour men, and likis weill to 
 land thame ; 
 Quhen Cefar himfelf was chaift, haue 3e for3et. 
 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 3e be flane, gif fie thing occures. 
 
 Bot how can 3e traift thame that trumpit 30W 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 3e do, 
 
 And mak thame faft in the ruit gif thay cum to. 
 
 C God blis 30W, my brether, and biddis 30W gud 
 nicht, 
 Obey God, go fay God, with prayer and failing, 
 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 30ung 
 
 king, 
 The Quene of Inglands Maieftie, and lang mot 
 thai ring. 
 
 C Finis, quod Simpell. 
 
 C Imprintit at Sandandrois, be Robert 
 Lekpriuik. Anno Do. 1572. 
 
42 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 A proper New Balad of the Bryber Gehefie, 
 
 Taken out of the fourth booke of KingeSy the v. 
 chapter ; 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 AfTiria, 
 
 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 pafTe 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 ; i 
 
 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 regarde. j 
 
 Alas, how was thou, Gehezie, ■ 
 
 Rauifhed in worldly gaine ! i 
 
 How was thou brought to mizerie, ] 
 
 Of God appointed for thy paine, i 
 
 And all thy ofspringe after thee, ■ 
 
 For thy rewacrde ! 
 
 The Lorde that hateth briberie I 
 
 Hath his regarde. \ 
 
 Then Gehezie deceitfulie, \ 
 
 To-fore the prophet tooke his waie, 
 Who faid to hime, O Gehe3ie, 
 
 Went not my harte with thee, I faie, ; 
 When Naaman from charret came 
 
 Thee to rewarde, '■ 
 
 And thou haft falfelie hid the fame, l 
 
 Without regarde ? ! 
 
 .1 
 
 Gehezie, is it now a time 
 
 Thy bribes (he faid) for to receaue ? 5 
 
 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. 1 
 
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 ihall 
 Haue their rewarde. 
 
 If they doe not their faultes confefle, 
 
 Detefting of their bryberle, 
 Elfe God will fpie ther wickednefle, 
 
 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 wales. 
 
 That we may leade our Hues aright ; 
 To deale with trueth at all affaies, 
 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 figne 
 
 of S. John Evangelift, by 
 
 Thomas Colwell. 
 
 C T/ie fhape of ii monjiers^ M D Ixii, 
 
 HIS prefent yere of oure Lord God ^ 
 thoufande iiue hundred thre fcore and 
 two, one Marke Finkle, a joiner, dwell- 
 ing befide 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 
 ftanding 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 fingers 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 j 
 
 taile growing an inche neare vnto the back then ! 
 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 j 
 greate mercies ; the which hee fheweth fpecially by \ 
 geuing vnto vs his holy word, wherby our Hues j 
 ought to be guided, and alfo his wonderful! 
 tokens wherby we are moft gentilly warned. ! 
 
 But if we will not be warned, neither by his^ 
 word, nor yet by his wonderful workes, then let vs 
 be aflured that thefe ftraunge monftruous fightes \ 
 doe premonftrate vnto vs that his heauy indigna- ; 
 cion wyl fhortly come vpon vs for our monftruous ; 
 lyuinge. Wherfore let vs earneftly pray vnto; 
 God that he wyl geue vs grace earneftly to re- 1 
 pent our wickednes, faithfully to beleue his word, i 
 and fincerely to frame our Hues after the dodrine | 
 of the {ame. : 
 
 r 
 
 B 
 
 C An Admonition vnto the Reader, 
 
 ET vs knowe by thefe vgly fights. 
 And eke confider 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. j 
 
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 confefTe, 
 And eke to call to God with fpeede. 
 
 The fame for to redrefTe. 
 
 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 fhake. 
 
 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 fupprefle ; 
 God graunt that they fulfilde maye bee. 
 
 To ouerthrow excefTe.*' 
 
 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 9 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 49 
 
 Arte Complaint vpon Fortoun. 
 
 NCONSTANT 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 fho 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 fho 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 and doun. 
 
 <r That variable witch makis all the warld ado ! 
 
 Quhat kingis and countreis hes fho brocht to end ! 
 AfTyrians, Perfians, Grekes, and Romains to, 
 
 The monarches foure micht not hir force defend. 
 Bulworkis nor battellis bydis her nocht a bend ; 
 
 Quha may withfland her flraik, quhan fho lift 
 flryke? 
 This nicht aneuch, the morne nathing to fpend ! 
 
 Imago in Luna, and fho lukis baith alyke. 
 
 £ 
 
50 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 To pen the fpeciallis It pafTis mony a hunder. 
 
 And makis the tyme ouer tidious to declare ; 
 Sum fho promouis and Turn fho puttis to vnder, 
 
 Andfumrewardes with wandringheir andthair ; 
 And Turn incaftrat captiues in the fnair. 
 
 And fum for flatrie dois hir freindfhip find ; 
 To all eftates vntruethfuU, qiihat fould mair, 
 
 Turnand her volt lyke woddercok in wind? 
 
 To paint her out it pafTis mine ingyne. 
 
 How wonderfully fhe wirkes in all thir thingis! 
 Sum fra thair birth brocht vp with doggis and 
 fwine, 
 
 Tane fra die pleuch and placit in fait of kingis. 
 The brutell beift ane harbour wolfe vpbringis 
 
 The firft borne Romain callit Romulus, 
 Quhais blude as 3it into that regioun ringis. 
 
 By expedatioun 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 fwa 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 refped to blude royall or clan, 
 
 Pureanis promouit that na man wald prefume ; 
 Torquinius Prifcus, a baneifl: marchant man, 
 
 Chaifi: out of Corinth and cround a king in 
 Rome. 
 Siclyke was Seruius from ane fhipherd grome. 
 
 And Tullus Hofl:ilius fand her fauour neift ; 
 Is, was, and falbe quhill the day of dome, 
 
 Sic doubill dealing in Dame Fortounis breifl: 1 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 51 
 
 Quha findis hir freindfhip of fauour hes aneuch. 
 
 To warldly glore fho gydes them all the gait ; 
 Tiike 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 eft ait, 
 
 Ane potteris boy to be ane potent King ? 
 
 Of Juftine the fuinehird fho maid ane empriour, 
 
 Ouer Conftantinople ane king and cround him 
 thair ; 
 Gyges the gait-hird ane michtie conquerour. 
 
 To Lydia land fhe 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 fhe make them faine ; 
 Bot with ane tit ftio turnis the quheill, 3e fie, 
 
 Doungois their heid,vp gois their heillis againe! 
 Of Alexander to write I war bot vaine, 
 
 Ouer fifty landis he lord was at the leift ; 
 3it 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 fic foule inuy. 
 
 Pray to Pericles, that put him to his fpeid ? 
 Of Julius Cefar gif thow lykes to reid. 
 
 In his triumphant toun vi6i:orious, 
 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 flout, 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 fho can law him within a litill quhyle. 
 
 Alchebead of Athenis was Duke, 
 
 Of princely parents and ane royall race. 
 To keip his toun fic 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 (kaith : 
 And Tymiftocles in that famin place. 
 
 By their awin burgefTis thay wer baneift baith. 
 
 Experience teiches me not to flyte with Fortoun, 
 
 With auld examples that doisna thing belang vs; 
 Markejamesof 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 ftlence baith. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 53 
 
 Few things wer done bot 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 30ur 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 protedtour in 3our tender 3eiris ; 
 He maid 30W vp and all 30ur 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 for3et. 
 
 Was he not rewler ouer 30ur 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 refped: to baggis or bodie to ; 
 -our faithfull fubiedl, 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 \ 
 
 i 
 I 
 
 Try or 36 tine him and trow not all thay fpak, i 
 
 Lat workes beir witnes, vaine wordis fould haue ■ 
 
 na place. • \ 
 
 Sone efter that the Counfell cround 3ourfell, j 
 
 Quhan godly Murray as a regent rang, | 
 
 3it thair was fome that bauldly did rebell, 
 
 That to 3our lawis wald nouther ryde nor j 
 
 gang. ^ I 
 
 Quha thair conuenit for to reuenge 3our wrang, t 
 
 Albeit 3our adlion was thocht innocent? i 
 
 It was the DowglafTis douchtaly them dang, j 
 
 And pleit 30ur proces in that parliament. ] 
 
 Quha could declare our langfum lyfe in Leith, 
 
 Fechtand all day and fyne lay in our clais ? i 
 Gif Lindefay lykes, that lord can tell 30W eith, ! 
 
 Quha was 30ur friendis or quha3our mortall fais,i 
 Or quha gaid formeft breiftand vp the braies. ■ 
 
 I dar not pen the fpeciallis, I do plaine 30W; I 
 Bo,t Weill I wait, howeuer the warld now gais, j 
 
 Thai find maift freindfhipwasfardeft than againj 
 
 30U. \ 
 
 j 
 
 Syne at Langfyde feild 30ur grace may ken, ; 
 
 Mortoun was thair ane man amang the reft ; ■ 
 In Striuiling toun, out of his dowie den, j 
 
 Maift lyke a fox thay fyrit him in his neft. ] 
 In Edinburgh Caftell quhair thay war pofTeft, i 
 
 He them deplaced that purpofit to undo 30W. ! 
 Quhan 3e grow auld, I wait 3e will confeft, 
 
 Mortoun hes bene ane faithfull faruand to 30WJ 
 
 Quhan Regentis deit and all the lytes inlaikit, ! 
 The Counfell did conuene and (^t 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 tliir crymes conui(5l:, 
 
 Gif he be faikles, furely I dar fay, 
 
 Thay haue defamit him with ane fuHch 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 3e 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 trefibun. 
 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 ' 
 
 I 
 
 Adwife 30W Weill, fen he hes not offendit ; i 
 
 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, i 
 
 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 30W war. ] 
 
 Finis, quod Sempill. ' 
 
 Imprintit at Edinburgh, be Robert Lekprewicke, ! 
 dwelling at the Netherbow. \ 
 
 The Plagues of Northomberland. 
 
 To the tune of Appelki. 
 
 HEN that the Moone, in Northom- 
 berlaild, 
 Afterihechiiynge, iu^ge 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 ryfinge of this Moone ; 
 
 Thinking that fhee had byn at full. 
 He haftyd then anone full foonej 
 
 With horfe and armes, and all his might. 
 
 From parfedt daye to vncertaine lyght. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 57 
 
 When they in one confent were pyght. 
 With them was many an ignorant man ; 
 
 The Romyfhe lawes they wold redyght. 
 Through councell of fome bhnd Syr John, 
 
 Who neuer knewe Codes veryte. 
 
 But to rebelKon 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 brutyihe, peruerit, ignorant men, "{ 
 
 That feekes before a lawe to ren. i 
 
 C This venym longe a-breedinge was. 
 Which in the Perfies brefte did growe ; 
 
 The Bull in bellinge did not ceafTe, 
 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 hateful! poyfon longe was hyde. 
 
 Under the cloake of amytie ; 
 The outward treafone was not fpyde, 
 
 But couerld 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 vnftable was endid foone ; 
 
 Her fudden chaynge now tells vs all 
 
 That fuger fweet was blent with gall. 
 
 C What ftate now maye hymfelfe afllire 
 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 fhe 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 i 
 
 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 ihee her enemies may confound, i 
 
 And all that to rebelles agre ; j 
 
 And plant true men vp in their place ; ) 
 
 The Lord from heauen now gyue her grace ! 1 
 
 1 
 
 Finis, quod John Barker. I 
 
 C Imprinted at London, in Fleete Streate, beneath ^ 
 
 the Conduyt, at the figne of Saint John 1 
 
 Euangelift, by Thomas Colwell, j 
 
6o ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 A merry new Song how 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 fong 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 fhalt haue worke for all this weeke. 
 
 The Cooper with cap and curtefie low. 
 Said, ready I am my tunning to fhow ; 
 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. 6l 
 
 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 fhewed 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 fhe, what fhift fhall we make ? 
 My hufband is come, — you will be take ! 
 
 O Lord ! fayd the Bruer, what fhall I doe ? 
 How fhall I hide me ? where fhall 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 fhop 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 rofted for my fupper : 
 It is a bore-pig, man, faid fhe. 
 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 ramifh, — fie, how he ftinkes ! 
 
 Well, fayd the Cooper, fo I might thriue, 
 I would he were in thy belly aliue. 
 I thanke you for your wifh, good man ; 
 It may chance it fhall 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 ftie. 
 
 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 1 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 (lore, quoth the Cooper, I fay, 
 I will not come emptie-handed away. 
 
 The Cooper went and filled his hat ; 
 The Bruer (hall 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 He of Wight ^ in this prefent yeare 
 of oure Lord God MD Ixiiij. the month of 
 October y after this forme, with a clufler of longe 
 heare about the nauell : the Fathers name is 
 James Johnfun, 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, mifhappen 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, 
 
 Mofle 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 fhall 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 preachyng be, from fynfuU lyfe 
 
 to chaunge : 
 For in this latter dayes trulye, the Lord ftraunge 
 
 fyghts doth fhowe. 
 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 : j 
 
 Nowe, Lorde, fende downe thy Holy Spryte, the i 
 
 confortor of joy e, I 
 
 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 j 
 
 graunt vs this, good Lorde ! ; 
 
 Finis, quod John Barkar. \ 
 
 C Imprynted at London, in Flete Strete, at the : 
 
 fygne of the Faucon, by Wylliam Gryffith, and ! 
 
 are to be folde at his fhop in Saint Dunftons j 
 
 churchyarde, in the weft of London, the viij. | 
 
 daye of Nouember. \ 
 
 •] 
 
 ^^#^ I 
 
 The Jirjl part of the Mar chants Daughter \ 
 
 of Brtjiow, \ 
 
 To the tune of The Maydens Joy. j 
 
 i 
 
 EHOLD the touchftone of true loue, j 
 
 Maudlin the Marchants daughter j 
 
 of Briftow towne, ' 
 
 Whofe firme aiFe6lion nothing could \ 
 
 moue, — \ 
 
 Such fauour beares the louely browne. i 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 67 
 
 C 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. 
 
 C The young man now, perceiuing well. 
 He Gould 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 true loue, his faire and conftant Maudlin, 
 
 With muficke fweete that did excel! 
 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. 
 
 V 
 
 C 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. 
 
 C With trickling teares thus did he fing. 
 
 With fighes and fobs defcending from his hart 
 ful fore ; 
 
68 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 I 
 
 He fayth, when he his hands did wring, — : 
 
 Farewell, fweete loue, for euermore ! i 
 
 i 
 
 C Faire Maudlin, from a window hie, ' 
 
 Beholdes her true loue with his muficke where ! 
 
 he ftood, \ 
 
 But not a word fhe durft reply. 
 
 Fearing her parents angry mood. j 
 
 C In teares (he fpendes the doleful! night, j 
 
 Wifhing herfelfe (though naked) with her j 
 
 faithful friend ; 1 
 
 She blames her friendes and fortunes fpight, ' 
 
 That wrought their loues fuch luckles end. i 
 
 C And in her hart fhe makes a vow ; 
 
 Cleaneto forfake her countrey and her kinsfolke ' 
 
 all. i 
 
 And for to follow her true loue now, ] 
 
 ? i 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 fhe efpies. J 
 
 C A gallant maifter among them all — j 
 
 The maifter of a faire and goodly fhip was he — \ 
 
 Which there ftood waighting in the hall, \ 
 
 To fpeake with her father, if it might be. ^ 
 
 C She kindly takes him by the hand, — j 
 
 Good fir, fhe fayd, and would you fpeake with i 
 any heere : 
 
 Quoth he, faire mayde, therefore I ftand. | 
 
 Then, gentle fir, I pray you come neere. - 
 
 1 
 
Il AND BROADSIDES. 69 
 
 C Into a pleafant parlour by. 
 
 With hand in hand fhe bringes this feaman all 
 alone. 
 Sighing to him moft pitteoufly, — 
 
 She thus to him did make her mone. 
 
 C She falles upon her tender knee, — 
 
 Good fir, (he fayd, now pitty you a maydens 
 woe. 
 
 And proue a faythfull friend to me. 
 That I to you my griefe may fhew. 
 
 4[ Sith you repofe fuch truft, he fayd. 
 
 To me that am unknowne, and eke a ftranger 
 heere. 
 
 Be you aflured, proper mayde, 
 Moft faythfull ftill I will appeare. 
 
 C I haue a brother, fir, quoth flie. 
 
 Whom as my lyfe I loue and fauour tenderly ; 
 In Padua, alas ! is he. 
 
 Full ficke, God wot, and like to die. 
 
 C 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 fhe him a tender kiiTe, { 
 
 And fayth, your feruant, gallant maifter, I will , 
 
 be, ! 
 
 And proue your faythfull friend for this, — i 
 
 Sweete maifter, then forget not me. \ 
 
 C This done, as they had both decreed, | 
 
 Soone after, early, euen before the breake of \ 
 
 He bringes her garments then with fpeed, I 
 
 Wherein fhe doth herfelfe array. ] 
 
 C And ere her father did arife. 
 
 She meetes her maifter as he walked in the hall ;1 
 
 She did attend on him likewife, i 
 
 Euen till her father did him call. 
 
 C But ere the marchant made an end 
 
 Of all thofe matters to the maifter he could fay, '■ 
 
 His wife came weeping in with fpeed, j 
 
 Saying, our daughter is gone away. { 
 
 C The marchant, much amazed in minde, J 
 
 Yonder vilde wretch entic't away my child, I 
 
 quoth he ; < 
 
 But well I wot I ftiall him find | 
 
 At Padua in Italie. 1 
 
 C With that befpake the maifter braue : j 
 
 Worftiipfull marchant, thither goes this pretty j 
 
 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 fhe, if there thou do ft 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 fhe fpake vnto her 
 child : 
 
 And after her maifter ftraight fhe 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. 
 
 T^he fecond part of the Marchants Daughter 
 of Brijiow, 
 
 To the tune of The Maidens Joy. 
 
 ELCOME, fweet Maudlin, from the fea, 
 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 malfter, then quoth fhe, — j 
 
 A faithful friend in al my forows thou haft ; 
 
 beene; — 
 
 If fortune once doth fmile on me, i 
 
 My thankful! heart fhall well be feene. ■] 
 
 \ 
 
 \ Bleft be the land that feedesjny_ 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 j 
 
 / Sweete M. in al her iorneys vp and downe ; i 
 
 In wealth and woe thy part He take, \ 
 
 And bring thee fafs to Padua towne. \ 
 
 And, after many weary fteps, ^ 
 
 In Padua they fafe ariued at the laft ; i 
 
 For verie ioy her heart it leapes, — I 
 
 She thinkes not on her perills paft. \ 
 
 But now, alas, behold the lucke ! \ 
 
 Her own true loue in woful priibn doth fhe 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 mafie. 
 
 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 fhare. 
 
 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 opprefTe. 
 
 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 ftiould fcale the fkies. 
 
 When M. heard her louers mone. 
 
 Her eies with tears, her hart with forow filled was ; 
 To fpeak with him no means was known. 
 
 Such grieuous ... on him did pafle. 
 
 Then caft flie off her ladies attire, 
 
 A maidens weede upon her back ftie feemly fet ; 
 
74 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 To the iudges houfe fhe 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 firme afFedtions 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 canfl deuife. 
 
 And I wil grant it vnto thee. 
 Whereby thy credite may arife. 
 
 fir, fhe faid, how blefl am I, 
 
 With fuch a kind and gentle maifler for to meete ! 
 
 1 will not your requefl 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, 
 
 Opprefl 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 pafTmg 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 fhe doth aray, i 
 
 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 fhe was ful wel he finds, i 
 
 The friar likewife was not coy, ^ 
 
 But did declare to him at large ] 
 The enterprife his loue for him had taken in . I 
 hand : 
 
 The yong man did the friar charge, i 
 
 His loue fhould flraight depart the land. ] 
 
 Here is no place for her, he faid. 
 
 But woful death and danger of her harmles life ; 
 ProfefTmg truth I was betraid. 
 
 And feareful fla^ies mufl end our flrife. 
 
 For ere I wil m.f faith denie. 
 
 And fweare rhyfelf to follow damnde antichrift. 
 He yeeld my bodie for to die. 
 
 To Hue in heauen with the highefl. 
 
 O fir, the gentle friar faid. 
 
 For your fweete loue recant and faue your 
 wifhed life : 
 A wofull match, quoth he, is made. 
 
 Where Chrift is lofl, to winne a wife. 
 
76. ANCIENT BALLADS i 
 
 When fhe had wroght al means fhe might 
 
 To faue her friend, and that fhe faw it wold not : 
 be, I 
 
 Then of the iudge jfhe claimd her right \ 
 
 To die the death as well as he. j 
 
 For looke what faith he doth profefTe, 
 
 In that fame faith be fure that I wil Hue and dy ; — 
 
 Then eafe vs both in our diftrefle, j 
 
 Let vs not Hue in miferie. ] 
 
 i 
 
 When no perfwafion would preuaile, \ 
 
 Nor change her mind in anything that fhe had; 
 
 faid, i 
 
 She was with him condemnd to die, :i 
 
 And for them both one fire made. | 
 
 And arme in arme, moft ioyfully, 
 
 Thefe louers twain vnto the fire then did go, — \ 
 The mariners, mofl faithfully, \ 
 
 Were likewife partners of their woe. \ 
 
 But when the iudges vnderflood • j 
 
 The faithful frindfhip in them al that did re- : 
 
 maine, i 
 
 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, i 
 
 And to mery Briflow arriued at the lafl. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 77 
 
 Great ioy there was of al and fome. 
 That heard the dangers they had paft. 
 
 Her father he was dead, God wot. 
 
 And eke her mother was ioyful of her fight ; 
 Their wifhes Ihe denied not. 
 
 But wedded them with hearts delight. 
 
 Her gentle maifter fhe defirde 
 
 To be her father, and at church to giue her then; 
 It was fulfild as fhe requirde. 
 
 Unto the ioy of all good men ! 
 
 Finis. 
 Printed at London for William Blackwall. 
 
78 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 A brtefe fonet declaring the lamentation of^\ 
 BeckleSy a Market 'Towne in Suffolke^ which', 
 was in the great winde vpon S. Andrewes eue\ 
 pitifully burned with fire, to the value by efii-' 
 mation of tweentie thoufande pounds, and to the], 
 number of four ef core dwelling houfes, befides a. 
 great number of other houfes, 1586. 
 
 To the tune of Labandalajhotte, ;! 
 
 Y louing good 'neighbours, that comes I 
 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, mofl 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 j 
 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 fb nye, ; 
 
 The frefh-water river fo fweete running by, "\ 
 
 My medowes and commons fuchprofped of health, \ 
 My fayers in fomer fo garnifht with wealth. 
 My market fo ferued with corne, flefh, and ^^, \ 
 And all kinde of vi(5tuals that poore men would I 
 wifli ; j 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 79 
 
 That who but knewe Beckles, with fighing may 
 
 faye, 
 Would God of his mercie had fparde my decaye 
 
 But, O my deftrudlion ! O moft difmall day ! ; 
 
 My temple is fpoyled, and brought in decay, ] 
 
 My marketfted burned, my beautie defaced, j 
 
 My wealth ouerwhelmed, my people difplaced ! ; 
 
 My muficke is wayling, my mirth it is moone, i 
 
 My ioyes are departed, my comfort is gone ; i 
 
 My people, poore creatures, are mourning in woe, ! 
 
 Still wandring, not wotting which waye for to goe, ] 
 Like (illie poore Troians, whom Sinon betrayde ; a rude feiow 
 But, God, of thy mercy releeue them with ayde ! ^y fiering his 
 
 ' ^ J J J chimney, pre 
 
 cured their c 
 
 O daye moft vnluckie ! the winde lowde in ikie, ^^"''"^* 
 
 The water harde frofen, the houfes fo drye ; j 
 
 To fee fuch a burning, fuch flaming of fire, . 
 
 Such wayling, fuch crying, through fcourge of I 
 
 Gods ire, I 
 Such running, fuch working, fuch taking of payne. 
 
 Such whirling, fuch haling, fuch reauing in vaine ; j 
 
 Such robbing, fuch ftealing, from more to the lefte, j 
 
 Such difhoneft dealing, in time of diftrefTe ; j 
 
 That who fo hard-hearted, and worne out of grace, ] 
 
 But pittie may pierce him to thinke of my cafe. I 
 
 But, O my good neighbours, that fee mine eftate, i 
 
 Be all one as Chriftians, not Hue in debate; j 
 
 With wrapping and trapping each other in thrall, .; 
 
 With watching and pryeng at each others fall, i 
 
 With houing, and fhouing, and ftriuing in lawe, j 
 
 Of God nor his Gofpell once ftanding in awe ; I 
 
 Lyue not in heart-burning, at God neuer wreft, 1 
 
 To Chrift ance be turning, not vfe him in left, \ 
 
8o ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 Liue louely together, and not in difcorde ; 
 Let me be your mirrour to liue in the Lorde ! 
 
 But, though God haue pleafed, for finne to i 
 
 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 : I 
 
 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 ; i 
 
 Thus, farewell ! Forget not my wofull annoye ; i 
 God fend you good new yeare and bleffe me with; 
 
 ioye ! j 
 
 ] 
 Finis quod D. Sterrie. ] 
 
 Foelix quem faciunt aliena pericula cautum. • 
 
 Ech {lately towre with mightie walles vp prope, \ 
 Ech loftie roofe which golden wealth hath raifed,i 
 All flickering wealth which flies in firmeft hope,j 
 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. i 
 
 At London : j 
 
 Imprinted by Robert Robinfon, for Nicholas \ 
 
 Colman of Norwich, dwelling in S. \ 
 
 Andrewes Church Yarde. 1 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 81 
 
 A proper new e /one t declaring the lamentation 
 of Beckles [a market towne in] Suffolke, which 
 was in the great winde vpon S. Andrewes eue 
 laft paft moft pittifully burned with fire, to the 
 lojfe by eftimation of twentie thoufande pound 
 and vpwarde, and to the number of foure fcore 
 dwelling houjesy 1586. 
 
 To Wilfon's 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, 
 Repleniftied 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 fi(h. 
 
 A faire frefh riuer running by. 
 
 To profite me withall. 
 Who with a criftall cleered ftreame 
 
 About my bankes did fall ; 
 
 G 
 
82 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 My fay res in fomer welthely | 
 
 For to increafe my ftore ; \ 
 
 My medowes greene and commons great^ — 'j 
 
 What could I wifh for more ? i 
 
 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, kindhng 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 diftrefie, 
 
 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 mo ft accurfed crime ! j 
 
 Thus, from the morning nyne a clocke -i 
 
 Till four aclocke at night, 1 
 Fourefcore houfes in Beckle's towne 
 
 Was burnd to afties quite ; j 
 
 And that which moft laments my heart, 1 
 
 The houie of God, I fay, I 
 
 The church and temple by this fyre ; 
 
 Is cleane confumde away. 1 
 
 i 
 
 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 j 
 
 But in his heart would grieue, j 
 
 To fee the fmart I did fuftaine j 
 
 Vpon faint Andrewes eue. ] 
 
 Wherefore, good Chriftian people, now ' 
 
 Take warning by my fall, — n 
 
 Liue not in ftrife and enuious hate ! 
 
 To breed each other thrall ; \ 
 
 Seeke not your neighbors lafting fpoyle j 
 
 By greedy fiite in lawe ; | 
 Liue not in difcord and debate, . ^ 
 
 Which doth deftrudlion draw. ,| 
 
 ■I 
 
 And flatter not yourfelues in finne, ^ 
 
 Holde not Gods worde in fcorne. 
 
 Repine not at his minifters, j 
 
 Nor be not falfe forfworne ; 1 
 
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, j 
 
 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, j 
 
 Be louing, meeke and kinde, — \ 
 
 Lay rage and rancour cleane afide, j 
 
 Set malice from your minde ; i 
 
 And liue in loue and charitie, . 
 
 All hatefull pride detefl-. 
 And fo you fhall with happie dayes 
 
 For euermore be bleft. 
 
 And thus I ende my wofull fbng, j 
 
 Befeeching God I may \ 
 
 Remaine a mirrour to all fuch \ 
 
 That doe in pleafure ftay ; j 
 
 And that amongeft their greateft mirth \ 
 
 And chiefeft ioye of all, i 
 
 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. i 
 
 Andrewes church yard. , 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 
 
 85 
 
 Franklins Farewell to the World, 
 
 With his Chriftian Contrition in Frijon^ before 
 his Death, 
 
 AR WELL, vaine world, whofe com- 
 forts all are cares, 
 Whofe gaines are lofTe, whofe liberty 
 are fnares, 
 Whofe gold is droffe, whofe wifedome is meere 
 
 folly, ^ 
 W^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 tranlitory 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 fpedacle 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, country es, and my foules abufe. \ 
 From crime to crime ftill plundging further in, ; 
 With my continuall adding iinne to finne, j 
 
 Till finne on finne at laft brought fhame on fhame, ; 
 And fhame on fhame paid the defert of blame. 
 My thoughtsfurmis'dth' Almighties eyes were hid, j 
 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 fhall neuer dare to doe the like, ; 
 
 Leaft (like to me) his vengeance them doe ftrike. ' 
 Then let a dying friend good counfell giue 1 
 
 To all efl:ates and fexes how they Hue : i 
 
 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 ; j 
 
 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, j 
 
 (By th' interceflion of his onely Sonne,) \ 
 
 So that my fl:edfaft 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 Crofi^e 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 hfe-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 Chrift 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, flefh, 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 (hall 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 adlion dye ! 
 Farewell, moft facred and renowned king, 
 Whofe equall iudgement through the world doth 
 
 ring, 
 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 Hue with thee immortally ! 
 
 Finis. 
 
 Printed at London, for Henry GofTon. 
 
88 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C The XXV. orders of Fooles. 
 
 TAY 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 againfl 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 doefl: dwell. 
 Thou fhalt haue a bable and a bell. 
 
 C He is a foole that his finnes can not hate, — 
 Naught young, worfe olde, fuch is his eflate : 
 This olde foole is glad of that name, 
 Defiryng all men to take parte of the fame. 
 > This foole mufl 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 foohfhnes they fhall fufFer payne ; 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew 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 fhall. 
 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 fhew 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 lafl ; 
 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the 
 rayne. 
 
90 ANCIENT BALLADS ' 
 
 C Another foole yet I doe here fynd^ j 
 
 Which can not kepe clofe the fecrets of his mynd : ; 
 
 This is a natural! foole, and vndifcrete, i 
 
 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. i 
 
 C He is a foole that in youth wyll not prouyde, — j 
 
 In age muft he fterue, or in pouertie abyde : j 
 
 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, j 
 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the I 
 
 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, wrongful J ye got, — \ 
 
 Why, thou foole ! thy golde is muk and clay, j 
 
 knoweft thou not ? ] 
 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, \ 
 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the j 
 
 rayne. ! 
 
 C He is a foole, whether he be man or wyfe, 1 
 
 Whiche flyll deliteth in difcorde and flryfe : j 
 
 Such fooles their owne flefh to the bones may gnaw, j 
 
 That contendeth in matters fcant worth a flraw ; ■ 
 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, \ 
 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the \ 
 
 rayne. j 
 
 \ 
 C He is a foole that on mefTage is fent, j 
 
 And, when he is on his way, forget whether he went v. 
 
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 fhew 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 fhew 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 fhew 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 fhew very playne, 
 A hood for thefe fooks, to kepe them from 
 the rayne. 
 
 C He is a foole that greatly doth flatter and boaft, 
 When he thinks leaft, he Ihall taft of the roft ! 
 This foole at lafl: 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 i 
 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 ; j 
 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, j 
 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the ; 
 
 rayne. j 
 
 C He is a naturall foole, and a very daw, ' 
 
 That from doing good his neighbour doth with- j 
 
 draw : \ 
 
 Such froward fooles, all goodnes they defile, ; 
 
 If their neighbours doe good, then they reuile ; : 
 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, j 
 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the ] 
 
 rayne. I 
 
 C He is a foole, and greatly vnprouable, I 
 
 That in all his doings he is vnfortunable, | 
 
 But in his misfortune he is fb blynd, | 
 
 He neuer confidereth no remedy in mynd ; 'I 
 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, j 
 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the ,; 
 
 rayne. j 
 
 \ 
 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 fhew very playne, 
 A hood for this foole, to kepe him from the 
 rayne. 
 
 C Yet more fooles there be, which be vncom- 
 
 mendable. 
 That vfeth yll manners alway at the table : 
 Of pleafant nurtour they haue no heede. 
 But beaftly entend as fwyne alway to feede ; 
 And, as the prouerbe doth fhew very playne, 
 A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from 
 the rayne. 
 
 C Many fooles there be, in thefe our dayes. 
 Which feeme to be wyfe, yet folow foolifh wayes ; 
 Therfore I haue tolde vnto you very playne. 
 What foolifhnes in thefe dayes in many doth re- 
 mayne ; 
 And, as the prouerfie doth (hew very playne, 
 A hood for thefe fooles, to kepe them from 
 the rayne. 
 
 <r He is a foole, that wyll ftyll defyre 
 His owne death, to runne into the fyre : 
 And he is a foole, that hath no mynd deuoute. 
 But 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. 
 
 C 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 fhall. 
 
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, 
 
 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 fhall 
 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, i 
 
 And in their ftede fet ydols long, ' 
 
 And made people, with prayfe and Tong, • 
 
 On them to call. ■ 
 
 Thus vermin darke the maftry had 1 
 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, — i 
 
 All for their pope \ 
 
 To haue their kingdome raygne alway, I 
 
 And they themfelues to beare the fway. 
 
 And blindly grope. : 
 
 Al this not yet their mindes fyllyng, i 
 For no regarde to natiue land. 
 
 Fearing again Gods light fhould fpring, | 
 
 Brought merfhial law forthwith in hand \ 
 
 Againft al fuch as would withftand ] 
 Their wicked raygne and cruel! band, 
 
 And Gods part take ; .. 
 
 Or els in priuye places founde, \ 
 
 Praying to God proftrate on ground, \ 
 
 His wrath to flake. J 
 
 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 ! i 
 
 And be ye fure ye fhall attayne \ 
 
 To heauens blyiTe wythout more payne, 
 
 And fo mendes make. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 97 
 
 Lofles 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 ; j 
 
 When al thys was fene in this realme here, \ 
 
 Yet, fayd thefe owles, we nede not feare, | 
 
 For all was well. | 
 
 No lofTe haue we by heritikes gone, \ 
 
 Ne for Calis for whych ye mone I 
 
 Whych here do dwell. ' 
 
 Yet God as God, ftyll alwaies one, \ 
 
 Though angry, yet began to ftay, j 
 
 Plaging the realme and people eche one, — \ 
 
 At laft with teares beganne to faye : i 
 
 Oh England! England! fore doeft thou ftray ; — j 
 
 My martirs bloud fhed out thys day, ^ 
 
 In wofull plyght ! i 
 
 The infantes yong that fatherles be, \ 
 
 Wyth wydowes poore crying to me, ' 
 
 Wythdrawes my fpyte. i 
 
 With that the fkies their hue did change, ^ 
 And light out-fhone in darkenes fteede ; 
 
 Up, {aid this God with voice not ft range, \ 
 
 Elizabeth, thys realme nowe guyde ! 1 
 
 My wyll in thee doo not thou hyde, 1 
 
 And vermine darke let not abyde \ 
 
 In thys thy land ! j 
 
 Straightway the people out dyd cry, — i 
 
 Prayfed be God and God faue thee, 
 
 Quene of England ! j 
 
 Finis, quod I. A. "! 
 
 C Imprinted at London by lohn Awdeley. i 
 
 H . 1 
 
98 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 A Ballad without title ^ having a large cut 
 reprejenting Jive figures, that of Death with his 
 dart purjuing them, with legends underneath | 
 each, as follows : — j 
 
 The Priejl. " I praye for yov fower." j 
 
 The King. " I defende yov fower." % 
 
 The Harlot. " I vanquefh yov fower." \ 
 
 The Lawyer. " I helpe yov iiij to yovr right." \ 
 
 The Clown. " I feede yov fower." ! 
 
 Death, " I kill yov all." j 
 
 In the background in a bower are feated the foldier, the j 
 harlot, the lawyer, and prieft. A feftive board furnilhed with \ 
 viands is fupported on the back of the clown, who refts on his i 
 hands and knees. Death approaching with his dart clutches \ 
 at fomething on the table. Birds of prey are hovering in the \ 
 
 ARKE well the eiFed purtreyed here i 
 in all : 
 
 The prelate with his dignities renowne, \ 
 
 The king that rules, the lawyer in the j 
 
 hall, ] 
 
 The harlot and the countrey toyling clowne, ^ 
 
 Howe and which way together they agree, • | 
 
 And what their talke and conference might be. j 
 
 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 moft holy power « 
 
 It doth depend their caufes to fuffife ; — \ 
 
 I pray, faith he, that Chrifts continual grace : 
 
 May them condu6t and guide in euery place. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 99 
 
 The puifTant king, he claimeth to defend. 
 The bifhop and the other three hke cafe. 
 In all conflides 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 vanquifh all fhe makes her prized clame. 
 And that fhe ought the golden fpurs to haue. 
 For by her flights fhe can bewitch the befl. 
 The flrong, 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 fhould all perifh than ; 
 What fay you now to me, the countrey man ? 
 
 For want of me they fhould both liue and lacke, 
 For want of me they could not till the earth, 
 ^nd 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. 
 
loo ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 A 
 
 Death that aloofe in ftealing wile doth (land, \ 
 Hearing the vaunts that they begin to make, | 
 Straight fteppeth forth, with piercing dart in hand, j 
 And boldly feemes the quarell vp to take, — ^ 
 Are they, faith he, fo proud in their degree ? \ 
 Lo, here by me foone conquered fhall they bee ! I 
 
 And (landing by to giue their later foode, i 
 
 He entreth ftraight, the conqueft to attaine ; j 
 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 fhrine them all in clay. \ 
 
 I pray for you all, I vanquifh you all, ; 
 
 1 help you all to your right, I feede you all, ; 
 I defend you all, I will kill you all. i 
 
 (*#*) 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 BROADSlDK'fi,^ ^ ^ > •' i<>\^ 
 
 C A godly ballad declaring by the Scriptures 
 the plagues that haue infued whordome. 
 
 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, l 
 
 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 fting deftroith with venem colde, \ 
 
 Is not fo noifome to be fled, \ 
 
 As luft that reigneth vncontrolde. i 
 
 If reafbn cannot rule thy wil, | 
 
 But vice wil reign through appetite, \ 
 
 Then let the harmes, that happen ftil j 
 
 Through lufts, refrain thy fond delight. \ 
 
 Remember eke that in Noes dayes, J 
 
 When vice through luft was rifly growne, I 
 
 The whole world by fuche wicked waies, \ 
 
 By rage of rain was ouerthrowne. ] 
 
? 
 
 iGf2< . - ■A^'CI'-kNT BALLADS 
 
 The king of Egipt, Pharao, 
 
 Was he not plagued of God mofte iuft ; ^ 
 
 Bothe he and all his houfe alfo, j 
 
 Onely for he gaue place to Iuft. i 
 
 li 
 
 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 luft were flain the Sichamites, ] 
 
 When Sichem Dina had oppreft. ] 
 
 Luft did the wits fo muche inchaunt 
 Of Putipher, th^ipdans wife. 
 
 That Jofeph, for he would not graunt 
 Her fute, ihe brought nigh from his life. 
 
 Bethfaba, naked in bath. 
 
 Bewitched fo king Dauids brain. 
 
 That giltles he procured hath 
 Her huft)and Vry to be flain. 
 
 The cheef among the Ifraelites, 
 For noughty luft and eke oiFence, 
 
 Wrought by the meanes of Moabites, 
 Were hanged vp by Gods fentence. 
 
 For luft Zimry the Ifraelite, 
 As witnefleth Gods holy woord. 
 
 And Coftjy eke the Madianite, 
 
 Periftied 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 fiue ; 
 
 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 worfhiping. 
 
 If Herod, in his finful life. 
 
 Had not by luft been fore mifled. 
 He 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 Hue 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. 
 
 C Imprinted at London, at the long fhop adioin- 
 ing vnto Saind: Mildreds churche in the Poul- 
 trie, by John Allde, Anno Domini 1566, 
 Nouembris 25. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 105 
 
 ^ merie newe Ballad intituled, the Pinnyng 
 of the Bajket : and is to heejonge 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 fhop. 
 
 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 Ihe 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 he at the good ale tappe, 
 
 Thou haft that thou would eft haue ! 
 
 This quiet man acquainted was 
 
 With her rough talke. 
 And paciently doeth with her pafTe, 
 
 And homeward waJke, — 
 Tantara, tara, tantara ; — 
 
 At home ftie 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, goflip, giue it hym, and fee, 
 
 You pinne the fame, — 
 Tantara, tara, tantara; — 
 
 Now doeth the fporte beginne ; 
 Knowe thou, quoth ftie, fir knaue, that I 
 
 The bafket will not pinne ! 
 
 Her houfebande, fore infenfte, did fweare 
 
 By ftockes and ftones. 
 She fhould, 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. 107 
 
 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 baiket pafTyng 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 (he 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 ftie fhould knowe the caufe 
 
 Of his long tariyng there. 
 
io8 ANCIENT BALLADS j 
 
 Then boldly he began his tale, ; 
 
 And tolde them all, \ 
 
 Betwixt thefe two, how Beaudly Ale i 
 
 Had bred a braull, — , 
 
 Tantara, tar a, tantara ; — j 
 
 Quoth he, the chandlers wife \ 
 
 Would not intreated be to pinne "^ 
 
 The bafket 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; — j 
 
 The joigner ioyes at this, j 
 
 But fure his wife, to heare this tale, | 
 
 vs\Vas quite bereft of blifle. ^ 
 
 The joigners wife ame, ■ 
 
 Whofe gallant grace ' 
 
 Was chaunged, now beganne to frame I 
 
 A frounyng face, — I 
 
 Tantara, tara, tantara ; — j 
 
 Quoth fhe, — For all his bloofe, % 
 
 The knaue the bafket fhould haue pinde ; 
 
 Hymfelf, fpight of his nofe ! i 
 
 \ 
 
 Here then her houfebande did beginne, — \ 
 
 Quoth he,— If I i 
 
 Should bid you, wife, the bafket pinne, ; 
 
 Would you deny ? — \ 
 Tantara, tara, tantara ; — 
 
 To hym fhe plainly tolde J 
 That fhe the bafket would not pinne. 
 
 Thereof he might be bolde ! \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 109 j 
 
 Then thei hereof for to conferre \ 
 
 Doe hafte to bedde, \ 
 
 And here you fee a feconde iarre, j 
 
 The bafket bredde, — '\ 
 
 Tantara, tara^ tantara ; — 1 
 
 The thirde doeth now beginne, — ^ 
 
 The filhe page^ to get ibme maate, j 
 
 In hafte doeth hye hym in. j 
 
 No whit amazde, vnto the maide \ 
 
 He ftraight doeth goe, 
 
 The queane of hym no more afraide, j 
 
 Beganne to crowe, — \ 
 
 Tantara, tara, tantara, — | 
 
 Caulyng hym knaue and fot, 1 
 
 And vfed hym, that, in the ende, \ 
 
 A broken head he got. \ 
 
 Henceforthe take heede of makyng ftrife, ] 
 
 Thou knaue, quoth fhe, l 
 
 Betwixt thy maifter and his wife, j 
 
 Where loue fhould be, — ^ 
 
 Tantara, tar a, tantara ; — '\ 
 
 With greef her wordes he heares ; 1 
 
 But yet it grieued hym more to feele ' 
 
 The blood about his eares. ; 
 
 i 
 
 Yet vp he ftept full ftoutly then, j 
 
 And bomde me Jone ; 1 
 
 That fhe lent he fo paide againe, j 
 
 He made her grone,-^ j 
 
 Tantara, tar a, tantara, — i 
 
 And getts his fupper too, j 
 
 And made her fitte and eate with hym, i 
 
 Although with muche adoe. .! 
 
 I 
 
o ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 His maifter on the morowe nexte \ 
 
 Of this was glad ; l 
 
 His miftres was herewith fo vexte, I 
 
 It made her mad, — ; 
 
 Tantara, tara, tantara ; — \ 
 
 This happe brynges ioye and care, | 
 
 For now the joigners wife to pinne ? 
 
 The bafket mufl: prepare. \ 
 
 \ 
 Her houfebande by his mans good happe 
 
 Doeth hope to winne, \ 
 
 And makes her now, fpite of her cappe, J 
 
 The bafket pinne, — ] 
 
 Tantara, tara, tantara, — ! 
 
 Againe he doeth repHe ; \ 
 
 Will you the bafket pinne or no ? '\ 
 
 She floutly doeth denie. j 
 
 Then with a bedftafFe he to bafle i 
 
 Her doeth beginne : 
 
 Yet would fhe not, for all his hafle, i 
 
 The bafket pinne ; — i 
 
 Tantara, tara, tantara, — ^ 
 
 This combate beyng doen. 
 
 Unto a Juflice houi^ hard by, \ 
 
 In hafle this dame doeth runne. I 
 
 ^ 
 
 And to this ioylly Juflice wife \ 
 
 Difcoueryng all, j 
 
 Betwixt her fpoufe and her what fl:rife i 
 
 Did late befall, — j 
 
 Tantara, tara, tantara, — i 
 
 Whom fhe would faine haue bounde ] 
 
 Unto the peace, if by the happe \ 
 
 There might fuche meanes be founde. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. ill 
 
 Of this her frende the francke confent 
 
 She fone had wone. 
 To doe for her incontinent 
 
 What might be doen, — 
 Tantara, tara, tantara, — 
 
 This Juftice wife now gofe. 
 Her goffipps fute in hafte vnto 
 
 Her houfebande to difclofe. 
 
 Her houfebande, hearyng by this tale 
 
 How all thynges ftood. 
 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. 
 
 [ 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 
 
 € The defcription of a monjirous pig, the\ 
 which was farrowed at Hamjied bejyde London y 
 the XV i day of O^fober, this prefent yeare of our\ 
 
 Lord God 3 M.D, Ixii, I 
 
 } 
 
 HIS prefent yeare of our Lord God, ai 
 thoufandj fyue hundred, three fcore; 
 and two, one Robert Martin of Ham- 
 fted, in the countie of Mid. befydel 
 London, had a fow, the which brought forth viii; 
 piggs, the xvi day of Odlober, whereof vii werei 
 of right fhape and faffion, but the eight was a; 
 wonderous monfter, and more monftrous then anyi 
 that hath bene feene before this time, as you mayj 
 fe by this pidlure. It hath a head contrary to allj 
 other of that kynd ; it hath a face without a nofe-i 
 or eyes, fauing a hole ftanding diredlly betweni 
 the two eares, which eares be broad and long, lykej 
 the eares of a bloude-hound, and a monftrous body, I 
 like vnto a thing that were flean, without heare.j 
 It hath ^t^t 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-l 
 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 
 
 ilb |f^ • iv 1\ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 113 
 
 we will not be inftru6led by his worde nor warned 
 by his wonderfull workes, then let vs be afTured 
 that thefe ftraimge monftrous fightes do forefhew 
 vnto vs that his heauy indignation wyl fhortly 
 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 dodrine 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- j 
 mentes. 
 To publifli your lightie loue doth mee con- ' 
 ftrayne. 
 
 C Deceite is not daintie, it corns at eche difli, ' 
 Fraude goes a fifshyng with frendly lookes ; 
 
 Throughe frendfhip is fpoyled the feely poore fifh, j 
 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 I 
 
 Then loute ye and floute ye, wherby doth appere; 
 
 Your hghty loue. Ladies, ftyll cloaked with . 
 
 glofe. I 
 
 C With DiAN fo chafte you feeme to compare, : 
 When H ELLENS 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 refped : | 
 
 But ones ingratitude doth mee conftrayne, 1 
 
 As childe hurt with fire, the fame to negledt; < 
 
 For proouing in louyng, I finde by good triall, i 
 When beautie had brought mee vnto her becke,i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 115 
 
 She ftaying, not waying, but made a deniall. 
 And, fhewyng her Hghtie 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 ftande then with Cupid againft their repHe ; 
 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 CrefTed 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 fhew you as conftant as is the fea fande : 
 To trufte fo vniuft, that all is but fliieftes. 
 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 hghtie loue, ladies, indeede. 
 
i6 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 € Ye men that are fubiedl to Cupid his ftrooke, i 
 
 And therin feemeth to haue your delight, 
 Thinke, when you fee baight, theres hidden a \ 
 hooke, J 
 
 Whichefurewyll bane you, if that you do bight :i 
 Suche wiles and fuche guiles by women are wrought,^ 
 
 That halfe their mifchefes men cannot preuent ;i 
 When they are moft pleafant vnto your thought,! 
 
 Then nothyng but lightie loue is their intent, j 
 
 C Confider that poyfon doth lurke oftentyme ; 
 
 In fhape of fugre, to put fome to payne, j 
 
 And fayre wordes paynted, as dames can define, j 
 
 The olde prouerbe faith, doth make fome fooles; 
 
 faine ! \ 
 
 Be wife and precife, take warning by mee ; i 
 
 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 i 
 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 vanifh, and light doth j 
 
 appeare ; \ 
 
 You cannot diffemble, nor hide it no more, ; 
 
 Your loue is but lightie loue, this is moft cleared 
 
 C For Troylus tried the fame ouer well, ! 
 
 In louyng his ladie, as Fame doth reporte ; ! 
 And likewife Menander, as ftories doth tell, i 
 
 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, j 
 
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 fhew you my minde ; 
 
 Fayre ladies, I wifh 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 refped 
 
 The danger by mee right well it is feene. 
 And loue and his lawes who would not negledl. 
 
 The tryall wherof mofte peryllous beene ? 
 Pretendyng the endyng if I haue oiFended, 
 
 I craue of you, ladies, an anfwere againe ; 
 Amende, and whats faid fhall foone be amended. 
 
 If cafe that your lightie loue no longer do rayne. 
 
 C Finis. By Leonarde Gybfon. 
 
 C Imprinted at London, in the vpper end of 
 Fleetlane, by Richard Jhones ; and are to be 
 folde at his fhop, ioyning to the South- wefte 
 Dore of Saint Paules church. 
 
m?t^m\ 
 
 118 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 J 
 
 I 
 
 The fiery cannons thump { 
 
 The cragged fcull that riues, ; 
 
 Whofe force by inwarde charge is wonte 1 
 To {poyle poore fbuldiers Hues, 
 
 Could neuer force me yet J 
 
 The enemies face to fhonne, ] 
 
 If captaines courage femed fit j 
 The conquefl to haue wonne. 
 
 And for the time, perchaunce, 
 
 I was accepted then, ' 
 
 And promifed to haue aduaunce ^ 
 
 As fbone as other men. ' 
 
 I fpeake as fbunde I haue ; — { 
 
 What thoe ? I am contente, — ' 
 
 For Saparton now waxeth graue, i 
 
 Some youthfull yeares are fpente. I 
 
 Tis not the curled head, j 
 
 Nor yet the frifled heare, ^ 
 
 That courage giues in time of neede 
 
 To weld thunweldy fpeare. ] 
 
 Some youthfull imps I knowe, j 
 
 That beares a pafling grace. 
 
 If they to pitched fielde fhould goe, \ 
 
 Durft fcarfly fhew 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. j 
 
 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 foyle ; 
 Encounter iharpely 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 jfhoppe vnder the Lotterie houfe. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 121 
 
 ^ godly ditty or prayer to be fong vnto God 
 for the preferuation of his Churchy our ^eene 
 and Realme^ againfi all 'TraytourSy Rebels^ and 
 papijiicall 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 vanquifti al her foes ; 
 And, as by thee appoynted, 
 
 Let her lay fword on thofe. 
 
 Geue, Lord, true faythful hartes 
 
 To vs, her fubiedles 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 
 
 Jufl: plagues on vs to poure. 
 
 Yet let thy Chriftes death fhortly 
 
 Thy wrath vp cleane deuour. 
 
122 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 Correft vs. Lord, by thine own hand. 
 
 And leaue vs not to thofe .! 
 
 That do thee and thy truth withftand, i 
 
 Like diulyfh deadly foes ; j 
 
 For better is it for vs. Lord, ] 
 
 Into thy handes to fall. 
 Then vnto them for to accord 
 
 Which in hell perifh ifhall. .1 
 
 "i 
 
 Behold, O Lord, thine enmies rage \ 
 
 Againft thee and thy Chrift ; | 
 
 Not our fyns they feeke to afwage, i 
 
 But thy truth to refift. \ 
 
 And fhall our fyns then be a let I 
 
 For thee them to withftand, ' 
 Seing againft thee they be fet ? 
 
 No, Lord, fet to thy hand. \ 
 
 i 
 
 For thine the glory is, not ours, j 
 
 Which they feeke to fuppres ; i 
 Bend, therfore. Lord, thine hoft of powrs, \ 
 
 And this thy caufe redres ; ] 
 
 Refift thefe rebels and traytours, \ 
 
 With papiftes euery one, i 
 
 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, J 
 
 Let none bewayle their playntes ! \ 
 
 Lord, heare the cry of fatherles i 
 
 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 fhall thy power be knowne ; 
 So fhall our Chrift be fandified 
 
 By them that be his owne : 
 Wherefore, O Lord, graunt our requefles. 
 
 Which here to thee we make. 
 And make vs loue and lyue thy hefles 
 
 For thy Chrift Jefus fake ! 
 
 Finis, quoth loh. Awdely. 
 C Imprynted at London, by lohn Awdely. 
 
 T/ie Groome-porters lawes at Mawe^ to be 
 
 objerued in fulfilling the due orders 
 i of the game, 
 
 I. 
 
 F you chaunge hands, it is the lofTe 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 lofTe of that game and vied cardes. 
 
 
 1 
 
124 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 4. If you lofe dealing, it is the lofTe of fower \ 
 cardes ; but if the lofer of the dealing deale not - 
 againe, you acquite the fower, and no game to • 
 either of both parties. \ 
 
 5. If you looke either on the afked carde or I 
 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 i 
 fower and al the vied cards, although you layj 
 downe the fame carde which you tooke vp. i 
 
 7. If you make out the carde when your matej 
 rubbeth, it is the lofle of fower, for the roubberi 
 muft make out the carde himfelfe. i 
 
 8. If you turne vp the ace of hartes, youi 
 gaine fower thereby. j 
 
 9. If you turne vp the ace of hartes, and! 
 thereby make either partle aboue xxvj, the contrary j 
 part muft haue liuings ; but if the contrary partej 
 bee XXV, by meanes whereof liuings fets them out, ; 
 then is he who turned vp the ace of hartes tol 
 make for the fet, fo that he make not one gamei 
 nor the firft tricke, without the confent of both; 
 parties. 
 
 10. The partle that afketh a carde may not! 
 vie any carde before the firft tricke be played. 1 
 
 1 1. You may not vie it after your card is led,! 
 but the contrary part may. 
 
 12. Three cardes crofted, no carde by anyi 
 meanes giuen backe. i 
 
 13. Neither partle may glue backe his owne: 
 vied card, though none be crofted. j 
 
 14. You may not afke a carde to fet the con-; 
 trary parte or your felfe at liuings or out. ^ 
 
 15. Proulded alwaies that, if the contrary partd 
 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. 
 16. 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 dejlrudlion of 
 So dome and Gomorra, 
 
 To the tune of the Nine Mufes, 
 
 HE Scripture playne doth ihow 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 fhould refrayne, — 
 Leaft body and foule bee 
 In euerlaftyng payne. 
 
 L 
 
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 fatherleffe 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 pafled fmall. 
 In filthy finne they wallowed all. 
 
 As filthy fwyne in myre ; 
 Then did- the Lorde commaund that Lot, 
 
 That h^ fhould foone depart ' 
 
 From amongft the Sodomites fb whot, \ 
 
 For they fhould feele great fmart ; ; 
 
 The angell then to hym he faide, — \ 
 
 Come, Lot, and hafte awaye, j 
 
 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, i 
 
 Which on them now fliall light ; j 
 
 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 fhe turnde backe agayne. 
 
 As foone as fhe was gone ; 
 For her offence fhe turned was 
 
 Into a huge fait flone. 
 Where fhe doth flande 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 brymflone from thence came. 
 
 And on Sodome downe did rayne : 
 Gomorra towne they did excell. 
 As thicke as hayle the fyre it fell. 
 
 And deflroyed was euery man ; 
 Both man and beafl 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 coflly 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 deflroyed quite. 
 
 And brought it to the grounde. 
 That nought is left, the trueth to fay. 
 
 But flinkynge 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 Iuft, 
 
 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 fitteft 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 fhould 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 fhall we haue ? 
 O let vs bewayle vs. 
 
 Our flnnes 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 fmne doth play thy part, — 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 129 \ 
 
 What finnes are found in thee ! \ 
 
 Thou dooeft exceede Sodome in finne, i 
 
 Thou careft not for Lots preaching ; 1 
 
 O, thefe heauy newes wyll be ! | 
 
 Ye, be thou fure, and fure agayne, .] 
 
 The ftones that Heth in wall, ] 
 
 Becaufe we doo fo fore offend, \ 
 
 To God for plagues wyll call ; j 
 
 Therfbre let fee, amends to be, \ 
 
 And euery one amende : | 
 
 Good Lorde, I fay, graunt this allway, j 
 
 And tlius I make an end. I 
 
 C Finis. ; 
 
 }. 
 
 Imprinted at London, by Richard Johnes, for 1 
 
 Henrie Kyrkham, dwellyng at the figne of the j 
 
 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 fhal you tel. 
 
 That then was herd, but no great 
 flrife ; 
 
 K 
 
130 ANCIENT BALLADS ' 
 
 In clofe a yong man and his wife ] 
 
 Sate reaibnyng fore, but for none yl ; 
 
 She faid, I am wery of this lyfe, — ■ 
 
 Good hufband, let me haue mine owne will, i 
 
 i 
 
 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 Tufh, quoth fhe, 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, — j 
 
 Such keping in my heart doth fpyll ; J 
 
 By houfe-kepers neighbours fet no ftore, — , 
 
 Good hufband, let me haue mine owne wyll ! j 
 
 i 
 
 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 goffip, 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, — j 
 
 Doe good, and therein take your owne wyll. ■ 
 
 C Hufband, quoth fhe, you be to blame ] 
 
 To kepe me in, and fo playne withall ; ; 
 
 Me thinke I fhuld 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. 
 
 tr Not mad, quoth (he ; 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 ftayed, 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 fhe, 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 ; 
 
132 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 To daunce^ to kyfTe, not ouer-workyng, I 
 
 But once a weke to go to myll ; 
 My time is ftiort, my death is cumming, — \ 
 
 Good hufband, let me haue mine owne wyll. J 
 
 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 ydlenefTe ftyll ; • 
 
 Wherefore, for your owne eafe fake, ' 
 
 Doe good, and therein take your owne wyll. \ 
 
 C Alas, quoth fhe, what chaunce haue I, 
 
 To couple myfelfe with fuch a one, j 
 
 ^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, j 
 
 — 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. Amed 
 
 i 
 C Finis, quod T. W. T. 
 
 C Imprinted at London by Alexander Lacy. ; 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 133 
 
 TAe Othe of euerie 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 
 Minifters of this citie. The franchifes and cuftomes 
 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 
 fhall colour no forreines goods, vnder or in your 
 name, whereby the Queene or this citie might or 
 may loofe their cuflomes 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 minifler 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 lefTe terme then for feuen yeeres ; with- 
 in the iirfl 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 fhall know no gatherings, con- j 
 uenticles, nor confpiracies made againft the Queenes j 
 peace, but ye fhall warn the Mayor thereof, or let j 
 it to your power. All thefe points and articles I 
 yee fhall well and truely keepe, according to the i 
 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. j 
 
 Printed at London, by Hugh Singleton. 
 
 ^ A Balade declaryng how neybourhedy loue, j 
 and trew dealyng is gone. 
 
 OW flraunge 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 trufl, 
 Alwaye to flande in tyme of neede } 
 The mofl parte now they are vniufl, 
 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 wickednefTe that doth abounde. 
 More then I can with tongue exprefle, 
 
 To fee vnfaithfull men are founde ; 
 Of frendfhip there was neuer lefTe. 
 Neiborhed nor loue is none, &c. 
 
 On couetoufnefTe 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 mofl defpite ? 
 Neyborhed nor loue is none, &c. 
 
136 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 For matters fmall fome fuiFre 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 opprefTe, 
 
 On them few haue compaffion ; 
 Their caufe is here remedilefle. 
 
 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 percialnefTe 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 lifter wyll begyle the brother. 
 
 The brother agayne deceyte wyll ftiewe. 
 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 ftriue or fpeake it is no boote. 
 In couetoufnefTe 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 cefTe ; 
 
 Their wordes are herde with yeres fo flye. 
 Their filthy gaynes they ftyll encreffe. 
 Neybourhed nor loue is none, &:c. 
 
 How many doth their rentes abate. 
 Or now a dayes their tenentes eafe ? 
 
 They {tt their rentes at a new rate. 
 Both fines and leafTes they daily reafe. 
 Neybourhed nor loue is none, &c. 
 
 CouetoufnefTe hathe now the way. 
 
 Wrong e and briberye do the 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. 
 K Neibourhed nor loue is none, &c. 
 
 I 
 
38 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 Ballad JJieweing that philofo^- 
 phers learnynges are full of good warnynges:^ 
 And fonge to the tune of my horde Marques 
 Galyardey or the firfie traces of ^e pajfa, \ 
 
 HILOSOPHERS learnings are ful of! 
 
 good warnings, ] 
 
 In memorye yet left to fcoole vs, ; 
 
 So be ther contayned, in poietries ; 
 
 fained, i 
 
 Great documentes to rate and rule vs ; \ 
 
 As well for continuance of life, helth, andfubftance,' 
 
 Whofe vanities the world requireth, ; 
 
 As for the deredion of life by corredlion i 
 
 From lyberties that luft delireth. ; 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 139 
 
 Menander being afked what life was, he anfwered, 
 
 A miferie that neuer ceafeth. 
 Tormenting minds worldly for goods go ton hardly. 
 
 With contraries as time increafeth, — 
 Wherin is no furance of hope nor induraunce, 
 
 But jeoberdies as fortune fendyth ; 
 Nowficklie, nowhelthie, nowpoorelie, now welthy, 
 
 With cafualties 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, reiedle folyes noughtie. 
 
 With- pradtefinge all waies to fhone them ; 
 So may we, triumphing, geue praife to ech good 
 thing, 
 
 Recomfortinge that we haue done them. 
 
 Excefle that delighteth, as Plutarche well writeth. 
 
 In greedines that life requireth. 
 In furfei tinge difshes, ill workinge, ill wifhes, 
 
 Suche filthines as flefhe defyrethe ; 
 Withdraw wyth their pleafurs dame natures dew 
 ^, meafures, 
 
 jP Whofe gouernaunce is fo defaced ; 
 What man can difpofe them when luft ouerthrows 
 them. 
 To temperaunce that fhould be placed ? 
 
 Periander of liuinge good counfell once geuinge. 
 Said merilie, Looke well within thee ; 
 
 If confience accufe thee, ill reft will abbufe thee. 
 No libertie hath leaue to win thee. 
 
HO 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 difeafej 
 
 vs, ^ ^ \ 
 
 Let Sophacles his dodtrine fkoole vs, — ^ 
 
 Who writes that no furetie on earth gettethvidlrye,. 
 
 But pacience in paines to rule vs ; 
 In fuche pointes prefifely, good counfel mod wifely 
 
 Exuperate blinde fortunes fcourges. 
 As the marriner fteareth the fhip when he feareth 
 The violence of fait fea fourges. 
 
 j 
 
 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,i 
 
 For accedence that can preuaile vs, j 
 
 Let wifdome now win vs to plant vertue in vs, ; 
 
 With penitence, eare life doth faile vs. i 
 
 C Finis, qd W. Elderton. 
 
 C Imprinted at London, in Fleeteftreet, beneath 
 
 the Conduit, at the Signe of Sainte John I 
 
 Evangelift, by Thomas Col well. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 141 
 
 A Balade of a Preiji that lojle his nofe^ 
 For fayinge of majfe^ 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 pafle ; 
 
 It is olde fyr John, the vycar of Lee, 
 
 Which rayles at Gods boke and reeles at his 
 mafte. 
 
 His cankarde mynde he cannot kepe clofe. 
 
 Yet he ferued him ftirewdly 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 ftiillinges, 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 tofling 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 flrife, i 
 
 Thei ar bound to the peas now for a priefts j 
 
 fnout ; ! 
 
 But becaufe he can kepe mens horedom fo clofe, I 
 
 Therfore they make fuch a worke for his nofe. I 
 
 Becaufe his fcollers did mock at his mafle, j 
 
 Hefaidhewoldemake bloud run by their heles, ! 
 
 But God hath turned the plage from their arfe, i 
 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. 
 
 j 
 
 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, I 
 And now it is the marke of an whorifhe prieft. j 
 
 And now you are ryd right well of the pofe, | 
 
 Why do you make iuche 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 (^n^ it fometime at the ale ; \ 
 
 Libera nos, falua nos, from the fwap of the ] 
 fwalowe. I 
 
 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 maffe, \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 143 
 
 He wifht that fome membre might be cut away ; 
 
 Now at his requeft it is come to pafTe. 
 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. 
 
 Seing the true God is gone from your towne, 
 AndgodPeanandBaccus doth rule in his ftede. 
 
 With hoyfty and foyfty ouer ftioulder 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 , 
 
 j 
 
 But yf you do vfe the true God to mocke, i 
 
 And geue his honor to your god in the purfe, ! 
 
 Loke whom ye blefTe, and in blyndnefTe rocke, — ! 
 
 The liuing God will you and your bleflinges ; 
 
 curfe ; 
 
 And at length your falfehed to all men difclofe, j 
 
 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 fhall 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 | 
 
 no{e. \ 
 
 I wyll not pray for you, — let them do that lifte, — i 
 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 fhal haue as much help as the preift of his nofe.^ 
 
 But you haue a vauntage, fyr, if you mark all ; 1 
 If a mous catch your god, when ye haue made it, | 
 
 Then ye may catche the moufe fail by the walle,! 
 
 For how can you hurt your nofe except ye \ 
 
 had it ? \ 
 
 The prouerbe is true in you, I fuppofe, — \ 
 
 He cannot tell where to turne his nofe. 
 
 Finis. 
 God faue the Quene. ■ 
 
c'^^ 
 
 AND BROADSIDES. 145 
 
 The true difcripcion of this marueilous Jlraunge 
 Fijhe^ whiche was taken on Thurjday was Jen- 
 nighty the xvj, day of June, this prejent month y 
 in the ye are of our Lord God, M.D.lxix. 
 
 |[ A declaration of the taking of this ftraunge Fifhe, with 
 the length and bredth, &c. 
 
 OOING you to vnderftande that on 
 Thurfdaye, the xyj. 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 EngUfh fisfher-men whych were a fyfh- 
 ynge for mackrell. And this ftraunge and mer- 
 ueylous fyfhe, folowynge after the fcooles of 
 mackrell, came rufhinge in to the fifher-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 fhould 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 fiftie. 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 fhe-mongers in New Fifhftreat agreeid with them i 
 that caught it, for and in confideracion of the ; 
 harme whych they receiued by fpoyhnge 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 j 
 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 i 
 it that fame Saterdaye to fuche as would buy of • 
 the fame, and they themfelues did bake of it, and 1 
 eate it for daintie ; and for the more fertaintie '\ 
 and opening of the truth, the good men of the j 
 Caftle and the Kinges Head in new Fifhftreat did | 
 bui a great deale and bakte of it, and this is mofte \ 
 true. i 
 
 The ftraunge fiftie is in length xvij. foote \ 
 and iij. foote broad, and in compas about the \ 
 bodie vj. foote; and is round fnowted, fhorti 
 headdid, hauing iij. ranckes of teeth on eyther j 
 iawe, maruaylous ftiarpe and very ftiort, y. eyes ) 
 growing neare his fhout, and as big as a horles '\ 
 eyes, and his hart as big as an oxes hart, and like- i 
 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 j 
 the formoft bee iij . quarters of a yeard longe from \ 
 the body, and a verie big one on the fore parte ■ 
 of his backe, blackifti on the backe, and a litle : 
 whitiftie on the belly, a flender tayle, and had but i 
 one bone, and that was a great rydge-bone, run- \ 
 ninge a-longe his backe from the head vnto the i 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 147 
 
 tayle, and had great force In his tayle when he waS 
 in the water. Alfo it hath v. gills of eache 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 Iharke. 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 fantajies 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 jfharpe repulfe bred mine 
 
 vnqulet 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 faw eke how Envie did raigne, and bare the \ 
 
 greatift price, j 
 
 Yet greatter poifon is not found within the cock- 1 
 
 atrice : 1 
 
 I faw alfo how fowle Difdaine oft times, to forgej 
 
 my woe, j 
 
 Gaue me the cup of bitter fweete, to pledge my \ 
 
 mortal foe : 
 I faw alfo how that Defier to reft no place could 
 
 fynd, ^ ^ _ I 
 
 But ftyl conftraind, in endles paine, to follow j 
 
 natures kynd : | 
 
 I faw alfo (moft ftraunge of all) how Nature did! 
 
 fDriake \ 
 
 The bloud that in her womb was wrought, as dothj 
 
 the lothed fnake : ! 
 
 I faw how fancie would retaine no longer then 
 
 fhee luft, , 
 
 And as the wynd how fhee doth chaunge, and is i 
 
 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 pafTe, as flowers do: 
 
 in the mede, j 
 
 To-day that rifeth red as rofe, to-morow falleth \ 
 
 deade : j 
 
 I faw my time how it did run, as fand out of a i 
 
 glaffe, ... ' 
 
 Euen as each owre appointed is from time and 
 
 tide to pafte : 
 I faw the yeares that I had fpent, and lofTe of all 
 
 my payne. 
 And how the fporte of youthly plaies my foUie ; 
 
 did retayne : 
 
 I 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 149 
 
 I faw how that the little ants in fomer ftyl doth 
 
 rome. 
 To feke their foode, wherby to Hue 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 
 
 perfe6t propertie ; 
 And then I faid vnto myfelfe, a leflbn this fliall 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. 
 
 Of euyll tounges, 
 
 EU YLL tounges, which clap at euerie 
 wynd. 
 Ye flea the quicke, and eke the dead 
 defame ; 
 Thofe that Hue 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 Truji and Triall. 
 
 HO trufts before he tries may foone 
 his truft 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 fhould amaze the fight of 
 man, 
 Whereby they might win fuch a name. 
 As fhould deferue immortall fame. 
 
 C Appelles then flrayed 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 earil was none ; 
 And then with ioye retourned backe. 
 For to thofe limmes but lyfe did lacke. 
 
 C Pigmalion eke, to fhew 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. 
 
52 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 PigmaHon did run mad. 
 
 C Which feene, Appelles fhut his booke. 
 And durft no longer viewe that fight ; 
 
 For why ? her comehe Hmmes 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 fhould fo high afpire ; 
 
 Yet once agayne he trauailed Grece 
 
 With lefTe Q&^&.y 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, f auoyde all ftryfe, 
 
 Shee tooke the pece, and gaue it lyfe ; 
 
i 
 
 AND BROADSIDES. 153 j 
 
 C And for a token gaue the fame 
 
 Vnto the higheft 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 fhould heare. 
 
 Of this their worke the worthie fhow. 
 Since Nature gaue it hfe 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 moft 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 againjt Vnthrifts, 
 
 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 drefied like a mome. 
 
 When lafie loiterers will not wurk. 
 And honefi:ly their liuings get. 
 
 But had rather in corners lurk 
 
 Then that they wold with labor fwet, 
 
 Therfore no welth they can attain. 
 
 But liue in trouble and in pain. 
 
 When doting doltes wil enterprife j 
 
 To wurk fuche feates as I haue tolde, ; 
 
 Not ceafiing for to exercife j 
 
 Worfe deeds then thofe with courage bold, j 
 
 Then fome do lay their cotes to gage^ j 
 
 Til that they haue receiued their wage. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 155 ] 
 
 Then fome the Counter oft doo kifle, ^ 
 
 If that the money be not paid, j 
 
 Or if that they their day doe mifTe, I 
 
 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, j 
 
 But rub and reuel not they muft, 1 
 
 For wherfoeuer they be come, ] 
 
 They are not fo wel truft as knowne. \ 
 
 \ 
 
 Then fome at length do beg their bread, I 
 
 Who, if in time they had been wife, ] 
 
 Might wel haue had inough to fed i 
 
 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, I 
 
 But aflbne as they be efpied, i 
 
 With whips they are laid on the fkin, i 
 
 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 fifh that comes to net ; \ 
 
 And yf that they might haue their wil. 
 
 For right or wrong they wuld not let, ] 
 
 Til at the lafl they fall in bands, j 
 
 And can not efcape out of hands. i 
 
156 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 Then fbme at Newgate doo take (hip, ] 
 
 Sailing ful faft vp Holborne Hil ; \ 
 
 And at Tiborn their anckers piche, i 
 
 Ful fore indeed againft their wil ; ; 
 
 But then it is to late, I fay, j 
 
 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 1 
 
 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. \ 
 
 1 
 
 C Imprinted at London, at the long fhop ad--^ 
 
 ioining vnto Saint Mildreds Churche, in th^ 
 
 Poultry, by John Aide. i 
 
 . ..\ 
 
 A newe SeBe of Friars, called Captchim. ^ 
 
 HESE newe frefhe come Friars, being \ 
 
 fprong vp of late, j 
 
 Doe nowe within Andwarpe keepe | 
 
 their abidinge, \ 
 
 Seducinge muche people to their damned eftate, : 
 
 By their newe falfe founde dodtrine the Gofpel 
 
 deridinge ; 
 
 Sayinge and affirminge, which is no newe falf^ 
 
 tidinge. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 157 
 
 That all fuche as doe the Popes docSlrine 
 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 eledt ; 
 But let Sathan worke all that he can deuife, 
 God it is alone which the Gofjpel doeth protedt. 
 
 X 
 
 The firjl part of the fair e Widow of Wat ling 
 ftreet and her 3 daughters^ and how her wicked 
 Jonne accujed her to he a harlot ^ and his ftflers 
 baftards^ only to deceiue them of their 'portions. 
 
 To the tune of Bragandary, 
 
 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 fhe. 
 And faire yong daughters louely three ; — 
 Great mifery, forrow and mifery, 
 Commeth for want of grace. 
 
 C For by his dayly pradifes. 
 
 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, fhe 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 fhe. 
 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 j 
 
 Moft precious vnto me, ;■ 
 
 And therefore, for thy fweet loues fake, j 
 
 I graunt thy fuite to thee ; i 
 
 But, ere the yeare is fully fpent, ^ 
 
 I know thou wilt the fame repent. | 
 
 C Now was his fonne receiued home, i 
 
 And with his mother deere ; 
 
 Was ioyn'd executor of the will. 
 
 Which did his courage cheare. i 
 
 The old man dying, buryed was, — | 
 
 But now behold what came to pafle. I 
 
 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. 'i 
 
 PofTefTion of the houfe he took 
 
 In moft defpitful wife. 
 Throwing his fifters out of dores. 
 
 With fad lamenting cryes. 
 When this they did his mother fhow. 
 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 fifters three. 
 
i6o ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 C I will not let in my mother, he faid, \ 
 
 Nor fifters any one ; \ 
 
 The houfe is mine, I will it keepe, ! 
 
 Therefore, away ! be gone ! • 
 
 O fonne, canft thou in dure to {tt't^ j 
 
 Thy mother and fifters 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 fhe, 
 I 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 fhall me giue, or giue it ore. 
 
 C And fith the citties cuftome is. 
 That you the thirds muft 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 fhe, that feekes 
 Thy mother thus to fleece, — 
 
 Thy father to his daughters gaue 
 Three hundred pound a peece : 
 
 Tell me who fhall their porcions pay. 
 
 Appointed at their marriage day. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. i6i 
 
 C Then, with a fcornefull fmile, he faid, j 
 
 What talke you of fo much ? i 
 
 Ten pound a peece I will them giue, — \ 
 My charitie is fuch. ^ ] 
 
 Now fie vpon thee, beaft, quoth (he. 
 
 That thus doth deale with them and me ! 
 
 C But ere that they and I will take ; 
 
 This iniury at thy hand, i 
 
 The chiefeft peeres of England fhall ! 
 
 The matter vnderftand. \ 
 Nay, if you go to that, quoth he, • j 
 
 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, J 
 
 In wicked fort, thefe baftards three. j 
 
 C No daughters to my father then \ 
 
 Were they in any wife, ; 
 
 As he fuppofd them for to be, 1 
 
 Thou blinding fo his eyes ; ■ 
 
 Therefore no right at all haue they t 
 
 To any peny giuen this day. j 
 
 C When fhe 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, i 
 
 The fecond part fhall fhew you all. i 
 
 Great mifery, forow, &c. Finis. : 
 
 Imprinted at London for T. P. ; 
 
 M \ 
 
|l.«\> Jt ^\ II 
 
 
 
 162 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 \ 
 
 •i 
 
 I 
 
 T^he fecond fart of the Widdow of Wat ling- j 
 
 Jlreete and her three Daughters. \ 
 
 \ 
 
 To the tune of the Wanton Wife. 
 
 \ 
 
 HE beautifull widdow of Watling - 
 
 ftreete, i 
 
 Being thus falfly accufde by her j 
 
 fbnne. 
 
 With her three daughters of fauor fo fweet, ! 
 
 Whofe beauty the loue of fo juany had wonne, j 
 
 With her daughters three, for fucoour went Ihe, ! 
 
 Vnto the kings counfaile of noble degree. ; 
 
 Now fie vpon falfhood and forgerie fraile, j 
 
 / For great is the truth, and it ihall preuaile !j 
 
 C Her fonne by a writ now fommoned is i 
 
 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, j 
 
 Which way his villanie befl: 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 witnefTes his lyes to vphold, &c. 1 
 
 C My maifters, quoth he, my mother by name ] 
 
 To be a lewd ftrumpet accufed I haue ; ' 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 163 
 
 And, hauing no witnefTe to proue that fame. 
 
 Your ayde and afTiftance 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 fadly did looke. 
 That jfhe 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 ft aid 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. 
 
i64 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C My name is Make-fhift, the firft man did fay ; 
 And Francis Light-finger, the fecond hkewife ; 
 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 witneiTe 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,— i 
 
 The law for my deeds my warrant fhall be. 
 
 I fay, fhe is a harlot moft vilde. 
 
 And thofe be her baftards that ftandeth in 
 place. 
 And that fhe hath often her body defilde 
 
 By very good witnes ile proue to her face. j 
 This thing of thy mother thou oughtft for to j 
 
 fmother, — 
 'Tis fliame 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 puniftit and plagd in this 
 cafe ; ] 
 
 And therefore draw neere, and now let vs heare j 
 
 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 Hkewife 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 fhow, 
 
 Againft the good widow no harme we do know. 
 
 C Thus was the widow deliuered from blame. 
 With her three daughtersof beauty mod bright. 
 
 Her fonne reproached with forrow and ihame, 
 Hauing his iudgment appointed him right, — 
 
 To loofe, at the leaft, the goods he pofTeft, 
 
 To loofe both his eares, and banifht to reft. 
 
 When he heard this iudgment pronounced to be. 
 The teares full bitterly fell down from his face, — 
 
 To mother and fifters 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 fifters, 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 fhalt go. 
 Where thou fhalt the king's pleafure abide ; 
 
166 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 From thence to be brought, with fhame and with ; 
 wo, I 
 
 To fufFer 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 — j 
 
 Such horror of confcience pofTefted his breft ; j 
 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 ! 
 
 1 
 Now i[Q vpon falfhood and forgerie fraile, ; 
 For great is the truth, and it will prevaile, ! 
 
 FINIS. [ 
 
 I 
 Imprinted at London for T. P. | 
 
 C Almightie God I pray his Holy Sprite to/endy \ 
 
 'The iuft marines hart ftedfafi to flay ^ and wicked j 
 
 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 
 
 V oyde 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, reied 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 eiedt 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 ; 
 
i68 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 Y elde out thy talent with encreafe, and looke thy 
 
 faith be free. 
 No 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- 
 
 nefTe withftand ; 
 H eauen with the Lorde of Lordes we fhall not 
 
 inherite 
 E xcept our righteoufnes far pafTe the fcribe and 
 
 hipocrite. 
 
 A 11 wicked men we fee now glorie much in 
 
 mynd, 
 L ookyng for mafle, an idoll which to them hath 
 
 ben full kynd. 
 
 T ruely thofe naughtie men thinke now, within 
 
 fhort time, • 
 
 Here, for Jefus Chriftes true worde, to plant i 
 
 Sathans doctrine ; ^ 
 
 Y ea, ftyll they hope indeede, and ftyll looke for j 
 
 a day, \ 
 
 N o doubt, Chrifts gofpel to exclude, and popes j 
 
 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 j 
 
 fhort papes defy re ; 
 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. 
 Nothyng 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 iredl 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 liues 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 fhall we all be to thee one inheritaunce and 
 lot. 
 
170 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 Tread vnder and fupprefle all vice, and eke 
 
 expell 
 Our hollo w-harted hipocrites, which loue notj 
 
 thy Gofpell ; j 
 
 P ut in their harts fuch grace, O Lorde, that they] 
 
 may now 
 H ope in thee, their eternall God, and to theej 
 
 their hartes bow ! ' 
 
 E uer to watch and pray, as thou haft taught thej 
 
 fame, 
 R eady to be with oyle in lampe, heauenwith thee; 
 
 to attaine. . 
 
 W ee, hopyng on thee thus, all vayne hope nowj 
 
 confound, I 
 
 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 paynesi 
 
 infernall. \ 
 
 O Lorde, graunt this requeft, — Lorde, let thyj 
 
 kyngdome cum : \ 
 
 N ow watch and pray we wyll ; — for whye ? Tem-r 
 
 pus edax rerum. k 
 
 C Finis, quod Chriftopher Wilfon. | 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 171 
 
 A Song againjl the Mafs, 
 
 OME hope you fee, — 
 The more pitie, — 
 
 Not in the Lorde of might ; 
 Whofe harts and mynd 
 His wayes fhould fynd. 
 
 To prayfe him day and night. 
 
 C With hart and voyce 
 They fhould 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 MafTe, 
 1 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 flonie way. 
 
 C For all teachyng 
 And true preachy ng. 
 
172 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 Some harts be hard as fteele ; j 
 
 There is no way ) 
 
 Their harts to ftay, • 
 
 Or caufe them truth to feele. j 
 
 C But ftoute they be 
 
 In all poperie, \ 
 
 As by this man doth feeme ; I 
 Whofe fhamelefle face 
 
 Put forth this cafe, \ 
 
 And bad his neighbours deme : \ 
 
 C Where beft fhould be, j 
 
 To make, quod he, . ] 
 
 An aulter for our Mafle ? \ 
 
 Let vs firft be \ 
 
 Herein, quod he, j 
 
 It wyll thus come to pafle. j 
 
 C This freend of popes 
 
 OfFred ten grotes | 
 
 This aulter there to make, i 
 
 Where maffe fhould be ; = 
 
 Haue here, quod he, i 
 
 This money mine here take. j 
 
 \ 
 
 C Lorde, our Queene faue, | 
 
 We cry and craue, j 
 
 In godlie ftate alway ; : 
 
 Defend her grace i 
 
 Long time and fpace \ 
 
 Emong vs here, we pray ! | 
 
 i 
 
 C Imprinted at London without Alderfgate, in! 
 little Britaine, by Alex. Lacy. The i6 of; 
 
 Auguft, 1566. i 
 
AND BROADS-IDES. 173 
 
 The Daunce and Song of Death, 
 
 At the four corners four engravings^ with verfes. 
 
 I. Under a pidlure 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 pifture of a Prifoner fettered to an iron ring, with 
 
 Death at his lide. 
 
 Thy pryfon and chaynes- 
 From graue cannot keepe ; 
 
 But daunce, though in paynes. 
 Thou fhalt thereto creepe. 
 
 3. Engraving of a Judge upon the bench of juftice, with Death 
 
 befide him, thefe lines under : — 
 
 From trone of iuft iudgement, 
 Syr Judge, daunce with vs ; 
 
 To graue come incontinent 
 From ftate fo glorious. 
 
 4. A Man careffing a Lady in a bower, a table fpread with 
 
 wine and fruit. Death feated behind them ; the following 
 infer] bed. 
 
 Ye dallying fyne louers. 
 
 In mydft 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 fliovel, acrofs a yawningi 
 grave, with this placard, " Sycknes, Deathes minftrel.*' i 
 Around him in a circle, joined hand in hand, are the: 
 following figures. Death leading the dance, the king,j 
 the begger, the old man, the childe, the wyfe man, the' 
 foole, with thefe lines. \ 
 
 \ 
 
 Come, daunce this trace, ye people all, 1 
 
 Both prince and begger, I fay ; \ 
 
 Yea, old, yong, wyfe, and fooles I call, ; 
 
 To graue, come, take your way. j 
 
 For ficknes pipes thereto, | 
 
 By griefes and panges of wo. j 
 
 A Ballad intituled^ Prepare ye to the plowe. \ 
 
 To the tune of Pepper is blacke. I 
 
 |[ The queene holdes the plow, to continew good feede; % 
 Truftie fubieftes, be readie to helpe, if fhe neede. t 
 
 \ 
 
 OOKE vp, my Lordes, and marke my ] 
 
 wordes, | 
 
 And heare what I fhall fing ye : \ 
 
 And fubieds all, both great and fmall, j 
 
 Now marke what word I bring ye. 5^ 
 
 Parnafo Hill, not all the ikill 
 
 Of Nimphs or Mufes fayned. 
 Can bring about that I finde out. 
 By Chrift himfelfe ordayned. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 175 j 
 
 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, i 
 
 Among vs Englifh planted; \ 
 
 Which many a day was kept away, i 
 
 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. I 
 Which fithes we haue, now let vs hold. 
 
 This tutchftone is the triall, ] 
 To beate the baggage from the gold, 
 
 And truth from falfe deniall. 
 
 i 
 
 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 ; I 
 
 Nor put our hope in Preefte or Pope, i 
 
 In maffe or other matters, I 
 Or, by our dole, to fave our ibule 
 
 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 likenefTe, 
 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 excefTe 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, fhould be thine : 
 Neither fhould contencion, craft, increafe. 
 
 Nor fwearing beare the fway. 
 Nor God vnferued — men as beafls 
 
 Would break the Sabboth day. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 177 j 
 
 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, I 
 
 Euen as the froft, that waxeth cold, I 
 
 Doth nip vs in December. | 
 
 And as, vpon a fodain heat, j 
 
 We foone forget that freefing, ; 
 When God doth of his mercy great 
 
 Spare vs for lack of leefmg, — 
 
 So let vs think, as Sommer fhows \ 
 
 Grene grafle to our deliting, i 
 
 We fe that all the grafle that growes j 
 
 Goth down with htle fmiting ; , | 
 
 ] 
 
 And when the mowyer coms 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 ; I 
 
 Without which boke, by hooke or crooke, 1 
 
 No worldly wit preuaileth. i 
 
 .1 
 
 God faue her Grace that holds the plow, \ 
 
 To {owe this trufty treafure ; j 
 
 Though many a one be ftubborn now, 5 
 
 And harrow it but at leafure : j 
 
 God graunt that he that harrowed Hell | 
 
 In guardon ftill may haue her, 
 
 N i 
 
178 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 And fend you grace that thinke not well \ 
 
 Of God, t] at 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 j 
 fouthweft doore of Paules Church. i 
 
 An Epitaph on the death of the vertuous Mat- 
 rone the Ladie Maiorejfe^ late wyfe to the right 
 Honorable Lor de (^Alexander Auenet^) Lord Maior 
 of the Citie of London ^ who deceqfedthe vij, dale 
 of July, 1570. 
 
 ELPE nowe, ye Mufes nyne, powre 
 out your noates of woe ! 
 Aide me, with pitious piercing plaints, j 
 the lofTe of her to fhoe, \ 
 
 Whofe virtues, maugre Death ! fhall lyue and \ 
 laft for aye, i 
 
 As fliyng Fame in golden trump doth cherefully ' 
 difplay. \ 
 
 Ye ladyes, leave your fportes, your paftymes fet j 
 afyde ; \ 
 
 To weepe this ladyes fatall fine, conduidles of i 
 ftreames prouide; 1 
 
 Caft oiFyour coftly filkes, your juelles nowe for- j 
 fake. 
 
 IS 
 
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 ; — 
 As well to 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 
 
 lovES decree — 
 To whom the heauens, the earth, and fea, and 
 
 all thynges fubiedl bee, — 
 The fifter dire, fearce Atropos, with fchortchyng 
 
 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 fhall 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. 
 
l8o ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 The ritche fhall want a perfede frende, as they j 
 
 can well relate. j 
 
 Thus ritche and poore (hall want her aide at j 
 
 euerie neede ; | 
 
 For both eftates in daunger deepe fhe laboured to j 
 
 feede, — 
 The ritche with counfelles fwete to chearifh ftyll ^ 
 
 fhe thought, I 
 
 The poore by almes and lyberall giftes to tender j 
 
 longe fhe fought. 
 But who fhall haue the greateft lofTe I knowe is 
 
 not vnknowen, — 
 Her befl beloued, the wight whom fhee accompted 
 
 for her owne. 
 The Lorde Maior, whiche nowe doth rule in 
 
 London, noble citie, I 
 
 Shall want her fight, — the greater griefe to mifTe ^ 
 
 a mate fb wittie ; 
 A phenyx rare, a turtell true, fo conflant in her ! 
 
 loue, j 
 
 That Nature nedes muft fhowe her force, her j 
 
 hufbandes teares to moue. ; 
 
 Who for the lofTe of fuche a wyfe can fobbyng i 
 
 fighes refrayne, | 
 
 In whom fo many vertues dyd continue and ' 
 
 remayne ? 
 You damfelles deare domeflicall, whiche in her '; 
 
 houfe abyde, \ 
 
 Haue caufe to wayle, for you haue lofl a good and \ 
 
 godly guide, i 
 
 Whofe lenytie and gentell hart you all haue \ 
 
 knowen and felt. 
 For vnto you in courteous forte her giftes fhe 
 
 euer dealt. 
 You officers, that dayly ferue her lorde at euery 
 
 neede, 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 181 
 
 Can teftifie that you haue loft a ladie kynde in 
 
 deede, — 
 So gentell, graue, demure, and wife, as ye your- 
 
 felues exprefle, 
 That needes ye muft gufh 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 fhall her 
 
 vertues knowe, 
 Haue offered caufe in bytter teares fome tyme 
 
 for to beftowe. 
 But fith it is the goddes decree, to whom all flefli 
 
 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 ftirowde 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. 
 
l82 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 For all their force and puifTaunce, 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 ^eens mofte excellent maieftie by the worthy 
 citizens of London, the xij, day of Nouember, 
 1584, at her grace: camming to Saint James. 
 
 To the tune of Wigmores Galliard. 
 
 HE twelfe day of Nouember laft, 
 Elizabeth, our noble queen. 
 To Londen-warde fhe 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 beholde. 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 183 | 
 
 C Each company in his degree ' 
 
 Stood orderly in good aray, ;; 
 
 To entertaine Her Maiefty, j 
 
 As fhe did pafTe along the way, \ 
 
 And by each man did duly ft and J 
 
 A wayter with a torch in hand, — | 
 
 Becaufe it drue on toward night, — 1 
 
 Along the way her grace to light. j 
 
 C The people flocked there amain, i 
 
 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 1 
 
 Of lords and ladies of great fame. i 
 
 I 
 
 C Her maiefty was glad to fee I 
 
 Her fubiec5ls in fo good a cafe, 1 
 Which then fell humbly on their knee, 
 
 Defiring God to faue her grace. I 
 
 And like a noble prince that day j 
 
 For them in like forte did ftie pray ; ] 
 And curteoufly ftie anfwered ftill, 
 
 I thank you all for your good will. j 
 
 C And bowing down on euery fide, 
 
 Mofte louingly vnto them all, : 
 
 A poor man at the length ftie fpied, ": 
 
 Which down before her grace did fall. I 
 
 And curteoufly fhe then did ftay, j 
 
 To heer what he had then to fay ; i 
 
 To whome he did prefent anon, ■ 
 An humble fupplication. 
 
;1 
 
 184 ANCIENT BALLADS \ 
 
 Then plefantly fhe pafled on, \ 
 
 Til fhe vnto Saint James came. 
 
 And alwaies, as (he went along, ; 
 
 The people cri*d with might and main, — . 
 
 O Lord, preferue your noble grace, ^ 
 
 And all your {ecret foes deface ! \ 
 God bleile and keep our noble queen, 
 
 Whofe like on earth was neuer feen ! 1 
 
 What traitors hart can be fb hard 
 
 To hurt or harme that princely flower ? \ 
 
 What wretch from grace is fb debard, \ 
 
 That can againft her feem to lower, 1 
 
 Which is the onely flar of light, ] 
 
 That doth amaze all princes fight, — \ 
 
 A mofle renowned virgin queen, 1 
 
 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 fhines 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, i 
 
 So ful of pitty, peace, and loue, ' 
 
 Whofe mercy is not proued fmall, \ 
 
 When fbule of^endors doo her mooue. 
 
 A phenix of mofte noble minde, ; 
 
 Vnto her fubie(5ls good and kinde; \ 
 
 A mofle renowned virgin queen, \ 
 
 Whofe like on earth was neuer feen. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 185 J 
 
 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. j 
 
 The cheef maintainer of his Woord, \ 
 
 Wherein confifts our heauenly food ; — j 
 
 O Lord, preferue our noble queen, ■ 
 
 Whofe like on earth was neuer feen ! 
 
 « 
 
 C And fuch as hollow-harted be, ; 
 
 Partakers of the Romifh 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 ; 1 
 
 But, Lord, preferue our noble queen, \ 
 
 Whofe like on earth was neuer feen ! ■ 
 
 i 
 
 C In many dangers hath fhe 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, j 
 
 The Lord confume them out of hand, i 
 
 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 {^^n ! \ 
 
i86 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 Jiraunge deformed Swyne, 
 
 ERE, good reader, fhalt thou beholde i 
 a ftraunge and deformed fwyne, , 
 farowed and brought foorth in Den- i 
 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 foreftioulders 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 Hil to feele and gripe it in 
 the grindes, there ye may feele his coddes within 
 his belly ; and the moft ftraungelt 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 graffe 
 as breade and apples, with fuch other thinges as 
 fheepe and fwyne do feede on. 
 
 C -^n exhortacion or warnynge to all meriy for 
 amendment of lyfe. 
 
 Come neere, good Chriftians all, 
 
 Beholde a monfter rare, 
 Whofe monftrous fhape, no doubt, fortels, 
 
 Gods wrath we fhould 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 beaft 
 
 Gods creature is, we fee. 
 Although as ftraunge of ftiape and forme 
 
 As poftyblie may be; . \ 
 
 For if you do way well ech poynt, [i>i^y^ 
 
 His nature and his ftiape. 
 
8 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 iimple fheepe, J 
 
 Or lambes that be moft pure, i 
 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, I 
 
 As well their deedes did prooue, \ 
 
 Who ment the ruine of our realme ; ■ 
 
 As tray tours to our queene, \ 
 Som white-fafte lambs, haue fought to do. 
 
 Nay, monftrous fwine, I weene. 
 
 I meane not here at large to ftiowe j 
 
 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, j 
 
 Yea, yong man, maide, and wife ! j 
 
 The proteftant, the papift eke, \ 
 
 What fedle fo that ye be, | 
 
 Gripe your own confcience, learne to do 1 
 
 As God commaundeth ye ; \ 
 
 For all are finners, Dauid faith, — \ 
 
 Yea, do the beft we may, j 
 
 Vnprofitable feruaunts ftill we be, — \ 
 
 We can it not denay. i 
 
 Judge ye therfore how far amifle j 
 
 All thofe their liues do frame. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. il 
 
 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 fubjedls fhape. 
 
 Their deedes did fo appere. 
 Then let their deedes example be 
 
 To vs that fubiedls 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 couetoufnefTe what fhould 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 paft, with Chrift our Lord i 
 
 Heauens ioyes fhe may attaine ! i 
 
 Finis, I. P. ■ 
 
 1 
 
 Imprinted at London by WilHam How, for! 
 
 Richard lohnes, and are to be folde at hisj 
 
 fhop ioyning to the fouth weft doore of Paules | 
 
 Churche, I 
 
 -^iP^ 
 
 Love deferveth Love, \ 
 
 YOONGE man that on Venvs fporte ■ 
 
 doth raunge. 
 
 Taking dehght 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 fhe 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 aflwage lufte' fier ; 
 
 He feekes not for abundance out of meafure, i 
 
 But loue's reward is all his hop'te for treafure, ] 
 
 T. W. I 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 191 i 
 
 Afpellfor lone, 
 
 ELL me, fweete girle, how fpellft thou 
 lone; 
 Tell me but that, is all I craue, — 
 I fhall 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 I3 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 ; 
 
 W her for 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 khide 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 fkill, 
 I am put down, I muft confefs ; 
 
 It bootes me not to crofs your will. 
 If you fpeak tru, fay I ft and 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 fhall part afunder ? 
 
 \ 
 
 A Paradox, \ 
 
 I 
 
 HAT lyfe is beft to lead in citty or ini 
 towne ? j 
 
 In thone both witt and wealth, court \ 
 getts vs great renown ; I 
 
 The country keepes in health, bringes quietnes of 1 
 mind, i 
 
 Where wholfome ayre 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 fhould proue tedious with my rime. 
 Here will I end, wifhing you a good hufband in 
 time. I. G. 
 
 The Ficklene/s 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 Sandford^ written ingould. 
 
 Y fand ftill refts, though lyfe doth pafTe 
 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 Childy 
 home at Maydftone in Kent^ the xxiiij, of 
 OEloher, 1568. 
 
 As ye this fhape abhorre 
 In body for to haue. 
 So flee fuch vices farre 
 As might the foule depraue. 
 
 In Gods power all flelh flands, • 
 As the clay in the potters hands. 
 To fafhion euen as he wyll. 
 In good fhape or in yll. 
 
 r 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 
 Odober 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 
 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 fafhion lyke a rofe, in the myddeft 
 whereof was a hole, which voyded like an iflue. 
 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 ! WitnefTes hereof were thefe : 
 William Plomer, John Squier, glafier, John 
 Sadler, goldfmith, befides diuers other credible 
 perfons, both men and women. 
 
 ^ 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 
 \7hat rauine and opprefTion both 
 
 Is vfed wyth greedy care. 
 
96 ANCIENT BALLADS ) 
 
 For, for the backe and gorging paunch. 
 
 To lyue in wealth and eafe i 
 
 Such toyl men take, that none may ftaunch ; 
 
 Their greedy minde, nor pJeafe. 
 
 \ 
 For in fuch fort their mouthes they infe6t 
 
 With lying othes and flaightes, . 
 
 Blafpheming God, and prince reiedt, j 
 
 As they were brutifh beaftes. ; 
 
 Their filthy talke and poyfoned fpeech \ 
 
 Disfigures fo the mouth, I 
 
 That fom wold think ther flood the breech, j 
 
 Such filth it breathe th forth. \ 
 
 1 
 
 The hands which haue no fingers right, ; 
 
 But flumps fit for no vfe, \ 
 
 Doth well fet forth the idle plight i 
 
 Which we in thefe daies chufe. 
 
 For rich and poore, for age and youth, i 
 
 Eche one would labour flye ; 
 
 Few feekes to do the deedes of truth, i 
 
 To helpe others thereby, \ 
 
 \ 
 
 The leg fb 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 mofl monflrous \ 
 
 For foote to clyme to head, '''■. 
 
 So thofe fubiedls be mofl vicious - J 
 
 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 Hfe 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 sn the death of certaine 
 Judges and Jujlices of the Peacey and diuers 
 other Gentlemen^ who died immediatly after 
 the Affifes holden at Lincolne laft pafi. 
 
 To the tune of Fortune, 
 
 \ 
 
 ECOUNTING griefes and dolors long 
 tyme done. 
 Or blazyng forth the danger none 
 can (hon. 
 
 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 thofegreat 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 Excefler 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 fiiow. 
 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 Holllce may we make, 
 Whofe life likewife moft cruell death did take ; 
 A vertuous man and juftice of the peace, 
 Whom Creftus 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. igg 
 
 The fkilfull clarke which to the peace pertalnd. 
 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 witj his wifedome, and his fage aduice 
 With life was loft and turned to a trice. 
 
 Where fhould I finde meete wordes for to exprefTe 
 Our inward woe, our griefe and heauines, 
 For Butlers death, a man of good degree, 
 And for the lofTe 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 AiTifes, 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 leffon tolde to thee. 
 Judge not at all, leaft that thou iudged 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 iinnes 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 I 
 
 From vile corruption, while he liueth heere. i 
 
 Then they, as we muft both with one accord. 
 
 Repent their finnes before the mightie Lord, ^ 
 
 Lead in his wrath a greater plague be fent j 
 
 On flintie hearts that would not once relent. ; 
 
 i 
 
 Vprightly deale with euerie poore mans caufe, ■ 
 
 Againft the truth wring not nor wreaft the lawes, i 
 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, I 
 
 And by opprefTion do not inlarge your lands ; ; 
 For curfed gold fell not your foules away, 
 
 A pradlife found too common at this day. j 
 
 Haue thou an eare vnto the wronged wight, j 
 
 Defpife not him that fimple is in fight ; ] 
 
 Do right and iuftice vnto each degree, j 
 
 Then in the end thou fhalt 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 fhe may runne a long and ioyfull race. 
 
 Finis. 1 
 
 ■ i 
 
 Imprinted at London by John Wolfe, for ] 
 
 William Wright. 1590. I 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 
 
 20 1 
 
 C y4 difcription of a monjlrous Chylde^ home 
 at Chychefter in SuJJeXy the xxiiii, daye of May . 
 "This being the very lengthy and bygnes of the 
 fame, mccccclxii. 
 
 [Here is an engraving of the child, 6|- inches in height.] 
 
 HEN God for fynne to plage hath 
 ment, 
 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. 
 
 icu^i rv-lnrt^ "^i^ 
 
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 fhall appeare, 
 God will wounders ftraunge thinges fende, 
 
 yeare 
 
 As fome is {^nt this veare. \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 203 j 
 
 The felye infantes, voyde of fhape, \ 
 
 The calues and pygges fo ftraunge, j 
 
 With other mo of fuche mifhape, 
 
 Declareth this worldes chaunge. j 
 
 I 
 
 But here, lo ! fee, aboue the reft, i 
 
 A monfter to beholde, « 
 
 Procedinge from a Chriftian brell, ] 
 
 To monftrous to be tolde! 1 
 
 i 
 
 No caruer can, nor paynter maye, ; 
 
 The fame fo ougly make, 
 
 As doeth itfelf fhewe at this daye, j 
 
 A fight to make the quake ! ; 
 
 But here thou hafte, by printing arte, j 
 
 A figne therof to fe ; i 
 
 Let eche man faye within his harte, — j 
 
 It preacheth now to me, ] 
 
 j 
 
 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, ' i 
 
 That here in Englande now doeth raygne, j 
 
 That monftrous is the guyfe. \ 
 
 By readinge ftories we ftiall 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 1 
 
 From finne to chaunge oure myndes. ! 
 
 \ 
 
 Repent, amende, both hygh and lowe, \ 
 
 The woorde of God embrace, — i 
 
 To lyue therto as we fhould doe ■ 
 
 God gyue vs all the grace 1 ] 
 
 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 I 
 
 full tyme. 
 
 i 
 
 C Imprynted at London by Leonard Afkel, for ^ 
 Fraunces Godly f, in the yeare of oure Lorde \ 
 1562. ; 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 205 j 
 
 '1 
 
 C ^ new balade entituled as foloweth 
 
 |[ 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 fhall 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 fhew their fancie, I 
 
 As did in his dayes a certaine band. ' 
 
 H Read in his bookes, and then vnderftand, *■ 
 
 They vexed his eares, they troubled his eyes, ] 
 
 With metres in number compared to the fand, j 
 
 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 manifefl lyes, — — -^ ' 
 
 That Ivke vnto them there was no mo. J 
 
 \ 
 
 C But what faith Horace, afore we go i 
 
 Any further herein ? Becaufe they did vfe ■ 
 
 To procure freendes, left that their fo 
 
 Shoulde paint them out, and fb accufe \ 
 
2o6 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 moft parte deferued fmall prayfe. 
 And why ? becaufe he had more refped: 
 
 To couet the garland of lawrel or bayes> 
 For number rather then verfe fele(5l. 
 
 C For when by writing men doe detedt 
 3 Their wyfedome or els their follie in deede, 
 
 Yf it be foolifh, they doe corred. 
 
 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. 
 
 L 
 
 C Your balades of loue, not worth a beane, 
 A number there be, although not all ; 
 j 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, i | 
 
 So that of a verfe fome fkyll he can. ' I 
 
 <[ But fome yf ye take in hand to ikan, \ 
 
 They lacke their grace, they lacke good fence ; | 
 
 The printer fhoulde, therfbre, with his fan '\ 
 
 Pourge chafFfrom corne, to avoyde offence ; i 
 
 And not for lucre, vnder pretence \ 
 
 Of newes, to print what commeth to hand, j 
 
 But that which is meete to bring in pence i 
 
 Let him print, the matter well fcand. ] 
 
 C Our Englyfhmen, fome out of the land, \ 
 
 A forte of rebelles flurdye and floute, | 
 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 j 
 
 To flirre vp againfl 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 flate, — ■; 
 
 Their fclanderous pen doth cruelly byte. 1 
 
 Let them not fay that thofe which endyte ' j 
 
 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 meffe. \ 
 
 C But now, lefl ye thinke me to vfe excefTe, J 
 
 I wyll to an end myfelf prepare, \ | 
 
 Wyfhyng all them that wyll adreffe A 
 
 Their pen to metres, let them not fpare ' 
 
2o8 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 To fblow Chawcer, a man very rare, 
 Lidgate, Wager, Barclay and Bale, \ 
 
 With many other that excellent are. 
 In thefe our dayes, extant to fale. i 
 
 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 fhrinke. 
 
 When faulte by inke or paper is feene ; — j 
 
 And thus euery day, before we drinke, 1 
 
 Let vs pray God to faue our queene. Amen. \ 
 
 C Finis. By R. B. \ 
 
 \ 
 
 C Imprinted at S. Katherins, befyde the Towre j 
 
 of London, by Alexander Lacie. i 
 
 C O maruelous tydynges, both wonders old and new y\ 
 'The Deuyll is endited,yf many mens wordes he tru,\ 
 
 N all chriftendom Chriftes godfpell now 
 is rad 
 Of man, woman and chyld; it maketh 
 their harts glad, 
 Whiche with jfhamefullfyns 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 thorowraifche negligence; 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 209 
 
 Playn declaracions 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; 
 Grete feruent charytie is betwyne man and wyfe. 
 No worfe wordes then honycomb, fweet hart 
 
 of gold moil 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 faft, pray, and ferue God hot hipocri tically. 
 Only to be feen of men for folyfli vayn glory. 
 But from the very hart, the Lord God to glory fy, 
 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. 
 
210 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C They knowe that they muft make a rekenyng 
 
 to God 
 Oftheyrdifpenracion, 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. fcoreandteninKynges 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. 2lt 
 
 C A man may goo now ouer Fynfbery fylde 
 Without fweard and buckler, without fpeare or 
 
 fhylde. 
 With an houndred poundes, as fafe as with 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 difcufted 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 
 
 age, 
 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, vv^hither aftronomers be true eyther no. 
 Or that generall iugement be commyng to or fro. 
 This one thyng I kno fure, that I (hall 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 my mynde. 
 
 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 i 
 
 to ihew their face ; 
 
 Then fet awourk, or fed, of mens fauour and grace, j 
 
 With fom comon purfe, to kepe themfelfs tru. ! 
 
 C So that it fhuld be a ftraunge thyng for to fee i 
 
 Any theft or murder euer committed to be, \ 
 
 As — thankes be to God ! — folk burne fo in \ 
 
 charytie, I 
 
 That no knauery raigneth, yf all mens wordes * 
 
 be tru. \ 
 
 C The Deuyll hath ben a knaue, and hath kylde 1 
 
 many men, \ 
 
 Yea, both foule and body, moe perchaunfe then ten ; ■ 
 
 Now he is endyted, as witnefTeth my pen, j 
 
 His queft is empayneld, he is founde falfe, not ; 
 
 tru. 
 
 Here folowe the names of the xij, men that goo vpon \ 
 
 the Deuyll. I 
 
 C Gen. iii. i Paralip. xxj. Job i. ii. Sapien. ii. I 
 
 Chrift in Math. xiij. and in Luke viij. Math. iiij. | 
 
 Mar. i. Luke xxij. Joan xiij. and i Joan iij. i 
 
 Paull to the Ephefians vj. i Pet. v. Jacob iiij. j 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 213 
 
 C It wyl be hard to kyll fuche an immortall 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. 
 
 € To breke Satans hed, of all wayes this is one. 
 With the buckler of fayth to refyft fuggeftion. 
 And ftrongly to belyue that Chriftes pafTion, 
 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 diminifh 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 hedl fynde, 
 That all may be mery and wyfe in Chrift : It 
 
 is tru. 
 
 C Printed by Cornelis Woltrop, dwellyiig 
 at Saynt Antonies. 
 
 As plea/ant a dittie as your hart can wi/h. 
 Shewing what vnkindnes befell by a kijfe. 
 
 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 kifTe her. 
 And fo let her goe. 
 
 And now fhe fwears I did — but what ? 
 Nay, nay, I muft not tell you that ; 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 2if | 
 
 And yet I will, it is {o fweet, a 
 
 As teehe taha, ! 
 
 As teehe taha, I 
 
 When louers do meete, j 
 
 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 flill, { 
 
 Which iheweth but a womans will ; 1 
 
 She bites the lippe, and cries, fie, HqI \ 
 
 And kifling fweetly, j 
 
 And kifling Aveetly, j 
 
 Away fhe doth fly. ] 
 
 A(5leon for one fight did die, i 
 
 So for one fillie kifle muft I ; j 
 
 Vnwares fond loue did me betray, i 
 
 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, — j 
 
 Therefore be quiet, i 
 
 Therefore be quiet, \ 
 
 And now let me goe. I 
 
 Yet ftill I held her by the hand, j 
 
 Her words could not my will withfl:and ; ' 
 
2i6 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 She fround, fhe pouted, fhe 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 fhe doth me greet ; 
 At me her wanton head fhe fhakes. 
 
 And as a flranger. 
 
 And as a flranger, 
 
 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 fhort. Finis, 
 
 At London : printed for T. P. 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 217 
 
 T/ie true dtfcription of two monjlerous children^ 
 laufully begotten betwene George Steuens and 
 Margerie his wyfe^ and borne in the pari/h 
 of Swanburne in Buckyngham/hyre the iiij, of 
 Apr ill ^ Anno Domini 1566; the two children 
 hauing both their belies faft ioyned together ^ and 
 imbracyng one another with their armes : which 
 children wer both alyue by the fpace of half an 
 hower, and wer baptized and named the one 
 John^ and the other Joan, 
 
 READ how AiFri que 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 manifefl 
 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. 
 
2i8 ANCIENT BALLADS '■ 
 
 C We wallow fo in filthie fin, i 
 
 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, j 
 
 Full long ago decreed wer. 
 
 As Scriptures doth difcus. \ 
 
 C Both tender babes and eke brute beaftes \ 
 
 In fhape disfourmed bee; j 
 
 Full manie wayes he plagues the earth, \ 
 
 As dayly we may fee. 1 
 
 C Thus mightie loue, to pearce our harts, i 
 
 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. 
 
 j 
 
 C For Aire we all may be agaft 
 
 To fee thefe fiiapes vnkynd, \ 
 
 And tremblyng feare may pearce our harts, \ 
 
 Our God to haue in mynd. ] 
 
 For yf we printed in our breft, i 
 
 Thefe fignes and tokens ftraunge | 
 
 Wold make vs from our finnes to fiirinke, | 
 
 Our liues anew to chaunge. j 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 219 \ 
 
 C But fome proude boaftyng Pharifie 1 
 
 The parents wyll detedl, | 
 
 And iudge with heapes of vglie vice j 
 
 Their liues to be infedl. ' 
 
 ! 
 
 C No, no ; but lefTons for vs all, ;| 
 
 Which dayly doe oiFend ; 1 
 
 Yea, more, perhaps, then hath the freends i 
 Whom God this birth did lend. 
 
 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, I 
 
 Yf greatter wer the parents finnes, ] 
 
 Or his that was borne blynd. \ 
 
 'i 
 
 C To whom Chrift auniwered in a breef, ; 
 
 That neither hee nor they ] 
 
 Deferued 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 flate, 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 mo ft 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 pafled yeares, 
 Bewaylyng eke our fecret finnes 
 
 In fackecloth and in teares. 
 
 C Therfore in time amend your ftate, j 
 
 And call to God for grace, — \ 
 
 \ Bewayle your former lyfe and finnes, \ 
 
 While you haue time and fpace. ! 
 
 C Finis, quod John Mellys Nor. \ 
 
 i 
 C Imprinted at London by Alexander Lacy, for i 
 
 William Lewes, dwellyng in Cow Lane, aboue | 
 
 Holborne Cundit, ouer againft the figne of the ; 
 
 Plough. I 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 221 
 
 A newe Ballade tntytuledy Good Fellowes 
 mujl go learne to daunce. 
 
 OOD fellowes muftgo 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 flyper 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 ftiurte 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 pafle 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 wjillinge 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 Tofte wyll fayle to Spayne, fir. 
 
 By Tyborne awaye. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 223 } 
 
 Subtoll iinne wyll haue her ; • 
 
 Thoughe wyttie Watte do craue her, :j 
 
 Yet cuttinge clowne fhall faue her, j 
 
 Vnleffe he lofe his praye. [ 
 
 And though ye be fo wyleye, j 
 
 And flie do loke fo hyleye, \ 
 
 At length fhe wyll begyle ye, ] 
 
 And [ftriue] the beft ye maye. > 
 
 L is fb coye, fir, ;; 
 
 She ... be folde, j 
 
 W s her ioye, fir, i 
 
 T . . . . tolde, J 
 
 Ra .... wyll not blade it, \ 
 Jack . . . r wyll not fwade it. 
 
 The byllbowes are not made it, ^ 
 
 Therof ye maye be bolde. j 
 
 Although ye now haue cought her, i 
 Ye wyll repent hereafter. 
 
 For farder ye haue fought her \ 
 
 Then I haue thought ye would. j 
 
 Finis. I 
 
 C Imprinted at London, in Flete ftrete at the i 
 figne of the Faucon, by Wylliam Gryffith, and 
 are to be folde at his fhoppe in S. Dunftones 
 
 Churchyearde, 1569. i 
 
 i 
 
224 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C The braineles blejjing of the Bull, j 
 
 The homes, the heads, and all, | 
 
 Light on their fquint-eyed Ikonfes full, I 
 
 That boweth their knees to Ball. 
 
 j 
 
 The cancred curfe, that wolde confume this real me with wrackei 
 
 and ruine, ' 
 
 Returne to Rome with fyre and fume, to bryng the pope in \ 
 
 tune ! I 
 
 If neither curfe nor bleffyng bare may mend thefe parties I 
 
 throwe, | 
 
 I them bequeath — curft as they are — to Plutoes kyngdome ;] 
 
 nowe ! \ 
 
 AS neuer worlde fo farre from orders l 
 
 rule, I 
 
 That men durft {peake iuch fawcie^ 
 
 words of kings, ;; 
 
 Nor neuer pope fo lyke an afTe or mule, j 
 
 Or dunghyll cocke, to crow and clap his wingesJ 
 
 Stand backe, good dogs, the bul he leapes and] 
 
 flinges, -l 
 
 He bleates and bleathes as he a-baightyng were, ■ 
 
 And fomes at mouth, lyke boare with briftled j 
 
 heare ; \ 
 
 A beaftlye found comes runnyng from his paunchj 
 
 He beates the ground with foote, with hip and j 
 
 haunch, J 
 
 As though hell gates ftiould open at his call, j 
 
 And at his becke the heauens high fhould fall. \ 
 
 C O Sathaff§ fonne ! O pope puft vp with pryde Ij 
 
 What makes thee clayme the clowdes where j 
 
 God doth dwel, ! 
 
 When thou art knowne the glorious greedie guydej 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 225 
 
 Thatleades inpompe poore feelye foules to hell ? 
 
 The pumpe of ihip hath not To 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 glafTe, and gliftereth gay a whyle, 
 Tyll tromperie comes, and makes the worlde to 
 fmyle. 
 
 C Who bad thee blifTe ? O buzzarde blynd of 
 fight, 
 
 Buylt God his church vpon fuch clots of clay ? 
 Thou doefl: blafpheme thereby the God of might, 
 
 And robbefl with craft his honour cleane away. 
 
 Curfe whome thou lift, he better thryues that day; 
 BlefTe 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 fhut 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, j 
 He neuer durft apeach this land tyll now, — 
 In bullyng time, he met with Hardy ngs cow. 
 
226 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 C A "calfe or twayne hath here ben gotten fince, 
 Whofe heades were folde of late in Butcher Ro w ; 
 
 Come cheapecalues 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 pradize mifcheif 
 ftyll. 
 
 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, 
 WhenHoballes oxe bulles Hardyngs cow agayne. 
 
 C 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 (ley 11 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 Romilh 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 bleflings, thy plenty 
 and ftore ; 
 
 For dead is LordHaftinges, — the more is our griefe ; 
 And now vp to heauen we cry for rehefe. 
 
 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 cherrifh. 
 And fatherles infants he likewife would nourifh ; 
 To weake and to ftcke, 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 repalrde 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 fhe put in his hand ; 
 Of Yorke he was Prefident 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. 
 
 And 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 flourifti 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 mofl: noble heire. 
 Then waile we, &c. 
 
 A thoufand poore widdowes for Huntingtons fake. 
 As manie poore children their praiers will make. 
 That God maylongprofper his heire left behinde. 
 And graunthimold Huntingtons true noble minde. 
 Then waile we, &c. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 231 
 
 Then pray we for countrie, for prince and for peares, 
 That God may indewthemwithmofthappie yeares ; 
 Lord, blefle vs with vertue, with plentie and peace. 
 And manie more fubiefls 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 Suhie£les, to God and the 
 
 Crowney 
 The Rebelles are cooled j their Bragges he put downe. 
 
 Come, humble ye downe, — come, humble ye downe. 
 Perforce now fubmyt ye to the queen and the crowne. 
 
 L true Englifh 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 ; 
 
 1 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 (hould 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 fe6t of Syr John Shorne, 
 To teache them to trouble the realme and the 
 crowne. 
 Come, humble ye downe, &c. 
 
 <r But that pertayneth no matter of mine ; 
 
 Yet for my good will on me do not frowne ; — 
 It muft be as pleafeth God to affigne 
 
 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. 
 
 f[ No doubt the deuill had them bewitcht, — 
 They lackt biftiop 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 A 
 
 i 
 
 And that was the meaning of thofe that began \ 
 
 To roote out Chriftes dodrine, fupprefTe and i 
 
 put downe ; 
 
 They haue mift their purpofe, now ftiift how they ^ 
 
 can, — \ 
 
 God hath preuented them from troubHng the ■ 
 
 crowne. j 
 
 Com, humble ye downe, &c. | 
 
 i 
 
 C If they had preuayled, then had we been wo, | 
 
 Then had ben olde wayHng in countrie and ! 
 
 towne ; i 
 
 Then fhould 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 fhould haue ben defilde : 
 
 By thofe popifh prieftes that troubled the 
 
 crowne. ; 
 
 Come, humble ye downe, &c. { 
 
 ■\ 
 Yea, many a good preacher fhould haue lofl 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 i 
 
 crowne. j 
 
 Come, humble ye downe, Src. \ 
 
 C To fpoyle common wealth it was the next waye, i 
 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 fruids 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 vpfidowne 
 To become true fubiedtes, 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 mightie Prince. j 
 
 1 
 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, — j 
 
 A thoufand fighes I fet at large, to feeke their \ 
 
 pafTage out ; ) 
 
 And walkyng in a dompe, or rather in difpaire, j 
 I caft my weeping eye afide, I faw a fielde full \ 
 
 faire ; ■ 
 
 And lokyng vpwarde than I {pied a mount 
 
 therein. 
 Which Flora had, euen for her life, de6b as you ; 
 
 haue not feen ; 
 Then could I not but thinke the fame fome facred j 
 
 place, ^ I 
 
 Where god or goddes fuch did dwell as might i 
 
 releue my cafe. \ 
 
 I fat me downe, for whie ? Death could but flop ' 
 
 my breath, ' 
 
 And to a man fo forrowfuU what fweter is then i 
 
 death ? \ 
 
 No fooner was I fet, but flepe approcht mine eye, I 
 Wherein the nymphes of Helicon appeared by 1 
 
 and by, — ' 
 
 And flraight thofe fiflers nine, the ground of \ 
 
 muficks arte, ; 
 
 My thought did flriue who might preuaile to eafe ! 
 
 my heauie harte, ; 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 237 
 
 The cunning they fhewed there, the fubtlle 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 wonderful!, note ye whome 
 
 they preferde. 
 As for thy bloud, quod they, right noble, we 
 
 confefTe, — 
 Thy pettigree, to long for vs, the heralds can 
 
 exprefTe ; 
 But, happie, happie Duke, the fecond chylde of 
 
 Fame, 
 Which, next vnto the higheft, fhe doth fo 
 
 recoumpt the fame ! 
 And happie Thomas ones, twife happie Norffolke 
 
 toe, 
 Thrife happie men that leade your Hues where 
 
 Howard hath to doe, — 
 Which Howards happie dales 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 liues 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, i 
 
 All nobles may well note his race, and thereby take i 
 
 their lighte ; — 
 
 In peace a Salomon, in warre fo ftoute a prince \ 
 
 As raigned not tyll Hedor came, nor liued neuer | 
 
 fince, — 
 
 Then Sceuola more firme, which, for his cuntries < 
 
 turne, j 
 
 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 i 
 
 vfe of bowe ; \ 
 
 Nay, marke him yet that fhall note well his payne- i 
 
 fulnes, I 
 
 No fugred flepe can make him freend to fluggifh I 
 
 Idlenes. \ 
 
 What that becomes a prince in his good grace I 
 
 doth want? i 
 
 In peace a courtier for the courte, a fecond Mars ; 
 
 in camp. \ 
 
 Thus flyll 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. 
 
 And twife agayne, becaufe that prince amongft vs ' 
 
 here is plaft, 1 
 
 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 fliew what I had feen did pafle my i 
 
 power fo farre ; \ 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 239 
 
 And that a man vnlearnd, of arte that hath no 
 
 fkyll, 
 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 duedefertdid thus commend, fhould fhade 
 
 the want in me ; 
 To whome I pray the Lorde to fend like yeares 
 
 as Noye, 
 In happie health and quiet ftate, to his and all our 
 
 ioye. 
 
 C Finis, Ber. Gar. 
 
 C Imprinted at London, without Alderfgate, in 
 Little Britaine, by Alexander Lacy. 
 
 C ^ newe Ballade, intituled, Agaynjl Rebel- 
 lious and falje rumours. 'To the newe tune of 
 the Blacke Almaine vpon SciJJillia, 
 
 HAT rumores now are raifed of late. 
 Within this Englifh lande. 
 Which is not much for to be prayfed. 
 The cafe fo harde doth ftand. 
 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 fancy e moues them faye. 
 So out there fooliih talke they braye ; 
 
240 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 And euery on^ 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 rebel I, 
 
 And whether they be fled or take, — 
 
 Thus flill 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 prophefies 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, j 
 
 And fee his befynes well be fcand, j 
 
 And not to meddle of princes adles, ] 
 
 What they will do, nor of their fades. ] 
 
 If occupied well we thus abyde, 1 
 
 The Lorde for vs will well prouide. | 
 
 C For furely plagues we do defarue \ 
 
 Moft horrable and great, i 
 
 Becaufe from God we ftill do fwarue, \ 
 
 And dayly doth him frette. i 
 
 And ftill prouoke his ieare, | 
 
 Which glous as hotte as fyare ; i 
 
 His bow is now all redye bent, ^ 
 
 Therfore in tyme let vs repent, i 
 
 Leaft he for iinne do vs depriue, ^ 
 
 For warned folkes, they faye, may Jiue, j 
 
 And warning take by other men, I 
 
 Which we before our eyes haue {Qne, j 
 
 C We haue hard in Fraunce the rumur there, j 
 
 That hath bene many a daye, — ^ 
 
 There countrey fpoyled in ruth and feare, i 
 
 Vnto there cleane decaye, | 
 
 With lofle of many a man, \ 
 
 Since fir ft that fturre began, \ 
 
 And many a noble hath bene flayne, i 
 
 A duke, and eake a prince certayne, ' 
 
 Which weare the chiefe ftayes of that land, \ 
 
 Wherfore in hazarde now they ftande; i 
 For where the chiefe are taken awaye. 
 
 The reft muft nedes runne to decaye. I 
 
 C In what eftate doth fouldiers ft and, ] 
 
 Great ruth it is to here ; j 
 
242 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 That there is wrought the tirants hand. 
 
 We nede not to declare. 
 Experiaunce well may fhowe 
 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, 
 Leafl 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 faft 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 Saind Dunftones 
 Churchyarde, 1570. 
 
 «■> -fr ^ 
 
 ne true Difcripcion of a Childe with Ruffes, 
 borne in the farijh 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 ^^tt, 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 flesfhy fkin as the like at 
 no time hath ben feene. For it hath the faid 
 flesfhy 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 fomthlng 
 gathered, euery ruf about an inche brode, hauing 
 here growing on the edges of the fame, and 
 fo with ruffes comming ouer the fhoulders 
 and couering fome part of the armes, proceding 
 vp vnto the nape of the neck behinde, and aJmofte 
 round about the neck, Hke as many womens gownes 
 be, — not cloce togither before, but that the throte 
 beeing (with a faire white fkin) bare betweene 
 bothe the fides of the ruffes, the faid ruffes about 
 the neck beeing double, and as it were thick ga- 
 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 pidure, 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 ruiFeling 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 fliewd ; 
 
 Our pride this childe dooth here ; 
 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 thmgs 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 fb foft. 
 
 C In fourme as they, in nature fo, 
 
 A maid fhe 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 
 fhop adioining vnto S. Mildreds churche, in the 
 Pultrie, and at the litle fhop adioining to the 
 North-weft doore of Paules churche, anno 
 domini M. D. Ixvi. the xx. of Auguft. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 247 
 
 € Ot/ier thus it isy or thus it Jhoulde bee. 
 
 HE golden world is now come agayne, 
 God is knowen, beleued, loued and 
 obeyed ; 
 True dodlryne 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 flourifli, 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 iniquitie ; 
 
248 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 To the humble and good they be gentle and 
 benlgne ; — 
 Other thus it is, or thus it flioulde bee. 
 
 C Bifhops and minifters doe themfelues apply 
 
 Sincerelie to preach Gods holie law and gofpell, 
 Accordyng to their dodlrine 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 fhoulde bee. 
 
 C Judges that fit in iudgement, matters for to 
 heare. 
 Be fo vncorrupte that no bribes they wyll take, 
 Tyll they heare both parties they flop the one eare. 
 By the lawe deliberately the cafes they debate. 
 By euidence and witnefTes the truth they out 
 beate, 
 Falfehod they fetter, but right they doe fet free, 
 Juft iudgement they geue, none can entreate ; — 
 Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee. 
 
 C Juftlces and gentlemen peace doe maintayne. 
 The queenes lawes and ftatutes they fee executed. 
 Contention and variaunce they doe fubdue cleane. 
 The opprefTour they punifh, the naughty is 
 
 rebuked ; 
 The fturdy they corredle, the poore be refrefhed. 
 They lyue on their landes rented reafonablie. 
 Matters before them be iuftly and foone ended ; — 
 Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde 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 fhoulde bee. 
 
 C 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 iudgement, 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 ; 
 The poore be content and for them doe pray ; — 
 Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee. 
 
 C 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 ; i 
 
 Women be fober and gentle, neither proude nor ! 
 
 nice ; i 
 
 Seruants be faithful, they need no warning twice ; j 
 
 To vertue and learning youth geueth all their \ 
 
 ftudie ; ; 
 
 Yf any fall in decay, he is holpen agayne to ■ 
 
 arice ; — j 
 
 Other thus it is, or thus it fhoulde bee. i 
 
 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, j 
 And for her honorable counfell they humbly ■ 
 
 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 j 
 
 obey ; — j 
 
 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 deltghtfull of mother Wat kins ale, 
 A warning we I wayed, though counted a tale. 
 
 HERE was a maid this other day, \ 
 
 And ihe would needs go forth to play ; ' 
 
 And as fhe walked fhe fithd and faid, 
 
 I am afraid to die a mayd. 1 
 
 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 ? I 
 
 Good fir, then did (he fay, • 
 
 What do you care ? \ 
 
 For I will, without faile, j 
 
 Mayden, giue you Watkins ale ; \ 
 
 Watkins ale, good fir, quoth fine, . 
 
 What is that I pray you tel me ? ^ 
 
 Tis fweeter farre then fuger fine, | 
 
 And pleafanter than mulkadine ; ; 
 
 And if you pleafe, faire mayd, to fi:ay • 
 
 A little while, with me to play, 1 
 
 I will giue you the fame, 
 
 Watkins ale cald by name, — ; 
 
 Or els I were to blame, 1 
 
 In truth, faire mayd. ; 
 
 Good fir, quoth fhe againe, 
 
 Yf you will take the paine, j 
 
 I will it not refraine, ] 
 
 Nor be difmayd. i 
 
252 ANCIENT BALLADS ^ 
 
 i 
 
 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. ^ j 
 
 -i 
 
 Good fir, quoth fiie, in finiling fort. 
 
 What doe you call this prety fport ? 1 
 
 Or what is this you do to me ? \ 
 
 Tis called Watkins ale, quoth he, j 
 
 Wherein, faire mayd, you may '• 
 
 Report another day, 
 
 When you go forth to play, \ 
 
 How you did fpeed. : 
 
 . Indeed, good fir, quoth fhe, \ 
 
 It is a prety glee, 1 
 
 And well it pleafeth me. 
 
 No doubt indeed. -\ 
 
 Thus they fported and they playd, \ 
 
 This yong man and this prety mayd, j 
 
 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 fiiall not fkill ; j 
 
 At lafl, quoth fhe, fauing your tale, \ 
 
 Giue me fbme more of Watkins ale, \ 
 
 Or ehe I will not flay, \ 
 
 For I mufl needs away, — | 
 
 My mother bad me play, — : | 
 
 The time is pafl ; 1 
 
 Therfbre, good fir, quoth fhe, ^ 
 
 If you haue done with me. 
 
 Nay, fbft, faire maid, quoth he, J 
 
 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 fhe 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 fhe. 
 
 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 may dens 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 
 
 I 
 
 New ale will make tlieir bellies bowne, \ 
 
 As trial by this fame is knowne ; \ 
 This prouerbe hath bin taught in fchools, — " 
 It is no iefting with edge tooles. 
 
 2 
 
 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 
 
 I doe beleeue ; J 
 
 This dance is now in prime, \ 
 
 And chiefly vfde this time, i 
 
 And lately put in rime. ] 
 
 Let no man greeue i 
 
 To heare this merry iefting tale, i 
 
 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 become th 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. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 255 
 
 When you drinke ale beware the toaft, 
 
 For therein lay the danger moft. 
 
 If any heere oiFended be. 
 
 Then blame the author, blame not me. 
 
 Finis. 
 
 A prettie newe Ballad, intytuled: 
 
 "The Crowe fits vpon the wall, 
 Pleqfe one and plea/e all. 
 
 To the tune of, Pleafe one and plea/e 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 fluttifh, 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 Ihe lady, be fhe dame. 
 If that fhe doo weare a pinne, 
 Keepe fhe tauerne or keepe fhe inne. 
 Either bulke, bouth, or flail, — 
 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 fkill, 
 
 Leaft that fhe fhould 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 fhe command 
 See that you doo it out of hand, 
 Whenfoeuer fhe 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 fhe browne, ] 
 
 Dooth fhe fkould or dooth fhe frowne, j 
 Let her doo what fhe fhall, — 
 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all, i 
 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all. l 
 
 s ] 
 
258 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 Be fhe coy, be fhe proud, 
 
 Speake (he 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 cruell, be fhe curfl. 
 Come fhe laft, come fhe firfl. 
 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 i 
 
 \ 
 For thus it is and euer fhal], — j 
 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all, 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all. ' 
 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all, \ 
 
 Be they great, be they fmall, i 
 
 Be they little, be they lowe, — ; 
 
 So pipeth the crowe, ^ 
 
 Sitting vpon a wall, — , 
 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all, ' \ 
 
 Pleafe one and pleafe all, J 
 
 Finis. R. T. | 
 
 ■j 
 
 Imprinted at London for Henry Kyrkham, 
 dwelling at the little north doore of Paules, 
 at the iigne of the Blacke Boy. j 
 
 \ 
 
26o ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 An 'Epitaph on the death of the Right honor- i 
 able and vertuous Lord Henry Wrijley^ the \ 
 Noble Earle of Southampton^ who lieth interred ''■ 
 at Touchfeelde in the countie of Hamjhyre^ the \ 
 30 day of Nouember, 1 5 8 1 , and in the 24 yeare \ 
 of our moft drad andfoueraigne Ladie Eliza bet h^ \ 
 by the grace of God^ of England^ Fraunce and \ 
 Ireland ^eenCy ^c, ^ 
 
 OU noble peeres, refraine your courtly | 
 
 fportes awhyle, \ 
 
 Caft on your wailefull weedes of woe, i 
 
 Dame Pleafure doo exile. j 
 
 Beholde a platforme playne of death, fit for the j 
 
 graue, ; 
 
 Who late inioyed a lyuing foule, as you this ^ 
 
 feafbn haue ; 
 
 His birth right noble was, honour befet him ] 
 
 rounde, ■ 
 
 But Death amidft his luftie yeeres hath (hrind i 
 
 him in the ground. i 
 
 When time is come, he waightes, according Gods ; 
 
 decree. 
 To conquer lyfe, refpeding not the mightiefl: in \ 
 degree ; ] 
 
 Intreatie cannot ferue. Death feekes no golden j 
 
 gift. I 
 
 For from his reache no potentate to flye can \ 
 
 make the fhift. \ 
 
 \ 
 
 W 
 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 261 
 
 The glafTe 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 
 
 mufi: 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 vanifheth, 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 fliall Hue from morne 
 
 vnto the night ! 
 He that at fyrft gaue lyfe, of lyfe wiU 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 perfe6l 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 fencelefTe lye, Southamtons Earle 
 
 by name. 
 Yet Death in him lyes dead, no doubt, by meanes 
 
 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 fweete 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 
 
 ftiall 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 ficknefTe thou didft fpend thy 
 
 lotted daies ; 
 This world thou heldft as vaine, thy lyfe thou 
 
 thoughteft no loffe. 
 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 moft earneftly he neuer did 
 
 forget ; 
 And like a fouldier iuft by faith thou foughtft 
 
 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 takeft thy leaue, thy prince thou 
 
 bidft farewell, 
 For whofe eftate thou praydft to God her enemies 
 
 to quell. 
 
AND BROADSIDES, 265 
 
 The noble peeres eche one with hart thou bidft 
 
 adue. 
 And praiedft that they to glad her hart may 
 
 loyaltie enfue. 
 Of all thy louing friendes thou takeft a fynall 
 
 leaue, 
 And vnto God moft conftantly for comfort thou 
 
 doeft cleaue. 
 Thy noble children thou right louingly doeft 
 
 bleffe, 
 To feruants all thou giueft adue, they may thee 
 
 not poflefle, 
 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. 
 Thy feruants ftreme foorth teares, they wring 
 
 their wofull handes 
 To fee that all to foone of lyfe death hath de- 
 
 folued the bandes. 
 His tennants all doo mourne, their fmoking fobs 
 
 abounde. 
 And to the fkies the needie poore their pitious 
 
 plaints refounde ; 
 Their fofter freend from them by death they fay 
 
 is hent, 
 Whofe 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 fhall 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. 
 
 ^ Ballad reioyjinge the fodaine f ally 
 
 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 decayes. 
 
 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. 267 ' 
 
 It was the Erie of Weftmerland ! 
 
 That thought himfelfe fo fure, i 
 
 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. 
 
 I 
 
 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, I 
 
 That they would haue againe ? '■ 
 
 The popifh mafle it is, I trowe, \ 
 With her abufes vaine, — 
 
 As by their doings may apeare, J 
 
 In comming through ech towne ; j 
 
 The Bibles they did rent and teare, ] 
 
 Like tray tours to the crowne. \ 
 
 \ 
 And traytours vnto God, likewife, \ 
 
 By right we may them call, j 
 
 That do his lawes and worde defpife, I 
 
 Their country, queene and all. ! 
 
 The lawes that fhe eftablifhed 
 
 According to Gods word, \ 
 
 They feeke to haue abolifhed ' 
 
 By force of warre and Iword, \ 
 
268 ANCIENT BALLADS 
 
 Forgetting cleane their loyaltie 
 
 That to their prince they owe, 
 Their faith, and eke fideHtie, 
 
 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 mafles to be folde. 
 
 With Keryeleyfon. 
 
 Friers fhoulde weare their olde graye gownes 
 And maides to fhrift fhould com, 
 
 Then prieftes fhould finge with fhauen crownes, 
 Dominus vobifcum. 
 
AND BROADSIDES. 269 
 
 All thefe and fuch-like vaneties ■ 
 
 Should then beare all the fway, ■ 
 
 And Gods word through fuch fantafies i 
 
 Should cleane be layd away. j 
 
 i 
 
 But like as God did them defpife j 
 
 Which were in Moyfes dayes, 1 
 
 That did a calfe of gold deuife ^ 
 
 As God, to giue him prayfe ; \ 
 
 i 
 
 And for the fame idolatry. 
 
 In one day with the fword 
 Did thre and twenty thoufand dye. 
 
 That did negled his worde. \ 
 
 The children eke of Ifraell, 
 
 In Ezechias time. 
 
 He made among their foes to dwell, j 
 
 That did committe that crime. j 
 
 But when that Ezechias praied 
 
 To God to helpe his owne, j 
 
 The Lorde forthwith did fend them aide, ' 
 
 Their foes weare ouerthrowne. 
 
 \ 
 
 A hundred thoufande eightie Ruq, 1 
 
 By Gods aungelles weare flaine, i 
 
 And none of them were left aliue ; 
 
 That toke his name in vaine. ' 
 
 Senacherib alfo, the kinge [ 
 
 Then of the AfTirians, j 
 
 As he his God was honouring, . j 
 Was flaine by his two fonnes. 
 
c 
 
 270 ANCIENT BALLADS. 1 
 
 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 l 
 
 In prefence of his flghte. i 
 
 So hath he now thefe rebels all, j 
 
 Through their vngodly trade, \ 
 
 Caft downe into the pit to fall ^ ! 
 
 That they for others made. j 
 
 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, j 
 
 And that ill hap may them befall : 
 
 That feeke for warre and ftrife. i 
 
 Finis. ! 
 
 Imprinted at London, in Fleete ftreete, by William i 
 
 How, for Henry Kirkham, and are to be j 
 
 folde at his ftiop at the middle north doore of j 
 
 Paules Churche. j 
 
Notes. 
 
 AGE I, line 2. As Donjiable waye, ** 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 
 direction," Bedfordfliire 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 Plomtrie. Sir is here 
 the title of a prieft, anfwering to the Latin do?ninus. 
 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 fufter 
 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, preferved 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 i6. No more is 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 
 prote6lion 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 j 
 the contour is pleaflng, and the general expreflion 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 pafl:, in running hither 
 and thither to Mafl:er John Shorne or to our Lady of 
 Walflngham." The bones of Shorne were originally 
 depofited at Canterbury, where his fhrine remained, 
 but it would appear from MS. Afhmole 11 25, 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. Afonyed. " Troubled in minde, 
 ajionied^ made fore afeard," Baret's Alvearie, 1580. 
 
NOTES. 273 
 
 Page 5, line 7. By Thomas Colwelh " Receved 
 of Thomas Colwell, for his lycenfe for the pryntinge 
 of a ballett intituled a newe wel a daye, as playne, m"". 
 papefte, as Dunftable waye, iiij.^.," Regifters of the 
 Stationers' Company, 1569-70. A tune called JVell- 
 a-day is frequently mentioned. See Chappell's Popular 
 Mufic, p. 175. 
 
 Page 5, line 1 1. 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 js 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, / wis^ I know. 
 
 Page 8, line 25. The upper end of Fleet lane. 
 Moft 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 
 Mr. 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 detredlion," in 156 1-2. 
 
 Page 9, line 8. And all thofe. So in the original, 
 but it appears from the MS. copy that and is an error 
 for on. 
 
 Page 10, line 5. Skaine. A kind of fcimitar. 
 Hall, in his Chronicle, 1548, fpeaks of " a band of 
 Irylhmen armed in mayle with dartes and Jkaynes^ 
 after the manner of their countrey." Palfgrave, how- 
 ever, in 1530, explains yy^^jw^, " a knyfe," a word 
 frequently fynonymous with dagger. 
 
 Page 10, line 22. Bothe. All, Bright MS. 
 
 Page II, line 31. Heere. Cleere, MS. Bright. In 
 the next page, line 2, for // /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 lujiy 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. Afhmole 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, iiij.^." Marques., mar- 
 chionefs. Shakefpeare makes Henry the Eighth fpeak 
 of the " lady marquis Dorfet," a6l v. fc. 2. In the 
 original ballad there are five woodcuts, in a line at the 
 top of the flieet. 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 W. Elder ton, Drayton, 
 in his Elegies, fpeaking of his beginning to read the 
 Claflics as a boy, fays, — 
 
 I fcorn'd your ballet then, though it were done 
 And had for ¥tnis^ William Elderton. 
 
 Page 16, line 14. The Prifoners^ Petition. This 
 title is not in the original, which is printed on a flip of 
 paper meafuring 5 by 3I inches, and appears to be a 
 
NOTES. . 275 
 
 hand-bill fent round to the wealthy inhabitants of the 
 City. 
 
 Page 16, line 19. The hole of IVood-Jireet 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 
 fhall charme him. 
 
 Rauen. The hole fhall rotte him. 
 
 The Puritaine^ or the Widdow of Watling- 
 Jireete^ ed. 1607, fig. F. 
 
 Next from the flocks, the Hole, and Little-eafe, 
 Sad places, which kind nature do difpleafe. 
 
 The Walks of Hogs don y ^to. 1657. 
 
 On the eaft fide of this ftreet (Wood Street) is one 
 of the prifon houfes pertayning to the fhiriffes 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 
 Enghfh readers by Chaucer, who derived the incidents 
 from Boccaccio j and in the fixteenth century it was 
 extremely popular in this country, becoming the 
 fubje6l of plays, chap-books, and ballads. See notices 
 of thefe coUedted in the Shakefpeare Society's reprint 
 of the comedy of Patient Griffil, 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 GrifTell, fhewing how flie, 
 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, Marquefle and Lord of 
 Salufa, a man of fuch vertues that the world did ring 
 of; beloved of his fubjedts for his good parts, that, 
 before his dayes nor fmce, was very few the like for 
 his continual! care of his fubje6ts good, and they, in 
 their dutifulnefle, 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 fubjedls loyalty to this 
 worthy prince, in their carefulnefle that fuch excellent 
 vertues fhould not faile for want of iflue, 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 afFedlion 
 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 mofl wiUingly would 
 fulfill their good and honefl requeft. Withall this 
 anfwer gave them fuch content, that they earneflly 
 prayed to fee that day." 
 
 Page 17, line 15. The Bridles Good-morrow. The 
 ballad of the Bride's Good-Morrow, " to a pleafant 
 new tune," is in the Roxburghe Colledlion, 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 pafled, and joyfull day appeareth, 
 
 Moft cleare on every fide ; 
 With pleafant mufick we therefore falute you, — 
 
 Good morrow, Miftris Bride. 
 
 The exclamation, " Good morrow, Miflrefs Bride," is 
 found, obferves Mr. Collier, " as a quotation, in more 
 
NOTES. 277 
 
 than one play of the time of Shakefpeare, with other 
 allufions to this ballad." The tune itfelf has not been 
 found under this title. Did Shakefpeare have the 
 ballad in his recolle61:ion when he makes Petruchio 
 fay,— 
 
 But what a fool am I, to chat with you, 
 When I fhould bid good-morrow to my bride, 
 And feal the title with a lovely kifs ? 
 
 Page 19, line 16. Maliji. Maliced ; envied. 
 
 Page 21, line 6. Alone, " All alone," chap- 
 book ed. 
 
 Page 21, line 21. B'ljfe and pureji palL Bifs and 
 pall were filk and cloth of expenfive and fine textures. 
 They are frequently mentioned in the old Englifli 
 romances as figns of the wealth of their pofleflbrs. 
 " That grete cite that was clothed with biffe and pur- 
 pur, and overgyld with gold and prefious ftonys," 
 Wimbleton's Sermon, 1388. " And on hym were 
 the purpuU palle," MS. Afhmole 61. 
 
 Page 22, line 25. Jll and fome. That is, every- 
 body — 
 
 We are betrayd, and y-nome, 
 Horfe and harnefs, lords, all and fome. 
 • The Romance of Richard Coer de Lion, 2284. 
 
 Page 23, line 2. Brauery. 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 MarquefTe had an 
 unremoveable love upon her, befought her to pardon 
 them of their envy towards her, and to take them into 
 her favour, which fhe, with a modeft behaviour, pro- 
 mifed to doe. The noble MarquefTe, feeing all in 
 peace, ordained a great and fumptuous feaft, where 
 patient GrifTel fate miftrefTe 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 
 MarquefTe, to fhew his love to his Griflell, 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 
 Grifltll 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 fufpe£t, very 
 incorreaiy printed. It feems a mere claptrap jumble 
 to take in the countryman." 
 
 Page 24, line 3. Damon aud Ptthias. "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 monflrom childe. It is a curious 
 facSb that the woodcut of this child, and of fome other 
 monfters defcribed in the prefent colle6tion, 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 
 exaaiy as it ftands in the original, — Prodigia quie- 
 dam contra folitum naturae curfum nata et In lucem cedit: 
 anno Domini 1562. In addition to thofe found in thefe 
 broadfides may be mentioned drawings of 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 
 (blanky Machyn's Diary, 1562, ed. J. G. Nichols, 
 p. 281. 
 
 Page 27, line 16. Braft, Burft. " Braft in the 
 middes, or in fundre," Huloet's Di61:ionarie, 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 
 //««j, he gives it not over, he is alwaies doing," Terence 
 in EngHfh, 16 14. 
 
 Page 29, line 6. A fcape. So Shakefpeare, in 
 King John, fpeaks of a " fcape of nature." 
 
 Page 30, Hne 16. Lady^ 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 pafleft Venus far away, 
 
 Lady, lady ; 
 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 iffued againft Henry the Fourth 
 the day before the battle of Shrewlbury, exprefsly 
 charge him with the refponfibility of this crime. 
 
 Page 32, line 7. Trentalles. " Trentals or trigin- 
 tals were a number of maffes, to the tale of thirty, faid 
 
28o 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 15 70-1, " 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 
 Colle6lion, " 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 lohn Felton, for hanging a bull at 
 the gate of the Bifhop of London's palace, andalfo 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. — Stowe's Annales^ 
 ed. 16 1 5, 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 Bifhoppes palace gate, and being cut 
 downe aliue, he was bowelled and quartered. — Ibid.^ 
 p. 667. 
 
 Page 34, line 2. To-to. Exceedingly. " Tcro-too^ 
 ufed abfolutely for very well or good," Ray's Englifti 
 Words, ed. 1674, p. 49. 
 
 Page 34, line 14. Senceyng. That is, incenfing. 
 " 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 Nortons' 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 year. 
 " 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. ^^ Mocquer, 
 to mock, flowt, frump, fcoffe, deride," Cotgrave. 
 " To frump, illudo," Coles. 
 
 Page 36, line 20. ^een Elizabeth. Thefe lines 
 under a portrait form together a Angularly 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 pidture, 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 publifhed, as it is 
 not mentioned in Humfrey Difon's lift of the pro- 
 clamations of Queen Elizabeth. The " py61:ure of 
 quene Elyzabeth " was entered to Gyles Godhed on 
 the books of the Stationers' Company, 1562-3. 
 
 Page 37, line 11. j^ne 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 
 maflacre. 
 
 Page 37, line 15. Tykit. 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 mafl^acre at Paris. 
 
282 NOTES. 
 
 Page 37, line 19. ^yte 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. Farl'ie. 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. Wapis. That is, cafts or 
 throws. So, in Ramfay's poems, — 
 
 Get Johnny's hand in haly band. 
 Syne njoap ye'r wealth together. 
 
 Page 38, line 21. The feryne. That is, the fyren. 
 Ouirfylit^ circumvented. 
 
 Page 38, line 24. Volatill. Bird. " Make we man 
 to oure ymage and liknefTe, 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 39, 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 a[fay? 
 In the next line thie in the original, clearly a mif- 
 print for this. 
 
 Page 42, line l . The Bryber Gehefie, " 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.^j/," 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 Hillorye of Horeftes, 1567, that this is the fame 
 tune as "Lady, lady." The ftage-diredtion 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 bryght, 
 
 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 156 1-2 for printing 
 " a new ballett after the tune of Kynge Salomon." 
 
 Page 45, line 6. The Jhape of it monjiers. 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 
 pi61:ure of a monfterus pygge, iiij.^." 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. Fein^eit. 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 claflical 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. j^ne 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 t. Read gif^ if. 
 
 Page 52, line 11. Litils. 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 
 diftridls, which had become the fcene of great lawleff- 
 nefs, were reduced into order. " He was very wyfe, 
 and a guid juftitiar in adminiftration. His fyve yeirs 
 war eltimed 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 poflibly be an error for fracke^ active, diligent. 
 So in a poem cited by Jamiefon, — 
 
 He wald not lat the Papifts caufe ga bale, 
 Gif it were juft, bot wald be for Wxxnfrak. 
 
 Page 54, line 10. Pleit. Maintained; debated. 
 
 Page 54, line 13. Eith. That is, eafy. 
 
 Page 54, line 21. Dowie. 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.'* 
 
 Page 55, line 25. Glaikrie. Idle wantonnefs. 
 
 Page 56, line 3. Detreitis. So in the original, 
 obvioufly intended for decreitis. In the previous line, 
 decor e^ that is, decorate. 
 
 Page 56, line 7. Semptll. 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 had re- 
 turned to Edinburgh. 
 
 Page 56, line 12. The Plagues of Northomberland. 
 " Receved of Thomas Colwell, for his lycenfe for 
 pryntinge of a ballett intituled, Plaiges of Northum- 
 berlande, iiij.<5?," Regifters of the Stationers' Company, 
 1569-70. At the top of this broadfide is a row of five 
 woodcuts. 
 
 Page 56, line 13. Appelles. This tune is referred 
 to in Googe's Eglogs, 1563, in the Handeful of Pleafant 
 Delites, 1584, and in the Crown Garland of Golden 
 Rofes, 1659. ^ " 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 the Moon e^ 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 mifcreants on nyght, 
 An hevynly myftery was fchewyd hym, old bookys reherfe ; 
 In hys fcheld 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 Bijhop 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 ail others his tennants, beyng 
 furnifhed 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. Pyght, That is, placed, fixed. 
 Redyghty to reftore, (Lat.) 
 
 Page 57, line 27. Belltnge. That is, bellowing. 
 " Bellynge of nete," Prompt. Parv. " Becking, 
 belling, ducking, yelling, was their whole religio," 
 Anfwere to a Romifti Rime, 1602. 
 
 Page 60, line 4. In Somer time. This is the fame 
 tune which is mentioned in a ballad in the Pepys' 
 Colledlion, " 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, lahrurn^^ Rider's Di6l:ionarie, ed. 16 17. 
 
 Page 63, line 17. A monjierous 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 py6ture 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, " unperfedle, imperfeSius^'' ed. 
 1572 ; and unparfited^ for unperfeSied^ occurs in 
 Surrey's Songs and Sonnets, 1557. ■'■^ ^^^ n&i^X. 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 produdtions 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. Brijiow. 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 colle6tion of ballads at 
 Oxford, in Old Ballads, 1729, vol. iii. p. 201, &c. 
 
 Page 67, Hne 12. Fine. "Then," ed. Roxburghe. 
 
 Page 67, line 18. Wajie. "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 Jemy 
 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- 
 preffion, naked hed^ 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/uII. " Mortall," ed. Rox- 
 burghe. 
 
 Page 72, line 7. Trauell. " Triall," ed. Rox- 
 burghe. 
 
 Page 72, line 14. Al her iorneys. " Her forrow," 
 ed. Roxburghe. 
 
 Page 72, line 20. On her perills. " Of her 
 forrowes," ed. Roxburghe. The next ftanza is omit- 
 ted in this later copy. 
 
 Page 73, line 10. Euer. This ftiould 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 grieuous. 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 paffing pure life. " And 
 palling pure of life," ed. Roxburghe. 
 
 Page 75, line 18. Feareful. " Freareful" in the 
 original. 
 
 Page 78, line 8. To the tune of Lahandalajhotte. 
 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, fhewing how he 
 was deceived of his Love." That ballad commences, — 
 
 Whenas King Edgar did govern this land, 
 Adown, adown, down, down, down ; 
 
 And in the ftrength of his years he did ftand, 
 Call him down-a, &c. 
 
 Mrs. Quickly fmgs this burden in the Merry Wives 
 of Windfor, adt 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-a^^ Hamlet, 
 adl iv. fc. 5. " Filibujiacchina^ the burden of a coun- 
 trie fong, as we fay, hay xioune 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 Detra6lion, p. 9 ; and Rhodes, in his Anfwere to 
 a Romifh Rime, 4to. 1602, fays, — " I found it fet to 
 no certaine tune, but becaufe it goeth moft neere to the 
 olde tune of Lahandalajhot^ therefore I have made that 
 all may be fung to that tune, if neede be." 
 
 Page 79, line 5. Marketjied. 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 Englifli publifhing. The 
 ballads were printed for him in London. 
 
 Page 81, line l. J proper newe fonet. It is pro- 
 bably this ballad, not the preceding one, which is 
 thus entered in the Stationers' Regifters for 1586, — 
 " Nicholas Colman, receved of him for printinge a 
 ballad of the lamentation of Beckles, a market towne 
 of Suffolke, on St. Andrewes day lafte pafte, beinge 
 burnt with fier, to the number of Ixxx. houfe, and 
 lofle 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 colle61:ed in the 
 parifh of Harpham "for the burning of Beccles." 
 In 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 colle6ted in this city towards the re-edifying of 
 Beccles Church, which was lately burnt,'' Suckling's 
 Suffolk, vol. i. p. 12. 
 
 Page 81, line 8. To Wilfon'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 Majeflie, 1586, To WilforCs new Tune. 
 Page 83, line 11. The church and temple by this 
 U 
 
290 NOTES. 
 
 fyre, " The roof, feats, and woodwork of the church 
 were confumed, though the walls and the ftonework 
 of the windows efcaped deftru£tion. 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 l. Franklins Farewell. James 
 Franklin was the apothecary whofe poverty or whofe 
 will confented to furnifti 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, 
 ConfefTion, 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, iiij.^," 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 
 diftinguiftiing 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. PFood. That is, mad. ''Phoebus 
 
NOTES. 291 
 
 grows ftark wood for love and fancie to Daphne," 
 Countefs of Pembroke's Ivy-Church, 159 1. "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. 
 " Woode or imdde^ fureux^" Palfgrave. 
 
 Page 91, line i. Foole. "Feele" in the original. 
 
 Page 92, line 23. Jpayd. Satisfied; pleafed. "In 
 herte I wolde be wele apayede," MS. Lincoln. " I 
 am well zp^Ljed^Jefuis bien 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 
 Bifhoppes prifon, for fuch as were dete61:ed for 
 opinions in religion contrary to the faith of the 
 church," Stow's Survay of London, ed. 1603, P- 
 
 372- 
 Page 95, line 16. 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, 4to. 1587. 
 
 Page 96, line 9. Aforayne, That is, a foreigner. 
 
 Page 965 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 /ubfequently 
 
292 NOTES, 
 
 became familiar as the Five Alls. As late as the reign 
 of George the Third, there was ifTued a fatirical print 
 by Kay in five compartments, the firft of w^hich repre- 
 fented a clergyman in his defk, w^ith the infcription, 
 " I pray for all ;" the fecond a barrifter, " I plead for 
 all j " 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 Jlls are ftill well-known ; 
 but the fign appears to be gradually going out of 
 fafliion. 
 
 Page loi, 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 illuftratedby 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 hav€ infued of whoredom, iiij.<5^," Sta- 
 tioners' Regifters, 1566-7. 
 
 Page lOi, line 5. Lefl in. " Left if* in the ori- 
 ginal. Perhaps the corre6t reading may be, left in. 
 
 Page loi, fine 15. The woorm. That is, the fer- 
 pent. The ufe of the word in this fenfe is very com- 
 mon in early Englifti. 
 
 Page 10 1, line 21. The harmes. " Thy harmes'' 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 lumptuous 
 With as great plenty as Spain could afford. 
 Dub a dub, dub a dub, thus ftrike their drums : 
 Tantara^ tantara^ the Engh"fhman comes. 
 
 It was alfoy 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 hlofe, blows, Ra/hy 
 Ralph, y?«(r^^, cinque, ^^, goes, hardly require expla- 
 nation. 
 
 Page 106, line 2. Upon the molde. Upon the ground 
 or earth. This was a favourite expreffion in the old 
 Englifh romances. " Moold or foyle of crthe^foiumy** 
 Prompt. Parv. 
 
 Page 106, line 14. Plaie. " Plate" in the original. 
 
 Page 106, line 28. To hafte. That is, to beat. 
 " To baft, beat, fujie credere ^^ Coles. Bajl'ian^ a 
 cudgel. *' Baculusy a. bafton, a ftafFe," Nomenclator, 
 1585. Bumbde^ ftruck, beat. The verb to bum^ to 
 beat, is ftill in ufe in the North. Vnguentum Bakaline^ 
 ointment for the back. 
 
 Page 107, line 19. He fpurres his cutte. That is, 
 his horfe. " Am I their cutt ? muft Jack march with 
 bag and baggage," Play of Sir Thomas More. " But 
 mafter, 'pray ye, let me ride upon 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 Tnjoo Noble Kinfmen^ 1634., p. 42. 
 
 Page 108, line 8. Her life. " His life" in the 
 original. 
 
 Page no, line 17. Bedjiaffe. 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 III, line 12. Did laugh a-good. In good 
 earneft. " The world laughed a-good at thefe jefts," 
 Armin'sNeft of Ninnies, 1608. " This mery aunfwer 
 made them all laughe a-good," North's Plutarch. 
 
 Page 112, line i. Defcription of a monjlrous pig. 
 " Receved of Garrad Dewes, for his lycenfe for 
 
294 NOTES. 
 
 pryntinge of a py6lure 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. ']']. The earlieft notice of 
 the tune yet met with occurs in Prodlor'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 lone, lady, 
 Though fancy doo prick thee. 
 
 Page 114, line i. Nicyngs and ticings. Pretty 
 follies and allurements. Tyfeng for enticing occurs in 
 Aminta, 1628. 
 
 Page 114, line 6. Shouer, Perhaps for Jhiver^ 
 tremble. 
 
 Page 114, line 10. Glofe. Diflimulation ; falfehood. 
 
 Tell me, Gobrias, doft thou fimplie thinke 
 That this dilcourle is naught but naked truth. 
 Or elfe fome forged or dilTembled glofe. 
 
 The IVarres of Cyrus ^ King of Perfia, 1594. 
 
 Page 114, line 15. And you twincke. " Twynkyne 
 wythe the eye, conniveo^^ Prompt. Par v. 
 
 Some turne the whites up, fome looke to the foote ; 
 Some winke, fome twinke, fome blinke, &c. 
 
 Lane^s Tom Tel-Troths Meffage, 1600. 
 
 Page 115, line 18. Bearyng your louers 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. 2^5 
 
 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, a61: ii. fc. i. 
 
 Page 120, line 5, The harded horfe. The horfe 
 equipped with military trappings or ornaments. " Their 
 horfeswerebarded 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 Hiftory, 1596. The word is fometimes 
 written barbed. * 
 
 Page 120, 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, impedimentum^' Huloet's Di£tionarie, 1572. 
 " Let, impediment, hinderaunce," Baret's Alvearie, 
 1580. 
 
 Page 122, line 27. Stroy. That is, deftroy. 
 " Some they ftroye and fome they brenne," MS. 
 Cantab. " Stroyed in difhonour," Antony and 
 Cleopatra, a61: iii. fc. 9. 
 
 Diflblving all her circles and her knots, 
 AnAJiroying all her figures and her lots. 
 
 Haringtons Orlando Furiofo, 1591. 
 
 P. 123, line 19. The Groome-porters lawes at Mawe. 
 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 refpe6ting 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 unufuardifficulty. All the games at cards 
 played by our anceftors were, however, more difficult 
 
 ■^ u-Wa feu tucuM. mvi ^"^ r^ 
 
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 Ibme tiicke 
 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 halade. 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 vv^ith the mouthe, 1 mocke one ; he ufeth fo 
 moche to mocke and movi^e, that he disfygureth his 
 face," Palfgrave, 1530. Loute^ in the next line, has a 
 fmiilar 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, a6t 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. «SW. That is, ferious. The 
 ufe of the term in this fenfe was very common. 
 
 Page 132, line 26. The ioh. 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 159."^. A later copy of this oath is given in Stow's 
 Survey of London, ed. 1633, p. 689. 
 
 Page 133, line 7. Obey/ant. Submiffive. "That 
 v/ere obeiflant to his hefte," Gower. 
 
 Page 1 34, line 10. Neybourhed, 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^.," Regiftersof the Stationers' Com- 
 pany, 1561. 
 
 Page 136, line 16. PercialneJJe. Partiality. 
 
 Page 138, line 14. Philofophers learnynges. There 
 is a row of five woodcuts at the top of this fheet. 
 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. ^e pajfa. A dance, properly 
 called ^ui pajfa^ 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 ; 
 afiTurance. " Now give fome furance that thou art 
 Revenge," Titus Andronicus, a6t v. fc. 2. 
 
 Page 140, line 3. Corzye. Diflirefs ; inconve- 
 nience. " To have a great hurt or domage, which we 
 call a corfey to the herte," Eliote's Di6lionarie, 1559. 
 
 Page 140, line 10. Exuperate, Surmount. (Lat.) 
 
 Page 141, line 11. It is olde fyr "John. The title 
 ofy/r was formerly the defignation of a Bachelor of 
 Arts, and, in confequence, the Englifti 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. H. 
 
 Page 141, line 18. A gray e. A badger. " Grey, 
 beeft, taxus^^ Prompt. Parv. '* Graye, a beefl:, taxe^"* 
 Palfgrave, 1530. " Graye, bagger, brocke, a beaft," 
 Huloet's Di6lionarie, 1572. 
 
 Page 142, line 24. The fwap of the fw alow e. The 
 
298 NOTES. 
 
 flang expreffions in this and fome other of thefe bal- 
 lads can only be conje6lurally explained. Can this 
 mean, the blow of the drunkard ? 
 
 Page 143, line 8. To bewite. To hinder. 
 
 Page 143, line 11. 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' Di6lionarie, ed. 1608, 
 p. 460. 
 
 And pluck up thy hart, thou faint-harted mome ; 
 As long as I lyve, thou ftialt take no harme. 
 
 T/ie ConfliSi of Confcience^ by N. Woodes^ 1581. 
 
 And yet, to fpealce the veritie, I roame not farre from home j 
 My yeeres be not expyred yet that bound me for a mome. 
 
 The Cajiell of Courtejie^ by James Yates ^ 1582. 
 
 Page 143, line 12. Talle. Valiant; warlike. "He 
 is as tall a man as any in lUyria," Twelfth Night. 
 
 Page 145, line i. Marueilous Jiraunge F'ljhe. This 
 is one of the earlieft broadfides relating to " ftrange 
 fifhes'* 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 coafl, on Wednefday the 
 fourfcore of April, forty thoufand fathom above water, 
 and fung this ballad againfl the hard hearts of maids." 
 I am not acquainted with any very early ballad refpect- 
 ing a fifh, but in the Miller colle61:ion is a broadfide, 
 " The Difcription of a rare or rather mofl monflrous 
 fifhe, taken on the Eafl Cofl of Holland the xvii. of 
 Nouember, anno 1566," at the conclufion of which 
 are fome verfes commencing thus, — 
 
NOTES. 299 
 
 As thou this formed fiflie doeft fee 
 
 I-chaiinged from his Itate, 
 So many men in eche degree 
 
 From kynd degenerate ; 
 To monfters men are turned now, 
 
 Difguifed in their raye, 
 For in theyr fonde inuentions new 
 
 They kepe no meane ne ftaye. 
 
 Page 145, line 14. Scooles. Shoals. "Into the 
 town of Rochell, they fay, God hath fent 2ijkull of fifh 
 for their rehef," MS. Harl. 388. 
 
 Page 146, line 15. Daye fertayne. The comma 
 here fhould be placed after the word daye. In the 15th 
 line of this page the laft word in the line is, in the 
 original, mifprintedy^r/^/«/^/«^/V. 
 
 Page 146, line 17. The Kinges Head in new FiJ))- 
 ftreat. 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. Thefantaftes, 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 Auftours," 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, a Ifoin 
 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 ifl^ied feparately. 
 
 Page 147, line 17. A fea ofwofullforrowes. " Or to 
 take arms againft a fea of troubles," Hamlet. 
 
 Page 148, line 10. And h» "As is," ed. 1557. 
 
w 
 
 300 NOTES. 
 
 Page 148, line 17. Payne. " Gaine," ed. 1557, 
 which has alfo runne for rome in the next line but 
 one. 
 
 Page 149, line 12. Of euyll tounges. This is alfo 
 printed in Tottel's 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 this ftanza commences thus, — 
 
 Ye make great warre, where peace hath been of long ; 
 Ye bring rich realmes to ruine and decay. 
 
 Page 151, line 24. Coucht. Laid; placed. This 
 term was fpecially applied to artiftic work. 
 
 Alle of palle werke fyne, 
 
 CoiAJchide 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 wickednefTe 
 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. 
 
 Grange'' s Golden Apkroditis, XS77' 
 
 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 Chajlitie, by James Yates ^ 1582. 
 
 Page 154, line 7. Roifiers, Rioters. 
 
 If he not reeke what ruffian roifiers take his part, 
 He weeldes unwifely then the mace of Mars in hand. 
 
 Mirrourfor Magijlrates^ 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 Didlion- 
 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. Holborne Hill. Holborn Hill 
 was always the road through which criminals, taken 
 from Newgate to be hung at Tyburn, were condudted. 
 There are innumerable references to this in our old 
 writers. 
 
 Page 156, line 17. Capichlni. 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 TVatUng 
 Jireet. This ballad has no connedtion 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 exift, the prefent, ifl'ued by Pavier, being the 
 earlieft edition yet difcovered. There is a later copy 
 in the Roxburghe colledlion " printed for Fr. Cowles. " 
 
 Page 157, line 12. To the tune of Bragandary. In 
 Anthony Wood's colle61:ion of ballads at Oxford is 
 one entitled, " A Defcription of a ftrange and mira- 
 culous fifti caft upon the fands in the meads, in the 
 hundred of Worwell in the county Palatine of Chefter 
 or Chefheire; to the tune of Bragandary." 
 
 Page 158, line 25. For-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. J fort. A company. "What 
 care I for waking a forte of clubbifli loutes," Enter- 
 lude of Jacob and Efau, 1568. "A fort of country 
 fellows," Tale of a Tub. " Ye fhall be flain, all 
 the fort of you," Pfalms. 
 
 Page 162, line 23. Witneffes. " Witnefle" in the 
 original, and fo alfo in the Roxburghe copy. 
 
302 NOTES. 
 
 Page 163, line 9. Jnd hozv 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 fimply a modernization. Scufe 
 for excufe occurs in Shakefpeare. 
 
 Page 163, line 23. Tou majiers. " My mafters," 
 Roxburghe ed. 
 
 Page 164, line 6. ^od the w'lddow, " Quoth 
 the young man," Roxburghe ed. 
 
 Page 164, line 11. He. " She" in the original, cor- 
 rected in the Roxburghe copy. 
 
 Page 164, line 18. To Jpeake fo. The word y^, 
 wanting in the original, is fupplied by conjecSture. 
 The Roxburghe copy reads /"//. 
 
 Page 165, line 4. Stafnberd. Stammered. " Stam- 
 ber, or to ftutte, tituho^' Huloet's Didtionarie, 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 leaf. Thefe two 
 lines are thus given in the Roxburghe edition, — 
 
 For forfeit even all the goods he poffeft, 
 To loofe both his eares, and banifht fo reft. 
 
 Page 166, line 15. Ahnightie 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 rervniy Time 
 bryngethe al thynges to an ende, qvod Chriftopher 
 Wilfon." 
 
 Page 167, line 6. Xpe. Chrifte. 
 
 Page 169, line 15. Reduce. Bring back (Lat.) 
 " 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-litter, or he that fytteth in Maieftye, 
 altitronus,'" Huloet's Didionarie, 1572. 
 
 Page 174, line 15. Pepper is black e. 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., Naih's Have With You to Saffron- Walden, 
 1596. The tune is found in the Dancing Mailer, 1650. 
 See it in Chappell's Popular Mufic, p. 121. 
 
 Page 175, line 15. Baggage. Refufe. " Scum off 
 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, fmgularly 
 enough, followed by the widower's marriage on 
 Odiober 22nd in the fame year. " 1570, OQi. 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. 16 18, 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 178, line 18. Fine. End. This word is now 
 only ufed in the expreflion, in fine. 
 
 Page 179, line 10. Schortchyng. The r is probably 
 inferted by miftake in this word, which feems to be 
 merely a form o^ fcotching. 
 
 Page 179, line 14. Could not want. That is, could 
 not do without. " I myffe, I wante a thyng that I 
 feke for," Palfgrave, 1530. ^^ De cela je ne puis pajfer.^ 
 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-Poety 1630, ii. 134. 
 
 Page 181, 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. I 
 
 Page 182, line 10. J famous dittie. " The 12. of i 
 Nouember the queenes maieftie, returning after her \ 
 progrefTe, came to her manor of S. James, where the j 
 citizens of London, to the number of 200, the graueft j 
 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." — Stoius Jmiales^ p. 700. j 
 
 Page 182, line 14. Wigmores Galliard. This tune \ 
 is given in Chappell's Popular Mufic of the Olden i 
 Time, p. 242, from William Ballet's MS. Lute-Book, j 
 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 Galliard in his fhirt about i 
 his chamber," Middleton's Five Gallants. 
 
 Page 186, line 13. A meruaylous Jiraunge deformed \ 
 Swyne. This and other marvels of the time are ; 
 thus alluded to in a letter from Bifhop Jewell to I 
 H. Bullinger, written in Auguft, 1562, — " Incredibilis \ 
 fuit hoc anno toto apud nos coeli atque aeris j 
 intemperies. Nee fol, nee luna, nee hyems, nee ver, i 
 nee aeftas, nee autumnus, fatisfeeit officium fuum. Ita \ 
 efFatim et pene fme intermiflione pluvit, quafi facere jam ; 
 aliud coelum non queat. Ex hae contagione nata funt \ 
 monftra : infantes fcedum in modum deformatis \ 
 corporibus, alii prorfus fme capitibus, alii capitibus \ 
 alienis ; alii trunci fme brachiis, fme tibiis, fme i 
 cruribus ; alii oflibus folis cohaerentes, prorfus fme \ 
 uUis carnibus, quales fere imagines mortis pingi folent. | 
 Similia alia eomplura nata funt e porcis, ex equabus, e \ 
 vaccis, e gallinis. Meflis hoc tempore apud nos i 
 anguftius quidem provenit, ita tamen ut non poffimus \ 
 multum conqueri." | 
 
 Page 187, line 8. Tallents. Talons. This form i 
 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. i 
 
NOTES. 305 
 
 Page 188, line 17. White-fajie. 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 heares 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 19 1, 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 crois-rowe ere I learn *d to fpell. 
 
 Drayton's Idea. 
 
 Page 194, line 8. y/ monjirous Child. " Receved 
 of John Sampfon, for his lycenfe for the pryntinge of 
 a monfterus chylde which was bornne at Maydeftone, 
 iiij.<^," Regifters of the Stationers' Company, 1568-9. 
 This entry is not inconfiftent with the imprint, 
 Sampfon frequently ftyling himfelf Awdeley, which 
 was, in fad, 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 Didionarie, 1572. " Hee is a moft excel- 
 lent turner, and wil turne you walfel-bowles and pof- 
 fet-cuppes, carv'd with libberdes faces and lyons 
 heades, with fpoutes in their mouthes to let out the 
 pofTet-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 Chappell's Popular Mufic, 
 p. 162. 
 
 Page 198, line 9. Shute. Robert Shute w^as 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 201, line i. A difcriptlon of a mon/irous Chylde. 
 " The iiij day of June ther was a chyld brov/th to the 
 cowrte in a boxe, of a ftrange fegur, vi^ith 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 pyiSture of a monftrus chylde which was 
 bourne at Chechefter." See Herbert's Ames, p. 1325. 
 
 Page 202, line 11. Our. The original has zV, and 
 the alteration may be unnecefTary. When it was 
 made, it was not recolle6ted that it occafionally ftands 
 for yet. " And zV, God knowes what may befall," 
 Marriage of Wit and Wifdome, 1579. 
 
 Page 202, line 15. A lame. A lamb. "Lam or 
 loom, yonge fcheep, agnus^* Prompt. Parv. " Agnus^ 
 a lame ; agna., a new lame," Nominale MS. 
 
 Page 203, line 2. The calues and pygges fo Jiraunge. 
 "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 ruffes of fhirts and necker- 
 chers then ufed. The foure and twentith of Male, a 
 manchild was borne at Chichefter in SufTex, 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 fhirt 
 or neckercher comming up above the eares, pleited 
 and folded, &c." Holinfhed's Chronicles, ed. 1587, 
 vol. 3, p. U95. Cf. Stow's Annales, ed. 1615, 
 p. 647. 
 
 Page 206, line 7. D'lfgeji. A common form of 
 d'lgeji. " I have fet you downe one or two examples 
 to try how ye can difgeji the maner of the devife," 
 Puttenham. 
 
 Page 2c6, line 27. Take. ''Toke" in the original. 
 
 Page 207, line 28. Mejfe. Entertainment. The 
 term is generally applied to a party of four. " And 
 you are the fourth, to make up the mefl'e," WapulFs 
 Tyde Taryeth no Man, 1576. "The mefle of 
 conftables were fhrunke to three," Taylor's Workes, 
 fol. Lond. 1630. 
 
 Page 208, line 2. Lidgate.^ Wager.^ 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 deftroyed 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. Fynjhery 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. 
 
3o8 NOTES. 
 
 Page 211, line 3. J nylde, A needle. "Like 
 pricking neelds, or points of fwords," Lucan's Phar- 
 falia by Sir A. Gorges, 16 14. 
 
 Page 211, line 20. I pas not moche. I care not 
 much. "To pafTe (care), moror ; I pafs not for it, 
 quid mea ; I pafTe not for his help, ejus operam nihil 
 moror" Coles. 
 
 Page 214, line 9. Cornells TVoltrop, No printer of 
 this name is mentioned by Ames or Herbert. 
 
 Page 214, line 11. Js pleafant a dittie. This popular 
 ballad is printed in Robert Jones's Firft Booke of 
 Songs and Ayres, 1 601, with the mufic. In Marfton*s 
 Dutch Courtezan, 1605, Francifchina, who is the 
 Dutch courtezan, fmgs in broken Englifh, — 
 
 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 214, line 14. I do. " I did," ed. Jones, 1601; 
 and in the next line, was for is. 
 
 Page 215, line 2. Js 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;" and, after this ftanza, there is only the following 
 one, correfponding to the laft verfe in our copy, — 
 
 Yet fure her lookes bev^raies content. 
 And cunningly her brales are meant j 
 As louers vfe to play and fport, 
 When time and lelfure 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. Jt randon. A common old form, 
 and the more correal, (Fr.) 
 
 Oh yes, it may, thou haft no eyes to fee. 
 But hatefully <2/ randon doeft thou hit. 
 
 Venus and Adonis^ ed. 1593, fig. F. 4, v*. 
 
 Page 221, line i. Good Fellowes. 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, "for the pryntinge of a ballett 
 intituled, Good felowes mufte go learne to daunce. 
 
 Page 221, line 5. J brail. ^*- BranJIe^ 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 Di6lionarie, 
 ed. 1611. 
 
 Page 221, line 6. TChe tryxt. That is, the neateft. 
 *'Tricke, gallaunt and trymme, cultus^ eligans; tricke, 
 gallaunt or trimme wench," Huloet's DiiStionarie, 
 ed. 1572. 
 
 Page 221, line 16. Slyper fajle, Faftened in a 
 flippery manner. '* Slypper, gl'ijfcint^^ Palfgrave, 
 
 1530- 
 Page 221, line 23. In hauderycke 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 
 
 truffinge up the belle, \].s. 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 {0.^x1 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 furniflied with 
 wands, and formerly were an eflential part of every 
 proceffion of any magnitude. " Faffing 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 (o 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. // /kylles not. It matters not. 
 " It (kills not greatly who impugns our doom," Second 
 Part of Henry the Sixth, a(St: iii. fc. i. 
 
 Page 222, line 10. Or at Cotfolde. The allufion 
 to dancing on the Cotfwold hills may here probably 
 refer to the ftiepherds' 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. 
 Cuttinge^ 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 byllhowes are not made it. 
 That is, not made yet. The bilboes were a fpecies of 
 flocks ufed for the punifhment of failors. " The pore 
 feloe was put into the bilboes., he being the firft upon 
 whom any punyfliment was fhewd," MS. Journal of a 
 Sea Voyage, temp. Eliz. 
 
 Page 224, line i . The braineles blejftng of the Bull. 
 Lacy had a licenfe in 1570 " for pryntinge of a ballett 
 intituled the brayneles bleflynge of the bull." 
 
 *' 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 Ihortly 
 after apprehended, and committed to the Tower of 
 London." — Stow's Jnnales^ ed. 1615, p. 666. 
 
 This ballad is equalled in fiercenefs, and is well 
 illuftrated, by an exceedingly curious contemporary 
 tra6t 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 Byfhops gate," 
 n.d. 
 
 Page 224, line 14. Bleathes. Bellows ? This 
 word may poflibly be conne6ted 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 difhonors 
 agaynft the nobleft queene in the world, Elizabeth, 
 the lawfuU Queene of England ; he ftamped and 
 fcraped on the ground, flong duft of fpitefuU fpeches 
 and vaine curfes about him, pufhed with his homes 
 at her noble counfellors and true fubiecSles, and for pure 
 anger all to berayed the place where he ftoode," A 
 Difclofmg of the great Bull, n. d. 
 
 Page 225, line 10. Clots. *' Clodde or to clotte 
 lande, occo.^^' Huloet's Di61:ionarie, 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 
 extinguifhed, with certain ceremonies. See further in 
 Nares, in v. Belly Book^ and Candle. 
 
 Page 225, line 30. Hardyngs cow. " Since he 
 (the bull) came ouer fo lately difguifed, he hath light 
 upon certaine ranke kyen, who 1 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 
 Do6tor 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 Difclofing of the great Bull, n. d. 
 
 Page 226, line 2. Butcher Row. There was 
 a place fo called near the Strand, " 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," A Difclofing 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 heft. This is in 
 manufcript and figned by the initials I. G. in a 
 monogram. It is fimilar in chara6ter and evidently by 
 the fame writer as the poem already printed at p. 192, 
 but it is on a feparate paper, and apparently another 
 effay. 
 
 Page 228, line i. The cr'ie 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- 
 firft year of his age, was buried at Afhby-de-la-Zouch 
 with great folemnity. The expenfes of his funeral 
 amounted to nearly ii 400. The corpfe was embalmed 
 at an expenfe of =£28 ; liveries to fixty poor men, <£6o; 
 in alms to the poor of divers parifhes, .£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 efPedls 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 Prefident made 
 by her grace. " Henry Earle of Huntingdon was made 
 Prefident of the Councell in the North. This Prefi- 
 dentfliip, 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. 1635, p. 179. 
 
 Page 232, line i. The IVeJlmerlande hull. So, in 
 the ballad of the Rifing in the North, — 
 
 Lord Weftmorland 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 coUar'^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 BiJIiop Percy, 
 
 Page 232, line 13. Sir John Swingbreeche. 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 ; 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 Maieji'ie of mercie is en- 
 dued with fl ore. . So, in a rare poem. An Aunfwere to 
 the Proclamation of the Rebels in the North, 1569, — 
 
3J4 NOTES, 
 
 If lenity may make men rife, 
 
 Or meekneffe gender yre, 
 If cold may caule 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. Oi'de. A common augmenta- 
 tive. '' On Sunday at mafle, there was olde ringing 
 of bels," Tarlton's Newes out of Purgatorie, 1590. 
 " We fhall have old fwearing," Merchant of Venice, 
 a6t iv. fc. 2. 
 
 Page 234, line 21. Next. Nigheft ; neareft. 
 " Home, home, the next way,** Winter's Tale, a(St 
 iii. fc. 3. 
 
 Page 235, line 10. Vpfedowne. Upfide-down. 
 
 Thus es this worlde torned upfodowne, 
 Tyll many mans dampnacyowne. — Hampole. 
 
 ** Tornyng upfodowne, /«^'z;^m(7«," Palfgrave, 1530. 
 
 Page 236, line i. A dtttie. 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 fa6ls which are mentioned 
 by the writer. 
 
 Page 237, line 6. Thy pettigree. " Petygrewe, 
 genealogie^'' Palfgrave, 1530. " Petigrewe, petigree, 
 or geneologie,y?^;/zw^," Huloet's DicStionarie, 1572. 
 
 Page 238, line i. Gifippus and his The. 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 perfe6t frend- 
 
 %p." 
 
NOTES. 315 
 
 Page 238, line 8. Turnoys. " Torno^ a turne, a 
 twirle," Florio's Worlde of Wordes, 1598. 
 
 Page 239, line 5. Js 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. leave. That is, ire. 
 
 Page 242, hne 14. Aleuen. Eleven. " Aleuen 
 widdowes and nine maides," Merchant of Venice, 
 ed. 1623. 
 
 Page 242, line 20. Plagued. " Plagud " in the 
 original. 
 
 Page 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 Hcenfed in 1586-7, as " a newe ballad inti- 
 tuled Stowp gallant, concerning a child borne with 
 great ruffes." 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 Watkins 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, — " T fhould hardly be perfwaded, that anie pro- 
 feflbr of fo excellent a fcience (as printing) would be 
 fo impudent to print fuch ribauldrie as Watkins 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. 
 
3i6 NOTES. 
 
 Page 251, line 7. Behard. Beheard, i. e., heard. 
 
 Page 251, line 20. Mufkadine, A kind of fweet 
 wine, frequently alluded to by our early writers. Cot- 
 grave, in V. Mufcadet^ 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. 
 
 " Cat after kinde, faith the proverbe, fwete milke 
 wil lap," Enterlude of Jacob and Efau, 1568. 
 
 " 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.'' — 
 FlorWs Second Frutes^ I59i« 
 
 *' 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." — Jr^ 
 raignment of Lewd, Idle, Frowardy and Unconjiant 
 IVojuen^ 161 7, 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, — " 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 fliop," Florio's 
 Worlde of Wordes, 1598. 
 
 Page 258, line 3. Be Jhe flaunt. That is, be fhe 
 fine or fafhionable. Shakefpeare ufes the fubftantive 
 flaunts.^ fineries, in the Winter's Tale, a6l 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 IVr'ifley. 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 
 affigns 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 06lober 4th, 1 581, 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 direds 
 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 refe61:ory, or hall of the abbey, ftill remains 
 complete, v/ith its original raftered roof of good work- 
 manfliip : it is embattelled ; and has three Gothic 
 
 j^'uVtu iiKWyih.WSu^ 
 
3i8 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 diflblution ; by : 
 whom alfo the royal arms painted, with the portcullis ! 
 and H. R. (Henricus Rex), were undoubtedly placed j 
 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 interfe6tions in a good ftyle. In a long cove-ceiled j 
 room, with fmall parallel femicircular arches, are the ; 
 arms of King Charles the Firft on tapeftry j he was ; 
 prote6bed 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 j 
 and other fervants. In thefe and other windows fome i 
 beautiful fhields of painted glafs are preferved 5 parti- i 
 cularly one of Henry the Eighth impaling Lady Jane \ 
 Seymour, who were married at Maxwell, twenty miles : 
 oft", and who feem from thence to have paid a vifit at i 
 this place to Lord Southampton. Here are fome fine i 
 old wreathed chimneys in brick. In an angle of the i 
 dilapidated buildings, to the weft of the grand entrance \ 
 or tower, is an elegant fhaft of a pilafter of polifhed : 
 ftone, 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. j 
 
 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 j 
 booke of Chryftes moft holy Teftament, renounced : 
 your parts by his Teftament bequethed unto you." — ! 
 Norton^ To the ^eene's Maiejiies poore deceiued SubieSis \ 
 of the Northe Contrey, IS^Q* | 
 
 "The earles have beene at Durefme, with ther force j 
 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, 
 (o as it appereth dire6i:ly they intende to make religion 
 ther grownd." — Letter from the Council of the North to 
 the ^eeriy November 15th, 1569. 
 
 FINIS, 
 
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