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- Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019
In 1846, the Percy Society issued to its members a volume entitled Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, edited by Mr. James Henry Dixon. The sources drawn upon by Mr. Dixon are intimated in the following extract from his preface:— He who, in travelling through the rural districts of England, has made the road-side inn his resting-place, who has visited the lowly dwellings of the villagers and yeomanry, and been present at their feasts and festivals, must have observed that there are certain old poems, ballads, and songs, which are favourites with the masses, and have been said and sung from generation to generation.
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Table of contents
ANCIENT POEMS BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE PEASANTRY OF ENGLAND.
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.
THE MIDNIGHT MESSENGER;
THE CATHOLICK.
THE BOLD PEDLAR AND ROBIN HOOD.
THE BERKSHIRE LADY’S GARLAND.
THE FELON SEWE OF ROKEBY AND THE FREERES OF RICHMOND.
THE RURAL DANCE ABOUT THE MAY-POLE.
GEORGE RIDLER’S OVEN.
THE SPANISH LADIES.
A BEGGING WE WILL GO.
FOOTNOTES.
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ANCIENT POEMS BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE PEASANTRY OF ENGLAND.
ANCIENT POEMS BALLADS AND SONGS OF THE PEASANTRY OF ENGLAND.
TAKEN DOWN FROM ORAL RECITATION AND TRANSCRIBED FROMPRIVATE MANUSCRIPTS, RARE BROADSIDES ANDSCARCE PUBLICATIONS.
EDITED BY ROBERT BELL
LONDON JOHN W. PARKER AND SON WEST STRAND 1857
LONDON:SAVILL AND EDWARDS, PRINTERSCHANDOS STREET.
CONTENTS
PAGE
Introduction
7
Poems.
The Plain-Dealing Man
11
The Vanities of Life
15
The Life and Age of Man
20
The Young Man’s Wish
22
The Midnight Messenger
24
A Dialogue betwixt an Exciseman and Death
29
The Messenger of Mortality
32
England’s Alarm
36
Smoking Spiritualized
39
The Masonic Hymn
42
God Speed the Plow, and Bless the Corn-mow
44
A Dialogue between the Husbandman and the Servingman
46
The Catholick
49
Ballads.
The Three Knights
50
The Blind Beggar of Bednall Green
51
The Bold Pedlar and Robin Hood
59
The Outlandish Knight
61
Lord Delaware
64
Lord Bateman
68
The Golden Glove; or, the Squire of Tamworth
70
King James I. and the Tinkler
72
The Keach i’ the Creel
75
The Merry Broomfield; or, the West Country Wager
77
Sir John Barleycorn
80
Blow the Winds, I-ho!
82
The Beautiful Lady of Kent; or, the Seaman of Dover
84
The Berkshire Lady’s Garland
90
The Nobleman’s Generous Kindness
98
The Drunkard’s Legacy
100
The Bowes Tragedy
106
The Crafty Lover; or, the Lawyer Outwitted
110
The Death of Queen Jane
113
The Wandering Young Gentlewoman; or, Catskin
115
The Brave Earl Brand and the King of England’s Daughter
122
The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove; or, the Old Man and his Three Sons
124
Lady Alice
127
The Felon Sewe of Rokeby and the Freeres of Richmond
127
Songs.
Arthur O’Bradley’s Wedding
138
The Painful Plough
143
The Useful Plow; or, the Plough’s Praise
145
The Farmer’s Son
146
The Farmer’s Boy
148
Richard of Taunton Dean; or, Dumble Dum Deary
149
Wooing Song of a Yeoman of Kent’s Sonne
153
The Clown’s Courtship
155
Harry’s Courtship
155
Harvest-home Song
156
Harvest-home
157
The Mow
158
The Barley-mow Song
159
The Barley-mow Song (Suffolk version)
162
The Craven Churn-supper Song
162
The Rural Dance about the May-pole
164
The Hitchin May-day Song
166
The Helstone Furry-day Song
167
Cornish Midsummer Bonfire Song
169
Suffolk Harvest-home Song
170
The Haymaker’s Song
171
The Sword-dancers’ Song
172
The Sword-dancers’ Song and Interlude
175
The Maskers’ Song
180
Gloucestershire Wassailers’ Song
183
The Mummers’ Song
184
Fragment of the Hagmena Song
186
The Greenside Wakes Song
187
The Swearing-in Song or Rhyme
188
Fairlop Fair Song
191
As Tom was a-Walking
193
The Miller and his Sons
194
Jack and Tom
195
Joan’s Ale was New
197
George Ridler’s Oven
199
The Carrion Crow
202
The Leathern Bottel
203
The Farmer’s Old Wife
204
Old Wichet and his Wife
206
The Jolly Waggoner
208
The Yorkshire Horse-dealer
209
The King and the Countryman
210
Jone o’ Greenfield’s Ramble
212
Thornehagh-moor Woods
214
The Lincolnshire Poacher
216
Somersetshire Hunting Song
217
The Trotting Horse
218
The Seeds of Love
220
The Garden-gate
221
The New-mown Hay
223
The Praise of a Dairy
224
The Milk-maid’s Life
226
The Milking-pail
228
The Summer’s Morning
229
Old Adam
231
Tobacco
232
The Spanish Ladies
234
Harry the Tailor
235
Sir Arthur and Charming Mollee
236
There was an Old Man came over the Lea
237
Why Should we Quarrel for Riches
238
The Merry Fellows
239
The Old Man’s Song
240
Robin Hood’s Hill
241
Begone Dull Care
243
Full Merrily sings the Cuckoo
244
Jockey to the Fair
245
Long Preston Peg
247
The Sweet Nightingale
247
The Old Man and his Three Sons
250
A Begging we will go
251
INTRODUCTION.
In 1846, the Percy Society issued to its members a volume entitled Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, edited by Mr. James Henry Dixon. The sources drawn upon by Mr. Dixon are intimated in the following extract from his preface:—
He who, in travelling through the rural districts of England, has made the road-side inn his resting-place, who has visited the lowly dwellings of the villagers and yeomanry, and been present at their feasts and festivals, must have observed that there are certain old poems, ballads, and songs, which are favourites with the masses, and have been said and sung from generation to generation.
This traditional, and, for the most part, unprinted literature,—cherished in remote villages, resisting everywhere the invasion of modern namby-pamby verse and jaunty melody, and possessing, in an historical point of view, especial value as a faithful record of the feeling, usages, and modes of life of the rural population,—had been almost wholly passed over amongst the antiquarian revivals which constitute one of the distinguishing features of the present age. While attention was successfully drawn to other forms of our early poetry, this peasant minstrelsy was scarcely touched, and might be considered unexplored ground. There was great difficulty in collecting materials which lay scattered so widely, and which could be procured in their genuine simplicity only from the people amongst whom they originated, and with whom they are as ‘familiar as household words.’ It was even still more difficult to find an editor who combined genial literary taste with the local knowledge of character, customs, and dialect, indispensable to the collation of such reliques; and thus, although their national interest was universally recognised, they were silently permitted to fall into comparative oblivion. To supply this manifest desideratum, Mr. Dixon compiled his volume for the Percy Society; and its pages, embracing only a selection from the rich stores he had gathered, abundantly exemplified that gentleman’s remarkable qualifications for the labour he had undertaken. After stating in his preface that contributions from various quarters had accumulated so largely on his hands as to compel him to omit many pieces he was desirous of preserving, he thus describes generally the contents of the work:—
In what we have retained will be found every variety,
‘From grave to gay, from lively to severe,’
from the moral poem and the religious dialogue,—
‘The scrolls that teach us to live and to die,’—
to the legendary, the historical, or the domestic ballad; from the strains that enliven the harvest-home and festival, to the love-ditties which the country lass warbles, or the comic song with which the rustic sets the village hostel in a roar. In our collection are several pieces exceedingly scarce, and hitherto to be met with only in broadsides and chap-books of the utmost rarity; in addition to which we have given several others never before in print, and obtained by the editor and his friends, either from the oral recitation of the peasantry, or from manuscripts in the possession of private individuals.
The novelty of the matter, and the copious resources disclosed by the editor, acquired for the volume a popularity extending far beyond the limited circle to which it was addressed; and although the edition was necessarily restricted to the members of the Percy Society, the book was quoted not only by English writers, but by some of the most distinguished archæologists on the continent.
It had always been my intention to form a collection of local songs, illustrative of popular festivals, customs, manners, and dialects. As the merit of having anticipated, and, in a great measure, accomplished this project belongs exclusively to Mr. Dixon, so to that gentleman I have now the pleasure of tendering my acknowledgments for the means of enriching the Annotated Edition of the English Poets with a volume which, in some respects, is the most curious and interesting of the series.
Subsequently to the publication of his collection by the Percy Society, Mr. Dixon had amassed additional materials of great value; and, conscious that the work admitted of considerable improvement, both in the way of omission and augmentation, he resolved upon the preparation of a new edition. His reasons for rejecting certain portions of the former volume are stated in the following extract from a communication with which he has obliged me, and which may be considered as his own introduction to the ensuing pages.
The editor had passed his earliest years in a romantic mountain-district in the North of England, where old customs and manners, and old songs and ballads still linger. Under the influence of these associations, he imbibed a passionate love for peasant rhymes; having little notion at that time that the simple minstrelsy which afforded him so much delight could yield hardly less pleasure to those who cultivated more artificial modes of poetry, and who knew little of the life of the peasantry. His collection was not issued without diffidence; but the result dissipated all apprehension as to the estimate in which these essentially popular productions are held. The reception of the book, indeed, far exceeded its merits; for he is bound in candour to say that it was neither so complete nor so judiciously selected as it might have been. Like almost all books issued by societies, it was got up in haste, and hurried through the press. It contained some things which were out of place in such a work, but which were inserted upon solicitations that could not have been very easily refused; and even where the matter was unexceptionable, it sometimes happened that it was printed from comparatively modern broadsides, for want of time to consult earlier editions. In the interval which has since elapsed, all these defects and short-comings have been remedied. Several pieces, which had no legitimate claims to the places they occupied, have been removed; others have been collated with more ancient copies than the editor had had access to previously; and the whole work has been considerably enlarged. In its present form it is strictly what its title-page implies—a collection of poems, ballads, and songs preserved by tradition, and in actual circulation, amongst the peasantry.
Bex, Canton de Vaud, Switzerland.
The present volume differs in many important particulars from the former, of the deficiencies of which Mr. Dixon makes so frank an avowal. It has not only undergone a careful revision, but has received additions to an extent which renders it almost a new work. Many of there accessions are taken from extremely rare originals, and others are here printed for the first time, including amongst the latter the ballad of Earl Brand, a traditional lyric of great antiquity, long familiar to the dales of the North of England; and the Death of Queen Jane, a relic of more than ordinary intesest. Nearly forty songs, noted down from recitation, or gathered from sources not generally accessible, have been added to the former collection, illustrative, for the most part, of historical events, country pastimes, and local customs. Not the least suggestive feature in this department are the political songs it contains, which have long outlived the occasions that gave them birth, and which still retain their popularity, although their allusions are no longer understood. Amongst this class of songs may be specially indicated Jack and Tom, Joan’s Ale was New, George Ridler’s Oven, and The Carrion Crow. The songs of a strictly rural character, having reference to the occupations and intercourse of the people, possess an interest which cannot be adequately measured by their poetical pretensions. The very defects of art with which they are chargeable, constitute their highest claim to consideration as authentic specimens of country lore. The songs in praise of the dairy, or the plough; or in celebration of the harvest-home, or the churn-supper; or descriptive of the pleasures of the milk-maid, or the courtship in the farm-house; or those that give us glimpses of the ways of life of the waggoner, the poacher, the horse-dealer, and the boon companion of the road-side hostelrie, are no less curious for their idiomatic and primitive forms of expression, than for their pictures of rustic modes and manners. Of special interest, too, are the songs which relate to festival and customs; such as the Sword Dancer’s Song and Interlude, the Swearing-in Song, or Rhyme, at Highgate, the Cornish Midsummer Bonfire Song, and the Fairlop Fair Song.
In the arrangement of so multifarious an anthology, gathered from nearly all parts of the kingdom, the observance of chronological order, for obvious reasons, has not been attempted; but pieces which possess any kind of affinity to each other have been kept together as nearly as other considerations would permit.
The value of this volume consists in the genuineness of its contents, and the healthiness of its tone. While fashionable life was masquerading in imaginary Arcadias, and deluging theatres and concert rooms with shams, the English peasant remained true to the realities of his own experience, and produced and sang songs which faithfully reflected the actual life around him. Whatever these songs describe is true to that life. There are no fictitious raptures in them. Love here never dresses its emotions in artificial images, nor disguises itself in the mask of a Strephon or a Daphne. It is in this particular aspect that the poetry of the country possesses a permanent and moral interest.
R. B.
THE MIDNIGHT MESSENGER;
Poems.
THE PLAIN-DEALING MAN.
[ The oldest copy of the Plain Dealing Man with which we have been able to meet is in black letter, printed by T. Vere at the sign ‘Of the Angel without Newgate.’ Vere was living in 1609.]
A crotchet comes into my mind Concerning a proverb of old, Plain dealing’s a jewel most rare, And more precious than silver or gold: And therefore with patience give ear, And listen to what here is penned, These verses were written on purpose The honest man’s cause to defend. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
Yet some are so impudent grown, They’ll domineer, vapour, and swagger, And say that the plain-dealing man Was born to die a beggar: But men that are honestly given Do such evil actions detest, And every one that is well-minded Will say that plain dealing is best. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
For my part I am a poor man, And sometimes scarce muster a shilling, Yet to live upright in the world, Heaven knows I am wondrous willing. Although that my clothes be threadbare, And my calling be simple and poor, Yet will I endeavour myself To keep off the wolf from the door. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
And now, to be brief in discourse, In plain terms I’ll tell you my mind; My qualities you shall all know, And to what my humour’s inclined: I hate all dissembling base knaves And pickthanks whoever they be, And for painted-faced drabs, and such like, They shall never get penny of me. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
Nor can I abide any tongues That will prattle and prate against reason, About that which doth not concern them; Which thing is no better than treason. Wherefore I’d wish all that do hear me Not to meddle with matters of state, Lest they be in question called for it, And repent them when it is too late. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
O fie upon spiteful neighbours, Whose malicious humours are bent, And do practise and strive every day To wrong the poor innocent. By means of such persons as they, There hath many a good mother’s son Been utterly brought to decay, Their wives and their children undone. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
O fie upon forsworn knaves, That do no conscience make To swear and forswear themselves At every third word they do speak: So they may get profit and gain, They care not what lies they do tell; Such cursed dissemblers as they Are worse than the devils of hell. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
O fie upon greedy bribe takers, ’Tis pity they ever drew breath, For they, like to base caterpillars, Devour up the fruits of the earth. They’re apt to take money with both hands, On one side and also the other, And care not what men they undo, Though it be their own father or brother. Therefore I will make it appear, And show very good reasons I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
O fie upon cheaters and thieves, That liveth by fraud and deceit; The gallows do for such blades groan, And the hangmen do for their clothes wait. Though poverty be a disgrace, And want is a pitiful grief, ’Tis better to go like a beggar Than to ride in a cart like a thief. For this I will make it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
And now let all honest men judge, If such men as I have here named For their wicked and impudent dealings, Deserveth not much to be blamed. And now here, before I conclude, One item to the world I will give, Which may direct some the right way, And teach them the better to live. For now I have made it appear, And many men witness it can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
1. I’ th’ first place I’d wish you beware What company you come in, For those that are wicked themselves May quickly tempt others to sin.
2. If youths be inducèd with wealth, And have plenty of silver and gold, I’d wish them keep something in store, To comfort them when they are old.
3. I have known many young prodigals, Which have wasted their money so fast, That they have been driven in want, And were forcèd to beg at the last.
4. I’d wish all men bear a good conscience, And in all their actions be just; For he’s a false varlet indeed That will not be true to his trust.
And now to conclude my new song, And draw to a perfect conclusion, I have told you what is in my mind, And what is my [firm] resolution. For this I have made it appear, And prove by experience I can, ’Tis the excellen’st thing in the world To be a plain-dealing man.
THE VANITIES OF LIFE.
[ The following verses were copied by John Clare, the Northamptonshire peasant, from a MS. on the fly-leaves of an old book in the possession of a poor man, entitled The World’s best Wealth; a Collection of choice Councils in Verse and Prose. Printed for A. Bettesworth, at the Red Lion in Paternoster-row, 1720. They were written in a ‘crabbed, quaint hand, and difficult to decipher.’ Clare remitted the poem (along with the original MS.) to Montgomery, the author of The World before the Flood, &c. &c., by whom it was published in the Sheffield Iris. Montgomery’s criticism is as follows:—‘Long as the poem appears to the eye, it will abundantly repay the trouble of perusal, being full of condensed and admirable thought, as well as diversified with exuberant imagery, and embellished with peculiar felicity of language: the moral points in the closing couplets of the stanzas are often powerfully enforced.’ Most readers will agree in the justice of these remarks. The poem was, probably, as Clare supposes, written about the commencement of the 18th century; and the unknown author appears to have been deeply imbued with the spirit of the popular devotional writers of the preceding century, as Herbert, Quarles, &c., but seems to have modelled his smoother and more elegant versification after that of the poetic school of his own times.]
‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’— Solomon.
What are life’s joys and gains? What pleasures crowd its ways, That man should take such pains To seek them all his days? Sift this untoward strife On which thy mind is bent, See if this chaff of life Is worth the trouble spent.
Is pride thy heart’s desire? Is power thy climbing aim? Is love thy folly’s fire? Is wealth thy restless game? Pride, power, love, wealth and all, Time’s touchstone shall destroy, And, like base coin, prove all Vain substitutes for joy.
Dost think that pride exalts Thyself in other’s eyes, And hides thy folly’s faults, Which reason will despise? Dost strut, and turn, and stride, Like walking weathercocks? The shadow by thy side Becomes thy ape, and mocks.
Dost think that power’s disguise Can make thee mighty seem? It may in folly’s eyes, But not in worth’s esteem: When all that thou canst ask, And all that she can give, Is but a paltry mask Which tyants wear and live.
Go, let thy fancies range And ramble where they may; View power in every change, And what is the display? —The country magistrate, The lowest shade in power, To rulers of the state, The meteors of an hour:—
View all, and mark the end Of every proud extreme, Where flattery turns a friend, And counterfeits esteem; Where worth is aped in show, That doth her name purloin, Like toys of golden glow That’s sold for copper coin.
Ambition’s haughty nod, With fancies may deceive, Nay, tell thee thou’rt a god,— And wilt thou such believe? Go, bid the seas be dry, Go, hold earth like a ball, Or throw her fancies by, For God can do it all.
Dost thou possess the dower Of laws to spare or kill? Call it not heav’nly power When but a tyrant’s will; Know what a God will do, And know thyself a fool, Nor tyrant-like pursue Where He alone should rule.
Dost think, when wealth is won, Thy heart has its desire? Hold ice up to the sun, And wax before the fire; Nor triumph o’er the reign Which they so soon resign; In this world weigh the gain, Insurance safe is thine.
Dost think life’s peace secure In houses and in land? Go, read the fairy lure To twist a cord of sand; Lodge stones upon the sky, Hold water in a sieve, Nor give such tales the lie, And still thine own believe.
Whoso with riches deals, And thinks peace bought and sold, Will find them slippery eels, That slide the firmest hold: Though sweet as sleep with health, Thy lulling luck may be, Pride may o’erstride thy wealth, And check prosperity.
Dost think that beauty’s power, Life’s sweetest pleasure gives? Go, pluck the summer flower, And see how long it lives: Behold, the rays glide on, Along the summer plain, Ere thou canst say, they’re gone,— And measure beauty’s reign.
Look on the brightest eye, Nor teach it to be proud, But view the clearest sky And thou shalt find a cloud; Nor call each face ye meet An angel’s, ‘cause it’s fair, But look beneath your feet, And think of what ye are.
Who thinks that love doth live In beauty’s tempting show, Shall find his hopes ungive, And melt in reason’s thaw; Who thinks that pleasure lies In every fairy bower, Shall oft, to his surprise, Find poison in the flower.
Dost lawless pleasures grasp? Judge not thou deal’st in joy; Its flowers but hide the asp, Thy revels to destroy: Who trusts a harlot’s smile, And by her wiles is led, Plays with a sword the while, Hung dropping o’er his head.
Dost doubt my warning song? Then doubt the sun gives light, Doubt truth to teach thee wrong, And wrong alone as right; And live as lives the knave, Intrigue’s deceiving guest, Be tyrant, or be slave, As suits thy ends the best.
Or pause amid thy toils, For visions won and lost, And count the fancied spoils, If e’er they quit the cost; And if they still possess Thy mind, as worthy things, Pick straws with Bedlam Bess, And call them diamond rings.
Thy folly’s past advice, Thy heart’s already won, Thy fall’s above all price, So go, and be undone; For all who thus prefer The seeming great for small, Shall make wine vinegar, And sweetest honey gall.
