Behold the piler and the roopis stronge,
Wher I was bounde my sides doun bleedyng,
Moost felly beete with ther scoorgis longe ;
lydgate's minor poems. 261
Behold the batail that I did undirfonge,
The bront abydyng of there mortal eraprise,
Thoruhe ther accusyng and ther sclaundrys wronge,
Was lik a lamb ofFryd in sacrifise.
Behold and see the hatful wrecchidnesse
Put ageyn me, to my confusioun,
Myn eyf n hyd and blyndid with derknesse,
Bete and eek bobbid by fals illusioun,
Salwed in scorn by ther fals knelyng doun,
Behold al this, and se the mortal guyse,
How I oonly, for mannys savacioun,
Was lik a lamb offrid in sacrifise.
See the witnessis by whom I was deceyved !
Behold the jugis that gafe my jugement!
Behold the cros that was for me devised !
Behold ray boody with betyng al to rent .
Behold the peeple which, of fals entent,
Caiiselees did ageyns me rise.
Which lik a lamb of malys innocent,
Was for mankynde offrid in sacrifise.
Behold the women that folwyd me aferre.
That sore wepte whan I thus was assailed,
Behold the Jewys which, by there cruel werre,
Han my body unto a cros i-nayled ;
Behold my tormentys moost sharply apparailed,
Attween too thevys put to my . . .
Beholde how moche my deth hath eek avayled,
That was for man offrid in sacrifise.
262 i^ydgate's minor i'Oe.ms.
Behold the spere moost sharply grounde and whet,
Myn herte wotindid upon the rihte syde,
Behold the reed speer, galle, and eysel fett,
Behold the scornyngis which tliat I did abyde,
And my five woundys that were maad so wyde,
Which no man lyst of routh to advertise.
And thus I was of raeeknesse ageyn pryde,
To mannys ofFence ofFrid in sacrifise !
See my disciplis how they ha me forsake,
And fro me fled almoost everychon,
See how thei sleepte and list nat with me wake,
Of mortal dreed they leift me al allon,
Except my moodir and my cosyn Seyn John,
My deth com.pleynyng in moost doolful wise.
See fro my cros they wolde nevir gon,
Fro mannys off'ence whan I did sacrifise.
See how that I was jugid to the deth,
See Baraban goon at his liberte.
See with a speere how Longius me sleth,
Behold too licoures distyllyng doun fro me,
See blood and watir, by merciful plente,
Rayle by my sides which auhte I nouhe suffise,
To man whan I upon the roode tre.
Was lik a lamb ofFrid in sacrifise.
Behold the knyhtis which, by ther froward chaunce,
Sat for ray clothys at the dees to pleye !
Behold my moodir swownyng for grevaunce,
Upon the cros whan she sauhe me deye !
lydgate's minor poems. 263
Behold the sepulcre in which my boonys leye,
Kept with strong watche tyl I did arrise !
Of helle gatys see how I brak the keye,
And gaf for man my blood in sacrifise !
Ageyn thy pryde, behold my gret meeknesse I
Geyn thyn envye, behold my charite !
Geyn thy lecherye, behold my chaast clennesse !
Geyn thy covetise, behold my poverte !
Attween too theevys nayled to a tre,
Railed with reed blood, they list me so disguyse,
Behold, O man ! al this I did for the,
Meek as a lamb offrid in sacrifise I
Behold my love, and gife me thyn ageyn,
Behold I deyed thy raunsoun for to paye.
See how myn herte is open, brood, and pleyn,
Thy goostly enmyes oonly to afFraye,
An hardere batayl no man myhte assaye,
Of alle tryumphes the grettest hihe emprise,
Wherfor, O man 1 no lenger the dismaye,
I gaife my blood for the in sacrifise !
Turne hoom ageyn, thy synne do forsake.
Behold and see yif ouhte be lefft behynde.
How I to mercy am redy the to take,
Gyff me thyn herte and be no mor unkynde ;
Thy love and myn togidre do hem bynde,
And let hem nevir parte in no wyse,
Whan thu wer lost thy soule ageyn to fynde,
My blood I offryd for the in sacrifise.
264 lydgate's minor poems.
Euprente this thynges in thyn inward thouhte,
And grave iiem deepc in thy reraembraunce,
Thynk on hem weel and forgete hem nouhte,
Al this I sufFryd to do the allegaunce ;
And with my seyntis to yeve the suffisaunce,
In the hevenly court for the I do devise,
A place eternal of al plesaunce,
For which my blood I gaff in sacrifise.
And mor my mercy to putten at a preeflF,
To every synnere that noon ne shal it rays,
Kemembre how I gafe mercy to the theeff.
Which had so long trespacyd and doon amys,
Went he nat freely with me to paradys ;
Ha this in mynde, how it is my guyse,
Alle repentaunt to bryng hem to my blj's.
For whom my blood I gaf in sacrifise.
Tarye no lenger toward thyn heritage,
Hast on thy weye and be of rihte good cheere.
Go ech day onward on thy pilgrymage,
Thynk how short tyme thu shalt abyde heer !
Thy place is biggyd above the sterrys cleer.
Noon erthely paleys wrouhte in so statly wyse,
Com on my freend, my brothir moost enteer,
For the I offryd my blood in sacrifise.
NOTES.
p. 2, ]. 11.— "Lambeth Palace." The numher of the
manuscript to which I allude is vii, which contains a very
curious account, iu Latin, of the pageants upon this occasion.
P. 2, 1. 27. — " Crouned Kyng of Fraunce." So in our
author's poem on the Kings, we have :
" In his regne, the viij. ^ere,
He was crownyd att Westmynstlr ;
In the X. yere, by and by,
He was crownyd in Parys trewly."
MS. Harl. 78, fol. 72.
P. 5, 1. 11. — "A sturdy champion." "Whan the King
was conimyn to the bridge, there was devysed a myghty
gyaunt standynge with a swerde drawyn." — Fahiaii's Chro-
nicle, edited by Ellis, p. 603.
P. 11, 1. 10.—" Precyane." That is, Priscian.
P. 11, 1. 16. — "Boece." Boetiuswas the standing author-
ity for music throughout the middle ages. " Multum vero
auxit Boethii auctoritatem his seculis, quod de arte musica
scripserit." — Bruckeri Hist. Phil. torn. iii. p. 566.
P. 11, 1. 20. — "Withe touche of strengis." So in the
epigram of the Emperor Julian, Anthol. Gr. iii. Ill :
'Otc' c'nraXdv (TKipTuivriQ d7ro6\ij3ov(nv aou>i]i>.
P. 1 1, 1. 23. — " Chees Pyktegoras." Pythagoras, as the
inventor of the multiplication table, is often referred to as the
head of arithmetical science.
266 NOTES.
p. 11, 1. 27. " Albumusard." Aboumasar, an Arabian
astronomer of the tenth century.
P. 15, 1. 26. — " The tone was Enok, the toder whas Elye."
These two holy men were supposed to be the guardians of
Paradise ; in the poem on " Cocaygne," edited by Wright in
the " Altdeutsche BliittciV i- 396, is the following curious
satirical notice of this general belief:
" Tliogb parailis be miri and brigt,
Cokaypn is of fairir sif»t.
Wliat is tber in paradis
Bot grasse and flare and grene ris ?
Thog ther be joi and gret dute,
Tlier nis mete bote frute ;
Tber nis halle, bare no bencb ;
Bot watLr manis thurst to quench.
Beth ther no men bot two,
Hely and Enok also :
Ebnglich may hi go,
"WTiar tber wonith men no mon."
P. 22, 1. 14. — " Let no man host." This song is an illus-
tration of the old proverb,
" As seas do eb and flo.
So riches cum and go."
MS. Sloan. 1, fol. 312.
P. 23, 1.21. — "Theroyall lyon." It is scarcely necessary
to observe that Lydgate refers here to the well-known zEsopian
fable.
P. 30, 1. 12.—" Two and thretty." Compare the following
lines from MS. Rawl. Oxon. Poet. 32, fol. ult.
" xxxij. tethe that bethe full kene,
CO. bonys and nyntene,
ccc. vajniys syxty and fyve,
Every man bathe that is alyve."
P. 46, 1. 17. — " Here gynneth," &c. Another copy of
this ballad is in MS. Ashm. 59.
NOTES. 267
p. 52. — Jack Hare. The original of this is an Anglo-
Norman poem of the 13th centuiy, in MS. Digb. Oxon. 86,
fol. 94, entitled " De Maimound mal esquier."
P. 58. — Satirical Ballad. Another copy of this hallad
is in MS. Fairfax, Oxon. 16, Bern. 3896.
P. 60. — A Call to Devotion. Another copy of this
poem is in MS. Ashm. 59.
P. 66. — Rules FOR PRESERVING Health. Other copies
are in MS. Harl. 2252; MS. Bodl. 638; MS. Rawl. Poet.
35; MS. Cotton. Calig. A. ij.; MS. Rawl. A. 653; MS.
Harl. 941 ; and MS. Addit. 10,099,— which last copy has the
signature of one Thomas Burtoiie attached to it. Care must
be taken not to confuse this poem with the " Doctiyne of
Pestilence," by the same author. Lydgate seems to have
used the very opposite principles to those inculcated by Dr.
John Nevylle, physician to Henry the Eighth, and whose
rule of conduct is preserved in MS. Sloan. 1, fol. 3 12 :
" If fortune chaimce to froune one the,
And spoyle the of thy store ;
Tlien cleve to him which fisicke hathe,
A salve for every sore."
P. 85, 1. 19. — " Made two pillars." See the account of
this legend in ray " History of Freemasonry."
P. 87, 1. 14. — " That Cadmus into Grece sent." Compare
Vergilius de inventoribus rerum, lib. i. cap. 6. Most of the
inventions recited in this poem of Lydgate's are dubious ;
and, as it has been remarked long since, the attribution of
almost every invention is doubtful. — Pitcarnii Opera, ii. 86.
P. 87, 1. 17. — " Palamydes." Palamedes is generally stated
to have added the four letters 0, 5, %, and 0, during the
Trojan wars; and not three, as stated by Lydgate. Cf. Pol.
Vergilium, lib. i. cap. 6.
P. 88, 1. 1, 8.—" Calcecatres," " Murmycides." " Myr-
268 NOTES.
inecidcs, cujus ([uadrigam cum agitatoi'e cooperuit alis musca ;
et Callicrates, cujus formicarum pedes atque alia membra
pervidcre uon est." — Plinii Hist. Nat. xxxvd. 5. ^lian says
of them : TsOptTnra fiev tTroirfffav viro fiviag KoKvirrofitva. —
Var. Hist. i. 17. Cf. Varro de Linf/tta Latina, lib. vi.
P. 88, 1. 15.—" Perdix." Son of the sister of Daedalus,
the celebrated mechanist. He is said to have invented the
saw. His uncle, jealous of his rising fame, threw him down
from the top of a tower, when he was changed into the bird
which bears his name.
P. 88, 1. 17.—" Phebus." Cf. Ovid. Met. i. 521 :
" Inventum medicina meum est ; opiferque per orbem
Dicor ; et herbarum subjecta pntentia nobis.
Hei milii, quod nullis amor est medicabilis herbis !"
P. 88, 1. 23. — " Dionysius." Bacchus " triumphum in-
venit." — Pliii. Hist. Nat. vii. 56.
P. 88, 1. 27.—" Etbolus." Cf. Plin. ib.
P. 89, 1. 1 . — " Aristaeus." Ovid attributes the first use of
honey to Bacchus ; but, according to others, Aristaeus was the
first who taught the use of bees, honey, and milk, to mankind.
Cf. Virgilii Georg. lih.iv.
P. 89, 1. 3. — " Peryodes." " Iguem e cilice Pyrodes Cilicis
filius." — Plin. H. N. vii. 56. In the metrical translation of
Bocchus and Sydrake, MS. Harl. 4294, we read :
" Smjthes crafte was the first that cam,
Aftre tbe making of Adam ;
And tlierfor it is lorde of alle,
For notliing that schal to man faUe."
P. 89, 1. 8.—" Fydo." Phidon of Argos, who died b.c.
854, according to Strabo, ^lirpa i^eijpe kui aTaOi^iovc. Cf.
Plin. Hist. Nat. vii. 56.
P. 102, 1. 9.—" Maister of storyes." This is Peter Co-
mestor; see MS. Harl. 1704.
NOTES. 269
p. 103. — London Lackpenny. I have ventured to make
a slight alteration in the title of this ballad. Grose, indeed,
classes London lickpeiiny among his " local proverbs," at
the end of his Provincial glossary- ; which, I suppose, is taken
in the sense of London licking up all the pence. I think,
however, the burden of the ballad is quite a sufficient reason
for my title.
P. 105, 1. 17. — " Hot pescodes." So the well-known
nurseiy rhyme :
" Piping hot ! smolring hot I
WTiat have I got ?
You have not :
Hot grey pease, hot! hot! hot!"
" There is more music in this song," says a writer of the
last century, " on a cold frosty night, than ever the syrens
were possessed of who captivated Ulysses, and the eflfects
stick closer to the ribs." About fifty years ago, there used to
be a cry in the metropolis of " hot grey pease and a suck of
bacon !" The " suck of bacon" was extracted by the " little
unwashed" from a piece of that article securely fastened by
a string, to obtain a " relish" for the pease ! I have this
from an unquestionable authority.
P. 105, 1. 18.—" Cheryes in the ryse." That is, on the
branch.
P. 106, 1. 2. — " Canwyke street." See Stowe's Survey of
London, ii. 182, where this very poem is mentioned.
P. 106, 1. 12. — " By cock." This is merely a vulgar cor-
ruption for a profane oath.
P. 107. — Tale of the Lady Prioress. This has been
printed by Jamieson, but very incorrectly.
P. 122, 1. 8.—" Boys in his booke." This refers to tlie
work of Boetius De Consolatione Philosophic.
P. 125, 1.24.— "The fyft Heniy." This sovereign had
270 NOTES.
been a good patron to Lydgate, and the grateful poet seizes
every o])poi*tiinity to adulate his deceased and regretted
master.
P. 129. — Bycohne and Cuiciievache. In the Geii-
tlemmi's Magazine for July 181)4, Mr. Wright coinmunicated
a curious notice of a copy of this poem in the library of Tri-
nity College, Cambridge, whicli has the following rubric :
" Loo, sirs, the devise of a peynted or desteyned clothe for an
halle, a parlour, or a chaumbre, devysed by Jolian Lidegate,
at the request of a worthy citesyn of London." Mr. Wright
adds : " Any one who may be desirous of seeing the design of
such a 'peynted or disteyned clothe,' will find a fair spe-
cimen in a large woodcut, covering a folio broadside, printed,
if I remember rightly, in the reign of Elizabeth, and preserved
among the volumes of proclamations in the library of the
Society of Antiquaries. It is entitled, Fill-f/iit, and Pinch-
belly : one being fat with eating good men, the other Icane for
want of good women." One w ould naturally look to the East
for the origin of such a misogynic fable ; but I have never
met with any allusions to it in Oriental writings.
P. 164. — The Order of Fools. Other copies are in
MS. Bodl. Oxon. 648, Bern. 2291 ; and MS. Laud. 683,
Bern. 798. The latter commences as follows : " Here begyn-
nethe a tale of thre skore flblys and thre, wiche ar lyk never
ffor to the."
P. 171. — The Ram's Horn. Other copies of this are in
MS. Ashm. 61; MS. Harl. 1706; MS. Bodl. 686, Bern.
2527; MS. Lansd. 409 ; and an imperfect one in MS. Harl.
2251.
P. 173. — The Concords of Company. Another copy of
this poem is in MS. Harl. 2251.
P. 179. — The Chorle and the Bird. Copies of this
poem in MS. are not numerous; one may be found in MS.
Cotton. Calig. A. ij.
NOTES. 271
P. 189, 1. 9.—" Panters." That is, traps. See Wright's
Political Songs, p. 400.
P. (99. — A Satirical Description of his Lady. Let
the reader peruse the following lines from MS. Addit. 10,336,
fol. 4 :
" To saie you are not fayre, I sli;ill belye you ;
And yf I praise your beautie, then I flouts you.
Yf I desire your love, you say I doe but trie you ;
Speake faire or foule, I am sure to goe â– without you."
P. 205 — Prayer to St. Leonard. — Another copy of
this in MS. Laud. 683, Bern. 798.
The following stanza is ascribed to Lydgate in one manu-
script, and is very often found in MSS. Copies are in MS.
Sloan. 1825; MS. Oxon. Hatton. 73 (94); MS. Douce, 45,
fol. 116; MS. Oxon. Fairfax, 16.
" Disceite disceyvythe, and shalle be discej^ed,
For by disceyte who ys disceyvable?
Though liis disceyte be not oute perceyved,
To a discey vour disceyte ys retomable ;
Fraude quit -with fraude is guerdon convenable ;
For who with fraude, fraudelent ys found ?
To a defraudere fraude wolle aye rebound !"
C. RICUAUDS, PRINTER, 100, ST. MAKIIu's I.ANE, ClIARIN'O CROSS.
EARLY NAVAL BALLADS.
THE
EARLY NAVAL BALLADS
ENGLAND.
COLLECTED AXD EDITED BY
JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL, ESQ.
F.R.S. F.S.A. F.R.A.S.
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ANTIQCARIAX SOCIETIES OK
EDINBURGH, NEWCASTLE-CPON-TYNE, OXFORD,
PARIS, COPENHAGEN, ETC. ETC.
Queen of the sea.
All hail to thee I
Here shall my home foi" ever be.
PJanche
LONDOX :
PRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY,
BY C. lUCHAKDS, ST. MAJRTIN'S LANE.
MDCCCXLI.
COUNCIL
€i)t laercp J'octeti)*
J. A. CAHUSAC, Esq. F.S A.
WILLIAM CHAPPELL, Esq. F.S.A.
JOHN PAYNE COLLIER, Esq. F.S.A.
T. CROFTON CROKER, Esq. F.S.A. M.R.LA.
REV. ALEXANDER DYCE.
RICHARD HALLIWELL, Esq. F.S.A.
JAMES ORCHARD HALLIWELL. Esq. F.R.S. Treasurer.
WILLIAM JERDAN, Esq. F.S.A.
SAMUEL LOVER, Esq.
CHARLES MACKAY, Esq.
E. F. RIMBAULT, Esq Secretary
THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq. M.A. F.S A.
PREFACE
In offering the accompanying little volume to the
members of the Percy Society, the Editor is
anxious to avail himself of the introductory
leaves to apologise for the incompleteness of its
chronological arrangement — an error which may
perhaps be considered by no means a light one
by the exact antiquary. The fact is that a few
curious ballads were discovered after the first
sheets were worked off, which properly ought to
have been included in them ; and the necessity
of inserting these out of their proper places
induced the Editor, in preference to forming an
appendix, to follow no order whatever in the
subsequent part, and thus to preclude the possi-
bility of a casual reference to the book being
interrupted by any specified order of the dates
of the several ballads.
Of the collection itself it is not necessary to
speak, further than to remark that instead of a
selection of the best ballads on naval subjects,
which would have been comprised in a very brief
compass, the Editor has found it expedient to
insert every one that he could discover which
could possibly be included in his collection, and
the reader will perceive that this plan has not
been the means of forming a volume by any
means commensurate in size with the national
interest of the subject.
If, however, a thought worthy of the British
tars of old should ever by these means be gene-
rated on the wide ocean in the breast of a mo-
dern disciple of Neptune, the Editor apprehends
that the purpose of those who suggested the idea
of such a publication, and carried it into execu-
tion, will be fully answered. At all events, the
triumphs of our marine powder cannot be too fre-
quently recalled to our memories, and a novelty
in time may produce a corresponding change in
the directions of the thoughts so indued.
The Editor has found it necessary to omit a
few ballads of the sea, which might have been
introduced, owing to their occasional grossness.
He is aware that this fault is not generally
considered sufficiently valid to exclude documents
of any value, but daily experience convinces
him of the necessity of making some attempt
to restore that Platonic respect which is due
to literature, and the immediate progenitors
of its influences. Those principles of utili-
tarianism which are so universally adopted at
the present day, when applied to subjects of
historical interest and curiosity, will readily seize
hold of any apparent defect in the system, and
will be used as an argument against the value
of any collateral researches.
The Editor's thanks are preeminently due to
Mr. E. F. Rirabault, the zealous Secretary of the
Percy Society, who has supplied him with several
of the ballads here printed, and other important
communications. The Editor having been absent
from London while this little volume was passing
through the press, Mr. Rimbault has also kindly
executed the task of correcting the proof-sheets,
and collating the ballads with the original copies.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
1 . The Earliest Sea Song . - -1
2. Tlie Life and Death of Sir Andrew Barton - - 4
3. In Prais of Seafaringe Men - - - - 1-i
4. Another of Seafardingers - - - - 1 6
5. The Spanish Armada - - . - - 17
6. Sir Francis Drakfi : or, Eighty-eight - - - iS
7. Another version of the same - - - - 20
8. Ode, sitting and drinking in a Chair made out of Sir Francis
Drake's Ship - - - - - 21
9. Sir Francis Drake and Queen Elizabeth - - 24
10. The Fame of Sir Francis Drake - - - 25
11. The Triumph of Sir Francis Drake - - - 25
12. On the Signall Victory obtained in a Sea-Fight, by his Ma-
jesty of Great Brittain's Fleet, over the Dutch - - 27
13. The Valiant Sailors - - - - - 34
14. A Song of the Seamen and Land-Soldiers - - 36
15. The Mariner's Chorus - - - - 37
16. Admiral Benbow - - - - - 38
17. The Royal Triumph - - - - 39
18. The Fair Maid's Choice - - - .42
19. A Commendation of Martin Frobisher - - - 45
20. The Seaman's Mctory - - . - 47
21. The Seaman's Compass - - -49
22. A famous Sea-Fight between Captain 'Ward and the Rainbow 55
23. The Song of Dansekar the Dutchman - - - 58
24. A Song on the Duke's glorious Success over the Dutch - 63
25. The Englishmen's Victory over the Spaniards - 64
26. Neptune to England - - - - 68
27. The Duke of Ormond - - - - 69
XII
'JH. A SoiiK nil tlic Victiiry over the Turks - - - 71
29. The Young Seaman's MistbrtiiiK; - • - 73
30. The (iallant Seaman's Return from the Indies - 76
31. The Dangers of the Seas - - - 7 'J
32. The Mariner's Misfortune - - - - 81
33. A pleasant new Song hetwixt a Savior and his Love - 8.3
31. A Ballad hy the late Lord Dorset, wlien at Sea - - 90
35. The Jolly Sailor's Resolution - - - - 93
36. With full douhle Cups - - - - 96
37. The Royal Triumph of Britain's Monarch - - 99
38. England's Triumph at Sea - - - - 100
39. Admiral Russel's Scowering the French Fleet - . 102
40. The Savior's Song - - - - - 104
41. Admiral Keppel Triumphant - - - . 105
42. The Sailor's Complaint - - - - 107
43. The Seaman's Happy Return - - - - 109
44. Admiral Hosier's Ghost - - - - 1 1 4
45. Admiral Vernon's Answer .... 118
46. Captain Death - - - - - 120
47. The Death of Admiral Benbow - . - 122
48. The Winning of Cales - - - - 124
49. Tlie Shadwell Tar's Farewell - - - - 129
60. Neptune's Resignation - - - - 131
51. Hawke's Triumph over the mighty Brest Fleet - - 134
52. The Sailor's Resolution - - - - 135
53. The British Sailor's Loyal Toast . - - 136
54. A new Song, addressed to the Crew of the Prince Edward - 138
55. Sailor's Song during the A^'ar .... 139
56. The Sailor's Departure from England - - 141
57. The Song of Liberty - - - - 142
EARLY NAVAL BALLADS.
THE EARLIEST SEA SONG.
The following curious ballad, which is by far the earliest yet
discovered on this subject, was first pointed out by Mr. Wright,
in a manuscript of the time of Henry VI. in the library of Trinity
College, Cambridge, R. iii. 19. The key to the subject of it may
be found in a singular letter printed in Sir Henry Ellis's Original
Letters, Second Series, vol. i. p. 110, from which it appears that
ships were every year fitted out from diflferent ports, with cargoes
of pilgrims, to the shrine of St. James of Compostella ; for, strange
as it may seem, pilgrims at this time were really, as Sir Henry
Ellis observes, articles of exportation.
Men may leve all gamys,
That saylen to Seynt Jamys ;
For many a man hit gramys ;
When they begyn to sayle.
For when they have take the see,
At Sandwyche, or at Wynchylsee,
At Brystow, or where that liit bee,
Theyr herts begyn to fayle.
A none the mastyr commaundeth fast
To hys shyp-men in all the hast.
To dresse hem sone about the mast,
Theyr takelyng to make.
EARLY NAVAL BALLADS.
With " howe ! hissa I" then they cry,
** What, howte ! mate, tliow stondyst to ny,
Thy felow may nat hale the by ;"
Thus they begyn to crake.
A boy or tweyne anone up-styen.
And overthwarte the sayle-yerde lyen ; —
*' Y how ! taylia !" the remenaunte cryen,
And pull with all theyr myght.
" Bestowe the boote, bote-swayne, anon,
That our pylgryms may pley thereon ;
For som ar lyke to cowgh and grone,
Or hit be full mydnyght."
" Hale the bowelyne I now, vere the shete !—
Cooke, make redy anoone our mete,
Our pylgryms have no lust to ete,
I pray God yeve him rest."
" Go to the helm ! what, howe I no nere?
Steward, felow ! a pot of bere !"
" Ye shall have, sir, with good chere,
Anone all of the best."
" Y howe I trussa ! hale in the brayles I
Thow halyst nat, be God, thow fayles,
O se howe well owre good shyp sayles !"
And thus they say among.
EARLY NAVAL BALLADS.
" Hale in the wartake !" " Hit shall be done."
*' Steward ! cover the boorde anone,
And set bred and salt thereone,
And tarry nat to long."
Then Cometh oone and seyth, "be raery;
Ye shall have a storme or a pery."
" Holde thow thy pese ! thow canst no whery,
Thow medlyst wondyr sore."
Thys menevvhyle the pylgryms ly,
And have theyr bowlys fast theyni by.
And cry afthyr bote malvesy,
" Thow helpe for to restore."
And som wold have a saltyd tost,
For they myght ete neyther sode ne rost ;
A man myght sone pay for theyr cost,
As for oo day or twayne.
Som layde theyr bookys on theyr kne.
And rad so long they myght nat se , —
" Alias! myne hede woU cleve on thre !"
Thus seyth another certayne.