Gammer Gurton's Garland Part 8

TELLING OUT.

One-ery, two-ery, Ziccary zan; Hollow bone, crack a bone, Ninery ten: Spittery spot, It must be done; Twiddleum twaddleum Twenty-ONE.

Hink spink, the puddings stink, The fat begins to fry, n.o.body at home, but jumping Joan, Father, mother, and I.

Stick, stock, stone dead, Blind man can't see, Every knave will have a slave, You or I must be HE.

THE SEDATE PREACHER.

Old Dr. Forster, Went to Glo'ster, To preach the word of G.o.d: When he came there, He sate in his chair, And gave all the people a nod.

THE DEAF OLD WOMAN.

Old woman, old woman, shall we go a-shearing?

Speak a little louder, Sir, I'm very thick of hearing.

Old woman, old woman, shall I kiss you dearly?

Thank you, kind Sir; I hear you very clearly.

EVENING DITTY.

Girls and boys come out to play, The moon doth shine as bright as day: Come with a hoop, come with a call, Come with a good will, or not at all:

Leave your supper and leave your sleep, Come to your playfellows in the street: Up the ladder and down the wall, A penny loaf will serve us all.

Snail, snail, come out of your hole, Or else I'll make you as black as a coal.[F]

[F] It was probably the custom, on repeating these lines, to hold the snail to a candle, in order to make it quit the sh.e.l.l. In Normandy it was the practice, at Christmas, for boys to run round fruit-trees, with lighted torches, singing these lines:

Taupes et mulots, Sortez de vos clos, Sinon vous brulerai et la barbe et les os.

Sing jig my jole, the pudding bowl, The table and the frame, My master he did cudgel me, For kissing of my dame.

Bell horses, bell horses, What time o' day?

One a clock, two a clock, Time to away.

O the little rusty, dusty, rusty miller: I'll not change my wife for either gold or siller.

The rose is red, the gra.s.s is green, Serve King George our n.o.ble King: Kitty the spinner will sit down to dinner, And eat the leg of a frog; All good people look over the steeple, And see the cat play with the dog.

Doctor Foster was a good man, He whipped his scholars, now and then, And when he had done, he took a dance, Out of England into France.

He had a brave beaver with a fine snout, Stand you there out.

The cat sat asleep by the side of the fire, The mistress snored loud as a pig: Jack took up his fiddle, by Jenny's desire, And struck up a bit of a jig.

Little maid, pretty maid, whither goest thou?

Down in the forest to milk my cow.

Shall I go with thee?--No, not now; When I send for thee, then come thou.

The c.o.c.k's on the dunghill a-blowing his horn; The bull's in the barn a-threshing of corn; The maids in the meadows are making of hay; The ducks in the rivers are swimming away.

Up street and down street, each window's made of gla.s.s; If you go to Tom Tickler's house, you'll find a pretty la.s.s: Hug her, and kiss her, and take her on your knee, And whisper very close: Darling girl, do you love me?