LII.

[The last verse of the following song is popular in our nurseries, and must be of great antiquity, as it is alluded to in MS. Lansd. 782, in a poem of the time of Henry VII. See Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i. p. 288.]

Come all ye brisk young
bachelors,
That wish to have good wives;
I'd have you be precautious,
How you spend your lives.
For women they are as various,
As the fish are in the sea;
They're ten times more precarious,
Than a winter or summer's day!

When first you begin to court them,
They're as mild as any dove,

And you will think them,

Full worthy of your love;

But when you do get married,

The case is altered then ;

For you will find, my friend,

They can let loose their tongues!

Now Aristotle chose

A most commodious wife,

As ever was in this land, sir,
A partner for his life;

But soon he found out

'Twas all a hum,

You must not stay to pick them,
But take them as they come!

Blank or prize 'tis all a chance,
Shut your eyes and then advance!
Whiche'er you teach be pleased at once,
For

you must pay, let who will dance.

There was a victim in a cart,

One day for to be hung:

And his reprieve was granted,

And the cart was made to stand:

"Come marry a wife and save your life!"

The judge aloud did cry.

"Oh why should I corrupt my life?"

The victim did reply:

"For here's a crowd of every sort,

And why should I prevent the sport?
The bargain's bad in every part—

The wife's the worst; drive on the cart !"

LIII.

The lion and the unicorn,
Were fighting for the crown;
The lion beat the unicorn,

All round about the town.

Some gave him white bread,
And some gave him brown;

Some gave him plum cake,

And sent him out of town.

LIV.

Doctor Faustus was a good man

He whipt his scholars now and then ;
When he whipp'd them he made them dance

Out of Scotland into France,

Out of France into Spain,

And then he whipp'd them back again!

LV.

Little Miss Mopsey,
Sat in the shopsey,

Eating of curds and whey;
There came a little spider,

Who sat down beside her,

And frightened Miss Mopsey away!