The Pepys Ballads. Volume VII The Pepys Ballads, Volume 7: 1693-1702: Numbers 428-505 [Reprint 2014 ed.] 9780674430303, 9780674334526

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The Tepys Έα11αά$ VOLUME V I I

LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD OXFORD

UNIVERSITY

PRESS

The Pepys Ballads E D I T E D BY

H Y D E R EDWARD ROLLINS

V O L U M E VII 1693—1702

Numbers 428 —505

Ψ HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, '^Massachusetts

193

1

COPYRIGHT, 1 9 3 1 THE P R E S I D E N T AND F E L L O W S OF HARVARD

PRINTED AT T H E HARVARD U N I V E R S I T Y CAMBRIDGE, MASS., U . S . A .

COLLEGE

PRESS

" W h a t if I read some of our late versifiers for exercise? for I think there are none better to bring a man to a smooth familiar stile of riming, then some of our Modern Poems that treat of Executions, and Monsters born in other Countries." " W h a t Ballads?" "So I think they call 'em." Robert Mead

PREFACE

T

H I S seventh volume concludes my reprints from Pepys's collection, although it will presently be followed by an eighth containing indexes to the whole work — which contains 505 separate ballads. 1 For a time I hoped to edit all the ballads collected by Pepys, since the strange editorial methods of most of the publications of the Ballad Society (where many that I have not reprinted will be found) make its works not only inaccurate and misleading but almost unusable. But that hope soon had to be abandoned. Few people, it appears, are interested in English broadside ballads; or, at any rate, few buyers are, so that it would have been unreasonable to expect even a university press to sink money in an edition three or four times the size attained in this partial edition. M y publishers deserve the gratitude of the readers of these lines, no less than my own, for getting out in such beautiful form these seven volumes, the last five of which, to be sure, do make accessible all the historical and topical ballads not hitherto reprinted from Pepys's collection. The comparative rapidity with which the seven volumes have made their way into print is due largely to a grant (through Harvard University) in 1929-1930 by the General Education Board from its Fund for the Promotion of Research in the Humanities. The most casual glance at the seventy-eight ballads in this final volume reveals that they have the same

1 I call attention to the five Pepysian ballads included in my Pack of Autolycus (1927) and the seventy-three in my Pepysian Garland (1922), making a total of 583 ballads that I have reprinted from Pepys's volumes.

[vii]

PREFACE interests as any similar group of pre-Restoration ballads. The subjects, manner, and style are, indeed, almost exactly like those of strictly Elizabethan broadside songs, although the names of authors (except for Richard Rigby in No. 452 and Thomas J o y in No. 468) are conspicuous by their absence. Thanks largely to the newspapers, at the close of the seventeenth century the importance of the ballad practically comes to an end; but it would be a grave mistake to believe that balladry actually died out at that time. Strictly historical ballads form a small proportion of the total number in this volume. Three (Nos. 438-440) describe the operations of the fleet against the French in 1694. The funeral of Queen Mary, who died on December 15, 1694, is sadly narrated (Nos. 443, 444), after which comes news of the siege and surrender of Namur in 1695 (Nos. 448, 449). General de Ginkel's destruction of Dinant in 1696 (No. 475) is the last event of the Flanders wars treated, until in 1697 three poets write of the treaty of Ryswick (Nos. 491-493). But meanwhile domestic affairs, like the coinage bill of 1696 (Nos. 468-470) and the assassination-plot of Sir George Barclay and others (Nos. 472-474, 477-480, 487, 488) engage the attention of most of the balladists. The collection really ought to end with the death of William I I I (Nos. 500, 501) and the accession of Queen Anne (Nos. 502-504); but instead it does end with a ballad (No. 505) that tells of the punishment of William Fuller, the perjurer who had so savagely tarnished the reputation of Mary of Modena. Extremely numerous are verses on the troubles of love-lorn maidens. Both in London and in the provinces the last years of the century witnessed (if our streetpoets are to be believed) a high mortality among lovers. Various London maids — ignored, jilted, or betrayed [ viii ]

PREFACE by young men — die of broken hearts or by poison or bullets (Nos. 460, 462, 463, 465); and similar calamities are recorded of Rochester (No. 435), Greenwich (No. 436), Bristol (No. 461), Oxfordshire (Nos. 495, 496). Other tragedies recite how a jealous mother sells her son's sweetheart into servitude in Virginia (No. 459); how a lover shoots himself because of his mistress's scornful treatment (Nos. 497, 498); and how a Dorsetshire man murders the girl he has seduced, and then commits suicide (No. 458). Deeds of passion and violence that were expiated on the gallows are only too common. Various ballads (Nos. 428-431, 441, 447, 471, 483, 489, 490) are devoted to murderers of the years 1693-1697, the most notorious of whom was Mary Compton, the villainous midwife. And the executions of still other criminals are narrated, as of John Moor, a rich tripe-man, in 1695 for clipping and counterfeiting money (Nos. 445, 446). T w o highwaymen enliven these pages. Little known but very engaging is Mr. Biss, of Salisbury, a seventeenthcentury Robin Hood, who rode the three-legged mare in 1696 (No. 476). He is rivaled by Mr. Summers, of Buckinghamshire, who sold his body for an anatomy so that with the eight shillings thus obtained he could drink and be merry before he went to the gallows — thus winning the complete admiration of his ballad-chronicler (No. 437). Summers resembles Sawny Douglas, who was hanged on September 10, 1664, and who "read no Prayer Book, but carried the ballad of Chevy Chase in his hand all the way to T y b u r n . " 1 The famous pirate, Captain Every, figures, if somewhat indirectly, in Nos. 484 and 485; but he was not brought to justice. Impressive are the gayety of seventeenth-century executions in England and the strong nerves of all con1

Rayner and Crook, The Complete Newgate Calendar, ι (1926), 181. [ix]

PREFACE cerned in them. T h e y were public festivals in which spectators took an interested and oftentimes active part. Foreigners were invariably astonished at their frequency. On February 7, 1618, a member of the Italian embassy wrote: 1 T h e y have a gaol delivery every month and pass sentence in an extravagant manner. . . . T h e y take them [the condemned prisoners] five and twenty at a time, every month, besides sudden and extraordinary executions in the course of the week, on a large cart like a high scaffold. T h e y go along quite jollily, holding their sprigs of rosemary and singing songs, accompanied by their friends and a multitude of people. O n reaching the gallows one of the p a r t y acts as spokesman, saying fifty words or so. T h e n the music, which they had learned at their leisure in the prisons, being repeated, the executioner hastens the business, and beginning at one end, fastens each man's halter to the gibbet. T h e y are so closely packed that they touch each other, with their hands tied in front of them, wrist to wrist, so as 3 to leave them the option of taking off their hats and saluting the bystanders. One careless fellow availed himself of this facility to shade his face from the sun. Finally, the executioner, having come down from the scaffold, has the whip applied to the cart horses, and thus the culprits remain dangling in the air precisely like a bunch of fat thrushes. T h e y are hard to die of themselves and unless their own relations or friends pulled their feet or pelted them with brickbats in the breast as they do, it would fare badly with them. T h e proceeding is really barbarous and strikes those who witness it with horror. 3

Eighty years later a Frenchman — who very likely had seen the execution of some of the criminals featured in this volume — gave a similar account: 4 [Hanging] Is the most common Punishment in England. Usually this Execution is done in a great R o a d about a quarter of a League 1 Calendar of State Papers and Manuscripts, Relating to English Ajfairs. Existing in the Archives and Collections of Venice, 1617-1619, xv, 135-136. 2 Printed as as. 3 Such scenes, however, were not confined to England. See the gruesome details about Germany given in A Hangman's Diary, Being the Journal of Master Franz Schmidt Public Executioner of Nuremberg, 1573-1617 (1928). 4 M. Missons Memoirs and Observations in his travels over England, 1698, translated by John Ozell, 1719, pp. 123-125.

[x]

PREFACE from the Suburbs of London. The Sessions for trying Criminals being held but eight Times in a Year, there are sometimes twenty Malefactors to be hang'd at a Time. They put five or six in a Cart, 1 (some Gentlemen obtain Leave to perform this Journey in a Coach) and carry them, riding backwards with the Rope about their Necks, to the fatal Tree. The Executioner stops the Cart under one of the Cross Beams of the Gibbet, and fastens to that ill-favour'd Beam one End of the Rope, while the other is round the Wretches Neck: This done, he gives the Horse a Lash with his Whip, away goes the Cart, and there swing my Gentlemen kicking in the Air: The Hangman does not give himself the Trouble to put them out of their Pain; but some of their Friends or Relations do it for them: They pull the dying Person by the Legs, and beat his Breast, to dispatch him as soon as possible. The English are People that laugh at the Delicacy of other Nations, who make it such a mighty Matter to be hang'd; their extraordinary Courage looks upon it as a Trifle, and they also make a Jest of the pretended Dishonour that, in the Opinion of others, falls upon their Kindred. He that is tobe hang'd, or otherwise executed, first takes Care to get himself shav'd, and handsomely drest, either in Mourning or in the Dress of a Bridegroom: This done, he sets his Friends at Work to get him Leave to be bury'd, and to carry his Coffin with him, which is easily obtain'd. When his Suit of Cloaths, or Night-gown, his Gloves, Hat, Perriwig, Nosegay, Coffin, Flannel-Dress for his Corps, and all those Things are bought and prepar'd, the main Point is taken care of, his Mind is at Peace, and then he thinks of his Conscience. Generally he studies a Speech, which he pronounces under the Gallows, and gives in Writing to the Sheriff, or to the Minister that attends him in his last Moments, desiring that it may be printed. Sometimes the Girls dress in White, with great Silk Scarves, and carry Baskets full of Flowers and Oranges, scattering these Favours all the Way they go: But to represent Things as they really are, I must needs own that if a pretty many of these People dress thus gayly, and go to it with such an Air of Indifference, there are many others that go slovenly enough, and with very dismal Phizzes.

Numerous examples both of indifference and of dismal phizzes will be found in the criminals of these ballads. Strange and wonderful news likewise appears. Thus No. 442 narrates prodigious happenings in Kent, which 1

Ozell objects, "Usually three." [xi]

PREFACE are interpreted as a warning to avaricious farmers. A queer story is told of a rich old Southwark woman, who saved eighteen hundred pounds for her cat, and then died suddenly without having made a will (No. 466). An acrostic ballad on a woful sinner, Robert Godfrey, of Reading (No. 450), adds an element of novelty; while, for good measure, satires on religious hypocrites (Nos. 433, 434) and Louis X I V (No. 454) are included. So miscellaneous, indeed, are the themes in this volume that in many ways it is the most interesting and valuable of the seven, even though its " p o e t r y " is altogether negligible. Η. E. R. HARVARD UNIVERSITY,

June 15,1930.

CONTENTS PREFACE 428.

THE

VII INJURED

CHILDREN

OR

THE

BLOODY

MIDWIFE

(AUGUST 22, 1 6 9 3 ) 429.

3

T H E BLOODY-MINDED M I D W I F E CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF M A N Y I N F A N T S W H O M S H E M U R T H E R E D (AUGUST 2 2 ,

1693) 430.

7

T H E M I D W I F E ' S M A I D ' S L A M E N T A T I O N I N N E W G A T E OR HER

CONTINUAL

FEAR

O U T OF B E D E V E R Y 431.

DEVIL

TEARING

HER .

.

HOLBORN

IN

NEWGATE

WHO

WAS

EXECUTED

IN

OCTOBER 2 3 , 1 6 9 3

ENGLAND'S HAPPINESS

OR T H E

17 LOYAL

SUBJECTS' JOY

FOR T H E S A F E R E T U R N OF K I N G W I L L I A M FROM

FLAN-

DERS O C T O B E R 3 0 , 1 6 9 3 433.

21

T H E R E L I G I O U S T U R N C O A T OR A L A T E J A C O B I T E D I V I N E TURNED WILLIAMITE

434.

THE

(1693)

24

M O D E R N F A N A T I C A L R E F O R M E R OR T H E R E L I G I O U S

STATE-TINKER (1693) 435.

14

T H E M I D W I F E OF P O P L A R ' S S O R R O W F U L C O N F E S S I O N A N D LAMENTATION

432.

OF T H E

N I G H T (SEPTEMBER 1 2 , 1 6 9 3 )

T H E PASSIONATE M A I D

28 OF R O C H E S T E R G I V I N G A N

AC-

C O U N T OF A D A M S E L W H O P O I S O N E D H E R S E L F FOR L O V E OF A S H I P - C A R P E N T E R ( 1 6 9 3 ? ) 436.

31

T H E P E R J U R E D S A I L O R OR T H E F O R S A K E N D A M S E L G I V I N G A N A C C O U N T OF A M A I D A T G R E E N W I C H W H O FOR L O V E

437.

DIED

OF A S E A M A N ( 1 6 9 3 )

SUMMERS'S FROLIC SHEWING H O W H E W A S

35 CONDEMNED

A T A Y L E S B U R Y FOR A H I G H W A Y M A N A N D H O W H E H I S B O D Y FOR E I G H T S H I L L I N G S T O A S U R G E O N

SOLD

(MARCH,

1694) 438.

39

T H E V A L I A N T SEAMAN'S C O U R A G E W H O BY THE O R D E R OF A D M I R A L R U S S E L L D I D P E R F O R M A B R A V E ON T H E F R E N C H ( M A Y 1 0 , 1 6 9 4 )

[ xiii ]

EXPLOIT 44

CONTENTS 439.

T H E V A L I A N T S O L D I E R S ' L A M E N T A T I O N FOR THE L O S S OF THEIR NOBLE GENERAL TALMASH (June 12, 1694)

440.

.

.

47

T H E F R E N C H S A T I R E OR A N E W S O N G M U C H I N R E Q U E S T AMONG THE D I S S A T I S F I E D S O L D I E R S IN F R A N C E ( J u l y 1 4 ,

1694 ) 441.

52

T H E MURTHERERS' LAMENTATION BEING AN

ACCOUNT

OF J O H N J E W S T E R AND W I L L I A M B U T L E R W H O FOUND

GUILTY

OF THE

MURTHER

WERE

OF M R S . J A N E

LE

G R A N D AND E X E C U T E D J U L Y 19, 1 6 9 4 442.

56

T H E M A I D S T O N E M I R A C L E OR T H E S T R A N G E

KENTISH

WONDER ( A u g u s t 4, 1694) 443.

T H E R O Y A L F U N E R A L OR T H E M O U R N I N G S T A T E OF THE FUNERAL

OF Q U E E N

WESTMINSTER 444.

63

MARY

WHO

WAS

INTERRED

AT

M A R C H 5, 1 6 9 5

69

T H E W E S T M I N S T E R W O N D E R G I V I N G A N A C C O U N T OF A R O B I N R E D B R E A S T W H O C O N T I N U E S ON THE T O P N A C L E OF THE Q U E E N ' S

PIN-

M A U S O L E U M IN WESTMINSTER

ABBEY (after March 5, 1695) 445.

74

M R . M O O R THE T R I P E M A N ' S S O R R O W F U L L A M E N T A T I O N FOR C L I P P I N G AND C O I N I N G ( J u l y 5 , 1 6 9 5 )

446.

THE

C O U N T E R F E I T C O I N E R OR T H E

DYING

79 LAMENTA-

TION OF J O H N M O O R THE T R I P E M A N W H O W A S

EXE-

CUTED ON J u l y 12, 1695 447.

THE

UNNATURAL

83

HUSBAND

OR T H E

MURDERER

RE-

W A R D E D WITH J U S T I C E B E I N G THE L A S T L A M E N T A T I O N OF E D M U N D A L L E N W H O W A S E X E C U T E D ON J U L Y

19,

1695 448.

88

T H E G L O R Y OF F L A N D E R S OR T H E T R I U M P H A N T A R M Y ' S V I C T O R Y OVER THE F R E N C H A T N A M U R ( A u g u s t 6 , 1 6 9 5 )

449.

93

T H E T R I U M P H OF N A M U R OR T H E C O N F E D E R A T E A R M Y ' S J O Y FOR T H E I R V I C T O R Y O V E R THE F R E N C H ( A u g u s t 2 6 ,

1695 ) 450.

THE

96 TRAVELER'S

REPENTANCE

OR

THE

DEATH-BED

T E A R S OF R O B E R T G O D F R E Y W H O D E P A R T E D T H I S L I F E

ON AUGUST 27 (1695) 451.

KING

WILLIAM'S

UNSPEAKABLE FLANDERS

100

WELCOME

JOY

FOR

HOME

HIS

(OCTOBER 1 1 , 1 6 9 5 )

[xiv]

OR T H E

SAFE

SUBJECTS'

ARRIVAL

FROM 104

CONTENTS 452.

T H E SHOEMAKERS' TRIUMPH BEING A SONG IN PRAISE OF T H E

GENTLE

A BROTHER 453.

THE

CRAFT WRITTEN

ROYAL

PROGRESS

BY

(October

OF T H E C R A F T

RICHARD

25, 1695)

OR K I N G W I L L I A M ' S

RIGBY . . . .

108

PRINCELY

W E L C O M E AND S T A T E L Y ENTERTAINMENT IN THE C O U N -

TRY (NOVEMBER 1 1 , 1 6 9 5 ) 454.

112

THE FRENCH MONSTROUS BEAST WHICH DEVOURS

ALL

BEFORE I T ( 1 6 9 5 ? ) 455.

THE

BANISHED

WRONGS

116

DUKE

REDRESSED

OR

BY

THE

THE

NOBLE

DEATH

POLANDER'S

OF

HIS

FALSE

FRIEND (1695?) 456.

KING

121

WILLIAM'S

COURAGE AND CONQUEST

TOGETHER

W I T H T H E G L O R I O U S S U C C E S S OF H I S R O Y A L THE D U K E 457.

THE

LOYAL

THESE 458.

OF S A V O Y

HIGHNESS

(1695?)

STATESMAN

125

OR A

PLAIN

DESCRIPTION

OF

PRESENT TIMES (1695?)

129

T H E D O R S E T S H I R E T R A G E D Y OR A S H E P H E R D ' S TER'S D E A T H AND DESTRUCTION BY A F A L S E

DAUGHSTEWARD

(169$?) 459.

LOVE

OVERTHROWN T H E

THE M A I D ' S 460.

RUIN

YOUNG MAN'S

MISERY

THE

AND

(1695?)

136

T H E L O N D O N T R A G E D Y OR T H E T R U E L O V E R ' S ABLE

461.

132

MISER-

MISFORTUNES (1695?)

139

B R I S T O L T R A G E D Y OR T H E

UNFORTUNATE

BRIDE

AND BRIDEGROOM ( 1 6 9 5 ? ) 462.

THE

COOK-MAID'S

142

TRAGEDY

OR T H E

LOYAL

LOVER'S

OVERTHROW (1695?) 463.

146

T H E FALSE-HEARTED LOVER W H O L A T E L Y COURTED A D A M S E L AND A F T E R H E H A D OBTAINED H E R L O V E L E F T

464.

HER

AND M A R R I E D

ANOTHER (1695?)

THE

YOUNG

LAMENTATION

MAN'S

BEING AN

149 ANSWER

T O THE M A I D T H A T D I E D FOR L O V E ( 1 6 9 5 ? ) 465.

THE

CRUEL

LOVER

OR

THE

FALSE-HEARTED

153 SAILOR

(1695?) 466.

157

G R E A T N E W S FROM S O U T H W A R K OR T H E O L D W O M A N ' S L E G A C Y TO H E R

CAT (1695)

[xv]

161

CONTENTS 467.

T H E J O V I A L G A L L A N T OR T H E P E R F E C T P L E A S U R E OF A PRIVATE LIFE (1695?)

468.

164

T H E N E W A N D T R U E T O U C H OF THE T I M E S OR N O J E S T L I K E A T R U E JEST. B Y THOMAS JOY ( J a n u a r y 2 ι , 1696) .

469.

THE

R O Y A L R E G U L A T I O N OR T H E

K I N G AND

PARLIA-

M E N T ' S C A R E IN R E G U L A T I N G T H E S T A T E OF THE OF T H I S 470.

A

471.

THE

WILL

NOT P A S S ( J a n u a r y 21,

MOURNFUL

LAMENTATION MURTHER

171

MURTHERER

OF

THOMAS

OR

THEIR

1696)

THE

RANDALL

175

LAST

WHO

DYING

FOR

THE

OF R O G E R L E V I N S W A S E X E C U T E D ON J A N U -

29, 1696

ARY 472.

COIN

KINGDOM ( J a n u a r y 2 1 , 1696)

R E A D Y C U R E FOR U N E A S Y M I N D S FOR T H A T

MONEY

DUNKIRK'S

179

LAMENTATION

WRITTEN

IN

FRENCH

M O N S I E U R DE L O O N AND T R A N S L A T E D INTO I R I S H PATRICK

AGRAW

FOR THE

BENEFIT

OF THE

BY BY

TEAGUES

(February 24, 1696) 473.

185

T H E B L O O D Y P L O T OR A H O R R I D C O N S P I R A C Y A G A I N S T THE L I F E OF H I S S A C R E D M A J E S T Y ( F e b r u a r y 2 4 , 1 6 9 6 )

474.

T H E V I L L A I N O U S P L O T TO K I L L K I N G W I L L I A M (FEBRU-

475.

T H E S U C C E S S F U L C O M M A N D E R OR T H E B R A V E E X P L O I T

ARY 2 4 , 1 6 9 6 )

PERFORMED

B Y THE E A R L

477.

OF A T H L O N E

AGAINST

THE

(MARCH 4 , 1 6 9 6 )

197

T H E P E N I T E N T H I G H W A Y M A N OR T H E L A S T

FAREWELL

OF

SALISBURY

MR.

MARCH

189

193

F R E N C H AT G I V E T 476.

167

BISS

WHO

WAS

EXECUTED

AT

12, 1696

201

T H E P E N I T E N T T R A I T O R S OR T H E L A S T D Y I N G L A M E N TATION OF C H A R N O C K K E Y E S A N D K I N G W H O W A S A L L THREE

478.

EXECUTED

ON M A R C H

18, 1696

205

T H E I N F E R N A L P O S T OF P A R I S OR A D I A L O G U E B E T W E E N C H A R N O C K ' S G H O S T AND K I N G L E W I S C O N C E R N I N G THE PLOT

479.

(MARCH 1 8 , 1 6 9 6 )

S I R JOHN

F R I E N D AND S I R W I L L I A M P E R K I N S ' S

FAREWELL WHO W E R E 480.

209

E X E C U T E D ON A P R I L 3 ,

T H E M O U R N F U L P L O T T E R S OR T H E S O R R O W F U L

LAST 1696

213

LAM-

ENTATION OF S E V E R A L C O N S P I R A T O R S WITHIN N E W G A T E (APRIL 2 9 , 1 6 9 6 )

218

[xvi]

CONTENTS 481.

T H E R O Y A L C H A R A C T E R OR T H E M I R R O R OF

MAJESTY

(about April, 1696) 482.

THE

CHILDREN'S

222

CRIES

AGAINST

THEIR

BARBAROUS

F A T H E R B E I N G A R E L A T I O N OF A M O S T I N H U M A N COMMITTED

483.

MAY

25, 1696

THE

BARBAROUS

FATHER JULY 484.

A

AS

ON

225 AND

HE

BLOODY

WAS

GOING

SON INTO

WHO THE

SHOT

HIS

CHURCH

ON

12, 1696

COPY

OF

228

VERSES

EVERY LATELY (AUGUST 485.

ACT

B Y A G R A V E - M A K E R OF M A R Y - L E - B O N E

COMPOSED

BY

CAPTAIN

G O N E T O S E A TO S E E K H I S

HENRY FORTUNE

15, 1696)

234

V I L L A I N Y R E W A R D E D OR T H E P I R A T E S ' L A S T

FAREWELL

TO T H E W O R L D W H O W A S E X E C U T E D ON N O V E M B E R

25,

1696 486.

239

THE

SHEPHERD'S

OBSERVATION

ON

HIS

DREAD

OF

D O O M S D A Y FROM T H E G E N E R A L W A R OF E U R O P E ( 1 6 9 6 ? ) 487.

L A D Y FOR T H E F A T A L C O N D E M N A T I O N OF H E R HUSBAND 488.

245

T H E S O R R O W F U L L A M E N T A T I O N OF S I R J O H N F E N W I C K ' S LOVING

(JANUARY 2 7 , 1 6 9 7 )

249

T H E P L O T T E R ' S R E W A R D OR S I R J O H N F E N W I C K ' S FAREWELL WHO

WAS

BEHEADED JANUARY

LAST

28, 1 6 9 6

.

489.

T H E I N H U M A N B U T C H E R B E I N G H I S L A M E N T A T I O N FOR

490.

T H E M O U R N F U L M U R D E R E R OR T H E L A S T L A M E N T A T I O N

MURDERING HIS

OWN

WIFE

ON M A Y

5, 1 6 9 7

.

.

.

253

257

OF G E O R G E G A D E S B Y W H O W A S F O U N D G U I L T Y OF T H A T H O R R I D M U R T H E R C O M M I T T E D ON H I S W I F E A N D E X E C U T E D ON M A Y 491.

28, 1697

262

G R E A T B R I T A I N ' S T R I U M P H OR T H E N A T I O N ' S J O Y FOR A G E N E R A L P E A C E W H I C H W A S S I G N E D ON S E P T E M B E R

IO,

ι 697 492.

A

493.

THE

266

N E W C O P Y OF V E R S E S OF M O N S I E U R ' S B O A S T I N G OR

(September 10, 1697) .

E N G L A N D ' S C A U S E OF T R I U M P H PRINCELY

TRIUMPH

IN

THE

PROCLAIMING

OF

G L O R I O U S P E A C E IN L O N D O N ON O C T O B E R 1 9 , 1 6 9 7 494.

CONSCIENCE BY SCRUPLES AND M O N E Y NEW-FASHIONED

SCALES

FOR

BY O U N C E S

OLD-FASHIONED

(1697)

.

270

A .

273

OR

MONEY

277 C xvii 3

CONTENTS 495.

THE

DESPAIRING LOVER

JOAN

DAY

WHO

B E I N G A T R U E A C C O U N T OF

SHOT H E R S E L F

WITH A P I S T O L

ON

M A Y 30, 1698 496.

281

A N A N S W E R TO THE D E S P A I R I N G L O V E R OR T H E S E R V ING-MAN'S L A M E N T A T I O N FOR H I S L O V E W H O

KILLED

H E R S E L F ON M A Y 3 0 , 1 6 9 8 497.

284

T H E LONDON T R A G E D Y OR F A I R E L I Z A B E T H ' S C R U E L T Y TO

HER

DEAREST

JOHNNY

WHO

SHOT

HIMSELF

ON

AUGUST 16, 1698 498.

287

T H E F A I T H F U L L O V E R ' S F A R E W E L L TO THE W O R L D B E ING A T R U E R E L A T I O N OF A SERVING-MAN T H A T SHOT H I M S E L F FOR L O V E OF THE COOK-MAID ( 1 6 9 8 )

499.

.

.

.

THE

LOSS

OF H E R

TRUE-LOVE

THAT

SHOT

HIMSELF

(1698) 500.

294

T H E R O Y A L C O U R T IN M O U R N I N G FOR THE D E A T H OF KING

WILLIAM

WHO

LEFT

THIS

EARTHLY

CROWN

M A R C H 8, 1 7 0 2 501.

290

T H E R E P E N T I N G M A I D ' S SORROWFUL L A M E N T A T I O N FOR

297

A T R I B U T E OF T E A R S OR T H E L O Y A L S U B J E C T S ' L A M E N TATION FOR THE D E A T H OF W I L L I A M I I I W H O D E P A R T E D T H I S L I F E ON M A R C H 8, 1 7 0 2

502.

300

T H E P R O T E S T A N T Q U E E N OR T H E GLORIOUS P R O C L A I M ING H E R R O Y A L H I G H N E S S P R I N C E S S A N N E OF D E N M A R K Q U E E N OF E N G L A N D SCOTLAND F R A N C E AND I R E L A N D ON M A R C H 8, 1 7 0 2

503.

304

G R E A T B R I T A I N ' S J O Y FOR H E R M A J E S T Y Q U E E N A N N E ' S BEING UNANIMOUSLY PROCLAIMED THROUGH ENGLAND SCOTLAND AND I R E L A N D (MARCH 8, 1 7 0 2 )

504.

308

T H E T A V E R N Q U E R Y OR T H E L O Y A L H E A L T H (APRIL 2 3 , 1702)

505.

312

SCANDALOUS F U L L E R R E W A R D E D OR T H E

IMPOSTURE'S

D O O M WITH F U L L E R ' S L A M E N T A T I O N AND

CONFESSION

(JUNE 3 0 , 1 7 0 2 )

315

[ xviii ]

The Tepys

ballads

4 2 8

The injured children i i , 193, roman and italic type, four columns, four woodcuts. This ballad on the murderous midwife, M a r y Compton (who is the subject also of Nos. 429-431), was probably written about August 22, 1693. T h e author accuses her of killing eight " b y blows," or bastards; but she was found guilty, if Luttrell may be trusted, of the death of four infants. T h a t her crime was not unique may be seen from N o . 95, or from a book called The Murderous Midwife, With Her Roasted Punishment: Being A Τrue and Full Relation Of A Midwife that was put into an Iron Cage with Sixteen Wild-Cats, and so Roasted to Death, by hanging over a Fire, for having found in Her House-of-office no less than Sixty two Children, at Paris in France. Printed in the Year 1673. For the tune see No. 419, for the printer No. 139.

[3]

THE PEPYS BALLADS Φί)e Sttjureb Cfjtlbren, Wfyz Jgloutip ültbtotfe; JSeing 8 JBtscoberp of a Parbaroui Cruelty to geberal Children t&at ijab been mabe atoap, anb btttteb prtbatelp in a Cellar, anb ttoo fjtb beab tn a 3&anbfiaöfeet. Tune of, Rüssel's Farwell. ι

/ ^ H ! what a wicked Age is this, we Wretches do live in. How prone we are to Wickedness, and to commit each Sin; No day but does produce new Fact of Villainy I say, Some Thieve, some Murders basely act, this is done day by day.

ι

But of all Baseness none can tell a wickeder indeed, For when I think upon it well, it makes my Heart to bleed; A Midwife which at Poplar dwell'd, now Newgate is her doom. 'Tis said she several Children kill'd, and hid them under Ground.

3

She left a Boy and Girl at home, besides an Infant small, And left them no Provision, which made the Children bawl: They cry'd so loud the Neighbours heard who went for their Relief. The Boy immediately declar'd their Misery and Grief.

4

I'th' Sellar on a Shelf thats high, a Basket there you'l find, And in it two dead Children lye, which terrifies my Mind:

[4]

THE INJURED CHILDREN They went and found it to be true, a dismal Spectacle, Oh wretched Woman, why did you these little Infants kill. 5

I'th' 1 Sellar, by the Boys advice, they digged up and down, Where six poor Childrens Carcasses immediately were found. Their Skulls and Bones were taken up, a dismal sight to see, Oh Midwife, Midwife, what mad'st thou bury them privately.

6

Some say they're By-blows she did take, Or Bastards, which you will And all was for the Moneys sake, these Infants must be kill'd; For 'tis suppos'd a sum for good she with a Child did take, But oh! such Infants cries for Bloud, would make ones2 Heart to ake.

7

What Grief and Trouble there must be, to those that have put out Their Children to her Custody, since now the Murder's out; No less than eight poor Children found, thought to be made away, Six private buried under ground, two in a Basket lay.

8 You Mothers that have Children sure, you nere will Money give, That you for that may never more your Child see while you live, 1

Text I'th' the.

1

Text makes one.

[5]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS For 'tis a comfort for to see, the Mother Nurse its Child,, And then no Midwives Cruelty can ever you beguile. Printed and Sold by T. Moore.

[6]

4 2 9

Τ'he bloody-minded midwife ν , ίο, roman and italic letter, two columns. M a n y initial M's and T"'s (not indicated in my reprint) are in italics. Another account (see Nos. 428, 430, 4 3 1 ) of M a r y Compton's crime in murdering infants who were intrusted to her care, written about August 22, 1693, and summarized from a pamphlet entitled " T h e Cruel M i d w i f e . / Being a True Account of a most Sad and La-/mentable Discovery that has been/ lately made in the Village of P o p l a r / in the Parish of Stepney./ At the House of one Madame Compton alias/ Norman a Midwife, wherein has been discovered m a - / n y Children that have been M u r dered. Particularly/ Two that were lately found in a Hand-Basket on a / Shelf in the Sellar, whose Skins, Eyes, and part of their/ Flesh were eaten by Vermin: The Skelliton of Six/ others that were found buryed in the Sellar; with t h e / design of digging for others in the Garden. With the/ manner of the Discovery./ Also/ An Account of the Seizing or Appre-/hending, Behaviour, and Commitment t o / Newgate, of M a d a m Compton alias/ Norman, the Midwife, on the Account o f / Murthering these I n f a n t s . / Licensed according to Order./ London,/Printed for R. Wier at the White Horse in Fleet-/Street, 16 9 3 · / " The text runs as follows, beginning on the verso of the title-page, page 2: 'The Cruel Midwife of Poplar, f£c. Every thing is carried on by a natural Instinct, to the Preservation of it self in its own Being: And by the same Law of Nature even the most brutish amongst the Bruits themselves, may be observed to retain a special Kind of Indulgence and Tenderness towards the young The Monsters of the Sea draw out their Breasts, and give Suck to their Young ones. The barbarous Cruelties of some Midwives, Nurses, and even Parents to young Children, may assure us, T h a t there are greater Monsters upon the Land than are to be found in the Bottom of the Deep; and if some of these may extenuate their Inhumanities, by I know not what Vertuous Pretences, yet the Barbarities of the rest must be wholly imputable to their savage Nature, and the bloodiness of their Disposition. The Gentlewoman, who is the chief Subject or Occasion of the following Narrative is by Name Crompton, or least generally known among the Neighbour-hood by no other Name than Madam Crompton; she came to live at

[7:

THE PEPYS BALLADS Poplar, which is near Stepney, about Two Years since, taking a large House, where none but [page 3 ] Persons of considerable Rank had li-ved [V/V] before, bringing with her at first only a Maid Servant, going for a Midwife of great note to Persons of Quality; here she had not continued long, before she was observed to have several Children of divers Ages; but all the time of her living in this Place has been very private, not in the least associating herself with any of the Neighbourhood, or coming to Church, &c. but her Maid Servant would often be in Discourse with some of the adjacent Neighbours Maids, being always very inquisitive with them, but she would never communicate any thing of her Mistresses Domestick Affairs. The Midwife herself was scarce ever seen in the Neighbourhood, not so much as to stand at the Door, but steping into the Coach early in the morning, and coming home in a Coach in the Night, and seldom or never were any Visitants seen to come thither, but only some Gentlemen and others often in the Evening or Night, except it were some of the Parish for the Kings Taxes, the Ministers, Poor or other Duties, which generally, if she hapen to be at home she readily paid them at the Door, or sent the Maid to them with the money and many complesant Words; she was observed to be often from home for several days together, yet so much [page 4] was her maid servant her Confederate & Creature, that the Affaires of the House was kept so private and obscure from the Neighbours, that they could not tell how many Children she had in the House, or how often changed, or otherwise disposed of: Mrs. Crompton is between Fifty and Threescore Years of Age, and her maid has often declared upon several Occasions, That her mistress has been a Midwife above Thirty Years; and 'tis generally said that she she [«V] has followed this barbarous Infant mur- murdering [ j / c ] Trade so long, the truth of which is best known to the Omnipresent God, the searcher of Hearts, who can bring the most hiden Things of Darkness to light, and from whom no Secret is hid, who for Reasons best known to his Providence, permits some Persons Sins to go before to Judgment, that is to be punished in this Life, and others to come after, that is, reserved to the Tribunal of the great Day. Mrs. Crompton going out of Town the beginning of the last Week, on Friday [August 18], pretty early in the Morning, the Maid-Servant (no doubt by the Order and Appointment of the Mistriss) left the House likewise, leaving at home a Boy about Seven Years of Age, and a Girl about Six Years Old, with a little Infant [page 5] in the Cradle, leaving with them for Food only a piece of Cheese and Water, not any Beer or Bread, but bid the Boy, in case the young Child cryed, to give it some Water, and she would return in a little time; all which the Boy has since related: The Children continuing in the House alone most part of the Day, and no Maid returning, grew very impatient, and particularly for want of Sustenance, &c. and the Boy bringing of it into an outward Room next the Street, a Neighbour's Son passing by, and hearing the Child cry, called to the Boy to know what was the matter; to whom he declar'd, after some time, the Reasons: That they were left all day alone in the House, without Victuals, and that the young Child was almost starved; after which, Neighbours being called, the Constable and Masters

[8]

THE BLOODY-MINDED MIDWIFE of the Parish were sent for, some of whom coming and entring the House, examined the two Chilgren [sic], who declared as before mentioned; and farther, besides the Infant in the Cradle, the Boy declared there were two more that lay Dead in a Hand-basket upon a Shelf in the Cellar; another lay Buried in the Garden, and a Fourth in the Cellar: Upon present search, they found the Two Children in the Hand-basket as the Boy had said, [page 6] they being most lamentable Objects of Humane Misery, looking at first sight, were liker the Carkasses of Catts or Doggs than Humane Creatures, all their skin being off, as likewise their Eyes and part of their Flesh eat with Vermin, stinking in a lamentable manner. On Monday being list. Instant, the Coroners Inquest were Impanell'd, and coming to the House where the Dead Bodies lay in the Basket, after viewing of them, they ordered some Labourers (according to the Words of the Boy) to Dig in several soft places of the Cellar where they perceived the ground had been broken, where, after some time, they Dug up six several Skeletons of Children of several Ages; upon which Night coming on, the Coroner Adjourn'd the Jury- [sic] till the next Day, resolving to have the ground iu [sic] the Garden likewise to be broken up before they brought in their Verdict, many of the Spectators took several of the Bones and carried them away, some of which are now to be seen at the Bert-Johnson s Head, near St. Brides Church by Fleetstreet. Who were the Parents of these Children, or upon what account this Midwife had the keeping of them, is not certainly known, though [page η] it's generally conjectured, and that not without a great deal of Reason, that these were those commonly called By-blows, or Bastards, which she undertook, for a certain Sum of Money agreed on, to ease the Parents of, by keeping them as long as they lived. I t ' s hoped our Grandsire Time, that brin gs all things to light, will unvail the Darkness of this hidden Mystery of Iniqnity [sic], and expose the T r u t h as the Sun at Noon-day; In the mean time great care is taken and search made in order to discover the Midwife or her Maid. Postscript. Tvesday, August 22. This Day the Coroner's Inquest met again, but were adjourned till Monday, on the Account that they had done digging in the Garden, and other ports [sic] for Children, and for other Reasons. This Day likewise about One in the Afternoon, our Madam Compton, alias Norman, was Apprehended near Covent-Garden, and with the Assistance of the Constables and Beadles, being led between two Men, attended with a numerous Croud of People; she was carried to the P e t t y Sessions of Bloomsbury, where she was Examined before their Majesties Justices [page 8] of the Peace there sitting; who likewise took several Affidavits, by which she is vehemently suspected (if not positively charged) to having Murthered several Children that were put to her to Nurse; upon which she was from thence Committed to Newgate, by the Warrant or Mittimus signed by the Worshipfull Justices of the Peace then on the Bench.

[9]

THE PEPYS BALLADS When our Doughty Midwife was first seized, all the way she went to the Justices, and when she came before their Worships, she was observed to carry her self with a great deal of Confidence, not seeming in the least concern'd, or much denying the Fact. I t has been observed that several Gentlemen and others have been seen to enquire at some of the Adjacent Ale-houses concerning some particular Children.

FINIS. F o r t h e t u n e see N o . 4 1 9 .

[10]

THE BLOODY-MINDED

MIDWIFE

Ploobp mtnbeb illtbtoife, Containing an Account of manp I n f a n t « toijom sfje i f l u r tfjur'b, or ötarb'b to Beatf), some of toijicfj totre founb in a ^anb-iSaifeet afaofae (grotmb, otfjere btgg'b up in a C e l l a r , toljerc ßbe ijab P u r t e b tfjem.

®o tlje gtetonteijinent of all

Spectator«. T u n e of, Russeis last Farewel.

Htcenöeb atcorbmg to tber.

1

ι

/ ^ O O D People all I pray attend, v J unto a wicked deed, While these sad Mournful Lines I penn'd, m y very h e a r t 1 did bleed, A n d so would any heart of stone, the Rich as well as Poor, For sure the like was never known, in any Age before.

2

A t Poplar, near fair London T o w n , there did a Midwife dwell, Whose Murders calls just Vengeance down, since they do far excell, T h e greatest Villains in the Land, and that you all will own, When you the truth shall understand, 'twould melt a heart of stone.

3

Full Three and T h i r t y Years ago, the Midwife did begin, A n d ever since, for ought we know, she has been Murdering, Y o u n g Infants from their Mothers W o m b , when first they drew their breath, Starving she made their dismal doom, or some such Cruel Death.

Text heard.

[ I I ]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

4

Neighbours observ'd her often times, which she could not endure, The better to conceal her Crimes, she kept her self Obscure, At last her sins full ripe did grow, Blood did for Vengeance Cry, And nothing can be hid we know, from Gods all seeing eye.

5

The Midwife chanc'd to go from home, and left her servant Maid, Who after her did likewise roam, thus was they then betray'd, A little Girl and Boy was left, to Nurse a Babe likewise, Who was almost of Life bereft, starving with bitter crys.

6

The Boy and Girl they made their moan, to some that pass'd the street, And cry'd that they were left alone, having no food to eat, But Water and one crum of Cheese, to feed the Babe that cry'd, At which sad grief did greatly sieze, Neighbours on e'ery side.

7

The Officers and other Men, did open straight the door, Whereas the Boy he told them then, that they might find two more, Young Children in a Basket dead. upon a shelf below, They search'd the Place as he had said, and found it even so.

8

This spectacle amaz'd them all, so soon as they were found, Live Virmin did about them craul, while lying above ground, [12]

THE BLOODY-MINDED

MIDWIFE

At length they dug the Cellar floor, directed by the Boy, Where they found six or seven more the which she did destroy. 9

io

Ο Cruel Wretch that this could do, a Monster to all good, How could she this 1 her hands imbrew, in little Infants blood, How could she slumber Night or D a y , or take one wink of rest, While little Murther'd Infants lay, which might her sleep molest. This Midwife she was seiz'd at last, and to a Justice brought, And as a long the streets she past, she was with passion fraught, She then was soon to Newgate sent, where she's confind to lye, And tho' she may in tears lament, 'tis just that she should dye.

Printed for J. Bissel, at the Bible and Harp in West-Smith Field. 1

Read thus.

[133

43° The midwifes maid's lamentation v, 24, roman and italic type, two columns, a few letters trimmed off. The midwife's maid was arrested on September 12, and committed to Newgate (Luttrell, ill, 184). Thereupon Mrs. Compton (cf. Nos. 428, 429, 431) tried to commit suicide by drinking poison but was unsuccessful. When the two women were tried for murder on October 12, Mrs. Compton was found guilty and condemned to death, but the maid was acquitted (p. 205). The Proceedings of the Old Bailey Sessions for October 12-17, l&93> P· 6, reports that Mrs. Compton and two other women were sentenced to death but "pleaded their Bellies, a Jury of Matrons were impannelled, whose Verdict was, that neither of them were with Child." As Mrs. Compton was between fifty and seventy years of age, this verdict is in her case perhaps scarcely to be wondered at. At the end of The Proceedings an advertisement announces that "The Tryal of the Midwife will be published at large in a day or two." I regret my inability to find it. For the tune see No. 419. L. Moore may be a misprint for T. Moore, the printer of No. 428.

[14]

THE MIDWIFE'S MAID'S

LAMENTATION

Wife jfWfotoife'Ä ifflatb'e lamentation, Sn NEWGATE. ortofciful Confession anb Hamentation in Newgate. Mi)o toaö Conbemneb to 2Bpe for tijat ^orrifa anb ®[ni)earii of illutber, toincf) ίφε committeb on tf)e Jftobps of tfefaeral poung infants;, tofjom sfije g>tatbeb to Beatfc, anb teas attorbtnglp Cxetuteb for tfjc «ante in Holbourn, upon tfje 23d. of tijiS instant October, 1693. T u n e of, Russeis last Farewel.

Hicenseb actorbtnß to ©rber.

ι

Τ Am the worst of Women-kind, JL Compton it is my Name, I was to Cruelty inclin'd, and do Repent the same, But Oh! I wish I ne're had done that wicked deed, for why, My Thread of Life is almost spun, now I'm Condemn'd to dye.

ι

In Poplar near fair London Town, 'twas there that I did dwell, [i8]

T H E MIDWIFE'S SORROWFUL CONFESSION M y Murders calls just Vengeance down, for they do far excel The worst of Villains in the Land, as e'ery one may own, The very truth to understand would melt a heart of stone.

1

3

For three and thirty years ago, I Midwife did begin, And of late years assuredly 1 know, I have been murdering, Sweet Infants from their Mothers Womb, Oh! wretched Creature, I Starving did make their Dismal Doom, for which I now must dye.

4

M y maid and I did go from Home, as being not afraid, And left three Children all alone, thus was I then betray'd, A little Boy and Girl I left, to Nurse an infant young, Who was of life almost bereft, thus I the Babes did wrong.

5

I left none but Water and Cheese, to feed the Babe that cry'd, At which sad grief did greatly seize Neighbours on e'ery side, The Boy he told unto them then, that they might find two more, Young Infants in a basket dead, upon a shelf below.

6

This sight did much amaze them all, so soon as they were found, Vermin did there about them craul, as they lay above ground,

Text assurely. [19]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

Then they dug up the Cellar floor, directed by the Boy, And there they found two or three more, all which I did destroy. 7

The Babe that in the Cradle lay, did cry for Nourishment, They put it out to Nurse straightway, who soon to dress it went, And as she took the Linnen off to dress it unto bed, The very Ears were rotted off from this poor Infants head.

8

Ο Cruel Wretch, what shall I do, a Monster to all good, That could my bloody hands imbrew in little Infants blood, How could I slumber Night or D a y , or take one wink of rest, While pritty Murther'd Infants lay, which might my sleep molest.

9

But I alas! was Seiz'd at last, and unto Iustice brought, And as along the Streets I past, I was with passion fraught, I at my Tryal did appear, and am Condemn'd to dye, The Laws cannot be too severe for such a Wretch as I.

io

And I Account e're long must give, of my Offences here, Vnto that great and mighty Iudge, who will e're long appear, How shall I look him in the face, or from his presence fly, I have quite spent my day of Grace, who am Condemn'd to dye.

Printed for J. Bissel, at the Bible and Harp in West-Smith-Field.

[20]

4 3 2

England's happiness ν , 58, roman and italic type, two columns. On Sunday, October 29, the king landed at Harwich, and the next morning set out for London. " T h e queen mett him at Ingerstone; the people every where as they came expressed their joy by ringing of bells, bonefires, illuminations, & c . " (Luttrell, hi, 216). The ballad is part of the general rejoicing at the fact that, after his bloody campaign in Flanders, the Protestant king had returned home in safety to his people. For the tune see No. 408. On Ebenezer Tracy, the publisher, see No. 405.

[21]

THE PEPYS

ΦΙa,

BALLADS

es %opal Subjects ©ngpeafeable 3op

g>afe Return of Hing l i t l l t a m , J F & 0 M Marltfec Countrp of FLANDERS, to tije lüngbom of ENGLAND, tofcere jfjc lartbeb on tfje 30tfj ©ap of October, 1693, to tfje 3Top anb Comfort of all Hopal ümbjectö. To the Tune of, If Loves a sweet Passion, &c.

ι

Τ E t all Loyal Subjects be pleas'd to draw near, J L / I t is joyful good News which I bring to you here; For to chear up your Spirits, then let us rejoyce, Both the Court and the Land with a general voice, At the happy Return of Great William our King; Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring.

ι

The Queen in his Absence did govern alone, Being fixt like a beautiful Star on the Throne; While the King march'd in Flanders with his warlike Train; Now the Kingdom is blest with his Presence again: At the happy Return of Great William our King, Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring.

3

The Storms on the Ocean he often hath bore, While the turbulent Winds and the Billows did roar; A y , and many worse Dangers for us he goes through, Therefore let all his Subjects be Loyal and True: At the happy Return of Great William our King, Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring.

4

When Cannons were roaring, and Bullets did flye, And the thick cloudy Smoke seem'd to darken the Sky, In the midst of that Fury King William was there, Whose Life Great Jehovah was pleased to spare. At the happy Return of our True Valiant King, Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring;

ENGLAND'S HAPPINESS 5

Expressing what Loyal Affection we have For a Monarch so Valiant, Couragious and Brave, Who has oftentimes chang'd his rich Bed of soft Down, To a Tent in the Field for supporting the Crown. At the happy Return of Great William our King, Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring.

6

He valiantly fought in Defence of us all, At the great Fight of Landen, where thundring Ball From the throats of great Cannon which roar'd in the Air; Therefore let us be Loyal, and free to declare Our Joy for the happy Return of the King; Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring.

7

While Gallants of England lay close in their Nest, Our King in Field has been broke of his Rest, By the sudden Alarum sometimes of his Foes, Yet he still will his Life and his Fortune expose. At the happy Return of this True Valiant King, Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring.

8 There's many a Noble who lives in the Land, Having büt a few Thousands a Year at command, Does enjoy more Delight then a King I declare, For the Crown of a Monarch is lined with Care. Yet let Heaven still prosper Great William our King; Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring. 9

No doubt but in time all our Foes he'll destroy, And the Nation shall Peace and full Plenty enjoy: Let us pray that the Hand of High Heaven will Bless Both his Navy and Army henceforth with Success. And for the safe Return of Great William our King, Let full Bumpers go round, and the Bells sweetly ring. Htcertöeb atcorbmg to atpre: ΦΜ, 8 ηείο g>ong muri) in Request amongst tfye bisäatisfp'b g>olbieta in France, toijo arc untoilling to trugt jFortunt in follototng tfjeir (General into England, toijoie Subject« ijabe gtben tfjem a neto $roof of tfjeir Courage, bp tfjctr Pombarb· tng of Calis. To the Tune of, The Soldier and Sailor.

ι

T N fair and pleasant Weather, A Our Army got together, About the Shores of Calis, But Fortune show'd her Malice, As we are often told, As we are often told. We thought to be commanded To go on Board, and Landed In Kent, at famous Dover, But we could ne'r get over, Our Courage waxed cold, Our Courage waxed cold.

ι

We march'd away from Flanders, Both Soldiers and Commanders, For this great Undertaking, Brave France we were forsaking, And being often told, And being, &c. As we was Sons of Thunder, We soon should roul in Plunder, Three Kingdoms lay before us, But we were crost by Boreas, And Courage waxed cold, And Courage, &c.

3

We lay so long contriving, Begar, it spoil'd our thriving, The Prince which we attended, Is heartily offended, 'That Fortune prov'd unkind, 5that Fortune, &c. [533

T H E PEPYS BALLADS Yet if we would but venture, And those three Kingdoms enter, We shall have store of Treasure, And Riches out of measure, Tes, when the Devil's blind, Tes, &c.

1

4

They tell a pleasant Story, That we may purchase Glory, Without the fear of Danger, Though Lewis be a Stranger, Tet Protestants are kind, Tet, &c. If we declare a Pardon, Although not worth a Farthing, They'll readily believe us, And lovingly receive us, Tes, when the Devil's blind, Tes, &c.

5

Perhaps they may Invite us, And then, Begar, they'll fight us With Musket, Bomb and Cannon, The Boyn and River Shannon, Declares them to be kind, Declares, &c. Begar, day are for Killing, And shall we den be willing To leave our Native-Nation, For such an Invitation, Tes, when the Devil's blind, Tes, &c.

6

If e're day catch us coming Wid sounding Charge and Druming To England, where day'11 bang us, We '11 give dem leave to hang us, Begar, we no touch 1 mind, Begar, &c.

I. e., such.

[54]

THE FRENCH SATIRE 'Tis true our Monks and Fryers, Declares we shall be Squires, And have our lousie Breeches, Well lin'd vid London Riches, Tes, when the Devil's blind, Yes, &c. 7

The famous Town of Calis, The which was like a Palace, With Bombs they now have batter'd, The Buildings burn'd and shatter'd, 'This is the Love we find, This is the Love we find. Their Catholicks may call us, But Williamites will maul us; Then shall we go for Plunder, Where Guns will roar like Thunder, Tes, when the Devil's blind, Tes, when the Devil's blind.

London; Printed for J. Deacon, at the Angel in Gui/tspur-street.

[55]

4 4 i

The murtherers lamentation ii, 179, black letter, four columns, two woodcuts. Luttrell (111, 345, 387) notes that on July 19, 1694, " o n e Butler and Jewster were executed in Spittle Feilds for murdering a rich old woman [Jane le Grand]] there, and after robbed her of a great summ of money," and that on October 21 " a person [Edward Hi η ton [] concerned with Butler and Jewster, executed for the murther of madam L e Grand in Spittle Fields, was apprehended and carried to N e w gate." In the ballad Jewster and Butler alternately confess their crimes, and then plead for forgiveness and salvation in a manner worthy of the best good-night traditions. "An Account of the Discovery of the bloody Murther and Robbery committed on Mrs. Le Grand in Spittle Fields, forms chapter v , pages 11-16, of God's Marvellous Wonders In England: Containing divers strange and wonderful Relations that have happened since the beginning of June, this present Tear 1694. After two moralizing paragraphs it runs thus: [ P a g e 12] In a Place called Spittle-Fields, near the Artillery Ground, by Bishopsgate-street, London, lived one Mrs. Le Grand, by Birth a Walloon French-woman, but had a long time been in England, marry'd to a MasterWeaver; who having a very considerable Trade, got Money apace, [page 1 3 ] and dying, left his Wife, the Party above-mention'd, very rich, but withal, so niggardly and pining, that to Strangers especially, she seemed to be the poorest Woman in the Place, and stuck not to receive the Charity of well disposed People, in private, tho', at the same time, she was better able to give them. She continued privately to lend out Money upon the T a l l y , and by other Methods, so that she had hoarded up more Riches then can easily be believ'd, some say 10000 Pounds, and the least 2000. But notwithstanding all her cunning, some of her Kindred got an inkling of it, and especially one John Jewster, who kept an Ale-house in Bishopsgate-street, and said to marry one of her Kinswomen; and she, it seems, living longer than he expected, he undertook to rid her by a more speedy w a y : For confederating with one Butler, a Person of a notorious Life, and Others, they on the 8th. of June, lay'd a Plot to R o b her; and the next D a y they proceeded, between 9 and 10 in the Evening, to put it in practice: When as Jewster, Butler, and another, came to her House, and finding [page 14] none but her, and an old Woman within, they,

[56]

THE MURTHERERS'

LAMENTATION

under pretence of coming about Business, got entrance; and having close shut the Door, without any other Ceremony, Butler siez'd Mrs. Le Grand, and barbarously Murther'd her by strangling, GV. and then girt a Handkerchief so fast about the Neck of the other old Woman, that leaving her for Dead, they fell to breaking open the Chests, Boxes, and Trunks, where they found such large quantities of Money, that they were not able to carry off a half part of it; yet loaded themselves so hard, that a aoo Pound Bag was found drop'd in the Street, tho' they were not pursu'd. Soon after their Departure, the Linnen about the last old Woman's Neck slackning, by a Hand of Providence, as it were, to bring this Wickedness to light, she groaned so hard, that a next Neighbour heard her; and coming to see what the Matter was, found the Door open, and one murther'd Body in the House. Whereupon, calling for other Neighbours, they entred and found what had happen'd. Three Days after, the murthered Woman was Cpage 1 5 ] buried; and tho' strict Enquiry was made, and many Houses searched, yet no discovery, in some time, was made; nor were the Parties that really did it, any ways suspected, till such time as Providence brought it to light: For one Francis Jewster, Brother to the aforemention'd Party of that Name, having been made acquainted with the Business, and desired to be there (tho' it does not appear he was with them) he grew so restless, for fear of being brought in for a snack, or rather the Hand of Heaven compelling him to it, that he could not rest till he had discover'd it by Words he let drop; which caus'd him to be brought upon Examination before a Magistrate, and there he declar'd as much as they had made him privy to. Upon this, He, his Brother, and Butler, were committed to Gaol; and the Sessions coming on, they took their Tryals at the Sessions-House, in the Old-Baily, on the 13/Λ. of July; where it appearing Butler, & Others, killed Mrs. Le Grand, John Jewster being there at that time, they were found guilty of the Murther and Felony, and receiv'd Sentence of Death, and were since executed. But Fran- Cpage 16] cis Jewster, tho' he was knowing of the Business, yet it not appearing he was with them at the time of the commitment of the Fact, was acquitted. An official record is preserved in A Compleat Collection of Remarkable Tryals, 1 ( 1 7 1 8 ) , 1 7 3 - 1 7 7 : The Tryal oj John Jewster and William Butler for Murther. John Jewster and William Butler, were indicted at the Old-Bailey the 6th of July, 1694. for the Murther of Madam Legrand a Walloon Gentlewoman living in the Old Artillery Ground near Spittle-Fields. The Evidences who were Neighbours deposed that the Deceased being a lone Woman, lived by her self very retired and private, and was reputed to be rich; that some Hours after she was murthered, some Persons having Occasion to go to her, found her Door open, and going into her Room, saw her fallen on her Face to the Ground ty'd in a Chair, that endeavouring to lift her up they found she was dead, being suffocated, having a Cloth stuff'd into her Mouth; that they supposed she had fallen on her Face by her struggling; whereupon they searching Ei?]

THE PEPYS BALLADS the House found her Chests, Trunks, &c. had been broken open, and that she had been robbed; that they then remembred they had observed several M e n , lurking about the House some Hours before, but knew not who they where [ « V ] , nor where to find them, but it happened that when the deceased was to be buried, Frank Jewster being a near Relation (some say Grandchild) of the deceased's was invited to her Burying, and while he was trying on a Pair of Gloves, was observed to turn very pale and tremble very much, upon which he being charged, confess'd that he was privy to the M a t t e r , that his Brother John Jewster, William Butler, Edward Hinton and Thomas Grove committed the F a c t , upon which they procured John Jewster and William Butler to be apprehended, but Hinton and Grove were escaped. Frank Jewster deposed that Mrs. Le-Grand was related to himself and Brother, and that they knowing that she had a great deal of Money by her, did contrive to rob her; that the Prisoners had confess'd to him that they had been concern'd in the F a c t , that Hinton and Grove went into the House, robbed and murthered her; that the Prisoners stood without Doors to prevent their being surprized, and that John Jewster had ιοο I. of the Money for his Share, and William Butler his Part. T h e other Evidences deposed, that they had seen Jewster and Butler lurking about the Door some Time before the Fact was committed. T h e Prisoners both deny'd the Fact. But the Evidence was so plain against them that the Jury found them both guilty and they received Sentence to die accordingly. Being under Condemnation they remained for some Time very obstinate, denying their being concern'd in the Fact. When Death made his nearer Approaches to them, they began to shew some tho' but small Signs of Remorse. T h e Ordinary [[Samuel Smith] says of Butler, that he having been an Old Offender, was grown so hardned that he was no way sensible of that bloody Crime, or of any other Vice or Wickedness his Life had been spent in. He would not hearken to Exhortation, but rather hindred others in the Time of Devotion, and as he had lived wickedly, so he seemed to approach Death impenitently. O f John Jewster he relates that he had once been in a good Employment, lived in Credit, having kept a Coffee-House near the Royal Exchange, but quitted it, and took to bad Company, that in the general he did acknowledge he had been a great Sinner, but expressed but little Sorrow for his Sins, nor was concern'd about the Crime for which he was condemned. On the 19th of July following William Butler and John Jewster were carried from Newgate, thro' Cheapside, Comhil, Bishopsgate-street to Gunstreet in the Old Artillery Ground near Spittle Fields to a Gibbet erected for that Purpose, in Sight of Madam Le Grands House. Being come to the Place of Execution, Butler confess'd that he was in M a d a m Le Grands House, and broke open the Chest where the Money lay, and took out the Bags, but had no Hand in the Murder of the Old Woman, but said that it was Hinton and Grove who were run a w a y , that committed the Murder; and that he was no ways concern'd in it; and that John Jewster and his Brother Frank drew him in to be concern'd in the F a c t , telling him that M a d a m Le Grand was a very rich Woman, and had Money enough, and that John Jewster had 100 /. to his Share.

[58]

THE MURTHERERS'

LAMENTATION

John Jewster declared to M r . Sheriff, that he and his Brother Frank engaged Butler to join in the Matter, and that Frank opened the M a t t e r to him first, and then with Tears and great Lamentations pointing towards the House, he cry'd, Oh that House is my Death, 0 I die for that House! acknowledging that he was in the Robbery, but never in the House, saying he knew nothing of the Murder, for he desired them not to beat nor hurt her. A t last he seemed something penitent. T h e y were executed the 19th of July, 1694. and were afterwards hang'd in Chains; and about 6 Months after Edward Hinton was taken and try'd for the same Fact.

A narrative of Hinton is given in this same work, pages 177-185. 1 When tried for the murder of Mrs. Le Grand, he was acquitted, thanks to a thoroughly established alibi; but only a short time later he was hanged at Hartford for a robbery. The deepest-dyed villain of the five, however, would appear to be the weakling Frank, or Francis, Jewster. For the tune see No. 419. 1 A different account will be found in one of the Boswell chap-books (in the Harvard Library) called The History of Notorious Highwaymen, n. d., pp. 79-87.

[59]

THE PEPYS BALLADS ffluttytttts Lamentation: ^ n Account of John Jewster anb William Butler, tofco taerc 1 a r r a t s n ' b anb founb guiltp of tfje &oböet|> anb ifflurtijer of j H r ß . Jane Le grand; for tofjici) tfjep recetbeb b u t S e n t e n c e of ©eatij, anb toaö atcocbinglp Cxecnteb on tfje 19tft bap of tfjtö S n e t a n t in Spittle-fields. Tune of, Russet's farewet, Sic.

1

ι

Most unhappy men we are, V - / this sad and dismal day, Wrapt up 2 in sorrow, grief, and care, alas, what shall we say? The dying hearts within us bleed, for mercy, Lord, we cry, Tho' for a most unchristian deed, we are condemn'd to dye.

2

Pale death this morning we behold, with hearts as cold as stone; Why did we covet cursed gold, which never was our own? It has our sad destruction wrought, and for this villany, Alas, we are to justice brought, in open shame to dye.

3

M y name is Jewster, I confess, that first the plot did lay, Y e t did I not the least express, they shou'd her life betray; But Butler enter'd first the room, to act that villany; And now we both receive our doom, in open shame we dye.

*Text where.

1

1"ext uo.

[60]

THE MURTHERERS'

LAMENTATION

4

I to my shame have done amiss, be'ng a relation near; Of such a horrid crime as this, the world shall seldom hear; T h a t I with ruffins should combine to act that villany, For which I must m y breath resine, in open shame we dye.

5

First Satan tempted us to steal; we did contract that guilt, And that we might the same conceal, her aged blood we spilt; Thus we from sin to sin did go, in highth of villany, And this has wrought our overthrow, in open shame we dye.

6

Alas, let me do what I can, declare the truth I must, I Butler was the very man, that stopt her breath at first; B y violence I seaz'd her throat, oh horrid villany; M y soul on seas of grief does float, as being brought to dye.

7

Her lodger we did then surprise with the same violence, Stopping her mouth with rags likewise, depriving her of sence; Y e t she her reason soon obtain'd, the truth to testify, When at the bar we was arrain'd, and eke condemned to dye.

8

One being dead, the other bound, we rifl'd then the store, For strait in ready cash we found, nine hundred pounds and more;

[61]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS We fill'd our pockets with the same, this done, we strait did fly, Yet we was took and brought to shame, being condemn"d to dye. 9

io

Since in the blood of innocent our hands we did imbrew; Altho' in heart we do lament, this death is but our due; Let others a fair warning take, by this our distany, Who must in shame the world forsake, as being brought to dye. Good Lord, in pity us behold, thy love we do implore, For tho* our sins are manifold, thy mercies Lord are more; Tho' we on earth thy laws did break, yet as this life we leave, Ο save us for thy mercies sake, our sinful souls receive. Printed for J . Deacon, at the Angel in Guiltspur-street.

[62]

4 4 2

The Maidstone miracle ii, 78, black letter, four columns, one woodcut. Another warning for landlords in the vein of " T h e Essex Miracle " (No. 408). T h e method used is indirect. A charitable Kentish farmer is said to have been providentially rewarded by " a vast crop of corn " which came up voluntarily in an unplowed field, and even this crop he distributed among the poor. Inferentially the ballad declares that charity will bring its own reward in material benefits sent by God, and that the miserly will be punished no less on earth than in hell. Richard Lapthorne {Fifth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, appendix, part 1, p. 385; The Portledge Papers, 1928, p. 185) wrote to Richard Coffin on August 4, 1694: " O n e thing may be remarkable to hint, viz., of a feald near Meadston in K e n t not tilled these 3 or 4 yeares, which beares this year, without plouwing or sowing, a faire crop of wheat, and Mr. Freke that came lately from Tunbridge, in my hearing sayd, hee saw a crop from one root which bore 58 stalks, I mean, eares; and that it hangs up as a monument there." A further narrative is given in "An Account of the Kentish Wonder, or Grass-Fields sprouting up with Wheat, unsown, some of them Six Ears on a Root, near Maidstone, &c."y which forms chapter 11, pages 5-7, in God's Marvellous Wonders In England: Containing divers strange and wonderful Relations that have happened since the beginning of June, this present Year 1694: Near to this Town lived an honest Farmer, who by his Industry had raised himself pretty well in the World, and gained a very good Repute among his Neighbours, especially the poorer sort, for his Charitable Inclination to relieve their Wants and Necessities, in dear and hard Times. When, in the last scarce Winter, some other Farmers sharply reproved him for under-selling his Corn, he reply'd, Seeing God had given him all he had, it was but Reason the Poor, as God had commanded, should have the benefit of it, seeing the oftner he had relieved their Necessities, the more Blessings followed him. He had this Y e a r divers Pasture-Grounds, that had been lay'd down from any Ploughing, for the space of Four Years past, and through which no Corn had been carry'd, that it might by carelessness or otherways scatter, when to

[63]

THE PEPYS BALLADS the great Wonder and Amazement of himself and others, in the Spring, expecting Grass to spring up, Blades of Corn, instead of it, sprouted up innumerable, so that Cattel was put in to eat it down, as supposing it would grow up to nothing but Straw, and hinder the Grass from putting out; but in a little while perceiving it grew amain, notwithstanding the feeding, he drove out the Cattle, resolving to try what it would come to: When in the Season, it put forth Ears very large; and it is said, upon some, or a great many of the Stalks, were divers Ears, as 3 , 4, and some 6; and that it is now growing flourishing, to the Admiration of all that behold it, especially in one large Field behind his House, he giving any that come to see it, leave to pluck the Ears, and carry them away, as Tokens of God's wonderful Work of Providence. F o r the tune see N o . 4 1 9 .

[64]

THE MAIDSTONE

MIRACLE

tE&e iflatbßtone iWtracle: s t r a n g e Stentiif) iffitonber. Being an Account of a Charitable Farmer who, by Divine Providence, had a vast Crop of Corn which grew in a Field which was neither Plow'd nor Sow'dfor several Tears, it being look'd upon to be a Reward of his Christian Charity, &£. T o the Tune of, Russet's Farewel, &c.

ι

Τ Χ 7 Έ have a God en thron'd above, V V who does our actions mind, And sends us tokens of his love, we by experience find; Who ever does the poor relieve, they lend unto the Lord, From whom no doubt they shall receive; a blessing for reward.

2

Are man shall want a recompence, for acts of charity, Our blessed Lord without offence, works miracles we see;

[65]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS In order to encrease the store, of those whom he will bless, Such who reliev'd and fed the poor, in times of sad distress. 3

A whealthy yeoman lives in Kent; and when bread-corn was dear, Vnto the poor relief he sent, their drooping hearts to chear; Nay he was often heard to say, I '11 give one part in five Of my encrease, so that I may but keep the poor alive.

4

If all rich farmers far and near, had such a conscience bore, Then corn had never been so dear, for to have starv'd the poor; Still as he heard how others rais'd, his very heart did bleed; He often said, the Lord be prais'd, I'm sure there's no such need.

5

So merciful a man was he, such conscience did he make, That when the poor in want he see, he did compassion take; All grand oppression he refrain'd, as witness well I can, And as a blest reward, he gain'd the love of God and Man.

6

For by a miracle alone, his land this summer bore; The like before was never known, in any age before; And so you'll say when you shall hear, what I in brief unfold; Thousands came flocking far and near, this wonder to behold.

[66]

T H E MAIDSTONE M I R A C L E 7

Sixteen acers of fallow land, where turnips lately grew, Bears stately corn we understand, both wheat and barley too: It does the best of barley yield, wheat, wry, thick, tall, and strait; They neither plow'd nor sow'd this field, yet the encrease is great.

8

On many of the stalks appears, to all spectators view, Some twenty, thirty, forty ears, a wonder strange and true; A vast encrease we understand, sent by the Lord above, To grow upon this farmer's land, as pledges of his love.

9

The honest man that owns the ground, where all this corn does grow, He does in charity abound; the same he will bestow, On those that round about him dwell, who has young children small; For he God's blessings will not sell, the poor shall have it all.

10

Both wheat and wry and barley too, he'll part with to the poor, For he accounts it is their due, if there was ten times more; According as they stand in need, he will devide the grain. Since God was pleas'd to sow the seed, the poor shall reap the gain.

11

A man of greater charity, scarce ever yet was born, Some thousands daily flock to see, his stately field of corn;

[67]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS All thankful hearts praising the Lord, which does this wonder see, The which was sent as a reward of christian charity. Printed for P. Brooksby, at the Golden-Ball in Pye-

[68]

443 The royalfuneral v, 143, roman and italic type, two columns. Queen Mary fell sick on December 15, 1594, of smallpox. The usual heroic measures of the time were followed by the court physicians, so that she was bled, blistered, "and scarifyed in the forehead, to prevent the effects of St. Anthony's fire." She died on December 28 at Kensington palace. The body was embalmed, and from February 21 lay in state, "more magnificent then can be exprest: all persons are admitted, without distinction" (Luttrell, HI, 418, 442). The funeral on March 5 " was long remembered as the saddest and most august that Westminster had ever seen. . . . The two Houses with their maces followed the hearse, the Lords robed in scarlet and ermine, the Commons in long black mantles. . . . The whole Magistracy of the city swelled the procession. The banners of England and France, Scotland and Ireland, were carried by great nobles before the corpse. The pall was borne by the chiefs of the illustrious houses of Howard, Seymour, Grey, and Stanley. On the gorgeous coffin of purple and gold were laid the crown and sceptre of the realm. . . . Within the Abbey, nave, choir and transept were in a blaze with innumerable waxlights. . . . Through the whole ceremony the distant booming of cannon was heard every minute from the batteries of the Tower" (Macaulay, iv, 536-537). The Duke of Shrewsbury (The Lexington Papers, ed. Η. M. Sutton, 1851, p. 66) writes that " a great snow" fell during the funeral ceremonies, so that "the ladies had but draggled trains" when they reached the Abbey. John Evelyn (Diary, ed. Bray, 11 [1862], 346) said of the queen's death, "Never was so universal a mourning," and added that "she was such an admirable woman, abating for taking the Crown without a more due apology, as does, if possible, outdo the renowned Queen Elizabeth." Abraham de la Pryme (Diary, ed. Charles Jackson, pp. 48-49, Surtees Society, u v ) thought Mary "universaly well beloved of every one," observing that "up and down the country everywhere, ail that can afford it do intend to be in mourning," although "black cloth, that was but ten shillings a yard one day, got to be twenty the next, and well were those that could get it so."

[69]

THE PEPYS BALLADS William Turner, in A Compleat History of the Most Remarkable Providences, both of "Judgment and Mercy, 1697, part 1, devotes an entire chapter ( C L I I ) to " T h e Memorable Speeches and S a y i n g s " of the late queen, " W i t h some Remarkable Passages, relating both to her Person and Government" — a sensational eulogy. Bishop Gilbert Burnet (History of his own Times, 11 [1840], 607; repeated in Nicholas Tindal's The History of England, 111 [1744], 261) declared that M a r y " w a s the most universally lamented princess, and deserved the best to be so, of any in our age, or in our history." But many Jacobites thought otherwise. John Coffin, for example, wrote to his father Richard ( F i f t h Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, appendix, part 1, p. 372) that " W h e n orders was given that every one should go into mourning for the Queen, some Jacobite hung Tyburne in mourning, with a paper fastened to it, with this inscription on it, — Ί mourn, because you dyed not here.' The Jacobites in Bristol caused the bells to be rung out, and went dansing through the streets, with musick playing, — ' T h e King shall enjoy his own a g a i n ' " (Martin Parker's famous ballad on Charles I). Miss Strickland, too, in her partisan Lives of the Queens of England gives a thoroughly hostile and unattractive sketch of Mary II. T h e ballad is a crudely expressed but thoroughly sincere elegy — only one of the hundreds of poems " t h a t infest the T o w n , " as The Mourning Poets: Or, An Account Of The Poems On The Death Of The Queen In a Letter to a Friend (1695) complains: W h a t bulky Heaps of doleful R h y m e I see! Sure all the World runs mad with Elegy; Lords, Ladies, Knights, Priests, Souldiers, Squires, Physicians, Beaux, Lawyers, Merchants, Prentices, Musicians, Play'rs, Footmen, Pedants, Scribes of all Conditions. We most of These the Rhyming M o b may call, With Fustian Sheets encombring ev'ry Stall.

This complaint is hardly exaggerated, for the number of funeral poems really was appalling. For the tune see No. 267.

[70]

THE ROYAL m)t Φ&,

FUNERAL

ftopal

ülourntng g>tate anb g>olemnttj> ©JF

$M&t. Mary Alderman bury, on t{jß 31öt of tije iatb iHontf), tn ti)t tfatb Citp. ILiceng'h accorbtng to ©rber. To the Tune of, 1"he Jealous Lover.

ι

• } Eturn, return, now, now, I must, r ^ From Worldly Pleasures, unto Dust; A V . For Death the Fatal Stroke will give, I have not many Days to live.

ι

f \ U t of the World I now must go, v - / l n melting Sorrow, Grief and Woe; My latter Minutes now I spend, Knowing I did the Lord offend,

3

" Π Υ living here at such a rate, JL/Regarding not a Future State, Till now the Fatal Hand of Death Is come to snatch my Vital Breath.

4

Τ? Lizabeth, my lawful Wife, -I—/Come see the Period of my Life, And don't revile me when I ' m dead, Although a sinful Life I led.

5

" O Egard my Dying Words, I pray, JLVlf you have any Love this day; 'Tho' I have been unkind to thee, Yet let us part in Charity:

6

* I ^His on a Dying bed I crave; JL Deny me not, but let me have The grant of such a small Request; Ο let my Ashes lye at rest. [ΙΟΙ]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS 7

Ood Lord, to thee I make my moan, • Ο mollifie this Heart of stone, That with repenting Tears I may Labour to wash my Sins away.

8

thee alone I do rely, V>/ße pleased then to cast an eye Of pity on my sad distress, Who does in grief my Sins confess.

9

" T \ A y after Day, Year after Year, - L / l took delight in Folly here, And never thought upon the Grave, The Portion which all Men must have.

io

TT^Rom place to place I travell'd still, - F My Bags with cursed Gold to fill; In which no Solid Joys I find, For I must leave it all behind.

χι

~D Epentance I regarded not, I v i labour'd for I know not what, Except it was to satisfie A craving Heart and greedy Eye.

12

T?Vil Society I find -l-VHas caused me much grief of mind; Would I had never been drawn aside From she who is my lawful Bride.

13

X7"Et ne'er the less, without delay, Jl Upon my Pillow, Night and Day, For all my Sins in Tears I '11 grieve, In hopes of Pardon to receive.

14 For God is merciful and just, In him alone I'll put my trust; He will not leave me comfortless, Altho' I did his Laws transgress.

[102]

THE TRAVELER'S

REPENTANCE

15

I'll wrastle for the Blessing And then at length perhaps Vouchsafe to speak a Word Which will m y perfect Joys

still, he will of Peace, encrease.

16

The latter Minutes in m y Glass, From Grace to Glory let me pass, The Place of Everlasting Joy, Which Time or Death shall ne'er destroy.

17

Y o u that my Dying Words may hear, Take care and be not too severe In judging me when I am gone, For that belongs to God alone.

18

Farewel the World, my Friends adieu, This D a y I take my leave of you; Then did he turn his Head aside, And, with a sigh or two, he dy'd.

19

In Reading many Years he dwelt, Y e t ne'er the less at length he felt The Pangs of Death in London-Town, Within those Walls his Sun went down.

20

His Travels there was at an end; His Soul to God he did commend, T o live in true felicity: I wish none die no worse than he.

LONDON: Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking-glass on London-bridge.

451 King Williams welcome home v , 42, roman and italic type, two columns, one woodcut. There is another copy at v, 60, printed by Blare without a woodcut and with one word added to the title, but an exact duplicate in spelling and punctuation. William landed at Margate on October 10, 1695, and reached Kensington palace on the eleventh (Luttrell, 111, 536) amid great popular rejoicing. T h e ballad joins in the jubilation, telling of the king's victory over Louis X I V in the siege of Namur. T h a t city surrendered on August 26, old style, or September 5, new style — a fact that explains the reference to Louis's birthday (September 5, 1638) in stanza 6. On the tune see No. 449.

[104]

KING WILLIAM'S WELCOME

HOME

WILLIAME Mieleome Home: Wlje g>ubjectä unspeakable 3Γορ for ftts safe &rribal from Flanders to ί)ίβ Utttgbom of England. To the Tune of, The Evening Ramble.

ι

/ ^ R e a t William's, returned in Triumph, V J with Trophies of Royal Renown; His Enemies they begin to decay, he tramples their Insolence down; This joyful good Tydings I bring, then welcome our conquering King, Now home to his People, let every Steeple with Bells, therefore, merrily ring, Since he is returned in safety again, God grant him a long and a prosperous Reign.

ι

He has been defended from Danger by Providence, still to this day, The Powers above, of infinite Love, ordain'd him to Rule and bear sway; And therefore no Lewis alive, altho he should labour and strive, Shall e'er have the power his Joys to devour, through Mercy he still does survive; Returning in Τriumph and Safety again, God grant him, &c.

3

Though Enemies raised a Rumour, that William our King was destroy'd, T o fill us with fear, and startle us here, his presence once more is enjoy'd; Then blessed be Providence still, our Enemies has not their will; Since we are posessing so gracious a Blessing, brisk Bowls let us merrily fill, For joy of his happy returning again, God grant, &c.

[105]

THE PEPYS 4

BALLADS

Pray when had the Kingdom of England, so valiant a Monarch before? T o Battle he goes, still facing his Foes, where Cannons like thunder does roar, Whilst Lewis lies close at his ease, who likes no such Battles as these; King William to scourge them, and throughly purge them, he crosses the turbulent Seas;

In 'Triumph he now is returned again, God grant him a long and a prosperous Reign. 5

He shook the Foundation of Namur, and breaches made wide in the Walls, The Battlements high, still as they drew nigh, he beat down with battering Balls; The French they were pleased to boast, that they wou'd not flinch from their Post; Yet sulfurious Fire did make them retire, our King was for ruling the roast,

And now is returned in Triumph again, God grant him a long and a prosperous Reign. 6

The French they surrender'd the Castle, and 'twas upon that very morn, B y date of the Year, as it doth appear, that Lewis, their Master, was born; Now since it so lukily fell, brave Boys, it doth seem to foretel, Great William shall course them, untill he does force them, to yield up all places as well:

King William'j returned, &c. God grant him, &c. 7

While Guns are discharg'd from the Tower, Boys, push the Bowls merrily round, With wishes of Joy, his Foes to destroy, that flourishing Peace may abound;

[106]

K I N G WILLIAM'S WELCOME H O M E Old Lewis of late he did maul, with thundering Powder and Ball; Then Heaven defend him, and always attend him, who ventures his Life for us all. Now, now, he's returned, &c. God grant him, &c. 8

He sways both a Sword and a Scepter, like great Alexander of old, Then through Christendom, for Ages to come, his Deeds shall stand fairly enroll'd; For when was a Prince ever known, so freely to go from his Throne, Through Fire and Water and Battles of Slaughter, but Valiant King William alone? Now, now, he's returned in Triumph again, God grant him a long and a prosperous Reign.

London: Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking glass on

C 107]

London-bridge.

45 2 The shoemakers triumph v, 427, roman and italic type, two columns, one woodcut. Other copies: Lord Crawford, No. 608; British Museum, C. 39. k. 6 (34). These two are identical with the Pepys copy except that after the colophon appears this statement: There is likewise newly Writ and Printed a Book intitul'd, The Shooe-maker s Glory: or, The Princely History of the Gentle-Craf\j~\ Shewing what Renowned Princes, Hero's and Worthies have been of the Shooe-maker's Trade, both in this and other Kingdom[_s:~\ likewise why it is calTd, The Gentle Craft; and that they say, A Shooe-maker's Son is a Prince born. To which this Song is add[_edr\ Price Two-pence." Richard Rigby's song should be compared with his earlier production, No. 407, which it resembles but to which it adds nothing of importance. The tune is used also for Nos. 449, 451, 453, 469, 491.

[108]

THE SHOEMAKERS'

TRIUMPH

® f j e &ijooe-mafeer'« ^ r i u m p i j : 3 g>ong t n $ r a i « e of tfje ( g e n t l e - C r a f t , gfjetotng fjoto & o p a l ^ r t m e ö , g>on« of S U n g s , Horbs!, a n b great C o m m a n b e r s , fjabe been g>ijooe-mafeerg of ο lb, to tfje h o n o u r of t&te ancient ® r a b e ; a « it toas « u n g at a (general gtesemblρ of g>f)00e-mafeer«, o n tfje 25tf) of Octob. 1 6 9 5 , b e i n g g>t. Crispin's

Day.]

1

To the Tune of, The Evening Ramble, &c. Written by R I C H A R D R I G B E Y , a Brother of the Craft.

ι

Τ Sing in the Praise of Shooe-makers, A whose Honour no Person can stain, In every Age they dare to Engage, and Victory still they did gain; 1

Omitted also in the Crawford and British Museum copies.

[109]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

N o Craft in the World can compare with Shooe-making, for I declare, Who reads but the Story, will set forth their Glory, commending them every-where, As Persons of honoured Fame and Renown; 'Then let not their Glory be trampled down. ι

Sir Hugh was a Prince and a Lover, yet learned the Shooe-making Trade, Which yielded Relief, when Sorrow and Grief, in Travel, had made him dismaid; When he of his Love was deny'd, he crossed the Ocean so wide, Returning soon after, then with a King's Daughter a Glorify'd Martyr he dy'd. Thus Shooe-makers have been true Men of Renown, Then let not their Glory for ever go down.

3

There's Crispine, and brave Crispianus, both Brothers, and Sons to a King, In Sorrow and Woe, from Court they did go, when under a Shooe-maker's Wing Protection and Safety they found, for 'Prentices straight they were bound; Disguised like Strangers, from perilous Dangers, this Harbour of Safety they found: Thus Princes of honoured Fame and Renown, Hath Shooe-makers been, that was Heirs to a Crown.

4

Young Crispine he won the fair Daughter of Great Maximinus, for who Admitted could be, but verily he, to draw on fair Vrsula"s Shooe, T h a t honoured Lady of Fame, for when to the Palace he came He soon was admitted, the Shooes being fitted, this Royal Young Beautiful Dame Besought him for Marriage, though Heir to the Crown; Thus Shooe-makers have been brave Lords of Renown. [no]

THE SHOEMAKERS'

TRIUMPH

5

His Brother went forth as a Souldier, well arm'd, to the Gallic an Shore, Where thousands he kill'd; they never beheld such conquering Courage before, The Work being speedily done, and the Enemy forced to run; Their General Gallant, Couragious and Valiant, was likewise a Shooe-maker's Son: Thus loaded with honoured Fame and Renown, Then let not brave Shooe-makers Glory go down.

6

Sir Simon, Lord-Mayor of fair London, he was a Shooe-maker by Trade, Who, while he was Mayor, the Truth to declare, a Dinner of Fritters he made, Inviting the 'Prentices all, who readily came at his Call; That Day they were merry, with Bowls of Canary, for he from his Word would not fall: Thus good Simon Eyre, of Fame and Renown, He was a Shooe-maker, and Lord of the Town.

7

Thus Valliant and Noble Shooe-makers the City and Court did Adorn; For Deeds they have done, a Shooe-maker's Son, I tell you, he is a Prince born; There's no other Trade in the Land, had ever such Royal Command, For Honour and Glory; then read but the Story, then, then you will soon understand, That Shooe-makers they have been famdfor Renown, Then let not their Triumph and Honour go down. Printed for C. Bates, at the Sun and Bible in Pye-comer.

[ I l l ]

453 The royal progress v , 46, roman and italic type, two columns. William I I I landed atMargate on October 10, 1695, and the next day arrived at Kensington palace. On the seventeenth," attended by the dukes of Leeds, Devonshire, and Shrewsbury, with many other lords and gentlemen, [he] went for Newmarket." His progress, which is described accurately enough in the ballad, ended on November 1 1 with his return to Kensington (Luttrell, HI, 536-550). On the tune see No. 452.

[112]

T H E R O Y A L PROGRESS litng William'6 $rittcel|> iMelcotne anb ibtatelp entertainment in tfje Countrp, bp tije J^oiulitp anb uccei« of ijte &opaI JSMgimeas tije 30utte of g>abop; to tfje ©napeafeable Consternation of tfje French Court anb &ingbom. T o an Excellent New Tune.

Htcettöeb atcorbtng to ©rber. ι

Τ T A r k ! Hark! Hark! how the mad World. A J. A l l 1 Sword and with Fire, Conspire, Conspire; Their Forces all Gay, In Battle Array, To Combat, to Combat with the Emperor of France, Yes let them Advance, Advance, Whilst William, Grt^t William shall dash them in sunder. And Scurge them with Scorpion Rods. As Jove drove the Gyants down down by his 'thunder, Who BattVd the throne of the Gods.

1

All France, all France is in fear, Of true Sons of Thunder, Who under, who under His Highness's Command, Has Enter'd their Land; Defending their Kingdom will prove but in vain, Fair Dauphin he soon shall gain: Thus William & Savoy shall dash them in sunder. And, &c.

3

Monsieur, Monsieur Catinat, Being over-power'd, He scower'd, he scower'd Before the Savoys, Stout Conquering Boys, Which made his whole Army to tremble for fear, W h e n they with their Duke drew near; Thus Savoy great Savoy shall dash 'em in sunder, And, &c.

1

Read With.

[126]

K I N G WILLIAM'S C O U R A G E A N D CONQUEST 4

Strong Towns, strong Towns they shall yield To him at discretion, Oppression, Oppression, Has caus'd them to groan, And therefore they own His coming is purely to keep 'em from thrall. French Dragoons shall pay for all, For Savoy, great Savoy shall dash them in sunder. And, &c.

5

His Arms, his Arms with success, Still clears all before him, Adore him, Adore him, The Protestants due, There's none but a Crew, Of Romans, of Romans that does him oppose, Who only shall feel his blows, For Savoy, great Savoy, shall dash 'em in sunder, And, &c.

6

T o Arms, to Arms crys the French, For the Enemy's coming, He's Bombing, he's Bombing, Our Fortify'd Towns, And Conquering Crowns, Now thus in confusion they march to & fro, Y e t all is in vain I know, For Savoy, great Savoy shall dash 'em in sunder. And, &c.

7

Huzza, Huzza they rush on Like brave Alexanders, Commanders, Commanders Still Leading the way, In Battle Array, Tantararo, Tantararo the trumpets do sound, While Cannons shall tear the Ground, Thus Savoy, great Savoy shall dash 'em in sunder. And, &c. [ 127]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS 8 Now while, now while he runs on, Our King with Commanders, In Flanders, in Flanders, With Battering Balls Shall beat down the W a l l s Of Dunkirk, of Dunkirk; & make 'em to know He fears no Insulting Foe; Thus William and Savoy shall dash 'em in sunder, And Scurge them with Scorpion Rods, As Jove drove the Gyants down down by his 'Thunder And BattVd the 'Throne of the Gods. Printed for P. Brooksby, J. Deacon, J. Blare, and J. Back.

[128]

457 The loyal statesman v , 134, roman and italic type, two columns, stanzas numbered in large roman numerals, musical score given (cf. also No. 314). " T h e Loyal Statesman" — or rather the first two stanzas — was written by Thomas D'Urfey; the music was composed by John Eccles. 1 Both are given in Wit and Mirth, 1699, pp. 167-168 (1707, 1714, i, 167-168; 1719,11, 17-18, with the second stanza revised so as to apply to George II). Other copies will be found in the British Museum, G. 312 (113); A Collection of Bacchanalian Songs, 1729, pp. 36-37; 'The Hive, ca. 1733, hi, 214; Ramsay's Tea-fable Miscellany, I733> In > 353-354; and elsewhere. 1

The 1714 edition says "sett by Mr. Tollot."

[129]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS Tiopal

& p l a i n ©töcrtptton of tfjeße -present Cime«. Tune of, T"he Sages of Old; or, Let the Souldiers

Rejoyce.

I The cause of a Nation's undoing; But the true English breed. No Prophets do need, For each man here seeks his own ruin; By grumbling and jarrs, We promote Civil warrs, And preach up false Tenets too many; Wee snarle and we bite, We rail and we fight For Religion, yet no man has any. ι

Then him let's commend, T h a t ' s true to his friend, And a Miss that can wittily prattle, That delights not in blood, But draws when he shou'd, And bravely ne'r shrinks from a Battle; T h a t rails not at Kings, Nor at politick things, Nor treason does speak when he's mellow; But takes a full glass. To King William's success, This this is the honest brave fellow.

3

Church-scruples and jars, Plunge all Europe in wars, English Casar espouses our quarel; Predestin'd to stand Against Lewes le Grand, And wear his now flowrishing lawrel:

C 130]

THE LOYAL STATESMAN The cause that is best, Now comes to the test, For Heav'n will no longer stand newter, But pronounce the great doom, For old Luther or Rome, And prevent all our doubts for the future. 4

'Twould turn a wise brain, To consider what pain Fools take to become Politicians: Fops, Bullies, and Cits, All set up for Wits, And ingeniously hatch new devisions; Some shew their hot zeal, For a new Common-weal, And some for a new Restoration; Thus cavel and brawl, Till the Mounsier gets all, And best proves the wit of the Nation.

5

Tho' we med'cines apply, Yet the feaver swells high, First caus'd by a Catholick knot,1 Which no cure can gain, Till the breathing a vein, Corrects the mad pulse into quiet: Yet what e'er disease, On our Country may seize, Let's drink to its healing condition; And rather wish William Were Victor in France, Then Lewis were England's Phisitian.

Printed for C. Bates, next the Crown-Cavern in fVest-Smithfield. 1

Read diet.

[131]

45» The Dorsetshire tragedy v , 303, roman and italic type, two columns. A shepherd's daughter is deceived by a false steward, and finds herself pregnant. Tired of solicitations that he marry her, the steward stabs her to death, but not before she has warned him of the punishment his conscience will inflict. Her warning proves to be true, and in despair and remorse the steward kills himself. This slushy melodrama has, of course, various moral lessons, and by them many of its readers must have been edified. The story resembles that of Anne Nicols (No. 114). For the tune see No. 455.

C13O

THE DORSETSHIRE

TRAGEDY

2ior«et-«l)ire GTragebp: & ^fjepijerb'g Baugfjter'g JSeatf) anb Jitötruciton bp a faläe Übtetoatb, ijer Jfelloto-fierbattt, anb Itfcctotöe cttbcb fcte oton HapjS in besperate ©eapatr. T o the Tune of, The Ruined Virgin.

ι

Λ Damsel with a Knight lived of late, - l y . She was a Beauty bright of low Estate, A Shepherd's Daughter dear, In famous Dorset-shire; But Fortune prov'd severe as you shall find.

ι

While she in Service dwelt their Steward he Pretended that he felt Captivity, And Sorrow for her sake, Said he, Some pity take, Or else m y Heart will break, Dearest, he cry'd.

3

The charming Bliss, he cry'd, let me enjoy, For thou shalt be my Bride, Love, be not coy, Doubt not m y loyalty, If I am false to thee, Let Vengeance follow me for mine Offence.

4

From her 1 fond Arms she flung, and frowns did cast, Y e t his deluding Tongue gain'd her at last, So that she prov'd with Child; Then this young Damsel mild, Finding herself defil'd, her Grief was great.

5

Now when he understood her woful case, He led her to a Wood, where for a space They wander'd hand in hand, From loansome land to land, She could not understand what it did mean.

1

Read his.

C133]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

6

T o him she made her moan, with melting Eyes, As they was all alone, these was her Cries, Make me your lawful Wife, Or end my wretched Life: This said, he drew his Knife and wounded her.

7

Down at his Feet she fell, and bleeding lay, Crying, False Love farewel, now, now this day, Here I am laidfull low, Yet of a truth I know, You 11 not unpunish'd go for thine Offence.

8

'There was no living Soul but you and I, That see this horrid, foul, black villany; Yet when I am at rest, Conscience shall you molest: She having this exprest, closed her Eyes.

9

The Steward left her there cover'd with green, Close in a Thicket where she'd not be seen: As home his coast he stear'd, A frightful Voice he heard, Crying, You are not clear d of Murther so.

10

Conscience continually flew in his Face, Likewise a dreadful Cry, in e'ry place, Follow'd him Night and D a y , False Steward come away, And make no long delay, you must be Try'd.

11

When he laid down his Head to close his E y e s , He heard all round his Bed the wanted 1 Cries, Which so disturb'd his Rest, T h a t he smote on his Breast, Crying, I am opprest, where shall I go.

12

Sometimes her bleeding Ghost in flames appear'd Saying, You shall not boast that you are clear d, Who wrought my fatal Fall, For Vengeance still I call, Alive or dead you shall have your reward.

1

Read wonted.

[134]

THE DORSETSHIRE

TRAGEDY

13

This Soul amazing grief he could not bear, A n d therefore to be brief, in sad despair, H e took that very Knife, A n d cut the Thread of Life, T h a t he might end the strife and follow her.

14

H e left these Lines behind, written in Blood, Dearest, I prov'd unkind, therefore a flood Of 'Tears and wreaking Gore, Now, now, must waft me o're T"o that eternal Shore where1 thou dost dwell. LONDON: Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking-glass on London-bridge. 1

Text were.

[135]

459 Love overthrown ν , 305, italic and roman type (with various letters in a wrong font), two columns. There is a duplicate copy (with some changes of spelling and punctuation and with the colophon cut off) at v, 307. A heavy mother observes with disapproval how her son is falling in love with Betty, a servant-girl, and is appalled to overhear him asking Betty to marry him " o n Sunday next." Desperate remedies are required, so that she sells Betty into servitude in Virginia — probably killing her son thereby. Instances of spiriting away one's enemies or dependents are only too common and too well authenticated: see the notes to No. 172. For the tune see N o . 404. On Charles Barnet see No. 172.

[136]

LOVE

OVERTHROWN

Hobe ©bertfjroton. ®f>e looting ü l a n ' g iWteerp; i3nb tfje 4Ν3Ή9Β& JUeing a true delation, l^oto a beautiful Herefordshire 39ami e l (toijo toming to übe in London, anb being greatlp J3elobeb bp ijer g a s t i e r * g>on) toae, bp fjer Mi&tvtäö, solb to Virginia: &nb of tije great Hamentation fjer disconsolate Höbet makes for ijer. T h e T u n e is, All happy times when free from Love, &c.

ι

* I v Here was a Maiden fair and clear, J- The which came out of Herefordshire, A Serving Maid now for to be, T h a t fitted best to her degree.

2

Her skin the Lilly did invite, T o try which was the better white; Her cheeks were of Vermilion red, Like fragrant Beds of Roses spread.

3

A t length this fair Damsel came As Servant to live in the Strand, With a Tradesman of great renown, Whose wealth and riches did abound.

4

This Tradesman had a youthful Son, Whose heart to love had not begun; But pritty Betty was so fair, She soon did draw his heart in snare.

5

He often-times did Betty try, But she always did him deny, Saying, Good Sir, it is in Vain, My honour you shall never stain.

6

One Night he watching of his time, He unto Betty told his mind, How that he dearly did her love, And nothing sure could it remove. C 137]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS 7

Therefore my dearest Dear (quoth he) If that thou wilt consent with me, On Sunday next, to end all strife, My Dearest thou shalt be my wife.

8 His mother chanced them to hear, Who hid her self in a Place near, She strait resolved in her mind, To frustrate her son's design. 9

Then in the morning she did say, Come Betty dress you speedily, For in the Country you must go With me for one day or two.

10

And so away she did her bring, Vnto a Captain of her Kin, Whose Ship that time lay in the Downs And he was for Virginia bound.

11

And so away this Damsel 's gone Vnto Virginia, sailing on. Ο Heavens unto her prove kind, And grant she may some comfort find.

12

But when her Mistress was come home, You are welcome mother, said her Son, But where is Betty now I pray, That she so long behind doth stay.

13

I understand my Son, quoth she, How great your love is to Betty; But your Designs are all in vain, For Betty's sailing on the main.

14

And now this Young-man's grown so sad, No sort of mirth can make him glad; But oft in slumbering sleep doth cry, 0 Betty, Betty, I must die. London, Printed and Sold by Charles Barnet.

[138]

460

The London tragedy v , 308, roman and italic type, two columns. A particularly inane story of a London girl who, falling in love with Sweet William, her father's apprentice, lets concealment, like a worm i' the bud, feed on her damask cheek, and who reveals her passion only a moment before she dies. William — actually as willin' as Barkis •— is thereupon distracted, and to bring the ballad to a satisfactory conclusion drowns himself in a convenient river. For the tune sge No. 342.

[ 139]

THE PEPYS

Φ3&, tKcue Hober'g Account of a jHercer'Ä tfjc Hobe of ijcr Jfatfjer'ö Beat!) Btotonbeb ijimgelf

BALLADS

üWteerable iWtefortunei: J?Ol8>orroit) it broke tfje Heart of tijte poung JBribe, to tlje unöpeafeable alas! &c. Printed for C. Bates, near the Crown-Tavern in West-Smtthfield.

[156]

465 The cruel lover ν, 37a, roman and italic type, two columns, one woodcut. Poor Mary Shalford was engaged to marry a sailor, but on the wedding-day he failed to appear. This calamity threw Mary into a violent fever, whereof she soon died. Love is as serious a malady in street-ballads as it professes to be in the sonnets of Petrarch and his followers. The tune comes from the Pepys ballad (v, 420) called " T h e Maiden Lottery: Containing Seventy Thousand Tickets; each a Guinney. . . . To the Tune of, The Evening Ramble" (cf. No. 449).

[157]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

Cruel 1 ί Φ Ψ € Μ : Φ&,

je Jfalöe-ijearteb gpaplor: JSetng a d e l a t i o n oi one

Mary Shalford, near Rate/iff'-cross, tfjat toas tn Hobe tottfc a g e a n t a n , tnfjo fiab promtjäeb tier ifflarrtage, anb tije Mebbtngbap toa« ajppotnteb, but ije rtjangeb iriö Ültnb anb forsook ijec; toljereupon sfje took grief lo H e a r t anb bpeb tfje 2b B a p of tfjiö Ülonti). Tune of, 77; ί Maiden-Lottery, &c.

I

"\7^0u Lovers that have been False-hearted, Jl pray listen to what I have penn'd, A n d then without fear a sorrowful tear, down, down from your E y e s it will send, T o think of the torture and pain which injured Lasses sustain, When once they discover a flattering Lover to kill them with darts of Disdain; As by this new Ditty the Truth will appear, A Seaman was cruel and false to his Dear.

1

T h e innocent Maiden was Mary, near Ratclijf-cross she did dwell, Whose treacherous Love her ruin did prove, there's many that know it right-well; H e courted her every day, at length without longer delay. H e told her his ruin and utter undoing would follow if she said him n a y : Thus like to a Saint he would often appear, And yet he was cruel and false to his Dear.

3

Poor Mary was loath to believe him, and therefore his suit she deny'd, Y e t nevertheless he made his address, for nothing their Hearts could devide;

[158]

T H E C R U E L LOVER He swore by the Powers above she should be his innocent Dove He never would leave her, but scorn'd to disceive her, no other he ever would love: So honest and loyal he seem d to appear, And yet he was cruel and false to his Dear. 4

She told him young Men were deceitful, and subject to flatter and lye, What e'er they pretend they'r false in the end, but straightways he made this reply, Thy Beauty has conquer'd my Heart, it bleeds with the wound of a Dart, Then prithee, sweet jewel, no longer be cruel, from thee, Love, I never will part: 'Thus faithful and loyal he seetnd to appear, And yet he was cruel and false to his Dear.

5

Poor creature, at length she consented, and granted the Seaman's request, Without more delay, appointing the day They both should be equally blest; So soon as her Heart she resign'd, he chang'd like the wavering Wind, Her favours he slighted, thus was she requited, Oh! was he not more then unkind ? Her company then he would never come near, But shew'd himself cruel and false to his Dear.

6

So soon as she found him deceitful, and that he was false to his Vow, She bitterly cry'd, and often reply'd, Farewel, Thou hast ruin'd me now; My Heart being ready to break, no manner of rest can I take; Too soon I discover a false-hearted Lover, now, now I must dye for thy sake: The Arrows of Cupid are sharp and severe, Since thou art deceitful and false to thy Dear. [159]

THE PEPYS 7

BALLADS

Oh! why did he seek my Destruction by treating of Love in disguise ? What reason had he to ruined 1 me? Then, then with her watery Eyes, She lay like a Trembling Saint, and pour'd forth her dying Complaint; Her violent Feavour, near offer'd to leave her till her vital Spirits did faint: Then dying, she cry'd, Thou hast ruin'd me here, I shall pay for my Love, since I dye for my Dear.

Htcengeb atcorbing to ©rber. LONDON: Printed for J. Blare, at the sign of the Looking-glass on bridge. 1

Read ruin.

[160]

466 Great news from Southwark v , 4 1 4 , roman and italic type, two columns. Other copy: British Museum, C. 20. f. 2 (204), printed for J a m e s R e a d , 1695, but a totally different edition with many typographical variants. A wretched old woman for years has kept a blind ale-house in Southwark, hoarding her money, eating only the food that charitable neighbors bring her, lavishing her affection on a cat. T o the cat she evidently intended to leave her fortune of £ 1 8 0 0 ; but she died suddenly without a will; and poor puss has not even a tiny legacy as her own. For the tune see No. 93.

[161]

THE PEPYS t iMirrout of itlajeötp, 8 jfreto 'Tis Sacred, this is an Illustrous Τ he am, A bright Reflection of that Radiant Beam; That Albion does illumen such a Ray, As shining through black Clouds, restored our Day; A Glorious Sun that rising in the East, With Warmth revivd the North, the South, and West. T o the pleasant New T u n e of, Long live our Great Cesar; Or, Novo, now the Fight's done.

1

Τ Ong Live our Great Cesar, and long be his Reign, J L / W h o Iustice and mercy so well does maintain; Before whose stern anger the Rebels do flye, Y e t find him relenting when mercy they cry: He like his Creator does pitty their State, And in hopes of amendment reverses their fate.

2

Spares those wou'd un-King him, and favour extends, T o the stubbornest Rebel, when humbly he bends: His eyes have compassion in war and in peace, And delights not in blood on the land nor the Seas: But in its mid Volue 1 his thunder he stays, And thinks it enough to be Crown'd with fresh Bays.

3

The proud he does humble, the humble he spares, As too low for his anger, tho' not for his cares: A Royal compassion and bounty does Reign, In the brest of our Monarch, who ne'r did design, T o look down on the wretched, and yield them relief, T o condole their misfortune and banish their grief.

4

He glories in mildness, and studies to be Above Romes first Cesar in his Clemency: The fierce banded partys could never remove, From those that are Loyal his favour and Love: He weather'd the tempest with such a brave mind, T h a t he rightly is stil'd the supream of Mankind.

1

Probably a misprint for Volume.

[«3]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

stecottb part, to tfje eame tEune. 5

6

Majesty ever triumph'd on his brow, And to him the Genius of all Nations bow: High Arbitrer ever of peace and of war, W h o m Christians admire, and Heathens adore: From India to Fez the proud Monarchs think fit, Though Barbarous with him by Embassy to treat. T h e l a t e s h a k e n E m p i r e Sweed,

Dane,

Dutch,

and

Spain,

His mediation were forc'd to obtain: As a Prince in whose breast both trouble and peace, The fates of the Nations do daily take place: W h o with vertue or'ecomes more then by the sword, And calms the wild tempest of war with his word. 7

W h o makes his worst foes with remorse to confess, T h a t Heaven in him does our nation most bless: T h a t in him we are happy and nought can wish more, Vnless be that God would his grace on us shower: T o be thankful for blessings above our desert, Even such as command in us a Loyal Heart.

8

The pattern of Heaven in him good men find So gracious, so just, and so affable kind: That his Majesty shrouded his pittying eye, Regards the distressed, and shuns not their cry: But relief he does tender unto the Opprest, And suffers them not to depart unredrest.

9

Then who but the worst of mankind can offend, Against inate goodness that still does extend: Like to kind providence in such a care, T h a t his friends and his foes of his bounty take share Let faction and tumult for ever then cease, And blush to offend such a Monarch as this.

Printed for I. Wright, I. Clarke, W. fhackeray, and T. Passenger.

[

224]

482

The children s cries v , 12, roman and italic type, two columns. " T h e Children's Cries" sounds as if it actually was written by the young son of the murderer. Such rhymes as "flung: pond," " a l l : girl," and such phrases as " m a d e him soon forsook the P o s t " are cruder than is usual in late seventeenth-century ballads. T h e murderous father was probably insane. I have been unable to find any further information about him or his fate. The newspapers, •—· like The Post Boy, The Flying Post, The Protestant Mercury, and others, — which ought to mention him are missing from the Burney collection in the British Museum. Some are preserved in the Bodleian, but a careful search of them reveals no reference at all to the crime. T h e tune is derived from the first line of " A n Excellent New Song, Call'd The Injur'd L a d y : Or, The hard hearted Gentleman. . . . T o a pleasant New Tune much in request at C o u r t " (Pepys, v, 292). On Charles Barnet see No. 172.

[225]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

®fje Cöübren« Crpeö ggatnöt ®fjeir barbarous! & Cruel Jfat&er, & delation of a moöt tnfjumane &tt commüteb bp a , toijom ijc flung in a -ponb tfjat tJS about ttoo Fields from Marybone, on iMonbap the 25th. of May, 1696. anb of ijtsi being siezed anb sent to firteon. To the Tune of, You Pritty Maidens all.

1

ι

/ ^ H i l d r e n both far and near, hear the sadfate, V_>That had like to befell upon us late, B y a father unkind, As by and [ b y ] 1 Y o u 'U find. Who wickedly design'd that we should dye.

2

Our father tother day askt us to walk, Into the fields where of Birds nests we talkt, Brother and Sister we Walked most harmlesly, For we did not foresee death was design'd.

3

B u t in the Fields as we walked along, Coming just at the brink of a great Pond, Straightways my Father there Strangely on us did stare, Which made us dread and fear what he would do.

4

M y little Sister he presently flung From a bank headlong into the said Pond, Though she cry'd father dear, And shedded many a tear, Y e t her cries would not hear, but flung her in.

5

Then a strange boy that was near the Pond side, Seeing what mischief the Girl did betide; Straightways began to run, B u t was too overcome, For soon my father flung him in the Pond.

Omitted. [226]

THE CHILDREN'S

CRIES

6

Then I began for to beg and to pray; Crying, Oh do not take m y Life away; I '11 beg from door to door, And not come near you more, Y e t bitterly he swore he'd drown me too.

7

A t which I Murder did out aloud cry, Which brought in people that were walking by, When he perceiv'd the throng, T h a t to assistance come, In the Pond straight he run to save himself.

8

And he laid hold upon m y Sisters Coat, Which caus'd the Girl on the water to float; Then he held up her head, she being almost dead, And to a Post he fled, plac'd in the Pond.

9

There for some time he staid in spight of all, By the Hair of the Head, holding the Girl, Till at length he was took, Fast hold with a Well-hook, Which made him soon forsook the Post he held.

10

After they took my Father from the Pond, With m y young Sister that was almost drown'd Then they lookt for the 1 Lad, Whom indeed was quite dead, He being knockt oth' head by cruel blows.

11

Now for to see the Mother of this Lad, How destracted she's run since he is dead; Cruel hearts must shed tears T o see her in dispair, Raving and pull her hair for her dead son.

12

Oh Cruel Father, why would you us kill, And our innocent blood thus would spill; And now in prison lie, And perhaps come to die, For Acting Bloodily on your Children. Printed for Charles Barnet.

ι text tho.

[227]

4^3 The barbarous and bloody son v , 28, roman and italic type, two columns. Luttrell (iv, 84, 108) observes that " A French jeweller, who some time since married a French weavers daughter in Spittle feilds, having consumed all, and because his father in law would give him no more, shott him on Sunday morning [July 12, 16963 as he was goeing to church, and was committed to N e w g a t e " ; 1 and on September 9 that the " French man that murdered his father in law in Spittlefeilds was committed." More detailed is the notice in The Protestant Mercury, No. 55, July 10-13: " Y e s t e r d a y morning a most Tragical Action was committed in Spittle Fields, after this manner: A Frenchman, whose Prodigal Expences had often drawn several Sums of Money from his Father, and he denying to supply him any longer, it begat bad Blood in the Son, who thereupon after the French Church was done; between 11 and 12 he waited with his Pistol till the Old Gentleman came out of Church, and then let it fly at him, shooting him into the Bowels; which did not satisfy the Diabolical Son, but thinking to make sure work, he immediately drew his Sword, and seconded his Shot with several Thrusts, which he might very well have spared, for the Shot kill'd him; he did not offer to make his Escape, so that he was presently seized, and carryed before the Lord Lucas, who committed him to Newgate about T w o the same day, all the Defence he made was, that his Father ow'd him Money, and would not pay him." T h e issue (No. 88) for September 25-28, declares, " W e hear that the French M a n who killed his Father-in-Law, will be Executed this week, at the place where he committed that Barbarous F a c t . " The Post Man, N o . 209, September 8-10, reports that " Y e s t e r d a y [September 8] S. . . Seamore was convicted for the murther of his Father-in-law, a Frenchman in Spittlefields," automatically correcting the error of name in its issue, No. 222, for October 8-10: Symonds who murthered his Father-in-law in Spittle Fields, had notice this week to prepare for Execution as yesterday [October 9], but was since Repreived for some days longer." T h e reason for the 1

See also The Portledge Papers (1928), p. 235. [228]

THE BARBAROUS AND BLOODY SON reprieve, says The Post Boy (October 1 - 3 , No. 220), was that "being Distracted, [ h e ] is to be sent to Bethlem." This statement is not supported by The Post Man, which remarks (October 2 0 - 2 2 , No. 2 2 7 ) : " T h e Reprieve of Symonds for killing his Father-in-law in Spittlefields, being only a Respite till the next general Execution day, he together with one Hind will be executed with the rest of the Criminals to morrow at Tyburn, unless further reprieved." Its next issue (No. 228, October 2 2 - 2 4 ) tells that " S y m o n d s " was one of ten persons put to death at Tyburn on October 23, a fact also noticed by Luttrell (iv, 130). A Compleat Collection of Remarkable Tryals, 1 ( 1 7 1 8 ) , 1 8 7 - 1 8 8 , gives " The Trial of Cyrus Simon for Murder," though its dates, and perhaps its names, are not to be relied on: Cyrus Simon, a Frenchman, of the Parish of Stepney, was indicted for the Murder of James Mallioo, his Father-in-law, the 12th of July, 1696, The Evidence deposed that the Prisoner and the deceased were going together to the French Church about 10 or 1 1 of the Clock in the Morning, and turning up Artillery-Lane, they perceived the Deceased to struggle with the Prisoner, and immediately he pulled a Musketoon out of his Bosom, and therewith shot the Deceased into the Belly, and thro' the Liver, so that his Guts came out, that then the Prisoner ran away, but they pursued and took him, who said upon his Apprehension that the Reason of his doing that barbarous Act was that there had been a falling out between him and his Father-in-law, who ow'd him 30 /. and would not pay him. Upon his Trial he produced some Persons who labour'd to prove him Lunatick, pretending that the Disorder proceeded from a Suspicion of his Wive's Unconstancy. But what they alledged did not bear that Weight with the Jury as to hinder them from finding him guilty of the Indictment, and he was sentenced to die accordingly. After Sentence he would make no Confession of his Fact, nor come to Chappel, saying he could not understand English, but had provided a French Minister to fit him for Death. 1 He was hanged at Tyburn, in Company with William Unit, and Adam Chamberlain, Henry Mansfield, Elizabeth Wright, Henry Atkins and Jane his Wife, and Thomas Hollylandfor coyning &c. Urien Pulford for Horse-stealing, John Norris for Felony, Peter Paul for Felony and Burglary, George Hind for the same, John Bewin for a Murther, Edward Holland for Murther Eliz. Perrey for Felony, the 25th of Sept. Ei/r] 1696. 1 Richard Lapthorne (Fifth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, appendix, part 1, p. 386; The Portledge Papers, 1928, p. 241) wrote that "the Frenchman that killed his father in l a w " was hanged on October 23; "hee was carried in a coach to St. Giles Church, some tyme before the rest [of the ten condemned prisoners]]: where was a sermon preached to him."

C 229]

THE PEPYS BALLADS The ballad, which appeared soon after July 12, is crudely written, though its details agree well with The Protestant Mercury. There are many naive but amusing expressions, especially in stanzas 12-15. The tune was derived from the first line, " I Lov'd you dearly, I lov'd you well," of " A n excellent New Song, call'd Nelly's Constancy. . . . To a pleasant New Tune; or, Languishing Swain " (Roxburghe Ballads, vi, 791-792). For The languishing swain see No. 337. On Barnet see No. 172.

C230]

THE BARBAROUS AND BLOODY

ΜΉΦ

SON

Wf)t barbarouö anb bloobp £S>on, &&ot fjtö fje toaö going into tfje

Cfjunf). iflutber being Committeb bp one Symmons, on flje pobp of Ijtii Jfatf)et>in-llato, iFlr. J«/»« Monevoir, a iHaötec JKIeatoer, bp «booting btm toitfj a fliieitol Cbarg'b toitfj six g>lugs, ae be toai going into a Jfrencb tKabernacIe in Spittle-Fields, on Sunday jlOToming tfje 12M. of J«/y, about iCen of tfje Clocfe, anb of bis being taken anb Committed bp Sinätite Bateman, unto Newgate for tbe öame. Tune of, I love you dearly, &c.

ι

horrid is the Crime of blood, V - / A n d Damnable if understood; And yet this sin so rife is grown, The like before was never known.

2

As by this tragick act you'l see How bloody it appears to be; A son the father for to kill, And suddenly his blood to spill.

3

Oh horrid horrid sure to tell, For this must be contriv'd in Hell, Or no one else could do this Deed, T o make a harmless Father bleed.

4

Symmons, a Watch-maker by trade, Bout three years since marry'd a Maid, Whose father lived at the Crown, A Weaver in th' Artillery-ground.

5

And with this Maiden it is told, He had a Portion all in Gold; The Father for a year to come, Kept both the Daughter and the Son.

6

Then went the daughter and the son Into the world to live alone; But in a year or less was he Ruined by Debauchery. [231]

THE PEPYS

1

BALLADS

7

His Father set him up again In hopes his Lewdness he'd refrain; But still all that his father gave, T h e Son would not one penny save.

8

When that the Father slack'd his hand, This Spendthrift would not stay on land But on the Seas straight went the Son, T h a t and Gallows refuses none.

9

But And The The

lately he return'd on shore. to his Father went for more: father cry'd I cannot give; Son reply'd then you shant live.

10

So straight a Pistol he did get, And with six Slugs he Charged it; then waited a full hour and more to shoot his Father at the Church-door.

11

On Sunday the twelfth of July, this wicked Son in wait did lye, to work his Fathers overthrow, While he poor Man to Church did go.

12

And just as his poor Father come, Straight curs'd him did the wicked son, And swearing now I have you found, I will have your hearts blood and wounds.1

13

So Cockt the Pistol and let fly Into his Guts immediately; Six Slugs which did his Bowels tear, While the Minister was at prayer.

14

Murder being cry'd and noise of Gun Made people out of the Church run, they found the Murder'd Father lye, the son with sword drawn standing by.

Read wound.

C 232]

T H E BARBAROUS A N D BLOODY SON 15 they cryd whats this that thou hast done? Whats that to you reply es the Sony But they secured him presently, And now in Newgate he does lye. 16

Now Children love your Parents dear, Let no temptations you insnare, to do as this vile wretch has done, A Father murdered by a son. London: Printed and Sold [ b y ] 1 Charles Barnet.

1

Omitted.

[233]

484

A copy of verses by Captain Henry Every v , 384, roman and italic type, two columns. Reprinted in Sir C. H . Firth's Naval Songs, pp. 131-133. Captain Henry Every, alias Bridgman, alias Long Ben (the Dictionary of National Biography gives his name as " J o h n (?) A v e r y " ) , was perhaps the most famous pirate of the seventeenth century. In M a y , 1693 (stanza 8), an English merchant-ship of forty guns, the Charles the Second, was anchored near Corunna, Spain. Every incited the crew to mutiny: he then placed the former captain, Gibson, on shore, renamed his ship the Fancy, and sailed for the East Indies. Among other deeds of piratical prowess, he captured in September, 1695, the Gunsway, a vessel belonging to the Great Mogul, whereupon the latter seized the property of certain English merchants in India, and placed several merchants in prison (Luttrell, iv, 150,174). B y March 16, 1696 (p. 92), Every's crew had booty worth £1700 each. Upon " the complaint and application of the East India company " on July 18, 1696, the lords justices issued a proclamation "declaring one capt. Henry Every, commander of the ship Phancy in the East Indies, with all his crew, to be pyrates and robbers" (p. 86), and offering a reward for their capture. On August 12 they issued two further proclamations, offering a reward of £500 for the apprehension of E v e r y and £50 each for the apprehension of his crew of " 130 men, English men and foreigners" (p. 96). Meanwhile, the E a s t India Company prepared " a manifesto to be sent to the great mogul, wherein they disown the treachery and cruel proceedings of Every the pyrate upon the Indian ship as done absolutely without their knowledge and consent; with a particular account of the proclamations they have procured for the apprehending him and his wicked associates" (p. 97). T h e proclamations soon produced an effect, so that on September 24 the lords justices signed a commission for trying such members of Every's crew as had already fallen into their hands (p. 115). On October 19 six of them were tried at the Old Bailey, and one was convicted (p. 129); five, though acquitted on the nineteenth, were found

[234]

A COPY OF VERSES BY CAPTAIN HENRY EVERY guilty, on other indictments, November 6. T w o more were tried on November 10 (p. 137). Others, captured about this time, " h a d with them, in Indian and Arabian gold and silver, to the value of 33,333 I. sterling, besides several chests with rarities, divided into 4 equal shares; the money was packt up in several casks, with butter at both ends" (p. 139). Five were hanged on November 25, as the ballad next following (No. 485) relates. " O n e Evans, of Every's crew," was sent to Newgate on January 25, 1697, but was tried and acquitted on July 12 (pp. 176, 250). Six others were confined in Newgate on July 19, 1699 (p. 539), and two, possibly of this number, were convicted on December 7 (p. 590). Nine others, captured by Admiral John Benbow, were brought to London about July 2, 1700 (p. 663). If Every's crew really numbered 130 (or, as stanza 5 says, 150; or, as N o . 485 declares, 180), it was, on the whole, very successful in evading capture and punishment. Successive issues of The Flying Post (for example, No. 183, July 14-16; No. 193, August 6-8; No. 194, August 8-11) are crammed with information about " L o n g B e n " and his pirates. Every himself was popularly supposed to have set up a sort of kingdom in Madagascar, though Captain Charles Johnson {A General History oj the Lives and Adventures of the Most Famous Highwaymen, 1734, pp. 197-201) will have none of this. " A t the same Time it was given out he was in Possession of such prodigious Wealth in Madagascar," says Johnson, " h e was starving in England" at Bideford, where he died, " n o t being worth so much as would buy him a Coffin." A different story is told by H. C. Lory in The Western Antiquary, vi (1887), 249. Probably there is far more fiction than truth in the chap-book by " one Adrian Van Broeck, a Dutch Gentleman," that was published in 1709 under the impressive title: T h e Life and Adventures Of Cap*· John A v e r y , T h e Famous English Pirate, (rais'd from a Cabbin-Boy, to a King) now in Possession of Madagascar: Being A Succinct Account of his Birth, Parentage, Education, Misfortunes, and Successes, viz. His serving the Government on Board the Resolution and Nonsuch Men of War. T h e Reasons why he quitted that Service, for that of the Merchants. His putting to Sea in a Merchant Ship, where he drew in the Crew to turn Pirates with him. His sailing to Jamaica, where he dispos'd of the Ship's Cargo. His taking a large Ship, worth above a Million Sterling, belonging to the Great Mogul, with his Grand-Daughter on Board, (who was going to be Marry'd to the King of Persia) attended by a great Retinue of Ladies. His Marriage with the said Princess, and his Men with her Retinue. T h e Methods he took to establish himself. His Wealth, Strength, and Acquisitions by Sea and Land. His Character. T h e several Overtures he has made to return to his Obedience. A Description of the C o u n t r y : with its Customs,

C 2 35 H

THE PEPYS BALLADS Manners, &c. Written by a Person who made his Escape from thence, and faithfully extracted from his Journal. London, Printed: And Sold by J. Baker, at the Black-Boy in Pater-Noster R o w . 1709. Price 6 d.

Every was also celebrated as Arvigarus in Charles Johnson's play The Successful Pirate (acted 1712) and in D e Foe's pamphlet of The King of Pirates (1720). The Post Boy, No. 199, August 13-15, 1696, declares that " C a p tain Every, the Pyrat, when he ran away with the ship Charles from Coruna, left these Verses behind him, viz. My Commission is large, I made it my self, 1'he Capsterne shall stretch it more larger by half; I dated it at Coruna, I tell thee my Friend, From the Year 93 until the Worlds end. I am not afraid to let the World know, That to the South Seas and to Persia He go; lie go where no English M a n ever was seen, Or any proud Dutch M a n , can say he has been: Then Plymouth farewell, and C a t t Down be damn'd, J once was part Owner of most of that Land; But now it is yours, I must go the War, My false hearted Country men to you I declare, I have done you no wrong, you must me forgive, My Sword shall maintain me as long as I live"

Of these verses the ballad is merely an expansion, and another copy of it {A) is given in The Flying Post, No. 196, August 13-15, 1696, under the following heading: " H e r e follows the Commission, or Rhodomontade of Captain Every, just after he run away with the Ship Charles the Second from the Groyne, and went on the Pirate Trade, which being in Sailors Verse, I cannot commend the exactness of the Rhime, but hope that it may not be an unacceptable piece of Curiosity." Some of the more important variations in the two texts are indicated in foot-notes below. For the tune see N o . 145.

[236]

A COPY O F VERSES BY CAPTAIN H E N R Y E V E R Y & of V e a M M E f t , J&entp Cbetp, n a t K C I L g (gone to To the Tune of, 'the two English

& & Captain to öeefe fjtö travellers.

lücenä'b according to ©rber. ι

/ ^ O m e all you brave Boys, whose Courage is bold, Will you venture with me, I '11 glut you with Gold? Make haste unto Corona, a Ship you will find, T h a t ' s 1 called the Fancy, will 2 pleasure your mind.

2

Captain Every is in her, and 3 calls her his own; He will box her about, Boys,4 before he has done: French, Spaniard and Portuguese, the Heathen likewise, He has made a War with them 4 until that he dies.

3

Her Model's like Wax, and she sails like the Wind, She is 5 rigged and fitted and curiously trimm'd, 6 And all things convenient has for his design; God bless his poor Fancy, she's bound for the Mine.

4

Farewel, fair Plimouth, and Cat-down be damn'd, I once was Part-owner of most of that Land; But as I am disown'd, 7 so 4 I ' l l 8 abdicate My Person from England to attend on my Fate.

5

Then away from this Climate 9 and temperate Zone, To one that's more torrid, you'll hear 1 0 1 am gone, With an hundred and fifty brave Sparks of this Age, Who are fully resolved their Foes to engage.

6

These Northern Parts 11 are not thrifty for me, I '11 rise the Anterhise, that 1 2 some Men shall see I 13 am not afraid to let the World know, T h a t to the South Seas and to 4 Persia I'll go. 1

6 11

1 3 5 Now A. which will A. and he A. * A omits. She's A. 8 10 finn'd Α. ι dissolv'd A. I will A. > frigid A. find A. Climates A. " I '11 rifle the Antartick which A. " And I A.

[237]

T H E P E P Y S BALLADS 7

Our Names shall be blazed and spread in 1 the Sky, And many brave 2 Places I hope to descry, Where never a French man e'er yet has been, 3 Nor any proud Dutchman can say he has seen.4

8

M y Commission is large, a n d 5 I made it my self, And the Capston 6 shall stretch it full larger by half; I t was dated in Corona, believe it, my Friend, From the Year Ninety three, unto the World's end.

9

I Honour St. George, and his Colours 1 7 were, Good Quarters 8 1 9 give, but no Nation 1 1 0 spare, The World must assist me with what I do want, I '11 give them 11 my Bill, when my Money is " scant.

10

Now this I do say and 13 solemnly swear, He that strikes to St. George the better shall fare; But he that refuses, shall sudenly spy Strange Colours abroad of my Fancy to fly.

11

Four Chiviliges 14 of Gold in a bloody Field, Environ'd with green, now this is my Shield; Yet call o u t 1 5 for Quarter, before you do see A bloody Flag out, which is our Decree,

12

No Quarters to give, no Quarters to take, We save nothing living, alas 'tis too late; For we are now sworn by the Bread and the Wine, More 16 serious we are than 17 any Divine.

13

Now this is the Course I intend for to steer; M y false-hearted Nation, to you I declare, I have done thee no wrong, thou must me forgive, The 18 Sword shall maintain me as long as I live. London: Printed for Theophilus Lewis. 1

1 thro A. For a great many A. ' Where never an English Man 5 yet has been seen A. 4 been A. for A. 6 Capstern Α. ' Ι Ί1 A. 8 Τext Quatters. ' And Quarter I '11 A. 10 I '11 A. 11 you A. " grows A. J 16 « and do A. i Chevers A. 's but A. Most A. " as A. 18 For the A.

[238]

4«5 Villainy rewarded Ii, 199, black letter, four columns, three woodcuts. Other copy: Lord Crawford, No. 1258. Reprinted in Sir C . H . Firth's Naval Songs, PP· 133-! 34· T h e fortunes, or misfortunes, of Captain Every's pirate-crew in England can be followed both in the pages of Luttrell (cf. No. 484) and in the London news-books. The Post Boy, No. 199, August 13-15, 1696, for example, tells that " O n Thursday [August 13] one of Captain Every's Crew was committed to the Marshalsea, he had about him 700 pieces of Foreign Gold." Its issue for August 15-18, No. 200, asserts that " O n e of Everys Crew is brought Prisoner from Rochster [\riV], he has left behind him 800 /. in Foreign Gold." Others were captured in Dublin and Exeter, as later issues chronicle. The Post Boy, No. 219, September 29-October 1, remarks that " 5 or 6 of Every's C r e w " were to be tried on October 19, and after the trial reports (No. 229, October 22-24) that five were acquitted, only to have new charges preferred against them. Six pirates, including Joseph Dawson, were convicted on October 31 of running away from Corunna with the Charles the Second (London Gazette, October 29November 2; / W Boy, No. 233, O c t o b e r - N o v e m b e r 3). A t the Admiralty Sessions of November 6, they were convicted of robbing the subjects of the king of Denmark and the Great Mogul (London Gazette, November 5-9). Sentenced to death on November io, all b u t . Dawson were executed on the twenty-fifth " a t Low-water-mark at Execution-Dock" {ibid., November 26-30). The Tryals of Ioseph Dawson, and so forth, a twenty-eight page pamphlet, was printed in 1696, but is too detailed to quote. Sufficient information is given in a sheet called " A n Account Of the Behaviour, Dying Speeches, and Execution of M r John Murphey, for High-Treason; and William May, John Sparcks, William Bishop, "James Lewis, and Adam Foresith, for Robbery, Piracy and Felony; at the Execution-Dock: On Wednesday the 25th of November, 1696," which runs as follows: T o give m y Reader first a short Account of the particular Crimes that brought these Unhappy Criminals to their untimely E n d : These five last

[239]

THE PEPYS BALLADS Pyrates are some of the Crew of the Famous, or rather Infamous Captain Every, that committed those crying and bloody Cruelties, in the East-Indies, upon the coast of Persia, and the Kingdom of the Great Mogol; these most Barbarous and Inhumane Wretches, having first run away with one of his Majesties Men of War, call'd the Charles, and dismissed all that innocent part of the Ships Crew that refused to engage in their desperate Designs, immediately set out as Pyrares [sic], make their common Prey upon Friends and Foes, and rob all Mankind. Accordingly they perpetrated those unheard-of Barbarities, as such plundering and rifling all the Vessels they met with, Ravishing and Deflowering the Virgins and Women, and then turning them out naked, to starve upon shore, amongst Rocks and Desarts. But above all, nothing was so horrid, as their Surprizing a Ship of the King of the Indies, where they first took away an infinite Treasure, most inhumanely Ravisht a Young Princess, and the rest of her Female Train, and afterwards left the Ship disarm'd and disabled, floating as a wreck upon the Sea, with near a iooo Souls on Board, thereby exposed to inevitable Starving. This unparallel'd Outrage greatly prejudiced the Honourable East-India Company, the Grand Mogul demanding Satisfaction of them for this Depreduction and Villany. After publick Proclamation made for their Apprehension, several of them were accordingly taken, and William May, Joseph Dawson, John Sparcks, William Bishop, and James Lewis were brought upon their Try als, on the ig/Λ of October, before the Honourable Sir Charles Hedges, Judge of the High Court of Admiralty, together with the Lord Chef Justice Holt, &c. At which time, notwithstanding Joseph Dawson frankly and candidly acknowledged his Crimes and pleaded Guilty; however the sway [ ! ] (much to Admiration) whither out of Tenderness, in relation to not full enough Evidence, or what other unknown Reason, acquited them. Nevertheless they were afterwards brought upon a new Tryal, and such full and ample Testimony came against them; as that they received the just Sentence of Death, and this suffered accordingly. . . . [At Execution Dock, where all but Dawson were carried between three and four o'clock on November 25] William May, was much inclined to Penitence, and exprest some sense of his shameful End, and of the more shameful Crimes that brought him to that ignominious Death. John Sparcks, likewise exprest a due sense of his wicked Life, in particular to the most horrid Barbarities that he had committed, which though upon the Persons of Heathens and Infidels, such as the foremention'd poor Indians y so inhumanly rifled and treated so unmercifully; declaring, that his Eyes were now open to his Crimes, and that he justly suffer'd Death for such Inhumanity, much more then his Injustice and Robbery, in Stealing and Running away with one of his Majesties Ships, which was of the two his lesser concern. William Bishop, said but little, but own'd himself as deep a sinner as the others; and that his three years Roving upon the Seas, was now a very Melancholy Thought to his Soul, and so much the more to consider the Brutality of his Crimes, as being one of a more Barbarous Crew than the Generality of Offenders of that kind. [240]

VILLAINY REWARDED Adam Foresith, was very Penitent, and truly own'd that besides the Guilt of his Offences, and the present capital Punishment, his Wicked Life, attended with the many Hardships and Hazards he had undergone in his Robberies, was little less than a Punishment; for wickedness (let it prosper never so much) brings great many troubles and afflictions with it. James Lewis acknowledged his many Transgressions, and particularly the Offence for which they all dyed. In fine, they had all the Favour at the place of Execution, of giving them time to offer up their necessary Prayers to Almighty God: and then all suffer'd according to their Sentence. For the tune see No. 419. On Charles Barnet see No. 172.

[ 2 4 1 ]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS ViHanj» &etoatbeb; Φ3&, w m H a r t Jfaretoel ®o tfje ^ m r l b : Ulijo teas Cxecuteb at execution Bocfe, on Wednesday tlje 25M. of November, 1696. P e t n g of Every % Creto. iEogetfjer toiti) tfjeir free Confession of tfjeir moöt ^ o r r i b Crimes;. To the Tune of, Russeis Farewel.

ι

Τ 7"T 7Έ11 may the World against us cry, V V for these our Deeds most base, For which, alas! we now must dye, Death looks us in the face; Which is no more than what's our due, since we so wicked were, As here shall be declar'd to you, let Pyrates then take care.

ι

We with our Comrades, not yet ta'en, together did agree, And stole a Ship out from the Groyne, to Roam upon the Sea: [242]

VILLAINY R E W A R D E D

With which we Robb'd, and Plunder'd too, no Ship that we did spare, Thus many a one we did undo, let Pyrates then take care.

1

j

Out Ship being well stored then for this our Enterprise, One Hundred and Eighty Men there was in her likewise: We Pillag'd all we could come nigh, no Nation we did spare, For which a shameful death we dye, let Pirates then take care.

4

We Robb'd a Ship upon the Seas, the Gunsway call'd by name, W h i c h we met near the East-Indias,1 and Rifled the same; In it was Gold and Silver store, of which all had a share, Each man 600 Pounds and more. let Pirates then take care.

Read

East-Indies.

[243]

THE PEPYS 5

BALLADS

Thus for some time we liv'd, and Reign'd as masters of the Sea, Every Merchant we detain'd, and us'd most cruelly, The Treasures took, we sunk the Ship, with those that in it were, That would not unto us submit,

let Pirates then take care.

6

Thus Wickedly we e'ery day liv'd upon others good, The which, alas! we must repay now with our dearest blood, For we on no one mercy took, nor any did we spare, How can we then for mercy look.

let Pirates then take care.

7

W e thus did live most cruelly, and of no danger thought, But we at last, as you may see, are unto Iustice brought, For Outrages of Villany, of which we Guilty are, And now this very day must dye.

let Pirates then take care.

8

Now farewel to this wicked W o r l d , and our Companions too, From hence we quickly shall be hurl'd to clear the way for you, For certainly if e're you come to Iustice as we are, Deserved death will be your doom,

then Pirates all take care.

L O N D O N : Printed for Charles Barnet, 1696.

[244]

486 'The shepherd's observation v , 141, roman and italic type, two columns. A s the shepherd surveys Europe, he finds war, universal suffering, and desolation, which in his opinion suggest the imminence of doomsday. He hopes for peace, even though peace cannot ward off the fatal judgment. Probably he was writing about 1696, when the treaty of Ryswick was not far away. For the tune see No. 342.

C245]

THE PEPYS

©n1

W

BALLADS ©tabattott &&ΦΜ

of

(general of Curope: tKogetfjer, tottf) ijts gbmom'ttort to ILopaltp, tijat toe map he all of one miitli, anb ntafee our Cnemteg fall before uä. To an Excellent New Tune: Or, Fond Boy.

Htcettäeb accorbms to ©rbet. ι

O T r a n g e Wonders appear amongst us ev'ry Y e a r , Ο Which makes Engl, fear dreadful Dooms-day is near All the world's up in Arms sounding fatal Alarms, All Ages and Fates now to Battle in swarms; In Discord they contend, loving Friend against Friend, Such un-natural things brings a Ruinous end. Let us pray this Confusion may soon disappear, Or we Joyntly may say, dreadful Dooms-day is near.

ι

Can the Crime be excus'd, when all Kindnesses us'd, And the most Royal Favours contemn'd and abus'd, Shall we liberty have, which we earnestly crave, And yet make it our study our selves to inslave, If this we can do, and our crosses renew, Then farewel to our freedom and liberty too. If this shall appear, we have reason to fear, Nay, and Joyntly to say, dreadful Dooms-day is near.

3

T h e Nations all round in a War does abound, And there is little love, or true Loyalty found, E'ery watery flood now they mingle with blood, We may wish that our Foes had been cropt in their bud But alas 'tis in vain, still a War they maintain, And 'tis sad to consider what thousands are slain; For the sword does appear from the front to the rear, Therefore well may we fear dreadful Dooms-day is near. 1

Sic.

[246]

T H E SHEPHERD'S OBSERVATION 4

W e r e we all of a mind we might happiness find, But alas! we are subject to turn with the wind, Here's one is for Peter, another for Paul, A third is for Casar, but GOD for us all, That our Joys may increase, & our troubles all cease, And the W a r swallow'd up in a flourishing Peace. For while swords do appear from the front to the rear, We have reason to fear dreadful Dooms-day is near.

5

Mens hearts they are grown like the hard marble-stone, That has no sense of feeling, was e're the like known. There's no pitty at all, tho' thousands do fall, Of renowned brave soldiers, stout, proper and tall, For Europe all o're now is sprinkled with gore, N a y , the Raging wide Ocean as well as the shore. Since it is so severe, we have reason to fear, And conclude with our selves dreadful Dooms-day is near.

6

Ambition is bold, and will not be controul'd At the infinite charge of bright silver and gold, Disolation is made, Towns and Castles betray'd, W h e n will this confusion and storm be alay'd, W o u l d all was agreed, for 'tis dreadful indeed, when we think how the Nations all round us do bleed Was it e're so severe? we have reason to fear, By the woeful effects dreadful Dooms-day is near.

7

Poor widows complain that their Husbands are slain, Likewise Fatherless infants feels sorrow and pain, For peace let's contrive all our hearts to revive, For a War parts the dearest Relations alive, There is fire and kill, taking Prisoners still, This is dreadful confusion go which way you will, Should it hold so severe, we have reason to fear, By the woeful effects dreadful Dooms-day is near.

8

B y fancy we range, now methinks it is strange, That we shou'd be a people so subiect to change Like the weather and wind, by experience we find There is hardly two Ages found both of one mind, [ 2 4 7 ]

THE PEPYS BALLADS Which I very well know is the cause of our woe, Wherefore let us be honest and loyal also, And if thus we appear, then we need not to fear Any danger, tho Dooms-day be never so near. 9

When Peace we obtain in this Nation again, Then Strephon and Phillis, with Flocks on the plain, Shall have freedom of Joys from the clamorous noise Of the fire and sword, which so many destroys, They shall then sit and sing, like Birds in the spring, W i t h a Consort of Voices, crying, God save the King Which is sweet to the ear, and void of all fear, Likewise Love on, tho' Dooms-day be never so near. Printed for Charles Bates at the White-Hart in West-Smithfield.

[248]

4

8

7

!The sorrowful lamentation v , 2o, roman, italic, and occasional black-letter type (with various letters, here not reproduced, in a wrong font), two columns. Shortly before Sir John Fenwick's execution on January 28, 1697 (No. 488), his wife wrote (or, of course, is imagined to have written) the following lamentation. She had made the most strenuous efforts to save his life, petitioning William I I I in person for clemency, and later carrying similar petitions to the Lords and Commons. 1 By these means she succeeded in staving off the execution for a short time. The ballad must have appeared about the twenty-sixth or twentyseventh of January. The tune of The Duke of Monmouth does not seem to be recorded. The printer N . D. was perhaps Nathaniel Dancer. 1 She was burlesqued by the actor Leigh in D'Urfey's Lovefor Money, 1696 {Memoirs of Thomas, Earl of Ailesbury, IT, 391).

[ 249]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

g>orrotofuI Hamentatton, ©Jf 3ίοί)π Jfetitotcfe's ü.abp, J f o r tije j f a t a l Conbemnaitott # J f Hobing ^tiöbanb. T h e T u n e of, the Duke of

1

Monmouth.

ι

T O w the fatal tryal's ended; ^ ^ J Condemnation now is past, ^ And with Sorrows he attended, Has receiv'd his doom at last; Oh! the dismal day is coming, Which will break my tender Heart, Life alas will be a burthen; W h e n Sir John, and I do part.

2

Oh! what torments, now posess me: W h a t enraging pains I feel; Oh! what Fearful thoughts molest me, Nothing can my anguish heal, Down my Cheeks, soft tears are flowing, trickling from my watery E y e , Since my dearest dear is going: For his great Offence to die.

3

You that hear my tender passion, Out of pittie shed a tear; And deplore my Wretched station; For alass, I loose my Dear: Many Years we Livd together, Very Loving and Kind, Now he goes the Lord Knows whether, And will leave poor me behind.

4

Oh! was ever wretches fortune, So deplorable as mine, Ah was ever Death so certain, As my Death 1 Sir John, is thine:

Read Dear.

[250]

T H E SORROWFUL L A M E N T A T I O N Now I rave and am perplexed, Pittie my unhappie state; For my Heart within is vexed: For Sir John's untimely fate.

1

5

the sad day of Execution, I most dismally do dread; W h a t destraction, and Confussion Fills (alas) my troubled head: Oh it rends my heart to pieces, W h e n I think upon that 1 Day: W h i c h will bereave me of my blesses, By taking of my Dear away.

6

Curse on that unhappie minute,2 When the Horrid Plot was Laid, And he that drew my Husband in't, May he be with death repaid: Death and Vengeance may pursue him, Bring him to a timeless Grave, Prove the wretches fatal Ruine, and no pitie let him have.

7

time can never cure my anguish; time can never ease my smart, I shall ever lie and Languish, till with grief I break my heart; Gentle death come now and ease me; Oh come close my Watry Eie, Nothing but your dart can please me, Since my dear Sir John must die.

8

Now farewel all Worldly treasures, the sweet joys of humane Life, Farewel all the Fading pleasure; 3 Oh I'm overwhelm'd w i t h grief,

Text the that.

2

Text minuet.

[251]

» Read pleasures.

THE PEPYS BALLADS D o w n my cheeks soft tears are trickling from my w a t r y Eye, Since my dearest dear is going, For his great Offence to die. Printed by and for N. D. 1697.

[252]

flowing,

488 The plotter s reward v , 22, roman and italic type, two columns, one woodcut. Sir John Fenwick, an accomplice in the assassination-plot of February, 1696, managed to evade arrest while his fellow-plotters Charnock, Keyes, King, Perkins, Friend, and others were being tried and executed. While in hiding, he had attempted to make himself safe by bribing George Porter to abscond, since only Porter and Cardell Goodman, it appeared from earlier trials, could convict him of conspiracy; and for a conviction two witnesses were necessary. Porter betrayed this scheme to the government; and at the next sessions, on his evidence and Goodman's, an indictment for high treason was found against Fenwick. The latter then endeavored to escape to France. On June 1 1 , however, he was captured at New Romney, whence he had arranged to sail the next day, and on June 19 he was committed to the Tower (London Gazette, June n - 1 5 , 18-22, 1696). It is impossible here to follow Fenwick's various subterfuges and "discoveries," some of which had effects of great importance in breaking up the Privy Council and in shifting the balance of political power. Suffice it to say, that in the autumn of 1696 Goodman was successfully bribed by Fenwick's friends to flee to France, thus eliminating even a possibility of Fenwick's being found guilty. The House of Commons then by a high-handed process brought in a bill of attainder against him, and after fiery dispute passed it. The House of Lords considered it first on November 26, and passed it on December 23. After various futile attempts to secure a pardon or reprieve had been made, Fenwick was beheaded on January 28, 1697. There are brief accounts of his execution in The London Gazette and The Post Man. The latter (No. 281, February 23-25) informs us that he was buried in St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, and that a "fine white marble T o m b " was erected over his grave. For the tune see No. 419. On Barnet compare the notes to No. 172.

C253]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS Wf)t Plotter« &etoarb: g>tr John Fenwick'a East Jfarctoel to tJje "'fcTfcJorlb, tofjo teas Jteijeabeb on iCotoer-^tU, tije 2Sth. of January, 1696. To the Tune of, Rüssels Farewel, &c.

ι

Τ Now, alas! this very Day, A must bid Adieu to all; And in this world hant long to stay, here's Thousands sees my fall: That I a Tray tor hence must part, all know the reason why, Who say, it is but my desert, For Plotting I must dye. ι

Ο what a wretched man was I, content I could not be, But must conspire Treachery, which thus hath Ruin'd me: But now too late I do Repent my wicked Villany, Which makes my dying-heart relent, For Plotting I must dye. [254]

THE PLOTTER'S

REWARD

3

I with some others did Combine, (which on me woe does bring) And treach'rously we did design to Kill William the King: But the great God did us prevent; and I for mercy cry, Who here must suffer Punishment, For Plotting I must die.

4

If this our Plot had took effect, it was our full design, T h e Nation should have suffer'd next, to which we all did join, B y an Invasion to bring in King "James and Popery, Which would a Bloody D a y have been. For Plotting I must dye.

5

Ο glorious God, who sits above, have mercy now on me, Ο let me find thy gracious love, and bring my soul to thee: Forgive my Cursed Sins, Ο Lord, and Acts of 'Treachery, Some pitty unto me afford, Who must for Plotting dye.

6

For here's no Mercy to be found from hands of Mortal Men, I am with griefs encompast round, scarce any Man's my friend, It cuts me to the very heart, when some against me cry, It is no more than my desert, For Plotting I must dye.

7

Because that I was one chief cause, and did with others aid, For to bring in the Romish Laws, for so our Plot was laid:

[^55]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS How can I now for mercy look, when by my Treachery, I would on no one pitty took, For Plotting I must dye. 8

Upon the block my Neck I lay, for this my Horrid Crime, I wish that I a warning may be unto all in time. So hoping Lord my sins most foul, thou 'It pardon graciously, I to thy hands commit my soul, For Plotting here I dye. Printed for

Charles Barnet,

[2 5 6]

1697.

4

8 g

The inhuman butcher v, 19, roman and italic type (with I's sometimes in black letter), two columns, two woodcuts. The Post Man, No. 315, May 4-6, 1697, noted that "Yesterday [May 5] a Butcher in Leaden Hall Market having had words with his Wife, about some late Rambles stabbed her in the Belly with his Knife and being as 'twas thought struck with remorse, presently took her in his Arms and carried her into a House just by, expressing his hopes she would recover; the Woman dyed a few minutes after, and the Butcher was committed to Newgate." More specific was The Flying Post, No. 309, May 4-6: "Yesterday one Feast a Butcher, in Leaden-Hall-Market, kill'd his Wife, who was big with Child, by running a Knife into the lower part of her Belly; it was occasioned by some Words that past betwixt them, upon his having been absent some days from his business. The poor Man, as soon as he had given her the wound, cried out for help, remov'd her, and help'd to carry her up to a Room: His Mother being present fainted away, and he is committed to Newgate in order to his Trial." From Newgate the murderer utters a cry of repentance in the following ballad. The Protestant Mercury, No. 162, May 19-21, The Flying Post, No. 316, May 20-22, and The London Post, No. 4, May 22, reported Feast's conviction, but without mentioning his name. The Foreign Post, With Domestick News, No. 4, May 21-24, observed that he was sentenced to death on May 22, and in its next issue (May 24-26) said that "the Butcher who kill'd his Wife, makes great Interest for a Reprieve, and even the Father and Mother of his Wife intercede for him." But these efforts were unavailing. The Protestant Mercury, No. 164, May 26-28, announced that the murderer would " be Hang'd in Chains near Stratford." On May 28 {The Post Man, No. 324, May 27-29) "the Butcher for killing his Wife in Leaden hall Market" was one of ten persons executed at Tyburn. He and eight others "hung near 2 hours longer than usual, upon the account of the Woman that was burnt" {ibid., No. 325, May 29-June 1), and according to The Flying Post, No. 319, May 27-29, he died "very Penitent." C257]

THE ΡΕΡYS

BALLADS

I suspect that "Gadesby," of the ballad next following (No. 490), was merely an alias of "Feast." Hazlitt, in his Hand-book to Early English Literature, 1867, p. 348, lists another ballad on Feast, " T h e Murtherer Justly Condemned," but gives no indication of where it may be found. For the tune see No. 419. The printer E. C. may have been Edward Castle.

[258]

THE INHUMAN BUTCHER tEJje Snfjumatte JBtttrijer ©Jf Heabett-JlaU fflavket; Jäeittg big g>orrotoful ICamentaiton, for moat Ctuellp anb Parijorouölp Jflurbmng ijtö oton Wtfc: Φ η Wednesday lagt tf)t 5th. of tfjtö 3fnitant May, 1697. To the Tune of, Rüssels Farewel, &c.

VSirfliMa»». ι

/ Λ Wretched me George Feast by Name, V - / that ever I was Born; By Murder thus to blast my Fame, and make my self Forlorn: And I to satisfy that Blood, deserve to lose my Life, For Killing in a furious mood, my Dear and Loving Wife.

ι

On Wednesday last the tyh. of May, I did to Market go; To me it was a Fatal day as many now may know: Because reproved there I was, of my loose wicked Life; I in most Cruel sort alas! did Kill my Loving Wife.

3

She'd often strive for to Reprove my vild Extravagance; Sweet George, quoth she, in tender love, you by your Vile Expence:

C 2 59]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

Will Ruine all that we now have, by this ill Course of Life, But now i've brought her to the Grave, and Kilt'd my Loving Wije. 4

I many Pounds have daily spent abusing of my time; But now alas! I do repent (O Lord forgive my Crime) That e're I did that wicked deed, bereaving her of Life; Which makes my very heart now bleed, for Killing of my Wife.

5

For as at stall she stood by me, before my Mothers face, And her Mother who there did see, this Trajedy most base, Which makes my very Conscience start, that I with Bloody Knife Did stab her deep into the Heart, that was my Loving Wife.

6

When as the Wound Receiv'd had she, she to my Mother said, Behold your Son has Killed me, and then she drop'd down dead, Which done I knew not what to say, when she had lost her life, Upon a stall I then did lay, my dear and Loving Wife.

[260]

THE INHUMAN

BUTCHER

7

I soon was seized for this Act of Bloody Villany, And for my Horrid Heinous Fact, I do deserve to dye, In Newgate now I lye confin'd, to answer for my life, How can I think to mercy find, now I have Kill'd my Wife.

8

But now Ο Lord I do indeed, (if it don't come too late) Repent me of this bloody deed, which doth in me create, In me such Griefs and Horrors too, I curse my wretched life, That e're I did my hands imbrew, Ftti Blood of my sweet Wife. LONDON: Printed by and for E. C. 1697.

[261]

49° The mournful murderer v , 23, roman and italic type, two columns, one woodcut. George Gadesby expresses a wholly edifying repentance on his last day of life for the murder of his bosom friend, or wife. His crime bears so close a resemblance to the murder committed by George Feast of the preceding ballad (No. 489) that I cannot help suspecting "Gadesby" to be an alias of "Feast," or vice versa. This suspicion appears to be confirmed by the silence of the news-books about any second murderer who was executed on May 28. For example, The Foreign Post, With Domestick News, No. 4, May 21-24, 1697, asserts that "On Saturday last [May 22] the Recorder past Sentence of Death on 13 Criminals, viz. the Butcher [Feast] for the Murder of his Wife, 1 Men and 2 Women for false Coining, the rest being Highwaymen and House breakers." If Gadesby and Feast were not one and the same person, at least they were hanged at Tyburn at the same time. Of course the Smithfield bards would have preferred two murderers to one. Poor Robin, i6gj had predicted for March, 1697: " B y the Position of the Stars, there seems to be a kind of Mutiny threatning among Ballad-makers, because that though many be condemned, they are transported, and not hanged, and so their Trade is like to be spoiled." No doubt the execution of ten persons at Tyburn on May 28 helped to crush the mutiny, and saved balladry from extinction! For the tüne see No. 419. John Shooter, whose name often appears in the colophon of ballads, is not mentioned in Plomer's dictionaries of printers (cf. No. 491)·

[262]

THE MOURNFUL

MURDERER

i f t o u w f u l iHutberer: Wf)t tajst ©ping Hamentatton of George , faafjo toa« &rratneb anb founb tgn'b tije lOtfj of tfjt'Ä i n s t a n t 6V/>/. 1697, bettoeen tije gmbaftsabors anb plenipotentiaries! of England, i ^ ß i » , anb Holland, on tfje P a r t of tfje allies, anb tije S i n g of France on tfje otfjer p a r t . To the Tune of, The Evening Ramble.

ι

'VTOu Nobles, and Peers of the Kingdom, and Commons of e'ry Degree, Here's Tydings of Ioy our Grief to destroy, a flourishing Land we shall see: Vast Armies no more shall invade, Nor Banners in Field be displayd, no Killing nor Slaying, nor Kingdoms Betraying, But now for a prosperous Trade, T o make us all happy, our Ioys to encrease, While Europe is Bless'd with a General Peace.

ι

Our Swords shall be turn'd into Plough shares, and glittering Armour likewise, No longer we '11 wear, for Lawrels prepare, true Peace is the Blessing we prise: Though Lewis was once in a huff, And we as couragious and tough, yet every Nation, without disputation, 1 Of fighting, has fairly enough; Therefore let the Title of Conquering cease, Whilst Europe is bless'd with a General Peace.

3

W h y should we stand longer contending, with Armies of Foot and of Horse; While War we maintain, a Conquest to gain, the Winner sits down by the loss: 1

Text disputatatson.

[267]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS This has been consider'd of late, By Monarchs both glorious and great, wherefore they desire from Field to retire, For Peace is the prosperous State, The Wealths of all Kingdoms and Courts to increase This makes them conclude in a General Peace. 4

The Plenipotentiaries of Europe, they met for that general Good, Whose Masters we find, are fairly inclind, to stop the effusion of Blood: God sent them a happy Success, And all their Endeavours did bless in the Vndertaking, while Peace they were making, And now we have had the Express, Of the happy Tydings our Ioy to encrease, That Europe is bless'd with a General Peace.

5 Our Champion and King of Great Britain, is honour'd by Lewis of France; Who owns him as King in every thing, no Army shall ever advance Against him, or any Allies; Nay Cities and Castles likewise, and e'ry strong Tower, which is in his power, The which has been taken as Prize, He '11 freely surrender, that fighting may cease, And Europe be bless'd with a General Peace. 6

Himself he obliges on Honour, a Treaty of Peace to maintain, And while he shall live, no Aid will he give, to any Pretenders again, That ever by insolent ways, Should study new Troubles to raise, which lasting Foundation of Peace to this Nation, Will bless us with flourishing Days: Neighbouring Nations from Fighting shall cease, As Europe is blest with a General Peace. [268]

GREAT BRITAIN'S

TRIUMPH

7

T h e Merchant shall plow the wide Ocean, from Kingdom to Kingdom for Gold, Without any fear, the Seas being clear, and bring home their Treasure untold, T o store us with Riches again, Then let us no longer complain; the War being ended, we shall be defended, And see a true prosperous Reign: Our Griefs will grow less and our Comforts encrease, As Europe is bless'd with a General Peace.

8

The happy Effects of this Treaty, ascrib'd be't to Heaven alone; Who prosper'd our Prince, the World to convince, that still he should Reign on the Throne, T o reap the sweet Fruits of his T o y l , Now, now in a plentiful Isle; where long may he flourish, his People to nourish, Their Sorrows and Griefs to beguile: Ne'r doubt but our Comforts will daily encrease, As Europe is blest with a General Peace. Xt'tenaefci accorbtna to ©rber. London: Printed for lohn Shooter.

[269]

49 2 Verses of monsieur s boasting v, n o , roman and italic type, one column, stanzas numbered in large roman numerals. Apparently this ballad was written after the treaty of Ryswick, a treaty which the author regarded as a defeat for Louis X I V . He makes a Frenchman boast at great length of his plans against England. T o be sure, the Frenchman admits, we've received two checks: first, when Francois Louis de Bourbon, Prince de Conti, attempted in July, 1697, to ascend the throne of Poland but was prevented; second, when Ponti's squadron, after sailing from Brest in November, 1696, to harass the West Indies, returned in August after no great achievements (see Luttrell, iv, 146, 170, 173, 179, 272, etc.). But these checks are minimized by our victory over the allies at Ath in Belgium on June ζ {ibid., pp. 225, 236); and Marshals Bouffiers, Catinat, and Villeroy will make 1697 memorable by their defeat of William III, just as by his capture of Barcelona Marshal Vendome (called Vendosme by the ballad and often by Luttrell) has distinguished himself in Spain. England, says the Frenchman, is afraid of Louis X I V . By implication the ballad (part of which is probably lost) contrasts these big words with the treaty Louis was forced to sign. For the tune see Chappell's Popular Music, 1, 123-125.

[270]

VERSES OF MONSIEUR'S BOASTING 3 Mtto Φ$ Φ $ ittonöteur« JSoaittns, or England'% Cauße of ®rttimpij. To the Tune of Packington's Pound.

ι

Λ New Calculation of late has been given, Of the wonderful Year of Ninety and Seaven; How the French Preparations by Sea and by Land, Has threaten'd each Nation on every hand. Begar me'11 out-doe de Turk and de Jew, And Fight de dam Dutch, and de English too; No Hero, no Hero, is like dat of France, Who Challenge all Europe to make 'em advance.

ι

The great Preparations for Sieging of Ath, And Vigorously Investing the Town, And when 'twas Surrender'd to Mahomet Faith, And of our great Victory made such a Sound: We greatly may boast, How few we have lost, And of the small Charges Repairs has Cost; Oh then there's no reason that we should Repine, Tho' Conti, and Ponti, should loose their Design.

3

For Bouffiers, Catinat, and Villeroy, Does Head the grand Army that march in the Field; No Town but submit to their genteel Decoy, And make the Confederate Forces to Yield. There's Conti the King, And Ponti's Off-spring, They loud in the Ears of great Monarchy Sing; Come Truckle, and Buckle yea Confederate Foes, Our Sword is in hand to make you dispose.

4

There's Monsieur Vendosme is Treating the Spaniard; Who flees before 'em with Precipitation; For at the noise of th' approach of his Vanguard, They all are afraid of the loss of their Nation. [271]

T H E PEPYS BALLADS There's Seignour Loranzo, Don Juan Alphanzo; And ten Thousand more speak every Man so, That none can withstand our Generals Command, For we Fight the Battles of Lewis le Grand.

493

The princely

triumph

v , 142, roman and italic type, two columns. T h e peace of Ryswick, signed on September 10, 1697, was formally announced, amid great rejoicing, in London on October 19. Luttrell (iv, 294) wrote on October 20: " T h i s day the heralds at arms, attended by 2 troops of guards, proclaimed the peace at Whitehall, Temple Barr, (where the lord mayor, aldermen, and sherifs, mett them,) Cheapside, Conduit, and afterwards at the Royal Exchange; upon which the guns at the Tower were discharged, and bonefires at night." For William's return London made "prodigious preparations . . . in greater splendor then that of the restauration of king Charles the 2d " {ibid., p. 288; cf. p. 306). The ballad, a pleasing song of j o y for the peace, should be compared with No. 492. For the tune see No. 138. On the publisher John Shooter see No. 491.

[273]

THE PEPYS

BALLADS

C n g l a n b ' e ©totber«al of a ©Ioriotti

proclaiming

Mijici) toae perform'b in

LONDON,

on tfie J&inetentf) of tijtä Snetant October, 1 6 9 7 , to tije general Comfort anb S a t i s f a c t i o n of all ©bebtent T o the Tune of, 0

SEC.

Htcengeb accorbtng to eriitnfl-man'i öorrotoful Hamentation (or tije Beatt) of titö Hobe, tojjo raßtjlp feiU'b f)cr«elf on tfje ®f)it> ttefl) of May, X698, toitf) a ^tßtol-JSulIet, near Thame, in Oxfordshire. Tune of, The Ruined Virgin.

Htcenii'b anb (iEnter'b actorbing to ijot ^tmßelf toitf) a ißietol in tije Jfielbö near Hackney, on tfje I6tf) 2Bap of tfjte Knitant August, 1698. To the Tune of, Farewel my dear Johnny.

Huens'b anb (Enter'b accorbing to ©rber. ι

V 7 O u Lovers, I pray you, be pleas'd to draw near, And you a sad Tragical D i t t y shall hear; 'Tis of a young Man, who in Lothbury dwelt, The Passion of Love, and sharp Sorrow he felt;

ι

Elizabeth she was the Joy of his Heart, And therefore her Frowns like a powerful Dart, Did wound him so deep, that he often would cry, There's none in the World so unhappy as I :

3

Wherefore is my Dearest, so false and unkind? Ο ! W h y does she change like the wavering Wind ? As if she took Pleasure, and Pride to destroy The Man who desires, her Love to enjoy.

4

Here am I confin'd by the Fetters of Love, There's none in the Kingdom I value above Elizabeth Spencer, my Joy and Delight; A h ! W h y will she labour to ruin me quite ?

5

I once was perswaded she never would grieve Her Johnny, whom she did in Kindness receive; B u t now she does cause an invincible Pain, A h ! what have I done to deserve her Disdain ?

6

Tell me, did I ever my D u t y neglect? Have I not afforded the dearest Respect T o fairest Elizabeth, whom I adore; Then why am I tortur'd, and slighted therefore?

[288]

T H E LONDON T R A G E D Y 7

Your Company now I no longer must have, Therefore I'll rush on to my tragical Grave; Thro' Blood I will venter, the Minute draws nigh; 'Tis Sorrow to live, but a Pleasure to die.

8

Sometimes these rash Thoughts, I endeavour'd to shun, Yet streight I resolv'd the black Deed shou'd be done; My Grief being more, than I am able to bear; For why should I live between Hope and Dispair ?

9

Perhaps when my Head, in the Grave shall be laid, You'll think of the Vows, which in private we made; You '11 weep, and acknowledge your Scorn & Disdain; But 'twill not be Tears can recal me again.

10

This Letter I write with a sorrowful Soul; Then when I'm departed, perhaps you'll condole The Death of your Iohnny, who n'er was unjust, With Tears you may sprinkle my innocent Dust:

11

For Conscience will live, when your Lover is dead; A million of Thoughts, may come then in your head, Which will be severe on your Spirits, / know, To check you my Dearest, who tortur'd me so.

12

This said, then a Pistol he took in his Hand, He never no longer disputing did stand, But shot himself, so he immeadiately fell, And bid both the World, and his Lover farewel.

13

Now when he had given this desperate Wound, And that he lay Bleeding to Death on the Ground, Some Friends came about him, right sorry indeed; Then finding his Letter, 'twas printed with speed:

14

That other young Damsels, henceforth may beware, How they leave their Lovers in Grief and Dispair; I t is not their Duty to torture them so, The which may endanger their sad overthrow. LONDON: Printed for J. Shooter. [289]

49 Β

Thefaithful

lover s farewell

v, 286, roman and italic type, two columns, one woodcut. Johnny, a serving-man of Soho, loves Betty, a cook-maid, even to desperation. But she haughtily repulses his advances, scoffs at his love, and vows she '11 never marry in her own class of " society." Like one struck dumb, Johnny goes home, gets a pistol, kills himself. The last stanza, to prepare for a sequel (No. 499), tells how Betty is affected by hearing of the suicide. I have not found the tune. The printer J. W. was probably John Wallis or Jeremiah Wilkins.

[290]

THE FAITHFUL LOVER'S

FAREWELL

®f)e Jfattfjful ICobettf, Jfaretoel to tfje J l o t l b :

& ®rue delation of a -

ifflan in Soho, tftat g>F)ot fjimfielf for ICofae of j»* Jfelloto g>«rbant, tfje Coo£ iWatb. To the Tune of, Chatam Town. ι

T ^ O u n g Lovers all, of each degree, A I 'de have you now for to draw near, While I rehearse a T r a g e d y , Of a young M a n that Loved dear.

1

T h i s young M a n lived in Soho, A s m a n y People well does know, H e loved Betty a Cook-maid; B u t she his L o v e with scorn Repaid.

3

This young M a n finding Cupids dart H a d Wounded him unto the Heart, T h a t he could never happy be, Unless in Betty's company.

4

H e was tormented D a y and N i g h t , T h a t nothing could his Heart delight, For it was Betty, only she, T h a t caused all his Misery.

5

T h i s young M a n finding no redress, B u t still was more and more oprest Because his L o v e he did conceal, A n d could not could not it Reveal.

6

A t last he was resolv'd in mind, T o try if Betty would prove kind, A n d ease him quickly of his Pain, A n d grant him L o v e for L o v e again.

7

T o her he went imediatly Still hoping she would soon comply, W i t h bashful Face and Voice so low, H e told this Maiden all his woe. C29O

T H E PEPYS BALLADS 8 My Love said he I am oprest, 'Tis only you can give me Rest, And I hope that you will give Relief, And put an end to all my Grief. 9 Away, fond Fool! she did reply, Your silly suit I must deny; For I Love one with Riches Store, Therefore your Love I pray give ore. 10

What tho' I am a Servant Maid, A Servant I will never Wed; For I a Shop-keeper will have, That will maintain me fine and brave.

11

When Johnny heard this scornful Dame Requit his Love with provd disdain, His Heart was ready for to break, Yet could not any answer make.

12

Like one struck dumb from her he goes, To utter by himself his woes, And flung himself upon the Bed, And lay a while like one was dead.

13

At last he did begin to speak, And sigh'd as if his Heart did break betty says, he for Love of you, Poor Johnny bids the World adieu.

14

He got a Pistol then with speed, And shot himself with it indeed; Some of the Servants heard the Gun And all in hast to him did Run.

15

But Oh! alas, it was too late They could not, could not stop his fate; For Death had seized every part, And peirsced this Lover to the Heart. [292]

T H E F A I T H F U L LOVER'S F A R E W E L L 16

But now I hear, for truth indeed, This scornful Maidens Heart does bleed, To think she should so cruel be To cause this young mans Tragidey. LONDON: Printed by J. W. near Fleet-street, 1698.

[293]

499 The repenting maids lamentation v , 277, roman and italic type, two columns. After her lover has committed suicide in Soho (No. 498), B e t t y the cook-maid is overcome with remorse and grief. Her woes are distinctly utterable, so that in the following " L a m e n t a t i o n " she repents bitterly of her haughtiness and cruelty. Ο young maidens, she cries, be warned by me; avoid pride lest you bring your sweethearts, like mine, to sudden destruction. All of which is poor stuff. T h e spacious times of William I I I in England, Ireland, and Flanders, once the subject of thePepys ballads, are thus cluttered up with the heartaffairs of cooks and scullions. T h e tune of Ο my dearest dear, be not so severe is named from the first line of " A n Excellent New Song. Called T h e Cruel Lover. . . . T o a pleasant N e w T u n e " (Pepys, v, 295). T h e printer J. W . was probably John Wallis or Jeremiah Wilkins.

[294]

THE REPENTING MAID'S LAMENTATION ®fje ftepenting iflatbö, g>orrotoful Hamentation; jfot i)im*elf in To the Tune of, OA, my dearest dear.

5

ι

X ~ > O M E pitty pitty me, 1 all you that Lovers be ^ - - ^ f o r 'tis 1 that caused Johnny's fate I have broak a Heart, Caus'd a Lovers smart; But I now Repent alass to late.

2

I was too unkind, When he told his mind, And repaid his Love with prov'd * disdain; you young Lovers all, that has heard his fall, Come and help me now for to complain.

3

'Twas my Pride indeed, made his Heart to Bleed, For his faithful Love I seem'd to scorne: but with Grief each Day, I do sigh and say, I may wish I never had been Born.

4

Maidens great and small, I write unto you all, That you may a Warning take by me, I have been too shy, made a young Man Dye, Who did love me dear and tenderly.

5

He was a Serving-man, and many witness can, He was full of truth and honesty, and I a Servant-maid, often to him said, That alas he was too poor for me.

Read 'tis I.

2

/.