The Nursery Rhymes of England Part 53

DCXVIII.

Hannah Bantry in the pantry, Eating a mutton bone; How she gnawed it, how she clawed it, When she found she was alone!

DCXIX.

Rain, rain, go away, Come again another day; Little Arthur wants to play.

DCXX.

Little girl, little girl, where have you been?

Gathering roses to give to the queen.

Little girl, little girl, what gave she you?

She gave me a diamond as big as my shoe.

DCXXI.

Hark, hark, The dogs do bark, Beggars are coming to town; Some in jags, Some in rags, And some in velvet gowns.

DCXXII.

We're all in the dumps, For diamonds are trumps; The kittens are gone to St. Paul's!

The babies are bit, The moon's in a fit, And the houses are built without walls.

DCXXIII.

What's the news of the day, Good neighbour, I pray?

They say the balloon Is gone up to the moon.

DCXXIV.

Little Mary Ester, Sat upon a tester, Eating of curds and whey; There came a little spider, And sat him down beside her, And frightened Mary Ester away.

DCXXV.

Shake a leg, wag a leg, when will you gang?

At midsummer, mother, when the days are lang.

DCXXVI.

w.i.l.l.y boy, w.i.l.l.y boy, where are you going?

I'll go with you, if I may.

I'm going to the meadow to see them a mowing, I'm going to help them make hay.

DCXXVII.

To market, to market, a gallop, a trot, To buy some meat to put in the pot; Threepence a quarter, a groat a side, If it hadn't been kill'd, it must have died.

DCXXVIII.

Come, let's to bed, Says Sleepy-head; Tarry a while, says Slow: Put on the pot, Says Greedy-gut, Let's sup before we go.

DCXXIX.

How many days has my baby to play?

Sat.u.r.day, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Sat.u.r.day, Sunday, Monday.

DCx.x.x.

Daffy-down-dilly has come up to town, In a yellow petticoat, and a green gown.

DCx.x.xI.

Little Tom Tucker Sings for his supper; What shall he eat?

White bread and b.u.t.ter.

How shall he cut it Without e'er a knife?

How will he be married Without e'er a wife?

DCx.x.xII.

I can weave diaper thick, thick, thick, And I can weave diaper thin, I can weave diaper out of doors And I can weave diaper in.

DCx.x.xIII.

[The following is quoted in the song of Mad Tom. See my introduction to Shakespeare's Mids. Night's Dream, p. 55.]

The man in the moon drinks claret, But he is a dull Jack-a-Dandy; Would he know a sheep's head from a carrot, He should learn to drink cider and brandy.

DCx.x.xIV.

[A marching air.]