Francis James Child

“ And so is the men of Thirlwa 'nd Williehaver,
And all their companies thereabout,
That is minded to do mischief,
And at their stealing stands not out.
But yet we will not slander them all,
For there is of them good enough;
It is a sore consumed tree
That on it bears not one fresh bough.
Lord God! is not this a pitiful case,
That men dare not drive their goods to t' fell,
But limmer thieves drives them away,
That fears neither heaven nor hell?
Lord, send us peace into the realm,
That every man may live on his own! ”

“ But the greatest fray that eer they had
Was with the 'Men' of Thirlwa 'nd Williehaver.
They gatherd together so royally,
The stoutest men and the best in gear,
And he that rade not on a horse,
I wat he rade on a weil-fed mear. ”

“ And all his company,
They were numberd to never a man
But forty [or] under fifty.
The thieves was numberd a hundred men,
I wat they were not of the worst
That could be choosed out of Thirlwa 'nd Williehaver,
. . . . ”