“ To-day, a man, like one of you,
A knight to-morrow I shall ride
In coach and six, with ribband blue,
And sword-knot flaming by my side.
On honor's ladder I intend to rise,
Step after step until I reach the skies,
A viscount, earl, a marquess, duke, I'll be,
God only knows what may become of me,
And really, gem'men, 'twould be no strange thing,
If, in my turn, I should become a king. ”

“ As he ne'er had in all his life,
O, 'twould be noble fun!"
So spake the lord and huntsman,
When to their great surprise,
A noble fox unkenelled
Before their wondering eyes,
As black as any raven,
As glossy and as bright,
Save that his brush—no hunter's prize,
Is tipp'd with shining white.
The huntsman wakes from wonder,
And gives a cheering blast,
The hounds reply in thunder,
The hunters follow fast.
Away they go a gallant band,
Ye would have thought they flew;
Their horses were the fleetest
That Yorkshire ever knew. ”

“ And put an end to this desperate deed.
The cruel knight wrote to his brother that day,
To make the young innocent damsel away
With sword or with poison, that very same night,
And not let her live to the next morning light.
When the thief read the letter, he had so much grace,
To tear it, and write in the very same place,—
Dear brother, receive the young maiden from me,
And bring her up well as a lady should be.
Let her be esteemed, dear brother, I pray;
Let servants attend her by night and by day;
For she is a lady of noble great worth,
A more noble lady ne'er lived in the north. ”

“ When he did meet her, "Thou strumpet," said he,
"Pray did not I charge you ne'er to meet me;
This hour's your last, to the world bid good night,
For being so bold to appear in my sight."
Said she, "In the sea, sir, you flung your own ring,
And bid me not see you, unless I could bring
That ring unto you, and I have it," said she,
"Behold, 'tis the same that was thrown into the sea!"
When the knight saw the ring, he did fly to her arms;
He kissed her, and swore she had a million of charms.
Said he, "Charming creature, I pray pardon me,
Who has often contrived the ruin of thee. ”

“ As thinking nothing could prevent
What he had thus desir'd.
IV.
The father being dead and gone,
The unkle then contrived
To make the child's estate his own,
And of its life deprive it.
A wicked thought came in his head,
And thus concludes to serve it;
He takes it up out of the bed
And then resolves to starve it.
V.
With wicked mind, into a wood
He then the infant carries;
And tho' he would not shed her blood,
Yet there alive he buries
Within a hollow oaken tree;
He stop'd the mouth from crying,
That none might hear and come to see
How the poor child was dying. ”

“ Let none the Yorkshire girls despise,
Who are so active now a days;
So brisk and nimble they do grow,
That few can match them, I do know;
Then let us stand up for Yorkshire,
Those country girls I love most dear.
A Yorkshire girl, who can outvie?
No city girls can them come nigh;
They've rosy blushes in their cheeks,
While city girls are green as leeks ”

“ From the lane end then Eland came
A spied these gentlemen,
Sore wonder'd he who they could be,
And val'd his bonnet then.
"Thy court'sy 'vails thee not, sir knight,
Thou slew my father dear,
Some time sir Robert Beaumont hight,
And slain thou shalt be here."
Said Adam Beaumont, with the rest,
"Thou hast our fathers slain,
Whose deaths we mind shall be redrest,
Of thee, and thine certain." ”

“ You ne'er prove treacherous in love.
He to this maiden went, we hear,
A visit unto her to pay,
But with a false and treacherous heart,
He to this maiden fair did say,
"I'd have you now forthwith to go,
And get your father to agree
To settle on me his estate,
Or else my bride you ne'er shall be."
[213]
At this she burst forth into tears,
Saying, "Can you so cruel be,
For unto that I can't presume."
"Then fare thee well," replied he.
When he had left her all in woe,
She yielded to the devil's will,
Who did put her in a way
These cruel murders to fulfil. ”

“ And battle's mingled noise.
For up the hill, with eager haste,
A breathless courier came;
He cries, "Prepare for dire alarms,
And shun th' approaching flame."
[14]
"Fierce Hubba, landing on the beach,
Now drives our feeble band;
Who, far too few to stop his force,
Fly o'er the crimson'd sand."
What anguish fill'd the maiden's breast,
What rage the lover knew,
When looking down the steepy hill,
They found the tale was true.
Each warlike youth then grasp'd his spear,
The trembling damsel said,
"O where is now Earl Osrick's power,
And where Lord Redwald's aid?" ”

“ O' sike a day. THE YORKSHIRE LAD IN LONDON.
WHEN I left father and mother, sister and brother,
They all cried you'll surely be undone;
For resolved was I my fortune to try,
And just take a trip to London—
Cry'd my father, "When there, dont curse and swear
As the Londoners do if they teaze ye,
But your passion keep down as well as you can,
And say—Jemmy Johnson squeeze me."
"Lord, father, do you take me for a fool,
That was in Yorkshire born and bred, man;
I'm not to be done by the London chaps,
As long as I've eyes in my head, man ”

“ Five hundreth foot him fro.
"God's blessing on thy heart," said Robin Hood,
"That hath such a shot for me;
I would ride my horse a hundred miles,
To find one could match thee."
That caused Will Scadlocke to laugh,
He laughed full heartily:
"There lives a curtall fryer in Fountaines Abbey
Will beate both him and thee.
"The curtail fryer in Fountaines Abbey
Well can a strong bow draw,
He will beat you and your yeomen,
Set them all on a row."
Robin Hood he tooke a solemne oath,
It was by Mary free,
That he would neither eate nor drinke,
'Till the fryer he did see. ”

“ For pride it is that pricks the heart
And moves men to mischief,
All kind of pity set apart
Withouten grudge or grief.
Where pride doth reign within the heart,
And wickedness in will, [68]
The fear of God quite set apart,
Their fruits must needs be ill.
Some cannot suffer for to see
And know their neighbors thrive,
Like to themselves in good degree,
But rather seek their lives.
And some must be possess'd alone,
And such would have no peer,
Like to themselves they would have none
Dwell nigh them any where.
With such like faults was foul infect
One sir John Eland, knight ”

“ For now the Danes, by Hubba led,
Had ravaged half the shore.
His summons at the abbey gate
The ready porter hears;
And soon, in veil and holy garb,
The abbess kind appears.
"O take this virgin to thy care,
Good angels be your guard;
And may the saints in heaven above
That pious care reward.
[6]
"For we by fierce barbarian hands
Are driven from our home;
And three long days and nights forlorn,
The dreary waste we roam. ”

“ And they held the devil just as fast, as if he'd been in a vice.
Next day great crowds of people went to see the devil there,
But they say he changed his shape, and so it did appear,
For when he found the old woman safe, so that he could not touch her,
He lost his horns and tail, and turned out to be a butcher!
The devil often has been blamed when innocent, 'tis true,
But now he is caught in the fact, they will give him his due,
And since he bears such a bad name, there's no doubt but they will
Keep him prisoner, as long as he lives, at Wakefield tread-mill. ”

“ And hail him the lord of Saltaire!
He's rear'd up a palace to Labour,
Will equal the Cæsars of old,
The church and the school and the cottage,
And lavish'd his thousands of gold:
Where the workman may live and be happy,
Enjoying the fruit of his hand;
In contentment, in comfort, and plenty,
Secure as a peer of the land. ”

“ I'm wounded by a bonny lad, and his bonnet so blue.
There came a troop of soldiers, and soon you shall hear,
From Scotland to Woolwich, abroad for to steer;
There is one among them I wish I'd ne'er knew,
He's a bonny Scotch lad, and his bonnet so blue.
His cheeks are like the roses, his eyes like the sloes,
He is handsome and proper, and kills where he goes,
He is handsome and proper, and comely for to view,
He's a bonny Scotch lad, and his bonnet so blue. ”

“ Could not emoluments like these
Thy mind, ambitious minstrel, please?
O! be thy song for ever curst,
You've gain'd the prize by starting first.
To equal thee let me aspire,
For tho' I envy, I admire.
Ten worthies yet remain unsung,
Fit subjects for the pen or tongue
Of Homer's self, had he been living.
But now of any bard surviving,
To sound their fame in lofty verse,
And sound his own by sounding their's.
Go on, great souls, and never flinch,
Your leader [167] ne'er will fly an inch.
Be active in your country's cause,
Protect her freedom, guard her laws. ”

“ From three old black-letter copies; one in the collection of Anthony à Wood, another in the British Museum, and the third in a private collection.
In summer time, when leaves grow green,
When they doe grow both green and long,
Of a bold outlaw, call'd Robin Hood,
It is of him I sing this song:—
When the lily leafe, and cowslip sweet
Both bud and spring with a merry cheere,
This outlaw was weary of the wood side,
And chasing of the fallow deere.
"The fishermen brave more mony have
Than any merchants two or three;
Therefore I will to Scarborough go,
That I a fisherman brave may be." ”

“ But seeing the child was alive, it is supposed he will not be tried for his life, but it is thought a severe punishment will be inflicted on him; and the justice appointed the gentleman that found the child to be its trustee till the assizes. The child is now at the gentleman's house, who loves it as if it was his own, for he has no children himself, and is a man of a good estate, and is likely to augment very much the child's fortune. ”

“ Which the Flying Dutchman has won and borne the prize away.
To the Flying Dutchman, &c.
No other horse was ever known to do what he has done,
For more than twenty thousand pounds in prizes he has won; [294]
With Marlow mounted on his back, believe me what I say,
He never run a race but one, but he took the prize away.
To the Flying Dutchman, &c.
So to conclude and make an end, and finish up my song,
Unto the brave lord Eglinton, Flying Dutchman does belong,
So fill your glass and let it pass, and give a loud huzza,
For the Flying Dutchman stands unrivalled at the present day. ”

“ Then, p'rhaps, he thought, "Good lack! the world is round;
The end is nowhere—so it can't be found;
And, as I'm weary of this wild-goose chase,
At home again, e'er long I'll show my face."
Then off he set, but little was aware,
What would transpire on his arrival there:
For while sir William rov'd as here express'd,
Another "Sir," his lady thus address'd:—
"Sir William's gone, (ne'er to return again)
Past this world's end, which long he sought in vain,
There's not a doubt he's found the end of life;
But don't be troubled; you shall be my wife." ”

“ The young knight dreamt, the selfsame night
With foes he was bested,
That fiercely fettled them to fight
Against him in his bed.
He told his lady soon of this,
But as a thing most vain,
She weigh'd it light, and said, "I wis
We must to church certain,
"And serve God there this present day." ”

“ And she says she'll march with none but colonel Thompson's men this night.
[308]
Our officers are loyal, they are men of courage bold,
Their clothing is of scarlet and turned up with gold,
It's I could wash the linen to please my dearest dear,
When I was in the field with colonel Thompson's volunteer.
Our ladies they love music, our captain gives command,
They play the prettiest marches of all the royal bands,
They play the sweetest music that ever my ears did hear,
For my heart was stole away by colonel Thompson's volunteer. ”

“ To love a Yorkshire girl the best;
But let him use his skill, for I
Will love a Yorkshire girl until I dye. THE MAYOR OF DONCASTER. [191]
A true and lamentable tale, showing how his worship was dubbed a knight a day too soon, and undubbed again a day too late, not to be laughed at. ”

“ The place was then, as it is yet, called the Strid, from a feat often exercised by persons of more agility than prudence, who stride from brink to brink, regardless of the destruction which awaits a faltering step. Such was the fate of young Romille, who inconsiderately bounded over the chasm, with a greyhound in his leash, the animal hung back and drew his unfortunate master into the torrent. ”

“ The town of Saltaire is built upon the best principles, including every convenience necessary for promoting the health and comfort of the population. Not only will it be a model town as regards its spacious squares and streets, grounds for recreation, schools, and church, (which has lately been opened, and cost 11,000l., and is perhaps the most beautiful in its interior of any church in Yorkshire,) its baths and washhouses, and all that philanthropy can suggest, or art supply, to further improvement. ”

“ Soon after the knight took this maiden away,
And with her did ride, till they came to the sea;
Then looking on her with anger and spite,
He spoke to the virgin, and bid her alight.
The maid from her horse immediately went,
And trembled to think what it was that he meant; [200]
"Ne'er tremble," said he, "for this hour is your last,
Then pull off your clothes, I command you in haste."
The virgin, with tears in her eyes, did reply,
"Oh! what have I done that now I must die?
Oh! let me but know how I did you offend,
I'll study each hour for to make you amends. ”

“ Thinking she might hear of this, bethought to end the strife,
Saying, "I'm married to another, to tell you I'm loath."
"You villain," said she, "you have ruin'd us both."
The wife took it to heart, she bade the world adieu,
To think he lov'd another, and prov'd to her untrue;
Now he is forsaken, and thus doth sigh and mourn,
"Not long ago I had two wives, but now, alas! I've none."
Come all you brave young soldiers, a warning take by me,
And ne'er delude young women and bring to misery ”