The Old Courtier.

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THE OLD COURTIER.

N old song made by an aged old pate,

Of an old worshipful gentleman who had a great

estate,

That kept a brave old house at a bountiful rate,

And an old porter to relieve the poor at his gate;

Like an old courtier of the queen's,

And the queen's old courtier.

With an old lady whose anger one word assuages;

They every quarter paid their old servants their wages,

And never knew what belonged to coachman, footman, nor

pages,

But kept twenty old fellows with blue coats and badges;

Like an old courtier of the queen's,

And the queen's old courtier.

With an old study filled full of learned old books,

With an old reverend chaplain, you might know him by his looks,

With an old buttery hatch worn quite off the hooks,

And an old kitchen, that maintained half a dozen old cooks; Like an old courtier of the queen's,

And the queen's old courtier.

With an old hall hung about with pikes, guns, and bows, With old swords, and bucklers, that had born many shrewd

blows,

And an old frieze coat to cover his worship's trunk hose,

And a cup of old sherry to comfort his copper nose;

Like an old courtier of the queen's,
And the queen's old courtier.

With a good old fashion when Christmas was come
To call in all his old neighbours with bagpipe and drum,
With a good cheer enough to furnish every old room,
And old liquor able to make a cat speak, and man dumb;
Like an old courtier of the queen's,

And the queen's old courtier.

With an old falconer, huntsman, and a kennel of hounds,
That never hawked nor hunted but in his own grounds,
Who like a wise man kept himself within his own bounds,
And when he died gave every child a thousand good pounds;
Like an old courtier of the queen's,

And the queen's old courtier.

OLD SONG.

JOHN BARLEYCORN.

WHERE were three kings into the East,
Three kings both great and high,

And they hae sworn a solemn oath

John Barleycorn should die.

They took a plough and ploughed him down,

Put clods upon his head,

And they hae sworn a solemn oath,

John Barleycorn was dead.

But the cheerful spring came kindly on,

And showers began to fall;
John Barleycorn got up again,

And sore surprised them all.

John Barleycorn.

The sultry suns of summer came,

And he grew thick and strong,

His head well armed wi' pointed spears,
That no one should him wrong.

The sober autumn entered mild,
When he grew wan and pale;
His bending joints and drooping head
Showed he began to fail.

His colour sickened more and more,

He faded into age;

And then his enemies began

To show their deadly rage.

They've ta'en a weapon long and sharp,

And cut him by the knee; And tied him fast upon the cart,

Like a rogue for forgerie.

They laid him down upon his back,
And cudgelled him full sore;
They hung him up before the storm,
And turned him o'er and o'er.

They filled up a darksome pit
With water to the brim,
They heaved in John Barleycorn,
There let him sink or swim.

They laid him out upon the floor,
To work him further woe,
And still, as signs of life appeared,
They tossed him to and fro.

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They wasted, o'er a scorching flame,
The marrow of his bones;

But a miller used him worst of all,

For he crushed him between two stones.

And they hae ta'en his very heart's blood,
And drank it round and round;
And still the more and more they drank,
Their joy did more abound.

John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
Of noble enterprise ;

For if you do but taste his blood,
'Twill make your courage rise.

Then let us toast John Barleycorn,
Each man a glass in hand;

And may his great posterity

Ne'er fail in old Scotland!

BURNS.

ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD.

OME will talk of bold Robin Hood,

And some of barons bold;

But I'll tell you how he served the Bishop of Hereford,

When he robbed him of his gold.

As it befell in merry Barnsdale,

All under the greenwood tree,

The Bishop of Hereford was to come by,
With all his company.

Robin Hood and the Bishop.

"Come kill me a ven'son," said bold Robin Hood, "Come kill me a good fat deer;

The Bishop of Hereford is to dine with me to-day,

And he shall pay well for his cheer.

"We'll kill a fat ven'son," said bold Robin Hood,
"And dress it by the highway side;

And we will watch the bishop narrowly,
Lest some other way he should ride.”

Robin Hood dressed himself in shepherd's attire,

With six of his men also;

And when the Bishop of Hereford came by,
They about the fire did go.

"O what is the matter?" then said the bishop,
"Or for whom do you make this ado?
Or why do you kill the king's ven'son,
When your company is so few?"

"We are shepherds," said bold Robin Hood,
And we keep sheep all the year,

And we are disposed to be merry this day,
And to kill of the king's fat deer."

"You are brave fellows," said the bishop,

"And the king your doings shall know: Therefore make haste and come along with me, For before the king you shall go."

"O pardon, O pardon," said bold Robin Hood, "O pardon, I thee pray!

For it becomes not your lordship's coat

To take so many lives away."

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