The Rambler's Garland, British Museum, 11621, c. 4
(57). 1785(?)
| 1 |
'Well met, well met, my own true love,
Long time I have been seeking thee;
I am lately come from the salt sea,
And all for the sake, love, of thee. |
| 2 |
'I might have had a king's daughter,
And fain she would have married me;
But I've forsaken all her crowns of gold,
And all for the sake, love, of thee.' |
| 3 |
'If you might have had a king's daughter,
I think you much to blame;
I would not for five hundred pounds
That my husband should hear the same. |
| 4 |
'For my husband is a carpenter,
And a young ship-carpenter is he,
And by him I have a little son,
Or else, love, I'd go along with thee. |
| 5 |
'But if I should leave my husband dear,
Likewise my little son also,
What have you to maintain me withal,
If I along with you should go?' |
| 6 |
'I have seven ships upon the seas,
And one of them brought me to land,
And seventeen mariners to wait on thee,
For to be, love, at your command. |
| 7 |
'A pair of slippers thou shalt have,
They shall be mad of beaten gold,
Nay and be lin'd with velvet soft,
For to keep thy feet from cold. |
| 8 |
'A gilded boat thou then shall have,
The oars shall gilded be also,
And mariners to row the[e] along,
For to keep thee from thy overthrow.' |
| 9 |
They had not been long upon the sea
Before that she began to weep:
'What, weep you for my gold?' he said,
'Or do you weep for my fee? |
| 10 |
'Or do you weep for some other young man
That you love much better than me?'
'No, I do weep for my little son,
That should have come along with me.' |
| 11 |
She had not been upon the seas
Passing days three or four
But the mariner and she were drowned,
And never were heard of more. |
| 12 |
When tidings to old England came
The ship-carpenter's wife was drownd,
He wrung his hands and tore his hair,
And grievously fell in a swoon. |
| 13 |
'Oh cursed be those mariners!
For they do lead a wicked life;
They ruind me, a ship-carpenter,
Be deluding away my wife.' |
