2-J S. IX. Mar. 17. '60.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



193 



forms of goveruit & restraynte of lawe by p'clam w ,h out 

 w ch wee may say as Peter did Maister wee have laboured 

 all night & have taken nothinge. He wished he may 

 never heare of the new parliamt [phrase?] wee must 

 give supplie wee must give support 



" Nich. Hvde, the answer he wisheth may be plaine 

 upon theise condicons proposed wee cannot proceed w lh 

 the contract 



" S r J Hollys wisheth that wee may not answer before 

 wee have acquainted the L' ,s thearw ,h & so to proceed to 

 an answer w th theyme of our selves 



" S r Ro. Johnso": he would not have putt it now to the 

 questio but that w th er wee should desyre his ma*' that 

 we may p'ceed in the contract & that wee may have 

 satisfactory assurance & then no doubt we shall yeald to 

 any ? that shalbe thought reasonable 



" M r Hoskyns. Not fitt to conferre w th the L d ' for the 

 mene m" [ ? main matter] of supplie ought to p'ceed 

 fro us. No danger to p'ceede to the questio for it may 

 please his ma'r to recoihend it unto us agayne in the same 

 state it was. 



" Wheareupo it was putt to the questio & so resolved 

 that wee should not p'ceed upo theese condicons : una 

 voce." 



On tbe 15th the Commons received the king's 

 answer, to the effect " that as they had not ac- 

 cepted his terms he did not see how they could go 

 further in that business." 



Tbe rest of the session was taken up with an 

 attempt of Salisbury to obtain supplies by giving 

 up some minor points of the king's prerogative. 

 But to such attempts the Commons were in no 

 humour to respond. All moderation of language 

 was now thrown off, and the extravagance of the 

 court was attacked in no measured terms. James 

 was told that he should be content " to live of his 

 own ;" if that was insufficient, he might revoke 

 the pensions which he had granted in the course 

 of his reign. At length he lost all patience, and 

 dissolved the parliament. It was only by the wise 

 caution of his ministers that he was prevented 

 from sending the leading speakers to the Tower. 



S. R. Gardiner. 



ANCIENT BALLAD. 



Your correspondent A. (ante 143.) has renewed 

 my long intention of sending to preserve in your 

 work a very complete and beautiful old ballad, which 

 I learned in the very early years of this century, 

 when I was too little removed from infancy to 

 have retained it perfectly, had not an elder sister 

 carried on the legend. We were taught it by an 

 old washerwoman at East Dereham, in Norfolk, — 

 a county which, beyond its celebrated ballad of 

 "The Uabes in the Wood," is singularly barren 

 in legendary lore. This makes it more curious, 

 that a ballad so perfect should have been found 

 Mii-re. I have long wanted to insure its continued 

 existence, and hope you will preserve it in your 

 pages, where it will be sure to be found in many 

 coming centuries. 



The tweet chant to which the old woman sang 

 it is no less curious and valuable. I wish it were 



possible for you also to perpetuate that, and do 

 not see why you could not give those few lines of 

 music ; but if that be impossible, I would ask you 

 to send the music to a., for he will value it, and 

 give it a chance of preservation.* A. J, 



Edinburgh. 



An Ancient Ballad. 

 " My father was the first good man 

 Who tied me to a stake ; 

 My mother was the first good woman 

 Who did the fire make. 



" My brother was the next good man 

 Who did the fire fetch ; 

 My sister was the next good woman 

 Who lighted it with a match. 



" They blew the fire, they kindled the fire, 

 Till it did reach my knee ; 

 O mother, mother, quench the fire — 

 The smoke will smother me ! 



" had I but my little foot-page, 

 My errand he would run — 

 He would run unto gay London, 

 And bid my Lord come home. 



" Then there stood by her sister's child, 

 Her own dear sister's son ; 

 O many an errand I've run for thee, 

 And but this one I'll run. 



" He ran where the bridge was broken down, 

 He bend his bow and swam, 

 He swam till he came to the good green turf, 

 He up on his feet and ran. 



" He ran till he came at his uncle's hall, 



His uncle sat at his meat ; 

 Good mete, good mete, good uncle, I pray, 

 O if you knew what I'd got to say, 



How little would you eat. 



" is my castle broken down, 

 Or is my tower won ? 

 Or is my gay lady brought o'bed 

 Of a daughter or a son ? 



" Your castle is not broken down, 

 Tour tower it is not won ; 

 Your gay lady is not brought to bed 

 Of a daughter or a son. 



" But she has sent you a gay gold ring, 

 With a posy round the rim, 

 To know if you have any love for her, 

 You'll come to her burning. 



" He called do>vn his merry-men all, 

 By one, by two, by three; 

 He mounted on his milk-white steed, 

 To go to Margery. 



" They blew the fire, they kir.dled the fire, 

 Till it did reach her head ; 

 O mother, mother, quench the fire, 

 For I am nearly dead. 



" She turned her head on her left shoulder, 

 Saw her girdle hang on the tree ; 

 O Hod bless them that gave me that — 

 They'll never give more to me ! 



[* The tune is one of those modifications which get 

 about by imperfect recollection or fancied improvement 

 of the old tune of Chevy Chase, The Children in the Wood, 

 and " Oh, ponder well," in The Beqqars Opera, — Ed . 

 " N. & Q."] 



