"THE OLD WOODEN PLOUGH." 109 



more. The jeu cVesprit, which we hope our readers will 

 pardon us for printing here, was written some fifty or 

 sixty years ago by a well-known North Staffordshire 

 landowner, the late ^Ir. T. Sneyd-Kynnersley, with the 

 idea of its being sung at agricultural show dinners in the 

 county. The present writer has often heard it sung on 

 such occasions, but it has not, to our knowledge, appeared 

 in print, except long ago in a local paper, and as it appears 

 to us to be worthy of something like a permanent place, 

 we offer no further apology for printing it here. We need 

 scarcely point out that since this song was written North 

 Staffordshire farmers have advanced with the rest of the 

 world, and are now up to date with the best of them, so 

 that the poem, amusing as we think it is, can have little 

 or no application to the present race of Staffordshire 

 agriculturists. The song is entitled " The Old Wooden 

 Plough," and is written in the North Staffordshire dialect. 



"Up by th' Blakemere o' Morridge, not a long time ago, 

 There lived an old chap wi' an old wig o' tow, 

 His name wor Tom Morris, and I'll tell ye how 

 He made a discourse on an old wooden plough. 



Gee ho, Dobbin ; gee ho, Dobbin ; 



Gee ho, Dobbin; gee up and gee wo. 



'* 'Twor the tenth of October, and th' oats wor just ripe ; 

 On the settle he sot, and he smoked his long pipe, 

 And he thought a long time about this thing and that, 

 And said, ' Tommy, sit down, and I'll tell thee what's what.' 

 Gee ho, Dobbin, etc. 



" ' These are terrible times, lad ; I prithee draw nigh, 

 And I'll gi'e thee a wrinkle or two ere I die. 

 I can't stand it much longer — it shortens my breath ; 

 These new-fangled notions will soon be my death.' 

 Gee ho, Dobbin, etc. 



"'They're going too fast, lad, I tell thee, a deal. 



There's Lord Talbot o' Ingestre, and Ralph Sneyd of Keele, 

 And Sandon and Buller, and Mainwaring and Bill — 

 Lord ! the stuft" they've been talking, it makes me quite ill.' 

 Gee ho, Dobbin, etc. 



