G
a. Written down by Mrs Dulany, January 14, 1885, from the recitation of her mother, Mrs Nourse, aged above ninety, as learned when a child, in Philadelphia. b. From the same source, furnished several years earlier by Miss Perine, of Baltimore.
1
It rains, it rains in old Scotland,
And down the rain does fa,
And all the boys in our town
Are out a playing at ba.
2
‘You toss your balls too high, my boys,
You toss your balls too low;
You’ll toss them into the Jew’s garden,
Wherein you darst not go.’
3
Then out came one of the Jew’s daughters,
All dressed in red and green:
‘Come in, come in, my pretty little boy,
And get your ball again.’
4
‘I winna come in, and I canna come in,
Without my playmates all,
And without the will of my mother dear,
Which would cause my heart’s blood to fall.’
5
She shewed him an apple as green as grass,
She shewed him a gay gold ring,
She shewed him a cherry as red as blood,
Which enticed the little boy in.
6
She took him by the lily-white hand,
And led him into the hall,
And laid him on a dresser-board,
And that was the worst of all.
7
She laid the Bible at his head,
The Prayer-Book at his feet,
And with a penknife small
She stuck him like a sheep.
8
Six pretty maids took him by the head,
And six took him by the feet,
And threw him into a deep draw-well,
That was eighteen fathoms deep.
* * * * *
9
‘The lead is wondrous heavy, mother,
The well is wondrous deep,
A keen pen-knife sticks in my heart,
And nae word more can I speak.’