| Buy any Shrimps | Buy a Purs | Buy any Marking Stones | ||
| Buy some Figs | Buy a dish a Flounders | The Bear bayting | ||
| Buy a Tosting Iron | Buy a Footestoole | Buy any blew Starch | ||
| Lantorne candellyht | Buy a fine Bowpot | Buy any Points | ||
| Buy any Maydes | Buy a pair a Shoes | New Hadog | ||
| The Water bearer | Buy any Garters | Yards and Ells | ||
| Buy a whyt Pot | Featherbeds to dryue | Buy a fyne Brush | ||
| Bread and Meate | Buy any Bottens | Hote Mutton Poys | ||
| Buy a Candelsticke | Buy any Whiting maps | New Sprats new | ||
| Buy any Prunes | Buy any Tape | New Cod new | ||
| Buy a Washing ball | Worcestershyr Salt | Buy any Reasons | ||
| Good Sasages | Ripe Damsons | P. and Glasses to mend |
On the third plate, the principal figure is the “Crier,” with his staff and keys:—
| “O yis, any man or woman that Can tell any tydings of a little Mayden Childe of the age of 24 Yeares. Bring worde to the cryer, And you shal be pleased for Your labor And God’s blessinge.” |
The figures surrounding the Common Crier are in the same style of art, and their cries characteristic of bygone times:—
| Buy any Wheat | Buy a Hair Lyne | Hats or Caps to dress | ||
| Buy al my Smelts | Buy any Pompeons | Wood to cleave | ||
| Quick Periwinckels | Whyt Scalions | Pins of the maker | ||
| Rype Chesnuts | Rype Walnuts | Any sciruy Grass | ||
| Payres fyn | Fyn Potatos fyn | Any Cornes to pick | ||
| White Redish whyt | Hote Eele Pyes | Buy any Parsnips | ||
| Buy any Whyting | Fresh Cheese and Creame | Hot Codlinges hot | ||
| Buy any Bone lays | Buy any Garlick | Buy all my Soales | ||
| I ha’ rype Straberies | Buy a longe Brush | Good Marroquin | ||
| Buy a Case for a Hat | Whyt Carots whyt | Buy any Cocumber | ||
| Birds and Hens | Fyne Pomgranats | New Thornebacke | ||
| Hote Podding Pyes | Buy any Russes | Fyne Oate Cakes. |
The only crier in the series who has a horse and cart to attend him is the Worcestershire salt-man. Salt is still sold from carts in poor and crowded neighbourhoods.
We have been somewhat surprised in not finding a single Thames waterman among the criers of London; but the series was, perhaps, confined to the streets of London, and the watermen were thought to belong altogether to the stairs leading to their silent highway. Three of their cries have given titles to three good old English comedies, “Northward, ho!” “Eastward, ho!” and “Westward, ho!” But our series of cries is still extremely incomplete. Every thing in early times was carried and cried, and we have seen two rare prints of old London Cries not to be found in the lists already enumerated. One is called “Clove Water, Stomock Water,” and the other “Buy an new Booke.” Others may still exist. In the Duke of Devonshire’s collection of drawings, by Inigo Jones, are several cries, drawn in pen-and-ink, for the masques at court in the reigns of James I. and Charles I.
The Light of Other Days.