Our hostesse maid she was to blame, She stole Master Mault away from her dame, And in her belly she hid the same, You never saw the like, Sir.
So when the Mault did worke in her head, Twice a day she would be sped, At night she could not goe to bed, Nor scarce stand on her feet, Sir.
Then came in the Master Smith, And said that Mault he was a thief; But Mault gave him such a dash in the teeth, You never saw the like, Sir.
For when his iron was hot and red, He had such an ach all in his head, The Smith was faine to get him to bed, For then he was very Sicke, Sir.
The carpender came a peece to square, He bad Mault come out if he dare, He would empty his belly and beat his sides bare, That he knew not where to sit, Sir.
To fire he went, with an arme full of chips, Mault hit him right betweene his lips, And made him lame in both his hips; You never saw the like, Sir.
The shooe-maker sitting upon his seat, With Master Mault he began to fret, He said he would the Knave so beat, You never saw the like, Sir.
The writer, in a number of verses, then shows how “Mas Mault” deals with the shoemaker, the weaver, the tailor, the tinker, and the sailor, including the chapman, a person of interest to us as the retailer of such ballads as these.
Then came the Chapman travelling by, And said, ‘my Masters I will be w’ ye, {303} Indeed, Master Mault, my mouth is dry, I will gnaw you with my teeth, Sir. The chapman he laid on apace, Till store of blood came in his face, But Mault brought him in such a case, You never saw the like, Sir.
Several other persons are then dealt with, and the ballad ends with the lines:—