The spinsters and the knitters in the sun,
And the free maids, that weave their thread with bones,
Do use to chaunt it; it is silly sooth,
And dallies with the innocence of love,
Like the old age."[574:A]
Before we notice, however, the ballads which Shakspeare has quoted, or to which he has alluded, it will be satisfactory, if, to the articles specified in Captain Cox's "Bunch of Ballets and Songs," we add a few more of similar popularity, and from a source equally rare and authentic. In the British Bibliographer, Mr. Haslewood has given us a description of the fragment of a tract in his possession, entitled The World's Folly, printed, as he concludes, from the type, before 1600, and from which, "as every allusion," he justly observes, "to our early ballads is interesting," he has obliged his
readers with some very curious quotations. "The author," he remarks, "appears to describe the purgatory of Folly. He wanders from room to room, and to each new character assigns a ballad, that may be presumed was distinguished for popularity. A man, whose credit had decayed by trusting servants, and had commenced botcher, 'had standing by him, for meate and drinke, a pot of strong ale, which was often at his nose, that it kept his face in so good a colour, and his braine in so kinde a heate, as forgetting part of his forepassed pride, in the good humour of grieving patience, made him with a hemming sigh, ilfavourdly singe the ballad of Whilom I was: to the tune of Tom Tinker.' An old man, shaking with palsy, who, 'having beene a man of some possessions, and with too fat feeding of horses, too high keeping of hawkes, and too much delighting in banquetinges, through lacke of husbandrie, was forced to leave himself without lande; . . . after many a deepe sighe, with a hollow voice, in a solemne tune, with a heavie hearte fell to sing the song of Oken leaves began wither: to the tune of Heavilie, heavilie.' A dapper fellow that in his youth had spent more than he got on his person, 'fell to singe the ballad of the blinde beggar: to the tune of Heigh ho.' The general lover, having no further credit with beauty, 'howled out the dittie of When I was faire and young: to the tune of Fortune. The next is whimsically described as 'one that was once a virgin, had beene a little while a mayde, knew the name of a wife, fell to be a widdow,' and finally a procuress; 'she would sing the Lamentation of a sinner: to the tune of Welladaye.' A decayed prostitute, who had become laundress to the house, 'stood singing the ballet of All a greene willowe: to the famous tune of Ding Dong.' A man with good personage, with a froward wife, 'hummed out the balled of the breeches: to the tune of Never, never.' His termagant spouse drewe from her pocket 'a ballad of the tinker's wife that beate her husbande.' To the last character in the fragment is also given Raleigh's ballad. He was 'one that had beene in love, sat looking on his mistresse picture, making such a legge to it, writing such verses in honour to it, and committing such idolatrie with it, that poore man, I pittied
him: and in his behalfe sorrowed to see how the Foole did handle him: but there sat he, hanging his head, lifting up the eyes, and with a deepe sigh, singing the ballad of Come live with me and be my love: to the tune of adieu my deere.'"[576:A]
It is, notwithstanding, to the dramas of our poet, that we must look for more copious intimations relative to the ballad-poetry of the sixteenth century, and of the first ten years of the reign of James the First. The list which we shall collect from his works, in the order in which they are usually published, will sufficiently evince his love for these productions, and, at the same time, afford a pretty accurate enumeration of those which were esteemed the most popular of his age.
Yet, in forming this catalogue of Shakspearean ballads and songs, it may be necessary to premise, that it is not our intention to comment on the original pieces of our author in this branch of poetry, which will fall under consideration in a subsequent chapter; but merely to confine our notices to his quotations from and allusions to the minstrel strains of others. We commence, therefore, with the ballad of Queen Dido, which the poet had no doubt in view, when he represents Gonzalo in the Tempest so familiar with her name and history.[576:B] That this was a favourite song with the common people appears from a passage in a scarce pamphlet quoted by Mr. Ritson, and published in 1604. "O you ale-knights, you that devoure the marrow of the mault, and drinke whole ale-tubs into consumptions; that sing Queen Dido over a cupp, and tell strange newes over an ale-pot."[576:C] Dr. Percy, who has published a correct copy of this old ballad from his folio MS. collated with two different printed copies, both in black letter, in the Pepysian collection, terms it "excellent;" an epithet