B.
RICHARD AND KATE.
A SUFFOLK BALLAD.
The following verses were written by Robert Bloomfield, an English shoemaker, more than sixty years ago, when the working-classes of England had far more limited opportunities for obtaining education than they now have. Criticism could easily point out imperfections in the style of this simple story, but the consolations of age among the poor are presented in such a touching manner that it is worthy of preservation.
“Come, Goody! stop your humdrum wheel!
Sweep up your orts, and get your hat!
Old joys revived once more I feel,
’Tis Fair-day! Ay, and more than that!
“Have you forgot, Kate, prithee say,
How many seasons here we’ve tarried?