A shilling potatoes and greens, with tenpence butter, you see,
Sixpence Coffee, ninepence Sugar, and sevenpence for tea,
There’s a penny goes for this thing, and twopence that and t’other,
Last week you broke a water jug, and I had to buy another.
There’s sixpence for tobacco, and a halfpenny for pipes,
Seven farthings goes for snuff, and twopence halfpenny swipes;
A penny you owed for shaving, over at the Barber’s shop,
And you know last Sunday morning, you’d a bottle of ginger pop.
There’s a penny goes for blacking, and eight pence halfpenny cheese,
A three farthing rushlight every night, to catch the bugs and fleas;
And when you go to the public house, and sit to drink and sing,
I pop into the liquor vaults, to have a drop of gin.
The only reason why the subjoined is given, is to show the numerous small industries by which people could manage to eke out a living in the first half of the century.
THE WAY TO LIVE.
Chorus.
A man and a woman got married one day,
And thus unto each other did say,
As we the world must now begin,
We will deal in every following thing.
She. We will deal in apples, plums and pears,
He. We will mend old bellows and bottom old chairs,
She. We will buy old metal, rope and bags,
He. Yes, and I’ll go out a gathering rags.
She. We will sell red herrings and ginger pop,
He. Hot baked sheep’s head and taters hot,
She. We’ll keep a school of high degree,
He. And learn the children A. B. C,
She. We’ll salt fat bacon, butter and lard,
He. And great long songs for a penny a yard,
She. I’ll sell potash, starch and blues,
He. And I’ll go sweeping the chimney flues.
She. I’ll make bustles and lady’s frills,
He. And I’ll sell mussels and pickled eels,
She. We’ll deal in razors, strops and hones,
He. And I’ll go out a picking up bones,
She. We’ll deal in paper, take in the news,
He. And I’ll go a cobbling ladies’ shoes,
Both. {And we’ll learn the ladies all complete,
{To dance the Polka at threepence a week.
She. We’ll deal in lollipops, sugar and figs,
He. We’ll buy a donkey, ducks hens and pigs,
She. We’ll have a mangle, and buy old clothes,
He. And I’ll make salve for the ladies’ toes.
She. We’ll deal in pickled cabbage and eggs,
He. And make tin dishes and wooden legs.
She. We’ll deal in sausages, tripe and lard,
He. And if we can’t live, ’twill be devilish hard.