Jack be Nimble

ACK be nimble
Jack be quick,
Jack jump over the candlestick.

[Pg 214]

Good people all, of every sort

OOD people all, of every sort,
Give ear unto my song:
And if you find it wondrous short,
It cannot hold you long.
In Islington there was a man,
Of whom the world might say,
That still a Godly race he ran,
Whene'er he went to pray.
A kind and gentle heart he had,
To comfort friends and foes;
The naked every day he clad,
When he put on his clothes.
And in that town a dog was found:
As many dogs there be—
Both mongrel, puppy, whelp, and hound,
And curs of low degree.
[Pg 215] This dog and man at first were friends,
But, when a pique began,
The dog, to gain some private ends,
Went mad, and bit the man.
Around from all the neighbouring streets
The wondering neighbours ran;
And swore the dog had lost his wits,
To bite so good a man.
The wound it seemed both sore and sad
To every Christian eye;
And while they swore the dog was mad,
They swore the man would die.
But soon a wonder came to light,
That showed the rogues they lied—
The man recovered of the bite;
The dog it was that died.

[Pg 216]

There was an old woman