CCLXVIII.

Highty cock O!

To London we go,

To York we ride;

And Edward has pussy-cat tied to his side;
He shall have little dog tied to the other,
And then he goes trid trod to see his grandmother.

CCLXIX.

See-saw, jack a daw,

What is a craw to do wi' her;

She has not a stocking to put on her,

And the craw has not one for to gi' her.

CCLXX.

One old Oxford ox opening oysters;

Two tee totums totally tired of trying to trot to Tad

berry;

Three tall tigers tippling ten-penny tea;

Four fat friars fanning fainting flies;

Five flippy Frenchmen foolishly fishing for flies;

Six sportsmen shooting snipes!

Seven Severn salmons swallowing shrimps;

Eight Englishmen eagerly examining Europe;

Nine nimble noblemen nibbling nonpareils ;

Ten tinkers tinkling upon ten tin tinder-boxes with ten tenpenny tacks ;

Eleven elephants elegantly equipt;

Twelve typographical topographers typically translating types.

CCLXXI.

[A stands with a row of girls (her daughters) behind her; B, a suitor advances.]

B. Trip trap over the grass; If you please will you let one of your (eldest) daughters come,

Come and dance with me?

I will give you pots and pans, I will give you brass,
I will give you anything for a pretty lass.

B. I will give you gold and silver, I will give you pearl,

I will give you anything for a pretty girl.
A. Take one, take one, the fairest you may see.

B. The fairest one that I can see

Is pretty Nancy, come to me.

[B carries one off, and says:]

You shall have a duck, my dear,

And you shall have a drake,

And you shall have a young man apprentice for

your sake.

(Children say.)

If this young man should happen to die,
And leave this poor woman a widow,

The bells shall all ring, and the birds shall all sing,
And we'll all clap hands together.

[So it is repeated until the whole are taken.]

The verses of the Three Knights of Spain are played in nearly the same way.

CCLXXII.

The first day of Christmas,

My mother sent to me,

A partridge in a pear-tree.

The second day of Christmas,

My mother sent to me,

Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear-tree.

The third, &c.

Three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge, &c. The fourth, &c.

Four canary birds, three French hens, two turtle, &c. The fifth, &c.

Five gold rings, &c.

The sixth, he.

Six geese a laying, &c.

The seventh, &c.

Seven swans a swimming, &c.

The eighth, &c.

Eight ladies dancing, &c.

The ninth, &c.

Nine lords a leaping, he,

The tenth, &c.

Ten ships a sailing, &c.

The eleventh, &c.

Eleven ladies spinning, he.

The twelfth, &c.

Twelve bells ringing, &c.

[Each child in succession repeats the gifts of the day, and forfeits for each mistake. This accumulative process is a favourite with children; in early writers, such as Homer, the repetition of messages, &c. pleases on the same principle.]