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Title: Come Lasses and Lads

Illustrator: Randolph Caldecott

Release date: May 7, 2006 [eBook #18341]

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Suzanne Shell, Janet Blenkinship and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COME LASSES AND LADS ***

Frontis




COME

LASSES AND LADS




R. Caldecott's

Picture Books

Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd.
London

Come Lasses and Lads




COME LASSES AND LADS




away to the May-pole




Come Lasses and Lads, get leave of your Dads,



Get leave of your Dads



And away to the May-pole hey:



A minstrel standing by



For every he
Has got him a she,
with a minstrel standing by.



Willy has gotten his Jill



For Willy has gotten his Jill,
And Johnny has got his Jone,
To jigg it, jigg it, jigg it, jigg it,
Jigg it up and down.




Dancing




Jigg it up



"Strike up," says Watt; "Agreed," says Kate,
"And I prithee, Fiddler, play;"
"Content," says Hodge, and so says Madge,
For this is a Holiday!
Then every man did put his hat off to his lass,
And every girl did curchy, curchy, curchy on the grass.



Every girl did curchy, curchy



"Begin," says Hall; "Ay, ay," says Mall,
"We'll lead up Packington's pound:"
"No, no," says Noll, and so says Doll,
"We'll first have Sellenger's round."



Then every man began to foot it round about,
And every girl did jet it,
Jet it, jet it in and out.



Every girl did jet it




The Fiddler




"You're out," says Dick; "Not I," says Nick.
"The Fiddler played it false;"
"'Tis true," says Hugh, and so says Sue,
And so says nimble Alice.



Play the tune again



The Fiddler then began to play the tune again,
And every girl did trip it,
Trip it, trip it to the men.



They went to a bower



Toasting



Then after an hour, they went to a bower,
And played for ale and cakes,
And kisses too—until they were due the lasses held the stakes.



Ale and cakes




Lasses held the stakes




Take their kisses back



The girls did then begin to quarrel with the men,
And bid them take their kisses back, and give them their own again,
And bid them take their kisses back and give them their own again.



Playing a game



Played the whole day



Now there they did stay the whole of the day,
And tired the Fiddler quite,
With singing and playing, without any paying,
From morning until night.




Singing and playing




From morning til night



They told the Fiddler then, they'd pay him for his play,
And each a 2-pence, 2-pence, 2-pence, gave him and went away.



Each gave a 2-pence



"Good-night," says Harry; "Good-night," says Mary;
"Good-night," says Dolly to John;
"Good-night," says Sue, to her sweetheart Hugh,
"Good night," says everyone.



Good night, good night



Some walked and some did run, Some loitered on the way,
And bound themselves, by kisses twelve, To meet the next Holiday,
And bound themselves, by kisses twelve, To meet the next Holiday.




Some loitered




Tired and weary







Fig. 2

ENGRAVED AND PRINTED BY EDMUND EVANS, LTD.,
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