History." At the end is, "An old Song of the valiant
Deeds of Chivalry atchiev'd by the noble Knight Sir
Guy of Warwick, &c. Tune, Was ever man” :—
Was ever knight for lady's sake

So tost in love as I, Sir Guy?
For Philis fair, that lady bright,

As ever man beheld with eye.

She gave me leave myself to try

The valiant knight with shield and spear,
Ere that her love she would grant me,

Which made me venture far and near.

This tale was dramatized early in the seventeenth century, and Taylor mentions having seen it acted at the Maidenhead in Islington :-"After supper we had a play of the life and death of Guy of Warwicke, played by the Right Honourable the Earle of Darbie his men".-Pennilesse Pilgrimage, ed. 1630, p. 140.

46. THE FIRST PART OF THE HISTORY OF THE KING AND COBLER, shewing how Henry VIII used to visit the watches in the city, his acquaintance with a merry cobler, how he was entertain'd in the Cobler's cellar, and what had like to have befallen him there. 12mo. Newcastle, Printed by John White, n. d. The King and the Cobler: the Second Part. 12mo. This is one of the numerous popular tales in which the sovereign is represented as visiting the humble subject in disguise. Ch. 1. How K. Henry VIII used to visit the watches in the city, and how he became acquainted with a merry jovial cobler. 2. How the cobler entertain'd the King in his cellar, and of the disturbance they had like to have had by his wife

Joan. 3. How the cobler prepar'd himself to go to court, and how he was set out after the best manner by his wife Joan. 4. The cobler's reception at court, with the manner of his behaviour before the King. 5. The cobler's entertainment in the King's cellar, how he met with his new friend Harry Tudor, and how he came to know him to be the King. 5. How the cobler became a courtier.-Second Part, Chap. 1. Of the cobler's return from court to his wife Joan, and of the comical discourse that past between them. 2. How the Queen, upon hearing much mirth at court, came with her maids of honour to know the cause thereof, and how Cardinal Wolsey, that proud prelate, curbed the King for being, as he said, too free with a poor cobler. 3. How the cobler the next morning was thunderstruck by his wife, and how upon singing a new song which he had made, she at once took him to coram nobis; with many other things very remarkable. 4. How the King took to himself the title of a tanner, and came to the cobler to sell him a piece of leather, and how the Queen, in the disguise of a country maid, passed for his kinswoman who wanted service, with other passages of very much mirth. 5. How the King invited

the cobler and his wife to dinner, and the discourse that passed thereupon. 6. How the cobler was put in fear of his life, and how he came off with flying colours.

The king died first, the cobler followed after,

But not till he had often fill'd the court with laughter.

E

The King pensions the cobler by a grant of land worth £50 per annum :—

Thou shalt have fifty-pounds a year in land,
Which lies upon the south side of the Strand;
I am the royal giver, thou the taker,

And I will have it call'd the Cobler's Acre.

47. COCK ROBIN, a pretty gilded Toy for either Girl or Boy, suited to children of all ages. 12mo. Aldermary Church-yard, n. d.

48. THE TRAGICAL DEATH OF A, APPLE PYE, who was cut in pieces and eat by twenty-five gentlemen, with whom all little people ought to be very well acquainted. 12mo. Aldermary Churchyard, n. d.

The earliest notice of this popular tract I have met with occurs in Eachard's Observations upon the answer to an Enquiry into the grounds and occasions of the Contempt of the Clergy, 8vo. 1671, p. 160:-"Why not A apple-pasty, B bak'd it, C cut it, D divided it, E eat it, F fought for it, G got it," etc.

49. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, a diverting story for Children of all ages; and the history of Gog and Magog. 12mo. Aldermary Church-yard, n. d. These three tracts are of a very small size, with cuts. It may be worth while to observe, that all the Aldermary Church-yard books of this kind are now very rarely met with. The present was printed about 1780, and I have another edition printed in Long-lane, in the year 1809.

12mo.

50. THE FAMOUS HISTORY of the VALIANT LONDON PRENTICE, shewing his noble Exploits at home and abroad, together with his Love and great Success, very pleasant and delightful. Written for the encouragement of youth by J. S. Licensed and entered according to order, n. d. The story will easily be collected from the titles of the chapters.-1. An account of his birth, education, and early valour, etc. 2. An account of his first adventures and enterprizes, and how he won the virgin hearts, etc. 3. How the fair Lucinda fell in love with him, and how those she despised for his sake conspired against him. 4. How they attempted to destroy Aurelius, but were overcome, and left naked in the wood. 5. How his father put him an apprentice to a merchant, and the leave he took of Lucinda. 6. How he gained the love of his master, and became enamoured of Dorinda, his fair daughter. 7. How he got leave to for Turkey, and what ensued. 8. How he arrived in Turkey, and of his reception; how he overthrew the Turk, and killed a Turkish prince. 8. How he destroyed two lions prepared to devour him, and had the king's only daughter in marriage.-The ballad of the London Prentice, printed by Evans, iii, 178, is on the same story. See also Mackay's Songs, p. 22.

go

51. THE FRYAR AND BOY, or the Young Piper's Pleasant Pastime, containing the witty adventures betwixt the Fryar and Boy in relation to his stepmother, whom he fairly fitted for her unmerciful cruelty. 12mo. Newcastle, c. 1760.

In two parts, with cuts, one of which, at p. 15, appears

to be a very early one. The second part is entitled, "The Merry Piper, or the second part of the Fryar and Boy, containing a further progress of Jack's frolicksome intrigues; full of Mirth and Reception." The first part is founded on the old tale of the Frere and the Boy, printed in Ritson's Ancient Popular Poetry, 1791, p. 35; and by Mr. Wright, 12mo. 1836. The second part is not in the older tale. It relates the manner of Jack obtaining three formidable gifts, which he employs unmercifully against everybody he meets with. The popularity of this history has continued to the present day, having been reprinted in the North of England within the last five years.

52. THE PLEASANT HISTORY OF JACK HORNER, containing his witty Tricks and pleasant Pranks which he play'd from his youth to his riper years, right pleasant and delightful for winter and summer's recreation. 12mo. Newcastle, c. 1760.

A curious history, the sixth chapter of which, "Jack's kindness to his old friend the inn-keeper, whom he put in the way to pay his debts," is founded on the Tale of a Basin, printed by Mr. Wright from a manuscript of the fourteenth century, 12mo. 1836. The commencement appears to furnish the origin of a popular nursery rhyme :

"Jack Horner was a pretty lad,

Near London he did dwell;
His father's heart he made full glad,
His mother lov'd him well.
A pretty boy of curious wit,
All people spoke his praise,