_Third Verse_.—‘Dick the treble, Jack the mean, and George the bass,’ mean King, Lords, and Commons. The injunction to ‘let every man sing in his own place,’ is a warning to each of the three estates of the realm to preserve its proper position, and not to encroach on each other’s prerogative. _Fourth Verse_.—‘Mine hostess’s maid’ is an allusion to the Queen, who was a Roman Catholic, and her maid, the Church. The singer we must suppose was one of the leaders of the party, and his ‘dog’ a companion, or faithful official of the Society, and the song was sung on occasions when the members met together socially; and thus, as the Roman Catholics were Royalists, the allusion to the mutual attachment between the ‘maid’ and ‘my dog and I,’ is plain and consistent. _Fifth Verse_.—The ‘dog’ had a ‘trick of visiting maids when they were sick.’ The meaning is, that when any of the members were in distress or desponding, or likely to give up the Royal cause in despair, the officials, or active members visited, counselled, and assisted them. _Sixth Verse_.—The ‘dog’ was ‘good to catch a hen,’ a ‘duck,’ or a ‘goose.’—That is, to enlist as members of the Society any who were well affected to the Royal cause. _Seventh Verse_.—‘The good ale tap’ is an allusion, under cover of the similarity in sound between the words ale and aisle, to the Church, of which it was dangerous at the time to be an avowed follower; and so the members were cautioned that indiscretion might lead to their discovery and ‘overthrow.’ _Eighth Verse_.—The allusion here is to those unfaithful supporters of the Royal cause, who ‘welcomed’ the members of the Society when it appeared to be prospering, but ‘parted’ from them in adversity. _Ninth Verse_.—An expression of the singer’s wish that if he should die he may be buried with his faithful companion, as representing the principles of the Society, under the good aisles of the church. The following text has been collated with a version published in _Notes and Queries_, from the ‘fragments of a MS. found in the speech-house of Dean.’ The tune is the same as that of the _Wassailers’ Song_, and is printed in _Popular Music_. Other ditties appear to have been founded on this ancient piece. The fourth, seventh, and ninth verses are in the old ditty called _My Dog and I_: and the eighth verse appears in another old song. The air and words bear some resemblance to _Todlen Hame_.] THE stwons that built George Ridler’s oven, And thauy keam vrom the Bleakney quaar, And George he wur a jolly old mon, And his yead it grow’d above his yare. One thing of George Ridler I must commend, And that wur vor a notable thing; He mead his brags avoore he died, Wi’ any dree brooders his zons zshould zing. There’s Dick the treble, and John the meean, (Let every mon zing in his auwn pleace,) And George he wur the elder brother, And therevoor he would zing the beass.