The curious fancy, in the carol of ‘I saw three ships,’ is old; one of the ancient Dutch carols given by Hoffman, beginning “There comes a vessel laden, And on its highest gunwale, Mary holds the rudder, The angel steers it on.” And in an after verse, “In one unbroken course There comes that ship to land, It brings to us rich gifts, Forgiveness is sent to us.” Ritson also mentions the following lines, as sung at Christmas time, about the middle of the sixteenth century. “There comes a ship far sailing then, Saint Michel was the stieres-man; Saint John sate in the horn. Our Lord harped, our Lady sang, And all the bells of heaven they rang, On Christ’s Sonday at morn.” A modern broadside carol, called ‘The Sunny Bank,’ gives these lines thus. “O he did whistle, and she did sing, And all the bells on earth did ring, For joy that our Saviour he was born On Christmas Day in the morning.” Hone, in his Mysteries, mentions a carol printed by J. Bradford, Little Britain, 1701, having a large woodcut, representing the stable at Bethlehem; our Saviour in the crib, watched by the Virgin and Joseph; shepherds kneeling, and angels attending; a man playing on the bagpipes; a woman with a basket of fruit on her head; a sheep bleating, and an ox lowing on the ground; a raven croaking, and a crow cawing on the hay-rack; a cock crowing above them; and angels singing in the sky. The animals and birds have labels, which are thus explained. The cock croweth, _Christus natus est_, Christ is born. The raven asked, _Quando?_ When? The cow replied, _Hac nocte_, this night. The ox cryeth out, _Ubi? Ubi?_ Where? where? The sheep bleated out, _Bethlehem_, Bethlehem. Voice from heaven sounded, _Gloria in Excelsis_, Glory be on high. There is an old French mystery of the Nativity, referred to in “Noei Borguignon de Gui Barôzai,” where four animals are introduced, much in the same manner; the ox and ass of the manger, the cock of the passion, and the lamb of St. John the Baptist. The cock exclaims, with a piercing voice, _Christus natus est_. The ox, with a lengthened bellowing, demands _Ubi?_ pronouncing it oubi. The lamb answers _Bethleem_, lengthening the first syllable; and the ass concludes, with _hinhamus, hinhamus_, signifying _eamus_.