When Kempy Kaye cam to the house, He lookit thro' a hole, And there he saw the dirty drab Just whisking oure the coal, coal, Just whisking oure the coal. 50 He gied to her a braw silk napkin, Was made o' an auld horse brat; "I ne'er wore a silk napkin a' my life, But weel I wat Is'e wear that, that, But weel I wat Is'e wear that. 55 "He gied to her a braw gowd ring, Was made frae an auld brass pan, "I ne'er wore a gowd ring in a' my life, But now I wat I'se wear ane, ane, But now I wat Is'e wear ane." 60 Whan thir twa loves had met thegither, O kissing to tak their fill, The slaver that hang atween their twa gabs Wad hae tether'd a ten year auld bill, bill, Wad hae tether'd a ten year auld bill. 65 THE JOVIAL HUNTER OF BROMSGROVE. From _Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England_, edited by Robert Bell, p. 124. This ballad, says the editor, "has long been popular in Worcestershire and some of the adjoining counties. It was printed for the first time by Mr. Allies of Worcester, under the title of _The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove_; but amongst the peasantry of that county, and the adjoining county of Warwick, it has always been called _The Old Man and his Three Sons_--the name given to a fragment of the ballad still used as a nursery song in the north of England, the chorus of which slightly varies from that of the ballad: (see p. 250 of the same publication.)" Mr. Bell imagines that there is an allusion to this ballad in _As You Like It_, i. 2, where Le Beau says "There comes an old man and his three sons," and Celia replies, "I could match this beginning with an old tale." * * * * * Old Sir Robert Bolton had three sons, _Wind well thy horn, good hunter_; And one of them was Sir Ryalas, _For he was a jovial hunter_. He ranged all round down by the wood side, 5 _Wind well thy horn, good hunter_, Till in a tree-top a gay lady he spied, _For he was a jovial hunter_. "O, what dost thee mean, fair lady?" said he, _Wind well thy horn, good hunter_; 10 "The wild boar's killed my lord, and has thirty men gored, _And thou beest a jovial hunter_. "O what shall I do this wild boar for to see?" _Wind well thy horn, good hunter_; "O, thee blow a blast, and he'll come unto thee, 15 _As thou beest a jovial hunter_. Then he blowed a blast, full north, east, west and south, _Wind well thy horn, good hunter_; And the wild boar then heard him full in his den, _As he was a jovial hunter_. 20