“You shall have the best of beer, I promise, presently,” Then out with the bucket pretty Bess she doth come, And master says “Mind, mind and see that every man has some.” This is some of our pastime while the sheep we do shear, And though we are such merry boys, we work hard, I declare; And when ’tis night, and we have done, our master is more free, And stores us well with good strong beer, and pipes and tobaccee So we do sit and drink, we smoke, and sing and roar, Till we become more merry far than e’er we were before, When all our work is done, and all our sheep are shorn, Then home to our Captain, to drink the Ale that’s strong. ’Tis a barrel, then, of _hum cup_, which we call the _black ram_, And we do sit and swagger, and swear that we are men; But yet before ’tis night, I’ll stand you half a crown, That if you ha’nt a special care, the _ram_ will knock you down. [Illustration: The Merry Bagpipes. The Pleaſant Paſtime betwixt a Jolly Shepherd and a Country Damſel on a Midſummer-Day in the Morning. To the tune of _March Boys, &c._ A Shepherd ſat him under a Thorn he pulled out his pipe and began for to play It was on a Mid-Summer’s-day in the Morn for honour of that Holy-day: A Ditty he did chant along goes to the tune of Cater-Bordee, And this was the burden of his ſong if thou wilt pipe lad, I’ll Dance to thee To thee, to thee, derry, derry, to thee, &c. _Roxburghe Ballads._ ] The Haymakers’ song given below is, or rather was, a great favourite at festive gatherings during the hay harvest:— In the merry month of June, In the prime time of the year; Down in yonder meadows There runs a river clear; And many a little fish Doth in that river play; And many a lad and many a lass, Go abroad a-making hay. In come the jolly mowers, To mow the meadows down; With budget and with bottle Of ale both stout and brown. All labouring men of courage bold Come here their strength to try; They sweat and blow, and cut and mow, For the grass cuts very dry. Gratitude to the Giver of all good things has been the mainspring of rejoicings that in nearly all nations have celebrated the safe {253} ingathering of the fruits of the earth. In England the festival is known by the expressive title of the Harvest Home. An ancient ballad expresses _The Farmer’s Delight in the Merry Harvest_:—