—Burne’s _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 564. [The above verses, except the last one, are sung at Oswestry with these additional ones:—] Pray, whither sailed those ships all three? &c. Oh! they sailed unto Bethlehem, &c. They combed his hair with an ivory comb, &c. They washed his face in a golden cup, &c. They wiped his face with a lily-white cloth, &c. They brushed his shoes with a hairy brush, &c. —Burne’s _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 564. (_c_) In the London version, which I obtained from a maid-servant—two lines of children stand, hand in hand, facing one another. They advance and retire in line, with dancing steps, alternately. The children sing the lines. When the last verse is sung a girl from the end of each line advances, and the two dance round together. This is continued until all have danced in turn in the space between the lines. (_d_) It will be seen that there is a probability of the version I collected as a dance game and Rimbault’s nursery song being derived from the Christmas carol, a variant of which I reprint from Miss Burne’s _Shropshire Folk-lore_. A version of this carol from Kent is given in _Notes and Queries_, 3rd series, iii. 7. Mr. A. H. Bullen, in _Carols and Poems_, gives an older version of the same. In this version there is no mention of whistling, singing, or playing the violin; but in the Kent version, the third verse is the same as the fourth of that collected by Miss Burne, and the dance collected by myself. In the _Revue Celtique_, vol. iv., Mr. Fitzgerald considers this carol to have been the original from which the pretty words and dance, “Duck Dance,” were derived, see _ante_, vol. i. p. 113. If these words and dance owe their origin to the carol, they may both show connection with an older form, when the carol was danced as a dramatic round. Three Old Bachelors Here come three old bachelors, Walking in a row, Seeking wives, and can’t find ’em; So open the ring, and take one in. Now you’re married, you must obey; You must be true to all you say; You must be kind, you must be good, And help your wife to chop the wood. —Earls Heaton, Yorks. (Herbert Hardy). Mr. Hardy suggests that this is a variant of “See the Farmer Sow his Seed,” but it more nearly resembles “Silly Old Man,” although the marriage formula is that of “Oats and Beans.” Three Sailors [Music] —London (A. B. Gomme). I. Here come three sailors, three by three, To court your daughter, a fair lady (pronounced ladee); [_Or_, And down by your door they bend their knee]. Can we have a lodging here, here, here? Can we have a lodging here? Sleep, sleep, daughter, do not wake, Here are three sailors we can’t take; You cannot have a lodging here, here, here, You cannot have a lodging here.