_HUMOR AND SATIRE._
_Andante._
Perrette est bien malade,
En danger de mourir.
_Presto._
Son ami la va voire;
Te laira' tu mourir?
_Andante._
Non, non, répondit-elle,
Je ne veux pas mourir.
_Canadian Song._
No. 30.
_Soldier, Soldier, Will You Marry Me?_
[Illustration]
_First voice._-- "Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With a knapsack, fife, and drum?"
"Oh no, my pretty maiden, I cannot marry you,
For I have no coat to put on."
[Illustration]
_Second voice._-- Then away she ran to the tailor's shop,
As fast as legs could run;
And bought him one of the very best,
And the soldier put it on.
The question is then repeated, the soldier pleading his want of shoes
gloves, etc., which the confiding fair procures, until at last--
"Soldier, soldier, will you marry me,
With your knapsack, fife, and drum?"
"Oh no, my pretty maiden, I cannot marry you,
For I have--a good wife--at home!"
This piece and the following are more or less familiar as children's
songs through the United States. Our version was sung by children of
from five to eight years of age, and made a favorite amusement at the
afternoon gatherings. When one couple had finished, another pair would
begin, and so on for hours at a time. The object was to provide for the
soldier the most varied wardrobe possible; while the maiden put the
question with spirit, laying her hand on her heart, respecting which
the prevailing opinion was that it was under the left arm.
No. 31.
_Quaker Courtship._
In this piece, two children (in costume or otherwise) impersonate a
Quaker paying his addresses to a young lady of the world.
[Illustration]
"Madam, I am come a-courting--
_Hum, hum, heigho hum!_
'Tis for pleasure, not for sporting--
_Hum, hum, heigho hum!_"
"Sir, it suits me to retire,
_Teedle link tum, teedle tum a tee_;
You may sit and court the fire,
_Teedle link tum, teedle tum a tee_."
"Madam, here's a ring worth forty shilling,
Thou may'st have it if thou art willing."
"What care I for rings or money?
I'll have a man who will call me honey."
"Madam, thou art tall and slender;
Madam, I know thy heart is tender."
"Sir, I see you are a flatterer,
And I never loved a Quaker."
"Must I give up my religion?
Must I be a Presbyterian?"
"Cheer up, cheer up, loving brother,
If you can't catch one fish, catch another."
_Hartford, Conn._
No. 32.
_Lazy Mary._
A mother and daughter in the centre of a ring, the daughter kneeling
with closed eyes. Mother advances--
[Illustration]
"Lazy Mary, will you get up,
Will you get up, will you get up,
Will you get up to-day?"
"What will you give me for my breakfast,
If I get up, if I get up,
If I get up to-day?"
The reply is, "A slice of bread and a cup of tea," whereon Mary
answers, "No, mother, I won't get up," and responds similarly to the
call to dinner; but for supper the mother offers "a nice young man with
rosy cheeks," which is accepted with the words, "Yes, mother, I will
get up," whereon the ring clap their hands. The round is familiar in
New York streets. There is a corresponding English song, with a tragic
ending.
No. 33.
_Whistle, Daughter, Whistle._
"Whistle, daughter, whistle,
And I'll give you a sheep."
[_After an interval._] "Mother, I'm asleep."
"Whistle, daughter, whistle,
And I'll give you a cow."
[_A faint attempt._] "Mother, I don't know how."
"Whistle, daughter, whistle,
And I'll give you a man."
[_A loud and clear whistle._] "Mother, now I can!"
_New York._
The subject of this and the preceding number has furnished endless
mirth to popular poetry. The present song is ancient; for it is
identical with a German, Flemish, and French round of the fifteenth or
sixteenth century, in which a _nun_ (or monk) is tempted to _dance_
by similar offers. The spirit of the latter piece seems to be rather
light-hearted ridicule than puritanic satire, and the allusion does not
show that the piece is subsequent to the Reformation.
No. 34.
_There were Three Jolly Welshmen._
There were three jolly Welshmen,
And I have heard them say,
That they would go a-hunting
Upon St. David's day--
_Look--a--there--now!_
They hunted, they hunted,
And nothing could they find,
But a woman in the road,
And her they left behind--
_Look--a--there--now!_
One said it was a woman,
The other said nay;
One said it was an angel
With the wings blowed away--
_Look--a--there--now!_
We have obtained only three verses of the song, which was a favorite
with little children as they sat on the door-step of a summer's
evening. Another version of the ancient jest comes to us as sung by
college students:
(_Slow and mournful, in C minor._)
And so they went along,
To see what they could see,
And soon they saw a frog
A-sitting under a tree.
(_Recit._) So--they--did.
One said it was a frog,
But the other said nay--
One said it was a canary-bird
With the feathers blown away.
(_Recit._) So--it--was.
And so they went along,
To see what they could see,
And soon they saw a barn
A-standing by a tree.
One said it was a barn,
But the other said nay,
One said it was a meeting-house
With the steeple blown away.
And so they went along,
To see what they could see,
And soon they saw an owl,
A-sitting on a tree.
One said it was an owl,
But the other said nay,
One said it was the Evil One!
And they all ran away.
No. 35.
_A Hallowe'en Rhyme._