Nancy's Courtship Poem by William Hutton

(TUNE--LOTHIAN LASSIE)


A promising Lover sent word from Bridgnorth,
He'd see me the fifth of November;
Lord, surely he's young, and has beauty and worth--
I long'd for the day, I remember.
Remember, I long'd for the day I remember.

What lass would not shew some delight in her eye,
When she this good news should discover?
Who'd seen six-and-twenty long winters pass by,
Yet ne'er had the sight of a lover?
A lover, &c.

We met, and we smil'd, and we toy'd, and all that;
The scene was quite new, I declare it;
My fluttering heart gallop'd on pit-a-pat,
I scarcely could tell how to bear it.
To bear it, &c.

He press'd me with vehemence to give him my hand,
And vow'd that long courtship he hated;
I started, and told him we must make a stand,
Some trifles must first be debated.
Debated, &c.

What mode of subsistence have you pointed out,
That will keep us from starving in future?
What trade, or what cash, or what lands lie about?
I fear all your silver is pewter.
Is pewter, &c.

The swain looked 'as although he could not tell how;'
Or like a man caught in horns-making;
A soul in confusion, and unmeaning brow--
The question depriv'd him of speaking.
Of speaking, &c.

When silence was ended, he scratch'd his head twice,
As if from a stupor returning,
I've laid a rare plan--we shall rise in a trice,
And you shall drink tea night and morning.
Morning, &c.

A farm I will take, for the lease must be sold,
My dearest no longer shall mutter;
The purchase is only ten guineas in gold,
And you shall stand market with butter.
With butter, &c.

But pray can a lover be likely to please,
Who no lining has to his pocket,
Who'll melt down my guineas to purchase the lease,
And then take my fortune to stock it?
To stock it, &c.

So make your retreat, ere my cash runs away,
Or you have consum'd all your courting,
Look out for a second without more delay,
And follow your hunt for a fortune.
A fortune, &c.

While I remain single I'm perfectly free,
To say yes to the man with a calling;
I'm willing, I own, to be tied to a tree,
But not to a tree that is falling.
Is falling, but not to a tree that is falling.