 | The Collected Poems of T. W. H. Crosland |  |
23
The Ballad of Poor Honesty
“Now Good,” quoth he,
“Be good for me,
And Evil be thou evil”:
O simple wight!—
As well he might
Have leagued him with the Devil—
Who, when all's said,
Is a gentleman bred,
And civil to the civil.
“Be good for me,
And Evil be thou evil”:
O simple wight!—
As well he might
Have leagued him with the Devil—
Who, when all's said,
Is a gentleman bred,
And civil to the civil.
He trudgeth forth,
Now south now north,
To turn the needful penny,
Upon his back
He bears a pack
Through suns and snows a-many
And mile on mile—
With an equal smile
For Richard and for Jenny.
Now south now north,
To turn the needful penny,
Upon his back
He bears a pack
Through suns and snows a-many
And mile on mile—
With an equal smile
For Richard and for Jenny.
24
“Yea these,” he sware,
“Be God's own pair,
They will not cog or cozen,
In smocks they go
To milk and mow,
And threadbare are their hosen;
But if your due
Be twelve, for you
They'll count out the full dozen.”
“Be God's own pair,
They will not cog or cozen,
In smocks they go
To milk and mow,
And threadbare are their hosen;
But if your due
Be twelve, for you
They'll count out the full dozen.”
Yet Dick, fell wretch,
Did the hangman stretch,
For cutting a babe's weasand,
And by the Bench
That brazen wench,
Young Jenny, was imprisoned,
That folk might cry,
“In villainy
The twain were properly seasoned.”
Did the hangman stretch,
For cutting a babe's weasand,
And by the Bench
That brazen wench,
Young Jenny, was imprisoned,
That folk might cry,
“In villainy
The twain were properly seasoned.”
“Still Good,” quoth he,
“Be good for me,
And Evil be thou evil;
My grandam dear,
Above her beer,
Was wont to curse the Devil,
‘O little lad,
Eschew the bad
Which doth defile!’ she'd snivel.”
“Be good for me,
And Evil be thou evil;
My grandam dear,
Above her beer,
Was wont to curse the Devil,
‘O little lad,
Eschew the bad
Which doth defile!’ she'd snivel.”
25
Upon an ass
He is fain to pass
Into the virtuous city,
And soon doth stop
With my lord bishop,
The learnèd and the witty:
(“So honest a face!”
Mused his lordship's grace—
And hired him out of pity.)
He is fain to pass
Into the virtuous city,
And soon doth stop
With my lord bishop,
The learnèd and the witty:
(“So honest a face!”
Mused his lordship's grace—
And hired him out of pity.)
Here every saw
Of the moral law
With joy he heard repeated,
Till on a night
In the candle-light
The bishop's guests were seated,
And they played a game,
Bezique by name,
And my lord the bishop cheated.
Of the moral law
With joy he heard repeated,
Till on a night
In the candle-light
The bishop's guests were seated,
And they played a game,
Bezique by name,
And my lord the bishop cheated.
So, nothing loth,
Our friend shogged off
To service with a person
Whom fools did rate
For a prop of the State:
There couldn't have been a worse 'un;
For by wink or grin
He approved the sin
We are bidden to put a curse on.
Our friend shogged off
To service with a person
Whom fools did rate
For a prop of the State:
There couldn't have been a worse 'un;
For by wink or grin
He approved the sin
We are bidden to put a curse on.
26
Then a judge he served
Who quite unnerved
This saint by actions foxy,
Such as bringing home quills
From the Office of Wills
And going to church by proxy,
And, once a week,
Pinching the cheek
Of a most offensive doxy.
Who quite unnerved
This saint by actions foxy,
Such as bringing home quills
From the Office of Wills
And going to church by proxy,
And, once a week,
Pinching the cheek
Of a most offensive doxy.
“Still Good for me
Be good,” quoth he,
“And Evil be thou evil;
I will show my mind
Unto mankind,
And speak them fair and civil,
And tell them how
All men I know
Are bondmen of the Devil.”
Be good,” quoth he,
“And Evil be thou evil;
I will show my mind
Unto mankind,
And speak them fair and civil,
And tell them how
All men I know
Are bondmen of the Devil.”
He trudgeth forth
Both south and north
By markets and street corners,
And saith aloud
To the wondering crowd,
“Ye are plagued with thieves and scorners
And liars and cheats
And hypocrites
And losels and suborners!”
Both south and north
By markets and street corners,
And saith aloud
To the wondering crowd,
“Ye are plagued with thieves and scorners
And liars and cheats
And hypocrites
And losels and suborners!”
27
He was the first
That ever burst
Upon them with such tiding;
Eftsoons they cried,
“This fellow's pride
Is surely past abiding!”
And with grievous stones,
They bruised his bones,
And hurried him into hiding.
That ever burst
Upon them with such tiding;
Eftsoons they cried,
“This fellow's pride
Is surely past abiding!”
And with grievous stones,
They bruised his bones,
And hurried him into hiding.
Upon the floor
He lies full sore,
Nor murmureth unduly,
Although he must
Give up the ghost
His speech is not unruly;
With his last breath
He uttereth
These words: “I ha' spoken truly!”
He lies full sore,
Nor murmureth unduly,
Although he must
Give up the ghost
His speech is not unruly;
With his last breath
He uttereth
These words: “I ha' spoken truly!”
So passeth he
Most miserably,
Without or sniff or snivel:
Unhappy wight—
As well he might
Have leagued him with the Devil,
Who on the whole
Is a decent soul,
And returneth good for evil!
Most miserably,
Without or sniff or snivel:
Unhappy wight—
As well he might
Have leagued him with the Devil,
Who on the whole
Is a decent soul,
And returneth good for evil!
| The Collected Poems of T. W. H. Crosland | |