The Cambrick Shirt
THE ELFIN KNIGHT—G
[_]
Gammer Gurton's Garland, p. 3, ed. 1810.
1
‘Can you make me a cambrick shirt,
Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme
Without any seam or needle work?
And you shall be a true lover of mine
2
‘Can you wash it in yonder well,
Where never sprung water nor rain ever fell?
3
‘Can you dry it on yonder thorn,
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?
4
‘Now you have askd me questions three,
I hope you'll answer as many for me.
5
‘Can you find me an acre of land
Between the salt water and the sea sand?
6
‘Can you plow it with a ram's horn,
And sow it all over with one pepper corn?
7
‘Can you reap it with a sickle of leather,
And bind it up with a peacock's feather?
8
‘When you have done, and finishd your work,
Then come to me for your cambrick shirt.’
