English Songs and Ballads | Page 9

grant me thy love, my pretty Bessee.

Let me be thy husband; the merchant did say,
Thou shalt live in
London both gallant and gay;
My ships shall bring home rich jewels
for thee,
And I will for ever love pretty Bessee.
Then Bessy she sighed, and thus she did say,
My father and mother I
mean to obey;
First get their good will, and be faithful to me,
And
then you shall marry your pretty Bessee.
To every one this answer she made,
Wherefore unto her they joyfully
said,
This thing to fulfil we all do agree;
But where dwells thy
father, my pretty Bessee?
My father, she said, is soon to be seen:
The silly blind beggar of
Bednall-green,
That daily sits begging for charitie,
He is the good
father of pretty Bessee.
His marks and his tokens are known very well;
He always is led with
a dog and a bell:
A silly old man, God knoweth, is he,
Yet he is the
father of pretty Bessee.
Nay then, quoth the merchant, thou art not for me.
Nor, quoth the
innholder, my wife thou shalt be:
I loth, said the gentle, a beggar's
degree,
And therefore adieu, my pretty Bessee.
Why then, quoth the knight, hap better or worse,
I weigh not true love
by the weight of the purse,
And beauty is beauty in every degree;

Then welcome unto me, my pretty Bessee.
With thee to thy father forthwith I will go.
Nay soft, quoth his
kinsmen, it must not be so;
A poor beggar's daughter no lady shall be,

Then take thy adieu of pretty Bessee.
But soon after this, by break of the day
The knight had from Rumford
stole Bessy away.
The young men of Rumford, as thick as might be,

Rode after to fetch again pretty Bessee.

As swift as the wind to ryde they were seen,
Until they came near
unto Bednall-green;
And as the knight lighted most courteouslie,

They all fought against him for pretty Bessee.
But rescue came speedily over the plain,
Or else the young knight for
his love had been slain.
This fray being ended, then straightway he
see
His kinsmen come railing at pretty Bessee.
Then spake the blind beggar, Although I be poor,
Yet rail not against
my child at my own door:
Though she be not decked in velvet and
pearl,
Yet will I drop angels with you for my girl.
And then, if my gold may better her birth,
And equal the gold that
you lay on the earth,
Then neither rail nor grudge you to see
The
blind beggar's daughter a lady to be.
But first you shall promise, and have it well known,
The gold that
you drop shall all be your Own.
With that they replied, Contented be
we.
Then here's, quoth the beggar, for pretty Bessee.
With that an angel he cast on the ground,
And dropped in angels full
three thousand pound;
And oftentimes it was proved most plain,

For the gentlemen's one, the beggar dropt twain:
So that the place, wherein they did sit,
With gold it was covered
every whit.
The gentlemen then having dropt all their store,
Said,
Now, beggar, hold, for we have no more,
Thou hast fulfilled thy promise aright.
Then marry, quoth he, my girl
to this knight;
And here, added he, I will now throw you down
A
hundred pounds more to buy her a gown.
The gentlemen all, that this treasure had seen,
Admired the beggar of
Bednall-green:
And all those, that were her suitors before,
Their
flesh for very anger they tore.

Thus was fair Bessy matched to the knight,
And then made a lady in
others' despite:
A fairer lady there never was seen,
Than the blind
beggar's daughter of Bednall-green.
But of their sumptuous marriage and feast,
What brave lords and
knights thither were prest,
The second fitt shall set forth to your sight

With marvellous pleasure and wished delight.
PART II
Of a blind beggar's daughter most bright,
That late was betrothed
unto a young knight;
All the discourse thereof you did see:
But now
comes the wedding of pretty Bessee.
Within a gorgeous palace most brave,
Adorned with all the cost they
could have,
This wedding was kept most sumptuouslie,
And all for
the credit of pretty Bessee.
All kind of dainties and delicates sweet
Were bought for the banquet,
as it was most meet;
Partridge, and plover, and venison most free,

Against the brave wedding of pretty Bessee.
This marriage through England was spread by report,
So that a great
number thereto did resort
Of nobles and gentles in every degree;

And all for the fame of pretty Bessee.
To church then went this gallant young knight;
His bride followed
after, an angel most bright,
With troops of ladies, the like ne'er was
seen,
As went with sweet Bessy of Bednall-green.
This marriage being solemnized then,
With musick performed by the
skilfullest men,
The nobles and gentles sat down at that tide,
Each
one admiring the beautiful bride.
Now, after the sumptuous dinner was done,
To talk, and to reason a
number begun:
They talked of the blind beggar's daughter most bright,


And what with his daughter he gave to the knight.
Then spake the nobles, 'Much marvel