But Percy ("Reliques," Book II., No. 4) gives the old song from which the quotations are taken. It was probably written in the time of Henry VIII. The words run:

* A Robyn,

Jolly Robyn,

Tell me how thy leman doeth,
And thou shalt knowe of myn.

"My lady is unkynde, perde.

Alack! why is she so?

She loveth an other better than me;
And yet she will say no.

"I fynde no such doublenes;
I fynde women true;
My lady loveth me dowtles,

And will change for no newe.

"Thou art happy while that doeth last:
But I say, as I fynde,

That women's love is but a blast,

And torneth with the wynde.

"Suche folkes can take no harme by love,
That can abide their torn.

But I alas can no way prove
In love, but lake and morne.

"But if thou wilt avoyde thy harme,
Lerne this lessen of me:

At others fieres thy selfe to warme,
And let them warme with the."

A favourite catch, with a refrain, may be added to all these fragments of musical allusion. It is spoken of in "The Taming of the Shrew" (Act iv. Sc. 1) as follows:

"Curtis. Therefore, good Grumio, the news?

Grumio. Why Jack, boy! ho boy!' and as much news as thou wilt."

This is a direct quotation from an old catch which we here append:

CATCH. "JACK, BOY, HO! BOY!”

:8:

4

Jack, boy, ho! boy, news; The cat is in the well,

I

Let us ring now for her knell, Ding, dong, ding, dong,bell. The dildos and fadings," which the servant speaks of in "Winter's Tale" (Act iv. Sc. 3), were also refrains to songs, as may be seen from the following refrain to Ophelia's "How Should I Your True Love Know:"

Another burden which is alluded to in "The Taming of the Shrew" is found in Petruchio's remark to Katherine (Act ii. Sc. 1), "We will be married o' Sunday." This phrase may be a mere coincidence, or it may have been taken from an old song which ran

“To church away!

We will have rings

And fine array,

With other things,

Against the day,

For I'm to be married o' Sunday."

Richard Grant White quotes the above song, but as he gives no source of derivation, and as he often follows fanciful theories, we give the citation for what it is worth.

Hunting-music is found in some of Shakespeare's plays, and a hunt's-up was often used as a bright song with which to awaken favoured individuals in the early morning. One of the best of these songs is found in "As You Like It" (Act iv. Sc. 2).

“Enter JAQUES and Lords, in the habit of Foresters. Jaques. Which is he that killed the deer?

First Lord. Sir, it was I.

Jaques. Let's present him to the duke, like a Roman conqueror; and it would do well to set the deer's horns upon his head, for a branch of victory. Have you no song, forester, for this purpose?

Second Lord. Yes, sir.

Jaques. Sing it; 'tis no matter how it be in tune, so it

make noise enough.

SONG.

1. What shall he have that kill'd the deer?

2. His leather skins and horns to wear.

1. Then sing him home:

[The rest shall bear this burden.

Take thou no scorn, to wear the horn;
It was a crest, ere thou wast born.

1. Thy father's father wore it;
2. And thy father bore it:

[All] The horn, the horn, the lusty horn,
Is not a thing to laugh to scorn."

In this scene the words, "The rest shall bear this burden," have caused some trouble to the commentators, for, by an odd mistake, they have been interpolated into the body of the song, whereas they are almost of a certainty a mere direction to the singers to join in the "burden" of the song. Some commentators, Knight and White, for example, would have the line, "Then sing him home," also read as a mere stage-direction, but this is at least debatable ground. We give the music of this song, or "catch," as it was probably heard on Shakespeare's stage. It is reprinted from Playford's "Musical Companion" (1672), but Playford had copied it from Hilton's earlier works, as he states in his preface. Another debatable case occurs in "The Merchant of Venice" (Act iii. Sc. 2):

'See Furness for a full debate as to the matter of the burden.

મ