2 Now poor men starve and die, And love is found in few; Wherever you travell❜d then, No puritans then were, When this old cap was new. Our ladies, in those days, In civil habit went ; Broad-cloth was then worth praise, A man might then behold At Christmas, in each hall, Good fires to curb the cold, And meat for great and small : The neighbours were friendly bidden, And all had welcome true; The poor from the gates were not chidden, When this old cap was new. Black jacks to every man Were fill'd with wine and beer, In those days did appear: We took not such delight None under the degree of a knight Hath a cupboard of plate for a shew, Which was a rare thing then, When this old cap was new. Then bribery was unborn, At that time hardly knew ; No captain then carous'd, Poor soldiers had their right, When this old cap was new. Which made them forward still Their fortunes were the best. God save our gracious King, Of that which is their due: This was not in time of yore, When this old cap was new. 0. SONG XXXV. THE VICAR OF BRAY.* IN good King Charles's golden days [In Berkshire. See the Worthies of that county by Fuller: according to whom, this vivacious vicar was alternately a papist and protestant under the reigns of Henry the eighth, Edward the sixth, To teach my flock I never miss'd, When royal James obtain❜d the crown, And read the Declaration : The church of Rome I found would fit Full well my constitution; And had become a Jesuit, But for the Revolution. And this is law, &c. When William was our King declar'd, Set conscience at a distance; Queen Mary, and Queen Elizabeth. But as Captain Grose observes, this vicar has been modernized in the above song, and his versatility has been brought down to later times. The same story, he adds, is told of a Vicar of Bray near Brayhead in Ireland. See his Local Proverbs.] When gracious Ann became our queen, I damn'd their moderation; And thought the church in danger was, By such prevarication. And this is law, &c. When George in pudding-time came o'er, Th' illustrious house of Hanover, For in my faith and loyalty, I never more will falter, And George my lawful king shall be Until the times do alter. And this is law I will maintain, That whatsoever king shall reign, |