[Bagford Collection, II. 95.]

The Female Warrior.

Relating how a Woman in Man's attire, got an Ensigns place: and so continued till the necessity of making use of a Midwife discover'd her.

This valiant Amazon with courage fill'd,
For to Display her Colours was well skill'd,
Till pregnant nature did her Sex discover,
She fell a pieces, and was made a Mother.

TUNE OF I am a jovial Batchelor. With Allowance.

You know what strange effects this love

in many a one hath wrought,

To dangers and to perrils great,

it often hath them brought;

no more did this brave Lass,

But yet they valu'd not the same,

60

When Mars and Venus conju[n]ct were,

'tis thought that she was born,

Which is an evidence most clear,

To make the case more evident,
and cause it to be known,
Her growing belly forced her
to lay the Colours down :
Unhappy chance it was alas,
and sore it did her vex,

Because that she, was found to be,

one of the Female Sex.

And now her groaning time being come,

a Midwife was prepar'd,

She could not march by beat of Drum,

nor mount the Court of Guard:

For why she did in pieces fall,

Printed for C. Passinger, at the sign of the Seven-Stars on

London-bridge.

[In Black-letter. Date, not later than 1681-93.]

84

88

Jackie's Lamentation.

In earnest ile but icast

OF this ballad another copy is in Pepys Collection, iv. 345. It

must have been written and popular before 1661; because early that year appeared in Merry Drollery, i. 89, the Medley entitled "The Scotch War," beginning, similarly to the Bagford ballad,

The English man, we did trapan, with pellit and pike," etc. (In the 1670 and 1691 editions it is p. 93.) It proves to be merely a corrupt variation of this Bagford ballad; omitting our lines 43-70, 82-125. The mutilated and corrupt version is in the Rump Coll., 1662, i. 228; and Loyal Songs, 1731, i. 58.

As the following properly falls into our series of "Political Ballads, illustrating the Civil War and the Commonwealth," from the King's Pamphlets, &c., we now give it here in smaller type, with a brief annotation. It is the only one of the second volume we might have omitted or postponed, on this account. In the first volume of Bagford Collection were twelve such. These were ballads respectively commencing thus: 1. "Good morrow, my neighbours all." 2. "After cursed traitors damned rage.' 3. "When first Mardike was made a prey." 4. "Come, buy my new ballet." 5. "At Westminster, where we take boat." 6. "Did you ne're hear of the Baby of Mars." 7. "Topsie Turvie, hie down derry" (not song). 8. "Listen a while to what I shall say." 9. "To Christians all I greeting send." 10. "There happened of late a terrible fray." 11. "Of all the factions in the town" [Butler's Geneva Ballad; imprint, 1705]. 12. "Young man, where are you now?" (A use of Exhortation, by J.E., Apprentice). 13. "When Oliver, that Imp of Mars" (Bo-Peep). 14. "In Essex, much renowned for calves"; 1680, see iii. 61, post.