Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/460

 1 1 2 yournal of American Folk-Lore.

One Monday morning, he did go Intew the meadow for to mow, And all ter once, he thar did feel A pizen sarpint bite his heel.

Quick as he felt the sarpent bite He raised his scythe, with all his might He struck ter once a deadly blow, That lay the pizen creeter low.

He tuk the riptyle in his hand,

And straightway went tew Molly Bland ;

Oh ! Molly, Molly, here you see

A pizen sarpent, what bit me.

Zerubbabel, why did ye go

Intu the meadow for to mow ?

Oh ! Molly Bland, I thought you knowed

'T was Daddy's field, and must be mowed.

Then Molly Bland, she squatted down, And sucked the pizen from the wound ; But oh ! she had a rotten tewth ; The venim soon affected both.

Oh, then they ware all spotted o'er With all the colors that the sarpent wore ; They laid 'em both upon a bed, And they swelled up and di-i-ed !

Then when they had gin up the ghost, From " Springfield Mounting " they went, post ; And they larfed, and sung, as up they went, As chipper as if there wa'nt no pizen szx-pent.

It will be seen that nearly all the variations found in the version of Mr. Derby, and which at first sight appear as designedly ludicrous, nevertheless had a popular origin.

Absurd as the piece may be thought, when regarded from a liter- ary point of view, it is none the less valuable and suggestive, when considered in relation to theoretical knowledge. We have a striking example of a song composed in a particular place, on a definite occa- sion, with regard to circumstantial accuracy, and by a person of some literary education, which nevertheless, almost in our own time, has passed into folk-lore, and obtained popular currency. The example makes clear that any ballad, no matter how ancient and universal,

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