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[Bagford Collection, II. 1.]

The Swimming Lady;

Dr, A Wanton Discovery.

Being a true Relation of a Cop Lady (betrayed by her Lover) as she was stripping her self stark Naked, and Swimming in a River near Oxford.

TO A PLEASANT NEW TUNE; OR, I'll never love thee more.

The four and twentieth Day of May,

of all times in the Year,

A Virgin Lady bright and gay,
did privately appear

Close by the River side, which she

did single out the rather,

'Cause she was sure, it was secure,
and had intent to Bath her.

With glittering Glance, her jealous Eyes,
did slyly look about,

To see if any lurking Spies,

were hid to find her out:

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And being well resolv'd that none

could view her Nakedness;

She puts her Robes off, one by one,
and doth her self undress.

16

A purple Mantle (Fring'd with Gold)
her Ivory hands unpin,

It would have made a Coward bold,
or tempt a Saint to sin;

She turns away, and looks about,
(quoth she) I hope I'm safe,

And then a Rosie Peticoat

she presently put off.

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The snow-white Smock which she had on transparently so deckt her,

It look'd like a Cambrick-Lawn, upon an Alabaster Picture,

Through which your Eye might faintly spy, her Belly, and her Back:

Her Limbs were strait, and all was white but that which should be black.

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As when a Masquing Scene is drawn,
and new Lights do appear,

When she put off her Smock of Lawn,
just such a sight was there:
The bright Reflection of her Eyes

in every Limb was strow'd,
As when the radiant Sun doth rise,
and gild each neighbouring Cloud,

Into a fluent stream she leapt, which look'd like Liquid Glass,

The Fishes from all quarters crept, to see what Angel 'twas;

She did so like a Vision look,

or Fancy in a Dream,

'Twas thought the Sun the Sky forsook, and dropt into the stream.

Each Fish did wish himself a Man,

about her all were drawn,

And at the sight of her began
to spread abroad their Spawn:
She turn'd to swim upon her Back,
and so display'd her Banner,
If Jove had then in Heaven been
he would have dropt upon her.

Thus was the Rivers Diamond head, with Pearl and Saphir crown'd:

Her Legs did shove, her Arms did move, her Body did rebound:

She that did quaff the juice of Joy,

(fair Venus Queen of Love)

With Mars did never in more ways

of melting motion move.

A Lad that long her Love had been,
and could obtain no Grace,
For all her prying, lay unseen
hid in a secret place:

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Who having been repuls'd, when he
did often come to woe her,

Pull'd off his Cloaths, and furiously

did run and leap into her.

She shreiks, she strives, and down she dives,

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out of thy sight till then;

We'll both clap Hands, in Wedlock bands,
Marry and too't agen.

Printed for B. Deacon, at the Angel in Gilt-spur-street.

[In White-Letter: Date, certainly before 1699; probably 1684-96.]

93

[Bagford Collection, II. 2.]

Thackeray's List of Ballads.

Cokes." What ballads hast thou? let me see, let me see, myself."-Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, iii. 1; 1614.

HER

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ERE follows, in the original second volume of the Bagford Collection, a huge folded sheet of thick paper, large as a page of the Times. It is William Thackeray's "List of [105] Small Books, [301] Ballads, and [23] Histories;" no date, but supposed to have been printed about 1685. The book-breaking Bagford was a reckless collector of title-pages and frontispieces. to the mutilation or destruction of innumerable volumes, but he laid certain obligations upon all worthy people who, like Shakespeare's Mopsa, "love a ballad in print.' Among the many favours that he bestowed on us, one was the preserving for our use this very interesting and extensive catalogue. It often gives slight fragmentary hints of the titles (sometimes only of the burdens), or occasionally furnishes the first line instead. It holds large blank spaces; evidently awaiting fresh insertion of titles, to be made in manuscript when the stock increased. With these fragmentary titles, a very little extended, the Ballad-List has once been reprinted, in Mr. Wm. Chappell's first volume of the Roxburghe Ballads," for our Society-members: Introduction, p. xxiv. Nevertheless, because in that form insufficient for general guidance, and moreover because it belongs especially to our Bagford Collection, wherein it is preserved, we hope to give it in this volume; duly annotated, and further extended by means of bracketed additions, with reference to existing collections. It should follow our INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF STREETBALLADS AND BALLAD-SINGERS; where it will be more useful to students than if it had been printed in the present page. We have already identified more than eleven-twelfths of the ballads mentioned in the list; and hope to leave but few shyly hidden from observation, when closing our task, this year.

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1 The date of the printed list is probably thus late (several being of R. Pocock's licensing), but many of the ballads are much older. No. 170 mentions King James II. ("Two English Travellers"); the latest we know.

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