9
La! ma'am, you must have heard of me,
Although I'm no highflyer;
I live just by at No. 1,
I'm Billy Dip, the dyer.
Twas I, ma'am, Betty there employed
To dye your lustering gown;
And I not only dye for you
But I dye for the whole town."
———
THE WELL OF ST. KEYNE.
A well there is in the west country,
And a clearer one never was seen;
There is not a wife in the west country
But has heard of the well of St. Keyne.
An oak and an elm-tree stand beside,
And behind does an ash-tree grow,
And a willow from the bank above
Droops to the water below.
A traveller came to the well of St. Keyne;
Joyfully he drew nigh,
For from cock-crow he had been travelling,
And there was not a cloud in the sky.
He drank of the water so cool and clear,
For thirsty and hot was he,
And he sat down upon the bank
Under the willow tree.
There came a man from the neighbouring town
At the well to fill his pail;
On the well-side he rested it,
And he bade the stranger hail.
