The Debtford Plumb Cake,
OR, The Four merry VVives.
Tune of,
An Old Woman poor and blind.
Licensed according to Order
Come all you sweet lips,
round me stand
and hear a pleasant tale,
With each some Plumb Cake in her
hand
and Cup of good napping Ale,
Then you might all as merry be
as lately was four good Wives,
Who take their Glasses of free,
and jollyly lead their lives.
Carpenters Wives were two of them,
and another a Smiths Wife prov'd,
The fourth a Seaman's for the Game,
these four did a young Man love,
He was a Mealman's Servant to
and often would frisk and play
At heave and set as others do,
let it be by Night or Day.
But one time among all the rest,
they wanted a good Plumb Cake,
And this the young Meal-Man did Protest,
he would have a good one bak'd,
A Peck and a half of Flower str
[...]ight
he sent
the good Wives to
kneed,
Of Plumbs
be sent eleven Pou
[...]d weight,
to make up the Cake with
speed.
Seven pound of
Butter to also,
he sent when he sent the Plumbs,
With Sugar for to make it so
they might
sweetly lick their Thumbs,
And when 'twas bak'd, then ore a Glass
they
merry were all to be
But mark I pray what came to pass,
which spoiled their jollitry,
For when the Cake was made and bak'd
one of the good Wives did say,
Come Neighbours where shall we it take
and have our young Ned
to day,
You know that he's a Lad so free,
and willing to serve us all,
I swear I
love him heartily,
i'll venture with him one fall.
What if we to the Fountain go,
and there have our merry bout,
Fie, Fie, one of the Wives did cry,
our Husbands will find
us out,
What think you of the Greenwich
blood,
they say it is Liquor rare,
A maich we all do think it good
and our Plumb Cake we'll not spare.
So the four wives with brisk young
Ned,
met over some Liquor stout,
Each thinking on
the Cake to feed,
but
Ʋulk
[...]n had found
them out,
And with his Hammer in his hand,
he soundly
the Cake did maul,
Yet Ned did all
the Wives command,
and play'd Boys at up
[...]ails all.
London, printed for I. Jackson, near Fleet street.