E-text prepared by Jason Isbell, Ben Beasley,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team

THE LOVING BALLAD OF LORD BATEMAN.

ILLUSTRATED BY

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK.

LONDON:

CHARLES TILT, FLEET STREET.

AND MUSTAPHA SYRIED, CONSTANTINOPLE.

MDCCCXXXIX.

Warning to the Public

CONCERNING

THE LOVING BALLAD OF LORD BATEMAN.

In some collection of old English Ballads there is an ancient ditty which Iam told bears some remote and distant resemblance to the following EpicPoem. I beg to quote the emphatic language of my estimable friend (if hewill allow me to call him so), the Black Bear in Piccadilly, and to assureall to whom these presents may come, that "I am the original." Thisaffecting legend is given in the following pages precisely as I havefrequently heard it sung on Saturday nights, outside a house of generalrefreshment (familiarly termed a wine vaults) at Battle-bridge. The singeris a young gentleman who can scarcely have numbered nineteen summers, andwho before his last visit to the treadmill, where he was erroneouslyincarcerated for six months as a vagrant (being unfortunately mistaken foranother gentleman), had a very melodious and plaintive tone of voice,which, though it is now somewhat impaired by gruel and such a getting upstairs for so long a period, I hope shortly to find restored. I have takendown the words from his own mouth at different periods, and have beencareful to preserve his pronunciation, together with the air to which hedoes so much justice. Of his execution of it, however, and the intensemelancholy which he communicates to such passages of the song as are mostsusceptible of such an expression, I am unfortunately unable to convey tothe reader an adequate idea, though I may hint that the effect seems to meto be in part produced by the long and mournful drawl on the last two orthree words of each verse.

I had intended to have dedicated my imperfect illustrations of thisbeautiful Romance to the young gentleman in question. As I cannot find,however, that he is known among his friends by any other name than "TheTripe-skewer," which I cannot but consider as a soubriquet, ornick-name; and as I feel that it would be neither respectful nor proper toaddress him publicly by that title, I have been compelled to forego thepleasure. If this should meet his eye, will he pardon my humble attempt toembellish with the pencil the sweet ideas to which he gives such feelingutterance? And will he believe me to remain his devoted admirer,

GEORGE CRUIKSHANK?

P.S.—The above is not my writing, nor the notes either, nor am I onfamiliar terms (but quite the contrary) with the Black Bear. Nevertheless Iadmit the accuracy of the statement relative to the public singer whosename is unknown, and concur generally in the sentiments above expressedrelative to him.

Transcibers note: The music has been digitized with Lilypond. See these versions:
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