THE CRIES OF LONDON.

SWEEP ! SWEEP HO ! SWEEP !

WHILE quiet and warm in our beds we remain,
The Sweep trudges on, thro' the snow or the rain :
Tho' cold and half naked, the storm he defies;—
Employment his object—‘ Sweep ! Soot ho !’ he cries.

PLUM PUDDING AND PIES—HOT !—PIPING HOT !

Of ‘ Plum Pudding, all hot !’ so attractive and nice,
This poor little chimney-sweep long’d for a slice;
Which TOM WHIMSY, the Pieman, not wanting in sense,
Perceived, and forgave him one half the expense.

2

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

MI-EAU !—MILK BELOW, MAIDS !—MI-EAU !

That children should with milk be fed,
My little readers know ;
And this poor woman earns her bread
By crying ‘ Milk below !’

ONE A PENNY, TWO A PENNY, HOT CROSS BUNS!

'Tis Good-Friday morning,—the little boy runs,
Along with his sister, to buy Hot Cross Buns;
Her apron is full,—yet her brother, the elf,
Unsatisfied still, must buy one for himself.

3

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

SPRATS, BIG AS HERRINGS, HO !—LIVE SPRATS, HO !

Regardless of truth, and too apt to tell lies,
Her ‘ Sprats, large as herrings !’ this fish-woman cries;
And tho’ they expired when withdrawn from the sea,
‘ All leaping alive !’ she declares them to be.

OLD CLOTHES !—HATS, BOOTS, AND OLD CLOTHES !

Four hats on his head, to surprise all beholders,
Boots slung o'er his arm, and a bag on his shoulders;
Moses stops at the door,—a coat Susan shows,—
‘ A ferry goot pargain !’—‘ Ould Cloash !’—‘ Ould Cloash !’

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

WATER-CRESSES !—BUY MY NICE WATER-CRESSES !

Water-Cresses she gathers, this maiden so poor,—
Our blood, if disorder'd, her Cresses will cure;
And honest is Mary, though destined to cry,
‘ Fine fresh Water-Cresses! Who ’ll buy them, who ’ll buy ?’

DUST !—DUST HO! DUST !—DUST HO! DUST !

Now out with your Dust, for the Cart’s at the door,
While forward goes Sam hoarsely bawling for more;
‘ Dust ho!’ and ‘ Dust ho!’ As he raises his voice,
His bell stuns our ears with his dissonant noise.

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

BUY A MAT, OR A HAIR-BROOM!

'A Mat for your door, or a Brush for your room,
Come buy a stout Mat, or a clean-sweeping Broom;
None better than mine, I will dare to presume;
Then come, pretty maids, buy a Mat or Hair-Broom.'

CATS' MEAT, OR DOGS' MEAT!

Our faithful domestics with viands to treat,
See, here is the man with the Cat's and Dog's meat.
A meat, which, it seems, is well known as he cries it,
For Pug and the Cats follow Jane when she buys it.

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

CHAIRS TO MEND!—ANY OLD CHAIRS TO MEND!

From want both himself and his babes to defend,
This traveller cries ' Chairs—any Old Chairs—to mend ?'
Contented our streets and our lanes to explore,
And sings while he mends an old chair at the door.

GREEN AND YOUNG HASTINGS!—TRY AND BUY!

Hark! what says the boy in that cart? What's his cry?
' Green and young Hastings!—Come, try ere you buy.'
Dad empties his peck in the apron of Sue,
While Betsy and George wait to buy a peck too.

8

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

SWORDS, COLOURS, AND STANDARDS!

'Swords, Colours, and Standards, so brilliant and gay,
For juvenile Heroes at Soldiers who play :
As Cornet or Ensign, to suit all conditions,—
A penny each flag,—and no fees for Commissions!'

SWEET-BRIAR AND NOSEGAYS, SO PRETTY, COME BUY!

Sweet-briar and Nosegays of exquisite bloom,
So vivid their tints, and so rich their perfume,
That the well-furnish'd basket, we're forced to admire,
And earnestly wish for a bunch of Sweet-briar.

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

9

FLOWERS BLOWING! ALL A-GROWING!

'Sweet Flowers in pots, all delightfully blowing!'
This florist exclaims—' And my trees all are growing!'
While Neddy, the ass, seems to say—' They may be
'sweet flowers to you—but they're bitter to me.'

WINKLES! A PENNY A PINT, PERRIWINKLES!

'Rare Perriwinkles! a pint for a penny!'
'Just boil'd, nicely season'd, and charming as any!'
So Susan asserts, and whene'er you begin
To taste her ' choice winkles,' she'll give you a pin.

10

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

POTATOES! THREE POUNDS A PENNY, POTATOES!

Augh fait! here's a kind-hearted lass of green Erin,
Unruffled in mind, and for trifles not caring;
Who, trundling her barrow, content in her state is,—
Still crying, 'Three pounds for a penny, Potatoes!'

HOT SPICE GINGERBREAD! HOT—HOT—HOT!

For the sake of good children, young females and boys,
This man both his voice and his talents employs.

'Some fine-flavour'd Cake,' he exclaims, 'I have got:
'Come buy my Spice Gingerbread, smoking hot!'

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

11

BUY A LIVE GOOSE!—BUY A LIVE GOOSE!

'Buy a live Goose!—from my flock pick and choose,
All fat from the Farm, in high order for use;
Five shillings apiece, young and tender the whole,
As e'er flapp'd a wing, at the end of my pole.'

LIVE FOWLS!—LIVE FOWLS!—BUY A LIVE FOWL!

'Live fowls! Charming fowls! in variety see!
Come buy them, kind customers, buy them of me.
The sluggard the cock will arouse when 't is day,
And an egg for the weakly the pullet will lay.'

12

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

LOBSTERS ! LIVE LOBSTERS !—ALL ALIVE, LOBSTERS !

' Lobsters alive ho !—Live Lobsters! and dead,
Who 've chang'd their jet armour to beautiful red,
And yet of no delicate flavour despoil'd ;—
Lobsters alive ho !—Live Lobsters, and boil'd !'

CHOICE BANBURY CAKES ! NICE BANBURY CAKES !

' Here are Banbury Cakes, so deliciously nice—
Come buy only once, and you 'll shortly come twice;
Well crusted with sugar, and fill'd with rich fruit,
And cheap, both your pockets and palates to suit.'

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

LAMBS TO SELL ! YOUNG LAMBS TO SELL !

A flock of young lambs, each so pretty and small,
This man in his basket can carry them all,
Save one on his finger, his business to tell,
While merrily singing ' Young Lambs to sell.'

CURRANTS, RED AND WHITE, A PENNY A PINT !

' Red and white Currants, your thirst to allay,
Refreshingly cool on a warm summer-day :
A penny a pint ! Then come taste them, and try
My red and white Currants ! Come buy, come buy !

14

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

FFOUNDERS! JUMPING ALIVE! FINE FFOUNDERS!

'Come buy my live Flounders!' All jumping, ho!'
'Alive?'—'Yes, all jumping, Ma'am, two hours ago:
From sea just arrived, else may truth never thrive!
Fine Flounders! Fresh Flounders! all jumping alive!'

MATCHES! PLEASE TO WANT ANY MATCHES, MA'AM?

'Please want any Matches, Ma'am?'—meekly and mild,
In piteous plaint ask poor woman and child :
'Do, Ma'am, buy a ha'p'orth of Matches, pray do,
And blessing the poor, Ma'am, so will Heaven bless you.'

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

15

EELS, THREE-PENCE A POUND! LIVE EELS!

'Eels, three-pence a pound,' bawl'd a fish-wife so fat,
As skinning live Eels on the door-step she sat :
'How shockingly cruel!' Humanity cries;
'O, Ma'am, they're quite us'd to't!' the fish-wife replies.

RABBITS! FRESH RABBITS! BUY A RABBIT!

A pole o'er his shoulder the rabbit-man bore,
From which hung young Rabbits, at least half a score;
With pole in his hand, too, his bus'ness he plies,
And cries out, 'Young Rabbits! Who buys, who buys?'

16

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

SIXPENCE A POTTLE, FINE STRAWBERRIES!

'Strawberries, sixpence a pottle! So nice,
That surely you will not begrudge, Sir, the price!
Of treat more delicious could epicure dream,
Than these fine large Strawberries with sugar and cream?'

NEWS! GREAT NEWS IN THE LONDON GAZETTE!

'News! News! Here's great news in the London Gazette,
But what 't is about, that I choose to forget!—
For were I to speak all the news that befel,
I 'm sure not a London Gazette could I sell!'

THE CRIES OF LONDON.

17

PAST TWELVE O'CLOCK, AND A CLOUDY MORNING!

While stretch'd on his pillow each little boy snores,
The Watchman examines our windows and doors;
Or, wrapt in his coat, and, the cold weather scorning,
Cries, ' Past twelve o'clock, and a fine starlight morning!'

PATROL! PATROL!

The Watch-house you here may perceive by the light,
And here comes the Patrol to see all is right;
The Watchmen on duty are us'd to his cry,
And while he is passing, ' All's well!' they reply.

NEW EDITIONS

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1. The BIOGRAPHY of a BROWN LOAF. By the Rev. ISAAC TAYLOR. With 5 wood cuts, and a beautiful Frontispiece.

2. TRANSFORMATION of a BEECH-TREE; or, The History of a Black Chair.

3. The VILLAGE SCHOOL; a Collection of Entertaining Histories, for the Instruction and Amusement of all Good Children.

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5. The HOLIDAY PRESENT.

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