The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington
There was a youth, and a well-belovèd youth,And he was an esquire’s son,He loved the bailiff’s daughter dear,That lived in Islington.
But she was coy, and she would not believeThat he did love her so,No, nor at any time she wouldAny countenance to him show.
But when his friends did understandHis fond and foolish mind,They sent him up to fair London,An apprentice for to bind.
And when he had been seven long years,And his love he had not seen;‘Many a tear have I shed for her sakeWhen she little thought of me.’
All the maids of IslingtonWent forth to sport and play;All but the bailiff’s daughter dear;She secretly stole away.
She put off her gown of gray,And put on her puggish attire;She’s up to fair London gone,Her true-love to require.
As she went along the road,The weather being hot and dry,There was she aware of her true-love,At length came riding by.
She stept to him, as red as any rose,And took him by the bridle-ring:‘I pray you, kind sir, give me one pennỳ,To ease my weary limb.’--
‘I prithee, sweetheart, canst thou tell meWhere that thou wast born?’--‘At Islington, kind sir,’ said she,‘Where I have had many a scorn.’--
‘I prithee, sweetheart, canst thou tell meWhether thou dost knowThe bailiff’s daughter of Islington?’--‘She’s dead, sir, long ago.’--
‘Then will I sell my goodly steed,My saddle and my bow;I will into some far countrey,Where no man doth me know.’--
‘Oh stay, O stay, thou goodly youth!She’s alive, she is not dead;Here she standeth by thy side,And is ready to be thy bride.’--
‘O farewell grief, and welcome joy,Ten thousand times and o’er!For now I have seen my own true-love,That I thought I should have seen no more.’
Words in this poem
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- stole n.
- A long, loose garment reaching to the feet. [AS. stole, L. stola, Gr. stall. See Stall.]
- penn v. t.
- To write; to compose and commit to paper; to indite; to compose; as, to pen a sonnet.
- prithee interj.
- A corruption of pray thee; as, I prithee; generally used without I.
- wast
- The second person singular of the verb be, in the indicative mood, imperfect tense; -- now used only in solemn or poetical style.
- goodly a.
- Pleasant; agreeable; desirable. [OE. godlich, AS. g. See Good, and Like.]
- steed n.
- A horse, especially a spirited horse for state of war; -- used chiefly in poetry or stately prose. [OE. stede, AS. steda a stud-horse, war horse, fr. stod a stud of breeding steeds; akin to G. stute a mare, Icel. stedda, sto, a stud. *163. See Stud of horses.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Oxford Book of Ballads, Project Gutenberg ebook #44593; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Arthur Quiller-Couch, The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington, in The Oxford Book of Ballads (before 1800), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #44593, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/oxford-ballads/the-bailiff-s-daughter-of-islington.html, id L08510.
Form and metre
The Bailiff’s Daughter of Islington is 52 lines in 13 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.6 syllables. 3 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 15% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 -A-A believe · soA · would · showA
- 3 -A-A understand · mindA · london · bindA
- 5 -A-A islington · playA · dear · awayA
- 6 -A-A gray · attireA · gone · requireA
- 7 -A-A road · dryA · love · byA
- 9 ABAB meA · bornB · sheA · scornB
- 10 -A-A me · knowA · islington · agoA
- 11 -A-A steed · bowA · countrey · knowA
- 12 --AA youth · dead · sideA · brideA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| There was a youth, and a well-belovèd youth, | 10 | ·········· |
| And he was an esquire’s son, | 7 | ····/·· |
| He loved the bailiff’s daughter dear, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| That lived in Islington. | 7 | ··˘···· |
| But she was coy, and she would not believe | 10 | ········˘/ |
| That he did love her so, | 6 | ······ |
| No, nor at any time she would | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Any countenance to him show. | 8 | /˘/˘˘··· |
| But when his friends did understand | 8 | ······˘/ |
| His fond and foolish mind, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| They sent him up to fair London, | 8 | ······/˘ |
| An apprentice for to bind. | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| And when he had been seven long years, | 8 | ·····/·· |
| And his love he had not seen; | 7 | ······· |
| ‘Many a tear have I shed for her sake | 9 | /········ |
| When she little thought of me.’ | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| All the maids of Islington | 7 | ······· |
| Went forth to sport and play; | 6 | ······ |
| All but the bailiff’s daughter dear; | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| She secretly stole away. | 7 | ·/˘˘·˘/ |
| She put off her gown of gray, | 7 | ······· |
| And put on her puggish attire; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| She’s up to fair London gone, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Her true-love to require. | 7 | ·····/˘ |
| As she went along the road, | 7 | ···˘/·· |
| The weather being hot and dry, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| There was she aware of her true-love, | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| At length came riding by. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| She stept to him, as red as any rose, | 10 | ·······/˘· |
| And took him by the bridle-ring: | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| ‘I pray you, kind sir, give me one pennỳ, | 9 | ········· |
| To ease my weary limb.’-- | 6 | ···/˘· |
| ‘I prithee, sweetheart, canst thou tell me | 9 | ·/˘/····· |
| Where that thou wast born?’-- | 5 | ····· |
| ‘At Islington, kind sir,’ said she, | 8 | ········ |
| ‘Where I have had many a scorn.’-- | 8 | ····/˘·· |
| ‘I prithee, sweetheart, canst thou tell me | 9 | ·/˘/····· |
| Whether thou dost know | 5 | ····· |
| The bailiff’s daughter of Islington?’-- | 9 | ·/˘/˘···· |
| ‘She’s dead, sir, long ago.’-- | 6 | ····˘/ |
| ‘Then will I sell my goodly steed, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| My saddle and my bow; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I will into some far countrey, | 8 | ········ |
| Where no man doth me know.’-- | 6 | ······ |
| ‘Oh stay, O stay, thou goodly youth! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| She’s alive, she is not dead; | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Here she standeth by thy side, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| And is ready to be thy bride.’-- | 8 | ··/˘···· |
| ‘O farewell grief, and welcome joy, | 8 | ··/··/˘· |
| Ten thousand times and o’er! | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| For now I have seen my own true-love, | 9 | ········· |
| That I thought I should have seen no more.’ | 9 | ········· |
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