31  The SUCCESS of/ Two English Travellers;/ Newly Arrived in London [Pepys 2.232]

‘To a new Irish Tune’ (standard name: ?Lilliburlero)

The purpose of this section is to provide brief notes on the melody followed by detailed evidence relating to  its career, paying particular attention to the ‘echoes’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was nominated for the singing of more than one ballad. In the list presented in the ‘Songs and Summaries’ section below, we have endeavoured to include as many of the black-letter ballads that used the tune as possible, under any of its variant names. Titles from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type (these are also in colour when there is a link to the relevant ballad page on the website). It should be noted that it is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).  In most cases, we list the earliest surviving edition of a ballad, though in many instances there may have been earlier versions, now lost.

Versions and variations

It seems likely that the ‘new Irish Tune’ to which The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers was set was actually the melody that subsequently became known as ‘Lilli burlero’ (though Simpson disagrees). There is clearly some uncertainty, and we have therefore not included in this section information that relates to the more famous tune name. This can be found instead in the sections on A NEW SONG. If the tune for The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers was not ‘Lilli burlero’, then we have to consider it lost. Our recording makes use of the version of ‘Lilli burlero’ that appears on one of the surviving editions of A New SONG (EBBA 32857).

Echoes (an overview)

The melody was clearly very successful during the mid-1680s, after which its popularity may have continued under the famous name of Lilli Burlero. It was attached to several different textual themes, suggesting perhaps that the ‘new Irish Tune’ of c. 1685 was still in the process of finding its feet. Most of the songs listed below were about relations between the sexes, often presenting these as rather fraught (see, for example, Couragious Anthony). Two ballads shifted the focus onto relations between rich aristocrats and much poorer people, and both of these tell fantastical stories of upward socio-economic mobility (See THE Noble Mans Generous Kindness and  The poor Mans distress & tryal). There are points of contact between the first of these songs and another one, The Old Mans Sayings, which expresses the nostalgia of the elderly for times gone by. One song delivers a robust defence of female fashions (The London Ladies Vindication OF TOP-KNOTS), and three express loyalty to the crown.

The complication here is that the first ballad, The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers, supports James II while the later examples welcome his replacement, William III (The Prince of ORANGE Welcome to LONDON and ENGLANDS Deliverance). Of course, loyal political songs were to be the dominant theme in ballads set to ‘Lilli burlero’, and it seems plausible to argue that the manner in which one tune-title faded while the other exploded is more than coincidental: 'The two English travellers' was used repeatedly as a tune title in 1685-89, after which it was scarcely mentioned; 'Lilli burlero', in contrast, was named as the melody for songs only in the years from 1688 onwards. On A New SONG (the originator of the 'Lilli burlero' tune title in 1688), the melody is described as 'an Excellent IRISH Tune, much in Request'; this too fits nicely with the suggestion that the tune was 'The two English travellers' in a new guise. If the two titles did indeed identify the same tune, then we can say that in 1688 and under the name 'Lilli burlero' this still-famous melody had finally found its niche. Battles of the sexes had made the early running but it was battles of a different sort that carried the tune forward.

The ballads listed below were connected not only by their shared melody but by a number of direct intertextual echoes, only a few of which can be noted here. The line, ‘But when they came there’ is used to distinctive effect at the opening of verses both in The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers and in THE Noble Mans Generous Kindness. The second of these songs has a verse in which a poor man says, ‘No Work comes amiss, for I Thresh and I Plow,/ Thus I eat my Bread by the sweat of my Brow.’ One of the men in THE Witty Damsel of Devonshire is described in comparable terms: ‘His living he gets by the sweat of his Brow,/ Sometimes by his Thrashing then Harrow and Plow’. Similarly, lines in  The subtil Miss of LONDON - ‘As she was a ranging along in the street/ A Ranting brave Gallant she chanced to meet’ – echoed an earlier description in The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers: ‘When we was a walking/ along in the street,/ Both Men, Wifes, and Children,/  and all we did meet’.

[See 'Postscript', below, for additional notes on the melody].

Songs and Summaries

The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers; Newly Arrived in London... To a new Irish Tune (P. Brooksby, 1685-86).  Pepys 2.232; EBBA 20845.  Politics – celebration, controversy, domestic, foreign affairs, Royalist; Places – European, nationalities; Death – execution, murder; Royalty – general.  Two travellers return to England after years in the wilderness and are pleased to find James II safely installed on the throne.

The BITER BITTEN, OR, The Broker well-fitted by the Joyner, and the Joyners Wife... To the Tune of, The two English Travellers (J. Blare, 1685-88). Roxburghe 2.29; EBBA 30149. Gender – marriage, cuckoldry/adultery, sex, masculinity, femininity; Violence – domestic, interpersonal; Humour – deceit/disguise, bawdry, extreme situations/surprises, mockery; Economy – money; Emotions – longing, anger; Employment – crafts/trades; Bodies – looks/physique, injury, clothing; Morality – romantic/sexual. A broker offers money to the beautiful wife of a joiner if she will have sex with him, but she tells her husband and together they devise a plan for his humiliation.

The DYER Deceiv'd; OR, The Crafty WIVES Policy... Tune of, The Two English Travellers (J. Back, 1685-88). Pepys 4.126; EBBA 21790. Gender – cuckoldry/adultery, marriage, sex; Humour – deceit/disguise, bawdry, extreme situations/surprises, mockery; Employment – crafts/trades; Emotions – jealousy, anger, confusion; Environment – animals; Recreation – alcohol; Society – friendship, neighbours, old/young. An old dyer locks his young wife’s lover in a cupboard but she manages to release him, replacing him with a large dog in order to guarantee the humiliation of her husband when he returns with some of his neighbours.

THE Noble Mans Generous Kindness, OR, The Country-Mans Unexpected Happiness... To the Tune of, The two English Travellers (P. Brooksby, 1685-88).  Pepys 2.56; EBBA 20680.  Society – rich and poor; rural life; criticism; Economy – household, livings; Employment – agrarian; Gender – marriage; Family – general; Morality – social/economic. A nobleman is so impressed by the diligent toil of a thresher and his wife that he rewards them with gifts beyond their wildest imaginings.

The Old Mans Sayings Concerning the Alteration of the Times... Tune is, The two English Travellers (C. Bates, 1685-88).  Pepys 4.301; EBBA 21963.  Society – criticism, old/young; History – recent; Emotions – sorrow; Morality – general; Employment – crafts/trades; Economy – livings, money; Family – children/parents; Gender – marriage; Religion – Christ/God.  An old man insists that all aspects of life were far better when he was a boy.

The poor Mans distress & tryal, Or, Fortunes Favours after her Frowns... To the Tune of, The Two English Travellers (P. Brooksby, 1685-88).  Pepys 2.94; EBBA 20717.   Society – rich and poor; Economy – hardship, household; Emotions – anger, fear; Family – children/parents, siblings; Gender – singles, masculinity; Morality – social/economic; Crime – prison; Places – English.  A poor man is harshly treated by a merciless landlord, but when the poor man inherits his brother’s fortune, the landlord suddenly wants to be his friend.

THE Sommerset-shire Damsel beguil'd; OR, The Bonny Baker Chous'd in his Bargain... To the Tune of, The Two English Travellers (J. Blare, 1685-88). Crawford 169; EBBA 32972. Gender – sex, courtship, femininity, masculinity; Employment – crafts/trades; Family – pregnancy/childbirth; Bodies – clothing; Emotions – anxiety, contentment; Humour – deceit/disguise, mockery.  A young woman rejects several working men in favour of a well-dressed gallant, but when he impregnates and abandons her she returns to one of her earlier suitors, a gullible baker, and he is pleased to marry her.

The subtil Miss of LONDON: OR, The Ranting Hector well fitted by this cunning Miss... To the Tune of, The two English Travellers (J. Deacon, 1685-88). Crawford 803; EBBA 33264. Gender – sex, masculinity, femininity; Family – children/parents, kin; Recreation – alcohol, food; Humour – bawdry, deceit/disguise, extreme situations/surprises, mockery; Employment – prostitution; Bodies – clothing, nourishment; Places – English. A young woman is offered money for sex by a gallant, so she and her mother get the man so drunk that he passes out, at which point they dress him in female clothing and dispatch him on a boat to Gravesend.

THE Well-Approved DOCTOR: OR, An Infallible Cure for CUCKOLDS... To the Tune of, The Two English Travellers (J. Deacon, 1685-88).  Pepys 4.149; EBBA 21813.  Gender – adultery/cuckoldry, marriage; Humour – bawdry, domestic/familial, mockery, satire; Bodies – health/sickness; Employment – professions; Places – nationalities; Society – old/young. A doctor who can cure cuckolds with a single treatment is approached by afflicted men from all social backgrounds and several nations.

Yea & Nay the Quaker, Deceived: OR, The Taylors Cabbidge Discovered...To the Tune of, The Two English Travellers: Or, Packingtons Pound (C. Dennisson, 1685-88). Pepys 4.280; EBBA 21941. Employment – crafts/trades; Religion – Protestant nonconformity, sin/repentance; Gender – marriage, masculinity, femininity; Morality – social/economic; Crime – robbery/theft; Recreation – fashions; Economy – livings; Emotions – anger, guilt, shame; Bodies – clothing. A Quaker who makes his living as a tailor is in the habit of stealing (‘cabbidging’) sections of cloth from his clients, but his wife – more honest than he – plays a trick that forces him into a confession.

The Witty PLOWMAN; OR, The Country Wooing between honest John and his dearly beloved Joan... Tune of, The Two English Travellers (P. Brooksby, 1685-98). Douce 2(256a). Gender – courtship; Employment – agrarian; Bodies – clothing, adornment; Emotions – love, disdain, contentment; Recreation – weddings; Religion – clergy; Family – kin, inheritance. Joan and John agree to marry, even though she has spent much of the song explaining that she hates him.

Couragious Anthony: OR, A Relation of a Dreadful Combat between Bonny Anthony, and his Wife... To the Tune of The two English Travellers (J. Blare, 1685-1706). Pepys 4.146; EBBA 21810. Gender – marriage, masculinity, femininity, adultery/cuckoldry; Bodies – nourishment, bodily functions, injury; Emotions – anger, contentment; Violence – domestic; Humour – extreme situations/surprises; Morality – romantic/sexual; Recreation – alcohol. Anthony explains how he ‘corrected’ his scolding wife by beating her with ‘A Cudgel of Holly’, and he reports that all is now well in the marriage.

The Prince of ORANGE Welcome to LONDON. To the Tune of, The two English Travellers (G. J., 1688).  Pepys 2.255; EBBA 20868.  Politics – celebration, domestic, controversy, parliament, Royalist; Royalty – praise; Emotions – joy; News – political; Religion – Catholic/Protestant, church. This celebrates the arrival of William of Orange and the consequent defeat of those who hoped to establish Catholicism in England.

The London Ladies Vindication OF TOP-KNOTS... To the Tune of, Here I Love, there I Love: OR, The two English Travellers (P. Brooksby, J. Deacon, J. Blare, and J. Back, 1688-96). Crawford 1464; EBBA 34204. Bodies – clothing, adornment, looks/physique; Recreation – fashions; Gender – femininity, masculinity, marriage; Emotions – anger; Employment – crafts/trades, female; Morality – social/economic; Society – urban life. The women of London defend their right to display ‘Rich Towers with Topknots, and Powdered Hair’, and they argue both that their beauty brings business to their husbands and that men in fact dress far more vainly than they do.

THE Witty Damsel of Devonshire: OR, A Dialogue between a Mother and her Daughter, concerning Robin the Miller... Tune of Here I Love, there I Love: Or, The two English Travellers (P. Brooksby, J. Deacon, J. Blare, and J. Back, 1688-96). Crawford 299; EBBA 33641. Employment – crafts/trades, female; Family – children/parents; Gender – courtship, masculinity; Society – old/young;  Morality – familial, romantic/sexual; Environment – buildings; Politics – Royalist; Royalty – praise; Bodies – health/sickness. A mother and her daughter argue over which of two men, a miller and a ploughman, would make the best husband for the younger woman.

ENGLANDS Deliverance, OR, God's Gracious Mercy at the time of Misery... To the Tune of, The Two English Travellers (A. B., 1689).  Pepys 2.65; EBBA 20690. Politics – celebration, domestic, foreign affairs; Religion  - divine intervention; Emotions – joy.  This offers thanks to God (and others) for saving the nation from the dangers it faced under James II.

Postscript

The tune was also named from time to time on white-letter ballads. See, for example, ROMES DOCTOR OR, Rare Receipts, prescribed by J.P. for the use of the late Chancellor and the Jesuits in Newgate, against they come to their Trial. Tune of, The two English Travellers (A. Milbourn, 1689).

Christopher Marsh

References

Claude Simpson, The British broadside ballad and its music (New Brunswick, 1966), pp. 453, 686, 782, and 783.

Standard woodcut name: Respectful man with tufts of grass

The purpose of this section is to provide evidence relating to  the career of the image under discussion, paying particular attention to the ‘reflections’ (inter-song associations and connections) that may have been set up if it was chosen to illustrate more than one ballad. The list given below includes all ballads from the Pepys and Roxburghe collections that feature this woodcut or a close variant (these are the two largest collections, including approximately 3300 sheets, in total). References to ballads from other collections occur only when the featured edition of the song under consideration here (or the featured edition of another song from our list) comes from such a source. Ballads from our chart of best-sellers are presented in bold type, and they also appear in colour where there is a link to another song in the database. Please note, however, that the editions of hit songs listed below are not necessarily those for which digital images are presented on this website. Cross-references to other examples of our featured woodcuts are also presented in bold. It is extremely difficult to date many ballads precisely and the chronological order in which the songs are listed is therefore very approximate (we have drawn on previous attempts to date the ballads, making adjustments when additional evidence can be brought into play).

Reflections (an overview)

In cinematic parlance, this man was a romantic male lead. He appears mainly on courtship ballads featuring men who seem to deserve our admiration or our sympathy (they cover quite a range, however, from the bashful to the sexually exuberant). His respectful gestures were sometimes used on ballads about male social relations, but it is interesting that the primary associations of his apparently deferential body language were romantic.

On non-romantic ballads, Respectful man with tufts of grass is also associated with positive role models, including honest craftsmen and, on one occasion, a personification of Conscience. On a few sheets, he plays less admirable figures – an unreliable lover and a cuckold, for example – but the mood he conveyed was overwhelmingly positive, and one wonders if viewers ever struggled to re-process him when he represented negative types. When he played the cuckold, for instance, perhaps we might feel moved to muse that sexual disaster can befall even the nicest individuals (everyman was a cuckold, according to one regularly recycled piece of ballad reportage).

The appearance of Respectful man with tufts of grass on The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers is a little unusual, in that he plays the part of a traveller heading for a ship rather than a man looking for a woman. The picture, at the very least, must have encouraged consumers to look favourably upon the adventurers described in the song. Other editions of the ballad, however, used different pictures.

This woodcut was popular between c.1640 and c.1690, and it existed in several slightly different versions. Sometimes the man walked to the left, and sometimes to the right (presumably a result of copying the image from print rather than from an existing block). It is clear that several printers saw the value in owning their own version of the woodblock, and the fact that at least eleven publishers issued ballads featuring the image suggests that they were right.

Songs and summaries

The Seamans Adieu to his Dear (F. Coles, 1624-80).  Roxburghe 3.106-07; EBBA 30428.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Emotions – sorrow, love, patriotism; Politics – foreign affairs, obedience, power.  A young woman begs a captain to release her sweetheart from military service but all to no avail (picture placement: in a back-to-front version, he appears on the right side of the sheet, gesturing towards a woman who holds a fan before her).

Amorous Bettys Delight: OR, No Name can compare unto Sweet William (R. Burton, 1640-74).  Roxburghe 3.124-25; EBBA 30437. Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Emotions – love, contentment; Bodies – physique/looks. Betty explains why William is a far more appealing romantic prospect than all the other men who have courted her (picture placement: in a reversed version of the woodcut, he walks towards a woman with a fan on the right side of the sheet).

[THE] Merry Wooing of Robin & Ioan The West-Country Lovers (J. Conyers, 1661-92). Pepys 4.15;  EBBA 21682.  Gender – courtship; Humour – mockery; Places – English; Society – rural life.  A courtship dialogue, written in west-country dialect and describing a couple’s journey from discord to harmony (picture placement: he walks away from a Walking woman, and she appears to follow him, turning her back on another man).

The Constant Couple, OR, The Glory of True Love (J. Conyers, 1661-92).  Pepys 3.163; EBBA 21175.  Gender – courtship; Morality – romantic/sexual; Emotions – love; Bodies – clothing. The describes an exemplary courtship between a young man and his sweetheart (picture placement: he approaches a young couple, hand-in-hand on a sunny day).

Chastities Conquest; OR, No Trusting before Marriage (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Pepys 3.135; EBBA 21146.  Gender – courtship, marriage; Morality – romantic/sexual; Emotions – longing. A dialogue ballad in which a young woman refuses to have sex with a man until they are married (picture placement: he appears beneath the title, approaching a young woman who holds what may be a mirror and stands beside a peacock).

The Country-mans care in choosing a Wife (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Pepys 4.90; EBBA 21754.  Gender – courtship, femininity; Employment – female/male, crafts/trades; Society – rural life. A fussy countryman reviews his romantic options, listing the various types of women that he has rejected before settling finally and happily upon a rich farmer’s daughter (picture placement: in an back-to-front version of the woodcut, he walks towards a woman holding a fan).

The Country-mans delight: Or, the Happy Wooing (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Pepys 3.134; EBBA  21145.  Gender – courtship, femininity; Emotions – longing.  A young woman is unimpressed by a man’s declarations until she realises he is wealthier than she had thought (picture placement: he walks towards a Welcoming woman).

The Dumb Lady; Or, NO, no, not I; I'le Answer (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Roxburghe 2.111; EBBA 30597.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity, sex, sexual violence; Emotions – anxiety, longing. A loquacious man declares his desire for a woman of few words until, eventually, she grants his wish (picture placement: on the right side of the sheet, he approaches a woman who stands with her back to him, holding a fan).

The Pensive Maid: OR, The Virgins Lamentation for the loss of her Lover (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Pepys 3.10; EBBA 21003. Gender – courtship, femininity; Death – grief, warfare, suicide; Emotions – sorrow, love; Employment – sailors/soldiers; Violence – between states; Politics – war, foreign affairs; Environment – weather, rivers. A young woman is informed that her sweetheart has been slain in a foreign battle, and she subsides in despair (picture placement: he appears beneath the title, approaching a young woman who holds what may be a mirror and stands beside a peacock).

The Poor Mans Prayer for Peace, in these sorrowful Times of Trouble. OR, Poor England's Misery in this time of Distress (P. Brooksby, 1670-98).  Roxburghe 2.267; EBBA 30723. Religion – Christ/God, sin/repentance, prayer; Society – criticism; Morality – general; Politics – foreign affairs, domestic, obedience; Recration – alcohol. England’s current troubles, particularly warfare, are blamed on the nation’s sins in this call for prayer and repentance (picture placement: he appears beneath the title, walking away from one group of men and towards another).

THE Country Damosels Lamentation For her LOVE (J. Deacon, 1671-99).  Pepys 3.341; EBBA 21356. Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Emotions – longing, sorrow; Society – old and young; Humour – mockery; Recreation - music. A woman is desperate for a husband but cannot find a candidate who is both honest and agreeable (picture placement: he is one of two men who stand alongside a maiden beneath an archway).

Loves Boundless Power OR, The Charmed Lovers Happiness Compleated (J. Deacon, 1671-99).  Pepys 3.194; EBBA 21207. Gender – courtship; Emotions – love, longing, joy; History – ancient/mythological, romance. Doranus sings of his love for the beautiful Phyllis and is overjoyed when she reciprocates (picture placement: he appears beneath the title and next to a Roman scene with naked woman).

A Constant Wife, and a Kind Wife, A Loving Wife, and a Fine Wife (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, and J. Clarke, 1675-80).  Pepys 4.82; EBBA 21746.  Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Emotions – anger, love, joy; Morality – familial; Family – kin; Bodies – looks/physique; Violence – interpersonal; Society – old and young, rich/poor.  A young man fights hard to free his sweetheart from the confinement imposed by her disapproving ‘friends’, and then finds time to praise her person in considerable detail (picture placement: in an inverted version, he walks towards a woman with a fan).

The Distressed VIRGIN; Or, The false young-man, and the constant maid (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, J. Clarke. W. Thackeray and T. Passinger, 1680-81).  Pepys 3.313; EBBA 21327.  Gender – courtship, masculinity, femininity; Emotions – love, anger. A heart-broken woman laments her deep devotion to a false-hearted and unfaithful man (picture placement: he walks towards a woman who holds a fan before her).

The Happy Lovers Pastime (F. Coles, T. Vere, J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray & T. Passinger, 1680-81).  Pepys 4.4; EBBA 21671.  Gender – courtship; Emotions – love, joy. The narrator over-hears a shepherd and a nymph declaring and discussing their undying love for one another (picture placement: in an inverted version of the woodcut, he walks towards a woman who holds a fan before her).

My Dog and I ([F. Coles, T. Vere,] J. Wright, J. Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1680-81).  Pepys 4.229; EBBA 21889.  Humour – bawdry, misunderstanding; Gender – sex, masculinity; Bodies – physique. A man sings the praises of the trusty ‘dog’ who helps him in his entanglements with women (picture placement: in an inverted version of the image, he walks towards a woman who holds a fan before her).

THE Inn-keeper's Complaint; OR, THE Country Victuallor's Lamentation for the Dearness of MALT (J. Blare, 1681-1706). Pepys 4.330; EBBA 21993.  Employment – crafts/trades; Economy – hardship, prices/wages, taxation; Politics – foreign affairs, domestic, controversy; Recreation – alcohol, good fellowship, food; Emotions – anxiety. England’s inn-keepers complain that the high price of malt is forcing them to abandon the generous measures and other benefits that they were previously able to offer their customers (picture placement: in a back-to-front version, he walks towards Two men talking).

The Young-Mans Complaint for The Loss of his Mistris (J. Wright, J. Clark, W. Thackeray, T. Passinger, and M. Coles, 1682).  Pepys 4.52;  EBBA 21718.  Gender – courtship, masculinity; Emotions – love, sorrow. A young man expresses his despair at having failed to win the woman he loves because of his temperamental bashfulness (picture placement: in an inverted version of the woodcut, he walks away from a young woman).

Truth in Mourning: OR, Conscience kick'd out of Countenance by City and Country (J. Blare, 1682-1706).  Pepys 2.52; EBBA 20676.  Employment – professions, crafts/trades; Society – criticism; Morality – social/economic; Death – unlawful killing; Economy – general; Violence – interpersonal.  Conscience makes his way through society, warning all people of their misdeeds, before finally dying at the hands of those who will not heed his warnings (picture placement: he appears beneath the title, approaching a mixed group of indivduals).

The SUCCESS of Two English Travellers; Newly Arrived in London (P. Brooksby, 1685-86).  Pepys 2.232; EBBA 20845. Politics – celebration, controversy, domestic, foreign affairs, Royalist; Places – European, nationalities; Death – execution, murder; Royalty – general. Two travellers return to England after years in the wilderness and are pleased to find James II safely installed on the throne (picture placement: he walks towards a ship, watched by a small crowd).

A FAIRING For Young-Men and Maids (P. Brooksby, 1685-88).  Roxburghe 2.162-3; EBBA 30640.  Gender – courtship, sex; Recreation – alcohol, fairs/festivals; Humour – bawdry; Emotions – joy, love, longing; Employment – agrarian.  An account of the multiple courtships that take place among young people at a fair (picture placement: in a reversed version of the picture, he walks towards a woman who holds a fan before her).

Modesty Amazed; Or, The Dorset-shire Damosel importunate with her Mother to know Rogers meaning in Wooing (J. Deacon, 1685-88).  Roxburghe 2.338-39; EBBA 30784. Family – children/parents; Gender – courtship, sex, femininity, masculinity; Emotions – confusion, longing; Humour – misunderstanding; Morality – romantic/sexual.  An innocent maiden asks her mother to explain the nature of Roger’s insistent physical attentions, and in response she is wisely warned to prevent him from proceeding any further until they are married (picture placement: in a reversed version of the woodcut, he walks towards a Welcoming woman but another woman, sitting with her back to him, obstructs his path).

THE Noble Mans Generous Kindness, OR, The Country-Mans Unexpected Happiness (P. Brooksby, 1685-88).  Pepys 2.56; EBBA 20680. Society – rich and poor; rural life; criticism; Economy – household, livings; Employment – agrarian; Gender – marriage; Family – general; Morality – social/economic. A nobleman is so impressed by the diligent toil of a thresher and his wife that he rewards them with gifts beyond their imagining (picture placement: he approaches another man who stands in a field in front of a house).

THE Well-Approved DOCTOR: OR, An Infallible Cure for CUCKOLDS (J. Deacon, 1685-88).  Pepys 4.149; EBBA 21813. Gender – adultery/cuckoldry, marriage; Humour – bawdry, domestic/familial, mockery, satire; Bodies – health/sickness; Employment – professions; Places – nationalities; Society – old/young. A doctor who can cure cuckolds with a single treatment is approached by afflicted men from all social backgrounds and several nations (picture placement: in an inverted version of the woodcut, he walks towards a doctor, beyond whom stands a horned cuckold).

The two Constant Lovers. OR, A Pattern of true Love (W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger, 1687-88).  Pepys 3.27; EBBA 21022. Gender – courtship, masculinity; Family -  siblings; Violence – interpersonal; Emotions – love, anger, joy. A courting couple face the disapproval of the woman’s ‘friends’, and the man does battle with her brother in order to win her hand (picture placement: he walks towards a woman who holds a fan).

THE Trades-men's Lamentation; OR, A Discourse between WILL the Weaver, and RICHARD the Glover (J. Deacon, 1688).  Pepys 4.315; EBBA 21977.  Economy – hardship, livings, prices/wages; Employment – agrarian, crafts/trades; Morality – social/economic; Emotions – sorrow; Society – rural life, rich and poor.  A weaver and a glover discuss the hard economic times but express hope for better fortunes to come (picture placement: in an inverted version of the picture, he approaches a friendly-looking man in similar attire).

A TURN-COAT of the Times. Who doth by experience profess and protest, That of all professions, a Turn-Coat's the best (imprint missing, 1688-89).  Roxburghe 2.478; EBBA 30960.  Politics – domestic, controversy, satire; History – recent; Bodies – clothing. A man describes the immensely flexible approach to political identity that has helped him survive and thrive during the turbulence of the Civil War, Interregnum and Restoration (picture placement: he appears beneath the title, walking towards another man with his hat in his hand).

The Ruined Lovers.  Being a rare Narrative of a young Man that dy'd for his Mistriss in June last (W. Thakeray, J. M., and A. M., 1690-92).  Roxburghe 2.390-91; EBBA 30825. Gender – courtship, femininity, masculinity; Emotions – love, sorrow; Death – heartbreak; Morality – romantic/sexual. A young man dies of a broken heart, a fate that is soon shared by the guilt-ridden woman who rejected him (picture placement: he walks towards a young woman with ringlets).

Christopher Marsh