WATERSTOCK,
OXFORDSHIRE.

Foreman.
Make room, make room, my boys and gals, and give me room to rise,{note1} for 'tis a time and 'tis a time and 'tis a jolly old Christmas time. I'll have none of your aggling, straggling sorts of ways, or none of your royal fame, for I've travelled through England, through France and through Spain, and now I've come to my own country again, and if you do n't believe just what I say, step in King George and clear the way.

King George.
I am King George this noble knight who lost my blood by English fight, and that's the reason why I carries this dangerous weapon.

King George waves his sword in the air.

Captain Slasher.
I am a valiant soldier bold, Captain Slasher is my name, sword and buckle by my side I hope to Will the day.

King George.
Captain Slasher don't you be too hot for in this room you don't know who you've got so mind your head and guard your blows, and likewise also your great long nose.

Captain Slasher.
A battle, a battle betwixt you and I to see which on the ground shall lie.

They pretend to fight with swards and King George falls down.

Foreman.
Docter, Docter where be thee King George is wounded through the knee, docter, docter play thy part King George is wounded through the heart. £5 would I give for a jolly docter if he were but here this night.

The Doctor comes into the room.

Doctor.
Sir, here am I.

Foreman.
Where do you come from.

Doctor.
Fortnight beyond the leather windmill, where they dags{note2} ducks, shears owls, leads blind geese to water in timber chains, frogs hedging, toads ditching, cabbage grows bottom upwards about the size of beans, ring-tailed monkeys and the bob-tailed bow, dead donkey kicked a blind man's eyes out, old doman sets up in one corner sifting butter-milk for young donkeys, live lion stuffed with beanstraw, an all they sort of things.

Foreman.
Have you come all that way to-night ?

Doctor.
Yes, sir, upon a little pony knocked me cock-tailed without are a crupper.

Foreman.
What deceases can you cure ?

Doctor.
All sorts of deceases just what my physic pleases, hard corns, soft corns, blood corns hilth pitth{note3} palsy and the gout, pain within and a pain without, if the very old un's in him I'll fetch e out. Bring{note4} to me a old woman 7 years Dead eight years Burried 9 years laid in her grave I'll guarantee her life and I'll cure this young man if he's not quite Dead Foreman What s your pay Dr five pounds my pay but five pound ten I'll have out of thee before I set this man free Foreman set to work Jack Dr this man got the Toothache very Bad give me my Pliers raming Bottle Box of Pills. Doctor draws tooth look at the twangs of that small tooth nough to ruin any man. here Jack take it and fry it for your supper. I shan't that have got a maggot in take one of these pills Jack if that won't do e no good I don't know whall ull put your rip-rap into my snip-snap, rise up King George and fight again.

King George.
Terrible terrible life was never seen, nough to ruin a man out of his seven senses into his seventeen.

Captain Slasher.
E, silly ass lived upon grass come so far to view a stranger, lives in hopes to buy some rope to tie your great long nose up to a manger.

King George.
What makes your nose look so red ?

Captain Slasher.
You drink a drop more bread and cheese and eat a bit more beer, your nose'll look redder than that is now.

Foreman.
Come in, Jack Finney.

Jack Finney.
My name ent Jack Finney nor John Finney: my name 's Mr Finney man of great fame bred and born at Thame, come to do more than you or any man can do.

Foreman.
What can you do?

Jack Finney.
Cure a magpie with the toothache.

Foreman.
How do you do that?

Jack Finney.
Cut its head off and through its body in the ditch.

Foreman.
Fine cure that is, come in Mr Finney.

Jack Finney.
In comes I as ant been it with my great head and little wit, my head so big, my wit so small I'll do my duty to please you all. My father killed a great fat hog and this you may plainly see, for this is the old bladder out of his old hurdy gurdy gee.

Foreman.
Jack, will you sell your bladder?

Jack Finney.
No for if I do I shall go mad for many a battle have me and my old bladder had.
Yankee Doodle.{note5}

Notes.

1. rise is crossed out and over it is written in pencil the word rhyme.
2. The letter y in thay and the s in days are pencilled additions.
3. There is an e inserted in pencil between the words hilth and pitth and these words are broken by vertical strokes in pencil, thus: hil/th pit/th
4. The passage from Bring to the down to the Box of pills inclusive, is unlike the rest of the manuscript, apparently written by an old but fairly well educated man.
5. Evidently the concluding song.