Slippery Will, or The old Bachelors complaint, with his aduice to all yong men not to doe as he had done:
His youthfull time he spent away,
Which makes him now this Prouerbe say,
That he that will not when he may,
When he would, he should haue nay.
To the tune of,
The Bonny Bonny Broome.
LOng haue I liu'd a Batchelors life,
and had no mind to marry,
But now
I would faine haue a wife,
either
Doll, Kate, Sis, or
Mary,
These foure did loue me very well,
had my choice of many,
But one did all the rest excell,
and that was pretty
Nanny:
O young men all, to you I cry and call,
make not too long delay,
For if you will not when you may,
when ye would, ye shall haue nay.
These Lasses faire did loue me very deare,
when I was in my prime,
But now giue eare and you shall heare,
how I spent away my time:
I promis'd
Kate to be her true loue
and would not falsifie,
But soone I did contrary proue,
oh I cannot it deny.
O young, &c.
[...]fter
Kate I went and wooed
Doll,
she was my ducke and my deare,
Her owne swéet heart she did me call,
of me she had no feare,
But I left her for
Siffes swéet sake,
for which poore
Kate did grieue,
And she did proclamations make,
that no Maid should me beléeue▪
O young, &c.
Now
Sisly she my true loue must be,
many fine words I her told,
And she most faithfully beléeued me,
and gaue me siluer and gold;
Which fréely I in company
did spend and made no care,
She called me her deare honny,
and bade
I should not spare.
O young, &c.
Now I hauing wasted much of her coyne,
she then began to grow weare,
Then did she séeke me to combine,
that I with her should marry.
But I was loth to yéeld vnto her will,
I told her I would tarry.
Then afterward I did vse my skill,
for to be beloued of
Mary.
O young, &c.
Now
Mary she did thinke verily,
that I had béene her owne,
But she was much deceiu'd in me,
as plainely shall be showne,
She was so cunning, crafty and wise,
that she would not part with her money,
Then when I found her so precise,
I went and wooed
Nanny.
O young men all, to you I cry and call,
make not too long delay,
For if you will not when you may,
when you would, you shall haue nay.
The second part.
To the same tune.
SWéet
Nan did loue me beare indéed,
she would not sée me to lacke,
She gaue me money to serue my need,
and apparell to my backe,
She called me her honny, conny, deare,
her true delight and her loue,
no alwaies bade that I should not feare,
but that she would constant proue.
O young men all, to you I cry and call,
make not too long delay,
For if you will now when you may,
when you would, you shall haue nay.
Thus did
I spend away my time of youth,
and now begin to waxe old,
The Prouerbe now
I finde is truth,
Hot loue soone waxeth cold.
I went and tryed my Lasses ore againe,
but I found them all very strange,
They tell me now it is in vaine,
so often to fleet and change.
O young, &c.
When I came to proue my first true loue,
asking her if she did well,
But now she doth contrary proue,
and wish'd that the diuell of hell
Might take me vp vpon his backe,
and carry me about to sell;
She bid me thence away to packe,
and not come where she doth dwell.
O young, &c.
From
Kate to
Doll I did then repaire,
and called her my owne Swéet-heart,
She asked me what I did there,
and bade me thence depart,
She cul'd me slaue and cheating knaue,
and swore she would procure
Some punishment for me to haue,
that I might smart endure.
O young, &c.
I hearing her to threaten me so,
went quickly from her sight,
Then to my
Sisly I did goe,
which was my hearts delight;
But when she saw me at the doore,
she would not let me in,
But told me of my fault
[...] before,
and said, She would baste my skin.
O young, &c.
Then wandring from thence I wont,
and came to Mistresse
Mary.
Who was resolu'd with full intent,
my life for to miscarry:
She fetcht a spit and ran at me,
thin
[...]ing to end my life,
She vsed me most cruelly,
and at me drew her knife.
O young, &c.
Then presently to
Nan I bi'd,
to see if she would be kind,
But she at me did raile and chide,
and swore she would heat me blind,
She tooke her Distaffe in her hand,
and laid on me very sore;
I thought it was no boot to stand,
but get me out of doore.
O young, &c.
I must confesse that I did amisse,
in louing of so many,
O but now what a plague is this?
am not beloued of any,
My heart is grieued very sore,
to thinke an former ioyes,
O I shall neuer see them more,
then list to me, young boyes.
For time and tide doth quickly glide,
and time for none will stay,
Then take your time when as you may,
or else perhaps you may haue nay.
FINIS.
Printed at London for E. B.