The GOSPORT Tragedy:
Or, The Perjured Ship-Carpenter.
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IN Gosport of late there a damsel did dwell,
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For wit and for beauty did many excel;
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A young man did court her to be his dear,
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And he by his trade was a ship-carpenter.
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He said, Oh! dear Molly, if you will agree,
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And will consent to marry me;
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My love you will ease me of sorrow and care,
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If you will but wed a ship-carpenter.
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With blushes more charming than roses in June.
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She answerd sweet William, To wed Im too young.
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Young men are so fickle I see very plain,
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If a maid is not coy they will her disdain.
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They flatter and swear their charms they adore,
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When gaind their consent, they care for no more;
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The handsomest creature that ever was born,
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When man has enjoyd, he will hold in scorn.
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My charming Molly what makes you say so?
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Thy beautys the haven to which I would go.
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So into that country I chance for to steer
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There will cast anchor, and stay with my dea
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I neer shall be cloyd with the charme of me love,
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My love is as true as the turtle-dove;
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And all I crave is to wed with my dear,
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And when thou art mine no danger I fear.
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The life of a virgin, sweet William, I prize,
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For marriage brings sorrows and troubles likewise;
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I am loath to venture, and therefore forbear
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For I will not wed a ship-carpenter.
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For in the time of war to the sea you must go,
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And leave wife and children in sorrow and woe?
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The seas they are perilous, therefore forbear,
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For I will not wed with a ship-carpenter.
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But yet all in vain, she his suit did deny,
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Though he still did Press her to make her comply;
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At length with his cunning he did her betray,
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And to lewd desire he led her away.
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But when with-child this young woman were,
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The tydings she instantly sent to her dear;
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And by the good Heaven he swore to be true.
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Saying, I will wed no other but you.
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They passed on till at length we hear,
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The king wants sailors, to see he repairs,
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Which grieved the damsel unto the heart.
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To think she so soon with a lover must part.
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She said, my dear William ere thou gost to sea,
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Remember the vows that thou madest to me;
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But if you forsake me I never shall rest,
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Oh! why dost thou leave me with sorrow opprest?
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Then with kind embraces to her he did say,
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Ill wed thee, dear Molly, ere I go away;
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And if to-morrow to me thou dost come,
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A licence Ill buy, and it shall be done.
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So with kind embraces he parted that night,
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She wen[t] to meet him in the morning light;
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He said dear charmer thou must go with me,
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Before we are wedded, a friend to see.
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He led her through valleys and groves so deep,
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At length this maiden began for to weep;
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Saying, William, I fancy thou leadst me astray,
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On purpose my innocent life to betray.
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He said that is true, and none you can save,
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For I all this night have been digging a grave;
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Poor innocent soul, when she heard him say so,
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Her eyes like a fountain began for to flow.
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O perjurd creature, the worst of all men,
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Heavens reward thee when Im dead and gone:
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O pity the infant, and spare my life,
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Let me go distressd if Im not thy wife.
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Her hands white as lillies in sorrow she wrung,
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Beseeching for mercy, saying, what have I done
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To you my dear William, what makes you severe?
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For to murder one that loves you so dear.
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And said heres no time disputing to stand,
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And instaantly taking the knife in his hand;
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He pierced her body till the blood it did flow,
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Then into the grave her body did throw.
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He coverd her body, then home he did run,
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Leaving none but birds her death to mourn;
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On board the Bedford he enterd straitway,
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Which lay at Portsmouth out bound for the sea.
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For carpenters mate he was enterd we hear,
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Fitted for his voyage away he did steer;
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But as in his cabbin one night he did lie,
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The voice of his sweetheart he heard to cry.
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O perjurd villain, awake now and hear,
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The voice of your love, that lovd you so dear;
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This ship out of Portsmouth never shall go,
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Till I am revenged for this overthrow.
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She afterward vanished with shrieks and cries,
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Flashes of lightning did dart from her eyes;
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Which put the ships crew into great fear,
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None saw the ghost, but the voice they did hear.
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Charles Stuart, a man of courage so bold,
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One night was going into the Hold:
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A beautiful creature to him did appear,
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And she in her armes had a daughter most fair.
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The charms of this so glorious a face,
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Being merry in drink, he goes to embrace:
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But to his surprize it vanishd away,
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So he went to the captain without more delay.
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And told him the story, which when he did hear,
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The captain said, some of my men I do fear
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Have done some murder, and if it be so,
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Our ship in great danger to the sea must go.
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One at a time then his merry men all,
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Into his cabbin he did strait call,
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And said, my lads the news I do hear
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Doth much surprize me with sorrow and fear
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This ghost which appeard in the dead of the night
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Which all my seaman so sadly did fright;
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I fear has been wrongd by some of my crew,
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And therefore the person I fain would know.
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Then William affrighted did tremble with fear
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And began by the powers above to swear;
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He nothing at all of the matter did know,
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But as from the captain he went to go.
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Unto his surprize his true love did see,
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With that he immediately fell on his knee:
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And said, heres my true love, where shall I run?
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O save me, or else I am surely undone.
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Now he the murder confessed out of hand,
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And said, before me my Molly doth stand,
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Sweet injurd ghost thy pardon I crave.
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And soon I will seek thee in the silent grave.
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No one but this wretch did see this sad sight,
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Then raving distracted he dyd in the night:
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As soon as her parents these tydings did hear
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They sought for the body of their daughter dear.
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Near a place calld Southampton in a valley deep
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The body was found, while many did weep
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At the fall of the damsel and her daughter dear,
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In Gosport church they buryd her there.
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I hope that this may be a warning to all,
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Young men how innocent maids they enthral:
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Young men be constant and true to your love,
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Then a blessing indeed will attend you above.
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