Publication
Published with “Hal o’ the Draft” , in Puck of Pook’s Hill (1906).
See also “Poor Honest Men”.
Notes on the Text
[Verse 1 Line 3] Them that asks no questions isn’t told a lie Oliver Goldsmith: “She Stoops to Conquer” (1773): ‘Ask me no questions and I’ll tell you no fibs.’
[Verse 2 Line 4] brishwood Sussex dialect for brushwood.
[Verse Line 1] King George’s men Soldiers or excise-men hunting the smugglers.
[Verse 7 Line 3] Valenciennes lace, originally produced (c. 1705-80) in the town of that name in Northern France.
[P.H./D.M.]
©Philip Holberton and Donald Mackenzie 2020 All rights reserved