Dives and Lazarus- Sylvester 1861 Child A a.
[Child lists two sources for version A:
a. Sylvester, A Garland of Christmas Carols, p. 50, from an old Birmingham broadside.
b. Husk, Sungs of the Nativity, p. 94, from a Worcestershire broadside of the last century.
Hugh Keyte, an editor of The New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992) believes that "Joshua Sylvester" is a pseudonym for a collaboration between William Sandys (1792-1874) and William Henry Husk (1814-1887).
R. Matteson 2012]
Dives and Lazarus- Version A a.; Child 56- Dives and Lazarus
a. Sylvester, A Garland of Christmas Carols, p. 50, from an old Birmingham broadside.
1 As it fell out upon a day,
Rich Dives he made a feast,
And he invited all his friends,
And gentry of the best.
2 Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dives' door:
'Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
Bestow upon the poor.'
3 'Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my door;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
Nor bestow upon the poor.'
4 Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dive's wall:
'Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
Or with hunger starve I shall.'
5 'Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my wall;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
But with hunger starve you shall.'
6 Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dive's gate:
'Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
For Jesus Christ sake.'
7 'Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my gate;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
For Jesus Christ his sake.'
8 Then Dives sent out his merry men,
To whip poor Lazarus away;
They had no power to strike a stroke,
But flung their whips away.
9 Then Dives sent out his hungry dogs,
To bite him as he lay;
They had no power to bite at all,
But licked his sores away.
10 As it fell out upon a day,
Poor Lazarus sickened and died;
Then came two angels out of heaven
His soul therein to guide.
11 'Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus,
And go along with me;
For you've a place prepared in heaven,
To sit on an angel's knee.'
12 As it fell out upon a day,
Rich Dives sickened and died;
Then came two serpents out of hell,
His soul therein to guide.
13 'Rise up, rise up, brother Dives,
And go with us to see
A dismal place, prepared in hell,
From which thou canst not flee.'
14 Then Dives looked up with his eyes,
And saw poor Lazarus blest:
'Give me one drop of water, brother Lazarus,
To quench my flaming thirst.
15 'Oh had I as many years to abide
As there are blades of grass,
Then there would be an end, but now
Hell's pains will ne'er be past.
16 'Oh was I now but alive again,
The space of one half hour!
Oh that I had my peace secure!
Then the devil should have no power.'
________________
As found in Joshua Sylvester, A Garland of Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: John Camden Hotten, 1861):
[This carol, I believe, has not been given in any previous collection. It is reprinted here from an old Birmingham broadside. Hone appears to have met with it, and alludes to a quaint rendering of the thirteenth verse which occurred in his copy. The lines are:
"Rise up, rise up, brother Dives,
And come along with me,
For you've a place provided in hell
To sit upon a serpent's knee."
The idea of sitting on the serpent's knee was, perhaps conveyed to the poet's mind by old woodcut representations of Lazarus seated in Abraham's lap. More anciently, Abraham was frequently drawn holding him up by the sides that he might be the better seen by Dives in the fiery pit.]
1 As it fell out upon a day,
Rich Dives he made a feast,
And he invited all his friends,
And gentry of the best.
2 Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dives' door,
"Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
Bestow upon the poor."
3 "Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my door;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
Nor bestow upon the poor."
4 Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dive's wall,
"Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
Or with hunger starve I shall.'
5 'Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my wall;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
But with hunger starve you shall.'
6 Then Lazarus laid him down and down,
And down at Dive's gate:
'Some meat, some drink, brother Dives,
For Jesus Christ sake.'
7 'Thou art none of my brother, Lazarus,
That lies begging at my gate;
No meat nor drink will I give thee,
For Jesus Christ his sake.'
8 Then Dives sent out his merry men,
To whip poor Lazarus away;
They had no power to strike a stroke,
But flung their whips away.
9 Then Dives sent out his hungry dogs,
To bite him as he lay;
They had no power to bite at all,
But licked his sores away.
10 As it fell out upon a day,
Poor Lazarus sickened and died;
Then came two angels out of heaven
His soul therein to guide.
11 'Rise up, rise up, brother Lazarus,
And go along with me;
For you've a place prepared in heaven,
To sit on an angel's knee.'
12 As it fell out upon a day,
Rich Dives sickened and died;
Then came two serpents out of hell,
His soul therein to guide.
13 'Rise up, rise up, brother Dives,
And go with us to see
A dismal place, prepared in hell,
From which thou canst not flee.'
14 Then Dives looked up with his eyes,
And saw poor Lazarus blest,
"Give me one drop of water, brother Lazarus,
To quench my flaming thirst.
15 "Oh! had I as many years to abide
As there are blades of grass,
Then there would be an end, but now
Hell's pains will ne'er be past.
16 "Oh! was I now but alive again,
The space of one half hour,
Oh! that I had my peace secure,
Then the devil should have no power."