THE Roguiſh MILLER;
[figure]
OR, Nothing got by Cheating. A TRUE BALLAD.
[]A Miller there was, and he liv'd at his Mill,
Which was built on a ſtream at the foot of a hill.
He cheated all day and he drank all the night,
For cheating and drinking was all his delight;
While his moments in tippling unheeded did roll,
This ſtill was his ſaying—be ſure to take toll.
Whoever ſent corn to be ground at his Mill,
He ſpoilt it, he chang'd it, he pilfer'd it ſtill;
In villainy thus a long courſe he did run,
For he fancy'd that cheating was very good fun.
He car'd not what came of his body or ſoul,
While this was his ſaying—I'll always take toll.
If you ſent a full Sack of good corn to his Mill,
A Sack of bad flour he ſent you back ſtill,
For he fancy'd that when he the wheat had once ground,
The difference wou'd not be eaſily found:
Now to change good for bad was as if he had ſtole,
And he not only chang'd it—but always took toll.
The Neighbours oft ſent him their Money to pay,
But he always refus'd it and ſent it away;
Had he taken the Money he'd have got but his due,
But the payment that's lawful for him wou'd not do;
What was honeſtly his he deſpis'd on the whole,
Becauſe he got more from—the taking of toll.
One day when a Farmer had ſent a good ſack
Of his Corn to be ground, and then ſent for it back;
He call'd to his Man and demanded ſtraitway,
If for this he had taken the toll on that day.
The Man ſtrait declar'd, that tho' nought he had ſtole,
Yet that he had taken—the full of the toll.
He then call'd his maid, and he aſk'd her good lack
If toll ſhe had taken from that very ſack;
She declar'd that ſhe had, but he fond of pelf,
Said, for fear that you ſhou'd not, I'll take it myſelf;
So raſhly he ventur'd the loſs of his Soul,
And mended his practice—by thrice taking toll.
At length he grew bolder and bolder in ſin,
And cheating he deeper and deeper got in;
Of Satan, alas! he was quite at the beck,
Where he firſt took a pound he at length took a peck,
No church he frequented to pray for his Soul,
Who wou'd might go thither—ſo he could take toll.
The Farmer, the Squire, the Parſon likewiſe
Agreed to obſerve him with ſtill keener Eyes;
But the Juſtice he cheated to ſuch a degree,
That no longer with patience his frauds cou'd he ſee;
So he ſent him to jail by the LAW's juſt controul,
And a MITTIMUS paid him—for taking of toll.
Come all honeſt Millers whoever you be,
And liſten to counſel that's given by me;
Be content, like fair tradeſmen with moderate gains,
And look for a lawful reward of your pains;
If 'tis paid you in money be pleas'd on the whole
And if you take any—take moderate toll.
O! ſeek not each way to defraud that you can,
Nor cheat in the flour, nor cheat in the bran;
Be honeſt and all Men will flock to your Mill,
And tho' others want cuſtom, yours ne'er will ſtand ſtill.
And when to your MAKER you give up your ſoul,
You'll rejoice that you always—took moderate toll.
Z.
Appendix A
Sold by S. HAZARD, PRINTER to the CHEAP REPOSITORY for Religious and Moral Tracts) at BATH;
By J. MARSHALL,
At the CHEAP REPOSITORIES, No. 17, Queen-Street, Cheap-Side, and No. 4, Aldermary Church Yard, LONDON; and by all Bookſellers, Newſmen and Hawkers, in Town and Country.—Great Allowance to Shopkeepers and Hawkers.
[ENTERED at STATIONERS HALL.]
Price an Half-penny, or 2s. 3d. per 100. 1s. 3d. for 50. 9d. for 25.
- Zitationsvorschlag für dieses Objekt
- TextGrid Repository (2020). TEI. 5468 The roguish miller or nothing got by cheating A true ballad. University of Oxford Text Archive. . https://hdl.handle.net/21.T11991/0000-001A-5B3C-C