THE
Loyal Soldier of Flanders:
OR,
The Faithless Lass of London.
To the Tune of How can I be merry and glad?
Licensed according to Order.
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YOung Thomas he was a proper Lad,
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and lov'd Elizabeth as his Life,
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Four years and a half to serve he had,
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e'er he could make her his Lawful Wife.
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When this his Master happen'd to know,
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he labour'd the Bonds of Love to break;
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Then Thomas a Soldier he straight did go,
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to venture his Life for his Love's sake.
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Yet they in private often did meet,
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their seeming hard Fortune to bemoan,
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And with many Vows and Kisses sweet
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they solemnly joyn'd their Hearts in one.
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At length he taking her by the hand,
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said he, I must cross the Ocean main,
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To venture my Life in a Forreign Land,
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yet Loyal to thee I will still remain.
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Remember your solemn Vows, she said,
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by Letters my Mind to thee I'll tell,
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Let no other Love thy Heart invade,
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so long as I am alive and well.
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Said she, by all the Powers above,
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my Heart I'll give to no one but thee,
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If e'er I prove false unto my Love,
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then let me a sad Example be.
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I'll patiently wait for thy Return,
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and pray that the Heavens may be my Guide,
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The Watery Waves in Flames shall burn,
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before I will break my Vow, she cry'd.
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He entred on Board and left his Dear,
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the Winds did rise, and the Seas did roar,
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Death did in sundry shapes appear,
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until he arriv'd at the Holland shore.
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Then like a most true entire Friend,
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after he had cross'd the Ocean Main,
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To her he did loving Letters send,
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and she did return him the like again.
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But oh! most unfaithful Wretch at last,
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in little more than a Twelve-months [space]
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For all those Solemn Vows that were pas[t]
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another Lover she did embrace.
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Now when he return'd and found it so,
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he then was tormented in his mind,
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He sighing said, Now full well I know,
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no creature so false as Woman-kind.
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He still from his Heart sad Sighs did fetc[h]
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and often in Passion thus said he,
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Thou false and forsworn Perjur'd Wretch,
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thou that alone hast ruin'd me.
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What solemn Vows to me didst thou make,
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when first I went from the English Shor[e]
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But seeing thou art false, now for thy sake,
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I'll never believe a Woman more,
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