Broadside ballads entitled 'A Man that is Married' and 'The Little Gypsy Girl'

Commentary

'A Man that is Married' begins: 'When a man first appears in maturity's years, / To encounter the troubles of life, / He thinks with delight he could make himself right, / Could he only get hold of a wife...'

'The Little Gypsy Girl' begins: 'My father is a king of the gypsies, 'tis true, / And my mother is learning the camping to do, / With my pack on my back, they all wished me well, / When I set off for London, some fortunes to tell...'

This broadside would have been considered good value, as it contains two ballads instead of the standard one and is illustrated with a woodcut. The two poems are quite different in nature, although both touch on popular ballad themes. 'A Man that is Married' jokingly warns men about the terrible toll marriage will take on wallets and lifestyles. 'The Little Gypsy Girl' is a fantasy about a young gypsy who marries a wealthy squire after foretelling that their destiny is to be together.

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