Seaman of Plymouth, The

DESCRIPTION: A sailor must go to sea before he can wed Susan. When she refuses to marry a rich man, her parents send her to Holland. The sailor, now rich, accidentally meets her; they return home; she disguises herself from her parents and they are wed
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: before 1813 (broadside, Bodleian Harding B 4(91))
LONG DESCRIPTION: A sailor and beautiful Susan are to wed, but she becomes sick; he is forced to sail away. While he is gone, her parents try to wed her to a rich man; when she refuses, they send her to Holland. The sailor returns, having become rich, and is told she is dead. He sails away in grief, is shipwrecked in Holland, meets her, and they return home to wed. The girl arrives in disguise; her parents continue their play-acting. At last she reveals herself, and all ends happily
KEYWORDS: love courting sailor separation betrayal money disguise reunion marriage trick
FOUND IN: US(MA,NE)
REFERENCES (2 citations):
Flanders/Brown-VermontFolkSongsAndBallads, pp. 141-147, "The Seaman of Plymouth" (1 text, 1 tune, very long and quite clumsy; there is probably a broadside version in its very recent ancestry)
Thompson-APioneerSongster 10, "William and Susan" (1 text)
ST FlBr141 (Partial)
Roud #2811
BROADSIDES:
Bodleian, Harding B 4(91), "Sweet William of Plymouth" ("A seaman of Dover, sweet William by name"), J. Evans (London), 1780-1812; also Harding B 4(96), "Sweet William of Plymouth" ("A seaman of Plymouth, sweet William by name")
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Beautiful Susan" [Laws M29] (plot, characters)
NOTES [14 words]: "Beautiful Susan" seems to me to have been derived from "The Seaman of Plymouth." - BS
Last updated in version 2.8
File: FlBr141

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