A good wife is a portion every day. Or A dialogue discovering a good wife from a bad. And happy is that man that hath such a one. The tune is, Pockingtons pound. / By J. Wade. Wade, John, fl. 1660-1680. 1670-1696? Approx. 7 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 1 1-bit group-IV TIFF page image. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2009-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). B06552 Wing W165 Interim Tract Supplement Guide C.20.f.8[191] 99887710 ocm99887710 183360 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. B06552) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 183360) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books; Tract supplement ; A5:2[151]) A good wife is a portion every day. Or A dialogue discovering a good wife from a bad. And happy is that man that hath such a one. The tune is, Pockingtons pound. / By J. Wade. Wade, John, fl. 1660-1680. 1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. (woodcuts). Printed for P. Brooksby at the golden Ball neer t[he] hospital gate in West Smithfield., [London] : [between 1670-1696] Place and date of publication suggested by Wing. Verse: "Come youngmen & listen to what I'le you show ..." Imperfect: trimmed, affecting text and imprint. Reproduction of original in the British Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. Re-processed by University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northwestern, with changes to facilitate morpho-syntactic tagging. 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Users should bear in mind that in all likelihood such instances will never have been looked at by a TCP editor. The texts were encoded and linked to page images in accordance with level 4 of the TEI in Libraries guidelines. Copies of the texts have been issued variously as SGML (TCP schema; ASCII text with mnemonic sdata character entities); displayable XML (TCP schema; characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or text strings within braces); or lossless XML (TEI P5, characters represented either as UTF-8 Unicode or TEI g elements). Keying and markup guidelines are available at the Text Creation Partnership web site . eng Ballads, English -- 17th century. 2008-02 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2008-08 SPi Global Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2008-10 Mona Logarbo Sampled and proofread 2008-10 Mona Logarbo Text and markup reviewed and edited 2009-02 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion A Good Wife is a Portion every day . OR A Dialogue discovering a good Wife from a bad . And happy is that man that hath such a one . The Tune is , Pockingtons pound . By J. Wade . COme youngmen & listen to what I 'le you show then William , and Harry , and Robin , & John When as you are minded a wooing to go , for these Lines do concern you every one : And what I declare , I 'le make it appear , From Eve it sprang out , and has last till this year , For though she was Man's fall , mark what I say , A good Wife is a portion every day . For a good wife will be saving and fearful to waste , but keep all things together so near as she can , When that a Spend : thrift will let fly as fast , and séeks by all means to undo her good man : Though he carps and doth care , She 'l not pinch nor spare , But junket abroad , and must have her fine cheer , She thinkes what she brought will never decay , When a good Wife is a portion every day . A wife that is vertuous and civil beside will honour her Husband , his words she 'l obey , She 'l not strive to cross him what ever betide , but make all things well when there should be a With fair words she 'l him draw To submit to her Law , Though his Beard it be frozen , in time she 'l it thaw Although he be given to wander and stray . A good wife will lead him into the right way . But she that takes no care but only for Pride how Buckle and Thong together to hold , She will have her humour whatever betide , or else day and night at him she will scold , For let a man starve , As I am alive , First he must ask his wife is he shall thrive : And if she says no , his Estate will decay ; When a good Wife is a portion every day . If a youngman hath but little withal to begin , if he lights of a good wife his stock will increase , What he gets without doors she 'l save it within , and if he be froward she 'l strive to keep peace : When a cross-grained wife That 's given to strife , Will seek to make a man weary on 's life : What e're he says to her she 'l not him obey , When a good wife is a portion every day . Therefore young Batchellors wherever you be , let not this money your hearts so bewitch , For 't ' ant that which makes a good husband you sée nor Means altogether don't make a man rich : The reason I le show you why , You shan't say I lye , She that brings a great deal looks to be maintained high Her costly Attire an Estate will decay , When a good wife &c. I heard of two Brothers , the one was the Heir , the other had little at all to begin , He married a wife that was both rich and fair , then for his poor Brother ●e car'd not a pin : For he did live high , And his wife she let flye His means , till she brought him to poverty , Then to his poor brother he sigh'd and did say , A good wife &c. Thus you may see how some are made poor , and some that hath but little to fortune doth rise , then he that has a good wife make much of her therefore and do not against her no mischief devise : But some men cannot see When as they well be , But seeks for to ruin their Family : Then all the blame on the poor woman they lay , When a good &c. He that has a good wife , happy is that man , if he does his indeavour his Living to get , And not spend it abroad in Pot nor in Can , she 'l arive alwaies to keep him out of Debt ; Good Counsel she 'l him give , If he 'l it receive , And set him all times in a way for to live : But a wife that is froward his Estate will decay But a good &c. But youngmen you 'l say how should a man kno● how to choose a good wife from a bad , In few lines I here will you show , and teach you that will make your hearts glad Chuse one that is civil , And strives to shun evil , For some are too cunning I think for the Devil , But she that means honest will keep the right w●● When a good &c. Be sure don't take a wife that will swear and lye , nor one that is given to flout or to jeer , Though she has ne'r so much means , she 'l make all fl● & spend more in a week then thou'lt get in a ye●● Nor do not take one That 's too fluent in tongue , She 'l always be tattling of that she knows none Though it be nonsence she will have her way , when a good &c. But if thou art minded for to have a Mate , chu●e one that is vertuous and civil beside , Although thou art poor she 'l live at the same rate . and with patience will wait till thou canst bet●● provid● For content is a thing , That comfort doth bring , It makes a poorman as well as a Lord to sing : Then let the red shank or Dane deny what I say If a good wife &c. Concluding my ditty of what I have told , make much of thy wife tho thou' rt never so poor And if thou 'st got children esteem them as gold , then thou 'lt find a Salve for to cure thy sore : To work do thou strive , To keep them alive , As thy charge grows up thy stock it will thrive : Then youngmen remember th●●e words that I s●● A good Wife is a Portion every day . FINIS . Printed for P. Brooksby at the golden Ball neer t●● Hospital Gate in West Smithfield .