powley

I remember seeing mentioned somewhere, without any reference to this chorus, that _rowley powley_ is a name for a plump fowl, of which both "gammon and spinach" are posthumous connexions.

Notes and Queries, Number 35, June 29, 1850 A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc Various 1852

Howsoever -- "Or breed him a rowley-powley man," continued I, "to trail about the country frequenting fairs; and dozing thro 'the streets selling penny cakes to weans, out of a basket slung round the neck with a leather strap; and parliaments, and quality, brown and white, and snaps well peppered, and gingerbread nits, and so on.

The Life of Mansie Wauch tailor in Dalkeith David Macbeth Moir 1824

Howsoever -- "Or breed him a rowley-powley man," continued I, "to trail about the country frequenting fairs; and dozing thro 'the streets selling penny cakes to weans, out of a basket slung round the neck with a leather strap; and parliaments, and quality, brown and white, and snaps well peppered, and gingerbread nits, and so on.

The Life of Mansie Wauch Tailor in Dalkeith, written by himself David Macbeth Moir 1824