Don't know the ballad, Amos -- but the very idea brings on the goosebumps! Especially after I read this bit of trivia ...

"Licking the Envelope

A woman licked an envelope in a local post office and cut her tongue. After several days the place where she'd been cut began to swell. She started to get nervous and went to see a doctor. The doctor cut open the swelled area and a cockroach climbed out. There had been eggs on the envelope she had licked! -From Margaret"

Now just imagine what might happen if Hillacock set up housekeeping in her ... um .... ahem!

never mind