Full text of "The ballad minstrelsy of Scotland"

LIBRARY

fcftlll ~RNI*

THE

BALLAD MINSTRELSY

SCOTLAND.

ROMANTIC AND HISTORICAL.

COLLATED AND ANNOTATED.

GLASGOW:

MAURICE OGLE AND COMPANY.

1871.

GLASGOW :

PRINTED BY BELL AND BAIN,
41 MITCHELL STREET.

PREFATORY NOTE.

THE Flotsam of our old Traditionary Ballad Lore, which came
drifting down the Stream of Time much of it starting no one knows
when, and coming from no one knows where was diligently sought
after and collected from time to time by those who took pleasure
therein, or who sought to derive profit therefrom.

Beginning with Chepman and Myllor, whose issues have been so
admirably reproduced in fac-simile by that still and long may he
continue to be so hale and efficient veteran Editor and Illustrator
of our Ancient Scotish Literature, Mr. David Laing.*

Passing over the greater and darker portion of the long dark night
of civil broil and literary darkness which settled down on Scotland
during the reigns of the later Stuarts, we come towards its close, and,
as the harbinger of the dawn of a brighter period, to Watson, the
celebrated " undertaker " of several elegantly printed national works,
whose Choice Collection of Comic and Serious Scots Poems has been pro-
duced in fac-simile under the auspices of the publishers of this work, t
Watson probably stimulated, and certainly was followed immediately
after by Ramsay, who, in his turn, was followed at intervals by others
whose names are recorded in the bead-roll of fame with which the
General Introduction to this work terminates.

Motherwell, after stating "that of every old traditionary ballad
known, there exists what may be called different versions," next
proceeds to classify and describe the different modes of editing them
which had been practised by different Ballad Editors, thus :

1st. He who contents "himself with merely selecting that one of
his copies which appears the most complete and least vitiated."

2nd. He who, "by selecting the most beautiful and striking
passages which present themselves in " two or more versions, "suc-
ceeds in producing from the conflicting (?) texts of his various
authorities a third version, more perfect and ornate than any indi-
vidual one as it originally stood."

3rd. He or they "who, under no authority of written or recited
copy, but merely to gratify [his or] their own insatiate rage for
innovation and improvement, recklessly and injudiciously cut and
carve as they list, on these productions, and in some cases entirely
re-write them. "

4th. "There is yet another class of old Song Editors," or rather
Forgers, on "whose dishonest propensities" Mr. Motherwell pours
the scorching vials of his sarcastic scorn. J

It is a sad commentary on human consistency to state, and that on
the authority of evidence furnished by himself, that the theory of
Mr. Motherwell, who highly commends the firs.t, and unqualifiedly
condemns the three other " modes," is at variance with his practice ;
as it can easily be shown from Mr. Motherwell's own statements,

* Edinburgh, MDCCCXXVII. f Glasgow, 1869.

t Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, pp. vi.-ix.

1188905

PREFATORY NOTE.

that he carefully collated in accordance with his definition of class
2nd* every previously imprinted Ballad of which more than one set
came into his possession, and which he thought worthy of a place in
his Minstrels'/.

The Editor of the present work has followed in the same, and, as
he regards it, commendable path, going, however, a step further,
although quite in the same direction, by removing what appeared
to be obvious inconsistencies and errors introduced through the
ignorance or lapse of memory of oral reciters ; in performing which
delicate and difficult work, it is not at all necessary to deface or
vitiate the ancient Story which the Ballad tells; because, as is
"granted" by even Mr. Motherwell himself, " the ' expressions and
allusions' of these compositions fluctuate, and that frequently; but
these changes never alter entirely the venerable aspect of the whole
ballad. It is like repairing gradually the weather-worn face of an
ancient cathedral by the insertion here and there of a freshly-hewn
stone, as need may require. The outline of the building and the effect
of the whole remain un changed. "f

The work of Restoration, however, necessarily brings the Restorer
within the scope of criticism ; and amid the great diversities of tastes
which prevail, it would be passing strange if some were not very far
from being satisfied with respect to many points, and few or none
thoroughly pleased with regard to all.

It is probable that some portions have been rejected which should
have been retained, and others retained which should have been
rejected; but it is consoling to know that nothing has beeu destroyed,
and that those who wish to gaze upon the originals, in all their
rugged and fragmentary simplicity, may find in this work a complete
and ready reference to the different versions of the various ballads.

In conclusion, the Editor has to express his indebtedness, and to
tender his thanks, to Dr. Patrick Buchan son of the eminent collector
to whose zeal and industry Scotish Ballad Literature is so largely in-
debted, as this work so amply testifies for the kind and patriotic
interest which he has manifested in this collection in the course of
its progress through the press, nearly the whole of the proof sheets
of the First Part having been submitted to him, and returned
with many valuable suggestions and emendations. The removal
of Dr. Buchan to England has, much to the Editor's regret,
deprived him of the same valuable advice and assistance in the
Second Part; but he is glad to learn that Dr. Buchan, although
far from being well, has made considerable progress towards the
completion of a work on the Proverbs of Scotland, as illustrated
and explained by similar proverbs current among the people of other
nations, by etymological definitions, by literary quotations, and by
Scotish Anecdotes and Stories.

The Editor has also to acknowledge his indebtedness to Messrs.
Griffin & Co., Publishers, London, for permission to include "The
Brave Earl Brand and the King of England's Daughter," post, p. 32.

* For example, see post, p. 125, and post, p. 432.
t Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. xi.

GLASGOW, March, 1871.

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION, - ix

ALISON GROSS, 215

ANDREW LAMMIE, 625

ANNAN WATER, 605

ARCHIE OF CA'FIELD, ........ 588

ARMSTRONG'S GOOD-NIGHT, 592

AS I WENT ON AE MONDAY 196

AULD MAITLAND, 401

BINNORIE, 295

BONNIE ANNIE, 342

BONNIE GEORGE CAMPBELL . . . 529

BONNIE SUSIE CLELLAND, ....... 78

BOTHWELL, 22J

BROWN ADAM, 339

BROWN ROBYN'S CONFESSION, ........ 341

BURD HELEN, 240

CHIL ETHER, 25!

CHILD ROWLAND AND BURD ELLEN, ..... 2OJ

CLERK COLVILL AND THE MERMAID 212

CLERK SAUNDERS, 44

CLERK TAMMAS, ......... 268

COSPATRICK 222

DICK O' THE COW, 570

DUKE OF PERTH'S THREE DAUGHTERS, ..... 312

EARL RICHARD, . . 232

EARL RICHARD'S DAUGHTER, . , 133

EDOM O' GORDON 515

EDWARD ! EDWARD ! 293

ERLINTON, 26

FAIR ANNIE'S GHOST . . 267

FAIR ANNIE OF LOCHRYAN I

PAUSE FOODRAGE 128

FINE FLOWERS IN THE VALLEY, ...... 28$

GEORDIE, , 654

GILDEROY, 632

GIL MORICE, 313

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

GLENKINDIE, 256

GLENLOGIE, 506

GUDE WALLACE, 418

HARDYKNUTE, 357

HOBBIE NOBLE, 583

HYNDE ETIN, 199

HYNDE HORN, 125

HUGHIE THE GRAEME 495

JAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD, 564

JELLON GRAME, - . 335

JOCK O' THE SIDE, - ... 578

JOHNNIE ARMSTRANG, . 487

JOHNNIE OF BREADISLEE, 471

JOHNNIE FAA 6l6

JOHNNIE SCOT, 432

JOHN THOMSON AND THE TURK, 252

KATHERINE JANFARIE, 85

KEMPY KAYE, . 22O

KEMP OWYNE; OR, KEMPION, 21

KINMONT WILLIE, 555

KING HENRIE, 217

KING MALCOLM AND SIR COLVINE, 150

LADYE ANNE, 304

LADY ANNE BQTHWELL's BALOW, ....... 6l2

LADY ELSPAT, 39

LADY ISABEL, l6

LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT, 165

LADY MAISRY, 74

LAMENT FOR FLODDEN, 4?6

LANG JOHNNIE MOIR, 648

LEESOME BRAND, 59

LORD BEICHAN AND SUSIE PYE, 112

LORD DONALD 308

LORD INGRAM AND CHILDE VYET, 80

LORD LUNDIE'S DAUGHTER AND SQUIRE WILLIAM, ... 89

LORD MAXWELL'S GOOD-NIGHT, 593

LORD RANDAL, 35

LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE, 103

LORD THOMAS OF WINESBERRY, 44 1

LORD WILLIAM, 270

MAY COLVINE AND PAUSE SIR JOHN, 159

PRINCE ROBERT. IJ

CONTENTS. Vll

PAGE

PROUD LADY MARGARET AND THE COURTEOUS KNIGHT, . 177

RARE WILLIE DROWNED IN YARROW, 603

REEDISDALE AND WISE WILLIAM, 246

ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY, 327

SIR CAWLINE, 156

SIR HUGH LE BLOND, ' 347

SIR HUGH AND THE JEW'S DAUGHTER, 352

SIR JAMES THE ROSE, , 478

SIR PATRICK SPENS, 368

SIR ROLAND, 171

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE, 412

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR JANET, 6^

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR ANNIE, 26l

SWEET WILLIE AND LADY MARGERIE, . . . . ' . 4!

SWEET WILLIAM'S GHOST, .../.,. 50

TAMLANE, l86

TAMMIE DOODLE, . 198

THE BATTLE OF BALRINNES, 538

THE BATTLE OF CORICHIE, 503

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW (EVERGREEN VERSION), . . . 443

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW (TRADITIONARY VERSION), . . 450

THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE, 424

THE BATTLE OF ROSLINE, 42O

THE BENT SAE BROWN, 35

THE BIRTH OF ROBIN HOOD, 322

THE BONNIE BANKS OF FORDIE, , 310

THE BONNIE EARL OF MURRAY, 530

THE BRAVE EARL BRAND AND THE KING OF ENGLAND'S DAUGHTER, 32

THE BROOM BLOOMS BONNIE AND SAYS IT IS FAIR, . . 62

THE BROOMFIELD HILL, 229

THE BUCHANSHIRE TRAGEDY; OR, SIR JAMES THE ROSS, . 481

THE CLERKS OF OXENFORD, 53

THE CRUEL BROTHER, . 286

THE CRUEL MOTHER, ........ 300

THE DEMON LOVER, 167

THE DOUGLAS TRAGEDY, . 29

THE DOWIE DENS OF YARROW, 599

THE DROWNED LOVERS; OR, WILLIE AND MAY MARGARET, . 9

THE DUKE OF GORDON'S DAUGHTER, 548

THE EARL OF DOUGLAS AND DAME OLIPHANT, ... 63

THE EARL OF MAR'S DAUGHTER 98

THE EARL OF MURRAY, 53!

Vlll BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

PACE

THE ELFIN KNIGHT, l8l

THE ENCHANTED RING, 143

THE FIRE OF FRENDRAUGHT, 619

THE GAY GOS-HAWK, 93

THE HEIR OF LINNE (PERCY MS. VERSION), . . . . 636

THE HEIR OF LINNE (TRADITIONARY VERSION), . . . 64!

THE KNIGHT'S GHOST, 175

THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY, 552

THE LAIRD O' LOGIE, 532

THE LAIRD OF MUIRHEAD, 475

THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW, 493

THE LAIRD OF WARISTOUN, . k 607

THE LOCHMABEN HARPER, ....... 500

THE MAID AND FAIRY, ...... l8$

THE MERMAID, 214

THE MILLER'S SON, 139

THE NEW-SLAIN KNIGHT, . . . . . 345

THE QUEEN'S MARIE, 509

THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE, 521

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY, . 459

THE TWA BROTHERS, ......... 288

THE TWA CORBIES, 343

THE WATER O* WEARIE'S WELL, 164

THE YOUNG LAIRD OF OCHILTREE, 535

THE WEE, WEE MAN, 193

THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL, 57

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE, . . . . -391

THOMAS THE RHYMER PART I., . . . . . 374

THOMAS THE RHYMER PART II. 380

THOMAS O' YONDERDALE, . . . . . .109

WILLIE'S FATAL VISIT, 174

WILLIE'S LADYE, 18

WILLIE MACINTOSH; OR, THE BURNING OF AUCHINDOUN, . 537

WILLIAM AND MARGARET (BY DAVID MALLET), . . . 645

WIT AT NEED, 49

YOUNG BEARWELL 249

YOUNG BEKIE I2O

YOUNG BENJIE, 28l

YOUNG HASTINGS 2O6

YOUNG JOHNSTONE, 277

YOUNG RONALD, . . 146

YOUNG WATERS, ......... 454

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

BALLADS may be described as short narrative poems, each
celebrating some real or fancied event, and suitable for singing
or chanting to some simple natural melody. They often are,
but ought not to be, confounded with songs, which, properly
speaking, are the more polished and artistic vehicles of " senti-
ment, expression, or even description." '

Ballads may therefore be reasonably regarded as the earlier,
nay, probably, as the very earliest, form of literary composition, 2
and more especially as the earliest expression of the Historic
Muse ; an opinion eloquently set forth and amply illustrated by
Lord Macaulay, in the preface to his Lays of Ancient Rome.

The same, or a similar opinion, appears to have commended
itself to other distinguished writers and scholars, as the
following quotations indicate.

The Boole of Jasher, quoted by name in two of the Earlier
Historic Books of The Bible, and probably still more largely
incorporated in their narratives, is, by an eminent Biblical
scholar and critic, described as " apparently a national collection,
in the form of ballads, containing the record of great men and
great deeds." 3

Homer, the historian of the Trojan War, " though the early
poet of a rude age," writes Sir Walter Scott, " has purchased
for the era he has celebrated, so much reverence, that not daring
to bestow on it the term barbarous, we distinguish it as the
heroic period ; " and though " no other poet (sacred and inspired
authors excepted) ever did,'or ever will, possess the same influence
over posterity, in so many distant lands, as has been acquired
by the blind old man of Chios, yet we are assured that his
works, collected by the pious care of Pisistratus, who caused
to be united into their present form those divine poems, would
otherwise, if preserved at all, have appeared to succeeding
generations in the humble state of a collection of detached
ballads, connected only as referring to the same age, the same

1 Ritson's Historical Essay on National Song, prefixed to English Songs.

2 "The Narrative Ballad we believe to be the oldest of all compositions; and we
are not induced to alter our opinion by all that has been said of love aud innocence,
and of golden, pastoral, and patriarchal ages." R. Jamieson, in Illustrations of
Northern Antiquities, Popular Ballads, Introduction, p. 237.

8 Biblical Cyclopaedia, edited by John Eadie, D.D., LL.D., &c., article " Jasher."

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

general subjects, and the same cycle of heroes, like the metrical
poems of the Cid in Spain, or of Robin Hood in England." l

Among the Latins, "In the middle of the third century
B.C., we have a few trenchant relics of the Saturninian epic of
Nasvius celebrating the main events of the first, and the more
polished hexameters of Ennius celebrating the Second Punic
War. But they are rather reflections after the event than
incentives to action. Ennius, however, elsewhere alludes to
the existence of older writers, or an earlier literature which had
treated of the same or similar themes in a more popular style :
and Cicero, in his ' Brutus,' quoting the passage, laments the
loss of those more primitive strains. From these and other
passages Macaulay, building on a theory of Niebuhr's, has
imagined that a whole series of Roman national ballads, . . .
had existed and passed away previous to the date of the Punic
Wars. He maintains that these early poems were expelled
from poetic literature by the flowing tide of Greek influence
(which passed over Latium as that of the Normans did over
England), but that the substance of them is preserved in the
more fanciful pages of Livy. . . .

" The first light that falls on the Gothic race all over Europe,
by the shores of the Baltic, or under the shadow of the Hartz,
reveals the old singers along with the old soldiers exalted by
the same apotheosis into gods and heroes. The Norwegian
chiefs took their harpers with them to battle, and when the
Norse armies invaded England they used to pass free from
camp to camp.

"The earliest ballads as the lays out of which grew the
' Nibelungen Lied,' the ' Song of Roland,' the ' Death Song of
Regner Lodbrog,' half the Eddas, [and] the old Norse legend of
the ' Sword Tyrfingj . . belong to the Pagan period of our
own history, and that of the countries with which we were
most closely connected.

" Their general character of wild defiance is admirably
represented in Mr. Longfellow's ' Challenge of Thor,' and Mr.
Motherwell's ' Sword Chaunt of Thorstein Raudi.' [But] the
Conquest broke the stream of our early minstrelsy, [and] the
more elaborate Romance took the place of the Ballad among the
higher circles." 8

The view expressed in the last sentence fully accords with
that advanced by Mr. Motherwell, who argues, "that the
Romance of Chivalry was the legitimate descendant of the

i Sir Walter Scott'8 Introductory Bemarks on Popular Poetry, &c., prefixed to
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, edit. 1830.

* Professor Nichol, of Glasgow University, in a recent Lecture on " War Songs,"
as reported in the Glasgow Newspaper Press.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

Heroic Ballad. 1 The heroes whom the minstrels chose for their
versifications, were uniformly selected from those worthies of
antiquity whose names and famous actions the traditions and
ancient songs of the land still kept in remembrance. These,
again, were occasionally supplanted by others who flourished
in more recent times ; and even contemporary warriors at last
came in for their share of adulation, and of that glory with
which the muse can arrest and halo an otherwise fleeting name.
But the origin of Romantic* Fiction, instead of being thus sought
for in the traditions of each particular land where it obtained,
and being looked upon as the natural intellectual growth
of that land, at a certain stage of its progress towards refine-
ment and the courtesies of life; and as, step by step, advancing
from the simple narrative ballad to the more elaborate composi-
tion, which embraced a variety of such narratives, and at length
bourgeoned and branched out into all those complicated and
fictitious adventures, and singular poetic creations, for which
the Metrical Romance is distinguished, has, with much learning
and ingenuity, been by different writers traced to a variety of
opposite and contradictory sources. One hath assigned it a
Scandinavian, 3 another an Arabian, 4 a third an Armorican
origin; 5 while others have claimed this distinction for Nor*

1 Dr. Leyden, on the other hand, supposes that "many of the wild romantic
baUads which are still common in the Lowlands of Scotland, have the appearance of
episodes which, in the progress of traditional recitation, have heen detached from
the romances of which they originally formed a part." Complaynt, Preliminary
Dissertation, p. 271. This may have occurred in some instances, but seems to have
been the exception, and the other the rule.

3 "Under the head of RoMANTCc.'a phrase we are obliged to employ for lack of some*
thing more significant and precise, may be ranged a numerous and highly interesting
body of short metrical tales, chiefly of a tragic complexion, which, though possessing
all the features of real incident and probably originating in fact, cannot now, after
the lapse of many ages, be with certainty traced to any historical source, public or
private. With these may also be classed that description of ANCIENT SONG which
treats of incredible achievements, and strange adventures by flood and field, deals
largely with the marvellous in all its multiform aspects, and occasionally pours a
brief but intense glare of supernatural light over those dim _and untravelled realms
of doubt and dread, whose every nook the giant superstition of elder days has
colonized with a prodigal profusion of mysterious and spiritual inhabitants. And,
in short, under this comprehensive head, we must include every legend relating to
person, place, thing, or occurrence, to establish whose existence it would be vain to
seek for other evidence than that which popular tradition supplies." Motherwell's
Jfinstrtlsy, Introduction, p. iv.

Sir Walter Scott's definition of the word " Eomance " is : "A fictitious narrative in
prose or verse, the interest of which turns upon marvellous and uncommon incidents ; "
but "the word 'Romance,' in its original meaning, signifies merely one or other of
the popular dialects of Europe, founded, as almost all those dialects were, upon the
Roman tongue, that is, upon the Latin." Essay on Romance. First published in the
Supplement to the Encyclopaedia Britannica [1824], and now included in his
Miscellaneous Works, vol. vi., p. 129.

3 By Mallet, by his translator Bishop Percy, and by Pinkerton.

4 " By Warburton, in his remarks on Love's Labour Lost, and supported with copious
illustrations by Warton, in his Preliminary Dissertation to the Uistory of English
Poetry." Leyden.

5 Favoured by Dr. Leyden in his Preliminary Dissertation to The Complaynt of

Scotland.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

jnandy and Provence." 1 ["And a later system, patronized by
later authors, has derived them, in a great measure, from the
Fragments of Classical Superstition which continued to be pre-
served after the fall of the Koman empire."] 8 " To examine
into the merit of these respective hypotheses is foreign from
our present purpose ; but to ascribe to any one of them the sole
origin of that stupendous fabric of poetical invention which
delighted the Middle Ages, would be as foolish as the shep-
herd's thought, who, after tracing with affectionate fondness the
windings of his slender native stream, till he found it termi-
nate in the ocean sea, deemed the boundless expanse of waters
before him no other than the accumulations of the small well-
spring, which, in the solitude of the far uplands, he knew full well,
did morning and evening hum its tiny song, and gush with the
gladness of new-born life, in a silver-like thread, down the dark
hill side. Each of the systems, it is true, does in part account
for this species of poetic compositions; but it would require
them all blended together to obviate every objection which
applies to each singly." 3

Nor would even this suffice, as the flood of light more
recently thrown upon comparative philology and mythology by
that distinguished scholar Max Muller, and by other labourers
in the same interesting and important field, reveals the broader
and truer doctrine of later times, which carries back the date
of much of this wide-spread traditionary lore, and assigns to it
an origin prior to the disjunction of the different branches of
our race from the one primeval stem. 4

Subsequent to such disjunctions, changes of scene and cir-
cumstance introduced modifications and divergences resulting
in the course of time in something like a Babel of tradition,
which, age by age, grew greater and wider, until the traces
of a common origin among the more divergent branches were

1 Ellis, in the Introduction to his Speciment of Early English Metrical Romanctf, con-
tends that the Earliest Romances, properly so called, were composed in Norman
French by minstrels pertaining to the court of the Anglo-Norman kings ; while he
regards the southern portion of Scotland as the birthplace of the English language,
and the earliest English Romances as the productions of "Scottish minstrels."

Sir Walter Scott, referring to this seeming paradox, remarks: "Upon this
hypothesis, it is curious to observe that, as the earliest French Romances were
written in England, so the earliest English Romances were composed in Scotland."

2 Sir Walter Scott, in his Essay on Romance, Miscellaneous Works, voL vL, p. 174.
8 Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. xxxv.

* Mr. Motherwell rises "to the height of this great argument" in the following
passage : " As to the original source from whence these stories have flowed, the
reader need scarcely be told, how utterly useless all conjecture becomes ; the same
stories, or but slightly varied, we find everywhere, and in every language, the
popular vehicles of amusement or instruction to the people. Countries far separated
from each other, and having no affinity of language, still preserve this identity in
their popular tales; and where these have disappeared in a measure from the litera-
ture of the people, we may rest assured that then- vestiges can still be traced in the
legends of the nursery. 1 ' Minstrelsy, Introduction, pp. xxiii.-xrriii. See also Intro-
duction to " Lord Randal," post, p. 305.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

all but lost. 1 But by far the most fruitful source of confusion
and mystification appears to have arisen from what seems to
have been a common practice of the later bards, skalds, or
minstrels namely, the adaptation and application of the older
stories and traditions to new persons and events a practice,
by the way, of which the careful reader will find several
examples in this collection. Originality is a God-given gift
conferred on few: but the capacity to imitate, to copy, or to
reconstruct more or less skilfully under varied forms and in
new combinations from pre-existent materials, are qualities
possessed by multitudes. Nor does this apply to bards or
ballad-writers merely, as much of our current literature in
every department, and the bulk of our pulpit prelections, most
amply and sadly testify. Literary patchwork in the press, and
mosaic discourses in the pulpit, are leading characteristics of
this age of shoddy. 8

The use made of the old material gleaned or pilfered, and
re-constructed or re-dressed, is usually abuse of such a nature
as finds its fitting analogy in the conduct of such Goths as
ignorantly and wantonly lay sacrilegious hands on the remains
of some stately Old Edifice, in order that they may, without
much expenditure of labour or money, construct a barn, or rear
a dry-stone wall.

These remarks are not directed against honest work in
the form of compilation, or the introduction of quotation
honestly acknowledged, but against those counterfeiters who
seek to stamp their own impress on the coinage of other men's
brains those pilferers or forgers who take or convey over
to themselves the intellectual property of other and better
endowed minds, At the same time, it must be acknow-
ledged that originality becomes in every succeeding age much
more difficult; mental phenomena, or the principles of human
thought, as developed by the intellectual faculties; of feeling,
as manifested in the emotions and passions; or of will, as

1 " With respect to vulgar poetry, preserved by tradition," writes Ritson, " it is
almost impossible to discriminate the ancient from the modern, the true from the
false. Obsolete phrases will be perpetually changing for those better understood;
and what the memory loses the invention must supply. So that a performance of
genius and merit, as the purest stream becomes polluted by the foulness of its
channel, may in time be degraded to the vilest jargon. Tradition, in short, is a
species of alchemy which converts gold to lead.

" He, however, who should have the patience to collect, the judgment to arrange,
and the integrity to publish the best pieces of this description, would probably
deserve the thanks of the antiquary and the man of taste ; but would more probably
excite the malicious attacks and scurrilous language of a few despicable hirelings,
who, to the disgrace of criticism, of letters, and liberality, are permitted to dictate
their crude and superficial ideas as the criterion of literary eminence." Scotish
Hong, Historical Essay, vol. i., pp. Ixxxi.-lxxxii.

2 If the Wise Man were alive at the present day, he might reiterate with greater
force and propriety than ever, " The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be ;
and that which is done it that which shall be done : and there is no new thing under
the sun," &c., &c.cclesiastet, chap, i., verses 9-10. See also note,^o*<, p. 373.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

displayed in the actions ; as well as physical phenomena,
as exhibited in the material universe, are, in their general
characteristics, the same in every age, and consequently
available to those who had, or have, the intuition and
opportunity first to use them; priority of appropriation
conferring a right of possession, and constituting in this,
as in other matters, a material advantage. The general truth
thus indicated has been admirably and elegantly expressed
by Sir Walter Scott, with special reference to poetic themes
and similes : "The earlier poets," says he, "have the advantage,
and it is not a small one, of having the first choice out of the
stock of materials which are proper to the art; and thus they
compel later authors, if they would avoid slavishly imitating
the fathers of verse, into various devices, often more ingenious
than elegant, that they may establish, if not an absolute claim
to originality, at least a visible distinction betwixt themselves
and their predecessors. Thus it happens, that early poets
almost uniformly display a bold, rude, original cast of genius
and expression. They have walked at free-will, and with un-
constrained steps, along the wilds of Parnassus, while their
followers move with constrained gestures and forced attitudes,
in order to avoid placing their feet where their predecessors
have stepped before them. The first bard who compared his
hero to a lion struck a bold and congenial note, though the
simile, in a nation of hunters, be a very obvious one; but every
subsequent poet who shall use it, must either struggle hard
to give his lion, as heralds say, with a difference, or lie under
the imputation of being a servile imitator." '

It may be reasonably inferred that the closer and more
numerous the instances of affinity between the traditions of
any two or more nations to each other, or vice versa, are, so in
proportion will be their more immediate or remote identity as
a community.

Keeping this preliminary basis in view, let us now proceed to
inquire into the origin of the ample, rich, and varied store of
traditionary Ballad Lore which pertains to Scotland, or, to
speak more precisely, to the Lowland Scots.

As is well known to every one who has paid any attention to
early Scotish History, the origin and language, or languages, of
the Caledonians, Picts, and Scots, have formed the fruitful
themes of much learned disquisition and vehement controversy.

It forms no part of the writer's plan to trace elaborately, to
examine minutely, or to discuss virulently the evidence pro
and con advanced by the respective advocates of the Celtic or

1 Introductory Bemarks on Popular Poetry, prefixed to Scott's Minstrelsy, voL
L, p. 6, edit. 1830, and since.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XV

the Gothic origin of the nation or nations known under the
designations named above. Nor is it necessary to do so.
It is quite sufficient for us to know that the earliest dawn of
Scotish History reveals to the student of its early annals two
apparently different races, speaking two different languages,
occupying, the one. the North-western, and the other the
Eastern and Southern portions of the country, the former speak-
ing a Celtic and the other a Gothic language; that the relative
positions thus disclosed continued to subsist during the various
Avars and mutations which the country has passed through ;
and that they still continue to exist down to the present day,
although, as is well known, the Lowlanders of the East and
South have, like an advancing tide, slowly but steadily enlarged
their boundaries by encroachments on the territories of the no
less heroic and chivalrous Highlanders of the North-West.

It would ill become a modern Scot, in whose veins the blood
of both those ancient and distinguished races probably mingles
and courses, to institute odious comparisons between them, or
to exalt one to the disparagement of the other. Such an un-
grateful task is, however, fortunately altogether foreign to the
purpose of this Essay, which has, if not purely and solely, at
least more immediately to do with the Ballads preserved by
the Lowland Scots.

Affinity of language, of physical and mental characteristics,
and of Folk or Traditionary Lore, all concur in identifying the
Lowlanders of Scotland with the Northern or Scandinavian
branch of the great Gothic family, which in the fifth and suc-
ceeding centuries subverted the Koman empire and established
Gothic kingdoms, not only over the whole of Northern and
Western Europe, but also on the North-western shores of
Africa. But in addition to such positive evidence of the
most direct and convincing kind, we may add the negative
evidence furnished by the fact, that Fingal and the other heroes
of Ossian, as well as the other Traditions or Traditionary Stories
current among the Gaelic Celts, find no place whatever in the
popular traditions of the Lowlanders. The remains of Cymric
traditions, such as of Arthur and the Knights of his Round Table,
are likewise scanty, scattered, and obscure. 1 Although it is
quite possible that the New-year's Mummers, who in the South-

1 A few literary notices occur in the works of Sir David Lindsay, &c., regarding
" Gowmacmorne," " Fynmakcoul," " Arthour," and "Gavrane."

The following curious references to two of those heroes occur in the Croniklis of
Scotland:" It is said that Fynmakcoule, the sonne of Coelus Scottisman, was in
thir dayes; ane man of huge statuore, of xvii. cubits of hicht. He was ane gret
hunter, and richt terribil, for his huge quantite, to the pepill : of quhome ar mony
vulgar fabillis amang us, nocht unlike to thir fabilis that are rehersit of King
Arthure, and becaus his dedis is nocht authorist be authentik authoris, I will rehers
na thing thairof.' Sevent Bute, chap. 18.

"Arthure" and "The Bound Tabil" are also referred to in the same work Nint
Bute, chap. 11.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

west of Scotland, the old home of the Scotish Cymri, 1 are
designated "Galatians," or " Galashins," may derive their name
from "Galashin." 8 who is said to have been the brother of the
supposed hero of the ballad of " Kemp Owyne " (p. 21), and
consequently nephew to King Arthur ; yet it is somewhat sin-
gular to find the term " Kemp " prefixed to the name of the
hero; a circumstance which renders it all but certain that the
Ballad referred to has come to us from a Scandinavian source.

To Kobert Jamieson belongs the honour of being the first to
point out " the singular coincidence which exists betwixt the
ballads of Scotland and those of Denmark and Sweden, not
only in their incidents, but also in those characteristic
peculiarities of phraseology and expression which distinguish
our Traditionary Songs.

"To those fond of tracing the obvious connection thus existing
in the traditions and popular poetry of countries long separated
from each other, the writings of Mr. Jamieson must ever prove
both pleasing and profitable ; and there are few who know any-
thing of the subject, on which he has bestowed so much attention
and reflected so much light, but will readily subscribe to almost
every one of the philosophic and ingenious views he has so well
expressed in the Dissertation which precedes his masterly
translations. To point out some of the striking resemblances
between the Scottish and Scandinavian Ballad, it is only
necessary to refer the reader to the translation of 'Skion Annie,'
given in Popular Ballads, &c., s for comparison with the Ballad of
'Fair Annie,' founded on the same incidents (post, p. 103).
To the ballads, 'Young Child Dyring' (in Illustrations , &c., page

1 Mr. Jamieson appears to identify them with the Cimbri of the Cimbric Cherson-
esus. Others, however, contend that they were of the same race as those who are
now styled Welsh. If the latter, their entire disappearance from the South-west of
Scotland and North of England, is, to say the least, remarkable.

2 The speech with which he usually introduces himself is in these words :

" Here comes I Galashin,
Galashin is my name.
Sword and buckler by my side,
I hope to win the game.'

* Popular Ballads and Songs, from Traditions, Manuscripts, and Scarce Editions.
with Translations of Similar Pieces from the Ancient Danish Language, and a feu:
Originals by the Editor, Robert Jamieson, A.M. and F.A.S., Edinburgh, 1806, 2
vols. 8vo.

The work passed through the press while its editor was resident on the Con-
tinent ; and the first intimation of his " discovery " is contained in a letter written
at "Riga, Dec. 31, old style, A.D. 1805-6," and prefixed to his translation of " Skioen
Anna,'' vol. ii., p. 99.

The fuller, more matured, and accurate result of his researches may be found in
his Popular, Heroic, and Romantic Ballads, translated from the Northern languages,
with Notes and Illustrations, by R. Jamieson, A.M. and F.A.S., which forms Mr.
Jamieson's contribution to Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, from the earlier
Teutonic and Scandinavian Romances: being an Abstract of the Book of Heroes and
Nibelungen Lay, with Translations of Metrical Tales, from the Old German, Danish,
Steedish and Jslandic Languages. Edinburgh, 1811, 4to. This valuable work was the
joint production of Henry Weber, Robert Jamieson, and Sir "Walter Scott.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

335), and 'Catherine Janfarie' (post, page 85). To ' Ingefred
and Gudrune' (Illustrations, page 340), the subject of which
is the same with that of ' Cospatrick,' 'Bothwell,' or 'Gil
Brenton' (post, pages 222-8). To 'Ribolt and Guldborg,' page
317, whose affinity to the ' Child of Elle,' ' Erlington,' and the
' Douglas Tragedy,' cannot be mistaken, (post, pages 26-34,
&c.) To 'Sir Stig' and Lady Torelild,' page 344, which re-
sembles 'Willie's Lady' (post, page 18). To 'Sir Wai and
Lisa Lyle,' ' Fair Midel and Kirsten Lyle,' which ballads find a
counterpart in a Scottish ballad called ' Leisome Brand,' though
their catastrophes differ " * (see post, page 59).

Sir Walter Scott also refers to Mr. Jamieson's Popular
Ballads, &c., in the following terms:

" This work, which was not greeted by the public with the
attention it deserved, opened a new discovery respecting the
original source of the Scottish Ballads. Mr. Jamieson's ex-
tensive acquaintance with the Scandinavian literature enabled
him to detect not only a general similarity betwixt these and
the Danish Ballads preserved in the Kiempe Viser, an early
collection of heroic ballads published in that language [1591
and 1695], but to demonstrate that, in many cases, the stories
and songs were distinctly the same, a circumstance which no
antiquary had hitherto so much as suspected." 2

And yet, in the face of the circumstantial account given by
Motherwell, and the approval and acquiescence expressed by
both him and Sir Walter Scott, as just quoted, and by him-
self, as undernoted, 3 Dr. Robert Chambers had the assurance
to pen the following grossly inaccurate statement :

" Robert Jamieson found in the Kcempe Viser, a Danish collec-
tion of ballads, published in 1695, one resembling the Scottish
ballad of Fair Annie (otherwise called Lady Jane} ; and on this
ground he became convinced that many of our traditionary
ballads were of prodigious antiquity, though they had been
intermediately subjected to many alterations.

" Mr. Jamieson's belief seems remarkably ill-supported ; and
as it has never obtained any adherents among Scottish ballad
editors, I feel entitled to pass it over with but this slight
notice."*

1 Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixxxix

2 Sir Walter Scott's Introductory Bemarks on Popular Poetry, Minstrelsy of the
Scottish Border, rol. ii, p. 81. Edit. 1830, and since. See also post, p. 103.

* "The Tale of Fair Annie," wrote Dr. (then simply Mr.) Chambers, with evident
allusion to Mr. Jamieson's researches, " is found, with many others, in the great
Danish Collection called the Kiempe Viser, which was published in 1593." Scottish
Jiollads, &c., " Introductory," p. 6.

* Edinburgh Papers, by Robert Chambers, F.B.S.E., F.S.A.S., F.Gr.S., F.L.S., &O.
The Romantic Scottish Ballads, Their Epoch and Authorship, 1869.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

The reader who has perused the extracts from Motherwell and
Scott, which precede that from Dr. Chambers, will not require
to have the erroneous assumption of the statement made by
the latter specifically exposed. It may, however, prove
interesting, if not instructive, to note the ballads which
Dr. Kobert Chambers manifested such a Quixotic anxiety to
lay as a literary guerdon on the tomb of Lady Wardlaw, the
reputed authoress of "Hardyknute" (p. 357). They are as
follows: 1

"The Lass o' Lochryan" [p. 1].

" Willie and May Margaret ; or, The Drowned Lovers" [p. 9].

"The Douglas Tragedy" [p. 29].

" Clerk Saunders" [p. 44].

" Sweet William's Ghost" [p. 50].

" The Clerk's Twa Sons o 1 Uwsenford " [p. 53].

" Lady Maisry " [p. 74].

"The Gay Gos-hawk" [p. 93].

"Fair Annie" [p. 103].

"Fause Foodrage" [p. 128].

"Tamlane" [p. 186].

Burd Ellen " [p. 248].

" Sweet Willie and Fair Annie " [p. 261].

"Young Hun tin " [" Earl Richard " or " Lord William," p. 270] .

"Edward! Edward!" [p. 293].

"GilMorrice" 2 [p. 313].

1 The references within brackets are to the pages of this work.

2 "In the middle of the last century," writes Dr. Chambers, "appeared two
editions of a brochure containing the now well-known ballad of ' Gil Morrice ; ' the
date of the second was 1755. Prefixed to both was an advertisement setting forth
that the preservation of this poem was owing to a lady, who favoured the printers
with a copy, as it was carefully collected from the mouths of old women and

nurses Who was the 'lady' that favoured the printers with the copy?

I strongly suspect that the reviser was Lady Wardlaw, and that the poem was
communicated to the printers either by her or by some of her near relations."
The Romantic Scottish Ballads, &c., p. 11.

Now, as Lady Wardlaw died in 1727, the " copy " could hardly be communicated
by her, unless " the printers " were " favoured " with it through the medium of
spirit-rapping! At the same tune it is quite evident, as stated by Burns, who
apparently refers to, if he does not quote from, a communication of Captain
Biddel's, "that the present ballad is a modern composition; perhaps not much
above the age of the middle of the last century; at least, I should be glad to see or
hear of a copy of the present words prior to 1650. That it was taken from an old ballad
called 'Child Maurice,' now lost, I am inclined to believe; but the present one may
, be classed with 'Hardyknute,' 'Kenneth,' 'Duncan,' 'Lord Woodhouselee,' 'Lord
Livingston,' 'Binnorie' [Pinkerton's version], 'The Death of Monteith,' and many
other productions which have been swallowed by many readers as ancient fragments
of old poems." Cromek's JKeligues.

The substantial accuracy of this opinion is borne out by the more specific state-
ment made on the authority of Sir Walter Scott, and approved by Motherwell [post,
p. 315]. But whether any one of the ruder, although in some respects more vigorous
versions, more recently printed, can be regarded as the original used by the reviser,
or who that personage may be, are matters which, like the authorship of Junius' Letters,
are never likely to be determined.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

"The Jew's Daughter" [p. 352].
" Sir Patrick Spens" 1 [p. 368].
" Young Waters " [p. 454].
"Johnnie of Braidislee " [p. 471].
" Mary Hamilton " [p. 509].
"Edom o' Gordon" 2 [p. 515].

1 Dr. Chambers objects to the antiquity of the ballad of "Sir Patrick Spens" on
account of " the want of any ancient manuscript, the absence of the leaat trait of
an ancient style of composition, the palpable modernness of the diction: for
example, ' Our ship must sail the faem,' a glaring specimen of the poetical language
of the reign of Queen Anne," p. 7. And again, " Sir Patrick tells his friends
before starting on his voyage, ' Our ship must sail the faem ; ' and in the descrip-
tion of the consequences of his shipwreck, we find, ' Mony was the feather-bed that
nattered on the faem.' No old poet would use foam as an equivalent for the sea;
but it was just such a phrase as a poet of the era of Pope would love to use in that
sense." The Romantic Scottish Ballads, &c., p. 23.

As to the first objection, Dr. Chambers, to be logically consistent, ought to deny
the possibility of all transmission by oral tradition, which, as might be easily shown,
he does not do. See post, p. 622.

As to the second objection, style, words, and phrases are, in oral transmission,
somewhat like a shifting quicksand, and liable to such constant change, that to
found thereon an argument either pro or eon, resembles the conduct of "the
foolish man who built his house upon the sand. ' And as to the alleged "palpablo
modernness of the diction," as exemplified in the use of the word " faem," it is
only necessary to cite the two lines of an old song, as given by Gawin Douglas in
one of the prologues to his celebrated Scotish translation of Virgil's dZneid, which
appeared in 1513. The lines referred to are

" The schip sails ower the saut fame,
Will tiring thir merchandis and my leman hame.''

2 Curiously enough, Mr. Motherwell, who in the main is as reliable as Dr.
Chambers is the reverse, specially refers to " Edom o' Gordon," as an example of
" how excellently well tradition serves as a substitute for more efficient and less
mutabte channels of communicating the things of past ages to posterity. In proof
of this, it is only necessary to instance the well-known ballad of 'Edom o' Gordon,'
which is traditionally preserved in Scotland, and of which there is fortunately
extant a copy in an English MS., apparently coeval with the date of the subject of
the ballad. The title of this copy is ' Captain Care.' We owe its publication to the
late Mr. Ritson, in whose Ancient Songs it will be found, printed from a MS. in the
Cottonian Library. Between the text of the traditionary version and that of the
MS., a slight inspection will satisfy us that the variations are neither very numerous
nor very important This is taking the MS. as the standard of the original text,
although it can scarcely be considered as such, seeing it has been transcribed by an
English clerk, who, perhaps, took it down from the imperfect recitation of some
wandering Scottish minstrel, and thereafter altered it to suit his own ideas of
poetical beauty." And in a note, Mr. Motherwell adds, "Ritson styles it the
undoubted original of the Scottish ballad, and one of the few specimens now extant
of the proper old English ballad, as composed, not by a Grub Street author for the
stalls of London, but to be chaunted up and down the kingdom by the wandering
Minstrels of the North Countrie. But here the critic has gratuitously assumed, that
the name which appears at the end of it, as the copyist, is also that of the author."
Minstrelsy, Introduction, pp. ii.-iii.

Regarding this ballad, Dr. Chambers writes : " ' Edom o' Gordon ' is only a
modern and improved version of an old ballad which Percy found in his Folio MS.,
under the name of Captain Adam Carre. . . . All that can be surmised here, is,
that the revision was the work of the same pen with the pieces here cited as
witness ,for example, the opening stanzas :

" It fell about the Martinmas,

When the wind blew shrill and cauld,*
Said Edom o' Gordon to his men,
' We maun draw to a hauld.'

Dr. Chambers's note is:
" Young Waters " opens in the same manner:

" About Yule, when the wind blew cool !*

XX GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

"The Bonnie Earl of Murray" [p. 531].

"Gilderoy"[p. 632].

" The Heir of Linrie " (Scotish version) [p. 641]. 1
" All of which," says Dr. Chambers, " besides others which must
rest unnamed, bear traces of the same authorship."

The reader may perceive (see note [ 2 ], preceding page) that
Dr. Chambers regards a certain hackneyed repetition of stock
phraseology as originating with and peculiar to Lady Wardlaw's
alleged imitations of the ancient ballads, which phraseology

" ' And what a hauld shall we draw till,

My merry men and me ?
We will pae to the house o' Rodes,
To see that fair ladye.'

" The ladye stood on her castle wa',

Beheld baith dale and down ;
There she was 'ware of a host of men,
Come riding towards the town. *

" ' Oh, see ye not, my merry men a', t
On, see ye not what I see ? ' " -&c.

Now, let it be observed that stanza 3 and the first two lines of stanza 4, as here
quoted, do not occur in the version of the ballad first issued at Glasgow, in 1755.

And to show the justice of the estimate here expressed, as to the relative merits
of Mr. Motherwell and Dr. Chambers, it may be sufficient to quote the first five
stanzas of the version referred to by the former, as published by Mr. Bitson from
the MS. in the Cotton Library, which stanzas the intelligent reader may, if he
or she chooses, compare with the stanzas and lines quoted above, and then form
his or her own conclusion.

The first five stanzas given by Mr. Ritson are as follows :
" It befell at Martynmas,

When wether waxed colde,

Captaine Care saide to his men,

We must go take a holde.'

" 'Haille, master, and wether you will,

And wether ye like best.'
' To the castle of Crecrynbroghe ;
And there we will take our reste.

" ' I know wher is a gay castle,
la build of lyme and stone,
Within there is a gay ladie,
Her lord is ryd from horn.'

" The ladie lend on her castle- walle,

She loked npp and downe ;
There was she ware of an host of men,
Come riding to the towne.

" ' Come you hether, my men men all,

And look what I do see ;

Yonder is ther a host of men,

I musen who they bee.'"

i Dr. Chambers ought to have known that the " Scotch Heir of Linne " was not
" recovered by Mr. J. H. Dixon," but by Mr. Peter Buchan. It appears, however,
for the first time, in the Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, edited by Mr.
Dixon, for the Percy Society.

Dr. Chambers's notes are :

* We bave seen the same description in both "Young Waters" and "The Bonnie Earl of
Murray."
t Compare this with " Sir Patrick Spence,"

" Mak haste, mak haste, my merry men a'."

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

really does not occur in the version of the ballad, " Edom o'
Gordon," which he uses as the basis of an argument where-
with to bring " Young Waters," &c., within his charmed circle.
But as the sceptical theory of Dr. Eobert Chambers has been
fully, perhaps even too verbosely, answered by Mr. Norval Clyne
of Aberdeen, 1 and by Mr. James Hutton Watkins of this City;*
as it has been since virtually abandoned by its advocate; as
the Introductions prefixed to the respective ballads, taken in
connection with what has been here said, quoted, and referred
to, will enable each reader to form his or her own judgment on
the matter; and, as the space at disposal is somewhat limited,
the writer feels "entitled to pass it over with but this slight
notice," which is perhaps more than it is "entitled" to
receive.

Most of the ballads assigned to Lady Wardlaw by Dr.
Chambers belong to the class of Romantic Ballads included in
Part First of this work. A few, however, belong to the class of
ballads usually designated Historical, 3 which latter form the
larger portion of the ballads comprehended in Part Second.

The Historical and other ballads included in Part Second, are,
as nearly as it can possibly be made out, or inferred, arranged
in Chronological order, an arrangement which is quite im-
possible as regards the ballads contained in Part First. Some
attempt, however, has been there made to group together ballads
similar in theme or in treatment, or to connect them by refer-
ences in the respective Introductions prefixed to the individual
ballads.

1 The Romantic Scottish Ballads and the Lady Wardlaw Heresy. By Norval Clyne, Aber-
deen, MDCCCLIX. As shown by Dr. Chambers s notes to the stanzas quoted by him from
" Edom o' Gordon," and therefore as accurately stated by Mr. Norval Clyne, "He " i.e.,
Dr. C. " dwells strongly on points of resemblance between the ballads In dispute,
and argues somewhat in this fashion. Number one has expressions similar to those
in ' Hardyknute ; ' number tuo contains lines or words wonderfully like some in
number one; number three has, in a similar way, a resemblance to numbers one and
two; and so forth through the whole twenty-five pieces. Take away number one
therefore to wit, 'Sir Patrick Spence,' the corner-stone of the structure raised by
Mr. Chambers and Mr. Chambers's logic [ ! ], unsound enough before, becomes too
defective to be maintained with gravity." (P. 13.)

It is painful to be under the necessity of passing censure on one who has done so
much on behalf of a healthy popular literature.

2 Early Scottish Ballads. By James Hutton Watkins, Member of the Archaeological
Society of Glasgow. Being a revised paper read at a meeting of the Society, 8th
January, 1866. Printed, Glasgow, MDCCCLXVII.

s This class, according to Mr. Motherwell's definition, "Embraces all those
narrative songs which derive their origin from historical facts, whether of a public
or private nature. The subjects of these are national or personal conflicts, family
feuds, public or domestic transactions, personal adventure, or local incidents, which,
in some shape or other, have fallen under the observation of contemporary and
authentic annalists. In general, these compositions may be considered as coeval
with the events which they commemorate; but, with this class as with that which
has been styled the Eomantic ballad, it is not to be expected that, in their progress
to our day, they have undergone no modification of form, and these very consider-
able, from that in which they were originally produced and promulgated among the
people." Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. ii.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

The Introductions referred to preclude the necessity of any
further reference to the ballads included in this collection.
A few scattered notices regarding some Historical Ballads
referred to and quoted by Hume of Godscroft, but which
appear to be now lost, followed by excerpts of the most
interesting passages in The Complaynt of Scotland, a passing
reference to the Maitland and Bannatyne MSS., and some
account of our principal printed collections, may, however, be
deemed interesting.

Of the notices occuring in Hume's work, 1 probably the
earliest, in point of time, " relates to William, brother of King
Achaius." *

The next relates how: "The Lord of Liddesdale, being at his
pastyme hunting in Attrick Forest, is beset by William Earle of
Douglas, and such as he had ordained for that purpose, and there
assailed, wounded, and slain, beside Galeswood, in the year 1353,
upon a jealousie, that the Earle had conceived of him with his
Lady, as the report goeth, for so sayes the old song:

' The Countesse of Douglas, out of her bowre she came,
And loudly there that she did call;
" It is for the Lord of Liddesdale,
That I let all these teares down fall." '

The song also declareth how shee did write her love letters to
Liddesdale, to disswade him from that hunting. It tells like-
wise, the manner of the taking of his men, and his own killing
at Galeswood, and how he was carried the first night to
Linden Kirk, a mile from Selkirk, and was buried within the
Abbacie of Melrose." 3

A stanza of an ancient ballad relating to the Battle of Otter-
bourne (fought 1388), may be found quoted, post, p. 426.

The same writer furnishes the following stanza:

"Edinburgh Castle, town, and tower,

God grant thou sinke for sinne ;
And that even for the black dinner,

Earl Douglas gat therein."

1 History of the Family of Douglas, by David Home of Godscroft, 1644.

* One of the douzeperes of Charlemagne, and who "conquest," says Bellenden, "be
his manheid and prowes. sic fame that he was callit The Knicht but Reproche in all
his weris, and got sic riches and landis that he was gretumly renownit amang the
princiss of France." "It is he," says Hume of G-odscroft, "who is named, in songs
made of him, Scottish Gilmore," which words are simply Hume's rendering of the
following words of Major, gut a nostratibus mtlgaliter Scotisgilmor vocatur. " May
we presume then," inquires Finlay. "that since the expression, vulgaliter vocatur,
when applied to Gilmore, appeared to Hume's mind equivalent to 'is named in
songs,' these songs must have been still current in the days of the latter historian;
or can we only conclude, that at the time when Major wrote (about 1508) he was
still a popular heroin Scotland ? " Bellenden's Soece 10 buke, cap. 4. [Hume's] History
of the Family of Douglas, Major, lib. 11, cap. 13. Finlay's Ballads, vol. i., p. 12.

s Sir "Walter Scott quotes the above, and then intimates that "some fragments of
this ballad are still current, and will be found in the ensuing work," Border
Minstrelsy, vol. i., Introduction, p. 222. Sir Walter must, however, have overlooked
the fragments he refers to, as they do not appear in his work.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

which stanza is supposed to be the sole surviving relic of a
ballad referring to what Motherwell justly styles "the
infamous murder of William, Sixth Earle of Douglas [and his
brother], in the Castle of Edinburgh, in 1440." But not, as he
states, "by the hands of his sovereign." Although William,
the Eighth Earl, fell as infamously, and in violation of a safe
conduct, "by the hands of the same sovereign" (1452), in what
has since been known as the Douglas room of Stirling Castle.

Hume has also " preserved the beginning of a scoffing rhyme
made" with reference to the futile attempt of the Earl of
Argyle "to enter the Merse as lieutenant of his Sovereign"
(1528). The lines quoted are,

" The Earl of Argyle is bound to ride

From the border of Edgebucklin brae ; 1
And all his habergeons him beside,

Each man upon a sonk of strae.
They made their vow that they would slay."

There issued from the press of "Walter Chepman and
Andrew Myllar, Edinburgh, in the year M.D.VIII.," a series of
early Tracts or Chap-books in black letter, forming the earliest
specimens of popular poetry known to have issued from the
Scotish press. But the only portion of this series falling
specially within the scope of our subject, is

"A Gest of Eobyn Hode," referred to, post, p. 322.

The Complaynt of Scotland (1549) furnishes us with a curious
and interesting list of the " Stories and . . flet taylis, . .
sum . in prose, and sum . in verse: . [quhilk] the
Scheiphirdis, 2 thir vyuis and saruadis [reherseit] ane by ane."

[Omitting those derived from the Greek and Eoman classics;
those which appear to be derived from Norman-French romances;
as well as those by Chaucer, Dunbar, and Gavin Douglas; the
following may be cited : ]

"the tayle of the volfe of the varldis end" [post, p. 185].

" the taiyl of the reyde eyttyn vitht the thre heydis " [post,
p. 199].

"the prophysie of merlyne" [post, pp. 208-9, 382, and 385-7].

"the tayl of the giantis that eit quyk men" [post, p. 200].

" on fut by fortht as i culd found." [Unknown.]

* " Edgebucklin," near Musselburgh. Scott.

The author of The Complaynt states that "euyrie scheipherd bed ane home spune
in the lug of there bonet," p. 66. [Apparently after the same fashion as the tobacco

Eipe which figures in the hat-band of an Irishman, as depicted or caricatured by
rskine Nicol and the Punch artists.] He also relates how " the prencipal scheip-
hirde maid ane orisone tyll al the laif of his compangzons " [p. 66] ; wherein he
"indoctryne his nychtbours as he had studeit ptholeme, auerois, aristotel, galien,
ypocrites or Cicero, quhilk var expert practicians in methamatic art," and yet
strangely enough this learned " Scheiphirde " is described as " ane rustic pastour
of bestialite, distitut of vrbanite, and of speculatione of natural philosophe " [p. 97].

XXIV GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

"vallace." "thebruce." 1

" the tail of the thre futtit dog of narrouay." [Unknown.]

" the tail quhou the kyng of est mure land mareit the kyngis

dochter of vest mure land" [post, p. 128].
" Skail gillenderson the kyngis sone of skellye." *
"the tail of Sir euan arthours knycht" [post, p. 21].
" Arthour knycht he raid on nycht vitht gyltin spur and

candillycht." 3

" the tail of syr valtir the bald leslye." *
" the tail of the pure tynt." s
"robene hude and litil ihone." 6
"the tayl of the zog tamlene " [post, p. 186].
" the ryng of the roy Kobert." 7
" syr egeir and Byr gryme." 8

1 Henry the Minstrel, and Barbour, appear to have done for the Scotish Heroes
what Pisistratus is credited with having done for those of Greece, who are
celebrated in the Homeric Rhapsodies. See ante, p. ix., and pott, p. 414.

2 Mr. Pinkerton suggests, and Mr. Motherwell supposes, that the outline of this
tale is " to be found in Wintown." Cronykil, A.D. 1158.

* Leyden, in the Preliminary Dissertation prefixed to his edition of the Complaynt
n1 Scotland (p. 229). mentions that he had heard these lines " repeated in a nursery
tale, of which I only recollect," says he, "the following ridiculous verses:

' Chick my naggie ! chick my n aggie !
How mony miles to Aberdeagie?
'Tis eight, and eight, and other eight;
Well no win there wi' candle light.' "

* " Sir Walter Lesley accompanied his brother Norman to the east, to assist Peter,
King of Cyprus; where, according to Fordun, Cceperunt civitatem Alexandrinam
tempore ultimi regis David.'' Leyden. Ibid, p. 230. But "Mr. Finlay seeks to connect
with this a tradition preserved by Verstegan, in his Restitution of Decayed Intelli-
gence, Lond., 1634, p. 292: 'A combat being once fought in Scotland, between a
gentleman of the family of Leslyes, and a knight of Hungary, wherein the Scottish
gentleman was victor; in memory thereof, and of the place where it happened,
these ensuing verses doe in Scotland yet remaine :

1 Betweene the lesseley, and the mare,
He slew the Knight, and left him there.'

Mackenzie, in his life of John Lesley, Bishop of Ross, gives a different account of
this tradition, namely, that the family of Lesley sprung from Bartholemy Lesley, a
Hungarian gentleman who accompanied Queen Margaret from Hungary to England,
and from thence to Scotland, where he married one of her Maids of Honour, about
1067." Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. xlix.. note. See also Historical
Records of the Family of Leslie, by Col. Leslie, K.H., of Balquhain. 3 vols., 1869.

5 "Probably the groundwork of the fairy tale of 'the pure tynt Rashycoat,' a
common nursery tale." Leyden. Ibid, p. 23C.

6 Post, p. 322. Another ballad neither referred to there, nor printed in this work,
is given by Mr. Buchan, under the title of " Jock the Leg and the Merry Merchant,"
Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 165, and note, p. 325. It relates the discomfiture of "Jock
the Leg," or "Little John," by the "Merchant," who is, therefore, accounted "the
strongest and bravest man in the country," seeing that he " overcame Little John,
Little John Robin Hood, and Robin Hood all the rest of the country."

" Occurs in the Folio Maitland MS., and is there ascribed to "Deine David
SteiL" A modernized copy is given in Watson's Collection, Part IL, p. iii.; see
also post, p. 181.

8 This romance, or it may be some abridgment of it, is thus referred to in the
books of the Lord High Treasurer, A.D. 1497. " Item [the xix day of Aprile, in
Striuelin], giffin to twa flthelaris, that sang Gray-steil to the King, ixs."

There are numerous references in the works of early Scotish writers to this
romance, which seems to have been very popular in Scotland.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION. XXV

" the tail of the amours of leander and hero." *
"the tayl of the thre vierd systirs."*

" ^ Quhen thir Scheiphyrdis hed tald al thyr pleysand storeis,
than they and their vyuis began to sing sueit melodius sangis
of natural music of the antiquite, as eftir follouis." (See
The Songs of Scotland, Chronologically Arranged, p. xxvii.)

[Some of the pieces enumerated among the "sueit melodins
sangis" are, however, properly speaking, ballads. For in-
stance :

"The frog cam to the myl dur." s
" the sang of gilquhiskhar." *
" god sen the due, hed byddin in France,
And delabaute had neuyr cum hame." &
"the battel of the hayrlau" [post, p. 443].
" The hunttis of cheuet " [post, p. 425-6].
" The persee and the mongumrye met

that day, that gentil day " [post, p. 424].
" my luf is laid upon ane bnight " [post, p. 476], ]

"^[ Thir Scheiphirdis ande there vyuis sang mony vthir melodi'
eangis, the quhilkis i hef nocht in memorie. than eftir this sueit
celest armonye, tha began to dance in ane ring, euyrie aid
scheipherd led his vyfe be the hand, and euyrie zong scheip-
herd led her quhome he luffit best." 6 The Complaynt of Scotland,
edited by John Leyden, 8vo, 1801, pp. 98-103.

i In the ROXBITRGHE COLLECTION, and in Mr. Payne Collier's Roxburghe Ballads,
p. 227, occurs, "The Tragedy of Hero and Leander. To & pleasant new tune, or, /
mil never love thee more." A song, or ballad founded on it, appeared in the Tea-table
Miscellany, vol. ii., p. 138, and was inserted by Ritson in his Scotish Songs, voL ii.,
p. 198. It is not at all likely that either haa any claim to be identified with the
story orflet tayle here referred to.

a Mr. Motherwell supposes the outline of this story to be given in the following
lines, relating to a dream which was dreamt, or vision which was seen, by
Macbeth:

" Thre werd systyris most lyk to be
The first he heard say, gangande by,
Lo yonder the Thayne o/Crumbachty!
The Tother woman said agayn,
Of Murray yonder I se the Thayn!
The Thrid than said, I se the kyng!"

This is the fountain-head of the story which the immortal Shakespeare introduces
with such effect in his sublime tragedy of " Macbeth." Act I., Scene iii.

* This is probably one of the numerous versions of the nursery ballad, "A frog
he would a-wooing go."

* Is supposed to have been an historic ballad, but time, place, circumstance, and
person are alike unknown.

5 This appears to have been a ballad on the Chevalier De la Beaute, whom the
Regent John, Duke of Albany, left as his deputy when he returned to France. The
unfortunate Frenchman was savagely murdered by the Laird of Wedderburn and
others, A.D. 1517.

6 The musical powers of " kyng amphion," " appollo," " al the scheipherdis that
virgil makMs mention in his bucohkis," "orpheus," "the scheiphyrd pan," "nor

XXVI GENERAL DITKODUCTION.

[Among the dances enumerated, the following are named after
ballad heroes :

"Robene hude" [post, p. 322].

"thorn of lyn" [post, p. 186].

"johnne ermistrangis dance" [post, p. 489]. ]

But, as remarked by Leyden, the list " cannot be considered
as complete, though it marks the peculiar taste of the author."

No reasonable argument against the antiquity of " Sir Patrick
Spens," or any other presumedly ancient ballad or song, can
therefore be founded on the silence of The Complaynt regarding
them. In fact, many of the Romances enumerated in The
Complaynt, but here omitted, could never have been popular
among Scotish shepherds 1 and their wives, while the whole
scene of Arcadian or " sweet celestial harmony" and simplicity
conjured up by the author was entirely alien to the stern reality
witnessed in the Scotland of that age.

As The Complaynt is chiefly valued and referred to on account
of the passages quoted above, it has been deemed advisable to
give them in the orthography of the author, as represented by
Leyden. *

The Maitland MSS., Folio and Quarto, A.D. 1555-86, s the one
written by Sir Richard Maitland, and the other by his daughter;
and the Bannatyne MS., written by George Bannatyne, A.D. 1568 ;*
contain poems by Dunbar, Gawin Douglas, Henryson, Alexander
Scot, Sir Richard Maitland, and other makkars, named and un-
named ; but, with the exception of two or three in the Bannatyne
MS.? the poems contained in these MSS. cannot, properly speak-
ing, be classed as ballads.

The principal printed Collections containing Scotish Ballads
or Poems, which have been printed and classed as such, are as
follows :

"A Choice Collection of Comic and Serious Scots Poems,

mercnrius," "culd nocht be comparit to thir foir said scheiphyrdis." Complaynt,
p. 102.

The superlative excellence of their dancing is also graphically described : " for
fyrst thai bega vitht tua bekkis and vitht a kysse. euripides, iuuenal, perseus,
horasse, nor nane of the satiric poiettes quhilkis mouit ther bodies as thai bed bene
dansand qunen thai prommcit ther tragiedeis, none of them kepit moir geomatrial
mesure nor thir scheiphyrdis did in thir dansing. nor ludius that vas the fyrst
dansar of rome, cnld nocht haf been comparit to thir scheiphirdis." Well might the
author exclaim that he " beheld neuyr ane mair dilectabil recreatioe." Complaynt
p. 102.

1 See note, ante, p. xxiii.

s The Early English Text Society announced a new edition of this curious and
interesting work for their issue of 1870, but it has not yet appeared. (1871.)

s For an account of the contents of these MSS., see Pinker-ton's Ancient Scotish
Poems, vol. ii., Appendix I.

* Ibid, and more accurately in Memorials of George Bannatyne, 1829, 4to, a volume
printed for the Bannatyne Club.

5 "The Baid of Eeidsquair," post, p. 521, is the only one given in this work.

GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

Both Ancient and Modern, By several Hands. Edinburgh,
printed by James Watson: Sold by John Vallange" [Three
Parts, 1706, 1709, and 1711. Second ed. of Part i., 1713.] l

" The Evergreen, Being a Collection of Scots Poems, Wrote
by the Ingenious before 1600. Published by Allan Kamsay.
Edinburgh, 1724.". 2 vols. 2

" The Tea Table Miscellany: A Collection of Choice Songs,
Scots and English. Edinburgh 1724, and after." 4 vols. s

" Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, &c., By Thomas Percy,
Lord Bishop of Dromore." London, 1st ed., 1765, 4th ed. (im-
proved) 1794. *

"Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc."
[Edited by David Herd, assisted by George Paton.] Edinburgh,
1769. 2d ed., in 2 vols., 1776. &

"The Scots Musical Museum," &c., by James Johnson.
Edinburgh, 6 vols., 1787-1803. [3d ed., "With copious Notes
and Illustrations ... by the late William Stenhouse," and
"with additional Notes and Illustrations by David Laing
and C. K. Sharpe, Edinburgh, 1853." 4 vols.] 8

" Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," &c. [1st and 2d vols.,
1802; 3d, 1803. Last ed. revised by Sir Walter Scott, Caddell,
Edinburgh, 1830. 4 vols.] 7

" Popular Ballads and Songs ... by Eobert Jamieson."
Edinburgh, 1806. 2 vols. 8

1 This is the earliest collection of Scots Poems issued in book form.

2 Most of the poems contained in The Evergreen were printed from the Bannatyne
MS. ; but they are given very inaccurately. It contains also " Hardyknute," " The
Vision," &c., which had no right to a place under such a title as the above.

3 The earliest Collection of Scots Songs, and the basis of all subsequent collections.

* The Reliques contain a larger number of Scotish Ballads than had previously
appeared in print, at least in a collected form. Most, if not all of them, were
transmitted by Lord Hailes.

5 Contributes largely to our stock of ballads ; many fragments being also gleaned
up and preserved which might otherwise have perished.

The Notes and Illustrations were added to this last edition, of which they form the
4th volume; but in other respects the editions are the same, both being paged
continuously; vols. i. to vi. of the 1st ed. corresponding with vols i to iii. of the
3d ed. Music, Words, and Notes all combine to render this the most valuable
compendium of Scotish Song prior to the beginning of the present century, and
indispensable to those who wish to know nearly all that is known or can be ascer-
tained regarding our National Song and Music up to that period.

i Mr. Motherwell, referring to " this great national work," remarks, " Fortunate
it was for the Heroick aud Legendary Song of Scotland that this work was under-
taken, and still more fortunate that its execution devolved upon one so well qualified
in every respect to do its subject the most ample justice." The present work con-
tains, with very few exceptions, all the genuine relics of Traditionary Ballads first
given to the world by The Great Wizard of the North, who won his spurs as collector
aud editor of the above-named work.

8 For some account of Mr. Jamieson's contributions to the Ballad Literature of
Scotland, see ante, p. xvi.

XXV111 GENERAL INTRODUCTION.

" Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern, with an Historical Intro-
duction and Notes. By William Motherwell." Glasgow, 1827. l

" Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland,
Hitherto Unpublished, With Explanatory Notes by Peter
Buchan." Edinburgh: printed for W. & D. Laing, and J.
Stevenson, &c., 1828. 2 vols. *

Numerous collections, many of them of considerable value,
although of minor importance, compared with those just named,
are referred to tinder: 8

1 The "Historical Introduction and Notes" by Mr. Motherwell cannot be too
highly praised, and rendered his Minstrelsy really invaluable to all who desired a
comprehensive, and, at the same time, minute acquaintance with almost every-
thing pertaining to or known regarding Scotish Ballads, up to the date of publication,
and prior to the issue of the present work, in which the information he so industri-
ously and intelligently gathered together and imparted is nearly all incorporated and
supplemented.

2 " The most extensive and valuable additions," writes Sir Walter Scott, " which
have been of late made to this branch of ancient literature, are the collections of
Mr. Peter Bnchan. of Peterhead, a person of indefatigable research in that departs
ment, and whose industry has been crowned with the most successful results ; " and
again " Of the originality of the ballads in Mr. Buchan's collection, we do not enter-
am the slightest doubt." After stating several good and valid reasons for this opinion,
he further adds, "Accordingly, we have never seen any Collection of Scottish
Poetry appearing, from internal evidence, BO decidedly and indubitably original.
It is perhaps a pity that Mr. Buchan did not remove some obvious errors and
corruptions; but in truth, though their remaining on record is an injury to the
effect of the ballads in point of composition, it is, in some degree, a proof of their
authenticity." Introductory Remarks on Popular Poetry, Minstrelsy, vol. i.,
pp. 85-8.

s "Aberdeen Cantus; 1st. ed., 1662; 2nd. ed., 1666; 3rd. ed., 1682. Pinkerton's
Scottish Tragic Ballads, 1781, and Select Scottish Ballads, 2 vols., 1783. Caw's
Poetical Museum, Hawick, 1784. -iRitson's Scottish Song, 2 vols., 1794. Scottish Poems
of the Sixteenth Century, Edited by J. G. Dalzell, 1801. Finlay's Scottish Historical
and Romantic Ballads, 2 vols., 1808. Evan's Old Ballads, &c., 2 vols., 1777; 4 vols.,
1784 ; new ed., revised, 1810. Cromek's Select Scottish Songs, 2 vols., 1810. Gilchrist's
Collection of Ballads, &c., 2 vols., 1815. Hogg's Jacobite Relics of Scotland, 2 vols.,
1819 and 1821. Smith's Scottish Minstrel, 6 vols., 1820-24. Struthers' British Minstrel,
1821. Laing's (David) Select Remains, &c., 1822. Laing's (Alex.), Scarce Ancient
Ballads, 1822, and Thistle of Scotland, 1823. Webster's Curious Old Ballads, 1824.
A Ballad Book by C. K. Sharpe, 1824. A North Countrie Gar/and, by Maidment, 1824.
MacTaggart's Scottish Gallovidian Encyclopsedia, 1824. Buchan's Gleanings, 1825.
Allan Cunningham's Songs of Scotland, 4 vols., 1825. David Laing's Early Metrical
Tales, 1826. Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, 1827; and The Ballad Book, 1827.
Lyle's Ancient Ballads and Songs, 1827. Jacobite Minstrelsy, Glasgow, 1829. Michel's
Hughes de Lincoln, &c., Paris, 1834. Maidment's Ballads, &c., 1834. Dauney's Ancient
Scottish Melodies, 1838. Madden's Syr Gawayne, Ac., 1839. Scottish Traditional Ver-

sions of Ancient Ballads [from a MS. of Peter Bnchan's], edited by J. H. Dixon, 1845.
Chambers's Popular Rhymes, &c. [three editions, 1826, 1842, and 1870]. A New Book of
Old Ballads, by Maidment, 1844. Whitelaw's Book of Scottish Ballads, 1845.

Richardson's Borderer's Table Book, 8 vols., 1841-6. The Ballads and Songs of Ayrshire,
&c., By James Paterson 2 parts, 1846-7. Maidment's Scottish Ballads and Songs, 1859.
Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript, printed copy, 3 vols., 1868. Maidment's Scottish Ballads
and Songs, &c., 2 vols., 1868. Logan's Pedlar's Pack, 1868. Professor Child's English
i and Scottish Ballads, 8 vols., 1861 so often referred to and commended in this work
is specially valuable on account of its giving nearly every British Ballad or Ballad
version worthy of preservation. The professedly collated collections are:
Chambers's Scottish Ballads, &C-V1829. Aytoun's Ballads of Scotland, 2 vols., 1858 ;fr
2nd edition, 1859. Allingham's Ballad Book (British);. 1864. Robert's Legendary
Ballads of England and Scotland, 1868.

THE

BALLAD MINSTEELSY

ROMANTIC AND HISTORICAL.

PART I.-EAKLY EOMANTIC.

FATE ANNIE OF LOCHRYAK

The different versions of this favourite ballad are
L Herd's " The Bonnie Lass of Lochroyan."

Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, &c., vol. i, p. 149.

II. Scott's "The Lass of Lochroyan. "

Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. iii., p. 199.

III. Jamieson's " Fair Annie of Lochroyan."

Popular Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 36.

IV. Buchan's " Love Gregory."

Ancient Ballads and Songs, &c., vol. ii., p. 198.

The text here printed has been collated from the four versions
named above.

A short fragment appeared in Johnson's Museum, vol. i., p. 5;
and ' ' Mr. Cunningham, in his Songs of Scotland, vol. i. , p. 298,
favoured the world with an ample specimen of his own poetical
talents,"* based on the version of Sir Walter Scott. Songs on the
story of " fair Annie " have also been written by Dr. Wolcot, Burns,
and Jamieson.

Scott's version "is composed of verses selected from three MS.
copies, and two obtained from recitation. Two of the copies are iu
Herd's MS.; the third in that of Mrs. Brown, of Falkland."
Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 199.

* Motherwell's Afinstrefsy, Introduction, p. Ixil
B

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Jamieson's version is, he states, ' ' given verbatim from the large
MS. collection, transmitted from Aberdeen, by my zealous and
industrious friend, Professor Robert Scott, of that University. It
was first written down many years ago, with no view towards being
committed to the press ; and is now given from the copy then taken,
with the addition only of stanzas 22 and 23 (41 and 42 of the
present version), which the editor has inserted from memory. "-
Popular ballads, vol. i., p. 36.

Sir Walter Scott observes, that " the lover, who, if the story be
real, may be supposed to have been detained by sickness, is re-
presented in the legend as confined by fairy charms in an enchanted
castle situated in the sea; " and he adds, that " the ruins of ancient
edifices are still visible on the summits of most of those small islands,
or rather insiilated rocks, which lie along the coast of Ayrshire and
Galloway, as Ailsa and Big Scaur. "

Mr. Chambers describes Lochryan as "a beautiful, though some-
what wild and secluded bay, which projects from the Irish Channel
into Wigtonshire (district of Galloway), having the little seaport of
Stranraer situated at its bottom." Scottish Ballads, p. 225.

Concerning this ballad, Burns remarks : "It is somewhat singular,
that in Lanark, Renfrew, Ayr, Wigton, Kirkcudbright, and Dumfries
shires, there is scarcely an old song or tune, which, from the title, &c.,
can be guessed to belong to, or be the production of, these counties.
This, I conjecture, is one of these very few, as the ballad, which is a
long one, is called, both by tradition and in printed collections, 'The
Lass of Lochroyan,' which I take to be Lochryan, in Galloway. ''-
Cromek's Reliqutis, p. 196.

With reference to the " bonnie boat.'' which figures so prominent!"
in the ballad, the following extract may be quoted as attesting thu
accuracy with which its fittings and decorations are described:

"According to Froissart, the vessels of the French fleet, prepared
for the invasion of England in the tenth year of Richard II. , were
painted with arms, and gilded ; their banners, pennons, and
standards were formed of silk ; and the masts, which glittered like
gold, were painted from the top to the bottom. When the ancient
popular ballads, therefore, describe the masts of a vessel as shining
like gold or silver, or mention the ' sails of light green silk, and the
tows of taffetie,' they probably adhere more strictly to the ant'u/ue
costume than a cursory observer would be apt to imagine." Leydeu's
Preliminary Dissertation to The, Complaynt of ScotlanJ, p. 116.

1 OH, it fell on a Wodensday,

Lord Gregory 's ta'en the sea,
And he has left his fair Annie,
And a weary woman was she.

2 He hadna sailed away from her

A day but barely three,
Till she has born a fair young son
To her Lord Gresrorv.

FAin AXXIE OF LOCHRYAX.

3 He hadna sailed away from her

A week but barely ane,
Till fair Annie, in child-bed laid,
For Lord Gregory did mane.

4 " Oh, wha will shoe my bonnie foot?

And wha will glove my hand?

And wha will lace my middle jimp

With a lang, lang linen band?

5 " Oh, wha will kame my yellow hair

With a new-made silver kame?

And wha will father my young son,

Till Lord Gregory come name?"

6 " Thy father will shoe thy bonnie foot,

Thy mother will glove thy hand,

Thy sister will lace thy middle jimp,

Till Lord Gregory come to land.

7 " Thy brother will kame thy yellow hair

With a new-made silver kame,
And God will be thy bairn's father
Till Lord Gregory come hame."

8 She hadna born her fair young son

A day but barely three,
Till word has to fair Annie come,
Her lord she'd nae mair see.

9 " Oh, I will get a carpenter

To build a boat to me ;
And I will get bold mariners,
With me to sail the sea.

10 " And I will seek him, love Gregory,

In lands where'er he be;
Oh, I will gang to love Gregory,
Since he canna come to me."

11 Her father he gar'd build a boat,

And fitted it royallie;
The sails were of the light green silk,
The tows of taffetie.

12 The masts of burnish 'd gold were made,

And far o'er sea they shone ;

The bulwarks richly were inlaid

With pearl and royal bone.

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

13 At every needle tack was in't

There hung a silver bell,
That softly tinkled with the breeze,
Or salt sea's heaving swell.

14 And he has gi'en her the bonnie boat,

And sent her to the strand;
She 's ta'en her young son in her arms,
And turn'd her back to land.

15 She hadna sail'd but twenty leagues,

But twenty leagues and three,
When she met with a rank rover,
And all his companie.

16 "Now whether are ye the queen hersell

(For sae ye weel might be),
Or are ye the lass of Lochryau,
Seekin' Lord Gregory?"

17 " Oh, I am not the queen," she said,

" Tho' sic I seem to be ;
But I am the lass of Lochryan,
Seekin' Lord Gregory."

18 " Oh, see na thou yon bonnie bower?

It 's all cover'd o'er with tin ;
When thou hast sail'd it round about,
Lord Gregory is within."

19 And when she saw the stately tower,

Shining sae clear and bright,
Whilk stood aboou the jawing wave,
Built on a rock of height.

20 Says " Row, row ye, my mariners,

And bring me to the land!
For yonder I see my love's castle,
Close by the salt sea strand."

21 She sail'd it round and round about,

And loud and sair cried she
" Now break, now break, ye fairy charms,
And set my true love free ! "

22 She 's ta'en her young son in her arms,

And to the door she 's gane;
And long she knock'd, and sair she call'd,
But answer got she nane.

FAIR ANNIE OF LOCHRTAN.

23 " Oh, open the door, Lord Gregory !

Oh, open, and let me in !
For the wind blaws through my yellow hair,
And the rain draps o'er my chin."

24 The night was dark, and the wind blew cauld,

And lier love was fast asleep,
And the bairn that was in her twa arms
Full sair began to greet.

25 Lang stood she at her true love's door,

And lang tirl'd at the pin ;
At length up got his fause mother,
Says" Wha 's that wou'd be in ? "

26 " Oh, it is Annie of Lochryan,

Your love come o'er the sea,
And your young son is in my arms,
Sae open the door to me."

27 " Awa, awa, ye ill woman !

Ye're no come here for good,
Ye're but some witch or wil' warlock,
Or mermaid of the flood."

28 " I am neither witch nor wil' warlock,

Nor mermaid of the sea ;
But I am Annie of Lochryan ;
Oh, open the door to me ! "

29 " If thou-be Annie of Lochryan

(As I trow thou binna she),
Now tell me some of the love-tokens
That pass'd between thee and me."

30 " Oh, dinna ye mind, Lord Gregory,

As we twa sat at dine,
We chang'd the rings frae our fingers,
And I can show thee thine?

31 " Oh, yours was gude, and gude enough,

But no sae gude as mine ;
For yours was of the gude red gold,
But mine of the diamond fine.

32 " Now open the door, Lord Gregory,

Open the door, I pray !
For thy young son is in my arms,
And will be deid ere day."

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

33 " If thou be the lass of Lochryan

(As I kenna thou to be),
Tell me some mair of the love-tokens
Pass'd between me and thee."

34 " Oh, dinna ye mind, Lord Gregory,

When we sat at the wine,
How we chang'd the napkins frae our necks-
It 's nae sae lang sinsyne ?

35 u And yours was gude, and gude enough,

But nae sae gude as mine ;
For yours was of the cambric clear,
But mine of the silk sae fine.

36 " Sae open the door, now, love Gregory,

And open it with speed;
Or your young son, that is in my arms,
With cauld will soon be deid."

37 " Awa, awa, ye ill woman,

Gae frae my door for shame;
For I ha'e gotten anither fair love,
Sae ye may hie ye hame."

38 " Oh, ha'e ye gotten anither fair love,

For all the oaths ye sware?

Then fare ye weel, fause Gregory,

For me ye's ne'er see mair ! "

39 Fair Annie turn'd her round about

" Weel ! since that it be sae,
May ne'er a woman that has born a son
Ha'e a heart sae full of wae! "

40 Oh, hooly, hooly gaed she back,

As the day began to peep ;
She set her foot on good ship board,
And sair, sair did she weep.

41 " Take down, take down the mast of gold,

Set up the mast of tree ;
111 sets it a forsaken lady
To sail sae gallantlie.

42 "Take down, take down the sails of silk,

Set up the sails of skin ;
111 sets the outside to be gay,
When there 's sic grief within ! "

FAIR ANNIE OF LOCHRYAN.

43 When the cock had crawn, and the day did dawn,

And the sun began to peep,
Lord Gregory started frae his sleep,
And sair, sair did he weep.

44 " Oh, I ha'e dream'd a dream, mother,

I wish it-may prove true,
That the bonnie lass of Lochryan
Was at the yate e'en now.

45 " Oh, I ha'e dream'd a dream, mother,

I wish it be not sae ;
I dream'd a dream last night, mother,
That gars my heart feel wae.

46 " I dream'd that Annie of Lochryan.

The flower of all her kin,
Was standin' mournin' at my door,
But nane wou'd let her in.

47 " Oh, I ha'e dream'd a dream, mother

The thought o't gars me greet
That fair Annie of Lochryan
Lay cauld deid at my feet."

48 " If it be for Annie of Lochryan

That ye make all this din,
She stood all last night at your door,
But I trow she wan na in."

49 " Oh, wae betide ye, ill woman !

An ill deid may ye dee!
That wadna open the door to her,
Nor yet wou'd wauken me."

50 Oh, lie's gane down to yon shore side

As fast as he cou'd fare;
He saw fair Annie in the boat,
But the wind it toss'd her sair.

51 " And hey, Annie ! and how, Annie !

Annie, winna ye bide?"
But aye the mair he cried " Annie,"
The braider grew the tide.

52 " And hey, Annie! and how, Annie!

Dear Annie, speak to me! "
But aye the louder he cried " Annie,"
The louder roar'd the sea.

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

53 The wind grew loud, the sea grew rough,

And the ship was rent in twain;
And soon he saw her, fair Annie,
Come floating o'er the main.

54 He saw his young son in her arms,

Baith toss'd aboon the tide ;
He wrang his hands, and plung'd himsell
Into the sea sae wide.

55 The wind blew loud, the sea grew rough,

And dashed the boat on shore;
Fair Annie floated through the foam,
But the babie rase no more.

56 Lord Gregory tore his yellow hair,

And made a heavy moan ;
Fair Annie's corpse lay at his feet
Her bonnie young son was gone.

57 Oh, cherry, cherry was her cheek,

And golden was her hair ;
But clay-cauld were her rosy lips
Nae spark of life was there. '

58 And first he kiss'd her cherry cheek,

And syne he kiss'd her chin,

And syne he kiss'd her rosy lips

There was nae breath within.

59 " Oh, wae betide my cruel mother !

An ill death may she dee !
She tuni'd my true love frae my door,
Wha came sae far to me.

60 " Oh, wae betide my cruel mother !

An ill death may she dee !
She turned fair Annie frae my door,
Wha died for love of me."

61 Oh, he has mourn'd o'er fair Annie,

Till the sun was ganging down ;
Syne with a sigh his heart it burst,
And his saul to heaven has flown.

THE DROWNED LOVEES.

THE DROWNED LOVERS; OR, WILLIE AND MAY
MARGARET.

A fragment of this Ballad, extending to sixteen stanzas, first appeared,
under the title of " Willie and May Margaret," in Jamieson's Popular
Ballads, vol. i., p. 134, where he says, "it was taken from the
recitation of Mrs. Brown of Falkland." Motherwell reprinted the
same fragment in his Minstrelsy, p. 155 ; and in his Appendix ii. ,
p. iii., appear sixteen additional stanzas, completing the ballad, which
was also given in a complete state by Buchan, under the title of
"The Drowned Lovers." Ancient Ballads, &c., voL i., p. 140.

The earlier stanzas of this latter version differ in a few unimportant
particulars from those of Jamieson's fragment.

Professor Aytoun printed Mr. Jamieson's version, with the
addition of "three stanzas, from Mr. Buchan's," under the title
of "The Mother's Malison," as he considered that "there is a
superfluity of Willies and Margarets in our popular minstrelsy."
7'Ae Ballads of Scotland, vol. i., p. 155.

Buchan's version is the one here generally followed.

The fatal end of both lovers is brought about through the deception
of a malicious mother, who answers in the assumed voice of a lover,
in which respect it resembles the preceding ballad, ' ' Fair Annie of
Lochryan."

A similar ballad of the North, but apparently of later date, named,
"Willie's Drowned in Gamery," appears in a subsequent portion of
this collection.

1 WILLIE stands in his stable door,

Clapping his coal-black steed;
And looking o'er his white fingers,
His nose began to bleed.

2 " Gi'e corn to my horse, mother,

And meat to my man, John ;

And I'll awa to Marg'ret's bower,

Before the night comes on."

3 " Oh, bide this night with me, Willie,

Oh, bide this night with me ;
The best, an' fowl of all the roost
At your supper shall be."

4 " All your fowls, and all your roosts,

I value not a prin ;
Sae I'll awa to Marg'ret's bower,
Before the night sets in."

10 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

5 " Stay this night with me, Willie,

Oh, stay this night with me;
The best, an' sheep in all the flock,
At your supper shall be."

6 " All your sheep, and all your flocks,

I value not a prin ;
Sae I'll awa to Marg'ret's bower,
I rnaun be there this e'en."

7 " Oh, stay at home, my son, Willie,

The wind blaws cauld and shrill;
The night will be baith rnirk and late,
Ere her bower ye win till."

8 " Oh, tho' the night were e'er sae mirk,

Or the wind blew e'er sae cauld,
I will be in May Marg'ret's bower
Before twa hours be tauld."

9 " Oh, an' ye gang to Marg'ret's bower,

Without the leave of me,
In the deepest pot* of Clyde's water,
My malison drown thee."

10 " The gude steed that I ride upon

Cost me thrice threttie pound ;
And I'll put trust in his swift feet,
To take me safe and sound."

11 He mounted on his coal-black steed,

And fast he rode awa;
But ere he came to Clyde's water,
Full loud the wind did blaw.

12 As he rade o'er yon high, high hill,

And down yon dowie den,
The noise that was in Clyde's water
Wou'd fear'd five hunder men.

13 " Oh, roaring Clyde, ye roar ower loud,

Your streams seem wondrous strang;
Make me your wreck as I come back,
But spare me as I gang."

14 His heart was warm, his pride was up;

Sweet Willie kentna fear;
But yet his mother's malison
Aye sounded in his ear.

* "Pot: " hole, or eddy-pooL

THE DROWNED LOVERS.

15 Oh, he has swam through Clyde water,

Though it was wide and deep ;
And he came to May Marg'ret's door
When all were fast asleep.

16 Oh, he 's gane round and round about,

And trrl'd at the pin;

But doors were steek'd, and windows barr'd,
And nane would let him in.

17 " Oh, open the door to me, Marg'ret

Oh, open and let me in !
For my boots are full of Clyde's water,
And frozen to the brim."

18 " Oh, wha is this at my bower door

That calls me by my name?"
" It is your first love, sweet Willie,
This night newly come hame."

19 " I ha'e some lovers without, without,

And I ha'e some within ;
But the best lover that e'er I had,
He was here late yestreen."

20 " Oh, if ye winna open the door,

Nor yet be kind to me,
Now tell me of some out-chamber
Where I this night may be."

21 " My barns are full of corn, Willie ;

My stables are full of hay ;
My bowers are full of merry young men,
They winna remove till day."

22 " Oh, fare ye weel, then, May Marg'ret,

Since better mamma be;
I've won my mother's malison
Coming this night to thee."

23 He 's mounted on his coal-black steed

Oh, but his heart was wae!

But ere he came to Clyde water,

'Twas half up o'er the brae.

24 And when he came to Clyde water,

'Twas flowing o'er the brim;
The rushing that was in Clyde water
Took Willie's cane frae him.

12 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

25 He lean'd him o'er his saddle bow,

To catch his cane again;
The rushing that was in Clyde water
Took Willie's hat frae him.

26 He lean'd him o'er his saddle bow,

To catch his hat by force;
The rushing that was in Clyde water
Took Willie frae his horse.

27 His brother stood upon the bank,

Says " Fye, man, will ye droon?
Ye'll turn ye to your high horse head.
And learn ye how to soom."

28 " How can I turn to my high horse head,

And learn me how to soom?
I've gotten my mother's malison,
It 's here that I maun droon."

29 The very hour the young man sank

Into the pot sae deep,
Up it waken'd her, May Marg'ret,
Out of her drowsy sleep.

30 " Come here, come here, my mother dear,

And read this dreary dream;
I dream'd my love was at our yetts,
And nane wou'd let him in."

31 " Lye still, lye still now, May Marg'ret,

Lye still, and take your rest,
Since your true love was at our yetts,
It 's but twa quarters past."

32 Nimbly, nimbly rase she up,

And nimbly put she on;
And nimbly to Clyde water side
May Margaret has gone.

33 When she came to Clyde water side,

Eight boldly she stepp'd in;
And loud her true love's name she call'd,
But louder blew the win'.

34 The firsten step that she stepp'd in,

Her flesh with cauld did creep ,
"Alas, alas!" the lady said,
" This water 's cauld and deep.

PRINCE ROBERT. 13

35 The neisteu step that she wade in,

She waded to the knee ;
Says she " I would wade further in,
If I my love cou'd see."

36 The neisten step that she wade in,

She waded to the chin;
The deepest pot in Clyde water
She got sweet Willie in.

37 " You've had a cruel mother, Willie,

And I have had another ;
But we shall sleep in Clyde water,
Like sister and like brother."

PRINCE EGBERT.

First published, "from the recitation of a lady nearly related to
the editor," in Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, voL iii,
p. 269.

Another version appeared in Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern, p.
200, " given," says Motherwell, "from the recitation of an old woman,
a native of Bonhill, in Dumbartonshire ; and it is one of the earliest
songs she remembers of having heard chanted on the classic banks of
the Water of Leven. The variations between the two copies are
not very many or striking."

Mothenvell's version has furnished a few emendations on Scott s
text; while stanzas 8 and 10 are partly, and 12 wholly, derived from
it. The stanzas corresponding to stanzas 9 and 14, of the text here
printed, are also given at the bottom of the respective pages.

Motherwell further states, in Ms Introduction (p. Ixxxiii., note 95),
that he had " seen a third copy, which gives two stanzas not found
in either of the sets before the public : "

" Lord Robert and Mary Florence,
They were twa children ying:
They were scarce seven years of ago,
Till love began to spring.

"Lord Robert loved Mary Florence,
And she lov'd him above power ;
But he durst not, for his cruel mither.

Bring her intill his bower."

"Lady Isabel," which immediately follows, and "Clerk Tamas,"
which appears further on, are both similar to " Prince Robert" in
tlie method of poisoning described.

1 PRINCE ROBERT has wedded a gay ladye,

He has wedded her with a ring;
Prince Robert has wedded a gay ladye,
But he darena bring her hame.

14 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 " Your blessing, your blessing, my mother dear !

Your blessing now grant to me ! "
" Instead of a blessing, ye shall have my curse,
And you'll get nae blessing frae me."

3 She has call'd upon her waiting-maid

To fill a glass of wine ;
She has call'd upon her fause steward
To put rank poison in.

4 She has put it to her haggard * lips,

And to her haggard chin;
She has put it to her fause, fause mouth,
But never a drap gaed in.

5 He has put it to his bonnie mouth,

And to his bonnie chin ;
He has put it to his cherry lips,
And the rank poison ran in.

6 " Oh, you ha'e poison'd your ae son, mother,

Your ae son and your heir;
Oh, ye ha'e poison'd your ae son, mother,
And sons you'll never ha'e mair.

7 " Oh, where will I get a little boy,

That will win hose and shoon,
To rin sae fast to Darlinton,
And bid fair Eleanor come ? "

8 Then up and spake a little boy,

To Prince Robert something akin :
" I've oft with joy your errands ran,
But this day with the tears I'll rin."

9 Oh, he has run to Darlinton,

And tirl'd at the pin ;
And wha was sae ready as Eleanor,
To let the bonnie boy in ? f

10 " What news, what news, my bonnie boy,

What news ha'e ye to me?"
" I bring a message frae Prince Robert,
And his lady mother, to thee.

* The original reads "roudes," in place of "haggard," in both this and the fol-
lowing line.

t Motherwell's version-has the following stanza here:
" Oh, when he came to Sittingen's rocks,

To the middle of a' the ha',
There were bells a-ringing, anil music playing,

And ladies dancing a',' 1
Contrast this with stanza 14.

PRIXCE ROBERT. 15

11 " Your gude-mother has made ye a rare dinner,

She 's made it baith gude and fine ;
Your gude-mother has made ye a gay dinner,
And ye maun come to her and dine."

12 She call'd unto, her waiting-maid,

To bring her a riding weed ;
And she call'd to her stable groom,
To saddle her milk-white steed.

13 Oh, it 's twenty lang miles to Sillertoun town,

The langest that ever were gane :
But the steed it was wight, and the ladye was light,
And she rade briskly in.

14 But when she came to Sillertoun town.

And into Sillertoun hall,

The torches were burning, the ladies were mourning,
And they were weeping all.*

15 " Oh, where is now my wedded lord?

And where now can he be ?
Oh, where is now my wedded lord ?
For him I canna see."

1C " Your wedded lord," his mother said,

" Will soon be laid in the clay :
Your wedded lord is dead," she said,
" And will be buried the day.

17 " Ye'se get nane of his gowd, ye'se get nane of his gear,

Ye'se get nae thing frae me ;
Ye'se no get an inch of his gude braid land,
Though your heart shou'd burst in three."

18 " I want nane of his gowd, I want nane of his gear,

I want nae land frae thee ;
But I'll ha'e the rings frae his wee finger,
For them he did promise to me."

19 '' Ye'se no get the rings frae his wee finger,

Ye'se no get them frae me ;
Ye'se no get the rings frae his wee finger,
An' your heart shou'd burst in three."

* The corresponding stanza in Motherwell's version reads

" But when she came to Earl Robert's bouir,

To the middle of a' the ha',

There were bells a-ringing, and sheets down hinging,
And ladies murning a'.' 1

16 BALLAD MIXSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

20 She 's turned her back unto the wall,

And her face unto a rock ;
And there, before the mother's face,
Her very heart it broke.

21 The ane was buried in Marie's kirk,

The other in Marie's quire ;
And out of the ane there sprang a birk,
And out of the other a brier.

22 And thae twa met, and thae twa plat,

The birk but and the brier;
And by that ye may very weel ken
They were twa lovers dear.

LADY ISABEL.
Abridged from Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 129.

1 'TWAS early on a May morning,

Lady Isabel comb'd her hair ;
But little kenn'd she on the morn
She would never comb it mair.

2 Ben it came her stepmother,

As wroth as wroth cou'd be ;
" It 's tauld me that your father loves
You better far than me."

3 " Oh, them that tauld you that, mother,

Ha'e done it for some spite ;
Oh, them that tauld you that, mother,
May God their ill requite."

4 " It may be very well seen, Isabel,

It may be very well seen,
He buys to you the damask gowns,
To me the dowie green."

5 " Ye are of age, and I am young,

And young among my flowers ;
The fairer that my claithing be,
The mair honour is yours.

G "I ha'e a love beyond the sea,

And far ayont the faem ;
For ilka gown my father buys,
My love sends me ten hame."

LADY ISABEL. 17

7 " Come ben, now, Lady Isabel,

And drink the wine with me;
I ha'e twa jewels in ae coffer,
And I'll gi'e ane to thee."

8 " Stay still, stay still, my mother dear,

Stay still a little while,
Till I gang into Marykirk,
It's but a little mile."

9 When she gaed on to Marykirk,

And into Mary's quair,
There she saw her ain mother
Sit in a gowden chair.

10 " Oh, will I leave the lands, mother?

And shall I sail the sea?
Or shall I drink this dowie drink
That is prepared for me? "

11 "Ye winna leave the lands, daughter,

Nor will ye sail the sea,
But ye will drink the drink prepared
By this woman for thee.

12 " Your bed is made in a better place

Than ever hers will be ;
And ere ye're call'd into the room,
Ye will be there with me."

13 She gaed unto her garden green,

Her Marys all to see;
And ga'e to each a broach or ring,
A keepsake for to be.

14 Then slowly to the bower she gaed,

And slowly enter'd in ;
And being full of courtesie,

Says " Begin, mother, begin."

15 She put it to her fause, iause cheek,

Sae did she to her chin;
Sae did she to her fause, fause lips,
But never drap gaed in.

16 Lady Isabel put it to her cheek,

Sae did she to her chin;
Sae did she to her rosy lips,
And the rank poison gaed in.
c

18 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 " Oh, take this cup frae me, mother,

Oh, take this cup frae me ;
My bed is made in a better place
Than ever yours will be.

18 " My bed is in the heavens high,

Amang the angels fine;
But yours is in the lowest hell,
To drie, torment, and pine."

19 Nae mane was made for Lady Isabel,

In bower where she lay dead;
But all was for that ill woman
In the fields gaed raving mad.

WILLIE'S LADYE.

ANCIENT COPY. FIRST PUBLISHED BY SIR WALTER SCOTT.

"Mr. Lewis, in his Tales of Wonder (No. 56), has presented the
public with a copy of this ballad, with additions and alterations.
The editor has also seen a copy, containing some modern stanzas,
published by Mr. Jamieson, of Macclesfield, in his Collection of
Scottish Poetry. Yet, under these disadvantages, the editor cannot
relinquish his purpose of publishing the old ballad, in its native
simplicity, as taken from Mrs. Brown of Falkland's MS.

"Those who wish to know how an incantation, or charin, of the
distressing nature here described, was performed in classic days, may
consult the story of Galanthis's Metamorphosis, in Ovid, or the
following passage in Apuleius: ' Eadem (Saga scilicet queedam)
amatoris uxorem, quod in earn dicacule probrurn dixerat, jam in
sarcinam prsegnationis, obsepto utero, et repigrato fcetu, perpetua
praegnatione damnavit. Et ut cuncti numeraiit, octo annorum onere,
misella ilia, velut elephantum paritura, distenditur.' Apul., Metam.,
lib. i.

"There is also a curious tale about a Count of Westeravia, whom a
deserted concubiue bewitched upon his marriage, so as to preclude
all hopes of his becoming a father. The spell continued to operate
for three years, till one day, the Count happening to meet with his
former mistress, she maliciously asked about the increase of his
family. The Count, conceiving some suspicion from her manner,
craftily answered, that God had blessed him with three line children ;
on which she exclaimed, like Willie's mother in the ballad, ' May
heaven confound the old hag, by whose counsel I threw an enchanted
pitcher into the draw-well of your palace ! ' The spell being found
and destroyed, the Count became the father of a numerous family
(Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels, p. 474)." Sir Walter Scott's Min-
strelsy, vol. iii., p. 168.

To complete the story, stanzas 15 and 16 are adapted with slight

WILLIE'S LADYE. 19

alteration from Jamieson's version, which appears under the title of
" Sweet Willie," in Popular Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 367.

The modernized copy which Sir Walter Scott refers to is probably
"Sweet Willie of Liddesdale." Popular Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 178.

The last two lines of stanzas 5 and 9 are the same as the two con-
cluding lines of ' ' Kemp Owyue. "

It is probable that in this ballad the last line of these stanzas
originally read

" I wish that I were dead and gane,"

and that the last word of stanzas 3, 7, and 11, originally read " wean,"
in place of "bairn."

There is a Danish ballad, "Sir Stig and Lady Torelild," on the
same subject, a translation of which is given by Jamieson, in Illus-
trations of Northern Antiquities, p. 344, and "is the eighth (marked
H) of nine Danish ballads given by Grundtvig, under the title
Hustru og M anils Moder, vol. ii., p. 404. Three Swedish versions have
[also] been printed." Prof. Child, English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i.,
p. 162.

1 WILLIE has ta'en him o'er the faem,

He 's wooed a wife, and brought her hame ;
He 's wooed her for her yellow hair,
But his mother wrought her meikle care ;

2 And meikle dolour gar'd her dree,
For lighter she can never be ;

But in her bow'r she sits with pain,
And Willie mourns o'er her in vain.

3 And to his mother he has gane,
That vile rank witch, of vilest kind!
He says " My lady has a cup,
With gowd and silver set about;
This gudely gift shall be your ain,
And let her be lighter of her bairn."

4 " Of her bairn she 's never be lighter,
Nor in her bow'r to shine the brighter;
But she shall die, and turn to clay,
And you shall wed another may."

5 " Another may I'll never wed,
Another may I'll never bring hame."
But, sighing, said that weary wight
" I wish my life were at an end."

G " Yet gae ye to your mother again,
That vile rank witch, of vilest kind !
And say, your ladye has a steed,
The like of him 's no in the land of Leed.*

*"Land of Leed:" perhaps Lydia. [SCOTT.] Not at all probable: more likely
either Liddesdale or the district of Leadhills, Lanarkshire.

20 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

7 " For he is silver shod before,
And he is gowden shod behind;
At every tuft of that horse mane

There 's a golden chess,* and a bell to ring.
This gudely gift shall be her ain,
And let me be lighter of my bairn."

8 " Of her young bairn she 's ne'er be lighter,
Nor in her bow'r to shine the brighter;
But she shall die, and turn to clay,

And ye shall wed another may."

9 " Another may I'll never wed,
Another may I'll never bring hame."
But, sighing, said that weary wight
" I wish my life were at an end! "

10 " Yet gae ye to your mother again,
That vile rank witch, of rankest kind !
And say, your ladye has a girdle,

It 's all red gowd to the middle ;

11 " And aye, at ilka siller hem,
Hang fifty siller bells and ten ;
This gudely gift shall be her ain,
And let me be lighter of my bairn."

12 " Of her young bairn she 's ne'er be lighter,
Nor in your bow'r to shine the brighter ;
For she shall die, and turn to clay,

And thou shall wed another may."

13 " Another may I'll never wed,
Another may I'll never bring hame."
But, sighing, said that weary wight
" I wish my days were at an end ! "

14 Then out and spak the Billy Blind, t
He spak aye in good time [his mind] :
" Yet gae ye to the market place,

And there do buy a loaf of wace ; J
Do shape it bairn and bairnly like,
And in it two glassen een you'll put.

* " Chess " should probably be jess the name of a hawk's bell. SCOTT

t "Billy Blind:" a familiar genius, or propitious spirit, somewhat similar to the
Brownie. He is mentioned repeatedly in Mrs. Brown's ballads ; but I have not met
with him anywhere else, although he is alluded to in the rustic game of Bogle
('. e., goblin) Billy Blind. The word is, indeed, used in Sir David Lindsay's Plays,
but apparently in a different sense :

" Priests sail leid you like ane Billy Blinde."

Pinkerton's Scottish Poems, 1792, vol. ii., p. L'32.
t "Wace: " wax.

KEMP OWYNE. 21

15 " Then to your mother you shall go,
And bid her your boy's christening to ;
But do you stand a little away,

And notice weel what she may say."

16 Then to his mother he did go,

And bade her his boy's christening to ;

And he did stand a little away,

To notice weel what she might say.

17 " Oh, wha has loosed the nine witch-knots
That were amang that ladye's locks ?
And wha 's ta'en out the kames of care,
That were amang that ladye's hair ?

18 " And wha has ta'erj down that bush of woodbine
That hung between her bow'r and mine ?

And wha has kill'd the master kid
That ran beneath that ladye's bed ?
And wha has loosed her left foot shee,
And let that ladye lighter be ? "

19 Syne, Willie 's loosed the nine witch-knots
That were amang that ladye's locks ;
And Willie 's ta'en out the kames of care
That were into that ladye's hair ;

And he 's ta'en down the bush of woodbine,
Hung atween her bow'r and the witch carline.

20 And he has killed the master kid
That ran beneath that ladye's bed ;
And he has loosed her left foot shee,
And latten that ladye lighter be ;
And now he has gotten a bonnie son,
And meikle grace be him upon.

KEMP OWYNE; OR, KEMPION.

The following ballad is collated from two different versions,
namely :

I. " Kempion," printed in The Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,
vol. iii., p. 230. "Chiefly from Mrs. Brown's MS., with corrections
from a recited fragment. "

II. " Keinp Owyne," printed in Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern,
p. 373.

22 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

In a note to "Young Hastings," Mr. Buchan states that it, and
the five following-named ballads, "Reedisdale and Wise William,"
" Billi e Archie," "Young Bearwell," "Kemp Owyne," and "Earl
Richard," were sent to him, "in MS., by Mr. Nicol, Strichen, who
wrote them from memory, as he had learned them in earlier years
from old people." Buchan sent these MSS. to Motherwell, in whose
work, above-named, they first appeared.

They were all shortly afterwards included in Buchan's Ancient
Ballads and Songs, &c.

" The tale of ' Kempion,' " says Sir Walter Scott, " seems, from the
names of the personages and the nature of the adventure, to have
been an old metrical romance, degraded into a ballad by the lapse of
time and the corruption of reciters.

"Such transformations as the song narrates are common in the
annals of chivalry. In the 25th and 26th cantos of the second book
of the Orlando Inamorato, the paladin, Brandimarte, after sur-
mounting many obstacles, penetrates into the recesses of an enchanted
palace. Here he finds a fair damsel seated upon a tomb, who
announces to him that, in order to achieve her deliverance, he must
raise the lid of the sepulchre, and kiss whatever being should issue
forth. The knight, having pledged his faith, proceeds to open the
tornb, out of which a monstrous snake issues forth with a tremendous
hiss. Brandimarte, with much reluctance, fulfils the bizarre con-
ditions of the adventure, and the monster is instantly changed into
a beautiful fairy, who loads her deliverer with benefits.

"There is a ballad somewhat resembling 'Kempion,' called 'The
Laidley Worm of Spiiidleston-heugh,' which is very popular upon the
Borders. The most common version was either entirely composed,
or re-written, by the Reverend Mr. Lamb of Norham." Minstrelsy.
vol. iii., p. 230.

Mr. Motherwell considers that the copy given by him ' ' preserves
in greater purity the name of the hero than any other yet published ;"
and adds, "He was, no doubt, the same Ewein, or Owain, ap Urien,
the king of Reged, who is celebrated by the bards Taliessin and
Llywarch-Hen, as well as in the Welch Historical Triades."
Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixxxiii., note 92.

Sir Ewein was nephew to King Arthur, and cousin of Sir Gawein,
who "loved" him " beste of alle other."* Segramour is styled
"nevew to the Emperour of Constantynnoble ;"t and both are cele-
brated among the knights of King Arthur.

1 HER mother died when she was young,

Which gave her cause to make great moan ;
Her father married the warst woman
That ever lived in Christendom.

* Merlin; m; The Early History of King Arthur, p. 455. Published by Early
English Text Society.

t Same work, p. 373.

KEMP OWYXE. 23

2 Dove Isabel, with foot and hand,

In every thing that she could do,
Did serve her wicked stepmother
With servitude baith leal and true -,

3 Till ance in an unlucky time,

When nane were near to hear nor see,
This wicked witch to her did call,
" Come here, dove Isabel, to me.

4 " Come here, come here, ye freely feed,*

And lay your head low on my knee ;
The heaviest weird I will you read
That ever was read to gay ladye.

5 " Oh, meikle dolour shall ye dree,

And aye the salt seas shall ye swim;
And far mair dolour shall ye dree,

On Estmere crags, when ye them climb.

6 "I weird ye to a fiery beast,

And borrow'd shall ye never be,
Till Kemp Owyne, the king's own son,
Come to the crag, and thrice kiss thee."

7 The wicked witch, her stepmother,

Then threw her in the craigy sea,
Saying " Lye you there, dove Isabel,

And all my sorrows lye with thee. .,

8 " Let all the world do what they will,

Else borrow'd shall you never be,
Till Kemp Owyne come o'er the sea,
And borrow you with kisses three."

9 Her breath grew strang, her hair grew lang,

And twisted thrice about the tree ;
And all the people far and near

Thought that a savage beast was she.

10 Oh, meikle dolour did she dree,

And aye the salt seas o'er she swam ;
And far mair dolour did she dree
On Estmere crags, ere she them clamb.

11 And aye she cried for Kemp Owyne,

" Kemp Owyne, come and borrow me ! "
Till word has gane to Kemp Owyne,
Where he lived far beyond the sea.

* Sic Scott's Minstrelsy: but should probably read "frely feyd:" i.e., "frely," a
noble or beautiful woman; "feyd," or doomed to destruction.

24 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

12 " Now, by my sooth," said Kemp Owyne,

" This fiery beast I'll gang and see."
" And, by my sooth," said Segramour,
"My ae brother, I'll gang with thee."

13 Then bigged ha'e they a bonnie boat,

And they ha'e set her to the sea ;
But a mile before they reach'd the shore,
Bound them she gart the red fire flee.

14 " Oh, Segramour, ply weel your oar,

And mind ye weel how ye do steer ;
For this wicked beast will fire the boat,
If we to it do come ower near."

15 Syne he has bent an arblast bow,

And aim'd an arrow at her head ;
And swore, if she did not hold back,
With that same shaft to shoot her dead.

16 " Oh, out of my stythe I winna rise

(And it is not for the awe of thee),
Till Kemp Owyne, the king's own son,
Come to the crag, and thrice kiss me."

17 Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,

And twisted thrice about the tree ;
And with a swing she came about,
" Kemp Owyne, come and kiss with me.

18 " Here is a royal belt," she cried,

" That I have found in the green sea ;
And while your body it is on,

Drawn shall your blood never be ;
But if you touch me tail or fin,

I vow my belt your death shall be."

19 He louted o'er, gave her a kiss,

The royal belt he brought him wi' ;
Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,

And twisted twice about the tree ;
And with a swing she came about,

" Kemp Owyne, come and kiss with me.

20 " Here is a royal ring," she said,

"That I have found in the green sea;
And while your finger it is on,

Drawn shall your blood never be ;
But if you touch me tail or fin,

I swear my ring your death shall be."

KEMP OWYNE. 25

21 He louted o'er, gave her a kiss,

The royal ring he brought him wi' ;
Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,

And twisted ance around the tree ;
And with a swing she came about,

" Kemp Owyne, come and kiss with me.

22 " Here is a royal brand," she said,

"That I have found in the green sea;
And while your body it is on,

Drawn shall your blood never be ;
But if you touch me tail or fin,

I swear my brand your death shall be."

23 He louted o'er, gave her a kiss,

The royal brand he brought him wi' ;
Her breath was sweet, her hair grew short,

And twisted nane about the tree ;
And smilingly she came about,

As fair a woman as fair could be.

24 "And by my sooth," says Kemp Owyne,

" My ain true love (for this is she),
They surely had a heart of stane
Could put thee to such miserie.

25 " Oh, was it warwolf in the wood,

Or was it mermaid in the sea?
Or was it man, or vile woman,

My ain true love, that misshaped thee ? "

26 " It was na warwolf in the wood,

Nor was it mermaid in the sea ;
But it was my wicked stepmother,
And wae and weary may she be ! "

27 " Oh, a heavier weird shall light her on

Than ever she made light on thee ;
Her hair shall grow rough, and her teeth grow lang,
And on her four feet gang shall she.

28 " Nane shall take pity her upon,
And borrow'd shall she never be ;

But in Wormeswood she aye shall won,
Till St. Mungo * come o'er the sea."
And, sighing, said that weary wight
" I doubt that day I'll never see ! "

* Or St Kentigern; the patron saint of Glasgow.

26 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

ERLINTON.

"This ballad is published from the collation of two copies,
obtained from recitation. It seems to be the rude original, or perhaps
a corrupted and imperfect copy, of 'The Child of Elle,' a beautiful
legendary tale, published in Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry. It
is singular that this charming ballad should have been translated or
imitated by the celebrated Burger, without acknowledgment of the
English original. As 'The Child of Elle' avowedly received correc-
tions, we may ascribe its greatest beauties to the poetical taste of the
ingenious editor." Sir Walter Scott, Minstrelsy, vol. ii., p. 351.

It is now quite certain that the Percy folio MS. " merely suggested
the poem which the editor of the Reliques wrote and printed."
The fragment, as it appears in the MS. (p. 57), and in the genuine
text, as printed by the Early English Text Society (vol. i., p. 132),
extends to only 39 lines, but in the Reliques it is "puffed out" to
200. "Erlington," "The Child of Elle," "The Douglas Tragedy,"
"The Brave Earl Brand," "Robin Hood and the Tanner's Daughter,"
&c., are Scotish and English ballad versions, corresponding to
"Eibolt og Guldborg," or the kindred ballad, "Hildebrand og
Hilde," of both which numerous versions exist in Danish and Swedish ;
while of the former there are also three in Icelandic, and two in
Norse. An inferior copy of "Riboltog Guldborg," translated into
Scotish verse by Jamieson, was printed in Illustrations of Northern
Antiquities, p. 317; and "Hildebrand og Hilde " has recently been
admirably rendered in English verse by Mr. Robert Buchanan, in
Ballad Stories of the Affections, p. 15.

In the Introduction to his translation of "Ribolt and Guldborg,"
Mr. Jamieson remarks, that "those who wish to see from what kind of
materials these tales [it, ' Erlinton,' &c.] have beeu fabricated, may
compare this piece with the romantic story of Sir Sampson and
Hildesvida, the daughter of Jarl Rudgeir, with which the ' Wilkina
Saga ' commences."

" 'Erlington ' is much mutilated, and has a perverted conclusion,
but retains," in lines 59 and 60, " a faint trace of one charac-
teristic, and even fundamental trait of the older forms of the story,
which is not found in any of the other [Scotish or] English versions."

It is founded on " a northern superstition, that to call a man by
name while he was engaged in fight was a fatal omen ; and hence a
phrase, ' to name-to-death.' To avert this danger, Ribolt, in nearly
all the Scandinavian ballads, entreats Guldborg not to pronounce his
name, even if she sees him bleeding or struck down. In her agony
at seeing the last of her brothers about to be slain, Guldborg forgets
her lover's injunction, calls on him by name to stop, and thus brings
about the catastrophe. Ignorant reciters have either dropped the
corresponding passage in the English ballad, or (as in this case) have
so corrupted it, that its significance is only to be made out by com-
parison with the ancient copies. "Prof. Child, English and Scottish
Ballads, vol. ii., p. 114, and vol. iii., p. 223.

The explanatory foot-notes [marked S.] are from the pen of Sir
Walter Scott.

ERLINTON. 27

1 EELINTON had a fair daughter,

I wot he weired her in a great sin ; *
For he has built a bigly bower,
And all to put that lady in.

2 And he has warn'd her sisters six,

And sae has he her brethren seven,
Either to watch her all the night,
Or else to seek her rnorn and even.

3 She hadna been in that bigly bower

Not a night, but barely ane,
Till there was Willie, her ain true love,

Chapp'd at the door, crying " Peace within ! "

4 "Oh, whae is this at my bower door,

That chaps sae late, or kens the gin ? " f
" Oh, it is Willie, your ain true love ;
I pray you rise and let me in ! "

5 " Within my bower there is a waik,

And of the waik there is nae wane ; J
But I'll come to the green-wood the morn,
Where blooms the brier, by mornin' dawn."

G Then she has gane to her bed again,

Where she has layen till the cock crew thrice ;
And then she said to her sisters all
" Maidens, 'tis time for us to rise."

7 She put on her back a silken gown,

And on her breast a siller pin,
And she 's ta'en a sister in ilka hand,
And to the green-wood she is gane.

8 She hadna walk'd in the gude green-wood,

Na, not a mile but barely ane,
Till there was Willie, her ain true love,
Whae frae her sisters has her ta'en.

bended.

t "Gin: " the slight or trick necessary to open the door. [S.]
t " Wane: " a number of people. [S.] Scott's text of the first two lines of stanza 5
reads

"But in my bower there is a wake,

And at the wake there is a wane; "

regarding which, it may be remarked, that the spelling and note on "wane " make
sheer nonsense of the verse. "Waik" means watch; and "wane,'' want, defect,
carelessness. See Jamieson's Scottish Dictionary.

2$ BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 He took her sisters by the hand,

He kiss'd them baith, and sent them hame ;
And he 's ta'en his true love him behind,
And through the green-wood they are gane.

10 They hadna ridden in the bonnie green-wood,

Na, not a mile but barely ane,
When there came fifteen of the boldest knights
That ever bare flesh, blood, or bane.

11 The foremost was an aged knight,

He wore the gray hair on his chin ;
Says " Yield to me thy lady bright,
And thou shalt walk the woods within."

12 " For me to yield my lady bright,

To such an aged knight as thee,
People wou'd think I were gane mad,
Or all the courage flown frae me."

13 But up then spake the second knight,

I wot he spake right boustouslie,

" Yield me thy life, or thy lady bright,

Or here the tane * of us shall die."

14 " My lady is my world's meed,

My life I winna yield to nane;
But if ye be men of true manhood,
Ye'll only fight me ane by ane."

15 He lighted off his milk-white horse,

And gae 'm his lady by the head,
Saying " See you dinna change your cheer,
Until you see my body bleed."

16 He set his back into an aik,

He set his feet against a stane ;
And he has fought these fifteen men,

And kill'd them all but barely ane;
But he has left the aged knight,

For to carry the tidings hame.

17 When he gaed to his lady fair,

I wot he kiss'd her tenderlie :
" Thou'rt mine ain love, I have thee bought;
And we shall walk the green-wood free."

* " Tane: " one or other.

THE DOUGLAS TRAGEDY. 29

THE DOUGLAS TRAGEDY.

"The ballad of 'The Douglas Tragedy' is one of the few to
which popular tradition has ascribed complete locality. The farm
of Blackhouse, in Selkirkshire, is said to have been the scene of this
melancholy event. There are the remains of a very ancient tower,
adjacent to the farm-house, in a wild solitary glen, upon a torrent
named Douglas Burn, which joins the Yarrow after passing a craggy
rock called the Douglas Craig. From this ancient tower, Lady
Margaret is said to have been carried by her lover. Seven large
stones, erected upon the neighbouring heights of Blackhouse, are
shown as marking the spot where the seven brothers were slain ; and
the Douglas Burn is averred to have been the stream at which the
lovers stopped to drink. So minute is tradition in ascertaining the
scene of a tragical tale, which, considering the rude state of former
times, had probably foundation in some real event.

"Many copies of this ballad are current among the vulgar, but
chiefly in a state of great corruption, especially such as have been
committed to the press in the shape of penny pamphlets. One of
these is now before me, which, among many others, has the ridiculous
error of 'blue gilded horn,' for 'bugetet horn.' The copy principally
used in this [Scott's] edition of the ballad was supplied by Mr.
Charles K. Sharpe. The three last verses are given from the printed
copy, and from tradition. The hackneyed verse, of the rose and the
brier springing from the grave of the lovers, is common to most
tragic ballads ; but it is introduced into this with singular propriety,
as the chapel of St. Mary, whose vestiges may be still traced upon
the lake to which it has given name, is said to have been the burial-
place of Lord William and fair Margaret. The wrath of the Black
Douglas, which vented itself upon the brier, far surpasses the usual
stanza:

' At length came the clerk of the parish,

As you the truth Bhall hear,
And by mischance he cut them down,

Or else they had stifl been there.' "

Sir W. Scott, Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 3.

Motherwell adopted " the copy given in the work from which the
above extract has been taken;" and says, " any recited copy that
we have heard has been incomplete, wanting not only the circum-
stance of the lovers halting at the stream, but likewise that of their
death and burial."

The latter editor appended to his prefatory note, above quoted,
five verses of an incomplete ' ' recited copy, " such as he refers to. This
fragment "supplies variations," some of which are here adopted in
verses 4, 6, and 8. Other slight alterations have been made on the
verses named, and also on most of the subsequent verses generally by
repetition of one or two words from preceding lines so as to restore
the uniform harmony of the metre ; but in no case has the sense, or
ordinary phraseology of the baDad, been tampered with.

With reference to Sir Walter Scott's remarks on the localities of
this ballad, as above quoted, and a similar identification as to place

30 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

of some of the incidents in " Ribolt and Guldborg," by Grundtvig
(pp. 342-3), the following observation of Jamieson, relative to the
transposition of person, and of the unities of time and place, to widely
different scenes and periods of action, is peculiarly applicable:

' ' Popular tales and anecdotes of every kind soon obtain locality
wherever they are told ; and the intelligent and attentive traveller
will not be surprised to find the same story which he had learned
when a child, with every appropriate circumstance of names, time,
and place, in a glen of Morven, Lochaber, or Rannoch, equally
domesticated among the mountains of Norway, Caucasus, or Thibet."
Illustrations qf Northern Antiquities, p. 317.

1 " EISE up, rise up, now, Lord Douglas," she says,

"And put on your armour so bright ;
Let it never be said that a daughter of thine
Was married to a lord under night.

2 " Eise up, rise up, my seven bold sons,

And put on your armour so bright ;
And take better care of your youngest sister,
For your eldest 's away the last night."

3 He 's mounted her on a milk-white steed,

And himself on a dapple gray,
With a bugelet horn hung down by his side,
And lightly they baith rade away.

4 Lord William look'd over his left shoulder

He look'd to see what he could see
And he spy'd her father and brethren bold,
Come riding hastily over the lea.

5 " Light down, light down, Lady Marg'ret," he said,

"And hold my steed in your hand,
Until that against your seven brethren bold,
And your father I make a stand."

C She held his steed in her milk-white hand,

But spake not, nor shed not a tear,
Until that she saw her seven brethren fall,
And the blood of her father so dear.

7 " Oh, hold your hand, Lord William ! " she said,

" For your strokes they are wondrous sair ;
True lovers I can get many a ane,
But a father I can never get mair."

8 Oh, she 's ta'en her kerchief from off her neck

It was of the hollarid sae fine
And aye she wiped her father's bloody wounds,
That were redder than the wine.

THE DOUGLAS TRAGEDY

9 " Oh chuse, oh chuse, Lady Marg'ret," he said,

" Oh, whether will ye gang or bide ? "
" I'll gang, I'll gang, Lord William," she said,
"Ye have left me no other guide."

10 He 's lifted her on a milk-white steed,

And himself on a dapple gray,
With a hugelet horn hung down by his side,
And slowly they baith rade away.

11 Oh, they rade slowly and sadly on,

And all by the light of.the moon ;
They rade till they came to yon wan water,
And there they alighted them down.

12 They alighted them down to take a drink

Of the water that ran so clear;
And down the stream ran his gude heart's blood,
And sair Lady Marg'ret did fear.

13 " Hold up, hold up, Lord William," she says,

" For 1 fear me that you are slain!"

" 'Tis but the shadow of my scarlet cloak

That shines in the water sae plain."

14 Oh, they rade slowly and sadly on,

And all by the light of the moon,
Until they came to his mother's hall door.
And there they alighted them down.

15 " Get up, get up, lady mother," he says,

" Get up, get up and let me in !
Get up, get up, lady mother," he says,
"For this night my fair lady I've win.

16 " Oh, make my bed, lady mother," he says,

" Oh, make my bed baith braid and deep!
And lay Lady Marg'ret close at my back,
And the sounder we baith will sleep."

17 Lord William was dead lang ere midnight,

Lady Marg'ret was dead lang ere day ;
And all true lovers that go thegither,
May they have better luck than they !

18 Lord William was buried in St. Marie's kirk,

Lady Marg'ret in St. Marie's quire ;
Out of the lady's grave grew a red rose,
And out of the knight's grew a brier.

32 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

19 And they twa they met, and they twa they plat,

As if full fain they wou'd be near ;
Sae that all the world might ken right weel
That they grew frae twa lovers dear.*

20 But by chance that way the Black Douglas rade,

And wow but he was rude and rough !
For he pull'd up the bonnie, bonnie brier,
And flang it in St. Marie's Loch.

THE BRAVE EARL BRAND AND THE KING OF
ENGLAND'S DAUGHTER.

"Taken down from the recitation of an old fiddler in Northum-
berland. The refrain should be repeated in every verse." Bell's
Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs, &c., p. 122.

Verse 2 has been slightly altered in the interest of delicacy and
perspicuity.

Verses 5 and 6 are here inserted in place of verse 5 of the original,
which reads,

" Oh, Earl Brand, but my father has two,
And thou shall have the best of tho'."

An hiatus, in verse 11, has been filled by the addition of the four
last words, while the last word, of the first line of the same verse,
has been changed for the sake of the rhyme. Three words have also
been added to verse 26.

The alterations and additions referred to are sanctioned by, and
mostly derived from, a similar ballad, named " Leesome Brand,"
which appears in a subsequent portion of this work.

1 OH, did you ever hear of the brave Earl Brand,

Hey lillie, ho lillie lallie;

He courted the king's daughter of fair England,
In the brave nights so early.

2 She was scarcely fifteen years old,
When to Earl Brand she came right bold.

* If the testimony of numerous minstrels in different lands and ages may be
credited, the miracle here narrated in stanzas IS and 19 was " frequently witnessed
over the graves of faithful lovers. King Mark, according to the German romance,
planted a rose on Tristan's grave, and a vine on that of Isold. The roots struck
down into the very hearts of the dead lovers, and the stems twined lovingly
together. The French account is somewhat different An eglantine sprung from
the tomb of Tristan, and twisted itself round the monument of Isold. It was cut
down three times, but grew up every morning fresher than before; so that it was
allowed to stand.'' Several other instances of this miraculous phenomenon occur
in this volume; in Swedish, Danish, and Breton ballad lore; " in a Servian tale,
cited by SaM (Vertuch, &c., p. 139); and in an Afghan poem, described by Elphin-
stone " (Account of the Kingdom <tf Cabul, vol. i., p. 295). Prof. Child's English and
Scottish Ballads, vol. ii., p. li9.

THE BRAVE EARL BRAND. 33

3 " Oh, Earl Brand, how fain would I see
A pack of hounds let loose on the lea."

4 " Oh, lady fair, I have no steed but one;
But thou shalt ride, and I will run."

5 " Go, Earl Brand, to my father's stable,
And bring me a palfrey wight and able."

6 Earl Brand he did as the lady bade,

And when they were mounted, away they rade.

7 Now they have ridden o'er moss and moor,
And they have met neither rich nor poor ;

8 Till at last they met with old Carl Hood,
He 's aye for ill, and never for good.

9 " Now, Earl Brand, an' ye love me,
Slay this old carl, and gar him dee."

10 " Oh, lady fair, but that would be sair,
To slay an old carl that wears gray hair ;

11 " My own lady fair, I'll not do so ;
I'll pay Jiirn his fee, and let him go."

12 " Oh, where have ye ridden this lee-lang day,
And where have ye stown this fair lady away?"

13 " I have not ridden this lee-lang day,
Nor yet have I stown this lady away ;

14 " For she is, I trow, my sick sister,

Whom I have been bringing frae Winchester."

15 " If she 's been sick, and like to die.
What makes her wear the gold so high ? "

16 When came the carl to her father's j r ett,
He loudly and rudely rapp'd thereat.

17 " Now, where is the lady of this hall ? "

" She 's out with her maids a-playing at the ball."

18 " Ha, ha, ha ! ye are all mista'en,

Ye may count your maidens o'er again.

19 " I met her far beyond the lea,

With the young Earl Brand, his leman to be."
D

34 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

20 Her father of his best men armed fifteen,
And they're ridden after them bidene.

21 The lady look'd o'er her left shoulder then,
And saw her father and his fifteen men ;

22 Says "Oh, Earl Brand, we are both of us ta'en,
And it fears me much that you will be slain."

23 " Oh, if they come on me one by one,
You may stand by till the fights be done ;

24 " But if they come on me one and all,
Then you may stand by and see me fall."

25 They came upon him one by one,
Till fourteen battles he has won;

26 And fourteen [brave] men he has them slain,
Each after each [they fell] on the plain.

27 But the fifteenth man behind him stole round,
And dealt him a deep and a deadly wound;

28 But though he was wounded to the deid,
He set his fair lady again on her steed.

29 They rode till they came to the river Doune,
And thei-e they alighted to wash his wound.

30 " Oh, Earl Brand, I see your heart's blood ! "

" It's nothing but the glent and my scarlet hood."

31 They rode till they came to his mother's yett ;
So faintly and feebly he rapp'd thereat.

32 " Oh, my son 's slain, he is falling to swoon,
And it 's all for the sake of an English loon."

33 " Oh, say not so, my dearest mother,
But marry her to my youngest brother."

34 To a maiden true he will give his hand,

Hey lillie, ho lillie lallie;
To the king's daughter of fair England,
To a prize won by a slain brother's brand,

In the brave nights so early.

THE BENT SAE BROWN.

THE BENT SAE BKOWN.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, voL i., p. 30.

In some portions of the story this ballad resembles " The Douglas
Tragedy," and other kindred ballads, which immediately precede
this; and also "Lady Elspat," "Sweet Willie and Lady Margerie,"
and "Clerk Saunders," which immediately follow this, in the order
named.

1 " THERE are sixteen lang miles, I'm sure,

Between my love and me ;
There are eight of them on gude dry land,
And other eight by sea.

2 " Betide me life, betide me death,

My love I'll gang and see ;
Altho' her friends they do me hats,
Her love is great for me.

3 " Of my coat I'll make a boat,

And of my sark a sail ;
And of my cane a gude topmast,
Dry land till I come till."

4 Then of his coat he made a boat,

And of his sark a sail;
And of his cane a gude topmast,
Dry laud till he come till.

5 Then he is on to Annie's bow'r,

And tirl'd at the pin ;
" Oh, sleep ye, wake ye, love Annie?
Kise up, and let me in."

6 " Oh, who is this at my bow'r door,

Sae well that kens my name ? "

"It is your true love, sweet Willie ;

For you I've cross'd the faem."

7 "I am deeply sworn, Willie,

By father and by mother,
At kirk or market where we meet,
We dareua own each other.

8 " And I am deeply sworn, Willie,

By my bauld brothers three,
At kirk or market where we meet,
I dareua speak to thee.

36 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 " Ye take your red fan in your hand,

Your white fan o'er your een,
And ye may swear, and save your oath,
You saw na me come in."

10 She 's ta'en her red fan in her hand,

The white fan o'er her een ;
It was to swear and save her oath,
She saw na him come in.

11 They hadna kiss'd, nor yet love clapp'd,

As lovers do when they meet,
Till up it starts her auld mither
At her bauld sons' bed feet.

12 " Win up, win up, my three bauld sons,

Win up, and make ye boun' ;
Your sister's lover 's in her bow'r,
As ye lye sleeping soun'."

13 Then up it raise her three bauld sons.

With swords baith sharp and strang,
And they are to their sister's bow'r
As fast as they could gang.

14 When they came to their sister's bow'r,

They sought it up and down ;
But there was neither man nor boy
In her bow'r to be foun'.

15 Then out it speaks the first of them

"We'll gang and let her be;
For there is neither man nor boy
Intill her companie."

1G Then out it speaks the second son

" Our travel 's all in vain ;
But mother dear, nor father dear,
Shall break our rest again."

17 Then out it speaks the third of them,

(An ill death mat he die !)
" We'll lurk amang the bent sae brown,
That Willie we may see."

18 He stood behind his love's curtains,

His goud rings show'd him light ;
And by this ye may all weel guess
He was a renown'd knight.

THE BENT SAE BROWN. 37

19 He 's done him to his love's stable,

Took out his berry-brown steed ;
His love stood in her bow'r door,
Her heart was like to bleed.

20 " Oh, mourn ye for my coming, love ?

Or for my short staying ?
Or mourn ye for our safe sind'ring,
Case we never meet again?"

21 " I mourn nae for your here coming,

To meet ye I am fain ;
Nor mourn I for our safe sind'ring,
I hope we'll meet again.

22 " I wish ye may won safe away,

And safely frae the town ;
For ken ye not my brothers three
Are 'mang the bent sae brown?"

23 " If I were on my nut-brown steed,

And three miles frae the town,
I wouldna fear your banld brothers.
Amang the bent sae brown."

24 He lean'd him o'er his saddle bow,

And kiss'd her lips sae sweet ;
The tears that fell between these twa,
They wet his great steed's feet.

25 But he wasna on his nut-brown steed,

Nor twa miles frae the town,
Till up it starts these three fierce men,
Amang the bent sae brown.

26 Then up they came, these three fierce men,

When one did loudly say,
" Bide still, bide still, ye cowardly youth,
What makes you haste away ?

27 " For I must know before you go,

Tell me, and make nae lie;
If ye've been in my sister's bow'r,
My hands shall gar ye die."

28 " Though I've been in your sister's bow'r,

I have nae fear of thee ;
I'll stand my ground, and fiercely fight,
And shall gain victorie."

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTtAND.

29 " Now I entreat you for to stay,

Unto us give gude heed;
If ye our words do not obey,
I'se gar your body bleed."

30 " I have nae armour," says Willie,

" Unless it be my brand ;
And that shall guard my fair body,
Till I win frae your hand."

31 Then twa of them stepp'd in behind,

All in a furious meed ;
The third of them came him before,
And seiz'd his nut-brown steed.

32 Oh, then he drew his trusty brand,

That hung down by his gare ;
And he has slain these three fierce men,
And left them sprawling there.

33 Then word has gane to their mother,

In bed where she slept soun',
That Willie had kill'd her three bauld sons,
Amang the bent sae brown.

34 Then she has cut the locks that hung

Sae low down by her e'e ;
Sae has she kiltit her green claithing
A little aboon her knee.

35 And she has on to the king's court,

As fast as gang could she ;
When fair Annie got word of that,
Was there as soon as she.

30 Her mother went before the king,

Fell low down on her knee ;
u Win up, win up, my dame," he said,
" What is your will with me ? "

37 " My wills they are not small, my liege,

The truth I'll tell to thee :
There is ane of your courtly knights
That last night has robb'd me."

38 "And has he broke your bigly bow'rs,

Or has he stole your fee ?
There is nae knight into my court
Last night has been frae me ;

LADY ELSPAT. 39

89 " Unless 'twas Willie of Lauderdale,

Forbid that it be he ! "
" And by my sooth," says the auld woman,
" That very man is he.

40 " For he has broke my bigly bow'rs,

And be has stole my fee ;
And made my daughter his leman,
And an ill woman is she.

41 " That was not all he did to me,

Ere he went frae the town ;
My sons sae true he fiercely slew,
Amang the bent sae brown."

42 Then out it spake her daughter Ann,

She stood by the king's knee,
" Ye lie, ye lie, my mother dear,
Sae loud 's I hear you lie.

43 " He has not broke your bigly bow'rs,

Nor has he stole your fee ;
Nor made your daughter his leman,
A good woman I'll be.

44 " And he might be forgiven, though

Your three bauld sons he 's slain ;
They were well clad in armour bright,
My love with brand alane."

45 " Well spoke, well spoke," the king replied,

" This talking pleases me ;
For ae kiss of your lovely mouth
I'll set your true love free."

46 She's ta'en the king in her arms twa,

And kiss'd him cheek and chin ;
He then set her behind her love,
And they went singing hame.

LADY ELSPAT.

From Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. ii., p. 191, where it is said
to be given " from the recitation of Mrs. Brown."

1 " How brent 's your brow, my Lady Elspat !

How gowden yellow is your hair!
Of all the maids of fair Scotland,

There 's nane like Lady Elspat fair."

40 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 " Perform your vows, sweet William," she says,

" The vows which you have made to me;
And at the back of my mither's castle
This night I'll surely meet with thee."

3 But wae be to her brother's page,

That heard the words the twa did say;
He tauld them to her lady mither,

Wha wrought sweet William mickle wae.

4 For she has ta'en him, sweet William,

And she gar'd bind him with his bow string,
Till the red bluid of his fair body
Frae ilka nail of his hand did spring.

5 Oh, it fell ance upon a time,

That the Lord-justice came to town;
Out has she ta'en him, sweet William,

Brought him before the Lord-justice boun'.

G " And what is the crime now, lady," he says.
" That has by this young man been done?"
" Oh, he has broken my bonnie castle.
That was weel biggit with lime and stone;

7 " And he has broken my bonnie coffer,

That was weel bandit with aiken band;
And he has stown my rich jewels,
My jewels costly rare and grand."

8 Then out it spake fair Lady El spat.

As she sat by Lord-justice knee;
" Now ye ha'e told your tale, mither,
I pray, Lord-justice, ye'll now hear me.

9 " He hasna broken her bonnie castle,

That was weel biggit with lime and stone;
Nor has he stown her rich jewels;
For I wot she has them every one.

10 But though he was my first true love,

And though I had sworn to be his bride,
Because he hasna a great estate,

She wou'd this day our loves divide."

11 Syne out and spake the Lord-justice

I wot the tear was in his e'e,
" I see na faut in this young man;
Sae loose his bands, and set him free.

SWEET WILLIE AND LADY MARGERIE. 41

12 " And take your love, now, Lady Elspat,

And my best blessing ye baith upon;
For if he be your first true love,
He is my eldest sister's son.

13 " There stands a steed in my stable.

Cost me baith gold and white money;
Ye 's get as mickle of my free land
As he'll ride about in a summer's day."

SWEET WILLIE AND LADY MARGEKIE.

" This ballad," says Mr. Motherwell, " which possesses considerable
beauty and pathos, is given from the recitation of a lady now far
advanced in years, with whose grandmother it was a deserved
favourite. It is now for the first time printed." Minstrelsy, Ancient
and Modern, p. 370.

Buchan styles Motherwell's "an imperfect copy," and gives
another and longer ballad "on a similar subject," under the title
of "Willie and Lady Maisry." Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i.,
p. 155.

The present version is compiled from both. It not only resembles
"The Bent sae Brown," p. 35, but also "Clerk Saunders," the
ballad which follows this, as well as " Johnnie Scott," and "Lang
Johnnie Moir," which subsequently appear.

1 SWEET WILLIE was a widow's son,

And he wore a milk-white weed, ;
And weel could Willie read and write,
Far better ride on steed, 0.

2 Lady Margerie was the first ladye

That drank to him the wine, ;
And aye as the healths gaed round and round,
" Laddie, your love is mine, 0."

3 Lady Margerie was the first ladye

That drank to him the beer, ;
And aye as the healths gaed round and round,
" Laddie, ye're welcome here, 0.

4 " You must come intill my bow'r,

When the evening bells do ring, ;
And you must come intill my bow'r,
When the evening mass doth sing, 0."

5 He 's ta'en four-and-twenty braid arrows,

And laced them in a whang, ;
And he 's awa to Lady Margerie's bow'r,
As fast as he can gang, 0.

4'J BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

6 He set his ae foot on the wall,

And the other on a stane, ;
And he 's kill'd all the king's life guards,
He 's kill'd them every man, 0.

7 Then he is on to Margerie's bow'r,

And tirl'd at the pin, 0;
" Oh, open, open, Lady Margerie,
Open and let me in, 0."

8 With her feet as white as sleet,

She strode her bow'r within, 0;

And with her fingers lang and small,

She 's looten sweet Willie in, 0.

9 She 's looted down unto his foot,

To louze sweet Willie's shoon, ;

The buckles they were stiff with bluid,

That on them had drapt doon, 0.

10 " What frightful sight is this, my love,

Is this that I do see, ?
What bluid is this ye're cloated with,
I pray you tell to me, 0."

11 " As I came thro' the woods this night,

A wolf maist worried me, 0;
Oh, shou'd I slain the wolf, Margerie?
Or shou'd it worried me, ? "

12 " Willie, Willie, I fear that thou

Hast bred me dule and sorrow;
The deed that thou hast done this night,
Will kythe upon the morrow."

13 They had not kiss'd, nor yet love clapp'd,

As lovers when they meet, 0;
Till up it starts her auld father
Out of his drowsy sleep, 0.

14 Then he is on to Margerie's bow'r,

And tirl'd at the pin, ;
Saying " Wake ye, daughter Margerie,
Wake up, and let me in, 0."

15 Between the curtains and the wall,

She had her lover in, 0;
Then hooly to the door ehe went,
And let her father in, 0.

SWEET WILLIE AXD LADT MARGEUIE. 43

16 " What 's become of your Maries all,

That nane your bow'r are in, 0?
What 's become of your green covering,
That your beds they are sae thin, 0? "

17 " Oh, Gude forgi'e you, father," she said,

" That you even me to sin, ;
That you dread me for, and watch me for,
But never find me in, 0."

18 He turn'd him right and round about,

As he'd been gaun awa, ;
But stealthily he slippet in
Behind a screen sae sma', 0.

19 Sweet Willie came frae his retreat,

And ere they were aware, 0,

Her auld father did give to him

A deep wound and a sair, 0.

20 "Oh, Gude forgi'e you, father," she said,

" Forgi'e this deadly sin, ;
That thus my ain true love is slain
By you, my bow'r within, ! "

21 " This night he slew my gude bold watch,

Thirty stout men and twa, ;

And likewise slew your ae brother,

To me was worth them a', 0."

22 " If he has slain my ae brother,

The blame it was his ain, ;

For many a day he plots contriv'd

To ha'e sweet Willie slain, 0.

23 " Tho' he has slain your gude bold watch,

He might ha'e been forgi'en, ;
For they came on him in armour bright,
As alane he cross'd the green, 0.

24 "Oil, Gude forgi'e you, my auld father,

For the ill you've made me dree, ;

For ye've killed Willie, the widow's son,

And he would have married me, 0."

25 She turn'd her back unto the room,

Her face unto the wa', ;
And with a deep and heavy sigh,
Her heart it brake in twa, 0.

44 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

CLERK SAUNDEES.

First published by Sir Walter Scott, Minstrelsy of the Scottish
Border, vol. iii., p. 175.

"This romantic ballad," says Sir Walter, "is taken from Mr.
Herd's MSS., with several corrections from a shorter and more im-
perfect copy, in the same volume, and one or two conjectural
emendations in the arrangement of the stanzas. The resemblance of
the conclusion to the ballad beginning, ' There came a ghost to
Margaret's door,' will strike every reader. Tlie tale is uncommonly
wild and beautiful, and apparently very correct. The custom of the
passing bell is still kept up in many villages in Scotland. The
sexton goes through the town ringing a small bell, and announcing
the death of the departed, and the time of the funeral. The three
concluding verses have been recovered since the first edition of this
work ; and I am informed by the reciter, that it was usual to separate
from the rest that part of the ballad which follows the death of the
lovers, as belonging to another story. For this, however, there
seems no necessity, as other authorities give the whole as a complete
tale. "

A second version was published by Mr. Jamieson, Popular
Ballads, &c. , vol. i, p. 80, "which, though of inferior beauty, is not
the less valuable, as illustrating the transmutations to which tradi-
tionary song is inevitably subjected."

"Nothing," says Jamieson, "could have been better imagined
than the circumstance in Mr. Scott's copy, of killing Clerk Saunders
while his mistress was asleep (stanza 13) ; nor can anything be more
natural or pathetic than the two stanzas that follow. They might
have charmed a whole volume of bad poetry against the ravages of
time ; in Mr. Scott's volumes they shine but like pearls among
diamonds."

Jamieson's version was, as he states, mainly "transmitted by
Mrs. Arrott, of Aberbrothick. " Stanzas 1 and 2 are thence taken,
"because," as stated by Motherwell, "they supply information as
to the rank in society respectively held by these ill-fated lovers;
and by hinting at the scholastic acquirements of Clerk Saunders,
they prepare us for the casuistry by which he seeks to reconcile
May Margaret's conscience to a most Jesuitical oath." For verses
extracted from Jamieson's version, see following ballad.

A third version of Part I. was published by Kinloch Ancient'
Scottish Ballads, p. 233 and is there styled "the North Country
version of this popular and pathetic ballad." It is followed by an
imperfect copy of " Sweet William and May Margaret," which Mr.
Kinloch confounds with the concluding portion of Scott's version of
this present ballad.

A fourth version, named " Clerk Sandy," was published by Buchan,
Ancient Ballads and Songs, &c., vol. i., p. 160.

Scott's version is greatly superior to any of the others, and is here
generally followed; but stanzas 10, 12, 17, and 18, of the present

CLERK SAUNDERS. 45

collated version, are either wholly or partly derived from Kinloch's ;
and stanzas 21, 22, 23, from Buchan's versions, above referred to.

Part I. resembles the preceding ballad, and has its counterpart
in the Swedish ballad, "Den Grymma Brodern," Svenska Folk-
Visor, No. 86 (translated in Literature and Romance of North
Europe, p. 519) ; and in the Spanish ballad, "De la Blanca Mifia,"
in the liomanccro de Amberes.

Part II. resembles the ballad which follows, and " Aage og Else,"
Grundtvig, No. 90 (translated by Robert Buchanan, in Ballad
Stories of the Affections, from the Scandinavian, p. 112).

Variations to stanzas 34 and 35, from the following ballad
" Sweet William's Ghost " are noted under those stanzas, p. 48.

PART I.

1 CLERK SATINDERS was an earl's son,

He lived upon the salt sea strand ;
May Margaret was a king's daughter,
She lived away in upper land.

2 Clerk Saunders was an earl's son,

He was weel learn'd at the scheel ;

May Margaret was a king's daughter ;

They baith did lo'e each ither weel.

3 Clerk Saunders and May Margaret

Walk'd fondly o'er yon garden green ;
And sad and heavy was the love

That fell the Clerk and May between.

4 "A bed, a bed," Clerk Saunders said,

" A bed, fair May, for you and me ! "
" Fye na, fye na," said May Margaret,
" Till ance that we twa married be.

5 " For in may come my seven brothers,

With torches burning red and bright;
They'll say ' We ha'e but ae sister,
And, behold, she 's sleeping with a knight ! ' "

6 " Then take the brand frae out my hand,

And with it slowly lift the pin ;
And you may swear, and safe your aith,
Ye never let Clerk Saunders in.

7 " And take a napkin in your hand,

And tie up baith your bonnie een ;

And you may swear, and safe your aith,

Ye saw me na since late yestreen."

46 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

8 It was about the midnight hour,

When soundly they asleep were laid,
That in and came her seven brothers,
With torches burning bright and red.

9 When in and came her seven brothers,

With torches burning red and bright,
They said " We ha'e but ae sister,
And behold her sleeping with a knight ! "

10 Oh, out it speaks the first of them,

" We will awa and let them be ; "

Then out it speaks the second of them,

" His father has nae mair but he."

11 And out and spake the third of them,

" I wot that they are lovers dear ; "
And out and spake the fourth of them,

" They ha'e been in love this mony a year."

12 Then out it speaks the fifth of them,

" It were a sin to do them ill ; "
Then out it spake the sixth of them,
" 'Twere shame a sleeping man to kill."

13 Then up and gat the seventh of them,

And never a word spake he ;
But he has striped his bright brown brand
Out through Clerk Saunders' fair bodye.

14 Clerk Saunders he started, and Margaret she turn'd

Into his arms, as asleep she lay ;
And sad and silent was the night
That was atween these lovers twae.

15 And she lay still and sleeped sound,

Until the day began to daw ;
Then kindly to him she did say,

" It is time, true love, you were awa."

16 But he lay still, as sleeping sound,

Albeit the sun began to sheen ;
She looked atween her and the wall,
And dull and drumlie were his een.

17 May Margaret turn'd the blankets down,

The sheet she turn'd it to the wall ;
And when she saw his bluidy wound,
Her tears they bitterly did fall.

CLERK SAUNDEKS. 47

18 " Oh, wae be to ye, my fause brothers,

Ay, and an ill death may ye dee,
Ye have slain Clerk Saunders, my true love,
That loved and would ha'e wedded me."

19 Then in and came her father dear;

Said -" Margaret, let your mourning be;
I'll carry the dead corpse to the clay,
And then come back and comfort thee."

20 " Comfort ye weel your seven sons,

For comforted will I never be ;
I ween 'twas neither knave nor lown
Was in the bow'r last night with me."

21 " Oh, hold your tongue, my daughter dear,

Oh, hush, and let your mourning be;
I'll wed you to a higher match

Than e'er his father's son could be."

22 " Wed well, wed well your seven sons,

I wish ill wedded they may be;
For they have kill'd my ain true love,
Wha loved and would ha'e wedded me.

23 " Wed well, wed well your seven sons,

But ill deaths may the dastards dee;
For they have slain my ain true love,
And wedded shall I never be."

PART II.

24 The clinking bell gaed through the town,

The corpse was laid in kindred clay ;
And the ghost at Margaret's window stood
An hour before the dawn of day.

25 " Oh, if ye sleep, then wake, Margaret,

Or if ye wake, then list to me ;
Give me my faith and troth again,
I wot, true love, I gave to thee."

2G " Your faith and troth ye shall never get,

Nor our true love shall never twin,
Until ye come within my bow'r,

And kiss me ance mair cheek and chin."

27 " My mouth it is full cold, Margaret,

Its smell is now both rank and strang;
And if I kiss thy comely mouth,
Thy days of life will not be lang.

48 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

28 " Oh, cocks are crowing a merry midnight ;

I wot, the wild-fowls are boding day ;
Give me my faith and troth again,
And let me fare upon my way.

29 " Oh, cocks are crowing a merry midnight;

I wot, the wild-fowls are boding day ;
The psalms of heaven will soon be sung,
And I ere now will be missed away."

80 Then she has ta'en a crystal wand,

She has stroken her troth thereon,
And given it out at the shot window,
With mony a sigh and heavy groan.

31 " I thank ye, Marg'ret, I thank ye, Marg'rct,

And aye I thank ye heartilie ;
If ever the dead come for the quick,
Be sure, Marg'ret, I'll come for thee."

32 "She waited not for gown nor hose,

Nor yet for shoon, to put them onf
But up she got and follow'd him,
And to the kifkyard she has gone.

33 She climb'd the wall and follow'd him

Into the kirkyard all alone ;
Then stood beside his new-made grave,
And thus she made her heavy moan :

34 " Is there ony room at your head, Saunders?

Is there ony room at your feet ?
Or ony room at your side, Saunders,
Where fain, fain I would sleep ? " *

35 " There is nae room at my head, Marg'ret,

And there is nae room at my feet ;
My bed it is full lowly now :

Amang the hungry worms I sleep, f

36 " Cauld mould it is my covering now,

And cauld mould my winding sheet:
The dew it falls nae sooner down,
Than my resting-place is weet.

* " Wherein that I may creep."

t " There 's nae room at my side, Marg'ret,
My coffin's made BO meet."

WIT AT NEED. 49

37 " But plait a wand of bonnie birk,

And lay the wand upon my breast ;
And shed a tear upon my grave,
And wish ye for my saul gude rest.

38 " And fair Marg'ret, and rare Marg'ret,

And fair Marg'ret of veritie,
If ever ye love another man,
Never love him as ye did me."

39 Then up and crew the milk-white cock,

And up and loudly crew the gray ;
Her lover vanish'd in the air,

And she gaed sadly weeping away.

WIT AT NEED.

The following verses are taken from Jamieson's version of " Clerk
Saunders," into which they appear to have been introduced errone-
ously by some reciter, as similar verses occur apart in Danish (Danske,
V., No. 204, and Arwidsson, I., 358). They also resemble the
Scotish song, "Hame cam' our gudeman at e'en," first printed by
Herd (vol. ii. , p. 74), and one of the same description in the Danish
(Kcempe Viser, p. 709), translated by Jamieson, in Northern Anti-
quities, p. 424, where it appears under the heading given above. The
two last lines of stanzas 2 and 5 are here added to rill up the hiatus
of the original ; and the first word of stanzas 3 and 6 is in conse-
quence altered from "But" to "Then." The second lines of stanzas
2 and 5 are somewhat nonsensical.

1 " OH, tell us, tell us, May Margaret,

And dinna to us lein,*
Oh, wha is aught yon noble steed,
That stands your stable in?"

2 " The steed is mine, and it may be thine,

To ride when ye ride on hie ;
But I am sick, and very, very sick,
And as sick as I can be.

3 " Then awa, awa, my bauld brethren,

Awa and mak' nae din ;
For I am as sick a lady the nicht,
As e'er lay a bow'r within."

* "Lein: " to conceal. The word used by Jamieson is " len," which he thus explains:
"The term 'len' here means to stop or hesitate, and is used in the same sense
by Browne in his Britannia's Pastorals. It seems to be the same with the old
English and Scottish ' blin,' to cease or stop."

50 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" Oh, tell us, tell us, May Margaret,

And dinna to us lein,
Oh, wha is aught yon noble hawk

That stands your kitchen in?"

" The hawk is mine, and it may be thine,
To hawk when ye hawk in hie ;

But I am sick, and very, very sick,
And as sick as I can be.

" Then awa, awa, my bauld brethren,

Awa and mak' nae din;
I'm ane of the sickest ladies this nicht,

That e'er lay bow'r within."

"Oh, tell us, tell us, May Margaret,

And dinna to us lein,
Oh, wha is that, May Margaret,

You and the wall between ? "

" Oh, it is my bow'r-maiden," she says,

" As sick as sick can be ;
Oh, it is my bow'r-maiden," she says,

" And she's thrice as sick as me."

" We ha'e been east, and we've been west.

And low beneath the moon;
But all the bow'r-women e'er we saw

Hadna goud buckles in their shoon."

SWEET WILLIAM'S GHOST.

First printed by Ramsay in the Tea Table Miscellany. Mother-
well furnished a second version, under the title of "William and
Marjorie," in the Minstrelsy, p. 186 ; and Kinloch a third, under the
title of "Sweet William and May Margaret," in Ancient Scottish
Ballads, p. 241.

The present copy is collated from all three, but omits two stanzas,
corresponding to stanzas 34 and 35 of " Clerk Saunders " (p. 48), to
which they appear properly to belong. These stanzas are given by
Ramsay, but are omitted by both Motherwell and Kinloch.

Ramsay's version begins with lines 3 and 4 ; and the stanza is com-
pleted with the following lines :

" And aye he tirled at the pin,
But answer made she nane,"

which, followed as they are by questions almost identical with those
propounded in stanza 2 here printed from Kinloch's version is
manifestly inconsistent.

SWEET WILLIAM'S GHOST. 51

1 As Lady Marg'ret sat in her bow'r,

In her bow'r all alone,
There came a ghost to her bow'r door,
With many a grievous groan.

2 " Oh, is it my father ? oh, is it my mother ?

Or is it my brother John ?
Or is it sweet William, my ain true love,
To Scotland new come home ? "

3 " It is not your father, it is not your mother,

It is not your brother John ;
But it is sweet William, your ain true love,
To Scotland new come home."

4 " Ha'e ye brought me any fine things,

Any new thing for to wear?
Or ha'e ye brought a braid of lace
To snood up my gowden hair? "

5 " I've brought ye nae fine things at all,

Nor any new thing to wear,
Nor ha'e I brought ye a braid of lace
To snood up your gowden hair.

6 " But sweet Marg'ret! dear Marg'ret !

I pray thee, speak to me ;
Give me my faith and troth, Marg'ret,
As I gave it to thee."

7 " Thy faith and troth thou's never get,

Nor will I with thee twin,
Till that thou come within my bow'r,
And kiss me cheek and chin."

8 " My lips they are sae bitter," he says,

" My breath it is sae strang;
If you get ae kiss of my clay-cauld lips,
Your days will not be lang.

9 "0 sweet Marg'ret ! O dear Marg'ret!

Marg'ret of veritie,
Give me my faith and troth again,
As I gave them to thee."

10 " Thy faith and troth thou's never get !

Fast to them will I cling,
Till yo i take me to yonder kirk,
And wed me with a ring."

52 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

11 " Do you not see my cheeks, Marg'ret,

Sae sunken and sae wan?
Do you not see, my dear Marg'ret,
I am nae earthly man ?

12 " My body lies in yon kirkyard,

Close by the rolling sea;
And it is but my ghost, Marg'ret,
That 's speaking now to thee.

13 " Then sweet Marg'ret! dear Marg'ret !

I pray thee, for charitie,
To give me back my faith and troth,
As I gave them to thee."

14 " Your faith and troth ye shall not get,

Nor will I twin with thee,
Till ye tell me of heaven's joys,
Or hell's pains, how they be."

15 " The joys of heaven I wot not of,

The pains of hell I dree;
But I hear the cocks begin to craw,
Sae I must hence frae thee.

16 " The cocks are crawing, dear Marg'ret,

The cocks are crawing again;
The dead must now part frae the quick,
And sae I must be gane."

17 No more the ghost to Marg'ret said,

But with a grievous groan
Evanished in a cloud of mist,
And left her all alone.

18 Now she has kilted her robes of green

A piece below her knee,
And all the live-lang winter night
The dead corp follow'd she.

19 She follow'd high, she follow'd low,

To yonder kirkyard lone,
And there the deep grave open'd up,
And William he sank down.

20 " Oh, what three things are these, "William,

That stand here at your head ? "
"Oh, it 's three maidens, sweet Marg'ret,
I promised once to wed."

THE CLERKS OF OXENFORD. 53

22 " Oh, what three things are these, William,

That stand close at your side?"
" Oh, it is three babies, Marg'ret,
That these three maidens had."

23 " Oh, what three things are these, William,

That 'lye close at your feet?"
" Oh, it is three hell-hounds, Marg'ret,
Waiting my Baul to keep."

24 Then she 's ta'en up her white, white hand,

And struck him on the breast,
" Have there again your faith and troth,
And I wish your saul good rest."

THE CLERKS OF OXENFORD.

Abridged, and slightly emendated, from Buchan's Ancient Ballads,
&c., voL L, p. 281.

Mr. Buchan (note, p. 319) describes the two clerks as "sons of
the Laird of Oxenford," in the county of Mid-Lothian; the place,
"Billsbury," as "a famous town, at that time celebrated for its
seminaries of learning;" and the period, to " have been in the time
of the feudal law. "

Mr. Chambers prints the ballad under the title of " The Clerk's Twa
Sons o' Owsenford Part First," Scottish Ballads, p. 345, and states
it to be "chiefly taken from the recitation of the editor's grand-
mother (who learned it, when a girl, nearly seventy years ago
[about 1760], from Miss Anne Gray, resident at Neidpath Castle,
Peebleshire) ; some additional stanzas, and a few various readings,
being adopted from a less perfect, and far less poetical copy, published.
in Mr. Buchan's Ancient and Modern Ballads." The reader may,
however, be surprised to learn that the ballad, as given by Mr.
Chambers, is almost identical with the stanzas here given from
Mr. Buchan's ballad ; but the scene of the tragedy is transferred by
him from "Billsbury" to "Parish," or, as he notes it, "Paris,"
which latter is not, however, within a day's journey or sail of Oxen-
ford, in Mid-Lothian. Oxenford gave the title of Viscount now
dormant to one of the Macgill family, in the reign of Charles II. It
is now a seat of the Earl of Stair.

Mr. Chambers's "Second Part" contains two stanzas slightly
altered from Mr. Buchan's ballad ; the others, with the exception of
two or three additional stanzas, being almost identical with "The
Wife of Usher's Well," first published in Scott's Minstrelsy.

The ballads thus united were regarded by Professor Aytoun
Ballads of Scotland, vol. i., p. 116 as quite distinct; and even
Mr. Chambers virtually admits it, when he refers to "the great

54 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

superiority of what follows over what goes before" i.e., of "Part
Second" over " Part First;" and to " the latter portion as in a great
measure independent of the other.'" The extracts are quoted in italics
as given by Professor Child, English and Scottish Ballads, vol. ii.,
p. 63; the last-named editor adding his opinion, " that the two parts
originally had no connection, [but] were arbitrarily united, to suit the
purposes of some unscrupulous rhapsodist. " He also mentions that
"there is to a certain extent a resemblance between this ballad and
the German ballad, ' Das Schloss in Oesterrich,' found in most of
the German collections, and in Swedish and Danish."

1 I WILL sing to you a waeful sang,

Will grieve your heart full sair,
How the twa bonnie clerks of Oxenford
Went aff to learn their lear.

2 Their father loved them very weel,

Their mother meikle mair,
And they sent them on to Billsbury
To learn deeper lear.

3 They hadna been in Billsbury

A twelvemonth and a day,
Till the mayor's twa daughters of Billsbury
On them their loves did lay,

4 And aye as the twa clerks sat and wrote,

The ladies sew'd and sang;
There was mair mirth in that chamber
Than in all Ferrol's land.

5 But word has gane to the haughty mayor,

As o'er his lands he rade,
That the twa bonnie clerks of Oxenford
His daughters had betray'd.

6 " Oh, have they betray'd my daughters dear,

The heirs of all my land?
Then the morn, ere I eat or drink,
I'll hang them with my hand."

7 Then he has ta'en the twa bonnie clerks,

Bound them frae tap to tae,
Till the reddest bluid within their veins
Out o'er their nails did gae.

8 Then word has gane to Oxenford,

Frae the clerks in prison strang,

That ere the morn at twelve o'clock,

The mayor he would them hang.

THE CLERKS OF OXENFORD. 55

9 Then up spake Lady Oxenford,

While tears fell fast and free
" husband, take good store of gold,
And let them borrow'd be.

10 " husband, take good store of gold,

And bring them back with thee ;
But if you get not hynde Henry,
Bring Gilbert hame to me."

11 Out then spake auld Oxenford,

A waeful man was he
" Your strange wish it does me surprise,
They are baith alike to me."

12 Oh, sweetly sang the nightingale,

As she sat on the wand;
But sair, sair mourn'd Oxenford,
As he gaed to the strand.

13 When he came to the prison strang,

He rade it round about,
And at a little shot-window
His sons were looking out.

14 " Oh, lye ye there, my sons," he said,

" For oxen or for kye?
Or for a cast of dear-bought love,
Do ye in prison lye ? "

15 " We lye not here, father," they said,

" For oxen or for kye ;
But for a cast of dear-bought love,
We are condemned to die."

16 " Oh, borrow us, borrow us, father,

For the love we bear to thee ! "
" Oh, never fear, my bonnie sons,
Weel borrow'd ye shall be."

17 Then he has gane to the haughty mayor,

And hail'd him courteouslie
" Good day, good day, good Billsbury,
God make you safe and free !

18 " Good day, good day, good Billsbury,

A boon I crave frae thee."
Come, sit ye down, brave Oxenford,
What is your will with me ? "

56 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

19 " Will ye gi'e me my sons again,

For gold or yet for fee?
Will ye gi'e me my sons again
For's sake that died on tree? "

20 " I winna gi'e ye your sons again,

For gold nor yet for fee ;
But if ye stay a little while,
Ye'll see them baith hang'd hie."

21 In then came the mayor's daughters,

With kirtle, coat alone;
Their eyes they sparkled like the gold,
As they tripp'd o'er the stone,

22 " Oh, will ye gi'e us our loves, father,

For gold or yet for fee?
Or will ye take our own sweet lives,
And let our true loves be ? "

28 He 's ta'en a whip into his hand,

And lash'd them wondrous sair ;
" Gae to your bow'rs, ye vile lemans,
Ye'll never see them mair."

24 Then out and spake auld Oxenford,

A waeful man was he
" Gang to your bow'rs, ye lily flowers,
For, oh, this maunna be."

25 Then out and spake him hynde Henrie

" Come here, Janet, to me ;
Will ye gi'e me my faith and troth,
And love, as I gave thee? "

26 " Oh, ye shall ha'e your faith and troth,

With God's blessing and mine ! "
And twenty times she kiss'd his mouth,
Her father looking on.

27 Then out and spake him gay Gilbert

"Come here, Marg'ret, to me;
Will ye gi'e me my faith and troth,
And love, as I gave thee ? "

28 " Yes, ye shall get your faith and troth,

With God's blessing and mine !"
And twenty times she kiss'd his mouth,
Her father looking on.

THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL. 57

29 " Ye'll take aff your twa black bats,

And lay them on that stone,
That naue may ken that ye are clerks
When ye are putten down."

30 The bonnie clerks they died that morn,

Their loves died lang ere noon ;
And baith their fathers and mothers died
For sorrow very soon.

31 Six of the souls went up to heaven,

(I wish sae may we a'!)
But the cruel mayor went down to hell,
For judging unjust law.

THE WIFE OF USHEK'S WELL.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 258.

Stanza 4 is adapted from Buchan's ballad, " The Clerks of Oxen-
ford ;" and stanza 5 from Chambers's ballad, " The Clerk's Twa Sons
o' Owsenford Part Second."

The explanatory notes [marked S.] are from the pen of Sir Walter
Scott.

1 THERE lived a wife at Usher's Well,

And a wealthy wife was she ;
She had three stout and stalwart sons,
And sent them o'er the sea.

2 They hadna been a week from her,

A week but barely ane,
When word came back to the carline wife,
That her three sons were gane.

3 They hadna been a week from her,

A week but barely three,
When word came to the carline wife,
That her sons she'd never see :

4 That they were learning a deeper lear,

And at a higher schule;
But them she wou'd never see again,
On the holy days of Yule.

58 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" I wish the wind may never cease,*

Nor fishes f in the flood,
Till my three sons come hame to me

In earthly flesh and blood."

It fell about the Martinmas,
When nights are lang and mirk,

The carline wife's three sons came hame,
And their hats were of the birk.

It neither grew in syke nor ditch,

Nor yet in ony sheugh;
But at the gates of Paradise

That birk grew fair eneuch.J

8 " Blow up the fire, my maidens, and

Bring water from the well ;
For all my house shall feast this night,
Since my three sons are well.

9 " Oh, eat and drink, my merry men all,

The better shall ye fare ;
For my three sons they are come hame
To me for evermair."

10 And she has made to them a bed,
She 's made it large and wide ;
And she 's ta'eu her mantle her about,
Sat down at the bedside.

11 Up then crew the red, red cock,

And up and crew the gray;
The eldest to the youngest said
" 'Tis time we were away."

12 The cock he hadna craw'd but ance,

At dawning of the day,
When the eldest to the youngest said
" Brother, we must away."

* The sense of this verse is obscure, owing probably to corruption by reciters. [S.}

t Subsequent editors have changed "fishes" to "fashes," "freshes," and
"freshets."

t The notion, that the sonls of the blessed wear garlands, seems to be of Jewish
origin. At least, in the " Haass-book," there is a Rabbinical tradition to that
effect See Jewish Traditions, abridgedfrom Buxtorf, London, 1732, voL ii., p. 19. [S.

LEESOME BRAND. 59

13 " The cock doth craw, the day doth daw,

The charinerin'* worm doth chide;
If we be miss'd out of our place,
A sair pain we maun bide.f

14 " Then fare ye weel, my mother dear!

Fareweel to barn and byre !
And fare ye weel, the bonnie lass
That kindles my mother's fire !**

LEESOME BRAND.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 41; with
the exception of verse 2, which is inserted from a kindred portion of
"The Brave Earl Brand and the King of England's Daughter,"
p. 32.

Stanza 1 describes " an unco," or wonderful "land," bearing some
resemblance to the " better land," or "oe." i. e., island of " Eibolt
and Guldborg," as described in stanzas 3 to 9 inclusive, of the version
translated by Jamieson.

Stanzas 3 to 8 inclusive, represent ten stanzas of the original, here
abridged to avoid repetition and some objectionable details. These
stanzas bear some resemblance to, but are more ample in narrative
than, the portion of " The Brave Earl Brand," &c., above referred to.

The succeeding seven stanzas are omitted entirely, because they
merely represent and that in a very corrupt form several stanzas
of " Herr Medelvold," and similar Danish and Swedish ballads.

In the Scandinavian ballad, the hero takes his lady's gold em-
broidered shoe, and hastes to a distant rill in search of water to
quench her thirst ; but when he reaches it, two nightingales sing to
him of the death of the lady and her two new-born infants. He
returns ; finds them dead ; buries them ; fixes his sword against a
tree or stone, and drives the blade through his heart. Two versions
of this ballad "Sir Wai and Lisa Lyle," and "Fair Midel and
Kirsten Lyle " as translated by Jamieson, appear in Illustrations of
Northern Antiquities, p. 373 and p. 377.

In the omitted stanzas of Buchan's ballad, the hero is anything
but gallant. He is asked by the lady to leave her alone to take
his "bow," and go to "hunt the deer and roe," but not to touch
" the white hynde." He obeys only too willingly, and quite forgets
his lady until reminded by the passing of a "milk-white hynde,"
when he returns and finds her "lying dead," with her "young sou at

* " Channel-in' : " fretting. [S.]

t This will remind the German readei of the comic adieu of a heavenly
apparition:

"Dochsieh! man schliesst die himmels thflr;
Adieu! der himmlische Portier
1st strengund halt auf ordnung." Blumauer. [S.]

60 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

her head." Stanzas somewhat analogous to those described occur
also in. two ballads which immediately follow viz., "The Earl of
Douglas and Lady Oliphant," and "Sweet Willie and Fair Janet."

Part II. narrates the sequel, of which stanza 9 is common ballad
property; while stanzas 10 to 14 are almost identical with four stanzas
of a ballad in Motherwell's Minstrelsy (p. 189), under the title of
" The Broom blooms Bonnie and says it is Fair," which four stanzas
follow the present ballad, and are all of Motherwell's ballad that are
considered to be fit for publication in this collection.

The four or five concluding stanzas of " Leesome Brand" appear
to be the only original stanzas it contains.

PART I.

1 MY boy was scarcely ten years auld,

When he went to an unco land,
Where wind never blew, nor cocks ever crew,
Ohon! for my son, Leesome Brand.

2 Oh, did you ever hear of brave Leesome Brand?

Hey lillie, ho lillie lallie;

He courted the king's daughter of fair England,
In the brave nights so early.

3 Awa to that king's court he went,

It was to serve for meat and fee;
Gude red gowd it was his hire,

And lang in that king's court stay'd he.

4 He hadna been in that king's court,

But only twellmonths twa or three,
Till by the glancing of his e'e,
He gain'd the love of a gay ladye.

5 This ladye was scarce fifteen years auld,
When on her love she was right bauld;
To Leesome Brand she then did say

" In this place I can nae mair stay.

6 " Ye do you to my father's stable,

Where steeds do stand both wight and able;
Get ane for you, another for me,
And let us ride out o'er the lea.

7 " Ye do you to my mother's coffer,
And out of it ye'll take my tocher ;
Therein are sixty thousand pounds,
Which all to me by right belongs."

LEESOME BRAND. 61

8 He 's done him to her father's stable,

And waled twa steeds baith wight and able ;
He 's done him to her mother's coffer,
And there he 's ta'en his lover's tocher.

PART II.

9 His mother lay o'er her castle wall,

And she beheld baith dale and down;
And she beheld young Leesome Brand,
As he came riding to the town.

10 " Get minstrels for to play," she said,

" And dancers to dance in my room;

For here comes my son, Leesome Brand,

And he comes merrilie to the town."

11 " Seek nae minstrels to play, mother,

Nor dancers to dance in your room;
But tho' your son comes, Leesome Brand,
Yet he comes sorry to the town.

12 " Oh, I ha'e lost my gowden knife,

I rather had lost my ain sweet life;
And I ha'e lost a better thing,
The gilded sheath that it was in."

13 " Are there nae gowdsmiths here in Fife

Can make to you another knife ?
Are there nae sheath-makers in the land
Can make a sheath to Leesome Brand? "

14 " There are nae gowdsmiths here in Fife

Can make me sic a gowden knife;
Nor nae sheath-makers in the land
Can make me sic a sheath again.

15 " There ne'er was man in Scotland born,

Ordain'd to be so much forlorn ;
I've lost my ladye I lov'd sae dear,
Likewise the son she did me bear."

16 " Put in your hand at my bed head,

There ye'll find a gude gray horn;
In it three draps of Saint Paul's ain blind,
That ha'e been there since he was born.

17 " Drap twa of them on yonr ladye,

And ane upon your new-born son;
Then as lively they baith will be

As the first night ye brought them hame."

62 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

18 He put his hand at her bed head,

And there he found a gude gray horn,

With three draps of Saint Paul's ain bluid,

That had been there since he was born.

19 Then he drapp'd twa on his ladye,

And ane of them on his young son ;
And now they do as lively be,

As the first day he brought them hame.

THE BROOM BLOOMS BONNIE AND SAYS IT IS FAIR.

From Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 191. See introduction to pre-
ceding ballad, p. 59.

The complete ballad is one of a class which, following the judicious
example of Professor Child, are excluded from this collection, on
account of the revolting nature of their theme. The other ballads
of the class referred to are

" Lizie Wan," Herd, vol. i., p. 91.

"The Bonnie Hynd," Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 307.

" Castle Ha's Daughter," Buchan, vol. i., p. 241.

" Bold Burnett's Daughter " (which is merely referred to by
Buchan in his note, vol. i., p. 315), and "Lady Jean," a stanza of
which is given by Motherwell, Appendix, p. xxi., note to music,
xxiii.

1 WHEN Willie came hame to his father's court hall

The broom blooms bonnie and says it is fair ;
There was music and minstrels and dancing 'mangthem all
But he'll never gang down to the broom onie mair.

2 " Willie ! Willie ! what makes thee in pain ? "

The broom blooms bonnie and says it is fair ;
" I have lost a sheath and knife that I'll never see again
For we'll never gang down to the broom onie mair."

3 " There are ships of your father's sailing on the sea "

The broom blooms bonnie and says it is fair ;
" That will bring as good a sheath and a knife unto thee
And we'll never gang down to the broom onie mair."

4 " There are ships of my father's sailing on the sea "

The broom blooms bonnie and says it is fair ;
" But sic a sheath and knife they can never bring to me
Now we'll never gang down to the broom onie mair."

THE EARL OF DOUGLAS. 68

THE EARL OF DOUGLAS AND DAME OLIPHANT.

Abridged from Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 18L

It is probable that the name of the heroine, in place of " Oliphant "
which is a family surname, and not a lady's Christian name should
read " Eleanor," and that the ballad may relate to the second marriage
of " William de Douglas, denominated the Hardy ; " of the circum-
stances attending which marriage, we have the following account :

"His second wife appears to have been Eleanor, relect of William
Ferrers of Groby, in the county of Leicester, a younger son of William
Earl Derby. This William Ferrers died 1287-8, leaving Eleanor, his
second wife, surviving ; and she going to Scotland to obtain her dowry
of such lands as by her husband belonged to her, being at Travernent
[Tranent], the manor-house of Helen [or Allan] la Zuche [or Suche],
in that realm, William de Douglas, in a hostile manner, took her
thence against her will, and carried her to another place ; of which
complaint being made to King Edward I., he sent his precept to the
Sheriff of Northumberland, to sieze upon all the goods and chattels
of the said William de Douglas, which then were in his bailiwick.
But in 1290-1, in consideration of 100 tine, the king granted to
William de Douglas the benefit of her marriage." And in a note we
are further " informed, that in a MS. collection of English records, the
second wife of William Ferrers, who died 16th Edward I., is stated
to have been Comitissa de Fife, in Scotia, vidua Colbani et mater
Macduffi, Comitum de Fife. " Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, second
edition, edited by J. P. Wood, vol. i., p. 420.

The ballad resembles in some respects both "Leesome Brand"
and the ballad which follows this.

1 WILLIE was an earl's ae son,

An earl's ae son was he ;
And he is on to fair England,
To serve for meat and fee.

2 But it was not for meat and fee

That Willie hied him there ;
But for his love to Oliphant,
Of beauty bright and rare.

3 Now, it fell ance upon a day,

That Oliphant thought lang;
And she went on to good greenwood,
As fast as she cou'd gang.

4 Willie he stood in his chamber door,

In a love-musing mood,
And spy'd fair Lady Oliphant,
As she hied to the wood.

64 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

5 He took his bow and arrows keen,

His sword baith braid and lang ;
And he is on to good greenwood,
As fast as he cou'd gang.

6 And there he found fair Oliphant,

Asleep beneath a tree ;
But up she started at his step,
And thus in fear cry'd she :

7 " Hold away from me, young man,

Hold far away from me ;
I fear you are some false young knight,
Beguiles young ladies free."

8 "I am not such a false young knight

As you fear me to be ;
I am young Willie of Douglas-dale,
And dearly I love thee."

9 " If you are Willie of Douglas-dale,

Your love is dear to me,
For oft I think, and in my sleep
Full oft I dream of thee."

10 But the cocks they crew, and the horns blew,

And herds lowed on the hill ;
And Willie he hied him back again,
Unto his daily toil.

11 Sae likewise did fair Oliphant,

To her book and her seam ;
But little she read, and little she sewed,
For love was her day-dream.

12 Then it fell ance upon a night,

Young Willie he thought lang ;
And he went on to Oliphant's bow'r,
As fast as he cou'd gang.

13 " Oh, are you asleep, fair Oliphant?

Oh, are you asleep ? " cried he ;
" Oh, waken, waken. Oliphant,
Oh, waken and speak to me."

14 " Oh, much I do fear me, dear Willie,

Oh, much I fear," said she ;
" If my father or his knights do hear,
By them you slain shall be."

THE EARL OF DOUGLAS. 65

15 " Oliphant, dear Oliphant,

A king's daughter are ye ;
But would you leave your father's court,
To live and die with me? "

16 " Oh,. I would leave my father's court,

Let weal or woe betide ;
For I could range the warld o'er,
If you were by my side."

17 She took a web of scarlet cloth,

And tore it fine and small ;
Then plaited it both long and strong,
To let her down the wall.

18 She lower'd herself in Willie's arms,

Adown the castle wall ;
And Willie was wight and well able
To save her from a fall.

19 But the cocks they crew, and the horns blew,

And herds low'd on the hill,
As Willie's lady follow'd him
Tho' her tears trickl'd still.

20 They lived together in good greenwood

Some nine months and a day,
When Willie to fair Oliphant
Thus lovingly did say :

21 " Oh, want ye ribbons to your hair,

Or roses to your shoon?
Or want ye chains about your neck?
You'll get mair when they're done."

22 " I want not ribbons to my hair,

Nor roses to my shoon ;
And there are mair chains about my neck?
Than ever I'll see done."

23 " Will ye gae to the cards or dice?

Or to the table play?
Or to a bed sae well down-spread,
And sleep till it be day?"

24 " I've mair need of the rodens, Willie,

That grow on yonder thorn ;

Likewise a drink of spring water,

Out of your grass-green horn.

66 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

25 " I've mair need of a fire, Willie,

To heat my shivering frame ;
Likewise a glass of good red wine,
Ere your young son come name."

26 He got a bush of rodens till her,

That grew on yonder thorn ;

Likewise a drink of spring water,

Out of his grass-green horn.

27 He carried the match in his pocket,

That kindled to her the fire,
Well set about with oaken spails.
That leam'd o'er Lincolnshire.

28 And he has brought to his lady

A glass of good red wine ;
And he has likewise brought to her
A loaf of white bread fine.

29 The milk that he milk'd frae the goats,

He fed his young son on ;
Thus he did tend and serve them baith.
In greenwood all alone.

30 Till it fell ance upon a day,

Fair Oliphant did plaine :
" Oh, if you have a place, Willie,
I pray you have me hame."

31 He took his young son in his arms,

When Oliphant grew strang;
And they went on through good greenwood,
As fast as they cou'd gang.

32 They journey'd on through good greenwood,

They journey'd northward on,

Till they came to a shepherd May,

Was feeding her flocks alone.

33 The lady said " My bonnie May,

If you will come with me,
And carry my young son in your arms,
Kewarded you will be.

34 " The gowns were shapen for my wear,

They shall be sewed for thee,
And you will get a braw Scotsman
Your husband for to be."

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR JANET. C7

35 When they came on to Willie's yetts,

Beyond the Solway sea,
The news of their arrival spread
Like wild fire o'er the lea.

36 Then many a stout and stalwart knight,

And many a stately dame,
The lord and lady of Douglas-dale
With joy did welcome hame.

37 And many a bold and warlike youth,

And many a maiden fair,
The lord and lady of Douglas-dale
Right gaily welcomed there.

38 The bonnie May they brought with them,

She got a braw Scots man ;
And the children that her lady bare,,
She nursed them every one.

39 Earl Willie and fair Oliphant

Lang happy lived, I ween,
Ere in the kirk of sweet Saint Bride
Their graves grew fresh and green.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR JANET:

The works in which, and the titles under which, versions of this
ballad have appeared, are

I. Herd, vol. L, p. 162; under the title of "Willie and

Annet."

II. Finlay, vol. ii., p. 61 ; under the title of "Sweet Willie,"
where it is said to be made up from different copies and
fragments. It contains eleven stanzas, taken verbally
from Herd's version, five slightly different, leaves out
three, and adds ten.

III. Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 1 ; under the title of ' ' Fair

Janet." " Is printed as it was sung by an old woman in
Perthshire. The air is extremely beautiful." 0. K. S.

IV. Buchan, vol. i., p. 97 ; under the title of " Sweet Willie and

Fair Maisry." Mr. Buchan states that "Mr. Findlay,"
notwithstanding " all his painful industry, came far short
of completing or perfecting the ballad."

Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. 139, copied Sharpe's version, inserting

[in brackets] three stanzas from Herd, here numbered 51, 53, and 56.

The ballad, as here printed, is compiled from the four versions above

08 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAOT).

named, and contains 120 lines more than Finlay's, and eighty-eight
lines more than Motherwell's extended version.

Both this and the following ballad, " Lady Maisry," are supposed
to be derived from the Danish, and to owe their origin to the tragic
story of "King Waldemar and his Sister;" which "appears to be
founded on facts which occurred during the reign and in the family of
the Danish king, sometime between 1157 and 1167." There are
numerous Danish, Swedish, Norse, Icelandic, Faroish, and German
versions of the ballad. The journey on horseback and the dance are
the incidents which are regarded as connecting " Sweet Willie and
Fair Janet" with the Scandinavian ballad, in which particulars it
follows or is related to the Icelandic and Faroish versions; while
"Lady Maisry," the ballad which follows this, more closely resembles
the Danish and other versions above referred to.

See Professor Child's English and Scottish Ballads, vol. iL, p. 78
and p. 86.

1 " YE maun gang to your father, Janet,

Ye maun gang to him sune ;
Ye maun gang to your father, Janet,
In case that his days are dune ! "

2 Janet 's awa to her father,

As fast as she could hie ;
" Oh, what 's your will with me, father?
Oh, what 's your will with me ? "

3 " My will with you, fair Janet," he said,

" It is both bed and board ;
Some say that ye lo'e sweet Willie,
But ye maun wed a French lord."

4 "A French lord maun I wed, father,

A French lord maun I wed?
Then, by my sooth," quo' fair Janet,
" He 's ne'er enter my bed.

5 " Hey, love Willie, and how, love Willie,

And Willie my love shall be;
They think to sinder our love, Willie,
But I'Jl love you till I dee."

6 " Now, will you marry this French lord,

And with him cross the sea?
Or will you mourn for sweet Willie
The morn upon yon lea?"

7 " Oh, I may marry this French lord,

And bend me to your will ;
But I'd rather it were my burial day,
And my grave I went till."

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR JANET. 69

8 Janet 's awa to her chamber,

As fast as she could go ;
Wha 's the first ane that tapp'd there,
But sweet Willie, her jo !

9 "Oh, we maun part this love, Willie,

Tho' dear aboon all thing ;
There 's a French lord coming o'er the sea
To wed me with a ring.

10 " There 's a French lord coming o'er the sea,

To wed and take me hame,
And my father says, I maun him wed,
And with him cross the faem."

11 "If we maun part this love, Janet,

It will cause me meikle woe ;
If we maun part this love, Janet,
Through life I'll mourning go."

12 " Now, Willie, if you love me weel,

As sae it seems to me,
Gar build, gar build a bonnie ship,
Gar build it speedilie !

13 " And we will sail the sea sae green,

Unto some far countrie ;
Or sail unto some bonnie isle,
Stands lanely midst the sea."

14 But lang or ere the ship was built,

Or deck'd or weel rigg'd out,

Came sic a pain in Janet's back,

That down she couldna lout.

15 " Now, Willie, if ye love me weel,

As sae it seems to me,
Oh, haste and take me to my bow'r,
In yonder greenwood free.

16 " Willie, mount me on a steed,

A milk-white steed or gray ;
And to my bow'r in yon greenwood
Take me ere it be day.

17 " Then gang ye to your sisters three,

Meg, Marion, and Jean ;
And bid them come to fair Janet,
At her bow'r iu yon green."

70 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

18 He mounted her upon a steed,

Upon a steed of gray,
And to her bow'r in good greenwood
Ta'en her ere it was day.

19 He 's ta'en her in his arms twa,

And kiss'd her cheek and chin,
And laid her in her ain sweet bow'r,
But nae bow'r-maid was in.

20 Then hied he to his sisters three,

Meg, Marion, and Jean ;
Said " Haste, and gang to fair Janet,
At her bow'r in yon green.

21 " Oh, haste, and gang to fair Janet,

Dress and gang to her sune ;
Oh, haste, and gang to fair Janet,
I fear her days are dune."

22 They drew to them their silken hose,

They drew to them their shoon;
They drew to them their silk mantels,
And quickly put them on :

23 And they hied awa to fair Janet,

By the ae light of the mune ;
But yet for all the haste they made,
They came na there ower sune.

24 For when they came to fair Janet's bow'r,

In the greenwood fair and free,
They tound fair Janet sitting there,
With her young son on her knee.

25 " Come in, come in now, sweet Willie,

Take your young son frae me,
And bear him to your mother's bow'r
With speed and privacie.

26 " Oh, I have born this babe, Willie,

With meikle toil and pain ;
Take hame, take harne your babe, Willie,
For nurse I dare be nane."

27 He 's ta'en his young son in his arms,

And kiss'd him cheek and chin;
And he is to his mother's bow'r
As fast as he could rin.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR JANET. 71

28 " Oh, open, open, mother," he says,

" Oh, open, and let me in ;
The rain rains on my yellow hair,
And the dew drops o'er my chin.

29 " Oh, open, open, mother," he says,

" Oh, open the door to me ;
Oh, open, and take my young son in,
And get him nurses three."

30 She open'd the door to Willie, her son,

She open'd and let him in ;
And she took his babe up in her arms,
And kiss'd him cheek and chin.

81 " Gae back, gae back now, sweet Willie,

And to comfort your lady strive;

For where ye had but a single nursej

Your young son shall ha'e five."

32 He hied awa frae his mother's bow'r,

And to fair Janet's he came :
Then lifted her up in his arms twa,
And safely carried her hame.

33 He carried fair Janet safely hame,

And laid her safely in bed ;
Then stole awa frae her father's towers
With saft and stealthy tread.

34 Then in there came her father dear,

Well belted with a brand;
" It 's nae time for brides to lye in bed)
When the bridegroom is at hand."

35 " There 's a sair pain in my head, father)

There J s a sair pain in my side ;
And ill, oh, ill am I, father,
This day for to be a bride."

36 " Oh, ye maun busk this bonnie bride,

And put a gay mantle on;
For she shall wed this auld French lord,
Tho' she should die the morn."

37 In came fair Janet's mother dear,

And she spake out with pride
" Oh, where are all our bridesmaidens?
They're no busking the bride."

72 BALLAD MINSTEELSY OF SCOTLAND.

38 " Oh, baud your tongue, my mother dear,

Your speaking let it be,
For I'm sae fair and full of flesh,
Little busking will serve me."

39 Out then spake the bride's maidens,

And they spake out with pride
" Oh, where is all the fine deeding?
It 's we maun busk the bride."

40 " Deal hooly with my head, maidens,

Deal hooly with my hair,
For it was washen late yestreen,
And it is wonder sair.

41 " My maidens, easy with my back,

And easy with my side;
And set my saddle saft, Willie,
I am a tender bride."

42 Some put on the gay green robes,

And some put on the brown ;
But Janet put on the scarlet robes,
To shine foremost through the town.

43 And some they mounted the black steed,

And some mounted the brown ;
But Janet mounted the milk-white steed,
To ride foremost .through the town.

44 " Oh, wha will guide your horse, Janet?

Oh, wha will guide him best ? "
" Oh, wha but Willie, my true love !
I ken he lo'es me best."

45 And when they came to Marie's kirk,

To tie the holy ban',
The colour fled fair Janet's cheeks,
And they look'd deathly wan.

46 When dinner it was past and done,

And dancing to begin,
" Oh, we'll go take the bride's maidens,"
And we'll go fill the ring."

47 Oh, ben then came the auld French lord.

Says " Bride, come dance with me ! "
" Awa, awa, ye auld French lord,
Your face I downa* see."

"Downa" means, generally, inability; but also, sometimes, as here, want of
inclination, or repugnance.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR JANET. 73

48 Oh, ben then came now sweet William,

He came with ane advance ;
" Oh, I'll gae take the bride's maidens,
And we'll gae take a dance."

49 " I've seen other days with you, Willie,

And s'ae ha'e mony mae,
Ye wou'd ha'e danced with me yoursell,
Let all my maidens gae."

50 Oh, up then spake now sweet Willie,

Saying "Bride, will ye dance with me?"
" Ay, by my sooth, and that I will,
Tho' my back break in three ! "

51 And she 's ta'en Willie by the hand,

The tear blinded her e'e :
" Oh, I wou'd dance with my true love,
Tho' burst my heart in three ! "

52 She hadna turn'd her through the dance,

Through the dance but thrice,
When she fell down at Willie's feet,
And up did never rise !

53 She 's ta'en her bracelet frae her arm,

Her garter frae her knee,
" Gi'e that, gi'e that to my young son,
He'll ne'er his mother see."

54 Willie 's ta'en the key of his coffer,

And gi'en it to his man,
" Gae hame and tell my mother dear,
My horse he has me slain.

55 " Bid her be kind to my young son,

For they'll ne'er see me again ;
Bid her be kind to my young son,
For father he has nane.

56 " Gar deal, gar deal the bread," he cried,

" Gar deal, gar deal the wine ;
This day has seen my true love's death,
This night shall witness mine."

57 The ane was buried in Marie's kirk,

And the ither in Mary's quier ;
Out of the ane there grew a birk,
And the ither a bonnie brier.*

* See note, p. 32.

74 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

LADY MAISRY.

" This excellent old ballad is," says Mother-well, " very popular in
many parts of Scotland," Minstrelsy, p. 71.

It first appeared in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. i., p. 73,
where it is " given verbatim, as taken down from the recitation of
Mrs. Arrott," pp. 66 and 59. Portions of another version appeared
in the Scot's Magazine, June, 1822.

Motherwell's Minstrelsy contains other two different versions viz. ,
"Lady Marjorie," p. 234, and " Bonnie Susie Cleland," p. 221. Which
latter follows the present collated version.

Buchan furnishes yet another, named "Young Prince James."
Ancient Ballads, &c., vol. i., p. 103.

Jamieson's version ia the one here chiefly followed ; but a few
stanzas and some emendations have been adopted from "Lady
Marjorie" and " Young Prince James."

For the probable origin of the ballad, see introduction to the one
preceding this. The present ballad preserves the relationship of the
principal actors, sister and brother, and the death of the former at the
hands of the latter ; but the manner in which the sister suffers death
differs, as in the Danish, Swedish, and German ballads she is said to
be beaten to death with leathern whips.

See Old Danish Ballads, translated from Grimms 1 Collection by an
Amateur, p. 90. 8vo. London, 1856.

Motherwell's version, " Lady Marjorie," opens thus

" Lady Marjorie -was her mother's only daughter,

Her father's only heir;
And she is awa to Strawberry Castle.
To get some unco lair."

1 THE young lords of the North Country

Have all a- wooing gane,
To win the love of Lady Maisry ;
But of them she wou'd ha'e nane.

2 Oh, they ha'e sought her, Lady Maisry,

"With broaches and with rings ;
And they ha'e courted her, Lady Maisry,
With all kind of things.

3 And they ha'e sought her, Lady Maisry,

Frae father and frae mither;
And they ha'e sought her, Lady Maisry,
Frae sister and frae brither.

4 And they ha'e followed her, Lady Maisry,

Through chamber and through ha' ;
But all that they could say to her,
Her answer still was " Na."

LADY MAISRY. . 75

5 " Oh, baud your tongues, young men," she said,

" And think nae mair on me ;
For I've gi'en my love to an English lord ;
Sae think nae mair on me."

6 But word has to her father gane,

And word unto her mother ;

And word unto her sister gane,

And word unto her brother.

7 'Twas whisper'd here, 'twas whisper'd there

111 news aye travels soon
That Lady Maisry gaes with bairn
Unto an English loon.

8 When her brother heard word of this,

An angry man was he :
" A malison light on the tongue
Sic tidings tells to me !

9 "A malison light on the tongue,

Tho' true the tale may be ;
But if it be a lie you tell,

It's you shall be hang'd hie."

10 He 's done him to his sister's bowV,

With meikle dool and care ;
And there he saw Lady Maisry
Combing her yellow hair.

11 " Oh, wha is aucht that bairn," he says,

" And brought this shame on thee ?
And if ye winna own the truth,
This moment ye shall dee."

12 She 's turn'd her right and round about,

And the comb fell frae her ban' ;
A trembling seized her fair bodie,
And her rosy cheek grew wan.

13 " Oh, pardon me, my brother dear,

And the truth I'll tell to thee ;
My bairn it is to Lord William,
And he is betroth'd to me."

14 " Oh, couldna ye gotten dukes or lords,

Intil your ain countrie,
That ye drew up with an English dog,
To bring this shame on me ?

76 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

15 " But ye maun gi'e up your English lord

When your young babe is born;
For if ye langer keep by him,
Your life shall bo. forlorn.

16 " I'll cause my men build up a fire,

And tie you to a stake ;
And on the head of yon high tower
I'll burn you for his sake."

17 " I will gi'e up this English lord,

Till my young babe is born ;
But the never a day nor hour langer,
Though my life should be forlorn."

18 " Oh, where are all my merry young men

Whom I gi'e meat and fee,
To pull the bracken and the thorn,
To burn this vile ladye?"

19 " Oh, where will I get a bonnie boy

To help me in my need,
To rin with haste to Lord William,
And bid him come with speed ? "

20 Oh, out it spake a bonnie boy,

Stood by her brother's side ;
" It 's I would rin your errand, lady,
O'er all the world wide.

21 " Oft ha'e I run your errands, lady,

When blawin' baith wind and weet ;
But now I'll rin your errand, lady,
With saut tears on my cheek."

22 Oh, when he came to broken brigs,

He bent his bow and swam;
And when he came to grass growin',
He slack'd his shoon and ran.

23 And when he came to Lord William's yetts,

He badena to chap or call ;
But set his bent bow to his breast,

And lightly lap the wall ;
And, or the porter was at the yett,

The boy was in the hall.

LADY MAISRY. 77

24 " Oh, is my biggin broken, boy?

Or have my towers been won ?
Or is my lady lighter yet,
Of a dear daughter or son? "

25 " Your biggin isna broken, sir,

Nor have your towers been won;
Nor is your lady lighter yet,
Of dear daughter or son.

26 " But her brother has gar'd build a fire,

And tie her to a stake,
On the head of their highest tower,
To burn her for your sake."

27 " Oh, saddle to me the black, the black,

Or saddle to me the brown ;
Or saddle to me the swiftest steed
That e'er rade frae the town."

28 As he drew nigh unto the tower,

She heard his horn blaw :
" Mend up the fire, my fause brother,
I mind ye not a straw."

29 As he drew nearer to the tower,

She heard his war-horse sneeze :
" Mend up the fire, my fause brother,
It 's nae come to my knees."

30 When he alighted at the yett,

She heard his bridle ting :
" Mend up the fire, my fause brother,
It 's far yet frae my chin.

31 " But look about, my fause brother,

Ye see not what I see ;
For I see him comin' hard and fast,
Will soon mend it for thee.

32 " Oh, if my hands had been loose, Willie,

Sae hard as they are boun',
I wad ha'e turn'd me frae the gleed,
And casten out your son."

33 " Oh, I'll gar burn for you, Maisry,

Your father and your mother ;

And I'll gar burn for you, Maisry,

Your sister and your brother ;

78 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

34 " And I'll gar burn for you, Maisry,
The chief of all your kin ;*

And the last bonfire that I come to,
Myself I will cast in ;

But I'll reward the pretty boy,
That did thine errand rin."

BONNIE SUSIE CLELAND.

First published by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. 221. He does not
mention from whence it is derived, but in note 155, p. ci. , he states,
" I have been unable to trace this ballad to any historical source. In
its subject it resembles ' Lady Maisry. ' " (See introduction thereto, p.
74.) In Ariosto's Gmevra, "it is mentioned that ladies guilty of
incontinence were, by the laws of Scotland, doomed to the flames ;
but this cruel enactment has no foundation, we believe, in the
criminal code of the land, at least, within historic times."

1 THERE lived a lady in Scotland,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy ;
There lived a lady in Scotland,

And dearly she loved me ;
There lived a lady in Scotland,

And she 's fallen in love with an Englishman,
And bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.

2 The father unto the daughter came,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy;
The father unto the daughter came,

And dearly she loved me;
The father unto the daughter came,

Saying, " Will you forsake that Englishman ? "
And bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.

3 " If you will not that Englishman forsake,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy ;
If you will not that Englishman forsake,

So dearly loved by thee ;
If you will not that Englishman forsake,

Oh, I will burn you at a stake J "
And bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.

* The share taken in this auto-da-fe" by "father," "mother," and "sister," as
indicated by the retribution threatened, appears to have either dropped out of
Jamieson's version of the ballad, or to have been added in Hotherwell's " Lady
Marjorie," Minstrelsy, p. 235, where it is thus given:
" Her father he put on the pat,
Her sister put on the pan,
And her brother lie put on a bauld, bauld fire,

To burn Lady Marjorie in ;
And her mother she sat in a golden chair.

To see her daughter burn."

The mention of "the pat," and "the pan," in the first two of these lines, savours of
cookery: but there is no other reason for suspecting the family to be inclined to
anthropophagy.

BONNIE SUSIE CLELAM). 79

4 "I will not that Englishman forsake,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy,;
I will not that Englishman forsa'ke,

Who dearly loveth me ;
I will not that Englishman forsake,

Though you should burn me at a stake ! "
And bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.

5 " Oh, where will I get a pretty little boy,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy ;
Oh, where will I get a pretty little boy,

Who dearly loveth me ;
Oh, where I will get a pretty little boy,

Who will carry tidings to my joy,
That bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee ? "

6 " Here am I, a pretty little boy,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy j
Here am I, a pretty little boy,

Who dearly loveth thee;
Here am I, a pretty little boy,

Who will carry tidings to thy joy,
That bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee."

7 " Give to him this right hand glove,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy;
Give to him this right hand glove,

Who dearly loveth me ;
Give to him this right hand glove,

Tell him to get another love,
For bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.

8 " Give to him this little pen-knife,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy;
Give to him this little pen-knife,

Who dearly loveth me;
Give to him this little pen-knife,

Tell him to get another wife,
For bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.

9 " Give to him this gay gold ring,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy ;
Give to him this gay gold ring,

Who dearly loveth me ;
Give to him this gay gold ring,

Tell him I'm going to my burning,
And bonnie Susie Cleland is to be burnt at Dundee.'

80 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

10 Her father he ca'd up the stake,

Hey, my love, and ho, my joy;
Her father he ca'd up the stake,

So dearly she loved me ;
Her father he ca'd up the stake,

Her brother he the fire did make,
And bonnie Susie Cleland was burnt in Dundee.

LORD INGRAM AND CHILDE VYET.

First appeared, in an imperfect state, under the title of " Lord
Wa'yates and Auld Ingram, " in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. ii. ,
p. 265 ; and then, in a more complete form, in Maidment's North
Countrie Garland, p. 24. The same gentleman contributed a slightly
different copy to Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 173 ; and a longer
version, containing a number of inferior stanzas, is given by Buchan,
Ancient Ballads and Songs, &c., vol. i., p. 234.

Jamieson's version was printed " from Herd's MS., [as] transmitted
by Mr. [afterwards Sir Walter] Scott." In it the rivals are repre-
sented to be uncle and nephew ; while the incongruity and incompati-
bility of the marriage are fully aud graphically exhibited iu the
following stanzas :

" When e'en was come, and e'en tells rung,

And a' men gane to bed,
The bride but and the silly bridegroom
In ae chamber were laid.

" "Wasna 't a fell thing for to see

Twa heads upon ae cod,
Lady Maisry's like the molten goud,
Auld Ingram's like a toad ?

" He turn'd his face unto the stock,

And sound he fell asleep;
She turn'd her face unto the wa',
And saut tears she did weep."

Maidment's version is the one here generally followed ; but
some half-dozen stanzas of it have been omitted ; while fifteen
stanzas or so have been added from the other versions mostly from
Buchan's, as, for instance, stanzas 27 to 35 inclusive, while many of
the others are, with the exception of slight verbal differences, common
to both versions. It will be seen that, by leaving out stanzas 27 to 35,
the story reads as if Childe Vyet had concealed himself in the bridal
chamber, and that the bloody tragedy had been there enacted, thus
imparting a cast to the story resembling in some respects Sir Walter
Scott's " Bride of Lammermoor. "

Stanzas 12 and 13 occur in the preceding ballad, " Lady Maisry "
(stanzas 22 and 23), where they are followed by other two (stanzas
24 and 25), which are almost identical with two stanzas in " Lord
Wa'yates and Auld Ingram," as given by Jamieson.

LORD INGRAM AND CHILDE VTET. 81

In the copy furnished to Motherwell, the last word of the first
stanza reads " bonheur," from which " circumstance " Mr. Maidment
conjectures that the ballad "may probably have had a French
original."

This ballad may be compared with " Ebbe Skammelson," as trans-
lated by Mr. Robert Buchanan, in Ballad Stories of the Affections,
from the Scandinavian, p. 31 ; and with the somewhat comic ballad,
entitled " Sir John," as given in Old Danish Ballads^ translated from
Grimms 1 Collection, p. 117.

1 LORD INGRAM and Childe Vyet

Were both born in one bow'r,
Laid both their loves on one lady;
The less was their honour.

2 Lord Ingram and Childe Vyet

Were both bred in one hall,
Laid both their loves on one ladyj
The worse did them befall.

3 Lord Ingram woo'd Lady Maisry

From father and from mother ;

Lord Ingram woo'd Lady Maisry

From sister and from brother.

4 Lord Ingram woo'd Lady Maisry

With leave of all her kin ;
But Childe Vyet woo'd Lady Maisry,
And her love he did win.

o Now, it fell out upon a day,

She was dressing her head,
That ben did come her father dear,
Wearing the gold so red.

6 " Get up now, Lady Maisry,

Put on your wedding gown :
Lord Ingram you must wed this day,
Before the sun go down ! "

7 " I'd rather be Childe Vyet's wife,

The white fish for to sell,
Before I'd be Lord Ingram's wife,
To wear the silks so well !

8 " I'd rather be Childe Vyet's wife,

With him to beg my bread,
Before I'd be Lord Ingram's wife,
To wear the gold so red."
G

82 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 Her father turn'd him round about,

And solemnly sware he
" It 's you shall be the bride ere night,
And he bridegroom shall be."

10 " Where will I get a bonnie boy

Will win gold to his fee ;
Will run unto Childe Vyet's hall
With this letter from me?"

11 Out spake a boy " Oh, here am I,

Will win gold to my fee,
And run unto Childe Vyet's hall
With any letter from thee."

12 And when he found the bridges broke,

He bent his bow and swam ;
And when he found the grass growing,
He hasten'd and he ran.

13 And when he came to Vyet's castle,

He did not knock nor call ;
But set his bent bow to his breast,

And lightly leap'd the wall ;
And, ere the porter open'd the gate,

The boy was in the hall.

14 The first line that Childe Vyet read,

A tear did dim his e'e ;
The next word that Childe Vyet read,
An angry man was he.

15 He dang the board up with his foot,

So did he with his knee ;
The silver cup that was on it,
In the fire he made it flee.

16 " What ails my brother, Lord Ingram,

He'll not let my love be?
What ails my brother, Lord Ingram,
He takes my love from me?

17 " Take four-and-twenty buck and roe,

And ten tun of the wine,
And bid my love be blithe and glad,
And I will follow syne."

18 Sweetly play'd the merry organ

Into her mother's bow'r ;
But silent stood Lady Maisry,
And let the tears down pour.

LORD INGRAM AND CHILDE VTET. 83

19 . Sweetly play'd the harp sae fine,

Into her father's hall;
But silent stood Lady Maisry,
And let the tears down fall.

20 Her noble kinsmen gather'd were,

Each with a hawk in hand ;
And every lady in the place
Did wear a gay garland.

21 And each of the retainers

In gay attire was clad ;
And all were blithe and merry,
But Lady Maisry sad.

22 'Tween Marykirk and that castle

Was all spread o'er with garl,*
To keep the bride and her bridesmaids
From tramping on the marl.

23 From Marykirk to that castle

Was spread a cloth of gold,
To keep the bride and her bridesmaids
From treading on the mold.

24 When mass was sung, and bells were rung,

And all in bed were laid,
Lord Ingram to Lady Maisry said
" I fear you are no maid.

25 " But if you father your bairn on me,

And on no other man,
Then I will give him to his dowry
Full fifty ploughs of land."

26 " I will not father my bairn on you,

Nor on no wrongous man,
Tho' you wou'd give him to his dowry
Five thousand ploughs of land."

27 " Whoever be your bairn's father,

If you father it on me,
The fairest castle of Snowdown
Your morning gift shall be."

* Should either read " garel "a stripe of soft grass on barren or hard mountain-
land, from "gare," or "gair," a stripe or streak or "harle," the reed or stem of
flax; i.e., either fine grass or flax reeds were strewn along the pathway.

84 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

28 " Whoever be my bairn's father,

I'll ne'er father it on thee ;
For better I love my bairn's father
Nor ever I'll love thee."

29 Then he 's ta'en out a trusty brand,

Laid it between them twae ;
Says " Lye ye there, ye ill woman,
A maid for me till day."

30 Next morning forth Lord Ingram went,

Well belted with a brand ;

And forth fair Lady Maisry led

To her father by the hand.

31 " If your daughter had been a good woman,

As I thought she had been,

Cold iron shou'd have never lain

The long night us between."

32 "Ohon! alas ! my daughter dear,

What 's this I hear of thee?

I thought no better woman lived

Within the north countrie ! "

33 " Oh, hold your tongue, my father dear,

And cease upbraiding me ;
I never lov'd Lord Ingram,

But was forced his bride to be."

34 Then in there came him Childe Vyet,

Bearing a naked brand ;
And up then raise him Lord Ingram,
His brother to withstand.

35 " Win up, win up now, Lord Ingram,

Win up immediately ;
That you and I the quarrel try,
Who gains the victory."

36 Then forward darted Childe Vyet,

Shed back his yellow hair,
And gave Lord Ingrain to the heart
A deep wound and a sair.

37 Then forward darted Lord Ingram,

Shed back his coal-black hair,
And gave Childe Vyet to the heart
A deep wound and a sair.

CATHERINE JANFARIE. 85

38 There was no pity for tliese two knights,

When they were lying dead;
But all was for Lady Maisry,
Who in that bow'r went mad.

39 " Oh, get to me a cloak of cloth,

A staff of good hard tree ;

If I have been an ill woman,

Sore penance I shall dree.

40 " If I have been an ill woman,

Alas ! and woe is me ;
For up and down the warld wide,
I shall beg till I dee.

41 " For ae bit I beg for Childe Vyet,

For Lord Ingram I'll beg three;
All for the honour that he paid
At Marykirk to me."

KATHERINE JANFAKIE.

" Belongs to a numerous class of Danish and Scottish ballads."
Jamieson's Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 335.

The words quoted form part of the Introduction to " Young Child
Dyring," translated by Jamieson from the Ko'.mpe Viser.

The analogous Scotish ballads are as follows :

I. " The Laird of Laminton," Scott's Minstrelsy, first edition.
II. " ' Catherine Janfarie,' from several recited copies," Scott's

Minstrelsy, last edition, vol. iii., p. 122.
III. "Catherine Jaffery," Maidment's North Countrie Garland,

p. 34.
IV. " ' Catherine Johnston e,' obtained from recitation in the

West of Scotland," Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 225.
V. " Loch-in-var," Buchan's Gleanings, p. 74.
VI. " Katherine Jaffray," a fragment of four stanzas, found in
the handwriting of Burns. This fragment is not only
printed as a song of his composition, and copyright in it
claimed by the publisher of the Aldine edition of Burns's
Poetical Works, 18 ,9, but the same error is perpetuated
in all the subsequent reprints of the Aldine edition !

Sir Walter Scott's spirited and popular ballad, " Lochinvar," which
appears in Marmion, is founded on this early ballad. The ballad
which follows next in order is also somewhat similar in incident.

86 BALLAD MINSTRELST OF SCOTLAND.

The antiquity of this ballad may be inferred from the number of
different versions in Scotish and Danish, irrespective of the supposed
reference in "the tenth stanza," which, says Motherwell, "seems to
contain an allusion to the knights of the round table."

"The residence of the lady, and the scene of the affray at her
bridal, is said by old people to have been upon the banks of the
Cadden, near to where it joins the Tweed. Others say the skirmish
was fought near Traquair, and [that] Katharine Janfarie's dwelling
was in the glen about three miles above Traquair House." Scott's
Minstrelsy.

Motherwell' s version transfers the scene to the classic district of
Cowdenknowes, on the banks of the Leader, and one of the stanzas in
Scott's own version corroborates this transfer. (See note to stanza
20, p. 88.)

In Scott's first and Motherwell's versions, the hero is eaid to be
the "Laird of Laminton," or "Lamington," in Clydesdale; but in
Scott's second version the successful lover is said to be "Lord
Lauderdale," and the disappointed rival " Lord Lochinvar;" which
names are transposed in Maidment's version.

Burns's fragment also names the successful lover "Lord Lauderdale, "
while the rival " frae the English border" is named "Laird o' Loch-
inton. "

The titles of the lover and rival, as given in Buchan's version, are
here adopted, but Scott's and Motherwell's versions are those chiefly
followed.

Lockhart, who edited the last edition of Scott's Minstrelsy, suggests,
with great plausibility, that the heroine "was a Johnstone of
Wampkraij^ and that Katherine o' Wamphray had been blundered
by the Ettrick reciters iuto Katharine Jeffray, vulgarly pronounced
Jauf ray. "Note, vol. iii., p. 125.

It only remains to state that Lochinvar a lake of three miles
circuit, situate in Kirkcudbright, Galloway gave name to the
domain and title of Knights of Lochinvar to a branch of the Gordon
family, which family acquired the title of Viscount Kenmure in
1633, a title which was attainted on the execution of William, sixth
Viscount, 1716; restored by Act of Parliament, 1824; and which
became dormant at the death of the ninth Viscount, in 1847.

Assuming Lockhart's conjecture with regard to the family of the
heroine to be correct, and further, that the hero is correctly named
'Lord Lochinvar," then the scene of the sanguinary encounter would
neither be the river Caddon or its vicinity, as stated by Scott, nor
Cowdenbrae, as given by Motherwell, both of which localities lie to
the eastward of Wamphray; but rather Cluden Water, a tributary
of the river Nith, both of which Lord Lochinvar would require to
cross on his homeward and westward flight.

The probabilities are so strongly in favour of this theory as to
warrant the alteration from the "Caddon," of Scott, and the
"Couden," of Motherwell, to Cluden, as here printed.

KATHERINE JANFARTE. 87

1 THERE was a May, and a weel-far'd May,

Lived high up in yon glen ;
Her name was Katherine Janfarie,
Weel loved by mony men.

2 Then up came young Lord Lochinvar,

Up frae the Lawland border ;
He came to court this bonnie May,
All mounted in good order.

3 Lord Lochinvar he courted her,

Unknown to all her kin ;
Lord Lochinvar he courted her,
And did her favour win.

4 Up then came Lord Lymington,

Frae o'er the English border ;
He came to seek this bonnie May,
All mounted in good order.

5 He sought her frae father and mother baith,

And they did answer Yea ;
But he ask'd not the bonnie May hersell,
Or the answer would been Nay.

6 She never heard a word of it

Till on her wedding day,
When her father he did order her
To busk in bride's array.

7 She sent word to Lord Lochinvar,

" My wedding come and see ; "
And he sent answer back to her,
" I will not fail to be."

8 Then he has sent a messenger

In haste throughout his land,
And four-and-twenty stalwart men
Were soon at his command.

9 But he has left his merry men

Conceal'd in greenwood free.
While he rade to the wedding-house
As fast as fast cou'd be.

10 When he came to the wedding-house,

He enter'd there, and found
Full four-and-twenty belted knights
Set at a table round.

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

11 They all rose up to honour him,

For he was of high renown ;
They all rose up to welcome him,
And bade him to sit down.

12 Oh, meikle was the good red wine

Was filled up them between ;
But the bride aye drank to Lochinvar,
Wha her true love had been.

13 She pledg'd the health of Lochinvar,

As toasts were circled round;
While her kin grasp'd their gude sword-hilts,
And wrathfully they frown'd.

14 "Oh, came ye here for sport, young lord,

Or came ye here for play?
Or came ye here to drink good wine
Upon the wedding day ? "

15 " I came not here for sport," he said,

" I came not here for play ;
But with the bride I'll lead a dance,
Then mount and go my way."

16 They set her bridesmaids her behind,

To hear what they would say;
But never a word to her he said,
Save " Mount and come away."

17 Then took her by the milk-white hand,

And by the grass-green sleeve,
And mounted her behind hirnsell,
At her kin spiered nae leave.

18 " Now take your bride, Lord Lymington,

Now take her if you may !
But if you take your bride again,
We'll call it but foul play."

19 There were four-and-twenty belted knights,

All clad in Johnstone gray,*
Said they would take the bride again,
By strong hand, if they may.

20 Some of them were right willing men,

But sae they were na all,
When four-and-twenty Gordons gay
Came at their leader's call.f

* The livery of the ancient family of Johnstone.
t " And four-and-twemy Leader lads

Bid them mount and ride awa." SCOTT'S Version.

LORD LUNDIE'S DAUGHTER. 89

21 Then swords were drawn frae out their sheaths,

As they rush'd to the fray,
And red and rosy was the bluid
Ban down the lily brae.

22 The bluid ran down by Cluden bank,

And down by Cluden brae ;
While the bride she made the trumpet sound,
" It is a weel won play."

23 Oh, meikle was the bluid was shed

Upon the Cluden brae ;
And aye she made the trumpet sound,
" Oh, it is all fair play."

24 My blessing on your heart, sweet thing !

But wae your wilful will !
There's mony a gallant gentleman
Whose bluid ye have gar'd spill.

25 Now, all ye lords of fair England,

Across the Border born,
Oh, come not here to seek a wife,
For fear ye get the scorn.

26 They'll feed ye up with flattering words,

And play ye foul, foul play ;
Then dress ye frogs instead of fish,
Upon your wedding day.

LORD LUNDIE'S DAUGHTER AND SQUIRE WILLIAM.

Versions of this ballad appeared in

I. Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 307, under the title of " Sweet
William," as " given from the chaunting of an old woman. ;)

II. Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. ii., p. 57, under
the title of " Lord Lundy."

III. Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 57;
which last was "printed for the Percy Society," as
selected from "two folio (MS.) volumes, consisting of
ballads, songs, and poems, taken down by" the last-
named industrious and highly successful collector and
editor "Mr. P. Buchan of Peterhead, North Britain,
from the oral recitation of the peasantry of his country."

90 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

The ballad here printed is collated from all three; Motherwell's
being the one principally followed.

The ballad resembles, and in fact all the versions contain stanzas
almost identical with several in "Sweet Willie and Fair Janet," p. 67.

It has also some features of resemblance to "Katherine Janfarie,"
which precedes, and to "The Gay Gos-hawk," which follows.

The mention of " pistol, powder, and lead," stanzas 18 and 19, and
the reference to shooting, stanzas 19 and 20, are probably anachronisms
introduced by some modern reciter.

With reference to the introduction of the " wee bird," as a love
messenger, it may be noted, that "to understand the language of
birds was peculiarly one of the boasted sciences of the Arabians ; who
pretend that many of their countrymen have been skilled in the
knowledge of the language of birds ever since the time of King
Solomon. Their writers relate that Balkis, the Queen of Sheba, or
Saba, had a bird called Hudbud, that is, a lapwing, which she
despatched to King Solomon on various occasions ; and that this
trusty bird was the messenger of their amours. We are told that
Solomon having been secretly informed by this winged confidant that
Balkis intended to honour him with a grand embassy, inclosed a
spacious square with a wall of gold and silver bricks, in which he
ranged his numerous troops and attendants in order to receive the
ambassadors, who were astonished at the suddenness of these splendid
and unexpected preparations." Warton's History of English Poetry.

See also quotation from Sir Walter Scott, at the close of the intro-
duction to the ballad which comes after this.

1 LORD WILLIAM had but ae dear son,

For valour had nae peer;
Lord Lundie had but ae daughter,
For beauty nane came near.

2 Upon ae book they baith did read,

On ither their love did lay;
But when Lord Lundie got word of this,
To his daughter he did say,

3 " Oh, ye maun marry the English prince,

The Queen of England to be;
And ye maun leave your love William,
Or baith of you shall dee."

4 She walk'd up, and she walk'd down,

Had nane to hear her moan;
Nae creature but the pretty bird,
Sat on the window stone.

5 " If thou cou'dst speak, wee bird," she said,

"As weel as you can flee;

A message to my love William,

It 's I wou'd send by thee."

LORD LUNDIE'S DAUGHTER. 91

6 " Write a letter to William," it said,

" And seal it with thy ring;
Then take a thread of the silk sae fine,
And round my neck it hing."

7 She wrote a letter to love William,

And seal'd it with her ring;
Then with a thread of the finest silk,
Hound the hird's neck did it hing.

8 This bird flew high, this bird flew low,

It flew o'er hill and lea;
This bonnie wee bird flew alang,
As fast as it cou'd flee.

9 It flew to where young Squire William

In a balcony did stand;
And straight to him the wee bird flew
And lighted on his hand.

10 " Oh, here is a letter, Squire William,

Frae thy true love to thee,
And ere the morn at twelve o'clock,
Your love shall married be."

11 "To horse, to horse," Squire William cried,

" At her bridal-I maun be;
And I'll never come back a living man,
If the bride come not with me."

12 Then with a goodly companie,

Each mounted on a steed,
Squire William and they, to Marykirk,
Kade on at utmost speed.

13 When the lady enter'd the kirk style,

Her tears fell fast and free;
But when she enter'd the kirk door,
A blithe sight she did see.

14 For there she saw her love William,

In armour shinin' clear;
And all his valiant companie,
Full many a glitteriu' spear.

15 The parson he took book in hand,

The marriage to begin;
Then forward young Squire William strode,
Bride and bridegroom between.

92 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

16 " Oh, hold a little, thou holy man,

Oh, hold a little," said he,
" Till I speak with the bonnie bride
She 's a dear, dear friend to me.

17 " Stand off, stand off, ye braw bridegroom,

Stand off, stand off," said he;
" Stand off, stand off, ye braw bridegroom,
The bride shall join with me."

18 Up then spake the bride's father,

And an angry man was he
" If I had pistol, powder, and lead,
A dead man you wou'd be.

19 " If I had pistol, powder, and lead,

With me at my command,
It's I would shoot thee stiff and dead,
In the place where thou dost stand."

20 Up and spake then Squire William,

While blithely blink'd his e'e
" If ye ne'er be shot till I shoot you,
You'll ne'er be shot for me."

21 " Oh, if my daughter marries you

Without the leave of me,
I make a vow, and I'll keep it true,
A portionless bride she'll be."

22 Up and spake then Squire William,

And light he laugh'd with glee
" I've got the best portion now, my lord,
That ye cou'd gi'e to me.

23 " Your gude red gold I value not,

Nor value I your fee;
I ha'e her by the hand this day
That 's dearer far to me.

24 " Let the young prince clasp your gold coffer,

When he gangs till his bed;
Let the young prince clasp your gold coffer,
And I my bonnie bride.

25 " Commend me to my good mother,

At night when you gang home;
Come out, come out, my foremost man,
And lift my lady on."

THE GAT GOS-HAWK. 93

26 Out then spake him Lord Lundie,

An angry man was he:
" My daughter will marry Squire William,
It seems, in spite of me."

THE GAY GOS-HAWK.

Three versions of this ballad have been published :

I. By Sir Walter Scott, Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 151, "partly
from one under this title in Mrs. Brown's collection,
and partly from a MS. of some antiquity, penes Edit."
II. By Motherwell, p. 353, under the title of "The Jolly
Gos-hawk, " from a MS. sent to Mr. Peter Buchan, and
"forwarded " by him to his "good friend," the editor of
Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modem.

III. By Buchan, Ancient Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 245, under
the title of ' ' The Scottish Squire," from a copy which he
" took down from recitation." In this latter " the parrot
takes the place of the gos-hawk." It opens with the
following stanza :

" When grass grew green on Lanark plains,

And fruit and flowers did spring,
A Scottish squire, in cheerfu strains,
Sae merrily thus did sing."

Followed by a stanza corresponding to stanza 4 of
the present version, and to the one with which Mother-
well's begins.
The present version is compiled from all three.

The simile, stanza 7, "resembles a passage in a MS. translation of
au Irish fairy tale, called ' The Adventures of Faravla, Princess of
Scotland, and Carral O'Daly, Sou of Donogho More O'Daly, Chief
Bard of Ireland.' Faravla, as she entered her bower, cast her
looks upon the earth, which was tinged with the blood of a bird
which a raven had newly killed. 'Like that snow,' said Faravla,
' was the complexion of my beloved ; his cheeks like the sanguine
traces thereon ; whilst the raven recalls to my memory the colour of
his beautiful locks.' There is also some resemblance in the conduct
of the story, betwixt the ballad and the tale just quoted. The princess
Faravla, being desperately in love with Carral O'Daly, despatches in
search of him a faithful confidante, who, by her magical art, trans-
forms herself into a hawk, and perching upon the windows of the
bard, conveys to him information of the distress of the princess of
Scotland.

"In the ancient romance of ' Sir Tristrem,' the simile of the 'blood
drops upon snow ' likewise occurs :

1 A bride bright thai chea
As blod opon snoweing.' "

Sir Walter Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 152.

94 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

1 "On, weel is me my gay gos-hawk,

If your feathering be sheen! "
"Oh, waly, waly, my master dear,
But ye look pale and lean !

2 " Oh, have ye tint, at tournament,

Your sword, or yet your spear?

Or mourn ye for the Southern Lass

Whom you may not win near ?"

3 "I have not tint, at tournament,

My sword nor yet my spear ;
But sair I mourn for my true love,
With mony a bitter tear.

4 " But weel is me my gay gos-hawk,

That ye can speak and flee;
Ye shall carry a letter to my love,
Bring an answer back to me."

5 " But how shall I your true love find,

Or how shou'd I her know ?
I bear a tongue ne'er with her spake,
And eyes that ne'er her saw."

6 " Oh, weel shall ye my true love ken,

Sae sune as ye her see ;
For of all the flowers of fair England,
The fairest flower is she.

7 " Oh, what is red of her is red

As bluid drapp'd on the snaw ;
And what is white of her is white
As milk, or wild sea-maw.

8 " And even at my love's bow'r door

You'll find a bowing birk ;
And ye maun sit and sing thereon,
As she gangs to the kirk.

9 " And four-and-twenty fair ladyes

Will to the mass repair;
But well may ye my ladye ken,
The fairest ladye there.

10 "And when she goes into the house,

Light ye upon the whin ;
And sit ye there and sing our loves,
As she goes out and in."

THE GAY GOS-HAWK. 95

11 Lord William has written a love letter,

Put it under his pinion gray ;
And he is awa to Southern land
As fast as wings can gae.

12 And even at that ladye's bow'r

There grerw a flowering birk ;
And he sat down and sung thereon,
As she gaed to the kirk.

13 And weel he kent that ladye fair,

Amang her maidens free,
For the flower that springs in May morning
Was not sae sweet as she.

14 And when she came back from the mass,

He sat him on a whin,
And sang full sweet the notes of love.
Till all was cosh * within.

15 And first he sang a low, low note,

And syne he sang a clear ;
And aye the o'erword of the sang
Was " Your love can no win here."

16 " Feast on, feast on, my maidens all,

The wine flows you amang,
While I gang to my shot-window,
And hear yon sweet bird's sang.

17 " Sing on, sing on, my bonniebird,

With feathering sae sheen ;
For weel I ken, by your sweet sang,
You left my love yestreen."

18 Oh, first he sang a merry sang,

And syne he sang a grave ;
And syne he peck'd his feathers gray,
To her the letter gave.

19 " Have there a letter from Lord William;

He says he 's sent ye three ;

He canna wait your love 1 anger,

But for your sake he'll dee."

20 " I send him the rings from my white fingers,

The garlands off my hair ;
I send him the heart that 's in my breast,
What wou'd my love have mair?

* "Co6bu"8nugj comfortable; quiet.

96 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 " Gae bid him bake his bridal bread,

And brew his bridal ale,
And I shall meet him at Mary's kirk,
Lang, lang ere it be stale."

22 She hied her to her father dear,

As fast as gang cou'd she:
" A boon, a boon, my father dear,
A boon I beg of thee!"

23 " Ask what you will, my dear daughter,

And I will grant it thee ;
Unless to marry yon Scottish squire ;
That's what shall never be."

24 " Oh, that's the asking, father," she said,

" That I'll ne'er ask of thee ;
But if I die in merry England,
In Scotland ye'll bury me.

25 " And the first kirk that ye come to ;

Ye 's gar the mass be sung ;
And the next kirk that ye come to,
Ye 's gar the bells be rung.

26 " At the third kirk of fair Scotland,

You'll deal gold for my sake ;
And at that kirk, St. Mary's kirk,
All night my body wake."

27 " The asking's nae sae great, daughter,

But granted it shall be ;
And tho' ye die in merry England,
In Scotland we'll bury thee."

28 And she has gane to her step-mother,

Fell low down on her knee:
" An asking, an asking, mother dear,
I pray you grant it me."

29 " Ask what you please, my lily-white dove,

And granted it shall be."

" If I do die in merry England,

In Scotland gar bury me."

30 " Oh, had these words been to speak again,

I'd not have granted thee;
You ha'e a love in fair Scotland,
With him you fain wou'd be."

THE GAY GOS-HAWK. 97

31 She has hied her to her bigly bow'r

As fast as she cou'd fare;
And she has drank a sleepy draught
That she had mix'd with care.

32 And pale, pale grew her rosy cheek,

That was sae bright of blee,
And she seem'd to be as surely dead
As any one cou'd be*

33 Then spake her cruel step-minnie, -

" Take ye the burning lead,
And drap a drap on her bosom,
To try if she be dead/'

34 They took a drap of boiling lead,

And drapp'd it on her breast;
" Alas! alas!" her father cry'd,
" She 's dead without the priest.' 4

35 She neither chattered with her teetfy

Nor shiver 'd with her chin;
" Alas! alas!" her father cry'd,
" There is nae breath within."

36 Then up arose her seven brethren,

And hew'd to her a bier;
They hew'd it frae the solid aik,
Laid it o'er with silver clear.

37 Her sisters they went to a

To make to her a sark ;
The cloth of it was satin fine,
And the steeking silken wark.

38 The first Scots kirk that they came to,

They gar'd the bells be rung;
The next Scots kirk that they came to,
They gar'd the mass be sung.

39 But when they came to St. Mary's kirk,

There stude spearmen all on a raw;
And up and started Lord William,
The chieftain o'er them a'.

40 " Set down, set down the corpse," he said,

"Till I look on the dead;
The last time that I saw her face,
She ruddy was and red.
H

98 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

41 " Set down, set down the bier," he said ;

" Let me look her upon;"
But as soon as Lord William touch'd her hand,
Her colour 'gan to come.

42 She brighten'd like the lily flower,

Till her pale colour was gone ;
With rosy cheek and ruby lip,
She smil'd her love upon.

43 " A morsel of your bread, my lord,

And one glass of your wine ;
For I ha'e fasted these three lang days,
All for your sake and mine.

44 " Gae hame, gae hame, my seven bauld brothers,

Gae hame and blaw your horn !
I trow ye wou'd ha'e gi'en me the skaith,
But I've gi'en you the scorn.

45 " I came not here to fair Scotland,

To mix amang the clay;
I came to be Lord William's wife,
And wear the silks so gay.

46 " I came not here to fair Scotland,

To lye amang the dead ;
But I came here to. fair Scotland,
To wear the gold so red.

47 " Commend me to my gray father,

That wish'd my saul gude rest;

But wae be to my cruel step-dame,

Gar'd burn me on the breast."

48 " Ah! woe to you, you light woman!

An ill death may you die !
For we left father and sisters at hame,
Breaking their hearts for thee.

49 " But since ye ha'e gi'en to us this scorn,

We shall gi'e you anither;
For the only tocher you shall get
Is the bier that brought ye hither."

THE EAttL OF MAR'S DAUGHTER.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 49, and note.*
p. 295.

THE EARL OF MAR'S DAUGHTER. 99

" In the Oriental courts of the ancients, magic was a favourite
study ;" and ' ' till within " a comparatively recent period, "a belief in
magic and witchcraft was cherished, not only by the ignorant, but
the learned, in our own" and other European countries. In Toledo,
Seville, and Salamanca, and in various parts of Italy, there were,
during the middle ages, "public schools where magic was taught." In
our own country, the names of Merlin, Michael Scot, Lord Soulis, and
Thomas the Rhymer, are famous on account of their alleged magical
and supernatural gifts ; and in more recent times it is stated, in con-
nection with the Gowrie conspiracy, that "When he i.e., Earl Gowrie
went to Padua, there he studied necromancy ; and his own pedagogue,
Master Rhind, testifies, that he had those characters aye upon him,
which he loved so, that if he had forgot to put them in his breeches,
he would run up and down like a madman ; and he had them upon
him when he was slain ; and as they testify that saw it, he could not
bleed so long as they were upon him."

Transformations are common to the mythology and early literature
of all nations ; such as the metamorphosis of gods and men into "birds,
beasts, fishes, woods, and water."

"This ballad has the highest claim to antiquity. The learned
Lord Hailes says the title of Mar is one of the earldoms whose
origin is lost in its antiquity. It would therefore be vain for me to
ascribe the date of the ballad to any precise period." The quotations
are taken from Mr. Buchan's note above referred to.

1 IT was intil a pleasant time,

Upon a simmer's day,
The noble Earl of Mar's daughter.
Went forth to sport and play.

2 As thus she did amuse hersel'

Below a green aik tree,
There she saw a sprightly doo
Set on a tower sae hie.

3 "0 Cow-me-doo, my love sae true,

If ye'll come down to me,
Ye'se ha'e a cage of gude red gowd,
Instead of simple tree :

4 " I'll put gowd hingers roun' your cage,

And silver roun' your wall;
I'll gar ye shine as fair a bird
As ony of them all."

5 But she had not these words well spoke,

Nor yet these words well said,
Till Cow-me-doo flew frae the tower,
And lighted on her head.

100 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

6 Then she has brought this pretty bir-d

Hame to her bow'rs and hall,
And made him shine as fair a bird
As ony of them all.

7 When day was gane and night was come,

About the evening tide,
This lady spied a sprightly youth
Stand straight up by her side.

8 "From whence came ye, young man?" she said,

" That does surprise me sair;
My door was bolted right secure ;
What way ha'e ye come here?"

9 " Oh, haud your tongue, ye lady fair,

Let all your folly be;
Mind ye not on your turtle doo,
Last day ye brought with thee?"

10 "Oh, tell me mair. young man," she sold;

" This does surprise me now:
But what country ha'e ye come frae?
What pedigree are you?"

11 "My mither lives on foreign isles;

She has nae mair but me ;
She is a queen of wealth, and state,
And birth, and high degree.

12 " Likewise well skill'd in magic spells,

As ye may plainly see;
And she transform'd me to yon shape,
To charm such maids as thee.

13 " I am a doo the live-lang day,

A sprightly youth at night;
This aye gars me appear mair fair
In a fair maiden's sight.

14 " And it was but this very day

That I came o'er the sea;
Your lovely face did me enchant :
I'll live and dee with thee."

15 " Cow-me-doo, my luve sae true,

Nae mair frae me ye'se gae."
" That 's never my intent, my luve;
As ye said, it shall be sac."

THE EARL OF MAR'S DAUGHTER. 101

16 Then he has staid in bow'r with her

For sax lang years and ane,
Till sax young sons to him she bare,
And the seventh she 's brought hame.

17 But aye as ever a child was born,

He carried them away,
And brought them to his mither's care,
As fast as they cou'd fly.

18 Thus he has staid in bow'r with her

For twenty years and three ;
Then came a lord of high renown
To court this fair ladye.

19 But still his proffer she refused,

And all his presents too ;
Says " I'm content to live alane,
With my bird, Cow-me-doo."

20 Her father sware a solemn oath

Amang the nobles all,
" The morn, or ere I eat or drink,
This bird I kill it shall."

21 The bird was sitting in his cage,

And heard what they did say ;
And when he found they were dismiss'd,
Says " Waes me for this day.

22 " Before that I do langer stay,

And thus to be forlorn,
I'll gang unto my mither's bow'r,
Where I was bred and born."

23 Then Cow-me-doo took flight and flew

Beyond the raging sea ;
And lighted near his mither's castle,
On a tower of gowd sae hie.

24 As his mither was walking out,

To see what she cou'd see,
It 's there she saw her little son
Set on the tower sae hie.

25 " Get dancers here to dance," she said,

" And minstrels for to play;
For here 's my young son, Florentine,
Come here with me to stay."

102 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

26 " Get nae dancers to dance, mither,

Nor minstrels for to play;
For the mither of my seven sons,
The morn 's her wedding day."

27 " Oh, tell me, tell me, Florentine,

Tell me, and tell me true ;
Tell me this day, without a flaw,
What I will do for you."

28 " Instead of dancers to dance, mither,

Or minstrels for to play,
Turn four-and-twenty wall-wight men,
Like storks, in feathers gray;

29 " My seven sons to seven swans,

Aboon their heads to flee ;
And I, mysel', a gay gos-hawk,
A bird of high degree."

30 Then sighin', said the queen hersel',

" That thing 's too high for me ; "
But she applied to an auld woman,
Who had mair skill than she.

31 Instead of dancers to dance a dance,

Or minstrels for to play,
Four-and-twenty wall-wight men
Turn'd birds of feathers gray;

32 Her seven sons to seven swans,

Aboon their heads to flee ;
And he, himsel', a gay gos-hawk,
A bird of high degree.

33 This flock of birds took flight and flew

Beyond the raging sea ;
And landed near the Earl Mar's castle,
Took shelter in every tree.

34 They were a flock of pretty birds,

Right comely to be seen ;
The people view'd them with surprise
As they danced on the green.

35 These birds ascended frae the tree,

And lighted on the hall ;
And at the last with force did flee
Amang the nobles all.

LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE. 103

3G The storks there seiz'd some of the men,

They cou'd neither fight nor flee ;
The swans they bound the bride's beet man
Below a green aik tree.

37 They lighted next on maidens fair,

Then on -the bride's own head ;

And with the twinkling of an e'e

The bride and them were fled.

38 There 's ancient men at weddings been^

For sixty years or more ;
But sic a curious wedding-day
They never saw before.

LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE.

" This ballad is much the same with the Breton romance, called
' Lay le Frain,' or the 'Song of the Ash,' a copy of which ancient
romance is preserved in the invaluable collection (W. 4. 1.) of the
Advocates' Library, and begins thus :

'We redeth oft and flndeth ywrite
And this clerkes wele it wite
Layes that beri in harping
Ben yfound of ferli thing
Sum beth of wer and some of wd
Sum of joye and mirthe also
And sum of trecherie and gile
Of old eventours that fel while
And sum of bourdes and ribaudy
And many ther beth of faery
Of al thinges that men seth
Maist o' love forsoth yai beth.

'In Breyteyne bi old time

This layes were wrought to seithe this rime

When kinges might our y here

Of ani mervailes that ther wer

They token a harp in glee and game

And maked a lay and gaf it name

Now of these aventours that weren y falle

Y can tell sum ae nought alle

Ae herkeneth lordinges sothe to sain

I chil you tel Lay le Frain

Befel a cas in Breteyne

Whereof was made Lay le Frain

In Ingliche for to tellen y wis

Of ane ashe forsothe it is

On ane ensammple fair with alle

That sumtyme was bifalle,' Ac.

" A ballad, agreeing in every respect with that which follows, exists
in the Danish collection of ancient songs, entitled Kcempe Viser.
It is called ' Skicen Anna,' i. e., Fair Annie ; and has been trans-
lated literally by my learned friend, Mr. Robert Jamieson. See his
Popular Ballads, Edin., 1806, vol. ii., p. 100. This work contains
many original and curious observations on the connection between the

104 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

ancient poetry of Britain and of the northern nations." Scott,
Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 249.

Versions of the ballad also exist in Swedish, Dutch, and German,
but in the latter it appears in a form " considerably changed."

"The Scottish versions are quite numerous. A fragment of eight
stanzas was published in Herd's collection, 'Wha will bake my bridal
bread,' Ed., 1776; i., 167. Sir Walter Scott gave a complete copy in
the Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border [' from the recitation of an old
woman residing near Kirkhill, in West Lothian, the same from whom
were obtained the variations in the tale of " Tamlane " and the frag-
ment of the " Wife of Usher's Well " ']. Two other copies, also from
oral tradition, were inserted by Jamieson in the appendix to his
Popular Ballads, 'Lady Jane' [from the recitation of Mrs. Brown],
voL ii., p. 371 ; 'Burd Helen' [from the recitation of Mrs. Arrot],
vol. ii. , p. 376 ; and from these he constructed the edition of ' Lady
Jane,' printed at p. 73 of the same volume. Mother well, Minstrelsy,
p. 327, affords still another variety [under the title of ' Fair Annie '] ;
and Chambers has compiled a ballad from all these sources, and a
manuscript furnished by Mr. Kinloch, Scottish Ballads, p. 186."
Professor Child, English, and Scottish Ballads, vol. iii., p. 1 92.

The ballad here published has been collated from the various
Scotish versions named above.

PART I,

1 THERE liv'd a lord on yon sea-side,

And lie thought on a wile,
How he would go o'er the salt sea,
A lady to beguile.

2 " It 's narrow make your bed, Annie.

And learn to lye your lane ;
For I'm gaun o'er the sea, Annie,

A braw bride to bring hame.
With her I will get gowd and gear ;

With you I ne'er got nane."

3 " Oh, I maun make it wide, Thomas,

Oh, I maun make it wide,
If all your seven sons, and mine,
Maun lye down by my side.

4 " The first of your braw seven sons,

He rides a milk-white steed ;
The second of your seven sons,
He wears a milk-white weed ;

5 " The third ane of your seven sons,

He draws baith ale and wine ;

The fourth ane of your seven sons,

He serves you when you dine ;

LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE. 105

6 " The fifth ane of your seven sons,

He can baith read and write ;
And the sixth ane of your seven sons,
He is all your heart's delight ;

7 " The youngest of your seven sons,

He sleeps on my breast-bane ;
He soundly sleeps, and sweetly smiles,
Nor heeds his mother's mane."

8 " But wha will bake my bridal bread,

Or brew my bridal ale ?
And wha will welcome my brisk bride,
That I bring o'er the dale? "

9 " It 's I will bake your bridal bread,

And brew your bridal ale ;
And I will welcome your brisk bride,
That you bring o'er the dale."

10 " But she that welcomes my brisk bride

Maun gang like maiden fair ;
She maun lace on her robe sae jimp,
And braid her yellow hair."

11 " But how can I gang maiden-like,

When maid I ne'er can be ?

Or I, the mother of seven sons,

Look like a maiden free ? "

PART II.

12 She 's dress'd her sons in the scarlet red,

Herself in dainty green ;
And tho' her cheeks look'd pale and wan,
She well might been a queen.

13 She 's ta'en her young son in her arms,

Another in her hand ;
And she 's up to the highest tower,
To see him come to land.

14 " Come up, come up, my eldest son,

And look o'er yon sea-strand,
And see your father's new-come bride
Before she come to land."

15 " Come down, come down, my mother dear,

Come frae the castle wall ;
I fear, if langer ye stand there,
Ye'll let yoursel' down fall."

106 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

16 She 's ta'en a cake of the best bread,

A bottle of the best wine,
And all the keys upon her arm,
And to the shore hied syne.

17 She hied her down to the shore side,

Her love's ship for to see ;
The topmast and the mainmast baith,
Shone like the silver free.

18 She hied her down, and farther down,

The bride's ship to behold;
The topmast and the mainmast baith,
They shone just like the gold.

19 She 's ta'en her seven sons in her hand;

I wot she didna fail!
She met Lord Thomas and his bride,
As they came o'er the dale.

20 "You are welcome hame, Lord Thomas,

And welcome to your land;
You are welcome, with your fair ladyej
That you lead by the hand.

21 " You are welcome to your halls, ladye,

You are welcome to your bow'rs;
You are welcome to your hame, ladye,
For all that 's here is yours."

22 "I thank thee, Annie," said the bride,

" Sae dearlie I thank thee ;

While I am ladye in this place,

Your good friend I will be^"

PART III.

23 Fair Annie served the first table

With white bread and with wine;
And aye she drank the wan water,
To keep her colour fine.

24 Fair Annie served the next table

With brown bread and with beer;
But aye she drank the wan water,
To keep her colour clear.

25 As she gaed by the first table,

She leuch amang them all ;
But e'er she reach'd the next table,
She let the tears down fall.

LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE. 107

26 Fair Annie turn'd her round about,

For fear she wou'd be seen;
And aye she wiped the tears trickling
Fast frae her watery een.

27 Then she has ta'en a lang napkin,

And hung it on a pin;
And aye she wiped the tears trickling
Adown her cheek and chin.*

28 And aye Lord Thomas turn'd him round

And smiled amang his men,
Says " Like ye best the old ladye,
Or her that 's new come hame? "

29 When bells were fung and mass was sung,

And all men bound to bed,
Lord Thomas and his new-come bride
To their chamber they gaed.

30 Fair Annie ta'en her harp in hand,

To harp the twa asleep ;
And as she harp'd and as she sang,
Full sorely she did weep.f

31 " Oh, I have born seven fair eons

To the good lord of this place;

And I wish they were seven hares,

That I might give them chase.

32 " I wish that they were seven hares,

Running o'er yon lily lee,
And I a good greyhound mysel'
Soon worried they shou'd be."

33 " Oh, I have born seven fair sons

To the good lord of this hall;
I wish that they were seven rats,

Running on the castle wall;
And I were a gray cat mysel'

I soon wou'd worry them all."

34 And wae and sad fair Annie sat,

And drearie was her sang;
And ever, as she sobb'd and grat,
" Wae to him that did the wrang! "

* " It was to dry her watery eyes
As she gaed out and in."

Jamieson's Version, vol. it, p. 374.
t " She 's ta'en a harp into her hand,

Went to their chamber door.
And aye she harp'd and aye she murn'd,
With the salt tears falling o'er."

Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 334.

108 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

35 " My gown is on," the new bride said,

" My shoon are on my feet,
And I will to fair Annie gang,
And see what gars her greet.

36 " What ails, what ails ye, fair Annie,

That ye make sic a moan;
Has your wine barrels cast the girds,
Or is your white bread gone?

37 " I had a sister ance, Annie,

By reivers stown away ;
Father and mother baith for her

Sair mourn'd many a day :
A sister just like you, Annie,

Then answer me, I pray.

38 " And say wha was your father, Annie,

And say wha was your mother?
And had you any sister, Annie?
Or had you any brother? "

39 " The Earl of Wemyss was my father,

The countess was my mother :
And all the bairns beside mysel'
Were a sister and a brother." *

* Motberwell'8 version reads:

" 'King Henry was my father dear,
Queen Esther was my mother,
Prince Henry was my brother dear,
And Fanny flower my sister."

" ' If King Henry was your father dear,

And Queen Esther was your mother,
If Prince Henry was your brother dear.
Then surely I'm your sister.'

" 'Come to your bed, my sister dear,

It ne'er was wrang'd for me :

But ae kiss of his merry mouth,

As we came o'er the sea. 1 "

The version given by Jamieson from Mrs. Arrot's recitation names the relatives
as " King Henry," "Queen Catherine," "Frederick," and "Lady Anne," and states
that the heroine as a child had been called " Mary mild." In the version from the
recitation of Mrs. Brown, the father is styled "the Earl of Bichmond," mother,
sister, and brother being referred to, but not named.

"The tradition which commonly accompanies this tale," as stated by Jamieson,
" says that Lord Thomas was aware of his bride being the sister of his mistress,
and that he had courted her, not with a view of retaining her as his wife, but of
securing from her father a portion for fair Annie, whom he intended to marry."

The stanza which follows the three quoted above, from Motherwell'g version,
appears to favour this tradition. It reads

" Awa, awa, ye forenoon bride,

Awa, awa f rae me ;
I wadna hear my Annie greet,
For a' the gold I got wi' thee."

There is also a stanza of a similar tenor in the version from Mrs. Brown's recitation.

THOMAS 0' YONDERDALE. 109

40 " If the Earl of Wemyss* was your father,

I wot sae was he mine;
And it shall not be for lack of gowd,
That ye your love shall tyne.

41 " Oh, seven ships convey'd me here,

When'I came o'er the faem;
And four of them shall stay with you,
And three convey me hame.

42 "But when I reach our father's house,

They may laugh me to scorn,
That I shou'd leave a bride betroth'd,
Gae hame a maid forlorn."

THOMAS 0' YONDERDALE.

Abridged from Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i.,
p. 221.

This ballad resembles, in some respects, both "Lord Thomas and
Fair Annie," which immediately precedes, and "Lord Beichan,' v
which immediately follows it.

1 LADT MAISRY lives intil a bower ;

She never wore but what she wou'd ;
Her gowns were of the silk sae fine,
Her coats stood up with bolts of gowd.

2 Mony a knight thefe courted her,

And gentlemen of high degree ;
But it was Thomas o' Yonderdale
That gain'd the love of this ladye.

3 He haunted her intil her bow'r,

He haunted her baith night and day;
But when he gain'd her virgin love,
To an unco land he hied away.

4 He hadna been on unco ground,

A month, a month, but barely three,
Till he has courted anither maid,
And quite forgotten fair Maisry.

* The family of Wemyss is, as stated by Sibbald, lineally descended from Macdnff,
Earl of Fife, which statement of his seems to be borne out by ancient charters;
but as the title of Earl of Wemyss was first conferred in 1633 on Sir John Wemyss,
Lord Wemyss of Elcho, the ballad, if it refers to one of that family at all, must refer
to an ancestor of the Earl's.

110 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

5 But ae night as he lay in bed,

A wae and dreary dream dream'd he,
That Maisry stood by his bed-side,
Upbraiding him for perfidie.

6 Then he call'd on his little boy,

" Bring me candle, that I may see ;
And ye maun quickly rin this night
With a letter to a gay ladye."

7 " It is my duty you to serve,

To bring you coal and candle light;
And fain wou'd I your errand rin,
If 'twere to Lady Maisry bright.

8 "Tho' I were sae, I scarce cou'd gang;

The night sae dark, I scarce cou'd see;
I wou'd creep on my hands and knees
With a message to her frae thee."

9 " Win up, win up, my bonnie boy,

To do my bidding ye blithe will be;
To Maisry ye maun quickly rin,
With this message to her frae me.

10 "Ye '11 bid her dress in gowns of silk,

Likewise in coats of cramasie ;
Ye'll bid her come alang with you,
Lord Thomas' wedding for to see.

11 "Ye'll bid her graith her steed with gowd,

And ye will likewise bid her hing
On ilka tip of her horse mane
Twa siller bells to sweetly ring.

12 "And on the tor of her saddle,

A courtly bird to sweetly sing;
Her bridle reins of siller fine,

And stirrups by her side to hing."

13 She dress'd her in the finest silk,

Her coats were of the cramasie;
And she 's away to unco land,
Lord Thomas' wedding for to see.

14 At ilka tip of her horse mane

Twa siller bells did sweetly ring;
And on the tor of her saddle
A courtly bird did sweetly sing.

THOMAS 0' YONDERDALE. Ill

15 The bells they rang, the bird he sang,

As they rade o'er a pleasant plain,
Where they met with Lord Thomas' bride
Wending on with her bridal train.

16 The bride she turn'd her round about,

"I wonder much who this may be?
It surely is the Scotish queen,
Come here our wedding for to see."

17 Out then spake Lord Thomas' boy,

" She maunna lift her head sae hie;
But it 's Lord Thomas' first true love
Come here your wedding for to see."

18 Out then spake Lord Thomas' bride

I wyte the tear did blind her e'e,

"If this be Lord Thomas' first true love,

I'm sair afraid he'll ne'er ha'e me."

19 Then in came Lady Maisry fair,

Lovely and grand she did appear;
"What is your will now, Lord Thomas,
This day, ye know, ye call'd me here?"

20 "Come hither by me, ye lily flower,

Come hither, and set ye down by me;
Ye are the ane I've call'd upon,
And ye my wedded wife maun be."

21 Then in it came Lord Thomas' bride,

Primly and trimly in she came ;
" What is your will now, Lord Thomas,
This day, ye know, ye call'd me hame? "

22 " Ye ha'e come on hired horseback,

But ye'se gae hame in coach sae free;
For here's the flower into my bower,
I mean my wedded wife shall be."

23 "Then ye maun part your lands, Thomas,

And part them in divisions three ;
Gi'e twa of them to your ae brother,
And cause your brother marry me."

24 "I winna part my lands," he said,

" For ony woman that I see;
My brother he is a landed knight,
Will wed nane but he will for me."

112 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

LORD BEICHAN AND SUSIE PYE.

Versions of this highly popular and apparently ancient ballad
have appeared as under :

I. " Young Beichan and Susie Pye."
II. " Young Bekie. ' '

Both in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. ii., pp. 117 and
127. Mr. Jamieson says that these ballads ' ' (both on the
same subject) are given from copies taken from Mrs.
Brown's recitation, collated with two other copies pro-
cured from Scotland : one in MS. ; another very good one
printed for the stalls ; a third, in the possession of the
late Reverend Jonathan Boucher, of Epsom, taken from
recitation in the North of England ; and a fourth, about
one-third as long as the others, which the editor picked
off an old wall in Piccadilly." Prefatory note, p. 117.

III. One in "Scarce Ancient Ballads. Peterhead, 1819." [Aber-

deen, 1822?]

IV. " Lord Beichan and Susie Pye." Kinloch's Ancient Scottish

Ballads, p. 260.

V. A portion of a version, consisting of "prose and rhyme
intermixed," given from the recitation of "a story-teller."
by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. xv. Stanza
10 is derived from this source.

VI. "Young Bondwell," in Scottish Traditional Versions of
Ancient Ballads, Percy Society, vol. xvii., p. 1, and note,
p. 82.

This last and "Young Bekie" (II.) are almost identical
in incident.

VII. "An English traditional version, communicated by " J. H.
Dixon to The Local Historian's Table Book, vol. i., New-
castle, 1842; and subsequently given in Ancient Poems,
Ballads, and Songs, Percy Society, vol. xvii., p. 85.
VIII. "Lord Bateman," the common English broadside, p. 95
of the work last cited. Probably identical with or
similar to the ballad picked off the " wall in Piccadilly "
by Jamieson.

There is also an edition of "Lord Bateman," with comic illustrations,
three additional verses, and notes of a burlesque character, by George
Cruickshank.

The ballad which follows is collated chiefly from the versions
numbered I. and IV., with the addition of two stanzas from recitation,
from which source sundry emendations also are derived. In each of
the two versions just specified the first line announces "London"
as the birthplace of " Young Beichan." The first has the following
curious anachronism :

" And they have made him trail the wine,
And spices on his fair bodie;"

LORD BEICHAN AND SUSIE PYE. 113

although it is well known that the use of wine is forbidden by the
Koran, and could therefore only be indulged in clandestinely.

The origin of the ballad was first pointed out by Motherwell;
whose elaborate account of it and its hero is as follows :

"This popular ballad, which is unquestionably an English produc-
tion (or, at all events, of English origin), exists in many different
shapes in Scotland. It is of unquestionable antiquity ; and the young
Beichan, or Bekie, whose captivity, sufferings, and subsequent
marriage with his deliverer, it records, is no less a personage than
the father of the celebrated Thomas A Becket. In The Life of
Thomas Becket, quoted in Walton's History of English Poetry, vol.
i., p. 19, occurs this notice i

' Ther was Gilbert, Thomas fadir, dame the trewe man and gode,

He loved God and holi cherche setthe he witte onderstode ;

The cross to the holi cherche in his youth he npm,

. . . ariyd on Kychard that was his mon to Jerlem come,

Ther hy dede, here pylgrimage in holi stedes faste,

So that among Sarazyns hy wer nom at laste.'

' ' When so nomed, it is probable that the Saracen lady fell in love
with him. Gilbert Becket must have been a distinguished individual
in his day. He appears to have been portgrave of London, a title
now changed to that of mayor. See A Brief Chronicle of the Success
of Times, London, 1611, p. 574. That he was a person of great
estate, Langtoft bears witness :

"There was his chancelere, Thomas of London born,
Saint Thomas fader I fynd hight Thomas (Gilbert) Beket;
In London of noble kynd and moste of alle was let,
A riche man he was, mot spend thre hundreth pound.'

Langtoft's Chronicle, apud Herne, p. 128.

" Hollingshed, speaking of the saint, says: 'This Becket was
borne in London, his father hight Gilbert, but his mother was a
Syrian born, and by religion a Saracen.' To the same effect Baker :
'The man was Thomas Becket, born in London. His father, one
Gilbert Becket, his mother an outlandish woman of the country of
Syria? Fox, in his Acts and Monuments, vol. i., p. 267, London,
1641, affords another notice: 'And first here to omit the programe
of him, and his mother named Eose, whom Polyd. Virgilius falsely
nameth to be a Saracen, when indeed she came out of the parts
bordering neere to Normandy, &c.' Though she came from the
quarter Fox says she came from, that did not prevent her from being a
Saracen, a designation as general then as heathen is at the present day.

" These notices will afford evidence sufficient to warrant us referring
the ballad to the individual now pointed out. An inspection of some
of the numerous legends touching the blessed martyr, Saint Thomas
of Canterbury, will probably supply many other interesting par-
ticulars, tending more completely to connect and identify them."
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, note, p. xv.

Professor Child corroborates Motherwell's opinion, and states, that
" an inspection of the first hundred lines of Robert of Gloucester's
Life and Martyrdom of Thomas Beket (edited for the Percy Society

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

by W. H. Black, vol. xix. ) will leave no doubt that the hero of this
ancient and beautiful tale is veritably Gilbert Becket, lather of the
renowned Saint Thomas of Canterbury.

"Robert of Gloucester's story coincides in all essential particulars
with the traditionary legend ; but Susie Pye is unfortunately spoken
of in the chronicle by no other name than the daughter of the Saracen
Prince Admiraud. " Professor Child's English and Scottish Ballads,
vol. iv., p. 1.

After such convincing statements from two such reliable autho-
rities, it is scarcely necessary to notice the suggestion made to
and noted by Jamieson, "that the names in" this and the "suc-
ceeding romantic tales ought to be, not Beichan [or Bekie], but
Buchan" (Popular Ballads, vol. ii., p. 134) ; or the more receut
theory of the editor or annotator of Scottish Traditional Versions of
Ancient Ballads (Percy Society, No. Iviii.), who surmises "that the
hero was one of the ancient and noble border family of Bartram or
Bertram" (note to "Young Bond well," p, 84).

1 LORD BEICHAN was a noble lord,

A noble lord of high degree ;
He placed himself on good shipboard,
And sail'd away o'er the salt, salt sea.

2 He sail'd far south, he sail'd far east,

Until he pass'd all Christendie ;
He sail'd far south, he sail'd far east,
Until he came to Pagandie.

3 He view'd the fashions of that land,

Their way of worship too view'd he ;
But to Mahound or Termagant,

Lord Beichan wou'd not bend a knee.

4 For Beichan was a Christian born,

And such resolved to live and dee,
So he was ta'en by a savage Moor,
Who treated him right cruellie,

5 In ilka shoulder was put a bore,

In ilka bore was put a tree ;
And heavy loads they made him draw,
Till he was sick, and like to dee.*

6 Then he was cast in a dungeon deep,

Where he cou'd neither hear nor see;
And seven long years they kept him there,
Both cold and hunger sore to dree.

* "Till of his life he was quite wearie." Variation.

LORD BEICHAN AND SUSIE PYE. 115

7 The Moor he had an only daughter,

The damsel's name was Susie Pye ;
And ilka day as she took the air,
Lord Beichan's prison she pass'd by.

8 So it fell jout upon a day,

She heard Lord Beichan sadly sing;
And this the sad and hopeless lay
Of sorrow in her ear did ring :

9 " My hounds they all go masterless,

My hawks they flee from tree to tree,
My younger brother heirs my land ;
Fair England again I ne'er will see.

10 " But were I free as I have been,

On good shipboard to sail the sea,
I'd turn my face to fair England,

And sail no more to a strange countrie."

11 Young Susie Pye had a tender heart,

Tho' she was come of a cruel kin;
And sore she sigh'd, she knew not why,
For him who lay that dungeon in.

12 " Oh, were I but the prison keeper,

As I'm a lady of high degree,
I soon wou'd set this youth at large,
And send him to his own countrie."

13 The whole night long no rest she got,

Lord Beichan's song for thinking on;
And when the morn began to dawn,
She to his prison door has gone.

14 She gave the keeper a piece of gold,

And many pieces of white monie,
To unlock to her the prison doors,
That she Lord Beichan might go see.

15 The keeper open'd the prison doors,

I wot he open'd two or three,
Ere they came where Lord Beichan stood,
Chain'd by the middle to a tree.

16 Lord Beichan he did marvel sore,

The Moor's fair daughter there to see ;
But took her for some captive maid,
Brought from some land in Christendie.

116 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 For when she saw his wretched plight,

Her tears fell fast and bitterlie ;
And thus the Moor's fair daughter spake
Unto Lord Beichan tenderlie :

18 " Oh, have ye any lands," she said,

" Or castles in your own countrie,
That ye cou'd give to a lady fair,
From prison strong to set you free?"

19 "Oh, I have lands both fair and braid,

And I have castles fair to see ;
But I wou'd give them all," he said,
"From prison strong to be set free."

20 " Plight me the truth of your right hand,

The truth of it here plight to me,
That till seven years are past and gone,
No lady ye will wed but me."

21 " For seven long years I do make a vow,

And seven long years I'll keep it true,
If you wed with no other man,
No other lady I'll wed but you."

22 Then she has bribed the prison-keeper,

With store of gold and white monie,
To loose the chain that bound him so,
And set Lord Beichan once more free.

23 To eat she gave him good spice-cake,

To drink she gave him blood-red wine ;
And bade him sometimes think of her,
Who kindly freed him out of pine.

24 A ring she from her finger broke,

And half of it to him gave she,

" Keep it, to mind you of the maid

Who out of prison set you free."

25 She had him put on good shipboard,

That he might safely cross the main;
Then said, "Adieu! my Christian lord,
I fear we ne'er may meet again."

26 Lord Beichan turn'd him round about,

And lowly, lowly bent his knee;
" Ere seven years are come and gone,
I'll take you to my own countrie."

LORD BEICHAN AND SUSIE PYE. 117

27 But when he came to London town,

A happy, happy man was he ;
The ladies all around him throng'd,
To see him come frae slaverie.

28 His mother she had died of grief,

His kindred all were dead but he ;
His lands they all were lying waste,
In ruins were his castles free.

29 No porter stood to tend his gate,

No human creature ceu'd he see ;
Nought but the screeching owls and bats,
Had he to bear him co.mpanie.

30 But gold works like a magic spell,

And he had gold and jewels free;
So soon his halls were richly deck'd,
While pages served on bended knee.

31 Both lords and ladies throng'd his halls,

His table rang with mirth and glee;
And he soon forgot the eastern maid,
Who freed him out of slaverie.

32 But Susie Pye cou'd get no rest,

Nor day nor night cou'd happy be ;
For something whisper'd in her breast,
" Lord Beichan will prove false to thee."

33 So she set foot on good shipboard,

Well mann'd and fitted gallantlie ;

She bade adieu to her father's towers,

And left behind her own countrie.

34 Then she sailed west, and she sailed north,

She sailed far o'er the salt sea faem ;
And after many weary days,

Unto fair England's shore she came.

35 She landed there in wealth and state,

And journey 'd with a gallant "train,
Till she met with a shepherd youth,
When thus she did afccost the swain :

36 " Oh, whose are all those flocks of sheep,

And whose are all those herds of kye,
And whose are all those lands so braid,
With many more that I've pass'd by ? "

118 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

37 " Oh, those are all Lord Beichan's sheep,

Oh, those are all Lord Beichan's kye,
And those are all Lord Beichan's lands,
And many more that you've pass'd by."

38 " What news of him, thou shepherd youth,

What news hast thou to tell to me?"
" Such news, such news, thou lady fair,
Was ne'er before in this countrie.

39 " For he has betroth'd a lady gay,

"Tis now full thirty days and three;
But will not mate with his fair bride,
For love of one beyond the sea."

40 Then in her pocket she put her hand,

And gave him gold and white monie;
" Here, take ye that, my shepherd youth,
For the good news ye tell to me."

41 Then she went to Lord Beichan's gate,

And she tirl'd gently at the pin,
And ask'd " Is this Lord Beichan's hall,
And is that noble lord within?"

42 The porter ready answer made,

" Oh yes, this is Lord Beichan's hall;
And he is also here within,
With bride and guests assembled all."

43 " And has he betroth'd another love,

And has he qnite forgotten me,
To whom he plighted his love and troth,
When from prison I did him free ?

44 " Bear to your lord, ye proud porter,

This parted ring, the plighted token
Of mutual love, and mutual vows,
By him, alas! now falsely broken.

45 " And bid him send one bit of bread,

And bid him send one cup of wine,
Unto the maid he hath betray'd,

Tho' she freed him from cruel pine."

46 The porter hasten'd to his lord,

And fell down on his bended knee:
" My lord, a lady stands at your gate,
The fairest lady I e'er did see.

LORD BEICHAN AND SUSIE PYE. 119

47 " On every finger she has a ring,

And on her middle finger three;
With as much gold above her brow-
As wou'd buy an earldom to me."

48 It 's out then spake the bride's mother,

Both loud 'and angry out spake she,
" Ye might have excepted our bonnie bride.
If not more of this cornpanie."

49 " My dame, your daughter's fair enough^

Her beauty 's not denied by me;
But were she ten times fairer Still,
With this lady ne'er compare cou'd she*

50 " My lord, she asks one bit of bread,

And bids you send one cup of wine ;
And to remember the lady's love,
Who freed you out of cruel pine."

51 Lord Beichan hied him down the stair,

Of fifteen steps he made but three,
Until he came to Susie Pye,

Whom he did kiss most tehderliei

52 He 's ta'en her by the lily hand,

And led her to his noble hall,
Where stood his sore-bewilder'd bride,
And wedding guests assembled all.

53 Fair Susie blushing look'd around,

Upon the lords and ladies gay;
Then with the tear-drops in her eyes,
Unto Lord Beichan she did say :

54 " Oh, have ye ta'en another bride,

And broke your plighted vows to me?
Then fare thee well, my Christian lord,
I'll try to think no more on thee.

55 " But sadly I will wend my way,

And sadly I will cross the sea,

And sadly will with grief and shame

Return unto my own countrie."

56 " Oh, never, never, Susie Pye,

Oh, never more shall you leave me;
This night you'll be my wedded wife,
And lady of my lands so free."

120 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

57 Syne up then spake the bride's mother,

She ne'er before did speak so free,
" You'll not forsake my dear daughter,
For sake of her from Pagandie."

58 " Take home, take home your daughter dear,

She 's not a pin the worse of me;
She came to me on horseback riding,
But shall go back in a coach and three."

59 Lord Beichan got ready another wedding,

And sang, with heart brimful of glee,
" Oh, I'll range no more in foreign lands,
Since Susie Pye has cross'd the sea.

60 " Then fy,* gar all my cooks make ready,

And fy ! gar all my minstrels play ;

Gar trumpets sound, and bells be rung,

For this is my true wedding-day,"

YOUNG BEKIE,

From Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. iL, p. 127. With the
addition of stanzas 4, 25 (first half), 26, 27, and 40 to 43 inclusive,
from "Young Bondwell," but somewhat altered, so as to adapt them
to Jamieson's ballad. See introduction to preceding ballad, p. 112.

1 YOUNG BEKIE was as brave a knight

As ever sail'd the sea;
And he 's done him to the court of France,
To serve for meat and fee.

2 He hadna been in the court of France

A twelvemonth, nor sae lang,
Till he fell in love with the king's daughter,
And was thrown in prison strang.

3 The king he had but ae daughter,

Burd Isbel was her name ;
And she has to the prison gane,
To hear the prisoner's mane.

4 " Oh, if my father get word of this,

At hame, in his ain countrie,
He will send red gowd for my relief,
And a bag of white monie.

*"Fy:" haste.

YOUNG BEKIE. 121

5 "Oh, if a lady wou'd borrow me,

At her stirrup I wou'd rin ;
Oh, if a widow wou'd borrow me,
I wou'd swear to be her son.

6 "Oh, if a virgin wou'd borrow me,

I wou'd wed her with a ring;
I'd gi'e her halls, I'd gi'e her bow'rs,
The bonnie towers of Linne."

7 Oh, barefoot, barefoot gaed she but,

And barefoot came she ben;
It was na for want of hose and shoon,
Nor time to put them on ;

8 But all for fear that her father

Wou'd hear her makin' din ;
For she has stown the prison keys,
And gane the dungeon in.

9 And when she saw him, young Bekie,

Wow, but her heart was sair!
For the mice but and the bauld rattona
Had eaten his yellow hair.

10 She 's gotten him a shaver for his beard,

A comber till his hair;
Five hundred pounds in his pocket,
To spend, and nae to spare.

11 She 's gi'en him a steed was good in need,

And a saddle of royal bane; *
A leash of hounds of ae litter,
And Hector called ane.

12 Atween thir twa a vow was made,

'Twas made full solemnlie,
That or three years were come and gane,
Weel married they shou'd be.

13 He hadna been in 's ain countrie

A twelvemonth till an end,
Till he 's forced to marry a king's daughter,
Or else lose all his land.

14 " Ohon, alas ! " says young Bekie,

" I kenna what to dee ;
For I canna win to Burd Isbel,
And she canna come to me."

* Variation: for "bane," read " bend." " Young Bondwell."

122 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

15 Oh, it fell out upon a day

Burd Isbel fell asleep,
And up it starts the Billy Blin,
And stood at her bed feet.

16 " Oh, waken, waken, Burd Isbel ;

How can ye sleep so soun',
When this is Bekie's wedding-day,
And the marriage going on? *

17 "Ye'll do ye till your mither's bow'r,

As fast as ye can gang;
Arid ye'll take three of your mither's Marys,
To haud ye unthocht lang.

18 "Ye'll dress yoursel' in the red scarlet,

And your Marys in green attire ;
And ye'll put girdles about your middles,
Well worth an earl's hire.

19 " Syne ye'll gang down by yon sea-side,

And down by yon sea-strand ;
And bonnie will the Hollans boats
Come rowin' till your hand.

20 " Ye'll set your milk-white foot on board,

Cry, ' Hail ye, Domine ! '

And I will be the steerer o't,

To row you o'er the sea.'*

21 She 's gane her till her mither's bow'r,

As fast as she could gang ;
And she 's ta'en twa of her mither's Marys,
To haud her unthocht langi

22 She 's drest hersel' in the red scarlet,

Her Marys in green attire ;
And they've put girdles about their middles,
Well worth an earl's hire.

23 And they gaed down by yon sea-side,

And down by yon sea-strand;
And sae bonnie as the Hollans boats
Came rowin' till their hand.

24 She set her milk-white foot on board,

Cried, " Hail ye, Domine ! "
And the Billy Blin was the steerer o't,
To row her o'er the sea.

* The countries could not be far apart, or the fair Isbel and her Marys must have
Had a marvellously quick passage under the pilotage of " the Billy Bun."

YOUNG BEKIE. 123

25 So they sail'd on, and farther on.

Till they came to the Tay;
And when she came to Bekie's gate,
She heard the music play.

26 When the porter came to her call,

"What news ha'e ye ? " says she ;
" Is there any wedding in this place,
Or any soon to be?"

27 " There is a wedding in this place,

A wedding very soon ;
For Bekie, lord of this domain,
Marries this day ere noon."

28 She put her hand in her pocket,

And ga'e to him marks three ;
" Hae, take ye that, ye proud porter,
Bid your master speak to me."

29 Oh, when that he came up the stair,

He fell down on his knee :
He hail'd the king, and he hail'd the queen,
And he hail'd young Bekie.

30 " Oh, I have been porter at your gates

This thirty years and three;
But there are three ladies at them now,
Their like I did never see.

31 " There 's ane of them drest in red scarlet,

And twa in green attire ;
And they ha'e girdles about their middles
Well worth an earl'a hire."

32 Then out and spake the bierdly bride,

Was all gowd to the chin :
" If she be fine without," she says,
" We 's be as fine within."

33 Then up it starts him young Bekie,

And the tear was in his e'e:
" I'll lay my life it 's Burd Isbel
Come o'er the sea to me."

34 Oh, quickly he ran down the stair ;

And when he saw 'twas she,
He kindly took her in his arms,
And kiss'd her tenderlie.

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

35 "Oh, ha'e ye forgotten now, young Bekie,

The vow ye made to me,
When I took you out of prison strang,
When ye was condemn'd to dee ?

36 "I ga'e you a steed was good in need,

And a saddle of royal bane ;
A leash of hounds of ae litter,
And Hector called ane."

37 It was well kenn'd what the lady said

Was true as true cou'd be 5
For at the first word the lady spake,
The hound fell at her knee.

38 " Take hame, take hame your daughter dear ;

A blessing gang her wi' ;
For I maun marry her wha has
Come o'er the sea to me."

39 " Is this the custom of your house,

Or when was it brought in,
To bring a maid here to. be wed,
To gae back a maid at e'en?"

40 " An asking, an asking, fair lady,

If such ye'll grant to me ; "
" Ask on, ask on, my young Bekie ;
What may your asking be? "

41 " Five hunder pound to you I'll gi'e,

Of gowd and white monie,
If ye'll wed John, my ain cousin,-r-
He looks as braw as me ! "

42 " Keep well your monie, Bekie," she said,

"Nane do I ask of thee;
Your cousin John was my first love,
My husband now he 's be."

43 Young Bekie was married to Burd Isbel,

And John, ere day was dune,
Was married to the morning bride,
In the merry halls of Linne.

The king and queen, who were forcing "Young Bekie" to wed
their daughter, suddenly subside, and without either note, comment,
or protest, permit this interesting young couple to follow the bent of
their respective inclinations.

HYKDE HORN. 125

HYNDE HOKN.

"An imperfect copy of this very old ballad appeared in Select
Scottish Songs, Ancient and Modern, edited by Mr. Cromek ; but
that gentleman seems not to have been aware of the jewel he had
picked up, as it is passed bVer without a single remark. We have
been fortunate enough to recover two copies from recitation, which,
joined to the stanzas preserved by Mr. Cromek, have enabled us to
present it to the public in its present complete state. Though,
' Hynd Horn ' possesses no claims upon the reader's attention on
account of its poetry, yet it is highly valuable, as illustrative of the
history of Romantic Ballad. In fact, it is nothing else than a portion
of the ancient English Metrical Romance of ' Kyng Horn,' which
some benevolent pen, perad venture ' for luf of the lewed man,' hath
stripped of its ' quainte Inglis,' and given

'In symple speche as he ccmthe,
That is lightest in marine's mouthe.'

Of this the reader will be at once convinced, if he compares it withl
the Romance alluded to, or rather with the fragment of the one pre-
served in the Auchinleck MS. , entitled, ' Home Childe and Maiden}
Riminild,' both of which ancient poems are to be found in Ritson's
Metrical Romances.

"It is perhaps unnecessary to remind the reader that Hend, or
Hynd, means 'courteous, kind, affable,' &c., an epithet which, we
doubt not. the hero of the ballad was fully entitled to assume."
MotherWell's Minstrelsy, p. 35.

The opening stanza of MotherWell's version is as follows :

" N^ar Edinburgh was a young child born,

With a hey-lille-lu, and a how-lo-lan ;
And his name it was called Young Hynd Horn,
And the birk and the brume bltioms bonnie."

The refrain, as given in italics, forms the second and fourth lines of
every stanza, a form by no means rare in Scotish, and very common
in Scandinavian ballads.

Versions omitting the refrain were subsequently published by
Kinloch, in Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 135, as "recovered from
recitation in the North;" and by Buchan, Ancient Ballads and Songs,
voL ii, p. 268.

" All the poems relating to Horn, in French and English, including
the Scottish ballads above mentioned, are collected by Michel in a
beautiful volume of the Bannatyne Club, Horn et Rimenhild, Paris,
1845." Professor Child, English and Scottish Ballads, vol. iv., p. 17.

Kinloch' s and Buchan' s version are very similar. In fact, the latter
appears to be simply a more perfect copy of the former, and it is the
one here chiefly used, with additions aud emendations from Mother-
well's, and editorial emendations on both.

The metrical romance of "King Horn," or "Home Childe, and
Maiden Rymenild." is thus summarized by Warton:

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

"Mury, king of the Saracens, lands in the kingdom of Suddene,
where he kills the king named Allof. The queen, Godylt, escapes ;
but Mury seizes on her son Home, a beautiful youth, aged fifteen
years, and puts him into a galley with two of his play-fellows.
Athulph and Fykeuyld : the vessel being driven on the kingdom of
Westnesse, the young prince is found by Aylmer, king of that
country, brought to court, and delivered to Athelbras his steward, to
be educated in hawking, harping, tilting, and other courtly accom-
plishments. Here the Princess Rymenild falls in love with him,
declares her passion, and is betrothed. Home, in consequence of this
engagement, leaves the princess for seven years to demonstrate,
according to the ritual of chivalry, that by seeking and accomplishing
dangerous enterprises he deserved her affection. He proves a most
valorous and invincible knight ; and at the end of seven years, having
killed King Mury, recovered his father's kingdom, and achieved
many signal exploits, recovers the Princess Bymenild from the
hands of his treacherous knight and companion, Fykenyld, carries
her in triumph to his own country, and there reigns with her in great
splendour and prosperity." History of English Poetry, -vol. L, p. 40.

The ballad, even in its fragmentary and " mutilated state, still
retains the couplet measure of the romance, though it is otherwise
greatly altered from its ancient text. It appears, however, to relate
to that part of the romance where Home, after being betrothed to
the princess, departs in search of adventures, and returns, after the
lapse of his probationary exile, when he recovers the princess from
the hands of his rival." Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 137.

1 "On, it's Hynde Horn fair, and it's Hynde Horn free;
Oh, where were you born, and in what countrie?"

" In a far distant countrie I was born ;

But of home and friends I am quite forlorn."

2 Oh, it's seven long years he served the king,
But wages from him he ne'er got a thing;
Oh, it's seven long years he served, I ween,
And all for love ot the king's daughter Jean.

3 Oh, he gave to his love a silver wand,
Her sceptre of rule over fair Scotland;
With three singing laverocks set thereon,
For to mind her of him when lie was gone.

4 And his love gave to him a gay gold ring,
With three shining diamonds set therein;
Oh, his love gave to him this gay gold ring,
Of virtue and value above all thing;

5 Saying " While the diamonds do keep their hue,
You will know that my love holds fast and true;
But when the diamonds grow pale and wan,

I'll be dead, or wed to another man."

HYNDE HORN. 127

6 Then the sails were spread, and away sail'd he;
Oh, he sail'd away to a far countrie ;

And when he had been seven years to sea,
Hynde Horn look'd to see how his ring might be.

7 But when Hynde Horn look'd the diamonds upon,
Oh, he saw that they were both pale and wan;
And at once he knew, from their alter'd hue,
That his love was dead or had proved untrue.

8 Oh, the sails were spread, and away sail'd he
Back over the sea to his own countrie;
Then he left the ship when it came to land,
And he met an auld beggar upon the strand.

9 " What news, thou auld beggar man? " said he;
" For full seven years I've been over the sea."
Then the auld man said^-" The strangest of all
Is the curious wedding in our king's hall.

10 " For there 's a king's daughter, come frae the wast,
Has been married to him these nine days past;

But to the bride-bed the bride winna jee,
For love of Hynde Horn, far over the sea."

11 " Now, auld man, give to me your begging weed,
And I will give to thee my riding steed ;

And, auld man, give to me your staff of tree,
And my scarlet cloak I will give to thee.

12 " And you must teach me the auld beggar's role,
As he goes his rounds, and receives his dole."
The auld man he did as young Hynde Horn said,
And taught him the way to beg for his bread.

13 Then Hynde Horn bent him to his staff of tree,
And to the king's palace away hobbled he ;
And when he arrived at the king's palace gate,
To the porter he thus his petition did state :

14 " Good porter, I pray, for Saints Peter and Paul,
And for sake of the Saviour who died for us all,
For one cup of wine, and one bit of bread,

To an auld man with travel and hunger bestead.

15 " And ask the fair bride, for the sake of Hynde Home,
To hand them to one so sadly forlorn."

Then the porter for pity the message convey'd,
And told the fair bride all the beggar man said.

128 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

16 And when she did hear it, she tripp'd down the stair,
And in her fair hands did lovingly bear

A cup of red wine, and a farle of cake,

To give the old man, for loved Hynde Horn's sake.

17 And when she came to where Hynde Horn did stand,
With joy he did take the cup from her hand;

Then pledged the fair bride, the cup out did drain,
Dropp'd in it the ring, and return'd it again.

18 " Oh, found you that ring by sea or on land,
Or got you that ring off a dead man's hand?"
" Oh, I found not that ring by sea or on land,
But I got that ring from a fair lady's hand.

19 " As a pledge of true love she gave it to me,
Full seven years ago, as I sail'd o'er the sea;

But now that the diamonds are chang'd in their hue,
I know that my love has to me proved untrue."

20 " Oh, I will cast off my gay costly gown,
And follow thee on from town unto town,
And I will take the gold combs from my hair,
And follow my true love for ever mair."

21 " You need not cast off your gay costly gown,
To follow me on from town unto town ;

You need not take the gold combs from your hair,
For Hynde Horn has gold enough, and to spare."

22 He stood up erect, let his beggar weed fall,
And shone there the foremost and noblest of all;

Then the bridegrooms were chang'd, and the lady re-wed,
To Hynde Horn thus come back, like one from the dead.

FAUSE FOODEAGE.

From Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. iii., p. 220; in which
work it was first published.

" This ballad," says Sir Walter Scott, " has been popular in many
parts of Scotland. It is chiefly given from Mrs. Brown of Falkland's
MSS. The expression,

"The boy stared wild like a gray gos-hawk,'
verse 31, strongly resembles that hi Hardyknute,

' Norse e'en like gray gos-hawk stared wild ;'
a circumstance which led the editor to make the strictest inquiry into

FAUSE FOODRAGE. 129

the authenticity of the song. But every doubt was removed by the
evidence of a lady of high rank, who not only recollected the ballad,
as having amused her infancy, but could repeat many of the verses,
particularly those beautiful stanzas from the 20th to the 25th. The
editor is therefore compelled to believe that the author of ' Hardyk-
nute ' copied the old ballad, if the coincidence be not altogether
accidental.

" The King Easter and King Wester of the ballad Were probably petty
princes of Northumberland and Westmoreland. In the Complaynt
of Scotland, an ancient romance is mentioned under the title, ' How
the King of Estmureland married the King's Daughter of Westmure-
land,' which may possibly be the original of the beautiful legend of
' King Estmere,' in the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, vol. i.,
p. 62, 4th edit. From this it may be Conjectured, with some degree of
plausibility, that the independent kingdoms of the east and west
coast were, at an early period, thus denominated, according to the
Saxon mode of naming districts from their relative positions, as Essex,
Wessex, Sussex. But the geography of the metrical romances sets all
system at defiance ; and, in some of these, as ' Clariodus and Meliades,'
Estmureland undoubtedly signifies the land of the Easterlings, or the
Flemish provinces at which vessels arrive in three days from. England,
and to which they are represented as exporting wooL" Minstrelsy of
t/ie Scottish Border, first edition.

In the next and subsequent editions of the same work, Sir Walter
adds : "On this subject I have, since publication of the first edition,
been favoured with the following remarks by Mr. Eitson, in opposition
to the opinion above expressed :

" 'Estmureland and Westmureland have no sort of relation to
Northumberland and Westmoreland. The former was never called
Eastmoreland, nor were there ever any kings of Westmoreland ;
unless we admit the authority of an old rhyme, cited by Usher i

" Here the King Westmer
Slow the King Bothinger."

" ' There is, likewise, & " King Estmere of Spain," in one of Percy's
ballads.

" ' In the old metrical romance of "KyngHorn," or "Horn Child,"
we find both Westnesse and Estnesse ) and it is somewhat singular, that
two places, so called, actually exist in Yorkshire at this day. But
ness, in that quarter, is the name given to an inlet from a river.
There is, however, great confusion in this poem, as Horn is called king
sometimes of one country, and sometimes of the other. In the French
original, Westir is said to have been the old name of Hirland or Ire-
land ; which occasionally, at least, is called Westnesse, in the trans-
lation, in which Britain is named Sudene; but here, again, it is
inconsistent and confused.

" 'It is, at any rate, highly probable, that the story, cited in the
Complaynt of Scotland, was a romance of " King Horn," whether prose
or verse ; and, consequently, that Estmureland and Westmureland
should there mean England and Ireland ; though it is possible that no
other instance can be found of these two names occurring with the
same sense." "

130 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

"Without expressing any opinion on this controverted point," says
Mr. Motherwell, "I may mention that I have a copy of this ballad, in
which the parties interested are styled

' The Eastmure king, and the Westmure king,
And the king of O Norie;'

certainly a very near approximation to the names contained in the
above tale" (Introduction, pp. lix. and Ixxxiii., note 91). And in
prefatory note, p. 131, he states: "The ballad is popular in Scotland,
and there can be no reasonable doubt of its authenticity. Like
others, however, it has lost none of its beauties by being distilled
through the alembic established at Abbotsford for the purification
of ancient song."

1 KING EASTER wooed her for her lands,

King Wester for her fee,
King Honour for her comely face.
And for her fair bodie.

2 But they had not been four months wed,

As I've heard often tell,

Until the nobles of the land

Against them did rebel.

3 And they cast kevils * them amang,

And kevils them between ;
And they cast kevils them amang,
Wha shau'd gae kill the King.

4 Oh, some said Yea, and some said Nay,

Their words did not agree;
Till up and got him Fause Foodrage,
And swore it shou'd be he.

5 When bells were rung, and mass was sung,

And all men bound to bed,
King Honour and his gay ladye
In ae chamber were laid.

6 Then up and raise him Fause Foodrage,

When all were fast asleep,
And slew the porter in his lodge,
That watch and ward did keep,

7 Oh, four-and-twenty silver keys

Hang hie upon a pin ;
And as each door he did unlock,
He fasten'd it behin'.

* "Kevils : " lota. Both words originally meant only a portion or share of any-
thing. Leges Burgorum, cap. 59, de lot, cut, or kavil. Statuta Gildse, cap. 20. Nullus
etnat lanam, <lcc., nisi fuerit confrater Gildse, &c. Neque lot neque cavil habeat cum
aiiquo confratre nostro. In both these laws, lot and cavil signify a share in trade.

FAUSE FOODRAGE. 131

8 Then up and raise him King Honour,

Says " What means all this din ?
Or what's the matter, Fause Foodrage?
Or wha has loot you in ?"

9 " Oh, ye my, errand weel shall learn,

Before that I depart ; "
Then drew a knife, baith lang and sharp,
And pierced him to the heart.

10 Then up and got the Queen hersel',

And fell low on her knee ;
" Oh, spare my life now, Fause Foodrage !
For I ne'er injured thee.

11 " Oh, spare my life now, Fause Foodrage !

Until I lighter be ;
And see if it be lad or lass,
King Honour 's left me wi'."

12 " Oh, if it be a lass," he says,

" It 's weel nursed it shall be ;
But if it be a lad bairn,
It 's he shall be hang'd hie.

13 " I winna spare for his tender age,

Nor yet for his hie kin ;
But soon as ever he born is,
He'll mount the gallows pin."

14 Oh, four-and-twenty valiant knights.

Were set the Queen to guard :
And four stood aye at her bow'r door,
To keep both watch and ward.

15 But when the time drew near an end

That she shou'd lighter be,
She cast about to find a wile
To set her body free.

16 Oh, she has birled these merry young men

With the ale but and the wine,
Until they were all deadly drunk
As any wild-wood swine.

17 " Oh, narrow, narrow is this window,

And big, big am I grown !"
Yet through the might of Our Ladye,
Out at it she is gone.

132 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

18 She wander'd up, she wander'd down,

She wander'd out and in ;
And at last, into the very swine's stythe,
The Queen brought forth a son,

19 Then they cast kevils them amang,

Which shou'd gae seek the Queen;
And the kevil fell upon Wise William,
And he sent his wife for him.

20 Oh, when she saw Wise William's wife,

The Queen fell on her knee :
" Win up, win up, madam !" she says;
"What needs this courtesie?"

21 " Oh, out of this I winna rise,

Till this boon ye grant me,
To change your lass for this lad bairn,
King Honour left me wi'.

22 "And ye maun learn my gay gos-hawk

Eight weel to breast a steed ;
And I shall learn your turtle dow *
As weel to write and read.

23 " And ye maun learn my gay gos-hawk

To wield both bow and brand ;

And I shall learn your turtle dow

To lay gowd f with her hand.

24 " At kirk and market, when we meet,

We'll dare make nae avowe,
But ' Dame, how does my gay gos-hawk ?'
' Madam, how does my dow ? '"

25 When days were gane and years came on,

Wise William he thought lang;
And he has ta'en King Honour's son
A-hunting for to gang.

26 It sae fell out, at this hunting,

Upon a simmer's day,
That they came by a fair castell,
Stood on a sunny brae.

27 " Oh, dinna ye see that bonnie castell,

With halls and tow'rs sae fair?
If ilka man had back his ain,
Of it you shou'd be heir."

* " Dow : " dove. f " Lay gowd : " embroider in gold.

t This metaphorical language was customary among the northern nations.

EARL RICHARD'S DAUGHTER. 133

28 " How I shou'd be heir of that castell,

In sooth, I canna see;
For it belangs to Fause Foodrage,
And he is nae kin to me."

29 " Oh, if you shou'd kill him, Fause Foodrage,

You wou'd do but what was right;
For I wot he kill'd your father dear,
Or ever ye saw the light.

30 " And if ye shou'd kill him, Fause Foodrage,

There 's no man durst you blame;
For he keeps your mother a prisoner,
And she darena take ye hame."

31 The boy stared wild like a gray gos-hawk;

Says " What may all this mean?"
" My boy, ye are King Honour's son,
Your mother our lawful Queen."

32 " Oh, if I be King Honour's aon,

By Our Ladye I swear,
This night I will that traitor slay,
And free my mother dear!"

S3 He set his bent bow to his breast,

And leap'd the castell wall;
And soon he seiz'd on Fause Foodrage,
Wha loud for help 'gan call.

34 " Oh, haud your tongue now, Fause Foodrage,

Frae me ye shanna flee;"

Syne pierced him through the fause, fause heart,
And set his mother free.

35 And he has rewarded Wise William

With the best half of his land;
And sae has he the turtle dow,
With the truth of his right hand.

EARL RICHARD'S DAUGHTER.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 145, and
note, p. 306.

' The Earl Richard, the lady's father, is said to have been one of
the Earls of Wemyss.

134 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

"There is such a striking and visible coincidence between this
ballad and ' Hynd Horn,' that I am apt to think they are coeval."
Buchan.

With reference to the family and the title of Earl of Wemyss, see
note, ante, p. 109.

1 EARL EICHARD had but ae daughter,

A maid of birth and fame ;
She lov'd her father's kitchen boy,
The greater was her shame.

2 But she cou'd ne'er her true love see,

Nor with him cou'd she talk,
In towns where she had wont to go,
Nor fields where she cou'd walk.

3 But it fell ance upon a day,

Her father went from home ;
She 's call'd upon the kitchen boy,
To come and clean her room.

4 " Come sit ye down by me, Willie,

Come sit ye down by me ;
There is nae lord in all the north,
That I can love like thee."

5 " Let never the like be heard, lady,

Forbid that it shou'd be;
For if your father get word of this,
He will gae hang me hie."

6 " Oh, ye shall ne'er be hang'd, Willie,

Your bluid shall ne'er be drawn;
I'll lay my life in pledge of thine,
Your body 's ne'er get wrang."

7 " Excuse me now, my comely dame,

No langer here I'll stay ;
You know my time is near expir'd,
And now I must away.

8 " The master-cook will on me call,

And answer'd he must be ;
If I am found in bow'r with thee,
Great anger will there be."

9 " The master-cook will on you call,

But shall not answer'd be ;
I'll put you in a higher place
Than any cook's degree.

EARL RICHARD'S DAUGHTER. 135

10 "I have a coffer full of gold,

Another of white monie ;
And I will build a bonnie ship,
And set my love to sea.

11 " Silk shall be your sailing clothes,

Gold yellow in your hair;
As white as milk shall be your hands,
Your body neat and fair."

12 This lady, with her fair speeches,

She made the boy grow bold;
And he began to kiss and clap,
And on his love lay hold.

13 And she has built a bonnie ship,

Set her love to the sea,
With seven score of brisk young men,
To bear him companie.

14 Then she 's ta'en out a gay gold ring,

To him she did it gi'e;
" This will mind you on the lady, Willie^
That 's laid her love on thee."

15 Then he 's ta'en out a piece of gold,

And he brake it in two;
" All I have in the world, my dame,
For love, I give to you."

16 So he is to his bonnie ship,

And merrily ta'en the sea;
The lady lay o'er castle wall,
The tear blinded her e'e.

17 They had not sail'd upon the sea

A week but barely three,
When came a prosperous gale of wind,
On Spain's coast landed he.

18 A lady lay o'er castle wall,

Beholding dale and down;

And she beheld the bonnie ship

Come sailing to the town.

19 " Come here, come here, my Marys all,

Ye see not what I see;
For here I see the bonniest ship
That ever sail'd the sea.

136 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

20 " In her there is the bravest squire

That e'er my eyes did see ;
All clad in silk and rich attire,
A comely youth is he.

21 " Oh, busk, oh, busk, my Marys all,

Oh, busk and make ye fine ;
And we will on to yon shore side,
Invite yon squire to dine.

22 " Will ye come up to my castle

With me, and take your dine?
And ye shall eat the gude white bread,
And drink the claret wine."

23 " I thank you for your bread, lady,

I thank you for your wine;

I thank you for your kind offer,

But now I have not time."

21 " I wou'd gi'e all my land," she says,

" Your gay bride were I she;
And then to live on a small portion,
Contented I wou'd be."

25 " She 's far awa frae me, lady,

She 's far awa frae me,
That has my heart a-keeping fast,
And my love still she'll be."

26 " But ladies they unconstant are,

When their loves go to sea;
And she'll be wed ere ye gae back;
My love, pray stay with me."

27 " If she be wed ere I go back,

And prove sae false to me,

I shall live single all my life,

I'll ne'er wed one but she."

28 Then she 's ta'en out a gay gold ring,

And ga'e him presentlie ;
" 'Twill mind you on the lady, squire,
That laid her love on thee."

29 " The ring that's on my mid-finger

Is dearer far to me,

Though yours were of the gude red gold,
And mine the metal free."

EARL RICHARD'S DAUGHTER. 137

30 He view'd them all, baith neat and small,

As they stood on the shore ;
Then spread the mainsail to the wind;
" Adieu, for evermore ! "

31 He had not sail'd upon the sea

A week but barely three,
Until there came a prosperous gale,
In Scotland landed he.

32 But he put paint upon his face,

And oil upon his hair ;
Likewise a mask above his brow,
Which did disguise him sair.

33 Earl Richard lay o'er castle wall,

Beholding dale and down ;

And he beheld the bonnie ship

Come Bailing to the town.

34 " Come here, come here, my daughter dear.

Ye see not what I see;
For here I see the bonniest ship
That ever sail'd the sea.

35 " In her there is the bravest squire .

That e'er my eyes did see ;
Oh, busk, oh, busk, my daughter dear,
Oh, busk and corne to me.

36 " Oh, busk, oh, busk, my daughter dear,

Oh, busk, and make ye fine ;
And we will on to the shore side,
Invite yon squire to dine."

37 " He 's far awa frae me, father,

He 's tar awa frae me,
Who has the keeping of my heart,
And I'll wed nane but he."

38 " Whoever has your heart in hand,

Yon lad's the match lor thee;

And he shall come to my castle

This day, and dine with me."

39 " Will ye come up to my castle

With me, and take your dine ?
And ye shall eat the gude white bread,
And drink the claret wine."

138 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

40 " Yes, I'll come up to your castle

With you, and take my dine ;
For I wou'd give my bonnie ship,
Were your fair daughter mine."

41 " I wou'd give all my lands," he said,

" That your bride she wou'd be ;
Then to live on a small portion,
Contented wou'd I be."

42 As they gaed up from yon sea strand,

And down the bowling green,
He drew the mask out o'er his face,
For fear he shou'd be seen.

43 He's done him down from bow'r to bow'r,

Likewise from bower to hall ;

And there he saw that lady gay,

The flower out o'er them all.

44 He's ta'en her in his arms twa,

And hail'd her courteouslie ;
" Excuse me, sir, no strange man shall
Such freedom use with me."

45 Her father turn'd him round about,

A light laugh then gave he ;
" Stay, I'll retire a little while,
Perhaps you may agree."

46 Now Willie's ta'en a gay gold ring,

And gave her presentlie ;
Says "Take ye that, ye lady fair,
A love-token from ine."

47 " Oh, got ye't on the sea sailing?

Or got ye't on the sand ?
Or got ye't on the coast of Spain,
Upon a dead man's hand?"

48 " Fine silk it was his sailing clothes,

Gold yellow was his hair ;
It wou'd ha'e made a hale heart bleed
To see him lying there.

49 " He was not dead as I pass'd by,

But no remeid cou'd be ;
And he gave me this ring to bear
Unto a fair ladye.

THE MILLER'S SON. 139

50 " And by the marks that he descryved,

I'm sure that you are she ;

So take this token of free-will,

For him you'll never see."

51 In sorrow she tore her mantle,

With grief she tore her hair ;
" Now, since I've lost my own true love,
I ne'er will love man mair."

52 He drew the mask from off his face,

The lady sweetly smiled ;
" Awa, awa, ye fause Willie,
How have you me beguiled ? "

53 Earl Eichard he went through the hall,

The wine glass in his hand ;
But little thought his kitchen boy
Was heir o'er all his land.

54 But this she kept within her heart

And never told to one,
Until nine months they were expir'd,
And she brought home a son.

55 Then she has told her father dear :

He said " Daughter, well won ;
You've married, not for gold, but love ;
Your joys will ne'er be done."

THE MILLER'S SON.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 120, and note, p.
320.

"This ballad, by the burden of its song, is," says Mr. Buchan,
" undoubtedly old. "

It has some points of resemblance both to the ballad which pre-
cedes, and the one which follows it.

The following stanza, which begins Part II., is omitted in the text,
as it appears out of place, obscure, and modern.

" A bonnie boy the ballad read,

Forbade them sair to lie;
She was a lady in Southland town.
Her name was Barbarie."

PART I.
1 " OH, woe is me ! the time draws nigh

My love and I must part ;
No one doth know the cares and fears
Of my poor troubled heart.

140 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 " Already I have suffered much;

Our parting cost me dear;
Would that I cou'd have gone with him,
Or he could tarry'd here.

3 " My heart is fix'd within his breast,

And that he knows right well;
For bitter were the tears I shed,
When I bid him farewell.

4 " When I bid him farewell," she said,

" Alas, and woe is me;
For cauld and shrill the wind blows still,
Between my love and me.

5 " The hat my love wears on his head,

It 's not made of the woo' ;
But it is of the silk so fine,
And well becomes his brow.

6 " His eyes sae blithely they do blink,

His hair shines like the broom;
And I wou'd not gi'e my laddie's love
For all the wealth in Koine.

7 " He said, ' Farewell, my dearest dear,

Since from you I must go;
Let not your heart be full of grief,
Nor parting grieve you so.

8 " ' If life remains, I will return,

And bear you companie;'
But cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me.

9 " His bonnie middle is well made,

His shoulders brave and braid;
Out of my mind he'll never be,
Till in my grave I'm laid.

10 " Till I'm in grave laid low," she says,

" Alas! and woe is me;
Now cauld and raw the wind does blaw,
Between my love and me.

11 " Some do mourn for oxen," she said,

" And others mourn for kye ;
And some do mourn for dowie death,
But none for love like I.

THE MILLER'S SON. 141

12 " What need I make all this din,

Or what gude will it dee?
For cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me."

13 She 's ta'en her mantle her about,

And sat down by the shore,
In hopes to meet with some relief
But still her grief grew more.

14 " Oh, I'll sit here while my life 's in,

Until the day I die;

Oh, cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me.

15 " Oh, see ye not yon bonnie ship?

She 's beauteous to behold;
Her sails are taffety sae fine,
Her topmasts shine like gold.

16 " In yonder ship my love does skip,

And quite forsaken me;
And cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me.

17 " My love he 's neither laird nor lord,

Nor ane of noble kin;
But my bonnie love, the sailor bold,
Is a poor miller's son.

18 " He is a miller's son," she says,

" And will be till he die;
And cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me.

19 " My love he 's bound to leave the land,

And cross the watery faem;
And the bonnie ship my love sails in,
The Goldspink is her name.

20 '' She sails mair bright than Phrebus fair

Out o'er the raging sea;
And cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me.

21 " He promised I shou'd letters have,

Ere six months they were gone;
But now nine months they are expir'd,
And yet I have got none.

142 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

22 " So I may sigh, and say, alas

This day ! and woe is me !
And cauld and shrill the wind blaws still
Between my love and me.

23 "I wish a stock-stone aye on earth,

And high wings on the sea,
To cause my true love stay at home,
And no more go from me.

24 " What needs me for to wish in vain?

Such things will never be ;
The wind blaws sair in every where
Between my love and me."

PART II.

25 She thought her love was still abroad,

Beyond the raging sea ;
But there was nae mair between them twa
Than a green apple tree.

26 " Cheer up your heart, my dearest dear,

No more from you I'll part ;
I'm come to ease the cares and fears
Of your poor troubled heart.

27 " All for my sake ye've suffer'd much ;

I'm home to cherish thee ;
And now we've met, nae mair to part
Until the day we die.

28 " I wish'd your face was set in glass,

That I might it behold ;
And the very letters of your name
Were wrote in beaten gold;

29 " That I the same might bear about,

Thro' many strange countrie :
But now we're met, nae raair to part
Until the day we die.

30 " Here is a ring, the pledge of love,

I still will you adore ;
Likewise a heart that none can move;
A prince can give no more.

31 " A prince can give no more, my love,

Than what I give to thee ;
Now we are met, nae mair to part
Until the day we die.

THE ENCHANTED RING. 143

82 "I promised letters to send thee,

Ere six months they were gone ;
But now nine months they are expired,
And I'm return'd home.

33 " Now from the seas I am return'd,

My dear, -to comfort thee ;
And we are met, nae mair to part
Until the day we die.

34 " Ye say I'm neither laird nor lord,

Nor one of noble kin ;
But ye say I'm a sailor bold,
But and a miller's son.

35 " When ye come to my father's mill,

Ye shall grind mouter free;
For now we're met, nae mair to part
Until the day we die.

36 " Ye say I'm bound to leave the land,

And cross the watery faem ;
The ship that your true love commands,
The Goldspink is her name.

37 " Though I were heir o'er all Scotland,

Ye should be lady free ;
And now we're met, nae mair to part
Until the day we die."

THE ENCHANTED RING.

Two versions of this ballad have been published :

I. "Bonny Bee-Ho'm." Jamieson'a Popular Ballads, voL L,
p. 185: where it is "given verbatim from Mrs. Brown's
MS."

II. " The Enchanted Ring." Buchan's Ancient Ballads, &c.,
vol. i., p. 169.

The present version is collated from both, but Mr. Buchan's is the
one chiefly followed.

This ballad, like "Hynde Horn" and others, "is founded," says
Mr. Buchan, " on the visionary belief of a supernatural agency in a
piece of gold and pebble." Those who are any way curious to
know the alleged "vertues and qualities of sundrie pretious stones,"
&c., may consult the Discoverie of Witchcraft, by Reginald Scot,
in which " antiquated and curious black-letter book, printed in

144 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND,

1584, p. 231, we find the following receipt for making a ' Wastecote,
of Proofed 'On Christmas daie, at night, a thread must be sponne
of flax, by a little virgin girle, in the name of the divell ; and it
must be by her woven, and also wrought with the needle. In the
breast, or fore-part thereof, must be made with needle-work, two
heads ; on the head, at the right side, must be a hat and a long beard.
The left head must have on a crown, and it must be so horrible that
it maie resemble Belzebub ; and on each side of the wastecote must
be made a cross.' " Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 345.

1 IN Lauderdale, as late I went,*

I heard a lady's moan,
Lamenting sadly for her dear,
And aye she cried " Ohon !

2 " Sure never maid that e'er drew breath

Had harder fate than me;
For I never loved but one on earth,
And now he 's forced to sea.

3 "A handsome youth with shoulders broad,

Gold yellow is his hair;
None other of our Scotish youths
Can with my love compare.

4 " But I will do for my love's sake

Most ladies wou'd think sair;
For seven years shall come and gae
Ere kame gae in. my hair.

5 " There shall neither shoe gae on my feet,

Nor kame gae in my hair,
Nor ever coal or candle light
Within my bow'r shine mair.

6 " And neither ale in Scotland brevv'd,

Nor wine frae foreign land,

Shall ever cross my halse again,

Till my love come to land."

7 She thought her love had been on sea,

Fast sailing to Bahome;
But in next chamber still was he,
And heard his lady's moan.

8 "Be hush'd, be hush'd, my lady dear;

I pray thee, moan not so;
For I am deep sworn on a book,
To Bahome for to go.

" In Arthur's dale." Jamieson's version.

THE ENCHANTED RING. 145

9 " And traitors false there to subdue,

O'er seas I make me boun',
Forthey've trepan'd our kindly Scots,
Like dogs to ding them down."

10 " Then take this ring, this royal thing,

Set with' a ruby stone ;
As long as 'tis your finger on,
Your blood can ne'er be drawn,

11 " But if this ring shou'd fade or stain,

Or the ruby change its hue,
Be sure your love is dead and gone,
Or she has proved untrue."

12 This loving couple then did part,

With sad and heavy moan;
The wind was fair, the ship was rare,
And soon he reach'd Bahome.

13 But in Bahome he had not been

A month but barely one,
Till tarnish'd was his gay gold ring,
And faded was the stone.

14 And in Bahome he scarce had been

Some two months past and gone,
Till black and ugly grew the ring,
And lustreless the stone.

15 " Fight on, fight on, you merry men all,

With you I'll fight no more ;
But I will gang to some holy place,
Pray to the King of Glore."

16 Then to a chapel he has gone,

And knelt upon his knee
For seven days and seven nights,
Then this bequest made he :

17 " When you return to Scotland fair,

Gi'e all I ha'e to gi'e

To the young that canna, the auld that maunna,
And the blind that downa see.

18 " But gi'e the maist to women weak,

Can neither fight nor flee,
For the sake of her I trust in heaven
Wha died for love of me."
L

146 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

19 Then death did come with kindly dart,

And split his heart in twain ;
God grant their souls are both in heaven,
There ever to remain.

YOUNG RONALD.

Abridged from Buchan's Ancient Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 282.

This ballad has some points of analogy with the one which precedes
it, with "Sir Cawline" which follows it, and with the Danish ballads,
"Sir Olger the Dane," and "Sir Grimner," both of which last are
translated in Old Danish Ballads, from Grimm's Collection, London,
1856.

Many of the names of persons and places in the early romantic
ballads are such as it would puzzle the most learned antiquary to
identify; but the name of Windsor, which occurs in the present ballad,
is not one of these.

It is not, however, New Windsor, distant fully twenty miles west by
south from London, and celebrated for its royal castle and domain ;
but Old Windsor, situated about two miles south-east from the
other, which is referred to in the ballad. At this latter place the
Saxon kings had a palace which was named Windles-ofra, or
Windleshora, from the winding of the Thames at this part of its
course.

Whether the Linne of the ballad refers, to the ancient town oiLynn
Regis in Norfolk ; to the modern Lincoln, known under the Romans
as Lindum, and under the Saxons as Lindsey, during a portion of
which regime nearly, if not quite, the whole of the modern county
ap]>ears to have existed as a subordinate state in connection with the
Saxon kingdom of Mercia ; to some other place unknown ; or to some
region purely imaginary, is a problem which cannot now be solved ;
and, fortunately, it is a matter of no great consequence.

The name occurs in a preceding ballad, as designating the domain
of "Young Bekie," and it gives title to "The Heir of Linne," a
ballad which appears in a subsequent portion of this work.

The name of the heroine's father," King Honour," also appears in
"Fause Foodrage," ante, p. 128.

1 IT fell upon the Lammas time,

When flowers were fresh and green,
And craig and cleugh were cover'd o'er
With clothing that was clean.

2 'Twas at that time a noble squire,

Sprung from an ancient line,
Laid his love on a lady fair,
The king's daughter of Linne.

YOUNG RONALD. 147

3 When cocks did craw, and day did daw,

And mint in meadows sprang,
Young Ronald, and his little wee boy,
They rode the way alang.

4 And when he unto Windsor came,

And lighted on the green,
Young Ronald spy'd his mother dear
Was walking there alane.

5 "Where ha'e you been, my son Ronald,

From gude school-house this day?"
"Oh, I ha'e been at Linne, mother,
Seeing yon bonnie May."

6 " Oh, waes me for you now, Ronald,

For she will not you ha'e;
For many a knight and bauld baron
She 's nick'd them aye with Nay."

7 Young Ronald 's done him to his bow'r,

And he took bed and lay;
Nae woman cou'd come in his sight,
For thoughts of this fair May.

8 Then Ronald call'd his stable groom

To come right speedilie;
Says " Ye'll gang to yon stable, boy,
And saddle a steed for me.

9 " His saddle of the good red gold,

His bits of polish'd steel,
His bridle of a glittering hue ;
See that ye saddle him weel."

10 When cocks did craw, and day did daw,

And mint in meadows sprang,
Young Ronald, and his little wee boy,
The way they rode alang.

11 So they rode on, and farther on,

To yonder pleasant green;
And there they saw that lady fair,
In her garden alane.

12 He rais'd his hat, and thus he spake,

" Oh, pity have on me!
For I cou'd pledge what is my right,
All for the sake of thee."

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

13 " But I'm too young to wed, kind sir;

You must not take it ill ;
Whate'er my father bids me do,
I maun be at his will.

14 " King Honour is my father's name,

The morn to war maun fare;
He gangs to fight a giant proud,
That's wrought him meikle care.

15 " Alang with him he is to take

Baith noble knights and squires;
If you gae there a weel-graith'd knight,
You'll honour my desires.

16 " And I'll give you a thousand crowns,

To part among your men ;
A robe upon your ain body,
Weel sew'd with my ain hand.

17 ." Likewise a ring, a royal thing,

Whose virtue is well known ;
As lang 's this ring 's your finger on,
Your bluid shall ne'er be drawn."

18 He kiss'd her then, and took his leave;

His heart was all in pride;

And he is on to Windsor gone,

With his boy by his side.

19 And when he unto Windsor came,

And lighted on the green,
Young Konald saw his auld father
Was walking there alane.

20 " Where ha'e ye been, my son Konald,

From gude school-house the day?"
" Oh, I ha'e been at Linne, father,
Seeking yon bonnie May."

21 " Oh, waes me for you now, Ronald,

For she will not you ha'e;
Many a knight and bauld baron
She 's nick'd them aye with Nay."

22 " Oh, hold your tongue, my father dear,

Let all your folly be;
The last words that I with her spake,
Her love was granted me.

YOUNG RONALD. 149

23 " The morn I join her father dear,

His knights and noble squires,
To fight against a giant proud,
And honour her desires."

24 His father gave him a hundred men,

To bear him companie;
Besides as meikle gude harness
As carry them on the lea.

25 When cocks did craw, and day did daw,

And mint in meadows spread,
Young Ronald and his merry young men
Were ready for to ride.

26 So they rode on, and farther on,

To yonder pleasant green;
And there they spy'd that lady fair,
With love-tears in her een.

27 And twenty times before he ceased,

He kiss'd her lips sae clear;
And said " I'll fight the giant proud
For your sake, lady dear."

28 Then to his great steed he set spur,

Which being swift of feet,
They soon arriv'd upon the plain,
Where all the rest did meet.

29 Then flew the foul thief frae the west,

His maik was never seen;
He had three heads upon ae hause,
Three heads on ae breast-bane.

30 He bauldly stepp'd up to the king;

Says " I'm a valiant man;
Let you, or any in your train,
Fight me now if ye can."

31 " Where is the man in all my train

Will take this deed in hand ?
And he shall ha'e my daughter dear,
And third part of my land."

32 " Oh, here am I," said young Eonald,

"Will take the deed in hand;
If you give me your daughter dear,
I'll seek nane of your land."

150 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

33 " I wou'dna for my life, Ronald,

That you shou'd perish here;

Remember that my daughter fair

For you shed many a tear."

34 When he thought on that lady fair

He ne'er might see again,
He boldly coursed him to the fight,
Like a lion frae a chain.

35 Then he cut aff the giant's heads

With ae sweep of his hand,
Gaed hame and marry'd that lady fair,
And heir'd her father's land.

KING MALCOLM AND SIR COLVIN#.

This old romantic tale has appeared in print in the following
works :

I. Under the title of "Sir Cauline,"in Percy's Reliques, vol.

i., p. 38, 2d edit., 1767.
II. Under the above title, in Buchan's Ancient Ballads and

Songs, vol. ii., p. 6.
III. Under the title of " Sir Cawline," in Bishop Percy's Foiiu

Manuscript (printed copy), vol. iii., p. 1.

The version given in the Reliques extends to 392 lines, while the
last-named copy contains 201 lines, only 162 of which are represented
in the Reliques ; the concluding portion of the MS. copy being either
omitted, or completely perverted by Bishop Percy in his version.
These are facts which the apparently innate modesty of the ingenuous
and venerable prelate led him, in this instance, to conceal under the
prefatory statement that the copy "preserved in the editor's folio MS."
was " in so very defective and mutilated a condition (not from any chasm
in the MS. , but from great omission in the transcript, probably copied
from the faulty recitation of some illiterate minstrel), and the whole
appeared so far short of the perfection it seemed to deserve, that the
editor was tempted to add several stanzas in the first part, and still
more in the second, to connect and complete the story in the manner
which appeared to him most interesting and affecting;" but which un-
fortunately appears to others, as rather "most" stilted and affected.
It is well, however, that the world, or at least the English reading
portion of it, should now be aware of the full extent of its or their
indebtedness to the worthy prelate ; and this it or they are now en-
abled to estimate by comparing the "Sir Cauline"or the Reliques
with the "Sir Cawline" of the MS., as it appears in the printed
copy issued by or in connection with the Early English Text
Society.

Mr. Buchan's version comprises 27 stanzas, and numbers 110
lines.

KING MALCOLM AND SIR COLVINE. 151

It omits the apocryphal billing and cooing which the taste and in-
vention of the Bishop led him to tag on as a fitting finale to his first
part ; and it entirely omits his second part, with its perverted termin-
ation, but finishes with one stanza in accord with the denouement of
the MS. copy.

Yet the editor or editors of the MS. copy, not satisfied with his
or their exposure of the English prelate, which there is ample evidence
to substantiate, cannot stop short, but must in the flush of victory
proceed to play the role of literary bravo or bravos against the Scotish
editor, by insinuating that " there can be little doubt that this [his
version] is one of that collector's many fabrications," not a tittle of
evidence being adduced in support of this, to say the least of it,
most uncharitable accusation.

Probably the editor or editors thought something necessary in order
to appease the manes of the convicted prelate, and satisfy the geniua
of their country, too often tremblingly and meanly jealous of Scot-
land and of Scotsmen ; but if so, it is much to be regretted that he or
they could think of no other and better way than by this attempt to
immolate the reputation and outrage the memory of a deceased
collector and editor, notoriously as honest as he was painstaking.

Nor is it on this ground alone that they are open to animadversion,
as it can easily be shown that the ignorance and sycophancy of this
contemptible coterie of padding manufacturers is quite on a par with
their egotism, impertinence, and malignity. And that we do not need
to travel far for proof of this, let the following fawning paragraph,
which immediately precedes the attack made on the late Mr. Buchan,
testify :

" As Mr. Furnival, in his original proposal for the publication of
the folio, said : ' With a true instinct Professor Child remarked in his
Ballads (ed. 1861, vol. iii., p. 172), it is difficult to believe that
this charming romance had so tragic and so sentimental a con-
clusion.' "

Now let us quote the words of Mr. Motherwell, the steadfast and
appreciative friend of Mr. Buchan, and the precursor, if not the
actual inspirer of this marvellous intuition which Mr. Furnival
and his coadjutors delight to honour. He says :

"How much it (Sir Catiline) owes to the taste and genius of its
editor, we have not the means of ascertaining ; but that his interpola-
tions and additions have been very considerable, any one acquainted
with ancient minstrelsy will have little room to doubt. We suspect
too that the original ballad had a less melancholy catastrophe, and
that the brave Syr Cauline, after his combat with the 'hend soldan,'
derived as much benefit from the leechcraft of fair Christabelle as he
did after winning the Eldridge sword."

Referring to the theory of another accomplished, but prematurely
cut off, ballad editor and anuotator, Mr. Motherwell adds :

" Between this ballad and some parts of the metrical romance of
Sir Tristrem, the late Mr. Finlay of Glasgow affects to discover a
resemblance ; but he has not condescended to trace a parallel between
them. Indeed, we cannot help thinking, for all he says to the
contrary, that his reasoning is no whit superior to Fluellin's : ' There

152 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

is a river at Macedon, and there is also moreover a river at Mon-
mouth :' and, according to Mr. Finlay, 'there is an Irish king and
his daughter in "Sir Cauline."' And there is also, moreover, an
Irish king and his daughter in Sir Tristrem. The concealed love of
Sir Cauline for one so much above him in station will remind the
reader of the gentle

' Squyer of lowe degre

That loved the king's donghter of Hungre.'"

Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern, p. 99.

As regards the nationality of the ballad, it appears from the Percy
Folio MS. (printed copy, vol. iii., p. 1, footnote), that Bishop Percy
had indicated, and we believe correctly, his opinion in the following
terms, as inscribed by him on the MS. i

"A strange romantic old song, very defective and obscure.
2f.B. This seemes to have been originally a Scotch song, which will
account for its being so corrupted. P." We presume his meaning
to be that, on account of its being Scotch, the English reciter and
transcriber did not fully understand, and consequently corrupted it.

" King Malcolm and Sir Col vine," as here printed, is collated, with
some editorial license, from " Sir Cawline," Bishop Percy's Folio MS.,
printed copy, vol. iii., pp. 4-11, lines 31 to 129 inclusive, and from
Mr. Buchan r s ballad, "King Malcolm and Sir Colvin;" but the
latter is the one chiefly followed.

The original version of the latter ends with the following stanza :

" Up he has ta'en that bluidy hand,

Set it before the king;
And the morn it was Wednesday.
When he married his daughter Jean."

As an appropriate prelude, the following stanzas, which form the
beginning of the ballad of " Sir Cawline " in Bishop Percy's Folio
MS., are here given verbatim from the printed copy, vol. iii, pp. 3
and 4 :

" lesiis : lord mickle of might,

that dyed ffor ys on the roode

to maintains vs in all our right,

4 that loues true English blood.

" ffor by a Knight I say my song,

was bold & ffull hardye ;
Sir Eobert Briuse wold fforth to flight
8 in-to Ireland ouer the sea;

" & in that land dwells a king

wAich ouer all does beare the bell,
& with him there dwelled a curteous Knight,
12 men call him Sir Cawline.

" And he hathe a Ladye to his daughter,

of ffashyon shee hath noe peere :
Knights and lordes they woed her both,
16 trusted to haue beene her peere.

" Sir Cawline loues her best of one",

but nothing durst hee say
to descreeue his counsell to noe man,
20 but deerlye loued this niayd.

KING MALCOLM AND SIR COLVINE. 153

" till itt beffell vppn a day,

great dill to him was dight,
the maydens loue remoued his mind,
24 to care bed went the Knight ;

" & one while he spread his armes him flroe,

& cryed soe pittyouslye

ffor the maydens loue that I haue most minde,
28 this day may comfort mee,
or else ere nopne I shal be dead!
thus can Sir Cawline say."

Compare, in particular, lines 21 to 28, with stanza 7 of " Young
Ronald," ante, p. 146.

1 THERE lived a king in fair Scotland,

King Malcolm call'd by name,

Renown'd, as history doth record,

For valour, worth, and fame.

2 Now, it fell ance upon a day,

This king sat down to dine;
And then he miss'd a favourite knight,
Whose name was Sir Colvine.

3 But out then spake another knight,

Ane of Sir Colvine's kin :
" Sir Colvine 's sick and like to die,
And needing good leechin'."

4 " Go fetch to him my daughter dear,

She is a leech full fine;
And take ye bread, and wine so red,
To give to Sir Colvine.

5 " No dainties let Sir Colvine lack,

Spare nothing that is mine;
A knight so leal and brave as he,
I wou'd be loth to tyne,"

6 The king's daughter did bear the bread,

Her page did bear the wine,
And set a table at his bed,
" Sir Colvine, rise and dine."

7 " Oh, well love I the wine, lady,

Comes frae your lovely hand ;
But better I love yoursel', lady,
Than all fair Scotland's strand.

8 " And it is for your love, lady,

That all this dule I dree ;
But grant your love, seal'd with a kiss,
And I wou'd pass from bale to bliss,

And nane mair happy be."

154 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 "Oh, hold your tongue now, Sir Colvine,

Let all your folly be;
My love must be by honour won,
Or nane shall marry me."

10 " Alas, full well I know, lady,

I cannot be your peer,
But I'd fain do some deed of arms
To be your bacheleer."

11 " Then hie ye to the Elrick hill,

Near by yon sharp hawthorn,
Where never man did waik all night
Since Christ our Lord was born.

12 " Oh, hie ye there and waik all night,

And boldly blaw your horn;
And if with honour ye return,
I'll marry ye the morn."

13 Then up Sir Colvine quickly raise,

For battle has him boun';
And said " Fair lady, for your sake,
I'll walk th'e bent sae brown.

14 " And I will bring a token back,

Or never mair be seen ;"
Then forth Sir Colvine proudly walk'd,
Clad in his armour keen.

15 He hied him to the Elrick hill,

To walk and waik all night;
And the lady to her chamber went,
With all her maidens bright.

16 At midnight mirk the moon did rise,

While he walk'd up and down ;
And a lightsome bugle he heard sound,
Over the bent sae brown.

17 Then near him by, the knight did spy,

By the twinkling of an e'e,
A fierce-like knight and lady bright,
Wha comely was to see.

18 This fierce knight call'd to Sir Colvine,

" man, I rede thee, flee;
I bear a brand both sharp and broad,
Will quarter you in three ;

KING MALCOLM AND SIR COLVINE. 155

19 " For there 's never man comes to this hill,

But he maun fight with me ;
And if cryance come thy heart intil,
It's here that ye maun dee."

20 Sir Colvine. said " I'm not afraid

Of any here I see ;
In Christ above I put my trust,
And therefore dread not thee."

21 Sir Colvine then he drew his sword,

The fierce knight drew his brand;
And stiff and stoure and stark and doure,
Each other did withstand.

22 But Colvine, with an awkward stroke,

Struck off the knight's right hand,
And down fell hand, and down fell brand,
Upon the Elrick land.

23 The fingers of the hand that fell,

Were girt with five rings round;
And the rings that were these fingers on^
Were worth five hundred pound.

24 "I yield, I yield," the fierce knight saidj

" I fairly yield to thee ;
No man e'er came to Elrick hill
E'er gain'd such victorie.

25 " I and my forbears here did haunt

A thousand years and more;

I'm safe to swear a solemn oath,

We ne'er were beat before."

26 Then the knight's fair lady wrung her hand,

And Colvine did implore:
" For love of her, whom you love most,
Pray smite my lord no more.

27 " But give me back my wounded knight,

Let us fare on our way;
And never more, on Elrick hill,
For rapine or for play;

28 " No, never more, on Elrick hill,

By night nor yet by day,
Shall we molest the race of men,
On Christ their trust doth lay."

156 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

29 Sir Colvine set the Elrick knight

Upon his steed again,
Who with his lady leal and fair
Eade off with might and main.

30 Sir Colvine then took up the hand,

With five rings it upon,
Likewise the brand as hard as flint,
And homeward he has gone.

31 There to the king's fair daughter gave

These tokens of his love,
Won by the might of his right arm,
And trust in Christ above.

SIR CAWLINE.

The following stanzas, which nan-ate the adventures of " Sir Caw-
line " after his return from his combat with the " Elrick" or " Eldridge
king" or "knight," are here given verbatim from the Percy Folio
MS., printed copy, vol. iii., p. 11.

They begin abruptly, which led Bishop Percy to note on the MS.,
" Some very great omission here," and induced him to tax his inven-
tion to fill the gap ; which he accordingly did, to the extent, and in
the manner, previously indicated.

The fight with the " Gyant " or " Soldan" bears considerable re-
semblance to the concluding portion of "Young Konald " (ante, p. 149) ;
<and the adventure with the " Lion " finds its counterpart in the life
of the Scotish patriot Sir William Wallace, as narrated by Henry
the Minstrel.

The incident is said to have occurred during the sojourn of Wallace
in France, and to have been brought about through the jealousy of the
French courtiers, who thought, by means of this plot, to get rid of the
indomitable Scot, whose superiority they could ill brook, but whose
prowess they had seen, felt, and feared.

The resemblance may be seen from the following extract, the ortho-
graphy of which has been modernized, but which in other respects is
given as it appears in the original.

235 " This thing admitted was,

That Wallace shou'd on to the Lion pass.

The king then charg'd to bring him gude harness:

And he said, 'Nay, God shield ine frae sic case.

I wou'd take weid, shou'd I fight with a man;
240 But [for] a dog, that nought of arms can,

I will have nane, but singular as I ga.'

A great mantle about his hand 'gan take,

And his gude sword ; with him he took nae mair;

Abandonly in barres enter'd there.

SIR CAWLINE. 157

245 Great chains was wrought in the gate with a gin,

And pull'd it to when Wallace was therein.

The wud Lion, on Wallace where he stood,

Bam pant he brayed, for he desired blood;

With his rude paws in the mantle wrought sae.
250 Athwart the back then Wallace 'gan him tai,

With his gude sword that was of burnish'd steel,

His body in twa it thruschyt euirilk deill."

Blind Harry's Wallace, p. 324, Jamieson's ed., Glasgow, 1869.

The plotting of the courtiers, which led to the combat between
Wallace and the lion, recalls to recollection the story of Dairiel in the
den of lions ; and various incidents in the tale of Sir Cawline remind
us of circumstances in the history of David, King of Israel.

Bishop Percy omitted the portion from line 163 onwards.

As explained by Mr. Furnivall, " The expansions of contractions
are marked in the text by italics, after the German plan introduced
(I believe) to the English pxiblic by Mr. WhitleySfcokes, in his" edition
of The Play of the Sacrament for the Philological Society. Fore-
wards, p. 23, (Bishop Percy's Folio Manuscript, printed copy, vol. i.)

& a Gyant that was both Stiffe [&] strong,

he lope now them amonge,
132 & vpon his squier 5 heads he bare,
vnmackley 'made was hee.

& he dranke then ou the Kings wine,

& he put the cup in his sleeue ;
136 & all thd trembled & were wan

ffor feare he shold them greeffe.

" lie tell thee mine Arrand, King," he sayes,

" mine errand what I doe heere ;
140 ffor I will bren thy temples bye,

or He haue thy daughter deere;
in, or else vpon, yond more soe brood

thou shalt ffind mee a ppeare."

144 the King he turned him round about,

(Lore?, in his heart he was woe !)
says, " is there noe Knight of the round table,
this matter will vndergoe ?

148 " I, & hee shall haue my broad Lands,

& keepe them well his Hue;
I, and soe he shall my daughter deere,
to be his weded wiffe."

152 & then stood vp Sir Cawline

his owne errand ffor to say :
"ifaith, I wold to god, Sir," sayd Sir Cawline,
" that Soldan I will assay.

158 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

156 "goe, ffeitch me downe my Eldrige sword,

ffor I woone itt att [a] ffray."
"but away, away!" sayd the hend Soldan,
"thou tarryest mee here all day!"

1GO but the hend Soldan & Sir Cawline

the ffought a Summers day :
now has hee slaine that hend Soldan,
& brought his 5 heads away.

164 & the King has betaken him his broade lands
& all his venison.*

" but take you too & your Lands [soe] broad,

& brooke them well your liffe,
168 ffor you promised me yowr daughter deere
to be my weded wiffe."

" now by my ffaith," then says our King,

" ffor that wee will not striffe;
172 ffor thou shalt haue my daughter dere
to be thy weded wiffe."

the other morninge Szr Cawline rose

by the dawning of the day,
176 & vntill a garden did he goe

his Mattins ffor to say;
& that bespyed a ffalse steward

a shames death that he might dyel

180 & he lett a lyon out of a bande,

Sir Cawline ffor to teare;

& he had noe wepon him vpon,

nor noe wepon did weare.

184 but hee tooke his Mantle of greene,
into the Lyons mouth itt thrust ;
he held the Lyon soe sore to the wall
till the Lyons hart did burst.

188 & the watchmen cried vpon the walla

& sayd, " Sir Cawlines slaine!
and with a beast is not ffull litle,

a Lyon of Mickle mayne."
192 then the Kings daughter shee ffell downe,

"for peerlesse is my payne! "

And preferred them to Sir Cawl'ne
All for his warryson U- 1., reward).

MAY COLVINE AND FAUSE SIR JOHN. 159

" O peace, my Lady !" sayes Sir Cawline,

" I haue bought thy loue ffull deere.
196 peace, my Lady! " sayes Sir Cawline,
"peace, Lady, ffor I am heere!"

then he did marry this Kings daughter

with gold and siluer bright,
200 & 15 sonnes this Ladye beere
to Sir Cawline the Knight,
ffins.

MAY COLVINE AND FAUSE SIR JOHN.

This ballad was first published in Herd's Ancient and Modern
Scottish Songs, &c., voL i., p. 153. "A fuller set," says Motherwell,
was next "given by Mr. Sharpe in his Ballad Book (p. 45), taken
from recitation ; but I have seen a printed stall copy as early as 1749,
entitled 'The Western Tragedy,' which perfectly agrees with Mr.
Sharpe's copy. I have also seen a later stall print, called 'The Histo-
rical Ballad of MayCulzean,' to which is prefixed some local tradition
that the lady there celebrated was of the family of Kennedy, and
that her treacherous and murder-minting lover was an Ecclesiastick of
the monastery of Maybole. In the parish of Ballantrae, on the sea-
coast, there is a frowning precipice pointed out to the traveller as
' Fause Sir John's Loup. ' In the North Country, at the Water of
Ugie, I am informed by Mr. Buchan, there is a similar distinction
claimed for some precipice there. The same gentleman has recovered
other two ballads on a similar story : one called ' The Water o'
Wearie's Well;' and the other, from its burden, named 'Aye as the
Gowans grow Gay,' in both of which the heroes appear to have
belonged to the Elfin tribe." Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction,
p. Ixx. , note 24.

In the same work (p. 67), Mr. Motherwell printed "a copy ob-
tained from recitation, collated with" the "copy to be found in"
Herd's collection.

In addition to the two ballads named by Mr. Motherwell, as re-
covered by Mr. Buchan, the Ancient Ballads and Songs, &c., of the
latter contain (vol. ii., p. 45) yet another Scotish version of this
widely-spread ballad.

"The story of this ballad," says Professor Child, "has apparently
some connection with Bluebeard, but it is hard to say what the con-
nection is (see Fucker's Vogel in the Grimms' K. u. H. Marchen, No.
46, and notes). The versions of the ballad in other languages are all
but innumerable." Professor Child's English and Scottish Ballads,
vol. ii., p. 271.

" In England," says the annotator of Scottish Traditional Versions
of Ancient Ballads, "the tale is well known and popular, under the
title of 'The Outlandish Knight,' of which ballad stall copies of con-
siderable antiquity are in existence;" and in the same work there

160 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

appears (p. 101) a modernized version, as originally communicated by
Mr. James H. Dixon "to The Table-Book of the late Mr. Hone."

Mr. Chambers states that " Carlton Castle, about two miles to the
south of Girvan (a tall old ruin situated on the brink of a bank which
overhangs the sea), is affirmed by the country people, who still remem-
ber the story with great freshness, to have been the residence of 'the
fause Sir John ; ' while a tall rocky eminence, called Gamesloup,
overhanging the sea, about two miles farther south, and over which
the road passes in a style terrible to all travellers, is pointed out as
the place where he was in the habit of drowning his wives, and where
he was finally drowned himself." Scottish Ballads, p. 232.

Mr. Jamieson's observation on the transposition of "names, time,
and place," in traditionary story, as quoted, ante, p. 30, appears peculi-
arly applicable in connection with this ballad.

The pilfering propensities of May Colvine are moderate in com-
parison with the "sixty thousand pounds" abstracted by the heroine
in "Leesome Brand," ante, p. 60. Moreover, such actions seem to
have been common ; for, in " the romantic story of ' Sir Sampson and
Hildesvida,' the daughter of Jarl Rudgeir, with which the Wilkina
Saga commences, as in the Swedish and Danish ballads of ' Fair
Midel,' &c., the knight causes the lady to pack up all the plate and
treasure she can get her hands on, to carry away with her." Jamie-
son's Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 31S.

1 HEARD ye ever of a bluidy knight

Lived in the West Countrie,

Wha did betray eight virgins fair,

And drown them in the sea?

2 All ladies of a gude account^

As ever yet were known :
This traitor was a baron knight,
They call'd him fause Sir John.

3 Then fause Sir John a-wooing came

To a maid of beauty rare ;
May Colvine was this lady's name,
Her father's only heir.

4 He courted her baith but and ben,

And urgently did pray,
That May Colvine would give consent
To mount and ride away.

5 Said he " I am a knight of might,

Of town-lands twenty-three ;
And you'll be lady of them all,
If you will gang with me."

MAY COLVINE AND FAUSE SIR JOHN.

6 " Excuse me, gude Sir John," she said,

" To wed I am too young ;
Without you have my parents' leave,
With you I darena gang."

7 " Your parents' leave you soon shall have,

To this they will agree ;
For I have made a solemn vow,
This night you'll gang with me."

8 Frae below his arm he pull'd a charm,

And stuck it in her sleeve ;
And he has made her gang with him,
Without her parents' leave.

9 From her father's coffers she took out

Of gold five hundred pound ;
And from his stable she took out
The best steed cou'd be found.

10 Then privately they rade away,

They made nae stop nor stay,

Nor curb'd nor drew the bridle rein

Till they reach'd Binyan Bay.

11 This bay lay in a lonely place,

Nae habitation nigh ;
And girt by rocks baith high and steep,
Where nane could hear her cry.

12 " Light down, light down, fair May Colvine,.

Your bridal bed you see ;
For here I've drown'd eight virgins brave,
And you the ninth maun be."

13 " Are these your bow'rs and lofty towers,

Sae beautiful and gay?
Or is it for my gold," she said,
" You take my life away ? "

14 " Cast aff, cast aff your jewels fine,

Sae costly, rich, and brave ;
They are too costly and too fine
To sink in the sea wave."

15 Then aff she 's ta'en her jewels fine,

And thus she made her moan :
" Have mercy on a virgin young,
I pray you, gude Sir John ! "

162 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

16 " Cast aff, cast aff, fair May Colvine,

Your gown and petticoat ;
For they're too costly and too fine,
In salt sea foam to rot."

17 " Take all I have, my life to save,

gude Sir John, I pray;
Let it ne'er be said you kill'd a maid
Upon her wedding-day,"

18 " Strip aff, strip aff your Holland smock,

That 's border'd with the lawn;
For it 's too costly and too fine
To toss on the sea sand."

19 " Oh, turn ye round, thou gude Sir John,

Your back about to me ; *
It is not comely for a man
A naked woman to see."

20 Put as Sir John he turn'd him round,

She threw him in the sea 5
Says "Lye ye there, ye fause Sir John,
Where you thought to lay me.

21 " Oh, lye ye there, ye traitor fause,

Where you thought to lay me;
You wou'd ha'e stript me to the skin,
But get your claise with thee."

22 " Oh, help ! oh, help now, May Colvine!

Oh, help ! or else I drown!
I'll take you to your father's gate,
And safely set ye down."

23 " Nae help, nae help, thou fause Sir John,

Nae help to such as thee ;
You lye not in a caulder bed
Than that you meant for me !

24 " Lye there, lye there, thou traitor fause,

Your bed the gurgling sea ;
If you ha'e bedded eight damsels there,
The ninth has bedded thee."

25 Then she mounted on her father's steed,

And swiftly rode away,
Arriving at her father's house
At breaking of the day.

* Variation: " And look to the leaf of the tree." Motherwell.

MAY COLVINE AND PAUSE SIR JOHN. 163

26 Then out the wily parrot spake,

Unto fair May Colvine :
" What ha'e ye done with fause Sir John,
That you went with yestreen ? "

27 " Oh, haud.your tongue, my pretty poll,

And talk nae mair of me ;
And for every meal ye got before,
My poll, ye will ha'e three.

28 " Oh, haud your tongue, my pretty poll,

Lay not the blame on me ;
Your cage shall be of the beaten gold,
And the spokes of ivory."

29 It 's up then spake her father dear,*

Frae chamber where he lay :
" What aileth thee, my pretty poll,
That ye chat sae ere day ? "

30 " The cat she scratch'd at my cage door,

And fain wou'd worry'd me,
And I call'd in fair May Colvine
To take the cat frae me."

31 T.hen first she tauld her mother dear

Concerning fause Sir John;
And next she tauld her father dear
The deed that she had done.

32 " If that be true, fair May Colvine,

That ye ha'e tauld to me,
To-day, ere I do eat or drink,
This fause Sir John I'll see."

33 Then aff they went, with one consent,

At dawning of the day,
Until they came to Carline sands,
And there his body lay.

34 His body tall, with that great fall,

On waves toss'd to and fro,
The diamond ring that he had on
Had broke in pieces two.

35 And they ha'e taken up his corpse

To yonder pleasant green ;
And there they buried fause Sir John,
For fear he shou'd be seen.

* " Up then spake the king himself." Motherwell.

164 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

36 Ye ladies all, where'er you be,

That read this mournful song,

I pray you mind on May Colvine,

And think on fause Sir John.

THE WATER 0' WEARIE'S WELL.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. ii., p. 201.

As remarked by Professor Child, this appears to " be a compound of
two ballads, the conclusion being taken from a story of the character
of 'May Colvine.'

"Full details upon the corresponding Scandinavian, German, and
Slavic legends are given by Grundt, viz. , in the preface to ' Noekkens
Svig,' Danmarks G. Folkeviser, vol. ii., p. 57 translated by Jamieson,
vol. L, p. 210; and by Monk Lewis, Tales of Wonder, No. 11." English
and Scottish Ballads, vol. i. , p. 198.

Another translation of "Marstigs," or "Marc Stig's Daughter,"
appears in Old Danish Ballads, from Grimm's Collection; and in this
latter work, p. 132, it is said to refer to "the exiled daughter of a
Danish noblemah executed for the murder of King Erick Clipping
(A.D. 1286)."

1 THERE came a bird out of a bush,

On water for to dine :

And, sighin' sair, says the king's daughter,
"Oh, wae's this heart of mine!"

2 He's ta'en a harp into his hand,

He's harp'd them all asleep;
Except it was the king's daughter,
Wha ae wink cou'dna get.

3 He's luppen on his berry -brown steed,

Ta'en her behind himsel' ;
Then baith rade down to that water
That they call Wearie's Well.

4 " Wade in, wade in, my ladye fair,

No harm shall thee befall;
Oft times ha'e I water'd my steed
With the water o' Wearie's Well."

The first step that she steppit in,

She steppit to the knee;
And, sighin' sair, says this lady fair,

"This water's no for me."

LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT. 165

6 ' Wade in, wade in, my ladye fair,

No harm shall thee befall ;
Oft times ha'e I water'd my steed
With the water o' Wearie's Well."

7 The next step that she steppit in,

She steppit to the middle;
And, sighin' sair, says this lady fair,
" I've wet my gowden girdle."

8 " Wade in, wade in, my ladye fair,

No harm shall thee befall ;
Oft times ha'e I water'd my steed
With the water o' Wearie's Well."

9 The next step that she steppit in,

She steppit to the chin;
And, sighin' sair, says this lady fair,
"They shou'd gar twa loves twin."

10 " Seven king's daughters I've drown'd there,

In the water o' Wearie's Well ;
And I'll make ye the eight of them,
And ring the common bell."

11 " Since I am standin' here," she says,

" This dowie death to dee,
One kiss of your comelie mouth,
I'm sure, wou'd comfort me."

12 He louted him o'er his saddle-bow,

To kiss her cheek and chin;
She 's ta'en him in her arms twa,
And thrown him headlong in.

13 " Since seven king's daughters ye've drown'd there,

In the water o' Wearie's Well,
I'll make ye bridegroom to them all,
And ring the bell mysel'."

14 And aye she warsled, and aye she strave,

Till to dry land she swam;
Then thankit God most cheerfullie,
For the dangers she'd o'ercam'.

LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF KNIGHT.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 22, where it

entitled " The Gowans sae Gay."

Referring to this and the preceding ballad, Professor Child

1GG BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

observes: "It is possible that in both instances two independent
Stories have been blended; but it is curious that the same inter-
mixture should occur in Norse and German also."

Professor Child regards the hero of the preceding ballad as a " Nix,
or Merman," that of the present being an Elf, " though," as he
correctly remarks, " the punishment awarded to each of them in the
catastrophe, as the ballads now exist, is not consistent with their
supernatural character."

We shall have " the Elf Knight introduced, under the same circum-
stances," in a subsequent portion of this collection, '"indeed, the
first three or four stanzas are common to both pieces." English and
Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 195.

1 FAIR Isabel sits in her bow'r sewing,

Aye as the gowans grow gay;
There she heard an elf knight blawing his horn,
The first morning in May.

2 " If I had but yon horn that I do hear,

And yon elf knight wha blaws it to be my dear."

3 This maiden had scarcely these words spoken,
Till in at her window the elf knight has luppen.

4 " It's a very strange matter, fair maiden," said he,
" I canna blaw my horn, but ye call on me.

5 " But will ye go [with me] to yon greenwood side?
If ye canna gang, I will cause you to ride."

6 He leapt on a horse, and she on another,
And they rode on to the greenwood together.

7 " Light down, light down, Lady Isabel," said he,
" We are come to the place where ye are to dee."

8 " Ha'e mercy, ha'e mercy, kind sir, on me,
Till ance my dear father and mother I see."

9 " Oh, it's seven king's daughters here ha'e I slain,
And ye shall [now here] be the eight of them."

10 " Oh, sit down a while, lay your head on my knee,
That we may ha'e some rest before that I dee."

11 She stroak'd him sae fast, the nearer he did creep,
[And] with a small charm she lull'd him fast asleep.

12 With his ain sword-belt sae fast as she bang him,
With his ain dag-dirk sae sair as she dang him.

13 " If seven king's daughters here ye ha'e slain,
Lye ye here a husband to them ilk ane."

THE DEMON LOVER. 167

THE DEMON LOVER.

"This ballad, which contains some verses of merit, was taken down
from recitation by Mr. William Laidlaw, tenant in Traquair-knowe.
It contains a legend which, in various shapes, is current in Scotland.
I remember to have heard a ballad, in which a fiend is introduced
paying his addresses to a beautiful maiden ; but, disconcerted by the
holy herbs which she wore in her bosom, makes the following lines
the burden of his courtship :

' Gin ye wish to be leman mine.
Lay aside the St. John's wort and the vervain.'

" The heroine of the following tale was unfortunately without any
similar protection." Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 194.

Mr. Motherwell reprinted the ballad in his Minstrelsy, pp. 92-95 ;
but indicates his suspicion that Mr. Laidlaw "may have improved
upon" the "original; for, with all our industry," says he, " we have
not been able to find it in a more perfect state than this." Then
follow nine verses, eight of them corresponding to verses 10, 11,
16, 17, 18, 20, 21, and 25, of the ballad as here printed; and the last
is inserted in the page following this.

Mr. Buchan, however, with his usual good luck, proved himself
more fortunate in hunting up the ballad than "the indefatigable
editor of Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern;" and he was "therefore
happy " to have it in his ' ' power to convince " his ' ' esteemed friend "
that "a perfect copy of this curious and scarce legend" still existed.
"In this ballad, it is not a demon or a fiend that betrays [the
heroine] Jeanie Douglas, but the spirit of her own first true love,
James Herries." Ancient Ballads and Songs, &c., vol. i, Ballad, pp.
214-218. Note, pp. 312-313.

Professor Child, in his English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i, p. 209,
quotes the following ludicrous "stanzas from a version of this ballad
printed at Philadelphia (and called 'The House Carpenter')," as "given
in Graham's Illustrated Magazine, Sept., 1858:

" ' I might have married the king's daughter dear; '

'You might have married her,' cried she,
' For I am married to a house carpenter,
And a fine young man is he.'

'"Oh, dry np your tears, my own true love,

And cease your weeping,' cried he;
'For soon you'll see your own happy home,
On the banks of old Tennessee.' "

But these incongruous verses are, in substance with the exception
of the crowning absurdity of the last two lines derived from
Buchan's version of the ballad, which latter winds up with the
two following verses :

"The fatal flight of this wretched maid (?)

Did reach her own countrie;
Her husband then distracted ran,
And this lament made he :

168 BALLAD MENSTRELST OF SCOTLAND.

" ' Oh, wae be to the ship, the ship,

And wae be to the sea,
And wae be to the mariners,
Took Jeanie Douglas frae me! '"

Mr. Motherwell's fragment ends thus :

" They had not sailed a mile awa,

Never a mile but four,
When the little wee ship ran round about
And never was seen more ! "

Professor Child remarks, that ' ' The Devil (Auld Nick) here takes the
place of the merman (Nix) of the ancient ballad," ante, p. 164 ; " and
the same natural substitution [is] noted in K. U. H. Mdrchen, 3d
ed., iii., 253." English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 201. He
regards this and the two preceding ballads, " diverse as they may
now appear, after undergoing successive corruptions," as "primarily
of the same type." English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 198.

1 " OH, where have you been, my long-lost Jove,

This long seven years and more ?"
" Oh, I'm come to seek my former vows,
That ye granted me before."

2 " Oh, hold your tongue of your former vows,

For they now will breed sad strife ;
Oh, hold your tongue of your former vows,
For I am become a wife."

3 He turn'd him right and round about,

And the tear blinded his e'e:
" I wou'd ne'er have trodden on Irish ground
If it had not been for thee.

4 "I might have had a king's daughter,

Far, far beyond the sea;
I might have had a king's daughter,
Had it not been love of thee."

5 " If ye might have had a king's daughter,

Yersel' ye had to blame ;
Ye might have taken the king's daughter,
For ye kenn'd that I was nane."

6 " Oh, false are the vows of womankind,

But fair is their false bodie ;
I wou'd ne'er have trodden on Irish ground
Had it not been love of thee.

7 " For you I scorn'd the crown of gold,

The king's daughter also;
And I am come for you, my love,
So with me you must go.

THE DEMON LOVER. 169

8 " You must forsake your dear husband,

And your young son also,
With me to sail the raging seas,
Where the stormy winds do blow."

9 " Oh, what ha'e you to keep me with,

If I shou'd with you go ?

If I forsake my dear husband,

And my young son also ? "

10 " See ye not yon seven pretty ships-

The eighth brought me to land
With merchandise and mariners,
And wealth in every hand ?

11 " And I have slippers for my love's feet,

Cover'd with purest gold,
And lined with velvet soft and fine,
To keep you from the cold."

12 She turn'd her round upon the shore,

Her love's ships to behold ;
The sails were silk, the masts and yards
Were cover'd o'er with gold.

13 Then she has gone to her young son,

And kiss'd him cheek and chin ;
Next to her sleeping husband gone,
And done the same to him.

14 She 's drawn the slippers on her feet,

Were cover'd o'er with gold,
Well-lined within with velvet fine,
To keep her frae the cold.

15 She 's set her foot upon the ship;

'Twas rigg'd with silk and gold;
But no mariners, to sail the ship,
On board cou'd she behold.

16 "Oh, how do you love the ship ? " he said ;

"Or how do you love the sea?

And how do you love the mariners,

That wait upon thee and me ? "

17 "Oh, I do love the ship," she said,

"And I do love the sea ;
But woe be to the mariners
That nowhere I can see."

170 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

18 They had not sail'd a mile away,

Never a mile but one,
When she began to weep and mourn,
And to think on her young son.

19 "Oh, if I were at land again,

At land where I would be,
The woman ne'er shou'd bear the son
Shou'd gar me sail the sea."

20 "Oh, hold your tongue, my sprightly flower,

Let all your mourning be;
I'll show you how the lilies grow
On the banks of Italy."

21 They had not sail'd away, away,

It 's miles but barely two,
Until she espy'd his cloven foot,
From his gay robes stickin' thro'.

22 "Oh, that gentle Death had cut my breath

Ere I saw yester morn !
I had been buried in Scotish ground,
Where I was bred and born."

23 "Ye'se ne'er be buried in Scotish ground,

Nor land ye'se nae mair see ;
I brought you away to punish you,
For breaking your vows to me.

24 " I said you shou'd see the lilies grow

On the banks of Italy;
But I'll let you see the fishes swim
In the bottom of the sea."

25 She had not sail'd away, away,

It 's leagues but barely three,
When dismal grew his countenance,
And raging grew the sea.

26 The masts, that were like the beaten gold,

Bent not on the heaving seas;
And the sails, that were of the silk so fine,
Fill'd not in the east land breeze.

27 "Oh, what are yon pleasant hills," she said,

"That the sun shines sweetly on?"
" Oh, yon are the hills of heav'n," he said,
" Where you will never win."

SIR ROLAND. 171

28 "Oh, what grim mountain is yon," she said,

"All so dreary with frost and snow?"
"Oh, yon is the mountain of hell," he cried,
"Where you and I will go ! "

29 And aye when she turn'd her round about,

Aye taller he seemed to be;
Until that the tops of that gallant ship
Nae taller were than he.

30 The clouds grew dark, and the wind grew loud,

And the levin rilled her e'e;
And waesome wail'd the snow-white sprites
Upon the raging sea.

31 He struck the tap-mast with his hand,

The fore-mast with his knee ;
And he brake that gallant ship in twain,
And sank her in the sea.

SIR ROLAND.

From Motherwell'a Minstrelsy, p. 124.

Mr. Motherwell states: "This fragment, we believe, has never
before been printed. It was communicated to us by an ingenious
friend, who remembered having heard it sung in his youth. A good
many verses at the beginning, some about the middle, and one or two
at the end, seem to be" wanting. More sanguine antiquaries than we
are might, from the similarity of names, imagine they had in this
ballad discovered the original romance whence Shakespeare had given
this line

' Child Kowland to the dark tower came.' King Lear, Act IIL

' ' The story is of a very gloomy and superstitious texture. A
young lady, on the eve of her marriage, invited her lover to a
banquet, where she murders him, in revenge for some real or fancied
neglect. Alarmed for her own safety, she betakes herself to flight, and
in^he course of her journey she sees a stranger knight riding slowly
before her, whom she at first seeks to shun, by pursuing an opposite
direction ; but on finding that wheresoever she turned he still appeared
between her and the moonlight, she resolves to overtake him. This,
however, she finds in vain, till, of his own accord, he stays for her at
the brink of a broad river. They agree to cross it ; and when in mid
stream she implores his help to save her from drowning, to her horror
she finds her fellow-traveller to be no other than the gaunt apparition
of her dead lover."

1 SIR ROLAND came to his ain love's bo\v'r,

And he tirl'd at the pin;
And sae ready was his fair fause love
To rise and let him in.

172 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" Oh, welcome, welcome, Sir Roland," she says,

" Thrice welcome thou art to me;
For this night ye shall feast in my secret bow'r,
And to-morrow we'll wedded be."

" This night is Hallow-e'en," he said,

" And to-morrow is Hallow-day;

And I dream'd a drearie dream yestreen,

That has made my heart full wae.

" I dream'd a drearie dream yestreen,

I wish it may come to gude;
I dream'd that ye slew my best grey-hound,

And gied me his lapper'd blude."

" Unbuckle your belt, Sir Roland," she said,

" And set you safely down."
" Oh, your chamber is very dark, fair maid,

And the night is wond'rous lown."

" Yes, dark, dark is my secret bow'r,
And lown the midnight may be;

For there is none waking in all this tower,
But thou, my true love, and me."

7 She mounted on her true love's steed,

By the ae light of the mqon;
She whipp'd him on, she spurr'd him on,
And roundly rade frae the toun.

8 She hadna ridden a mile of gate,

It 's never a mile but ane,
When she was aware of a tall young man
Riding slowly o'er the plain,

9 She turn'd her to the right about,

Then to the left turn'd she;
But aye between her and the wan moonlight,
That tall knight did she see.

10 And he was riding burd-alane,

On a horse as black as jet;
But though she follow'd him fast and fell,
Nae nearer cou'd she get.

11 " Oh, stop! oh, stop! young man," she said,

" For I in dule am dight;
Oh, stop! and win a fair lady's luve,
If ye be a leal true knight."

SIR ROLAND. 173

12 But nothing did the tall knight say,

And nothing did he blin';

Still slowly rade he on before,

And fast she rade behin'.

13 She whipp'd her steed, she spurr'd her steed,

Till his breast was all in foam;
But nearer unto that tall young knight
The ladye cou'd not come.

14 " Oh, if ye be a gay young knight,

As well I trow you be,
Pull tight your bridle-reins, and stay
Till I come up to thee."

15 But nothing did that tall knight say,

And no whit did he blin',
Until he reach'd a broad river's side #
And there he drew his rein.

16 " Oh, is this water deep? " she said,

" As it is wond'rous dun ;
Or is it sic as a saikless maid

And a leal true knight may swim?"

17 "The water it is deep," he

" As it is wdnd'rous dun;
But it is sic as a saikless maid

And a leal true knight may swim."

18 The knight spurr'd on his tall black steed,

The lady spurr'd on her brown ;
And fast they rade into the flood,
And fast they baith swam down.

19 " The water weets my feet," she said,

" The water weets my knee;
Hold up my bridle reins, Sir Knight,
For the sake of Our Ladye."

20 " If I wou'd help you now," he said,

" It were a deadly sin ;

For I've sworn ne'er to trust a fair May's word,
Till the water weets her chin."

21 " Oh, the water weets my waist," she said,

" Sae does it weet my skin;
And my aching heart rins round about,
The burn makes sic a din.

174 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

22 " The water is waxing deeper still,

Sae does it wax mair wide;
And aye the farther that we ride on,
Farther off is the other side.

23 " Oh, help me now, thou fause, fause knight!

Have pity on my youth ;
For now the water jaws o'er my heid,
And it gurgles in my mouth."

24 The knight turn'd slowly round about,

All in the middle stream;
Then he stretch'd out his head to that ladye,
And loudly she did scream!

25 "Oh, this is Hallow-morn," he said,

" And it is your bridal day ;
But sad would be that gay wedding,
Were bridegroom and bride away.

26 " But ride on, ride on, proud Margaretj

Till the water comes o'er your bree;
For the bride maun ride deep and deeper yet,
Wha rides this foord with me !

27 " Turn round, turn round, proud Margaret,

Turn round, and look on me !
Thou hast kill'd a true knight under trust,
And his ghost now links with thee."

WILLIE'S FATAL VISIT.

The following ballad forms the concluding portion of one under the
above title, given by Mr. Buchan in his Ancient Ballads and Songs,
vol. ii., p. 259.

The prior portion is simply a different and very inferior version of
n well-known and highly popular ballad published by Herd, under
the title of " The Gray Cock," and beginning

" Oh, saw ye my father, or saw ye my mother,
Or saw ye my true love John."

The connection between the portions probably resulted from the con-
fused remembrance and accidental combination of some reciter.

1 As Willie gaed o'er yon high, high hill,

And down yon dowie den,
Oh, there he saw a grievous ghost,
Wou'd fear ten thousand men.

THE KNIGHT'S GHOST. 175

2 As he gaed in by Mary kirk,

And in by Mary stile,
Wan and weary was the ghost
On him did grimly smile.

3 " Oft ha'e ye travell'd this road, Willie,

Oft ha'e ye travell'd in sin;

Nor thought what wou'd come of your puir soul,
When your sinfu' life was dune.

4 " Oft ha'e ye travell'd this road, Willie,

Your bonnie new love to see;
Oft ha'e ye travell'd this road, Willie,
Nor thought of puir wrang'd me.

5 " Oft ha'e ye travell'd this road, Willie,

Your bonnie new love to see;
But ye'll never travel this road again,
For this night avenged I'll be."

6 Then she has ta'en her perjured love,

And rave him gair by gair ;
And on ilka side of Mary's stile,
Of hira she hung a share.

7 His father and mother baith made moan,

His new love meikle mair;
His father and mother baith made moan,
His new love rave her hair,

THE KNIGHT'S GHOST.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads, &c., vol. i., p. 227. He remarks
that "this ahost was a generous and liberal one in many respects."
Note, p. 314,

1 " THERE is a fashion in this land,

And even come to this countrie,
That every lady shou'd meet her lord,
When he is newly come frae sea.

2 " Some with hawks and some with hounds,

Or other seemly thing to see;
But I will gae to meet my lord,

And set his young son on his knee."

3 She 's ta'en her young son in her arms,

And nimbly walk'd by yon sea-strand ;
And there she spied her husband's ship,
As it came sailing to the land.

176 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

4 " Where ha'e ye put my ain gude lord?

Oh, whereabout may my gude lord be?"
" If ye be wanting your ain gude lord,
A sight of him ye'll never see."

5 "Was he burnt, or was he slain?

Or was he drown'd in the deep sea?
Or what 's become of my ain gude lord,
That he comes not to meet with me?

6 " Oh, your guid lord he wasna burnt,

Nor was he drown'd in the deep sea;
But he was slain in Duufermline,
A fatal day to you and me."

7 " Come in, come in, my merry young men,

Come in and drink the wine with me;
And all the better ye shall fare,
For this gude news ye tell to me."

8 She brought them down to a low cellar,

She brought them fifty steps and three ;
She birl'd them with the beer and wine,
Till they were as drunk as drunk cou'd be.

9 Then she has lock'd her cellar door,

At the head of the fifty steps and three,
" Lye there with my sad malison,
For this bad news ye've tauld to me."

10 She 's ta'en the keys into her hand,

And thi'ew them deep, deep in the sea,
" Lye there with my sad malison,
Till my gude lord return to me."

11 Then she sat down in her ain room,

And sorrow lull'd her fast asleep ;

When up it starts her ain gude lord,

As she sat there in slumber deep.

12 " Take here the keys, Janet," he says,

" That ye threw deep, deep in the sea,

And gae relieve my merry young men,

They're nane to blame for death of me.

13 " They shot the bolt, and drew the stroke,

And in red blude waded to the knee ;

Nae sailors mair for their lord cou'd do,

Nor my young men they did for me."

PROUD LADY MARGARET AND THE COURTEOUS KNIGHT. 177

14 " I ha'e a question at you to ask,

Before that ye depart frae me;
Tell me how lang I ha'e to live,

And the kind of death I ha'e to dee."

15 " I ha'e nae mair of God's ain power

Than He has granted unto me;

But come to heaven when ye will,

There porter to you I will be.

16 " But ye'll be wed to a finer knight

Than ever was in my degree;
Unto him ye'll ha'e children nine,
And six of them will be ladies free.

17 " The other three will be bold young men,

To fight for king and for countrie :
The ane a duke, the second a knight,
The third a laird of lands sae free."

PROUD LADY MAEGARET AND THE COURTEOUS
KNIGHT.

"Proud Lady Margaret" is the, title of a ballad "communicated
to" Sir Walter Scott, "by Mr. Hamilton, musicseller, Edinburgh,
with whose mother it had been a favourite. Two verses and one Luie
were wanting, which are here supplied from a different ballad,
having a plot somewhat similar. These verses are the sixth and
ninth" of the version in Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 32, and
correspond to the last four lines respectively of stanzas 14 and 17,
as here printed.

"The Courteous Knight" is the title of "a ballad similar in
incident," but more complete "in narrative," printed in Buchan's
Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., pp. 91-97.

Another version, under the title of "The Bonny Hind Squire," is
given in Scottish Traditional V ersions of Ancient Ballads, p. 42. The
present is collated from the two first-named versions.

1 'TWAS on a night, an evening bright,

When the dew began to fall,
Lady Margaret was walking up and down,
Looking o'er her castle wall.

2 She looked east, and she looked west,

To see what she could spy,
When a gallant knight came in her sight,
And to the gate drew nigh.

178 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

3 " God make you safe and free, fair maid,

God make you safe and free ! "
" Oh, sae fall you, ye courteous knight,
What are your wills with me? "

4 " My wills with you are not small, lady,

My wills with you nae small,
And since there 's nane your bow'r within,
Ye'se ha'e my secrets all.

5 " For here am I, a courtier,

A courtier come to thee!
And if ye winna grant your love,
All for your sake I'll dee."

6 " If that ye dee for me, Sir Enight,

Few for you will make meen,
For mony gude lord's done the same,
Their graves are growing green."

7 " Oh, winna ye pity me, fair maid?

Oh, winna ye pity rne ?
Oh, winna ye pity a courteous knight,
Whose love is laid on thee ? "

8 " You seem to be no gentleman,

You wear your boots so wide ;

But you seem some cunning hunter,

You wear your horn so syde."*

9 "I am no cunning hunter," he said,

" Nor ne'er intend to be;
But I am come to this castle
To seek the love of thee."

10 '' Ye say ye are a courteous knight,

But I think ye are nane ;
Ye seem to be some false young man,
Sae I pray ye begane."

11 " Indeed, I am a courteous knight,

And of great pedigree ;
Nae knight did mair for a lady bright
Than I will do for thee.

12 " Oh, I'll put smiths in your smithy,

To shoe for you a steed ;
And I'll put tailors in your bow'r,
To make for you a weed.

* " Syde: " long or low.

PROUD LADY MARGARET AND THE COURTEOUS KNIGHT.

13 " I will put cooks in your kitchen,

And butlers in your ha' ;
And on the tap of your father's castle,
I'll big gude corn and saw."

1-4 "If ye be a -courteous knight,

As I trust not ye be,
Ye'll answer me the three questions

That I will ask at thee ;
And but ye read them right," she said,

" Gae stretch ye out and dee.

15 " What is the flower, the fairest flower,

That grows in mire or dale?
Likewise, which is the sweetest bird

Sings next the nightingale ?
Or what 's the finest thing," she says,

" That king or queen qan wale?"

16 " The primrose is the fairest flower

That grows in mujr or dale ;
The mavis is the sweetest bird

Next to the nightingale ;
And yellow gowd is the finest thing

That king or queen can wale."

17 " Ye may be my match, kind sir,

Your answers they are sound ;
But what 's the little coin," she said,

" Wou'd buy my castle bound ?
And what 's the little boat," she said,

" Can sail the world all round ? "

18 " Oh hey, how many small pennies

Make thrice three thousand pound ?
Or hey, how many small fishes
Swim all the salt sea round? "

19 " I think ye are my match," she said,

" My match and something mair;
You are the first e'er got the grant
Of love frae my father's heir.

20 " My father was lord of nine castles,

My mother lady of three ;
My father was lord of nine castles,

And there 's nane to heir but me,
Unless it be Willie, my ae brother,

But he 's far beyond the sea."

180 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 " Your father was lord of nine castles,

Your mother lady of three;
And I am Willie, your ae brother,

Was far beyond the sea :
I come to humble your haughty heart,

Has gar'd sae mony dee."

22 " If ye be my brother Willie," she said,

" As I trow well ye be,
This night I'll neither eat nor drink,
But gae alang with thee."

23 " Ye've ower ill-washen feet, Marg'ret,

And ower ill-washen hands,
And ower coarse robes on your body,
Alang with me to gang.*

24 " The worms they are my bedfellows,

And the cauld clay my sheet;
And the higher that the wind does blaw,
The sounder I do sleep.

25 " My body 's buried in Dumfermline,

And far beyond the sea,
But day nor night nae rest could get,
All for the pride of thee.

26 " Leave aff your pride, Marg'ret," he says,

" Use it not ony mair;
Or when ye come where I ha'e been,
You will repent it sair;

27 " Cast aff, cast aff, sister," he says,

" The gowd lace frae your crown;
For if ye gang where I ha'e been^
Ye'll wear it laigher down.

28 " When ye are in the gude church set,

The gowd pins in your hair,
Ye take mair delight in your feckless dress,
Than ye do in your morning prayer.

29 " And when ye walk in the churchyard,

And in your dress are seen,
There is nae lady that sees your face,
But wishes your grave were green.

* "Oh, no! oh, no! Margaret," he said,

"Oh, no! that cauna be:
Tou've ower ill-washen feet and hands,
To gang alang with me.''

Slightly altered from Scottish Traditional Versiont of Ancient Balladt.

THE ELFIN KNIGHT. 181

30 " You're straight and tall, handsome withal,

But your pride o'ergrows your wit;
And if ye do not your ways refrain,
In peerie * chair ye'll sit,

31 "In peerie .chair you'll sit, I say,

The lowest seat of hell ;
If ye do not amend your ways,
It 's there that ye must dwell."

32 With that he vanish'd frae her sight,

With the twinkling of an eye;
And naething mair the lady saw,
But the gloomy clouds and sky.

THE ELFIN ENIGHT.
This ballad may be found as under:

L "In a volume in the Pepysian Library, bound up with Blind
Harry's Wallace, Edin., 1673, 12mo; 'The Battle of
Glenlivet,' a Scotish trade ballad, printed 1681, 12mo.
In the same volume is the challenge of Robert III. of
Scotland, to Henry IV. of England, beginning, ' During
the reign of the Roy Robert, 't Here is also ' The Hunting
of Chevy Chace,' in black-letter, in the Scotish way of
reading the altered stanzas. It is to the tune of ' The Yle
of Kyle.'" Pinkerton's Ancient Scotish Poems from the
Maitland MSS., Appendix, vol. ii., p. 496.

The title of the present ballad, as there given, is, " ' The
Wind hath Blawn my Plaid awa : or, a Discourse betwixt
a Young Maid and the Elphin Knight,' black-letter,
printed," says Pinkerton, " I suppose, about 1670."

"A literal copy from the original in the Pepysian
Library, Cambridge," appears in Motherwell's Minstrelsy,
Appendix i, p. 1.

II. A second version is given in The Commonplace Book of
Ancient and- Modern Ballads, and Metrical Legendary
Tales, &c. "a projected work (edited by David Webster,
Edinburgh) which reached no farther than the first

* "Peerie." The original reads " Pine's," a word which has completely nonplussed
Scotish ballad editors subsequent to Mr. Buchan, in whose version it appears. It
should be spelled as above, and means "fearful;" old French, peureux, "fearful."
The word may also have soine connection with "peary," inquisitive, disposed to
examine narrowly; English, to peer. As the word "pirrie" means trim, nice in dress,
or pernickitie, the ghost may have meant, by a play upon words, to warn "Proud
Margaret" that her being BO "pirrie" would end in a fate "peerie " or fearful

t This poem is mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland, 1549; occurs in the Mait-
land MS., 1555-86; included by Watson in his Collection of Scots Poems, part ii., p. iiL;
and somewhat dubiously referred to and numbered by Mr. Motherwefi as a ballad
in his Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ui

182 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

number. The only thing remarkable in which is,"
says Motherwell, " that the editor states he gives it from
the recitation of two ladies, one of whom is his own
mother, and the other an honest fishwife of Musselburgh."
Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. xcix., note 148.

III. A third version appears in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish

Ballads, p. 145, under the title of "The Elfin Knicht,"
as "given from the recitation of a native of Mearnshire."

IV. A fourth version is furnished by Mr. Buchan, in Ancient

Ballads and Songs, vol. ii., p. 296, under the title of
"The Fairy Knight." Mr. Buchan states that he had
"seen more than one (copy) in MS.," note, p. 346.

The ballad, as here given, is collated from the four versions named
above. The different refrains are also here represented, viz., that
of versions I. arid II. in stanza 1, Kinloch's in stanza 2, and Buchan's
in stanza 3.

" Similar collections of impossibilities " occur in other Scotish,
English, and German ballads. See Professor Child's English and
Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 128.

1 THE elfin knight stands on yon hill

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba ;
He blaws his horn baith loud and shrill
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

2 He blaws it east, he blaws it west

O'er the hills and far awa ;
He blaws it where he liketh best
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

8 Fair Is'bel sits in her bow'r sewing

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw,
And hears the elf knight his horn blowing
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

4 " If I had the horn that I hear blaw

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba,

And had the knight here, in my arms twa
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

5 "I wou'd lock the horn up in my chest

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, bla\v,
And the knight wou'd lock me to his breast
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa."

6 She had no sooner these words said

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba,
Than the elfin knight stood by her side
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

THE ELFIN KNIGHT. 183

7 "You are too young a May," quoth he

"Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw;
Married with me, you ill wou'd be
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa."

8 "I have a sister, a younger May

Ba, ba, ba,'lillie ba, ba,
And she was married yesterday
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa."

9 " Married with me, if you wou'd be

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blawj
A courtesy you must do me

The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

10 " You must make me a Holland sark

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba,
Without any cutting or needle wark
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

11 " And you must wash it in yonder well

O'er the hills and far .awa,
Where dew never wet, nor rain ever fell
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

12 " And you must dry it on yon hawthorn

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw,
That never budded since man was born
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa."

13 " If that courtesie I do to thee

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba,
Another you must do to me

The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

14 "I have an acre of good lea land

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw,
Which lyeth low by yon sea strand
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

15 " And you must till it with your horn

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba;
And you must sow it with pepper corn
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

16 " And you must harrow it with a thorn

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw,
And ha'e your wark done ere the morn
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

184 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 " And you must shear it with your knife

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba;
Nor tyne a grain o't for your life
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

18 " You must bigg a cart of stone and lime

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw,
And make Robin Redbreast trail it betime
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

19 " And you must bring it frae the sea

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba,
Fair, and clean, and dry, to me
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

20 " And you must barn it in yon mouse-hole

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw ;
And you must thrash it in your shoe sole
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

21 " And you must winnow it in your looves

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba ;
And you must sack it in your gloves
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

22 " And you must dry it without a fire on

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw;
And grind it without a mill or a quern
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa.

23 " And when you have well done your work

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba,
Come back to me and get your sark
The wind hath blawn my plaid awa."

24 " I wou'd not tyne my plaid for my life

Blaw, blaw, blaw, ye cauld winds, blaw ;
It haps my seven bairns and my wife
The wind shall not blaw my plaid awa."

25 " Then a maiden I will keep me still

Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba, ba ;
Let the elfin knight do what he will
The wind shall not blaw my plaid awa.

26 " My plaid awa, my plaid awa,

O'er the hills and far awa,
And far awa, to Norrowa',
My plaid shall not be blawn awa."

THE MAID AND FAIRT. 185

THE MAID AND FAIRY.

From Buchan's A nc tent Ballads and Songs, voL i., p. 117; and note,
p. 301. Leyden, in his "Preliminary Dissertation" to The Com-
playnt of Scotland, p. 234, referring to " The Tale of the Wolf of
the Warldis End," remarks : " I have heard fragments of songs
repeated, in which the ' well of the warldis end ' is mentioned, and
denominated 'the well Absalom,' and 'the cald well sae weary.'
According to the popular tale, a lady is sent by her stepmother to
draw water from the well of the world's end. She arrives at the
well after encountering many dangers, but soon perceives that her
adventures have not reached a conclusion. A frog emerges from
the well, and before it suffers her to draw water, obliges her to
betroth herself to the monster, under penalty of being torn to
pieces. The lady returns safe; but at midnight the frog-lover
appears at the door and demands entrance, according to promise,
to the great consternation of the. lady and her nurse : r

" ' Open the door, my hinny, my hart,

Open the dpor, mine ain wee thing,
And mind the words that you and I spak
Down in the meadow, at the well-spring."

" The frog is admitted, and addresses her

" ' Take me up on your knee, my dearie,
Take me up on your knee, my dearie,
And mind the words that you and I spak
At the cauld well sae wearie.'

"The frog is finally disenchanted, and appears as a prince in his
original form."

The story of "The Paddo," in Dr. Robert Chambers's Popular
Jthymes of Scotland, p. 87, last edition, is almost identical ; and Mr.
Buchan's story ig also essentially the same, but terminates differently.
His prose explanation is to the following effect: Shortly after
the maid's return, the genius appeared "at the door, singing the
first four lines of the song, and was admitted. In the second four
lines he craves, as his due, the castock or stem, having had coleworta
for their supper, a dish common to the peasantry of Scotland. In
the third four lines, he asks his brose (oatmeal, and the decoction of
the coleworts stirred together). In the fourth four lines, he requests
the kail ; and in the fifth four lines, he petitions the maid to lay him
down in a bed, putting her in mind at the same time of the favour he
had done her at the 'well sae wearie.' The old woman, who ere
now had been a silent spectator to all that was passing, got enraged,
and commanded her daughter to throw him out of the house which
was instantly done. The sixth and last four lines conclude the piece
with his prayers or malison for her woe, and an opportunity of having
her again in his power at the 'well sae weary.' "

1 OH, open the door, my honey, my heart,
Oh, open the door, my ain kind dearie ;
For dinna ye mind upon the time

We met in the wood at the well sae wearie?

186 BALLAD SIINSTP k ELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Oh, gi'e me my castock, my dow, my dow,
Oh, gi'e me my castock, my ain kind dearie;

For dinna ye mind upon the time

We met in the wood at the well sae wearie?

Oh, gi'e me my brose, my dow, my dow,
Oh, gi'e me my brose, my ain kind dearie;

For dinna ye mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the well sae wearie?

Oh, gi'e me my kail, my dow, my dow,
Oh, gi'e me my kail, my ain kind dearie ;

For dinna ye mind upon the time

We met in the wood at the well sae wearie?

Oh, lay me down, my dow, my dow,
Oh, lay me down, my ain kind dearie;

For dinna ye mind upon the time
We met in the wood at the well sae wearie?

Oh, woe to you now, my dow, my dow,

Oh, woe to you now, my fause, fause dearie;

And oh for the time I had you again,
Plunging the dubs at the well sae wearie.

TAMLANE.

" The following ballad, still popular in Ettrick Forest, where the
scene is laid, is certainly of much greater antiquity than its phrase-
ology, gradually modernized as transmitted by tradition, would seem
to denote. The ' Tayl of the Young Tamlene ' is mentioned in the
Complaynt of Scotland [1548], and the air, to which it was chaunted,
seems to have been accommodated to a particular dance, for the
dance of 'Thorn of Lynn,' another variation of ' Thomalin,' likewise
occurs in the same performance. Like every popular subject, it
seems to have been frequently parodied; and a burlesque ballad,
beginning,

'Tom o' the Linn was a Scotsman born,'

is still well known.

"In a medley, contained in a curious and ancient MS. cantus, penes
J. G. Dalyell, Esq. , there is an allusion to our ballad :

'Sing young Thomlin, be merry, be merry, and twice so merry.'

"In Herd's Scottish Songs, vol. i., p. 159, a part of the original tale
was published, under the title of ' Kerton Ha', ' a corruption of
Carterhaugh.

TAMLANE. 187

"In Johnston's Musical Museum, vol. v., p. 423, a more complete
copy occurs, under the title of ' Tarn Linn,' which, with some
alterations, was reprinted in the Tales of Wonder, No. 58." Scott's
Minstrelsy, voL ii, p. 331.

Sir Walter Scott's edition was "prepared from a collation of the
printed copies with a very accurate one in GlenriddelTs MSS., and
with several recitals from tradition," but contains some stanzas
"supplied by some ingenious gentleman residing near Langholm,
[which] are clearly suppositions, and ought to be omitted." Mother-
well's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixxii., note 31.

Subsequent to the publication of Scott's Minstrelsy, a fragment, under
the title of "Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane," appeared in Maid-
ment's North Countrie Garland, p. 21, as "taken down from the recita-
tion of a lady who had heard it sung in childhood." Complete versions
are also given in Maidment's New Book of Old Ballads, p. 54, as
" taken down from the recitation of an old woman ; " and in Scottish
Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 11, under the respective
titles of "Tom Linn," and "Tam-a-Line, the Eltin Knicht."
Sir Walter Scott's version is the one here chiefly followed ; and the
stanzas referred to by Mr. Motherwell are retained, but placed
within brackets. Regarding the stanzas in question, Sir Walter Scott
states : "The editor has been enabled to add several verses of beauty
and interest to this edition of 'Tamlane,' in consequence of a copy,
obtained from a gentleman residing near Langholm, which is said to
be very ancient, though the diction is somewhat of a modern cast.
The manners of the fairies are detailed at considerable length, and in
poetry of no common merit."

"Carterhaugh," continues Sir Walter Scott, "is a plain at the
conflux of the Ettrick and Yarrow, in Selkirkshire, about a
mile above Selkirk, and two miles below Newark Castle, a
romantic ruin, which overhangs the Yarrow, and which is said to
have been the habitation of our heroine's father, though others
place his residence in the tower of Oakwood. The peasants
point out, upon the plain, those electrical rings which vulgar
credulity supposes to be traces of the fairy revels. Here, they say,
were placed the stands of milk and of water in which Tamlane was
dipped, in order to effect the disenchantment [as directed in stanza
35]; and upon these spot?, according to their mode of expressing them-
selves, the grass will never grow. Miles Cross (perhaps a corruption
of Mary's Cross), where fair Janet awaited the arrival of the fairy
train, is said to have stood near the Duke of Buccleuch's seat of
Bow-hill, about half a mile from Carterhaugh. In no part of
Scotland, indeed, has the belief in fairies maintained its ground
with more pertinacity than in Selkirkshire. The most sceptical
among the lower ranks only venture to assert that their appearances
and mischievous exploits have ceased, or at least become infrequent,
since the light of the gospel was diffused in its purity. "

1 " OH, I forbid ye, maidens all,

That wear gowd on your hair,

To come or gae by Carterhaugl^

For young Tamlane is there."

188 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 But up then spake her, fair Janet,

The fairest of her kin :
" I'll come and gang to Carterhaugh,
And ask iiae leave of him."

3 Then she has kilted her green kirtle *

A little abune her knee ;
And she has braided her yellow hair
A little abune her bree.

4 And to the wood of Carterhaugh

She hied her forth alane,
To pull the roses frae the tree,
In spite of young Tamlane.

5 She hadna pull'd a red, red rose,

A rose but barely three,
When up and starts a wee, wee man,
At Lady Janet's knee !

6 Says " Why pull ye the rose, Janet?

What gars ye break the tree?
Or why come ye to Carterhaugh
Without the leave of me?"

7 "Oh, I will pull the flowers," she said,

'' Or I will break the tree,
And come and gang to Carterhaugh,
Nor ask nae leave of thee."

8 He 's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,

Amang the leaves sae green ;
And meikle, meikle was the love
That fell the twa between.

9 He 's ta'en her by the rnilk- white hand,

Amang the roses red;
And they ha'e vow'd a solemn vow
Ilk ither for to wed.

JO ". The truth ye'll teJl to me, Tamlane,

A word ye maunna lee;
If e'er ye was in haly kirk,
Or sained f in Christentie?"

"The ladies are always represented, in Dunbar's poems, with green mantles and
yellow hair." Pinkerton's Ancient Scotish Poems from the Maitland MSS^ voL i., p. 45.

t "Sained: " blessed; not hallowed, or made holy, as often explained.

TAMLANE. 181)

11 " The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet,

A word I winna lee ;
I was ta'en to the haly kirk,
And sained as well as thee.

12 " Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire,

Dunbar, Earl March, is thine;
We lov'd when we were children small,
Which yet you well may min'.

13 " When I was a boy just turn'd of nine,

My uncle sent for me,
To hunt, and hawk, and ride with him,
And keep him companie.

14 " There came a wind out of the north t

A sharp wind and a snell;
A dead sleep then came over me,
And frae my horse I fell.

15 " The fairy queen she keppit * me;

And took me td hersel',
And ever since, in yon green hillj
With her I'm bound to dwell.

16 [" And we that live in fairyland,

Nae sickness know nor pain;
I quit rny body when I willj
And take to it again.

17 " I quit my body when I please,

Or unto it repair ;
We can inhabit at our ease
In either earth or air.

18 " Our shapes and size, we Can convert

To either large or small ;
An old nut-shell 's the same to us
As is the lofty hall.

19 " We sleep in rosebuds soft and sweet;

We revel in the stream,
We wanton lightly on the wind,
Or glide on a sunbeam.

20 " And all our wants are well supplied

From every rich man's store,
Who thankless sins the gifts he gets,"}*
And vainly grasps for more.]

"Keppit:" caught.

f To " sin " our gifts and mercies, means, ungratefully to hold them in light esteem.

190 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 " And it is sic a bonnie place,

And I like it sae well,
That I wou'd never tire, Janet,
In fairyland to dwell.

22 " But aye, at ilka seven years,

They pay the teiud to hell;
And I'm sae fat and fair of flesh,
I fear 'twill be mysel' !

23 " This night is Hallow-e'en, Janet,

The morn is Hallow-day,
And if ye dare your true love win,
Ye ha'e nae time to stay.

24 " The night it is good Hallow-e'en,

When fairy folk will ride ;
And she that wou'd her true love win,
At Miles Cross she maun bide.

25 " And ye maun gae to the Miles Cross,

Between twelve hours and one,
Take haly water in your hand,
And cast a compass roun 1 ."

26 " And how shall I thee ken, Tamlane ?

And how shall I thee knaw,
Amang sae many fairy folk,
The like I never saw ? "

27 " The first company that passes by,

Stand still, and let them gae ;
The neist company that passes by,
Stand still, and do right sae.

28 " The third company that passes by,

All clad in robes of green,

It is the head ane of them all,

For in it rides the queen.

29 " I'll there ride on the milk-white steed,

With a gold star in my crown;
Because I was a christen'd knight,
They gi'e me that renown.

30 " First let pass the black, Janet,

And syne let pass the brown ;
But grip ye to the milk-white steed,
And pull the rider down.

TAMLANE. 191

31 " My right hand will be gloved, Janet,

My left hand will be bare ;
And these the tokens I gi'e thee,
If ye wou'd win ine there.

32 " They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,

An adder and a snake;
But baud me fast, let me not pass,
If ye wou'd be my maik.*

33 " They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,

An adder and an aske ; j*
They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,
A balej that burns fast.

34 " They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,

A red-hot gad of airn ;
But baud me fast, let me not pass,
For I'll do you no harm.

35 " First dip me in a stand of milk,

And then in a stand of water ;
But baud me fast, let me not pass,
I'll be your bairn's father.

36 " And next, they'll shape me in your arms

A tod, but and an eel ;
But baud me fast, nor let me gang,
As you do love me weel.

37 " They'll shape me in your arms, Janet,

A dove, but and a swan;
And last they'll shape me in your arms
A mother-naked man.

38 " Cast your green mantle over me,

I'll be mysel 1 again ;
Cast your green mantle over me,
And sae I will be wan."

39 Gloomy, gloomy was the night,

And eerie || was the way,
As fair Janet, in her green mantle,
To Miles Cross she did gae.

* "Maik:" sweetheart, wife. "Gad of airn: " bar of iron.

t "Aske:" newt || "Eerie:" producing superstitions

t "Bale:" fagot dread.

192 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

40 [The heavens were black, the night was dark,

And dreary was the place ;
But Janet stood with eager wish,
Her lover to embrace.

41 Betwixt the hours of twelve and one,

A north wind tore the bent ;
And straight she heard strange elritch sounds,
Upon that wind which went.

42 About the dead hour of the night,

She heard the bridles ring ;
And Janet was as glad of that
As any earthly thing.

43 Their oaten pipes blew wondrous shrill,

The hemlock small blew clear,
And louder notes from hemlock large

And bog-reed struck the ear ;
But solemn sounds or sober thoughts

The fairies cannot bear.

44 They sing, inspired with Ibve and joy,

Like skylarks in the air ;
Of solid sense, or thought that 's grave,
You'll find no traces there.

45 Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved,

The dreary heath upon ;
And louder, louder wax'd the sound,
As they came riding on.

46 Will of the Wisp before them went,

Sent forth a twinkling light ;
And soon she saw the fairy bands
All riding in her sight.]

47 With haly water in her hand,

She cast a compass round,
As she beheld the fairy band
Come riding o'er the mound.

48 And first gaed by the black, black steed,

And then gaed by the brown;
But fast she gripp'd the milk-white steed,
And pull'd the rider down.

49 She pull'd him frae the milk-white steed,

And let the bridle fall ;

THE WEE, WEE MAN.

And up there raise an elritch* cry,
" He 's won amang us all ! "

50 They shaped him in fair Janet's arms

An aske, but and an adder;
She held h;m fast in every shape,
To be her bairn's father.

51 They shaped him in her arms at last

A mother-naked man ;
She cuist f her mantle over him,
And sae her true love wan.

52 Up then spake the fairy queen,

Out of a bush of broom,
" She that has borrow'd young Tamlano
Has got a stately groom !"

53 Up then spake the fairy queen,

Out of a bush of rye,
" She 's ta'en away the bonniest knight
In all my companie !

54 " But had I kenn'd, Tamlane," she says,

" A lady wou'd borrow thee,
I wou'd ha'e ta'en out thy twa gray een,
Put in twa een of tree !

55 "Had I but kenn'd, Tamlane," she says,

" Before ye came frae hame,
I wou'd ta'en out your heart of flesh,
Put in a heart of stane !

56 " Had I but had the wit yestreen

That I ha'e coft J this day,
I'd paid my kane seven times to hell,
Ere you'd been won away !'*

THE WEE, WEE MAN.

Four versions of this ballad, differing only slightly from each
other, have appeared in the under-named works : in the three first,
under the above title, and in the last, under the title of "The Little
Man" :

I. Herd's Scottish Songs, &c. , vol. i., p. 95.
II. Caw's Poetical Museum, p. 348.

* Unearthly. t "Coft:" bought

t Threw. " Kane :" payment to feudal superiors.

194 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

III. Mother-well's Minstrelsy, p. 343.

IV. Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 263.

Herd's version is given in Johnson's Museum, vol. iv., p. 382,
accompanied with the old melody to which it was sung. Both
words and music were copied by Ritson in his Scottish Songs, vol. ii.,
p. 139 ; and in his Historical JSssay on Scottish Song, p. Ixxxii. (prefixed
to the same work), he refers to this piece in these terms: "There
is one song, or rather fragment of one, which seems to merit
particular attention, from a singular evidence of its origin and
antiquity. It is inserted in the present collection under the title of
' The Wee, Wee Man,' and begins,

'As I was walking all alone.'

"The original of this song is extant in a Scottish or Northumbrian
poem of Edward the First or Second's time, preserved in the British
Museum, and intended to be one day given to the public. The two
pieces will be found to afford a curious proof how poetry is preserved
for a succession of ages by mere tradition ; for though the imagery or
description is nearly the same, the words are altogether different ;
nor, had the Canterbury Tales of Chaucer been preserved to the
present time in the same manner, would there have remained one
single word which had fallen from the pen of that venerable bard ;
they would have been as completely, though not quite so elegantly,
modernized as they are by Dryden and Pope."

This passage appears to have been unknown to, or forgotten by,
Sir Walter Scott, when he published the first edition of his Minstrelsy;
as, in subsequent editions, he explains, in his introduction to
"Tamlane," that "in one recital only the well-known fragment
of ' The Wee, Wee Man ' was introduced in the same measure with
the rest of the poem. It was retained in the first edition, but is now
omitted, as the editor has been favoured, by the learned Mr. Ritson
with a copy of the original poem of which it is a detached fragment.'
The poem here referred to by Mr. Ritson and Sir Walter Scott follows
"The Wee, Wee Man."

1 As I was walking all alane,

Between a water and a wa',
There I espy'd a wee, wee man,
He was the least that e'er I saw.

2 His legs were scarce a shathmont's 6 length,

And small and nimble was his thie ; d
Between his een there was a span ;

Between his shoulders there were three. 8

a "As I gaed out to tak' the air,

Between Midmar and bonnie CraighaV Buchan

* "Shathmont," in old Scottish, means the fist closed, with the thumb extended,
and may be considered a measure of about six inches; Anglo-Saxon, "Sceeftmund."

c "His legs were but a finger lang." Buehan.
* Caw's Poetical Museum, as in text.

"And [or both*] thick and nimble was his knee." Buchan and Motherwell.*

"And thick and thimber was his thighs." Herd.

"Between his shoulders [there were*] ells three.'' Buchan and Motherwell.*

THE WEE, WEE MAN. 195

He pull'd up a meikle stane,*
And flang 't as far as I cou'd see ;

Though I had been as Wallace wight,
I couldna liften 't to my knee.

" Oh, wee, wee man, but ye be strang!

Oh, tell me where thy dwelling be?"
" I dwell down at yon bonnie bow'r ; f

Oh, will you go with me and see? " *

On we lap, and awa we rade,

Till we came to yon bonnie green;

We lighted down to bait our steed, e
And out there came a lady sheen. *

With four-and-twenty at her back,
All comely clad in glistering green ; '

Though there the king of Scots had stood, *
The warst might weel ha'e been his queen.

On we lap, and awa we rade, *

Till we came to a bonnie hall;
The roof was of the beaten gowd,-'

The floor was of the crystal all.

a " Took." Herd. "Has ta'en." Caw's Poetical Museum,
b " This wee, wee man pull'd up a stane." MotherwelL

"He lifted a stane sax feet in height,
He lifted it up till his right knee;
And fifty yards and mair, I'm sure,
I wyte he made the stane to flee." -Bucnan.

"My dwelling 's down at yon bonnie bow'r." Herd.

d "Fair lady, will ye go and see?" Motherwell.

"Horse." Herd.

/ " Fine." Herd.

v Text from Caw's Poetical Museum.

"And they were a' clad out in green." Herd.

* " Though the king of Scotland had been there,

The warst o' them might ha'e been his queen." Herd.

Mr. Buchan's version omits stanzas 5 and 6.

i "On syne we pass with wondering choir." Caw's Poetical Museum.

i "The rafters were o' the beaten gold,

And silver wire were the kebars all." MotherwelL

" Sae on we lap, and awa we rade,

Till we came to yon little ha' ;
The kipples were o' the gude red gowd,
The reef was o' the proseyla'." Buchan.

196 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

When we came there, with wee, wee knights,*
Were ladies dancing, jimp and sma' ;

But in the twinkling of an e'e,
My wee, wee man was clean awa.

AS I WENT ON AE MONDAY, f

"In the manuscript from which these verses are taken, they form
the preface to a long strain of incomprehensible prophecies of the
same description as those which are appended to ' Thomas of
Ersyldoune.' Whether the two portions belong together or not,
the first alone requires to be cited here for the purpose of com-
parison with 'The Wee, Wee Man.' The whole piece has been twice
printed ; first by Finlay, in his Scottish Ballads (vol. ii., p. 163), and
afterwards by a person who was not aware that he had been
anticipated, in the Retrospective Review, second series, vol. ii. , p.
320.

"Both texts are in places nearly unintelligible, and are evidently
full of errors, part of which we must ascribe to the in competency of
the editors. Finlay's is on the whole the best ; but it has received a
few corrections from the other, and one or two conjectural emenda-
tions." Professor Child, English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 273.

In order to facilitate "comparison" with "The Wee, Wee Man,"
the poem, as given by Professor Child, has been here somewhat
modernized, chiefly in the orthography.

The explanatory notes are mostly given from Professor Child's
Glossary to English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i.

1 As I went on ae Monday

Between Wyltenden and Wall,
The ane after braid way,

A little man I met withall,
The least that ever I, sooth to say,

Either [saw] in bow'r or in hall;
His robe was neither green nor 'gray,

But all it was of rich pall.

* " When we came to the stair foot." Herd.

"There were pipers playing in every neuk,

And ladies dancing jimp and ama';
And aye the owreword o' their tune
Was' Our wee, wee man has been lang awa.' " MotherwelL

Mr. Buchan's version concludes thus :

"Out gat the lights, on cam' the mist,

Ladies nor mannie mair cou'd see;
I turn'd about and gae a look
Just at the foot o' Benachie."

1 The title, as given by Professor Child, from the first line of his text, is, " Als y
yod on ay Mounday."

J" Pall: "rich cloth.

AS I WENT ON AE MONDAY. 197

2 On me he call'd, and bade me bide;

Well still I stood a little space;
Frae Lancaster the park side

On he came, well fair his pace.
He hailed me with meikle pride;

I had well tneikle ferly a what he was;
I said," Well might the * betide,

That little man with large face."

3 I beheld that little man

By the street as we gon gae;
His beard was long a large span,

And gilded as the feather of pae; d
His head was white as any swan,

His eyes was great and gray also;
Brows lang, well I the * 'gan

Mark it to five inches. and mae.*

4 Arms short, for sooth I say,

A span seem'd them to be;
Hands braid withouten nay,

And fingers lang, he shewed me.
A stane he took up where it lay,

And castit forth that I might see;
A rnerk-shot of large way

Before me strides he castit three.

5 Well still I stood as did the stane,

To look him on though me not lang;
His robe was all gold begane, /

Well craftlike made I understand;
Buttons azure every ane

Frae his elbow unto his hand;
Earth-like man was he nane,

That in my heart I understand.

6 Till him I said full soon on-ane, '

For furthermair I wau'd him fraine, *
M Gladly wou'd I wit* thy name,

And I wist wat me mouthe gaine;'
Thou art so little of flesh and bane,

And so meikle of might and main,

"Ferly:" wonder. ' " On-ane:" anon.

t " The : " thee or thy. i j^ine . question.

' " Gon gae: " went along. f wk; ^^
4 "Pae: " peacock.

* "Mae: "more. j This line, sic " wist," means knew;

"wat," usually know, but here appa-
'"Begane:" bedecked. rendywhat; ''mouthe:" might.

198

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Where vones them, little man, at haine?
Wit of thee I wou'd full fain."

" Though I be little and lith, 6

Am I not withouten wane; c
Fairly questioned thou vrhat I hith, *

That e thou sAalt not wit my name ;
My wonige stede-^full well is dyght, *

Now soon thou shalt see at hame."
Till him I said," For God's might,

Let me forth mine errand gone."

" Thee thar * not of thine errand let, *

Though thou come a stonde^ with me,
Further sAalt thou not be set,

Be miles twa neither be three."
No langer durst I for him let,

But forth I funded * with that free; '
Stinted"* us brook nor beck;"

Ferlich me though how so might be.

He went forth as I you say,

In at a gate, I understand;
In till a gate withouten nay ;

It to see though me not lang.
The bankers'" on the binkes lay,

And fair lords set I found;
In ilka him r I heard a lay,

And ladies soth' melody sang.

TAMMIE DOODLE.

The following lively b'ttle nursery piece is here set down from re-
citation :

1 TAMMIE DOODLE was a cantie chiel,

Fu' cantie and fu' crouse;
The fairies liked him unco weel,
And built him a wee house.

"Vones:" wones, dwellest.

'Lith:" supple, limber.
Wane:" dwelling.
Hith:" named.
"That:" yet

'Wonige stede:" dwelling-place.
'Dyght:" decked, adorned.
A 'Thar:" it needs.
* "Let:" hinder.

1 A blonde :" astonished.

fc "Funded:" went

I " Free: " fey lord or fairy.

m " Stinted : " stopped.

n " Beck : " stream.

"Ferlich:" wondered.

P " Bankers: " covers.

"Binkes:" benches.

r "Him: "corner.

* " Soth : " soothing, sweet

HYNDE ETIN. 199

And when the house was all built up,

And finish'd but the door,
A fairy it came skippin' in,

And danced upon the floor.

The fairy it whirl'd up and down,

It loupit and it flang ;
It friskit and it whiskit roun\

And croon'd a fairy sang.

At length it whistled loud and shrill,

And in came all the gang,
Till puir little Tamuiie Doodle

Was maist emother'd in the thrang:.

HtNDE ETIN.

Ir. Kinloch printed a fragment of this ballad, under the above
s, in his Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 225.

Mr.
title,

Mr. Buchan next communicated a considerably different version,
under the title of "Young Hastings the Groom," to his friend Mr.
Motherwell, by whom it was given in Minstrelsy, Ancient and
Modern, p. 287. It was afterwards included by Mr. Buehan in his
Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. ii., p. 67.

Another and more complete version, under the title of " Young
Akin," appears in Mr. Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, voL i.,
p. 6.

The present version has been diligently collated from all three, and
has, as usual under such process, received what are considered some
necessary alterations.

The six opening, two intermediate, and three concluding, stanzas of
"Young Hastings," as they differ greatly from the present version, are
given next in order.

Mr. Kinloch's version of " Hynde Etin" is prefaced by the following
remarks : " A sanguine antiquary might, perhaps, with some proba-
bility, discover in this ballad a fragment of the tale or romance of ' The
Reyde Eyttyn vitht the Thre Heydis,' mentioned in The Complaynt
of Scotland. Dr. Leyden, in his Preliminary Dissertation to that
work, p. 235, speaking of such romances, remarks, that they are either
lost or only exist as popular tales. The 'Red Etin ' is still a popular
character in Scotland ; and, according to the vulgar etymology of his
name, is always represented as an insatiable gormandizer on red or
raw flesh, and exclaiming, as in the story of Jack and the Bean
Stalk,

Snouk butt, snonk ben.
I flnd the smell of earthly men.'

" In this ballad, however, he bears a more courteous name and
character, and seems to have lost his ' thre heydis,' and his appetite

200 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

for 'quyk men;' although his gormandizing qualities are proverbial
in Mearnshire, where the phrase, ' Roaring like a Red Etin,' is applied
to any one who is clamorous for his victuals. "

Dr. Leyden observes, that " the idea of the giants who devoured
quick men is probably derived from the Cyclops, as they are generally
placed in Etaland" [Etnaland?]. The name Etin' however, appears
rather to be derived immediately from the Danish lette, which means
giant.

The above description answers better the "foul thief" of " Young
Ronald," ante, p. 149, stanza 29, and the "Gyant" or "Soldan" of
"Sir Cawline, ante, p. 157, than it does the hero of the following
ballad.

It may be mentioned that Dr. Robert Chambers's Popular Rhymes
of Scotland (p. 89, last edition) contains, under the same title as this
ballad, a traditionary story interspersed with snatches of rhyme.
It, however, differs from this in incident, in which, as well as in
structure, it closely resembles the succeeding "interesting relic of
ancient Scottish song, entitled, ' Child Rowland and Fair Burd
Helen,' a legend still current in the nursery," says Motherwell, Min-
itrdtry, Introduction, p, xc.

1 MAY MARGARET stood within her bow'r,

Combing her yellow hair;
She heard a note in Elmond wood,
And wish'd that she was there.

2 May Margaret sat in her bow'r door,

Sewing her silken seam;
She heard a note in Elmond wood,
Amang the leaves sae green.

3 She let the seam fall frae her side,

The needle to her tae;
And she 's awa to Elmond woo^
As fast as she cou'd gae.

4 She hadna pull'd a nut, a nut,

A nut but barely ane,
Till up started the Hynde Etin,
Says " Lady, let alane !

5 " Oh, why pull ye the nut, the nut,

Or why break ye the tree?
For I am forester of this wood
Ye shou'd speir leave of me."

6 Yet aye she pull'd the ither berry,

Ne'er thinking of the skaith,
And said "To wrang ye, Hynde Etin,
I wou'd be unco laith.

HYNDE ETIN. 203

7 " But Elmond wood it is my ain;

My father gave it me,
To sport and play when I thought lang;
I'll speir nae leave of thee."

8 He 's ta'en her by the yellow locks,

And tied her till a tree,
And said " For slighting my commands,
My sair weid ye shall dree." *

9 Then pull'd a tree out of the wood,

The biggest that was there,
And houk'd a cave monie fathoms deep,
And put May Margaret there.

10 " Now rest ye there, ye saucy May I

My woods are free for thee;
And if I take ye to mysel',
The better ye'll like me}"

11 Nae rest, nae rest May Margaret took,

Sleep got she never nane;
Her back lay on the cauld, cauld floor,
Her head upon a stane.

12 " Oh, take me out," May Margaret cried;

" Oh, take me hame to thee;
And I shall be your bounden page x
Until the day I dee."

13 He took her out of the dupgeon deep,

And awa with him she 's gane ;
But sad was the day a king's daughter
Was by Hynde Etin ta'en.

14 Oh, they ha'e lived in Elmond wood

For nine lang years and ane,
Till seven prettie sons tp Hynde Etin
May Margaret has brpcht hame.

15 But these seven bairns, sae fair and fine,

They got nae christening;
And she was ne'er within kirk door,
Nor e'er got gude kirking.

16 Then it fell ance upon a day,

Hynde Etin 's hunting gane ;
And the eldest of his seven sons
Alang with him has ta'en.

* My grievous and furious rage ye shall endure, or suffer.

202 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 And as they hameward bent their way,

And slowly on did walk,
The boy's heart being somewhat wae,
He thus began to talk :

18 " A question I wou'd ask, father,

If ye wou'dna angry be? "
" Ask on, ask on, my bonnie boy,
Ask what ye will at me."

19 " I see my mother's cheeks oft wet,

Alas! they are seldom dry; "
" Nae wonder, nae wonder, my bonnie boy,
Though she shou'd oft-times cry.

20 " Your mother was a king's daughter,

Sprung frae a high degree,
And she might ha'e wed some noble prince,
Had she nae been stown by me.

21 " But we'll shoot the laverock in the lift,

The buntin' on the tree,
And bear them to your mother dearj
See if she 1 "!! merrier be-."

22 It fell upon anither day,

Hynde Etin 's hunting gane,
With bow and arrows by his side,

In greenwood all alane;
And left May Margaret and her sous

Within their cave of stane.

23 Then she has ta'en her harp in hand.

And harp'd them all asleep,
All but the eldest of her sons,

Wha still did waking keep;
And as she harp'd, it 's thus she sang,

And bitterly did weep :

24 " Oh, ten lang years ha'e o'er me flown,

Of sorrow and of shame,
Since in this greenwood I was stown,
And Etin's wife became.

25 " And seven fair sons to him I've born,

Wha ne'er got christendame ;
Oh, sad fate for a king's daughter,
Of noble birth and fame !

HYNDE ETIN. 203

26 " Oh, seven fair sons to him I've born,

Yet ne'er got gude kirking;
And ten years in this cave ha'e been,
Nor e'er heard kirk bells ring."

27 It 's out then spake her eldest son,

A brisk young boy was he,
"There's something I wou'd tell, mother,

If ye wou'dna angry be ; "
" Speak on, speak on, my bonnie boy,

Tell what ye will to me."

28 " The ither day, as we hunting gaed,

And shot birds on the wing,
Near to the verge of the wood we stray'd,
And I heard sweet music ring."

29 " My blessings on you, my bonnie boy ;

And oh, I fain wou'd be
Alang with you all in holy kirk;
There christen'd ye wou'd be."

30 Oh, out then spake her eldest son,

And he spake out with glee,
" Oh, weep nae mair, my mother dear,
And I your guide will be.

31 " Take you the youngest in your arms,

The rest can gang alane,
And we will on to holy kirk,
And leave this cave of stane."

32 They wistna weel where they were gaen,

With their wee stratlin feet;
They wistna weel where they were gaen,

Till near her father's yett ;
But May Margaret that weel-kenn'd spot

She ne'er cou'd it forget.

33 " I hae nae monie," May Margaret said,

" But royal rings I've three :
Here, take ye them, my eldest son,
And gang ye there for me.

34 " Ye'll gi'e the first to the proud porter,

And he will let you in ;
Ye'll gi'e the next to the butler boy,
And he will show you ben.

204 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAKD.

35 " Ye'll gi'e the next to the gude harper,

That harps before the king ;
And he will sweetly tune his harp,
And success to you sing."

36 The boy went bauldly to the yett,

And did as he was bade ;
And everything his mother tauld,
It happen'd as she said.

37 And when he came before the king,

He fell low on his knee ;
The king he turn'd him round about,
With tear-draps in his e'e.

38 " Win up, win up, my bonnie boy,

Gang frae my companie;
Ye look sae like my daughter dear,
My heart will burst in three."

39 " If I looh; like your daughter dear,

Nae wonder it need be;
If I look like your daughter dear,
My mother dear is she."

40 " Oh, tell me now, my bonnie boy,

Where may my Margaret be?"
" Shea's just now standing at your yett,
With six sons forbye me."

41 " Oh, where are all my porter boys,

That I pay meat and fee,
To open my yetts baith wide and braid ?
Let her come in to, me."

42 When she came in before the king,

She fell low on her knee;
" Win up, win up, my daughter dear,
This day ye 1 !! dine with me."

43 " Ae bit I canna eat, father,

Nor ae drap can I drink,
Till I see my mother and sister dear,
For lang for them I think.

44 " Ae bit I canna eat, father,

Nor ae drap can I drink,

Until I see my dear husband,

For lang on him I think."

HYNDE ETIN. 205

45 " Oh, where are all my rangers bauld,

That I pay meat and fee,
To search the forest far and wide,
And bring Etin to me?"

46 Out then spake the bonnie boy,

" Na, na, this maunna be;
Without ye grant a free pardon,
I hope ye'll ne'er him see."

47 " Oh, here I grant a free pardon,

Weel seal'd with my ain ban' ;
Gae search and bring here Hynde Etin,
As soon as e'er you can,"

48 They search'd the country wide and braid,

The forests far and near ;
Till they found him in Elmond wood,
Tearing his yellow hair.

49 " Win up, win up now, Hynde Etin,

Win up, and boun with me;
We're messengers come frae the king,
And he wants you to see."

50 " Oh, let him take frae me my head,

Or hang me on a tree;
For since I've lost my dear ladye,
Life has nae joy to me."

51 " Your head will nae be touch'd, Etin,

And hang'd you winna be 5
Your ladye 's in her father's court,
And all he wants is thee;"

52 When he came in before the king,

He fell low on his knee ;
" Arise, arise now, Hynde Etin,
This day ye'se dine with me."

53 As they were at the dinner set,

The young boy thus spake he,
" I wish we were at holy kirk,
To get our Christentie ! "

54 " Your asking's nae sae great, my boy,

But granted it shall be ;
This day to gude kirk ye shall gang,
Your mother too with thee."

206 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

55 When they unto the gude kirk came,

She at the door did stan' ;
She was sae sair sunk down with shame,
She wou'dna venture ben.

56 Then out and spake the parish priest,

And a sweet smile ga'e he,
" Come ben, come ben, my lilie flower,
Present your babes to me."

57 And he has ta'en and sained them all,

And gi'en them Christentie;
And they staid in her father's hall,
And lived with mirth and glee.

YOUNG HASTINGS.
See Introduction to "HyndeEtin," ante, p. 199.

OH, well like I to ride in a mist,
And shoot in a northern win' ;

And far better a lady to steal,
That 's come of a noble kin.

Four-and~twenty fair ladies

Put on this lady's sheen ;
And as many young gentlemen

Did lead her o'er the green.

Yet she preferr'd, before them all,
Him young Hastings the groom :

He 's coosten a mist before them all,
And away this lady has ta'en.

He 's taken the lady on him behind,
Spar'd neither grass nor corn,

Till they came to the wood of Amonshaw,
Where again their loves were sworn.

And they ha'e lived within that wood

Full many a year and day ;
And were supported from time to time

By what he made of prey.

And seven bairns, fair and fine,
There she has born to him;

Yet never was in gude kirk door,
Nor ever got gude kirking.

CHILD ROWLAND AND BURD ELLEN. 207

Stanzas corresponding to 16 to 20 inclusive of "Hynde Etin"
should evidently follow, and then two stanzas, as given in Mr,
Buchan's "Young Akin," but which palpably belong properly to
the present version. They are :

" I was her father's oup-bearer,

Just at that fatal time;
I catch'd her on a misty night,

When summer was in prime.

" My love to her was most sincere,

Her love was great for me ;
But when she hardships doth endure,

Her folly she does see."

Then come, next in order, stanzas corresponding to 23 to 31
inclusive of the present text, and to five stanzas in " Young
Hastings ; " after which succeed the following :

" Then go with us unto some kirk

You say they are built of stane
And let us all be christen'd [there],

And you get gude kirking,"

She took the youngest in her lap,

The next youngest by the hand,
Set all the rest of them before,

As she learnt them to gang.

And she has left the wood with them,

And to the kirk has gane;
Where the gude priest them christened,

And gave her gude kirking.

CHILD KOWLAND AND BURD ELLEN.

Given by Jamiesoa in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p.
397.

Mr. Jamieson alleges, and Professor Child thinks, "it is not im-
possible that this ballad should be the one quoted by Edgar in King
Lear (act iii., sc. 4) :

' Child Rowland to the dark tower came !' "

Mr. Jamieson remarks, that, " having the outline of the story so
happily sketched to his hand, it would have required no very great
exertion of talents or industry, for one exercised in these studies, to
have presented this Romance in a poetical dress, far more correct and
generally engaging than that in which it can be expected to be found j

208 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

but, as he accounts an original, however imperfect, which bears the
genuine marks of the age which produced it, and of the taste of those
who have preserved it, much more interesting to the historian or
antiquary than any mere modern tale of the same kind, however
artfully constructed, he has preferred subjoining the Scottish legend
inpuris naturalibus, in the hope that the publication of it may be the
means of exciting curiosity, and procuring a more perfect copy of this
singular relic."

The ballad of " Rosmer Hafmand," which is to be found in Danish,
Swedish, Faroish, and Norse, and three versions of which have been
translated by Jamieson, bears a considerable resemblance to ' ' Child
Rowland."

The tale of the Red Etin, which it also closely resembles, has al-
ready been alluded to at the close of the preceding introductory
note, ante, p. 200.

"The occurrence of the name of Merlin," writes Professor Child, " is
by no means a sufficient ground for connecting this tale, as Jamieson
does, with the cycle of King Arthur ; for Merlin, as Grundtvig has
remarked ( ' Folkeviser,' vol. ii., p. 79), did not originally belong to that
cycle ; and again, his name seems to have been given in Scotland to any
sort of wizard or [warlock] prophet. " English and Scottish Ballads, vol.
i , p. 245. And in a prefatory note to " Rosmer Hafmand," Professor
Child further states, that ' ' all the questions bearing upon its origin,
and the relations of the various forms in which the story exists, are
amply discussed by Grundtvig, voL ii., p. 72." Same work and vol.,
p. 253.

[KiNG ARTHUR'S sons of merry Carlisle]

Were playing at the ball ;
And there was their sister Burd Ellen,

I' the inids amang them all;

Child Rowland kick'd it with his foot)

And keppit it with his knee,
And aye, as he play'd out o'er them all,

O'er the kirk he gar'd it flee.

Burd Ellen round about the isle

To seek the ball is gane;
But they bade lang and ay langer,

And she came na back again.

They sought her east, they sought her west,

They sought her up and down;
And wae were the hearts [in merry Carlisle],

For she was nae gait found !

" At last her eldest brother went to the Warluck Merlin (Myrddin
Wyldt), and asked if he knew where his sister, the fair Burd Ellen,
was. ' The fair Burd Ellen,' said the Warluck Merlin, ' is carried away
by the fairies, and is now in the castle of the king of Elfland ; and

CHILD ROWLAND AND BURD ELLEN. 209

it were too bold an undertaking for the stoutest knight in Christ-
endom to bring her back.' ' Is it possible to bring her back ? ' said
her brother ; ' and I will do it or perish in the attempt.' ' Possible,
indeed, it is,' said the Warluck Merlin ; ' but woe to the man or
mother's son who attempts it, if he is not well instructed beforehand
of what he is to do.'

" Influenced no less by the glory of such an enterprise than by the
desire of rescuing his sister, the brother of the fair Burd Ellen re-
solved to undertake the adventure ; and after proper instructions from
Merlin (which he failed in observing), he set out on his perilous ex-
pedition.

But they bade lang and ay langer,

With dout and mickle maen ;
And wae were the hearts [in merry Carlisle],

For he came na back again.

" The second brother in like manner set out ; but failed in observing
the instructions of the Warluck Merlin; and

They bade lang and ay langer,

With mickle dout and maen ;
And wae were the hearts [in merry Carlisle],

For he came na back again.

" Child Rowland, the youngest brother of the fair Burd Ellen, then
resolved to go ; but was strenuously opposed by the good queen
[Gwenevra], who was afraid of losing all her children.

" At last the good queen [Gwenevra] gave him her consent and her
blessing; he girt on (in great form, and with all due solemnity of
sacerdotal consecration) his father's good claymorA [Excalibar], that
never struck in vain, and repaired to the cave of the Warluck Merlin.
The Warluck Merlin gave him all necessary instructions' for his
journey and conduct, the most important of which were, that he
should kill every person he met with after entering the land of Fairy,
and should neither eat nor drink of What was offered him in that
country, whatever his hunger or thirst might be ; for if he tasted or
touched in Elfland, he must remain in the power of the Elves, and
never see middle eard again.

" So Child Rowland set out on his journey, and travelled ' on and
ay farther on,' till he came to where (as he had been forewarned by
the Warluck Merlin) he found the king of Elfland's horse-herd feeding
his horses.

" 'Canst thou tell me,' said Child Rowland to the horse-herd,
'where the king of Elfland's castle is?' 'I cannot tell thee,' said
the horse-herd ; ' but go on a little farther, and thou wilt come to
the cow-herd, and he, perhaps, may tell thee.' So Child Rowland
drew the good claymore [Excalibar], that never struck in vain, and
hewed off the head of the horse-herd. Child Rowland then went
on a little farther, till he came to the king of Elfland's cow-herd,
who was feeding his cows. 'Canst thou tell me,' said Child Row-
land to the cow-herd, 'where the king of Elfland's castle is?' 'I

210 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

cannot tell thee,' said the cow -herd ; ' but go on a little farther, and
thou wilt come to the sheep-herd, and he, perhaps, may tell thee.'
So Child Rowland drew the good claymore [Excalibar], that never
struck in vain, and hewed off the head qf the cow-herd. He then

went on a little farther, till he came to the sheep-herd

[ The sheep-herd, goat-herd, and swine-Jierd are all, each in his turn,
served in the same manner ; and lastly lie is referred to tJie lien-wife. ]

" ' Go on yet a little farther,' said the hen-wife, ' till thou come to
a round green hill surrounded with rings (terraces) from the bottom
to the top ; go round it three times widershins, and every time
say, Open, door ! open, door ! and let me come in ! and the third
time the door will open, and you may go in.' So Child Rowland
drew the good claymore [Excalibar], that never struck in vain, and
hewed off the head of the hen-wife. Then went he three times
widershins round the green hill, crying, ' Open, door ! open, door !
and let me come in ; : and the third time the door opened, and he
went in.

" It immediately closed behind him, and he proceeded through a
long passage where the air was soft and agreeably warm, like a May
evening, as is all the air of Elfland. The light was a sort of twilight or
gloaming; but there were neither windows nor candles, and he knew
not whence it came, if it was not from the walls and roof, which were
rough and arched like a grotto, and composed of a clear transparent
rock, incrusted with aheeps-silver and spar, and various bright stones.
At last he came to two wide and lofty folding-doors, which stood
ajar. He opened them, and entered a large and spacious hall, whose
richness and brilliance no tongue can tell. It seemed to extend the
whole length and height of the hill. The superb Gothic pillars by
which the roof was supported were so large and so lofty (said my
sennachy) that the pillars of the Chanry Kirk,* or of Pluscardin
Abbey, are no more to be compared to them, than the Knock of Alves
is to be compared to Balrinnes or Ben-a-chi. They were of gold and
silver, and were fretted like the west window of the Chanry Kirk,
with wreaths of flowers, composed of diamonds aud precious stones of
all manner of beautiful colours. The key-stones of the arches above,
instead of coats of arms and other devices, were ornamented with
clusters of diamonds in the same manner. And from the middle of the
roof, where the principal arches met, was hung by a gold chain an
immense lamp of one hollowed pearl, perfectly transparent, in the
midst of which was suspended a large carbuncle, that by the power
of magic continually turned round, and shed over all the hall a clear
and mild light, like the setting sun ; but the hall was so large, and
these dazzling objects so far removed, that their blended radiance cast
no more than a pleasing lustre, and excited no more than agreeable
sensations in the eyes of Child Rowland.

" The furniture of the hall was suitable to its architecture ; and at
the farther end, under a splendid canopy, seated on a gorgeous sofa
of velvet, silk, and gold, and ' kembing her yellow hair with a silver
kemb,'

* The cathedral of Elgin naturally enough furnished similes to a man who had
never iu his life been twenty miles distant froi \ it

CHILD ROWLAND AND BURD ELLEN. 211

There was his sister Burd Ellen;
She stood up him before.

Says,

' God rue on thee, poor luckless fade !*
What hast thou to do here?

' And hear ye this, my youngest brither,

Why badena ye at hame ?
Had ye a hurider and thousand lives,

Ye canna brook ane o' them.

'And sit thou down; and wae! oh wae!

That ever thou was born;
For come the king o' Elfland in,

Thy leccam f is forlorn ! l

" A long conversation then takes place : Child Rowland tells her the
news of [merry Carlisle], and of his own expedition; and concludes
with the observation, that, after this long and fatiguing journey to the
castle of the king of Eltiand, he is very hungry.

"Burd Ellen looked wistfully and mournfully at him, and shook
her head, but said nothing. Acting under the influence of a magic
which she could not resist, she arose, and brought him a golden bowl
full of bread and milk, which she presented to him with the same
timid, tender, and anxious expression of solicitude.

' ' Remembering the instructions of the Warluck Merlin, ' Burd
Ellen, ' said Child Rowland, ' I will neither taste nor touch till I
have set thee free !' Immediately the folding-doors burst open with
tremendous violence, and in came the king of Elfland,

With l Fi,fi, fo saidfum /

I smell the blood of a Christian man !

Be he dead, be he living, with my brand
I'll clash his hams frae his harn-pan!'

" 'Strike, then, bogle of hell, if thou darest!' exclaimed the un-
daunted Child Rowland, starting up, and drawing the good claymore
[Excalibar], that never struck in vain.

"A furious combat ensued, and the king of Elfland was felled to
the ground ; but Child Rowland spared him, on condition that he
should restore to him his two brothers, who lay in a trance in a
corner of the hall, and his sister, the fair Burd Ellen. The king of
Elfland then produced a small crystal vial, containing a bright red
liquor, with which he anointed the lips, nostrils, eye- lids, ears, and
linger-ends of the two young men, who immediately awoke as from
a profound sleep, during which their souls had quitted their bodies,
and they had seen, &c., &c., &c. So they all four returned in triumph
to [merry Carlisle].

* '-Fode: " man. t "Leccam: " body.

212 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" Such was the rude outline of the Romance of Child Rowland, as it
was told to me when I was about seven or eight years old, by a coun-
try tailor then at work in my father's house. He was an ignorant
and dull good sort of honest man, who seemed never to have questioned
the truth of what he related. Where the etceteras are put down,
many curious particulars have been omitted, because I was afraid of
being deceived by my memory, and substituting one thing for another.
It is right also to admonish the reader, that the Warluck Merlin,
Child Rowland, and Burd Ellen, were the only names introduced in
his recitation; and that the others, inclosed within brackets, are
assumed upon the authority of the locality given to the story by the
mention of Merlin. In every other respect I have been as faithful as
possible." Professor Child, English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i., pp.
245-252.

CLERK COLVILL AND THE MERMAID.

The following ballad was printed in Herd's Scottish Songs, vol. i. ,
p. 217; and in an altered shape in Lewis's Tales of Wonder, No. 56.

It was reprinted from Herd by Mr. Buchan, in his Gleanings, &c. ,
p. 92; and in a note thereto, in the same collection, p. 195, he states
that " the scene is laid at Slains, on the coast of Buchan, which is
indented in many places by the sea with immense chasms, excavated
in many places to a great extent. The author is said to be of the
name of Clark, a drunken dominie in that parish i.e., Slains who
was also author of a poetical ' Dialogue between the Gardeners and
the Tailors,' on the origin of their crafts, and a most curious Latin
and English poem, called 'The Buttery College of Slains,' which
resembles much in language and style Drummond's (of Hawthornden)
' Polemo-Middinia.' "

The poem last referred to appears to be that printed in Watson's
Collection of Scots Poems, part in., pp. 56 to 69, Edinburgh, 1711.
Fac-simile reprint, Glasgow, 1869.

The accuracy of the report as to Clark's authorship of "Clerk
Colvill" may well be questioned, as versions of the ballad, or of
others similar, appear to be common to all the northern languages.
See Professor Child's prefatory note (English and Scottish Ballads, vol.
i., p. 298) to a translation of the Danish Elveskud (Abrahamson, vol. L,
p. 237), from Jamieson's Popular Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 219,
where it appears under the title of "Sir Oluf and the Elf- King's
Daughter." " Sir Oluf," or, as it is there named, " Sir Olave," may
also be found translated in Old Danish Ballad*, &c., p. 66. This
ballad, and others of the same class, exemplify "a superstition deeply
rooted in the belief of all the northern nations the desire of the
elves and water-spirits for the love of Christians." Professor Child,
English and Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. 192.

A similar Breton ballad, named "Lord Nann and the Kerrigan,"
may be found translated in Keightley's Fairy Mythology, p. 433.
Bohn's Antiquarian Library.

CLERK COLVILL AND THE MERMAID. 213

1 CLERK COLVILL and his lusty dame

Were walking in the garden green ;
The belt around her stately waist
Cost Clerk Colvill of pounds fifteen.

2 " Oh, promise me now, Clerk Colvill,

Or it will cost ye muckle strife,
Ride never by the wells of Slane,

If ye wou'd live and brook your life."

3 " Now speak nae mair, my lusty dame,

Now speak nae mair of that to me ;
Did I ne'er see a fair woman,
But I wou'd sin with her fair bodie? "

4 He 's ta'en leave of his gay ladye,

Nought minding what his ladye said;
And he 's rode by the wells of Slane,
Where washing was a bonnie maid.

5 " Wash on, wash on, my bonnie maid,

That wash sae clean your sark of silk; "
" And well fa' you, fair gentleman,
Your body's whiter than the milk."

6 Then loud, loud cry'd the Clerk Colvill,

" Oh, my head it pains me sairP'
" Then take, then take," the maiden said,
" And frae my sark you'll cut a gare."

7 Then she gave him a little bane-knife,

And frae her sark he cut a gare;
She ty'd it round his whey-white face,
But aye his head it ached [the] mair.

8 Then louder cry'd the Clerk Colvill,

" Oh, sairer, sairer aches my head! "
" And sairer, sairer ever will,"
The maiden cry's, " till you be dead."

9 Out then he drew his shining blade,

Thinking to stick her where she stood;
But she was vanish'd to a fish,
And swam far off", a fair mermaid.

10 " Oh ! mother, mother, braid my hair;

My lusty lady, make my bed ;
Oh ! brother, take my sword and spear,
For I have seen the false mermaid."

214 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

THE MERMAID.

From Mr. Finlay's Scottish, Historical, and Romantic Ballads.

"This beautiful piece of poetry," says Mr. Finlay, "was re-
covered from the recitation of a lady, who heard it sung by the
servants in her father's family about fifty years ago;" i.e., about
1758, as Mr. Finlay's collection was published in 1808.

" 'The Mermaid,' says Mr. Motherwell, "though Mr. Finlay con-
siders it an old ballad, is certainly wholly re-written. There are
stories, sure enough, of knights yea, squires of low degree being
captivated by these ' swimming ladies,' rife in every part of the
country; and the only one on record who was so fortunate as to
escape their embraces was a gentleman commemorated in the rhyme
given by Mr. Chambers in his late curious work, The Popular Rhymes
of Scotland, 1826, p. 208. (Last edition, 1870, p. 332.)

' Lorntie, Lorntie, wer't na for your man,
I had gart your heart's blude skirl in my pan.'

" But as to the verses in Mr. Finlay's book, or those in Mr.
Pinkerton's, on a similar subject, being ancient, I must beg leave to
remain incredulous." Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixxxvii.

1 To yon fause stream that, near the sea,

Hides mony an elf and plum,*
And rives with fearful din the stanes,
A witless knicht did come.

2 The day shines clear far in he 's gane.

Where shells are silver bright;
Fishes war loupin' all aroun',
And sparklin' to the light.

3 When, as he laved, sounds came sae sweet

Frae ilka rock and tree;
The brief was out, 'twas him it doom'd
The mermaid's face to see.

4 Frae 'neath a rock, sune, sune she rose,

And stately on she swam,
Stopp'd in the midst, and beck'd and sang
To him to stretch his han'.

5 Gowden glist the yellow links

That round her neck she'd twine ;
Her een were of the skyie blue,
Her lips did mock the wine.

* " Plum : " a djep hole in a river's bed.

ALISON GROSS. 215

6 The smile upon her bonnie cheek

Was sweeter than the bee ;
Her voice excell'd the birdie's sang
Upon the birchen tree.

7 Sae couthie, couthie did she look,

And meikle had she fleech'd; *
Out shot his hand alas ! alas !
Fast in the swirl he screech'd.

8 ^The mermaid leuch, her brief was gane,

And kelpie's blast was blawin';
Full low she dook'd, ne'er raise again,
For deep, deep was the fawin'.

9 Aboon the stream his wraith was seen,

Warlocks tirl'd lang at gloamin';
That e'en was coarse, the blast blew hoarse,
Ere lang the waves were foamin'.

ALISON GROSS.

From Mr. Jamiesbn's Popular Ballads, vol. ii., p. 187, where it is
said to be given " from the recitation of Mrs. Brown."

In a note (p. 189), Mr. Jamieson explains, that " the term worm
formerly signified, like serpent, ' a reptile of any kind that made its
way without legs.' Here it signifies a snake. Piers Plowman, using
it in the same sense for a serpent, speaks of ' wyld wormes in woodes,'
&c., ed. 1561. F. O., iii., 1."

He also explains " Seeley Court" as meaning " pleasant or happy
court," or " court of the pleasant and happy people ;" which, he says,
"agrees with the ancient and more legitimate idea of fairies."

1 ALISON GROSS, that lives in yon tow'r,

The ugliest witch in the north countrie,
She trysted me ae day up till her bow'r,
And mony fair speeches she made to me.

2 She straik'd my head, and she kaim'd my hair,

And she set me down saftly on her knee;
Says " If ye will be my leman sae true,
Sae rnony braw things as I will you gi'e."

3 She shaw'd me a mantle of red scarlet,

With gowden flowers and fringes fine;
Says " If ye will be my leman sae true,
This goodly gift it shall be thine."

* " Fleeched : " flattered, or beseeched.

216 BALI AD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

4 " Awa, awa, ye ugly witch,

Haud far awa, and let me be ;
I never will be your leman sae true,

And I wish I were out of your company."

5 She neist brocht a sark of the saftest silk,

Weel wrought with pearls about the band;
Says " If ye will be my ain true love,
This goodly gift ye shall command."

6 She show'd me a cup of the good red gowd,

Weel set with jewels sae fair to see ;
Says " If ye will be my leman sae true,
This goodly gift I will you gi'e."

7 " Awa, awa, ye ugly witch,

Haud far awa, and let me be;
For I wadna ance kiss your ugly mouth,
For all the gifts that ye cou'd gi'e."

8 She 's turn'd her richt and round about,

And thrice she blew on a grass-green horn;
And she sware by the moon and the stars aboon,
That she'd gar me rue the day I was born.

9 Then out has she ta'en a silver wand,

And she turn'd her three times round and round ;
She mutter'd sic words, that my strength it fail'd,
And I fell down senseless on the ground.

10 She turn'd me into an ugly worm,

And gar'd me toddle about the tree ;
And aye on ilka Saturday night,
Auld Alison Gross she came to me,

11 With silver basin, and silver kame,

To kame my headie upon her knee;
But rather than kiss her ugly mouth,
I'd ha'e toddled for ever about the tree.

12 But as it fell out on last Hallow-e'en,

When the seely court was ridin' by,
The queen lighted down on a gowan bank,
Near by the tree where I wont to lye.

13 She took me up in her milk-white hand,

And she straik'd me three times o'er her knee;
She chang'd me again to my ain proper shape,
And nae mair do I toddle about the tree.

KING HENRIE. 217

KING HENKIE.

"This piece," says Mr. Jamieson, " prepared for the press, and in
the exact state in which it now appears, was shown by the editor to
Mr. [afterwards Sir Walter] Scott of Edinburgh, long before the publi-
cation of either the Tales of Wonder (No. 57) or the Minstrelsy of the
Scottish Border (vol. iii.);" in both of which it appeared prior to
the publication of Popular Ballads, &c. , in which work (vol. ii. , p.
194) it appears in a form slightly different from the text of Scott,
and with the addition of some interpolated lines and stanzas of
Jamieson's own.

The present text is collated from both versions ; but Scott's, which,
as he informs us, was ' ' edited from the MS. of Mrs. Brown, cor-
rected by a recited fragment," is the one chiefly followed.

The modernized copy appears under the title of " Courteous King
Jamie," in Tales of Wonder, vol. ii, p. 451.

"The legend," says Sir Walter Scott, "will remind the reader of
the 'Marriage of Sir Gawain,' in the Beliques of Ancient Poetry, and
of ' The Wife of Bath's Tale,' in Father Chaucer. But the original,
as appears from Torfceus [Hrolffi Krakii Hist., p. 49, Hafn, 1715], ia
to be found in an Icelandic Saga."

1 LET never man a- wooing wend,

That lacketh thingig thrie :
A rowth of gold, an open heart,
And full of courtesie.

2 And this was seen of King Henrie,

For he lay burd-alane;
And he has ta'en him to a jelly hunt's hall,
Was far frae ony town.

3 He chased the dun deer thro' the wood,

And the roe down by the den,
Till the fattest buck in all the herd
King Henrie he has slain.

4 He 's ta'en him to his huntin' hall,

For to make burly cheer,
When loud the wind was heard to sound,
And an earthquake rock'd the floor.

5 And darkness cover'd all the hall

Where they sat at their meat;
The grey dogs, yowling, left their food,
And crept to Henrie's feet.

218 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

6 And louder howl'd the rising wind,

And burst the fast'ned door;

And in there came a grisly ghost,

Stood stamping on the floor.

7 Her head touch'd the roof-tree of the house,

Her middle ye weel mot span;
Each frighted huntsman fled the hall,
And left the king alane.

8 Her teeth were all like tether stakes,

Her nose like club or mell;
A fitting maik she seem'd to be
To the fiend that wons in hell.

9 " Some meat, some meat, ye King Henrie,

Some meat ye'll gi'e to me! "
"And what meat's in this house, ladye,
And what ha'e I to gi'e?

10 " And what meat 's in this house, ladye,

That ye're na welcome tee?" *
" Oh, ye'se gae kill your berry-brown steed,
And serve him up to me."

11 Oh, when he kill'd his berry-brown steed,

Wow, but his heart was sair!
She ate him all up, flesh and bane,
Left naething but hide and hair.

12 " Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henrie,

Mair meat ye'll gi'e to me ! "
" And what meat 's in this house, ladye,
And what ha'e I to gi'e?

13 " And what meat's in this house, ladye,

That ye're na welcome tee?"
" Oh, ye'se gae slay your gude greyhounds,
And bring them all to me."

14 Oh, when he slew his gude greyhounds,

Wow, but his heart was sair!
She 's eaten them all up, ane by ane,
Left naething but hide and hair.

15 " Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henrie,

Mair meat ye'll gi'e to me! "
" And what meat 's in this house, ladye,
That I ha'e left to gi'e?

* "Tee," for "to," is the Buchan and Gallovidian pronunciation.

KING HENRIE. 219

16 " And what meat 's in this house, ladye,

That ye're na welcome tee? "
" Oh, ye'se gae kill your gay gos-hawks,
And bring them all to me."

17 Ob, when he kill'd his gay gos-hawks,

Wow, but his heart was sair!
She ate them all up, skin and bane,
Left naething but feathers bare.

18 " Some drink, some drink now, King Henrie,

Some drink ye'll gi'e to me!"
" And what drink 's in this house, ladye,
And what ha'e I to gi'e?

19 " And what drink 's in this house, ladye,

That ye're na welcome tee?"
" Oh, ye'se sew up your horse's hide,
And bring in a drink to me."

20 Oh, he has sew'd up the bluidy hide,

And a pipe of wine put in;
She drank it all up at ae draught,
And left na a drap ahin'.

21 " A bed, a bed, ye King Henrie,

A bed ye'll make to me!"
" And what bed 's in this house, ladye,
And what ha'e I to gi'e?

22 " And what bed 's in this house, ladye,

That ye're na welcome tee?"
" Oh, ye maun pu' the green heather,
And make a bed to me."

23 Oh, pu'd has he the green heather,

And made to her a bed;
And up he has ta'en his gay mantle,
And o'er it he has spread.

24 " Now swear, now swear, ye King Henrie,

To take me for your bride ! "
" Oh, God forbid," King Henrie said,

"That e'er the like betide!
That e'er the fiend that wons in hell

Shou'd streek down by my side."

220 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

25 When night was gane and day was come,

And the sun shone thro' the hall,
The fairest lady that e'er was seen
Lay atween him and the wall.

26 " Oh, weel is me!" King Henrie said,

" How lang will this last with me?"
And out and spake that ladye fair,
" E'en till the day ye dee.

27 " For I was witch'd tp a ghastly shape,

All by my stepdame's skill,
Till I shou'd meet with a courteous knight,
Wou'd gi'e me all my will."

KEMPY KAYE.
Two versions of this ballad have appeared:

I. In A Ballad Boole, p. 81. Edinburgh, 1823. [Edited by

C. K. Sharpe, Esq.]

II. In The Ballad Book. Edinburgh, 1827. [Edited by George
Ritchie Kinloch.]

The text as here printed is collated from both versions.

The music " of this ludicrous and extravagant ballad " is given by
Motherwell, in his Minstrelsy. He says, that "it affords a pretty
ample specimen of the description of melody to which a great number
of the traditionary ballads of Scotland are still chaunted by the
people." Appendix, p. xxiv.

Mr. Motherwell also states that " Kemp Owyne," ante., p. 21, is
sung to a similar air.

C. K. Sharpe, Esq., supposed the ballad to be of Scandinavian
origin ; a theory which may be questioned, although similar Danish
ballads do exist, as, for instance, " Sir Guncelin," translated by
Jamieson, in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 310, and " Thor
and the Ogre,' : in Old Danish Ballads, translated from Grimm's Collec-
tion, p. 79.

Both C. K. Sharpe, Esq., and Mr. Kinloch, suppose the name to be
derived from Sir Kaye, of King Arthur's " Round Table." And the
former remarks, that "the description of Bengoleer's daughter re-
sembles that of the enchanted damsel who appeared to courteous
King Henrie." (See previous ballad.)

1 KEMPT KAYE is a- wooing gane,

Far, far ayont the sea,
And there he met with Bengoleer,
His gudefather to be.

KEMPT KATE.

" Whar are ye gaun, Kempy Kaye,
Whar are ye gaun sae sune?"

" Oh, I am gaun to court a wife,
And thinkna ye that's weel dune?"

" If ye be gaun to court a wife,

As ye do' tell to me,
'Tis ye shall ha'e my Fusome Fug,

Your ae wife for to be."

221

" Gae scrape yersel', my Fusome Fug,
And mak your broukit face clean ;

For the brawest wooer that e'er ye saw,
Is come develling down the green."

Up then raise the Fusome Fug,
To mak' her broukit face clean;

And aye she cursed her mither, that
She had nae water in.

She rampit out, and she rampit in;

She rampit but and ben ;
The tattles that hung frae her tail

Wou'd muck'd an acre of Ian'.

Sae she scrapit her, and scartit her,
Like the face of an assy pan ;

And I wot she look'd the strangest maid
That e'er the sun shone on.

She had a neis upon her face

Was like an auld pat fit;
Atween her neis bot and her mou'

Was inch thick deep of dirt.

She had twa een intil her head,

Ilk like a rotten ploom:
Her heavy brows hung o er her face,

And sairly she did gloom.

She had lauchty teeth, and kaily lips.

And wide lugs full of hair;
Her pouches, full of pease-meal daigh,

Were hanging down her spare.

When Kempy Kaye cam' to the house,

He keekit through a hole,
And there he saw the dirty drab

Just whisking ower the coal.

222 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

12 Then in cam' Kempy Kaye himseP,

A clever and tall young man ;
Between his shoulders were ells three,
Between his een a span.

13 Uka nail upon his hand

Was like an iron rake,
And ilka teeth into his head
Was like a tether stake.

14 " I'm come to court your dochter dear,

And some pairt of your gear:"
" And by my sooth," quo' Bengolee r ,
" She'll sair a man o 1 weir.

15 "My dochter she 's a thrifty lass;

She span seven year to me ;

And if it were weel counted up,

Full ten wobs it would be."

16 He led his dochter by the hand,

His dochter ben brought he ;
"Oh, is she not the fairest lass
That's in great Chriatendie ? "

17 Her wooer ga'e her a fine napkin,

Made o' an auld horse-brat;
" I ne'er wore sic in a' my life,
But I warrant I'se wear that."

18 He ga'e to her a braw gowd ring,

Made frae an auld brass pat ;
" I ne'er wore a gowd ring a' my life,
But I warrant I'se wear that."

COSPATRICK.

Tn a note referring to "Bothwell," as contained in Herd's Scottiah
Songs, vol. i., p. 83, Mr. Motherwell says : "This is a very popular
ballad, and is known to reciters under a variety of names. I have heard
it called 'Lord Bang well,' 'Bengwill,' 'Dingwell,' 'Brengwell,' and
' The Seven Sisters ; or, The Leaves of Lind.' In the Border Minstrelsy,
vol. iii., p. 72, fifth edition (and p. 263, last edition), is a version entitled
' Corspatrick. ' The same authority mentions that a copy in Mrs.
Brown of Falkland's MS. is styled 'Child Brenton ' (or, as Mr. Jamieson
names it, ' Gil Brenton '). In a book misnamed Remains of Galloway
and Nithsdale Song, it is titled, ' We were Sisters, We were Seven. ' It
is amusing to see this motley version challenging that in the Border

COSPATRICK.

Minstrelsy, as being interspersed with modern patches, and claiming
for itself the merit of being a pure and unalloyed traditionary copy.
Unparalleled impudence !"

Another version was published by Mr. Buchan in Ancient, Ballads,
&c., vol. i., p. 204, under the title of " Lord Dingwall;" and "Mr.
Jamieson has translated, " says Mr. Motherwell, " a Danish ballad,
' Ingefred and Gudrune ''(Northern Antiquities, p. 340), wherein he
points out the striking resemblance it bears to the present one."
Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern, Introduction, p. Ixix., note 21.
Another translation of the same appears in Old Danish Ballads, &c.,
(p. 146), under the title of " The Gossiping Nightingales."

In this Danish ballad, the bride's sister becomes her substitute,
but in one or more of the other Scandinavian versions, as in the
Scotish, the maid-servant takes her place.

"This idea," says Professor Child, "was perhaps derived from
Tristan and Isold. See Scott's Sir Tristrem, voL ii., pp. 54, 55."
English and Scottish Ballads, vol. L, p. 152.

The text of the ballad, as here printed, is chiefly taken from Sir
Walter Scott's, who informs us, that " some stanzas were transferred
by him from Herd's copy, " while the remainder was ' ' taken down
from the recitation of a lady, nearly related to the Editor." Some
readings " were also adopted " by him from the copy in Mrs.
Brown's MS., as previously referred to. " Cospatrick (Comes Pat-
ricius) was the designation of the Earl of Punbar, in the days of
Wallace and Bruce. "

The inconsistent conduct of Cospatrick, and the manner in which
he ultimately stood self- convicted, as related in the ballad, may be
profitably compared with similar incidents in the life of the patriarch
Judah, as narrated in Genesis xxxviii.

It is surely much to be regretted, that in this nineteenth century,
after our Lord's advent, and among nominally Christian communities,
that matters in this respect appear to have scarcely, if at all, pro-
gressed since the days of this early patriarch and zealous conservator
of female purity ; as it is quite notorious that fashion, and her male
and female votaries, still practically maintain one code of morality for
man, and quite another for his help-meet, or gentler sister woman.

Alas for our vaunted Christianity and Chivalry I What are they,
and where are they ?

1 COSPATRICK has sent o'er the faem;
Cospatrick brought his ladye hame;
And fourscore ships have come her wi',
The lady by the greenwood tree.

2 There were twal' and twal' with baken bread,
And twal' and twal' with gowd sae red;
And twal' and twal' with bouted flour,

And twal' and twal' with the paramour.

224 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

3 Sweet Willie was a widow's son,
And at her stirrup he did run ;
And she was clad in the finest pall,
But aye she let the tears down falL

4 " Oh, is your saddle set awry?

Or rides your steed for you ower high?
Or are you mourning in your tide,
That you shou'd be Cospatrick's bride? "

5 "I am not mourning at this tide,
That I shou'd be Cospatrick's bride;
But I am sorrowing in my mood,
That I shou'd leave my mother good.

6 " But, gentle boy, come tell to me,
What is the custom of thy countrie?"

" The custom thereof, my dame," he says,
" Will ill a gentle ladye please.

7 " Seven king's daughters has our lord wedded,
And seven king's daughters has our lord bedded;
But he 's ciitted their breasts frae their breast-bane,
And sent them mourning hame again.

8 " Yet, if you're sure that you're a maid,
Ye may gae safely to his bed ;

But if of that ye be na sure,

Then hire some damsel of your bow'r."

9 The ladye 's call'd her bow'r maiden,
That waiting was into her train;

" Five thousand merks I'll gi'e to thee,
To sleep this night with my lord for me."

10 When bells were rung and mass was sayn,
And all men unto bed were gane,
Cospatrick and the bonnie maid

Into a chamber they were laid.

11 " Now speak, thou blankets, and speak, them bed,
And speak, thou sheet, enchanted web;

And speak, my brown sword, that winna lee,
Is this a true maiden that lies by me?"

12 "It is not a maid that you ha'e wedded,
But it is a maid that you ha'e bedded;
It is a leal maiden that lies by thee,
But not the maiden that it should be."

COSPATRICK. 225

13 Oh, wrathfully he left the bed,
And wrathfully his claes on did;

And he has ta'en him through the hall,
And on his mother he did call.

14 " I am the most unhappy man
That ever wa's in Christen land !

I courted a maiden meek and mild,
And I find it is a woman with child."

15 " Oh, stay, my son, into this hall,
And sport ye with your merry men all;
And I will to her secret bow'r,

To see how it fares with your paramour."

16 His mother 's hied her up to the tow'r,
And lock'd her in the secret bow'r;

" Now, daughter mine, come tell to me^
Wha's bairn this is that you are wi'?"

17 " Oh, mother dear, I canna learn
Wha is the father of my bairn ;
But hear me, mother, on my knee,
Till my sad tale I tell to thee.

18 " Oh, we were sisters, sisters seven^
The fairest women under heaven ;
And we keist kevels* us amang,
Wha wou'd to the greenwood gang,

19 " There, for to pull the finest flow'rs,
To put around our simmer bow'rs,
To pull the red rose and the thyme,
To deck my mother's bow'r and mine.

20 " I was the youngest of them all ;
The heavy weird did me befall;
Sae to the greenwood I did gang,
And there I dree'd this cruel wrang.

21 " For I had scarce pull'd flower but ane,
There in the greenwood all alane,

Till ane, wha a king's son seem'd to be,
Came through the wood and accosted me.

22 " He wore high-coll'd hose and laigh-coll'd shoon,
And he kept me there till the day was dune,
Till the sun had sunk low in the west,

And ilka wee bird gane to its nest.

* "Keist kevels: " cast lota.
Q

226 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

23 " He ga'e me a lock of his yellow hair,
And bade me keep it for evermair;

He ga'e me a carkuet * of bonnie beads,
And bade me keep it against my needs.

24 " He ga'e to me a gay gold ring,
And bade me keep it abune all thing."
" What did ye with the tokens rare,
That ye gat frae that gallant there?"

25 " Oh, bring that coffer unto me,
And all the tokens ye shall see."

" Now stay, daughter, your bow'r within,
While I gae parley with my son."

26 Oh, she has ta'en her through the hall,
And op her son began to call:

" What did ye with the bonnie beads
I bade ye keep against your needs ?

27 "What did you with the gay gold ring
I bade you keep abune all thing?"

" I ga'e them to a ladye gay,
I met in greenwood on a day.

28 " I wou'd gi'e all my halls and tow'rs,
I had that ladye within my bow'rs ;
And I wou'd gi'e my very life,

I had that ladye to be my wife."

29 " Now keep, my son, your halls and tow'rs,
Ye have that bright burd in your bow'rs ;
And keep, my son, your ain dear life,

Ye have that ladye for your dear wife."

30 Now, or a month was come and gane,
The ladye she bare a bonnie son;

And 'twas weel- written on his breast-bane,
" Cospatrick is my father's name."
Oh, row my lady in satin and silk,
And wash my son in the morning milk.

* " Carknet: " a necklace. Thus:

" She threw away her rings and earknet cleen."

Harrison's translation of Orlando Furioso. Notes on book 37th.

BOTHWELL. 227

BOTHWELL.

As stated by Sir Walter Scott, Herd's copy is " materially different
from that" given by him under the title of " Cospatrick." The
differences chiefly occur in the opening stanzas of Herd's, which
here follow. But in place of Herd's refrain of

" Hey down, and adown,"

which is "repeated at the end of each line," the refrain from
Buchan's version is here substituted.

1 As Bothwell was walking in the lawlands alane

Bowing down, bowing down,
He met six ladies sae gallant and fine
And aye the birks a' bowing.

2 He cast his lot amang them all

Bowing down, bowing down;
And on the youngest his lot did fall
And aye the birks a' bowing.

3 He 's brought her frae her mother's bow'r

Bowing down, bowing down,

Unto his castle's strongest tow'r

And aye the birks a' bowing.

4 But aye she cried, and made great moan

Bowing down, bowing down ;
And aye the tear came trickling down
And aye the birks a' bowing.

5 " Come up, come up," said the foremost man

Bowing down, bowing down;
" I think our bride comes slowly on
And aye the birks a' bowing.

6 " Oh, lady, sits your saddle awry?

Bowing down, bowing down;
Or is your steed for you ower high?
And aye the birks a' bowing."

7 " My saddle is not set awry

Bowing down, bowing down,
Nor carries me my steed ower high
And aye the birks a' bowing.

8 " But I am weary of my life

Bowing down, bowing down,
Since I maun be Lord Bothwell's wife
And aye the birks a' bowing."

228 BALLAD MINSTKELSY OF SCOTLAND.'

9 He 's blawn his horn sae sharp and shrill

Bowing down, bowing down;

Up start the deer on every hill

And aye the birks a' bowing.

10 He 's blawn his horn sae lang and loud

Bowing down, bowing down;
Up start the deer in gude greenwood
And aye the birks a' bowing.

11 His mother look'd o'er the castle wall

Bowing down, bowing down,
And she saw them riding ane and all
And aye the birks a' bowing.

12 She 's call'd upon her maids by seven

Bowing down, bowing down,
To make his bed baith saft and even
And aye the birks a' bowing.

13 She 's call'd upon her cooks by nine

Bowing down, bowing down,
To make their dinner fair and fine
And aye the birks a' bowing."

14 When day was gane and night was come

Bowing down, bowing down;
" What ails my love on me to frown?
And aye the birks a' bowing.

15 " Or does the wind blow in your glove?

Bowing down, bowing down ;
Or runs your mind on another love?
And aye the birks a' bowing."

16 " Nor blows the wind within my glove-

Bowing down, bowing down ;
Nor runs my mind on another love
And aye the birks a' bowing.

17 " But I not maid nor maiden am

Bowing down, bowing down,
For I'm with bairn to another man
And aye the birks a' bowing."

18 " I thought I'd a maid sae meek and mild

Bowing down, bowing down,
But I have nought but a woman with child

And aye the birks a' bowing."
For the remainder of the story, see the previous ballad " Cos-
patrick," stanzas 15 and after.

THE BROOMFIELD HILL. 229

THE BROOMFIELD HILL.

"A more sanguine antiquary than the editor," writes Sir Walter
Scott, " might perhaps endeavour to identify this poem, which is of un-
doubted antiquity, with the ' Broom, Broom on Hill,' mentioned by
Lane in his Progress' of Queen Elizabeth into Warwickshire, as
forming part of Captain Cox's collection, so much envied by the
black-letter antiquaries of the present day. Dugdale's Warwickshire,
p. 166. The same ballad is quoted by one of the personages, in a
' very merry and pythie comedie,' called ' The Longer thou Livest, the
more Fool thou Art.' See Ritson's Dissertation prefixed to Ancient,
Songs, p. Ix. ' Brume, Brume on Hill ' is also mentioned in The
Complaynt of Scotland. See Leyden's edition, p. 100." Minstrelsy,
vol. iii, p. 28.

A fragment of this ballad was printed in Herd's Scottish Songs, vol.
L, p. 168, under the title of " I'll Wager, I'll Wager ;" complete
versions were afterwards given by Kinloch, in Ancient Scottish Ballads,
p. 195, under the title of "Lord John;" by Scott, in Minstrelsy,
vol. iii., p. 28, under the above title ; and by Buchan, in Ancient
Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 291, under the title of " Broomneld Hills."

The last-named is decidedly the best version, and is the one here
generally followed, but with additions and emendations from the
others. Stanza 1 1 is inserted in order to avoid the repetition, in a
slightly varied form, of stanzas 7 to 10 inclusive.

" A Danish ballad exhibits the same theme> though differently
treated: 'Sovnerunerne,' Grundtvig, No. 81." There is also "a
modernized English one of no value (' The West Country Wager') in
Ancient Poems, &c. Percy Society, vol. xvii., p. 116." Professor
Child, English and Scottish Ballads, voL i., p. 131.

Kindred ballads are "The Baffled Knight," Percy's Eeliqv.es;
"Too Courteous Knight," Ritson's Ancient Songs, vol. ii., p. 54 ; and
" D'Urfey's Pills," &c., vol. iii., p. 37 ; " The Shepherd's Son," Herd,
voL ii., p. 267 ; "Jock Sheep," Kinloch's Ballad Book, p. 17 ; "The
Abashed Knight," Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 131 ; "Blow
the Winds, Heigh Ho ! " Ancient Poems, &c. Percy Society, voL xvii.,
p. 123.

1 THERE was a knight, and a lady bright,

Set a tryst among the broom ;
The one went there in the morning aer,
The other in the afternoon.

2 " I'll wager, I'll wager with you," he said,

" Five hundred merks and ten,
That ye shall not gang to yon Broomfield hill,
And a maid return again."

3 " I'll wager, I'll wager with you," she said,

" Five hundred merks and ten,
That I shall gang to yon Broomneld hill.
And a maid return again."

230 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

4 The lady stands in her bow'r door,

And thus she made her mane,
" Oh, shall I gang to the Broomfield hill,
Or shall I stay at hame ?

5 " If I do gang to the Broomfield hill,

A maid I'll not return ;
And if I stay frae the Broomfield hill,
I'll be a maid mis-sworn."

6 It's up then spake an auld witch-wife,

Sat in the bow'r aboon,
" Oh, ye shall gang to Broomfield hill,
And yet come maiden hame.

7 " When ye gang to the Broomfield hill,

Walk nine times round and round;
And there, down by the bonnie burn bank,
Your love will sleep full sound.

8 " Ye'll pull the bloom frae off the broom,

The bloom that smells sae sweet,
And strew it at your lover's h6ad,

And likewise at his feet;
And aye the thicker that ye strew,

The sounder he will sleep.

9 " The rings that are on your fingers,

Put them on his right hand,
To let him know, when he does wake,
Ye was at his command.

10 " The brooch that is on yottr napkin,

Put it on his breast-bane,
That he may know, when he does wake,
His love has come and gane."

11 The lady gaed to the Broomfield hill,

Did as the witch-wife bade,
And hied her back to her bow'r again,
A maid, as forth she gaed.

12 The knight he waken'd frae his sleep,

And he saw, to his pain,
By all the tokens she had left,
His love had come and gane.

13 "Oh, where were ye, my gude greyhound,

That I paid for sae dear,
Ye didna waken me frae my sleep,
When my true love was near ? "

THE BROOMFIELD HILL. 231

14 " I stroked ye with my foot, master,

While thus I whining sang,

' Oh, waken, waken, dear master^

Before your love does gang.'"

15 " Oh, where were ye, my milk-white steed,

That I ha'e'coft sae dearj
That ye did not watch and waken me;
When there came maiden here? 1 '

16 " I stampit with my foot, master,

Until my bridle rang;
And aye neigh'd, 'Waken, dear master^
Before the maiden gang.' "

17 " Then wae betide ye, toy gay gos-hawk^

That I did love so dear,
That ye did not watch and waken me,
When my love was sae near."

18 " I flappit with my wings, master,

And aye my bells I rang ;
And aye sang,' Waken, gude master,
Before the ladye gang.'"

19 " Oh, where were ye, my merry young manj

That I pay meet and fee,
That ye did not waken me frae my sleep,
When my love ye did see ? "

20 " Go sooner to your bed at e'en,

And keep awake by day,
When ye go down to Broomfield hill,
In hope sic pranks to play.

21 " For had I seen an armed man

Go riding o'er the hill,
I wou'd ha'e stay'd him in his course

Until I kenn'd your will ;
But I only saw a fair ladye

Gang quietly you until.

22 " When she gaed out, right bitter she wept,

But singing came she hame,
' Oh, I ha'e been at Broomfield hill,
And maid return'd again.' "

23 " But haste, and haste, my gude white steed,

To come the maiden till,
Or all the birds of gude greenwood
Of your flesh shall have their fill."

232 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

24 " Ye needna burst your gude white steed,

With racing o'er the howm ;
Nae bird flies faster through the wood
Than she fled through the broom."

EARL EICHARD.

" The locality of this ballad Barnisdale will bring to the remem-
brance of the reader," says Motherwell, "tales of Robin Hood and
Little John, who, according to the testimony of Andrew of Wyntown,

' In Yngilwode and Barnysdale,
Their oysed all this tyme thare travaila'

Whether the ballad is originally the production of an English or of a
Scotch minstrel, admits of question ; certain, however, it is, that it
has been received into both countries at a pretty early period.
Hearne, in his preface to Gul. Neubrigiensis Historia, Oxon., 1719,
vol. i., p. Ixx., mentions that ' The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter'
was well known in the time of Queen Elizabeth. In Fletcher's
'Pilgrim,' act iv., scene 2, a stanza of the same ballad is quoted.
The English version of this ballad is given in the Reliques of English
Poetry, vol. iii. There are various copies of it current in Scotland ;"
as, for instance, "Earl Richard," first published by Mr. Motherwell,
in his Minstrelsy, p. 377, and afterwards by Mr. Buchan, from
whom Mr. Motherwell had received it ; in Ancient Ballads and Songs,
vol. ii., p. 81 (see ante, p. 22). Another and different version, also from
recitation, followed it in the same work and volume (p. 91), under
the title of " Earl Lithgow;" but previous to the appearance of the
last-named work and version, two other printed versions were given
by Mr. Kinloch, in his Ancient Scottish Ballads, under the respec-
tive titles of " Earl Richard," p. 13, and ' ' The Shepherd's Daughter,"
p. 25. The present version has been collated from the Scotish ver-
sions here referred to, but chiefly from the two furnished by Mr.
Buchan. Stanzas 1 to 12 are peculiar to the first-named Scotish
version, and are here printed all but verbatim. Mr. Motherwell,
referring to it, afiirms that it "is out of sight the most circumstan-
tial and elaborated that has yet been printed, [that] it possesses no
small portion of humour, and [that] it appears to be of greater anti-
quity than the copy published in the Reliques. "

" The artifices," says Kinloch, " which the lady practises to main-
tain the character of a 'beggar's brat,' and the lively description
which she gives of the ' gentle craft, ' are kept up with great spirit and
fancy. The English copy, which is decidedly inferior both in poeti-
cal composition and archness of humour, is entirely destitute of this
part, even in allusion." Professor Child also states it as his opinion
that the " Scottish versions " are " superior to the English in every
respect."

1 EARL RICHARD once upon a day,

And all his valiant men so wight,
He hied him down to Barnisdale,
Where all the land is fair and light.

EARL RICHARD. 233

2 And there he met with a damosel,

I wot fast on she did her bound,
With tow'rs of gold upon her head,
As fair a woman as cou'd be found.

3 He said " Busk you, busk you ! fair ladye,

With the white flowers and the red ;
And I wou'd give my bonnie ship,
If I your love and favour had."

4 "I wish your ship might rent and rive,

And drown you in the sea ;
For all this wou'd not mend the miss

That you wou'd do to me."
" The miss is not so great, ladye

Soon mended it might be.

5 " In Scotland I've four-and-twenty mills,

Stand on the water Tay :
You'll have them, and as much good flour
As they'll grind in a day."

6 "I wish your bonnie ship, rent and rive,

And drown you in the sea;
For all that wou'd not mend the misg

That you wou'd do to me."
" The miss is not so great, ladye ;

Soon mended it might be.

7 "I have four-and-twenty milk-white cows,

Were all calved in one day :
You'll have them, and as much hain'd grass
As they all on can gae."

8 "I wish your bonnie ship rent and rive,

And drown you in the sea;
For all that wou'd not mend the miss

That you wou'd do to me."
" The miss is not so great, ladye

Soon mended it might be.

9 "I have four-and-twenty milk-white steeds,

Were all foal'd in one year:
You'll have them, and as much red gold
As all their backs can bear."

10 She turn'd her right and round about,

And she swore by the mold ;
" I would not be your love," said she,
" For that church full of gold."

234 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

11 He turn'd him right and round about,

And he swore by the mass ;
Says " Ladye, ye my love shall be,
And gold ye shall have less."

12 She turn'd her right and round about,

And she swore by the moon ;
" I would not be your love," says she,
" For all the gold in Rome."

13 He turn'd him right and round about,

And he swore by the moon;
Says " Ladye, ye iriy love shall bd,
And gold ye shall have hone."

14 He caught her by the milk-white hand,

The gude greenwood amang;
And for all that she cou'd say or do,
He did her sairly wrang.

15 The ladye frown'd and sadly blush'dj

And oh! but she thought shame;
Says " If you are a knight at all,
You'll surely tell your name."

16 " In some places they call me Jack,

In others they call me John;
But when I am in the queen's court,
Then Lithcock is my name."

17 " Lithcock! Lithcock! " the ladye said,

And spelt it o'er again;
" Lithcock is Latin," the ladye said,
" But Richard 's your English name."

18 Then he has mounted on his horse,

And said he wou'd go ride;
And she has kilted her green clothes,
And said she wou'd not bide.

19 The knight he rode, the ladye ran,

A live-long summer's day,
Till they came to the wan water,
That all men do call Tay.

20 He set his horse head to the water,

Just through it for to ride;
And the ladye was as ready as him,
The waters for to wade.

EARL RICHARD. 235

21 For he was ne'er so kind-hearted

As to bid the ladye ride ;
And she was ne'er so low-hearted
As for to bid him bide.

22 But deep into the wan water,

Close by a great big stone,
He turn'd his wight horse head about,
Said " Ladye fair, loup on."

23 She 's taken the wand was in her hand,

And struck it on the foam;
" Ye need not stop for me," she said,
" Sir Knight, ye may ride on.

24 " I learn'd it from my mother dear,

There 's few ha'e learn'd it better
When I come to a deep water,
I can swim like ony otter.

25 " I learn'd it from my mother dear,

I learn'd it for my weal
When I come to a deep water,
I can swim like ony eel.

26 " By the help of God and Our Ladye,

I'll swim across the tide ; "
And ere he reached the middle stream,
She was on the other side.

27 And when she reach'd the other side,

She sat down on a stone;
She sat down there to rest herself,
And wait till he came on.

28 " Turn back, turn back, you ladyd fair,

You know not what I see;
There is a ladye in that castle,

That will burn you and me."
" Betide me weal, betide rne woe,

That ladye I will see."

29 Then she's gane on to the queen's court,

And there tirl'd at the pin;
The porter ready answer made,
To see who wou'd be in.

30 She gave a ring from her finger,

To the porter for his fee;
Says " Take you that, my good porter,
The queen I fain wou'd see."

236 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

31 The porter he went to the queen.

And knelt low on his knee;
" There is a ladye waits at your gates,
Says she wou'd fain you see."

32 " Then open my gates both wide and braid,

As wide as they can be ;
Ye'll open my gates both wide and braid,
And bring her here to me."

33 And when she came before the queen,

She fell low on her knee ;
" Win up, win up, my fair woman,
What means this courtesie? "

34 " My errand it's to thee, queen!

My errand it 's to thee ;
There is a knight into your court
Who has this day robb'd me."

35 " Oh, has he robb'd you of your gold,

Or robb'd you of your fee ? "
" He has not robb'd me of my gold,

Nor robb'd me of my fee;
But robb'd me of what 's dearer still,

The flow'r of my bodie."

36 " There is no knight in all my court

Has done this wrang to thee,
But you'll have the troth of his right hand,
Or for your sake he'll dee.*

37 " Tho' it were Earl Richard, my own brother,-

But, oh! forbid it be!"
Then, sighing, said the ladye fair,
" I wot that it is he."

38 " Oh, wou'd ye ken this dastard knight

Among a hundred men?"
" That wou'd I," said the bonnie lass,
" Tho' there were hundreds ten."

39 The queen made all her merry men pass,

By ane, and twa, and three ;
Earl Richard used to be the first,
But the hindmost now was he.

* Variation: "Oh, if he be a single man,

Your husband he shall be ;
But if he be a married man.
It's high hang'd he shall be."

EARL RICHARD. 237

40 He came hirpling on ae foot,

And blinking with ae e'e;
" Aha!" then cried the bonnie lass,
" That same young man are ye."

41 He laid his brand and a gay gold ring

Together on' a stone;
She minted twice to take the brand,
And then the ring put on.

42 Then he 's ta'en out one hundred pounds,

And told it in his glove;
Says " Take you that, my ladye fair, .
And seek another love."

43 " Oh no, oh no," the ladye cried,

" That 's what shall never be;
I'll have the troth of your right hand;
The queen she gave it me."

44 "I wish I had drunk the wan water,

When I did drink the wine;
That now for a carle's fair daughter,
It gars me dree this pine."

45 " Maybe I am a carle's daughter,

And maybe I am none;
But when we met in the greenwood,
Why not let me alone?"

46 " Will you wear the short clothing,

Or will you wear the syde?
Or will you walk to your wedding,
Or will you to it ride?"

47 " I will not wear the short clothing,

But I will wear the syde;
I will not walk to my wedding,
But I to it will ride."

48 When he was set upon the horse,

The lady him behin',
Then cauld and eerie were the words
The twa had them between.

49 She said'" Gude e'en, ye nettles tall,

Where ye grow by the dyke;
If the auld carline, my mother, was here,
Sae weel 's she wou'd you pyke.

238 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

50 " How she wou'd stap you in her pock,

I wot she wou'dna fail;
And hoil ye in her auld brass pan,
And of ye make gude kail.

51 " And she wou'd meal you with mellering *

That she gathers at the mill,
And make you thick as any dough,
Till the pan it was brimful.

52 " She wou'd mess you up with scuttlins,

To sup till she were fu',
Then lay her head upon a pock,
And snore like any sow."

53 " Oh, hold your tongue, ye beggar's brat,

My heart will break in three ! "
" And so did mine in yon greenwood,
When ye wou'dna let me be.

54 " Gude e'en, gude e'en, ye heather berries,

There growing on the hill ;
If the auld carle and his pocks were her-e,
I wot he'd get his fill.

55 " Last night I sat till I was tired,

And mended at their pocks ;
But to-morrow morning I will bear
The keys of an earl's locks..

56 " Late, late last night, through baith their pocks,

I drew the hempen strings;
But to-morrow morning I will wear
On my fingers gay gold rings."

57 " Away ! away ! ye ill woman,

Your vile words grieve me sair;
"When you heed so little for yourself,
For me still less ye '11 care.

58 " But if you are a carle's daughter,

As I take you to be,
How did you get the gay clothing
That on ye I do see?"

59 " My mother she is a poor woman,

Nursed an earl's children three;

And I got them from a foster-sister,

To beguile such sparks as thee."

* "Mellering:" corruption of meldering.

t " Scuttlins: " light flour made from inferior grain.

EARL RICHARD. 230

60 " But if you be a carle's daughter,

As I take you to be,
How did ye learn the good Latin
That ye spoke unto me?"

61 " My mother she is a mean woman,

Nursed an earl's children three;
I learn'd it from their chapelain,
To beguile such sparks as thee."

62 Then to a beggar wife that pass'd,

The ladye flang a crown;
" Tell all your neighbours, when ye go hame,
Earl Eichard 's your gude-son." *

63 " Oh, hold your tongue, ye beggar's brat,

My heart will break in three I "
" And so did mine in yon greenwood,
When ye wou'dna let me be."

64 And when they to Earl Richard's came,

And were at dinner set,
Then out and spake the bannie bride,
I wot she was not blate.

65 " Go, take away the china plates,

Go, take them far frae me,
And bring to me a wooden dish^-
It's that I'm best used wi'.

66 " And take away these silver spoons,

The like I ne'er did see,
And bring to me the horn spoons
They're gude enough for me."

67 When bells were rung and mass was sung,

And all men bound for rest,
Earl Richard and his bonnie bride
In ae chamber were placed.

68 " Oh, take away your sheets," she said,

' Made of the Holland fine,
And bring to me the linsey clouts,
That lang ha'e served as mine,"

69 " Keep far away from me," he said,

" Keep far away from me;

It is not meet a carline's brat

My bedfellow shou'd be."

* "Gnde-Eon:" Bon-in-law.

240 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

70 " It 's maybe I'm a carline's brat,

And maybe I am none;
But when we met in yon greenwood,
Why not let me alone?"

71 " Now rest content," said the Billy Blin',

" The one may serve the other;
The Earl of Stockford's fair daughter,
And the queen of Scotland's brother."

72 " Oh, fair fall you, ye Billy Blin',

Since such is her degree;

For with this witty lady fair,

How happy must I be ! "

BURD HELEN.

" Earl Richard," which precedes, and "Burd Helen," which follows,
must either have had one common origin, or the one has borrowed
largely from the other. The various versions of the latter ballad are
as under:

I. " Child Waters," published by Percy from his folio MS.

Jteliques, vol. iii., p. 94.

II. " Burd Ellen," in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. i., p.
112 ; where it is "given from Mrs. Brown's recitation,"
and "with scrupulous exactness, except where the varia-
tions are pointed out."

III. "An imperfect copy," prefixed to the last-named, and

communicated to Mr. Jamieson by " Mrs. Arrot of
Arbroath."

IV. " Lady Margaret," in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads,

p. 179.
V. "Burd Helen," in Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs,

vol. ii., p. 30.

VI. " Burd Helen," in Chambers's Scottish Ballads, p. 193 ;
collated from the above-named, with additions and
emendations, from a MS. supplied by Mr. Kinloch.
The text which follows is chiefly derived from Mr. Jamieson's and
Mr. Buchan's versions.

1 LORD JOHN stood at his stable door,

While a groom his steed did kaim;
Burd Helen sat at her bow'r door,
Sewing her silken seam.

2 Lord John stood in his stable door,

Said he was bound to ride ;
Burd Helen stood in her bow'r door,
Said she'd run by his side.

BCRD HELEN. 241

3 " The corn is turning ripe, Lord John,

The nuts are growing fu',
And ye are bound for your ain countrie,
Fain wou'd I go with you."

4 "With me, Helen! with me, Helen!

What wou'd ye do with me ?
I've mair need of a little page,
Than of the like of thee."

5 " Oh, I will be your little page,

To wait upon your steed;
And I will be your little page,
Your leash of hounds to lead."

6 " But my hounds will eat the bread of wheat,

And ye the dust and bran ;
Then you will sit and sigh, Helen,
That e'er our loves began."

7 " Oh, your dogs may eat the gude wheat bread,

And I the dust and bran;
Yet I will sing and say ' Well 's me,
That e'er our loves began! '"

8 " Oh, I may drink the gude red wine,

And you the water wan;
Then you will sigh and say ' Alas,
That e'er our loves began!'"

9 " Oh, you may drink the gude red wine,

And I the water wan ;
Yet I will sing and say ' Well 's me,
That our two loves began!'"

10 " Oh, you'd better stay at hame, Helen,

And sew your silken seam,
Than go with me o'er moss and moor,
And many a foaming stream."

11 "I will not stay at hame, Lord John,

And sew my silken seam:
I'll follow you o'er moss and moor,
And o'er each foaming stream."

12 Lord John he mounted his white steed,

And northward hame did ride ;
Burd Helen, dress'd in page attire,
Kan onward by his side.
R

242 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

13 He ne'er was sic a courteous knight,

As ask her for to ride;
And she was ne'er so mean a May,
As ask him for to bide.

14 Lord John he rade, Burd Helen ran,

A live-long summer day;
And when they came to Clyde water,
'Twas foiled from brae to brae.

15 The first atep that she waded in,

She waded to the knee :
"Alas! alas!" said Burd Helen,
" This water 's no for me."

16 The next step that she waded in,

She waded to the neck;
And then she felt her unborn babe
For cauld begin to quake.

17 " Lye still, lye still, my unborn babe,

I can no better do ;
Your father rides on high horseback,
cares not for us two."

18 About the middle of the Clyde

There stood an earth-fast stone ;

And there she call'd to God for help,

Since help from man came none.

19 Lord John he turn'd him round about,

And took Burd Helen on;
Then brought her to the other side,
And there he set her down.

20 " Oh, tell me this now, good Lord John,

In pity tell to me,
How far is it to your lodging,

Where we this night shou'd be ? "

21 " It 's thirty miles, Burd Helen," he said,

"It's thirty miles and three."

" Oh, wae is me," said Burd Helen,

" It will ne'er be run by me!"

22 Then up and spake out in good time

A pyet on a tree,
" Ye lee, ye lee, ye false, false knight,
So loud as I hear you lee.

BURD HELEN. 243

23 " For yonder stand your goodly tow'rs,

Of miles scarce distant three."
" Oh, well is me," said Burd Helen,
" They shall be run by me."

24 " But there -is a ladye in yon castle

Will sinder you and I."
" Betide me weal, betide me woe,
I shall go there and try.

25 " I wish no ill to your ladye,

She ne'er did ill to me;
But I wish her most of your love,
Who drees the most for thee.

26 " I wish no ill to your ladye,

For sic I never thought;
But I wish her most of your love,
Has dearest that love bought."

27 Lord John was welcom'd hame again

By ladies fair and gay;
But a fairer ladye than any there
Did lead his horse away.

28 Four-and-twenty ladies fair

Sat with him in the hall ;
But the fairest ladye that was there
Did wait upon them all.

29 When bells were rung and mass was sung,

And all were bound to meat,
Burd Helen was at the bye-table,
Amang the pages set.

30 " Oh, eat and drink, my bonnie boy,

The white bread and the beer."
" The never a bit can I eat or drink
My heart 's sae full of fear."

31 " Oh, eat and drink, my bonnie boy,

The white bread and the wine."
" Oh, how shall I eat or drink, master,
With a heart sae full of pine?"

32 Then up and spake Lord John's sister,

A sweet young maid was she :
" My brother has brought the bonniest page
That ever I did see."

244 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

33 But out then spake Lord John's mother,

A wise woman was she :
" Where met ye with that bonnie boy,
That looks so sad on thee ?

34 " Sometimes his cheek is rosy red,

And sometimes deadly wan;
He's liker a woman big with bairn,
Than a young lord's serving man."

35 " Oh, it makes me laugh, my mother dear,

Sic words to hear frae thee;
He is a squire's ae dearest son,
That for love has follow'd me.

36 " Eise up, rise up, my bonnie boy,

Give my horse baith corn and hay."
" Oh, that I will, my master dear,
As quickly as I may."

37 She 's ta'en the hay beneath her arm,

The corn intill her hand,
And she's gane to the great stable
As fast as e'er she can.

58 " Oh, room ye round, my bonnie brown steeds,

Oh, room ye near the wall;
For the pain that strikes through my twa sides,
I fear, will gar me fall."

39 She lean'd her back against the wall,

Strong travail came her on ;
And e'en amang the horses' feet,
Burd Helen bare her son.

40 Lord John's mother intill her bow'r

Was sitting all alane,
When, in the silence of the night,
She heard Burd Helen's mane.

41 " Won up, won up, my son," she said,

" Go see how all does fare;
For I think I hear a woman's groans,
And a bairnie greetin' sair ! "

42 Oh, hastily he got him up,

Staid not for hose nor shoon ;
But to the stable where she lay,
He quickly hied him down.

BUED HELEN.

245

43 " Oh, open the door, Burd Helen," he said,

" Oh, open and let me in :
I want to see if my steeds are fed,
And what makes all this din."

44 " How carr 1 open, how shall I open,

How can I open to thee?
I'm lying amang your horses' feet,
Your young son on my knee."

45 He hit the door then with his foot,

Sae did he with his knee,
Till door of deal and locks of steel
In splinters he gar'd flee.

46 " An askin', an askin', Lord John," she said,

" An askin' ye'll grant me :
The warsten bow'r in all your tow'rs
For thy young son and me."

47 " Oh yes, oh yes! Burd Helen," he said,

" All that and mair frae me;
The very best bow'r in all my tow'rs
For my young son and thee."

48 " An askin', an askin', Lord John," she said,

" An askin' ye'll grant me :
The meanest maid in all the place
To wait on him and me."

49 " I grant, I grant, Burd Helen," he said,

" All that and mair frae me :
The very best bed in all the place
To my young son and thee.

50 " The highest ladye in all the place

Shall wait on him and thee ;
And that 's my sister, Isabel,
And a sweet young maid is she.

51 " Take up, take up, my bonnie young son,

Gar wash him with the milk ;
Take up, take up my fair ladye,
Gar row her in the silk.

52 " And cheer thee up, Burd Helen," he said,

" Look nae mair sad nor wae,
For your wedding and your kirking too
Shall baith be in ae day."

246 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

EEEDISDALE AND WISE WILLIAM.

"This excellent ballad is from the recitation of Mr. Nicol, Strichen,
and was communicated by Mr. P. Buchan, of Peterhead, to Mr.
Motherwell," in whose Minstrelsy, p. 298, it first appeared. See
ante, p. 22.

This ballad may also be found in Mr. Buchan's own collection of
Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 70. It resembles, in some respects, "The
Twa Knights," which appears in the same work and volume, p. 271.

A similar Scandinavian ballad, as translated by Mr. Robert
Buchanan, may be found in his volume, Ballad Stones of the Affec-
tions, p. 45, under the title of " Maid Mettelil. "

1 WHEN Reedisdale and Wise William

Were drinking at the wine,
There fell a roosing them amang,
On an unruly time.

2 For some of them lia'e roosed their hawks,

And some other their hounds;
And some other their ladies fair,
As the roosing went the rounds.

3 When' out it spake him Reedisdale,

And a rash word spake he ;
Says " There is not a ladye fair,

In bow'r where'er she be,
But I cou'd aye her favour win

With one blink of my e'e."

4 Then out it spake him Wise William,

And a rash word spake he;
Says "I have a sister of my own,

In bow'r where'er she be,
And ye will not her favour win

With three blinks of your e'e."

5 "What will you wager, Wise William?

My lands I'll wad with thee; "
" I'll wad my head against your land,
Till I get more monie."

6 Then Reedisdale took Wise William,

Laid him in prison strang,
That he might neither gang nor ride,
Nor ae word to her send.

REEDISDALE AND WISE WILLIAM. 247

7 But he has written a braid letter,

Between the night and day,
And sent it to his own sister,
By dun feather and gray.

8 When she had read Wise William's letter,

She smiled and syne she leuch;
Said "Very weel, my dear brother,
Of this I have eneuch."

9 She looked out at her west window,

To see what she could see,
And there she spied him Reedisdale,
Come riding o'er the lea.

10 "Come here to me, my maidens all,

Come hitherward to me ;
For here it comes him Keedisdale,
Who comes a-courting me."

1 1 "Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

A sight of you give me."
"Go from my yetts now, Reedisdale,
For me you will not see."

12 "Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

A sight of you give me ;
And bonnie are the gowns of silk
That I will give to thee."

13 " If you have bonnie gowns of silk,

Oh, mine is bonnie tee;
Go from my yetts now, Reedisdale,
For me you shall not see."

14 " Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

A sight of you give me;
And bonnie jewels, brooches, rings,
I will give unto thee."

15 " If you have bonnie brooches, rings,

Oh, mine are bonnie tee;
Go from my yetts now, Reedisdale,
For me you shall not see."

16 " Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

One sight of you give me;
And bonnie are the halls and bow'rs
That I will give to thee."

248 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 " If you have bonnie halls and bow'rs,

Oh, mine are bonnie tee;
Go from my yetts now, Eeedisdale,
For me you shall not see."

18 " Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

A sight of you give me ;
And bonnie are my lands so broad
That I will give to thee."

19 " If you have bonnie lands so broad,

Oh, mine are bonnie tee;
Go from my yetts now, Reedisdale,
For me you will not see."

20 " Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

A sight of you give me ;
And bonnie are the bags of gold
That I will give to thee."

21 ' If you have bonnie bags of gold,

I have bags of the same ;
Go from my yetts now, Keedisdale,
For down I will not come."

22 " Come down, come down, my ladye fair,

One sight of you I'll see ;
Or else I'll set your house on tire,
If better cannot be."

23 Then he has set the house on fire,

And at the first it took;
He turned his wight horse head about,
Said " Alas ! they'll ne'er get out."

24 " Look out, look out, my maidens fair,

And see what I do see;
How Reedisdale has fired our house,
And now rides o'er the lea!

25 " Come hitherward, my maidens fair,

Come hither unto me;

For through this reek, and through this smeek,
Oh, through it we must be ! "

26 They took wet mantles them about,

Their coffers by the band;
And through the reek and through the flame
Alive they all have wan.

YOUNG BEARWELL. 249

27 When they had got out through the fire,

And able all to stand,
She sent a maid to Wise William,
To bruik Keedisdale's land.

28 " Your lands are mine now, Reedisdale,

For I have won them free."
" If there is a good woman in the world,
Your ain sister is she."

YOUNG BEARWELL

" Is a fragment, and now printed," says Mr. Motherwell, "in the
hope that the remainder of it may hereafter be recovered. From
circumstances, one would almost be inclined to trace it to a Danish
source ; or it may be an episode of some forgotten metrical romance ;
but this cannot satisfactorily be ascertained, from its catastrophe
being unfortunately wanting." This fragment first appeared in
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 345, and afterwards in Mr. Buchan's

4ncient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 75. It appears here in a revised and

imended form.

1 WHEN two lovers love each other weel,

'Twere sin to have them twined ;
And this I speak of young Bearwell,

Who loved a ladye kind,
The Mayor's daughter of Birktoun-brae,

That lovely liesome thing.

2 One day, as she was looking out,

Washing her milk-white hands,
Then she beheld him, young Bearwell,
As he came o'er the sands.

\ 3 Says " Wae 's me for you, young Bearwell,

Such tales of you are tauld ;
They'll cause you sail the salt sea far,
Beyond Orcades cauld."

" Oh ! shall I bide in good greenwood,

Or here in bow'r remain? "
" The leaves are thick in good greenwood,

Wou'd hold you from the rain ;
And if you stay in bow'r with me,

You will be ta'en and slain.

" But I'll cause build a ship for you,

Upon Saint Innocent's day ;
I'll pray Saint Innocent be your guide,

And Our Ladye, who meikle may.
You are a ladye's first true love,

God carry you well away ! "

250 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

6 Then he sailed east and he sailed west,

By many a comely strand ;
At length a puff of northern wind
Did blow him to the land,

7 Where he did see the king and court

Were playing at the ball,

Gave him a harp into his hand,

And welcomed him withal.

8 He has ta'en up the harp in hand,

And unto play went he;
And young Bearwell was the first man
In all that companie.

9 He had not been in the king's court

A twelvemonth and a day,
Till there came many a lord and laird,
To court that ladye gay.

10 They wooed her baith with brooch and ring,

They nothing could keep back;
The very charters of their lands
Into her hands they pat.

11 She's done her down to her fiall,*

With the ae light of the mune;
Says " Will ye do this deed for me,
And will ye do it suue?

12 " Will ye go seek him, young Bearwell,

On seas where'er he be?
And if I live and bruikf my life,
Rewarded ye shall be."

13 "Alas! I am too young a skipper,

So far to sail the faem ; ...
But if I live and bruik my life,
I'll strive to bring him hame."

14 So he sail'd east and then sail'd west,

By many a comely strand,
Till there came a blast of northern wind,
And blew him to the land.

15 And there the king and all his court

Were playing at the ball,
And Bearwell, with his harp in hand,
Play'd sweetly 'mang them all.
*******
* "Fiall: " feudal vassal. t "Bruit:" endure or enjo;

CFIIL ETHER.

251

CHIL ETHER.*
From Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 228.

1 CHIL ETHER and Ladye Maisry

Were baitli born at ae birth;
They lov'd each other tenderlie,
'Boon everything on earth.

2 " The ley likesna the summer show'r,

Nor girse the morning dew,
Better, dear Ladye Maisry,
Than Chil Ether loves you."

3 " The bonnie doo likesna its mate,

Nor babe at breast its mither,
Better, my dearest Chil Ether,
Than Maisry loves her brither."

4 But he needs gae to gain renown,

Into some far countrie;
Sae Chil Ether has gane abroad,
To fight in Paynimie.

5 And he has been in Paynimie

A twelvemonth and a day;
But tidings ne'er to Maisry came,
Of his welfare to say.

G Then she 's ta'en ship awa to sail,

Out ower the roaring faetn,
All for to find him Chil Ether,
And for to bring him hame.

7 She hadna sail'd the sea a month,

A month but barely three,
Until she landed on Cyprus shore,
By the mune-light sae hie.

8 Ladye Maisry did on her green mantle,

Took her purse in her hand,
And call'd to her her mariners,
Syne walk'd up thro' the land.

Oh, she walk'd up, and she walk'd down,

Till she reach'd a castle high;
And there sat down on the door-stane,

And wept right bitterlie.

* Childe <thur, or A'thur. The last is the vulgar pronunciation in Edinburg
where Arth? s Seat is called " A'thur's Seat."

252 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

10 Then out it spake a sweet, sweet voice,

Out o'er the castle wall :
" Oh, isna that Ladye Maisry,
That lets the tears down fall?

11 " But if that be Ladye Maisry,

Let her make mirth and glee;
For I'm her brother, Chil Ether,
That loves her tenderlie.

12 " But if that be Ladye Maisry,

Let her take purse in hand,
And gang to yonder castle wall,
They call it Gorinand;

13 " Spier for the lord of that castle,

Give him dollars thirty- three ;
Tell him to ransom Chil Ether,
That loves you tenderlie."

14 She 's dune her up to. that castle,

Paid down her gude monie;
And she has ransom'd Chil Ether,
Then hame baith cross'd the sea.

JOHN THOMSON AND THE TURK.

From Motherwell's Minstrelsy, appendix, p. ix. "This curiousbal-
lad, "says Mr. Motherwell, "is of respectable antiquity. Dun ba has
written a piece, entitled, ' Prayer that the King war John Thomsun's
Man,' the fourth line of each stanza being, ' God, gif ye war John liom-
soun, man !' In his note on this poem, Mr. Pinkerton says : '5iis is
a proverbial expression, meaning a henpecked husband. I havdittle
doubt but the original proverb was Joan Thomson's man ; wn, in
Scotland, signifies either husband or servant.' Pinkerton wa igno-
rant of the existence of the ballad : had he been acquainted "ith it,
he would have saved himself the trouble of writing a foolish Conjec-
ture. Colville, in his Whigs' Supplication, or the Scotch H'libras,
alludes twice to John Thomson :

'We read in greatest warriors' lives,
They oft were ruled by their wives, &c.
And so the imperious Roxalan
Made the great Turk Johne Thomson's man.'
Again

' And these, we ken,

Have ever been John Thomson's men.
That is still ruled by their wives.'

" Pennicuik, in his ' Linton Address to the Prince of Onge, ' also
alludes to the proverbial expression :

'Our Lintoun "Wives shall blaw the coal.
And women here, as weel we ken,
Would have Us all John Thomson's men.

JOHN THOMSON AND THE TURK.

253

" Two or three stanzas of the ballad were known to Dr. Leyden
when he published his edition of The Complaynt of Scotland. These
he has given in the glossary appended to that work.

" In Kelly's Proverbs, London, 1721, there is this notice of the
proverb, 'Better be John Thomson's man than Ringan Dinn's or
John Knox's ; ' and Kelly gives this gloss, 'John Thomson's man is he
that is complaisant to his wife's humours; Ringan Dinn's is he whom
his wife scolds; John Knox's is he whom his wife beats.' In the
West Country, my friend, Mr. A. Crawford, informs me that when a
company are sitting together sociably, and a neighbour drops in, it is
usual to welcome him thus, 'Come awa, we're a' John Tamson's
bairns. '

"There is a song about John Tamson's wallet, but whether this
was the palmer's scrip, which the hero of the ballad must have borne,
I know not. All that I have heard concerning the wallet is con-
tained in these two verses :

' John Tamson's wallet frae end to end,
John Tamson's wallet frae end to end;
And what was in't ye fain would ken,
Whigmaleeries for women and men.

'About his wallet there was a dispute :
Some said it was made o' the skin o' a brute,
But I believe it 's made o' the best o' bend,
John Tamson's wallet, frae end to end.'

There is also a nursery rhyme which runs thus :

1 John Tamson and his man
To the town ran ;
They bought and they sold,
And the penny down told.
The kirk was ane,
The quire was twa;
They gi'ed a skelp
And cam' awa.'

And this exhausts all I know respecting this worthy warrior."

1 JOHN THOMSON fought against the Turks

Three years, intil a far countrie ;
And all that time, and something mair,
Was absent from his gay ladye.

2 But it fell ance upon a time,

As this young chieftain sat alane,
He spied his ladye in rich array,
As she walk'd ower a rural plain.

3 " What brought ye here, my ladye gay,

So far awa from your ain countrie ?
I've thought lang, and very lang,
And all for your fair face to see."

4 For some days she did with him bide,

Till it fell ance upon a day,
" Fare ye weel, for a time," she said,
" For now I must boun name away."

254 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

5 He 's gi'en to her a jewel fine,

Was set with pearl and precious stane;
Says " My love, beware of these savages bold,
That's in your way as ye gang hame.

6 " Ye'll take the road, my ladye fair,

That leads you fair across the lea:
That keeps you from wild Hind Soldan,
And likewise from base Violentrie."

7 With heavy heart they twa did part,

She mintet as she wou'd gae hame;
Hind Soldan by the Greeks was slain,
But to base Violentrie she's gane.

8 When twelve months they had expired,

John Thomson he thought wondrous lang,
And he has written a braid letter,
And seal'd it weel with his ain hand.

9 He sent it with a small vessel

That there was quickly gaun to sea ;
And sent it on to fair Scotland,
To see about his gay ladye.

10 But the answer he received again

The lines did grieve his heart right sair:
Nane of her friends there had her seen
For twelve months and something mair.

11 Then he put on a palmer's weed,

And took a pike-staff in his hand;
To Violentrie's castle he hied,
But slowly, slowly he did gang.

12 When within the hall he came,

He jook'd and couch'd out ower his tree ;
" If ye be ladye of this hall,
Some of your good bountith give me."

13 " What news, what news, palmer?" she said,

" And from what far countrie came ye?"
" I'm lately come from Grecian plains,
Where lies some of the Scots armie."

14 " if y e be come from Grecian plains,

Some mair news I will ask of thee,
Of one of the chieftains that lies there,
If he has lately seen his gay ladye."

JOHN THOMSON AND THE TURK. 255

15 " It is twelve months, and something mair,

Since they did part on yonder plain;
And now this knight has began to fear
One of his foes he has her ta'en."

16 " I was not ta'en by force nor slight;

It was all by my ain free will;
He may tarry into the fight,
For here I mean to tarry still.

17 " And if John Thomson ye do see,

Tell him I wish him silent sleep;
But he shall sleep alane for me,
For where I am I mean to keep."

18 With that he threw aff his disguise,

Laid by the mask that he had on;

Said " Hide me now, my ladye fair,

For Violentrie will soon be hame."

19 " For the love I bore thee ance,

111 strive to hide thee if I can."
Then she put him down in a dark cellar,
Where there lay many a new slain-man.

20 But he hadna in the cellar been,

Not an hour but barely three,
When hideous was the noise he heard,
As in at the gate came Violentrie.

21 Says " I wish you well, my ladye fair,

It 's time for us to sit to dine ;
Come, serve me with the good white bread,
And likewise with the claret wine.

22 " That Scots chieftain, our mortal fae,

Sae aft frae field has made us flee,
Ten thousand zechins this day I'd give
That I his face cou'd only see."

23 " Oh, that same gift now give to me

I fairly hold you at your word
That chieftain's face you soon will see ;
Come ben, John Thomson, to my lord."

24 Then from the vault John Thomson came,

Wringing his hands most piteouslie;
"What wou'd ye do?" the Turk he cried,
" If ye had me as I ha'e thee?"

256 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

25 " If I had you as ye ha'e me,

I'll tell you what I'd do to thee ;
I'd hang you up in good greenwood,
And cause your ain hand wale the tree.

26 "I meant to stick you with my knife,

For kissing my beloved ladye."
" But that same weed ye've shaped for me,
It quickly shall be sew'd for thee."

27 Then to the wood they baith are gane;

John Thomson clamb frae tree to tree;

And aye he sigh'd and said " Och hone 1

Here comes the day that I must die."

28 He tied a ribbon on every branch,

Put up a flag his men might see;
But little did his false faes ken
He meant them any injurie.

29 He set his horn unto his mouth,

And he has blawn baith loud and shrill;
And then three thousand armed men
Came tripping all out o'er the hill.

30 " Give us our chief," they all did cry;

" It 's by our hand that ye must dee."
" Here is your chief," the Turk replied,
With that fell on his bended knee.

31 " Oh, mercy, mercy, good fellows all,

Mercy, I pray, you'll grant to me ; "
" Such mercy as you meant to give,
'Such mercy we shall give to thee."

32 This Turk they in his castle burnt,

That stood upon yon hill so hie;
John Thomson's gay ladye they took,
And hang'd her on the greenwood tree !

GLENKINDIE.

" The hero of this tale," writes Jamieson, " seems to be the
celebrated Welsh bard, ' Glaskirion,' or ' Kirion the Sallow ; ' of whom
some notice will be found in Owen's Cambrian Biography.

GLENKINDIE. 257

" In Chaucer's ' Honse of Fame,' he is classed with Orpheus, Arion,
and Chiron :

' There herde I play on a harpe,
That sowned both well aud sharpe,
Hym Orpheus full craftily;
And on this side fast by
Sate the harper Orion;
And Eacides Chirion ;
And the Briton Glaskyrion.'

" The Scottish writers, adapting the name to their own meridian, call
him Glenkindy, Glenskeenie, &c."

Douglas, the classic Bishop of Dunkeld, has, in his "Palice of
Honour," followed the father of English poetry in associating "the
Briton Glaskyrion " with Orpheus.

The only Scotish version of the ballad is that printed under the
above title by Jamieson, in his Popular Ballads, vol. i., p. 92. He
states that it is there "given," as "taken from the recitation of an
old woman, by Professor Scott of Aberdeen, and somewhat improved
by a fragment communicated by the Rev. William Gray of Lincoln."

The ballad entitled "Glasgerion," as printed by Percy from his
Folio MS., may be found in the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry,
vol. iii. ; and verbatim in the printed copy of the Folio MS., voL i.,
p. 246.

To complete the story, stanzas 8, 27, and 28, are here added from
Percy's copy. Stanzas 9, 14, 29, 31, and 38, are also either altered
or adapted from one or other, or both, of the versions named.

It may be suggested, that something closer than a mere similarity
of name, and of skill in music, may subsist between the classic Chiron
and the British Glaskyrion.

1 GLENKINDIE he was a harper gnde,

He harpit to the king ;
Glenkindie he was the best harper
That e'er harpit on string.

2 He'd harpit a fish out of saut water,

Or water out of a stane ;
Or milk out of a maiden's breast,
That bairn had never nane.

3 He 's ta'en his harp intil his hand,

He harpit and he sang;
And aye he harpit to the king,
To haud him unthought lang.

4 "I will gi'e you a robe, Glenkindie,

A robe of the roj'al pall,
If ye will harp in the winter's night
Before me and my nobles all."
S

258 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

5 The king but and his nobles all

Sat birKng at the wine ;
And he wou'd ha'e nane but his ae daughter
To wait on them at dine.

6 He ? s ta'en his harp intil his hand,

He's harpit them all asleep,
Except it was the young princess,
That love did wauken keep.

7 And first he has harpit a grave tune,

And syne he has harpit a gay ;
And mony a sich* atween the tunes
I wot the fair lady ga'e.

8 " Strike on, strike on, Glenkindie," she said.

" Of thy striking do not blin ;
There 's never a stroke comes o'er thy harp,
But it glads my heart within.

9 " And come ye to my bow'r," she said,

" Come when the day it doth dawn ;
Come' when the cocks ha'e flappit their wings,
Ha'e flappit their wings and crawn.

10 " But look ye tell na Gib your man,

Of naething that ye may dee ;
For, an ye tell him, Gib your mar.,
He'll beguile baith you and me."

11 He 's ta'en his harp intil his hand,

He harpit and he sang;
And he is hame to Gib, his man,
As fast as he cou'd gang.

12 " Oh, might I tell you, Gib, my man,

If I a man had slain? "
" Oh, that you might, my gude master,
Tho' men ye had slain ten."

13 " Then take ye tent now, Gib, my man,

My bidden for to dee,
And, but an ye waken me in time,
Ye shall be hangit hie.

14 " For I maun haste to yon ladye's bow'r

On the morn, when day doth dawn,
As sune as the cocks ha'e flappit their wings,
Ha'e flappit their wings and crawn."

* "Sich: " a long-drawn sigh.

GLENKINDIE. 259

15 " Then gae to your bed, my gude master,

Ye've waked, I fear, ower lang;
But I'll waken you in as gude time
As ony cock in the land."

16 He 's ta'en the harp intil his hand,

He harpit and he sang,
Until he harpit his master asleep,
Syne fast awa did gang.

17 And he is till that ladye's bow'r,

As fast as he cou'd rin;
And when he came till that ladye's bow'r
He tirl'd at the pin.

18 " Oh, wha is this," says that ladye,

" That tirls sae at the pin?"
" It 's I, Glenkindie, your ain true love, ^
Oh, open and let me in!"

19 She kenn'd he was nae gentle knight,

That she had letten in;
For neither when he gaed nor came,
Kiss'd he her cheek nor chin.

20 He neither kiss'd her when he came,

Nor clapp'd her when he gaed;
And in and out at her bow'r window
The rnoon shone like the gleed.*

21 " Oh, raggit are your hose, Gleukindie,

And riven are your sheen,f

And ravell'd is your yellow hair,

That I saw late yestreen."

22 " The hose and sheen are Gib my man's,

They came first to my hand;
And I've ravell'd all my yellow hair,
Corning against the wind."

23 He 's ta'en the harp intil his hand,

He harpit and he sang,
Until he came to his master's bed,
As fast as he cou'd gang.

24 " Win up, win up, my gude master,

I fear ye sleep ower lang;
There is nae a cock in all the land
But has flapp'd his wings and crawn."

* Live embers. f Shoes. AberdeenBhire dialect

260 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

25 Glenkindie 's ta'en his harp in hand,

And hastily he ran,
And he has reach'd the ladye's bow'r,
Afore that e'er he blan.*

26 When he came to the ladye's bow'r,

He there tirl'd at the pin.
" Oh, wha is that at my bow'r door,

That tirls sae to get in?"
" It 's I, Glenkindie, your ain true love,

And in I canna win."

27 " Oh, whether have you left with me

Your bracelet or your glove?

Or are you return'd back again

To know more of my love?"

28 Glenkindie swore a full great oath :

" By oak, and ash, and thorn,
Ladye, I was ne'er in your chamber
Sith the time that I was born."

29 " Forbid it, forbid it," the ladye said,

" That it as you say shou'd be;
For if it be sae, then Gib, your man,
Hath beguil'd baith you and me.

30 " Forbid it, forbid it," the ladye said,

" That e'er sic shame betide;
That I shou'd first be a wild loon's lass,
And then a young knight's bride."

31 Then she has ta'en a little penknife,

Hung low down by her gair,
And she has gi'eri herself with it
A deep wound and a sair.

32 There was nae pity for that ladye,

For she lay cauld and dead ;

But all was for him, Glenkindie

In bow'r he there gaed mad.

33 He 's ta'en his harp intil his hand,

Sae mournfully it rang,
And wae and weary it was to hear
Glenkindie's dowie sang.

* -'Blan:" stopped.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR ANNIE. 261

34 But cauld and dead was that ladye,

Nor heeded of his niaen;
Tho' he wou'd harp on till doomsday,
She ne'er will speak again.

35 He 's ta'en his harp intil his hand,

He harpit and he sang;
And he is hame to Gib, his man,
As fast as he cou'd gang.

36 " Come forth, come forth now, Gib, my man,

Till I pay you your fee ;
Come forth, come forth now, Gib, my man,
For weel paid ye shall be."

37 And he has ta'en him, Gib, his man,

And he has hang'd him hie,
And he 's hang'd him o'er his ain yett,
As high as high cou'd be.

38 Next set the pummil of his sword

Against an earth-fast stone;
Then threw himself upon the point,
And died without a groan.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR ANNIE.

" Three ballads," says Mr. Jamieson, " all of them of considerable
merit, on the same subject, are to be found in vol. iii. of the Reliqu/es
of Ancient English Poetry, under the titles of ' Lord Thomas and Fair
Elinor,' ' Fair Margaret and Sweet William,' and ' Lord Thomas and
Fair Annet ; ' the latter of which is in that work given with some correc-
tions, ' from a MS. copy transmitted from Scotland,' and supposed to be
composed, not without improvements, out of the two former ancient
English ones. At this distance of time, it would be in vain to
attempt to ascertain which was the original and which the imitation ;
and, I think it extremely probable that, in their origin, they were
perfectly independent of each other, and both derived from some one
of those fableaux, romances, or tales, which, about four or five hun-
dred years ago, were so familiarly known, in various forms, over a
great part of Europe, that it would even then have been difficult to
say to what country or language they owed their birth. The text
of ' Lord Thomas and Fair Annet ' seems to have been adjusted,
previous to its leaving Scotland, by some one who was more of a
scholar than the reciters of ballads generally are ; and, in attempting
to give it an antique cast, it has been deprived of somewhat of that
easy facility which is the distinguished characteristic of the tradition-
ary ballad narrative. With the text of the ditty, " printed in Popular
Ballads and Songs, voL i., p. 22, under the above title, "no such

2G2 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

experiment has been made. It is," says Mr. Jamieson, "given pure
and entire, as it was taken down by the editor, from the recitation
of a lady in Aberbrothick (Mrs. W. Arrot), to whose politeness and
friendship this [his] collection is under considerable obligations. She
had no previous intimation of the compiler's visit, or of his under-
taking ; and the few hours he spent at her friendly fireside were very
busily employed in writing. As she had, when a child, learnt the
ballad from an elderly maid-servant, and probably had not repeated
it for a dozen of years before I had the good fortune to be introduced
to her ; it may be depended upon, that every line was recited to me
as nearly as possible in the exact form in which she learnt it."

There is a similar Swedish ballad, " Herr Peder och Liten Kerstiu,"
in the Svenska Folk-Visor, i., 49; a translation of which may be
found in Literature and Romance of Northern Europe, by William
and Mary Howitt, vol. i., p. 258.

1 SWEET WILLIE and fair Annie

Sat all day on a hill ;
When night was come and sun was set,*
They had not talk'd their fill.

2 Sweet Willie said a word in haste,

And Annie took it ill :
" I winna wed a tocherless maid,
Against my parent's will."

3 Oh, Annie, she 's gane till her bow'r,

And Willie hied him down ;
He hied him till his mither's bow'r,
By the lee light of the moon.

4 " Oh, sleep ye, wake ye, mither ?" he says,

" Or are ye the bow'r within ? "
" I sleep richt aft, I wake richt aft;f
What want ye with me, son ?

5 " Where ha'e ye been all night, Willie?

Oh, wow ! ye've tarried lang ! "
" I have been courtin' fair Annie,
And she is frae me gane.

6 " There are twa maidens in a bow'r;

Which of them shall I bring hame?
The nut-brown maid has sheep and kye,
And fair Annie has nane."

* " And though they had sitten seven years,

They ne'er wad had their fill." Jamieson's version,
f "That is, my slumbers are short, broken, and interrupted; a characteristic of
age." J.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR ANNIE. 263

7 " It 's an ye wed the nut-brown maid,

I'll heap gold with my hand ;
But an ye wed her, fair Annie,
I'll straik it with a wand,

8 " The nut-brown maid has sheep and kye,

And fair Annie has nane ;
And the little beauty Annie has,

Oh, it will sune be gane ;
Then, Willie, for my benison,

The nut-brown maid bring hame."

9 " But, alas, alas !" says sweet Willie,

" Oh, fair is Annie's face!"
" But what 's the matter, my son, Willie,
She has nae ither grace."

10 " Alas, alas !" says sweet Willie,

" But white is Annie's hand !"
" But what 's the matter, my son, Willie,
She has neither gold nor land."

11 " But sheep will die in their cots, mither,

And owsen die in byre ;
And what is this warld's wealth to me,
An I getna my heart's desire?"

12 And he has till his brother gane :

" Now, brother, rede ye me
It 's shall I marry the nut-brown bride,
And let fair Annie be? "

13 " The nut-brown bride has sheep, brother,

The nut-brown bride has kye ;
I wou'd ha'e ye marry the nut-brown bride,
And cast fair Annie by."

14 "Her sheep may die in their cots, Billie,

And her kye in the byre ;
And I shall ha'e nothing to mysel',
But a fat fadge by the fire."

15 And he has till his sister gane:

" Now, sister, rede ye me
Oh, shall I marry the nut-brown bride,
And set fair Annie free ? "

16 " I'se rede ye take fair Annie, Willie,

And let the brown bride alane;
Lest you shou'd sigh and say 'Alace!
What is this I've brought hame ? ' "

264 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 "No, I will take my mother's counsel,

And marry me out of hand;
And I will take the nut-brown bride,
And let fair Annie stand.

18 " Oh, I shall wed the nut-brown maid,

And I shall bring her hame ;
But peace nor rest I ne'er shall ha'e,
Till death part us again.

19 " Where will I get a bonnie boy,

Wou'd fain win hose and shoon,
That will rin to fair Annie's bow'r,
With the lee light of the moon ?

20 " Ye'll tell her to come to Willie's weddin'

The morn, by twelve at noon ;
Ye'll tell her to come to Willie's weddin',
The heir of Duplin town.*

21 " She maunna put on the black, the black,

Nor yet the dowie brown ;
But the scarlet red, and the kerches white,
And her fair locks hangin' down."

22 The bonnie boy ran to Annie's bow'r,

And tirl'd at the pin,
And tauld his message to hersel',
As she open'd to let him in.

23 " Oh, I will gang to Willie's weddin'

The morn, by twelve at noon;
Oh, I will gang to Willie's weddin',
But I'll die ere day be dune.

24 " My maids, come to my dressin' room,

And dress to me my hair ;

Where'er ye laid a plait before,

See ye lay ten times mair.

25 " My maids, come to my dressin' room,

And dress to me my smock;
The one-half is of the Holland fine,
The other of needle-work.

* " Duplin town. Duplin is the seat of the Earl of Kinnonl, from which he derives
his title of Viscount It is in the neighbourhood of Perth. This copy of the ballad was
taken from the current traditionary manner of reciting it in that part of the country;
and it is observable that ballads are very frequently adapted to the meridian of the
place where they are found; so that the same parts and characters are given to
persons of different names and ranks in life, in different parts of the country."
Jamieson.

SWEET WILLIE AND FAIR ANNIE. 265

26 " My maids, come to my dressin' room,

And busk me in silken sheen ;
And let us gae to St. Mary's kirk,
To see that rich weddin'.

27 " My maids, come to my dressin' room,

And busk me fair and fine ;
But ere the day comes to an end,
The death-mass will be mine."

28 The horse fair Annie rade upon,

He amblit like the wind ;
With siller he was shod before,
With burning gowd behind.

29 Four-and-twenty siller bells

Were all tied till his mane;
And at ilka tift of the norland wind,
They tinkled ane by ane.

30 Four-and-twenty gay gude knights

Hade by fair Annie's side,
And four-and-twenty fair ladies,
As if she were a bride.

31 And when she came to Mary's kirk,

She sat on Mary's stane;
The cleading that fair Annie had on,
It skinkled in their een.

32 And when she came into the kirk,

She shimmer'd like the sun ;
The belt that was about her waist
Was with pearls all bedone.

33 She sat her by the nut-brown bride,

And her een they were sae clear ;
Sweet Willie clean forgot the bride,
When fair Annie drew near.

34 He had a rose into his hand,

And he gave it kisses three,
And, reaching by the nut-brown bride,
Laid it on Annie's knee.*

* The three following highly poetical stanzas occur at this place in Jamieson'a
version :

" Willie 's ta'en a rose out of his hat,

Laid it in Annie's lap ;
'The bonniest to the bonniest fa's;

Ha'e, wear it for my sake."
" ' Take up and wear your rose, Willie,

As lang as it will last;
For. like your love, its sweetness all
Will soon be gane and past

266 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

35 Up then spake the nut-brown bride,

She spake with meikle spite;
" And where got ye that rose-water,
Makes ye sae fair and white?"

36 " Oh, I did get that rose-water

Where ye'll ne'er get the same ;
For I did get that rose-water
Ere to the light I came.

37 " But ye've been wash'd in dunnie well,

And dried on dunnie dyke ;
And all the water in the sea
Cou'd never wash ye white."

38 The bride she drew a long bodkin

Frae out her gay head-gear,
And strake fair Annie to the heart,
That word she ne'er spake mair.

39 Sweet William he saw fair Annie wax pale,

And marvell'd what mote be;
But when he saw her dear heart's bluid,
It 's wud-wroth then wax'd he.

40 He drew his dagger was sae sharp,

That was sae sharp and meet,
And drave it into the nut-brown bride,
Who fell dead at his feet.

41 " Now stay for me, dear Annie," he said,

" Now stay, my dear," he cried ;
Then strake the dagger intil his heart,
And fell dead by her side.

42 Sweet Willie was buried without the kirk wall,

Fair Annie within the quire ;
And of the ane there grew a birk,
The other a bonnie brier.

43 And aye they grew, and aye they threw,

As they wou'd fain be near ;
And by this ye may ken right weel,
They were twa lovers dear.

" '"Wear ye the rose of love, Willie,

And I the thorn of care ;
For the woman shall never bear a son
That will make my heart sae sair.' "

The third line of the first of these stanzas was "an interpolation'' of Jamieson's
own ; and the other two stanzas were manufactured out of the following, as taken
down by him from Mrs. Arrot's recitation :

" Take up and wear your rose, Willie,

And wear't with mickle care;
For the woman sail never bear a son,
That will make my heart sae sair."

FAIR ANNIE'S GHOST.

The following stanzas form the conclusion of the preceding ballad,
according to Mr. Jamieson's version.

They strongly resemble the latter portion of " Fair Margaret and
Sweet Willie," as the termination of the preceding does that of
" Lord Thomas and Fair Elinor." See preceding introduction.

1 WHEN night was come and day was gane,

And all men botm to bed,
Sweet Willie and his nut-brown bride
In their chamber were laid.

2 But they had scarcely lain down,

And werena fa'n asleep,
When up and stands she, fair Annie,
Just up at Willie's feet.

3 " Weel brook ye of your nut-brown bride,

Between ye and the wall ;
And sae will I of my winding-sheet,
That suits me best of all.

4 " Weel brook ye of your nut-brown bride,

Between ye and the stock ;
And sae will I of my black, black kist,*
That has neither key nor lock.

5 " Weel brook ye of your nut-brown bride,

And of your bridal bed ;
And sae will I of the cauld, cauld mools,
That sune will hap my head."

6 Sad Willie raise, put on his claise,

Drew till him his hose and shoon ;
And he is on to Annie's bow'r,
By the lee light of the moon.

7 The firsten bow'r that he came till,

There was right dowie wark;

Her mother and her three sisters

Were makin' to Annie a sark.

8 The nexten bow'r that he came till,

There was right dowie cheer ;

Her father and her seven brethren

Were makin' to Annie a bier.

* "Black kist: " the coffin.

268 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 The lasten bow'r that he came till,

Oh, heavy was his care!
The dead candles were burning bright,
And fair Annie streekit * there.

10 " It 's I will kiss your bonnie cheek,

And I will kiss your chin,
And I will kiss your clay-cauld lip;
But I'll ne'er kiss woman again.

11 " And that I was in love outdone

Shall ne'er be said of me ;
For as ye've died for me, Annie,
Sae will I do for thee.

12 " This day ye birl at Annie's wake

The white bread and the wine ;

Before the morn, at twelve o'clock,

They'll birl the same at mine."

13 The ane was buried in Mary's kirk,

The other in Mary's quire;
And out of the ane there grew a birk,
And out of the other a brier.

14 And aye they grew, and aye they drew,

As they would fain be near;
And every ane that pass'd them by,
Said " Thae 's been lovers dear I "

CLERK TAMMAS.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs, vol. i., p. 43; and note,
p. 294. See ante, p. 13. Mr. Buchau says : "This ballad bears all
the characteristics of antiquity. It seems rather of a romantic kind,
although in many places allegorical. "

1 CLERK TAMMAS loved her, fair Annie,

As well as Mary loved her son:
But now he hates her, fair Annie,
And hates the land that she lives on.

2 " Ohon, alas!" said fair Annie,

" Alas ! this day I fear I'll dee ;
But I will on to sweet Tammas,
And see if he will pity me."

"Streekit: " stretched, or laid out

CLERK TAMMAS. 269

3 As Tammas lay o'er his shott-window,

Just as the sun was gaein' down,
There he beheld her, fair Annie,
As she came walking to the town.

4 " Oh, where are all my well-wight men,

I wot that I pay meat and fee,
For to let all my hounds gang loose,
To hunt this vile wench to the sea?"

5 The hounds they knew the ladye well,

And nane of them they wou'd her bite,
Save ane that was named Gaudy- where;
I wot he did the ladye smite.

6 " Oh, wae mot worth ye, Gaudy- where,

An ill reward this is to me;
For ae bit that I ga'e the lave,
I'm very sure I've gi'en you three.

7 " For me, alas ! there 's nae remeid,

Here comes the day that I maun dee;
I ken ye love your master well,
And sae did I, alas for me ! "

8 A captain lay o'er his ship window,

Just as the sun was gaein' down ;
There he beheld her, fair Annie,
As she was hunted frae the town.

9 " If ye'll forsake father and mother,

If ye'll forsake your friends and kin ;
If ye'll forsake your lands sae broad,
Then come, and I will take you in."

10 " Yes, I'll forsake father and mother,

And sae will I my friends and kin ;
Yes, I'll forsake my lands sae broad,
And come, if ye will take me in."

11 Then a' thing gaed frae fause Tammas,

And there was naethiug bade him wi' ;
Then he thought lang for Annandale,
It was fair Annie for to see.

12 " How do ye now, ye sweet Tammas?

And how gaes all in your countrie?"
" I'll do better to you than ever I've done,
Fair Annie, if ye'll come and see."

BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

13 " Oh, Gude forbid," said fair Annie,

" That e'er the like fall in my hand;
Wou'd I forsake my ain gude lord.
And follow you a gae-through-land?

14 " Yet, nevertheless now, sweet Tammas,

Ye'll drink a cup of wine with me;
And nine times, in the live-lang day,
Your fair claithing shall changed be."

15 Fair Annie put it till her cheek,

Sae did she till her milk-white chin ;
Sae did she till her flatterin' lips,
But never a drap of wine gaed in.

16 Tammas put it till his cheek,

Sae did he till his dimpled chin ;
He put it till his rosy lips,

And then the well of wine gaed in.

17 " These pains," said he, " are ill to bide ;

Here is the day that I maun die :
Oh, take this cup frae me, Annie,
For of the same I am weary."

18 " And sae was I of you, Tammas,

When I was hunted to the sea ;
But I'se gar bury you in state,

Which is mair than ye'd done to me."

LOKD WILLIAM.

" A fragment of this gloomy and impressive romance was published
in Herd's Scottish Songs, vol. i, p. 148." (See next page.)

Five versions, more or less complete, appeared subsequently. They
are:

I. "Lord William," in Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 23. This
version was communicated by the Ettrick Shepherd,
accompanied by a note, in which he states that he can
"trace it back several generations, but cannot hear of
its ever being in print. "

IL "Earl Richard," same work and volume, p. 184 Collated
from "two ballads in Mr. Herd's MSS. upon the follow-
ing story, in one of which the unfortunate knight is
termed 'Young Huntin.' "

IIL "Earl Richard," in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 218. "Given
from recitation."

LORD WILLIAM. 271

IV. "Young Eedin," in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 1.
"Recovered," says Mr. Kinloch, "from the recitation of
Miss E. Beattie, of Edinburgh, a native of Mearnshire,
who sings it to a plaintive, though somewhat monotonous,
air of one measure."

V. "Young Huntin," in Buchan's Ancient Ballads, &c., vol. i.,
p. 118. "Though last on the stage of public criticism,"
says Mr. Buchan, " is not the least in poetical merit ;
it is superior to all those which have preceded it, and
now for the first time printed in a complete and per-
fect state, with beauties that are not to be found in any
of the other fragments." Note, p. 303.

"In the Gentleman's Magazine, 1794, vol. Ixiv., part i., p. 553, there
is a modern ballad of extremely perverted orthography and vicious
style (meant for ancient), in which the twenty [twenty-eight?] lines of
Herd's fragment are interwoven with an altogether different story.
It is printed, as authentic, in Scarce Ancient Ballads, Aberdeen,
1822." Professor Child, English and Scottish Ballads, vol. iii., p. 3.

The opening stanzas of " Sir Roland," ante, p. 171, are similar in
incident ; but, with the exception of the first stanza of it, and the
fourth of the following, the ballads differ entirely in phraseology and
treatment ; while the retributive catastrophes of the latter portion
differ in toto.

The ballad which follows has been compiled from the versions
named above, and numbered I. to V.

On account of the number of versions, their numerous minor
differences, and the inconsistencies which more or less pervade them
all. and particularly the " Earl Richard " of Sir Walter Scott, it has
been thought not only necessary, but proper, to exercise some degree
of licence in the work of collation ; while, for the sake of uniformity
and consistency of style, the language and orthography of the various
versions have been here modernized.

The notes are from the pen of Sir Walter Scott : the narratives of
cases cited by him in the last note are, however, omitted, while the
references are retained.

The following is the fragment which originally appeared in Herd's
Scottish Songs :

' She has call'd to her bow'r-maidens,

She has call'd them one by one;
'There is a dead man in my bow'r,
I wish that he was gone.'

' They have booted him, and spurr'd him,

As he was wont to ride :
A hunting-horn around his waist,
A sharp sword by his side.

" Then up and spake a bonnie bird,

That sat upon the tree,
'What ha'e ye done with Earl Eichard,
Ye was his gay ladye ? '

272 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" ' Come down, come down, my bonnie bird,

Come, sit upon my hand;
And ye shall ha'e a cage of the gowd,
"Where ye ha'e but the wand.'

M ' Awa, awa, ye ill woman,
Nae ill woman for me;
What ye ha'e done to Earl Richard,
Sae wad ye do to me.'

" ' Oh, there 's a bird within your bow'r,

That sings eae sad and sweet;

Oh. there 's a bird intil your bow'r,

Kept me f rae my night's sleep.'

" And she sware by the grass sae green,

Sae did she by the corn.
That she had not s?en Earl Richard
Syne yesterday at morn."

1 LORD WILLIAM was the bravest knight

That dwelt in fair Scotland;
And though renown'd in foreign lands,
Fell by a ladye's hand.

2 And he has forth a-hunting gone,

As fast as he cou'd ride,
With hunting-horn hung round his neck,
And a small sword by his side.

3 Ladye Maisry forth from her bow'r came,

Then on her tow'r-head stood;
And thought she heard a bridle ring,
Down by the shady wood.

4 Lord William then came riding up,

And tirl'd at the pin ;
Ladye Maisry hasted from the tow'r,
To open and let him in.

5 " Good morrow, good morrow, Ladye Maisry,

God make you safe and free ;
I'm come to take my last farewell,
My last farewell of thee."

6 " Then light, oh light, Lord William," she said,

" And stay with me this night;
You shall have cheer with charcoal red,*
And candles burning bright."

* " ' Charcoal red. 1 This circumstance marks the antiquity of the poem. Whfle
wood was plenty in Scotland, charcoal was the usual fuel in the chambers of the
wealthy." Scott.

LORD WILLIAM. 273

7 "I cannot light, I will not light:

The truth I will thee tell;
A fairer ladye than ten of thee
Meets me at Brannan's well.

8 " Oh, the very sole of that ladye's foot,

Than thy face is far more white ;
And I am sworn at Brannan's well
To meet with her this night."

9 " Then if your love be changed," she said,

" And better may not be,
At least ye will, for auld lang syne,
Come taste the wine with me."

10 " I will not stay, I cannot stay,

To drink the wine with thee:
A ladye I love better far,
Is waiting now for me."

11 He leant him o'er his saddle-bow,

To kiss ere they did part ;
And with a bodkin sharp and keen,
She pierc'd him to the heart.

12 " Ride on, ride on, Lord William, now,

As fast as you can ride;
Your new love at St. Brannan's well
Will wonder why ye bide."

13 It 's out then spake a popinjay,

Sat high upon a tree :
" How cou'd you kill that noble lord?
He came to marry thee."

14 Up then spake the popinjay,

As it flew o'er her head:
" Ladye, keep well your green clothing
Free from the blood so red."

15 " Oh, I will keep my green clothing

Free from the blood so red,
Better than thou canst keep thy tongue,
That prattles in thy head.

1G " But come thou down, thou bonnie bird,

Nor hop from tree to tree ;
I'll give to thee a cage of gold,
And with white bread feed thee."
T

274 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 " Keep your good cage of gold, ladye,

And I will keep my tree;
As ye have done to Lord William,
So wou'd ye do to me."

*******

18 " Oh, long, long is the winter night,

And slowly dawns the day ;
A slain knight lyes close by my bow'r,
And I wish he were away."

19 Up then spake her bow'r-maiden,

And she spake out with spite:
" If there be a slain knight near your bow'r,
It's yourself that has the wyte."*

20 " Oh, heal f this deed on me, Katherine,

Oh, heal this deed on me,
And the silks were shapen for my wear,
They shall be sew'd for thee."

21 The one has ta'en him by the feet,

The other by the head,
And the deepest pot of Clyde's water
They made his burial bed.

22 It 's up then spake the popinjay,

As it sat on a tree :
" Go home, go home, thou false ladye,
And pay your maid her fee."
*******

23 Now it did chance that very day

The King was bound to ride ;
And he has sent for Lord William,
To ride forth by his side.

24 Many a lord and many a knight

Sought for him all around ;
They sought him up, they sought him down,
But he cou'd not be found.

25 Then they call'd the Ladye Maisry,

And she swore by the thorn :
" I have not seen good Lord William
Since early yestermorn.

* "Wyte:" blame. t "Heal: " conceal.

t The deep holes scooped in the rock by the eddies of a river are called pots,
the motion of the water having there some resemblance to a boiling caldron.
Linn means the pool beneath a cataract

LORD WILLIAM. 275

26 " He rode by way of Clyde water;

And much it feareth me,
That if he tried to ride the stream,
He therein drown'd must be."

27 " Go dive, go dive," the King loud cried,

" Go dive for gold and fee ;
Who dives there, for Lord William's sake,
Shall well rewarded be."

28 They sought Clyde water up and down,

They sought it in and out;
But Lord William or Lord William's corpse
They found nowhere about.

29 Then up it spake the popinjay,

As it flew overhead:
" Dive on, dive on, ye divers all,
For there he lyes indeed.

30 " But leave off diving by the day,

Leave off till it be night;
Then, where that saikless * knight lyes slain,
The candles will burn bright." f

31 They left off diving by the day,

And waited till the night;
Then, where that saikless knight lay slain,
The candles burned bright.

32 In the deepest pot of Clyde water

Lord William's corpse was found;
With boots, spurs, sword, and hunting-horn,
As he to hunt went bound.

33 Then up and spake the King himself,

When he saw the deadly wound:
" Oh! who has slain my right-hand man,
That held my hawk and hound? "

* "Saikless:" guiltless.

t These are unquestionably the corpse-lights, called in Wales "Canhwyllan Cyrph,"
which are sometimes seen to illuminate the spot where a dead body is concealed.
The editor is informed that, some years ago, the corpse of a man drowned in
the Ettrick, below Selkirk, was discovered by means of these candles. Such
lights are common in churchyards, and are probably of a phosphoric nature.
But rustic superstition derives them from supernatural agency, and supposes that,
as soon as life has departed, a pale flame appears at the window of the house
in which the person had died, and glides towards the churchyard, tracing through
every winding the route of the future funeral, and pausing where the bier is to
rest This and other opinions, relating to the "tomb-fire's livid gleam," seem to
be of Bunic extraction.

276 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

34 Then up and spake the popinjay;

Says " What needs all this din?
It was his leman took his life,
And threw him in the linn."

35 Yet still she swore by grass so green,

By corn and by thorn,
That she Lord William had not seen
Since yesterday at morn.

36 " It must have been my bow'r- woman;

Oh, ill may her betide !
For I ne'er wou'd slain Lord William,
And thrown him in the Clyde."

37 The King he call'd upon his men,

To hew down wood and thorn;
And there to build a strong baile-fire,
The bow'r-maiden to burn.

38 Then they built up a strong baile-fire, .

To burn that maiden in;
But it would not light upon her cheek,
Nor yet upon her chin ;

89 Nor yet upon her yellow hair,

To cleanse the deadly sin;
But it took upon the cruel hands
That help'd to throw him in.

40 The maiden touch'd the clay-cold corpse,

A drop it never bled ;
But when the ladye touch'd the corpse,
The blood came gushing red.

41 Then they've ta'en out the bowV-woman,

And they've put the ladye in :
The flame took fast upon her cheek,
And fast upon her chin ;

42 And faster on the cruel hand,

That wrought the deadly sin ;
Until the ladye's fair body
Was burn'd like holyn green.*

*"Holyn green:" green holly. The lines immediately preceding, "The maidea
touched," &c., and which are restored from tradition, refer to a superstition
formerly received in most parts of Europe, and even resorted to by judicial
authority, for the discovery of murder. In Germany, this experiment was call d
Tiahr-recht, or the law of the hier; because, the murdered body being stretched
upon a bier, the suspected person was obliged to put cue hand upon the wound,

YOUNG JOHNSTONE. 277

YOUNG JOHNSTONE.

" A fragment of this fine old ballad " was published by Herd,
under the title of " The Cruel Knight," in his Scottish Songs, vol.
i., p. 165 ; but " for the first complete copy the public is indebted to
Mr. Finlay, of Glasgow, in whose collection (of Scottish Historical and
Romantic Ballads, vol. ii., p. 72) it appeared." Mr. Finlay's version
was, as he informs us, " completed from two recited copies." It was
followed by a similar, but still more complete version, also " obtained
from recitation;" which, with "a few verbal emendations" from
" Mr. Finlay's copy," was given in his Minstrelsy, p. 193, by Mr.
Motherwell, accompanied with the following explanatory statement :

" The reciters of old ballads frequently supply the best commen-
taries upon them, when any obscurity or want of connection appears
in the poetical narrative. This ballad, as it stands, throws no light
on young Johnstone's motive for stabbing his lady ; but the person
from whose lips it was taken down alleged that the barbarous act was
committed unwittingly, through young Johnstone's suddenly waking
from his sleep, and, in that moment of confusion and alarm, unhappily
mistaking his mistress for one of his pursuers. It is not improbable
but the ballad may have had at one time a stanza to the above effect,
the substance of which is still remembered, though the words in
which it was couched have been forgotten. At all events, it is a
more likely inference than that which Mr. Gilchrist has chosen to
draw from the premises. See A Collection of Ancient and Modern
Scottish Ballads, Tales, and Songs, with Explanatory Notes and
Observations, by John Gilchrist, vol. i., p. 185, Edin., 1815."

The hiatus here referred to by Mr. Motherwell was shortly after
filled by the appearance of another version of the ballad, under the
title of "Lord John's Murder," in Mr. Buchan's Ancient Ballads,
vol. ii., p. 20, which version contains a stanza answering to the prose
rider of Mr. Motherwell's reciter. It occurs in the text, in a slightly
amended form, as stanza 26.

MotherweH's version is the one generally followed in the text here
given; but stanza 21 has been substituted from "The Cruel Knight,"
in place of the corresponding stanza in Motherwell. Stanzas 14, 20,
and the first two lines of 16, are also added from the same source.
The last two lines of stanzas 22 and 25 have been substituted for those

and the other upon the mouth of the deceased, and, in that posture, call upon
Heaven to attest his innocence. If, during this ceremony, the blood gushed from
the mouth, nose, or wound a circumstance not unlikely to happen in the course of
shifting or stirring the body it w s held sufficient evidence of the guilt of the party.

The same singular kind of evidence, although reprobated by Malthaeus and
Carpzovius, was admitted in the Scottish criminal courts, at the short distance of
one century.

[The cases narrated by Scott are those of Muir, laird of Auchindrane, in Ayrshire
(1611), from Wodrow's History, vol. i., p. 513; and Hume's Criminal Lawt,, vol. i., p.
428: of Philip Standfleld (30th Nov., 1687), from Fountainhall's Decisions, vol. i, p.
483 : and another at the classic stream of Yarrow, as communicated to him by ' an
ingenious correspondent."

An instance of the prevalence of this belief, in comparatively recent times, is cited
by Kinloch (p. 12), from Telfair's True Relation oj an Apparition, &c., 1695 ; and one
still more recent, as ' practised at Aberdeen," within the recollection of Mr. Kinloch,
namely, some time about the beginning of the present century.]

278 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

subjoined in the notes ; the first two lines of stanza 23 added, with the
view of completing the sense ; and a few verbal changes made, it is
hoped, not only without violence, but rather with improvement, to
the text.

1 YOUNG JOHNSTONE and the young Col'nel

Sat drinking at the wine :
"Oh, if ye wou'd marry my sister,
It's I wou'd marry thine."

2 "I wou'dna marry your sister

For all your houses and land;

But I'll keep her for my leman,

When I come o'er the strand.

8 "I wou'dna marry your sister
For all your gowd and fee;
But I'll keep her for my leman,
When I come o'er the sea."

4 Young Johnstone had a nut-brown sword,

Hung low down by his gair,
And he ritted* it through the young Col'nel,
That word he ne'er spake mair.

5 But he 's awa to his sister's bow'r,

He's tirl'd at the pin;
" Where ha'e ye been, my dear brother,
Sae late a-coming in?

6 " I've dreamed a dream this night," she says,

" I wish it may be for good ;
They were seeking you with hawks and hounds,
And the young Col'nel was dead."

7 " With hawks and hounds they may seek me,

As I trow well they be ;
For I ha'e kill'd the young Col'nel,
And thy true love was he."

8 " If ye ha'e kill'd the young Col'nel,

Oh, dule and wae is me !
But may ye hang on a high gallows,
And ha'e nae power to flee."

* " ' Bitted : ' thrust violently. In Sir Tristrem it is used simply to cut [ Vide Fytte
I., stanza xliv.] Finlay. In the copy obtained by the editor, the word 'ritted'
did not occur; instead of which the word 'stabbed' was used. The 'nut-brown
sword' was also changed into 'a little small sword.' " MotherwelL

YOUNG JOHNSTONE. 279

9 Then he 's awa to his true love's bow'r,

He 's tirl'd at the pin :
" Where ha'e ye been, my dear Johnstone,
Sae late a-coming in ?

10 " I ha'e dream'd a dreary dream," she says,

" I wish it may be for good ;
They were seeking you with hawks and hounds,
And the young Col'nel was dead."

11 " With hawks and hounds they may seek me,

As I trow well they be;
For I ha'e kill'd the young Col'nel,
And thy ae brother was he."

12 * If ye ha'e kill'd the young Col'nel,

Oh, dule and wae is me !
But I care the less for the young Col'nel,
If thy ain body be free.*

13 " Come in, come in, my dear Johnstone,

Come in and take a sleep ;
And I will go to my casement,
And careful watch I'll keep."

14 She 's ta'en him to her secret bow'r,

Pinn'd with a siller pin ;
And she 's up to her highest tow'r,
To watch that none come in.

15 He hadna weel got up the stair,

And enter'd in her bow'r,
When four-and-twenty belted knights
Came riding to the door.

16 " Now God you save, my fair ladye,

I pray you tell to me,
Oh, did you see a bloody squire,

A bloody squire was he ;
Oh, did you see a bloody squire

Come riding o'er the lea?"

17 " What colour were his hawks?" she says,

" What colour were his hounds ?
What colour was the gallant steed
That bore him from the bounds?"

* " But if I save your fair body,

The better you'll like me." The Cruel Knight

280 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

18 " Bloody, bloody were his hawks,

And bloody were his hounds ;
And milk-white was the gallant steed
That bore him from the bounds."

19 " Yes, bloody, bloody were his hawks,

And bloody were his hounds ;
And milk-white was the gallant steed
That bore him from the bounds.

20 " Yes, bloody, bloody was his sword,

And bloody were his hands ;
But if the steed he rides be good,
He 's past fair Scotland's strands.*

21 " Light down, light down, then, gentlemen,

And take some bread and wine;
The better you will him pursue,
When you shall lightly dine."

22 " We thank you for your bread, ladye,

We thank you for your wine ;
But till that bloody knight is ta'en,
We cannot think to dine."f

23 .Then up unto her secret bow'r

She noiselessly did creep,
" Lye still, lye still, my dear Johnstone,

Lye still and take a sleep;
For thy enemies are past and gone,

And careful watch I keep."J

24 But young Johnstone had a sharp wee sword,

Hung low down by his gair,
And he stabb'd it in fair Aunet's breast,
A deep wound and a sair.

25 "What aileth thee now, my dear Johnstone?

What aileth thee at me?
That for the service I ha'e done
Ye pay me such a fee? "

" He's past the bridge of Tyne." Finlay. ) Both occur in connection
" He 's past the brig o' Lyne." Mother well. ) first two lines of stanzs

ori with the
aza21.
t " But I wad gi'e thrice three thousand pound

That bloody knight was ta'en."- MotherwelL

J One version ends here. The concluding stanzas seem to have been added by
another hand.

J " Hast thou not got my father'8 gold,

Bot and my mother's fee? "Both Finlay and MotherwelL

YOUNG BENJIE. 281

26 " Alas ! alas ! my fair ladye,

To come so hastilie :
I took you for my deadly foe,
Had come to capture me.

27 " Now live, now live, my dear ladye,

Now live but half an hour,
And the skilliest leech in all Scotland
Shall be brought to thy bow'r."

28 " How can I live, how shall I live?

My love, do not you see
The red, red drops of my heart's blood
Run trickling down my knee?

29 " But take thy harp into thy hand,

And harp out o'er yon plain ;
And think nae mair on thy true love,
Than if she ne'er had been."

30 He was scarce frae the stable gone,

And on his saddle set,
Till four-and-twenty broad arrows
Were thrilling in his heart.

YOUNG BENJIE.

"In this ballad," writes Sir Walter Scott, "the reader will find
traces of a singular superstition, not yet altogether discredited in
the wilder parts of Scotland. The lykewake, or watching a dead
body, in itself a melancholy office, is rendered, in the idea of the
assistants, more dismally awful, by the mysterious horrors of super-
stition. In the interval betwixt death and intermeDt, the dis-
embodied spirit is supposed to hover around its mortal habitation,
and, if invoked by certain rites, retains the power of communicating,
through its organs, the cause of its dissolution. Such inquiries,
however, are always dangerous, and never to be resorted to, unless
the deceased is suspected to have suffered foul play, as it is called.
It is the more unsafe to tamper with this charm in an unauthorizel
manner, because the inhabitants of the infernal regions are at such
periods peculiarly active. One of the most potent ceremonies in
the charm, for causing the dead body to speak, is setting the door
ajar or half open. On this account, the peasants of Scotland sedul-
ously avoid leaving the door ajar, while a corpse lies in the house.
The door must either be left wide open, or quite shut ; but the
first is always preferred, on account of the exercise of hospitality
usual on such occasions. The attendants must be likewise careful
never to leave the corpse for a moment alone, or, if it is left alone,
to avoid, with a degree of superstitious horror, the first sight of it.

282 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" The following story, which is frequently related by the peasants
of Scotland, will illustrate the imaginary danger of leaving the door
ajar. ' In former times, a man and his wife lived in a solitary cottage
on one of the extensive Border fells. One day the husband died
suddenly ; and his wife, who was equally afraid of staying alone by
the corpse, or leaving the dead body by itself, repeatedly went to the
door, and looked anxiously over the lonely moor for the sight of some
person approaching. In her confusion and alarm, she accidentally left
the door ajar, when the corpse suddenly started up, and sat in the
bed, frowning and grinning at her frightfully. She sat alone, crying
bitterly, unable to avoid the fascination of the dead man's eye, and
too much terrified to break the sullen silence, till a Catholic priest,
passing over the wild, entered the cottage. He first set the door
quite open, then put his little finger in his mouth, and said the pater-
noster backwards ; when the horrified look of the corpse relaxed, it
fell back on the bed, and behaved itself as a dead man ought to do.'

" The ballad is given from tradition. I have been informed by a
lady, of the highest literary eminence, that she has heard a ballad on
the same subject, in which the scene was laid upon the banks of the
Clyde. The chorus was

' Oh, Bothwell banks bloom bonnie,'

and the watching of the dead corpse was said to have taken place in
Bothwell church."

The ballad is here printed from Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii. , p. 10,
with the addition of stanzas 13 to 17 inclusive, from a different
version, published by Mr. Buchan, in Ancient Ballads, voL ii., p. 265,
under the title of "Bondsey and Maisry." The last two lines of
stanza 17, and the first two of stanza 18, have, however, been very
slightly altered.

1 OF all the maids of fair Scotland,

The fairest was Marjorie ;
And young Benjie was her ae true love,
And a dear true love was he.

2 And wow but they were lovers dear,

And lov'd full constantlie;
But aye the mair when they fell out,
The sairer was their plea.*

3 And they ha'e quarrell'd on a day,

Till Marjorie's heart grew wae;
And she said she'd chuse another luve,
And let young Benjie gae.

4 And he was stout f and proud-hearted,

And thought o't bitterlie ;
And he 's gane by the wan moonlight,
To meet his Marjorie.

* " Plea : " used obliquely for dispute,
t " Stout," through this whole ballad, except in one instance (stanza 10), signifies
haughty.

YOUNG BENJIE. 283

5 " Oh, open, open, my true love,

Oh, open and let me in ! "
u I darena open, young Benjie,
My three brothers are within."

6 " Ye lee, ye lee, ye bonnie burd,

Sae loud 's I hear ye lee;
As I came by the Louden banks,
They bade gude e'en to me.

7 " But fare ye weel, my ae fause love,

That I have lov'd sae lang!
It sets ye * chuse another love,
And let young Benjie gang."

8 Then Marjorie turn'd her round about,

The tear blinding her e'e;
" I darena, darena let thee in,
But I'll come down to thee."

9 Then saft she smil'd, and said to him

" Oh, what ill ha'e I done? "
He took her in his arms twa,
And threw her o'er the linn.

10 The stream was strong, the maid was stout,

And laith, laith to be dang ; f
But ere ye wan the Louden banks,
Her fair colour was wan.

11 Then up bespake her eldest brother

" Oh, see na ye what I see ? "
And out then spake her second brother
" It is our sister Marjorie ! "

12 Out then spake her eldest brother

" Oh, how shall we her ken? "
And out then spake her youngest brother
" There 's a honey mark on her chin."

13 The eldest brother he stepp'd in,

He stepp'd in to the knee;
Then out he jump'd upon the bank
" This water 's no for me."

14 The second brother he stepp'd in,

He stepp'd in to the queet ;
Then out he jump'd upon the bank
" This water 's wond'rous deep."

* " Sets ye: " becomes you; ironical
t " Dang: " defeated.

284 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

15 Then the third brother he stepp'd in,

He stepp'd in to the chin;
But out again he quick did wade,
For fear of drowning him.

16 The youngest brother he stepp'd in,

Took his sister by the hand;
He knew her by the honey drops,
And brought her corpse to land.

17 Then he has ta'en the comely corpse,

And laid it on the ground;
Saying " Wha has kill'd our ae sister?
And how can he be found?

18 " The night it is her low lykewake,

The morn her burial day;
And we maun watch at mirk midnight,
And hear what she will say."

19 With doors ajar, and candles light,

And torches burning clear,
The streekit corpse, till still midnight,
They waked, but naething hear.

20 About the middle of the night

The cocks began to craw;
And at the dead hour of the night,
The corpse began to thraw.

21 " Oh, wha has done thee wrang, sister,

Or dared the deadly sin?
Wha was sae stout, and fear'd nae dout,
As throw ye o'er the linn?"

22 " Young Benjie was the first ae man

I laid my love upon;
He was sae stout and proud-hearted,
He threw me o'er the linn."

23 " Shall we young Benjie head, sister?

Shall we young Benjie hang?
Or shall we pike out his twa gray een,
And punish him ere he gang? "

24 " Ye maunna Benjie head, brothers,

Ye maunna Benjie hang;
But ye maun pike out his twa gray een,
And punish him ere he gang.

FINE FLOWERS IN THE VALLEY. 285

25 " Tie a green gravat * round his neck,

And lead him out and in,
And the best ae servant about your house
To wait young Benjie on.

26 " And aye'at every seven years' end,

Ye'll take him to the linn;
For that 's the penance he maun dree,
To scugf his deadly sin."

FINE FLOWEKS IN THE VALLEY.

This favourite Scotish ballad first appeared in Herd's collection,
vol. i., p. 88. A more complete version subsequently appeared, in
Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. i., p. 66, under the title of "The
Cruel Brother; or, The Bride's Testament," and was there printed
verbatim, as taken down from the recitation of Mrs. Arrott. Professor
Aytoun, in his Ballads of Scotland, 2d edition, vol. i., p. 232, prints,
professedly " from recitation," what in reality is simply a collated
version of the two above-named.

As the difference between the two versions occurs chiefly in the
opening stanzas, those from Herd, with their peculiar refrain, are
first given up to the point at which the versions become identical
for four stanzas, which, with the remaining portion of the ballad, are
next given under the title, and following the text, of Jamieson's
version ; in its earlier portion more consistent, and in its latter por-
tion more ample and polished, than Herd's.

The verses from this last which follow occur verbatim., and in the
same order in Professor Aytoun's copy. Both start with "three
ladies " and "three lords," but one of the "ladies" and two of the
" lords " drop suddenly and unaccountably out of the story.

The two following stanzas, which have a different refrain from the
others, appear at the end of Herd's version :

" She louted down to gi'e a kiss

With a hey, and a lily gay;
He stuck his penknife in her haes
And the rose it smells so sweetly.

'"Bide up, ride up,' cried the foremost man

With a hey, and a lily gay;
'I think our bride looks pale and wan'
And the rose it smells so sweetly."

The concluding, or testamentary portion of the ballad, as given in
"The Cruel Brother," &c., occurs, in slightly varied forms, in the two
succeeding ballads, "The Twa Brothers," "Edward, Edward," and
in another still further on, "Lord Donald." Analogous conclusions
may also be found in Scandinavian and German ballads.

* "Gravat" or cravat: a worsted neck scarf,
t "Scug:" cover or expiate.

286 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

1 THERE were three ladies in a hall

Fine flowers in the valley;
There came three lords among them all
The red, green, and the yellow.

2 The first of them was clad in red

" Oh, ladye fair, will ye be my bride ? "

3 The second of them was clad in green
" Oh, ladye fair, will ye be my queen ? "

4 The third of them was clad in yellow
"Oh, ladye fair, will ye be my marrow?"

5 " Oh, ye maun ask my father dear,
Likewise the mother that did me bear ;

6 " And ye maun ask my sister Ann,
And not forget my brother John."

7 " Oh, I have ask'd thy father dear,
Likewise the mother that did thee bear;

8 " And I have ask'd thy sister Ann,
But I forgot thy brother John."

THE CRUEL BBOTHEE.

1 THERE were three ladies in a hall

With a heigh-ho! and a lily gay;
There came a lord among them all
As the primrose spreads so sweetly.

2 The eldest was baith tall and fair ;
But the youngest was beyond compare.

3 The midmost had a graceful mien ;

But the youngest look'd like beauty's queen.

4 The knight bow'd low to all the three;
But to the youngest he bent his knee.

5 The ladye turn'd her head aside ;

The knight he woo'd her to be his bride.

6 The ladye blush'd a rosy red,

And said " Sir Knight, I'm too young to wed."

THE CRUEL BROTHER. 287

7 " Oh, ladye fair, give me your hand,
And I'll make you ladye of all my land."

8 " Sir Knight, ere you my favour win,
Ye maun get consent frae all my kin."

9 He has got consent frae her parents dear,
And likewise frae her sisters fair ;

10 He has got consent frae her kin each one,
But forgot to speir at her brother John.

11 Now, when the wedding-day was come,

The knight wou'd take his bonnie bride home.

12 And many a lord and many a knight
Came to behold that ladye bright.

13 And there was nae man that did her see,
But wish'd himself bridegroom to be.

14 Her father dear led her down the stair,
And her sisters twain they kiss'd her there.

15 Her mother dear led her through the close,
And her brother John set her on the horse.

16 She lean'd her o'er the saddle-bow,
To give him a kiss ere she did go.

17 He has ta'en a knife, baith lang and sharp,
And stabb'd the bonnie bride to the heart.

18 She hadna ridden half through the town,
Until her heart's blood stain'd her gown.

19 " Ride saftly on," said the best young man,

" For I think our bonnie bride looks pale and wan."

20 " Oh, lead me over into yon stile,
That I may stop and breathe awhile.

21 " Oh, lead me gently up yon hill,

And I'll there sit down and make my will."

22 " Oh, what will you leave to your father dear?"
"The silver-shod steed that brought me here."

* :

3 "What will you leave to your mother dear?"
" My velvet pall and silken gear."

288 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

24 " And what will you leave to your sister Ann ?"
" My silken scarf and my golden fan."

25 " What will you leave to your sister Grace ? "
" My bloody clothes to wash and dress."

26 " What will you leave to your brother John?"
" The gallows-tree, to hang him on."

27 " What will ye leave to your brother John's wife?"
" The wilderness, to end her life."

28 This fair ladye in her grave was laid,
And a mass was o'er her said.

29 But it wou'd have made your heart right sair

With a heigh-ho ! and a lily gay,
To see the bridegroom rive his hair
As the primrose spreads so sweetly.

THE TWA BROTHERS.

Three Scotish versions of this ballad have appeared, as under :
I. In Jamieson's Popular Ballads and Songs, voL i., p. 59, where
it "is given genuine, as it was taken down from the recitation
of Mrs. Arrot. A very few lines [were] inserted by the editor
to fill up chasms, [and] inclosed in brackets." (See the stanza
noted in connection with stanza 3 of the present text, and
discussed under.)

II. In A Ballad Book, edited by C. K. Sharpe, Esq. (p. 56).
" As to Kirkland, " says Mr. Sharpe, " my copy has only
kirk-yard, till the last verse, where land has been added
from conjecture. Kirkland, or Inchmurry, is in Perthshire."

III. In Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 60.

C. K. Sharpe, Esq., felt "convinced" that "the origin of the
ballad " was derived from the following tragedy in real life, as quoted
by Mr. Motherwell, who appears, from the terms in which he intro-
duces the quotation, to coincide with C. K. Sharpe, Esq., in his
opinion. He says : "The domestic tragedy which this affecting ballad
commemorates is not without a precedent in real history ; nay, we
are almost inclined to believe that it originated in the following
melancholy event :

" 'This year, 1589, in the moneth of July, ther falls out a sad accident,
as a further warneing that God was displeased with the familie. The
Lord Sommervill haveing come from Cowthally, earlie in the morning,
in regaird the weather was hott, he had ridden hard to be at the

THE TWA BROTHERS. 289

Drum be ten a clock, which haveing done, he laid him down to rest.
The servant, with his two sones, William, Master of Sommervill, and
John his brother, went with the horses to ane Shott of land, called
the Prety Shott, directly opposite the front of the house where there
was some meadow ground for grassing the horses, and willowes to
shaddow themselves from the heat. They had not long continued in
this place, when the Master of Somervill, efter some litle rest awakeing
from his sleep, and finding his pistolles that lay hard by him wett
with the dew, he began to rub and dry them, when unhappily one of
them went off the ratch, being lying upon his knee, and the muzel
turned syde-ways, the ball strocke his brother John directly in the
head, and killed him outright, soe that his sorrowful brother never
had one word from him, albeit he begged it with many teares.'
Memorie of the Somervittes, vol. i., p. 467."

Mr. Motherwell next refers to Mr. Jamieson's "edition of this
ballad," as, "in point of merit, perhaps superior to" his own. "The
third stanza of that edition," continues he, "was, however, imperfect ;
and the ingenious editor, Mr. Jamieson, has supplied four lines to
render it complete. Excellent though his interpolations generally
are, it will be seen that, in this instance, he has quite misconceived
the scope and tendency of the piece on which he was working, and in
consequence has supplied a reading with which the scope of his own
copy is at complete variance, and which at same time sweeps away
the deep impression this simple ballad would otherwise have made
upon the feelings ; for it is unnecessary to mention that its touching
interest is made to centre in the boundless sorrow and cureless re-
morse of him who had been the unintentional cause of his brother's
death, and in the solicitude which that high-minded and generous
spirit expresses, even in the last agonies of nature, for the safety and
fortunes of the truly wretched and unhappy survivor."

Mr. Motherwell's reasoning is very plausible, but not very con-
vincing, as we can see no special analogy between even his own
version of the ballad and the tragic event which he and C. K.
Sharpe, Esq., suppose it to have originated from. If precedents are
allowed to count for anything in such a case, Mr. Jamieson might,
with better show of reason than Mr. Motherwell can boast of, appeal
to one much better known, and of much earlier occurrence than the
Somerville tragedy we allude to the murder of " Abel by his
brother Cain.

It is not, however, necessary to travel into the sacred record in
search of a foundation for the story, as it finds a more immediate,
appropriate, and exact counterpart in the Swedish ballad, " Sven i
Bosengard," SvensTca F. V., No. 67; Arwidsson, No. 87, A. B. a
translation of which may be found in Literature and Romance of
Northern Europe, vol. i., p. 263. In Schroter's Finnische Hunen
(Finnisch and Deutsch), there is also given "a traditionary ballad
known in Finland, entitled, ' Weriner Pojka,' " " Der Blutige Sohn,"
or "The Bloody Son," of which an all but literal translation may be
found in Professor Child's English and Scottish Ballads, vol. ii., p. 350.

There are also two other similar Scotish ballads, "Edward!
Edward!" which follows next in order, but in which the crime is

290 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

parricide ; and " Son Davie! Son Davie! " which is given by Mother-
well, "from the recitation of an old woman" (Minstrelsy, p. 339).
This last closely resembles "Edward! Edward!" but the crime, as
in all the other ballads named, is fratricide. Very curiously, too,
the first of three stanzas, as quoted from it under, vindicates Mr.
Jamieson's rendering of stanza 3, in opposition to Motherwell's, as
given in the text of the collated ballad here printed, and makes havoc
of his theory. They are

" What about did the plea begin?

Son Davie ! son Davie ! "
" It began about the cutting o' a willow wand,

That would never ha'e been a tree, O."

" What death dost thou desire to die?

Son Davie! son Da vie!
What death dost thou desire to die ?

And the truth come tell to me, O."

" I'll set my foot in a bottomless ship,

Mother ladye ! mother ladye !
I'll set my foot in a bottomless ship,

And ye'll never see mair o' me, O."

1 THERE were twa brothers at the skuil ;

And when they got awa,
" It 's will ye play at the stane-chucking?*

Or will ye play at the ba' ?
Or will ye gae up to yon hill head,

And there we'll warsle f a fa'?"

2 "I winna play at the stane-chucking,

Nor will I play at the ba' ;
But I'll gae up to yon bonnie green hill,
And there we'll warsle a fa'."

3 They warsled up, they warsled down,

Till John fell to the ground :

A dirk fell out of William's pouch,

Gave John a deadly wound. J

4 " Oh, lift me, lift me on your back,

Take me to yon well so fair,
And wash the bluid frae aff my wound,
And it will bleed nae mair!"

* " Stane-chucking : " stone-putting,
t " Warsle: " wrestle.

t " They warsled up, they warsled down,

The lee-lang simmer's day;
[And nane was near to part the strife

That raise atween them twae,
Till out and Willie 's drawn his sword,
And did his brother slay.] " Jamieson.

THE TWA BROTHERS. 291

5 He 's lifted him upon his back,

Ta'en him to yon well fair,
And wash'd the bluid frae aff his wound,
But aye it bled the mair.

6 " Oh, ye'll take aff my holyn sark,

And rive it gair by gair,
And stap it in my bluidy wound,
That it may bleed nae mair!"

7 Ob, he 's ta'en aff his holyn sark,

And rived it gair by gair ;
He 's stapt it in the bluidy wound,
But it bled mair and mair.

8 " Oh, lift me, lift me on your back,

Take me to Kirkland fair,
And dig a grave baith wide and deep,
And lay my body there.

9 " Ye'll lay my arrows at my head,

My bent bow at my feet ;
My sword and buckler at my side,
As I was wont to sleep.

10 " But what will ye say to your father dear,

When ye gae hame at e'en?"
" I'll say ye're lying at yon kirk style,
Where the grass grows fair and green."

11 " Oh no, oh no, my brother dear,

Oh, you must not say so;
But say that I'm gane to a foreign land,
Where nae man does me know.

12 " Or when ye gang hame to my father dear,

And he says 'Willie, where 's John?'
Then say that, to buy him a cask of wine,
To England I have gone."

13 " And what will I say to my mother dear,

When she says 'Willie, where 's John?'"
" Oh, say that, to buy her a new silk gown,
To England I have gone."

14 " And what will I say to my sister dear,

When she says ' Willie, where 's John ? ' "
" Oh, say that, to bring her a lover true,
To England I have gone."

292 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

15 " And what will I say to your true love,

When she speirs for her love John ?"
" Oh, say that, to buy her a wedding ring,
To England I have gone."*

16 [Oh, Willie he has hied him hame,

A waeful, waeful man ;]
And when he sat in his father's chair,
He grew baith pale and wan.

17 " Oh, what bluid 's that upon your brow?

Oh, dear son, tell to me."
" It is the bluid of my gude gray steed;
He wou'dna ride with me."

18 " Oh, thy steed's bluid was ne'er sae red,

Nor e'er sae dear to me:
Oh, what bluid 's this upon your cheek?

My dear son, tell to me."
" It is the bluid of my greyhound;

He wou'dna hunt for me."

19 " Oh, thy hound's bluid was ne'er sae red,

Nor e'er sae dear to me :
Oh, what bluid 's this upon your hand?

My dear son, tell to me."
" It is the bluid of my gay gos-hawk;

He wou'dna flee for me."

20 " Oh, thy hawk's bluid was ne'er sae red,

Nor e'er sae dear to me :
Oh, what bluid 's this upon your dirk?

Dear Willie, tell to me."
" It is the bluid of my ae brother;

Oh, dule and wae is me."

21 " Oh, what will you say to your father?

Dear Willie, tell to me."
" I'll saddle my steed, and awa I'll ride,
To dwell in some far countrie."

* " 'But what will I say to her yon lo'e dear,

Grin she cry Why tarries my John ?
'Oh, tell her I lie in" Kirk-land fair,
And home again will never come.' " C. K. Sharpe's version.

" When ye gae hame to my true love,

She'll speir for her lord John;
Ye'll say, ye left him in Kirk-land fair,
But hame ye fear he'll never come." Jamieson's version.

EDWARD! EDWARD! 293

22 " Oh, when will ye come hame again?

Dear Willie, tell to me."
" When sun and mune leap on yon hill ;
And that will never be."

23 She turn'd hersel' right round about,

And her heart burst into three:
" My ae best son is dead and gane,
And my other I'll nae mair see!"

EDWAED! EDWAED!

This "terrible ballad," or, as Percy less appropriately terms it,
" this curious song, was transmitted" to him " by Sir D. Dalrymple,
Bart., late Lord Hailes." Mr. Motherwell regards it as " rather a
detached portion of a ballad," and thinks " there is reason to believe
that his lordship made a few slight verbal improvements on the copy
he transmitted, and altered the hero's name to Edward; a name
which, by the by, never occurs in a Scottish ballad, except where
allusion is made to an English king." Minstrelsy, Introduction, p.
Ixvii.

The absurdly and affectedly antique orthography of the Rdiques
is here discarded in favour of that now usually adopted, but which
was not first introduced by Jlerd, as the following notice in Professor
Aytoun's Ballads of Scotland, vol. ii, p. 19 (first edition), leads
its readers to suppose. His words are : "I adhere to the version
first printed (i. e., Percy's 'Edward! Edward!' in preference to
Motherwell's ballad of 'Son Davie'), more especially because it
was afterwards adopted by Herd in his collection, with a reasonable
change of orthography ; " the fact being, that Herd printed verbatim
et literatim from Percy.

Nor is the other reason which the Professor gives for his choice of
version less curious or irrelevant, as honest David Herd had no choice
but to give the only version which then existed in print, unless he
had picked up a different copy from recitation ; which he does not
appear to have done. Stanzas 11 and 12 are here adapted from Mother-
well's ballad of "Son Davie, "in place of the stanzas noted under p. 295.

1 " WHY does your brand sae drap with bluid?

Edward! Edward!

Why does your brand sae drap with bluid,
And why sae sad gang ye, 0?"

" Oh, I ha'e kill'd my hawk sae gude,

Mither! Blither!

Oh, I ha'e kill'd my hawk sae gude,
And I ha'e nae mair but he, 0."

* " When the sun and moon dance on the green." Jamieson.

294 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 " Your hawk's bluid was never so red,

Edward! Edward!

Your hawk's bluid was never so red,
My dear son, I tell thee, 0."

" Oh, I ha'e kill'd my red-roan steed,

Mither! mither !

Oh, I ha'e kill'd my red-roan steed,
That erst was fair and free, 0."

3 "Your steed was auld, and ye ha'e got mair,

Edward! Edward!

Your steed was auld, and ye ha'e got mair;
Some other dule ye dree, 0."

" Oh, I ha'e kill'd my father dear,

Mither! mither!
Oh, I ha'e kill'd my father dear,
Alas! and wae is me, 0."

4 " And whatten penance will ye dree for that?

Edward! Edward!

And whatten penance will ye dree for that?
My dear son, now tell me, 0."

" I'll set my feet in yonder boat,

Mither! mither!
I'll set my feet in yonder boat,
And I'll fare over the sea, 0."

5 "And what will ye do with your tow'rs and your ha'?

Edward! Edward!

And what will ye do with your tow'rs and your ha',
That were sae fair to see. ? "

" I'll let them stand till they down fa',

Mither ! mither !

I'll let them stand till they down fa' ;
For here never mair maun I be, 0."

G " And what will ye leave to your poor wife ?

Edward! Edward!

And what will ye leave to your poor wife,
When ye gang over the sea, ? "

" Grief and sorrow all her life,

Mither ! mither I

BINNORIE. 295

Grief and sorrow all her life ;

For her never mair will I see, 0."*

7 " And what will ye leave to your young son ?

Edward! Edward!

And what will ye leave to your young son,
When ye gang over the sea, ? "

" The wide warld, to wander up and down,
Mither! mitherl

The wide warld, to wander up and down;
He will never get mair frae me, 0."

8 " And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear ?

Edward! Edward!

And what will ye leave to your ain mither dear,
My dear son, now tell to me, ? "

" The curse of hell frae me shall ye bear,

Mither ! mither !

The curse of hell frae me shall ye bear
Sic counsels ye gave to me, ! "

BINNORIE.

The following are the different versions of this highly popular
ballad, named in the order of their appearance :

I. " The Miller and the King's Daughter," in Wit Restored
(1658). Mr. Jamieson and Sir Walter Scott both designate
this as a parody. Professor Child, however, contends
that it is not, although he admits that "two or three
stanzas are ludicrous." "Mr. Bimbault has printed
the same piece from a broadside, dated 1656, in Notes
and Queries, v., 591."

II. "Binnorie," in Pinkerton's Scottish Tragic Ballads, p. 72.
Contains a few scraps of the original; but is, for the
most part, Pinkerton's own manufacture.

* Variation." ' And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife?

Edward! Edward!

And what will ye leave to your bairns and your wife,
When ye gang over the sea, O ? '

" ' The warld's room let them beg through life,

Mither! mither!

The warld's room let them beg through life;
For them never mair will I see, 0.' "Original version.

296 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

III. "The Cruel Sister," in Sir Walter Scott's Minstrelsy, vol.
hi., p. 287. "It is compiled from a copy in Mrs.
Brown's MSS., intermixed with a beautiful fragment
of fourteen verses, transmitted to the editor," Sir
Walter Scott, "by J. C. Walker, Esq., the ingenious
historian of the Irish bards. Mr. Walker, at the same
time, favoured the editor" of the Border Minstrelsy
"with the following note: 'I am indebted to my de-
parted friend, Miss Brook, for the foregoing pathetic
fragment. Her account of it was as follows : This
song was transcribed, several years ago, from the
memory of an old woman, who had no recollection of
the concluding verses; probably the beginning may
also be lost, as it seems to commence abruptly.' The
first verse and burden of the fragment ran thus :

'Oh. sister, sister, reach thy hand!

Hey ho, my Nanny, O,
And you shall be heir of all my land,

While the swan swims bonnie, O.'

The first part of this chorus seems to be corrupted
from the common burden of 'Hey Nunny, Nanny,'
alluded to in the song beginning, 'Sigh no more,
Ladyes.' The chorus retained in this edition is the
most common and popular ; but Mrs. Brown's copy
bears a yet different burden, beginning thus :

' There were twa sisters sat in a bow'r

Edinborough, Edinborough;
There were twa sisters sat in a bow'r

Stirling for aye;

There were twa sisters sat in a bow'r,
There cam' a knight to be their wooer

Bonnie St. Johnston stands upon Tay.' "

IV. "The Twa Sisters," in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol.
i., p. 48, given verbatim from, the recitation of Mrs.
Brown. The refrain, however, was changed from that
noted above to the one generally used, and several
interpolated stanzas of Mr. Jamieson's own were intro-
duced, but "included within brackets."

Mr. Jamieson's " copy, in the exact state in which it
appears " in his work, "was shown by the editor to
Mr. (afterwards Sir Walter) Scott, some years before
the publication of the Minstrelsy, and before he (Scott)
had any thoughts of adopting it."

V. " The Twa Sisters," in Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 30. The
refrain is similar to that of Mrs. Brown's version, as may
be seen from the first stanza, which reads

" There lived twa sisters hi a bow'r

Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch;
There liyed twa sisters in a bow'r

Stirling for aye:

The youngest o' them, oh, she was a flower!
Bonnie Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay."

BINNORIE. 297

VI. "The Bonnie Bows o' London" (Loudon?) in Buchan'a
Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 128. The refrain is

" Hey wi' the gay and the grinding,
At the bonnie, bonnie bows o' London."

" The old woman from whose recitation" Mr. Buchan
"took it down, says, she had heard another way of it,
quite local, whose burden runs thus, ' Even into Buchan-
shire, vari, vari, 0! ' " (Note, p. 321.)

The text which follows is collated from Scott's and from Jamieson's
versions; but the latter, being on the whole the best, is the one
generally adopted.

" The same story is found in Icelandic, Norse, Faroish, and Estnish
ballads, as well as in the Swedish and Danish, and a nearly related
one in many other ballads or tales German, Polish, Lithuanian, &c.
&c. See Svenska Folk-visor, iii., 16; i., 81, 86; Arwidsson, ii., 139;
and ' Den Talende Strengeleg, ' Grundtvig ; No. 95 ; and the notes to
'Der Singende Knochen,' K. U. H. Marchen, iii., 55, ed. 1856."
Professor Child's English and Scottish Ballads, vol. ii., p. 231.

N. B. " It may be necessary euphonies gratia to caution the English
[or American] reader, that the burden is pronounced Binnorie, and not
Binn6rie, as it is accented in a beautiful little modern ballad bearing
that name, which appeared in the Morning Chronicle some time ago."
Jamieson (1806).

1 THERE were twa sisters lived in a bower

Binnorie, Binnorie!
There came a knicht to be their wooer,
By the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie.

2 He courted the eldest with glove and ring;
But he loved the youngest aboon a' thing.

3 He courted the eldest with brooch and knife ;
But he loved the youngest as his life.

4 The eldest she was vexed sair,
And sair envied her sister fair.

5 Intil her bow'r she cou'dna rest;
With grief and spite she maistly brast.

6 Upon a mornin' fair and clear,
She cried upon her sister dear :

7 " Oh, sister ! come to the sea-strand,
And see our father's ships come to land."

8 She 's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,
And led her down to yon sea- strand.

298 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 The youngest stood upon a stane,
The eldest came and pushed her in.

10 She took her by the middle sma',

And dash'd her bonnie back to the jaw.

11 "0 sister, sister, reach your hand,
And ye shall be heir of half my land."

12 " sister, I'll not reach my hand,
And I'll be heir of all your land."

13 " Shame fa' the hand that I shou'd take,
It's twin'd me, and my world's maik."

14 " sister, reach me but your glove,
And sweet William shall be your love."

15 " Sink on, nor hope for hand or glove,
And sweet William shall better be my love.

16 " Your cherry cheeks, and your yellow hair,
Gar'd me gang maiden evermair."

17 Sometimes she sunk, sometimes she swam,
Until she came to the miller's dam.

18 Oh, out it came the miller's son,
And saw the fair maid floating down.

19 "0 father, father, draw your dam

Binnorie, Binnorie!
There 's a mermaid or a milk-white swan
In the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie."

20 [The miller quickly drew the dam,
And there he found a drown'd woman.*

21 " Sair will they be, whae'er they be,
Their hearts that live to weep for thee.]

22 " And sair and lang may their teenf last,
That wrought thee sic a dowie cast."

* Stated by Jamieson in his Introduction to be, and bracketed by him in the
text as, one of his interpolations. It occurs, however, in Scott's copy without note
or comment, the only difference being the substitution, in the first line, of " hasted
and " in place of " quickly."

t "Teen:" remorse or suffering.

BINNORIE. 299

23 You cou'dna see her yellow hair,

For gowd and pearl that were so rare.

24 You cou'dna see her middle sma',
For her gowden girdle sae braw.

25 You- cou'dna see her fingers white,
For gowden rings that were sae bright.

26 By there came a harper fine,
That harped to the king at dine.*

27 And when he look'd that ladye on,
He sighed, and made a heavy moan.

28 [" Oh, wha shall tell, to thy father dear,
The sad and waefu' sight that's here?

29 " And wha in thy mother's bow'r shall tell
The weird her dearest bairn befell?

30 " And wha to thy luckless lover speak
The tidings will gar his heart to break? "]

81 He made a harp of her breast-bone,
Whose sounds would melt a heart of stone.

82 He 's ta'en three locks of her yellow hair,
And with them strung his harp sae fair.t

33 He brought the harp to her father's hall ;
And there was the court assembled all.

34 He laid the harp upon a stane,
And straight it began to play alane.

35 " Oh, yonder sits my father, the king,
And yonder sits my mother, the queen.

36 " And yonder stands my brother Hugh,
And by him my William, sweet and true."

* Variation. " A famous harper passing by.

The sweet pale face he chanced to spy." Scott's version.

t Variation. " The strings he fonn'd of her yellow hair,

Their notes made sad the listening ear." Scott's version.
Stanzas 31 and 33 to 37, inclusive, are from the same.

300 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

37 But the last tune that the harp played then,
Was "Woe to my sister, false Helen!"*

THE CRUEL MOTHER.

Various versions of this ballad, more or less varied, have appeared,
as under :

L "A few mutilated stanzas," in Herd's Scottish Songs, voL
ii., p. 237, with the refrain of

"Oh, and alas-a-day! oh, and alas-a-day!
Ten thousand times good night and [joy] be wi' thee."

II. "Fine Flowers in the Valley," Johnson's Musical Museum,
vol. iv., p. 331, as communicated by the poet Burns. The
title is taken from the first line of the refrain, the other
line being

"And the green leaves they grow rarely."

The lines quoted below by Scott, from memory, are almost
identical with stanzas 1, 2, 5, 6, and 7 of this version.

III. "Ladye Anne," in Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 18, and
"communicated" to him "by Mr. Charles Kirkpatrick
Sharpe of Hoddom, who mentions having copied it from
an old magazine. Although it has probably received some
modern corrections, the general turn seems to be ancient,

* Mr. Jamieson's copy concludes as follows, the bracketed stanzas being his own
acknowledged interpolations. They follow stanza S3 of text :

" [The harp untonch'd to the windes rang,

Binnorie, O Binnorie!
And sad and doleful was the sang,
By the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie.]

" The first tune it did play and sing.
Was 'Farewell to my father the king;'

" The nexten tune that it played bedene,
Was ' Farewell to my mother the queen;'

" The thirden tune that it played then,
Was ' Wae to my sister, fair Ellen!'

" PBut the lasten tune it played sae small,
Was saft and tadly sweet o'er alL

" The hardest heart would ha'e bled to hear,
It moaned with sic a dowie cheer.

" And fareweel. oh, fareweel to thee,

Binnorie, O Binnorie !
The dearest youth in life to me.
By the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie."]

THE CRUEL MOTHER. 301

and corresponds," says Scott, "with that of a fragment,
containing the following verses, which I have often heard
sung in my childhood :

"She set her back against a thorn,
And there she has her young son born.
'Oh, smile na sae, my bonnie babe!
An ye smile sae sweet, ye'll smile me dead.'

An' when that ladye went to the church,
She spied a naked boy in the porch.

" ' Oh, bonnie boy, an ye were mine,
I'd clead ye in the silks sae fine.'
'Oh, mother dear, when I was thine,
To me ye were na half sae kind.' "

"Ladye Anne" was reprinted by Buchan, with the addition
of one stanza, in his Gleanings of Old Ballads, p. 90.

IV. "The Cruel Mother," in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 161.
The second and fourth Hues, composing the refrain, are
respectively

"Three, three, and three by three; "
and,

"Three, three, and thirty-three."

V. "The Cruel Mother," in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads,
p. 44. The opening line describes " London " as the place
of the lady's residence. Mr. Kinloch mentions that "the
Scottish Parliament, in 1690, had recourse to a severe law,
which declared that a mother concealing her pregnancy,
and not calling in assistance at the birth, should be pre-
sumed guilty of murder, if the child were " amissing or found
dead. Sir Walter Scott's Heart of Midlothian is chiefly
founded on a breach of this law. The refrain of Mr. Kin-
loch's version is the one here adopted.

VL " The Minister's Daughter of New York, " in Buchan's
Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 217; or, "The Minister's
Dochter o' Newarke," as the title is given in an improved
copy of the same, which appears in Scottish Traditional
Versions of Ancient Ballads, Percy Society, voL xvii.,
p. 51. The refrain is

" Hey wi' the rose and the lindie, O ; "
and,

"Alane by the green burn sidie, O."

VII. " The Cruel Mother, " which also appears in Buchan's
Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 222, and in the Percy Society
series, vol. xvii. , p. 46. It closes with this stanza

"She threw hersell ower the castle-wa' Edinbro\ Edinbro';
She threw hersell ower the castle-wa' Stirling for aye;
She threw hersell ower the castle-wa';
There I wat she got a fa'
So proper Saint Johnston stands fair upon Tay."

VIII. Smith's Scottish Minstrel, vol. iv., p. 33, contains a still
different version under the same title, and with the same
refrain as that contained in Johnson's Musical Museum.

302 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Five German and three Wendish ballads of a similar nature are
referred to by Professor Child, in English and Scottish Ballads, vol.
ii., p. 262.

The annotator of "The Minister's Dochter o' Newarke" (Percy
Society series, vol. xvii., p. 96) explains that "by 'minister' is meant
a minstrel, as in Chaucer :

-A gret host of ministers,

With instruments and sounes diverse.'

Chaucer's Dreame, I, 2132."

And "by 'clerk,' " he infers that it is not "a person in holy orders,
but a student or young man learning al maner of mynstralcie," that
meant.

The same writer regards "the village of Newark, on Yarrow," as
"the locality" indicated. Mr. Furnivall may, however, feel inclined
to claim the heroine and ballad as English, and localize both at
Newark, in Nottinghamshire a noted stage on the road from York
to London. Or some zealous American may contend that Mr.
Buchan's title is perfectly correct. For our own part, with the
impartiality and fairness so specially characteristic of Scotsmen, we
forbear to dogmatize.

The writer already quoted remarks, that "the burden of this ballad
[version VI.] is very ancient, and, when coupled with the purgatorial
nature of the punishment of the heroine, affords a strong presumption
of the antiquity of the whole composition. "

Pythagorian, in place of purgatorial, is probably the more correct
term.

This feature is peculiar to version VI., which is the one chiefly
followed in the text here printed.

1 THE minister's dochter of Newarke,

All alone, and alonie,
Has fallen in love with her father's clerk,
Down by the greenwood sae bonnie.

2 She courted him sax years and a day ;
At length her false love did her betray.

3 She has ta'en her mantle her about,
And sat her down on an auld tree root.

4 She leant her back unto an aik :
First it bow'd, and syne it brake.

5 She leant her back unto a thorn,

And there she has her twa babes born.

6 " Oh, smile na sae, my babes sae sweet,
Smile na sae, for it gars me greet."

THE CRUEL MOTHER. 303

7 She 'a ta'en the ribbons frae her hair,
And bound their bodies fast and sair.

8 Then she 's ta'en out a little penknife,
And twined each sweet babe of its life.

9 She 's Iwukit a grave baith deep and wide,
And put them in baith side by side.

10 She 's cover'd them o'er with a big whin stane,
Thinking to gang like maiden hame.

1 1 She 's gane back to her father's castle hall,
And she seem'd the lealest maid of them all.

12 As she look'd o'er her father's castle wall,
She saw twa pretty babes playing at the ball.

13 " Oh, bonnie babes, if ye were mine,

I wou'd feed and dead ye fair and fine.

14 " I would feed you with the ferra cow's * milk,
And clead you in the finest silk ! "

15 " It 's oh, cruel mother ! when we were thine,
Ye did neither feed nor clead us fine ;

16 "But oh, cruel mother! when we were thine,
Ye tied us with ribbons and hempen twine;

17 " And then ta'en out your wee penknife,
And twined us each of our sweet life."

18 " Oh, bonnie babes! can ye tell me

What sort of penance for this I maun dree?"

19 " Yes, cruel mother ! we will tell thee
The penance ye for this maun dree :

20 " Seven years a fool in the woods,
Seven years a fish in the floods ;

21 " Seven years to be a church bell,
Pealing joy to us, but woe to yoursel';

22 " Seven years a porter to hell,

And then evermair in its torments to dwell.

* " Ferra cow : " a cow not with calf, but which continues to yield milk.

304 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

23 " But we shall dwell in the heavens hie,
While you your penance and torments dree."

24 " Welcome! welcome ! fool in the woods,
Welcome! welcome! fish in the floods;

25 "Welcome! welcome! to be a church bell,
But Gude preserve me out of hell! "

LADYE ANNE.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 18, with the addition of the
penultimate stanza from Buchan's Gleanings, p. 91. See preceding
introduction, (III.) According to this version, the act of murder was
not really committed by the "cruel mother," but by a "fause
nurse," or baby farmer of the olden time.

1 FAIR Ladye Anne sat in her bow'r,

Down by the greenwood side ;

And the flow'rs did spring, and the birds did sing
'Twas the pleasant May-day tide.

2 But fair Ladye Anne on Sir William call'd,

With the tear grit in her e'e :
" Oh, tho' thou be fause, may heaven thee guard
In the wars ayont the sea!"

3 Out of the wood came three bonnie boys,

Upon the summer's rnorn,
And they did sing and play at the ba',
As naked as they were born.

4 " Oh, seven lang years wou'd I sit here,

Amang the frost and snaw,
All to ha'e ane of these bonnie boys
A-playing at the ba'. "

5 Then up and spake the eldest boy

" Now listen, thou fair ladye,
And ponder well the rede that I tell,
Then make ye a choice of the three.

6 " 'Tis I am Peter, and this is Paul,

And that ane, sae fair to see,
But a twelve-month sin syne to paradise came,
To join with our companie. "

LORD RANDAL. 305

7 " Oh, I will ha'e the snaw-white boy,

The bonniest of the three."
" And if I were thine and in thy propine,*
Oh, what wou'd ye do to me? "

8 " It 's I wou'd clead thee in silk and gowd,

And notfrish thee on my knee."
"0 mother! mother! when I was thine,
Sic kindness I cou'dna see.

9 "At love's gay call, in the baron's hall,

Ye quaff 'd the laughing wine,
While foodless days and sleepless nights
In a menial's hut were mine.

10 " Beneath the turf, where now I stand.

The fause nurse buried me;
The cruel penknife still sticks in my heart,
And I come not back to thee."

LOKD EANDAL.

Scotish versions, or fragments of versions, of this ballad have
appeared as under :

L In Johnson's Musical Museum, voL iv., p. 337, consisting of
two stanzas recovered by Burns.

II. In Scott's Minstrelsy, voL iii., p. 43. "There is," writes
Sir Walter, " a beautiful air to this old ballad. The hero
is more generally termed Lord Ronald; but I willingly
follow the authority of an Ettrick Forest copy for calling
him Randal, because, though the circumstances are so
very different, I think it notf impossible that the ballad
may have originally regarded the death of Thomas Ran-
dolph, or Randal, Earl of Murray, nephew to Robert
Bruce, and Governor of Scotland. This great warrior died
at Musselburgh, 1332, at the moment when his services
were most necessary to his country, already threatened by
an English army. For this sole reason, perhaps, our
historians obstinately impute his death to poison. See
The Bruce, by Barbour, book xx. Fordun repeats, and
Boece echoes, this story, both of whom charge the murder
on Edward III. But it is combated successfully by Lord
Hailes, in his Remarks on the History of Scotland.

* "Propine: " usually gift; but here the power of giving or bestowing.
X

306 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAKD.

"The substitution of some venomous reptile for food, or
putting it into liquor, was anciently supposed to be a
common mode of administering poison, as appears from
[a] curious account of the death of King John, extracted
from a MS. Chronicle of England, penes John Clerk,
Esq. , advocate. There is a very similar song, in which,
apparently to excite greater interest in the nursery, the
handsome young hunter is exchanged for a little child,
poisoned by a false step-mother. " *

III. In Allan Cunningham's Scottish Songs, vol. i. , p. 285. It is

similar to Scott's, but has one stanza more.

IV. In Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 110, under the title

of "Lord Donald," as here printed next in order.

V. In Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 179, under the title
of "Willie Doo" (Dove). Mr. Buchan says: "I have
every reason to believe that this is the beautiful nursery
song to which Sir Walter Scott alludes, now for the first
time printed." Note, p. 327.

VI. In Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 51, under the
title of "The Croodin Doo." Dr. Chambers states it to be
Mrs. Lockhart's copy, as she used to sing it to her father
at Abbotsford. But for the fact that Lockhart, in a note
to Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 48, mentions Buchan's
version as "probably" the one referred to by Scott, we
should have supposed Mr. Buchan to be mistaken in his
opinion, and Dr. Chambers's version to be the one referred
to.

With reference to this ballad, Mr. Jamieson writes: "As I have
lately heard it insinuated, upon authority that ought to have some
weight, that nothing was known of the tragical fragment beginning

'Oh, whare ha'e ye been, Lord Bonald, my son? '

till the publication of Johnson's Scots Musical Muneum, I am happy
to be able to furnish the reader along with the assurance that there
are many persons in Scotland who learnt it long before it was printed
with two curious scraps, the genuineness of which is unquestion-
able. An English gentleman, who had never paid any attention to
ballads, nor ever read a collection of such things, told me, that, when
a child, he learnt from a playmate of his own age, the daughter of a
clergyman in Suifolk, the following imperfect ditty :

" ' Where have you been to-day, Billy, my son?

Where have you been to-day, my only man? '
' I've been a-wooing, mother; make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at heart, and fain would Isy down!'

" ' What have you ate to-day, Billy, my son?

What have you ate to-day, my only man?'
' I've ate eel-pie, mother; make my bed soon,

For I'm sick at heart, and shall die before noon! '"

* This introduction of Scott's is a fair sample of the drivelling nonsense which a
man of genius may write. We have never seen, heard, nor read of any one else who
has adopted the above wire-drawn and palpably erroneous theory.

LORD RANDAL. 307

Mr. Jamieson then quotes a "German" popular ditty, inserted in the
Knaben Wunderhorn, and accompanies it with "a verbatim English
prose translation," under the title of "Grandmother Addercook,"
remarking, "that any one of these Scottish, English, and Germ an copies
of the same tale has been borrowed or translated from another, seems
very improbable ; and it would now be in vain to attempt to ascertain
what it originally was, or in what age it was produced. It has had
the great good fortune in every country to get possession of the
nursery a circumstance which, from the enthusiasm and curiosity
of young imaginations, and the communicative volubility of little
tongues, has insured its preservation. " Illustrations of Northern
Antiquities, pp. 319-322.

For Scandinavian versions, see " Den Lilas Testamente ; " Svenska
Folk- Visor, iii. , 13. Translated in Literature and Romance of Northern
Europe, i. , 265. See also Arwidsson's Fornsanger, ii. , 90.

There are other English versions besides the fragment cited by, and
quoted from, Jamieson. Hector Macneill's popular song, " My Boy
Tammie," appears also to be inspired from the same source. And
away in the sunny south, on the once gay, but lately devastated
plains of Louisiana, the following lively strain, which sounds some-
what like a burlesque of the tragic ballad, may be heard :

" ' Oh, where have you been, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Oh, where have you been, charming Billy?'
' I have been to seek a wife she 's the joy of my life
She's a young thing, and cannot leave her motherl '

" ' Did she ask you to come in, Billy boy, Billy boy ?
Did she ask you to come in, charming Billy? '
' Yes, she asked me to come in, with a dimple in her chin-
She 's a young thing, and cannot leave her motherl '

" ' Did she bid you take a chair, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Did she bid you take a chair, charming Billy?'
' Yes, she bade me take a chair, with a ringlet in her hair-
She's a young thing, and cannot leave her mother! '

" 'Is she often seen at church, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Is she often seen at church, charming Billy? '
' Yes, she 's often seen at church, with a bonnet white as birch
She 's a young thing, and cannot leave her mother! '

'Oh, is she very tall, Billy boy, Billy boy?

Oh, is she very tall, charming Billy? '

' She 's tall as a pine, and straight as a pumpkin vine

She 's a young thing, and cannot leave her mother! '

"'Can she make a cherry pie, Billy boy, Billy boy?
Can she make a cherry pie, charming Billy? '
' She can bake a cherry pie, in the twinkle of an eye
She 's a young thing, and cannot leave her mother? ' "

1 " WHERE ha'e ye been hunting, Lord Randal, my son ?
Where ha'e ye been hunting, my handsome young man? "
" In yon wild wood, mither; so make my bed soon,
For I'm wae and I'm weary, and fain wou'd lie down."

308 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 "Where got ye your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?
Where got ye your dinner, my handsome young man? "
" Oh, I dined with my true love; so make my bed soon,
For I'm wae and I'm weary, and fain wou'd lie down."

8 " Oh, what was your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?
Oh, what was your dinner, my handsome young man ? "
" Eels boiled in broo, mither; so make my bed soon,
For I'm wae and I'm weary, and fain wou'd lie down."

4 " Oh, where did she find them, Lord Randal, my son?

Oh, where did she catch them, my handsome young man? "'
" 'Neath the bush of brown brechan ; so make my bed soon,,
For I'm wae and I'm weary, and fain wou'd lie down."

5 " And where are your blood-hounds, Lord Randal, my son?
What came of your blood-hounds, my handsome young

man ? "

" They swell'd and they died, mither; and sae maun I soon:
I am wae, I am weary, and fain wou'd lie down."

6 "I fear you are poison'd, Lord Randal, my son!

I fear you are poison'd, my handsome young man ! "
" Oh, yes! I am poison'd; so make my bed soon:
I am sick, sick at heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

LORD DONALD.
From Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 109.

'I This ballad," says Mr. Kinloch, " seems to be of an ancient cast.
This copy, which was procured in the north, differs in many respects
from that of ' Lord Randal, ' and appears to be more complete in its
detail.

" It would seem (stanza 5) that Lord Donald had been poisoned by
eating toads, prepared as a dish of fishes. Though the frog is in some
countries considered a delicacy, the toad has always been viewed as a
venomous animal. The reader is referred to" Scott's Minstrelsy, voL
iii., p. 43, " for a curious extract, from a MS. Chronicle of England,
relative to the death of King John, who is said to have been poisoned
by drinking a cup of ale in which the venom of a toad had been
infused.

"Might not the Scots proverbial phrase, ' To gi'e one frogs instead
of fish,' as meaning to substitute what is bad or disagreeable for
expected good, be viewed as allied to the idea of the venomous
quality of the toad? This phrase occurs in the ballad of ' Katherine
Janfarie.' " Ante, p. 85.

LORD DONALD. 309

The diversity of national tastes, as above referred to, is very well
hit off in a rencontre between "a fine old Scotch lady, one of the
olden time," and a Frenchman. It is said that the latter expressed
by words and grimace his astonishment or disgust at the Scotch
partiality for porridge ; on which the old dame promptly and drily
remarked "Ay, ay, tastes differ: some folks like parrilch, and
ithers like puddocks;" i.e., frogs.

1 " OH, whare ha'e ye been all day, Lord Donald, my son?
Oh, whare ha'e ye been all day, my jolly young man? "
" I've been awa courtin' ; mither, make my bed soon, "
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

2 " What wou'd you ha'e for your supper, Lord Donald, my son ?
What wou'd you ha'e for your supper, my jolly young

man?"

" I've gotten my supper ; mither, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain would lie down."

3 " What did ye get for your supper, Lord Donald, my son ?
What did ye get for your supper, my jolly young man?"
" A dish of sma' fishes; mither, make my bed soon,

For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

4 " Whare gat ye the fishes, Lord Donald, my son ?
Whare gat ye the fishes, my jolly young man ?"

"In my father's black ditches; mither, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

5 "What like were your fishes, Lord Donald, my son?
What like were your fishes, my jolly young man ? "
"Black backs and speckl'd bellies; mither, make my bed

soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

6 " Oh, I fear ye are poison'd, Lord Donald, my son!
Oh, I fear ye are poison'd, my jolly young man!"

" Oh, yes ! I am poison'd ; mither, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

7 " What will you leave to your father, Lord Donald, my son ?
What will ye leave to your father, my folly young man ? "
" Baith my houses and land ; mither, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain would lie down."

7 " What will leave to yeur brither, Lord Donald, my son ?
What will you leave to your brither, my jolly young man ? "
" My horse and the saddle ; mither make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

310 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 "What will you leave to your sister, Lord Donald, my son?
What will ye leave to your sister, my jolly young man?"
" Baith my gold box and rings ; mither, make my bed soon,
For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wou'd lie down."

10 " What will you leave to your true love, Lord Donald, my

son?
What will you leave to your true love, my jolly young

man?"

" The tow and the halter, for to hang on yon tree,
And let her hang there for the poisoning of me."

THE BONNIE BANKS OF FOEDIE.

From Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 88. " This ballad is given,"
states Motherwell, "from two copies obtained from recitation, which
differ but little from each other. Indeed, the only variation is in the
verse where the outlawed brother unweetingly slays his sister. Oue
reading is

' He 'a taken out his wee penknife

Hey how bonnie ;

And he 's twin'd her o' her ain sweet life,
On the bonnie banks of Fordie.'

The other reading is that adopted in the text. This ballad is popular
in the southern parishes of Perthshire ; but where the scene is laid,
the editor has been unable to ascertain ; nor has any research of his
enabled him to throw any further light on the history of its hero
with the fantastic name, than what the ballad itself supplies. "

A different version from Kinloch's collection follows. A similar
ballad is to be found in Danish, under the title of " Herr Truel's
Doetre," Danske Viser, No. 164; and "in a note," says Professor
Child, "the editor endeavours to show that the story is based on
fact ! "

Professor Aytoun "conjectures that the name, 'Baby Lon,' is a
corruption, by the reciters, of ' Burdalane,' signifying ' the Solitary; '
a very appropriate name for an outlaw."

1 THERE were three ladies lived in a bow'r

Eh vow bonnie;

And they went out to pull a flow'r,
On the bonnie banks of Fordie.

2 They hadna pu'ed a flow'r but ane,
When up started to them a banish'd man.

3 He 's ta'en the first sister by her hand,

And he 's turn'd her round and made her stand.

THE BONNIE BANKS OF FORDIE. 311

4 " It 's whether will ye be a rank robber's wife,
Or will ye die by my wee penknife ? "

5 " It 's I'll not be a rank robber's wife,
But I'll rather die by your wee penknife."

6 He 's kill'd this May, and he 's laid her by,
For to bear the red rose company.*

7 He 's taken the second ane by the hand,

And he 's turn'd her round and made her stand.

8 " It 's whether will ye be a rank robber's wife,
Or will ye die by my wee penknife?"

9 " I'll not be a rank robber's wife,

But I'll rather die by your wee penknife."

10 He 's kill'd this May, and he 's laid her by,
For to bear the red rose company.

11 He 's taken the youngest ane by the hand,
And he 's turn'd her round and made her stand.

12 Says " Will ye be a rank robber's wife,
Or will ye die by my wee penknife?"

13 " I'll not be a rank robber's wife,
Nor will I die by your wee penknife ;

14 " For I ha'e a brother in this wood,
And gin ye kill me, it 's he'll kill thee."

15 "What's thy brother's name, come, tell to me?"
" My brother's name is Baby Lon."

10 "0 sister, sister, what have I done?
Oh, have I done this ill to thee?

17 " Oh, since I've done this evil deed,
Good shall never be seen of me."

18 He 's taken out his wee penknife

Eh vow bonnie;

And he 's twin'd himsel' of his ain sweet life,
On tJie bonnie banks of Fordie.

* There is here an evident allusion to the superstition connected with the red
rose, which was probably the flower she pulled. Vide Life and Correspondence of
W. O. Lewis: in re, murder of Miss Kay by a clergyman, Hackman. In certain dis-
ricts of Italy, &c., the red rose is an emblem of early death, and it is an evil omeu
to scatter its leaves on the ground.

312 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

DUKE OF PERTH'S THREE DAUGHTERS.

From Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 210.

This is a different version of the preceding ballad. Mr. Kinloch
says : "The present copy is from Mearnsshire. It appears to relate
to the family of Drummond of Perth ; and, although the title of 'Duke
of Perth ' was unknown prior to the Revolution, the assumption
of it here does not lessen the antiquity of the ballad, as it is a well-
known custom among the vulgar, from whom we have to glean our
' legendary lore,' frequently to alter the names of persons and places
to suit their own fancy or caprice ; and this ballad, though really
relating to the family alluded to, may have formerly borne a more
humble name, and acquired its present title on the creation of the
dukedom."

The ballad may have received the above title in consequence of
some confused and oblique allusion to the fate of " Mistress Margaret
Drummond," so fondly loved by James IV., and her two sisters,
Euphemia Lady Fleming, and Sybilla, daughters of John, first Lord
Drummond, who were poisoned in 1502. They were interred in a
vault, and covered with three marble stones, which may still be seen
in the choir of Dumblane Cathedral. An entry regarding her, in the
books of the Lord High Treasurer, records a payment to the priests
of Edinburgh for a " Saule-mess for Mergratt, 5."

1 THE Duke of Perth had three daughters

Elizabeth, Margaret, and fair Marie ;
And Elizabeth 's to the greenwood gaue,
To pull the rose and the fair lilie.

2 But she hadna pull'd a rose, a rose,

A double rose but barely three,
When up and started a London lord,
With London hose and Loudon sheen.*

3 " Will ye be call'd a robber's wife,

Or will ye be stickit with my bloody knife,
For pullin' the rose and the fair lilie,
For pullin' them sae fair and free?"

4 " Before I'll be call'd a robber's wife,

I'll rather be stickit with your bloody knife,
For pullin' the rose and the fair lilie,
For pullin' them sae fair and free ! "

5 Then out he 's ta'en his wee penknife,
And he 's parted her and her sweet life ;
And thrown her o'er a bank of brume,
Ne'er to be found till the crack of doom.f

* " Loudon sheen : " Lothian shoes. Kinloch.
t Substituted for

"There never more for to be found."

GIL MORICE. 313

A repetition of stanzas 1 to 5 inclusive constitutes stanzas 6 to 10
inclusive, merely substituting in stanza 6 " Margaret's " name in place of
"Elizabeth's," as in stanza 1, line 3 ; another repetition of stanzas 1
to 4 inclusive constitutes stanzas 11 to 14 inclusive, merely substitut-
ing in that which, if given here, would be stanza ll, the name of the
third sister, Marie or Mary, in place of the " Elizabeth " of stanza 1,
or the " Margaret " of stanza 6. The ballad then proceeds, and con-
cludes as follows :

15 But just as he took out his knife,
To take frae her her ain sweet life,
Her brother John came riding by,
And this bloody robber did espy.

16 But when he saw his sister fair,
He kenn'd her by her yellow hair ;
Then call'd upon his pages three
To find this robber speedilie.

17 " My sisters twa that are dead and gane,
For whom we made a heavy mane,

It 's you that 's twin'd them of their life,
And with your cruel bloody knife.

18 " Then for their life ye sair shall dree
Ye shall be hangit on a tree,

Or thrown into the poison'd lake,
To feed the toad and rattlesnake." *

GIL MORICE.

Versions of this highly popular ballad have appeared in the following
works :

L " Gil Morrice," in Percy's Seliques, vol. iiL
II. "Childe Maurice," from Bishop Percy's Folio MS., in
Jamieson's Popular Ballads, voL i., p. 3.

III. " Chield Morice," from the recitation of an old woman,

" seventy years of age," who learned it "in her infancy
from her grandmother."

IV. " Child Noryce," " verbatim as it was taken down (January,

1825) from the singing of widow M'Cormick of Paisley. "

* "Though the 'poisoned lake 1 seems the fiction of romance, yet history, in her
record of human cruelty, shows that the use of venomous animals to inflict a linger-
ing and painful death was not unknown in Britain. The Saxon Chronicle, in detailing
the cruelties exercised by the Normans upon the Anglo-Saxons, during the reign of
King Stephen, relates that ' they squeezed the heads of some with knotted cords,
till they pierced their brains, while they threw others into dungeons swarming with
serpents, snakes, and toads.' Henry's Britain, vol. vi., p. 346. This reminds us
[also] of the fate of Lodbrog, a Danish king, who was taken prisoner by Ella, King
of Northumberland, and thrown into a dungeon full of serpents," where he composed
an heroic death-song, in which he laments his fate, and describes his sufferings."
Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 218.

314 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND,

Both of these two last-named versions appear in Mr. Motherwell's
Minstrelsy, in which work he also reprints the other versions named,
prefixing the following Introduction. The different versions are also
connected by further explanatory matter, the whole extending from
pages 257 to 286, inclusive, of Mr. Motherwell's work:

' ' Of the many ancient ballads which have been preserved by
tradition among the peasantry of Scotland, none has excited more
interest in the world of letters than the beautiful and pathetic tale of
' Gil Morice ; ' and this no less on account of its own intrinsic merits
as a piece of exquisite poetry, than of its having furnished the plot
of the justly-celebrated tragedy of Douglas. * It has likewise supplied
Mr. Langhorne with the principal materials from which he has woven
the fabric of his sweet though prolix poem of ' Owen of Carron ;' and
Mr. Jamieson mentions that it has also been ' made the subject of a
dramatic entertainment with songs, by Mr. Rennie of Aberdeen. ' +
Perhaps the list could be easily increased of those who have drawn
their inspiration from this affecting strain of olden minstrelsy.

" If any reliance is to be placed on the traditions of that part of the
country where the scene of the ballad is laid, we shall be enforced to
believe that it is founded on facts which occurred at some remote period
of Scottish history. The ' greenwood ' of the ballad was the ancient
forest of Dundaff, in Stirlingshire, and Lord Barnard's Castle is said to
have occupied a precipitous cliff overhanging the water of Carron, on
the lands of Halbertshire. A small burn which joins the Carron,
about five miles above these lands, is named the Earlsburn, and the
hill near the source of that stream is called the Earlshill, both deriving
their appellations, according^ to the unvarying traditions of the coun-
try, from the unfortunate Earl's son who is the hero of the ballad.
He also, according to the same respectable authority, was ' beautiful
exceedingly,' aud especially remarkable for the extreme length and
loveliness of his yellow hair, which shrouded him as- it were with a
golden mist. To these floating traditions we are probably indebted
for the attempts which have been made to improve and embellish the
ballad by the introduction of various new stanzas since its first appear-
ance in a printed form.

" Of the early printed editions of this ballad the editor has been
unable to procure any copy.J In Percy's Reliques it is mentioned
that it had run through two editions in Scotland, the second of which
appeared at Glasgow in 1755, 8vo ; and that to both there was pre-
fixed an advertisement, setting forth that the preservation of the

* "When this tragedy was originally produced at Edinburgh, in 1756, the title of

, P-
t Popular Ballads and Songs. Edinburgh, 1806, vol. i., p. 5.

GIL MORICE. 315

poem was owing ' to a lady who favoured the printers with a copy,
as it was carefully collected from the mouths of old women and
nurses ;' and requesting 'that any reader who could render it more
perfect and complete would oblige the public with such improvements.'
This was holding out too tempting a bait not to be greedily snapped
at by some of those ' ingenious hands ' who have corrupted the
purity of legendary song in Scotland by manifest forgeries and gross
impositions. Accordingly, sixteen additional verses soon appeared
in manuscript, which the editor of the EeMques has inserted in their
proper places, though he rightly views them in no better light than
that of an ingenious interpolation. Indeed, the whole ballad of ' Gil
Morice,' as the writer of the present notice has been politely informed
by the learned and elegant editor of The Border Minstrelsy, under-
went a total revisal about the period when the tragedy of ' Douglas '
was in the zenith of its popularity; and this improved copy, it
seems, embraced the ' ingenious interpolation ' above referred to.
Independent altogether of this positive information, any one familiar
with the state in which traditionary poetry has been transmitted to
the present times, can be at no loss to detect many more ' ingenious
interpolations,' as well as paraphrastic additions, in the ballad as now
printed. But though it has been grievously corrupted in this way,
the most scrupulous inquirer into the authenticity of ancient song
can have no hesitation in admitting that many of its verses, even as
they now stand, are purely traditionary, and fair and genuine parcels
of antiquity, unalloyed with any base admixture of modern invention,
and in nowise altered, save in those changes of language to which all
oral poetry is unavoidably subjected in its progress from one age to
another."*

" In the shape which it now bears, the ballad must be considered
as one whose text has been formed out of various sets combined by
the taste, and in all likelihood materially eked out by the invention,
of the editor of 1755. The worthy and useful class of ' old women
and nurses, ' from whose mouths it is stated to be carefully taken,
has not entirely disappeared; but it would defy the most unwearied
and persevering industry to obtain from their lips, in this day,
any duplicate of the present copy which could, by unexceptionable
evidence, be traced to a period anterior to the date of the first
edition. The scene of wire-drawn recrimination between Lord Bar-
nard and his lady, which is quite out of keeping with the character
of the 'bold baron,' is of itself quite enough to convince any one
versant in this species of literature that it has come through the
refining hands of a modern ballad-wright. In this opinion the
present writer does not stand singular ; for both Mr. Bitson and
Mr. Jamieson agree in rejecting as spurious the stanzas which
follow after the one beginning

' Awa, awa, ye ill woman.'

And the opinion of these critics in such a question is certainly
entitled to much deference."

*The passage which follows is a portion of the connecting link between the
version (I.) reprinted from Percy's Religues, and " Chield Morice " (III.), which
follows it in Motherwell's Minstrelsy. It occurs on page 268. Editor.

316 BALLAD MINSTKELST OF SCOTLAND.

Nor did the tinkering end there, as "some miserable verse-maker"
took in hand the task of completing the ballad in accordance with
the final catastrophe of Home's "Tragedy of Douglas;" which
" delectable continuation, extending to six stanzas," is here added
from Mr. Jamieson's notes to "Childe Maurice." Popular Ballads,
vol. i., p. 21.

Mr. Jamieson states, that these stanzas " had been handed about
in" or about Edinburgh, "and found their way into Mr. Herd's
MS. collection, from whence they were extracted by Mr. (afterwards
Sir' Walter) Scott," who transmitted them to him.

He adds, that "they are given to show what dispositions my
good countrymen, who can forge with address, and who cannot have
manifested respecting this ballad." The stanzas referred to are those
numbered 53 to the end.

The poet Gray, in one of his letters, writes regarding this ballad
in these terms : "I have got the old Scotch ballad on which Douglas
was founded ; it is divine, and as long as from hence (Cambridge) to
Aston. Have you never seen it ? Aristotle's best rules are observed
in it in a manner that shows the author had never read Aristotle.
It begins in the fifth act of the play (viz., of Home's tragedy of
Douglas) ; you may read it two-thirds through without guessing
what it is about ; and yet, when you come to the end, it is im-
possible not to understand the whole story."

It only remains to add, that the text of Percy's Reliques is the one
here chiefly followed. The absurd orthography of that work is, how-
ever, discarded. Lines 1 and 2 of stanza 2 are added from a chap-book
version, as noted by Mr. Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. 260 ; while
stanza 3 is added from a fragment given by Mr. Jamieson (Popular
Ballads, vol. i., p. 17). Slight verbal changes have been made on
two of these added lines, and also as noted on the last line of stanza
4. Lines 160, 161, 169, and 170 of the Reliques text are omitted,
the two last being almost a repetition of the first two lines of stanza
41, the last two lines of which are transposed, as they form lines 171
and 172 of the Reliques text, in which they immediately precede
those here numbered stanza 44.

1 GIL MORICE was an earl's son;

His name it waxed wide ;
It was nae for his great riches,
Nor yet his meikle pride.

2 His face was fair, lang was his hair,

In greenwood he did bide ;
But his fame was for a lady gay,
That lived on Carron side.

3 Gil Morice sat in gude greenwood,

He whistled and he sang :
" Where shall I get a bonnie boy
That will my errand gang ?

GIL MORICE. 317

4 " Where shall I get a bonnie boy,

That will win hose and shoon :
That will gae to Lord Barnard's hall,
And tryst his ladye doon ? *

5 " And ye maun gae my errand, Willie ;

And ye maun gae with pride;
When other boys gae on their foot,
On horseback ye shall ride."

6 " Oh no, oh no, my master dear!

I dare nae, for my life;
I'll no gae to the bauld baron's,
For to tryst forth his wife."

7 " My bird, Willie, my boy, Willie,

My dear Willie," he said ;
"How can ye strive against the stream?
For I shall be obey'd."

8 " But oh, my master dear," he cried,

"In greenwood ye're your lane;
Gi'e o'er sic thochts, I wou'd ye rede,
For fear ye shou'd be ta'en."

9 " Haste, haste, I say, gae to the hall,

Bid her come here with speed;
If ye refuse my high command,
I'll gar your body bleed.

10 " And bid her take this gay mantle

'Tis all gowd but the hem,
Bid her come to the gude greenwood,
And bring nane but her lane.

11 "And there it is a silken sark,

Her ain hand sew'd the sleeve;
And bid her come to Gil Morice
Speir nae bauld baron's leave."

12 " Yes, I will gae your black errand,

Though it be to your cost;
Since ye by me will nae be warn'd,
It 's ye shall find the frost.

13 " The baron he is a man of might,

He ne'er cou'd bide to taunt;

As ye will see before it 's night,

How small ye ha'e to vaunt.

* " And bid his ladye cum." Percy's version.

318 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

14 " And since I maun your errand rin,

Sae sair against my will,
I'se make a vow, and keep it trow,
It shall be done for ill."

15 And when he came to broken brig,

He bent his bow and swam;
And when he came to grass growing,
Set down his feet and ran.

16 And when he came to Barnard's hall,

Wou'd neither chap nor call;
But set his bent bow to his breast,*
And lightly lap the wall.

17 He wou'd nae tell the man his errand,

Though he stood at the gate ;

But straight into the hall he came,

Where they were sat at meat.

18 "Hail! hail! my gentle sire and dame!

My message winna wait;
Dame, ye maun to the gude greenwood
Before that it be late.

19 " Ye're bidden take this gay mantle

Tis all gowd but the hem;
You maun gae to the gude greenwood,
E'en by yoursel' alane.

20 " And there it is, a silken sark ;

Your ain hand sew'd the sleeve;
Ye maun gae speak to Gil Morice,
Speir nae bauld baron's leave."

21 The ladye stampit with her foot,

And winkit with her e'e;
But all that she cou'd say or do,
Forbidden he wou'dna be.

22 " It 's surely to my bow'r- woman;

It ne'er cou'd be to me."
" I brought it to Lord Barnard's ladye ;
I trow that ye be she."

23 Then up and spake the wylie nurse,

(The bairn upon her knee,)

" If it be come frae Gil Morice,

It 's dear welcome to me."

* This line the stall copies give thus :

But bent his bow to his white breast" MotherwelL

GIL MORICE. 319

24 "Ye lee, ye lee, ye filthy nurse,

Sae loud I heard ye lee ;
I brought it to Lord Barnard's ladye;
I trow ye be nae she."

25 Then up and spake the bauld baron,

An angry man was he :
He 's ta'en the table with his foot,

Sae has he with his knee,
Till siller cup and mazer dish *

In flinders he gar'd flee.

26 " Gae, bring a robe of your cleiding,

That hings upon the pin ;
And I'll gae to the gude greenwood,

And speak with your leman."

27 " Oh, bide at hame now. Lord Barnard,

I rede ye, bide at hame ;
Ne'er wyte a man for violence,
That ne'er wat ye with nane."

28 Gil Morice sat in gude greenwood,

He whistled and he sang:
" Oh, what mean all the folk coming?
My mother tarries lang."

29 [His hair was like the threads of gold,

Drawn frae Minerva's loom;

His lips like roses drapping dew,

His breath was all perfume.

80 His brow was like the mountain snow,

Gilt by the morning beam ;
His cheeks like living roses glow,
His een like azure stream.

31 The boy was clad in robes of green,

Sweet as the infant spring;

And like the mavis on the bush,

He gar'd the valleys ring.]

32 The baron came to the greenwood

With meikle dule and care;
And there he first spied Gil Morice,
Kaiming his yellow hair,

' Mazer dish : " a drinking cup of maple ; other editions read ezar. Percy.

320 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

33 [That sweetly waved around his face,

That face beyond compare;
He sang sae sweet, it might dispel
All rage but fell despair.]

34 " Nae wonder, nae wonder, Gil Morice,

My ladye lo'ed thee weel;
The fairest part of my body
Is blacker than thy heel.

35 " Yet, ne'ertheless, now, Gil Morice,

For all thy great beautie,
Ye's rue the day ye e'er was born
That head shall gae with me."

36 Now he has drawn his trusty brand,

And slait it on the strae ;
And through Gil Morice's fair body
He 's gar'd cauld iron gae.

37 And he has ta'en Gil Morice's head,

And set it on a spear;
The meanest man in all his train
Has gotten that head to bear.

38 And he has ta'en Gil Morice up,

Laid him across his steed,
And brought him to his painted bow'r,
And laid him on a bed.

39 The ladye sat on castle wall,

Beheld baith dale and down;
And there she saw Gil Morice's head
Come trailing to the town.

40 " Far better I lo'e that bluidy head,

Bot and that yellow hair,
Than Lord Barnard, and all his lands,
As they lig here and there."

41 And she has ta'en her Gil Morice,

And kiss'd baith mouth and chin:
" Oh, better I lo'e my Gil Morice
Than all my kith and kin !

42 " I got ye in my father's house,

With meikle grief and pain;
I brought thee up in gude greenwood,
Under the heavy rain.

GIL MOPJCE. 321

43 " Oft have I by thy cradle sat,

And fondly seen thee sleep;

But now I gae about thy grave,

The saut tears for to weep."

44 " Away, away, ye ill woman,

And an ill death may ye dee :

If I had kenn'd he'd been your son,

He'd ne'er been slain for me."

45 "Upbraid me not, my Lord Barnard!

Upbraid me not, for shame !
With that same spear, oh, pierce my heart,
And put me out of pain !

46 " Since nothing but Gil Morice's head

Thy jealous rage cou'd quell,
Let that same hand now take her life
That ne'er to thee did ill.

47 " To me nae after-days nor nights

Will e'er be saft and kind;

I'll fill the air with heavy sighs,

And greet till I am blind."

48 " Enough of blood by me 's been spilt;

Seek not your death frae me;
I'd lever lourd* it had been mysel'
Than either him or thee.

49 " With waeful heart I hear your plaint;

Sair, sair I rue the deed,
That e'er this cursed hand of mine
Had gar'd his body bleed.

60 " Dry up your tears, my winsome dame,

Ye ne'er can heal his wound;
Ye see his head upon the spear,
His heart 's bluid on the ground.

51 " I curse the hand that did the deed,

The heart that thought the ill;
The feet that bore me with sic speed,
The comely youth to kill.

52 -" I'll aye lament for Gil Morice,

As if he were mine ain ;
I'll ne'er forget the dreary day
On which the youth was slain."

* "Lever lourd : " rather by far.
Y

322 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND .

53 [She heard him speak, but fell despair

Sat rooted in her heart;
She heard him, and she heard nae mair,
Though sair she rued the smart.

54 Fast to the steep high craig she ran,

That o'er the water hung:
" I come, I come, dear Gil Morice ! "
And down herself she flung.

55 Syne word came to Lord Barnard's hall:

"Fye, fye! gar run with speed;
My ladye o'er the craig did fall;
I fear ere this she 's dead."

56 " 'Twas me, 'twas me that kill'd the dame;

'Twas me Gil Morice slew:
Oh, how I've blasted all my fame,
And all my honour true !

57 " But soon, soon will I make amends :

My horse gar saddle swift;
Farewell, farewell, my merry men ! "
And off he flew like drift.

58 He came where Scotland's valiant sons

Their fierce invaders fought;
Among the thickest fight he runs,
And meets the death he sought.]

THE BIRTH OF ROBIN HOOD.

The existence of " this bold outlaw " has been called in question
by some recent writers, whose views on the subject are adopted and
propounded by Professor Child, in his Robin Hood collection, (English
and Scottish Ballads, vol. v. ) The discussion of this question belongs,
however, rather to the English than to the Scotish circle of these
ballads.

It is, nevertheless, proper to state here, that " Robin Hood, with Little
John, and their accomplices," are mentioned by Wyntoun in his
Scottish Chronykil, under the year A.D. 1283 ; by Fordun or Bower,
in the Scotichronicon, under A.D. 1266 ; and by Mair, in his Historia
Majoris Brittanice, under the reign of Richard the First (A.D.
1189-99).

"A Gest of Robyn Hode" formed one of a series of chap-books
"of popular poetry," printed at Edinburgh, "by Walter Chapman
and Andrew Myllar, in the year MDVIII."*

* A volume of these issues, believed with good reason to be unique, is fortunately
preserved in the Advocates' Library; and it has been admirably reproduced in fac-
simile, "under the careful supervision of Mr. David Laing." Edinburgh, 1827.

THE BIRTH OF ROBIN HOOD. 323

" The appearance of which long ballad," says Mr. Motherwell, "is
not only an additional proof of the high popularity of that bold
outlaw in Scotland, but goes to establish the fact, that the celebrity
of his name in song was not alone owing to the carping of England's
minstrels, but to the equal labours of northern gleemen. It is not
meant, however, to claim this ' Gest ' as a Scottish production, though
there certainly is some ground to do so ; its appearance in Scotland
preceding its imprint, by Wynkin de Worde, by some years. Be-
tween the Scottish and English impression there occurs no difference,
save in a few orthographical points." Minstrelsy, Introduction,
p. Ivi.

"Robin Hood," says Mr. Kinloch, "was anciently celebrated in
Scotland by an annual play or festival ; and the following extract,
while it shows the estimation in which this festival was regarded by
the populace, displays at the same time their lawless conduct, and the
weakness of the civil power, in the city of Edinburgh in the sixteenth
century : 'The game of Eobin Hood was celebrated in the month
of May. The populace assembled previous to the celebration of this
festival, and chose some respectable member of the corporation to
officiate in the character of Robin Hood, and another in that of Little
John, his squire. Upon the day appointed, which was a Sunday or
a holiday, the people assembled in military array, and went to some
adjoining field, where, either as actors or spectators, the whole
inhabitants of the respective towns were convened. In this field
they probably amused themselves with a representation of Robin
Hood's predatory exploits, or of his encounters with the officers of
justice. As numerous meetings for disorderly mirth are apt to
engender tumult, when the minds of the people came to be agitated
with religious controversy, it was found necessary to repress the game
of Robin Hood by public statute. The populace were by no means
willing to relinquish their favourite amusement. Year after year the
magistrates of Edinburgh were obliged to exert their authority in
repressing this game, often ineffectually. In the year 1561, the mob
were so enraged in being disappointed in rpaking a Robin Hood, that
they rose in mutiny, seized on the city gates, committed robberies
upon strangers ; and one of the ringleaders being condemned by the
magistrates to be hanged, the mob forced open the jail, set at liberty
the criminal and all the prisoners, and broke in pieces the gibbet
erected at the cross for executing the malefactor. They next assaulted
the magistrates, who were sitting in the council chamber, and who
fled to the tolbooth for shelter, where the mob attacked them,
battering the doors, and pouring stones through the windows.
Application was made to the deacons of the corporations to appease
the tumult. Remaining, however, unconcerned spectators, they made
this answer : They will be magistrates alone : let them rule the multi-
tude alone. The magistrates were kept in confinement till they made
proclamation be published, offering indemnity to the rioters upon
laying down their arms. Still, however, so late as the year 1592,
we find the General Assembly complaining of the profanation of the
Sabbath, by making of Robin Hood plays.' Arnot's History of
Edinburgh, ch. ii."

The fame of this illustrious outlaw, or mythic hero, "and his

324 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

merry men," which had all but died out in Scotland, has been again
revived and extended by, and since, the publication of Sir Walter
Scott's Ivanhoe.

With regard to the ballad which follows, and the one which comes
next in order, Professor Child remarks, that ' ' in character they have
no affinity with the recognized circle of Robin Hood ballads. The
story is of a more ancient cast, and also of a type common to the
northern nations ; and we have no doubt that Robin Hood and Little
John were, in the day of their popularity, made to displace heroes
of immemorial prescription, in order to give eclat to an old tale."
English and Scottish Ballads, vol. v., p. 173.

The editor of the present work has much pleasure in quoting these
words of Professor Child, as they so admirably express, in the
language of an American of ability and impartiality, ideas which he
had independently arrived at ; but which, if expressed by a Scotsman,
would certainly expose him to the vituperative abuse of some shallow
and conceited English critic ; a class as full of narrow and ignorant
prejudice particularly about and against everything Scotish as an
egg is full of meat.

The grounds for the views expressed by Professor Child, and here
coincided in, may be found by consulting the preceding ballads,
" Leesome Brand," p. 59; "Earl Douglas and Dame Oliphant," p.
63 ; and " Sweet Willie and Fair Janet," p. 67, with their respective
introductions.

Of the ballad which follows, two versions have appeared, both
under the same title as the above.

I. In Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. ii., p. 44, as "taken
down by the editor from the recitation of Mrs. Brown,
and given," by him, "without the alteration of a single
word."

II. In Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. ii., p. 1.

The first five and the last two stanzas of the text which follows
are taken from Mr. Jamieson's version, the intermediate stanzas
being chiefly from Mr. Buchan's version.

Stanza 5, as here given from Mr. Jamieson's version, is similar to
stanza 14 of "Earl Douglas and Dame Oliphant," while the three
which follow it evidently narrate the same incident as that described
in stanzas 17 and 18 of the same ballad. The three stanzas referred
to run

" ' But yell come to my bow'r, Willie,

Just as the sun gaes down;
And kep me in your arms twa.
And lotna me fa' down.'

" Oh, when the sun was now gane down.

He's done him till her bow'r;
And there, by the lee licht o' the moon,
Her window she lookit o'er.

" Intil a robe o' red scarlet

She lap, fearless o' harm;
And Willie was large o' lith and limb,
And kepit her in his arm."

THE BIRTH OF ROBIN HOOD. 325

1 OH, Willie's large of limb and lith,

And come of high degree;

And he is gane to Earl Richard,

To serve for meat and fee.

2 Earl Richard had but ae daughter,

Fair -as a lily flower;
And they made up their love-contract,
Like proper paramour.

3 It fell upon a summer's night,

When leaves were fair and green,
That Willie met his gay ladye,
Intil the woods alane.

4 " Oh, narrow is my gown, Willie,

That wont to be sae wide ;

And gane is all my fair colour,

That wont to be my pride.

5 " But if my father shou'd get word

What 's pass'd between us twa,

Before that he shou'd eat or drink,

He'd hang you o'er that wa'."

6 " Will ye gae to my mother's bow'r,

Stands on yon stately green?
Or will ye bide in gude greenwood,
Where ye will not be seen?"

7 She chose to bide in gude greenwood,
k Sae on they walk'd miles three;

When this ladye, being sair worn out,
v Lay down beneath a tree.

8 " Oh, for a few of yon junipers,

To cheer my heart again;
And likewise for a gude midwife,
To ease me of my pain."

9 " I'll bring to you yon junipers,

To cheer your heart again ;
And I'll be to you a gude midwife,
To ease you of your pain."

10 " Haud far awa frae me, Willie,

For sae it maunna be ;
That 's nae the fashion of our land;
Sae baud awa frae me.

326 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

11 " Ye'll take your small sword by your side,

Your buckler and your bow,
And ye'll gae down thro' gude greenwood,
To hunt the deer and roe.

12 " And you will stay in gude greenwood,

And with the chase go on,
Until a white hind pass you by;
Then straight to me you'll come."

13 He 's girt his sword then by his side,

Ta'en buckler and ta'en bow;
And he is on thro' gude greenwood,
To hunt the deer and roe.

14 And in the greenwood he did stay,

And there the chase he plied,
Until a white hind pass'd him by;
Then to his love he hied.

15 And there he found her lying dead,

Beneath the green oak tree ;
But a sweet young son that she had bora,

Eight lively seem'd to be.
" Alas, alas!" young Willie said,

" A mournful scene to me!

16 " Altho' my sweet babe is alive,

It but adds to my woe ;
For how to nourish this poor babe,
Is more than I do know."

17 He look'd east, and he look'd west,

To see what he could see ;
Then spied Earl Kichard of Huntingdon,
With a goodly companie.

18 Then Willie fled, and hid himself

Amang the leaves sae green,
That he might hear what might be said,.
And see, yet nae be seen.

19 For Earl Richard had dream'd a dream

About his daughter dear ;
He started wildly from his sleep,
And sought her far and near.

20 They sought her back, they sought her fore,

They sought her up and down ;
Till they found her dead in gude greenwood,
Beside her new-born son.

ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY. 327

21 Earl Eichard took up the bonnie boy,

And kiss'd him tenderly;
Says " Tho' I would your father hang,
Your mother was dear to me.

22 " And if ye live until I die,

My b'ow'rs and lands you'll heir :
You are my only daughter's child,
But her I ne'er had mair."

23 His daughter he buried in gude churchyard,

In a dreary mournful mood ;
And he brought the boy to church that day,
And christen'd him Robin Hood.

24 This boy was bred in the earl's halls,

Till he a man became ;
But lov'd to hunt in gude greenwood,
To raise his noble fame.

25 There 's mony ane sings of grass, of grass,

And mony ane sings of corn ;
And mony ane sings of Eobin Hood,
Kens little where he was born !

26 It wasna in the gilded hall,

Nor in the painted bow'r ;
But it was in the gude greenwood,
Amang the lily flower.

ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY.

Of this ballad three versions have been published :

I. In Scott's Minstrelsy, voL iiL, p. 208, "chiefly from Mrs.
Brown's MS." The name of Robin Hood does not occur in
this version ; but Sir Walter surmised that it "originally
related to" him, "as mention is made of Barnisdale, his
favourite abode."

II. In Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 69.
IIL In Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 67.

Scott's and Buchan's versions are published under the same title
las the above, and Kinloch's under the title of "The Wedding of
Jlobin Hood and Little John." Stanzas 1 to 26 inclusive, as here
printed, are collated from versions I. and IIL, the remaining stanzas
being from the former.

328 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

1 Now word is gane through all the land

Gude seile that it sae spread!
To Kose the Bed and White Lily,
Their mother dear was dead.

2 Their father 's married a bauld woman,

And brought her o'er the sea;
Twa sprightly youths, her ain young sons,
Intil her companie.

3 And they were twa as gallant youths

As ever brake man's bread ;
And the ane of them lo'ed her, White Lily,
And the other, Kose the Red.

4 They fix'd their eyes on those ladyes,

On shipboard as they stood,
And sware, if e'er they wan to land,
These ladyes they wou'd wed.

5 But there was nae a quarter pass'd,

A quarter pass'd but three,
Till these young lovers all were fond
Of other's companie.

G Oh, bigg'd ha'e they a bigly bow'r

Fast by the sea-beat strand;
And there was mair mirth that bow'r within,
Than in all their father's land.

7 The knights they harpit in their bow'r,

The ladyes sew'd and sang ;
The mirth that was in that chamber
Through all the place it rang.

8 Then out it spake their step-mother ;

At the bigly bow'r stood she :
" I'm sair plagu'd with your troublesome noise,
That ye call melodie.

9 "0 Rose the Red, ye sing too loud,

While, Lily, your voice is strang;
But if I live and brook my life,
I'se gar ye change your sang."

10 " We maunna change our loud, loud sang,

That sae our hearts doth cheer;
We winna change our loud, loud sang,
But aye we'll sing the mair.

ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY. 329

11 " We never sung the sang, mother,

But we'll sing o'er again ;
We'll take our harps into our hands,
And sing with might and main."

12 She 's call'd upon her eldest son :

" Come here, my son, to me ;
It fears me sair, iny Bauld Arthur,
That ye maun sail the sea."

13 ' If sae it maun be, my dear mother,

At your bidding I shall be;
But never be waur to Rose the Red
Than ye ha'e been to me."

14 She 's call'd upon her youngest son :

" Come here, my son, to me ;

It fears me sair, my Brown Robin,

That ye maun sail the sea."

15 " If it fear ye sair, my mother dear,

At your bidding I shall be ;
But never be waur to White Lily
Than ye ha'e been to me."

16 " Now, baud your tongues, ye foolish boys,

For small shall be their part;
They ne'er again shall see your face,
Though their very hearts shou'd break.

17 "Make haste, make haste, my twa young sonsy

And boun' ye for the sea;
But Rose the Red and White Lily
Shall stay in bow'r with me."

18 " God forbid," said her eldest son,

" That we shou'd cross the sea,
Unless ye be to our twa loves
As ye to them shou'd be."

19 " Yet, nevertheless, my pretty sons,

Ye'll boun' ye for the faem;
Let Rose the Red and White Lily
Stay in their bow'r at hame."

20 " Oh, when with you we came alang,

We felt the stormy sea ;
But we shall now go where we list,
Nor speir the leave of thee."

330 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 Then with her harsh and boist'rous words,

She forced these lads away;
While Rose the Red and White Lily
Still in their bow'rs did stay.

22 Her twa sons hied to the king's court,

His chamberlains to be;
But Brown Robin has slain a knight,
And to greenwood did flee.

23 When Rose the Red and White Lily

Saw their twa loves were gane,
Sune did they drop the loud, loud sang,
And do willy did maen.

24 And there was not a quarter pass'd,

A quarter pass'd but ane,
Till Rose the Red in rags she gaed,
While Lily's claithes grew thin.

25 With bitter usage, every day

The ladyes they thought lang;
"Alas! alas!" said Rose the Red,
" She 's gar'd us change our sang."

26 And out then spake her, White Lily;

" My sister, we'll be gane :
Why shou'd we stay in Barnisdale,
To mourn our bow'r within ? "

27 Oh, cutted ha'e they their green claithing,

A little abune their knee;
And sae ha'e they their yellow hair,
A little abune their bree.

28 And left ha'e they that bonnie bow'r,

To cross the raging sea;
And they ha'e gane to a holy chapel
Was christened by Our Ladye.

29 And they ha'e changed their twa names,

Sae far frae ony toun;
And the ane of them 's hight Sweet Willie,
And the other Rouge the Rounde.

30 Between the twa a promise is,

They ha'e sworn it to fulfil ;
Whenever the ane blew a bugle-horn,
The other shou'd come her till.

ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY. 331

31 Sweet Willie 's gane to the king's court,

Her true love for to see;
And Rouge the Rounde to gude greenwood,
Brown Robin's man to be.

32 Oh, it fell ance upon a time,

They putted at the stane;
And seven foot ayont them all,
Brown Robin's gar'd it gang.

33 She lifted the heavy putting-stane,

And gave a sad " Ohon!"
Then out bespake him, Brown Robin,
" But that 's a woman's moan ! "

34 " Oh, kenn'd ye by my rosy lips,

Or by my yellow hair ;
Or kenn'd ye by my milk-white breast,
Ye never yet saw bare?"
\

35 "I kenn'd na by your rosy lips,

Nor by your yellow hair ;
But, come to your bow'r whaever likes,
They'll find a ladye there."

36 " Oh, if ye come my bow'r within,

Through fraud, deceit, or guile,
With this same brand, that 's in my hand,
I vow I will thee kill."

37 " Yet durst I conie into your bow'r,

And ask nae leave," quo' he;
" And with this brand, that 's in my hand,
Wave danger back on thee."

38 About the dead hour of the night,

The ladye's bow'r was broken;
And, about the first hour of the day,
The fair knave bairn was gotten.

39 -When days were gane and months were come,

The ladye was sad and wan;
And aye she cried for a bow'r-woman,
For to wait her upon.

40 Then up and spake him, Brown Robin,

" And what needs this ? " quo' he;
" Or what can woman do for you,
That canna be done by me ? "

332 BALLAD illNSTKELST OF SCOTLAND.

41 " 'Twas never my mother's fashion," she said,

" Nor shall it e'er be mine,
That belted knights should e'er remain
While ladyes dree'd their pine.

42 " But if ye take that bugle-horn,

And wind a blast sae shrill,

I ha'e a brother in yonder court,

Will come me quickly till."

43 " Oh, if ye ha'e a brother on earth

That ye lo'e mair than me,
Ye may blow the horn yoursel'," he says,
" For a blast I winna gi'e."

44 She 's ta'en the bugle in her hand,

And blawn baith loud and shrill ;
Sweet William started at the sound,
And came her quickly till.

45 Oh, up then starts him, Brown Robin,

And swore by Our Ladye,
" No man shall come into this bow'r,
But first maun fight with me."

46 Oh, they ha'e fought the wood within,

Till the sun was going down ;
And drops of blood, frae Eose the Bed,
Came pouring to the ground.

47 She leant her back against an aik,

Said "Robin, let me be;
For it is a ladye bred and born,
Has fought this day with thee."

48 Oh, seven foot he started back,

Cried " Alas and woe is me !
For I wished never, in all my life,
A woman's bluid to see :

49 " And that all for the knightly vow

I swore to Our Ladye;
But mair for the sake of ae fair maid,
Whose name was White Lily."

50 Then out and spake her, Rouge the Rounde,

And leugh right heartilie:
" She has been with ye this year and mair,
Though ye wistna it was she."

ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY. 333

51 Now word has gane through all the land,

Before a month was gane,
That a forester's page, in gude greenwood,
Had born a bonnie son.

52 The marvel gaed to the king's court,

And to the king himsel';
" Now, by my fae," the king did say,
" The like was never heard tell ! "

53 Then out and spake him, Bauld Arthur,

And laugh'd right loud and hie :
" I trow some May has plaid the loon,*
And fled her ain countrie."

54 " Bring me my steed," the king 'gan say;

" My bow and arrows keen;
And I'll gae hunt in yonder wood,
And see what 's to be seen."

55 " If it please your grace," quo' Bauld Arthur,

" My liege, I'll gang with thee;
And seek there for a bonnie page,
That 's stray'd awa frae me."

56 And they ha'e chased in gude greenwood,

The buck but and the rae,
Till they drew near Brown Kobin's bow'r,
About the close of day.

57 Then out and spake the king himsel',

Says " Arthur, look and see,

If yon be not your favourite page

That leans against yon tree ? "

58 Oh, Arthur's ta'en a bugle-horn,

And blawn a blast sae shrill ;
Sweet Willie started to her feet,
And ran him quickly till.

59 " Oh, wanted ye your meat, Willie,

Or wanted ye your fee ;
Or gat ye e'er an angry word,
That ye ran awa frae me?"

CO " I wanted nought, my master dear,

To me ye aye was good;
I came to see my ae brother,
That wons in this greenwood."

* "Loon:" rogue.

334 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

61 Then out bespake the king again,

" My boy, now tell to me,
Who dwells into yon bigly bow'r,
Beneath yon green aik tree ? "

62 " Oh, pardon me," said Sweet Willie,

" My liege, I darena tell ;
And gangna near yon outlaw's bow'r,
For fear they shou'd you kill."

63 " Oh, haud your tongue, my bonnie boy,

For I winna be said nay;
But I will gang yon bow'r within,
Betide me weal or wae."

64 They have lighted frae their milk-white steeds,

And saftlie entered in;
And there they saw her, White Lily,
Nursing her bonnie young son.

65 "Now, by the mass," the king he said,

" This is a comely sight ;
I trow, instead of a forester's man,
This is a ladye bright ! "

66 Oh, out and spake her, Eose the Red,

And fell low on her knee :
" Oh, pardon us, my gracious liege,
And our story I'll tell thee.

67 " Our father is a wealthy lord.

Lives into Barnisdale ;
But we had a wicked step-mother,
That wrought us meikle bayle.

68 " Yet had she twa as full fair sons,

As e'er the sun did see;
The ane of them lo'ed my sister dear,
The other said he lo'ed me."

69 Then out and cried him, Bauld Arthur,

As by the king he stood :
"Now, by the faith of my body,
This shou'd be Rose the Red ! "

70 The king has sent for robes of green,

And girdles of shining gold ;
And sune the ladyes busk'd themselves,
Sae glorious to behold.

JELLON GRAME. 335

71 Then in and came him, Brown Kobin,

Frae hunting of the deer ;
But when he saw the king himsel',
He started back for fear.

72 The king has ta'en Robin by the hand,

And bade him nothing dread ;
But quit for aye the gude greenwood,
And come to the court with speed.

73 The king has ta'en White Lily's son,

And set him on his knee ;
Says " If ye live to wield a brand,
My bowman thou shall be."

74 Then they have gane to holy chapel,

And there had fair wedding ;
And when they came to the king's court,
For joy the bells did ring.

JELLON GRAME.

The following ballad has been collated from one of the same name,
which appears in Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 164, and from one
entitled, "May-a-Row," given by Buchan in Ancient Ballads, voL ii.,
p. 231. Mr. Motherwell mentions another version, "differing in a
few immaterial points" from Scott's, which he had "heard under the
title of 'Hynde Henry and May Margerie.'"

With reference to the first-named version, Sir Walter Scott states,
that it "is published from tradition, with some conjectural emenda-
tions," and "corrected by a copy in Mrs. Brown's MS., from which
it differs in the concluding stanzas. Some verses are apparently
modernized.

" Jellon seems to be the same name with Jyllian or Julian. 'Jyl
of Brentford's Testament' is mentioned in Warton's History of
Poetry, voL ii., p. 40. The name repeatedly occurs in old ballads,
sometimes as that of a man, at other times as that of a woman. Of
the former is an instance in the ballad of 'The Knight and the Shep-
herd's Daughter.' Reliques of Ancient Poetry, vol. iii., p. 72 :

1 Some do call me Jack, sweetheart,
And some do call me Jille.'

"Witton Gilbert, a village four miles west of Durham, is, through-
out the bishopric, pronounced Witton Jilbert. We have also the
common name of Giles, always in Scotland pronounced Jill. For
Gille, or Juliana, as a female name, we have Fair Gillian of Croydon,
and a thousand authorities. Such being the case, the editor must
euter his protest against the conversion of Gil Morrice into Child

33G BALLAD MINSTRELST OF SCOTLAND.

Maurice, an epithet of chivalry. All the circumstances in that ballad
argue, that the unfortunate hero was an obscure and very young man,
who had never received the honour of knighthood. At any rate,
there can be no reason, even were internal evidence totally wanting,
for altering a well-known proper name, which, till of late years, has
been the uniform title of the ballad."

From the first portion of the above extract we are led to infer
that Mr. Buchan's is the more genuine text of the two. Stanzas 5 to
7 inclusive, 10, 13 to 15 inclusive, 17, 18, and 28 to 30 inclusive, are
from Mr. Buchan's version the remaining 18 stanzas being from Sir
Walter Scott's.

The ballad seems to have some connection with the Scotish Robin
Hood series.

1 OH, Jellon Grame sat in Silverwood ; *

He sharp'd his broadsword lang;
And he has call'd his little foot-page,
An errand for to gang.

2 " Win up, my bonnie boy," he says,

" As quickly as ye may ;
For ye maun gang for Lily Flower,
Before the break of day."

3 The boy has buckled his belt about,

And through the greenwood ran ;
And he came to the ladye's bow'r,
Before the day did dawn.

4 " Oh, sleep ye, wake ye, Lily Flower?

The red sun's on the rain :
* Ye're bidden come to Silverwood ;

But I doubt ye'll never win hame."

5 Fair Lily Flower lap on her steed,

And quickly rade away ;
She hadna ridden but half a mile,
Till a warning voice did say,

C " Turn back, turn back, ye vent'rou s maid,

Nae farther must ye go ;
For the boy who leads your bridle rein
Leads you to your o'erthrow."

* Silverwood, mentioned in this ballad, occurs in a medley MS. song, which seems
to have been copied from the first edition of tho Aberdeen canttis, penes John U.
Dalyell, Esq., advocate. One line only is cited, apparently the beginning of some
song,

" SUvenvood, gin ye were mine."

JELLON GRAME. 337

7 Yet all these words she ne'er did mind,

But fast away did ride ;
And the little boy wha came for her,
He ran fast by her side.

8 She hadna ridden a mile, a mile,

A mile but barely three,
Ere she came to a new-made grave,
Beneath a green aik tree.

9 Oh, up then started Jellon Grame,

Out of a bush thereby :

" Light down, light down now, Lily Flower,
For it 's here that ye maun lye.

10 " Light down, light down now, Lily Flower,

For by my hand ye'se dee ;
Ye married my brother, Brown Robin,
When ye shou'd ha'e married me."

11 She lighted affher milk-white steed^

And kneel'd upon her knee :
" Oh, mercy, mercy, Jellon Grame,
For I'm no prepared to dee !

12 " The bairn that stirs between my sides

Maun shortly see the light ;
But to see it weltering in my blood,
Would be a piteous sight.

13 " Oh, mercy, mercy, Jellon Grame !

Until I lighter be,

Ha'e mercy on your brother's bairn,
Tho' ye ha'e nane for me."

14 " Nae mercy is for thee, ladye,

Nae mercy is for thee;
Such mercy unto you I'll gi'e
As what ye ga'e to me."

15 Then he 's ta'en out a trusty brand,

And strok'd it o'er the strae ;
And thro' and thro' her fair body
He 's gar'd cauld iron gae.

16 He felt nae pity for Lily Flower,

Where she was lying dead ;
But he felt some for the bonnie bairn
Lay weltering in her bluid.

338 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 Then he 's ta'en up the bonnie bairn,

Handled him tenderly;
And said " Ye are of my ain kin,
Tho' your mother ill-used me."

18 He 's washen him at the crystal stream,

And row'd him in a weed ;
And named him after a bold robber,
Who was call'd Robin Hood.

19 Up has he ta'en that bonnie boy,

Given him to nurses nine :
Three to sleep, and three to wake,
And three to go between.

20 And he bred up that bonnie boy,

Call'd him his sister's son ;
And he thought no eye cou'd ever see
The deed that he'had done.

21 But so it fell upon a day,

They ranged the greenwood free,
And rested them at Silverwood,
Beneath that green aik tree.

22 And many were the greenwood flowers

Upon that grave that grew ;
And marvell'd much that bonnie boy
To see their lovely hue.

23 " "What 's paler than the primrose wan?

What 's redder than the rose ?
What 's fairer than the lily flower
On this wee knowe* that grows?"

24 Oh, out and answer'd Jellon Grame,

And he spake hastily :
" Your mother was a fairer flower,
And lies beneath this tree.

25 " More pale was she, when she sought my grace,

Than primrose pale and wan ;
And redder than rose her ruddy heart's blood,
That down my broadsword ran."

26 With that the boy has bent his bow,

It was baith stout and lang ;
And thro' and thro' him, Jellon Grame,
He gar'd an arrow gang.

* " Wee knowe : " little hillock.

BROWN ADAM. 339

27 Says " Lye ye there, now, Jellon Grame !

My malison gang you wi'!
The place that my mother lyes buried in
Is far too good for thee."

28 These news ha'e gaen thro' Stirling town,

Likewise thro' Huntin-hall ;
At last it reached the king's own court,
Amang his nobles all.

29 And when the king got word of it,

A light laugh then ga'e he ;
And he has sent for little Robin
To come right speedilie.

30 He 's put on little Kobin's head

A ribbon and gowden crown,
And made him one of his foremost knights,
For the valour he had done.

BROWN ADAM.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 159.

" There is," says Sir Walter Scott, " a copy of this ballad in Mrs.
Brown's collection. The editor has seen one, printed on a single
sheet. The epithet ' Smith ' implies, probably, the surname, not the
profession, of the hero, who seems to have been an outlaw. There
is, however, in Mrs. Brown's copy, a verse of little merit, here
omitted, alluding to the implements of that occupation."

1 OH, wha wou'd wish the wind to blaw,

Or the green leaves fall therewith?
Or wha wou'd wish a lealer love
Than Brown Adam the Smith?

2 But they ha'e banish'd him, Brown Adam,

Frae father and frae mother;
And they ha'e banish'd him, Brown Adam,
Frae sister and frae brother.

3 And they ha'e banish'd him, Brown Adam,

The flow'r of all his kin ;
And he 's bigged a bow'r in gude greenwood
Atween his ladye and him.

340 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

4 It fell upon a summer's day,

Brown Adam he thought lang;
And, for to hunt some venison,
To greenwood he wou'd gang.

5 He has ta'en his bow his arm o'er,

His bolts and arrows lang;
And he is to the gude greenwood
As fast as he cou'd gang.

G Oh, he 's shot up, and he 's shot down,

The bird upon the brier,
And he sent it hame to his ladye,
Bade her be of good cheer.

7 Oh, he 's shot up, and he 's shot down,

The bird upon the thorn,
And sent it hame to his ladye,
Said he'd be hame the morn.

8 When he came to his ladye's bow'r-door,

He stood a little forbye,
And there he heard a fou' fause knight
Tempting his gay ladye.

9 For he 's ta'en out a gay gowd ring,

Had cost him many a poun' :
" Oh, grant me love for love, ladye,
And this shall be thy own."

10 ".I lo'e Brown Adam weel," she said ;

" I trow sae does he me;
I wou'dna gi'e Brown Adam's love
For nae fause knight I see."

11 Out has he ta'en a purse of gowd,

Was all fu' to the string :
" Oh, grant me love for love, ladye,
And all this shall be thine."

12 " I lo'e Brown Adam weel," she says ;

" I wot sae does he me ;
I wou'dna be your light leman,
For mair than ye cou'd gi'e."

13 Then out he drew his lang, bright brand,

And flash'd it in her e'en:
" Now, grant me love for love, ladye,

Or through ye this shall gang.!"
Then, sighing, says that ladye fair,

" Brown Adam tarries lang!"

BROWN ROBYN'S CONFESSION. 341

14 Then in and starts him, Brown Adam ;

Says " I am just at hand."
He 's gar'd him leave his bonnie bow,

He 's gar'd him leave his brand,
He 's gar'd him leave a dearer pledge
Four fingers of his right hand.

BROWN EOBYN'S CONFESSION.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 110. Slightly emendated,
and three lines within brackets substituted in place of others.

This ballad is clearly mediaeval. This Scotish Jonah was no way
connected with, although bearing the same appellation as that of the
hero of another ballad, entitled " Brown Robyn and Mally," which
appears in the same collection, vol. ii. , p. 299.

The latter was not such a monster of iniquity, but is only accused of
the venial sin of eloping with his master's daughter, while the ballad
ends happily, and to the entire satisfaction of all parties.

1 IT fell upon a Wodensday,

Brown Robyn's men went to sea;
But they saw neither moon nor sun,
Nor star-light blink on hie.

2 " We'll cast kevils us amang,

See wha the unhappy man may be;"
The kevil fell on Brown Robyn,
The master man was he.

3 " It is nae wonder," said Brown Robyn,

" Altho' I dinna thrive;
[For a greater sinner than I ha'e been,
There is not man alive.]

4 " But tie me to a plank of wood,

And throw me in the sea;
And if I sink, ye may bid me sink,
And e'en just let me be."

5 They've tied him to a plank of wood,

And thrown him in the sea;
He did not sink, tho' they bade him sink;
He swam, and they let him be.

6 He hadna been into the sea,

An hour but barely three,
Till by it came our bless'd Ladye,
Her dear young Son her wi'.

342 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" Will ye gang to your men again ?

Or will ye gang with me?
Will ye gang to the heavens high,

With my dear Son and me?"

" I winna gang to my men again,

For they wou'd be fear'd at me;
But I wou'd gang to the high heav'ns,

With thy dear Son and thee."

[" Your prayer shall granted be, Brown Kobyn,]

For nae honour ye did me;
But it is all for the fair confession

You made upon the sea."

BONNIE ANNIE.

From Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 123.

Mr. Motherwell is "inclined to think this is an Irish ballad,
though popular in Scotland." "A copy of the ballad in" his "hands
corrects" an "error in Mr. Kinloch's version," which correction is
adopted in the text Mr. Kinloch's couplet being retained as a
footnote.

The following explanatory notice, from the pen of Mr. Kinloch, is as
applicable to the ballad which precedes as to the one which follows :

"There is," says he, "a prevalent belief among seafaring people,
that if a person who has committed any heinous crime be on ship-
board, the vessel, as if conscious of its guilty burden, becomes un-
manageable, and will not sail till the offender be removed : to discover
whom, they usually resort to the trial of those on board by casting
lots; and the individual upon whom the lot falls is declared the
criminal, it being believed that divine Providence interposes in this
manner to point out the guilty person." For a scriptural illustra-
tion of this prevalent superstition, see the book of the prophet
Jonah, ch. i.

1 THERE was a rich lord, and he lived in Forfar;
He had a fair ladye and one only dochter.
Oh, she was fair, oh dear! she was bonnie;

A ship's captain courted her to be his honey.

2 There came a ship's captain out o'er the sea sailing,

He courted this young thing with words too prevailing: *
" Ye'll steal your father's gowd and your mother's money,
And I'll make ye a ladye in Ireland bonnie."

* The last four words of this line are substituted in place of a different reading in
KinlocJi's original.

THE TWA CORBIES. 343

She 's stown her father's gowd and her mother's money,
But she ne'er was a ladye in Ireland bonnie.

" There 's fey folk * in our ship, she winna sail for me ;
There 's fey folk in our ship, she winna sail for me."
They've casten- black bullets twice six and forty,
And aye the black bullet fell on bonnie Annie.

" Ye'll take me in your arms twa, lo, lift me cannie,
And throw me o'erboard, your ain dear Annie."
He has ta'en her in his arms twa, lo, lifted her cannie,
He has laid her on a bed of down, his ain dear Annie.

" What can a woman do, love, I'll do for ye."
" Meikle can a woman do, ye canna do for me."
"Lay about, steer about, lay our ship cannie,
Do all ye can to save my dear Annie."

" I've laid about, steer'd about, laid about cannie;
But all I can do, she winna sail for me.
Ye'll take her in your arms twa, lo, lift her cannie,
And throw her out o'erboard, your ain dear Annie."

He has ta'en her in his arms twa, lo, lifted her cannie,
He has thrown her out o'erboard, his ain dear Annie;
As the ship sail'd, bonnie Annie she swam,
And she was at Ireland as soon as them.

" Make my love a coffin of the gowd sae yellow,
Where the wood it is dear and the planks they are narrow."
They made his love a coffin of the gowd sae yellow,
And they buried her deep on the high banks of Yarrow.f

THE TWA COEBIES.

At least three versions of this weird piece have appeared, one
English and two Scotish. They are

I. "The Three Ravens," in " Ravenscroft's Melismata; Musical
Phanfties, fitting the Cittie and Countrie Humours, to 3, 4,
and 5 Voyces, London, 1611, 4to," and reprinted by Mr.
Ritson in his Ancient Songs.

* "Fey folk:" "people on the verge of death." Kinloch.

t Stanza 9 is taken from Mr. Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. xcix, note
146. The couplet it displaces reads

"He made his love a coffin off the goats of Yerrow,
And buried his bonnie love down in a sea valley.

On which Mr. Kinloch remarks:" It would be difficult to ascertain where Yerrow is
situated. It would seem, however, to be on the sea coast, as ' goats ' signifies inlets
where the sea enters ! "

344 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

II. "The Twa Corbies," " communicated to " Scott, Minstrelsy,
vol. ii., p. 357, "by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq., Jun.,
of Hoddam, as written down from tradition by a lady. It is
a singular circumstance," says Sir Walter, "that it should
coincide so very nearly with the ancient dirge called ' The
Three Ravens,' published by Mr. Kitson in his Ancient
Songs; and that, at the same time, there should exist
such a difference as to make the one appear rather a
counterpart than copy of the other."

IIL "The Twa Corbies," a different version, which appears in
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 7, without note or comment.
It is the one here printed, and is certainly the best version
of the three, but is supposed to have been modernized.

Variations from Scott's version are noted under the text. " The
Three Havens " concludes thus :

"Down there comes a fallow doe,
As great with, young as she might goe.

" She lift up his bloudy hed,
And kist his wounds that were so red.

"She got him up upon her backe,
And carried him to earthen lake.

"She buried him before the prime,
She was dead her selfe ere euen-song time.

"God send euery gentleman
Such haukes, such houndes, and such a leman."

1 THERE were twa corbies sat on a tree,
Large and black as black might be ;
And one until the other 'gan say

" Where shall we go and dine to-day ?

Shall we dine by the wild salt sea ?

Shall we dine 'neatli the greenwood tree?"

2 " As I sat on the deep sea sand,
I saw a fair ship nigh at land ;

I waved my wings, I bent my beak,
The ship sunk, and I heard a shriek :
There they lie, one, two, and three
I shall dine by the wild salt sea."

3 " Come, I will show ye a sweeter sight,
A lonesome glen, and a new-slain knight;
His blood yet on the grass is hot,

His sword half-drawn, his shafts unshot,

And no one knows that he lies there,

But his hawk, his hound, and his ladye fair.

THE NEW-SLAIN KNIGHT. 345

" His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
His ladye 's away with another mate,
So we shall make our dinner sweet;
Our dinner 's sure, our feasting free :
Come, and dine by the greenwood tree.

" Ye shall sit on his white hause-bane,
I will pick out his bonnie blue een ;
Ye'll take a tress of his yellow hair,
To theek* your nest when it grows bare;"}"
The gowden down on his young chin
Will do to rowe my young ones in.

" Oh, cauld and bare his bed will be,
When winter storms sing in the tree ;
At his head a turf, at his feet a stone,
He will sleep, nor hear the maiden's moan.
O'er his white bones the birds shall fly,
The wild deer bound, and foxes cry." J

THE NEW-SLAIN KNIGHT.

From Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 197.

There are other two ballads of a similar description in the same
collection namely, "Blue Flowers and Yellow," vol. i., p. 185, and
" Willie's Lyke Wake," vol. ii., p. 51. In the two last-named the
lovers feign death, in order to induce their respective lady-loves to
attend and gaze upon their supposed remains. In both cases they prove
successful in compassing their object. All three ballads contain stanzas
which are either repetitions or mere echoes of stanzas in other ballads.
In the following ballad, for example, stanzas 5 to 8, inclusive, repeat
or echo a portion of "Young Johnstone," ante, p. 277; while stanzas
10 and 11 are similar to stanzas in "Fair Annie of Lochryan," ante,
p. 1; stanza 12 is similar to one in "Lord Ingram and Child Vyet,"
ante, p. 80 ; while stanzas 13 and 14 will recall to mind the denoue-
ment of Hector Macneill's popular song, " Mary of Castlecary."

* "Theek:" thatch.

t " With ae lock of his gowden hair

We'll theek our nest when it grows bare." Scott's version.

J " Mony a ane for him makes mane,
But nane shall ken where he is gane ;
O'er his white banes, when they are bare,
The wind shall blaw for evermair." Scott's version.

The title is rather Hibernian, as the "knight" was not "slain."

346 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

The two ballads above referred to begin respectively as under :

" ' O Willie, my son, what makes you so sad,

As the sun shines over the valley?'
' I lye sairly sick for the love of a maid,
Amang the blue flowers and yellow.' "

"Blue Flowers and Yellow

" If my love loves me, she lets me not know,

That is a dowie chance;
I wish that I the same cou'd do,
Tho' my love were in France, France,
Tho' my love were in France." " Willie's Lyke Wake."

1 " MY heart is lighter than the poll,

My folly made me glad,
As on my rambles I went out,
Near by a garden side.

2 "I walk'd on, and farther on,

Love did my heart engage ;

For there I spied a ladye fair,

Lay sleeping near a hedge.

3 " Then I kiss'd her with my lips,

And stroked her with my hand :
' Win up, win up, ye ladye gay,
This day ye sleep ower lang.

4 " ' This dreary sight that I ha'e seen,

Unto my heart gives pain;
For by the side of yonder green,
I see a knight lyes slain.'

5 " ' Oh, what like was his hawk, his hawk ?

Or what like was his hound ?
And what like was the trusty brand,
This new-slain knight had on ? '

6 " ' His hawk and hound were from him gone,

His steed tied to a tree ;
A bloody brand beneath his head,
And on the ground lyes he.'

7 " ' Oh, what like was his hose, his hose ?

And what like were his shoon?

And what like was the gay clothing

This new-slain knight had on? '

8 " ' His coat was of the red scarlet,

His waistcoat of the same ;
His hose were of the bonnie black,
And shoon laced with cordin'.

SIR HUGH LE BLOND. 347

9 " ' Bonnie was his yellow hair,

For it was new-comb'd down ; '
Then, sighing sair, said the ladye fair,
' I comb'd it late yestreen.

10 " ' Oh, wha will shoe my bonnie foot ?

Or wha will glove my hand ?
Or wha will father my dear bairn,
Since my love 's dead and gane ? '

11 " ' Oh, I will shoe your bonnie foot,

And I will glove your hand ;
And I'll be father to your bairn,
Since your love 's dead and gane.'

12 '"I winna father my bairn,' she said,

' Upon an unkenn'd man ;
I'll father it on the King of Heaven,
Since my love 's dead and gane.' "

13 The knight he knack'd his white fingers,

The ladye tore her hair ;
He 's drawn the mask from off his face,
Says " Ladye, mourn nae mair !

14 " For ye are mine, and I am thine,

I see your love is true ;
And if I love and brook my life,
Ye'se ne'er ha'e cause to rue."

SIB HUGH LE BLOND.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 51.

" This ballad," says Sir Walter Scott, " is a northern composition,
and seems to have been the original of the legend called ' Sir
Aldingar,' which is printed in the Beliques of Ancient Poetry. The
incidents are nearly the same in both ballads, excepting that in
' Aldingar ' an angel combats for the Queen, instead of a mortal
champion. The names of ' Aldingar ' and ' Rodingham ' approach near
to each other in sound, though not in orthography, and the one
might, by reciters, be easily substituted for the other. I think I
have seen both the name and the story in an ancient prose chronicle,
but am unable to make any reference in support of my belief.

" The tradition upon which the ballad is founded is universally
current in the Mearns; and the editor is informed that, till very
lately, the sword with which Sir Hugh le Blond was believed to have

348 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

defended the life and honour of the Queen was carefully preserved
by his descendants, the Viscounts of Arbuthnot. That Sir Hugh of
Arbuthnot lived in the thirteenth century, is proved by his having
(1282) bestowed the patronage of the church of Garvoch upon the
monks of Aberbrothwick, for the safety of his soul. Register of
Aberbrothwick, quoted by Crawford in Peerage. But I find no instance
in history in which the honour of a Queen of Scotland was committed
to the chance of a duel.

' ' But, true or false, the incident narrated in the ballad is in the
genuine style of chivalry. Eomances abound with similar instances,
nor are they wanting in real history. The most solemn part of a
knight's oath was to defend ' all widows, orpheliues, and maidens of
gude fame.' Lindsay's Heraldry MS. The love of arms was a real
passion of itself, which blazed yet more fiercely when united with
the enthusiastic admiration of the fair sex. The knight of Chaucer
exclaims, with chivalrous energy

' To fight for a lady! a benedicite!
It were a lusty sight for to see.'

It was an argument, seriously urged by Sir John of Heinault, for
making war upon Edward II. in behalf of his banished wife, Isabella,
that knights were bound to aid, to their uttermost power, all dis-
tressed damsels living without counsel or comfort.

" Such was the readiness with which, in those times, heroes put
their lives in jeopardy for honour and lady's sake. But, I doubt
whether the fair dames of the present day will think that the risk
of being burnt, upon every suspicion of frailty, would be altogether
compensated by the probability that a disinterested champion, like
Hugh le Blond, would take up the gauntlet in their behalf. I fear
they will rather accord to the sentiment of the hero of an old romance,
who expostulates thus with a certain duke :

' Certes, Sir Duke, thou doest unright,
To make a roast of your daughter bright,
I wot you ben unkind.' Amis and Amelion.

" I was favoured with the following copy of Sir Hugh le Blond, by
K. Williamson Burnet, Esq. of Monboddo, who wrote it down from
the recitation of an old woman, long in the service of the Arbuthnot
family. Of course, the diction is very much humbled, and it has, in
all probability, undergone many corruptions ; but its antiquity is
indubitable, and the story, though indifferently told, is in itself
interesting. It is believed that there have been many more verses."

1 THE birds sang sweet as ony bell,

The world had not their maik ;
The Queen she 's gone to her chamber,
With Kodingham to talk.

2 ' I love you well, my Queen, my dame,,

'Bove land and rents so clear;
And for the love of you, my Queen,
Would thole* pain most severe."

* "Thole:" bear.

SIR HUGH LE BLOND. 349

3 " If well you love me, Rodingham,

I'm sure so do I thee ;
I love you well as any man,
Save the King's fair bodye."

4 "I love you well, my Queen, my dame,

Tis truth that I do tell;
Your love and favour for to win,
The salt seas I wou'd sail."

5 " Away, away. Rodingham !

Speak not such words to me ;
Nor plot such wrong against the King,
Who puts such trust in thee.*

6 " To-morrow you'd be taken sure,

And like a traitor slain ;
And I'd be burned at a stake,
Although I be the Queen."

7 He then stepp'd out at her room door,

All in an angry mood ;
Until he met a leper-man,
Just by the hard wayside.

8 He intoxicate the leper-man,

With liquors very sweet,
And gave him more and more to drink,
Until he fell asleep.

9 He took him in his arms twa,

And carried him along,
Till he came to the Queen's own bed,
And there he laid him down.

10 He then stepp'd out of the Queen's bow'r,

As swift as any roe,
Till he came to the very place
Where the King himself did go.

11 The King said unto Rodingham

" What news have you to me ?"
He said " Your Queen 's a false woman,
As I did plainly see."

12 He hasten'd to the Queen's chamber,

So costly and so fine,
Until he came to the Queen's own bed,
That the leper-man lay in.

* The third line of stanza 4 and the three last of stanza 5 are substituted for others
as delicate, as given in the original.

350 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

13 He look'd upon the leper-man,

Who lay on his Queen's bed;
He lifted up the snaw-white sheets,
And thus he to him said:

14 " Plooky,* plooky are your cheeks,

And plooky is your chin;
And plooky are your arms twa,
My bonnie Queen 's lain in.

15 " Since she has lain into your arms,

She shall not lye in mine ;
Since she has kiss'd your ugsome-f' mouth,
She ne'er mair shall kiss mine."

16 In anger he went to the Queen,

Who fell upon her knee;
He said "You false, unchaste woman,
What 's this you've done to me ? "

17 The Queen then turn'd herself about.

The tear blinded her e'e:
" There 's not a knight in all your court
Care give that name to me."

18 He said " 'Tis true that I do say,

For I a proof did make:
You shall be taken from my bow'r,
And burned at a stake.

19 " Perhaps I'll take my word again,

And may repent the same,
If that you'll get a Christian man
To fight that Kodingham."

20 " Alas ! alas ! " then cried our Queen,

" Alas ! and woe to me !
There 's not a man in all Scotland
Will fight with him for me."

21 She breath'd unto her messengers,

Sent them south, east, and west;
They cou'd find none to fight with him,
Nor enter the contest.

22 She breath'd unto her messengers,

Sent them unto the north;
And there they found Sir Hugh le Blond,
To fight him he came forth.

* "Plooky:" pimply. f "Ugsome:" loathsome.

SIR HUGH LE BLOND. 351

23 When unto him they did unfold

The circumstance all right,
He bade them go and tell the Queen
That for her he wou'd fight.

24 The day came on that was to do

That dreadful tragedy ;
Sir Hugh le Blond was not come up
To fight for our ladye.

25 "Put on the fire," the monster said:

" It is twelve on the bell."
"'Tis scarcely ten, now," said the King;
" I heard the clock mysel'."

26 Before the hour the Queen is brought,

The burning to proceed;
In a black velvet chair she 's set,
A token for the dead.

27 She saw the flames ascending high,

The tears blinded her e'e :
"Where is the worthy knight," she said,
" Who is to fight for me? "

28 Then up and spake the King himsel'

" My dearest, have no doubt,
For yonder comes the man himsel',
As bold as e'er set out."

29 They then advanced to fight the duel

With swords of temper'd steel,
Till down the blood of Rodingham
Went running to his heel.

30 Sir Hugh took out a trusty sword,

'Twas of the metal clear,
And he has pierced Rodingham
Till 's heart-blood did appear.

31 "Confess your treachery now," he said,

" This day before you die ! "
"I do confess my treachery,
I shall no longer lie :

32 " I like to wicked Haman am,

This day I shall be slain."
The Queen was brought to her chamber,
A good woman again.

352 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND,

33 The Queen then said unto the King

" Arbattle 's near the sea;
Give it unto the northern knight
That this day fought for me."

34 Then said the King " Come here, Sir Knight,

And drink a glass of wine;

And, if Arbattle 's not enough,

To it we'll Fordoun join."

SIR HUGH AND THE JEW'S DAUGHTER.

" The following ballad bears a great resemblance to the 'Prioresse's
Tale ' in Chaucer : the poet seems also to have had an eye to the
known story of ' Hugh of Lincoln,' a child said to have been murdered
by the Jews (A.D. 1255) in the reign of Henry III.," as related by
Matthew Paris. One Jew, who received a promise of impunity,
confessed to the crime ; on which, in spite of the promise made to
him, he was tied to the tail of a horse and dragged to the gallows ;
eighteen of the richest Jews in Lincoln being also hanged as partici-
pants, while many more were imprisoned in the Tower of London.
On the other hand, the body of the child was buried with the honours
of martyrdom in Lincoln Cathedral ; but whether the Shrine of Saint
Hugo in that Cathedral was erected for the bishop of that name, or
for the reputed martyr, cannot be determined. " The remains of a
young person found near this spot, in 1791, were at once taken for
granted to be those of the sainted infant ; and drawings were made
of the relics, which may be seen among the works of the artist
Grimm, in the British Museum." Professor Child's English and
Scottish Ballads, vol. iii., p. 136.

"Michel has published an Anglo-Norman ballad ('Hugo de Lin-
colnia ') on the subject, which appears to be almost contemporary
with the event recorded by Matthew Paris, and is certainly of the
times of Henry III. The whole subject is critically examined in the
Athenceum for December 15, 1849." Ibid, pp. 137 and 138.

The ballad here printed has been somewhat freely rendered from
the versions which have appeared as under :

I. "The Jew's Daughter," in Percy's JReliques, vol. i., where
it is termed "A Scottish Ballad," and is said to be
"printed from a MS. copy sent from Scotland." It
begins

" The rain rips doune thro' Mirry land tonne,

Sae dois it doune the Pa:
Sae dois the lads of Mirry-land toune,
Qnhan they play at the ba."

II. " Sir Hugh," in Herd's Scottish Songs, voL i., p. 96.

SIR HUGH AND THE JEW'S DAUGHTER. 353

III. " Hugh of Lincoln," in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. i.,

p. 139, where it is given verbatim as the editor took it
down from Mrs. Brown's recitation. This version pre-
serves the tradition that the " child's body" was thrown
" into a well dedicated to the Virgin Mary ; and tradition
says that it was through the might of ' Our Ladye' that
the dead- body was permitted to speak and to reveal the
horrid story to the disconsolate mother." "The volun-
tary ringing of the bells, &c., at his funeral," belong
to this version, connected with which "Blind Harry's
account of the death of Sir William Wallace" is referred
to by the editor.

IV. " Sir Hugh ; or, The Jew's Daughter," in Motherwell's Min-

strelsy, p. 51, where it is " given as taken down from
the recitation of a lady; and contains some additional
circumstances not to be found in any of the [other]
copies."

V. "Sir Hugh of Lincoln, an old Scottish ballad," in Sten-

house's Notes to Johnson's Musical Museum, p. 500.

VT. "Sir Hugh," in Hume's Sir Hugh of Lincoln. This is a
version obtained from recitation in Ireland.

"Besides these," says Professor Child, "fragments have been printed
in Sir Egerton Brydge's Restituta, I., 381, Halliwell's Ballads and
Poems respecting Hugh of Lincoln (1849), and in Notes and Queries,
vol. viii., p. 614; ix., 320; xii., 496." English and Scottish Ballads,
vol. Hi., p. 137.

The following, which went the round of the newspapers about Easter
of the present year (1870), shows the firm hold which such superstitious
prejudices have on the minds of the ignorant and credulous of all
nations and times :

"THE RELIGION OF LOVE. The Cologne Gazette publishes a pastoral
letter by the Greek Patriarch at Constantinople. The approach of
Easter always induces the Christian population to persecute and
annoy the Jews, on which subject the document says : ' Superstition
is a detestable thing. Almost all the Christian nations of the East
have taken up the extravagant idea that the Israelites enjoy shedding
Christian blood, either to obtain thereby a blessing from Heaven, or
to gratify their national rancour against Christ. Hence conflicts and
disturbances break out, by which the social harmony between the
dwellers in the same land, yea, the same fatherland, is disturbed.
Thus a report was lately spread of the abduction of little Christian
children in order to give a pretext for suspicion. We, on our side,
abhor such lying fancies; we regard them as the superstitions of men
of weak faith and narrow minds; and we disavow them officially.
We think that every pious Christian should think more favourably of
his Jewish fellow-citizens. Neither the Mosaic law, nor the present
social development of the Jews, nor their natural gentleness, warrant
such false accusations. Think of the beauty and sublime greatness of
Christ's gospel, which threatens the punishment of hell for evil
speaking, and commands love and humanity, even towards enemies.

2 A

354 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

The gospel also commands us to let our light so shine before men that
they may see our good works, and glorify our Father which is in
heaven.'"

1 'TWAS merry, 'twas merry, in Lincoln town,

Upon brave Hallow-day;
For then all the schoolboys of Lincoln town
Got out to sport and play.

2 There four-and-twenty bonnie young boys

Were playing at the ball,
With sweet Sir Hugh of Lincoln town,
The flower amang them all.

3 He kick'd the ball with his right foot,

And stopp'd it with his knee,
Till thro' and thro' the Jew's window
He made the ball to flee.

4 Then round and round the Jew's dwelling

Sir Hugh he walk'd about,
Until he saw the Jew's daughter
At a window looking out.

5 " Throw down the ball, ye Jew's daughter,

Throw down the ball," said he.
" No, never a bit," said the Jew's daughter,
" Come up and get it frae me."

6 "I cannot go up, I will not go up,

I will not go up to thee ;
I cannot go up, I will not go up,
Some harm you wou'd do me." *

7 " Come in, Sir Hugh, my sweet Sir Hugh,

Come in and get the ball."
" I cannot go in, I will not go in,
Without my play-feres all."

8 She pull'd an apple frae the tree,

An apple red and green;
And with the apple that she pull'd,
She wiled the young thing in.

9 She led him to her own chamber,

To the board where she did dine,
Then stuck a penknife in his heart,
And dress'd him like a swine. "f

* " For as ye did to my auld father,

The same ye'll do to me." Jamieson's version.

t " 'She dressed him like a swan,' was the reading we got," says Mr. Motherwell.

SIR HUGH AND THE JEW'S DAUGHTER. 355

10 And first came out the thick, thick blood,

And syne came out the thin:
It came frae the heart of sweet Sir Hugh,
And left no life within.

11 She roll'd him in a cake of lead,

Bade him lie still and sleep ;
Then threw him in Our Ladye's well,
Was fifty fathom deep.

12 When bells were rung, and mass was sung,

And all the boys went home;
Then every ladye got her son,
But Sir Hugh's mother alone.

13 She wrapp'd her mantle her about,

And hied her up and down ;
And till the dead hour of the night,
She search'd through Lincoln town.

14 Then out she cried " My sweet Sir Hugh,

Oh, where, where can you be?
If you speak to any one on earth,
I pray thee speak to me.

15 " My bonnie Sir Hugh, my sweet Sir Hugh,

I pray thee to me speak."
" Oh, deep down in Our Ladye's well
Your young son you must seek."

16 Then she ran to Our Ladye's well,

And knelt upon her knee :
" My bonnie Sir Hugh, my sweet Sir Hugh,
I pray thee speak to me."

17 " The lead is wond'rous heavy, mother,

The well is wond'rous deep ;
A keen penknife sticks in my heart,
But here I cannot sleep.

18 " Then hie you home, my mother dear,

Prepare my winding sheet;
And at the back of Lincoln town,
To-morrow we shall meet."

19 Ladye Helen quickly hied her home,

Made him a winding sheet;
And at the back of Lincoln town,
Next day the corpse did meet.

356 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

20 Then she had him laid in hallow'd ground,

And the death-mass for him sung ;
While all the bells of Lincoln town
Without men's hands were rung.

21 And all the books of Lincoln town

Were read without man's tongue ;
There was never such a burial

Of old nor yet of young ;
There was never such a burial

Since Adam's days begun.

22 Oh, the broom, the bonnie, bonnie broom,

The broom that makes full sore :
A woman's mercy is very little,
But a man's mercy is more.

THE

BALLAD MINSTEELSY

SCOTLAND,

ROMANTIC AND HISTORICAL.

PART n.-HISTORICAL AND MISCELLANEOUS.
FROM THE REIGN OF ALEXAKDEB IIL

HARDYKNUTE.

A FRAGMENT.
EDINBURGH :

Printed by James Watson, Printer to the King's Most Excellent Majesty.
MDCCXIX.

The above is the title and imprint of the earliest dated edition of
" the celebrated poem or ballad of ' Hardyknute,' " * a copy of which,
consisting of " 12 pages (folio), very neatly printed," is preserved
in the Advocates' lobrary ; but the "original edition" is now,
"from internal evidence," supposed to be "one in 12mo (pp. 8),
without date, of which a copy is in [the] possession of Mr. David
Laing, and seems never to have had a title. The poem is styled
' " Hardiknute," a fragment of an old heroick ballad.' Besides an
immense variety of minute differences, and some important and
material alterations, the folio edition has three stanzas more than
the one in 12mo" viz., those here numbered 27, 28, and 40. " The
folio being more enlarged and polished, it is a fair presumption that
the less ample and ruder version was a first attempt." t

Allan Ramsay's Evergreen (1724) purported to be "a collection of
Scots poems, wrote by the ingenious before 1600 ; " and it contains,
toward the end of the second volume, "Hardyknute," with the
addition of the stanzas here numbered 17, 18, 20,' 21, 22, 23, 34, 35,

* Ritson'e.

t Letters from Bishop Percy, &C., to George Paton. Note to Prefatory Notice, p. 4.

358 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

36, 37, 41, and 42. " Many different readings are given ; and Ramsay,
to confirm the authenticity of the whole, has everywhere changed the
initial y to z," and rendered the general orthography uncouthly antique.

An edition "with modernized text, general remarks, and notes,"
from the editorial pen of John Moncrieff, author of Appius: a Tragedy,
was published, London, 1740.

The Evergreen text was reprinted by Foulis of Glasgow, 1748. It
also appears " in a collection of Scots poems on several occasions, by
the late Mr. Alexander Penicuick, Gent., and others; Edinburgh,
printed for James Reid, bookseller in Leith, 1756."

" Lord President Forbes and Sir Gilbert Elliot of Minto (Lord
Justice Clerk for Scotland), who had believed it ancient, contributed
to the expense of publishing the " folio edition ; and it appears to
have "generally passed for ancient," until Sir David Dalrymple,
Lord Hailes, transmitted to Bishop Percy "the following particulars,"
as contained in a prefatory note to "this fine morsel of heroic poetry,"
in the second edition of the Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, voL
ii. (1767). Those "particulars," the editor states, "maybe depended
on," and are, that "one Mrs. (Lady) Wardlaw, whose maiden name
was [Elizabeth] Halket" (second daughter of Sir Charles Halket of
Pitferran, Fifeshire, and widow of Sir Henry Wardlaw, Bart, of
Pitreavie and Balmule, near Dunfermline, in the same county),
"pretended she had found this poem, written on shreds of paper,
employed for what is called the bottoms of clues. A suspicion arose
that it was her own composition;" and "the lady did in a manner
acknowledge it to be so. Being desired to show an additional
stanza as a proof of this, she produced the two last [41 and 42], which
were not in the copy that was first printed."* Lord Hailes was,
however, " of opinion that part of the ballad may be ancient, but
retouched and much enlarged by the lady above mentioned. Indeed,
he had been informed that the late William Thomson, the Scottish
musician, who published the Orpheus Caledonius, 1733, 2 vols. 8vo,
declared he had heard portions of it repeated in his infancy, before
Lady Wardlaw's copy was heard of."

Bishop Percy "was also informed, on the authority of Dr. David
Clerk, M.D., of Edinburgh, that between the present stanzas, 36 and

37, the two following had been intended, but were on maturer con-
sideration omitted :

" ' Now darts flew wavering through slaw speed,

Scarce could they reach their aim ;
Or reach'd, scarce blood the round point drew,

'Twas all but shot in vain:
Bight strengthy arms fore-feebled grew,

Sair wreck'd wi' that day's toils;
E'en fierce-born minds now lang'd for peace,

And curs'd war's cruel broils.

l; ' Yet still war's horns sounded to charge,

Swords clash'd and harness rang ;
But saftly sae ilk blastie blew

The hills and dales frae 'mang.
Nae echo heard in double dints,

Nor the lang- winding horn;
Nae mair she blew out brade, as she

Did eir that summer's morn.'"

* She was born, April, 1677; married, June, 1696; and died in 1727.

HARDYKNUTE. 359

In Scottish Tragic Ballads (1781), Pinkerton gave to the world
"Hardyknute," in what he professed to regard as "its original
perfection," such "perfection" being the result of sundry improve-
ments on the previous text, and the addition of a second part by
himself; although, in his Prefatory Dissertation II. (p xxxv.), he
alleges his indebtedness, "for most of the stanzas now recovered, to
the memory of a lady in Lanarkshire."

In the second edition of the same work, published as Select Scottish
Ballads, vol. i. (1783), and in "A List of the Scottish Poets," pre-
fixed to Ancient Scottish Poems (1786), vol. L (p. cxxvi-viii.), he
propounded, on the authority of an alleged communication from
Lord Hailes, an elaborate theory as to the assumed authorship of
part first by Sir John Bruce, brother-in-law to Lady Wardlaw. He
then proceeds (p. cxxviii.) to state, regarding "the second part of
' Hardyknute,' written in 1776 [when he was only eighteen years
of age], but not published till 1781, the editor must now confess
himself guilty. "

With reference to the assumed authorship of the first part by Sir
John Bruce, the literary correspondence of Pinkerton, published by
Mr. Dawson Turner, in 2 vols. 8vo, 1830, furnishes the following
sufficient refutation, in a letter from Lord Hailes to Pinkerton, dated
2d December, 1785, wherein his lordship states: "You mistook if
you suppose that I reckoned Sir John Bruce to be the author of
' Hardyknute.' It was his sister-in-law, Lady Wardlaw, who is said
to have been the author. All that I know on the subject is men-
tioned in Bishop Percy's collection. If you want to have the original
edition, with the supplementary stanzas in the handwriting of Dr.
John Clerk, the copy is at your service. "

Bishop Percy was subsequently " indebted" to Pinkerton " for the
use" of Dr. Clerk's copy, the "orthography" and "readings" of
which were " followed" in the fourth edition of the Reliques (1794),
"except in a few instances wherein the common edition appeared
preferable ; " but to counterbalance this service, he shamefully im-
posed on the worthy prelate's credulity, by foisting on him the
exploded theory as to Sir John Bruce's authorship; although, as
we now know, he had received a contradiction of it under the hand
of Lord Hailes, as above.

"Hardyknute," which Sir Walter Scott terms "a most spirited
and beautiful imitation of the ancient ballad," * and which, on its first
appearance, was so extravagantly lauded, has of late years been as
unduly depreciated. Its historical basis is rather hazy ; but it is
usually supposed to refer to the battle of Largs the Scotish Armada
fought on the 2d of October, 1263, between the invading force led
by Haco, King of Norway, and the Scotish army commanded in
person by King Alexander III. The total loss of the Norwegians in
men, in this, to them, most disastrous expedition, has been computed
at 20,000, and that of the Scots at 5,000. The victory of the latter
was largely due to Alexander, Lord High Stewart of Scotland, who

* Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. i., p. 43. "On the fly-leaf of his copy of Kamsay's Ever-
green, 1724, in which the ballad appeared in an amended form, he says. 'Hardyk-
nute was the first poem I ever learnt the last that I shall forget.'" Mr. D. Laing, in
Notes to Johnson's Musical Museum, p. *321.

360 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

led the right wing of the Scotish army, and who is supposed to be
represented in the ballad as " Hardy knute," or Hardyknicht. The
results of this important battle were the immediate and permanent
loss to Scandinavia of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man, which depen-
dencies were relinquished to Alexander III. of Scotland, by terms of
a treaty concluded in 1266, with Magnus, the successor of Haco. The
battle of Largs put an effectual stop to Scandinavian aggressions upon
Scotland, which thenceforth came to be regarded as "the grave of
the Danes," whose descendants were consequently led to shun its
fatal shores.

The text of the Beliques, fourth edition, is here adopted, except
in a few instances.

1 STATELY stepp'd he east the wall,

And stately stepp'd he west;
Full seventy years he now had seen,

With scarce seven years of rest.
He lived when Britons' breach of faith

Wrought Scotland meikle wae ;
And aye his sword tauld, to their cost,

He was their deadly fae.

2 High on a hill his castle stood,

With halls and tow'rs a height,
And goodly chambers fair to see,

Where he lodged many a knight.
His dame, sae peerless ance and fair,

For chaste and beauty deem'd,
Nae marrow had in all the land,

Save Elenor,* the queen.

3 Full thirteen sons to him she bare,

All men of valour stout ;
In bluidy light, with sword in hand,

Nine lost their lives but doubt.
Four yet remain; long may they live

To stand by liege and land!
High was their fame, high was their might,

And high was their command.

4 Great love they bare to Fairly fair,

Their sister saft and dear;
Her girdle show'd her middle jimp,

And gowden glist her hair.
What waefu' wae her beauty bred !

Waefu' to young and auld ;
Waefu', I trow, to kith and kin,

As story ever tauld.

* "Margaret" was the name of the queen of Alexander III. Her mother was
' Elenor," queen of England.

HARDYKNUTE. 361

5 The king of Norse, in summer tide,

Puff' d up with pow'r and might,
Landed in fair Scotland the isle,

With mony a hardy knight.
The tidings to our gude Scots king

Came, as he sat at dine,
With noble chiefs, in brave array,

Drinking the bluid-red wine.

6 "To horse! to horse! my royal liege !

Your faes stand on the stranti ;
Full twenty thousand glitt'ring spears

The king of Norse commands."
" Bring me my steed Madge, dapple gray,"

Our gude king rose and cry'd :
" A trustier beast in all the land

A Scots king never try'd.

7 " Go, little page, tell Hardyknute,

That lives on hill so hie,
To draw his sword, the dread of faes,

And haste and follow me."
The little page flew swift as dart

Flung by his master's arm:
" Come down, come down, Lord Hardyknute,

And rid your king frae harm."

8 Then red, red grew his dark-brown cheeks,

Sae did his dark-brown brow;
His looks grew keen, as they were wont

In dangers great to do.
He 's ta'en a horn as green as glass,

And gi'en five sounds sae shrill,
That trees in greenwood shook thereat,

Sae loud rang ilka hill.

9 His sons in manly sport and glee

Had pass'd that summer's morn,
When, lo ! down in a grassy dale,

They heard their father's horn.
" That horn," quo' they, " ne'er sounds in peace-

We've other sport to bide;"
And soon they hied them up the hill,

And soon were at his side.

10 " Late, late yestreen I ween'd in peace

To end my lengthen'd life;
My age might well excuse my arm
Frae manly feats of strife ;

362 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

But now that Norse do proudly boast

Fair Scotland to enthrall,
It 's ne'er be said of Hardyknute,

He fear'd to fight or fall.

11 " Kobin of Eothsay, bend thy bow ;

Thy arrows shoot sae leel,
That mony a comely countenance

They've turn'd to deadly pale.
Brade Thomas, take ye but your lance ;

Ye need nae weapons mair,
If you fight wi 't as you did ance,

'Gainst Westmoreland's fierce heir.

12 " And Malcolm, light of foot as stag,

That runs in forest wild,
Get me my thousands three of men

Well bred to sword and shield.
Bring me my horse and harnesine,

My blade of metal clear ;
If faes but kenn'd the hand it bare,

They soon had fled for fear.

13 " Farewell, my dame, sae peerless gude,"

And took her by the hand,
" Fairer to me in age you seem,

Than maids for beauty fam'd.
My youngest son shall here remain

To guard these stately towers,
And shut the silver bolt that keeps

Sae fast your painted bowers."

14 And first she wet her comely cheeks,

And then her boddice green ;
Her silken cords of twirtle twist,

Well plett with silver sheen ;
And apron set with mony a dice

Of needle-work sae rare,
Wove by nae hand, as ye may guess,

Save that of Fairly fair.

15 And he has ridden o'er muir and moss,

O'er hills and mony a glen,
When he came to a wounded knight,

Making a heavy mane :
" Here must I lie, here must I die,

By treachery's false guiles ;
Witless I was, that e'er gave faith

To wicked woman's smiles."

HARDYKNUTE. 363

16 " Sir Knight, if ye were in my bow'r,

To lean on silken seat,
My ladye's kindly care you'd prove,

Who ne'er kenn'd deadly hate.
Her self wou'd watch you all the day,

Her maids watch all the night ;
And Fairly fair your heart wou'd cheer,

As she stands in your sight.

17 " Arise, young knight, and mount your steed,

Full lowns the shining day ;
Choose frae my men whom you do please,

To lead you on the way."
With smileless look, and visage wan,

The wounded knight reply'd,
" Kind chieftain, your intent pursue,

For here I maun abide.

18 " To me nae after day nor night

Can e'er be sweet or fair ;
But soon beneath some drapping tree,

Cauld death shall end my care."
With him nae pleading might prevail ;

Brave Hardyknute to gain,
With fairest words and reason strong,

Strave courteously in vain.

19 Syne he has gone far hynd out o'er

Lord Chattan's land sae wide ;
That lord a worthy wight was aye,

When faes his courage try'd :
Of Pictish race, by mother's side,

When Picts rul'd Caledon,
Lord Chattan claim'd the princely maid,

When he sav'd Pictish crown.

20 Now with his fierce and stalwart train,

He reach'd a rising height,
Where, braid encampit on the dale,

The Norsemen lay in sight.
" Yonder, my valiant sons and feirs,

Our raging reivers wait
On the unconquer'd Scotish sward,

To try with us their fate.

21 " Make orisons to Him that sav'd

Our souls upon the rood,
Syne bravely show your veins are fill'd
With Caledonian bluid."

364 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Then forth he drew his trusty glave,

While thousands all around,
Drawn frae their sheaths, glanc'd in the sun,

And loud the bugles sound.

22 To join his king, adown the hill

In haste his march he made,
While, playin' pibrochs, minstrels meet,

Before him stately strade.
" Thrice welcome, valiant stoop of weir,

Thy nation's shield and pride ;
Thy king nae reason has to fear,

When thou art by his side."

23 When bows were bent and darts were thrown,

For thrang scarce could they flee,
The darts clove arrows as they met,

The arrows dart the tree.
Lang did they rage and fight full fierce,

With little scaith to man ;
But bluidy, bluidy was the field,

Ere that lang day was done.

24 The king of Scots that sindle brook'd

The war that look'd like play,
Drew his braid sword, and brake his bow,

Since bows seem'd but delay.
Quoth noble Kothsay " Mine I'll keep,

I wot it 's bled a score."
" Haste up, my merry men," cried the king,

As he rode on before.

25 The king of Norse he sought to find,

With him to 'mence the faught ;
But on his forehead there did light

A sharp unsonsie shaft.
As he his hand put up to find

The wound, an arrow keen,
Oh, waeful chance! there pinn'd his hand

In midst between his een.

26 "Revenge! revenge!" cried Eothsay's heir,

" Your mail-coat shall not bide
The strength and sharpness of my dart;"

Then sent it through his side.
Another arrow well he mark'd,

It pierc'd his neck in twa :
His hands then quat the silver reins

He low as earth did fa'.

HARDYKNUTE. 365

27 " Sair bleeds my liege, sair, sair he bleeds!"

Again with might he drew,
And gesture dread his sturdy bow,

Fast the braid arrow flew.
Wae to the knight he ettled at !

Lament now, queen Elgreid !
High dames, too, wail your darling's fall,

His youth and comely meid.

28 " Take aff, take aff his costly jupe,"

(Of gold well was it twiu'd,
Knit like the fowler's net, through which

His steelly harness shin'd).
" Take Norse that gift frae me, and bid

Him venge the bluid it bears ;
Say, if he face my bended bow,

He sure nae weapon fears."

29 Proud Norse, with giant body tall,

Braid shoulder, and arms strong,
Cried " Where is Hardyknute, sae farn'd

And fear'd at Britain's throne?
Tho' Britons tremble at his name,

I soon shall make him wail
That e'er my sword was made sae sharp,

Sae saft his coat of mail."

30 That brag his stout heart cou'dna bide,

It lent him youthful might :
" I'm Hardyknute; this day," he cried,

" To Scotland's king I heght
To lay thee low as horses' hoof;

My word I mean to keep : "
Syne, with the first stroke e'er he strake,

He gar'd his body bleed.

31 Norse e'en like gray gos-hawks stair'd wild,

He sigh'd with shame and spite :
" Disgrac'd is now my far-fam'd arm,

That left thee power to smite."
Then gave his head a blow sae fell,

It made him down to stoop,
As low as he to ladies us'd

In courtly guise to lout.

32 Full soon he rais'd his bent body,

His bow he marvell'd sair,
Since blows till then on him but darr'd
As touch of Fairly fair.

366 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Norse marvell'd too as sair as he,

To see his stately look ;
Sae soon as e'er he strake a fae,

Sae soon his life he took.

33 Where, like a fire to heather set,

Bauld Thomas did advance,
A sturdy fae, with look enrag'd,

Up towards him did prance.
He spurr'd his steed throw thickest ranks.

The hardy youth to quell,
Who stood unmov'd at his approach,

His fury to repel.

34 " That short brown shaft, sae meanly trimm'd,

Looks like poor Scotland's gear ;
But dreadful seems the rusty point ! "

And loud he leugh in jeer.
"Oft Britons' bluid has dimn'd its shine,

This point cut short their vaunt : "
Syne pierc'd the boaster's bearded cheek,

Nae time he took to taunt.

35 Short while he in his saddle swang,

His stirrup was nae stay :
Sae feeble hang his unbent knee,

Sure token he was fey.
Swith on the harden'd clay he fell,

Right far was heard the thud ;
But Thomas look'd not as he lay,

All weltering in his bluid.

36 With careless gesture, mind unmov'd,

On rode he north the plain ;
His seem in throng of fiercest strife

When winner aye the same.
Nor yet his heart-dame's dimpl'd cheek

Cou'd mease saft love to brook,
Till yengeful Ann return'd his scorn,

Then languid grew his look.

37 In thraws of death, with wallow'd cheek,

All panting on the plain,
The fainting corps of warriors lay,

Ne'er to arise again;
Ne'er to return to native land,

Nae mair, with blythesome sounds,
To boast the glories of the day,

And show their shining wounds.

HARDYKNUTE. 367

38 On Norway's coast the widow'd dame

May wash the rocks with tears
May lang look o'er the shipless seas

Before her mate appears.
Cease, Emma, cease to hope in vain,

Thy lord lies in the clay;
The valiant Scots nae reivers thole

To carry life away.

39 There on a lee, where stands a cross,

Set up for monument,
Thousands full fierce that summer's day

Fill'd keen war's black intent.
Let Scots, while Scots, praise Hardyknute,

Let Norse the name aye dread :
Ay, how he faught, oft how he spair'd,

Shall latest ages read.

40 Loud and chill blew the westlin' wind,

Sair beat the heavy shower,
Mirk grew the night ere Hardyknute

Wan near his stately tow'r.
His tow'r, that us'd with torches blaze,

To shine sae far at night,
Seem'd now as black as mourning weed,

Nae marvel sair he sigh'd.

41 " There 's nae light in my ladye's bower,

There's nae light in my ball;
Nae blink shines round my Fairly fair,

Nor ward stands on my wall.
What bodes it ? Robert, Thomas, say ! "

Nae answer fits their dread.
" Staud back, my sons, I'll be your guide; "

But by they pass'd with speed.

42 " As fast I've sped o'er Scotland's faes,"

There ceas'd his brag of weir ;
Sair sham'd to mind ought but his dame,

And maiden Fairly fair.
Black fear he felt ; but what to fear,

He wist not yet with dread ;
Sair shook his body, sair his limbs,

And all the warrior fled.

368 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

SIE PATRICK SPENS.

"The Grand Old Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens," as it is styled by
Coleridge, * ' ' lays claim to a high, and remote antiquity. It is supposed
by BishopPercy to be founded on some event of real history ; but in
what age the hero of it lived, or when the fatal expedition which it
records happened, he confesses himself unable to determine. Sir
Walter Scott and Mr. Finlay, in their respective collections, concur
in assigning it a like foundation, though they disagree as to the
historical incident whence it has originated; while, on the other
hand, Mr. Kitson asserts that ' no memorial of the subject of the
ballad exists in history.' Sir Walter Scott inclines to think that the
ballad may record some unsuccessful attempt to bring home Margaret,
commonly called 'The Maid of Norway,' previous to that embassy
despatched for her by the Regency of Scotland, after the death of her
grandfather, Alexander III. And, though no account of such an
expedition appears in history, it is nevertheless ingeniously contended,
that its silence cannot invalidate tradition, or form any argument
against the probability of such an event more especially when the
meagre materials whence Scottish history is derived are taken into
view. Mr. Finlay objects to giving the ballad, as it stands, so high
a claim to antiquity, but suggests that if it be referred to the time of
James III., who married Margaret, daughter of the King of Denmark,
it would be brought a step nearer probability.

" To both these opinions, however, Pdtson's observation applies
with overwhelming force. There is no historical evidence of this
disastrous shipwreck, either in the embassy for the Maiden of
Norway, or in that for the wife of James III. And meagre as the
sources of our history may be, it seems improbable that an expedition
which terminated so fatally, and to which so many of the choicest
gallants of the day, and highest nobles of the land, must necessarily
have been attached, should fail to be chronicled. Had they fallen in
the field of battle, would all memory of them have been lost ? Cer-
tainly not. If they perished on the ocean, why is history oblivious
of their names? The very circumstance of a national calamity like
this happening by shipwreck being of more rare occurrence than one
of equal magnitude in time of war, would, we think, be a very mean
of securing it a more prominent place in the histories of the times.
The ballad must therefore be either wholly fabulous, or it must refer
to some other event than any yet spoken of.

" Our own opinion is, that the ballad is founded on authentic
history, and that it records the melancholy and disastrous fate of the
gallant band which followed in the suite of Margaret, daughter of
Alexander III. , when she was espoused to Eric of Norway. According
to Fordun, in this expedition, many distinguished nobles accom-

* "The bard, be sure, was weather-wise, who framed
The Grand Old Ballad of 'Sir Patrick Spens.' "

Coleridge's Sibylline Leaves.

SIR PATRICK SPENS. 369

panied her to Norway to grace her nuptials, several of whom per-
ished in a storm while on their return to Scotland (A.D. MCCLXXXI.)
Fordun, lib. x., cap. xxxvii. Whoever studies the ballad attentively,
and makes due allowance for the transpositions, corruptions, and
interpolations which must unavoidably have crept into its text,
must ultimately become a convert to the opinion we have now
advanced. The bitter taunt of the Norwegians to Sir Patrick

'Ye Scottishmen spend a' our king's gowd,
And a' our queenis fee '

was without meaning and point formerly ; its application is now felt. "
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 9.

Versions of this ballad have appeared as under :

I. In Percy's Reliques, vol. i., as "given from two MS. copies,
transmitted from Scotland."

II. In Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. i., p. 295, as "taken from two
MS. copies, collated with several verses, recited by the
editor's friend, Robert Hamilton, Esq., advocate, being
the sixteenth, and the four which follow.* But even with
the assistance of the common copy, the ballad seems still
to be a fragment. The cause of Sir Patrick's voyage is,
however, pointed out distinctly; and it shows that the
song has claim to high antiquity, as referring to a very
remote period in Scottish history. "

III. In Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. i.,p. 157. This, "which

seems the most perfect" of Scott's "two MS. copies,"
was transmitted by him to Jamieson, as stated by
both.

IV. In Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 1, as "taken down

from the recitation of 'a wight of Homer's craft,' who, as
a wandering minstrel, blind from his infancy, has been
travelling in the north as a mendicant for these last fifty
years. He learned it in his youth from a very old person ;
and the words are exactly as recited." Note, p. 289.
Mr. Motherwell, who saw it in MS., styles it ''one of
the best sets of this ballad."

The text which follows is based upon Scott's version, with the
addition of stanzas 12, 13, and 16, from Mr. Buchan's version, and of
stanzas 21 and 22 from Mr. Finlay's Scottish Historical and Romantic
Ballads, vol. L, Preface, p. xiii.

The departures from Scott's text are neither numerous nor impor-
tant ; and wherever they appear to be of the slightest consequence,
the words of his text are noted under.

N.B. "In singing, the interjection '0 is added to the second
and fourth lines." Sir Walter Scott.

* In the text here printed, they are numbered 19, 20, 23, 24, and 25.
2 B

370 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

1 THE king sits in Dunfermline town,

Drinking the bluid-red wine:
" Oh, where will I get a glide skipper
To sail this ship of mine?"

2 It 's up and spake an eldern knight,

Sat at the king's right knee
" Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor
That ever sail'd the sea."

8 The king has written a braid letter,

And seal'd it with his hand,

And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,

Was walking on the strand.

4 " To Noroway, to Noroway,

To Noroway o'er the faem!
The king's daughter to 6 Noroway,
'Tis thou maun take c her hame 1 "

5 The first line that Sir Patrick read,

A loud, loud laugh laugh'd he ;
But ere he read it to an end, *
The tear blinded his e'e.

6 " Oh, wha is this has done this deed,

And tauld the king of me,
To send us out at this time of the year,
To sail upon the sea?

7 " Be't wind, be't weet, be't hail, be't sleet,

Our ship must sail the faem;
The king's daughter to d Noroway,
'Tis we must take 8 her hame.""f

'Skeely." ]
J> 'Of."

c ' Bring." f- Scott's version.
d 'To."
f 'Fetch."
* Percy's version reads,

" The next line that Sir Patrick read.'
t Buchan's version has the following stanzas:

" ' Yell eat and drink, my merry men a',

An' see ye be well thorn;
For blaw it weet, or blaw it wind.
My gude ship sails the morn.

" ' But I maun sail the seas the morn.

And likewise sae maun you;
To Noroway wi' our king's daughter,
A chosen queen she 's now.' "

SIR PATRICK SPENS. 371

8 They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn,

With all the speed they may,
And they ha'e landed in Noroway
Upon a Wodensday.

9 They hadna been a week, a week

In Noroway, but twae,
When that the lords of Noroway
Began aloud to say: *

10 " Ye Scottishmen spend all our king's gowd,

And all our [young] queen's fee."
" Ye lee, ye lee, ye liars loud!
Full loud I hear ye lee !

11 "For I ha'e brought as much white monie

As gane { my men and me ;
I brought a half-fouj of gude red gowd
Out o'er the sea with me.

12 " But betide me weil, betide me wae,

This day I'se leave the shore ;
And never spend my king's monie
'Mong Noroway dogs no more."

13 Then out it spake a gude auld man,

[In Sir Patrick's companie :]
" Whatever ye do, my gude master,
Take God your guide to be."

14 " Make ready, make ready, my merry men all,

Our gude ship sails the morn."
" Now, ever alake! my master dear,
I fear a deadly storm!

15 " I saw the new moon, late yestreen,

With the auld moon in her arm;
And if we gang to sea, master,
I fear we'll come to harm."

* " They hadna stayed into that place

A month but and a day,
Till he caused the flap in mugs gae roun',

And wine in cans sae gay.
" The pipe and harp sae sweetly play'd,

The trumpets loudly sound;
In every hall wherein they stayed,
Wi' their mirth did rebound." Buchan's version.

t " Gane : " serve or suffice.

J "I brought a half-fou o' gude red gowd." Percy and Scott
Scott explains " half-fou " as meaning " the eighth part of a peck."

"A gude death mot he dee." Buchan.

372 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

16 [Sir Patrick and his merry men all

Were ance mair on the faem;] *
With five-and-fifty Scots lords' sons,
That lang'd to be at hame.

17 But they hadna sail'd upon the sea

A day but barely three,

When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud,
And gurly grew the sea.

1 8 The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap,

It was sic a deadly storm :
And the waves came o'er the broken ship
Till all her sides were torn.

19 " Oh, where will I get a gude sailor

To take my helm in hand,
Till I get up to the tall topmast,
To see if I can spy land ? "

20 " Oh, here am I, a sailor gude,

To take the helm in hand,
Till you go up to the tall topmast;
But I fear ye'll ne'er spy land."

21 Then up and came a mermaid wild,

With a siller cup in her hand :
" Sail on, sail on, my gude Scots lords,
For ye soon will see dry land."

22 " Awa, awa, ye mermaid wild,

And let your fleechin' be ;
For, since your face we've seen the day,
Dry land we'll never see."

23 He hadna gane a step, a step,

A step but barely ane,
When a bolt flew out of the goodly ship, f
And the saut sea it came in. J

* " Young Patrick he is on the sea,

And even on the faem." Buchan.

t "I believe a modern seaman would say, 'a plank had started.' . . . Mr. Finlay,
however, thinks it rather means that ' a bolt gave way.' " Scott. On which sapient
controversy Mr. Motherwell sagely remarks: "It seems to us particularly obvious,
that 'if a bar or bolt (Scottice, bout) had loosened,' a plank must necessarily have
started."

% ' He hadna gane to his tapmast,

A step but barely three,
Till thro' and thro' the bonnie ship's side
He saw the green haw sea.

SIR PATRICK SPENS. 373

24 " Gae fetch a web of the silken claith.

Another of the twine,
And wap them into our gude ship's side,
And let na the sea come in." *

25 They fetch'd a web of the silken claith,

Another of the twine ;

And they wapp'd them into the gude ship's side,
But still the sea came in.

26 Oh, laith, laith were our gude Scots lords

To weet their cork-heel'd "f shoon!
But lang or all the play was play'd,
They wet their hats aboon.

27 And mony was the feather bed

That floated on the faem;
And mony was the gude lord's son
That never mair came hame.

28 Oh, lang, lang may the ladies sit,

And gaze with fan in hand, J
Before they see Sir Patrick Spens
Come sailing to the strand.

29 And lang, lang may the maidens sit,

With their gowd kaims in their hair,
A-waiting for their ain dear loves;
For them they'll see nae mair.

" ' There are five-an'-flfty feather beds,

Well packed in ae room;
And ye'll get as muckle gude canvas
As wrap the ship a' roun';

" ' Ye'll pict her well, and spare her not,

And mak' her hale and scran'; '
But ere he had the word well spoke,
The bonnie ship was down.

" Oh, laith, laith were our gude lords' sons

To weet their milk-white hands;
But lang ere a' the play was ower,
They wat their gowden bands." Buchan's version.

* " The remedy applied seems to be that mentioned in Cook's Voyages, when, upon
pome occasion, to stop a leak, which could not be got at in the inside, a quilted sail
was brought under the vessel, which, being drawn into the leak by the suction, pre-
vented the entry of more water. Chaucer says,

' There n'is na new guise that it na'as old.' "Scott,
t "Coal-black." Buchan.
t " Wi' their fans into their hand." Percy and Scott

374 BALLAD MIXSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

30 Half ower, half ower to Aberdour,*

'Tis fifty fathoms deep;
And there lies gude Sir Patrick Speus,
With the Scots lords at his feet.

THOMAS THE KHYMER.

PART FIRST. ANCIENT.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, voL iv., p. 110.

"Few personages are so renowned in tradition as Thomas of Ercil-
doune, known by the appellation of 'The Rhymer.' Uniting, or
supposing to unite, in his person the powers of poetical composition, f
and of vaticination, his memory, even after the lapse of five hundred
years, is regarded with veneration by his countrymen. To give any-
thing like a certain history of this remarkable man would be indeed
difficult ; but the curious may derive some satisfaction from the parti-
culars here brought together.

" It is agreed on all hands, that the residence, and probably the
birthplace, of this ancient bard was Ercildouue, a village situated
upon the Leader, two miles above its junction with the Tweed. The
ruins of an ancient tower are still pointed out as the Rhymer's castle.
The uniform tradition bears, that his surname was Lermont, or Lear-
mont ; and that the appellation of ' The Rhymer ' was conferred on
him in consequence of his poetical compositions. There remains,
nevertheless, some doubt upon the subject. In a charter, which is
subjoined at length, J the son of our poet designed himself 'Thomas

* " In Scott's Border Minstrelsy, this line reads

'Oh, forty miles off Aberdeen;
but we are inclined to favour the reading

'Half ower, half ower to Aberdour.'

For, with submission to the opinion of Sir Walter Scott, the meaning of this line is
not that the shipwreck took place in the Firth of Forth, but midway between Aberdour
arid Norway. And, as it would seem from the narrative, at the commencement of
the ballad, that Sir Patrick sailed from the Forth, it is but fair to infer that, in his
disastrous voyage homeward, he would endeavour to make the same port. This
opinion will be corroborated if we are correct in assigning the ballad to the histori-
cal event mentioned in the introductory remarks." HotherwelL

T Sir "Walter Scott, in his edition of Sir Tristrem, not only claims the authorship of
that romance for "Thomas the Rhymer," but also ascribes to him the romance of
" Kyng Horn." See Scott's Introduction, p. lix. The ballad of " Hynde Horn " will
be found ante, p. 125.

t "From the Charlulary of the. Trinity House ofSoltra Advocates' Library, W. 4. 44.
"ERSYLTON.

"Omnibus has literas visnris vel audituris Thomas de Ercildoun filius et heres
Thomae Rymour de Ercildoun salutem in Domino. Noyeritis me per fustem et
baculum in pleno judicio resignasse ac per pvesentes quietem clanmsse pro me et
heredibus meis Magistro domus Sancta Trinitatis de Soltre et fratribus ejusdem
riomus totam terrain meam cum omnibus pertinentibus suis quam in tenemento de
Ercildoun hereditarie tenui renunciando de toto pro me et heredibus meis omni jure
et clameo quee ego seu antecessores mei in eadem terra alioque tempore de perpetuo
habuimns sive de futuro habere possumus. In cujus rei testimonio presentibus
nis sigillum meum apposui data apud Ercildotm die Martis proximo post festum
Sanctorum Apostolorum Symonis et Jude Anno Domini 1299."

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 375

of Ercildoun, son and heir of Thomas Rymour of Ercildoun,' which
seems to imply that the father did not bear the hereditary name of
Learmont ; or, at least, was better known and distinguished by the
epithet, which he had acquired by his personal accomplishments. I
must, however, remark, that, down to a very late period, the practice
of distinguishing the parties, even in formal writings, by the epithets
which had been bestowed on them from personal circumstances, in-
stead of the proper surnames of their families, was common, and in-
deed necessary, among the Border clans. So early as the end of the
thirteenth century, when surnames were hardly introduced in Scot-
land, this custom must have been universal. There is, therefore,
nothing inconsistent in supposing our poet's name to have been
actually Learmont, although, in this charter, he is distinguished by
the popular appellation of 'The Rhymer.'

" We are better able to ascertain the period at which Thomas of
Ercildoune lived, being the latter end of the thirteenth century. I
am inclined to place his death a little further back than Mr. Pinker-
ton, who supposes that he was alive in 1300 (List of Scottish Poets),
which is hardly, I think, consistent with the charter already quoted,
by which his son, in 1299, for himself and his heirs, conveys to the
convent of the Trinity of Soltra, the tenement which he possessed by
inheritance (hereditarie) in Ercildoune, with all claim which he or his
predecessors could pretend thereto. From this we may infer, that
the Rhymer was now dead, since we find the son disposing of the
family property. Still, however, the argument of the learned historian
will remain unimpeached as to the time of the poet's birth. For if,
as we learn from Barbour, his prophecies were held in reputation * as
early as 1306, when Bruce slew the Red Cummin, the sanctity, and
(let me add to Mr. Pinkerton's words) the uncertainty of antiquity,
must have already involved his character and writings. In a charter
of Peter de Haga de Bemersyde, which unfortunately wants a date,
the R.hymer, a near neighbour, and, if we may trust tradition, a friend
of the family, appears as a witness. Chartulary of Melrose.

" It cannot be doubted, that Thomas of Ercildoune was a remark-
able and important person in his own time, since, very shortly after
his death, we find him celebrated as a prophet and as a poet. Whether
he himself made any pretensions to the first of these characters, or
whether it was gratuitously conferred upon him by the credulity of
posterity, it seems difficult to decide. If we may believe Mackenzie,
Learmont only versified the prophecies delivered by Eliza, an inspired
nun of a convent at Haddington. But of this there seems not to be
the most distant proof. On' the contrary, all ancient authors, who
quote the Rhymer's prophecies, uniformly suppose them to have been
emitted by himself. Thus, in Wintown's Chronicle :

' Of this fycht quilum spak Thomas
Of Ersyhloune, that sayd in derne,
There suld meit stalwartly, starke and sterne.
He sayd it in his prophecy;
Bat how he wist it was felly.' Book -via., chap. 32.

* " The lines alluded to are these :

' I hope that Thomas's prophecie,
Of Erceldovm, shall truly be
In him,' &c."

376 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" There could have been no ferly (marvel) in Wintown's eyes at
least, how Thomas came by his knowledge of future events, had he
ever heard of the inspired nun of Haddington, which, it cannot be
doubted, would have been a solution of the mystery, much to the
taste of the prior of Lochleven.*

"Whatever doubts, however, the learned might have as to the
source of the Rhymer's prophetic skill, the vulgar had no hesitation
to ascribe the whole to the intercourse between the bard and the
Queen of Faery. The popular tale bears, that Thomas was carried
off, at an early age, to the Fairy Land, where he acquired all the
knowledge which made him afterwards so famous. Alter seven years'
residence, he was permitted to return to the earth, to enlighten and
astonish his countrymen by his prophetic powers; still, however,
remaining bound to return to his royal mistress when she should
intimate her pleasure. Accordingly, while Thomas was making-
merry with his friends in the Tower of Ercildoune, a person came
running in, and told, with marks of fear and astonishment, that a
hart and hind had left the neighbouring forest, and were, composedly
and slowly, parading the street of the village.^ The prophet instantly
arose, left his habitation, and followed the wonderful animals to the
forest, whence he was never seen to return. According to the popu-
lar belief, he still ' drees his weird ' in Fairy Land, and is one day
expected to revisit earth. In the meanwhile, his memory is held
in the most profound respect. The Eildon Tree, from beneath the
shade of which he delivered his prophecies, now no longer exists ; but
the spot is marked by a large stone, called Eildon Tree Stone. A
neighbouring rivulet takes the name of the Bogle Burn (Goblin Brook)
from the Rhymer's supernatural visitants.

" It seemed to the editor unpardonable to dismiss a person so im-
portant in Border tradition as the Rhymer, without some further
notice than a simple commentary upon the following ballad. It is
given from, a copy, obtained from a lady residing not far from
Ercildoune, corrected and enlarged by one in Mrs. Brown's MSS.
The former copy, however, as might be expected, is far more minute
as to local description. To this old tale the editor has ventured to
add a Second Part, consisting of a kind of canto, from the printed
prophecies vulgarly ascribed to the Rhymer, t To make his peace
with the more severe antiquaries, the editor has prefixed to the

* " Henry the Minstrel, who introduces Thomas into the History of Wallace,
expresses the same doubt as to the source of his prophetic knowledge:
' Thomas Rhymer into the faile was than
With the minister, which was a worthy man.
He used oft to that religious place;
The people deemed of wit he meikle can,
And so he told, though that they bless or ban,
In rule of war whether they tint or wan;
Which happem d sooth in many divers case;
I cannot say by wrong or righteousness.
It may be deemed by division of grace.' &c.

History of Wallace, book ii."

t "There is a singular resemblance betwixt this tradition, and an incident occurring
in the life of Merlin Caledonius, which the reader will find a few pages onwards." S.

} "And a Third Part, entirely modern, founded upon the tradition of his having
returned with the hart and hind to the Land of Faery." Which third part is here
omitted.

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 377

Second Part some remarks on Learmont's prophecies." Sir Walter
Scott.

Some additional stanzas and various readings are added in the
notes, from a " copy procured in Scotland " by Mr. Jamieson, and
given in his Popular Ballads, vol. ii., p. 7.

1 TRUE THOMAS lay on Huutly bank;

A ferlie a he spied with his e'e ;
And there he saw a ladye bright,

Came riding down by the Eildon tree. 6

2 Her skirt was made" of the grass-green silk,

Her mantle of the velvet fine ;
At ilka telt of her horse's mane,
Hung fifty siller bells and nine.

3 True Thomas he pull'd aff his cap,

And louted low down to his knee: rf
" All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven,
For thy peer on earth I never did see ! "

4 " Oh no, oh no,* Thomas," she said,

" That name does not belong to me;
I am but the Queen of fair Elfland,
That am hither come to visit thee !

5 " Harp and carp, True Thomas," she said,

" Harp and carp along with me;
And if ye dare to kiss my lips,
Sure of your body I shall be ! "

6 " Betide me weal, betide me woe,

That weird shall never daunton me ! " /
Syne he has kiss'd her rosy lips,
All underneath the Eildon tree."

7 " Now ye maun go with me," she said.

" True Thomas, ye maun go with me;
And ye maun serve me seven years,
Thro' weal or woe, as chance may be."

a "Ferlie: " a wonder, a marvel.

* Variations on stanzas 1 to 4, from Jamieson's fragment:

"True Thomas lay o'er yonder bank,

And he beheld a ladye gay ;
A ladye, that was brisk and bold.

Come riding o'er the fern e brae."
c Omits "made."

d "True Thomas he took off his hat,

And bow'd him low down till his knee "

'Inserts "True."
/ " That weird," &c.: "That destiny shall never frighten me." Scott

* Stanzas 5 and 6 do not appear in Jamieson's fragment.

878 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

8 She turn'd about her milk-white steed,

And took True Thomas up behind ;
And aye, whene'er her bridle rung,
The steed flew swifter than the wind.*

9 Oh, they rade on, and farther on,

The steed gaed swifter than the wind,
Until they reach'd a desert wide,
And living land was left behind. 6

10 " Light down, light down, now, True Thomas,

And lean your head upon my knee;
Abide, and rest a little space,

And I will show you ferlies three.

11 " Oh, see ye na that braid, braid road,

That lies across the lily leven?
That is the path of wickedness,

Tho' some call it the road to heaven.

12 " And see ye not yon narrow road,

Sae thick beset with thorns and briers?
That is the path of righteousness,
Tho' after it but few inquires.

13 " And see ye not yon bonnie roatl,

That winds about the ferny brae?
That is the way to fair Elfland,

Where you and I this night maun gae.

a The variations of stanza 8, here noted, are from Scott's version, Jamieson's
corresponding stanza being substituted in the text as preferable :
"She's mounted on,' 1 &c. (line 1).
"And gaed," &c. (line 2).

6 Stanza 9 is not in Jamieson's fragment; but th<
stanzas come in between 9 and 10 of Scott's text:

t the following inferior and irregular

" Oh, they rade on, and farther on,

Until they came to a garden green;
'Light down, light down, ye ladye free,
Some of that fruit let me pull to thee.'

" ' Oh no, oh no, True Thomas,' she says

' That fruit maun no be touch' d by thee;
For all the plagues that are in hell
Light on the fruit of this countrie.

" ' But I have a laef here in my lap,
Likewise a bottle of clarry wine;
And now, ere we go farther on,
We'll rest awhile, and ye may dine.'

" When he had eaten and drank his fill,

The ladye said' Ere we climb yon hill,
Lay your head upon my knee,
And I will show thee ferlies three.' "

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 379

14 " But, Thomas, ye maun hauld your tongue,

Whatever ye may hear or see;
For if ye speak a word in Elfin land,

Ye'll ne'er get back to your ain countrie !""

15 Oh, they rade on, and farther on,

And they waded through rivers abune the knee,
And they saw neither sun nor moon,
But they heard the roaring of the sea. 6

16 It was mirk, mirk night, there was nae stern-light,

And they waded through red bluid to the knee;
For all the bluid that 's shed on earth
Rins through the springs of that countrie.

17 Syne they came on to a garden green,

And she pull'd an apple frae a tree :
" Take this for thy wages, True Thomas;

It will give thee the tongue that will never lee ! "

18 '' My tongue is my ain," True Thomas said;

"A gudely gift ye wou'd gi'e to me!
I neither dought d to buy nor sell,
At fair or tryste where I may be.

19 " I dought neither speak to prince or peer,

Nor ask of grace from fair ladye ! "
"Now, hauld thy peace," the ladye she said;
" For as I say, so it must be." *

20 He has gotten a coat of the even cloth,

And a pair of shoon of the velvet green;
And till seven years were gone and past,
True Thomas on earth was never seen/

Stanzas 11 to 14, inclusive, occur almost verbatim in Jamieson's fragment

* ''For forty days and forty nights

He wade through red blude to the knee;
And he saw," &c.

c " Stern-light: " starlight.
<* " Dought : " durst

* "The traditional commentary upon this ballad informs us, that the apple was the
produce of the fatal Tree of Knowledge, and that the garden was the terrestrial

Earadise. The repugnance of Thomas to be debarred the use of falsehood, when
e might find it convenient, has a comic effect." Scott.

Stanzas 16, 17, 18, and 19 with the exception of line 2, stanza 16 are not to be
found in Jamieson's fragment

/ Occurs almost verbatim in Jamieson's fragment.

380 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

THOMAS THE RHYMER.

ALTERED FROM ANCIENT PROPHECIES.
PART SECOND.

" The prophecies ascribed to Thomas of Ercildoune have been the
principal means of securing to him remembrance ' amongst the sons
of his people.' The author of Sir Tristrem would long ago have
joined, in the vale of oblivion, ' Clerk of Tranent, who wrote the
adventure of Schir Gawain,' if, by good hap, the same current of
ideas respecting antiquity, which causes Virgil to be regarded as a
magician by the lazaroni of Naples, had not exalted the bard of
Ercildoune to the prophetic character. Perhaps, indeed, he himself
affected it during his life. We know at least, for certain, that a
belief in his supernatural knowledge was current soon after his death.
His prophecies are alluded to by Barbour, by Wintown, and by
Henry the Minstrel, or Blind Harry, as he is usually termed. None
of these authors, however, give the words of any of the Ehymer's
vaticinations, but merely narrate, historically, his having predicted
the events of which they speak. The earliest of the prophecies
ascribed to him. which is now extant, is quoted by Mr. Pinkerton
from a MS. It is supposed to be a response from Thomas of Ercil-
doune to a question from the heroic Countess of March, renowned for
the defence of the Castle of Dunbar against the English, and termed,
in the familiar dialect of her time, Black Agnes of Dunbar. This
prophecy is remarkable, in so far as it bears very little resemblance
to any verses published in the printed copy of the Pihymer's supposed
prophecies. The verses are as follows:

'La countesse de Donbar rlemande a Thomas de Essedoune quant la guerre
d'Escoce prendreit fyn. E yl 1'a repoundy et dyt,

' When man is mad a kyng of a capped man;
When man is levere other mones thyng than his own ;
When londe thouys forest, ant forest is felde;
When hares kendles o' the her'stane;
When Wyt and Wille werres togedere;

When mon makes stables of kyrkes, and steles castels with stye;
When Kokesboroughe nys no burgh ant market is at Forwyleye ;
When Bambourne is donged with dede men;
When men ledes men in ropes to buyen and to sellen;
When a quarter of whaty whete is chaunged for a colt of ten markes;
When prude (pride) prikes and pees is leyd in prisoun ;
When a Scot ne me hym hude ase hare in forme that the English ne shall hym

fynde;

When ryeht ant wronge astente the togedere;
When laddes weddeth lovedies ;

When Scottes flen so faste, that, for faute of shep, hy drowneth hemselve;
When shal this be ?
Nouther in thine tynie ne in mine ;
Ah comen ant gone
Withinne twenty winter ant one.'

Pinkerton's Poems, from Maitlands MSS. quoting from Karl. Lib. 2253. F. 127.

"As I have never seen the MS. from which Mr. Pinkerton makes
his extract, and as the date of it is fixed by him (certainly one of tlie

TH01US THE RHYMER. 381

most able antiquaries of our age) to the reign of Edward I. or II., it
is with great diffidence that I hazard a contrary opinion. There can,
however, I believe, be little doubt, that these prophetic verses are a
forgery, and not the production of our Thomas the Rhymer. But I
am inclined to believe them of a later date than the reign of Edward
I. or II.

" The gallant defence of the Castle of Dunbar, by Black Agnes, took
place in the year 1337. The Rhymer died previous to the year 1299
(see the charter, by his son, in the introduction to the foregoing
ballad). It seems, therefore, very improbable that the Countess of
Dunbar could ever have an opportunity of consulting Thomas the
Rhymer, since that would infer that she was married, or at least
engaged in state matters, previous to 1299 ; whereas she is described
as a young, or middle-aged woman, at the period of her being besieged
in the fortress which she so well defended. If the editor might
indulge a conjecture, he would suppose that the prophecy was con-
trived for the encouragement of the English invaders, during the
Scottish wars ; and that the names of the Countess of Dunbar, and of
Thomas of Ercildoune, were used for the greater credit of the forgery.
According to this hypothesis, it seems likely to have been composed
after the siege of Dunbar, which had made the name of the countess
well known, and consequently in the reign of Edward III. The
whole tendency of the prophecy is to aver that there shall be no end
of the Scottish war (concerning which the question was proposed),
till a final conquest of the country by England, attended by all
the usual severities of war. ' When the cultivated country shall
become forest,' says the prophecy; 'when the wild animals shall
inhabit the abode of men ; when Scots shall not be able to escape
the English, should they crouch as hares in their form,' all these
denunciations seem to refer to the time of Edward III., upon whose
victories the prediction was probably founded. The mention of the
exchange betwixt a colt worth ten marks, and a quarter of ' whaty
[indifferent] wheat,' seems to allude to the dreadful famine about
the year 1388. The independence of Scotland was, however, as
impregnable to the minds of superstition as to the steel of our more
powerful and more wealthy neighbours. The war of Scotland is,
thank God, at an end ; but it is ended without her people having
either crouched like bases in their form, or being drowned in their
flight, ' for faute of ships,' thank God for that too. The prophecy
quoted is probably of the same date, and intended for the same
purpose.

" A minute search of the records of the time would probably throw
additional light upon the allusions contained in these ancient legends.
Among various rhymes of prophetic import, which are at this day
current amongst the people of Teviotdale, is one supposed to be pro-
nounced by Thomas the Rhymer, presaging the destruction of his
habitation and family :

' The hare sail kittle [litter] on my hearth stane,
And there will never be a laird Leannont again.'

The first of these lines is obviously borrowed from that in the MS.
of the Harl. Library, ' When hares kendles o' the her'stane' an

382 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

emphatic image of desolation. It is also inaccurately quoted in the
prophecy of Waldhave, published by Andro Hart, 1613 :

'This is a true talking that Thomas of tells,
The hare shall hirple on the hard [hearth] stane.'

" Spottiswoode, an honest, but credulous historian, seems to have
been a firm believer in the authenticity of the prophetic wares vended
in the name of Thomas of Ercildoune. ' The prophecies yet extant
in Scottish rhymes, whereupon he was commonly called Thomas the
Rhymer, may justly be admired ; having foretold, so many ages before,
the union of England and Scotland, in the ninth degree of the Brace's
blood, with the succession of Bruce himself to the crown, being yet a
child, and other divers particulars, which the event hath ratified and
made good. Boethius, in his story, relateth his prediction of King
Alexander's death, and that he did foretell the same to the Earl of
March, the day before it fell out, saying, " That before the next day
at noon, such a tempest should blow as Scotland had not felt for many
years before." The next morning, the day being clear, and no change
appearing in the air, the nobleman did challenge Thomas of his saying,
calling him an impostor. He replied that noon was not yet passed.
About which time a post came to advertise the earl of the king his
sudden death. "Then," said Thomas, "this is the tempest I fore-
told; and so it shall prove to Scotland." Whence, or how, he had
this knowledge, can hardly be affirmed, but sure it is, that he did
divine and answer truly of many things to come. ' Spottiswoode, p.
47. Besides that notable voucher, Master Hector Boece, the good
archbishop might, had he been so minded, have referred to Fordun
for the prophecy of King Alexander's death. That historian calls our
bard 'ruralis ille vates.' Fordun, lib. x. , cap. 40.

" What Spottiswoode calls ' the prophecies extant in Scottish
rhyme,' are the metrical productions ascribed to the seer of Ercil-
doune, which, with many other compositions of the same nature,
bearing the names of Bede, Merlin, Gildas, and other approved
soothsayers, are contained in one small volume, published by Andro
Hart, at Edinburgh, 1615. Nisbet the herald (who claims the prophet
of Ercildoune as a brother professor of his art, founding upon the
various allegorical and emblematical allusions to heraldry), intimates
the existence of some earlier copy of his prophecies than that of Andro
Hart, which, however, he does not pretend to have seen. The late
excellent Lord Hailes made these compositions the subject of a disser-
tation, published in his Remarks on the History of Scotland. His
attention is chiefly directed to the celebrated prophecy of our bard,
mentioned by Bishop Spottiswoode, bearing that the crowns of
England and Scotland should be united in the person of a king,
son of a French queen, and related to Bruce in the ninth degree.
Lord Hailes plainly proves, that this prophecy is perverted from its
original purpose in order to apply it to the succession of James VI.
The groundwork of the forgery is to be found in the prophecies of
Berlington, contained in the same collection, and runs thus :

' Of Bruce's left side shall spring out a leafe,
As neere as the ninth degree ;
And shall be fleemed of faire Scotland,
In France farre beyond the sea.

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 383

And then shall come again ryding.
With eyes that many men may see.
At Aberladie he shall light,
"With hempen helteres and horse of tre.

1 However it happen for to fall,
The lyon shall be lord of all;
The French quen shall bearre the sonne,
Shall rule all Britainne to the sea;
Ane from the Bruce s blood shal come also,
As neere as the ninth degree.

' Tet shal there come a keene knight over the salt sea,
A keene man of courage and bold man of armes ;
A duke's son dowbled [t. e., dubbed], a born man hi France,
That shall our mirths augment, and mend all our harmes ;
After the date of our Lord 1513, and thrice three thereafter;
Which shall brooke all the broad isle to himself.
Between 13 and thrice three the threip shall be ended,
The Saxons shall never recover after.'

" There cannot be any doubt that this prophecy was intended to
excite the confidence of the Scottish nation in the Duke of Albany,
Regent of Scotland, who arrived from France in 1515, two years after
the death of James IV. in the fatal field of Flodden. The regent was
descended of Bruce by the left, i. e., by the female side, within the
ninth degree. His mother was daughter of the Earl of Boulogne, his
father banished from his country 'fleemit of fair Scotland.' His
arrival must necessarily be by sea, and his landing was expected at
Aberlady, in the Frith of Forth. He was a duke's son, dubbed
knight; and nine years, from 1513, are allowed him, by the pretended
prophet, for the accomplishment of the salvation of his country, and
the exaltation of Scotland over her sister and rival. All this was a
pious fraud, to excite the confidence and spirit of the country.

" The prophecy put into the mouth of our Thomas the Khymer, as it
stands in Hart's book, refers to a later period. The narrator meets
the Rhymer upon a land beside a lee, who shows him many emble-
matical visions, described in no mean strain of poetry. They chiefly
relate to the fields of Flodden and Pinkie, to the national distress
which followed these defeats, and to the future halcyon days which
are promised to Scotland. One quotation or two will be sufficient
to establish this fully :

' Our Scottish king sal come ful keene,
The red lyon beareth he ;
A foddered arrow sharp, I ween.
Shall make him winke and warre to seo.
Out of the field he shall be led,
When he is bludie and woe for blood;
Tet to his men shall he say,
" For God's love turn you againe.
And give yon Sutherne folk a frey!
Why should I lose the right is mine?
My date is not to die this day." '

" Who can doubt, for a moment, that this refers to the battle of
Flodden, and to the popular reports concerning the doubtful fate of
James IV. ? Allusion is immediately afterwards made to the death

381 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

of George Douglas, heir-apparent of Angus, who fought and fell with
his sovereign :

' The sternes three that day shall die,
That bears the harte in silver sheen.'

The well-known arms of the Douglas family are the heart and three
stars. In another place, the battle of Pinkie is expressly mentioned
by name :

'At Pinken Cluch there shall be spilt

Much gentle blood that day;
There shall the bear lose the guilt.

And the eagill bear it away.'

" To the end of all this allegorical and mystical rhapsody, is
interpolated, in the later edition by Andro Hart, a new edition of
Berlington's verses, before quoted, altered and manufactured, so as to
bear reference to the accession of James VI., which had just then
taken place. The insertion is made with a peculiar degree of
awkwardness, betwixt a question, put by the narrator, concerning
the name and abode of the person who showed him these strange
matters, and the answer of the prophet to that question :

' Then to the Beirne conld I say,

Where dwells thou, or in what countrie?
[Or who shall rule the isle of Britane,

From the north to the south sey?
A French queene shall bear the sonne,

Shall rule all Britaine to the sea;
Which of the Bruce's blood shall come,

As neere as the nint degree :
I framed fast what was his name.

Where that he came, from what countrie.]
In Erslingtoun I dwell at hame,

Thomas Eymour men cals me.'

' ' There is surely no one, who will not conclude with Lord Hailes,
that the eight lines, inclosed in brackets, are a clumsy interpolation,
borrowed from Berlington, with such alterations as might render the
supposed prophecy applicable to the union of the crowns.

" While we are on this subject, it may be proper briefly to notice
the scope of some of the other predictions in Hart's collection. As
the prophecy of Berlington was intended to raise the spirits of the
nation, during the regency of Albany, so those of Sybilla and Eltraine
refer to that of the Earl of Arran, afterwards Duke of Chatelherault,
during the minority of Mary, a period of similar calamity. This is
obvious from the following verses :

' Take a thousand in calculation,
And the longest of the lyon,
Four crescents under one crowne,
With Saint Andrew's croce thrise,
Then threescore and thris three :
Take tent to Merling truely,
Then shall the wars ended be,
And never again rise.
In that yere there shall a king,
A duke, and no crowned king :
Becaus the prince shall bs yong,
And tender of yeares.'

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 385

"The date, above hinted at, seems to be 1549, when the Scottish
Regent, by means of some succours derived from France, was en-
deavouring to repair the consequences of the fatal battle of Pinkie.
Allusion is made to the supply given to the ' Moldwarte [England]
by the fained hart ' (the Earl of Angus). The regent is described by
his bearing the antelope ; large supplies are promised from France,
and complete conquest predicted to Scotland and her allies. Thus
was the same hackneyed stratagem repeated whenever the interest
of the rulers appeared to stand in need of it. The regent was not,
indeed, till after this period, created Duke of Chatelherault ; but
that honour was the object of his hopes and expectations.

" The name of our renowned soothsayer is liberally used as an
authority throughout all the prophecies published by Andro Hart.
Besides "those expressly put in his name, Gildas, another assumed
personage, is supposed to derive his knowledge from him ; for he
concludes thus :

' True Thomas me told in a troublesome time,
In a harvest morn at Eldoun hills.' The Prophecy of Gildas.

" In the prophecy of Berlington, already quoted, we are told

' Marvellous Merlin, that many men of tells.
And Thomas's sayings comes all at once.'

" While 1 am upon the subject of these prophecies, may I be per-
mitted to call the attention of antiquaries to Merdwynn Wyllt, or
Merlin the Wild, in whose name, and by no means in that of Ambrose
Merlin, the friend of Arthur, the Scottish prophecies are issued?
That this personage resided at Drummelzier, and roamed, like a
second Nebuchadnezzar, the woods of Tweeddale, in remorse for the
death of his nephew, we learn from Fordun. In the Scoti-Chronkon,
lib. iii., cap. 31, is an account of an interview betwixt St. Kentigern
and Merlin, then in this distracted and miserable state. He is said
to have been called Lailoken, from his mode of life. On being
commanded by the saint to give an account of himself, he says, that
the penance which he performs was imposed on him by a voice from
heaven, during a bloody contest betwixt Lidel and Carwanolow, of
which battle he had been the cause. According to his own prediction,
he perished at once by wood, earth, and water ; for, being pursued
with stones by the rustics, he fell from a rock into the river Tweed,
and was transfixed by a sharp stake, fixed there for the purpose of
extending a fishing-net :

' Sude perfossus, lapide percussus, et undo.
Hsec tria Merlinum fertur inire necem.
Sicque ruit, mersusque fuit lignoque prehensns,
Et fecit vatem per terna pericula verum.'

" But in a metrical history of Merlin of Caledonia, compiled by
Geoffrey of Monmouth, from the traditions of the Welsh bards, this
mode of death is attributed to a page whom Merlin's sister, desirous
to convict the prophet of falsehood, because he had betrayed her
intrigues, introduced to him, under three various disguises, inquiring
each time in what manner the person should die. To the first
demand Merlin answered, the party should perish by a fall from a rock ;
to the second, that he should die by a tree ; and to the third, that he

386 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

should be drowned. The youth perished while hunting, in the mode
imputed by Fordun to Merlin himself.

" Fordun, contrary to the French authorities, confounds this per-
son with the Merlin of Arthur ; but concludes by informing us, that
many believed him to be a different person. The grave of Merlin is
pointed out at Drummelzier, in Tweeddale, beneath an aged thorn-
tree. On the east side of the churchyard, the brook, called Pausayl,
falls into the Tweed; and the following prophecy is said to have been
current concerning their union :

' When Tweed and Pausayl join at Merlin's grave,
Scotland and England shall one monarch have.'

On the day of the coronation of James VI., the Tweed accord-
ingly overflowed, and joined the Pausayl at the prophet's grave.
Pennycuick's History of Tweeddale, p. 26. These circumstances
would seem to infer a communication betwixt the south-west of
Scotland and Wales, of a nature peculiarly intimate ; for I presume
that Merlin would retain sense enough to choose for the scene of his
wanderings a country having a language and manners similar to his own.
" Be this as it may, the memory of Merlin Sylvester, or the Wild,
was fresh among the Scots during the reign of James V. Waldhave,*
under whose name a set of prophecies was published, describes him-
self as lying upon Lomond Law; he hears a voice, which bids him
stand to his defence ; he looks around, and beholds a flock of hares
and foxes pursued over the mountain by a savage figure, to whom he
can hardly give the name of a man. At the sight of Waldhave, the
apparition leaves the objects of his pursuit, and assaults him with a
club. Waldhave defends himself with his sword, throws the savage
to the earth, and refuses to let him arise till he swear, by the law
and lead he lives upon, 'to do him no harm.' This clone, he permits
him to arise, and marvels at his strange appearance :

' He was formed like a freike [man] all his four quarters;
And then his chin and his face haired so thick,
With haire growing so grime, fearful to see.'

He answers briefly to Waldhave' s inquiry concerning his name and
nature, that he 'drees his weird,' i. e., does penance in that wood;
and, having hinted that questions as to his own state are offensive, he
pours forth an obscure rhapsody concerning futurity, and concludes,

'Go musing upon Merlin if thou wilt :
For I mean no more, man, at this time.'

" This is exactly similar to the meeting betwixt Merlin and Ken-
tigern in Fordun. These prophecies of Merlin seem to have been in
request in the minority of James V. ; for, among the amusements with
which Sir David Lindsay diverted that prince during his infancy, are,

' The prophecies of Kymer, Bede, and Merlin.'

Sir David Lindsay's Epistle to the King.

And we find, in Waldhave, at least one allusion to the very ancient
prophecy, addressed to the Countess of Dunbar:

1 This is a true token that Thomas of tells,
When a ladde with a ladye shall go over the fields.'

* " I do not know whether the person here meant be Waldhave, an abhot of Mel-
rose, who died, in the odour of sanctity, about 1160." S.

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 387

The original stands thus :

' When laddes weddeth love dies.'

" Another prophecy of Merlin seems to have been current about the
time of the Regent Morton's execution. When that nobleman was
committed to the charge of his accuser, Captain James Stewart, newly
created Earl of Arran, to be conducted to his trial at Edinburgh,
Spottiswoode says, that he asked, ' " Who was Earl of Arran? " and
being answered that Captain James was the man, after a short pause,
he said, " And is it so ? I know then what I may look for ! " mean-
ing, as was thought, that the old prophecy of the "Falling of the
heart* by the mouth of Arran," should then be fulfilled. Whether
this was his mind or not, it is not known ; but some spared not, at the
time when the Hamiltons were banished, in which business he was
held too earnest, to say that he stood in fear of that prediction, and
went that course only to disappoint it. But if so it was, he did find
himself now deluded; for he fell by the mouth of another Arran than
he imagined.' Spottiswoode, 313. The fatal words alluded to seem
to be these, in the prophecy of Merlin :

'Tn the mouthe of Arrane a selcouth shall fall,
Two bloodie hearts shall be taken with a false traine,
And derfly dung down without any dome.'

" To return from these desultory remarks, into which I have been
led by the celebrated name of Merlin, the style of all these prophecies,
published by Hart, is very much the same. The measure is allitera-
tive, and somewhat similar to that of Pierce Plowman's Visions ; a
circumstance which might entitle us to ascribe to some of them an
earlier date than the reign of James V. , did we not know that Sir
Galloran of Galloway and Gawaine and Gollograss, two romances
rendered almost unintelligible by the extremity of affected allitera-
tion, are perhaps not prior to that period. Indeed, although we may
allow, that, during much earlier times, prophecies, under the names of
those celebrated soothsayers, have been current in Scotland, yet
those published by Hart have obviously been so often vamped and
revamped, to serve the political purposes of different periods, that it
may be shrewdly suspected, that, as in the case of Sir John Cutler's
transmigrated stockings, very little of the original materials now
remains. I cannot refrain from indulging my readers with the
publisher's title to the last prophecy, as it contains certain curious
information concerning the Queen of Sheba, who is identified with
the Cumaean Sibyl : ' Here followeth a prophecie pronounced by a
noble queene and matron, called Sybilla, Regina Austri, that came
to Solomon. Through the which she compiled four bookes, at the
instance of the said King Sol, and others divers ; and the fourth book
was directed to a noble king, called Baldwine, king of the broad isle
of Britain ; in the which she maketh mention of two noble princes
and emperours, the which is called Leones. How these two shall
subdue and overcome all earthlie princes to their diademe and crowne,
and also be glorified and crowned in the heaven among saints. The
first of these two is Constantinus Magnus ; that was Leprosus, the
son of Saint Helena, that found the croce. The second is the sixt king

* " The heart was the cognizance of Morton." S.

388 BALLAD HINSTKELSY OF SCOTLAND.

of the name of Steward of Scotland, the which is our most noble
king. ' With such editors and commentators, what wonder that the
text became unintelligible, even beyond the usual oracular obscurity
of prediction ?

"If there still remains, therefore, among these predictions, any
verses having a claim to real antiquity, it seems now impossible to
discover them from those which are comparatively modern. Never-
theless, as there are to be found, in these compositions, some un-
commonly wild and masculine expressions, the editor has been
induced to throw a few passages together, into the sort of ballad
to which this disquisition is prefixed. It would, indeed, have been
no difficult matter for him, by a judicious selection, to have excited,
in favour of Thomas of Ercildoune, a share of the admiration bestowed
by sundry wise persons upon Mass Robert Fleming.* For example :

' But then the lilye shall be loused when they least think;
Then clear king's blood shal quake for fear of death;
For churls shal chop off heads of their chief beirns,
And carfe of the crowns that Christ hath appointed.

Thereafter, on every side, sorrow shall arise;
The barges of clear barons down shal be sunken;
Seculars shal sit in spiritual seats,
Occupying offices anointed as they were.'

" Taking the lily for the emblem of France, can there be a more
plain prophecy of the murder of her monarch, the destruction of her
nobility, and the desolation of her hierarchy?

" But, without looking further into the signs of the times, the
editor, though the least of all the prophets, cannot help thinking,
that every true Briton will approve of his application of the last
prophecy quoted in the ballad.

" Hart's collections of prophecies were frequently reprinted during
the last century, probably to favour the pretensions of the unfortunate
family of Stuart. For the prophetic renown of Gildas and Bede, see
Fordun, lib. iii.

" Before leaving the subject of Thomas's predictions, it may be
noticed, that sundry rhymes, passing for his prophetic effusions, are
still current among the vulgar Thus, he is said to have prophesied
of the very ancient family of Haig of Bemerside :

1 Betide, betide, whate'er betide,
Haig shall be Haig of Bemerside.'

"The grandfather of the present proprietor of Bemerside had
twelve daughters, before his lady brought him a male heir. The
common people trembled for the credit of their favourite soothsayer.
The late Mr. Haig was at length born, and their belief in the pro-
phecy confirmed beyond a shadow of doubt.

"Another memorable prophecy bore that the Old Kirk at Kelso,
constructed out of the ruins of the abbey, should ' fall when at the
fullest.' At a very crowded sermon, about thirty years ago, a piece

* Author of Discourses on the Rise and Fall of Papacy, London, 1701. The Revolu-
tions of 1789, 1830, and 1818, attracted considerable attention to the work named.

THOMAS THE RHYMER. 389

of lime fell from the roof of the church. The alarm, for the fulfil-
ment of the words of the seer, became universal, and happy were they
who were nearest the door of the predestined edifice. The church
was in consequence deserted, and has never since had an oppor-
tunity of tumbling upon a full congregation. I hope, for the sake
of a beautiful specimen of Saxo-Gothic architecture, that the accom-
plishment of this prophecy is far distant.

" Another prediction, ascribed to the Rhymer, seems to have been
founded on that sort of insight into futurity, possessed by most men
of a sound and combining judgment. It runs thus :

' At Eldon tree if you shall be,
A brigg ower Tweed you there may see.

" The spot in question commands an extensive prospect of the
course of the river ; and it was easy to foresee, that when the country
should become in the least degree improved, a bridge would be some-
where thrown over the stream. In fact, you now see no less than
three bridges from that elevated situation.

" Corspatrick (Comes Patrick), Earl of March, but more commonly
taking his title from his castle of Dunbar, acted a noted part during
the wars of Edward I. in Scotland. As Thomas of Ercildoune is said
to have delivered to him his famous prophecy of King Alexander's
death, the editor has chosen to introduce him into the following
ballad. All the prophetic verses are selected from Hart's publica-
tion." Sir Walter Scott. The notes to the text are also his.

1 WHEN seven years were come and gane,

The sun blink'd fair on pool and stream;
And Thomas lay on Huntlie bank,
Like one awaken'd from a dream.

2 He heard the trampling of a steed,

He saw the flash of armour flee,
And he beheld a gallant knight,

Come riding down by the Eildon tree.

3 He was a stalwart knight, and strong,

Of giant maks he 'pear'd to be ;
He stirr'd his horse, as he were wode,
With gilded spurs of fashion free.

4 Says " Well met, well met, True Thomas !

Some uncouth ferlies show to me."
Says " Christ thee save, Corspatrick brave !
Thrice welcome, good Dunbar, to me !

5 " Light down, light down, Corspatrick brave !

And I will show thee curses three,
Shall gar fair Scotland greet and grane,
And change the green to the black liverie.

390 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

6 " A storm shall roar this very hour,

From Ross's hills to Sol way sea."
" Ye lied, ye lied, ye warlock hoar !
For the sun shines sweet on fauld and lea."

7 He put his hand on the Earlie's head ;

He show'd him a rock beside the sea,
Where a king lay stiff beneath his steed,*
And steel-dight nobles wiped their e'e.

8 " The neist curse lights on Branxton hills :

By Flodden's high and heathery side
Shall wave a banner red as bluid,
And chieftains throng with meikle pride.

9 "A Scottish king shall come full keen,

The ruddy lion beareth he ;
A feather'd arrow sharp, I ween,

Shall make him wink and warre to see.

10 " When he is bloody, and all to bledde,

Thus to his men he still shall say,
' For God's sake, turn ye back again,

And give yon Southern folk a fray !
Why should I lose the right is mine ?

My doom is not to die this day.' f

11 " Yet turn ye to the eastern hand,

And woe and wonder ye shall see ;
How forty thousand spearmen stand,
Where yon rank river meets the sea.

12 " There shall the lion lose the gylte,

And the libbards bear it clean away ;
At Pinkyn Cleuch there shall be spilt
Much gentil bluid that day."

13 " Enough, enough of curse and ban ;

Some blessings show thou now to me,
Or, by the faith of my body," Corspatrick said,
" Ye shall rue the day ye e'er saw me ! "

* "King Alexander, killed (March 16, 1285-6) by falling over a cliff, near Kinghorn,
in Fife, and opposite Edinburgh."

t " The uncertainty which long prevailed in Scotland concerning the fate of James
IV. is well known.'

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE. 391

14 " The first of blessings I shall thee show,

Is by a burn, that 's call'd of bread ; *
Where Saxon men shall tine the bow,
And find their arrows lack the head.

15 " Beside that brigg, out ower that burn,

Where 'the water bickereth bright and sheen,
Shall many a falling courser spurn,
And knights shall die in battle keen.

16 " Beside a headless cross of stone,

The libbards there shall lose the gree ;
The raven shall come, the erne shall go,

And drink the Saxon bluid sae free.
The cross of stone they shall not know,

So thick the corses there shall be."

17 " But tell me now," said brave Dunbar,

" True Thomas, tell now unto me,
What man shall rule the isle Britain,

Even from the north to the southern sea ? "

18 "A French queen shall bear the son,

Shall rule all Britain to the sea ;

He of the Bruce's blood shall come,

As near as in the ninth degree.

19 " The waters worship shall his race,

Likewise the waves of the farthest sea ;
For they shall ride over ocean wide,
With hempen bridles and horse of tree."

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE.

The following remarkable tale is preserved hi three or more ancient
manuscripts, all of them more or less mutilated. The verbal differ-
ences between the copies are numerous but unimportant. The three
principal MS. copies are deposited in the libraries, and have been
printed respectively in the works mentioned under:

I. The Cotton MS. copy, in the British Museum, first printed
in Scott's Minstrelsy, voL iv., p. 122.

* " One of Thomas's rhymes, preserved by tradition, runs thus :

The burn of breid
Shall ran fow reid.'

Bannockburn is the brook here meant. The Scots give the name of 'bannock' to
a thick round cake of unleavened bread."

392 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

II. The Cambridge University Library MS. copy, first printed
in Mr. Jamieson's Popular Ballads, &c., vol. ii., p. 11, as
"carefully deciphered," says Mr. Laing, "from a volume
of no ordinary curiosity, .... written in a very
illegible hand, about the middle of the 15th century. "

III. The Lincoln Cathedral Library MS. copy, first printed by
Mr. David Laing, in his Select Remains of the Ancient
Popular Poetry of Scotland. From "a volume compiled
at a still earlier period " than the Cambridge MS.

"In the Cambridge MS. none of the pieces have any titles; the
Cotton copy is prefaced by Incipit prophesia Thome de Erseldoun;
and the Lincoln MS. is entitled Thomas off Erseldoune, and is in-
troduced in the following manner :

' Lystnys, Iprdyngs, bothe grete and small,

And takls gude tente what I will say:
I sail yow telle als trewe a tale,
Als euer was herde by nyghte or daye.

'And the maste meruelle fforowttyn naye,

That euer was herde byfore or syen,
And therefore pristly I yow praye,

That ye will of youre talkyng blyn.

'It es an harde thynge for to saye,

Of doghety dedis that hase been done;
Of felle feghtyngs and batells sere;
And how that knyghtis hasse wonne thair schone.

' But Thesn Christ, that syttis in trone,

Safe Inglysche bothe ferre and nere;
And I sail telle yow tyte and sone,
Of batells done sythen many a yere ;

' And of batells that done sail bee ;

In what place, and how and whare;
And wha shall have the heghere gree ;

And whethir partye sail hafe the werro.

' Wha sail take the flyghte and flee ;

And wha sail dye and byleue thare:
But Ihesu Christ, that dyed on tre,

Saue Inglysche men whare so they fare.'

"From the prayer with which this exordium concludes, it may
fairly be inferred that the writer was an Englishman ; and the pro-
phetic part of the piece has been evidently intended to be used as
an engine against the Scots. In the introduction to the prophecies,
however, there is so much more fancy and elegance than in the
prophecies themselves, that they can hardly be supposed to be the
composition of the same person. Indeed, the internal evidence to
the contrary almost amounts to a proof that they are not, and that
the romance itself was of Scotish origin ; although no undubitably
Scotish copy, so far as the editor knows, is now in existence. He has
been told, but upon what authority he knows not, that there was a
copy in the late king's * library at Paris, but uncertain of what
country. . . . It is remarkable, that in all the three copies now
before him, the poet begins the story in the first person, and seems

* Louis XVI., victim of the first French revolution.

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE. 393

disposed to tell the incidents, as if they had really happened to himself.
(See stanzas 1 to 10. ) And although he afterwards, awkwardly and un-
naturally enough, speaks of Thomas as a third person, yet even then
he seems to insinuate, that the story, which he is garbling, was told
by another before him. (See stanza 14.) If he assumes the mask
with a bad grace here, he shows still less address when he drops it
again at stanza 51. .

" Would it not be pardonable, from such instances as these, to
suppose it at least probable, that Thomas Rymour was really the
original author of this romance ; and that in order to give a sanction
to his predictions, which seem all to have been calculated in one way
or other for the service of his country, he pretended to an intercourse
with the Queen of Elfland, as Numa Pompilius did with the nymph
Egeria? Such an intercourse, in the days of True Thomas, was
accounted neither unnatural nor uncommon.

" As both the English and the Scots availed themselves of the
credit which his prophecies had obtained, in falsifying them, to serve
their purposes against each other, it is now impossible to ascertain
what the real prophecies of Thomas Rymour were, if ever he pub-
lished any such. But as it would have been a measure of good policy
to preserve as entire as possible the original introduction, from which
the predictions were to derive their authority, it may be presumed
that fewer liberties were taken with it ; that, notwithstanding the
mutilated state in which we have found it, the general symmetry,
and many of the original stamina, remain ; and that it has not suffered
more from the license assumed by transcribers and reciters than
other romances of that age have done.

"'As to the romance itself,' says Scott, 'it will afford great
amusement to those who would study the nature of traditional
poetry, and the changes effected by oral tradition, to compare this
ancient romance with the foregoing (traditional) ballad. The same
incidents are narrated, even the expression is often the same ; yet
the poems are as different in appearance as if the older tale had been
regularly and systematically modernized by a poet of the present
day.'" Jamieson's Popular Ballads, vol. ii., pp. 3-7.

Both Mr. Jamieson and Mr. David Laing print their respective
versions of this ancient poem entire.

But in the text which follows, and which has been collated from
all three copies, only the introductory portion, or First Fytte, is given,
with the addition of stanzas 59, 60, and 61, from the commencement
of the Second Fytte; and of 62, 63, and 64, from the close of the Third
Fytte.

The orthography has been modernized in the case of such words as
are still in use either in England or Scotland, but the veritable words
of the originals are retained.

1 As I me went this Andrew's day,

Fast on my way, making my moan,
In a merry morning of May,

By Huntly's banks myself alone,

394 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 I heard the jay and the throstle,

The mavis menyed in her song,
The wodewale beryd 6 as a bell,
That all the wood about me rung.

3 Alone in longing thus as I lay,

Underneath a seemly tree,
Saw I where a ladye gay

Came riding o'er a lonely lea.

4 If I shou'd sit till Domisday,

All with my tongue to know and see,
Certainly all her array
It shall never be 'scryed for me.

5 Her palfrey was a dapple gray,

Like it saw I never none;
As does the sun on summer's day,
That fair ladye herself she shone.

6 Her saddle it was of royal bone, d

Full seemly was that sight to see!
Stiffly set with precious stone,
Compass'd about with cramoisie.

7 Stones of orience, great plentie,

Her hair about her head it hung:
She rode over that lonely-' lea,
Awhile she blew, awhile she sung.

8 Her girths of noble silk they were,

The buckles they were of beryl stone ;
Her stirrups were of crystal clear,
And all with pearls o'er bedone.

9 Her patrel was of irale fine, "

Her crupper was of orfare", h
Her bridle was of gold [sae] fine;

On every side [there] hung bells three.

" "The mavis menyed:" the thrush lamented.
b " The wodewale beryd : " the woodpecker made a noise.
c '"Scryed:" described.
d "Eoyal bone: " pure ivory.
e "Orapotee," Lincoln MS.; "Crapste," Cotton MS.
/ " Fernyle " (ferny lee), Cotton MS.

o " Her patrel, &c. : " i. e., the plate protecting the chest of her steed was of steel or
iion fine.
h "OrfareV embroidery.

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE. 395

10 She led seven greyhounds in a leash,

And seven raches a by her feet ran.
To speak with her I wou'd not press;
Her bree was as white as any swan.

11 She bare a horn about her halse,

And under her girdle many a flonne. 6
Forsooth, lordlings, as I you tell,
Thus was this ladye fair bedone.

12 Thomas lay and saw that sight,

Underneath a seemly tree;
He said " Yon is Mary of might,
That bare the child that died for me.

13 " But I speak with that ladye bright,

I hope my heart will burst in three;
But I will go with all my might,
Her for to meet at Eildon tree ! "

14 Thomas rathely c up he raise,

And ran over that mountain hie ;
And if it be sooth, as the story says,
He her met at the Eildon tree.

15 He kneeled down upon his knee,

Underneath the greenwood spray ;
And said " Lovely ladye, rew d on me,
Queen of heaven, as thou well may ! "

16 Then said that ladye, mild of thought,

" Thomas, let such wordes be ;
Queen of heaven am I not,
I took never so high degree.

17 " But I am ladye of another countrie ;

If I be parell'd most of price,
I ride after the wilde fee,*

My raches rinnin' at my device."

18 " If thou be parell'd most of price,

And ridest here in thy folly,
Lovely ladye, as thou art wise,

Then give me leave to lye by thee."

" Baches : " scenting hounds.
b "Flonne: " arrow.
c " Rathely: " readily, or quickly.
d " Hew," or " rue : " have pity.
" Fee : " deer.

396 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

19 " Do way, Thomas, that were folly!

I pray thee heartily, let me be,
For I say thee full sikerly, 6

That sin will fordo c all my beautie."

20 " Now, lovely ladye, rew on me,

And I shall ever with thee dwell ;
Here my troth I plight to thee,
Whether thou wilt to heaven or hell!"

21 " Man of mold, thou wilt me mar,

And yet but you may have your will ;
Trow you well thou choosest the waur, *
For all my beautie thou wilt spill."

22 Thomas stood up in that stead,

And beheld that ladye gay ;
The hair that hung upon her head,
The one half black, the other gray.

23 All her rich clothing was away,

That he before saw in that stead ;
Her een seem'd out, that were so gray,
And all her body like the lead.

24 Then Thomas sigh'd and said " Alas !

In faith, this is a doleful sight ;
How art thou faded thus in the face,

That shone before as the sun so bright?"

25 She said " Take thy leave of sun and moon,

Of grass and leaves that grow on tree:

This twelvemonth shalt thou with me gone,

And middle earth thou shalt not see."

26 He kneeled down upon his knee,

To Mary mild he made his moan :
" Ladye, but that thou rew on me,
All my games frae me are gone !

27 " Alas !" he said, " and woe is me!

I trow my deeds will work me woe:
Jesu! my soul beteche* I thee,
Wheresoever my body go ! "

' Scho sayde, ' The man.' "Lincoln MS. <* " Waur: " worse.

Sikerly: " certainly, truly. e "Beteche:" commend,

Fordo:" undo.

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE. 397

28 She led him in at Eildon hill,

Underneath the greenwood tree,"
Where it was dark as midnight mirk,
And ever in water to the knee.

29 There the space of dayes three,

He heard but soughing* of the flood;
At the last, he said " Full woe is me;
Almost I die, for fault of food ! "

30 She led him into a fair herbere,

Where fruit was growing in great plentie ;
Pears and apples both ripe they were,
The date, and also the damson tree.

31 The fig, and also the wine-berry,

The nightingales lying on their nest ;
The popinjays fast about 'gan fly,

And throstles song, wou'd have no rest.

32 He press'd to pull the fruit with his hand,

As man for food that was near faint;
She said " Thomas, thou let them stand,
Or else the fiend will thee attaint.

33 " If thou [them] pull, the sooth to say,

Thy soul goes to the fire of hell;
It comes never out till Domisday,
But there in pain aye for to dwell.

34 " [But] Thomas, soothly, I thee hight;

Come, lay thy head down on my knee,
And thou shalt see the fairest sight
That ever saw man of thy countrie!"

35 He did in haste as she him bade,

His head upon her knee he laid;
For her to please he was full glad;
And then that ladye to him said :

36 " See'st thou, Thomas, yon fair way

That lyes over yonder high mountayne?
Strait is the way to heaven for aye,

When sinful souls have dree'd their pain,

" " Underneathe a derne lee." Lincoln MS.
"Undir nethe the derne lee." Cotton MS.

"Soughing:" sounding. ''Swaghynge," Lincoln MS.; "swowyng," Cotton MS.
" There is something uncommonly romantic and poetical in Thomas's going under
TOiicd with the queen of Elfland, as .ffineas does with the Sibyl, marching for three
lay* in 'pitchy darkness, and hearing nothing but the swechyng and swoinmgi. e.,
winging and booming of the waves over his head." Jamieson.

398 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

37 " See'st them now, Thomas, yonder way,

That lyes so low under yonder rise?
Yon is the way, the sooth to say.
Unto the joy of Paradise.

38 " See'st thou yet yonder third way,

That lyes over yon green plain?
Yon is the way, the sooth to say,
That sinful souls shall pass to pain.

39 " But see'st thou yonder fourth way,

That lyes over yonder fell ? a
Wide is the way, the sooth to say, 6
Unto the burning fire of hell !

40 " See'st thou now yonder fair castell,

That stands upon yon fair hill?
Of town and tow'r it beareth the bell;
In middle earth is none like ther' till,"

41 " In sooth, Thomas, yon is mine own,

And the king's of this countrie;
But me were better be hanged and drawn,
Than he wist that thou lay by me !

42 " When thou comest to yon castell gay,

I pray thee courteous man to be;
And whatsoe'er any man to thee say.
Look that thou answer none but me.

43 " My lord is served at ilka mess

With thirty knights [sae] fair and free;
And I shall say, sitting at the dais,
I took thy speech beyond the sea. d

44 Thomas stood as still as a stone, 6

And beheld that ladye gay;

Then she was fair and rich anon/

And also rode on her palfray.

45 Her greyhounds filled with deer's blood,

Her raches coupled, by my fay;
She blew her horn with main and mood,
And to the castell she took the way.

a " Ouer yone depe delle? " Lincoln MS.

* " So waylawaye." Lincoln MS.

c " In earthe es none lyk it vntilL" Lincoln MS.

d " Lee." Cotton and Cambridge MSS.

e " Still als stone he stude." Lincoln and Cambridge MSS.

/ " Scho came agayne als faire and gude." Lincoln MS.

THOMAS OF ERCILDOUNE. 399

46 Into a hall soothly she went,

Thomas follow'd at her hand;
Ladyes came both fair and gent,
Full courteously to her kneeland."

47 Harp and fiddle both they fand,

Ghittern, and also the psaltry,

The lute and rebeck, both gangand,

And all manner of minstrelsy.

48 Knights were dancing by three and three ;

There was revel, both game and play;
Lovely ladyes, fair and free,

Dancing with them * in rich array.

49 The greatest ferlie " there, Thomas thought,

When thirty harts lay on [the] floor,
And as many deer in were brought,
That were both largely long and store.

50 Raches lay lappand in deer's blood;

The cooks they stood with dressing-knife,
Brittling the deer as they were wode, d
Revel was among them rife.

51 There was revel, both game and play,

More than I you say, pardie,
Till it fell upon a day

My lovely ladye 8aid to me :

52 " Busk thee, Thomas, for thou must be gone,

For here no longer may'st thou be;
Hie thee fast, with might and main,
I shall thee bring to the Eildon tree."

53 Thomas answered with heavy cheer.

" Lovely ladye, thou let me be,
For certainly I have been here
Nought but the space of days three ! "

54 " For sooth, Thomas, as I thee tell,

Thou hast been here seven year and more;
But longer here thou may not dwell,
The skill I will thee tell wherefore.

a "Kneeland:" kneeling.

" Sat and sang." Lincoln and Cotton MSS.

c "Ferlie:" wonder.

d"Wode: " mad.

400 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

55 " To-morrow of hell the foul fiend

Among these folk shall choose his fee ;
Thou art a fair man and a hend,
I trow full well he wou'd choose thee !

56 " For all the gold that ever might be,

Frae heaven unto the world's end,
Thou be'st never betray'd for me;

Therefore with me I rede thee wend."

57 She brought him again to the Eildon tree,

Underneath the greenwood spray;
In Huntly banks there for to be,

Where birds sing both night and day.

58 " Far out over yon mountain gray,

Thomas, a falcon makes her nest;
A falcon is an eagle's prey,

For they in place will have no rest.*

59 "Farewell, Thomas; I wend my way;

I may no longer stand with thee."
" Give me some token, ladye gay,
That I may say I spake with thee."

60 " To harp and carp, wheresoever ye gone,

Thomas, take thee these with thee."
" Harping," said he, "ken I none,

For tongue is the chief of minstrelsie ! "

61 " If thou wilt spell,f or tales tell,

Thomas, thou never shall make lee:
Wheresoever thou go, to frith or fell,
I pray thee speak never no ill of me."

62 Then True Thomas a sorry man was he,

The tears ran out of his een gray:
" Lovely ladye, yet tell to me,
If we shall part for ever and aye? "

63 " Nay; when thou sittest at Ercildoune,

To Huntly bank thou take thy way,
And then shall I be ready boun'

To meet thee, Thomas, if that I may."

* "Thomas" seems to be here represented by the "falcon." and the "foul fiend"
by the "eagle: " "Thomas" being in as much danger from the visitation of the one,
as the "falcon" would be from that of the other.

"The elfln queen, after restoring Thomas to earth, pours forth a string of prophe-
cies, in which we distinguish references to the events and personages of the Scottish
wars of Edward III. The battles of Duplin and Halidon are mentioned, and also
Black Agnes, Countess of Dunbar." Scott

t "This is the real word which in Scotland has now taken the form of .t;xre."
Jamieson.

AULD MAITLAND. 401

64 She blew her horn on her palfray,
And left Thomas at Eildon tree ;
Till Helmesdale she took her way,
And thus parted that ladye and he.

AULD MAITLAND.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. L, p. 306.

" This ballad, notwithstanding its present appearance, has a claim to
very high antiquity. It has been preserved by tradition ; and is,
perhaps, the most authentic instance of a long and very old poem
exclusively thus preserved. It is only known to a few old people
upon the sequestered banks of the Ettrick; and is published as
written down from the recitation of the mother of Mr. James Hogg,*
who sings, or rather chants it, with great animation. She learned the
ballad from a blind man, who died at the advanced age of ninety, and
is said to have been possessed of much traditionary knowledge.
Although the language of this poem is much modernized, yet many
words, which the reciters have retained without understanding them,
still preserve traces of its antiquity. Such are the words springals
(corruptedly pronounced springy/alls), sowies, portcullize, and many
other appropriate terms of war and chivalry, which could never
have been introduced by a modern ballad-maker. The incidents are
striking and well managed ; and they are in strict conformity with
the manners of the age in which they are placed.

' ' The date of the ballad cannot be ascertained with any degree of
accuracy. Sir Richard Maitland, the hero of the poem, seems to have
been in possession of his estate about 1250 ; so that, as he survived
the commencement of the wars betwixt England and Scotland, in
1296, his prowess against the English, in defence of his castle of
Lauder or Thirlestane, must have been exerted during his extreme old
age. He seems to have been distinguished for devotion as well as
valour; for, A.D. 1249, Dominus Ricardus de Mautlant gave to the
Abbey of Dryburgh, ' Terras suas de Haubeutside, in territorio suo
de Thirlestane, pro salute animre suce, et sponsce suce, antecessorum
suorum et successorum suorum, in perpetuum. ' -f- He also gave to the
same convent, ' Omnes terras, quas Walteras de Gilling tenuit in
feodo suo de Thirlestane et pastura incommuni de Thirlestane, ad
quadraginta oves, sexaginta vaccas, et ad viginti equos.' Cartulary
of Dryburgh Abbey, in the Advocates' Library.

"From the following ballad, and from the family traditions
referred to in the Maitland MSS., Auld Maitland appears to have had
three sons ; but we learn from the latter authority, that only one

* This old woman is still alive, and at present resides at Craig of Douglas, in
Selkirkshire (1805). The mother of the " Ettrick Shepherd " is now deceased (1820).

t There exists also an indenture, or bond, entered into by Patrick, Abbot of
Kelsau, and his convent, referring to an engagement betwixt them and Sir Richard
Maitland, and Sir William, his eldest son, concerning the lands of Hedderwicke and
the pasturages of Thirlestane and Blythe. This Patrick was Abbot of Kelso betwixt
1258 and 1260.

402 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

survived him, who was thence surnamed Burd-alane, which signifies
either unequalled, or solitary. A 'Consolation,' addressed to Sir
Richard Maitland of Lethington, a poet and scholar who flourished
about the middle of the sixteenth century, and who gives name to the
Maitland MSS., draws the following parallel betwixt his domestic
misfortunes and those of the first Sir Richard, his great ancestor:

' Sic destanie and derfe devoring deid
Oft his own nous in hazard put of auld;
Bot your forbeiris, frovard fortunes steid
And bitter blastes ay buir with breistis bauld;
Luit wanweirdis work and waiter as they wald,
Thair hardie hairtis, hawtie and heroik,
For fortounes feid or force wald never fauld,
But stormis withstand with stomak stout and stoik.

' Renowned Ri chert of your race record,
Quhai prais and prowis cannot be exprest;
Mair lustie lynyage nevir haid ane lord,
For he begat the bauldest bairnis and best,
Maist manful men, and madinis most modest,
That ever wes syn Pyramus son of Troy,
But piteouslie thai peirles herles a pest
Bereft him all bot Buird-allane, a boy.

' Himselfe was aiget, his hous hang be a har,
Duill and distres almaist to deid him draife;
Yet Burd-allane, his only son and air,
As wretched, vyiss, and valient, as the laive,
Hi a hous uphail'd, quhilk ye with honor haive.
So nature that the lyk invyand name,
In kindlie cair dois kindly courage craif,*
To follow him in fortoune and in fame.

' Richerd he wes. Richerd ye are also.
And Maitland als, and magnanime ar ye;
In als great age, als wrappit are in wo,
Sewin sonst ye haid might contra vaill his time,
Bot Burd-allane ye haive behind as he:
The lord his linage so inlarge in lyne,
And mony hundreith nepotis grie and grie J
Sen Richert wes as hundreth yeiris are hyne.'

An Consolator Ballad, to the Eicht Honor abill Sir
Richert Maitland of Lethingtoune. Maitland
MSS. in Library of Edinburgh University.

" Sir William Mautlant, or Maitland, the eldest and sole surviving
son of Sir Richard, ratified and confirmed, to the monks of Dryburgh,
' Omnes terras quas Dominus Ricardus de Mautlant pater suus fecit
dictis monachis in territorio suo de Thirlestane. ' Sir William is
supposed to have died about 1315. Crawford's Peerage.

" Such were the heroes of the ballad. The castle of Thirlestane is

* I. e.. Similar family distress demands the same family courage.

t " Sewin sons " this must include sons-in-law ; for the last Sir Richard, like his
predecessor, had only three sons, namely, I. William, the famous secretary of
Queen Mary; II. Sir John, who alone survived him, and is the Burd-allane of the
Consolation ; III. Thomas, a youth of great hopes, who died in Italy. But he had
four daughters married to gentlemen of fortune. Pinkerton's List of Scottish Poeli,
p. 114.

J " Grie and grie: " in regular descent; from gre, French.

AULD MAITLAND. 403

situated upon the Leader, near the town of Lauder. Whether the
present building, which was erected by Chancellor Maitland, and
improved by the Duke of Lauderdale, occupies the site of the ancient
castle, I do not know ; but it still merits the epithet of a ' darksome
house. ' I find no notice of the siege in history ; but there is nothing
improbable in supposing that the castle, during the stormy period of
the Baliol wars, may have held out against the English. The creation
of a nephew of Edward I., for the pleasure of slaying him by the
hand of young Maitland, is a poetical license ; * and may induce us
to place the date of the composition about the reign of David II., or
of his successor, when the real exploits of Maitland, and his sons,
were in some degree obscured, as well as magnified, by the lapse of
time. The inveterate hatred against the English, founded upon the
usurpation of Edward I. , glows in every line of the ballad.

" Auld Maitland is placed by Gawain Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld,
among the popular heroes of romance, in his allegorical ' Palice of
Honour:'

I saw Raf Coilyear with his thrawin brow,
Crabit John the Beif, and anld Cowkilbeis Sow:
And how the wran cam out of Ailesay,
And Piers Plowman, that meid his workmen few :
Great Gowmacmorne, and Fin Mac Cowl, and how
They suld be goddis in Ireland, as they say.
Thair saw I Maitland upon anld beird gray,
Robin Hude, and Gilbert with the quhite hand,
How Hay of Nauchton flew in Madin land.'

In this curious verse, the most noted romances, or popular histories
of the poet's day, seem to be noticed. The preceding stanza describes
the sports of the field ; and that which follows refers to the tricks of
jugailrie ; so that the three verses comprehend the whole pastimes of
the middle ages, which are aptly represented as the furniture of Dame
Venus s chamber. The verse, referring to Maitland, is obviously cor-
rupted ; the true reading was probably, ' with his auld beird gray. '
Indeed, the whole verse is full of errors and corruptions ; which is the
greater pity, as it conveys information to be found nowhere else.

"The descendant of Auld Maitland, Sir Kichard of Lethington,
seems to have been frequently complimented on the popular renown
of his great ancestor. We have already seen one instance ; and in an
elegant copy of verses in the Maitland MSS., in praise of Sir Richard's
seat of Lethington, which he had built, or greatly improved, this ob-
vious topic of flattery does not escape the poet From the terms of
his panegyric we learn, that the exploits of auld Sir Richard with the
gray beard, and of his three sons, were ' sung in many a far countrie,
albeit in rural rhyme;' from which we may infer, that they were
narrated rather in the shape of a popular ballad, than in a romance
of price. If this be the case, the song now published may have
tindergone little variation since the date of the Maitland MSS. ; for,
divesting the poem, in praise of Lethington, of its antique spelling,

* Such liberties with the genealogy of monarchs were common to romancers,
Henry the Minstrel makes Wallace slay more than one of King Edward's nephews;
and Johnie Armstrong claims the merit of slaying a sister's son of Henry YIIL

404 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

it would run as smoothly, and appear as modern, as any verse in the
following ballad. The lines alluded to are addressed to the castle of
Lethington :

1 And happie art thou sic a place,

That few thy maik are sene!
But yit mair happie far that race

To quhome thou dois pertene.
Quha dois not knaw the Maitland bluid.

The best in all this land?
In quhilk snmtyme the honour stuid

And worship of Scotland.

' Of auld Sir Richard, of that name,

We have hard sing and say;
Of his triumphant Eobill fame,

And of his auld baird gray,
And of his nobill sonnis three,

Quhilk that time had no maik ;
Quhilk maid Scotland renpunit be,

And all England to quaik.

'Quhals luiflng praysis, made trewlie

Efter that simple tyme,
Ar sung in monie far countrie,

Albeit in rural rhyme.
And, gif 1 dar the treuth declair,

And nane me fleitschour call,
I can to him find na compair,

And till his barnis all'

" It is a curious circumstance, that this interesting tale, so often
referred to by ancient authors, should be now recovered in so perfect
a state ; and many readers may be pleased to see the following sen-
sible observations, made by a person born in Ettrick Forest, in the
humble situation of a shepherd : ' I am surprised to hear that this
song is suspected by some to be a modern forgery ; the contrary will
be best proved, by most of the old people, hereabouts, having a great
part of it by heart. Many, indeed, are not aware of the manners of
this country ; till this present age, the poor illiterate people, in these
glens, knew of no other entertainment, in the long winter nights, than
repeating, and listening to, the feats of their ancestors, recorded in
songs, which I believe to be handed down, from father to son, for
many generations, although, no doubt, had a copy been taken, at the
end of every fifty years, there must have been some difference, oc-
casioned by the gradual change of language. I believe it is thus that
very many ancient songs have been gradually modernized to the
common ear ; while, to the connoisseur, they present marks of their
genuine antiquity.' Letter to the Editor, from MR. JAMES HOGG.
To the observations of my ingenious correspondent I have nothing to
add, but that, in this, and a thousand other instances, they accurately
coincide with my personal knowledge."

The notes to the introduction and ballad are Sir Walter Scott's.

1 THERE lived a king in southern land,

King Edward hight his name;
Unwordily he wore the crown,
Till fifty years were gane.

AULD MAITLAND. 405

2 He had a sister's son o's ain,

Was large of blood and bane;
And afterward, when he came up,
Young Edward hight his name.*

3 One day he came before the king,

And kneel'd low on his knee :
" A boon, a boon, my good uncle,
I crave to ask of thee!

4 " At our lang wars, in fair Scotland,

I fain ha'e wish'd to be;
If fifteen hundred waled t wight men
You'll grant to ride with me."

5 " Thou shall ha'e thae, thou shall ha'e mae;

I say it sickerlie;
And I myself, an auld gray man,
Array 'd your host shall see."

6 King Edward rade, King Edward ran

I wish him dool and pyne! J
Till he had fifteen hundred men
Assembled on the Tyne.

7 And thrice as many at Berwicke

Were all for battle bound,
[Who, marching forth with false Dunbar,
A ready welcome found.] fl

8 They lighted on the banks of Tweed,

And blew their coals sae het,
And fired the Merse and Teviotdale,
All in an evening late.

9 As they fared up o'er Lammermoor,

They burn'd baith up and down,
Until they came to a darksome house,
Some call it Leader-Town.

* Were it possible to find an authority for calling this personage Edmund, we
should he a step nearer history; for a brother, though not a nephew of Edward I.. BO
named, died in Gascony, during an unsuccessful campaign against the French,
Knighton, lib. iii., cap. 8.

t "Waled:" chosen.

$ Thus Spencer, in "Mother Huberd'a Tale: "

"Thus is the ape become a shepherd swain,
And the false fox his dog, God give them pain'. "

} North Berwick, according to some reciters.

1 These two lines have been inserted by Mr. Hogg to complete the verse. Dunbar,
the fortress of St. Patrick, Earl of March, was too often opened to the English, by
the treachery of that baron, during the reign of Edward L

406 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

10 " Wha bauds this house?" young Edward cried,

"Or wha gi'est o'er to me?"
A gray-hair'd knight set up his head,
And crackit right crousely:

11 " Of Scotland's king I baud my house;

He pays me meat and fee ;
And I will keep my gude auld house,
While my house will keep me."

12 They laid their sowies to the wall,

With mony a heavy peal;
But he threw o'er to them agen
Baith pitch and tar barrel.

13 With springalds, stanes, and gads of aim,

Atnang them fast he threw;
Till mony of the Englishmen
About the wall he slew.

14 Full fifteen days that braid host lay,

Sieging Auld Maitland keen;
Syne they ha'e left him, hail and feir,
Within his strength of stane.

15 Then fifteen barks, all gaily good,

Met them upon a day,
Which they did lade with as much spoil
As they cou'd bear away.

16 "England's our ain by heritage;

And what can us withstand,
Now we ha'e conquer'd fair Scotland,
With buckler, bow, and brand? "

17 Then they are on to the land of France,

Where auld king Edward lay,
Burning baith castle, tower, and town,
That he met in his way.

18 Until he came unto that town,

Which some call Billop-Grace : *
There were Auld Maitland 's sons, all three,
Learning at school, alas !

*If this be a Flemish or Scottish corruption for Ville de Grace, in Normandy,
that tow n was never besieged by Edward I., whose wars in France were confined to
the province of Gascony. The rapid change of scene, from Scotland to France,
excites a suspicion, that some verses may have been lost in this place.

AULD MAITLAND. 407

19 The eldest to the youngest said,

" Oh, see ye what I see?
If all be true yon standard says,*
We're fatherless all three.

20 " For Scotland 's conquer'd up and down ;

Landmeh we'll never be !
Now, will you go, my brethren two,
And try some jeopardy? "

21 Then they ha'e saddled twa black horse,

Twa black horse and a gray ;
And they are on to king Edward's host,
Before the dawn of day.

22 When they arrived before the host,

They hover'd on the lay :
" Wilt thou lend me our king's standard,
To bear a little way? "

23 "Where wast thou bred? where wast thou born?

Where, or in what countrie? "
" In north of England I was born; "
(It needed him to lee.)

24 " A knight me gat, a ladye bore,

I am a squire of high renown ;
I well may bear't to any king
That ever yet wore crown."

25 " He ne'er came of an Englishman,

Had sic an e'e or bree ;
But thou art the likest Auld Maitland,
That ever I did see.

26 " But sic a gloom on ae browhead,

Grant I ne'er see again!
For mony of our men he slew,
And mony put to pain."

27 When Maitland heard his father's name,

An angry man was he;
Then, lifting up a gilt dagger,
Hung low down by his knee,

28 He stabb'd the knight the standard bore,

He stabb'd him cruellie;

* Edward had quartered the arms of Scotland with his own.

408 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Then caught the standard by the neuk,
And fast away rode he.*

29 "Now, is't na time, brothers," he cried,

" Now, is't na time to flee ? "
"Ay, by my sooth ! " they baith replied,
" We'll bear you companye."

30 The youngest turn'd him in a path,

And drew a burnish'd brand,

And fifteen of the foremost slew,

Till back the lave did stand.

31 He spurr'd the gray into the path.

Till baith his sides they bled :
" Gray ! thou maun carry me away,
Or my life lies in wad ! "

32 The captain lookit o'er the wall,

About the break of day;
There he beheld the three Scots lads
Pursued along the way.

33 " Pull up portcullize ! down draw-brig I

My nephews are at hand ;
And they shall lodge with me to-night,
In spite of all England."

34 Whene'er they came within the yate,

They thrust their horse them frae,f
And took three lang spears in their hands,
Saying "Here shall come nae mae!"

35 And they shot out, and they shot in,

Till it was fairly day;
When mony of the Englishmen
About the draw-brig lay.

36 Then they ha'e yoked the carts and wains,

To ca' their dead away,
And shot auld dykes abune the lave,
In gutters where they lay.

Thus, Sir "Walter Mauny, retreating into the fortress of Hanyboute, after a
successful sally, was pursued by the besiegers, who " ranne after them lyke madde
men; than sir Gualtier saide, Let me never be beloved wyth my lady, wythout
I have a course wyth one of these followers!" and turning, with his lance in the
rest, he overthrew several of his pursuers, before he condescended to continue hie
retreat. Froissart.

t " The lord of Hangest (pursued by the English) came so to the barryrs (of Van-
dpnne) that were open, as his happe was, and so entred in thereat, and then toke
his speare, and turned him to defence, right valiantly." Froissart, voL i., chap. 367.

AULD MAITLAND. 409

37 The king, at his pavilion door,

Was heard aloud to say :
" Last night, three of the lads of France
My standard stole away.

38 " With a fause tale, disguised they came,

And with a fauser trayne;
And to regain my gaye standard,
These men were all down slayne."

39 " It ill befits," the youngest said,

" A crowned king to lee ;
But, or that I taste meat and drink,
Reproved shall he be."

40 He went before king Edward straight,

And kneel'd low on his knee :
" I wou'd ha'e leave, my lord," he said,
" To speak a word with thee."

41 The king he turn'd him round about,

And wistna what to say :
Quo' he, " Man, thou 's ha'e leave to speak,
Though thou should speak all day."

42 " Ye said that three young lads of France

Your standard stole away,
With a fause tale and fauser trayne,
And mony men did slay;

43 " But we are nane the lads of France,

Nor e'er pretend to be :
We are three lads of fair Scotland,
Auld Maitland's sons are we.

44 " Nor is there men in all your host

Daur fight us three to three."
" Now, by my sooth," young Edward said,
"Weel fitted ye shall be!

45 " Piercy shall with the eldest fight,

And Ethert Lunn with thee;
William of Lancaster the third,
And bring your fourth to me I

46 " Remember, Piercy, aft the Scot

Has cower'd beneath thy hand; *
For every drap of Maitland blood,
I'll gi'e a rig of land."

* Modern, to supply an imperfect stanza.

410 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

47 He clanked Piercy o'er the head

A deep wound and a sair,
Till the best blood of his body-
Came running down his hair.

48 " Now, I've slayne ane; slay ye the twa ;

And that's gude companye;
And if the twa shou'd slay ye baith,
Ye'se get nae help frae me." *

49 But Ethert Lunn, a baited bear,

Had many battles seen ;
He set the youngest wonder sair,
Till the eldest he grew keen.

50 " I am nae king, nor nae sic thing: f

My word it shanna stand!
For Ethert shall a buffet bide,
Come he beneath my brand."

51 He clankit Ethert o'er the head

A deep wound and a sair,

Till the best blood in his body

Came running o'er his hair.

52 " Now, I've slayne twa; slay ye the ane;

Isna that gude companye?
And though the ane shou'd slay ye baith,
Ye'se get nae help of me."

53 The twa-some they ha'e slayne the ane,

They maul'd him cruellie ; J
Then hung him over the draw-brig,
That all the host might see.

54 They rade their horse, they ran their horse,

Then hover'd on the lee :
" We be three lads of fair Scotland,
That fain wou'd fighting see."

* According to the laws of chivalry, laws which were also for a long time
observed in duels, when two or more persons were engaged on each side, he, who
first conquered his immediate antagonist, was at liberty, if he pleased, to come to
the assistance of his companions.

t Maitland's apology for retracting his promise to stand neuter is as curious as
his doing so is natural. The unfortunate John of France was wont to say, that if
truth and faith were banished from all the rest of the universe, they should still
reside in the breast and the mouth of kings.

t This has a vulgar sound, but is actually a phrase of romance. Tant frappant et
maillent lex deux vassaux 1'un sur 1'autre, quo leurs heauines, et leurs hauberts, sont
tous cassez et rompuz. La Fleur des Battailes.

AULD MAITLAND. 411

55 This boasting when young Edward heard,

An angry man was he :
" I'll take yon lad, I'll bind yon lad,
And bring him bound to thee ! "

56 " Now, God forbid," king Edward said,

" That ever thou shou'd try!
Three worthy leaders we ha'e lost,
And thou the fourth wou'd lie.

57 " If thou shou'dst hang on yon draw-brig,

Blythe wou'd I never be."
But, with the poll-axe in his hand,
Upon the brig sprang he.*

58 The first stroke that young Edward ga'e,

He struck with might and main;
He clove the Maitland's helmet stout,
And bit right nigh the brain.

59 When Maitland saw his ain blood fall,

An angry man was he;"j-
He let his weapon frae him fall,
And at his throat did flee.

* The sieges, during the Middle Agea, frequently afforded opportunity for single
combat, of which the scene was usually the drawbridge, or barriers, of the town.
The former, as the more desperate place of battle, was frequently chosen by
knights, who chose to break a lance for honour and their ladies' love. In 1387, Sir
"William Douglas, Lord of Nithsdale, upon the drawbridge of the town of Carlisle,
consisting of two beams, hardly two feet in breadth, encountered and slew, first, a
single champion of England, and afterwards two, who attacked him together.
Forduni Scolichronicon, lib. xiv., chap. 5L

" He brynt the suburbys of Carlele,
And at the bareris he faucht sa wel,
That on thare bryg he slew a man,
The wychtast that in the town wes than;
Quhare, on a plank of twa feet brade
He stude, and swa gude payment made,
That he feld twa stout fechteris,
And but skath went till his feres."

Wyntoum's Cronykil, book ix., chap. 8.

These combats at the barriers, or palisades, which formed the outer fortification
of a town, were so frequent, that the mode of attack and defence was early taught
to the future knight, and continued long to be practised in the games of chivalry.
The custom, therefore, of defying the inhabitants of a besieged town to this sort of
contest, was highly fashionable in the Middle Ages; and an army could hardly
appear before a place, without giving rise to a variety of combats at the barriers,
which were, in general, conducted without any unfair advantage being taken on
either part.

t There is a saying, that a Scotchman fights best after seeing his own blood.
Camerarius has contrived to hitch this foolish proverb into a national compliment,
for he quotes it as an instance of the persevering gallantry of his countrymen. " Si
in pugna proprium effundi sanguinem vidissent, non statim prostrato animo, con-
cedebant, sed irato potius in hostes velut furentes omnibus viribus incurrebant."

412 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

60 And thrice about he did him swing,

Till on the ground he light,
Where he has halden young Edward,
Tho 1 he was great in might.

61 " Now let him up," king Edward cried,

" And let him come to me;
And for the deed that thou hast done,
Thou shalt ha'e earldomes three!"

62 " It 's ne'er be said in France, nor e'er

In Scotland, when I'm hame,
That Edward once lay under me,*
And e'er g^t up again!"

63 He pierced him through and through the heart,

He maul'd him cruellie;
Then hung him o'er the draw-brig,
Beside the other three.

64 " Now take frae me that feather-bed,

Make me a bed of strae !
I wish I hadna lived this day,
To make my heart sae wae.

65 " If I were ance at London Tow'r,

Where I was wont to be,
J never mair shou'd gang frae hame,
Till borne on a bier-tree.

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.

The unforttmate accident which deprived Alexander III. of life,
on the 16th of March, 1285-6, opened the floodgates of civil broil in
Scotland. These were temporarily closed, but only to burst again
with greater violence, on the death of Margaret, the Maiden of
Norway, the last lineal descendant of the ancient Scotish kings,
A.D. 1290.

Well, therefore, might the early poet sing the doleful ditty,

" Quhen Alysandyr, oure kyng, wes dede,

That Scotland led in luwe and le,
Away wes sons of ale and brede,
Of wyne and wax, of gamyu and gle.

* Some reciters repeat it thus,

"That Englishman lay under me,"

which is in the true spirit of Blind Harry, who makes Wallace say,
" I better like to see the Southeron die,

Than gold or land, that they can gi'e to me."

In slaying Edward, Maitland acts pitilessly, but not contrary to the laws of arms.
which did not enjoin a knight to show mercy to his antagonist, until he yielded him,
" rescue or no rescue."

SIB WILLIAM WALLACE. 413

" Oure gold wes changyd Into lede.

Cryst, borne in-to virgynyte,

Succour Scotland, and remede,

That Btad is in perplexyt&" *

Well might the Scotish nation stand aghast as it beheld the mus-
tering hosts marshal themselves in fierce array under the banner of
one or other of the numerous aspirants after the vacant throne, and
as it witnessed the wily and unprincipled policy of the able but
unscrupulous English king, as such was by him steadily and ruth-
lessly developed.

It was after this policy had culminated in the defeat, disgrace, and
imprisonment of Baliol, the vassal king when the fortune of Scotland
was at the lowest ebb, and her position as an independent nation
seemed gone for ever it was then that Wallace, one of the greatest
and noblest patriots the world has ever seen, was raised up, like one
of the deliverers and judges of the Hebrew people of old ; and it was
this fondly-revered champion of his country's liberty who, by the
might of his strong right arm, and the force of his valiant and in-
domitable example, rolled back the tide of Southern invasion, leaving
Scotsmen as God created them to be freemen.

Modern critics may sneer and cavil at the apparently superhuman
exploits of the Scotish champion, as sung by the Scotish Homer ; but
the fact remains, that Wallace, with his small but trusty band of
kindred-souled compatriots, baffled the skill and might of one of the
ablest monarchs at the head of one of the bravest and most powerful
nations in the world ; and this in spite of the jealousy, treason, and
mendacity of the Scotish nobles, who thwarted him to the utmost
of their power, and by one of whom he was ultimately betrayed into
the hands of his own and his country's enemy. The name of the
" false Menteith." who basely thus, for English gold, did Judas-like
betray " his country's savioui-," is, and ever shall be, execrated and
made a byeword of reproach as long as a Scotsman lives and breathes.
It forms no part of our plan to follow the patriot-martyr through the
chequered events of his career, until its fatal termination on an
English scaffold, 23d August, 1305, after which his head was placed
on a pole on London bridge, and the quarters of his dismembered
body sent respectively to Newcastle, Berwick, Perth, and Aberdeen.

The crowned murderer, no doubt, exulted in the thought that
Scotish independence had perished with his victim ; but it was not
so, for

"Freedom's battle once begun,
Bequeath'd by bleeding sire to son,
Tho' baffled oft, is ever won."

And thus

" From Wallace' blood, like precious seed-drops shed,
Sprang up fresh patriots in his steps to tread."

Nay, the avenger was even then within the gates of the English king,
in the person of Robert Bruce, who, on the 27th of March, 1306, was

* Winton's Cronykil, voL i., p. 401. The elegiac song thus preserved is supposed
to be the earliest specimen of the Scotish, as distinguished from the Gaelic language.
But if Sir Walter Scott he correct in ascribing the authorship of Sir Tristrem to
"Thomas the Rhymer," that romance would of course take precedence.

414 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

crowned at Scone as King of Scotland, and who, after many severe
and trying struggles and vicissitudes, fixed the liberty and indepen-
dence of his country on a firm and permanent basis by the great and
crowning victory of Bannockburn.

"The industry of Henry the Minstrel has," says Motherwell,
" done justice to the history of the Patriot [Wallace] ; and it is
believed that in his heroick poem * will be found incorporated all the
detached songs, founded on real or fabulous incident, which were
living on the breath of tradition, regarding the hero at the time Henry
lived. The disappearance of these detached songs can be ascribed to
no other cause than the extreme popularity which the work of Henry
has acquired. I have heard it as a byeword, in some parts of
Stirlingshire, that a collier's library consists but of four books : the
Confession of Faith, the Bible, a bunch of ballads, and ' Sir William
Wallace : ' the first for the gude-wife, the second for the gude-man,
the third for their daughter, and the last for the son a selection
indicative of no mean taste in these grim moldwarps of humanity.

" No ballads relative to the Bruce and his chivalry exist, the
celebrity of Barbour's historick poem f having, in the course of time,
wholly swept their memory away. That one, who, in his own person
and fortunes, realized the most perfect picture we have of a ' Knight
adventurous.' and who seems himself to have had a very lively
relish for the compositions of the minstrel muse,:}: should fail being
commemorated in song, is inconsistent with probability. We know
that a herald, in a solemn feast, being desired by Edward of Carnarvon
to say, what three knights then living were most approved in arms,
unhesitatingly named Bruce as one of the number. The minstrel
and the herald were at that period, oftentimes, one and the same
profession. When Barbour wrote, ballads relative to this period
appear to have been common ; for the poet, speaking of certain
' Thre worthi poyntis of wer,' omits the particulars of the 'Thrid,
which fell into Esdaill,' being a victory gained by ' Schyr Johne the
Soullis' over ' Schyr Andrew Hardclay,' for this reason :

'I will nocht rehers the maner,
For wha sa likes thai may her,
Young wemen quhen thai will play,
Sing it aniang thaim ilk day.'

" 'The monkishe rymes, truffes, and roundes,' made alternately
by the Scottish or English, as either side prevailed, and of which
some specimens are preserved in the chronicles of the latter, do not
properly belong to the class of narrative ballads. These rhymes, it

* Wallace, Dr. Jamieson's edition, reprint, Glasgow, 1869.
t The Bruce, Dr. Jamieson's edition, reprint, Glasgow, 1869.

t " Barbour gives an interesting account of him, in one instance comforting his
followers by reading to them portions of the Romance of Ferumbrace, and on another
occasion, of being accustomed to tell them

'Auld storyis of men that wer

Set in tyll assayis ser.' " MotherwelL

The Scotish portion of the satirical songs or pasquils here referred to, may be
found quoted in the companion volume, Songs of Scotland, Chronologically Arranged,
Introduction, pp. iiL and iv.

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. 415

may be stated, are written in what is called the 'ryme cowee,' and
which appears to have borne a marked resemblance to that descrip-
tion of metrical abuse styled ' Flyting ' by our Scottish Makers, of
which we have some notable examples in the poeticl encounters of
Dunbar and Kennedy, *and Montgomery and Hume, "a Motherwell's
Minstrelsy, Introduction, pp. xlvi.-viii.

Now that " these cruel wars are over," and Scotland united with
England and Ireland, on free and equal terms, as portions of one
great nation, let us trust that every Englishman, Irishman, ay, and
every American yea, every lover of fair play and liberty all the
world over will respond to the poetic prayer of the Scotish bard,
Robert Burns :

" O Thou! who pour'd the patriotic tide

That stream'd thro' "Wallace's undaunted heart;
Who dared, so nobly, stem tyrannic pride,

Or nobly die, the second glorious part,

(The patriot's God peculiarly thou art,
His friend, inspirer, guardian, and reward!)

Oh, never, never Scotia's realm desert :
But still the patriot, and the patriot bard,
In bright succession raise, her ornament and guard." J

The two ballads which follow appear to be derived respectivel
from Blind Harry's Wallace, books iv. and v.

Of that first given, there are two versions, namely :

I. " Sir William Wallace," in the Thistle of Scotland, p f 100.
II. "Wallace and his Leman," in Buchan's Ancient Ballads,
&c., voL ii., p. 226.

The text is taken from version I., with the exception of stanza 15,
which is given from version II., as are also other stanzas noted under
the text as variations.

Both conclude with portions of the ballad which comes next in
order, and of which fuller versions appeared as under :

I. In Johnson's Musical Museum, vol. v., p. 498. As com-
municated by Burns.

IL In the Illustrations or Notes to Johnson's Museum, p. 458*,
as given by Mr. D. Laing, from a copy which " appeared
in a common chap form, along with some Jacobite ballads,
printed about the year 1750."

III. Under the title of "Willie Wallace," in Buchan's Glean-
ings, p. 114, as " taken down from an itinerant tinker and
gypsey."

The same ballad is also given by Jamieson and by
Finlay, in their respective collections, and by Allan
Cunningham, with editorial additions and embellishments,
in The Songs of Scotland.

Mr. Buchan's version (III.) is the one here printed under the title
of " Gude Wallace ; " but it has received a few emendations.
* See Dunbar's Poems, edited by Mr. David Laing.
t See Watson's Collection of Scots Poems, reprint, Glasgow, 1869.
t "The Cotter's Saturday Night," last stanza.

416 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

1 WOU'D ye hear of William Wallace,

And seek him as he goes,
Into the land of Lanark,
Ainang his mortal foes ?

2 There were fifteen English sogers

Unto his ladye came,
Said " Gi'e us William Wallace,
That we may have him slain.

3 " Wou'd ye gi'e William Wallace,

That we may have him slain ?
And ye'se be wedded to a lord,
The best in Christendeem."

4 " This very night, at seven,

Brave Walla.ce will come in,
And he'll come to my chamber door,
Without or dread or din."

5 The fifteen English sogers

Around the house did wait ;
And four brave Southron foragers
Stood hie upon the gait.

6 That very night, at seven,

Brave Wallace he came in,
And he came to his ladye's bow'r
Withouten dread or din.*

7 When she beheld brave Wallace,

And stared him in the face
" Ohon, alas!" said that ladye,
" This is a woeful case.

8 " For I this night have sold you,

This night you must be ta'en ;
And I'm to be wedded to a lord,
The best in Christendeem."

9 " Do you repent," said Wallace,

"The ill you've done to me?"
" Ay, that I do," said that ladye,
" And will do till I dee.

* Mr. Buchan's version begins

" Wallace yight, tipon a night,

Came riding o'er the linn;
And he is to his leman's bow'r.
And tirl'd at the pin."

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE. 417

10 " Ay, that I do," said that ladye,

"And will do ever still;
And for the ill I've done to you,
Let me burn upon a hill."

11 " Now, God forfend," says brave Wallace,

"I should be so unkind;
Whatever I am to Scotland's faes,
I'm aye a woman's friend.

12 " Will ye gi'e me your gown, your gown,

Your gown but and your kirtle,
Your petticoat of bonnie brown,
And belt about my middle?

13 " I'll take a pitcher in ilka hand,

And do me to the well;
They'll think I'm one of your maidens,
Or think it is yoursel'."

14 She has gi'en him her gown, her gown,

Her petticoat and kirtle ;
Her broadest belt with silver clasps,
To bind about his middle.

15 [Then he ga'e her a loving kiss,

The tear dropp'd frae his e'e;
Says " Fare ye well for evermair,
Your face I'll nae mair see."]*

16 He 's ta'en a pitcher in ilka hand.

And done him to the well;
They thought him one of her maidens,
They kenn'd 'twas not hersel'.f

17 Said one of the Southron foragers,

" See ye yon lusty dame?
I wou'd nae gi'e meikle to thee, neebor,
To bring her back again."

18 Then all the Southrons follow'd him,

They follow'd him all four;
But he has drawn his trusty brand,
And slain them pair by pair.

* Inserted from Mr. Buchan's version.

t " She dress'd him in her ain claithing,

And frae her house he came,
"Which made the Englishmen admire
To see this stalwart dame." Buchan's version.
2E

418 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

GUDE WALLACE.

1 WALLACE was in the high Highlands,

Neither meat nor drink got he ;

Said "Fa 1 * me life, or fa' me death,

Now to some town I maun be."

2 He has put on his short cleiding,

And on his short cleiding put he;
Says " Fa' me life, or fa' me death,
Now to Saint Johnstoun's f I maun be."

3 Then he cross'd o'er the river Tay,

On to the North Inch steppit he ;
And he was 'ware of a weel-faur'd May,
Was washing there aneath a tree.

4 " What news, what news, ye weel-faur'd May,

What news ha'e ye this day to me?
What news, what news, ye weel-faur'd May,
What news ha'e ye in the South countrie?"

5 " Nae news, nae news, ye gentle knight,

Nae news ha'e I this day to thee ;

But fifteen lords in yon hostler-house,

Waiting Gude Wallace for to see."

6 " If I had but in my pocket

The worth of one single pennie,
I wou'd go to the hostler-house,
These fifteen Englishmen to see."

7 She put her hand in her pocket,

And she has pull'd out half-a-crown ;

Says " Take ye that, ye belted knight,

And with it pay your lawin' down."

8 As he went frae the weel-faur'd May,

A beggar bauld I wot met he,

Was cover'd with a clouted J cloak,

And in his hand a trusty tree.

9 " What news, what news, ye silly auld man,

What news ha'e ye this day to gi'e?
What news, what news, ye silly auld man,
What news ha'e ye in the South countrie?"

* "Fa 1 :" befalL t Perth. t " Clouted :" patched.

GUDE WALLACE. 419

10 " 111 news, ill news, ye belted knight,

111 news ha'e I to tell to thee ;
For there 's fifteen lords in yon hostler-house,
Waiting Gude Wallace for to see."

11 " Ye'll lend to me your clouted cloak,

That covers you frae head to knee,
And I'll gang to the hostler-house,
To ask of them for some supplie."

12 Now he 's gane to the West-muir wood,

And there he pull'd a trusty tree,
And then he 's on to the hostler-house,
Asking them there for charitie.

13 Down the stair the captain comes,

Aye the puir man for to see;
" If ye be a captain as gude as ye look,
Ye'll gi'e a puir man some supplie."

14 " Where were ye born, ye crooked carle?

Where were ye born? in what countrie?"
" In fair Scotland here I was born,
Crooked carle, as ye call me."

15 " Oh, I wou'd gi'e ye fifty pounds

Of gold and of the white monie;
Oh, I wou'd gi'e ye fifty pounds,

If the traitor Wallace ye'd let me see."

16 " Tell down your monie," said Gude Wallace,

" Tell down your monie, if it be gude;
For I'm sure I ha'e it in my pow'r,
And I never had a better bode.*

17 " Tell down your monie, if it be gude,

And let me see if it be fine ;
I'm sure I ha'e it in my pow'r

To bring the traitor, Wallace, in."

18 The monie was told down on the table,

Silver and gold of pounds tiftie ;
" Now, here I stand," said Gude Wallace,
" And what ha'e ye to say to me ? "

19 He fell'd the captain where he stood,

With a downright stroke upon the floor ;
He slew the rest around the room,
And ask'd if there were any more.
* "Bode:" offer.

420 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

20 " Come, cover the table," said Gude Wallace,

" Come, cover the table, now make haste ;
For it will soon be three lang days
Since I a bit of meat did taste."

21 The table it was scarcely cover'd,

Nor yet had he sat down to dine,
Till fifteen more of the English lords
Surrounded the house where he was in.

22 " Come out, come out, thou traitor, Wallace,

This is the day that ye maun dee ! "
" I lippen* nae sae little to God," he says,
" Altho' I be but little wordie."f

23 The gudewife she ran but J the floor,

And aye the gudeman he ran ben;

From eight o'clock till four at noon,

Wallace has kill'd full thirty men.

24 He put his faes in sic a swither,

That five of them he stickit dead ;
Five of them he drown'd in the river,

And five he hung in the West-muir wood.

25 Then he is on to the North Inch gane,

Where the May was washing tenderly :
" Now, by my sooth," said Gude Wallace,
" It 's been a sair day's wark to me ! "

26 He 'a put his hand into his pocket,

And he has pull'd out twenty pound;
Says " Take ye that, ye weel-faured May,
For the gude luck of your half-crown! "

THE BATTLE OF KOSLINE.

Copied from a Glasgow chap-book, " printed by J. and M. Robert-
son, Saltmarket, 1803." It is prefaced thus :

" The famous battle of Rosline, fought on the plains of Eosline,
Anno Dom. 1303, [| about five miles south of Edinburgh, where 10,000

* " Lippen : " trust

t This stanza is taken from Jamieson's version.

t "But," the outer, and "ben," the inner apartment of a house or cottage.
5 ''Swither:" perplexity.

|| "Langtoft is open and candid as to the entire defeat of the English." For
" the curious and minute account given by " him, see his work, vol. ii., p. 319.

THE BATTLE OF ROSLINE. 421

Scots, led by Sir John Cummin and Sir Simon Fraser, defeated in
three battles, in one day, 30,000 of their [English] enemies."

Mr. Maidment, in his Scotish Ballads and Songs, p. 148, prints
the same ballad from one "dated Edinburgh, 1785." They agree
minutely; but the Glasgow edition has three lines more than the
other; which three lines are necessary, in order to preserve the
uniformity of the stanzas.

Some of the early English historians state that Wallace led the
Scotish army which achieved this triad of victories ; but others, as
also the Scotish historians, make no mention of him in connection
therewith.

The English armies seem to have been commanded respectively by
John de Segrave; by Ralph de Manton, called, from his office, Ralph
the Cofferer ; and by Sir Kobert Neville all of whom appear to have
fallen. Some of the Scotish nobles then in France, on hearing of this
exploit, " addressed a letter to the governor and nobility of Scotland,
in which they exhorted them to be of good courage, and to persevere
in vindicating the liberties of their country. ' You would greatly
rejoice,' they say in this letter, ' if you were aware what a weight of
honour this last conflict with the English has conferred upon you
throughout the world.' " *

Sir Simon Fraser, the hero of this achievement, and compatriot
of Wallace, was ultimately taken prisoner near Stirling, A.D. 1306.
" He was carried to London, heavily ironed, with his legs tied under
his horse's belly, and, as he passed through the city, a garland of
periwinkles was in mockery placed upon his head. . . Fraser was
tried and condemned, after which he suffered the death of a traitor,
with all its circumstances of refined cruelty. He was hanged, cut
down when still living, and beheaded ; his bowels were then torn out
and burned,. and his head fixed beside that of Wallace, upon London
Bridge, "f

"A long ballad against the Scotch, written upon the execution of
Sir Simon Fraser, 1306, from a manuscript of that time, Harl. Lib.
2253, f. v. 59," appears in Ancient Scotish Poems (printed by Pinker-
ton, from the Maitland MSS.), vol. ii., Appendix, article iv., p. 488.

1 LEAVE off your tittle tattle,
And I'll tell you of a battle,
Where claymore and targe did rattle,

At Rosline on the Lee :
Ten thousand Scottish laddies,
Drest in their tartan plaidies,
With blue bonnets and cockadies

A pleasant sight to see.

* "Kymer, Feed., vol. i., new edit., p. 955. June 8, 1303," as quoted by Tytler,
History of Scotland, voL i. (new edit., 1866), p. 172.

t Tytler's History of Scotland, voL i., p. 217, edit. 18G6 ; as given on the authority
of Matthew Westminster.

422 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 Led * by Sir Simon Fraser,
Who was as bold as Csesar,
Great Alexander never

Could exceed that Hero bold.f
And by brave Sir John Cummin.
When he saw the foes a-coming,
Set the bagpipes all a-bumming,

" Stand firm, my hearts of gold ! "

3 Ten thousand English advancing,
See how their arms are glancing ;
We'll set them all a-dancing

At Rosline on the Lee.
Like furies our brave Highland men
Most boldly they engaged them,
On field they durst no longer stand,

They soon began to flee.

4 They rush'd into the battle,
Made sword and targe to rattle,
Which made their foes to startle

They fell dead on the ground.
Our army gave a loud huzza,
Our Highland lads have won the day,
On field they | durst no longer stay;

See how the cowards run !

5 This battle was no sooner over,
Than ten thousand of the other
Came marching in good order,

Most.boldly for to fight.
Their colours were displaying,
Their horse foaming and braying,
Their generals are saying,

" We'll soon put them to flight."

C But our bowmen gave a volley,
Made them repent their folly ;
They soon turn'd melancholy,
And stagger'd to and fro.

* The chap copies read " commanded."

t The late Mr. MacGregor Simpson, Scotish vocalist, dressed " in the garb of old
Gaul," used to sing this piece with bagpipe prelude or accompaniment

If the writer remembers rightly, it was sung with variations, the third and fourth
lines of stanza 2 being changed to

" Or as old Nebuchadnezzar,

Those heroes stout and bold."

Or something very similar.
t The enemy.

THE BATTLE OF ROSLINE. 423

Our spearmen then engaged,
Their rage they soon assuaged,*
Like lions our heroes raged,
Death dealt at every blow.

7 For one hour and a quarter
There was a bloody slaughter,
Till the enemies cry'd quarter,*}"

And in confusion flee.
Our general says "Don't pursue;
Ten thousand more are come in view;
Take courage, lads, our hearts are true,

And beat your enemy ! "

8 Then thinking for to cross us,
They rallying all their forces,
Both of foot and horses,

To make the last attempt.
The Scots cry'd out with bravery,
" We disdain their English knavery, J
We'll ne'er be brought to slavery,

Till our last blood is spent."

9 With fresh courage they did engage,
And manfully made for the charge,
With their broadsword and their targe,

Most boldly then they stood.
The third battle it was very sore,
Thousands lay reeking in their gore,
The like was never seen before,

The fields did swim with blood.

10 The English could no longer stay,
In great confusion fled away,
And sore they do lament the day

That they came there to fight.
Cummin cry'd " Chase them, do not spare,
Quick as the hound doth chase the hare;"
And many were ta'en prisoners [there],

That day upon the flight.

11 The Douglas, Campbell, and the Hay,
The Gordons from the water Spey,
So boldly as they fought that day

With the brave Montgomery.

* This and the preceding line do not appear in Mr. Maidment's copy.
t This, it appears, they did not receive, the Scots being too numerically weak to
hold prisoners and flght the new army,
t This line does not appear in Mr. Maidment's capy.
The chap copies read " one" in place of " were."

424 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

The Kers and Murrays of renown,
The Keiths, Boyds, and Hamiltons,
They brought their foes down to the ground,
And fought with bravery.

12 Sound, sound the music, sound it,
Let hills and dales rebound it.
Fill up the glass, and round wi't,

In praise of our heroes bold.
If Scotsmen were always true,
We'd make our enemies to rue;
But, alas ! we're not all true blue,

As we were in days of old.

BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE.

"The Scottish edition," from Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. i., p. 354,

" The following ballad of the battle of Otterbourne, being essentially
different from that which is published in the Reliques of Ancient
Poetry, vol. i., and being obviously of Scottish composition, claims
a place in the present collection. The particulars of that noted
action are related by Froissart, with the highest encomiums upon the
valour of the combatants on each side. James, Earl of Douglas, with
his brother, the Earl of Murray, in 1387, invaded Northumberland, at
the head of 3,000 men, while the Earls of Fife and Strathern, sons to
the king of Scotland, ravaged the western borders of England, with
a still more numerous army. Douglas penetrated as far as Newcastle,
where the renowned Hotspur lay in garrison. In a skirmish before
the walls, Percy's lance, with the pennon, or guidon, attached to it,
was taken by Douglas as most authors affirm, in a personal en-
counter betwixt the two heroes. The earl shook the pennon aloft,
and swore he would carry it as his spoil into Scotland, and plant it
upon his castle at Dalkeith. ' That, ' answered Percy, ' shalt thou
never! ' Accordingly, having collected the forces of the marches, to
a number equal, or (according to the Scottish historians) much
superior, to the army of Douglas, Hotspur made a night attack upon
the Scottish camp at Otterbourne, about thirty -two miles from New-
castle. An action took place, fought by moonlight, with uncommon
gallantry and desperation. At length, Douglas, armed with an iron
mace, which few but he could wield, rushed into the thickest of the
English battalions, followed only by his chaplain, and two squires of
his body.* Before his followers could come up, their brave leader
was stretched on the ground, with three mortal wounds ; his squires
lay dead by his side ; the priest alone, armed with a lance, was pro-

* Their names were Kobert Hart and Simon Glendinning. The chaplain was
Bichard Lundie, afterwards archdeacon of Aberdeen. Godwoft. Hart, according
to Wintoun, was a knight That historian says, no one knew how Douglas fell.

BATTLE OF OTTEEBOURNE. 425

tecting his master from further injury. ' I die like my forefathers,'
said the expiring hero, ' in a field of battle, and not on a bed of sick-
ness. Conceal my death, defend my standard,* and avenge my fall!
it is an old prophecy, that a dead man shall gain a field, t and I
hope it will be accomplished this night.' Godscroft. With these
words he expired ; and the fight was renewed with double obstinacy
around his body. When morning appeared, however, victory began
to incline to the Scottish side. Ralph Percy, brother to Hotspur,
was made prisoner by the Earl Mareschal, and shortly after, Harry
Percy J himself was taken by Lord Montgomery. The number of
captives, according to Wintoun, nearly equalled that of the victors.
Upon this the English retired, and left the Scots masters of the dear-
bought honours of the field. But the Bishop of Durham approaching
at the head of a body of fresh forces, not only checked the pursuit
of the victors, but made prisoners of some of the stragglers, who had
urged the chase too far. The battle was not, however, renewed, as
the Bishop of Durham did not venture to attempt the rescue of Percy.
The field was fought 15th August, 1388. Fordun, Froissart, Holm-
shed, Godscroft.

"The ground on which this memorable engagement took place
still retains the name of Battle-Cross. A cross, erroneously termed
Percy's Cross, has been erected upon the spot where the gallant
Earl of Douglas is supposed to have fallen. The Castle of Otterbourne,
which was besieged by Douglas, with its demesne lands, . . . [and]
a neighbouring eminence called Fawdoun Hill, on which may yet be
discerned the vestiges of the Scottish camp, agreeing with the des-
cription of the ballad, 'They lighted high on Otterbourn.' Earl's
Meadows, containing a fine spring, called Percy's Well, are a part
of the same grounds, and probably derive their name from the
battle. The camp on Fawdoun Hill is a mile distant from Battle-
Cross ; but it must be remembered that the various changes of position
and of fortune, during so long and fierce an engagement between two
considerable armies, must have extended the conflict over all the
vicinity.

" The ballad published in the Eeliques, is avowedly an English pro-
duction, and the author, with a natural partiality, leans to the side
of his countrymen; yet that ballad, or some one similar, modified
probably by national prejudice, must have been current in Scotland
during the reign of James VI.; for Godscroft, in treating of this
battle, mentions its having been the subject of popular song, and
proceeds thus : ' But that which is commonly sung of the "Hunting
of Cheviot," seemeth indeed poetical, and a mere fiction, perhaps to
stir up virtue; yet a fiction whereof there is no mention, either in the

* The banner of Douglas, upon this memorable occasion, was borne by his natural
son, Archibald Douglas, ancestor of the family of Cavers, hereditary Sheriffs of
Teviotdale, amongst whose archives this glorious relic is still preserved. The earl,
at his onset, is said to have charged his son to defend it to the last drop of .his
blood.

t This prophecy occurs in the ballad as an ominous dream.

t Hotspur, for his ransom, built the Castle of Penoon, in Ayrshire, belonging to
the family of Montgomery, now Earls of Eglintoun.

426 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Scottish or English chronicle.* Neither are the songs that are made
of them both one ; for the Scots song made of Otterbourne telleth the
time, about Larnrnas ; and also the occasion, to take preys out of
England; also the dividing armies betwixt the Earls of Fife and
Douglas, and their several journeys, almost as in the authentic his-
tory. It beginneth thus :

" It fell about the Lammas tide,

When yeomen win their hay,

The dochty Douglas 'gan to ride,

In England to take a prey." '

Godscroft, ed. Edin., 1743, vol. i., p. 195.

" I cannot venture to assert, that the stanzas, here published,
Oelong to the ballad alluded to by Godscroft ; but they come much
nearer to his description than the copy published in the first edition,^
which represented Douglas as falling by the poniard of a faithless page.
Yet we learn from the same author, that the story of the assassination
was not without foundation in tradition. ' There are that say, that
he [Douglas] was not slain by the enemy, but by one of his own men,
a groom of his chamber, whom he had struck the day before with a
truncheon, in ordering of the battle, because he saw him make some-
what slowly to. And they name this man John Bickerton of Luffness,
who left a part of his armour behind unfastened, and when he was in
the greatest conflict, this servant of his came behind his back, and
slew him thereat. 'Godscroft, ut supra. 'But this narration,' adds
the historian, ' is not so probable.' J Indeed, it seems to have no

* ["The Hunting of Cheviot," or "Chevy Chace," of which, properly speaking, only
English versions now exist, probably refers to the battle of Pepperden, fought betweeli
the Scots under the Earl of Angus, and the English under the Earl of Northumber-
land, A.D. 1436. The Scots were the victors, as at Otterbourne.]

t " Out then spoke a bonny boy,

That serv'd ane o' Earl Douglas' kin
'Metbinks I see an English host
A-coming branking us upon.'
" ' If this be true, thou little foot page,

If this be true thou tells to me,
The brawest bower in Otterbourne

Shall be thy morning's fee.
" 'But if it be false, thou little boy!

But and a lie thou tells to me,
On the highest tree in Otterbourne,

Wi" my ain hands, I'll hang thee hie ! '
" The boy has ta'en out his little penknife
That hung right low down by his gam
And he gave Lord Douglas a deadly wound,

I wot a deep wound and a sare.
" Earl Douglas to the Montgomery said,

' Take thou the vanguard of the three;
And bury me by the braken bush,
That grows upon yon lilye lee.' "

Minstrelsy, 1st edit, vol. L, p. 32.
[And substantially the same in Herd.]

J "Wintoun assigns another cause for Douglas being carelessly armed-
" The Erie Jamys was sa besy,
For till ordane his company,
And on his fays for to pas,
That reckles he of his armyng was:
The Erie of Mwrrawys bassenet,

Thai sayd, at thottyme wasferryhete." Book viii., chap. 7.
The circumstance of Douglas' omitting to put on his helmet occurs in the ballad.

BATTLE OF OTTEREOURNE. 427

foundation, but the common desire of assigning some remote and
extraordinary cause for the death of a great mau. The following
ballad is also inaccurate in many other particulars, and is much
shorter and more indistinct, than that printed in the Reliques, al-
though many verses are almost the same. Hotspur, for instance, is
called Earl Percy, a title he never enjoyed. Neither was Douglas
buried on the field of battle, but in Melrose Abbey, where his tomb is
still shown.

"This song was first published from Mr. Herd's Collection of
Scottish Songs and Ballads, Edinburgh, 1776, 2 vols. octavo ; but for-
tunately two copies have since been obtained from the recitation of
old persons residing at the head of Ettrick Forest, by which the
story is brought out, and completed in a manner much more con e-
spondent to the true history.

" I cannot dismiss the subject of the battle of Otterbourne without
stating (with all the deference due to the father of this species of
literature) some doubts which have occurred to an ingenious corre-
spondent, and an excellent antiquary, concerning the remarks on the
names subjoined to the ballads of ' Chevy Chace ' and ' Otterbourne,'
in the Reliques of Ancient Poetry, vol. i., p. 34, 4th edition.

" 'John de Lovele, sheriff of Northumberland, 34th Hen. VII.,' is
evidently a mistake, as Henry VII. did not reign quite twenty -four
years ; but the person meant was probably John de Lavale, knight,
of Delavale Castle, who was sheriff, 34th Henry VIII. There seems
little doubt that this was the person called in the ballad 'the
gentil Lovel.' Sir Raff the rich Eugbe, was probably Sir Ralph
Neville of Raby Castle, son of the first Earl of Westmoreland, and
cousin-german to Hotspur. In the more modern edition of the
ballad, he is expressly called Sir Ralph Raby, i. e. , of Raby.

" With respect to the march of Douglas, as described in the ballad,
it appears that he entered Northumberland from the westward.
Redesdale, Rothely-crags, and Green Leighton, are a few miles east-
ward of Otterbourne. Otterscope Hill lies south-west from Green
Leighton.

' ' The celebrated Hotspur, son of the first Earl of Northumberland,
was, in 1385, Governor of Berwick and Warden of the East Marches;
in which last capacity it was his duty to repel the invasion of
Douglas.

"Sir Henry Fitzhugh, mentioned in the ballad, was one of the
Earl of Northumberland's commanders at the battle of Homeldown.

" As to the local situation of Otterbourne, it is thirty statute miles
from Newcastle, though Buchanan has diminished the distance to
eight miles only.

' ' The account given of Sir John of Agurstone seems also liable to
some doubt. This personage is supposed by Bishop Percy to have
been one of the Hagerstons of Hagerston, a Northumbrian family,
who, according to the fate of war, were sometimes subjects of Scot-
land. I cannot, however, think, that at this period, while the
English were in possession both of Berwick and Roxburgh, with the
intermediate fortresses of Wark, Cornhill, and Norham, the Scots
possessed any part of Northumberland, much less a manor which

428 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

lay within that strong chain of castles. I should presume the per-
son alluded to rather to have been one of the Kutherfords, Barons
of Edgerstane, or Edgerston, a warlike family, which has long
flourished on the Scottish Borders, and who were, at this very period,
retainers of the house of Douglas. The same notes contain an
account of the other Scottish warriors of distinction who were present
at the battle. These were, the Earls of Monteith, Buchan, and
Huntly ; the Barons of Maxwell and Johnston ; Swinton of that ilk,
an ancient family, which about that period produced several dis-
tinguished warriors ; Sir David (or rather, as the learned bishop well
remarks, Sir Walter) Scott of Buccleuch, Stewart of Garlics, and
Murray of Cockpool.

" ' Kegibus et legibus, Scotici constantes,
Vos clypeis et gladiis pro patriis pugnantes,
Vestra est victoria, vestri est et gloria,
In cantu et historia, perpes est memorial ' "

1 IT fell about the Lammas tide,

When the muir-men win their hay,
The doughty Douglas bound him to ride
Into England, to drive a prey.

2 He chose the Gordons'* and the Grasmes, 6

With them the Lindsays, light and gay, c
But the Jardines wou'd not with him ride,
And they rue it to this day.*

3 And he has burn'd the dales of Tyne,

And part of Bambrough shire ;
And three good tow'rs on Eeidswire fells,
He left them all on fire.

4 And he march'd up to Newcastle,

And rode it round about:
" Oh, wha 's the lord of this castle,
Or wha 's the ladye o't ? "

5 But up spake proud Lord Percy then,

And oh, but he spake hie !

"I am the lord of this castle;

My wife 's the ladye gay."

6 "If thou'rt the lord of this castle,

Sae weel it pleases me!
For, ere I cross the Border fells,
The ane of us shall dee."

a & [Scott gives notes on these respective clans or families, and their chiefs, who
were present at Oiterbourne; but they are too lengthy for insertion here.]

* The Jardines were a clan of hardy West-Border men. Their chief was Jardini
of Applegirth. Their refusal to ride with Douglas was, probably, the result of 0110
of 'those perpetual feuds, which usually rent to pieces a Scottish army.

BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 429

7 He took a lang spear in his hand,

Shod with the metal free ;
And for to meet the Douglas there,
He rode right furiouslie.

8 But oh, how pale his ladye look'd,

Frae aff the castle wall,
When down before the Scottish spear
She saw proud Percy fall !

9 " Had we twa been upon the green,

And never an eye to see,
I wou'd ha'e had you, flesh and fell; *
But your sword shall gae with me."

10 " But gae ye up to Otterbourne,

And wait there dayis three;
And, if I come not ere three dayis end,
A fause knight call ye me."

11 " The Otterbourne 's a bonnic burn ;

'Tis pleasant there to be;
But there is nought at Otterbourne
To feed my men and me.

12 " The deer rins wild on hill and dale,

The birds fly wild from tree to tree;
But there is neither bread nor kale,
To fend f my men and me.

13 " Yet I will stay at Otterbourne,

Where you shall welcome be ;
And, if you come not at three dayis end,
A fause lord I'll call thee."

14 " Thither will I come," proud Percy said,

" By the might of Our Ladye ! "
" There will I bide thee," said the Douglas,
" My troth I plight to thee."

15 They lighted high on Otterbourne,

Upon the bent sae brown;
They lighted high on Otterbourne,
And threw their pallions down.

* "Fell : " hide. Douglas insinuates that Percy was rescued by his soldiers,
t "Fend:" support

430 BALLAD MINSTRELST OF SCOTLAND.

16 And he that had a bonnie boy,

Sent out his horse to grass;
And he that had not a bonnie boy,
His ain servant he was. *

17 But up then spake a little page,

Before the peep of dawn:
" Oh, waken ye, waken ye, my good lord,
For Percy's hard at hand."

18 "Ye lie, ye lie, ye liar loud !

Sae loud I hear ye lie;
For Percy had not men yestreen
To dight my men and me.

19 " But I have dream'd a dreary dream,

Beyond the Isle of Skye :
I saw a dead man win a fight,
And I think that man was I."

20 He belted on his gude braid sword,

And to the field he ran;
But he forgot the helmet good
That shou'd have kept his brain.

21 When Percy with the Douglas met,

I wat he was full fain !

They swakk'd their swords, till sair they swat,
And the blood ran down like rain.f

* Froissart describes a Scottish host, of the same period, as consisting of " IIIL M.
men of armes, knightis, and squires, mounted on good horses ; and other X. M. men
of warre, armed, after their gyse, right hardy and flrse, mounted on lytle hackneys,
the whiche were never tied, nor kept at hard meat, but leite go to pasture in the
fleldis, and bushes." Chronykle of Froissart, translated by Lord Berners, chap. xvii.

[The following stanzas, recovered by Mr. Finlay from recitation, come in after
stanza 3 of Herd's version, and the above stanza in Scott's text:

" Then out and spak a little wee boy,
And he was near o' Percy's kin,
' Methinks I see the English host
A-coming branking us upon;

" ' Wi' nine waggons scaling wide,

And seven banners bearing high;
It wad do any living gude
To see their bonnie colours fly.' "

Scottish Ballads, vol. i., p. xviii]

t "The Percy and the Douglas mette,

That ether of other was f ayne :
They schapped together whyll that they sweette,

With swords of fine Collayne,*
Tyll the bloode from their bassonets ran,

As the brooke doth in the rayne." English ballad.

" Collayne : " Cologne steel

BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. 431

22 But Percy, with his good broad sword,

That cou'd so sharply wound,
Has wounded Douglas on the brow,
Till he fell to the ground.*

23 Then he call'd on his little foot-page,

And sai'd " Run speedily,
And fetch my ain dear sister's son,
Sir Hugh Montgomery.

24 " My nephew good," the Douglas said,

"What recks the death of ane!
Last night I dream'd a dreary dream,
And I ken the day 's thy ain.

25 "My wound is deep; I fain wou'd sleep;

Take thou the vanguard of the three,
And hide me by the braken f bush,
That grows on yonder lily lee.

26 " Oh, bury me by the braken bush,

Beneath the blooming brier;
Let never living mortal ken
That a kindly Scot lies here."

27 He lifted up that noble lord,

With the saut tears in his e'e ;
He hid him in the braken bush,
That his merry -men might not see.

28 The moon was clear, the day drew near,

The spears in flinders flew;

But mony a gallant Englishman

Ere day the Scotsmen slew.

29 The Gordons good, in English blood

They steep'd their hose and shoon ;
The Lindsays flew like fire about,
Till all the fray was done.

30 The Percy and Montgomery met,

That either of other were fain ;
They swapped swords, and they twa swat,
And aye the blood ran down between.

* [Thia stanza seems to be derived from the English version. No Scotish minstrel
would ever have dreamt of inventing such a termination to the combat between
these two redoubted heroes; and, as shown by Sir Walter Scott in the introduction,
the tragic incident is as much at variance with history as it is repulsive to national
feeling.]

t "Braken:" fern.

432 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

31 " Now yield thee, yield thee, Percy," he said,

" Or else I vow I'll lay thee low ! "
" To whom must I yield," quoth Earl Percy,
" Now that I see it must be so?"

32 "Thou shalt not yield to lord nor loun,

Nor yet shalt thou yield to me ;
But yield ye to the braken bush
That grows upon yon lily lee ! "

33 " I will not yield to a braken bush,

Nor yet will I yield to a brier ;
But I wou'd yield to Earl Douglas,

Or Sir Hugh Montgomery, if he were here."

34 As soon as he knew it was Montgomery,

He struck his sword's point in the ground;
The Montgomery was a courteous knight,
And quickly took him by the hand.

35 This deed was done at Otterbourne,

About the breaking of the day ;
Earl Douglas was buried at the braken bush,
And the Percy led captive away.

JOHNNIE SCOT.

" In preparing this ballad for the press," says Motherwell, " three
recited copies, all obtained from people considerably advanced in
years, have been used. The ballad itself is popular in the shires of
Renfrew, Dumbarton, and Stirling ; and though the editor has ob-
tained no copy of it from the south of Scotland, yet he has been
assured that it is also well known there a fact of which there can
be no doubt, as the Border names of Scot and Percy* sufficiently
identify it with that part of the country.

"As is to be expected, in all poetry which depends on oral
tradition for its transmission to our own times, the copies of this
ballad which the editor has recovered do not exactly correspond with
each other. Numerous, though on the whole but trivial, verbal
discrepancies exist among them; and in adjusting the text, he had
therefore to rely on his own judgment in selecting, what he con-
ceived, the best reading from each of his copies. In justice, however,
to himself, and for the satisfaction of the rigid antiquary, he begs
leave explicitly to state, that not a single word or expression has
been admitted into the present text but what was duly authorized
by one or other of these copies. . . .

* Mothprwell's version makes the heroine a daughter of Earl Percy. But in all
the other versions she is represented as "the King of England's fair daughter."

JOHNNIE SCOT. 433

"With regard to the proper names in the ballad, considerable
difficulty was experienced. In the few notes subjoined, the principal
variations which occur in this particular between the different copies,
in so far as relates to the minor personages of the drama, are pointed
out ; but as to the hero himself, it is right to mention in this place,
that two of the copies agree in styling him ' Johnie Scot,' while the
third names him 'Johnie M'Nauchton.' In all other material
points, none of the copies essentially differ, except in this, that in the
copy which gave ' M'Nauchton ' as the hero, the champion with
whom he measures blades does not enact that marvellous feat of
agility which forms so remarkable a feature in the combat scene
between ' Johnie Scot ' and the ' Tailliant,'

' "Who like a Swallow swift,

Owre Johnie's head did flee.' . . .

' ' Whether the glory of the high achievement recorded in the
ballad should of right belong to the name of Scot, or to that of
M'Nauchton, is a question very hard of solution. Scot of Satchels,
in that strangest of all literary curiosities, his metrical History of
the Right Honourable Name of Scot, is dumb on the subject ; and
Buchanan, in his account of Scottish Surnames, is as profoundly
silent regarding any one belonging to the ancient family of M'Nauchton,
to whom the nonour of this notable duel can with any degree of
likelihood be attributed. For his own part, the editor has been
somewhat gravelled to make up his mind on this momentous point;
but at length he has been inclined to concede the adventure perilous,
even to Johnnie Scot, whoever he was, not only on the account that
two copies of the ballad, and these by far the most perfect in their
narrative, are quite unanimous on this head, but that these likewise
retain the word ' Tailliant, ' which, in the corresponding part of the
third copy, is changed into ' Champion. ' This word Tailliant he has
never before met with in any ballad ; but it is an evident derivative
from the French verb Taillader.*

"Mr. Eitson, in his Historical Dissertation on Scottish Song, gives
in a foot-note a list of certain unedited ballads, contained in a MS.
collection which belonged to the late Lord Woodhouselee. In this
list occurs one, entitled ' Jack the Little Scot ; ' and from the same
critic mentioning that many lines and indeed stanzas of ' Gil Morris '
would be found in said ballad, t the editor, both from the similarity of
the titles and from their agreeing in the circumstance of having
stanzas in common with 'Gil Morris,' conjectured that it ...
and the present ballad were one and the same. He accordingly
endeavoured to procure a copy of the ballad alluded to, for the
purpose of collation, but without success, as the MSS. of Lord Wood-
houselee were, after his death, dispersed among his relatives.

" Perhaps, after all, it is but of little importance to ascertain this
fact ; and even though the ballads were the same, it is questionable
whether it would suggest any improvement upon the present text.

* " Taillader : " "to cut or slash." Ay toun, in his Scottish Ballads, vol. ii., in reprinting
Dalzell's copy of "Grange's Ballad," changes the word "tailzeour," "or tailor," to
"tailliant" '. ., "holder or defender."

t See stanzas 8, 11, and 21 of this ballad, compared with 11, 20, and 29 of " Gil
Morice," ante, p. 313.

434 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

" As it is, ' Johnnie Scot ' is altogether a very spirited and interest-
ing composition, highly national in its character, and full of bustle,
action, and incident. It is just such a one as we would always be

flad to see transferred to more imperishable records, than the
ecaying memories of Ancient Women, and Time-crazed Men."
Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 204.

Different versions of the same ballad subsequently appeared, as
under :

I. "Lord John," in Buchan's Gleanings, p. 122.

In this version the questions asked, as to the name and
rank of the hero, are,

"Is this the Duke of Marlborough?

Or James, the Scottish king?
Or is it else some Scottish lord,
Come here a- visiting ? "

IL "Johnie Buneftan," in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads,
p. 77.

In this version the hero is designated ' ' Jack, that little
Scot ; " and the questions asked regarding him, are,

" Is this the Duke of "Winesberrie ?

Or James, the Scottish king ?
Or is it a young gentleman.
That wants for to be in? "

In both of the last-named versions the "Tailliant" is
metamorphosed into an "Italian." Referring to Mr.
Motherwell's statement, that he had "never met with the
word 'Tailliant' before," Mr. Kinloch remarks : "It would
have been singular if he had, as 'Tailliant' is, in fact,
nothing else but a corruption of ' Italian,' in the recitation
of the old people from whom he procured his versions. "
III. "Lang Johnny Moir," in Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i.,
p. 248 ; which marvellous production will be found in the
Appendix to this work.

We are disposed to think that the "Johnnie Scot" or "M'Nauchton"
of the following ballad is one of "the popular heroes of romance"
referred to by Gawain Douglas, in the lines already quoted from his
Police of Honour, ante, p. 403. The line specially naming him reads

"How Hay of Nauchton flew in Madin land ; "

and it is thus explained in a note by Sir Walter Scott : " Hay of
Nachton I take to be the knight, mentioned by Wyntown, whose
feats of war and travel may have become the subject of a romance
or ballad. He fought in Flanders, under Alexander, Earl of Mar, in
1408, and is thus described :

1 Lord of the Nachtane, Schire William,
Ane hanest knycht, and of gnd fame.
A travalit knycht lang before than.'

And again, before an engagement,

' The Lord of Nachtane, Schire William,
The Hay, a knycht than of gud fame,
Mad Schire Gilbert, the Hay, knycht.'

Cronykil, b. is., c. 27.

JOHNNIE SCOT. 435

I apprehend we should read, ' How Hay of Nachton slew in Madin
Land.' Perhaps Madin is a corruption for Maylin Land, or
Milan."*

With the exception of the first six stanzas, Motherwell's version of
" Johnie Scot " is the one chiefly followed.

In a note to his 'Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. c., Mr. Motherwelt
inserts " the following passage, illustrative of the famous feat of arms
accomplished by Johnie Scot," which, says he, "was kindly pointed
out to me by Mr. Sharpe : James Macgill of Lindores, having killed
Sir Robert Balfour, of Denmiln, in a duel, immediately went up to
London, in order to procure his pardon, which, it seems, the king
(Charles II. ) offered to grant him, upon condition of his fighting an
Italian gladiator, or bravo, or, as he was called, a bully, which, it is
said, none could be found to do. Accordingly, a large stage was erected
for the exhibition before the king and court. Sir James, it is said,
stood on the defensive till the bully had spent himself a little ; being
a taller man than Sir James, in his mighty gasconading and bravado-
ing, he actually leaped over the knight as if he would swallow him
alive ; but, in attempting to do this a second time, Sir James ran his
sword up through him, and then called out, ' I have spitted him, let
them roast him who will.' This not only procured his pardon, but
he was also knighted on the spot. Small's Account of Roman Anti-
quities, recently discovered in Fife, p. 217."

Three different versions of a ballad, evidently belonging to the
same circle, appear under the respective titles of " Lord Thomas of
Winsberry," in Buchan's Gleanings, p. 127 ; "Lord Thomas of Wines-
berrie," in Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Poems, p. 89 ; and " Lord
Thomas of Winesberry and the King's Daughter," in Buchan's
Ancient Ballads, voL ii., p. 212.

Mr. Kinloch supposes it to refer to "the secret expedition of James
V. to France, in 1536, in search of a wife," and quotes the account
thereof from Pitscottie's Chronicles of Scotland, 8vo, vol. ii., p. 363,
et seq. Mr. Buchan, however, combats this theory. A collated and
slightly emendated copy of "Lord Thomas of Winesberry" follows
" Johnnie Scot " next in order.

1 JOHNNIE has on to London gone,

To London gone has he ;
Johnnie has on to London gone,
King's bannerman to be.

2 He had not been in London town,

It 's but a little while,
Till the King of England's fair daughter,
On him did fondly smile.

*Bnt if the present ballad relates to "Hay of Nauchton," the positions of the
combatants seem simply reversed by the text of Gawain Douglas as it reads; while
Sir Walter Scott's suggested emendation would, by this identification and reversal,
prove not only unnecessary, but erroneous.

436 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

3 But Johnnie 's back to Scotland gone,

To hunt in the greenwood free ;
And left his true love all alone,
And a sorry ladye was she.

4 For Johnnie 's on to Scotland gone,

I wot he 's on with speed ;
Oh, Johnnie 's on to Scotland gone,
And as great was his need.

5 Then word unto the king has gone,

His daughter mourn'd so ;
And word has also to him gone,
Of what did cause her woe.

6 But when the king heard word of it,

An angry man was he ;
And he cast her into prison strong,
To pine there till she'd dee.

7 Then Johnnie thought upon his love

He dare not go to see ;
And he call'd on his waiting-man,

His name was Germanic :*
" It 's thou must to fair England go,

Bring me that gay ladye.

8 " And here it is, a silken sark,

Her ain hand sew'd the sleeve;
Bid her come to the merry greenwood,
At her friends ask no leave."

9 He rode till he came to the castle gate,

And he tirl'd at the pin ;
" Oh, wha is there? " said the proud porter;
" But I darena let thee in."

10 It 's he rode up, and he rode down,

He rode the castle about,
Until he spied a fair ladye,
At the window looking out.

* ' " (Jermanie : ' all the copies which mention Johnnie's waiting-man concur in giving
this name, which is probably descriptive of his country. In one copy, he, in place of
Johnnie's uncle, is the person who heroically offers wager of battle. But in another
copy the whole words and actions ascribed to Johnnie's uncle, who 'spake so
bitterlie,' are transferred to 'Gude King James.'" Motherwell.

JOHNNIE SCOT. 437

11 " Here is a silken sark," he said,

" Thine ain hand sew'd the sleeve ;
And ye must go to the merry greenwood,
At your friends ask no leave."

12 " The Qastle it is high, young man,

And well wall'd round about ;
My feet they are in fetters strong,
And how can I get out ?

13 " My garters are the black iron,

And oh, but they be cold !
My girdle 's * of the sturdy steel,
Instead of beaten gold.

14 " But had I paper, pen, and ink,

With candle at my command,

It 's I would write a long letter

To Johnnie, in fair Scotland. 1 *

15 Then she has written a braid letter,

And seal'd it with her hand ;
And sent it to the merry greenwood,
With her ain boy at command.

16 The first line of it Johnnie read,

A loud, loud laugh laugh'd he ;

But he had not read a line but two,

Till the tears did blind his e'e.

17 " Oh, I must up to England go,

Whatever me betide,
For to relieve my fair ladye,
And claim her for my bride."

18 Then up spake Johnnie's auld mither,

A well-spoken woman was she :
" If you do go to England, Johnnie,
I may take fareweel of thee."

19 And out and spake his father then,

A noble lord was he :
" If thou unto fair England go,
You'll ne'er come hame to me."

20 But out and spake his uncle then,

And he spake bitterlie :
" Five hundred of my good life-guards
Shall bear him companie."

* "My breastplate's," &c. MotherwelL

438 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 When they were all on saddle set,

They were comely to behold ;
The hair that hung o'er Johnnie's neck
Shone like the links of gold.

22 When they went riding all* away,

Most pleasant for to see,
There was not so much as a married man
In Johnnie's companie.

23 Johnnie himsel' was the foremost man

In the company did ride ;
His uncle was the second man,
With his rapier by his side.

24 The first gude town that Johnnie came to,

He made the bells be rung ;
And when he rode the town all o'er,
He made the massf be sung.

25 The next gude town that Johnnie came to,

He made the drums beat round ;
And the third gude town that he came to,
He made the trumpets sound.J

26 And when they came to King Henry's tow'rs,

They rode them round about ;
And who saw he but his own true love,
At a window looking out !

27 " Oh! the doors are bolted with iron and steel,

So are the windows about ;
And my feet they are in fetters strong,
And how can I win out?"

28 But when they came to the castle yett,

They scarce tirl'd at the pin,
For the porter was ready waiting there,
To open and let them in.

' Went riding all." Motherwell's text reads, " Were all marching," which,
looking to the context, is an evid
well when it is really regulated by '
into the worst kind of pedantry.

t " Mass." Buchan. " Psalms." Motherwell.
J Motherwell s version adds

" Till King Henry and all his merry men
A-marveU'd at the sound."

JOHNNIE SCOT. 439

29 " Art them the King of Aulsberry ? *

Or art thou King of Spain?
Or art thou one of our gay Scots lords,
M'Nachton to thy name?"

30 " I'm not 'the King of Aulsberry,

Nor yet the King of Spain;
But I am one of our gay Scots lords,
Johnnie Scot I am call'd by name."

31 When Johnnie came before the king,

He fell low down on his knee :
" If Johnnie Scot be thy name," he said,

" As I trow well it be;
Then to-morrow morn, by eight o'clock,

It 's high hang'd thou shalt be."

* " It may puzzle the historian to give any account of this king's reign, or to fix
the limits of his dominions; being associated, however, with the King of Spain, this

, ,

was preferred. This stanza, and that which precedes it, we give now as they occur
in the three different copies of the ballad recovered by the editor, BO that the reader
may have it in his power to choose the reading which hits his fancy.

" JOHNNIE SCOT.

' Are you the Duke of York?' he said,
' Or James, our Scottish King?

Or are you one of our Scottish lords,
From hunting new come home?'

" ' I'm not the Duke of York,' he said,

' Nor James, your Scottish King;
But I'm one of the Scottish lords, ..
Earl Hector is my name.'

" JOHNNIE SCOT.

' Art thon the King of Aulsberry?

Or art thou the King of Spain?
Or art thou one of our gay Scots lords,

M'Nachton to thy name?'

" ' I'm not the King of Aulsberry,

Nor yet the King of Spain ;
But I am one of our gay Scots lords,
Johnnie Scot I am call'd by name.'

"JOHNNIE M'NACHTON.

' Are you the Duke of Mulberry?

Or James, our Scottish King ?
Are you the Duke of Mulberry,

From Scotland new come home ? '

' I'm not the Duke of Mulberry,
Nor James, our Scottish King;

But I am a true Scottishman,
M'Nachton is my name.'" MotherwelL

440 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

32 Out and spoke Johnnie's uncle then,

And he spake bitterlie :
" Before that we see fair Johnnie hang'd.
We'll all fight till we die."

33 " But is there a Tailliant about your court

Will fight a duel with me?
For ere I'd be hang'd," brave Johnnie said,
" On his sword I will die."

34 " Say on, say on," then said the king,

" It is well spoken of thee;
For there is a Tailliant in my court
Shall fight you manfullie."

35 Oh, some are to the good greenwood,

And some are to the plain ;
The Queen with all her ladyes fair,

The King with his merry men,
Either to see fair Johnnie flee,

Or else to see him slain.

36 They fought on, and Johnnie fought on,

With swords of temper'd steel,

Until the draps of red, red blood

Ran trinkling down the field.*

37 And they began at eight of the morn,

And they fought on till three ;
When the Tailliant, like the swallow swift,
O'er Johnnie's head did flee.

38 But Johnnie, being a clever young boy,

He wheel'd him round about ;
And on the point of Johnnie's broadsword
The Tailliant he slew out.

39 " A priest, a priest," fair Johnnie cried,

" To wed my love and me !"
" A clerk, a clerk," her father cried,
" To sum her tocher free."

40 " I'll none of your gold," fair Johnnie cried.

" Nor none of your other gear ;
But I will have my own fair bride,
For this day I've won her dear."

1 The following stanza occurs here in Motherwell's version :

"They fought on, and Johnie fought on,

They fought right manfullie.
Till they left not alive in a' the king's court
A man but only three "

LORD THOMAS OF WINESBERRT. 441

41 He 's ta'en his true love by the hand,

He led her up the plain :
" Have you any more of your English dogs,
That you want to have slain?"

42 He put a, little horn to his mouth,

He blew't baith loud and shrill ;
And Honour is into Scotland gone,
In spite of England's skill.

43 He put his little horn to his mouth,

He blew it o'er again ;
And aye the sound the good horn made,
Was " Johnnie and his men!"

LORD THOMAS OF WINESBERRY.

See introduction to preceding ballad.

1 IT fell upon a time, that the proud King of France

Went a-hunting for five months and more,
And his daughter fell in love with Lord Winesberry,
Who from Scotland was newly come o'er.

2 When her father came home from hunting the deer,

And his daughter before him came,
Oh, she look'd sick, and very, very sick,
For her fair colour it was wan.

3 " What ails thee, what ails thee, my daughter Jean ?

What makes thee to look sae wan ?
You've either been sick, and very, very sick,
Or ye are in love with a man."

4 " You're welcome, you're welcome, my dear father,

You're welcome name to ye're ain ;
For I ha'e been sick, and very, very sick,
Thinking long for your coming again.

5 " Yet pardon, yet pardon, my dear father,

Your pardon I pray grant to me ;
[For I am also in love with a man,
Whom I wish my dear husband to be."]

6 " Oil, is your love laid on a man of might ?

Or is it on one that is mean ?
Or is it to one of the rank robbers
That I took prisoner in Spain?"

442 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

7 " Oh, my love is not laid on a man of might,

Nor on a prisoner from Spain ;
But on Lord Thomas of Winesberry.
Who serves me as chamberlain."*

8 The king call'd on his merry men all,

Whom he paid meat and fee :
" Go seize Lord Thomas of Winesberry,
And bring him here to me.

9 " Go seize Lord Thomas of Winesberry,

And bring him here to me ;
For to-morrow, ere I eat or drink,
It's high hang'd he shall be."

10 His daughter turn'd her round about,

While the tear did blind her e'e :
" If ye do any ill to Lord Thomas,
Ye will never get gude of me."f

11 When Lord Thomas was brought before the king,

His clothing was of the silk;
His fine yellow hair like threads of gold,
And his skin white as the milk.J

12 And when he came in before the king,

He kneel'd low down on his knee;
Saying " What is your will with me, my liege ?
Oh, what is your will with me ? "

13 " No wonder, no wonder, Lord Thomas,

That my daughter so loves thee ;
For were you a woman, as you are a man,
My own love you wou'd be.

* " And for him I must suffer pain." Buchan's Gleanings.

t The following stanzas come in at this place in the Gleanings version:

" 'Get up, get up. Lord Thomas,' they said,

' Get up and bound your way,
For the king has sworn, by his honour'd crown,
That to-morrow is thy dying day.'

" 'Oh, what have I robb'd? or what have I stolen?

Or what have I kill'd or slain?
That I should be afraid to speak to your king,
For I have done him no wrong.' "

t "His hair was like the threads o' gowd,

His eyes like crystal clear." Buchan's Ancient Ballads. See "Gil Morice,"
stanza 29.

Compare with stanza 34 of "Gil Morice," ante, p. 320.

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW. 443

14 " But if you will many my daughter Jean,

With the truth of your right hand,
You'll get part both of my gold and my gear,
And the third part of my land."

15 " Yes, I will marry your daughter Jean,

With the truth of my right hand ;
But take none of your gold nor none of your gear,
I've enough in fair Scotland.

16 " Yes, I will marry your daughter Jean,

Tho' I care not for your land;
For she will be queen, and I will be king,
When we come to fair Scotland."

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW.

From Ramsay's Evergreen, vol. i., p. 78.*

"Antiquaries have differed in opinion regarding the age of this
composition; but the best informed have agreed in looking upon it
as of coeval production, or nearly so, with the historical event on
which it is founded ; and in this opinion the present writer entirely
coincides. t No edition prior to Ramsay's time has been preserved,
though it was printed in 1668, as we are informed by Mr. Laing, in
his Early Metrical Tales, p. 14 ; an edition of that date having been
in the curious library of old Robert Mylne.

" In the Complaynt of Scotland, 1549, this ballad is mentioned. In
the Polemo Middinla its tune is referred to :

' Interea ante alios dnx piperlarius heros,
Prsecedens magnamque gerens cum burdine pypam,

Incipit Harlai cunctis sonare Batellum.'

And in a MS. collection of tunes, written in the hand of Sir
William Mure of Rowallan, which I have seen, occurs ' the battle
of harlaw. ' + From the extreme popularity of the song, it is not to

*"T/ie Evergreen; being a collection of Scots poems -wrote by the Ingenious
before 1600." 2 vols. 12mo, Edinburgh, 1724.

t In referring to the " sueit melodius sangis " mentioned in the Complaynt of Scot-
land, Kitson, who was usually sceptical regarding Scotish traditions, thus expresses
himself regarding " The Battel of Hayrlaw : " " This is presumed to be the fine poem
printed in The Evergreen, which, with submission to the opinion of the late Lord
Hailes, may, for anything that appears either in or out of it to the contrary, be as
old as the 15th centurv." Kitten's Scotish Sana. vol. i.. Historical Essav n -rliii

LiaiieD, fumy, lui ttiijuitug LLIUI> ci^pctti a omiDi in ui uuv m it iv inu CUIIUHI y,

old as the 15th century." Bitson's Scotish Song, vol. i., Historical Essay, p. xliii.

Scotish Jktllads and Songs, vol. L, p. 200

444 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

be wondered at though every early imprint of it has now disappeared.
Ramsay probably gave his copy from a stall edition of his own day ;
which copy has successively been edited by Mr. Sibbald, Mr. Finlay,
and Mr. Laing, and has appeared in other collections. A copy,
apparently taken from recitation, is given in The Thistle of Scotland,
Aberdeen, 1823. The editor of which, among a good deal of stuff
which is not very comprehensible, points out various localities, and
gives three stanzas of a burlesque song on the same subject, popular
in the North." Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixii,
note 2.

The ballad gives a minute and accurate account of the circum-
stances which gave rise to, as well as of the progress and issue of, the
Battle of Harlaw, fought, under the regency of the Duke of Albany,
in the district of Garioch, Aberdeenshire, near the village of Harlaw,
and close to the highway between the town of Inverness and the
city of Aberdeen, on the 24th of July, 1411, between Donald, Lord
of the Isles, and the Earl of Mar.* The result of this bloody and
obstinate contest between the Highlanders of the north-west and the
Lowlanders of the east of Scotland, was to secure the permanent and
undoubted supremacy of the Lowlanders. In the summer of the
following year, the forces of the Regent attacked the Lord of the
Isles in his own domains, compelled him to relinquish his assumed
independence, give up all claim to the earldom of Ross, consent to
become a vassal of the Scotish crown, and to deliver hostages for his
future good behaviour in terms of a treaty concluded at Polgilbe, or
Polgillip, now Lochgilp, in the district of Knapdale, Argyleshire. (See
Ty tier's History of Scotland, vol. iii., edit. 1864, under the years 1411-
12, and note, p. 334.) The text which follows is modernized in the
orthography, and it is followed by the traditionary version of the
ballad as taken down from recitation.

1 FRAE Dunidier as I came through,

Down by the hill of Banachie,
Alangst the lands of Garioch,

Great pitie was to hear and see

The noise and dulesome harmonie,
(That ever that dreary day did daw !)

Cryin' the coronach" on hie,
Alas, alas, for the Harlaw !

2 I marvell'd what the matter meant ;

All folks were in a fiery farie: 6
I wist nocht wha was fae or friend,
Yet quietly I did me carrie.

Alexander Stewart, natural son of Alexander, Earl of Buchan and Ross. The
latter, who is best known by his sobriquet of the Wolf of Badenoch, was a brother
of the Regent Albany. The leader of the royal forces was therefore nephew to the
Regent, cousin to James I. King of Scots, then a captive in England, and to the
assumed hero of "Young Waters," which follow*. He is also the Earl of Mar
referred to in note (*) to "Johnnie Scot," ante, p. 432.

<* "Coronach: " dirge or lament for the dead.

4 " Fiery farie: " confusion and consternation.

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW. 445

But since the days of auld King Harrie
Sic slauchter was not heard nor seen ;

And there I had nae time to tarrie,
For bisiness in Aberdeen.

Thus as I walkit on the way,

To luver'ury as I went,
I met a man, and bade him stay,

Requesting him to make me 'quaint

Of the beginning and the event
That happen'd there at the Harlaw;

Then he beseech'd me to take tent, a
And he the truth shou'd to me schaw.

" Great Donald of the Isles did claim
Unto the lands of Ross some richt,

And to the Governour he came,

Them for to have, gif that he micht,
Wha saw his interest was but slicht;

And therefore answer'd with disdain.
He hasted hame baith day and nicht,

And sent nae bodword 6 back again.

" But Donald, richt impatient

Of that answer Duke Robert gave,

He vow'd to God omnipotent,

All the hale lands of Ross to have,
Or else be graithit in his grave. "*

He wou'd not quat his richt for nocht,
Nor be abused like a slave;

That bargin shou'd be dearly bocht.

" Then hastilie he did command

That all his weir-men shou'd convene;
Ilk ane weel harnessed frae hand,

To meet and hear what he did mean.

He waxed wrath and vowed tein;
Swearin' he wou'd surprise the North,

Subdue the burgh of Aberdeen,
Mearns, Angus, and all Fyfe to Forth.

" Thus with the weir-men of the Isles,
Wha were aye at his bidding boun' ;

With mony mae, with force and wiles,
Richt far and near, baith up and doun ;

Tent:" heed.
1 Bodword : " message.
' Hale : " whole.

Graithit," &c.: buried clad in his armour.

Tain:" rovengo.

446 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Through mount and muir, frae toun to toun,
Alangst the lands of Boss he roars,

And all obey'd at his bandoun,
Even frae the north to southern shores.

8 " Then all the countrie-men did yield,

For nae resistance durst they mak',
Nor offer battle in the field,

By force of arms to bear him back.

But they resolved all, and spak',
That best it was for their behove,

They shou'd him for their chieftain tak',
Believing weel he did them love.

9 " Then he a proclamation made,

All men to meet at Inverness,
Through Murray-land to make a raid,

Frae Arthursyre unto Spey-ness;

And furthermair he sent express
To show his colours and ensenzie, *

To all and sundry, mair and less,
Throughout the bounds of Boyne and Enzie.

10 " And then through fair Strathbogie land,

His purpose was for to pursue ;
And whasoever durst gainstand,

That race they shou'd full sairly rue;

Then he bade all his men be true,
And him defend by force and slicht;

And promised them rewards enow, "
And make them men of meikle micht.

11 <: Without resistance, as he said,

Through all these parts he stoutly pass'd,
Where some were wae, and some were glad ;

But Garioch was all aghast.

Through all these fields he sped him fast,
For sic a sight was never seen ;

And then, forsooth, he langed, at last,
To see the burgh of Aberdeen.

12 " To hinder this proud enterprise,

The stout and mighty Earl of Mar,
With all his men in arms did rise,
Even frae Curgarf to Craigy var ;

a "Bandoun:" command.
t " Ensenzie : " ensigns.
c "Enow:" enough.

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW, 447

And down the side of Don right far,
Angus and Mearns did all convene,

To fight, or Donald came sae nar
The royal burgh of Aberdeen.

13 " And thus the martial Earl of Mar

March'd' with his men in right array ;
Before his enemy was aware,

His banner bauldly did display ;

For weel enough they kenn'd the way,
And all their semblance weel they saw ;

Withoutin danger or delay,
Come hastily to the Harlaw.

14 " With him the brave Lord Ogilvy,

Of Angus sheriff principal ;
The Constable of gude Dundee,

The vanguard led before them all ;

Suppose in number they were small,
They first right bauldly did pursue,

And made their faes before them fall,
Wha then that race did sairly rue.

15 " And then the worthy Lord Saltoun,

The strong undoubted Laird of Drum,
The stalwart Laird of Lawriestoun,

With ilk their forces all and some ;

Panmuir, with all his men, did come ;
The Provost of brave Aberdeen,

With trumpets and with tuck of drum,
Came shortly in their armour scheen.

16 " These with the Earl of Mar came on,

In the rear-ward right orderlie,
Their enemies to set upon ;

In awful manner, hardilie,

Together vow'd to live and dee,
Since they had marched mony miles,

For to suppress the tyrannie
Of doubted" Donald of the Isles.

17 " But he, in number ten to ane,

Bight subtilly alang did ride,
With Malcomtosh, and fell Maclean,
With all their power at their side ;

Presuming on their strength and pride,
Without all fear or any awe,

Right bauldly battle till abide,
Hard by the town of fair Harlaw.
<* "Doubted:" redoubted.

448 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

18 " The armies met, the trumpet sounds,

The dandring drums aloud did tuck :
Baith armies byding on the bounds,

Till ane of them the fields shou'd bruik;

Nae help was therfore, nane wou'd jouk;*
Fierce was the fight on ilka side,

And on the ground lay many a bouk,"
Of them that there did battle bide.

19 " With doubtsome victory they dealt ;

The bluidy battle lastit lang ;
Each man his neighbour's force there felt,

The weakest aft-times gat the wrang ;

There was nae mowis d there them amang,
Naething was heard but heavy knocks;

That echo made a duleful sang
Thereto resounding frae the rocks.

20 " But Donald's men at last gave back,

For they were all out of array ;
The Earl of Mar's men through them brak',

Pursuing sharply in their way,

Their enemies to take or slay.
By dint of force to gar them yield ;

Wha were right blythe to win away,
And sae for feardness ' tint' the field.

21 " Then Donald fled, and that full fast,

To mountains hich, for all his micht,
For he and his were all aghast,

And ran till they were out of sicht:

And sae of Boss he lost his richt,
Though mony men with him he brocht;

Towards the Isles fled day and nicht,
And all he won was dearlie bocht.

22 " This is (quod he) the richt report

Of all that I did hear and knaw;
Though my discourse be something short,

Take this to be a richt sooth saw/

Contrarie God and the king's law,
There was spilt meikle Christian bluid,

Into the battle of Harlaw ;
This is the sum, sae I conclude.

a " Bruik : " retain possession of. " Feardness : " fright or cowardice.

^ "Jouk : " bend to avoid a blow. / " Tint: " lost

c "Bouk:" body. ' "Sooth saw:" true narrative.
* " Mowis: " jesting.

THE BATTLE OF HARLAW. 449

23 " But yet a bonnie while abide,

And I shall make thee clearly ken,
What slauchter was on ilka side,

Of Lawland and of Highland men,

Wha for their awin have ever been ;
These lazy loons might weel be spared,

Chased like deers into their dens,
And gat their wages for reward.

24 " Malcomtosh, of the clan head-chief,

Maclean with his great hauchty head,
With all their succour and relief,

Were dulefully dung to the deid;

And now we are free'd of their feid, 8
They will not lang to come again;

Thousands with them, without remead,
On Donald's side, that day were slain.

25 " And on the other side were lost,

Into the field that dismal day,
Chief men of worth (of meikle cost),

To be lamented sair for aye :

The Lord Saltoun of Rothemay,
A man of micht and meikle main ;

Great dolour was for his decay,
That eae unhappily was slain.

26 " Of the best men amang them was

The gracious gude Lord Ogilvy,
The sheriff-principal of Angus,

Benown'd for truth and equitie,

For faith and magnanimitie;
He had few fallows 6 in the field,

Yet fell by fatal destinie,
For he naeways wou'd grant to yield.

27 " Sir James Scrimgeour of Duddop, knicht,

Great Constable of fair Dundee,
Unto the duleful death was dicht;

The king's chief bannerman was he,

A valiant man of chivalrie,
Whose predecessors wan that place

At Spey, with gude King William frie
'Gainst Murray, and Macduncan's race.

a "Feid:" fend.
& "Fallows:" equals.
c "Frie:" nobly.

'2G

450 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

28 " Gude Sir Alexander Irvine,

The much renowned laird of Drum,
Nane in his days was better seen;

When they were 'sembled all and some;

To praise him we shou'd not be dumb,
For valour, wit, and worthiness;

To end his days he there did come,
Whose ransom is remediless.

29 " And there the Knicht of Lawriestoun

Was slain into his armour scheen;
And gude Sir Eobert Davidson,

Wha Provost was of Aberdeen;

The Knicht of Panmure as was seen,
A mortal man in armour bricht;

Sir Thomas Murray, stout and keen,
Left to the warld their last gude nicht.

30 " There was not, since King Kenneth's days,

Sic strange intestine cruel strife
In Scotland seen, as ilk man says,

Where mony likelie lost their life ;

Which made divorce 'tween man and wife,
And mony children fatherless,

Which in this realm has been full rife ;
Lord! help these lands, our wrangs redress!

31 " In July, on Saint James his even,

That four-and-twenty dismal day,
Twelve hundred, ten score, and eleven,

Of years since Christ, the sooth to say;

Men will remember as they may,
When thus the veritie they knaw;

And mony a ane may mourn for aye
The grim battle of the Harlaw."

BATTLE OF HARLAW.

TRADITIONARY VERSION.

A set of this, as communicated by Lady Jane Scott to Professor
Aytoun, appeared in Ballads of Scotland, vol. i., p. 75. And another
set, almost identical, but with three additional stanzas, was com-
municated by a Mr. A. Ferguson to Notes and Queries, third series,
vol. vii., May 20, 1865.

BATTLE OF HARLAW. 451

This last is the one here followed, with the exception of some
little change in the orthography, and one or two verbal corrections.
The additional stanzas are those here numbered 15, 16, and 18.

1 As I came in by Dunidier,

And dawn by Wetherha',
There were fifty thousand Hielan'men,
All marching to Harlaw.

(Chorus.} In a dree, dree, drady drumtie dree.

2 As I came on, and farther on,

And down and by Balquhain,
Oh, there I met Sir James the Bose,
With him Sir John the Graeme.

3 " Oh, came ye frae the Hielan's, man?

And came ye all the wye?
Saw ye MacDonell and his men,
Come marching frae the Skye?"

4 " Yes, she came frae the Hielan's, man,

And she came all the wye;
And she saw MacDonell and his men,
Come marching frae the Skye."

5 " Oh, were ye near, and near enough?

Did ye their numbers see ?
Come, tell to me, John Hielan'man,
What might their numbers be?"

6 " Yes, she was near, and near enough,

And she their numbers saw ;
There were fifty thousand Hielan'men
All marching for Harlaw."

7 " If that be true," quo' James the Eose,

" We'll no come meikle speed ;
We'll cry upon our merry men,
And turn our horses' heads."

8 " Oh no, oh no !" quo' John the Graeme,

" That thing maun never be ;
The gallant Graemes were never beat,
We'll try what we can dee."

[N.B. The battle has now commenced and is raging.]

452 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

9 As I came on, and farther on,
And down and by Harlaw,
They fell full close on ilka side,
Sic fun* ye never saw.

10 They fell full close on ilka side,

Sic fun ye never saw ;
For Hielan' swords gaed clash for clash,
At the battle of Harlaw!

11 The Hielan*men with their lang swords,

They laid on us full sair ;
And they drave back our merry men,
Three acres, breadth and mair.

12 Brave Forbes did to his brother say,

" Now, brother, dinna ye see,
They beat us back on ilka side,
And we'll be forced to flee 1 ,"

13 " Oh no, oh no, my brither dear,

That thing maun never be ;
Take ye your gude sword in your hand,
And come your ways with me."

14 ' ( Oh no, oh no, my brither dear,

The clans they are ower strang;
And they drive back our merry men
With swords baith sharp and lang."

15 Brave Forbes unto his men did say,

" Now take your rest awhile,
Until I send to Drumminnor,
To fetch my coat of mail."

16 Brave Forbes' henchman then did ride,

And his horse did not fail ;
For in twa hours and a quarter
He brought the coat of mail.

17 Then back to back the brithers twa

Gaed in amang the thrang ;
And they swept down the Hielan'men,
With swords baith sharp and lang.

* Rather grim sport Professor Aytoun's copy, in place of " fun," reads " straiks."
or strokes. The preceding version says truly (stanza 19), that ''There was nae
rno wis " ('. e., no joke.

BATTLE OF HAELAW. 453

18 MacDonell he was young and stout,

Had on his coat of mail,
And he has gane out thro' them all,
To try his hand hiinsel'.

19 The first -ae stroke that Forbes struck,

Made the great MacDonell reel ;
The second stroke that Forbes struck,
The brave MacDonell fell.*

20 And siccan a pilleurichie,f

The like ye never saw,
As was amang the Hielan'men,
When they saw MacDonell fa'.

21 And when they saw that he was dead,

They turn'd and ran awa;
And they buried him in Legget's Den,
A large mile frae Hariaw. $

22 They rode, they ran, and some did gang,

They were of small record ;

For Forbes and his merry mea

Slew maist all by the road.

23 On Munonday at morning,

The battle it began ;
On Saturday at gloamin',

Ye'd scarce tell wha had wan.

24 And sic a weary burying,

The like ye never saw,
As there was the Sunday after that,
On the muirs down by Hariaw.

25 And if Hielan' lasses speer at ye

For them that gaed awa,
Ye may tell them plain, and plain enough,
They're sleeping at Hariaw!

* MacDonell did not fall. See preceding version, stanza 21.

t Professor Aytoun's copy reads " Pitlarichie." Either or both seem Aberdeen-
Bhire words, meaning the same as Hullabuloo in ordinary Scots, or Hubbub in
English.

t " Some twa three miles awa." Notes and Queries version.

Neither are accurate. Legget's Den is a farm steading, or house, situated about
half a mile to the west cf the battlefield.

Mr. Tytler suggests, that the tomb pointed out as that of Donald, Lord of the Isles,
may either be that "of the chief of Maclean, or of Macintosh, both of whom fell in
the battle." History oj Scotland, voL iit, note, p. 334 (edit. 1SG6).

454 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

YOUNG WATERS.

Two versions of this ballad have appeared. For the publication
of the first, which was printed ' ' at Glasgow, in one single sheet, *
the world is indebted ... to the Lady Jean Hume (or Home),
sister to the Earl of Hume (or Home), who died at Gibraltar," 1761.

The ballad appeared shortly thereafter in Percy's Reliques, vol. ii. ;
and it is there suggested that it "covertly alludes to the indiscreet
partiality which Queen Anne of Denmark is said to have shown for
the bonnie Earl of Murray ; " which tragic incident forms the theme
of another ballad, further on in this work.

A second, much longer and more circumstantial, version appears in
Mr. Buchan's Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 15. In a note, p. 291, Mr.
Buchan refers to the previous version as "a mutilated edition of this
beautiful old ballad." He also states it as his opinion, "that the
' Young Waters ' was David Graham of Fintray, who was found
guilty, and beheaded the 16th February, 1592, for being concerned
in a Popish plot ; the particulars of which are to be found recorded
in Spotiswood's History, p. 391."

Dr. Eobert Chambers, who printed an edition, collated from the two
preceding, in his Scottish Ballads (p. 29), has there suggested, "That
it alludes to the fate of some one of the Scottish nobles executed by
James I. , after his return from his captivity in England. It is very
probable," he adds, " that Walter Stewart, second son of the Duke of
Albany, is the individual referred to. Many circumstances in the
ballad go to prove this : the name, which may be a corruption of
Walter ; the mention of the Heading (beheading) Hill of Stirling,
which is known to have been the very scene of Walter Stewart's
execution ; the relationship which ' Young Waters ' claims with the
king ; and the sympathy expressed by the people, in the last verse,
for the fate of the young knight, which exactly tallies with what is
told us by the Scottish historians, regarding the popular feeling
expressed in favour of the numerous nobles and princes of his own
blood, whom the king saw [or thought] it necessary to sacrifice.
There is in the ballad just that precise degree of vagueness, inappli-
cability, and exaggeration, which the people always give to such
an historical fact when they are left to relate it in their own way."
(Note, p. 34)

The opinion so ably indicated in the last extract has been aban-
doned by its writer, without much show of reason or argument for
the change.t

But until Dr. Chambers, or some one else, refutes his early con-
fession of faith in a satisfactory manner, we shall continue to regard
the above expression of it as an extremely likely solution of the
matter ; and can only wonder at, and lament the sceptical and

*The title is as follows: "Young Waters: an Ancient Scottish Poem, never
before printed. Glasgow : Printed and sold by Bobert and Andrew Foulis, MDCCLV.
Small 4to, pp. 8."

t See Romantic Scottish Ballads : their Epoch and Authorship. ... By Eobert
Chambers, F.B.S.E., &c., &c. 1859.

YOUNG WATERS. 455

heretical notions which have induced him to deny the faith of his
earlier years.

That the assumed fact of Lady Wardlaw being the author of
" Hardyknute " should lead a writer of Dr. Chambers's eminence,
knowledge, and experience, to jump to the conclusion that she also
wrote "Young Waters," "Sir Patrick Spens," "Gil Morice," "Fause
Foodrage," and others of our most popular ballads, to the number of
twenty-five, and to assert that she was the "literary foster-mother"
of Sir Walter Scott, is certainly one of the greatest Curiosities of
Literature in modern times. *

Stanzas 1 to 9, inclusive, are from Lady Home's version ; 10 to 13,
inclusive, from Mr. Buchan's ; 14 to 16 are nearly the same in both ;
while the rest are from Mr. Buchan's version, with the exceptions
noted under the text.

1 ABOUT Yule, when the wind blew cool,

And the round table began,
Oh, there is come to our king's court
Mony a well-favour'd man.")-

* In extenuation of Dr. Chambers, it may be mentioned that the first hint as to
Lady Wardlaw's supposed authorship of " Sir Patrick Spens." was thrown out by
Mr. David Laing, in his notes to Johnson's Museum, on "Hardyknute," p. 320*, and
" Sir Patrick Spens," p. 457. Dr. Chambers has either improved upon this hint with
a vengeance, or his Lady Wardlaw Heresy has been broached as a satirical way of
demolishing it. If the latter, his paper ought to rank in future with such brochures
as Archbishop "Whately's Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon.

It may be mentioned that, after an interval of ten years, Dr. Chambers issued
another deliverance on the subject, in the form of a " Note for the Fourth Edition,
1869," of his Popular Rhymes of Scotland. In this note he states : " I am now sen-
sible of having pressed the claims of Lady Wardlaw too exclusively ; it is more
probable that several persons were engaged in this task throughout the eighteenth
century, though it is difficult to make sure of the particular group attributable to
each person. "

Dr. Chambers next rather disingenuously lugs in Bitson and Scott as witnesses
on the side of scepticism. He notes Scott's suspicion as to the authenticity of the
ballads furnished to him and Mr. Jamieson, but fails to note also that Scott, after
investigating the matter, expressed his most unhesitating faith In their authenticity.
See ante, p. 128. Dr. Chambers uncharitably and ungallantly winds up by accusing
Mrs. Brown of falsehood, fraud, and wilful imposition, in the words which we shall
now quote:

" That Scott was not incapable of being imposed upon, has already been fully estab-
lished by the notable case of Mr. Surtees of Durham, who obtained his friendship
by sending him two ballads of his own, vamped up as gatherings from tradition.

" I am afraid that my venerated friend was not lees the victim of this Mrs.
Brown, wife of the minister of Falkland, who herself was a scribbler of poetry, but
too respectable to be capable of imposture."

This additional somerset of Dr. Chambers leaves us still more puzzled than ever
as to whether he is in jest or earnest. Some of our Southern friends, who believe
themselves much smarter at seeing either the point of a jest, or through a mud fence,
than any dull-headed Scotsman can pretend to be, may, however, kindly enlighten
us on the subject

t " I* fell about the gude Yule time.

When cups and stoups gaed roun',
Down it came him Young Waters,
To welcome James, our king.

" The great, the great together rade,

The sma' came a' behin';
But wi' Young Waters, that brave knight,
There came a gay gatherin'." Buchan's version.

456 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 The Queen look'd o'er the castle wall,

Beheld baith dale and down,
And there she saw [the] Young Waters
Come riding to the town.

8 His footmen they did rin before,

His horsemen rode behind ;
And his mantle, of the burning gowd,
Did keep him from the wind.

4 Gowden graith'd his horse before,

And siller shod behind ;
The horse Young Waters rade upon
Was fleeter than the wind.

5 Out then spake a wylie lord,

And to the Queen said he :
" Oh, tell me, wha 's the fairest face
Rides in the company?"

6 " I've seen lords, and I ve seen lairds,

And knights of high degree ;
But a fairer face than Young Waters'
Mine een did never see."

7 Out then spake the jealous king,

(And an angry man was he) :

" Oh, if he had been twice as fair,

You might ha'e excepted me."

8 "You're neither laird nor lord," she says,

" But the king that wears the crown:
There 's not a knight in fair Scotland,
But to thee maun bow down."

9 But all that she cou'd do or say,

Appeased he wou'dna be;
And for the words which she had said,
Young Waters he maun die.

10 Young Waters came before the king,

Fell low down on his knee:
" Win up, win up [now,] Young Waters,
What 's this I hear of thee?"

11 " What ails the king at me," he said,

"What ails the king at me?"
" Oh, it is tauld me the day, Sir Knight,
Ye've done me treasonie."

YOUNG WATERS. 457

12 " Liars will lee on fell gude men,

Sae will they do on me ;
I wou'dna wish to be the man
That liars on wou'dna lee."

13 " Yet, nevertheless," the king did say,

" To prison strang gang ye ;
And nevertheless," the king did say,
" Young Waters, ye shall dee."

14 Syne they ha'e ta'en him Young Waters,

Put fetters to his feet ;
Syne they ha'e ta'en him Young Waters,
Thrown him in dungeon deep.

15 " Aft ha'e I ridden thro' Stirling town,

Thro' heavy wind and weet ;
But ne'er rade I thro' Stirling town
With fetters on my feet.

16 " Aft ha'e I ridden thro' Stirling town,

Thro' heavy wind and rain ;
Yet ne'er rade I thro' Stirling town,
But I thought to ride again." *

17 They brought him to the Heading hill

His horse bot and his saddle ;
And they brought to the Heading hill
His young son in his cradle.

18 And they brought to the Heading hill

His hounds in til a leish ;
And they brought to the Heading hill
His gos-hawk in a jess.

19 King James he then rade up the hill

And mony a man him wi';
And he call'd on his trusty page,
To come right speedilie.

20 " Ye'll do ye to the Earl of Mar,

Where he sits on yon hill ;
Bid him loose the brand frae his body,
Young Waters for to kill."

* Lady Jean Home's version reads,
"Ne'er to return again."
And it terminates with the stanza which follows :

" They ha'e ta'en him to the Headin' hilL

That knight sae fair to see;
And for the words the Queen had spak,
Young Waters he did dee."

458 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 " Oh, God forbid," the earl he said,

" The like shou'd e'er fa' me ;
My bodie e'er shou'd bear the brand
That gars Young Waters dee."

22 Then he has loosed his trusty brand,

And cast it in the sea ;
Says " Never let them get a. brand,
Till it come back to me."

23 The scaffold it prepared was,

And he did mount it hie ;
And all spectators that were there,
The tears did blind ilk e'e.

24 " Oh, haud your tongues, my brethren dear,

And mourn nae mair for me;
Ye're seeking grace frae a graceless face,*
For there is nane to gi'e.

25 " Ye'll take a bit of canvas claith,

And put it o'er ilk e'e ;
And, Jack, my man, ye'll be at hand
The hour that I shou'd dee.

26 " Syne aff ye'll take my bluidy sark,

Gi'e it fair Margaret Grahame ;
For she may curse the dowie day
That brought King James here hame.

27 " Ye'll bid her make her bed narrow,

And make it naeways wide ;
For a brawer man than Young Waters
Will ne'er streek by her side.

28 " Bid her do weel to my young son,

And gi'e him nurses three;
But if he live to be a man,

King James will gar him dee."

29 He call'd upon the headsman then,

A purse of gowd him ga'e ;
Says " Do your office, headsman, now,
And make nae mair delay.

30 " Oh, head me soon ! oh, head me clean,

And put me out of pine !
For it is by the king's command;
Sae head me till his min'.

This line occurs in the subsequent ballad of "Johnnie Armstrong."

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. 459

31 " Tho' by him I'm condemn'd to dee,

I'm lieve to his ain kin ;
[His father and my father, they
Were ilk ae father's son.] *

82 Then he laid by his napkin fine,

Was saft as ony silk ;
And on the block he laid his neck,
Was whiter than the milk.

33 Says " Strike the blow, ye headsman, now,

Strike with your axe sae keen ;
Oh, strike the blow, ye headsman, now,
And strike baith hard and clean." f

34 The head was ta'en frae Young Waters,

And mony tears were shed;
But mair did mourn for fair Margaret,
As she lay raving mad.

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MUREAY.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, voL i., p. 369.

"This ballad appears to have been composed about the reign of
James V. It commemorates a transaction, supposed to have taken
place betwixt a Scottish monarch, and an ancestor of the ancient family
of Murray of Philiphaugh, in Selkirkshire. The editor is unable to
ascertain the historical foundation of the tale ; nor is it probable that
any light can be thrown upon the subject, without an accurate
examination of the family charter chest. It is certain, that, during
the civil wars betwixt Bruce and Baliol, the family of Philiphaugh
existed and was powerful ; for their ancestor, Archibald de Moravia,
subscribes the oath of fealty to Edward I., A.D. 1296. It is, therefore,
not unlikely, that, residing in a wild and frontier country, they may

* " 'And for the truth, I'll plainly tell,
I am his sister's son.'

" ' Gin ye're my sister's son,' he said,

'It is unkenn'd to me ; '
'Oh, mindna ye on your sister Bess,
That lives in the French countrie ? '

" ' Gin Bess then be your mither dear,

As I trust well she be ;
Gae hame, gae name, Young Waters,
Ye'se ne'er ba slain by me.' " Buchan's version.

t As this stanza has been altered from Mr. Buchan's text, the original is here
noted as under :

" Says' Strike the blow, ye headsman boy,

And that right speedilie ;
It 's never be said, Here goes a knight
Was ance condemn'd to die.'"

460 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

have, at one period or other, during these commotions, refused
allegiance to the feeble monarch of the day, and thus extorted from
him some grant of territory or jurisdiction. It is also certain, that,
by a charter from James IV., dated Nov. 30, 1509, John Murray
of Philiphaugh is vested with the dignity of heritable sheriff of
Ettrick Forest, an office held by his descendants till the final aboli-
tion of such jurisdictions by 28th George II., cap. 23. But it seems
difficult to believe, that the circumstances, mentioned in the ballad,
could occur under the reign of so vigorous a monarch as James IV.
It is true, that the Dramatis Persona; introduced seem to refer to the
end of the fifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth, century ; but from
this it can only be argued, that the author himself lived soon after
that period. It may, therefore, be supposed (unless further evidence
can be procured, tending to invalidate the conclusion), that the bard,
willing to pay his court to the family, has connected the grant of the
sheriffship by James IV., with some former dispute betwixt the
Hurrays of Philiphaugh and their sovereign, occurring, either while
they were engaged upon the side of Baliol, or in the subsequent reigns
of David II. and Robert II. and III., when the English possessed
great part of the Scottish frontier, and the rest was in so lawless a
state as hardly to acknowledge any superior. At the same time, this
reasoning is not absolutely conclusive. James IV. had particular
reasons for desiring that Ettrick Forest, which actually formed part
of the jointure lands of Margaret, his queen, should be kept in a
stats of tranquillity. Rymer, vol. xiii. , p. 66. In order to accomplish
this object, it was natural for him, according to the policy of his pre-
decessors, to invest one great family with the power of keeping order
among the rest. It is even probable, that the Philiphaugh family
may have had claims upon part of the lordship of Ettrick Forest,
which lay intermingled with their own extensive possessions; and,
in the course of arranging, not indeed the feudal superiority, but the
property, of these lands, a dispute may have arisen, of sufficient
importance to be the groundwork of a ballad. It is further probable,
that the Murrays, like other Border clans, were in a very lawless
state, and held their lands merely by occupancy, without any feudal
right. Indeed, the lands of the various proprietors in Ettrick Forest
(being a royal demesne) were held by the possessors, not in property,
but as the kindly tenants, or rentaUers, of the crown ; and it is only
about one hundred and fifty years since they obtained charters,
striking the feu-duty of each proprietor, at the rate of the quit-rent,
which he formerly paid. This state of possession naturally led to a
confusion of rights and claims. The kings of Scotland were often
reduced to the humiliating necessity of compromising such matters
with their rebellious subjects, and James himself even entered into
a sort of league with Johnnie Faa, the king of the gypsies. Perhaps,
therefore, the tradition handed down in this song, may have had
more foundation than it would at present be proper positively to
assert.

"The merit of this beautiful old tale, it is thought, will be fully
acknowledged. It has been, 'for ages, a popular song in Selkirkshire.
The scene is, by the common people, supposed to have been the castle
of Newark, upon Yarrow. This is highly improbable, because Newark

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. 461

was always a royal fortress. Indeed, the late excellent antiquarian,
Mr. Plnmmer, sheriff depute of Selkirkshire, has assured the editor that
he remembered the insignia of the unicorns, &c., so often mentioned
in the ballad, in existence upon the old tower of Hangingshaw, the seat
of the Philiphaugh family, although, upon first perusing a copy of the
ballad, he was inclined to subscribe to the popular opinion. The tower
of Hangingshaw has been demolished for many years. It stood in a
romantic and solitary situation, on the classical banks of the Yarrow.
When the mountains around Hangingshaw were covered with the
wild copse which constituted a Scottish forest, a more secure strong-
hold for an outlawed baron can hardly be imagined.

"The tradition of Ettrick Forest bears, that the Outlaw was a
man of prodigious strength, possessing a baton or club, with which he
laid lee (i. e., waste) the country for many miles round; and that he
was, at length, slain by Buccleuch, or some of his clan, at a little
mount, covered with fir-trees, adjoining to Newark castle, and said
to have been a part of the garden. A varying tradition bears the
place of his death to have been near to the house of the Duke of
Buccleuch's game-keeper, beneath the castle; and, that the fatal
arrow was shot by Scott of Haining, from the ruins of a cottage on the
opposite side of the Yarrow. There was extant, within these twenty
years, some verses of a song on his death. The feud betwixt the
Outlaw and the Scotts may serve to explain the asperity, with which
the chieftain of that clan is handled in the ballad.

" In publishing the following ballad, the copy principally resorted to
is one, apparently of considerable antiquity, which was found among
the papers of the late Mrs. Cockburn, of Edinburgh, a lady whose
memory will be long honoured by all who knew her.* Another copy,
much more imperfect, is to be found in Glenriddel's MS. The names
are in this last miserably mangled, as is always the case when ballads
are taken down from the recitation of persons, li ving at a distance from
the scenes in which they are laid. Mr. Plummer also gave the editor
a few additional verses, not contained in either copy, which are thrown
into what seemed their proper place. There is yet another copy, in
Mr. Herd's MSS., which has been occasionally made use of. Two verses
are restored in the present edition from the recitation of Mr. Mungo
Park, whose toils, during his patient and intrepid travels in Africa,
have not eradicated from his recollection the legendary lore of his
native country.

" The arms of the Philiphaugh family are said by tradition to
allude to their outlawed state. They are indeed those of a hunts-
man, and are blazoned thus : Argent, a hunting horn sable, stringed
and garnished gules, on a chief azure, three stars of the first. Crest,
a Demi Forrester, winding his horn, proper. Motto, ' Hinc usque
superna venabor.' " Sir Walter Scott.

[Another copy, as given "from an old manuscript in the Philip-
haugh charter-chest," and supposed to have "been written " or copied
"between the years 1689 and 1702," appears in Aytoun's Ballads of
Scotland, vol. ii., p. 129. The copy above referred to as "in Mr.

* [Authoress of the "Flowers of the Forest,"

"I've seen the smiling," &c.J

462 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

Herd's MSS.," has since passed into the hands of Mr. Maidment, by
whom it has been inserted in his Scotish Ballads and Songs, vol. ii,
p. 66.

The differences between these three copies are immaterial, but the
Minstrelsy copy is the most complete, and therefore the preferable
version.]

1 ETTRICK Forest is a fair forest,

In it grows many a seemly tree ;
There 's hart and hind, and dae and rae,
And of all wild beasts great plentie.

2 There 's a fair castle, bigg'd with lime and stane;

Oh, gin it stands not pleasantlie !
n the forefront of that castle fair,
Twa unicorns are braw to see.

3 There 's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,

And the green hollin abune their brie ;
There an Outlaw keeps five hundred men,
He keeps a royal companie !

4 His merry men are all in ae livery clad,

Of the Lincoln green sae gay to see ;
He and his ladye, in purple clad,
Oh, gin they lived not royallie !

5 Word is gane to our noble king,

In Edinburgh, where that he lay,
That there was an Outlaw in Ettrick Forest,
Counted him nought, nor all his courtrie gay.

6 "I make a vow," then the gude king said,

" Unto the man that dear bought me,
I'se either be king of Ettrick Forest,

Or king of Scotland that Outlaw shall be!"

7 Then spake the lord, bight Hamilton,*

And to the noble king said he,
" My sovereign prince, some counsel take,
First at your nobles, syne at me.

8 "I redd ye, send yon braw Outlaw till,

And see gif your man come will he :
Desire him come and be your man,
And hold of you yon Forest free.

* This is, in most copies, the Earl bight Hamilton, which must be a mistake of the
reciters, as the family did not enjoy that title till 1603.

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. 463

9 " Gif he refuses to do that,

We'll conquess baith his lands and he !
Or else, we'll throw his castle down,
And make a widow of his gay ladye."

10 The king then pall'd a gentleman,

James Boyd (the Earl of Arran his brother was he) ;*
When James he came before the king,
He knelt before him on his knee.

11 " Welcome, James Boyd! " said our noble king,

" A message ye maun gang for me ;
Ye maun hie to Ettrick Forest,
To yon Outlaw, where bideth he.

12 " Ask him of whom he halds his lands,

Or man, wha may his master be ;

And desire him come and be my man,

And hald of me yon Forest free.

13 " To Edinburgh to come and gang,

His safe warrant I shall gi'e ;
And gif he refuses to do that,
We'll conquess baith his lands and he.

14 " Thou may'st vow I'll cast his castle down,

And make a widow of his gay ladye ;
I'll hang his merry men, pair by pair,
In ony frith where I may them see."

15 James Boyd- took his leave of the noble king ;

To Ettrick Forest fair came he ;
Down Birkendale Brae when that he came,f
He saw the fair Forest with his e'e.

16 Baith dae and rae, and hart and hind,

And of all wild beasts great plentie ;
He heard the bows that bauldly ring,
And arrows whidderan' him near by.

* Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, was forfeited, with his father and uncle, in 1469,
for an attempt on the person of James III. He had a son James, who was restored,
and in favour with James IV., about 1482. If this be the person here meant, we
should read, " The Earl of Arran his son was he." Glenriddel's copy reads, " A
Highland laird I'm sure was he." Keciters sometimes call the messenger, the Laird
of Skene.

t Birkendale Brae, now commonly called Birkendailly, is a Bteep descent on the
south side of Hinch-Moor, which separates Tweeddale from Ettrick Forest, and
from the top of which you have the first view of the woods of Hangingshaw, the
Castle of Newark, and the romantic dale of Yarrow.

464 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

17 Of that fair castle he got a sight ;

The like he ne'er saw with his e'e !
On the fore front of that castle fair
Twa unicorns were gay to see.

18 The picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,

And the green hollin abune their brie ;
Thereat he spy'd five hundred men,
Shooting their bows on Newark Lee.

19 They were all in ae liv'ry clad,

Of the Lincoln green sae gay to see ;
His men were all clad in the green,
The knight was armed capapie,

20 With a bended bow, on a milk-white steed,

And I wot they rank'd right bonnilie ;
Thereby Boyd kenn'd he was master man,
And serv'd him in his ain degree :

21 " God mot thee save, brave Outlaw Murray !

Thy ladye, and all thy chivalrie !"
" Marry, thou 's welcome, gentleman,

Some king's messenger thou seems to be."

22 " The king of Scotland sent me here,

And, gude Outlaw, I am sent to thee ;
I wou'd wot of whom ye hold your lands,
Or man, wha may thy master be?"

23 " Thir* lands are MINE!" the Outlaw said;

" I ken nae king in Christentie ;
Frae Southron I this Forest wan,

When the king nor his knights were not to see."

24 " He desires you'll come to Edinburgh,

And hold of him this Forest free;
And, gif [that] ye refuse to do this,

He'll conquess baith thy lands and thee ;
He hath vow'd to cast thy castle down,

And make a widow of thy gay ladye.

25 " He'll hang thy merry men, pair by pair,

In ony frith where he may them find."
" Aye, by my troth ! " the Outlaw said,
" Then wou'd I think me far behind.

*"Thir:" these.

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. 465

26 " E'er the king my fair countrie get,

This land that's nativest to me,
Mony of his nobles shall be cauld,
Their ladyes shall be right wearie."

27 Then spake his ladye, fair of face,

She said " Without consent of me
That an Outlaw should come before a King ;

I am right rad * of treasonrie :
Bid him be gude to his lords at hame,

For Edinburgh my lord shall never see."

28 James Boyd took his leave of the Outlaw keen,

To Edinburgh boun' is he ;
And when he came before the king,
He knelt lowly on his knee.

29 " Welcome, James Boyd ! " said our noble king ;

" What Forest is Ettrick Forest free?"
" Ettrick Forest is the fairest Forest
That ever man saw with his e'e.

30 " There 's the dae, the rae, the hart, the hynd,

And of all wild beasts great plentie ;
There's a pretty castle of lime and stane;
Oh, gif it stands not pleasantlie !

81 " There 's in the forefront of that castle

Twa unicorns, sae braw to see ;
There 's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,
With the green hollin abune their bree.

32 " There the Outlaw keeps five hundred men;

He keeps a royal companie !
His merry men in ae liv'ry clad,

Of the Lincoln green sae gay to see;
He and his ladye, in purple clad,

Oh, gin they live not royallie !

33 " He says, yon Forest is his own ;

He wan it frae the Southronie ;
Sae as he wan it, sae will he keep it,
Contrair all kings in Christentie. "

34 " Gar warn me Perthshire, and Angus baith :

Fife up and down, and the Lothians three,
And graith my horse! " said the noble king,
" For to Ettrick Forest hie will I me."

* "Bad: " in dread.
2H

466 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

35 Then word is gane the Outlaw till,

In Ettrick Forest, where dwelleth he,
That the king was coming to his countrie,
To conquess baith his lands and he.

86 "I make a vow," the Outlaw said,
" I make a vow, and that trulie,
Were there but three men to take my part,
Yon king's coming full dear shou'd bel"

37 Then messengers he called forth,

And bade them hie them speedily:
" Ane of ye gae to Halliday,
The laird of the Corehead is he.

88 " He certain is my sister's son ;

Bid him come quick and succour me !
The king comes on for Ettrick Forest,
And landless men we all will be."

89 " What news ? what news ? " said Halliday,

" Man, frae thy master unto me ? "
"Not as we wou'd; seeking your aid;
The king 's his mortal enemie."

40 " Aye, by my troth ! " said Halliday,

" Even for that it repenteth me;
For gif he lose fair Ettrick Forest,
He'll take fair Moffatdale frae me.*

41 I'll meet him with five hundred men,
And surely mair, if mae may be ;

And before he gets the Forest fair,
We all will die on Newark Lee ! "

42 The Outlaw call'd a messenger,

And bid him hie him speedilie,
o Andrew Murray of Cockpool : f
" That man 's a dear cousin to me;
Desire him come, and make me aid,
With all the power that he may be."

43 " It stands me hard," Andrew Murray said,

" Judge gif it stands na hard with me;

* This is a place at the head of Aloffat-water. possessed of old by the family of
Halliday.

t This family were ancestors of the Murrays, Earls of Annandale ; but the name
of the representative in the tune of James IV. was William, not Andrew. Glen-
riddel's MS. reads, " the country-keeper."

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. 467

To enter against a king with crown,

And set my lands in jeopardie !
Yet, if I come not on the day,

Surely at night he shall me see."

44 To Sir James Murray of Traquair,*

A message 'came right speedilie :
" What news ? what news ? " James Murray said,
" Man, frae thy master unto me ? "

45 " What needs I tell? for weel ye ken

The king 's his mortal enemie ;
And now he is coming to Ettrick Forest,
And landless men ye all will be."

46 " And, by my troth," James Murray said,

" With that Outlaw will I live and die;
The king has gifted my lands lang syne
It cannot be nae worse with me."

47 The king was coming thro' Caddon Ford,"|-

And full five thousand men was he ;

They saw the dark Forest them before ;

They thought it awesome for to see.

48 Then spake the lord, hight Hamilton,

And to the noble king said he,
"My sovereign liege, some counsel take,
First at your nobles, syne at me.

49 " Desire him meet thee at Penmanscore,

And bring four in his companie ;
Five earls shall gang yourself before,
Gude cause that you shou'd honour'd be.

50 " And, gif he refuses to do that,

We'll conquess baith his lands and he ;
There shall never a Murray, after him,
Hold land in Ettrick Forest free."

* Before the Barony of Traquair became the property of the Stewarts, it belonged
to a family of Hurrays, afterwards Hurrays of Black-barony, and ancestors of Lord
Elibank. The old castle was situated on the Tweed. The lands of Traquair were
forfeited by "Willielmus de Horavia, previous to 1464; for, in that year, a charter,
proceeding upon his forfeiture, was granted by the crown " Willielmo Douglas de
Cluny." Sir James was, perhaps, the heir of William Hurray. It would further
seem, that the grant in 1464 was not made effectual by Douglas, for another charter
from the crown, dated the 3d February, 1478, conveys the estate of Traquair to
James Stewart, Earl of Buchan, son to the Black Knight of Lome, and maternal uncle
to James III., from whom is descended the present Earl of Traquair. The first royal
grant not being followed by possession, it is very possible that the Hurrays may
liava continued to occupy Traquair long after the date of that charter. Hence, Sir
James might have reason to say, as in the ballad" The king has gifted my lands
lang syne."

t A ford on the Tweed, at the mouth of the Caddon Burn, near Yair.

468 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

51 Then spake the keen laird of Buccleuch,

A stalworth man and stern was he :
" For a king to gang an Outlaw till,
Is beneath his state and his dignitie.

52 " The man that wons yon Forest intil,

He lives by reif and felonie !
Wherefore, braid on, my sovereign liege!

With fire and sword we'll follow thee ;
Or, gif your courtrie lords, fall back,

Our borderers shall the onset gi'e."

53 Then out and spake the noble king,

And round him cast a wilie e'e :
" Now haud thy tongue, Sir Walter Scott,
' Nor speak of reif nor felonie ;
For had every honest man his own kye,

A right puir clan thy name wou'd be ! "

5-i The king then call'd a gentleman,

Royal banner-bearer there was he ;
James Hop Pringle of Torsonse, by name ; *
He came and knelt upon his knee.

55 " Welcome, James Pringle of Torsonse !

A message ye maun gang for me ;

Ye maun gae to yon Outlaw Murray,

Surely where bauldly bideth he.

56 " Bid him meet me at Penmanscore,

And bring four in his companie ;
Five earls shall come with mysel',
Gude reason I shou'd honour'd be.

57 " And, gif he refuses to do that,

Bid him look for nae gude of me !

There shall never a Murray, after him,

Have land in Ettrick Forest free."

58 James came before the Outlaw keen,

And serv'd him in his ain degree :
" Welcome, James Pringle of Torsonse,
What message frae the king to me?"

The honourable name of Pringle, or Hoppringle, is of great antiquity in
Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire. The old tower of Torsonse is situated upon the
banks of the Gala. There are three other ancient and distinguished families of this
name those of Whitebank, Clifton, and Torwoodlee.

THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. 469

59 " He bids ye meet him at Penmanscore,*

And bring four in your companie;
Five earls shall gang himsel' before,
Nae mair in number will he be.

CO " And, gif ypu refuse to do that,

(I freely here upgive with thee,)
He'll cast yon bonnie castle down,
And make a widow of that gay ladye.

61 " He'll loose yon bluidhound borderers,

With lire and sword to follow thee;
There will never a Murray, after thysel',
Have land in Ettrick Forest free."

62 " It stands me hard," the Outlaw said;

" Judge gif it stands na hard with me!
Wha reck not losing of myseP,
But all my offspring after me.

63 " My merry men's lives, my widow's tears

There lies the pang that pinches me!
When I am straught in bluidie eard,
Yon castle will be right drearie.

64 " Auld Halliday, young Halliday,

Ye shall be twa to gang with me ;
Andrew Murray, and Sir James Murray,
We'll be nae mae in companie."

65 When that they came before the king,

They fell before him on their knee:
" Grant mercie, mercie, noble king!
E'en for his sake that died on tree."

* Commonly called Pennanscore, is a hollow on the top of a high ridge of hills,
dividing the vales of Tweed and Yarrow, a little to the eastward of Minch-Moor.
It is the outermost point of the lands of Broadmeadows. The Glenriddel MS.,
which, in this instance, is extremely inaccurate as to names, calls the place of
rendezvous "The Poor Man's House," and hints that the Outlaw was surprised by
the treachery of the king:

" Then he was aware of the King's coming,

"With hundreds three in company.
I wot the muckle deel ....

He learned kings to lie!
For to fetch me here frae amang my men,

Here, like a dog, for to die."

I believe the reader will think, with me, that the catastrophe is better, as now
printed from Mrs. Cockburn's copy. The deceit, supposed to be practised on the
Outlaw, is unworthy of the military monarch, as he is painted in the ballad;
especially if we admit him to be King James IV.

470 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

66 " Siccen like mercie shall ye have :

On gallows ye shall hangit be!"
" Over God forbode," quoth the Outlaw then,

" I hope "your grace will better be!
Else ere ye come to Edinburgh port,

I trow thin guarded shall ye be.

67 " Thir lands of Ettrick Forest fair,

I wan them from the enemie;
Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them,
Contrair all kings in Christentie."

68 All the nobles the king about,

Said " Pitie it were to see him dee;"
" Yet grant me mercie, sovereign Prince !
Extend your favour unto me !

69 " I'll give thee the keys of my castle,

With the blessings of my gay ladye,
Gin thou'lt make me sheriff of this Forest,
And all my offspring after me."

70 " Wilt thou give me the keys of thy castle,

With the blessing of thy gay ladye?
I'se make thee sheriff of Ettrick Forest,

Surely while upwards grows the tree:
If you be not traitor to the king,

Forfaulted shalt thou never be."

71 "But, Prince, what shall come of my men?

When I gae back, traitor they'll call me.
I had rather lose my life and land,
Ere my merry men rebuked me."

72 "Will your merry men amend their lives?

And all their pardons I grant thee.

Now, name thy lands where'er they lie,

And here I RENDER them to thee."

73 " Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right,*

And Lewinshope still mine shall be;
Newark, Foulshiells, and Tinnies baith,
My bow and arrow purchas'd me.

* In this and the following verse, the ceremony of feudal investiture is supposed
to be gone through, by the Outlaw resigning his possessions into the hands of the
king, and receiving them back, to be held of him as superior. The lands of Philip-
haugh are still possessed by the Outlaw's representative. Hangingshaw and Lewins-
hope were sold of late years. Newark, Foulshiels, and Tinnies, have long belonged
to the family of Buccleuch.

JOHNNIE OF BREADISLEE. 471

74 " And I have native steads to me,

The Newark Lee and Hangingshaw:
I have mony steads in the Forest shaw,
But them by name I dinna knaw."

75 The keys of the castle he gave the king,

With the-blessing of his fair ladye;
He was made sheriff of Ettrick Forest,

Surely while upwards grows the tree,
And if he was na traitor to the king,

Forfaulted he shou'd never be.

76 Wha ever heard, in ony times,

Siccen an Outlaw in his degree,
Sic favour get before a king,
As did the OUTLAW MURRAY of the Forest free?

JOHNNIE OF BREADISLEE.

' ' History is silent with regard to this young Nimrod. ' He appears, '
says the editor of the Border Minstrelsy, ' to nave been ail outlaw and
deer-stealer, probably one of the broken men residing upon the
border. It is sometimes said that this outlaw possessed the old Castle
of Morton, in Dumfriesshire, now ruinous.' Another tradition assigns
Braid, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, to have been the scene of
his 'woeful hunting.'" MotherwelPs Minstrelsy, p. 17.

Versions of the ballad have appeared as under :

I. " Johnie of Breadislee," in Scott's Minstrelsy, voL iii., p. 114,
collated from "several different copies, in one of which
the principal personage is called 'Johnie of Cockielaw.'
The stanzas of greatest merit have been selected from each
copy." Scott.

II. " Johny Cock," consisting of fragments of two versions, as
given in Fry's Pieces of Ancient Poetry, Bristol, 1814, p.
55.-

III. " Johnie of Braidisbank," in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 17.

IV. "Johnie of Cocklesmuir," hi Kinloch's Ancient Scottish

Ballads, p. 36.

* These fragments are copied from a 4to MS. purchased in Glasgow, " in the year
1810," which MS. appears to have been "the text-book of some illiterate drummer."
The editor, Mr. Fry, supposes, with great probability, that this is the ballad of
"Johny Cox," mentioned by Ritson in these terms: "The Rev. Mr. Boyd, the
ingenious translator of Dante, has a faint recollection of a ballad on some Arm-
strong (not the well-known ballad of 'Johny Armstrong,' in Ramsay's Evergreen);
another, called ' Johny Cox; ' and another, ' of a Scotch Minstrel who stole a horse
from some of the Henries of England." The first of these ballads is possibly the
famous old border song of 'Dick o' the Cow,' quoted by Mr. Pennant (Tour, 1772,
part ii., p. 276), and printed at length in the Poetical Museum, Hawick, 1784."
Ritson's Scottish Song, Historical Essay, p. xxxvi., note.

472 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

V. "Johnnie of Cocklesmuir," in Scottish Traditional Versions
of Ancient Ballads (Percy Society, vol. xvii., p. 77). This
last closely resembles Kinloch's version ; both termin-
ate happily for "Johnnie," and both repeat the last line
of each stanza, as a kind of refrain.

Mr. Kinloch's (IV.) concludes thus :

" He has killed six o' the proud foresters,

And wounded the seventh sair;
He laid his leg out ower his steed.
Says ' I will kill nae m.air, mair.' "

And Mr. Buchan's (V.) :

" His mither's parrot i' the window sat,

She whistled and she sang;
An' aye the owerturn p' the note,
'Young Johnnie's biding lang, lang.'

" When this reachit the king's ain ears,

It griev'd him wond'rous sair;
Says' I'd rather they'd hurt my subjects a',
Than Johnnie o' Cocklesmuir, muir.

" ' But where are a' my wa'-wight men,

That I pay meat and fee ?
We'll gang the morn to Johnnie's castle,
See how the cause may be, be.'

" Then he 's ca'd Johnnie up to court,

Treated him handsomelie ;
An' noo, to hunt i' the Bride's Braidmuir,
For life he 's licence free, free."

Dr. Chambers has also given a collated version, with some addi-
tional stanzas, "taken from the recitation of a lady resident at
Peebles, and from a manuscript copy submitted to" him "by Mr.
Kinloch." Scottish Ballads, p. 183.

Scott's version is the one here followed ; one stanza, however, has
been deleted, and stanzas 2 and 6, from Kinloch, 18 from Motherwell,
and 22 from Finlay, added. Some variations are also noted under the
text.

1 JOHNNIE rose up in a May morning,

Call'd for water to wash his hands:
" Gae loose to me the gude gray dogs,
That are bound with iron bands.

2 " Ye'll busk, ye'll busk my noble dogs,

Ye'll busk and make them boun',
For I am going to Durisdeer,
To ding the dun deer down."

3 When Johnnie's mither gat word of that,

Her hands for dule she wraug :
" Oh, Johnnie, for my venison,
To the greenwood dinna gang.

JOHNNIE OF BREADISLEE. 473

4 " Enough ye ha'e of gude wheat bread,

And enough of the bluid-red wine ;
And therefore, for nae venison, Johnnie,
I pray ye stir frae hame."*

5 But Johnnie busk'd up his gude bend bow,

His arrows ane by ane ;
And he has gane to Durisdeer,
To hunt the dun deer down.

6 Johnnie look'd east, and Johnnie look'd west,

And a little below the sun ;
And there he spied a dun deer sleeping
Aneath a bush of broom.

7 Johnnie he shot, and the dun deer lap,

And he woundecl her on the side ;
And atween the water and the wood,
His hounds they laid her pride.

8 And Johnnie has brittled the deer sae weel,

He 's had out her liver and lungs ;
And on these he has feasted his bluidy hounds,
As if they had been earls' sons.

9 They ate sae much of the venison,

And drank sae much of the bluid,
That Johnnie and all his bluidy hounds,
Fell asleep, as they had been dead.

10 And by there came a silly auld carle

An ill death mote he dee !
For he 's awa to Hislinton,f
To tell what he did see.

11 " What news, what news, ye silly auld carle,

What news ha'e ye to me ? "
" Nae news, nae news," quo' the silly auld carle,
" Save what my een did see.

* " ' Your meat shall be of the very, very best

And your diink of the finest wine;
And ye will win your mither s benison,
Gin ye wad stay at hame.'

" His mither's counsel he wadna tak.

Nor wad he stay at hame." Kinloch's version.

t " And he 's an* to the proud forester's," &c. Kinloch.

474 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

12 " As I came doun by Merrimass,

And doun amang the scroggs,*

The bonniest youth that e'er I saw,

Lay sleeping amang his dogs.

13 " The shirt that was upon his back

Was of the Holland fine ;
And the doublet which was over that
Was of the Lincoln twine.

14 " The buttons that were on his sleeves

Were of the gowd sae gude ;
The gude greyhounds he lay amang,
Their mouths were dyed in bluid."

15 Then out and spake the first forester,

The head man ower them a' :

" If this be Johnnie o' Braidislee,

Nae nearer him we'll draw."

16 Then out and spake the next forester,

(His sister's son was he) :
" If this be Johnnie o' Braidislee,
We soon shall gar him dee ! "

17 The first flight of arrows the foresters shot,

They wounded him on the knee ;
And out and spake the seventh forester,
" The next will gar him dee."

18 They waken'd Johnnie out of his sleep,

And he 's drawn to him his coat :
" My fingers five, save me alive,
And a stout heart fail me not." t

19 Johnnie set his back against an aik,

His foot against a stane;
And he has slain the seven foresters,
He has slain them all but ane.

20 He has broke three ribs in that ane's side,

But and his collar-bane ;
. He 's laid him twa-fold ower his steed,
Bade him carry the tidings hame. J

* " Scroggs : " stunted trees,
t " 'But fingers five, come here [come here],

And faint heart fail me nought!
And silver strings, value me sma' things,

Till I get all this vengeance rought 1 ' "Johnny Cook.
J " Then Johnnie kill'd six foresters,
And wounded the seventh sair;
Then drew a stroke at the silly auld man,

That word he ne'er spak raair." Buchan's version.

THE LAIRD OF MUIRHEAD. 475

21 " Oh, is there no a bonnie bird,

Can sing as I can say ?
Can flee awa to my mither's bow'r,
And tell to fetch Johnnie away?

22 " [Is] there-no a bird in all this Forest

Will do as meikle for me,
As dip its wing in the wan water,
And straik it on my e'e-bree?"*

23 The starling flew to his mither's window,

It whistled and it sang;
And aye the owerword of the tune
Was " John tarries Jang! "

24 They made a rod of the hazel bush,

Another of the slae-thorn tree;
And mony, mony were the men
At fetching our Johnnie.

25 Then out and spake his auld mither,

And fast her tears did fa' :
" Ye wou'dna be warned, my son Johnnie,
Frae the hunting to bide awa.

26 " Aft ha'e I brocht to Braidislee

The less gear and the mair;
But I ne'er brocht to Braidislee
What grieved my heart sae sair.

27 " But wae betide that silly auld carle,

An ill death shall he dee ;
For the highest tree in Merrimass
Shall be his morning fee."

28 Now Johnnie's gude bend-bow is broke,

And his gude gray dogs are slain;
And his body lies dead in Durisdeer,
And his hunting it is done.

THE LAIRD OF MUIRHEAD.
From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 341.

" This ballad is a fragment from Mr. Herd's MS., communicated
to him by J. Grossett Muirhead, Esq. of Breadesholm, near Glasgow ;

* This stanza, which describes expressively the languor of approaching death, is
derived from Finlay's Scottish Ballads, voL i., p. xxxi.

476 BALLAD lilNSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

who stated that he extracted it, as relating to his own family, from
the complete Song, in which the names of twenty or thirty gentlemen
were mentioned, contained in a large collection, belonging to Mr.
Alexander Monro, merchant of Lisbon, but supposed now to be lost.

" It appears, from the Appendix to Nisbet's Heraldry, p. 264, that
Muirhead of Lachop and Bullis, the person here called the Laird of
Muirhead, was a man of rank, being rentaller, or perhaps feuar, of
many crown-lands in Galloway ; and was, in truth, slain in ' Campo
Belli de Northumberland sub vexillo Regis,' i. e., in the Field of
Hodden." Scott.

1 AFORE the king in order stude

The stout laird of Muirhead,
Wi' that same twa-hand muckle sword
That Bartram fell'd stark dead.

2 He sware he wadna lose his right

To fight in ilka field;
Nor budge him from his liege's sight,
Till his last gasp should yield.

3 Twa hunder mair of his ain name,

Frae Torwood and the Clyde,
Sware they would never gang to hame,
But a' die by his syde.

4 And wond'rous weel they kept their troth ;

This sturdy royal band
Eush'd down the brae, wi' sic a pith,
That nane could them withstand.

5 Mony a bloody blow they dealt,

The like was never seen;
And hadna that braw leader fall'n,
They ne'er had slain the king.

LAMENT FOB FLODDEN.

The following Lament relates to the death of a lover on the fatal
field of Flodden, where the gallant but quixotic James IV. fell, with
the flower of the Scotish nobility, A.D. 1513.

Two beautiful songs, under the title of "The Flowers of the
Forest," the one written by Miss Elliot, and the other by Mrs.
Cockburn, nee Rutherford, appear in the companion volume of
Scotish Songs. They are both usually supposed to have the battle
of Flodden for the theme of their lamentation ; but the one by Mrs.
Cockburn, beginning

"I've seen the smiling
Of Fortune beguiling,"

LAMENT FOR FLODDEN. 477

is stated not to have been written on that event. It, however, chimes
in with it so naturally, that it is no marvel it should be supposed to
relate thereto.

Both of these songs may be found together in Herd's Scottish Songs,
vol. i., p. 45, where they are conjoined under the title of " Flodden
Field," along with a doggrel prelude, beginning

" From Spey to the border, was peace and good order,

The sway of our monarch was mild as the May;
Peace he adored, whilk Soudrons abhorred,
Our marches they plunder, our wardens they slay."

Among the " sueit melodius sangis of natural music of the antiquite,"
mentioned in The Complaynt of Scotland, as sung by the " scheiphirdis
and their vyuis," there occurs, " My Luf is laid apon ane Knycht,"
which very nearly coincides with the first line of the following
Lament. It might very appropriately be begun and ended with the
four beautiful lines of Leyden's " Ode on visiting Flodden," which Scott
adopted for the motto to " Marmion : a Tale of Flodden Field : "

" Alas ! that Scottish maid should sing

The combat where her lover fell!
That Scottish bard should wake the string,
The triumph of our foes to tell."

Scott's Minstrelsy, voL UL, p. 34&

1 MY love was laid upon a knight,

A noble knight of high degree;
Upon a knight of valour bright,
Who also laid his love on me.

2 I loved him for his manly form,

Majestic port and noble mien;
His glittering sword, in war's wild storm,
Was ever first in battle keen.

3 For country, king, or ladye bright,

His blade he ever boldly drew;
Yet, tho' he was a warlike knight,
His heart was gentle, kind, and true.

4 But, ah! on Flodden's fatal plain,

Where Scotland's best and bravest fell,
My own true knight lay 'mid the slain,
The gallant knight I loved so well.

5 The memory of that fatal day

Deep graven on my heart shall be,
Till death shall summon me away,
To join again my love and me.

478 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

SIR JAMES THE ROSE.

"This old North Country ballad, which appears to be founded on
fact, is well known in almost every corner of Scotland. Pinkerton
printed it in his Tragic Ballads, 1781 (p. 61), ' from,' as he says,
' a modern edition, in one sheet 12mo, after the old copy.' Notwith-
standing this reference to authority, the ballad certainly received a
few conjectural emendations from his own pen ; at least, the version
which is given," by Mr. Motherwell, "as it occurs in early stall
prints, and as it is to be obtained from the recitations of elderly
people, does not exactly correspond with his.

" Two modern ballads have sprung out of this old one viz., ' Sir
James the Ross,' and ' Elfrida and Sir James of Perth.' The first of
these is said to have been written by Michael Bruce ; the latter is an
anonymous production," which seems to have first appeared in Caw's
Museum, 1784, and to have subsequently "found its way into Evan's
Collection, vide vol. iv., edit. 1810. It might be curious to ascertain
which of these mournful ditties is the senior, were it for nothing else
than perfectly to enjoy the cool impudence with which the graceless
youngster has appropriated to itself, without thanks or acknow-
ledgment, all the best things which occur in the other." * Mother-
weirs Minstrelsy, p. 321.

Motherwell's version does not differ materially from Pinkerton's.

In the " Battle of Harlaw : Traditionary Version," ante, p. 450, a
"James the Rose," and a "John the Graeme," both figure as
combatants on the side of the royal forces ; but we can scarcely
suppose the cowardly "James the Rose," or the heroic "John the
Graeme." of that ballad, to be the parties here celebrated. The ballad
is placed here because stanza 43 of the modern version refers to the
principal actors as having fought at Flodden. This, in the absence
of better data, must therefore serve as our guide as to the period
when the tragedy occurred.

In a note to " Sir James the Rose," Mr. Pinkerton states that " a
renovation of this ballad, composed of new and improbable circum-
stances, decked out with scraps of tragedies, may be found in the
Annual Register for 1774, and other collections.

" Rose is an ancient and honourable name in Scotland. Johnnes
de Hose is a witness to the famous Charter of Robert II. testifying
his marriage with Elizabeth More, as appears in the rare edition of
it printed at Paris, 1695, 4to, p. 15." Scottish Tragic Ballads,
p. 114.

The modernized ballad of "The Buchanshire Tragedy; or, Sir
James the Ross," as referred to by Motherwell and Pinkerton,
was written by Michael Bruce, and appears "in the Weekly
Magazine, or Edinburgh Amusement, vol. ix., Sept. 20, 1770,
p. 371.

* The version by Michael Brace is apparently the earliest, and it is certainly by
far the most popular.

SIR JAMES THE ROSE. 479

" Prefixed was the following short note :

' To the Publisher of the Weekly Magazine.

'SiR, Some days ago I met with an old Scottish ballad, of which the following is
a copy; which, I dare say, you will be willing to preserve from oblivion by giving it
a place in your entertaining Amusement. There are few of your readers, I am per-
suaded, but will be pleased to see at once such a specimen of ancient Scottish poetry
and valour.' " *

The ballad was probably communicated, and the note written, by
Logan, who, in this same year, issued a volume of Poems on several
Occasions, by Michael Bruce, which volume contained the ballad
referred to, with several additions, deletions, and other alterations,
doubtless by Logan himself.

The ancient ballad, as collated from Pinkerton's and Motherwell's
versions, is here first given ; the orthography of the latter being
generally adopted. It is followed by the modern version, as written
by Michael Bruce; while an additional stanza and some variations
from Logan's edition of 1770 are noted under the text.

The version by Bruce seems to have superseded the ancient one as a
chap book ; and it may be mentioned that one of these, bearing the
imprint, "Glasgow, printed by J. and M. Robertson, (No. 20) Salt-
market, 1809, is professedly "printed from the original manu-
script ; " and that it agrees very closely with Bruce's text as here
ijiven.

1 OH, heard ye of Sir James the Kose,

The young heir of Baleighan ?
For he has kill'd a gallant squire,
Whose friends are out to take him.

2 Now he has gone to the house of Mar,

Where none might seek to find him;
To seek his dear he did repair,
Thinking she wou'd befriend him.

3 " Where are ye going, Sir James ? " she said,

" Or where now are you riding? "
" Oh, I am bound to a foreign land,
For now I'm under hiding.

4 " Where shall I go, where shall I run,

Where shall I go to lay me?
For I ha'e kill'd a gallant squire,
And his friends seek to slay me."

5 " Oh, go ye down to yon ale-house,

And I'll pay there your lawing ;
And as I am your leman true,
I'll meet ye at the dawing."

* The Works of Michael Bruce, edited, with Memoir and Notes, by the Rev.
Alexander B. Grosart. Edinburgh, 1865.

The infamous conduct of Logan, who afterwards claimed many of the best pieces
as his own, is fully discussed and ably exposed by Mr. Grosart

480 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

6 " I'll no gae down to yon ale-house,

For you to pay my lawing,
But I'll lie down upon the bent,
And bide there till the dawing."

7 He 's turn'd him right and round about,

And row'd him in his brechan,*
And he has gone to take a sleep
In the lawlands of Baleighan.

8 He wasna well gone out of sight,

Nor was he past Millstrethen,
When four-and-twenty belted knights
Came riding o'er the Lethan.

9 " Oh, ha'e ye seen Sir James the Eose,

The young heir of Baleighan?

For he has kill'd a gallant squire,

And we are sent to take him."

10 " Yea, I ha'e seen Sir James," she said,

" He pass'd by here on Monday ;
If the steed be swift that he rides on,
He 's past the heights of Lundie."

11 But as with speed they rode away,

She loudly cried behind them,

" If ye'll give me a worthy meid, -j-

I'll tell ye where to find him."

12 "Oh, tell, fair maid, and, by our faith,

Ye'se get his purse and brechan."
" Seek ye the bank aboon the mill,
In the lawlands of Baleighan."

13 They sought the bank aboon the mill,

In the lawlands of Baleighan,
And there they found Sir James the Rose,
Was lying in his brechan.

14 Then up and spake Sir John the Graeme,

Who had the charge in keeping :
" It shall ne'er be said, brave gentlemen,
We kill'd him when a-sleeping."

15 They seized his broadsword and his targe,

And closely him surrounded;
And when he waked out of his sleep,
His senses were confounded.

* " Brechan : " plaid. t " Meid : " reward.

THE BUCHAXSHIRE TRAGEDY; OR, SIR JAMES THE ROSS. 481

16 " Rise up, rise up, Sir James," he said,

" Rise up, since now we've found ye ;
We've ta'en the broadsword frae your side,
And angry men are round ye."

17 " Oh, pardon, pardon, gentlemen,

Ha'e mercy now upon me ! "
" Such as you ga'e, such shall you ha'e,
And so we fall upon thee."

18 Syne they've ta'en out his bleeding heart,

And stuck it on a spear;
Then took it to the house of Mar,
And show'd it to his dear.

19 " We cou'dna give Sir James's purse ;

We cou'dna give his brechan ;
But ye shall ha'e his bleeding heart,
But and his bleeding tartan."

20 " Sir James the Rose, oh, for thy sake

My heart is now a-breaking I
Curs'd be the day I wrought thy wae,
Thou brave heir of Baleighan ! "

21 Then up she raise, and forth she gaes,

And, in that hour of tein,
She wandered to the dowie glen,
And never mair was seen.

THE BUCHANSHIRE TRAGEDY ; OR, SIR JAMES
THE ROSS.

BY MICHAEL BRUCE, BORN, 1746; DIED, 1767.

1 OF all the Scottish northern chiefs,

Of high and warlike name,
The bravest was Sir James the Ross,
A knight of meikle fame.

2 His growth was as the tufted tir,

That crowns the mountain's brow ; *

* Brace's poem, "The Complaint of Nature," has a similar line,

"Or trees, that crown the mountain's brow."

And in the eighth of the " Scriptural Translations and Paraphrases," as used in
the Presbyterian Churches of Scotland, which "paraphrase" is based on Brace's
"Complaint," &c., there occurs the same line in stanza 6.

We note these coincidences, as they are somewhat curious, and form ''a threefold
cord " of connection with Bruce.

482 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

And, waving o'er his shoulders broad,
His locks of yellow flew.*

3 The chieftain of the brave clan Ross,

A firm undaunted band ;
Five hundred warriors drew their swords,
Beneath his high command.

4 In bloody fight thrice had he stood,

Against the English keen,
Ere two-and-twenty opening springs
This blooming youth had seen.

5 The fair Matilda dear he loved,

A maid of beauty rare ;
Ev'n Margaret, on the Scottish throne,
Was never half so fair.

6 Lang had he wooed, lang she refused,

With seeming scorn and pride ;
Yet aft her eyes confess'd the love
Her fearful words denied.

7 At last she bless'd his well-tried faith,

Allow'd his tender claim ;
She vow'd to him her virgin heart,
And own'd an equal flame.

8 Her father, Buchan's cruel lord,

Their passion disapproved ;
And bade her wed Sir John the Graeme,
And leave the youth she loved.

9 Ae night they met, as they were wont,

Deep in a shady wood,
Where, on a bank beside a burn,
A blooming saugh ) tree stood.

10 Conceal'd among the underwood,

The crafty Donald lay,
The brother of Sir John the Graeme,
To hear what they would say.

* This stanza follows in Brace's Poems, Logan's edition of 1770 :

" Wide were his fields, his herds were large,

And large his flocks of sheep ;
And numerous were his goats and deer
Upon the mountain's steep."

t " Sangh: " a willow.

THE BUCHANSHIRE TRAGEDY; OR, SIR JAMES THE ROSS. 483

11 When thus the maid began, " My sire

Your passion disapproves,
And bids me wed Sir John the Graeme ;
So here must end our loves.

12 " My father's will must be obey'd ;

Naught boots me to withstand ;

Some fairer maid, in beauty's bloom,

Must bless thee with her hand.

13 " Matilda teoon shall be forgot,

And from thy mind effaced :
But may that happiness be thine,
Which I can never taste."

14 " What do I hear ? is this thy vow ?"

Sir James the Ross replied :
" And will Matilda wed the Graeme,
Though sworn to be my bride?

15 " His sword shall sooner pierce my heart,

Than reive me of thy charms ; "
Then clasp'd her to his beating breast,
Fast lock'd into his arms.

16 " I spake to try thy love," she said ;

" I'll ne'er wed man but thee :
My grave shall be my bridal bed,
Ere Graeme my husband be.

17 " Take then, dear youth, this faithful kiss,

In witness of my troth ;
And every plague become my lot,
That day I break my oath ! "

18 They parted thus ; the sun was set ;

Up hasty Donald flies ;

And " Turn thee, turn thee, beardless youth!"
He loud insulting cries.

19 Soon turn'd about the fearless chief,

And soon his sword he drew ;
For Donald's blade, before his breast,
Had pierced his tartans through.

20 " This for my brother's slighted love ;

His wrongs sit on my arm :"
Three paces back the youth retired,
And saved himself frae harm.

484 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

21 Eeturning swift, his hand he rear'd,

Fierce Donald s head above,
And through the brain and crashing bones
His sharp-edged weapon drove.

22 He staggering reel'd, then tumbled down,

A lump of breathless clay :
" So fall my foes!" quoth valiant Ross,
And stately strode away.

23 Through the green wood he quickly hied,

Unto Lord Buchan's hall ;
And at Matilda's window stood,
And thus began to call :

24 " Art thou asleep, Matilda, dear?

Awake, my love, awake !
Thy luckless lover on thee calls,
A long farewell to take.

25 " For I have slain fierce Donald Graeme ;

His blood is on my sword :
And distant are my faithful men,
Nor can assist their lord.

26 " To Skye I'll now direct my way,

Where my two brothers bide,
And raise the valiant of the Isles,
To combat on my side."

27 " Oh, do not so," the maid replied ;

" With me till morning stay ;
For dark and dreary is the night,
And dangerous the way.

28 " All night I'll watch you in the park ;

My faithful page I'll send,
To run and raise the brave clan Ross,
Their master to defend."

29 Beneath a bush he laid him down,

And wrapp'd him in his plaid ;
While, trembling for her lover's fate,
At distance stood the maid.

30 Swift ran the page o'er hill and dale,

Till, in a lonely glen,
He met the furious Sir John Graeme,
With twenty of his men.

THE BUCHANSHIRE TRAGEDY; OR, SIR JAMES THE ROSS. 485

31 "Where go'st thou, little page?" he said;

" So late, who did thee send ?"
" I go to raise the brave clan Ross,
Their master to defend.

32 " For he. hath slain fierce Donald Graeme,

Whose blood now dims his sword :
And far, far distant are his men,
That should assist their lord."

33 " And has he slain my brother dear?"

The furious Graeme replies :
" Dishonour blast my name, but he
By me, ere morning, dies !

34 " Tell me, where is Sir James the Boss?

I will thee well reward ;"
" He sleeps into Lord Buchan's park ;
Matilda is his guard."

35 They spurr'd their steeds in furious mood,

Then scour'd along the lee ; *
And reach'd Lord Buchan's lofty tow'rs,
By dawning of the day.

36 Matilda stood without the gate,

To whom the Graeme did say,f
" Saw ye Sir James the Ross last night?
Or did he pass this way ? "

37 " Last day, at noon," Matilda said,

" Sir James the Ross pass'd by :
He furious prick'd his sweaty steed,
And onward fast did hie.

38 " By this he is at Edinburgh,

If horse and man hold good."
" Your page, then, lied, who said he was
Now sleeping in the wood."

* " They spurr'd their steeds, and furious flew.

Like lightning, o'er the lea." Bruce's Poems, Logan's edition.

t " Matilda stood without the gate,

Upon a rising ground,
And watch'd each object in the dawn.
All ear to every sound.

" ' Where sleeps the Boss ? ' began the Graeme,

'Or has the felon fled?
This hand shall lay the wretch on earth,
By whom my brother bled.' " Ibid.

Stanzas 37, 38, 39, and elso stanza 43, are omitted by Logan.

486 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

39 She wrung her hands, and tore her hair :

" Brave Boss, thou art betrayed ;
And ruin'd by those very means,
From whence I hoped thine aid!"

40 By this the valiant knight awoke,

The virgin's shrieks he heard ;

And up he rose and drew his sword,

When the fierce band appeared.

41 " Your sword last night my brother slew ;

His blood yet dims its shine ;
And, ere the setting of the sun,
Your blood shall reek on mine."

42 " You word it well," the chief replied;

" But deeds approve the man :
Set by your band, and, hand to hand,
We'll try what valour can.

43 " Oft boasting hides a coward's heart ;

My weighty sword you fear,
Which shone in front of Flodden-field,
When you kept in the rear."

44 With dauntless step he forward strode,

And dared him to the fight ;
But Graeme gave back, and fear'd his arm;
For well he knew its might.

45 Four of his men, the bravest four,

Sunk down beneath his sword;
But still he scorn'd the poor revenge,
And sought their haughty lord.

46 Behind him basely came the Graeme,

And pierced him in the side;
Out spouting came the purple tide,
And all his tartans dyed.

47 But yet his sword quat not the grip,

Nor dropp'd he to the ground,*
Till thro' his enemy's heart his steel
Had forced a mortal wound.

48 Graeme, like a tree with wind o'erthrown,

Fell breathless on the clay;
And down beside him sank the Boss,
And faint and dying lay.

" But yet his hand not dropp'd the sword,

Nor sunk he to the ground." Bruce s Poems, Logan's edition.

JOHNNIE ARMSTRANG. 487

49 The sad Matilda saw him fall :

" Oh, spare his life ! " she cried ;
" Lord Buchan's daughter begs his life,
Let her not be deny'd."

50 Her well-known voice the hero heard;

He rais'd his death-closed eyes,
And fix'd them on the weeping maid,
And weakly thus replies :

51 " In vain Matilda begs the life,

By death's arrest deny'd :
My race is run adieu, my love ! "
Then clos'd his eyes and died.

52 The sword, yet warm, from his left side

With frantic hand she drew :
" I come, Sir James the Boss," she cried ;
"I come to follow you!"

53 She lean'd the hilt against the ground,

And bared her snowy breast ;
Then fell upon her lover's face,
And sunk to endless rest.

JOHNNIE ARMSTRANG.

From Ramsay's Evergreen, vol. ii., p. 190.

' ' Ramsay mentions that this is the true old ballad of the famous
John Armstrong of Gilnock-hall, in Liddisdale, and which he copied
from a gentleman's mouth of the name of Armstrong, who was the
sixth generation from this John, and who told him that it was ever
esteemed the genuine ballad, the common one false.

"The common ballad, alluded to by Ramsay, is the one, however,
which is in the mouths of the people. His set I never heard sung or
recited ; but the other frequently. The common set is printed in
Wit Restored, London, 1658 [p. 123], under the title of ' A Northern
Ballet,' and in the London Collection of Old Ballads, 1723 [vol. i., p.
170], as ' Johney Armstrong's Last Good-night.' That Collection has
another ballad on the subject of Armstrong, entitled ' Armstrong
and Musgrave's Contention.'

"In J. Stevenson's Catalogue, Edinburgh, 1827, is a copy on a
broadside, with this title, 'John Armstrong's Last Farewell,' declaring
how he and eight-score men fought a bloody battle at Edinburgh ; to
the tune of 'Fare thou well, bonny Gilt Knock Hall,' an edition
still adhered to in the stall copies of the ballad. The version of the
ballad, as given in the Evergreen, is followed by the editor of the

488 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND,

Border Minstrelsy, in whose valuable compilation it finds a place, with
suitable illustrations." Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixii.,
note 3.

From the "illustrations" referred to by Mr. Mother well, the fol-
lowing account of this celebrated outlaw is extracted :

" Johnnie Armstrong, of Gilnockie, the hero of the following ballad,
is a noted personage, both in history and tradition. He was, it would
seem from the ballad, a brother of the Laird of Mangertoun, chief of
the name. His place of residence (now a roofless tower) was at the
Hollows, a few miles from Langholm, where its ruins still serve to
adorn a scene which, in natural beauty, has few equals in Scotland.
At the head of a desperate band of freebooters, this Armstrong is
said to have spread the terror of his name almost as far as Newcastle,
and to have levied black-mail, or protection and forbearance money,
for many miles round. James V., of whom it was long remembered
by his grateful people that he made the ' rush-bush keep the cow,'
about 1529, undertook an expedition through the Border counties, to
suppress the turbulent spirit of the Marchmen. But before setting
out upon his journey, he took the precaution of imprisoning the
different Border chieftains, who were the chief protectors of the
marauders. The Earl of Both well was forfeited, and confined in Edin-
burgh castle. The lords of Home and Maxwell, the lairds of Buc-
cleuch, Fairniherst, and Johnston, with many others, were also com-
mitted to ward. Cockburn of Henderland, and Adam Scott of
Tushielaw, called the King of the Border, were publicly executed.
Lesley, p. 430. The king then marched rapidly forward, at the head
of a flying army of ten thousand men, through Ettrick Forest and
Ewsdale. The evil genius of our Johnnie Armstrong, or, as others say,
the private advice of some courtiers, prompted him to present himself
before James, at the head of thirty-six horse, arrayed in all the pomp
of Border chivalry. Pitscottie uses nearly the words of the ballad,
in describing the splendour of his equipment, and his high expecta-
tions of favour from the king. ' But James, looking upon him
sternly, said to his attendants, " What wants that knave that a king
should have?" and ordered him and his followers to instant execu-
tion.' 'But John Armstrong,' continues this minute historian, 'made
great offers to the king. That he should sustain himself, with forty
gentlemen, ever ready at his service, on their own cost, without
wronging any Scottishman : secondly, that there was not a subject in
England, duke, earl, or baron, but, within a certain day, he should
bring him to his majestic, either quick or dead.* At length, he,

* The Borderers, from their habits of life, were capable of most extraordinary
exploits of this nature. In the year 1511, Sir Robert Ker of Cessford, Warden of the
Middle Marches of Scotland, was murdered at a Border meeting, by the Bastard
Heron, Starhead, and Lilburn. The English mgnarch delivered up Lilburn to
justice in Scotland, but Heron and Starhead escaped. The latter chose his resi-
dence in the very centre of England, to baffle the vengeance of Ker's clan and
followers. Two dependants of the deceased, called Tail, were deputed by Andrew
Ker of Cessford to revenge his father's murder. They travelled through England
in various disguises, till they discovered the place of Starhead's retreat, murdered
him in his bed, and brought his head in triumph to Edinburgh, where Ker caused
it to be exposed at the Cross. The Bastard Heron would have shared the same
fate, had he not spread abroad a report of his having died of the plague, and caused
bis funeral obsequies to be performed. Ridpath's History, p. 481. See also Metrical
Account of the Battle of Flodden, published by the Her. Mr. Lambe.

JOHNNIE ARMSTRANG. 489

seeing no hope of favour, said very proudly, " It is folly to seek grace
at a graceless face ; but," said he, "had I known this, I should have
lived upon the Borders in despite of King Harry and you both ; for I
know King Harry would downweigh my oest horse with gold to know
that I were condemned to die this day."' Pitscottie's History, p. 145.
Johnnie and all his retinue were accordingly hanged upon growing
trees, at a place called Carlenrig Chapel, about ten miles above
Hawick, on the high road to Langholm. The country people believe,
that, to manifest the injustice of the execution, the trees withered
away. Armstrong and his followers were buried in a deserted church-
yard, where their graves are still shown.

"As this Border hero was a person of great note in his way, he
is frequently alluded to by the writers of the time. Sir David
Lindsay of the Mount, in the curious play published by Mr. Pinker-
ton, from the Bannatyne MS., introduces a pardoner, or knavish
dealer in relics, who produces, among his holy rarities

' The cordi.s baith grit and lang,

Quhilk hangit Johnie Armstrang,

Of gude hempt, soft and sound.
Gude haly pepil, I stand ford,
Wha'evir beis hangid in this cord,

Neidis never to be drowned! '

Pinkerton's Scottish Poems, vol. ii., p. 69.

"In The Complaynt of Scotland, John Armistrangis' Dance, men-
tioned as a popular tune, has probably some reference to our hero.

"The common people of the high parts of Teviotdale, Liddesdale,
and the country adjacent, hold the memory of Johnnie Armstrong in
very high respect. They affirm, also, that one of his attendants
broke through the king's guard, and carried to Gilnockie tower the
news of the bloody catastrophe.

" It is fortunate for the admirers of the old ballad that it did not
fall into Ramsay's hands when he was equipping with new sets of
words the old Scottish tunes in his Tea-Table Miscellany. Since
his time it has been often reprinted." * Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. i.,
p. 392.

[The ballad which follows, resembles, in many respects, "The Sang
of the Outlaw Murray," ante, p. 459. The conduct of the respective
kings towards, and the fate of, the two Outlaws, are, however, very
different.]

1 SOME speak of lords, some speak of lairds,

And sic like men of high degree;
Of a gentleman I sing a sang,

Some time call'd Laird of Gilnockie.

2 The king he writes a loving letter,

With his ain hand sae tenderlie,
And he hath sent it to Johnnie Armstrang,
To come and speak with him speedilie.

* [This remark will probably recall to the mind of its reader the -well-known adage
about the pot calling the kettle black.]

490 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

3 The Elliots and Armstrangs did convene,

They were a gallant companie :
" We'll ride and meet our lawful king,
And bring him safe to Gilnockie.

4 " Make kinnen * and capon ready, then,

And venison in great plentie;
We'll welcome here our royal king;
I hope he'll dine at Gilnockie ! "

5 They ran their horse on the Langholm howm,

And brake their spears with meikle main ;
The ladies lookit frae their loft windows
" God bring our men weel hame again ! "

6 When Johnnie came before the king,

With all his men sae brave to see,
The king he moved his bonnet to him ;
He ween'd he was a king as well as he.

7 " May I find grace, my sovereign liege,

Grace for my loyal men and me?
For my name it is Johnnie Armstrang,
And a subject of yours, my liege," said he.

8 "Away, away, thou traitor strang!

Out of my sight soon may'st thou be !
I granted never a traitor's life,

And now I'll not begin with thee."

9 " Grant me my life, my liege, my king I

And a bonnie gift I'll gi'e to thee ;
Full four-and-twenty milk-white steeds,
Were all foal'd in ae year to me.

10 " I'll gi'e thee all these milk-white steeds,

That prance and nicherf at a spear;
And as meikle gude Inglish gilt,J

As four of their braid backs dow bear."

11 "Away, away, thou traitor strang!

Out of iny sight soon may'st thou be !
I granted never a traitor's life,

And now I'll not begin with thee."

* " Kinnen : " rabbits. J ' Gilt: " gold.

1 "Nicher: " neigh. j " Dow: " are able to.

JOHNNIE ARMSTRANG. 491

12 " Grant me my life, my liege, my king!

And a bonnie gift I'll gi'e to thee :

Gude four-and-twenty ganging * mills,

That gang thro' all the year to me.

13 "These four-and-twenty mills complete,

Shall gang for thee thro' all the year;
And as meikle of gude red wheat,
As all their happers dow to bear."

14 "Away, away, thou traitor strang!

Out of my sight soon may'st thou be!
I granted never a traitor's life,
And now I'll not begin with thee."

15 " Grant me my life, my liege, my king!

And a great great gift I'll gi'e to thee :
Bauld four-and-twenty sisters' sons
Shall for thee fecht, tho' all shou'd flee."

16 "Away, away, thou traitor strang!

Out of my sight soon may'st thou be!
I granted never a traitor's life,
And now I'll not begin with thee."

17 " Grant me my life, my liege, my king !

And a brave gift I'll gi'e to thee :
All between here and Newcastle town
Shall pay their yearly rent to thee."

18 " Away, away, thou traitor strang!

Out of my sight soon may'st thou be !
I granted never a traitor's life,

And now I'll not begin with thee."

19 " Ye lied, ye lied, now, king," he says,

" Altho' a king and prince ye be !
For I've loved naething in my life,
I weel dare say it, but honestie.

20 " Save a fat horse, and a fair woman,

Twa bonnie dogs to kill a deer ;
But England shou'd have found me meal and mault,
Gif I had lived this hundred year.

21 " She shou'd have found me meal and mault,

And beef and mutton in all plentie;

But never a Scots wife cou'd have said,

That e'er I skaith'd her a puir flee.

* "Ganging: ' going.

492 BALLAD MIXSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

22 " To seek het water beneath cauld ice,

Surely it is a great follie :
I have ask'd grace at a graceless face,*
But there is nane for my men and me.

23 " But had I kenn'd, ere I came frae hame,

How unkind thou wou'dst been to me,
I wou'd ha'e keepit the Border side,
In spite of all thy force and thee.

24 " Wist England's king that I was ta'en,

Oh, gin a blythe man he wou'd be !
For ance I slew his sister's son,

And on his breast-bane brak a tree."

25 John wore a girdle about his middle,

Embroider'd o'er with burning gold,
Bespangled with the same metal,
Maist beautiful was to behold.

26 There hang nine targats f at Johnnie's hat,

And ilk ane worth three hundred pound:
" What wants that knave that a king shou'd have,
But the sword of honour and the crown?

27 " Oh, where got thee these targats, Johnnie,

That blink sae brawly J aboon thy brie? "
" I gat them in the field fechting,
Where, cruel king, thou durst not be.

28 " Had I my horse and harness gude,

And riding as I wont to be,
It shou'd have been tauld this hundred year,
The meeting of my king and me !

29 "God be with thee, Kirsty, || my brother,

Lang live thou laird of Mangertoun !
Lang may'st thou live on the Border side,
Ere thou see thy brother ride up and down !

30 " And God be with thee, Kirsty, my son,

Where thou sits on thy nurse's knee !
But an thou live this hundred year,
Thy father's better thou'lt never be.

See " Young Waters," stanza 23, and note, ante, p. 458.

t " Targats : " tassels.

t "Blink sae brawly: " glance so bravely.

' Fechting: " fighting.

li "Kirsty:" Christopher.

THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW. 493

31 " Farewell, my bonnie Gilnock hall,

Where on Esk side thou standest stout!
Gif I had lived but seven years mair,
I wou'd ha'e gilt thee round about."

32 John murder'd was at Carlinrigg,

And all his gallant companie;
But Scotland's heart was ne'er sae wae,
To see sae mony brave men die ;

33 Because they saved their country dear

Frae Englishmen ! Nane were sae banld ;
While Johnnie lived on the Border side,
Nane of them durst come near his hauld.

THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 94.

" This fragment, obtained from recitation in the Forest of Ettrick,
is said to relate to the execution of Cockburne of Henderland, a
Border freebooter, hanged over the gate of his own tower, by James
V., in the course of that memorable expedition, in 1529, which was
fatal to Johnnie Armstrang, Adam Scott of Tushielaw, and many
other marauders. The vestiges of the castle of Henderland are still
to be traced upon the farm of that name, belonging to Mr. Murray of
Henderland. They are situated near the mouth of the river Meggat,
which falls into the lake of St. Mary, in Selkirkshire. The adjacent
country, which now hardly bears a single tree, is celebrated by
Lesley, as, in his time, affording shelter to the largest stags in Scot-
land. A mountain torrent, called Henderland Burn, rushes impetu-
ously from the hills, through a rocky chasm, named the Dowglen,
and passes near the site of the tower. To the recesses of this glen,
the wife of Cockburne is said to have retreated, during the execution
of her husband ; and a place, called the Lady's Seat, is still shown,
where she is said to have striven to drown, amid the roar of a foam-
ing cataract, the tumultuous noise which announced the close of his
existence. In a deserted burial-place, which once surrounded the
chapel of the castle, the monument of Cockburne and his lady are
still shown. It is a large stone, broken in three parts ; but some
armorial bearings may yet be traced, and the following inscription is
still legible, though defaced :

HERE LYES PERYS OF COKBURNE AND HIS
WYTE MARJORY.

" Tradition says that Cockburne was surprised by the king while
sitting at dinner. After the execution, James marched rapidly
forward to surprise Adam Scott of Tushielaw, called the King of the
Border, and sometimes the King of Thieves. A path through the

494 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

mountains, which separates the Vale of Ettrick from the head of
Yarrow, is still called the King's Road, and seems to have been the
route which he followed. The remains of the tower of Tushielaw
are yet visible, overhanging the wild banks of the Ettrick ; and are
an object of terror to the benighted peasant, from an idea of their
being haunted by spectres. From these heights, and through the
adjacent county of Peebles, passes a wild path, called still the
Thief's Road, from having been used chiefly by the marauders of the
Border." Scott.

Mr. Motherwell says : "I am passing loath to deprive Scotland of
the least remnant of her song ; but this appears to me to be nothing
else than a fragment of the English ballad, entitled, 'The Famous
Flower of Serving-men ; or, The Lady turn'd Serving-man. "
Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. Ixxxi., note 80.

A slightly varied version occurs in Chambers's Scottish Songs, vol.
i., p. 174.

There is also a Highland lament, entitled, " Oh ono Chrio," which
appears in Johnson's Museum, vol. i., p. 90, wherein three or four
lines of this ballad occur; and Burns mentions that "Dr. Blacklock
informed " him ' ' that this [latter] song was composed on the in-
famous massacre of Glencoe. " *

1 MY love he built me a bonnie bow'r,
And clad it all with lilie flow'r;

A brawer bow'r ye ne'er did Bee,
Than my true love he built for me.

2 There came a man, by middle day,
He spy'd his sport and went away;
And brought the king that very night,
Who brake my bow'r and slew my knight.

3 He slew my knight, to me sae dear;

He slew my knight, and poin'd")" his gear;
My servants all for life did flee,
And left me in extremitie.

4 I sew'd his sheet, making my mane;
I watch'd the corpse, myself alane;

I watch'd his body night and day;
No living creature came that way.

5 I took his body on my back,

And whiles I gaed and whiles I sat ;

I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,

And happ'd J him with the sod sae green.

* Cromek's Reliquet.

t " Poin'd: " poinded attached by legal distress.

} "Happ'd:" covered.

HUGHIE THE GREME. 495

But think na ye my heart was sair,
When I laid the moul' on his yellow hair?
Oh, think na ye my heart was wae,
When I turn'd about away to gae ?

Nae living-man I'll love again,
Since that my lovely knight is slain ;
With ae lock of his yellow hair
I'll chain my heart for evermair.

HUGHIE THE GB^ME.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii. , p. 107.

" The Graemes were a powerful and numerous clan, who chiefly
inhabited the Debateable Land. They were said to be of Scottish
extraction ; and their chief claimed his descent from Malice, Earl of
Stratherne. In military service they were more attached to England
than to Scotland ; but in their depredations on both countries, they
appear to have been very impartial ; for in the year 1600, the gentle-
men of Cumberland alleged to Lord Scroope, ' that the Graemes, and
their clans, with their children, tenants, and servants, were the
chiefest actors in the spoil and decay of the country. ' Accordingly,
they were, at that time, obliged to give a bond of surety for each
other's peaceable demeanour ; from which bond their numbers appear
to have exceeded four hundred men. See Introduction to Nicolson's
History of Cumberland, p. cviii.

" Richard Graeme, of the family of Netherby, was one of the
attendants upon Charles I. when Prince of Wales, and accom-
panied him upon his romantic journey through France and Spam.
The following little anecdote, which then occurred, will show that
the memory of the Graemes' Border exploits was at that time still
preserved:

" 'They were now entered into the deep time of Lent, and could
get no flesh in their inns. Whereupon fell out a pleasant passage, if
I may insert it, by the way, among more serious. There was, near
Bayonne, a herd of goats, with their young ones ; upon the sight
whereof, Sir Richard Graham tells the Marquis (of Buckingham), that
he would snap one of the kids, and make some shift to carry him snug
to their lodging. Which the prince overhearing, "Why, Richard,"
says he, " do you think you may practise here your old tricks upon the
Borders ? " Upon which words, they, in the first place, gave the
goat-herd good contentment : and then, while the Marquis and
Richard, being both on foot, were chasing the kid about the stack,
the prince, from horseback, killed him in the head with a Scottish
pistol. Which circumstance, though trifling, may yet serve to show
how his Royal Highness, even in such slight and sportful damage, had
a noble sense of just dealing.' Sir H. Wotton's Life of the Duke of
Buckingham.

495 BALLAD MINSTRKLSY OF SCOTLAND.

" I find no traces of this particular flughie Graeme of the ballad;
but, from the mention of the bishop, I suspect he may have been one
of about four hundred Borderers, against whom bills of complaint
were exhibited to Robert Aldridge, lord bishop of Carlisle, about
1553, for divers incursions, burnings, murders, mutilations, and
spoils by them committed. Nicolson s History, Introduction, IxxxL
There appear a number of Grsemes in the specimen which we have of
that list of delinquents. There occur, in particular,

Ritchie Grame of Bailie,

Will's Jock Grame,

Fargue's Willie Grame,

Muckle Willie Grame,

Will Grame of Rosetrees,

Ritchie Grame, younger of Netherby,

Wat Grame, called Flaughtail,

Will Grame, Nimble Willie,

Will Grame, Mickle Willie,

with many others.

"In Mr. Ritson's curious and valuable collection of legendary
poetry, entitled, Ancient Songs, he has published this Border ditty,
from a collection of two old black-letter copies, one in the collection
of the late John, Duke of Roxburghe, and another in the hands of
John Bayne, Esq. The learned editor mentions another copy, be-
ginning, 'Good Lord John is a-hunting gone.' The present edition
was procured for me by my friend Mr. William Laidlaw, in Black-
house, and has been long current in Selkirkshire ; but Mr. Rit-
son's copy has occasionally been resorted to for better readings."
Scott.

The version referred to above, as appearing in Ritson's Ancient
Songs (edit. 1790), p. 192, is entitled, "The Life and Death of Sir
Hugh of the Grime." It first appeared in Durfey's Pills to Purge
Melancholy, vol. iv., p. 289.

The first Scotish version was communicated to Johnson's Museum
(p. 312), by Burns, who states that he obtained it from oral tradition
in Ayrshire. Mr. Cromek alleges that stanzas 3 and 8 were entirely
composed, and that 9 and 10 were retouched, by Burns.

The Museum version was followed by Scott's ; while a still
subsequent Scotish version may be found in Scottish Traditional
Versions of Ancient Ballads, Percy Society, vol. xvii., p. 73, under
the title of " Sir Hugh the Grame." A note to this version (p. 106)
truly states, " that it differs materially from all others, . . . and
particularly in one respect, viz., that it has not a tragical ending, the
hero making his escape," after his extraordinary leap. There seems
to be no good ground for the allegations against the bishop and the
wife of Hughie Grame. It is, however, quaintly and sarcastically
stated by Anthony a Wood, that " there were many changes in his
time, both in Church and State, but the worthy prelate retained his
offices and preferments during them all. " So that he seems to have
been a worthy exemplar of the notorious " Vicar of Bray."

HUGHIE THE GRAEME. 497

According to the last-named version, the captor and judge of Sir
Hugh is Lord Home. The concluding stanzas are as under :

" ' Ye'll gi'e my brother John the sworde

That's pointed wi' the metal clear,
An' bid him come at eight o'clock,
An' see me pay the bishop's meare.

" ' An', brother James, tak' here the sworde

That's pointed wi' the metal broun,
Come up the morn at eight o'clock,
An' see your brother putten down.

" ' An', brother Allan, tak' this sworde

That 's pointed wi' the metal fine,
Come np the morn at eight o'clock,
An' see the death o' Hugh the Graeme.*

" ' Ye'll tell this news to Maggy, my wife,

Neist time ye gang to Strievling toun; <

She is the cause I lose my life,
She wi' the bishop play'd the loon.'

"Again he ower his shoulder look'd,
It was to see what he_ could see,
And there he saw his little son,
Was screamin' by his nourice knee.

" Then out it spak' the little son :

' Sin' 'tis the morn that he maun dee,
If that I live to be a man,
My father's death reveng'd shall be.'

" 'If I must dee,' Sir Hugh replied,

'My friends o' me they wiU think lack; '
He leapt a wa' eighteen feet high,
Wi' his ban's boun' behin' his back.

"Lord Home then raised ten armed men.

An' after him they did pursue;
But he has trudg'd out ower the plain,
As fast as any bird that flew.

"He leuk'd ower his left shoulder,

It was to see what he could see;
His brother John was at his back,
An' a" the rest o' his brothers three.

"Some they woundit and some they slew,
They fought sae fierce and valiantlie;
They made his enemies for to yield,
An' sent Sir Hugh out ower the sea."

The text which follows is derived from Scott's Minstrelsy, as above
indicated. Stanza 13 is inserted in the text from Burns's version ;
the other principal variations being noted under.

The nationality of the ballad is apparently as "debateable" as
that of the "land" occupied in those days by this predatory tribe.
Scott's version is, on the whole, decidedly the best.

1 GUDE Lord Scroope 's to the hunting gane,

He has ridden o'er moss and muir; f
And he has grippit Hughie the Graeme,
For stealing of the bishop's mare.

* The two first of these quoted stanzas are nearly the same as two in Burns's
version, while the third resembles the last stanza of the text
t "A-huntingo' the fallow deer." Burns's version.
2K

498 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

2 " Now, good Lord Scroope, this may not be !

Here hangs a broadsword by my side;
And if that thou canst conquer me,
The matter it may soon be try'd."

3 "I ne'er was afraid of a traitor thief;

Although thy name be Hughie the Graeme,
I'll make thee repent thee of thy deeds,
If God but grant me life and time."

4 " Then do your worst now, good Lord Scroope,

And deal your blows as hard as you can !
It shall be tried within an hour,

Which of us two is the better man."

5 But as they were dealing their blows sae free,

And both sae bloody at the time,
Over the moss came ten yeomen so tall,
All for to take brave Hughie the Graeme.

6 Then they ha'e grippit Hughie the Gramme,

And brought him up through Carlisle town :
The lasses and lads stood on the walls,
Crying "Hughie the Graeme, thou'se ne'er gae down !"*

7 Then they ha'e chosen a jury of men,

The best that were in Carlisle town ;
And twelve of them cried out at once,

" Hughie the Graeme, thou must gae down ! "

8 Then up bespake him gude Lord Hume, "f

As he sat by the judge's J knee :
" Twenty white owsen, my gude lord,
If you'll grant Hughie the Graeme to me."

9 " Oh no, oh no, my gude Lord Hume!

For sooth and sae it maunna be ;
For were there but three Graemes of the name, ||
They shou'd be hanged all for me."

* " And they ha'e tied him hand and foot,
And led him up thro' Stirling town;
The lads and lasses met him there,
Cried Hughie Graham, thou art a loan! '

" ' Oh, lowse my right hand free,' he says,
' And put my braid sword in the same,
He's no in Stirling town this day
Daur tell the tale to Hughie Graham.' " Burns's version.

Cromek states that the last of these two stanzas is Burns's own composition,
t " Then up bespake the brave Whitefoord." Ibid.
t ''Judge's: " " bishop's." Ibid.
" If ye'll let Hughie Grseme gae free." Ibid.
1 " For tho' ten Grahams were in his coat" Ibid.

HUGHIE THE GRAEME. 499

10 'Twas up and spake the gude Lady Hume,*

As she sat by the judge's knee :
"A peck of white pennies, my gude lord judge,
If you'll grant Hughie the Graeme to me."

11 " Oh no, oh no, my gude Lady Hume !

For sooth and so it must na be ;
Were he but the one Graeme of the name,
He shou'd be hanged high for me."

12 " If I be guilty," said Hughie the Graeme,

" Of me my friends shall have small talk ; "
And he has loup'd fifteen feet and three,
Tho' his hands were tied behind his back.

13 They've ta'en him to the gallows knowe ;

He look'd [up] at the gallows tree,
Yet never colour left his cheek,
Nor ever did he blin' his e'e. f

14 [But] he look'd over his left shoulder,

And for to see what he might see ;
There was he aware of his auld father,
Came tearing his hair most piteouslie.

15 " Oh, bald your tongue, my father," he says,

" And see that ye dinna weep for me !
For they may ravish me of my life,

But they cannot banish me frae Heaven hie. J

16 " Fair ye weel, fair Maggie, my wife!

The last time we came ower the muir,
'Twas thou bereft me of my life,

And with the Bishop thou play'd the whore.

17 " Here, Johnnie Armstrang, take thou my sword,

That is made of the metal sae fine;
And when thou comest to the English side,
Remember the death of Hughie the Graeme."

"Up then bespoke the fair Whitefoord." Burns's version,
t Cromek states that this stanza is Bnrns's own composition.

$ " 'Oh, haud your tongue, my father dear,

And with your weeping let me be :
Thy weeping 's sairer on my heart,
Than a' that they can do to me.' "Ibid.

Cromek states that this stanza was re-touched by Burns.

500 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

THE LOCHMABEN HAKPER.

" The Castle of Lochtnaben was formerly a noble building, situated
npon a peninsula, projecting into one of the four lakes which are in
the neighbourhood of the royal burgh, and is said to have been the
residence of Kobert Bruce, while Lord of Annandale. Accordingly
it was always held to be a royal fortress, the keeping of which,
according to the custom of the times, was granted to some powerful
lord, with an allotment of lands and fishings, for the defence and
maintenance of the place. There is extant a grant, dated 16th
March, 1511, to Robert Lauder of the Bass, of the office of Captain
and Keeper of Lochmaben Castle, for seven years, with many per-
quisites. Among others, the 'lands stolen frae the King' are
bestowed on the Captain, as his proper lands. What shall we say
of a country, where the very ground was a subject of theft?" Scott.

The following ballad is first referred to in a note to Eitson's Scottish
Song, vol. i., quoted ante, p. 471, note (*).

It was first published by Scott in his Minstrelsy (edit. 1802, as
stated in the last edition, vol. i., p. 422).

Another version had been, however, previously communicated by
Burns to Johnson, and appears in his Musical Museum, vol. vi., p. 598
(1803).

A third version, under the title of "The Jolly Harper," appeared
subsequently in Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads
(Percy Society), p. 37. In this last, the purloining of the "wanton
brown " is represented to be the result of a wager ; and on its being
duly won by the Harper, the "wanton brown" is returned to its
rightful owner.

As to the age of the ballad, or the period to which it refers, it is
not only impossible to say which of the Henrys is the one referred
to, but even whether it occurred under the reign of one of the English
kings of that name at all.

The return of the "wanton brown" at any period prior to the
union of the crowns is utterly improbable, wager or no wager.

Sir Walter Scott, in a note, remarks, " that it is the most modern
(ballad) in which the harp, as a Border instrument of music, is found
to occur;" but he does not state on what data he founds any opinion
as to its age.

His and Burns's versions differ very slightly ; but the former has
two stanzas (19 and 23) not in the latter ; while it has four stanzas
(3, 4, 5, and 18) not in the other.

In the former, also, the scene of the theft is laid at Carlisle, while
the Lord Warden takes the place of King Henry.

Burns's text is the one chiefly followed ; but a few emendations
have been adopted, and the two stanzas above referred to added from
Scott's.

The reader may contrast the luck of the " Harper " with the fate
of " Hughie Graeme," in the preceding ballad.

THE LOCHMABEN HARPER. 501

1 OH, heard ye of a silly Harper,

[Wha] lang lived in Lochmaben town,
How he did gang to fair England,

To steal King Henry's wanton brown?

2 But first he gaed to his gudewife,

With all the haste that he cou'd thole; *
" This wark," quo' he, " will ne'er gae weel,
Without a mare that has a foal."

3 Quo' she " Thou has a gude gray mare,

That'll rin o'er hills baith low and hie ;
Gae set thee on the gray mare's back,
And leave the foal at hame with me.

4 " And take a halter in thy hose,

And of thy purpose dinna fail;
But wap it o'er the wanton's nose,
And tie him to the gray mare's tail.

5 " Syne ca' f her out at the back yett,

O'er moss, and muir, and ilka dale;
For she'll ne'er let the wanton bite,
Till she come back to her ain foal."

6 So he is up to England gane,

Even as fast as he can hie,
Till he came to King Henry's yett ;
Oh, wha was there but King Henriel

7 " Come in," quo' he, " thou silly Harper,

And of thy harping let me hear."
" Oh, by my sooth," quo' the silly Harper,
" I'd rather ha'e stabling for my mare."

8 The king looks o'er his left shoulder,

And says unto his stable groom,
" Gae take the silly blind Harper's mare,
And tie her beside my wanton brown."

9 And aye he harpit, and aye he carpit,

Till all the Lordlings footed the floor;
And oh, the music was sae sweet,
That they forgat the stable door !

10 And aye he harpit, and aye he carpit,
Till all the nobles were fast asleep ;
Then quickly he took aff his shoon,
And saftly down the stair did creep.

* " Thole: " suffer. f "Ca: " drive or turn.

502 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

11 Syne to the stable door he hied,

With tread as light as light cou'd be ;
And when he open'd and gaed in,
There he fand thirty steeds and three.

12 He took a cowt halter * frae his hose,

And of his purpose he didna fail ;
He slipp'd it o'er the wanton's nose,
And tied it to his gray mare's tail.

13 He ca'd her out at the back yett, f

O'er moss, and muir, and ilka dale;
And she ne'er let the wanton bite,
But held him trotting at her tail.

14 The gray mare was richt swift of foot,

And didna fail to find the way;
For she was at Lochmaben yett
Full lang three hours ere it was day.

15 When she came to the Harper's door,

There she ga'e mony a nicher and sneer; J
" Eise," quo' the wife, " thou lazy lass,
Let in thy master and his mare."

16 Then up she rose, put on her clothes,

And lookit through at the lock-hole :
" Oh, by my sooth," then quoth the lass,
" Our mare has gotten a braw brown foal ! "

17 " Come, haud thy tongue, thou foolish lass,

The moon's but glancing in your e'e; "
" I'll wad my haill fee against a groat,
It's bigger than e'er our foal will be."

18 The neighbours too, that heard the noise,

Cried to the wife to put her in.
" By my sooth," then quoth the wife,
" He 's better than ever he rade on."

19 Now all this while, in merry Carlisle,

The Harper harpit to hie and law ;
And nought cou'd they do but listen him to,
Until that the day began to daw.

* " Cowt halter: " colt's halter.

t Variation: " He turn'd them loose at the castle gate." Scott's version.

J " Nicher and sneer: " neigh and snort

" Wad my haill fee : " bet my whole wages.

THE BATTLE OF CORICHIE. 503

20 But on the morn, at fair daylight,

When they had ended all their cheer.
Behold the wanton brown was gane,
And eke the poor blind Harper's mare !

21 " Alace, alace! " quo' the cunning auld Harper,

" And ever alace, that I came here !
In Scotland I lost a braw cowt foal ;

In England they've stolen my gude gray mare ! "

22 " Come, cease thy alacing, thou silly Harper,

And again of thy harping let us hear ;
And weel paid shall thy cowt foal be,
And thou shall get a better mare."

23 Then aye he harpit, and aye he carpit;

Sae sweet were the harping he let them hear;
He was paid for the foal he had never lost,
And three times o'er for the gude gray mare.

THE BATTLE OF COKICHIE.

The battle, or skirmish, which the following ballad commemorates,
was fought on the 28th of October, 1562. It seems to have been
brought about by the ambitious designs of George, fourth Earl of
Huntly, who intrigued to obtain the hand of the beautiful but un-
fortunate Queen Mary for his third son, Sir John Gordon of Find-
later; and, at the same time, to obtain for himself the reins of
power, to the discomfiture and overthrow of his hated rival, the
"Lord James," half-brother to the Queen, who, by her, had been
recently created Earl of Moray, or Murray, a title previously be-
stowed on, but afterwards withdrawn by, her mother, the Queen
Eegent, from this same Earl of Huntly. At the commencement of
the action, Murray's vanguard, which consisted of Forbeses, Leslies,
and other northern men favourable to Huntly, retreated in con-
fusion ; but the main body, consisting chiefly of cavalry, led by the
Earl of Morton and Lord Lindsay, with levelled spears, bore back
both dubious friends and open foes.

Huntly himself, with his third son, Sir John, already named, and
his sixth son, Sir Adam of Auchindoun, were taken prisoners ; but
the Earl, being corpulent, was smothered in the crowd, as stated by
Buchanan ; the partizans of the Gordons, however, allege that he
was murdered by the express orders of Murray. But why Murray
should sanction the private murder of a man whose life was forfeited
by treason, they do not explain. ' ' Sir John was publicly beheaded
five days after at Aberdeen, when his winning aspect and valorous
deportment on the scaffold drew tears from the spectators." Sir
Adam, who was spared on account of his youth, gives name to the

504 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

subsequent ballad, entitled, "Adam," or, as it is usually spelled,
"Edom o' Gordon." The scene of the encounter is about fourteen
miles west of the town of Aberdeen.

The earliest known copy appeared in the Scots Weekly Magazine
for July, 1772, with this intimation: " We have been favoured with
the following copy of an old Scots ballad, by a gentleman of taste and
literature, which we do not remember ever to have seen in print, and
therefore have given it a place, for the sake of preservation. It is
said to have been wrote by one Forbes, schoolmaster at Maryculter,
upon Deeside."

The Forbes here referred to is named John by Professor Aytoun ;
but this is probably an error. Mr. Maidment supposes that " Robert,
and not John, was the author or preserver of this ballad ; " but in his
next sentence he confounds this Robert, author of " Ajax' Speech to
the Grecian Knabbs," and other poems in " Broad Buchans," with
William Forbes, some time schoolmaster at Peterculter, author of
"The Dominie Deposed," who is said to have enlisted, or to have
left Scotland for Ireland, about 1732. The last-named may, pro-
bably, have been "the author or preserver of this ballad;" but this
cannot be definitely affirmed.

It is here printed in all its native simplicity, as a specimen of the
language which seems to have prevailed from time immemorial in the
districts of Buchan on the north-east, and of Galloway in the south-
west, of Scotland. See note, ante, p. 218.

1 MURN, ye heighlands, and murn, ye leighlands! *

I trow ye ha'e meikle need ;

For the bonnie burn o' Corichie

His run this day wi' bleid.

2 Thi hopefu' Laird o' Finliter,

Erie Huntley's gallant son,
For thi love hi bare our beauteous quine,f
His gar't fair Scotland mone.

3 Hi has broken his ward in Aberdene,

Throu' dreid o' thi fause Murry,
And his gather't the gentle Gordone clan,
An' his father, auld Huntly.

4 Fain \vid he tak' our bonnie, guide quine,

An' beare hir awa' wi' him;
But Murry's slee wyles spoilt a' thi sport,
And reft him o' lyfe and lim.

5 Murry gar't rayse the tardy Merns men,

An' Angis, an' mony ane mair;
Erie Morton, and the Byres Lord Linsay,
And campit at thi Hill o' Fare.

* Highlands and Lowlands. f ''Quine " queen.

THE BATTLE OF COBICHIE. 505

6 Erie Huntley cam' wi' Haddo Gordone,

An' countit ane thusan' men;
But Murry had abien twal hunder,
Wi' sax score horsemen and ten.

7 They soundit thi bougills an' the trumpits,

An' marchit on in brave array;
Till the spiers and the axis forgatherit,
An' than did begin thi fray.

8 Thi Gordones sae fercelie did fecht it,

Withouten terrer or dreid ;
That mony o' Hurry's men lay gaspin',
And dyit thi grund wi' theire bleid.

9 Then fause Murry feignit to flee them,

An' they pursuit at his backe,
When thi haf o' thi Gordones desertit,
An' turnit wi' Murry in a crack.

10 Wi' hether in thir bonnits they turnit,

The traiter Haddo o' thir heid,
An' slaid theire britheris an' their fatheris,
An' spoilit, and left them for deid.

11 Then Murry cried to tak' thi auld Gordone,

An' mony ane ran wi' speid ;
But Stuart o' Inchbraik had him stickit,
An' out gushit thi fat lurdane's * bleid.

12 Then they teuke his twa sones, quick an' hale,

An' bare them awa' to Aberdene ;
But sair did our gude quine lament
Thi waefu' chance that they were tane.

13 Erie Murry lost mony a gallant stout man,

Thi hopefu' laird o' Thornitune;
Pittera's sons, and Eglis' far-fearit laird,
An' mair to me unkend, fell doune.

14 Erie Huntley mist ten score o' his bra' men,

Sum o' heigh, and sum o' leigh degree :
Skeenis youngest son, thi pryde o' a' the clan,
Was ther fun j- deid, he widna flee.

15 This bluidy fecht wis fercely faucht,

Octobri's aught-and-twenty day,
Christ's fyfteen hunder, thriscore year,
An' twa, will merk the deidlie fray.

* "Lurdane:" a heavy stupid fellow. t "Fun:" found.

506 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

16 But now thi day maist waefu' cam',

That day the quine did greit her fill ;
For Huntly's gallant, stalwart son,
Wis headit on thi heidin hill.

17 Fyve noble Gordones wi' him hangit were,

Upon thi samen fatal playne;
Cruel Murry gar't thi waefu' quine luke out,
And see her lover and liges slayne. *

18 I wis our quine had better frinds,

I wis our countrie better peice ;
I wis our lords wid na discord,

I wis our weirs at hame may ceise!

GLENLOGIE

" ' The Scottish Minstrel a Selection from the Vocal Melodies of
Scotland, Ancient and Modern, arranged for the Pianoforte, by R. A.
Smith,' in six volumes, the last of which was published in 1824 a
work valuable for the many original pieces of music contributed by
the distinguished composer who superintended its progress through
the press contains in its fourth volume, published in 1822, the
first printed version of the following ballad.

" Another version is given in Mr. Sharpe's Ballad Book, Edinburgh,
1824, and two years afterwards it appeared in The Popular Rhymes of
Scotland, with this announcement : 'We subjoin a ballad never before
published, in which they are styled gay (the writer is speaking of the
Gordons), and in which a fine trait of their personal manners is pre-
served.' P. 200.

" It is said, the one-half of the world does not know how the other
half lives, and it would seem, from the above quotation, that one-half
of the literary population either forgets, or is in happy ignorance of
what its other half has written. Of the two versions, that in the
Scottish Minstrel is the more poetical" Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p.
xcii., and note 128.

A still ampler and more circumstantial version appears in Buchan's
Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 188, under the title of "Jean o' Beth-
elnie's Love for Sir George Gordon."

The version which follows is based on a MS. version communicated
to Mr. Buchan in a letter from Mr. Alexander Laing, dated Brechin,
April 9th, 1829, and there given by him as taken down from "the
recitation of the amiable daughter of" a clergyman in the North.

A few emendations and corrections have, however, been adopted
from the previously, printed versions. Stanza 10, as compounded out
of the Scottish Minstrel and Buchan's versions, has also been added
within brackets.

* There is no reliable testimony in support of this last statement

GLENLOGIE. 507

The date of the ballad, and the circumstances which furnished its
theme, are thus stated by Mr. Buchan: "When the intestine
troubles and broils of the North disturbed the public peace so much,
in 1562, the Queen's presence was thought necessary to put a stop to
some of them ; and for that purpose she appeared in the North
among her friends and foes.

"Jean, daughter of Baron Meldrum and Laird of Bethel nie, in
Aberdeenshire, was one of Queen Mary's favourites, with whom she
occasionally dined at the House of Fetternear, where the Queen
resided for a few days ; and, having chanced to espy Sir George
Gordon of Glenlogie, as he rode through the village of Banchory, fell
desperately in love with him ; and, that he might know her case,
she despatched a letter to him for that purpose ; but he, for a while,
made light of the same, which came to the lady's ears, and threw her
into a violent fever. Her father's chaplain, no doubt bred at the
court of Cupid, undertook the correspondence, and was more success-
ful. She was afterwards married to Sir George, the object of her
wishes, in her fifteenth year." Ancient Ballads, vol. i., p. 310.

Mr. Buchan's version opens as follows :

"There were fonr-and-twenty ladies,

Dined i' the Queen's ha' ;
And Jean o' Bethelnie
Was the flower o' them a'.

" Four-and-twenty gentlemen
Rode thro' Banchory fair;
But bonnie Glenlogie
Was the flower that was there.

" Young Jean at a window,
She chanced to sit nigh;
And upon Glenlogie
She fixed an eye."

1 THERE was monie a braw noble

Came to our Queen's ha' ;
But the bonnie Glenlogie

Was the flower of them a'.
And the young Ladye Jeanie,

Sae gude and sae fair,
She fancied Glenlogie

Aboon a' that were there.

2 She speired at his footman,

That ran by his side,
His name, and his sirname,

And where he did bide.
" He bides at Glenlogie,

When he is at hame ;
He's of the gay Gordons,

And George is his name."

508 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

3 She wrote to Glenlogie,

To tell him her inind :
" My love is laid on you,

Oh, will you prove kind ? "
He turn'd about lightly,

As the Gordons do a' :
" I thank you, fair ladye,

But I'm promis'd awa."

4 She call'd on her maidens

Her jewels to take,
And to lay her in bed,

For her heart it did break.
" Glenlogie ! Glenlogie !

Glenlogie ! " said she ;
" If I getna Glenlogie,

I'm sure I will dee."

5 " Oh, hold your tongue, daughter,

And weep na sae sair ;
For you'll get Drumfindlay,

His father's young heir."
" Oh, hold your tongue, father,

And let me alane ;
If I getna Glenlogie,

I'll never wed ane."*

6 Then her father's old chaplain

A man of great skill
He wrote to Glenlogie,

The cause of this ill ;
And her father, he sent off

This letter with speed,
By a trusty retainer,

Who rode his best steed.

The first line that he read,

A light laugh gave he;
The next line that he read,

The tear fill'd each e'e:
" Oh, what a man am I,

That a leal heart should break?
Or that sic a fair maid

Should die for my sake?

'Oh, baud your tongue, dochter, ye'll get better than he: '

1 Oh, say nae sae, mither, for that canna be ;

Though Drumlie is richer, and greater than he,

Yet if I maun tak' him, I'll certainly dee.' "Scottish Minstrel version.

THE QUEEN'S MAEIE. 509

8 " Go, saddle my horse,

Go, saddle him soon,
Go, saddle the swiftest

E'er rode frae the toun."
But ere it was saddled,

And brought to the door.
Glenlogie was on the road

Three miles or more.

9 When he came to her father's,

Great grief there was there;
There was weeping, and wailing,

And sabbin' full sair.
Oh, pale and wan was she

When Glenlogie gaed in ;
But she grew red and rosy

When Glenlogie gaed ben.

10 [Then out spake her father,

With tears in each e'e :
" You're welcome, Glenlogie,

You're welcome to me."
And out spake her mother :

" You're welcome," said she;
" You're welcome, Glenlogie,

Your Jeanie to see."]

11 " Oh, turn, Ladye Jeanie,

Turn round to this side,
And I'll be the bridegroom,

And you'll be the bride."
Oh, it was a blythe wedding,

As ever was seen;
And bonnie Jeanie Melville

Was scarcely sixteen.

THE QUEEN'S MARIE.

From Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. iii., p. 294.

" ' In the very time of the General Assembly, there comes to public
knowledge a haynous murther, committed in the court ; yea, not far
from the Queen's lap ; for a French woman, that served in the
Queen's chamber, had played the whore with the Queen's own
apothecary. The woman conceived and bare a childe, whom, with
common consent, the father and mother murthered; yet were the
cries of a new-borne childe hearde, searche was made, the childe and
the mother were both apprehended, and so were the man and the

510 BALLAD MINSTRELSY OF SCOTLAND.

woman condemned to be hanged in the publicke street of Edinburgh.
The punishment was suitable, because the crime was haynous. But
yet was not the court purged of whores and whoredoms, which was
the fountaine of such enormities ; for it was well known that shame
hasted marriage betwixt John Sempill, called the Dancer, and Mary
Levingston,* sirnamed the Lusty. What bruit the Maries, and the
rest of the dancers of the court had, the ballads of that age doe
witnesse, which we for modestie's sake omit ; but this was the
common complaint of all godly and wise men, that if they thought
such a court could long continue, and if they looked for no better
life to come, they would have wished their sonnes and daughters
rather to have been brought up with fiddlers and dancers, and to
have been exercised with flinging upon a floore, and in the rest that
thereof followes, than to have been exercised in the company of the
godly, and exercised in virtue, which in that court was hated, and
iilthenesse not only maintained, but also rewarded ; witnesse the
Abbey of Abercorne, the Barony of Auchtennuchtie, and divers
others, pertaining to the patrimony of the crown, given in heritage
to skippers and dancers, and dalliers with dames. This was the
beginning of the regiment of Mary, Queen of Scots, and these were
the fruits that she brought forth of France. Lord! look on our
miseries ! and deli ver us from the wickedness of this corrupt court ! '