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MINSTRELSY 

OF  THE 

SCOTTISH  BORDER: 

CONSISTING  OF 

HISTORICAL  AND  ROMANTIC  BALLADS, 

COLLECTED 

IN   THE    SOUTHERN    COUNTIES   OF   SCOTLAND  ;    WITH    A    FEW 

OF  MODERN  DATE,  FOUNDED  UPON 

LOCAL  TRADITION. 

IN  THREE  VOLUMES. 
VOL.  IL 

FIFTH  EDITION. 


Tin-  songs,  io  savage  virtue  dear. 

That  won  of  yore  the  public  ear, 

Ere  Polity,  sedate  and  sage. 

Had  quenched  thejircs  of  feudal  rage. — Wakton. 


EDINBURGH 


PRINTED  FOR  LONGMAN,  HURST,  REES,  ORME,    AND   BROWN, 
LONDON  ;    AND  A.   CONSTABLE  AND  CO.  EDINBURGH. 


1821. 


Printed  by  James  Bcillanti/iir  and  Co.  Edinburgh. 


CONTENTS 


VOLUME  SECOND. 


PAGE. 

Lesley's  March, 3 

The  Battle  of  Philiphaugh, lo 

The  Gallant  Grahams, 33 

The  Battle  of  Pentland  Hills, 31 

The  Battle  of  Loudonhill, 58 

The  Battle  of  BothweU-bridge, 78 


PART  SECOND. 

ROMANTIC  BALLADS. 

Scottish  Music,  an  Ode, 103 

Introduction  to  the  Tale  of  Taralane,      .     .     .     .   -.     .109 

The  Young  Tamlane, 191 

Erlinton,        208 

The  Twa  Corbies, .  211. 

The  Douglas  Tragedy, 218 

Young  Benjie,         226 

Lady  Anne,        234 


VI  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Lord  William,       . 239 

The  Broonifield-Hill,  244 

Proud  Lady  ^Margaret, 250 

The  Original  Ballad  of  the  Broom  of  Cowdenknows,     .  255 

Lord  Randal, 261 

Sir  Hugh  Le  Blond, 26!) 

Graeme  and  Bewick, •     .     .     .     .  288 

The  Duel  of  Wharton  ami  Stuart,  Part  1 300 

Part  II 314 

The  Lament  of  the  Border  Widow, 319 

Fair  Helen  of  Kirkconnel,  Part  1 324 

Part  II 329 

Hughie  the  Grame, 332 

Johnie  of  Breadislie, 340 

Katharine  Janfarie, 348 

The  Laird  o'  Logie 353 

A  Lyke-wake  Dirge, 361 

The  Dowie  Dens  of  Yarrow, 370 

The  Gay  Goss  Hawk, 377 

Brown  Adam, 387 

Jellon  Grame, 391 

Wilhe's  Ladye, 398 

Clerk  Saunders, 405 

Earl  Richard, 4.I5 

The  Dipmon- Lover, 427 

The  Lass  of  Lochroyan, 433 

Rose  the  Red  and  WTiite  Lilly, 444 


MINSTRELSY 

OF  THE 

SCOTTISH  BORDER, 

PART  FIRST— CONTINUED. 


Ibigtoviral  TBairati^, 


LESLY'S  MARCH, 


"  But,  O  my  country  !  how  shall  memory  trace 

"  Thy  glories,  lost  in  either  Charles's  days, 

"  When  through  thy  fields  destructive  rapine  spread, 

"  Nor  sparing  infants'  tears,  nor  hoary  head  ! 

"  In  those  dread  days,  the  unprotected  swain 

"  Mourn'd,  in  tlie  mountains,  o'er  his  wasted  plain  ; 

"  Nor  longer  vocal,  with  the  shepherd's  lay, 

"  Were  Yarrow's  banks,  or  groves  of  Endermay." 

hA'S GHORS^Genius  and  Valour. 


Such  are  the  verses,  in  which  a  modern  bard  has  paint- 
ed the  desolate  state  of  Scotland,  during  a  period  high- 
ly unfavourable  to  poetical  composition.  Yet  the  civil 
and  religious  wars  of  the  seventeenth  century  have  af- 
forded some  subjects  for  traditionary  poetry,  and  the 
reader  is  here  presented  with  the  ballads  of  that  disas- 
trous aera.  Some  prefatory  history  may  not  be  unac- 
ceptable. 

That  the  Reformation  was  a  good  and  a  glorious  work, 
few  will  be  such  slavish'bigots  as  to  deny.    But  the  en e- 


4  MINSTRELSY  OF 

my  came,  by  night,  and  sowed  tares  among  the  wheat ; 
or  rather,  the  foul  and  rank  soil,  upon  which  the  seed 
was  thrown,  pushed  forth,  together  with  the  rising  crop, 
a  plentiful  proportion  of  pestilential  weeds.  The  morals 
of  the  reformed  clergy  were  severe  ;  their  learning  was 
usually  respectable,  sometimes  profound ;  and  their  elo- 
quence, though  often  coarse,  was  vehement,  animated, 
and  popular.     But  they  never  could  forget,  that  their 
rise  had  been  achieved  by  the  degradation,  if  not  the 
fall,  of  the  Crown;  and  hence,  a  body  of  men,  who,  in 
most  countries,  have  been  attached  to  monarchy,  were 
in  Scotland,  for  nearly  two  centuries,  sometimes  the 
avowed  enemies,  always  the  ambitious  rivals,  of  their 
prince.    The  disciples  of  Calvin  could  scarcely  avoid  a 
tendency  to  democracy,  and  the  republican  form  of 
church  government  was  sometimes  hinted  at,  as  no  un- 
fit model  for  the  state  ;  at  least,  the  kirkmen  laboured 
to  impress  upon  their  followers  and  hearers  the  fun- 
damental principle,  that  the  church  should  be  solely  go- 
verned by  those,  unto  whom  God  had  given  the  spi- 
ritual sceptre.  The  elder  Melvine,  in  a  conference  with 
James  VI.,  seized  the  monarch  by  the  sleeve,  and,  ad- 
dressing him  as  God's  sillie  vassal,  told  him,  "  There 
"  are  two  kings,  and  two  kingdomes.    There  is  Christ, 
"and  his  kingdome,  the  kirke;  whose  subject  King 
"  James  the  Sixth  is,  and  of  whose  kingdome  he  is  not 
"  a  king,  nor  a  head,  nor  a  lord,  but  a  member ;  and 
"  they  whom  Christ  hath  called  and  commanded  to 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  5 

''  watch  ower  his  ku'ke,  and  govern  his  spiritual  king- 
"  dome,  have  sufficient  authoritie  and  power  from  him 
"  so  to  do ;  which  no  Christian  king,  no  prince,  should 
"  controul  or  discharge,  but  fortifie  and  assist;  other- 
"  wise  they  are  not  faithful  subjects  to  Christ." — Cal- 
DERWOOD,  p.  329.  The  delegated  theocracy,  thus  stern- 
ly claimed,  was  exercised  with  equal  rigour.  The  of- 
fences in  the  king's  household  fell  under  their  uncere- 
monious jurisdiction,  and  he  was  formally  reminded  of 
his  occasional  neglect  to  say  grace  before  and  after  meat 
— his  repairing  to  hear  the  word  more  rarely  than  was 
fitting — his  profane  banning  and  swearing,  and  keep- 
ing of  evil  company — and,  finally,  of  his  queen's  card- 
ing, dancing,  night- walking,  and  such-like  profane  pas- 
times.— Calderwood,  p.  313.  A  curse,  direct  or  impli- 
ed, was  formally  denounced  against  every  man,  horse, 
and  spear,  who  should  assist  the  king  in  his  quarrel 
with  the  Earl  of  Gowrie  ;  and  from  the  pulpit,  the  fa- 
vourites of  the  listening  sovereign  were  likened  to  Ha- 
man,  his  wife  to  Herodias,  and  he  himself  to  Ahab,  to 
Herod,  and  to  Jeroboam.  These  effusions  of  zeal  could 
not  be  very  agreeable  to  the  temper  of  James :  and  ac- 
corcUngly,  by  a  course  of  slow,  and  often  crooked  and 
cunning  policy,  he  laboured  to  arrange  the  church-go- 
vernment upon  a  less  turbulent  and  menacing  footing. 
His  eyes  were  naturally  turned  towards  the  English 
hierarchy,  which  had  been  modelled,  by  the  despotic 
Henry  VHI.,  into  such  a  form,  as  to  connect  indisso- 
lubly  the  interest  of  the  church  with  that  of  the  regal 


b  MINSTllELSY  OF 

power.*  The  Reformation,  in  England,  had  originated 
in  the  arbitrary  will  of  the  prince ;  in  Scotland,  and  in 
all  other  countries  of  Europe,  it  had  commenced  among 
insurgents  of  the  lower  ranks.  Hence,  the  deep  and 
essential  difference  which  separated  the  Huguenots,  the 
Lutherans,  the  Scottish  presbyterians,  and,  in  fine,  all 
the  other  reformed  churches,  from  that  of  England. 
But  James,  with  a  timidity  which  sometimes  supplies 
the  place  of  prudence,  contented  himself  with  gradual- 
ly imposing  upon  the  Scottish  nation  a  limited  and  mo- 
derate system  of  episcopacy,  which,  while  it  gave  to  a 
proportion  of  the  churchmen  a  seat  in  the  council  of 
the  nation,  induced  them  to  look  up  to  the  sovereign, 
as  the  power  to  whose  influence  they  owed  their  eleva- 
tion. But,  in  other  respects,  James  spared  the  preju- 
dices of  his  subjects ;  no  ceremonial  ritual  was  imposed 
upon  their  consciences ;  the  pastors  were  reconciled  by 
the  prospect  of  preferment ;  t  the  dress  and  train  of  the 


*  Of  this  the  Covenanters  were  so  sensible,  as  to  trace  (what  they 
called)  the  Antichristian  hierarchy,  with  its  idolatry,  superstition,  and 
human  inventions,  "  to  the  prelacy  of  England,  the  fountain  whence 
"  all  these  Babylonish  streams  issue  unto  us." — See  their  manifesto 
on  entering  England,  in  IG^O. 

-j-  Many  of  the  preachers,  who  had  been  loudest  in  the  cause  of 
presbytery,  were  induced  to  accept  of  bishopricks.  Such  was,  for  ex- 
ample, William  Cooper,  who  was  created  Bishop  of  Galloway.  This 
recreant  Mass  John  was  a  hypochondriac,  and  conceived  his  lower  ex- 
tremities to  be  composed  of  glass ;  hence,  on  his  court  advancement, 
the  following  epigram  was  composed : 

*'  Aureus,  hcu  .'  fragUem  cimfrcgil  malkun  tirnam." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  7 

bishops  were  plain  and  decent ;  the  system  of  tythes 
was  placed  upon  a  moderate  and  unoppressiv6  footing  ;* 
and,  perhaps,  on  the  whole,  the  Scottish  hierarchy  con- 
tained as  few  objectionable  points  as  any  system  of 
church-government  in  Europe.  Had  it  subsisted  to  the 
present  day,  although  its  doctrines  could  not  have  beea 
more  pure,  nor  its  morals  more  exemplary,  than  those 
of  the  present  Kirk  of  Scotland,  yet  its  degrees  of  pro- 
motion might  have  afforded  greater  encouragement  to 
learning,  and  objects  of  laudable  ambition  to  those,  who 
might  dedicate  themselves  to  its  service.  But  the  pre- 
cipitate bigotry  of  the  unfortunate  Charles  I.  was  a  blow 
to  episcopacy  in  Scotland,  from  which  it  never  perfect- 
ly recovered. 

It  has  frequently  happened,  that  the  virtues  of  the  in- 
dividual, at  least  their  excess,  (if,  indeed,  there  can  be 
an  excess  in  virtue,)  have  been  fatal  to  the  prince.  Ne- 
ver was  this  more  fully  exemplified  than  in  the  history 
of  Charles  I.  His  zeal  for  religion,  his  family  affection, 
the  spirit  with  which  he  defended  his  supposed  rights, 
while  they  do  honour  to  the  man,  were  the  fatal  shelves 
upon  which  the  monarchy  was  wrecked.  Impatient  to 
accomplish  the  total  revolution,  which  his  father's  cau- 
tious timidity  had  left  incomplete,  Charles  endeavour- 
ed at  once  to  introduce  into  Scotland  the  church-go- 
vernment, and  to  renew,  in  England,  the  temporal  do- 


Thio  part  of  the  system  was  perfected  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I. 


8  MINSTRELSY  OF 

mination,  of  his  predecessor^,  Henry  VIII.  The  furi- 
ous temper  of  the  Scottish  nation  first  took  fire ;  and 
the  brandished  footstool  of  a  prostitute  *  gave  the  sig- 
nal for  civil  dissension,  which  ceased  not  till  the  church 
■was  buried  under  the  ruins  of  the  constitution ;  till  the 
nation  had  stooped  to  a  military  despotism ;  and  the 
monarch  to  the  block  of  the  executioner. 

The  consequence  of  Charles'  hasty  and  arbitrary  mea- 
sures was  soon  evident.  The  united  nobility,  gentry, 
and  clergy  of  Scotland,  entered  into  theSoLEMN  League 
AND  Covenant,  by  which  memorable  deed,  they  sub- 
scribed and  swore  a  national  renunciation  of  the  hierar- 
chy. The  walls  of  the  prelatic  Jericho  (to  use  the  lan- 
guage of  the  times)  were  thus  levelled  with  the  ground, 
and  the  curse  of  Hiel,  the  Bethelite,  denounced  against 
those  who  should  rebuild  them.  While  the  clergy  thun- 
dered, from  the  pulpits,  against  the  prelatists  and  ma- 
lignants  (by  which  names  were  distinguished  the  scat- 
tered and  heartless  adherents  of  Charles,)  the  nobility 
and  gentry,  in  arms,  hurried  to  oppose  the  march  of 
the  English  army,  which  now  advanced  towards  their 


"  "  Out,  false  loon  !  wilt  thou  say  the  mass  at  my  lug  {ear,")  was 
the  well-known  exclamation  of  Margaret  Geddes,  as  she  discharged 
her  missile  tripod  against  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  who,  in  obedience 
to  the  orders  of  the  privy-council,  was  endeavouring  to  rehearse  the 
common  prayer.  Upon  a  seat  more  elevated,  the  said  Margaret  had 
shortly  before  done  penance,  before  the  congregation,  for  the  sin  of 
fornication  ;  such,  at  least,  is  the  Tory  tradition. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  9 

Borders.  At  the  head  of  their  defensive  forces  they 
placed  Alexander  Lesly,  who,  with  many  of  his  best 
officers,  had  been  trained  to  war  under  the  great  Gus- 
taviis  Adolphus.  They  soon  assembled  an  army  of 
526,000  men,  whose  camp,  upon  Dunse-Law,  is  thus  de-  1640. 
scribed  by  an  eye-witness.  "  Mr  Baillie  acknowledges, 
"  that  it  was  an  agreeable  feast  to  his  eyes,  to  survey 
"  the  place ;  it  is  a  round  hill,  about  a  Scots  mile  in 
"  circle,  rising,  with  very  little  declivity,  to  the  height 
"  of  a  bow-shot,  and  the  head  somewhat  plain,  and  near 
"  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  length  and  breadth ;  on  the  top 
"  it  was  garnished  with  near  forty  field-pieces,  pointed 
"  towards  the  east  and  south.  The  colonels,  who  were 
*'  mostly  noblemen,  as  Rothes,  Cassilis,  Eglington,  Dal- 
"  housie,  Lindsay,  Lowdon,  Boyd,  Sinclair,  Balcarras, 
*'  Flemyng,  Kirkcudbright,  Erskine,  Montgomery, 
"  Yester,  &c,  lay  in  large  tent  sat  the  head  of  their 
"  respective  regiments ;  their  captains,  who  generally 
"  were  barons,  or  chief  gentlemen,  lay  around  them  : 
"  next  to  these  were  the  lieutenants,  who  wtre  gene- 
"  rally  old  veterans,  and  had  served  in  that,  or  a  higher 
*'  station,  over  sea  ;  and  the  common  soldiers  lay  out- 
"  most,  all  in  huts  of  timber,  covered  with  divot,  or 
"  straw.  Every  company,  which,  according  to  the  first 
"  plan,  did  consist  of  two  hundred  men,  had  their  co- 
"  lours  flying  at  the  captain's  tent  door,  with  the  Scots 
"  arms  upon  them,  and  this  motto,  in  golden  letters, 
"  '  For  Christ's  Crown  and  Covenant.'"  Against 
this  army,  so  well  arrayed  and  disciplined,  and  whose 


JO  MINSTRELSY  OF 

natural  hardihood  was  edged  and  exalted  by  a  high 
opinion  of  their  sacred  cause,  Charles  marched  at  the 
head  of  a  large;  force,  but  divided  by  the  emulation  of 
the  commanders,  and  enervated  by  disuse  of  arms.  A 
faintness  of  spirit  pervaded  the  royal  army,  and  the 
king  stooped  to  a  treaty  with  his  Scottish  subjects.  This 
treaty  was  soon  broken  ;  and,  in  the  following  year, 
Dunse-Law  again  presented  the  same  edifying  specta- 
cle of  a  presbyterian  army.  But  the  Scots  were  not  con- 
tented with  remaining  there.  They  passed  the  Tweed  ; 
and  the  English  troops,  in  a  skirmish  at  Newburn, 
shewed  either  more  disaffection,  or  cowardice,  than  had 
at  any  former  period  disgraced  their  national  character. 
This  war  was  concluded  by  the  treaty  of  Rippon ;  in 
consequence  of  which,  and  of  Charles's  concessions, 
made  during  his  subsequent  visit  to  his  native  country, 
the  Scottish  parliament  congratulated  him  on  departing 
"  a  contented  king  from  a  contented  people."  If  such 
content  ever  existed,  it  was  of  short  duration. 

The  storm,  which  had  been  soothed  to  temporary  rest 
in  Scotland,  burst  forth  in  England  with  treble  violence. 
The  popular  clamour  accused  Charles,  or  his  ministers, 
of  fetching  into  Britain  the  religion  of  Rome,  and  the 
policy  of  Constantinople.  The  Scots  felt  most  keenly 
the  first,  and  the  English  the  second,  of  these  aggres- 
sions. Accordingly,  when  the  civil  war  of  England 
broke  forth,  the  Scots  nation,  for  a  time,  regarded  it  in 
neutrality,  though  not  with  indifference.  But,  when 
the  success  of  a  prelatic  monarch,  against  a  presbyterian 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEIl.  11 

parliament,  was  paving  the  way  for  rebuilding  the  sys- 
tem of"  hierarchy,  they  could  no  longer  remain  inactive. 
Bribed  by  the  delusive  promise  of  Sir  Henry  Vane,  and 
Marshall,  the  parliamentary  commissioners,  that  the 
Church  of  England  should  be  reformed,  according  to  the 
word  of  God,  which,  they  fondly  believed,  amounted  to 
an  adoption  of  presbytery,  they  agreed  to  send  succours 
to  their  brethren  of  England.  Alexander  Lesly,  who 
ought  to  have  ranked  among  the  contettted  subjects,  ha- 
ving been  raised  by  the  king  to  the  honours  of  Earl  of 
Leven,  was,  nevertheless,  readily  induced  to  accept  the 
command  of  this  second  army.  Doubtless,  where  in- 
surrection is  not  only  pardoned,  but  rewarded,  a  mo- 
narch has  little  right  to  expect  gratitude  for  benefits, 
which  all  the  world,  as  well  as  the  receiver,  must  attri- 
bute to  fear.  Yet  something  is  due  to  decency ;  and 
the  best  apology  for  Lesly,  is  his  zeal  for  propagating 
presbyterianism  in  England,  the  bait  which  had  caught 
the  whole  parliament  of  Scotland.  But,  although  the 
Earl  of  Leven  was  commander  in  chief,  David  Lesly, 
a  yet  more  renowned  and  active  soldier  than  himself, 
was  major-general  of  the  cavalry,  and,  in  truth,  bore 
away  the  laurels  of  the  expedition. 

The  words  of  the  following  march,  which  was  played 
in  the  van  of  this  presbyterian  crusade,  were  first  pub- 
lished by  Allan  Ramsay,  in  his  Evergreen  ;  and  they 
breathe  the  very  spirit  we  might  expect.  Mr  Ritson, 
in  his  collection  of  Scottish  songs,  has  favoured  the  pub- 


12  3IINSTKELSY  OF 

lie  with  the  music,  which  seems  to  have  been  adapted 
to  the  bagpipes. 

The  hatred  of  the  old  presbyterians  to  the  organ  was 
apparently  invincible.  It  is  here  vilified  with  the  name 
of  a  "  chest-full  of  whistles ,"  as  the  Episcopal  Chapel  at 
Glasgow  was,  by  the  vulgar,  opprobriously  tenned  the 
Whistling  Kirk.  Yet,  such  is  the  revolution  of  sentiment 
upon  this,  as  upon  more  important  points,  that  reports 
have  lately  been  current,  of  a  plan  to  introduce  this  no- 
ble instrument  into  presbyterian  congregations. 

The  share  which  Lesly's  army  bore  in  the  action  of 
Marston  Moor,  has  been  exalted,  or  depressed,  as  wri- 
ters  were  attached  to  the  English  or  Scottish  nations, 
to  the  presbyterian  or  independent  factions.  Mr  Laing 
concludes  Avith  laudable  impartiality,  that  the  victory 
was  equally  due  to  "  Cromwell's  iron  brigade  of  disci- 
"  plined  independents,  and  to  three  regiments  of  Les- 
"  ly's  horse." — Vol.  I.  p.  244. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER, 


LESLY'S  MARCH. 


March  !  march  ! 

Why  the  devil  do  ye  na  march  ? 

Stand  to  your  arms,  my  lads, 

Fight  in  good  order ; 

Front  about,  ye  musketeers  all, 

Till  ye  come  to  the  English  Border  ; 

Stand  tiirt,  and  fight  like  men. 

True  gospel  to  maintain. 
The  parliaments  blythe  to  see  us  a''  coming. 

When  to  the  kirk  we  come, 

We'll  purge  it  ilka  room, 
Frae  popish  reliques,  and  a""  sic  innovation. 

That  a'  the  warld  may  see. 

There's  nane  in  the  right  but  we, 
Of  the  auld  Scottish  nation. 


14  IVriNSTRELSV  OF 

Jenny  shall  Avcar  the  liood, 

Jocky  the  sark  of  God  ; 

And  the  kist-fbu  of  wliistles, 

That  niak  sic  a  cleiro. 
Our  pipers  braw 
Shall  hae  them  a\ 
Whatever  come  on  it : 
Busk  up  your  plaids,  my  lads  ! 
Cock  up  your  bonnets  ! 

Da  CajHt. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  15 


BATTLE  OF  PHIIJPHAUGH. 


This  ballad  is  so  immediately  connected  with  the  form- 
er, that  the  editor  is  enabled  to  continue  his  sketch  of 
historical  transactions  from  the  march  of  Lesly. 

In  the  insurrection  of  l6'80,  all  Scotland,  south  from 
the  Grampians, was  activelyand  zealouslyengaged.  Rut, 
after  the  treaty  of  Rippon,  the  first  fury  of  the  revolu- 
tionary torrent  may  be  said  to  have  foamed  off  its  force, 
and  many  of  the  nobility  began  to  look  round  with  hor- 
ror, upon  the  rocks  and  shelves  amongst  which  it  had 
hurried  them.  Numbers  regarded  the  defence  of  Scot- 
land as  a  just  and  necessary  warfare,  who  did  not  see  the 
same  reason  for  interfering  in  the  affairs  of  England.  The 
visit  of  King  Charles  to  the  metropolis  of  his  fathers,  in 
all  probability,  produced  its  effect  on  his  nobles.  Some 
were  allied  to  the  house  of  Stuart  by  blood;  all  regarded 
it  as  the  source  of  their  honours,  and  venerated  the  ancient 


16  MINSTRELSY  OF 

liereditary  royal  line  of  Scotland.  Many,  also,  had  fail- 
ed in  obtaining  the  private  objects  of  ambition,  or  selfisli 
policy,  which  had  induced  them  to  rise  up  against  the 
crown.  Amongst  these  late  penitents,  the  well-known 
Marquis  of  Monti-ose  was  distinguished  as  the  first  who 
endea\oured  to  recede  from  the  paths  of  rude  lebellion. 
Moved  by  the  enthusiasm  of  patriotism,  or  perhaps  of  re- 
ligion, but  yet  more  by  ambition,  the  sin  of  noble  minds, 
Montrose  had  engaged,  eagerly  and  deeply,  upon  the 
side  of  the  Covenanters.  He  had  been  active  in  pressing 
the  town  of  Aberdeen  to  take  the  covenant,  and  his  suc- 
cess against  the  Gordons,  at  the  bridge  of  Dee,  left  that 
royal  bvu'gh  no  other  means  of  safety  from  pillage.  At 
the  head  of  his  own  battalion,  he  waded  through  the 
Tweed,  in  l640,  and  totally  routed  the  vanguard  of  the 
king's  cavalry.  But,  in  l643,  moved  with  resentment 
against  the  Covenanters,  who  preferred,  to  his  prompt 
and  ardent  character,  the  caution  of  the  wily  and  poli- 
tic Eai-1  of  Argyle,  or  seeing,  perhaps,  that  the  final 
views  of  that  party  were  inconsistent  with  the  interests 
of  monarchy  and  of  the  constitution,  Montrose  es- 
poused the  falling  cause  of  royalty,  and  raised  the 
Highland  clans,  whom  he  united  to  a  small  body  of 
Irish,  commanded  by  Alexander  Macdonald,  still  re- 
nowned in  the  nor-th,  under  the  title  of  Colkitto.  With 
these  tumultuary  and  uncertain  forces,  he  rushed  forth, 
like  a  torrent  from  the  mountains,  and  commenced  a 
rapid  and  brilliant  career  of  victory.  At  Tippermoor, 
where  he  first  met  the  Covenanters,  their  defeat  was  so 


THE  SCOTTISH  JBOKDEK-  17 

effectual,  as  to  appal  the  pi'esbyterian  courage,  even  af- 
ter the  lapse  of  eighty  years.*  A  second  army  was  de- 
feated under  the  walls  of  Aberdeen ;  and  the  pillage  of 
the  ill-fated  town  was  doomed  to  expiate  the  princi- 
ples, which  Montrose  himself  had  formerly  imposed 
upon  them.  Argyleshire  next  experienced  his  ai'ms  ; 
the  domains  of  his  rival  were  treated  with  more  than 
military  severity  ;  and  Argyle  himself,  advancing  to  In- 
verlochy  for  the  defence  of  his  country,  was  totally  and 
disgracefully  routed  by  Montrose.  Pressed  betwixt  two 
armies  well  appointed,  and  commanded  by  the  most 
experienced  generals  of  the  Covenant,  Montrose  dis- 


*  Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  insurrection,  in  the  year  1715,  the 
Earl  of  Rothes,  sheriff  and  lord-lieutenant  of  the  county  of  Fife,  is- 
sued out  an  order  for  "  aU  the  fencible  men  of  the  countie  to  meet 
"  him  at  a  place  called  Cashmoor.  The  gentlemen  took  no  notice  of 
"  his  orders,  nor  did  the  commons,  except  those  whom  the  ministers 
"  forced  to  go  to  the  place  of  rendezvouse,  to  the  number  of  fifteen 
"  hundred  men,  being  all  that  their  utmost  diligence  could  perform. 
"  But  those  of  that  countie,  having  been  taught  by  their  experience, 
"  that  it  is  not  good  meddling  with  edge  tools,  especiallie  in  the  hands 
"  of  Highlandmen,  were  very  averse  from  taking  armes.  No  sooner 
"  they  reflected  on  the  name  of  the  place  of  rendezvouse,  Cashmoor, 
"  than  Tippermoor  was  called  to  mind ;  a  place  not  far  from  thence, 
"  where  Montrose  had  routed  them,  when,  under  the  command  of  my 
"  great-grand-uncle,  the  Earl  of  Wemyss,  then  general  of  God's  ar- 
"  mie.  In  a  word,  the  unlucky  choice  of  a  place,  called  Moor,  ap- 
"  peared  ominous  ;  and  that,  with  the  flying  report  of  the  Highland- 
"  men  having  made  themselves  masters  of  Perth,  made  them  throw 
"  down  their  armes,  and  run,  notwithstanding  the  trouble  that  Rothes 
"  and  the  ministers  gave  themselves  to  stop  them." — MS.  Memoirs 
of  Lord  St  Clair, 

VOL.  II.  B 


18  MINSTKELSY  OF 

played  more  military  skill  in  the  astonishingly  rapid 
marches,  by  which  he  avoided  fighting  to  disadvan- 
tage, than  even  in  the  field  of  victory.  By  one  of  those 
hurried  marches,  from  the  banks  of  Loch  Katrine  to  the 
heart  of  Inverness-shire,  he  was  enabled  to  attack,  and 
totally  to  defeat,  the  Covenanters,  at  Avilderne,  though 
he  brought  into  the  field  hardly  one-half  of  their  force. 
Baillie,  a  veteran  officer,  was  next  routed  by  him,  at  the 
village  of  Alford,  in  Strathbogie.  Encouraged  by  these 
repeated  and  splendid  successes,  Montrose  now  de- 
scended into  the  heart  of  Scotland,  and  fought  a  bloody 
and  decisive  battle,  near  Kilsyth,  where  four  thousand 
Covenanters  fell  under  the  Highland  claymore. 

This  victory  opened  the  whole  of  Scotland  to  Mon- 
trose. He  occupied  the  capital,  and  marched  forward 
to  the  Border  ;  not  merely  to  complete  the  subjection  of 
the  southern  provinces,  but  with  the  flattei'ing  hope  of 
pouring  his  victorious  army  into  England,  and  bringing 
to  the  support  of  Charles  the  sword  of  his  paternal  tribes. 
Half  a  century  before  Montrose's  career,  the  state  of 
the  Borders  was  such  as  might  have  enabled  him  easily 
to  have  accomplished  his  daring  plan.  The  Marquis  of 
Douglas,  the  Earls  of  Hume,  Roxburgh,  Traquair,  and 
Armandale,  were  all  descended  of  mighty  Border  chiefs, 
whose  ancestors  could,  each  of  them,  have  led  into  the 
field  a  body  of  their  own  vassals,  equal  in  numbers,  and 
superior  in  discipline,  to  the  army  of  Montrose.  But 
the  military  spirit  of  the  Borderers,  and  their  attach- 
ment to  their  chiefs,  had  been  much  broken  since  the 
union  of  the  Crowns.  The  disarming  acts  of  James  had 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEK.  19 

been  carried  rigorously  into  execution,  and  the  smaller 
proprietors,  no  longer  feeling  the  necessity  of  protection 
from  their  chiefs  in  war,  had  aspired  to  independence, 
and  embraced  the  tenets  of  the  Covenant.  Without  im- 
puting, with  Wishart,  absolute  treachery  to  the  Border 
nobles,  it  may  be  allowed,  that  they  looked  with  envy 
upon  Montrose,  and  with  dread  and  aversion  upon  his 
rapacious  and  disorderly  forces.  lience,  had  it  been  in 
their  power,  it  might  not  have  altogether  suited  their 
inclinations,  to  have  brought  the  strength  of  the  Bor- 
der lances  to  the  support  of  the  northern  clans.  The 
once  formidable  name  of  Douglas  still  sufficed  to  raise 
some  bands,  by  whom  Montrose  was  joined,  in  his 
march  down  the  Gala.  With  these  reinforcements,  and 
with  the  remnant  of  his  Highlanders  (for  a  great  num- 
ber had  returned  home  with  Colkitto,  to  deposit  their 
plunder,  and  provide  for  their  families,)  Montrose,  af- 
ter traversing  the  Border,  finally  encamped  upon  the 
field  of  Phihphaugh. 

The  river  Ettrick,  immediately  after  its  jvmction  with 
the  Yarrow,  and  previous  to  its  falling  into  the  Tweed, 
makes  a  large  sweep  to  the  southward,  and  winds  al- 
most beneath  the  lofty  bank,  on  which  the  town  of  Sel- 
kirk stands;  leaving,  upon  the  northern  side,  a  large 
and  level  plain,  extending  in  an  easterly  direction,  from 
ahill,  covered  with  natural  copse-wood,  called  the  Hare- 
head-wood,  to  the  high  ground  which  forms  the  banks 
of  the  Tweed,  near  Sunderland-hall.  This  plain  is  call- 


20  MINSTRELSY  OF 

ed  Philiphaugh  :*  it  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  length, 
and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  broad  ;  and,  being  defended,  to 
the  northward,  by  the  high  hills  which  separate  Tweed 
from  Yarrow,  by  the  river  in  fi-ont,  and  by  the  high 
grounds,  already  mentioned,  on  each  flank,  it  forms,  at 
once,  a  convenient  and  a  secure  field  of  encampment. 
On  each  flank  Montrose  threw  up  some  trenches,  which 
are  still  visible;  and  here  he  posted  his  infantry,  amount- 
ing to  about  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  men.  He  him- 
self took  up  his  quarters  in  the  burgh  of  Selkirk,  and, 
with  him,  the  cavalry,  in  number  hardly  one  thousand, 
but  respectable,  as  being  chiefly  composed  of  gentle- 
men, and  their  immediate  retainers.  In  this  manner, 
by  a  fatal  and  unaccountable  error,  the  river  Ettrick 
was  throAvn  betwixt  the  cavalry  and  infantry,  which 
were  to  depend  upon  each  other  for  intelligence  and 
mutual  support.  But  this  might  be  overlooked  by  Mon- 
trose, in  the  conviction,  that  there  Avas  no  armed  ene- 
my of  Charles  in  the  realm  of  Scotland ;  for  he  is  said 
to  have  employed  the  night  in  writing  and  dispatching 
this  agreeable  intelligence  to  the  King.  Such  an  ene- 
my was  already  within  four  miles  of  his  camp. 

Recalled  by  the  danger  of  the  cause  of  the  Covenant, 
General  David  Lesly  came  down  from  England,  at  the 

"  The  Scottish  language  is  rich  in  words,  expressive  of  local  situa- 
tion. The  single  word  iMugh.  conveys  to  a  Scotsman  almost  all  that 
I  have  endeavoured  to  explain  in  the  text,  by  circumlocutory  de scrip- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEU.  21 

head  of  those  iron  squadrons,  whose  force  had  been 
proved  in  the  fatal  battle  of  Long  Marston  Moor.  His 
army  consisted  of  from  five  to  six  thousand  men,  chief- 
ly cavalry.  Lesly's  first  plan  seems  to  have  been,  to 
occupy  the  mid-land  counties,  so  as  to  intercept  the  re- 
turn of  Montrose's  Highlanders,  and  to  force  him  to  an 
unequal  combat.  Accordingly,  he  marched  along  the 
eastern  coast,  from  Berwick  to  Tranent :  but  there  he 
suddenly  altered  his  direction,  and,  crossing  through 
Mid-Lothian,  turned  again  to  the  southward,  and,  fol- 
lowing the  course  of  Gala  water,  arrived  at  Melrose, 
the  evening  before  the  engagement.  How  it  is  possi- 
ble that  Montrose  should  have  received  no  notice  what- 
ever of  the  march  of  so  considerable  an  army,  seems  al- 
most inconceivable,  and  proves,  that  the  country  was 
strongly  disaffected  to  his  cause,  or  person.  Still  more 
extraordinary  does  it  appear,  that,  even  with  the  advan- 
tage of  a  thick  mist,  Lesly  shoidd  have,  the  next  morn- 
ing, advanced  towards  Montrose's  encampment,  with- 
out being  descried  by  a  single  scout.  Such,  however, 
was  the  case,  and  it  was  attended  with  all  the  conse- 
quences of  the  most  complete  surprisal.  The  first  in- 
timation that  Montrose  received  of  the  march  of  Lesly, 
was  the  noise  of  the  conflict,  or,  rather,  that  which  at- 
tended the  unresisted  slaughter  of  his  infantry,  who 
never  formed  a  line  of  battle :  the  right  wing  alone, 
supported  by  the  thickets  of  Harehead-wood,  and  by 
the  entrenchments,  which  are  there  still  visible,  stood 
firm  for  some  time.    But  Lesly  liad  detached  two  thou- 


22  :\riNSTRF,i-sY  of 

ssfnd  men,  who,  crossing  tlie  Ettrick  still  higher  up 
than  his  main  bod}-,  assaulted  the  rear  of  Montrose's 
right  wing.  At  this  moment,  the  Marquis  himself  ar- 
rived, and  beheld  his  army  dispersed,  for  the  first  time, 
in  irretrievable  rout.  He  had  thrown  himself  upon  a 
horse  the  instant  he  heard  the  firing,  and,  followed  b}' 
such  of  his  disorderly  cavalry  as  had  gathered  upon 
the  alarm,  he  gallopped  from  Selkirk,  crossed  the  Et- 
trick, and  made  a  bold  and  desperate  attempt  to  re- 
trieve the  fortune  of  the  day.  But  all  was  in  vain  ; 
and,  after  cutting  his  way,  almost  singly,  through  a 
body  of  Lesly's  troopers,  the  gallant  Montrose  graced 
by  his  example  the  retreat  of  the  fugitives.  That  re- 
treat he  continued  up  Yarrow,  and  over  Minch-moor ; 
nor  did  he  stop  till  he  arrived  at  Traquair,  sixteen  miles 
from  the  field  of  battle.  Upon  Philiphaugh  he  lost,  in 
one  defeat,  the  fruit  of  six  splendid  victories  ;  nor  was 
he  again  able  effectually  to  make  head,  in  Scotland, 
against  the  covenanted  cause.  The  number  slain  in  the 
field  did  not  exceed  three  or  four  hundred ;  for  the  fu- 
gitives found  refuge  in  the  mountains,  which  had  often 
been  the  retreat  of  vanquished  armies,  and  were  im- 
pervious to  the  pursuer's  cavalry.  Lesly  abused  his 
victory,  and  dishonoured  his  arms,  by  slaughtering,  in 
cold  blood,  many  of  the  prisoners  whom  he  had  taken ; 
and  the  court-yard  of  Newark  castle  is  said  to  have 
been  the  spot,  upon  which  they  were  shot  by  his  com- 
mand. Many  others  are  said,  by  Wishart,  to  have 
lieen  precipitated  from  a  high  bridge  over  the  Tweed. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  23 

This,  as  Mr  Laing  remarks,  is  impossible ;  because 
there  was  not  a  bridge  over  the  Tweed  betwixt  Peebles 
and  Berwick.  But  there  is  an  old  bridge  over  the  Et- 
trick,  only  four  miles  from  Philiphaugh,  and  another 
over  the  Yarrow,  both  of  which  lay  in  the  very  line  of 
flight  and  pursuit ;  and  either  might  have  been  the  scene 
of  the  massacre.  But  if  this  is  doubtful,  it  is  too  cer- 
tain, that  several  of  the  royalists  were  executed  by  the 
Covenanters,  as  traitors  to  the  King  and  Parliament.* 
I  have  reviewed,  at  some  length,  the  details  of  this 
memorable  engagement,  which,  at  the  same  time,  ter- 
minated the  career  of  a  hero,  likened,  by  no  mean 
judge  of  mankind, t  to  those  of  antiquity,  and  decided 
the  fate  of  his  country.  It  is  further  remarkable,  as 
the  last  field  which  was  fought  in  Ettrick  forest,  the 
scene  of  so  many  bloody  actions.  The  unaccountable 
neglect  of  patroles,  and  the  imprudent  separation  be- 
twixt the  horse  and  foot,  seem  to  have  been  the  imme- 
diate causes  of  Montrose's  defeat.  But  the  ardent  and 
impetuous  character  of  this  great  warrior,  correspond- 
ing with  that  of  the  troops  which  he  commanded,  was 
better  calculated  for  attack  than  defence ;  for  surpri- 
sing others,  rather  than  for  providing  against  surprise 


*  A  covenanted  minister,  present  at  the  execution  of  these  gen- 
tlemen, observed,  "  This  wark  gaes  bonnilie  on  !"  an  amiable  ex- 
clamation, equivalent  to  the  modern  pa  ira,  so  often  used  on  similar 
occasions Wishart's  Memoirs  of  Montrose. 

-f-  Cardinal  du  Retz 


24  MIXSTIIELSY  OF 

himself.  Tlius,  lie  suffered  loss  by  a  sudden  attack 
upon  part  of  his  forces^  stationed  at  Aberdeen  ;*  and, 
had  h&  not  extricated  himself  with  the  most  singular 
ability,  he  must  have  lost  his  whole  army,  when  sur- 
prised by  Baillie,  during  the  plunder  of  Dundee.  Nor 
has  it  escaped  an  ingenious  modern  historian,  that  his 
final  defeat  at  Dunbeath  so  nearly  resembles  in  its  cir- 
cumstances the  surprise  at  Philiphaugh,  as  to  throw 
some  shade  on  his  military  talents. — Laing's  History. 
The  following  ballad,  which  is  preserved  by  tradi- 
tion in  Selkirkshire,  coincides  accurately  with  histori- 
cal fact.  This,  indeed,  constitutes  its  sole  merit.  The 
Covenanters  were  not,  I  dare  say,  addicted  more  than 


*  Colonel  Hurry,  with  a  party  of  horse,  surprised  the  town,  while 
Montrose's  Highlanders  and  cavaliers  were  "  dispersed  through  the 
"  town,  drinking  carelessly  in  their  lodgings  ;  and,  hearing  the 
•'  horses'  feet,  and  great  noise,  were  astonished,  never  dreaming  of 
"  their  enemy.  However,  Donald  Farquharson  happened  to  come 
"  to  the  causey,  where  he  was  cruelly  slain,  anent  the  Court  de 
"  Guard ;  a  brave  gentleman,  and  one  of  the  noblest  captains  amongst 
"  all  the  Highlanders  of  Scotland.  Two  or  three  others  were  killed, 
"  and  some  (taken  prisoners)  had  to  Edinburgh,  and  cast  into  irons 
"  in  the  tolbooth.  Great  lamentation  was  made  for  this  gallant, 
"  being  still  the  King's  man  for  life  and  death." — Spaldixg,  vol. 
II.  p.  281.  The  journalist,  to  whom  all  matters  were  of  equal  im- 
portance, proceeds  to  inform  us,  that  Hurry  took  the  Marquis  of 
Huntly's  be5t  horse,  and,  in  his  retreat  through  Montrose,  seized 
upon  the  Marquis's  second  son.  He  also  expresses  his  regret,  that 
•'  the  said  Donald  Farquharson's  body  was  found  in  the  street,  strip- 
"  ped  naked ;  for  they  tirr'd  from  off  his  body  a  rich  stand  of  appa- 
*'  rel,  but  put  on  the  same  day." — fbid. 

10 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  25 

their  successors,  "  to  the  profane  and  unprofitable  art 
"  of  poem-making."*  Still,  however,  tliey  could  not 
refrain  from  some  strains  of  exultation,  over  the  defeat 
of  the  truculent  tyrant,  James  Grahanie.  For,  gentle 
reader,  Montrose,  who,  with  resources  which  seemed 
as  none,  gained  six  victories,  and  reconquered  a  king- 
dom ;  who,  a  poet,  a  scholar,  a  cavalier,  and  a  general, 
could  have  graced  alike  a  court,  and  governed  a  camp ; 
this  Montrose  was  numbered,  by  his  covenanted  coun- 
trymen, among  "  the  troublers  of  Israel,  the  fire-brands 
"  of  hell,  the  Corahs,  the  Balaams,  the  Dcegs,  the  Rab- 
"  shakehs,  the  Hamans,  the  Tobiahs,  and  Sanballats 
"  of  the  time." 


*  So  little  was  the  spirit  of  illiberal  fanaticism  decayed  in  some 
parts  of  Scotland,  that  only  thirty  years  ago,  when  Wilson,  the  in- 
genious author  of  a  poem  called  "  Clyde"  now  republished,  was  in- 
ducted into  the  office  of  schoolmaster  at  Greenock,  he  was  obliged 
formally,  and  in  writing,  to  abjure  the  "  ■profane  and  unprofitable  art 
of  poem  making^  It  is  proper  to  add,  that  such  an  incident  is  no'o; 
as  unlikely  to  happen  in  Greenock  as  in  London. 


26  MINSTRELSY  OF 


BATTLE  OF  PHILIPHAUGH. 


On  Philiphaugh  a  fray  began, 
*     At  Hairhead  wood  it  ended ; 
The  Scots  out  o'er  the  Graemes  they  ran, 
Sae  merrily  they  bended. 

Sir  David  frae  the  Border  came, 
Wi'  heart  an'  hand  came  he  ; 

Wi'  him  three  thousand  bonny  Scotts, 
To  bear  him  company. 

Wi'  him  three  thousand  valiant  men, 

A  noble  sight  to  see  ! 
A  cloud  o'  mist  them  weel  concealed. 

As  close  as  e'er  might  be. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER, 

When  thev  came  to  the  Shaw  burn, 
Said  he,  "  Sae  weel  we  frame, 

"  I  thmk  it  is  convenient, 

"  That  we  should  sing  a  psalm."' 


When  they  came  to  the  Lingly  burn, 

As  day-light  did  appear. 
They  spy'd  an  aged  father. 

And  he  did  draw  them  near. 


**•  Come  hither,  aged  father  !" 

Sir  David  he  did  cry, 
"  And  tell  me  where  Montrose  lies, 

"  With  all  his  gi'eat  army." 

"  But,  first,  you  must  come  tell  to  me, 
"If  friends  or  foes  you  be  ; 

"  I  fear  you  are  Montrose's  men, 
"  Come  frae  the  north  country." 

"  No,  we  are  nane  o'  Montrose''s  men, 

"  Nor  e''er  intend  to  be  ; 
"  I  am  Sir  David  Lesly, 

"  That's  speaking  unto  thee." 


*  Various  reading ; 
That  we  should  take  a  drani. 


28  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  If  you're  Sir  David  Lesly, 

"  As  I  think  weel  ye  be, 
"  I''m  sorry  ye  hae  brought  so  few 

"  Into  your  company. 

"  There''s  fifteen  thousand  armed  men, 

"  Encamped  on  yon  lee  ; 
"  Yell  never  be  a  bite  to  them, 

"  For  aught  that  I  can  see. 


But,  halve  your  men  in  equal  parts, 
"  Your  purpose  to  fulfil  ; 
Let  ae  half  keep  the  water  side, 
"  The  rest  o-ae  round  the  hill. 


Your  nether  party  fire  must, 

"  Then  beat  a  flying  drum ; 

And  then  theyll  think  the  day's  their  ain, 

"  And  frae  the  trench  they'll  come. 


"  Then,  those  that  are  behind  them  maun 
"  Gie  shot,  baith  grit  and  sma' ; 

"  And  so,  between  your  annies  twa. 
"  Ye  may  make  them  to  fa'.'" 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  29 

"  O  were  ye  ever  a  soldier  ?"" 

Sir  David  Lesly  said  ; 
"  O  yes ;   I  was  at  Solway  Flow, 

"  Where  we  were  all  betrayM. 

"  Again  I  was  at  curst  Dunbar, 

"  And  was  a  prisoner  ta''en  : 
"  And  many  weary  night  and  day, 

"  In  prison  I  hae  lien." 

"  If  ye  will  lead  these  men  aright, 

"  Rewarded  shall  ye  be ; 
"  But,  if  that  ye  a  traitor  prove, 

*'  I""!!  hang  thee  on  a  tree." 


Sir,  I  will  not  a  traitor  prove ; 
"  Montrose  has  plundered  me 
I'll  do  my  best  to  banish  him 
"  Away  frae  this  country." 


He  halved  his  men  in  equal  parts. 

His  purpose  to  fulfill ; 
The  one  part  kept  the  water  side, 

The  other  gaed  round  the  hill. 


30  MINSTRELSY  OF 

The  nether  party  Hred  brisk, 
Then  turned  and  seem''d  to  rin  ; 

And  then  they  a'  came  frae  the  trench, 
And  cryM,  "The  day's  our  ain  !" 

The  rest  then  ran  into  the  trencii, 
And  loosed  their  cannons  a' : 

And  thus,  between  his  armies  twa, 
He  made  them  fast  to  fa\ 


Now,  let  us  a"'  for  Lesly  pray, 

And  his  brave  company  ! 
For  they  hae  vanquishVl  great  Montrose, 

Our  cruel  enemy. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  31 


NOTES 


THE  BATTLE  OF  PHILIPHAUGH. 


When  they  came  to  the  SJiaw  burn, — P.  27.  v.  1. 
A  small  stream^  that  joins  the  Ettrick,  near  Selkirk^  on  the 
south  side  of  the  river. 

When  they  came  to  the  Lingly  burn. — P.  27.  v.  2. 
A  brook,  which  falls  into  the  Ettrick,  from  the  north;,  u  Uttlc 
above  the  Shaw  burn. 

They  spy'd  an  aged  father. — P.  27.  v.  2. 
The  traditional  commentary  upon  the  ballad  states  this 
man's  name  to  have  been  Brydone,  ancestor  to  several  fami- 
lies in  the  parish  of  Ettrick,  particularly  those  occupying  the 
farms  of  Jlidgehope  and  Bedford  Green.  It  is  a  strange  ana- 
chronism, to  make  this  aged  father  state  himself  at  the  battle 
of  Solway  Flow,  which  was  fought  a  hundred  years  before 
PhiUphaugh  ;  and  a  still  stranger,  to  mention  that  of  Dunbar, 
which  did  not  take  place  till  five  years  after  Montrose's  defeat. 


32  MINSTRELSY  OF 


A  tradition,  annexed  to  a  copy  of  this  ballad,  transmitted 
to  me  by  Mr  James  Hogg,  bears,  that  the  Earl  of  Traquair, 
on  the  day  of  the  battle,  was  advancing  with  a  large  sum  of 
money,  for  the  payment  of  Montrose's  forces,  attended  by  a 
blacksmith,  one  of  his  retainers.  As  they  crossed  jMinch- 
moor,  they  were  alarmed  by  firing,  which  the  Earl  conceived 
to  be  Montrose  exercising  his  forces,  but  which  his  attendant, 
from  the  constancy  and  irregularity  of  the  noise,  affirmed  to 
be  the  tumult  of  an  engagement.  As  they  came  below  Broad- 
meadows,  upon  Yarrow,  they  met  their  fugitive  friends,  hotly 
pursued  by  the  parliamentary  troopers.  The  Earl,  of  course, 
turned,  and  fled  also :  but  his  horse,  jaded  with  the  weight  of 
dollars  which  he  carried,  refused  to  take  the  hill ;  so  that  the 
Earl  was  fain  to  exchange  with  his  attendant,  leaving  hini 
with  the  breathless  horse,  and  bag  of  silver,  to  shift  for  him- 
self;  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  done  very  effectually. 
Some  of  the  dragoons,  attracted  by  the  appearance  of  the 
horse  and  trappings,  gave  chase  to  the  smith,  who  fled  up  the 
Yarrowj  but  finding  himself,  as  he  said,  encumbered  with 
the  treasure,  and  unwilling  that  it  should  be  taken,  he  flung 
it  into  a  well,  or  pond,  near  the  Tinnies,  above  Hangingshaw, 
Many  wells  were  afterwards  searched  in  vain  ;  but  it  is  the 
general  behef,  that  the  smith,  if  he  ever  hid  the  money,  knew 
too  well  how  to  anticipate  the  scrutiny.  There  is,  however, 
a  pond,  which  some  peasants  began  to  drain,  not  long  ago,  in 
hopes  of  finding  the  golden  prize,  but  were  prevented,  as  they 
pretended,  by  supernatural  interference. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOKDEK.  33 


GALLANT  GRAHAMS. 


The  preceding  ballad  was  a  song  of  triumph  over  the 
defeat  of  Montrose  at  Philiphaugh  ;  the  verses,  which 
follow,  are  a  lamentation  for  his  final  discomfiture  and 
cruel  death.  The  present  edition  of  "  The  Gallant 
Grahams"  is  given  from  tradition,  enlarged  and  correct- 
ed by  an  ancient  printed  edition,  entitled,  "  The  Gal- 
lant Grahams  of  Scotland,"  to  the  tune  of  "  I  will  away, 
and  I  will  nat  tarry,"  of  which  Mr  Ritson  favoured  the 
editor  with  an  accurate  copy. 

The  conclusion  of  Montrose's  melancholy  history  is 
too  well  known.  The  Scottish  army,  which  sold  King 
Charles  I.  to  his  parliament,  had,  we  may  charitably 
hope,  no  idea  that  they  were  bartering  his  blood ;  al- 
though they  must  have  been  aware,  that  they  were 

VOL.  II.  c 


34  MINSTKELSY  OF 

consigning  him  to  perpetual  bondage.  *  At  least  the 
sentiments  of  the  kingdom  at  large  differed  widely  from 
those  of  the  military  merchants,  and  the  danger  of  King 
Charles  drew  into  England  a  well-appointed  Scottish 
army,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton. 
But  he  met  with  Cromwell,  and  to  meet  with  Cromwell 
was  inevitable  defeat.  The  death  of  Charles,  and  the 
triumph  of  the  Independents,  excited  still  more  highly 
the  hatred  and  the  fears  of  the  Scottish  nation.  The 
outwitted  Presbyterians,  who  saw,  too  late,  that  their 
own  hands  had  been  employed  in  the  hateful  task  of 
I60O.  erecting  the  power  of  a  sect,  yet  more  fierce  and  fana- 
tical than  themselves,  deputed  a  commission  to  the 
Hague,  to  treat  with  Charles  II.,  whom,  upon  certain 
conditions,  they  now  wished  to  restore  to  the  throne  of 
his  fathers.  At  the  court  of  the  exiled  monarch,  Mon- 
trose also  offered  to  his  acceptance  a  splendid  plan  of 
victory  and  conquest,  and  pi-essed  for  his  permission  to 
enter  Scotland  ;  and  there,  collecting  the  remains  of  the 
royalists,  to  claim  the  crown  for  his  master,  with  the 
sword  in  his  hand.  An  able  statesman  might  perhaps 
have  recoiiciled  these  jarring  projects ;  a  good  man 
would  certainly  h;ive  made  a  decided  choice  betwixt 
them.  Charles  was  neither  the  one  nor  the  other;  and, 
while  he  ti"eated  with  the  Presbvterians,  with  a  view  of 


♦  jVs  Salmasius  quaintly,  but  tiuly,  expresses  it,  riabt/tcriaiti 
ligaveruiii,  indej'Ciidaiitcs  iruddaveiuitt. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  35 

accepting  the  crown  from  their  hands,  he  scrupled  not 
to  authorize  Montrose,  the  mortal  enemy  of  the  sect,  to 
pursue  his  separate  and  inconsistent  plan  of  conquest. 

Montrose  arrived  in  the  Orkneys  with  six  hundred 
Germans,  was  furnished  with  some  recruits  from  those 
islands,  and  was  joined  by  several  royalists,  as  he  tra- 
versed the  wilds  of  Caithness  and  Sutherland;  but,  ad- 
vancing into  Ross-shire,  he  was  surprised,  and  totally 
defeated,  by  Colonel  Strachan,  an  officer  of  the  Scot- 
tish parliament,  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
civil  wars,  and  who  afterwards  became  a  decided  Crom- 
wellian.  Montrose,  after  a  fruitless  resistance,  at  length 
fled  from  the  lield  of  defeat,  and  concealed  himself  in 
the  grounds  of  Macleod  of  Assaint,  to  whose  fidelity  he 
entrusted  his  life,  and  by  whom  he  was  delivered  up 
to  Lesly,  his  most  bitter  enemy. 

He  was  tried  for  what  was  termed  treason  against 
the  Estates  of  the  Kingdom  ;  and,  despite  the  commis- 
sion of  Charles  for  his  proceedings,  he  was  condemned 
to  die  by  a  parliament,  who  acknowledged  Charles  to 
be  their  king,  and  whom,  on  that  account  only,  Mon- 
trose acknowledged  to  be  a  parliament. 

"  The  clergy,"  says  a  late  animated  historian,  "  whose 
"  vocation  it  w'as  to  persecute  the  repose  of  his  last  mo- 
"  ments,  sought,  by  the  terrors  of  his  sentence,  to  ex- 
"  tort  repentance ;  but  his  behaviour,  firm  and  digni- 
"  fied  to  the  end,  repelled  their  insulting  advances  with 
"  scorn  and  disdain.     He  was  prouder,  he  replied,  to 


36  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  have  his  head  affixed  to  the  prison-walls,  than  to  have 
"  his  picture  placed  in  the  king's  bed-chamber  :  '  and, 
"  far  from  being  troubled  that  my  limbs  are  to  be  sent 
"  to  your  principal  cities,  I  wish  I  had  flesh  enough  to 
"  be  dispersed  through  Christendom,  to  attest  my  dying 
"  attachment  to  ray  king.'  It  was  the  calm  employ- 
"  ment  of  his  mind,  that  night,  to  reduce  this  extrava- 
"  gant  sentiment  to  verse.  He  appeared  next  day  on 
"  the  scaffold,  in  a  rich  habit,  with  the  same  serene  and 
"  undaunted  countenance,  and  addressed  the  people, 
"  to  vindicate  his  dying  unabsolved  by  the  church,  ra- 
"  ther  than  to  justify  an  invasion  of  the  kingdom,  du- 
"  ring  a  treaty  with  the  estates.  The  insults  of  his  ene- 
"  mies  were  not  yet  exhausted.  The  history  of  his  ex- 
"  ploits  was  attached  to  his  neck  by  the  public  execu- 
"  tioner  ;  but  he  smiled  at  their  inventive  malice ;  de- 
"  clared,  that  he  wore  it  with  more  pride  than  he  had 
"  done  the  garter;  and,  when  his  devotions  were  finish- 
"  ed,  demanding  if  any  more  indignities  remained 
"  to  be  practised,  submitted  calmly  to  an  unmerited 
"  fate." — Laixg's  History  of  Scotland,  vol.  I.  p.  404. 

Such  was  the  death  of  James  Graham,  the  great  Mar- 
quis of  Montrose,  over  whom  some  lowly  bard  has  poured 
forth  the  following  elegiac  verses.  To  say,  that  they  are 
far  unworthy  of  the  subject,  is  no  great  reproach  ;  for  a 
nobler  poet  might  have  failed  in  the  attempt.  Indifferent 
as  the  ballad  is,  we  may  regret  its  being  still  more  de- 
graded by  many  apparent  corruptions.  There  seems  an 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  37 

attempt  to  trace  Montrose's  career,  from  his  first  raising 
the  royal  standard,  to  his  second  expedition  and  death  ; 
but  it  is  interrupted  and  imperfect.  From  the  conclu- 
ding stanza,  I  presume  the  song  was  composed  upon  the 
arrival  of  Charles  in  Scotland,  which  so  speedily  follow- 
ed the  execution  of  Montrose,  that  the  King  entered 
the  city  while  the  head  of  his  most*  faithful  and  most 
successful  adherent  was  still  blackening  in  the  sun. 


JJ8  MINiiTRl.I.SY  OF 


THE  GAIJ.ANT  GRAHAMS. 


Now,  fare  thee  well,  sweet  Ennerdale  ! 

Baith  kith  and  countrie  I  bid  adieu  ; 
For  I  maun  away,  and  I  may  not  stay, 

To  some  imcouth  land  which  I  never  knew 


To  wear  the  blue  I  think  it  best, 
Of  all  the  colours  that  I  see  ; 

And  I'll  wear  it  for  the  gallant  Grahams, 
That  are  banished  from  their  countrie. 


I  have  no  gold,  I  have  no  land, 
I  have  no  pearl  nor  precious  stane  ; 

But  I  wald  sell  my  silken  snood. 

To  see  the  gallant  Graliams  come  hame. 


THE  SCOTTISH  RORDEU.  39 

In  Wallaco  days,  wlien  they  began, 

Sir  John  the  Graham  did  bear  the  gree 

Through  all  the  lands  of  Scotland  wide  ; 
He  was  a  lord  of"  the  south  countrie. 


And  so  was  seen  full  many  a  time ; 

For  the  summer  flowers  did  never  spring, 
But  every  Graham,  in  armoiu*  bright, 

Would  then  appear  before  the  king. 


They  all  were  drest  in  armour  sheen. 
Upon  the  pleasant  banks  of  Tay  ; 

Before  a  king  they  might  be  seen, 

These  gallant  Grahams  in  their  array. 

At  the  Goukhead  our  camp  we  set, 
Our  leaguer  down  there  for  to  lay  ; 

And,  in  the  bonny  summer  light, 

We  rode  our  white  horse  and  our  gray. 

Our  false  commander  sold  our  king 

Unto  his  deadly  enemie, 
Who  was  the  traitor,  Cromwell,  then ; 

So  I  care  not  what  they  do  with  me. 


40  MINSTRELSY  OF 

They  have  betrayed  oux-  noble  prince, 
And  banish'd  him  from  his  royal  crown  ; 

But  the  gallant  Grahams  have  ta'en  in  hand. 
For  to  command  those  traitors  down. 


In  Glen-Prosen*  we  rendezvoused, 

March'd  to  Glenshie  by  night  and  day, 

And  took  the  town  of  Aberdeen, 

And  met  the  Campbells  in  their  array. 


Five  thousand  men,  in  armour  strong, 
Did  meet  the  gallant  Grahams  that  day 

At  Inverlochie,  where  war  began, 

And  scarce  two  thousand  men  were  they. 


Gallant  Montrose,  that  chieftain  bold, 
Courageous  in  the  best  degree, 

Did  for  the  king  fight  well  that  day ; 
The  Lord  preserve  his  majestie  ! 

Nathaniel  Gordon,  stout  and  bold, 
Did  for  King  Charles  wear  the  blue 

But  the  cavahers  they  all  were  sold, 
And  brave  Harthill,  a  cavalier  too. 


Glen-Prosen,  in  Angus-shire. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  41 

And  Newton-Gordon,  burd-alone, 
And  Dalgatie,  both  stout  and  keen, 

And  gallant  Veitch  upon  the  field, 
A  braver  face  was  never  seen. 


Now,  fare  ye  weel,  sweet  Ennerdale  ! 

Countrie  and  kin  I  quit  ye  free  ; 
Chear  up  your  hearts,  brave  cavaliers, 

For  the  Grahams  are  gone  to  High  Germany. 

Now  brave  Montrose  he  went  to  France, 
And  to  Germany,  to  gather  fame  ; 

And  bold  Aboyne  is  to  the  sea, 
Young  Huntly  is  his  noble  name. 

Montrose  again,  that  chieftain  bold, 

Back  unto  Scotland  fair  he  came, 
For  to  redeem  fair  Scotland's  land, 

The  pleasant,  gallant,  worthy  Graham  ! 


At  the  water  of  Carron  he  did  begin, 
And  fought  the  battle  to  the  end  ; 

Where  there  were  killed,  for  our  noble  king, 
Two  thousand  of  our  Danish  men. 


42  MINSTIIELSY  OF 

Gilbert  Menzies.  of  hi^h  degree, 

By  whom  the  king's  banner  was  borne  ; 

For  a  brave  cavaUer  Avas  he, 
But  now  to  glory  he  is  gone. 

Then  woe  to  Strachan,  and  Hacket  baith  ! 

And  Lesly,  ill  death  may  thou  die  ! 
For  ye  have  betray'd  the  gallant  Grahams, 

Who  aye  Mere  true  to  majestie. 

And  the  Laird  of  Assint  has  seized  Montrose, 
And  had  him  into  Edinburgh  town  ; 

And  frae  his  body  taken  the  head, 
And  quartered  liim  upon  a  trone. 


And  Huntly's  gone  the  self-same  way, 
And  our  noble  king  is  also  gone ; 

He  suffered  death  for  our  nation. 

Our  mourning  tears  can  ne'er  be  done. 


But  our  brave  young  king  is  now  come  home, 
King  Charles  the  Second  in  degree  ; 

The  Lord  send  peace  into  his  time, 
And  God  preserve  his  majestie  ! 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  43 


NOTKS 

ON 

THE  GALLANT  GRAHAMS. 


Now,  fare  thee  weel,  sweet  Ennerdale. — P.  38.  v.  1. 
A  corruption  of  Endrickdale.     The  principal  and  most  an- 
cient possessions  of  the  Montrose  family  lie  along  the  water 
of  Endrick,  in  Dumbartonshire. 

Sir  John  the  Graham  did  bear  the  gree. — P.  39.  v.  1. 
The  faithful  friend  and  adherent  of  the  immortal  Wallace, 
slain  at  the  battle  of  Falkirk. 

Who  was  the  traitor,  Cromwell,  then. — P.  39.  v.  5. 
This  extraordinary  character,  to  whom,  in  crimes  and  in  suc- 
cess, our  days  only  have  produced  a  parallel,  was  no  favourite 
in  Scotland.  There  occurs  the  following  invective  against  him 
in  a  MS,  in  the  Advocates'  Library.  The  humour  consists 
in  the  dialect  of  a  Highlander,  speaking  English,  and  confu- 
sing Cromwell  with  Gramach,  ugly : — 

Te  commonwelt,  tat  Gramagh  ting 

Gar  brek  hem 's  word,  gar  de  hem's  king ; 


44  MINSTRELSY  OF 


Gar  pay  hem's  sesse,  or  take  hem's  (gears) 

We'l  no  de  at,  del  come  de  leers  ; 

We'l  bide  a  file  amang  te  crowes,  (i.  r.  in  the  woods) 

We'l  seor  te  sword,  and  whiske'te  bowes  ; 

And  fen  her  nen  sel  se  te  re,  (the  king) 

To  del  my  care  for  Gromnghee. 

The  following  tradition^  concerning  Cromwell,  is  preserved 
by  an  uncommonly  direct  line  of  traditional  evidence  ;  being 
related  (as  I  am  informed)  by  the  grandson  of  an  eye-witness. 
When  Cromwell,  in  1650,  entered  Glasgow,  he  attended  di- 
vine service  in  the  High  church  :  but  the  presbyterian  divine, 
who  officiated,  poured  forth,  with  more  zeal  than  prudence, 
the  v-ial  of  his  indignation  upon  the.  person,  principles,  and 
cause,  of  the  independant  general.  One  of  Cromwell's  officers 
rose,  and  whispered  his  commander ;  who  seemed  to  give  him 
a  short  and  stern  answer,  and  the  sermon  was  concluded  with- 
out interruption.  Among  the  crowd,  who  were  assembled  to 
gaze  at  the  general,  as  he  came  out  of  the  church,  was  a  shoe- 
maker, the  son  of  one  of  James  the  Sixth's  Scottish  footmen. 
This  man  had  been  born  and  bred  in  England,  but,  after  his 
father's  death,  had  settled  in  Glasgow.  CromweU  eyed  him 
among  the  crowd,  and  immediately  called  him  by  his  name — 
the  man  fled :  but,  at  Cromwell's  command,  one  of  his  retinue 
followed  him,  and  brought  him  to  the  general's  lodgings.  A 
number  of  the  inhabitants  remained  at  the  door,  waiting  the 
end  of  this  extraordinary  scene.  The  shoemaker  soon  came  out, 
in  high  spirits,  and,  shewing  some  gold,  declared,  he  was  going 
to  drink  Cromwell's  health.  Many  attended  him  to  hear  the 
particulars  of  his  interview  ;  among  others  the  grandfather  of 
the  narrator.  The  shoemaker  said,  that  he  had^been'a  play- 
fellow of  Cromwell,  when  they  were  both  boys,  their  parents 
residing  in  the  same  street ;  that  he  had  fled,  when  the  gene- 
ral first  called  to  him,  thinking  he  might  owe  him  some  ill 
will,  on  account  of  his  fatherjbeing  in  the  service  of  the  royal 
family.  He  added,  that  Cromwell  had  been  so  very  kind  and 
familiar  with  him,  that  he  ventured  to  ask  him,  what  the  offi- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOIIDER.  45 

cer  had  said  to  him  in  the  church.  "  He  proposed/*  said 
Cromwell,  "  to  pull  forth  the  minister  by  the  ears ;  and  I  an- 
"  swered,  that  the  preacher  was  one  fool  and  he  another."  In 
the  course  of  the  day,  Cromwell  held  an  interview  with  the  mi- 
nister, and  contrived  to  satisfy  his  scruples  so  effectually,  that 
the  evening  discourse,  by  the  same  man,  was  tuned  to  the 
praise  and  glory  of  the  victor  of  Naseby. 

Nathaniel  Gordon,  stout  and  hold, 

Did  for  King  Charles  wear  the  blue. — P.  40.  v.  5, 
This  gentleman  was  of  the  ancient  family  of  Gordon  of 
Gight.  He  had  served,  as  a  soldier,  upon  the  continent,  and 
acquired  great  mUitary  skill.  When  his  chief,  the  Marquis  of 
Huntly,  took  up  arms  in  1640,  Nathaniel  Gordon,  then  called 
Major  Gordon,  joined  him,  and  was  of  essential  service  during 
that  short  insurrection.  But,  being  checked  for  making  prize 
of  a  Danish  fishing  buss,  he  left  the  service  of  the  Marquis,  in 
some  disgust.  In  1644,  he  assisted  at  a  sharp  and  dexterous 
camisade  (as  it  was  then  called,)  when  the  Barons  of  Haddo,  of 
Gight,  of  Drum,  and  other  gentlemen,  with  only  sixty  men  un- 
der their  standard,  galloped  through  the  old  town  of  Aberdeen, 
and,  entering  the  burgh  itself,  about  seven  in  the  morning, 
made  prisoners  and  carried  off  four  of  the  covenanting  magi- 
strates, and  effected  a  safe  retreat,  though  the  town  was  then 
under  the  domination  of  the  opposite  party.  After  the  death 
of  the  Baron  of  Haddo,  and  the  severe  treatment  of  Sir  George 
Gordon  of  Gight,  his  cousin-german.  Major  Nathaniel  Gordon, 
seems  to  have  taken  arms  in  despair  of  finding  mercy  at  the 
covenanters'  hands.  On  the  24th  of  July,  1 645,  he  came  down, 
with  a  band  of  horsemen,  upon  the  town  of  Elgin,  while  St 
James'  fair  was  held,  and  pillaged  the  merchants  of  14,000 
merks  of  money  and  merchandize.  *  He  seems  to  have  joined 
Montrose,  as  soon  as  he  raised  the  royal  standard  ;  and,  as  a 


•  Spalding,  vol.  II.  pp.  151,  154, 169, 181,  221.  Hisfor;/  of  the 
Family  of  Gordon,  Edin.  1727,  vol.  II.  p.  299. 


46  MlNSTllELSY  OF 


bold  and  active  partizan,  rendered  him  great  service.  But,  in 
November  164.4,  Gordon,  now  a  colonel,  sutldenly  deserted 
Montrose,  aided  the  escape  of  Forbes  of  Craigievar,  one  of  his 
prisoners,  and  reconciled  himself  to  the  kirk,  by  doing  penance 
for  adultery,  and  for  the  almost  equally  heinous  crmieof  having 
scared  Mr  Andrew  Cant,*  the  famous  apostle  of  the  Covenant. 
This,  however,  seems  to  have  been  an  artifice,  to  arrange  a  cor- 
respondence betwixt  Montrose  and  Lord  Gordon,  a  gallant 
young  nobleman,  representative  of  the  Huntly  family,  and 
inheriting  their  loyal  spirit,  though  hitherto  engaged  in  the 
service  of  the  Covenant.  Colonel  Gordon  was  successful,  and 
returned  to  the  royal  camp  with  his  converted  chief.  Both 
followed  zealously  the  fortunes  of  Montrose,  until  Lord  Gor- 
don fell  in  the  battle  of  Alford,  and  Nathaniel  Gordon  was 
taken  at  Philiphaugh.  He  was  one  of  the  ten  loyalists,  de- 
voted upon  that  occasion,  by  the  parliament,  to  expiate  with 
their  blood  the  crime  of  fidelity  to  their  king.  Nevertheless, 
the  covenanted  nobles  would  have  probably  been  satisfied  with 
the  death  of  the  gallant  Kollock,  sharer  of  Montrose's  dangers 
and  glory,  of  Ogilvy,  a  youth  of  eighteen,  whose  crime  was 
the  hereditary  feud  betwixt  his  family  and  Argyle,  and  of  Sir 
Phihp  Nisbet,  a  cavaUer  of  the  ancient  stamp,  had  not  the 
pulpits  resounded  with  the  cry,  that  God  required  the  blood 
of  the  mahgnants  to  expiate  the  sins  of  the  people.  "  What 
*'  meaneth,"  exclaimed  the  ministers,  in  the  perverted  lan- 
guage of  Scripture — "  What  meaneth,  then,  this  bleating  of  the 
"  sheep  in  my  ears,  and  the  lowing  of  the  oxen  ?"  The  appeal 
to  the  judgment  of  Sanmel  was  decisive,  and  the  shambles 
were  instantly  opened.  Nathaniel  Gordon  was  brought  first 
to  execution.  He  lamented  the  sins  of  his  youth,  once  more 
(and  probably  with  greater  sincerity)  requested  absolution 
from  the  sentence  of  excomnmnication  pronounced  on  account 
of  adultery,  and  was  beheaded  6th  January,  16'46. 


*  He  had  sent  him  a  leUer,  which  nigh  frightened  him  out  of  his 
vki Spaldjng,  vol.  11.  p.  231. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  47 


And  brave  Hai'thill,  a  cavalier  too. — F.  40.  v.  5. 
Leith,  of  Harthill,  was  a  determined  loyalist,  and  hated  the 
Covenanters,  not  without  reason.  His  father,  a  haughty  high- 
spirited  baron,  and  chief  of  a  clan,  happened,  in  1639,  to  sit 
down  in  the  desk  of  Provost  Lesly,  in  the  high  kirk  of  Aber- 
deen. He  was  disgracefully  thrust  out  by  the  officers,  and, 
using  some  threatening  language  to  the  provost,  was  imprison- 
ed, like  a  felon,  for  many  months,  till  he  became  furious,  and 
nearly  mad.  Having  got  free  of  the  shackles  with  which  he 
was  loaded,  he  used  his  liberty  by  coming  to  the  tolbooth  win- 
dow, where  he  uttered  the  most  violent  and  horrible  threats 
against  Provost  Lesly,  and  the  other  covenanting  magistrates, 
by  whom  he  had  been  so  severely  treated.  Under  pretence  of 
tliis  new  offence,  he  was  sent  to  Edinburgh,  and  lay  long  in 
prison  there  ;  for,  so  fierce  was  his  temper,  that  no  one  would 
give  surety  for  his  keeping  the  peace  with  his  enemies,  if  set  at 
liberty.  At  length  he  was  delivered  by  ilontrose,  when  he 
made  himself  master  of  Edinburgh. — Si>aldinc;,  vol.  I.  pp. 
201,  266.  His  house  of  Harthill  was  dismantled,  and  miser- 
ably pillaged  by  Forbes  of  Craigievar,  who  expelled  his  wife 
and  children,  with  the  most  relentless  inhumanity. — Ibid.  vol. 
n.  p.  22o.  Meanwhile,  young  Harthill  was  the  companion 
and  associate  of  Nathaniel  Gordon,  whom  he  accompanied  at 
plundering  the  fair  of  Elgin,  and  at  most  of  jMontrose's  en- 
gagements. He  retahated  severely  on  the  covenanters,  by 
ravaging  and  burning  their  lands. — Ibid.  vol.  II.  p.  301.  His 
fate  has  escaped  my  notice. 

And  Dalgatie,  both  stout  and  keen. — P.  41.  v.  1. 
Sir  Francis  Hay,  of  Dalgatie,  a  steady  cavalier,  and  a  gentle- 
man of  great  gallantry  and  accomplishments.  He  was  a  faith- 
ful follower  of  ISIontrcse,  and  was  taken  prisoner  with  him  at 
his  last  fatal  battle.  He  was  condemned  to  death,  with  his 
illustrious  general.  Being  a  Roman  Catholic,  he  refused  the 
assistance  of  the  Presbyterian  clergy,  and  was  not  permitted, 
even  on  the  scaffold,  to  receive  ghostly  comfort,  in  the  only 
form  in  which  his  religion  taught  him  to  consider  it  as  effectual. 


48  JMINSTKELSY  OF 

He  kissed  the  axe,  avowed  his  fidelity  to  his  sovereign,  and 
died  like  a  soldier. — Montrose's  Memotj-s,  p.  322. 

And  Newton  Gordon,  hurd-alone. — P.  41.  v.  J. 
Newton,  for  obvious  reasons,  was  a  common  appellation  of 
an  estate,  or  barony,  where  a  new  edifice  had  been  erected. 
Hence,  for  distinction's  sake,  it  was  anciently  compounded 
with  the  name  of  the  proprietor  ;  as,  Newton-Edmonstone, 
Newton-Don,  Newton-Gordon,  &c.  Of  Gordon  of  New-town, 
I  only  observe,  that  he  was,  like  all  his  clan,  a  steady  loyalist, 
and  a  follower  of  INIontrose. 

And  gtdlunt  Veitch,  ujton  the  field. — P.  41.  v.  1. 

I  presume  this  gentleman  to  have  been  David  Veitch,  brother 
to  Veitch  of  Dawick,  who,  with  many  other  of  the  Peebles-shire 
gentry,  was  taken  at  Philiphaugh.  The  following  curious  acci- 
dent took  place,  some  years  afterwards,  in  consequence  of  his 
loyal  zeal : — 

"  In  the  year  16.53,  when  the  loyal  party  did  arise  in  arms 
"  against  the  English,  in  the  North  and  West  Highlands,  some 
"  noblemen,  and  loyal  gentlemen,  with  others,  were  forward  to 
"  repair  to  them,  with  such  forces  as  they  could  make ;  which 
"  the  English  with  marvelouse  diligence,  night  and  day,  did 
"  bestir  themselves  to  impede  ;  making  their  troops  of  horse 
"  and  dragoons  to  pursue  the  loyal  party  in  all  places,  that 
"  they  might  not  come  to  such  a  considerable  number  as  was 
"  designed.  It  happened,  one  night,  that  one  Captain  Masoun, 
"  commander  of  a  troop  of  dragoons,  that  came  from  Carlisle, 
"  in  England,  marching  through  the  town  of  Sanquhar,  in  the 
"  night,  was  encountered  by  one  Captain  Palmer,  commanding 
"  a  troop  of  horse,  that  came  from  Ayr,  marching  eastward ; 
"  and,  meeting  at  the  tollhouse,  or  tolbooth,  one  David  Veitch, 
"  brother  to  the  Laird  of  Dawick,  in  Tweeddale,  and  one  of  the 
"  loyal  party,  being  prisoner  in  irons  by  the  English,  did  arise, 
"  and  came  to  the  window  at  their  meeting,  and  cryed  out, 
"  that  they  should  fight  valiantly  for  King  Charles.  Where- 
"  through,  they,  taking  each  other  for  the  loyal  party,  did  begin 
10 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  49 

"  a  brisk  fight,  which  continued  for  a  while^  tUl  the  dragoons, 
"  having  spent  their  shot,  and  finding  the  horsemen  to  be  too 
"  strong  for  them,  did  give  ground :  but  yet  retired,  in  some" 
"  order,  towards  the  castle  of  Sanquhar,  being  hotly  pursued 
"  by  the  troop,  through  the  whole  town,  above  a  quarter  of  a 
"  mile,  till  they  came  to  the  castle  ;  where  both  parties  did, 
"  to  their  mutual  grief,  become  sensible  of  their  mistake.  In 
"  this  skirmish  there  were  several  kdled  on  both  sides^  and 
"  Captain  Palmer  himself  dangerously  wounded,  with  many 
"  more  wounded  in  each  troop,  who  did  peaceably  dwell  to- 
"  gether  afterward  for  a  time,  until  their  wounds  were  cured, 
"  in  Sanquhar  castle.". — Account  of  Presbytery  of  Penpont,  in 
Macfarlane's  MSS. 

And  bold  Aboyne  is  to  the  sea, 

Young  Huntly  is  his  noble  name.' — P.  41.  v.  3. 
James,  Earl  of  Aboyne,  who  fled  to  France,  and  there  died 
heart-broken.  It  is  said,  his  death  was  accelerated  by  the 
news  of  King  Charles's  execution.  He  became  representative 
of  the  Gordon  family,  or  Young  Huntly,  as  the  ballad  expresses 
it,  in  consequence  of  the  death  of  his  elder  brother,  George, 
who  fell  in  the  battle  of  Alford. — History  of  Gordon  Family. 

Two  thousand  of  our  Danish  men. — P.  41.  v.  5. 
Montrose's  foreign  auxiliaries,  who,  by  the  way,  did  not 
exceed  600  in  all. 

Gilbert  Men'^ies  of  high  degree, 

By  who7n  the  King's  banner  was  borne. — P.  42.  v.  1. 
Gilbert  IMenzies,  younger  of  Pitfoddells,  carried  the  royal 
banner  in  Montrose's  last  battle.  It  bore  the  headless  corpse 
of  Charles  I.,  with  this  motto,  "  Judge  and  revenge  my  cause, 
"  O  Lord!"  Menzies  proved  himself  worthy  of  this  noble  trust, 
and,  obstinately  refusing  quarter,  died  in  defence  of  his  charge. 
— Montrose's  Memoirs. 

Then  luoe  to  Strachan  and  Hacket  haith. — P.  42.  v.  2. 
Sir  Charles  Hacket,  an  officer  in  the  service  of  the  Estates, 

VOL.   II.  D 


50  MINSTRELSY  OF 

And  Huntly's  gone,  the  selfsame  way.—V.  42.  v.  2. 
GJeorge  Gordon,  second  Marquis  of  Huntly,  one  of  the  very 
few  nobles  in  Scotland,  who  had  uniformly  adhered  to  the 
King  from  the  very  beginning  of  the  troubles,  was  beheaded 
by  the  sentence  of  the  Parliament  of  Scotland  (so  calling 
themselves)  upon  the  22d  March,  1649,  one  month  and 
twenty-two  days  after  the  martyrdom  of  his  master.  He  has 
been  much  blamed  for  not  cordially  co-operating  with  Mon- 
trose ;  and  Bishop  Wishart,  in  the  zeal  of  partiality  for  his 
hero,  accuses  Huntly  of  direct  treachery.  But  he  is  a  true 
believer,  who  seals,  with  his  blootl,  his  creed,  reUgious  or  po- 
litical ;  and  there  are  many  reasons,  short  of  this  fovd  charge, 
which  may  have  dictated  the  backward  conduct  of  Huntly 
towards  Montrose.  He  could  not  forget,  that,  when  he  first 
stood  out  for  the  King,  Montrose,  then  the  soldier  of  the 
Covenant,  had  actually  made  him  prisoner ;  and  we  cannot 
suppose  Huntly  to  have  been  so  sensible  of  Montrose's  supe- 
rior military  talents,  as  not  to  think  himself,  as  equal  in  rank, 
superior  in  power,  and  more  unifonn  in  loyalty,  entitled  to 
equally  high  marks  of  royal  trust  and  favour.  This  much  is 
certain,  that  the  gallant  clan  of  Gordon  contributed  greatly  to 
Montrose's  success ;  for  the  gentlemen  of  that  name,  with  the 
brave  and  loyal  Ogilvies,  composed  the  principal  part  of  his 
cavalry. 


THE  SCOTTISH  LOUDER. 


BATTLE  OF  PENTLAND  HILLS. 


W^E  have  observed  the  early  antipathy,  mutually  en- 
tertained by  the  Scottish  Presbyterians  and  the  house 
of"  Stuart.  It  seems  to  have  glowed  in  the  breast  even 
of  the  good-natured  Charles  II.  He  might  have  re- 
membered, that,  in  l65l,  the  Presbyterians  had  fought, 
bled,  and  ruined  themselves  in  his  cause.  But  he  ra- 
ther recollected  their  early  faults  than  their  late  repent- 
ance ;  and  even  their  services  were  combined  with  the 
recollection  of  the  absurd  and  humiliating  circumstan- 
ces of  personal  degradation,  *  to  which  their  pride  and 
folly  had  subjected  him,  while  they  professed  to  espouse 


*  Among  other  ridiculous  occurrences,  it  is  said,  that  some  of 
Charles's  gallantries  were  discovered  by  a  prying  neighbour.  A  wily 
old  minister  was  deputed  by  his  brethren  to  rebuke  the  King  for  this 
heinous  scandal.  Being  introduced  into  the  royal  presence,  he  limited 
his  commission  to  a  serious  admonition,  that,  upon  such  occasions,  his 
Majesty  should  always  shut  the  windows.     The  King  is  said  to  have 


52  MINSTRELSY  OF 

his  cause.  As  a  man  of  pleasure,  he  hated  their  stem 
and  inflexible  rigour,  which  stigmatized  follies  even 
more  deeply  than  crimes ;  and  he  whispered  to  his  con- 
fidants, that  "  Presbytery  was  no  religion  for  a  gentle- 
"  man."  It  is  not,  therefore,  wonderful,  that,  in  the 
first  year  of  his  restoration,  he  formally  re-established 
Prelacy  in  Scotland  ;  but  it  is  surprising,  that,  with  his 
father's  example  before  his  eyes,  he  should  not  have 
been  satisfied  to  leave  at  freedom  the  consciences  of 
those  who  could  not  reconcile  themselves  to  the  new 
system.  The  religious  opinions  of  sectaries  have  a  ten- 
dency, like  the  water  of  some  springs,  to  become  soft 
and  mild,  when  freely  exposed  to  the  open  day.  Who 
can  recognize,  in  the  decent  and  industrious  Quakers, 
and  Anabaptists,  the  wild  and  ferocious  tenets  which 
distinguished  their  sects,  while  they  were  yet  honour- 
ed with  the  distinction  of  the  scourge  and  the  pillory  ? 
Had  the  system  of  coercion  against  the  Presbyterians 
been  continued  until  our  day,  Blair  and  Robertson 
would  have  preached  in  the  wilderness,  and  only  dis- 
covered their  powers  of  eloquence  and  composition,  by 
rolling  along  a  deeper  torrent  of  gloomy  fanaticism. 

The  western  counties  distinguished  themselves  by 
their  opposition  to  the  prelatic  system.  Three  hundred 
and  fifty  ministers,  ejected  from  their  churches  and 
livings,  wandered  through  the  mountains,  sowing  the 


recompensed  this  unexpected  lenity  after  the  Restoration.     He  pro- 
bably remembered  the  joke,   though   he  might  have  forgotten   the 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEll.  53 

seeds  of  covenanted  doctrine,  while  multitudes  of  fana- 
tical followers  pursued  them,  to  reap  the  forbidden 
crop.  These  conventicles^  as  they  were  called,  were 
denounced  by  the  law,  and  their  frequenters  dispersed 
by  military  force.  The  genius  of  the  persecuted  be- 
came stubborn,  obstinate,  and  ferocious  ;  and  although 
indulgencies  were  tardily  granted  to  some  Presbyterian 
ministers,  few  of  the  true  Covenanters,  or  Whigs,  as  they 
were  called,  would  condescend  to  compound  with  a  pre- 
latic  government,  or  to  listen  even  to  their  own  favourite 
doctrine  under  the  auspices  of  the  King.  From  Richard 
Cameron,  their  apostle,  this  rigid  sect  acquired  the  name 
of  Cameronians.  They  preached  and  prayed  against  the 
indulgence,  and  against  the  Presbyterians  who  availed 
themselves  of  it,  because  their  accepting  this  royal  boon 
was  a  tacit  acknowledgment  of  the  King's  supremacy  in 
ecclesiastical  matters.  Upon  these  bigotted  and  perse- 
cuted fanatics,  and  by  no  means  upon  the  Presbyterians 
at  large,  are  to  be  charged  the  wild  anarchical  principles 
of  anti-monarchy  and  assassination,  which  polluted  the 
period  when  they  flourished. 

The  insurrection,  commemorated  and  magnified  in 
the  following  ballad,  as  indeed  it  has  been  in  some  his- 
tories, was,  in  itself,  no  very  important  affair.  It  began 
in  Dumfries-shire,  where  Sir  James  Turner,  a  soldier 
of  fortune,  was  employed  to  levy  the  arbitrary  fines  im- 
posed for  not  attending  the  Episcopal  churches.  The 
people  rose,  seized  his  person,  disarmed  his  soldiers. 


54  MINSTRELSY  OF 

and,  having  continued  together,  resolved  to  march  to- 
wards Edinburgh,  expecting  to  be  joined  by  their  friends 
in  that  quartei-.  In  this  they  were  disappointed  ;  and, 
being  now  diminished  to  half  their  numbers,  they  drew 
up  on  the  Pentland  Hills,  at  a  place  called  Rullien 
Green.  They  were  commanded  by  one  Wallace  ;  and 
here  they  awaited  the  approach  of  General  Dalziel,  of 
Binns  ;  who,  having  maixhed  to  Calder,  to  meet  them 
on  the  Lanark  road,  and  finding,  that,  by  passing 
through  CoUington,  they  had  got  to  the  other  side  of 
the  hills,  cut  through  the  mountains,  and  approached 
them.  Wallace  shewed  both  spirit  and  judgment :  he 
drew  up  his  men  in  a  very  strong  situation,  and  with- 
stood two  charges  of  Dalziel's  cavalry  ;  but,  upon  the 
third  shock,  the  insurgents  were  broken,  and  utterly 
dispersed.  There  was  very  little  slaughter,  as  the  ca- 
valry of  Dalziel  were  chiefly  gentlemen,  who  pitied 
their  oppressed  and  misguided  countrymen.  There  were 
about  fifty  killed,  and  as  many  made  prisoners.  The 
battle  was  fought  on  the  28th  November,  1666 ;  a  day 
still  observed  by  the  scattered  remnant  of  the  Camero- 
nian  sect,  who  regularly  hear  a  field-preaching  upon  the 
field  of  battle. 

I  am  obliged  for  a  copy  of  the  ballad  to  Mr  Living- 
ston of  Airds,  who  took  it  down  from  the  recitation  of 
an  old  woman  residing  on  his  estate. 

The  gallant  Grahams,  mentioned  in  the  text,  are 
Graham  of  Claverhouse's  horse. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  55 


THE 

BATTLE  OF  PENTLAND  HILLS. 


This  Ballad  is  copied  verbatim  from  the  old  Woman's 
Recitation. 


The  gallant  Graliams  cum  from  the  west, 
Wi'  their  horses  black  as  ony  craw ; 
The  Lothian  lads  they  marched  fast, 
To  be  at  the  Rhyns  o''  Gallowa. 


Betwixt  Dumfries  town  and  Argyle, 
The  lads  they  marched  mony  a  mile ; 
Souters  and  taylors  unto  them  drew, 
Their  covenants  for  to  renew. 


56  MINSTRELSY  OF 

The  whigs,  they,  wr  their  merry  cracks, 
Gar''d  the  poor  pedlars  lay  down  their  packs 
But  aye  sinsyne  they  do  repent 
The  renewing  o'  their  Covenant. 


At  the  Mauchline  muir,  where  they  were  reviewed, 
Ten  thousand  men  in  armour  shew'd  ; 
But,  ere  they  came  to  the  Brockie's  burn, 
The  half  o'  them  did  back  return. 


General  Dalyell,  as  I  hear  tell, 

Was  our  lieutenant-general ; 

And  Captain  Welsh,  wi""  his  wit  and  skill. 

Was  to  guide  them  on  to  the  Pentland  hill. 


General  Dalyell  held  to  the  hill. 
Asking  at  them  what  was  their  will ; 
And  who  gave  them  this  protestation, 
To  rise  in  arms  against  the  nation  ? 


"  Although  we  all  in  armour  be, 

"  It's  not  against  his  majesty ; 

"  Nor  yet  to  spill  our  neighbour's  bluid, 

"  But  wr'  the  country  we'll  conclude." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  57 

"  Lay  down  your  arms,  in  the  King's  name, 
'*  And  ye  shall  a'  gae  safely  hame ;" 
But  they  a'  cried  out,  wi'  ae  consent, 
*'  We'll  fight  a  broken  Covenant."" 

**  O  well,"  says  he,  "  since  it  is  so, 
"  A  willfu'  man  never  wanted  woe." 
He  then  gave  a  sign  unto  his  lads, 
And  they  drew  up  in  their  brigades 


The  trumpets  blew,  and  the  colours  flew. 
And  every  man  to  his  armour  drew  ; 
The  whigs  were  never  so  much  aghast. 
As  to  see  their  saddles  toom  sae  fast. 


The  cleverest  men  stood  in  the  van. 
The  whigs  they  took  their  heels  and  ran ; 
But  such  a  raking  was  never  seen. 
As  the  raking  o'  the  RuUien  Green. 


58  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THE 

BATTLE  OF  LOUDON-HILL. 


The  whigs,  now  become  desperate,  adopted  the  most 
desperate  principles ;  and  retaliating,  as  far  as  they 
could,  the  intolerating  persecution  which  they  en- 
dured, they  openly  disclaimed  allegiance  to  any  mo- 
narch who  should  not  profess  Presbytery,  and  sub- 
scribe the  Covenant.  These  principles  were  not  likely 
to  conciliate  the  favour  of  government ;  and  as  we  wade 
onward  in  the  history  of  the  times,  the  scenes  become 
yet  darker.  At  length,  one  would  imagine  the  parties 
had  agreed  to  divide  the  kingdom  of  vice  betwixt 
them ;  the  hunters  assuming  to  themselves  open  pro- 
fligacy and  legalized  oppression  ;  and  the  hunted,  the 
opposite  attributes  of  h)rpocrisy,  fanaticism,  disloyalty, 
and  midnight  assassination.  The  troopers  and  cava- 
liers became  enthusiasts  in  the  pursuit  of  the  Cove- 
nanters. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  59 

boasted  of  prophetic  powers,  and  were  often  warned  of 
the  approach  of  the  soldiers  by. supernatural  impulse,* 
Captain  John  Creichton,  on  the  other  side,  dreamed 
dreams,  and  saw  visions,  (chiefly,  indeed,  after  having 
drunk  hard,)  in  which  the  lurking  holes  of  the  rebels 
were  discovered  to  his  imagination.t  Our  ears  are 
scarcely  more  shocked  with  the  profane  execrations  of 
the  persecutors,^  than  with  the  strange  and  insolent 
familiarity  used  towards  the  Deity  by  the  persecuted 
fanatics.    Their  indecent  modes  of  prayer,  their  extra- 


*  In  the  year  1684,  Peden,  one  of  the  Cameronian  preachers, 
about  ten  o'clock  at  night,  sitting  at  the  fire-side,  started  up  to  his 
feet,  and  said,  "  Flee,  auld  Sandie,  (thus  he  designed  himself,)  and 

"  hide  yourself !  for  Colonel  is  coming  to  this  house  to 

"  apprehend  you ;  and  I  advise  you  all  to  do  the  like,  for  he  will  be 
"  here  within  an  hour  ;"  which  came  to  pass :  and  when  they  had 
made  a  very  narrow  search,  within  and  without  the  house,  and  went 
round  the  thorn  bush,  under  which  he  was  lying  praying,  they  went 
off  without  their  prey.  He  came  in,  and  said,  "  And  has  this  gen- 
"  tleman  (designed  by  his  name)  given  poor  Sandie,  and  thir  poor 
"  things,  such  a  fright  ?  For  this  night's  work,  God  shall  give  him 
"  such  a  blow,  within  a  few  days,  that  all  the  physicians  on  earth 
"  shall  not  be  able  to  cure ;"  which  came  to  pass,  for  he  died  in 
great  misery. — Life  of  Alexander  Peden. 

•\  See  the  life  of  this  booted  apostle  of  prelacy,  written  by  Swift, 
who  had  collected  all  his  anecdotes  of  persecution,  and  appears  to  have 
enjoyed  them  accordingly. 

:J:  "  They  raved,"  says  Peden's  historian,  "  like  fleshly  devils, 
"  when  the  mist  shrouded  from  their  pursuit  the  wandering  whigs." 
One  gentleman  closed  a  declaration  of  vengeance  against  the  conven- 
ticlers,  with  this  strange  imprecation,  "  Or  may  the  devil  make  my 
•'  ribs  a  gridiron  to  ray  soul !" — MS.  Account  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Penpont.     Our  armies  swore  terribly  in  Flanders,  but  nothing  to  this. 


-60  MINSTRELSY  OF 

vagant  expectations  of  miraculous  assistance,  and  their 
supposed  inspirations,  might  easily  furnish  out  a  tale, 
at  which  the  goodwould  sigh,  and  the  gay  would  laugh.* 
In  truth,  extremes  always  approach  each  other ;  and 
the  superstition  of  the  Roman  Catholics  was,  in  some 
degree,  revived,  even  by  their  most  deadly  enemies. 
They  are  ridiculed,  by  the  cavaliers,  as  wearing  the 
relics  of  their  saints  by  way  of  amulet : — 

"  She  shewed  to  me  a  box,  wherein  lay  hid 

"  The  pictures  of  Cargil  and  Mr  Kid ; 

'«  A  splinter  of  the  tree,  on  which  they  were  slain  ; 

"  A  double  inch  of  Major  Weir's  best  cane ; 

"  Rathillet's  sword,  beat  down  to  table  knife, 

"  Which  took  at  Magus'  Muir  a  bishop's  life ; 

"  The  worthy  Welch's  spectacles,  who  saw, 

"  That  windle-straws  would  fight  against  the  law ; 

"  They,  windle-straws,  were  stoutest  of  the  two, 

"  They  kept  their  ground,  away  the  prophet  flew  ; 

"  And  lists  of  all  the  prophets'  names  were  seen 

"  At  Pentland  Hills,  Aird  Moss,  and  Rullen  Green. 

"  '  Don't  think,'  she  says,  '  these  holy  things  are  foppery  ; 
"  They're  precious  antidotes  against  the  power  of  popery.'  " 

The  Cameronian  Tooth — Peknycuick's /*oe»u,  p.  110. 

The  militia  and  standing  army  soon  became  unequal 
to  the  task  of  enforcing  conformity,  and  suppressing  con- 
venticles.    In  their  aid,  and  to  force  compliance  with  a 


♦  Peden  complained  heavily,  that,  after  a  heavy  struggle  with 
the  devil,  he  had  got  above  him,  spiir-gallcd  him  hard,  and  obtain- 
ed  a  wind  to  carry  him  from  Ireland  to  Scotland,  when,  behold  !  an- 
other person  had  set  sail,  and  reaped  the  advantage  of  his  prayer-wind 
before  he  could  embark. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  61 

test  proposed  by  government,  the  Highland  clans  were 
raised,  and  poured  down  into  Ayrshire.  An  armed  host 
of  undisciplined  mountaineers,  speaking  a  different  lan- 
guage, and  professing,  many  of  them,  another  rehgion, 
were  let  loose,  to  ravage  and  plunder  this  unfortunate 
country ;  and  it  is  truly  astonishing  to  find  how  few  acts 
of  cruelty  they  perpetrated,  and  how  seldom  they  add- 
ed murder  to  pillage.*  Additional  levies  of  horse  were 


Cleland  thus  describes  this  extraordinary  army  : 

"  — Those,  who  were  their  chief  commanders, 

"  As  such  who  bore  the  pirnie  standarts, 

"  Who  led  the  van,  and  drove  the  rear, 

"  Were  right  weel  mounted  of  their  gear  ; 

"  With  brogues,  and  trews,  and  pirnie  plaids, 

"  With  good  blue  bonnets  on  their  heads, 

"  Which,  on  the  one  side,  had  a  flipe, 

"  Adorn'd  with  a  tobacco-pipe, 

"  With  durk,  and  snap-work,  and  snufF-mill, 

"  A  bag,  which  they  with  onions  fill ; 

"  And,  as  their  strict  observers  say, 

"  A  tup-horn  filled  with  usquebay  ; 

'•  A  slasht  out  coat  beneath  her  plaides, 

"  A  targe  of  timber,  nails,  and  hides  ; 

"  With  a  long  two-handed  sword, 

"  As  good's  the  country  can  afford. 

"  Had  they  not  need  of  bulk  and  bones, 

"  Who  fought  with  all  these  arms  at  once. 

"  Of  mortal  honestie  they're  clean, 
"  Nought  like  religion  they  retain  ; 
"  In  nothing  they're  accounted  sharp, 
"  Except  in  bag-pipe,  and  in  harp ; 


62  MINSTRELSY  OF 

also  raised,  under  the  name  of  Independent  Troops, 
and  great  part  of  them  placed  under  the  command  of 
James  Graham  of  Claverhouse,  a  man  well  known  to 
fame  by  his  subsequent  title  of  Viscount  Dundee,  but 
better  remembered,  in  the  western  shires,  under  the 
designation  of  the  Bloody  Clavers.  In  truth,  he  ap- 
pears to  have  combined  the  virtues  and  vices  of  a  sa- 
vage chief.  Fierce,  unbending,  and  rigorous,  no  emo- 
tion of  compassion  prevented  his  commanding  and  wit- 
nessing every  detail  of  military  execution  against  the 
non-conformists  Undauntedly  brave,  and  steadily 
faithful  to  his  prince,  he  sacrificed  himself  in  the  cause 
of  James,  when  he  was  deserted  by  all  the  world.  II' 
we  add,  to  these  attributes,  a  goodly  person,  complete 
skill  in  martial  exercises,  and  that  ready  and  decisive 
character,  so  essential  to  a  commander,  we  may  form 
some  idea  of  this  extraordinary  character.  The  whigs, 
whom  he  persecuted,  daunted  by  his  ferocity  and  cou- 
rage, conceived  him  to  be  impassive  to  their  bullets,* 


"  For  a  misobliging  word, 

"  She'll  durk  her  neighbour  o'er  the  boord, 

"  And  then  she'll  flee  like  fire  from  flint, 

"  She'll  scarcely  ward  the  second  dint ; 

"  If  any  ask  her  of  her  thrift, 

"  Forsooth  her  nainsell  lives  by  thift." 

Cleland's  Poems,  Edin.  1697,  p.  12. 

*  It  was,  and  is  believed,  that  the  devil  furnished  his  favourites, 
among  the  persecutors,  with  what  is  called  proof  against  leaden  bul- 
lets, but  against  those  only.    During  the  battle  of  Pentland-hills,  Pa- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  63 

and  that  he  had  sold  himself,  for  temporal  greatness,  to 
the  seducer  of  mankind.  It  is  still  believed,  that  a  cup 
of  wine,  presented  to  him  by  his  butler,  changed  into 
clotted  blood ;  and  that,  when  he  plunged  his  feet  into 
cold  water,  their  touch  caused  it  to  boil.  The  steed, 
which  bore  him,  was  supposed  to  be  the  gift  of  Satan  ; 
and  precipices  are  shewn,  where  a  fox  could  hardly  keep 


ton  of  Meadowhead  conceived  he  saw  the  balls  hop  harmlessly  down 
from  General  Dalziel's  boots,  and,  to  counteract  the  spell,  loaded  his 
pistol  with  a  piece  of  silver  coin.  But  Dalziel,  having  his  eye  on  him, 
drew  back  behind  his  servant,  who  was  shot  dead. — Paioii's  Life.  At  a 
skirmish  in  Ayrshire,  some  of  the  wanderers  defended  themselves  in  a 
sequestered  house,  by  the  side  of  a  lake.  They  aimed  repeatedly,  but 
in  vain,  at  the  commander  of  the  assailants,  an  English  officer,  until, 
their  ammunition  running  short,  one  of  them  loaded  his  piece  with 
the  ball  at  the  head  of  the  tongs,  and  succeeded  in  shooting  the  hither- 
to impenetrable  captain.  To  accommodate  Dundee's  fate  to  their  own 
hypothesis,  the  Cameronian  tradition  runs,  that,  in  the  battle  of  Killi- 
crankie,  he  fell,  not  by  the  enemy's  fire,  but  by  the  pistol  of  one  of 
his  own  servants,  who,  to  avoid  the  spell,  had  loaded  it  with  a  silver 
button  from  his  coat.  One  of  their  writers  argues  thus :  "  Perhaps, 
"  some  may  think  this,  anent  proof-shot,  a  paradox,  and  be  ready  to 
"  object  here,  as  formerly,  concerning  Bishop  Sharpe  and  Dalziel — 
♦'  How  can  the  devil  have,  or  give,  power,  to  save  life  ?  Without  en- 
"  tering  upon  the  thing  in  its  reality,  I  shall  only  observe,  1.  That 
"  it  is  neither  in  his  power,  or  of  his  nature,  to  be  a  saviour  of  men's 
"  lives ;  he  is  called  Apollyon,  the  destroyer.  2.  That,  even  in  this 
"  case,  he  is  said  only  to  give  enchantment  against  one  kind  of  metal, 
'♦  and  this  does  not  save  life ;  for,  though  lead  could  not  take  Sharpe 
"  and  Claverhouse's  lives,  yet  steel  and  silver  could  do  it ;  and,  for 
"  Dalziel,  though  he  died  not  on  the  field,  yet  he  did  not  escape  the 
"  arrows  of  the  Almighty." — God's  Judgment  against  Persecutors. 
If  the  reader  be  not  now  convinced  of  the  thing  in  its  reality,  I  have 
nothing  to  add  to  such  exquisite  reasoning. 


04  MINSTRELSY  OF 

his  feet,  down  which  the  infernal  charger  conveyed  him 
safely,  in  pursuit  of  the  wanderers.  It  is  remembered 
with  terror,  that  Claverhouse  was  successful  in  every 
engagement  with  the  whigs,  except  that  at  Drumclog, 
or  Loudon-hill,  which  is  the  subject  of  the  following 
ballad.  The  history  of  Burly,  the  hero  of  the  piece, 
will  bring  us  immediately  to  the  causes  and  circum- 
stances of  that  event. 

John  Balfour  of  Kinloch,  commonly  called  Burly, 
was  one  of  the  fiercest  of  the  proscribed  sect.  A  gentle- 
man by  birth,  he  was,  says  his  biographer,  "  zealous 
**  and  honest-hearted,  courageous  in  every  enterprize, 
*'  and  a  brave  soldier,  seldom  any  escaping  that  came 
"  in  his  hands."  Life  of  John  Balfour.  Creichton  says, 
that  he  was  once  chamberlain  to  Archbishop  Sharpe, 
and,  by  negligence  or  dishonesty,  had  incun-ed  a  large 
arrear,  which  occasioned  his  being  active  in  his  mas- 
ter's assassination.  But  of  this  I  know  no  other  evi- 
dence than  Creichton's  assertion,  and  a  hint  in  Wod- 
row.  Burly  (for  that  is  his  most  common  designation) 
was  brother  in-law  to  Hackston  of  Rathillet,  a  wild 
enthusiastic  character,  who  joined  daring  courage  and 
skill  in  the  sword  to  the  fiery  zeal  of  his  sect.  Burly, 
himself,  was  less  eminent  for  religious  fervour,  than 
for  the  active  and  violent  share  which  he  had  in  the 
most  desperate  enterprizes  of  his  party.  His  name 
does  not  appear  among  the  Covenanters,  who  were  de- 
nounced for  the  affair  of  Pentland.  But,  in  l677,  Robert 
Hamilton,  afterwards  commander  of  the  insurgents  at 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  65 

Loudon  Hill,  and  Bothwell  Bridge,  with  several  other 
non-conformists,  were  assembled  at  this  Burly's  house, 
in  Fife.  There  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  soldiers, 
commanded  by  Captain  Carstairs,  whom  they  beat  oif, 
wounding  desperately  one  of  his  party.  For  this  resist- 
ance to  authority,  they  were  declared  rebels.  The  next 
exploit  in  which  Burly  was  engaged,  was  of  a  bloodier 
complexion  and  more  dreadful  celebrity.  It  is  well 
known,  that  James  Sharpe,  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews, 
was  regarded  by  the  rigid  Presbyterians,  not  only  as  a 
renegade,  who  had  turnedbackfrom  the  spiritual  plough, 
but  as  the  principal  author  of  the  rigours  exercised  against 
their  sect.  He  employed,  as  an  agent  of  his  oppression, 
one  Carmichael,  a  decayed  gentleman.  The  industry 
of  this  man,  in  procuring  information,  and  in  enforcing 
the  severe  penalties  against  conventiclers,  having  exci- 
ted the  resentment  of  the  Cameronians,  nine  of  their 
number,  of  whom  Burly  and  his  brother-in-law,  Hack- 
ston,  were  the  leaders,  assembled,  with  the  purpose  of 
way-laying  and  murdering  Carmichael ;  but,  while  they 
searched  for  him  in  vain,  they  received  tidings  that  the 
archbishop  himself  was  at  hand.  The  party  resorted  to 
prayer  ;  after  which,  they  agreed  unanimously,  that  the 
Lord  had  delivered  the  wicked  Haman  into  their  hand. 
In  the  execution  of  the  supposed  will  of  heaven,  they 
agreed  to  put  themselves  under  the  command  of  a  lead- 
er ;  and  they  requested  Hackston  of  Rathillet  to  accept 
the  office,  which  he  declined,  alleging,  that,  should  he 
comply  with  their  request,  the  slaughter  might  be  im- 

VOL.   I. 


66  MINSTRELSY   OF 

puted  to  a  private  quarrel,  which  existed  betwixt  him 
and  the  archbishop.  The  command  was  then  offered  to 
Burly,  who  accepted  it  without  scruple  ;  and  they  gal- 
loped off  in  pursuit  of  the  archbishop's  carriage,  which 
contained  himself  and  his  daughter.  Being  well  niount- 
edj  they  easily  overtook  and  disarmed  the  prelate's  at- 
tendants. Burly,  crying  out,  '•  Judas,  be  taken !"  rode 
up  to  the  carriage,  wounded  the  postillion,  and  ham- 
strung one  of  the  horses.  He  then  fired  into  the  coach 
a  piece,  charged  with  several  bullets,  so  near,  that  the 
archbishop's  gown  was  set  on  fire.  The  rest,  coming 
up,  dismounted,  and  dragged  him  out  of  the  carriage, 
when,  frightened  and  wounded,  he  crawled  towards 
Hackston,  who  still  remained  on  horseback,  and  begged 
for  mercy.  The  stern  enthusiast  contented  himself  with 
answering,  that  he  would  not  himself  lay  n  hand  on  him. 
Burly  and  his  men  again  fired  a  volley  upon  the  kneel- 
ing old  man  ;  and  were  in  the  act  of  riding  off,  when 
one,  who  remained  to  girth  his  horse,  unfortunately 
heard  the  daughter  of  their  victim  call  to  the  servant 
for  help,  exclaiming,  that  his  master  was  still  alive. 
Burly  then  again  dismounted,  struck  off  the  prelate's 
hat  with  his  foot,  and  split  his  skull  with  his  shable 
(broad  sword,)  although  one  of  the  party  (probably  Ra- 
thillet)  exclaimed,  "  Sparc  these  gray  hairs  !"*  The  rest 


*  They  believed  Shaq)  to  be  proof  against  shot ;  for  one  of  the 
murderers  told  Wodrow,  that,  at  the  sight  of  cold  iron,  liis  courage 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  67 

pierced  him  with  repeated  wounds.  They  plundered 
the  carriage,  and  rode  off,  leaving,  beside  the  mangled 
corpse,  the  daughter,  who  was  herself  wounded,  in  her 
pious  endeavour  to  interpose  betwixt  her  father  and  his 
murderers.  The  murder  is  accurately  represented,  in 
bas  relief,  upon  a  beautiful  monument,  erected  to  the 
memory  of  Archbishop  Sharp,  in  themetropolitan  church 
of  St  Andrews.  This  memorable  example  of  fanatic  re- 
venge was  acted  upon  Magus  Muir,  near  St  Andrews, 
3d  May,  1679-* 

Burly  was,  of  course,  obliged  to  leave  Fife ;  and,  upon 
the  25th  of  the  same  month,  he  arrived  in  Evandale,  in 
Lanarkshire,  along  with  Hackston,  and  a  fellow,  called 


fell.  They  no  longer  doubted  this,  when  they  found  in  his  pocket  a 
small  clue  of  silk,  rolled  round  a  bit  of  parchment,  marked  with  two 
long  words,  in  Hebrew  or  Chaldaic  characters.  Accordingly,  it  is  still 
averred,  that  the  balls  only  left  blue  marks  on  the  prelate's  neck  and 
breast,  although  the  discharge  was  so  near  as  to  burn  his  clothes. 

*  The  question,  whether  the  Bishop  of  St  Andrews'  death  was  mur- 
der, was  a  shibboleth,  or  experiment  inn  critcis,  frequently  put  to  the 
apprehended  conventiclers.  Isabel  Alison,  executed  at  Edinburgh, 
26th  January,  1681,  was  interrogated,  before  the  Privy  Council,  if 
she  conversed  with  David  Hackston  ?  "  I  answered,  I  did  converse 
"  with  him,  and  I  bless  the  Lord  that  ever  I  saw  him ;  for  I  never 
"  saw  ought  in  him  but  a  godly  pious  youth.  They  asked,  if  the  kill- 
"  ing  of  the  Bishop  of  St  Andrews  was  a  pious  act  ?  I  answered,  I  ne- 
*'  ver  heard  him  say  he  killed  him  ;  but,  if  God  moved  any,  and  put 
"  it  upon  them  to  execute  his  righteous  judgment  upon  him,  I  have 
"  nothing  to  say  to  that.  They  asked  me,  when  saw  ye  John  Balfour 
"  (Burly,)  that  pious  youth  ?  I  answered,  I  have  seen  him.  They 
"  asked,  when  ?  I  answered,  these  are  frivolous  questions;  I  am  not 
"  bound  to  answer  them." — Cloud  of  Witnesses,  p.  85. 


68  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Dingwall,  or  Daniel,  one  of  the  same  bloody  band. 
Here  he  joined  his  old  friend  Hamilton,  already  men- 
tioned ;  and,  as  they  resolved  to  take  up  arms,  they 
were  soon  at  the  head  of  such  a  body  of  the  "  chased 
"  and  tossed  western  men,"  as  they  thought  equal  to 
keep  the  field.  They  resolved  to  commence  their  ex- 
ploits upon  the  29th  of  May,  1(379,  being  the  anniver- 
sary of  the  Restoration,  appointed  to  be  kept  as  a  holi- 
day, by  act  of  parliament ;  an  institution  which  they 
esteemed  a  presumptuous  and  unholy  solemnity.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  the  head  of  eighty  horse,  tolerably  ap- 
pointed, Hamilton,  Burly,  and  Hackston,  entered  the 
royal  burgh  of  Rutherglen,  extinguished  the  bonfires 
made  in  honour  of  the  day,  burned  at  the  cross  the  acts 
of  parliament  in  favour  of  prelacy,  and  for  suppression 
of  conventicles,  as  well  as  those  acts  of  council,  which 
regulated  the  indulgence  granted  to  presbyterians. 
Against  all  these  acts  they  entered  their  solemn  protest, 
or  testimony,  as  they  called  it ;  and,  having  affixed  it  to 
the  cross,  concluded  with  prayer  and  psalms.  Being 
now  joined  by  a  large  body  of  foot,  so  that  their  strength 
seems  to  have  amounted  to  five  or  six  hundred  men, 
though  very  indifferently  armed,  they  encamped  upon 
Loudon  Hill.  Claverhouse,  who  was  in  gai-rison  at 
Glasgow,  instantly  marched  against  the  insurgents,  at 
the  head  of  his  own  troop  of  cavalry  and  others,  amount- 
ing to  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  He  arrived 
at  Hamilton  on  the  1st  of  June,  so  unexpectedly,  as  to 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOIIUEK.  69 

make  prisoner  John  King,  a  famous  preacher  among  the 
wanderers  ;  and  rapidly  continued  his  march,  carrying 
his  captive  along  with  him,  till  he  came  to  the  village 
of  Drumclog,  about  a  mile  east  of  Loudon  Hill,  and 
twelve  miles  south-west  of  Hamilton.  At  some  dis- 
tance from  this  place,  the  insurgents  were  skilfully  post- 
ed in  a  boggy  strait,  almost  inaccessible  to  cavalry,  ha- 
ving a  broad  ditch  in  their  front.  Claverhouse's  dra- 
goons discharged  their  carabines,  and  made  an  attempt 
to  charge  ;  but  the  nature  of  the  ground  threw  them 
into  total  disorder.  Burly,  who  commanded  the  hand- 
ful of  horse  belonging  to  the  whigs,  instantly  led  them 
down  on  the  disordered  squadrons  of  Claverhouse,  who 
were,  at  the  same  time,  vigorously  assaulted  by  the  foot, 
headed  by  the  gallant  Cleland,*  and  the  enthusiastic 


*  William  Cleland,  a  man  ol'  considerable  genius,  was  author  of 
several  poems,  published  in  1697.  His  Hudibrastic  verses  are  poor 
scurrilous  trash,  as  the  reader  may  judge  from  the  description  of  the 
Highlanders,  already  quoted.  But,  in  a  wild  rhapsody,  entitled, 
"  Hollo,  my  Fancy,"  he  displays  some  imagination.  His  anti-mo- 
narchical principles  seem  to  break  out  in  the  following  lines  : 

Fain  would  I  know  (if  beasts  have  any  reason) 
IJJalcons  killing  eagles  do  commit  a  treason  ? 

He  was  a  strict  non-conformist,  and,  after  the  Revolution,  became 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Earl  of  Angus's  regiment,  called  the  Came- 
ronian  regiment.  He  was  killed  21st  August,  1689,  in  the  church- 
yard of  Dunkeld,  which  his  corps  manfully  and  successfully  defended 
against  a  superior  body  of  Highlanders.  His  son  was  the  author  of 
the  letter  prefixed  to  the  Dunciad,  and  is  said  to  have  been  the  noto- 
rious Cleland,  who,  in  circumstances  of  pecuniary  embarrassment,  pros- 


70  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Hackstoii.  Claverhoiise  himself  was  forced  to  fly,  aiul 
was  in  the  utmost  danger  of  being  taken  ;  his  horse's 
belly  being  cut  open  by  the  stroke  of  a  scythe,  so  that 
the  poor  animal  trailed  his  bowels  for  more  than  a  mile. 
In  his  flight,  he  passed  King,  the  minister,  lately  his 
prisoner,  but  now  deserted  by  his  guard,  in  the  general 
confusion.  The  preacher  hollowed  to  the  flying  com- 
mander, "to  halt,  and  to  take  his  prisoner  with  him ;"  or, 
as  others  say,  "  to  stay,  and  take  the  afternoon's  preach- 
ing." Claverhouse,  at  length  remounted,  continued  his 
retreat  to  Glasgow.  He  lost,  in  the  skirmish,  about 
twenty  of  his  troopers,  and  his  own  cornet  and  kinsman, 
Robert  Graham,  whose  fate  is  alluded  to  in  the  ballad. 
Only  four  of  the  other  side  were  killed,  among  whom 
was  Dingwall,  or  Daniel,  an  associate  of  Burly  in  Sharpe's 
murder.  "  The  rebels,"  says  Crichton,  "■  finding  the  cor- 
"  net's  body,  and  supposing  it  to  be  that  of  Clavers,  be- 
"  cause  the  name  of  Graham  was  wrought  in  the  shirt- 
"  neck,  treated  it  with  the  utmost  inhumanity  ;  cutting 
"  off"  the  nose,  picking  out  the  eyes,  and  stabbing  it 
"  through  in  a  hundred  places."  The  same  charge  is 
brought  by  Guild,  in  his  Bell  uvi  Bolhiiellianum,  in  which 
occurs  the  following  account  of  the  skirmish  at  Drum- 
clog  :— 

Mons  est  occiduus  surgit  qui  celsus  in  oris 
(Nomine  Loudunum)  fossis  puteisque  profundis 


tituted  his  talents  to  the  composition  of  indecent  and  infamous  works  ; 
but  this  seems  inconsbtent  with  dates,  and  the  latter  personage  was 
probably  the  grandson  of  Colonel  Cleland. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  71 

Quot  scatet  hie  tcllus  et  ajirico  gramine  tectm  : 
Hue  colkcta  (ait)  numeroso  milite  cincta  ; 
Turhaferox,  matres,  pueri,  innuptceque  jpucllae  ; 
Qiiam  parat  egrcgia  Grcemus  dispersere  turma. 
Venit,  et  primo  campo  discedere  cogit  ; 
Post  hos  et  alios,  caiio  provolvit  inerti ; 
At  nurncrosa  cohors,  campum  dispcrsa  per  omncm, 
Circumfiita,  riiit  ;  turmasque  indagine  capias, 
Aggreditur  ;  virtus  nan  hie,  nee  profuit  ensis  ; 
Corripuerefugam,  viridi  sed  gramine  tectis, 
Precipitata  perit,  fossia,  pars  plurima,  quorum 
Cornipedes  hasere  Into,  sessore  rejccto : 
Turn  rabiosa  eohors,  misereri  ncscia,  stratus 
Invadit  laceratque  vivos :  hie  signifer  eJieu  ! 
Trajectus  glohulo,  Gra:mus  quofortior  alter. 
Inter  Scotigenas  fuerat,  necjustior  ullus ; 
Htmc  nianibus  rapuere  feris,  fuciemqtie  virilem 
Foedarunt,  lingua,  auriculus,  manibusque  resectis, 
Aspera,  diffuso,  spargentes  saxa,  cerebro  ; 
Vix  dux  ipscfuga  salvus,  namque  cxta  trahebat 
Vulriere  tardatus,  sonipes  generosus  hiante  ; 
Insequitur  clamore,  cohors  fanatica,  namque 
Crudelis  semper  timidus  si  vicerit  unquam. 

MS.  Bellum  Bothuellianum. 

Although  Burly  was  among  the  most  active  leaders  in 
the  action,  he  was  not  the  commander  in  chief,  as  one 
would  conceive  from  the  ballad.  That  honour  belonged 
to  Robert  Hamilton,  brother  to  Sir  William  Hamilton  of 
Preston,  a  gentleman,  who,  like  most  of  those  at  Drum- 
clog,  had  imbibed  the  very  wildest  principles  of  fanati- 
cism. The  Cameronian  account  of  the  insurrection 
states,  that  "  Mr  Hamilton  discovered  a  great  deal  of 
"  bravery  and  valour,  both  in  the  conflict  with,  and  pur- 


72  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  suit  of  the  enemy ;  but  when  he  and  some  others  were 
"  pursuing  the  enemy,  others  flew  too  greedily  upon 
"  the  spoil,  small  as  it  was,  instead  of  pursuing  the  vic- 
"  tory :  and  some,  without  Mr  Hamilton's  knowledge, 
"  and  against  his  strict  command,  gave  five  of  these 
"  bloody  enemies  quarters,  and  then  let  them  go :  this 
"  greatly  grieved  Mr  Hamilton,  when  he  saw  some  of 
"  Babel's  brats  spared,  after  the  Lord  had  delivered 
"  them  to  their  hands,  that  they  might  dash  them  against 
"  the  stones."  Psalm  cxxxvii.  9.  In  his  own  account  of 
this,  "  he  reckons  the  sparing  of  these  enemies,  and  let- 
"  ting  them  go,  to  be  among  their  first  stepping  aside ; 
"  for  which  he  feared  that  the  Lord  would  not  honour 
"  them  to  do  much  more  for  him  ;  and  says,  that  he  was 
"  neither  for  taking  favours  from,  nor  giving  favours 
"  to,  the  Lord's  enemies."  Burly  was  not  a  likely  man 
to  fall  into  this  sort  of  backsliding.  He  disarmed  one 
of  the  Duke  of  Hamilton's  servants,  who  had  been  in 
the  action,  and  desired  him  to  tell  his  master,  he  would 
keep,  till  meeting,  the  pistols  he  had  taken  from  him. 
The  man  described  Burly  to  the  duke  as  a  little  stout 
man,  squint-eyed,  and  of  a  most  ferocious  aspect ;  from 
which  it  appears  that  Burly's  figure  corresponded  to  his 
manners,  and  perhaps  gave  rise  to  his  nickname.  Burly, 
signifying  strong.  He  was  with  the  msurgents  till  the 
battle  of  Bothwell  Bridge,  and  afterwards  fled  to  Hol- 
land. He  joined  the  Prince  of  Orange,  but  died  at  sea, 
during  the  expedition.  The  Cameronians  still  believe 
7 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  73 

he  had  obtained  liberty  from  the  prince  to  be  avenged 
of  those  who  had  prosecuted  the  Lord's  people ;  but, 
through  his  death,  the  laudable  design  of  purging  the 
land  with  their  blood,  is  supposed  to  have  fallen  to  the 
ground. — Life  of  Balfour  of  Kinloch. 

The  consequences  of  the  battle  of  Loudon  Hill  will 
be  detailed  in  the  introduction  to  the  next  ballad. 


74  JSHNSTllELSY  OF 


BATTLE  OF  LOUDON  HILL. 


You'l  marvel  when  I  tell  ye  o' 
Our  noble  Burly,  and  his  train  ; 

When  last  he  march'd  up  thro'  the  land, 
Wi'  sax-and-twenty  Westland  men. 


Than  they  I  ne'er  o'  braver  heard, 
For  they  had  a'  baith  wit  and  skill ; 

I'hey  proved  right  Avell,  as  I  heard  tell, 
As  they  cam  up  o'er  Loudon  Hill. 


Weel  prosper  a'  the  gospel  lads, 
That  are  into  the  west  countrie  ; 

Aye  wicked  Claver'se  to  demean, 
And  aye  an  ill  dcid  may  he  die  .' 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEK.  75 

For  he's  drawn  up  i'  battle  rank, 

An'  that  baith  soon  an'  hastilie  ; 
But  they  vvha  live  till  simmer  come, 

Some  bludie  days  for  this  will  see. 


But  up  spak  cruel  Claver'se  then, 
Wi'  hastie  wit,  an'  wicked  skill ; 

"  Gie  fire  on  yon  Westlan'  men  ; 
"  I  think  it  is  my  sov'reign's  will. 


But  up  bespake  his  Cornet,  then, 
"  It's  be  wi'  nae  consent  o'  me  ! 

"  I  ken  I'll  ne'er  come  back  again, 
"  An'  mony  mae  as  weel  as  me. 

"  There  is  not  ane  of  a'  yon  men, 
"  But  wha  is  worthy  other  three ; 

"  There  is  na  ane  amang  them  a', 
"  That  in  his  cause  will  stap  to  die. 

"  An'  as  for  Burly,  him  I  knaw  ; 

"  He's  a  man  of  honour,  birth,  and  fame  , 
"  Gie  him  a  sword  into  his  hand, 

"  He'll  fight  thysel  an'  other  ten." 


76  MINSTRELSY  OF 

But  up  spake  wicked  Claver'se  then, 
I  wat  his  heart  it  raise  fu'  liie  .' 

And  he  has  cry'd  that  a"  might  hear, 
"  Mail,  ye  hae  sair  deceived  me. 

"  I  never  ken'd  the  hke  afore, 

"  Na,  never  since  I  came  frae  hame, 

*'  That  you  sae  cowardly  here  suld  prove, 
"  An'  yet  come  of  a  noble  Graeme.'" 

But  up  bespake  his  Cornet,  then, 
'*  Since  that  it  is  your  honour's  will, 

"  Mysel  shall  be  the  foremost  man, 
"  That  shall  gie  fire  on  Loudon  Hill. 


"  At  your  command  I'll  lead  them  on, 
"  But  yet  v\'i'  nae  consent  o'  me  ; 

"  For  weel  I  ken  I'll  ne'er  return, 
"  And  mony  mae  as  weel  as  me." 


Then  up  he  drew  in  battle  rank  ; 

I  wat  he  had  a  bonny  train  ! 
But  the  first  time  that  bullets  flew, 

Aye  he  lost  twenty  o'  his  men. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  77 

Then  back  he  came  the  way  he  gaed, 

I  wat  right  soon  and  suddenly  ! 
He  gave  command  amang  his  men, 

And  sent  them  back,  and  bade  them  flee. 


Then  up  came  Burly,  bauld  an  stout, 
Wi's  little  train  o"*  Westland  men ; 

Wha  mair  than  either  aince  or  twice 
In  Edinburgh  confined  had  been. 


They  hae  been  up  to  London  sent, 
An"*  yet  theyVe  a'  come  safely  down  ; 

Sax  troop  o*"  horsemen  they  hae  beat, 
And  chased  them  into  Glasgow  town. 


78  MINSTREI.SV  OF 


BATTLE  OF  BOTHWELL-BRIDGE. 


It  has  been  often  remarked,  that  the  Scottish,  notwith- 
standing their  national  courage,  were  always  unsuccess- 
ful when  fighting  for  their  religion.  The  cause  lay,  not 
in  the  principle,  but  in  the  mode  of  its  application.  A 
leader,  like  Mahomet,  who  is  at  the  same  time  the  pro- 
phet of  his  tribe,  may  avail  himself  of  religious  enthusi- 
asm, because  it  comes  to  the  aid  of  discipline,  and  is  a 
powerful  means  of  attaining  the  despotic  command,  es- 
sential to  the  success  of  a  general.  But,  among  the  in- 
surgents, in  the  reigns  of  the  last  Stuarts,  were  mingled 
preachers,  who  taught  different  shades  of  the  presby- 
terian  doctrine;  and,  minute  as  these  shades  sometimes 
were,  neither  the  several  shepherds,  nor  their  flocks, 
could  cheerfully  unite  in  a  common  cause.  This  will 
appear  from  the  transactions  leading  to  the  battle  of 
Botliwell-Bridge, 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  79 

We  have  seen  that  tlie  party,  which  defeated  Claver- 
house  at  Loudon  Hill,  were  Cameronians,  whose  princi- 
ples consisted  in  disowning  all  temporal  authority,  which 
did  not  flow  from  and  through  the  Solemn  League  and 
Covenant.  This  doctrine,  which  is  still  retained  by  a 
scattered  remnant  of  the  sect  in  Scotland,  is  in  theory, 
and  would  be  in  practice,  inconsistent  with  the  safety  of 
any  well-regulated  government,  because  the  Covenant- 
ers deny  to  their  governors  that  toleration,  which  was 
iniquitously  refused  to  themselves.  In  many  respects, 
therefore,  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  the  anxiety  and  ri- 
gour with  which  the  Cameronians  were  persecuted,  al- 
though we  may  be  of  opinion,  that  milder  means  would 
have  induced  a  melioration  of  their  pi-inciples.  These 
men,  as  already  noticed,  excepted  against  such  Presby- 
terians, as  were  contented  to  exercise  their  worship 
under  the  indulgence  granted  by  government,  or,  in 
other  words,  who  would  have  been  satisfied  with  tole- 
ration for  themselves,  without  insisting  upon  a  revolu- 
tion in  the  state,  or  even  in  the  church  government. 

When,  however,  the  success  at  Loudon  Hill  was 
spread  abroad,  the  number  of  preachers,  gentlemen,  and 
common  people,  who  had  embraced  the  more  modei'ate 
doctrine,  joined  the  army  of  Hamilton,  thinking,  that 
the  difference  in  their  opinions  ought  not  to  prevent 
their  acting  in  the  common  cause.  The  insurgents  were 
repulsed  in  an  attack  upon  the  town  of  Glasgow,  which, 
however,  Claverhouse,  shortly  afterwards,  thought  it 


so  MINSTRELSY  OF 

necessary  to  evacuate.  They  were  now  nearly  in  full 
possession  of  the  west  of  Scotland,  and  pitched  their 
camp  at  Hamilton,  where,  instead  of  modelling  and  dis- 
ciplining their  army,  the  Cameronians  and  Erastians 
(for  so  the  violent  insurgents  chose  to  call  the  more 
moderate  Presbyterians)  only  debated,  in  council  of 
war,  the  real  cause  of  their  being  in  arms.  Hamilton, 
their  general,  was  the  leader  of  the  first  party ;  Mr 
John  Walsh,  a  minister,  headed  the  Erastians.  The 
latter  so  far  prevailed,  as  to  get  a  declaration  drawn  up, 
in  which  they  owned  the  King's  government ;  but  the 
publication  of  it  gave  rise  to  new  quarrels.  Each  fac- 
tion had  its  own  set  of  leaders,  all  of  whom  aspired  to 
be  officers ;  and  there  were  actually  two  councils  of  war 
issuing  contrary  orders  and  declarations  at  the  same 
time ;  the  one  owning  the  King,  and  the  other  design- 
ing him  a  malignant,  bloody,  and  perjured  tyrant. 

Meanwhile,  their  numbers  and  zeal  were  magnified  at 
Edinburgh,  and  great  alarm  excited  lest  they  should 
march  eastward.  Not  only  was  the  foot  militia  instantly 
called  out,  but  proclamations  were  issued,  directing  all 
the  heritors,  in  the  eastern,  southern,  and  northern  shires, 
to  repair  to  the  king's  host,  with  their  best  horses,  arms, 
and  retainers.  In  Fife,  and  other  countries,  where  the 
presbyterian  doctrines  prevailed,  many  gentlemen  dis- 
obeyed this  order,  and  were  afterwards  severely  fined. 
Most  of  them  alleged,  in  excuse,  the  apprehension  of 


THE  SCOTTISH  E-OT.DER.  81 

disquiet  from  their  wives.*  A  respectable  force  was 
soon  assembled  ;  and  James,  Duke  of  Buccleuch  and 
Monmouth,  was  sent  down,  by  Charles,  to  take  the 
command,  furnished  with  instructions,  not  unfavour- 
able to  the  Presbyterians.  The  royal  army  now  moved 
slowly  forward  towards  Hamilton,  and  reached  Both- 
well-moor  on  the  22d  of  June,  I679.  The  insurgents 
were  encamped  chiefly  in  the  Duke  of  Hamilton's  park, 
along  the  Clyde,  which  separated  the  two  armies.  Both- 
well-bridge,  which  is  long  and  narrow,  had  then  a  por- 
tal in  the  middle,  with  gates,  which  the  Covenanters 
shut,  and  barricadoed  with  stones  and  logs  of  timber. 
Tliis  important  post  was  defended  by  three  hundred 
of  their  best  men,  vxnder  Hackston  of  Rathillet,  and 
Hall  of  Haughhead.  Early  in  the  morning,  this  party 
crossed  the  bridge,  and  skirmished  with  tlie  royal  van- 
guard, now  advanced  as  far  as  the  village  of  Both  well. 
But  Hackston  speedily  retired  to  his  post,  at  the  west- 
ern end  of  Bothvvell-bridge. 

While  the  dispositions,  made  by  the  Duke  of  Mon- 
mouth, announced  his  purpose  of  assailing  the  pass, 
the  more  moderate  of  the  insurgents  resolved  to  offer 


•  "  Balcanquhall  of  that  ilk  alleged,  that  his  horses  were  robbci!, 
"  but  shunned  to  take  the  declaration,  for  fear  of  disquiet  from  his 
♦'  wife.  Young  of  Kirkton — his  ladyes  dangerous  sickness,  and  bit- 
"  ter  curses  if  he  should  leave  her,  and  the  appearance  of  abortion 
"  on  his  offering  to  go  from  her.  And  many  others  pled,  in  general 
"  terms,  that  their  wives  opposed  or  contradicted  their  going.  But 
"  the  Justiciary  Court  found  this  defence  totally  irrelevant."— FouN- 
TAINHAI.I.'S  Drdsioux,  vol.  I.  p.  "i^. 
VOL.   II.  1' 


82  MINSTKELSY  OF 

terms.  Ferguson  of  Kaitloch,  a  gentleman  of  landed 
fortime,  and  David  Hume,  a  clergyman,  carried  to  the 
Duke  of  Monmouth  a  supplication,  demanding  free 
exercise  of  their  religion,  a  free  parliament,  and  a  free 
general  assembly  of  the  church.  The  Duke  heard 
their  demands  with  his  natural  mildness,  and  assured 
them,  he  would  interpose  with  his  Majesty  in  their  be- 
half, on  condition  of  their  immediately  dispersing  them- 
selves, and  yielding  up  their  arms.  Had  the  insurgents 
been  all  of  the  moderate  opinioo,  this  proposal  would 
have  been  accepted,  much  bloodshed  saved,  and,  per- 
liaps,  some  permanent  advantage  derived  to  their  party; 
or,  had  they  been  all  Cameronians,  their  defence  would 
have  been  fierce  and  desperate.  But,  while  their  motley 
and  misassorted  officers  were  debating  upon  the  Duke's 
proposal,  his  field-pieces  were  already  planted  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  river,  to  cover  the  attack  of  the  foot 
guards,  who  were  led  on  by  Lord  Livingstone  to  force 
the  bridge.  Here  Hackston  maintained  his  post  with 
zeal  and  courage ;  nor  was  it  until  all  his  ammunition 
was  expended,  and  every  support  denied  him  by  the 
general,  that  he  reluctantly  abandoned  the  important 
pass.*     When  his  party  were  drawn  back,  the  Duke's 


"  There  is  an  accurate  representation  of  this  part  of  the  engagement 
in  an  old  painting,  of  which  there  are  two  copies  extant ;  one  in  the 
collection  of  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Hamilton,  the  other  at  Dalkeith 
House.  The  whole  appearance  of  the  ground,  even  including  a  few 
old  houses,  is  the  same  which  the  scene  now  presents.  The  removal 
of  the  porch,  or  gateway,  upon  the  bridge,  is  the  only  perceptible  dif- 
ference.    The  Duke  of  Monmouth,  on  a  wliite  chargrer,  directs  the 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOEDER.  83 

ai'my,  slowly,  and  with  their  cannon  in  front,  defiled 
along  the  bridge,  and  formed  in  line  of  battle,  as  they 
came  over  the  river ;  the  Duke  commanded  the  foot, 
and  Claverhouse  tlie  cavalry.  It  would  seem,  that 
these  movements  could  not  have  been  performed  with- 
out at  least  some  loss,  had  the  enemy  been  serious  in 
opposing  them.  But  the  insurgents  were  otherwise 
employed.  With  the  strangest  delusion  that  ever  fell 
upon  devoted  beings,  they  chose  these  precious  mo- 
ments to  Cashier  their  officers,  and  elect  others  in  their 
room.  In  this  important  operation,  they  were  at  length 
disturbed  by  the  Duke's  cannon,  at  the  very  first  dis- 
charge of  which  the  horse  of  the  Covenanters  wheeled, 
and  rode  off,  breaking  and  trampling  down  the  ranks 
of  their  infantry  in  their  flight.  The  Cameronian  ac- 
count blames  Weir  of  Greenridge,  a  commander  of 
the  horse,  who  is  termed  a  sad  Achan  in  the  camp. 
The  more  moderate  party  lay  the  whole  blame  on  Ha- 
milton, whose  conduct,  they  say,  left  the  world  to  de- 
bate, whether  he  was  most  traitor,  coward,  or  fool. 
The  generous  Monmouth  was  anxious  to  spare  the 
blood  of  his  infatuated  countrymen,  by  which  he  in- 
curred much  blame  among  the  high-flying  royalists. 
Lucky  it  was  for  the  insurgents  that  the  battle  dkl  not 


march  of  the  party  engaged  in  storming  the  bridge,  while  his  artillery 
gall  the  motley  ranks  of  the  Covenanters.  An  engraving  of  this  paint- 
ing would  be  acceptable  to  the  curious  ;  and  I  am  satisfied  an  oppor- 
tunity of  copying  it,  for  that  purpose,  would  be  readily  granted  by 
either  of  the  noble  proprietors. 


84  MINSTREI.SY  OF 

Jiappen  a  day  later,  -when  old  General  Dalziel,  who  di- 
vided with  Claverhouse  the  terror  and  hatred  of  the 
whigs,  arrived  in  the  camp,  with  a  commission  to  su- 
persede Monmouth,  as  commander-in-chief.  He  is 
said  to  have  upbraided  the  Duke,  publicly,  with  his 
lenity,  and  heartily  to  have  wished  his  own  commission 
had  come  a  day  sooner,  when,  as  he  expressed  himself, 
"  These  rogues  should  never  more  have  troubled  the 
"  King  or  country."*  But,  notwithstanding  the  mer- 
ciful orders  of  the  Duke  of  Monmouth,  the  cavalry 
made  great  slaughter  among  the  fugitives,  of  whom 
four  hundred  were  slain.   Guild  thus  expresses  himself: 

Et  ni  Dux  validus  tenuisset  forte  cafervas, 

Vix  fjiii.iqi(am  profiigus  vUam  servassei  hiertem  : 


"  Dalziel  was  a  man  of  savage  manners.  A  prisoner  having  railed 
at  him,  while  under  examination  before  the  Privy  Council,  calling  him 
"  a  Muscovia  beast,  who  used  to  roast  men,  the  general,  in  a  passion, 
"  struck  him  with  the  pomel  of  his  shabble,  on  the  face,  till  the  blood 
"  sprung." — FoviNTAiNHALL,  vol.  I.  p.  159i  He  had  sworn  never 
to  shave  his  beard  after  the  death  of  Charles  the  First.  This  venerable 
appendage  reached  his  girdle,  and,  as  he  wore  always  an  old-fashion- 
ed buff-coat,  his  appearance  in  London  never  failed  to  attract  the  no- 
tice of  the  children  and  of  the  mob.  King  Charles  II.  used  to  swear 
at  him,  for  bringing  such  a  rabble  of  boys  together,  to  be  squeezed  to 
death,  while  they  gaped  at  his  long  beard  and  antique  habit,  and  ex- 
horted him  to  shave  and  dress  like  a  Christian,  to  keep  the  poor  bairn.t, 
as  Dalziel  expressed  it,  out  of  danger.  In  compliance  with  this  re- 
quest, he  once  appeared  at  court  fashionably  dressed,  excepting  the 
beard  ;  but,  when  the  King  had  laughed  sufficiently  at  the  metamor- 
phosis, he  resumed  his  old  dress,  to  the  great  joy  of  the  boys,  his 
usual  attendants. — CnEiCH ton's  Memuiis,  p.  103. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  85 

Nou  audita  Diwis  verum  niandata  supremi 
Omnihus,  inseqiiittir  fiigkutcs  plurkna  turha. 
Per  que  agros,  passhn,  trepida  forviidine  captos 
Ohtruncat,  scEvumque  adigit  per  viscera  ferrum. 

MS.  Bellum  Bothuellianum. 

The  same  deplorable  circumstances  are  more  elegant- 
ly bewailed  in  Clyde,  a  poem,  reprinted  in  Scottish  De- 
scriptive Poems,  edited  by  the  late  Dr  John  Leyden, 
Edinburgh,  1803  : 

"  Where  Bothwell's  bridge  connects  the  margin  steep, 

"  And  Clyde,  below,  runs  silent,  strong,  and  deep, 

"  The  hardy  peasant,  by  oppression  driven 

"  To  battle,  deem'd  his  caijse  the  cause  of  heaven  ; 

"  Unskill'd  in  arms,  with  useless  courage  stood, 

"  While  gentle  Monmouth  grieved  to  shed  his  blood  ; 

"  But  fierce  Dundee,  inflamed  with  deadly  hate, 

"  In  vengeance  for  the  great  Montrose's  fate, 

"  Let  loose  the  sword,  and  to  the  hero's  shade 

"  A  barbarous  hecatomb  of  victims  paid." 

The  object  of  Claverhouse's  revenge,  assigned  by 
Wilson,  is  grander,  though  more  remote  and  less  natu- 
ral, than  that  in  the  ballad,  which  imputes  the  severity 
of  the  pursuit  to  his  thirst  to  revenge  the  death  of  his 
cornet  and  kinsman,  at  Drumclog  ;*  and  to  the  quarrel 


*  There  is  some  reason  to  conjecture,  that  the  revenge  of  the  Ca- 
nieronians,  if  successful,  would  have  been  little  less  sanguinary  than 
thiit  of  the  royalists.  Creichton  mentions,  that  they  had  erected,  in 
their  camp,  a  high  pair  of  gallows,  and  prepared  a  quantity  of  halters, 
to  hang  such  prisoners  as  might  fall  into  their  hands ;  and  he  admires 
the  forbearance  of  the  King's  soldiers,  who,  when  they  returned  with 
their  prisoners,  brought  them  to  the  very  spot  where  the  gallows  stood, 
and  guarded  them  there,  withoiU  oftVring  to  hung  a  single  individual. 


86  MINSTUEI.SY  OF 

betwixt  Claverhoiise  and  Monmouth,  it  ascribes,  -with 
great  naivele,  the  bloody  fate  of  the  latter.  Local  tra- 
dition is  always  apt  to  trace  foreign  events  to  the  do- 
mestic causes,  which  are  more  immediately  in  the  nar- 
rator's view.  There  is  said  to  be  another  song  upon  this 
battle,  once  very  popular,  but  I  have  not  been  able  to 
recover  it.     This  copy  is  given  from  recitation. 

There  were  two  Gordons  of  Earlstoun,  father  and 
son.  They  were  descended  of  an  ancient  family  in  the 
west  of  Scotland,  and  their  progenitors  were  believed  to 
have  been  favourers  of  the  reformed  doctrine,  and  pos- 
sessed of  a  translation  of  the  Bible  as  early  as  the  days 
of  Wickliffe.  William  Gordon,  the  father,  was,  in  IdQS, 
summoned  before  the  privy  council,  for  keeping  con- 
venticles in  his  house  and  woods.  By  another  act  of 
council,  he  was  banished  out  of  Scotland,  but  the  sen- 
tence was  never  put  into  execution.  In  IG67,  Earlstoun 
was  turned  out  of  his  house,  which  was  converted  into 
a  garrison  for  the  King's  soldiers.  He  was  not  in  the 
battle  of  Bothwell  Bridge,  but  was  met,  hastening  to- 
wards it,  by  some  English  dragoons,  engaged  in  the 
pursuit,  already  commenced.  As  he  refused  to  surren- 
der, he  was  instantly  slain.—- Wilson's  History  of  Bolh- 
ivell  Rising — Life  of  Gordon  of Earlston,  in  Scollish  JVor- 
lines — Won  row's  Ilislory,  vol.  II.  The  son,  Alexander 
Gordon  of  Earlstoun,  I  suppose  to  be  the  hero  of  the 


Guild,  in  the  Bclliim  UotliucUianum,  alludes  to  the  same  story,  which 
is  rendered  probable  by  the  character  of  Hamilton,  the  insurgent  ge- 
ueraL     Guild's  it/i'A'.— Ckeichton's  Memoirs,  p.  61. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEK.  87 

ballad.  He  was  not  a  Cameronian,  but  of  the  more 
moderate  class  of  Presbyterians,  whose  sole  object  was 
freedom  of  conscience,  and  relief  from  the  ioppressive 
laws  against  non  conformists.  He  joined  the  insurgents 
shortly  after  the  skirmish  at  Loudon-hill.  He  appears 
to  have  been  active  in  forwarding  the  supplication  sent 
to  the  Duke  of  Monmouth.  After  the  battle,  he  escaped 
discovery,  by  flying  into  a  house  at  Hamilton,  belong- 
ing to  one  of  his  tenants,  and  disguising  himself  in  fe- 
male attire.  His  person  was  proscribed,  and  his  estate 
of  Earlstoun  was  bestowed  upon  Colonel  Theophilus 
Ogilthorpe,  by  the  crown,  first  in  security  for  L.5000, 
and  afterwards  in  perpetuity. — Fountainhall,  p.  SQO, 
The  same  author  mentions  a  person  tried  at  the  Circuit 
Court,  July  10, 1683,  solely  for  holding  intercourse  with 
Earlstoun,  an  inter-communed  (proscribed)  rebel.  As 
he  had  been  in  Holland  after  the  battle  of  Bothwell,  he 
was  probably  accessory  to  the  scheme  of  invasion,  which 
the  unfortunate  Earl  of  Argyle  was  then  meditating. 
He  was  apprehended  upon  his  return  to  Scotland,  tried, 
convicted  of  treason,  and  condemned  to  die ;  but  his 
fate  was  postponed  by  a  letter  from  the  King,  appoint- 
ing him  to  be  reprieved  for  a  month,  that  he  might,  in 
the  interim,  be  tortured  for  the  discovery  of  his  accom- 
plices. The  council  had  the  unusual  spirit  to  remon- 
strate against  tliis  illegal  course  of  severity.  On  No- 
vember 3,  1653,  he  received  a  farther  respite,  in  hopes 
he  would  make  some  discovery.    When  brought  to  the 


88  1MIXSTRE1.SY  or 

bar,  to  be  tortured  (for  the  King  liad  reiterated  his  com- 
mands), he,  through  fear,  or  distraction,  roared  Hke  a 
bull,  and  laid  so  stoutly  about  him,  that  the  hangman 
and  his  assistant  could  hardly  master  him.  At  last  he 
fell  into  a  swoon,  and,  on  his  recovery,  charged  Gene- 
ral Dalziel  and  Drummond  (violent  Tories),  together 
with  tlie  Duke  of  Hamilton,  with  being  the  leaders  of 
the  fanatics.  It  was  generally  thought  that  he  affected 
this  extravagant  behaviour  to  invalidate  all  that  agony 
might  extort  from  him  concerning  his  real  accomplices. 
He  was  sent,  first,  to  Edinburgh  Castle,  and,  afterwards, 
to  a  prison  upon  the  Bass  island ;  although  the  Privy 
Council  more  than  once  deliberated  upon  appointing  his 
immediate  death.  On  22d  August,  lG84,  Earlstoun  was 
sent  for  from  the  Bass,  and  ordered  for  execution,  4tli 
November,  16'84.  He  endeavoured  to  prevent  his  doom 
by  escape ;  but  was  discovered  and  taken,  after  he  had 
gained  the  roof  of  the  prison.  The  Council  deliberated, 
whether,  in  consideration  of  this  attempt,  he  was  not 
liable  to  instant  execution.  Finally,  however,  they  were 
satisfied  to  imprison  him  in  Blackness  Castle,  where  he 
remained  till  after  the  Revolution,  when  he  was  set  at 
liberty,  and  his  doom  of  forfeiture  reversed  by  act  of 
Parliament. — See  Fountainuall,  vol.  I.  pp.  238,  240, 
245,  250,  301,  502. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEE,.  89 


THE 

BATTLE  OF  BOTHWELL-BRIDGE. 


"  O  BiLLiE,  billie,  bonny  billie, 
"  Will  ye  go  to  the  Avood  wi"*  me  ? 

"  Well  ca'  our  horse  hame  masterless, 
*'  An  ffar  them  troAV  slain  men  are  we.* 


"  O  no,  O  no  !"  says  Earlstoun, 

"  For  that's  the  thing  that  mauna  be 

"  For  I  am  sworn  to  Bothwell  Hill, 
"  Where  I  maun  either  gae  or  die." 

So  Earlstoun  rose  in  the  morning, 
An'  mounted  by  the  break  o'  da}'^ ; 

An'  he  has  joined  our  Scottish  lads, 
As  they  were  marching  out  the  way.  . 


90  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Now,  fareweel,  father,  and  fareweel,  mother, 
"  And  fare  ye  weel,  my  sisters  three  ; 

"  An  fare  yc  weel,  my  Earlstoun, 
"  For  thee  again  111  never  see  !'' 


So  they're  awa'  to  Bothwell  Hill, 

An'  waly*  they  rode  bonnily  ! 
When  the  Duke  o'  Monmouth  saw  them  comin', 

He  went  to  view  their  company. 

"  Ye're  welcome,  lads,"  then  Monmouth  said, 
*'  Ye're  welcome,  brave  Scots  lads,  to  me ; 

"  And  sae  are  ye,  brave  Earlstoun, 
"  The  foremost  o'  your  company  ! 


"  But  yield  your  weapons  ane  an'  a' ; 

"  O  yield  your  weapons,  lads,  to  mc  ; 
"  For,  gin  ye'U  yield  your  weapons  up, 

*'  Ye'se  a'  gae  hame  to  your  country. 

Out  up  then  spak  a  Lennox  lad. 
And  waly  but  he  spak  bonnily  ! 

"  I  winna  yield  my  weapons  up, 
"  To  you  nor  nae  man  that  I  see.'" 

»  Wa/>/ !  an  interjection. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEll.  91 

Then  he  set  up  the  flag  o'  red, 

A'  set  about  wi'  bonny  blue  ; 
^^  Since  yell  no  cease,  and  be  at  peace, 

"  See  that  ye  stand  by  ither  true." 


They  stelPd*  their  cannons  on  the  height, 
And  showr'^d  their  shot  down  in  the  howe  ;-f- 

An**  beat  our  Scots  lads  even  down. 
Thick  they  lay  slain  on  every  knowe.J 

As  e'er  you  saw  the  rain  down  fa'. 
Or  yet  the  arrow  frae  the  bow,— 

Sae  our  Scottish  lads  fell  even  down, 
An'  they  lay  slain  on  every  knowe. 

"  O  hold  your  hand,"  then  Monmouth  cry'd, 
"  Gie  quarters  to  yon  men  for  me  V 

But  wicked  Claver'se  swore  an  oath, 
His  Cornet's  death  reveng'd  sud  be. 

^'  O  hold  your  hand,"  then  Monmouth  ci-y'd, 

"  If  ony  thing  you'll  do  for  me  ; 
■•'  Hold  up  your  hand,  you  cui'sed  Graeme, 

"  Else  a  rebel  to  our  King  yc'll  be." 

'"  ,y/e«'(f— Planted.       f  Howe-^Hollov.       +  A'«o»c— Knoll 


92  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Then  wicked  Claver'sc  turnd  about, 

I  wot  an  angry  man  was  he  ; 
And  he  has  Ufted  up  his  hat. 

And  cryVl,  "  God  bless  his  Majesty  !" 

Then  he's  awa'  to  London  town. 
Ay  e'en  as  fast  as  he  can  dree  ; 

Fause  witnesses  he  has  wi'  him  ta'en, 

An'  ta'en  Monmouth's  head  frae  his  body, 

Alang  the  brae,  beyond  the  brig, 

Mony  brave  man  hes  cauld  and  still ; 

But  lang  we'll  mind,  and  sair  we'll  rue, 
The  bloody  battle  of  Buthwell  Hill 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  93 


NOTES 


THE  BATTLE  OF  BOTHWELL-BRIDGE. 


Then  he  set  up  ihejlag  of  red, 

A'  set  about  u<i'  bonny  blue. — P.  91.  v.  1. 
Blue  was  the  favourite  colour  of  the  Covenanters ;  hence  the 
vulgar  phrase  of  a  true  blue  whig.  Spalding  informs  us,  that 
when  the  first  army  of  Covenanters  entered  Aberdeen,  few  or 
none  "  wanted  a  blue  ribband  ;  the  Lord  Gordon,  and  some 
*'  others  of  the  Marquis  (of  Huntly's)  family  had  a  ribband, 
"  when  they  were  dwelling  in  the  town,  of  a  red  fresh  colour, 
"  which  they  wore  in  their  hats,  and  called  it  the  royal  ribband, 
"  as  a  sign  of  their  love  and  loyalty  to  the  King.  In  despite 
"  and  derision  thereof,  this  blue  ribband  was  worn,  and  called 
"  the  Covenanter  s  ribband,  by  the  haill  soldiers  of  the  army, 
"  who  would  not  hear  of  the  royal  ribband,  such  was  their 
"  pride  and  malice." — Vol.  I.  p.  123.  After  the  departure  of 
this  first  army,  the  town  was  occupied  by  the  barons  of  the 
royal  party,  till  they  were  once  more  expelled  by  the  Cove- 
nanters,  who  plundered  the  burgh  and  country  adjacent  ; 


94  ^riNSTIlEI,SY  OF 

"  no  fowl;,  cock,  or  hen,  left  unkilled,  tlie  hail  house-dogs, 
''  messens  (/.  c.  lap-dogs,)  and  whelps,  within  Aberdeen,  killed 
"  upon  the  streets;  so  that  neither  hound,  niessen,  nor  other 
"  dog,  was  left  alive  that  they  could  see.  The  reason  was  this, — 
"  when  the  first  army  came  here,  ilk  captain  and  soldier  hatl 
"  a  blue  ribband  about  his  craig  (/.  e.  neck  ;)  in  despite  and 
"  derision  whereof,  when  they  removed  from  Aberdeen,  some 
"  women  of  Aberdeen,  as  was  alledged,  knit  blue  ribbands 
"  about  their  messens'  craigs,  whereat  their  soldiers  took  of- 
"  fence,  and  killed  all  their  dogs  for  this  very  cause." — P.  ICO. 
I  have  seen  one  of  the  ancient  banners  of  the  Covenanters  : 
it  was  divided  into  four  copartments,  inscribed  with  the  words, 
Christ — Covenant — Kin^ — Kingdom.  Similar  standards  are 
mentioned  in  Spalding's  curious  and  minute  narrative^  vol.  II. 
pp.  182,  245. 

Hold  up  your  hand,  ye  cursed  Grame, 
Else  a  rebel  to  our  King  yell  he. — P.  91.  V.  5. 
It  is  very  extraordinary,  that,  in  April,  1685,  Claverhouse 
was  left  out  of- the  new  commission  of  privy  council,  as  being 
too  favourable  to  the  fanatics.  The  pretence  was  his  having 
maj-ried  into  the  presbyterian  family  of  Lord  Dundonald.  An 
act  of  council  was  also  past,  regulating  the  payment  of  quarters, 
which  is  stated  by  Fountainhall  to  have  been  done  in  odium 
of  Claverhouse,  and  in  order  to  excite  complaints  against  him. 
This  charge,  so  inconsistent  with  the  nature  and  conduct  of 
Claverhouse,  seems  to  have  been  the  fruit  of  a  quarrel  betwixt 
him  and  the  lord  high  treasurer.  Fountainhall,  vol.  I.  p.  SCO. 
That  Claverhouse  was  most  unworthily  accused  of  mitigating 
the  persecution  of  the  Covenanters,  will  appear  from  the  fol- 
lowing simple,  but  very  affecting  narrative,  extracted  from  one 
of  the  little  publications  which  appeared  soon  after  the  Revo- 
lution, while  the  facts  were  fresh  in  the  memory  of  the  suffer- 
ers. The  imitation  of  the  scriptural  style  produces,  in  some 
passages  of  these  works,  an  effect  not  unlike  what  we  feel  in 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOEDEK.  95 

reading  the  beautiful  book  of  Ruth.  It  is  taken  from  the  Life 
of  Mr  Alexander  Peden,*  printed  about  1720. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  INIay,  1685,  he  came  to  the  house  of 
"  John  Brown  and  Marion  Weir,  whom  he  married  before 
"  he  went  to  Ireland,  where  he  stayed  all  night ;  and,  in  the 
"  morning,  when  he  took  farewell,  he  came  out  of  the  door, 
"  saying  to  himself,  '  Poor  woman,  a  fearful  morning,'  twice 
"  over,  '  A  dark  misty  morning !'  The  next  morning,  between 


•  The  enthusiasm  of  this  personage,  and  of  his  followers,  invested 
Iiim,  as  has  been  already  noticed,  with  prophetic  powers  ;  but  hardly 
any  of  the  stories  told  of  him  exceeds  that  sort  of  gloomy  conjecture 
of  misfortune,  which  the  precarious  situation  of  his  sect  so  greatly 
fostered.  The  following  passage  relates  to  the  battle  of  Bothwell- 
bridge  :  "  That  dismal  day,  22d  of  June,  1679,  at  Bothwell-bridge, 
"  when  the  Lord's  people  fell  and  fled  before  the  enemy,  he  was  forty 
"  miles  distant,  near  the  Border,  and  kept  himself  retired  until  the 
"  middle  of  the  day,  when  some  friends  said  to  him,  '  Sir,  the  people 
"  are  waiting  for  sermon.'  He  answered,  '  Let  them  go  to  their 
"  prayers ;  for  me,  I  neither  can  nor  will  preach  any  this  day,  for 
*'  our  friends  are  fallen  and  fled  before  the  enemy,  at  Hamilton,  and 
"  they  are  hacking  and  hewing  them  down,  and  their  blood  is  run- 
"  ning  like  water.'"  The  feats  of  Peden  are  thus  commemorated  by 
Foun'.ainhall,  27th  of  iMarch,  1650: — "  News  came  to  the  privy 
"  council,  that  about  one  hundred  men,  well  armed  and  appointed, 
"  had  left  Ireland,  because  of  a  search  there  for  such  malcontents, 
"  and  landed  in  the  west  of  Scotland,  and  joined  with  the  wild  fana- 
"  tics.  The  council,  finding  that  they  disappointed  the  forces,  by 
"  skulking  from  hole  to  hole,  were  of  opinion,  it  were  better  to  let 
"  them  gather  into  a  body,  and  draw  to  a  head,  and  so  they  would 
"  get  them  altogether  in  a  snare.  They  had  one  Mr  Peden,  a  minister, 
"  with  them,  and  one  Isaac,  who  commanded  them.  They  had  fright- 
"  ed  most  part  of  all  the  country  ministers,  so  that  they  durst  not  stay 
"  at  their  churches,  but  retired  to  Edinburgh,  or  to  garrison  towns  ; 
"  and  it  was  sad  to  see  whole  shires  destitute  of  preaching,  except  in 
"  burghs.  Wherever  they  came  they  plundered  arms,  and  particularly 
"  at  my  Lord  Dumfries's  house."— Fouxtainhai.t.,  vol.  I.  p.  359. 


96  MINSTRELSY  OF 


"  five  and  six  hours,  the  said  John  Brown  liaving  performed 
"  tlie  worship  of  God  in  liis  family,  was  going,  witli  a  spade 
"  in  his  hand,  to  make  ready  some  peat  ground  :  tlie  mist  be- 
"  ing  very  dark,  he  knew  not  until  cruel  and  bloody  Claver- 
"  house  compassed  him  with  three  troops  of  horse,  brought 
"  him  to  his  house,  and  there  examined  him  ;  who,  though  he 
"  was  a  man  of  a  stammering  speech,  yet  answered  him  dis- 
"  tinctly  and  solidly  ;  which  made  Claverhouse  to  examine 
"  those  whom  he  had  taken  to  be  his  guides  through  the  muirs, 
"  if  ever  they  heard  him  preach  ?  They  answered,  '  No,  no, 
"  he  was  never  a  preacher.'  He  said,  '  If  he  has  never  preach- 
"  ed,  meikle  he  has  prayed  in  his  time ;'  he  said  to  John,  '  Go 
"  to  your  prayers,  for  you  shall  immediately  die  !'  When  he 
"  was  praying,  Claverhouse  interrupted  him  three  times ;  one 
"  time,  that  he  stopt  him,  he  was  pleading  that  the  Lord 
"  would  spare  a  remnant,  and  not  make  a  full  end  in  the  day 
"  of  his  anger.  Claverhouse  said,  '  I  gave  you  time  to  pray, 
"  and  ye  are  begun  to  preach  ;'  he  turned  about  upon  his 
"  knees,  and  said,  '  Sir,  you  know  neither  the  nature  of 
"  preaching  or  praying,  that  calls  this  preaching.'  Then  con- 
"■  tinned  without  confusion.  When  ended,  Claverhouse  said, 
"  '  Take  goodnight  of  your  wife  and  children.'  His  wife, 
"  standing  by  with  her  child  in  her  arms  that  she  had  brought 
"  forth  to  him,  and  another  child  of  his  first  wife's,  he  came 
"  to  her,  and  said,  '  Now,  IVIarion,  the  day  is  come,  that  I 
"  told  you  would  come,  when  I  spake  first  to  you  of  marrying 
"  me.'  She  said,  '  Indeed,  John,  I  can  willingly  part  with 
"  you.' — '  Then,'  he  said,  '  this  is  all  I  desire,  I  have  no  more 
"^  to  do  but  die.'  He  kissed  his  wife  and  bairns,  and  wished 
"  purchased  and  promised  blessings  to  be  multiplied  upon 
"  them,  and  his  blessing.  Claverhouse  ordered  six  soldiers 
"  to  shoot  him  ;  the  most  part  of  the  bullets  came  upon  his 
"  head,  which  scattered  his  brains  upon  the  ground.  Claver- 
"  house  said  to  his  wife,  '  What  thinkest  thou  of  thy  husband 
"  now,  woman  ?'  She  said,  '  I  thought  ever  much  of  him, 
"  and  now  as  much  as  ever.'     He  said,  '  It  were  justice  to  lay 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  97 

"  thee  beside  him.'  She  said,  '  If  ye  were  permitted,  I  doubt 
"  not  but  your  crueltie  would  go  that  length ;  but  how  will 
"  ye  make  answer  for  this  morning's  work  ?'  He  said,  '  To 
"  man  I  can  be  answerable;  and  for  God,  I  will  take  him  in 
"  my  own  hand.'  Claverhouse  mounted  his  horse,  and  march- 
"  ed,  and  left  her  with  the  coqise  of  her  dead  husband  lying 
"  there ;  she  set  th^  bairn  on  the  ground,  and  gathered  his 
"  brains,  and  tied  up  his  head,  and  straighted  his  body,  and 
"  covered  him  in  her  plaid,  and  sat  down,  and  wept  over  him. 
"  It  being  a  very  desart  place,  where  never  victual  grew,  and 
"  far  from  neighbours,  it  was  sometime  before  any  friends  came 
"  to  her  ;  the  first  that  came  was  a  very  fit  hand,  that  old  sin- 
"  gular  Christian  woman,  in  the  Cummerhead,  named  Eliza- 
"  beth  Menzies,  three  miles  distant,  who  had  been  tried  with 
"  the  violent  death  of  her  husband  at  Pentland,  afterwards  of 
"  two  worthy  sons,  Thomas  Weir,  who  was  killed  at  Drum- 
"  clog,  and  David  Steel,  who  was  suddenly  shot  afterwards 
"  when  taken.  The  said  Marion  Weir,  sitting  upon  her  hus- 
"  band's  grave,  told  me,  that  before  that,  she  could  see  no 
"  blood  but  she  was  in  danger  to  faint ;  and  yet  she  was  help- 
"  ed  to  be  a  witness  to  all  this,  without  either  fainting  or  con- 
"  fusion,  except  when  the  shots  were  let  off  her  eyes  dazzled. 
"  His  corpse  were  buried  at  the  end  of  his  house,  where  he 
"  was  slain,  with  this  inscription  on  his  grave-stone  : — 

"  In  earth's  cold  bed,  the  dusty  part  here  lies, 
"  Of  one  who  did  the  earth  as  dust  despise  ! 
"  Here,  in  tliis  place,  from  earth  he  took  departure  ; 
"  Now,  he  has  got  the  garland  of  the  martyrs. 

"  This  murder  was  committed  betwixt  six  and  seven  in  the 
"  morning  :  Mr  Peden  was  about  ten  or  eleven  miles  distant, 
"  having  been  in  the  fields  all  night :  he  came  to  the  house 
"  betwixt  seven  and  eight,  and  desired  to  call  in  the  family, 
"  that  he  might  pray  amongst  them  ;  when  praying,  he  said, 
"  '  Lord,  when  wilt  thou  avenge  Brown's  blood  ?  Oh,  let 
VOL,  II.  (.; 


98  MINSTKELSY  OF 

"  Brown's  blood  be  precious  in  thy  sight !  and  hasten  the  day 
"  when  thou  wilt  avenge  it,  with  Cameron's^  Cargill's,  and 
"  many  others  of  our  martyrs'  names  ;  and  oh  !  for  that  day, 
"  when  the  Lord  would  avenge  all  their  bloods  !'  When  end- 
"  ed,  John  jMuirhead  enquired  what  he  meant  by  Brown's 
"  blootl  ?  He  said  twice  over,  '  What  do  I  mean  ?  Claverhouse 
"  has  been  at  the  Preshill  this  morning,  and  has  cruelly  mur- 
"  deretl  John  Brown ;  his  corpse  are  lying  at  the  end  of  his 
"  house,  and  his  poor  wife  sitting  weeping  by  his  corpse,  and 
"  not  a  soul  to  speak  a  word  comfortably  to  her.' " 

While  we  read  this  dismal  story,  we  must  remember  Brown's 
situation  was  that  of  an  avowed  and  detennined  rebel,  liable  as 
such  to  military  execution ;  so  that  the  atrocity  was  more  that 
of  the  times  than  of  Claverhouse.  That  general's  gallant  ad- 
herence to  his  master,  the  misguided  James  VII.,  and  his  glo- 
rious death  on  the  field  of  victory,  at  Killicrankie,  have  tended 
to  preserve  and  gild  his  memory.  He  is  still  remembered  in 
the  Highlands  as  the  most  successful  leader  of  their  clans.  An 
ancient  gentleman,  who  had  borne  arms  for  the  cau.se  of  Stuart 
in  1 71.5,  told  the  editor,  that,  when  the  annies  met  on  the  field 
of  battle  at  SherifF-muir,  a  veteran  chief,  (I  think  he  named 
Gordon  of  Glen  bucket,)  covered  with  scars,  came  up  to  the  Earl 
of  3Iar,  and  earnestly  pressed  him  to  order  the  Highlanders 
to  charge,  before  the  regular  army  of  Argyle  had  completely 
formed  their  line,  and  at  a  moment  when  the  rapid  and  furious 
onset  of  the  clans  might  have  thrown  them  into  total  disorder. 
Mar  repeatedly  answered,  it  was  not  yet  time  ;  till  the  chief- 
tain turned  from  him  in  disdain  and  despair,  and,  stamping 
with,  rage,  exclaimed  aloud,  "  0  for  one  hour  of  Dundee  !" 

Claverhouse's  sword  (a  strait  cut-and-thrust  blade)  is  in  the 
possession  of  Lord  Woodhouselee.  In  Pennycuik-house  is  pre- 
servetl  thebuff-coat,  which  he  wore  at  the  battle  of  Kilhcrankie. 
The  fatal  shot-hole  is  under  the  arm-pit,  so  that  the  ball  must 
have  been  received  while  his  arm  was  raised  to  direct  the  pur- 
suit.    However  he  came  by  his  charm  of  jiroof,  he  certainly 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  99 

had  not  worn  the  garment  usually  supposed  to  confer  that  pri- 
vilege, and  which  was  called  the  waistcoat  of  proof,  or  of  neces- 
sity. It  was  thus  made  :  "  On  Christmas  dale,  at  night,  a  thread 
"  must  be  sponne  of  flax,  by  a  little  virgin  gtrle,  in  the  name 
"  of  the  diveU ;  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  wastcote 
"  must  be  made  a  crosse." — Scott's  Discoverie  of  Witchcraft, 
p.  231. 

It  would  be  now  no  difficult  matter  to  bring  down  our  popu- 
lar poetry,  connected  with  history,  to  the  year  1745.  But  al- 
most all  the  party  ballads  of  that  period  have  been  already 
printed,  and  ably  illustrated  by  Mr  Ritson. 


END  OF  HISTORICAL  BALLADS. 


MINSTRELSY 

OF  THE 

SCOTTISH  BORDER. 

PART  SECOND. 


Homantu  IBaUatisJ. 


SCOTTISH  MUSIC. 

AN  ODE. 


BY  J.  LEYDEN. 


TO  lANTHE. 


Again,  sweet  syren  !  breathe  again 
That  deep,  pathetic,  powerful  strain, 

Whose  melting  tones,  of  tender  woe, 
FaU  soft  as  evening''s  summer  dew, 
That  bathes  the  pinks  and  harebells  blue, 

Which  in  the  vales  of  Tiviot  blow. 

Such  was  the  song  that  soothed  to  rest. 
Far  in  the  green  isle  of  the  west, 

The  Celtic  wai-rior's  parted  shade  ; 
Such  are  the  lonely  sounds  that  sweep 
0''er  the  blue  bosom  of  the  deep, 

Where  ship-wreckM  mariners  are  laid. 


104  MINSTRET.SY  OF 

Ah  !  sure,  as  Hindu  legends  tell, 
When  music's  tones  the  bosom  swelK 

The  scenes  of  former  life  return  ; 
Ere,  sunk  beneath  the  morning  star. 
We  left  our  parent  climes  afar, 

Immured  in  mortal  forms  to  mourn. 

Or  if,  as  ancient  sages  ween, 
Departed  spirits,  half  unseen, 

Can  mingle  with  the  mortal  throng  ; 
'Tis  when  from  heart  to  heart  we  roll 
The  deep-toned  music  of  the  soul. 

That  warbles  in  our  Scottish  song. 

I  hear,  I  hear,  with  aAvful  dread, 
The  plaintive  music  of  the  dead  ! 

They  leave  the  amber  fields  of  day  : 
Soft  as  the  cadence  of  the  wave, 
That  murmurs  round  the  mermaid's  grave, 

They  mingle  in  the  magic  lay. 

Sweet  syren,  breathe  the  powerful  strain  ! 
Lochroyaii's  Damsel*  sails  the  main  ; 

The  crystal  tower  enchanted  see  ! 
"  Now  break,"  she  cries,  "  ye  fairy  charms 
As  round  she  sails  witli  fond  alarms, 

"  Now  break,  and  set  my  true  love  free  !'' 

*    The  Lass  of  Li>cJiroynn — In  this  volume. 


THE  SCOTTISH  HOllDEK.  105 

Lord  Barnard  is  to  greenwood  gone, 
Where  fair  Gil  Morrice  sits  alone, 

And  careless  combs  his  yellow  hair ; 
Ah  !  mourn  the  youth,  untimely  slain  ! 
The  meanest  of  Lord  Barnard's  train 

The  hunter's  mangled  head  must  bear. 

Or,  change  these  notes  of  deep  despair, 
For  love's  more  soothing  tender  air  ; 

Sing,  how,  beneath  the  greenwood  tree, 
Broxcn  Adanis*  love  maintain'd  her  truth. 
Nor  would  resign  the  exiled  youth 

For  any  knight  the  fair  could  see. 

And  sing  the  Haxvk  qf  •pinion  grcy,-\ 
To  southern  climes  who  wing'd  his  wav. 

For  he  could  speak  as  well  as  fly  ; 
Her  brethreu  how  the  fair  beguiled. 
And  on  her  Scottish  lover  smiled, 

As  slow  she  raised  her  languid  eye. 

Fair  was  her  cheek's  carnation  glow, 
Like  red  blood  on  a  wreath  of  snow  ; 

Like  evening's  dewy  star  her  eye  ; 
White  as  the  sea-mew's  downy  breast, 
Borne  on  the  surge's  foamy  crest. 

Her  graceful  bosom  heaved  the  sigh. 


•  See  the  ballad  entitled,  7irori'«  Adam. 
t  See  the  Guy  Goss  Hawk. 


106'  jViinstrelsy  of 

In  youth's  first  morn,  alert  and  gay, 
Ere  rolling  years  had  passed  away, 

Remembered  like  a  morning  dreanu 
I  heard  these  dulcet  measures  float, 
In  many  a  liquid  winding  note. 

Along  the  banks  of  Tiviot's  stream. 

Sweet  sounds  !  that  oft  have  soothed  to  rest 
The  sorrows  of  my  guileless  breast. 

And  charm'd  away  mine  infant  tears  : 
Fond  memory  shall  your  strains  repeat. 
Like  distant  echoes,  doubly  sweet, 

That  in  the  wild  the  traveller  hears. 

And  thus,  the  exiled  Scotian  maid, 
By  fond  alluring  love  betray'd 

To  visit  Syria's  date-crown'd  shore. 
In  plaintive  strains,  that  soothed  despair. 
Did  "  BothwelPs  banks  that  bloom  so  fair," 

And  scenes  of  early  youth,  deplore. 

Soft  syren,  whose  enchanting  strain 
Floats  wildly  round  my  raptured  brain. 

I  bid  your  pleasing  haunts  adieu  ! 
Yet,  fabling  fancy  oft  sliall  lead 
My  footsteps  to  the  silver  Tweed, 

Through  scenes  that  I  no  more  must  view, 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEH.  107 


NOTES 


SCOTTISH  MUSIC,  AN  ODE. 


Far  in  the  green  isle  of  the  west. — P.  103.  v.  '■2. 
The  Flathinnis,  or  Celtic  paradise. 

Ah  !  sure,  as  Hindu  legends  tell. — P.  104.  v.  1. 
The  effect  of  music  is  explained  by  the  Hindus,  as  recalling 
to  our  memory  the  airs  of  paradise,  heard  in  a  state  of  pre-ex- 
istence. — Vide  Sacontala. 

Did  "  BothweU's  banks  that  bloom  so  fair."— V.  106.  v.  3. 

"  So  fell  it  out  of  late  years,  that  an  English  gentleman,  tra- 
velling in  Palestine,  not  far  from  .Jerusalem,  as  he  passed 
through  a  country  town,  he  heard,  by  chance,  a  woman  sitting 
at  her  door,  dandling  her  child,  to  sing,  Bothwell  hank,  thou 
bloomestfair.  The  gentleman  hereat  wondered,  and  forthwith, 
in  English,  saluted  the  woman,  who  joyfully  answered  him  ; 
and  said,  she  was  right  glad  there  to  see  a  gentleman  of  our 
isle  :  and  told  him,  that  she  was  a  Scottish  woman,  and  came 
first  from  Scotland  to  Venice,  and  from  Venice  thither,  where 
her  fortune  was  to  be  the  wife  of  an  officer  under  the  Turk  ; 
who,  being  at  that  instant  absent,  and  very  soon  to  return,  she 


108  MINSTRELSY  OF 

entreated  the  gentleman  to  stay  there  until  his  return.  The 
which  he  ilid  ;  and  she,  for  country  sake,  to  shew  herself  the 
more  kind  and  bountiful  unto  him,  told  her  husband;  at  his 
home-coming,  that  the  gentleman  was  her  kinsman  ;  whereup- 
on her  husband  entertained  him  very  kindly ;  and,  at  his  de- 
partiu-e,  gave  him  divers  tilings  of  good  value." — Verstigan's 
Restitution  of  Drcnj/rd  Intelligence.  Chap.  Of  the  Sirnames 
of  our  Aniient  Families.     Antwerp,  1605. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  109 


INTRODUCTION 

TO  THE 

TALE  OF  TAMLANE. 


FAIRIES  OF  POPULAR  SUPERSTITION. 

"  Of  airy  elves,  hy  moonligJit  shadows  seen, 
The  silver  token,  and  the  circled  green." — Pope. 

In  a  work,  avowedly  dedicated  to  the  preservation  of 
the  poetry  and  traditions  of  the  "  olden  time,"  it  would 
be  unpardonable  to  omit  this  opportunity  of  making 
some  observations  upon  so  interesting  an  article  of  the 
popular  creed,  as  that  concerning  the  Elves,  or  Fairies. 
The  general  idea  of  spirits,  of  a  limited  power,  and  sub- 
ordinate nature,  dwelling  among  the  woods  and  moun- 
tains, is,  perhaps,  common  to  all  nations.  But  the  in- 
termixture of  tribes,  of  languages,  and  religion,  which 
has  occurred  in  Europe,  renders  it  difficult  to  trace  the 
origin  of  the  names  which  have  been  bestowed  upon 


110  MINSTRELSY  OF 

such  spirits,  and  the  primary  ideas  which  were  enter- 
tained concerning  their  manners  and  habits. 

The  word  elf,  which  seems  to  have  been  the  original 
name  of  the  beings  afterwards  denominated  fairies,  is  of 
Gothic  origin,  and  probably  signified,  simply,  a  spirit 
of  a  lower  order.  Thus,  the  Saxons  had  not  only  dun- 
elfeti,  berg-clfen,  and  munt-dfen,  spirits  of  the  downs, 
hills,  and  mountains  ;  but  also  Jeld-elfcn,  wudu-elfen, 
xae-elfen,  and  wceter-elfeu ;  spirits  of  the  fields,  of  the 
woods,  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  waters.  In  Low  German, 
the  same  latitude  of  expression  occurs  ;  for  night  hags 
are  termed  ahdnnen  and  aluen,  which  is  sometimes  La- 
tinized eluce.  But  the  prototype  of  the  English  elf  is  to 
be  sought  chiefly  in  the  berg-eljen,  or  due?-gar,  of  the 
Scandinavians.  From  the  most  early  of  the  Icelandic 
Sagas,  as  well  as  from  the  Edda  itself,  we  learn  the  be- 
lief of  the  northern  nations  in  a  race  of  dwarfish  spirits, 
inhabiting  the  rocky  mountains,  and  approaching,  in 
some  respects,  to  the  human  nature.  Their  attributes, 
amongst  which  we  recognize  the  features  of  the  mo- 
dern Fairy,  were,  supernatural  wisdom  and  prescience, 
and  skill  in  the  mechanical  arts,  especially  in  the  fabri- 
cation of  arms.  They  are  farther  described,  as  caprici- 
ous, vindictive,  and  easily  irritated.  The  story  of  the 
elfin  sword,  Tijrjing,  may  be  the  most  pleasing  illus- 
tration of  this  position.  Suafurlami,  a  Scandinavian 
monarch,  returning  from  hunting,  bewildered  himself 
among  the  mountains.  About  sun-set  he  beheld  a  la^ge 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  Ill 

rock,  and  two  dwarfs  sitting  before  the  mouth  of  a  ca- 
vern. The  king  drew  his  sword,  and  intercepted  their 
retreat,  by  springing  betwixt  them  and  their  recess,  and 
imposed  upon  them  the  following  condition  of  safety  :—' 
that  they  should  make  for  him  a  faulchion,  with  a  baldric 
and  scabbai-d  of  pure  gold,  and  a  blade  which  should 
divide  stones  and  iron  as  a  garment,  and  which  should 
render  the  wielder  ever  victorious  in  battle.  The  elves 
complied  with  the  requisition,  and  Suafurlami  pursued 
his  way  home.  Returning  at  the  time  appointed,  the 
dwarfs  delivered  to  him  the  famous  sword  Tyrfing ; 
then,  standing  in  the  entrance  of  the  cavern,  spoke  thus  : 
"  This  sword,  O  king,  shall  destroy  a  man  every  time 
"  it  is  brandished ;  but  it  shall  perform  three  atrocious 
"  deeds,  and  it  shall  be  thy  bane."  The  king  rushed 
forward  with  the  charmed  sword,  and  buried  both  its 
edges  in  the  rock ;  but  the  dwarfs  escaped  into  their 
recesses.*  This  enchanted  sword  emitted  rays  like  the 
sun,  dazzling  all  against  whom  it  was  brandished ;  it 


*  Perhaps  in  this,  and  similar  tales,  we  may  recognize  something 
of  real  history.  That  the  Fins,  or  ancient  natives  of  Scandinavia, 
were  driven  into  the  mountains,  by  the  invasion  of  Odin  and  his  Asi- 
atics, is  sufficiently  probable  ;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that  the 
aboriginal  inhabitants  understood,  better  than  the  intruders,  how  to 
manufacture  the  produce  of  their  own  mines.  It  is  therefore  possible, 
that,  in  process  of  time,  the  oppressed  Fins  may  have  been  transform- 
ed into  the  supernatural  duergar.  A  similar  transformation  has  taken 
place  among  the  vulgar  in  Scotland,  regarding  the  Picts,  or  Peghs,  to 
whom  they  ascribe  various  supernatural  attributes. 


112  MINSTRELSY  OF 

divided  steel  like  watei*,  and  was  never  unsheathed  with- 
out slaying  a  man. — Hervarar  Saga,  p.  9.  Similar  to 
this  was  the  enchanted  sword,  Skqffnung,  which  was 
taken  by  a  pirate  out  of  the  tomb  of  a  Norwegian  mo- 
narch. Many  such  tales  are  narrated  in  the  Sagas ;  but 
the  most  distinct  account  of  the  duergar,  or  elves,  and 
their  attributes,  is  to  be  found  in  a  preface  of  Torfasus 
to  the  history  of  Hrolf  Kraka,  who  cites  a  dissertation 
by  Einar  Gudmund,  a  learned  native  of  Iceland.  "  I 
''  am  firmly  of  opinion,"  says  the  Icelander,  "  that  these 
"  beings  are  creatures  of  God,  consisting,  like  human 
"  beings,  of  a  body  and  rational  soul ;  that  they  are  of 
"  different  sexes,  and  capable  of  producing  children, 
"  and  subject  to  all  human  affections,  as  sleeping  and 
"  waking,  laughing  and  crying,  poverty  and  wealth ; 
•*  and  that  they  possess  cattle,  and  other  effects,  and  are 
<'  obnoxious  to  death,  like  other  mortals."  He  proceeds 
to  state,  that  the  females  of  this  race  are  capable  of  pro- 
creating with  mankind ;  and  gives  an  account  of  one 
who  bore  a  child  to  an  inhabitant  of  Iceland,  for  whom 
she  claimed  the  privilege  of  baptism ;  depositing  the 
infant,  for  that  purpose,  at  the  gate  of  the  church-yard, 
together  with  a  goblet  of  gold,  as  an  offering. — IJixloria 
Hrolji  Krakoe,  a  Torfaeo. 

Similar  to  the  traditions  of  the  Icelanders,  are  those 
current  among  the  Laplanders  of  Finland,  concerning  a 
subterranean  people,  gifted  with  supernatural  qualities, 
and  inhabiting  the  recesses  of  the  earth.  Resembling 
men  in  their  general  a2)pearance,  the  manner  of  their  ex- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  113 

istence  and  their  habits  of  life,  they  far  excel  the  miser- 
able Laplanders  in  perfection  of  nature,  felicity  of  situa- 
tion, and  skill  in  mechanical  arts.  From  all  these  ad- 
vantages, however,  after  the  partial  conversion  of  the 
Laplanders,  the  subterranean  people  have  derived  no 
farther  credit,  than  to  be  confounded  with  the  devils 
and  magicians  of  the  dark  ages  of  Christianity ;  a  de- 
gradation which,  as  will  shortly  be  demonatrated,  has 
been  also  suffered  by  the  harmless  fairies  of  Albion,  and 
indeed  by  the  whole  host  of  deities  of  learned  Greece 
and  mighty  Rome.  The  ancient  opinions  are  yet  so 
firmly  rooted,  that  the  Laps  of  Finland,  at  this  day, 
boast  of  an  intercourse  with  these  beings,  in  banquets, 
dances,  and  magical  ceremonies,  and  even  in  more  in- 
timate commerce  of  gallantry.  They  talk,  with  tri- 
umph, of  the  feasts  which  they  have  shared  in  the  elfin 
caverns,  where  wine  and  tobacco,  the  productions  of  the 
Fairy  region,  went  round  in  abundance,  and  whence 
the  mortal  guest,  after  receiving  the  kindest  treatment, 
and  the  most  salutary  counsel,  has  been  conducted  to 
his  tent  under  an  escort  of  his  supernatural  entertain- 
ers.— Jessens,  de  Lapponibus. 

The  superstitions  of  the  islands  of  Feroe,  concerning 
their  Froddenskemen,  or  under-ground  people,  are  deri- 
ved from  the  ducrgar  of  Scandinavia.  These  beings  are 
supposed  to  inhabit  the  interior  recesses  of  mountains, 
which  they  enter  by  invisible  passages.  Like  the  Fairies, 
they  are  supposed  to  steal  human  beings.    "  It  happen- 

VOL.  II.  H 


114  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  ed,"  says  Debes,  p.  354,  "  a  good  while  since,  •when 
"  the  burghers  of  Bergen  had  the  commerce  of  Feroe, 
"  that  there  was  a  man  in  Servaade,  called  Jonas  Soide- 
"  man,  who  was  kept  by  spirits  in  a  mountain,  during 
"  the  space  of  seven  years,  and  at  length  came  out ;  but 
"  lived  afterwards  in  great  distress  and  fear,  lest  they 
"  should  again  take  him  away ;  wherefore  people  were 
"  obliged  to  watch  him  in  the  night."  The  same  au- 
thor mentions  another  young  man  who  had  been  car- 
ried away,  and,  after  his  return,  was  removed  a  second 
time  upon  the  eve  of  his  marriage.  He  returned  in  a 
short  time,  and  related,  that  the  spirit  that  had  carried 
him  away  was  in  the  shape  of  a  most  beautiful  woman, 
■who  pressed  him  to  forsake  his  bride,  and  remain  with 
her ;  urging  her  own  superior  beauty,  and  splendid  ap- 
pearance. He  added,  that  he  saw  the  men  who  were 
employed  to  search  for  him,  and  heard  them  call ;  but 
that  they  could  not  see  him,  nor  could  he  answer  them, 
till,  upon  his  determined  refusal  to  listen  to  the  spirit's 
persuasions,  the  spell  ceased  to  operate.  The  kidney- 
shaped  West  Indian  bean,  which  is  sometimes  driven 
upon  the  shore  of  the  Feroes,  is  termed,  by  the  natives, 
"  the  Fairies  kidney." 

In  these  traditions  of  the  Gothic  and  Finnish  tribes, 
we  may  recognize,  with  certainty,  the  rudiments  of  elfin 
superstition ;  but  we  must  look  to  various  other  causes 
for  the  modifications  Avhich  it  has  undergone.  These 
are  to  be  sought,  1st,  in  the  traditions  of  the  east;  2d, 
in  the  wreck  and  confusion  of  the  Gothic  mythology ; 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDETl.  115 

3d,  ill  the  tales  of  chivalry ;  4th,  in  the  fables  of  classi- 
cal antiquity;  5th,  in  the  influence  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion ;  6th,  and  finally,  in  the  creative  imagination  of 
the  sixteenth  century.  It  may  be  proper  to  notice  the 
effect  of  these  various  causes,  before  stating  the  popular 
belief  of  our  own  time,  regarding  the  Fairies. 

I.  To  the  traditions  of  the  east,  the  Fairies  of  Britain 
owe,  I  think,  little  more  than  the  appellation,  by  which 
they  have  been  distinguished  since  the  days  of  the  Cru- 
sade. The  term  "  Fau-y,"  occurs  not  only  in  Chaucer, 
and  in  yet  older  English  authors,  but  also,  and  more 
frequently,  in  the  Romance  language ;  from  which  they 
seem  to  have  adopted  it.  Ducange  cites  the  following 
passage  from  Gul.  Guiart,  in  Hisloria  Francica,  MS. 

Plusiers  parlent  de  Guenart, 
Du  Lou,  de  L'Asne,  de  Renart, 
De  Faeries  et  de  Songes, 
De  pluntosmes  et  de  mensonges. 

The  Lai/  le  Fraiii,  enumerating  the  subjects  of  the 
Breton  Lays,  inftrms  us  expressly. 

Many  ther  beth  otfaeii/. 

By  some  etymologists  of  that  learned  class,  who  not 
only  know  whence  words  come,  but  also  whither  they 
are  going,  the  term  Fairy,  or  Faerie,  is  derived  from 
Fae,  which  is  again  derived  from  Nympha.  It  is  more 
probable  the  term  is  of  oriental  origin,  and  is  derived 
from  the  Persic,  through  the  medium  of  the  Arabic.  In 
Persic,  the  term  Peri  expresses  a  species  of  imaginary 


116  MINSTRELSY  OF 

being  wlirch  resembles  the  Fairy  in  some  of  its  quali- 
ties, and  is  one  of  the  fairest  creatures  of  romantic  fancy. 
This  superstition  must  have  been  known  to  the  Arabs, 
among  whom  the  Persian  tales,  or  romances,  even  as 
early  as  the  time  of  Mahomet,  were  so  popular,  that  it 
required  the  most  terrible  denunciations  of  that  legis- 
lator to  proscribe  them.  Now,  in  the  enunciation  of  the 
Arabs,  the  term  Peri  would  sound  Fairy,  the  letter  p 
not  occuiTing  in  the  alphabet  of  that  nation ;  and,  as 
the  chief  intercourse  of  the  early  crusaders  was  with  the 
Arabs,  or  Saracens,  it  is  probable  they  would  adopt  the 
term  according  to  their  pronunciation.  Neither  wiH  it 
be  considered  as  an  objection  to  this  opinion,  that  in 
Hesychius,  the  Ionian  term  Pkereas,  or  Pheres,  denotes 
the  satyrs  of  classical  antiquity,  if  the  number  of  words 
of  oriental  origin  in  that  lexicographer  be  recollected. 
Of  the  Persian  Peris,  Ouseley,  in  his  Persian  MisceU 
lanies,  has  described  some  characteristic  traits,  with  all 
the  luxuriance  of  a  fancy  impregnated  with  the  oriental 
associations  of  ideas.  However  vaguely  their  nature  and 
appearance  are  described,  they  are  uniformly  represent- 
ed as  gentle,  amiable  females,  to  whose  character  bene- 
ficence and  beauty  are  essential.  None  of  them  are  mis- 
chievous or  malignant ;  none  of  them  are  deformed  or 
diminutive,  like  the  Gothic  fairy.  Though  they  cor- 
respond in  beauty  with  our  ideas  of  angels,  their  em- 
ployments are  dissimilar ;  and,  as  they  have  no  place 
in  heaven,  their  abode  is  different.  Neither  do  they  re- 
semble those  intelligences,  whom,  on  account  of  their 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  117 

wisdom,  the  Platonists  denominated  Daemons ;  nor  do 
they  correspond  either  to  the  guardian  Genii  of  the 
Romans,  or  the  celestial  virgins  of  paradise,  whom  the 
Arabs  denominate  Houri.  But  the  Peris  hover  in  the 
balmy  clouds,  live  in  the  colours  of  the  rainbow,  and, 
as  the  exquisite  purity  of  their  nature  rejects  all  nou- 
rishment grosser  than  the  odours  of  flowers,  they  sub- 
sist by  inhaling  the  fragrance  of  the  jessamine  and  rose. 
Though  their  existence  is  not  commensurate  with  the 
bounds  of  human  life,  they  are  not  exempted  from  the 
common  fate  of  mortals. — With  the  Peris,  in  Persian 
mythology,  are  contrasted  the  Dives,  a  race  of  beings, 
who  differ  from  them  in  sex,  appearance,  and  disposi- 
tion. These  are  represented  as  of  the  male  sex,  cruel, 
wicked,  and  of  the  most  hideous  aspect ;  or,  as  they 
are  described  by  Mr  Finch,  "  with  ugly  shapes,  long 
"  horns,  staring  eyes,  shaggy  hair,  great  fangs,  ugly 
"  paws,  long  tails,  with  such  horrible  diffbrmity  and 
"  deformity,  that  I  wonder  the  poor  women  are  not 
'«  frightened  therewith."  Though  they  live  very  long, 
their  lives  are  limited,  and  they  are  obnoxious  to  the 
blows  of  a  human  foe.  From  the  malignancy  of  their 
nature,  they  not  only  wage  war  with  mankind,  but 
persecute  the  Peris  with  unremitting  ferocity.  Such 
are  the  brilliant  and  fanciful  colours  with  which  th© 
imaginations  of  the  Persian  poets  have  depicted  the 
charming  race  of  the  Peris ;  and,  if  we  consider  the 
romantic  gallantry  of  the  knights  of  chivalry,  and  of 


lis  MINSTllELSY  OF 

the  crusaders,  it  -will  not  appear  improbable,  that  their 
charms  might  occasionally  fascinate  the  fervid  imagi- 
nation of  an  amorous  troubadour.  But,  further  ;  the  in- 
tercourse of  France  and  Italy  with  the  Moors  of  Spain, 
and  the  prevalence  of  the  Arabic,  as  the  language  of 
science  in  the  dark  ages,  facilitated  the  introduction 
of  their  mythology  among  the  nations  of  the  west. 
Hence,  the  romances  of  France,  of  Spain,  and  of  Italy, 
unite  in  describing  the  Fairy  as  an  inferior  spirit,  in  a 
beautiful  female  form,  possessing  many  of  the  amiable 
qualities  of  the  eastern  Peri.  Nay,  it  seems  sufficient- 
ly clear,  that  the  romancers  borrowed  from  the  Arabs, 
not  merely  the  general  idea  concerning  those  spirits, 
but  even  the  names  of  individuals  among  them.  The 
Peri  Mergian  Banou,  (see  Hcrbclot,  ap.  Peri,)  cele- 
brated in  the  ancient  Persian  poetry,  figures  in  the 
European  romances,  under  the  various  names  of  Moiir~ 
gue  La  Faijc,  sister  to  Kitig  Arthur  ;  Urgande  La  De- 
cunnue  protectress  of  Amadis  De  Gaul ;  and  the  Fata 
Morgana  of  Boiardo  and  Ariosto.  The  description  of 
these  nymphs,  by  the  troubadours  and  minstrels,  is  in 
no  respect  inferior  to  those  of  the  Peris.  In  the  tale  of 
Sir  Lamifal,  in  Way's  FaUianx,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
Sir  Gruelan,  in  the  same  interesting'  collection,  the 
-reader  will  find  the  fairy  of  Normandy,  or  Bretagne, 
adorned  with  all  the  splendour  of  eastern  description. 
The  fairy  Mdusina,  also,  who  married  Guy  de  Lusig- 
nan.  Count  of  Poictou,  under  condition  that  he  should 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEll.  119 

never  attempt  to  intrude  upon  her  privacy,  was  of  this 
latter  class.  She  bore  the  Count  many  children,  and 
erected  for  him  a  magnificent  castle  by  her  magical  art. 
Their  harmony  was  uninterrupted,  until  the  prying  hus- 
band broke  the  conditions  of  their  union,  by  concealing 
himself,  to  behold  his  wife  make  use  of  her  enchanted 
bath.  Hardly  had  Mclusina  discovered  the  indiscreet 
intruder,  than,  transforming  herself  into  a  dragon,  she 
departed  with  a  loud  yell  of  lamentation,  and  was  never 
again  visible  to  mortal  eyes ;  although,  even  in  the  days 
of  Brantome,  she  was  supposed  to  be  the  protectress  of 
her  descendants,  and  was  heard  wailing,  as  she  sailed 
upon  the  blast  round  the  turrets  of  the  castle  of  Lusig- 
nan,  the  night  before  it  was  demolished.  For  the  full 
story,  the  reader  may  consult  the  Bibliotheque  des  Ro- 
mans.*— Gervase  of  Tilbury  (pp.  895  and  989,)  assures 
us,  that,  in  his  days,  the  lovers  of  the  Fadae,  or  Fairies, 
were  numerous ;  and  describes  the  rules  of  their  inter- 


*  Upon  this,  or  some  similar  tradition,  was  founded  the  notion, 
which  the  inveteracy  of  national  prejudice  so  easily  diffused  in  Scot- 
land, that  the  ancestor  of  the  English  monarchs,  Geoffrey  Plantagenet, 
had  actually  married  a  damon.  Bowmaker,  in  order  to  explain  the 
cruelty  and  ambition  of  Edward  I.,  dedicates  a  chapter  to  shew  "  how 
"  the  Kings  of  England  are  descended  from  the  devil,  by  the  mother's 
"  side." — FoRDUN,  Chrou.  lib.  9,  cap.  6.  The  lord  of  a  certain  cas- 
tie,  called  Espervel,  was  unfortunate  enough  to  have  a  wife  of  the  same 
class.  Having  observed,  for  several  years,  that  she  always  left  the  cha- 
pel before  the  mass  was  concluded,  the  baron,  in  a  fit  of  obstinacy  or 
curiosity,  ordered  his  guard  to  detain  her  by  force  ;  of  which  the  con- 
sequence was,  that,  unable  to  support  the  elevation  of  the  host,  she  re- 
treated through  the  air,  carrying  with  her  one  side  of  the  chapel,  and 
several  of  the  congregation. 


1^0  MINSTRELSY  OT 

course  with  as  much  accuracy,  as  if  he  had  himself  been 
engaged  in  such  an  affair.  Sir  David  Lindsay  also  in- 
forms us,  that  a  leopard  is  the  proper  armorial  bearing 
of  those  who  spring  from  such  intercourse,  because  that 
beast  is  generated  by  adultery  of  the  pard  and  lioness. 
He  adds,  that  Merlin,  the  prophet,  was  the  first  who 
adopted  this  cognizance,  because  he  was  "  borne  of  faa- 
"  rie  in  adultre,  and  right  sua  the  first  Duk  of  Guyenne 
"  was  born  of  a  fee  ;  and,  therefoir,  the  arms  of  Guy- 
"  enne  are  a  leopard." — MS.  on  Heraldrtj,  Advocates' 
Library,  w.  4.  13.  While,  however,  the  Fairy  of  warm- 
er climes  was  thus  held  up  as  an  object  of  desire  and 
of  affection,  those  of  Britain,  and  more  especially  those 
of  Scotland,  were  far  from  being  so  fortunate  ;  but,  re- 
taining the  unamiable  qualities,  and  diminutive  size  of 
the  Gothic  elves,  they  only  exchanged  that  term  for  the 
more  popular  appellation  of  Fairies. 

II.  Indeed  so  singularly  unlucky  were  the  British 
Fairies,  that,  as  has  already  been  hinted,  amid  the  wreck 
of  the  Gothic  mythologj',  consequent  upon  the  intro- 
duction of  Christianity,  they  seem  to  have  preserved, 
with  difficulty,  their  own  distinct  characteristics,  while, 
at  the  same  time,  they  engrossed  the  mischievous  attri- 
butes of  several  other  classes  of  subordinate  spirits,  ac- 
knowledged by  the  nations  of  the  north.  The  abstrac- 
tion of  children,  for  example,  the  well-known  practice 
of  the  modern  Fairy,  seems,  by  the  ancient  Gothic  na- 
tions, to  have  rather  been  ascribed  to  a  species  of  night- 
mare, or  hag,  than  to  the  berg-elfen,  or  duergar.  In  the 
ancient  legend  of  Si  Margaret,  of  which  there  is  a  Saxo- 
9 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  121 

Norman  copy  in  Hickes'  Thesmirus  Linguar.  Septen. 
and  one,  more  modern,  in  the  Auchinleck  MSS.,  that 
lady  encounters  a  fiend,  whose  profession  it  was,  among 
other  malicious  tricks,  to  injure  new-born  children  and 
their  mothers ;  a  practice  afterwards  imputed  to  the 
Fairies.  Gervase  of  Tilbury,  in  the  Otia  Imperialia, 
mentions  certain  hags,  or  Lamice,  who  entered  into 
houses  in  the  night-time,  to  oppress  the  inhabitants 
while  asleep,  injure  their  persons  and  property,  and  car- 
ry off  their  children.  H  e  likewise  mentions  the  Dracce, 
a  sort  of  water  spirits,  who  inveigle  women  and  children 
into  the  recesses  which  they  inhabit,  beneath  lakes  and 
rivers,  by  floating  past  them,  on  the  surface  of  the  wa- 
ter, in  the  shape  of  gold  rings,  or  cups.  The  women, 
thus  seized,  are  employed  as  nurses,  and,  after  seven 
years,  are  permitted  to  revisit  earth.  Gervase  mentions 
one  woman,  in  particular,  who  had  been  allured  by  ob- 
serving a  wooden  dish,  or  cup,  float  by  her,  while  wash- 
ing clothes  in  a  river.  Being  seized  as  soon  as  she 
reached  the  depths,  she  was  conducted  into  one  of  these 
subterranean  recesses,  which  she  described  as  very  mag- 
nificent, and  employed  as  nurse  to  one  of  the  brood  of 
the  hag  who  had  allured  her.  During  her  residence  in 
this  capacity,  having  accidentally  touched  one  of  her 
eyes  with  an  ointment  of  serpent's  grease,  she  percei- 
ved, at  her  return  to  the  world,  that  she  had  acquired 
the  faculty  of  seeing  the  dracce,  when  they  intermingle 
themselves  with  men.  Of  this  power  she  was,  however, 
deprived  by  the  touch  of  her  ghostly  mistress,  whom 
she  had  one  day  incautiously  addressed.     It  is  a  curi- 


]  22  MINSTRELSY  OF 

ous  fact,  that  this  story,  in  almost  all  its  parts,  is  cur- 
rent in  both  the  Highlands  and  Lowlands  of  Scotland, 
with  no  other  variation  than  the  substitution  of  Fairies 
for  dracce,  and  the  cavern  of  a  hill  for  that  of  a  river.* 
These  water  fiends  are  thus  characterized  by  Heywood, 
in  the  Hierarchic — 

"  Spirits,  that  have  p'er  water  gouvernement, 

"  Are  to  mankind  alike  malevolent ; 

"  They  trouble  seas,  flouds,  rivers,  brookes,  and  wels, 

"  Meres,  lakes,  and  love  to  enhabit  watry  cells ; 

"  Hence  noisome  and  pestiferous  vapours  raise, 

"  Besides,  they  men  encounter  divers  ways. 

"  At  wreckes  some  present  are  ;  another  sort, 

"  Ready  to  cramp  their  joints  that  swim  for  sport : 

"  One  kind  of  these,  the  Italians /ate  name, 

"  Fee  the  French,  we  sybils,  and  the  same  ; 

"  Others  wJdtc  iiymjiJts,  and  those  that  have  them  seen, 

"  Night  ladies  some,  of  which  Habundia  queen." 

Hierarchie  of  the  Blessed  Angels,  p.  507. 


*  Indeed,  many  of  the  vulgar  account  it  extremely  dangerous  to 
touch  any  thing,  which  they  may  happen  to  find,  without  saining 
(blessing)  it,  the  snares  of  the  Enemy  being  notorious  and  well  attest- 
ed. A  poor  woman  of  Tiviotdale,  having  been  fortunate  enough,  as 
she  thought  herself,  to  find  a  wooden  beetle,  at  the  very  time  when  she 
needed  such  an  implement,  seized  it  without  pronouncing  the  proper 
blessing,  and,  carrying  it  home,  laid  it  above  her  bed,  to  be  ready  for 
employment  in  the  morning.  At  midnight,  the  window  of  her  cottage 
opened,  and  a  loud  voice  was  heard,  calling  upon  some  one  within,  by 
a  strange  and  uncouth  name,  which  I  have  forgotten.  The  terrified 
cottager  ejaculated  a  prayer,  which,  we  may  suppose,  insured  her  per- 
sonal safety  ;  while  the  enchanted  implement  of  housewifery,  tumbling 
from  the  bedstead,  departed  by  the  window  with  no  small  noise  and 
precipitation.     In  a  humorous  fugitive  tract,  the  late  Dr  Johnson  is 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEK.  123 

The  following  Frisian  superstition,  related  by  Schott, 
in  his  Physica  Curiosa,  p.  362,  on  the  authority  of  Cor- 
nelius a  Kempen,  coincides  more  accurately  with  the 
popular  opinions  concerning  the  Fairies,  than  even  the 
dracce  of  Gervase,  or  the  water  spirits  of  Thomas  Hey- 
wood. — "  In  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Lotharius,  in  830," 
says  he,  "  many  spectres  infested  Friesland,  particular- 
"  ly  the  white  nymphs  of  the  ancients,  which  the  mo- 
"  derns  denominate  witte  wiven,  who  inhabited  a  subter- 
"  raneous  cavern,  formed  in  a  wonderful  mannei*,  with- 
"  out  human  art,  on  the  top  of  a  lofty  mountain.  These 
"  were  accustomed  to  surprise  benighted  travellers,  shep- 
"  herds  watching  their  herds  and  flocks,  and  women 
"  newly  delivered,  with  their  children ;  and  convey 
"  them  into  their  caverns,  from  which,  subterranean 
"  murmurs,  the  cries  of  children,  the  groans  and  lamen- 
"  tations  of  men,  and  sometimes  imperfect  words,  and 
"  all  kinds  of  musical  sounds,  were  heard  to  proceed." 
The  same  superstition  is  detailed  by  Bekker,  in  his 
World  Bewitdid,  p.  I96,  of  the  English  translation.  As 
the  different  classes  of  spirits  were  gradually  confound- 
ed, the  abstraction  of  children  seems  to  have  been  chief- 
ly ascribed  to  the  elves,  or  Fairies ;  yet  not  so  entirely 
as  to  exclude  haffs  and  witches  from  the  occasional  ex- 


introduced  as  disputing  the  authenticity  of  an  apparition,  merely  be- 
cause the  spirit  assumed  the  shape  of  a  tea-pot,  and  of  a  shoulder  of 
mutton.  No  doubt,  a  case  so  nuich  in  point,  as  that  we  have  now 
quoted,  would  have  removed  his  incredulity. 


124  MINSTRELSY  OF 

ertion  of  their  ancient  privilege.  In  Gerniany,  the  Bame 
confusion  of  classes  has  not  taken  place.  In  the  beauti- 
ful ballads  of  the  Erl  King,  the  Water  King,  and  the 
Mer-Maid,  we  still  recognize  the  ancient  traditions  of 
the  Goths,  concerning  the  wald-elveii,  and  the  draco;. 

A  similar  superstition,  concerning  abstraction  by  dae- 
mons, seems,  in  the  time  of  Gervase  of  Tilbury,  to  have 
pervaded  the  greatest  part  of  Europe.  "  In  Catalonia," 
says  the  author,  "  there  is  a  lofty  mountain,  nam«d  Ca- 
"  vagum,  at  the  foot  of  which  runs  a  river  with  golden 
"  sands,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  there  are  likewise  mines 
"  of  silver.  This  mountain  is  steep,  and  almost  inacces- 
"  sible.  On  its  top,  which  is  always  covered  with  ice  and 
"  snow,  is  a  black  and  bottomless  lake,  into  which  if  a 
"  stone  be  thrown,  a  tempest  suddenly  rises  ;  and  near 
"  this  lake,  though  invisible  to  men,  is  the  porch  of  the 
"  palace  of  daemons.  In  a  town  adjacent  to  this  moun- 
"  tain,  named  Junchera,  lived  one  Peter  de  Cabinam. 
"  Being  one  day  teazed  with  the  fretfulness  of  his  young 
"  daughter,  he,  in  his  impatience,  suddenly  wished  that 
"  the  devil  might  take  her  ;  when  she  was  immediately 
"  borne  away  by  the  spirits.  About  seven  years  after- 
"  wards,  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  city,  passing  by  the 
"  mountain,  met  a  man,  who  complained  bitterly  of  the 
"  burthen  he  was  constantly  forced  to  bear.  Upon  en- 
"  quiring  the  cause  of  his  complaining,  as  he  did  not 
"  seem  to  carry  any  load,  the  man  related,  that  he  had 
"  been  unwarily  devoted  to  the  spirits  by  an  execration, 
"  and  that  they  now  employed  him  constantly  as  a  ve- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEll.  125 

"  hide  of  burthen.  As  a  proof  of  his  assertion,  he  add- 
"  ed  that  the  daughter  of  his  fellow-citizen  was  detain- 
"  ed  by  the  spirits,  but  that  they  were  willing  to  restore 
"  her,  if  her  father  would  come  and  demand  her  on  the 
''  mountain.  Peter  de  Cabinam,  on  being  informed  of 
•'  this,  ascended  the  mountain  to  the  lake,  and,  in  the 
"  name  of  God,  demanded  his  daughter ;  when  a  tall, 
"  thin,  withered  figure,  with  wandering  eyes,  and  almost 
''  bereft  of  understanding,  was  wafted  to  him  in  a  blast 
"  of  wind.  After  some  time,  the  person,  who  had  been 
*'  employed  as  the  vehicle  of  the  spirits,  also  returned, 
"  when  he  related  where  the  palace  of  the  spirits  was 
**  situated  ;  but  added,  that  none  were  permitted  lo  en- 
*'  ter  but  those  who  devoted  themselves  entirely  to  the 
"  spirits  ;  those,  who  had  been  rashly  committed  to  the 
«'  devil  by  others,  being  only  permitted,  during  their 
"  probation,  to  enter  the  porch."  It  may  be  proper  to 
observe,  that  the  supei'stitious  idea,  concerning  the  lake 
on  the  top  of  the  mountain,  is  common  to  almost  every 
high  hill  in  Scotland.  Wells,  or  pits,  on  the  top  of  high 
hills,  were  likewise  supposed  to  lead  to  the  subterranean 
habitations  of  the  Fairies.  Thus  Gervase  relates,  (p. 
975,)  "  that  he  was  informed  the  swineherd  of  William 
*'  Peverell,  an  English  baron,  having  lost  a  brood-sow, 
"  descended  through  a  deep  abyss,  in  the  middle  of  an 
"  ancient  ruinous  castle,  situated  on  the  top  of  a  hill, 
"  called  Bech,  in  search  of  it.  Though  a  violent  wind 
"  commonly  issued  from  this  pit,  he  found  it  calm ;  and 


126  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  pursued  his  way,  till  he  arrived  at  a  subterraneous  re- 
"  gion,  pleasant  and  cultivated,  with  reapers  cutting 
««  down  corn,  though  the  snow  remained  on  the  surface 
««  of  the  ground  above.  Among  the  ears  of  corn  he  dis- 
«*  covered  his  sow,  and  was  permitted  to  ascend  with 
'•  her,  and  the  pigs  which  she  had  farrowed."  Though 
the  author  seems  to  think  that  the  inhabitants  of  this 
cave  mii^ht  be  Antipodes,  yet,  as  many  such  stories  are 
related  of  the  Fairies,  it  is  probable  that  this  narration 
is  of  the  same  kind.  Of  a  similar  nature  seems  to  be  an- 
other superstition,  mentioned  by  the  same  author,  con- 
cerning the  ringing  of  invisible  bells,  at  the  hour  of  one, 
in  a  field  in  the  vicinity  of  Carleol,  which,  as  he  relates, 
was  denominated  Laikibraine,  or  Lai  Id  brail.  From  all 
these  tales,  we  may  perhaps  be  justified  in  supposing. 
that  the  faculties  and  habits  ascribed  to  the  Fairies,  by 
the  superstition  of  latter  days,  comprehend  several,  ori- 
ginally attributed  to  other  classes  of  inferior  spirits. 

III.  The  notions,  arising  from  the  spirit  of  chivalry, 
combined  to  add  to  the  Fairies  certain  qualities,  less  atro- 
cious indeed,  but  equally  formidable,  with  those  which 
they  derived  from  the  last-mentioned  source,  and  alike 
inconsistent  with  the  powers  of  the  duergar,  \vhom  we 
may  term  their  primitive  prototype.  From  an  early  pe- 
riod, the  daring  temper  of  the  northern  tribes  urged 
them  to  defy  even  the  supernatural  powers.  In  the  days 
of  Cassar,  the  Suevi  were  described,  by  their  country- 
men, as  a  people,  with  whom  the  immortal  gods  dared 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  127 

not  venture  to  contend.  At  a  later  period,  the  historians 
of  Scandinavia  paint  their  heroes  and  champions,  not  as    ■ 
bending  at  the  altar  of  their  deities,  but  wandering  into 
remote  forests  and  caverns,  descending  into  the  recesses 
of  the  tomb,  and  extorting  boons,  alike  from  gods  and 
daemons,  by  dint  of  the  sword  and  battle-axe.  I  will  not 
detain  the  reader  by  quoting  instances  in  which  heaven 
is  thus  described  as  having  been  literally  attempted  by 
storm.     He  may  consult  Saxo,  Olaus  Wormius,  Olaus 
Magnus,  TorfaBUS,  Bartholin,  and  other  northern  anti- 
quaries.   With  such  ideas  of  superior  beings,  the  Nor- 
mans, Saxons,  and  other  Gothic  tribes,  brought  their 
ardent  courage  to  ferment  yet  more  highly  in  the  ge- 
nial climes  of  the  south,  and  under  the  blaze  of  roman- 
tic chivalry.  Hence,  during  the  dark  ages,  the  invisible 
world  was  modelled  after  the  material ;  and  the  saints, 
to  the  protection  of  whom  the  knights-errant  were  ac- 
customed to  recommend  themselves,  were  accoutred  like 
preux  chevaliers,  by  the  ardent  imaginations  of  their  voJ 
taries.    With  such  ideas  concerning  the  inhabitants  of 
the  celestial  regions,  we  ought  not  to  be  surprised  to 
find  the  inferior  spirits,  of  a  more  dubious  nature  and 
origin,  equipped  in  the  same  disguise.  Gervase  of  Til- 
bury [Oiia  [mperial.  ap.  Scrip,  rer.  Bninsvic,  vol.  I.  p. 
797,)  relates  the  following  popular  story  concerning  a 
Fairy  Knight.  "  Osbert,  a  bold  and  powerful  baron, 
"  visited  a  noble  family  in  the  vicinity  of  Wandlebury, 
"  in  the  bishopric  of  Ely.  Among  other  stories  related 
"  in  the  social  circle  of  his  friends,  who,  according  to 


128  :MINSTKELSy  ov 

"  custom,  amused  each  other  by  repeating  ancient  taJes 
"  and  traditions,  he  was  informed,  that  if  any  knight, 
"  unattended,  entered  an  adjacent  plain  by  moon-liglit, 
"  and  challenged  an  adversary  to  appear,  he  would  be 
"  immediately  encountered  by  a  spirit  in  the  form  of  a 
"  knight.  Osbert  resolved  to  make  the  experiment,  and 
"  set  out,  attended  by  a  single  squire,  whom  he  ordered 
"  to  remain  without  the  limits  of  the  plain,  which  was 
"  surrounded  by  an  ancient  entrenchment.  On  repeat- 
"  ing  the  challenge,  he  was  instantly  assailed  by  an  ad- 
"  versary,  whom  he  quickly  unhorsed,  and  seized  the 
"  reins  of  his  steed.  During  this  operation,  bis  ghostly 
"  opponent  sprung  up,  and,  darting  his  spear,  like  a  ja- 
"  velin,  at  Osbert,  wounded  him  in  the  thigh.  Osbert 
*'  returned  in  triumph  with  the  horse,  which  he  com- 
*'  mitted  to  the  cai-e  of  his  servants.  The  horse  was  of 
"  a  sable  colour,  as  well  as  his  whole  accoutrements, 
"  and  apparently  of  great  beauty  and  vigour.  He  re- 
"  mained  Avith  his  keeper  till  cock-crowing,  when,  with 
"  eyes  flashing  fire,  he  reared,  spurned  the  ground,  and 
"  vanished.  On  disarming  himself,  Osbert  perceived 
"  that  he  was  wounded,  and  that  one  of  his  steel  boots 
"  was  full  of  blood.  Gervase  adds,  that  as  long  as  he 
"  lived,  the  scar  of  his  wound  opened  afresh  on  the  an- 
"  niversary  of  the  eve  on  which  he  encountered  the  spi- 
"  rit."*     Less   fortunate  was  the   gallant    Bohemian 


•   The  unfortunate    Chatterton    was   not,   probably,    acquainted 
with  Gervase  of  Tilbury  ;  yet  he  seems  to  allude,  in  the  Battle  of 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  129 

knight,  who,  travelling  by  night  with  a  single  compa- 
nion, came  in  sight  of  a  fairy  host,  arrayed  under  dis- 
played banners.  Despising  the  remonstrances  of  his 
friend,  the  knight  pricked  forward  to  break  a  lance 
with  a  champion  who  advanced  from  the  ranks,  appa- 
rently in  defiance.  His  companion  beheld  the  Bohemian 
overthrown,  horse  and  man,  by  his  aerial  adversary ; 
and  returning  to  the  spot  next  morning,  he  found  the 
mangled  corpse  of  the  knight  and  steed. — Hierarchie 
of  Blessed  Angels,  p.  5.54. 

To  the  same  current  of  warlike  ideas,  we  may  safely 
attribute  the  long  train  of  military  processions  which 
the  Fairies  are  supposed  occasionally  to  exhibit.  The 
elves,  indeed,  seem  in  this  point  to  be  identified  with 
the  aerial  host,'  termed,  during  the  middle  ages,  the 
Milites  Herlikini,  or  Herlenrini,  celebrated  by  Pet. 
Blesensis,  and  termed,  in  the  life  of  St  Thomas  of  Can- 
terbury, the  Familia  Helliqiiinii.  The  chief  of  this 
band  was  originally  a  gallant  knight  and  warrior  ;  but. 


Hastings,  to  some  modification  of  Sir  Osbert's  adventure  : 

So  who  they  be  that  ouphant  fairies  strike. 
Their  souls  sliall  wander  to  King  Offa's  dike. 

The  entrenchment,  which  served  as  lists  for  the  combatants,  is  said 
by  Gervase  to  have  been  the  work  of  the  Pagan  invaders  of  Britain. 
In  the  metrical  romance  oi  Arthour  and  McrHii,  we  have  also  an  ac- 
count of  Wandlesbury  being  occupied  by  the  Sarasins,  i.  e.  the  Sax- 
ons ;  for  all  Pagans  were  Saracens  with  the  romancers.  I  presume  tlie 
place  to  have  been  Wodnesbury,  in  Wiltshire,  situated  on  the  remark- 
able mound,  called  Wandsdike,  which  is  obviously  a  Saxon  work.— 
Gough's  Camibdcii's  Britanma,  pp.  87 — 95. 
VOL.  II.  I 


180  MINSTIIEI-SY  OF 

Jiaving  spent  his  whole  possessions  in  the  sei'vice  of  the 
emperor,  and  being  rewarded  with  scorn,  and  aban- 
doned to  subordinate  oppression,  he  became  desperate, 
and,  with  his  sons  and  followers,  formed  a  band  of  rob- 
bers. After  committing  many  ravages,  and  defeating 
all  the  forces  sent  against  him,  Hellequin,  with  his 
whole  troop,  fell  in  a  bloody  engagement  with  the  im- 
perial host.  His  former  good  life  was  supposed  to  save 
him  from  utter  reprobation ;  but  he  and  his  followers  were 
condemned  after  death,  to  a  state  of  wandering,  which 
should  endure  till  the  last  day.  Retaining  their  mili- 
tary habits,  they  Avere  usually  seen  in  the  act  of  justing 
together,  or  in  similar  warlike  employments.  See  the 
ancient  French  Romance  of  Richard  sa?is  Peur.  Similar 
to  this  was  the  Nacht  Lager,  or  midnight  camp,  which 
seemed  nightly  to  beleaguer  the  walls  of  Prague, 

•'  With  ghastly  faces  throng'd,  and  fiery  arms," 

but  which  disappeared  upon  recitation  of  the  magical 
words,  Vezele,  VezeU,  ho!  ho!  ho! — For  similar  delu- 
sions, see  Delrius,  pp.  294,  2^5. 

The  martial  spirit  of  our  ancestors  led  them  to  defy 
these  aerial  warriors ;  and  it  is  still  currently  believed, 
that  he  who  has  courage  to  rush  upon  afairy  festival,  and 
snatch  from  them  their  drinking  cup  or  horn,  shall  find 
it  prove  to  him  a  cornucopia  of  good  fortune,  if  he  can 
bear  it  in  safety  across  a  running  stream.  Such  a  horn 
is  said  to  have  been  presented  to  Henry  I.,  by  a  lord  of 
Colchester. — Gervas  Tilb.  p.  9^0.  A  goblet  is  still 
carefully  preserved  in  Edenhall,  Cumberland,  which  is 


THE  SCOTTISH  RORDEK.  ]31 

supposed  to  have  been  seized  at  a  banquet  of  the  elves, 
by  one  of  the  ancient  family  of  Musgrave ;  or,  as  others 
say,  by  one  of  their  domestics,  in  the  manner  above  de- 
scribed.    The  Fairy  train  vanished,  crying  aloud, 

If  this  glass  do  break  or  fall. 
Farewell  the  luck  of  Edenhall ! 

The  goblet  took  a  name  from  the  prophecy,  under 
which  it  is  mentioned  in  the  burlesque  ballad,  common- 
ly attributed  to  the  Duke  of  Wharton,  but  in  reality 
composed  by  Lloyd,  one  of  his  jovial  companions.  The 
duke,  after  taking  a  draught,  had  nearly  terminated  the 
"  luck  of  Edenhall,"  had  not  the  butler  caught  the  cup 
in  a  napkin,  as  it  dropped  from  his  grace's  hands.  I 
understand  it  is  not  now  subjected  to  such  risques,  but 
the  lees  of  wine  are  still  apparent  at  the  bottom. 

God  prosper  long  from  being  broke, 

The  luck  of  Edenhall Parody  on  Chevy  Chace. 

Some  faint  traces  yet  remain,  on  the  Borders,  of  a  con- 
flict of  a  mysterious  and  terrible  nature,  between  mortals 
and  the  spirits  of  the  wilds.  The  superstition  is  inciden- 
tally alluded  to  by  Jackson,  at  the  beginning  of  the  17th 
century.  The  fern  seed,  which  is  supposed  to  bec^^me 
visible  only  on  St  John's  Eve,*  and  at  the  very  moment 


*  Ne'er  be  I  found  by  thee  unawed, 
On  that  thrice  hallow'd  eve  abroad. 
When  goblins  haunt,  from  fire  and  fen. 
And  wood  and  lake,  the  steps  of  men. 

CoLLiNs's  Ode  to  Fcai: 

The  whole  history  of  St  John  the  Baptist  was,  by  our  ancestors. 


132  MINSTRELSY  OF 

when  the  Baptist  was  born^  is  held  by  the  vulgar  to  be 
under  the  special  protection  of  the  Queen  of  Faery.  But, 
as  the  seed  was  supposed  to  have  the  quality  of  render- 
ing the  possessor  invisible  at  pleasure,*  and  to  be  also 
of  sovereign  use  in  charms  and  incantations,  persons  of 
courage,  addicted  to  these  mysterious  arts,  were  wont 
to  watch  in  solitude,  to  gather  it  at  the  moment  w  hen  it 
should  become  visible.  The  particular  charms,  by  which 
they  fenced  themselves  during  this  vigil,  ai'e  now  un- 
known ;  but  it  was  reckoned  a  feat  of  no  small  danger, 
as  the  person  undertaking  it  was  exposed  to  the  most 
dreadful  assaults  from  spirits,  who  dreaded  the  effect  of 
this  powerful  herb  in  the  hands  of  a  cabalist.  "  Much 
"  discourse,"  says  Richard  Bivot,  "  hath  been  about 
"  gathering  of  fern-seed,  (which  is  looked  upon  as  a 
'•  magical  herb)  on  the  night  of  Midsummer-eve ;  and 
"  I  remember  I  was  told  of  one  who  went  to  gather  it, 
"  and  the  spirits  whisk't  by  his  eai's  like  bullets,  and 
"  sometimes  struck  his  hat,  and  other  parts  of  his  body; 


accounted  mysterious,  and  connected  with  their  own  superstitions. 
The  Fairy  Queen  was  sometimes  identified  with  Herodias — Dzlrii 
Disqiihit'wnes  Magica,  pp.  168,  807.  It  is  amusing  to  observe  with 
what  gravity  the  learned  Jesuit  contends,  that  it  is  heresy  to  believe 
that  this  celebrated  figurante  (saliairiciila)  still  leads  choral  dances 
upon  earth  ! 

•  This  is  alluded  to  by  Shakespeare,  and  other  authors  of  his 
time  : 

"  We  have  the  receipt  oi  fcrn-sccd  ;  we  walk  invisible." 

Hairy  IV.  Part  \si.  Act  2d,  Sc.  3. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  133 

"  in  fine,  though  he  apprehended  he  had  gotten  a  quan- 
"  tity  of  it,  and  secured  it  in  papers,  and  a  box  besides, 
"  when  he  came  home  he  found  all  empty.  But,  most 
"  probable,  this  appointing  of  times  and  hours  is  of  the 
"  devil's  own  institution,  as  well  as  the  fast,  that,  having 
"  once  ensnared  people  to  an  obedience  to  his  rules,  he 
"  may  with  more  facility  oblige  them  to  a  stricter  vas- 
"  salage." — Pandcemonium,  Lond.  l684.  p.  217-  Such 
were  the  shades,  which  the  original  superstition,  con- 
cerning the  Fairies,  received  from  the  chivalrous  senti- 
ments of  the  middle  ages. 

IV.  An  absurd  belief  in  the  fables  of  classical  antiquity 
lent  an  additional  feature  to  the  character  of  the  wood- 
land spirits  of  whom  we  treat.  Greece  and  Rome  had 
not  only  assigned  tutelary  deities  to  each  province  and 
city,  but  had  peopled,  with  peculiar  spirits,  the  Seas, 
the  Rivers,  the  Woods,  and  the  Mountains.  The  memory 
of  the  Pagan  creed  was  not  speedily  eradicated,  in  the 
extensive  provinces  through  which  it  was  once  univer- 
sally received  ;  and,  in  many  particulars,  it  continued 
long  to  mingle  with,  and  influence,  the  original  super- 
stitions of  the  Gothic  nations.  Hence,  we  find  the  elves 
occasionally  arrayed  in  the  costume  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  the  Fairy  Queen  and  her  attendants  transformed  in- 
to Diana  and  her  nymphs,  and  invested  with  their  attri- 
butes and  appropriate  insignia. — Delrius,  pp.  l68,  8O7. 
According  to  the  same  author,  the  Fairy  Queen  was  also 
called  Habundia.  Like  Diana,  who,  in  one  capacity,  wa§ 


134  MINSTHEI>SY  OF 

ilenominated  Hecate,  the  goddess  of  enchantment,  the 
Fairy  Queen  is  identified,  in  popular  tradition,  with  the 
Gyre-Carline,  Gay  Carline,  or  mother  witch,  of  the 
Scottish  peasantry.  Of  this  personage,  as  an  individual, 
we  have  but  few  notices.  She  is  sometimes  termed  Nic- 
nevcn,  and  is  mentioned  in  the  Complaynt  of  Scotland, 
by  Lindsay  in  his  Dreme,  p.  225,  edit.  1590,  and  in  his 
hiterludes,  apud  Pinkeuton's  Scottish  Poems,  vol.  II. 
p.  1 S.  But  the  traditionary  accounts  regarding  her  are 
too  obscure  to  admit  of  explanation.  In  the  burlesque 
fragment  subjoined,  which  is  copied  from  the  Bannatyne 
MS.,  the  Gyi'e  Carline  is  termed  the  Queen  of  Joiois, 
(Jovis,  or  perhaps  Jews,)  and  is,  with  great  consistency, 
married  to  Mohammed.* 


Ill  Tyberius  tyme,  the  trew  imperatour, 

Quhen  Tynto  hills  fra  skiaiping  of  toun-henis  was  keipit, 

Thair  dwelt  ane  grit  Gyre  Carling  in  awld  Betokis  hour. 

That  levit  upoun  Christiane  menis  flesche,  and  rewheids  unleipit ; 

Thair  wynit  ane  hir  by,  on  the  west  syde,  callit  Blasour, 

For  luve  of  hir  lauchane  lippis,  he  walit  and  he  wcipit ; 

He  gadderit  ane  menzie  of  modwartis  to  warp  doun  the  tour  ; 

The  Carling  with  ane  yren  dub,  quhen  yat  Blasour  sleipit, 

Behind  the  heil  scho  hat  him  sic  ane  blaw, 

Quhil  Blasour  bled  ane  quart 

Off  milk  pottage  inwart. 

The  Carling  luche,  and  lut  a  fart 
North  Ber«ik  Law. 

The  King  of  Fary  than  come,  with  elfis  many  ane. 
And  sett  ane  scke,  and  ane  salt,  with  grit  pensallis  of  pryd  ; 
And  all  the  dopgis  fra  Dunbar  was  thair  to  Duuiblaiic, 
With  all  the  tykis  of  Tervcy,  tome  to  thame  that  tyd  ; 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEU.  135 

But  chiefly  in  Italy  were  traced  many  dim  characters 
of  ancient  mythology,  in  the  creed  of  tradition.  Thus 
so  lately  as  1536,  Vulcan,  with  twenty  of  his  Cyclops,  is 
stated  to  have  presented  himself  suddenly  to  a  Spanish 
merchant,  travelling  in  the  night  through  the  forests  of 
Sicily ;  an  apparition,  which  was  followed  by  a  dreadful 
eruption  of  Mount  JEtna.—Hierarchie  of  Blessed  An- 
gels,  p.  504.  Of  this  singular  mixture,  the  reader  will 
find  a  curious  specimen  in  the  following  tale, wherein  the 
Venus  of  antiquity  assumes  the  manners  of  one  of  the 
Fays,  or  Fata;,  of  romance.    "  In  the  year  1 058,  a  young 


Thay  quelle  doune  with  thair  gonnes  mony  grit  stane. 
The  Carling  schup  her  on  ane  sow,  and  is  her  gaitis  gane, 
Grunting  our  the  Greik  sie,  and  durst  na  langer  byd, 
For  bruklyng  of  bargane,  and  breiking  of  browis  : 

The  Carling  now  for  dispyte 

Is  mareit  with  Mahomyte, 

And  will  the  doggis  interdyte, 

For  scho  is  quene  of  Jowis. 

Sensyne  the  cockis  of  Crawmound  crew  nevir  at  day, 
For  dule  of  that  devillisch  deme  wes  with  Mahoun  mareit, 
And  the  henis  of  Hadingtoun  sensyne  wald  not  lay, 
For  this  wild  wibroun  with  them  widlet  sa  and  wareit ; 
And  the  same  North  Berwik  Law,  as  I  heir  wyvis  say, 
This  Carling,  with  a  fals  cast,  wald  away  careit ; 
For  to  luck  on  quha  sa  lykis,  na  langer  scho  tareit ; 
.\11  this  languor  for  love  before  tymes  fell, 

Lang  or  Betok  was  born, 

Scho  bred  of  ane  accorne ; 

The  liiif  of  the  story  to  nioruc, 
To  vou  I  saU  telle. 


136  MINSTRELSY  OF 

*'  man  of  noble  birth  had  been  married  at  Rome,  and, 

''  durinjr  the  period  of  the  nuptial  feast,  having  gone  with 

"  his  companions  to  play  at  bail_,  he  put  his  marriage  ring 

"  on  the  finger  of  a  broken  statue  of  Venus  in  the  area,  to 

"  remain  while  he  was  engaged  in  the  recreation.    De- 

"  sisting  from  the  exercise,  hefound  the  finger,  on  which 

"  he  had  put  his  ring,  contracted  firmly  against  the 

"  palm,  and  attempted  in  vain  either  to  break  it,  or  to 

"  disengage  his  ring.     He  concealed  the  circumstance 

"  from  his  companions,  and  returned  at  night  with  a  ser- 

"  vant,  when  he  found  the  finger  extended,  and  his  ring 

"  gone.  He  dissembled  the  loss,  and  returned  to  his  wife : 

"  but,  whenever  he  attempted  to  embrace  her,  he  found 

"  himself  prevented  by  something  darksind  dense  which 

"  was  tangible,  though  not  visible,  interposing  between 

"  them :  and  he  heard  a  voice  saying,  '  Embrace  me ! 

"  for  I  am  Venus,  whom  this  day  you  wedded,  and  I 

"  will  not  restore  your  ring.'  As  this  was  constantly  re- 

"  peated,  he  consulted  hisrelations,  whohad  recourse  to 

"  Palumbus,  a  priest,  skilled  in  necromancy.  He  direct- 

"  ed  the  young  man  to  go,  at  a  certain  hour  of  night, 

"  to  a  spot  among  the  ruins  of  ancient  Rome,  where  four 

"  roads  met,  and  wait  silently  till  he  saw  a  company  pass 

"  by,  and  then,  without  uttering  a  Avord,  to  deliver  a  let- 

"  ter,  which  he  gave  him,  to  a  majestic  being,  who  rode 

"  in  a  chariot,  after  the  rest  of  the  company.  The  young 

"  man  did  as  he  was  directed  ;  and  saw  a  company  of  all 

"  ages,  sexes,  and  ranks,  on  horse  and  on  foot,  some  joy- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  137 

"  fill  and  others  sad,  pass  along ;  among  whom  he  dis- 
"  tinguished  a  woman  in  a  meretricious  di-ess,  who  from 
*'  the  tenuity  of  her  garments,  seemed  almost  naked. 
"  She  rode  on  a  mule ;  her  long  hair,  which  flowed  over 
^'  her  shoulders,  was  bound  with  a  golden  fillet ;  and  in 
''her  hand  was  a  golden  rod,  with  which  she  directed 
"  her  mule.  In  the  close  of  the  procession,  a  tall  ma- 
"jestic  figure  appeared  in  a  chariot,  adorned  with 
"emeralds  and  pearls,  who  fiercely  asked  the  young 
"  man,  <  What  he  did  there  ?'  He  presented  the  letter  in 
''  silence,  which  the  daemon  dared  not  refuse.  As  soon 
"  as  he  had  read,  lifting  up  his  hands  to  heaven,  he  ex- 
"  claimed,  'Almighty  God!  how  long  wilt  thou  endure 
"  the  iniquities  of  the  sorcerer  Palumbus  !'  and  imme- 
"  diately  dispatched  some  of  his  attendants,  who,  with 
"  much  difficulty,  extorted  the  ring  from  Venus,  and 
"  restored  it  to  its  owner,  whose  infernal  banns  were 
"  thus  dissolved." — Fouduni  Scolichronicon,  vol.  I.  p. 
407,  cura  Good  all. 

But  it  is  rather  in  the  classical  character  of  an  infer- 
nal Deity,  that  the  elfin  queen  may  be  considered,  than 
as  Hecate,  the  patroness  of  magic ;  for  not  only  in  the 
romance  writers,  but  even  in  Chaucer,  are  the  fairies 
identified  with  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  classical 
hell.     Thus  Chaucer,  in  his  Marchund's  Tale,  mentions 

Pluto  that  is  king  of  fayrie — and 
Proserpine  and  all  her  fayrie. 

Ii>  the  Golden  Tergcoi.'  Dunbar,  the  same  phraseology 
is  adopted  :  Thus., 


l;J8  MINSTllELSY  OF 

Thair  was  Pluto  that  elrickc  incubus 
In  cloke  of  grene,  his  court  usit  in  sable. 

Even  so  late  as  1602,  in  Harsenet's  Dedarallon  of 
Popish  Imposture,  p.  57,  Mercury  is  called  Prince  of  the 
Fairies, 

But  Chaucer,  and  those  poets  who  have  adopted  his 
phraseology,  have  only  followed  the  romance  writers ; 
for  the  same  substitution  occurs  in  the  romance  ofOrfeo 
and  Hetirodis,  in  which  the  story  of  Orpheus  and  Eury- 
dice  is  transformed  into  a  beautiful  romantic  tale  of  faery, 
and  the  Gothic  mythology  engrafted  on  the  fables  of 
Greece.  Heurodis  is  represented  as  wife  of  Orfeo,  and 
Queen  of  Winchester,  the  ancient  name  of  which  city 
the  romancer,  with  unparalleled  ingenuity,  discovers  to 
liave  been  Traciens,  or  Thrace.  The  monarch,  her  hus- 
band, had  a  singular  genealogy  : 

His  fader  was  comen  of  King  Pluto, 
And  his  moder  of  King  Juno  ; 
That  sum  time  were  as  goddes  y-liokle. 
For  aventours  that  thai  dede  and  tolde. 

Reposing,  unwax'ily,  at  noon,  under  the  shade  of  an  ymp 
tree,*  Heurodis  dreams  that  she  is  accosted  by  the  King 
of  Fairies, 

With  an  hundred  knights  and  mo, 
And  damisels  an  hundred  also. 


•  Ymj)  ^^rc.^According  to  the  general  acceptation,  this  only  sig- 
nifies a  grafted  tree ;  whether  it  should  be  here  understood  to  mean 
a  tree  consecrated  to  tlie  imps,  or  fairies,  is  left  with  tlie  reader. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  139 

Al  on  snowe  white  stedes  ; 

As  white  as  milk  were  her  wedes  ; 

Y  no  seigh  never  yete  bifore, 

So  fair  creatours  y-core  :  i 

The  kinge  hadde  a  croan  on  hede. 

It  nas  of  silver,  no  of  golde  red, 

Ac  it  was  of  a  precious  ston  : 

As  bright  as  the  sonne  it  schon. 

The  King  of  Fairies,  -who  had  obtained  power  over 
the  queen,  perhaps  from  her  sleeping  at  noon  in  his 
domain,  orders  her,  under  the  penalty  of  being  torn  to 
pieces,  to  await  him  to-morrow  under  the  ymp  tree, 
and  accompany  him  to  Fairy-Land.  She  relates  her 
dream  to  her  husband,  who  resolves  to  accompany  her, 
and  attempt  her  rescue  : 

A  morwe  the  under  tide  is  come, 

And  Orfeo  hath  his  armes  y-nome, 

And  wele  ten  hundred  knights  with  him, 

Ich  y-armed  stout  and  grim  ; 

And  with  the  quen  wenten  he, 

llight  upon  that  ympe  tre. 

Thai  made  scheltrom  in  iche  aside. 

And  sayd  thai  wold  there  abide. 

And  dye  ther  everichon, 

Er  the  quen  schuld  fram  hem  gon  : 

Ac  yete  amiddes  hem  ful  right, 

The  quen  was  oway  y-twight, 

With  Fairi  forth  y-nome, 

Men  wizt  never  wher  sche  was  become. 

After  this  fatal  catastrophe,  Orfeo,  distracted  for  the 
loss  of  his  queen,  abandons  his  throne,  and,  with  his 


140  MINSTRELSY  OF 

harp,  retires  into  a  wilderness,  where  he  subjects  him- 
self to  every  kind  of  austerity,  and  attracts  the  wild 
beasts  by  the  pathetic  melody  of  his  harp.  His  state 
of  desolation  is  poetically  described  : 

He  that  werd  the  fowe  and  griis. 

And  on  bed  the  purpur  biis. 

Now  on  the  hard  hethe  he  lith, 

With  leves  and  gresse  he  hini  writh  : 

He  that  had  castells  and  tours, 

Rivers,  forests,  fritli  with  flowers. 

Now  thei  it  commence  to  snewe  and  freze, 

This  king  mot  make  his  bed  in  mese : 

He  that  had  y-had  knightes  of  priis, 

Bifore  him  kneland  and  leuedis, 

Now  seth  he  no  thing  that  him  liketh, 

Bot  wild  wormes  bi  him  striketh  : 

He  that  had  y-had  plente 

Of  mete  and  drink,  of  iche  deynte. 

Now  may  he  al  daye  digge  and  wrote, 

Er  he  find  his  fille  of  rote. 

In  somer  he  liveth  bi  wilde  fruit. 

And  verien  bot  gode  lite. 

In  winter  may  he  no  thing  find, 

Bot  rotes,  grases,  and  the  rindc. 


His  here  of  b.is  herd  blac  and  rowe. 

To  his  girdel  stede  was  growe  ; 

His  harp,  whereon  was  al  his  gle, 

He  hidde  in  ane  hoi  we  tre  : 

And,  when  the  weder  was  clere  and  bright, 

He  teke  his  harp  to  him  wel  right. 

And  harped  at  his  owen  will, 

Into  al  the  wode  the  soun  gan  shill. 

That  al  the  wild  belles  that  ther  beth 

For  joie  abouten  him  thai  teth  ; 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  141 

And  al  the  foules  that  there  war. 
Come  and  sete  on  ich  a  brere, 
To  here  his  harping  a  fine, 
So  miche  melody  was  therein. 

At  last  he  discovers,  that  he  is  not  the  sole  inhabi- 
tant of  this  desert ;  for 

He  might  se  him  besides 

Oft  in  hot  undertides, 

The  King  of  Fairi,  with  his  route, 

Come  to  hunt  him  al  about, 

With  dim  cri  and  bloweing, 

And  houndes  also  with  him  berki  ng  ; 

Ac  no  best  thai  no  nome. 

No  never  he  nist  whider  thai  bi  come. 

And  other  while  he  might  hem  se 

As  a  gret  ost  bi  him  te, 

Well  atourned  ten  hundred  knightes, 

Ich  y-armed  to  his  rightes. 

Of  cuntenance  stout  and  fers. 

With  mani  desplaid  baners  ; 

And  ich  his  sword  y-drawe  hold, 

Ac  never  he  nist  whider  thai  wold. 

And  other  while  he  seighe  other  thing  ; 

Knightis  and  leuedis  com  daunceing, 

In  queynt  attire  gisely, 

Queyete  pas  and  softlie  : 

Tabours  and  trmnpes  gede  hem  bi. 

And  al  maner  menstraci — 

And  on  a  day  he  seighe  him  biside, 

Sexti  leuedis  on  hors  ride, 

Gentil  and  jolif  as  brid  on  ris  ; 

Nought  o  man  amonges  hem  ther  nis ; 

And  ich  a  faucoun  on  hond  bere. 

And  riden  on  hauken  bi  o  river. 

Of  game  thai  found  wel  gode  haunt, 

Maulardes,  hayroun,  and  cormoraunt ; 


142  MINSTRELS Y  OF 

The  foules  of  the  water  ariseth, 

Ich  faucoun  hem  wele  deviseth, 

Ich  faucoun  his  pray  slouch, 

That  seize  Orfeo  and  lough. 

"  Par  fay,"  quotli  he,  "  there  is  fair  game, 

*'  Hiderlchil  bi  Codes  name, 

"  Ich  was  y  won  swich  work  to  se :" 

He  arcs,  and  thider  gan  te  ; 

To  a  leuedi  hi  was  y-come, 

Bihelde,  and  hath  wel  under  nome. 

And  seth,  bi  al  thing,  that  is 

His  owen  quen,  dam  Heurodis  ; 

Gem  hi  biheld  her,  and  sche  him  eke, 

Ac  nouther  to  other  a  word  no  speke  : 

For  raessais  that  sche  on  him  seighe. 

That  had  ben  so  riche  and  so  heighe. 

The  tears  fell  out  of  her  eighe  ; 

The  other  leuedis  this  y  seighe, 

And  maked  her  oway  to  ride, 

Sche  most  with  him  no  longer  obide. 

"  Alias  !"  quoth  he,  "  nowe  is  my  woe, 

"  Whi  nil  deth  now  me  slo  ! 

"  Alias  !  too  long  last  my  liif, 

"  When  y  no  dare  nought  with  mi  wif, 

"  Nor  hye  to  me  o  word  speke  ; 

"  Alias  whi  nil  miin  hert  breke  ! 

"  Par  fay,"  quoth  he,  "  tide  what  betide, 

"  Whider  to  this  leuedis  ride, 

"  The  selve  way  Ichil  streche  ; 

"  Of  liif,  no  dethe,  me  no  reche." 

In  consequence,  therefore,  of  this  discovery,  Orfeu 
pursues  the  hawking  damsels,  among  whom  he  has  des- 
cried his  lost  queen.  They  enter  a  rock,  the  king  con- 
tinues the  pursuit,  and  arrives  at  Fairy-Land,  of  which 
the  following  very  poetical  description  is  given  : 

In  at  a  roche  the  leuedis  rideth. 
And  he  after  and  nought  abideth  ; 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  14-3 

When  he  was  in  the  roche  y-go, 

Wele  thre  mile  other  mo. 

He  com  into  a  fair  cuntray, 

As  bright  soonne  somers  day, 

Smothe  and  plain  and  al  grene. 

Hill  no  dale  nas  none  ysene. 

Amidde  the  lond  a  castel  he  seighe, 

Rich  and  reale  and  wonder  heighe  ; 

Al  the  utmast  wal 

Was  cler  and  schine  of  cristal ; 

An  hundred  tours  ther  were  about, 

Degiselich  and  bataild  stout ; 

The  butrass  come  out  of  the  diche. 

Of  rede  gold  y-arched  riche ; 

The  bousour  was  anowed  al. 

Of  ich  maner  deuers  animal ; 

Within  ther  wer  wide  wones 

Al  of  precious  stones, 

The  werss  piler  onto  biholde. 

Was  al  of  burnist  gold  : 

Al  that  lond  was  ever  light. 

For  when  it  schuld  be  therk  and  night,         / 

The  riche  stonnes  light  gonne, 

Bright  as  doth  at  nonne  the  sonne : 

No  man  may  tel,  no  thenke  in  thought, 

The  riche  werk  that  ther  was  rought. 


Than  he  gan  biliolde  about  al. 
And  seighe  ful  liggeand  with  in  the  wal, 
Of  folk  that  wer  thidder  y-brought. 
And  thought  dede  and  nere  nought ; 
Sum  stode  with  oaten  hadde  ; 
And  some  none  armes  nade  ; 
And  sum  thurch  the  bodi  hadde  wounde  i 
And  sum  lay  wode  y-bounde ; 
And  sum  armed  on  hors  seta  ; 
And  sum  astrangled  as  thai  ete ; 
And  sum  war  in  water  adreynt ; 
And  sum  with  fire  all  for  schrcynt ; 


144  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Wires  ther  lay  on  cbilde  bedde  ; 

Sum  dede,  and  sume  awedde  ; 

And  wonder  fele  ther  lay  besides, 

Right  as  thai  slepe  her  under  tides  ; 

Eche  was  thus  in  this  warld  y-nonie. 

With  fairi  thider  y-come.  * 

There  he  seize  his  owhen  wiif, 

Dame  Heurodis,  his  liif  liif, 

Sleepe  under  an  ympe  tree  : 

Bi  her  clothes  he  knewe  that  it  was  he. 

And  when  he  had  bihold  this  mervalis  alle. 
He  went  into  the  kinges  halle  ; 
Then  seigh  he  there  a  semly  sight, 
A  tabernacle  blis&eful  and  bright ; 
Ther  in  her  maister  king  sete. 
And  her  quen  fair  and  swete  ; 
Hercrounes,  her  clothes  schine  so  bright, 
That  unnethe  bihold  he  them  might. 

Orfco  and  Hairodis,  MS. 

Orfeo,  as  a  minstrel,  so  charms  the  Fairy  King  with  the 
music  of  his  harp,  that  he  promises  to  grant  him  what- 
ever he  should  ask.  He  immediately  demands  his  lost 
Heurodis;  and,  returning  safely  with  her  to  Winchester, 
resumes  his  authority ;  a  catastrophe,  less  pathetic  in- 
deed, but  more  pleasing,  than  that  of  the  classical  story. 
The  circumstances,  mentioned  in  this  romantic  legend, 
correspond  very  exactly  with  popular  tradition.  Almost 
all  the  writers  on  daemonology  mention,  as  a  received 
opinion,  that  the  power  of  the  daemons  is  most  predomi- 
nant at  noon  and  midnight.  The  entrance  to  the  Land  of 

*  It  was  perhaps  from  such  a  description  that  Ariosto  adopted  his 
idea  of  the  Lunar  Paradise,  containing  every  thing  that  on  earth  was 
stolen  or  lost. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  145 

Faery  is  placed  in  the  wilderness ;  a  circumstance  which 
coincides  with  a  passage  in  Lindsay's  Complaint  of  the 
Papingo : 

"  Bot  sen  my  spreit  mon  from  my  bodye  go, 
*'  I  recommend  it  to  the  Quene  of  Fary, 
"  Eternally  into  her  court  to  tarry 
"  In  wilderness  amang  the  holtis  hair." 

Lindsay's  Works,  1592,  p.  222. 

Chaucer  also  agrees,  in  this  particular,  with  our  ro- 
mancer : 

"  In  his  sadel  he  clombe  anon, 
"  And  priked  over  stile  and  ston, 

"  An  Elfe  Quene  for  to  espie ; 
"  Til  he  so  long  had  riden  and  gone 
"  That  he  fond  in  a  privie  wone 

"  The  countree  of  Faerie. 

"  Wherein  he  soughte  north  and  south, 
"  And  often  spired  with  his  mouth, 

"  In  many  a  foreste  wilde ; 
"  F'or  in  that  countree  nas  ther  non, 
"  That  to  him  dorst  ride  or  gon, 

"  Neither  wife  ne  childe." 

lUme  of  Sir  Thopas. 

V.  Other  two  causes,  deeply  affecting  the  superstition 
of  which  we  treat,  remain  yet  to  be  noticed.  The  first 
is  derived  from  the  Christian  religion,  which  admits  only 
of  two  classes  of  spirits,  exclusive  of  the  souls  of  men — 
Angels,  namely,  and  devils.  This  doctrine  had  a  ne- 
cessary tendency  to  abolish  the  distinction  among  sub- 
ordinate spirits,  which  had  been  introduced  by  the  su- 

VOL.  II.  K 


146  MINSTRELSY  OF 

perstitions  of  the  Scandinavians.  The  existence  of  the 
Fairies  was  readily  admitted  ;  but,  as  they  had  no  pre- 
tensions to  the  angelic  character,  they  were  deemed  to 
be  of  infernal  origin.  The  union,  also,  which  had  been 
formed  betwixt  the  elves  and  the  Pagan  deities,  was 
probably  of  disservice  to  the  former ;  since  every  one 
knows  that  the  whole  synod  of  Olympus  were  account- 
ed daemons. 

The  fulminations  of  the  church  were,  therefore,  early 
directed  against  those,  who  consulted  or  consorted  with 
the  Fairies ;  and,  according  to  the  inquisitorial  logic, 
the  innocuous  choristers  of  Oberon  and  Titania  were, 
without  remorse,  confounded  with  the  sable  inhabitants 
of  the  orthodox  Gehennim ;  while  the  rings,  which 
marked  their  revels,  were  assimilated  to  the  blasted 
sward  on  which  the  witches  held  their  infernal  sabbath. 
— Delrii  Disq.  Mag.  p.  179-  This  transformation  early 
took  place ;  for,  among  the  many  crimes  for  which  the 
famous  Joan  of  Arc  was  called  upon  to  answer,  it  was 
not  the  least  heinous,  that  she  had  frequented  the  Tree 
and  Fountain,  near  Dom])re,  which  formed  the  rendez- 
vous of  the  Fairies,  and  bore  their  name  ;  that  she  had 
joined  in  the  festive  dance  with  the  elves,  who  haunt- 
ed this  charmed  spot ;  had  accepted  of  their  magical 
bouquets,  and  availed  herself  of  their  talismans,  for 
the  deliverance  of  her  country. —  Vide  Acta  Judiciaria 
contra  Johaimum  D'Arceam,  vulgo  vocalam  Johanne  la 
Pucellc. 
The  Reformation  swept  away  many  of  the  corruptions 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  147 

of  the  church  of  Rome ;  but  the  purifying  torrent  re- 
mained itself  somewhat  tinctured  by  the  superstitious 
impurities  of  the  soil  over  which  it  had  passed.  The 
trials  of  sorcerers  and  witches,  which  disgrace  our  cri- 
minal records,  become  even  more  frequent  after  the 
Reformation  of  the  church  ;  as  if  human  credulity,  no 
longer  amused  by  the  miracles  of  Rome,  had  sought  for 
food  in  the  traditionary  records  of  popular  superstition. 
A  Judaical  observation  of  the  precepts  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament also  characterized  the  Presbyterian  reformers  : 
"  Thou  shall  not  suffer  a  witch  to  live,"  was  a  text,  which 
at  once  (as  they  conceived)  authorized  their  belief  in  sor- 
cery, and  sanctioned  the  penalty  which  they  denounced 
against  it.  The  Fairies  were,  therefore,  in  no  better 
credit  after  the  Reformation  than  before,  being  still  re- 
garded as  actual  daemons,  or  something  very  little  better. 
A  famous  divine,  Doctor  Jasper  Brolceman,  teaches  us, 
in  his  system  of  divinity,  "  that  they  inhabit  in  those 
"  places  that  are  polluted  with  any  crying  sin,  as  efFu- 
"  sion  of  blood,  or  where  unbelief  or  superstitione  have 
"  gotten  the  upper  hand." — Description  ofFeroe.  The 
Fairies  being  on  such  bad  terms  with  the  divines,  those 
■who  pretended  to  intercourse  with  them  were  without 
scruple  punished  as  sorcerers  ;  and  such  absurd  charges 
are  frequently  stated  as  exaggerations  of  crimes,  in  them- 
selves sufficiently  heinous. 

Such  is  the  case  in  the  trial  of  the  noted  Major  Weir, 
and  his  sister ;  where  the  following  mummery  interlards 
a  criminal  indictxnent,  too  infamously  flagitious  to  be 


148  MINSTRELSY  OF 

farther  detailed :  "  9th  April,  I67O.  Jean  Weir,  indict- 
"  ed  of  sorceries,  committed  by  her  when  she  lived  and 
"  kept  a  school  at  Dalkeith  ;  that  she  took  employment 
"  from  a  woman,  to  speak  in  her  behalf  to  the  QueeJi  of 
"  Fairii,  meaning  the  devil ;  and  that  another  woman 
"  gave  her  a  piece  of  a  tree,  or  root,  the  next  day,  and 
"  did  tell  her,  that  as  long  as  she  kept  the  same,  she 
"  should  be  able  to  do  what  she  pleased  ;  and  that  same 
"  woman,  from  whom  she  got  the  tree,  caused  her 
"  spread  a  cloth  before  her  door,  and  set  her  foot  upon 
"  it,  and  to  repeat  thrice,  in  the  posture  foresaid,  these 
"  words,  '  All  her  losses  and  crosses  go  alongsf  to  ike 
"  doors,'  which  was  truly  a  consulting  Avith  the  devil, 
"  and  an  act  of  sorcery,  &c.  That  after  the  spirit,  in 
"  the  shape  of  a  woman,  who  gave  her  the  piece  of  tree, 
"  had  removed,  she,  addressing  herself  to  spinning,  and 
"  having  spun  but  a  short  time,  found  more  yarn  upon 
"  the  pirn  than  could  possibly  have  come  there  by  good 
"  means."* — Books  of  Adjournal. 


*  It  is  observed  in  the  record,  that  Major  Weir,  a  man  of  the  most 
vicious  character,  was  at  the  same  time  ambitious  of  appearing  emi- 
nently godly ;  and  used  to  frequent  the  beds  of  sick  persons,  to  assist 
them  with  his  prayers.  On  such  occasions,  he  put  to  his  mouth  a  long 
staff,  which  he  usually  carried,  and  expressed  himself  with  uncommon 
energy  and  fluency,  of  which  he  was  utterly  incapable  when  the  in- 
spiring rod  was  withdrawn.  This  circumstance,  the  result,  probably, 
of  a  trick  or  habit,  appearing  suspicious  to  the  judges,  the  staff  of  the 
sorcerer  was  burned  along  with  his  person.  One  hundred  and  thirty 
years  have  elapsed  since  his  execution,  yet  no  one  has,  during  that 
space,  ventured  to  inhabit  the  house  of  tliis  celebrated  criminal. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  149 

Neither  was  the  judgment  of  the  Criminal  Court  of 
Scotland  less  severe  against  another  familiar  of  the  Fai- 
ries, whose  supposed  correspondence  with  the  court  of 
Elfland  seems  to  have  constituted  the  sole  crime  for 
which  she  was  burned  alive.  Her  name  was  Alison  Pear- 
son, and  she  seems  to  have  been  a  very  noted  person. 
In  a  bitter  satire  against  Adamson,  Bishop  of  St  An- 
drews, he  is  accused  of  consulting  with  sorcerers,  par- 
ticularly with  this  very  woman ;  and  an  account  is  given 
of  her  travelling  through  Breadalbane,  in  the  company  of 
the  Queen  of  Faery,  and  of  her  descrying,  in  the  court 
of  Elfland,  many  persons,  who  had  been  supposed  at  rest 
in  the  peaceful  grave.*     Among  these  we  find  two  re- 


"  For  oght  the  kirk  culd  him  forbid, 

*'  He  sped  him  sone,  and  gat  the  third ; 

"  Ane  carling  of  the  Quene  of  Phareis, 

"  That  ewill  win  geir  to  elphyne  careis  ; 

*'  Through  all  Brade  A  bane  scho  has  bene, 

"  On  horsbak  on  Hallow  ewin  ; 

"  And  ay  in  seiking  certayne  nightis, 

"  As  scho  sayis  with  sur  silly  wychirs : 

"  And  names  out  nybours  sex  or  sewin, 

"  That  we  belevit  had  bene  in  heawin  ; 

"  Scho  said  scho  saw  theme  weill  aneugh, 

"  And  speciallie  gude  auld  Balcleuch, 

"  The  secretar,  and  sundrie  uther : 

"  Ane  William  Symsone,  her  mother  brother, 

"  Whom  fra  scho  has  resavit  a  buike 

"  For  ony  herb  scho  likes  to  luke; 

"  It  wUl  instruct  her  how  to  tak  it, 

"  In  saws  and  sillubs  how  to  mak  it ; 

"  With  stones  that  meikle  mair  can  doe, 

"In  leich  craft,  where  scho  lays  them  toe ; 


150  minstrillsy  of 

markable  personages,  the  secretary,  young  Maitland  of 
Lethington,  and  one  of  the  old  Lairds  of  Buccleuch. 
The  cause  of  their  being  stationed  in  Elfland  probably 
arose  from  the  manner  of  their  decease  ;  which,  being 
uncommon  and  violent,  caused  the  vulgar  to  suppose 
that  they  had  been  abstracted  by  the  Fairies.  Lething- 
ton,  as  is  generally  supposed,  died  a  Roman  death  du- 
ring his  imprisonment  in  Leith ;  and  the  Buccleuch, 
whom  I  believe  to  be  here  meant,  was  slain  in  a  noc- 
turnal scuffle  by  the  Kers,  his  hereditary  enemies.  Be- 
sides, they  were  both  attached  to  the  cause  of  Queen 
Mary,  and  to  the  ancient  religion ;  and  were  thence, 
probably,  considered  as  more  immediately  obnoxious 
to  the  assaults  of  the  powers  of  darkness.*  The  indict- 
ment of  Alison  Pearson  notices  her  intercourse  with 


*'  A  thousand  maladeis  scho  hes  mendit ; 
"  Now  being  tane,  and  apprehendit, 
"  Scho  being  in  the  bischopis  cure, 
"  And  keipit  in  his  castle  sure, 
"  Without  respect  of  worldlie  glamer, 
*'  He  past  into  the  witches  chalmer." 

Scottish  Poems  of  XVI.  Century,  Edin.  1801, 
Vol.  II.  p.  320. 

•  Buccleuch  was  a  violent  enemy  to  the  English,  by  whom  his 
lands  had  been  repeatedly  plundered,  (See  Ihtroduct'ton,  p.  xxvi.) 
and  a  great  advocate  for  the  marriage  betwixt  Mary  and  the  Dau- 
phin, 1549.  According  to  John  Knox,  he  had  recourse  even  to 
threats,  in  urging  the  Parliament  to  agree  to  the  French  match. 
"  The  Laird  of  Balcleuch,"  says  the  Reformer,  "  a  bloody  man,  with 
."  many  Gods  wounds,  swore,  they  that  would  not  consent  should  do 
"  worse." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  151 

•the  Archbishop  of  St  Andrews,  and  contains  some  par- 
ticulars, worthy  of  notice,  regarding  the  court  of  Elf- 
land.  It  runs  thus  : — "  28th  May,  1586.  Alison  Pear- 
'*  son,  in  Byrehill,  convicted  of  witchcraft,  andofcon- 
"  suiting  with  evil  spirits,  in  the  form  of  one  Mr  Wil- 
"  liam  Sympsone,  her  cosin,  who  she  affirmed  was  a 
'*  gritt  schollar,  and  doctor  of  medicine,  that  healed  her 
*'  of  her  diseases  when  she  was  twelve  years  of  age  ; 
**  having  lost  the  power  of  her  syde,  and  having  a  fa- 
"  miliaritie  with  him  for  divers  years,  dealing  with 
"  charms,  and  abuseing  the  common  people  by  her 
^'  arts  of  witchcraft,  thir  divers  yeares  by-past. 

"  Item,  For  hanting  and  repairing  with  the  gude 
"  neighbours,  and  Queene  of  Elfland,  thir  divers  years 
"  by-past,  as  she  had  confest ;  and  that  she  had  friends 
"  in  that  court,  which  were  of  her  own  blude,  who  had 
"  gude  acquaintance  of  the  Queene  of  Elfland,  which 
"  might  have  helped  her  ;  but  she  was  whiles  well,  and 
"  whiles  ill,  sometimes  with  them,  and  other  times 
"  away  frae  them;  and  that  she  would  be  in  her  bed 
*'  haille  and  feire,  and  would  not  wytt  where  she  would 
"  be  the  morn  ;  and  that  she  saw  not  the  Queene  this 
'*  seven  years,  and  that  she  was  seven  years  ill  handled 
"  in  the  court  of  Elfland  ;  that,  however,  she  had  gude 
"  friends  there,  and  that  it  was  the  gude  neighbours 
"  that  healed  her,  under  God  ;  and  that  she  was  coming 
"  and  going  to  St  Andrews  to  heale  folkes  thir  many 
"  years  past. 

"  Item,  Convict  of  the  said  act  of  witchcraft,  in  as  far 
"  as  she  confest  that  the  said  Mr  William  Sympsoune, 


152  MlNSTllELSY  OF 

"  who  was  her  guidsir  sone,  born  in  Stirleing,  who  was 
"  the  King's  smith,  who,  when  about  eight  years  of  age, 
"  was  taken  away  by  ane  Egyptian  into  Egypt ;  which 
*'  Egyptian  was  a  gyant,  where  he  remained  twelve  years, 
"  and  then  came  home. 

"  Item,  That  she  being  in  Grange  Muir,  with  some 
"  other  folke,  she,  being  sick,  lay  downe  ;  and,  when 
"  alone,  there  came  a  man  to  her,  clad  in  green,  who 
"  said  to  her,  if  she  would  be  faithful,  he  would  do  her 
"  good ;  but  she,  being  feared,  cried  out,  but  naebodye 
"  came  to  her ;  so  she  said,  if  he  came  in  God's  name, 
"  and  for  the  gude  of  her  saule,  it  was  well ;  but  he  gaid 
"  away :  that  he  appeared  to  her  another  time  like  a 
*'  lustie  man,  and  many  men  and  women  with  him ;  that, 
"  at  seeing  him,  she  signed  herself  and  prayed,  and  past 
*'  with  them,  and  saw  them  making  merrie  with  pypes, 
"  and  gude  cheir  and  wine,  and  that  she  was  carried 
*'  with  them ;  and  that  when  she  telled  any  of  these 
"  things,  she  was  sairlie  tormentit  by  them ;  and  that  the 
"  first  time  she  gaed  with  them,  she  gat  a  sair  straike 
"  frae  one  of  them,  which  took  all  the  poustie*  of  her 
"  syde  frae  her,  and  left  ane  ill-far'd  mark  on  her  syde. 

"  Ilem,  That  she  saw  the  gude  neighbours  make  their 
"  sawest  with  pannes  and  fyres,  and  that  they  gathered 
"  the  herbs  before  the  sun  was  up,  and  they  came  verie 
*'  fearful  sometimes  to  her,  and  flaide  f  her  very  sair, 
"  which  made  her  cry,  and  threatened  they  would  use 

"  Puuitio — Power.         f  .S'aucj— .Salves.         :J:  Flaide — Scared. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  153 

"  her  worse  than  before  ;  and,  at  last,  they  took  away 
"  the  power  of  her  haile  syde  frae  her,  which  made  her 
**  lye  many  weeks.  Sometimes  they  would  come  and 
"  sitt  by  her,  and  promise  all  that  she  should  never 
*'  want,  if  she  would  be  faithful,  but  if  she  would  speak 
"  and  telle  of  them,  they  should  murther  her ;  and  that 
"  Mr  William  Sympsoune  is  with  them,  who  healed  her, 
*'  and  telt  her  all  things  ;  that  he  is  a  young  man  not 
"  six  years  older  than  herself,  and  that  he  will  appear 
"  to  her  before  the  court  comes ;  that  he  told  her  he 
"  was  taken  away  by  them,  and  he  bid  her  sign  herself 
"  that  she  be  not  taken  away,  for  the  teind  of  them  are 
"  tane  to  hell  everie  year. 

"  Item,  That  the  said  Mr  William  told  her  what  herbs 
"  were  fit  to  cure  every  disease,  and  how  to  use  them  ; 
"  and  particularlie  tauld,  that  the  Bishop  of  St  Andrews 
"  laboured  under  sindrie  diseases,  sic  as  the  ripples, 
"  trembling,  feaver,  flux,  &c.  and  bade  her  make  a  sawe, 
^'  and  anoint  several  parts  of  his  body  therewith,  and 
"  gave  directions  for  making  a  posset,  which  she  made 
"  and  gave  him." 

For  this  idle  story,  the  poor  woman  actually  suffered 
death.  Yet,  notwithstanding  the  fervent  arguments  thus 
liberally  used  by  the  orthodox,  the  common  people, 
though  they  dreaded  even  to  think  or  speak  about  the 
Fairies,  by  no  means  unanimously  acquiesced  in  the 
doctrine  which  consigned  them  to  eternal  perdition. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  Isle  of  Man  call  them  the  "good 


154  MIXSTRELSY  OF 

"  people,  and  say  they  live  in  wilds  and  forests,  and 
"  on  mountains,  and  shun  great  cities,  because  of  the 
"  wickedness  acted  therein  :  all  the  houses  are  blessed 
"  where  they  visit,  for  they  fly  vice.  A  person  would 
"  be  thought  impudently  prophane,  who  should  suffer 
"  his  family  to  go  to  bed,  without  first  having  set  a  tub, 
"  or  pail,  full  of  clean  water,  for  those  guests  to  bathe 
"  themselves  in,  which  the  natives  aver  they  constantly 
"  do,  as  soon  as  ever  the  eyes  of  the  family  are  closed, 
"  wherever  they  vouchsafe  to  come." — Waldron's 
Works,  p.  126.  There  are  some  curious,  and  perhaps 
anomalous  facts,  concerning  the  history  of  Fairies,  in  a 
sort  of  Cock-lane  narrative,  contained  in  a  letter  from 
Moses  Pitt  to  Dr  Edward  Fowler,  Lord  Bishop  of  Glou- 
cester, printed  at  London  in  l6y6,  and  preserved  in 
Morgan's  Phoenix  Britannicus,  4to,  London,  1732. 

Anne  Jefferies  was  born  in  the  parish  of  St  Teath,  in 
the  county  of  Cornwal,  in  1626.  Being  the  daughter 
of  a  jioor  man,  she  resided  as  servant  in  the  house  of  the 
narrator's  father,  and  waited  upon  tlie  narrator  himself, 
in  his  childhood.  As  she  was  knitting  stockings  in  an 
arbour  of  the  garden,  "  six  small  people,  all  in  green 
"  clothes,"  came  suddenly  over  the  garden  wall;  at  the 
sight  of  whom,  being  much  frightened,  she  was  seized 
with  convulsions,  and  continued  so  long  sick,  that  she 
became  as  a  changeling,  and  was  unable  to  walk.  Du- 
ring her  sickness,  she  frequently  exclaimed,  "  They  are 
"  just  gone  out  of  the  window  !  they  are  just  gone  out 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOIIDKR.  155 

"  of  the  window !  do  you  not  see  them  ?"  These  express- 
sions,  as  she  afterwards  declared,  related  to  their  disap- 
pearing. During  the  harvest,  when  every  one  was  em- 
ployed, her  mistress  walked  out;  anddreadingthatAnne, 
who  was  extremely  weak  and  silly,  might  injure  herself, 
or  the  house,  by  the  fire,  with  some  difficulty  persuaded 
her  to  walk  in  the  orchard  till  her  return.  She  acci- 
dentally hurt  her  leg,  and  at  her  return,  Anne  cured  it, 
by  stroking  it  with  her  hand.  She  appeared  to  be  in- 
formed of  every  particular,  and  asserted,  that  she  had 
this  information  from  the  Fairies,  who  had  caused  the 
misfortune.  After  this,  she  performed  numerous  cures, 
but  would  never  receive  money  for  them.  From  harvest 
time  to  Christmas,  she  was  fed  by  the  Fairies,  and  eat 
no  other  victuals  but  theirs.  The  narrator  affirms,  that, 
looking  one  day  through  the  key-hole  of  the  door  of  her 
chamber,  he  saw  her  eating ;  and  that  she  gave  him  a 
piece  of  bread,  which  was  the  most  delicious  he  ever 
tasted.  The  Fairies  always  appeared  to  her  in  even  num- 
bers; never  less  than  two,  nor  more  than  eight,  at  a 
time.  She  had  always  a  sufficient  stock  of  salves  and 
medicines,  and  yet  neither  made,  nor  purchased  any ; 
nor  did  she  ever  appear  to  be  in  want  of  money.  She, 
one  day,  gave  a  silver  cup,  containing  about  a  quart,  to 
the  daughter  of  her  mistress,  a  girl  about  four  years  old, 
to  carry  to  her  mother,  who  refused  to  receive  it.  The 
narrator  adds,  that  he  had  seen  her  dancing  in  the  orch- 
ard among  the  trees,  and  that  she  informed  him  she  was 
then  dancing  with  the  Fairies.  The  report  of  the  strange 


156  3IINSTUELSY  OF 

cures  which  she  performed,  soon  attractetl  the  attention 
of  both  ministers  and  magistrates.  The  ministers  endea- 
voured to  persuade  her,  that  the  Fairies,  by  which  she 
was  haunted,  were  evil  spirits,  and  that  she  was  under 
the  delusion  of  the  devil.  After  they  had  left  her,  she 
was  visited  by  the  Fairies,  while  in  great  perplexity,  who 
desired  her  to  cause  those  who  termed  them  evil  spirits, 
to  read  that  place  of  scripture.  First  Epistle  of  Jolui, 
chap.  iv.  V.  1, — Dearly  beloved,  believe  not  every  spirit, 
but  try  the  spirits,  whether  they  are  of  God,  &c.  Though 
Anne  JefFeries  could  not  read,  she  produced  a  Bible 
folded  down  at  this  passage.  By  the  magistrates  she 
was  confined  three  months,  without  food,  in  Bodmin 
jail,  and  afterwards  for  some  time  in  the  house  of  Justice 
Tregeagle.  Before  the  constable  appeared  to  appre- 
hend her,  she  was  visited  by  the  Fairies,  who  informed 
her  what  was  intended,  and  advised  her  to  go  with  him. 
When  this  account  was  given,  on  May  1,  \6q6,  she  was 
still  alive  ;  but  refused  to  relate  any  particulars  of  her 
connection  with  the  Fairies,  or  the  occasion  on  which 
they  deserted  her,  lest  she  should  again  fall  under  the 
cognizance  of  the  magistrates. 

Anne  JefFeries'  Fairies  were  not  altogether  singular 
in  maintaining  their  good  character,  in  opposition  to  the 
received  opinion  of  the  church.  Aubrey  and  Lily,  un- 
questionably judges  in  such  matters,  had  a  high  opinion 
of  these  beings,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  following  suc- 
cinct and  business-like  memorandum  of  a  ghost-seer. 
"  Anno  1670.     Not  far  from  Cirencester  was  an  appa- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  157 

^'  rition.  Being  demanded  whether  a  good  spirit  or  a 
"  bad,  returned  no  answer,  but  disappeared  with  a  cu- 
"  rious  perfume,  and  most  melodious  twang.  M.  W. 
"  Lily  believes  it  was  a  fairie.     So  Propertius, 

"  Omnia  finkrat ;  tenues  secessit  in  auras, 
"  Mansit  odor  possis  scire  fuisse  Deam  /" 

Aubrey's  Miscellanies,  p.  80. 

Webster  gives  an  account  of  a  person  who  cured  dis- 
eases by  means  of  a  white  powder.  "  To  this  I  shall 
"  only  add  thus  much,  that  the  man  was  accused  for  in- 
"  yoking  and  calling  upon  evil  spirits,  and  was  a  very 
*'  simple  and  illiterate  person  to  any  man's  judgment, 
"  and  had  formerly  been  very  poor,  but  had  gotten 
"  some  pretty  little  means  to  maintain  himself,  his  wife, 
"  and  diverse  small  children,  by  his  cures  done  with  his 
"  white  powder,  of  which  there  were  sufficient  proofs ; 
"  and  the  judge  asking  him  how  he  came  by  the  pow- 
"  der,  he  told  a  story  to  this  effect :  That  one  night,  be- 
"  fore  day  was  gone,  as  he  was  going  home  from  his  la- 
"  bom*,  being  very  sad  and  full  of  heavy  thoughts,  not 
"  knowing  how  to  get  meat  and  drink  for  his  wife  and 
"  children,  he  met  a  fair  woman  in  fine  clothes,  who 
"  asked  him  why  he  was  so  sad,  and  he  told  her  that  it 
"  was  by  reason  of  his  poverty,  to  which  she  said,  that 
"  if  he  would  follow  her  counsel,  she  would  help  him 
"  to  that  which  would  serve  to  get  him  a  good  living ; 
*'  to  which  he  said  he  would  consent  with  all  his  heart, 
"  so  it  were  not  by  unlawful  ways  :  she  told  him  that 


158  MINSTRELSY  OF 

**  it  should  not  be  by  any  such  ways,  but  by  doing  good, 
"  and  curing  of  sick  people  ;  and  so  warning  him  strict- 
"  ly  to  meet  her  there  the  next  night,  at  the  same  time, 
*'  she  departed  from  him,  and  he  went  home.  And  the 
"  next  night,  at  the  time  appointed,  he  duly  Avaited, 
"  and  she  (according  to  promise)  came,  and  told  him 
"  that  it  was  well  that  he  came  so  duly,  otherwise  he 
"  had  missed  that  benefit  that  she  intended  to  do  unto 
"  him,  and  so  bade  him  follow  her,  and  not  be  afraid. 
"  Thereupon  she  led  him  to  a  little  hill,  and  she  knock- 
"  ed  three  times,  and  the  hill  opened,  and  they  went  in, 
'*  and  came  to  a  fair  hall,  wherein  was  a  Queen  sitting 
*'  in  great  state,  and  many  people  about  her,  and  the 
"  gentlewoman  that  brought  him  presented  him  to  the 
"  Queen,  and  she  said  he  was  welcome,  and  bid  the 
"  gentlewoman  give  him  some  of  the  white  powder, 
"  and  teach  him  how  to  use  it,  which  she  did,  and 
"  gave  him  a  little  wood  box  full  of  the  white  powder, 
"  and  bade  him  give  two  or  three  grains  of  it  to  any 
"  that  were  sick,  and  it  would  heal  them  ;  and  so  she 
"  brought  him  forth  of  the  hill,  and  so  they  parted. 
"  And,  being  asked  by  the  judge,  whether  the  place 
"  within  the  hill,  which  he  called  a  hall,  were  light  or 
"  dark,  he  said,  indifferent,  as  it  is  Avith  us  in  the  twi- 
"  light ;  and  being  asked  how  he  got  more  powder,  he 
"  said,  when  he  wanted,  he  Avent  to  that  hill,  and 
"  knocked  three  times,  and  said  every  time,  I  am 
"  coming,  I  am  comhig,  whereupon  it  opened,  and  lie, 
"  going  in,  was  conducted  by  the  aforesaid  woman  to 
"  the  Queen,  and  so  had  more  powder  given  him.  This 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  159 

""  was  the  plain  and  simple  story  (however  it  may  be 
"  judged  of)  that  he  told  before  the  judge,  the  whole 
"  court,  and  the  jury ;  and  there  being  no  proofs,  but 
"  what  cures  he  had  done  to  very  many,  the  jury  did 
"  acquit  him :  and  I  remember  the  judge  said,  when 
"  all  the  evidence  was  heard,  that  if  he  were  to  assign 
"  his  punishment,  he  should  be  whipped  from  thence 
"  to  Fairy -hall;  and  did  seem  to  judge  it  to  be  a  de- 
"  lusion,  or  an  imposture." — Webster's  Displaying  of 
Supposed  Witchcraft y  p.  301. 

A  rustic,  also,  whom  Jackson  taxed  with  magical 
practices,  about  l620,  obstinately  denied  that  the  good 
King  of  the  Fairies  had  any  connection  with  the  devil ; 
and  some  of  the  Highland  seers,  even  in  our  day,  have 
boasted  of  their  intimacy  with  the  elves,  as  an  innocent 
and  advantageous  connection.  One  ?tJacoan,  in  Appin, 
the  last  person  eminently  gifted  with  the  second  sight, 
professed  to  my  learned  and  excellent  friend,  Mr  Ram- 
say of  Ochtertyre,  that  he  owed  his  prophetic  visions 
to  their  intervention. 

VI.  There  remains  yet  another  cause  to  be  noticed, 
which  seems  to  have  induced  a  considerable  alteration 
into  the  popular  creed  of  England,  respecting  Fairies. 
Many  poets  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and,  above  all, 
our  immortal  Shakespeare,  deserting  the  hackneyed 
fictions  of  Greece  and  Rome,  sought  for  machinery  in 
the  superstitions  of  their  native  country.  "  The  fays, 
"  which  nightly  dance  upon  the  wold,"  were  an  inte- 
resting subject ;  and  the  creative  imagination  of  the 
bard,  improving  upon  the  vulgar  belief,  assigned  to 


160  :\ITXST11ELSY  OF 

them  many  of  those  fanciful  attributes  and  occupa- 
tions, which  posterity  have  since  associated  with  the 
name  of  Fairy.  In  such  employments,  as  raising  the 
drooping  flower,  and  arranging  the  disordered  cham- 
ber, the  Fairies  of  South  Britain  gradually  lost  the 
harsher  character  of  the  dwarfs,  or  elves.  Their  cho- 
ral dances  were  enlivened  by  the  introduction  of  the 
merry  goblin  Puck*  for  whose  freakish  pranks  they 
exchanged  their  original  mischievous  propensities.  The 
Fairies  of  Shakespeare,  Drayton,  and  Mennis,  there- 
fore, at  first  exquisite  fancy  portraits,  may  be  consider- 
ed as  having  finally  operated  a  change  in  the  original 
which  gave  them  birth.t 

While  the  fays  of  South  Britain  received  such  attrac- 
tive and  poetical  embellishments,  those  of  Scotland,  who 


♦  Robin  Goodfellow,  or  Hobgoblin,  possesses  the  frolicksome  qua- 
lities of  the  French  Liitin.  For  his  full  character,  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred to  the  Reliqucs  of  Ancient  Poetry.  The  proper  livery  of  this 
sylvan  Momus  is  to  be  found  in  an  old  play.  "  Enter  Robin  Good- 
"  fellow,  in  a  suit  of  leather,  close  to  his  body,  his  hands  and  face  co- 
"  loured  russet  colour,  with  a  flail." — Grim  the  Collier  of  Croydon, 
Act  4,  Scene  1.  At  other  times,  however,  he  is  presented  in  the  ver- 
nal  livery  of  the  elves,  his  associates : 

T'nn.  "  I  have  made 
"  Some  speeches,  sir,  in  verse,  which  have  been  spoke 
"  By  a  green  Rolin  Goodfellow,  from  Cheapside  conduit, 
"  To  my  father's  company." 

The  City  Match,  Act  1,  Scene  6. 

f  The  Fairy  land,  and  Fairies  of  Spenser,  have  no  connection 
with  popular  superstition,  being  only  words  used  to  denote  an  Uto- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEP..  l6l 

|>ossessed  no  such  advantage,  retained  move  of  their 
ancient  and  appropriate  character.  Perhaps,  also,  the 
persecution  which  these  sylvan  deities  underwent,  at 
the  instance  of  the  stricter  Presbyterian  clergy,  had  its 
usual  effect,  in  hardening  their  dispositions,  or  at  least 
in  I'endering  them  more  dreaded,  by  those  among  whom 
they  dwelt.  The  face  of  the  country,  too,  might  have 
some  effect ;  as  we  should  naturally  attribute  a  less  ma- 
licious disposition,  and  a  less  frightful  appeai-ance,  to 
the  fays  who  glide  by  moon-light  through  the  oaks  of 
Windsor,  than  to  those  who  haunt  the  solitary  heaths 
and  lofty  mountains  of  the  North.  The  fact  at  least  is 
certain  ;  and  it  has  not  escaped  a  late  ingenious  travel- 
ler, that  the  character  of  the  Scottish  Fairy  is  more  harsh 
and  terrific  than  that  which  is  ascribed  to  the  elves  of 
our  sister  kingdom. — See  Stoddart's  Viov  of  Scenerif 
and  Manners  in  Scotland. 

Some  curious  particulars  concerning  the  Daohie  Shie, 
or  Men  of  Peace,  for  so  the  Highlanders  call  Fairies, 
may  be  found  in  Dr  Grahame's  "  Sketches  qfPiclu- 


pian  scene  of  action,  and  imaginary  and  allegorical  cliaracters;  and 
the  title  of  the  "  Fairy  Queen"  being  probably  suggested  by  tlie  elfin 
mistress  of  Chaucer's  Sir  Thopas.  The  stealing  of  the  Red  Cross 
Knight,  while  a  child,  is  the  only  incident  in  the  poem  which  ap- 
proaches to  the  popular  character  of  the  Fairy  : 

A  Fairy  thee  unweeling  reft ; 


There  as  thou  sleptst  in  tender  swadling  band. 
And  her  base  elfin  brood  there  for  tliee  left : 
Such  men  do  changelings  caU,  so  chang'd  by  Fairies  theft. 

Book  I.  Canto  10. 


L 


162  MINSTRELSY  OF 

resqne  Scenert/  oti  the  Southern  Cmifines  of  Perthshire." 
They  are,  thovigh  not  absolutely  malevolent,  believed 
to  be  a  peevish,  repining,  and  envious  race,  who  enjoy, 
in  the  subterranean  recesses,  a  kind  of  shadowy  splen- 
dour. The  Highlanders  are  at  all  times  unwilling  to 
speak  of  them,  but  especially  on  Friday,  when  their  in- 
fluence is  supposed  to  be  particularly  extensive.  As 
they  are  supposed  to  be  invisibly  present,  they  are  at  all 
times  to  be  spoken  of  with  respect. 

The  Fairies  of  Scotland  are  represented  as  a  diminu- 
tive race  of  beings,  of  a  mixed,  or  rather  dubious  nature, 
capricious  in  their  dispositions,  and  mischievous  in  their 
resentment.  They  inhabit  the  interior  of  green  hills, 
chiefly  those  of  a  conical  form,  in  Gaelic  termed  Sighan, 
on  which  they  lead  their  dances  by  moon-light ;  im- 
pressing upon  the  surface  the  marks  of  circles,  which 
sometimes  appear  yellow  and  blasted,  sometimes  of  a 
deep  green  hue ;  and  within  which  it  is  dangerous  to 
sleep,  or  to  be  found  after  sun-set.  The  removal  of  those . 
large  portions  of  turf,  which  thunderbolts  sometimes 
scoop  out  of  the  ground  with  singular  regularity,  is  also 
ascribed  to  their  agency.  Cattle,  which  are  suddenly 
seized  with  the  cramp,  or  some  similar  disorder,  are  said 
to  be  elf-shot ;  and  the  approved  cure  is,  to  chafe  the 
parts  affected  with  a  blue  bonnet,  which,  it  may  be  rea- 
dily believed,  often  restores  the  circulation.  The  tri- 
angular flints,  frequently  found  in  Scotland,  with  which 
the  ancient  inhabitants  probably  barbed  their  shafts, 
are  supposed  to  be  the  weapons  of  Fairy  resentment,  and 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOUDER.  l63 

\ 

ftte  termed  elf  arrow-heads.  The  rude  brazen  battle-axes 
of  the  ancients,  commonly  called  cells,  are  also  ascribed 
to  their  manufacture.  But,  like  the  Gothic  duergar,  their 
skill  is  not  confined  to  the  fabrication  of  arms;  for  they 
are  heard  sedulously  hammeringin  linns,  precipices,  and 
rocky  or  cavernous  situations,  where,  like  the  dwarfs 
of  the  mines,  mentioned  by  Georg,  Agricola,  they  busy 
themselves  in  imitating  the  actions  and  the  various  em- 
ployments of  men.  The  brook  of  Beaumont,  for  ex- 
ample, which  passes,  in  its  course,  by  numerous  linns 
and  caverns,  is  notorious  for  being  haunted  by  the  Fai- 
ries ;  and  the  perforated  and  rounded  stones  which  are 
formed  by  trituration  in  its  channel,  are  termed,  by  the 
vulgar,  fairy  cups  and  dishes.  A  beautiful  reason  is  as- 
signed by  Fletcher  for  the  fays  frequenting  streams  and 
fountains :  He  tells  us  of 

A  virtuous  well,  about  whose  flowery  banks 
The  nimble-footed  Fairies  dance  their  rounds. 
By  the  pale  moon-shine,  dipping  oftentimes 
Their  stolen  children,  so  to  make  them  free 
From  dying  flesh  and  dull  mortality. 

Faithful  Shephcrdcsi;. 

It  is  sometimes  accounted  unlucky  to  pass  such  places, 
without  performing  some  ceremony  to  avert  the  displea- 
sure of  the  elves.  There  is,  upon  the  top  of  Minchmuir, 
a  mountain  in  Peebles-shire,  a  spring,  called  the  Cheese 
fVell,  because,  anciently,  those  who  passed  that  way  were 
wont  to  throw  into  it  a  piece  of  cheese,  as  an  offering  to 
the  Fairies,  to  whom  it  was  consecrated. 


164  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Like  the  feld  clfcn  of  the  Saxons,  the  usual  dress  of 
the  Fairies  is  green ;  though  on  the  moors,  they  have 
been  sometimes  observed  in  heath-brown,  or  in  weeds 
dyed  with  the  stoneraw,  or  lichen.*  They  often  ride  in 
invisible  procession,  when  their  presence  is  discovered 
by  the  shrill  ringing  of  their  bridles.  On  these  occa- 
sions, they  sometimes  borrow  mortal  steeds  ;  and  wlien 
suchare  found  at  morning,  panting  and  fatigued  in  their 
stalls,  with  their  manes  and  tails  dishevelled  and  en- 
tangled, the  grooms,  I  presume,  often  find  this  a  conve- 
nient excuse  for  their  situation  ;  as  the  common  belief 
of  the  elves  quaffing  the  choicest  liquors  in  the  cellars 
of  the  rich  (see  the  story  of  Lord  DufFus,  below,)  might 
occasionally  cloak  the  delinquencies  of  an  unfaithful 
butler. 

The  Fairies,  beside  their  equestrian  processions,  are 
addicted,  it  would  seem,  to  the  pleasures  of  the  chace. 
A  young  sailor,  travelling  by  night  from  Douglas,  in  the 
Isle  of  Man,  to  visit  his  sister  residing  in  Kirk  Merlugh, 
heard  the  noise  of  horses,  the  holla  of  a  huntsman,  and 
the  sound  of  a  horn.  Immediately  afterwards,  thirteen 
horsemen,  dressed  in  green,  and  gallantly  mounted, 
swept  past  him.  Jack  was  so  much  delighted  with  the 
sport,  that  he  followed  them,  and  enjoyed  the  sound  of 
the  horn  for  some  miles  ;  and  it  was  not  till  he  arrived 
at  his  sister's  house  that  he  learned  the  danger  which 
he  had  incuiTcd.  I  must  not  omit  to  mention,  that  these 
little  personages  are  expert  jockeys,  and  scorn  to  ride 

*  Hence  the  hero  of  the  ballad  is  temied  an  "  elfin  grey." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  165 

the  little  Manks  ponies,  though  apparently  well  suited 
to  their  size.  The  exercise,  therefore,  falls  heavily  upon 
the  English  and  Irish  horses  brought  into  the  Isle  of 
Man.  Mr  Waldron  was  assured  by  a  gentleman  of  Bal- 
lafletcher,  that  he  had  lost  three  or  four  capital  hunters 
by  these  nocturnal  excursions. — Waldron's  Works,  p. 
132.  From  the  same  author  we  learn,  that  the  Fairies 
sometimes  take  more  legitimate  modes  of  procuring 
horses.  A  person  of  the  utmost  integrity  informed  him, 
that,  having  occasion  to  sell  a  horse,  he  was  accosted 
among  the  mountains  by  a  little  gentleman  plainly  cbess- 
ed,  who  priced  his  horse,  cheapened  him,  and,  after  some 
chaffering,  finally  purchased  him.  No  sooner  had  the 
buyer  mounted,  and  paid  the  price,  than  he  sunk  through 
the  earth,  horse  and  man,  to  the  astonishment  and  terror 
of  the  seller ;  who  experienced,  however,  no  inconve- 
nience from  dealing  with  so  extraordinary  a  purchaser. 
—Ibid,  p.  135. 

It  is  hoped  the  reader  will  receive,  with  due  respect, 
these,  and  similar  stories,  told  by  Mr  Waldron ;  for  he 
himself,  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman,  informs  us,  "  as  to 
"  circles  in  grass,  and  the  impression  of  small  feet  among 
"  the  snow,  I  cannot  deny  but  I  have  seen  them  fre- 
"  quently,  and  once  thought  I  heard  a  whistle,  as  though 
"  in  my  ear,  when  nobody  that  could  make  it  was  near 
"  me."  In  this  passage  there  is  a  curious  picture  of  the 
contagious  effects  of  a  superstitious  atmosphere.  Wal- 
dron had  lived  so  long  among  the  Manks,  that  he  was 
almost  persuaded  to  believe  their  legends. 


166  MINSTllELSY  OF 

The  worthy  Captain  George  Burton  communicated  to 
Richard  Bovet,  gent.,  author  of  the  interesting  work, 
entitled,  "  Panda^monium,  or  the  Devil's  Cloister  Open- 
ed," the  following  singular  account  of  a  lad  called  the 
Fairy  Boy  of  Leith,  who,  it  seems,  acted  as  a  drummer 
to  the  elves,  who  weekly  held  rendezvous  in  the  Calton 
Hill,  near  Edinburgh. 

"  About  fifteen  years  since,  having  business  thatde- 
"  tained  me  for  some  time  at  Leith,  which  is  near  Edin- 
"  burgh,  in  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  1  often  met  some 
"  of  my  acquaintance  at  a  certain  house  there,  where 
"  we  used  to  drink  a  glass  of  wine  for  our  refection ;  the 
"  woman  which  kept  the  house  was  of  honest  reputation 
'*  among  the  neighbours,  which  made  me  give  the  more 
"  attention  to  what  she  told  me  one  day  about  a  fairy 
"  boy  (as  they  called  him,)  who  lived  about  that  town. 
"  She  had  given  me  so  strange  an  account  of  him,  that 
"  I  desired  her  I  might  see  him  the  first  opportunity, 
"  which  she  promised  ;  and  not  long  after,  passing  that 
"  way,  she  told  me  there  was  the  fairy  boy ;  but  a  little 
"  before  I  came  by,  and,  casting  her  eye  into  the  street, 
"  said.  Look  you,  sir,  yonder  he  is  at  play  with  those 
"  other  boys  ;  and  designing  him  to  me,  I  went,  and,  by 
"  smooth  words,  and  a  piece  of  money,  got  him  to  come 
"  into  the  house  with  me ;  where,  in  the  presence  of  di- 
"  vers  people,  I  demanded  of  him  several  astrological 
"  questions,  which  heanswered  with  great  subtil ty;  and, 
"  through  all  liis  discourse,  carried  it  with  a  cunning 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.       16? 

*'  much  above  his  years,  which  seemed  not  to  exceed 
"  ten  or  eleven. 

"  He  seemed  to  make  a  motion  like  drumming  upon 
"  the  table  with  his  fingers,  upon  which  I  asked  him, 
"  Whether  he  could  beat  a  drum  ?  To  which  he  replied, 
"  Yes,  sir,  as  well  as  any  man  in  Scotland ;  for  every 
"  Thursday  night  I  beat  all  points  to  a  sort  of  peoplethat 
*'  used  to  meet  under  yonder  hill,  (pointing  to  the  great 
"  hill  between  Edenborough  and  Leith.)  How,  boy  ? 
"  quoth  I^  What  company  have  you  there  ?  There  are, 
*'  sir,  (said  he)  a  great  company  both  of  men  and  women, 
"  and  they  are  entertained  with  many  sorts  of  musick, 
"  besides  my  drum  ;  they  have,  besides,  plenty  of  va- 
"  riety  of  meats  and  wine,  and  many  times  we  are  carried 
"  into  France  or  Holland  in  a  night,  and  return  again, 
''  and  whilst  we  are  there,  we  enjoy  all  the  pleasures  the 
"  country  doth  afford.  I  demanded  of  him,  how  they 
"  got  under  that  hill  ?  To  which  he  replied,  that  there 
"  were  a  great  pair  of  gates  that  opened  to  them,  though 
"  they  were  invisible  to  others  ;  and  that  within  there 
"  were  brave  large  rooms,  as  well  accommodated  as  most 
"  in  Scotland. — I  then  asked  him.  How  I  should  know 
"  what  he  said  to  be  true  ?  Upon  which  he  told  me  he 
"  would  read  my  fortune,  saying,  I  should  have  two 
"  wives,  and  that  he  saw  the  forms  of  them  sitting  on  my 
"  shoulders ;  that  both  would  be  veryihandsome  women. 
"  As  he  was  thus  speaking,  a  woman  of  the  neighbour- 
'*  hood  coming  into  the  room,  demanded  of  him,  What 
''  her  fortune  should  be  ?  He  told  her  that  she  had  two 


168  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  bastards  before  she  was  mari'ied, -which  put  her  in  such 
"  a  rage,  that  she  desired  not  to  hear  the  rest. 

"  The  woman  of  the  house  told  me,  that  all  the  people 
"  in  Scotland  could  not  keep  him  from  the  rendezvous 
"  on  Thursday  night ;  upon  which,  by  promising  him 
"  some  more  money,  I  got  a  promise  of  him  to  meet  me 
"  at  the  same  place,  in  the  afternoon,  the  Thursday  fol- 
"  lowing,  and  so  dismist  him  at  that  time.  The  boy 
"  came  again,  at  the  place  arid  time  appointed,  and  I 
"  had  prevailed  with  some  friends  to  continue  with  me 
"  (if  possible)  to  prevent  his  moving  that  night.  He 
"  was  placed  between  us,  and  answered  many  questions 
"  until,  about  eleven  of  the  clock,  he  was  got  away  un- 
"  perceived  of  the  company,  but  I,  suddenly  missing 
"  him,  hasted  to  the  door,  and  took  hold  of  him,  and  so 
"  returned  him  into  the  same  room ;  we  all  watched  him, 
•'  and,  on  a  sudden,  he  was  again  got  out  of  doors ;  I  fol- 
"  loAved  him  close,  and  he  made  a  noise  in  the  street,  as 
"  if  he  had  been  set  upon  j  but  from  that  time  I  could 
"  never  see  him. 

"  George  Buiiton." 

rimdamoiiium,  or  the  Devil's  Cloysier.  By  Richard 
Bovet,  Gent.     Lond.  l684,  p.  172. 

Froin  the  History  of  the  Irish  Bards,  by  Mr  Walker, 
and  from  the  glossary  subjoined  to  the  lively  and  inge- 
nious Tale  of  Caslle  Rackrent,  we  learn,  that  the  same 
ideas  concerning  Fairies,  are  cui-rent  among  the  vulgar 
in  that  country.  The  latter  authority  mentions  their 
inhabiting  the  ancient  tumuli,  called  barrows,  and  their 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEK.  •      169 

abstracting  mortals.  They  are  termed  "  the  good 
*'  people ;"  ai^d  when  an  eddy  of  wind  raises  loose  dust 
and  sand,  the  vulgar  believe  that  it  announces  a  Fairy 
procession,  and  bid  God  speed  their  journey. 

The  Scottish  Fairies,  in  like  manner,  sometimes  reside 
in  subterranean  abodes,  in  the  vicinity  of  human  habi- 
tations, or,  according  to  the  popular  phrase,  under  the 
*«  door-stane,"  or  threshold ;  in  which  situation,  they 
sometimes  establish  an  intercourse  with  men,  by  bor- 
rowing and  lending,  and  other  kindly  offices.  In  this  ca- 
pacity they  are  termed  *'  the  good  neighbours,"*  from 
supplying  privately  the  wants  of  their  friends,  and  as- 


•  Perhaps  this  epithet  is  only  one  example,  among  many,  of  the 
extreme  civility  which  the  vulgar  in  Scotland  use  towards  spirits  of  a 
dubious,  or  even  a  determinedly  mischievous,  nature.  The  archfiend 
himself  is  often  distinguished  by  the  softened  title  of  the  "  good-man." 
This  epithet,  so  applied,  must  sound  strange  to  a  southern  ear  ;  but,  as 
the  phrase  bears  various  interpretations,  according  to  the  places  where 
it  is  used,  so,  in  the  Scottish  dialect,  the  good  man  of  such  a  jilace  sig- 
nifies the  tenant,  or  life-renter,  in  opposition  to  the  laird,  or  proprie- 
tor. Hence,  the  devil  is  termed  the  goodman,  or  tenant,  of  the  infer- 
nal regions.  In  the  book  of  the  Universal  Kirk,  13th  May,  1594, 
mention  is  made  of  "  the  horrible  superstitioune  usit  in  Garioch,  and 
"  dyvers  parts  of  the  countrie,  in  not  labouring  a  parcel  of  ground  dedi- 
"  cated  to  the  devil,  under  the  title  of  the  Guid-Man''s  Croft."  Lord 
Hailes  conjectured  this  to  have  been  the  tcncnos  adjoining  to  some  an- 
cient Pagan  temple.  The  unavowed,  but  obvious,  piupose  of  this 
practice,  was  to  avert  the  destructive  rage  of  Satan  from  the  neigh- 
bouring possessions.  It  required  various  fulminations  of  the  General 
_  Assembly  of  the  Kirk  to  abolish  a  practice  bordering  so  nearly  upon 
the  doctrine  of  the  JNIagi. 


170  MINSTRELSY  OF 

sisting  them  in  all  their  transactions,  while  their  favours 
are  concealed.  Of  this  the  traditionary  story  of  Sir 
Godfrey  MaccuUoch  forms  a  curious  example. 

As  this  Gallovidian  gentleman  was  taking  the  air  on 
horseback,  near  his  own  house,  he  was  suddenly  accost- 
ed by  a  little  old  man,  arrayed  in  green,  and  movmted 
upon  a  white  palfrey.  After  mutual  salutation,  the  old 
man  gave  Sir  Godfrey  to  understand,  that  he  resided 
under  his  habitation,  and  that  he  had  great  reason  to 
complain  of  the  direction  of  a  drain,  or  common  sewer, 
which  emptied  itself  directly  into  his  chamber  of  dais.* 
Sir  Godfrey  MaccuUoch  was  a  good  deal  stai-tled  at  this 
extraordinary  complaint ;  but,  guessing  the  nature  of 
the  being  he  had  to  deal  with,  he  assured  the  old  man, 
with  great  courtesy,  that  the  direction  of  the  drain 
should  be  altered ;  and  caused  it  to  be  done  according- 
ly. Many  years  afterwards,  Sir  Godfrey  had  the  mis- 
fortime  to  kill,  in  a  fray,  a  gentleman  of  the  neighbour- 
hood. He  was  apprehended,  tried,  and  condemned. f 
The  scaffold,  upon  which  his  head  was  to  be  struck  off, 
was  erected  on  the  Castle-hill  of  Edinburgh ;  but  hard- 
ly had  he  reached  the  fatal  spot,  when  the  old  man, 

*  The  best  chamber  was  thus  currently  denominated  in  Scotland, 
from  the  French  dais,  signifying  that  part  of  the  ancient  halls  which 
was  elevated  above  the  rest,  and  covered  with  a  canopy.  The  turf- 
seats,  which  occupy  the  sunny  side  of  a  cottage  wall,  are  also  termed 
the  dais. 

•f-  In  this  particular,  tradition  coincides  with  the  real  fact ;  the  trial 
took  place  in  1G97. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER,  171 

upon  his  white  palfrey,  pressed  through  the  crowd,  with 
the  rapidity  of  Hghtning.  Sir  Godfrey,  at  his  command, 
sprung  on  behind  him ;  the  "  good  neighbour"  spurred 
his  horse  down  the  steep  bank,  and  neither  he  nor  the 
criminal  were  ever  again  seen. 

The  most  formidable  attribute  of  the  elves,  was  their 
practice  of  carrying  away  and  exchanging  childi-en,  and 
that  of  stealing  human  souls  from  their  bodies.  "  A  per- 
"  suasion  prevails  among  the  ignorant,"  says  the  author 
of  a  MS.  history  of  Moray,  that  *'  in  a  consumptive  dis- 
'*  ease,  the  Fairies  steal  away  the  soul,  and  put  the  soul 
"  of  a  Fairy  in  the  room  of  it."  This  belief  prevails  chief- 
ly along  the  eastern  coast  of  Scotland,  where  a  practice, 
apparently  of  druidical  origin,  is  used  to  avert  the  dan- 
ger. In  the  increase  of  the  March  moon,  withies  of  oak 
and  ivy  are  cut,  and  twisted  into  wreaths  or  circles, 
which  they  preserve  till  next  March.  After  that  period, 
when  persons  are  consumptive,  or  children  hectic,  they 
cause  them  to  pass  thrice  through  these  circles.  In 
other  cases  the  cure  was  more  rough,  and  at  least  as  dan- 
gerous as  the  disease,  as  will  appear  from  the  following 
extract : 

"  There  is  one  thing  remarkable  in  this  parish  of  Sud- 
"  die  (in  Inverness-shire,)  which  I  think  proper  to  men- 
*'  tion.  There  is  a  small  hill  N.  VV.  from  the  church, 
"  commonly  called  Therdy  Hill,  or  Hill  of  Therdie,  as 
'«  some  term  it ;  on  the  top  of  which  there  is  a  well, 
»*  which  I  had  the  curiosity  to  view,  because  of  the  se- 
"  veral  reports  concerning  it.  When  children  happen  to 
'  •  be  sick,  and  languish  long  in  their  malady,  so  that  they 


172  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  almost  turned  skeletons,  the  common  people  imagine 
"  they  are  taken  away  (at  least  the  substance)  by  spi- 
"  rits,  called  Fairies,  and  the  shadow  left  with  them ; 
"  so,  at  a  particular  season  in  summer,  they  leave  them 
**  all  night  themselves,  watching  at  a  distance,  near  this 
"  well,  and  this  they  imagine  will  either  e7id  or  mend 
*'  them  ;  they  say  many  more  do  recover  than  do  not. 
"  Yea,  an  honest  tenant  who  lives  hard  by  it,  and  whom 
"  I  had  the  curiosity  to  discourse  about  it,  told  me  it  has 
'*  recovered  some,  who  were  about  eight  or  nine  years 
"  of  age,  and  to  his  certain  knowledge,  they  bring  adult 
**  persons  to  it ;  foi',  as  he  was  passing  one  dark  night,  he 
"  heard  groanings,  and,  coming  to  the  well,  he  found  a 
''  man,  who  had  been  long  sick,  wrapped  in  a  plaid,  so 
"  that  he  could  scarcely  move,  a  stake  being  fixed  in 
"  the  earth,  with  a  rope,  or  tedder,  that  was  about  the 
"  plaid  ;  he  had  no  sooner  enquired  what  he  was,  but 
"  he  conjured  him  to  loose  him,  and  out  of  sympathy 
"  he  was  pleased  to  slacken  that  wherein  he  was,  as  I 
"  may  so  speak,  swaddled ;  but,  if  I  right  remember, 
"  he  signified,  he  did  not  recover." — Account  of  the  Pa- 
rish of  Suddie,  apud  Macfarlane's  MSS. 

According  to  the  earlier  doctrine,  concerning  the  ori- 
ginal corruption  of  hiunan  nature,  the  power  of  daemons 
over  infants  had  been  long  reckoned  considerable,  in  the 
period  intervening  between  birth  and  baptism.  Du- 
ring this  period,  therefore,  children  were  believed  to  be 
particularly  liable  to  abstraction  by  the  fairies,  and  mo- 
thers chiefly  dreaded  the  substitution  of  changelings  in 
the  place  of  their  own  olTspring.     Various  monstrous 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  17fi 

charms  existed  in  Scotland,  for  procuring  the  restora- 
tion of  a  child  which  had  been  thus  stolen ;  but  the  most 
efficacious  of  them  was  supposed  to  be,  the  roasting  of 
the  supposititious  child  upon  the  live  embers,  when  it  was 
believed  it  would  vanish,  and  the  true  child  appear  in 
the  place,  whence  it  had  been  originally  abstracted.  * 
It  may  be  questioned  if  this  experiment  could  now  be 
made  without  the  animadversion  of  the  law.  Even  that 
which  is  pi'escribed  in  the  following  legend  is  rather 
too  hazardous  for  modern  use. 

"  A  certain  woman  having  put  out  her  child  to  nurse 
"  in  the  country,  found,  when  she  came  to  take  it  home, 
"  that  its  form  was  so  much  altered,  that  she  scarce 
"  knew  it ;  nevertheless,  not  knowing  what  time  might 
"  do,  took  it  home  for  her  own.  But  when,  after  some 
*'  years,  it  could  neither  speak  nor  go,  the  poor  woman 
"  was  fain  to  carry  it,  with  much  trouble,  in  her  arms ; 
"  and  one  day,  a  poor  man  coming  to  the  door,  '  God 
"  bless  you,  mistress,'  said  he,  '  and  your  poor  child ; 
"  be  pleased  to  bestow  something  on  a  poor  man.'  *  Ah ! 
"  this  child,'  replied  she,  *  is  the  cause  of  all  my  sor- 
"  row,'  and  related  what  had  happened,  adding,  more- 


*  Less  perUous  recipes  were  sometimes  used.  The  editor  is  possess- 
ed of  a  small  relique,  termed  by  tradition  a  toad-stone,  the  influence 
of  which  was  supposed  to  preserve  pregnant  women  from  the  power  of 
daemons,  and  other  dangers  incidental  to  their  situation.  It  has  been 
carefully  preserved  for  several  generations,  was  often  pledged  for  (jon- 
siderable  sums  of  money,  and  uniformly  redeemed  from  a  belief  in  its 
efficacy. 


174  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  over,  that  she  thought  it  changed,  and  none  of  her 
"  child.  The  old  man,  whom  years  had  rendered  more 
"  prudent  in  such  matters,  told  her,  to  find  out  the 
"  truth,  she  should  make  a  clear  fire,  sweep  the  hearth 
"  very  clean,  and  place  the  child  fast  in  his  chair,  that 
"  he  might  not  fall,  before  it,  and  break  a  dozen  eggs, 
«*  and  place  the  four-and-twenty  half-shells  before  it ; 
"  then  go  out,  and  listen  at  the  door  :  for,  if  the  child 
"  spoke,  it  was  certainly  a  changeling ;  and  then  she 
"  should  carry  it  out,  and  leave  it  on  the  dunghill  to 
"  cry,  and  not  to  pity  it,  till  she  heard  its  voice  no  more. 
"  The  woman,  having  done  all  things  according  to  these 
"  words,  heai-d  the  child  say,  '  Seven  years  old  was  I 
"  before  I  came  to  the  nurse,  and  four  years  have  I  lived 
"  since,  and  never  saw  so  many  milk  pans  before.'  So 
''  the  woman  took  it  up,  and  left  it  upon  the  dunghill 
"  to  cry,  and  not  to  be  pitied,  till  at  last  she  thought  the 
"  voice  went  up  into  the  air ;  and  coming,  found  there 
"  her  own  natural  and  well-favoured  child." — Grose's 
Provincial  Glossari/,  quoted  from  "  A  Pleasant  Treatise 
on  Witchcraft." 

The  most  minute  and  authenticated  account  of  an  ex- 
changed child  is  to  be  found  in  Waldron's  Isle  ofMati, 
a  book  from  which  I  have  derived  much  legendary  in- 
formation. "  I  was  prevailed  upon  myself,"  says  that 
author,  "  to  go  and  see  a  child,  who,  they  told  me,  was 
"  one  of  these  changelings,  and,  indeed,  must  own,  was 
'■'  not  a  little  surprised,  as  well  as  shocked,  at  the  sight. 
**  Nothing  under  heaven  could  have  a  more  beautiful 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEK.  175 

"  face ;  but,  though  between  five  and  six  years  old,  and 
"  seemingly  healthy,  he  was  so  far  from  being  able  to 
''  walk  or  stand,  that  he  could  not  so  much  as  move  any 
"  one  joint ;  his  limbs  were  vastly  long  for  his  age,  but 
"  smaller  than  any  infant's  of  six  months ;  his  com- 
"  plexion  was  perfectly  delicate,  and  he  had  the  finest 
"hair  in  the  world.  He  never  spoke  nor  cried,  ate 
"  scarce  any  thing,  and  was  very  seldom  seen  to  smile ; 
"  but  if  any  one  called  him  ajhiiy-clf,  he  would  frown, 
"  and  fix  his  eyes  so  earnestly  on  those  who  said  it,  as 
"  if  he  would  look  them  through.  His  mother,  or  at 
"  least  his  supposed  mother,  being  very  poor,  frequent- 
"  ly  went  out  a  chareing,  and  left  him  a  whole  day  to- 
"  gether.  The  neighbours,  out  of  curiosity,  have  often 
"  looked  in  at  the  window,  to  see  how  he  behaved  while 
"  alone;  which,  whenever  they  did,  they  were  sure  to 
"  find  him  laughing,  and  in  the  utmost  delight.  This 
"  made  them  judge  that  he  was  not  without  company, 
"  more  pleasing  to  him  than  any  mortals  coiUd  be ;  and 
"  what  made  this  conjecture  seem  the  more  reasonable, 
"  was,  that  if  he  were  left  ever  so  dirty,  the  woman, 
"  at  her  return,  saw  him  with  a  clean  face,  and  his  hair 
"  combed  with  the  utmost  exactness  and  nicety." — 
P.  128. 

Waldron  gives  another  account  of  a  poor  woman,  to 
whose  offspring,  it  would  seem,  the  Fairies  had  taken  a 
special  fancy.  A  few  nights  after  she  was  delivered  of 
her  first  child,  the  family  were  alarmed  by  a  dreadful 
cry  of  "  Fire  !"  All  flew  to  the  door,  while  the  mother 
2 


176  MTNSTUET.SY  OF 

lay  trembling  in  bed,  unable  to  protect  her  infant,  which 
was  snatched  from  the  bed  by  an  invisible  hand.  For- 
tunately, the  return  of  the  gossips,  after  the  causeless 
alarm,  disturbed  the  Fairies,  who  dropped  the  child, 
which  was  found  sprawling  and  shrieking  upon  the 
threshold.  At  the  good  woman's  second  accouchanent, 
a  tumult  was  heard  in  the  cow-house,  which  drew  thi- 
ther the  whole  assistants.  They  returned,  when  they 
found  that  all  was  quiet  among  the  cattle,  and  lo  !  the 
second  child  had  been  carried  from  the  bed,  and  drop- 
ped in  the  middle  of  the  lane.  But,  upon  the  third  oc- 
currence of  the  same  kind,  the  company  were  again  de- 
coyed out  of  the  sick  woman's  chamber  by  a  false  alarm, 
leaving  only  a  nurse,  who  was  detained  by  the  bonds 
of  sleep.  On  this  last  occasion,  the  mother  plainly  saw 
her  child  removed,  though  the  means  were  invisible. 
She  screamed  for  assistance  to  the  nurse  ;  but  the  old 
lady  had  partaken  too  deeply  of  the  cordials  which  cir- 
culate upon  such  joyful  occasions,  to  be  easily  awaken- 
ed. In  short,  the  child  was  this  time  fairly  carried  off, 
and  a  withered,  deforaied  creature  left  in  its  stead, 
quite  naked,  with  the  clothes  of  the  abstracted  infant, 
rolled  in  a  bundle,  by  its  side.  This  creature  lived  nine 
years,  ate  nothing  but  a  few  herbs,  and  neither  spoke, 
stood,  walked,  nor  performed  any  other  functions  of 
mortality  ;  resembling,  in  all  respects,  the  changeling 
already  mentioned. — Waldron's  Works,  ibid. 

But  the  power  of  the  Fairies  was  not  confined  to  un- 
christened  children  alone ;  it  was  supposed  frequently  to 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  177 

extern!  to  full-grown  persons,  especially  such  as,  inan un- 
lucky hour,  were  devoted  to  the  devil  by  the  execration 
of  parents  and  of  masters  ;*  or  those  who  were  found 
asleep  under  a  rock,  or  on  a  green  hill,  belonging  to  the 
Fairies,  after  sun-set,  or,  finally,  to  those  who  unwarily 
joined  their  orgies.  A  tradition  existed,  during  the  se- 
venteenth century,  concerning  an  ancestor  of  the  noble 
family  of  Duflfus,  who,  "  walking  abroad  in  the  fields, 
*'  near  to  his  own  hou.se,  was  suddenly  carried  away, 
"  and  found  the  next  day  at  Paris,  in  the  French  king's 
"  cellar,  with  a  silver  cup  in  his  hand.  Being  brought 
"  into  the  king's  presence,  and  questioned  by  him  who 
"  he  was,  and  how  he  came  thither,  he  told  his  name, 
"  his  country,  and  the  place  of  his  residence ;  and  that, 
*'  on  such  a  day  of  the  month,  which  proved  to  be  the 
"  day  immediately  preceding,  being  in  the  fields,  he 
"  heard  the  noise  of  a  whirlwind,  and  of  voices,  crying, 
*'  '  Horse  and  Hattock  !'  (this  is  the  word  which  the 
"  Fairies  are  said  to  use  when  they  remove  from  any 


*  This  idea  is  not  peculiar  to  the  Gothic  tribes,  but  extends  to  those 
of  Sclavic  origin.  Tooke  {History  of  Russia,  vol.  I.  p.  100,)  relates, 
that  the  Russian  peasants  believe  the  nocturnal  daemon,  Kikimora,  to 
have  been  a  child,  whom  the  devil  stole  out  of  the  womb  of  its  mother, 
because  she  had  cursed  it.  They  also  assert,  that  if  an  execration 
against  a  child  be  spoken  in  an  evil  hour,  the  child  is  carried  oiFby  the 
devil.  The  beings,  so  stolen,  are  neither  flends  nor  men  ;  they  are 
invisible,  and  afraid  of  the  cross  and  holy  water ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  in  their  nature  and  dispositions  they  resemble  mankind,  whom 
they  love,  and  rarely  injure. 

VOL.  II.  M 


178  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  place,)  whereupon  he  cried,  «  Horse  and  Hattock'  al- 
"  so,  and  was  immediately  caught  up,  and  transported 
"  through  the  air,  by  the  Fairies,  to  that  place,  where, 
"  after  he  had  drunk  heartily,  he  fell  asleep,  and  before 
"  he  woke,  the  rest  of  the  company  were  gone,  and  had 
*'  left  him  in  the  posture  wherein  he  was  found.  It  is 
"  said  the  King  gave  him  the  cup,  which  was  found  in 
"  his  hand,  and  dismissed  him."  The  narrator  affirms, 
"  that  the  cup  was  still  preserved,  and  known  by  the 
"  name  of  the  Fab-y  cup."  He  adds,  that  Mr  Steward, 
tutor  to  the  then  Lord  Duffus,  had  informed  him,  that, 
"  when  a  boy  at  the  school  of  Forres,  he,  and  his  school- 
"  fellows,  Avere  upon  a  time  whipping  their  tops  in  the 
"  church-yard,  before  the  door  of  the  church,  when, 
"  though  the  day  was  calm,  they  heard  a  noise  of  a 
"  wind,  and  at  some  distance  saw  the  small  dust  begin 
"  to  rise  and  turn  round,  which  motion  continued  ad- 
"  vancing  till  it  came  to  the  place  where  they  were, 
"  whereupon  they  began  to  bless  themselves ;  but  one 
"  of  their  number  being;,  it  seems,  a  little  more  liold  and 
"  confident  than  his  companions,  said  '  Horse  and  Hat- 
"  lock  with  my  iop,'  and  immediately  they  all  saw  the  top 
"  lifted  up  from  the  ground,  but  could  not  see  which 
"  way  it  was  carried,  by  reason  of  a  cloud  of  dust  which 
"  was  raised  at  the  same  time.  They  sought  for  the 
"  top  all  about  the  place  where  it  was  taken  up,  but  in 
"  vain ;  and  it  was  found  afterwards  in  the  church-yard, 
"  on  the  other  side  of  the  church.".^This  puerile  le- 
gend is  contained  in  a  letter  from  a  learned  gentleman 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  179 

in  Scotland,  to  Mr  Aubrey,  dated  15th  March,  I695, 
published  in  Aubrey's  Miscellajiics,  p.  158. 

Notwithstanding  the  special  example  of  Lord  DufFus, 
and  of  the  top,  it  is  the  common  opinion,  that  persons, 
falling  under  the  power  of  the  Fairies,  were  only  allow- 
ed to  revisit  the  haunts  of  men,  after  seven  years  had  ex- 
pired. At  the  end  of  seven  years  more,  they  again  dis- 
appeared, after  which  they  were  seldom  seen  among 
mortals.  The  accounts  they  gave  of  their  situation 
differ  in  some  particulars.  Sometimes  they  were  repre- 
sented as  leading  a  life  of  constant  restlessness,  and  wan- 
dering by  moon-light.  According  to  others,  they  inha- 
bited a  pleasant  region,  where,  however,  their  situation 
was  rendered  horrible,  by  the  sacrifice  of  one  or  more 
individuals  to  the  devil  every  seventh  year.  This  cir- 
cumstance is  mentioned  in  Alison  Pearson's  indictment, 
and  in  the  Tale  of  the  Young  Tamlane,  where  it  is  term- 
ed, "  the  paying  the  kane  to  hell,"  or,  according  to  some 
recitations,  "  the  teind,"  or  tenth.  This  is  the  popular 
reason  assigned  for  the  desire  of  the  Fairies  to  abstract 
young  children,  as  substitutes  for  themselves  in  this 
dreadful  tribute.  Concerning  the  mode  of  winning,  or 
recovering,  persons  abstracted  by  the  Fairies,  tradition 
differs ;  but  the  popular  opinion,  contrary  to  what  may 
be  inferred  from  the  following  tale,  supposes,  that  the 
recovery  must  be  effected  within  a  year  and  a  day,  to 
be  held  legal  in  the  Fairy  court.  This  feat,  which  was 
reckoned  an  enterprize  of  equal  difficulty  and  danger, 


180  MINSTRELSY  OF 

could  only  be  accomplished  on  Hallowe'en,  at  the  great 
annual  procession  of  the  Fairy  court.  *  Of  this  proces- 
sion the  following  description  is  found  in  Montgomery's 
Flyting  against  Polwart,  apud  Watson's  Collection  of 
Scots  Poems,    1790,  Part  III.  p.  12. 

"  In  the  hinder  end  of  harvest,  on  All-hallowe'en, 

"  When  our  good  neighbours  dois  ride,  if  I  read  right, 
"  Some  buckled  on  a  bunewand,  and  some  on  a  bean, 

"  Ay  trottand  in  troups  from  the  twilight ; 
"  Some  saidled  a  she-ape,  all  grathed  into  green, 

"  Some  hobland  on  a  hemp-stalk,  hovand  to  the  hight ; 
"  The  King  of  Pharie  and  his  court,  with  the  Elf  Queen, 

"  With  many  elfish  incubus  was  ridand  that  night. 
"  There  an  elf  on  an  ape,  an  unsel  begat, 

"  Into  a  pot  by  Pomathorne ; 

"  That  bratchart  in  a  busse  was  born  ; 

♦'  They  fand  a  monster  on  the  morn, 
"  War  facpd  nor  a  cat." 

The  catastrophe  of  Tamlane  terminated  more  success- 
fully than  that  of  other  attempts,  which  tradition  still 
records.  The  wife  of  a  farmer  in  Lothian  had  been  car- 
ried off  by  the  Fairies,  and,  during  the  year  of  proba- 
tion, repeatedly  appeared  on  Sunday,  in  the  midst  of 
her  children,  combing  their  hair.  On  one  of  these  oc- 
casions she  was  accosted  by  her  husband ;  when  she  re- 
lated to  him  the  unfortunate  event  which  had  separated 


See  the  inimitable  poem  of  Hallowe'en  :— 
'  Upon  that  night,  when  Fairies  light 
"  On  Cassilis  Downan  dance; 
Or  o'er  the  leas,  in  splendid  blaze, 
"  On  stately  coursers  prance,"  &c.         Bu 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  181 

them,  instinicted  him  by  what  means  he  might  win  her, 
and  exhorted  him  to  exert  all  his  courage,  since  her 
temporal  and  eternal  happiness  depended  on  the  success 
of  his  attempt.  The  farmer,  who  ardently  loved  his 
wife,  set  out  on  Hallowe'en,  and,  in  the  midst  of  a  plot 
of  furze,  waited  impatiently  for  the  procession  of  the 
Fairies.  At  the  ringing  of  the  Fairy  bridles,  and  the 
wild  unearthly  sound  which  accompanied  the  cavalcade, 
his  heart  failed  him,  and  he  suffered  the  ghostly  train  to 
pass  by  without  interruption.  When  the  last  had  rode 
past,  the  whole  troop  vanished,  with  loud  shouts  of 
laughter  and  exultation ;  among  which  he  plainly  dis- 
covered the  voice  of  his  wife,  lamenting  that  he  had 
lost  her  for  ever. 

A  similar,  but  real  incident,  took  place  at  the  town  of 
North  Berwick,  within  the  memory  of  man.  The  wife 
of  a  man,  above  the  lowest  class  of  society,  being  left 
alone  in  the  house  a  few  days  after  delivery,  was  attack- 
ed and  carried  off  by  one  of  those  convulsion  fits,  inci- 
dent to  her  situation.  Upon  the  return  of  the  famil}'^, 
who  had  been  engaged  in  hay-making,  or  harvest,  they 
found  the  corpse  much  disfigured.  This  circumstance, 
the  natural  consequence  of  her  disease,  led  some  of  the 
spectators  to  think  that  she  had  been  carried  off  by  the 
Fairies,  and  that  the  body  before  them  was  some  elfin 
deception.  The  husband,  probably,  paid  little  attention 
to  this  opinion  at  the  time.  The  body  was  interred,  and 
after  a  decent  time  had  elapsed,  finding  his  domestic 
affairs  absolutely  required  female  superintendance,  the 


182  MINSTRELSY  OF 

widower  paid  his  addresses  to  a  yonng  woman  in  the 
neighbourhood.  The  recollection;,  ha\vever,  of  his  former 
wife,  whom  he  had  tenderly  loved>haunted  his  slumbers; 
and,  one  morning,  he  came  to  the  clergyman  of  the  pa- 
rish in  the  utmost  dismay,  declaring  that  she  had  ap- 
peared to  him  the  preceding  night,  informed  him  that  she 
was  a  captive  in  Fairy  Land,  and  conjured  him  to  attempt 
her  deliverance.  She  directed  him  to  bring  the  minister, 
and  certain  other  persons,  whom  she  named,  to  her  grave 
at  midnight.  Her  body  was  then  to  be  dug  up,  and  cer- 
tain prayers  recited  ;  after  which  the  corpse  was  to  be- 
come animated,  and  fly  from  them.  One  of  the  assist- 
ants, the  swiftest  runner  in  the  parish,  was  to  pursue  the 
body ;  and,  if  he  was  able  to  seize  it,  before  it  had  thrice 
encircled  the  church,  the  rest  were  to  come  to  his  assist- 
ance, and  detainit,  in  spite  of  the  struggles  it  should  use, 
and  the  various  shapes  into  which  it  might  be  transform- 
ed. The  redemption  of  the  abstracted  person  was  then  to 
become  complete.  The  minister,  a  sensible  man,  argued 
with  his  parishioner  upon  the  indecency  andabsurdity  of 
what  was  proposed,  and  dismissed  him.  Next  Sunday, 
the  banns  being  for  the  first  time  proclaimed  betwixt  the 
widower  and  his  new  bride,  his  fonner  wife,  very  natu- 
rally, took  theopportunity  of  the  foUowingnight  to  make 
hun  another  visit,  yet  more  terrific  than  the  former.  She 
upbraided  him  with  his  incredulity,  his  fickleness,  and 
his  want  of  affection  ;  and,  to  convince  him  that  her  ap- 
pearance was  no  aerial  allusion,  she  gave  suck,  in  liis 
presence,  to  her  youngest  child.     The  man,  under  the 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOHDER.  183 

greatest  horror  of  mind,  had  again  recourse  to  the  pas- 
tor ;  and  his  ghostly  counsellor  fell  upon  an  admirable 
expedient  to  console  him.  This  was  nothing  less  than 
dispensing  with  the  formal  solemnity  of  banns,  and 
marrying  him,  without  an  hour's  delay,  to  the  young 
woman  to  whom  he  was  affianced;  after  which  no 
spectre  again  disturbed  his  repose.* 


*  To  these  I  have  now  to  add  the  following  instance  of  redemption 
from  Fairy  Land.  The  legend  is  printed  from  a  broadside  still  popular 
in  Ireland  :— 

'♦  Near  the  town  of  Aberdeen,  in  Scotland,  lived  James  Campbell, 
who  had  one  daughter  named  Mary,  who  was  married  to  John  Nelson, 
a  young  man  of  that  neighbourhood.  Shortly  after  their  marriage, 
they  being  a  young  couple,  they  went  to  live  in  the  town  of  Aberdeen, 
where  he  followed  his  trade,  being  a  goldsmith  ;  they  lived  loving  and 
agreeable  together  until  the  time  of  her  lying  in,  when  there  was 
female  attendants  prepared  suitable  to  her  situation  ;  when  near  the 
hour  of  twelve  at  night  they  were  alarmed  with  a  dreadful  noise,  at 
which  of  a  sudden  the  candles  went  out,  which  drove  the  attendants  in 
the  utmost  confusion  ;  soon  as  the  women  regained  their  half-lost 
senses,  they  called  in  the  neighbours,  who,  after  striking  up  lights, 
and  looking  towards  the  lying-in  woman,  found  her  a  corpse,  whicli 
caused  great  confusion  in  the  family.  There  was  no  grief  could  ex- 
ceed that  of  her  husband,  who,  next  morning,  prepared  ornaments  for 
her  funeral ;  people  of  all  sects  came  to  her  wake,  amongst  others  came 
the  reverend  Mr  Dodd,  who,  at  first  sight  of  the  corpse,  said,  it's  not 
the  body  of  any  Christian,  but  that  Mrs  Nelson  was  taken  away  by 
the  Fairies,  and  what  they  took  for  her  was  only  some  substance  left 
in  her  place.  He  was  not  believed,  so  he  refused  attending  her  fune- 
ral ;  they  kept  her  in  the  following  night,  and  next  day  she  was  in- 
terred. 

"  Her  husband,  one  evening  after  sunset,  being  riding  in  his  own 


184  MINSTllELSY  OF 

Having  concluded  these  general  observations  upon 
the  Fairy  superstition,  which,  although  minute,  may 
not,  I  hope,  be  deemed 'altogether  uninteresting,  I  pro- 
ceed to  the  more  particular  illustrations,  relating  to  The 
Tale  of  the  Young  Tamlane. 


field,  heard  a  most  pleasant  concert  of  music,  and  soon  after  espied  a 
woman  coming  towards  him  drest  in  white  ;  she  being  veiled  he  could 
not  observe  her  face,  yet  he  rode  near  her,  and  asked  her  very  friendly 
who  she  was  that  chose  to  walk  alone  so  late  in  the  evening  ?  at  which 
she  unveiled  her  face,  and  burst  into  tears,  saying,  I  am  not  permit- 
ted to  tell  you  who  I  am.  He  knowing  her  to  be  his  wife,  asked 
her,  in  the  name  of  God,  what  disturbed  her,  or  occasioned  her  to  ap- 
pear at  that  hour  ?  She  said  her  appearing  at  any  hour  was  of  no  con- 
sequence ;  for  though  you  believe  me  to  be  dead  and  buried,  I  am  not, 
but  was  taken  away  by  the  Fairies  the  night  of  my  dehvery  ;  you 
only  buried  a  piece  of  wood  in  my  place  ;  I  can  be  recovered  if  you 
take  proper  means  ;  as  for  my  child,  it  has  three  nurses  to  attend  it, 
but  I^fear  it  cannot  be  brought  home  ;  the  greatest  dependence  I  have 
on  any  person  is  my  brother  Robert,  who  is  a  captain  of  a  merchant 
ship,  and  will  be  home  in  ten  days  hence.  Her  husband  asked  her 
•what  means  he  should  take  to  win  her  ?  She  told  him  he  should  find 
a  letter  the  Sunday  morning  following,  on  the  desk  in  his  own  room, 
directed  to  her  brother,  wherein  there  would  be  directions  for  winning 
her.  Since  my  being  taken  from  you  I  have  had  the  attendance 
of  a  queen  or  empress,  and  if  you  look  over  my  right  shoulder  you 
will  see  several  of  my  companions  ;  he  then  did  as  she  desired,  wlien, 
sit  a  small  distance,  he  saw  a  king  and  queen  sitting,  beside  a  moat, 
on  a  throne  in  splendour. 

"  She  then  desired  him  to  look  to  right  and  left,  which  he  did, 
and  observed  other  kings  on  each  side  of  the  king  and  queen,  well 
guarded.  He  said,  I  fear  it  is  an  impossibility  to  win  you  from 
such  a  place.  No,  says  she,  were  my  brother  Robert  here  in  your 
place,  he  would  bring  me  home;  but  let  it  not  encourage  you  to 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  185 

The  following  ballad,  still  popular  in  Ettrick  Forest, 
where  the  scene  is  laid,  is  certainly  of  much  greater  an- 
tiquity than  its  phraseology,  gradually  modernized  as 
transmitted  by  tradition,  would  seem  to  denote.     The 


attempt  the  like,  for  that  would  occasion  the  loss  of  me  for  ever  :  there 
is'now  severe  punishmen  threatened  to  me  for  speaking  to  you  ;  but, 
to  prevent  that,  do  you  ride  up  to  the  moat,  where  (suppose  you  will 
see  no  person),  all  you'now  see  will  be  near  you,  and  do  you  threaten 
to  burn  all  the  old  thorns  and  brambles  that  is  round  the  moat,  if  you 
do  not  get  a  firm  promise  that  I  shall  get  no  punishment,  I  shall  be 
forgiven  ;  which  he  promised.  She  then  disappeared,  and  he  lost 
sight  of  all  he  had  seen ;  he  then  rode  very  resolutely  up  to  tlie 
moat,  and  went  round  it,  vowing  he  would  burn  all  about  it  if  he 
would  not  get  a  promise  that  his  wife  should  get  no  hurt.  A  voice 
desired  him  to  cast  away  a  book  was  in  his  pocket,  and  then  demand 
his  request ;  he  answered  he  would  not  part  his  book,  but  grant  his 
request,  or  they  should  find  the  effect  of  his  rage.  The  voice  answered, 
that  upon  honour  she  should  be  forgave  that  fault,  but  for  him  to  suffer 
no  prejudice  to  come  to  the  moat,  which  he  promised  to  fulfil,  at  which 
he  heard  most  pleasant  music.  He  then  returned  home,  and  sent 
for  the  Reverend  Mr  Dodd,  and  related  to  him  what  he  had  seen  ; 
Mr  Dodd  staid  with  him  till  Sunday  morning  following,  when,  as  Mr 
Nelson  looked  on  the  desk  in  his  room,  he  espied  a  letter,  which  he 
took  up,  it  being  directed  to  her  brother,  who  in  a  few  days  came  home ; 
on  his  receiving  the  letter  he  opened  it,  wherein  he  found  the  follow- 
ing: 

"  Dear  Brother, — My  husband  can  relate  to  you  my  present 
circumstances.  I  request  that  you  will  (the  first  night  after  you  see 
this),  come  to  the  moat  where  I  parted  my  husband ;  let  nothing 
daunt  you,  but  stand  in  the  centre  of  the  moat  at  the  hour  of  twelve 
at  night,  and  call  me,  when  I  with  several  others  will  surround  you ; 
I  shall  have  on  the  whitest  dress  of  any  in  company,  then  take  hold 


186  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Tale  of  the  Young  Tamlane  is  mentioned  in  the  Com- 
playnt  of  Scotland  ;  and  the  air,  to  which  it  was  chaunt- 
ed,  seems  to  have  been  accommodated  to  a  particular 
dance ;  for  the  dance  of  Thorn  of  Lynn,  another  varia- 


of  me,  and  do  not  forsake  me ;  all  the  frightful  methods  they  shall 
use  let  it  not  surprise  you,  but  keep  your  hold,  suppose  they  continue 
till  cock-crow,  when  they  shall  vanish  all  of  a  sudden,  and  I  shall  be 
safe,  when  I  will  return  home  and  live  with  my  husband.  If  you 
succeed  in  your  attempt,  you  will  gain  applause  from  all  your  friends, 
and  have  the  blessing  of  your  ever-loving  and  affectionate  sister, 

;^"  Mary  Nelson." 
"  No  sooner  had  he  read  the  letter  than  he  vowed  to  win  his  sister 
and  her  child,  or  perish  in  the  attempt ;  he  returned  to  his  ship,  and 
related  to  his  sailors  the  consequence  of  the  letter ;  he  delayed  till  ten 
at  night,  when  his  loyal  sailors  offered  to  go  with  him,  which  he  re- 
fused, thinking  it  best  to  go  alone.  As  he  left  his  ship  a  frightful 
lion  came  roaring  towards  him  ;  he  drew  his  sword  and  struck  at  the 
lion,  which  he  observed  was  of  no  substance,  it  being  only  the  appear- 
ance of  one  to  terrify  him  in  his  attempt ;  it  only  encouraged  him, 
so  that  he  proceeded  to  the  moat,  in  the  centre  of  which  he  observed 
a  white  handkerchief  spread  ;  on  which  he  was  surrounded  with  a 
number  of  women,  the  cries  of  whom  were  the  most  frightful  he  ever 
heard ;  his  sister  being  in  the  whitest  dress  of  any  round  him,  he 
seized  her  by  the  right  hand,  and  said.  With  the  help  of  God,  I  will 
preserve  you  from  all  infernal  imps  ;  when,  of  a  sudden,  the  moat 
seemed  to  be  on  fire  round  him.  He  likewise  heard  the  most  dread- 
ful thunder  could  be  imagined  ;  frightful  birds  and  beasts  seemed  to 
make  towards  him  out  of  the  fire,  which  he  knew  was  not  real ;  no- 
thing daunted  his  courage  ;  he  kept  hold  of  his  sister  for  the  space 
of  an  hour  and  three  quarters,  when  the  cocks  began  to  crow  ;  then 
the  fire  disappeared,  and  all  the  frightful  imps  vanished.  He  held 
her  in  his  arms,  and  fell  on  his  knees  and  gave  God  thanks  for  his 
proceedings  that  night ;  he  believing  her  clothing  to  be  light,  he  put 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  187 

tion  of  Thomalhi,  likewise  occurs  in  the  same  perform- 
ance. Like  every  popular  subject,  it  seems  to  have 
been  frequently  parodied  ;  and  a  burlesque  ballad,  be- 
ginning, 

"  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  Scottish  Songs,  1774,  a  part  of  the  original  tale  was 
published  vmder  the  title  of  Kerton  Ha' ;  a  corruption 


his  outside  coat  on  her ;  she  then  embraced  him^  saying,  she  was 
now  safe,  as  he  put  any  of  his  cloathing  on  her ;  he  then  brought  her 
home  to  her  husband,  which  occasioned  great  rejoicing.  Her  hus- 
band and  he  began  to  conchide  to  destroy  the  moat  in  revenge  of  the 
child  they  had  away,  when  instantly  they  heard  a  voice,  which  said. 
You  shall  have  your  son  safe  and  well,  on  condition  that  you  will  not 
till  the  ground  within  three  perches  of  the  moat,  nor  damage  bushes 
or  brambles  round  that  place,  which  they  agreed  to,  when,  in  a  few 
minutes,  the  child  was  left  on  his  mother's  knee,  which  caused  them 
to  kneel  and  return  thanks  to  God. 

"  The  circumstance  of  this  terrifying  affair  was  occasioned  by 
leaving  Mrs  Nelson,  the  night  of  her  lying-in,  in  the  care  of  women 
who  were  mostly  intoxicated  with  liquor.  It  is  requested  both  sexes 
will  take  notice  of  the  above,  and  not  leave  women  in  distress,  but 
with  people  who  at  such  times  mind  their  duty  to  God." 


188  MINSTRELSY  OF 

of  Carterhaugh ;  and,  in  the  same  collection,  tliere  is 
a  fragment,  containing  two  or  three  additional  verses, 
beginning, 

«'  I'll  wager,  I'll  wager,  I'll  wager  with  you,"  &c. 

In  Johnston's  Musical  Museum,  a  more  complete  copy 
occurs,  under  the  title  of  Thorn  Limi,  which,  with  some 
alterations,  was  reprinted  in  the  Talcs  of  Wonder. 

The  present  edition  is 'the  most  perfect  which  has  yet 
appeared  ;  being  prepared  from  a  collation  of  the  print- 
ed copies  with  a  very  accurate  one  in  Glenriddell's 
MSS.  and  with  several  recitals  from  tradition.  Some 
verses  are  omitted  in  this  edition,  being  ascertained  to 
belong  to  a  separate  ballad,  which  will  be  found  in  a 
subsequent  part  of  the  work.  In  one  recital  only,  the 
well-known  fragment  of  the  Wee,  wee  Man,  was  intro- 
duced, 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  Rit- 
son,  with  a  copy  of  the  original  poem,  of  which  it  is  a 
detached  fragment.  The  editor  has  been  enabled  to 
add  several  verses  of  beauty  and  interest  to  this  edition 
of  Tavilane,  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  mo- 
dem cast.  The  manners  of  the  Fairies  are  detailed  at 
considerable  length,  and  in  poetry  of  no  common  merit. 
Carterhaugh  is  a  plain,  at  the  conflux  of  the  Ettrick 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEll.  189 

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  pea- 
sants 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;  and  vipon  these  spots,  accord- 
ing to  their  mode  of  expressing  themselves,  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 
Buccleugh's  seat  of  Bowhill,  about  half  a  mile  fromCar- 
terhaugh.  In  no  part  of  Scotland,  indeed,  has  the  be- 
lief in  Fairies  maintained  its  ground  with  more  pertina- 
city than  in  Selkirkshire.  The  most  sceptical  among 
the  lower  ranks  only  venture  to  assert,  that  their  appear- 
ances, and  mischievous  exploits,  have  ceased,  or  at  least 
become  infrequent,  since  the  light  of  the  Gospel  was 
diffused  in  its  purity.  One  of  their  frolics  is  said  to  have 
happened  late  in  the  last  century.  The  victim  of  elfin 
sport  was  a  poor  man,  who,  being  employed  in  pulling 
heather  upon  Peatlaw,  a  hill  not  far  from  Carter- 
haugh,  had  tired  of  his  labour,  and  laid  him  down  to 
sleep  upon  a  Fairy  ring.  When  he  awakened,  he  was 
amazed  to  find  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  populous  city, 
to  which,  as  well  as  to  the  means  of  his  transportation. 


190  MINSTllELSY  OF 

he  was  an  utter  stranger.  His  coat  was  left  upon  the 
Peatlaw  ;  and  his  bonnet,  which  had  fallen  off  in  the 
course  of  his  aerial  journey,  was  afterwards  found  hang- 
ing upon  the  steeple  of  the  church  of  Lanark.  The  dis- 
tress bf  the  poor  man  was,  in  some  degree,  relieved,  by 
meeting  a  carrier  whom  he  had  formerly  known,  and 
who  conducted  him  back  to  Selkirk,  by  a  slower  con- 
veyance than  had  whirled  him  to  Glasgow. — That  he 
had  been  carried  off  by  the  Fairies  was  implicitly  be- 
lieved by  all  who  did  not  reflect,  that  a  man  may  have 
private  reasons  for  leaving  his  own  country,  and  for 
disguising  his  having  intentionally  done  so. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  191 


THE  YOUNG  TAISILANE. 


O  I  forbid  ye,  maidens  a", 

That  wear  gowd  on  your  hair, 

To  come  or  gae  by  Carterhaugh, 
For  young  Tamlane  is  there. 

There's  nane,  that  gaes  by  Carterhaugh, 

But  maun  leave  him  a  wad, 
Either  goud  rings,  or  green  mantles, 

Or  else  their  maidenheid. 

Now,  gowd  rings  ye  may  buy,  maidens, 
Green  mantles  ye  may  spin  ; 

But,  gin  ye  lose  your  maidenheid, 
Ye'll  ne'er  get  that  agen. 


192  MINSTRELSY  OF 

But  up  then  spak  her,  fair  Janet, 

The  fairest  o'  a'  her  kin  ; 
"  I'll  cum  and  gang  to  Carterhaugh, 

'*  And  ask  nae  leave  o'  him." 

Janet  has  kilted  her  green  kirtle,  * 

A  little  abune  her  knee ; 
And  she  has  braided  her  yellow  hair, 

A  little  abune  her  bree. 

And  when  she  came  to  Carterhaugh, 
She  gaed  beside  the  well ; 

And  there  she  fand  his  steed  standing. 
But  away  was  himsell. 

She  hadna  pu'd  a  red  red  rose, 

A  rose  but  barely  three  ; 
Till  up  and  starts  a  wee  wee  man. 

At  Lady  Janefs  knee. 

Says — '•'  Why  pu'  ye  the  rose,  Janet  ? 

"  What  gars  ye  break  the  tree  ? 
"  Or  why  come  ye  to  Carterhaugh, 

"  Withouten  leave  o'  me  .^"" 


*  The  ladies  are  always  represented,  in  Dunbar's  Poems,  with  green 
mantles  and  yellow  hMi.^Maitlaud  Puom,  voL  I.  p.  4o. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  193 

Says — "  Carterhaugh  it  is  mine  ain  ; 

"  My  daddie  gave  it  me  ; 
"  I'll  come  and  gang  to  Carterhaugh, 

"  And  ask  nae  leave  o'  thee/'j 

He's  ta'en  her  by  the  milk-white  hand,, 

Amang  the  leaves  sae  green  ; 
And  what  they  did  I  cannot  tell — 

The  green  leaves  were  between. 


He's  ta'en  her  by  the  milk-white  hand, 

Amang  the  roses  red  ; 
And  what  they  did  I  cannot  say — 

She  ne'er  return'd  a  maid. 


When  she  cam  to  her  father's  ha', 

She  looked  pale  and  wan ; 
They  thought  she'd  dried  some  sair  sickness, 

Or  been  with  some  leman. 


She  didna  comb  her  yellow  hair, 
Nor  make  meikle  o'  her  heid ; 

And  ilka  thing,  that  lady  took, 
Was  like  to  be  her  deid. 


194  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Ifs  four  and  twenty  ladies  fair 
Were  playing  at  the  ba' ; 

Janet,  the  wightest  of  them  anes, 
Was  faintest  o'  them  a\ 


Four  and  twenty  ladies  fair 

Were  playing  at  the  chess  ; 
And  out  there  came  the  fair  Janet, 

As  green  as  any  grass. 

Out  and  spak  an  auld  gray-headed  kniglit, 

Lay  o'er  the  castle  wa' — 
"  And  ever  alas  !  for  thee,  Janet, 

"  But  well  be  blamed  a' !" 

"  Now  haud  your  tongue,  ye  auld  gray  knight 

"  And  an  ill  deid  may  ye  die, 
"  Father  n)y  bairn  on  whom  I  will, 

"  FU  father  nane  on  thee." 


Out  then  spak  her  father  dear, 
And  he  spak  meik  and  mild — 

"  And  ever,  alas  !  my  sweet  Janel, 
"  I  fear  ye  gae  with  child."" 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOHDEK.  195 

"  And,  if  I  be  with  child,  father, 

"  Mysell  niaiui  bear  tlie  blame  ; 
"  There's  near  a  knight  about  your  ha' 

"  Shall  hae  the  bairnie's  name. 


And,  if  I  be  with  child,  father, 
"  'Twill  prove  a  wondrous  birth ; 
For  well  I  swear  I'm  not  wi'  bairn 
"  To  any  man  on  earth. 


If  my  love  were  an  earthly  knight, 
"  As  he's  an  elfin  grey, 
I  wadna  gie  my  ain  true  love 
"  For  nae  lord  that  ye  hae." 


She  princked  hersell  and  jjrinn'd  hersell, 
By  the  ae  light  of  the  moon, 

And  she's  away  to  Carterhaugh, 
To  speak  wi'  young  Tamlane. 

And  when  she  cam  to  Carterhaugh, 
She  gaed  beside  the  well ; 


But  away  was  himsell. 


196  MINSTRELSY  OF 

She  hadna  pu'd  a  double  rose. 

A  rose  but  only  twae. 
When  up  and  started  young  Tamlane, 

Says — "  Lady,  thou  pu''s  nae  mae  ! 


AVhy  pu'  ye  the  rose,  Janet, 
"  Within  this  garden  grene, 
And  a'  to  kill  the  bonny  babe, 
"  That  Ave  got  us  between  P"" 


The  truth  yell  tell  to  me,  Tanilane 
*'  A  word  ye  mauna  lie ; 
Gin  e''er  ye  was  in  haly  chapel, 
*'  Or  sained*  in  Christentie." 


"  The  truth  I'll  tell  to  thee,  Janet, 

"  A  word  I  winna  lie  ; 
"  A  knight  me  got,  and  a  lady  nie  bore, 

*'  As  well  as  they  did  thee. 

"  Randolph,  Earl  Murray,  was  my  sire, 
"  Dunbar,  Earl  March,  is  thine ; 

"  We  loved  when  we  were  children  sniall, 
„  Which  yet  you  well  may  mind. 

*  Sdincd — Hallowed. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  197 

"  When  T  was  a  boy  just  turned  of  nine, 

"  My  uncle  sent  for  me, 
"  To  hunt,  and  hawk,  and  ride  with  him, 

''  And  keep  him  cumpanie. 


There  came  a  wind  out  of  the  north, 
"  A  sharp  wind  and  a  snell ; 
And  a  dead  sleep  came  over  me, 
"  And  frae  my  horse  I  fell. 


The  Queen  of  Fairies  keppit  me, 
"  In  yon  green  hill  to  dwell  ; 
And  I'm  a  fairy,  lyth  and  limb  ; 
*'  Fair  lady,  view  me  well. 


But  we,  that  live  in  Fairy-land, 
"  No  sickness  know,  nor  pain  ; 
I  quit  my  body  when  I  will, 
"  And  take  to  it  again. 

I  quit  my  body  when  I  please, 
**  Or  unto  it  repair  ; 
We  can  inhabit,  at  our  ease, 
"In  either  earth  or  air. 


198  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Our  shape  and  size  we  can  convert 
"  To  either  large  or  small ; 

"  An  old  nut-sheirs  the  same  to  us, 
"  As  is  the  lofty  hall. 


"  We  sleep  in  rose-buds,  soft  and  sweet, 

"  We  revel  in  the  stream  ; 
**  We  wanton  lightly  on  the  wind, 

"  Or  glide  on  a  sun-beam. 

"  And  all  our  wants  are  well  supplied, 
"  From  every  rich  nian"'s  store, 

*'  Who  thankless  sins  the  gifts  he  gets, 
"  And  vainly  grasps  for  more. 

"  Then  I  would  never  tire,  Janet, 

"  In  Elfish  Land  to  dwell ; 
"  But  aye  at  every  seven  years, 

"  They  pay  the  teind  to  hell ; 
"  And  I  am  sae  fat,  and  fair  of  flesh, 

"  I  feai'  'twill  be  mysell. 

"  This  night  is  Hallowe'en,  Janet, 
"  The  morn  is  Hallowday  ; 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  199 

"  And,  gin  ye  dare  your  true  love  win, 
"  Ye  hae  na  time  to  stay. 


The  night  it  is  good  Hallowe'en, 

"  When  fairy  folk  will  ride  ; 

And  they,  that  wad  their  true-love  win, 

"  At  Miles  Cross  they  maun  bide." 


But  how  shall  I  thee  ken,  Tamlane  ? 
"  Or  how  shall  I  thee  knaw, 
Amang  so  many  unearthly  knights, 
"  The  like  I  never  saw  .?" 


"  The  first  company,  that  passes  by, 
"  Say  na,  and  let  them  gae  ; 

"  The  next  company,  that  passes  by, 
"  Say  na,  and  do  right  sae  ; 

"The  third  company,  that  passes  by. 
"  Than  I'll  be  ane  o'  thae. 


"  First  let  pass  the  black,  Janet, 
"  And  syne  let  pass  the  brown  ; 

"  But  grip  ye  to  the  milk-white  steed, 
"  And  pu'  the  rider  down. 


200  illXSTRELSY  OF 

"  For  I  ride  on  the  milk-white  steed, 
"  And  aye  nearest  the  town  ; 

"  Because  I  was  a  christened  knight, 
"  They  gave  me  that  renown, 

"  My  right  hand  will  be  gloved,  Janet, 
"  My  left  hand  will  be  bare; 

*'  And  these  the  tokens  I  gie  thee, 
"  Nae  doubt  I  will  be  there. 

"  They'll  turn  me  in  your  arms,  Janet, 

"  An  adder  and  a  snake  ; 
"  But  had  me  fast,  let  me  not  pass, 

"  Gin  ye  wad  be  my  maike. 


They'll  turn  me  in  your  arms,  Janet, 
"  An  adder  and  an  ask  ; 
They'll  turn  me  in  your  arms,  Janet, 
"  A  bale*  that  burns  fast. 


They'll  turn  me  in  your  arms,  Janet, 
"  A  red-hot  gad  o'  airn  ; 
But  had  me  fast,  let  me  not  pass, 
"  For  I'll  do  you  no  harm. 

*  Bale — A  faggot. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  201 

"  First  dip  me  in  a  stand  o'  milk, 

"  And  then  in  a  stand  o'  water  ; 
"  But  had  me  fast,  let  me  not  pass — 

"  ril  be  your  bairn's  father. 

"  And,  next,  they'll  shape  me  in  your  arms, 

"  A  tod,  but  and  an  eel ; 
"  But  had  me  fast,  nor  let  me  gang, 

"  As  you  do  love  me  weel. 

"  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  : 
"  Cast  your  green  mantle  over  me — 

"  I'll  be  myself  again." 

Gloomy,  gloomy,  Avas  the  night, 

And  eiry*  was  the  way, 
As  fair  Janet,  in  her  green  mantle, 

To  Miles  Cross  she  did  gae. 

The  heavens  were  black,  the  night  was  dark, 
And  dreary  was  the  place ; 

•  Eiti/ — Producing  superstitious  dread. 


202  MINSTRELSY  OF 

But  Janet'Stood,  with  eager  wish, 
Her  lover  to  embrace. 


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. 

About  the  dead  hour  o'  the  night, 

She  heard  the  bridles  ring  ; 
And  Janet  was  as  glad  o'  that, 

As  any  earthly  thing  ! 

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. 


They  sing,  inspired  with  love  and  joy, 

Like  sky-larks  in  the  air  ; 
Of  solid  sense,  or  thought  that's  grave. 

You'll  find  no  ti'aces  there. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  203 

Fair  Janet  stood,  with  mind  immoved, 

The  dreary  heath  upon  ; 
And  louder,  louder  wax^d  the  sound. 

As  they  came  riding  on. 


Will  o*"  Wisp  before  them  went, 
Sent  forth  a  twinkling  light ; 

And  soon  she  saw  the  Fairy  bands 
All  ridina:  in  her  siffht. 


And  first  gaed  by  the  black  black  steed. 
And  then  gaed  by  the  brown  ; 

But  fast  she  gript  the  milk-white  steed, 
And  pu'd  the  rider  down. 

She  pu"d  him  frae  the  milk-white  steed. 

And  loot  the  bridle  fa' ; 
And  up  there  raise  au  erlish*  cry — 

"  He's  won  amang  us  a' !" 

They  shaped  him  in  fair  Janefs  arms, 
An  esk,-f-  but  and  an  adder ; 

She  held  him  fast  in  every  shape — 
To  be  her  bairn's  father. 

*  /;W(v7/— F.lritch,  ghastly.  f  A'.* A— Newt. 


204  MIXSTRF.T.SV  OF 

They  shaped  him  in  her  arms  at  last, 

A  mother-naked  man  : 
She  wrapt  him  in  her  green  mantle, 

And  sae  her  true  love  wan  ! 


Up  then  spake  the  Queen  o'  Fairies, 

Out  o'  a  bush  o'  broom — 
"  She  that  has  borrowed  young  Tamlane, 

"  Has  gotten  a  stately  groom." 


Up  then  spake  the  Queen  of  Fairies, 

Out  o'  a  bush  of  rye — 
"  She's  ta''en  awa  the  bonniest  knight 

"  In  a'  my  cumpanie. 


But  had  I  kenn'd,  Tamlanc,"  she  says, 
"  A  lady  wad  borrowed  thee — 
I  wad  ta''en  out  thy  twa  gray  een, 
"  Put  in  twa  een  o'  tree. 


"  Had  I  but  kenn'd,  Tamlane,""'  she  says, 
"  Before  ye  came  frae  hame — 

"  I  wad  tane  out  your  heart  o'  flesh, 
"  Put  in  a  heart  o'  stane. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  205 

Had  I  but  had  the  wit  yestreen, 
"  That  I  hae  coft*  the  day — 
I"'d  paid  my  kane  seven  times  to  hell, 
"  Ere  yoird  been  won  away  !" 

•  Co/it— Bought. 


206  MINSTllELSY  OF 


NOTES 


THE  YOUNG  TAMLANE. 


Randolph,  Earl  Murray/,  was  my  sire, 

Dunbar,  Earl  March,  is  thine,  &c. — P.  196.  v.  o. 

Both  these  mighty  chiefs  were  connected  with  Ettrick  Forest 
and  its  vicinity.  Their  memory,  therefore,  hved  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  country.  Randolph,  Earl  of  Murray,  the  renown- 
ed nephew  of  Robert  Bruce,  had  a  castle  at  Ha'  Guards,  in  An- 
nandale,  and  another  in  Peebles- shire,  on  the  borders  of  the 
forest,  the  scite  of  which  is  still  called  Randall's  Walls.  Patrick 
of  Dunbar,  Earl  of  March,  is  said,  by  Henry  the  INIinstrel,  to 
have  retreated  to  Ettrick  Forest,  after  being  defeated  by  Wal- 
lace. 

And  all  our  wants  are  well  supplied, 

From  every  rich  man's  store. 
Who  thankless  sins  the  gifts  he  gets,  ^c.—P.  198.  v.  3. 
To  sin  our  gifts  or  mercies,  means,  ungratefully  to  hold  them 
in  slight  esteem.  The  idea,  that  the  possessions  of  the  wicked 
are  most  obnoxious  to  the  depredations  of  evil  spirits,  may  be 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  207 

illustrated  by  the  following  tale  of  a  Buttery  Spirit,  extracted 
from  Thomas  Heywood  : — 

An  ancient  and  virtuous  monk  came  to  visit  his  nephew,  an 
innkeeper,  and,  after  other  discourse,  enquired  into  his  circum- 
stances, aiine  host  confessed,  that,  although  he  practised  all 
the  unconscionable  tricks  of  his  trade,  he  was  still  miserably 
poor.  The  monk  shook  his  head,  and  asked  to  see  his  buttery, 
or  larder.  As  they  looked  into  it,  he  rendered  visible  to  the 
astonished  host  an  immense  goblin,  whose  paunch,  and  whole 
appearance,  bespoke  his  being  gorged  with  food,  and  who, 
nevertheless,  was  gormandizing  at  the  innkeeper's  expence, 
emptying  whole  shelves  of  food,  and  washing  it  down  with  en- 
tire hogsheads  of  hquor.  "  To  the  depredation  of  this  visitor 
"  will  thy  viands  be  exposed,"  quoth  the  uncle,  "  until  thou 
"  shalt  abandon  fraud,  and  false  reckonings."  The  monk  re- 
turned in  a  year.  The  host  having  turned  over  a  new  leaf,  and 
given  Christian  measure  to  his  custoihers,  was  now  a  thriving 
man.  When  they  again  inspected  the  larder,  they  saw  the 
same  spirit,  but  woefully  reduced  in  size,  and  in  vain  attempt- 
ing to  reach  at  the  full  plates  and  bottles,  which  stood  around 
him ;  starving,  in  short,  like  Tantalus,  in  the  midst  of  plenty. 
Honest  Heywood  sums  up  the  tale  thus : 

In  this  discourse,  far  be  it  we  should  mean 
Spirits  by  meat  are  fatted  made,  or  lean  ; 
Yet  certain  'tis,  by  God's  permission,  they 
May,  over  goods  extorted,  bear  like  sway. 

All  such  as  study  fraud,  and  practise  evil. 

Do  only  starve  themselves  to  plumpe  the  devill. 

Hierarchic  oftlic  Blessed  Aiigch,  p.  377. 


208  MINSTRELSY  OF 


ERLINTON. 


NEVER  BEFORE  I'UBLISHKD. 


This  ballad  is  published  from  the  collation  of  two  co- 
pies, 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  the  Reliques  of  Ancient  Poetry.  It  is  singular,  that 
this  charming  ballad  should  have  been  translated,  or  imi- 
tated, by  the  celebrated  Biirger,  without  acknowledg- 
ment of  the  English  original.  As  The  Child  of  Elle 
avowedly  received  corrections,  we  may  ascribe  its  great- 
est beauties  to  the  poetical  taste  of  the  ingenious  editor. 
They  are  in  the  true  style  of  Gothic  embellishment. 
We  may  compare,  for  example,  the  following  beautiful 
verse,  with  the  same  idea  in  an  old  romance : 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  209 

The  baron  stroked  his  dark-brown  cheek, 

And  turned  his  face  aside, 
To  wipe  away  the  starting  tear, 

He  proudly  strove  to  hide  ! 

Child  of  Elk. 

The  heathen  Soldan,  or  Amiral,  when  about  to  slay 
two  lovers,  relents  in  a  similar  manner  : 

Weeping,  he  turned  his  heued  awai, 
And  his  swerde  hit  felle  to  grounde. 

Florice  and  Blaunchejlour. 


210  MINSTRELSY  OF 


ERLINTON. 


Erlixton  had  a  fair  daughter, 
I  wat  he  weird  her  in  a  great  sin,* 

For  he  has  built  a  bigly  bower, 
An'  a'  to  put  that  lady  in. 


An'  he  has  warned  her  sisters  six, 
An'  sae  has  he  her  brethren  se'en, 

Outher  to  watch  her  a'  the  night. 
Or  else  to  seek  her  morn  an'  e'en. 


She  hadna  been  i'  that  bigly  bower, 

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

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


•   Weird  her  in  a  great  ft«— Placed  her  in  danger  of  committing 
a  great  sin. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  211 

*'  O  whae  is  this  at  my  bower  door, 

"  That  chaps  sae  late,  or  kens  the  gin  ?"* 

"  O  it  is  Wilhe,  your  ain  true  love, 
"  I  pray  you  rise  an'  let  me  in  !"    ' 


But  in  my  bower  there  is  a  wake, 
"  An'  at  the  wake  there  is  a  wane  ;-f- 
But  I'll  come  to  the  green-wood  the  morn, 
"  Whar  blooms  the  brier  by  mornin'  dawn.'* 


Then  she's  gane  to  her  bed  again. 

Where  she  has  layen  till  the  cock  crew  thrice. 
Then  she  said  to  her  sisters  a', 

"  Maidens,  'tis  time  for  us  to  rise." 


She  pat  on  her  back  a  silken  gown. 
An'  on  her  breast  a  siller  pin, 

An'  she's  tane  a  sister  in  ilka  hand, 
An'  to  the  green-wood  she  is  gane. 


She  hadna  walk'd  in  the  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. 


•  Gin — The  slight  or  trick  necessary  to  open  the  door  ;  from  en- 
gine. 

-j-  JFane— A  number  of  people. 


212  MINSTRELSY  OF 

He  took  her  sisters  by  the  hand, 

He  kiss'd  them  baitli,  an'  sent  them  hame, 
And  he's  ta'en  his  true  love  him  behind, 

And  througli  tlie  green-wood  they  are  gane. 

They  hadna  ridden  in  the  bonnie  green-wood, 

Na  not  a  mile  but  barely  ane, 
When  there  came  fifteen  o""  the  boldest  knights, 

That  ever  bare  flesh,  blood,  or  bane. 


The  foremost  was  an  aged  knight, 
He  wore  the  grey  hair  on  his  chin, 

Says,  "  Yield  to  me  thy  lady  bright, 

"  An'  thou  shalt  walk  the  woods  within." 


For  me  to  yield  my  lady  bright 
"  To  such  an  aged  knight  as  thee. 
People  wad  think  I  war  gane  mad, 
"  Or  a'  the  courage  flown  frae  me."" 


But  up  then  spake  the  second  knight, 
I  wat  he  spake  right  boustouslie, 

"  Yield  me  thy  life,  or  thy  lady  bright, 
"  Or  here  the  tanc  of  us  shall  die." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  213 

"  My  lady  is  my  warld's  meed  : 

"  My  life  I  wdnna  yield  to  nane  ; 
"  But  if  ye  be  men  of  your  manhead, 

*'  Ye'll  only  fight  me  ane  by  ane.*" 

He  lighted  aff  his  milk-white  steed, 

An'  gae  his  lady  him  by  the  head, 
Say'n,  "  See  ye  dinna  change  your  cheer, 

"  Until  ye  see  my  body  bleed."" 

He  set  his  back  unto  an  aik, 

He  set  his  feet  against  a  stane, 
An'  he  has  fought  these  fifteen  men, 

An*"  killed  them  a'  but  barely  ane  ; 
For  he  has  left  that  aged  knight. 

An'  a'  to  carry  the  tidings  hame. 

When  he  gaed  to  his  lady  fair, 

I  wat  he  kiss'd  her  tenderlie  ; 
"  Thou  art  mine  ain  love,  I  have  thee  bought ; 

**  Now  we  shall  walk  the  green-wood  free." 


214  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THE  TWA  CORBIES. 


This  poem  was  communicated  to  me  by  Charles  Ku-k- 
patrick  Sharpe,  Esq.  jun.  of  Hoddom,  as  written  down, 
from  tradition,  by  a  lady.  It  is  a  singular  circumstance, 
that  it  should  coincide  so  very  nearly  with  the  ancient 
dirge,  called  The  Three  Ravens,  published  by  Mr  Rit- 
son,  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.  In 
order  to  enable  the  curious  reader  to  contrast  these  two 
singular  poems,  and  to  form  a  judgment  which  may  be 
the  original,  I  take  the  liberty  of  copying  the  English 
ballad  from  Mr  Ritson's  Collection,  omitting  only  the 
burden  and  repetition  of  the  first  line.  The  learned  edi- 
tor states  it  to  be  given  "  From  Rave?iscrqft's  Melis- 
"  mala.  Musical  Phansies,  Jilting  the  Cittie  and  Country 
"  Humours,  to  3,  4,  and  5  Voyccs,  London,  l6ll,  ito. 
"  It  will  be  obvious  (continues  Mr  Ritson)  that  this  bal- 
"  lad  is  much  older,  not  only  than  the  date  of  the  book, 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  215 

"  but  most  of  the  other  pieces  contained  in  it."  The 
music  is  given  with  the  words,  and  is  adapted  to  four 
voices : 

There  were  three  ravens  sat  on  a  tre, 
They  were  as  blacke  as  they  might  be  : 

The  one  of  them  said  to  his  mate, 

"  Where  shall  we  our  breakfast  take  ?" 

"  Downe  in  yonder  grene  field, 

"  There  lies  a  knight  slain  under  his  shield  ; 

"  His  hounds  they  lie  down  at  his  feete, 
"  So  well  they  their  master  keepe  ; 

"  His  haukes  they  flie  so  eagerly, 

*'  There's  no  fowle  dare  come  him  nie. 

"  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. 

Ancient  Songs,  1792,  p.  155. 

I  have  seen  a  copy  of  this  dirge  much  modernized. 


216  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THE  TWA  CORBIES. 


As  I  was  walking  all  alane, 

I  heard  twa  corbies  making  a  mane  ; 

The  tane  unto  the  t'other  say, 

"  Where  sail  we  gang  and  dine  to-day  ?" 

"  In  behint  yon  auld  fail*  dyke, 
"  I  wot  there  hes  a  new-slain  knight ; 
"  And  nae  body  kens  that  he  lies  there, 
"  But  his  hawk,  his  hound,  and  lady  fair. 

"  His  hound  is  to  the  hunting  gane, 

"  His  hawk  to  fetch  the  wild-fowl  hame, 

"  His  lady's  ta'en  another  mate, 

"  So  we  may  make  our  dinner  sweet. 

•  Fail— Tmf. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  217 

"  Ye'U  sit  on  his  white  hause  bane, 

"  And  111  pike  out  his  bonny  blue  een  : 

"  Wi'  ae  lock  o''  his  gowden  hair, 

"  Well  theek*  our  nest  when  it  grows  bare. 


Mony  a  one  for  hini  makes  mane, 
But  nane  sail  ken  whare  he  is  gane  : 
O'er  his  white  banes,  when  they  are  bare, 
The  wind  sail  blaw  for  evermair." 

*  Theek— Thatch. 


218  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THE  DOUGLAS  TRAGEDY. 


The  ballad  of  The  Douglas  Tragedy  is  one  of  the  few, 
to  which  popular  tradition  has  ascribed  complete  locali- 
ty. 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  and  solitary  glen,  upon  a  torrent, 
named  Douglas-burn,  which  joins  the  Yarrow,  after 
passing  a  craggy  rock,  called  the  Douglas-craig.  This 
wild  scene,  now  a  part  of  the  Traquair  estate,  formed 
one  of  the  most  ancient  possessions  of  the  renowned  fa- 
mily of  Douglas  ;  for  Sir  John  Douglas,  eldest  son  of 
"William,  the  first  Lord  Douglas,  is  said  to  have  sat,  as 
baronial  lord  of  Douglas-burn,  during  his  father's  life- 
time, in  a  parliament  of  Malcolm  Canmore,  held  at  For- 
far.— GoDSCROFT,  vol.  I.  p.  20.  The  tower  appears  to 
have  been  square,  with  a  circular  turret  at  one  angle. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  219 

for  carrying  up  the  staircase,  and  for  flanking  the  en- 
trance. It  is  said  to  have  derived  its  name  of  Black- 
house  from  the  complexion  of  the  Lords  of  Douglas, 
whose  swarthy  hue  was  a  family  attribute.  But,  when 
the  high  mountains,  by  which  it  is  inclosed,  were  cover- 
ed with  heather,  which  was  the  case  till  of  late  years, 
Blackhouse  must  also  have  merited  its  appellation  from 
the  appearance  of  the  scenery. 

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  bre- 
thren 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 ;  espe- 
cially 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  "  bugelet  horn."  The  copy, 
principally  used  in  this  edition  of  the  ballad,  was  sup- 
plied by  Mr  Sharpe.  The  three  last  verses  are  given 
from  the  printed  copy,  and  from  tradition.  The  hack- 
neyed  verse,  of  the  rose  and  the  brier  springing  from  the 
grave  of  the  lovers,  is  common  to  most  tragic  ballads  ; 


220  MINSTRELSY  OF 

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  vent- 
ed itself  upon  the  brier,  far  surpasses  the  usual  stanza : 

At  length  came  the  clerk  of  the  parish. 

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

Or  else  they  had  still  been  there. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  221 


THE  DOUGLAS  TRAGEDY. 


"  Rise  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. 

"  Rise  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  awa  the  last  night."" 

He''s  mounted  her  on  a  milk-white  steed. 

And  himself  on  a  dapple  givy. 
With  a  bugelet  horn  hung  down  by  his  side, 

And  lightly  they  rode  away. 


2?2  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Lord  William  lookit  o''er  his  left  shoulder, 

To  see  what  he  could  see, 
And  there  he  spy'd  her  seven  brethren  bold, 

Come  riding  over  the  lee. 


"  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  mak  a  stand." 

She  held  his  steed  in  her  mUk-white  hand. 

And  never  shed  one  tear. 
Until  that  she  saw  her  seven  brethren  fa'. 

And  her  father  hard  fighting,  who  lov'd  her  so  dear. 

"  O  hold  your  hand.  Lord  WUliam  V  she  said, 
"  For  your  strokes  they  are  wond'rous  sair ; 

*'  True  lovers  I  can  get  many  a  ane, 
"  But  a  father  I  can  never  get  niair." 


O  she's  ta'en  out  her  handkerchief. 

It  was  o'  the  holland  sae  fine. 
And  aye  she  dighted  her  father's  bloody  wounds. 

That  were  redder  than  the  wine. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  223 

"  O  chuse,  O  chuse,  Lady  MargVet,"  he  said, 

"  O  whether  will  ye  gang  or  bide  ?" 
"  ril  gang,  I'll  gang,  Lord  William,"  she  said, 

"  For  ye  have  left  me  no  other  guide." 

He's  lifted  her  on  a  milk-white  steed. 

And  himself  on  a  dapple  grey, 
With  a  bugelet  horn  hung  down  by  his  side, 

And  slowly  they  baith  rade  away. 

O  they  rade  on,  and  on  they  rade. 

And  a'  by  the  light  of  the  moon. 
Until  they  came  to  yon  wan  water, 

And  there  they  lighted  down. 


They  lighted  down  to  tak  a  drink 

Of  the  spring  that  ran  sae  clear  ; 
And  down  the  stream  ran  his  gude  heart's  blood. 

And  sair  she  gan  to  fear. 


Hold  up,  hold  up.  Lord  William,"  she  says, 
"  For  I  fear  that  you  are  slain  !" 
'Tis  naething  but  the  shadow  of  my  scarlet  cloak, 
"  That  shines  in  the  water  sae  plain." 


224  MINSTRELSY  OF 

O  they  rade  on,  and  on  they  rade, 
And  a'  by  the  light  of  the  moon, 

Until  they  cam  to  his  mother''s  ha"*  door. 
And  there  they  lighted  do^vn. 

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

"  Get  up,  and  let  me  in  ! — 
"  Get  up,  get  up,  lady  mother,"  he  says, 

"  For  this  night  my  fair  lady  I've  win. 

"  O  mak  my  bed,  lady  mother,"  he  says, 

"  O  mak  it  braid  and  deep  ! 
"  And  lay  Lady  MargVet  close  at  my  back, 

"  And  the  sounder  I  wWl  sleep." 

Lord  William  was  dead  lang  ere  midnight, 

Lady  MargVet  lang  ere  day — 
And  all  true  lovers  that  go  thegither. 

May  they  have  mair  luck  than  they  ! 

Lord  William  was  buried  in  St  Marie's  kirk, 
Lady  Margaret  in  Marie's  quire ; 

Out  o'  the  lady's  grave  grew  a  bonny  red  rose, 
And  out  o'  the  knight's  a  brier. 
9 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  225 

And  they  tvva  met,  and  they  twa  plat, 

And  fain  they  wad  be  near  ; 
And  a""  the  warld  might  ken  right  weel. 

They  were  twa  lovers  dear. 

But  bye  and  rade  the  Black  Douglas, 

And  wow  but  he  was  rough  ! 
For  he  puU'd  up  the  bonny  brier,   . 

And  flang'd  in  St  Mary's  Loch. 


226  MINSTRELSY  OF 


YOUNG  BENJIE. 


NKVKK   BKKORE  PUBLISHED. 


In  this  ballad  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  mys- 
terious horrors  of  superstition.  In  the  interval  betwixt 
death  and  interment,  the  disembodied  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 
enquiries,  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  unauthorized  manner, 
because  the  inliabitants  of  the  infernal  regions  are,  at 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  227 

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  sedulously  avoid  lea- 
ving 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  ex- 
ercise of  hospitality  usual  on  such  occasions.  The  at- 
tendants 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.  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  an- 
xiously over  the  lonely  moor  for  the  sight  of  some  per- 
son approaching.  In  her  confusion  and  alarm,  she  ac- 
cidentally 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,  un- 
able to  avoid  the  fascination  of  the  dead  man's  eye,  and 
too  much  terrified  to  break  the  sullen  silence,  till  a  ca- 
tholic priest,  passing  over  the  wild,  entered  the  cottage. 
He  first  set  the  door  quite  ojjcn,  then  put  his  little  fin- 
10 


228  MINSTRELSY  OF 

ger  in  his  mouth,  and  said  the  paternoster  backwards ; 
when  the  horrid  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  in- 
formed 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 

"  O  Both  well  banks  bloom  bonny," 

and  the  watching  of  the  dead  corpse  was  said  to  have 
taken  place  in  Bothwell  church. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  229 


YOUNG  BRNJIE 


Of  a'  the  maids  o'  fair  Scotland, 

The  fairest  was  Marjorie  ; 
And  young  Benjie  was  her  ae  true  love, 

And  a  dear  true  love  was  he. 


And  wow  !  but  they  were  lovers  dear, 
And  loved  fu'  constantlie  ; 

But  aye  the  mair  when  they  fell  out, 
The  sairer  was  their  plea.  * 


And  they  hae  quarrelPd  on  a  day. 
Till  Marjorie's  heart  grew  wae ; 

And  she  said  she'd  chuse  another  luve, 
And  let  young  Benjie  gae. 


Plea— Used  obliquely  for  dispute. 


230  MINSTRELSY  OF 

And  he  was  stout,*  and  proud-lieai'ted, 
And  thought  o't  bitterhe  ; 

And  he's  gane  by  the  wan  moon-hght. 
To  meet  his  Marjorie. 


"  O  open,  open,  my  true  love, 
"  O  open,  and  let  me  in  !"" 

"  I  dare  na  open,  young  Benjie, 
"  My  three  brothers  are  within. 


"  Ye  lied,  ye  lied,  ye  bonny  burd, 

"  Sae  loud's  I  hear  ye  lie ; 
"  As  I  came  by  the  Lowden  banks, 

"  They  bade  gude  e''en  to  me. 

"  But  fare  ye  weel,  my  ae  fause  love, 
"  That  I  have  loved  sae  lang  ! 

"  It  sets-f-  ye  chuse  another  love, 
"  And  let  yoimg  Benjie  gang," 

Then  Maijorie  turned  her  round  about, 
The  tear  blinding  her  ee, — 

"  I  darena,  darena,  let  thee  in, 
"  But  I'll  come  down  to  thee." 


*  Stoitt — Through  this  whole  ballad,  (unless  in  one  instance,)  i 
nifies  haughty. 

■|-  Sett  //r— Becomes  yoii — ironical. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  J231 

Then  saft  she  smiled,  antl  said  to  him, 

"  O  what  ill  hae  I  done  ?""' 
He  took  her  in  his  armis  twa, 

And  threw  her  o"'er  the  linn. 


But,  ere  she  wan  the  Lowden  banks. 
Her  fair  colour  was  wan. 

Then  up  bespak  her  eldest  brother, 

"  O  see  na  ye  what  I  see  ?" 
And  out  then  spak  her  second  brothei-, 

"  Ifs  our  sister  Maijorie  !" 

Out  then  spak  her  eldest  brother, 

"  O  how  shall  we  her  ken  P" 
x\nd  out  then  spak  her  youngest  brother, 

''  There's  a  honey  mark  on  her  chin." 

Then  they've  ta'en  up  the  comely  corpse, 
And  laid  it  on  the  ground — 

"  O  wha  has  killed  our  ae  sister, 
"  And  how  can  he  be  found  ? 

*  Z)ff«if— Defeated. 


232  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  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.'' 

Wi'  doors  ajar,  and  candle  light. 

And  torches  burning  clear, 
The  streikit  corpse,  till  still  midnight, 

They  waked,  but  naething  hear. 

About  the  middle  o'  the  night. 

The  cocks  began  to  craw ; 
And  at  the  dead  hour  o'  the  night. 

The  corpse  began  to  thraw. 


O  whae  has  done  the  wrang,  sister, 

"  Or  dared  the  deadly  sin  ? 

Whae  was  sae  stout,  and  fear'd  nae  dout, 

"  As  thraw  ve  o'er  the  linn  P'"" 


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." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEB. 

Sail  we  young  Benjie  head,  sister, 
"  Sail  we  young  Benjie  hang. 
Or  sail  we  pike  out  his  twa  gray  een, 
"  And  punish  him  ere  he  gang  ?" 


Ye  mauna  Benjie  head,  brothers, 

"  Ye  mauna  Benjie  hang. 

But  ye  maun  pike  out  his  twa  gray  een, 

"  And  punish  him  ere  he  gang. 


"  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. 

"  And  aye,  at  every  seven  years'  end, 

"  Ye'll  tak  him  to  the  linn ; 
"  For  that's  the  penance  lie  maun  drie, 

"  To  scug  *  his  deadly  sin." 

•  Seng — shelter  or  expiate. 


234  MINSTRELSY  OF 


LADY  ANNE. 


This  ballad  was  communicated  to  me  by  Mr  Kirkpa- 
trick  Sharpe  of  Hoddom,  who  mentions  having  copied 
it  from  an  old  magazine.  Although  it  has  probably  re- 
ceived some  modern  corrections,  the  general  turn  seems 
to  be  ancient,  and  corresponds  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  ; 

"  O  smile  nae  sae,  my  bonny  babe  ! 

"  An  ye  smile  sae  sweet,  ye'll  smile  me  dead." 


An'  when  that  lady  went  to  the  church, 
She  spied  a  naked  boy  in  the  porch. 

"  O  bonny  boy,  an'  ye  were  mine, 
"  I'd  dead  ye  in  the  silks  sae  fine." 
"  O  mother  dear,  when  I  was  thine, 
*'  To  me  ye  were  na  half  so  kind." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  235 

Stories  of  this  nature  are  very  common  in  the  annals 
of  popular  superstition.  It  is,  for  example,  currently 
believed  in  Ettrick  Forest,  that  a  libertine,  who  had 
destroyed  fifty-six  inhabited  houses,  in  order  to  throw 
the  possessions  of  the  cottagers  into  his  estate,  and  who 
added,  to  this  injury,  that  of  seducing  their  daughters, 
was  wont  to  commit  to  a  carrier  in  the  neighbourhood 
the  care  of  his  illegitimate  children,  shortly  after  they 
were  born.  His  emissary  regularly  carried  them  away, 
but  they  were  never  again  heard  of.  The  unjust  and 
cruel  gains  of  the  profligate  laird  were  dissipated  by  his 
extravagance,  and  the  ruins  of  his  house  seem  to  bear 
witness  to  the  truth  of  the  rhythmical  prophecies  de- 
nounced against  it,  and  still  current  among  the  peasant- 
ry. He  himself  died  an  untimely  death ;  but  the  agent 
of  his  amours  and  crimes  survived  to  extreme  old  age. 
When  on  his  death-bed,  he  seemed  much  oppressed  in 
mind,  and  sent  for  a  clergyman  to  speak  peace  to  his 
departing  spirit :  but,  before  the  messenger  returned, 
the  man  was  in  his  last  agony ;  and  the  terrified  assist- 
ants had  fled  from  his  cottage,  unanimously  averring, 
that  the  wailing  of  murdered  infants  had  ascended  from 
behind  his  couch,  and  mingled  with  the  groans  of  the 
departing  sinner. 


236  MINSTRELSY  OF 


LADY  ANNE. 


Fair  Lady  Anne  sate  in  her  bower, 

Down  by  the  greenwood  side, 
And  the  flowers  did  spring,  and  the  birds  did  sing, 

'Twas  the  pleasant  May-day  tide. 

But  fair  Lady  Anne  on  Sir  William  callVi, 

With  the  tear  grit  in  her  e'e, 
"  O  though  thou  be  fause,  may  heaven  thee  guard, 

"  In  the  wars  ayont  the  sea  V 


Out  of  the  wood  came  three  bonnie  boys, 

Upon  the  simmer's  morn, 
And  they  did  sing,  and  play  at  the  ba'. 

As  naked  as  they  were  born. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  237 

"  O  seven  lang  years  wad  I  sit  here, 

"  Amang  the  frost  and  snaw, 
"  A'  to  hae  but  ane  o'  these  bonnie  boys, 

"  A  playing  at  the  ba'." 

Then  up  and  spake  the»  eldest  boy, 

"  Now  listen,  thou  fair  ladie, 
"  And  ponder  well  the  read  that  I  tell, 

"  Then  make  ye  a  choice  of  the  three. 

"  'Tis  I  am  Peter,  and  this  is  Paul, 

"  And  that  ane,  sae  fair  to  see, 
"  But  a  twelve-month  sinsyne  to  paradise  came, 

"  To  join  with  our  companie." 

"  O  I  will  hae  the  snaw- white  boy, 

"  The  bonniest  of  the  three." 
"  And  if  I  were  thine,  and  in  thy  propine,* 

"  O  what  wad  ye  do  to  me  ?'"' 

"  'Tis  I  wad  dead  thee  in  silk  and  gowd, 

"  And  nourice  thee  on  my  knee."" 
"  O  mither  !  mither  !  when  I  was  thine, 

"  Sic  kindness  I  could  na  see. 

*  /'/o/)i«e— UsuaUy  gift,  but  here  the  power  of  giving  or  bestowing. 


238  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Beneath  the  turf,  where  now  I  stand, 

"  The  fause  nurse  buried  me  ; 
"  The  cruel  penknife  sticks  still  in  my  heart, 

"  And  I  come  not  back  to  thee.'*'' 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  239 


LORD  WILLIAM, 


This  ballad  was  eommunicated  to  me  by  Mr  James 
Hogg ;  and,  although  it  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to 
that  of  Earl  Richard,  so  strong,  indeed,  as  to  warrant  a 
supposition  that  the  one  has  been  derived  from  the  other, 
yet  its  intrinsic  merit  seems  to  warrant  its  insertion.  Mr 
Hogg  has  added  the  following  note,  which,  in  the  course 
of  my  enquiries,  I  have  found  amply  corroborated. 

"  I  am  fully  convinced  of  the  antiquity  of  this  song  ; 
"  for,  although  much  of  the  language  seems  somewhat 
"  modernized,  this  must  be  attributed  to  its  currency, 
"  being  much  liked,  and  very  much  sung  in  this  neigh- 
"  bourhood.  I  can  trace  it  back  several  generations, 
"  but  cannot  hear  of  its  ever  having  been  in  print.  I 
"  have  never  heard  it  with  any  considerable  variation, 
"  save  that  one  reciter  called  the  dwelling  of  the  feign- 
"  ed  sweetheart,  Casllawa." 


240  MINSTRELSY  OF 


LORD  WILLIAM. 


Lord  William  was  the  bravest  knight 

That  dwalt  in  fair  Scotland, 
And  though  renown''d  in  France  and  Spain, 

Fell  by  a  ladie's  hand. 

As  she  was  walking  maid  alone, 

Down  by  yon  shady  wood, 
She  heard  a  smit*  o**  bridle  reins, 

She  wish'd  might  be  for  good. 


*  Smit — Clashing  noise,  from  smite^hence  also  (fcrhupf)  Smith 
and  Smithy. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEU.  SlJil 

Come  to  my  arms,  my  dear  Willie, 
*'  You're  welcome  hame  to  me  ; 
To  best  o'  chear,  and  charcoal  red,* 
"  And  candle  burnin'  free." 


I  winna  light,  I  darena  light, 
"  Nor  come  to  your  arms  at  a' ; 
A  fairer  maid  than  ten  o""  you 
"  I'll  meet  at  Castle-law." 


A  fairer  maid  than  me,  Willie  ! 
"  A  fairer  maid  than  me  ! 
A  fairer  maid  than  ten  o'  me 
"  Your  eyes  did  never  see." 


He  louted  ower  his  saddle  lap, 
To  kiss  her  ere  they  pail, 

And  wi'  a  little  keen  bodkin, 
She  pierced  him  to  the  heart. 


*  Charcoal  red — This  circumstance  marks  the  antiquity  of  the 
poem.  While  wood  was  plenty  in  Scotland,  charcoal  was  the  usual 
fuel  in  the  chambers  of  the  wealtliy. 


242  MINSTRELSY   OF 

"  Ride  on,  ride  on,  Lord  William,  now, 

"  As  fast  as  ye  can  dree  ! 
"  Your  bonny  lass  at  Castle-law 

"  Will  weary  you  to  see." 


Out  up  then  spake  a  bonny  bird, 

Sat  high  upon  a  tree, — 
"  How  could  you  kill  that  noble  lord  ? 

"  He  came  to  marry  thee."" 

"  Come  down,  come  down,  my  bonny  bird, 
"  And  eat  bread  aff  my  hand  ! 

**  Your  cage  shall  be  of  wiry  goud, 
*'  Whar  now  it's  but  the  wand." 


"  Keep  ye  your  cage  o'  goud,  lady, 
"  And  I  will  keep  my  tree  ; 

*'  As  ye  hae  done  to  Lord  William, 
"  Sae  wad  ye  do  to  me." 

She  set  her  foot  on  her  door  step, 

A  bonny  marble  stane  ; 
And  carried  him  to  her  chamber, 

O'er  him  to  make  her  mane. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  243 

And  she  has  kept  that  good  lord's  corpse 

Three  quarters  of  a  year. 
Until  that  word  began  to  spread. 

Then  she  began  to  fear. 


Then  she  cried  on  her  waiting  maid) 

Aye  ready  at  her  ca' ; 
"  There  is  a  knight  into  my  bower, 

"  "'Tis  time  he  were  awa." 


The  ane  has  ta'en  him  by  the  head, 

The  ither  by  the  feet, 
And  thrown  him  in  the  wan  water. 

That  ran  baith  wide  and  deep. 


Look  back,  look  back,  now,  lady  fair, 
"  On  him  that  lo"'ed  ye  weel ! 
A  better  man  than  that  blue  corpse 
"  Ne'er  drew  a  sword  of  steel." 


244  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THE  BROOMFIELD  HILL. 


The  concluding  verses  of  this  ballad  were  inserted  in 
the  copy  of  Tamlane,  given  to  the  public  in  the  first  edi- 
tion of  this  work.  They  are  now  restored  to  their  pro- 
per place.  Considering  hpw  very  apt  the  most  accu- 
rate reciters  are  to  patch  up  one  ballad  with  verses  from 
another,  the  utmost  caution  cannot  always  avoid  such 
errors. 

A  more  sanguine  antiquary  than  tlie  editor  might  per- 
haps 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  col- 
lection, so  much  envied  by  the  black-letter  antiquaries 
of  the  pi'esent  day. — Dugdale's  Warwickshire,  p.  l66\ 
The  same  ballad  is  quoted  by  one  of  the  personages,  in 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEK.  245 

a  "  very  merry  and  pythie  comedie,"  called, ''  The  long' 
er  thou  livest,  the  more  Fool  thou  art."  See  Ritson's  Dis- 
sertation prefixed  to  Ancient  Songs,  p.  Ix.  "  Brume 
brume  on  hill"  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Coinploi/nt  of 
Scotland.     See  Ley  den's  edition,  p.  100. 


246  MINSTllEI.SY  Ol 


THE  BROOMFIELI^  HILL. 


Thkue  was  a  kniglit  and  a  lady  bright 
Had  a  true  tryst  at  tlie  broom  ; 

The  ane  gaVd  early  in  tlie  morning, 
The  other  in  the  afternoon. 


And  aye  she  sat  in  her  mother"'s  bower  door, 

And  aye  she  made  her  mane, 
"  O  whether  should  I  gang  to  the  Broomfield  hill, 

"  Or  should  I  stay  at  hame  'i 


■'  For  if  I  gang  to  the  Broomfield  h 
"  My  maidenhead  is  gone  ; 

^  And  if  I  chance  to  stay  at  hame, 
"  My  lovf  will  ca'  me  mansworn. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  247 

Up  then  spake  a  witch  woman, 

Aye  from  the  room  aboon  ; 
"  O,  ye  may  gang  to  Bi'oomfield  hill, 

"  And  yet  come  maiden  hame. 

"  For,  when  ye  gang  to  tlie  Broomfield  hill, 

"  Ye'll  find  your  love  asleep, 
"  Witli  a  silver-belt  about  his  head, 

"  And  a  broom-cow  at  his  feet. 


Take  ye  the  blossom  of  the  broom, 
"  The  blossom  it  smells  sweet, 
And  strew  it  at  your  true  love''s  head, 
"  And  likewise  at  his  feet. 


"  Take  ye  the  rings  off  your  fingers, 
"  Put  them  on  his  right  hand, 

"  To  let  him  know,  when  he  doth  awake, 
"  His  love  was  at  his  command." 


She  pu'd  the  broom  flower  on  Hive-1 
And  strew'd  on's  white  hals  bane. 

And  that  was  to  be  wittering  true, 
That  maiden  she  had  gane. 


248  :\IINSTIIELSY  OF 

"  O  where  Avere  ye,  my  milk-white  steed, 

"  That  I  liae  coft  sae  dear, 
"  That  wadna  watch  and  waken  me, 

"  When  there  was  maiden  here  ?" 


I  stamped  wi'  my  foot,  master, 
"  And  gar'd  my  bridle  ring ; 
But  nae  kin'  thing  wald  waken  yi 
"  Till  she  was  past  and  gane." 


i(. 


And  wae  betide  ye,  my  gay  goss  hawk, 
"  That  I  did  love  sae  dear, 
That  wadna  watch  and  waken  me, 
"  When  there  was  maiden  here." 


I  clapped  wi'  my  wings,  master, 

"  And  aye  my  bells  I  rang, 

And  aye  cry\l,  Waken,  waken,  master. 

"  Before  the  ladve  n-annr." 


But  haste  and  liaste,  my  gude  white  steed, 

"  To  come  the  maiden  till. 

Or  a'  the  birds  of  gude  green  wood 

"  Of  vour  flesh  shall  have  their  fill."" 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEU.  '249 

"  Ye  needna  burst  your  gude  wliite  steed, 

"  Wi""  racing  o'er  the  Iio^vm  ; 
"  Nae  bird  flies  faster  through  the  wood, 

"  Than  she  fled  througli  the  brof)m." 


^250  AflNSTREI-SV  OF 


PROUD  LADY  JNIARGARET. 


This  BuUad  was  cninmunicuted  to  the  Editor  hy  Mr  Hamil- 
ton, Music-scUi-r ,  Edinburgh,  with  whose  mother  it  had 
been  a  favourite.  Ttvo  verses  and  one  line  were  wanting, 
which  are  here  supplied  from  a  different  Ballad,  having  a 
plot  someivhat  similar.     These  verses  are  the  6th  and  9th. 


'TwAS  on  a  night,  an  evening  bright, 

When  the  dew  began  to  fa,' 
I^ady  Margaret  was  walking  up  and  down, 

Looking  o''er  her  castle  wa.' 


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. 


THE  SCOTTISH  EOKDEK.  '251 

"  You  seem  to  be  no  gentieman, 

"  You  weal'  y<^"i'  boots  so  wide ; 
"  But  you  seem  to  be  some  cunning  hunter, 

"  You  wear  the  horn  so  syde."  * 


"  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  ; 

"  And  if  you  do  not  grant  me  love, 
"  This  niffht  for  thee  I'll  die."" 


If  you  should  die  for  me,  sir  knight, 
"  There's  few  for  you  will  mane, 
For  mony  a  better  has  died  for  me, 
"  Whose  graves  are  growing  green. 

But  ye  maun  read  my  riddle,""  she  said. 
"  And  answer  my  questions  three  ; 
And  but  ye  read  them  right,"  she  said, 
"  Gae  stretch  ye  out  and  die. — 


•  6'y(f('— Long  or  low. 


252  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Now  what  is  the  flower,  the  ae  first  flower, 
"  Springs  either  on  moor  or  dale  ? 

"  And  wliat  is  the  bird,  tlie  bonnie  bonnie  bird, 
"  Sino's  on  tlie  evening;  jrale  ?" 


"  The  primrose  is  the  ae  first  flower 
"  Springs  either  on  moor  or  dale  ; 

"  And  the  thistlecock  is  the  bonniest  bird 
"  Sings  on  the  evening  gale.'' 

"  But  what's  the  little  coin,"  she  said, 
"  Wald  buy  my  castle  bound  ? 

"  And  what's  the  little  boat,''  she  said, 
"  Can  sail  the  world  all  round  ?" 


"  O  liey,  how  mony  small  pennies 
"  Make  thrice  three  thousand  pound 

"  Or  hey,  how  mony  small  fishes 
"  Swim  a'  the  salt  sea  round  ?" 


"  I  think  ye  maun  be  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. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  253 


"  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. 


"  And  round  about  a'  thae  castles, 

"  You  may  baith  plow  and  saw, 
"  And  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  May, 

"  The  meadows  they  will  maw." 

"  O  hald  your  tongue,  Lady  Margeret,"  he  said, 

"  For  loud  I  hear  you  lie  ! 
"  Your  father  was  lord  of  nine  castles, 

"  Your  mother  was  lady  of  three  ; 
"  Your  father  was  lord  of  nine  castles, 

"  But  ye  fa'  heir  to  but  three. 


And  round  about  a'  thae  castles, 
"  You  may  baith  plow  and  saw, 
But  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  ]\Iay 
"  The  meadows  will  not  maw. 


"  I  am  your  brother  Willie,"  he  said, 

"  I  trow  ye  ken  na  me  ; 
"  I  came  to  humble  your  haughty  heart, 

"  Has  gar'd  sae  niony  die." 


254  MINSTIIELSY  OF 

"  If  ye  be  my  brother  Willie,"  she  said, 

"  As  I  trow  weel  ye  bej 
"  This  night  I'll  neither  eat  nor  drink, 

*'  But  gae  alang  wi"*  thee." 

"  O  hald  your  tongue,  Lady  Margaret,"  he  said, 

"  Again  I  hear  you  lie  ; 
"  For  ye've  unwashen  hands,  and  ye\'e  unwashen 
"  feet,* 

"  To  gae  to  clay  wi''  me. 

"  For  the  wee  worms  are  my  bedfellows, 

"  And  cauld  clay  is  my  sheets  ; 
"  And  when  the  stormy  winds  do  blow, 

"  My  body  lies  and  sleeps." 


♦   Unwaslteii  haiiih  and  unu-ashcn  fat — Alluding  to  tlie  custom  of 
washing  and  dressing  dead  bodies. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEIl  255 


ORIGINAL  BALLAD 

OF 

THE  BROOM  OF  COWDENKNOWS. 


The  beautiful  air  of  Cowdenknows  is  well  known  and  popular. 
In  Ettrick  Forest  the  following  words  are  uniformly  adapt- 
ed to  the  tune,  and  seem  to  be  the  original  ballad.  An  edi- 
tion of  this  pastoral  tale,  differing  considerably  from  the  pre- 
sent copy,  was  published  by  Mr  Herd,  in  1772.  Coivdenknows 
is  situated  upon  the  Leader,  about  four  7nilesfrom  Melrose, 
and  is  now  the  property  of  Dr  Hume. 


O  THK  broom,  and  the  bonny  bonny  broom, 
And  the  broom  of  the  Cowdenknows  ! 

And  aye  sae  sweet  as  the  lassie  sang, 
r  the  bought,  milking  the  ewes. 


256  MINSTRELSY  OF 

The  hills  were  high  on  ilka  side, 
An"*  the  bought  i'  the  lirk  o'  the  hill, 

And  aye,  as  she  sang,  her  voice  it  rang, 
Out  o'er  the  head  o'  yon  hill. 


There  was  a  troop  o**  gentlemen 

Came  riding  mcrrilie  by, 
And  one  of  them  has  rode  out  o""  the  way. 

To  the  bought  to  the  bonny  may. 


Wecl  may  ye  save  an'  see,  bonny  lass, 
"  An'  weel  may  ye  save  an'  see." 
An'  sae  wi'  you,  ye  weel-bred  knight, 
"  And  what's  your  will  wi'  me  ?" 


The  night  is  misty  and  mirk,  fair  may, 
"  And  I  have  ridden  astray. 
And  will  you  be  so  kind,  fair  may, 
"  As  come  out  and  point  my  way  .?" 

Ride  out,  ride  out,  ye  ramp  rider  ! 
"  Your  steed's  baith  stout  and  Strang ; 
For  out  of  the  bought  I  dare  na  come, 
"  For  fear  'at  ve  do  me  wrang." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  257 

*'  O  winna  ye  pity  me,  bonny  lass, 

"  O  winna  ye  pity  me  ? 
*'  An""  winna  ye  pity  my  poor  steed, 

"  Stands  trembling  at  yon  tree  ?" 

"  I  wadna  pity  your  poor  steed, 

"  Though  it  were  tied  to  a  thorn  ; 
"  For  if  ye  wad  gain  my  love  the  night, 

"  Ye  wad  slight  me  ere  the  morn. 

"  For  I  ken  you  by  your  weel-busked  hat, 

"  And  your  merrie  twinkling  e'e, 
"  That  ye're  the  Laird  o""  the  Oakland  hills, 

"  An""  ye  may  weel  seem  for  to  be." 

"  But  I  am  not  the  Laird  o'  the  Oakland  hills, 

"  YeVe  far  mistaken  o'  me; 
"  But  I'm  ane  o'  the  men  about  his  house 

"  An'  right  aft  in  his  companie." 

He's  ta'en  her  by  the  middle  jimp, 

And  by  the  grass-green  sleeve ; 
He's  lifted  her  over  the  fauld  dyke, 

And  speer'd  at  her  sma'  leave. 

VOL.  II.  K 


258  MINSTRELSY  OF 

O  he's  ta'en  out  a  purse  o'  gowd, 
And  streaked  her  yellow  hair, 

"  Now,  take  ye  that,  my  bonnie  may, 
"  Of  me  till  you  hear  mair." 

O  he"'s  leapt  on  his  berry-brown  steed. 
An'  soon  he's  o'erta'cn  his  men  ; 

And  ane  and  a'  cried  out  to  him, 
"  O  master,  yeVe  tarry'd  lang  !'' 

"01  hae  been  east,  and  I  hae  been  west, 
"  An'  I  hae  been  far  o'er  the  knowe, 

"  But  the  bonniest  lass  that  ever  I  saw 
"  Is  i'  the  boujrht  milking  the  ewes." 


She  set  the  cog*  upon  her  head. 
An'  she's  gane  singing  hame — 

"  O  where  hae  ye  been,  my  ae  daughter 
"  Ye  hae  na  been  your  lane." 

"  O  nae  body  was  wi'  me,  father, 
"  O  nae  body  has  been  wi'  me  ; 

"  The  night  is  misty  and  mirk,  father, 
"  Ye  may  gang  to  the  door  and  see. 

*  Cog — Milking-pail. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  259 

"But  wae  be  to  your  ewe-herd,  father, 

"  And  an  ill  deed  may  he  die ; 
"  He  bug  the  bought  at  the  back  o'  the  knowe, 

"  And  a  tod*  has  frighted  me. 

"  There  came  a  tod  to  the  bought-door, 

"  The  like  I  never  saw ; 
"  And  ere  he  had  tane  the  lamb  he  did, 

"  I  had  lourd  he  had  ta"'en  them  a\'" 


O  whan  fifteen  weeks  was  come  and  gane, 

Fifteen  weeks  and  three. 
That  lassie  began  to  look  thin  and  pale. 

An'  to  long  for  his  merry  twinkling  e'e. 

It  fell  on  a  day,  on  a  het  simmer  day. 
She  was  casing  out  her  father's  kye, 

By  came  a  troop  o'  gentlemen,     ■ 
A'  merrilie  riding  bye. 

"•  Weei  may  ye  save  an'  see,  bonny  may, 

"  Weel  may  ye  save  and  see ! 
"  Weel  I  wat,  ye  be  a  very  bonny  may, 

"  But  whae's  aught  that  babe  ye  are  wi'  ?' 

*  ro(/— Fox. 


260  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Never  a  word  could  that  lassie  say, 
For  never  a  ane  could  she  blame, 

An'  never  a  word  could  the  lassie  say, 
But  "  I  have  a  gudeman  at  hame." 


*'  Ye  lied,  ye  lied,  my  very  bonny  may, 
"  Sae  loud  as  I  hear  you  lie ; 

"  For  dinna  ye  mind  that  misty  night 
"  I  was  i'  the  bought  wi'  thee  ? 


*'  I  ken  you  by  your  middle  sae  jimp, 

"  An'  your  merry  twinkling  e'e, 
"  That  ye're  the  bonny  lass  i'  the  Cowdenknow, 

"  An'  ye  may  weel  seem  foi'  to  be." 

Then  he's  leapt  off  his  berry-brown  steed. 

An'  he's  set  that  fair  may  on — 
"  Ca'  out  your  kye,  gude  father,  yoursell, 

"  For  she's  never  ca'  them  out  again. 

**  I  am  the  Laird  of  the  Oakland  hills, 

"  I  hae  thirty  plows  and  three ; 
"  An'  I  hae  gotten  the  bonniest  lass 

"  That's  in  a'  the  south  countrie." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  261 


LORD  RANDAL. 


There  is  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  call- 
ing him  Randal ;  because,  though  the  circumstances 
are  so  very  different,  I  think  it  not  impossible,  that  the 
ballad  may  have  originally  regarded  the  death  of  Tho- 
mas Randolph,  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,  Book  xx.  Fordun 
repeats,  and  Boece  echoes,  this  story,  both  of  whom 
charge  the  murder  on  Edward  III.  But  it  is  combat- 
ed successfully  by  Lord  Hailes,  in  his  Remarks  on  the 
History  of  Scotland, 


262  MINSTRELSY  OF 

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  the  following  curious  account  of  the  death  of 
King  John,  extracted  from  a  MS.  Chronicle  of  Eng- 
land, penes  John  Clerk,  Esq.  advocate.  "  And,  in  the 
"  same  tyme,  the  pope  sente  into  Englond  a  legate, 
"  that  men  called  Swals,  and  he  was  prest  cardinal  of 
"  Rome,  for  to  mayntene  King  Johnes  cause  agens  the 
"  barons  of  Englond  ;  but  the  barons  had  so  much  pte 
"  (])ousiie,  i.  e.  power)  through  Lewys,  the  kinges  sone 
"  of  Fraunce,  that  King  Johne  wist  not  wher  for  to 
"  wend  ne  gone :  and  so  hitt  fell,  that  he  wold  have 
"  gone  to  Suchold :  and  as  he  went  thedurward,  he 
"  came  by  the  abbey  of  Swinshed,  and  ther  he  abode 
"  II  dayes.  And,  as  he  sate  at  meat,  he  askyd  a  monke 
"  of  the  house,  how  moche  a  lofe  was  worth,  that  was 
"  before  hym  sete  at  the  table  }  and  the  monke  sayd 
"  that  loffe  was  worthe  bot  ane  halfpenny.  '  O  !'  quod 
«'  the  king,  '  this  is  a  grette  cheeppe  of  brede ;  now/ 
"  said  the  king,  '  and  yff  I  may,  such  a  loffe  shalle  be 
*'  worth  xxd.  or  half  a  yer  be  gone  :'  and  when  he  said 
"  the  word,  muche  he  thought,  and  ofte  tymes  sighed, 
"  and  nome  and  ete  of  the  bred,  and  said,  '  By  Gode, 
'<  the  word  that  I  have  spokyn  shall  be  sothe.'  The 
"  monke,  that  stode  befor  the  kyng,  was  ful  sory  in 
"  his  hert ;  and  thought  rather  he  wold  himself  suffer 
"  peteous  deth ;  and  thought  yff  he  myght  ordeyn 
"  therfore  sum  remedy.      And  anon  the  monke  went 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  2G.5 

"  unto  his  abbott,  and  was  schryved  of  him,  and  told 
"  the  abbott  all  that  the  kyng  said,  and  prayed  his  ab- 
"  bott  to  assoyl  him,  for  he  wold  gyffe  the  kyng  such  a 
"  wassayle,  that  all  Englond  shuld  be  glad  and  joyful 
"  therof.  Tho  went  the  monke  into  a  gardene,  and 
"  fonde  a  tode  therin ;  and  toke  her  upp,  and  put  hyr 
"  in  a  cuppe,  and  filled  it  with  good  ale,  and  pi'yked 
'^  hyr  in  every  place,  in  the  cuppe,  till  the  venom  come 
"  out  in  every  place  ;  an  brought  hitt  befor  the  kyng, 
"  and  knelyd,  and  said,  '  Sir,  wassayle  ;  for  never  in 
"  your  lyfe  drancke  ye  of  such  a  cuppe.'  '  Begyne, 
"  monke/  quod  the  king ;  and  the  monke  dranke  a 
"  gret  draute,  and  toke  the  kyng  the  cuppe,  and  the 
"  kyng  also  dranke  a  gret  draute,  and  set  downe  the 
"  cuppe. — The  monke  anon  went  to  the  Farmarye,  and 
"  ther  dyed  anone,  on  whose  soule  God  have  mercy, 
"  Amen.  And  v  monkes  syng  for  his  soule  especially, 
*'  and  shall  while  the  abbey  stondith.  The  kyng  was 
"  anon  ful  evil  at  ese,  and  commanded  to  remove  the 
"  table,  and  askyd  after  the  monke  ;  and  men  told  him 
"  that  he  was  ded,  for  his  wombe  was  broke  in  sondur. 
"  When  the  king  herd  this  tidying,  he  comaunded  for 
''  to  trusse  ;  but  all  hit  was  for  nought,  for  his  bely  be- 
"  gan  to  swelle  for  the  drink  that  he  dranke,  that  he 
"  dyed  within  ii  days,  the  moro  aftur  Seynt  Luke's 
"  day." 

A  different  account  of  the  poisoning  of  King  John  is 
given  in  a  MS.  Chi-onicle  of  I^ngland,  written  in  the  mi- 
nority of  Edward  III.  and  contained  in  the  Auchinleck 


264  :minstiielsy  of 

MS.  of  Edinburgh.  Though  not  exactly  to  our  present 
purpose,  the  passage  is  curious,  and  I  shall  quote  it  with- 
out apology.  The  author  has  mentioned  the  interdict 
laid  on  John's  kingdom  by  the  Pope,  and  continues  thus: 

He  was  ful  wroth  and  grim, 
For  no  prest  wald  sing  for  hint. 
He  made  tho  his  parlement. 
And  swore  his  croy  de  veramnit. 
That  he  shuld  make  such  assaut, 
To  fede  all  Inglonde  with  a  spand. 
And  eke  with  a  white  lof, 
Therefore  I  hope*  he  was  God-loth. 
A  monk  it  herd  of  Swines  heued, 
And  of  his  wordes  he  was  adred. 
He  went  hym  to  his  fere, 
And  seyd  to  hem  in  this  manner  : 
"  The  King  has  made  a  sori  oth, 
That  he  schal  with  a  white  lof 
Fede  all  Inglonde,  and  with  a  spand, 
Y  wis  it  were  a  sori  saut ; 
And  better  is  that  we  die  to, 
Than  all  Inglond  be  so  wo. 
Ye  schul  for  me  belles  ring. 
And  after  wordes  rede  and  sing  ; 
So  helpe  you  God,  heven  King, 
Granteth  me  alle  now  min  asking, 
And  I  chim  wU  with  puseoun  slo, 
Ne  schal  he  never  Ingland  do  wo." 

His  brethren  him  graunt  alle  his  bone, 
He  let  him  shrive  swithe  sone, 
To  make  his  soule  fair  and  clene. 
To  for  our  leued  heven  queen. 
That  sche  schuld  for  him  be. 
To  for  her  son  in  trinite. 


Hope,  for  think: 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  265 


Dansimond  zede  and  gadred  frut, 
For  sothe  were  plommes  white, 
The  steles*  he  puld  out  everichon, 
Puisoun  he  dede  therin  anon, 
And  sett  the  steles  al  ogen, 
That  the  gile  schuld  nought  be  sen. 
He  dede  hem  in  a  coupe  of  gold, 
And  went  to  the  kinges  bord  ; 
On  knes  he  him  sett, 
The  king  full  fair  he  grett ; 
"  Sir,"  he  said,  "  by  Seynt  Austin, 
This  is  front  of  our  garden, 
And  gif  that  your  wil  be, 
Assayet  herof  after  me." 
Dansimond  ete  frut,  on  and  on, 
And  al  tho  other  ete  King  Jon  ; 
The  monke  aros,  and  went  his  way, 
God  gif  his  soul  wel  gode  day  ; 
He  gaf  King  Jon  ther  his  puisoun. 
Himself  had  that  ilk  doun,  • 
He  dede,  it  is  nouther  for  mirthe  ne  ond, 
Bot  for  to  save  al  Inglond. 

The  King  Jon  sate  at  mete, 
His  wombe  to  wax  grete ; 
He  swore  his  oath,  per  la  croyde. 
His  wombe  wald  brest  a  thre  ; 
He  wald  have  risen  fram  the  bord 
Ac  he  spake  never  more  word ; 
Thus  ended  his  time, 
Y  wis  he  had  an  evel  fine. 

Shakspeare,  from  such  old  chronicles,  has  drawn  his 
authority  for  the  last  fine  scene  in  King  John.  But  he 
probably  had  it  from  Caxton,  who  uses  nearly  the  words 
of  the  prose  chronicle.    Hemingford  tells  the  same  tale 


266  MINSTRELSY  OF 

with  the  metrical  historian.  It  is  cei'tain,  that  John  in- 
creased the  flux,  of  which  he  died,  by  the  intemperate 
use  of  peaches  and  of  ale,  which  may  have  given  rise 
to  the  story  of  the  poison. — See  Matthew  Paris. 

To  return  to  the  ballad  ;  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. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  267 


LORD  RANDAL. 


"  O  WHERE  hae  ye  been,  Lord  Randal,  my  son  ? 

"  O  where  hae  ye  been,  my  handsome  young  man  ?" 

"  I  hae  been  to  the  wild  wood  ;  mother,  make  my  bed  soon, 

"  For  I'm  weary 'wi'  hunting,  and  fain  wald  he  down." 

"  Where  gat  ye  your  dinner.  Lord  Randal,  my  son  ? 
"  Where  gat  ye  your  dinner,  my  handsome  young  man  ?" 
"  I  din'd  wi'  my  true-love ;  mother,  make  my  bed  soon, 
"  For  I'm  weary  wi'  hunting,  and  fain  wald  lie  down." 

"  What  gat  ye  to  your  dinner.  Lord  Randal,  my  son  ? 
"  What  gat  ye  to  your  dinner,  my  handsome  young  man  ?" 
"  I  gat  eels  boil'd  in  broo' ;  mother,  make  my  bed  soon, 
"  For  I'm  weary  wi'  hunting,  and  fain  wald  lie  down." 


268  MINSTRELSY  OF 

*'  What  became  of  your  bloodhounds.  Lord  Randal,  my  son  ? 
"  What  became  of  your  bloodhounds,  my  handsome  young 

man  ?" 
"  O  they  sweird  and  they  died  ;  mother,  make  my  bed  soon, 
"  For  I'm  weary  wi'  hunting,  and  fain  wald  lie  dowTi." 

"01  fear  ye  are  poison'd.  Lord  Randal,  my  son  ! 
"01  fear  ye  are  poison'd,  my  handsome  young  man  !" 
"  0  yes  !  I  am  poisoned  ;  mother,  make  my  bed  soon, 
"  For  I'm  sick  at  the  heart,  and  I  fain  wald  he  down." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEIl,  269 


SIR  HUGH  LE  BLOND. 


This  ballad  is  a  northern  composition,  and  seems  to 
have  been  the  original  of  the  legend  called  Sir  Aldingur, 
which  is  printed  in  the  Iteliques  of  Anticnt  Poetry.  The 
incidents  are  nearly  the  same  in  both  ballads^  except- 
ing that,  in  Aldi?igar,  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  re- 
citers, 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  in- 
formed, that,  till  very  lately,  the  sword,  with  which  Sir 
Hugh  le  Blond  was  believed  to  have  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 


270  MINSTUELSY  OF 

by  his  having,  in  1282,  bestowed  the  patronage  of  the 
church  of  Garvoch  upon  the  monks  of  Aberbrothwick, 
for  the  safety  of  his  soul. — Register  of  Aberhrothwick, 
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.  It  is  true,  that 
Mary,  wife  of  Alexander  II.,  was,  about  124'2,  somewhat 
implicated  in  a  dark  story,  concerning  the  murder  of 
Patrick,  Earl  of  Athole,  burned  in  his  lodging  at  Had- 
dington, where  he  had  gone  to  attend  a  great  tourna- 
ment. The  relations  of  the  deceased  baron  accused  of 
the  murder  Sir  William  Bisat,  a  powerful  nobleman,  who 
appeai-s  to  have  been  in  such  high  favour  with  the  young 
Queen,  that  she  offered  her  oath,  as  a  compurgator,  to 
prove  his  innocence.  Bisat  himself  stood  vipon  his  de- 
fence, and  proffered  the  combat  to  his  accusers  ;  but  he 
was  obliged  to  give  way  to  the  tide,  and  was  banished 
from  Scotland.  This  affair  interested  all  the  northern 
barons  ;  and  it  is  not  impossible,  that  some  share,  taken 
in  it  by  this  Sir  Hugh  de  Arbuthnot,  may  have  given 
a  slight  foundation  for  the  tradition  of  the  country. — 
WiNTouN,  Book  vii.  ch.  9.  Or,  if  we  suppose  Sir  Hugh 
le  Blond  to  be  a  predecessor  of  the  Sir  Hugh  who  flou- 
rished in  the  thirteenth  century,  he  may  have  been  the 
victor  in  a  duel,  shortly  noticed  as  having  occurred  in 
1 154,  when  one  Arthur,  accused  of  treason,  was  unsuc- 
cessful in  his  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  God.  Arthurus 
regem  Malcolm  prodiiurus  duello  periii.  Chron.  Sanctas 
Crucis,  ap.  Anglia  Sacra,  vol.  I.  p.  lOl. 
2 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOIIDER.  271 

But,  true  oi-  false,  the  incident,  narrated  in  the  ballad, 
is  in  the  genuine  style  of  chivalry.  Romances  abound 
with  similar  instances,  nor  are  they  wanting  in  real  his- 
tory. The  most  solemn  part  of  a  knight's  oath  was  to 
defend  "  all  widows,  orphelines,  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  distressed  damsels, 
living  without  council  or  comfort. 

An  apt  illustration  of  the  ballad  would  have  been  the 
combat,  undertaken  by  three  Spanish  champions  against 
three  Moors  of  Granada,  in  defence  of  the  honour  of  the 


•  Such  an  oath  is  still  taken  by  the  Knights  of  the  Bath  ;  but,  I 
believe,  few  of  that  honourable  brotherhood  will  now  consider  it  quite 
so  obligatory  as  the  conscientious  Lord  Herbert  of  Cherburv,  who 
gravely  alleges  it  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  having  challenged  divers 
cavaliers,  that  they  had  either  snatched  from  a  lady  her  bouquet,  or 
ribband,  or,  by  some  discourtesy  of  similar  importance,  placed  her, 
as  his  lordsliip  conceived,  in  the  predicament  of  a  distressed  damozell. 


272  MlNSTliELSY  OF 

Queen  of  Grenada,  wife  to  Mahommed  Chiquito,  the 
last  monarch  of  that  kingdom.  But  I  have  not  at  hand 
Las  Guerras  Civiles  dc  Granada,  in  which  that  achieve- 
ment is  recorded.  Raymond  Berenger,  Count  of  Bar- 
celona, is  also  said  to  have  defended,  in  single  combat, 
the  life  and  honour  of  the  Empress  Matilda,  wife  of  the 
Emperor  Henry  V.,  and  mother  to  Henry  H.  of  Eng- 
land.— See  An-^onio  Ulloa,  del  vero  Honore  Militare, 
Venice,  15  69. 

A  less  apocryphal  example  is  the  duel,  fought  in  1387, 
betwixt  Jaques  le  Grys  and  John  de  Carogne,  before  the 
King  of  France.  These  warriors  were  retainers  of  the  Earl 
of  Alen9on,  and  originally  sworn  brothers.  John  de  Ca- 
rogne went  over  the  sea,  for  the  advancement  of  his 
fame,  leaving  in  his  castle  a  beautiful  wife,  where  she 
lived  soberly  and  sagely.  But  the  devil  entered  into  the 
heart  of  Jaques  le  Grys,  and  he  rode,  one  morning,  from 
the  Earl's  house  to  the  castle  of  his  friend,  where  he  was 
hospitably  received  by  the  unsuspicious  lady.  He  re- 
quested her  to  show  him  the  donjon,  or  keep  of  the  castle, 
and  in  that  remote  and  inaccessible  tower  forcibly  vio- 
lated her  chastity.  He  then  mounted  his  horse,  and  re- 
turned to  the  Earl  of  Alen9on  within  so  short  a  space, 
that  his  absence  had  not  been  perceived.  The  lady  abode 
within  the  donjon,  weeping  bitterly,  and  exclaiming, 
"  Ah  Jaques  !  it  was  not  welldone  thus  to  shame  me  !  but 
"  on  you  shall  the  shame  rest,  if  God  send  my  husband 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  273 

"  safe  home  !"  The  lady  kept  secret  this  sorrowful  deed 
until  her  husband's  return  from  his  voyage.  The  day 
passed,  and  night  came,  and  the  knight  went  to  bed  ; 
but  the  lady  would  not ;  for  ever  she  blessed  herself, 
and  walked  up  and  down  the  chamber,  studying  and 
musing,  until  her  attendants  had  retired;  and  then, 
throwing  herself  on  her  knees  before  the  knight,  she 
shewed  him  all  the  adventure.  Hardly  would  Carogne 
believe  the  treachery  of  his  companion  :  but,  when  con- 
vinced, he  replied,  "  Since  it  is  so,  lady,  I  pardon  you ; 
"  but  the  knight  shall  die  for  this  villainous  deed."  Ac- 
cordingly, Jaques  le  Grys  was  accused  of  the  crime,  in 
the  court  of  the  Earl  of  Alen^on,  But,  as  he  was  great- 
ly loved  of  his  lord,  and  as  the  evidence  was  very  slen- 
der, the  earl  gave  judgment  against  the  accusers. 
Hereupon  John  Carogne  appealed  to  the  Parliament  of 
Paris ;  which  court,  after  full  consideration,  appointed 
the  case  to  be  tried  by  mortal  combat  betwixt  the  par- 
ties, John  Carogne  appearing  as  the  champion  of  his 
lady.  If  he  failed  in  his  combat,  then  was  he  to  be 
hanged,  and  his  lady  burnt,  as  false  and  unjust  calum- 
niators. This  combat,  under  circumstances  so  very  pe- 
culiar, attracted  universal  attention ;  in  so  much,  that 
the  King  of  France  and  his  peers,  who  were  then  in 
Flanders,  collecting  troops  for  an  invasion  of  England, 
returned  to  Paris,  that  so  notable  a  duel  might  be 
fought  in  the  royal  presence.  "  Thus  the  Kynge,  and 
-**  his  uncles,  an  1  the  constable,  came  to  Parys.  Then 
VOL.  II.  s 


274?  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  the  lystes  were  made  in  a  place  called  Saynt  Kathe- 
"  ryne,  behinde  the  Temple.  There  was  soo  moche 
"  people,  that  it  was  mervayle  to  beholde ;  and  on  the 
"  one  side  of  the  lystes  there  was  made  gret  scafFoldes, 
"  that  the  lordes  might  the  better  se  the  batayle  of  the 
*'  ii  champions ;  and  so  they  bothe  came  to  the  felde, 
'<  armed  at  all  peaces,  and  there  eche  of  them  was  set 
"  in  theyr  chayre ;  the  Erie  of  Saynt  Poule  gouverned 
"  John  Carongne,  and  the  Erie  of  Alanson's  company 
"  with  Jacques  le  Grys ;  and  when  the  knyght  entred  in 
"  to  the  felde,  he  came  to  his  wyfe,  who  was  there  syt- 
"  tynge  in  a  chayre,  covered  in  blacke,  and  he  sayd  to 
"  her  thus : — *  Dame,  by  your  informacyon,  and  in  your 
"  quarrel],  I  do  put  my  lyfe  in  adventure,  as  to  fyght 
"  with  Jacques  le  Grys  ;  ye  knowe,  if  the  cause  be  just 
"  and  true.' — '  Syr,'  said  the  lady,  '  it  is  as  I  have  sayd ; 
"  wherefore  ye  maye  fyght  surely ;  the  cause  is  good 
*'  and  true.'  With  those  wordes,  the  knyghte  kissed  the 
"  lady,  and  toke  her  by  the  hande,  and  then  blessed 
"  hym,  and  soo  entred  into  the  felde.  The  lady  sate 
"  styll  in  the  blacke  chayre,  in  her  prayers  to  God,  and 
"  to  the  vyrgyne  Mary,  humbly  prayenge  them,  by 
"  theyr  specyall  grace,  to  send  her  husband  the  victo- 
"  ry,  accordynge  to  the  ryght.  She  was  in  gret  hevy- 
"  nes,  for  she  was  not  sure  of  her  lyfe ;  for,  if  her  hus- 
"  bande  sholde  have  ben  discomfyted,  she  was  judged, 
"  without  remedy,  to  be  brente,  and  her  husbande 
"  hanged.     I  cannot  say  whether  she  repented  her  or 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDiai.  275 

"  not,  as  the  matter  was  so  tbrwarde,  that  both  she  and 
"  her  husbande  were  in  grete  peryll :  howbeit,  lynally, 
"  she  must  as  then  abyde  the  adventure.  Then  these 
"  two  champyons  were  set  one  against  another,  and  so 
"  mounted  on  theyr  horses,  and  behauved  them  nobly  ; 
"  for  they  knewe  what  perteyned  to  deedes  of  armes. 
*'  There  were  many  lordes  and  knyghtes  of  Fraunce, 
"  that  were  come  thyder  to  se  that  bataylc.  The  two 
"  champyons  justed  at  theyr  fyrst  metyng,  but  none  of 
"  them  did  hurte  other ;  and,  after  the  justcs,  they 
"  lyghted  on  foote  to  perfourme  theyr  batayle,  and  soo 
"  fought  valyauntly. — And  fyrst,  John  of  Carongne  was 
"  hurte  in  the  thyghe,  whereby  all  his  frendes  were  in 
"  grete  fere  ;  but,  after  that,  he  fought  so  valyauntly, 
"  that  he  bette  down  his  adversary  to  the  erthe,  and 
"  threst  his  swerd  in  his  body,  and  soo  slew  hym  in  the 
"  felde ;  and  then  he  demaunded,  if  he  had  done  his 
"  devoyre  or  not  ?  and  they  answered,  that  he  had  va- 
''  lyauntly  atchievcd  his  batayle.  Then  Jaques  le  Grys 
'*  was  delyuei'ed  to  the  hangman  of  Pai'ys,  and  he  drewe 
"  hym  to  the  gybbet  of  Mounttawcon,  and  there  hang- 
"  etl  him  up.  Then  John  of  Carongne  came  before  the 
"  kynge,  and  kneled  downe,  and  the  kynge  made  him 
f*  to  stand  up  before  hym ;  and,  the  same  daye,  the 
"  kynge  caused  to  be  delyvered  to  hym  a  thousande 
"  franks,  and  reteyned  him  to  be  of  his  chambre,  with 
"  a  pencyon  of  ii  hundred  pounde  by  yere,  durynge 
"  the  term  of  hi;i  lyfe.    Then  he  thanked  the  kynge 


276  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  and  the  lordeSj  and  went  to  his  wyfe,  and  kissed  her  ; 
*'  and  then  they  wente  togyder  to  the  chyrche  of  Our 
*'  Ladye,  in  Parys,  and  made  theyr  ofFerynge,  and  then 
"  retourned  to  theyr  lodgynges.  Then  this  Sir  John  of 
"  Carongne  taryed  not  longe  in  Fraunce,  but  went,  with 
"  Syr  John  Boucequant,  Syr  John  of  Bordes,  and  Syr 
"  Loys  Grat.  All  these  went  to  se  Laraorabaquyn,*  of 
*'  whome,  in  those  dayes,  there  was  moche  spekynge." 
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  pre- 
sent day  will  think,  that  the  risk  of  being  burnt,  upon 
every  suspicion  of  frailty,  would  be  altogether  compen- 
sated by  the  probability,  that  a  husband  of  good  faith, 
like  John  de  Carogne,  or  a  disinterested  champion,  like 
Hugh  le  Blond,  would  take  up  the  gauntlet  in  their  be- 
half. 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, 
1  wot  you  ben  unkind. 

Amu  and  Amelioit. 

I  was  favoured  with  the  following  copy  of  Sir  Hugh 
le  Blond  by  K.  Williamson  Burnet,  Esq.  of  Monboddo, 

*  This  name  Froissart  gives  to  the  famous  Mahomet,  PImperor  of 
Turkey,  called  the  Great.  It  is  a  CMruption  of  his  Persian  title,  Ameer 
Uddeen  Kawn 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  277 

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  pro- 
bability, undergone  many  corruptions  ;  but  its  antiqui- 
ty is  indubitable,  and  the  story,  though  indifferently 
told,  is  in  itself  interesting.  It  is  believed,  that  there 
have  been  many  more  verses. 


27H  MT^'STT^Fisy  or 


Sm  HUGH  LE  BLOND. 


The  birds  sang  sweet  as  ony  bell, 
The  world  had  not  their  make, 

The  Queen  she*'s  gone  to  her  chamber, 
With  Rodingham  to  talk. 

"  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."" 


If  well  you  love  me,  Rodingham, 
"  Fm  sure  so  do  I  thee  : 
I  love  you  well  as  any  man, 
"  Save  the  King's  fair  bodye.'' 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  279 

"  I  love  you  well,  my  Queen,  my  dame ; 

"  Tis  truth  that  I  do  tell : 
"  And  for  to  lye  a  night  with  you, 

"  The  salt  seas  I  would  sail.*'"' 


Away,  away,  O  Rodingham  ! 
"  You  are  both  stark  and  stoor  ; 
Would  you  defile  the  King's  own  bed, 
"  And  make  his  Queen  a  whore 


To-morrow  you'd  be  taken  sure, 
"  And  like  a  traitor  slain  ; 
And  I'd  be  burned  at  a  stake, 
«  Altho'  I  be  the  Queen." 


He  then  stepp'd  out  at  her  room-door^ 

All  in  an  angry  mood  : 
Until  he  met  a  leper-man, 

Just  by  the  hard  way-side. 

He  intoxicate  the  leper-man 

With  liquors  very  sweet ; 
And  gave  him  more  and  more  to  drink, 

Until  he  fell  asleep. 


S80  :\[INSTRELSY  OF 

He  took  him  in  his  arms  two. 

And  carried  liim  along, 
Till  he  came  to  the  Queen's  own  bed, 

And  there  he  laid  him  down. 

He  then  stepped  out  of  the  Queen's  bower, 

As  swift  as  any  roe, 
'Till  he  came  to  the  very  place 

Where  the  King  himself  did  go. 

The  King  said  unto  Rodingham, 
"  AVhat  news  have  you  to  me  ?" 

He  said,  "  Your  Queen's  a  false  woman, 
*'  As  I  did  plainly  see." 

He  hasten'd  to  the  Queen's  chamber, 

So  costly  and  so  fine, 
Until  he  came  to  the  Queen's  own  bed. 

Where  the  leper-man  was  lain. 


He  looked  on  the  leper-man, 
Who  lay  on  his  Queen's  bed  ; 

He  lifted  up  the  snaw-white  sheets. 
And  thus  he  to  him  said  : 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  281 

*'  Plooky,  p  ooky,*  are  your  cheeks, 

"  And  plooky  is  your  chin, 
"  And  plooky  are  your  arms  two 

"  My  bonny  Queen's  layne  in. 

"  Since  she  has  lain  into  your  arms, 

"  She  shall  not  lye  in  mine ; 
"  Since  she  has  kiss'd  your  ugsome  mouth, 

"  She  never  shall  kiss  mine." 


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  ?'''' 

The  Queen  then  turn'd  herself  about. 

The  tear  blinded  her  e'e — 
"  There's  not  a  knight  in  a'  your  court 

"  Dare  give  that  name  to  me." 


He  said,  "  'Tis  true  that  I  do  say  ; 

*'  For  I  a  proof  did  make  : 
"  You  shall  be  taken  from  my  bower, 

"  And  burned  at  a  stake. 


382  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Perhaps  Fll  take  my  word  again, 
"  And  may  repent  the  same, 

"  If  that  yoiril  get  a  Christian  man 
"  To  fight  that  Rodingham." 

"  Alas  !  alas  !"  then  cried  our  Queen, 

"  Alas,  and  woe  to  me  ! 
'*  There''s  not  a  man  in  all  Scotland 

"  Will  fight  with  him  fiar  me."" 


She  breathed  unto  her  messengers. 
Sent  them  south,  east,  and  west ; 

They  could  find  none  to  fight  with  him, 
Nor  enter  the  contest. 


She  breathed  on  her  messengers, 

She  sent  them  to  the  north  ; 
And  there  they  found  Sir  Hugh  le  Blond, 

To  fight  him  he  came  forth. 

^Vhen  unto  him  they  did  unfold 

The  circumstance  all  right, 
He  bade  them  go  and  tell  the  Queen, 

That  for  her  he  would  fight. 


THE  SCOTTISH  PORDEE  283 

The  day  came  on  that  was  to  do 

That  dreadful  tragedy  ; 
Sir  Hugh  le  Blond  was  not  come  up 

To  fight  for  our  ladye. 

"  Put  on  the  fire,"  the  monster  said  ; 

"  It  is  twelve  on  the  bell." 
"  'Tis  scarcely  ten,  now,"  said  the  King ; 

"  I  heard  the  clock  mysell." 


Before  the  hour  the  Queen  is  brought. 

The  burning  to  proceed  ; 
In  a  black  velvet  chair  she's  set, 

A  token  for  the  dead. 


She  saw  the  flames  ascending  high, 

The  tears  blinded  her  eV  : 
"  Where  is  the  worthy  knight,"  she  said, 

"  Who  is  to  fiffht  for  me  ?" 


Then  up  and  spak  the  King  liimsel, 
"  My  dearest,  have  no  doubt, 

"  For  yonder  comes  the  man  himsei, 
*'  As  bold  as  c^'er  set  out." 


284  MINSTRELSY  OF 

They  then  advanced  to  fight  the  duel 
With  swords  of  teniper"'d  steel, 

Till  down  the  blood  of  Rodingham 
Came  running  to  his  heel. 

Sir  Hugh  took  out  a  lusty  sword, 

'Twas  of  the  metal  clear  ; 
And  he  has  pierced  Rodingham 

TilPs  heart-blood  did  appear. 

"  Confess  your  treachery,  now,'""  he  said, 
"  This  day  before  you  die  !" 

"  I  do  confess  my  treachery, 
"  I  shall  no  longer  lye  : 

"  I  like  to  wicked  Haman  am, 
"  This  day  I  shall  be  slain." 

The  Queen  was  brought  to  her  chamber, 
A  good  woman  again. 

The  Queen  then  said  unto  the  King, 

"  Arbattle"'s  near  the  sea  ; 
"  Give  it  unto  the  northern  knight, 

"  That  this  day  fought  for  me." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  285 

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." 


286  MINSTRELSY  Ot 


NOTES 


Sill  HUGH  LE  BLOND. 


Until  he  met  a  leper'man,  &^c. — P.  279.  v.  4- 
Filtli,  poorness  of  living,  and  the  want  of  linen,  made  this 
horrible  disease  formerly  very  common  in  Scotland,  llobert 
Bruce  died  of  the  leprosy  ;  and,  through  all  Scotland,  there 
were  hospitals  erected  for  the  reception  of  lepers,  to  prevent 
their  mingling  with  the  rest  of  the  community. 


"  It  is  twelve  on  the  hell" 
"  It  is  scarcely  ten,  now,"  said  the  Kinfr,  S^c. — P.  283.  v.  2- 
In  the  romance  of  Doolin,  called  La  Fleurs  des  Battailles,  a 
false  accuser  discovers  a  similar  impatience  to  hurry  over  the 
execution,  before  the  arrival  of  the  lady's  champion  : — "  Ainsi 
"  conime  Herchambaut  vouloit  Jetter  la  dame  dedans  le  Jen, 
"  Sanxes  de  Clervaut  va  a  hi,  si  ltd  diet ;  Sire  Herchambaut, 
"  vous  estes  trap  a  hlasnier  ;  car  vous  ne  devez  mener  ceste  chose 
"  que  jmr  droit  ainsi  quil  est  ordonne  ;  Je  vcux  accorder  que 
"  rcsie  dame  ait  un  vassal  qui  la  difpndra  contrc  vous  et  Druu- 
'' art,  car  elle  na  point  dv  couljie  en  cc  que  ruccuscz  ;  si  In 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  287 

"  devez  retardei- jusque  a  midij ,  pour  scavoir  si  un  hon  chevalier 
"  r  a  viendra  secourir  confre  vous  et  Drouart." — Cap.  22. 

"  And,  if  Arbaitle's  not  enough, 

"  To  it  ive'll  FurdouiiJoiu."—V.  285,  v.  1. 
Arbattle  is  the  ancient  name  of  the  barony  of  Arbuthnot — 
Fordun  has  long  been  the  patrimony  of  the  same  family. 


288  MINSTRELSY  OF 


GR^ME  AND  BEWICK. 


The  date  of  this  ballad,  and  its  subject,  are  uncertain. 
From  internal  evidence,  I  am  inclined  to  place  it  late  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  Of  the  Graemes  enough  is  else- 
where said.  It  is  not  impossible,  that  such  a  clan,  as 
they  are  described,  may  have  retained  the  rude  igno- 
rance of  ancient  Border  manners  to  a  later  period  than 
their  more  inland  neighbours  ;  and  hence  the  taunt  of 
old  Bewick  to  Gra?me.  Bewick  is  an  ancient  name  in 
Cumberland  and  Northumberland.  The  ballad  itself 
was  given,  in  the  first  edition,  from  the  recitation  of  a 
gentleman,  who  professed  to  have  forgotten  some  verses. 
These  have,  in  the  present  edition,  being  partly  resto- 
red, from  a  copy  obtained  by  the  recitation  of  an  ostler 
in  Carlisle,  which  has  also  furnished  some  slight  alter- 
ations. 

The  ballad  is  remarkable,  as  containing,  probably,  the 
very  latest  allusion  to  the  institution  of  brotherhood  in 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  289 

arms,  which  was  held  so  sacred  in  the  days  of  chivalry, 
and  whose  origin  may  be  traced  up  to  the  Scythian  an- 
cestors of  Odin.  Many  of  the  old  romances  turn  entirely 
upon  the  sanctity  of  the  engagement,  contracted  by  the 
freres  d'armcs.  In  that  of  Amis  and  Amelion,  the  hero 
slays  his  two  infant  children,  that  he  may  compound  a 
potent  salve  with  their  blood,  to  cure  the  leprosy  of  his 
brother  in  arms.  The  romance  of  Gyron  le  Courlois  has 
a  similar  subject.  I  think  the  hero,  like  Graeme  in  the 
ballad,  kills  himself,  out  of  some  high  point  of  honour 
towards  his  friend. 

The  quarrel  of  the  two  old  chieftains,  over  their  wine, 
is  highly  in  character.  Two  generations  have  notelapsed 
since  the  custom  of  drinking  deep,  and  taking  deadly 
revenge  for  slight  offences,  produced  very  tragical  events 
on  the  Border ;  to  which  the  custom  of  going  armed  to 
festive  meetings  contributed  not  a  little.  A  minstrel, 
who  flourished  about  1 720,  and  is  often  talked  of  by 
the  old  people,  happened  to  be  performing  before  one 
of  these  parties,  when  they  betook  themselves  to  their 
swords.  The  cautious  musician,  accustomed  to  such 
scenes,  dived  beneath  the  table.  A  moment  after,  a 
man's  hand,  struck  off  with  a  back-sword,  fell  beside 
him.  The  minstrel  secured  it  carefully  in  his  pocket,  as 
he  would  have  done  any  other  loose  moveable  j  sagely 
observing,  the  owner  would  miss  it  sorely  next  morn- 
ing. I  chuse  rather  to  give  this  ludicrous  example,  than 
some  graver  instances  of  bloodshed  at  Border  orgies. 

VOL.  H.  T 


290  MINSTKELSY  OF 

I  observe  it  is  said,  in  a  MS.  account  of  Tweeddale,  in 
praise  of  the  inhabitants,  that,  "  when  they  fall  in  the 
"  humour  of  good  fellowship,  they  use  it  as  a  cement 
''  and  bond  of  society,  and  not  to  foment  revenge,  quar- 
"  rels,  and  murdei's,  which  is  usual  in  other  counties  ;" 
by  which  wc  ought,  probably,  to  understand  Selkirk- 
shire and  Teviotdale. — Macfarlames  MSS. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  29 


GRiEME  AND  BEWICK. 


GuDE  Lord  Graeme  is  to  Carlisle  gane ; 

Sir  Robert  Bewick  there  met  he ; 
And  arm  in  arm  to  the  wine  they  did  go,  n/. 

And  they  drank  till  they  Avere  baith  merrie. 

Glide  Lord  Graeme  has  ta'en  up  the  cup, 
"  Sir  Robert  Bewick,  and  here's  to  thee ! 

"  And  here's  to  our  twae  sons  at  hame  ! 

"  For  they  like  us  best  in  our  ain  countrie." 

"  O  were  your  son  a  lad  like  mine, 

"  And  learned  some  books  that  he  could  read, 
"  Thev  might  hae  been  twae  brethren  bauld. 


L 


292  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  But  your  son's  a  lad,  and  he  is  but  bad, 
"  And  billie  to  my  son  he  canna  be ; 


"  Ye  sent  him  to  the  schools,  and  he  wadna  learn ; 

"  Ye  bought  him  books,  and  he  wadna  read." — 
"  But  my  blessing  shall  he  never  earn, 

"  Till  I  see  how  his  arm  can  defend  his  head." 


Gude  Lord  Graeme  has  a  reckoning  call'd, 

A  reckoning  then  called  he ; 
And  he  paid  a  crown,  and  it  went  roun' ; 

It  was  all  for  the  gude  wine  and  free.* 


And  he  has  to  the  stable  gaen, 

AVhere  there  stude  thirty  steeds  and  three ; 
He"'s  ta"'en  his  ain  horse  aniang  them  a"", 

And  hame  he  rade  sae  manfullie. 


Wellcome,  my  auld  father  V  said  Christie  Grji-'me, 
"  But  where  sae  lang  frae  hame  were  ye  T 
It's  I  hae  been  at  Carlisle  town, 
"  And  a  baffled  man  by  thee  I  be. 

*  The  ostler's  copy  reads,  very  characteristically — 
"  It  was  all  for  good  wine  and  hay." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  29'J 

I  hae  been  at  Carlisle  town, 
"  Where  Sir  Robert  Bewick  he  met  me  ; 
He  says  yeVe  a  lad,  and  ye  are  but  bad, 
"  And  billie  to  his  son  ye  canna  be. 


I  sent  ye  to  the  schools,  and  ye  wadna  learn  ; 
"  I  bought  ye  books,  and  ye  vvadna  read  ; 
Therefore  my  blessing  ye  shall  never  earn, 
"  Till  I  see  with  Bewick  thou  save  thy  head.*" 

Now,  God  forbid,  my  auld  father,  , 

"  That  ever  sic  a  thing  suld  be  ! 

Billie  Bewick  was  my  master,  and  I  was  his  scholar, 

"  And  aye  sae  weel  as  he  learned  me." 

•  O  hald  thy  tongue,  thou  limmer  loon, 

"  And  of  thy  talking  let  me  be  ! 
'  If  thou  does  na  end  me  this  quarrel  soon, 

"  There  is  my  glove  Til  fight  wi'  thee." 


Then  Christie  Graeme  he  stooped  low 

Unto  the  ground,  you  shall  understand  ;— 

"'  O  father,  put  on  your  glove  again, 

"  The  wind  has  blown  it  from  your  hand. 


294  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  What's  tliat  thou  says,  thou  hnimer  loon  ? 

"  How  dares  thou  stand  to  speak  to  me  ? 
"  If  thou  do  not  end  tliis  quarrel  soon, 

"  There's  iny  right  liand  thou  shalt  fight  with  me." 

Then  Christie  Graeme's  to  his  chamber  gane, 
To  consider  weel  what  then  should  be  ; 

Whether  he  suld  fight  with  his  auld  father. 
Or  with  his  billie  Bewick,  he. 


"  If  I  suld  kill  my  billie  dear, 

"  God's  blessing  I  shall  never  win  ; 

"  But  if  I  strike  at  my  auld  father, 
"  I  think  'twald  be  a  mortal  sin. 


"  But  if  I  kill  my  billie  dear, 
"  It  is  God's  will  !  so  let  it  be. 

"  But  I  make  a  vow,  ere  I  gang  frae  hame, 
"  That  I  shall  be  the  next  man's  die." 

Then  he's  put  on's  back  a  gude  ould  jack, 
And  on  his  head  a  cap  of  steel, 

And  sword  and  buckler  by  his  side  ; 
O  gin  he  did  not  become  them  weel  ! 


THE  SCOTTISH  BUUDEH.  295 

We''ll  leave  oft'  talking  of  Christie  Gramme, 

And  talk  of  him  again  belive  ; 
And  we  will  talk  of  bonny  Bewick, 

Where  he  was  teaching  his  scholars  five. 

When  he  had  taught  them  well  to  fence, 
And  handle  swords  without  any  doubi. 

He  took  his  sword  under  his  arm, 

And  he  walk'd  his  father's  close  about. 


He  looked  atween  him  and  the  sun. 
And  a'  to  see  what  there  might  be, 

Till  he  spied  a  man  in  armour  bright, 
Was  riding  that  way  most  hastilie. 

"  O  wha  is  yon,  that  came  this  way, 
"  Sae  hastilie  that  hither  came  ? 

"  I  think  it  be  my  brother  dear ; 

"  I  think  it  be  young  Christie  Graeme.- 


"  Yere  welcome  here,  my  billie  dear, 
"  And  thrice  ye're  welcome  unto  me  !" 

"'  But  I'm  wae  to  say,  IVe  seen  the  day, 
"  When  I  am  come  to  fight  wi'  thee. 


296'  jMinstrei.sy  or 

"  My  father's  gaiic  to  Carlisle  town, 

"  Wr  your  father  Bewick  there  met  he  ; 

"  He  says  I'm  a  lad,  and  I  am  but  bad, 
*'  And  a  baffled  man  I  trow  I  be. 


He  sent  me  to  schools,  and  I  wadna  learn  ; 
"  He  gae  me  books,  and  I  wadna  read  ; 
Sae  my  father's  blessing  1*11  never  earn, 
*'  Till  he  see  how  my  arm  can  guard  my  liead. 


"  0  God  forbid,  my  billie  dear, 
"  That  ever  such  a  thing  suld  be  ! 

"  We'll  take  three  men  on  either  side, 
•■'  And  sec  if  we  can  our  fathers  agree." 

"  O  hald  thy  tongue,  now,  billie  Bewick, 
"  And  of  thy  talking  let  me  be  ! 

"  But  if  thou'rt  a  man,  as  I'm  sure  thou  arl, 
"  Come  o'er  tiie  dyke,  and  fight  wi'  me." 


But  I  hae  nae  harness,  billie,  on  my  back. 
"  As  weel  I  see  there  is  on  thine." 
But  as  little  harness  as  is  on  thy  back, 
"  As  little,  billie,  shall  be  on  mine." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEH,  297 


Then  he's  thrown  aff  his  coat  of  mail 
His  cap  of  steel  away  flung  he  ; 

He  stuck  his  spear  into  the  ground, 
And  he  tied  his  horse  unto  a  tree. 


Then  Bewick  has  thrown  aff  his  cloak, 
And's  psalter-book  frae's  hand  flung  lie  ; 

He  laid  his  hand  upon  the  dyke, 
And  ower  he  lap  most  manfullie. 

O  they  hae  fought  for  twae  lang  hours ; 

When  twae  lang  hours  were  come  and  gane, 
The  sweat  drapp\l  fast  frae  aff^'  them  baith, 

But  a  drap  of  blude  could  not  be  seen 


Till  Graeme  gae  Bewick  an  ackward  *  stroke, 
Ane  ackward  stroke  struckcn  sickerlie  ; 

He  has  hit  him  under  the  left  breast. 

And  dead-wounded  to  the  g-round  fell  he. 


Rise  up,  rise  up,  now,  billie  dear  ! 

"  Arise,  and  speak  three  words  to  iTie  ! — 

Whether  thou's  gotten  thy  deadly  wound, 

"  Or  if  God  and  good  leaching  may  succour  thee  ?' 

*  Ack-umrd — Backw.ird. 


298  MINSTREf,SY  OV 

"  O  horse,  O  horse,  now  billie  Gi'senie, 

"  And  get  thee  far  from  hence  with  speed  ; 

"  And  get  thee  out  of  this  country, 

"  That  none  may  know  who  has  done  the  deed. 

"01  liave  slain  thee,  biUie  Be\vick, 

"If  this  be  true  thou  tellest  to  me  ;  / 

"  But  I  made  a  vow,  ere  I  came  frae  hame, 

"  That  aye  the  next  man  I  wad  be." 

He  has  pitched  his  sword  in  a  moodie-hill,* 
And  he  has  leap''d  twenty  lang  feet  and  three, 

And  on  his  ain  sword's  point  he  lap. 
And  dead  upon  the  ground  fell  he. 

"Twas  then  came  up  Sir  Robert  Bewick, 

And  his  brave  son  alive  saw  he ; 
"  Rise  up,  rise  up,  my  son,""  he  said, 

"  For  I  think  ye  hae  gotten  the  victorie." 

"  O  hald  your  tongue,  my  father  dear  ! 

"  Of  your  prideful  talking  let  me  be  ! 
"  Yc  might  hae  drunken  your  wine  in  peace, , 

"  And  let  me  and  my  billie  be.      fn,, ;  a  /> 

*  Mow/(e-/((7/--Molc-hill. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEll.  299 

Gae  dig  a  grave,  baitli  wide  and  deep, 
"  And  a  grave  to  hald  baith  him  and  me  ; 
But  lay  Christie  Graeme  on  the  sunny  side, 
"  For  I'm  sure  be  wan  the  victorie." 


Alack  !  a  wae  !""  auld  Bewick  cried, 
"  Alack  !  was  I  not  much  to  blame  ! 
I^Ti  sure  IVe  lost  the  liveliest  lad 
"  That  e'er  was  born  unto  my  name."" 

Alack  !  a  wae  !"  quo'  gude  Lord  Graeme. 
"  I'm  sure  I  hae  lost  the  deeper  lack  ! 
I  durst  hae  ridden  the  Border  through, 
"  Had  Christie  Gnieme  been  at  my  back. 


Had  I  been  led  through  Liddesdale, 
"  And-  thirty  horsemen  guarding  me, 
And  Christie  Graeme  been  at  my  back, 
"  Sae  soon  as  he  had  set  me  free  ! 


I've  lost  my  hopes,  I've  lost  my  joy, 
"  I've  lost  the  key  but  and  the  lock  ; 
I  durst  hae  ridden  the  world  round, 
"  Had  Christie  Grseme  been  at  my  back. 


300  MINSTRELSY  OF 


DUEL  OF  WHARTON  AND  STUART. 


IN  TWO  PARTS, 


Duels,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  two  preceding  ballads, 
are  derived  from  the  times  of  chivalry.  They  succeeded 
to  the  combat  at  outrance,  about  the  end  of  the  sixteenth 
century ;  and,  though  they  were  no  longer  countenanced 
by  the  laws,  nor  considered  a  solemn  appeal  to  the  Deity, 
nor  honoured  by  the  presence  of  applauding  monarchs 
and  multitudes,  yet  they  were  authorized  by  the  man- 
ners of  the  age,  and  by  the  applause  of  the  fair.*  They 


•  "  All  things  being  ready  for  theball,  and  every  one  being  in  their 
"  place,  and  I  myself  being  next  to  the  Queen  (of  France)  expecting 
"  when  the  dancers  would  come  in,  one  knockt  at  the  door  somewhat 
"  louder  than  became,  as  I  thought,  a  very  civil  person.  When  he 
*'  came  in,  I  remember  there  was  a  sudden  whisper  among  the  ladies, 
"saying,  '  C'est  Monsieur  Balagny,'  or,  'tis  Monsieur  Balagny ; 
"  whereupon,  also,  I  saw  the  ladies  and  gentlewomen,  one  after  an- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  301 

long  continued,  they  even  yet  continue,  to  be  appealed 
to,  as  the  test  of  truth  ;  since,  by  the  code  of  honour, 
every  gentleman  is  still  bound  to  repel  a  charge  of  false- 
hood with  the  point  of  his  sword,  and  at  the  peril  of  his 
life.  This  peculiarity  of  manners,  which  would  have 
surprised  an  ancient  Roman,  is  obviously  deduced  from 
the  Gothic  ordeal  of  trial  by  combat.  Nevertheless,  the 
custom  of  duelling  was  considered,  at  its  first  introduc- 
tion, as  an  innovation  upon  the  law  of  arms ;  and  a  book, 
in  two  huge  volumes,  entitviled,  Lc  vrai  Theatre  d'Hun- 
ncur  el  de  la  C/iivalerie,  was  written  by  a  French  noble- 


"  other,  invite  him  to  sit  near  them  ;  and,  which  is  more,  when  one 
"  lady  had  liis  company  a  while,  another  would  sav,  "■  you  have  en- 
"  joyed  him  long  enough  ;  I  must  have  him  now ;'  at  which  bold  ci- 
"  vility  of  theirs,  though  I  were  astonished,  yet  it  added  unto  my  won- 
"  der,  that  his  person  couM  not  be  thought,  at  most,  but  ordinary 
"  handsome  ;  his  hair,  which  was  cut  very  short,  h;Jf  grey,  his  dou- 
"  blet  but  of  sackcloth,  cut  to  his  shirt,  and  his  breeches  only  of  plain 
"  grey  cloth.  Informing  myself  of  some  standersby  who  he  was,  I 
"  was  told  he  was  one  of  the  gallantcst  men  in  the  world,  as  having 
"  killed  eight  or  nine  men  in  single  light ;  and  that,  for  this  reason, 
"  the  ladies  made  so  much  of  him  ;  it  being  tlie  manner  of  all  French 
"  women  to  cherish  gallant  men,  as  thinking  they  could  not  make  so 
"  much  of  any  one  else,  with  the  safety  of  their  honour." — Lifi-  of 
Lord  Heihert  of  Chcrhiinj,  p.  70.  How  near  the  character  of  the 
duellist,  originally,  approached  to  that  of  the  knight-errant,  appears 
from  a  transaction,  which  took  place  at  the  siege  of  Juliers,  betwixt 
this  Balagny  and  Lord  Herbert.  As  these  two  noted  duellists  stood 
together  in  the  trenches,  the  Frenchman  addressed  Lord  Herbert : 
"■  Monsieur,  on  dit  que  vous  ctcs  un  dcs  plus  braves  do  voire  vation, 
*'  ct  je  snis  Balagiiy  ;  allons  voir  qui  fera  k  tnicux,^^  With  these 
words,  Balagny  jumped  over  the  trench,  and  Herbert  as  speedily  foU 


302  .AJINvSTllELSY  OF 

man,  to  support  the  venerable  institutions  of  chivalry 
against  this  unceremonious  mode  of  combat.  He  has 
chosen  for  his  frontispiece  two  figures ;  the  first  repre- 
sents a  conquering  knight,  tramphng  his  enemy  under 
foot  in  the  lists,  crowned  by  Justice  with  laurel,  and  pre- 
ceded by  Fame,  sounding  his  praises.  The  other  figure 
presents  a  duellist,  in  his  shirt,  as  was  then  the  fashion 
(see  the  following  ballad,)  with  his  bloody  rapier  in  his 
hand :  the  slaughtered  combatant  is  seen  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  the  victor  is  pursued  by  the  Furies.  Never- 
theless, the  wise  will  make  some  scruple,  whether,  if 
the  warriors  were  to  change  equipments,  they  might 
not  also  exchange  their  emblematic  attendants.  'J'he 
modern  mode  of  duel  without  defensive  armour,  be- 
gan about  the  reign  of  Henry  HI.  of  France,  when 
the  gentlemen  of  that  nation,  as  we  learn  from  Davila, 
began  to  lay  aside  the  cumbrous  lance  and  cuirass, 
even  in  war.     The  increase  of  danger  being  suppo- 


lowing,  both  ran  sword  in  hand  towards  the  defences  of  the  besieged 
town,  which  welcomed  their  approach  with  a  storm  of  musqiietry  and 
artillery.  Balagny  then  observed,  this  was  hot  service  ;  but  Herbert 
swore,  he  would  not  turn  back  first  ;  so  the  Frenchman  was  finally 
fain  to  set  him  the  example  of  retreat.  Notwithstanding  the  advan- 
tage which  he  had  gained  over  Balagny,  in  this  "  jeopardy  of  war," 
Lord  Herbert  seems  still  to  have  grudged  that  gentleman's  astonishing 
reputation  ;  for  he  endeavoured  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  him,  on  the  ro- 
mantic score  of  the  worth  of  their  mistresses  ;  and,  receiving  a  ludicrous 
answer,  told  him,  with  disdam,  that  he  spoke  more  like  a  mUkird  than 
a  cavalki.  From  such  instance;-,  the  reader  may  judge,  whether  the 
age  of  chivalry  did  not  endure  somewhat  longer  than  is  generally  sup- 
posed. 


THK  SCOTTISH  BOJIDEK.  .'J03 

sed  to  contribute  to  the  increase  of  honour,  the  na- 
tional ardour  of  the  French  gallants  led  them  early  to 
distinguish  themselves  by  neglect  of  every  thing  that 
could  contribute  to  their  personal  safety.  Hence,  duels 
began  to  be  fought  by  the  combatants  in  their  shirts, 
and  with  the  rapier  only.  To  this  custom  contributed 
also  the  art  of  fencing,  then  cultivated  as  a  nev/  study 
in  Italy  and  Spain,  by  which  the  sword  became,  at 
once,  an  offensive  and  defensive  weapon.  The  reader 
will  see  the  new  '  science  of  defence,"  as  it  was  called, 
ridiculed  by  Shakspeare,  in  Romeo  and  Juliet,  and  by 
I3on  Quevedo,  in  some  of  his  novels.  But  the  more 
ancient  customs  continued  for  some  time  to  maintain 
their  ground.  The  Sieur  Colombiere  mentions  two  gen- 
tlemen, who  fought  with  equal  advantage  for  a  whole 
day,  in  all  the  panoply  of  chivalry,  and,  the  next  day, 
had  recourse  to  the  modern  mode  of  combat.  By  a 
^still  more  extraordinary  mixture  of  ancient  and  modern 
iashions,  two  combatants  on  horseback  ran  a  tilt  at 
each  other  with  lances,  without  any  covering  but  their 
shirts. 

When  armour  was  laid  aside,  the  consequence  was, 
that  the  first  duels  were  very  sanguinary,  terminating 
frequently  in  the  death  of  one,  and  sometimes,  as  in  the 
ballad,  of  both  persons  engaged.  Nor  was  this  all :  The 
seconds,  who  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  quarrel,  fought 
stoutly,  pour  sr  dc^e/i/iiii/rr.  and  otten  sealed  with  llieir 
hlnnd  their  friendship  ibr  their  prineipals,  A  desperate 


304  MlNSTllELSY  OF 

combat,  fought  between  Messrs  Entraguet  aiid  Caylus, 
is  said  to  have  been  the  first,  in  which  this  fashion  of 
promiscuous  fight  was  introduced.  It  proved  fatal  to 
two  of  Henry  the  Third's  minions,  and  extracted  from 
that  sorrowing  monarch  an  edict  against  duelHng,  which 
was  as  frequently  as  fruitlessly  renewed  by  his  succes- 
sors. The  use  of  rapier  and  poniard  together,*  was  an- 
other cause  of  the  mortal  slaughter  in  these  duels,  which 
were  supposed,  in  the  reign  of  Henry  IV.,  to  have  cost 
France  at  least  as  many  of  her  nobles  as  had  fallen  in 
the  civil  wars.  With  these  double  weapons,  frequent 
instances  occin-red,  in  which  a  duellist,  mortally  wound- 
ed, threw  himself  within  his  antagonist's  guard,  and 
plunged  his  poniard  into  his  heart.  Nay,  sometimes  the 
sword  was  altogether  abandoned  for  the  more  sure  and 
murderous  dagger.  A  quarrel  having  arisen  betwixt  the 
Vicompte  d'Allcmagne  and  the  Sieur  de  la  Roque,  the 
former,  alleging  the  youth  and  dexterity  of  his  antago- 
nist, insisted  upon  fighting  the  duel  in  their  shirts,  and 
with  their  poniards  only;  a  desperate  mode  of  conflict, 
which  proved  fatal  to  both.  Others  refined  even  upon 
this  horrible  struggle,  by  chusing  for  the  scene  a  small 


"  It  appears  from  a  line  in  the  black  letter  copy  of  the  followiii 
ballad,  that  Wharton  and  Stuart  fought  with  rapier  and  daj^ger  ; 

With  that  stout  Whartou  was  the  first 
Took  rapier  and  poniard  there  that  day. 

Ancient  Songs,  l~'JJ,  p.  -01. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOUDER.  305 

room,  a  large  hogshead,  or,  finally,  a  hole  dug  in  the 
earth,  into  which  the  duellists  descended,  as  into  a  cer- 
tain grave.  Must  I  add,  that  even  women  caught  the 
phrenzy,  and  that  duels  were  fought,  not  only  by  those 
whose  rank  and  character  rendered  it  little  surprising, 
but  by  modest  and  well-born  maidens! — Audiguier 
Traile  de  Duel.     Theatre  D'Hommir,  vol.  I.  * 

We  learn,  from  every  authority,  that  duels  became 
nearly  as  common  in  England,  after  the  accession  of 
James  VI.,  as  they  had  ever  been  in  France.  The  point 
of  honour,  so  fatal  to  the  gallants  of  the  age,  was  no 
where  carried  more  highly  than  at  the  court  of  the  pa- 
cific Solomo7i  of  Britain.  Instead  of  the  feudal  combats, 
upon  the  Hie-gate  of  Edinburgh,  which  had  often  dis- 
turbed his  repose  at  Holy-rood,  his  levees,  at  Theo- 
bald's, were  occupied  with  listening  to  the  detail  of 
more  polished,  but  not  less  sanguinary,  contests.  I  ra- 
ther suppose,  that  James  never  was  himself  disposed  to 
pay  particular  attention  to  the  laws  of  the  duello  ;  but 
they  were  defined  with  a  quaintness  and  pedantry, 


*  This  folly  ran  to  such  a  pitch,  that  no  one  was  thought  worthy 
to  be  reckoned  a  gentleman,  who  had  not  tried  his  valour  in  at  least 
one  duel ;  of  which  Lord  Herbert  gives  the  following  instance :  A 
young  gentleman,  desiring  to  marry  a  niece  of  INIonsieur  Disancour, 
cciiycr  to  the  Duke  de  Montmorenci,  received  this  answer:  "  Friend, 
"  it  is  not  yet  time  to  marry  ;  if  you  will  be  a  brave  man,  you  must 
"  first  kill,  in  single  combat,  two  or  three  men  ;  then  marry,  and  get 
"  two  or  three  children  ;  otherwise  the  world  will  neither  have  gained 
"  or  lost  by  you." — Herbert's  Life,  p.  64. 
VOL.   II.  U 


306  MINSTRELSY  OF 

which,  bating  his  dislike  to  the  subject,  must  have  deep- 
ly interested  him.  The  point  of  honour  was  a  science, 
which  a  grown  gentleman  might  study  under  suitable 
professors,  as  well  as  dancing,  or  any  other  modish  ac- 
complishment. Nay,  it  would  appear,  that  the  inge- 
nuity of  the  sword-men,  (so  these  military  casuists  were 
termed,)  might  often  acconunodate  a  bashful  combatant 
with  an  honourable  excuse  for  declining  the  combat : 

—  Understand'st  tliou  well  nice  points  of  duel  ! 
Art  born  of  gentle  blood  and  pure  descent  ? 
Were  none  of  all  thy  lineage  hang'd,  or  cuckold  ? 
Bastard  or  bastinadoed  Pis  thy  pedigree 
As  long,  as  wide  as  mine  ?  For  otherwise 
Thou  wert  most  unworthy  ;  and  'twere  loss  of  lionour 
In  me  to  fight.     More  :  I  have  drawn  five  teeth — 
If  thine  stand  sound,  the  terms  are  much  unequal ; 
And,  by  strict  laws  of  duel,  I  am  excused 
To  fight  on  disadvantage — 

Allumazar,  Act  IV.  Sc.  7. 

In  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  admirable  play  of  A  King 
and  no  King,  there  is  some  excellent  mirth  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  the  professors  of  the  point  of  honour. 

But,  though  such  shifts  might  occasionally  be  resort- 
ed to  by  the  faint-hearted,  yet  the  fiery  cavaliers  of  the 
English  court  were  but  little  apt  to  profit  by  them ; 
though  their  vengeance  for  insulted  honour  sometimes 
vented  itself  through  fouler  channels  than  that  of  fair 
combat.  It  happened,  for  example,  that  Lord  Sanquhar, 
a  Scottish  nobleman,  in  fencing  with  a  master  of  the 
noble  science  of  defence,  lost  his  eye  by  an  unlucky 
thrust.     The  accident  was  provoking,  but  without  re- 


6 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  307 

medy ;  nor  did  Lord  Sanquhar  think  of  it,  unless  with 
regret,  until  some  years  after,  when  he  chanced  to  be 
in  the  French  court.  Henry  the  Great  casually  asked 
him,  how  he  lost  his  eye  ?  "  By  the  thrust  of  a  sword," 
answered  Lord  Sanquhar,  not  cai'ing  to  enter  into  par- 
ticulars. The  king,  supposing  the  accident  the  conse- 
quence of  a  duel,  immediately  enquired,  "  Does  the 
man  yet  live  ?"  These  few  words  set  the  blood  of  the 
Scottish  nobleman  on  fire ;  nor  did  he  rest  till  he  had 
taken  the  base  vengeance  of  assassinating,  by  hired 
ruffians,  the  unfortunate  fencing-master.  The  mutual 
animosity,  betwixt  the  English  and  Scottish  nations, 
had  already  occasioned  much  bloodshed  among  the 
gentry  by  single  combat,  and  James  now  found  him- 
self under  the  necessity  of  making  a  striking  example 
of  one  of  his  Scottish  nobles,  to  avoid  the  imputation 
of  the  grossest  partiality.  Lord  Sanquhar  was  con- 
demned to  be  hanged,  and  suffered  that  ignominious 
punishment  accordingly. 

By  a  circuitous  route,  we  are  now  arrived  at  the  sub- 
ject of  our  ballad  ;  for  to  the  tragical  duel  of  Stuart  and 
Wharton,  and  to  other  instances  of  bloody  combats  and 
brawls  betwixt  the  two  nations,  is  imputed  James's  firm- 
ness in  the  case  of  Lord  Sanquhar. 

"  For  Ramsay,  one  of  the  king's  servants,  not  long 
"  before  Sanquhar's  trial,  had  switched  the  Earl  ot 
"  Montgomery,  who  was  the  king's  first  favourite,  hap- 
"  pily  because  he  took  it  so.  Maxwell,  another  of  them, 
"  had  bitten  Hawley,  a  gentleman  of  the  Temple,  by 


308  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  the  ear,  which  enraged  the  Templars,  (in  those  times 
"  riotous,  subject  to  tumults,)  and  brought  it  almost  to 
"  a  national  quarrel,  till  the  king  stopt  it,  and  took  it 
"  up  himself.  The  Lord  Bruce  had  summoned  Sir 
"  Edward  Sackville,  (afterward  Earl  of  Dorset,)  into 
"  France,  with  a  fatal  compliment  to  take  death  from 
"  his  hand.  *  And  the  much-lamented  Sir  James  Stuart, 
"  one  of  the  king's  blood,  and  Sir  George  Wharton,  the 
"  frime  branch  of  that  noble  family,  for  little  worthless 
''punctilios  of  honour,  {being  intimate  friends,')  took  the 
"field,  and  fell  together  by  each  other's  hand." — Wil- 
son's Life  of  James  VL  p.  60. 

The  sufferers  in  this  melancholy  affair  were  both 
men  of  high  birth,  the  heirs  apparent  of  two  noble  fa- 
milies, and  youths  of  the  most  promising  expectation. 
Sir  James  Stuart  was  a  Knight  of  the  Bath,  and  eldest 
son  of  Walter,  first  Lord  Blantyre,  by  Nicolas,  daugh- 
ter of  Sir  James  Somervile,  of  Cambusnethan.  Sir 
George  Wliarton  was  also  a  Knight  of  the  Bath,  and 
eldest  son  of  Philip,  Lord  Wharton,  by  Frances,  daugh- 
ter of  Henry  Clifford,  Earl  of  Cumberland.  He  married 
Anne,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  but  left  no  issue. 

The  circumstances  of  the  quarrel  and  combat  are  ac- 
curately detailed  in  the  ballad,  of  Avhich  there  exists  a 
l)lack-letter  copy  in  the  Pearson  Collection,  now  in  the  li- 
brary of  the  late  John  Duke  of  Roxburghe,  entitled,  "  A 


•  See  an  account  of  this  desperate  duel  in  the  Guardian, 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  309 

"  Lamentable  Ballad,  of  a  Combate,  lately  fought  near 
"  London,  between  Sir  James  Stewarde,  and  Sir  George 
"  Wharton,  knights,  who  were  both  slain  at  that  time. 
"  — To  the  tune  of,  Down  Plumpion  Park,  &c."  A  copy 
of  this  ballad  has  been  published  in  Mr  Ritson's  Ancient 
So)igs,  and,  upon  comparison,  appears  very  little  differ- 
ent from  that  which  has  been  preserved  by  tradition  in 
Ettrick  Forest.  Two  verses  have  been  added,  and  one 
considerably  improved,  from  Mr  Ritson's  edition.  These 
three  stanzas  are  the  fifth  and  ninth  of  Part  First,  and 
the  penult  verse  of  Part  Second.  I  am  thus  particu- 
lar, that  the  reader  may  be  able,  if  he  pleases,  to  com- 
pare the  traditional  ballad  with  the  original  edition.  It 
furnishes  striking  evidence,  that  "  without  characters, 
"  fame  lives  long."  The  difference,  chiefly  to  be  remark- 
ed betwixt  the  copies,  lies  in  the  dialect,  and  in  some 
modifications  applicable  to  Scotland ;  as,  using  the  words 
"  Our  Scottish  Knight."  The  black-letter  ballad,  in  like 
manner,  terms  Wharton  "  Our  English  K?iight."  My 
correspondent,  James  Hogg,  adds  the  following  note  to 
this  ballad :  "  I  have  heai'd  this  song  svmg  by  several  old 
"  people ;  but  all  of  them  with  this  tradition,  that  Whar- 
"  ton  bribed  Stuart's  second,  and  actuallj^  fought  in  ar- 
"  mour.  I  acknowledge,  that,  from  some  dark  hints  in 
"  the  song,  this  appears  not  impossible  ;  but  that  you 
"  may  not  judge  too  rashly,  I  must  remind  you,  that  the 
"  old  people,  inhabiting  the  head- lands  (high  ground) 
"  hereabouts,  although  possessedof  many  original  songs. 


310  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  traditions,  and  anecdotes,  are  most  unreasonably  par- 
"  tial  when  the  valoui  or  honour  of  a  Scotsman  is  called 
"  in  question."  I  retain  this  note,  because  it  is  charac- 
teristic ;  but  I  agree  with  my  correspondent,  there  can 
be  no  foundation  for  the  tradition,  except  in  national 
partiality.* 


*  Since  the  publication  of  this  work,  I  have  seen  cause  to  think  that 
this  insinuation  was  not  introduced  by  Scottish  reciters,  but  really 
founded  upon  the  opinion  formed  by  Stuart's  friends.  Sir  James  Stuart 
married  the  Lady  Dorothy  Hastings  ;  and,  in  a  letter  from  the  late 
venerable  Countess  of  Moira  and  Hastings,  he  is  described,  from  fa- 
mily tradition,  as  the  most  accomplished  person  of  the  age  he  lived  in, 
and,  in  talents  and  abilities,  almost  equal  to  what  is  recorded  of  the 
Admirable  Crichton.  Sir  George  Wharton  is,  on  the  other  hand,  af- 
firmed to  have  been  a  man  of  a  fierce  and  brutal  temper,  and  to  have 
provoked  the  quarrel,  by  wanton  and  intolerable  reflections  on  the 
Scottish  national  character.  "  In  the  duel,"  her  ladyship  concludes, 
"  family  tradition  does  not  allow  Sir  James  to  have  been  killed  fairly." 
From  an  anecdote  respecting  Sir  George  Wharton's  conduct  in  a  quar- 
rel with  the  Earl  of  Pembroke,  there  is  room  to  suppose  the  imputa- 
tions on  his  temper  were  not  without  foundation.  See  Lodge's  Jl- 
lustrations  of  English  History,  vol.  III.  p.  350.  Lady  Moira  con- 
cludes, that  she  had  seen  a  copy  of  the  ballad  different  from  any  one 
hitherto  printed,  in  which  the  charge  of  foul  play  was  directly  stated 
against  Wharton. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEll.  3]  1 


DUEL  OF  WHARTON  AND  STUART. 


PART  FIRST. 


It  grieveth  me  to  tell  you  o"" 

Near  London  late  what  did  befall, 

'Twixt  two  young  gallant  gentlemen  ; 
It  grieveth  me,  and  ever  shall. 

One  of  them  was  Sir  George  Wharton, 
My  good  Lord  Wharton's  son  and  heir ; 

The  other,  James  Stuart,  a  Scottish  knight, 
One  that  a  valiant  heart  did  bear. 


When  first  to  court  these  nobles  came. 
One  night,  a  gaming,  fell  to  words ; 

And  in  their  fury  grew  so  hot, 

That  they  did  both  try  their  keen  swords. 


312  MINSTRELSY  OF 

No  manner  of  treating,  nor  advice, 

Could  hold  from  striking  in  that  place  ; 

For,  in  the  height  and  heat  of  blood, 

James  struck  George  Wharton  on  the  face. 

"  What  doth  tliis  mean,"  George  Wharton  said, 
"  To  strike  in  such  unmanly  sort  ? 

"  But,  that  I  take  it  at  thy  hands, 

"  The  tongue  of  man  shall  ne'er  report !"' 


But  do  thy  worst,  then,""  said  Sir  James, 
"  Now  do  thy  worst,  appoint  a  day  ! 
There's  not  a  lord  in  England  breathes 
"  Shall  gar  me  give  an  inch  of  way." 


"  Ye  brag  right  weel,"  George  Wharton  said  ; 

"  Let  our  brave  lords  at  large  f 'ane, 
"  And  speak  of  me.  that  am  thy  foe ; 

"  For  you  shalt  find  enough  o'  ane  ! 


"  I'll  alterchange  my  glove  wi'  thine  ; 

"  I'll  shew  it  on  the  bed  of  death  ; 
"  I  mean  the  place  where  we  shall  fight ; 

"  There  ane  or  both  maun  lose  life  and  breath 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER,  313 

"  We'll  meet  near  Waltham,"  said  Sir  James  ; 

"  To-morrow,  that  shall  be  the  day. 
"  Well  either  take  a  single  man, 

"  And  try  who  bears  the  bell  away." 

Then  down  together  hands  they  shook, 

Without  any  envious  sign  ; 
Then  went  to  Ludgate,  where  they  lay. 

And  each  man  drank  his  pint  of  wine. 

No  kind  of  envy  could  be  seen, 

No  kind  of  malice  they  did  betray  ; 
But  SL  was  clear  and  calm  as  death. 

Whatever  in  the^r  bosoms  lay. 

Till  parting  time ;  and  then,  indeed. 

They  shewed  some  rancour  in  their  heart ; 

"  Next  time  we  meet,"  says  George  Wharton, 
"  Not  half  sae  soundly  we  shall  part !" 

So  they  have  parted,  fiurly  bent 

Their  valiant  minds  equal  to  try  : 
The  second  part  shall  clearly  show. 

Both  how  they  meet,  and  how  they  dye. 


314  J\1INST11ELSY  OF 


DUEL  OF  WHARTON  AND  STUART. 


PAET  SECOND. 


George  WirARTON  was  the  first  ae  man, 
Came  to  the  appointed  place  that  day, 

Where  he  espyed  our  Scots  lord  coming, 
As  fast  as  he  could  post  away. 

They  met,  shook  hands  ;  their  cheeks  were  pale 
Then  to  George  Wharton  James  did  sa}'^, 

"  I  dinna  like  your  doublet,  George, 
"  It  stands  sae  weel  on  you  this  day. 


Say,  have  you  got  no  armour  on  ? 
"  Have  you  no  under  robe  of  steel 
I  never  saw  an  Englishman 
"  Become  his  doublet  half  sae  weel. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  315 

"  Fy  no  !  fy  no  r  George  Wharton  said, 
"  For  that's  the  tiling  that  mauna  be, 

"  That  I  should  come  wi""  armour  on, 
"  And  you  a  naked  man  truly."" 

"Our  men  shall  search  our  doublets,  George, 

"  And  see  if  one  of  us  do  lie  ; 
"  Then  will  we  prove,  wi'  weapons  sharp, 

"  Ourselves  true  gallants  for  to  be." 

Then  they  threw  off  their  doublets  both, 
And  stood  up  in  their  sarks  of  lawn  ; 

"  Now  take  my  counsel,"  said  Sir  James, 
"  Wharton,  to  thee  FU  make  it  knawn : 


"  So  as  we  stand,  so  will  we  fight ; 

"  Thus  naked  in  our  sarks,"  said  he ; 
"  Fy  no  !  fy  no  !"  George  Wharton  says 

"  That  is  the  thino-  that  must  not  be. 


We're  neither  drinkers,  quarrellers, 
"  Nor  men  that  cares  na  for  oursel, 
Nor  minds  na  what  we're  gaun  about, 
"  Or  if  we're  gaun  to  heav'n  or  heD. 


316  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Let  us  to  God  bequeath  our  souls, 
"  Our  bodies  to  the  dust  and  clay  !" 

With  that  he  drew  his  deadly  sword, 
The  first  was  drawn  on  field  that  day. 


Se'en  bouts  and  turns  these  heroes  had, 
Or  e'er  a  drop  0'  blood  was  drawn  ; 

Our  Scotch  lord,  wondVing,  quickly  cry*'d, 
"  Stout  Wharton  !  thou  still  bauds  thy  awn  !' 

The  first  stroke  that  George  Wharton  gac, 
He  struck  him  thro''  the  shoulder-bane  ; 

The  neist  was  thro""  the  thick  o'  the  thigh ; 
He  thought  our  Scotch  lord  had  been  slain. 


"  Oh  !  ever  alack  !*"  George  Wharton  cryM, 
"  Art  thou  a  living  man,  tell  me  ? 

"  If  there's  a  surgeon  living  can, 

"  He's  cure  thy  wounds  right  speedily." 


No  more  of  that,"  James  Stuart  said  ; 
"  Speak  not  of  curing  wounds  to  me  ! 
For  one  of  us  must  yield  our  breath, 
"  Ere  off  the  field  one  foot  we  flee." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  317 

They  looked  cure  their  shoulders  both, 
To  see  what  company  was  there  ; 

They  both  had  grievous  marks  of  death, 
But  frae  the  other  nane  wad  steer. 


George  Wharton  was  the  first  that  fell  ; 

Our  Scotch  lord  fell  immediately  : 
They  both  did  cry  to  Him  above, 

To  save  their  souls,  for  they  boud  die. 


318  MINSTRELSY  OF 


NOTE 


THE  DUEL  OF  WHARTON  AND  STUART. 


When  first  at  covrt  these  nobles  came. 

One  7tight,  a-gaming,fell  to  words. — P.  311.  v.  3. 
Sir  George  Wharton  was  quarrelsome  at  cards ;  a  temper 
which  he  exhibited  so  disagreeably  when  playing  with  the 
Earl  of  Pembroke,  that  the  Earl  told  him,  "  Sir  George,  1 
"  have  loved  you  long  ;  but,  by  your  manner  in  playing,  you 
"  lay  it  upon  me  either  to  leave  to  love  you,  or  to  leave  to  play 
"  with  you ;  wherefore,  chusing  to  love  you  still,  I  will  never 
"  play  with  you  any  more." — Lodge's  Illustrations,  vol.  III. 
p.  350. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  319 


THE  LAMENT 


THE  BORDER  WIDOW. 


This  fragment,  obtained  from  recitation  in  the  Forest 
of  Ettrick,  is  said  to  relate  to  the  execution  of  Cock- 
burneof  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  Johnie  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  ad- 
jacent country,  which  now  hardly  bears  a  single  tree,  is 
celebrated  by  Lesly,  as,  in  his  time,  affording  shelter  to 


320  IVIINSTRELSY  OF 

the  largest  stags  in  Scotland.  A  mountain  torrent,  call- 
ed HenderlandBurn,  rushes  impetuously  from  the  hills, 
through  a  rocky  chasm,  named  the  Dow-glen,  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  shewn,  where  she  is  said  to  have 
striven  to  drown,  amid  the  roar  of  a  foaming  cataract, 
the  tumultuous  noise,  which  announced  the  close  of  his 
existence.  In  a  deserted  burial-place,  which  once  sur- 
rounded the  chapel  of  the  castle,  the  monument  of  Cock- 
burne and  his  lady  is  still  shewn.  It  is  a  large  stone, 
broken  in  three  parts  ;  but  some  armorial  bearings  may 
yet  be  traced,  and  the  following  inscription  is  still  legi- 
ble, though  defaced : 


Here  lyes  Peeys  of  Cokburxe  and  his 
WYFE  Marjory. 

Tradition  says,  that  Cockburne  was  surprised  by  the 
king,  while  sitting  atdinner.  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  mountains, 
which  separate  the  vale  of  Ettrick  from  the  head  of  Yar- 
row, 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 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  321 

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  ad- 
jacent county  of  Peebles,  passes  a  wild  path,  called  still 
the  Thief's  Road,  from  having  been  used  chiefly  by  the 
marauders  of  the  Border. 


322  MINSTKELSY  OF 


THE  LAMENT 

OF 

THE  BORDER  WIDOW. 


My  love  he  built  me  a  bonny  bower, 
And  clad  it  a^  wi'  lilye  flour, 
A  brawer  bower  ye  ne'er  did  see. 
Than  my  true  love  he  built  for  me. 


There  came  a  man,  by  middle  day, 
He  spied  his  sport,  and  went  away ; 
And  brought  the  King  that  very  night. 
Who  brake  my  bower,  and  slew  my  knight. 

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. 

*  Potti'd — Poinded,  attached  by  legal  distress. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  323 

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. 

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  him  with  the  sod  sae  green. 

But  think  na  ye  my  heart  was  sair. 
When  I  laid  the  mouP  on  his  yellow  hair  ; 
O  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 ; 
Wi'  ae  lock  of  his  yellow  hair 
I'll  chain  my  heart  for  evermair. 


324  MINSTRELSY   OF 


FAIR  HELEN  OF  KIRCONNELL. 


The  following  very  popular  ballad  has  been  handed 
down  by  tradition  in  its  present  imperfect  state.  The 
affecting  incident,  on  which  it  is  founded,  is  well  known. 
A  lady,  of  the  name  of  Helen  Irving,  or  Bell,*  (for  this 
is  disputed  by  the  two  clans)  daughter  of  the  Laird  of 
Kirconnel,  in  Dumfries-shire,  and  celebrated  for  her 
beauty,  was  beloved  by  two  gentlemen  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. The  name  of  the  favoured  suitor  was  Adam 
Fleming,  of  Kirkpatrick ;  that  of  the  other  has  escaped 
tradition:  though  it  has  been  alleged,  that  he  was  a 
Bell,  of  Blacket  House.  The  addresses  of  the  latter 
were,  however,  favoured  by  the  friends  of  the  lady,  and 


•  This  dispute  is  owing  to  the  uncertain  date  of  the  ballad  ;  for, 
although  the  last  proprietors  of  Kirconnel  were  Irvings,  when  de- 
prived of  their  possessions  by  Robert  Maxwell  in  1600,  yet  Kircon- 
nel is  termed  in  old  chronicles,  The  BelVs  Tower  ;  and  a  stone,  with 
the  arms  of  that  family,  has  been  found  among  its  ruins.  Fair  He- 
len's sirnamc,  therefore,  depends  upon  the  period  at  which  she  lived, 
which  it  is  now  impossible  to  ascertain. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEH.  325 

the  lovers  were  tlierefore  obliged  to  meet  in  secret,  and 
by  night,  in  the  church-yard  of  Kirconnel,  a  romantic 
spot,  surrounded  by  the  river  Kirtle.  During  one  of 
these  private  interviews,  the  jealous  and  despised  lover 
suddenly  appeared  on  the  opposite  bank  of  the  stream, 
and  levelled  his  carabine  at  the  breast  of  his  rival.  He- 
len threw  herself  before  her  lover,  received  in  her  bo- 
som the  bullet,  and  died  in  his  arms.  A  desperate  and 
mortal  combat  ensued  between  Fleming  and  the  mur- 
derer, in  which  the  latter  was  cut  to  pieces.  Other  ac- 
counts say,  that  Fleming  pursued  his  enemy  to  Spain, 
and  slew  him  in  the  streets  of  Madrid. 

The  ballad,  as  now  published,  consists  of  two  parts. 
The  first  seems  to  be  an  address,  either  by  Fleming  or 
his  rival,  to  the  lady ;  if,  indeed,  it  constituted  any  por- 
tion of  the  original  poem.  For  the  editor  cannot  help 
suspecting,  that  these  verses  have  been  the  production 
of  a  different  and  inferior  bard,  and  only  adapted  to  the 
original  measure  and  tune.  But  this  suspicion,  being 
unwarranted  by  any  copy  he  has  been  able  to  procure, 
he  does  not  venture  to  do  more  than  intimate  his  own 
opinion.  The  second  part,  by  far  the  most  beautiful, 
and  which  is  unquestionably  original,  forms  the  lament 
of  Fleming  over  the  grave  of  fair  Helen. 

The  ballad  is  here  given,  without  alteration  or  im- 
provement, from  the  most  accurate  copy  which  could 
be  recovered.  The  fate  of  Helen  has  not,  however,  re- 
mained unsung  by  modern  bai'ds.  A  lament,  of  great 
poetical  merit,  by  the  learned  historian,  Mr  Pinkerton, 


326  MINSTRELSY  OF 

with  several  other  poems  on  this  subject,  have  been 
printed  in  various  forms. 

The  grave  of  the  lovers  is  yet  shewn  in  the  church- 
yard of  Kirconnel,  near  Springkell.  Upon  the  tomb- 
stone can  still  be  read — Hie  jacct  Adamus  Fleming  ;  a 
cross  and  sword  are  sculptured  on  the  stone.  The  for- 
mer is  called^  by  the  country  people,  the  gun  with 
which  Helen  was  murdered  ;  and  the  latter,  the  aven- 
ging sword  of  her  lover.  *SV<  Ulis  terra  levis  !  A  heap 
of  stones  is  raised  on  the  spot  where  the  murder  was 
committed  :  a  token  of  abhorrence  common  to  most 


*  This  practice  has  only  very  lately  become  obsolete  in  Scotland. 
The  editor  remembers,  that,  a  few  years  ago,  a  cairn  was  pointed  out 
to  him  in  the  King's  Park  of  Edinburgh,  which  had  been  raised  in 
detestation  of  a  cruel  murder,  perpetrated  by  one  Nicol  Muschet,  on 
the  body  of  his  wife,  in  that  place,  in  the  year  1720. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  327 


FAIR   HELEN. 


PART  FIRST. 


O  !  SWEETEST  sweet,  and  fairest  fair. 
Of  birth  and  worth  beyond  compare. 
Thou  art  the  causer  of  my  care. 
Since  first  I  loved  thee. 


Yet  God  hath  given  to  me  a  mind, 
The  which  to  thee  shall  prove  as  kind 
As  any  one  that  thou  shalt  find, 
Of  high  or  low  degree. 

The  shallowest  water  makes  maist  din, 
The  deadest  pool,  the  deepest  linn  ; 
The  richest  man  least  truth  within, 
Though  he  preferred  be. 


328  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Yet,  nevertheless,  I  am  content, 
And  never  a  whit  my  love  repent, 
But  think  the  time  was  a""  wecl  spent. 
Though  I  disdained  be. 


O  !  Helen  sweet,  and  maist  complete, 
My  captive  spirit's  at  thy  feet ! 
Thinks  thou  still  fit  thus  for  to  treat 
Thy  captive  cruelly  ? 


O  !  Helen  brave  .'  but  this  I  crave. 
Of  thy  poor  slave  some  pity  have. 
And  do  him  save  that's  near  his  grave, 
And  dies  for  love  of  thee. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  329 


FAIR  HELEN. 


PART  SECOXD. 


I  WISH  I  were  where  Helen  lies, 
Night  and  day  on  me  she  cries  ; 
Oh  that  I  were  where  Helen  lies, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee  ! 

Curst  be  the  heart  that  thought  the  thought, 
And  curst  the  hand  that  fired  the  shot, 
When  in  my  arms  burd*  Helen  dropt, 
And  died  to  succour  me  ! 


O  think  na  ye  ray  heart  was  sair, 
When  my  love  dropt  down  and  spak  nae  mair  ! 
There  did  she  swoon  wi'  meikle  care, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  l^ee. 


Bind  irflnt—M&n]  Helen. 


330  ^riNSTRELSY  OF 

As  I  went  down  the  water  side, 
None  but  my  foe  to  be  my  guide, 
None  but  my  foe  to  be  my  guide, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee ; 


I  lighted  down,  my  sword  to  draw, 
I  hacked  him  in  pieces  sma', 
I  hacked  him  in  pieces  sma\ 
For  her  sake  that  died  for  me. 


O  Helen  fair,  beyond  compare  ! 
I'll  make  a  garland  of  tliy  hair, 
Sliall  bind  my  heart  for  evermair, 
Until  tlie  day  I  die. 

O  that  I  were  where  Helen  lies  ! 
Night  and  day  on  me  she  cries ; 
Out  of  my  bed  she  bids  me  rise. 

Says,  "  Haste  and  come  to  me  !" 

O  Helen  fair  I  O  Helen  chaste  ! 
If  I  were  with  thee,  I  were  blest, 
Where  thou  lies  low,  and  takes  thy  rest, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  I>ee. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  331 

I  wish  my  grave  were  growing  green, 
A  winding  sheet  drawn  ower  my  een, 
And  I  in  Helena's  arms  lying, 
On  fair  Kirconnell  Lee. 


I  wish  I  were  where  Helen  lies  ! 
Night  and  day  on  me  she  cries  ; 
And  I  am  weary  of  the  skies. 
For  her  sake  that  died  for  me. 


332  MINSTRELSY  OF 


HUGHIE  THE  GRiEME. 


The  Gr£Emes,  as  we  have  had  frequent  occasion  to  no- 
tice, 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  de- 
scent from  Malice,  Earl  of  Stratherne.  In  military  ser- 
vice, they  were  more  attached  to  England  than  to  Scot- 
land ;  but,  in  their  depredations  on  both  countries,  they 
appear  to  have  been  very  impartial ;  for,  in  the  year 
1600,  the  gentlemen  of  Cumberland  alleged  to  Lord 
Scroope,  "  that  the  Graemes,  and  their  clans,  with  their 
"  children,  tenants,  and  servants,  were  the  chiefest  act- 
"  ors  in  the  spoil  and  decay  of  the  country."  Accord- 
ingly, 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  Nicolsdn's 
History  of  Cumberland,  p.  cviii. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  3'33 

Richard  Graeme,  of  the  family  of  Netherby,  was  one 
of  the  attendants  upon  Charles  1.,  when  Prince  of  Wales, 
and  accompanied  himuponhisromantic  journey  through 
France  and  Spain.  The  following  little  anecdote,  which 
then  occurred,  will  show  that  the  memory  of  the  GrEemes' 
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  lod- 
"ging.  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  con- 
"  tentment :  and  then,  while  the  Marquis  and  Richard, 
"  being  both  on  foot,  were  chasing  the  kid  about  the 
"  stack,  the  Prince,  from  horse-back,  killed  him  in  the 
"  head,  with  a  Scottish  pistol. — Which  circumstance, 
"  though  trifling,  may  yet  serve  to  shew  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. 

I  find  no  traces  of  this  paiticular  Hughie  Gra?me,  of 
the  ballad  ;  but,  from  the  mention  of  the  J5w/<o/;,  I  suspect 


334<  MINSTRELSY  OF 

he  may  have  been  one,  of  about  four  hundred  Borderers, 
agamst  whom  bills  of  complaint  were  exhibited  to  Ro- 
bert Aldridge,  Lord  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  about  1553,  for 
divers  incursions,  burnings,  murders,  mutilations,  and 
spoils,  by  them  committed. — Nicolson's  History,  In- 
troduction, Ixxxi.  There  appear  a  number  of  Graemes, 
in  the  specimen  which  we  have  of  that  list  of  delinquents. 
There  occur,  in  particular, 

Ritchie  Grame  of  Bailie, 

Will's  Jock  Grame, 

Fargi;e's  Willie  Grame, 

Muckle  Willie  Grame, 

Will  Grame  of  Rosetrees, 

Ritchie  Grame,  younger,  of  Netherby, 

Wat  Grame,  called  Flaughtail, 

Will  Grame,  Nimble  Willie, 

Will  Grahame,  Mickle  WHUe, 

with  many  others. 

In  Mr  Ritson's  curious  and  valuable  collection  of  le- 
gendary poetry,  entitled  Ancient  Songs,  he  has  publish- 
ed this  Border  ditty,  from  a  collation  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  Blackhouse,  and  has  been  long  cur- 
rent in  Selkirkshire.  Mr  Ritson's  copy  has  occasionally 
been  resorted  to  for  better  readings. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEK.  335 


HUGHIE  THE  GR^ME. 


GuDE  Lord  Scroope's  to  the  hunting  gane, 
He  has  ridden  o'er  moss  and  muir ; 

And  he  has  grippit  Hughie  the  Graeme, 
For  stealing  o'  the  Bishop's  mare. 

*'  Now,  good  Lord  Scroope,  this  may  not  be 
"  Here  hangs  a  broad  sword  by  my  side  ; 

"  And  if  that  thou  canst  conquer  me, 
"  The  matter  it  may  soon  be  tryed." 


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." 


336  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  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." 

But  as  they  were  dealing  their  blows  so  free, 

And  both  so  bloody  at  the  time, 
Over  the  moss  came  ten  yeomen  so  tall, 

All  for  to  take  brave  Hughie  the  Gra2me. 

Then  they  hae  grippit  Hughie  the  Graeme, 
And  brought  him  up  through  Carlisle  town  ; 

The  lasses  and  lads  stood  on  the  walls, 

Crying,"  Hughie  the  Graeme,  thou'se  ne'er  gae  do^m 

Then  hac  they  chosen  a  jury  of  men, 

The  best  that  Avere  in  Carlisle*  town  ; 
And  twelve  of  them  cried  out  at  once, 

"  Hughie  the  Gra>nie,  thou  must  gae  down  !" 

Then  up  bespak  him  gude  I^ord  Hume,-|- 

As  he  sat  by  the  judge's  knee,-=- 
"  Twenty  white  owsen,  my  gude  lord, 

"  If  you'll  grant  Hughie  the  Graeme  to  me." 

"  Garland — Anc.  Songs.  f  Bold — Anc.  Songi. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  337 

"  O  no,  O  no,  my  gude  Lord  Hume  ! 

"  For  sooth  and  sae  it  mauna  be  ; 
*'  For,  were  there  but  three  Graemes  of  the  name, 

"  They  suld  be  hanged  a'  for  me." 

'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." 

"  O  no,  O  no,  my  gude  Lady  Hume  ! 

"  Forsooth  and  so  it  mustna  be  ; 
"  Were  he  but  the  one  Graeme  of  the  name, 

"  He  suld  be  hanged  high  for  me." 

*'  If  I  be  guilty,"  said  Hughie  the  Gi'aeme, 
"  Of  me  my  friends  shall  have  small  talk  ;" 

And  he  has  louped  fifteen  feet  and  three. 

Though  his  hands  they  were  tied  behind  his  back. 

He  looked  over  his  left  shoulder, 

And  for  to  see  what  he  might  see ; 
There  was  he  aAvare  of  his  auld  father, 

Came  tearing  his  hair  most  piteously. 

VOL.   II.  Y 


338  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  O  hald  your  tongue,  my  father,"  he  says, 
"  And  see  that  ye  dinna  weep  for  me  ! 

"  For  they  may  ravish  me  o'  my  hfe, 

"  But  they  canna  banish  me  fro'  heaven  hie. 

*'  Fare  ye  weel,  fair  Maggie,  my  wife  ! 

"  The  last  time  we  came  ower  the  muir, 
"  'Twas  thou  bereft  me  of  my  Hfe, 

"  And  wi'  the  bishop  thou  play'd  the  whore. 

"  Here,  Johnie  Armstrang,  take  thou  my  sword, 
"  That  is  made  o'  the  metal  sae  fine ; 

"  And  when  thou  comest  to  the  English*  side, 
"  Remember  the  death  of  Hughie  the  Graeme.' 

"  Border— Anc  Songs. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER,  339 


NOTE 


HUGHIE  THE  GR^ME. 


And  tvi'  the  Bishop  thou  play'd  the  ivhore. — P.  338.  v.  2. 

Of  the  morality  of  Robert  Aldridge,  bishop  of  Carhsle,  we 
know  but  Uttle  ;  but  his  pohtical  and  religious  faith  were  of  a 
stretching  and  accommodating  texture.  Anthony  a  Wood  ob- 
serves, that  there  were  many  changes  in  his  time,  both  in 
church  and  state ;  but  that  the  worthy  prelate  retained  his 
offices  and  preferments  during  them  all. 


340  MINSTRELSY  OF 


JOHNIE  OF  BREADISLEE. 


AN  ANCIENT   NITHISDALE   BALLAD. 


The  hero  of  this  ballad  appears  to  have  been  an  outlaw 
and  deer-stealer — probably  one  of  the  broken  men  resi- 
ding upon  the  Border.  There  are  several  different  copies, 
in  one  of  which  the  principal  personage  is  called  Johiie 
of  Cockielaw.  The  stanzas  of  greatest  merit  have  been 
selected  from  each  copy.  It  is  sometimes  said,  that  this 
outlaw  possessed  the  old  castle  of  Morton,  in  Dumfries- 
shire, now  ruinous : — "  Near  to  this  castle  there  was 
"  a  park,  built  by  Sir  Thomas  Randolph,  on  the  face  of 
"  a  very  great  and  high  hill ;  so  artificially,  that,  by  the 
"  advantage  of  the  hill,  all  wild  beasts,  such  as  deers, 
"  harts,  and  roes,  and  hares,  did  easily  leap  in,  but  could 
"  not  get  out  again  ;  and  if  any  other  cattle,  such  as 
"  cows,  sheep,  or  goats,  did  voluntarily  leap  in,  or  were 
"  forced  to  do  it,  it  is  doubted  if  their  owners  were  per- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDElt.  341 

"  mitted  to  get  them  out  again."  Account  of  Presbytery 
of  Penpont,  apud  Macfarlane's  MSS.  Such  a  park  would 
form  a  convenient  domain  to  an  outlaw's  castle,  and 
the  mention  of  Durrisdeer,  a  neighbouring  parish,  adds 
weight  to  the  tradition.  I  have  seen  on  a  mountain  near 
Callendar,  a  sort  of  pinfold,  composed  of  immense  rocks, 
piled  upon  each  other,  which,  I  was  told,  was  anciently 
constructed  for  the  above-mentioned  purpose.  The 
mountain  is  thence  called  Uah  var,  or  the  Cove  of  the 
Giant. 


342  MINSTRELSY  OF 


JOHNIE  OF  BREADISLEE. 


AN  AN'CIENT  XITHISDALE   BALLAD. 


JoHNiE  rose  up  in  a  May  morning, 
Call'd  for  water  to  wash  his  hands — 

"  Gar  loose  to  me  the  gude  graie  dogs 
"  That  are  l>ound  wi'  iron  bands.'' 

When  Johnie's  mother  gat  word  o'  that, 
Her  hands  tor  dule  she  wrang — 

"  O  Johnie  !  for  my  benison, 

"  To  the  grenewood  dinna  gang  ! 


Eneugh  ye  hae  o'  gude  wheat  bread, 
"  And  eneugh  o'  the  blude-red  wine ; 
And,  therefore,  for  nae  venison,  Johnie, 
"  I  pray  ye.  stir  frae  hanie." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  343 

But  Johnie's  busk't  up  his  gude  bend  bow, 

His  arrows,  ane  by  ane ; 
And  he  has  gane  to  Durrisdeer, 

To  hunt  the  dun  deer  down. 


As  he  came  down  by  Merriemass, 

And  in  by  the  benty  line. 
There  has  he  espied  a  deer  lying 

Aneath  a  bush  of  ling,* 

Johnie  he  shot,  and  the  dun  deer  lap, 
And  he  wounded  her  on  the  side ; 

But,  atween  the  water  and  the  brae. 
His  hounds  they  laid  her  pride. 

And  Johnie  has  bryttled-f-  the  deer  sae  weel, 
That  he's  had  out  her  liver  and  lungs  ; 

And  wi'  these  he  has  feasted  his  bludy  hounds, 
As  if  they  had  been  erPs  sons. 


They  eat  sae  much  o'  the  venison, 

And  drank  sae  much  o'  the  blude, 
That  Johnie  and  a'  his  bludy  hounds, 

Fell  asleep  as  they  had  been  dead. 

*  I.ins^ — Heath.  -|-   Bryttkd — To  cut  up  venison.     See  the 

ancient  ballad  of  Chevy  Chace,  v.  9. 


344  :\riNSTRELSY  of 

And  by  tliere  came  a  silly  auld  carle, 
An  ill  death  mote  he  die  ! 

For  he''s  awa  to  Hislinton, 

Where  the  Seven  Foresters  did  lie. 


"  What  news,  what  news,  ye  gray-headed  carle, 

"  What  news  bring  ye  to  me  ?" 
"  I  bring  nae  news,"  said  the  gray-headed  carle, 

"  Save  what  these  eyes  did  see. 

"  As  I  came  down  by  Merriemass, 
"  And  down  among  the  scroggs,* 

"  The  bonniest  childe  that  ever  I  saw 
"  Lay  sleeping  amang  his  dogs. 

"  The  shirt  that  was  upon  his  back 

"  Was  o'  the  Holland  fine  ; 
*'  The  doublet  which  was  over  that 

"  Was  o'  the  lincome  twine. 


The  buttons  that  were  on  his  sleeve 
"  Were  o''  the  goud  sae  gude ; 
The  gude  graie  hounds  he  lay  amang, 
"  Their  mouths  were  dyed  wi'  blude." 

"  Scroffg;\ — Stuiifed  trees. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  345 

Then  out  and  spak  the  First  Forester, 

The  heid  man  ower  them  a' — 
"  If  this  be  Johnie  o'  Breadislee, 

"  Nae  nearer  will  we  draw." 

But  up  and  spak  the  Sixth  Forester, 

(His  sister's  son  was  he)  •-" 

"  If  this  be  Johnie  o'  Breadislee, 

"  We  soon  shall  gar  him  die  !"" 

The  first  flight  of  arrows  the  Foresters  shot, 

They  wounded  hhii  on  the  knee  ; 
And  out  and  spak  the  Seventh  Forester, 

"  The  next  will  gar  him  die."" 


Johnie's  set  his  back  against  an  aik, 

His  fute  against  a  stane ; 
And  he  has  slain  the  Seven  Foresters, 

He  has  slain  them  a'  but  ane. 


He  has  broke  three  ribs  in  that  ane's  side, 

But  and  his  collar  bane  ; 
He's  laid  him  twa-fald  ower  his  steed, 

Bade  him  carry  the  tidings  hame. 


346  MIKSTREI.SY  OF 

"  O  is  there  nae  a  bonnie  bird, 

"  Can  sing  as  I  can  say ; 
"  Could  flee  away  to  my  mother's  bower, 

''  And  tell  to  fetch  Johnie  away  ?" 


The  starling  flew  to  his  mother's  window  stane. 

It  whistled  and  it  sang ; 
And  aye  the  ower  word  o'  the  tune 

Was — "  Johnie  tarries  lang  V 


They  made  a  rod  o'  the  hazel  bush. 
Another  o'  the  slae-thorn  tree, 

And  mony  mony  were  the  men 
At  fetching  our  Johnie. 


Then  out  and  spak  his  auld  mother, 

And  fast  her  tears  did  fa' — 
**  Ye  wad  nae  be  warn'd,  my  son  Johnie, 

*'  Frae  the  hunting  to  bide  awa'. 

"  Aft  hae  I  brought  to  Breadislee, 
"  The  less  gear*  and  the  mair, 

"  But  I  ne'er  brought  to  Breadislee, 
"  AVhat  grieved  mv  heart  sae  sair ! 

*  (irar — Usually  signifies  gootli,  but  here  spoil. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOUDER.  347 

"  But  wae  betyde  that  silly  auld  carle  ! 

"  An  ill  death  shall  he  die  ! 
"  For  the  highest  tree  in  Merriemass 

''  Shall  be  his  morning's  fee." 

Now  Johnie's  gude  bend  bow  is  broke, 

And  his  gude  graie  dogs  are  slain  ; 
And  his  bodie  lies  dead  in  Durrisdeer, 

And  his  hunting  it  is  done. 


348  WINSTKELSY  OF 


KATHARINE  JANFARIE. 


The  Ballad  ivas  published  in  the  first  edition  of  this  work,  un- 
de?'  the  title  of '  The  Laird  of  Laminton."  It  is  now  given 
in  a  more  perfect  state,  f-om  several  recited  copies.  The  re- 
sidence 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  Cad- 
den,  near  to  where  it  joins  the  Tweed. — Others  say  the  shir- 
mish  was  fought  near  Traquair,  and  Katharine  Janfa- 
rie's  dwelling  was  in  the  glen  about  three  miles  above  Tra- 
quair House. 


There  was  a  may,  and  a  weel  far^d  may. 

Lived  high  up  in  yon  glen  ; 
Her  name  was  Katharine  Janfarie, 

She  was  courted  })y  mony  men. 

Up  then  came  Lord  Lauderdale, 
Up  frae  the  Lawland  Border  ; 

And  he  has  come  to  court  this  may, 
A'  mounted  in  good  order. 
4 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  349 

He  told  na  her  father,  he  told  na  her  mother, 

And  he  told  na  ane  o'  her  kin  ; 
But  he  \vhisper"'d  the  bonnie  lassie  hersel'. 

And  has  her  favour  won. 


But  out  then  cam  Lord  Lochinvar, 
Out  frae  the  Enghsh  Border, 

All  for  to  court  this  bonnie  may, 
Weil  mounted,  and  in  order. 


He  told  her  father,  he  told  her  mother, 
And  a'  the  lave  o'  her  kin  ; 

But  he  told  na  the  bonnie  may  herser, 
Till  on  her  wedding  e'en. 


She  sent  to  the  Lord  o'  Lauderdale, 
Gin  he  wad  come  and  see  ; 

And  he  has  sent  word  back  again, 
Weel  answer'd  she  suld  be. 


And  he  has  sent  a  messenger 
Right  quickly  through  the  land, 

And  raised  mony  an  armed  man 
To  be  at  his  command. 


350  MINSTllELSV  OF 

The  bride  looked  out  at  a  high  window, 

Beheld  baith  dale  and  down, 
And  she  was  aware  of  her  first  true  love, 

AVith  riders  mony  a  one. 

She  scoffed  him,  and  scorned  him, 

Upon  her  wedding  day  ; 
And  said — "  It  was  the  Fairy  court 

"  To  see  him  in  array  ! 

"  O  come  ye  here  to  fight,  young  lord, 

"  Or  come  ye  here  to  play  ? 
"  Or  come  ye  here  to  drink  good  wine 

"  Upon  the  wedding  day  ?" 

"  I  come  na  here  to  fight,^'  he  said, 

"  I  come  na  here  to  play  ; 
"  111  but  lead  a  dance  wi''  the  bonnie  bride, 

"  And  mount,  and  go  my  way." 


It  is  a  glass  of  the  bkx)d-red  wine 
Was  filled  up  them  between, 

And  aye  she  drank  to  Lauderdale 
Wha  her  true  love  had  been. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  351 

He's  ta'en  her  by  the  milk-white  hand, 

And  by  the  grass-green  sleeve  ; 
He's  mounted  her  hie  behind  himsell, 

At  her  kinsmen  spear'd  na  leave. 

*'  Now  take  your  bride,  Lord  Lochinvar  ! 

"  Now  take  her  if  you  may  ! 
"  But,  if  you  take  your  bride  again, 

"  We'll  call  it  but  foul  play." 


There  were  four-and-twenty  bonnie  boys, 
A'  clad  in  the  Johnstone  grey  ;* 

They  said  they  would  take  the  bride  again, 
B}'^  the  strong  hand,  if  they  may. 


Some  o'  them  were  right  willing  men, 
But  they  were  na  willing  a' ; 

And  four-and-twenty  Leader  lads 
Bid  them  mount  and  ride  awa'. 


Then  whingers  flew  frae  gentles'  sides, 

And  swords  flew  frae  the  shea's, 
And  red  and  rosy  was  the  blood 

Ran  down  the  lily  braes. 

*  Johnstone  Grey — The  livery  of  the  ancient  family  of  Johnstone. 


352  MINSTKELSY  OF 

The  blood  ran  down  by  Caddon  bank, 
And  down  by  Caddon  brae  ; 

And,  sighing,  said  the  bonnie  bride — 
"  O  waes  me  for  foul  play  !" 

My  blessing  on  your  heart,  sweet  thing  ! 

Wae  to  your  wilfu""  will  ! 
There''s  mony  a  gallant  gentleman 

Whae's  blude  ye  have  garr'd  to  spill. 

Now  a'  you  lords  of  fair  England, 
•  And  that  dwell  by  the  English  Border, 
Come  never  here  to  seek  a  wife, 
For  fear  of  sic  disorder. 


They''ll  haik  ye  up,  and  settle  ye  bye. 
Till  on  your  wedding  day  ; 

Then  gie  ye  frogs  instead  of  fish, 
And  play  ye  foul  foul  play. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  353 


THE  LAIRD  O'  LOGIE. 


An  edition  of  this  ballad  is  current,  under  the  title  of 
"  The  Laird  of  Ochiltree ;"  but  the  editor,  since  publica- 
tion of  this  work,  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  recover 
the  following  more  correct  and  ancient  copy,  as  recited 
by  a  gentleman  residing  near  Biggar.  It  agrees  more 
nearly,  both  in  the  name  and  in  the  circumstances,  with 
the  real  fact,  than  the  printed  ballad  of  Ochiltree. 

In  the  year  1592,  Francis  Stuart,  Earl  of  Bothwell,  was 
agitating  his  frantic  and  ill-concerted  attempts  against 
the  person  of  James  VI.,  whom  he  endeavoured  to  sur- 
prise in  the  palace  of  Falkland.  Through  the  emulation 
and  private  rancour  of  the  courtiers,  he  found  adherents 
even  about  the  king's  person ;  among  whom,  it  seems, 
was  the  hero  of  our  ballad,  whose  history  is  thus  narra- 
ted in  that  curious  and  valuable  chronicle,  of  which  the 
first  part  has  been  published  under  the  title  of  "  The 
"  Historie  of  King  James  the  Sext." 

VOL.   II.  Z 


3.>4<  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  In  this  close  tyme  it  fortunit,  that  a  gentleman,  callit 
"  Weymis  of  Xogye,  being  also  in  credence  at  court,  was 
"  delatit  as  a  traffekkerwith  Frances  Erie  Bothwell;  and 
"  he  being  examinat  before  king  and  counsall,  confessit 
"  his  accusation  to  be  of  veritie,  that  sundry  tymes  he 
"  had  spokin  with  him,  expresslie  aganis  the  king's  in- 
"  hibitioun  proclamit  in  the  contrare,  whilk  confession 
"  he  subscry  vit  with  his  hand ;  and  because  the  event  of 
"  this  mater  had  sik  a  success,  it  sail  also  be  praysit  be 
"  my  pen,  as  a  worthie  turne,  proceiding  from  honest 
"  chest  love  and  charitie,  whilk  suld  on  na  wayis  be  ob- 
"  scurit  from  the  posteritie,  for  the  gude  example ;  and 
"  therefore  I  have  thought  gude  to  insert  the  same  for 
"  a  perpetual  memorie. 

"  Queen  Anne,  our  noble  princess,  was  served  with  dy- 
"  verss  gentihveinen  of  hir  awin  cuntrie,  and  naymelie 
"  with  ane  callit  Mres  Margaret  Twynstoun,*  to  whome 
"  this  gentilman,  Weymes  of  Logye,  bure  great  honest 
"  affection,  tending  to  the  godlie  band  of  marriage,  the 
"  whilk  was  honestlie  requytet  be  the  said  gentilwoman, 
"  yea  evin  in  his  greatest  mister ;  for  howsone  she  un- 
"  derstude  the  said  gentilman  to  be  in  distress,  and  appe- 
"  rantlie  be  his  confession  to  be  puneist  to  the  death,  and 
"  she  having  prevelege  to  ly  in  the  queynis  chalmer  that 
"  same  verie  night  of  his  accusation,  Avhare  the  king 
"  was  also  reposing  that  same  night,  she  came  furth  of 

*  Twynlacc,  according  to  Spottiswoodc. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  355 

"  the  dure  prevelie,  bayth  the  prencis  being  then  at 
"  quyet  rest,  and  past  to  the  chalmer,  whare  the  said 
"  gentilman  was  put  in  custodie  to  certayne  of  the  garde, 
"  and  commandit  thayme  that  immediatelie  he  sould 
"  be  broght  to  the  king  and  queyne,  whareunto  they 
"  geving  sure  credence,  obey  it.  But  howsone  she  was 
"  cum  bak  to  the  chalmer  dur,  she  desyrit  the  watches 
"  to  stay  till  he  sould  cum  furth  agayne,  and  so  she 
"  closit  the  dur,  and  convoyit  the  gentilman  to  a  windo'. 
"  whare  she  ministrat  a  long  corde  unto  him  to  convoy 
"  himself  doun  upon;  and  sa,  be  hir  gude  cheritable 
"  help,  he  happelie  escapit  be  the  subteltie  of  love." 


356  .'vrTNSTREi.sY  or 


THE  LAIRD  O'  T.OGTE, 


I  WILL  sing,  if  ye  will  hearken, 

If  ye  will  hearken  unto  nie  ; 
The  King  has  ta'en  a  poor  prisoner. 

The  wanton  laird  o'  young  Logie. 

Young  Logie*'s  laid  in  Edinburgh  chapel 
Carmichael's  the  keeper  o''  the  key  ; 

And  may  Margaret''s  lamenting  sair, 
A'  for  tlie  love  of  young  Logie. 


Lament,  lament  na,  may  Margaret, 
"  And  of  your  weeping  let  me  be  ; 
For  ye  maun  to  the  King  himsell, 
''  To  seek  the  life  of  voung  Logie.' 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORUEK.  357 

May  Margaret  has  kilted  her  green  cleiding, 
And  she  has  curPd  back  her  yellow  hair — 

"  If  I  canna  get  young  Logic's  life, 
"  Farewell  to  Scotland  for  evermair." 


She  knelit  lowly  on  her  knee — 

O  what's  the  matter,  may  Margaret  r 

"  And  what  needs  a'  this  courtesie  T' 


"  A  boon,  a  boon,  my  noble  liege, 
"  A  boon,  a  boon,  I  beg  o'  thee  ! 

"  And  the  first  boon  that  I  come  to  crave, 
"  Is  to  grant  me  the  life  of  young  Logie/ 

''  O  na,  O  na,  may  Mai'garet, 
"  Forsooth,  and  so  it  manna  be  ; 

"  For  a'  the  gowd  o'  fair  Scotland 

"  Shall  not  save  the  life  of  young  Logie." 

But  she  has  stown  the  King's  redding  kaim, 
Likewise  the  Queen  her  wedding  knife. 

And  sent  the  tokens  to  Carmichael, 
To  cause  young  Logie  get  his  life. 

*  Redding  kaim— £omh  for  tlie  hair. 


358  MINSTRELSY  OF 

She  sent  him  a  purse  o"'  the  red  gowd, 
Another  o""  the  white  monie  ; 

She  sent  liim  a  pistol  for  each  hand, 
And  bade  him  shoot  when  he  gat  fret 


When  he  came  to  the  tolbooth  stair, 
There  he  let  his  volley  flee  ; 

It  made  the  King  in  his  chamber  start, 
E'en  in  the  bed  where  lie  might  be. 


"  Gae  out,  gae  out,  my  merrymen  a', 
"  And  bid  Carmichael  come  speak  to  me 

''  For  I'll  lay  my  life  the  pledge  o'  that,     ' 
"  That  von's  tiie  shot  o'  young  Logie." 


A\  hen  Carmichael  came  before  the  King, 
He  fell  low  down  upon  his  knee  ; 

The  very  first  woi'd  tliat  tlie  King  spake, 
Was — "  "W'licre's  the  laird  of  young  Logic 


Carmichael  turn'd  him  round  about, 
(I  wot  the  tear  blinded  his  e'e,) 

"  There  came  a  token  frae  your  jaace, 
"  Has  ta'en  away  the  laird  frae  me." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOKUEU.  359 

Hast  thou  play"'d  me  that,  Carmichael  ? 

"  And  hast  thou  play'd  me  that  P"  quoth  he  ; 

The  morn  the  justice  courfs  to  stand, 

"  And  Logic's  place  ye  maun  supphe."" 


Carmichaers  awa  to  Margaret's  bower, 
Even  as  fast  as  he  may  drie — 

"  O  if  young  Logie  be  within, 

"  Tell  him  to  come  and  speak  with  n 


May  Margaret  turn'd  her  round  about, 
(I  wot  a  loud  laugh  laughed  she,) 

"  The  egg  is  chipp'd,  the  bird  is  flown, 
"  Ye'U  see  nae  mair  of  young  Logie."" 

The  tane  is  shipped  at  the  pier  of  Leith, 
The  tother  at  the  Queen's  Ferrie  : 

And  she's  gotten  a  father  to  her  bairn, 
The  wanton  laird  of  young  Logie. 


360  MINSTRELSY  OF 


NOTE 


HE  LAIRD  O'  LOGIE. 


Curmichuel's  the  keeper  o  the  k  y. — P.  356.  v.  2. 
Sir  John  Carmichael  of  Camiichael,  the  hero  of  the  hallad 
called  the  Raid  of  the  Reidswire,  was  appointed  captain  of  the 
king's  guard  in  1588,  and  usually  had  the  keeping  of  state  cri- 
minals of  rank. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEK.  361 


A  LYKE-WAKE  DIRGE. 


This  is  a  sort  ofcharm^  sung  by  the  lower  ranks  of  Ro- 
man Catholics  in  some  pai'ts  of  the  north  of  England, 
while  watching  a  dead  body,  previous  to  interment. 
The  tune  is  doleful  and  monotonous,  and,  joined  to  the 
mysterious  import  of  the  words,  has  a  solemn  effect. 
The  word  sleet,  in  the  chorus,  seems  to  be  corrupted 
from  sell,  or  salt ;  a  quantity  of  which,  in  compliance 
with  a  popular  superstition,  is  frequently  placed  on  the 
breast  of  a  corpse. 

The  late  Mr  Ritson  found  an  illustration  of  this  dirge 
in  a  MS.  of  the  Cotton  Library,  containing  an  account 
of  Cleveland,  in  Yorkshire,  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Eli- 
zabeth. It  was  kindly  communicated  to  the  editor  by  Mr 
Frank,  Mr  Kitson's  executor,  and  runs  thus : — "  When 
"  any  dieth,  certaine  women  sing  a  song  to  the  dead 
"  bodie,  recyting  the  journey  that  the  partye  deceased 
"  must  goe ;  and  they  are  of  beliefe  (such  is  their  fond- 
"  nesse)  that  once  in  their  lives,  it  is  good  to  give  a  pair 


362  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  of  new  shoes  to  a  poor  man,  for  as  miichj  as  after  this 
"  life,  they  are  to  pass  barefoote  through  a  great  launde, 
"  full  of  thornes  and  furzen,  except  by  the  meryte  of 
"  the  almes  aforesaid  they  have  redemed  the  forfeyte  ; 
"  for,  at  the  edge  of  the  launde,  an  oulde  man  shall 
"  meet  them  with  the  same  shoes  that  were  given  by  the 
"  partie  when  he  was  ly ving ;  and,  after  he  hath  shodde 
"  them,  dismisseth  them  to  go  through  thick  and  thin, 
"  without  scratch  or  scalle." — Julius,  F.  VI.  4:5^. 
'  The  mythologic  ideas  of  the  dirge  are  common  to  va- 
rious creeds.  The  Mahometan  believes,  that,  in  advan- 
cing to  the  final  judgment-seat,  he  must  traverse  a  bar 
of  red-hot  iron,  stretched  across  a  bottomless  gulph. 
The  good  works  of  each  true  believer,  assuming  a  sub- 
stantial form,  will  then  interpose  betwixt  his  feet  and 
this  "  Bridge  of  Dread ;"  but  the  wicked,  having  no 
such  protection,  must  fall  headlong  into  the  abyss. — 
D'Herbelot,  Bibliothequc  Orientale. 

Passages,  similar  to  this  dirge,  are  also  to  be  found  in 
Ladtf  Culross's  Dream,  as  quoted  in  the  second  Disser- 
tation, prefixed  by  Mr  Pinkerton  to  his  Select  Scottish 
Ballads,  2  vols.  Thedreamer  journeys  towards  heaven, 
accompanied  and  assisted  by  a  celestial  guide  : 

Through  dreadful  der.s,  which  made  my  heart  aghast, 
He  bare  me  up  when  I  began  to  tire. 
Sometimes  wc  clanib  o'er  crasjgy  mountains  high, 
And  sometimes  stay'd  on  ugly  braes  of  sand  ; 
They  w  ere  so  stay  that  wonder  was  to  see : 
8ut,  wlitn  I  tcur'd,  lie  held  me  by  the  hand. 


THE  SCOTTISH  150RDE11.  363 

Through  great  deserts  we  wandered  on  our  way — 
Forward  we  passed  on  narrow  bridge  of  trie, 
O'er  waters  great,  which  hediously  did  roar. 

Again,  she  supposes  herself  suspended  over  an  infer- 
nal gulph  : 

Ere  I  was  ware,  one  gripp'd  me  at  the  last, 
And  held  me  high  above  a  flaming  fire. 
The  fire  was  great ;  the  heat  did  pierce  me  sore  ; 
My  faith  grew  weak  ;  my  grip  was  very  small ; 
I  trembled  fast ;   my  fear  grew  more  and  more. 

A  horrible  picture  of  the  same  kind,  dictated  proba- 
bly by  the  author's  unhappy  state  of  mind,  is  to  be  found 
ill  Brooke's  Fool  ofQualilij.  The  dreamer,  a  ruined  fe- 
male, is  suspended  over  the  gidph  of  perdition  by  a 
single  hair,  which  is  severed  by  a  demon,  who,  in  the 
form  of  her  seducer,  springs  upwards  from  the  flames. 
The  Russian  funeral  service,  without  any  allegorical 
imagery,  expresses  the  sentinient  of  the  dirge  in  lan- 
guage alike  simple  and  noble. 

"  Hast  thou  pitied  the  afflicted,  O  man  ?  In  death 
"  shalt  thou  be  pitied.  Hast  thou  consoled  the  orphan  ? 
•'  The  orphan  will  deliver  thee.  Hast  thou  clothed  the 
"  naked  ?  The  naked  will  procure  thee  protection." — 
Richardson's  Anecdotes  of  Russia. 

But  the  most  minute  description  of  the  Brig  o  Dread 
occurs  in  the  legend  of  Sir  Oivain,  No.  XL.  in  the  MS. 
Collection  of  Romances,  W.  1.  1.  Advocates'  Library, 
Edinburgh ;  thougli  its  position  is  not  tlie  same  as  in  the 
dirge,  which  may  excite  a  suspicion  that  the  order  ot 


364  MINSTRELSY  OF 

the  stanzas  in  the  latter  has  been  transposed.  Sir  Owain, 
a  Northumbrian  knight,  after  many  frightful  adven- 
tures in  St  Patrick's  purgatory,  at  last  arrives  at  the 
bridge,  which,  in  the  legend,  is  placed  betwixt  purga- 
tory and  paradise  : 

The  fendes  han  the  knight  ynome. 
To  a  stinkand  water  thai  ben  ycome, 

He  no  seigh  never  er  non  swiche  ; 
It  stank  fouler  than  ani  hounde, 
And  mani  mile  it  was  to  the  groiinde, 

And  was  as  swart  as  piche. 

And  Owain  seigh  ther  ouer  ligge 
A  swithe  strong  naru  brigge  : 

The  fendes  seyd  tho  ; 
"  Lo  !  Sir  Knight,  sestow  this  ? 
'*  This  is  the  brigge  of  paradis, 

"  Here  ouer  thou  must  go. 

"  And  we  the  schul  with  stones  prowe, 
"  And  the  winde  the  schul  ouer  blow, 

"  And  wirche  the  full  wo  ; 
"  Thou  no  schalt  for  all  this  unduerd, 
"  Bot  gif  thou  falle  a  midwerd, 

"  To  our  fewes  *  mo. 

"  And  when  thou  art  adown  yfalle, 
'■'  Than  schal  com  our  felawes  alle, 

"  And  with  her  hokes  the  hede  ; 
"  We  schul  the  teche  a  newe  play  : 
••  Thou  hast  served  ous  mani  a  day, 

"  And  into  helle  the  lede." 


Fnifi— Probably  contracted  for  fellows, 
7 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEli.  S65 


Owain  biheld  the  brigge  smert, 

The  water  ther  under  blac  and  swert, 

And  sore  him  gan  to  drede  : 
For  of  othing  he  tok  yeme, 
Never  mot,  in  some  beme, 

Thicker  than  the  fendes  yede. 

The  brigge  was  as  heigh  as  a  tour, 
And  as  scharpe  as  a  rasour. 

And  natu  it  was  also  ; 
And  the  water  that  ther  ran  under, 
Brend  o'  lightning  and  of  thonder. 

That  thocht  him  michel  wo. 

Ther  nis  no  clerk  may  write  with  ynkc. 
No  no  man  no  may  bethink, 

No  no  maister  deuine  ; 
That  is  ymade  forsoth  ywis. 
Under  the  brigge  of  paradis, 

Halvendel  the  pine. 

So  the  dominical  ous  telle, 
Ther  is  the  pure  entrae  of  helle, 

Seine  Poule  berth  witnesse  ;* 
Whoso  falleth  of  the  brigge  adown, 
Of  him  nis  no  redempcioun. 
Neither  more  nor  lesse. 

The  fendes  seyd  to  the  knight  tho, 

"  Ouer  this  brigge  might  thou  nowght  go, 

"  For  noneskines  nede  ; 
"  Fie  peril  sorwe  and  wo, 
"  And  to  that  stede  ther  thou  com  fro, 

"  Wei  fair  we  schul  the  lede." 

Owain  anon  began  bithenche, 

Fram  hou  mani  of  the  fendes  wrenche. 


~  The  reader  will  probably  search  St  Paul  in  vain  for  the  evidence  here  i 
t'ened  to. 


JU)(>  .-minstrelsy  of 

God  him  saved  h.idile  ; 
He  sett  his  fot  opon  the  brigge. 
No  feld  he  no  scharpe  egge. 

No  nothing  him  no  drad. 

When  the  fendes  yseigh  tho, 
That  he  was  more  than  half  ygo, 
Loude  they  gun  to  crie  ; 
"  Alias  !  alias  !  tliat  he  was  born  ! 
"  This  ich  knight  we  have  forlorn 
"  Out  of  our  baylie." 

The  author  of  the  Legend  of  Sir  Otvain,  though  a 
zealous  catholic,  has  embraced,  in  the  fullest  extent, 
the  Talmutlic  doctrine  of  an  earthly  paradise,  distinct 
from  the  celestial  abode  of  the  just,  and  serving  as  a 
place  of  initiation,  preparatory  to  perfect  bliss,  and  to 
the  beatific  vision. —  See  the  Rabbi  Menasse  ben  Israel, 
in  a  treatise  called  Nishmalh  Chajim,  i.  e.  The  Breath  of 
Life. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  .367 


A  LYKE-WAKE  DIRGE. 


This  ae  nighte,  this  ae  nighte, 

Every  night  and  alle ; 
Fire  and  sleet,  and  candle  lighte, 

And  Christe  receive  thy  saule. 


When  thou  from  hence  away  are  paste, 

Every  night  and  alle ; 
To  Whinny -muir  thou  comest  at  laste  ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 


If  ever  thou  gavest  hosen  and  shoon, 

Every  night  and  alle  ; 
Sit  thee  down,  and  put  them  on  ; 

And  Christe  receive  tliye  saule. 


368  MINSTRELSY  OF 

If  hosen  and  shoun  thou  ne'er  gavest  nane, 

Every  niglit  and  alle  ; 
The  whinnes  shall  pricke  thee  to  the  bare  bant 

And  Christe  receive  thv  saule. 


From  Whinny-muir  when  thou  mayst  passe, 

Everv  night  and  alle  ; 
To  Brigg  o''  Dread  thou  comest  at  laste ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 


(A  Stanza  wanting-.) 

From  Brigg  o'  Dread  when  thou  mayst  passe. 

Every  night  and  alle  ; 
To  purgatory  fire  thou  comest  at  laste  ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

If  ever  thou  gavest  meat  or  drink, 

Every  night  and  alle  ; 
The  fire  shall  never  make  thee  shrinke  ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEU.  369 

If  meate  or  drinke  thou  never  gavest  nane, 

Every  night  and  alle ; 
The  fire  vnW  burn  thee  to  the  bare  bane ; 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 

This  ae  nighte,  this  ae  nighte, 

Every  night  and  alie  ; 
Fire  and  sleet,  and  candle  lighte, 

And  Christe  receive  thye  saule. 


370  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THK 

DOWIE  DENS  OF  YARROW. 

NOW  FIRST  PUBLISHED. 


This  ballad,  which  is  a  very  great  favourite  among  the 
inhabitants  of  Ettrick  Forest,  is  universally  believed  to 
be  founded  in  fact.  The  editor  found  it  easy  to  collect 
a  variety  of  copies  ;  but  very  difficult  indeed  to  select 
from  them  such  a  collated  edition,  as  may,  in  any  de- 
gree, suit  the  taste  of  "  these  more  light  and  giddy- 
paced  times." 

Tradition  places  the  event,  recorded  in  the  song,  very 
early ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  ballad  was  composed 
soon  afterwards,  although  the  language  has  been  gra- 
dually modernized,  in  the  course  of  its  transmission  to 
us,  through  the  inaccurate  channel  of  oral  tradition. — 
The  bard  does  not  relate  particulars,  but  barely  the  stri- 
king outlines  of  a  fact,  apparently  so  well  known  when 
he  wrote,  as  to  render  minute  detail  as  unnecessary,  as 
it  is  always  tedious  and  unpoetical. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  371 

The  hero  of  the  ballad  was  a  knight  of  great  bravery, 
called  Scott,  who  is  said  to  have  resided  at  Kirkhope,  or 
Oakwood  castle,  and  is,  in  tradition,  termed  the  Baron 
of  Oakwood.  The  estate  of  Kirkhope  belonged  ancient- 
ly to  the  Scotts  of  Harden  :  Oakwood  is  still  their  pro- 
perty, and  has  been  so  from  time  immemorial.  The  edi- 
tor was  therefore  led  to  suppose,  that  the  hero  of  the 
ballad  might  have  been  identified  with  John  Scott,  sixth 
son  of  the  Laird  of  Harden,  murdered  in  Ettrick  Fo- 
rest by  his  kinsmen,  the  Scotts  of  Gilmanscleugh.  (See 
notes  to  Jamie  Telfer,  vol,  I.)  This  appeared  the  more 
probable,  as  the  common  people  always  affirm  that  this 
young  man  was  treacherously  slain,  and  that,  in  evi- 
dence thereof,  his  body  remained  uncorrupted  for  many 
years ;  so  that  even  the  roses  on  his  shoes  seemed  as 
fresh  as  when  he  was  first  laid  in  the  family  vault  at 
Hassendean.  But  from  a  passage  in  Nisbet's  Heraldiy, 
he  now  believes  the  ballad  refers  to  a  duel  fought  at 
Deucharswyre,  of  which  Annan's  Treat  is  a  part,  be- 
twixt John  Scott  of  Tushielaw  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Walter  Scott,  third  son  of  Robert  of  Thirlestane,  in 
which  the  latter  was  slain. 

In  ploughing  Annan's  Treat,  a  huge  monumental 
stone,  with  an  inscription,  was  discovered  ;  but  being 
rather  scratched  than  engraved,  and  the  lines  being  run 
through  each  other,  it  is  only  possible  to  read  one  or 
two  Latin  words.  It  probably  records  the  event  of  the 
combat.  The  person  slain  was  the  male  ancestor  of  the 
present  Lord  Napier. 


372  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Tradition  affirms/ that  the  hero  of  the  song  (be  he  who 
he  may)  was  murdered  by  the  brother,  either  of  his  wife, 
or  betrothed  bride.  The  alleged  cause  of  malice  was  the 
lady's  father  having  proposed  to  endow  her  with  half  of 
his  property,  upon  her  marriage  with  a  warrior  of  such 
renown.  The  name  of  the  murderer  is  said  to  have  been 
Annan,  and  the  place  of  combat  is  still  called  Annan's 
Treat.  It  is  a  low  muir,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yarrow, 
lying  to  the  west  of  Yarrow  Kirk.  Two  tall  unhewn 
masses  of  stone  are  erected,  about  eighty  yards  distant 
from  each  other ;  and  the  least  child,  that  can  herd  a 
cow,  will  tell  the  passenger,  that  there  lie  "the  two  lords, 
**  who  were  slain  in  single  combat." 

It  will  be,  with  many  readers,  the  greatest  recommen- 
dation of  these  verses,  that  they  are  supposed  to  have 
suggested  to  Mr  Hamilton,  of  Bangour,  the  modern 
ballad,  beginning, 

"  Busk  ye,  busk  ye,  my  bonny  bonny  bride." 

A  fragment,  apparently  regarding  the  story  of  the  fol- 
lowing ballad,  but  in  a  different  measure,  occurs  in  Mr 
Herd's  MS.,  and  runs  thus  : — 


When  I  look  east,  my  heart  is  sair. 
But  when  I  look  west,  its  mair  and  mair : 
'  For  then  I  see  the  braes  o'  Yarrow, 
And  there,  for  aye,  1  lost  ray  marrow.'- 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  373 


DOWIE  DENS  OF  YAItllOW. 


Late  at  e''en,  drinking  the  wine. 
And  ere  they  paid  the  lawing. 

They  set  a  combat  them  between, 
To  fight  it  in  the  dawing. 


"  O  stay  at  hame,  my  noble  lord, 
"  O  stay  at  hame,  my  marrow  ! 

"  My  cruel  brother  will  you  betray 
"  On  the  dowie  houms  of  Yarrow. 


O  fare  ye  weel,  my  ladye  gaye  ! 

"  O  fare  ye  weel,  my  Sarah  ! 

For  I  maun  gae,  though  I  ne'er  return 

"  Frae  the  dowie  banks  o'  Yarrow. 


374  MINSTRELSY  OF 

She  kiss'd  liis  clicck,  she  kainul  his  hair. 
As  oft  she  had  done  before,  O  ; 

She  belted  him  with  his  noble  brand, 
And  he's  away  to  Yarrow. 

As  he  gaed  up  the  Tennies  bank, 

I  wot  he  gaed  wi'  sorrow. 
Till,  down  in  a  den,  he  spied  nine  arm'd  men, 

On  the  dowie  houms  of  Yarrow. 


O  come  ye  here  to  part  your  land, 
*'  The  bonnie  forest  thorough  ? 
Or  come  ye  here  to  wield  your  brand, 
"  On  the  dowie  houms  of  Yarrow  ?" 


''  I  come  not  here  to  part  my  land, 
"  And  neither  to  beg  nor  borrow  ; 

"  I  come  to  wield  my  noble  brand, 
"  On  the  bonnie  banks  of  Yarrow. 


If  I  see  all,  yeVe  nine  to  ane  ; 
"  And  that's  an  unequal  marrow  ; 
Yet  will  I  fight,  while  lasts  my  brand, 
"  On  the  bonnie  banks  of  Yarrow." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  375 

Four  has  he  hurt,  and  five  has  slain, 

On  the  bloody  braes  of  Yarrow, 
Till  tliat  stubborn  knight  came  him  beiiind, 

And  ran  his  bodie  thorough. 


"  Gae  hame,  gae  hame,  good-brother*  John, 

"  And  tell  your  sister  Sarah, 
"  To  come  and  lift  her  leafu'  lord  ; 

"  He's  sleepin  sound  on  Yarrow."" 


Yestreen  I  dream'd  a  dolefu""  dream  : 
"  I  fear  there  will  be  sorrow  ! 
I  di'eam'd,  I  pu'd  the  heather  green, 
"  Wi'  my  true  love,  on  Yarrow. 


O  gentle  Avind,  that  bloweth  south, 
"  From  where  my  love  rcpaireth. 
Convey  a  kiss  from  his  dear  mouth, 
"  And  tell  me  how  he  fareth  I 


But  in  the  glen  strive  armed  men ; 
"  They've  wrought  me  dole  and  sorrow ; 
They've  slain — the  comeliest  knight  they've  slain— 
"  He  bleeding  lies  on  Yarrow." 

*  Good-brother — Beau-frere,  Brother-in-law. 


376  MINSTRELSY  OF 

As  she  sped  down  yon  high  higli  hill, 
She  gaed  wi"*  dole  and  sorrow. 

And  in  the  den  spyed  ten  slain  men, 
On  the  dowie  banks  of  Yarrow. 


She  kiss'd  his  cheek,  she  kaim'd  his  hair. 
She  search''d  his  wounds  all  thorough. 

She  kiss'd  them,  till  hei-  lips  grew  red, 
On  the  dowie  houms  of  Yarrow. 


Now,  haud  your  tongue,  my  daughter  dear  ! 

"  For  a"'  this  breeds  but  sorrow  ; 

ril  wed  ye  to  a  better  lord, 

"  Than  him  ye  lost  on  Yarrow." 

O  haud  your  tongue,  my  father  dear  ! 

"  Ye  mind  me  but  of  sorrow  ; 

A  fairer  rose  did  never  bloom 

"  Than  now  lies  cropp'd  on  Yarrow."" 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  377 


THE  GAY  GOSS-HAWK. 


NEVEE  BEFORE  TUBLISHED. 


This  Ballad  is  published,  partly  from  one,  under  this  title,  in 
Mrs  Brown's  Collection,  and  partly  from  a  MS.  of  some 
antiquity,  penes  Edit. — The  stanzas,  appearing  to  possess 
most  merit,  have  been  selected  from  each  copy. 


O  WALY,  waly,  my  gay  goss  hawk, 
"  Gin  your  feathering  be  sheen  !"" 
And  waly,  waly,  my  master  dear, 
"  Gin  ye  look  pale  and  lean  ! 


O  have  ye  tint,  at  tournament, 
"  Your  sword,  or  yet  your  spear  ? 
Or  mourn  ye  for  the  southern  lass, 
"  Whom  you  may  not  win  near  ?*" 


378  IMINSTRELSY  OF 

"  I  have  not  tint,  at  tournament, 
"  My  sword,  nor  yet  my  spear ; 

"  But  sair  I  mourn  for  my  true  love, 
"  Wr  mony  a  bitter  tear. 


"  But  weePs  me  on  ye,  my  gay  goss-hawk, 
"  Ye  can  baith  speak  and  flee ; 

"  Ye  sail  carry  a  letter  to  my  love, 
**  Bring  an  answer  back  to  me/' 

"  But  how  sail  I  your  true  love  find, 

"  Or  how  suld  I  her  know  ? 
"  I  bear  a  tongue  ne'er  wi'  her  spake, 

"  An  eye  that  ne'er  her  saw.'" 


"  O  weel  sail  ye  my  true  love  ken, 

"  Sae  sune  as  ye  her  see  ; 
"  For,  of  a'  the  flowers  of  fair  England, 

"  The  fairest  flower  is  she. 


"  The  red,  that's  on  my  true  love's  cheik, 
"Is  like  blood-drops  on  the  snaw  ; 

"  The  white,  that  is  on  her  breast  bai'e, 
"  Like  the  down  o'  the  white  sea-maw. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  379 

"  And  even  at  my  love''s  bour  doov 

"  There  grows  a  flowering  birk  ; 
"  And  ye  maun  sit  and  sing  thereon 

"  As  she  gangs  to  the  kirk. 

"  And  four-and-twenty  fair  ladyes 

"  Will  to  the  mass  repair ; 
"  But  weel  may  ye  my  ladye  ken, 

*'  The  fairest  ladye  there." 

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. 

And  even  at  that  ladye's  bour 

There  grew  a  flowering  birk  ; 
And  he  sat  down  and  sung  thereon 

As  she  gaed  to  the  kirk. 

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. 
9 


380  MINSTRELSY  OF 

He  lighted  at  the  ladye's  yate. 

And  sat  him  on  a  pin  ; 
And  sang  fu'  sweet  the  notes  o'  love, 

Till  a'  was  cosh  *  within. 


And  first  he  sang  a  low  low  note, 

And  syne  he  sang  a  clear  ; 
And  aye  the  o'erword  o'  the  sang 

Was — "  Your  love  can  no  win  here. 


Feast  on,  feast  on,  my  maidens  a\ 
"  The  wine  flows  you  amang. 
While  I  gang  to  my  shot-window, 
"  And  hear  yon  bonny  bird's  sang. 


"  Sing  on,  sing  on,  my  bonny  bird, 
*'  The  sang  ye  sung  yestreen  ; 

*'  For  weel  I  ken,  by  your  sweet  singing, 
"  Ye  are  frae  my  true  love  sen." 

O  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. 

♦  CWi— Quiet. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  381 

"  Have  there  a  letter  from  Lord  William ; 
'    "  He  says  he's  sent  ye  three ; 
"  He  canna  wait  your  love  langer, 
"  But  for  your  sake  he'U  die." 

"  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." 

The  lady's  gane  to  her  chamber, 

And  a  moanfu'  woman  was  she ; 
As  gin  she  had  ta'en  a  sudden  brash,* 

And  were  about  to  die. 


"  A  boon,  a  boon,  my  father  deir, 

"  A  boon  I  beg  of  thee  !" 
"  Ask  not  that  paughty  Scottish  lord, 

"  For  him  you  ne'er  shall  see. 

"  But,  for  your  honest  asking  else, 
"  Weel  granted  it  shall  be." 

"  Then,  gin  I  die  in  Southern  land, 
"  In  Scotland  gar  bury  me. 

*  BrasJt— Sickness. 


382  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  And  the  first  kirk  that  ye  come  to, 
"  Yc's  gar  the  mass  be  sung  ; 

"  And  the  next  kirk  that  ye  come  to, 
"  Ye's  gar  the  bells  be  rung. 

"  And  when  ye  come  to  St  IMary's  kirk, 
"  Ye's  tarry  there  till  night." 

And  so  her  father  pledged  his  word, 
And  so  his  promise  plight. 


She  has  ta'en  her  to  her  bigly  bour 
As  fast  as  she  could  fare  ; 

And  she  has  drank  a  sleepy  draught. 
That  she  had  mix'd  wi'  care. 


"  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  could  be. 

Then  spak  her  cruel  step-minnie, 
"  Tak  ye  the  burning  lead, 

"  And  drap  a  drap  on  her  bosome, 
"  To  try  if  she  be  dead." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEll.  383 

They  took  a  drap  o'  boiling  lead, 

They  drapp'd  it  on  her  breast ; 
"  Alas  !  alas  !"  her  father  cried, 

"  She's  dead  without  the  priest." 


She  neither  chatter'd  with  her  teeth, 
Nor  shiver'd  with  her  chin  ; 

"  Alas  !  alas  V  her  father  cried, 
"  There  is  nae  breath  within." 


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  wi'  silver  clear. 


Then  up  and  gat  her  seven  sisters, 
And  sewed  to  her  a  kell ; 

And  every  steek  that  they  put  in 
Sewed  to  a  siller  bell. 


The  first  Scots  kirk  that  they  cam  to, 
They  garr'd  the  bells  be  rung ; 

The  next  Scots  kirk  that  they  cam  to, 
They  garr'd  the  mass  be  sung. 


384  MINSTRELSY  OF 

But  when  they  cam  to  St  Mary's  kirk. 
There  stude  spearmen  all  on  a  raw  ; 

And  up  and  started  Lord  William, 
The  chieftane  amang  them  a\ 

"  Set  down,  set  down  the  bier,"'  he  said  ; 

'*  Let  me  look  her  upon  f 
But  as  soon  as  Lord  William  touched  her  hand. 

Her  colour  began  to  come. 

She  brightened  hke  the  hly  flower, 

Till  her  pale  colour  was  gone  ; 
With  rosy  cheik,  and  ruby  lip, 

She  smiled  her  love  upon. 

"  A  morsel  of  your  bread,  my  lord, 

"  And  one  glass  of  your  wine  : 
"  For  I  hae  fasted  these  three  lang  days, 

"  All  for  your  sake  and  mine. 

"  Gae  hame,  gae  hame,  my  seven  bauld  brothers  ! 

"  Gae  hame  and  blaw  your  horn  ! 
"  I  trow  ye  wad  hae  gi'en  me  the  skaith, 

'*  But  I've  gi'en  you  the  scorn. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  385 

"  Commend  me  to  my  gi*ey  father, 

"  That  wish''d  my  saul  gude  rest ; 
"  But  wae  be  to  my  cruel  step-dame, 

"  Gar'd  burn  me  on  the  breast." 


Ah  !  woe  to  you,  you  light  woman  ! 
"  An  ill  death  may  you  die  ! 
For  we  left  father  and  sisters  at  liame 
"  Breaking  their  hearts  for  thee." 


2   B 


386  MINSTRELSY  OF 


NOTES 

ON 

THE  GAY  GOSS-HAWK. 


The  red,  that's  on  my  true  love's  cheik. 

Is  like  blood-drops  on  the  snaw, — P.  378.  V.  5. 

This  simile  resembles  a  passage  in  a  MS.  translation  of  an 
Irish  Fairy  tale,  called  The  Adventures  of  Faravla,  Princess  of 
Scotland,  and  Carral  O'Dalij,  Son  of  Donogho  More  O'Dali/, 
Ch  ief  Ba  rd  of  Irela  n  d. 

"  Faravla,  as  she  entered  her  bower,  cast  her  looks  upon  the 
"  earth,  which  was  tinged  with  the  blood  of  a  bird  which  a  ra- 
"  ven  had  newly  killed  ;  '  Like  that  snow,'  said  Faravla,  '  was 
"  the  complexion  of  my  beloved,  his  cheeks  hke  the  sangmne 
"  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  Far- 
avla, being  desperately  in  love  with  Carral  O'Daly,  dispatches 
in  search  of  him  a  faithful  confidante,  who,  by  her  magical  art, 
transfonns  herself  into  a  hawk,  and,  perching  upon  the  win- 
dows 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  : 

A  bride  bright  thai  chts 
As  blode  opon  snoweing. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  387 


BROWN  ADAM. 


There  is  a  cojn/  of  this  Ballad  in  Mrs  Brown's  Collection. 
The  editor  has  seen  one,  printed  on  a  single  sheet.  The  epi- 
thet, "  Smith,"  implies,  probablj/,  the  sir  name,  not  the  pro- 
fession, of  the  hero,  who  seems  to  have  been  an  outlaw.  There 
is,  however,  in  Mrs  Brown's  copi/,  a  verse  of  little  merit 
here  omitted,  alluding  to  the  implements  of  that  occvpation. 


O  wHA  wad  wish  the  wind  to  blaw. 
Or  the  green  leaves  fa'  therewith  ? 

Or  who  wad  wish  a  lealer  love 
Than  Brown  Adam  the  Smith  ? 


But  they  hae  banish'd  him,  Brown  Adam, 

Frae  father  and  frae  mother  ; 
And  they  hae  banish'd  him,  Brown  Adam, 

Frae  sister  and  frae  brother. 


388  MINSTRELSY  OF 

And  they  hae  banish''d  him,  Brown  Adam, 

The  flower  o'  a**  his  kin  ; 
And  he''s  bigged  a  bour  in  gude  green-wood 

Atween  his  ladye  and  him. 

It  fell  upon  a  summer's  day. 
Brown  Adam  he  thought  lang  ; 

And,  for  to  hunt  some  venison, 
To  green-wood  he  wald  gang. 

He  has  ta'en  his  bow  his  arm  o"'er. 

His  bolts  and  arrows  lang  ; 
And  he  is  to  the  gude  green-wood 

As  fast  as  he  could  gang. 

O  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  gude  cheir. 

O  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. 


THE  SCOTTISH  UOllDEll.  389 

When  he  cam  to  liis  ladye's  hour  door, 

He  stude  a  httle  forbye, 
And  there  he  heard  a  fou  fause  knight 

Temptmg  his  gay  ladye. 

For  he's  ta'en  out  a  gay  goud  ring, 

Had  cost  him  raony  a  poun'', 
"  O  grant  me  love  for  love,  ladye, 

"  And  this  shall  be  thy  own."" 

"  I  lo'e  Brown  Adam  weel,"  she  said  ; 

"  I  trew  sae  does  he  me  ; 
"  I  wadna  gie  Brown  Adam's  love 

"  For  nae  fause  knight  I  see." 


Out  has  he  ta'en  a  purse  o'  gowd, 
Was  a'  fou  to  the  string, 

"  O  grant  me  love  for  love,  ladye, 
"  And  a'  this  shall  be  thine." 


I  lo'e  Brown  Adam  Aveel,"  she  says 
"  I  wot  sae  does  he  me  : 
I  wadna  be  your  light  leman, 
"  For  mair  than  yc  could  gie." 


390  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Then  out  he  drew  his  lang  bright  brand, 

And  flash'd  it  in  her  een ; 
"  Now  grant  me  love  for  love,  ladye, 

"  Or  thro'  ye  this  sail  gang  r 
Then,  sighing,  says  that  ladye  fair, 

"  Brown  Adam  tarries  lang  r 

Then  in  and  starts  him  Brown  Adam, 
Says — "  I'm  just  at  your  hand." 

He's  gar'd  him  leave  his  bonny  bow, 
He's  gar'd  him  leave  his  brand, 

He's  gar'd  him  leave  a  dearer  pledge- 
Four  fingers  o'  his  right  hand. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  391 


JELLON  GRAME. 


XEVER  BEFORE  PUBLISHED. 


This  ballad  is  published  from  tradition,  with  some  con- 
jectural emendations.  It  is  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  Jii' 
lian.  "  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 
"  Shepherd's  Daughter." — Reliques  of  Ancient  Poetry, 
vol.  III.  p.  72: 

Some  de  call  me  Jack,  sweetheart. 
And  some  do  call  me  Jillc. 

Witton  Gilbert,  a  village  four  miles  west  of  Durham, 
is,  throughout  the  bishopric,  pronounced  Witton  Jilbert. 


392  MINSTRELSY  OF 

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  Croyden,  and  a 
thousand  authorities.  Such  being  the  case,  the  editor 
must  enter  his  protest  against  the  conversion  of  Gil  Mor- 
rice  into  Child  Maurice,  an  epithet  of  chivahy.  All  the 
circumstances  in  that  ballad  ai*gue,  that  the  unfortunate 
hero  was  an  obscure  and  very  young  man,  who  had  ne- 
ver received  the  honour  of  knighthood.  At  any  rate, 
there  can  be  no  reason,  even  were  internal  evidence  to- 
tally wanting,  for  altering  a  well-known  proper  name, 
which,  till  of  late  yeai^,  has  been  the  uniform  title  of 
the  ballad. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  393 


JELLON  GRAME. 


0  Jellon  Grame  sat  in  Silverwood,* 
He  sharp\l  his  broad  sword  lang ; 

And  he  has  call'd  his  Uttle  foot-page 
An  errand  for  to  gang. 

"  Win  up,  my  bonny  boy,"  he  says, 

"  As  quickly  as  ye  may ; 
*'  For  ye  maun  gang  for  Lilhe  Flower 

"  Before  the  break  of  day."" 


•  Silverwood,  mentioned  in  this  ballad,  occurs  in  a  medley  MS. 
song,  which  seems  to  have  been  copied  from  the  first  edition  of  the 
Aberdeen  cantus,  penes  John  G.  Dalyell,  Esq.  advocate.  One  line 
only  is  cited,  apparently  the  beginning  of  some  song  : 

Silverwood,  gin  ye  were  mine. 


394  MINSTRELSY  OF 

The  boy  has  buckled  his  belt  about. 

And  thro'  the  green-wood  ran  ; 
And  he  came  to  the  ladye's  bower 

Before  the  day  did  dawn. 

"  O  sleep  ye,  wake  ye,  Lillie  Flower  r 

"  The  red  sun''s  on  the  rain  : 
"  YeVe  bidden  come  to  Silverwood, 

*'  But  I  doubt  ye'll  never  win  hame."" 

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. 

O  then  up  started  Jellon  Gramc, 

Out  of  a  bush  thereby  ; 
"  Light  down,  light  down,  now,  Lillie  Flower, 

"  For  it's  here  that  ye  maun  lye."" 


She  lighted  aft"  her  milk-white  steed, 
And  kneePd  upon  her  knee  ; 

"  O  mercy,  mercy,  Jellon  Grame, 
"  For  Fm  no  prepared  to  die  ! 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEll.  395 

"  Your  bairn,  that  stirs  between  my  sides, 

"  Maun  shortly  see  the  Ught; 
"  But  to  see  it  weltering  in  my  blood, 

""  Would  be  a  piteous  sight." 

"  O  should  I  spare  your  life,"  he  says, 

"  Until  that  bairn  were  born, 
"  Full  weel  I  ken  your  auld  father 

"  Would  hang;  me  on  the  morn." 


O  spare  my  life,  now,  Jellon  Grame  ! 
"  My  father  ye  needna  dread  : 
I'll  keep  my  babe  in  gude  green-wood, 
"  Or  wi'  it  ril  beg  my  bread." 


He  took  no  pity  on  Lillie  Flower, 
Tho'  she  for  life  did  pray  ; 

But  pierced  her  thro'  the  fair  body 
As  at  his  feet  she  lay. 


He  felt  nae  pity  for  Lillie  Flower, 
Where  she  was  lying  dead  ; 

But  he  felt  some  for  the  bonny  bairn. 
That  lay  weltering  in  her  bluid. 


396  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Up  has  he  ta'en  that  bonny  boy, 
Given  him  to  nurses  nine  ; 

Three  to  sleep,  and  three  to  wake, 
And  three  to  go  between. 

And  lie  bred  up  that  bonny  boy, 
CalPd  him  his  sister's  son  : 

And  he  thought  no  eye  could  ever  see 
The  deed  that  he  had  done. 


O  so  it  fell  upon  a  day, 

When  hunting  they  might  be. 
They  rested  them  in  Silverwood, 

Beneath  that  "-reen  aik  tree. 


And  many  were  the  green-wood  flowers 

Upon  the  grave  that  grew, 
And  marveird  much  that  bonny  boy 

To  see  their  lovely  hue. 

"  Whaf  s  paler  than  the  prymrose  wan  t 
"  Whafs  redder  than  the  rose  .'' 

"  What's  fairer  than  the  lilye  flower 
"  On  this  wee  know  •  that  grows  ?" 

♦    IVcc  laiov; — L'ittic  hillock. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  397 

O  out  and  answer'd  Jellon  Grame, 

And  he  spak  hastilie — 
"  Your  mother  was  a  fairer  flower, 

"  And  lies  beneath  this  tree. 


"  More  pale  she  was,  when  she  sought  my  grace, 

"  Than  prymrose  pale  and  wan  ; 
"  And  redder  than  rose  her  ruddy  heart's  blood, 

"  That  down  my  broad  sword  ran." 

Wi'  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. 

Says, — "  Lie  ye  there,  now,  Jellon  Grame  ! 

"  My  malisoun  gang  you  wi' ! 
"  The  place  that  my  mother  lies  buried  in 

"  Is  far  too  good  for  thee,"— 


398         '  :\IINSTRELSY  OF 

WILLIE'S  LADYE. 

ANCIENT  COPY. 
NEVER  BEFORE  PUBLISHED. 


ISIr  Lewis,  in  his  Talcs  of  Wonder,  has  presented  the 
public  witli  a  copy  of  this  ballad,  with  additions  and  al- 
terations. The  editor  has  also  seen  a  copy,  containing 
some  modern  stanzas,  intended  by  Mr  Jamieson,  of 
Macclesfield,  for  publication  in  his  Collection  of  Scot- 
tish Poetry.*  Yet,  under  these  disadvantages,  the  editor 
cannot  relinquish  his  purpose  of  publishing  the  old  bal- 
lad, in  its  native  simplicity,  as  taken  from  Mrs  Brown  of 
Falkland's  MS. 

Those,  who  wish  to  know  how  an  incantation,  or 
charm,  of  the  distressing  nature  here  described,  was 
performed  in  classic  days,  may  consult  the  story  of  Ga- 
lanthis's  Metamorphosis,  in  Ovid,  or  the  following  pas- 
sage in  Apuleius  :  "  Eadem  [Saga  scilicet  quondam,) 
"  amaloris  uxorem,  quod  in  sibi  dicacule  probrum  dixe- 

*  Edit.  1802.   Mr  Javnieson's  interesting  Collection  has  since  been 

publisheil. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  399 

"■  rat,  jam  in  sarchiam  prcegnationis,  obsepto  utero,  ct  re- 
"  pigratojoetu,  perpeiua  prcegnatione  damnavit.  Et  ut 
"  cuncli  numerant,  octo  annorum  onere,  misella  ilia  ve- 
"  lut  elephantiim  paritura  distcndilur." — Apul.  Metam. 
lib.  1. 

There  is  also  a  curious  tale  about  a  Count  of  Wester- 
avia,  whom  a  deserted  concubine  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  for- 
mer mistress,  she  maliciously  asked  him  about  the  in- 
crease of  his  family.  The  Count,  conceiving  some  sus- 
picion from  her  manner,  craftily  answered,  that  God  had 
blessed  him  with  three  fine  children ;  on  which  she  ex- 
claimed, like  Willie's  mother  in  the  ballad,  "  May  hea- 
"  ven  confound  the  old  hag,  by  whose  counsel  I  threw 
"  an  enchanted  pitcher  into  the  draw-well  of  your  pa- 
"  lace  !"  The  spell  being  found,  and  destroyed,  the 
Count  became  the  father  of  a  numerous  family. — Hier- 
archie  of  the  Blessed  Angels,  p,  474. 


400  MINSTRELSY  OF 


WILLIE'S  LADYE. 


Willie's  ta"'en  him  o'er  the  faem,* 
He's  wooed  a  wife,  and  brought  her  hame 
He's  wooed  her  for  lier  yellow  hair, 
But  his  mother  ^vTought  her  meikle  care  ; 


And  meikle  dolour  gar'd  her  drie. 
For  lighter  she  can  never  be  ; 
But  in  her  bower  she  sits  wi'  pain. 
And  Willie  mourns  o'er  her  in  vain. 


And  to  his  mother  he  has  gane, 

That  vile  rank  witch,  o'  vilest  kind  ! 

He  says — "  My  ladie  has  a  cup, 

"  Wi'  gowd  and  silver  set  about ; 

"  This  gudely  gift  sail  be  your  ain, 

"  And  let  her  be  lighter  o'  her  young  l)airn. 

•  Faem — The  sea  foam. 
G 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  401 

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


"  Another  may  I'll  never  wed, 
"  Another  may  111  never  bring  hame." 
But,  sighing,  said  that  weaiy  wight — 
"  I  wish  my  life  were  at  an  end  ! 

"  Yet  gae  ye  to  your  mother  again, 

"  That  vile  rank  witch,  o""  vilest  kind  ! 

"  And  say,  your  ladye  has  a  steed, 

"  The  like  o"*  him"'s  no  in  the  land  o'  Leed.* 


"  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  sail  be  her  ain, 

"  And  let  me  be  lighter  o'  my  young  bairn." 


*  Land  o'  Leed — Perhaps  Lydia. 

+  Chess — Should  probably  be  je.w,  the  name  of  a  hawk's  bell. 
VOL.  II.  2  c 


402  MIXSTRELSY  OF 

"  Of  her  young  bairn  she's  ne'er  be  hghter, 
"  Nor  in  her  hour  to  shine  the  brighter ; 
"  But  she  sail  die,  and  turn  to  clay, 
"  And  ye  sail  wed  another  may." 

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


Yet  gae  ye  to  your  mother  again, 
That  vUe  rank  witch,  o'  rankest  kind  ! 
And  say,  your  ladye  has  a  girdle, 
It's  a'  red  gowd  to  the  middle  ; 


"  And  aye,  at  ilka  siller  hem 

"  Hang  fifty  siller  bells  and  ten  ; 

"  This  gudely  gift  sail  be  her  ain, 

"  And  let  me  be  lighter  o'  my  young  bairn. 


Of  her  young  bairn  she's  ne'er  be  lighter, 
Nor  in  your  hour  to  shine  the  brighter  ; 
For  she  sail  die,  and  turn  to  clay, 
And  thou  sail  wed  another  may." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  403 

"  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  !" 


Then  out  and  spak  the  Billy  Blind,* 
(He  spak  aye  in  good  time  :) 
"  Yet  gae  ye  to  the  market-place, 
"  And  there  do  buy  a  loaf  of  wace  ;-f- 
"  Do  shape  it  bairn  and  bairnly  like, 
"  And  in  it  twa  glassen  een  you'll  put ; 

"  And  bid  her  your  boy's  christening  to, 
"  Then  notice  weel  what  she  shall  do  ; 
"  And  do  you  stand  a  little  away, 
"  To  notice  weel  what  she  may  saye. 


j^^  stanza  seems  to  be  wanting.     Willie  is  supposed  to  follow 
the  advice  of  the  spirit. — His  mother  speaks.'} 


*  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  any  where  else,  although  he  is 
alluded  to  in  the  rustic  game  of  Bogle  (i.  e.  gohlin)  Billy-Blind.  The 
word  is,  indeed,  used  in  Sir  David  Lindsay's  plays,  but  apparently  in 
a  diflFerent  sense — 

"  Priests  sail  leid  you  like  ane  BUly  Blinde." 
PiNKERTov's  Scottish  Poems,  1792,  vol.  11.  p.  232. 
+   Wace — Wax. 


404  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  O  wha  has  loosed  the  nine  witch  knots, 
"  That  were  amang  that  ladye's  locks  ? 
"  And  wha's  ta'en  out  the  kaims  o^  care, 
"  That  were  amang  that  ladye''s  hair  ? 

"  And  wha  has  ta''en  downe  that  bush  o"'  woodbine, 

"  That  hung  between  her  hour  and  mine  ? 

*'  And  wha  has  killed  the  master  kid, 

"  That  ran  beneath  that  ladye's  bed  ? 

"  And  wha  has  loosed  her  left  foot  shee, 

"  And  lat  that  ladye  hghter  be  ?"" 

Syne,  Willy's  loosed  the  nine  witch  knots, 

That  were  amang  that  ladye's  locks  ; 

And  Willy's  ta'en  out  the  kaims  o'  care. 

That  were  into  that  ladye's  hair ; 

And  he's  ta'en  down  the  bush  o'  woodbine, 

Hung  atween  her  bour  and  the  witch  carline  ; 


And  he  has  kill'd  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  bonny  son, 
And  meikle  grace  be  him  upon. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  405 


CLERK  SAUNDERS. 


NEVER  BEFORE  PUBLISHED. 


This  romantic  ballad  is  taken  from  Mr  Herd's  MSS., 
with  several  corrections  from  a  shorter  and  more  imper- 
fect copy,  in  the  same  volume,  and  one  or  two  conjec- 
tural emendations  in  the  arrangement  of  the  stanzas. 
The  resemblance  of  the  conclusion  to  the  ballad,  begin- 
ning, "  There  came  a  ghost  to  Margaret's  door,"  will 
strike  every  reader.  The  tale  is  uncommonly  wild  and 
beautiful,  and  apparently  very  ancient.  The  custom  of 
the  passing  bell  is  still  kept  up  in  many  villages  in  Scot- 
land- 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  sepa- 
rate from  the  rest,  that  part  of  the  ballad  which  follows 
the  death  of  the  lovers,  as  belonging  to  another  story. 
For  this,  however,  ther'e  seems  no  necessity,  as  other 
authorities  give  the  whole  as  a  complete  tale. 


406  MINSTRELSY  OF 


CLERK  SAUNDERS. 


NEVEH  BEFORE  PUBLISHED. 


Clerk  Saundei's  and  may  Margaret 
Walked  ower  yon  garden  green  ; 

And  sad  and  heavy  was  the  love 
That  fell  thir  twa  between. 


"  A  bed,  a  bed/'  (Jlerk  Saunders  said, 
"  A  bed  for  you  and  me  V 

*'  Fye  na,  fye  na,"  said  may  Margaret, 
"  Till  anes  we  married  be. 


For  in  may  come  my  seven  bauld  brothers, 
"  Wi'  torches  burning  bright ; 
They'll  say — '  We  hae  but  ae  sister, 
"  And  behold  she's  wi'  a  knight !' " 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  407 

Then  take  the  sword  frae  my  scabbard, 
"  And  slowly  lift  the  pin  -, 
And  you  may  swear,  and  safe  your  aith, 
"  Ye  never  let  Clerk  Saunders  in. 


And  take  a  napkin  in  your  hand, 
"  And  tie  up  baith  your  bonny  een ; 
And  you  may  swear,  and  safe  your  aith, 
"  Ye  saw  me  na  since  late  yestreen."    .■, 


It  was  about  the  midnight  hour. 
When  they  asleep  were  laid, 

When  in  and  came  her  seven  brothers, 
Wi'  torches  burninof  red. 


When  in  and  came  her  seven  brothers, 
Wi'  torches  burning  bright ; 

They  said,  "  We  hae  but  ae  sister, 
"  And  behold  her  lying  with  a  knight 


Then  out  and  spake  the  first  o'  them, 
"  I  bear  the  sword  shall  gar  him  die  V 

And  out  and  spake  the  second  o'  them, 
"  His  father  has  nae  mair  than  he  !" 


408  MINSTllELSY  OF 

And  out  and  spake  the  third  o'  them, 
"  I  wot  that  they  are  lovers  dear  !" 

And  out  and  spake  the  fourth  o'  them, 

"  They  hae  been  in  love  this  -mony  a  year  !" 

Then  out  and  spake  the  fifth  o'  them, 
"  It  were  great  sin  true  love  to  twain  !" 

And  out  and  spake  tlie  sixth  o'  them, 

"  It  were  shame  to  slay  a  sleeping  man  !" 


Then  up  and  gat  the  seventh  o'  them. 

And  never  a  word  spake  he  ; 
But  he  has  striped*  his  bright  brown  brand 

Out  through  Clerk  Saunders'  fair  bodye. 


Clerk  Saunders  he  started,  and  Margaret  she  turnVl 

Into  his  arms  as  asleep  she  lay  ; 
And  sad  and  silent  was  the  night 

That  was  atween  thir  twae. 


And  they  lay  still  and  sleeped  sound. 
Until  the  da}^  began  to  daw  ; 

And  kindly  to  him  she  did  say, 

*'  It  is  time,  true  love,  you  were  awa. 

*  Striped— Thmst. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOltDER.  409 

But  he  lay  still,  and  sleeped  sound, 

Albeit  the  sun  began  to  sheen  ; 
She  looked  atween  her  and  the  wa', 

And  dull  and  drowsie  were  his  een. 


Then  in  and  came  her  father  dear. 
Said — "  Let  a""  your  mourning  be  : 

"  I'll  carry  the  dead  corpse  to  the  clay, 
"  And  I'll  come  back  and  comfort  thee. 


"  Comfort  weel  your  seven  sons, 
"  For  comforted  will  I  never  be  : 

"  I  ween  'twas  neither  knave  nor  loon 
"  Was  in  the  bower  last  night  wi'  me. 


The  clinking  bell  gaed  through  the  town, 

To  carry  the  dead  corse  to  the  clay  ; 
And  Clerk  Saunders  stood  at  may  Margaret's  window, 

I  wot,  an  hour  before  the  day. 


Are  ye  sleeping,  Margaret  ?"  he  sa 
"  Or  are  ye  waking  presentlie .'' 
Give  me  my  faith  and  troth  again, 
"  I  wot,  true  love,  I  gied  to  thee." 


410  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Your  faith  and  ti'otli  ye  sail  never  get, 
"  Nor  our  true  love  sail  never  twin, 

"  Until  ye  come  within  my  bower,' 
"  And  kiss  me  cheik  and  chin." 

"  My  mouth  it  is  full  cold,  Margaret, 
"  It  has  the  smell,  now,  of  the  ground  ; 

"  And  if  I  kiss  thy  comely  mouth, 
"  Thy  days  of  life  will  not  be  lang. 

*'  O,  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  me  on  my  way."" 

"  Thy  faith  and  tx'oth  thou  sail  na  get, 
"  And  our  true  love  shall  never  twin, 

"  Until  ye  tell  what  comes  of  women, 
"  I  wot,  who  die  in  strono-  traivellino-  ?" 


Their  beds  are  made  in  the  heavens  high, 
"  Down  at  the  foot  of  our  good  Lord's  knee. 
Weel  set  abovit  wi'  gillyflowers  ;  ' 
"  I  wot  sweet  company  for  to  see. 

»  r/v<uc//(«A'— Child-birth. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEU.  411 

"  O  cocks  are  crowing  a  merry  midnight, 
"  I  wot  the  wild  fowl  are  boding  day ; 

"  The  psalms  of  heaven  will  soon  be  sung, 
"  And  I,  ere  now,  will  be  miss''d  away." 

Then  she  has  ta'en  a  crystal  wand, 

And  she  has  stroken  her  troth  thereon  ; 

She  has  given  it  him  out  at  the  shot-window, 
Wi'  mony  a  sad  sigh,  and  heavy  groan. 

"  I  thank  ye,  Marg'ret ;   I  thank  ye,  Marg''ret ; 

"  And  aye  I  thank  ye  heartilie  ; 
"  Gin  ever  the  dead  come  for  the  quick, 

"  Be  sure,  Marg'ret,  I'll  come  for  thee."" 

Its  hosen  and  shoon,  and  gown  alone. 
She  climbM  the  wall,  and  follow\l  him. 

Until  she  came  to  the  green  forest. 
And  there  she  lost  the  sight  o'  him. 

"  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  wad  sleep  ?" 


412  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  There's  nae  room  at  my  head,  Marg'ret, 
"  There's  nae  room  at  my  feet ; 

"  My  bed  it  is  full  lowly  now  : 

"  Amang  the  hungry  worms  I  sleep. 

"  Cauld  mould  is  my  covering  now, 
"  But  and  my  wincUng-sheet ; 

"  The  dew  it  falls  nae  sooner  down, 
"  Than  my  resting  place  is  weet. 

"  But  plait  a  wand  o'  bonnie  birk, 

"  And  lay  it  on  my  breast ; 
"  And  shed  a  tear  upon  my  grave, 

"  And  wish  my  saul  gude  rest. 

"  And  fair  Marg'ret,  and  rare  Margaret, 

"  And  Marg'ret  o'  veritie, 
"  Gin  e"'er  ye  love  another  man, 

"  Ne'er  love  him  as  ye  did  me."" 

Then  up  and  crew  the  milk-white  cock. 

And  vip  and  crew  the  grey  ; 
Her  lover  vanished  in  the  air. 

And  she  gaed  weeping  away. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  413 


NOTES 


CLERK  SAUNDERS. 


Weel  set  about  ivi  gillyjlowers. — P.  410.  v.  5. 
From  whatever  source  the  popular  ideas  of  heaven  be  deri- 
ved, the  mention  of  gillyflowers  is  not  uncommon.   Thus,  in 
the  Dead  Men's  Song — 

The  fields  about  this  city  faire 

Were  all  with  roses  set ; 
Gillyjlowers,  and  carnations  faire, 

Which  canker  could  not  fret. 

Ritson's  Ancient  Songs,  p.  283. 

The  description,  given  in  the  legend  of  Sir  Owain,  of  the 
terrestrial  paradise,  at  which  the  blessed  arrive  after  passing 
through  purgatory,  omits  gillyflowers,  though  it  mentions 
many  others.  As  the  passage  is  curious,  and  the  legend  has 
never  been  published,  many  persons  may  not  be  displeased  to 
see  it  extracted — 

Fair  were  her  erbers  with  flowres. 
Rose  and  lili  divers  colours, 

Primrol  and  parvink ; 
Mint,  feverfoy,  and  eglenterre, 
Colombiu,  and  mo  ther  war 

Than  ani  man  mai  bithenke. 


414  MINSTRELSY  OF 


It  berth  erbes  of  otlier  maner, 
Than  ani  in  erth  groweth  here, 

Tho  that  is  lest  of  priis  ; 
Evermore  thai  grene  springeth, 
For  winter  no  somer  it  no  clingeth. 

And  sweeter  than  licorice. 

But  plait  a  ivand  o'  bonny  hirk,  S^c. — P.  412.  v.  3. 

The  custom  of  binding  the  new-laid  sod  of  the  church-yard 

with  osiers,  or  other  saphngs,  prevailed  both  in  England  and 

Scotland,  and  served  to  protect  the  turf  from  injury  by  cattle, 

or  otherwise.  It  is  alluded  to  by  Gay  in  the  What  d'ye  call  it — 

Stay,  let  me  pledge,  'tis  my  last  earthly  liquor. 
When  I  am  dead  you'll  bind  my  grave  with  uicker. 

In  the  Shepherd's  Week,  the  same  custom  is  alluded  to,  and 
the  cause  explained  : — 

With  uicker  rods  we  fenced  her  tomb  around, 

To  ward,  from  man  and  beast,  the  hallow'd  ground. 

Lest  her  new  grave  the  parson's  cattle  raze, 

For  both  his  horse  and  cow  the  church-yard  graze. 

Fifth  Pastoral. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOKHER.  415 


EARL  RICHARD. 


NEVER  BEFORE  PUBLISHED. 


There  are  two  Ballads  in  Mr  Herd's  MSS.  vpon  thefoUoiving 
story,  in  one  of  which  the  unfortunate  Knight  is  termed 
Young  Huntin.  A  fragment,  containing  from  the  sixth  to 
the  tenth  verse,  has  been  repeatedly  published.  The  best  verses 
are  selected  from  both  copies,  and  some  trivial  alterations  have 
been  adopted  from  tradition. 


O  LADY,  rock  never  your  young  son  young, 
"  One  hour  langer  for  me  ; 
For  I  have  a  sweetheart  in  Garlioch  Wells 
"  I  love  far  better  than  thee. 


"  The  very  sole  o'  that  lady's  foot 

"  Than  thy  face  is  far  mair  white." — 

"  Eut,  nevertheless,  now,  Erl  Richard, 
"  Ye  will  bide  in  my  bower  a'  night  ?'''' 


416  MINSTRELSY  OF 

She  birled*  him  witli  tlie  ale  and  wine, 

As  they  sat  down  to  sup  : 
A  hving  man  he  laid  him  down, 

But  I  Avot  he  ne'er  rose  up. 

Then  up  and  spake  the  popinjay. 

That  flew  aboun  her  head ; 
"  Lady  !  keep  weel  your  green  cleiding 

"  Frae  gude  Erl  Richard's  bleid." 

"  O  better  I'll  keep  my  green  cleiding 
"  Frae  gude  Erl  Richard's  bleid, 

"  Than  thou  canst  keep  thy  clattering  toung, 
"  That  trattles  in  thy  head." 


She  has  call'd  upon  her  bower  maidens, 
She  has  call'd  them  ane  by  ane  ; 

"  There  lies  a  dead  man  in  my  hour : 
"  I  wish  that  he  were  gane  !" 

They  hae  booted  him,  and  spurred  him, 

As  he  was  wont  to  ride ; — 
A  hunting-horn  tied  round  his  waist, 

A  sharpe  sword  by  his  side ; 
And  they  hae  had  him  to  the  wan  water, 

For  a'  men  call  it  Clyde. 

•  /ii^W— Plied. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  417 

Tlien  up  and  spoke  tlie  popinjay, 

That  sat  upon  the  tree — 
''  AVhat  hae  ye  done  wi"*  Erl  Richard  ? 

"  Ye  were  his  gay  ladye."" 

"  Come  down,  come  down,  my  boimy  bird, 

"  And  sit  upon  my  hand  ; 
"  And  thou  sail  hae  a  cage  o'  gowd, 

"  Where  thou  hast  but  tlie  wand." 


Awa  !  uwa  !  ye  ill  woman  I 
"  Nae  cage  o''  gowd  for  me ; 
As  ye  hae  dune  to  Erl  Richard, 
"  Sae  wad  ye  do  to  me.'"' 


She  hadna  crossed  a  rigg  o'  land, 
A  rigg,  but  barely  ane. 

When  she  met  wi'  his  auld  father. 
Came  riding  all  alane. 


"  Where  hae  ye  been,  now,  ladye  fair, 
"  Where  hae  ye  been  sae  late  ? 

''  We  hae  been  seeking  Erl  Richard, 
*'  But  him  we  canna  get." 

VOL.  II.  2  D 


418  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Erl  Richard  kens  a'  the  fords  in  Clyde, 
"  He'll  ride  them  ane  by  ane, 

"  And  though  the  night  was  ne'er  sae  mirk, 
"  Erl  Richard  will  be  hame.'" 


O  it  fell  anes,  upon  a  day, 
The  King  was  boim  to  ride  ; 

And  he  has  mist  him,  Erl  Richard, 
Should  hae  ridden  on  his  right  side. 


The  ladye  turn'd  her  round  about, 
Wi'  meikle  moumfu"*  din — 

''It  fears  me  sair  o""  Clyde  water, 
"  That  he  is  drown'd  therein."" 


"  Gar  douk,  gar  douk,"*  the  King  he  cried, 

"  Gar  douk  for  gold  and  fee ; 
'*  O  wha  will  douk  for  Erl  Richard's  sake, 

"  Or  wha  will  douk  for  me  ?" 


They  douked  in  at  ae  weil-head,-h 

And  out  aye  at  the  other ; 
"  We  can  douk  nae  mair  for  Erl  Richard, 

"  Although  he  were  our  brother." 

•  Douk— Dive.  f   fVfil-/,rad—Kddy. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  419 

It  fell  that,  in  that  ladye's  castle, 

The  King  was  boun  to  bed  ; 
And  up  and  spake  the  popinjay. 

That  flew  abune  his  head. 

"  Leave  off  your  douking  on  the  day, 

"  And  douk  upon  the  night ; 
"  And  where  that  sackless*  knight  lies  slain, 

"  The  candles  will  burn  bright." 

"  O  there's  a  bird  within  this  bower, 
"  That  sings  baith  sad  and  sweet ; 

*'  O  there's  a  bird  within  your  bower, 
"  Keeps  me  frae  my  night's  sleep." 

They  left  the  douking  on  the  day, 

And  douk'd  upon  the  night ; 
And  where  that  sackless  knight  lay  slain, 

The  candles  burned  bright. 

The  deepest  pot  in  a'  the  linn, 

They  fand  Erl  Richard  in ; 
A  grene  turf  tyed  across  his  breast, 

To  keep  that  gude  lord  down. 

*  Sackless — Guiltless. 


420  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Then  up  and  spake  the  King  liimsell, 
When  he  saw  the  deadly  wound — 

"  O  wha  has  slain  my  right-hand  man, 
"  That  held  my  hawk  and  hound  P" 


Then  up  and  spake  the  popinjay, 
Says — "  What  needs  a'  this  din  ? 

"  It  was  his  light  leman  took  his  life, 
"'  And  hided  him  in  the  Hnn." 


Sae  swore  her  by  the  grass  sae  grene, 

Sae  did  she  by  the  corn, 
She  hadna  seen  him,  Erl  Richard, 

Since  Monindav  at  morn. 


"  Put  na  the  wite  on  me,""  she  said  ; 

"  It  was  my  may  Catherine." 
Then  they  hae  cut  baith  fern  and  thorn. 

To  burn  that  maiden  in. 


It  wadna  take  upon  her  cheik, 
Nor  yet  upon  her  chin  ; 

Nor  yet  upon  her  yellow  hair, 
To  cleanse  the  deadly  sin. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  421 

The  maiden  touched  the  clay-cauld  corpse, 

A  drap  it  never  bled  ; 
The  ladye  laid  her  hand  on  him, 

And  soon  the  ground  was  red. 


Out  they  hae  ta''en  her,  may  Catherine, 

And  put  her  mistress  in  : 
The  flame  tuik  fast  upon  her  cheik, 

Tuik  fast  upon  her  chin  ; 
Tuik  fast  upon  her  faire  bodye — 

She  burn'd  like  hoUin-green.* 

•  Hollin  i,nvcii—Un'm  liolly. 


422  AHNSTUELSY  OF 


NOTES 

ON 

PJARL  RICHARD. 


The  candles  burned  bright. — P.  \19.  v.  4. 
These  are  unquestionably  the  corpse-lights,  called  in  Wales 
Cankwyllan  Cyrph,  which  are  sometimes  seen  to  illuminate  the 
spot  where  a  dead  body  is  concealed.  The  editor  is  inform- 
ed, that,  some  years  ago,  the  corpse  of  a  man,  drowned  in  the 
Ettrick,  below  Selkirk,  was  discovered  by  means  of  these  can- 
dles. Such  Hghts  are  common  in  church-yards,  and  are  pro- 
bably 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 
church-yard,  tracing  through  every  wintling  the  route  of  the 
future  funeral,  and  pausing  where  the  bier  is  to  rest.  This 
and  other  opinions,  relating  to  the  "  tomb- fires'  livid  gleam," 
seem  to  be  of  Runic  extraction. 

The  deepest  pot  in  a   the  linn. — P.  M!).  v.  5. 

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  cauldron. 

Linn,  means  the  pool  beneath  a  cataract. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEll.  423 


TJie  viaiden  touch' d  the  clay-cauld  corpse, 
A  drap  it  never  bled. — P.  421.  v.  1. 
This  verse,  which  is  restored  from  tradition,  refers  to  a  su- 
perstition formerly  received  in  most  parts  of  Europe,  and  even 
resorted  to  by  judicial  authority,  for  the  discovery  of  murder. 
In  Germany,  this  experiment  was  called  bahr-recht,  or  the 
law  of  the  bier  ;  because,  the  murdered  body  being  stretched 
upon  a  bier,  the  suspected  person  was  obliged  to  put  one  hand 
upon  the  wound,  and  the  other  upon  the  mouth  of  the  de- 
ceased, and,  in  that  posture,  call  upon  heaven  to  attest  his  in- 
nocence. If,  during  this  ceremony,  the  blood  gushed  from 
the  mouth,  nose,  or  wound,  a  circ\imstance  not  unlikely  to 
happen  in  the  course  of  shifting  or  stirring  the  body,  it  was 
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.  My 
readers  may  be  amused  by  the  following  instances  : 

"  The  Laird  of  Auchindrane  (jVIuir  of  Auchindrane,  in  Ayr- 
"  shire,)  was  accused  of  a  horrid  and  private  murder,  where 
"  there  were  no  witnesses,  and  which  the  Lord  had  witnessed 
"  from  heaven,  singularly  by  his  own  hand,  and  proved  the 
"  deed  against  hira."  The  corpse  of  the  man  being  buried  in 
"  Girvan  ch\irch-yard,  as  a  man  cast  away  at  sea,  and  cast  out 
"  there,  the  Laird  of  Colzean,  whose  servant  he  had  been, 
"  dreaming  of  him  in  his  sleep,  and  that  he  had  a  particular 
"  mark  upon  his  body,  came  and  took  up  the  body,  and  found 
*'  it  to  be  the  same  person ;  and  caused  all  that  lived  near  by 
"  to  come  and  touch  the  corpse,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases.  All 
"  round  the  place  came  but  Auchindrane  and  his  son,  whom 
"  nobody  suspected,  till  a  young  child  of  his,  ]\Iary  Muir,  see- 
"  ing  the  people  examined,  came  in  among  them  ;  and,  when 
"  she  came  near  the  dead  body,  it  sprang  out  in  bleeding  ; 
'*  upon  which  they  were  apprehended,  and  put  to  the  tor- 
"  ture." — Wqdrow's  History,  vol.  I.  p.  513.  The  trial  of 
Auchindrane  happened  in  1 6 11 .  He  was  convicted  and  exe- 
cuted.— Hume's  Criminal  Law,  vol.  I.  p.  428. 


424  MINSTKELSY  Ol' 

A  yet  more  dreadful  case  was  that  of  Philip  Standfield, 
tried  upon  the  30th  November,  1687,  for  cursing  his  father 
(which,  by  the  Scottish  law,  is  a  capital  crime.  Act  1661, 
C/iap.  20,)  and  for  being  accessory  to  his  murder.  Sir  James 
Standfield,  the  deceased,  was  a  person  of  melancholy  tempe- 
rament ;  so  that,  when  his  body  was  found  in  a  pond  near 
his  own  house  of  Newmilns,  he  was  at  first  generally  suppo- 
sed to  have  drowned  himself.  But  the  body  having  been  has- 
tily buried,  a  report  arose  that  he  had  been  strangled  by  ruf- 
fians, instigated  by  his  son  Philip,  a  profligate  youth,  whom 
he  had  disinherited  on  account  of  his  gross  debauchery.  Upon 
this  rumour,  the  Privy  Council  granted  warrant  to  two  sur- 
geons of  character,  named  Crawfurd  and  Muirhead,  to  dig  up 
the  body,  and  to  report  the  state  in  which  they  should  find 
it.  Philip  was  present  on  this  occasion,  and  the  evidence  of 
both  surgeons  bears  distinctly,  that  he  stood  for  some  time  at 
a  distance  from  the  body  of  his  parent;  but,  being  called  upon 
to  assist  in  stretching  out  the  corjjse,  he  put  his  hand  to  the 
head,  when  the  mouth  and  nostrils  instantly  gushed  with 
blood.  This  circumstance,  with  the  evident  symptoms  of  ter- 
ror and  remorse  exhibited  by  young  Standfield,  seem  to  have 
had  considerable  weight  with  the  jury,  and  are  thus  stated  in 
the  indictment :  "  That  his  (the  deceased's)  nearest  relations 
"  being"  required  to  lift  the  corpse  into  the  coffin,  after  it  had 
"  been  inspected,  upon  the  said  Philip  Standfield  touching  of 
"  it  (^according  to  God's  usual  mode  of  discovering  murder,^ 
"  it  bled  afresh  upon  the  said  Philip  ;  and  that  thereupon  he 
"  let  the  body  fall,  and  fled  from  it  in  the  greatest  conster- 
"  nation,  crying,  Lord  have  mercy  upon  me  !"  The  priso  ner 
was  found  guilty  of  being  accessory  to  the  murder  of  his  fa- 
ther, although  there  was  little  more  than  strong  presumptions 
against  him.  It  is  true,  he  was  at  the  same  time  separately 
convicted  of  the  distinct  crimes  of  having  cursed  his  father, 
and  drank  damnation  to  the  monarchy  and  hierarchy.  His 
sentence,  which  was  to  have  his  tongue  cut  out,  and  hand 
struck  off*,  previous  to  his  being  hanged,  was  executed  with 
the  utmost  rigour.     He  denied  the   murder  with  his  last 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  425 

breath.  "  It  is,"  says  a  contemporary  judge,  "  a  dark  case  of 
"  divination,  to  be  remitted  to  the  great  day,  whether  he  was 
"  guilty  or  innocent.  Only  it  is  certain  he  was  a  bad  youth, 
"  and  may  serve  as  a  beacon  to  all  profligate  persons." — 
Fount AiNH all's  .Z)ecw2o?j,y,  vol.  I.  p.  483. 

While  all  ranks  believed  alike  the  existence  of  these  prodi- 
gies, the  vulgar  were  contented  to  refer  them  to  the  imme- 
diate interference  of  the  Deity,  or,  as  they  termed  it,  God's 
revenge  against  murder.  But  those,  who,  while  they  had  over- 
leaped the  bounds  of  superstition,  were  still  entangled  in  the 
mazes  of  mystic  philosophy,  amongst  whom  we  must  reckon 
many  of  the  medical  practitioners,  endeavoured  to  explain  the 
phenomenon,  by  referring  to  the  secret  power  of  sympathy, 
which  even  Bacon  did  not  venture  to  dispute.  To  this  occult 
agency  was  imputed  the  cure  of  wounds,  effected  by  applying 
salves  and  powders,  not  to  the  wound  itself,  but  to  the  sword 
or  dagger,  by  which  it  had  been  inflicted  ;  a  course  of  treat- 
ment, which,  wonderful  as  it  may  at  first  seem,  was  certain- 
ly frequently  attended  with  signal  success.*  This,  however, 
was  attributed  to  magic,  and  those,  who  submitted  to  such  a 
mode  of  cure,  were  refused  spiritual  assistance. 

The  vulgar  continue  to  believe  firmly  in  the  phenomenon 
of  the  murdered  corpse  bleeding  at  the  approach  of  the  mur- 
derer. "  Many  (I  adopt  the  words  of  an  ingenious  corre- 
"  spondent)  are  the  proofs  advanced  in  confirmation  of  the 
"  opinion,  against  those  who  are  so  hardy  as  to  doubt  it ;  but 
"  one,  in  particular,  as  it  is  said  to  have  happened  in  this 
"  place,  I  cannot  help  repeating. 

"  Two  young  men,  going  a  fishing  in  the  river  Yarrow, 
"  fell  out ;  and  so  high  ran  the  quarrel,  that  the  one,  in  a 

*  The  first  part  of  the  process  was  to  wash  the  wound  clean,  and 
bind  it  up  so  as  to  promote  adliesion,  and  exclude  the  air.  Now, 
though  the  remedies,  afterwards  applied  to  the  sword,  could  hardly 
promote  so  desirable  an  issue,  yet  it  is  evident  the  wound  stood  a  good 
chance  of  healing  by  the  operation  of  nature,  which,  I  believe,  medi= 
eal  gentlemen  call  a  cure  by  the  first  intention. 


426  MINSTRELSY  OF 


"  passion,  stabbed  thu  other  to  the  heart  with  a  fish-spear. 
"  Astonished  at  the  rash  act,  he  hesitated  whether  to  fly,  give 
"  himself  up  to  justice,  or  conceal  the  crime  ;  and,  in  the  end, 
"  fixed  on  the  latter  expedient,  burying  the  body  of  his  friend 
■'  very  deep  in  the  sands.  As  the  meeting  had  been  acciden- 
"^  tal,  he  was  never  suspected,  although  a  visible  change  was 
"  observed  in  his  behaviour,  from  gaiety  to  a  settled  melan- 
"  choly.  Time  passed  on  for  the  space  of  fifty  years,  when 
"  a  smith,  fishing  near  the  same  place,  discovered  an  uncom- 
"  mon  and  curious  bone,  which  he  put  in  his  pocket,  and  af- 
"  terwards  showed  to  some  people  in  his  smithy.  The  mur- 
"  derer  being  present,  now  an  old  white-headed  man,  leaning 
"  on  his  staff,  desired  a  sight  of  the  little  bone ;  but  how  hor- 
"  rible  was  the  issue  !  no  sooner  had  he  touched  it,  than  it 
"  streamed  with  purple  blood.  Being  told  where  it  was 
"  found,  he  confessed  the  crime,  was  condemned,  but  was 
"  prevented  by  death  from  suffering  the  punishment  due  to 
"  his  offence. 

"  Such  opinions,  though  reason  forbids  us  to  believe  them, 
"  a  few  moments'  reflection  on  the  cause  of  their  origin  will 
"  teach  us  to  revere.  Under  the  feudal  system  which  pre- 
"  vailed,  the  rights  of  humanity  were  too  often  violated,  and 
"  redress  very  hard  to  be  procured  ;  thus  an  awful  deference 
"  to  one  of  the  leading  attributes  of  Omnipotence  begat  on 
"  the  mind,  untutored  by  philosophy,  the  first  germ  of  these 
'•'  supernatural  effects ;  which  was,  by  superstitious  zeal,  as- 
"  sisted,  perhaps,  by  a  few  instances  of  sudden  remorse,  mag- 
"  nified  into  evidence  of  indisputable  guilt." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDEII.  42' 


THE  D^MON-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,  discon- 
certed 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. 


428  MINSTRELSY  OF 


THE  DJi^MON-LOVER. 


0  WHEKK  have  you  been,  my  long,  long  love, 
"  This  long  seven  years  and  mair  P'' 
O  Fni  come  to  seek  my  former  \'ows 
"  Ye  granted  me  liefore/ " 


"  O  hold  your  tongue  of  your  former  vows, 
"  For  they  will  breed  sad  strife ; 

"  O  hold  your  tongue  of  your  former  vows, 
"  For  I  am  become  a  wife." 


He  turn'd  him  right  and  round  about, 

And  the  tear  blinded  his  eV- ; 
"  I  wad  never  hae  trodden  on  Iri^h  ground 

"  If  it  had  not  been  for  thee. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  429 

I  might  hae  had  a  king's  daughter, 
"  Far,  far  beyond  the  sea  ; 
I  might  have  had  a  king"'s  daughter, 
"  Had  it  not  been  for  love  o""  thee."" 


*'  If  ye  might  have  had  a  king''s  daughtei-, 

"  Yer  sel  ye  had  to  blame ; 
*'  Ye  might  have  taken  the  king's  daughtei , 

"  For  ye  kend  that  I  was  nane." 


0  faulse  are  the  vows  of  womankind, 
"  But  fair  is  their  faulse  bodie  ; 

1  never  wad  hae  trodden  on  Irish  ground, 
"  Had  it  not  been  for  love  o'  thee." 


"  If  I  was  to  leave  my  husband  dear, 

"  And  my  two  babes  also, 
•'  O  what  have  you  to  take  me  to, 

"  If  witli  you  I  should  go  ?" 

"  I  hae  seven  ships  upon  the  saa, 
"  The  eighth  brought  me  to  land  ; 

"  With  four-and-twenty  bold  mariners, 
"  And  music  on  every  hand.'' 


430  MINSTRKT.SV  OF 

She  has  taken  up  her  two  little  babes, 
Kiss'd  them  liaith  cheek  and  chin  ; 

"  O  fair  ye  weel,  my  ain  two  babes, 
"  For  I'll  never  see  you  again."" 

She  set  her  foot  upon  the  ship, 
No  mariners  could  she  behold  ; 

But  tlie  sails  were  o'  the  taffetie, 
And  the  masts  o'  the  beaten  gold. 

She  had  not  saird  a  league,  a  league, 

A  league  but  barely  three. 
When  dismal  grew  his  countenance. 

And  drumlie  grew  his  e'e. 

The  masts  that  were  like  the  beaten  gold, 
Bent  not  on  the  heaving  seas  ; 

But  the  sails,  that  were  o""  the  taffetie, 
Fiird  not  in  the  east  land  breeze. 

They  had  not  sailed  a  league,  a  league, 

A  league  but  barely  three. 
Until  she  espied  his  cloven  foot. 

And  she  w^ept  right  bitterlie. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDEIJ.  4.11 

"  0  hold  your  tongue  of  your  weeping,"  says  he, 

"  Of  your  weeping  now  let  me  be  ; 
*'  I  will  shew  you  how  the  lilies  grow 

"  On  the  banks  of  Italy." 

"  O  what  hills  are  yon,  yon  pleasant  hills, 

"  That  the  sun  shines  sweetly  on  ?" 
"  O  yon  are  the  hills  of  heaven,"  he  said, 

"  Where  you  will  never  win." 

"  O  whaten  a  mountain  is  yon,"  she  said, 
"  All  so  dreary  wi""  frost  and  snow .?" 

"  O  yon  is  the  mountain  of  hell,"  he  cried, 
"  Where  you  and  I  will  go." 


And  aye  when  she  turn'd  her  round  about, 
Aye  taller  he  seem'd  for  to  be  ; 

Until  that  the  tops  o'  that  gallant  ship 
Nae  taller  were  than  he. 


The  clouds  grew  dark,  and  the  wind  grew  loud, 

And  the  levin  filPd  her  e'e  ; 
And  waesome  wail'd  the  snow-white  sprites 

Upon  the  gurlie  sea. 


432  :\riNSTiiELSY  of 

He  straek  the  tap-mast  wi'  his  hnnd. 
The  fore-mast  wl"  his  knee  , 

And  he  brake  that  gallant  ship  in  twain, 
And  sank  her  in  the  sea. 


THE  SCOT*riSH  BORDER.  433 


THE 

LASS  OF  LOCHROYAN. 

NOW 
FIRST  PUBLISHED  IN  A   PERFECT  STATE. 


L/ocHROYAN,  whence  this  ballad  probably  derives  its 
name,  lies  in  Galloway.  The  lover,  who,  if  the  story  be 
real,  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  detained  by  sick- 
ness, is  represented,  in  the  legend,  as  confined  by  fairy 
charms  in  an  enchanted  castle  situated  in  the  sea.  The 
ruins  of  ancient  edifices  are  still  visible  on  the  summits 
of  most  of  those  small  islands,  or  rather  insulated  rocks, 
which  lie  along  the  coast  of  Ayrshire  and  Galloway ; 
as  Ailsa  and  Big  Scaur. 

This  edition  of  the  ballad  obtained,  is  composed  of 
verses  selected  from  three  MS.  copies,  and  two  from 
recitation.  Two  of  the  copies  are  in  Herd's  MS. ;  the 
third  in  that  of  Mrs  Brown  of  Falkland. 

VOL.  II.  2  E 


434  MINSTRELSY  OF 

A  fragment  of  the  original  song,  which  is  sometimes 
denominated  Lord  Gregory,  or  Love  Gregory,  was  pub- 
lished in  Mr  Herd's  Collection,  1774,  and,  still  more 
fully,  in  that  of  Laurie  and  Symington,  1 792.  The  story 
has  been  celebrated  both  by  Burns  and  Dr  Wolcott. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  435 


LASS  OF  LOCHROYAN. 


"  O  WHA  will  shoe  my  bonny  foot  ? 

"  And  wha  will  glove  my  hand  ? 
"  And  wha  will  lace  my  middle  jimp 

"  Wi"*  a  lang,  lang  linen  band  ? 

"  O  wha  will  kame  my  yellow  hair 
"  With  a  new-made  silver  kame  ? 

"  And  wha  will  father  my  young  son 
"  Till  Lord  Gregory  come  hame  ?" 

"  Thy  father  will  shoe  thy  bonny  foot, 
"  Thy  mother  will  glove  thy  hand, 

"  Thy  sister  will  lace  thy  middle  jimp, 
"  Till  Lord  Gregory  come  to  land. 


436  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  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." 

"  But  I  ^vill  get  a  bonny  boat, 

"  And  I  will  sail  the  sea ; 
**  And  I  wiU  gang  to  Lord  Gregory, 

"  Since  he  canna  come  hame  to  me.'" 


Syne  she's  gar'd  build  a  bonny  boat, 

To  sail  the  salt,  salt  sea : 
The  sails  were  o'  the  hght  green  silk, 

The  tows  *  o'  tafFety. 

She  hadna  sailed  but  twenty  leagues, 
But  twenty  leagues  and  three, 

When  she  met  wi'  a  rank  robber, 
And  a'  his  company. 


Now  whether  are  ye  the  queen  herseU, 
*'  (For  so  ye  weel  might  be) 
Or  are  ye  the  Lass  of  Lochroyan, 
"  Seekin'  Lord  Gregory  ?" 

♦  row*— Ropes. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  437 

"01  am  neither  the  queen,"  she  said, 

"  Nor  sic  I  seem  to  be ; 
"  But  I  am  the  Lass  of  Lochroyan, 

"  Seekin""  Lord  Gregory." 

"  O  see  na  thou  yon  bonny  bower, 

"  It's  a'  covered  o'er  wi'  tin  ? 
"  When  thou  hast  sail'd  it  round  about, 

"  Lord  Gregory  is  within." 

And  when  she  saw  the  stately  tower 

Shining  sae  clear  and  bright, 
Whilk  stood  aboon  the  jawing*  wave. 

Built  on  a  rock  of  height ; 

Says — "  Row  the  boat,  my  mariners, 

"  And  bring  me  to  the  land  ! 
"  For  yonder  I  see  my  love's  castle 

"  Close  by  the  salt-sea  strand." 


She  sail'd  it  round,  and  sail'd  it  round, 

And  loud,  loud  cried  she — 
"  Now  break,  now  break,  ye  fairy  charms, 

"  And  set  my  true  love  free  !" 

*  Ja-uHiig — Dashing. 


4SS  MINSTRELSY  OF 

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  ca'd, 

But  answer  got  she  nane. 

"  O  open  the  door,  Lord  Gregory  ! 

"  O  open,  and  let  me  in  ! 
"  For  the  wind  blaws  through  my  yellow  hair, 

"  And  the  rain  draps  o'er  my  chin." 

"  Awa,  awa,  ye  ill  woman  ! 

"  YeVe  no  come  here  for  good  ! 
"  Ye'rc  but  some  witch,  or  wil  warlock, 

"  Or  mermaid  o'  the  flood." 


"  I  am  neither  witch,  nor  ^vil  warlock, 
''  Nor  mermaid  o'  the  sea  ; 

"  But  I  am  Annie  of  Lochroyan  ; 
"  O  open  the  door  to  me  !" 

"  Gin  thou  be  Annie  of  Lochroyan, 
"  (As  I  trow  thou  binna  she) 

"  Now  tell  me  some  o'  the  love  tokens 
"  That  past  between  thee  and  me." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  439 

O  dinna  ye  mind,  Lord  Gregory, 
"  As  we  sat  at  the  wine, 
We  changed  the  rings  frae  our  fingers, 
"  And  I  can  shew  thee  thine  ? 


O  yours  was  gude,  and  gude  enough, 
"  But  aye  the  best  was  mine ; 
For  yours  was  o'  the  gude  red  gowd, 
"  But  mine  o''  the  diamond  fine. 


"  And  has  na  thou  mind,  Lord  Gregory, 

"  As  we  sat  on  the  hill, 
"  Thou  twin'd  me  o'  my  maidenheid 

"  Right  sair  against  my  will  ? 

"  Now,  open  the  door.  Lord  Gregory  ! 

"  Open  the  door,  I  pray ! 
"  For  thy  young  son  is  in  my  arms, 

"  And  will  be  dead  ere  day." 


If  thou  be  the  lass  of  Lochroyan, 
"  (As  I  kenna  thou  be) 
Tell  me  some  mair  o'  the  love  tokens 
"  Past  between  me  and  thee.'" 


440  MINSTRELSY  OF 

Fair  Annie  turn'd  her  round  about — 

"  Weel  !  since  that  it  be  sae, 
"  May  never  a  woman,  that  has  borne  a  son, 

"  Hae  a  heai't  sae  fou  o'  wae  ! 


"  Take  down,  take  down,  that  mast  o''  gowd  ? 

"  Set  up  a  mast  o""  tree  ! 
"  It  disna  become  a  forsaken  lady 

"  To  sail  sae  royallie." 

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

And  the  sun  began  to  peep. 
Then  up  and  raise  him  Lord  Gregory, 

And  sair,  sair  did  he  weep. 

"  Oh  I  hae  dream'd  a  dream,  mother, 

"  I  wish  it  may  prove  true  ! 
"  That  the  bonny  Lass  of  Lochroyan 

"  Was  at  the  yate  e'en  now. 

"01  hae  dream'd  a  dream,  mother, 

"  The  thought  o't  gars  me  greet ! 
"  That  fair  Annie  o'  Lochroyan 

"  Lay  cauld  dead  at  my  feet.*" 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  441 

"  Gin  it  be  for  Annie  of  Locliroyan 

"  That  ye  make  a'  this  din, 
"  She  stood  a'  last  night  at  your  door, 

"  But  I  trow  she  wan  na  in." 


"  O  wae  betide  ye,  ill  woman  ! 

*'  An  ill  deid  may  ye  die  ! 
"  That  wadna  open  the  door  to  her, 

"  Nor  yet  wad  waken  me."" 

O  he's  gane  down  to  yon  shore  side 

As  fast  as  he  could  fare  ; 
He  saw  fair  Annie  in  the  boat. 

But  the  wind  it  toss'd  her  sair. 


*'  And  hey,  Annie,  and  how,  Annie  ! 

"  O  Annie,  winna  ye  bide  !" 
But  aye  the  mair  he  cried  Annie, 

The  braider  grew  the  tide. 


"  And  hey,  Annie,  and  how,  Annie  ! 

"  Dear  Annie,  speak  to  me  !" 
But  aye  the  louder  he  cried  Annie, 

The  louder  roar'd  the  sea. 


442  MINSTRELSY  OF 

The  wind  blew  loud,  tlie  sea  grew  rough, 
And  dash'd  the  boat  on  shore  ; 

Fair  Annie  floated  through  the  faem, 
But  the  babie  rose  no  more. 


Lord  Gregory  tore  his  yellow  hair, 
And  made  a  heavy  moan  ; 

Fair  Annie^'s  corpse  lay  at  his  feet, 
Her  bonny  young  son  was  gone. 

O  cherry,  cherry  was  her  cheek. 
And  gowden  was  her  hair  ; 

But  clay-cold  were  her  rosy  lips — 
Nae  spark  o'  life  was  tliere. 

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. 


O  wae  betide  my  cruel  mother  ! 

"  An  ill  death  may  she  die  ! 

She  turned  my  true  love  frae  my  door, 

"  Wha  came  sae  far  to  me. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  443 

O  wae  betide  my  cruel  mother  ! 
"  An  ill  death  may  she  die  ! 
She  turn'd  fair  Annie  frae  my  door, 
"  Wha  died  for  love  o'  me." 


444  MINSTRELSY  OF 


ROSE  THE  RED  AND  WHITE  LILLY. 


NEVEE  BEFORE  PUBLISHED. 


This  legendary  tale  is  given  chiefly  from  Mrs  Brown's  MS. 
Accordingly,  many  of  the  rhymes  arise  from,  the  northern 
mode  of  pronunciation  ;  as  dee  for  do,  and  the  like. — Per- 
haps the  ballad  may  have  originally  related  to  the  history  of 
the  celebrated  Robin  Hood,  as  mention  is  made  of  Barnis- 
dale,  his  favourite  abode. 


O  Rose  the  Red,  and  'White  Lilly, 

Their  mother  deir  was  dead  ; 
And  their  father  has  married  an  ill  woman, 

Wished  them  twa  little  guid. 


But  she  had  twa  as  gallant  sons 

As  ever  brake  man's  bread ; 
And  the  tane  o'  them  lo'ed  her.  White  Lilly, 

And  the  tother  Rose  the  Red. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  445 

O  bigged  hae  they  a  bigly  bour. 

Fast  by  the  roaring  strand  ; 
And  there  was  mair  mirth  in  the  ladyes"*  bour, 

Nor  in  a'  their  father's  land. 


But  out  and  spak  their  step-mother, 
As  she  stood  a  Uttle  forbye — 

"  I  hope  to  hve  and  play  the  prank, 
"  Sail  gar  your  loud  sang  lie."" 

She's  call'd  upon  her  eldest  son  ; 

"  Cum  here,  my  son,  to  me  : 
"  It  fears  me  sair,  my  Bauld  Arthur, 

"  That  ye  maun  sail  the  sea." 

"  Gin  sae  it  maun  be,  my  deir  mother, 
"  Your  bidding  I  mavm  dee  ; 

"  But  be  never  waur  to  Rose  the  Red, 
"  Than  ye  hae  been  to  me." 


She's  caird  upon  her  youngest  son  ; 

"  Cum  here,  my  son,  to  me  : 
"  It  fears  me  sair,  my  Brown  Robin, 

"  That  ye  maun  sail  the  sea." 


446  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  Gin  it  fear  ye  sair,  my  mother  deir, 
"  Your  bidding  I  sail  dee  ; 

"  But,  be  never  waur  to  White  Lilly, 
"  Than  ye  hae  been  to  me.'" 


"  Now  baud  yoiir  tongues,  ye  foolish  boys  ! 

"  For  small  sail  be  their  part : 
"  They  ne'er  again  sail  see  your  face, 

"  Gin  their  very  hearts  suld  break.'' 

Sae  Bauld  Arthur's  gane  to  our  King's  court. 

His  hie  chamberlain  to  be  ; 
But  Brown  Robin,  he  has  slain  a  knlgiit, 

And  to  grene-wood  he  did  flee. 

When  Rose  the  Red,  and  White  Lilly, 

Saw  their  twa  loves  were  gane, 
Sunc  did  they  drop  the  loud,  loud  sang, 

Took  up  the  still  mourning. 


And  out  then  spake  her  White  Lilly 
"  My  sister,  we'U  be  gane  : 

''  Why  suld  we  stay  in  Barnisdale, 
"  To  mourn  our  hour  witiiin  .^" 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOllDER.  447 

O  cutted  hae  they  their  green  cloathing, 

A  httle  abune  their  knee  ; 
And  sae  hae  they  their  yellow  hair, 

A  little  abune  their  bree. 


And  left  hae  they  that  bonny  hour, 

To  cross  the  raging  sea  ; 
And  they  hae  ta'en  to  a  holy  cliapei. 

Was  christened  by  Our  Ladye. 


And  they  hae  changed  their  twa  names, 

Sae  far  frae  ony  toun  ; 
And  the  tane  o'  them's  hight  Sweet  Willie, 

And  the  tother's  Rouge  the  Rounde. 


Between  the  twa  a  promise  is, 
And  they  hae  sworn  it  to  fulfil ; 

Whenever  the  tane  blew  a  bugle-horn, 
The  tother  suld  cum  her  till. 


Sweet  Willy's  gane  to  the  King's  court, 

Her  true  love  for  to  see  ; 
And  Rouge  the  Rounde  to  gude  grene-wood. 

Brown  Robin's  man  to  be. 


448  MINSTRELSY  OF 

0  it  fell  anes,  upon  a  time, 
They  putted  at  the  stane  ; 

And  seven  foot  ayont  them  a', 
Brown  Robin's  gar'd  it  gang. 


She  lifted  the  heavy  putting-stane, 
And  gave  a  sad  "  O  hon  r 

Then  out  bespake  him,  Brown  Robin, 
"  But  that's  a  woman's  moan  !" 


"  O  kent  ye  by  my  rosy  hps  ? 

"  Or  by  my  yellow  hair  ? 
"  Or  kent  ye  by  my  milk-white  breast, 

"  Ye  never  yet  saw  bare  ?" 


"  I  kent  na  by  your  rosy  lips, 
"  Nor  by  your  yellow  hair  ; 

"  But,  cum  to  your  bour  whaever  likes, 
"  They'll  find  a  ladye  there." 


O  gin  ye  come  my  bour  within, 
"  Through  fraud,  deceit,  or  guile, 
Wi'  this  same  brand,  that's  in  my  hand, 
"  I  vow  I  will  thee  kill." 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  449 

"  Yet  durst  I  cum  into  your  bour, 

"  And  ask  nae  leave,"  quo'  he ; 
"  And  wi'  this  same  brand,  that's  in  my  hand 

"  Wave  danger  back  on  thee." 


About  the  dead  hour  o'  the  night, 

The  ladye's  bour  was  broken  ; 
And,  about  the  first  hour  o'  the  day, 

The  fair  knave  bairn  was  gotten. 

When  days  were  gane,  and  months  were  come. 

The  ladye  was  sad  and  wan ; 
And  aye  she  cried  for  a  bour  woman, 

For  to  wait  her  upon. 


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  ?"" 


'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  pain. 

VOL.  II.  2  F 


4S0  MINSTRET.SY  OF 

"  But  gin  ye  take  that  bugle-horn. 

"  And  wind  a  blast  sae  shrill, 
"I  hae  a  brother  in  yonder  court 

"  Will  come  me  quickly  till/"' 


"  O  gin  ye  hae  a  brother  on  earth, 

"  That  ye  lo'e  mair  than  me, 
"  Ye  may  blow  the  horn  yoin-sell,"  he  says, 

"  For  a  blast  I  winna  gie." 

She's  ta'en  the  bugle  in  her  hand. 
And  blawn  baith  loud  and  shrill  ; 

Sweet  William  started  at  the  soimd, 
And  came  her  quickly  till. 


O  up  and  starts  him,  Brown  Robin, 
And  swore  by  Our  Ladye, 

"  No  man  shall  come  into  this  bour, 
"  But  first  maun  fiorht  wi'  me." 


O  they  hae  fought  the  wood  within. 
Till  the  sun  was  going  down  ; 

And  drops  o""  blood,  frae  Rose  the  Red, 
Came  pouring  to  the  ground. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  451 

She  leant  her  back  against  an  aik, 

Said — "  Robin,  let  me  be  : 
**  For  it  is  a  ladye,  bred  and  born, 

"  That  has  fought  this  day  wi'  thee." 


O  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  ; 


"  And  that  all  for  the  knightly  vow 

"  I  swore  to  Our  Ladye  ; 
"But  mair  for  the  sake  o"*  ae  fair  maid, 

"  Whose  name  was  White  Lilly." 

Then  out  and  spake  her,  Rouge  the  Rounde, 

And  leugh  right  heartilie, 
"  She  has  been  wi'  ye  this  year  and  mair, 

"  Though  ye  wistna  it  was  she." 

Now  word  has  gane  through  all  the  land, 

Befoi-e  a  month  was  gane. 
That  a  forester's  page,  in  gude  grene-wood, 

Had  born  a  bonny  son. 


452  MINSTRELSY  OF 

The  marvel  gaed  to  the  King's  court, 

And  to  the  King  himsell ; 
"  Now,  by  my  fae,"  the  King  did  say, 

"  The  hke  was  never  heard  tell !'''' 


Then  out  and  spake  him,  Bauld  Arthur, 
And  laugh'd  right  loud  and  hie — 

"  I  trow  some  may  has  plaid  the  lown,* 
"  And  fled  her  ain  countrie." 


Bring  me  my  steid  !"  the  King  can  say  ; 
'"  My  bow  and  arrows  keen  ; 
And  I'll  gae  hunt  in  yonder  wood, 
"  And  see  what's  to  be  seen." 


"  Gin  it  please  your  grace,"  quo'  Bauld  Arthur, 

"  My  liege,  I'll  gang  you  wi', 
"  And  see  gin  I  can  meet  a  bonny  page, 

"  That's  stray'd  awa  frae  me." 

And  they  hae  chased  in  gude  grene-wood, 

The  buck  but  and  the  rae, 
Till  they  drew  near  Brown  Robin's  boiu-, 

About  the  close  o'  day. 

•  Loicii—Roguc. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER.  453 

• 
Then  out  and  spake  the  King  himsell, 

Says—."  Arthur,  look  and  see, 
"  Gin  yon  be  not  your  favourite  page, 

"  That  leans  against  yon  tree." 

O  Arthur's  ta'en  a  bugle-horn, 

And  blawn  a  blast  sae  shrill ; 
Sweet  Willie  started  to  her  feet, 

And  ran  him  quickly  till. 

"  O  wanted  ye  your  meat,  Willie, 

"  Or  wanted  ye  your  fee  ? 
"  Or  gat  ye  e'er  an  angry  word, 

"  That  ye  ran  awa  frae  me  ?"" 

"  I  wanted  nought,  my  master  dear  ; 

"  To  me  ye  aye  was  good  : 
"  I  cam  to  see  my  ae  brother, 

"  That  wons  in  this  grene-wood."" 

Then  out  bespake  the  King  again, — 

"  My  boy,  now  tell  to  me, 
"  Who  dwells  into  yon  bigly  hour, 

"  Beneath  yon  'green  aik  tree  ?" 
7 


454  MINSTRELSY  OF 

"  O  pardon  me,"  said  Sweet  Willy, 
"  My  liege,  I  dare  na  tell ; 

"  And  gang  na  near  yon  Outlaw's  hour. 
"  For  fear  they  suld  you  kill." 

"  O  haud  your  tongue,  my  bonny  boy  ! 

"  For  I  winna  be  said  nay  ; 
"  But  I  will  gang  yon  hour  within, 

"  Betide  me  weal  or  wae/' 


They  have  hghted  frae  their  milk-white  steids, 

And  saftlic  entered  in  ; 
And  there  they  saw  her,  White  Lilly, 

Nursing  her  bonny  young  son. 

"  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 !" 

O  out  and  spake  her.  Rose  the  Red, 

And  fell  low  on  her  knee  : — 
"  O  pardon  us,  my  gracious  liege, 

"  And  our  story  I'll  tell  thee. 


THE  SCOTTISH  BOIIDER.  455 

"  Our  father  is  a  wealthy  lord, 

"  Lives  into  Barnisdale  ; 
"  But  we  had  a  wicked  step-mother, 

"  That  wrought  us  meikle  bale. 

"  Yet  had  she  tAva  as  fu'  fair  sons, 

"  As  e'er  the  sun  did  see  ; 
"  And  the  tane  o'  them  lo'ed  my  sister  deir, 

"  And  the  tother  said  he  lo'ed  me/'' 


Then  out  and  cried  him,  Bauld  Arthur, 
As  by  the  King  he  stood, — 

"  Now,  by  the  faith  of  my  body, 
"  This  suld  be  Rose  the  Red  r 


The  King  has  sent  for  robes  o'  green. 

And  girdles  o'  shining  gold ; 
And  sae  sune  have  the  ladyes  busked  themselves 

Sae  glorious  to  behold. 


Then  in  and  came  him,  Brown  Robin, 
Frae  hunting  o'  the  King's  deer, 

But  when  he  saw  the  King  himsell, 
He  started  back  for  fear. 


456  MINSTRELSY,  &C. 

The  King  has  ta'en  Robin  by  the  hand, 
And  bade  him  nothing  dread, 

But  quit  for  aye  the  gude  grene-wood. 
And  come  to  the  court  wi'  speed. 


The  King  has  ta'en  White  Lilly"'s  son. 

And  set  him  on  his  knee  ; 
Says — "  Gin  ye  hve  to  wield  a  brand, 

"  My  bowman  thou  sail  be."" 

Then  they  have  ta'en  them  to  the  holy  chapelle, 

And  there  had  fair  wedding  ; 
And  when  they  cam  to  the  King's  court, 

For  joy  the  bells  did  ring. 


END  OF  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


Edinburgh  : 
Printed  by  James  Ballantyne  &  Co. 


>      A