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SIR WALTER gCOTT'S 
MINSTRELSY 

OF 

THE SCOTTISH BORDER 

EDITED BY 

T. F. HENDERSON 



WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS 

ED1NBDBOH AND LOMDON 

CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

NBW YOllK 

i9ose 



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^^•2'i^ 






HARVARD 

UNIVERSITY 

LIBRARY 



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CONTENTS OF VOL. II 



HISTORICAL BALLADS (eotUimudy- 



> HAZWELLS eOODNISHT, 



TBB SAU.ANT SRABAIU, 



PAST II 

ROMANTIC BALLADS— 



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MINSTRELSY 



SCOTTISH BORDER 



HISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC BALLADS 



!N THE SOnTHEKN CODNTIES OF SCOTLAND; 

WITH A FEW OF MODEUM UATE, FOUNSED 

UPON LOCAL TBADITION 

llw MMigi, to nvkge virtae dsu, 
Hut iroD of jort tbe public sar, 
Bn polity, sedate uid nc*< 
Hkd qneDoh'd the flree of feudal rage. 

. Waxiom. 



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JAMIE TELFER 

OF THE FAIR DODHEAD 

Thkrb u anothra ballad, under the same title as the 
following, in which nearly the same incidents are 
narrated, with little difference, except that the 
honour of rescoing the cattle is attributed to the 
Liddesdale Elliots, beaded by a chief, there called 
Martin Elliot of the Preakin Tower, whose son, 
Simon, is said to have fallen in the action. It is 
very possible that both the Teviotdale Scotts, and 
the Elliots, were engaged in the affair, and that each 
claimed the honour of the victory. 

The Editor presumes that the Willie Scott, here 
mentioned, must have been a natural son of the 
Laird of Buccleucb. 

[In the last note (see p. 1 7), Sir Walter conjectures 
that the raid of 1 58S was that referred to in the ballad, 
but this is impossible, for (I) Sir Walter, first Lord 
Scott, not being bom until I56s, tmuld not in 158S 
be termed 'auld Buccleuch' ; and (S) he could not 
hare a son able to take part in the raid. Nor, it 
may be added, could Wat of Harden, who lived till 
l6i9, be then possessed of ' lyart locks '—though 
this is, donbtlesa, one of Scott's own touches. 
Other references in the ballad also clearly point to 
a date either towards the close of the sixteenth, or 
about the beginning of the seventeenth century. 
But for this, it might have been conjectured that the 
Willie Scottwho was slain was Sir William of Kirkurd, 
VOL. n. A 



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S BORDER MINSTRELSY 

who was son of the Sir Walter of Buccleucb 
assassinated by the Kem in the streets of Edin- 
burgh on 4th October 1553, and who died io the 
previous March. In the Elliot version of the ballad 
(in the possession of Mr. Macmath, and printed in 
Child's BaUadt, v. p. 249-51), it is an Elliot who is 
slain. Martin Elliot's son, Gib, was slain in a foray 
7th July 1597 (Border Papen, ii. No. 676), and the 
reciter may have introduced the incident to give 
colour to' -the story of a different foray. The 
authority for Scott's version is unknown. Although 
in substantial agreement with much in the Elliot 
version, it has clearly been greatly improved by 
Scott, especially in the passages describing the 
fight See footnote to stanzas zzxiiL-zxzviii 
Scott of Harden and the Elliots were engaged in 
various raids after the escape of Kinmont Willie in 
1596. On Srd July, Thomas Musgrave, Captain of 
Bewcastle, fell into an ambush, and was taken 
prisoner by the Scots {Border Papert, ii. p. 1*8); 
hut the ballad may chiefly celebrate a raid of 
9th April 1597, in which Buccleuch took part, and 
In which the raiders murdered with the 'sword' 
fourteen which had been in Scotland, and brought 
away their booty {Border Papert ii,, No. 596).] 



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JAMIE TELFER 

OF THE FAIR DODHEAD 

I 
It fell about the Martinmas tjde, 

When our Border steeds get com and hay, 
The Captain of Bewcastle hath bound him to ryde, 

And he's over to Tividale to drive a prey. 

n 
The first ae guide that they met vi*, 

It was high up in Hard haughs wire ; 
lie second guide that they met wi\ 

It was laigh down in Borthwick water. 



' What tidings, what tidings, my trusty guide ? ' 
' Nae tidings, nae tidings, I hae to thee; 

But gin yell gae to the fair Dodhead, 
Mony a cow's cauf I '11 let thee see.' 

IT 

And whan they cam to the fair Dodhead, 
Bight hastily they clam the peel ; 

They loosed the kye out, ane and a*, 
And ranshackled ^ the house right weel. 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



Now Jamie Telfer's heart was Bair, 
The tear aye rowing in his ee ; 

He pled wi' the Captain to hae his gear, 
Or else reveng^ he wad be. 



The Captain turned him round and leugh ; 

Said — 'Man, there ^s naetbing in thy house 
But ae auld sword without a sheath, 

That hardly now wad fell ^ a mouse.' 



The Bun wasna up, but the moon was down. 
It was the gryming * of a new-fa^ snaw, 

Jamie Telfer has run ten myles a-foot, 

Between the Dodhead and the Stobs's Ha\ 



And whan he cam to the &ir tower yate. 
He shouted loud, and cried weel hie, 

Till out bespak auld Gibby Elliot— 

'Whae's this that brings the fraye to mep' 



* It *B I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead, 
And a harried man I think I be ! 

There 'b naething left at the fair Dodhead, 
But a waefu' wife and baimies three.'' 
1 [M Un.] ■ Gryning. ipriakUng. 



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JAMIE TELFER 



* Gae seek jour succour at Branksome Ha\ 
For succour ye *se get nane frae me ; 

Gae seek your succour where ye paid black-mail, 
For, man ! ye ne'er paid money to me.' 



Jamie has turned him round about, 
I wat the tear blinded his ee — 

* I 'U ne'er pay mail to EUliot again, 
And the fair Dodhead I 'II nevo- see ! 



' My hounds may a' rin masterless, 
My hawks may fly frae tree to tree. 

My lord may grip my vassal lands, 
For there again maun I neVer be ! ' 

XIII 

He has turned him to the Tiviot ude, 

E'en as fast as he could drie, 
Till he cam to the Coultart Qeugh, 

And there he shouted baith loud and hie. 



Then up bespak him auld Jock Grieve — 
* Whae 's this that brings the &aye to me ? ' 

■ It 's I, Jamie Telfer o' the Cur Dodhead, 
A harried man I trow I be. 



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BORDER MINSTREI5Y 



' There *s naething left in the fair Dodhead, 
But a greeting wife and baimies three, 

And sax poor ca'8 ' stand in the sta\ 
A' routing loud for their n 



* Alack a wae ! ' quo'' auld Jock Grieve, 
' Alack ! my heart is sair for thee ! 

For I was married on the elder sister. 

And you on the youngest of a'' the three.' 

XVII 

Then he has ta'en out a bonny black. 
Was right weel fed wi' com and hay, 

And he 's set Jamie Telfer on his back. 
To the Catslockhill to Uk the fraye 

XTIII 

And whan he cam to the Catslockhill, 
He shouted loud, and cried weel hie, 

Till out and spak him William's Wat— 
* whae 's this brings the fraye to me ? ' 



* It 's I, Jamie Telfer of the fair Dodhead, 

A harried man I think I be ! 
The Captain of Bewcastle has driven my gear ; 

For God's sake rise, and succour me ! * 



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JAMIE TELFER 

* Alas for wae ! ' quo' William's Wat, 
' Alack, for thee my heart it tair ! 

I never cam bye the fiur Dodhead, 
That ever I fand thy basket bare.' 



He's set his twa sons on coal-bUck steeds, 
Hitnsel' upon a freckled gray, 

And they are on wi' Jamie Telfer, 
To Branksome Ha' to tak the fraye. 



And wban they cam to Branksome Ha', 
They shouted a' haith loud and hie. 

Till up and spak him auld Buccleuch, 

Said — ' Whae 's this brings the fraye to me ? 



' It '■ I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead , 
And a harried man I think I be ! 

There's nought left in the £ur Dodhead, 
But a greeting wife and batmies three.' 



* Alack far wae ! ' quoth the gude auld lord, 
' And ever my heart is wae for thee ! 

But fye gar cry on Willie, my son. 
And see that he come to me speedilie ! 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XXV 

' Gar warn the water, braid and wide, 
Gar warn it sune and hastilie ! 

They that winna ride for Telfer''8 kye, 
Let them never look in the face o' me ! 



* Warn Wat o' Hard^i, and his son*, 
Wr them will Borthwick water ride ; 

Warn Graudilands, and Allanhaugh, 
And Gilmanftcleugh, and Commonude. 



* Ride by the gate at Priesthaughswire, 
And warn the Cuirors o' the Lee ; 

As ye cum down the Hermitage Slack, 
Warn doughty Willie o' Gorrinberry.' 



The Scotts they rade, the Scotti they ran, 

Sae starkly and aae steadilie ! 
And aye the ower-word o^ the thrang 

Was — 'Rise for Branksome readilie!' 



The gear was driven the Frostylee up, 
Frae the Frostylee unto the plain, 

Whan Willie has looked bis men before, 
And saw the kye right fast drivand. 



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JAMIE TELFER 9 

XXX 

' Whae drives thir kye ? ' can ' Willie say, 
' To mak an outspeckle * o^ me P ' 

'It's I, the Capttun o' Bewcastle, Willie; 
I vinna layne my name for thee,' 

XXXI 

'O will ye let Telfer's kye gae back P 
Or will ye do aught for regard o' me P 

Or, 1^ the faith of my body,' quo' Willie Scott, 
' I 'se ware my dame's caufs skin on thee ! ' 

xxxu 
'I winna let the kye gae back, 

Neither for thy love, nor yet thy fear ; 
But I will drive Jamie Telfer's kye, 

In spite of every Scott that 's here.' 

XXXIII ' 
< Set on them, lads ! ' quo' Willie than ; 
' Fye, lads, set on them cniellie I 

' ["gku'mUAaditiiHi.] ■ Ovttptekle, Ua«hiii8->took. 

■ [For ituuaa niilL-iEivill. kll that we hare in the Elliot 
enion U the following tfaiee ■laiuai : — 

"'Fa' on them, ladi !" o»n Simmy lay; 

" Fy, fa' on them omeiiy ! 
For or thej win to the Rittet ford, 

Mony toom nddle there ihall be." 
' But Bimm; wai athken oer the head. 

And thra the napekapa it la gane, 
And Moeorop made a dolefoll lage, 
When Simmy on the groimd lay ilain. 



re probably mainly Soott'i 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 

For ere they win to Ritterford, 

Many a toom ^ saddle there sail be ! ' 



Then till't they gaed, wi' heart and hand; 

The blows fell thick as bickering hail; 
And mony a horse ran masterless, 

And mony a comely cheek was pale ! 



But Willie was stricken ower the head, 

And thro^ the knapscap * the sword has gane ; 

And Harden grat for very rage, 

Whan Willie on the grund lay slane. 



But he 's tane aff his gude steel cap, 
And thrice he 's waved it in the air — 

The Dinlay * snaw was ne'er mair white 
Nor the lyart locks of Harden^s hair. 



' Revenge ! revenge ! ' auld Wat can cry ; 

*Fye, lads, lay on them cruellie! 
We '11 ne'er see Tiviotside again, 

Or Willie's death revenged sail be.' 



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JAMIE TELFEE 



O mony a hone ran masterleu, 
The ^lintered laoces flew on hie ; 

But or they wan to the Kershope ford, 
The Scotta bad gotten the victory. 



John o' Brigham there was slane, 
And John o* Barlow, as I hear say ; 

And thirty mae o' the Captain''8 men, 
Lay bleeding on the grund that day. 



The Captain was run thro' the thick of the 
thigh. 

And broken was his right 1^ bane; 
If be bad lived this hundred years, 

He had never been loved by woman again. 



* Hae back thy kye ! ' the Captain said ; 

' Dear kye, I trow, to some they be ! 
For gin I suld live a hundred years, 

There will ne'er fair lady smile on me.' 



Then word is gane to the Captain's bride, 
Even in the bower where that she lay, 

That her lord was prisoner in enemy's land, 
Since into Tividole he had led the way. 



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.2 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XLni 
' I wad loiud ^ have had a winding-sheet. 

And helped to put it ower his head, 
Ere he had heen disgraced by the Border Scot, 

Whan he ower Liddel his men did lead ! ' 



There was a wild gallant amang us a'. 
His name was Watty wi' the Wudspurs,^ 

Cried — ' On for his house in Stanegirthside, 
If ony man will ride with as ! ' 



When they cam to the Stanegirthside, 
They dang wi' trees, and hurst the door ; 

They loosed out a' the Captain's kye, 
And set them forth our lads before. 



There was an auld wyfe ayont the fire, 
A wee bit o^ the Captain's kin — 

* Wbae dar loose out the Captain's kye, 
Or answer to him and his men P ' 

XLVII 

' It 's I, Watty Wudspurs, loose the kye ! 

I winna layne my name frae thee ! 
And I will loose out the Captain's kye, 

In scorn of a' his men and he,' 
' Lourd, mthoT. ■ Wvd^uri, HotepDr, or Hadipi 



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JAMIE TELFER 



When they cam to the fair Dodbead, 
They were a wdlcum sight to see ! 

For instead of his ain ten milk kye, 

Jamie Telfer has gotten thirty and three. 



And he has paid the rescue shot, 
Baith wi^ goud, and white monie ; 

And at the burial o' Willie Scott, 
I wat was mony a weeping ee. 



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JAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD 

It toot high up in HardhaughtvTire. — St. ii. 1. 2. 

Hudhaaghswire ia the pass from Liddeadale to tlie 
beodofTeviotdale. 

It aag lalgh down in Sorthaiiek water. — St. ii. I. 4. 

Borthwick water is a Btream, wliicli falls into the 
Teriot three miles above Hawiclt. 

But gin st'ti gae to the/air Dodhead.—Sit. iii, 1. a 

The Dodhead, in SellcirkBhire, near Singlee, where 
there axe stili the veatij^ of an old tower. [A* the 
Dodhead in Selkirkshire is thirtj miles from Stobs'a Hall, 
to vhich Telfer ran for help, Mr. Andrew Lang conjec- 
tures that there was a Dodhead near Dodbum, south 
of the Teriot, in Roxburghshire. Professor Veitcfa has 
pointed out that in a line across the hills the ' distance, 
as measured by the map, is not more than eleven miles 
at the utmost' (Border Hittory and Poetry, ii. p. 147).] 
Novo Jamie Tef/er'i heart wa* «iir.— St, v. 1. 1, 

There is still a family of Telfers, residing near Lang- 
holm, who pretend to derive tbeir descent from the Telfers 
of the Dodhead. 

Bdwem the Dodhead and the Stobt'i Ha'.— St. vii. 1. 4. 

Stobs Hall, upon Slittarick. Jamie Telfer made his 
first application here, because he seems to have pMd the 
proprietor of that castle blaek-mail or protection-money. 

Qae eeek your succour at Brankeome Ha'. — St x. L 1. 

The ancient family-seat of the Lairds of Buccleuch, 



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JAMIE TELFER 15 

TUlfieaiml0tkeOi»iltaHClaugk.~St am. I. 3. 

Tha Coultart Clengh i* newl^ oppoaits to CarliDrif;, ob 
the road between Hawick aud Monpaul. 

And wAan he earn to Iht OaUloekliiil.—SL ZTiii. L 1. 

[CataJack in BTanxhoIm waa beatowed on Bucclench 
9th Jnae l69i{Beg. Mag. Big. Scot/.). Previouil^ he held 
it from Angui ; and it was tenanted bj a Walter Scott, 
who on I4th October lfi92 appeared as surety for William 
Scott in We«ter Momberagear (_IUg. P. C. Scatl., v. 14).] 
Oar worn lltt tMter, braul and wide. — St. xxv. L 1. 

The tMter, in the mountainooH diatricta of Scotland, ia 
often uaed to ezpren the banks of the river, which are 
the only inhabitable parts of the conntrj. To raite the 
water, therefore, was to alann those who lived along its 

Warn Wat o' Harden, and hit tonr, etc. — St, ixri, L 1. 

The estates, mentioned in thia verse, belonged to the 
&inilies of the name of Scott, reeiding upon the waters of 
Borthwick and Teviot, near the castle of their chief. 
[Gaudielands, or GoldieUndi, was the residence of Walter 
Scott, a natural son of the Sir Walter of Bnccleuch slain by 
the Kerrs in 1U2. He is the I^ird'a Wat o( the ballad, 
'The Raid of the Reidiwire.' AUanhangh was then 
oecQpied either by Robert Scott or his son William, 
deacended from David of Bucclflnch, d. 1492. For Gil- 
manscleugh, see note to stanza xxzv. Commonside was 
leased, 2nd September lfi91, to Gilbert Elliot of Rirktonn, 
hrother-german to Robert Elliot of Beidbeuch (Fraber's 
Seottt nfBuceUuek, ii. p. 260). In connection with this, 
he and other Elliots signed a bond to Buccleocb (16., ii. 
pp. 2S8-60).] 

Bid* bs lie ffoU at PriMthavgluwire—St xzrii. 1. 1. 

The pnrsners aeem to have taken the road through the 
hills of Uddeedale, in order to collect forces, and inters 
Mpt the fbragen at the paaaage of the Liddel, on their 
retam to Beweaetle. The Ritterford and Kenhope^rd, 
after-mentioned, are noted fords on the river liddeL 



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16 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Warn doughtg WUHe o' ftwrtnierrp.— St ixrii. 1. 4. 

[Willie Elliot, who took part in the rescue of Ktnmont 
Willie {Border Paper*, ii. p. 122).] 

Hie gtar vat driven Ike FrottyUe up. — St. zxix. L 1. 

The Frostjiee ia e brook, which joiiu the Teviot, Dear 
MowpauL 

And Harden gratfitr very rage. — St. xxxv. 1. 3. 

Of this border laird, common!}' called Anld Wat of 
Harden, tradition baa preserved msn^ anecdotes. He 
was married to Muy Scott, celebrated in long \>j the 
title of the Flower of Yarrow. By their nisrriag»«on- 
tract, the &tber-in-lsw, Philip Scott of Drybope, was to 
find Harden in horae meat, and man's meat, at his tower 
of Dryhope, for a year and a day ; but five baron* pledge 
themselves, that at the expiry of that period, the Hon-in- 
Uw should remove, without attempting to continae in 
pOSMSsion by force j A notary-public signed for all the 
parties to Uie deed, none of whom could write their 
name*. The original is still in the charter-room of the 
present Mr. Scott of Harden. By the Flower of Varrow 
the Laird of Harden had six ions ; five of whom survived 
him, and founded the iamiliee of Harden (now extinct), 
Higbcheeters (now repreeenting Harden), Reabum, Wool, 
and Synton. The sixth son was slain at a ^y, in a 
hunting-match, by the Scotts of Gilmanseleugh. Hi* 
brothers flew to arms ; but the old laird secured them in 
the dungeon of hie tower, hurried to Edinburgh, stated 
the crime, and obtained a gift of the lands of the offenders 
from the crown. He returned to Harden with equal 
speed, relesaed his sons, and showed them the cliarter. 
'To horse, lads !' cried the savage warrior, 'and let u* 
take possession .' the lands of Gilmanacleuch are well 
worth a dead son.' The property thus obtained continued 
in the family till the beginning of laat century, when it 
was sold, by John Scott of Harden, to Ann, Duchess of 
BuG«leuch. A beautiful ballad, founded on this tradition, 
occurs in the Form Mtnetrtl, a collection of legendary 
poetry, by Mr. James Hogg. [Much of this is incorrect. 



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JAMIE TELFEB 17 

Scott'i account of tbe mBrmf^e-contrket ia not borne 
ont by the original chartar found by the late Sir William 
Fraaer in Lord Polworth's charter-rooin. Tbe charter ia 
dated iBt March 1576. Walter Scott and Marion became 
bound to celebrate tbe marriage before the following 
Ijimwm The father of Marion bound himwlf in a c«r- 
tun mm to Harden, the balance to be paid 'at tbe 
■aid Walter and Marion's pwing to their awin houae' 
(FsAsBt's Seotti qf Bueeieueh, vol. L p. Izz), 

Only four aona of Wat of Harden are mentioned in 
Dooglaa'i Baronage, and in Sir Walter Scott's Harden 
pedigree at Abbotaford: Sir William; Walter, died «lth- 
ont iaaue ; Francis, anceator of the Scota of Sinton ; and 
Hew, ancestor of the Scotta of Gala. The eldest daughter 
WM married to Sir Gilbert Elliot of Stobba. Scott of Har- 
den waa bom about 15S0, and died in 1629. For a mor« 
correct account of tlie Harden fray, and its results, see 
Reg. Pnvg CouneU af Scotland, vol li. pp. 98-101.] 

John Brigham there wu tlane. — St. «"'•' 1. 1, 
Pezlispa one of the ancient family of Brougham, in 
Cumberland. The Editor has used some freedom with 
the original in the subsequent verse. Tbe account 
of the captain's disaster (tette keva vufyteraia) is rather too 
ttaitiB for literal publication. 

'On for Am house in Stanegirthtide.' — St tIit. 1. 3. 

A bouse belonging to the Foresters, situated on tbe 
English side of the Liddel. 

An article in tbe list of attempts upon England, fonled 
by the Commiaaiooers at Berwick, in the year 1C87, may 
relate to the subject of tbe foregoing liallad. 
October, 1582. 

Thomas MnBgTaTe,rWalterScott,l(urdi200 Idne and 
deputy of Bewcastle,| of Buclduth, and|-oien,900gut 
and theteaaatB,against Ibis complices; forJand sheep. 

Introduction to HUtary t/f Westmoreland and Cumber- 
bmd, p. 31. [See, however. Introduction to the ballad.} 

VOL. II. B 



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RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE 

This poem is published from a copy in the Bannatyne 
H8. in the handwriting of the Hon. Mr. Cannichael, 
advocate. It first appeared in Allan Ramsay's Ever- 
green, but some liberties have been taken by him 
in tninscribiDg it ; and, what is altogether unpar- 
donable, the w., which is itself rather inaccurate, 
has been interpolated to favour his readings ; of 
which there remain obvious marks. 

The skirmish of the Reidswire happened upon 
the 7th of June • 1575 at one of the meetings, held 
by the Wardens of the Marches, for arrangements 
necessary upon the Border. Sir John CarmichacI, 
ancestor of the present Earl of Hyndford,^ was the 
Scottish warden, and Sir John Forster held that 
office on the English Middle March. In the course 
of the day, which was employed, as usual, in 
redressing wrongs, a bill, or indictment, at the 
instance of a Scottish coraplainer, was fouled (i.e. 
found a trae bill) against one Farnstein, a notorious 
English freebooter. Forster alleged that he had 
fled from justice: Carmichael considering this as 
a pretext to avoid making campensation for the 
felony, bade him ' play fair ! ' to which the haughty 
English warden retorted, by some injurious expres- 
sions respecting Carmichael's family, and gave other 
> [J«ay.] ' The UUb of E;ndford U now eitinot. 1830. 



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THE EAID OF THE REmSWIKE 19 

open sigiu of retentment. His rethme, chiefly 
men of Bedesdale *nd Tyned^e, the moat ferocioai 
of the English Borderers, gUd of any pretext for 
a quarrel, discbai^ed « flight of arrows among the 
Scots. A warm conflict ensued, in which, Car- 
micbael being beat down and made jnisoner, 
sncceas seemed at first to incline to the English 
side, till the Tynedale men, throwing themselves 
too greedily upon the plunder, fell into disorder; 
and a body of Jedburgh citizens arnving at that 
instant, the skirmish terminated in a complete 
nctoty on the part of the Scots, who took prisoners, 
the English wuden, James Ogle, Cuthbert Colling- 
wood, Francis Russell, son to the Earl of Bedford, 
and sosi-in-law to Forster, some of the Fenwicks, 
and seroal other Border chiefs. They were sent 
to the Earl of Morton, then Begent, who detained 
them at Dalkeith for srnne days, till the heat of 
their resentment was abated ; whidi prudent pre- 
canticm prevented a war betwixt the two kingdoms. 
He then dismissed them with great expressions of 
regard ; and, to satisfy Qae^i EUzabetii,' sent up 
Cazmicbael to York, whence he waa soon after 
hcmonrably dismissed. "Die field of battle, called 
the Beidswire, is a part of the Carter Mosntain, 
about ten miles from Jedburgh. — See, for these 
partienlan, Godscbopt, Spott»woodb, and John- 
noM'a HiMUtry. [Also Calaidar Slate Paper* (For. 
Ser.), 1575-7.] 

The Editor has adopted the modern spelling of 
the word Beidswire, to prevent the mistake in 

' Her unbaoactoT at EdlnbaTsh refoiad to lie In a bed of 
■tatc wliich had been pnrided for Um, till this '«udiou» fiiet' 
li«d been Inquind Into. — Hubpiii'b Salt Fapert, voL 11. 



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90 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

pronuDciation which might be occasiooed by tlie use 
of the Scottish qu for w. The mb. reads RatUgtuUr.^ 
Sn>air, or Smrf, signifies the descent of a hill ; and 
the epithet Red is derived from the colour of the 
heath, or, perhaps, from the Reid-water, which 
rises at no great distance, 

[To Mr. Macmath, Edinburgh, I am indebted 
for a copy of this ballad (in an early seventeenth- 
century hand), discovered by hira in December 1 895 
amongst the papers of the late George Wilson, S.S.C. 
Near it was an old us. volume relating to the Car- 
michael family. It may have been from this us. 
that the copy in the BannatyUe hb. was obtained, 
though they differ somewhat in spelling. The only 
correct edition of the Bannatync copy is that pub- 
lished by J. B. Murdoch (188S). It is also included 
in Mr. Murdoch's edition of the Bannatyne ms. 
printed by the Hunterian Club. Scott greatly modi- 
fied the spelling, and took various liberties with the 
text. David Herd (ScoU Songt, 1776, vol. L pp. 
49-54) published a version, ' made up l^m various 
copies of this old ballad collated' It is more 
correct than the MuutrtUi/ version, and closely 
agrees with the Ms. copies. The ballad is in the 
French octave, and seems to have been preserved 
very much as originally written. The more im- 
portant variations are given in the footnotes, the 
Bannatyne copy being indicated by 'B.,' and Mr. 
Macmath's copy by ' M.'] 

> [Id B. it read* Rid Square, and in M. ndvivrt.'\ 



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THE 
RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE 

I 

Tkb seventl) of July, the suith to say, 

At the Reidswire the tryst was set ; 
Our wardens they affixed the ' day, 

And, as they promised, so they met. 

Alas ! that day 1 11 ne'er foi^tt ! 
Was sure sae feard, and then aae faine — 

Hiey came theare justice for to gett, 
Will never green * to come again. 

n 
Carmichael was our warden then. 

He caused the country to conveen ; 
And the lord's Wat, that worthie man. 
Brought in that ' simame well beseen : * 
llie Armestranges that aye hae ' been 
A hardie house, but not a hail, 

The Elliots' honours to maintaine. 
Brought down the lave d" * Uddesdale. 
1 ['•-'-»- •ad K.] 'OTtm,Um$. " ['hi*'— B. md M.] 
* Weil bctetn, well appidiited. The word oooiin In Morte 
Arthur: 'And when Sir PendnJ uw tfai^ he hied him thIChar, 
and found the ehip oorand with iflke, more blacker than any 
bears ; and therein waa a gentlewoman, of great beaatie, and ihe 
wB* riohly baeene, Ibatnonemight be better.' ' ['baet.' — B. and 
M.] * Lave, remainder. ['la*e' U Soott'e. B. and M. have 
' BfODykt In the lert of.'] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



Then Tividale came to vi' speid ;' 

Hie Sheriffe brought the Douglas down, 
Wr Cranstaiie, Gladstain, good at need, 

Baith Rewle water, and Hawick town. 

Beanjeddart bauldly made him boun, 
Wi' a' the TrumbillB, stronge and stout ; 

l^e Rutherfoords, with grit renown, 
Convoyed the town of Jedbrugh out. 



Of other clans I cannot tell, 

Because our warning was not wide.— 
Be this our folks bae ta'en the fell, 

And planted down palliones ' there to bide. 

We looked down the other aide. 
And saw come breasting ower the brae, 

Wi' Sir John Forster for* their gayde. 
Full * fifteen hundred men and mae. 



It grieved him sair that day, I trow, 

Wi' Sir Gleorge Hearoune' of Schipsydc- 
house; 
Because we were not men enow, 



1 ['iDdeed.'— B.uidH.] i [' With.'— B. uid M.} * Palliimet, 
UnU. ' ['AndBiiOoo^eFoirtnwu.'— B.»dU.] * ['WUh.' 
— B. Hwl U] * ['Bic John Hinrome.'—B. Mid H.] 



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THE RAID OF THE REIDS^VIRE 2S 

They counted us not worth a louse.^ 
Sir George was gentle, meek, and douse, 

But he was hfdl and bet as fire; 
And yet, for all his cracking crouse,* 

He rewd the raid o' the Beidswire. 



To deal with proud men is but pain ; 

For either must ye fight or flee, 
Or else no answer make again. 

But play the beast, and let them ' be. 

It was na wonder he* was hie, 
Had Tindaill, Reedsdaill, at his hand, 

Wi' Cukdaill, Gladsdaill on the lee,« 
And' Hebsrime, and Northumberland. 



Yett was our meeting meek eneugh. 
Begun wi' merriement ^ and mowes,* 

And at the brae, aboon the heugb. 
The clark sate down to call the rowes.' 
And some for kyne, and some for ewes, 

Called in of Dandrie, Hob, and Jock — 
We ^ saw, come marching ower the knows, 

Kve hundred Fennicks in a flock. 

1 ['Mnue' In H., uiil pondU; in B., thoogh klMred.] 
• ffroaibnir opiww, tolkinc big. • ['him.'— B. »ndM.J * ['tho' 
h«.'-a»ndliL] «I'ifIU».'— B. MdM.] ' ['Old.'— B. uid 
H.] T ['mininM.'— B.andH.] * [JTmaei, joti.] * Rm>a, 
Tolla. "['l'— B-MdJl] 



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BORDER MINSTREI^V 



With jack and speir, and bows all ' bent> 
And warlike weapons at their will : 

Although * we were na weel content, 
Yet, by my trouth, we feared no * ilL 
Some gaed to drink, and Bome stude still. 

And some to cards and dice them sped ; 
Till * on ane Farmtein ' they fyled a bill, 

And he was fugitive and fled. 



Carmichael bade them speik out plainlie, 
And cloke no cause for ill nor good ; 

The other, answering " bim as vainlie, 
Began to reckon kin and blood : 
He raise, and raxed him ^ where he stood, 

And bade him match him with his marrows ; 
Then Tindaill heard them reasun * rude. 

And they loot off a flight of arrows. 



Then was there nou^t but bow and speir. 
And eveiy man pull'd out a brand ; 

I ['fcU'USooW'fc] ' ['HowbciL'— B-aadSL] • ['non.'— B. 
andH.] • [' Wbile.'— B. and H.J > ['FBnUin.'-B. udH.] 

* ['an>wered.'—B. and H.] ' Baxtd him, iCratohed hinuelf up. 

* Marroat, equal). ' ['thsM reaiODi.'— B. and M.] 



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THE RAID OF THE REU>SWIR£ 25 

* A Schafton and a Fenwick ' thsre : 
Gude Symington was slain irae hand. 
The Scotsmen cried on other to stand, 

Frae time they saw John Robson slain — 
What should they cry ? the King> commaad 

Could cause no cowards turn again. 



Up rose the laird to red the cumber,' 
Which would not be for all his boast ;— 

What could * we doe with sic a number ? 
fyre thousand men into a host, 
Then Heniy Purdie proved his cost,' 

And very narrowlie had mischiefed him, 
And there we had our warden lost, 

Wert not the grit Grod he relieved him. 



Another throw the breilts him hair, , 

Whill flatlies to the ground he fell : 
Than thought I weel we had lost him there, 

Into * my stomach it ' struck a knell ! 

Yet up he raise, the treuth to tell ye," 
And laid about him dints full' dour; 

His horsemen they raid sturdilie, 
And stude about him in the^ stoure. 

I £al (A< eunber, quell th< tumult. * ['dumld.'— B.M>dB[.] 

* OMf, ligiiiflM kM or riifc. * ['Uato.'— IL] • ['it' 1> Seott's.] 

* [';«' u an addition to the Bwuik^im u.] ^ ['fall' i> 
Soott'a.] >['DfdituidaboDthimiatlutt'— B.HWIH.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 

xm 
Then raise the slogan ^ with ane shout — 

' Fy TiDdaiU, to it ! Jedbrugh^s here ! ^ 
I trow he was not half sae stout. 

But* anis his stomach was asteir. 

With gun and genzie,' how and speir, 
Men * might see mony a " cradied crown ! 

But up amang the merchant geir, 
The; are as busy as we were down. 

XIV 

The swallow tail " frae tackles flew, 
Five htmdreth flain^ into a fli^t, 

But we had pestelets enew, 

And shot among them as we might, 
With help of God the game gaed right, 

Fra ' time the foremost of them fell ; 

Then*ower the know" without goodnight, 

They ran'^ with mony a shout and yell. 



But " after they had turned backs. 
Yet Tindaill men they tum'd again ; 

And had not been the merchant packs. 

There had been mae of Scotland slain. 

' Slogan, gktheKiis word. ■ But, tte., till oiuw hii JUigsr wu 
np. ■ <?Auw, BuglDe of <nr. • ['He.'— B. bdiI M.] •['>'» 
Soott'L] ° [SvnJiow tail, fmtheriag of the bttowl] ' Flain, 
amwi ; hithvito kbinrdl; pinted liain. [Both as. h^ve 'iluD.'] 
• ['Thfc'— B. and M.J ' ["niej.'— M.] '• I'knowei,'— M.] 
" ['wtot'— B. ud H.1 " r'And.'— B. ukd H.] 



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THE RAID OP THE REIDSWIHE «7 

But, Jesu ! if the folks were fsiD 
To put the bussing on their thies ! 

And so they fled, wi' a'' thdr main, 
Dovm ower the brae, like cl<^ged bees. 



Sir Francis Russell ta'ea ^ vaa there, 

And hurt, as we hear men rehearse ; 
Proud WallititoD was wounded sair, 

Albeit be be a Fennick fierce. 

But if ye wald a souldier search, 
Among them a* were ta'en that night. 

Was nane * sae wordie to put in verse. 
As Collingwood, that courteous knight. 



Young Henry Schafton,* he* is hurt ; 

A souldier shot him with a bow : 
Scotland haa cause to mak great sturt, 

For laiming of the L^ird of Mow, 

The Laird's Wat did weel, indeed ; 
His friends stood stouUie by himser. 

With little Gladstun, gnde in need, 
For Gretein kend na' gude be ill. 

iftano.'— B. 'tjiM.'— M.] >['non.'-M.] • [' Skipite.' 
— M. 'Skaipit.'— B.] * ['home.'— B. and M.] > ['know 
not.'— B. ud BL] 



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S BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The SherifFe wanted not gude will, 
Howbeit he might not fight so feat ; 

Bainjeddart, HimdUe, and Hunthill, 
Three, on they laid weel at the last 
Except the horsemen of the guard, 

If I could put men to availe, 

None itoutlier stood out for their laird,^ 

Nor did the lads of Liddisdail. 

zix 
But little harness had we there ; 

But ' auld Badreule had on a jack, 
And did right weel, I you declare, 

With all his Trumbills at his hack. 

Gude Edderstane was not to lack. 
Nor Eirktoun, Newton, noble men ! 

Thjr's' all the specials I of speake, 
By * others that I could not ken. 

XX 

Who did invent that day of play. 

We need not fear to find him soon ; 
For Sir John Forster, I dare well say. 

Made us this noisome afternoon. 

Not that I speak preceislie out, 
That he supposed it would be perril ; 

But pride, and breaking out of feuid," 

Grarr''d Tindaill lads* begin the quarreL 

'C'yipoynt-'— M-] 



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NOTES 



THE RAID OF THE BEIDSWIRE 



- ii. 1. 1. 

Sir John Canniehmel wu s fkvoarite of the Re^nt 
Morton, by vhom he wu appointed Warden of the 
Middle Marches, in preference to the Border ChieftainB.' 
With the lilce policy, the Regent married Archibald 
Carmichae), the warden's brother, to the h«ir«M of 
Sdrom, in the Merse, much eontrarj to the inclination 
of the lady and her friend*. In like nuumerj he cotD' 
pelled another heireM, Jane Slei^b, of Cnmlege, to 
marry Archibald, brother to Auehinleck of Auchinleck, 
one of hia dependanta. By inch arbitrary practic«, 
Morton meant to itrengthen hia authority on the 
Borders; initead of which, he haatcned hia &U, by 
pving diagoat to his kinamau the Earl of An^ua, and 
hia other friends, who had been eatabliahed in the country 
for agea. — GoiwaKOFT, vol. ii. pp. 29S, 246. Sir John 
Carmichael, the warden, waa murdered 16Ui June 1600, 
by a party of Borderers, at a place called Raeaknowi, 
near Lochmaben, whither he waa g^oin^ to hold a court 
of justice. Two of the ringleaders in the slaughter, 
Thomaa Armstrong, called Binffan'i Tarn, and Adam 
Scott, called Ike PeeM, were tried at Bdinbui^h, at the 
instance of Carmichael of Edrom. They were con- 
demned to have their right hands struck off, thereafter to 
be hanged, and their bodies gibbeted on the Borough 

1 [Oarmiohael wu uuurisd to Uai^Bnt Douglai, the Begcnt*! 
ristai. He was appointed Wardeo of tlie Hlddli Harshat aTtei 
tha redortlon of Uie Borden b; Morton in 1073.] 



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30 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

McKir ; which Bentenoe was executed 14th NoTember 
1601. 'This Peoket (mitii Birrel in his Diaty)wM km 
of the maist notslrie thieffes that ever raid ' ; he calla his 
name Steill, which appeon, from the record, to be a mis- 
take. Four years afterwards, an ArnistroDg, called 
Sandy nf B»aia.i\burnf and seTeral others of that tribe, 
were executed for this aud other excesses. — Bookt qf 
Adjotimal qflhete date*. 

[See also Pitcaim's Criminal Trial*, ii. 206-6. The 
foUowiiig is the official English account of the murder : 
'Yesterday, about two of the cloke. Sire John Cai^ 
mycbel), ridinge from Asnon to the Lani^home, in hia 
waje there was sviii men, whereof xvi were Scottea- 
men and two Engliahmen, jtrovided in jackes, laid in 
waile for him, and chaised him and killde him wlA a 
gonne. He that shots him was a oonne of Rynyon 
Armstrange callyd Thorn. Tfaer they spoyled him, and 
&om thence he waa carred before a Seottesraan on hone- 
backe to Lowmablen ' [Lochmaben} (Lowther to CecU, 
17th June 1600, Border Papert, iL p. 662).] 

And the Lair^a W^, that worlhie man.— St. ii. 1. 3. 

The chief, who led out the siraame of Scott upon tUe 
occasion, was (saith Batchells) Walter Scott of Ancnun, 
a natural son of Walter of Buccleuch. The I^rd of 
Buc(^leuch was then a minor. The ballad teems to hare 
been popular in Satchells' day*, for he quotes it literally. 
He must, however, have been mistaken in this particular ; 
for the family of Scott of Ancrum, in all onr books of 
genealogy, dednce their descent from the Seotts of Bal* 
wearie, in Fife, whom they represent. The first of this 
fomily, settled in RoKbvrghshire, is stated in Douglas's 
Banmagt to have Iwen Patridc Scott, who purchased the 
lands of Ancrum in the reign of Jamee vi. He thereforv 
could not be the Laird" t Wat of the ballad ; indeed, from 
the list of Border families in 1S97, Ker appears to hare 
treen proprietor of Ancrum at the date of the ballad. It 
is plainly written in the hb. the Laird'i Wat, i.e. tJbe 
Laird's sou Wat ; notwithstanding which, it has always 



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THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE 31 

hjtherto Iwen printed th« Laird Wat, If Douglu be 
kccunta in hie genealogy, the person meant muEt be the 
yoaag Urd of Buccleuch, afterwarda diatinguiihed for 
ilia aurpriaeof CarlialsCaatle. — See 'Kinmont Willie.' I 
uu the more confirmed in this opinion, because Kerr of 
Anemm waa at this time a fugitive, for slaying one of 
the Rutherforda, and the Tower of Anorum given in 
keeping to the TumbvUs, his hereditary enemies. His 
mother, however, ■ daughter of Home of Wedderbum, 
eontrived to tarn out the Tumbulls, and poasea* herself 
of the place by aurprise. — Godbcboft, voL iL p. SfiO. 
[The Lairttw Wat could not poaaibly have been 'the 
young laird of Buccleuch,' for the 'young laird' was 
then only ten yeers of age. He was Walter of Goldie- 
landa — the young lord's guardian— son of that Sir Walter, 
Idlrd of Buccleuch, who was slun by the Kerrs in 
lSfi2.] 

Tht Amuttranga, that aye JUw been. — St ii. 1. 4. 
This clan are here mentioned as not being hail, or 
whole, because they were outlawed or broken men. 
Indeed, many of them had become Engliabmeo, aa'the 
phraae then went Accordingly, we find, from Paton, 
that forty of them, under the Laird of Mangertoun, 
joined Somerset upon his expedition into Scotland. — 
Paton, in Dai.ybll's Fyoffmentt, p. 1. There was an old 
alliance betwixt the Elliets and Anustrongs, here alluded 
to. Foff the enterprises of the Armstrongs, against thear 
native «eiiiitry, when under Eugliah aatuisnce, see 
Mvkdik'b State Paper*, vol. i. p. 43. From which it 
appear*, that, by command of Sir Balph Even, thia «lan 
ravaged almost the whole Weat Border of Scotland. 

The Sheriffi brought the Dougla* dmm.— St. iii. 1. 2. 

Douglas of Caveia, hereditary Sheriff of Teviotdale, 
deacended from Black Archibald, who carried the 
atand&rd of his father, the Earl of Douglas, at the 
battle of Otterboume.— See the Ballad ^Ihat name. 



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S3 BORDER MINSTREI£Y 

WV Cranttane, atadttain, good at Tued.—St. iii. L 3. 

Ciwutoun of that ilk, SDcestor to Lord CranBtouc ; 
•ad Glftditain of Gladstsini. [Not Glsdstain of Glad- 
BtuDB but of Coeklav, married to the eldest daughter of 
Buccleuch.] 

we a' the TrutiMilt, ttronge and ttout ; 

The Rutherfoord* viWi grU renown.— St iii. 11. 6-7. 

These were ancient and powerful Border clans, retid- 
.ng chiefly upon the river Jed, Hence, they natiiraUy 
convoyed the town of Jedburgh out Although notorious 
freebooterB, they were specially patronised by Morton, 
who, by their means, endeavoured to counterpoise the 
power of Buccleuch and Femihirst, during the civil wan 
attached to the Queen's fiwtion. 

The following fragment of va old ballad is quoted in a 
letter from an aged gontleman of this name, residing at 
New York, to a friend in Scotland : 

' Banld Ruthsrf nrd, he wu fou stout, 
Wi' a' hii nine imu him round about ; 
Ea led the town a' Jedburgh out, 
All bnTel7 foD^ht thkt da?.' 

Wi' Sir John Fortterfor (Aeir guyde. —St iv. 1, 7. 
Sir John Forster, or, more properly, Forrester, of 
Balmbrough Abbey, Warden of the Middle Marches in 
1661, was deputy-governor of Berwick, and governor of 
Balmborough Castle. He made a great figure on the 
Borders, and is said, on his monument at Balmborough 
Church, to have possessed the office of Warden of the 
Mid-Marches for thirty-eeren years; indeed, if we can 
trust his luccenor, Carey, he retained the situation until 
he became rather uu£t for his active duties. Hia family 
ended in the unfortunate Thomas Forster, one of the 
generals of the Northumbrian insurgents in 171fi ; and 
ttie estate, being forfeited, was purchased by his uncle. 
Lord Crewe, and devised for the support of his magnifi- 
cent charity. 



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THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE SS 

Wf Sir George Heanmne ^ Schiptj/dehoute. — St v. 1. 2. 

Gwiige Heron Milei of Chipchue Castle, probftblj the 
lame who wm hIuu mt the Reidiwire, was SherifF of 
NordiumberUnd— 13th Eliubeth. 

Had TindaUi, SeedtdatU, at hU liand.—St. t1. L 6. 
These are diBtricta, or dalei, on the Engliah Border. 

Hatrime.—at. v!. i 8. 
Mr. George Ellis su^etts, with ffreat probability, that 
thia i« a mistake, not for Hebburne, hb the Editor stated 
in an earlier edition, but for Hexham, which, with ita 
territory, formed a county independent of Northumber- 
land, with which it is here ranked. 

XtanJHe.— St vU. I e. 
[Dmndrie, Dandy, and Dand are corruptions of 
Andrew, fiuniliar in the South of Scotland. — J. G. L.] 

Kce hundred Fmniekt in aflock.St. vii. L a 
The Fenwicks ; a powerful and numerous Northumber- 
land dao. The original seat of thia ancient family waa at 
Fenwick Tower, long since ruinous, but, from the time 
of Henry iv,, th^ principal mansion was Wallington. 
Sir John Fenwick, attainted and executed for treason in 
the reign of William in., repreaented the ehiefUin of 
thia clan. 

And theg loot qfajlight of arrovi.— St. ii. i. a 

['I have often thought a fine subject for a Border 
painting occur* in the old ballad, called the " Raid of the 
Reidswire," where the Wardens on either side having 
met on a day of truce, their armed followers and the 
TariooB tribes mingled in a friendly manner on each side, 
till, from some accidental dispute, words grew high 
between the Wardens. Mutual insult followed. The 
English chief, addressing the Scottish— 

VOL 11. C 



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S4 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

"Bkiu kud rkx'dhiin where he Btuod, 

And bid Mtk rnktoh bim with hie murowi. 
Then Tjtadaia batzi. them naatm rude, 
And thef let fl? ■ flight of urowi." 
The two aogry chieftaiiu, especiaJlf Ponter, drawing 
himself up in hit pride &□■! Mom, would m&ke a good 
group, backed bj the Tynedale men, bending and drawing 
their bowi ; on the eidei you might have a group 
busied in their game, whom the alarm had not yet 
reached ; another half disturbed ; another, where they 
were mounting their horses, and taking to their weapons, 
with the wild chaiacter peculiar to the country.' — Lelier 
^Xr Walter Seoll, December 1811.— J, G, L.] 

Thtn mtM the ttogan teith tme «Aout,— St xiii. L 1. 

The gathering word, peculiar to a certain name, or 
set of people, was termed liogart or tlughom, and was 
always repeated at an onset, aa well as on many other 
occBsionB, as appears from the following paasage of an 
old author, whom this custom seems to have offended — 
for he complains, 

' That whereas alweys, both in al tonnes «f war, and in 
al campes of armies, quietnes and stilnes without noia is 
princijwlly in the night, after the watch is set, obeerred 
(I need not reason why). Yet, our northern prikkers, 
the Borderers, notwithstanding, with great enormitie 
(as iJiought me), and not unlyke (to be playn) unto a 
masterless hounde honyling in a hie wey, when he hath 
lost him he wayted upon, sum hoopying, sum whistelyng, 
and most with crying, a Bervykel a Btnoyke! a Fen- 
wyke I a Fenviyke I a Bulmer ! a Buiraer / or so oother- 
wise as theyr captein's names wear, never linnde thoee 
troublons and danngerous noyeea all the night long. 
Hey aayd they did it to fynd out their captein and 
fellowes ; but If the eoldionn of our oother countries 
and sheree had used the same maner, in that case we 
slioold have oftymes had the state of our eampe more 
lyke the outrage of a dissolute huntyng, than the quiet 
of a wel ordr«d army.'— Pattin's Aeemmt nf Somertet't 
Expedition, p. 76. — Apud Dai-tbu-'s Frofmmte. 



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THE RAID OF THE REID8WIRE S0 

Honeit Patten proceeds, with great prolixity, to prove, 
that this waa • curtom more honoured in the breach thao 
in the obaervance ; and, lilie Flaellen, declarea, 'that 
raeh idle pribble-prabblea were eoatraT7 to all the good 
cnetoma and dieciplinei of war.' Nevertheleaa, the 
cnatam of crying the tlcgan, or eruenait, is often aUuded 
to in all oar ancient hiitories and poema. It wu uaually 
the name of the clan, or place of rendezvoua, or leader. 
In 133fi, the English, led hy Thonua of Rosaljne, and 
William Moabray, aaaaultad Aberdeen. The former waa 
mortally nouuded in the onset ; and, as his followers 
jrere preesing forward, shontiDg Baitbpiel Satdynt! 
'Cry Itoubrag,' said the expiring chieftain ; 'Rottljpte is 
gone ! ' The Highland clans had also their appropriate 
ilogana. The Macdonalds cried J^VieA (heather} ; the 
Macphersons, Oraigk-Ubh ; the Grants, Oraif-Elaehie ; and 
the Mac&rlanee, LoehSloy. 

The tuaHoa taiijrat taekhtJkiB.— St. xir. 1. 1. 
The Scots, on this occasion, seem to have bad chiefly 
firearms; the Bngliab retaining still their partiality for 
their andettt weapon, the long-bow. It also appears, 
by a letter from the Duke of Norfolk to Cecil, that the 
y.ngliali Borderers were nnskilftil in firearms, or, as be 
says, 'onr countrymen be not so commyng with ahota 
as I woolde wishe.' — See Mvnom'a State Paper*, vol. i. 
p. sia 

AM had not been the meMhaat ftoelw.— St. xr. 1. 3. 
lie ballad-maker here ascribes the victory to the real 
cause ; for the English Borderers, dispersing to plunder 
the merchandise, gave the opposite party time to recover 
from their surprise. It seems to have been usual for 
travelling mercbanta to attend Border meetinga, although 
one would have thought the kind of company, usually 
saiiiiiihlfiil there, might lutve deterred them. 

Sir FrancU ButteUla'en wo* tters.— St. svl L 1. 
Thia gentleman wbb son to the Eail of Bedford, and 



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86 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Warden of the East Mwrchea. He ms afterwardi killed 
in a fray of a umilsr nature, at a Border meeting between 
the aame Sir John Forster (father-in-law to RuMell), and 
Thomas Kerr of Faimihirst, a.i>. 1S89. 

Pnmd Wailinton imu wntnded tair. — St zvL 1. 3. 
Fenwick of Wallington, a powerful Northumbrian 
chief. 

A* CoiUngiBOOd, that eourteou* knight. — St xvi. L 8, 
Sir Cnthbert Collin^ood of Eaalin^n, Sheriff of 
Northumberland, the 10th and 20th of Elizabeth. (The 
late gallant Lord CoUingwood was of thii fiunil/.— 
J. G. L.] Besides these gentlemen, James Ogle, and 
many other Nortbumbriana of aote, were made prisonerv. 
Sir George Heron, of Chipchase and Ford, was slain, to 
the great regret of both parties, being a man highly 
esteemed by the Scots, as well aa the English. When 
the prisoners were brought to Morton, at Dalkeith, and, 
among other presents, received from him some Scottish 
&lconB, one of his tniu observed, that the English were 
nobly treated, since they got live lumki for dead heront. 
— GonecROFT. 

Youjig Henry &Aq/Ion.— St zvii. I. I. 

The name of this gentleman does not appear in the 
M*. in the Advocates' Library, but ia reetored from a 
copy in single sheet, printed early in the lost century. 
The Shaftoea are an ancient &mily settled at Bavington, 
in Northumberland, since the time of Edward i. ; of 
which Sir Cuthbert Shaftoe, Sheriff of Northumberland 
in 179S, is the present representative. 

For laiming of the Laird qfMoa.—St. xvii. L 4. 

An ancient fiunily on the Borders. The lands of Mowe 
are utuated upon the river Bowmont, in Roxburghshire. 
The family is now represented by William Molle, Beq. 
of Mains, who has restored the ancient spelling of the 



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THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE 87 

name. The Laird of Howe, here mentioned, was the 

only gvQtleman of note killed in the skirmiah on the 

Scottish aide. [John Mows of that Ilk waa only hurt} 

For QrtUin kend na gvde be ttf.— St. xriL 1. 8. 

Gtsden, a ^milf of Kern. [The heir was a minor.] 

Beanjtddart, RundUe, and Huitthill.—St, xriii. 1. 3. 

Douglas of Beaqjeddsrtj on ancient branch of the 
houae of Cavera, poeeeaiiig' propertj near the junction 
of the Jed and Hviot [Beanjeddart=iBonjedbui^b.] 

.SuniMEe.— Bdtherfbrd of Hundlie, or Hundalee^ ntu- 
ated on the Jed, above Jedburgh. 

HanthiU.— The old tower of Hunthill waa situated 
abont a mile aboTc Jedbnigh. It was the patrinionj of 
an ancient foroily of Rutherforda I snppow the person, 
here meant, to be the same who is ronownod in tradition 
hy the name of the Coek iff HwUbUL Hia sons were 
Biecnted for March'treason, or Border-theft, along with 
th« Lairds of Corbet, Greenhead, and Overton, A.r. 1&88. 
— Johkston'i Bittory, p. 129. 

But a-uld Badrtule kail on a jack. — St xix. 1. 2. 
Sir Andrew > Tumbull of Bedrule, apon Rule Water. 
This old l^rd was so notorious a thief, that the principal 
g«ntleman of the clans of Hume and Kerr refused to 
«gn a bond of alliance, to which he, with the Tumbulls 
and Rutherfbrds, was a party; allefiing, that their 
proposed allies had stolen Hume of Wedderboru's cattle. 
The authority of Morton, however, compelled them to 
digest the afFront The debate (and a curious one it is) 
maf he seen at length in Godbcboft, vol. L p. 221. The 
Rutherfords became more lawleee after having been 
deprived of the countenance of the court, for slaying 
the nephew of Forman, Archbishop of St Andrews, who 
had attempted to lany off the heiress of Rutherford. 
This lady was afterwards married to James Stuart of 
Traquair, son to James, Earl of Buchan, according to 
'CThomaa] 



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S8 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

sp&pal bull, dat«d 9th KoTember IBOL Bf this lady 
» ffreat estate in Tiviotdsle fell to the family of Traquair, 
which mw Mid hj Junei, Eul of Traquair, Lord Hig^h- 
Treaaurer of Scotland, in consequence of the pecnniaiy 
difficultiea to which he was reduced, bj bis loyal exer- 
tiona in Arour of Charles i. 

Qade Bddertlane iDot nol to latA.—St. zix. L 5. 

An ancient bmily of Rutherforda ; T believe, indeed, 
the most ancient now extant. The family is repreaented 
by John Rutherford, Esq, of Edgerstane. His teat is 
about three miles distant from the field of battle. 

If or Kirktoun, Netntrm, noUg meal — SL xix. L 6. 

The parish of Kirktoan belonged, 1 believe, about 
this time, to a branch of the Cavers ftmily ; but Kirk- 
ton of Stewartfield is mentioned in the list of Border 
clan* in 1S97. [Kirktoun wag poaaeised by Gilbert 
Elliot Seennfe, p. 15.] 

Newton,— Th\* is probably Grinyslaw ' of Little Newton, 
mentioned in the s^d roll of Border clans. 

In addition to what hat been a^d of the ferocity of 
the Reedsdale and Tynedale men, may be noticed a by- 
law of the incorporated Merchant-adventurers of New- 
castle, in 1S64, which, alleging evil repute of these 
dittricti for thefts and felonies, enacts that no qtpreD- 
ticea thall be taken 'proceeding from such lende and 
wicked progenitort.' This law, though in desuetude, 
subsisted until 1771. 



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KINMONT WILLIE 

In the foUoiring rude stnins, our fore&thers 
eommemonted one of the best and most gallant 
achievements peifmned upon the Border. The 
Editor, in place of the extract from Kahop Spottis- 
woode's Hiitory of the Ckarch, is enabled, from 
a mannscript of the period, the inttpertj of Hr. 
Campbell of Shawfield, to give a more minate 
detail of this celebrated exf^t The h«. c«itaina 
many curious artidea relating to the Highlands and 
B<»ders, anasged in a ndaoellaaeons order. They 
a^iear to have been a collection made for the 
purpose of assisting Archbishop Spottiswoode in 
compiling his woric. 
JERJIafion ^ (Jte Mamer t^ Surprbieing qf the Catlett f^ 

CaMeit bf the Lord qf Bwxhugh, in the later End qf Q. 

SbKOetk'e Beigne. (Anno !&&&) 

'Thair was for the tyme Warden of the West 
Marches of England, for the Qneene, the Lord 
Seroope; and for the King, the Lord of Bnccleu^ 
had the charge of Liddisdaill ; the deputies of these 
two officers having met at a day at trewis, as the 
enstome was (when ether the Wardens, In regard of 
thair Princes service, or thair aia private distrac- 
Uonnes, could not meitt thameselffis, or the matteris 
to be redressit was bot ordinarie) the place of thair 
meiting was at the Dayholme of Kershonp, qnhaire 
a bnme divydis England from Scotland, and Liddis- 
daill from Bewcastle. Thair met for the Lord of 



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40 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Buccleagh, Robert Scott of Huijiiig; and for the 
Lord Scroope, Mr. Salkeld, a gentleman of that 
West Wardanrie that was his deputie for the tyme. 
Thair was mutoall truce taken, and intimation be 
sound of trumpett, and proclamatiau in thair 
Majesties names, to the trouppcs on both sydes, 
befoir thair meiting, as the custome was : wherefore 
the meltings war called dayes of trewia, seing thair- 
throw pairties on balthe sydes, that otherwise were 
under deidlie feid and quarrell, did usuallie, in 
peace and assurance, meit and doe thair busines, 
one besyde another, and conversed mutuallie and 
in assurance with such as they had occasion withall : 
upon the truce taken, thb officers or deputies keipt 
thair meiting, maid mutuall redress of such wrongs 
as had occurred before that tyme, and sunderit in 
verie good termes, ether partie returning homewards. 
Be the way it is to be' remembred, that the tenor 
of such trewis, as usuallie were taken betuixt the 
wardaines or thair deputies in the princes names, 
buir. That upon paine of death, presentlie to be 
executed, all persones whatsoever that came to 
these meltings, sould be saife ira any proceidin^ or 
present occasioun &om the tyme of meiting of the 
wardens or thair deputies, till the nixt day at the 
sun rysing ; within such space it wes presupposed 
that every persone that came thair might be re- 
turned to thair houses ; for other wayes, where at 
theiflT meltings ther war usuallie nianie pairties that 
war under feid and quarrall ane with another, the 
strongest syde might have taken advantage of the 
weiknes of the other, if the grudge had beine 
betuixt the' wardanes; or the strongest of the 
particular pairties of ether syde might, seing the 
weiknes of the other there, in his return homewards 



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KINMONT WILLIE 41 

towards hii houi, frit the great troupe bad sunderit, 
upon any intelligence have taken the occasioun of 
revenf^ bj putting himselfe in his way. Now tbii 
trence, being thus wayes parted, and the biuinei 
done by the deputies that they met for, there was 
one called Williame Amutronge of Kynininonth, 
Scottisman, and a Borderer, in companie with the 
Scottish deputie, whom against some of the English 
had qusrrell, as was alledgeit, who, being sunderit 
from that deputie, and ryding homewards, his way 
coming down Uddisdaill, the which was at that 
pairt dyridit from England by a river easilie passable, 
called Liddell, and the Inglish deputie h^ing his 
Way dowD the Inglish syde, and within a myle of 
the ntheris way, those who had the qnarrell against 
hym (as afterwards the deputie of England for his 
excuse did pretend), seing him ryding on his ways 
bat with three or four in companie, and lyming for 
ua harme, as that day fell, they brake a chace of 
more then SOO men out of the English trayne, chases 
the said Wm. of Kiniomonth more than S or 4 
n^Ies, comes to him, and takes him {wisoner, 
brings him back to the deputie, thinking to doe 
good serviee by the seizing of such an offendar, 
causit brek the truce, himself caried him away with 
him prisoner to the castell of CairleU. Whereupon, 
and seing the samyne was done to the plaine 
breache of the trewes, the Lord of Bnccleugh, as 
the KiDgis officer, did wreat unto Mr Salkeld, the 
deputie of England, immediatelie in absence of the 
Ixffd Scroope, for the redress thairof. Mr. Salkeld 
by his anser did excnise himselfe, and refer the 
nudtter to the Lord Scroope, warden, who for the 
^me was at a hous of his owin in the countrey. 
The Lord Scroope thereupon was written unto in the 



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42 BOBDEH MINSTRELSY 

samyne sence b; the Lord of Bncclengh, to wit, for 
the setting the prisoner at libertie without condition 
or bond, seing he was unlawfullie taken, and con- 
seqnentlie to the tuitch of the King. It was ansered, 
that he could do nothing ther anent, sebtg it was so 
hapned, and be reason that the prisoner was snch 
a malefactor, without the privitie of the Queeoe 
and counsall of England : so as hie anser tending to 
the delay of the matter, the Lord Bucclengh binng 
loath to informe the Kinge of the maitter least the 
samyn might have bred some mistaking betueen 
the princes, he made tryell for Mr. Robert Bowii, 
then resident ambassador for the Queen in Scotland ; 
who, upon his desire and informatioun, wrote 
furiooslie unto the Lord Scroope for the redress 
of the maitter, and that the maitter sould come to 
no farther hearing. Nothing was done nor anserit 
till a purpose nevertheless, neither uptm the Kingis 
his masters awin instance towards the warden, 
by the ambassador of England first, and afterwards 
to the Queen of England by his Majesties selfe. 
Whereupon the Lord of Buccleugh, being the 
Kings officer, and fynding his Majesties honour 
tnitched so apparentlie to the world, he did resolve 
himselfe to seik the reliefe of the prisoner by the 
meanes whereby it was performeit, and that with 
aueh foirsight and regaird as conld be, that throsgh 
any rigorous circumstance of the actioun, in regaird 
of the place quhairin be was kei[rit, the samyne 
sould breid no greater jarr betuixt the Princes than 
mearlie that which was to grow from the simple 
reliefe of the prisoner untawfiillie taken. And for 
such purpose the Lord of Buccleugh, upon intelli- 
gence that the castle of Cairleill, where the prisoner 
was keept, waa snrpriseable, and of the meanes, by 



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KINMONT WILLIE 48 

aeodiiig gome persoDs of trust to view a postern 
gkitt, and to mewure the height of the wall very 
eloKly, he did fTnmediatelie draw togither SOO 
hone, aisiired the plaee of meeting ane hoar 
before sunset at the toure of Mortune, the 
whieh is 10 myles from Cairieill, and apon the 
water of Sark, In the Debateabte Land, qohtdr he 
had preparatioaii of ledders for aodelng the castle 
wall, and other inatnunents of iron for breking 
through the walls and foirceing of gaites, if neid had 
beine. The troupe being assembled at the place, 
he marcheth forwards, and entreth English ground 
within six miles of Cairlelll, and passeth the water 
of Esk, quhair the Grahames did inhabite, at the 
fMlting of the night, Fra he eotred English groimd, 
the order was thns : ther was sent scMne few hone- 
men before, all the way, to discover, and they were 
seeooded by 40 or 50 horse !n case of any en- 
eonnter ; there was nixt them the ledders carying 
two and two upon a horse, and htMrses carying the 
other inatrumentis mentionate belbir ; and, last of 
all, hlmselfe with the reste of the troupe. He 
marched ou in this order, and passeth the water of 
Eden about two hoars before day, at the Stonie 
bank beneath Cairleill brig, the water being at the 
tyme, through raincs that had &Ueii, weill thidc ; 
he comes to the Saciay, a plaine place under the 
toone and castell, and halts upon the syde of a 
Utle water or borne that they call Cody. There he 
maks about 80 men to light from their horses, took 
the ledders to be set to the wall, and assayes, 
whilst the sentinels warns the top of the wall 
^ove thame, looking over, and crying, and speak- 
tug ane to another ; but that it hapened to fall to 
be very daik in the hindnight, and a litle mistie. 



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44 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The ledders proved too sbort thro' the error of 
thame quba bad bene sent to measure the wall, 
and could not reach the top of the wall ; aod then 
order was given to make use of the other instru- 
ments that were caried, for opening the wall a 
little, hard by the posteme, the which being set in 
the way, the Lord of Buccleugh seing the matter 
was likelie to succeed well, aud that no discoverie 
was, did retier himselfe for the suretie of thame 
that he had set on the castell against the forceing 
of the toun, and so pat himselfe and the horsemen 
betwixt the posteme of the castell and the nixt 
port of the toune, upon the plaine field, to assure 
the retreat of his awin from the castell againe, wha 
were sent also In such competent number as was 
k&owne to be able to master thame that was with- 
in, upon ther entrie ; quha did thereupon also 
correspond upon the first sound of the trumpet, 
with a cry and nojse, the more to confinne his 
awne that ware gone upon the casteU, and to terrifie 
both castell and toune by ane imaginatioun of a 
greater force. They enter the castell, the first of 
thame single, by the overture that was made, and 
than brake oppen immediatelie the postern with 
such instruments as was fitt to mak passage to 
the greater number. Thair did occur to theme, 
at their first entrie, allanerbe the watchmen or 
sentinells, and some others after upon the alarm, 
with the weapons they had. Bot after they were 
put back and scattered, the rest that was within 
doors hciring the noyse of the trumpet within, and 
that the castell was entred, and the noyse of others 
without, both the Lord Scroope himselfe and his 
deputie Salkeld being thair with the garisone and 
his awin retinew, did keip thamselffis close. The 



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KINMONT WILLIE iS 

prisoner was taken out of the hoiu qutuur he was 
keiped, the which was knowne to the Lord of 
Baccleugh, his sending a woman upon pretext the 
day befoir to visite the prisoner, quha reporting 
quhat place he was keiped in, tber lacked not 
persones enough thaire that knew all the rewmes 
thaire, and so went directlie after the nmcoanter 
with the watchmen, and sum uther with them that 
came to the alarum to the place, and brought him 
furth, and io be tbe potteme gat away ; some other 
prisoners were brought out that were taken in tbe 
rancounter, the which were presentlie returned 
into the casteU againe by the Lord of Baccleugh, 
and any uther sp<^11e or butting also hinderit, that 
not so much as any uther doore that was opin 
within the caatell was entered but that quhair the 
priscmer was, tbe which was broken up ; nor uther 
that was shut so much as knocked at, tho' they that 
enterit might hare taken prisoners tbe warden and 
all the prisoners that was there, and made prey of 
the haill guids, seing they war maisters of the 
castell; such was the reguard of the Lord of 
Buccleugh, and the strict order that he gave, 
being present himseUe, that be wald not have any 
circumstance to fall ont in that actioun, in sua farr 
as it could have bene eschewed, that could have 
given the least cause of offence either to the King 
his master or to the late Queen. By which bring- 
ing fnrth of the prisoner the touD and castell was 
in a great fear and alarum, and was a putting of 
thameselffis in armes; drums war beatting, belles 
ringing, and bealles put on the top of the castell 
to wame the countrie. The day was brokkin, and 
so the interpryse having so weill succeidit, tbe 
Lord of Buccleugh, after that these [that] went 



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46 BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

upoQ the castell, and the prisoner, were reteired 
and horsed, toarched close bj the Sarkage agttine 
to the river at the Staniebaak ; where, upon the 
aUrum in the castell and toune, some wereasaenibled 
in the farre syde in the passage ; and so having to 
that tjrme reteired hinuelfe close and without any 
noyse from the castell, he causit sound up his 
trumpet beibir he tuik the river, it being both 
mistie and dark, though the day was brokin, to tiie 
end both to encourage his owne, and to let thame 
that war abyding him upon the passage know that 
he luikit for and was [ready] to receave any charge 
that they would offer him ; quhairupon they made 
choyse to luik to him and give him way, and not 
adventure upon so doubtfiill ane event with him, 
wha behoved to reteire him homewards, and not 
living thaire, if he could choyse, after such ane 
useage of his hoisL So having passed the river, the 
day began to grow light, and he did reteire himseife 
in order throw the Grahames of Esk and levin, 
and came back to Scottis ground at about two hours 
after sunrysing, and so homeirards.' 

The consequences of the enterprise are thus 
mentioned by Spottiswoode : — 

' This fell out the ISth of April 1596. The Queen 
of England, having notice sent ber of what was done, 
stormed not a little. One of her chief castles sur- 
prued, a prisoner taken forth of the hands of the 
warden, and carried away, so far within En^and, 
she esteemed a great afiront. The lieger, Mr. 
Bowes, in a frequent convention kept at Edin- 
burgh, the 3Snd of May, did, as he was charged, in 
a long oration, aggravate the beinousness of the 
fact, ooncluding that peace could not longer con-i 
tinue betwixt the two realms, unless Bacleuch were 



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KINMONT WILLIE 47 

delivcKd in EngUnd, to be punished at the Queeo'i 
pjeMore. Baclench compeuing, and charged with 
the fact, made answer — "That be went not into 
England with intention to assault any of the Queen's 
booses, or to do wrong to any of her subjects, bat 
<Hily to reliere a subject of Scotland unlawfully 
taken, and more unlawfully detained ; that, in the 
tune of a general assurance, in a day of truce, he 
was taken prisoner against all order, neither did he 
attempt his relief till redress was refused ; and that 
he had carried the business in such a moderate 
manner, as no hostility was committed, nor the 
least wrong ofiered to any within the castle; yet 
was he content, according to the ancient treaties 
observed betwixt the two realms, when as mutual 
injuries were alleged, to be tried by the cominis- 
ntKKis that it should please their Majesties to 
appoint, and submit himself to that which they 
should deeem." — The convention, esteeming the 
answer reasonable, did acquaint the ambassador 
therewith, and ofiered to send commissioners to 
the Borders, with all diligence, to treat with such 
SB the Queen should be {deased to appoint for 
her part 

' But she, not satisfied with the answer, refused 
to appoint any commissioners; whereupon the 
council of England did renew the complaint in 
July thoeafter; sod the business being of new 
agitated, it was resolved of as belbre, and that 
the same should be remitted to the trial of com- 
missioners : the King protesting, " that he might, 
with great reason, crave the delivery of Lord 
Scnwpe, for the injury committed by his depu^, 
it being less favourable to take a prisoner than 
relieve him that is unlawfully taken ; yet, for the 



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48 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

continuing of peace, he would forbear to do it, and 
omit nothing, on his part, that could be desired, 
either in equi^, or by the laws of friendship."— The 
Borders, in the meantime, making daily incursions 
one upon another, filled all their parts with trouble, 
the Enghsh being continually put to the worse; 
neither were they made quiet, till, for satisfying 
the Queen, the Laird of Badeuch waa first com- 
mitted in St. Andrews, and afterwards entered in 
England, where he remained not long.' ' — Sporris- 
woodb's History of the Church of Scotland, pp. 414, 
416, ed. 1677. 

Scott of Satchells, in the extraordinary poetical 
performance, which he has been pleased to entitle 
A Huloty of the Name of Scott (published 1688], 
dwells, with great pleasure, upon this gallant achieve- 
ment, at which, it would seem, his father had been 
present. He also mentions, that the Laird of 
Buccleuch employed the services of the younger 
sons and brothers only of his clan, lest the name 
should have been weakened by the landed men 
incurring forfeiture. But he adds, that three gentle- 
men of estate insisted upon attending their chief, 
notwithstanding this prohibition. These were, the 
Lairds of Harden and Commonside, and Sir Gilbert 
Elliot of the Stobbs, a relation of the Laird of 
Buccleuch, and ancestor to the present Sir William 
Elliot, Bart. In many things Satchells agrees with 
the ballads current in his time, from which, in all 
probability, he derived most of his information as 

> Tha Biihop ia, in thii lut paitloiilar, nthei inaeeunt*. 
Baaolenah ni lodeed dellvsred into Bn^aod, bnt thii wbi done 
in DonaaqneikM of the judgment of oommiMionen of both nationi, 
who met U Berwiek this Mme jeu. And bii deliver; took pUoe^ 
leu OD acBount of the nid of Culiile, than of a •aoand exploit 
td the nme nature, to be notioed hereafter. 



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KINMONT WILLIE 49 

to past event*, and from which he sometimes pintea 
whole verses, as noticed in the annotations upon 
the' Raidof theReidswire.' In the present instance, 
he mentions the prisoners large rpurt (alluding to 
the fetters), and some other little incidents noticed 
in the ballad, which was, therefore, probably well 
known in his days. 

All contemporary historians unite in extolling the 
deed itself as the most daring and well-conducted 
achievement of that age. ' Avdax Jactnut cum 
wiodica manu, in ttri>e mtetiUnu et mvUitudiHe oppidanantm 
wntMla, et ealUda audacia, va ulh obtitti modo poluit.' 
— JoHNSTONi HUloria, ed. AmstKl. p, S15. Birrel, in 
his gossiping way, says, the exploit was performed 
'with shouting and crying, and sound of trumpet, 
puttand the said tonn and countrie in sic anc fray, 
that the like of sic anc wassaladge wes nevir done 
since the memory of man, no not in Wallace dayis.* 
— Birrel's Diary, April 6, 1596. This good old 
citizen of Edinburgh also mentions another incident, 
which I think proper to insert here, both as relating 
to the personages mentioned in the following ballad, 
and as tending to show the light in which the men 
of the Border were regarded, even at this late period, 
by tbeir fellow-subjects. The author is talking of 
the King's return to Edinbui^h, after the disgrace 
which he had sustained there, during the riot excited 
by the seditious ministers, on December 17, 1596. 
Proclamation had been mode, that the Earl of Mar 
should keep the West Port, Lord Seaton the Nether- 
Bow, and Buccleuch, with sundry others, the High 
Gate. 'Upon the mom, at this time, and befoir 
this day, thair wes ane grate rumour and word among 
the tounesmen, that the Kinges M. sould send in 
Ifiil Khtmond, the coimtnoti tkieffe, and so many south- 

TOL. II. D 



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60 BORDER MINSTREI5Y 

knd men as would spulye the toun of Edinburgh. 
Upon the wbilk, the hull merchants tuik th&ir haill 
gear out of their buiths or chops, and tranaportit 
the same to the strongest houa that wes in the toune, 
and remained in the said hous, thair, with thame- 
aelfis, tbair servants, and luiking for nothing hot 
that thai sould have been all spulyeit Sic lyke the 
haill craftsmen and comons convenit thamselfis, thair 
best guidis, as it wer ten or twelve householdes in 
ane, whilk wes the strongest hous, and might be 
best kepit from spuilyeing or burning, with hagbut, 
)ristolet, and other sic armour, as might best defend 
thameselfis. Judge, gcntill reider, gilf this wes 
playing.' The fear of the Borderers being thus 
before the eyes of the contumacious citizens of 
Edinburgh, James obtained a quiet hearing for one 
of his favourite orisones, or harangues, and was 
finally enabled to prescribe terras to his fiuiatic 
metropolis. Good discipline was, however, main- 
tained by the chiefs upon this occasion ; although 
the fears of the inhabitants were but too well 
grounded, considering what had happened in Stir- 
ling ten years before, when the Earl of Angus, 
attended by Home, Bacdeuch, and other Border 
chieftains, marched thither to remove the Earl of 
Arran from the King's councils : the town was 
miserably pillaged by the Borderers, particularly by 
a party of Armstrongs, under this very Kinmont 
Willie, who not only made prey of horses and cattle, 
but even of the very iron grating of the windows. — 
JoHNSTONi Huioria, p. 102, ed. Amstael. — Moybb's 
Memoirs, p. 100. 

The renown of Kinmont Willie is not surprising, 
since, in 1587, the apprehending that freebooter, 
and Robert Maxwell, natural-brother to the Lord 



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KINMONT WILLIE 61 

Mftxvell, was the main, but unaccomplisbed, object 
of a rc^al expedition to Dumfries. Roe . . . 
RohertUM MaxoaUntm , . . et Gulielmum Amutrangum 
Kinrntmlhttm latroeiniu utferitnii exiemuqne famontm, 
conqviri juhel. Misti e muuilerw rtpo, qtn per atpera 
loea mtabitndot perteqvmlur, magKoque inoommodo 
tffficitml. At ilU laiebnt out tileu te eriphinl.' — John- 
sTONi Hutoria, p. 1S8. About this time, it is possible 
that Einmont Willie may have held some connection 
with the MaxwellB, though afterwards a retainer to 
Buccleucfa, the enemj of that tribe. At least, the 
Editor finds, that, in a bond of manrent, granted by 
Simou Elliot of Whytheuch, in Liddeidale, to Lord 
Maxwell, styled therein Earl of Morton, dated 
February 28, 1599, WillUm Armstrang, called Will 
of Kmmond, appears as a witness. — Svhes's MSS. 
According to Satchells, this freebooter was descended 
of Johnle Armstrong of Gilnockie (see Ballad, 
p. 5S0, vol. i.), — Etl mjuvencitf ett et in eqtdt, patnim 
virttu. In fact, his rapacity made his very name 
proverbial. Mas James Metvine, in urging reasons 
against subscribing the act of supremacy, in 1584, 
asks ironicallyj ' Who shall take order with vice and 
wickedness? The court and bishops ? As well as 
Martine Elliot, and Will of Kinmont, with stealing 
upon the Borden ! ' — Calderwood, p. l6S. 

This affair of Kinmont Willie was not the only 
occasion upon which the undaunted keeper of 
Liddesdale gave offence to the haughty Elizabeth. 
For, even before this business was settled, certain 
of the English Borderers having invaded LJddcs- 
dale, and wasted the country, the Laird of 
Biiccleuch retaliated the injury l^ a raid into 
England, in which he not only brought off much 
spoil, but apprehended thirty-slz of the Tynedale 



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63 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

thieves, alt of whom he put to dexth. — Spottis- 
wooDE, p. 450. How highly the Queen of England's 
resentment biased on this occasion, may be judged 
from the preface to her letter to Bowes, then her 
ambassador in Scotland. ' I wonder how base- 
minded that King thinks me, that, with patience, 
I can digest this dishonourable . . . Let him know, 
therefore, that I will have satisfaction, or else . . .' 
These broken words of ire are inserted betwixt the 
subscription and the address of the letter. — Ryher, 
vol. xvi p. 318. Indeed, so deadly was the resent- 
ment of the English, on account of the affronts put 
upon them by this formidable chieftain, that there 
seems at one time to have been a plan formed (not, 
as was alleged, without Elizabeth's privity) to 
assassinate Bucdeuch. — R'vhbr, vol. zvi. p. 107. 
The matter was at length arranged by the commis- 
sioners of both nations in Berwick, by whom It was 
agreed that delinquents should be delivered up on 
both sides, and that the chiefs themselves should 
enter into ward in the opposite countries, till these 
were given up, and pledges granted for the future 
maintenance of the quiet of the Borders. Buc- 
deuch and Sir Robert Ker of Cessford (ancestor of 
the Duke of Roxburgh) appear to have struggled 
hard against complying with this regulation ; so 
much so, that it required all James's authority to 
bring to order these two powerful chiefs. — RvitKB, 
vol. xvi. p. 322 ; SpomswoonE, p. 448 ; Carey's 
Memoin, p. ISl, et lequert. When at length they 
appeared, for the purpose of delivering themselves 
np to be warded at Berwick, an incident took place, 
which nearly occasioned a revival of the deadly feud 
which formerly subsisted between the Scotts and 
the Kers. Buccleuch had chosen, for his guardian. 



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KINMONT WILLIE 58 

during his residence in England, Sir Willl«m Selby, 
master of the ordnance at Benrick, and accordingly 
gave himself into hii hands. Sir Robert Ker was 
aboat to do the same, when a pistol was discharged 
by one of his retinue, and the cry of treason was 
raised. Had not the Earl of Home been present, 
with a party of Merseraen, to preserve order, a 
dreadful tumult would probably have ensued. Ag 
It was, the English commissioners returned in dis- 
may to Berwick, much disposed to wreak their 
displeasure on Buccleuch; and he, on his side, 
mortally offended with Cessford, by whose means, 
as he conceived, he had l>een placed in circum- 
stances of so much danger. Sir Robert Ker, 
however, appeased all parties, by delivering himself 
op to ward in England; on which occasion he 
magnanimously chose for his guardian Sir Robert 
Carey, Deputy-warden of the East Marches, not- 
withstanding various causes of animosity which 
existed betwixt them. The hospitality of Carey 
equalled the generous confidence of Cessford, and 
a firm friendship was the consequence.' Buccleuch 

I Siuh tniu of ganeroaltj Ulominata th« dark period of which 
w« treat. Gar«;'a ooDdnet on Uiii ooOMlon almoM MoOM for tb« 
cold and anteiting polior with whSsb ha mtabed the olodnf 
momailB of hi* banctkaMH, Bliiabetli, Impktlent till remorM 
and momw iboold extort her UM ligh, thM he might Uy tha 
foandaUnn of hli fntnre farour Tlth her moecwor, bfcuTTliighlm 
tb«Bi>ttidij)K«riheTdeBth.~-CuuT'i Jfcnioin, p. 17S^ et Kgivn. 
It would an>eai that Sir Bobart Ker me eocai af terwardi com- 
mitted to Uie enitodj of the Archbiihop of Tcrk ; for there la 
a letter from that prelate to the iDrd-tieaaorer, deabiag 
IB about the mode of keeptng thia noble hoetage. 'I 
i,' aith he, 'that the gentleman li wlae and valiaat, 
but aomewhat hanght; here, and reaolnta. I vonld pray yata 
loidihip that I maj have dlreotioni vhether he maj not go irith 
hli keeper in my oompaay. to Hrmoni ; and whether he may not 
•ometime* dine with the coondl, aa the iMt hostage* did ; and, 



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54 BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

Appears to hsve remained in England &om October 
1597 till February 159S.— Johnston i HitUma, 
p. 231; Spottiswoode, vt tvpra. According to 
ancient family tradition., Buccleucb was presented 
to EllEabetb, who, with her usual rough and 
peremptory address, demanded of him, ' how he 
dared to undertake an enterprise so desperate and 
presumptuous.' — 'What is it,' answered the un- 
daunted chieftain — 'what is it that a man dares not 
do ! ' Elisabeth, struck with the reply, turned to 
a lord in waiting : ' With ten thousand such men,' 
■aid she, ' our brother of Scotland might shake the 
firmest throne of Europe.' Luckily, perhaps, for 
the murderess of Queen Mary, James's talents did 
not lie that way. 

The articles, settled by the commissioners at 
Berwick, were highly favourable to the peace of 
the Border. They may be seen at large in the 
Border Latvr, p. 103, By article sixth, all wardens 
and keepers are discharged Irom seeking reparation 
of injuries, in the ancient hostile mode of riding, 
or causing to ride, in warlike manner against the 

thirdly, whathei he nuy «iimetjinu be brought to dtting to tht 
aommoii-hkll, where he may ise how oarefnl her Hkjeet; U that 
the pooreat rabjeat In her kingdom may have their right, and 
that ha people eeek remed; by law, and not by areoging thgiO' 
■elvei. Fsrbape it may do him good at long at he lireth.' 
— Srairi'e AnnaU, ad onnMn 1597. It would appear, from tU* 
latter, that the treatment of the boatagea waa liberal, tboogh one 
can hardly mppren a smile at the leal of the good biihop for the 
oonTerdon of the SootUib shiefttjn to a more ChriiUui mode of 

The date ia Febmary Sfi, 1597, vhioh is nnieirhat difBonlt to 
raotmdle with those given by the Soottlah hiitoriani. AdoUmt 
letter followi, atating that Sir Bobert, having been tued to open 
air, prayed tor more liberty for hi< healtb'e aaks, ' offering hie 
w<nd, whloh, it i> nid, he doth shieBy regard, that he wonld ba 



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KINMONT WILLIE fiS 

opporite March; and that under the hi^est 
penalty, unless authorised by a warrant under the 
hand of their Sovereign. The mention of the 
irard kttper alludei obvionsly to the above-men- 
tioned reprisals, made by Buccleuch, in the capacity 
of keeper of Liddeadale. 

This ballad is preserved, by tradition, on the 
West Borders, but much mangled by reciters; so 
that some conjectural emendations have been 
abiolately necessary to render it intelligible. In 
particular, the Ede» has been substituted for the 
Stkt, p. 63, the latter name being inconsistent 
with geography. 

[William Armstrong of Morton Tower, or Kin- 
mont, appears in Mnsgrave's List of the Border 
raiders, 158S, as one of the offipring of ' 111 Will's 
Sandy' (Bordtr Papen, i. 182). Thus it is clear 
that Kinmont Williet if related to Johnie Armstrong 
of GUnockie,wasnQt related to him by direct descent. 
Of ' 111 Will ' we have an interesting item of in- 
fonnation from Dacre. Writing to Wolsey, Snd April 
1528, he reUtes that he ' was Utely in the Debate- 
able Ground, and burned all the remaining houses, 
especially a strong peel of Ul Will Amuttaong's, 
built so that it had to be cut down with axes first ' 
(Letttn and Paptn, Henry vm., vol. iv.. No. 4134). 
The peel was probably soon afterwards rebuilt, for 
the tower of Sandy Armstrong figures in the map 
of the Debateable Land, 1552 (flal. of Scottish SlaU 
Platen, ed. Bain, L p. 190). At the time of his 
imprisonment in Carlisle Castle, Einmont Willie 
must have been nearly fifty yean of age, at least, 
for as early as «2nd October 1569, he entered a 
pledge for himself and hb kin {Reg. Priiy Counal, 
ScotUatd, ii. 44). He was one of the leaders of 



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56 BORDER MIN&TRELfiY 

forays in 1584 and 1587-8; but the adventure 
which ultimately resulted in his imprisonment in 
Carlisle Castle happened on 6tb October 1593, 
vhen he and other leaders with 1000 horsemen 
drove off from Tynedale 'nine hundred, five score 
and five head of nott, 1000 sheep and goats, 24 
horses and mares, and £300 [worth] sterling ' of mov- 
ables (Border Papert, i.. No. 908). To 'provide for 
quietness,' Scrope, probably in the hope that an 
opportunity might yet occur to secure Kinmont's 
punishment, was disposed to accept an assurance 
from him (ib.. No. 99^)- Afterwards, in answer to 
the remonstrance of Buccleuch against Kinmont's 
capture, he asserted that the day ' for redress and 
deliverance' had expired (tb., ii. p. 115); and he 
therefore proposed to detain him ' till good security 
be given for better behaviour of him and his in time 
coming ' — a most reasonable proposal. 

Scrape's account of Kinmont's escape is as follows: 
' Yester nighte, in the deade time thereof, Walter 
Scott of Hardingc, the chiefs man about Buclughe, 
accompanied with 500 horsemen of Buclughes and 
Kinmonte's frends, did come armed and appointed 
with gavlockes and crowes of iron, handpeckes, axes, 
and skailinge lathers, nnto an owtewarde comer of 
the base courte of this castle, and to the posteme 
dore of the same, which they undermyned speedily 
andquietlye, and made them selves poBsessores of the 
base courte, brake into the chamber where Will of 
Kinmont was, carried him awaye, and in their dis- 
coverie of the watche lefte for deade two of the 
watchmen, hurt a servant of myne, one of Kyn- 
monte's keperes, and were issued againe out of the 
posteme before they were discried by the watche 
of the inner warde, and ere resistance coulde be 



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KINMONT WILLIE 67 

made. The iratch, as yt shoulde seeme, by reason 
of the stormye night, were either on sleepe or gotten 
under some covert to defende them Mlves fVom 
the violence of the wether, by means wherof the 
Scottet atchieved their entreprise with lesse diffi- 
cultie' (y>.,u. p. 121). 

Another explanation, however, may be that some 
of the watch had been tampered with, for as would 
appear ^m the letter of an informer, the raiders 
on the English side of the Border, through whose 
country they had to pass, were more than friendly 
neutrals (i&., p. 177). Indeed, En^sh and Scottish 
raiders were frequently in league with each other; 
and, moreover, as Kinmont Willie had married a 
daughter of Hotchane Graham, the Grahams were 
prepared to do what they conveniently could to aid 
his escape. 

The originals of Scott's version have not been 
preserved ; but Scott practically admits that he has 
partly rewritten it ; and this is quite evident with- 
out any confession of his. When the deeds of bis 
ancestors were concerned, it was impossible for him 
to resist the temptation to employ some of his own 
minstrel art on their behalf — even to the extent of 
inventing completely new stanaas, as, for example, 
stania xxxi. of this ballad : — 

' Now sound out trumpets ! ' quo' Bucdeuch ; 
' Let's waken Lord Scroope right merrilie ! ' 
Tlien loud the warden's trumpet blew — 
' what dare meddie «f met' 

Stanzas ix.-xii. must likewise be credited mainly to 
Scott; and there are numerous other touches 
throughout the ballad which also betcsy the more 
finished art of the modem versifier.] 



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KINMONT WILLIE 



HAVE ye na heard o' the fause Saketde ? 

O have ye na heard o' the keen Lord Scroope ? 
How they hae ta'en bauld Kinmont Willie, 

Od Haribee to hang him up P 



Had Willie had but twenty men, 
But twenty men as stout as he, 

Fause Sakelde had never the Einmont taVn, 
Wr eight score in his cumpanie. 



They band his 1^ beneath the steed, 
They tied his hands behind his back ; 

They guarded him, fivesome on each side, 
And they brought him ower the LiddeUrack. 



They led bim thro' the Liddel-rack, 
And also thro' the Carlisle sands ; 

They brought him to Carlisle castell. 
To be at my Lord Scroope's commands. 



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ONMONT WILLIE 



' M; bands are tied, but my tongue is free, 
And wbae will dare this deed avow P 

Or answer by the Border law P 
Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch P ' 



' Now baud tby tongue, thou rank reiver ! 

There's never a Soot shall set tbee free : 
Before ye cross my castle yate, 

I trow ye shall take farewell o' me.' 

vn 
' Fear na ye that, my lord,' quo' Willie : 

* By the faith o** my body,Lord Scroope,' be said, 
* I never yet lodged in a hostelrie,* 

But I paid my lawing ' before I gaed.' 

vni 
Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper, 
In Braaksome Ha', where that he lay, 
That Lord Scroope has ta'en the Einmont 
Willie, 
Between the hours of night and day. 

IX 

He has ta'en the table wi' his band, 
He garr'd the red wine spring on bie— 

' Now Christ's curse on my head,' he said, 
' But avengM of Lord Scroope I 'II be ! 
^ HatUlrit, Isd. * Laviiv, teokoBitaf . 



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BORDER MINSTREI£Y 



' is my basnet ' a widow's curch ? ' 
Or my lance a wand of the willow-tree ? 

Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand, 
That an English lord should lightly ' me ! 

XI 

* And have they ta'en him, Einmont Willie, 

Against the truce of Border tide ? 
And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch 

Is Keeper here on the Scottish side P 

xn 
' And have they e'en ta'en htm, Kinmont Willie, 

Withouten either dread or fear ? 
And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch 

Can back a steed, or shake a spear P 

xm 
' O were there war between the lands, 

Ab well I wot that there is none, 
I would slight Carlisle castell high, 

Tbo' it were builded of marble stone. 



'I would set that castell in a low,* 
And aloken it with English blood ! 

There's never a man in Cumberland, 
Should ken where Carlisle castell stood. 

' Autut, helmet. ' Ourch, coif, ' Lightly, nt light by. 



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KINMONT WILLIE 
xy 
'But since nae war's between the lands. 

And there is peace, and peace should be ; 
I It neither harm English lad or lass, 
And yet the Einmont freed Bhall be ! ' 



He has caird him forty Marchmen bauld, 
I trow they were of his ain name, 

Except Sir Gilbai: Elliot caird. 
The Laird of Stobs, I mean the same. 



He has called him forty Marchmen bauld, 
Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch ; 

With spur on heel, and splent on spauld,' 
And gleuves of green, and feathers blue. 

XVIII 

There were five and five before them a', 
Wf hunting boms and bugles bright; 

And five and five came wi' Buccleuch, 
Like warden's men, array'd for fight : 

XIX 

And five and five, like a mason gang, 
"niat carried the ladders lang and hie i 

And five and five, like broken men ; 
And so they reached the Woodhouselee. 

1 Spleni on ipaald, Brmnar on ihouldec. 



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i2 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XX 

And as we crossM the Bate&ble Land, 
When to the English side we held, 

The first o' men that we met wi", 

Whae sould it be but &UBe Sakelde ? 



' Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen ? ' 
Quo^ fause Sakelde ; * come tell to me ! ' 

' We go to hunt an English stag, 

Has trespassed on the Scots countrie.'' 



* Where be ye gaun, ye marshal men F ^ 

Quo^ fause Sakelde ; * come tell me true ! "" 
' We go to catch a rank reiver, 

Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch.* 

XSIII 

* Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads, 

Wi' a' your ladders, iang and hie ?' 
' We gang to herry a corbie's nest, 
That wons not far frae Woodhouselee.' 



' Where be ye gaun, ye broken men P ' 
Quo' fause Sakelde ; * come tell to me .' ' 

Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band. 
And the never a word o' lear > had he. 



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KINMONT WILLIE 



* Why trespass ye on the English side P 

Row-footed outlaws, stand !' quo' be; 
llie never a word had Dickie to say, 

Sae he thrust the lanoe through his iaose 
bodie. 

XXVI 
Then on we held for Carlisle toun. 

And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we crose'd ; 
The water was great and meikle of spait,^ 

But the never a horse nor man we lost. 

And when we reach'd the Staneshaw-bank, 
The wind was rising loud and hie ; 

And there the laird garr'd leave our steeds. 
For Jear that they should stamp and nie. 

X3£VIU 

And when we left the Staneshaw-bank, 
The wind began full loud to blaw ; 

But 'twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet,' 
When we came beneath the castle wa\ 

xxtx 
We crept on knees, and held our breath. 

Till we placed the ladders against the wa' ; 
And sae ready was Buccleuch bimsell 

To mount the first, before us a' ! 



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i4 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XXX 

He has ta^en the watchman by the throat. 
He flung him down upon the lead — 

* Had there not been peace between our lands. 
Upon the other side thou hadst gaed ! — 



' Now sound out, trumpets ! ^ quo' Buccleuch ; 

* Let 's waken Lord Scroope, right merrilie ! ' 
Then loud the warden's trumpet blew — 

' whae dare meddle vi^ mef'^ 



Then speedilie to work we gaed, 
And rused the slogan ane and a', 

And cut a hole thro' a sheet of lead, 
And so we wan to the castle ha\ 

xxxin 
They thought King James and a' his men 

Had won the hoiiee wi' bow and spear ; 
It was but twenty Scots and ten. 

That put a thousand in sic a stear I * 

xxsiv 
Wi' coulters, and wi' forehammers, 

We garr'd the bars bang merrilie. 
Until we cam to the inner prison. 

Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie. 



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KINMONT WIIXIE 

XJXV 

And Then we cam to the lower prison, 
Where Willie o' KinmoDt he did lie — 

' O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, 
Upon the mora that thou ^s to die ? ' 



* O I sleep saft,^ and I wake aft ; 

It 's lang since sleeping was fleyed ' frae me ! 
Gie my service back to my wife and bairns, 

And a' gude fellows that sjner f<ff me/ 



Then Red Rowan has hente him up. 
The starkest man in Teviotdale — 

'Abide, abide now, Red Rowan, 
Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell 



' Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope ! 

My gude Lord Scroope, farewell !' he cried— 
' I '11 pay you for my lodging maill,' 

When first we meet on the Border side.' 

XXZIX 

Then shoulder high, with shout and cry. 
We bore him down the ladder lang ; 

At every stride Red Rowan made, 

I wot the Kinmont's aims played clang ! 
> Saft, li^t. * lUyed, frightamed. ■ ItaiU, rsDt. 



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« BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XL 

' O mouy a time/ quo' Einmont Willie, 
' I have ridden horse baith wild and wood ; 

But a rougher beast than Red Rowan, 
I ween my legs have ne'er bestrode. 



* And mony a time,' quo' Einmont Willie, 
* I 've prick'd a horae out oure the furs ; * 

But since the d&y I back'd a steed, 
I never wore ale cumbrous spurs ! ' 

xui 
We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank, 

When a' the Carlisle bells were rung, 
And a thousand men on horse and foot. 

Cam wi' the keen Lord Scroope along. 



BuGcleuch has turned to Eden Water, 
Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim. 

And he has plungM in wi' a' his band, 
And safely swam them thro' the stream. 

xuv 
He tum'd him on the other side. 

And at Lord Scroope bis glove flung he— 
* If ye like na my visit in merry England, 
In fair Scotland come visit me!' 
' Fnn, f nr rowi. 



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KINMONT WILLIE 



All sore astonishM stood Lord Scroope, 
He stood as stiU as rock of stane ; 

He scarcely dared to trew his eyes, 
When thro' the vater they had gane. 

XLVI 

* He is either faimsell a devil frae hell, 
Or else his mother a witch maun he ; 

I wadna have ridden that wan water, 
For a* the gowd in Christentie/ 



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NOTES 



KINMONT WILLIE 

have ge na heard o' tht/auM Sakeidet— St. L L 1. 
The Sklkeldes, or Sskeldn, wer« a powerfol family in 
Cnmberland, poweanng, among other manon, tliat of 
Corby, liefore it came into the posseesion of the Howards, 
in the beginning of the seventeenth century. A strange 
stratagem iraa practised by an outlaw, called Jock Grwae 
of the Feartree, upon Mr. Salkelde, Sheriff of Cnmber- 
land ; who is probably the person alluded to in the 
ballad, as the fact is stated to hare liappened late in 
Elizabeth's time. The brother of this freebooter waa 
lying in Csrliale jdl for execution, when Jock of the 
Feartree came riding past the g»te of Corby Castle. A 
child of the sheriff was playing before the door, to whom 
the outlaw gave an apple, saying, 'Master, will you ride?' 
The boy willingly consenting, Grame took him up before 
him, carried him into Scotland, and would never part 
with him, till he had his brother safe from the gallows. 
There is no historical ground for supposing, either that 
Salkelde, or any one else, lost his life in the raid of 
Carlisle. [The 'fabe SakeMe' waa probably not the 
sheriff, bat George Salkelde, justice of the peace.] 

EoiB then hae tu'ro baald Kinmont WtUU.—St. L L 3. 

In the list of Border Clans, 1097, Wilt of Kinmontb, 
with Kyntie Armeatrang, and John Skynbanke, are 
mentioned as leaders of a band of Armstrongs called 
Bandiet Bamet, inhabiting the Debateable Land. [See 
also Introduction to the Ballad, ante, p. fifi. The tomb- 
stone at Stark, stated by Scott in Border EjeploUi (1837, 



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KINMONT WnXIE 69 

p. 324) to be tlut of Kininont, U that of uiother Arm- 
strong who died in 1658 at the age of 66.] 

On Hariiitt to hang kirn up t — St. L 1. 4, 

Huibee ia the place of execution at Carlisle. 
And tkes brrmghl Aim ower the Ltddel-radc.— St. iii. L 4. 

The liddel-nclc ia a ford on the UddeL 

E»eept Sir GiO&H BUiot ealFd.—St. xvL 1. a 

fTwo Elliota are mentioned u preaent at the reacne — 
WilliMn EUiot, g^Mtdman of the Goirombye, and John 
Elliot, called of the Coftha.wt{Boitter Fapert, iL p. 122).] 

And to they reached Iht Woodhimtelee.St. xix. L 4. 

Woodhonselee ; a houie on the Border, belonging to 
Baecleuch. 

Now Dickie qflhyhope led that band.— St. ndv, L fl. 

[Dickie of Diyhope waa one of the Hangerton 
AriDstronga.] 

To movnt thefirtl, b^/bro w o'. — St xxix. L 4. 

[Infbrmera atatad that Buccleuch waa the fifth that 
entered, and that he encouraged hi* company with the 
worda : ' Stand to ft, for 1 have vowed to God and my 
prince that I would fetch oute of England Kynmont 
dead or quicke, and will maintaine th»t accion, when it 
ia donn, with fyre and aworde againit all the reaiftera ' 
{Border Faperi, ii. p. 123).] 

Then Bed Rowan ha* hetOe him up.— St. xxzvii L 1. 

[Piobablj Thomas Armatrong of Rowanbunie, who ia 
mentioned, I6tli November ld92, aa taking part in a 
raid with the Kinmont Arms^nga {Border Paper*, i. 
No. 791).] 

['A cottage on the roadaide, between Longtoun and 
lAQgholm, ia atill pointed out as the reaidence of the 
amith who waa employed to knock off Kinmont Willie'a 
irona, after hie escape. Tradition preserree the account 
of the amith'a daughter, then a child, how there was a 



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70 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

ta*r elatUr at the door About dAfbraak, Mid loud crying 
far the smith; but her &ther not being oa the &lert, 
Buecleuch himielf thmet hii Isnce through the window, 
which effectuklly bestirred him. On looking out, the 
woman continned, abe law In the gref of the morning, 
more gentlemen than ahe had ever before leen in one 
place, all on honeback, in armour, and dripping wet — 
•nd that Kinmont Willie, who sat woman-fwhion behind 
one of them, was the biggest carle she ever saw — and 
there wee much merriment in the compsn j.' — Sis Waitks 
Soott'b MB. L^er». 1826.— J. G. L.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 

Thm bslUd, uid the two which immediately follow > 
it in the collection, were published, 1784, in the 
Hamct Mmewn, ■ provincial miscellHny, to which 
they were commnnicated by John Elliot, Esq. of 
Reidhengh, m gentlenum well skilled in the oati- 
quities of the Western Border, and to whose fUendlj 
assistance the Editor is indebted for many valuable 
com m anications. 

These ballads are connected with each other, and 
wppcxr to have been composed by the same author. 
The actors seem to have fiomished, while Thomas, 
Lord Scroope, of Bolton, was Warden of the We«t 
Marches of England, and governor of Carlisle 
Castle ; which offices he acquired upon the death 
of his fath^ about 1 590, and retained till the union 
of the crowns. 

Dick of the Com, from the privileged insolence 
irtiich he assumes, seems to have been Lord Stfroope's 
jester. Id the preliminary dissertation, the reader 
will find the Border custom of assuming nonu de 
guerrt particularly noticed. It is exemplified in the 
following ballad, where one Armstrong is called the 
Lainfi Jod (Le. the laird's ion Jock), another Fair 
Joknie, a third BUlit Willie (brother WiUic), etc. 
The Laird^t Jod, son to the Laird of Mongerton, 

1 [B; tha Wo wUoh Immediatel; (allow is mauit ' Joek o' Qu 
Kda' and 'RobUs Noble,' "Tha Dnth of FaMbentonban^ ' 
ti»Tii>( bMD [ntnpaUtcd in th» ISIO mi (obaeqaent eiSUani.] 



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78 BOEDER MINSTREI5Y 

appears, as one of the men of name in Liddeadale, 
in the list of Border clans, 1 597.> 

Dick of the Cow is enoneously supposed to have 
been the same with one Ricardus Coldall, de 
Plumpton, a knight and celebrated warrior, who 
died in 1463, as appears from his epitaph in the 
church of Penrith. — Nicholson's Hitkny of Wetl- 
mOTtland and Cumberland, vol. ii. p. 408.* 

This ballad is very popular in Liddesdale; and 
the reciter always adds, at the conclusion, that poor 
Dickie's cautious removal to Burgh under Stane- 
more did not save him trota the clutches of the 
Armstrongs; for that, having fallen into their 
power several years after this exploit, he was put 
to an Inhuman death. The ballad was well known 
in England so early as 15g6.' An allusion to it 
likewise occurs in Parrot's Laquei Ridiculori, or 
Springe* Jbr Woodcock* ; London, l6l3. 

' Owenut wondretli since he came to Wales 

What the description of this He should be. 
That ner* had wene but Mountaiues, Hils, and Dales, 

Yet would he boart, and stand on's Pedigree, 
From Rice ap Biehant, sprung from Dick a Oho, 
Be Cod, was right gud tientleinan, looke je now ! ' 
Bpifr. 76. 

[The ballad — with the omission of a few stanzas 
from lack of space on the page — was published by 
Alexander Campbell in bis A&yn't Anthology (1818, - 
vol. ii. p. 31), with the following footnote : ' Is here 

■ [See note to aUnia iItU.] ■ [Njohoboii'i wordi are: 'Di. 
Todd laji thlj Slohaid Coldall wm ■ famona mnior in thoas 
timca, being tha aaiae thaC ths oomitiy-pBople itill tri^tan 
iihUdnn withbj thsnameof DlDkjOow.' ThsJMtaraoqiilTsdthe 
•obngucf from hij exploit, bnt it ma; hare b«ea ■ mare reriTal 
at tbe old one.] ' [See Oeneral Introdnstioii, yol. L p. 1B3.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 78 

giveD as taken down by the present Editor from 
the BingiDg and recitation of a Liddesdale-man, 
namely, Robert Shortreed, Esq., Sheriff-Substitute 
of fioxburghshire, in the autumn of I8I6. In con- 
sequence of which the public are now in full posse»- 
sion of what partly appeared in the Hamck Mtiteum, 
1784, and afterwards a more perfect edition in the 
MiiutnUif of the SooUith Bonier, 1802. This popular 
Ballad is thus completed by its melody being united 
to it.' This confused assertion — muddled alike in 
its facts and grammar — induced the late Professor 
Child to suppose that the original version in the 
Muutnlty (which even down to pnnctuation is 
that of the Anthologt/i and also, with a few verbal 
amendments that — as Professor Child recognised — 
of Caw's Miuettm), was Campbell's version with the 
'deficient stanzas' supplied from the Muteum — this 
notwithstanding Campbell's assertion that he got 
his Anthtdogy version irom Robert Shortrede as Ute 
as I8I6. Coriously enough, also. Professor Child 
seems to have been ignorant that Scott was himself 
acquainted with Shortrede, who was his guide 
during his explorations of Liddesdale in 1792 (see 
Shortrede's own graphic account in Lockhart's life 
of Scott). Not only so, but it was Shortrede who 
introduced Scott to Elliot of Reidheugh, who had 
sent 'Dick of the Cow' to Caw's Mmeum; and 
it was in company with Shortrede that Scott visited 
'Auld Thomas o' Twizzlehope,' celebrated for his 
skill on the Border ptpe, and in particular for being 
in possession of the real lilt of ' Dick of the Cow,' 
Thus, if Shortrede possessed any special versiMi 
either of the tune or words of ' Dick of the Cow,' 
he must have obtained them from the same sources 
as Scott, and, there is no reason why Scott, If 



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74 BORDER MINSTREI£Y 

indebted to Shortrede for improved readiags, should 
not have acknowledged his obligationa to him — 
especially if he actually received the version as 
printed in the Mimlrelty from Shortrede. But as 
matter of fact, Scott's alterations on the Mtaeitm 
version of ' Dick of the Cow ' are, as will be seen 
from the fi>otnotes, mere ' literary ' corrections. 
The only possible exploaation of Campbell's curious 
note seems, therefore, to be that he was, as Scott 
states, ' a crazy creature ' (Scott to D. Terty, 1 8th 
April 1816, in Lockhart's Ufe of Scott), and that 
having given some slight help to Scott — whose 
music-teacher he had been in Scott's boyhood — in 
obtaining material for the MinHreUy, he had suc- 
ceeded in acquiring the notion that he was part 
author of the work. Indeed, in his preface to the 
Anthology, he has the amazing vanity and lack of 
grammar to affinn that in regard to the merits of 
the Mimlrelty, ' the present Editor may observe be- 
coming silence for a reason sufficiently obvious to 
stand in need (nc) of explanation.' 

Twostsntasof 'Dick ofthe Cow' are in Pennant's 
Tour in Scotland, 1772, A version sent to Percy in 
1775 (Child's Ballads, vol. iii. pp. 46S-7) is substan- 
tially the same ballad as that in the Mtnttrelig, 
although there are many verbal differences.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 



Now Liddesdale has layen laDg in, 

There is na lyding there at a* ; 
The bones are a^ grown sae lither fat, 

They downa stir out o' the sta*. 

u 
Fair > Johoie Armstrang to Willie did ' say— 

' Billie, a riding * we will gae ; 
England and us have been lang at feid ; * 

Ablins we 11 light * on some bootie/ 

Then they are come on to Hutton Ha* ; 

They rade that * proper place about ; 
But the laird he was the wiser man, 

For he had left nae gear without 



For he had left nae gear to steal, 

Except sax sheep upon a lea : 
Quo' Johnie — ' I 'd rather in England die, 

Ere thir sax sheep gae to Liddesdale wi'' me. 

' I"nwi.'— Qiw.] '['CM.'— Cfcw.] '['thra' after 'riding.' 
— C»w.J *['««fBid.'— C»w.] "['hlL'— Chw.] •[■the-'— 
Ckw.] 



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BORDER MINSTREI5Y 



' But how ca^ i they the man we last met, 
BiUie, as we cam owre the know P ^ 

* That same he is an innocoit fule, 

And men they call * him Dick o' the Cow.^ 



' That fule has three as good kye o' his ain, 
As there are in a* Cumherland, biUie,' quo' 
he: 

* Betide me life, betide me death, 

These kye ' shall go to Liddesdale wi' me.' 



Then they have come* on to the pure fule's 
house, 
And they hae broken his wa's sae wide ; 
They have loosed out Dick 6" the Cow's three 
kyci 
And ta'en three coverlets frae * his wife's bed. 



Then on the mom when the day was light, 
The shouts and cries raise loud and hie : 

' O baud thy tongue, my wife,' he says, 
* And o' thy crying let me be ! 



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DICK O' THE COW 



* O luuid thy tongue, my wife,^ he sajs, 
* And o' thy crying let me be ; 

And aye where thou hast loet ae ^ cow, 
In gude Buith I shall* bring thee three.* 



Now Dickie's gane to the gude Lord Scroope,' 

And I wat a dreirie fule was he ; 
' Now haud thy tongue, my fule,' he says, 

' For I may not stand to jest wi' thee.' 



* Shame fa' your jesting, my lord ! ' quo' Dickie, 
* For nae sic jesting grees wi' me ; 

liddesdale's been in my house last night, 
And they hae awa * my three kye frae me. 



'But I may nae langer in Cumberland dwell, 
To be your puir fule and your leal. 

Unless you gie me leave, my lord. 
To gae to Liddesdole and steal.' 



' ['that when thoannti >.' — Cmir.] 
■ ['Thsn Dlokle'i oom'd on foi'i laid 
* [' Una.'— Oair.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



' I gje thee leave, m; fule ! ' he says ; 

* Thou speakest against my honour and me, 
Unless thou gie me thy trowth and thy hand. 

Thou It steal fiae nane but whae sta^ firse 
thee.' 



' There is my trowth, and my right hand ! 

My head shall hang on Haribee ; 
I '11 ne'er cross Carlisle sands again. 

If I steal frae a man but whae sta' frae me.' 



Dickie 's ta'en leave o' > lord and master ; 

I wat a merry fule was he I 
He's bought a bridle and a pair o' new spurs, 

And packed them up in his breek thie. 



Then Dickie *8 come on to* Pudding-bum house, 

E'en as fast as he might drie ; 
Then Dickie's come on to^ Fudding-bum, 

Where there were thirty Armstrangs and 
three. 

1 ['»t.'— 0«w.] « ['for.'— 0»w.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 



' O what 'b this come o^ me now?' quo'' Dickie ; 

' What mickle wae is this P ' ' quo' he ; 
' For* here is but ae innoceDt fiile, 

And there are thirty Annstraugs and three!* 



Yet he has come up to the &ir ha* board,* 
Sae weil he*s become his courtesie! 

* Weil may ye be, my gude Laird's Jock ! 

But the deil bless a* your cumpanie. 

ztx 

* I 'm come to plain o* your man, fair Johnie 

Armstraog 
And syne o' his billie Willie,' quo' he ; 
' Hov they 've been in my house last night, 
And th^ bae ta'en my three kye tne me.' 

XX 

*Har quo* &ir Johnie* Armstrang, 'we will 
him hang.' 

' Na,' quo' Willie, ' we 11 him slae.' 
Then up and spak another young Armstrang,'' 

* We *11 gie him his batts,' and let him gae.' 

i['Wb>t maiUa wu'i thli happen'd o' msI'—Otw.] 
■ [' VlieM.'— Oftw.] * [* Tet ha '■ oom'd np to ths h*' UDaog 
thain ft'.'— Okw.] '['quo' Johnie.'— Oav.] > ['Bat up Mid 
baapkke uiither joang mmn.'— Ckw.] ■ OU Afn kU batU, 

MtntitM him with k b(»tiii(. 



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80 BOEDER MINSTRELSY 

XXI 

But up and spak^ the gude Laird's Jock, 

The best falla in a' the cumpanie : 
*Sit down thy ways* a little while, Dickie, 

And a piece 6' thy ain cow's hough 1 11 gie ye/ 

XXII 

But Dickte''s heart it grew sae grit. 

That the ne'er a bit o 't he dought to eat — 

Then was he aware of an auld peat-house, 
Where a' the night he thought for to sleep. 

XXllI 

llien Dickie was aware of an auld peat-house. 
Where a' the night he thought for to lye — 

And a' the prayers the pure fule prayed 
Were, ' I wish I had amends ' for my gude ' 
three kje ! ' 

XXIV 

It was then the use of the Pudding-burn house,' 
And the house of Mangerton, all hail. 

Them * that cam na at the first ca'. 

Gat '' nae mair meat till the n^st meal. 



The lads, that hungry and weary were, 

Abune the door-head they threw * the key ; 

1 ['ThtD up uid beaptke.'— Oaw.] ■ (' Sit th; mj« down.'— 
<3»w.] ' ['»m8ii»e.'— 0»w.] * [' lin.'— Ow.] •['Then 
U wM the u»e of Fnddlngbnni.'— Ov.] • [' Theee.'— Cmr.] 

' ['ThBj got.'— 0«w,] > ['hAng.'— Cmw.] 



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DICK O" THE COW 81 

Dickie be took gude notice o' that. 
Says — ' ThCTe will be a bootie for * me.' 

XXVI 

Then Dickie has into tbe stable gane,' 

Where there stood thirty horses and three ; 

He has tied them a' wi' St. Mary's knot, 
A' these hones but barely three. 

XXVII 
He has tied them a' wi' St Mary's knot, 

A' these horses but barely three ; 
He 's loupen on ane, ta'en another in hand. 

And away as &st as he can hie.' 

XXFIII 

But* on the morn, when the day grew light. 
The shouts and cries raise loud and hie — 

* Ah ! wbae has done this P '' quo' the gude Laird's 

Jock, 
' Tell me the truth and the verity ! ' 

XXIX 

*Whae has done this deed?'* quo' the gude Laird's 
Jock; 
' See that to me ye dinna lie ! ' 

* Dickie has hem in the stable last night. 

And has ta'en' my brother's horse and mine 

frae me.' 
t['TliBra'i a bootie ;oiideT.'— Ckw.J > ['Didde into the 
■labia it gane.' — Caw.] ' [ ' And ont at the door and gane ii 
Dtalde.'— daw.] * ["Thsn.'— Caw.] • ['O where'i tliat thief.' 
—Caw.] "['Andhafc'— Caw.] 

VOL. n. F 



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82 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

' Ye wad ne'er be tauld,'' quo' the gude Laird's 
Jock; 

* Have ye not found my tales fu' leil F 
Ye ne'er wad out o' England bide, 

Till crooked, and blind, and a' would steal' 

XXXI 

* But lend me thy bay,' fair Johnie can say ; 

' There 's nae horse loose in the stable save ' he ; 
And I'll either fetch Dick o' the Cow agtiin, 
Or the day is come that he shall die.' 

* To lend thee my bay ! ' the Laird's Jock can say, 

< He 's baith worth * gowd and gude monie ; 
Dick o' tiie Cow has awa twa horse ; 
I wish na thou may make him three.' 

xxxin 
He has ta'eti the laird's jack on his back, 

A twa-handed sword to hang * by his thie ; 
He has ta'en a steil cap on his head, 

And galloped on ' to follow Dickie. 

xxxiv 
Dickie was na a mile irae aff ' the town, 
I wata mile but barely three, 

' ['but.'— Caw.] ■ ['worth b^th.'—Ow.] ■ ['tbkt htng.' 
— Caw.] * ['And on u tie gana,' — Caw.] ' ['a mile aS.' 
—Caw.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 8S 

When be was o'erta'en by fair Johnte Amutrang,' 
Hand for band, on Cannobie lee. 

xixv 

' Abide, abide, thou traitour thief ! • 
The day ig come that thou maun die.' 

Then Dickie look^ ower his left shoulder. 
Said — ' Johnie, bast thou nae mae * in cum- 
panieF 

XXXVI 

* There is a preacher in our chapell, 

And a' the live * lang day teaches he : 
When day is gane and night is come, 
There ''s ne'er a word I mark but three. 

xxxvu 
' The first and aeoond is — Fiuth and Conscience ; 

The third — Ne'er let a traitour free : 
But, Johnie, what faith and conscience was thine ' 

When thon took awa my ' three kye tr&e me ? 

xxxviu 

* And when thou bad ta'en awa my three kye, 

Thou thought in thy heart thou wast not well 

sped, 

Till thou sent' thy billie Willie ower the know, 

To tak® three coverlets off my wife's bed !' 

1 ["nntia'l o'ertant bj Johnie Aimitruig.' — Caw.] *['ik>w, 

IHekhs Umu.'— Cftw.] ■['urmoe.'-Ckw.] • ['lee.'-Chw.] 

* ['hutlhon,'— Oaw.] • ['tookmj,'— Qitt.] ' ['But imit.' 
— Ckw.] '['Andheloak,'— Okw.] 



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84 BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

XXXIX 

Then Johnie let a spear fa^ laigh by his thie, 
Thought weil to hoe slain the innocent, I 
trow; 

But the powers above were mair than he. 

For he ran but the puir fule's jerkin through. 



Together they ran, or ever they blan ; ' 

This was Dickie the fule and he ! 
Dickie could na win at ' him wi* the blade o' the 
sword, 

But feird him wi' the plummet undo' the ee. 

XLI 

Thus Dickie has feird &ir Johnie Armstrang, 
The prettiest man in the south country — 

' Grara^vy ! ' then can Dickie say, 

* I had but twa horse, thou hast made me three ! 



He 's taen the steil jack aff Johnie's back,* 
The twa-handed sword that hang low by his 
thie; 

He's ta'en the steil cap aff his head — 

'Johnie, 111 tell my master I met wi' thee.' 

-Ckw.] * ['thelaird'i 



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DICK O' THE COW 



When Johnie wakened out o' his dream, 
I wat a dreirie man was he : 

* And u thou gane P Now, Dickie, than 
Hie shame and dule is left wi^ me,' 



' And is thou gane P Now, Dickie, than 
The deil * gae in thy cumpanie ! 

For if I should live these hundred yean, 
I ne'er shall fight wi' a fule after thee.'— 



Then Dickie''s come hame to the gude Lord 
Scroope,' 

E'en as fast as he might hie ; * 
' Now, Dickie, I 'U neither eat nor drink. 

Till hie hangM thou shalt be.' 

XLVl 

* TiiB shame speed the liars, my lord I ' quo' 
Dickie; 

This was na the promise ye made to me ! 
For I 'd ne'er gane to Liddesdale to steal, 

Had I not got my leave frae thee.' ' 

> ['painth^oompkulfl.'— Caw.] > [' ■luuaa.''-Cftw.] 

■['to lord ftnd muter.'— Oaw.] *['nu>7 drie.'— C»«.] 

■ i'TiU I had got m7 lotre M tbe«.'— 0»w.] 



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86 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XLVII 

'But what garr*d thee steal the Laird's Jock's 
horse? 
And, limraer, what garr'd je steal him P ' 
quo' he ; 

* For lang tiiou mightst in Cumberland dwelt, 

Ere the Laird's Jock had stown fine thee.' 

XLVUI 

' Indeed I wat ye lied, my lord ! 

And e'en sae loud as I hear ye lie t 
I wan the horse fine ' fair Johnie Armstrang, 

Hand to' hand, on Cannobie lee. 

XLIX 

* There is the jack was on his back ; 

This twa-honded sword' hunglaigh by his thie, 
And there 's the steil cap was on his bead ; 
I brought* a' these tokens to let thee see.' 

L 

' If that be true thou to me tells, 

(And I think thou dares ^ na tell a lie), 

I '11 gie thee fifteen punds for the horse, 
Weil tauld on thy cloak lap shall be. 

u 

* I Ml gie thee ane o' my best milk kye, 

To maintain thy wife and children three ; 
1 ['I WM Um ftM hi* tDkn.'— Ckw.] ' ['for.'-Oair.] 

* ['His twk-lundad sword Uwb'— C»t.] • ['hM.'— 0>ir.] 
■ i'ltrowthondkre.'— Cftv.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 

And that may be u gude, I think, 
As on; twa o* thine wad be.^ 



"The shame speed the liars, my lord!^ quo^ 
Dickie; 

* Trow ye aye to make a fule o' me P 
1*11 either hae twenty punds for the gude horse,^ 

Or he *8 gae to Mortan fair wi'' me.' 



He*s gien him twenty punds for the gude horse, 

A** in good and gude monie ; 
Me 'b ^en him aoe o' his best milk kye. 

To maintain his wife and children three. 



Then Dickie's come down thro' Carlisle toun, 

E'en as fast as he could drie; 
The first o' men that he met wi', 

Was my Lord's brother, Bailiff Glozenburrie. 



' Weil be ye met,* my gude Ralph Scroope ! ' 
' Welcome, my brother's fule ! ' quo' he : 

' Where didst thou get fair Johnie Annstrang's 
horse?' 
' Where did I get him ? but steal him,' quo' he. 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



' But wilt thou Bell me the bonny hone P ' 

And, billie, wilt thou sell him to me P' quo' he : 

* Ay ; if thou 'It' tell me the monie on my cloak 
lap: 
For there 'a never ae penny ' I *11 trust thee.* 



* 1 11 gie thee ten * punds for the gude horse, 
Weil tauld on thy cloak lap they shall be ; 

And 111 gie thee ane o' the best milk kye, 
To maintain thy wife and children three.' 

Lvm 
'The shame speed the liars, my lord!' quo' 
Dickie; 
Trow ye aye to mak a fule o' me ! 
1 11 either hae twenty * punds for the gude horse, 
Or he 's gae to Mortan fair wi' me.' 



He's gien hira twenty " punds for the gude horse, 

Baith' in goud and gude monie ; 
He's gien him ane o' his best milk kye, 

To maintain his wife and children three. 

• ['fail Johnle Amutcong'B horia,'— 0»w.] ' ['Aya, md.'— 
Cftv.] * ['nOMfutUn.'— Ciw.] ' ['fUtean.'— Caw.] 

' ['tMrt7.'-C»w.] • ['AIL'-Cdw.] 



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DICK O' THE COW 



Then Dickie lap a loup fu' hie. 

And I wat a loud laugh laugbM be — ■ 

' I wish the neck o^ the third horse were broken, 
If oay of the twa were better than he ! ' 



Then Dickie ^B come hame to his wife again ; 

Judge ye how the puir fule had sped ! 
He has gien her twa ^ score English punds, 

For the thrie auld coverlets ta'en * aff her bed. 



' And tak * tbee these twa as gude kye, 

I trow, as a' thy three might be ; 
And yet here is a white-footed na^pe, 

I trow he '11 carry baith thee and me. 

Lxni 
' But I may nae langer in Cumberland bide : 

The Armstrangs they would hang me hie/ 
So Dickie 's ta'en leave at lord and master, 

And at Burgh under Stanmuir there dwells he. 
'['ate.'— Cbw.] '['wMtane.'— Oftw.J •[•HmWi*'— C»w.] 



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NOTES 



DICK O" THE COW 

Fair Johnie Atmttrai^ to WiBU did «ay.— St. U. 1. 1. 

[ChUd suppoMa ' fitir Johnie ' to have been poMiU]' the 
'L«ird'B John,' but in etann xix. he is referred to as the 
'man,' that ia, seirant of the 'Laird's Jock.' 'Mungo 
and Jock Annertrong, Mrvanta to the " Ldrd'i Jock," 
stole 37 wedden from Heathens bum at Candlemas, 1688 ' 
{Border Paper*, L p. 3M).] 

Then Dickie '« eotne on to Pudding-bum houee. — St. xtL 1. 1. 
This was a bouse of strength, held by the Armstrongs. 
The ruins at present form a shsep-fold, on the brm of 
RsidiimDss, belonging to the Dnke of Bucdeuch. [Pro- 
bably ' Pudding-burn ' is a mistake for Denis-bome.] 

He hat tied them a' of 81. Mary't kriot. — St. zxrii. 1. 1. 
Hamstringing a horse is termed, in the Border dialect, 
tying him with St. ilar^t Knot. Dickie used this cruel 
expedient to prevent a pareuit. It appears from the 
narration, that the horses, left onhnrt, belonged to Fair 
Johnie AnnHtrang, his brother Willie, and the Laird'i 
Jock, of which Dickie carried off two, and left that of the 
Laird's Jock, probably out of gratitude for the protection 
he had afforded him on hii arrival. 

Band for hand, on OamuMe lee. — St. xuiv. L 4. 
A rising-ground on Cannobie, on the borders of 



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DICK O' THE COW 91 

Bre tk» Lair^* Jt^ had ttwmtfhu (AM.—St slxii. 1. 4. 
Hi* MmmendatiDn of the L^rd'i Jock'* hones^ 
BMina but indiffereatly founded ; for, iu July lJt86, n 
bill vu fouled agaiiut him, Dick of Dtyaf, and othera, 
b]t the deputy of Bewcaatle, at a warden-meetiDg, for 
400 bead of cattle taken in open foray irom the Dry- 
■ike in Bevcaatle; and in September 15S7, another 
complaint appears at the instance of one Andrev 
Rutledge of tbe Nook, agvinrt the I^ird'i Jock, and hli 
accomplices, for M kine and oxen, beside* furniture, to 
the amount of 100 merk* (terling. See Bell's mss., se 
^noted in tbe SUtory tff OuiaberlaTid and Wettmonkmd. 
In Sir Richard Maitland's poem against tbe thieves of 
Idddeedale, be thus commemoratea tbe laird's Jock : — 

* Tlier ipuilye poir nan of Utair pakii, 
Tha; lelf them nooht on bed nor bakla ; 
BaiOi lien and ook, 
mth reU and rok. 
The Lairdit Jgek 
AH with him takk.' 

Hiose, who plundered Dick, bad been bred up under 
an expert teacher. Tradition report* that the I«ir4's 
Jock survived to estreme old age, when he died in tbe 
following extraordinary manner. A challenge had been 
given by an Englishman, named Forster, to any Scottish 
Borderer, to fight him at a place called Kersebope-foot, 
exactly upon tbe Borders. The Laird's Jock'i only ion 
accepted the defiance, and was armed by hi* lather with 
bi* own two-handed sword. Tbe old champion himself, 
though Iwd-ridden, insisted upon being present at tbe 
Iwttle. He was borne to the place appointed, wrapped, 
it is said, in blankets, and placed upon a very high stone 
to witness the conflict. In the duel his son fell, 
treaoheronsly slain, as the Scotch tradition affirms. The 
old man gave a loud yell of terror and despair when he 
saw bla eon slain and hi* noble weapon won by an 
Englishman, and died a* they liore him home. A 
venerable Border poet (titough of these later days) ha* 



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98 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

composed a poem on thia ronwDtic incident. The stone 
on wliich the I^ird'a Jock ut to behold the duel, waa 
in exUtence till irantonly destroyed & year or two linee. 
It was alwaya called Thb Laoid'b Jock'i Stonb. [The 
leader irill find Sir Walter Scott returning to the fate of 
the Lurd'a Jock in 1828. See Waverley Novell, vol. sli. 
p. 377.— J. G. L.] [The Laird's Jock, who dwelt under 
Denyv Hill beside Kyrehope in Denisborne, wu the eldest 
son of Sim Armstrong of Mangerton, by the daughter of 
John Forster of Kyrahope Foot {Border Paper*, i. p. 121), 
BO that if he did fight a duel with a Forstor there, his 
opponent must have been a near relative. With other 
Armetronga, the laird'a Jock took part in raids into 
England in 1587, when 600 cattle, 600 sheep, and 3ft 
prisoners were carried off (ii., i.. No. S94).] 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 

The Bul:>ject|of this ballad belnjf « common ereot 
in those troublesome and disorderly times, became 
a fsvonrite theme of the ballad-makers. There are, 
in this collection, no fewer than three poems on 
the rescue of prisoners, the incidents in which 
nearly resemble each other ; though the poetical 
description is so different, that the Editor did not 
think himself at liberty to reject any one of them, 
as borrowed from the others. As, however, there 
are several verses, which, in recitation, are common 
to all these three songs, the Editor, to prevent unne- 
cessary and disagreeable repetition, has nsed the 
freedom of appropriating them to that In which 
they seem to have the best poetic effect 

The reali^ of this story rests solely upon the 
foundation of tradition. Jock o' the Side seems to 
have been nephew to the Laird of Mangertoun, 
cousin to the Laird's Jock, one of his deliverers, 
and probably brother to Christie of the Syde, 
mentioned in the list of Border clans, 1597. Like 
the Laird's Jock, he also is commemorated by Sir 
Richard Maitland. — See the Introduction. 

' Ha is weil kend, Johne of the Syde, 

A greater theif did never rjde ; 

He never tyris. 

For to brek byris. 

Our mnir and myris 

Ooir gode ane guida' 
Jock o' the Side appears to have assisted the 



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94 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Earl of Westmoreland in his escape after his unfor- 
tunate insurrection with the Earl of Nortbumber- 
land, in the twelfth year of Elisabeth. 'The two 
rebelliouB rebeb went into Liddesdale in Scotland, 
yesternight, where Martin Ellwood [Elliot] and 
others, that have given pledges to the Regent of 
Scotland, did raise tbeir forces against them ; being 
conducted by Black Onneston, an outlaw of Scot- 
land, that was a principal murtherer of the King of 
Scots [Damley], where the fight was offered, and 
both parties alighted from their horses ; and, in the 
end, Ellwood said to Ormeston, he would be sorry 
to enter deadly feud with him by bloodshed ; but he 
would charge him and the rest before the regent 
for keeping of the rebels ; and if he did not put 
them out of the country, the next day, he would 
doe his worst again them; whereupon, the two 
earls were driven to leave Liddesdale, and to fly to 
one of the Armstrongs, a Scot upon the faatable 
[debateable land] on the Borders between Liddes- 
dale and England. The same day the liddesdale 
men stole the horses of the Countess of North- 
umberland, and of her two women, and ten others 
of their company ; so as, the earls being gone, the 
lady of Northumberland was left there on foot, at 
John of the Side's house, a cottage not to be com- 
pared to many a dog-kennel in England. At their 
departing from her, they went not above fifty horse, 
and the Earl of Westmoreland, to be the more 
unlutown, changed his coat of plate and sword 
with John of the Side, and departed like a Scottish 
Borderer.' — 'Advertisements from Hexham,' 2Snd 
December 1569, in the Cabala, p. I60. 

The land-serjeant, mentioned in this ballad, and 
also that of ' Hobbie Noble,' was an officer under the 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 9fi 

warden, to whom wu committed the apprehendiDg 
of delinquents, and the care of the public peace. 

[Although it has beea customary to follow Scott, 
in regarding the historic incident which the ballad 
professes to celebrate as occurring in the latter 
half of the sixteenth century, no attempt has been 
made to identify it, further than that Professor 
Child was disposed to regard the ballad as possibly 
a free Teraion of ' Kinmont Willie * (?•"■)■ One 
cause of the tendency to associate the ballad with 
the latter half of the sixteenth century is that 
apparently some of the personages introduced were 
mainly prominent during that period. No account, 
however, has been taken of the fact that ' Jock o* 
the Side,' when a prisoner in Newcastle, must have 
been a very young man, for it is his mother and not 
his wife that is represented as aaking for a rescue ; and 
since Jock o' the Side probably died not long after 
1570, the rescue celebrated in the ballad can hardly 
have been other than the following one reported by 
Magnus to Wolsey, 6th July 1537. 'After diverse 
thieves of Scotland and traitors of Tynedale had been 
taken and committed to ward in Newcastle, Sir 
William Lisle and Humphrey, his son, broke out of 
prison there, set at liberty the English thieves, and 
went with them into Scotland. The Scotch thieves 
were sons to the headsmen of the Armstrongs, and 
have done most hurt of any in Hexhamshire, and the 
bishopric of Durham ' (Lelters andPapen, Henry vii t., 
vol. iv., No. 9SS0). In fact, all the circuniatancea of 
the rescue correspond very closely with those of the 
ballad. Lisle, previously Captain of Wark Castle, 
seems to have been detained for some offence in 
the town of Newcastle, and on the arrival of the 
Aimstrongs, guided them to the jail, and helped 



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96 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

them to free the prisoners. Afterwards, he and 
the Armstiongs combined their iNUids and pro- 
ceeded to ravage both England and Scotland. On 
13th Jamuiy 1538, a number of the marauden 
were, however, surprised at midnight, at Alnwick, 
by the English authorities, among the Scottish 
taken being ' John who brought the Annestrangs to 
Newcastle, when they broke the gaol there ' (ib., No, 
S795). Thus we have an authoritative statement 
that the leader of the Armstrongs in this enter- 
prise was named John, and whether he was executed 
or not, he was probably the ' Laird's Jock ' of an 
earlier generation, i.e. the son of Thomas, not of 
Sim, Armstrong of Mangerton. On the same night 
on which the Armstrongs and others of the 
marauders were captured at Alnwick, Sir William 
Lisle and his son, Humphrey, found it necessary to 
surrender. The father, after being brought to 
Newcastle, was, some time in March, hanged, drawn, 
and quartered {ib.. No. 4133) ; but the son received 
a special pardon from Henry viii. In his confes- 
sion, the son stated that they compelled the keeper 
of the prison to surrender the keys, and delivered 
nine prisoners (ih.. No, 4336). An outlawed Noble 
(ate pott, p. 118) may have been in the company of 
the Armstrongs at this time, but the Englishman 
who chiefly aided them to deliver Jock o' the Side, 
and was their main ally, was clearly not any of the 
Nobles, but Sir William Lisle, although it is worth 
noting that the reiver Nobles who dwelt in Bewcaatle 
(see Cal. Bonier Papert, i. 124) were at this very 
time engaged in raids which, at first, were wrongly 
attributed by the English authorities to Lisle and 
the Armstrongs {Letters and Papert, Henry viii., 
vol. iv., No. S404). 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 97 

Campbell in hie Anihologi/ haa th« following note 
regarding the ballad : — ' The melody and par^ 
ticnlarl; the words of this Liddeadale song were 
taken down by the Editor from the singing and 
reciting of Mr. Thomas Shortreed, who learnt it 
from his father.' From this ambiguous and absurd 
declaration, the late Professor Child (while admit- 
ting that, as in the case of ' Dick o' the Cow,' the 
AnlMotogy version was practically that of Otw's 
HoMikk Mtuetan, with various amendments, and 
miniiB a few stanzas), inferred that Campbell had 
probably ' given this copy to Scott, who published 
it sixteen yean before it appeared in the Anthology,' 
with additions taken from Caw (Child's Balladt, iii. 
473) ; his supposition being that it may have been 
obtained by Campbell as early as 1790, when he 
first began preparations for the Anthology which 
were afterwards broken oC But (1) Campbell 
states in his general preface that he was only 
favoured with letters of introduction (he probably 
got them from Scott!) to the sheriff-substitute's 
(Shortrede's) family, in ' bis last excunion but one to 
the Border ' ; (8) the date of that excursion is fixed by 
Campbell in his note to ' Dick o' the Cow' as 18l6; 
(3) Thomas Shortrede, the son of the sheriff, was 
probably not even bom in 1790 ; and (4) in reference 
to the variations in Scott's ver^on from that in 
Caw's Mvtevm, the remark holds good that was 
made regarding ' Dick o' the Cow ' — Scott did not 
require to go either to Campbell or Shortrede for 
merely litertiry emendations. 

The oldest known version is that in the Percy 

US. (ed. Hales and Fumivall, ii. SOS-7) ; it contains 

many evident corruptions, but clearly proves the 

antiquity of the ballad. The real source of the 

VOL. n. G 



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98 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

version sent by Elliot to Otw's Mutaim is unknown, 
and it mmj h&ve been derived, as its special ex- 
cellence seems to suggest, from a very old us. A 
version substantially agreeing with that in Caw's 
MuKum was sent to Percy in 1775, and is published 
in Child's BaUadt, iii. 481-3.] 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 



Nov Uddesdale has ridden a raid, 

But I wat they had better hae' staid at 

For Michael o' Winfield he is dead, 

And Jock o* the Side* is prisoner ta^en. 



For Mangcrton house Lad; Downie ' has gane, 
Her coats she has kilted up to her knee ; 

And down the water wi^ speed she rins, 
Whiie tears in spaits* fa' fast ft^e her ee. 



Then up and spoke our gude auld lord—' 
'What news, what news, sister Downie, to 
me?' 
' Bad news, bad news, my Lord Mangerton ; 
Michael is killed, and they hae taVn'my 
son Johnie.' 

I [' haa ' ii ranlttad fn Caw*! JfuMwn.] ■ [' ay aon Jolmie.* 
—daw.] *['AiildDowiila.'— Oa*. 'TheSybU o" thaSlda.'— 
F«rc7.] * SfoUt, Uanaf. ' [' bcq^ke the lord Uansar- 
bn.'— Ckv.] • ['Uiietlw7ba&'— Cav.} 



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100 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

IV 

' Ne'er -fear, sister Downie,' quo' Mangerton ; 

• I have yokes of ousen, eighty and three ; ^ 
My hams, my byres, and my faulds a' weil filled, 

1 11 part wi' them a' ere Johnie shall die. 

* Three men 1 11 send ' to set him free, 
A' hameist wi' the best o* steil ; ' 

The English louns * may hear, and drie 
The weight o' their braid-swords to feel. 

VI 

' The Laird's Jock ane, the Laird's Wat twa, 
O Hobbie Noble, thou ane maun be ! 

Thy coat is blue, thou hast been true, 
Since England banish'd thee to me.' 

vn 
Now Hobbie was an English man, 

In Bewcastle-dale was bred and bom : 
But his misdeeds they were sae great. 

They banish'd him ne'er to return. 

VIII 

Lord Mangerton them orders gave, 

' Your horses the wrang way maun be shod ; 
Like gentlemen ye mauna seem, 

But look like com-caugers ' ga'en the" road. 

' ['tliMjokeiof oieik, fonrtod twentie.'— C*ir.] » ['Uke.' 

— Ckw.] ■ ['Weel luniMi'd a.' wi> bgit a* ilwL'— Ctw.] 

•['rogue*.'— 0»w.] * Caugen, anlert. <['gftwii m.'— Oav.] 



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JOCK 0* THE SIDE 



* Your ftnnour ^de je mauna shaw, 
Nor yet appear like men o' weir; 

As countt; lads be a' array'd, 

Wr Ivanks and brecham ^ on each mare.' 



Sae now their horses are the wrang way shod,' 
And Hobble has mounted his grey sae fine ; 

Jock his lively bay, Wat 's on his white horse, 
behind. 
And on they rode for the water of Tyne. 



At the Cholerford they' all light down. 

And there, wi' the help of the light o' the 
moon, 

A tree they cut, wi' fifteen nogs on each side,' 
To climb up the wa* of Newcastle toun. 



But when they cam to Newcastle toun, 

And were alighted at the wa\ 
They fand their tree three ells ower laigh, 

They fand their stick baith short and sma'. 

I A-onb and brcvhon, hklter and out-ooIUr. ■ ['»' tlwir 

hanea kre ihod th« wiaog way.' — Cftw.] ■ ['lUfgB npo' Uk 

ilde.'— Okw.] 



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BORDER MINSTKELSY 



Then up and spak the Laird's oin Jock ; 

* There 'a naething for t ; the f^ates we maun 
force.' 
But when they cam the gate until,* 

A proud porter withstood baith meax and 
horse. 



His neck in twa the Amutrangs wrang ; * 
Wi' fute or hand he ne'er play'd pa ! 

His life and his keys at anes they hae ta^en, 
And cast the body ahind the wa'. 



Now suae they reach Newcastle jail, 
And to the prisoner thus they call; 

* Sleeps thou, wakes thou, Jock o' the Side, 
Or art thou weary of thy thrall P ' 



Jock answers thus, wi' dulefu' tone; 

* Aft, aft, I wake — I seldom sleep : 
But whae's this kens my name sae weil, 

And thus to mese ' my waes does seik ? ' 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 



Then out and apak the gude Laird's Jock, 
' Now fear ye na,^ my billie,^ quo^ he ; 

'For here are the Laird's Jock, the Ijurd's 
Wat, 
And Hobble Noble, come to set thee free.' 



* Now baud thy tongue, my gude Laiid's Jock, 

For ever, ahis ! this canna be ; • 
For if a'' Liddesdale were here the night, 

llie mom 'i the day that I maun die. 



* Full fifteen stane o' Spanish iron, 
They hae lud a' right sair on me ; 

Wi' locks and keys I am fast bound 
Into this dungeon dark * and dreirie. 



' Fear ye na that,' quo' the Laird's Jock ; 

' A faint heart ne'er wan a fair ladie ; 
Work thou within, well work without. 

And 111 be sworn we^ * set thee free.' 

1 t'N«'Mf«ufy«iu)w.'— Our.] 

> ['O had thy tongna uid ipaak DM mail, 

And o' thj fMk, nov IM me be.'— Caw,] 
• [' mirk.'— <kw.] * [' bomtA we.'— 0»w.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



The first strong door that they cam at, 

They loosed it without a key ; 
The next chainM door that they cam at. 

They garr^d it a' to flioden flee, 

xxn 

The prisoner nov upon bis back, 

The Laird's Jock has gotten ' up fu' hie ; 

And down the stair, him, irons and a\ 
Wr nae sma' speed and joy, brings.he. 

XXIII 

' Now, Jock, my man,' * quo' Hobbie Noble, 
' Some o' his ' weight ye may hty on me.' 

' I wat weel no ! ' quo' the Laird's ain * Jock, 
* I count him lighter than a flee.' 

Sae out at the gates they a'' are gane. 
The prisoner's set on horseback hie ; 

And now wi' speid they 've ta'en the gate, 
While ilk ane jokes fu' wantonlie : 

XXV 

* Jock ! sae winsomely 's ye ride, 
Wi' baith your feet upon ae side ; 

Sae weel ye 're hameist, and sae trig. 
In troth ye sit like ony bride ! ' 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 



The night, tho' wat, they didna mind, 
But hied tbem on tvC merrilie, 

Until they cam to Cholerfoid brae,^ 
Where the water ran like mountains hie. 



But Then they cam to Choterford* 
There they met with an auld man ; 

Says—' Honest man, will the water ride ? 
Tell us in haste, if that ye can/ 



' I wat weel no,' quo' the gude auld man ; 

' I faae lived here ' thretty years and three, 
And I ne*er yet saw the Tyne sae big, 

Nor running anes sae like a sea.' 



Then out and spak the Laird^s saft Wat, 
The greatest coward in the cumpanie ; 

* Now halt, now halt ! we need na try't ; 
The day is come we a' maun die ! "" 



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BORDER MINSTREI^Y 



'Puir faint-liearted thiefr cried the Laird^s 
ain Jock,^ 

* There 1 nae man die but him that's fie;' 
1 11 guide ' ye a' right safely thro' ; 

laft ye the prisoner on ahint me.' 



Wi' that* the water they hae ta'en, 
By ane's and twa's they a' swam thro' ; 

* Here are we a' safe,' quo' the Laird's Jock, 
'And, puir faint Wat, what think ye now?' 



They scarce the other brae * had won. 
When twenty men they saw pursue ; 

Frae Newcastle toun they had been sent, 
A' English lads baith stout ' and true. 



But when the Land-Seijeant the water saw, 
* It winna ride, my lads,' says he ; 

Then cried aloud — 'The prisoner take,' 
But leave the fetters," I pray, to me.' 

1 ['qao'thclAird'aJook.'— Ckv.] ■ JVe, jnedMUnad. 

»['1«^'-Cfcw.] *['BMiioir.'— C»w.] "['iide.'-0»w.l 
• ('right good.'— 0»»,] T ['iiieiiont h«arl«a, Te Uia prlmei 
nut7 take.'— Oftw.] < ['Irons.'— Gbw.] 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 



' I wat weil ao,^ quo' the Laird's Jock ; 

* I '11 keep them a' ; ahoon to mj mate they '11 
be, 
M7 gude bay ' mare — for I am sure, 

She has bou^t them a' right* dear frae thee.* 



Sa« now they are on to' Liddesdale, 
E'en a* fast as they could them hie ; 

The prisoner is brought to's ain fireside, 
And there o 's aims they mak him free. 



'Now, Jock, my biUie,' quo' a' the three, 
* The day is * com'd thou was to die ; 

But thou's as weil at thy ain ingle side, 
Now sitting, I think, 'twixt" thee and me.' 

1 [*gwj.'— Ofcw.] ■['Stu'ibongbtthsiiik'fii'.'— Oaw.] 

• ['thaj're wriy (or.'— C»w.] * ['ma.'— C»ir.] » ['flre.'— 
Ob*.] * ['t«««ii.'~Chw. In Cav UMralithiioondudoni- 



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NOTES 



JOCK 0' THE SIDE 

For Mangerton houM Lady Ikrwnie hat gartt. — St. ii. t. 1. 
[Hie lurds of Mangerton were cfaieb of a bruicli 
of the Armstroiigs. The laird of this period was called 
Thomas. Mangertou Is on the opposite bank of the 
liddel from the Side. Hence I^d^ Downie bad 'to kilt 
up her coats.'] 

Me Laird'* Jock ane, the LaintM Wat hoa, 

Q HolAU Noble, thou one maun be!— St. ri. 11. 1-2. 
[As stated in introduction to ballad there is no reference 
to any Hobbie Noble as accompanying the Annstrongv 
to Newcastle, although the leader was undoobtedlj John 
Armstrong, and probably the aon of Thomas, Laird of 
Mangerton. There is no known instance of the surname 
Walter among the Armstrongs of the sixteenth century, 
and the ' lAird's Wat ' was probably, therefore, a natural 
■on of one of the Scotts. 'Much, the Miller's sonne' 
(aome stanzas have 'Much the Miller' only), who in 
the Percy folio version takes the place of the Laird's Jock, 
was one of Robin Hood's m^rry men, mentioned thns in 
Cofeimd'EAl4^aeeteqfRob3neHode(e. 1820-lBSO):— 

'Sobjn Mode In BemfKlsIg and lened him to s tree. 
And by him Hode Lytele Johnn, a good yemui wai he, 
And ^10 dyde good Boatheloeke, and Hnoh the Hiller'i •on.'] 

Like genilemen ye mouna eeem, 
But look Hke eom-^augerM ga'en the road. 

St vUi. 11. 3-4. 



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JOCK O' THE SIDE 109 

[Sueb expedient! are often mentioned in tHe old 
<y., for Bzample : — 

'And lU of n ihalla n titijt 

In g7M o( itTODg nurebknntM, 
And fills sure loman with fog uid haye 
To ptae Che btigge Cnmontw.' 

Tht Sovdone q^Babj/lone, 11. 286^4.] 



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THE DEATH OF 
FEATHERSTONHAUGH ^ 

This old NorthnmbrUn ballad wat originally printed 
in the notes to Marmiim, but is here inserted in its 
proper place. It was taken down from the recita- 
tion of a woman eighty years of age, mother of one 
of the miners in Alston-Moor, by the agent of the 
lead-mines th«re, who communicated to my friend 
and correspondent, R. Surtees, Esq. of Mainsfbrth. 
She had not, she said, heard it for many years ; but, 
when she was a girl, it used to be sung at meny- 
makings, ' till the roof rung again.' To preserve 
this curious, though rude rhyme, it is here inserted. 
The ludicrous turn given to the slaughter, marks 
that wild and disorderly state of society, in which 
a murder was not merely a casual circumstance, 
but, in some cases, an exceedingly good jest. The 
structure of the ballad resembles the ' Fray of 
Suport,' having the same irregular stansa and 
wild chorus. 1810.* 

' [A foigerj of Bnrteei, 'prored b; mors than ona oopy, uaoag 
hu paper*, of thii baUkd, oorraoted and interlined in ordei to 
mould it to the language, the mannen, and the feelingi of the 
period and of the dutriot ta which it isfen' (T*.TLoa'e Life 
of SuHea, pre&ied to the fonrth volume of hie Hittory of 
l>air\Mit, p. 10).] 

* [One of the houie of Thirlwall, mentioned in thie ballad, and 
In the notef to it, flgniei in Sir Walter Boott'e laat novel, CatOe 
I. G. L.] 



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THE DEATH OF 
FEATHEKSTONHAUGH 



Hoot awa', lads, hoot awa*, 

Ha' ye heard how the Ridlejs, and Thirlwalls, 

and a^. 
Ha' set upon Albany ' Featberstonhaugh, 
And takeD his life at the Deadmanshaugh F 

There waa WiUimoteswick, 

And Hardriding Dick, 
And Hugbie of Hawdon, and Will of the Wa\ 

I canno tell a% I canno tell a', 
And mony a mair that the deil may knaw. 



The auld man went down, but Nicol, hii son, 
Ran away afore the fight was begun ; 
And he run, and he run. 
And afore they were done, 
There was many a Featherston gat sic a stun. 
As never was seen since the world begun. 

1 Fmumnoei Avbony. 



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118 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

I canno tell a^, I canno tell a* ; 
Some gat a skelp,' and some gat a claw ; 
But they garr^d the Featherstons baud their 
jaw* — 

Nicol, and Alick, and a'. 
Some gat a hurt, and some gat nane ; 
Some had harness, and some gat stamen.' 

m 
Ane gat a twist o^ the craig -,* 
Ane gat a bunch ' o' the wame ; ' 
Sjnny Haw gat lamed of a leg. 
And syne ran wallowing ^ hame. 

IV 

Hoot, hoot the auld man ""s slain outright ! 
Lay him now wi' his fece down : — he ^s a sorrowful 
sight 

Janet, thou donot,^ 

1 11 lay my best bonnet. 
Thou gets a new gude-man afore it be night. 

Hoo away, lads, boo away, 
We ^B a' be hanged if we stay. 

> Skl^ ligniflga lUp, or ntliar ii thg nune vord, whloh wu 
«ligtii«Il7 Bpelled usUap. * Hand Ihtir jam, bold thdi ]kw ; 
» TulfU- eipreuion itOl in nae. ' Oat tta'en, got itolBD, oi 
wtm plnndsred ; k verj likely termination of the Inj. * Oraiff, 
neok. > Bvneh, pimoh. * Wame, bally. ' WaUomng, 
bellowing. ' i^onot, lilly ilut. The Border bkrd o»U> bet so, 
beokOM (he ma Tscpiiig foi hei hmbuid, a lou wbioh he emiin 
to tbink mlgbt be soon repaired. 



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DEATH OF FEATHEHSTONHAUGH 118 
Tak' up the dead man, and lay him anent tbe 
biding : 

Here's the Bailey o* Haltwhistle,^ 
Wi' his great bull's pizzle, 
"niat Bupp'd up the broo\ and syue — in the 



I Baitef </ BaUKkiiOt.—Tht Bkille of HkltwhUtla tacmi to 
ht/n airlTcd Than the ti^j wu over. Thii nqipoitei of MNdal 
ndar to treated with ohanatailitio Imnrsrenoe bj tha moaatroop- 



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NOTE 



DEATH OF FEATHERSTONHAUGH 

In explanation of this ancient ditty, Mr. Snrteea haa 
fbroiBhed m« with the following lo«aI memonndam : 
WillimotMwick, sow more commonly called lUdley Hall, 
is situated at the confluence of the Allon and Tyne, and 
was the cUef seat of the ancient &inily of Ridley. 
Hardridlng- Dick ia not an epithet referring to horieman- 
■hip, but means lUchard Ridley of Hardriding, the teat 
of another iiunily of that name, which, in the time of 
Charles i., wsa sold on account of expenses incurred by 
the loyalty of the proprietor, the immediate ancestor of 
Sir Matthew Ridley. WOl of the Wa' seems to be 
William lUdley of Walltown, so called from its sitoatioa 
on the great Roman wall. Thirlwall Castle, whence the 
clan of Tbirlwalla derived their name, is situated on the 
■mall river of Tippell, near the western boundary of 
Northumberland. It is ^ear the wall, and takes its name 
from the rampart having been thirled, t.«. pierced, or 
breached, in its vicinity. Feathervton Castle liea south 
of the Tyne, towards Alston-Moor. Albany Feather- 
■tonhaugh, the chief of that ancient family, made a 
figure in the reign of Edward vi. A feud did certainly 
exist between the RIdleys and Featherstones, prodnetive 
of such consequences as the ballad narrates. ' 2Hk OeL 
22do Btnriei Svi Jnqvititio capt. apud HmtdmkUtle, tup. 
oirum corpuM Alexandri Featheriton, Oen. apud Ortntit- 
haugh /eloaice ijder/ecH 21 Oct. per Nicolaum Ridley de 
Unthanke, Gent Bugon Ridle, Nicolaum Ridk, et oHm 
^jutdem nomiait.' Nor were the Featheratonea without 
their revenge ; for 36^ Henriei 8vt, we have — ' Ullagatio 
Niaclai Fealhtrtttm, ae Thoma iVymm, etc., pro hantieidio 
Waimi. lUdk de Monde.' 



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HOBBIE NOBLE 

We ha.ve seen the hero of thia ballad act a distin- 
guished port in the deliverance of Jodc o' the Side, 
and are now to learn the ungrateful retom which 
the Armstrongs made him for his faithAil services.^ 
Halbert, or Hobbie Noble, appears to have been 
one of those numerous English outlaws, who, being 
forced to By their own country, had established 
themselves on the Scottish Borders. A> Hobbie 
continued his depredatioos upon the English, they 

1 31ta islgfaul adilor of tha Sdiptti t^ AneieKt Pattry htm 
Botioad Um parfldj of thla olan in ■nothar Initanoa ; tha dalivaiy 
of the buiiihed tail of NorthnnibaTUiid Into the huid> of tba 
SaotUih ragant, b; Heotor of HkreUw, an Armitioiig, with whom 
he had taken lafnga.— .BdtTuei of Aneitnt Poetry, toI. I. p. £83. 
— Ilik Haator of HaraUw aaanu to hkva iiaan an Tt"g"-*'"»". or 
under 'C"|[l'«*' BMOianee ; tor he ia one of thoaa agnliut whom 
bJUi were eibibltad b; tha Soottleh oommiMlonan, to the lord 
Uibop of Oarliale.— /ntradtMtum to Ote Hiitorp of ITcitmoreiaml 
and Otmberlattd, p. 81. In the liet of Boideiaia, IfiST, Haator of 
H&rehiw, with tha Qrief a and Cuts of Harelaw, alao flcniea aa an 
inhabitant of tha Debalaable Land. It would ^ipear, from a 
fitted inTaotive in tlia AWtland aa. afainat tba r^ant, and thoaa 
who ddlrared up the nnfoTtnnata Earl to Eliabath, that Haator 
had been (olltj of thia traaohary, to radaam the pledge whkh 
had been ezaated from him for hia peaoeable demaanonr. Tha 
poet aafB that the porfidj of Morton and LoolileTin wm worse 
than aven that of 

' The traitour Eokle of Haielaw, 

That aaya he aonld him to radaam hia pledge ; 

Tonr deed li war, aa all the world doei know — 

Ton nothing oan but oorsUoa alledge.' 

Pmmov'a MaiUand Poant, toL iL p. t90. 

Edde is tha oontraoUon of Heotor among the Tnlgar, 
llieaa little memoranda ma; aarra atUl fnrtliar to illtutrate the 
baantlfnl *»U»J«^ upon that aabjaot, pabliabed in tba Sttiquti. 



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116 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

bribed some of his boats, the Armstrongs, to decoy 
him into England, under pretence of a predatory 
expedition. He was there delivered, by his treach- 
eroiu companions, into the hands of the officers 
of justice, by whom he was conducted to Cariisle, 
and executed next morning. The Laird of Man- 
gerton, with whom Hobbie was in high favour, is 
said to have taken a severe revenge upon the traitors 
who betrayed him. The principal contriver of the 
scheme, called here Sim o' the Maynea, fled into 
England from the resentment of his chief; but 
experienced there the common fate of a traitor, 
being himself executed at Carlisle, about two months 
after Hobble's death. Such is, at least, the traditicm 
of Liddesdale. Sim o' the Maynes appears among 
the Armstrongs of Whitauch, in Liddesdale, in the 
list of clans so often alluded to. 

Kershope-bum, where Hobbie met his treacherous 
companions, falls into the Liddel, &om the English 
side, at a place called Tumersholm, where, accord- 
ing to tradition, tumeys and games of chivalry were 
often solemnised. The Mains was anciently a 
border-keep, near Castletown, on the north side of 
the Liddel, but is now totally demolished. 

Askerton is an old castle, now ruinous, situated 
in the wilds of Cumberland, about seventeen miles 
north-east of Carlisle, amidst that mountainous and 
desolate tract of country, bordering upon Liddes- 
dale, emphatically termed the Waste of Bewcastle. 
Conscouthart Green, and Rodric-haugh, and the 
Foutbc^hiel, are the names of places in the same 
wilds, through which the Scottish plunderers gener- 
ally made their raids upon England; as appears 
from the following passage in a letter from William, 
Lord Dacre, to Cardinal Wolsey, ISth July 1528; 



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HOBBIE NOBLE 117 

Appendix to PunuRTON't Scotltmd, v. 12, No. xix. 

' like it «lso your gisce, seeing the dlsordour within 
Scotlaund, mud thkt all the mjagaydtd meiij Bor- 
derers of the some, inhabiting within Eskdale, 
Ewsdale, Walghopedale, Liddesd&le, and a part of 
liTidale, foranempt Bewcastelldale, and a part of 
the Middle Marches of this the King's B<HdoiiTB, 
entres not this West and Middle Marches, to do any 
attemptate to the King our said soreraine's subjects : 
but thaye come throrow Bewcastelldale, and rc- 
tomes, for the most part, the same waye agayne.' 

Willera and Speir Bdom are small districts In 
Bewcastledale, through which also the Hartlie-bum 
takes Its oonrte. 

Of the castle of Mangertonn, so often mentioned 
in these ballads, there are very few yestiges. It 
was situated on the banks of the Liddel, below 
Castletown. In the wall of a neighbouring mill, 
which has been entirely built from the ruins of the 
tower, there is a remarkable stone, bearing the aims 
of the lairds of Hangertoun, and a long broad-sword, 
with the figures 1583 ; probably the date of build- 
ing, or repairing, the castle. On each side of the 
shield are the letters S. A. and E. E., standing 
probably for Simon Armstrong, and Elizabeth 
Elliot. Such is the only memorial of the Laird of 
Maogertoun, except those rude ballads, which the 
Editor now offen to the public. 

[The Nobles inhabited Bewcastle, and the name 
Hobbie occurs in the hst of the Clan in 1583 (Bonfer 
Papert, ii. p. 121) ; but on the supposition that the 
rescue of Jock o' the Side took place at the early 
date already mentioned, the following ballad is 
probably founded on the circumstances connected 
with the surrender of Sir William Lisle and his 



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118 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

conveyance to NewcastJe. It is, however, worth 
noting that on 17th September 15S8, Northumber- 
laod thus reports to Wolsey : ' Sir RAlph Fenwik 
lately stopped an Invasum from Lyddersdale, and 
took pritoner Edmund Noble, the chief outlaw the 
King had in Scotland, who wilt be put to execution ' 
(LeOrrt and Paptn, Henry viii., vol. iv.. No. 47*7). 
With the Amutrongs Noble may hare been con- 
cerned in the slaying of ' Michael of Winfield ' (ante, 
p. 99), who in the Percy venion is called 'Poeter 
a Whifeild,' and was therefore probably the same 
person as the ' Peter of Whitfield ' of stansa ix. 

Child sUtes (Balladt, iy. 1) that Scott does not 
mention his source ; but he mentions in introdnctitm 
to 'Dick o' the Cow,' that it is Caw's JtfiiKtim. 
For another version In the Percy Papers, see 
Child's Balladt, iv. S-4.] 



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HOBBIK NOBLE 



FoDL fa'' the breast first TreasoD bred in ! 

'thai Liddesdale may safely say : 
For in it there waa baith meat and drink, 

And com unto our geldings gay. 

II 
And we were a* stout-hearted men,' 

As England she might * often say ; 
But now we may turn our backs and flee, 

Since brave Noble is sold ' away. 

ui 
Now Hobbie was an English man, 

And bom into Bewcastle dale ; 
But his misdeeds they were sae great, 

They banish'd him to Liddesdale. 



At Eershope foot the tryst was set, 

Keishope of the lilye lee ; 
And there was traitor Sim o' the Mains, 
And with him a private companie. 
■ {'We Tan itont-hauiad men and tra«.'— Oaw.] * 
L'-0>w.] ■ t'Nld.'-C»w.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



'Hen Hobbie has graithed his bodj fair, 
Baith wi' the iron and vi' the steil ; ' 

And he has ta''en * out his fringed grey, 
And there, brave Hobbie, he r«de him weeL 



Then Hobbie is down the water gane. 

E'en as fast as he could hie ;' 
Tho* a* should hae * bunten and broken their 
hearts, 

Frae that liding-tiyst he wad na be.' 



' Weel be ye met,' my feres ^ five ! 

And now,^ what is your will wf me f 
Then they cried a', wi' ae consent, 

* Thou Vt welcome here, brave Noble, to me. 



' Wilt thou with us into England ride, 
And thy safe warrand we will be P 

If we get a horse, worth a hundred pound, 
Upon his back thou aune sail be/'* 

1 ['I mt it mi wl' Wth good inm ud itML'— Chw.] 

* C'poll'*!.'— C»w,] ■ ['may dite.'— <Ikw.] *['Tho'th«y 
•boold ft'.'— Caw.] * [' Frae that tifrt NoUe he would not Iml' 
— Otw.] * [' WmI may 7a ba.'— Caw.] ' JVrei, oompanku. 

* ['i^*.'— 0»w.j • ['that tbOQilialt b*.'— Ckw.] 



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HOBBIE NOBLE 121 

iz 
' I d*re not by day ^ into EngUnd ride ; 

The Land-Serjeant has me at feid : 
And I know not what evil may betide, 

For Peto- of Wbitfield, his brother, is dead. 

X 

* And Anton Shiel be loves not me, 

For I gat twa drifts o^ bis sheep ; ' 
The great Earl of Whitfield loves me not. 

For nae g«ar frae me be e'er could keep, 
zi 
' But will ye stay till the day gae down, 

Until the night come o'er tbe grand. 
And 111 be a guide worth ony twa, 

Tlat may in Liddesdale be found. 

xn 
' Hio' the night be black * as pick and tar, 

I '11 guide ye o'er yon hill sae hie ;* 
And bring ye a' in safety bock. 

If yell be true, and follow me,' 

He has guided them o'er moss and muir. 
O'er hill and hope, and mony a down ; 
Until they came '^ to the Foulbogshiel, 

And there, brave Noble, he lighted down. 

1 ['Idkrenotwithron.'— Oftw,] ' [' For two drifu of hi« 

ihMp I gkt.'— C»w.] * ['ThonghtUrkthenisht'— Cftw.] 

«['I'UleMl7ono'eTroDhllUfii'tii&'— Chw.] • L'TIU they 

OODM-'-CftW.] 



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BORDER MINSTREX^Y 



But' word 18 gane to the Land-Serjeant, 
In Askerton where that he lay — 

' The deer, that ye hae hunted sae * lang. 
Is Been into the Waste this day.' 

' The Hobbie Noble is that deer ! 

I wat he carries the style fu' hie ; 
Aft has he driven our bluidhounds back,' 

And set ourselves * at little lee. 



' Glar warn the bows of Hartlie-bum ; 

See they sharp th£ir arrows on the wa* : 
Warn Willeva and Speir Edom, 

And see the mom they meet me a\ 

XVII 

' Gar meet me on the Rodiic-haugh, 

And see it he by break o' day ; 
And we will on to Conscouthart-greeo, 

For' there, I think, we'll get our prey.' 

xvni 
Then Hohbie Noble has dreimit a dreim. 

In the Foulhogshiel, where that he lay ; 
He dreimit* his horse was aneith him shot. 

And he himself got hard away. 

> ['Then.'— Ckw.] » [O^w omiU '•e-T ' ['Aft lui he bnt 
jmu rioagh-honnda h«*.*— C»w.) « ['jmumItm.'— Okir.} 

■ ['And.'— Cmt.] • ['thoDght.'— Okw.} 



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HOBBIE NOBLE 



The cocicB could craw, the day could daw,i 
And I wot sae even fell down the rain ; 

Had Hobbie na ' wakened at that time, 

In the Foulbogshiel he had been ta'en or 
alain. 



' Awake, awake,* my feres five ! 

I true * here makes a fii^ ill day ; 
Yet * the worst cloak o' this company, 

I hope, shall cross the Waste this day/ 



Now Hobbie thought the gates were clear ; 

But, ever alas ! it was na sae : 
They were beset by cruel men and keen, 

Tliat away brave Hobbie might na' gae. 



* Yet follow me, my feres five, 
And see ye keip of me' gude ray ; 

> ['trow, «nd tbs d>f ocmld dawn.'— Oav. Bum ntiliied thH 
liuB toi' 'WiUie Brew'd,' and apparently Boott bomnred 'dav' 
tram Btinw. AilmllarUni iilntrodnoed In 'TheWife of Uihat'i 
WalL' In tbe 1833 edition of On MinttrOtf, "gond' !■ ribati- 
tatod f or 'oonld,' vltli the explanation that tt tneani 'began'; 
bat tlu allaralion — whathar by Soott or Lookbart — being dne 
t« a nSmndentandiiig, It oannot b« Moeptttd.] ■ ['If HobU« 
had Do.'~Oair.] * ['Get np, g«t up.'— Oaw,] * ['Fo» I 
wat.'— <kw.] » ['And. '-Caw.] • ['ooold not.'— 0»*.] 

' ['And Mwof me ye kaep.' — Oaw.] 



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,24 BORDER MDfSTElEI^Y 

And the worst cloak o' this company 
Even yet may cross ^ the Waste this day/ 



But the Land-Se^eant's men came* Hobbie 
before, 

The traitor Sim came Hobbie * behin'. 
So had Noble been * wight as Wallace was, 

Away, alas ! he might na win.'' 



Then Hobbie had but a laddie's sword ; 

But he did mair than a laddie's deed ; 
For that sword had dear'd' Conscouthart- 
green. 

Had it not broke o'er ' Jerswigham's head. 



Thm they hae ta'en brave Hobbie Noble, 
Wi 's ain bowstring they band him sae ; 

But his gentle heart * was ne'er sae sair, 
As when his ain five bound bim on the brae. 



They hae ta'en him on for west Carlisle ; 
They asked him, if he kend the way P 

1 {'I hope ilutll omu.'— 0»«.] * ['Tb«Te«M hekp* o' man 
now.'— Caw.] * ['Ajid other he^iawu Urn.'— Cav.] * ['That 
had be been M.'—Oaw.] ' ['Awa;, bnv« Noble I lie eonld not 
•ta.'— Caw.] •['InthemidMof.'— Caw.] > ['Hebnklt 
tfot-'-Caw.] "['Iwathiihewt.'— Oaw.] 



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HOBBIE NOBLE 

Hio' much' he thought, yet little he loid ; 
He knev the gate* aa weel as they. 



^ley hae ta^en him up the Ricker-gate ; * 
The wives they cast their windows wide : 

And every * wife to another can say, 

' That 's the man loosed Jock o' the Side ! ' 



' Fy on ye, women ! why ca' ye me man ? 

For it 's nae man that I 'm used like ; 
I am but like a forfoughen' hound, 

Has heea fighting in a dirty syke.' ' 



They hae had him up thro* Carlisle town, 
And set him by the chimney fire ; 

IIk^ gave brave Noble a loaf to eat, 
And that was little his desire. 

XXX 

They gave him a wheaten loaf to eat. 

And after that a can of beer ; 
And they a' cried, with one^ consent, 

' E^t, brave Noble, and make gude cheir ! 

' ['WTirie'Br."— Oh».) » ['w»y,'— Onw.] ' [A itreet In 
CuMe.] * ['flkB.'— 0»w.] « Arjbivhai, quite fktl^ed. 
' iSflit, ditch, ' ["nun they oriBd ■' wl' ■«.'— C»w.] 



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BOEDER MINSTRELSY 



' Confess my lord's horse, Hobbie,' they said,^ 
' And to-morrow ' in Carlisle thou 'a na die.' 

' How can I confess them,'' Hobble says, 
•When* I never saw them with my ee?' 



Then Hobble has sworn a fu' great aith. 
By the day that he was gotten and bom, 

He never had onything o' my lord's, 
That either eat him grass or com. 



' Now fore thee weel, sweet Mangerton ! 

For I think again I 'II ne'er thee see : 
I wad hae betrayed * nae lad alive, 

For a' the gowd o' Cbristentie. 



* And fere thee weel, sweet ^ Liddesdale ! 

Baith the hie land and the law ; 
Keep ye weel frae the traitor Mains ! 

For goud and gear he'll sell ye a'. 

nr.} '['Fiw.'— 
'-C.W.] 



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HOBBZE NOBLE 1S7 

' Yet wad I lather > be ca'd Hobbie Noble, 
Id Carlule, where he anfFen for his fau^ 

' ^ntan I M be ' ca'd the traitor Mains, 

That eats and drinks o' the meal and maut/ 
l['Ili»dr>Ui«.'— Cl»w.] •[•BrttiMlwBM.'— 0»w.] 



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NOTES 



HOBBIE NOBLE 

The gnat Bart ^^Wii^eU-St x. L a 
Wliit£e]d it ftzplained hj Mr. Ellii of Ott«rbourne 
to b« • Ui^ uid rmtker wild manorikl distnet in the 
utrame Math-west puta of North amberlmnd, the pro- 
prietor of which mig'ht nsturallf be called the Lord, 
though not Barl of Whitfield. I suspect, however, that 
the reciters' mtj have corrupted the ffreat Ralph Whit^ 
field into Earl of Whitfield. Sir Matthew Whitfield of 
WhitfieM WM Sheriff of Northumberland in 1433, and 
the eitate continued in the family from the reign of 
Richard u. till shout fifty yean since. [Sarteea sug^- 
geated 'carle '(Life in Surtees' fli»((wyo/i>«(rAam, Lv. 18). 
J. F., editor of £et(ertq/'£f/t«, supplies another exptanii- 
tion— 'Half Shearman, Esq., of Garwick Hall, has thiixs. 
note on the SUtory nf Northumberland : " The old ownerB 
of Whitfield were usually etiled yearia [earls], and after 
this line of the family ceased the title, it was conferred on 
that of Cla^ll, whose heiress, who married Dr. ThoDus 
Graham, was styled ' Countess of Clar^ill. ' " '] 

4fi ha* he driven our bluidhoiuide back. — St. xr. L 3. 

' Hie nuHt bloodhoand wont, near Annand'i stream. 
To tiam the ily thief with aTenging foot, 
Ckiaa B> an evil oanHicoos still at hand.' 

Out ancient itatntes inform us, that the bloodhound, 
or sluith-honnd (so calJed from its quality of tracing the 
■lot, or track, of men and animals), was early used in 



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HOBBIE NOBLE 1S9 

tbe purauit tnd detectioo of mftrsuden. NvUat ptr- 
turbtt, aut impediat ani«in tnumntem, atU hominet 
trattattUi eitm ipto, ad teguendum latrone*. — Begitatt 
Mi^taitm, lib. 4tiiB, cap. 32. And, m> UU u 1616, 
there iru nn order from the King*! commiaiionen of 
tlie northern countiei, that ». certain number of slough- 
hounds ahould be maintained in everj diitrict of Cum- 
berland, bordering upon Scotland. Thef were of gretit 
Talae, beiiig aometlme* told for a hundred crowns. — 
Expotition of Blaen'i AUat, voce Sithtdait. The breed 
of this sagacioua animal, which could trace the humen 
footstep with the moat unerring aoenncy, i« now nearlf 
extinct. 



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ROOKHOPB RYDE 

This is a Bishopric Border song, composed in 1 596, 
Uktn down from the chanting of George Colling- 
wood the elder, late of Boltsbum, in the neighbour- 
hood of Ryhope, who was interred at Stanhope, the 
I6th December 1785. 

Rookhope is the name of a valley about fire miles 
in length ; at the termination of which, Rookhope- 
bum empties itself into the river Wear : the dale 
lies in the north part of the parish of Stanhope, in 
Weardale. Rookhope-head is the top of the vale. 
The ballad derives some additional interest, from 
the date of the event being so precisely ascertained 
to be the 6th December 1573, when the Tj'nedale 
robbers, taking advantage of the public confusion 
occasioned by the rebellion of Westmoreland and 
Northumberland, and which particularly affected 
the Bishopric of Durham, determined to make 
this foray into Weardale. The late eminent anti- 
quary, Joseph Ritson, took down this ballad from 
the mouth of the reciter, and printed it aa part of 
an intended collection of Border ballads, which was 
never published. His nephew, Mr. Frank, was so 
good as to favour me with the copy from which it 
is here given. To the illustrations of Mr. Ritson, 
I have been enabled to add those of my friend 
Mr. Surtees. [The ballad is included in The 
Bithopric Garland, ed. Ritson, ' Stockton, printed for 
R. Christopher, 1784'; a 'new edition corrected, 
Newcastle : printed by Half and Elliot, 179%,' and 
reprinted, ' London ; for B. Triphook, St. James's 
Street, I8O9.' Scotfs amendments are very slight'] 



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ROOKHOPE RYDE 



RooKHOFE stands in a pleasant place, 
If tbe falBe thieves wad let it be, 

But away they steal our goods apace, 
Aod ever an ill death may they dee ! 



And so is tlie man of Thirlwall and Willie- 
haver, 

And all their companies thereabout. 
That is minded to do mischief, 

And at their stealing stands not out. 



But yet we will not slander them all. 
For there b of them good enow ; 

It is a sore consumed tree 
"niat on it bears not one ftesh bough. 



Lord God ! is not this a pitiful case. 

That men dare not drive their goods to the 
fell. 

But limmer thieves drives them away, 
That fears neither heaven nor hell ? 



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8S BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Lord, send us peace into the realm, 
That every man may live on his own ! 

I trust to God, if it be his will, 
That Weardale men may never be over- 
thrown. 

VI 

For great troubles they Ve bad in hand, 
With Borderers pricking hither and thither. 

But the greatest fray that e'er they had, 
Wa& with the men of ThirlwaU and Willie- 
haver. 

VII 

l^ey gather'd together so royally, 

The stoutest men and the best in gear ; 

And he that rade not on a horse, 
I wat he rade on a weel-fed mear. 



So in the morning, before they came out. 
So weel I wot they broke their fast ; 

In the forenoon they came unto a bye feU, 
Where some of them did eat their last.' 



When they had eaten aye and done, 

They say'd some captains here needs must be : 
' Thl* would be kbont eleveii o'clocV, ths uiiul dinnar-hoaT in 



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ROOKHOPE RYDE 

TTien they choosed forth Harry Corby), 
And * Symon Fell,* and Martin Ridley. 



Then o'er the moss, where as they came, 
With many a brank and whew, 

One of them could to another say, 
* I think this day we are men enew/ 



' For Weardale-men have a journey ta'en, 
They are so far out o'er yon fell. 

That some of them's with the two earls, 
And others fast in Bernard CasteU.' 



' There we shall get gear enough, 

For there is nane but women at hame ; 

The sorrowful fend that they can make, 
Is loudly ^ cries a« they were slain/ 



Then in at Rookhope-head they came. 

And there they thought tul a' had their 

But they were spy'd coming over the Diy-rig, 
Soon upon Saint Nicholas'' day.'* 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



llien in at Rookhope-bead they came, 
They ran the forest but a mile ; 

Hey gather''d together in four houn 
Six hundred sheep within a while. 



And horses I trow they gat, 

But either ane or twa, 
And they gat them all but ane 

That belanged to great Rowley. 



That Rowley was the 6rst man that did 
them spy, 

With that he raised a mighty cry ; 
The cry it came down Rookhope bum. 

And spread through Weardale hasteyly. 



Then word came to the bailiiTs house 
At the East-gate, where he did dwell ; 

He was walVd out to the Smale-bums, 
Which stands above the Hanging- well,^ 

' A plaoo in the nsighbonrhood of Eait-gkte, knovn at po- 
lent, M veU u the Dr;-iig, or SmAle-bomi ; being the propeit; 
of Ht. Robert Bichudioii, by ioherituioe, mnee before 16S3. — 



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ROOKHOPE RYDE 



His wife was wae when the heard tell, 

So well sbe wist her husband wanted gear ; 

She gar'd saddle him his horse in haste, 
And neither foi^t sword, jack,* nor 
spear. 



The bailiff got wit before his gear came, 
That such news was in the land. 

He was sore troubled in his heart, 
That on no earth that he could stand. 



His brother was hurt three days before, 
With limmer thieves that did him prick ; 

Nineteen bloody wounds lay him upon, 
What ferly was 't that he lay sick ? 



But yet the bailiff shrinked nought, 
But feat after them he did bye. 

And so did all his neighbours near, 
That went to bear him company. 



) A. Jaoket, or ihort ooat, pUted or liiiUtchcd with nnkll plee«* 
of iron, knd luiutll/ «om bj the pttMaMrj ot thg Border fa 
tbeit JaamBja (rata pl«M to pUoe, u wall u in theiF ooowiaiMl 
■HnniriiM with tha nuM-tnopan, vho wars moat properlj 
aqnii^iad vlth the luna lort of huneM. — Rmov. 



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186 BOEDER MINSTRELSY 

XXII 

But when the bailiff was gather^, 

And all his company, 
They were numbered to never a man 

But forty under fifty. 

XXIII 

The thieves was numbered a hundred men, 

I wat they were not of the worst : 
That could be choosed out of Thirlwall and 

Willie-haver, 
I trow they were the very first.* 

XXIV 

But all that was in Rook hope-head, 
And all that was i' Nuketon-cleugh, 

Where Weardale-men overtook the thieves, 
And there they gave them fighting eneugh. 

XXV 

So sore they made them fain to flee. 

As many was a' out of hand, 
And, for tul have been at home again, 

They would have been in iron bands. 

XXVI 

And for the space of long seven years 

As sore they mighten a' had their lives, 
But there was never one of them 

That ever thought to have seen their wives. 
' The reoitet, from hit advanced age, oould not reooIlMt the 
oricinal Una tho* imperfettlr ni^ed.— RmoH. 



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ROOKHOPE RYDE 



ZXTII 



About the time the fray began, 
I trow it Ust«d but as hour, 

Till many a man lay weaponless, 

And was sore wounded in that stour. 



Also before that hour was done, 
Four of the thieves were slain, 

Besides all those that wounded were, 
And eleven prisoners there was ta'en. 



George Carrick, and his brother Edie, 
Hem two, I wot, they were both slain ; 

Harry Corbyl, and Lennie Carridc, 
Bore them company in their pain. 



One of our Weardale-men was slain, 
Rowland Emerson his name bight ; 

I trust to God bis soul is well. 
Because he fought unto the right. 



But thus they say'd, ' We '11 not depart 
While we have one : — Speed back again ! ' 

And when they came amongst the dead men, 
There they found George Carrick slain. 



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138 BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

XXXII 

And when they fouud-Geoige Caxrick glain, 
I wot it went well near their heart ; 

Lord, let them never make a better end, 
That comes to play them sicken a part. 



I trust to God, no more they shall, 
Except it be one for a great chance ; 

For God will punish all those 
With a great heavy pestilence. 



Thir limmer thieves, they have good hearts. 
They never think to be overthrown ; 

rOiree banners against Weardale-men they 
bare, 
As if the world had been all their own. 



Thir Weardale-men, they have good hearts. 

They are as stiff as any tree ; 
For, if they'd every one been slain. 

Never a foot back man would Hee. 



And such a storm amongst them fell, 
As I think you never heard the like ; 

For he that hears his head so high, 
He oft-times falls into the dyke. 



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ROOKHOPE RYDE 

xxxvu 
And now I do entreat you all, 

Ab many as are present here, 
To pray for the singer of this song. 

For he sings to make blithe your cheer. 



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HOOKHOPE HYDE 

Ajid to U the man ^ ThMwaU.—St ii. 1. 1. 
lUrlwall, or lliirlitwaU, is said by Fordun, the 
Scottish hutoriftn, to b« a name given t« the Picts' 
«r Roman wall, from its having been thirled, or per- 
forated, in ancient timea, by the Scots and Picts. Wyn- 
toun also, who moat prolwblf copied Fordun, calls it 
Thirlvall. Thirlirall Castle, though in a very ruinous 
condition, is stiU standing by the nte of this fomoos 
waU, upon the river TippaL It gave name to the 
ancient &nuly, De Thirlwsll.— [K™on.] [Sir John 
Thirlwall, of this family, is mentioned in Sir Walter 
Scott's last novel as English Governor of Douglas Castle 
in the time of Robert Bruce.— J. G. L.] 

WitlU-haver.—St. ii. I. 1. 
Willie-haver, or Willevs., is a small district or town- 
ship in the parish of Laoercost, near Bewcastledale, in 
Cumberland, mentioned in the preceding ballad of 
' HobUe Noble':— 



lial Miu tifthem'i aUh the tvx earlt.—St. xL 1. 3. 
The two earls were Thomas Percy, Earl of Northum- 
berland, and Charles Nevil, Earl of Westmoreland, who, 
on the Ifith of November 1S69, at the head of their 
tenantry and others, took arms for the purpoee of 
liberating Mary Queen of Scots, and restoring the old 
religion. They besie^d Barnard Castle, which was, 
for eleven days, stoutly defended by Sir George Bowes, 



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ROOKHOPE RYDE 141 

who, BftenrBrd, being appoiDtad the QuMii'i muBhal, 
bulged the poor constablee uid peasuitrf bj doxen* in a 
daf, to the amount of 800. The Earl of Northumberland, 
betn^ed by the Scote, with vhom be had taken reAige, 
vaa beheaded at York, on the 22Dd of Augurt 1C72 ; 
and the Earl of Weetmorelaod, deprived of the ancient 
and noble patrimony of the Nevjts, and reduced to 
bc^tgary, eacaped orer tea, into Flondere, and died in 
miaery and disgrace, being the last of hia Eunilj, See 
two ballade on this subject, in Percy's Collection (i. 
271, 281), and comider whether thej be genuine. — 
RrrsoN. [In the folio hs., but altered in Percy's JSeHque*.'] 

At ths Batt-gatt, vrhere he did dBwU.— St. zvii. 1. 2. 

Now a straggling village so called ; originally. It 

«ould teem, the' gate-house, or ranger's Indge, at the 

east entrance of Stanhope-park. At some distance from 

this place is West-gate, eo called for a similar reason. — 

'The meotioD of the bailiff 'e house at the East-gate is 
(were such a proof wanting) strongly indicative of the 
authenticity of the ballad. The iunily of Emerson of 
East-gath, a fief, if I may so call it, held under the 
bishop, long exercised the office of bailiff of Wolsingham, 
the chief town and borough of Weardale, and of Forster, 
etc., under Hucceasive prelates; and the present biahop'a 
gamekeeper and ranger within Weardale may be said 
to claim his office by maternal descent, being Emerson 
Mnschamp (another ancient name), and, though some- 
what shorn of his beaniH, the lineal heir of the old 
bailift of Weardale. ' Rob, Bmerion Parcarius de Stan- 
hopp. 13 Aug. 7 Rob. Nevill Epi. — Cuthb. Emerson de 
Eastgat sub Foreatar. Parci de Stanhopp. 1 Wolsey. — 
Lease of the Eagt-gBte to Mr. George Emerson for 30 
yeare, lOJ: per ann. 4 Ed. C. Bp. Tunstall.— Rob. 
Emerson de Eastgat sede vacante p. depriv. Tunstall 
parcar. Dne Regine. — Geo. et Ric. Emerson Ballivi de 
Wolsingltam. 12 Sept 1616, sicut Geo. Rolli vel. RoIIande 
Emerson olim tenuere.' — Sukt^eb. [3ic.] 



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BARTHRA-M'S DIRGE 

The following beautiful fragment was takcD down 
by Mr. Snrtees, &om the recitation <^ Anne 
Douglas, an old woman, who weeded in his garden. 
It is imperfect, and the words within brackets were 
inserted by my correspondent, to supply such 
stanzas as the chauntress's memory left defective. 
The hero of the ditty, if the reciter be correct, was 
shot to death by nine brothers, whose sister he had 
seduced, but was afterwards buried at her request, 
near the usual place of meeting, which may account 
for his being laid not in boly ground, but beside 
the bam. The name of Barthnun, or Bertram, 
would argue a Northumbrian origin, and there ia, 
or was, a Headless Cross, among many so named 
near Elsdon in Northumberland. But the mention 
of the Nine-Stane Bum, and Nine-Stane Rig, seems 
to refer to those places in the vicini^ of Hermitage 
Castle,* which is countenanced by the mentioning 
our Lady's ChapeL Perhaps the hero may have 
been an Englishman, and the lady a native of 
Scotland, which renders the catastrophe even more 
probable. The style of the ballad is rstherScotUah 
than Northumbrian. They certainly did bury in 
former days near the Nine-Stane Bum; for the 
Editor remembers finding a small monumental 
cross, with initials, lying among the heather. It 
was BO small, that, with the assistance of another 
gentleman, be easily placed it upright. 

1 Sm the B»ll*d of 'Lord Sonli*,' in vol ir. 



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BARTHRAM'S DIRGE 148 

[Regarding this clever forgery, Taylor {lAfe of 
SirUet, p. 43) sapplies the following note by the 
Rev. Junes Raine ; * I, one evening, in looking 
through Scotf a Mvutretty, wrote opposite to this 
dirge, " AtU Bob. mU Diab." Surtees called shortly 
after, and pouncing upon the remark, justified me, 
by his conversation on the subject, in adding to niy 
note "Ita, tette ttijuo." '] 



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BARTHRAM'S DIRGE 



They shot him dead at the Nine-Stone Rig, 

Beside the Headless Cross, 
And they left him lying in his blood, 

Upon the moor and moss. 



They made a bier of the broken bough. 
The sauch and the aspin gray, 

And they bore him to the Lady Chapel, 
And waked him there all day. 



A lady came to that lonely hover. 
And threw her robes aside, 

She tore her ling [long] yellow hair, 
And knelt at Barthram^s side. 



She bathM him in the Lady- Well 
His wounds bo deep and sair, 

And she plaited a garland for his breast, 
And a garland for his hair. 



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BARTHRAM'S DIRGE 



They rowed him id a lily-sheet, 

And bare him to his earth, 
[And the Gray Friars sung the dead maD^s 
mass. 

As they passed the Chapel Garth.] 



They buried him at [the mirk] midnight, 
[When the dew fell cold and stiU, 

When the aapin gray forgot to play, 
And the mist clung to the hill.] 



Hiey dug his grave but a bare foot deep. 
By the edge of the Ninestone Burn, 

And they covered him [o'er with the heather- 
flower], 
The moss and the [Lady] fern. 



A Gray Friar staid upon the grave, 

And sang till the morning tide. 
And a friar shall sing for Bartram^s soul. 

While the Headless Cross shall bide.> 

' ISl. Snrtoea oburrea, on thii puuge, that, in the ntnrn 
liutd« b; the oammiMJonen, on the dioolatjon of Nemninitar 
Abbe;, them Is an iMm of ■ Channterj, for one prieit to ifng 
dulj, ad ervetm lapideata. Piobkblj man; of these otoim* b«d 
the like eipUtor; Mlcmnitisa f oi pcnoui ilaln there. 

VOL. II. K 



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ARCHIE OF CATIELD 

It may perbaps be thought, that, from the near 
reaeniblance which this ballad bears to 'Kinmont 
Willie,' and ' Jock o' the Side,' the Editor might have 
dispenEcd with inserting it in this collection. But, 
although the incidents in these three ballads are 
almost the same, yet there is considerable variety 
in the language ; and each contains minute particu- 
lars, highly characteristic of Border manners, which 
it is the object of this publication to illustrate. 
Ca'field, or Calfield, is a place in Wauchopdale, 
belonging of old to the Armstrongs. In the 
account betwixt the English and Scottish Marches, 
Jock and Geordie of Ca'field, there called Calfhill, 
are repeatedly marked as delinquents. — Hittory 
of Wetlmorelaitd and Cumberland, vol. i. Introduction, 
p. 33. ' MeUled John Hall.fnmi the laigk Tivioldale.' 
is perhaps John Hall of Newbiggiug, mentioned in 
the list of Border clans, as one of the chief men of 
name residing on the Middle Marches in 1597. 
The Editor has l>een enabled to add several stanzas 
to this ballad, since publication of the first edition. 
They were .obtained from recitation ; and, as they 
contrast the brutal indifTcrence of the elder brother 
with the zeal and spirit of his associates, they add 
considerably to the dramatic effect of the whole. 

[The version in the first edition (180f) was taken 
from the Glenriddell ms. That 'from recital' was 
obtained from Leyden. It is curious that, though 
fragmentaiy, its literary form is superior to that 



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ARCHIE OF CATIELD 147 

of the Gleariddell us., notwittutanding thftt the 
Utter ia quite up to the high average Glenriddell 
standard ; and it ia scarce!]' possible therefore that 
Leydea sent the fragtnente to Scott exactly as he 
got them, if he got them from a peasant. Scott's 
venton is an artistic blend of the two, with emen- 
dations of his own, the result being an admir- 
ably compact and vivid narrative — greatly superior, 
we may be certain, to the original one. Another 
version sent to Percy in 1780 (Child's Balladt, iii. 
487-9) subetantialty agrees both with the Leyden and 
Glenriddell versions as regards the main facts, but 
it is at once tamer and more verbose, and doubtless 
more corrupt. Still more corrupt, or rather vile, 
are the Buchan- Motherwell versions, which also 
introdnce stanzas from 'Jock o' the Side.' There 
is no record corroborating the ballad narrative 
except that Archie Armstrong, called Sym's Archie 
of Cowfield , appears in the list of fugitives from the 
Court held in Hawick on 26th August l605 (lUg. 
of the Prim/ Comcil, vii. 725). As John of Calffield 
is mentioned about the same time, it is probable 
that Calffield and Cowfield were different places. 
Nothing is known of any Archie of Calffield or 
Calfhill] 



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ARCHIE OF CA'FIELD 



As I was a-walkiiig mine alone, 
It was by th« dawning of the day, 

I heard twa brithers make their mane, 
And I listened weel to what * they did say. 

u 
The youngest to the eldest said, 

' Blythe and merrie how can we be ? * 
There were three brithren of us bom. 

And ane of us it condemned to die.' 



'An' ye wad be merrie, an' ye wad be sad. 
What the better wad billy Archie be? 

Unless I had thirty men to mysell, 
And a' to ride in my cumpanie. 

IV 

Ten to bald the horses' heads. 
And other ten the watch to be. 

And ten to break up the strong prison. 

Where billy * Archie he does lie.' 

■ ['wbkt' without the 'to,'— O., from whinh the (taim ii 
taken.] ■ [Thii line it ttom L. Tha other linea are trani 
0., where, however, 1. 1 teadi 'The eldeat to the joungeat,' etc] 
' [BtanzM ill. and iv. are from L., with alight emendatioiu. In 
itkiua IT. 1. S, Boott lubatituted 'the watob to be 'for 'to walk 
alee.'] * Biliy, brother. 



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ARCHIE OF CA'FIELD 



Then up aod spak him mettled John Hall 
(The luv of Teviotdale aye was he), 

' An I had eleven men to mysell, 
It ^s aye the twalt man I wad be/ 



Then up bespak him coarse Ca^field 
(I wot and little gude worth was he), 

'Thirty men is few anew, 
And a' to ride in our cumpanie.* 



There was horsing, horsing in haste. 
And there was marching on the lee ; 

Until they cam to Mumywhate, 
And they lighted there right speedilie. 



* A smith ! a smith ! ' Dickie he cries, 
' A smith, a smith, right speedilie, 

To turn back the caukers of our horses^ 
shoon! 
For it 's unkensome * we wad be," 

' [StaiuM V. And vL kre from L., uid qnita differ from thoaa 
in G., whiah hw nothing »bout ' oouw Ok'fleld.'] * [Thli 
duuk ii froni O., with illght enunditioni.] ' [Tlui ibum ii 
kbofrom O., with 'ihoon' for 'feet' ia L 3, tad 'i 
nd'foi 'forwmidvevoiid' in 1. 4. Then ii & ilmilu' it 
'Jocko' the Bide.'] * C7nien»oin«,«uikuawii. 



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I BORDER MINSTRELSY 

' There lives a smith on the water-side, 
Will shoe my little black mare for me ; 

And I Ve « crown in my pocket, 
And eveiy groat of it I wad gie/ 



*Tbe night is mirk, and it^s veiy mirk, 
And by candle-light I canna weel see ; 

Tlie night is mirk, and it's very pit mirk, 
And there will never a nail ca' right for 



' Shame fa* you and your trade baith, 

Canna beet' a gude fellow by your 
mystery ! * 

But leeze me on thee, my little black mare. 
Thou *B worth thy weight in gold to me,' 



There was horsing, horsing in haste, 
And there was marching upon the lee ; 

Until they cam to Dumfries port. 
And they lighted there right speedilie. 

1 frhU (tanu U compOHd, with emsndBtlou, of tm frtig- 
meatvyonednL.] * [Stkumi i.-ii. *re from L., with Blight 
cmeudktlona.) * Btet, kbet, aid. * Xjiiterg. tnde. 

See ShakeipeaTe. * [Tbl> ituua ii a repetitioo, for poetical 
eSeot, of (tana tIL, Dumfriei port beinc aubetltatad for 
'HniraTvhate.' It u from O., with variationi.] 



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ARCHIE OF CATIELD 151 

zni' 
* Tliere 's five of us will hold the horse, 

And other five will watchmen be : 
But wha^B the man, amang ye a.\ 

Will goe to the Tolbooth door wi' me P' 



O up then spak him mettled John Hall 
(FVae the laigb Tiviotdale was he), 

* If it should cost mj life this very night, 
I ^11 gae to the Tolbooth door wf thee." 



* Be of gude cheir, now, Archie, lad ! 

Be of gude cheir, now, deir billy ! 
Work thou within, and we without. 

And the mom thou V dine at Ca'field wi' 



O Jockie Hall stepped to the door, 
And he bended low back ' his knee ; 

And he made the bolts, the door * hang on, 
Loup frae the wa^' right wantonlie. 



I [StMUM lUL'X*. M 


« from O., with (light 


\TUa ttuu* ii bcm 




Uck opoiu'-Q.] * 


[■Uk»t tlM door.'-G.] 


he wft'.'— G.] 





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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



He took the prisoner on his back, 

And down the Tolbooth stair cam he ; 

The black ' mare stood read; at the door, 
I wot a foot ne'er stirr^ she. 



Tliey laid the links out ower her neck, 
And that was her gold twist to be ; * 

And they cam down thro' Dumfries touD, 
And wow but they cam speedilie. 



The live-lang night these twelve men rade, 
And aye till they were right wearie, 

Until they cam to the Murraywhate, 
And they lighted there right speedilie. 



' A smith ! a smith ! ' then Dickie he cries ; 

' A smith, a smith, right speedilie, 
To file the irons frae my dear brither ! 

For forward, forward ' we wad be.' 



1 prhiirtBiusUoatlipoaiided of wleotloiu from twoQ, atuma.] 
* ['g^y-' — "•] ' l^^nt G., with emendatioiu.] * The 
Oeld Twill meiuM the aaail gilded ch^ni dnwn unoa the 
eheit of a vmi-hone, •■ > put of hi> oapuiBon. * [The flnt 
ooaplst a from L.] ' [Tbi> atuizk ii from O., with slight 
amendktioiu.] ' [* For it ji fotwMd.'— G.] 



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ARCHIE OF CATIELD 



They hsdns 61ed a ahackle of iron, 
A shackle of iron but barely thrie, 

When out and spak young Simon brave, 
' dinna ye gee what I do see P 



'Lo! yonder comes Lieutenant Gordon, 
Wi' a hundred men in his cumpanie; 

This night will be our lyke-wake night, 
The mom the day we a* maun die/ 



there was mounting, mounting' in haste. 
And there was marching upon the lee ; 

Until they cam to Annan water, 
And it was flowing like the sea. 



' My mare is young and very skeigh,* 
And in o' the well ' she will drown me ; 

But ye 11 take mine, and I '11 take thine, 
And sune through the water we sail be.' 

' [FtDDi O., with emendation*.] * [The fliK oonpleC ii 

(com Q., kud ths leanid fron L., whioh, hoverer, fn L 4 hu 
'like ■■ monj dogi well die.'] ■ ['mooutlng' [■ Soott'i for 
' baling ' ; the nnulnder, with the exception at ' wUai ' tor 
'iide,'iifroi)i Q.] * Skeiffh, ihj. [The exprenion i* Soott'i 
lot ' jomig.' Hiii and the two following Kuuaa tie tiom Ij.] 
• Weil, eddy. 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



Then up and spak him, coarse Ca'field 
(I wot and little gude worth was heX 

We had better lose ane than lose a' the lave; 
Well lose the prisoner, we'll gae free.' 



* Shame fa' you and your lands baith ! 

Wad ye e'en ' your lands to your born billy ? 
But hey ! bear up, my bonnie black mare. 

And yet thro' the water we sail be.' 



Now they did swim that wan water. 
And wow but they swam bonnilie ; 

Until they cam to the other side. 

And they wrang their cloathes right drunkily. 



' Come thro', come thro', lieutenant Gordon ! 

Come thro' and drink some wine wi* me ! 
For there is an ale-house here hard by. 

And it shall not cost thee ae penny.* 



> fen, wen, pat iato oompuiioii. * [Thii and the Taaftining 
itaau ua almiMt Tstball^ from O., •ome ituuu being, how- 
•Kt, omitted.] 



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AHCHIE OF CATIELD 



* Throw me my irons,' quo^ Lieutenant Gordon ; 

' I wot they cost me dear eneugh.' 

* The shame a ma,'' quo' mettled John Ha',* 

' They 11 be gude shackles to my p!eugh.' 

XXX 

* Come thro*, come thro', Lieutenant Gordon ! 

Come thro' and drink some wine wi* me ! 
Yestreen I was your prisoner, 
But now this morning am X free/ 

1 {'OriMJokteHa'.'— a,] 



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ARMSTRONG'S GOODNIGHT 

Thb following verses are said to have been com- 
posed by one of the Annstrangs executed for the 
murder of Sir John Carmichael of Edrom, Warden 
of the Middle Marches (see Notes to the ' Raid of 
the Reidswfre,' onie, p. iQ). The tune is popular in 
Scotland ; but whether these are the original words, 
will admit of a doubt. 

[This fragment was first published in Herd's 
ScoUith Songi (1776), ii. £25, where it has no title. 
It was reprinted, set to the tune of the ' Laat Good 
Night/ in Johnson's Scolt Mtuical Miuettnt, toL ii. 
(1768); and Stenhouse in his notes to the Miatupt 
states that it is ' said to be by Thomas Armstrong ' ; 
but equally with Scott, he neglects to give his 
authority for this information. Wboever their 
author may have been, the venes are clearly 
beyond the art of any of the reiver Armstrongs ; 
even had there been any reason to suppose that the 
friends, as veil as the foes, of Thomas — or any 
other reiver — Armstrong, wished that ' he was 
away,' ie. executed. The words seem rather to 
have a Jacobite application, and may even have 
been suj^sted by the parting of Prince Charlie 
from his Highland protectors. In any case, th^ 
have a veiy close connection with a broadside in 
the Roxburghe Collection, c 1750 (Boxburghe 
Balladt, ed. Ebsworth, viii. SIS), which looks like a 
veiled Jacobite song. It is entitled ' Good Night, 
and God be with You all ; or the Neighbour's Fare- 



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ABMSTRONG'S GOODNIGHT 157 

well to his Friends.' It consuts of six atanxw, and 
here «re the first two : — 

'Now come is my departing time 
And here I ma^ no long«r itaf : 
There is no kind comrade of mine 

But will deaire I were away. 
And if that time will me permit, 

Which from four companj doth call. 
And me inforceth for to flit. 

Good night, and God be with ^ou all. 

' For here I graot aome time I apent 

In loving kind good company ; 
For all oflencea I repent. 

And wiaheth now forgiven to be ; 
What I have done (or want of wit 

To memory I 'U not recall ; 
I hope you are my frienda as yet 

Good night, and God he with you all.' 

This ballad was probably, however, modelled on 
an older ditty. It is, perhaps, worth noting that 
the 'Banishment of Poverty,' of the seventeenth 
century, is written to the tune of 'The L^st Good- 
night' 

Buchan published as the 'original ArmBtrong'i 
Goodnight ' an absurdly corrupt variation of the 
Roxburghe version beginning : — 

' Now ia my departing time. 

And I am gsen to leave you a' ; 
There is nae a rival in the town 
But what would wish I were awa'.'] 



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ARMSTRONG'S GOODNIGHT 



This night ^ is my departing night, 
Fore here nae langer must ' I stay ; 

There 's neither friend nor ' foe o" mine, 
But wishes me * away. 



What I have done thro'' " lack of wit, 

I never, never can recall ; 
I hope ye 're a my friends as yet ; 

Goodnight and joy be with ' you all ! 



ifOttU-'-Herd.] «| 


[•■n.un.'-Hard.] 


' ['not. Wend 


«.'-HBnl.] M'th»tl'. 


r«re.'-Herd.] • 


['h« done for.'] 


[•wf-HMi] 







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THE FRAY OF SUPORT 

AN ANCIENT BORDER 6ATHERIN0 80NQ 

FBOH T&ADITION 

Of all the Border ditties, which have fallen into the 
Editor's hands, this is hy far the most uncouth and 
Bava^. It is nsuallf channted in ■ sort of wild 
Tccitatire, except the barden, which swells into 
a long and varied howl, not unlike to a view hollo'. 
The words, and the veiy great irregularity of the 
stanza (if it deserves the name), sufficientl)r point 
out its intention and origin. An English woman, 
residing in Suport,^ near the foot of the Kersbope, 
having been plundered in the night b; a band of 
the Scottish moss-troopers, is supposed to convoke 
her servants and Mends for the pursait, or Hot 
Trod I upbraiding them, at the same time, in homely 
phrase, for their negligence and security. The Hot 
Trod was followed by the persons who had lost 
goods, with bloodhounds and horns, to raise the 
country to help. They also used to cany a burning 
wisp of straw at a spear head, and to raise a cry, 
similar to the Indian war-whoop. It appears, from 
articles made by the Wardens of the English 
Marches, September 12th, in 6th of Edward vi., that 
all, on this cry being raised, were obliged to follow 
the fray, or chase, under pain of death. With 



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160 BORDER MINSTREI5Y 

these explanations, the general purport of the 
ballad may be easily discovered, though particular 
passages have become inexplicable, probably 
through corruptions introduced by reciters. The 
present text is collected Irom four copies, which 
differed widely from each other. [One of the 
copies was that in the Glenriddell us. It differs 
considerably in phraseology from that in the 
Miiuireln/, and lacks several stanza** For list of 
the chief inhabitants of 'Souport' in 1583, see 
Border Papers, i. pp. 124-5.] 



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THE FRAY OF SUPORT 



Sleef'by Sim of the Lamb-hill, 

Aod sDoriflg Jock of Suport-mill, 

Ye are baith right het and fou ;— 

But my wae wakens na jou. 

Last night I saw a soiry sight — 

Nought left me, o' four'and-twenty gude ousen 

and kye, 
My weel-ridden gelding, and a. white quey, 
But a toom byre ^ and a wide, 
And the twelve nogs * on ilka side. 

Fy, lads t shout a* a' a' a^ &\ 

My gear ''a a^ gane. 



Weel may ye k^i. 

Last night I was right scarce o^ men : 

But Toppet Hob o' the Mains had guesten'd in 

my house by chance ; 
I set him to wear the fore-door wi' the speir, 

while I kept the back door wi' the lance 4 



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162 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

But they hae run him thro^ the thick o' the thie, 

and broke hia knee-pan, 
And the mergh ^ o' his shin-bane has ma down 

on his spur-leather whang : 
He's lame while he lives, and where'er he may 

g«>g- 

Fy, lads ! about a' a' a' a' a\ 
My gear''5 a' gane. 



But Peenye, my gude son, is out at the Hagbut- 

head, 
His een glittering for anger like a fieiy gleed ; * 
Crying — ' Mak sure the nooks 
Of MakyVmuir crooks ; 
For the wily Scot takes by nooks, hooks, and 

crooks. 
Gin we meet a' together in a head the mom, 
We'll be merry men/ 

Fy, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' b,\ 
My gear > a' gane. 



There 's doughty Cuddy in the Heugh-head, 
Thou was aye gude at a need : 
With thy brock-skin bag at thy belt, 
Aye ready to mak a puir man help. 
■ JfinvA, nuuToiT. * Ftern glted, a bfti ot Iron tfiomng on 



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THE FRAY OF SUPOHT 

Thou maun awa^ out to the Cauf-craigs, 
(Where anes ye lost your ain twa naigsX 
And there toom thy brock-skin bag. 

Fy, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' a', 

My gear 's a' ta'en. 



Doughty Ban o^ the Houlet Hirst, 

Thou was aye gude at a birst : 

Gude wi' a bow, and better wi' a speir, 

The bauldest March-man that e'er followed gear ; 

Come thou here. 

Fy, lada '. shout a' a' a' a' a', 

My gear''s a'' gane. 



Rise, ye carle coopers, frae making o' kirns and 

tubs. 
In the Nicol forest woods. 
Your craft hasna left the value of an oak rod, 
But if you had had ony fear o' God, 
Last ni^t ye hadna slept sae sound, 
And let my gear be a' ta'en. 

Fy, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' a'. 

My gear 's a' ta'en. 



Ah ! lads, we '11 fang them a' in a net ! 
For I hae a' the fords o' IJddel set ; 



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164 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The Diinkin, and the Door^Ioup, 

The Willie-ford, and the Water-Slack, 

The Black-rack and the Trout-dub of Liddel ; 

There stands John Forster wi^ five men at hia 

back, . 
Wr buft coat and cap of steil : 
Boo ! ca* at them e'en, Jock ; 
That ford 's sicker,^ I wat weil. 

Fj, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' a', 

My gear''s a' ta'en. 



Hoo ! hoo ! gar raise the Reid Souter, and 

Ringan''B Wat, 
Wi' a broad elshin ' and a wicker ; 
I wat weil they '11 mak a ford sicker. 
Sae, whether they be Elliots or Arnistrangs, 
Or rough-riding Scotts, or rude Johnstones, 
Or whether they be frae the Tarras or Ewsdale, 
They maun turn and fight, or try the deeps o' 
Liddel. 

ly, lads ! shout a' a' a^ a'' a', 

My gear 's a' ta'en. 



< Ah ! but they will play ye another jigg, 
For they will out at the big rig, 
And thro' at Fargy Grame's gap.' 
But I hae another wile for that : 



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THE FRAY OF SUPORT Ifi 

For I hae little Will, and stalwart Wat, 

And long Aicky, in the Souter moor, 

Wi' hiB sleuth-dog sits in his watch right sure ; 

Should tlie dog gie a bark, 

He^l be out in bis sark,' 

And die or won, 

Fy, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' a', 

My gear 's a' ta^en. 



Ha ! boys — I see a party appearing — wha's yon ! 
Methinks it's the Captain of Bewcastle, and 

Jephtha^s John, 
Coming down by the foul steps of Catlowdie's 

loan: 
Iliey'U make a' sicker, come which way they 
wiU. 

Ha, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' a', 
My gear 's a' taVn. 



Captain Musgrave, and a* his band, 
Are coming down by the Siller-strand, 
And the rouckle toun-bell o* Carlisle is rung: 
My gear was a' weel won, 

And before it ''a carried o'er the Border, raoay a 
man 's gae down. 

Fy, lads ! shout a' a' a' a' a\ 
My gear's a' gane. 

1 Strk,thizt. 



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NOTES 



THE FRAY OF SUPORT 

And then toom thy broek-tkin bag. — St iv. 1. 7- 
Th« badger-akin pouch was tued for carrfiug ammu- 

In the Nieolforett aoodt. — St. vi 1. 2. 
A wood in Cumberland, in whidi Suport is aituatod. 

Forlhaea' thejbrdt o' Liddel «(.— St vii. L 2. 
Watching ford* irai a readj mode of intareepting the 
maraudera ; the namea of the mort noted fords upon the 
liddel are recited in this rwav. 

And thro' at Fargy Grame't gap. — St ix. 1. 3. 
Ferfnis Grame of Sowport, aa one of the chief men of 
that clan, became security to Lord Scroope for the fpod 
behaviour of hii friends and dependants, 8th January 
1662. — IiUrodiiclUm to Hiitory qf Weetmorekmd and Cum- 
berland, p. III. [The Fergus Grame referred to in the 
ballad waa a brother of Richud Grame of Netherby 
{Border Papen, i. 125).] 

Wx' hi* ileuth-dog nUmhU mOeh right tur«.— St. ix 1. ?• 
The aentjnela, who, bj the March lam, were planted 
upon Uie Border each night, had usubIIjt aleuth-doga, or 
bloodhounds, along with them.— See Nicolboh's Border 
havM, and Lobd Wbahtov'b iit^^u^ofiont in the 8th qf 
Edward VI. 



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THE FRAY OP SUPORT 167 

Of the Uoodhoimd we hare eaid something in the 
notei en ' Hobble Noble' ; but ve maj, in addition, refer 
to the fbllawlDK poetical dewription of the qnalltiee and 
OMS of that ■insular animal : 

'Upm tbebanki 
Of Tir««d, iIdv winding thru' the vale, the M»t 
Of mtr «nd rapine onsa, ere Brltoni knew 
The iweeta of peaoa, or Anua'i dread oommandi 
To laating leagnai the haughtj rivnli awed, 
^ere dwelt a jUlning noe ; well tmincd and lUll'd 
Id all the mftteilM of thgft, the ipoU 
^leir onlj lulstanoa, f audi and war their epoit. 
Not more expert in every frandtnl art 
The ateh felon wm of old, who by the tail 
Drew back hia lowing priie : in Tain hii wllaa. 
In rain the iheltar of the ooTering rook. 
In vain the eootj oloud and ruddy flame*, 
That iHoed timn hi* month ; for eoon he paid 
Hi* forfeit life : a debt how Jasdy dae 
To wTODg'd Alridn, and arengliiK Hearen I 

Veil'd in the shade* of night, they ford the itieMU ; 
Tlaia, prowling far and near, whata'er they lelce 
Booomee thsir prey ; nor flooki nor herd* are mit, 
Kor Italia protect the etaei, nor etrong barr'd doora 
Saonre the favonrite hone. Soon a> the mom 
Reveala hi* imyaga, with ghaitly vinge wan 
The plnndar'd owner iland*, and from hi* lip* 
A thonaud thronging onnai bniet their way. 
He call* hi* *tont alliaa, and in a line 
Hi* faithful hound he lead* ; than, with a voice 
Iliat otter* lood hii rage, attentive eheen. 
Soon the aagadoni brate, hi* curling tall 
Flonriih'd in air, low bending, pile* annmd 
Hli buy Doee, the iteaming vspoiu innS* 
Inqnldtlve, nor leave* one turf untried ; 
Till, oonHloiu of the leeent (tain*, hi* heart 
Beau qoiek, hi* niQffllng noao, hi* active t^ 
Atteat hi* joy ; then, with deep-opening month 
That makn the welkin tremble, be proclaim* 
The audadon* felon t foot by foot he mark* 
Hi* winding way, while all the liataning nrowd 
Applaud hi* reaionlDg*. O'er tlie watery ford. 
Dry Mtndy heath*, and etoiy barren hill*, 
Cer be*t«n tiaaki, with man and beaat dlitaiu'd 



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168 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Uneiriog ha pnimea ; UU, ftt the wt 
Airirad, and •eiziiig bj hli guilty thnwt 
1^ oajtlfl vile, redeenu the optiTe pre; : 
So ezqoiiitely delicate hii miim I ' 

SoMBBTILu'l Ckatt. 

M«tMnkt it't the Captain qf Beieeaitle, etc.. 
Coming down bg thtfovi ttept <tf OaUotadie't loan. 

—St I. 11. 2-3. 
Aceorjing to the late Glenriddeira Dotee on this 
ballad, the office of Captain of Bewcsitle wm held hj 
the chief of the Nizons. [See note to ttanza xi.] 

Catlovdie ia a amall village in Cumberland, near the 
junction of the Esk and liddel. ['Where the lowest 
fiwd of Liddle irster is.'— Note by Captun RiddelL] 

Captain lIutgroM, and a' kit band. — St xi. 1. 1, 
This waa probably the famona Captain Jack Muagrave, 
who had charge of the watch along the CrfBaop, or 
Kerehope, aa appears from the order of the wataihea 
appointed by Lord Wharton, when deputj-warden- 
general, in the 6th Edward vi. [The two lait versee are 
probably variations of the aame narrative. At any rata 
the office of Captain of Bewcaatle was, in the latter part 
of the aiiteenth centurj, held bj the Muagraves.] 



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LORD MAXWELLS GOODNIGHT 

NEVER BEFORE PUBUSHED [1802] 

Thib beaatifu) ballad is published from a copy in 
Gleniiddell's mm., with some slight variations ^Ynn 
tradition. It alludes to one of the most remark- 
able feuds upon the West Marches. 

A.D. 1585, John, Lord Maxwell, or, as he st3rled 
himself. Earl of Morton, having quarrelled with the 
Earl of Arran, reigning favourite of James vi., and 
fallen, of cowrse, under the displeasure of the court, 
was denounced rebel. A commission was also given 
to the Laird of Johnstone, then Warden of the 
West Marches, to pursue and apprehend the ancient 
rival and enemy of his house. Two bands of 
mercenaries, commanded by Captains Cranstoun 
and Lammie, who were sent from Edinburgh to 
support Johnstone, were attacked and cut to 
pieces at Crawford-muir, by Robert Maxwell, 
natural brother to the chieftain ; * who, following 
up bis advantage, burned Johnstone's castle of 
Lochwood, observing, with savage glee, that be 
would give Lady Johnstone light enough by which 

1 It ii dtnanOj to b« wkhad that tfaii Lunmie (who wm 
killod in the akinniHli) tnky hkTB bsen tha auna miureftnt. vho, 
in the da; ol Quean Hkry'i diitraaa, ' hea an^gne beinx of qnhyt 
taffiUa. had painted one it ja ernell morther of King Heni7, and 
Lajed down bafote her Majaatle, at qnhat time ihe preMnted ber- 
aalt aa prtuner to je lordli.' — Bikkil's Diary, June 15, 1B67. 
It would be tome latiifaotion to know that the grej hain of thli 
worthy penonage did not go down to the grare In peace. 



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170 BORDER MINSTREI5Y 

to 'set her hood.' In a suheequent conflict, John- 
stone himself was defeated, and made prisoner, aod 
ia said to have died of grief at the disgrace which 
he sustained.— <See Spottis woods and Johnstone's 
HitloritM, and Moysie'b Mentoirt, ad anman 1589. 

By one of the revolutions, common in those days, 
Maxwell was soon after restored to the King's 
favour, in his turn, and obtained the wardenry of 
the West Marches. A bond of alliance was sub- 
scribed by him, and by Sir James Johnstone, and 
for some time the two clans lived in harmony. In 
the year 1593, however, the hereditary feud was 
revived, on the following occasion: A band of 
marauders, of the clan Johnstone, drove a prey of 
cattle from the lands belonging to the Lairds 
of Crichton, Sanquhar, and Drumlanrig ; and 
defeated, with slaughter, the pursuers, who 
attempted to rescue their property. — [See the 
' Lads of Wamphray,' pod, p. 186.] The injured 
parties, being apprehensive that Maxwell would 
not cordially embrace their cause, on account of his 
late reconciliation with the Johnstones, endeavoured 
to overcome his reluctance, by offering to enter 
into bonds of manrent, and so to become his 
followers and liegemen; he, on the other hand, 
granting to them a bond of maintenance, at pro- 
tection, by which he bound himself, in usual form, 
to maintain their quarrel against all mortals, saving 
his loyalty. Thus, the most powerful and respects 
able families in Dumfriesshire became, for a time, 
the vassals of Lord Maxwell. This secret alliance 
was discovered to Sir James Johnstone by the 
Laiid of Cummertrees, one of his own clan, though 
a retainer to Maxwell. Cummertrees even con- 
trived to possess himself of the bonds of manrent. 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 171 

which be delivered to his chief. The pett^ w&r&re 
betwizt the riv»l baroiu was instantly renewed. 
Boccleach, a near relation of Johnstone, came to 
his assistance with his clan, 'the most renowned 
&eeboater« (sajs a historian), the fiercest and 
bravest warriors, among the Border tribes.' ^ With 
Buccleuch also came the Elliots, Armstrongs, and 
Gnemes. Thus reinforced, Johnstone sorprised 
and cut to pieces a party of the Maxwells, stationed 
at Lochmaben. On the other hand. Lord Maxwell, 
armed with the royal aothority, and numbering 
among his followers all the barons of Nitbadale, dis- 
played his banner as the King's lieutenant, and 
invaded Annandale at the head of SOOO men. In 
those days, however, the royal auspices aeem to 
have carried as little good fortune as effective 
strength with them. A desperate conflict, still 
renowned in tradition, took place at the Dryffe 
Sands, not &r from Lockerby, in which Johnstone, 
although inferior in numbers, partly by his own 
conduct, partly by the valour of his allies, gained a 
decisive victory. Lord Maxwell, a tsil man, and 
heavily armed, was struck from his horse in the 
flight, and cruelly slain, after the hand, which he 
stretched ont for quarter, had been severed from 
fais body. Many of his followers were slain in the 
battle, and many cruelly wounded, especially by 
slashes in the face, which wound was thence termed 
a 'Lockerby lick.' The Barons of Lag, Closebum, 
and Dmmlanrig escaped by the fleetness of their 
horses ; a circumstance alluded to in the following 
baUad. 

' Iftter aaeobu iatroemiu famotot SeabM Bvtulevehi tUente*— 
fortiumm tribuUum c( /ennttmot. — Jomnron SMoria, Ed. 
AnuteLp. ISa. 



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172 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

This fatal battle was followed by a long feud, 
attended with all the circumstances of horror 
proper to a barbarous age. JohDstoae, in his 
diffuse manner, describes it thus : ' Ab eo die ultra 
cilroque in Amuaidia et Nilkia magnit atriutqta 
regionis jaclurit certaiam. Cadet, mcendia, rapina, et 
nefaadajacinora; liberi in nuderrut gremUt Irvddali/ 
marili in conipectu cotyugum tuarum ; incentce villa ; 
lamenUtbiUt uhujue querimonias, el korribilei armontm 
Jremitua.' — Joknbtoni Hittoria, Ed. Amsteel., p. 182. 

John, Lord Maxwell, with whose Goodnight the 
reader is here presented, was son to him who fell 
at the battle of DrySe Sands, and is said to have 
early vowed the deepest revenge for his father's 
death. Such, indeed, was the fiery and untamable 
spirit of the man, that neither the threats nor 
entreaties of the King himself could make him lay 
aside his vindictive purpose ; although Johnstone, 
the object of his resentment, had not only recon- 
ciled himself to the court, but even obtained the 
wardenry of the Middle Marches, in room of Sir 
John Carmjchael, murdered by the Armstrongs. 
Lord Maxwell was therefore prohibited to approach 
the Border counties ; and having, in contempt of 
that mandate, excited new disturbances, he was 
confined in the castle of Edinburgh. From this 
fortress, however, he contrived to make his escape ; 
and, having repaired to Dumfriesshire, he sought 
an amicable interview with Johnstone, under 
pretence of a wish to accommodate their differ- 
ences. Sir Robert Maxwell, of Orchard stane 
(mentioned in the ballad, verse I), who was married 
to a sister of Sir James Johnstone, persuaded his 
brother-in-law to accede to Maxwell's proposal. 
The following relation of what foUowed is taken 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 173 

from an article in Shawfield's us., mentioned in the 
introduction to the ballad called ' Kinmont Willie.' 
' The simple treuth and cause of the treas<mable 
mnrther of umquhlle Sir James Johnatoun of Dun- 
skellie, knight, was as efter followes. To wit, John 
Lend Maxwell having dealt and useit his best 
means with some nobilemen and barcmnes within the 
cuntre)r, and likewayes with sundrie of the name 
of Maxwell, being refuised of them all to be 
partakers of so foull ane deed ; till at last be 
nnliappily persuaded one Charles Maxwell, one of 
the brether of Kirkhouse, to be with him, and 
having made him assuired to be pairtner in that 
treasonable plott; therefore, taking advantage of 
the weakness and unabilitie of umquhill Sir Robert 
Maxwell of Orchyardtoun, knight, presuming that 
he had power of the said Sir James, being brother- 
in-law to him, to bring hiro to anye pairt he 
pleased ; Maxwell pretending he had speciall busi- 
ness to doe with Sir James, hearing he was going 
frmn the court of England, (o gave out by reasoun 
he was the King's rebell for the time, for breaking 
weird out of the castle of Edinburgh, that he had 
no other houpes to obtaine the King's favour but be 
hia meanes. So upon this [pretence, the said Sir 
James was moved to meet with him at Aucbnam- 
hill, near by Arthorstane, without the house of 
Bent, upon the 6th Aprile I6O8, with one man 
onlie with him as was with the nther, tfaerselves 
two onlie and the forsaid Sir Hobert Maxwell with 
them, and their servants being a little off. The 
forsaid Charles falls out with opprobrious and 
malicious speeches to Sir James his servant, WUIiam 
Johnstoune of Gunmenlie, and before he was aware 
shott him with ane pistoU. Sir James hearing the 



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174 BORDER MINSTREI£Y 

sbott and his man's words, turning about to see 
what was past, immediatelie Maxwell shott him 
behind his back with ane pistol! chairgit with two 
p<^sonit bullets, at which shott the said Sir James 
fell from his hone. Maxwell not being content 
therewith, raid about him ane lang tyme, and 
peraued him farder, vowing to use him more cruelly 
and treacherouslie than he had done, for which it 
is known sufficiently what followed.' — ' A fact,' 
saith Spottiswoode, 'detested by all honest men, 
and the gentleman's misfortune severely lamented, 
for he was a man full of wisdom and courage.' — 
Spottiswoode, ed. 1677, pp. 467,504; Joknstoni, 
Hitlona, Ed. Amstsl., pp. 254, 28S, 449. 

Lord Maxwell, the murderer, made his escape to 
France; but, having ventured to return to Scotland, 
he was apprehended lurking in the wilds of Caith- 
ness,^ and brought to trial at Edinburgh. The 
royal authority was now much strengthened hy the 
union of the crowns, and James employed it in 
stanching the feuds of the nobility, with a firm- 
ness which was no attribute of his general character. 
But, in the best actions of that monarch, there 
seems to have been an unfortunate tincture of that 
meanness, so visible on the present occasion. Lord 
Maxwell was indicted for the murder of Johnstone ; 
but this was combined with a charge oi Jire-nudmg, 
which, according to the ancient Scottish law, if 
perpetrated by a landed man, constituted a spedea 
of treason, and inferred forfeiture. Thus the noble 
pnrpose of public justice was sullied by being 
united with that of enriching some needy favourite. 
John, Lord Maxwell, was condemned, and be- 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 175 

headed, SIrt May I61S. Sir Gideon Mumy, 
treaaurer-depute, had a great sbare of his forfeiture ; 
bat the attainder was afterwards reversed, and the 
honours and estate were conferred upon the brother 
of the deceased. — Laiko's Hittory of Scotland, voL i. 
p. 6S ; JoHNBToM Hittoria, p. 493. 

The lady, mentioned in the ballad, was sister to 
the Marquis of Hamilton, and, according to John- 
stone the historian, had little reason to regret being 
separated from her husband, whose harsh treatment 
finally occasioned her death. ^ But Johnstone 
appears not to be altogether untinctured with the 
prejudices of his clan, and is probably, in this 
instance, guilty of exaggeration ; as the active 
chare taken by the Marquis of Hamilton in favour 
of Maxwell, is a circumstance inconsistent with 
such a report 

Thus was finally ended, by a salutary example of 
severity, the 'foul debate' betwixt the Maxwells 
and Johnstones, in the course of which each fiunily 
lost two chieftains ; one dying of a broken heart, 
one in the field of battle, one by assassination, and 
one by the sword of the execntioner. 

It seems reasonable to believe that the following 
ballad must have been written before the death of 
Lord Maxwell, in 1613 ; otherwise there would have 
been some alluuon to that event It must therefore 
have been composed betwixt I6O8 and that period. 

[For details of the proceedings frequently taken 
against Maxwell to prevent him assailing Johnstone 
and others, see Reg. of the Prvy Covncil of Scotland, 
vols. vi. and vii. patnm. During his absence, after 
his escape from Edinburgh Castle, Maxwell was 

> [81m diad in 160^ irhSa & piooeu of dimrse mts pending 
i^sibitber.] 



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176 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

found gui% by the Pu-Uuncnt of I609, (1) of fire- 
raising and the slaughter of two JohnBtones in 
160s : (8) of treasonable escape from the castle of 
Edinburgh in 1607 ; and (S) of the murder of the 
Laird of Johnstone 'under trust' in April I6O8. 
(See Ada Pari. Scot., iv. 414^ ; Reg. Prieg Council oj 
Scotland, \-iii. 805-9.) He returned to Scotland in 
March 161s, and being apprehended in Caithness, 
was sent to prison, but no further proceedings were 
taken against him until JohnstonCj on £lst April, 
sent in a petition for his execution (ibid., x. 29)- 
This, according to Calderwood, was secured by 
Johnstone's influence with Robert Ker, Earl of 
Somerset (Hitlory, vii. 177). He left no heus, bat 
the titles and estates were on ISth October I6I8 
restored to his brother Robert, Lord Maxwell 

A version sent by G. Paton, Edinburgh, to Percy 
in 1778 (Child's Balladt, iv. 36-7) is a much ruder 
production than that in the Gleariddell us., and 
suggests that the latter version, if obtained from 
tradition, has undergone much emendation. The 
emendations seem also to have been the work of an 
expert, and in some lines resemble the handiwork 
of Bums.] 

[Lord Byron refers to this ballad as having sug- 
gested the first canto of Childe Harold.— 5. G. L] 



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LORD MAXWELL'S 
GOODNIGHT 



' Adi£ii, madame, my mother dear, 

But and my sisters three ! ^ 
Adieu, fair Hobert of Orchardstaoe ! 

My heart is wae for thee.' 
Adieu, the lily and the rose, 

The primrose fair' to see : 
Adieu, my ladye, aud only joy ! 

For I may not stay with thee. 



'Though I hae shun the Lord* Johnstone, 

What care I for their feid P 
My noble mind their wrath disdains : ^ 

He was my father^s deid. 
Both night and day I laboured oft 

Of him avenged ' to be ; 
But now We got what lang I sought, 

And I may not stay with thee. 

1 ['two.'— G.) *I'For thM mj h*»rt ia woe.' — G.] 

*i:'iweet.'-0.] «['li*«kUledtlia]«ird.'-G.] • ['dii 

•tiH inoUne.*— G.] • ['rtTenged.'— G., And to tbronghoat.] 

VOL. II. M 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



* Adieu \ Drumlanrig, false wert aye, 

And Closebum in a band ! 
The Laird of Lag, frae my father that fled, 

When the Johnston struck aff his hand. 
They were three brethren in a band — 

Joy may they never see ! 
Their treacherous art, and cowardly heart. 

Has twin'd ray love and me.' 



' Adieu ! Dumftdea, my proper place, 

But and Carlaverock fair ! 
Adieu ! my * castle of the Thrieve, 

Wi'* a' my buildings there : 
Adieu ! LcKhmaben's gates sae fair. 

The Langholm-bolm,* where birks there be ; 
Adieu ! my ladye, and only joy, 

For, trust me, I may not stay wi* thee. 



' Adieu ! fair Eskdale up and down, 
Where my puir friends do dwell ; 

The bangisters' will ding them down. 
And will them sair compell. 

1 [Thii UM oonplet ii Soott'i ; G. i«pMM the lut oonplat of 
■tuuk iiL] * ['the.'— Q.] * ['And.'— O.] * ['ibmnk' 
for ' ibBv ' (wood). — O.] * BamgitUn, the preTkilhig pai^. 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 179 

But I '11 avenge their feid mysell. 

When I come o'er the sea ; 
Adieu ! my ladye, and only joy, 

For I may not stay wi* thee.' 
vi» 
' Lord of the land ! ' — that ladye said, 

' wad ye go wi' me, 
Unto my brother's stately tower. 

Where safest ye may be ! 
There Hamiltons and Douglas baith, 

Shall rise to succour thee.' 
* Thanks for thy kindness, fair my dame, 

But I may not stay wi' thee.' 
vu 
Then h^ tuik aff a gay' gold ring, 

lliereat hang signets three ; 
*Hae, take thee that, mine ain dear thing. 

And still hae mind o' me ; 
But, if thou take another lord, 

Ere I come ower the sea — 
His life is but a three days' lease, 

Tho' I may not stay wi' thee,'' 

I [Thii Kum U mainlj Soott'i own. O. i««di:— 
' Lord of ths Iftnd, vtU jon go then 

Unto mj fatbar'a piMa T 
And mlk Into tbelr nidini green, 

And I will Ton embneaT 
Ten thoiuuid tinei I '11 kiM four faoe, 

for th; UndneM, 
Aitkywith thee.' 
n 6. ths lut OOQ]^ of itwu* ' 
' for 'take' in L 5.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



The wind was fair, the ship was clear,* 

That good lord went away ; 
And most part of his friends were there, 

To give him a fair convey. 
They drank the * wine, they didna spair. 

Even in that' gude lord's eight — 
Sae now he *s * o'er the floods sae gray. 

And Lord Maxwell has ta'en his Good- 
night. 

[•alo«.*-0.) • ['U»lr.'— G.] »['thB.'-0.] * ['Now 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 

Adieu, /air Bobtrt qf Otvhardttane .'—Si. i. 1. 3. 
[Hii brother Robert, who succeeded him bs Lord 
MuweU.] 

Adiau! Drvjttlanrig, ete.St. iii. L 1. 
The reader will perceive, from the Introdvetion, whet 
coimeetioii the bood, anbecribed by DougUs of Druinlaa- 
rig, Kirkpfttrick of CloMbnm, and GriersoD of h»gg, 
had with the death of Lord Maxwell's &ther. For the 
aatia&ctlon of those who maf be curionH aa to the form 
of these bonds, I have transcribed a letter of manrent,* 
from a mb. collection of upwards of twenty deeds of that 
nature, copied &om the originala by the late John Syme, 
Esq., Writer to the Signet ; for the oee of which, with 
many other bvonrs of a similar nature, 1 am indebted to 
Dr. Robert Anderson of Edinburgh. The bond is 
granted by Thomas Ktrkpatrick of Closebum, to Robert, 
Lord Maxwell, fother of him who was alain at the battle 
of the Dryffe Sands. 

BOND OF MANRENT. 

' Be it kend Ull all men Im thir present lettree, me 

1 Tha iKoper ipcUing <■ vumred. Thna, In tha romanoe of 
norioe and ffiouncA^Iaw (Abbotifcad Clab, 1849] :— 
'HewUfaUetothifot, 
And bicom thi man ait ba mot ; 
Hla manrtd thoa Hoalt afonga^ 
And the trewthe ot hii hoode.' 



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182 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Tliomu Kirkpfttrik of ClMbum, to be bondin and obliet, 
uid be tbe t«nor heirof, bindis and oblissii me, be the 
faitb uid treuth of my body, in manrent and lervice to 
ane nobil and mf cbty lord, Robert Lord Maxwell, indur- 
ing all the dayii of my lyfe ; and byndis and obliaus me, 
ae said it, to be leill and trew man and lervand to the 
said Robert Lord Maxwell, my master, and lall nowtbir 
heir nor ae hia skaith, but sail lat the aamyn at my nter 
power, ao warn him theiof. And I sail conceill it that 
the said lord Khawii to me, and aall git him agane the 
beat leill and trew CDanaale that I can, quhen be only 
askis at me ; and that I sail ryde with taj kin, freyndia, 
Bervandis, and allies, that wil do for me, or to gaag with 
the said lord ; and do to him nfauld, trew, and thankful 
service, and take nfauld playne part with the aaid lord, 
my maieter, in all and aindry hie actionie, canais, 
querrelliB, leful and honeet, movit, or to be movit be him, 
or aganie him, baith in peace and weir, contrair or aganis 
all thae that leiffee or do may (my allegeanoe to owr 
soveran ladye the quenis (race, her tntor and governor, 
allanerly except). And thir my lettrea of manrent, for 
all the dayit (^ my life foresaid to indure, all dimimuta- 
tions, fraud, or gyle, aeeludit and away put. In witncaa, 
etc' The deed is signed at Edinburgh, 3rd February 
1M2. [See Sot Wiuiui Fiuser's Book qf OatHacentk, 
ii. 470-7.] 

In the collection, from which this eirtraet it made, 
there are banda of a similar nature grantad to Lord 
Maxwell, by Douglas of Drumlanrig, ancestor of the 
Duke of Queensberry ; by Criehton Lord Sanquhar, 
ancestor of the Earls of Dumfries, and many of bis 
kindred ; by Stuart of Castlemilk ; by Stuart of Garlies, 
ancestor of the Earls of Galloway; by Murray of Cock< 
pool, ancestor of the Murrays, Lords Annandale; by 
Grierwtn of Ijigg, Gordon of Lochmaben, and many 
other of the moat ancient and respectable barons In the 
sontb-weA of Scotland, binding themselves, in the most 
submlsaire terms, to become the liegemen and the vassals 
of the house of Maxwell ; a circumstance which must 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 18S 

big)il7 excite trar idea of tlie power of tiiat Gunilj'. Ma^, 
even the rival cbieftain, Johnstone of JohnBtone, leeins 
at one time to have come under k dmilar obligation to 
Maxwell, by a bond, dated 11th Febnwry 152B, in which 
reference ia made to the counter-obligation of the 
patron, in thew wordi : ' FoiasmeiUe aa the said lord 
hai oblict him to supple, maintene, and defend me, in 
the periabill brouking and jofiing of all mj landii, 
rentie, etc., and to take mj nfald, leill and trew part, in 
all Taj good actionis, cauai*, and quarlei, leiAil and 
htMiert, Bganee all deedlie, hie alledgeance to our 
•overaigne lord the king allanerly excepted, ae at mair 
length ia contiuned in his lettrea of maintenaiice maid 
to me thernpon ; therefore, etc.,' he proeeedi to bind 
himaelf aa liegeman to the Maxwell. 

I cannot dismisa the subject without obearving, that, 
in the dangerous times of Queen Maiy, when moat of 
tbeee bonds are dated, many barons, ior the sake of 
wiMinfMwiiig utunimity and good order, may have chosen 
to enrol themselvea among the clients of Lord Maxwell, 
then Warden of the Border, A^>m which, at a less 
turbulent period, penonal conuderations would have 
deterred them. [Sir James Douglas of Dmmlanrig was 
&ther of the first Earl of Queensbeny. Grierson was hi* 
son-in-law (Bonier Paperi, L p. 72). They both deserted 
Lord Maxwell at Dryffe Sands. Johnstone's Ma History 
says : ' Never ane of his own folkes remained with him 
(only twenty of hie own household), but all fled, thoogh 
the number of five of the wld lord's company were slain, 
and hie head and right arm were taken with them to 
Lockwood, and affixed to the wall thereof. The bruit ran 
tliat the said I<ord Maxwell was treacherously deserted 
by his own company.' — Quoted in Cautataa'a DometUe 
Annali, p. 262 ; and in Fkasbr's Caerlawroek, L 292.] 

Adieu I my cotlU ^the rArinw.— St. iv. 1. 3. 
IlkiB fortress is situated in the stewartry of Kirkcud- 
bright, upon an island several acres in extent, formed by 
the river Dee. The walls are very thick and strong, and 



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184 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

bmr the mftrks of groit sntiqiiitf . It wasaroyal castle; 
but the keeping of it, Bgreeable to the feudal practice, 
was granted by charter, or eometiiite* by a more tem- 
porary and precariooa right, to different powerftil 
£uiiiliei, together with lands for their good aervice in 
maintaining and defending the place. This office of 
heritable keeper remained with the Nithidale &mily 
(chief of the Maxwells) till their forfeiture, 1710. The 
garrison seems to have been victnalled upon Eendal 
principles ; for each parish in the stewartry was 
burdened with the yearly payment of a kntner mart 
cow, i.e. a cow fit for being killed and salted at 
Martinmas, for winter provisions. The right of lerying 
these cattle was retaineid by the Nithsdale fomily, when 
they sold the castle and estate in 1704, and they did not 
cease to exercise it till their attainder. — Fountainkux's 
Deeitumt, voL i. p. 688. 

This same cattle of the IlirieTe was, a.d. 1451-2, the 
scene of an outrageous and cruel insult upon the royal 
authority. The fortress was then held by William vtn. 
Earl of Douglas, who, in £tet, possessed a more un- 
limited authority orer the southern districts of Scotland, 
than the reigning monarch. The Earl had, on some pre- 
tence, seixed and imprisoned a baron, called Maclellan, 
tutor of Bombie, whom he threatened to bring to trial, 
by his paver of hereditary jurisdiction. The uncle of 
this gentleman^ Sir Patrick Gray of Foulis, who com- 
manded the body-guard of James ti., obtained from that 
prince a warrant, requiring from Earl Douglas the body 
of the prisoner. When Gray appeared, the Earl 
instantly suspected his errand. ' You have not dined,' 
said he, without suffering him to open his commiarion : 
'it is ill talking between a full man and a fasting.' 
While Gray wag at meat, the unfortuhate prisoner was, 
by Douglas's command, led forth to the courtyard and 
beheaded. When the repast was finished, the King's 
letter was presented and opened. 'Sir Patrick,' says 
Douglas, leading Gray to the court, 'right glad had I 
been to honour the King's messenger ; but you have 



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LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT 186 

eoine too Ut«. Yonder lie* your aistor'a md, without 
tiie hemd: fan are welcome to liu dead body.' Gny, 
haTing mooiited hit horse, tamed to the Eart, end ex- 
premed hia wnth in a deMlIy oatb, that he would 
requite the Injury with Douglas's heart's blood. — 'To 
horse I' cried the haughty baron, and the mes»eng«r of 
hia prince waa pursued till within a few miles of Edin- 
bo^h. Gray, however, had an opportunity of keeping 
hi* row ; for, being upon guard in the King's ante- 
chamber at Stirling, when James, incensed at the 
inaolence of the Earl, atmclc him with bis dagger. Sir 
Patrick rushed in, and despatched him with a pole-axe. 
The eaatle of Thrieve was the last of the fortresses 
which held out for the house of Douglas, after their 
grand rebellion in IBBR. James ii. writes an account of 
the exile of this potent family, to Charles vii. of France, 
8th July IfiSO ; and adds, that all fheir castles had been 
yielded to him, ' Egcepto duntcuMt eoHro de Tr^t, per 
nottrot Jidda impratenUarma obae**o ; guod domino eon- 
etdtnte tn brmi obUnen tptramu*.' — Pihekbton'i Hittorg, 
Appendix, vol. i. p. 486. — See Pitsoottib's Hittorg, 

GoiMCBOFT, et«. 

[This incident, no doubt, suggested the scene between 
Archibald Bell - the - Cat and Lord Marmion.— See 
Jfarmioii, Canto v. sL xir. — J. G. L.] 

And mo*l part qfkitjriertdt were thtre. — St viii. 1. 3. 

The ancestor of the present Mr. Maxwell of Broom- 
holm is particularly mentioned in Glenriddel's m. as 
having attended his chieftain in hia distress, and as 
having received a grant of lands, in reward of this 
manifestation of attachment. 

Sm noir he '« o'er thefioodt toe grag.—St. viii. 1. 7. 
This seems to have been a favourite epithet in old 
romances. Thus in HvnuMide and Maiden Rimaild, 
' Thai sayled o«er the Jlodt m ffray. 
In Tn^nd anivad wera thaf , 
Tbar liim larest wan.' 



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THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY 

The reader will find, prefixed to the foregoing 
ballad, an account of the noted feud betwixt the 
families of Maxwell and JohnstoDC. The following 
soDg celebrates the skirmish, in 1593, betwixt the 
Johnstones and Crichtoas, which led to the revival 
of the ancient quarrel betwixt Johnstone and 
Maxwell, and finally to the battle of Dryfie Sands, 
in which the latter lost his life. Wamphray is the 
name of a parish in Annandale. Lethenball was 
the abode of Johnstone of Wamphray, and con- 
tinued to be BO till of late years. WUliam John- 
stone of Wamphray, called the Galtiard, vaa a 
noted freebooter. A place, near the head of 
Teviotdale, retains the name of the GaUianTt 
Faulds (folds), being a valley where he used to 
secrete and divide his spoil with his Liddesdale and 
£skdale associates. His nam de guerre aeema to 
have been derived from the dance called The 
GalUard, The word is still used in Scotland, to 
express an active, gay, dissipated character.' Willie 
of the Kirkhill, nephew to the Galliard, and bis 

' Clenluid applin the plmu in k very dlffareut maiuiei, in 
treating of the aBembly of Divinea >t Wettmiuater, 1644 : 
'And Belden ii k Sofltord b; hlnuelt. 
And wel might be ; there '( more divinee in him. 
Than in all thii their Jewiih Sanhedrim.' 
SkeltoD, in hii railing poem againit Jamei rr,, t«rnit him Sir 
Skgr Oalyard. [OotfioniinFnQahalaodgiioteas 'gtranddiari- 
pated ohaneter ' ; and it* adoption by the rude Borderaie li a 
■diking proof of how thoroughly Fimoh Tordi and pbraaea bad 



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THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY 187 

avenger was also a noted Border robber.' Previous 
to the battle of Dryffe Sands, so often mentioned, 
tradition report*, that Maxwell had offered a ten- 
ponnd-land to any of his party who should bring 
him the head or the Iiand of the Laird of John- 
atone. This being reported to bis antagonist, he 
answered, he had not a teo-poond-land to offer, bat 
would give a fire-mcrk-land to the man who should 
that day cut off' the head or hand of Lord Maxwell. 
Willie of the Kirkhill, mounted upon a young grey 
hwse, rushed upon the enemy, and earned the 
reward, by striking down their unfortunate chief- 
tain, and cutting off* his right hand.* 

Leverhay, Stefenbiggin, Girth-head, etc, are all 
situated in the parish of Wamphray. The Biddea- 
bum where the skirmish took place betwixt the 
Johnstones and their pursuen, is a rivulet which 
takes its course among the mountains on the con- 
fines of Nithsdale and Annandale. The Wellpath 
is a pass by which the Johnstones were retreating 
to their fastnesses, in Annandale ; Ricklaw-holm is 
a place upon the Evan water, which falls into the 

inllDenoad the teztars of ths oiml langiuge. Th* Qailiard li 
mmitiiniad with other 'Ifoht' danow in the Cumplajmt of Soot- 
land. Duslaj, betora bii betrotbal t« tUrj Stout, dukoed 
with bm a gBlliwd, one Snnda; eraUng, titar hcarinc Knox 
preaah. The word u sn adjeetlTe, nieaning '(aj,' «•■ uad by 
Chancer knd Ikter Engliah poeti.] 

1 [On 10th July 1GS4, Sir John Oannlohul wtttsi to Lowther : 
' Willie JohnMone of TTIrlfhtll bee ane bluk hon of mj ootuing. 
Wills Carmyohel of ReidmTra. It will plei 7001 lordihip to 
ooae delTTer him op to the I^rd of Qrebiar' {Bordtr Papert, i.. 
No. 768). See aUo mioni noUoee both of WUlUm of Wunphnj 
and Wllliun of Klikhill in the Btif. of tttt Privy Cnmotl of 
BeaOarui, roll. t. knd t1. pauim-i 

* [JohutODe, In hie >■. Bittorj, itates that the head and right 
um of HaiWflll ware taken to Loeltirood — the home of the Laiid 
of Johziitona — uid affixed to the nil thereof.] 



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188 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Annan, below Moffat. Wamphray-gate was in 
these days an ale-house. With these local explana- 
tions, it is hoped the following ballad will be easily 
understood. 

From a pedigree in the appeal case of Sir James 
JohnstoDe of Westeraw, claiming the honoora and 
titles of Annandale, it appears that the Johnstones 
of Wamphray were descended from James, sixth 
son of the sixth baron of Johostone. The male 
line became extinct in 1657. 

[This spirited piece was obtained by Scott from 
the Glenriddell us., where it is written in couplets. 
Scott omitted some couplets, and made slight 
changes in the arrangement.] 



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THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY 



TwixT Girth-head and the Langwood end. 
Lived the Galliard, and the Galliard's men ; 
But and the lada of Leverhay, 
lliat drove the Crichton's gear away. 

II 

It is the Lads of Lethenha\ 
The greatest rogues amang them a^ : 
But and the lads of Stefenbi^n, 
They broke the house in at the rigging. 

in 
The lads of Fingland, and Helheck-bill, 
They were never for good, but aye for ill ; 
TVizt the Staywood-bush and Langside-faill, 
They stealM the broked cow and the branded 
bull. 

rv 
It is the lads of the Girth-head, 
The deil's in them for pride and greed; 
For the Galliard and the gay Galliard's men, 
They ne'er saw a hoi«e but thej made it their ain.^ 

> [The uDond oouplet ii Soott'i.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



The Galliard to Nitbsdale is gane, 

To steal Sim Crichton's winsome dun ; 

The Galliard is unto the stable gane. 

But instead of the dun, the blind he has ta'en. 



* Now Simmy, Simmy of the Side,' 
Come out and see a Johnstone ride ! 
Here's the bonniest horse in a' Nithside, 
And a gentle Johnstone oboon hia hide.' 



Simmy Crichton 's mounted then, 

And Crichtons has raised mony a ane ; 

The Galliard trow'd ' his horse had been wight,* 

But the Crichtons beat him out o* si^f 



As soon as the Galliard the Crichton saw, 
Behind the saugh-bush he did draw ; 
And there the Crichtons the Galliard hae ta'ea, 
And nane wi' him but Willie okne. 



' [Th> ant oonplet ii Soott'i.] > ['Ooma out noir, Sin 
o' the Side. '—G.] ' ['thought.'— G,] * ['fleet,'- 

> [' But tber did ontatrip bin quite out o' ei(bt.'— O.] 



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THE LADS OP WAMPHBAY 191 



' O Simmy, Simmy, now let me g&og. 
And 1 11 never mait * do a Crichton wrang ! 
O Simmy, Simmy, now let me be, 
And a peck o' gawd I 'II ^ve to thee ! 



* O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang, 
And my wife shall heap it with her hand.* 
But the Crichtons wadna let the Galliard be, 
But they hanged him hie upon a tree. 

O think then Willie, he was right wae, 
When he saw his uncle guided sae ; 

* But if ever I live Wamphray to see, 
My uncle*B death avenged shall be ! ' 



Back to Wamphray he is gane, 
And riders has raised mony a aoe ; 
Saying — ' My lads, if yell be true, 
Ye shall a* be clad in the noble blue.' 



Back to Nithsdale they have gane, 
And awa' the Crichtons' nowt ' hae taen ; 
But when they cam to the Wellpath-head, 
The Crichtons bade them 'light and lead. 
> ['Andlvowl'llnem.'— Q.} * JTintt, cattle. 



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BORDER MINSTREI5Y 



And when they cam to the Biddes-burn, 
The Cricbtons bade them stand and turn ; 
And when they cam to the Biddes-strand, 
The Cricbtons they were hard at hand. 



But when they cam to the Biddes-law,* 
The Johnstonee bade them stand and draw ; 
* We Ve done nae ill, we 'II thole > nae wrang, 
But back to Wamphray we will gang.^' 



And out spoke Willy o^ the Eirkhill, 
' Of fighting, lads, ye ^se hae your fill.'' 
And from his horse Willie he lap. 
And a burnished brand in his hand he gat* 



Out through the Cricbtons Willie he ran, 
And dang them down baith horse and man ; 
O but the Johnstones^ were wondrous rude, 
When the Biddes-bum ran three days blood. 

1 Lam, t, oonjol hill. * Tkole, endure. 

* ['Sin ire 'va done u hurt, not we'UU^iut wraug, 

But btck to Wamphntf we will guis.'— G.] 

* ['toot'— G.] »['theMUdt'— G.] 



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THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY 198 



' Now, Sirs,^ we have done a noble deed ; 
We have revenged the Galliard'a bteid : 
For every finger of the Galliard's hand, 
I vow this day I 've killed a man.' 



As they cam in at Evan-head, 
At Ricklaw-holm they spread abread ; 
' Drive on, my lads ! it will be late ; 
We 11 bae a pint at Wamphray gate. 



' For where'er I gang, or e'er I ride. 
The lads of Wamphray are on my side ; 
And of a' the lads that I do ken, 
A Wamphray lad 'a ' the king of men.' 

' ['ItUiikmrUdi.*— O.] »['Th«l«d»o'Wwiipbry'i.— 



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LESLY'S MARCH 

' Bot, O mj (ioiiati7 I how ih*!! mnnaiy tnoa 
Tb7 gloriw, liwt in althv Cbulai'a dftyi, 
When throngfa tb; flaldi datraotlTe npine ipread, 
Nor ap^ii^ infuiU' taan, nor hoaiy hrtA '. 
In thote dread dayt, the nnpioMotad iwkiti 
Moum'd, In the mountklns, o'er his waited plejn ; 
Nor longer vocal, with the ihepherd'i lay, 
Wore Tarrow*! buia, or srarea of Bndeiuay.' 

LuroBDBn — Oeniii4 and Valour. 

Such «re the verses, in which « modem bud has 
ptdnted the desolste stste of Scotland, during a 
period highly unfavourable to poetical composition. 
Yet the civil and religious wars of the seventeenth 
century have afforded some subjects for traditionary 
poetry, and the reader is here presented with the 
ballads of that disastrous era. Some prefatory 
history may not be unacceptable. 

That the Reformation was a good and a glorious 
work, few will be such slavish bigots as to deny. 
But the enemy came, by night, and sowed tares 
among the wheat; or r»ther, 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 re- 
spectable, sometimes profound; and their eloquence, 
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 



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LESLY^ MARCH 196 

monucfay, were in Scotland, for nemrly two een- 
tnries, Bometiaies the avowed eneiniea, always tlie 
ambitioiu rivals, of their prince. The disciplea of 
Calvin could icarc^ly avoid a tendency to democracy, 
and the republican form of church-govemment was 
sometiDies fainted at, as no unfit model for the 
state ; at least, the kirkmen laboured to impress 
upon their followers and hearers the fundamental 
principle, that the church should be solely governed 
by those onto whom God had given the spiritual 
sceptre. The elder Melvine, in a conference with 
James vi,, seised the monarch by the sleeve, and, 
addressing bira' as God't tiUU vattal, 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 fae is not a king, nor a head, nor a lord, 
bat a member ; and they whom Christ hath called 
and commanded to watch ower his kirke, and 
govern his spirituid kingdome, have sufficient 
authoritie and power from him so to do ; which no 
Christian king, no prince, should controul or dis- 
charge, but fortilie and assist : otherwise they are 
not lUthful subjects to Christ.' — Calderwood, p. 
329. The delegated theocracy, thus sternly 
claimed, was exercised with equal rigour. The 
offences in the King's household fell under their 
nnceremonious 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 keeping of evil com- 
pany, and finally, of his queen's carding, dancing, 
night-walking, and such-like profane pastimes. — 
Caldehwood, p. 313. A corse, direct or implied. 



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196 BORDEE MINSTKELSY 

was formally denounced agKuut every man, horse, 
and spear, that should assist the King in his quarrel 
with the Earl of Gowrie ; and from the pulpit the 
favourites of the listening sovereign were likened 
to Haman, his wife to Herodias, and he himself to 
Ahab, to Herod, and to Jeroboam. These effusions 
of seal could not be vety agreeable to the temper 
of Jamee ; and accordingly, by a course of slow, 
and often crooked and cunning policy, he laboured 
to arrange the church-government upon a less 
turbulent and menacing footing. His eyes were 
naturally turned towards the English hierarchy, 
which had been modelled, by the despotic Henry 
viit., into such a form, as to connect indissolubly 
the interest of the church with that of the regal 
power.' The Reformation, in England, had origin* 
ated in the arbitrary will of the prince ; in Scotland, 
and in all other countries of Europe, It had com- 
menced 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 
gradually imposing upon the Scottish nation a 
limited and moderate 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 

1 Of thli tha CoTciiBiiten were m unHible, m to tnoe (what 
tber oalled) the Antiahriitian hienroby, with ite idoUtrT, 
■upentltion, ud hunum inveutioiu, 'to the praluy of EngUnd, 
the loontkln wheuoe &11 theee Babf lonieh etreami laeue onto 
lu.'— See their nuinifeato on enterins England, In 1640. 



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LESLY^ MARCH 197 

influence they owed their elevation. Id other 
respects, James spsred the prejudices of his sub- 
jects; DO cereouHiial ritual was imposed upOD their 
ConscieDces; the pastors were reconciled by the 
prospect of preferment ;> the dress and train of 
the bishops were plain and decent ; the system of 
tithes was placed upon a moderate and unoppressiye 
footing ; * and, pertiaps, on the whole, the Scottish 
hierarchy contained 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 been more pure, nor its morals more 
exemplary, than those of the present Kirk of 
Scotland, yet its degrees of promotion might have 
afforded greater encouragement to learning, and 
abjects of laudable ambition to those who might 
dedicate themselves to its service. But the pre- 
cipitate bigotry of the nnfbrtunate Charles i. was a 
blow to Episcopacy In Scotland, from which it never 
perfectly recovered. 

It has frequently happened, that the virtues of 
the individual, at least their excesses (if, indeed, 
there can be an excess in virtue), have been fatal to 
the prince. Never was this more fiilly exemplified 
than in the history of Charles i. His zeal for re- 
ligion, his family affection, the spirit with which he 
defended his supposed rights, while tbey do honour 

I Man; d( th« ]R«Mhen, who hkd baen londnt in the cauH 
of prtAyltaj, were induoed to tocapt of blihopiiot. Booh 
ma, for aiunple, WilllBm Coopar, who ma oreatsd Bishop of 
Gkllowaj. This nemnt Vam John ma a, hTpoohoodriao, sod 
ooDoelTed hii lovar sxtranitiea to be oompoaed of ghtu; hence, 
ini his court advanoemaDt, the loUowinc epignm wai oompoaad : 
'Aurtuthat! fraeilaneonfniptmaaeuturnam.' 

> Thia part of the iritem wm perfected in the rdgn nf 
Charleai. 



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198 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

to the man, were the fatal shelves upon which the 
monarchy was wrecked. Impatient to accomplish 
the total revolution, which his father's cautions 
timidity had left incomplete, Charles endeavoured 
at once to introdnce into Scotland the chun^- 
govemment, and to renew, in England, the tem- 
poral domination, of his predecessor, Henry viii. 
The lurioua temper of the Scottish nation first took 
fire ; and the bnmdished footstool of a prostitute ' 
gave the signal 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's hasty and arbitrary 
measures was soon evident The united nobility, 
gentry, and clergy of Scotland entered into the 
Solemn Leaoue and Covenant, by which memorable 
deed they Bubscribed and swore a national re- 
nunciation of the hierarchy. The walls of the pre- 
latic Jericho (to use the language 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 thundered, 
from the pulpits, against the prelatists and malig- 
nants (by which names were distinguished the 
scattered and heartless adherents of Charles), the 

' 'Ovt, falie loon/ mU thou lag the matt aim]/ tug laiT)t' wtM 
th« wall-known exolunation of Marg&ret [Jenny] Oeddoa, ai iho 
diaohuged hoi mluile tripod agkiiut the Btahop of Edinburgh, 
who, £n obedience to the orderm of ^e Prirj Coonoil, wki 
eadoBTOuring to reheUH the oommoD prayer. Upon ft Hkt mortt 
elevated, the stld Hkrgaret had (hortly before done penanoe, 
befora the oengregation, for the lin of tomloation ; inoh, at leait, 
la the Tory tradition. [The thrower ia also elated to have been a 
Hn. Mean {mao Wodbow's Anakcta. i. 64).] 



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LESLY^ MABCH 199 

nobilitr and gentry, in tumu, barried to oppose the 

nurch of tbe English umy, which dow advanced 
towards their Borden. At Uie bead of their defen- 
sive forces they placed Alexander Lesly, who, with 
many of his best officers, had been trained to war 
onder tbe great Gustavus Adolphus. They soon 
auembied an army of S6,000 men, whose camp, 
upon Dnnse-Idiw, is thus described by an 
eye-witness. Mr. Baillie acknowledges, IMO. 
that ' it was an agreeable feast to his eyes 
to survey the place ; it is a round bill, about a Scots 
mile in circle, rising, with very little declivity, to 
the beigbt 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 gamisbed with near 
forty field-pieces, pointed towards the east and 
south. The colonels, who were mostly noblemen, 
as Rothes, Caasilis, Eglington, Dalhousie, Lindsay, 
Lowdon, Boyd, Sinclair, Balcarras, Flemyng, Kirk- 
cudbright, Erskine, Montgomery, Yester, etc., lay 
in large tents at the head of their respective regi- 
ments ; their captains, who generally were barons, 
or chief gentlemen, lay around them : next to these 
were the lieutenants, who were generally old 
veterans, and had served in that, or a higher 
station, over sea ; and tbe common soldiera lay out- 
most, all in hnts of timber, covered with divot, or 
straw. Every company, which, according to the 
first plan, did consist of two hundred men, had 
their colours flying at the captain's tent-door, with 
the Scots arms upon them, and this motto, in golden 
letters, " For Chsibi^s Crown and Covenant." ' ^ 

1 [Bobart BsUlia'i LeOert and Journalt wera fint publithed In 
1776. mud % better editlan hj the BuuiAtTiie Olab, 1841-8, in three 
Tab. Bee ToLL pp. 184-ISl of tbat edition.} 



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200 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Against this army, so well arrayed and disci- 
pliDed, and whose natural hardihood was edged 
and exalted by a high opinion of their sacred cause, 
Charles marched at the head of a Urge 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 wu 
soon broken ; and, in the following year, Dunse-Law 
again presented the same edifying spectacle 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 
Newbum, showed either more disaffection, or 
cowardice, than had at any former period disgraced 
their national character. This war was concluded 
by the treaty of Ripon ; in consequence of which, 
and of Charles's concessions, made during his sub- 
sequent visit to his native country, the Scottish 
Parliament congratulated him on departing ' a con- 
tented 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 aggressions. 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 Parlia- 
ment, was paving the way for rebuilding the 
system of hierarchy, they could no longer remain 



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LESLY^ MARCH 201 

inactive. Bribed by the delndTe jwomise of Sir 
Heniy Vane, and Marshall, the parliamentary com- 
misalonera, that the Church of England should be 
nformed, according to the word of God, which, the; 
fondly belicred, amounted to an adoption of Pres- 
bytery, they agreed to send succours to their 
brethren of England. Alexander Lesly, who ought 
to have ranked among the coaUnUd subjects, having 
been raised by the King to the honours of Earl of 
Leven,^ nas, nevertheless, readily Induced to 
accept the command of this second army. Doubt- 
less, where insurrection is not only pardoned, but 
rewarded, a monarch has little right to expect 
gratitude for benefits, which all the world, as well 
as the receiver, must attribute to fear. Yet some- 
tfaing is due to decency ; and the best apology for 
Lesly is his teal 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 cavaby, and, in truth, b<XK 
away the laurels of the expedition. 

The words of the following march, which was 
played in the van of this Presbyterian crusade, were 
first published by Allan Ramsay in his Energreai ; 
and they breathe the very spirit we might expect. 
■ [LsiUb ma ansUd Ewl of L«t«ii hj Chulsa, 11th Oototwr 
1641, St the reqaeat of the Soottkh Fuliammt. Claicndrai 
UMTtathst LeeUe then told the Einc, 'that it wtt DothiB«to 
piomiie hbn that he vonld nsrer more be«r unu egaliut him ; 
but he promlwd ha would leTTe hii Majeetj upon uij somnioiit, 
without ukiug the o»dk ' {ffutory 0/ At SebMon, U. 64} ; but 
Bobeit Baillie eiplalni 'that Leren dedmred he put the 
"pnHnbea" with the eipreiM and DeeeaaBr oanditiini that nligim 
•ad ooontiT'i ligb-U weie not in h«aud ' {Lettert and Joumalt, 
U.100).] 



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SOS BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

Mr. RitBon, in hia collection of Scottisb songs, tuts 
favoured the public 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 •chett-fuU of w)Uri/er,' as the Epis- 
copal chapel at Glasgow was, by the vulgar, 
opprobriously termed the WJutUiag 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 noble 
instrument into Presbyterian congregations.' 

The share which Lesly's army bore in the action 
of Maraton Moor has been exalted, or depressed, 
as writers were attached to the English or ScattJBh 
nations, to the Presbyterian or Independent 
factions. Mr. I-aing concludes with laudable 
impartiality, that the victory was equally due to 
'Cromwell's iron brigade of disciplined indepen- 
dents, and to three regiments of Lesiy's horse.' — 
Vol, i. p. S44. » 

' [An attempt to iDtrodooe the organ Into one of the ohunhes 
of Qlugow m* made linw the aboTe ni irrltten ; and, a* 
might hava been sipeoted, (ram the oholoa of the Wiiat at Soot- 
land foi moh an experiment, wholl; failed. The FteabTteiy 
forthwith lilenoed the iiutrament.— J. G. L.] \Tke kul-fou if 
wkiiOa 1> nov quite 'IdoUwd' hy the Soottiah Freibyteriaui. ] 

> [There can be no doabt that It mte the attack of the three 
nelmeiita of horee nnder David Leelie that tnrned the tide of 
battle in Oromwoll'i favour at a totj oritioal moment. David 
Lnlle waa abo the fiotor of Hontnne at Philiphaugh. Bee the 
'Battle of Philiphansh.' The odI; authoritf for the ballad ii 
Allan Bamaa;. If dating from Covenanting tlmei, it moit hare 
Iwen intended a* a oitire ; or probablj the original liallad WM 
modified by Bamaa/. 9oatt parodied it in hi« 'Haroh, march, 
BtUiok and Teviotdale.'J 



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LESLY'S MARCH 

Mabch! March! 

Why the devil do ye na march P 

Stand to your arniB, my lads, 

Fight in good order ; 

Front about, ye musketeers all, 

1^11 ye come to the English Border : 

Stand til *t, and fight like men, 

True gospel to maintain. 
The Parliament 's blythe to see us a^ coming. 

When to the Kirk we come, 

We HI purge it ilka room, 
Frae Popish relics, and a* sic innovation. 

That a' the warld may see, 

There 'a nane in the right hut we, 
Of the auld Scottish nation. 
Jenny shall wear the hood, 
Jocky the sark ^ of God ; 
And the kist-fou of whistles. 
That mak sic a cleiro, 

Our pipers braw 

Shall bae them a^ 

Whatever come on it : 

Busk up your plaids, my lads ! 

Cock up your bonnets ! 

Da Capo. 
^ Sark, ihiit. [Th« refweiwe li l« the tnrpUoa. A tonnt of 
tlw Soottlih PTMbyterluia agiiiuit the EpiHopkliuu u that their 
miaiitei ' waaii the nrk oatnuat.'] 



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BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH 

This ballad is so immediately connected with the 
former, that it enables me to continue my sketch 
of historical transactions, from the march of Lesly. 
In the insurrection of 1640, all Scotland, south 
from the Crrampians, was actively and zealously 
engaged. But, after the treaty of Ripon, the first 
fury of the revolutionary torrent may be said to have 
foamed off its force, and many of the nobility began 
to look round, with horror, upon the rocks and 
shelves amongst which it had hurried them. 
Numbers regarded the defence of Scotland 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 hereditary royal 
line of Scotland. Many, also, hod failed in obtain- 
ing the private objects of ambition, or selfish policy, 
which hod induced them to rise up against the 
Crown. Amongst these late penitents, the well- 
known Marquis of Montrose was distinguished as 
the first who endeavoured to recede from the paths 
of 'rude rebellion.' Moved by the enthusiasm of 
patriotism, or perhaps of religion, but yet more by 



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BATTLE OP PHILIPHAUGH 805 

unbitkm, the sin of noble minds, Montrose tud 
engaged, eagerly and deeply, upon the side of the 
Covenuiten. He hod been active in pressing the 
town of Aberdeen to take the Covenant, and his 
success against the Gordons, at the bridge of Dee, 
left that royal burgh no other means of safety from 
pillage. At the head of his own battalion, he waded 
through the Tweed, in 1640, and totally routed the 
vanguard of the King's cavalry. But, in 1643, 
moved with resentment against the Covenanters, 
who preferred, to his prompt and ardent character, 
the caution of the wily and politic Earl of Argyle, 
or seeing, perhaps, that the final views of that party 
were inconsistent with the interests of monarchy and 
of the constitution, Montrose espoused the falling 
cause of royalty, and raised the Highland dans, 
whom he united to a small body of Irish, com- 
manded by Alexander Macdonald, still renowned in 
the north, under the title of CoStitio. 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 Tipper- 
moor, where he first met the Covenanters, their 
defeat was so effectual, as to appal the Presbyterian 
couiagc, even after the lapse of eighty yeara.^ A 

' Upon tha bnaldsg oat of ths iiuniTMtiou, In the jeu 171B, 
ths Earl of Bothea, ■horiff uid lord-Ueotenuit of the oonnt; of 
Fifs, twnad ont mn order for ' all the fenoible men of the oonntle 
to meet him, >t > plaoe eaUed CMhnraor. The gentlemen took no 
notiae of hla orden, nor did the oommoni, exoept thoM whom 
the miniMen forced to goe to the pUee of randeiTOQie, to the 
number of flfteon hundred men, being all that their ntmoat dill- 
genoe eonld perfonn. Bnt thoee of that ooontie having been 
taught b; their experieDov that it ii not good meddling with 
edge tooli, eipeoEallie in the handa of HigUandmen, were ver7 
averae from taking armea. No aoouer the; refleeted on the name 
of the plaoe of rendeiTouu, Caahmoor, than Tipparmoot wm 



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206 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

second aimy was defeated, under the walls of Aber- 
deen ; and the pilUge of the ill-fkted town was 
doomed to expiate the principles which Montrose 
himself had formerly imposed upon them. Argyle- 
shire next experienced his arms; the domains of 
his rival were treated with more than militaiy 
severity; and Argyle himself, advancing to Inver- 
lochy for the defence of his countiy, was totally and 
disgracefully routed by Montrose.^ Pressed betwixt 
two armies, well appointed, and commanded by the 
most experienced generals of the Covenant, Mon- 
trose disi^ayed more military skill in the astonish- 
in^y rapid marches, by which he avoided fighting 
to disadvantage, 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, be 
was enabled to attack, and totally to defeat, the 
Covenanters, at Auldeme, 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 

oaU«d to mind ; ft pl>0« not tmr from thsnoe, yrhav Hontioae had 
routed them, vhen under the oommand of m; grekt-gnnd-nnole, 
the Eul of Wem^H, then geneiall of Ood'i umis. In > word, 
the udnekj ohoioe of t, plaee, oftlled Moor, Appeued ominoni ; 
•od thftt, with the flying report of the Highlandmen h>Ting made 
tlbemjwlve* muten of Perth, made them throw down th^ 
armei, Hid ran, notwitbatandlng the trouble Uwt Bothea and 
the minliten gave themielTee to atop them. '—Xamiri o] JoIm 
MaMtr of Sinclair, voL 1. p. ISO. {This gentlsmiui eonunanded 
a party of Fifeehire oaTallen at Sberlffmoor, and died in 17S(K 
leaving tbeae Itaiuriri, which are written with ooniideiable 
talent.— J. O. L.] [Sinolair'i Mtmoirt were publiihad by the 
Ahbotalord anb in 186S. Though a ikOled Roldier, he, aoooidinf 
to the old ballad, lort hi> repote at BherUhnoir ;— 

'Hantly and Binelaii, they bajth play'd the tlnUer, 
Wi' oonMienees bhtok ai the oraw, man.'} 
» t&ae the Ltgend of Mooirot, Waverky Noreli.— J. O. L.] 



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BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH 807 

these repeated and Bpleodid aucceBses, Montrose now 
descended into the heart of ScotluMl, and fought a ' 
bloody and decisJTe battle near Kilsyth, where 
four thousand Covenanters fell under the Highland 
claymore. 

Iliis victory opened the whole of Scotland to 
Montrose. He occupied the capital, and marched 
forward to the Border ; not merely to complete the 
■abjectian of the southern provinces, but with the 
fiattering 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, Sox- 
bnrgh, Traqooir, and Annandale, were all descended 
of mighty Border chiefs, whose ancestors could, 
each of them, have led into the field a body of their 
own vassab, equal in numbers, and superior in dis- 
cipline, to the army of Montrose.^ Bnt the military 
spirit of the Borderers, and their attachment to 
their chiefs, hod been much broken since the union 
of the Crowns. The disarming acts of James had 
been carried rigorously into execution, and the 
smaller proprietors, no longer feeling the necessity 
of protection from their chieis in war, had aspired 
to independence, and embraced the tenets of the 
Covenant. Without imputing, with Wishart, abso- 
lute treacheiy to the Border nobles, it may be 
allowed, that they looked with envy upon Montrose, 

I [In thii pMM)g*k Sit WiJMr Soott mnit luTe had In ramem- 
hnuMM John Home's so r row fu l kooaant of the Bui of Bome's 
l^ipcaruuw, with onl; m oonple of zuenial Mirranti, >t the h«*d- 
qnwter* of the 10711 anaj, in the etmptiga of 1740.— J. Q. L.] 



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SOS BORDER MINSTRELSY 

and with dre&d (uid Aversion upon his npscious and 
disorderly forces. Hence, had it been in their 
power, it might not have altogether aoited their 
inclinations, to have brought the strength of the 
Border lances to the support of the northern dans. 
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 reinforce- 
ments, and with the remnant of his Highlanders 
(for a great number had returned home with 
ColltUio, to deposit their plunder, and provide for 
their families), Montrose, after traversing the 
Border, finally encamped upon the field of Philip- 
haugh. 

The river Ettrick, immediately after its junction 
with the Yarrow, and previous to its falling into the 
Tweed, makes a large sweep to the southward, and 
winds almost beneath the lofty bank, on which the 
town of Selkirk stands ; leaving, upon the northern 
side, a large and level plain, extending in an easterly 
direction, from a hill, covered with natural copse- 
wood, called the Harehead-wood, to the high 
ground which forms the banks of the Tweed, near 
Sunderiand Hall. This plain is colled 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 Ettrick in iront, and by 
the high grounds, already mentioned, on each flank, 
it forms, at once, a convenient and a secure field of 
encampment. On each Hank Montrose threw up 

1 The SoDttiih langmga ia rich in wordi oxprflvt of iMal 
■Jtiutlon. The lingla word kavgh oodvsti to ■ Sootmaui almoat 
all th*t I hkTs sndeaToond to sxplafD In ths text, b; oinnunlo- 
OQtotjr deMriptlDB. 



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BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH «09 

some treoches, vbich are still visible; and here he 
posted his infantTy, amounting to about twelve or 
fifteen hundred men. He himself took up bis 
quarters*in the burgh of Selkirk, and, with him, the 
cavalry, in number hardly one thousand, but respect- 
able, as being chiefly composed of gentlemen and 
their immediate retainers. In thi^ manner, by a 
fatal and unaccountable error, the river Ettrick was 
thrown betwixt the cavalry and infantry, which 
were to depend upon each other for Intelligence 
and mutual support But this might be overlooked 
by Montrose, in the conviction, that there was no 
armed enemy of Charles in the realm of Scotland ; 
for he is said to have employed the night in writing 
and despatching this agreeable intelligence to the 
King. Such an enemy 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 head of those iron iquadroos, 
whose force had been proved in the fatal battle of 
Long Marston Moor. His army consisted of from 
five to six thousand men, chiefly cavalry. Lesly's 
first plan aeems to have been, to occupy the mid- 
land counties, so as to intercept the return 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 bis direction, and, cross- 
ing through Mid-Lothian, turned again to the 
southward, and, following the course of Gala 
Water, arrived at Melrose, the evening before the 
engagement How it is possible that Montrose 
should have received no notice whatever of the 
march of so considerable an army, seems almost 
VOL. n. o 



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aiO BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

inconceiv&ble, and proves tliat the countrj was 
strongly disaffected to his cause or peraon. Still 
more extraordinary does it appear, that, even with 
the advantage of a thick mist, Lesly should have, 
the next morning, advanced ftom Melrose, forded 
the Ettrick, and come close upon Montrose's en- 
cunpment, without being descried by a single 
scout. Such, however, was the case, and it was 
attended with all the consequences of the most 
complete surprisal.' 

The first intJmatioQ thftt Montrose received of 
the march of Lesly was the noise of the conflict, 
or, rather, that which attended the unresisted 
daughter of his infantry, who never formed a line 
of battle : the right wing alone, supported by the 
thickets of Harehead-wood, and by the entrench- 
ments, which are there still visible, stood firm for 
some tinLe. But Lesly had detached two thoasand 
men, who, crossing the Ettrick still higher up than 
his main body, assaulted the rear of Montrose's 
right wing. At this moment, the Maixjuis himself 
arrived, and beheld his army dispersed, for the first . 
time, in irretrievable rout. He had thrown him- 
self upon a bone the instant he heard the firing, 
and, followed by such of his disorderly cavalry as 
had gathered upon the alarm, he galloped fkmi 
Selkirk, crossed the Ettrick, and made a bold and 
desperate attempt to retrieve the fortune of the 
day. But all was in vain ,* and, after cutting his 
way, almost singly, through a body of Lesl/s 
troopers, the gallant Montrose graced by his 
example the retreat of the fugitives. That retreat 

' [TbG fucpriw WW tcainly due to the fket that Leslie's foroe 
vrai oomposed of e>v«lrf , tni thmt his final maroh vm made 
wichgrekt npiditj.] 



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BATTLE OF PHIUPHAUGH «11 

be continued up Yarrow, and over Minchmoor; nor 
did he stop till he arrived at Traquair, sixteen 
mileB from the field of battle. Upon Philipbaugh 
he lost, in one defeat, the ihiit of six splendid vic- 
tories : 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 fugitives found refuge in 
the mountains, which had often been the retreat 
of vanquished armies, and were impervious to the 
pursuer's cavalry. Lesly abused bis victory, and 
diahonoored his arms, by slaughtering, in cold 
blood, many of the prisoners whom he had taken ; 
and the courtyard of Newark Castle is said to have 
been the spot upon which they were shot by hia 
command. Many others are said, by Wishart, to 
have been precipitated from a high bridge over 
the Tweed. This, as Ur. lAing remarks, is im- 
possible ; because there was not a bridge over the 
Tweed betwixt Peebles and Berwick. But there is 
an old bridge over the Bttrick, only four miles from 
Pfailiphaugh, and another over the Yarrow, both of 
which lay in the very Une of flight and pursuit ; 
and either might have been the scene of the 
massacre. But if this is doubtful, it is too certain 
that several of the royalists were executed by the 
Covenanters, as traitors to the King and Parlia- 
ment^ 

I have reviewed, at some length, the details of 
this memorable engagement, which, at the same 

■ A ooTuunUd mjnliter, praent at the cieontion at thSM 
gantlemen, obiaTTed, ' Thia mrk g4ea boniiilie on 1 ' an uiii>U« 
•zalunation, equivBlent to the modem fa ira, so often mad on 
limUai' oooaatona. — Wamkxf» Stemoiri 0/ Uontroie. [tt mmtba 
remembered that the followen of Hontroaa were aoonitomed to 
aommit ilmilar axceaMa after theii viotoriee.] 



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Sia BORDER MINSTRELSY 

time, termiaated the career of a hero, likened, bj 
no mean judge of mankind,' to those of antiquity, 
ftnd 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 patrols, and the im- 
prudent separation betwixt the horse and foot, 
seem to have been the immediate causes of 
Montrose's defeat. But the ardent and impetuous 
character of this great warrior, corresponding with 
that of the troops which he commanded, was better 
calculated for attack than defence ; for surprising 
others, rather than for providing against surprise 
himself. Thus, he suffered loss by a sudden attack 
upon part of his forces, stationed at Aberdeen ; ^ 

' Caidinkl dn Bate 

■ [I have often heard Sir Walter Soott tell the (tory of one of 
hetiya officer* who had hit qoorten the night before the battle 
at the farm-houH of Toftfleld, inoluded in the eatate of AbboCa- 
ford. Thli gentleman having been oourtsouBlj treated b; hl< 
hoMi, before he moonted hla hone in the moming drew the good- 
wife aaida, and intnuted hie pnree to her keeiung. 'Ton have 
been kind to ma,' he lald, 'and being a iirotherlee* and ohildleaa 
man, tn ease I fall thii day, T would u eoon yon ehonld be my 
heir a* anj other peraon.' He retnmed in the evening, but 00I7 
to die in hie old qoarten, and the farmer'a famil; were lald to 
have rieeo eome atepi in the world, in ooikieqnenee of hie 
bequeit.— J. O. L.] 

* Colonel Hurrj, with a party of hone, anrpriied the town, 
while Montroae'a Hi^landers and oavalien were ' dlaporeed 
through the town, drinking oareleaalj in their lodging*; and, 
hearing the honea' feet, and great noix^ were aetoniahed, never 
dreaming of their enemy. However, Donald Farquhanon 
hqipened to oome to the oauMy, where he waa oraellj alaiu, 
aneut the Oonrt de Oaard i a brave gentleman, and one of the 
noblest oaptaini amongat all the Highlanden of Sootland. Two 
or three othera were killed, and aome (taken priaonen) had to 
Edinbnrgh, and eaat into irooa in the Tolbooth. Great lamenta- 
tion waa made for thia gallant, being atlll the King'a man for Ufe 
and death. ''-BrALDura, vol. ii. p. SSI. The joumaliet, te whom 



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BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH 218 

And, had he not extrioted himself with the moat 
■ingular ability, he must have lost hij whole umy, 
when surpriaed by Baillie, during the plunder of 
Dundee. Nor has it escaped an ingenious modem 
historian, that his final defeat, at Dunbeath, so 
nearly resembles in Its circumstances the surprise 
at Philiphaugh, as to throw some shade on his 
military talents. — Laino's Hutory. 

The following ballad, which is preserved by 
tradition in Selkirkshire, coincides accurately with 
historical fact. This, indeed, constitutes its sole 
merit' The Covenanters were not, I dare say, 
addicted, more than their successors, 'to the pro- 
fane and unprofitable art of poem-' making.' ^ Still, 
however, they could not refrain &om some strains 
of exultation over the defeat of the Iruculenl 
UfTont, James Grahame. For, gentle reader, Mon- 
trose, who, with resources which seemed as none, 
gained six victories, and reconquered a kingdom ; 
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 bis cove- 

all mMUn were of eqiul impi>rUuic«, prooBedi to infam lu, that 
Hnrrj Cook the Harqnii of Hnntly'a beit hone, uid, in hji 
TatTMt throngh Hontnwe, eelzad npoD the Harqnii'i wwond Mm. 
He ftUo expreiMe bii regret, that ' the Mid D<aiald Faiqnlunon'B 
body wM found in the atreet, (tripped naked : tor the; tirr'd 
from oB hia bod; > riob etand of apparel, but pat on the nune 
daj.'— /Hii. 

' [The ballad iji dearly modem.] 

* So Uttla wa« the epirit of illiberal fanaCiDUm decayed in 
eome parte of Sootland, that only thirty ysare ago, when Wilam, 
the ingenione aachor of a poena oalled Clgde, now republiihed, 
ne luduoted into the offlee of eohoolnuutei at Greenock, he ma 
oUiged formally, and in writing, to abjure the 'profiint and un- 
prq/UabCt art of potm-makirv.' It i> proper to add. Chat mob an 
inddent i> nou ae onllkely to happen In Oreenoek an in London. 
1903. 



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314 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

nuited countrymen, ^mong 'the troublen of Isnel, 
the flrebrsnda of hell, the Conhs, the Bsl««mB, 
the Doegs, the Rabshakehs, the Hunans, the 
Tobi&hs, and Sanballats of the time.'^ 

1 [SeenotNt«the£««n((a/Jr(m<roM.— J. O. L.] 



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THE 
BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH 



On Fhiliphaugh a fray began, 
At Hairhead-wood it ended ; 

The Scots out o*er the Gnemes they ran, 
Sae merrily they bended. 

II 
Sir David fne the Border came, 

Wi' heart an^ hand came he ; 
Wi'' him three thousand bonny Scots, 

To bear him company. 

Wr him three thousand valiant men, 

A noble sight to see 1 
A cloud ai' mist them weel concealed. 

As close as e^er might be. 

When they came to the Shaw bum, 
Said he, ' Sae weel we frame, 

I think it is convenient 

That we should sing a paalm.''i 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



When they came to the Liogly bum. 

As daylight did appear, 
Tliey 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 great 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.' 



* If you 're Sir David Lesly, 
As I think weel ye be, 

I 'm sorry ye hae brought so few 
Into your company. 



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BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH «17 

X 

'There ^s fifteen thousand armed men. 

Encamped on yon lee ; 
Ye^l 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 gae round the hilL 



' Your nether party fire must, 

Then beat a flying drum ; 
And then they ^11 think the day 's thetr ain 

And frae the trench they '11 come. 

XIII 

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

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



' were ye ever a soldier ? ' 
Sir David Lesly said ; 

* O yes ; I was at Sol way How, 
Where we were all betray'd. 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



' 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 Bhall ye be ; 
But, if that ye a traitor prove, 

I ^11 hang thee on a tree/ 



* Sir, I will not a traitor prove ; 

Montrose has plundered me ; 
I '11 do my best to banish him 

Away frae this country.' 



He halved his men in equal parts, 

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

The other gaed round the hill. 



The nether party fir^ brisk, 
Then tumM and seem'd to rin ; 

And then they a' cam frae the trench, 
And cry'd * The day 's our ain ! ' 



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BATTLE OF PHIUPHAUGH S19 



The rest then nm into the trench, 
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 vanquished great Montrose, 

Our cruel enemv. 



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THE BATTLE OF PHIUPHAUGH 

When they came to the Shaw 6um.— St iv. L I. 
A amall itreun, that Joins the BUrick, naar Selkirk, 
on the Bouth nde of the river. 

When th»y eame to the lAnglg bum. — St. v. I. 1. 
A brook, which Mis into the Ettriek, from the north, 
a little Above the 3h«v bum. 

ITiey tp^d an agedJiUher.—St. v. 1. 3. 
The traditional commentary upon the ludlad states 
this man's name to have been Brjdone, ancestor to 
several bmiliea in the parish of Ettrick, particularif 
those occupying the farms of Mid^hope and Redfbrd 
Green. It is a strange anachronism, to make this aged 
fether state himself to have been at the battle of Sobaay 
flov, which was fought a hundred years before Philip- 
haugh ; and a still stranger, to mention that of Dunbar, 
which did not take place till five jears after Montrose's 

A tradition, annexed to a copy of this ballad, trans- 
tnitted to me by Mr. James 'RttgtKt hears, that the Earl 
of Trsquur, on the day of the battle, was advancing 
with a large sum of money, for the payment of Mon- 
trose's forces, attended by a blacksmith, one of bis 
retainers. As they crossed Minchmoor, they were 
alarmed by firing, which the Earl conceived to be 
Moutrese exercising his forces, but which his attendant. 



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BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH 221 

from the coaatmoey and irregularity of the noi«e, affirmed 
to be the tumult of ad engagement. Ai they cune 
below BroBdmeodowi, npon Vurov, they met their 
fugitive frlendi, hotly panned by the Parliamentary 
troopers. The Earl, of courM, turned, and fled also : 
but his horse, jaded with the weiffht of dollars which he 
carried, refuted to tahe the hill ; lo that the Earl waa 
lain to exchange with hia attendant, leaving him with 
the breethlees horse, and bag of silver, to shift for him- 
Mlf, which he ia 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 Yarrow; but finding himself, as he sttid, 
encumbered with the treasure, and nnirilling that it 
should be taken, he flung it into a well, or pond, near 
the Tinnies, above Hangingsbaw. Many wells were 
afterward searched in vain ; but it is the general belief, 
that the smith, if he ever hid the money, knew tea 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, 
u they pretended, by supernatural interference. 1803. 
[The story must be mere fiction. A troop of horse, 
which Tiaqnair had sent under Lord Linton to join Mon- 
trose, was withdrawn by him on the night before the 
battle, on which account Traquair was denounced as « 
traitor both by Wiebart and Guthrie.] 



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GALLANT GRAHAMS 

The preceding ballad was a song of triumph over 
the defeat of Montrose at Philiphaugh ; the versei, 
which follow, are a lamentation for his final discom- 
fiture and cruel death. The present edition of ' Tke 
Gallant Grahanu ' is given from tradition, enlarged 
and corrected by an ancient printed edition, 
entitled, ' The Gallant Graham* of Scotland,' to the 
time of ' / mil amat/, and I mill Jiot tarry,' of which 
Mr. Bitson favoured me with an accurate copy. 

The conclusion of Montrose's melancholy history 
is too well known. The Scottish army, which sold 
King Charlea i. to his Parliament, had, we may 
charitably hope, no idea that they were bartering 
his blood; although they must have been aware, 
that they were consigning him to perpetual bond- 
age.i 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 trinmph of the Independents, excited still more 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS «»8 

' higUy the hatred and the fean of the Scottish 
nation. The outwitted Presbjrterians, who saw, too 
late, that their own hands had been employed in 
the hateful task of erecting the power of 
a sect, yet more fierce and fanatical than l«aa 
themselves, deputed a commission to the 
Hague, to treat with Charles ii., whom, upon cer- 
tain cwtditions, they now wished to restore to the 
throne of his fathers. At the court of the exiled 
mmiarch, Montrose also offered to his acceptance a 
splendid plan of victory and conquest, and pressed 
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 reconciled 
these jarring projects ; a good man would certainly 
have made a decided choice betwixt thent. Charles 
was neither the one nor the other ; and, while he 
treated with the Presbyterians, with a view of 
accepting the crown from their handa, he scrupled 
not to authorise Montrose, the mortal enemy of the 
sect, to pursue his separate and inconsistent plan ttf 
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 traversed the wilds of Caithness and Suther- 
land ; bttt, advancing into Ross-shire, he was sur- 
prised, and totally defeated, by Colonel Strachan, 
an officer of the Scottish Parliament, who had dis- 
tinguished himself in the civil wars, and who 
afterwards became a decided Cromwellian. Mon- 
trose, after a fruitless resistance, at length fled from 
the field of defeat, and concealed himself in the 
grounds of Macleod of Assaint, to whose fidelity he 



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884 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

intrusted his life, and by whom he was delivered up 
to Lesly, his most bitter eoetny.^ 

He was tried for what was termed treason sgainst 
the Estates of the Kingdom ; and, despite the com- 
mission of Charles for his proceediDgs, he was con- 
demned to die by a Parliament who acknowledged 
Charles to be their king, and whom, on that account 
only, Montrose acknowledged to be a Parliament. 

'The clergy,' says a late animated histmian, 
' whose vocation was to persecute the repose of his 
last moments, sought, by the terrors of his sentence, 
to extort repentance ; but his behaviour, firin and 
dignified to the end, repelled their insulting 
advances with scorn and disdain. He was prouder, 
he replied, to have his head affixed to the prison- 
walls, than to have his picture placed in the King's 
bedchamber: "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 my 
King." It was the calm employment of his mind, 
that night, to reduce this extravagant 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, rather than to 
justify an invasion of the kingdom, during a treaty 
with the Estates. The insults of his enemies were 
not yet exhausted. The history of his exploits was 
attached to his neck by the public executioner^: 

1 [Sm oota to It iii. L 1.} 

■ [TMi mu hii ahaplkfn'i (Biihop Wiihart] De RAtu, autpieiit 
Caroli Dei Onaia Mi^frta Britannia Begi», mi tnf)«rta tUu«- 
(r^Mimi Jaeohi MoMitrotariM Ma/rAionU, (kimmentarim. 
IMT. Slid ed. Puii, 1648. For otber edltioni ■» WnusT'a 
Mtmoirt of Monintt, ed. Murdoch sud Simpaon. 18S3.] 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS S25 

but he smiled At their inventive m&lice ; declared, 
that he won It with more pride than he had done 
the garter; and, when his devotions were finished, 
demanding if any more indignities remained to be 
practised, submitted calmly to an unmerited fate.' 
— Lamo's Hitlory ofScoUand, vol. i. p. 404. 

Such was the death of James Graham, the great 
Harquis of Montrose, over whom some lowly bard 
has poured forth the following elegiac verses. To 
say that they are iar 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 degraded 1^ many 
apparent corruptiona There seems an attempt to 
trace Montrose's career, from his fint raising the 
royal standard, to his second expedition and death ; 
bat it is Interrupted and imperfect. From the con- 
cluding stanza, I presume the song was composed 
upon the arrival of Charles in Scotland, which so 
speedily followed the execution of Montrose, that 
the King entered the city while the head of his 
moat faithfid and moat successful adherent was still 
blackening in the sun. 

[Of the English black-letter versions only two 
copies are known to exist, one in the Roxburghe 
and one in the Douce collection. They are dupli- 
cates. The Roxburghe is published in Boxlmrghe 
Balladt, ed. Ebsworth, vi. 590-gs. Mr. Ebsworth 
supposes it to be probably a reprint of an earlier 
suppressed edition ; and attributes its extreme rarity 
to the &ct that it must have been 'vigorously 
hunted down.' The ballad is incloded In a CoUec- 
tum of 150 Scott Songi, printed for A. Millar in the 
Strand, London, 1768 ; and there are also two white 
broadside copies, one in the Laing collection, in the 

VOL. IL p 



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aS6 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

possession of Lord Roaebety, and snother, dated 
March Snd, 1776, in a volume of Scots white- 
letter broadsides in the British Mnseiim. The 
many various readings &oin those in the black-letter, 
and their general superiority, as well as the more 
correct spelling of place-names, are a dear proof 
that this version was not derived from the black- 
letter, and point to an original Scottish ballad as 
the black-letter's source. The words to which the 
tune, ' I will away, and I will not tarry,' were 
originally set were those of a ballad entitled ' The 
Liggar Lady, or the Ladie's Love to a Soldier,' of 
which there is a copy in the Laing collection. It 
begins;— 

' 1 wit] away, sod I will not tany, 
I will away with a soger laddy : 
1 11 mount my baggage and make it ready, 
I will away with a soger laddy.' 

The broadside versions of ' The Gallant Grahams ' 
are clearly the source of the traditional version, 
mainly followed in the Mvutnltif, which is merely 
a corrupt rendering of them. Scott has omitted a 
number of stanzas, and rearranged others.] 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS 



Now, &re thee weel, aweet Ennerdale ! 

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

To some uncouth land which I never knew. 



To wear the blue I think it best, 

Of all the colours that I see ; 
And I ^ 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 preciou» stane ; 

But I wald sell my silken snood, 

To see the gallants Grahams come hame. 



In Wallace days, when they began, 

Sir John the Graham did bear the gree 

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



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



And ao was seen fiill many a time ; 

For the summer flowers did never spring, 
But every Graham, in armour 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 horae and our gray. 



Our &lse commander sold our King 

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

So I care not what they do with me. 



They have betrayed our noble prince, 
And banish^ him from his royal crown ; 

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



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS i 

X 

In Glen-Prosen * we rendezvoused, 

Marched to Gleoshie by night and day, 

And took the town of Abadeen, 
And met the Campbells in their array. 



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

At Inverlocbie, 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 cavaliers they all were sold. 
And brave Harthill, a cavalier too. 



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

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

' QleD-FrowD, in Angnnhire. 



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eSO BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Now, fare ye weel, sweet Ennerdale ! 

Countrie and kin I quit thee free ; 
Cheer up your hearts, brave cavaliers, 

For the GrahamB are gone to High Germany. 



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

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

XVII 

Montrose again, that chieftain hold, 
Back unto Scotland £iiir he came, 

For to redeem fair Scotland's land. 

The pleasant, gallant, worthy Graham ! 



At the water of Carron he did h^in. 
And fought the battle to the end ; 

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



Gilbert Menziea, of high degree. 

By whom the King^s banner was borne ; 

For a brave cavalier was he, 
But now to glory he is gone. 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS S31 

zz 
Then woe to Strachan, and Hacket baith ! 

And, Lesly, ill death may thou die ! 
For ye have betrayed the gallant Grahams, 

Who aye were true to majestie. 



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

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



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

He Buff^rd 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! 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS 

Note, fare thee «eei, «u>«et Ennerdakl—SL i. L 1. 
A corruption of Endrickdale. The principal and most 
BDcieut poaseesioua of the Moatnwe fimiil j lie along the 
water of Kadrick, in Dumbartonihire. 

Sir John the Qrakam did bear thegret. — St. iv. ). 3. 
The faithful friend and adherent of the immortal 
Wallace, slain at the batde of Falkirk. 

Who viae the traitor, OromaeU, Ihen.St, viii. 1. 3. 
This extraordinary character, to whom, in Crimea and 
in aucceu, our days only have produced a parallel, waa 
no &Tourite in Scotland. There occurs the following 
inTective ag^nit him, in a iig. in the Advocatea' Idbrair. 
The humour consiBti in the dialect of a Highlands, 
■peaking Engliah, and confusing Oromviell with firamocA, 
ngly:— 

' Te aommimwslt, tat Gramagh ting, 
Oar brek hsm'a word, gai de hem'i king ; 
Gar pay ham'a ae«u, or take hem'i (geen) 
We '1 uD de at, del ooma de leen ; 
We 1 bids a file amang ta crawea ii.t. In the woodi), 
We 1 aoor ta iword, and whlike to Inwea : 
And (an bar nan-ul w te re (the klugX 
Te del my ears for drDM<w)M&' 
The following tradition, concerning Cromwell, ia pre- 
served hy an uncommonly direct line of traditioDal 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS 283 

evidence; being narrated (h 1 mm ioformed) by tlie 
graadtoii of an eye-wttneM. When CromweU, in ISM, 
entered Glaagow, he attended divine Miriee in the High 
Church ; but the PrMbyterian divine vho officiated, 
poured forth, irith more Mai than prudence, the rial of 
hia indignation upon the person, principle*, and cauae, 
of the Independent General. One of Cromwell's officers 
roae, and whiapered hit commander ; who aeemed to give 
him a short and item anawer, and the aermon wai con- 
claded without interruption. Among the crowd, who 
were aaaembled to gaie at the General, aa he came out 
of the church, waa a ihoenuker, the ion of one of Jamea 
the Sixth's Scottish footmen. Thii man had been bom 
and bred in Bn^and, but, after his father's death, had 
aettled In Glaagow. Cromwell eyed him among the 
crowd, and immediatelj called him bj hia name — the 
man fled, but, at Cromwell's command, one of his retinue 
followed him, and brought him to the General's lodging*. 
A number of the inhabitant! remained at the door, wait- 
ing the end of this extraordinary acene. The shoemaker 
aoon oune out, in high spirits, and, showing some gold, 
declared he was going to drink Cromwell's health. 
Many attended him to hear the particulars of hia inter- 
view ; among others, the grandfather of the narrator. 
The shoemaker said that he had been a playfellow of 
Cromwell, when they were both boya, their parents 
residing in the same street ; that he had fled, when the 
Gmeral firat called to him, t.tiinifing he might owe him 
some ill-will, on account of his &ther being in the 
aervice of the royal bmily. He added, that CromweU had 
been so very kind and fiuniliar with him, that he ventured 
to aak him what the officer had said to him in the church. 
' He proposed,' said Cromwell, ' to pull forth the 
minister by the eara ; and I answered, that the preacher 
was one fool and he another.' In the course of the day, 
Cromwell held an interview with the minister, and con- 
trived to satisfy hia scruplea so effectually, that the 
evening discourse, by the tame man, was tuned to the 
praiae and glory of the victor of Kaseby. 



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KM BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Nathaniel Gvrdoti, tUntl and bold. 
Did for King Chark* mar the Mm.— St. xiii. U. !•% 

Tbia gentleman wu of the ancient fiunily of Gordon 
ef Oiglit He bad Mrved, as a Boldier, upon the Con- 
tinent, and acquired great militatr aldll. Wlien hie 
chief, the Marquia of Huntl;, took up arms in 1840, 
Nathaniel Gordon, then called Major Gordon, joined 
him, and waa of eaeential service during that short 
iuurrection. But, being checked for makiDg prize of 
a Danish fishing buss, he left the service of tbe Marquis, 
in tome disgnst In 1614 he assisted at a sharp and 
dexterous eamieade (as it was then called), when the 
Barons of Haddo, of Gight, of Dram, and other gentle- 
men, with onljr sixtj men under their standard, galloped 
through the old town of Aberdeen, and, entering the 
bu^h itaelf about seven in the morning, made prisoners 
and carried off four of the covenanting magistrates, and 
sSected a safe retreat, though the town was then under 
the dominatioa of tbe opposite p»itj. After the death 
of the Baron of Haddo, and the severe treatment of Sir 
George Gordon of Gight, hie couain-german. Major 
Nathaniel Gordon, seems to have taken arms, in despair 
of finding mercy at the Covenantam' hands. On the 
24tb of July 1646, be came down, with a 1>and of horse- 
men, upon the town of Elgin, while St. James's &ir waa 
held, and jHllaged the merchants of 14,000 merks of 
money and merchandise.' He seems to have joined 
Montrose, as soon as he raised the royal standard ; and, 
as a bold and active partisan, rendered him great service. 
But, in November 1644, Gordon, now acolonel, suddenly 
deserted Montrose, aided tbe escape of ForI>es of 
Cnlgievar, one of his prisoners, and reconciled himeelf 
to the kirk, by doing penance for adultery, and fbr the 
almost equally heinons crime of having scared Mr. 
Andrew Cant,* the fiunous apostle of the Covenant. 

> BrALDnro, voL U. pp. 191, 164, 168, 181, SSL Eiilorg af tie 
Famitv <t{ Oordan, Edln. 17S7, vol H. p. 199. 

* He bad sent liim a letter, wbiah nigh frighteoed him oat of 
his wits. — SriLDma, voL (I. p. S31. 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS SS5 

This, howOTer, mnmi to hare been an artifice, to amnge 
a correapondflnw betwixt Montroae and Lord Gordon] a 
gallant Toung nobleman, reprewntatlve of the Huntlj 
bmilj, and inheriting their loyal ipirit, though hitherto 
•ngaged in the MrriM of the Covenant. Colonel Gordon 
wa* aucceaaful, and returned to the royal camp with hia 
oonTerted chie£ Both followed aealoualj the fortunea 
of Moatroae, until Lord Gordon fell in the battle of 
Alford, and Nathaniel Gordon was taken at Philiphangh. 
He waa one of ten loyaliata, devoted npon that occasion, 
by the Parliament, to expiate, with their blood, the 
crime of fidelity to their King. Nevertheleaa, the 
coTenanted noble* would have probablj' been Mtisfied 
with the d<Ath of the gallant Rollock, ah&rer of Mon- 
troee'a dangen and glorf , of Ogilry, a youth of ughteen, 
whoM crime waa the hereditary feud betwixt hia family 
and Argyla, and of ^ Philip Niabet, a cavalier of the 
ancient atantp, had not the pulpita reaounded with the 
etj, that Ood raqnirad the blood of the malignant* to 
axtnte the alna of the people. 'What meaneth,' ex- 
claimed the minittera, in the perverted language of 
Scripture—' What meaneth, then, thia bleating of the 
aheep in my ean, and the lowing of the oxen ? ' The 
appMl to the judgment of Samuel waa deeiaive, and the 
ahamblea were initantly opened. Nathaniel waa brought 
first to execution. He lamented the sina of hia 
youth, once more (and probably with greater aincerity) 
requested abaalutioii from the aentence of excommunica- 
tion pronounced on account of adultery, and was 
behcAded 0th January 1646. 

Aiid hroM SarthUi, a eavaUer too.— St xiii. L 4. 
Ltfth, of Harthill, waa a determined loyalist, and 
hated the Covenanten, not without reason. His &ther, 
a haoghty, higb-apirited baron, and chief of a clan, 
happened, in 1639, to sit down in the desk of Provost 
Lealy, in the high kirk of Aberdeen. He was disgrace- 
fully thrust out by the ofBcera, and, using some threaten- 
ing language to the provost, waa impriaoned, like a 



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836 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

felon, for many monthB, till he became furioiu, and 
nearly mad. Having got free of the shackles irith which 
be was loaded, he lued hie liberty by coming to the 
Tolbooth window, where he uttered the most violent 
and horrible threats agunst Prorort Lealy, and the 
other corenantiiig magistrates, by whom he had been so 
severely treated. Under pretence of this new ofence, 
he was sent to Edinburgh, and Uy long in prison there ; 
for, so fierce was his temper, tiiat no one would give 
surety for his keeping the peace with his enemies, if set 
at liberty. At length he was delivered by Montroee, 
when he made himself master of Edinburgh. — SpAu>iNa, 
vol. i. pp. 201, 266. His house of Harthill was dis- 
mantled, and miserably pillaged by Forbes of Craigievar, 
who expelled his wife and children with the most 
relentless inhumanity. — iUtl., voL ii. p. 22S. Meanwhile, 
young Harthill was the companion and associate of 
Nathaniel Gordon, whom he accompanied at plundering 
the tail of Elgin, and at most of Montrose's engagements. 
He retaliated severely on the Covenanters, by ravaging 
and homing their lands.— iW., vol. iL p. 301. His firte 
has escaped my notice. [He was taken prisoner by 
General Middleton, and beheaded at the Cross of Edin- 
burgh, 26tfa October 1647.] 

And Newton Oordon, hwrA-abmt, — SL xiv. 1. I. 
Newton, for obvious reasons, was a common appellation 
of an estate, or barony, where a new edifice had been 
erected. Hence, for dislanction's sake, it was andeutly 
compounded with the name of the proprietor; aa, 
Newton-Edmondstone, Newton-Don, Newton-Gordon, 
etc. Of Gordon of Newtown, I only observe, that he 
was, like all his clan, a steady loyalist, and » follower of 
Montrose. [He was taken prisoner by General Middle- 
ton shortly after the capture of Huntly, and beheaded 
at the Cross of Edinbuigh in October 1647.] 

And Dalgalie, both Hout and keen. — St. xiv. 1. 2. 
Sir Francis Hay, of Dalgatie, a stMidy cavalier, and a 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS 237 

gmtloiuui of great ([mUantiy and kccompliahmenU. He 
we« B fiutbfiil follower of Montroae, uid wu taken 
priMHier irith him iX hit lait &tal battle. He na con- 
demaed to death with hii illurtrioua general. Being a 
Romaa Catholic, he lefiued the sniitanoe of the 
Presbyterian elergy, and waa not permitted, even on the 
•csffold, to reeaive ghoetl]' comfort, in the only form in 
which hie religion taught him to conaiderit aa effectual.. 
He Idiaed the axe, avowed hii fidelity to fail lovereign. 
and died tike a loldier. — Moi>t»mb's Mtmoirt, p, 322. 

[The Dngald Dmlgattjr of the Ltffmd <tf Motitnn owes 
at leaat hia aumame to thia gentleman. — J. G. L.] 

[The prototype waa clearly another Dalgetty, of 
whom Scott write* in hia autobiography : ' I remained 
■ome weeka at Preatonpana, a cireumatance not worth 
mentioning, excepting to record my juvenile intimacy 
with an old military veteran, Dalgetty by name, who had 
pitched hia tent in that little village, after all hie 
camp^gna, aubeiating on an enaign'a half-pay, though 
called by oourteiy a captain. Ai thta old gentleman, who 
bad been in all the German wars, found very few to 
liaten la hie tale* of military feats, he formed a sort of 
alliance with me, and I used invariably to attend him 
for the pleaaure of hearing thoae communications.' llie 
name oi Montrose's follower was William, not Francis. 
He faad been sent before Montiwe to rouse the ffentry 
to take arma for the King (Gardihes'b HUtory <if the 
CevtmoniBtaitk, L 200). After the Restoration hia body 
waa interred with that of Montrose {Trut FuneralU qf 
MoBtrow in Napikh's W» <^ MotUroK, pp. 830-37>] 

AndgaOmt Veiteh tipon tte^Mrf.— St xiv. L 3. 

1 presume this gentleman to have been David Veiteb, 
brother to Veiteh of Dawick, who, with many other of 
the Feebleaahire gentry, was taken at Philiphaugh. 
The following curious accident took place, some yean 
afterwards, in consequence of hia loyal zeal :— 

' In the year 1653, when the loyal party did arise in 
anna againat the Engliah, in the North and West High- 



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338 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

lands, BOme ttobletnen aod loyvl g«ntloiiMn, with others, 
were forward to repair to them with inch forces as 
they could make ; which the English with marvelonae 
diligence, night and day, did bestir themselves to 
impede ; making their troops of horse and dragoons to 
pursue the lofal partj in all plHc«i, that the^ might not 
come to such a considsntble number as was dangned. 
It happened, one night, that one Captain Masoon, com- 
mander of a troop of dragoonsj that isme from Carlisle, 
in England, marching through the town of Sanquhar, in 
the night, waa 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 Veiteh, brother to the laird of 
Dawick, in Tweeddale, and one of the loyal party, being 
prisoner in irons hy the English, did arise, and came to 
the window at their meeting, and cryed out, that they 
aboaldfyhtvaeantigfor King Oharkt. M'berethrough, 
they, taking each other for the loyal party, did begin a 
brisk light, which continued for a while, till the 
dragoons having spent their shot, and finding the horse- 
men 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 
eaitie ; where both parties did, to theb mutual grief, 
become sensible of their mistake. In thia skirmish there 
were several killed on both sides, and Captain Palmar 
himself dangerously wounded, with many mo wounded 
in each troop, who did peaceably dwell together after- 
ward for, a time, untill their wounds were cured, in 
Sanquhar Castle.' — Account qf Prettj/tery of Penpont, in 
Macpablakb's MSB. 

And bold Abmyne u to Ike tea, 

Yowig HunUg U hit noWe name.— St. xvL IL 3-4. 
James, Earl of Aboyne, who £ed to France, and thwe 
died heart-broken. It is said his death was aoeeletBted 
by the news of King Charles's ezecntion. He became 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS 289 

repreMntBtive of ths Gordon fkmilj, or Young Suntlg, 
M the b&llad ezprcaM* it, in consequence of the death of 
liii elder brother, G«orge, who fell in the battle of 
Alford.—iR«(0ry <^ Oordtm Ibtmilg. [Not Earl, but 
woond Viscount Aboyne. He ma the aecond aon of 
GMr)[e, aacoDd Marqnia of HoDtly (lee not* to 
lUxxli).] 

Two thoutand qfour Daniih nun.— SL xrlii. L 4. 



GUbert Metuaet, qfhigh iegrte, 

Bg wliom the King'* baniur wat borju. — St. ziz. 11. 1-2. 

Gilbert Heniiea, fonnger of Pitfoddella, carried the 
rojrat banner in Montroae's l»(t battle. It bore the 
headlcaa eorpae of Charlea i,, with thia motto, 'Judga 
and rtoengt mgeauie, Lord!' Menxiea proved himself 
worthy of thii noble trust, and, obatlnatelj refiiung 
quarter, died in defBnce of hia charge. — MoNTRoa^a 

Thtn woe to Straehan, arid Hadtet haitk ! — St. xx. L 1. 

Sir Charlea Hacket, an officer in the service of ibe 
Estates. [Not Sir Charles Hacket, but Lieutenant- 
Colonel Robert Hacket, who with Lieutenant-Colonel 
Stncbaa (chief in command) received the special thanks 
of Parliament for defeating Montrow at Invercarron.] 

And, Lady, iU death mag thou dUl—St. xz. I. 2. 

[David Leslie, Lord Newark, who was in supreme 

command of the force aent to intercept Montrose, and 

despatched from Brechin the detachment under Straehan 

wbich defeated Montrose at Invercarron.] 

And the iaird q/ Auint haitttKed Monimo. — 9L zzi, L 1, 

[It is not at all certain that Monb^ne was Id anf 

proper sense betnyed by Maeleod of Assint, for at this 

time Macleod was a supporter of the eovenanting party. 



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!« BOBDEB MINSTBELSY 

Mkcleod, howerar, sceeptad a reward for ftppreheodiiig 
him.] 

And Suntly '» gont the uff-tame way. — St. zxii. 1. I. 

Geor^ Gordon, second Marquis of Huntly, one of the 
my few nobles in ScotUnd who had uniformly adhend 
to the King from the very beginning of the troubles, was 
beheaded by the sentence of the Parliament of Scotland . 
(ao calling themselves), upon the 22nd March 16i9, one 
month and twenty-two days after the martyrdom of hii 
master. He has been much blamed for not cordially 
co-operating with Montrose ; and Bishop Wlshart, in 
the seal of partiality for his hero, accuses Huntly of 
direct treachery. But he is a true believer, who aeels 
with his blood his creed, religious or political; and 
there are many reasons, short of this foul charge, which 
may have dictated the backward conduct of Huntly 
towards Montroae. He could not forget, that, when he 
first stood out for the King, Montroae, then the soldier 
of the Covenant, had actually oiade him prisoner ; and 
we cannot suppose Huntly to have been so sensible of 
Montrose's superior military talents, as not to think 
himself, as equal in rank, superior in power, and more 
uniform in loyalty, entitled to equally high marks of 
royal trust and &VDur. 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 <^ilviee, composed the principal part of 
his cavalry. [Bishop Guthrie also affirms that Huntly 
'did his utmost to spoil the business in Montrose's 
hands '(ifemoin, ad. 1749, p. 206); and unee none of the 
Gordons in Strathbogie could be induced at this time 
to join the standard of the King, the attitude of Huntly, 
though partly excusable on account ef the indignities 
he and his followers had previously suffered at the hands 
of Montrose, virtually implied the betrayal in the north 
of the King's cause. His son. Lord Aboyne (see note 
to stanza xvL), did, however, join Montnwe in Menteith 
in 164fi, with a large number of horsemen, and fbu|^t 



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THE GALLANT GRAHAMS 241 

at Auldeani, Alford, ud Kilsyth, bat with lil hia own 
mm «id othen under bw iiifliietic«, left him, when 
the march to the Borders wm cominene«d, and wu not 
pratent at Fhiliphangh. Montrrae, after hii retreat 
northwards, induced Aboyne and Lord Lewis Gordon 
Bg«in to join him with a lai^ foroe, but owing to the 
expostulationB of Hnntly they ahortly afterwards again 
<leeertad him.] 



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BATTLE OF PENTLAND HILLS 

We hare observed the early antipathy, mutually 
entertained by the Scottish Presbyterians and the 
bouse of Stuart. It seems to have gloved in the 
breast even of the good-natured Charles ii. He 
might have remembered, that, in l651, the Presby- 
terians had fought, bled, and ruined themselves in 
his cause. But he rather recollected their early 
&ult8 than their late repentance; and even their 
services were combined with the recollection of the 
absurd and humiliating circumstances of personal 
degradation,* to which their pride and folly had 
sutgected him, whUe they professed to espouse his 
cause. As a man of pleasure, he hated their stem 
and inflexible rigour, which stigmatised folhes even 
more deeply than crimes ; and he whispered to his 
confidants, that ' Presbyteiy was no rehgion for a 
gentleman.' It is not, therefore, wonderful, that, 
in the first year of his restoration, he formally 
re-established Prelacy in Scotland ; but it is sur- 

1 Amouf othai ridlouloiu oeaimeiisat, It ii Mkid tk»t lotns of 
Obailet'i gklluitriM ware diHorered by a piTing nsi^bour. A 
wily old mlniitei *•■ dapntcd, b/ his biethren, to rabuke tliB 
King for tbl> helsoaB aouid^. Belnf introdaoed into ths loykl 
pmenoa, ba limited hli oommlHlon to tt (sriotu Kdmonltion, 
Uut, upon laeh oooaiioiu, bia Hojnt; ibonld klnyi abat thg 
windows. The King i> nld to b>ve reoompeiued tbi* nnei- 
peoted Unity after the Beitontlon. Ha probably reiuembeied 
the joka^ though lie might haTO f oigottan the urrioe. 



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BATTLE OP PENTLAND HILLS «48 

priaing, that, vith his ftthe^a 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 s)rBteni. The 
religions opinions of sectaries have a tendencjr, like 
the water of some springs, to become soft and mild, 
when freely exposed to the open day. Who can 
recognise, in the decent and industriong Quakers, 
and Anabaptists, the wild and ferocious tenets 
which distinguished their sects, while they were yet 
boaoared with the distinction of the scourge and 
the pillory f Had the system of coercion against 
the Presbyterians been continued until our day, 
Blair and Robertson would have preached in the 
wilderness, and only discovered their powers of 
eloquence and composition, by rolhng along a 
deeper torrent of gloomy fanatJdsm.^ 

The western counties distinguished themselves 
by titeir oppositimi to the prelatic system. Three 
hundred and fifty ministers, ejected from their 
churches and livings, wandered through the moun- 
tains, sawing the seeds of covenanted doctrine, 
while multitudes of fanatical followers pursued them, 
to reap the forbidden crop. Tfaese conventicles, 
as they were called, were denounced by the law, 
and their frequenters dispersed by miUtary force. 

> CTtM Strwmt of Dr. Hugh Blali (inS-1800), rainlrtcr of the 
HllJt ObtMb, Bdlnbnigli, sod Frofeawir ot BhMorla in tlw 
Unirenltj, oonttuited, with hi* Lecturtt on Wnlorie, to eiijo7, 
when Boott wrote, a nmurkkble reputation as modeli of ohaate- 
n«n and eleganoe In ityls. Frlcoipal William Bobertmn, D.D. 
(ITel-lTSS), though dutinguiibed both aa a prawhsr and 
Anemblr orator, von hii fame ohlsJlj hj hia hlalorioal woiki, 
eapedallj hii Hittory of Sootiand dun'tifr the Reign» of Qtiten 
Mars find Jam^ TL, 1759, and hli EitUiry of (fc« B^gn of 
Char/a F., 1769.] 



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S44 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The genius of the persecuted became stubboni, 
obstinate, and ferodoua ; and, although indulgences 
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 
&vourite doctrine under the auspices of the King. 
From Richard Cameron, their apostle, this rigid sect 
acquired the name of Cameroniaus. 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 acknow- 
ledgment of the King's supremacy in ecclesiastical 
matters. Upon these bigoted and persecuted 
fanatics, and by no means upon the Presbyterians 
at lai^, are to be charged the wild anarchical 
principles of anti-monarchy and assassiQatton, which 
polluted the period when they flourished. 

The insurrection, commemorated and magnified 
in the following ballad, as indeed it has been in 
some histories, was, in itself, no very important 
affair. It began in Dumfriesshire, where Sir James 
Turner, a soldier of fortune, was employed to levy 
the arbitrary fines imposed for not attending the 
Episcopal churches.^ The people rose, seized his 
person, disarmed his soldiers, and, having continued 
together, resolved to march towards Edinburgh, 
expecting to be joined by their friends in that 
quarter. In this they were disappointed ; and, 
being now diminished to half their numbers, they 
drew up on the Pentland Hills, at a place called 
RuUion Green. They were commanded I^ one 
Wallace; and here they awaited the approach of 



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BATTLE OF PENTLAND HILLS a4S 

Genera] Dalsiel, of Blnns;' who, having marched 
to Calder, to meet them on the Lanarit 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 
showed both spirit and judgment : he drew up his 
men in a very strong situation, and withstood two 
charges of Dalziel's cavalry; but, upon the third 
shock, the insurgents were, broken and utterly dis- 
persed. There was very little slaughter, as the 
cavalry of Dalsiel 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 S8th 
November 1666; a day still observed by the scat- 
tered remnant of the Cameronian sect, who regu- 
larly hear a field-preaching upon the field of battle. 

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

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

> [Sea VoU» to Old MorbUits.—J. Q. L.] [Dalfell, who had 
attained to the nuik of lientenaiit-gBneral in the Kunlan Mrrioe, 
obtained pmniailon, In 1666, from the Can, to retom to ' hii 
oonntr;,' uid in 1666 wM appointed MDunsnder-iUHShlef In 
Sootland. Hii MTerltlM igkinit the Oovenuiten, oonpled irltb 
tiil eooeutilo appeuanet and mannan, earned fat him the ei- 
oeptlonal dread and hatred of the peaaantrj, who regarded liim 
■■ a wiaird, and in ipeoial IsagUB wlUi Satan.} 

* [Now called OolinMin.] 



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THE 
BATTLE OF PENTLAND HILLS 



7^u Ballad is copied veriaiimjrom the old 
Woman's Recitation. 



Thk gallant Grahams cam 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 Ai^le, 
The lads they marchM mony a mile ; 
Souters and taylors unto them drew, 
Their covenants for to renew. 



The Whigs, they, wi' their merry cracks, 
Gar'd the poor pedlars lay down their packs ; 
But aye 8ins3rae they do repent 
The renewing o' their Covenant 



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BATTLE OF PENTLAND HILLS !M7 



At the Mauchline muir, where they were reviewed, 
Ten thousand men in onnour showed ; 
But, ere they cam to the Brockie's bum, 
The half o^ them did back return. 



General Dalyell, as I hear tell. 

Was our lieutensint-general ; 

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

Was to guide them on to the Pentland hill. 



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



' Although we all in armour be, 
It's not against his majesty ; 
Sot yet to spill our neighbour's bluid, 
But wi' the country we'll conclude.' 



' 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 11 fight for a brokoi Covenant' 



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i BORDER MINSTRELSY 

IX 

' well,' eays he, ' since it is so, 
A wilfu' man never wanted woe ' ; 
He then gave a sign imto his lads, 
And they drew up in their brigades. 



The trumpets blew, and the colours fiew. 
And eveiy 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 Rullien Grreen. 
1 TVwM, auptf. 



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BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL 

The Whigs, now become desperate, adopted the 
most desperate priodples ; and retaliating, as far as 
tbey could, the iatolerating persecutloD which they 
endured, they openly disclaimed allegiance to any 
monarch who should not profess Presbytery, and 
subscribe the Covenant. These prindples 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 king- 
dom of vice betwixt them ; the hunters assuming to 
themselves open jnofligacy and legalised oppres- 
sion; and the hunted, the opposite attributes of 
hypocrisy, fanaticism, disloyalty, and midnight 
assassination. The troopers and cavaliers became 
enthusiasts in the pursuit of the Covenanters. If 
Messrs. Kid, King, Cameron, Peden, etc., boasted 
of prophetic powers, and were often warned of the 
approach of the soldiers, by supernatural impulse,^ 

I In tha yew 1684, Padsn, ona of the CuB«roDiui prewdien, 
kboDt ten o'aloak *t night, litUiig kt the flndde, aluled up to hli 
feat, and Mid, 'Flsa, Mid Sudie [thai he dnlgned hlmaelf^ 

and hide yaanelf 1 for Oolonel U oamtnK to thli hanae to 

apprahend jtn, ; and I adrbe yon all to do the like, for he will 
be hen within an hour ' ; whiah came to pan i and when the7 
had made a vaj nanow uaioh, within and withont the boDM, 
and went ronnd the thom-biuh, nnder whloh he wat lining pray- 
Ins, they went off withont thaii pzey. He oame in, and nid, 



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250 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Captain John Creichton, on the other side, dreamed 
dreams, and saw visions (chiefly, indeed, after hav- 
ing dmnk hard), in which the lurking-holes of the 
rebels were discovered to his imaginatioii.' Our 
ears are Bcarcelj more shocked with the profane 
execrations of the persecutors,^ than with the 
strange and insolent familiarity used towards the 
Deity by the persecuted ianatics. Their indecent 
modes of prayer, their extravagant expectations of 
miraculous assistance, and their supposed inspira- 
tions, might easily furnish out a tale, at which tiie 
good would 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 : — 

'And hu thia gsnUenun [deti^ed bj hii n>ms] giren poor 
Suidis, and tbir poor thingi, aaeh k fttghtT For thia night'a 
work, Qod ihall giT* him niah a blow, within k few dftyi, that 
all the phjsioiuu on earth shall not be able to cure ' ; whiob oame 
to pasi, for he died in grekt miMeij.'-Life o/AUxander FtdtTi. 

1 See the life of thia booted •poetle to prelaoj, wiitten h^ 
Swift, who had oolleoted all hii aneadatoi of penaoatiok, and 
appeara to have enjajed them aooordlngl]'. [Baott'a adition of 
Swift, ToL I. p. 101.— J. Q. L.] 

' 'The7 laved,' iaja Feden'a hlatorian, 'like fleahly derUa, 
whan the miat abronded from their pumiit the wandering Whiga.' 
One gtmtleman oloiad a deolaration of Tengeanoa agonal the 
eonvantialan, with tiiia atrange impreoaliiHi, ' Oi mmj the deril 
make mj rlba a gridinm to taj aoal\'—XS. Aoaaunt of tiu 
Pm^yj/Urg of Penpmt. Onr armiea awore tarriblf in Flanders 
bat nothing to thia 1 [See Tritbraat Shandy.— J. O. L.] 

* Fadeo oomplained heavll;, that, after a heavj atmggle with 
the deril. be had got abore him, ^lur-gallect him hard, and 
obtained a wind to tuarj him from Ireland to Sootland, when, 
behold I another peraon had aet aall, and reaped the advantage of 
hi* prayer-wind^ before he oould embatk. 



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THE BATTLE OP LOUDON HILL 861 

' She ■howod to me « box, whenln laj hid 
11)0 plctuTM of Cugil and Mr. Kid ; 
A spUntST of tho tree, on wfaiob the^ were aUm ; 
A doable inch of M^or Weir'a boat cane ; 
RathiUet'i iword, baat doim to tabl»-kuife. 
Which took at Mafiis' Muir a biahop'a lifa ; 
The worthj Welch*! ipectaclea, who saw. 
That windlfr^tiawB would fight agaimt the law ; 
Tlej, wuidle-atrawa, were stontert of the two, 
Tbtif kept their ground, awaj the prophet flew ; 
And liste of all the prophet*' tutnei were aeen 
At Pentland Hilla, Aird-MoM, and Rnllen Green. 
"Dont think," ahe aajra, "theae holy thiogs are 
foppery; 
They 're predona antidotea againrt the power of 



The militU uid standing army soon became 
unequal to the task of enforcing coBfbrmity, and 
sap[»«ssiDg conventicles. In their aid, and to force 
compliance with a test proposed by government, 
the Highland claiu were raised, and poured down 
into Ayrshire. An armed host of undisciplined 
nHmntaineers, speaking a different language, and 
professing, many of them, another religion, were 
let loose, to rsrage and plunder this unfortunate 
country ; and it is truly astonishing to find how few 
acts of cruelty they perpetrated, and how seldom 
they added murder to pillage.^ Additional levies 

> Olaland tbiu dMoriba thb AxtrMrdlnArj unaj :— 

'ThoM, iriio wen thdr diief oomnuuider*, 
Ai iDEh who bon tha jrinde atandaiti, 
Wbo led tha van, and diove tha Taar, 
Wan right wall ntoniitad of thab nar ; 
With biwua, and tnwa, and ^rue plaldt. 
With good bliM bonneto on thdi headi, 
WUoh, on Um one dda, bad a flips, 
Adotn'd with a tobkaoo.p<pe, 



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S52 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

of bwse were also raised, under the name of Inde- 
pendent Troops, nnd great part of them placed 
under the command of James Graham of Claver- 
house, a man well known to fame by his sub- 
sequent title of Viscount Dundee, but better 
remembered, in tiie western shires, under the 
designation of the Bloodjr Clavets.' In truth, he 
appears to have combined tfae virtues and vices of a 
savage chief. Fierce, unbending, and rigorous, no 
emotion of compsssioD prevented his commanding 
and witnessing ereiy detail of military execution 
against the non-confonnists. Undauntedly brave, 
and steadily faithful to his prince, he sacrificed 
himself in the cause of James, when he was 
deserted by all the world. If we add, to these 
attributes, a goodly person, complete skill in martial 
exercises, and that ready and decisive character, so 



A Im( whioh thsy 

And, mi tiutr itrict obaervan n j, 
A top-hmi filled with luqiubaj ; 
A lUiht^at «aat baiMatli her pludn, 
A tufe irf ttnber, u^ and hid« ; 
With a long two-huided BWord, 
Ai nod '■ the oonntn' em afford. 
Had th«7 not need of bulk and bones, 
Who fought with all theaa ■rmi at ODoe ! 

Of moial binkeetle ther 're aleao. 

Nought like raligioD the; retain ; 

In Dothing thsj re aoooonted iharp, 

Kieept inbas-plpek and in harp ; 

For a mtiobuguig word, 

She 11 i\iA her neighbour o'er the boord. 

And then (he 11 flee like Are from flint. 

She '11 ■narmly ward the woond dint ; 

If an; aak tier of her thrift, 

Foraooth her nainiwll liTea bj thift.' 

Clzijliiii'b Poau, Edin. IBffT, p. 12- 
' [Oompate the oharaoter of Olaverlunue, aa drawn in greater 
detail, and with rioher oolonn, long afterwardi, in the tale oE 
Old iforlality. See aUo Lag of the Latl Minttrd, Introdoa- 
tianandNoteatoCaiitoD.— J. G. L.] 



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THE BATTLE OP LOUDON HILL 888 

cssentiAl to a commuider, we may form aome idea 
of this extraordinary dumcter. The Whigs, whom 
he penecnted, daunted by his ferocity and courage, 
conceived him to be impassive to their bullets,' and 
that he bad sold himself, for temporal greatness, to 
the seducer of mankind. It is still believed that 

' It m^ and ii bellared, that the dsTil fnr>ilih«d hii favoorltea, 
tmoof the puMonton, with wh^t U sailed proof tgklnit leaden 
Imlleti, but ag^nit thoie only. Dmiiig the battle of Pantlaad 
Hillt, FWon of Headmrhead ooDoelfed he law the balli hop baim- 
leMly down from Gtaienl Dalziel'i boot*, and, to ooniitaraat the 
ipell, loaded hl« pfetol with a fdese of ailra ooin. Bnt Daldsl, 
having hie 070 on him, drew beisk behind hi* eervuit, who wae 
■hot dead.— Palon'i lASe. At a ekirmiih In AthIum, eome of 
the wandoren defended thenuelfee In a eeqaeetered hoiue, bj 
the elds of a lake. They aimed repeatedly, bat in Tain, at tbe 
ODDUnander of the aenilanti, an 'B"gH'*' oSoer, until, their 
■mmonition running ihort, one of tbetn loaded hie pleoe with the 
ball at the head of ^le tongm, and raeoMded In ihootlng the 
hitherto impenetrable oaptkin. To aooommodate Dnndee** fate 
to their own h;potbe«l«, the Oameronian tradition mna, that, in 
the battle of Silliorankie, he fell, not by tbe enemy'e fire, but by 
ths piMot of one of hii own lerTaQti, who, to aroid the apell, had 
loaded it with a dlTer button fiom hi* ooaL One of their wiiten 
atguee thoe : ' Peihape eome may tUiik thie, anent proof-ihot, a 
paradox, and tie ready to abjeot hare, ■■ formerly, oonoemlng 
Blihop Sliarpe and DaUel— How ean the deril hare, or give, 
power to Mve life T Without entering upon the thing in ite 
reality, I ehail only obeerve— 1. That it ie neltbei in bia power, or 
of hii nature, to be a nnonr of men'i livee ; he la oaUed Apol- 
lyon, the dvtroyer. i. That, even in thie eaee, he ii aeid only 
to give enohaDtment ag^nst one kind of metal, and thii does not 
nve life ; for, though lead oonld not take Sharpe and Claver- 
IioDie'i Uvea, yet iteel and nlrer eonld do it ; and, for Daliiel, 
though he died not on the field, yet he did not eeoape the amnn 
of the Almighty.' — GoSi Jud^puntmt a^amat PerieButori. If the 
reader be not now oonvinoed of t}ie thing m itt radiis, I liave 
nothing to add to mch eiquliile reaaouing. [ty. Soott'i deaerip- 
tlon of ClaTerhooM in the oompany of ghaatly rerellen in Bed- 
ganntlet Oaetle : ' And there was Claverfaoiue, m beautiful at 
when he lived, with liie long, dark, eurled looke, itreaming down 
over hie laoed bufl-ooat, and hii left hand alwayi on hii right 
epule-blade, tf> hide tbs wonnd Uiat the lilver bnllet had made.'] 



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354 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

■ cup of wine, presented to him by hia bntler, 
changed into clotted blood ; and that, when he 
plunged hia feet into cold water, their touch canaed 
it to boU. The steed, which bore him, was supposed 
to be the gift of Satan ; and precipices are shown, 
where a fot coold hardly keep his feet, down which 
the infernal chai^er conveyed him safely, in purauit 
of the wanderers. It is remembered, with terrar, 
that Claverhouse was successful in every engage- 
ment with the Wblgs, except that at Drumck^, or 
Loudon Hill, which is the subject of the following 
ballad. The history of Burly, the hero of the 
piece, will bring ua immediately to the causes and 
circmnstances of that event. 

John Balfour of Kinloch, commonly called 
Burly,* was one of the fiercest of the proscribed 
sect. A gentleman by birth, be was, saya hia 
biographer, ' zealous and honest-hearted, courageous 
in every enterprise, and a brave soldier, seldom any 
escaping that came in his hands.' — life oj Joim 
Balfour. Creichton says, that he was once cham- 
berlain to Archbishop Sharpe, and, t^ negligence, 
or dishonesty, had Incurred a large airear, which 
occasioned his being active in his master's assassina- 
tion. But of this I know no other evidence than 
Creichton's assertion, and a hint in Wodrow. Burly, 
for that is his most common designation, was 
brother-in-law to Hackston of Rathillet, a wild 

1 [Tbli !■ uiothar of the hanwi of Old iforlalilv.~J. O. L.] 
[In the Ant of forfaitare ■gainit BkUoui, Snd April 1683, he ii 
de«ribBd ' u John Bklfonr of Elnlooh. lahed Oftpt»in Burleigh.' 
Wodiow wTJtei of him : ' I oxuuit flnd th>t tldi gentlemui had 
ever mj great ohuaoter for rellgioo tmong thoae who knew 
lliln ; a&d laoli ware the aoeouita of Mm when abroad that the 
re*eraud iniiiisten of the Soot* oongngktion at Botleidam ironLl 
nerer aUow him to oommtuiiiiate with them ' {Siitory, lil. 46}.] 



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THE BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL S56 

enthusiutic cluracter, who joined duing courage, 
and skill in the sword, to the fiery seal of hii sect 
Bnrly, himself, was less eminent for religious 
fervour, than for the actiTe and violent share which 
he had in the most desperate enterprises of his 
party. His name does not appear among the 
Covenanters, who were denounced for the affair of 
PentUnd. Bnt, in 1677, Robert Hamilton, after- 
wards commander of the iosorgents at Loudon Hill 
and Bothwell Bridge, with several other non-con- 
formists, were assembled at this Bnrly's house, in 
Fife. There they were attacked by a party of 
soldiers, commanded by Captain Carstairs, whom 
they beat off*, wounding desperately one of his 
party. For this resistance to authority, they were 
declared rebels. The next exploit in which Bnrly 
was engaged, was of a bloodier complexion and 
more dreadful celebrity. It b well known that 
James Sharpe, Archbishop of St. Andrews, was 
regarded by the rigid Presbyterians, not only as a 
renegade, who had turned back from the spiritual 
plough, but as the principal author of the rigours 
exercised against their sect. He employed, as an 
agent of his oppression, one Carmichaet, a decayed 
gentleman. The industry of this man, in procuring 
information, and in enforcing the severe penalties 
against conventiclers, having excited the resentment 
of the Cameronians, nine of their number, of whom 
Burly and his brother-in-law, Hackston, were the 
leaders, assembled with the purpose of waylaying 
and murdering Carmicbael; but, while they searched 
for him in vain, they received tidings that the Arch- 
bishop himself was at hand. The party resorted to 
prayer ; after which they agreed unanimously that 
the L<ml had delivered the wicked Haman into 



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S66 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

their hftod. In the execution of the supposed will 
of Heaven, they agreed to put themselves under 
the commuid of a leader; 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 imputed 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 
galloped off in pursuit of the Archbishop's carriage, 
which contained himself and his daughter. Being 
well mounted, they easOy overtook and disarmed 
the prelate's attendants. Burly, crying out, ' Judas, 
be taken ! ' rode up to the carriage, wounded the 
postillion, and hamstrung 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 Hack- 
ston, who BtUl remained on horseback, and begged 
for mercy. The stem enthusiast contented himself 
with answering, that he would not himself lay a 
hand on him. Burly and his men again fired a 
volley upon the kneeling 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 
bis master was still alive. Burly then again dis- 
mounted, struck off the prelate's hat with his foot, 
and split his skull with his shable (broadsword), 
although one of the party (probably Elathillet) 
exclaimed, 'Spare these grey hairt!'^ The rest 
pierced him with repeated wounds. They plundered 
' They beOered Stutrpa to b* proof ifuiut ihot ; for one of 



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THE BATTLE OP LOUDON HILL 867 

the carria^, and rode off, leaving, beaide the 
mangled coipse, the daughter, who was herself 
wotmded, in her pioni endeavour to interpose 
betwixt her father aiod his murderers. The murder 
is accurately represented, in bas-relief, upon a 
beautiful monument, erected to the memory of 
Archbishop Sharpe, in the Metropolitan Church of 
St Andrews. This memorable example of fanatEe 
revenge was acted upon Magus Huir, near 
St Andrews, Srd May 1679.1 

the matdcren told Wodrow that, Bt tlia tight of oold icon,* hii 
oonnge falL Thej no loncu donbtod thli, vhsii thej toand la 
his pooket % unall olew of lUk, rolled ronnd k bit of pkrabneat, 
marked with two long wordi, in Hebiew or Chaldaio ohAnolat*. 
Aooordlngly, it !■ itiU STerred that the balli 0DI7 left blue 
■narks OD the prelMe'i neok and breaM, i^thoogh the dlioharg« 
wM w near aa to bom his olothes. [Xirkton IThe Seera and 
TriK Bitlorg of A« Chtmk of Soalland, ad. C. K. ShariM, 
p. BS) afflmu, 'And thU I oan bj of oartaln knowledge, llie 
EhlmrgeDn* who fint handled hii bod;, when dead, told me bit 
body was not pleraed with toy at the bnlleta ihot at him at a 
very DMr distanoe.' But Bharpe addi thii note, ' Tet ho wia 
woonded by a ihot below the right alaTiale behind the uoond and 
third lib, a* U proven b; the oertiflaate of oettaln medlaal man, 
made pablk^ in order to oonfnte the idea of hii inmlnerabilit}'.'] 

■ The qneation, whether the Biihop of St. Andrewi' death 
waa mtuder, waa a aUbboleth, or expermcnUim emoit, frsqnantl; 
put to the apprehended oonTantlelen. Isabel Alism, eieontad 
at Bdinbnrgfa, £6th Jaanar; ISSl, waa interrogated, before the 
Privy Ooonoil, If she oanT«ned with David HackitonT 'I 
answered, I did oonvsne with him, and I bless the Lord that erei 
I aaw him ; for I never saw ought In him Init a godlj i^oua 
jodth. They asked, if the killing of the Bishop of St. Andrews 
WM a plons aat T I answered, I nerer heard lilm say he killed 
him ; but, if God moved any, and put it Qpcn them to eieoQle 
his rlghteons Judgment upon Iiim, I have nothing to my to that. 
They asked mc^ when saw ye John BaUour [Buily], that ptona 
yoQth T I answered, I have seen hjm. They aalied, when ? I 
aniwarad, tfaaea are bivolons qneetiona ; I am not bound to 
answer tham.'— Cloud of Witnata, p. 85. 

* [Wiard), &]ria, and Susa, aocording to gezwnl foDc.txwljtioD, dread 
Um rig^' or mfiatioo of coM iron.] 

VOL. n. B 



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X68 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Burly was, of course, obliged to leave Fife ; and, 
upon the 25th of the same month, he arrived in 
Evandale, in LaoarkBhire, along with HackBton, 
and a fellow, called Dingwall, or Daniel, one of the 
same bloody band.* Here he joined bis old friend 
Hamilton, already mentioned ; and, aa they resolved 
to take op anns, they were soon at the head of such 
a body of the ' chased and tossed western men,' 
as tbey thought equal to keep the field. They 
resolved to commence their exploits upon the Sgth 
of Hay 1679, being the anniversary of the Restora- 
tion, appointed to be kept as a holiday, by act of 
Parliament ; an institution which they esteemed a 
presumptuous and unholy solemnity. Accordingly, 
at the head of eighty horse, tolerably appointed, 
Hamilton, Burly, and Hackston entered the royal 
burgh of Rutherglen;' extinguished the bonfires 
made in honour of the day; and burned at the cross 
the acta of Parliament in favour of Prelacy, and for 
suppression of conventicles, as well as those acts of 
council which reflated 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, tbey encamped upon Ldudon 
Hill. Claverhouse, who was in garrison at Glasgow, 
instantly marched against the insurgents, at the 

' [He WH Bob«rt Dinsmll, ■ fumer*! too. In Oakddun.— 
WoDwiw'a Hittory, ed. Borni, lil. 47.] 

* [Thdr otigin&l Intentlan wm to porform tbi* Btmmaaj in 
QlMgow, bat thl* lud be«n randsred Impoarible h^ the tAmnaa 
of the traopi of OteiwhonM to the oity.] 



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THE BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL 259 

head of his own troop of caralry and others, 
unouotiiig to itbout one hundred and fifty men. 
He arrived at Hamilton on the Ist of June, lo 
unexpectedly, as to nuke 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 Drum- 
clog, about a mile east of Loudim Hill, and twelve 
miles south-west of Hamilton. At some distance 
from this place, the insargents were skilfully posted 
in a boggy strait, almost inaccessible to cavalry, 
having a broad ditch in their front. Claverhouse's 
dragoons discharged their carabines, and made an 
attempt to charge ; but the nature of the ground 
thiew them into total disorder. Burly, who com- 
manded the handful of horse belonging to the 
Whigs, instantly led them down on the disordered 
squadrons of Claverhouse, who were, at the same 
time, rigoronsly assaulted by the foot, headed by 
the gallant Cleland,* and the enthusiastic Hack- 

■ [Tha O^riel Kettledrummle of Old Mortality.] 
* Willuim OleUnd, a man of ooniidenbls geultu, wtw antliar 
of WTend poenu, pabliahed in 1697. Bit Hndibmtio vean are 
poor Hiirriloiu tiwh, M the reader nuj juige from tha dewrip- 
tlim at tha HigUanden, alrodj qnot«d. But, In a irild 
ihapiody, entitled, ' Hollo, my Faiw;,' he diapUf ■ wilne imagina- 
tiim. Hi> antl-inonarahical [aiuoiplea leem to hretic out In the 
following line* : — 

He wu a itriot non-eonfomiUt, and, after the Bevolntion, 
bMams lientenant-flolonel of the Eail of Anene'e raiment, ealled 
the Oameronian regiment. He wax killed, £Ut Angnet 1689, in 
the ehorcbfud of Dnnkeld, whioh hit corps maotullj uid luo- 
uwefully defended agaimt > mperior bod; of Highlanden. HIi 
■on mi the antboi of the letter [oefixed to the Danciad, and is 
•aid to have been tha notorioni Cleland, who, in oin 
pMoniai; embanaauaent, proaUtated hia talanta te 



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260 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

tton.' Gaverhousehimselfwuforcedtoflj, and was 
in the utmost danger of being taken ; his hone'a 
belly being cut open by the stroke of a scythe, so 
that the poor animal trailed bis bowels for more 
than a mile. In his flight, he passed King, the 
minister, lately bis prisoner, but now deserted by 
his guard in the general confusion. The preacher 
hollowed to the flying commander, to 'halt, and 
take bis prisoner with him ' ; or, as others say, ' to 
stay, and take the afternoon's preaching.' ' Claver- 
house, at length remounted, continued his retreat 
to Glasgow. He tost, in the skirmish, about twenty 
of his troopers, and his own comet 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 

tion of indeoent mid infunolu wwki; but thii Menu iiuDu- 
■iateot with dktei, kad the Ikttar psnonage ma ptobablj tba 
gnudion of Colonel Cleluid. [Cleland ma the author of imlj 
nine itaiuiM ftdded to the origioal ' Hollo, my Fande,' wblob maj 
be M old M 1609 (ne eapaoujly Aox&ufyAc BaUadt, ed. EUworth, 
TiiL T69). The WiUiun CleUnd of the Dimeiad oould not have 
been the won of the aolonel, a* be wae bom about 1671, ud 
the ooloiLel abcmt 1661. The ' notoriou Cleland ' wu the bd of 
Cleland of the Duinciad.'\ 

> [The namtlve of ClavarhouM baldly ■greea irjth thii 
Booonnt. The troopi of ClaverhonM had the bettei of theni in 
lUrmlih, and thej, peroeiTing thU, 'naoWed,' nyi ClaTerhotue, 
'a gcoer^ engagement, and Immediately advanced irlUi their 
foot, Uie hone following. They omdo through the looh, and the 
greateit body of sll made up agalnit my troops' eta. In faot, 
ClaverhooM wae defeated by the bold advanoe of a foroe nn- 
(killed in armi, but much laperior id numben-J 

* [In Old Uortality Soitt puti thoee word* Into the month of 
Cnddie'i mother, ' TWry, tarry, ye wha were aye lae tilitha to 
be at the meetings of the Mdnta, and wad ride every mnir In 
Beotland to And a oonventlala I Wilt tboa not tarry now thoa 
halt fooud one ! Wilt thou not itay for one word mair t Wilt 
thou not bide the afternoon preaehlng ! *] 

■ [See note to itanat zii. of ' the Battle of Bothwell Bridge.'] 



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THE BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL 261 

of Burl; In Shupe's murder. 'The r«beb,' uys 
Creichton, ' finding the comet's body, and supposing 
it to be thjit of Clarers, because the oame of 
Gnham was wrought in the shirt-neck, treated it 
with the utmoBt inhunumitj' ; cutting off the nose, 
picking out the eyes, and stabbing it through in a 
hundred places.' The same charge is brought by 
Guild, in hia Bellum BothttelUanum, in which occurs 
the foUowing account of the skirmish at Drum- 
clog :— 

Modi Mt occidaui lorgit qui celsui in orii, 
(Nomina Loadunum) fotsis puteisque profimdis. 
Quo sestet hie tellnt, et aprico gramiae tectus : 
Hue coUecU fiiit, numeroso milit« cincta, 
Torba ferox, matrea, pneri, innaptmiue pnell* ; 
Quam parat cgregiA Gmmus dispersere turmi. 
Venit, et primo campo discedere cogit ; 
Post hos et alios, cceuo provolvit inerti ; 
At nameroea cabon, campum dispersa per omnem, 
Circumfusa ruit ; turmasqne, indagine captas, 
Af^reditur ; virtus uon hie, nee profuit ensii ; 
Conipnere fugam, viridi led gramine tectii, 
Fredpitata pent foasia pan plurima, quorum 
Coraipedee biSMre luto, aeaaore rejecto : 
Turn rablosa cohon, misereri nescia, stratos 
Invadit laceratque viros : hie signifer, eheu ! 
Trajectni globnlo, Gneinus, quo fortior alter. 
Inter Scotigenas faent, nee justior ullus : 
Huuc manibus rapnera feria, &ciemqne ririlem 
Fesdarunt, lingua, aurieulis, manjbusque reiectia, 
Aspera diffuso spa^entes aaxa cerebro. 
Viz dux ipse fngft SkItub, nsmque exta trahebat 
Vulnere tardatua sonipea generosus hiante : 
Inaaquitur elamore eohors ftuatiea, nauique 
Crudelia semper timldus al Ticerit unquam. 

M3. Btiium BothueUUtnum. 

Although Burly was among the most active 



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S62 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

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 Drumclog, had imbibed 
the very wildest principles of fanaticism. The 
Cameronian account of the insurrection states, that 
'Mr. Hamilton discovered a great deal of bravery 
and valour, both in the conflict with, and pursuit 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 
victory : and some, without Mr. Hamilton's know- 
ledge, and against his strict command, gave five of 
these bloody enemies quarters, and then let them 
go : this greatly grieved Mr. Hamilton, when be 
saw some of Babel's brats spared, after the Lord 
had delivered them to their hands, that they might 
dash them against the stones.' Ptalm cxxxviL 9> 
In his own account of this, ' he reckons the sparing 
of these enemies, and letting them go, to be among 
their first stepping aside ; for which he feared that 
the Lord would not honour them to do much more 
tix 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 Doke as a Uttle 
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 



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THE BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL 368 

to his oickiuune, Bmig, sigQifying ttrong. He vu 
Kith the insorgenta till the bottle of Bothwell 
Bridge, and afterwards fled to Holland. He joined 
the Prince c^ Orange, but died at lea, during the 
expedition.' The Cameronians still believe he had 
obtained liberty from the prince to be avenged of 
those who had persecuted the Lord's people ; but, 
through his death, the laudable design of purging 
the land with their blood, is supposed to have fidlen 
to the ground — life of Balfour of Kmloch. 

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

> [A tiaditloii ii mBntioDed in the notloe of Bowneath parlih 
in the JTne AaCutioat Aeoount of Becttand, that BaUour nsvsr 
iell SootUnd, but nndei the pratootiaii of Aigjll took lefuga M 
Bownnth, where be and hi* deMendaal* IiTcd nudar tha uame a( 



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THE 
BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL 

You 'll marvel when I tell ye o' 
Our Doble Burly, and his train ; 

When liist he marchM up thro' the land, 
Wi' ftax-and-twenty Westland men. 

II 
Than they I neVr o' braver heard, 

For they had a' baith wit and skill ; 
They proved right well, as I heard tell. 

As they cam up o'er Loudon Hill. 

Ill 
Weel prosper a* the gospel lads, 

That are into the west countrie ; 
Aye wicked Claver'ee to demean, 

And aye an ill deid may he die ! 

IV 

For he 's drawn up i' battle rank, 
An^ that baith soon an' hastilie ; 

But they wha live till simmer come, 
Some bludie days for this will see. 



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THE BATTLE OP LOUDON HILL «65 

But up spak cruel Claver'se then, 
Wr bastie wit, an* wicked skill ; 

* Grae fire on yon Weatlan* men ; 
I think it is my sov'rego's will.'' 

VI 

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

I ken 1 11 ne'er come back again, 
An' mony mae as weel as me. 



' lliere is not ane of a' yon men, 
But wba is worthy other three ; 

Tliere 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, an' fame ; 
6ie him a sword into his hand, 

He 11 fight thysell an' other ten.' 

IX 

But up spake wicked Claver'se then, 

I wat his heart it raise fu' hie ! 

And he has cried that a' might hear, 

* Man, ye hae sair deceived me. 

1 [See Dotc to It. xll. L 4 ot "Dw Bkttle of BothweU Bridga.'] 



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BOEDER MINSTRELSY 



' I never ken^d the like afore, 
Na, never since I came fi-ae hame, 

Tliat you sae cowardly here suld prove, 
An' yet come of a noble Grseme/ 



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

Mysell shall be the foremost man, 
That shall gae fire on Loudon Hill. 



' At your command I '11 lead them on. 
But yet wi' nae consent o' me ; 

For weel I ken 111 ne'er return. 
And mony mae as wee) as me.' ' 

XIII 

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. 



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. 
[See the Mooant of tliii bkttle in Old MortaiUy.—J. G. L.] 



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THE BATTLE OF LOUDON HILL 867 

XV 

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

Wha mair than either ainc« or twice 
In Edinbui^h confined had been. 



They hae been up to Londtm sent, 
An* yet they 're a' come safely down ; 

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



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL 
BRIDGE 

It has been often remarked, that the Scottish, not> 
withstanding their national courage, were alwaj^ 
unsuccessfiil 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 prophet of his tribe, may 
avail himself of religious enthusiasm, because it 
comes to the aid of discipline, and is a powerfol 
means of attaining the despotic command, essential 
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 Presbyterian doctrine; and, minute as these 
shades sometimes were, neither the several shep- 
herds, nor their flocks, could cheerfully unite in a 
common cause. This will appear from the trans- 
actions leading to the battle of Bothwell Bridge. 

We have seen, that the party, which defeated 
Claverhouse at London Hill, were Cameronians, 
whose principles 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 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 869 

practice, inconsistent with the safety of any well- 
regulated goremment, because the Covenanters 
deny to their governors that toleration, which was 
iniquitouily refused to themselves. In many 
respects, therefore, we cannot be surprised at the 
anxiety and rigour with which the CameroDians 
were persecuted, althou^ we may be of opinion 
that milder means would have induced a melioration 
of their principles. These men, as already noticed, 
excepted against such Presbyterians, as were con- 
tented to exercise their worship under the indulg- 
ence granted by government, or, in other words, 
who would have been satisfied with toleration for 
themselves, without insisting upon a revolution in 
the state, or even in the church establishment. 

When, however, the success at Loudon Hill was 
spread abroad, a number of preachers, gentlemen, 
and common people, who had embraced the more 
moderate doctrine, joined the army of Hamilton, 
thinking that the difference in their opinions ou^t 
not to prevent their acting in the common cause. 
The insurgents were repulsed in an attack upon the 
town of Glasgow, which, however, Claverhouae 
shortly afterwards thought it 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 disciplining their 
array, 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 Erastiana The 
latter so far prevailed, as to get a declaration drawn 
up, in which they owned the King's government ; 



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870 BORDER MINSTREISY 

bat the publicatksi of it gave riae to new qoAnels. 
Each &ctioii had its own set of lewiers, all of whom 
aspired to be officers ; and there were actually two 
councils of war issuing contrary orders and declan- 
tiona at the same time ; the one owning the King, 
and the other designing him a malignant, bloody, 
and peijured tyrant. 

Meanwhile, their numbers and seal were magni- 
fied at Edinbni^h, and great alarm excited lest they 
should mareh 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 disobeyed this 
order, and were afterwards severely fined. Most of 
them alleged, in excuse, the apprehension of dis- 
quiet from their wives.^ A respectable force was 
soon assembled; and James, Duke of Buceleuch and 
Monmouth, was sent down, by Charles il, to take 
the command, furnished with instructioas, not un- 
favourable to the Presbyterians. The royal army 
now moved slowly forwards towards Hamilttm, and 
reached Bothwell moor on the SSnd of June 1679. 
The insurgents were encamped chiefly in the 
Duke (J Hamilton's park, along the Clyde, which 
separated the two armies. Bothwell Bridge, which 

1 ' BtlMuqiOuU of that ilk allesed, Uut hli honei vara 
robbed, but ■hmmad to take the deoluvtloii, for for of diaqniet 
from hi> wife. Toong of Kiiktou— Itli imiytm duigennu dck- 
nau, uid bitter oniMa if he ihoold leKTs her, and the eppear- 
kuoe of kborUon on hii offering to go from ber. And a»ixj 
othen [ded, Id gauenl temu, that theii wlva« oppoeed or ooutn- 
dloted Uieir galn(. Bnt the Joitioiarj Court (ooud thi* defence 
totallj irrelevant.'— FomnuHHAU.'i Dtettion*, ni. I. p. 88. 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE «71 

is long and nanow, had th«n a portal in the middle, 
with gates, which the CovenanteTs shut, snd bani- 
cadoed with sttmea and logs of timber. This im- 
portant post was defended by three hundred of 
their best men, under Hackston of Rathillet, and 
Hall of Haughhead. Earl)' in the morning, this 
party crossed the bridge, snd slcinnished with the 
roy^ vanguard, now advanced as far as the village of 
Bothwell. But Hackston speedily retired to his post 
at the western [southern] end of Bothwell Bridge. 

While the dispositions, made by the Duke of 
Monmouth, announced his purpose of assailing the 
pass, the more moderate of the insurgents resolved 
to offer terms. Ferguson of Kaitloch, a gentleman 
of landed fortune, and David Hume, a clergyman, 
carried to the Duke of Monmouth a snppUcation, 
demanding &ee exercise of their religion, a free 
Parliament, and a free general assembly of the 
Church. Hie Duke heard their demands with his 
natural mildness, and assured them, he would inter- 
pose with his Majesty in their behalf, on condition 
of their immediately dispersing themselves, and 
yielding up their arms. Had the insurgents been 
all of the moderate opinion, this proposal would 
have been accepted, much bloodshed saved, and, 
perhaps, 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 [northern] 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 
seal and courage; nor was it until all his i 



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27« BORDER MINSTRELSY 

tion wu expended, and every support denied him 
by the general, th&t he reluctantly abandoned the 
important paas,^ When his pxrty was drawn back, 
the Duke's army, 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 Claverfaouse the 
cavalry. 

It would seem that these movements could not 
have been performed without 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 moments 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 
diachatge of which the horse of the Covenanters 
wheeled, and rode off, breaking and trampling down 
the ranks of their infantry in their flight. The 
Cameraman account blames Weir of Greenridge, a 

' TImts ii so Momto repMMntatioii of tbii part of the 
engagement is an old painting, of whioh there are two oo^ee 
extant ; one in the coUeotion of hia gnoe the Ihilce of Hamilton, 
the other at DaUrelth Hoiue. The whole appeanmoe of the 
grounil, evsQ Innlndlng a few old hoDMi, U the nme whIoh the 
■oene now preeenti. The removal of the poreh, or gateway, upon 
the bridge, !■ the only peroeptible differenee. The Duke of 
Monmoath, on a white ehargtr, direoti the manih of the part; 
engaged Id itorming the bridge, while hie artillery gall the 
motley rank* of the Oorenantan. An engianDg of thli painting 
wonld be aooeptable to the oarioiu | and I am ntlefled an oppor> 
tunlty of oopying It, for that purpoie, wonld be readily granted 
by either of the noble proprietora 1810. . . . The fietan h»* 
boon engraved in ontllne for one of the publieatloni of the 
Baonatyne Clnb. 1330. [An old print ihowiiig the poeitiona of 
both tonn ia prefixed to Alton'e Hittory of Ok Benomtnler at 
Drumdog and BattU at BoAmO, 18S1.] 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 873 

commander of the horse, who Is tenned a sad 
Achan in the camp. The more moderate party lay 
the vhole blame on Hamilton, whose conduct, they 
My, left the world to debate, whether he was most 
traitor, coward, or fool. The generous Monmouth 
was anxious to spare the blood of his infatuated 
countrymen, by which he incurred much blame 
among the high-flyiag royalists. Lucky it was for 
the insurgents that the battle did not happen a day 
later, when old General Dalsiel, who divided with 
Claverhouse the terror and hatred of the Whigs, 
arrived in the camp, with a commission to super- 
sede Monmouth as commander-in-chief. He is 
said to have upbraided the Duke, publicly, with his 
lenity, and heartily to have wished his own commis- 
sion had come a day sooner, when, as he expressed 
himself, 'These rogues should never more have 
troubled the King or country.'^ But, notwith- 
standing the merciful orders of the Duke of 
Monmouth, the cavalry made great slaughter among 

' Daliiel wm ■ mui of ■»?•(• maunen. A priwDer having 
niled at btan, whlla under exuninatioa before the Privj Oooirall, 
Mlltaig him ' a UiuaoTia beut, who need to rout men. the 
genenl, in a paoion, itniok him, with the pomel of hie ihabble, 
on the faoe, till the blood ■prang.'— Foditmihhul, toI. i. 
p. 16S. He had iwara never to ehave hii beaid after the death 
of Cliarlee the Fint. Thli venerable appendage reached hla 
girdle, and:, ai he wore alwayi an old-faihlaned bnff-ooat, hii 
appeaiamie in Londcm never failed to attiaot the notioe of the 
ehildnn and of the mob. King Charlee n. need to evear at him, 
for liiiiiging inoh a rabble of bojg together, to be iqueeeed to 
death, while thej gaped at hie long beard and antique haUt, 
and exhorted him to ihave and dreee like a Chrirtian, to keep 
the poor (aim), aa Dalzlel eiprened It, ont of danger. Inoom- 
pliauoe with tbii reqneet, he onoe ai^wared at oonrt fashion. 
ablf dreMfld, eioeptlng the beard ; but, when the King had 
laughed loffiolentlr at the metamorphorii, he renuned hie old 
dren, to the great J07 of the bo;i, hla omial ■ 
CaaiDBimi'e Memoirt, p. lOS. 
VOL. II. 



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274 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

the fugitives, of whom four hundred were shun. 
Guild thus expresses himself: — 

Et ni Dux Tolidus tenuisset forte catarras, 
Vix quiEquBm profugua ritam eervMset inertem : 
Non audita Dncis varum mandata supremi 
OmnibuB, inseqnitur fugientes plurima turba, 
Perque agnw, pasaim, trepidft formidine captos 
ObtrUDCat, snvamqae adigit per viscera ferrum. 
JUS. Beltum BotkutOianum. 

The same deplorable circumstances are more 
elegantly bewailed in Wilson's Clifde, a poem, 
reprinted in ScoUisk Detcrip^ee Poemt, edited by the 
late Dr. John Leyden, Edinburgh, 180S :— 
' Where Bothwell's brid^ conneeta the margin steep. 
And Clyde, below, runs sUent, strong, and deep. 
The hardy peasant, by oppression driven 
To battle, deemed hia cause tlie cause of heaven ; 
Unskilled in arms, with useless courage stood. 
While gentle Monmouth grieved to shed his blood : 
But fierce Dundee, inflamed with deadly bate. 
In vengeance for the great Montrose's fate. 
Let looae the aword, 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 
natural, than that in the ballad, which imputes the 
severity of the pursuit to his thirst to revenge the 
death of his comet and kinsman, at Drumclog ; > 
and to the quarrel betwixt Claverhouse and Mon- 

' There i> lome reuon to oonjeotiiTe that the revenge of the 
Cuneroniaiu, if aoooeBifal, would have been little lenaaogainuy 
than that of the rofaliats. Creichton meationi that the; bad 
•reoled. in their raunp, a hi(h paii of gallowa, and prepared a 
quantity of halten, to hang nwh prinmtn u might fall into their 
haadi ; and be admirea the forbearanoe of the King's (oldien. 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 275 

mouth, it ascribes, with great luSvel^, the bloody 
taXe of the latter. Local tradition is always apt to 
trace foreign events to the domestic causes, which 
are more immediately in the narrator'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 possessed of a translation of the Bible, 
as early aa the days of Wickliffe. William Gordon, 
the father, was, in 1663, summoned before the 
Privy CouncU, for keeping conventicles in his house 
and woods. By another act of Council, he was 
banished out of Scotland ; but the sentence was 
never put into execution. In 1667 Earlstoun was 
turned out* of bis house, which was e<mverted Into 
a garrison for the King's soldiers. He was not in 
the battle of Bothwell Bridge, but was met, hasten- 
ing towards it, by some English dragoons, engaged 
in the pursuit already commenced. As he refused 
to surrender, he was instantly slain. — Wilson's 
HitloTy ofBolhrnell Riting ; Life of Gordon of Eari- 
iton, m Scofiuk WoriUet ; Wodrow's Hiitory, vol. ii. 
The son, Alexander Gordon of Earlstoun, I suppose 

who, wbeD tbsy ratnmed with their isisonen, brought them to the 
Ter7 apot where the gKllowi Mood, uid guarded tbnti there, 
without offerijig to huig a single indiiidoaL Guild, in the iteUum 
Sothv^iianum, i^nde* to the nma ator;, whioh ii rendered 
jnobkbte by the ciliAraatn of Hunilton, the ininrgent genersL— 
Gdhji'i U83. ; Cbiiobtoh'i Meiaoirt, p. 61. 

> [There were, in reality, Utree ooveiuuitiDg OonlciiM of Bttrl- 
■tonn, Alexander, the tatber of William Oordon, having t^en a 
prominant part is relating the aoolealaatioa] policy of Charles i.] 



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«76 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

to be the hero of the ballmd. He was not a 
C&meronian, but of the more moderate class of 
Presl^terUnB, whose sole object was fieedom of 
conscience, and relief irom the oppressive laws 
against noQ-confonnists. He joined the insurgents, 
shortly after the skirmish at Loudon Hill. He 
appears to have been active in forwarding the suppli- 
cation sent to the Duke of Monmouth. After the 
battle, he escaped discovery, by flying into a house 
at Hamilton, belonging to one of his tenants, and 
disguising himself in female attire. His person was 
proscribed, and his estate of Earlstoun was bestowed 
upon Colonel Theophilus Ogilthorpe, by the Crown, 
first in security for £5000, and afterwards in 
perpetuity. — FouN tain k all, p. S90. The same 
author mentions a person tried at the Circuit Court, 
July 10, l6SS, solely for holding intercourse with 
Earlstoun, an intercommuned (proscribed) rebeL^ 
As he had been in Holland after the battle of Both- 
well, he was probably an accessary 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, appointing him to be 
reprieved for a month, that he might, in the 
interim, be tortured for the discovery of hts accom- 
plices. The Council had the unusual spirit to 
remonstrate against this illegal course of severity. 
On November S, l68S, he received a farther respite, 
in hopes he would make some discoveiy. When 
brought to the bar, to be tortured (for the King 
had reiterated his commands), he, through fear, or 
distraction, roared like a bull, and laid so stoutly 
> [He WM eoadamned to dnth.] 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 277 

about him, that the bangnun and bte aufstant 
could hardly master tdm. At lait he fell into a 
swoon, and, on hia recovery, chained General 
Dalziel uid Drummond (violent Tories), together 
with the Duke of Hamilton, with being the leaders 
of the fanatics. It wu 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 bis immediate death. 
On SSnd August 1684, Earlstoun was sent for 
from the Bass, and ordered for execution, 4th 
November l684. He endeavoured to prevent his 
doom by escape ; but was discovered and taken, 
after be had gained the roof of the prison. The 
Cooncil deliberated, whether, in consideration of 
this attempt, he was not liable to instant execution. 
Finally, however, they were satisfied to imprison 
him in BUckness Castle, l6th September 1684, 
where he remained till after the Revolution, when 
he was set at liberty, and his doom of forfeiture 
reversed by act of Parliament — See Fountainhall, 
vol i. pp. 8S8, S40, 245, 250, 301, SOX. 

[Although Scott was unable to recover another 
soDg on this battle, at least four contemporary 
ballads on it still survive. Two are of l^glish 
origin: (1) 'Jockey's Downfall, a Poem on the 
Total Defeat given to the Scottish Covenanters 
neare Hamilton Park,' beginning : — 
' How now, Jockie, wbat ^^n, 

Does the Covenant ride thee still, 
Or is Calvin reeoncU'd 

To the Jesuit and the Deit? ' 



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378 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

and (S) 'A New Scotch balUd eaUed Bothwell 
Bridge, or Hamilton's Hero,' begiamng : — 

' When VKliant Bueklugh ehu'g'd his foM, 
And put the rebel Scots to flight, 
Full manf a gallant squire aroae 
And nub'd into the Bght.' 

There are also two Scottish white-letter broadsides 
on the battle, one on the Cavalier, and the other 
on the covenanting side. The former, reprinted in 
LaiDg's Fugitive Piecei of Scottish Poetry (1858), and 
entitled 'The Battle of Bod well -bridge, or the 
King's Cavileers Triumph. To be sung to a 
pleasant tune,' contains one stanza bearing some 
resemblance to stanza x. of the MimtreUy version : — 

' The stoat BiiKlisti cavileers of great renown. 
They stjled their canons the Whigs to dinff down ; 
The silly poor Whiga got maoy a wound. 

When they came to the battle of BodwelL' 

The other, entitled ' Bothwell Lines,' and reprinted 
in the first series of Laing's Fugitke Piece* (1889), 
is supposed to have been written by William 
Wilson, a schoolmaster. It is more in the ballad 
style, and begins : — 

'O woe be unto Prelacie, 
Iliat ever it did stand ! 
And woe be to your new made laws 
But, and your cursed Bands ! ' 

The story of the whole campaign has also been 
versified in ' A Short Compendium, or a Description 
of the Rebels in Scotland in anno 1679. Edin- 
burgh, printed in the year l681.'] 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL 
BRIDGE 



* O BiLLix, billie, bonn; billie, 
Will ye go to the wood wi' me ? 

Well ca' our horse hame masterless, 
An' gar them trow stain men are we.* 



' O DO, O so ! ' sajB Earlstoun, 
* For that ""a the thing that mauna be ; 

For I am sworn to Bothwell Hill, 
Whera I maun either gae or die.' 



So Earlstoun rose in the morning, 
An' mounted by the break o* day ; 

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



' Nov, fareweel, father, and fareweel, mother, 
An' fare ye weel, my sisters three ; 

An' fare ye weel, my Earlstoun, 
For tbee again 1 11 never see ! ' 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



So they're awa' to Botfawell HOI, 

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

He went to view their company. 

VI 

' YeVe welcome, ladi,' then Monmouth said, 
* Ye Ve welcome, brave Scots lads, to me ; 

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

VH 

' But jrield your weapons ane an' a' ; 

yield your weapons, lads, to me ; 
For, gin ye 11 yield your weapons up, 

Ye 'se a' gae bame to your country.' 

Tin 
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/ 

IX 

Then he set up the flag o' red, 

A' set about wi' bonny blue ; 
' Since ye '11 no cease, and be at peace, 

See that ye stand by ither true.' 
> Waly I ui int«rj«MIaii. 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 281 

X 

They 8tell''d ^ their cannons on the height, 
And BbowT''d their shot down in the howe ; ' 

An' beat our Scots lads even down, 
Thick thej lay slain on eveiy knowe.' 

M 

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

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

XII 

' 0, hold your hand,' then Monmouth cried, 
' G-ie qnarters to yon men for me ! ' 

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



' O hold your band,' then Monmouth cried, 
' If onjrthing you 11 do for me ; 

Hold up your hand, you cursed Gneme, 
Else a rebel to our King ye 'U be.' 



Thea wicked Oaver'se tum'd about, 

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

And cried, * God bless his Majesty ! ' 
1 StdTd, planted. < Hovt, hoUow. ' JTwwk, knoll. 



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B BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XV 

Then he *b 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 lies cauld and still ; 

But lang we'll mind, and sair well rue, 
The bloody battle of Bothwell Hill. 



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NOTES 



THE BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 

Then ht tetup thtfiag qfnd, 
A' let about m" Aonny blue. — St. ix. 11. 1-2. 
Blue wai Uie fiiTourite colour of tbe Covenanton ; 
hence the Tulgar phrsae of* true blue Whig. Spalding 
informs ns, that when the fint snny of Coveiumtert 
entered AberdeNi, few or none ' wanted a blue ribband ; 
the Lord Gordon, and some others of the Marquis (of 
Huntlf 's) ftmily had a ribband, when thef were dwelling 
in the town, of a red frmb colour, which they wore in 
their hats, and called it the rvj/al ribband, ai a sign of 
their love and lojalty to the King. In despite and 
derision thereof, this blue ribband was worn, and called 
the Ctovmanter't ribband, bj 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 die 
departure of this first army, the town was occupied by 
the barons of the royal party, till they were once more 
expelled by the Corenanters, who plundered the burgh 
and country adjacent ; ' no fowl, cock, or ben, left un- 
killed, the haill house-dogs, messens [i.e. lap-dogs], and 
whelps, within Al>erdeen, killed upon the streets ; so 
that neither hound, messen, nor other dog, was left 
alive that they could see : the reason was this, — when 
the first army came here, ilk captain and soldier had a 
blue ribband about his cnug [t.e. neck] ; in despite and 
derision whereof, when they removed from Aberdeen, 
•ome women of Aberdeen, as was alledged, knit blue 
ribbands alwut their messens' oraiga, whereat their 



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234 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

■oMiers took offence, and killed all their dog* for thu 
very cause.' — P, 160, 

I have seen one of the andent bumen of the Cove- 
nanten : it wu divided into four compartments, inacribed 
with the wordi, Chritt — Oovenant — King — Kingdom. 
Similar standardg are mentioned in SpKlding*! cnriona 
and minnte wuratiTe, toL it pp. 182, 245. 

HU Comet* death rmeoj^d tud be. — St xiL I. 4 
[See reference to the death of Comet Graham, ' nephew 
of Claverbouse,' in Old MortaStg. There 1b no proof that 
any Comet Graham wu nephew of ClaTorhouae. On 
the ground that s Comet William Graham eurTived 
Drumclog, and that ClaverhouM mentioaB the death of 
a Comet Crawford at the firat * shock,' Napier (Jfemoir* 
of Montro*e, \. 334) denies that anj Comet Graham was 
killed, but Captain Creichton in his Memoin referv to 
the loss of Cornet Robert Graham there, and mention is 
made in 1683 of a John Aulston who, during tlie late 
rebellion, murdered Comet Graham, to that he was pro- 
hMj kilted after being taken prisoner. (Wonaow's 
HiHory, ed. Bnraa, ii. 4fi0.)] 

Hold up your hand, jwu owwd Qrame, 
Elte a rtbei to our King ge'll be.—SL ziii. U. 8-1. 
It is rerj extraordinary that, in April 168fi, Claver' 
house was left out of the new commission of Privy 
Council, as being too favourable to the ftnatics. The 
pretence was his having married into the Preabytwian 
Amily of Lord Dundonald. An act of Council was also 
passed, regulating the payment of quarters, which is stated 
by Fountainhall to have been done in odium of Claver- 
house, and in order to excite complaints against him. 
This charge, so inconsistent with the nature and conduct 
of Claverhouee, seems to have been the fruit of a quarrel 
betwixt him and the Lord High IVeasurer.' — Fouwtaik- 
BALL, vol. i. p. 380. 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE 885 

That ClaverhooH wu moit unworthilj accused of 
mitigating the p«rwcutioD of the Covensiiten, will 
appear from the following almple, but very afFecting 
■uuratiTe, extracted from one of the little publicatioDS 
which appeared aooD after the Revolution, while the 
fiicta were fresh in the memory of the suferers. The 
imitation of the scriptural style producei, in Borne 
pawsgee of these works, an effect not unlike what we 
feel in reading the beautiful book of Ruth. It ia taken 
from the life of Mr. Alexander Peden,' printed about 
1720. 

Hi^ Tnaaurer (the Doke of QoaeiubeiTf). Olavsihouia wu, 
hoirever, on May 11, admitted to the Comioil bf a ipeoial order.] 
' The enthiuianii of thli petsonage, and of hli follower!, in- 
vaited him, aa baa been already notleed, with praphetki powen ; 
but hardly any of the itoriei told of Mm sioeeda that lort of 
^oomy ODnjaotore of miafortune, whioh the preoarknu dtaatloD 
of hia aaot ao graatly foetered. The following paaaage relates to 
the battle of Bothwell Bridge :— ' That diimal day, SSnd of June 
1676; at Bothvall-bildge, when ths Lord'i people fell and fled 
before the enemy, lie was forty milei dlitant, near the Border, 
and kept UmwU retired until the middle of the day, whm eome 
friend* H^d to him, "Bir, the people an waiting for aermon." 
He aoawered, "Let them go to their prayera ; for me, I neither 
eau nor wlU preaoh any thla day, for onr frienda are fallen and 
fled before th* anemy, at Hamilton, and tbsy are *'"^"C and 
hewing them down, and their blood ia running Uke water."' 
The feat* of Peden are thoa oommemorated by Foontainhall, 
S7th of Haroh 168S:— 'Newioame to the Privy Cooccil, that 
afaoat one hundred men, well armed and appointed, had left 
Ireland, beeanaa of a aeueh there for rooh maloontenta, and 
landed in the weit of Scotland, and joined with the wild fanatloa. 
The Oonndl, finding that they dliappointed their foreea by 
ikolUns from hole to hole, were of o[dnion. It were better to 
let them gather into a body, and draw to a head, and u the; 
wotdd get them altogether in a enare. They had one Mr. Feden, 
t, minijter, with them, and one laaao, who oommanded them. 
They had frighted moat part of all the oonntry miniaten, w 
that they duiat not atay at thdr ohnrohea, bnt retired to Bdln- 
bnrgh, or to garriaon town* ; and it was aad to aee whole ihirea 
deatitute of preaoliing, exoept in hnigha. Wherever they oame 
they plnnderad arma, and parttoolaily at my Lord Elumfriee'* 
home.' — FooiruiHHALL, voL I. p. SCO. 



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286 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

' Id the beginning of Maf 1685 he cune to the houie 
of John Brown and Marion Weir, whom he mairied 
before be went to Ireland, where he Btayed all night ; 
and, in the morning, when he took Au«well, he came 
out of the door, Mfing to hinuelf, "Poor wonun, a 
fearful morning," twice over. "A dark miaty morning ! " 
The next morning, between five and six houn, the aud 
John Brown having performed the worship of God in 
hii fbmily, was going, with a spade in his hand, to make 
ready some peat ground : the mist being very dark, he 
knew not until cruel and bloody Claverboiue compa ono d 
him witli three troop* of borge, brought him to his 
houM, and there examined him ; who, though he waa « 
man of stammering speech, yet answered him distinctly 
and solidly ; which made Claverhouee to examine those 
whom he had taken to be big guides through the muirs, 
if ever they heard him preach ? They anawered, " No, 
no, he was never a preacher." He said, "If he has never 
preached, meikle he has prayed in his time " ; he sud to 
John, "Go to your prayers, for you shall immediately 
die ! " When he waa praying, Claverhouae interrupted 
him three times ; one time, that he stopt him, he was 
pleading that the Lord would spare a remnant, and not 
make a fall end in the day of his anger. ClaverhoDae 
said, "I gave you time to pray, and ye are began to 
preach" ; he turned about upon bis knees, and said, " Sir, 
you know neither the nstare of preaching or praying, 
that calls this preaching." Then continued without con- 
fusion. When raded, Clarerhouse said, "Take good- 
night of your wife and children." His wife, standing by 
with her child in her arms that ahe bad brought forth 
to him, and another child of his fint wife's, he came to 
her, and said, "Now, Marion, the day ii come, that I 
told yon would come, when I spake first to you of 
marrying me." She sud, "Indeed, John, I can willingly 
part with you." — "Then," he said, "thia is all I desire, 
I have no more to do but die." He kissed his wife and 
bums, and wished purchaaed and promised blessings to 
be multiplied upon them, and bis blessing. Claverhoute 



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BATTLE OF BOTHWELL BRIDGE S87 

ordered nz soldiers to shoot him ; the moat put of the 
bnllet* came upon hii head, which Bcnttered hit br»n8 
upon the ground. ClBverhouM uid to his wife, " What 
thinkest thou of thy huabuid now, womui ? " She said, 
"I thought ever much of him, uid now as much as ever." 
He said, " It were but justice to Isj thee bemde him." 
She t^d, "If ja were permitted, I doubt not hut jour 
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 band." Claverhouie mounted hia horse, and 
marched, and left her with the corpse of her dead 
huiband lying there ; she set the bairn on the ground, 
and gathered hi* braini, and tied up his head, and 
strugbted hia body, and covered him in her plaid, and 
sat down, and wept over him. It being a very deaart 
place, where never victual grew, and &r from neigh* 
bonrs, it was some time before any friends came to her ; 
the fint that came was a very fit hand, that old Angular 
Christian woman, in the Cummer bead, named Elizabeth 
Meniies, three miles distant, who had been tried with 
the violent death of her husband at Fentland, afterwardR 
of two worthy sons, Thomas Weir, who was killed at 
Dnnnclog, and David Steel, who was suddenly shot 
afterward! when taken. The said Marion Weir, sitting 
upon her buiband's grave, told me, that before that, 
■he could see no blood but she was in danger to iaint ; 
and yet she was helped to be a witness to all this, with- 
out either fainting or confusion, except when the shots 
ware let off her eyes daisied. His corpse were buried 
at the end of his house, where be was slain, with this 
inscription on bis grave-stone : — 

"Insarth'iooldbed, the dosty put here lies, 
Of oDB who did the earth as dut deaptM I 
Here, in ihi* ^am, from earth ha took departure ; 
Now he has got the garland of the martTn." 

' lids murder was committed betwirt aiz and seven in 
the morning : Mr. Peden was about ten or eleven miles 
distant, having been in tbe fields all nigbt: be came to 



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288 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

the honM betwixt sereii and ught, and desired to call 
in the family, that he might prmj amongst them ; when 
praying, he said, " Lord, when wUt thoa avenge Brown'a 
blood f Ob, let Brown's blood be precious in thy sight ! 
and huten the day when thou wilt avenge it, with 
Cameron's, Cargill's, and many others of oar martyie' 
names : and oh .' tor that day, when the Lord would 
avenge all their blooda ! " When ended, John M uirhead 
enquired what he meant by Brown's blood? He taid 
twice over, " What do I mean? Claverhonsa has been 
at tbe Preabitl this morning, and has cruelly murdered 
John Brawn ; bis corpse are lying at the end of his 
house, and hU poor wife sitting weeping by bis corpse, 
and not a soul to speak a word comfortably to her. " ' 

While we nsd this dismal story, we must remember 
Brown's situation was that of an avowed and determined 
rebel, liable as such to military execution ; so that the 
atrocity was more that of the times than of CUverhouse. 
That general's gallant adherence to liis master, tbe mis- 
gaided Junes vii., and hia glorious death on tiie field of 
victory, at Killicronkie, have tended to preserre and 
gild his memory. He is still remembered in the High- 
lands as the most successful leader of their clans. An 
ancient gentleman, who had borne arms for the cause of 
Stuart in 171S, told the Editor that, when the armies 
met on the field of battle, at Sberiff-muir, a veteran 
chief (I think be named Gordon of Glenbucket), covered 
with scars, came up to the Earl of Mar, and earnestly 
pressed him to order the Highlanders to chaise, before 
the regular army of Argyle had completely formed their 
line, and at a moment when tbe rapid and furious onset 
of tbe clans might have thrown them into total disorder. 
Mar repeatedly answered, it was not yet time ; till the 
chieftain turned ftom him in disdain and despair, and, 
stamping with rage, exclaimed aloud, '0 for one hour 
of Dundee ! ' ' 

1 ['O for one hour of Wallaoe wight, 

Or well-ikilled Braoe, to rule the fight.' 

JTarmiotk— J. G. L.] 



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BATTLE OP BOTHWELL BRIDGE 9S9 

Claverhoiue'a sword (a straight cnt-uid-thrust blade) u 
in the poesesaion of Lord Woodhous«lee. In Fennycuik- 
house IB preierred the bnff-coat, which be wore at the 
battle of KilUcrankia The fat^ ahot-hole is under the 
arm-pit, so that the ball must have been received while 
hi* arm was raised to direct the pursuit. However he 
came hj his charm of j^raqf, he certainly had not irorn 
the garment usaallf supposed to confer that privilege, 
and which was c^ed the waittcoal qf proof, or qf 
neeetntg. It was thus made: 'On ChristiuBs dai, at 
night, a thread must be sponne of flax, by a little virgine 
glrle, in the name of the divell ; and it must be bf 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, moat be a 
hat and a long beard ; the left head must have on a 
crown, and it must be so horrible that it male resemble 
Bebebub ; and on each ride of the waetcote must be 
made a crosse.'— Soon's Dimoverie iff Witchcruft, P- 231. 

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



r HISTORIOAI. 



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MINSTRELSY 

or THC 

SCOTTISH BORDER 

PART SECOND 



ROMANTIC BALLADS 



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SCOTTISH MUSIC 

AN ODE 

BY 3. LBYI^EN 

TO lANTHE 



Again, sweet siren, breathe again 
That deep, pathetic, powerful strain ; 

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

Which in the vales of Teviot blow. 



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

The Celtic warrior's parted shade ; 
Such are the lonely sounds that sweep 
O'er the blue bosom of the deep, 

Where shipwrecked mariners are laid. 



Ah ! sure, as Hindti legends tell. 
When music's tones the bosom swell. 
The scenes of former life return ; 



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t BOBDER MINSTRELSY 

Ere, sunk beiieath 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 ; 
Tib 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 awful 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 siren, breathe the powerful strain ! 
Lochrvyarii Damsd ^ sails the main : 

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

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

' Ttit Lou of Loehroyan. 



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SCOTTISH MUSIC 991 

VII 

Lord Barnard is to greenwood gone. 
Where fair Git Morice sits alone. 

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

The hunter's mangled head must bear. 

VIII 

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

Sing, how, beneath the greenwood tree. 
Brown AdanCg^ love maintained her truth, 
Nor would resign the exiled youth 

For any knight the fair could see. 



And sing the Hawk of pinion grey^ 
To southern climes who wing'd his way. 

For he could speak as well as fly ; 
Her brethren bow 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 : 



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! BORDER MINSTRELSY 

White as the sea-mew^s downy breast. 
Borne on the surge's foamy crest. 
Her graceful bosom heaved the sigh. 



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

Remembet'd tike a morning dream, 
I heard these dulcet measures float. 
In many a liquid winding note. 

Along the banks of Teviot^s stream. 



Sweet sounds I that oft have soothed to rest 
The sorrows of my guileless breast, 

And charmed 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 ' Bothwell's banks that bloom so fair,' 

And scenes of early youth, deplore. 



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SCOTTISH MUSIC 



Soft siren ! whose enchantiDg Btrain 
Floats wildly round my raptured brain, 

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

Through scenes that I no more must view. 



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NOTES 



SCOmSH MUSIC, AN ODE 

F^r inthe green itkqflKeoMitt.— St ii. 1. 2. 
The Flathinnit, or Celtic paradise. 

Ah t iure, at HindU legetuU Ull.—St. iii. 1. 1. 
The effect of music ia ezplaiaed by the Hindus, as 
recalling to our memory the airs of paradise, heard in a 
state of pre-exigtence. — Vide Sacontala. 

Did 'Botkmirtbanlutluitbioom to fair.' —St. xid. 1. 6. 
' So fell it oat of late years, that an English gentle- 
mao, traTelling in Palestine, not far ^m Jerusalem, as 
he passed through a country town, he heard, by chance, 
a woman sitting at her door, dandling her child, to 
sing, Bolhv>ei bank, thou blument fair. The geatleman 
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 entreated the gentlem«n to stay there 
until his return. The which he did ; and she, for country 
sake, to show herself the more kind and boantifal unto 
him, told her husband, at his home-coming, that the 
gentleman was her kinsman ; whereupon her husband 
entertained him very kindly ; and, at bis departure, gave 
him divers things of good value.' — \«Kiuii.s'aBe*titutiaa 



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SCOTTISH MUSIC 299 

qf Dtcayed hiUUigence. Chap. 'Of the SinuunM of our 
Antient Funiliea.' Antwerp, 1605. 

Throagh tcmet that J no more mutt vitw. — SL xiv. 1. 6. 
[Dt. Leydea waa, whec he wrote those verses, on the 
eve of departing for India, where he died.— J. G. L] 



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INTHODUCnON 

TO THE 

TALE OF TAMLANE 

OD THE 

FAIRIES OF POPULAR SUPEBSTITION 



In m work, avowedly dedicated to the preaervstion 
of the poetry and tradition of the ' oldea 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 subordinate nature, dwelling 
among the woods and mountains, is, perhaps, 
common to all nations. But the intermixture 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 

' [The Tsador will da veil to oompwe thii nrlj mm; with 
Sir Walter Soott'i fourth letter oa Dtnonology, 1830, where he 
will find the Anllior's optnioni od Berenl poEnti ooniiderablj 
modified ; u alio the Preftoa knd Notes to Qrimm'a Bavt- und 
Atmfer-JkRIrdKn ; aod ha Buoff on Popular Si^erttitvmt, hy lit. 

Sonthe;, in the 37th Niunb«rof the QiutrUrts BtBitt.—J. O. L.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 301 

upon such apirita, and the primary idea* which were 
entertained concerning their manners and habits. 

The word elf, which seems to have been the 
original name of the beings afterwards denomi- 
nated fairies, is of Gothic origin, and probably 
signified, simply, a spirit of a lower order. Thus, 
the Saxons had not only dun-elfen, berg-elfen, and 
munl-elfen, spirits of the downs, hills, and moun- 
tains ; but also Jeld-elfen, midu-elfen, tae-^lfm, and 
mEter-tlfm', 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 alvinnen and aluev, which is sometimes 
Latinised ehue. But the prototype of the English 
elf is to be sought chiefly in the herg-elfen, or 
duergar, of the Scandinavians. From the most early 
of the Icelandic Sagas, as well as from the Edda 
itself, we learn the belief 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 recognise the features of the modem 
fairy, were, supernatural wisdom and prescience, 
and skill in the mechanical arts, especially in the 
fabrication of arms. They are further described as 
capricious, vindictive, and easily irritated. The 
story of the elfin sword, Tyrfing, may be the most 
pleasing illustration of this position. SuaAirlami, a 

■ [The writer of the learned Prefkoe to Waktoh'b BiHory of 
Er^lUh Poetrs (edit. lSt4) donbti whether 'thta ntalogne of 
JDtrim ever obtained Dairenoj among the people.* He tt,yt thia 
la at leMt rendered doubtful bj iti txact oorreepondenoe with the 
OreeiaD namn, Dryada, etc. £(f, aooording to thii miter, 
originallj meam muming laatei — ^whenoe the Elbe ; and here 
he notieea a ourioni otdnoidenoe with ri/i^ and lymfha. — 
J. G. L.] 



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308 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Scandinavitu moiurch, returning from hunting, 
bewildered himself among the mountaina. About 
sunset he beheld a lai^ rock, and two dwarfs, 
sitting befbre the mouth of a cavern. The King 
drew his sword, and intercepted their retreat, by 
springing betwixt them and their recess, and im- 
posed upon them the following condition of safety : 
— that they should make for him a fidchion, with 
a baldric and scabbard 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 deUvered to 
him the famous sword Tyrfatg; 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 

1 ParliApa in this, and dmlbi teles, wB IDA; reoogiuie watoa- 
thing at n»l faistor;. That the Fins, or knaient utlTea of Soan- 
dinaTjji, were drlTen Into the mountalni, hy the invMion of Odin 
uid hii Aaiktloa, U aufflolent]; probftble ; and there !■ resaon to 
believe that the ftboriginal inhabltanta ondentood, better than 
the intruders, how to mauuf aotore the prodnce of their oira mines. 
It ii therefore pouible that, in prooeia of time, the opprened 
Fin* may have been tranifonnad into the mpematutal dtiergar. 
A limilai: tranaformatlon haa taken plaoe among tha vulgar in 
Scotland, regarding the Picta, or Feoha, to whom the; aaofibe 
vwlooa anpematnral attribntei. 

[Mr. David HaoBitobie. in FUmt, Fairia and Piatt, 1S93, and in 
oontribntiona to Saoliah Nota and Queriti and tha SeottiA AMi- 
quary, hat longht to identify the fairies with an aboriginal, 
dwarf people, the Fiani or Fiots ; and Prof eswr Bhf ■ it alto of 
opinion that the ' weird and nncoun; folk emergbig (rom its 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 808 

raya like the bud, dazzling all against whom it was 
brandished. It divided steel like water, and wu 
never unsheathed without slaying a man. — Hervarar 
Saga, p. 9< Similar to this was the enchanted 
sword Siopniing, which was taken by a pirate out 
of the tomb of a Korwegian monarch.' Many such 
tales are narrated in the Sagas ; but the most dis- 
tinct Recount of the dwTgar, or elves, and their 
attributes, is to be found in the preface of Torfeeus 

underground Uin Beem* to hftve eieioiied on other noe* a sort 
of permanent ipell of myBterioouieM bmoonting to odontlon. In 
fact, Irish Utenture tella UB tliat the tide vere uronhipped. 
Oiring to bia fxoQlty of exaggeration, oombined with hli [nabillt? 
to oomprebeod the little people, the OeltwM enabled to beqveatb 
to the great literatures of Weateni Europe a metis; train of 
dvarfs and brownies, a whole world of wizardry and magio ' 
(Cdfw FoUdore, 1901, p. 683). Profemor A. O. Haddon, whom 
Professor Rhys qnotes [tb. 684), as autiolpating his theory, is 
much more guarded, bis riews pretty olosely agreeing with thoae 
of Scott. He does not regard the theory aa an eiplutation of the 
fanoifnl aspect of fairydom, but is of opinion that 'there iiala^e 
residuum of re^I oocizrrences ; these point to a elaib of raees, 
and we ma; regard many of these fairy sagas aa etoiiea told by 
men of the Iron age of Bventa which happened to men of the 
Bronse age, in their coufliots with men of the Neolithie age, and 
possibly those two handed on traditions of the Faheolithic age.' 
Butthlsmeana nothing more than that the fair; supentitlon may 
have been ooloured b; memories and traditions of eztinot races. 
It does not aocoant for the superstition. Moreover, though the 
fairy superstition has partly referenoe to a dwarf race, the fairiea 
are not uniformly npresented as dwarfs. On the contrary, 
'fairy woinen' appekr to have been of quite an average size.] 

1 [Btill more famous wm Arthur's sword, Eroalibur. Professor 
Zlmmer Identiflea this sword, Calibumus (I^tin), Escslibor 
(French), Caledvwlch (Welsh), with Caladbolg, the great sword 
of the Early Irish cyole. It was forged in fidryland, and when 
drawn from the sheath, 'waxed greater than the rainbow,' (See 
Jmn L. WiBiON Tht Legend of Sir davraVn, pp. 16, 17, And 
50-54.) In the ramanoes of the Highlanders, mention Is also 
made of an enchanted sword, dordlif^-itunta, wkloh killed a man 
AlMerjtWikelBjJtai^'r'a Scotland and Seotmtn of tht Eiekttailh 
Century, U. 446).] 



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304 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

to the history of Hrolf Knlu, who cites a disserta- 
tion by Einar Gudmund, a learned native of 
Iceland. 'I am fiimljr of opinion/ says the Ice- 
lander, 'that these bein^ are creaturea of God, 
consisting, like human beings, of b body and 
rational aonl ; 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 churchyard, together with a goblet of gold, 
as an offering. — Hittoria Htolfi Kralae, a Torvso. 

Similar to the traditions of the Icelanders are 
those corrent 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 
appearance, the manner of their existence and their 
habits of life, they far excel the miserable Lap- 
landers in perfection of nature, felicity of situation, 
and skill in mechanical arts. From all these advan- 
tages, however, after the partial conversion of the 
Laplanders, the subterranean people have derived 
no further credit, than to be confounded with the 
devils and magicians of the dark ages of Chris- 
tianlty; a degradation which, as will shortly be 
demonstrated, has been also suffered by the harm- 
less fairies of Albion, and indeed by the whole host 
of deities of learned Greece and mighty Rome. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 805 

The ancient opinions are yet so firmly rooted, that 
the Laps of Finland, at this day, boast of an inter- 
course with these beings, in banquets, dances, and 
magical ceremonies, and even In the more intimate 
commerce of gallantry. They talk, with triumph, 
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 salatary counsel, has been 
conducted to his tent by an escort of his super* 
natural entertainers. — Jessens, de Lapponibia.^ 

The superstitions of the islands of Feroe, con- 
cerning their Frodderukemen, or underground people, 
are derived from the duergar 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 happened/ says Debes, 
p. 354, ' a good while since, 4hen the burghers 
of Bergen had the commerce of Feroe, that there 
was a man in Servaade, called Jonas Soideman, 
who was kept by spirits in a mountain, during the 
space of seven years, and at length came out ; but 
lived afterwords in great distress and fear, lest they 
should again take him away; wherefore people 
were obliged to watch him in the night' The 
same author mentions another young man who had 
been carried away, and, after his return, was 
removed a second time upon the eve of his marriage. 
He returned in a short time, and narrated that the 
spirit that had carried him away was in the shape 
of a most beautiful woman, who pressed him to for- 

1 [But aee on thii inb]eot eapedallj' Coiip.iaEin'i Trtiditionat 
Poetry oftitt Fimu (1898), pp. in-lB!.] 

VOL. 11. U 



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806 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

uke his bride, and remain with her; ui^jng her 
own superior beauty, and splendid appearance. He 
added, that he saw the men who were employed to 
•earch for him, and heard them caU ; 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 ceued to operate. The 
kiduey-chaped Wot Indian bean, which is some- 
times driven upon the shore of the Feroes, is termed, 
by the natives, 'the Ftarie'i Hdney.' 

In these traditions of the Gothic and Finnish 
tribes, we may recognise, with certainty, the rudi- 
ments of elfin superstition ; but we must look to 
various other causes for the modifications which it 
has undergone. These are to be sought, 1st, in the 
traditions of the East ; 3nd, in the wreck and ccm- 
fosion of the Gothic mythology ; 3rd, in the tales 
a! chivalry ; 4th, in the fables of classical antiquity ; 
5th, in the influence of the Christian religion ; 6tli, 
and finally, in the creative imagination of the six- 
teenth century. It may be proper to notice the 
efiect of these various causes, before stating the 
popular belief of our own time, r^arding the 

I. To the traditions of the East, the Fairies of 
Britain owe, I tiiink, little more than the appella- 
tion, l^ which they have been distinguished since 
the days of the Crusade. Tlie term ' Fairy ' 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 Franaca, us. : — 
' Flusiera parlent de Quenart, 
Du Lou, de L'Asne, de Renart, 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 807 

De FaMM et de SongM, 

De pbkntonnM et de mensonf^es.' 

The Lot/ Le Frain, enumerating the subjects of 
the Breton Lays, informs us expressly. 
Many ther beth ai fairy. 

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 
&om Foe, which is again derived from Nympka. 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 

I [Fairit wai a genenl name for VUunon ; a Mue in whioh it 
la oteaj/i [T] mad by Ohaneer. Ai an appeUatiou for tha elfin 
raoe, it is certainly of late date, and pethapa a mere oon-D[ition 
— a name given to the agent for hii acti . It a certainly not of 
northern origin. Some of tha earlleet Frenah talea of Fafrit 
aoknowledge a Breton aoanie : may not the name itself \x Caltio f 
The lonio Pherea of Heayehlus, whioh haa bean mentioned aa 
aynonymoiu with the Peraian Peri, ia bat a different aapeot of the 
Attie 8-^p (Oerman fAier), and whioh, whether applied to oentaore 
or aatyri, eoold only have been given to mark their affinity with 
the animal race.— Pre&oe to Waxioh, 1SS4, p. 44.— J. O. L.] 

[Soott'i derivation of Fairg ia now deemed fanoifoL The word 
probably meana enohantment, from the Latin fatare, to enohaot. 
Mr. T^Dg thlnlu that ' Fairyland ia olearlj a memory of the pre- 
Obriatlan Hade* ' (Introdnotion to Kirk*! Sterrt ConxnoniwaUfc, 
p. uii); baton the relation of the 'aplritaot nature 'to 'departed 
Kinlj,' lee Finijiu, La Vieux Chantt Populaira ScandinaBa, pp. 
9SA-3^ Falriea are moat eommonly repreaanted aa inhabiting an 
enchanted r^ion. The fairy palaoe la lometimea visible, but it 
vaniahea from eight at the will of the fairiea. Acoording to the 
older writers, fairyland ia in the wildemees, that is, the unei' 
plored parte of the preaent world. The fairy mperatition is Celtic. 
Elvea—whioh Soott r^arded aa the original name of the beiagi 
afterwards denomiDatfid falriea — are a oreation of Teutonic 
Imagination, bat by the oonjiuiiitioa of the two rases the two 
■upentitions have baoome commingled. See especially Uiuav, 
La Fia du Moyea Age.] 



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308 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

species of imaginaiy being which resembles the 
Fsfiy in some of its qualities, and is one of the 
fairest creatures of romantic fancy. This supersti- 
tion 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 
legislator to proscribe them. Now, in the enuncia- 
tion of the Arabs, the term Peri would sound Fairy, 
the letter p not occurring 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 pronuociation. Neither will it be considered 
as an objection to this opinion, that in Hesychius, 
the Ionian term Pkereat, or Pkeret, 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 Penian Mitcel- 
lamet, has described some characteristic traits, with 
all the luxuriance of a fancy impregnated with the 
Oriental association of ideas. However vaguely 
their nature and appearance is described, they are 
uniformly represented as gentle, amiable females, to 
whose character beneficence and beauty are essential. 
None of them are mischievous or malignant ; none 
of them are deformed or diminutive, like the Gothic 
fairy. Though they correspond in beauty with our 
ideas of angels, their employments are dissimilar ; 
and, as they have no place in heaven, their abode is 
different. Neither do they resemble those intelli- 
gences, whom, on account of their wisdom, the 
Platonists denominated demons ; nor do they cor- 
respond either to the guardian Genii of the Romans, 
or the celestial virgins of paradise, whom the Arabs 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 809 

(lenomin&te 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 nourishment grosser than the odours of flowers, 
they subsist by inhaling the fragrance of the jessB~ 
mine and rose. Though their existence is not com- 
mensurate with the bonds of human life, they are 
not exempted from the common fate of mortals. 

With the Peris, in Persian mythology, are con- 
trasted the Dives, a race of beings, who differ from 
them in sex, appearance, and disposition. 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 dilTormity 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 man- 
kind, but persecute the Peris with unremitting 
ferocity. 

Such are the brilliant and fanciful colours with 
which the 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 the crusaders, it will not appear 
improbable, that their charms might occasionally 
fascinate the fervid imagination of an amorous 
troubadour. But, further ; the intercourse of 
FVance 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 amongst the nations of the West. 



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310 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

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 sulEciently clear, that the romancerB 
borrowed from the Arabs, not merely the general 
idea concerning those spirits, but even the names 
of individuals amongst tliem. The Peri Mergian 
Banou (see Herbblot, ap. Pen), celebrated in the 
ancient Persian poetry, figures in the European 
romances, under the various names of Mourgae La 
Faye, sister to King Arthur ; Urgande La Liecotuuie, 
protectress of Amadu 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 Laanfal, in Way's Fabliaux, as well 
as in that of Sir Gmelan, 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 
Melatina, also, who married Guy de Lusignan, 
Count of Poicton, under condition that he should 
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 uninter- 
rupted, until the prying husband broke the condi- 
tions of their union, by concealing himself, to 
behold his wife make use of her enchanted bath. 
Hardly had Melutina 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 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 811 

be the protectress of her descendsnts, and was 
heard walling, as she sailed upon the blast round 
the turrets of the castle of Lusignan, the night 
before it was demoUshed. For the full story, the 
reader may consult the Bibliolkique det Bomaju,^ 

Gervase of Tilbury (pp. 895, and 989) assures us, 
that, in his days, the lovers of the Fade, or Fairies, 
were numerous ; and describes the rules of their 
intercourse with as much accuracy, as if he had 
himself been engaged in such an afiair. Sir David 
Lindsay also informs us, that a leopard is the pro- 
per 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 
cognisance, because he was 'borne of faarie in 
adultr6 and right sua the first Duk of Guyenne was 
bom of a /ie ; and, therefoir, the arms of Guyenne 
are a leopard.' — MS. on Heraldry, Advocate*' Ltbrary, 
w. 4. 13. While, however, the Fairy of wanner 
climes was thus held up as an object of desire and 
of affection, those of Britain, and more especially 
those of Scotland, were fer from being so fortunate ; 

> Upon thii, or loiiia dmilu' tndition, mt fonoded Che uotiaii, 
whiah the invetencj of oktJDiial prejudloe ao eaiily difliued in 
SooUaud, that the anoeator of the Eugliih monarcha, Oeoffrey 
FlanUgeue^ had aatuall; married > demon. Bowmakei, in 
order to explain the oraeltj and ambition of Eidmrd i., dedioates 
a Dhapter to ihow ' how ths tin(> of England ue dnoended from 
the devil, by the mother'i iide.'~FoBDCi>, Ckrvn. lib. ii. sap. 6. 
The lord of > oert^n <»Mle, called Bsperrel, «M nnfortonkta 
enough to havn a wifa of the Nmie olus. Having obierved, for 
wveral jean, that ehe alvaye left the ohapel before the nuw wai 
oannlnded, tbe buvn, in a fit of obatinaoy or ourloejt;, ordered 
hii gotrd to detain her bj foroe ; of which the oonaaqnenoe was, 
that, nnable to lupport the elevation of tho Hoet, tbe retrskted 
throngh tbe air, otnyliig with her one aide of the ohapel, and 
■eveial of the oongregation. 



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812 BORDER MINSTREI5Y 

but, retaining the unamiable quaiitiea, uid diminu- 
tive size of the Gothic elves, they only exchanged 
that term for the uLore popular appellation of 
Fairies.1 

II. Indeed so singularly unlucky were the British 
Fairies, that, as has already been hinted, amid the 
wreck of the Gothic mythology, consequent upon 
the introduction of Christianity, they seem to have 
preserved, with difficulty, their own distinct charac- 
teristics, while, at the same time, they engrossed 
the mischievous attributes of several other classes 
of subordinate spirits, acknowledged by the nations 
of the north. The abstraction of children, for ex- 
ample, the well-known practice of the n\odem 
Fairy, seems, by the ancient Gothic nations, to 
have rather been ascribed to a species of night- 
mare, or hag, tbau to the berg-elfin, or daergar. In 
the ancient legend of St. Margaret, of which there is 
a Saxo-Norman copy in Hickes' Thetaunu Linguar. 
Septen. and one, more modem, in the Anchinleck 
Mss., that lady encounters a fiend, whose profession 
it was, among other malicious tricks, to injure new- 
bom children and their mothers ; a practice after- 
wards imputed to the Fairies, Gervase of Tilbury, 
in the OHa Imperialia, mentions certain hags, or 

I [If thii be true of Sootknd, it la Mtiaialy not Uue of Wtlw, 
vhere murbigsa with tairj Uidiei wbto at ooe time lo oommon 
thkt B Tory Urge propaTtion ot tha uttlon i« reputed to be ol 
ttiij deMent. (See ipeniftlly Bhts'i Cdtio FaOJon, chap. L) 
In Weljh tmLtion, fkiry women fignre movt prominentlj ; bnt 
in SootUnd the other eei &» klmost eqnijl; well kuovn. For a 
euTiom aooount of oommnnioktlon with ■ fiiij nutn, we the conf e«- 
■ion of Elirabeth Dnolop u to her meetinga with Thom Held, in 
PiTouBir'B Orimiwd Trialt, i. 4B-0S. Being a witeh, the bad the 
•ame ability Co oommmie with the, to ordinary mortal*, inviidble 
(airiee, ae ii po wowed hj tboee of the HighlandeM endowed with 
■eoond-aight.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 813 

hama, who entered into houKB in the night-time, 
to oppress the inhabitants, while asleep, injure their 
persons and property, and carry off their cbiJdren. 
He likewise mentions the Draca, 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 
water, in the shape of gold rings or cups. The 
women, thus seised, are employed as nurses, and, 
after seven years, are permitted to revisit earth, 
Gervase mentions one woman, in particular, who 
had been allured by observing a wooden dish, or 
cup, float by her, while washing clothes in a river. 
Being seised as soon as she reached the depths, she 
was conducted into one of these subterranean 
recesses, which she described as very magnificent, 
and employed as nnise 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 
perceived, «t her return to the world, that she had 
acquired the faculty of seeing the Draca, 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 curious fact that this story, in 
almost all its parts, is current in both the Highlands 
and Lowlands of Scotland, with no other variation 
than the substitution of Fairies for Draca, and the 
cavern of a hill for that of « river.^ These water 
1 [Foi uult^Dtt) W«]«h Ul«, aee OHn'a Celtic t^tUUore, 

* Dldeed, 111U17 of tbe TQlgu kooonnt It ertremel; dBngsroai 
to tonoh Knjthing which thcj noij happen to find, wlthoDt 
muning (bleaaind It, the marea of the ensmj being notorioiu 
anil well Mtetted. i. poor woman of TeTiotdale, having been 



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814 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

fiends are thus cfaaracterised by Heywood, in the 

Hierarchie: — 

' Spirits, that have o'er vater gouvemement. 
Are to manldnd alike malevolent ; 
They trouble aeas, flonde, rivers, brookee and wels. 
Meres, lakes, and love to enhabit watry cella ; 
Hence noisome and pestiEarous vapours raise ; 
Beside*, they men encounter divers ways. 
At irreckea some present are ; another sort. 
Ready to cramp dieir joints that swim for sport : 
One kind of these, the Italians .^ifa name. 
Fee the French, ire ttbyh, and the same ; 
Others uhite nyntpht, and those that have them seen. 
Night ladie* some, of which Habundia queen.' 

HierarchU of the Bletled AngeU, p. 6OT.' 

The following Frisian superstition, related by 
Schott, in his Pkysica Curiota, p. 36S, on the 
fortnoate enongh, u the thooght herieU, to find a wooden beetle, 
at the ver; time when she ueeded auah na implement, scind it 
without pronoimalng the propei bleitliig, and, carrjing it home, 
laid it above her bed, to be ready tor employment in the 
morning. At midnight, the window of hei oottage opened, and 
a lond Toioe wu heard, calling npoD wnne one within, by a 
strange and nnoonth name, whfah I have forgotten. The t«rHfied 
oottager ejaenlated a prajer. which, we may mp^ioM, inmred 
her penonal >af ety ; while the enohanted implement of bonrc- 
wifery. tumbling from the bedstead, departed by the window 
with no small noiro and preulpltatlon. In a hnmorooi fagitive 
tract, the late Dr. Johneon is introdaoed ai disputing the 
aothentidty of an apparition, merely because the spirit annmed 
the shape of a tea-pot, and of a shoulder of mutton. No doubt, 
a ease so mnoh in point, as that we have now quoted, would 
have removed his incredulity. 

1 [For an aooonnt of Highland water - spirits, see J. H. 
Hackinlay's .fWUort of ScoUith Loeht and Springt, 1893, pp. 
154-187. The elves and brownies of the Laps are generally re- 
present«d as rising from the ■« (Abibokoiibii, Pre- and Proto- 
Bitoric Finm, 1898, pp, 3a6-7). They also distinguish between 
water-spirits and earth-spirits {it.. 303-6). The lady fairies of 
Welsh supenlltion asually appear sitting on the surfaee of a 
lake.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 315 

authority of Cornelius a Kerapen, coincides more 
ftccurately with the popular opinions concerning 
the Paines, than even the draca of Gervsse, or the 
water-spirits of Thomas Heywood : — ' In the time 
of the Emperor Lotharius, in 830,' says he, 'many 
spectres infested Friesland, particularly the white 
nymphs of the ancients, which the modems de- 
nominate tviUe wiven, who inhabited a subterraneous 
cavern, formed in a wonderful manner, without 
human art, on the top of a lofty mountain. These 
were accustomed to surprise benighted travellers, 
shepherds watching their herds and flocks, and 
women newly delivered, with their children ; and 
convey them into their caverns, from which sub- 
terranean murmurs, the cries of children, the groans 
and lamentations 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 fVorld Bemlch'd, p. 196, of the 
English translation. As the different classes of 
spirits were gradually confounded, the abstraction 
of children seems to have been chiefly ascribed to 
the elves, or Fairies ; yet not so entirety as to 
exclude hags and witches from the occasional 
exertion of their ancient privilege. In Germany, 
the same confusion of classes has not taken place. 
In the beautiful ballads of the Erl King, the Water 
King, and the Mer-Maid, we still' recognise the 
ancient traditions of the Goths concerning the 
tiiald-eleen and the dracte. 

A similar superstition, concerning abstraction by 
demons, seems, in the time of Gcrvase of Tilbury, 
to have pervaded the greatest part of Europe. ' In 
Catalonia,' says that author, 'there is a lofty 
mountain, named Cavagum, at the foot of which 



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816 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

runs ■ river with golden saDds, in the vicinity of 
\fhicfa tbere are likewise mines of silver. This 
mountain is steep, and almost inaccessible. 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 demons. In a town adjacent to this 
mountain, named Junchera, lived one Peter de 
Cabinam. Being one day teazed with the Iretful- 
ness 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 afterwards, an inhabi- 
tant of the same city, passing by the mountain, 
met a man, who complained bitterly of the burden 
he was constantly forced to bear. Upon inquiring 
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 execra- 
tion, and that they now employed him constantly 
as a vehicle of burden. As a proof of his assertion, 
he added that the daughter of his fellow-citizen 
was detained 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 under- 
standing, was wafted to him in a blast of wind. 
After some time, the person, who bad been em- 
ployed 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 to 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 317 

enter but those who devoted themselves entirely 
to the spirits; thoBe who had been rashlj' com- 
mitted to the devil by others, being only permitted, 
during their probation, to enter the porch.' It 
may be proper to observe, that the superstitious 
idea, concerning the Uke on the top of the moun- 
tain, is common to almost every high hill in Scot- 
land. 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 be 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 pursued his way, till he arrived 
at a subterraneous region, pleasant and cultivated, 
with reapers cutting down com, though the snow 
remained on the surface of the ground above. 
Among the ears of com he discovered 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 
might be Antipodes, yet, as many such stories are 
related of the Fairies, it is probable that this narra- 
tion is of the same kind. Of a similar nature 
seems to be another superstition, mentioned by the 
same author, concerning the ringing of invisible 
bells, at the hour of one, in a field in the vicini^ 
of Carleol, which, as he relates, was denominated 
LaUabrame, or Lai ki braiL From aU these tales, 
we may perhaps be justified in supposing that the 
&culties and habits ascribed to the Fairies, by the 
superstition of latter days, comprehended several. 



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818 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

originalljr attributed to other classes of inferior 

III, The notions, arising from the spirit of 
chivalry, combined to add to the Fairies certain 
qualities, less atrocious, indeed, but equally formid- 
able, with those which they derived from the last- 
mentioned source, and alike inconsistent with the 
powers of the duergar, whom we may term their 
primitive prototype. From an early period, the 
daring temper of the northern tribes urged them to 
defy even the snpematuml powers. In the days of 
Cssar, the Suevi were described, by their country- 
men, as a people, with whom the immortal gods 
dared 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 demons, 
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 hterally 
attempted by storm. He may consult Saxo, Olaus 
Wormius, Olaus Magnus, Torfeus, Bartholin, and 
ollher northern antiquaries. With such ideas of 
superior beings, the Normans, Saxons, and other 
Gothic tribes, brought their ardent courage to 
ferment yet more highly in the genial climes of the 
south, and under the blaze of romantic chivalry. 
Hence, during the dark ages, the Invisible world 
was modelled afler the material ; and the saints, to 
the protection of whom the knights-errant were 
accustomed to recommend themselves, were 
accoutred like preux chevaliert, by the ardent 
imaginaticms of their votaries. With such ideas 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 319 

coQcemiDg the ishabituits of the celestial regions, 
we ought not to be lurprised to find the inferior 
spirits, of a more dubious nature And origin, 
equipped in the same disguise. Gerrase of Tilbury 
(_Olia ImperiaL ap. Scripi. rer. Brwuvic, vol. i. p. 797) 
relates the following popular story concerning a 
Fairy Knight. ' Osbert, a bold and powerful baron, 
risited a noble family in the vicinity of Wondlebury, 
io the bishopric of Ely. Among other stories 
related in the social circle of h!a friends, who, 
according to custom, amused each other by repeat- 
ing ancient tales and traditions, he was informed, 
that if any knight, unattended, entered an adjacent 
plain by moonlight, 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 intrenchment. On repeating the chal- 
lenge, he was instantly assailed by an adversary, 
whom he quickly unhorsed, and seized the reins of 
his steed. During this operation, his ghostly 
opponent sprung up, and, darting his spear, like a 
javelin, at Osbert, wounded him in the thigh. 
Osbert returned in triumph with the horse, which 
he committed to the care of his servants. The 
horse was of a sable colour, as well as his whole 
accoutrements, and apparently of great beauty and 
vigour. He remained with his keeper till cock- 
crowing, when, with eyes flashing fire, he reared, 
spumed 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 hved, the scar of 



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830 BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

bis wound opened afresh on the anniversaiy of the 
eve on which he encountered the spirit.'' Less 
fortunate was the gallant Bohemian knight, who, 
travelling hj night with a single companion, came 
in sight of a fairy host, arrayed under displayed 
banners. Despising the remonstrances of his 
friend, the knight pricked forward to break a lance 
with a champion who advanced from the ranks, 
apparently in defiance. His companion beheld the 
Bohemian overthrown, horse and man, by his aerial 
adversary; and, returning to the spot next morn- 
ing, he found the mangled corpse of the knight 
and steed, —HfCTHrcAte of BUtted AngeU, p. 554, 

To the same current of warhke ideas, we may 
safely attribute the long train of military proces- 
sions 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 MiUtet HerlUdm, or Herlatriai, 
celebrated by Pet. Blesensis, and termed, in the life 
of St Thomas of Canterbury, the Fatnilia HelUquiiUi. 
The chief of this bond was originally a gallant 
knight and warrior; but, having spent his whole 

< The nnfortatukte Chftttcrton mi not, probably, Mqaaintcd 
Witli Garrue of TUbur; ; ^et ha ttttana to allude, in the Battle of 
Satlingt, to •ome modifloktion of Bic Oibert'a adventure : — 



The intrmahment, whlali wrred ae liiti for the oombatanti, ia 
«ald by Oernte to have been tb« *or1c of the Pagan inTadon of 
Britain. In the metrical romanoe of Artkovr aiid Merlin, we 
bare alao an aooonnt of Wandleeburj belnx oooupied b; the 
Saiaoena, i.e. the Baiotu ; for all Pagan* were Saraoent with 
the romanoen. I preenme the plaoe to have been Wodnee- 
bnr;, in WiltaUre, dtuated on the renukrlobls mound, caUed 
Wandidike, which is obvlotul; a Saion woik. — Qovan'a 
Camden'i Britannia, pp. 6T-9C. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE Sai 

poMCniona in the service of the emperor, and being 
rewarded with scorn, and abandoned to sobordinate 
oppression, he became desperate, and, with his sons 
and followers, formed a band of robbers. After 
committing many ravages, and defeating all the 
forces sent against him, Helleqnin, with his whole 
troop, fell in a bloody engagement with the 
Imperial 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 to the last day. 
Retaining their milltaiy habits, they were usually 
seen in the act of justing together, or in similar 
warlike employments. See tiie ancient French 
romance of Richard iom Peur.^ Sinular to this was 
the NacU Lager, or midnight camp, which seemed 
nightly to beleaguer the walls of Prague, 

' With ghastly &ces thronged, ami fiery arms,' 
but which disappeared upon recitation of the 
magical words, VezeU, VezeU, hoi hoi hoi — For 
similar delusions, see Dautms, pp. S94>, 395. 

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 a 
fairy 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. — 

1 [Hittoire Dv Sedovte Prinee RieharA San* Peur Dae dt 
Iformandie . . . oft Uett traiU dt ta faieU taUurnm et admir- 
abUi, It da memeiUaitti mjumturu guti il tout advtma. 
FsTi*. FkT Nlooloi et Piirrs Bonfoiu. (No data, bnt Mrly 
■iiteenth oentuj;.) Pp. 4.6.] 

VOL. n. X 



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S22 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Gervas TiLB., p. 980. A goblet Is still cuefully 
preserved in Edenholl, Cumberland, which is sup- 
posed to have been seised at a banquet of the elves, 
b)t one of the ancient family of Musgrave ; or, as 
others say, by one of their domestics, in the 
manner above described. The Fairy tmin vanished 
crying aloud — 



The goUet took a name from the prophecy, under 
which It is mentioned in the burlesque ballad, 
commonly 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 risks, but the lees of 
wine are still apparent at the bottom. 

' God prosper long, from being broke, 
The luck of Edenball.'— Airody on Chevj/ ChoM.* 

Some faint traces yet remain, on the Borders, of a 
conflict of a mysterious and terrible nature, between 
mortals and the spirits of the wilds. This supersti- 
tion is incidentally alluded to by Jackson, at the 
beginning of the 17th century. The fem-seed, 

' ['Pratorlo* Intomu ni thst s membeT of the 0«rmaii hooie 
of AlveKhleben r«oaiTed > ring from s Nlie, to wUeb the fatDi« 
fortune! of hia line vera attached. — Anthtrfodaaiat Plutonieut, 
If p. 113. Another German funilf, the Kuuau, held thefr 
ptoptrtj bj the tenun of a fair/ ipindle.' — Prefsoe to Wabiok, 
18M, p. es.-J. O. L.] 

* n^e ballul of 'Edenball' «m pnblidied in WJiartmia, 
London, 1787, 8 Tok. (voL I. 19-M). The Tolnnun ■wtn reprintvd 
in 1T3« aa PotUual Work$ of Philip, late Duke of VAoHoh.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 883 

whicli is siippoBcd to become visible only on St 
John's Eve,^ uid at the veiy moment when the 
Baptist wM bom, is held by the vulgar to be under 
the specUl protection of the Queen of Faery. But, 
as the seed was supposed to have the quality of 
rendering the possessor Invisible at pleasure,* and 

I ■ N«'«r be I fomid bv thM imawad. 
On tbU thriaa-hkllowed ova klnoad. 
When gobUiki bkont, from fire and fen. 
And wood and Uke, the itep* et nen.' 

Cou^m'a Odt to Fear. 
The whole hiMor; of St. John the Btptiat wm, by our 
uiceeton, eeeounted mfiterfotu, and eonneoted with their own 
mpentltion*. The Fairj Queen wai •ometimee identffled with 
Herodlaa.— Dblbo, DitquinUona Moffiea, pp. 168, 607. It ii 
»"""i*"C ^ obeeive with what graTJt; the learned Jemit oon- 
tendi, that It Ij hereej to believe that thii oelabiated flgnrante 
itaUtitrievla) itill lead* ohoral dancei npon earth '. 
* Thii ie allnded to b; Shakeape«re, and other antbon of bii 

' ff e have the reeelpt of fer n tttd ; we walk invieible.' 

Htnrg ir.. FaH Irt, Act U. *■. 1. 
[Dlnmont quote* the lupentitlon, in Oujr Jfonnertn^, r^ardlng 
UegMerrillee:— 'IdanTM/it'i nonMiue, but thaj 017 >ha hai 
(atheted the tern-Med, and oan gang on; gate aha Warn, like Jook- 
the-Oiaut KUlet In the ballant, wi' hii ooat o' darknna and hie 
ahoon 0' awiftnew.' For Tarloui poetlo referenoei I am indebted 
toMr. W.J. Craig:- 

' Henbane and Papp7, and that magical weed 
WUob bag! at nudnight watob t« oatch the aeed.' 
%.-B..Tht NibU Spanuh, Soldier (1618), Act t. Sc. 3. 
' Or tha barb that give* Inviubility.' 
Beadmoiti un Fukjkib, Fair Maid of the Intt, Act l Sc. 1. 
' No f eni-aeed in toy pooket : nor an opal 
Wrapt in baj leaf i' inv left flat. 
To oharmtha ejee vitii.' 

Bn JonoH'i Tkt Ifett Inn, Act i. Sc. 1. 
"Rui anparatiUon that the fern eeede only on one night ie referred 
to lb Baown'a BriUmnia'i PatUmdt, Book a. (1616), cong Ii. :— 
' When ooailng nigbar ba doth well dinam 
It ot tha woodnnu ona-night, loeding fam 
Some handle wae.' 
In IiTte'e tranilatlon ot Dodoene' Hittoirt it Flantu, 1C87, 



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384 BORDEE MINSTRELSY 

to be also of sovereign use in charms and incanta- 
tions, persons of courage, addicted to these 
mysterious arts, were wont to watch in solitude, 
to gather it at the moment when it shoiUd become 
visible. The particular charms, by which they 
fenced themselves during this vigil, are now un- 
known ; but it was reckoned a feat of no small 
danger, as the person undertaking it was exposed to 
the most dreadAil assaults from spirits, who dreaded 
the effect of this powerful herb in the hands of a 
cabahst. ' Much discourse,' says Richard Bovet, 
' hath been about gathering of fem-seed (which is 
looked upon as a nuigical 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 ears like bullets, and sometimes struck his hat, 
and other parts of his body : In fine, though he 
apprehended he had gotten a quantity of it, and 
secured it in papers, and a box besides, when he 
came home he found all empty. But, most pro- 
bably, this appointing of times and hours is of 
the devil's own institution, as well as the fast, 
that, having once eosnared people to an obedience 
to his rules, he may with more facility oblige 
them to a stricter vassalage.' — Pandamonwm, 
Lond. 1684, p. 217. Such were the shades, which 



there i> >lwi a referenoe to the guperititloD ; ' Thii Idnde of Fun 
beareth oeithei flower nor leed, except ire shall take for eeed 
the bla«k ipotA gtovliig od the buk lidra of leavea, the whtoh 
•ome do gather, thiakiog to vork wonden, but, to laj the tmlli, 
itli Dolbing elae but imagination and nipentition.' It haa been 
luggested to me that the belief in the Inrlaibility that oonid be 
oonf erred by fem-aeed ma; alio have wma oonneotion with the 
fact that anciently glus «h made of fern a«h. For Tariona 
forma of the auperatition among difiarent peoples, aee eapeaiaUy 
pE*TO>'a SoW™ BouffA [1901), iii. 341-S, 461-4.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 825 

the original su))erstiUon, concerning the Fairies, re- 
ceived froiD the chivalrous smtiments of the Middle 
Ages. 

IV. An abenrd belief In the fables of classical 
antiquity lent an additional feature to the character 
of the woodland 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 oi the Pagan 
creed was not speedily eradicated, in the extensive 
provinces through which it was once universally 
received ; and, in many particulars, it continued 
long to mingle with, and influence, the original 
superstitions 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 into Diana and her nymphs, 
and invested with their attributes and appro|Hiate 
insignia. — Dsuinis, pp. lt>8, 807. According to the 
same author, the Faiiy Queen was also called 
Habiotdia. Ukt Diana, who, in one capacity, was 
denominated Hecate, the goddess of enchantment, 
the Fairy Queen is identified, in popular tradition, 
with the Gyre-Cariine, Gm/ Cariine, or mother-witch, 
of the Scottish peasantry. Of this personage, as an 
individual, we have but few notices. She is some- 
times termed Nicntven, and is mentioned in the 
C<mpUu/nt of Scotland, by Lindsay in his Dreme, 
p. S25, edit 1590, and in his IrUerludei, apud 
Pinkirton'b ScoUitk Poenu, vol. ii. p. 18. But the 
traditionary accounts regarding her are too obscure 
to admit of explanation. In the burlesque frag- 
ment subjoined, which is copied from the Bannatyne 
US., the Gyre-Carline is termed the Qtugn of Jowit 



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Site BORDER MINSTRELSY 

(JoviB, or perhaps Jews), and is, with great con- 
sistency, married to Mohammed.' 

But chiefly in Italy were traced many dim charac- 

' ' Id Tf berio* t;me, the trew impentow, 

Qohen T^nto hiUi fn iknipiug of toun-heiiis wm keipit, 
Thair dwelt uie grit 0?ie Uuling in >«ld Betoldi boor, 
That leTit npomi Chriitiaue menia fleaohe, and rewheidi 

onlelpit; 
Thaii vyiiit kue hir bj, on the «ect lyde, daUit Bluour, 
For Itive of hii lauohanc llppii, he wuit and he wei|iit ; 
H« gftdderit tne mende of modnrtii to warp doan the tour ; 
The Oarlisg with ane jnM club, qnhsii yat Blaaonr aleipit. 
Behind tbt heit lobo hatt Um no ana blav, 
Qohll Slaaoor bied aae qnan. 
Off mtllc pottage inwart. 
Hie Carling loohe, and lut fart 
North Bervik Law. 
' The King of Far; than come, with elfla man; anu, 
And Htt ane leke, and ane lalt, with Krit punnllia of pryd ; 
And all tha doggia fn Dunbar was thui to Dumblano, 
With all the tylda of Tervej;, come to thame that tjd ; 



Tfaa; qoeile doune with thair gonnea mon; grit 

lie Carling tehup her on ane aow, and is her giutia nne 

Omntlyng our the Greik aie, and dont na longer byd. 



For brnklyng of bargane, and breiking of bi 

The Cariing now for dlipyte 

Ii mareit with Mahomyt& 

And will the doggia inlerdf te, 

For who ia quene of Jowii. 
* Senayne the oookis of Ciawmound orew nevir at day. 
For dole of that derilUaeh deme wea with Uahonn mareit, 
And the henia of Hadinctoun wiuTne wald not laj, 
For thia wild wibronn wich thame wjdiit w and wsieit ; 
And the nme North Barwik I^w, m I heir wyvia aa;, 
This Carling, with a fala cut, wald away oaieit ; 
For to luok OQ quba u lykia, na langer aoho tareit ; 
AH this languor for lore before tymea foil, 

lAiig or Betok wai bom, , 

3cho bred of ane aceome ; 

The laif of the aCory to mome. 
To you I aall telle.' 

[Thia Irarleaqne produotlon — pabliihed in LuMa'a S^at St- 
maina, 18SS and 1885— by no meana bean out Soott'a ttatemeut 
that in popular tradition tha Fairy Queen ' ia Identified with tha 
6yr»-CaHine,' for the 'King of Fary' ii actually rapreeentad 
M driving the moniter from Sootland. In popular tradition, 
however, witches were aupposed to bold jnteroaane with elTea 
and fairiee, who were alio believed by aome to be agenU of 
Satan.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 887 

ten 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 dreadiiil eruption of Mount 
jEtna.— HiemreAie of BUued AngeU, p. 50*. 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 Fatce, of romance. 'In the year 1058, a 
youDg man of noble birth had been married at 
Rome, and, during the period of the nuptial feast, 
having gone with his companions to play at ball, 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. Desisting from the 
exercise, he found 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 servant, 
when be 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 dark 
and 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 repeated, he consulted his 
relations, who had recourse to Palumbus, a priest 
skilled in necromancy. He directed the yoimg man 
to go, at a certain hour of nfght, to a spot among 
the ruins of ancient Rome, where four roads met. 



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328 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

and wait silently till he mw a company pass by, and 
then, without ottering a word, to deliver a letter, 
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 borse 
and on foot, some joyful and others sad, pass 
along; among whom he distingnished a woman 
in a meretricious dress, who, from the tenuity of 
her garments, seemed almost naked. She rode on 
a mule ; her long hair, which flowed over ber 
shoulders, was bound with a golden fillet; and in 
her hand was a golden rod, with which she directed 
her mole. In the close of the procession, a tall 
majestic figure appeared in a chariot, adorned with 
emeralds and pearls, who fiercely asked the young 
man, "What he did there f" He presented the 
letter in silence, which the demon dared not refuse. 
As soon as he had read, liftbig up his hands to 
heaven, he exclaimed, " Almighty God ! how long 
wilt thou endure the iniquities of the sorcerer 
Palumbus?" and immediately despatched 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.' — Forduni 
Sci^KhivmcoH, vol. i. p. 407, nira Goodaix- 

But it is father in the classical character of an 
infernal Deity, that the Elfin Queen may be con- 
sidered, than as Hecate, the patroness of magic ; for 
not only in the romance- writers, but even in 
Chancer, are the fairies identified with the ancient 
inhabitants of the classical hell. Thus Chaucer, in 
his Marchemd't Tale, mentions 

' Pluto that is kins' <>' fayrie^and 
Frowrplne aud all her &^e.' 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 329 

In the Golden Terge of Dunbar, the uine 
phraseology 1b sdopteJ. Thus, 

' Th^r wu Pluto that elricke tDcuboB 
In oloke of gnat, his court osit no mUcl ' 

Even 8o late as l609, in Hartenet's Declaration 
a/ Popith Jmpotlure, p. 57, Mercury is called Prince 
oj Ike Fairiet. 

But Chaucer, and those poets who have adopted 
hia phraseology, have only followed the romance- 
writers; for the same substitution occurs in the 
romance of Orfeo and Heurodu, in which the story 
of Orpheus and Eurydice is transformed into a 
beautiful romantic tale of faery, and the Gothic 
mythology engrafted on the fables of Greece. 
Heurodu is represented as wife of Orfeo, and Qneen 
of Winchester, the ancient name of which dty the 
romancer, with unparalleled ingenuity, discovers to 
have been Traciens, or Thrace. The monarch, her 
husband, had a singular genealogy : — 

' His bder was comen of King Pluto, 
And his moder of King Juno ; 

e as godes y-holde, 
thai dede and tolde.' 
Reposing, unwarily, at noon, under the shade of an 
ymp tree,' Heurodit dreams that she is accosted by 
the King of Fairies, 

' With an hundred knifchti and mo. 
And damiaels an hundred alio, 
Al on inowe-white stedei ; 
As white as milk were her wedea ; 
Y no seigh never yete bifore, 
' Fmj) tree, — Aooording to tha gsuerml aooaptetlon, thia only 
■Isnlflaa m gnftsd tne ; irhatber It ibonld be here nndentood 
to maui ft tree eooMtaMad to the imja, or fslrlea, U left with 



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880 BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

So fair ciMtoun j-oon : 
The kiDg« hsdde « croun on hede. 
It tus of lilver, DO of golde red, 
Ac it wms of a precious ttoa : 
As bright u the sonne it Khon.' 

The King of Fairiea, 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 a.wait him to-morrow under 
the ymp tree, and accompany him to FaiTy-L,and. 
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, 
Right upon that ympe tre. 
Thai made ■cheltrom in ich aside. 
And sayd thai wold there abide. 
And d]^ ther everichon, 
Br the quen schuld fram hem gon : 
Ac yete amiddes hem fill right. 
The quen was oway y-twight. 
With Fairi forth y-uome. 
Men wict never wher sche was btcome.' 

After this fatal catastrophe, Orfeo, distracted for 
the loss of his queen, abandons his throne, and, 
with his harp, retires into a wilderness, where he 
subjects himself 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 hadde y-werd the fowe and griis. 
And on bed the pnrpur biis. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 881 

Now on the hvd bethe he lith. 

With loves and gresae he him writh : 

He that had CMtella and touri, 

Riveri, forests, frith with flowera, 

Now thei it commeiice to mewe and freu, 

Thia king mot make hia bed in meae : 

He tbkt had y-had knightes of prita, 

BifoTB him kneland and leuedia, 

Now aeth he no thing that him liketh, 

Bot wild wormea hi him atriketh : 

He that had ;-had plente 

Of mete and drink, of icb deynte, 

Now maf be si da^e digge and wrote, 

£t he find hia fille of rota. 

In aomer he liveth hi wilde fruit. 

And berren bot gode lite. 

In winter ma; he no thing find, 

Bot rotea, gn^ea, and the rinde. 

Hia here of his herd blac and rows. 
To hia girdel stede waa growe ; 
Hia harp, whereon waa al hia gle, 
He hidde in ane hoi we tre : 
And, when the weder waa clere and bright, 
He toke hia harp to him w«i right. 
And harped at his owhen wille, 
Into alle the wode the aonn gan achille, 
That alle the wilde beatea that ther beth 
For joie aboaten him thai teth ; 
And al the foules that there wer, 
Come and aet« on ieh a brere. 
To here hia harping a fine, 
So miche melody waa therein.' ' 
At Uat he discovers that he fs not the sole 
inhabitant of thia desert; for 



The King of Fairi, with hia rout. 
Come to hunt him al about, 



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BOHDER MINSTRELSY 

With dim cri and blowsing. 

And houndea alao vitb him berking ; 

Ao no beet tluti no nome, 

No never he nist whider thai bi come. 

And other while he might bim h 

Aa B gret ott bi him t«. 

Well atounied tan hundred knight«*, 

Ich j-«nned to hi* rif^tea. 

Of cuntenaunce ctout tuul fen. 

With mani deaplud baoen ; 

And ich hie sword y-drawe hold, 

Ac never he nist whider thai wold. 

And otherwhile he Beigbe other thing, 

Knightia and leuedia com daunceing-. 

In queynt atire gisel^, 

Queyete pa* and aofUie : 

TaboQta and trumpM gede hem bi. 

And al maner menatrscL — 

And on a day he aeigbe him biiide, 

Sexti lenedia on hon ride, 

Gentll and jolif n brid on ria ; 

Nought o man amongea hem ther nia ; 

And ich a faueoon on bond bere. 

And riden on hauken bi o river. 

Of game thai found wel gode haunt, 

Haulardea, haj'roan, and cormoraunt; 

The foulee of the water ariaeth, 

Ich fanconn hem wele deviaeth, 

Ich &uaoun hia pray alough. 

That aeiie Orfeo and lough. 

" Par fay," quoth be, " tiiere ia fair game, 

Hider Ichil bi Oodea name, 

Ich waa y won awich work to ae" : 

He BToa, and thider gan te ; 

To a leuedl hi was y-come, 

Bthelde, and hath wel under nome. 

And aeth, bi al thing, that ia 

Hia owhen quen, dam Heurodia ; 

Zem hi biheld her, and ache him eke. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 388 

At nonther to otber & word no speke ; 

For iDMaui thit aclie on him might, 

Th»t iwd ben lo rlohe ind m heigha. 

The tWM fel out of her eighe ; 

The other leuedis thii y wighe. 

And miked hir omy to ride, 

Sche most with him no longer abide. 

" All** ! " quoth he, " nowe i* mi to, 

Wbi nil deth now me elo ! 

Alias ! too long last mi liif. 

When Y no dare nought with ml wif. 

Nor h^e to me o word ipeke ; 

Allai whi nil miin hert broke ! 

Par faf," quath he, " tide what betide, 

Whider to this lenedU ride, 

The solve wa^ Ichil streche ; 

Of liif, no dethe, me no reoha. " ' 

In coDsequence, therefore, of this discovery, 
Orfeo punues the hawking damsels, among whom 
he has descried his lost queen. They enter a rock, 
the king continues the pursuit, and arrives at 
Fair^-Land, of which the following very poetical 
description is given : — 

' In at a roche the leuedis rideth, ' 
And he after and nongfat abideth ; 
When he was in the roche y-go, 
Wele thre mile other mo. 
He com into a fair cuntray, 
As bright Boonne somen day, 
Smothe and plain and al grene, 
Hill no dale wu ther non ysene, 
Amiddle the lond a caste! he ceighe. 
Rich and reale and wonder heighe ; 
Al the utmast wal 
Wm cler and achine of criatal ; 
An hundred tonrs ther were about, 
Degiselich and bstaild itout ; 



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834 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The butruB come out of the diche, 

Of i«de ^Id y-arched riehe ; 

The bouiour wss snowed al. 

Of ich maner deurei uiiinsl ; 

Within ther trer wide wonee 

Al of precious itonee, 

The wem piler onto biholde, 

Waa al of bumirt gold : 

Al that lond waa ever light. 

For when it Mshald be therk and night. 

The riche atonnei light gonne, 

Bright as doth at nonne the sonne : 

No man may tel, no thenke in thought. 

The riche werk that ther waa rought 

' Than he gan biholde about al. 
And aelghe fill li)^«and with in the wal. 
Of folk that wer thidder y-brought. 
And thought dede and nere nought ; 
Sum atode with outen badde; 
And Bum none annea nade ; 
And eum thurcb the bodi hadde wonnde; 
And aum lay wode y-bounde ; 
And eum armed on hors aete ; 
And aum astrangled as thu ete ; 
And aum war in water adreynt; 
And sum with fire al for scbreynt ; 
Wives ther lay on childe bedde ; 
Sum dede, and aum awedde ; 
And wonder fele ther lay besides. 
Right aa thai alepe her undertidet ; 
Eche was thus in thia warld y-come. 
With fiuri thider y-come. > 
Ther he seigfae hia owben wiif. 
Dame Heurodii, hia liif liif, 

* It waa parliBpc froin Buoh a deaoriptioD that Arioato adopted 
hi* idea of the Lunar Pandiie, DontaloiiiK every tiling that on 
earth wai stolen or lott. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 386 

Slepe under an Tmpe tree : 

Bi her clothet ha knewe th&t it wu [ijhe. 

'And wheD he had bihold tliii mervftlii alle. 
He vent into the kingee h&lle ; 
Than ■eif'he he ther s cemly sight, 
A tabernacle bliawful and bright ; 
Ther in her maicter king Mte, 
And her quen fair and awete ; 
Her crounee, her dothea icbine M bright. 
That utmetbe bihold be hem might' 
Orjio and HeurodU, MS. [PiMUked in LuNo'a Stleel 
Reniain$, 1822 and ISSfi.] 

Orfeo, as a minstrel, so charnis the Faiiy King 
with the music of his harp, that he promises to 
grant him whatever he should ask. He immedi- 
ately demands his lost Hetttvdit ; and, returning 
safely with her to Winchester, resumes his autho- 
rity ; a catastrophe, less pathetic indeed, but more 
pleasing, than that of the classical story. The cir- 
cumstances, mentioned in this romantic legend, 
correspond very exactly with popular tradition. 
Almost all the writers of demonology mention, as a 
received opinion, that the power of the demons is 
most predominant at noon and midnight. The 
entrance to the Land of Faery is placed in the 
wilderness ; a circumBtance which coincides with 
a passage in Lindsay's Complaint of' the Papingo : — 

'Bot sen my aprmt men from my bodye go, 
I recommend it to the Queue of Pary, 
Eternally into her court to tarry 
In ictMomaw amang the holtls hair.' 

LiNnsAv'B Workt, ISOi, p. 222. 

Chaucer also agrees, in this particular, with our 
romancer : — 



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336 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

' loto his sadel he elombe anon. 
And priketh over itile and itoon. 

An Elf-queene for tespye ; 
Til he ao long« hadde riden imd goon 
That he found in a piyvie iroon 
The countree of Fairye. 

[Wherein he Mughte north and Muth, 
And often Bpired with his mouth. 

In man^ a foreate] ' wilde ; 
For ia that countree wap ther noon. 
That to him donte ryde or goon, 
Neither wjrf ne childe.' 

Sime qfSir Thopat. 

V. Other two causcB, deeply affecting the super- 
stition 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 necessary tendency to abolish 
the distinction among subordinate spirits, which 
had been introduced by the superstitions of the 
Scandinavians. The existence of the Fairies was 
readily admitted ; but as they had no pretensions 
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 accounted demona. 

The fulminations of the Church were, therefore, 
early directed against those who consulted or con- 
sorted with the Fairies; and, according to the 
inquisitorial logic, the innocuous choristers of 
Oberon and Titania were, without remorse, con- 
founded with the sable inhalritants of the orthodox 



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TALE OP TAMLANE S37 

Gehennim; while the rings, which marked their 
revels, were aMimUated to the blasted sward on 
which the witches held their infernal sabbath. — 
Dklrii, Ditq. Mag., p. 179- This transfonnation 
early todt place ; for, among the man; crimes for 
which the faiDoua Joan of Arc was called upon to 
answer, it was not the least heinous, that she had 
frequented the Tree and Fountain, near Dompri, 
which formed the rendezvous of the Fairies, and 
lx»e their name ; that she had joined in the festive 
dance with the elves, who haunted this charmed 
spot; bad accepted of their magical bouquets, and 
availed herself of their talismans, for the deliverance 
of her country. — Fide Acta Judidaria conlra Jo/umnam 
dAreeam, vulgo voaUtm Johanne la Pvcelle. 

The Reformation swept away many of the corrup- 
tions of the Church of Rome ; but the purifying 
torrent remained itself somewhat tinctured by the 
superstitious Impurities of the soil over which it 
had passed. The trials of sorcerers and witches, 
which disgrace our criminal 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 tiie precepts of the Old 
Testament also characterised the Presbyterian re- 
formers. ' Thou thall not tuffer a tvilch to Utte,' was 
a text, which at once (as they conceived) authorised 
their belief in sorcery, and sanctioned the penalty 
which they denounced against it. The Fairies 
were, therefore, in no better credit after the Re- 
formation than before, being still regarded as actual 
demons, or something very little better. A famous 
divine. Doctor Jasper Brokeman, teaches us, in his 



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SS8 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

tywtem of divinity, 'that they inhabit in thoM 
pUces that are polluted with any crying sin, u 
effusion of Uood, or irbere unbelief or aoperttitione 
have gotten the upper hand.' — Dexr^itkm ofFene. 
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 themselves sufficiently 
heinous. 

Such is the case in the trial of the noted Major 
Weir, and his sister ; where the following mummery 
interlards a criminal indictment, too in&monsly 
flagitious to be farther detailed : '9th April, 1670. 
Jean Weir, indicted of sorceries, committxd by bee 
when she lived and kept a school at Dalkeith : that 
she took employment from a woman, to speak in 
her behalf to the Queen ofFaim, memmg 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 whcon 
she got the tree, caused her spread a doth befcm 
her door, and set her foot upon it, and to repeat 
thrice, in the posture foresaid, these words, "AU 
her cnttet and lotMtt go alongtt to the doon," which 
was truly a consulting with the devil, and an act <^ 
sorcery, etc. 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 yam upon the pirn than 
could possibly have come there by good means.' ' — 
Boot* of Adjournal. 

■ It i> ob««rved in the reoord, th>t ItMjor Wtii, a man of tha 
moat vidotts obantotw, wm at the hid* time ambitioaa <^ 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 389 

Neither was the judgment of the Criminal Court 
of Scotland leas severe against another familiar of 

Kppaaring amlamtl; godly ; uid naad to fMqnast the bad* of 
■iok paiMiiu, to udit them iritb his pnt;en. On anob oouMdon*, 
hs put to hli mouth > loEig stftff, vhioh he uiuftlly cknied, and 
eipraaed himaelf with uniKinunDn energy aod fluency, of irhloh 
be vna utterl; ini»ii»ble when the invpiring rod wu withdrkvm. 
This drccmitanoe, the reaolt, probftbly, of a tiiek oi haUt, 
appearing luipldous to the judge*, the MaS ol the eoraereT wai 
burned along with hit penoo. One hondrsd and thirty yean 
bava elapaed linoe hia axeoatlon, yet no ona baa, dnting that 
apaoe, ventured to Inhabit the hooae of thia oalebiated oriminal, 
ISai. [Tbti booae ii engraTsd a* a frontii[Hece to Sir W. BeoU'a 
Leoen on Demonology and WttAeraft. 1830.— J, O. L.] 

[Weir, the epii of a Cljdeedala [noptietor, waa bom about 1600. 
For aome time h« waa majoi in the Bail o( lAuaita regiment, 
and in 1646-60 waa in the oommaod of the Bdinburgh City Guard. 
In tbi* capacity ha bad diarge o( the arrangainanta for the 
eieantion of Honbcoie, whom he la aaid to hare treated with 
great hanhneaa. Hia eilieme fauatidam waa ancoeeded by a 
real or Imaglnaiy life of almoat nnparallded wlekedneai, but 
probably bii mind waa unhinged. Ha waa burned aa a aoroerer 
on Oallowlle, on the elopea of Greenilde, to the north of the 
Oalton Hill, l«th April 1670, and died boaatfnlly impenitent. 
Hia tiiter, undoubtedly craaed, enffered the aame fate on the 
following day. Fiaaer, in hia Prmnditntial Pattaget, aMorta of 
Weii'a ataff : ' Whatever incantation waa in It, tlie peraona 
preaent aver yt it gave raie tuminge, and waa long in bnniiiig, ae 
was also bimaelf.' He waa aappoaed to have eait a apell over 
the atalt leading to hia domloile, to that thoae aaoniiillim it felt 
aa If tliey were going down. ' The bouae,' aayt Soott, In bit 
Demonolagp and Witdtcnfl, ' waa at different timea a biaaer'a 
tliop, and a magaadne for Ilnt, and In my yoonger daya waa 
employed far the latter uae ; Imt no family wotild Inhabit the 
tiaunted walli aa a reafdenoe ; and bold wai the nmhin from the 
High School who dared appioaoh the gloomy niina at the riak 
at teeing the Hajor'a enchanted ttafl parading throngh the old 
apartmentt, or hearing the hum of the neoiomantie wheel, wbioh 
proeored tor hia tliter auch a character ae a aplDner. At the 
time I am wilting [1S301 tlili latt fortreti of tapetatltlaiu icnown 
it In the oourte of being deatntyed. In order to the modem 
improvementa now oarrying on in a quarter long thought 
unimprovable.' Weir't atory it tnppoaed to have tnggeated 
Byron'i lllimfred.'\ 



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3W BORDER MINSTREI^Y 

the Fairiei, whose supposed correspondence with 
the court of Elflaod seems to have constituted the 
sole crime for which she wss burned alive. Her 
Mime was Alison Pearson, and she seems to hare 
been a very noted person. In a bitter satire 
against Adamson, Bishop of St. Andrews, he is 
accused of consulting with sorcerers, particularly 
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 remarkable personages ; the 
secretary, young Maitland of Lethington, and one 

> 'FoTo^ttheUrkaaldliiiDforbid, 
He apM Un lOtK^ uid gkt the tiaii ; 
Aae eariiug of the Qnoie ot Fharcii, 
That ewill win geir to elphyne sanfi ; 
Throogh all Bndo Abane Mbo ha* bMie, 
On h<nt»k OD Hallow ewin; 
And ay in MiUu tntnyna nightla, 
Ai Boho aajis with nu lilly wyohin : 
And nunea ant nyboon ki or aewin. 
That we belerit had bene In heawin ; 
Scbo Mid a^ mn thame veill anei^th. 
And ipeeiiJne pide anld Baloleuoh, 
The leoreUi, and mndria uther : 
Ane Wmiam Bynuone, het mother brother, 
Whom fia adio bae reasTlt a bnike 
For ony herb aeho Uhei to luke ; 
It will inatnwt hei how to lak it. 
In Mm and (Uloba how to mak It ; 
With iti»ea that meikle mail Mn doe, 
In lefdi oraA, where Mho laye tbam toe : 
A thonnnd maladela wdio hec mendit ; 
Now being tana, and apprahendtt, 
Saho being in the bbohopla enre, 
•-dk^ln'' ■■ 



H in hii oaatle n 



He paat into the wil^iei o£ 

SciMiA Foeni of XYI. Centmy, Edln. ISOl. 
ToL li. p. 310. 
[Alao raprlnlad in Sempell BaUala, ISTS, and in Satirieal 
Faeau in ttc Ttow of the S^fomatim (SootUih Text Sooiety), 
il.346.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 341 

of the old Laiids of Buccleuch. The CAuae of their 
being stationed in £lfluid prob&bljr arose from 
the manner of their deceue; which, being un- 
common and violent, caused the vulgar to suppose 
that they had been abstracted by the Fairies. 
Lethington, as is generallj supposed, died a Roman 
death during his imprisonmeot in Leith ; and the 
Buccleuch, whom I believe to be here meant, was 
slain in a nocturnal scuffle by the Kers, his heredi- 
tary enemien. Besides, they were both attached to 
the canse of Queen Hary, and to the ancient re- 
ligion; and were thence, probably, considered as 
more immediately obnoxious to the assaults of the 
powers of daricness.^ The indictment of Alison 
Pearson notices her intercourse with the Archbishop 
of St. Andrews, and contains some particulars, 
worthy of notice, regarding the court of Elfland. 
It runs thus:—'S8th May, 1586. Alison Pearson, 
in Byrehill, convicted of witchcraft, and of con- 
sulting with evil spirits, in the fonn of one Mr. 
Willbun Sympsoune, her eodn, 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 sydc, and having 

1 Bnoolsnoh wu a Tlolent enemy to the Tt"el'«>'i bj wbom hie 
landi bad been lepeatedl; pliiiuleted (lee Intrtiduelion, p. ixri), 
end ■ great adrookCe foi tbe manlage betwtxt Hk7 and the 
Dmiphin, IMS. Aooording to John Knox, he had reoouiM vren 
to thnat% In urging tbe Parliamant to agrae to tbe Ftenob 
matob. 'TlMLalrdof BaleIeiiBh,'aa7i the Bafonner, 'aUood; 
man, with many Ood'i wonnda, iwore, thay that irould net 
oonaent ihoald do wona,' [Thl» Boeolenoh wae ilatn In IOCS, 
and the Buoolenoh to whom Aliton Peanon raterred, mnit have 
been hU too, who with Haitland became a prominant mpporter 
of Mar7 after her imprlionmrait, and waa one of the leaden of 
the attaok on Stirling when the Begcmt LetuioK waa Uain. He 
died in 1B74.] 



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84S BORDER MINSTRELSY 

k &miliaritie with him for divers years, dealini; 
with charms, and abuseing the common people by 
her arts of witchcraft, thir divers yeares by-past. 

'Item, For banting 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 Queeae of 
ElAaad, 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 mom ; and that 
she saw not the Queene this seven years, and that 
she was seven years ill bandied 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 baile folkes thir many 
years past. 

' Item, Convict of the said act of witchcraft, in as 
far as she confest that the said Mr. William Symp- 
soune, who was her guidsir sone, borne in Stirteiug, 
who was the King's smith, who, when about eight 
years of age, was taken away by ane Egyptian to 
Egypt; which Egyptian was a gyant, where he 
remuned 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 sbe would be faithful, he would do 
her good ; but she, being feared, cried out, but 
naebodye came to her ; bo 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 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 843 

another tyme 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 toimentit by them ; and that 
the first time she gaed with them, she gat a sair 
struke frae one of them, which took all the poutlU ' 
of her syde frae her, and left ane iU-far'd mark on 
hersyde. 

' Item, That she saw the gude neighbours make 
their sawes' with panns and fyres, and that they 
gathered the herbs before the sun was up, and 
they came verie fearfnl sometimes to her, and 
(tude* her very sair, which made her cry, and 
threatened they would use her worse than before ; 
and, at last, they took away the power of her baile 
syde frae her, whidi 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 diseasea, sic as 

• PouiHt, power. ' &hc««, •klve*. • Ftaide, Kared. 



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314 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

the ripples, trembling, fever, flax, etc, uid bade 
her make & sawe, and anoint several parts of his 
body therewith, and gave directjons for ™«lring ■ 
posset, which she nude 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 unani- 
mously acquiesced in the doctrine which consigned 
them to eternal perdition. The inhabitants of the 
Isle of Man call them the ' good people, and say they 
live in wilds, and forests, and on mountains, and 
shun great cities, because of the wickedness acted 
therein : alt the houses are blessed where they visit, 
for they fly vice. A person would be thought 
impudently profane who would suffer his family to 
go to bed, without having first set a tub, or pail, full 
of clean water, for those guests to bathe them- 
selves in, which the natives aver they constantly do, 
as soon as ever the eyes of the f^ily are closed, 
wherever they vouchsafe to come.' — Waldron'b 
fVoi^, p. 126. There are. some carious, and per- 
haps 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 Gloucester, printed at London in 
1696, and preserved in Moroan's PAohu Bnianniau, 
4to, London, 17S2. 

Anne Jefferies was bom in the parish of St. Teath, 
in the county of Cornwall, in 16S6. Being the 
daughter of a poor man, she resided as servant in 
the house of the narrator's father, and waited upon 
the narrator himself, in his childhood. As ahe was 
> [8ee further PrrcuKir'* Criminal Triait, L IGS-l.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 845 

knitting stoclung« in an arbour of tbe 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. During her 
sickness, she frequently exclaimed, ' They are just 
gone oat of the window ! they are just gone out of 
the window I Do you not see them ? ' These ex- 
pressions, as she ai^erwards declared, related to 
their disappearing. During the harvest, when 
every one was employed, her mistress walked out ; 
and dreading that Anne, who was extremely weak 
and sOly, might iiijure herself, or the house, by tbe 
fire, with some difficulty persuaded her to walk in 
the orchard till her return. She accidentally hurt 
her leg, and, at her return, Anne cured it, by strok- 
ing it with her hand. She appeared to be informed 
of evei; particular, and asserted that she had this 
information from the Fairies, who had caused tbe 
misfortune. After this, she perfbimed numerous 
cuns, but would never receive money for them. 
From harvest-time to Christmas, she was fed by the 
Fairies, and ate no other victuals bat theirs. The 
narrator affirms that, looking one day through the 
keyhole of the door of her chamber, he saw her 
eating ; and that she gsve him a piece of bread, 
which was the most delicious he ever tasted. The 
Fairies always appeared to her in even Dumbers ; 
never lets 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 ; 
Dor 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 



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346 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

four jtm old, to cany to her mother, who refused 
to receive it The narrator adds, that he had seen 
her danciog in the orchard among the trees, and 
that she informed him she waa then daocing with 
the Fairies. The report of the strange cures which 
•he performed, soon attracted 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, Firtt Epitlle of John, chap. iv. v. 1 — 
Dearlif beloved, believe not every ipiril, btit try ike 
tpiriit, whether they are of God, etc 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 apprehend 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, 1696, 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 faD under the 
cc^nisance 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 Lilly, unquestionably judges in such 
matters, had a high opinion of these beings, if we 
may judge &om the following succinct and business- 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 847 

like memonndum of a. ghost-seer. 'Anno l670. 
Not &r from Cirencester was an apparitioD. Being 
demanded whether a good spirit or a bad, returned 
no answer, but disappeared with a curious perfume, 
and most melodious twang. M. W. Lilly believes 
it was a fairie. So Propertius, 

" Omnia finierat ; tenne* secessit in suras, 
Mansit odor, ponis scire fuisu Deam ! " ' 

Aitbbet'b NitMilaniet, p. 80. 

Webster gives an account of a person who cured 
diseases by means of a white powder. ' To this I 
shall only add thus mucji, that the man was accused 
for invoking 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 powder, he told a story to this effect ; 
That one night, before day was gone, as he was 
going home ^m his labour, 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 fn fine cloaths, who asked him why he was 
so sad, and he told her that it was by reason of bis 
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 it should not be 
any such ways, but l:^ doing good, and curing of 
sick people ; and so warning him strictly to meet 
her there the next night, at the same time, she 



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848 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

departed from him, and he went home. And the 
next night, at the time appointed, he duly waited, 
and she (according to promise) came, and told him 
that it was well that he came ao duly, otherwise be 
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 bill, and 
she knocked 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 pre- 
sented him to the queen, and she said be 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 bim give two ot 
three grains of it to any that were sick, and it 
would heal them ; and so she brought bim forth of 
the hill, and bo they parted. And, being asked by 
the judge, whether the place within the hill, which he 
called a ball, were light or dark, be said, indifferent, 
OB it is with us in the twilight ; and being asked 
how he got more powder, he said, when he wanted, 
be went to that hill, and knocked three times, and 
said every time, I am coming, I am coming, where- 
upon it opened, and he, going in, was conducted by 
the aforesaid woman to the queen, and so had more 
powder given him. This 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 bim : and I 
remember the judge said, when all the evidence 
was heard, that if he were to assign his punish- 
ment, he should be whipped Irom thence to Fairy- 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 949 

ball ; and did seem to judge it to be ■ delusion, or 
an imposture.' — WEBariR's Ditpla^ng of Snppoied 
Wiichcraft, p. SOI. A rustic, also, whom Jackson 
bad taxed witb magical practices, about IGSO, 
obstinately denied ihtX the good King of the 
Fairies had any connection with the devil ; and 
some of the Highland seers, even in our day, have 
bouted of their Intimacy with the elves, as an 
innocent and advantageous connection. One 
Macoan, in Appin, the laat person eminently 
gifted witb the second-sight, professed to my 
learned and excellent friend, Hr. Ramsay of 
Ochtertyre, that he owed bis prophetic visions to 
their intervention.^ 

VI, Thereremainsyetanothercauaetobenotieed, 
wblcb seenu to have induced a considerable altera- 
tion into the popular creed of England, respectlDg 
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, wbicb nightly dance upon the 
wold,' were an interesting subject ; and the creative 
imagination of tbe bard, improving upon tbe vulgar 

> [Soott leeiDa to hiTO ■lightly mUnudentood the purport of 
Butuaj'i oomnnuilnatlon. In Sjotinnd and Seotuntn of tkt 
SiffhUenA (TnXury <U. 471), Bmdm]', dtlng the cue of tbii ume 
H'Caau, alatea : ' He not atdy pretended to the woond-sight, bnt 
to % power of pnrreDtini the operatkHie of witehea utd i[drita ; 
which lut he afflrmed he often mw and oonvsteed with.' And in 
regwd to Meond-dght, Bameay further itatee : "Thoee who are 
Topnted to poaMH thia fkonlty am give no koaoimt of how it wu 
oommunlaeted to them, neither wh it CTer inutgined to prooeed 
from nenomane; or other impiona nieuu, Iwing eateemsd an 
extraordinary and ineffaceable inpreaaloa ol futnrity upon the 
mind fib., iL 463}. The power of leooad-Blght wai not oom- 
munioated hj faiiiea, Imt enabled Iti poeaeaior to liehold, and hold 
interoouM with, them.] 



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S60 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

belief, assigned to them many of those fancifbl 
attributes and occupations, which posterity have 
since associated with the name of Fairy. In such 
employments, as raising the drooping flower, and 
'arranging the disordered chamber, the Fairies of 
South Britain gradually lost the harsher character 
of the dwarfs, or elves. Their choral dances were 
enlivened by the introduction of the merry goblin 
Pvck,^ for whose freakish pranks they exchanged 
their original mischievous propensities. TheFairies 
of Shakespeare, Drayton, and Metmis, therefore, at 
first exquisite fancy portraits, may be considered as 
having finally operated a change in the original 
which gave them birth.* 

While the fays of Soath Britain received snch 

■ Robin Ooodfallov, or Hobgoblin, pomtmm tli* froUoMine 
qiulitiea of ths Freuah Lutin. For his fall oIiM»«t«r the raadcr 
li referred to the Betiguei of Aneiait Pottrj/. Tlie premier livery 
of this lilvan Uomm ia to be found in an old pU;. 'Enter 
Robin Ooodfellow, In » nilt of leftthar, oloae to hia body, hii 
hkndi and fue coloured nutet colour, with » flkiL' — Orim, Uk 
Coilier of Croydon, Ant iv. So. 1. At other timet, howeTcr, 
he ii preMDt«d in the venuJ livery of the elvea, hi* uigdstee :— 

' Tim. I h*Te made 
Some apeeohea, sir, in TSne, which have been apoke 
By ft ^TMn Sobin Ooodfttlotc, from Ohskpdds aoadait. 
To my father'a oomp&ny.' 

Tht Cits Match, Act i. So. 6. 

■ The Fairyland, and Fkiriea of Spanier, have no oonneotlon 
with popular auperatition, Iwtng only word* nied to denote a 
Utopian acene of action, and imiginkry and allegorical characters ; 
and the title of the * Fabry Qaeen ' being probably anggeated by 
the elfln mi>tre» of Chauoer'i Sir Tkopat. The atealing of the 
Red Croat Enight, while a child, l« the only incident in the 
poem which tppcoaohet to the popiil»T charaoter of the F^ry : — 

' A Fail? thee unweeting reft ; 
There aa thou aleptat in tender awadling band. 
And her bue eUn brood there for thee left : 
Smdb men do ohangelinga call, ao ohang'd by Fairiee theft.' 
Book I. Oanto I. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 8fil 

attractive and poetical embelliBhments, thoie of 
Scotland, who posseued no Huch advantage, retained 
more of their ancient and appropriate character. 
Perhaps, alao, the persecution which these silvtm 
deities underwent, at the initance of the stricter 
Pretbyterian clergy, had its usual effect, in harden- 
ing their dispositions, or at least in rendering 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 
malidouB disposition, and a less fnghtAil appear- 
ance, to the fays who glide by moonlight through 
the oaks of Windsor, than to those who haunt the 
solitary heaths and lofty mountains of the North. 
The fsct at least is certain ; and it has not escaped 
a late iogenions traveller, 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'b Fiav qf Scenery and Mminen in 
Scotland.'^ Some curious particulars regarding the 
Daome SkU, oi Men o/* Peace, for so the Highlanders 
call Fairies, maybe found in Dr. Grahake's Sketche* 
of PuAwetque Scenery on the Southern Cottfines of Perth- 
thin. They are, though not absolutely malevolent, 
believed to be a peevish, repining, and envious 
race, who enjoy, in the subterranean recesses, a kind 
of shadowy splendour. The Highlanders are at all 
times unwilling to speak of them, but especially on 
Friday, when their influence 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. 

1 [Sae alio ' A BamoiutnnM with SaoUaiBti for hsviug lOaTed 
the DiipailtiaD of thsli Qhort< uid FUriei,' in W. B. Ytaifa 
dOic TmUgiU, 1B93.] 



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362 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The Fftiries of Scotluid are represented m a 
diminutive r«ce of bein^, of a mixed, or rather 
dubious nature, capricious in their dispositions, and 
mischfevoiu in their resentment. They inhabit 
the interior of green hills, chiefly those of a conical 
form, is Gaelic termed SighoH, on which they lead 
their dances by moonlight ; impressing up<m the 
surface the marks of circles, which sometimei 
appear yellow and blasted, sometimes of a deep 
green hue; and within which it is dangerous to 
^eep, or to be found after sunset The removal 
of those large portions of turf, which thunderbolts 
sometimes scoop out of the ground with singular 
regularity, is also ascribed to their ageney. Cattle, 
which are suddenly seised with the cramp, or some 
similar disorder, are said to be elf-*hot ; and the 
approved cure is, to chafe the parts aBected with 
a blue bonnet, which, it may be readily believed, 
often restores the circulation. The triangular 
flints, frequently found in Scotland, with which the 
ancient inhabitants probably barbed their shafts, 
are supposed to be the weapons of Fairy resent- 
ment, and are termed elf amm-head*. The rude 
brazen battle-axes of the ancients, comnumly called 
celit, are also ascribed to their manufacture.' But, 

< [Kirks (Stent Cbrnmonvnitth.' ^n Suag of tht yatvn and 
Aetiont af the SiMerrantan (and for tit mtM part) Inviiibk 
PtopU, hatttifbrt goime vnder tAc tiaau of Elvtt, Fmimtt, am) 
Fairia, or tiu like wao>v Ok Lote (kiu/ntry Statt, at tktf) an 
daeribtd bf tAo*t vho kavt the itxmd-iiQht, ISSl, i«piiiitad 
181C snd ed. I^ng 1808) Mierta that hs hH ' hwl barbed srrow- 
haad* of jellow flint, that oonld not ba oat w imkll and naat, of 
M brittle a mbataDM, bj all the art of man. It would aeein, 
thenfore, -that th«ae mentloitd work* wen done b; oertain 
■pbiti of pan orgaiu, sod not hj inUt, whan omtlnaal 
tormeota eoold not allow them wo mnob leintra.' Katharine 
Lad; FmUi> wai tried ou the oharge of maUiw piotnm of elaf 
of ttM70iui(lAiidof Fonlliand thejatui«I«d;Df B 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 853 

like the Gothic duergar, their skill is not confined 
to the fabrication of arms; for they are heard 
sedulously hammering in linns, precipices, and 
rocky or cavernous situations, where, like the 
dwarfs of the mines, mentioned by Georg. Agrfcola, 
they busy themselves in imitating the actions and 
the various employments of men.^ The Brook of 
Beaumont, for example, which passes, in Its course, 
by numerous linns and caverns, is notorious for 
being haunted by the Fairies; and the perforated 
and rounded stones, which are formed by tritura- 
tion in its channel, are termed, by the vulgar, fairy 
cups and dishes. A beautiful reason Is asdgned 1^ 
Fletcher for the Cays frequenting streams and 
fountains ; He tells ns of 



By the pale moonshine, dipping oiWitiines 
ThMT stolen children, so to make them free 
From dying flesh and dull mortality.' 

filitlifiti Shepherdet*. 

It is sometimes accounted unlucky to pass such 
places, without performing some ceremony to avert 
the displeasure of the elves. There is, upon the 

' to be ihot M irilh elf urow-hewU for the deetruotlou of thaw 
two }'aaiig people ' (Pimuui'i Criminal TriaU, j. 19S-98], bnt 
wM deolared innooeDt. Ai to how ell arrow-headi vera mede 
and ihot, we have a drmimiUuitial aoooaiit in the oonfeulon of 
k repnted wltob, luobel Oowdie: 'Ai for elf Mrow-hgidu, the 
Dlvell thape* them with hie awin band [and ifaa dellTon them] to 
elf boree, who whjVJa and dightii them with a iharp thing like a 
paklng needla. We have no bow to ihoot with, but ipang them 
tiom the naiUae of our thowmbei ' (PiKuan, 1*6., til. 607-8).] 

1 [' I have Men,' eayi Ehrka, ' In Weemi [on the ooaat of Fife] 
diveiH oavei out oat ai Tut temidai nndergroimd ; the lyka Is 
[In] a oootit; of England ; In Malta ii a eave, wherein itonei of a 
oiuioni out are thrown in gieat nnmben avetj daj. '] 

VOL, II. Z 



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354 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

top of Minchmuir, a mountain in Peeblesshire, & 
spring, called the Cheete Well, because, anciently, 
those who passed that way were wont to throw into 
It a piece of cheese, as an ofiering to the Fairies, to 
whom it was consecrated. 

Like Xhefeid elfen of the Saxons, the usual dreis 
of the Fairies la green ; though, on the moors, they 
have been sometimes observed in heath-brown, or 
in weeds dyed with the stoneraw, or Uchen.^ They 
often ride in inviaible procession, when tfaeir 
presence is discovered by the shrill ringing of 
their bridles. On these occasions, they sometimes 
borrow mortal steeds ; and when such are found at 
morning, panting and fatigued in their stalls, with 
their manes and tails dishevelled and entangled, 
the grooms, I presume, often find this a convenient 
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 DufTus below), 
might occasionally cloak the delinqaendes of an 
unfaithfiil butler. 

The Fairies, beside their equestrian processions, 
are addicted, it would seem, to the pleasures of the 
chase. A young sailor, travelling by night, Irom 
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 incurred. I most not omit to 
' Henoe tbeharo of tha bkl]»d ia tenned an 'alfln gie?.' 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 356 

mention tlixt these little personages are expert 
jockeys, and scorn to ride the little Manx 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 Balla- 
fletcher, that he had lost three or four capital 
hunters by these nocturnal excursions. — Waldron'b 
Wonl*, p. 132. From the same author we leam, 
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 ma accosted among the mountains 
by a little gentleman plainly dressed, 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 
inconvenience from dealing with so extraordinaiy 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 gentle- 
man, informs us, 'as to circles in grass, and the 
impression of small feet among the snow, I cannot 
deny but I have seen them frequently, 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 con- 
tagious effects of a superstitious atmosphere. Wal- 
dron had lived so long among the Manx, that he 
was almost persuaded to believe their legends. 

The worthy Captain George Burton communi- 
cated to Richard Bovet, gent., author of the 



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856 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

iateresting work, entitled Pandemoimm, or Ikt 
Demtt ClouUr opened, the following singular account 
of a Ud called the Fain/ Bo^ of Leith, who, it 
seems, acted as a drutnmer to the elves, who 
weekly held rendezvous in the Calton Hill, Dear 
Edinburgh. 

' About fifteen years since, having business that 
detained me for some time at Leith, which is near 
Edinburgh, in the kingdom of Scotland, I 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 faiiy boy (as they call 
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 &iry boy, but a little 
before I came by; and, casting her eye into the 
street, said, "Look you, air, yonder he is at play 
vrith those other boys," and designing him to me, 
I went, and, by smooth words, and a piece (^ 
money, got him to come into the house with me; 
where, in the presence of divers people, I demanded 
of him several astrological questions, which he 
answered with great subtilty ; and through all his 
discourse, carried it with a cunning 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 ; 



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TALE OF TAMLANE SffT 

for eveiy Thursday night I beat all points to a sort 
of people that 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 variety of 
meats and wine, and many times we are carried 
into France or Holland in « 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 be told me he would 
read ray fortune, saying, I should have two wives, 
and that he saw the forms of them sitting on my 
shoulders; that both would be very handsome 
women. As he was thus speaking, a woman of the 
neighbourhood coming into the room, demanded of 
him. What her fortune should be ? He told her 
that she had two bastards before she was married, 
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 Thunday night ; upon which, by pro- 
mising him some more money, I got a promise of 
him to meet me at the same place, in the afternoon, 
the Thorsday following, and so dismiat him at that 
time. The boy came again, at the place and time 



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368 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

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 unperceived of the com- 
pany, 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, be was agun got out of doors ; I foUowed 
him close, and he made a noise in the atreet, as if 
he had been set upon ; but from that time I could 
never see him, Georob Bchton.' 

Pandemonium, or the DeviTM Clcn/tler. By Bicfaaid 
Bovet, Gent London, 1684, p. 173. 

From the Hittory of the Irish Bardt, by Mr. 
Walker, and from the glossary subjoined to the 
lively and ingenious tale of Cattle Rackrent, we 
learn, that the same ideas concerning Fairies are 
current among the vulgar in that country. The 
latter authority mentions their inhabiting the 
ancient tumuli called SiirTOfiu,and their abstracting 
mortals. They are termed ' the good people ' ; and 
when an eddy of wiud raises loose dust and sand, 
the vulgar believe that it announces a Fairy proces- 
sion, and bid God speed their journey.^ 

The Scottish Fairies, in like manner, sometimes 
reside in Eubterranean abodes, in the vicinity of 
human habitations, or, according to the popular 
phrase, under the ' door-etane,' or threshold; in 
which situation tbey sometimes establish an inter- 
course with men, by borrowing and lending, and 
other kindly offices. In this capacity they are 

1 [For mkny lutereBtiug, if ooouioiiall; fanciful, partiouUn 
regarding Irlih Pairiei, lee W. B. Tura, Iriih Fairit* and Att 
TtUa, 18S3.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE S59 

termed ' the good neighbours,' ' from supplying 
privately the wants of their friends, and ssBisting 
them in all their transactions, while their favours 
are concealed. Of this the traditionary story of Sir 
Godfrey Macculloch forms a curious example. 

As this Gallovidian gentleman was taking the air 
on horseback, near his own house, he was suddenly 
accosted by a little old man, arrayed in green, and 
mounted upon a white palfrey. After mutual 
salutation, the old man gave Sir Godfrey to under- 

* Pertutpa thii epithet I* only one example. aiDODg mkny , of 
the extreme dvility which the Tnlgar in Sootluid use tovArdi 
epiriti of » dabioiu, or eren a detenninedlf miMhieroue, nature. 
The arah-Seod fainuelf ii often dietingniehed b; the softened title 
of the 'goodman.' Thii epithet m applied, miut sound stcaoge to 
a loatheni ear ; bnt, aa the phraie bean Tarioiu jaterpretationa, 
aooording to the plaoea where It it used, ao, in the Soottiali dlaleot, 
the gaodnan of tueh a flaee mgniftei the tenant, or life-renter, In 
oppoaltion to the laird, or proprietor. Henof^ the devil ii termed 
the goodman, or tenant, of the infernal redone. In the bocA of 
the Univerml Kirk, 13th Maj 1G94, menUon ia made of ' the 
horrible etipentitioDDe omt in Gariooh, and dyntn parts of the 
oonntrle, in not labonring a pamel of ground dedioated Ic the 
devil, nnder the title of the Ouidman'f Croft' Lord Hailee oon- 
jsetnred thia to have been the temenoi adjoining to some anoient 
Pagan temple. The nnavoved, bnt obvioos, pnipoae of thia prao- 
tloe, waa to divert the deatmotlve lage of Satan from the neigh- 
bouring pouessloDi. It reqniced varlooi fulminatloni of the 
Qeneral Aaiembl; of the Kirk to aboliah a practice bordering ao 
naail}' upon the doctrine of the Magi. [Thoogh used of the 
fairies b; the poet Alexander Hontgomerj-, the epithet applies 
more partioolarlj to the brownies, or hesirth spirits of the 
anoients, whioh haunt houaea, espeoially faim-houses. 'The 
invialhle wights whieh hannt hooses,' qoaintlj nmarks Klfke, 
' seem nther to be some of onr sobterrauean Inhabitants (whieh 
appear often lo men of seoond-aight) than evil spirits or devils ; 
beeaose though they throw great stones, pieoea of etuth, and wood 
at the inhabitants, the; hurt them not at all, as i( thejr aeted 
not malignantly like devils at all. bnt in sport like buSoons and 
drolls.' He also lefers to the biowntes, who 'in some families 
are drudges, dean the houses and dishes after all go to bed, 
taking with him his portion of food, and remoring before day.'] 



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860 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

stand, that he resided under his habitation, and 
that he had great reason to complain of the direc- 
tion of a drain, or common sewer, which emptied 
itself directly into his chamber of dais.' Sir God- 
frey Macculloch was a good deal startled 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 accordingly. Many years afterwards. Sir 
Godfrey had the misfortune to kill, in a fray, a 
gentleman of the neighbourhood. He was appre- 
hended, tried, and condemned.^ The scaffold, upon 
which his head was to be struck off, was erected on 
the Castle-hill of Edinburgh ; but hardly had he 

' The best chamber wu thiu ourreDtlj deuomloated in Scot- 
Iftnd, from the Frenoh dati, aigniffiog that part of the uuneDt 
halli vhioh wai elsTated above tbe reat, and oarered with a 
eanopj. The tnrf-Baata, nhioh ooonp; the aniin/ uda of a 
cottage wall, » aljw termed the cbui. 

9 Id this partioalai, tradition ooinoidec with the real fact ; the 
trial took plaoe in 1697. [SirGodfiey U'Cullooh had a heraditai? 
feud with hii neighbours, the Oordone of Cardonees, and <m SOth 
October 1690 came to their manrion, and lent a ■ervant to eik 
Oordan out to apeak ' with some one. ' Then, immediately on 
Gordon's appearance, 'with a bended gan he did ihoot him 
through the thigh, and brak the bane thereof to pieeea ; of which 
wound Wtlliam Gordon died within Btc or aii houre thereafter' 
{Jatliciary Recordi). He made hie eaeape, bat aome time tiiere- 
aftar returned to Scotland, and was apprehended while at chtmh 
Id Edinburgh, at the instance of a Galtowaj gentleman, who re- 
cognised him : and after trial, wa* oondsmned to be beheaded at 
the Croae of Edinborgh, 6th Uarnh 1697. The eieoaticm wai 
delayed at hie own request, but that he waa executed aeema to 
be proved b; a broadaide, entitled 'The I^at Speech of Sir 6od- 
frej M'Oulloch of Myreton, knight aikd baronet, who wu 
beheaded at the Oroea of Bdlnbuigh, the twentj-aiz da; of Marah 
1697' {Iftm Slatittieal AeeomU of ScctUmd, *u& Wigton (it.) 
Ca8-7; and Chamuu, Domatie Arnialt of SeaUand (1B61), 
R.. 174.6).] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 361 

reached the fatal spot, when the old man, upon his 
white palfrey, pressed through the crowd with the 
rapidity of lightning. Sir Godfrey, at his comnuuid, , 
sprang 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, 
children; and that of stealing human souls from 
their bodies. 'A persuasion prevails among the 
ignorant,' says the author of a ks. history of 
Moray, ' that in a consumptive disease, the Fairies 
steal away the soul, and put the soul of a Fairy in 
the room of it.' This belief prevails chiefly along 
the eastern coast of Scotland, where a practice, 
apparently of druidical origin, is used to avert the 
danger. Id the increase of the March moon, 
withes of oak and ivy are cut, and twisted into 
wreaths or circles, which they preserve till next 
March. After that period, when persons are con- 
sumptive, or children hectic, they cause them to 
pass thrice through these circles. In other cases 
the cure was more rough, and at least as dangerous 
as the disease, as will appear from the following 
extract: — 

< There is one thing remarkable In this parish of 
Suddie (in Invemess-shire), which I think proper 
to mention. There is a small hill N.W. 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 several reports concemlng it. When 
chUdren happen to be sick, and languish long in 
their malady, so that they almost turn skeletons, 
the common people imagine they are taken away 



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863 BORDER MINSTHEI^Y 

(at leut the substance) bj Bpirits, called Fairies, 
and the shadow left with them ; so, at a paiticidar 
■eason in aummer, they leave them all night theni' 
selves, watching at a distance, near this well, and 
this they imagine will either end or mend iActh; 
they say many more do recover than do not. Yea, 
an honest tenant who lives hard by it, and wh<Hii 
I had the curiosity to discourse about it, told ine it 
has recovered some, who were about eight or nioe 
years of age, and to his certain knowledge, they 
bring adult persons to it; for, 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 inquired what be was, but be 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.' — Accouni of the Faruh of Svddit, 
apud Macfarlanb'b MSS.^ 

According to the earlier doctrine, concerning the 
original corruption of human nature, the power of 
demons over infants had been long reckoned con- 
siderable, in the period intervening between birth 
and baptism. During this period, therefore, chil- 
dren were believed to be particularly liable to ab- 
straction by the fairies, and mothers chiefly dreaded 
the substitution of changelings in the place of 
their own offspring. Various monstrous charms 

> [The puuh of Snddie, m Boa* tai Oromuij, wu QDitad in 
ITSe to Kilmnir-Werter, azoept a aoail put whloh ni In- 
olnded In KlUetman — the united puithaa being now known w 
Knookbkln.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 363 

existed in Scotland, for procuring the restoration 
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 
prescribed in the following legend is rather too 
hazardous for modem 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 honie 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 
Dian 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 sorrow," 
and related what had happened, adding, moreover, 
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 

> Leu periloQi raaipei vere lometinieB lued. Ths Editor U 
pouoMcd of a Binall relic, termed by tradition a ta4d-itoQ«, 
the InfliwDoe of vhioh wu lappoeed to preiarve pieipiant vomat 
from the powsr of deinoiu, and other daufen iooidental to 
thsit litoattoiu It hw bean (iu«fiill; praeerred for aeveral 
ganeratioiu, ww often pledged for ooniiilerable lumi of mone;, 
and onifomily redeemed, from s belief in ita efSoMf . 



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364 BORDER MINSTREI5Y 

chair, that he might not fait, 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 i^ 
till she heard its voice no more. The woman, 
having done all things according to these words, 
heard the child say, " Seven years old was I before 1 
oame to the nurse, and four years have I lived since, 
and never saw so many milk-pans before." So the 
woman took it np, and left it upon the dunghOl to 
cry, and not to be pitied, till at last she thought 
the Toice went up into the air ; and coming, found 
their own natural and well-favoured child.' — Grose's 
Provincial Ghaary, quoted from A PUatatU Treatite 
on Wilchcrafi. The most minute and authenticated 
account of an exchanged child is to be found in 
Waldron's Itle of Man, a book from which I have 
derived much legendary information. ' I was pre- 
vailed 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 
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; bis complexion was perfectly delicate, 
and he had the finest hair in the world. He never 
spoke nor cried, ate scarce anything, and was very 
seldom seen to smile ; but if any one called him a 
fairy-elf, he would frown, and fix his eyes so 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 365 

earnestly od those who said it, as if he would look 
them through. His mother, or at least his supposed 
mother, being very poor, frequeotly went out a 
chareing, and left him a whole day together. 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 could 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 exact- 
ness and nicety.' — P. 128.^ 

Waldron gives another account of a poor woman, 
to whose oflbpring, 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 lay trembling in bed, unable to 
protect her infant, which was snatched from the 
bed by an invisible hand. Fortunately, the return 
of the gossips, after the cauEeleas alarm, disturbed 
the Fairies, who dropped the child, which was 
found sprawling and shrieking upon the threshold. 
At the good woman's second aecouehemenl, a tumult 
was heard in the cowhouse, which drew thither 
the whole assistants. They returned, when they 
found that all was quiet among the cattle, and lo ! 
the second child had been carried trom the bed, 
and dropped in the middle of the lane. But, upon 
the third occurrence of the same kind, the company 



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866 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

were again decoyed out of the sick woman's 
chamber by & false alarm, leaving only & 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 
circulate upon such joyful occasions, to be easily 
awakened. In short, the child was this time fairly 
carried off, and a withered, deformed 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; re- 
sembling, in all respects, the changeling already 
mentioned. — Waldron'b Works, ibid. 

But the power of the Fairies was not confined to 
unchristened children alone ; it was supposed fre- 
quently to extend to full-grown persons, especially 
such as, in an unlucky 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 sunset, 
or, finally, to those who unwarily joined their orgies. 
A tradition existed, during the seventeenth cen- 

■ TM« idea ii not pednliar to th« Oothig tribea, bat eitoidi to 
thoae of Sclario origio. Tooke {Bittory i>f Rauia, vol i. 
p. 100) rolatea, that tha RumUd prasanti believe the Dootnnul 
demon, KHeimoro, to have been a obild, whom lb« deril dots 
OQt of the womb of Ita mother, becaiue she had cnned it. Tbnj 
alio Ku«t, that if an aiecratioD against a child be spoken in an 
evil hoar, the child is carried off by the deviL The beings, ••> 
gtolen, are neither fiends nor men ; they are inTisible. and afraid 
of the oross and holy water ; bat, on the other hand, in tLeii 
natmre and dispositiocB they resemble mankind, whom Ihej love, 
and rarely injnre. 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 367 

tury, concerning an ancestor of the noble family of 
Duffus, who, ' walking abroad in the fields, near to 
his own house, 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, " i/orre and HaUock!" (this is the 
word which the Fairies are said to use when they 
remove from any place), whereupon he cried, 
"Horse and HaUock" also, 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 bad left him in 
the posture wherein be 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 Fairy cup.' He adds, that Mr. 
Steward, tutor to the then Lord Dufiiis, had in- 
formed him, ' that, when a boy, at the school of 
Forres, he and Iiis school-fellows were upon a time 
whipping their tops in the churchyard, 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 advancing till it 
came to the place where they were, whereupon 
they began to bless themselves; but one of their 
numl>er being, it seems, a little more tmid and con- 



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868 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

fident than his compaDions, said, " Hone ami HaOodi, 
nrilh m/ lop" 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 ftt the same time. They sou^t 
for the top all about the place where it was taken 
up, but in vain ; and it was found afterwards in the 
churchyard, on the other side of the church.'' — 
This puerile legend is contained in a letter from a 
learned gentleman in Scotland, to Mr. Aubrey, 
dated 15th March 1695, published in Aubbey'b 
Mitcellatiiet, p. 158. 

Notwithstanding the special example of Lord 
Du&iis, and of the top, it is the common opinioi^ 
that persons, falling under the power of the Fairies, 
were only allowed to revisit the haunts of men 
after seven years had expired. At the end of 
seven years more, they again disappeared, af^ 
which they were seldom seen among mortals. The 
accounts they gave of their situation differ in some 
particulars. Sometimes they were represented as 
leading a life of constant restlessness, and wandei^ 
ing by moonlight According to others, they in- 
habited a pleasant region, where, however, their 
situation was rendered horrible, by the sacrifice of 
one or more mdividuals to the devil every seventh 
year. This circumstance is mentioned in Alison 
Pearson's indictment, and in the Tale of the Yoiug 
Tantlane, where it is termed, ' the paying the kane ' 

1 [luobel Oo«die pretended tlutt <he uid other wltaha •eaU 
trftTel in tbe ih^pe of & h>re, a okt, or a sroir. ' Wlien we mmU 
rjd,' M ihe waii, ' ws take wi&dle itnwn or beau italki, and 
put them between <mT feet,' and taja thryoe : — 
"Hone and hattook, hone andgoe, 
Hone and pellatii, ho, ho I "' 

Fitoaikk's GrHninal Trtaii, iii. 60&] 

* [' Kane 'ii rent in kind.] 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 369 

to hell,* or, according to some recitations, 'the 
teind,' or tenth. This is the popular reason assigned 
for the desire of the Fairies to atratract young 
children, as aubstitutes for themaelves in this 
dreadful tribute. Concerning the mode of winning, 
or recovering, persons abstracted by tlie Fairies, 
tradition diflers; but the popular opinion, contrary 
to what may be inferred from the following taie, 
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 enterprise 
of equal difGculty and danger, could only be accom- 
plished on Hallowe'en, at the great annual proces- 
sion of the Fairy court.^ Of this procession the 
following description is found in Hontoombry's 
Fit/ting agimit Polmart, apud Watson's Collection oj 
ScoU Poemt, 1709, part iU. p. 12.* 
' In the hinder end of harvest, on All-haUow«'en, 

When onr good neighbours dois ride, if I read right. 
Some buckled on a bnnewand, and some on a bewa. 

Ay trottand in troaps from the twiligbt ; 
Some taidled a she-ape, all gratbed into green. 

Some bobland on abemp-stalk, hovand to the bigbt ; 
The king of Pharie and hia court, with the Elf queen, 

With manf elfish incubus was ridand tbat night 
There an elf on an ape, an ursel b^^t. 

Into a pot by Pomathome ; 

That bratchart in a basse was bom ; 

They &nd a monster on the morn. 
War faced nor a cat' 

> Sae Use inimiubla poem of HsUove'ea : — 

' DpoD that Dig^t, whan Fairira light 

Ob CaniliiDownani danoe i 
Or owte the lays, in splendid blaie. 
On nat«l; ooanen pranos,' tUc — Bram. 
* [A ooUeoted edition of Honlgraiuij'a Poemt, ad. I^ing, 
appeared in W&l, ud the^ were publiabed hy the Soottiah Text 
Sodetj, ed. Cnuutoon, 1887.] 



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870 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

The catutrophe of Tamlane terminAted more 
Buccessfull; than that of other Attempts, which 
tradition still records. The wife of a fanner in 
Lothian had been carried off by the Fairies, and, 
during the year of probatiaa, repeatedly appeared 
on Sunday, in the midst of her children, combing 
their hair. On one of these occaaioos she was 
accosted by her husband ; when she related to him 
the unfortunate event which had separated them, 
instructed 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 une&rthly 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 discovered 
the voice of his wife, lamenting that be 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 attacked and carried off by one of those 
convulsion-fits, incident to her situation. Upon the 
return of the family, who had been engaged in hay- 
making, or harvest, they found the corpse much 
disfigured. This circumstance, the natural conse- 
quence of her disease, led some of the spectators 
to think that she had been carried off by the Fairies, 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 371 

«tid tliat the body before them was some elfin decep- 
tion. The husband, probably, paid little atteation 
to this opimoD at the time. The body was interred, 
and after a decent time had elapsed, finding bis 
domestic affairs absolutely required female super- 
intendence, the widower paid his addresses to a 
young woman in the neighbourhood. The recollec- 
tion, however, of his former wife, whom he had 
tenderly loved, haunted his slumbers; and, one 
morning, he came to the clergyman of the parish 
in the utmost dismay, declaring that she had 
appeared 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 
certain prayers recited; after which the corpse 
was to become animated, and fly from them. One 
of the assistants, the swiftest runner in the parish, 
was to pursue the body ; and, if he was able to 
seise it, before it had thrice encircled the church, 
the rest were to come to his assistance, and detain 
it, in spite of the struggles it should use, and the 
various shapes into which it might be transformed. 
The redemption of the abstracted person was then 
to become complete. The minister, a sensible man, 
argued with his fMrishioner upon the indecency and 
absurdity 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 former wife, very naturally, took the oppor- 
tunity of the following night to make him another 
visit, yet more terrific than the former. She up- 
braided him with his incredulity, his fickleness, and 



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872 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

his want of affection; and, to convince him that 
her appearance was no aerial illusion, she gave 
suck, in his presence, to her youngest child. The 
man, under the greatest horror of mind, had again 
recourse to the pastor ; and his ghostly counsellor 
fell upon an admirable expedient to console him. 
. This waa nothing less than dispensing with the 
former solemnity of banns, and marrying him, with- 
out an hour's delay, to the young woman to whom 
he was afiianced ; after which no spectre again 
disturbed his repose.' 

1 To these I h>ve now M add the follmring liutanoe of redemp- 
tkm from Fury Land. The legend ii printed from a, brosdndt 
■till popular ID Ireland :~ 

' Near the tovn of Aberdeen, in Soetland, liTed Jamea Oamp- 
bell, who had one daughter named Mary, who wu married la 
John Nebon, a jimog man of that neiBhbonrhood. Shoitly afui 
their marriage, tbey being a young couple, they went to live in 
the town of Aberdeen, where he followed hia trade, being a gdi- 
unith ; they lived loving and agreeable together until Che time of 
her lying-in, when there wai female attendant! prepared luitable 
to her situation ; when near the hour of twelve at night tbey were 
alarmed with a dreadful nolee, at which of a sudden the oandlce 
went out, which drove the attendant* in the ntmott oonf nnoa ; 
soon as the women regained their half-Ioet aenaea, they oalled in 
the neighbours, who, after strildng up lights, and looking towaidi 
the lying-in woman, found her a oorpae, which caused gre&t ccn- 
fusion in the family. Thera im no grief oould exceed that of 
her hosband, who, next morning, prepared omamenta tot htr 
funeral ; people of all sects came to her wake, amongst others 
came the reverend Hr. Dodd, who, at fint sight of the oorpss. 
said. It 'a not the body of any Christian, bat that Mn. Nelson 
waa taken away by the Fairies, and what thej took for her «■< 
only some substance left in her place. He waa not believed, so 
he refused attending bei funeral ; they kept her in the following 
night, and next day she was interred. 

' Her hustiud, one evening after snnaet, being riding in bis 
own field, heard a moat pleasant ooncert of mnilo, 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 
Mked her very friendly who she was that ohoee to walk al(«e se 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 373 

Haviog concluded the general observations upon 
the Fairy superBtitioti, which, although minute, 
may not, I hope, be deemed altogether uninterest' 
ing, I proceed to the more particular illuBtrations, 
relating to the ' Tale of the Young Tamlane.' 

The following ballad, bUII popular in Ettrick 

late In the evening ! at vhloh ihs onTdled her faoe, and bunt 
Into t«an, trying I am not permitted to teU 700 vbo I am. He 
knowing her to be hii wife, aiked bar, in the name of Ood, what 
diatdtbed her, or oooaaitnied her to appear at that honr? She 
■aid her appearing at any hour wai of no oonaeqaenee, for thongh 
yon believe me to be dead and bnried, I am not, but wai taken 
awaj b; the Fairle* the night of my delivery ; you only bnried a 
pieoa of wood in my plane ; I oan be reoovered if yon take proper 
meani ; >■ f or my obild, it baa three nnnea to atland it, bnt I 
feat it oannot be brought home ; the greatest dependanoe I have 
on any pemn li my bnttbar Bobert, who is a eaptain of a merchant 
■hip, uid will be home in ten daji benoe. Her huiband aeked 
her what meana he ■hoold take to win bet? She told bim he 
should find a letter, the Sunday morning fallowing, an tba deck 
In hii own room, direeted to her brother, wherein there would ha 
direotioiii for winning her. Slnoe my being taken from you I 
have had the attendance of a queen 01 empreet, and if yon look 
over my right abouldei yon will eee taveral of my oompanloni ; 
he then did aa ibe denied, when at a nnall diatanee, he aaw a 
Ung and qaeen dtting, beaide a moat, on a throne in iplendonr. 
' She then deaiied bim to look to right and left, whioh he did, 
and obaerved other kjnga on eaoh lide of the king and qnean, well 
guarded. He laid, I fear it ia an Impoaaibility to win you from 
■Deh a place. No, mj% tha, were my brother Bobert here In your 
idaee, he would bring me home ; but let it not enooorage you to 
attempt the like, for that would oooaeion the loea of me for ever : 
there ia now aevere pnniihment threatened to me for apeakhig to 
you ; bnt, to prevent that, do yon ride up to the moat, where 
'(mppoea yon will eee no peraon) all yon now aee will be near you, 
and do yon threaten to bum all the old thoraa and hramblei that 
ia round the moat. If yon do not get a firm promiee that 1 ihall 
get no poniahment ; I aball be foigiven ; whioh he promlaed. She 
then diaappcared, and be loet aight of all he had aeen; be 
then rode very reaolutely up to the moat, and went round It, 
vowing he would bum all about it if he wonid not get a promiae 
that hij wife ahould get no hurt ; a voioe deaired him to oaat away 
a book waa in bia pocket, and then demand hia requeat ; he 



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374 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Forest, where the Bcene is lud, is certainly of much 
greater aatfquit; than its phraseology, gradually 
modernised as transmitted by tradition, would seem 
to denote. The 'Tale of the Yoang Tamlane' is 
mentioned in the Compiynl of Scotland; and the air, 
to which it was chatmted, seems to have been 

■UBWeied he would not part hli book, bnt grant hii t«qa«t, or 
they ahonld find the eSeOt of hli rage ; the TOioe aiuwered, thM 
upon honour abe Bhould bo forgave that faulty bnt for hiin to 
ndfer no prejndioe to eome to the moat, whioh he promiaed Is 
fnlSl, at whioh ha heardamoit pleasant mode. Hetheo retnnicd 
home, and lent for the raTerend Hr. Dodd, and related to him 
what he bad seen ; Ur. Dodd ataid with him till Bunday moniiiig 
following, whan, aa Hr. Kelaon looked on tha deak in his room, 
he eipied a letter, whioh ha took up, it being direoted to bar 
brother, who in a few daya oame home ; on his reoeiTiiig the lettK 
be open^ it, wherein he found the following ;~ 

' " Deis BBOTHaa, — H7 husband can relate to yon my present 
aiiDUnutanoeB. I request that you will (the flrat night after yen 
aee this), oome to tite mo«t where I parted my bnaband ; let 
nothing dannt you. but atand In the oentn of the moait at tba 
hour of twelve at night, and eall me, when I with aerenJ othera 
will surround jou ; I shall bavs an the whitest dreu of any in 
company, then lake hold ot me, and do not forsake me ; aU the 
frightful method* they shall use let it not surprise you, bnt keep 
your hold, suppose they oootinne till oook-orow, when they aball 
Taniah all of a anddan, and I aball be safe, when I will ratnra 
home and lire with my hoabajid. If you suooeed in yonr attempt, 
you will gain applaoae from all your friauda, and have the bleving 
of your ever-loving and affectionate sister, U&rt Nblsoh." 

' No sooner bad be read the letter than be vowed to win hia 
sister and her ahild, or perish in the attempt ; he returned to his 
ship, and related to his aftllor* tha oonsequence of the letter; ha 
delayed till ten at night, when hia loyal awlors offered to go with 
him, whioh he refused, thinking It beat to go alone. As he left 
hii ahip a frightful lion oame roaring towards him ; he drew his 
BWcsd and stiuak at the lion, wbieh he obeerred was of no sob- 
sUUM, it being only the appearanoe of one to terrify him in his 
attempt ; it only enoouraged him, so that he proceeded to tha 
moat, in the centre of whioh ha observed a white bandkeroUsf 
spread ; on whioh ha was aurroonded by a nnmber of women, tbs 
oriea of whom were the most frigbtfol he ever beaid ; hia siater 



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TALE OF TAMLANE S7S 

accommodated to s particular dance; for the dance 
of 'Thorn of Lynn,' another variation of' Thomalin,' 
likewise occurs in the same |>erforniaDce. Likeevei; 
' poiHilar subject, it seems to have been fiequentlj 
parodied; and a burlesque ballad, beginning, 

' Tom o' the Linn was a Scatsman bom,' 
is still well known. 

In a medley, contained in a curious and ancient 
MS. cantus, patet J. G. Dalyell, Esq., there is an 
allusion to our ballad :— 
'Sing young Thomlin, be merry, be merry, and twice so 

being in the whitest dren of ttny Kronnd him, hs Miisd her bj 
the light hand and uid, With the help of Ood I wtll preeerre 70U 
fTom all Infamol imps ; irhai, of a indden, the matt eeeiped to 
be on flre round him. Ha likewtie heard the matt dreadful 
thunder oonM be Imigined ; frightful birdi and heuti Kemed to 
make tomuda him oat of the fire, vhioh he knew wee not real ; 
nothing dsnntsd hia eooiage ; he kept hold of hie eletei for the 
epaee of an hour and three-quarten, when the oooke began to erow ; 
then the fire disappeared, and all the frightful Impe Taniebed. 
He held her in hie armi, and fell on hii knesa and gave God 
thanki for hli prooeedlnge that night ; he believing her oloathing 
to be light, he put hii ontiide ooat on her ; abe then embraoed 
Mm, aajing, she wm now lafe, aa he put any of hia (daathing on 
her ; he then broogbt her hooie to her hnaband, whloh oooaeioned 
great rejoicing. Her huiband and he began to eonolnde to deatior 
the moat in revenge of the child they had away, when inatantly 
they heard a vcdoe, which aiud, y on aball have your eon aafe aad 
well oa oondition that you will not till the ground within three 
perohee of the moat, nor damage bnaheeor bramblei round that 
plaoe, which they agreed lo, when, in a few minutee, the ohild 
waa left on hia mother'e knee, which canaed them to kneel and 
return thanb to Ood. 

■The drcmnatanoe of thii terrifying affair ww oeoaaioned by 
leafing Hre. Naleon, the night of her lylng-ln, in the eare of 
women who weie moatly Intoiiaated with liqaor. It la reqaeeted 
both eezee will take ootiee of the above, and not leave wotnen in 
diitreea, but with people who at inch Um«a mind their doty to 
God." 

I [It waa printed bi the Jbmlam Ointiu. BeejxMt, p. 360.] 



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876 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

In Scoaitk Songt, 17741 ■ put of the original tale 
was published under the title of ' Kerton Ha' ' ; ■ 
corruption; and, in the same collection, there is 
a fragment containing two or three additional 
verses, beginning, 

' I '11 wager, 1 11 wager, I 'U wager with you,' * ete. 

It) Johnson's Muiicat Muteum, a more complete 
copy occurs, under the title of ' Tom Linn,' which, 
with some alterations, was reprinted in the Tata of 
Wonder. 

The present edition is the most perfect which 
has yet appeared ; being prepared from a coUattcn 
of the printed copies, with a very accurate one in 
Glenriddell's msb., 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 
woric. In one recital only, the well-known fragment 
of the ' Wee, wee Man,' was introduced, in the same 
measure with the rest of the poem. It was retained 
in the first edition, but is now omitted;^ as the 
Editor has been favoured, by the learned Mr. 
Ritson, with a copy of the original poem, of which 
it is a detached fragment The Editor has been 
enabled to add several verses of beauty and 
interest to this edition of ' Tamlane,' in consequence 
of a copy, obtained from a gentleman residing neir 
Langholm, which is said to be very ancient, though 
the diction is somewhat of a modem cast.* The 

' In Herd's ScoUith Sonet, 1769, and tito in the 1776 Klitkni.] 

> [The fngment has no oonneotion with ' The Young I^mbuM.' 
but ii related to 'The Bnramfield Hill.'] 

■ [It im emitted in all editloiu after the fint, the prtmat 
TenioD of 'Tunlana' appearing in the 1803 edition.] 

* [In a letter to Laidlsv, Slat Janoai? 1803, Soott write*: 'I 
hare got, through the intemntian of Ltdj Dallceith, a copy af 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 877 

muuieTS of the F«iries are detailed at considerable 
length, and in poetry of no common merit. 

Carterhaugh is a plain, at the conflux of the 
Kttrick and Yarrow, in Selkiriishire, 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 habita- 
tion of our heroine's father, though others place his 
residence in the tower of Oakwood. The peasants 
point out, upon the plain, those electrical rings, 
which vulgar credulity supposes to be traces of the 
Fair; 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 
upon these spots, according to their mode of 
expressing themselvcB, the grass will never grow. 
Miles Cross (perhaps a corruption of Mary's Cross), 
where &ir Janet awaited the arrival of the Fairy 
train, is said to have stood near the Duke of 
Buccleuch's seat of Bowhill, about half a mile from 
Carterhaugh. In no part of Scotland, indeed, has 

Ut. Baattie of Heikledale'* ' TunUne.' It oontalns »>me highly 
inttioal lUmEM dewriptive of (sirT'Iuid, wfaioh, kfUr soma bed- 
tatlon, I have idopted, though thsj have a Tsrj refined and 
modem oait. I do not nupeot Ui. Be*ttio of writing ballad* 
himself ; bat pnj, will ;oa inquire whether, within the memory 
of man, there haa been a poetloal olargyman or whoolmuter whom 
ose oould enppoee <Kpable of giving a eoat of modem Tsmish to 
thii old ballad T What My yoa to this, for example I— 
"We deep on Toeebads loft and iweet, 
We revel in the atream. 
We waattm lightly on the wind. 
Or ipida on a annbeuu." 
This Menu quite modem, yet I bave retained it ('Ablxitaford 
Nolanda,'inOarratl]en'ied. Ol Oautawaa'a Life of Soott, p. ISS). 
Possibly Soott, in adding the vereee, wea Infloenoed by tbe fut 
tbat they were procured through 'the tnterrention of Lady 
Dalkeith.'] 
1 [SaanoteatotheXoif o/tA<X(ut A(»tM(re/, Canto i.] 



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578 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

the belief in Fairies maintained its ground with 
more pertinacity than in Selkirkshire. The most 
sceptical among the lower rankB only Tcnture to 
assert, that their appearances, and mischievous 
exploits, have ceased, or at least become infrequent, 
since the light of the Gospel was difiused in its 
purity. One of their frolics is said to h&ve hap- 
pened 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 
Carterhaugh, had tired of his labour, and laid him 
down to sleep upon a Fairy ring. — When be 
awakened, he was amazed to find himself in the 
midst of a populous city, to which, as well as to the 
means of bis transportation, he was an utter 
stranger. His coat was lei^ upon the Peatlaw ; and 
his bonnet, which had fallen off in the course of his 
aerial journey, was afterwards found bangiu|f upon 
the steeple of the church of Lanark. The distress 
of 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 
conveyance than had whirled him to Glasgow. — 
That he had been carried off by the Fairies, was 
implicitly believed by all, who did not reflect that 
a man may have private reasons for leaving his own 
country, and for disguising his having intentionally 

[The earliest known version of the ballad is the 
beautiful but tantalisingly imperfect 'Kertonha" 
fragment in the Herd ms. Taken by itself^ the 
fragment suggests a connection with the adventures 
of 'True Thomas,' for only the name 'Thomas' is 
introduced. In the Glcnriddell versions, 1789 and 
1791. which are in subsUntial and almost verbal 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 879 

agreement vitb each other, the name 'Tom Line' 
IS introduced. The Herd and Glenriddell hbs. are 
the main soarces of the ballad as sent by Boms to 
JohDson's Scot* Mtuical Muteum, and also as pub- 
lished by Scott — with incongruous interpolations — 
in the Muutrelty. The original authority for the 
Glenriddell versions is quite unknown ; but, if given 
exactly as 'preserved by tradition,' that tradition 
could hardly have been a popular one, for both the 
rhythm and the rhyme are remarkably good, and 
there is hardly a trace of vulgarisation, either in 
idea or language. Adequately to recognise the 
merits of the Glenriddell ballad, we must, however, 
compare it with the degraded medleys preserved 
by Motherwell and Buchan. In those Motherwell 
and Buehan versions, the heroine is not Jennet, 
but Margaret, and there are faint traces of the 
influence of ballads relating to Lord Thomas [or 
William] and Fair Margaret [or Annie.] Also 
scraps have been interpolated from other recitals, 
and, espectally in Buchan, there are stanzas 
thoroughly up to date in the viteness of their folk- 
ness, as for example : — 

' Wlien I was young, «' thre« years old, 
Muckle was made o' me ; 
My step-mother pot on my daithea. 
An' ill. 111 auned she me.' 
Yet such adornments fail to conceal an intimate 
connection between the Motherwell and Buchan 
versions, and those published in Johnson's &vto 
Mutkal Muteum and the MmttreUy. On account of 
its dependence on those earlier versions, Buchan's 
version, especially, is an amazing compound of the 
excellent and the merely worthless. 

The version sent by Bums to Johnson's ScoU 



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880 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Mtueam is cleu-ly not an independent version. It 
is meral; the Glenriddell venion with emendsttons 
from the Herd version, and other eraendatioiis, and 
additions, the more important of which — as both 
Scott and Professor Child somehow ovn'look — 
could have been the work of no other than Bums. 
In some cases fae merely changes a word or a 
phrase, as 'abore' into 'aboon,' 'thicke' into 
* meek,' ' bears a' ' into ' maun bear,' or ' a pack of 
uncouth knights' into 'aae mony unco knights.' 
Here, however, are three composite atanaas: — 
' And pleBHSDt is the fkiiy land. 
But an eerie tale to tell ; 
A7 at the 6iid of seven years 

We pay a teind to hell ; 

I am sae Ur and fu' a' flesh, 

I 'm feared it be mysel. 

'But the night is Halloween, lady. 

The mom is Hallow-day ; 

Hien win me, win me, an ye will. 

For weel I wat ye may. 
' Just at the mirk and midnight hour 
The fairy folk will ride ; 
And they tliat wad their tnie-love win 
At Miles Cross they maun bide.' 

For those stanzas all that we have in the Glen 
riddell version is the following : — 

' Ev'n wliere she has a pleasant land 
For those that in it dwell ; 
But at the end'o' seven years 
Tliey pay the teind to heU. 

' The night is gude Halloween, 
The fiurie folk do ride ; 
And they would then their true-love win, 
At Miles Cross they maun bide.' 



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TALE OF TAMLANE S81 

Here, however, are the Herd sUiuu ; — 
'O pleasant is the fairy land. 
Hot htippj there to dwell ! 
But ay at ever; seven yeara'. end 
We 're a' dung down to belL 

'The mom is f^ood Halloween, 

And our court a' wUl ride ; 

If oay maiden wins her mai). 

Then ahe may be his bride.' 

Bums could not, of course, resist the fine line of 
the Herd:— 

' O pleuaot is the &iry land,' 

but we may safely assume that 

'But an eerie tale to tell,' 
introducing, with appropriate sentiment, the sod 
sequel, was his own ; and it is as likely as not, that 
the final couplet of the stanza, revealing — as is not 
done in the Glenriddell version — the sword of fate 
suspended above the individual head of young Tarn 
Lin, was selected by Burns from his own special 
budget of fairy lore. Then who but Bums could 
have so fashioned the next stanza, with Its illumin- 
ating emphasis on Halloween and Hallow-day, and 
the faintly humorous touch in the final line ? Or 
who, but be, could have supplied 'the mirk and 
midnight hour' of the succeeding stanza? The 
Muteum stanzas on the ' milk-white steed ' are also 
a blend of the Herd and Glenriddell versions with 
a subtle Burns ingredient. For the mutations, he 
borrows something from the Herd, but instead of 
the rather ineffective 'greyhound' of the Glen- 
riddell version, he introduces a ' bear ' and a ' lion.' 
As regards the final mutation ceremony. Professor 



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888 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Child has observed th&t the Miueum veisioD is the 
only one ' which faas preserved »a essentiallf correct 
process — Tarn Lin, when a bunung gleed, is to be 
thrown into well-water, from which he will step 
forth m naked knight.' Would it be too rash to infer 
that the correctness is dne rather to the emenda- 
tion by Bums, than to preservation by another 
unknown tradition ? Following this we have two 
masterly stanzas — macifeatly those of no other 
than the Bard :— 

'Gloomy, gloomy vas the nig-ht. 
And eerie was the waf. 
As fair Jenny in her green mantle. 
To Miles Cross she did gae. 

' About the middle of the ni|rht 
She heard the bridles ring ; 
This lady mi aa glad at that 
As any earthly thing.' 

The improvements on the final stanza — both as 
regards emendations and additions — betray also the 
peculiar art of the same amender. Thus the final 
Glenriddell stansa — preserved by Scott — with its 
bathetic anti-climax is omitted altogether, and the 
antecedent stansa is introduced by the following 
faintly humorous substitution for the somewhat 
tame ' rye ' stanza : — 

' Out then spsk the Queen o' Furies, 
And an angry woman was she ; 

Shame betide her ill-flu-'d face, 
And an ill death may she die ; 

For she 's taen awa the boniest knight 
In a' my compauie.' 

The Miueum or Bums version being thus derived 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 383 

partly from the Herd uid partly from the GIen> 
riddeli versions, it follows that the Glenriddell am. 
are the only authorities for the introduction of 
young Tom Line into the ballad. The name was 
changed by Burns to Tam Lin, and by Scott to 
Tamlane — to harmonise it with a theory of his own 
about the ballad's antiquity. Motherwell in one 
version has Tom Lino, and in another Tamlin, while 
Buchan, original as always, has Tam-a-Line; but 
those versions can hardly be termed independent 
ones. A fragment of two stanzas, sent to Scott by 
Leyden, has, of course, Tamlane ; but doubtless it 
was Leyden who first informed Scott of the ' Young 
Tamlane ' of The Complt^tU of Scotland. Nor can 
any importance attach to the fact that 'Young 
Tamlane ' finds a place in a fragmentary recitation 
by Laidlaw, for Laidlaw then knew of the MimlreU^ 
ballad. 

In opposition to this evidence for 'Tom Line,' we 
have ( 1 ) that ' Thomas ' is the only name mentioned 
in the version of the unsophiaticAted Herd ; (8) 
that in a fragmentary copy, sent to Scott by Major 
Hutton, S4th December 1802, and including a por- 
tion of 'True Thonuu,' 'Tamas' is the only name 
mentioned; (3) that in a pretty lengthy version, 
sent to Scott, November 11th, 1812, by Hugh 
Irvine of Drum, Aberdeenshire, 'Thomas' again 
is the name of the hero ; (4) that Mr. Joseph 
Robertson (Child's BalUuU, i. SS5) mentions that 
his mother had communicated to him some frag- 
ments of the ballad, with the substitution of ' True 
Tamas' for Tamlane; and (5) that the Tom Line 
of the Glenriddell versions could hardly have got 
into the ballad from papular Scottish tradition, 
since the pronunciation of neither name is con- 



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384 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

sonant with modem fonns of vemacul&r Scottish. 
If — but this is perhaps a reiy large assumption — 
' Kertonha' ' be ' Carterhaugh ' ; and Carterhaugh, 
in Selkirknhire, be the original scene of the faiiy 
adventure, and the Tom Lin of English as well as 
of Scottish tradition be of Selkirkshire descent, 
then we have two very remarkable Thomases or Toms 
associated with neighbouring districts of Scotland. 
True, the ballads are essentially different ; but may 
not the adventurea of ' True Thomas ' have suggested 
a variation of a 'Burd Helen' story, introducing 
Hiry embellishments, which embody well-known 
traditional beliefs in regard to the fairies' magical 
powers, and the method by which the human shape 
is recoverable ? 

As for 'Tamlene,' Dr. Fumivall (Captairt Cat, 
p. cxlv) has pointed out that, according to strict 
grammar, the title of the tale in The ComplM/nl of 
Scotland is double-barrelled—' the tayl of the zong 
tamlene, and of the bald braband.' The presump- 
tion is rather in favour of the supposition that these 
are not separate tales, for, though the introduction 
of the second 'of is peculiar, elsewhere in The 
Complm/nl 'the tayl' is always repeated in the case 
of each separate tale. Further there is no proof 
that ' tamlene' is a Scottish name at all. Indeed 
the variation 'Tam' is even now strictly colloquial 
and vulgar, and at that period was probably not in 
general use. Also, judging strictly by the context, 
and hearing in mind the use of the definite article 
before 'zong,' 'tamlene' seems rather to indicate 
the foreign birthplace — the country or province 
(now unknown) — of the hero of the tale ; and the 
likelihood, it may he argued, is that, even if there 
were two tales — that of a tamlene and that of a 



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TALE OF TAMLANE 385 

bnband — both were of French or Norman origin. 
Thtn the fact that in The CompttxytU mention is 
made of a dance ' Thorn of lyn,' is, it may be 
ai^ued, rather against the su|^sition that Tom 
Line has an; connection with 'tamlene,' for the 
names are spelt quite differently. But, in any case, 
the dance tune must have had a close coonectian 
with the Enghsh ballad of 'Thomalyn,' licensed 
by Mr. John Wallye and Mr. Toye in 1557-8, 
which, however, must have been of a wholly merry 
cast, if Dr. Fumivall is correct, as he seems to be, 
in identifying it with that quoted by Moros in 
Wager's /nfarZuie (c. 1568):— 

'Tom a lin and his wife, and his wiae's mother. 
They went oaer a brid^ all tliree together ; 
The bridge was broken, and they fell in ; 
" The Denil go with all," qnoth Tom a Lin. 

This ballad, licensed in 1557-8, is also clearly 
the original of one preserved in Ritson's Norik 
Comttry Choritter, 17S4, which begins: — 

' Tomy laaa is a Scotchman bom. 
His head is bald and his beard is shorn, 
He baa a cap made of a hare skin ; 
An elder man is Toroy Linn : 

and ends : — 

' Tomy linn's daughter sat on the brig, 
" Oh dear iatber, gin I be not trig ! 
The bridge it broke, and she fell in : 
" Yoa are trig enough now," says young Tom Linn. 

' Tomy linn and his wife, and his wife's mother. 
They all foil into the fire together ; 
T^ey that lay underneath got a hot skin ; 
"We are not [? hot] enough," says Temy linn.' 
VOL. n. 2 b 



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S86 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

' Young Thomlio ' is mentiODed u an *ir, or MOg, 
in ft medley preseired in FoRBu'i Aberdten Cantut, 
1666. The name of the medley is not, u 
stated by David Laing (Additions to Stenhonse's 
Notes to Johnson's Scott Mtuicat JUhkhr, p. 446), 
• The Pleugh Song," but ' Rip and Go Hey ' :— 

' The piper's drone was out of tone. 
Sing JoUie Robin, ling young Tbomlin.* 

Plainly, therefore, if the Thomlin ballad was a 
burlesque of a fairy ballad or tale, that tale must 
have included other adventures than those relate*! 
in the GlenriddeU balUd— all that the burlesque 
has in common with the ballad being that Tom Lin 
in the later version is a Scot, which might account 
for the name finding its way into a Scottish ballad, 
with which originally it had no connection. It is, 
however, at least worthy of consideration that 
among the romances of Richard Johnson, author 
of the Seven Championt of Chrutendom, is ' The moat 
pleasant History of Tom a Lincolne, that renowned 
soldier the Red rose Knight, who for his raloor 
and chlvslry was sumamed the Boast of England ; 
showing his honourable Victories in Forraine Coun* 
tries, with his Strange Fortunes in the Fayrie Laml ; 
and how he married the faire Anglitora, daughter 
to Prester John, that renowned monarke of the 
world. Together with the Lives and Deaths of his 
two famous sons, the Blacke Koight, and the Fayrie 
Knight, with diverse other memorable accidents Full 
of delight.' The book was entered at Stationers' 
Hall in l607, though the earliest extant impression 
is the seventh, dated l6S5. Johnson had a remark- 
able knowledge of old romances and tales which 
have perished, or are now very rare. His 'most 



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TALE OF TAMLAME 88T 

pletutnt Histoiy ' bears at least as close a resem- 
blance to the ballad of Tom Line, as does the 
chapbook history of Johny Annstrong to the 
ori^al ballad. One remarkable siinilantj' is the 
connection of Tom a Lin with the rose, not other- 
wise associated with fairy-tales. In the ballad he 
objects to the maiden plucking a rose at Carter- 
haugh without his authority, and in tbe 'pleasant 
History' he uses the red rose as the badge of his 
followers. This suggests at least the possibility 
that both the 'pleasant History' and the 'ballad' 
may derive from some now unknown romance ; but 
in view of our very fragmentary acquaintance with 
the circumstances of the ballad's origin, it would 
be rash to arrive at any very positive conclnsion. 
Maidment {North Cotmirie Garland, 1824, p. i\) 
gives a fragment connecting ' Tamlane ' with ' Burd 
Helen,' with which it has otherwise a good deal in 
common. A version of 'Burd Helen,' first pnb> 
lished in Jamicson'b BaUads,»nA obtained from Mrs. 
Brown's recitatian, begins thus : — 

'I warn ye a' ye gay ladies. 

That wear scarlet and brown. 
That ye dinna leave your fathers hame 
To follow young men &ae town. 



In regard to methods of disenchantment, or escape 
from Fairyland, see, in addition to Child's Batladt, 
patiim, HartUnd's Science of Faity Tale*, pp. 2S2- 
254 ; and Hartland's Legend of Permu. i. 18S-SSS.] 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



' I forbid ye, maidens a', 
That wear gowd on your hair, 

To come or gae by Carterbaugb 
For young Tamlane is there. 



There 's oaue, 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, 
Grreen mantles ye may spin ; 

But, gin ye lose your maidenheid. 
Ye '11 ne'er get that agen.' 



1 [Th« llutoM itaank ' O ' U ui 4ddltlan by Bnnii to tha O. 
Una, uid 'hail' is hiinUistitntefoi 'gear.'] ■ ['mMm' ia Soott'i. 
O. udM. h»Te'the;.'] ■ ['their thiDgi.'—0. ' their rings.' 
— H.] * [Stiuuu iii. ud iv. ve u interpolktion— ilL being 
from a fntgmMit ivnt hy Leydeu.] 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



But up then spak her, fair Janet, 
"Hie fiiirest o' a' her kin ; 

' I 'II 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 cam to Carterhaugh, 
She gaed beside the well ; ' 

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



She hadna pu'd a red red rose, 
A rose hut barely three ; 

> [From M., whloh, homva, h** the additiaiiAl oonplet; 
'And the '■ •«•' to Carterhkugh 
Ai fwt u ihe oku bis.'] 

1 The ladiei us klwB;i repmented, In Dunbu'a poemi, with 
green nutntlu uid fallow hair. [£fr. ' llieii Tn»Timn« gnin war 
u thagrsM UutgrewliiHftjMaKnm.'— 7A« Tva Merrit Wtnea 
and the Wtdo.^ 

■ [Thu line U ut eitieiid«tiao of tha M. knd O. vendona, whidi 
nad, nttbar Inecrtmtl; :— 

"Tun Lfn wu »t the well.'] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 

Till up and starts a wee wee man 
At Lady Janet's knee.^ 



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

What gars ye break the tree P * 
Or why come ye to Carterhaugh, 

Withoiitten leave o' me?'' 



Says — * Carterhaugh it is mine ain ; 

My daddie gave it me ; 
1 11 come and gang to Carterhaugh, 

And ask nae leave o' thee.' 



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. 



1 [In the Bnt Una of ths lUnza, ' double tom ' ii the H. ftod 
Q. rekdlng ; tad in the lut two linee Soott Tkiiei, uid imixona, 
the foimei reading! b; iDtiodneing the ' wee, wee maa ' Uaxtiag 
np 'ktl^y Juiet'i knee.*] ' ['wand.' — M. and O.] ■ ['mj 
tomnumd.'— U. uid 6.] * [The sUuua igreee with the Muievm 
waioix.1 ' [Stukiae i.-ziiL ere an interpolation fran leeital — 
Twj modem and debaaed. Thej do not ooom In Boott'i flnt 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



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

Anuuig the roies red ; 
And what they did, I cannot say — 

She ne'er return^ a maid. 



When she cam to her father's ha', 

She looked pale and wan ; 
lliey thought she'd dreed some sair sickneBi 

Or been wi' 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. 



It's four and twenty ladies fiur 
Were playing at the ba' ; 

' [In the flnt Tenlon (180S), thsoongtpondlncitMm wm;— 
' It '■ lou ud twenty ladle* fall 

Ware idkyliig in her father'a W ; 
Whan In tliere came the fair Janet, 
The flower aineng than a'.' 
For thli •eoond Doe th* U. and Q. venlona leaid, ' Ware playinf 
at the ba',' and in the third line, for 'Whan in tbers,' they raad, 
'And ont then.' Soott'i emendation of the leoond eouidet waa 
{vofaaUy nggeeted hj a oouplet of Laidlaw ;— 

' And lome wen red, and wme were whlt^ 
Bnt Janet wai like the anaw.' 
UaillM itenn* abont 'four and twenty ladiee' are found in 
the 'OhUdeWatan,'ot'BnnlH«tMi'b*ll«da.] 



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m BORDER MINSTRELSY 

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



Four and twenty ladies fair 
Were playing at the chess; 

And out there came the fiur Janet, 
As green as any grass. 



Out and spak an auld grey-headed knight, 

I-ay o'er the castle wa' — 
* And ever alas ! for thee, Janet, 

But we 1] be blam^ a' ! ' 



' Now haud your tongue, ye auld grey kni^t ! 

And an ill deid may ye die ! 
Father my bairn on whom I will, 

I *11 &ther nane on thee.' ' 



Out then spak her father dear, 

And he spak meik and mild— 
' And ever alas ! my sweet Janet, 

I fear ye gae with child.' 

^ [Stuuu ZT. -xii. are from H. andQ., witbillghtGmendatJoiu.] 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



* And, if I be with child, father, 
Mysell maun bear the blame ; 

There 's ne'er a knight about your ha' 
Shall hae the baimie's name/ 



' And, if I be with child, father, 
Twill prove a wondrous birth ; 

For well I swear I 'm not wi' baim 
To any man on earth. 



' If my love were an earthly knight, 

As he 'b an elfin grey, 
I wadna gie my ain true love 

For nae lord that ye hae.' 



She prinked hersell and prinn'd bersell, 

By the ae light of the moon. 
And she 's away to Carterhaugh, 

To apeak wi' young Tamlane. 

1 [Bttiiai XX. b an InterpaUtlan Rppanntlj from raeiuL] 
* [Stuuk xxl. ii from H. uid G.] * [SUiu* xxii. i> fiom 

H«rd, which, bDwner, bM for lait line ; — 

'AafMt Mihe ouiguig.' 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



And Then she cam to Carteihao^, 

She gaed beside the well ; 
And there she saw the steed standing. 

But away was himsell. 



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 ! 



' Why pu'' ye the rose, Janet, 

Within this garden grene, 
And a' to kill the bonny babe. 

Thai we got us between P ' 

XXVI 

'The truth yell tell to me, Tamlane; 

A word ye mauna lie ; 
Gin e'er ye was in haly chapel. 

Or sained * in Christentie/ 

I [StMUM xxJiL-zzri. ue from IL and O., with emandatiow.] 
* Saimd, hmllowed. [Hie azpreolaa it ii««iwtngTy Seott^i »wb. 
In M. and O. the line rekdi :— 

' Ot ChriiUDdi* did •M.l 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



'The truth 111 tell to thee, Janet, 

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

As well as they did thee. 



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

We loved when we were children small. 
Which yet you well may mind. 



' When I was a boy j ust turned of nine. 

My uncle sent for me. 
To bunt, 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, 

1 [Thii atum, If not from 'itoltkl,' ii Sootfi oiriL] ' [Th* 
■oDcoe of thia ituua i» Muknowa, Boxbnrgh b the fktber i>]«ii- 
tioned in Q.] * [Stuuu zxiz., xn. (not In the 180! edition), 
utd izxi. oiilj Ikintlf Igree with H. uid Q. vaidons. Stum 
TT-ri. ii nuinl; > mo^flektJon from Herd, which iskdi : — 
'Fnll plaMtnt ii the fury-Iond, 

And h&ppj there to direll ; 
I km k fairy, l;th and Umb : 
Fail m^en, jiaw ma welL'] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 

XXXI 

' 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. 



' Out shapes and size we can convert 

To either large or small ; 
An old nut-BhelPs the same to us 

As is the lofty ball. 

XXXV 

* We Bleep in rose-buds, mtt and sweet. 

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

Or glide on a sunbeam. 

1 [SUnm zzxiL-xxTTi., wholl; modem uid quite aiikatlMIiU<^ 
« tluM of the gentlenun reeiding near lAugholm. See p^ 37&] 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



* And all our wants are well supplied, 
From every rich man's store. 

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



' Then would I 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 fear twill be mysell. 



* This night is HalloweVn, Janet, 
The mom is Hallowday ; 

And, gin ye dare your true-love wii 
Ye hae na time to stay. 



' The night it is good Hallowe'en, 
When fairy folk will ride ; 

■ [Hie Uat four lluoi of thi* lUutt ii from H. ; bnt in H. the 
flnt oonplet reatda :— 

' And pleannt i* the fkirr-Und, 

Bat on earie tUe t« tell, 
Ay«.'eU..J 
* [The fint couplet of thii ttanik ii from U. ; and the •aoond 
te >1m> from H., wUh modifioktirau.] * [Thii itutn ii mlmort 
y*rl»U7 fiom O.] 



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BORDER MINSTREI5Y 



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 hy. 
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-vdiite steed, 

And pu' the rider down. 

1 [Thti tUiua ii ttam Q., irith 'k> nunj oimithlf' for 'k 
PM& (^uwontli' Is L 3.] ■ [Thij (turn u from O.] ■ [Thi* 
•Uma ii from H., with 'grip ;e to' for 'qoiokl; nm to' in 
1. 3, and other illgbt emendktioiu.] 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



' For I ride on the milk-white steed, 
And &je 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 ^11 turn me in your arms, Janet, 

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

Gin ye wad be my maik. 



* They '11 turn me in your arms, Janet, 

An adder and an a«k ; 
They^ turn me in your arms, Janet, 

A bale ' that bums fast. 

I [nil ituuk li from H., with ' ohrlitened ' foi 'wrthly' in 
L 3, ud other illght •menilatioiu.] * [StHista ilJT.-xlTlil. ue 
mtlnlj from Q. The lut oonplat of xMii. la kUo in the 
H«nl KB. The piolniM to the lad; l( p«t«m>l eeknowledgment 
nt ha ohild ; uid It ii to obt«ln thii, to her, piioeleM boon, that 
■he undertake* the terrible tMk of delimint the knight ban 
Fairyland.] ■ Bait, » fecgot. 



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BORDER MINSTREI^Y 



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

A red-hot gad o' airn ; 
But haud me fast, let me not pass. 

For in do you no harm. 

XLVIII 

'First dip me in a stand o' milk, 
And then in a stand o' water; 

But haud me &st, let me not pass — 
I '11 he your bairn's father. 



' And, next, they '11 shape me in your arms, 

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

Ab you do love me weeL 



' They '11 shape me in your arms, Janet, 

A dove, but and a swan ; * 
And, last, they'll shape me in your aims, 

A mother-naked man : 

I IThii Btanza lian emcudktioD of Henl — 'tod' beiiig (Ohrtl- 
tated for 'toxL' Child termed thii kn ImproiamBnt. 'tod' k 
Sooti for 'fox,' but lurely this is no imptoremant. No doubt, 
foxes hn aa ' slipper; ' u eela, bat we oaonot oredit the bkll^diM 
withkntttemptfttwlt.] > [Thli ooa^et is nitHtHiliaUr from 
End.) 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



Cast your green mantle over me- 
I 'II be myaelf again/ " 



G-loomy, gloomy, was the night, 

And eiry ' was the way, 
Ab fair Janet, in her green mantle, 

To Miles Cross she did gae. 



The heavens were hlack, the mgfat was dark, 

And dreary was the place ; 
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 elritcb sounds 

Upon that wind which went. 

I [Tha kit four Unoi ue froa O., with emmdMiaDi. Th« 1m( 
in O. mdi :— 

' To k«ep me bom Uu ndn.'] 
■ [Thli Una itNus ii *a InterpolatioD by Bnnu In the Mmeutii 
Tinioii.] * Xiry, prodasiDg miMntitfoiu dread. [* Stuuu lil.- 
llli. — poor uid modani — ftre no doabt from ' » gentlamui redding 
DMT luicholin.' Uue S ot (turn liii. tamj be nulnly Soott'i.] 
VOL. II. 2 C 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



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 irom hemlock lai^, 
And bog-reed, struck the ear; 

But solemn sounds, or sober thoughts. 
Hie Fairies cannot bear. 



They sing, inspired with love and joy, 

Like skylarks in the air ; 
Of solid sense, or thought that *s gmve, 

You ^1 find no traces there. 

LVII 

Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved. 

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

As they came riding on. 

' [Thii itMm ttma H. ii pun Bomi, with tlM MMeplIon of 
*de«d hour' for * middle.'] ■ [SUiu** Iv.-tvilL km fi«m 'tM«r 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



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

And Boon she saw the Faiiy bands 
All riding in her si^t. 



And first gaed by the black black steed, 
And then gaed by tibe brown ; 

But &st she gript the milk-white steed, 
And puM the rider down. 



She pu'd him frae the milk-white steed, 

And loot the bridle fa' ; 
And up there raise an eriish ' cry — 

'He's won amang usa' !' 



They shaped him in fair Janet's arms, 
An elk,* but and an adder ; 

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



^ [BUuuk Ui. U from H., sUiiua I1.-I1L an pATtl;, and the 
remtinliig ituu^i almoat verbally, from G.] * Eriiih, alrltoh, 
^urtlr. ' Sik, newt. 



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BORDER MINSTREI£Y 



They shaped him in her anns at last, 

A motber-naked man ; 
She wrapt him in her green mantle, 

And sae her true love wan. 

uun 
Up then spake the Queen o* Fairies, 

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

Has gotten a stately groom/ 

LXJT 

Up then i^Mtke the Queen o' Fairies, 

Out o' a bush o' rye — 
' She 'b ta''en awa^ the bonniest knight 

In a' my cumpanie. 



* But had I kenn''d, Tamlane,' she says, 

' A lady wad borrow'd thee — 
I wad ta'en out thy twa grey een. 
Put in twa een o' tree. 

LXVI 

* Had I but kenn'd, Tamlane,' she says, 

* Before ye came frae hame — 
I wad ta'en out your heart o' flesh. 
Put in a heart o' stane. 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



* Had I but bad the wit yestreen, 
Tfaat I hae coft* the day — 

Vd paid my kane seven times to hell, 
Ere you 'd been won away ! ' 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 



Dunbar, Barl ManA, U thine, tte.—St. zxriiL IL 1-2. 
Both these mightf ohieb were oonnected with Btbick 
Forest, and its vicinity. Iheir meaiory, therefore, liTed 
in the traditions of the country. Randolph, Esrl of 
Murray, the renowned nephew of Robert Bruce, had « 
castle at Ha' Guards, in Annandale, and another in 
Peeblesshire, on the borders of the forest, the site of 
which is itiU caUed RaDdaU's Walls. Patrick of 
Dunbar, Earl of March, Is said hj Henry the Minstrel 
to have retreated to Ettrick Forest, after being defeated 
by Wallace. [The introduction of those &mous namee 
into the ballad requires some better justification than 
that they were conneoted with Ettrick Forert.] 

And all oar want* are vxU eupplUd, 

From every rich man'e etere, 
Who thankleee eine the yj/It he geta, etc. — St. xixrL 

To fin our gift*, or mereiee, means, ungratefully to 
hold them in slight esteem. The idea, that the possee- 
sioos of the wicked are most obnoziouB to the depreda- 
tions of evil spirits, may be illustrated by the following 
tale of a Buttery ^rit, extracted from Thomas Hey- 

'An ancient and virtuous monk came to visit his 
nephew, an innkeeper, and, after other discourse, in- 
quired into his circumstances. Mine host confessed, 
that, although he praotiaed all the unconscionable tricks 



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THE YOUNG TAMLANE 407 

of hia tnde, he ma rtUl muembly poor. The monk 
■hook hia hud, and aakad to aee his bntterf, or larder. 
Aa they looked into it, he rendered viailile to the «»- 
toniflhed boat an immense goblin, irhoee pannch, and 
whole appeaianoe, heapoke his being gorged with food, 
and who, neverthelen, waa gormandising at the inn- 
keeper's expense, emptying whole shelves of food, and 
washing it down with entire hogsheadi of liquor, " To 
the depredation of thii viiltor will thy viands be ex- 
posed," qnoth the ancle, "nntU thou shalt abandon 
fraud, and &lae reckonings," The monk returned in m 
year. The hoit having tamed over a new leaf, and 
given Christian measure to hia cuatomen, was now a 
thriving man. When they again inspected the larder, 
they saw the same spirit, but woefully redaced in aiie, 
and in vain attempting to reach at the Aill platea and 
botUei, which stood around him ; starving, in short, 
like Tantalus, in the midst of plenty. Honest Heywood 
sums up the tale thua : — 

"InlUadtaoonne, far be it we atiaiild mean 
8[drlta bj meat are &tted made, or lean ; 
Tet eerb^ 'tla, b; Qod'i penolMlon, they 
Hsf, over goodi eitoitad, bear like nraj. 

All neh as itady fiaud, and piactlie evil. 
Do only itarve thenuelvei to plumpe the devUL" ' 
Bierarahie of Hit Bktted Angel*, V-l^- 
'And lam me Jill and/air qfjieth, 

I fear 'tmU be mstek'—St. xzxvii, IL 5-6. 
[Q^ Thomas of Brcildoune :— 

' And thou art mekill man and bende, 
I trowe fall wele he wolds eheae the.'] 

' 3%j« night i* SaOotB^m, Janet, 

The mom U Eall<»edag.'—St. zxxviil. IL 1-2. 
[Hallowe'en was the last night of the Celtic year ; the 
' teind to hell ' would become due every sevenUi Hallow- 
e'en ; and apparently escape from Uryland was only 
posnble when the old and new year met] 



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ERLINTON 

NEVER BEFORE PUBUSHGD 

This ballsd is published from the collation of two 
copies, obtained from recitation. It seems to be 
the rude origioal, or perhaps a corrupted and 
imperfect copy, of ' The Child of Elle,' a beautiful 
legendary tale, published in the ReUqva of Ancient 
Poetty. It is singular that this charming ballad 
should have been translated, or imitated, by the 
celebrated BUrger, without acknowledgment of the 
EngUsh original. As ' The Child of Kile ' avowedly 
received corrections, we may ascribe its greatest 
beauties to the poetical taste of the ingenious 
editor. They are in the truest s^le of Gothic 
embellishment. We may compare, for example, 
the following beautiful verse, with the same idea 
in an old romance : — 

'The baron stroked his dark-brown cheek. 
And turned his face aside. 
To wipe avay the starting tear. 
He proudly strove to bide ! ' 

Chiid ofBOt. 

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



' Weeping, be turned his heued atrai. 
And his awerde hit fel to groande.' 

Fhriet and Blaunehf/kur, 



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ERUNTON 409 

[Scott is correct in his conjecture that the 
' beautiful verse ' is the work of Percy himself, u 
is indeed three-fourths of 'The Child of EUe.' If 
therefore Erlinton be & corrupted copy of ' The Child 
of Elle,' it must be modem, as it may be in any 
case. Though got from the recitation of Nelly 
Laidlaw and James Hogg, it is probably not 
'traditional,' but derived from some stall ballad. 
Hogg's version is the better, though differing from 
the other only in small matters of phraseology. 
Scott utilised and improved both. His own chief 
alterations are indicated in the footnotes. 

A James Telfer reciUtion (Child's Balladt, i. 108} 
is merely a debasement of the Hogg version; 
and a Robin Hood version (Gutch's RiAm Hood, 
a 345, and Child's Ballade, i 109), printed from a 
manuscript, now known to be a modem forgery 
(Child, iii. 499), >s plainly — from the spelling and 
phraseology — in itself ■ forgery, and the forgery 
seems to have been suggested by the MiTUtrelty 
ballad. The fragmentary 'Child of Elle' in the 
Percy us, has no dhumement ; but the denouement 
must have been tragical, like that of ' The Douglas 
Tragedy ' (vol. iii., p. 8) and analogous ballads.] 



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ERLINTON 



Erlinton had a fair daughter, 
I vat^ be weird her in a great s: 

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



An' be has wam'd her sisters six. 
An' sae has he her brethren se'en, 

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



She hadna been i' that bigly bower, 

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

Cbapp'd at the door, cryin', ' Peace within ! ' ' 

' ['trow.'— L. 'wot'— H.] ' Weird her in a ffreat m, 

pUeed iMT in dkognr of oommlttlng k giMt iln. * ['tragn.* 

— L. 'bnggin to her. '— H.} * ['hia m.'— L. *hli dkoghtor. 
— H.] • ['oryin', "PeMeiritliinI'"iiSoott'*.] 



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* whae is this at my bower door, 
That chape sae late, or liens the gin P 

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



' But in my bower theie is a wake,* 
An^ at the wake there is a wane ; ' 

But 1^1 come to the green-wood the mom, 
Wbar btooms the brier by momin' dawn.'* 



Then she 'b gane to her bed again, 

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

' Maidens,' His time for us to rise.' 



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

> Oin, tha ilight or trick neoeMuy to opan tha door ; from 
sDgfne. ■ [Baott rarataea tha linn of the oooplaL] * Wana, 
• Diunbar of paapla. *[L.rc«>di: ' The mom, for m; »ln 

trca-lora'i Mke'; and H.: 'To tlie greeu-irDod, forth; nuna*! 
Mika.'] ■ ['Uoea.'— L. ud H.] * [Soott ravaraea the linaa 
of thaitaiua, andohangea 'Ue'lnto'idn.'] 



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119 BORDER MINSTRELSY 

An* she's ta'en a sister in ilka band, 
An' to the green-wood she is gane. 



She hadna walked 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 taVn. 



He took her sisters by the hand. 

He kiss'd them baith, an' sent them hame. 
An' he 's ta'en his true love him behind, 

And through the green-wood they are gane. 



They hadna ridden in the bonnie green-wood, 

Na not a mile hut barely ane, 
When there came fifteen o' the boldest knights. 

That ever bare flesh, blood, or bane. 



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

Says, ' Yield to me thy lady bright, 
An' thou shalt walk the woods within.' 



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' For roe to yield my lady bright 
To such an &^d knight as thee, 

People wad think I war gane mad,' 
Or a' the courage flown* frae me.' 



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

* Yield me thy life, or thy lady bright, 
Or here the tane of us shall die.'' * 



* My lady * is my warld's meed : 
My life I winna yield to nane ; * 

But if ye be men of your manhead. 
Ye '11 only fight me ane by ane.^ 

■ [In L. tha flnt oonplat of ths >Uiu» ntit i— 
'" For to ele mj wif e to tlkee, 
IindbeTer7Uith,"nIdhe'; 
uul in H. It readi :~ 

"Tli for to give my Udj tafr, 

To mah an agid knight u thae.'] 
■ [ThlilinetakmandedbjBaott tohalptherhTthtn.] ■ ['tb«t 
thewnaMveretk'aii.'— L. 'alMtha lanMa ta'en.'— H.] (['An' 
70 Mil mlk the greeD-irDodi wi' ma.'— I. ' And thou akll mlk 
these wooda with mo.'— H.] • [' wife, aho.'— L. and H.] 



I'UMlvoyoii whilo [or *tlll^ m7 dafa bo neu.' — L-uidH.] 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



He lighted off his milk-white steed. 
An' gae bis lady him by the head, 

Say'n, ' See ye dinna change your cheer. 
Until ye see my body bleed/ 



He set his back uDto an aik, 
He set his feet agsdoat a stane, 

An* he has fought these fifteen men, 
An' killed them a' but barely ane ; 

For he has left that ag^ kui^t. 
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 bou^t ; 

Now we shall walk the green-wood free.* 

1 [Thii fint Miaplet U Soott'i own. Qj. "The JsUy rindar of 
Wkkeflald' (Boibucghe, FspTS, wid other eoIUetiana);— 
'He Ukned hii hack fut unto b thorn. 
And [set] hii foot imto k itone ; 
And than he fought t, loiw ■ununer'B day, 
A nunmei'i day ki long. 7 
■ [Thii ituuk ii tdiDort wholly Soott'i. L. r«»d«:— 
' He '■ guiB to hii Udy uUd, 
t trow ha 'a kiaied her, Muth oheok an ohln ; 
Now ye 'r my tin, I have ye win. 
An we will walk the green-woodi within.' 
H. lUghtly amende L.] 



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THE TWA CORBIES 

TuiB poem was commnnicated to me bjr Charles 
Kiricpatrick Sharpe, Esq., jun. of Hoddom, as 
written down, from tradition, fay 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. Ritson, in hia 
Atident Songt; 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 
coining the English ballad from Mr. Ritson's Cot- 
lection, omitting only the burden and repetition of 
the first line. The learned editor states it to be 
given ' From Raeencrojl't Melitmata. Miuical PkamUt, 
Jii&tg the Ciitie and Cotmtty Humourt, to 3, 4, and S 
Foifcet, London, I6II, 4to. It will be obvious,' con- 
tinues Mr. RitHon, ' that this ballad is much older, 
not only than the date of the book, but most of the 
other [rieces contained in it' The music is given 
with the words, and is adapted to four voices : — 
Tliere were three nvess sat on a tre. 
They were as blacke as they might be : 
The one of them said to his mate, 
'Where shall we our break&st take ? 
' Downe in yonder grene field. 
There lies a kni);ht slain under his shield ; 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 

' His hounds they lie down at hii faete. 
So well thef their nuster keepe ; 



' Down there comee & fallow doe, 

A» gremt with young aa she might goe. 



' She got him np upon her backe. 
And nrried him to earthen lake. 

' She buried him before the prime. 

She wu dead her selfe ere enen aong time. 

' God send enery gentleman. 
Such lutukei, Buch houodes, and inch a lem«n.' 
Aticienl Songt, 1792, ^ 16S. 

I have seen a copy of this dirge much modernised. 

[Sfaarpe, in a letter to Scott, Sth August 180S, 
states that he got 'The Twa Corbies' from Miss 
Erskine of Alva, ' who, I think, said that she bad 
written it down from the recitation of an old woman 
at Alva' [LeOen, ed. Allaidyce, i 136). If they 
were so written down, the verses have clearly been 
much improved either by Sharpe or Scott This 
will be more especially manifest if it be compared 
with a version published in Albyn's Anlhohg}/ from 
'the recitation of Mr. Thomas Shortrede.' Various 
traditional versions of ' The Three Ravens ' are in 
existence, all plainly corruptions of the printed 
version, by which it is more than probable that 
■ The Twa Corbies ' was also suggested.] 



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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 lies a new-slain knight; 
And naebody kens that he lies there, 
But his hawk, his hound, and his 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 mak our dinner sweet. 

IV 

Ye 'II sit on his white hause-bane, 
And I ^1 pike out his bonny blue een . 
Wi' ae lock o^ his gowden hair. 
We '11 theek * our nest when it grows bare. 
1 Fail, tart. ■ TMtek, tlutoh. 

TOL. II. 2d 



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BORDER MINSTRELSY 



* Moiiy a one for him makes mane. 
But none sail ken whare he is gaiie : 
O'er his white banes, when they are bare. 
The wind sail blaw for evermair.' 



l> OF VOL. II. 



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Hy 371.0 n 



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