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diff --git a/old/12742-8.txt b/old/12742-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..83b8227 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12742-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11612 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Minstrelsy of the Scottish border (3rd ed) +(1 of 3), by Walter Scott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Minstrelsy of the Scottish border (3rd ed) (1 of 3) + +Author: Walter Scott + +Release Date: June 25, 2004 [EBook #12742] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCOTTISH MINSTRELSY *** + + + + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Jonathan Ingram, Bill Hershey and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + + + + + +MINISTRELSY + +OF THE + +SCOTTISH BORDER: + +CONSISTING OF + +HISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC BALLADS, + +COLLECTED + +IN THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND; WITH A FEW +OF MODERN DATE, FOUNDED UPON +LOCAL TRADITION. + + +IN THREE VOLUMES. + + + +VOL. I + + The songs, to savage virtue dear, + That won of yore the public ear, + Ere Polity, sedate and sage, + Had quench'd the fires of feudal rage.--WARTON. + +1806. + + + + +TO + +HIS GRACE, + +HENRY, + +_DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH_, &c.&c.&c. + +THESE TALES, + +WHICH + +IN ELDER TIMES HAVE CELEBRATED THE PROWESS, + +AND + +CHEERED THE HALLS, + +OF + +_HIS GALLANT ANCESTORS_, + +ARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED + +BY + +HIS GRACE'S MUCH OBLIGED + +AND + +MOST HUMBLE SERVANT, + +WALTER SCOTT. + + + +CONTENTS +TO +THE FIRST VOLUME. + + +INTRODUCTION + +PART FIRST. + +_HISTORICAL BALLADS_. + +Sir Patrick Spens, + +Auld Maitland, + +Battle of Otterbourne, + +The Sang of the Outlaw Murray, + +Johnie Armstrang, + +The Lochmaben Harper, + +Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead, + +The Raid of the Reidswire, + +Kinmont Willie, + +Dick o'the Cow, + +Jock o'the Side, + +Hobbie Noble, + +Archie of Ca'field, + +Armstrong's Goodnight, + +The Fray of Suport, + +Lord Maxwell's Goodnight, + +The Lads of Wamphray, + + + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +From the remote period; when the Roman province was contracted by the +ramparts of Severus, until the union of the kingdoms, the borders +of Scotland formed the stage, upon which were presented the most +memorable conflicts of two gallant nations. The inhabitants, at the +commencement of this aera, formed the first wave of the torrent which +assaulted, and finally overwhelmed, the barriers of the Roman power +in Britain. The subsequent events, in which they were engaged, tended +little to diminish their military hardihood, or to reconcile them to +a more civilized state of society. We have no occasion to trace the +state of the borders during the long and obscure period of Scottish +history, which preceded the accession of the Stuart family. To +illustrate a few ballads, the earliest of which is hardly coeval with +James V. such an enquiry would be equally difficult and vain. If we +may trust the Welch bards, in their account of the wars betwixt the +Saxons and Danes of Deira and the Cumraig, imagination can hardly +form [Sidenote: 570] any idea of conflicts more desperate, than were +maintained, on the borders, between the ancient British and their +Teutonic invaders. Thus, the Gododin describes the waste and +devastation of mutual havoc, in colours so glowing, as strongly to +recall the words of Tacitus; "_Et ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem +appellant_[1]." + +[Footnote 1: In the spirited translation of this poem, by Jones, the +following verses are highly descriptive of the exhausted state of the +victor army. + + At Madoc's tent the clarion sounds, + With rapid clangour hurried far: + Each echoing dell the note resounds-- + But when return the sons of war! + Thou, born of stern necessity, + Dull peace! the desert yields to thee, + And owns thy melancholy sway. + +At a later period, the Saxon families, who fled from the exterminating +sword of the Conqueror, with many of the Normans themselves, whom +discontent and intestine feuds had driven into exile, began to rise +into eminence upon the Scottish borders. They brought with them +arts, both of peace and of war, unknown in Scotland; and, among their +descendants, we soon number the most powerful border chiefs. Such, +during the reign of the [Sidenote: 1249] last Alexander, were Patrick, +earl of March, and Lord Soulis, renowned in tradition; and such were, +also, the powerful Comyns, who early acquired the principal sway upon +the Scottish marches. [Sidenote: 1300] In the civil wars betwixt Bruce +and Baliol, all those powerful chieftains espoused the unsuccessful +party. They were forfeited and exiled; and upon their ruins was +founded the formidable house of Douglas. The borders, from sea to +sea, were now at the devotion of a succession of mighty chiefs, whose +exorbitant power threatened to place a new dynasty upon the Scottish +throne. It is not my intention to trace the dazzling career of this +race of heroes, whose exploits were alike formidable to the English, +and to their sovereign. + +The sun of Douglas set in blood. The murders of the sixth earl, and +his brother, in the castle of Edinburgh, were followed by that of +their successor, poignarded at Stirling by the hand of his prince. His +brother, Earl James, appears neither to have possessed the abilities +nor the ambition of his ancestors. He drew, indeed, against his +prince, the formidable sword of Douglas, but with a timid and +hesitating hand. Procrastination ruined his cause; and he was +deserted, at Abercorn, by the knight of Cadyow, chief of the +Hamiltons, and by his most active adherents, after they had +ineffectually exhorted him to commit [Sidenote: 1453] his fate to the +issue of a battle. The border chiefs, who longed for independence, +shewed little [Sidenote: 1455] inclination to follow the declining +fortunes of Douglas. On the contrary, the most powerful clans engaged +and defeated him, at Arkinholme, in Annandale, when, after a short +residence in England, he again endeavoured to gain a footing in his +native country[2]. The spoils of Douglas were liberally distributed +among his conquerors, and royal grants of his forfeited domains +effectually interested them in excluding his return. An [Sidenote: +1457] attempt, on the east borders, by "_the Percy and the Douglas, +both together_," was equally unsuccessful. The earl, grown old in +exile, longed once more to see his native country, and vowed, that, +[Sidenote: 1483] upon Saint Magdalen's day, he would deposit his +offering on the high altar at Lochmaben.--Accompanied by the banished +earl of Albany, with his usual ill fortune, he entered Scotland.--The +borderers assembled to oppose him, and he suffered a final defeat at +Burnswark, in Dumfries-shire. The aged earl was taken in the fight, by +a son of Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, one of his own vassals. A grant of +lands had been offered for his person: "Carry me to the king!" said +Douglas to Kirkpatrick: "thou art well entitled to profit by my +misfortune; for thou wast true to me, while I was true to myself." +The young man wept bitterly, and offered to fly with the earl into +England. But Douglas, weary of exile, refused his proffered liberty, +and only requested, that Kirkpatrick would not deliver him to the +king, till he had secured his own reward[3]. Kirkpatrick did more: +he stipulated for the personal safety of his old master. His generous +intercession prevailed; and the last of the Douglasses was permitted +to die, in monastic seclusion, in the abbey of Lindores. + +[Footnote 2: At the battle of Arkinholme, the Earl of Angus, a near +kinsman of Douglas, commanded the royal forces; and the difference of +their complexion occasioned the saying, "that the _Black Douglas_ had +put down the _Red_." The Maxwells, the Johnstones, and the Scotts, +composed his army. Archibald, earl of Murray, brother to Douglas, was +slain in the action; and Hugh, Earl of Ormond, his second brother, +was taken and executed. His captors, Lord Carlisle, and the Baron of +Johnstone, were rewarded with a grant of the lands of Pittinane, upon +Clyde.--_Godscroft_, Vol. I. p. 375.--_Balfour's MS. in the Advocates' +Library, Edinburgh_.--_Abercrombie's Achievements_, Vol. II. p. 361. +_folio Ed_.--The other chiefs were also distinguished by royal favour. +By a charter, upon record, dated 25th February, 1458, the king grants +to Walter Scott of Kirkurd, ancestor of the house of Buccleuch, the +lands of Abingtown, Phareholm, and Glentonan craig, in Lanarkshire. + + "_Pro suo fideli servitio nobis impenso et pro quod interfuit + in conflictu de Arkenholme in occisione et captione nostrorum + rebellium quondam Archibaldi et Hugonis de Douglas olim + comitum Moraviae et de Ormond et aliorum rebellium nostrorum + in eorum comitiva existen: ibidem captorum et interfectorum_." + +Similar grants of land were made to Finnart and Arran, the two +branches of the house of Hamilton; to the chiefs of the Battisons; +but, above all, to the Earl of Angus who obtained from royal favour a +donation of the Lordship of Douglas, and many other lands, now held +by Lord Douglas, as his representative. There appears, however, to be +some doubt, whether, in this division, the Earl of Angus received more +than his natural right. Our historians, indeed, say, that William I. +Earl of Douglas, had three sons; 1. James, the 2d Earl, who died +in the field of Otterburn; 2. Archibald, the Grim, 3d Earl; and 3. +George, in right of his mother, earl of Angus. Whether, however, this +Archibald was actually the son of William, seems very doubtful; and +Sir David Dalrymple has strenuously maintained the contrary. Now, if +Archibald, the Grim, intruded into the earldom of Douglas, without +being a son of that family, it follows that the house of Angus, being +kept out of their just rights for more than a century, were only +restored to them after the battle of Arkinholme. Perhaps, this may +help to account for the eager interest taken by the earl of Angus +against his kinsman.--_Remarks on History of Scotland_, Edinburgh, +1773. p. 121.] + +[Footnote 3: A grant of the king, dated 2d October, 1484, bestowed +upon Kirkpatrick, for this acceptable service, the lands of +Kirkmichael.] + +After the fall of the house of Douglas, no one chieftain appears to +have enjoyed the same extensive supremacy over the Scottish borders. +The various barons, who had partaken of the spoil, combined in +resisting a succession of uncontrouled domination. The earl of Angus +alone seems to have taken rapid steps in the same course of ambition +which had been pursued by his kinsmen and rivals, the earls of +Douglas. Archibald, sixth earl of Angus, called _Bell-the-Cat_, was, +at once, warden of the east and middle marches, Lord of Liddisdale +and Jedwood forest, and possessed of the strong castles of Douglas, +Hermitage, and Tantallon. Highly esteemed by the ancient nobility, +a faction which he headed shook the throne of the feeble James +III., whose person they restrained, and whose minions they led to +an ignominious death. The king failed not to shew his sense of these +insults, though unable effectually to avenge them. This hastened his +fate: and the field of Bannockburn, once the scene of a more glorious +conflict, beheld the combined chieftains of the border counties +arrayed against their sovereign, under the banners of his own son. +The king was supported by almost all the barons of the north; but the +tumultuous ranks of the Highlanders were ill able to endure the steady +and rapid charge of the men of Annandale and Liddisdale, who +bare spears, two ells longer than were used by the rest of their +countrymen. The yells, with which they accompanied their onset, +caused the heart of James to quail within him. He deserted his host, +[Sidenote: 1488] and fled towards Stirling; but, falling from his +horse, he was murdered by the pursuers. + +James IV., a monarch of a vigorous and energetic character, was well +aware of the danger which his ancestors had experienced, from the +preponderance of one overgrown family. He is supposed to have smiled +internally, when the border and highland champions bled and died in +the savage sports of chivalry, by which his nuptials were solemnized. +Upon the waxing power of Angus he kept a wary eye; and, embracing the +occasion of a casual slaughter, he compelled that earl, and his son, +to exchange the lordship of Liddisdale and the castle of Hermitage, +for the castle and lordship of Bothwell[4]. By this policy, he +prevented the house of Angus, mighty as it was, from rising to the +height, whence the elder branch of their family had been hurled. + +[Footnote 4: Spens of Kilspindie, a renowned cavalier, had been +present in court, when the Earl of Angus was highly praised for +strength and valour. "It may be," answered Spens, "if all be good that +is upcome;" insinuating, that the courage of the earl might not answer +the promise of his person. Shortly after, Angus, while hawking near +Borthwick, with a single attendant, met Kilspindie. "What reason had +ye," said the earl, "for making question of my manhood? thou art a +tall fellow, and so am I; and by St. Bride of Douglas, one of us shall +pay for it!"--"Since it may be no better," answered Kilspindie, "I +will defend myself against the best earl in Scotland." With these +words they encountered fiercely, till Angus, with one blow, severed +the thigh of his antagonist, who died upon the spot. The earl then +addressed the attendant of Kilspindie: "Go thy way: tell my gossip, +the king, that here was nothing but fair play. I know my gossip will +be offended; but I will get me into Liddisdale, and remain in my +castle of the Hermitage till his anger be abated."--_Godscroft_, +Vol. II. p. 59. The price of the earl's pardon seems to have been the +exchange mentioned in the text. Bothwell is now the residence of Lord +Douglas. The sword, with which Archibald, _Bell-the-Cat_, slew Spens, +was, by his descendant, the famous Earl of Morton, presented to Lord +Lindsay of the Byres, when, about to engage in single combat with +Bothwell, at Carberry-hill--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. p. 175.] + +Nor did James fail in affording his subjects on the marches marks +of his royal justice and protection. [Sidenote: 1510] The clan of +Turnbull having been guilty of unbounded excesses, the king came +suddenly to Jedburgh, by a night march, and executed the most rigid +justice upon the astonished offenders. Their submission was made with +singular solemnity. Two hundred of the tribe met the king, at the +water of Rule, holding in their hands the naked swords, with which +they had perpetrated their crimes, and having each around his neck the +halter which he had well merited. A few were capitally punished, many +imprisoned, and the rest dismissed, after they had given hostages for +their future peaceable demeanour.--_Holinshed's Chronicle, Lesly_. + +The hopes of Scotland, excited by the prudent and spirited conduct +of James, were doomed to a sudden and fatal reverse. Why should +we recapitulate the painful tale of the defeat and death of a +high-spirited prince? Prudence, policy, the prodigies of superstition, +and the advice of his most experienced counsellors, were alike unable +to subdue in James the blazing zeal of romantic chivalry. The monarch, +and the flower of his nobles, [Sidenote: 1513] precipitately rushed to +the fatal field of Flodden, whence they were never to return. + +The minority of James V. presents a melancholy scene. Scotland, +through all its extent, felt the truth of the adage, "that the country +is hapless, whose prince is a child." But the border counties, exposed +from their situation to the incursions of the English, deprived of +many of their most gallant chiefs, and harassed by the intestine +struggles of the survivors, were reduced to a wilderness, inhabited +only by the beasts of the field, and by a few more brutal warriors. +Lord Home, the chamberlain and favourite of James IV., leagued with +the Earl of Angus, who married the widow of his sovereign, held, for +a time, the chief sway upon the east border. Albany, the regent of the +kingdom, bred in the French court, and more accustomed to wield the +pen than the sword, feebly endeavoured to controul a lawless nobility, +to whom his manners appeared strange, and his person [Sidenote: +1516] despicable. It was in vain that he inveigled the Lord Home to +Edinburgh, where he was tried and executed. This example of justice, +or severity, only irritated the kinsmen and followers of the deceased +baron: for though, in other respects, not more sanguinary than the +rest of a barbarous nation, the borderers never dismissed from their +memory a deadly feud, till blood for blood had been exacted, to the +uttermost drachm[5]. Of this, the fate of Anthony d'Arcey, Seigneur de +la Bastie, affords a melancholy example. This gallant French cavalier +was appointed warden of the east marches by Albany, at his first +disgraceful retreat to France. Though De la Bastie was an able +statesman, and a true son of chivalry, the choice of the regent was +nevertheless unhappy. The new warden was a foreigner, placed in the +office of Lord Home, as [Sidenote: 1517] the delegate of the very man, +who had brought that baron to the scaffold. A stratagem, contrived by +Home of Wedderburn, who burned to avenge the death of his chief, drew +De la Bastie towards Langton, in the Merse. Here he found himself +surrounded by his enemies. In attempting, by the speed of his horse, +to gain the castle of Dunbar, the warden plunged into a morass, where +he was overtaken and cruelly butchered. Wedderburn himself cut off his +head; and, in savage triumph, knitted it to his saddle-bow by the +long flowing hair, which had been admired by the dames of +France.--_Pitscottie, Edit_. 1728, p. 130. _Pinkerton's History of +Scotland_, Vol. II. p. 169 [6]. + +[Footnote 5: The statute 1594, cap. 231, ascribes the disorders on the +border in a great measure to the "counselles, directions, receipt, +and partaking, of chieftains principalles of the branches, and +househalders of the saides surnames, and clannes, quhilkis bears +quarrel, and seeks revenge for the least hurting or slauchter of ony +ane of their unhappy race, although it were ardour of justice, or in +rescuing and following of trew mens geares stollen or reft."] + +[Footnote 6: This tragedy, or, perhaps, the preceding execution of +Lord Home, must have been the subject of the song, the first two lines +of which are preserved in the _Complaynt of Scotland_; + + God sen' the Duc hed byddin in France, + And de la Bauté had never come hame. + +P, 100, Edin. 1801.] + +The Earl of Arran, head of the house of Hamilton was appointed to +succeed De la Bastie in his perilous office. But the Douglasses, the +Homes, and the Kerrs, proved too strong for him upon the [Sidenote: +1520] border. He was routed by these clans, at Kelso, and afterwards +in a sharp skirmish, fought betwixt his faction and that of Angus, in +the high-street of the metropolis[7]. + +[Footnote 7: The particulars of this encounter are interesting. The +Hamiltons were the most numerous party, drawn chiefly from the western +counties. Their leaders met in the palace of Archbishop Beaton, and +resolved to apprehend Angus, who was come to the city to attend the +convention of estates. Gawain Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, a near +relation of Angus, in vain endeavoured to mediate betwixt the +factions. He appealed to Beaton, and invoked his assistance to prevent +bloodshed. "On my conscience," answered the archbishop, "I cannot +help what is to happen." As he laid his hand upon his breast, at this +solemn declaration, the hauberk, concealed by his rocket, was heard +to clatter: "Ah! my lord!" retorted Douglas, "your conscience sounds +hollow." He then expostulated with the secular leaders, and +Sir Patrick Hamilton, brother to Arran, was convinced by his +remonstrances; but Sir James, the natural son of the earl, upbraided +his uncle with reluctance to fight. "False bastard!" answered Sir +Patrick, "I will fight to day where thou darest not be seen." With +these words they rushed tumultuously towards the high-street, where +Angus, with the prior of Coldinghame, and the redoubted Wedderburn, +waited their assault, at the head of 400 spearmen, the flower of the +east marches, who, having broke down the gate of the Netherbow, had +arrived just in time to the earl's assistance. The advantage of the +ground, and the disorder of the Hamiltons, soon gave the day to Angus. +Sir Patrick Hamilton, and the master of Montgomery, were slain. Arran, +and Sir James Hamilton, escaped with difficulty; and with no less +difficulty was the military prelate of Glasgow rescued from the +ferocious borderers, by the generous interposition of Gawain Douglas. +The skirmish was long remembered in Edinburgh, by the name of "Cleanse +the Causeway."--_Pinkerton's History_, Vol. II. p. 181.--_Pitscottie +Edit._ 1728. p. 120.--_Life of Gawain Douglas, prefixed to his +Virgil_.] + +The return of the regent was followed by the banishment of Angus, +and by a desultory warfare with England, carried on with mutual +incursions. Two gallant armies, levied by Albany, were dismissed +without any exploit worthy notice, while Surrey, at the head of ten +thousand cavalry, burned Jedburgh, and laid waste all Tiviotdale. This +general pays a splendid tribute to the gallantry of the border chiefs. +He terms them "the boldest [Sidenote: 1523] men, and the hottest, that +ever I saw any nation[8]." + +[Footnote 8: A curious letter from Surrey to the king is printed in +the Appendix, No. I.] + +Disgraced and detested, Albany bade adieu to Scotland for ever. The +queen-mother, and the Earl of Arran, for some time swayed the kingdom. +But their power was despised on the borders, where Angus, though +banished, had many friends. Scot of Buccleuch even appropriated to +himself domains, belonging to the queen, worth 4000 merks yearly; +being probably the castle of Newark and her jointure lands in Ettrick +forest[9].-- + +[Footnote 9: In a letter to the Duke of Norfolk, October 1524, Queen +Margaret says, "Sen that the Lard of Sessford and the Lard of Baclw +vas put in the castell of Edinbrouh, the Erl of Lenness hath past hyz +vay vythout lycyens, and in despyt; and thynkyth to make the brek that +he may, and to solyst other lordis to tak hyz part; for the said lard +of Bavkl wvas hyz man, and dyd the gretyst ewelyz that myght be dwn, +and twk part playnly vyth theasyz as is well known."--_Cot. MSS. +Calig._ B.I.] + +This chief, with Kerr of Cessford, was committed to ward, from which +they escaped, to join [Sidenote: 1525] the party of the exiled Angus. +Leagued with these, and other border chiefs, Angus effected his return +to Scotland, where he shortly after acquired possession of the supreme +power, and of the person of the youthful king. "The ancient power of +the Douglasses," says the accurate historian, whom I have so often +referred to, "seemed to have revived; and, after a slumber of near +a century, again to threaten destruction to the Scottish +monarchy."--_Pinkerton_, Vol. 11, p. 277. + +In fact, the time now returned, when no one durst strive with a +Douglas, or with his follower. For, although Angus used the outward +pageant of conducting the king around the country, for punishing +thieves and traitors, "yet," says Pitscottie, "none were found greater +than were in his own company." The high spirit of the young king was +galled by the ignominious restraint under which he found himself; and, +in a progress to the border for repressing the Armstrongs, he probably +gave such signs of dissatisfaction, as excited the [Sidenote: 1526] +laird of Buccleuch to attempt his rescue. + +This powerful baron was the chief of a hardy clan, inhabiting Ettrick +forest, Eskdale, Ewsdale, the higher part of Tiviotdale, and a portion +of Liddesdale. In this warlike district he easily levied a thousand +horse, comprehending a large body of Elliots, Armstrongs, and other +broken clans, over whom the laird of Buccleuch exercised an extensive +authority; being termed, by Lord Dacre, "chief maintainer of all +misguided men on the borders of Scotland."--_Letter to Wolsey_, July +18. 1528. The Earl of Angus, with his reluctant ward, had slept at +Melrose; and the clans of Home and Kerr, under the Lord Home, and +the barons of Cessford, and Fairnihirst, had taken their leave of +the king, when, in the gray of the morning, Buccleuch and his band +of cavalry were discovered, hanging, like a thunder-cloud, upon the +neighbouring hill of Haliden[10]. A herald was sent to demand his +purpose, and to charge him to retire. To the first point he answered, +that he came to shew his clan to the king, according to the custom of +the borders; to the second, that he knew the king's mind better than +Angus.--When this haughty answer was reported to the earl, "Sir," said +he to the king, "yonder is Buccleuch, with the thieves of Annandale +and Liddesdale, to bar your grace's passage. I vow to God they shall +either fight or flee. Your grace shall tarry on this hillock, with my +brother George; and I will either clear your road of yonder banditti, +or die in the attempt." The earl, with these words, alighted, and +hastened to the charge; while the Earl of Lennox (at whose instigation +Buccleuch made the attempt), remained with the king, an inactive +spectator. Buccleuch and his followers likewise dismounted, and +received the assailants with a dreadful shout, and a shower of lances. +The encounter was fierce and obstinate; but the Homes and Kerrs, +returning at the noise of battle, bore down and dispersed the left +wing of Buccleuch's little army. The hired banditti fled on all sides; +but the chief himself, surrounded by his clan, fought desperately +in the retreat. The laird of Cessford, chief of the Roxburgh Kerrs, +pursued the chace fiercely; till, at the bottom of a steep path, +Elliot of Stobs, a follower of Buccleuch, turned, and slew him with a +stroke of his lance. When Cessford fell, the pursuit ceased. But his +death, with those of Buccleuch's friends, who fell in the action, to +the number of eighty, occasioned a deadly feud betwixt the names +of Scott and Kerr, which cost much blood upon the marches[11].--See +_Pitscottie_, _Lesly_, and _Godscroft_. + +[Footnote 10: Near Darnick. By a corruption from Skirmish field, the +spot is still called the Skinnerfield. Two lines of an old ballad on +the subject are still preserved: + + "There were sick belts and blows, + The Mattous burn ran blood." + +[Footnote 11: Buccleuch contrived to escape forfeiture, a doom +pronounced against those nobles, who assisted the Earl of Lennox, in +a subsequent attempt to deliver the king, by force of arms. "The laird +of Bukcleugh has a respecte, and is not forfeited; and will get his +pece, and was in Leithquo, both Sondaye, Mondaye, and Tewisday last, +which is grete displeasure to the Carres."--_Letter from Sir C. Dacre +to Lord Dacre, 2d December_, 1526.] + + +[Sidenote: 1528] Stratagem at length effected what force had been +unable to accomplish; and the king, emancipated from the iron tutelage +of Angus, made the first use of his authority, by banishing from +the kingdom his late lieutenant, and the whole race of Douglas. This +command was not enforced without difficulty; for the power of Angus +was strongly rooted in the east border, where he possessed the castle +of Tantallon, and the hearts of the Homes and Kerrs. The former, whose +strength was proverbial[12], defied a royal army; and the latter, at +the Pass of Pease, baffled the Earl of Argyle's attempts to enter the +Merse, as lieutenant of his sovereign. On this occasion, the borderers +regarded with wonder and contempt the barbarous array, and rude +equipage, of their northern countrymen Godscroft has preserved the +beginning of a scoffing rhyme, made upon this occasion: + + The Earl of Argyle is bound to ride + From the border of Edgebucklin brae[13]; + And all his habergeons him beside, + Each man upon a sonk of strae. + + They made their vow that they would slay-- + +_Godscroft_, v. 2. p. 104. Ed. 1743. + +[Footnote 12: "To ding down Tantallon, and make a bridge to the Bass," +was an adage expressive of impossibility. The shattered ruins of this +celebrated fortress still overhang a tremendous rock on the coast of +East Lothian.] + +[Footnote 13: Edgebucklin, near Musselburgh.] + +The pertinacious opposition of Angus to his doom irritated to the +extreme the fiery temper of James, and he swore, in his wrath, that a +Douglas should never serve him; an oath which he kept in circumstances +under which the spirit of chivalry, which he worshipped[14], should +have taught him other feelings. + +[Footnote 14: I allude to the affecting story of Douglas of +Kilspindie, uncle to the Earl of Angus. This gentleman had been placed +by Angus about the king's person, who, when a boy, loved him much, on +account of his singular activity of body, and was wont to call him his +_Graysteil_, after a champion of chivalry, in the romance of _Sir Eger +and Sir Grime_. He shared, however, the fate of his chief, and, for +many years, served in France. Weary, at length, of exile, the aged +warrior, recollecting the king's personal attachment to him, resolved +to throw himself on his clemency. As James returned from hunting in +the park at Stirling, he saw a person at a distance, and, turning +to his nobles, exclaimed, "Yonder is my _Graysteil_, Archibald of +Kilspindie!" As he approached, Douglas threw himself on his knees, and +implored permission to lead an obscure life in his native land. But +the name of Douglas was an amulet, which steeled the king's heart +against the influence of compassion and juvenile recollection. He +passed the suppliant without an answer, and rode briskly up the steep +hill, towards the castle. Kilspindie, though loaded with a hauberk +under his cloaths, kept pace with the horse, in vain endeavouring to +catch a glance from the implacable monarch. He sat down at the gate, +weary and exhausted, and asked for a draught of water. Even this was +refused by the royal attendants. The king afterwards blamed their +discourtesy; but Kilspindie was obliged to return to France, where he +died of a broken heart; the same disease which afterwards brought to +the grave his unrelenting sovereign. Even the stern Henry VIII. blamed +his nephew's conduct, quoting the generous saying "A king's face +should give grace."--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. P. 107.] + +While these transactions, by which the fate of Scotland was +influenced, were passing upon the eastern border, the Lord +Maxwell seems to have exercised a most uncontrouled domination in +Dumfries-shire. Even the power of the Earl of Angus was exerted in +vain, against the banditti of Liddesdale, protected and bucklered +by this mighty chief. Repeated complaints are made by the English +residents, of the devastation occasioned by the depredations of the +Elliots, Scotts, and Armstrongs, connived at, and encouraged, by +Maxwell, [Sidenote: 1528] Buccleuch, and Fairnihirst. At a convention +of border commissioners, it was agreed, that the king of England, +in case the excesses of the Liddesdale freebooters were not duly +redressed, should be at liberty to issue letters of reprisal to his +injured subjects, granting "power to invade the said inhabitants of +Liddesdale, to their slaughters, burning, heirships, robbing, reifing, +despoiling and destruction, and so to continue the same at his grace's +pleasure," till the attempts of the inhabitants were fully atoned +for. This impolitic expedient, by which the Scottish prince, unable +to execute justice on his turbulent subjects, committed to a rival +sovereign the power of unlimited chastisement, was a principal cause +of the savage state of the borders. For the inhabitants, finding +that the sword of revenge was substituted for that of justice, were +loosened from their attachment to Scotland, and boldly threatened to +carry on their depredations, in spite of the efforts of both kingdoms. + +James V., however, was not backward in using more honourable +expedients to quell the banditti [Sidenote: 1529] on the borders. The +imprisonment of their chiefs, and a noted expedition, in which many of +the principal thieves were executed (see introduction to the ballad, +called _Johnie Armstrong_), produced such good effects, that, +according to an ancient picturesque history, "thereafter there was +great peace and rest a long time, where through the king had great +profit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the Ettrick forest, in +keeping by Andrew Bell, who made the king so good count of them, as +they had gone in the hounds of Fife." _Pitscottie_, p. 153. + +A breach with England interrupted the tranquillity [Sidenote: 1532] +of the borders. The Earl of Northumberland, a formidable name to +Scotland, ravaged the middle marches, and burned Branxholm, the abode +of Buccleuch, the hereditary enemy of the English name. Buccleuch, +with the barons of Cessford and Fairnihirst, retaliated by a raid into +England, [Sidenote: 1533] where they acquired much spoil. On the east +march, Fowberry was destroyed by the Scots, and Dunglass castle by +D'Arcey, and the banished Angus. + +A short peace was quickly followed by another war, which proved fatal +to Scotland, and to her king. In the battle of Haddenrig, the English, +and the exiled Douglasses, were defeated by the Lords Huntly and Home; +but this was a transient gleam of success. Kelso was burned, and the +borders [Sidenote: 1542] ravaged, by the Duke of Norfolk; and finally, +the rout of Solway moss, in which ten thousand men, the flower of the +Scottish army, were dispersed and defeated by a band of five hundred +English cavalry, or rather by their own dissentions, broke the proud +heart of James; a death, more painful a hundred fold than was met by +his father in the field of Flodden. + +When the strength of the Scottish army had sunk, without wounds, +and without renown, the principal chiefs were led captive into +England.--Among these was the Lord Maxwell, who was compelled, by the +menaces of Henry, to swear allegiance to the English monarch. There is +still in existence the spirited instrument of vindication, by which +he renounces his connection with England, and the honours and estates +which had been proffered him, as the price of treason to his infant +sovereign. From various bonds of manrent, it appears, that all +the western marches were swayed [Sidenote: 1543] by this powerful +chieftain. With Maxwell, and the other captives, returned to Scotland +the banished Earl of Angus, and his brother, Sir George Douglas, after +a banishment of fifteen years. This powerful family regained at least +a part of their influence upon the borders; and, grateful to the +kingdom which had afforded them protection during their exile, became +chiefs of the English faction in Scotland, whose object it was to urge +a contract of marriage betwixt the young queen and the heir apparent +of England. The impetuosity of Henry, the ancient hatred betwixt the +nations, and the wavering temper of the governor, Arran, prevented +the success of this measure. The wrath of the disappointed monarch +discharged itself in a wide-wasting and furious invasion of the +east marches, conducted by the Earl of Hertford. Seton, Home, +and Buccleuch, hanging on the mountains of Lammermoor, saw, with +ineffectual regret, the fertile plains of Merse and Lothian, and the +metropolis itself, reduced to a smoking desert. Hertford had scarcely +retreated with the main army, when Evers and Latoun laid waste the +whole vale of Tiviot, with a ferocity of devastation, hitherto unheard +of[15]. The same "lion mode of wooing," being pursued during the +minority of Edward VI., totally alienated the affections even of those +Scots who were most attached to the English interest. The Earl of +Angus, in particular, united himself to the governor, and gave the +English a sharp defeat at Ancram moor, [Sidenote: 1545] a particular +account of which action is subjoined to the ballad, entituled, "_The +Eve of St. John_." Even the fatal defeat at Pinky, which at once +renewed the carnage of Flodden, and the disgrace of Solway, served to +prejudice the cause of the victors. The borders saw, with dread and +detestation, the ruinous fortress of Roxburgh once more receive an +English garrison, and the widow of Lord Home driven from his baronial +castle, to [Sidenote: 1547] make room for the "_Southern Reivers_." +Many of the barons made a reluctant submission to Somerset; but those +of the higher part of the marches remained among their mountains, +meditating revenge. A similar incursion was made on the west borders +by Lord Wharton, who, with five thousand men, ravaged and overran +Annandale, Nithsdale, and Galloway, compelling the inhabitants to +receive the yoke of England[16]. + +[Footnote 15: In Haynes' State Papers, from p. 43 to p. 64, is an +account of these destructive forays. One list of the places burned and +destroyed enumerates-- + + Monasteries and Freehouses .... 7 + Castles, towres, and piles .... 16 + Market townes ................. 5 + Villages ...................... 243 + Mylnes ........................ 13 + Spytells and hospitals ........ 3 + +See also official accounts of these expeditions, in _Dalyell's +Fragments_.] + +[Footnote 16: Patten gives us a list of those east border chiefs who +did homage to the Duke of Somerset, on the 24th of September, 1547; +namely, the lairds of Cessfoorth, Fernyherst, Grenehed, Hunthill, +Hundely, Makerstone, Bymerside, Bounjedworth, Ormeston, Mellestains, +Warmesay, Synton, Egerston, Merton, Mowe, Rydell, Beamerside. Of +gentlemen, he enumerates George Tromboul, Jhon Haliburton, Robert Car, +Robert Car of Greyden, Adam Kirton, Andrew Mether, Saunders Purvose of +Erleston, Mark Car of Littledean, George Car of Faldenside, Alexander +Mackdowal, Charles Rutherford, Thomas Car of the Yere, Jhon Car of +Meynthorn (Nenthorn), Walter Holiburton, Richard Hangansyde, Andrew +Car, James Douglas of Cavers, James Car of Mersington, George +Hoppringle, William Ormeston of Edmerden, John Grymslowe.--_Patten_, +in _Dalyell's Fragments_, p. 87. + +On the west border, the following barons and clans submitted and gave +pledges to Lord Wharton, that they would serve the king of England, +with the number of followers annexed to their names. + + ANNERDALE. NITHSDALE. + +Laird of Kirkmighel .......... 222 Mr Maxwell and more ........ 1000 + Rose ................ 165 Laird of Closeburn ......... 403 + Hempsfield .......... 163 Lag ............... 202 + Home Ends ........... 162 Cransfield ........ 27 + Wamfrey ............. 102 Mr Ed. Creighton ........... 10 + Dunwoddy ............ 44 Laird of Cowhill ........... 91 + Laird of Newby and Gratney .. 122 Maxwells of Brackenside, + Tinnel (Tinwald) .... 102 and vicar of Carlaverick .. 310 + Patrick Murray .............. 203 ANNERDALE AND GALWAY. + Christie Urwin (Irving) of Lord Carlisle .............. 101 + Coveshawe ............ 102 ANNERDALE AND CLIDSDALE + Cuthbert Urwen of Robbgill .. 34 Laird of Applegirth ........ 242 + Urwens of Sennersack ......... 40 LIDDESDALE AND DEBATEABLE + Wat Urwen .................... 20 LAND. + Jeffrey Urwen ................ 93 Armstrongs ................. 300 + T. Johnston of Crackburn .... 64 Elwoods (Elliots) .......... 74 + James Johnston of Coites .... 162 Nixons ..................... 32 + Johnstons of Graggyland ..... 37 GALLOWAY + Johnstons of Driesdell ...... 46 Laird of Dawbaylie ......... 41 + Johnstons of Malinshaw ...... 65 Orcherton .................. 111 + Gawen Johnston .............. 31 Carlisle ................... 206 + Will Johnston, the laird's Loughenwar ................. 45 + brother ................... 110 Tutor of Bumbie ............ 140 +Robin Johnston of Abbot of Newabbey .......... 141 + Lochmaben .................. 67 Town of Dumfries ........... 201 +Lard of Gillersbie ............ 30 Town of Kircubrie .......... 36 +Moffits ....................... 24 TIVIDALE. +Bells of Tostints ............ 142 Laird of Drumlire .......... 364 +Bells of Tindills ............ 222 Caruthers .................. 71 +Sir John Lawson ............... 32 Trumbells .................. 12 +Town of Annan ................ 33 ESKDALE. +Roomes of Tordephe ........... 32 Battisons and Thomsons ..... 166 + + Total 7008 men under English assurance. + +_Nicolson, from Bell's MS. Introduction to History of Cumberland_, p. +65.] + + + +The arrival of French auxiliaries, and of French gold, rendered vain +the splendid successes of the English. One by one, the fortresses +which they occupied were recovered by force, or by stratagem; and the +vindictive cruelty of the Scottish borderers made dreadful retaliation +for the, injuries they had sustained. An idea may be conceived of +this horrible warfare, from the memoirs of Beaugé, a French officer, +serving in Scotland. + +The castle of Fairnihirst, situated about three miles above Jedburgh, +had been taken and garrisoned by the English. The commander and his +followers are accused of such excesses of lust and cruelty "as would," +says Beaugé, "have made to tremble the most savage moor in Africa." A +band of Frenchmen, with the laird of Fairnihirst, and [Sidenote: 1549] +his borderers, assaulted this fortress. The English archers showered +their arrows down the steep ascent, leading to the castle, and from +the outer wall by which it was surrounded. A vigorous escalade, +however, gained the base court, and the sharp fire of the French +arquebusiers drove the bowmen into the square keep, or dungeon, of the +fortress. Here the English defended themselves, till a breach in the +wall was made by mining. Through this hole the commandant creeped +forth; and, surrendering himself to De la Mothe-rouge, implored +protection from the vengeance of the borderers. But a Scottish +marc-hman, eyeing in the captive the ravisher of his wife, approached +him ere the French officer could guess his intention, and, at one +blow, carried his head four paces from the trunk. Above a hundred +Scots rushed to wash their hands in the blood of their oppressor, +bandied about the severed head, and expressed their joy in such +shouts, as if they had stormed the city of London. The prisoners, who +fell into their merciless hands, were put to death, after their eyes +had been torn out; the victors contending who should display the +greatest address in severing their legs and arms, before inflicting a +mortal wound. When their own prisoners were slain, the Scottish, with +an unextinguishable thirst for blood, purchased those of the French; +parting willingly with their very arms, in exchange for an English +captive. "I myself," says Beaugé, with military sang-froid, "I myself +sold them a prisoner for a small horse. They laid him down upon the +ground, galloped over him with their lances in rest, and wounded him +as they passed. When slain, they cut his body in pieces, and bore the +mangled gobbets, in triumph, on the points of their spears. I cannot +greatly praise the Scottish for this practice. But the truth is, that +the English tyrannized over the borders in a most barbarous manner; +and I think it was but fair to repay them, according to the proverb, +in their own coin."-- + +_Campagnes de Beaugé_. + +A peace, in 1551, put an end to this war; the most destructive which, +for a length of time, had ravaged Scotland. Some attention was paid by +the governor and queen-mother, to the administration of justice on the +border; and the chieftains, who had distinguished themselves during +the late troubles, received the honour of knighthood[17]. [Sidenote: +1522] At this time, also, the Debateable Land, a tract of country, +situated betwixt the Esk and Sarke, claimed by both kingdoms, was +divided by royal commissioners, appointed by the two crowns.--By their +award, this land of contention was separated by a line, drawn from +east to west, betwixt the rivers. The upper half was adjudged to +Scotland, and the more eastern part to England. Yet the Debateable +Land continued long after to be the residence of the thieves +and banditti, to whom its dubious state had afforded a desirable +refuge[18]. + +[Footnote 17: These were the lairds of Buccleuch, Cessford, and +Fairnihirst, Littleden, Grenehed, and Coldingknows. Buccleuch, whose +gallant exploits we have noticed, did not long enjoy his new honours. +He was murdered, in the streets of Edinburgh, by his hereditary +enemies, the Kerrs, anno 1552.] + +[Footnote 18: The jest of James VI. is well known, who, when a +favourite cow had found her way from London, back to her native +country of Fife, observed, "that nothing surprised him so much as her +passing uninterrupted through the Debateable Land!"] + +In 1557, a new war broke out, in which rencounters on the borders +were, as usual, numerous, and with varied success. In some of these, +the too famous Bothwell is said to have given proofs of his courage, +which was at other times very questionable[19]. About this time the +Scottish borderers seem to have acquired some ascendency over their +southern neighbours.--_Strype_, Vol. III. p. 437--In 1559, peace was +again restored. + +[Footnote 19: He was lord of Liddesdale, and keeper of the Hermitage +castle. But he had little effective power over that country, and was +twice defeated by the Armstrongs, its lawless inhabitants.--_Border +History_, p. 584. Yet the unfortunate Mary, in her famous Apology, +says, "that in the weiris againis Ingland, he gaif proof of his +vailyentnes, courage, and gude conduct;" and praises him especially +for subjugating "the rebellious subjectis inhabiting the cuntreis +lying ewest the marches of Ingland."--_Keith_, p. 388. He appears +actually to have defeated Sir Henry Percy, in a skirmish, called the +Raid of Haltweilswire.] + +The flame of reformation, long stifled in Scotland, now burst forth, +with the violence of a volcanic eruption. The siege of Leith was +commenced, by the combined forces of the Congregation and of England. +The borderers cared little about speculative points of religion; but +they shewed themselves much interested in the treasures which passed +through their country, for payment of the English forces at Edinburgh. +Much alarm was excited, lest the marchers should intercept these +weighty protestant arguments; and it was, probably, by voluntarily +imparting a share in them to Lord Home, that he became a sudden +convert to the new faith[20]. + +[Footnote 20: This nobleman had, shortly before, threatened to spoil +the English east march; "but," says the Duke of Norfolk, "we have +provided such sauce for him, that I think he will not deal in such +matter; but, if he do fire but one hay-goff, he shall not go to Home +again without torch-light, and, peradventure, may find a lanthorn at +his own house."] + +Upon the arrival of the ill-fated Mary in her native country, she +found the borders in a state of great disorder. The exertions of her +natural brother (afterwards the famous regent, Murray) were necessary +to restore some degree of tranquillity. He marched to Jedburgh, +executed twenty or thirty of the transgressors, burned many houses, +and brought a number of prisoners to Edinburgh. The chieftains of the +principal clans were also obliged to grant pledges for their future +obedience. A noted convention (for the particulars of which, see +_Border Laws_, p. 84.) adopted various regulations, which were +attended with great advantage to the marches[21]. + +[Footnote 21: The commissioners on the English side were, the elder +Lord Scroope of Bolton, Sir John Foster, Sir Thomas Gargrave, and Dr. +Rookby. On the Scottish side appeared, Sir John Maxwell of Terreagles, +and Sir John Ballenden.] + +The unhappy match, betwixt Henry Darnley and his sovereign, led to new +dissentions on the border. The Homes, Kerrs, and other east marchers, +hastened to support the queen, against Murray, Chatelherault, and +other nobles, whom her marriage had offended. For the same purpose +the Johnstones, Jardines, and clans of Annandale entered into bonds of +confederacy. But Liddesdale was under the influence of England; in so +much, that Randolph, the English minister, proposed to hire a band of +_strapping Elliots_, to find Home business at home, in looking after +his corn and cattle.--_Keith_, p. 265. _App_. 133. + +This storm was hardly overblown, when Bothwell received the commission +of lieutenant upon the borders; but, as void of parts as of principle, +he could not even recover to the queen's allegiance his own domains +in Liddesdale.--_Keith, App_. 165. The queen herself advanced to the +borders, to remedy this evil, and to hold courts at Jedburgh. Bothwell +was already in Liddesdale, where he had been severely wounded, in an +attempt to seize John Elliot, of the Parke, a desperate freebooter; +and happy had it been for Mary, had the dagger of the moss-trooper +struck more home. Bothwell being transported to his castle of +Hermitage, the queen, upon hearing the tidings, hastened thither, A +dangerous morass, still called the _Queen's Mire_[22], is pointed out +by tradition as the spot where the lovely Mary, and her white palfrey, +were in danger of perishing. The distance betwixt Hermitage and +Jedburgh, by the way of Hawick, is nearly twenty-four English miles. +The queen went and returned the same day. Whether she visited a +wounded subject, or a lover in danger, has been warmly disputed in our +latter days. + +[Footnote 22: The _Queen's Mire_ is still a pass of danger, +exhibiting, in many places, the bones of the horses which have been +entangled in it. For what reason the queen chose to enter Liddesdale +by the circuitous route of Hawick, does not appear. There are two +other passes from Jedburgh to Hermitage castle; the one by the _Note +of the Gate_, the other over the mountain, called Winburgh. Either of +these, but especially the latter, is several miles shorter than that +by Hawick, and the Queen's Mire. But, by the circuitous way of Hawick, +the queen could traverse the districts of more friendly clans, than by +going directly into the disorderly province of Liddesdale.] + +To the death of Henry Darnley, it is said, some of the border lords +were privy. But the subsequent marriage, betwixt the queen and +Bothwell, alienated from her the affections of the chieftains of the +marches, most of whom aided the association of the insurgent barons. +A few gentlemen of the Merse, however, joined the army which Mary +brought to Carberry-hill. But no one was willing to fight for the +detested Bothwell, nor did Bothwell himself shew any inclination +to put his person in jeopardy. The result to Mary was a rigorous +captivity in Lochleven castle; and the name of Bothwell scarcely again +pollutes the page of Scottish history. + +The distress of a beautiful and afflicted princess softened the hearts +of her subjects; and, when she escaped from her severe captivity, the +most powerful barons in Scotland crowded around her standard. Among +these were many of the west border men, under the lords Maxwell +and Herries[23]. But the defeat at Langside was a death-blow to her +interest in Scotland. + +[Footnote 23: The followers of these barons are said to have stolen +the horses of their friends, while they were engaged in the battle.] + +The death of the regent Murray, in 1569, excited the party of Mary to +hope and to exertion. It seems, that the design of Bothwelhaugh, who +slew him, was well known upon the borders; for, the very day on which +the slaughter happened, Buccleuch and Fairnihirst, with their clans, +broke into England, and spread devastation along the frontiers, with +unusual ferocity. It is probable they well knew that the controuling +hand of the regent was that day palsied by death. Buchanan exclaims +loudly against this breach of truce with Elizabeth, charging Queen +Mary's party with having "houndit furth proude and uncircumspecte +young men, to hery, burne, and slay, and tak prisoneris, in her +realme, and use all misordour and crueltie, not only usit in weir, but +detestabil to all barbar and wild Tartaris, in slaying of prisoneris, +and contrair to all humanitie and justice, keeping na promeis to +miserabil catives resavit anis to thair mercy "--_Admonitioun to the +trew lordis, Striveling_, 1571. He numbers, among these insurgents, +highlanders as well as borderers, Buccleuch and Fairnihirst, the +Johnstons and Armstrongs, the Grants, and the clan Chattan. Besides +these powerful clans, Mary numbered among her adherents, the Maxwells, +and almost all the west border leaders, excepting Drumlanrig, and +Jardine of Applegirth. On the eastern border, the faction of the +infant king was more powerful; for, although deserted by Lord Home, +the greater part of his clan, under the influence of Wedderburn, +remained attached to that party. The laird of Cessford wished them +well, and the Earl of Angus naturally followed the steps of his uncle +Morton. A sharp and bloody invasion of the middle march, under the +command of the Earl of Sussex, avenged with interest the raids of +Buccleuch and Fairnihirst. The domains of these chiefs were laid +waste, their castles burned and destroyed. The narrow vales of +Beaumont and Kale, belonging to Buccleuch, were treated with peculiar +severity; and the forrays of Hertford were equalled by that of Sussex. +In vain did the chiefs request assistance from the government to +defend their fortresses. Through the predominating interest of +Elizabeth in the Scottish councils, this was refused to all but Home, +whose castle, nevertheless, again received an English garrison; while +Buccleuch and Fairnihirst complained bitterly that those, who had +instigated their invasion, durst not even come so far as Lauder, to +shew countenance to their defence against the English. The bickerings, +which followed, distracted the whole kingdom. One celebrated exploit +may be selected, as an illustration of the border fashion of war. + +The Earl of Lennox, who had succeeded Murray in the regency, held a +parliament at Stirling, in 1571. The young king was exhibited to +the great council of his nation. He had been tutored to repeat a set +speech, composed for the occasion; but, observing that the roof of +the building was a little decayed, he interrupted his recitation, +and exclaimed, with childish levity, "that there was a hole in the +parliament,"--words which, in these days, were held to presage the +deadly breach shortly to be made in that body, by the death of him in +whose name it was convoked. + +Amid the most undisturbed security of confidence, the lords, who +composed this parliament, were roused at day-break, by the shouts of +their enemies in the heart of the town. _God and the Queen_! resounded +from every quarter, and, in a few minutes, the regent, with the +astonished nobles of his party, were prisoners to a band of two +hundred border cavalry, led by Scott of Buccleuch, and to the +Lord Claud Hamilton, at the head of three hundred infantry. These +enterprising chiefs, by a rapid and well concerted manoeuvre, had +reached Stirling in a night march from Edinburgh, and, without so much +as being bayed at by a watch-dog had seized the principal street of +the town.--The fortunate obstinacy of Morton saved his party. Stubborn +and undaunted, he defended his house till the assailants set it in +flames, and then yielded with reluctance to his kinsman, Buccleuch. +But the time, which he had gained, effectually served his cause. The +borderers had dispersed to plunder the stables of the nobility; the +infantry thronged tumultuously together on the main street, when the +Earl of Mar, issuing from the castle, placed one or two small pieces +of ordnance in his own half-built house[24], which commands the market +place. Hardly had the artillery begun to scour the street, when the +assailants, surprised in their turn, fled with precipitation. Their +alarm was increased by the townsmen thronging to arms. Those, who had +been so lately triumphant, were now, in many instances, asking the +protection of their own prisoners. In all probability, not a man would +have escaped death, or captivity, but for the characteristic rapacity +of Buccleuch's marauders, who, having seized and carried off all the +horses in the town, left the victors no means of following the chace. +The regent was slain by an officer, named Caulder, in order to prevent +his being rescued. Spens of Ormeston, to whom he had surrendered, lost +his life in a generous attempt to protect him[25]. Hardly does our +history present another enterprise, so well planned, so happily +commenced, and so strangely disconcerted. To the licence of the +marchmen the failure was attributed; but the same cause ensured a safe +retreat.--_Spottiswoode, Godscroft, Robertson, Melville_. + +[Footnote 24: This building still remains, in the unfinished state +which it then presented.] + +[Footnote 25: Birrel says, that "the regent was shot by an +unhappy fellow, while sitting on horseback behind the laird of +Buccleuch."--The following curious account of the whole transaction is +extracted from a journal of principal events, in the years 1570, 1571, +1572, and part of 1573, kept by Richard Bannatyne, amanuensis to John +Knox. The fourt of September, they of Edinburgh, horsemen and futmen +(and, as was reported, the most part of Clidisdaill, that perteinit to +the Hamiltons), come to Striveling, the number of iii or iiii c men, +in hors bak, guydit be ane George Bell, their hacbutteris being all +horsed, enterit in Striveling, be fyve houris in the morning (whair +thair was never one to mak watche), crying this slogane, 'God and +the quene! ane Hamiltoun think on the bishop of St. Androis, all +is owres;' and so a certaine come to everie grit manis ludgene, and +apprehendit the Lordis Mortoun and Glencarne; but Mortounis hous they +set on fyre, wha randerit him to the laird of Balcleuch. Wormestoun +being appointed to the regentes hous, desyred him to cum furth, which +he had no will to doe, yet, be perswasione of Garleys and otheris, +with him, tho't it best to come in will, nor to byde the extremitie, +becaus they supposed there was no resistance, and swa the regent come +furth, and was randered to Wormestoun, under promeis to save his lyfe. +Captane Crawfurde, being in the town, gat sum men out of the castell, +and uther gentlemen being in the town, come as they my't best to the +geat, chased them out of the town. The regent was schot be ane Captain +Cader, wha confessed, that he did it at comande of George Bell, wha +was comandit so to doe be the Lord Huntlie and Claud Hamilton. Some +sayis, that Wormestoun was schot by the same schot that slew the +regent, but alwayis he was slane, notwithstanding the regent cryed to +save him, but it culd not be, the furie was so grit of the presewaris, +who, following so fast, the lord of Mortone said to Balcleuch, 'I sall +save you as ye savit me,' and so he was tane. Garleys, and sindrie +otheris, war slane at the port, in the persute of thame. Thair war ten +or twelve gentlemen slane of the kingis folk, and als mony of theiris, +or mea, as was said, and a dosone or xvi tane. Twa especiall servantis +of the Lord Argyle's were slane also. This Cader, that schot the +regent, was once turned bak off the toune, and was send again (as is +said), be the Lord Huntlie, to cause Wormistoun retire; but, before he +come agane, he was dispatched, and had gottin deidis woundis. + +The regent being schot (as said is), was brought to the castell, whair +he callit for ane phisitione, one for his soule, ane uther for +his bodie. But all hope of life was past, for he was schot in his +entreallis; and swa, after sumthingis spokin to the lordis, which I +know not, he departed, in the feare of God, and made a blessed end; +whilk the rest of the lordis, that tho't thame to his hiert, and lytle +reguardit him, shall not mak so blised ane end, unles they mend thair +maneris. + +This curious manuscript has been lately published, under the +inspection of John Graham Dalyell, Esq.] + +The wily Earl of Morton, who, after the short intervening regency +of Mar, succeeded to the supreme authority, contrived, by force or +artifice, to render the party of the king every where superior. Even +on the middle borders, he had the address to engage in his cause +the powerful, though savage and licentious, clans of Rutherford and +Turnbull, as well as the citizens of Jedburgh. He was thus enabled +to counterpoise his powerful opponents, Buccleuch and Fairnihirst, +in their own country; and, after an unsuccessful attempt to surprise +Jedburgh even these warm adherents of Mary relinquished her cause in +despair. + +While Morton swayed the state, his attachment to Elizabeth, and the +humiliation which many of the border chiefs had undergone, contributed +to maintain good order on the marches, till James VI. himself assumed +the reigns of government.--The intervening skirmish of the Reidswire +(see the ballad under that title) was but a sudden explosion of the +rivalry and suppressed hatred of the borderers of both kingdoms. In +truth, the stern rule of Morton, and of his delegates, men unconnected +with the borders by birth, maintained in that country more strict +discipline than had ever been there exercised. Perhaps this hastened +his fall. + +The unpopularity of Morton, acquired partly by the strict +administration of justice, and partly by avarice and severity, forced +him from the regency. In 1578, he retired, apparently, from state +affairs, to his castle of Dalkeith; which the populace, emphatically +expressing their awe and dread of his person, termed the _Lion's Den_. +But Morton could not live in retirement; and, early in the same year, +the aged lion again rushed from his cavern. By a mixture of policy and +violence, he possessed himself of the fortress of Stirling, and of +the person of James. His nephew, Angus, hastened to his assistance. +Against him appeared his follower Cessford, with many of the Homes, +and the citizens of Edinburgh. Alluding to the restraint of the king's +person, they bore his effigy on their banners, with a rude rhyme, +demanding liberty or death.--_Birrel's Diary, ad annum_, 1578. The +Earl of Morton marched against his foes as far as Falkirk, and a +desperate action must have ensued, but for the persuasions of Bowes, +the English ambassador. The only blood, then spilt, was in a duel +betwixt Tait, a follower of Cessford, and Johnstone, a west border +man, attending upon Angus. They fought with lances, and on horseback, +according to the fashion of the borders.--The former was unhorsed and +slain, the latter desperately wounded.--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. p. 261. +The prudence of the late regent appears to have abandoned him, when he +was decoyed into a treaty upon this occasion. It was not long before +Morton the veteran warrior, and the crafty statesman, was forced bend +his neck to an engine of death[26], the use of which he himself had +introduced into Scotland. + +[Footnote 26: A rude sort of guillotine, called the _maiden_. +The implement is now in possession of the Society of Scottish +Antiquaries.] + +Released from the thraldom of Morton, the king, with more than +youthful levity, threw his supreme power into the hands of Lennox and +Arran. The religion of the first, and the infamous character of the +second favourite, excited the hatred of the commons, while their +exclusive and engrossing power awakened the jealousy of the other +nobles. James, doomed to be the sport of contending factions was +seized at Stirling by the nobles, confederated in what was termed the +Raid of Ruthven. But the conspirators soon suffered their prize to +escape, and were rewarded for their enterprize by exile or death. + +In 1585, an affray took place at a border meeting in which Lord +Russel, the Earl of Bedford's eldest son, chanced to be slain. Queen +Elizabeth imputed the guilt of this slaughter to Thomas Kerr of +Fairnihirst, instigated by Arran. Upon the imperious demand of the +English ambassador, both were committed to prison; but the minion, +Arran, was soon restored to liberty and favour; while Fairnihirst, the +dread of the English borderers and the gallant defender of Queen Mary, +died in his confinement, of a broken heart.--_Spottiswoode_ p. 341. + +The tyranny of Arran becoming daily more insupportable the exiled +lords, joined by Maxwell, Home, Bothwell, and other border chieftains, +seized the town of Stirling, which was pillaged by their disorderly +followers, invested the castle, which surrendered at discretion, and +drove the favourite from the king's council[27]. + +[Footnote 27: The associated nobles seem to have owed their success +chiefly to the border spearmen; for, though they had a band of +mercenaries, who used fire arms, yet they were such bad masters of +their craft, their captain was heard to observe, "that those, who knew +his soldiers as well as he did, would hardly chuse to _march before +them_."--_Godscroft_, v. ii. p. 368.] + +The king, perceiving the Earl of Bothwell among the armed barons, +to whom he surrendered his person addressed him in these prophetic +words:-- "Francis, Francis, what moved thee to come in arms against +thy prince, who never wronged thee? I wish thee a more quiet spirit, +else I foresee thy destruction."--_Spottiswoode_, p. 343. + +In fact, the extraordinary enterprizes of this nobleman disturbed the +next ten years of James's reign. Francis Stuart, son to a bastard of +James V., had been invested with the titles and estates belonging +to his maternal uncle, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, upon the +forfeiture of that infamous man; and consequently became lord of +Liddesdale, and of the castle of Hermitage.--This acquisition of power +upon the borders, where he could easily levy followers, willing to +undertake the most desperate enterprize, joined to the man's native +daring and violent spirit, rendered Bothwell the most turbulent +insurgent, that ever disturbed the tranquillity of a kingdom. During +the king's absence in Denmark, Bothwell, swayed by the superstition of +his age, had tampered with certain soothsayers and witches, by whose +pretended art he hoped to atchieve the death of his monarch. In one +of the courts of inquisition, which James delighted to hold upon the +professors of the occult sciences, some of his cousin's proceedings +were brought to light, for which he was put in ward in the castle of +Edinburgh. Burning with revenge, he broke from his confinement, +and lurked for some time upon the borders, where he hoped for the +countenance of his son-in-law, Buccleuch. Undeterred by the absence +of that chief, who, in obedience to the royal command, had prudently +retired to France, Bothwell attempted the desperate enterprize of +seizing the person of the king, while residing in his metropolis. At +the dead of night, followed by a band of borderers, he occupied the +court of the palace of Holyrood, and began to burst open the doors +of the royal apartments. The nobility, distrustful of each other, and +ignorant of the extent of the conspiracy, only endeavoured to +make good the defence of their separate lodgings; but darkness and +confusion prevented the assailants from profiting by their disunion. +Melville, who was present, gives a lively picture of the scene of +disorder, transiently illuminated by the glare of passing torches; +while the report of fire arms, the clatter of armour, the din of +hammers thundering on the gates, mingled wildly with the war-cry of +the borderers, who shouted incessantly, "Justice! Justice! A Bothwell! +A Bothwell!" The citizens of Edinburgh at length began to assemble for +the defence of their sovereign; and Bothwell was compelled to retreat, +which he did without considerable loss.--_Melville_, p. 356. A similar +attempt on the person of James, while residing at Faulkland, also +misgave; but the credit which Bothwell obtained on the borders, by +these bold and desperate enterprizes, was incredible "All Tiviotdale," +says Spottiswoode, "ran after him;" so that he finally obtained +his object; and, at Edinburgh, in 1593, he stood before James, an +unexpected apparition, with his naked sword in his hand. "Strike!" +said James, with royal dignity--"Strike, and end thy work! I will not +survive my dishonour." But Bothwell with unexpected moderation, only +stipulated for remission of his forfeiture, and did not even insist +on remaining at court, whence his party was shortly expelled, by +the return of the Lord Home, and his other enemies. Incensed at this +reverse, Bothwell levied a body of four hundred cavalry, and +attacked the king's guard in broad day, upon the Borough Moor, near +Edinburgh.--The ready succour of the citizens saved James from falling +once more into the hands of his turbulent subject[28]. On a subsequent +day, Bothwell met the laird of Cessford, riding near Edinburgh, with +whom he fought a single combat, which lasted for two hours[29]. But +his credit was now fallen; he retreated to England, whence he was +driven by Elizabeth, and then wandered to Spain and Italy, where he +subsisted, in indigence and obscurity, on the bread which he earned by +apostatizing to the faith of Rome. So fell this agitator of domestic +broils, whose name passed into a proverb, denoting a powerful and +turbulent demagogue[30]. + +[Footnote 28: Spottiswoode says, the king awaited this charge with +firmness; but Birrell avers, that he fled upon the gallop. The same +author, instead of the firm deportment of James, when seized by +Bothwell, describes "the king's majestie as flying down the back +stair, with his breeches in his hand, in great fear."--_Birrell, apud +Dalyell_, p. 30. Such is the difference betwixt the narrative of +the courtly archbishop, and that of the presbyterian burgess of +Edinburgh.] + +[Footnote 29: This rencounter took place at Humbie, in East Lothian. +Bothwell was attended by a servant, called Gibson, and Cessford by one +of the Rutherfords, who was hurt in the cheek. The combatant parted +from pure fatigue.] + +[Footnote 30: Sir Walter Raleigh, in writing of Essex, then in prison, +says, "Let the queen hold _Bothwell_ while she hath him."--_Murdin_, +Vol. II. p. 812. It appears, from _Crichton's Memoirs_, that +Bothwell's grandson, though so nearly related to the royal family, +actually rode a private in the Scottish horse guards, in the reign of +Charles II.--_Edinburgh_, 1731, p. 43.] + +While these scenes were passing in the metropolis the borders were +furiously agitated by civil discord. The families of Cessford and +Fairnihirst disputed their right to the wardenry of the middle +marches, and to the provostry of Jedburgh; and William Kerr of Ancram, +a follower of the latter, was murdered by the young chief of Cessford, +at the instigation of his mother.--_Spottiswoode_, p. 383. But +this was trifling, compared to the civil war, waged on the western +frontier, between the Johnstones and Maxwells, of which there is +a minute account in the introduction to the ballad, entitled, +"_Maxwell's Goodnight_." Prefixed to that termed "_Kinmont Willie_" +the reader will find an account of the last warden raids performed +upon the border. + +My sketch of border history now draws to a close. The accession of +James to the English crown converted the extremity into the centre of +his kingdom. + +The east marches of Scotland were, at this momentous period, in a +state of comparative civilization. The rich soil of Berwickshire soon +invited the inhabitants to the arts of agriculture.--Even in the days +of Lesley, the nobles and barons of the Merse differed in manners +from the other borderers, administered justice with regularity, and +abstained from plunder and depredation.--_De moribus Scotorum_, p. +7. But, on the middle and western marches, the inhabitants were +unrestrained moss-troopers and cattle drivers, knowing no measure of +law, says Camden, but the length of their swords. The sterility of +the mountainous country, which they inhabited, offered little +encouragement to industry; and, for the long series of centuries, +which we have hastily reviewed, the hands of rapine were never there +folded in inactivity, nor the sword of violence returned to the +scabbard. Various proclamations were in vain issued for interdicting +the use of horses and arms upon the west border of England and +Scotland[31]. + +[Footnote 31: "Proclamation shall be made, that all inhabiting within +Tynedale and Riddesdale, in Northumberland, Bewcastledale, Willgavey, +the north part of Gilsland, Esk, and Leven, in Cumberland; east +and west Tividale, Liddesdale, Eskdale, Ewsdale, and Annesdale, in +Scotland (saving noblemen Footnote: and gentlemen unsuspected of +felony and theft, and not being of broken clans, and their household +servants, dwelling within those several places, before recited), shall +put away all armour and weapons, as well offensive as defensive, +as jacks, spears, lances, swords, daggers, steel-caps, hack-buts, +pistols, plate sleeves, and such like; and shall not keep any horse, +gelding, or mare, above the value of fifty shillings sterling, +or thirty pounds Scots, upon the like paid of +imprisonment."--_Proceedings of the Border Commissioners_, +1505.--_Introduction to History of Cumberland_, p. 127.] + +The evil was found to require the radical cure of extirpation. +Buccleuch collected under his banners the most desperate of the border +warriors, of whom he formed a legion, for the service of the states of +Holland; who had as much reason to rejoice on their arrival upon the +continent, as Britain to congratulate herself upon their departure. It +may be presumed, that few of this corps ever returned to their native +country. The clan of Graeme, a hardy and ferocious set of freebooters +inhabiting chiefly the Debateable Land, by a very summary exertion +of authority, was transported to Ireland, and their return prohibited +under pain of death. Against other offenders, measures, equally +arbitrary, were without hesitation pursued. Numbers of border riders +were executed, without even the formality of a trial; and it is even +said, that, in mockery of justice, assizes were held upon them after +they had suffered. For these acts of tyranny, see _Johnston_, p. 374, +414, 39, 93. The memory of Dunbar's legal proceedings at Jedburgh, +are preserved in the proverbial phrase, _Jeddart Justice_, which +signifies, trial after execution. By this rigour though sternly and +unconscientiously exercised the border marauders were, in the course +of years, either reclaimed or exterminated; though nearly a century +elapsed ere their manners were altogether assimilated to those of +their countrymen[32]. + +[Footnote 32: See the acts 18 Cha. II. 6.3. and 80 Cha. II. ch. 2. +against the border moss-troopers; to which we may add the following +curious extracts from _Mercurius Politicus_, a newspaper, published +during the usurpation. + +"_Thursday, November 11, 1662_. + +"Edinburgh.--The Scotts and moss-troopers have again revived their +old custom, of robbing and murdering the English, whether soldiers or +other, upon all opportunities, within these three weeks. We have had +notice of several robberies and murders, committed by them. Among +the rest, a lieutenant, and one other of Col. Overton's regiment, +returning from England, were robbed not far from Dunbarr. A +lieutenant, lately master of the customs at Kirkcudbright, was killed +about twenty miles from this place; and four foot soldiers of Colonel +Overton's were killed, going to their quarters, by some mossers, who, +after they had given them quarter, tied their hands behind them, and +then threw them down a steep hill, or rock, as it was related by a +Scotchman, who was with them, but escaped." + +_Ibidem.--"October_ 13, 1663.--The Parliament, October 21, past an +act, declaring, any person that shall discover any felon, or felons +(commonly called, or known, by the name of moss-troopers), residing +upon the borders of England and Scotland, shall have a reward of ten +pound upon their conviction."] + +In these hasty sketches of border history, I have endeavoured to +select, such incidents, as may introduce to the reader the character +of the marchmen, more briefly and better than a formal essay upon +their manners. If I have been successful in the attempt, he is already +acquainted with the mixture of courage and rapacity by which they were +distinguished; and has reviewed some of the scenes in which they acted +a principal part. It is, therefore only necessary to notice, more +minutely, some of their peculiar customs and modes of life. + +Their morality was of a singular kind. The ranpine, by which they +subsisted, they accounted lawful and honourable. Ever liable to lose +their whole substance, by an incursion of the English, on a sudden +breach of truce, they cared little to waste their time in cultivating +crops, to be reaped by their foes. Their cattle was, therefore, +their chief property; and these were nightly exposed to the southern +borderers, as rapacious and active as themselves. Hence, robbery +assumed the appearance of fair reprisal. The fatal privilege of +pursuing the marauders into their own country, for recovery of stolen +goods, led to continual skirmishes The warden also, himself frequently +the chieftain of a border horde, when redress was not instantly +granted by the opposite officer, for depredations sustained by his +district, was entitled to retaliate upon England by a warden raid. +In such cases, the moss-troopers, who crowded to his standard, found +themselves pursuing their craft under legal authority, and became the +favourites and followers of the military magistrate, whose duty it +was to have checked and suppressed them. See the curious history of +_Geordie Bourne, App. No. II_. Equally unable and unwilling to make +nice distinctions, they were not to be convinced, that what was to-day +fair booty, was to-morrow a subject of theft. National animosity +usually gave an additional stimulus to their rapacity; although it +must be owned, that their depredations extended also to the more +cultivated parts of their own country[33]. + +[Footnote 33: The armorial bearings, adopted by many of the border +tribes, shew how little they were ashamed of their trade of rapine. +Like _Falstaff_, they were "Gentlemen of the night, minions of +the moon," under whose countenance they committed their +depredations.--Hence, the emblematic moons and stars, so frequently +charged in the arms of border families. Their mottoes, also, bear +allusion to their profession.--"_Reparabit cornua Phaebe_," i.e. +"We'll have moon-light again," is that of the family of Harden. "Ye +shall want, ere I want," that of Cranstoun, &c.] + +Satchells, who lived when the old border ideas of _meum_ and _tuum_ +were still in some force, endeavours to draw a very nice distinction +betwixt a freebooter and a thief; and thus sings he of the Armstrongs: + + On that border was the Armstrongs, able men; + Somewhat unruly, and very ill to tame. + I would have none think that I call them thieves, + For, if I did, it would be arrant lies. + + Near a border frontier, in the time of war, + There's ne'er a man but he's a freebooter. + + * * * * * + + Because to all men it may appear, + The freebooter he is a volunteer; + In the muster rolls he has no desire to stay; + He lives by purchase, he gets no pay. + + * * * * * + + It's most clear a freebooter doth live in hazard's train; + A freebooter's a cavalier that ventures life for gain: + But, since King James the Sixth to England went, + Ther has been no cause of grief; + And he that hath transgress'd since then, + Is no _Freebooter_, but a _Thief_. + + _History of the name of Scott_. + +The inhabitants of the inland counties did not understand these subtle +distinctions. Sir David Lindsay, in the curious drama, published by +Mr Pinkerton, introduces, as one of his _dramatis personae, Common +Thift_, a borderer, who is supposed to come to Fife to steal the Earl +of Rothes' best hackney, and Lord Lindsay's brown jennet. _Oppression_ +also (another personage there introduced), seems to be connected with +the borders; for, finding himself in danger, he exclaims,-- + + War God that I were sound and haill, + Now liftit into Liddesdail; + The Mers sowld fynd me beiff and caill, + What rack of breid? + + War I thair lyftit with my lyfe, + The devill sowld styk me with a knyffe, + An' ever I cum agane in Fyfe, + Till I were deid.-- + +_Pinkerton's Scotish Poems_, Vol. II p. 180. + +Again, when _Common Thift_ is brought to condign punishment, he +remembers his border friends in his dying speech: + + The widdefow wardanis tuik my geir, + And left me nowthir horse nor meir, + Nor erdly gud that me belangit; + Now, walloway! I mon be hangit. + + * * * * * + + Adew! my bruthir Annan thieves, + That holpit me in my mischevis: + Adew! Grossars, Niksonis, and Bells, + Oft have we fairne owthreuch the fells: + Adew! Robsons, Howis, and Pylis, + That in our craft hes mony wilis: + Littlis, Trumbells, and Armestranges; + Adew! all theeves, that me belangis; + Baileowes, Erewynis, and Elwandis, + Speedy of flicht, and slicht of handis: + The Scotts of Eisdale, and the Gramis, + I half na time to tell your namis. + +_Ib_. p. 156. + + When _Common Thift_ is executed (which is performed + upon the stage), _Falset_ (Falsehood), who is + also brought forth for punishment, pronounces + over him the following eulogy: + + Waes me for thee, gude Common Thift! + Was never man made more honest chift, + His living for to win: + Thair wes not, in all Liddesdail, + That ky mair craftelly could steil, + Whar thou hingis on that pin! + +_Ib_. p. 194. + +Sir Richard Maitland, incensed at the boldness and impunity of +the thieves of Liddesdale in his time, has attacked them with keen +iambicks. His satire, which, I suppose, had very little effect at the +time, forms No. III, of the appendix to this introduction. + +The borderers had, in fact, little reason to regard the inland Scots +as their fellow subjects, or to respect the power of the crown. +They were frequently resigned, by express compact, to the bloody +retaliation of the English, without experiencing any assistance from +their prince, and his more immediate subjects. If they beheld him, it +was more frequently in the character of an avenging judge, than of a +protecting sovereign. They were, in truth, during the time of peace, +a kind of outcasts, against whom the united powers of England and +Scotland were often employed. Hence, the men of the borders had little +attachment to the monarchs, whom they termed, in derision, the kings +of Fife and Lothian; provinces which they were not legally entitled +to inhabit[34], and which, therefore, they pillaged with as little +remorse as if they had belonged to a foreign country. This strange, +precarious, and adventurous mode of life, led by the borderers, was +not without its pleasures, and seems, in all probability, hardly so +disagreeable to us, as the monotony of regulated society must have +been to those, who had been long accustomed to a state of rapine. Well +has it been remarked, by the eloquent Burke, that the shifting tides +of fear and hope, the flight and pursuit, the peril and escape, +alternate famine and feast, of the savage and the robber, after a time +render all course of slow, steady, progressive, unvaried occupation +and the prospect only of a limited mediocrity at the end of long +labour, to the last degree tame, languid, and insipid. The interesting +nature of their exploits may be conceived from the account of Camden. + +[Footnote 34: By act 1587, c. 96, borderers are expelled from the +inland counties, unless they can find security for their quiet +deportment.] + +"What manner of cattle stealers they are, that inhabit these valleys +in the marches of both kingdoms, John Lesley, a Scotchman himself, and +bishop of Ross, will inform you. They sally out of their own borders, +in the night, in troops, through unfrequented bye-ways, and many +intricate windings. All the day-time, they refresh themselves and +their horses in lurking holes they had pitched upon before, till they +arrive in the dark at those places they have a design upon. As soon as +they have seized upon the booty, they, in like manner, return home in +the night, through blind ways, and fetching many a compass. The more +skilful any captain is to pass through those wild deserts, crooked +turnings, and deep precipices, in the thickest mists and darkness, +his reputation is the greater, and he is looked upon as a man of an +excellent head.--And they are so very cunning, that they seldom have +their booty taken from them, unless sometimes, when, by the help of +blood-hounds following them exactly upon the tract, they may chance to +fall into the hands of their adversaries. When being taken, they have +so much persuasive eloquence, and so many smooth insinuating words at +command, that if they do not move their judges, nay, and even their +adversaries (notwithstanding the severity of their natures), to have +mercy, yet they incite them to admiration and compassion."--_Camden's +Britannia._ The reader is requested to compare this curious account, +given by Lesley, with the ballad, called _Hobble Noble_[35]. + +[Footnote 35: The following tradition is also illustrative of Lesley's +account. Veitch of Dawyk, a man of great strength and bravery who +flourished in the 16th century, was upon bad terms with a neighbouring +proprietor, Tweedie of Drummelziar. By some accident, a flock of +Dawyk's sheep had strayed over into Drummelziar's grounds, at the time +when _Dickie of the Den_, a Liddesdale outlaw, was making his rounds +in Tweeddale. Seeing this flock of sheep; he drove them off without +ceremony. Next morning, Veitch, perceiving his loss, summoned his +servants and retainers, laid a blood-hound upon the traces of the +robber, by whom they were guided for many miles, till, on the banks of +Liddel, he staid upon a very large hay-stack. The pursuers were a good +deal surprised at the obstinate pause of the blood-hound, till Dawyk +pulled down some of the hay, and discovered a large excavation, +containing the robbers and their spoil. He instantly flew upon Dickie, +and was about to poniard him, when the marauder, with the address +noticed by Lesley, protested that he would never have touched a +_cloot_ (hoof) of them, had he not taken them for Drummelziar's +property. This dexterous appeal to Veitch's passions saved the life of +the freebooter.] + +The inroads of the marchers, when stimulated only by the desire +of plunder, were never marked with cruelty, and seldom even with +bloodshed, unless in the case of opposition. They held, that property +was common to all who stood in want of it; but they abhorred and +avoided the crime of unnecessary homicide.--_Lesley_, p. 63. This was, +perhaps, partly owing to the habits of intimacy betwixt the borderers +of both kingdoms, notwithstanding their mutual hostility, and +reciprocal depredations. A natural intercourse took place between +the English and Scottish marchers, at border meetings, and during the +short intervals of peace. They met frequently at parties of the chace +and foot-ball; and it required many and strict regulations, on +both sides, to prevent them from forming intermarriages, and from +cultivating too close a degree of intimacy.--_Scottish Acts_, 1587, +c. 105; _Wharton's Regulations, 6th Edward VI._ The custom, also, of +paying black-mail, or protection-rent, introduced a connection betwixt +the countries; for, a Scottish borderer, taking black-mail from +an English inhabitant, was not only himself bound to abstain from +injuring such person, but also to maintain his quarrel, and recover +his property, if carried off by others. Hence, an union arose betwixt +the parties, founded upon mutual interest, which counteracted, in many +instances, the effects of national prejudice. The similarity of +their manners may be inferred from that of their language. In an +old mystery, imprinted at London, 1654, a mendicant borderer is +introduced, soliciting alms of a citizen and his wife. To a question +of the latter he replies, "Savying your honour, good maistress, I +was born in Redesdale, in Northomberlande, and come of a wight riding +sirname, call'd the Robsons: gude honeste men, and true, savyng a +little shiftynge for theyr livyng; God help them, silly pure men." The +wife answers, "What doest thou here, in this countrie? me thinke thou +art a Scot by thy tongue." _Beggar_--"Trowe me never mair then, good +deam; I had rather be hanged in a withie of a cow-taile, for thei are +ever fare and fase."--_Appendix to Johnstone's Sad Shepherd_, 1783. p. +188. From the wife's observation, as well as from the dialect of the +beggar, we may infer, that there was little difference between the +Northumbrian and the border Scottish; a circumstance interesting in +itself, and decisive of the occasional friendly intercourse among the +marchmen. From all those combining circumstances arose the lenity of +the borderers in their incursions and the equivocal moderation which +they sometimes observed towards each other, in open war[36]. + +[Footnote 36: This practice of the marchmen was observed and +reprobated by Patten. "Anoother maner have they (_the English +borderers_) amoong them, of wearyng handkerchers roll'd about their +armes, and letters brouder'd (_embroidered_) upon their cappes: they +said themselves, the use thearof was that ech of them might knowe +his fellowe, and thearbye the sooner assemble, or in nede to ayd one +another, and such lyke respectes; howbeit, thear wear of the army +amoong us (sum suspicious men perchaunce), that thought thei used them +for collusion, and rather bycaus thei might be knowen to the enemie, +as the enemies are knowen to them (for thei have their markes too), +and so in conflict either ech to spare oother, or gently eche to take +oother. Indede men have been mooved the rather to thinke so, bycaus +sum of their crosses (_the English red cross_) were so narrowe, and +so singly set on, that a puff of wynde might blowed them from their +breastes, and that thei wear found right often talking with the +Skottish prikkers within less than their gad's (_spears_) length +asunder; and when thei perceived thei had been espied, thei have begun +one to run at anoother, but so apparently perlassent (_in parley_), as +the lookers on resembled their chasyng lyke the running at base in an +uplondish toun, whear the match is made for a quart of good ale, +or like the play in Robin Cookes scole (_a fencing school_), whear, +bycaus the punies may lerne, thei strike fewe strokes but by assent +and appointment. I hard sum men say, it did mooch augment their +suspicion that wey, bycaus at the battail they sawe these prikkers so +badly demean them, more intending the taking of prisoners, than the +surety of victorye; for while oother men fought, thei fell to their +prey; that as thear wear but fewe of them but brought home his +prisoner, so wear thear many that had six or seven."--_Patten's +Account of Somerset's Expedition, apud Dalyell's Fragments_, p. 76. + +It is singular that, about this very period, the same circumstances +are severely animadverted upon by the strenuous Scottishman, who wrote +the _Complaynt of Scotland_, as well as by the English author above +quoted. "There is nothing that is occasione of your adhering to +the opinion of Ingland contrair your natife cuntré, bot the grit +familiarite that Inglis men and Scottes hes had on baitht the +boirdours, ilk are witht utheris, in merchandeis, in selling and +buying hors and nolt, and scheip, outfang and infang, ilk are amang +utheris, the whilk familiarite is express contrar the lauis and +consuetudis bayth of Ingland and Scotland. In auld tymis it was +determit in the artiklis of the pace, be the twa wardanis of the +boirdours of Ingland and Scotland, that there suld be na familiarite +betwix Scottis men and Inglis men, nor marriage to be contrakit betwix +them, nor conventions on holydais at gammis and plays, nor merchandres +to be maid amang them, nor Scottis men till enter on Inglis grond, +witht out the king of Ingland's save conduct, nor Inglis men til +enter on Scottis grond witht out the King of Scotland's save conduct, +howbeit that ther war sure pace betwix the twa realmes. Bot thir sevyn +yeir bygane, thai statutis and artiklis of the pace are adnullit, +for ther hes been as grit familiarite, and conventions, and makyng of +merchandreis, on the boirdours, this lang tyme betwix Inglis men and +Scottis men, baytht in pace and weir, as Scottismen usis amang theme +selfis witht in the realme of Scotland: and sic familiarite has bene +the cause that the kyng of Ingland gat intelligence witht divers +gentlemen of Scotland." + +_Complaynt of Scotland_, _Edin_. 1801, p. 164.] + +This humanity and moderation was, on certain occasions, entirely laid +aside by the borderers. In the case of deadly feud, either against an +Englishman, or against any neighbouring tribe, the whole force of the +offended clan was bent to avenge the death of any of their number. +Their vengeance not only vented itself upon the homicide and his +family, but upon all his kindred, on his whole tribe; on every one, in +fine, whose death or ruin could affect him with regret.--_Lesley_, p. +63; _Border Laws_, _passim_; _Scottish Acts_, 1594, c. 231. The +reader will find, in the following collection, many allusions to +this infernal custom, which always overcame the marcher's general +reluctance to shed human, blood, and rendered him remorselessly +savage. + +For fidelity to their word, Lesley ascribes high praise to the +inhabitants of the Scottish frontier. When an instance happened to +the contrary, the injured person, at the first border meeting, rode +through the field, displaying a glove (the pledge of faith) upon the +point of his lance, and proclaiming the perfidy of the person, who had +broken his word. So great was the indignation of the assembly against +the perjured criminal, that he was often slain by his own clan, to +wipe out the disgrace he had brought on them. In the same spirit +of confidence, it was not unusual to behold the victors, after an +engagement, dismiss their prisoners upon parole, who never failed +either to transmit the stipulated ransom, or to surrender themselves +to bondage, if unable to do so. But the virtues of a barbarous +people, being founded not upon moral principle, but upon the dreams of +superstition, or the capricious dictates of antient custom, can seldom +be uniformly relied on. We must not, therefore, be surprised to find +these very men, so true to their word in general, using, upon other +occasions, various resources of cunning and chicane, against which the +border laws were in vain directed. + +The immediate rulers of the borders were the chiefs of the different +clans, who exercised over their respective septs a dominion, partly +patriarchal, and partly feudal. The latter bond of adherence was, +however, the more slender; for, in the acts regulating the borders, +we find repeated mention of "Clannes having captaines and chieftaines, +whom on they depend, oft-times against the willes of their +landeslordes."--_Stat._ 1587, c. 95, _and the Roll thereto annexed_. +Of course, these laws looked less to the feudal superior, than to the +chieftain of the name, for the restraint of the disorderly tribes; and +it is repeatedly enacted, that the head of the clan should be first +called upon to deliver those of his sept, who should commit any +trespass, and that, on his failure to do so, he should be liable to +the injured party in full redress. _Ibidem_, and _Stat._ 1594, c. 231. +By the same statutes, the chieftains and landlords, presiding over +border clans, were obliged to find caution, and to grant hostages, +that they would subject themselves to the due course of law. Such +clans, as had no chieftain of sufficient note to enter bail for their +quiet conduct, became broken men, outlawed to both nations. + +From these enactments, the power of the border chieftains may be +conceived; for it had been hard and useless to have punished them +for the trespasses of their tribes, unless they possessed over them +unlimited authority. The abode of these petty princes by no means +corresponded to the extent of their power. We do not find, on the +Scottish borders, the splendid and extensive baronial castles, which +graced and defended the opposite frontier. The gothic grandeur of +Alnwick, of Raby, and of Naworth, marks the wealthier and more secure +state of the English nobles. The Scottish chieftain, however extensive +his domains, derived no advantage, save from such parts as he could +himself cultivate or occupy. Payment of rent was hardly known on the +borders, till after the union[37]. All that the landlord could gain, +from those residing upon his estate, was their personal service in +battle, their assistance in labouring the land retained in his natural +possession, some petty quit-rents, of a nature resembling the feudal +casualties, and perhaps a share in the spoil which they acquired by +rapine[38]. This, with his herds of cattle and of sheep, and with the +_black mail_, which he exacted from his neighbours, constituted the +revenue of the chieftain; and, from funds so precarious, he could +rarely spare sums to expend in strengthening or decorating his +habitation. Another reason is found in the Scottish mode of warfare. +It was early discovered, that the English surpassed their neighbours +in the arts of assaulting or defending fortified places. The policy of +the Scottish, therefore, deterred them from erecting upon the borders +buildings of such extent and strength, as, being once taken by the +foe, would have been capable of receiving a permanent garrison[39]. To +themselves, the woods and hills of their country were pointed out, +by the great Bruce, as their safest bulwarks; and the maxim of the +Douglasses, that "it was better to hear the lark sing, than the mouse +cheep," was adopted by every border chief. For these combined +reasons, the residence of the chieftain was commonly a large square +battlemented[40] tower, called a _keep_, or _peel_; placed on a +precipice, or on the banks of a torrent, and, if the ground would +permit, surrounded by a moat. In short, the situation of a border +house, surrounded by woods, and rendered almost inaccessible by +torrents, by rocks, or by morasses, sufficiently indicated the +pursuits and apprehensions of its inhabitant.--"_Locus horroris +et vastae solitudinis, aptus ad praedam, habilis ad rapinam, +habitatoribus suis lapis erat offensiones et petra scandali, utpote +qui stipendiis suis minime contenti totum de alieno parum de suo +possidebant--totius provinciae spolium_." No wonder, therefore, that +James V., on approaching the castle of Lochwood, the antient seat of +the Johnstones, is said to have exclaimed, "that he who built it +must have been a knave in his heart." An outer wall, with some slight +fortifications, served as a protection for the cattle at night. The +walls of these fortresses were of an immense thickness, and they could +easily be defended against any small force; more especially, as, the +rooms being vaulted, each story formed a separate lodgement, capable +of being held out for a considerable time. On such occasions, the +usual mode, adopted by the assailants, was to expel the defenders, +by setting fire to wet straw in the lower apartments. But the border +chieftains seldom chose to abide in person a siege of this nature; and +I have not observed a single instance of a distinguished baron made +prisoner in his own house[41].--_Patten's Expedition_, p. 35. The +common people resided in paltry huts, about the safety of which +they were little anxious, as they contained nothing of value. On the +approach of a superior force, they unthatched them, to prevent +their being burned, and then abandoned them to the foe.--_Stowe's +Chronicle_, p. 665. Their only treasures were, a fleet and active +horse, with the ornaments which their rapine had procured for the +females of their family, of whose gay appearance the borderers were +vain. + +[Footnote 37: Stowe, in detailing the happy consequences of the union +of the crowns, observes, "that the northerne borders became as safe, +and peaceable, as any part of the entire kingdome, so as in the fourth +yeare of the king's raigne, as well gentlemen as others, inhabiting +the places aforesayde, finding the auncient wast ground to be very +good and fruitefull, began to contende in lawe about their bounds, +challenging then, that for their hereditarie right, which formerly +they disavowed, only to avoyde charge of common defence."] + +[Footnote 38: "As for the humours of the people (_i.e._ of +Tiviotdale), they were both strong and warlike, as being inured to +war, and daily incursions, and the most part of the heritors of +the country gave out all their lands to their tenants, for military +attendance upon rentals, and reserved only some few manses for their +own sustenance, which were laboured by their tenants, besides their +service. They paid an entry, a herauld, and a small rental-duty; for +there were no rents raised here that were considerable, till King +James went into England; yea, all along the border."--_Account of +Roxburghshire, by Sir William Scott of Harden, and Kerr of Sunlaws, +apud Macfarlane's MSS._] + +[Footnote 39: The royal castles of Roxburgh, Hermitage, Lochmaben, +&c. form a class of exceptions to this rule, being extensive and well +fortified. Perhaps we ought also to except the baronial castle +of Home. Yet, in 1455, the following petty garrisons were thought +sufficient for the protection of the border; two hundred spearmen, +and as many archers, upon the east and middle marches; and one hundred +spears, with a like number of bowmen, upon the western marches. +But then the same statute provides, "They that are neare hand the +bordoure, are ordained to have gud househaldes, and abuilzed men as +effeiris: and to be reddie at their principal place, and to pass, with +the wardanes, quhen and quhair they sail be charged."--_Acts of James +II._, cap. 55, _Of garisonnes to be laid upon the borderes_.--Hence +Buchanan has justly described, as an attribute of the Scottish nation, + + "_Nec fossis, nee muris, patriam sed Marte tueri_." + +[Footnote 40: I have observed a difference in architecture betwixt the +English and Scottish towers. The latter usually have upon the top +a projecting battlement, with interstices, anciently called +_machicoules_, betwixt the parapet and the wall, through which +stones or darts might be hurled upon the assailants. This kind of +fortification is less common on the south border.] + +[Footnote 41: I ought to except the famous Dand Ker, who was made +prisoner in his castle of Fairnihirst, after defending it bravely +against Lord Dacres, 24th September, 1523.] + +Some rude monuments occur upon the borders, the memorial of ancient +valour. Such is the cross at Milholm, on the banks of the Liddel, +said to have been erected in memory of the chief of the Armstrongs, +murdered treacherously by Lord Soulis, while feasting in Hermitage +castle. Such also, a rude stone, now broken, and very much defaced, +placed upon a mount on the lands of Haughhead, near the junction +of the Kale and Teviot. The inscription records the defence made by +Hobbie Hall, a man of great strength and courage against an attempt +by the powerful family of Ker, to possess themselves of his small +estate[42]. + +[Footnote 42: The rude strains of the inscription little correspond +with the gallantry of a + + --village Hampden, who, with dauntless breast, + The little tyrant of his fields withstood. + +It is in these words: + + Here Hobbie Hall boldly maintained his right, + 'Gainst reif, plain force, armed wi' awles might. + Full thirty pleughs, harnes'd in all their gear, + Could not his valiant noble heart make fear: + But wi' his sword, he cut the foremost's soam + In two; and drove baith pleughs and pleughmen home. + 1620. + +_Soam_ means the iron links, which fasten a yoke of oxen to the +plough.] + +The same simplicity marked their dress and arms. Patten observes, +that in battle the laird could not be distinguished from the serf: all +wearing the same coat armour, called a jack, and the baron being +only distinguished by his sleeves of mail, and his head-piece. The +borderers, in general, acted as light cavalry; riding horses of a +small size, but astonishingly nimble, and trained to move, by short +bounds, through the morasses with which Scotland abounds. Their +offensive weapons were, a lance of uncommon length; a sword, either +two-handed, or of the modern light size; sometimes a species of +battle-axe, called a Jedburgh-staff; and, latterly, dags, or pistols. +Although so much accustomed to act on horseback, that they held it +even mean to appear otherwise, the marchmen occasionally acted as +infantry; nor were they inferior to the rest of Scotland in forming +that impenetrable phalanx of spears, whereof it is said, by an English +historian, that "sooner shall a bare finger pierce through the skin of +an angry hedge-hog, than any one encounter the brunt of their pikes." +At the battle of Melrose, for example, Buccleuch's army fought upon +foot. But the habits of the borderers fitted them particularly +to distinguish themselves as light cavalry; and hence the name of +_prickers and hobylers_, so frequently applied to them. At the +blaze of their beacon fires, they were wont to assemble ten thousand +horsemen in the course of a single day. Thus rapid in their warlike +preparations, they were alike ready for attack and defence. Each +individual carried his own provisions, consisting of a small bag of +oatmeal, and trusted to plunder, or the chace, for ekeing out his +precarious meal. Beaugé remarks, that nothing surprised the Scottish +cavalry so much as to see their French auxiliaries encumbered with +baggage-waggons, and attended by commissaries. Before joining battle, +it seems to have been the Scottish practice to set fire to the litter +of their camp, while, under cover of the smoke, the _hobylers_, or +border cavalry, executed their manoeuvres.--There is a curious account +of the battle of Mitton, fought in the year 1319, in a valuable MS. +_Chronicle of England_, in the collection of the Marquis of Douglas, +from which this stratagem seems to have decided the engagement. +"In meyn time, while the wer thus lastyd, the kynge went agane into +Skotlonde, that hitte was wonder for to wette, and bysechyd the towne +of Barwick; but the Skottes went over the water of Sold, that was iii +myle from the hoste, and prively they stole awaye be nyghte, and come +into England, and robbed and destroyed all that they myght, and +spared no manner thing til that they come to Yorke. And, whan the +Englischemen, that wer left att home, herd this tiding, all tho that +myght well travell, so well monkys and priestis, and freres, and +chanouns, and seculars, come and met with the Skottes at Mytone of +Swale, the xii day of October. Allas, for sorow for the Englischemen! +housbondmen, that could nothing in wer, ther were quelled and +drenchyd in an arm of the see. And hyr chyftaines, Sir William Milton, +ersch-biishop of Yorke, and the abbot of Selby, with her stedes, fled +and com into Yorke; and that was her owne folye that they had that +mischaunce; for the passyd the water of Swale, and the Skottes set on +fiir three stalkes of hey, and the smoke thereof was so huge, that the +Englischemen might nott se the Scottes; and whan the Englischemen were +gon over the water, tho cam the Skottes, with hir wyng, in maner of +a sheld, and come toward the Englischemen in ordour. And the +Englischemen fled for unnethe they had any use of armes, for the +kyng had hem al almost lost att the sege of Barwick. And the Scotsmen +_hobylers_ went betwene the brigge and the Englischemen; and when the +gret hoste them met, the Englischemen fled between the _hobylers_ and +the gret hoste; and the Englischemen were ther quelled, and he that +myght wend over the water were saved, but many were drowned. Alas! for +there were slayn many men of religion, and seculars, and pristis, and +clerks, and with much sorwe the erschbischope scaped from the Skottes; +and, therefore, the Skottes called that battell the _White Battell_" + +For smaller predatory expeditions, the borderers had signals, and +places of rendezvous, peculiar to each tribe. If the party set forward +before all the members had joined, a mark, cut in the turf, or on the +bark of a tree, pointed out to the stragglers the direction which the +main body had pursued[43]. + +[Footnote 43: In the parish of Linton, in Roxburghshire, there is +a circle of stones, surrounding a smooth plot of turf, called the +_Tryst_, or place of appointment, which tradition avers to have been +the rendezvous of the neighbouring warriors. The name of the leader +was cut in the turf, and the arrangement of the letters announced to +his followers the course which he had taken. See _Statistical Account +of the Parish of Linton_.] + +Their warlike convocations were, also, frequently disguised, under +pretence of meetings for the purpose of sport. The game of foot-ball, +in particular which was anciently, and still continues to be, a +favourite border sport, was the means of collecting together large +bodies of moss-troopers, previous to any military exploit. When Sir +Robert Carey was warden of the east marches, the knowledge that there +was a great match of foot-ball at Kelso, to be frequented by the +principal Scottish riders, was sufficient to excite his vigilance +and his apprehension[44]. Previous also to the murder of Sir John +Carmichael (see Notes on the _Raid of the Reidswire_,) it appeared +at the trial of the perpetrators that they had assisted at a grand +foot-ball meeting, where the crime was concerted. + +[Footnote 44: See Appendix.] + +Upon the religion of the borderers there can very little be said. +We have already noticed, that they remained attached to the Roman +Catholic faith rather longer than the rest of Scotland. This probably +arose from a total indifference upon the subject; for, we no where +find in their character the respect for the church, which is a marked +feature of that religion. In 1528, Lord Dacre complains heavily to +Cardinal Wolsey, that, having taken a notorious freebooter, called +Dyk Irwen, the brother and friends of the outlaw had, in retaliation, +seized a man of some property, and a relation of Lord Dacre, called +Jeffrey Middleton, as he returned from a pilgrimage to St. Ninian's, +in Galloway; and that, notwithstanding the sanctity of his character, +as a _true pilgrim_, and the Scottish monarch's safe conduct, they +continued to detain him in their fastnesses, until he should redeem +the said arrant thief, Dyk Irwen. The abbeys, which were planted upon +the border, neither seem to have been much respected by the English, +nor by the Scottish barons. They were repeatedly burned by the former, +in the course of the border wars, and by the latter they seem to have +been regarded chiefly as the means of endowing a needy relation, or +the subject of occasional plunder. Thus, Andrew Home of Fastcastle, +about 1488, attempted to procure a perpetual feu of certain +possessions belonging to the abbey of Coldinghame; and being baffled, +by the king bestowing that opulent benefice upon the royal chapel at +Stirling, the Humes and Hepburns started into rebellion; asserting, +that the priory should be conferred upon some younger son of their +families, according to ancient custom. After the fatal battle +of Flodden, one of the Kerrs testified his contempt for clerical +immunities and privileges, by expelling from his house the abbot of +Kelso. These bickerings betwixt the clergy and the barons were usually +excited by disputes about their temporal interest. It was common for +the churchmen to grant lands in feu to the neighbouring gentlemen, +who, becoming their vassals, were bound to assist and protect +them[45]. But, as the possessions and revenues of the benefices became +thus intermixed with those of the laity, any attempts rigidly to +enforce the claims of the church were usually attended by the most +scandalous disputes. A petty warfare was carried on for years, betwixt +James, abbot of Dryburgh, and the family of Halliburton of Mertoun, or +Newmains, who held some lands from that abbey. These possessions were, +under various pretexts, seized and laid waste by both parties; and +some bloodshed took place in the contest, betwixt the lay vassals +and their spiritual superior. The matter was, at length, thought of +sufficient importance to be terminated by a reference to his majesty; +whose decree arbitral, dated at Stirling, the 8th of May, 1535, +proceeds thus: "Whereas we, having been advised and knowing the said +gentlemen, the Halliburtons, to be leal and true honest men, long +servants unto the saide abbeye, for the saide landis, stout men at +armes, and goode borderers against Ingland; and doe therefore decree +and ordaine, that they sail be re-possess'd, and bruik and enjoy the +landis and steedings they had of the said abbeye, paying the use and +wonte: and that they sall be goode servants to the said venerabil +father, like as they and their predecessours were to the said +venerabil father, and his predecessours, and he a good master to +them[46]." It is unnecessary to detain the reader with other instances +of the discord, which prevailed anciently upon the borders, betwixt +the spiritual shepherd and his untractable flock. + +[Footnote 45: These vassals resembled, in some degree, the Vidames in +France, and the Vogten, or Vizedomen, of the German abbeys; but the +system was never carried regularly into effect in Britain, and this +circumstance facilitated the dissolution of the religious houses.] + +[Footnote 46: This decree was followed by a marriage betwixt the +abbot's daughter, Elizabeth Stewart, and Walter Halliburton, one of +the family of Newmains. But even this alliance did not secure peace +between the venerable father and his vassals. The offspring of the +marriage was an only daughter, named Elizabeth Halliburton. As this +young lady was her father's heir, the Halliburtons resolved that she +should marry one of her cousins, to keep her property in the clan. But +as this did not suit the views of the abbot, he carried off by +force the intended bride, and married her, at Stirling, to Alexander +Erskine, a brother of the laird of Balgony, a relation and follower +of his own. From this marriage sprung the Erskines of Shielfield. +This exploit of the abbot revived the feud betwixt him and +the Halliburtons, which only ended with the dissolution of the +abbey.--_MS. History of Halliburton Family, penes editorem_.] + +The reformation was late of finding its way into the border wilds; +for, while the religious and civil dissentions were at the height in +1568, Drury writes to Cecil,--"Our trusty neighbours of Teviotdale are +holden occupied only to attend to the pleasure and calling of their +own heads, to make some diversion in this matter." The influence of +the reformed preachers, among the borders, seems also to have been but +small; for, upon all occasions of dispute with the kirk, James VI. was +wont to call in their assistance. _Calderwood_, p. 129. + +We learn from a curious passage in the life of Richard Cameron, +a fanatical preacher during the time of what is called "the +persecution," that some of the borderers retained to a late period +their indifference about religious matters. After having been licensed +at Haughhead, in Teviotdale, he was, according to his biographer, sent +first to preach in Annandale. "He said, 'how can I go there? I know +what sort of people they are.' 'But,' Mr. Welch said, 'go your way, +Ritchie, and set the fire of hell to their tails.' He went; and, the +first day, he preached upon that text, _Home shall I put thee among +the children, &c_. In the application he said, 'Put you among the +children! the offspring of thieves and robbers! we have all heard of +Annandale thieves.' Some of them got a merciful cast that day, +and told afterwards, that it was the first field meeting they ever +attended, and that they went out of mere curiosity, to see a minister +preach in a tent, and people sit on the ground." _Life of Richard +Cameron_[47]. + +[Footnote 47: This man was chaplain in the family of Sir Walter Scott +of Harden, who attended the meetings of the indulged presbyterians; +but Cameron, considering this conduct as a compromise with the foul +fiend Episcopacy, was dismissed from the family. He was slain in a +skirmish at Airdsmoss, bequeathing his name to the sect of fanatics, +still called Cameronians.] + +Cleland, an enthusiastic Cameronian, lieutenant-colonel of the +regiment levied after the Revolution from among that wild and +fanatical sect, claims to the wandering preachers of his tribe +the merit of converting the borderers. He introduces a cavalier, +haranguing the Highlanders, and ironically thus guarding them against +the fanatic divines: + + If their doctrine there get rooting, + Then, farewell theift, the best of booting, + And this ye see is very clear, + Dayly experience makes it appear; + For instance, lately on the borders, + Where there was nought but theft and murders, + Rapine, cheating, and resetting, + Slight of hand, fortunes getting, + Their designation, as ye ken, + Was all along the _Tacking Men_. + Now, rebels more prevails with words, + Then drawgoons does with guns and swords, + So that their bare preaching now + Makes the rush-bush keep the cow; + Better than Scots or English kings, + Could do by kilting them with strings. + Yea, those that were the greatest rogues, + Follows them over hills and bogues, + Crying for mercy and for preaching, + For they'll now hear no others teaching." + +_Cleland's Poems_, 1697, p. 30. + +The poet of the whigs might exaggerate the success of their teachers; +yet, it must be owned, that their doctrine of insubordination, joined +to their vagrant and lawless habits, was calculated strongly to +conciliate their border hearers. + +But, though the church, in the border counties, attracted little +veneration, no part of Scotland teemed with superstitious fears and +observances more than they did. "The Dalesmen[48]," says Lesley, +"never count their beads with such earnestness as when they set out +upon a predatory expedition." Penances, the composition betwixt guilt +and conscience, were also frequent upon the borders. Of this we have +a record in many bequests to the church, and in some more lasting +monuments; such as the Tower of Repentance in Dumfries-shire, +and, according to vulgar tradition, the church of Linton[49], in +Roxburghshire. In the appendix to this introduction. No. IV., the +reader will find a curious league, or treaty of peace, betwixt two +hostile clans, by which the heads of each became bound to make the +four pilgrimages of Scotland, for the benefit of the souls of those +of the opposite clan, who had fallen in the feud. These were +superstitions, flowing immediately from the nature of the Catholic +religion: but there was, upon the border, no lack of others of a more +general nature. Such was the universal belief in spells, of which some +traces may yet remain in the wild parts of the country. These were +common in the time of the learned Bishop Nicolson, who derives +them from the time of the Pagan Danes. "This conceit was the more +heightened, by reflecting upon the natural superstition of our +borderers at this day, who were much better acquainted with, and +do more firmly believe, their old legendary stories, of fairies and +witches, than the articles of their creed. And to convince me, yet +farther, that they are not utter strangers to the black art of their +forefathers, I met with a gentleman in the neighbourhood, who shewed +me a book of spells, and magical receipts, taken, two or three days +before, in the pocket of one of our moss-troopers; wherein, among many +other conjuring feats, was prescribed, a certain remedy for an ague, +by applying a few barbarous characters to the body of the party +distempered. These, methought, were very near a-kin to Wormius's _Ram +Runer_, which, he says, differed wholly in figure and shape from the +common _runae_. For, though he tells us, that these _Ram Runer_ were +so called, _Eo quod molestias, dolores, morbosque hisce infligere +inimicis soliti sunt magi_; yet his great friend, Arng. Jonas, more +to our purpose, says, that--_His etiam usi sunt ad benefaciendum, +juvandum, medicandum tam animi quam corporis morbis; atque ad ipsos +cacodaemones pellendos et fugandos_. I shall not trouble you with a +draught of this spell, because I have not yet had an opportunity of +learning whether it may not be an ordinary one, and to be met +with, among others of the same nature, in Paracelsus, or Cornelius +Agrippa."--_Letter from Bishop Nicolson to Mr. Walker; vide Camden's +Britannia, Cumberland_. Even in the editor's younger days, he can +remember the currency of certain spells, for curing sprains, burns, +or dislocations, to which popular credulity ascribed unfailing +efficacy[50]. Charms, however, against spiritual enemies, were yet +more common than those intended to cure corporeal complaints. This +is not surprising, as a fantastic remedy well suited an imaginary +disease. + +[Footnote 48: This small church is founded upon a little hill of sand, +in which no stone of the size of an egg is said to have been found, +although the neighbouring soil is sharp and gravelly. Tradition +accounts for this, by informing us, that the foundresses were two +sisters, upon whose account much blood had been spilt in that spot; +and that the penance, imposed on the fair causers of the slaughter, +was an order from the pope to sift the sand of the hill, upon which +their church was to be erected. This story may, perhaps, have some +foundation; for, in the church-yard was discovered a single grave, +containing no fewer than fifty skulls, most of which bore the marks of +having been cleft by violence.] + +[Footnote 49: An epithet bestowed upon the borderers, from the names +of their various districts; as Tiviotdale, Liddesdale, Eskdale, +Ewsdale, Annandale, &c. Hence, an old ballad distinguishes the north +as the country, + + "Where every river gives name to a dale," + +_Ex-ale-tation of Ale_.] + +[Footnote 50: Among these may be reckoned the supposed influence +of Irish earth, in curing the poison of adders, or other venomous +reptiles.--This virtue is extended by popular credulity to the +natives, and even to the animals, of Hibernia. A gentleman, bitten by +some reptile, so as to occasion a great swelling, seriously assured +the editor, that he ascribed his cure to putting the affected finger +into the mouth of an Irish mare!] + +There were, upon the borders, many consecrated wells, for resorting +to which the people's credulity is severely censured, by a worthy +physician of the seventeenth century; who himself believed in a +shower of living herrings having fallen near Dumfries. "Many run +superstitiously to other wells, and there obtain, as they imagine, +health and advantage; and there they offer bread and cheese, or money, +by throwing them into the well." In another part of the MS. occurs the +following passage. "In the bounds of the lands of Eccles, belonging to +a lyneage of the name of Maitland, there is a loch called the Dowloch, +of old resorted to with much superstition, as medicinal both for men +and beasts, and that with such ceremonies, as are _shrewdly_ suspected +to have been begun with witchcraft, and increased afterward by magical +directions: For, burying of a cloth, or somewhat that did relate to +the bodies of men and women, and a shackle, or teather, belonging to +cow or horse; and these being cast into the loch, if they did float, +it was taken for a good omen of recovery, and a part of the water +carried to the patient, though to remote places, without saluting +or speaking to any they met by the way; but, if they did sink, the +recovery of the party was hopeless. This custom was of late much +curbed and restrained; but since the discovery of many medicinal +fountains near to the place, the vulgar, holding that it may be as +medicinal as these are, at this time begin to re-assume their former +practice."--_Account of Presbytery of Penpont, in Macfarlane's MSS._ + +The idea, that the spirits of the deceased return to haunt the place, +where on earth they have suffered or have rejoiced, is, as Dr. Johnson +has observed, common to the popular creed of all nations The just and +noble sentiment, implanted in our bosoms by the Deity, teaches us, +that we shall not slumber for ever, as the beasts that perish.--Human +vanity, or credulity, chequers, with its own inferior and base +colours, the noble prospect, which is alike held out to us by +philosophy and by religion. We feel, according to the ardent +expression of the poet, that we shall not wholly die; but from hence +we vainly and weakly argue, that the same scenes, the same passions, +shall delight and actuate the disembodied spirit, which affected it +while in its tenement of clay. Hence the popular belief, that the +soul haunts the spot where the murdered body is interred; that its +appearances are directed to bring down vengeance on its murderers; or +that, having left its terrestrial form in a distant clime, it glides +before its former friends, a pale spectre, to warn them of its +decease. Such tales, the foundation of which is an argument from our +present feelings to those of the spiritual world, form the broad +and universal basis of the popular superstition regarding departed +spirits; against which reason has striven in vain, and universal +experience has offered a disregarded testimony. These legends are +peculiarly acceptable to barbarous tribes; and, on the borders, +they were received with most unbounded faith. It is true, that these +supernatural adversaries were no longer opposed by the sword and +battle-axe, as among the unconverted Scandinavians. Prayers, spells, +and exorcisms, particularly in the Greek and Hebrew languages, were +the weapons of the borderers, or rather of their priests and cunning +men, against their aërial enemy[51]. The belief in ghosts, which has +been well termed the last lingering phantom of superstition, still +maintains its ground upon the borders. + +[Footnote 51: One of the most noted apparitions is supposed to haunt +Spedlin's castle, near Lochmaben, the ancient baronial residence +of the Jardines of Applegirth. It is said, that, in exercise of his +territorial jurisdiction, one of the ancient lairds had imprisoned, in +the _Massy More_, or dungeon of the castle, a person named Porteous. +Being called suddenly to Edinburgh, the laird discovered, as he +entered the West Port, that he had brought along with him the key of +the dungeon. Struck with the utmost horror, he sent back his servant +to relieve the prisoner; but it was too late. The wretched being was +found lying upon the steps descending from the door of the vault, +starved to death. In the agonies of hunger, he had gnawed the flesh +from one of his arms. That his spectre should haunt the castle was a +natural consequence of such a tragedy. Indeed, its visits became so +frequent, that a clergyman of eminence was employed to exorcise it. +After a contest of twenty-four hours, the man of art prevailed so far +as to confine the goblin to the _Massy More_ of the castle, where its +shrieks and cries are still heard. A part, at least, of the spell, +depends upon the preservation of the ancient black-lettered bible, +employed by the exorcist. It was some years ago thought necessary +to have this bible re-bound; but, as soon as it was removed from the +castle, the spectre commenced his nocturnal orgies, with ten-fold +noise; and it is verily believed that he would have burst from his +confinement, had not the sacred volume been speedily replaced. + +A Mass John Scott, minister of Peebles, is reported to have been the +last renowned exorciser, and to have lost his life in a contest with +an obstinate spirit. This was owing to the conceited rashness of a +young clergyman, who commenced the ceremony of laying the ghost before +the arrival of Mass John. It is the nature, it seems, of spirits +disembodied, as well as embodied, to increase in strength and +presumption, in proportion to the advantages which they may gain over +the opponent. The young clergyman losing courage, the horrors of the +scene were increased to such a degree, that, as Mass John approached +the house in which it passed, he beheld the slates and tiles flying +from the roof, as if dispersed by a whirlwind. At his entry, he +perceived all the wax-tapers (the most essential instruments of +conjuration) extinguished, except one, which already burned blue in +the socket. The arrival of the experienced sage changed the scene: he +brought the spirit to reason; but, unfortunately, while addressing a +word of advice or censure to his rash brother, he permitted the ghost +to obtain the _last word_; a circumstance which, in all colloquies of +this nature, is strictly to be guarded against. This fatal oversight +occasioned his falling into a lingering disorder, of which he never +recovered. + +A curious poem, upon the laying of a ghost, forms article No. V. of +the Appendix.] + + +It is unnecessary to mention the superstitious belief in witchcraft, +which gave rise to so much cruelty and persecution during the +seventeenth century. There were several executions upon the borders +for this imaginary crime, which was usually tried, not by the ordinary +judges, but by a set of country gentlemen, acting under commission +from the privy council[52]. + +[Footnote 52: I have seen, _penes_ Hugh Scott, Esq. of Harden, the +record of the trial of a witch, who was burned at Ducove. She was +tried in the manner above mentioned.] + +Besides these grand articles of superstitious belief, the creed of +the borderers admitted the existence of sundry classes of subordinate +spirits, to whom were assigned peculiar employments. The chief of +these were the Fairies, concerning whom the reader will find a long +dissertation, in Volume Second. The Brownie formed a class of beings, +distinct in habit and disposition from the freakish and mischievous +elves. He was meagre, shaggy, and wild in his appearance. Thus, +Cleland, in his satire against the Highlanders, compares them to + + "Faunes, or _Brownies_, if ye will, + Or satyres come from Atlas hill." + +In the day time, he lurked in remote recesses of the old houses which +he delighted to haunt; and, in the night, sedulously employed himself +in discharging any laborious task which he thought might be acceptable +to the family, to whose service he had devoted himself. His name is +probably derived from the _Portuni_, whom Gervase of Tilbury describes +thus: "_Ecce enim in Anglia daemones quosdam habent, daemones, inquam, +nescio dixerim, an secretae et ignotae generationis effigies, quos +Galli Neptunos, Angli Portunos nominant. Istis insitum est quod +simplicitatem fortunatonum_ _colonorum amplectuntur, et cum nocturnas +propter domesticas operas agunt vigilias, subito clausis januis ad +ignem califiunt, et ranunculus ex sinu projectas, prunis impositas +concedunt, senili vultu, facie corrugata, statura pusilli, dimidium +pollicis non habentes. Panniculis consertis induuntur, et si quid +gestandum in domo fuerit, aut onerosi opens agendum, ad operandum se +jungunt citius humana facilitate expediunt. Id illis insitum est, ut +obsequi possint et obesse non possint_."--Otia. Imp. p. 980. In every +respect, saving only the feeding upon frogs, which was probably +an attribute of the Gallic spirits alone, the above description +corresponds with that of the Scottish Brownie. But the latter, +although, like Milton's lubbar fiend, he loves to stretch himself +by the fire[53], does not drudge from the hope of recompence. On the +contrary, so delicate is his attachment, that the offer of reward, +but particularly of food, infallibly occasions his disappearance for +ever[54]. We learn from Olaus Magnus, that spirits, somewhat similar +in their operations to the Brownie, were supposed to haunt the Swedish +mines. The passage, in the translation of 1658, runs thus: "This +is collected in briefe, that in northerne kingdomes there are great +armies of devils, that have their services, which they perform with +the inhabitants of these countries: but they are most frequent in +rocks and mines, where they break, cleave, and make them hollow: which +also thrust in pitchers and buckets, and carefully fit wheels and +screws, whereby they are drawn upwards; and they shew themselves to +the labourers, when they list, like phantasms and ghosts." It seems no +improbable conjecture, that the Brownie is a legitimate descendant of +the _Lar Familiaris_ of the ancients. + +[Footnote 53: + + --how the drudging goblin swet, + To earn the cream-bowl, duly set; + When, in one night, ere glimpse of morn, + His shadowy flail had thresh'd the corn, + That ten day-lab'rers could not end; + Then lies him down the lubbar fiend, + And, stretch'd out all the chimney's length, + Basks at the fire his hairy strength; + And, crop-full, out of doors he flings, + E'er the first cock his matin rings. + +_L'Allegro_. + +When the menials in a Scottish family protracted their vigils around +the kitchen fire, Brownie, weary of being excluded from the midnight +hearth, sometimes appeared at the door, seemed to watch their +departure, and thus admonished them--"Gang a' to your beds, sirs, and +dinna put out the wee _grieshoch_ (embers)."] + +[Footnote 54: It is told of a Brownie, who haunted a border family, +now extinct, that the lady having fallen unexpectedly in labour, and +the servant, who was ordered to ride to Jedburgh for the _sage femme_, +shewing no great alertness in setting out, the familiar spirit slipt +on the great-coat of the lingering domestic, rode to the town on the +laird's best horse, and returned with the mid-wife _en croupe_. Daring +the short space of his absence, the Tweed, which they must necessarily +ford, rose to a dangerous height. Brownie, who transported his charge +with all the rapidity of the ghostly lover of _Lenoré_, was not to be +stopped by this obstacle. He plunged in with the terrified old lady, +and landed her in safety where her services were wanted. Having put +the horse into the stable (where it was afterwards found in a woeful +plight), he proceeded to the room of the servant, whose duty he had +discharged; and, finding him just in the act of drawing on his +boots, he administered to him a most merciless drubbing with his own +horse-whip. Such an important service excited the gratitude of the +laird; who, understanding that Brownie had been heard to express a +wish to have a green coat, ordered a vestment of that colour to be +made, and left in his haunts. Brownie took away the green coat, but +never was seen more. We may suppose, that, tired of his domestic +drudgery, he went in his new livery to join the fairies.--_See +Appendix_, No. VI. + +The last Brownie, known in Ettrick forest, resided in Bodsbeck, a wild +and solitary spot, where he exercised his functions undisturbed, till +the scrupulous devotion of an old lady induced her to _hire him away_, +as it was termed, by placing in his haunt a porringer of milk and a +piece of money. After receiving this hint to depart, he was heard the +whole night to howl and cry, "Farewell to bonny Bodsbeck!" which he +was compelled to abandon for ever.] + +A being, totally distinct from those hitherto mentioned, is the Bogle, +or Goblin; a freakish spirit, who delights rather to perplex and +frighten mankind; than either to serve, or seriously to hurt, them. +This is the _Esprit Follet_ of the French; and _Puck_, or _Robin +Goodfellow_, though enlisted by Shakespeare among the fairy band of +_Oberon_, properly belongs to this class of phantoms. _Shellycoat_, +a spirit, who resides in the waters, and has given his name to many a +rock and stone upon the Scottish coast, belongs also to the class +of bogles[55]. When he appeared, he seemed to be decked with marine +productions, and, in particular with shells, whose clattering +announced his approach. From this circumstance he derived his name. He +may, perhaps, be identified with the goblin of the northern English, +which, in the towns and cities, Durham and Newcastle for example +had the name of _Barquest_; but, in the country villages, was more +frequently termed _Brag_. He usually ended his mischievous frolics +with a horse-laugh. + +[Footnote 55: One of his pranks is thus narrated: Two men, in a very +dark night, approaching the banks of the Ettrick, heard a doleful +voice from its waves repeatedly exclaim--"Lost! lost!"--They followed +the sound, which seemed to be the voice of a drowning person, and, to +their infinite astonishment, they found that it ascended the river. +Still they continued, during a long and tempestuous night, to follow +the cry of the malicious sprite; and arriving, before morning's dawn, +at the very sources of the river, the voice was now heard descending +the opposite side of the mountain in which they arise. The fatigued +and deluded travellers now relinquished the pursuit; and had no sooner +done so, than they heard Shellycoat applauding, in loud bursts of +laughter, his successful roguery. The spirit was supposed particularly +to haunt the old house of Gorrinberry, situated on the river +Hermitage, in Liddesdale.] + +_Shellycoat_ must not be confounded with _Kelpy_, a water spirit also, +but of a much more powerful and malignant nature. His attributes have +been the subject of a poem in Lowland Scottish, by the learned +Dr. Jamieson of Edinburgh, which adorns the third volume of this +collection. Of _Kelpy_, therefore, it is unnecessary to say any thing +at present. + +Of all these classes of spirits it may be, in general observed, that +their attachment was supposed to be local, and not personal. They +haunted the rock, the stream, the ruined castle, without regard to +the persons or families to whom the property belonged. Hence, they +differed entirely from that species of spirits, to whom, in the +Highlands, is ascribed the guardianship, or superintendance of a +particular clan, or family of distinction; and who, perhaps yet more +than the Brownie, resemble the classic household gods. Thus, in an +MS. history of Moray, we are informed, that the family of Gurlinbeg +is haunted by a spirit, called _Garlin Bodacher_; that of the baron of +Kinchardin, by _Lamhdearg_[56], or Red-hand, a spectre, one of whose +hands is as red as blood; that of Tullochgorm, by _May Moulach_, a +female figure, whose left hand and arm were covered with hair, who is +also mentioned in _Aubrey's Miscellanies_, pp. 211, 212, as a familiar +attendant upon the elan Grant. These superstitions were so ingrafted +in the popular creed, that the clerical synods and presbyteries were +wont to take cognizance of them[57]. + +[Footnote 56: The following notice of Lamhdearg occurs in another +account of Strathspey, _apud_ Macfarlane's MSS.:--"There is much talke +of a spirit called _Ly-erg_, who frequents the Glenmore. He appears +with a red hand, in the habit of a souldier, and challenges men to +fight with him; as lately as 1669, he fought with three brothers, one +after another, who immediately died thereafter."] + +[Footnote 57: There is current, in some parts of Germany, a fanciful +superstition concerning the _Stille Volke_, or silent people. These +they suppose to be attached to houses of eminence, and to consist of +a number, corresponding to that of the mortal family, each person of +which has thus his representative amongst these domestic spirits. When +the lady of the family has a child, the queen of the silent people +is delivered in the same moment. They endeavour to give warning +when danger approaches the family, assist in warding it off, and +are sometimes seen to weep and wring their hands, before inevitable +calamity.] + +Various other superstitions, regarding magicians, spells, prophecies, +&c., will claim our attention in the progress of this work. For the +present, therefore taking the advice of an old Scottish rhymer, let us + + "Leave bogles, brownies, gyre carlinges, and ghaists[58]." + +[Footnote 58: So generally were these tales of _diablerie_ believed, +that one William Lithgow, a _bon vivant_, who appears to have been +a native, or occasional inhabitant, of Melrose, is celebrated by the +pot-companion who composed his elegy, because + + He was good company at jeists. + And wanton when he came to feists, + He scorn'd the converse of great beasts, + O'er a sheep's head; + _He laugh'd at stones about ghaists_; + Blythe Willie's dead! + +_Watson's Scotish Poems_, Edin. 1706.] + + +_Flyting of Polwart and Montgomery_. + +The domestic economy of the borderers next engages our attention. That +the revenue of the chieftain should be expended in rude hospitality, +was the natural result of his situation. His wealth consisted chiefly +in herds of cattle, which were consumed by the kinsmen, vassals, and +followers, who aided him to acquire and to protect them[59]. We +learn from Lesley, that the borderers were temperate in the use of +intoxicating liquors, and we are therefore left to conjecture how they +occupied the time, when winter, or when accident, confined them to +their habitations. The little learning, which existed in the middle +ages, glimmered a dim and a dying flame in the religious houses; +and even in the sixteenth century, when its beams became more widely +diffused, they were far from penetrating the recesses of the border +mountains. The tales of tradition, the song, with the pipe or harp of +the minstrel, were probably the sole resources against _ennui_, during +the short intervals of repose from military adventure. + +[Footnote 59: We may form some idea of the stile of life maintained +by the border warriors, from the anecdotes, handed down by tradition, +concerning Walter Scott of Harden, who flourished towards the +middle of the sixteenth century. This ancient laird was a renowned +freebooter, and used to ride with a numerous band of followers. The +spoil, which they carried off from England, or from their neighbours, +was concealed in a deep and impervious glen, on the brink of which the +old tower of Harden was situated. From thence the cattle were brought +out, one by one, as they were wanted, to supply the rude and plentiful +table of the laird. When the last bullock was killed and devoured, it +was the lady's custom to place on the table a dish, which, on being +uncovered, was found to contain a pair of clean spurs; a hint to the +riders, that they must shift for their next meal. Upon one occasion, +when the village herd was driving out the cattle to pasture, the old +laird heard him call loudly _to drive out Harden's cow_. "_Harden's +cow!_" echoed the affronted chief--"Is it come to that pass? by my +faith they shall sune say Harden's _kye_ (cows)." Accordingly, he +sounded his bugle, mounted his horse, set out with his followers, +and returned next day with "_a bow of kye, and a bussen'd_ (brindled) +_bull_." On his return with this gallant prey, he passed a very large +hay-stack. It occurred to the provident laird, that this would be +extremely convenient to fodder his new stock of cattle; but as no +means of transporting it occurred, he was fain to take leave of it +with this apostrophe, now proverbial: "By my soul, had ye but four +feet, ye should not stand lang there." In short, as Froissard says of +a similar class of feudal robbers, nothing came amiss to them, that +was not _too heavy, or too hot_. The same mode of house-keeping +characterized most border families on both sides. An MS. quoted in +_History of Cumberland_, p. 466, concerning the Graemes of Netherby, +and others of that clan, runs thus: "They were all stark moss-troopers +and arrant thieves: both to England and Scotland outlawed: yet +sometimes connived at, because they gave intelligence forth of +Scotland, and would raise 400 horse at any time, upon a raid of the +English into Scotland." A saying is recorded of a mother to her son +(which is now become proverbial), "_Ride Rouly_ (Rowland), _hough's +i' the pot_;" that is, the last piece of beef was in the pot, and +therefore it was high time for him to go and fetch more. To such men +might with justice be applied the poet's description of the Cretan +warrior; translated by my friend, Dr. Leyden. + + My sword, my spear, my shaggy shield, + With these I till, with these I sow; + With these I reap my harvest field, + The only wealth the Gods bestow. + With these I plant the purple vine, + With these I press the luscious wine. + + My sword, my spear, my shaggy shield, + They make me lord of all below; + For he who dreads the lance to wield, + Before my shaggy shield must bow. + His lands, his vineyards, must resign; + And all that cowards have is mine. + +_Hybrias (ap. Athenaeum)_.] + +This brings us to the more immediate subject of the present +publication. + +Lesley, who dedicates to the description of border manners a chapter, +which we have already often quoted, notices particularly the taste of +the marchmen for music and ballad poetry. "_Placent admodum sibi sua +musica, et rythmicis suis cantionibus, quas de majorum suorum gestis, +aut ingeniosis predandi precandive stratagematis ipsi confingunt_. +"--Leslaeus, _in capitulo de moribus eorum, qui Scotiae limites +Angliam versus incolunt_. The more rude and wild the state of society, +the more general and violent is the impulse received from poetry and +music. The muse, whose effusions are the amusement of a very small +part of a polished nation, records, in the lays of inspiration, the +history the laws, the very religion, of savages.--Where the pen and +the press are wanting, the low of numbers impresses upon the memory +of posterity, the deeds and sentiments of their forefathers. Verse is +naturally connected with music; and, among a rude people, the union +is seldom broken. By this natural alliance, the lays, "steeped in +the stream of harmony," are more easily retained by the reciter, and +produce upon his audience a more impressive effect. Hence, there +has hardly been found to exist a nation so brutishly rude, as not to +listen with enthusiasm to the songs of their bards, recounting +the exploits of their forefathers, recording their laws and moral +precepts, or hymning the praises of their deities. But, where the +feelings are frequently stretched to the highest pitch, by the +vicissitudes of a life of danger and military adventure, this +predisposition of a savage people, to admire their own rude poetry and +music, is heightened, and its tone becomes peculiarly determined. It +is not the peaceful Hindu at his loom, it is not the timid Esquimaux +in his canoe, whom we must expect to glow at the war song of Tyrtaeus. +The music and the poetry of each country must keep pace with their +usual tone of mind, as well as with the state of society. + +The morality of their compositions is determined by the same +circumstances. Those themes are necessarily chosen by the bard, which +regard the favourite exploits of the hearers; and he celebrates only +those virtues, which from infancy he has been taught to admire. Hence, +as remarked by Lesley, the music and songs of the borders were of +a military nature, and celebrated the valour and success of their +predatory expeditions. Razing, like Shakespeare's pirate, the eighth +commandment from the decalogue, the minstrels praised their chieftains +for the very exploits, against which the laws of the country denounced +a capital doom.--An outlawed freebooter was to them a more interesting +person, than the King of Scotland exerting his power to punish his +depredations; and, when the characters are contrasted, the latter is +always represented as a ruthless and sanguinary tyrant.--Spenser's +description of the bards of Ireland applies in some degree, to our +ancient border poets. "There is, among the Irish, a certain kinde +of people, called bardes, which are to them instead of poets; whose +profession is to set forth the praises or dispraises of men, in their +poems or rhymes; the which are had in such high regard or esteem +amongst them, that none dare displease them, for fear of running into +reproach through their offence, and to be made infamous in the mouths +of all men; for their verses are taken up with a general applause, +and usually sung at all feasts and meetings, by certain other persons, +whose proper function that is, who also receive, for the same, great +rewardes and reputation amongst them." Spenser, having bestowed due +praise upon the poets, who sung the praises of the good and virtuous, +informs us, that the bards, on the contrary, "seldom use to chuse unto +themselves the doings of good men for the arguments of their poems; +but whomsoever they finde to be most licentious of life, most bold and +lawless in his doings, most dangerous and desperate in all parts of +disobedience, and rebellious disposition, him they set up and glorify +in their rhythmes; him they praise to the people, and to young men +make an example to follow."--_Eudoxus_--"I marvail what kind of +speeches they can find, or what faces they can put on, to praise such +bad persons, as live so lawlessly and licentiously upon stealths and +spoyles, as most of them do; or how they can think, that any good +mind will applaud or approve the same." In answer to this question, +_Irenaeus_, after remarking the giddy and restless disposition of the +ill educated youth of Ireland, which made them prompt to receive evil +counsel, adds, that such a person, "if he shall find any to praise +him, and to give him any encouragement, as those bards and rhythmers +do, for little reward, or a share of a stolen cow[60], then waxeth he +most insolent, and half-mad, with the love of himself and his own lewd +deeds. And as for words to set forth such lewdness, it is not hard for +them to give a goodly and painted show thereunto, borrowed even from +the praises which are proper to virtue itself. As of a most notorious +thief, and wicked outlaw, which had lived all his life-time of spoils +and robberies, one of their bardes, in his praise, will say, 'that he +was none of the idle milk-sops that was brought up by the fire-side, +but that most of his days he spent in arms and valiant enterprizes; +that he never did eat his meat, before he had won it with his sword; +that he lay not all night slugging in his cabin under his mantle, but +used commonly to keep others waking to defend their lives, and did +light his candle at the flames of their houses to lead him in the +darkness; that the day was his night, and the night his day; that he +loved not to be long wooing of wenches to yield to him; but, where +he came, he took by force the spoil of other men's love, and left but +lamentations to their lovers; that his music was not the harp, nor +lays of love, but the cries of people, and clashing of armour; and, +finally, that he died, not bewailed of many, but made many wail when +he died, that dearly bought his death.' Do not you think, Eudoxus, +that many of these praises might be applied to men of best deserts? +Yet, are they all yielded to a most notable traitor, and amongst some +of the Irish not smally accounted of."--_State of Ireland_. The same +concurrence of circumstances, so well pointed out by Spenser, as +dictating the topics of the Irish bards, tuned the border harps to the +praise of an outlawed Armstrong, or Murray. + +[Footnote 60: The reward of the Welch bards, and perhaps of those upon +the border, was very similar. It was enacted by Howel Dha, that if +the king's bard played before a body of warriors, upon a predatory +excursion, be should receive, in recompence, the best cow which the +party carried off.--_Leges Walliae_, I. 1. cap. 19.] + +For similar reasons, flowing from the state of society, the reader +must not expect to find, in the border ballads, refined sentiment, +and, far less, elegant expression; although the stile of such +compositions has, in modern hands, been found highly susceptible of +both. But passages might be pointed out, in which the rude minstrel +has melted in natural pathos, or risen into rude energy. Even +where these graces are totally wanting, the interest of the stories +themselves, and the curious picture of manners, which they frequently +present, authorise them to claim some respect from the public. But +it is not the editor's present intention to enter upon a history of +border poetry; a subject of great difficulty, and which the extent +of his information does not as yet permit him to engage in. He +will, therefore, now lay before the reader the plan of the present +publication; pointing out the authorities from which his materials are +derived and slightly noticing the nature of the different classes into +which he has arranged them. + + +The MINSTRELSY of the SCOTTISH BORDER contains Three Classes of Poems: + + I. HISTORICAL BALLADS. II. ROMANTIC. III. IMITATIONS OF THESE + COMPOSITIONS BY MODERN AUTHORS. + +The Historical Ballad relates events, which we either know actually +to have taken place, or which, at least, making due allowance for the +exaggerations of poetical tradition, we may readily conceive to have +had some foundation in history. For reasons already mentioned, such +ballads were early current upon the border. Barbour informs us, that +he thinks it unnecessary to rehearse the account of a victory, gained +in Eskdale over the English, because + + --Whasa liks, thai may her + Young women, when thai will play, + Syng it among thaim ilk day.-- + +_The Bruce_, Book XVI. + +Godscroft also, in his History of the House of Douglas, written in the +reign of James VI., alludes more than once to the ballads current upon +the border, in which the exploits of those heroes were celebrated. +Such is the passage, relating to the death of William Douglas, Lord of +Liddesdale, slain by the Earl of Douglas, his kinsman, his godson, +and his chief[61]. Similar strains of lamentation were poured by the +border poets over the tomb of the Hero of Otterbourne; and over the +unfortunate youths, who were dragged to an ignominious death, from +the very table at which they partook of the hospitality of their +sovereign. The only stanza, preserved of this last ballad, is +uncommonly animated-- + + Edinburgh castle, towne and toure, + God grant thou sink for sinne! + And that even for the black dinoure, + Erl Douglas gat therein. + +Who will not regret, with the editor, that compositions of such +interest and antiquity should be now irrecoverable? But it is the +nature of popular poetry, as of popular applause, perpetually to shift +with the objects of the time; and it is the frail chance of recovering +some old manuscript, which can alone gratify our curiosity regarding +the earlier efforts of the border muse. Some of her later strains, +composed during the sixteenth century, have survived even to the +present day; but the recollection of them has, of late years, become +like that of "a tale which was told." In the sixteenth century, these +northern tales appear to have been popular even in London; for the +learned Mr. Ritson has obligingly pointed out to me the following +passages, respecting the noted ballad of _Dick o' the Cow_ (p. 157); +"Dick o' the Cow, that mad demi-lance northern borderer, who plaid his +prizes with the lord Jockey so bravely."--Nashe's _Have with you to +Saffren-Walden, or Gabriell Harvey's Hunt is up_.--1596, 4to. _Epistle +Dedicatorie_, _sig._ A. 2. 6. And in a list of books, printed for, and +sold by, P. Brocksby (1688), occurs "Dick-a-the-Cow, containing north +country songs[62]." Could this collection have been found, it would +probably have thrown much light on the present publication: but +the editor has been obliged to draw his materials chiefly from oral +tradition. + +[Footnote 61: "The Lord of Liddisdale being at his pastime, hunting in +Ettrick forest, is beset by William, Earl of Douglas, and such as he +had ordained for the purpose, and there asailed, wounded, and slain, +beside Galsewood, in the year 1353, upon a jealousy that the earl had +conceived of him with his lady, as the report goeth; for so sayeth the +old song, + + "The countess of Douglas out of her bower she came, + And loudly there that she did call-- + It is for the Lord of Liddisdale, + That I let all these tears down fall." + +"The song also declareth, how she did write her love-letters to +Liddisdale, to dissuade him from that hunting. It tells likewise the +manner of the taking of his men, and his own killing at Galsewood; +and how he was carried the first night to Linden kirk, a mile from +Selkirk, and was buried in the abbey of Melrose."--_Godscroft_, Vol. +I. p. 144, Ed. 1743. + +Some fragments of this ballad are still current, and will be found in +the ensuing work.] + +[Footnote 62: The Selkirkshire ballad of _Tamlane_ seems also to +have been well known in England. Among the popular heroes of romance, +enumerated in the introduction to the history of "_Tom Thumbe_," +(London, 1621, bl. letter), occurs "Tom a Lin, the devil's supposed +bastard." There is a parody upon the same ballad in the "_Pinder of +Wakefield_" (London, 1621).] + +Something may be still found in the border cottages resembling the +scene described by Pennycuik. + + On a winter's night, my grannam spinning, + To mak a web of good Scots linnen; + Her stool being placed next to the chimley, + (For she was auld, and saw right dimly,) + My lucky dad, an honest whig, + Was telling tales of Bothwell-brigg; + He could not miss to mind the attempt, + For he was sitting pu'ing hemp; + My aunt, whom' nane dare say has no grace, + Was reading on the Pilgrim's Progress; + The meikle tasker, Davie Dallas, + Was telling blads of William Wallace; + My mither bade her second son say, + What he'd by heart of Davie Lindsay; + Our herd, whom all folks hate that knows him, + Was busy hunting in his bosom; + + * * * * * + + The bairns, and oyes, were all within doors;} + The youngest of us chewing cinders,} + And all the auld anes telling wonders.} + +_Pennycuik's Poems_, p. 7. + +The causes of the preservation of these songs have either entirely +ceased, or are gradually decaying Whether they were originally the +composition of minstrels, professing the joint arts of poetry +and music; or whether they were the occasional effusions of some +self-taught bard; is a question into which I do not here mean to +enquire. But it is certain, that, till a very late period, the pipers, +of whom there was one attached to each border town of note, and whose +office was often hereditary, were the great depositaries of oral, +and particularly of poetical, tradition. About spring time, and after +harvest, it was the custom of these musicians to make a progress +through a particular district of the country. The music and the tale +repaid their lodging, and they were usually gratified with a donation +of seed corn[63]. This order of minstrels is alluded to in the comic +song of _Maggy Lauder_, who thus addresses a piper-- + + "Live ye upo' the border?" + +By means of these men, much traditional poetry was preserved, +which must otherwise have perished. Other itinerants, not professed +musicians, found their welcome to their night's quarters readily +insured by their knowledge in legendary lore. John Graeme, of Sowport, +in Cumberland, commonly called _The Long Quaker_[64], a person of this +latter description, was very lately alive; and several of the songs, +now published, have been taken down from his recitation. The shepherds +also, and aged persons, in the recesses of the border mountains, +frequently remember and repeat the warlike songs of their fathers. +This is more especially the case in what are called the South +Highlands, where, in many instances, the same families have occupied +the same possessions for centuries. + +[Footnote 63: These town pipers, an institution of great antiquity +upon the borders, were certainly the last remains of the minstrel +race. Robin Hastie, town-piper of Jedburgh, perhaps the last of the +order, died nine or ten years ago: his family was supposed to have +held the office for about three centuries. Old age had rendered Robin +a wretched performer; but he knew several old songs and tunes, which +have probably died along with him. The town-pipers received a livery +and salary from the community to which they belonged; and, in some +burghs, they had a small allotment of land, called the Piper's Croft. +For further particulars regarding them, see _Introduction to Complaynt +of Scotland_, Edinburgh, 1801, p. 142.] + +[Footnote 64: This person, perhaps the last of our professed ballad +reciters, died since the publication of the first edition of this +work. He was by profession an itinerant cleaner of clocks and watches; +but, a stentorian voice, and tenacious memory, qualified him eminently +for remembering accurately, and reciting with energy, the border +gathering songs and tales of war. His memory was latterly much +impaired; yet, the number of verses which he could pour forth, and +the animation of his tone and gestures, formed a most extraordinary +contrast to his extreme feebleness of person, and dotage of mind.] + +It is chiefly from this latter source that the editor has drawn his +materials, most of which were collected, many years ago, during his +early youth. But he has been enabled, in many instances, to supply +and correct the deficiencies of his own copies, from a collection of +border songs, frequently referred to in the work, under the title of +_Glenriddell's MS_. This was compiled, from various sources, by the +late Mr. Riddell, of Glenriddel, a sedulous border antiquary, and, +since his death, has become the property of Mr. Jollie, bookseller +at Carlisle; to whose liberality the editor owes the use of it, while +preparing this work for the press. No liberties have been taken, +either with the recited or written copies of these ballads, farther +than that, where they disagreed, which is by no means unusual, the +editor, in justice to the author, has uniformly preserved what seemed +to him the best, or most poetical, reading of the passage. Such +discrepancies must very frequently occur, wherever poetry is preserved +by oral tradition; for the reciter, making it a uniform principle to +proceed at all hazards, is very often, when his memory fails him, apt +to substitute large portions from some other tale, altogether distinct +from that which he has commenced. Besides, the prejudices of clans +and of districts have occasioned variations in the mode of telling +the same story. Some arrangement was also occasionally necessary, to +recover the rhyme, which was often, by the ignorance of the reciters, +transposed, or thrown into the middle of the line. With these +freedoms, which were essentially necessary to remove obvious +corruptions, and fit the ballads for the press, the editor presents +them to the public, under the complete assurance, that they carry with +them the most indisputable marks of their authenticity. + +The same observations apply to the Second Class, here termed ROMANTIC +BALLADS; intended to comprehend such legends as are current upon the +border, relating to fictitious and marvellous adventures Such were +the tales, with which the friends of Spenser strove to beguile his +indisposition: + + "Some told of ladies, and their paramours; + Some of brave knights, and their renowned squires; + Some of the fairies, and their strange attires, + And some of giants, hard to be believed." + +These, carrying with them a general, and not merely a local, interest, +are much more extensively known among the peasantry of Scotland than +the border-raid ballads, the fame of which is in general confined to +the mountains where they were originally composed. Hence, it has been +easy to collect these tales of romance, to a number much greater than +the editor has chosen to insert in this publication[65]. With this +class are now intermingled some lyric pieces, and some ballads, which, +though narrating real events, have no direct reference to border +history or manners. To the politeness and liberality of Mr. Herd, of +Edinburgh, the editor of the first classical collection of Scottish +songs and ballads (Edinburgh, 1774, 2 vols.), the editor is indebted +for the use of his MSS., containing songs and ballads, published and +unpublished, to the number of ninety and upwards. To this collection +frequent references are made, in the course of the following pages. +Two books of ballads, in MS., have also been communicated to me, by my +learned and respected friend, Alexander Fraser Tytler, Esq[66]. I take +the liberty of transcribing Mr. Tytler's memorandum respecting the +manner in which they came into his hands. "My father[67] got the +following songs from an old friend, Mr. Thomas Gordon, professor +of philosophy, King's College, Aberdeen. The following extract of a +letter of the professor to me, explains how he came by them:--"An +aunt of my children, Mrs Farquhar, now dead, who was married to the +proprietor of a small estate, near the sources of the Dee, in Braemar, +a good old woman, who spent the best part of her life among flocks +and herds, resided in her latter days in the town of Aberdeen. She was +possest of a most tenacious memory, which retained all the songs she +had heard from nurses and country-women in that sequestered part of +the country. Being maternally fond of my children, when young, she had +them much about her, and delighted them with her songs, and tales of +chivalry. My youngest daughter, Mrs Brown, at Falkland, is blest with +a memory as good as her aunt, and has almost the whole of her songs +by heart. In conversation I mentioned them to your father, at whose +request, my grandson, Mr Scott, wrote down a parcel of them, as his +aunt sung them. Being then but a mere novice in music, he added, in +the copy, such musical notes, as, he supposed, might give your father +some notion of the airs, or rather lilts, to which they were sung." + +[Footnote 65: Mr. Jamieson of Macclesfield, a gentleman of literary +and poetical accomplishment, has for some years been employed in a +compilation of Scottish ballad poetry, which is now in the press, and +will probably be soon given to the public. I have, therefore, as far +as the nature of my work permitted, sedulously avoided anticipating +any of his materials; as I am very certain he himself will do our +common cause the most ample justice.] + +[Footnote 66: Now a senator of the College of Justice, by the title of +Lord Woodhouselee.] + +[Footnote 67: William Tytler, Esq. the ingenious defender of Queen +Mary, and author of a _Dissertation upon Scotish Music_, which does +honour to his memory.] + +From this curious and valuable collection, the editor has procured +very material assistance. At the same time, it contains many beautiful +legendary poems, of which he could not avail himself, as they seemed +to be the exclusive property of the bards of Angus and Aberdeenshire. +But the copies of such, as were known on the borders, have furnished +him with various readings, and with supplementary stanzas, which he +has frequent opportunities to acknowledge. The MSS. are cited under +the name of Mrs. Brown of Falkland, the ingenious lady, to whose taste +and memory the world is indebted for the preservation of the tales +which they contain. The other authorities, which occur during +the work, are particularly referred to. Much information has been +communicated to the editor, from various quarters, since the work +was first published of which he has availed himself, to correct and +enlarge the present edition. + +In publishing both classes of ancient ballads, the editor has excluded +those which are to be found in the common collections of this nature, +unless in one or two instances, where he conceived it possible to give +some novelty, by historical or critical illustration. + +It would have been easy for the editor to have given these songs +an appearance of more indisputable antiquity, by adopting the rude +orthography of the period, to which he is inclined to refer them. But +this (unless when MSS. of antiquity can be referred to) seemed too +arbitrary an exertion of the privileges of a publisher, and must, +besides, have unnecessarily increased the difficulties of many +readers. On the other hand, the utmost care has been taken, never +to reject a word or phrase, used by a reciter, however uncouth or +antiquated. Such barbarisms, which stamp upon the tales their age and +their nation, should be respected by an editor, as the hardy emblem of +his country was venerated by the Poet of Scotland: + + The rough bur-thistle spreading wide + Amang the bearded bear, + I turn'd the weeder-clips aside, + And spared the symbol dear. + +BURNS. + +The meaning of such obsolete words is usually given at the bottom +of the page. For explanation of the more common peculiarities of the +Scottish dialect, the English reader is referred to the excellent +glossary annexed to the last edition of Burns' works. + +The Third Class of Ballads are announced to the public, as MODERN +IMITATIONS of the Ancient Style of composition, in that department of +poetry; and they are founded upon such traditions as we may suppose in +the elder times would have employed the harps of the minstrels. This +kind of poetry has been supposed capable of uniting the vigorous +numbers and wild fiction, which occasionally charm us in the ancient +ballad, with a greater equality of versification, and elegance of +sentiment, than we can expect to find in the works of a rude age. But, +upon my ideas of the nature and difficulty of such imitations, I ought +in prudence to be silent; lest I resemble the dwarf, who brought with +him a standard to measure his own stature. I may, however, hint at the +difference, not always attended to, betwixt legendary poems and real +imitations of the old ballad; the reader will find specimens of both +in the modern part of this collection. The legendary poem, called +_Glenfinlas_, and the ballad, entituled the _Eve of St. John_, were +designed as examples of the difference betwixt these two kinds of +composition. + +It would have the appearance of personal vanity, were the editor to +detail the assistance and encouragement which he has received, during +his undertaking, from some of the first literary characters of our +age. The names of Stuart, Mackenzie, Ellis, Currie, and Ritson, with +many others, are talismans too powerful to be used, for bespeaking the +world's favour to a collection of old songs; even although a veteran +bard has remarked, "that both the great poet of Italian rhyme, +Petrarch, and our Chaucer, and other of the upper house of the muses, +have thought their canzons honoured in the title of a ballad." To my +ingenious friend, Dr. John Leyden, my readers will at once perceive +that I lie under extensive obligations, for the poetical pieces, with +which he has permitted me to decorate my compilation; but I am yet +farther indebted to him for his uniform assistance, in collecting and +arranging materials for the work. + +In the notes, and occasional dissertations, it has been my object +to throw together, perhaps without sufficient attention to method, +a variety of remarks, regarding popular superstitions, and legendary +history, which, if not now collected, must soon have been totally +forgotten. By such efforts, feeble as they are, I may contribute +somewhat to the history of my native country; the peculiar features +of whose manners and character are daily melting and dissolving into +those of her sister and ally. And, trivial as may appear such an +offering, to the manes of a kingdom, once proud and independent, I +hang it upon her altar with a mixture of feelings, which I shall not +attempt to describe. + + "--Hail, land of spearmen! seed of those who scorn'd + To stoop the proud crest to Imperial Rome! + Hail! dearest half of Albion, sea-wall'd! + Hail! state unconquer'd by the fire of war, + Red war, that twenty ages round thee blaz'd! + To thee, for whom my purest raptures flow, + Kneeling with filial homage, I devote + My life, my strength, my first and latest song." + + + + +APPENDIX. No. I. + +LETTER FROM THE EARL OF SURREY, TO HENRY VIII. +GIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE STORM OF JEDBURGH. + +_Cott. MSS. Calig_. B. III. fol. 29. + + * * * * * + +"Pleisith it your grace to be advertised, that upon Fridaye, at x a +clok at nyght, I retourned to this towne, and all the garnysons to +their places assigned, the bushopricke men, my Lorde of Westmoreland, +and my Lord Dacre, in likewise evry man home with their companys, +without los of any men, thanked be God; saving viii or x slayne, and +dyvers hurt, at skyrmyshis and saults of the town of Gedwurth, and the +forteressis, which towne is soo suerly brent, that no garnysons ner +none other shal bee lodged there, unto the tyme it bee newe buylded; +the brennyng whereof I comytted to twoo sure men, Sir William Bulmer, +and Thomas Tempeste. The towne was moche bettir then I went (_i.e._ +ween'd) it had been, for there was twoo tymys moo houses therein +then in Berwike, and well buylded, with many honest and faire houses +therein, sufficiente to have lodged M horsemen in garnyson, and six +good towres therein; whiche towne and towres be clenely distroyed, +brent, and throwen downe. Undoubtedly there was noo journey made into +Scotland, in noo manys day leving, with soo fewe a nombre that is +recownted to be soo high an enterprice as this, bothe with thies +contremen, and Scottishmen, nor of truthe so moche hurt doon. But in +th' ende a great mysfortune ded fall, onely by foly, that such ordre, +as was commaunded by me to be kepte, was not observed, the maner +whereof hereaftir shall ensue. Bifore myn entre into Scotland, I +appointed Sir William Bulmer and Sir William Evers too be marshallis +of th' army; Sir William Bulmer for the vangard, and Sir William Evers +for the reregard. In the vangard I appointed my Lord of Westmoreland, +as chief, with all the bushopricke, Sir William Bulmer, Sir William +Evers, my Lord Dacre, with all his company; and with me remayned +all the rest of the garnysons, and the Northumberland men. I was of +counsaill with the marshallis at th' ordering of our lodgingg, and our +campe was soo well envirowned with ordynance, carts, and dikes, that +hard it was to entre or issue, but at certain places appointed for +that purpos, and assigned the mooste commodious place of the saide +campe for my Lord Dacre company, next the water, and next my Lord of +Westmoreland. And at suche tyme as my Lord Dacre came into the fald, +I being at the sault of th' abby, whiche contynued unto twoo houres +within nyght, my seid Lord Dacre wold in nowise bee contente to ly +within the campe, whiche was made right sure, but lodged himself +without, wherewith, at my retourne, I was not contente, but then it +was to late to remove; the next daye I sente my seid Lorde Dacre to a +strong hold, called Fernherst, the lorde whereof was his mortal enemy; +and with hym, Sir Arthur Darcy, Sir Marmaduke Constable, with viii c. +of their men, one cortoute, and dyvers other good peces of ordynance +for the feld (the seid Fernherste stode marvelous strongly, within a +grete woode); the seid twoo knights with the moost parte of their men, +and Strickland, your grace servaunte, with my Kendall men, went into +the woode on fote, with th' ordynance, where the said Kendall men were +soo handled, that they found hardy men, that went noo foote back for +theym; the other two knightes were alsoo soo sharply assayled, that +they were enforced to call for moo of their men; and yet could not +bring the ordynance to the forteresse, unto the tyme my Lord Dacre, +with part of his horsemen, lighted on fote; and marvelously hardly +handled himself, and fynally, with long skirmyshing, and moche +difficultie, gat forthe th' ordynance within the howse and threwe +downe the same. At which skyrmyshe, my seid Lord Dacre, and his +brother, Sir Cristofer, Sir Arthure, and Sir Marmaduke, and many other +gentilmen, did marvellously hardly; and found the best resistence +that hath been seen with my comyng to their parties, and above xxxii +Scottis sleyne, and not passing iiij Englishmen, but above lx hurt. +Aftir that, my seid lord retournyng to the campe, wold in nowise bee +lodged in the same, but where he laye the furst nyght. And he being +with me at souper, about viij a clok, the horses of his company brak +lowse, and sodenly ran out of his feld, in such nombre, that it caused +a marvellous alarome in our feld; and our standing watche being set, +the horses cam ronnyng along the campe, at whome were shot above one +hundred shief of arrowes, and dyvers gonnys, thinking they had been +Scotts, that wold have saulted the campe; fynally the horses were soo +madde, that they ran like wild dere into the feld; above xv c. at the +leest, in dyvers companys, and, in one place, above I felle downe +a gret rok, and slewe theymself, and above ij c. ran into the towne +being on fire, and by the women taken, and carried awaye right evill +brent, and many were taken agayne. But, fynally, by that I can esteme +by the nombre of theym that I sawe goo on foote the next daye, I think +thare is lost above viij c. horses, and all with foly for lak of +not lying within the camp. I dare not write the wondres that my Lord +Dacre, and all his company, doo saye they sawe that nyght, vj. tymys +of spirits and fereful sights. And unyversally all their company +saye playnly, the devill was that nyght among theym vi tymys; whiche +mysfortune hath blemyshed the best journey that was made in Scotland +many yeres. I assure your grace I found the Scottes, at this tyme, the +boldest men, and the hotest, that ever I sawe any nation, and all +the journey, upon all parts of th' army, kepte us with soo contynuall +skyrmyshe, that I never sawe the like. If they myght assemble xl M as +good men as I nowe sawe, xv c or ij M, it wold bee a hard encountre to +mete theym. Pitie it is of my Lord Dacres losse of the horses of his +company; he brought with hym above iiij M. men, and came and lodged +one night in Scotland, in his moost mortal enemy's centre. There is +noo herdyer, ner bettir knyght, but often tyme he doth not use the +most sure order, which he hath nowe payed derely for. Written at +Berwike the xxvij of September. + +Your most bownden, + +T. SURREY. + + + + +APPENDIX, No. II. + +HISTORY OF GEORDIE BOURNE. + + * * * * * + + +In the following passages, extracted from the memoirs of Sir Robert +Carey, then deputy of his father, Lord Hunsdon, warden of the east +marches, afterwards Earl of Monmouth, the reader will find a lively +illustration of the sketch given of border manners in the preceding +Introduction. + +"Having thus ended with my brother, I then beganne to thinke of the +charge I had taken upon mee, which was the government of the east +march, in my father's absence. I wrote to Sir Robert Kerr[68], who was +my opposite warden, a brave active young man, and desired him that hee +would appoint a day, when hee and myselfe might privately meet in +some part of the border, to take some good order for the quieting the +borders, till my retourne from London, which journey I was shortly of +necessity to take. Hee stayed my man all night, and wrote to mee back, +that hee was glad to have the happinesse to be acquainted with mee, +and did not doubt but the country would be better governed by our good +agreements. I wrote to him on the Monday, and the Thursday after hee +appointed the place and hour of meeting. + +[Footnote 68: Sir Robert Kerr of Cessford, warden of the middle +marches, and ancestor of the house of Roxburghe.] + +"After hee had filled my man with drinke, and putt him to bed, hee, +and some halfe a score with him, gott to horse, and came into England +to a little village. There hee broke up a house, and tooke out a poore +fellow, who (hee pretended) had done him some wrong, and before the +doore cruelly murthered him, and so came quietly home, and went to +bed. The next morning hee delivered my man a letter in answer to mine, +and retourned him to mee. It pleased mee well at the reading of his +kinde letter; but when I heard what a _brave_ hee had put upon mee, I +quickly resolved what to do, which was, never to have to do with him, +till I was righted for the greate wrong hee had done mee. Upon this +resolution, the day I should have mett with him I tooke post, and with +all the haste I could, rode to London, leaving him to attend my coming +to him as was appointed. There hee stayed from one till five, but +heard no news of mee. Finding by this that I had neglected him, hee +retourned home to his house, and so things rested (with greate dislike +the one of the other) till I came back, which was with all the speede +I could, my businesse being ended. The first thing I did after my +retourne, was to ask justice for the wrong hee had done mee; but I +could gett none. The borderers, seeing our disagreement, they thought +the time wished for of them was come. The winter being beganne, their +was roades made out of Scotland into the east march, and goods were +taken three or foure times a weeke. I had no other meanes left to +quiet them, but still sent out of the garrison horsemen of Berwick, to +watch in the fittest places for them, and it was their good hap many +times to light upon them, with the stolen goods driving before them. +They were no sooner brought before mee, but a jury went upon them, +and, being found guilty, they were frequently hanged: a course which +hath been seldom used, but I had no way to keep the country quiet but +to do so; for, when the Scotch theeves found what a sharp course I +tooke with them, that were found with the bloody hand, I had in a +short time the country more quiet. All this while wee were but in jest +as it were, but now beganne the greate quarrell betweene us. + +"There was a favorite of his, a greate theife, called Geordie Bourne. +This gallant, with some of his associates would, in a bravery, +come and take goods in the east march. I had that night some of the +garrison abroad. They met with this Geordie and his fellowes, driving +of cattle before them. The garrison set upon them, and with a shott +killed Geordie Bourne's unckle, and hee himselfe bravely resisting +till he was sore hurt in the head, was taken. After hee was taken, his +pride was such, as hee asked, who it was that durst avow that nightes +worke? but when hee heard it was the garrison, he was then more +quiet. But so powerfull and awfull was this Sir Robert Kerr, and his +favourites, as there was not a gentleman in all the east march that +durst offend them. Presently after hee was taken, I had most of the +gentlemen of the march come to mee, and told mee, that now I had the +ball at my foote, and might bring Sir Robert Kerr to what conditions I +pleased; for that this man's life was so neere and deare unto him, as +I should have all that my heart could desire, for the good and quiet +of the country and myselfe, if upon any condition I would give him his +life. I heard them and their reasons; notwithstanding, I called a jury +the next morning, and hee was found guilty of MARCH TREASON. Then they +feared that I would cause him to be executed that afternoone, which +made them come flocking to mee, humbly entreating mee, that I would +spare his life till the next day, and if Sir Robert Kerr came not +himselfe to mee, and made mee not such proffers, as I could not but +accept, that then I should do with him what I pleased. And further, +they told mee plainly, that if I should execute him, before I had +heard from Sir Robert Kerr, they must be forced to quitt their houses +and fly the country; for his fury would be such, against mee and the +march I commanded, as hee would use all his power and strength to the +utter destruction of the east march. They were so earnest with mee, +that I gave them my word hee should not dye that day. There was +post upon post sent to Sir Robert Kerr, and some of them rode to him +themselves, to advertise him in what danger Geordie Bourne was; how he +was condemned, and should have been executed that afternoone, but, by +their humble suite, I gave them my word, that he should not dye that +day; and therefore besought him, that hee would send to mee, with all +the speede hee could, to let mee know, that hee would be the next day +with mee to offer mee good conditions for the safety of his life. When +all things were quiet, and the watch set at night, after supper, about +ten of the clock, I tooke one of my men's liveryes, and putt it about +mee, and tooke two other of my servants with mee in their liveryes, +and we three, as the warden's men, came to the provost marshall's, +where Bourne was, and were lett into his chamber. Wee sate down by +him, and told him, that wee were desirous to see him, because wee +heard hee was stoute and valiant, and true to his friend; and that +wee were sorry our master could not be moved to save his life. He +voluntarily of himselfe said, that hee had lived long enough to do +so many villainies as hee had done; and withal told us, that hee had +layne with about forty men's wives, what in England, what in Scotland; +and that hee had killed seven Englishmen with his own hands, cruelly +murthering them: that hee had spent his whole time in whoreing, +drinking, stealing, and taking deep revenge for slight offences. +Hee seemed to be very penitent, and much desired a minister for the +comfort of his soule. Wee promised him to lett our master know his +desire, who, wee knew, would presently grant it. Wee tooke our leaves +of him, and presently I tooke order, that Mr. Selby, a very worthy +honest preacher, should go to him, and not stirre from him till his +execution the next morning; for, after I had heard his own confession, +I was resolved no conditions should save his life: and so tooke order, +that at the gates opening the next morning, hee should be carried to +execution, which accordingly was performed. The next morning I had one +from Sir Robert Kerr for a parley, who was within two miles staying +for mee. I sent him word, "I would meet him where hee pleased, but I +would first know upon what termes and conditions." Before his man was +retourned, hee had heard, that in the morning, very early, Geordie +Bourne had been executed. Many vowes hee made of cruell revenge, +and retourned home full of griefe and disdaine, and, from that time +forward still plotted revenge. Hee knew the gentlemen of the country +were altogether sacklesse, and to make open road upon the march would +but shew his malice, and lay him open to the punishment due to such +offences. But his practice was how to be revenged on mee, or some of +mine. + +"It was not long after that my brother and I had intelligence, that +there was a great match made at footeball and the chiefe ryders were +to be there. The place they were to meet at was Kelsy, and that day, +wee heard it, was the day for the meeting. Wee presently called a +counsaile, and after much dispute it was concluded, that the likeliest +place hee was to come to, was to kill the scoutes. And it was the more +suspected, for that my brother, before my coming to the office, for +the cattaile stolne out of the bounds, and as it were from under the +walles of Barwicke, being refused justice (upon his complaint,) or at +least delaid, sent off the garrison into Liddisdale, and killed there +the chiefe offender, which had done the wrong. + +"Upon this conclusion, there was order taken, that both horse and +foote should lye in ambush, in diverse parts of the boundes, to defend +the scoutes, and to give a sound blow to Sir Robert and his company. +Before the horse and foote were sett out with directions what to +do, it was almost darke night, and the gates ready to be lockt. Wee +parted, and as I was by myselfe comeing to my house, God put it into +my mind, that it might well be, hee meant destruction to my men, +that I had sent out to gather tithes for mee at Norham, and their +rendezvous was every night to lye and sup at an ale-house in Norham. +I presently caused my page to take horse, and to ride as fast as his +horse could carry him, and to command my servants (which were in all +eight) that, presently upon his coming to them, they should all change +their lodging, and go streight to the castle, there to lye that night +in strawe and hay. Some of them were unwilling thereto, but durst +not disobey; so altogether left their ale-house, and retired to the +castle. They had not well settled themeselves to sleep, but they +heard in the town a great alarm; for Sir Robert and his company came +streight to the ale-house, broke open the doors, and made enquiry for +my servants. They were answered, that by my command they were all in +the castle. After they had searched all the house, and found none, +they feared they were betrayed, and, with all the speede they could, +made haste homewards again. Thus God blessed me from this bloody +tragedy. + +"All the whole march expected nightly some hurt to be done; but God so +blessed mee and the government I held, as, for all his fury, hee never +drew drop of blood in all my march, neither durst his theeves trouble +it much with stealing, for fear of hanging, if they were taken. Thus +wee continued a yeare, and then God sent a meanes to bring thinges to +better quiet by this occasion. + +"There had been commissioners in Barwicke, chosen by the queene and +king of Scottes, for the better quieting of our borders. By their +industry they found a great number of malefactors guilty, both in +England and Scotland; and they tooke order, that the officers of +Scotland should deliver such offenders, as were found guilty in their +jurisdictions, to the opposite officers in England, to be detained +prisoners, till they had made satisfaction for the goods they had +taken out of England. The like order was taken with the wardens of +England, and days prefixed for the delivery of them all. And in case +any of the officers, on either side, should omit their duties, in not +delivering the prisoners at the dayes and places appointed, that then +there should a course be taken by the soveraignes, that what chiefe +officer soever should offend herein, he himself should be delivered +and detained, till he had made good what the commissioners had agreed +upon. + +"The English officers did punctually, at the day and place, deliver +their prisoners, and so did most of the officers of Scotland; only +the Lord of Bocleuch and Sir Robert Kerr were faultie. They were +complained of, and new dayes appointed for the delivery of their +prisoners. Bocleuch was the first, that should deliver; and hee +failing entered himselfe prisoner into Barwicke, there to remaine till +those officers under his charge were delivered to free him. He +chose for his guardian Sir William Selby, master of the ordinance at +Barwicke. When Sir Robert Kerr's day of delivery came, he failed too, +and my Lord Hume, by the king's command, was to deliver him prisoner +into Barwicke upon the like termes, which was performed. Sir Robert +Kerr (contrary to all men's expectation) chose mee for his guardian, +and home I brought him to my own house, after hee was delivered to +mee. I lodged him as well as I could, and tooke order for his diet, +and men to attend on him, and sent him word, that (although by his +harsh carriage towards mee, ever since I had that charge, he could +not expect any favour, yet) hearing so much goodness of him, that hee +never broke his word, if hee should give mee his hand and credit to be +a true prisoner, hee would have no guard sett upon him, but have free +liberty for his friends in Scotland to have ingresse and regresse to +him as oft as hee pleased. He tooke this very kindly at my handes, +accepted of my offer, and sent me thankes. + +"Some four dayes passed; all which time his friends came into him, and +hee kept his chamber. Then hee sent to mee, and desired mee, I would +come and speake with him, which I did; and after long discourse, +charging and re-charging one another with wrong and injuries, at +last, before our parting, wee became good friends, with greate +protestations, on his side, never to give mee occasion of unkindnesse +again. After our reconciliation hee kept his chamber no longer, but +dined and supt with mee. I tooke him abroad with mee at the least +thrice a weeke, a hunting, and every day wee grew better friends. +Bocleuch, in a few dayes after, had his pledges delivered, and was +set at liberty. But Sir Robert Kerr could not get his, so that I was +commanded to carry him to Yorke, and there to deliver him prisoner to +the archbishop, which accordingly I did. At our parting, he professed +greate love unto mee for the kinde usage I had shewn him, and that I +would find the effects of it upon his delivery, which hee hoped would +be shortly. + +"Thus wee parted; and, not long after, his pledges were gott, and +brought to Yorke, and hee sett at liberty. After his retourne home, +I found him as good as his word. Wee met oft at dayes of truce, and I +had as good justice as I could desire; and so wee continued very kinde +and good friends, all the time that I stayed in that march, which was +not long." + + + + +APPENDIX, No. III. + +MAITLAND'S COMPLAYNT AGANIS THE THIEVIS OF LIDDISDAIL, +FROM PINKERTON'S EDITION, COLLATED WITH A MS. OF MAITLAND'S POEMS, IN +THE LIBRARY OF EDINBURGH COLLEGE. + + * * * * * + + + Of Liddisdail the commoun theifis + Sa peartlie steillis now and reifis, + That nane may keip + Horse, nolt, nor scheip, + Nor yett dar sleip + For their mischeifis. + + Thay plainly throw the country rydis, + I trow the mekil devil thame gydis! + Quhair they onsett, + Ay in thair gaitt, + Thair is na yet + Nor dor, thame bydis. + + Thay leif rich nocht, quhair ever thay ga; + Thair can na thing be hid thame fra; + For gif men wald + Thair housis hald, + Than waxe thay bald, + To burne and slay. + + Thay thiefs have neirhand herreit hail, + Ettricke forest and Lawderdaill; + Now are they gane, + In Lawthiane; + And spairis nane + That thay will waill. + + Thay landis ar with stouth sa socht, + To extreame povertye ar broucht, + Thay wicked schrowis + Has laid the plowis, + That nane or few is + That are left oucht. + + Bot commoun taking of blak mail, + Thay that had flesche, and breid and aill, + Now are sa wrakit, + Made bair and nakit, + Fane to be slaikit + With watter caill. + + Thay theifs that steillis and tursis hame, + Ilk ane of them has ane to-name[69]; + Will of the Lawis, + Hab of the Schawis: + To mak bair wawis + Thay thinke na schame. + + Thay spuilye puir men of their pakis, + Thay leif them nocht on bed nor bakis; + Baith hen and cok, + With reil and rok, + The Lairdis Jok, + All with him takis. + + Thay leif not spindell, spoone, nor speit; + Bed, boster, blanket, sark, nor scheit; + Johne of the Parke + Ryps kist and ark; + For all sic wark + He is richt meit. + + He is weil kend, John of the Syde; + A greater theif did never ryde. + He never tyris + For to brek byris: + Ouir muir and myris + Ouir gude ane gyde. + + Thair is ane, callet Clement's Hob, + Fra ilk puir wyfe reifis the wob, + And all the lave, + Quhatever they haife, + The devil recave + Thairfoir his gob. + + To sic grit stouth quha eir wald trow it, + Bot gif some great man it allowit + Rycht sair I trow + Thocht it be rew: + Thair is sa few + That dar avow it. + + Of sum great men they have sic gait, + That redy are thame to debait, + And will up weir + Thair stolen geir; + That nane dare steir + Thame air nor late. + + Quhat causis theifis us ourgang, + Bot want of justice us amang? + Nane takis cair, + Thocht all for fear; + Na man will spair + Now to do wrang. + + Of stouth thocht now thay come gude speid, + That nother of men nor God has dreid; + Yet, or I die, + Sum sail thame sie, + Hing on a trie + Quhill thay be deid-- + +_Quo_' Sir R.M. _of_ Lethington, _knicht_. + +[Footnote 69: Owing to the marchmen being divided into large clans, +bearing the same sirname, individuals were usually distinguished +by some epithet, derived from their place of residence, personal +qualities, or descent. Thus, every distinguished moss-trooper had, +what is here called, a _to-name_, or _nom de guerre_, in addition to +his family name.] + + + + +APPENDIX, No. IV. + + +BOND OF ALLIANCE, OR FEUD STAUNCHING, +BETWIXT THE CLANS OF SCOTT AND KER. + + * * * * * + + +The battle of Melrose (see Introduction, p. xvii.) occasioned a deadly +feud betwixt the name of Scott and Ker. The following indenture was +designed to reconcile their quarrel. But the alliance, if it ever took +effect, was not of long duration; for the feud again broke out about +1553, when Sir Walter Scott was slain by the Kers, in the streets of +Edinburgh. + +"Thir indentures, made at Ancrum the 16th of March, 1529 years, +contains, proports, and bears leil and suithfast witnessing. That it +is appointed, agreed, and finally accorded betwixt honourable men; +that is to say, Walter Ker of Cessford, Andrew Ker of Fairnieherst, +Mark Ker of Dolphinston, George Kerr, tutor of Cessford, and Andrew +Ker of Primesideloch, for themselves, kin, friends, mentenants, +assisters, allies, adherents, and partakers, on the one part; and +Walter Scot of Branxholm, knight, Robert Scot of Allanhaugh, Robert +Scot, tutor of Howpaisly, John Scot of Roberton, and Walter Scot of +Stirkshaws, for themselves, their kin, friends, mentenants, servants, +assisters, and adherents, on the other part; in manner, form, and +effect, as after follows: For staunching all discord and variance +betwixt them, and for furth-bearing of the king's authority, and +punishing trespasses, and for amending all slaughters, heritages, and +steedings, and all other pleas concerning thereto, either of these +parties to others, and for unité, friendship, and concord, to be had +in time coming 'twixt them, of our sovereign lord's special command: +that is to say, either of the said parties, be the tenor hereof, +remits and forgives to others the rancour, hatred, and malice of their +hearts; and the said Walter Scot of Branxholm shall gang, or cause +gang, at the will of the party, to the four head pilgrimages of +Scotland, and shall say a mass for the souls of umquhile Andrew Ker +of Cessford, and them that were slain in his company, in the field +of Melrose; and, upon his expence, shall cause a chaplain say a mass +daily, when he is disposed, in what place the said Walter Ker and his +friends pleases, for the well of the said souls, for the space of five +years next to come.--Mark Ker of Dolphinston, Andrew Kerr of Graden, +shall gang, at the will of the party, to the four head pilgrimages +of Scotland, and shall gar say a mass for the souls of umquhile James +Scot of Eskirk, and other Scots, their friends, slain in the field +of Melrose; and, upon their expence, shall gar a chaplain say a mass +daily, when he is disposed, for the heal of their souls, where the +said Walter Scot and his friends pleases, for the space of three years +next to come: and the said Walter Scot of Branxholm shall marry his +son and heir upon one of the said Walter Ker his sisters; he paying, +therefor, a competent portion to the said Walter Ker and his heir, at +the sight of the friends of baith parties. And also, baith the saids +parties bind and oblige them, be the faith and truth of their bodies, +that they abide at the decreet and deliverance of the six men chosen +arbiters, anent all other matters, quarrels, actiones, and debates, +whilk either of them likes to propone against others betwixt the saids +parties: and also the six arbiters are bound and obliged to decreet +and deliver, and give forth their deliverance thereuntil, within +year and day after the date hereof.--And attour, either of the saids +parties bind and oblige them, be the faith and truth of their bodies, +ilk ane to others, that they shall be leil and true to others, and +neither of them will another's skaith, but they shall let it at their +power, and give to others their best counsel, and it be asked; and +shall take leil and aeffald part ilk ane with others, with their kin, +friends, servants, allies, and partakers, in all and sundry their +actions, quarrels, and debates, against all that live and die (may the +allegiance of our sovereign lord the king allenarly be excepted).--And +for the obliging and keeping all thir premises above written, baith +the saids parties are bound and obliged, ilk ane to others, be the +faith and truth of their bodies, but fraud or guile, under the pain +of perjury, men-swearing, defalcation, and breaking of the bond of +deadly. And, in witness of the whilk, ilk ane to the procuratory of +this indenture remain with the said Walter Scot and his friends, the +said Walter Ker of Cessford has affixed his proper seal, with his +subscription manual, and with the subscription of the said Andrew +Ker of Fairnieherst, Mark Ker of Dolphinston, George Ker, tutor of +Cessford, and Andrew Ker of Primesideloch, before these witnesses, Mr. +Andrew Drurie, abbot of Melrose, and George Douglas of Boonjedward, +John Riddel of that ilk, and William Stewart. + +_Sic Subscribitur_, + +WALTER KER of Cessford. + +ANDREW KER of Fairnieherst. + +MARK KER. + +GEORGE KER. + +ANDREW KER of Primesideloch." + +N.B. The four pilgrimages are Scoon, Dundee, Paisley, and Melrose. + + + + +APPENDIX, No. V. + +ANE INTERLUDE OF THE LAYING OF A GAIST. + + * * * * * + + +This burlesque poem is preserved in the Bannatyne MSS. It is in the +same strain with the verses concerning the _Gyre Carline_ (Vol. II.) +As the mention of _Bettokis Bowr_ occurs in both pieces, and as the +scene of both is laid in East Lothian, they are perhaps composed by +the same author. The humour of these fragments seems to have been +directed against the superstitions of Rome; but it is now become very +obscure. Nevertheless, the verses are worthy of preservation, for the +sake of the ancient language and allusions. + + Listen lordis, I sall you tell, + Off ane very grit marvell, + Off Lord Fergussis gaist, + How meikle Sir Andro it chest, + Unto Beittokis bour, + The silly sawle to succour: + And he hes writtin unto me, + Auld storeis for to se, + Gif it appinis him to meit, + How he sall conjure the spreit: + And I haif red mony quars, + Bath the Donet, and Dominus que pars, + Ryme maid, and als redene, + Baith Inglis and Latene: + And ane story haif I to reid, + Passes Bonitatem in the creid. + To conjure the litill gaist he mon haif + Of tod's tails ten thraif, + And kast the grit holy water + With pater noster, pitter patter; + And ye man sit in a compas, + And cry, Harbert tuthless, + Drag thow, and ye's draw, + And sit thair quhill cok craw. + The compas mon hallowit be + With aspergis me Domine; + The haly writ schawis als + Thair man be hung about your bals + Pricket in ane woll poik + Of neis powder ane grit loik. + Thir thingis mon ye beir, + Brynt in ane doggis eir, + Ane pluck, ane pindill, and ane palme cors, + Thre tuskis of ane awld hors, + And of ane yallow wob the warp, + The boddome of ane awld herp, + The held of ane cuttit reill, + The band of an awld quheill, + The taill of ane yeild sow, + And ane bait of blew wow, + Ane botene, and ane brechame, + And ane quhorle made of lame, + To luke out at the litill boir, + And cry, Crystis crosse, you befoir: + And quhen ye see the litill gaist, + Cumand to you in all haist, + Cry loud, Cryste eleisone, + And speir quhat law it levis on? + And gif it sayis on Godis ley, + Than to the litill gaist ye say, + With braid benedicite; + --"Litill gaist, I conjure the, + With lierie and larie, + Bayth fra God, and Sanct Marie, + First with ane fischis mouth, + And syne with ane sowlis towth, + With ten pertane tais, + And nyne knokis of windil strais, + With thre heidis of curle doddy."-- + And bid the gaist turn in a boddy. + Then efter this conjuratioun, + The litill gaist will fall in soun, + And thair efter down ly, + Cryand mercy petously; + Than with your left heil sane, + And it will nevir cum agane, + As meikle as a mige amaist.[70] + + He had a litill we leg, + And it wes cant as any cleg, + It wes wynd in ane wynden schet, + Baythe the handis and the feit: + Suppose this gaist wes litill + Yit it stal Godis quhitell; + It stal fra peteous Abrahame, + Ane quhorle and ane quhim quhame; + It stal fra ye carle of ye mone + Ane payr of awld yin schone; + It rane to Pencatelane, + And wirreit ane awld chaplane; + This litill gaist did na mair ill + Bot clok lyk a corn mill; + And it wald play and hop, + About the heid ane stre strop; + And it wald sing and it wald dance, + Oure fute, and Orliance. + Quha conjurit the litill gaist say ye? + Nane bot the litill Spenzie fle, + That with hir wit and her ingyne, + Gart the gaist leif agane; + And sune mareit the gaist the fle, + And croun'd him King of Kandelie; + And they gat them betwene, + Orpheus king, and Elpha quene.[71] + To reid quha will this gentill geist, + Ye hard it not at Cockilby's feist.[72] + +[Footnote 70: Apparently some lines are here omitted.] + +[Footnote 71: This seems to allude to the old romance of _Orfeo and +Heurodis_, from which the reader will find some extracts, Vol. II. +The wife of _Orpheus_ is here called _Elpha_, probably from her having +been extracted by the elves, or fairies.] + +[Footnote 72: Alluding to a strange unintelligible poem in the +Bannatyne MSS., called _Cockelby's sow_.] + + + + +APPENDIX, No. VI. + +SUPPLEMENTAL STANZAS TO COLLINS'S ODE ON +THE SUPERSTITIONS OF THE HIGHLANDS. + +BY + +WILLIAM ERSKINE, ESQ. +ADVOCATE. + + * * * * * + +The editor embraces this opportunity of presenting the reader with +the following stanzas, intended to commemorate some striking Scottish +superstitions, omitted by Collins in his ode upon that subject; and +which, if the editor can judge with impartiality of the production +of a valued friend, will be found worthy of the sublime original. +The reader must observe, that these verses form a continuation of +the address, by Collins, to the author of _Douglas_, exhorting him to +celebrate the traditions of Scotland. They were first published in the +_Edinburgh Magazine_, for April, 1788. + + * * * * * + Thy muse may tell, how, when at evening's close, + To meet her love beneath the twilight shade, + O'er many a broom-clad brae and heathy glade, + In merry mood the village maiden goes; + There, on a streamlet's margin as she lies, + Chaunting some carol till her swain appears, + With visage deadly pale, in pensive guise, + Beneath a wither'd fir his form he rears![73] + Shrieking and sad, she bends her irie flight, + When, mid dire heaths, where flits the taper blue, + The whilst the moon sheds dim a sickly light, + The airy funeral meets her blasted view! + When, trembling, weak, she gains her cottage low, + Where magpies scatter notes of presage wide, + Some one shall tell, while tears in torrents flow, + That, just when twilight dimm'd the green hill's side, + Far in his lonely sheil her hapless shepherd died. + +[Footnote 73: The _wraith_, or spectral appearance, of a person +shortly to die, is a firm article in the creed of Scottish +superstition. Nor is it unknown in our sister kingdom. See the story +of the beautiful lady Diana Rich.--_Aubrey's Miscellanies_, p, 89.] + + Let these sad strains to lighter sounds give place! + Bid thy brisk viol warble measures gay! + For see! recall'd by thy resistless lay, + Once more the Brownie shews his honest face. + Hail, from thy wanderings long, my much lov'd sprite! + Thou friend, thou lover of the lowly, hail! + Tell, in what realms thou sport'st thy merry night, + Trail'st the long mop, or whirl'st the mimic flail. + Where dost thou deck the much-disordered hall, + While the tired damsel in Elysium sleeps, + With early voice to drowsy workman call, + Or lull the dame, while mirth his vigils keeps? + 'Twas thus in Caledonia's domes, 'tis said, + Thou ply'dst the kindly task in years of yore: + At last, in luckless hour, some erring maid + Spread in thy nightly cell of viands store: + Ne'er was thy form beheld among their mountains more.[74] + + [Footnote 74: See Introduction, p. ci.] + + Then wake (for well thou can'st) that wond'rous lay, + How, while around the thoughtless matrons sleep, + Soft o'er the floor the treacherous fairies creep, + And bear the smiling infant far away: + How starts the nurse, when, for her lovely child, + She sees at dawn a gaping idiot stare! + O snatch the innocent from demons vilde, + And save the parents fond from fell despair! + In a deep cave the trusty menials wait, + When from their hilly dens, at midnight's hour, + Forth rush the airy elves in mimic state, + And o'er the moon-light heath with swiftness scour: + In glittering arms the little horsemen shine; + Last, on a milk-white steed, with targe of gold, + A fay of might appears, whose arms entwine + The lost, lamented child! the shepherds bold[75] + The unconscious infant tear from his unhallowed hold. + +[Footnote 75: For an account of the Fairy superstition, see +_Introduction to the Tale of Tamlane_.] + + + + +MINSTRELSY +OF THE +SCOTTISH BORDER. + + +PART FIRST. + + * * * * * + + +_HISTORICAL BALLADS_. + + + +SIR PATRICK SPENS. + + * * * * * + + +One edition of the present ballad is well known; having appeared in +the _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, and having been inserted in almost +every subsequent collection of Scottish songs. But it seems to have +occurred to no editor, that a more complete copy of the song might be +procured. That, with which the public is now presented, is taken +from two MS. copies,[76] collated with several verses recited by the +editor's friend, Robert Hamilton, Esq. advocate, being the 16th, and +the four which follow. But, even with the assistance of the common +copy, the ballad seems still to be a fragment. The cause of Sir +Patrick Spens' voyage is, however, pointed out distinctly; and it +shews, that the song has claim to high antiquity, as referring to a +very remote period in Scottish history. + +[Footnote 76: That the public might possess this carious fragment as +entire as possible, the editor gave one of these copies, which seems +the most perfect, to Mr. Robert Jamieson, to be inserted in his +Collection.] + +Alexander III. of Scotland died in 1285; and, for the misfortune +of his country, as well as his own, he had been bereaved of all his +children before his decease. The crown of Scotland descended upon +his grand-daughter, Margaret, termed, by our historians, the _Maid of +Norway_. She was the only offspring of a marriage betwixt Eric, king +of Norway, and Margaret, daughter of Alexander III. The kingdom had +been secured to her by the parliament of Scotland, held at Scone, +the year preceding her grandfather's death. The regency of Scotland +entered into a congress with the ministers of the king of Norway and +with those of England, for the establishment of good order in +the kingdom of the infant princess. Shortly afterwards, Edward I. +conceived the idea of matching his eldest son, Edward, Prince of +Wales, with the young queen of Scotland. The plan was eagerly embraced +by the Scottish nobles; for, at that time, there was little of the +national animosity, which afterwards blazed betwixt the countries, +and they patriotically looked forward to the important advantage, of +uniting the island of Britain into one kingdom. But Eric of Norway +seems to have been unwilling to deliver up his daughter; and, while +the negociations were thus protracted, the death of the Maid of Norway +effectually crushed a scheme, the consequences of which might have +been, that the distinction betwixt England and Scotland would, in our +day, have been as obscure and uninteresting as that of the realms of +the heptarchy.--_Hailes' Annals. Fordun, &c._ + +The unfortunate voyage of Sir Patrick Spens may really have taken +place, for the purpose of bringing back the Maid of Norway to her own +kingdom; a purpose, which was probably defeated by the jealousy of the +Norwegians, and the reluctance of King Eric. I find no traces of +the disaster in Scottish history; but, when we consider the meagre +materials, whence Scottish history is drawn, this is no conclusive +argument against the truth of the tradition. That a Scottish vessel, +sent upon such an embassy, must, as represented in the ballad, have +been freighted with the noblest youth in the kingdom, is sufficiently +probable; and, having been delayed in Norway, till the tempestuous +season was come on, its fate can be no matter of surprise. The +ambassadors, finally sent by the Scottish nation to receive their +queen, were Sir David Wemyss, of Wemyss, and Sir Michael Scot of +Balwearie; the same, whose knowledge, surpassing that of his age, +procured him the reputation of a wizard. But, perhaps, the expedition +of Sir Patrick Spens was previous to their embassy. The introduction +of the king into the ballad seems a deviation from history; unless +we suppose, that Alexander was, before his death, desirous to see his +grand-child and heir. + +The Scottish monarchs were much addicted to "sit in Dumfermline town," +previous to the accession of the Bruce dynasty. It was a favourite +abode of Alexander himself, who was killed by a fall from his horse, +in the vicinity, and was buried in the abbey of Dumfermline. + +There is a beautiful German translation of this ballad, as it appeared +in the _Reliques_, in the Volk-Lieder of Professor Herder; an elegant +work, in which it is only to be regretted, that the actual popular +songs of the Germans form so trifling a proportion. + +The tune of Mr. Hamilton's copy of _Sir Patrick Spens_ is different +from that, to which the words are commonly sung; being less plaintive, +and having a bold nautical turn in the close. + + + + +SIR PATRICK SPENS. + + * * * * * + + + The king sits in Dumfermline town, + Drinking the blude-red wine; + "O[77] whare will I get a skeely skippe[78], + "To sail this new ship of mine?" + + O up and spake an eldern knight, + Sat at the king's right knee,-- + "Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor, + "That ever sail'd the sea." + + Our king has written a braid letter. + And seal'd it with his hand, + And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens, + Was walking on the strand. + + "To Noroway, to Noroway, + "To Noroway o'er the faem; + "The king's daughter of Noroway, + "'Tis thou maun bring her hame." + + The first word that Sir Patrick read, + Sae loud loud laughed he; + The neist word that Sir Patrick read, + The tear blinded his e'e. + + "O wha is this has done this deed, + "And tauld the king o' me, + "To send us out, at this time of the year, + "To sail upon the sea? + + "Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet, + "Our ship must sail the faem; + "The king's daughter of Noroway, + "'Tis we must fetch her hame," + + They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn, + Wi' a' the speed they may; + They hae landed in Noroway, + Upon a Wodensday. + + They hadna been a week, a week, + In Noroway, but twae, + When that the lords o' Noroway + Began aloud to say,-- + + "Ye Scottishmen spend a' our king's goud, + "And a' our queenis fee." + "Ye lie, ye lie, ye liars loud! + "Fu' loud I hear ye lie." + + "For I brought as much white monie, + "As gane[79] my men and me, + "And I brought a half-fou[80] o' gude red goud, + "Out o'er the sea wi' me." + + "Make ready, make ready, my merrymen a'! + "Our gude ship sails the morn." + "Now, ever alake, my master dear, + "I fear a deadly storm! + + "I saw the new moon, late yestreen, + "Wi' the auld moon in her arm; + "And if we gang to sea, master, + "I fear we'll come to harm." + + They hadna sailed a league, a league, + A league but barely three, + When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud, + And gurly grew the sea. + + The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap,[81] + It was sik a deadly storm; + And the waves came o'er the broken ship, + Till a' her sides were torn. + + "O where will I get a gude sailor, + "To take my helm in hand, + "Till I get up to the tall top-mast, + "To see if I can spy land?" + + "O here am I, a sailor gude, + "To take the helm in hand, + "Till you go up to the tall top-mast; + "But I fear you'll ne'er spy land." + + He hadna' gane a step, a step, + A step, but barely ane, + When a bout flew out of our goodly ship, + And the salt sea it came in. + + "Gae, fetch a web o' the silken claith, + "Another o' the twine, + "And wap them into our ship's side, + "And let na the sea come in." + + They fetched a web o' the silken claith, + Another of the twine, + And they wapped them round that gude ship's side, + But still the sea came in. + + O laith, laith, were our gude Scots lords + To weet their cork-heel'd shoon! + But lang or a' the play was play'd, + They wat their hats aboon. + + And mony was the feather-bed, + That flattered[82] on the faem; + And mony was the gude lord's son, + That never mair cam hame. + + The ladyes wrang their fingers white, + The maidens tore their hair, + A' for the sake of their true loves; + For them they'll see na mair. + + O lang, lang, may the ladyes sit, + Wi' their fans into their hand, + Before they see Sir Patrick Spens + Come sailing to the strand! + + And lang, lang, may the maidens sit, + Wi' their goud kaims in their hair, + A' waiting for their ain dear loves! + For them they'll see na mair. + + O forty miles off Aberdeen, + 'Tis fifty fathom deep, + And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens, + Wi' the Scots lords at his feet. + +[Footnote 77: In singing, the interjection, O, is added to the second +and fourth lines.] + +[Footnote 78: _Skeely skipper_--Skilful mariner.] + +[Footnote 79: _Gane_--Suffice.] + +[Footnote 80: _Half-fou_--the eighth part of a peck.] + +[Footnote 81: _Lap_--Sprang.] + +[Footnote 82: _Flattered_--Fluttered, or rather floated, on the foam.] + + + + +NOTES ON SIR PATRICK SPENS. + + * * * * * + + + _To send us out at this time of the year_, + _To sail upon the sea_?--P. 8, v. 3. + +By a Scottish act of parliament, it was enacted, that no ship should +be fraughted out of the kingdom, with any staple goods, betwixt +the feast of St. Simon's day and Jude and Candelmas.--_James III. +Parliament 2d, chap._ 15. Such was the terror entertained for +navigating the north seas in winter. + + _When a bout flew out of our goodly ship_.--P. 10. v. 5. + +I believe a modern seaman would say, a plank had started, which must +have been a frequent incident during the infancy of ship-building. The +remedy applied seems to be that mentioned in _Cook's Voyages_, when, +upon some occasion, to stop a leak, which could not be got at in the +inside, a quilted sail was brought under the vessel, which, being +drawn into the leak by the suction, prevented the entry of more water. +Chaucer says, + +"There n'is no new guise that it na'as old." + + _O forty miles off Aberdeen_,--P. 11. v. 3. + +This concluding verse differs in the three copies of the ballad, which +I have collated. The printed edition bears, + + "Have owre, have owre to Aberdour;" + +And one of the MSS. reads, + + "At the back of auld St. Johnstowne Dykes." + +But, in a voyage from Norway, a shipwreck on the north coast seems +as probable as either in the Firth of Forth, or Tay; and the ballad +states the disaster to have taken place out of sight of land. + + + + +AULD MAITLAND. + +NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED. + + * * * * * + + +This ballad, notwithstanding its present appearance, has a claim +to very high antiquity. It has been preserved by tradition; and is, +perhaps, the most authentic instance of a long and very old poem, +exclusively thus preserved. It is only known to a few old people, upon +the sequestered banks of the Ettrick; and is published, as written +down from the recitation of the mother of Mr. James Hogg[83], who +sings, or rather chaunts it, with great animation. She learned the +ballad from a blind man, who died at the advanced age of ninety, +and is said to have been possessed of much traditionary knowledge. +Although the language of this poem is much modernised, yet many words, +which the reciters have retained, without understanding them, still +preserve traces of its antiquity. Such are the words _Springals_ +(corruptly pronounced _Springwalls_), _sowies_, _portcullize_, and +many other appropriate terms of war and chivalry, which could never +have been introduced by a modern ballad-maker. The incidents are +striking and well-managed; and they are in strict conformity with +the manners of the age, in which they are placed. The editor has, +therefore, been induced to illustrate them, at considerable length, by +parallel passages from Froissard, and other historians of the period +to which the events refer. + +[Footnote 83: This old woman is still alive, and at present resides at +Craig of Douglas, in Selkirkshire.] + +The date of the ballad cannot be ascertained with any degree of +accuracy. Sir Richard Maitland, the hero of the poem, seems to have +been in possession of his estate about 1250; so that, as he survived +the commencement of the wars betwixt England and Scotland, in 1296, +his prowess against the English, in defence of his castle of Lauder, +or Thirlestane, must have been exerted during his extreme old age. He +seems to have been distinguished for devotion, as well as valour; for, +A.D. 1249, Dominus Ricardus de Mautlant gave to the abbey of Dryburgh, +"_Terras suas de Haubentside, in territorio suo de Thirlestane, +pro salute animae suae, et sponsae suae, antecessorum suorum et +successorum suorum, in perpetuum_[84]." He also gave, to the same +convent, "_Omnes terras, quas Walterus de Giling tenuit in feodo suo +de Thirlestane, et pastura incommuni de Thirlestane, ad quadraginta +oves, sexaginta vaccas, et ad viginti equos_."--Cartulary of Dryburgh +Abbey, in the Advocates' Library. + +[Footnote 84: There exists also an indenture, or bond, entered into by +Patrick, abbot of Kelsau, and his convent, referring to an engagement +betwixt them and Sir Richard Maitland, and Sir William, his eldest +son, concerning the lands of Hedderwicke, and the pasturages of +Thirlestane and Blythe. This Patrick was abbot of Kelso, betwixt 1258 +and 1260.] + +From the following ballad, and from the family traditions referred to +in the Maitland MSS., Auld Maitland appears to have had three sons; +but we learn, from the latter authority, that only one survived +him, who was thence surnamed _Burd alane_, which signifies either +_unequalled_, or _solitary_. A _Consolation_, addressed to Sir Richard +Maitland of Lethington, a poet and scholar who flourished about the +middle of the sixteenth century, and who gives name to the Maitland +MSS., draws the following parallel betwixt his domestic misfortunes +and those of the first Sir Richard, his great ancestor: + + Sic destanie and derfe devoring deid + Oft his own hous in hazard put of auld; + Bot your forbeiris, frovard fortounes steid + And bitter blastes, ay buir with breistis bauld; + Luit wanweirdis work and walter ay they wald, + Thair hardie hairtis hawtie and heroik, + For fortounes feid or force wald never fauld; + Bot stormis withstand with stomak stoat and stoik. + + Renowned Richert of your race record, + Quhais prais and prowis cannot be exprest; + Mair lustie lynyage nevir haid ane lord, + For he begat the bauldest bairnis and best, + Maist manful men, and madinis maist modest, + That ever wes syn Pyramus tym of Troy, + But piteouslie thai peirles perles apest. + Bereft him all hot Buird-allane, a boy. + + Himselfe was aiget, his hous hang be a har, + Duill and distres almaist to deid him draife; + Yet Burd-allane, his only son and air, + As wretched, vyiss, and valient, as the laive, + His hous uphail'd, quhilk ye with honor haive. + So nature that the lyk invyand name, + [85]In kindlie cair dois kindly courage craif, + To follow him in fortoune and in fame. + + Richerd he wes, Richerd ye are also, + And Maitland als, and magnanime as he; + In als great age, als wrappit are in wo, + Sewin sons[86] ye haid might contravaill his thrie, + Bot Burd-allane ye haive behind as he: + The lord his linage so inlarge in lyne, + And mony hundreith nepotis grie and grie[87] + Sen Richert wes as hundreth yeiris are hyne. + +_An Consolator Ballad to the Richt Honorabill Sir Richert Maitland of +Lethingtoune.--Maitland MSS. in Library of Edinburgh University_. + +[Footnote 85: _i.e._ Similar family distress demands the same family +courage.] + +[Footnote 86: _Sewin sons_--This must include sons-in-law; for the +last Sir Richard, like his predecessor, had only three sons, namely, +I. William, the famous secretary of Queen Mary; II. Sir John, who +alone survived him, and is the _Burd-allane_ of the consolation; III. +Thomas, a youth of great hopes, who died in Italy. But he had four +daughters, married to gentlemen of fortune.--_Pinkerton's List of +Scottish Poets_, p. 114.] + +[Footnote 87: _Grie and grie_--In regular descent; from _gre_, +French.] + +Sir William Mautlant, or Maitland, the eldest and sole surviving son +of Sir Richard, ratified and confirmed, to the monks of Dryburgh, +"_Omnes terras quas Dominus Ricardus de Mautlant pater suus fecit +dictis monachis_ _in territorio suo de Thirlestane," Sir William is +supposed to have died about 1315.--Crawford's Peerage_. + +Such were the heroes of the ballad. The castle of Thirlestane is +situated upon the Leader, near the town of Lauder. Whether the present +building, which was erected by Chancellor Maitland, and improved by +the Duke of Lauderdale, occupies the site of the ancient castle, I do +not know; but it still merits the epithet of a "_darksome house_." +I find no notice of the siege in history; but there is nothing +improbable in supposing, that the castle, during the stormy period of +the Baliol wars, may have held out against the English. The creation +of a nephew of Edward I., for the pleasure of slaying him by the hand +of young Maitland, is a poetical licence[88]; and may induce us to +place the date of the composition about the reign of David II., or of +his successor, when the real exploits of Maitland, and his sons, were +in some degree obscured, as well as magnified, by the lapse of time. +The inveterate hatred against the English, founded upon the usurpation +of Edward I., glows in every line of the ballad. + +[Footnote 88: Such liberties with the genealogy of monarchs were +common to romancers. Henry the Minstrel makes Wallace slay more than +one of King Edward's nephews; and Johnie Armstrong claims the merit of +slaying a sister's son of Henry VIII.] + +Auld Maitland is placed, by Gawain Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, +among the popular heroes of romance, in his allegorical Palice of +Honour[89]: + + +[Footnote 89: It is impossible to pass over this curious list of +Scottish romances without a note; to do any justice to the subject +would require an essay.--_Raf Coilyear_ is said to have been printed +by Lekprevik, in 1572; but no copy of the edition is known to exist, +and the hero is forgotten, even by popular tradition. + +_John the Reif_, as well as the former personage, is mentioned by +Dunbar, in one of his poems, where he stiles mean persons, + + Kyne of Rauf Colyard, and Johne the Reif. + +They seem to have been robbers: Lord Hailes conjectured John the Reif +to be the same with Johnie Armstrong; but, surely, not with his usual +accuracy; for the _Palice of Honour_ was printed twenty-eight years +before Johnie's execution. John the Reif is mentioned by Lindesay, in +his tragedy of _Cardinal Beatoun_. + + --disagysit, like John the Raif, he geid.-- + +_Cowkilbeis Sow_ is a strange legend in the Bannatyne MSS.--See +_Complaynt of Scotland_, p. 131. + +_How the wren came out of Ailsay_.--The wren, I know not why, is often +celebrated in Scottish song. The testament of the wren is still sung +by the children, beginning, + + The wren she lies in care's nest, + Wi' meikle dole and pyne. + +This may be a modification of the ballad in the text.] + + I Saw Raf Coilyear with his thrawin brow, + Crabit John the Reif, and auld Cowkilbeis Sow; + And how the wran cam out of Ailsay, + And Peirs Plowman[90], that meid his workmen few; + Gret Gowmacmorne, and Fyn MacCowl, and how + They suld be goddis in Ireland, as they say. + _Thair saw I Maitland upon auld beird gray_, + Robine Hude, and Gilbert with the quhite hand, + How Hay of Nauchton flew in Madin land. + +In this curious verse, the most noted romances, or popular histories, +of the poet's day, seem to be noticed. The preceding stanza describes +the sports of the field; and that, which follows, refers to the tricks +of "jugailrie;" so that the three verses comprehend the whole pastimes +of the middle ages, which are aptly represented as the furniture of +dame Venus's chamber. The verse, referring to Maitland, is obviously +corrupted; the true reading was, probably, "_with his_ auld beird +gray." Indeed the whole verse is full of errors and corruptions; which +is the greater pity, as it conveys information, to be found no where +else. + +[Footnote 90: _Peirs Plowman_ is well known. Under the uncouth names +of Gow Mac Morn, and of Fyn MacCowl, the admirers of Ossian are to +recognise Gaul, the son of Morni, and Fingal himself; _heu quantum +mutatus ab illo_! + +To illustrate the familiar character of _Robin Hood_, would be an +insult to my readers. But they may be less acquainted with _Gilbert +with the White Hand_, one of his brave followers. He is mentioned in +the oldest legend of that outlaw; Ritson's _Robin Hood_, p. 52. + + Thryes Robin shot about, + And alway he slist the wand, + And so dyde good _Gylberte + With the White Hand_. + +_Hay of Nachton_ I take to be the knight, mentioned by Wintown, whose +feats of war and travel may have become the subject of a romance, or +ballad. He fought, in Flanders, under Alexander, Earl of Mar, in 1408, +and is thus described; + + Lord of the Nachtane, schire William, + Ane honest knycht, and of gud fame, + A travalit knycht lang before than. + +And again, before an engagement, + + The lord of Nachtane, schire William + The Hay, a knycht than of gud fame, + Mad schire Gilberte the Hay, knycht. + +_Cronykil_, B. IX. c. 27. + +I apprehend we should read "How Hay of Nachton _slew_ in Madin Land." +Perhaps Madin is a corruption for Maylin, or Milan Land.] + +The descendant of Auld Maitland, Sir Richard of Lethington, seems to +have been frequently complimented on the popular renown of his great +ancestor. We have already seen one instance; and in an elegant copy +of verses in the Maitland MSS., in praise of Sir Richard's seat of +Lethingtoun, which he had built, or greatly improved, this obvious +topic of flattery does not escape the poet. From the terms of his +panegyric we learn, that the exploits of auld Sir Richard with the +gray beard, and of his three sons, were "sung in many far countrie, +albeit in rural rhyme;" from which we may infer, that they were +narrated rather in the shape of a popular ballad, than in a _romance +of price_. If this be the case, the song, now published, may have +undergone little variation since the date of the Maitland MSS.; for, +divesting the poem, in praise of Lethington, of its antique spelling, +it would run as smoothly, and appear as modern, as any verse in the +following ballad. The lines alluded to, are addressed to the castle of +Lethington: + + And happie art thou sic a place, + That few thy mak ar sene: + But yit mair happie far that race + To quhome thou dois pertene. + Quha dais not knaw the Maitland bluid, + The best in all this land? + In quhilk sumtyme the honour stuid + And worship of Scotland. + + Of auld Sir Richard, of that name, + We have hard sing and say; + Of his triumphant nobill fame, + And of his auld baird gray. + And of his nobill sonnis three, + Quhilk that tyme had no maik; + Quhilk maid Scotland renounit be, + And all England to quaik. + + Quhais luifing praysis, maid trewlie, + Efter that simple tyme, + Ar sung in monie far countrie, + Albeit in rural rhyme. + And, gif I dar the treuth declair, + And nane me fleitschour call, + I can to him find a compair, + And till his barnis all. + +It is a curious circumstance, that this interesting tale, so often +referred to by ancient authors, should be now recovered in so perfect +a state; and many readers may be pleased to see the following sensible +observations, made by a person, born in Ettrick Forest, in the humble +situation of a shepherd. "I am surprised to hear, that this song is +suspected by some to be a modern forgery; the contrary will be best +proved, by most of the old people, hereabouts, having a great part +of it by heart. Many, indeed, are not aware of the manners of this +country; till this present age, the poor illiterate people, in these +glens, knew of no other entertainment, in the long winter nights, than +repeating, and listening to, the feats of their ancestors, recorded in +songs, which I believe to be handed down, from father to son, for many +generations; although, no doubt, had a copy been taken, at the end of +every fifty years, there must have been some difference, occasioned +by the gradual change of language. I believe it is thus that many +very ancient songs have been gradually modernised, to the common +ear; while, to the connoisseur, they present marks of their genuine +antiquity."--_Letter to the Editor from Mr. James Hogg_. To the +observations of my ingenious correspondent I have nothing to add, +but that, in this, and a thousand other instances, they accurately +coincide with my personal knowledge. + + + + +AULD MAITLAND. + + * * * * * + + + There lived a king in southern land, + King Edward hight his name; + Unwordily he wore the crown, + Till fifty years were gane. + + He had a sister's son o's ain, + Was large of blood and bane; + And afterward, when he came up, + Young Edward hight his name. + + One day he came before the king, + And kneel'd low on his knee-- + "A boon, a boon, my good uncle, + "I crave to ask of thee! + + "At our lang wars, in fair Scotland, + "I fain hae wished to be; + "If fifteen hundred waled[90] wight men + "You'll grant to ride wi' me." + + "Thou sail hae thae, thou sail hae mae; + "I say it sickerlie; + "And I mysell, an auld gray man, + "Array'd your host sall see." + + King Edward rade, King Edward ran-- + I wish him dool and pyne! + Till he had fifteen hundred men + Assembled on the Tyne. + + And thrice as many at Berwicke[91] + Were all for battle bound, + _Who, marching forth with false Dunbar, + A ready welcome found_. + + They lighted on the banks of Tweed, + And blew their coals sae het, + And fired the Merse and Teviotdale, + All in an evening late. + + As they fared up o'er Lammermore, + They burned baith up and down, + Until they came to a darksome house; + Some call it Leader-Town. + + "Wha hauds this house?" young Edward cry'd, + "Or wha gies't ower to me?" + A gray-hair'd knight set up his head, + And crackit right crousely: + + "Of Scotland's king I haud my house; + "He pays me meat and fee; + "And I will keep my gude auld house, + "While my house will keep me." + + They laid their sowies to the wall, + Wi' mony a heavy peal; + But he threw ower to them agen + Baith pitch and tar barrel. + + With springalds, stanes, and gads of airn, + Amang them fast he threw; + Till mony of the Englishmen + About the wall he slew. + + Full fifteen days that braid host lay, + Sieging Auld Maitland keen, + Syne they hae left him, hail and fair, + Within his strength of stane. + + Then fifteen barks, all gaily good, + Met them upon a day, + Which they did lade with as much spoil + As they could bear away. + + "England's our ain by heritage; + "And what can us withstand, + "Now we hae conquer'd fair Scotland, + "With buckler, bow, and brand?" + + Then they are on to the land o' France, + Where auld King Edward lay, + Burning baith castle, tower, and town, + That he met in his way, + + Untill he came unto that town, + Which some call Billop-Grace; + There were Auld Maitland's sons, a' three, + Learning at school, alas! + + The eldest to the youngest said, + "O see ye what I see? + "Gin a' be trew yon standard says[92], + "We're fatherlesse a' three. + + "For Scotland's conquer'd, up and down; + "Landmen we'll never be: + "Now, will ye go, my brethren two, + "And try some jeopardy?" + + Then they hae saddled twa black horse, + Twa black horse, and a grey; + And they are on to King Edward's host, + Before the dawn of day. + + When they arriv'd before the host, + They hover'd on the lay-- + "Wilt thou lend me our king's standard, + "To bear a little way?" + + "Where was thou bred? where was thou born? + "Where, or in what countrie?" + "In north of England I was born: + (It needed him to lie.) + + "A knight me gat, a lady bore, + "I'm a squire of high renowne; + I well may bear't to any king, + "That ever yet wore crowne." + + "He ne'er came of an Englishman, + "Had sic an e'e or bree; + "But thou art the likest Auld Maitland, + "That ever I did see. + + "But sick a gloom, on ae brow-head, + "Grant I ne'er see agane! + "For mony of our men he slew, + "And mony put to pain." + + When Maitland heard his father's name, + An angry man was he! + Then, lifting up a gilt dagger, + Hung low down by his knee, + + He stabb'd the knight, the standard bore, + He stabb'd him cruellie; + Then caught the standard by the neuk, + And fast away rode he. + + "Now, is't na time, brothers," he cried, + "Now, is't na time to flee?" + "Aye, by my sooth!" they baith replied, + "We'll bear you company." + + The youngest turn'd him in a path, + And drew a burnished brand, + And fifteen of the foremost slew, + Till back the lave did stand. + + He spurr'd the gray into the path, + Till baith his sides they bled-- + "Gray! thou maun carry me away, + "Or my life lies in wad!" + + The captain lookit ower the wa', + About the break o' day; + There he beheld the three Scots lads, + Pursued along the way. + + "Pull up portcullize! down draw-brigg! + "My nephews are at hand; + And they sall lodge wi' me to-night, + "In spite of all England." + + Whene'er they came within the yate, + They thrust their horse them frae, + And took three lang spears in their hands, + Saying, "Here sall come nae mae!". + + And they shot out, and they shot in, + Till it was fairly day; + When mony of the Englishmen + About the draw-brigg lay. + + Then they hae yoked carts and wains, + To ca' their dead away, + And shot auld dykes aboon the lave, + In gutters where they lay. + + The king, at his pavilion door, + Was heard aloud to say, + "Last night, three o' the lads o' France + "My standard stole away. + + "Wi' a fause tale, disguised, they came, + "And wi' a fauser trayne; + "And to regain my gaye standard, + "These men were a' down slayne." + + "It ill befits," the youngest said, + "A crowned king to lie; + "But, or that I taste meat and drink, + "Reproved sall he be." + + He went before King Edward strait, + And kneel'd low on his knee; + "I wad hae leave, my lord," he said, + "To speak a word wi' thee." + + The king he turned him round about, + And wistna what to say-- + Quo' he, "Man, thou's hae leave to speak, + Tho' thou should speak a' day." + + "Ye said, that three young lads o' France + "Your standard stole away, + "Wi' a fause tale, and fauser trayne, + "And mony men did slay: + + "But we are nane the lads o' France, + "Nor e'er pretend to be; + "We are three lads o' fair Scotland, + "Auld Maitland's sons are we; + + "Nor is there men, in a' your host, + "Daur fight us, three to three." + "Now, by my sooth," young Edward said, + "Weel fitted ye sall be! + + "Piercy sall wi' the eldest fight, + "And Ethert Lunn wi' thee; + "William of Lancaster the third, + "And bring your fourth to me!" + + "_Remember, Piercy, aft the Scot[93] + "Has cow'rd beneath thy hand_: + "For every drap of Maitland blood, + "I'll gie a rigg of land." + + He clanked Piercy ower the head, + A deep wound and a sair, + Till the best blood o' his bodie + Cam rinning down his hair. + + "Now, I've slayne ane; slay ye the twa; + "And that's gude companye; + "And if the twa suld slay you baith, + "Ye'se get na help frae me." + + But Ethert Lunn, a baited bear, + Had many battles seen; + He set the youngest wonder sair, + Till the eldest he grew keen-- + + "I am nae king, nor nae sic thing: + "My word it shanna stand! + "For Ethert sail a buffet bide, + "Come he beneath my brand." + + He clanked Ethert ower the head, + A deep wound and a sair, + Till the best blood of his bodie + Cam rinning ower his hair. + + "Now I've slayne twa; slay ye the ane; + "Is na that gude companye? + "And tho' the ane suld slay ye baith, + "Ye'se get na help o' me." + + The twa-some they hae slayne the ane; + They maul'd him cruellie; + Then hung them over the draw-brigg, + That all the host might see. + + They rade their horse, they ran their horse, + Then hovered on the lee; + "We be three lads o' fair Scotland, + "That fain wad fighting see." + + This boasting, when young Edward heard. + An angry man was he! + "I'll take yon lad, I'll bind yon lad, + "And bring him bound to thee!" + + "Now, God forbid," King Edward said, + "That ever thou suld try! + "Three worthy leaders we hae lost, + "And thou the fourth wad lie. + + "If thou should'st hang on yon draw-brigg, + "Blythe wad I never be!" + But, wi' the poll-axe in his hand, + Upon the brigg sprang he. + + The first stroke that young Edward gae, + He struck wi' might and mayn; + He clove the Maitlan's helmet stout, + And bit right nigh the brayn. + + When Maitland saw his ain blood fa', + An angry man was he! + He let his weapon frae him fa', + And at his throat did flee. + + And thrice about he did him swing, + Till on the grund he light, + Where he has halden young Edward, + Tho' he was great in might. + + "Now, let him up," King Edward cried, + "And let him come to me! + "And, for the deed that thou hast done, + "Thou shalt hae erldomes three!" + + "Its ne'er be said in France, nor e'er + In Scotland, when I'm hame, + That Edward once lay under me, + And e'er gat up again!" + + He pierced him through and through the heart; + He maul'd him cruellie; + Then hung him ower the draw-brigg, + Beside the other three. + + "Now, take frae me that feather-bed! + "Mak me a bed o' strae! + "I wish I had na lived this day, + "To mak my heart sae wae. + + "If I were ance at London tower, + "Where I was wont to be, + "I never mair suld gang frae hame, + "Till borne on a bier-tree." + +[Footnote 90: _Waled_--Chosen.] + +[Footnote 91: North-Berwick, according to some reciters.] + +[Footnote 92: Edward had quartered the arms of Scotland with his own.] + +[Footnote 93: The two first lines are modern, to supply an imperfect +stanza.] + + + + +NOTES ON AULD MAITLAND. + + * * * * * + + + _Young Edward hight his name_.--P, 25. v. 2. + +Were it possible to find an authority for calling this personage +_Edmund_, we should be a step nearer history; for a brother, though +not a nephew of Edward I., so named, died in Gascony during an +unsuccessful campaign against the French.--_Knighton_, Lib. III. cap. +8. + + _I wish him dool and pyne_.--P. 26. v. 3. + +Thus, Spenser, in _Mother Huberd's tale_-- + + Thus is this ape become a shepherd swain, + And the false fox his dog, God give them pain! + + _Who, marching forth with false Dunbar, + A ready welcome found_.--P. 26. v. 4. + +These two lines are modern, and inserted to complete the verse. +Dunbar, the fortress of Patrick, Earl of March, was too often opened +to the English, by the treachery of that baron, during the reign of +Edward I. + + _They laid their sowies to the wall_, + _Wi' many a heavy peal_.--P. 27. v. 4. + +In this and the following verse, the attack and defence of a +fortress, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is described +accurately and concisely. The sow was a military engine, resembling +the Roman _testudo_. It was framed of wood, covered with hides, and +mounted on wheels, so that, being rolled forwards to the foot of the +besieged wall, it served as a shed, or cover, to defend the miners, or +those who wrought the battering ram, from the stones and arrows of the +garrison. In the course of the famous defence, made by Black Agnes, +Countess of March, of her husband's castle of Dunbar, Montague, Earl +of Salisbury, who commanded the besiegers, caused one of these engines +to be wheeled up to the wall. The countess, who, with her damsels, +kept her station on the battlements, and affected to wipe off with her +handkerchief the dust raised by the stones, hurled from the English +machines, awaited the approach of this new engine of assault. "Beware, +Montague," she exclaimed, while the fragment of a rock was discharged +from the wall--"Beware, Montague! for farrow shall thy sow!"[94] Their +cover being dashed to pieces, the assailants, with great loss and +difficulty, scrambled back to their trenches. "By the regard of suche +a ladye," would Froissart have said, "and by her comforting, a man +ought to be worth two men, at need." The sow was called by the French +_Truie_.--See _Hailes' Annals_, Vol. II. p. 89. _Wintown's Cronykil_, +Book VIII. _William of Malmesbury_, Lib. IV. + +The memory of the _sow_ is preserved in Scotland by two trifling +circumstances. The name given to an oblong hay-stack, is a _hay-sow_; +and this may give us a good idea of the form of the machine. Children +also play at a game with cherry stones, placing a small heap on the +ground, which they term a _sowie_, endeavouring to hit it, by throwing +single cherry-stones, as the sow was formerly battered from the +walls of the besieged fortress. My companions, at the High School of +Edinburgh, will remember what was meant by _berrying a sowie_. It is +strange to find traces of military antiquities in the occupation of +the husbandman, and the sports of children. + +[Footnote 94: This sort of bravade seems to have been fashionable in +those times: "Et avec drapeaux, et leurs chaperons, ils torchoient +les murs ŕ l'endroit, ou les pierres venoient frapper."--_Notice des +Manuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale_.] + +The pitch and tar-barrels of Maitland were intended to consume the +formidable machines of the English. Thus, at a fabulous siege of York, +by Sir William Wallace, the same mode of defence is adopted: + + The Englishmen, that cruel were and kene, + Keeped their town, and fended there full fast; + Faggots of fire among the host they cast, + Up _pitch and tar_ on feil _sowis_ they lent; + Many were hurt ere they from the walls went; + _Stones on Springalds they did cast out so fast, + And goads of iron made many grome agast_. + +Henry the Minstrel's History of Wallace.--B. 8. c. 5. + +A more authentic illustration may be derived from Barbour's Account of +the Siege of Berwick, by Edward II., in 1319, when a _sow_ was brought +on to the attack by the English, and burned by the combustibles hurled +down upon it, through the device of John Crab, a Flemish engineer, in +the Scottish service. + + And thai, that at the sege lay, + Or it was passyt the fyft day, + Had made thaim syndry apparall, + To gang eft sonys till assaill. + Off gret gests a _sow_ thai maid, + That stalwart heildyne aboyne it haid; + With armyt men inew tharin, + And instruments for to myne. + + Syndry scaffalds thai maid withall, + That war wele heyar than the wall, + And ordanyt als that, be the se, + The town suld weill assaillyt be. + + Thai within, that saw thaim swa, + Swa gret apparaill schap to ma, + Throw Craby's cunsaill, that wes sley, + A crane thai haiff gert dress up hey, + Rynnand on quheills, that thai micht bryng + It quhar that nede war off helping. + And pyk, and ter, als haiff thai tane; + And lynt, and herds, and brymstane; + And dry treyis that wele wald brin, + And mellyt aythir other in: + And gret fagalds thairoff thai maid, + Gyrdyt with irne bands braid. + The fagalds weill mycht mesuryt be, + Till a gret towrys quantite. + The fagalds bryning in a ball, + With thair cran thoucht till awaill; + And giff the sow come to the wall, + To lat it brynand on her fall; + And with stark chenyeis hald it thar, + Quhill all war brynt up that thar war. + + * * * * * + + Upon sic maner gan thai fycht, + Quhill it wes ner none off the day, + That thai without, on gret aray, + Pryssyt thair _sow_ towart the wall; + And thai within sune gert call + The engynour, that takyn was, + And gret manance till hym mais, + And swour that he suld dey, bot he + Prowyt on the sow sic sutelté + That he to fruschyt ilk dele, + And he, that hath persawyt wele + That the dede wes wele ner hym till, + Bot giff he mycht fulfil thair will + Thoucht that he at hys mycht wald do. + + Bendyt in gret by then wes sche, + That till the sow wes ewyn set. + In hy he gert draw the cleket; + And smertly swappyt owt a stane, + Ewyn our the sow the stane is gane, + And behind it a litill way + It fell: and then they cryt, "Hey!" + That war in hyr, "furth to the wall, + For dredles it is ours all!" + + The gynour than deleuerly + Gert bend the gyn in full gret hy; + And the stane smertly swappyt out. + It flaw out quethyr, and with a rout, + And fell rycht ewyn befor the sow. + Thair harts than begouth to grow. + Bot yhet than, with thair mychts all + Thai pressyt the sow towart the wall; + And has hyr set tharto gentilly. + The gynour than gert bend in hy + The gyne, and wappyt owt the stane, + That ewyn towart the lyft is gane, + And with gret wycht syne duschyt doun, + Rycht be the wall in a randoun; + And hyt the sow in sic maner, + That it that wes the maist sowar, + And starkast for to stynt a strak, + In sundre with that dusche it brak. + The men than owt in full gret hy, + And on the wallis thai gan cry, + That thair sow wes feryt thar. + Jhon Crab, that had hys geer all yar + In hys fagalds has set the fyr, + And our the wall syne gan thai wyr, + And brynt the sow till brands bar. + +_The Bruce_, Book XVII + + +The _springalds_, used in defence of the castle of Lauder, were +_balistae_, or large cross-bows, wrought by machinery, and capable of +throwing stones, beams, and huge darts. They were numbered among the +heavy artillery of the age; "Than the kynge made all his navy to +draw along, by the cost of the Downes, every ship well garnished +with bombardes, crosbowes, archers, _springalls_, and other +artillarie."--_Froissart_. + +Goads, or sharpened bars of iron, were an obvious and formidable +missile weapon. Thus, at the assault of Rochemiglion "They within +cast out great barres of iron, and pots with lyme, wherewith they +hurt divers Englishmen, such as adventured themselves too +far."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. cap. 108. + +From what has been noticed, the attack and defence of Lauder castle +will be found strictly conformable to the manners of the age; a +circumstance of great importance, in judging of the antiquity of the +ballad. There is no mention of guns, though these became so common in +the latter part of the reign of Edward III., that, at the siege of St. +Maloes, "the English had well a four hondred gonnes, who shot day and +night into the fortresse, and agaynst it."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. cap. +336. Barbour informs us, that guns, or "crakis of wer," as he calls +them, and crests for helmets, were first seen by the Scottish, in +their skirmishes with Edward the Third's host, in Northumberland A.D. +1327. + + _Which some call Billop-Grace_.--P. 28. v. 5. + +If this be a Flemish, or Scottish, corruption for Ville de Grace, in +Normandy, that town was never besieged by Edward I., whose wars in +France were confined to the province of Gascony. The rapid change of +scene, from Scotland to France, excites a suspicion, that some verses +may have been lost in this place. The retreat of the English +host, however, may remind us of a passage, in Wintown, when, after +mentioning that the Earl of Salisbury raised the siege of Dunbar, to +join King Edward in France, he observes, + + "It was to Scotland a gud chance, + "That thai made thaim to werray in France; + "For had thai halyly thaim tane + "For to werray in Scotland allane. + + Eftyr the gret mischeffis twa, + Duplyn and Hallydowne war tha, + Thai suld have skaithit it to gretly. + Bot fortowne thoucht scho fald fekilly + Will noucht at anis myscheffis fall; + Thare-fore scho set thare hartis all, + To werray Fraunce richit to be, + That Scottis live in grettar lé. + +_Cronykil_, B. VIII. cap. 34. + + _Now, will ye go, my brethren two, + And try some jeopardie_?--P. 29. v. 2. + +The romantic custom of atchieving, or attempting, some desperate and +perilous adventure, without either necessity or cause, was a peculiar, +and perhaps the most prominent, feature of chivalry. It was not merely +the duty, but the pride and delight, of a true knight, to perform such +exploits, as no one but a madman would have undertaken. I think it is +in the old French romance of _Erec and Eneide_, that an adventure, the +access to which lay through an avenue of stakes, garnished with the +bloody heads of the knights who had attempted and failed to atchieve +it, is called by the inviting title of _La joie de la Cour_. To be +first in advancing, or last in retreating; to strike upon the gate of +a certain fortress of the enemy; to fight blindfold, or with one +arm tied up; to carry off a banner, or to defend one; were often the +subjects of a particular vow, among the sons of chivalry. Until some +distinguishing exploit of this nature, a young knight was not said +to have _won his spurs_; and, upon some occasions, he was obliged to +bear, as a mark of thraldom, a chain upon his arm, which was removed, +with great ceremony, when his merit became conspicuous. These chains +are noticed in the romance of _Jehan de Saintré_. In the language of +German chivalry, they were called _Ketten des Gelubdes_ (fetters of +duty). Lord Herbert of Cherbury informs us, that the knights of the +Bath were obliged to wear certain strings, of silk and gold, upon +their left arm, until they had atchieved some noble deed of arms. When +Edward III. commenced his French wars, many of the young bachelors +of England bound up one of their eyes with a silk ribband, and swore, +before the peacock and the ladies, that they would not see with +both eyes until they had accomplished certain deeds of arms in +France.--_Froissart_, cap. 28. + +A remarkable instance of this chivalrous frenzy occurred during +the expedition of Sir Robert Knowles, who, in 1370, marched through +France, and laid waste the country, up to the very gates of Paris. +"There was a knighte, in their companye, had made a vowe, the day +before, that he wolde ryde to the walles or gates of Parys, and stryke +at the barryers with his speare. And, for the fournyshing of his vowe, +he departed fro his companye, his spear in his fyst, his shelde +about his neck, armed at all pecesse, on a good horsse, his squyer on +another, behinde him, with his bassenet. And whan he approached neare +to Parys, he toke and dyde on his helme, and left his squyer behind +hym, and dashed his spurres to his horsse, and came gallopynge to +the barryers, the whiche as then were opyn; and the lordes, that were +there, had wened he wolde have entred into the towne; but that was +not his mynde; for, when he hadde stryken at the barryers, as he +had before avowed, he towrned his reyne, and drue back agayne, and +departed. Than the knightes of France, that sawe hym depart, sayd to +hym, 'Go your waye; you have ryghte well acquitted yourself.' I can +nat tell you what was thys knyghtes name, nor of what contre; but the +blazure of his armes was, goules, two fusses sable, a border sable. +Howbeit, in the subbarbes, he had a sore encontre; for, as he passed +on the pavement, he founde before hym a bocher, a bigge man, who had +well sene this knighte pass by. And he helde in his handes a sharpe +hevy axe, with a longe poynt; and, as the knyght returned agayne, and +toke no hede, this bocher came on his side, and gave the knyghte suche +a stroke, betwene the neck and the shulders, that he reversed forwarde +heedlynge, to the neck of his horsse, and yet he recovered agayne. And +than the bocher strake hym agayne, so that the axe entered into his +body, so that, for payne, the knyghte fell to the erthe, and his +horsse ran away, and came to the squyer, who abode for his mayster +at the stretes ende. And so, the squyer toke the horsse, and had gret +marveyle what was become of his mayster; for he had well sene him +ryde to the barryers, and stryke therat with his glayve, and retourne +agayne. Thanne he rode a lytell forthe, thyderwarde, and anone he sawe +where his master layn upon the erthe, bytwene foure men, layenge on +him strokes, as they wolde have stryken on a stethey _(anvil)_; and +than the squyer was so affreyed, that he durst go no farther; for he +sawe well he could nat helpe his mayster. Therefore he retourned +as fast as he myght: so there the sayd knyghte was slayne. And the +knyghtes, that were at the gate, caused hym to be buried in holy +ground."--_Froissart_, ch. 281. + +A similar instance of a military jeopardy occurs in the same author, +ch. 364. It happened before the gates of Troyes. "There was an +Englyshe squyre, borne in the bishopryke of Lincolne, an expert man +of armes; I can nat say whyder he could se or nat; but he spurred his +horse, his speare in his hande, and his targe about his necke; his +horse came rushyng downe the waye, and lept clene over the barres of +the baryers, and so galoped to the gate, where as the duke of Burgoyne +and the other lords of France were, who reputed that dede for a great +enterprise. The squyer thoughte to have returned, but he could nat; +for his horse was stryken with speares, and beaten downe, and +the squyer slayn; wherewith the Duke of Burgoyne was right sore +displeased." + + _Wilt thou lend me our king's standard, + To bear a little way_?--P. 29. v. 4. + +In all ages, and in almost all countries, the military standards have +been objects of respect to the soldiery, whose duty it is to range +beneath them, and, if necessary, to die in their defence. In the ages +of chivalry, these ensigns were distinguished by their shape, and by +the various names of banners, pennons, penoncelles, &c., according to +the number of men, who were to fight under them. They were displayed, +on the day of battle, with singular solemnity, and consigned to the +charge only of such as were thought willing and able to defend them to +the uttermost. When the army of Edward, the Black Prince, was drawn +up against that of Henry the Bastard, king of Castile, "Than Sir Johan +Chandos brought his baner, rolled up togyder, to the prince, and said, +'Sir, behold, here is my baner. I requyre you display it abrode, and +give me leave, this daye, to raise it; for, sir, I thanke God and you, +I have land and heritage suffyciente to maynteyne it withal.' Than the +prince, and King Dampeter (Don Pedro), toke the baner betwene their +handes, and spred it abrode, the which was of sylver, a sharp pyle +gaules, and delyvered it to hym, and said, 'Sir Johan, behold here +youre baner; God sende you joye and honour thereof!' Than Sir Johan +Chandos bare his baner to his owne company, and sayde, 'Sirs, beholde +here my baner, and yours; kepe it as your owne.' And they toke it, and +were right joyful therof, and sayd, that, by the pleasure of God, +and Saint George, they wold kepe and defend it to the best of their +powers. And so the baner abode in the handes of a good Englishe +squyer, called William Alery, who bare it that day, and acquaytted +himself right nobly."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. ch. 237. The loss of a +banner was not only great dishonour, but an infinite disadvantage. At +the battle of Cocherel, in Normandy, the flower of the combatants, on +each side, were engaged in the attack and defence of the banner of the +captall of Buche, the English leader. It was planted amid a bush of +thorns, and guarded by sixty men at arms, who defended it gallantly. +"There were many rescues, and many a one hurt and cast to the earth, +and many feats of armes done, and many gret strokes given, with good +axes of steel, that it was wonder to behold." The battle did not cease +until the captall's standard was taken and torn to pieces. + +We learn, from the following passage in _Stowe's Chronicle_, that the +standard of Edward I. was a golden dragon. "The king entred Wales +with an army, appointing the footmen to occupie the enemies in fight, +whiles his horsemen, in a wing, set on the rere battell: himselfe, +with a power, kept his place, where he pight his golden dragon, unto +whiche, as to a castle, the wounded and wearied might repair." + + "_Where was thou bred? where was thou born? + Where, or in what countrie?" + "In north of England I was born: + (It needed him to lie_.)--P. 29. v. 5. + +Stratagems, such as that of Maitland, were frequently practised with +success, in consequence of the complete armour worn by the knights of +the middle ages. In 1359, Edward III. entered France, to improve the +success of the battle of Poictiers. Two French knights, Sir Galahaut +of Rybamont, and Sir Roger of Cologne, rode forth, with their +followers, to survey the English host, and, in short, to seek +adventures. It chanced that they met a foraging party of Germans, +retained in King Edward's service, under the command of Reynold of +Boulant, a knight of that nation. By the counsel of a squire of his +retinue, Sir Galahaut joined company with the German knight, under the +assumed character of Bartholomew de Bonne, Reynold's countryman, and +fellow soldier in the English service. The French knights "were a 70 +men of armes, and Sir Renolde had not past a 30; and, whan Sir Renolde +saw theym, he displayed his baner befor hym, and came softely rydynge +towarde theym, wenyng to hym that they had been Englyshemen. Whan he +approched, he lyft up hys vyser, saluted Sir Galahaut, in the name of +Sir Bartylmewe de Bonnes. Sir Galahaut helde hymselfe styll secrete, +and answered but fayntly, and sayd, 'let us ryde forth;' and so rode +on, and hys men, on the one syde, and the Almaygnes on the other. Whan +Sir Renolde of Boulant sawe theyr maner, and howe Sir Galahaut rode +sometyme by hym, and spake no word, than he began to suspecte. And +he had not so ryden, the space of a quarter of an hour, but he stode +styll, under his baner, among hys men, and sayd, 'Sir, I have dout +what knyght ye be. I thynke ye be nat Sir Bartylmewe, for I knowe hym +well; and I see well that yt ys nat you. I woll ye telle me your name, +or I ryde any farter in your company.' Therwith Sir Galahaut lyft +up hys vyser, and rode towardes the knyght to have taken hym by the +raygne of hys brydell, and cryed, '_Our Ladye of Rybamont_!' than Sir +Roger of Coloyne sayd, '_Coloyne to the rescue_!'[95] Whan Sir Renolde +of Boulant sawe what case he was in, he was nat gretly afrayed, but +drewe out his sworde; and, as Sir Galahaut wolde have taken hym by the +brydell, Sir Renolde put his sworde clene through hym, and drue agayne +hys sworde out of hym, and toke his horse, with the spurres, and left +Sir Galahaut sore hurt. And, whan Sir Galahautes men sawe theyr master +in that case, they were sore dyspleased, and set on Sir Renolde's +men; there were many cast to the yerth, but as sone as Sir Renolde had +gyven Sir Galahaut that stroke, he strak hys horse with the spurres, +and toke the feldes. Than certayne of Galahaut's squyers chasyd hym, +and, whan he sawe that they folowed hym so nere, that he muste other +tourne agayne, or els be shamed, lyke a hardy knyght he tourned, and +abode the foremost, and gave hym such a stroke, that he had no more +lyste to folwe him. And thus, as he rode on, he served three of theym, +that folowed hym, and wounded theym sore: if a goode axe had been in +hys hand, at every stroke he had slayne a man. He dyd so muche, that +he was out of danger of the Frenchmen, and saved hymselfe withoute any +hurte; the whyche hys enemyes reputed for a grete prowess, and so dyd +all other that harde thereof; but hys men were nere slayne or taken, +but few that were saved. And Sir Galahaut was caryed from thence sore +hurt to Perone; of that hurt he was never after perfectly hole; for +he was a knyght of suche courage, that, for all his hurte, he wold not +spare hymselfe; wherefore he lyved not long after."--_Froissart_, Vol. +I. Chap. 207. + +[Footnote 95: The war-cries of their family.] + + _The youngest turn'd him in a path, + And drew a burnished brand, &c._--P. 31. v. 2. + +Thus, Sir Walter Mauny, retreating into the fortress of Hanyboute, +after a successful sally, was pursued by the besiegers, who ranne +after them, lyke madde men; than Sir Gualtier saide, "Let me never +be beloved wyth my lady, without I have a course wyth one of these +folowers!" and turning, with his lance in the rest, he overthrew +several of his pursuers, before he condescended to continue his +retreat. + + _Whene'er they came within the yate, + They thrust their horse them frae, &c._--P. 32. v. 1. + +"The Lord of Hangest (pursued by the English) came so to the barryers +(of Vandonne) that were open, as his happe was, and so entred in +therat, and than toke his speare, and turned him to defence, right +valiantly."--_Froissart_, Vol. I. Chap. 367. + + _They rade their horse, they ran their horse, + Then hovered on the lee, &c._--P. 36. v. 1. + +The sieges, during the middle ages, frequently afforded opportunity +for single combat, of which the scene was usually the draw-bridge, +or barriers, of the town. The former, as the more desperate place of +battle, was frequently chosen by knights, who chose to break a lance +for honour, and their ladies' love. In 1387, Sir William Douglas, +lord of Nithisdale, upon the draw-bridge of the town of Carlisle, +consisting of two beams, hardly two feet in breadth, encountered and +slew, first, a single champion of England, and afterwards two, who +attacked him together.--_Forduni Scotichronicon_, Lib. XIV. cap. 51. + + He brynt the surburbys of Carlele, + And at the bareris he faucht sa wele, + That on thare bryg he slw a man, + The wychtast that in the town wes than: + Quhare, on a plank of twa feet brade, + He stude, and twa gude payment made, + That he feld twa stout fechteris, + And but skath went till his feres. + +_Wintown's Cronykil_, Book IX. Chap. 8. + +These combats at the barriers, or palisades, which formed the outer +fortification of a town, were so frequent, that the mode of attack and +defence was early taught to the future knight, and continued long +to be practised in the games of chivalry. The custom, therefore, of +defying the inhabitants of a besieged town to this sort of contest, +was highly fashionable in the middle ages; and an army could hardly +appear before a place, without giving rise to a variety of combats +at the barriers, which were, in general, conducted without any unfair +advantage being taken on either part. + +The following striking example of this romantic custom occurs in +Froissart. During the French wars of Edward the Black Prince, and in +the year 1370, a body of English, and of adventurers retained in +his service, approached the city of Noyon, then occupied by a French +garrison, and arrayed themselves, with displayed banners, before +the town, defying the defenders to battle. "There was a Scottysh +knyghte[96] dyde there a goodly feate of armes, for he departed fro +his companye, hys speare in hys hand, and mounted on a good horse, hys +page behynde hyme, and so came before the barryers. Thys knyghte was +called Sir Johan Assueton,[97] a hardy man and a couragyous. Whan he +was before the barryers of Noyon, he lyghted a-fote, and sayd to hys +page, 'Holde, kepe my horse, and departe nat hens;' and so wente to +the barryers. And wythyn the barryers, there were good knyghtes; as, +Sir John of Roy, Sir Lancelat of Loutys, and a x or xii other, who +had grete marveyle what thys sayde knyghte wolde do. Than he sayde to +them, 'Sirs, I am come hyder to se you. I se well, ye wyll nat issue +out of your barryers; therefore I will entre, and I can, and wyll +prove my knyghthode agaynst yours; wyn me and ye can.' And therewyth +he layde on, round about hym, and they at hym. And thus, he alone +fought agaynst them, more than an houre; and dyd hurte two or three +of them; so that they of the towne, on the walles and garrettes, +stode still, and behelde them, and had great pleasure to regarde his +valyauntness, and dyd him no hurte; the whiche they myght have done, +if they hadde list to have shotte, or cast stones at hym. And also +the French knyghtes charged them to let hym and them alone togyder. So +long they foughte, that, at last, his page came near to the barryers, +and spake in his langage, and sayd, 'Sir, come awaye; it is time for +you to departe, for your cumpanye is departyng hens.' The knyghte +harde hym well, and than gave a two or three strokes about him, and +so, armed as he was, he lepte out of the barryers, and lepte upon +his horse, without any hurte, behynde his page; and sayd to the +Frenchemen, 'Adue, sirs! I thank you;' and so rode forthe to his +owne company. The whiche dede was moche praysed of many +folkes."--_Froissart_, cap. 278. + +[Footnote 96: By the terms of the peace betwixt England and Scotland, +the Scottish were left at liberty to take service either with France +or England, at their pleasure. Sir Robert Knolles, therefore, who +commanded the expedition, referred to in the text, had under his +command a hundred Scottish spears.] + +[Footnote 97: _Assueton_ is a corruption for Swinton. Sir John +Swinton, of Swinton, was a Scottish champion, noted for his courage +and gigantic stature.] + +The barriers, so often alluded to, are described, by the same +admirable historian, to be grated pallisades, the grates being +about half a foot wide. In a skirmish before Honycourt, Sir Henry +of Flanders ventured to thrust his sword so far through one of those +spaces, that a sturdy abbot, who was within, seized his sword-arm, +and drew it through the harriers, up to the shoulder. In this aukward +situation he remained for some time, being unwilling to dishonour +himself by quitting his weapon. He was at length rescued, but lost his +sword; which Froissart afterwards saw preserved, as a relique, in the +monastery of Honycourt.--Vol. I. chap. 39. For instances of single +combats, at the barriers, see the same author, _passim_. + + _And if the twa suld slay ye baith, + Ye'se get na help frae me_.--P. 34. v. 5. + +According to the laws of chivalry, laws, which were also for a long +time observed in duels, when two or more persons were engaged on +each side, he, who first conquered his immediate antagonist, was at +liberty, if he pleased, to come to the assistance of his companions. +The play of the "_Little French Lawyer_" turns entirely upon this +circumstance; and it may be remarked throughout the poems of Boiardo +and Ariosto; particularly in the combat of three Christian and three +Pagan champions, in the 42d canto of _Orlando Furioso_. But doubtless +a gallant knight was often unwilling, like young Maitland, to avail +himself of this advantage. Something of this kind seems to have +happened in the celebrated combat, fought in the presence of James II. +at Stirling, in 1449, between three French, or Flemish, warriors, and +three noble Scottishmen, two of whom were of the house of Douglas. +The reader will find a literal translation of Olivier de la Marche's +account of this celebrated tourney, in _Pinkerton's History_, Vol. I. +p. 428. + + _I am nae king, nor nae sic thing: + My word it shanna stand_!--P. 35. v. 2. + +Maitland's apology for retracting his promise to stand neuter, is as +curious as his doing so is natural. The unfortunate John of France was +wont to say, that, if truth and faith were banished from all the rest +of the universe, they should still reside in the breast and the mouth +of kings. + + _They maul'd him cruellie_.--P. 35. v. 5. + +This has a vulgar sound, but is actually a phrase of romance. _Tant +frappent et_ maillent _lex deux vassaux l'un sur l'autre, que leurs +heaumes, et leurs hauberts, sont tous cassez et rompus_.--La fleur des +Battailes. + + _But, wi' the poll-axe in his hand, + Upon the brigg sprang he_.--P. 36. v. 4. + +The battle-axe, of which there are many kinds, was a knightly weapon, +much used in the middle ages, as well in single combat as in battle. +"And also there was a younge bachelor, called Bertrande of Glesguyne, +who duryng the seige, fought wyth an Englyshman, called Sir Nycholas +Dagerne; and that batayle was takene thre courses wyth a speare, +thre strokes wyth an axe, and thre wyth a dagger. And eche of these +knyghtes bare themselves so valyantly, that they departed fro the +felde wythout any damage, and they were well regarded, bothe of theyme +wythyn, and they wythout." This happened at the siege of Rennes, by +the Duke of Lancaster, in 1357.--_Froissart_, Vol. I. c. 175. With the +same weapon Godfrey of Harcourt long defended himself, when surprised +and defeated by the French. "And Sir Godfraye's men kepte no goode +array, nor dyd nat as they had promysed; moost part of theyme fledde: +whan Sir Godfraye sawe that, he sayde to hymselfe, howe he had rather +there be slayne than be taken by the Frenchmen; there he toke hys axe +in hys handes, and set fast the one legge before the other, to stonde +the more surely; for hys one legge was a lytell crooked, but he was +strong in the armes. Ther he fought valyantly and long: none durste +well abyde hys strokes; than two Frenchmen mounted on theyr horses, +and ranne both with their speares at ones at hym, and so bare hym to +the yerth: than other, that were a-fote, came wyth theyr swerdes, +and strake hym into the body, under his barneys, so that ther he was +slayne."--_Ibid_, chap. 172. The historian throws Sir Godfrey into a +striking attitude of desperation. + + _When Maitland saw his ain blude fa', + An angry man was he_,--P. 37, v. 1. + +There is a saying, that a Scottishman fights best after seeing his own +blood. Camerarius has contrived to hitch this foolish proverb into +a national compliment; for he quotes it as an instance of the +persevering gallantry of his countrymen. "_Si in pugna proprium +effundi sanguinem vidissent, non statim prostrato animo concedebant, +sed irato potius in hostes velut furentes omnibus viribus +incurrebant_." + + _That Edward once lay under me, + And e'er gat up again_.--P. 37. v. 4. + +Some reciters repeat it thus: + + "That _Englishman_ lay under me," + +which is in the true spirit of Blind Harry, who makes Wallace say, + + "I like better to see the southeron die, + "Than gold or land, that they can gie to me." + +In slaying Edward, Maitland acts pitilessly, but not contrary to +the laws of arms, which did not enjoin a knight to shew mercy to his +antagonist, until he yielded him, "_rescue or no rescue_." Thus, the +seigneur de Languerant came before the walls of an English garrison, +in Gascony, and defied any of the defenders to run a course with a +spear: his challenge being accepted by Bertrand Courant, the governor +of the place, they couched their spears, like good knights, and dashed +on their horses. Their spears were broke to pieces, and Languerant was +overthrown, and lost his helmet among the horses' feet. His attendants +were coming up; but Bernard drew his dagger, and said, "Sir, yield +ye my prisoner, rescue or no rescue; else ye are but dead." The +dismounted champion spoke not a word; on which, Bertrand, entering +into fervent ire, dashed his dagger into his skull. Besides, the +battle was not always finished by one warrior obtaining this advantage +over the other. In the battle of Nejara, the famous Sir John Chandos +was overthrown, and held down, by a gigantic Spanish cavalier, named +Martino Fernandez. "Then Sir Johan Chandos remembred of a knyfe, that +he had in his bosome, and drew it out, and struck this Martyne so in +the backe, and in the sydes, that he wounded him to dethe, as he laye +upon hym." The dagger, which the knights employed in these close and +desperate struggles, was called the _poniard of mercy_. + + + + +BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. + +THE SCOTTISH EDITION. + + * * * * * + + +The following edition of the Battle of Otterbourne, being essentially +different from that which is published in the _Reliques of Ancient +Poetry_, Vol. I. and being obviously of Scottish composition, claims a +place in the present collection. The particulars of that noted action +are related by Froissard, with the highest encomium upon the valour of +the combatants on each side. James, Earl of Douglas, with his brother, +the Earl of Murray, in 1387 invaded Northumberland, at the head of +3000 men; while the Earls of Fife and Strathern, sons to the king of +Scotland, ravaged the western borders of England, with a still more +numerous army. Douglas penetrated as far as Newcastle, where the +renowned Hotspur lay in garrison. In a skirmish before the walls, +Percy's lance, with the pennon, or guidon, attached to it, was taken +by Douglas, as most authors affirm, in a personal encounter betwixt +the two heroes. The earl shook the pennon aloft, and swore he would +carry it as his spoil into Scotland, and plant it upon his castle of +Dalkeith. "That," answered Percy, "shalt thou never!"--Accordingly, +having collected the forces of the marches, to a number equal, or +(according to the Scottish historians) much superior, to the army +of Douglas, Hotspur made a night attack upon the Scottish camp, at +Otterbourne, about thirty-two miles from Newcastle. An action took +place, fought, by moon-light, with uncommon gallantry and desperation. +At length, Douglas, armed with an iron mace, which few but he could +wield, rushed into the thickest of the English battalions, followed +only by his chaplain, and two squires of his body.[98] Before his +followers could come up, their brave leader was stretched on the +ground, with three mortal wounds: his squires lay dead by his side; +the priest alone, armed with a lance, was protecting his master from +farther injury. "I die like my forefathers," said the expiring hero, +"in a field of battle, and not on a bed of sickness. Conceal my death, +defend my standard,[99] and avenge my fall! It is an old prophecy, +that a dead man shall gain a field,[100] and I hope it will be +accomplished this night."--_Godscroft_.--With these words he expired; +and the fight was renewed with double obstinacy around his body. When +morning appeared, however, victory began to incline to the Scottish +side. Ralph Percy, brother to Hotspur, was made prisoner by the earl +Marischal, and, shortly after, Harry Percy[101] himself was taken by +Lord Montgomery. The number of captives, according to Wyntoun, nearly +equalled that of the victors. Upon this the English retired, and left +the Scots masters of the dear-bought honours of the field. But the +bishop of Durham approaching, at the head of a body of fresh forces, +not only checked the pursuit of the victors, but made prisoners some +of the stragglers, who had urged the chase too far. The battle was +not, however, renewed, as the bishop of Durham did not venture +to attempt the rescue of Percy. The field was fought 15th August, +1388.--_Fordun, Froissard, Hollinshed, Godscroft_. + +[Footnote 98: Their names were Robert Hart and Simon Glendinning. +The chaplain was Richard Lundie, afterwards archdean of +Aberdeen.--_Godscroft_. Hart, according to Wintown, was a knight. That +historian says, no one knew how Douglas fell.] + +[Footnote 99: The banner of Douglas, upon this memorable occasion, was +borne by his natural son, Archibald Douglas, ancestor of the family of +Cavers, hereditary sheriffs of Teviotdale, amongst whose archives this +glorious relique is still preserved. The earl, at his onset, is said +to have charged his son to defend it to the last drop of his blood.] + +[Footnote 100: This prophecy occurs in the ballad as an ominous +dream.] + +[Footnote 101: Hotspur, for his ransom, built the castle of Penoon, +in Ayrshire, belonging to the family of Montgomery, now earls of +Eglintoun.] + +The ground, on which this memorable engagement took place, is now the +property of John Davidson, Esq. of Newcastle, and still retains the +name of Battle Cross. A cross, erroneously termed _Percy's Cross_, +has been erected upon the spot where the gallant Earl of Douglas is +supposed to have fallen. These particulars were communicated to the +editor, in the most obliging manner, by the present proprietor of +Otterbourne. + +The ballad, published in the _Reliques_, is avowedly an English +production; and the author, with a natural partiality, leans to +the side of his countrymen; yet, that ballad, or some one similar, +modified probably by national prejudice, must have been current in +Scotland during the reign of James VI.: for Godscroft, in treating of +this battle, mentions its having been the subject of popular song, +and proceeds thus: But that, which is commonly sung of the _Hunting of +Chiviot_, seemeth indeed poetical, and a mere fiction, perhaps to stir +up virtue; yet a fiction whereof there is no mention, either in the +Scottish or English Chronicle. Neither are the songs, that are made of +them, both one; for the _Scots song made of Otterbourne_, telleth +the time, about Lammas; and also the occasion, to take preys out of +England; also the dividing the armies betwixt the earls of Fife +and Douglas, and their several journeys, almost as in the authentic +history. It beginneth thus; + + "It fell about the Lammas tide, + "When yeomen win their hay, + "The doughty Douglas 'gan to ride, + "In England to take a prey."-- + +GODSCROFT, _ed. Edin_. 1743. Vol. I. p. 195. + +I cannot venture to assert, that the stanzas, here published, belong +to the ballad alluded to by Godscroft; but they come much nearer to +his description than the copy published in the first edition, which +represented Douglas as falling by the poignard of a faithless +page. Yet we learn, from the same author, that the story of the +assassination was not without foundation in tradition.--"There are +that say, that he (Douglas) was not slain by the enemy, but by one of +his own men, a groom of his chamber, whom he had struck the day before +with a truncheon, in ordering of the battle, because he saw him make +somewhat slowly to. And they name this man John Bickerton of Luffness, +who left a part of his armour behind, unfastened, and when he was in +the greatest conflict, this servant of his came behind his back, and +slew him thereat."--_Godscroft, ut supra_.--"But this narration," adds +the historian, "is not so probable."[102] Indeed, it seems to have +no foundation, but the common desire of assigning some remote and +extraordinary cause for the death of a great man. The following ballad +is also inaccurate in many other particulars, and is much shorter, and +more indistinct, than that printed in the _Reliques_, although many +verses are almost the same. Hotspur, for instance, is called _Earl +Percy_, a title he never enjoyed; neither was Douglas buried on the +field of battle, but in Melrose Abbey, where his tomb is still shown. + +[Footnote 102: Wintown assigns another cause for Douglas being +carelessly armed. + + "The erle Jamys was sa besy, + For til ordane his cumpany; + And on his Fays for to pas, + That reckles he of his armyng was; + The Erle of Mwrrawys Bassenet, + Thai sayd, at that tyme was feryhete." + +Book VIII. Chap 7. + +The circumstance of Douglas' omitting to put on his helmet, occurs in +the ballad.] + +This song was first published from Mr. Herd's _Collection of Scottish +Songs and Ballads_, Edin. 1774: 2 vols. octavo; but two recited copies +have fortunately been obtained from the recitation of old persons +residing at the head of Ettrick Forest, by which the story is brought +out, and completed, in a manner much more correspondent to the true +history. + +I cannot dismiss the subject of the Battle of Otterbourne, without +stating (with all the deference due to the father of this species of +literature) a doubt, which occurs to me, as to the account given of +"Sir John of Agurstone," one of the Scottish warriors, in the learned +and excellent notes subjoined to the ballad, in the _Reliques of +Ancient Poetry_. This personage is there supposed to have been one of +the Haggerstons of Haggerston, a Northumbrian family, who, according +to the fate of war, were sometimes subjects of Scotland. I cannot, +however, think, that at this period, while the English were in +possession both of Berwick and Roxburgh, with the intermediate +fortresses of Wark, Cornwall, and Norham, the Scots possessed any +part of Northumberland, much less a manor which lay within that strong +chain of castles. I should presume the person alluded to rather to +have been one of the Rutherfords, barons of Edgerstane, or Adgerston, +a warlike family, which has long flourished on the Scottish borders, +and who were, at this very period, retainers of the house of Douglas. +The same notes contain an account of the other Scottish warriors of +distinction, who were present at the battle. These were, the earls +of Monteith, Buchan, and Huntley; the barons of Maxwell and Johnston; +Swinton of that ilk, an ancient family which, about that period, +produced several distinguished warriors; Sir David (or rather, as the +learned editor well remarks, Sir Walter) Scott of Buccleuch, Stewart +of Garlies, and Murray of Cockpool. + + _Regibus et legibus Scotici constantes, + Vos clypeis et gladiis pro patria pugnantes, + Vestra est victoria, vestra est et gloria, + In cantu et historia, perpes est memoria_! + + + + +BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. + + * * * * * + + + It fell about the Lammas tide, + When the muir-men win their hay, + The doughty earl of Douglas rode + Into England, to catch a prey. + + He chose the Gordons and the Graemes, + With them the Lindesays, light and gay; + But the Jardines wald not with him ride, + And they rue it to this day. + + And he has burn'd the dales of Tyne, + And part of Bambrough shire; + And three good towers on Roxburgh fells, + He left them all on fire. + + And he march'd up to Newcastle, + And rode it round about; + "O wha's the lord of this castle, + "Or wha's the lady o't?" + + But up spake proud Lord Percy, then, + And O but he spake hie! + "I am the lord of this castle, + "My wife's the lady gay." + + "If thou'rt the lord of this castle, + "Sae weel it pleases me! + "For, ere I cross the border fells, + "The tane of us shall die." + + He took a lang spear in his hand. + Shod with the metal free, + And for to meet the Douglas there, + He rode right furiouslie. + + But O how pale his lady look'd, + Frae aff the castle wa', + When down, before the Scottish spear, + She saw proud Percy fa', + + "Had we twa been upon the green, + "And never an eye to see, + I wad hae had you, flesh and fell[103]; + "But your sword sall gae wi' me." + + "But gae ye up to Otterbourne, + "And wait there dayis three; + And, if I come not ere three dayis end, + "A fause knight ca' ye me." + + "The Otterbourne's a bonnie burn; + "'Tis pleasant there to be; + "But there is nought at Otterbourne, + "To feed my men and me. + + "The deer rins wild on hill and dale, + "The birds fly wild from tree to tree; + "But there is neither bread nor kale, + "To fend[104] my men and me. + + "Yet I will stay at Otterbourne, + "Where you shall welcome be; + "And, if ye come not at three dayis end, + "A fause lord I'll ca' thee." + + "Thither will I come," proud Percy said, + "By the might of Our Ladye!"-- + "There will I bide thee," said the Douglas, + "My trowth I plight to thee." + + They lighted high on Otterbourne, + Upon the bent sae brown; + They lighted high on Otterbourne, + And threw their pallions down. + + And he that had a bonnie boy, + Sent out his horse to grass; + And he that had not a bonnie boy, + His ain servant he was. + + But up then spake a little page, + Before the peep of dawn-- + "O waken ye, waken ye, my good lord, + "For Percy's hard at hand." + + "Ye lie, ye lie, ye liar loud! + "Sae loud I hear ye lie: + For Percy had not men yestreen, + "To dight my men and me." + + "But I hae dream'd a dreary dream, + "Beyond the Isle of Sky; + "I saw a dead man win a fight, + "And I think that man was I." + + He belted on his good braid sword, + And to the field he ran; + But he forgot the helmet good, + That should have kept his brain. + + When Percy wi' the Douglas met, + I wat he was fu' fain! + They swakked their swords, till sair they swat, + And the blood ran down like rain. + + But Percy, with his good broad sword, + That could so sharply wound, + Has wounded Douglas on the brow, + Till he fell to the ground. + + Then he call'd on his little foot-page. + And said--"Run speedilie, + "And fetch my ain dear sister's son, + "Sir Hugh Montgomery." + + "My nephew good," the Douglas said, + "What recks the death of ane! + "Last night I dream'd a dreary dream, + "And I ken the day's thy ain, + + "My wound is deep; I fain would sleep; + "Take thou the vanguard of the three, + "And hide me by the braken bush, + "That grows on yonder lilye lee, + + "O bury me by the braken bush, + "Beneath the blooming briar; + "Let never living mortal ken, + "That ere a kindly Scot lies here." + + He lifted up that noble lord, + Wi' the saut tear in his e'e; + He hid him in the braken bush, + That his merrie men might not see. + + The moon was clear, the day drew near, + The spears in flinders flew, + But mony a gallant Englishman, + Ere day the Scotsmen slew. + + The Gordons good, in English blood, + They steep'd their hose and shoon; + The Lindsays flew like fire about, + Till all the fray was done. + + The Percy and Montgomery met, + That either of other were fain; + They swapped swords, and they twa swat, + And aye the blude ran down between. + + "Yield thee, O yield thee, Percy!" he said, + "Or else I vow I'll lay thee low!" + "Whom to shall I yield," said Earl Percy, + "Now that I see it must be so?" + + "Thou shalt not yield to lord nor loun, + "Nor yet shalt thou yield to me; + "But yield thee to the braken bush,[105] + "That grows upon yon lilye lee!" + + "I will not yield to a braken bush, + "Nor yet will I yield to a briar; + But I would yield to Earl Douglas, + "Or Sir Hugh the Montgomery, if he were here." + + As soon as he knew it was Montgomery, + He stuck his sword's point in the gronde; + And the Montgomery was a courteous knight, + And quickly took him by the honde. + + This deed was done at Otterbourne, + About the breaking of the day; + Earl Douglas was buried at the braken bush, + And the Percy led captive away. + +[Footnote 103: _Fell_.--Hide. Douglas insinuates, that Percy was +rescued by his soldiers.] + +[Footnote 104: _Fend_.--Support.] + +[Footnote 105: _Braken_.--Fern.] + + + * * * * * + + + + +NOTES ON THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE. + + +_He chose the Gordons and the Graemes_.--P. 64. v. 2. + +The illustrious family of Gordon was originally settled upon the lands +of Gordon and Huntly, in the shire of Berwick, and are, therefore, of +border extraction. The steps, by which they removed from thence to the +shires of Aberdeen and Inverness, are worthy notice. In 1300, Adam +de Gordon was warden of the marches.--_Rymer_, Vol. II. p. 870. He +obtained, from Robert the Bruce, a grant of the forfeited estate of +David de Strathbolgie, Earl of Athol; but no possession followed, +the earl having returned to his allegiance.--John de Gordon, his +great-grandson, obtained, from Robert II., a new charter of the lands +of Strathbolgie, which had been once more and finally forfeited, by +David, Earl of Athol, slaine in the battle of Kilblene. This grant is +dated 13th July, 1376. John de Gordon who was destined to transfer, +from the borders of England to those of the Highlands, a powerful +and martial race, was himself a redoubted warrior, and many of his +exploits occur in the annals of that turbulent period. In 1371-2, the +English borderers invaded and plundered the lands of Gordon, on the +Scottish east march. Sir John of Gordon retaliated, by an incursion +on Northumberland, where he collected much spoil. But, as he returned +with his booty, he was attacked, at unawares, by Sir John Lillburne, +a Northumbrian, who, with a superior force, lay near Carham in ambush, +to intercept him. Gordon harangued and cheered his followers, charged +the English gallantly, and, after having himself been five times in +great peril, gained a complete victory; slaying many southerns, and +taking their leader and his brother captive. According to the prior of +Lochlevin, he was desperately wounded; but + + "Thare rays a welle gret renowne, + "And gretly prysyd wes gud Gordown." + +Shortly after this exploit, Sir John of Gordon encountered and +routed Sir Thomas Musgrave, a renowned English marc-hman whom he made +prisoner. The lord of Johnstone had, about the same time, gained a +great advantage on the west border; and hence, says Wynton, + + He and the Lord of Gordowne + Had a soverane gud renown, + Of ony that war of thare degré, + For full thai war of gret bounté. + +Upon another occasion, John of Gordon is said to have partially +succeeded in the surprisal of the town of Berwick, although the +superiority of the garrison obliged him to relinquish his enterprise. + +The ballad is accurate, in introducing this warrior, with his clan, +into the host of Douglas at Otterbourne. Perhaps, as he was in +possession of his extensive northern domains, he brought to the +field the northern broad-swords, as well as the lances of his eastern +borderers. With his gallant leader, he lost his life in the deadly +conflict. The English ballad commemorates his valour and prudence; + + "The Erle of Huntley, cawte and kene." + +But the title is a premature designation. The earldom of Huntly was +first conferred on Alexander Seaton, who married the grand-daughter +of the hero of Otterbourne, and assumed his title from Huntly, in the +north. Besides his eldest son Adam, who carried on the line of the +family, Sir John de Gordon left two sons, known, in tradition, by the +familiar names of _Jock_ and _Tam_. The former was the ancestor of +the Gordons of Pitlurg; the latter of those of Lesmoir, and of +Craig-Gordon. This last family is now represented by James Gordon, +Esq. of Craig, being the eleventh, in direct descent, from Sir John de +Gordon. + + +_The Graemes_. + +The clan of Graeme, always numerous and powerful upon the border, were +of Scottish origin, and deduce the descent of their chieftain, Graeme +of Netherby, from John _with the bright sword_, a son of Malice +Graeme, Earl of Menteith, who flourished in the fourteenth century. +Latterly, they _became Englishmen_, as the phrase went, and settled +upon the Debateable Land, whence they were transported to Ireland, +by James VI., with the exception of a very few respectable families; +"because," said his majesty in a proclamation, "they do all (but +especially the Graemes) confess themselves to be no meet persons to +live in these countries; and also, to the intent their lands may be +inhabited by others, of good and honest conversation." But, in the +reign of Henry IV., the Graemes of the border still adhered to the +Scottish allegiance, as appears from the tower of Graeme in Annandale, +Graemes Walls in Tweeddale, and other castles within Scotland, to +which they have given their name. The reader is, however, at liberty +to suppose, that the Graemes of the Lennox and Menteith, always ready +to shed their blood in the cause of their country, on this occasion +joined Douglas. + + _With them the Lindsays light and gay_.--p. 64. v. 2. + +The chief of this ancient family, at the date of the battle of +Otterbourne, was David Liudissay, lord of Glenesk, afterwards created +Earl of Crawford. He was, after the manner of the times, a most +accomplished knight. He survived the battle of Otterbourne, and the +succeeding carnage of Homildon. In May, 1390, he went to England, to +seek adventures of chivalry; and justed, upon London Bridge, against +the lord of Wells, an English knight, with so much skill and success, +as to excite, among the spectators, a suspicion that he was tied +to his saddle; which he removed, by riding up to the royal chair, +vaulting out of his saddle, and resuming his seat without assistance, +although loaded with complete armour. In 1392, Lindsay was nearly +slain in a strange manner. A band of Catterans, or wild Highlanders, +had broken down from the Grampian Hills, and were engaged in +plundering the county of Angus. Walter Ogilvy, the sheriff, with +Sir Patrick Gray, marched against them, and were joined by Sir +David Lindsay. Their whole retinue did not exceed sixty men, and the +Highlanders were above three hundred. Nevertheless, trusting to +the superiority of arms and discipline, the knights rushed on the +invaders, at Gasclune, in the Stormont. The issue was unfortunate. +Ogilvy, his brother, and many of his kindred, were overpowered and +slain. Lindsay, armed at all points, made great slaughter among the +naked Catterans; but, as he pinned one of them to the earth with +his lance, the dying mountaineer writhed upwards and, collecting +his force, fetched a blow with his broad-sword which cut through the +knight's stirrup-leather and steel-boot and nearly severed his leg. +The Highlander expired, and Lindsay was with difficulty borne out of +the field by his followers--_Wyntown_. Lindsay is also noted for +a retort, made to the famous Hotspur. At a march-meeting, at +Haldane-Stank, he happened to observe, that Percy was sheathed in +complete armour. "It is for fear of the English horsemen," said +Percy, in explanation; for he was already meditating the insurrection, +immortalised by Shakespeare. "Ah! Sir Harry," answered Lindsay, "I +have seen you more sorely bestad by Scottish footmen than by English +horse."--_Wyntown_. Such was the leader of the "_Lindsays light and +guy_." + +According to Froissard, there were three Lindsays in the battle of +Otterbourne, whom he calls Sir William, Sir James, and Sir Alexander. +To Sir James Lindsay there fell "a strange chance of war," which I +give in the words of the old historian. "I shall shewe you of Sir +Mathewe Reedman (an English warrior, and governor of Berwick), who +was on horsebacke, to save himselfe, for he alone coude nat remedy the +mater. At his departynge, Sir James Limsay was nere him, and sawe Sir +Mathewe departed. And this Sir James, to wyn honour, followed in chase +Sir Mathewe Reedman, and came so nere him, that he myght have stryken +hym with hys speare, if he had lyst. Than he said, 'Ah! Sir knyght, +tourne! it is a shame thus to fly! I am James of Lindsay. If ye +will nat tourne, I shall strike you on the back with my speare.' Sir +Mathewe spoke no worde, but struke his hors with his spurres sorer +than he did before. In this maner he chased hym more than three myles. +And at last Sir Mathewe Reedman's hors foundered, and fell under hym. +Than he stept forthe on the erthe, and drewe oute his swerde, and toke +corage to defend himselfe. And the Scotte thoughte to have stryken hym +on the brest, but Sir Mathewe Reedman swerved fro the stroke, and the +speare point entred into the erthe. Than Sir Mathewe strake asonder +the speare wyth his swerde. And whan Sir James Limsay sawe howe he had +lost his speare, he cast away the tronchon, and lyghted a-fote, and +toke a lytell battell-axe, that he carryed at his backe, and handled +it with his one hand, quickly and delyverly, in the whyche feate +Scottes be well experte. And than he set at Sir Mathewe, and he +defended himselfe properly. Thus they journeyed toguyder, one with an +axe, and the other with a swerde, a longe season, and no man to lette +them. Fynally, Sir James Limsay gave the knyght such strokes, and +helde him so shorte, that he was putte out of brethe in such wyse, +that he yelded himselfe, and sayde,--'Sir James Limsay, I yeld me to +you.'--'Well,' quod he; 'and I receyve you, rescue or no rescue.'--'I +am content,' quod Reedman, 'so ye dele wyth me like a good +companyon.'--'I shall not fayle that,' quod Limsay, and so put up his +swerde. 'Well,' said Reedman, 'what will ye nowe that I shall do? I +am your prisoner; ye have conquered me; I wolde gladly go agayn +to Newcastell, and, within fiftene dayes, I shall come to you into +Scotlande, where as ye shall assigne me.'--'I am content,' quod +Limsay; 'ye shall promyse, by your faythe, to present yourselfe, +within these foure wekes, at Edinborowe; and wheresoever ye go, +to repute yourselfe my prisoner.' All this Sir Mathewe sware, and +promised to fulfil." + +The warriors parted upon these liberal terms, and Reedman returned +to Newcastle. But Lindsay had scarcely ridden a mile, when he met the +bishop of Durham, with 500 horse, whom he rode towards, believing them +to be Scottish, until he was too near them to escape. The bysshoppe +stepte to him, and sayde, 'Limsay, ye are taken; yelde ye to +me.'--'Who be you?' quod Limsay. 'I am,' quod he, 'the bysshoppe of +Durham.'--'And fro whens come you, sir?' quod Limsay. 'I come fro the +battell,' quod the bysshoppe, 'but I strucke never a stroke there. I +go backe to Newcastell for this night, and ye shal go with me.'--'I +may not chuse,' quod Limsay, 'sith ye will have it so. I have taken, +and I am taken; suche is the adventures of armes.' Lindsay was +accordingly conveyed to the bishop's lodgings in Newcastle, and here +he was met by his prisoner, Sir Matthew Reedman; who founde hym in a +studye, lying in a windowe, and sayde, 'What! Sir James Lindsay, what +make you here?' Than Sir James came forth of the study to him, and +saydc, 'By my fayth, Sir Mathewe, fortune hath brought me hyder; for, +as soon as I was departed fro you, I mete by chaunce the bisshoppe of +Durham, to whom I am prisoner, as ye be to me. I beleve ye shall +not nede to come to Edenborowe to me to mak your fynaunce. I thynk, +rather, we shall make an exchange one for another, if the bysshoppe +be also contente.'--'Well, sir,' quod Reedman, 'we shall accord ryghte +well toguyder; ye shall dine this day with me: the bysshoppe and our +men be gone forth to fyght with your men. I can nat tell what we +shall know at their retourne.'--'I am content to dyne with you,' +quod Limsay."--_Froissart's Chronicle_, translated by Bourchier, Lord +Berners, Vol. I, chap. 146. + + _O gran bontŕ de' cavalieri antiqui! + Eran rivali, eran di fč diversi; + E si sentian, de gli aspri colpi iniqui, + Per tutta la persona anco dolersi; + E pur per selve oscure, e calle inqui + Insieme van senza sospetto aversi._ + L'Orlando. + +_But the Jardines wald not with him ride_.--P. 64. v. 2. + +The Jardines were a clan of hardy west-border men. Their chief +was Jardine of Applegirth. Their refusal to ride with Douglas was, +probably, the result of one of those perpetual feuds, which usually +rent to pieces a Scottish army. + + _And he that had a bonny boy, + Sent out his horse to grass_.--P. 67. v, 4. + +Froissard describes a Scottish host, of the same period, as consisting +of "IIII. M. men of armes, knightis, and squires, mounted on good +horses; and other X.M. men of warre armed, after their gyse, right +hardy and firse, mounted on lytle hackneys, the whiche were never +tyed, nor kept at hard meat, but lette go to pasture in the fieldis +and bushes."--_Cronykle of Froissart_, translated by Lord Berners, +Chap. xvii. + + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. + + +This ballad appears to have been composed about the reign of James V. +It commemorates a transaction, supposed to have taken place betwixt a +Scottish monarch, and an ancestor of the ancient family of Murray of +Philiphaugh in Selkirkshire. The editor is unable to ascertain the +historical foundation of the tale; nor is it probable that any light +can be thrown upon the subject, without an accurate examination of +the family charter chest. It is certain, that, during the civil wars +betwixt Bruce and Baliol, the family of Philiphaugh existed, and was +powerful; for their ancestor, Archibald de Moravia, subscribes the +oath of fealty to Edward I.A.D. 1296. It is, therefore, not unlikely, +that, residing in a wild and frontier country, they may have, at one +period or other, during these commotions, refused allegiance to the +feeble monarch of the day, and thus extorted from him some grant of +territory or jurisdiction. It is also certain, that, by a charter +from James IV., dated November 30, 1509, John Murray of Philiphaugh +is vested with the dignity of heritable sheriff of Ettrick Forest, +an office held by his descendants till the final abolition of such +jurisdictions by 28th George II. cap. 23. But it seems difficult to +believe that the circumstances, mentioned in the ballad, could occur +under the reign of so vigorous a monarch as James IV. It is true, that +the _Dramatis Personae_ introduced seem to refer to the end of the +fifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth, century; but from this it +can only be argued, that the author himself lived soon after that +period. It may, therefore, be supposed (unless farther evidence can +be produced, tending to invalidate the conclusion), that the bard, +willing to pay his court to the family, has connected the grant of the +sheriffship by James IV. with some further dispute betwixt the Murrays +of Philiphaugh and their sovereign, occurring, either while they were +engaged upon the side of Baliol, or in the subsequent reigns of David +II. and Robert II. and III., when the English possessed great part +of the Scottish frontier, and the rest was in so lawless a state as +hardly to acknowledge any superior. At the same time, this reasoning +is not absolutely conclusive. James IV. had particular reasons for +desiring that Ettrick Forest, which actually formed part of the +jointure lands of Margaret, his queen, should be kept in a state of +tranquillity.--_Rymer_, Vol. XIII. p. 66. In order to accomplish +this object, it was natural for him, according to the policy of his +predecessors to invest one great family with the power of keeping +order among the rest. It is even probable, that the Philiphaugh family +may have had claims upon part of the lordship of Ettrick Forest, which +lay intermingled with their own extensive possessions; and, in the +course of arranging, not indeed the feudal superiority, but the +property, of these lands, a dispute may have arisen, of sufficient +importance to be the ground-work of a ballad.--It is farther probable, +that the Murrays, like other border clans, were in a very lawless +state, and held their lands merely by occupancy, without any feudal +right. Indeed, the lands of the various proprietors in Ettrick Forest +(being a royal demesne) were held by the possessors, not in property, +but as the kindly tenants, or rentallers, of the crown; and it is only +about 150 years since they obtained charters, striking the feu-duty of +each proprietor, at the rate of the quit-rent, which he formerly paid. +This state of possession naturally led to a confusion of rights and +claims. The kings of Scotland were often reduced to the humiliating +necessity of compromising such matters with their rebellious subjects, +and James himself even entered into a sort of league with Johnie Faa, +the king of the gypsies.--Perhaps, therefore, the tradition, handed +down in this song, may have had more foundation than it would at +present be proper positively to assert. + +The merit of this beautiful old tale, it is thought, will be fully +acknowledged. It has been, for ages, a popular song in Selkirkshire. +The scene is, by the common people, supposed to have been the castle +of Newark, upon Yarrow. This is highly improbable, because Newark was +always a royal fortress. Indeed, the late excellent antiquarian Mr. +Plummer, sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire, has assured the editor, that +he remembered the _insignia_ of the unicorns, &c. so often mentioned +in the ballad, in existence upon the old tower at Hangingshaw, the +seat of the Philiphaugh family; although, upon first perusing a copy +of the ballad, he was inclined to subscribe to the popular opinion. +The tower of Hangingshaw has been demolished for many years. It stood +in a romantic and solitary situation, on the classical banks of the +Yarrow. When the mountains around Hangingshaw were covered with +the wild copse which constituted a Scottish forest, a more secure +strong-hold for an outlawed baron can hardly be imagined. + +The tradition of Ettrick Forest bears, that the Outlaw was a man of +prodigious strength, possessing a batton or club, with which he laid +_lee_ (i.e. waste) the country for many miles round; and that he was +at length slain by Buccleuch, or some of his clan, at a little mount, +covered with fir-trees, adjoining to Newark castle, and said to have +been a part of the garden. A varying tradition bears the place of +his death to have been near to the house of the Duke of Buccleuch's +game-keeper, beneath the castle; and, that the fatal arrow was shot by +Scot of Haining, from the ruins of a cottage on the opposite side of +the Yarrow. There was extant, within these twenty years, some verses +of a song on his death. The feud betwixt the Outlaw and the Scotts may +serve to explain the asperity, with which the chieftain of that clan +is handled in the ballad. + +In publishing the following ballad, the copy principally resorted to +is one, apparently of considerable antiquity, which was found among +the papers of the late Mrs. Cockburn, of Edinburgh, a lady whose +memory will be long honoured by all who knew her. Another copy, much +more imperfect, is to be found in Glenriddel's MSS. The names are in +this last miserably mangled, as is always the case when ballads are +taken down from the recitation of persons living at a distance from +the scenes in which they are laid. Mr. Plummer also gave the editor a +few additional verses, not contained in either copy, which are thrown +into what seemed their proper place. There is yet another copy, in Mr. +Herd's MSS., which has been occasionally made use of. Two verses are +restored in the present edition, from the recitation of Mr. Mungo +Park, whose toils, during his patient and intrepid travels in Africa, +have not eradicated from his recollection the legendary lore of his +native country. + +The arms of the Philiphaugh family are said by tradition to allude +to their outlawed state. They are indeed those of a huntsman, and are +blazoned thus; Argent, a hunting horn sable, stringed and garnished +gules, on a chief azure, three stars of the first. Crest, a Demi +Forester, winding his horn, proper. Motto, _Hinc usque superna +venabor_. + + + * * * * * + + + + +THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. + + + Ettricke Foreste is a feir foreste, + In it grows manie a semelie trie; + There's hart and hynd, and dae and rae, + And of a' wilde beastes grete plentie. + + There's a feir castelle, bigged wi' lyme and stane; + O! gin it stands not pleasauntlie! + In the forefront o' that castelle feir, + Twa unicorns are bra' to see; + There's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright, + And the grene hollin abune their brie.[106] + + There an Outlaw keeps five hundred men; + He keepis a royalle cumpanie! + + His merryemen are a' in ae liverye clad, + O' the Liukome grene saye gaye to see; + He and his ladye in purple clad, + O! gin they lived not royallie! + + Word is gane to our nobil king, + In Edinburgh, where that he lay, + That there was an Outlaw in Ettricke Foreste, + Counted him nought, nor a' his courtrie gay. + + "I make a vowe," then the gude king said, + Unto the man that deir bought me, + "I'se either be king of Ettricke Foreste, + Or king of Scotlonde that Outlaw sail be!" + + Then spak the lord, hight Hamilton, + And to the nobil king said he, + "My sovereign prince, sum counsell take, + First at your nobilis, syne at me. + + "I redd ye, send yon braw Outlaw till, + And see gif your man cum will he: + Desyre him cum and be your man, + And hald of you yon Foreste frie. + + "Gif he refuses to do that, + We'll conquess baith his landis and he! + Or else, we'll throw his castell down, + And make a widowe o' his gay ladye." + + The king then call'd a gentleman, + James Boyd, (the Earl of Arran his brother was he) + When James he cam befor the king, + He knelit befor him on his kné. + + "Wellcum, James Boyd!" said our nobil king; + "A message ye maun gang for me; + Ye maun hye to Ettricke Foreste, + To yon Outlaw, where bydeth he: + + "Ask him of whom he haldis his landis, + Or man, wha may his master be, + And desyre him cum, and be my man, + And hald of me yon Foreste frie. + + "To Edinburgh to cum and gang, + His safe warrant I sall gie; + And gif he refuses to do that, + We'll conquess baith his landis and he. + + "Thou may'st vow I'll cast his castell down, + And mak a widowe o' his gay ladye; + I'll hang his merryemen, payr by payr, + In ony frith where I may them see." + + James Boyd tuik his leave o' the nobil king, + To Ettricke Foreste feir cam he; + Down Birkendale Brae when that he cam, + He saw the feir Foreste wi' his e'e. + + Baithe dae and rae, and hart and hinde, + And of a' wilde beastis great plentie; + He heard the bows that bauldly ring, + And arrows whidderan' hym near bi. + + Of that feir castell he got a sight; + The like he neir saw wi' his e'e! + On the fore front o' that castell feir, + Twa unicorns were gaye to see; + The picture of a knight, and a ladye bright, + And the grene hollin abune their brie. + + Thereat he spyed five hundred men, + Shuting with bows on Newark Lee; + + They were a' in ae livery clad, + O' the Lincome grene sae gaye to see. + + His men were a' clad in the grene, + The knight was armed capapie, + With a bended bow, on a milk-white steed; + And I wot they ranked right bonilie. + + Thereby Boyd kend he was master man, + And serv'd him in his ain degré. + "God mot thee save, brave Outlaw Murray! + Thy ladye, and all thy chyvalrie!" + "Marry, thou's wellcum, gentelman, + Some king's messenger thou seemis to be." + + "The king of Scotlonde sent me here, + And, gude Outlaw, I am sent to thee; + I wad wot of whom ye hald your landis, + Or man, wha may thy master be?" + + "Thir landis are MINE!" the Outlaw said; + "I ken nae king in Christentie; + Frae Soudron[107] I this Foreste wan, + When the king nor his knightis were not to see." + + "He desyres you'l cum to Edinburgh, + And hauld of him this Foreste frie; + And, gif ye refuse to do this, + He'll conquess baith thy landis and thee. + He hath vow'd to cast thy castell down, + And mak a widowe o' thy gaye ladye; + + "He'll hang thy merryemen, payr by payr, + In ony frith where he may them finde." + "Aye, by my troth!" the Outlaw said, + "Than wald I think me far behinde. + + "E'er the king my feir countrie get, + This land that's nativest to me! + Mony o' his nobilis sall be cauld, + Their ladyes sall be right wearie." + + Then spak his ladye, feir of face, + She seyd, "Without consent of me, + That an Outlaw suld cum befor a King; + I am right rad[108] of treasonrie. + Bid him be gude to his lordis at hame, + For Edinburgh my lord sall nevir see." + + James Boyd tuik his leave o' the Outlaw kene, + To Edinburgh boun is he; + When James he cam befor the king, + He knelit lowlie on his kné. + + "Wellcum, James Boyd!" seyd our nobil king; + "What Foreste is Ettricke Foreste frie?" + "Ettricke Foreste is the feirest foreste + That evir man saw wi' his e'e. + + "There's the dae, the rae, the hart, the hynde, + And of a' wild beastis grete plentie; + There's a pretty castell of lyme and stane; + O gif it stands not pleasauntlie! + + "There's in the forefront o' that castell, + Twa unicorns, sae bra' to see; + There's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright, + Wi' the grene hollin abune their brie. + + "There the Outlaw keepis five hundred men; + He keepis a royalle cumpanie! + His merrymen in ae livery clad, + O' the Linkome grene sae gaye to see: + + "He and his ladye in purple clad; + O! gin they live not royallie! + + "He says, yon Foreste is his awin; + He wan it frae the Southronie; + Sae as he wan it, sae will he keep it, + Contrair all kingis in Christentie." + + "Gar warn me Perthshire, and Angus baith; + Fife up and down, and the Louthians three, + And graith my horse!" said the nobil king, + "For to Ettricke Foreste hie will I me." + + Then word is gane the Outlaw till, + In Ettricke Foreste, where dwelleth he, + That the king was cuming to his cuntrie, + To conquess baith his landis and he. + + "I mak a vow," the Outlaw said, + "I mak a vow, and that trulie, + Were there but three men to tak my pairt; + Yon king's cuming full deir suld be!" + + Then messengers he called forth, + And bade them hie them speedilye-- + "Ane of ye gae to Halliday, + The laird of the Corhead is he. + + "He certain is my sister's son; + Bid him cum quick and succour me! + The king cums on for Ettricke Foreste, + And landless men we a' will be." + + "What news? What news?" said Halliday, + "Man, frae thy master unto me?" + "Not as ye wad; seeking your aide; + The king's his mortal enemie." + + "Aye, by my troth!" said Halliday, + "Even for that it repenteth me; + For gif he lose feir Ettricke Foreste, + He'll tak feir Moffatdale frae me. + + "I'll meet him wi' five hundred men, + And surely mair, if mae may be; + And before he gets the Foreste feir, + We a' will die on Newark Lee!" + + The Outlaw call'd a messenger, + And bid him hie him speedilye, + To Andrew Murray of Cockpool-- + "That man's a deir cousin to me; + Desyre him cum, and mak me ayd, + With a' the power that he may be." + + "It stands me hard," Andrew Murray said, + Judge gif it stands na hard wi' me; + To enter against a king wi' crown, + And set my landis in jeopardie! + Yet, if I cum not on the day, + Surely at night he sall me see." + + To Sir James Murray of Traquair, + A message cam right speedilye-- + "What news? What news?" James Murray said, + "Man, frae thy master unto me?" + + "What neids I tell? for weell ye ken, + The king's his mortal enemie; + And now he is cuming to Ettricke Foreste, + And landless men ye a' will be." + + "And, by my trothe," James Murray said, + "Wi' that Outlaw will I live and die; + The king has gifted my landis lang syne-- + It cannot be nae warse wi' me." + + The king was cuming thro' Caddon Ford[109], + And full five thousand men was he; + They saw the derke Foreste them before, + They thought it awsome for to see. + + Then spak the lord, hight Hamilton, + And to the nobil king said he, + "My sovereign liege, sum council tak, + First at your nobilis, syne at me. + + "Desyre him mete thee at Permanscore, + And bring four in his cumpanie; + Five erles sall gang yoursell befor, + Gude cause that you suld honour'd be. + + "And, gif he refuses to do that, + We'll conquess baith his landis and he; + "There sall nevir a Murray, after him, + Hald land in Ettricke Foreste frie." + + Then spak the kene laird of Buckscleuth, + A stalworthye man, and sterne was he-- + "For a king to gang an Outlaw till, + Is beneath his state and his dignitie. + + "The man that wons yon Foreste intill, + He lives by reif and felonie! + Wherefore, brayd on, my sovereign liege! + Wi' fire and sword we'll follow thee; + Or, gif your courtrie lords fa' back, + Our borderers sall the onset gie." + + Then out and spak the nobil king, + And round him cast a wilie e'e-- + "Now haud thy tongue, Sir Walter Scott, + Nor speik of reif nor felonie: + For, had everye honeste man his awin kye, + A right puir clan thy name wad be!" + + The king then call'd a gentleman, + Royal banner bearer there was he; + + James Hop Pringle of Torsonse, by name; + He cam and knelit upon his kné. + + "Wellcum, James Pringle of Torsonse! + A message ye maun gang for me; + Ye maun gae to yon Outlaw Murray, + Surely where bauldly bideth he. + + "Bid him mete me at Permanscore, + And bring four in his cumpanie; + Five erles sall cum wi' mysell + Gude reason I suld honour'd be. + + "And, gif he refuses to do that, + Bid him luke for nae good o' me! + Ther sall nevir a Murray, after him, + Have land in Ettricke Foreste frie." + + James cam befor the Outlaw kene, + And serv'd him in his ain degré-- + "Wellcum, James Pringle of Torsonse! + What message frae the king to me?" + + "He bidds ye mete him at Permanscore, + And bring four in your cumpanie; + Five erles sall gang himsell befor, + Nae mair in number will he be. + + "And, gif you refuse to do that, + (I freely here upgive wi' thee) + He'll cast yon bonny castle down, + And mak a widowe o' that gaye ladye. + + "He'll loose yon bluidhound borderers, + Wi' fire and sword to follow thee; + There will nevir a Murray, after thysell, + Have land in Ettricke Foreste frie." + + "It stands me hard," the Outlaw said; + "Judge gif it stands na hard wi' me! + Wha reck not losing of mysell, + But a' my offspring after me. + + "My merryemen's lives, my widowe's teirs-- + There lies the pang that pinches me! + When I am straught in bluidie eard, + Yon castell will be right dreirie. + + "Auld Halliday, young Halliday, + Ye sall be twa to gang wi' me; + Andrew Murray, and Sir James Murray, + We'll be nae mae in cumpanie." + + When that they cam befor the king, + They fell befor him on their kné-- + "Grant mercie, mercie, nobil king! + E'en for his sake that dyed on trie." + + "Sicken like mercie sall ye have; + On gallows ye sall hangit be!" + "Over God's forbode," quoth the Outlaw then, + "I hope your grace will bettir be! + Else, ere ye come to Edinburgh port, + I trow thin guarded sall ye be: + + "Thir landis of Ettricke Foreste feir, + I wan them from the enemie; + Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them, + Contrair a' kingis in Christentie." + + All the nobilis the king about, + Said pitie it were to see him die-- + "Yet graunt me mercie, sovereign prince! + Extend your favour unto me! + + "I'll give thee the keys of my castell, + Wi' the blessing o' my gaye ladye, + Gin thoul't mak me sheriffe of this Foreste, + And a' my offspring after me." + + "Wilt thou give me the keys of thy castell, + Wi' the blessing of thy gaye ladye? + I'se mak thee sheriffe of Ettricke Foreste, + Surely while upwards grows the trie; + If you be not traitour to the king, + Forfaulted sall thou nevir be." + + "But, prince, what sall cum o' my men? + When I gae back, traitour they'll ca' me. + I had rather lose my life and land, + E'er my merryemen rebuked me." + + "Will your merryemen amend their lives? + And a' their pardons I graunt thee-- + Now, name thy landis where'er they lie, + And here I RENDER them to thee." + + "Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right, + And Lewinshope still mine shall be; + Newark, Foulshiells, and Tinnies baith, + My bow and arrow purchased me. + + "And I have native steads to me, + The Newark Lee and Hangingshaw; + I have mony steads in the Foreste shaw, + But them by name I dinna knaw." + + The keys o' the castell he gave the king, + Wi' the blessing o' his feir ladye; + He was made sheriffe of Ettricke Foreste, + Surely while upwards grows the trie; + And if he was na traitour to the king, + Forfaulted he suld nevir be. + + Wha ever heard, in ony times, + Sicken an Outlaw in his degré, + Sick favour get befor a king, + As did the OUTLAW MURRAY of the Foreste frie? + +[Footnote 106: Brow.] + +[Footnote 107: Southern, or English.] + +[Footnote 108: Afraid.] + +[Footnote 109: A ford on the Tweed, at the mouth of the Caddon Burn, +near Yair.] + + + + +NOTES ON THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY. + + * * * * * + + +_Then spak the Lord, hight Hamilton_.--P. 86. v. 4. + +This is, in most copies, the _earl_ hight Hamilton, which must be a +mistake of the reciters, as the family did not enjoy that title till +1503. + + +_James Boyd (the Earl of Arran his brother), &c._--P. 87. v. 2. + +Thomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, was forfeited, with his father and uncle, +in 1469, for an attempt on the person of James III. He had a son, +James, who was restored, and in favour with James IV. about 1482. If +this be the person here meant, we should read "The Earl of Arran his +_son_ was he." Glenriddel's copy reads, "A highland laird I'm sure was +he." Reciters sometimes call the messenger, the laird of Skene. + + _Down Birkendale Brae when that he cam_.--P. 88, v. 2. + +Birkendale Brae, now commonly called _Birkendailly_, is a steep +descent on the south side of Minch-Moor, which separates Tweeddale +from Ettrick Forest; and from the top of which you have the first view +of the woods of Hangingshaw, the castle of Newark, and the romantic +dale of Yarrow. + + _The laird of the Corehead, &c._--P. 93. v. 1. + +This is a place at the head of Moffat-water, possessed of old by the +family of Halliday. + + _To Andrew Murray of Cockpool_.--P. 94. v. 1. + +This family were ancestors of the Murrays, earls of Annandale; but the +name of the representative, in the time of James IV. was William, not +Andrew. Glenriddel's MS. reads, "the country-keeper." + + _To Sir James Murray of Traquair_.--P. 94. v. 3. + +Before the barony of Traquair became the property of the Stewarts, it +belonged to a family of Murrays, afterwards Murrays of Black-barony, +and ancestors of Lord Elibank. The old castle was situated on the +Tweed. The lands of Traquair were forfeited by Willielmus de Moravia, +previous to 1464; for, in that year, a charter, proceeding upon his +forfeiture, was granted by the crown "Willielmo Douglas de Cluny." Sir +James was, perhaps, the heir of William Murray. It would farther seem, +that the grant in 1464 was not made effectual by Douglas; for, another +charter from the crown, dated the 3d February, 1478, conveys the +estate of Traquair to James Stewart, Earl of Buchan, son to the +black knight of Lorne, and maternal uncle to James III., from whom +is descended the present Earl of Traquair. The first royal grant not +being followed by possession, it is very possible that the Murrays may +have continued to occupy Traquair long after the date of that charter. +Hence, Sir James might have reason to say, as in the ballad, "The king +has gifted my lands lang syne." + + _James Hop Pringle of Torsonse_.--P. 97. v. 1. + +The honourable name of Pringle, or Hoppringle, is of great antiquity +in Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire. The old tower of Torsonse is +situated upon the banks of the Gala. I believe the Pringles of +Torsonse are now represented by Sir James Pringle of Stitchell. There +are three other ancient and distinguished families of this name; those +of Whitebank, Clifton, and Torwoodlee. + + _He bids ye mete him at Permanscore_.--P. 98. v. 1. + +Permanscore is a hollow on the top of a high ridge of hills, +dividing the vales of Tweed and Yarrow, a little to the east-ward of +Minch-Moor. It is the outermost point of the lands of Broadmeadows. +The Glenriddel MS., which, in this instance, is extremely inaccurate +as to names, calls the place of rendezvous "_The Poor Man's house_," +and hints, that the Outlaw was surprised by the treachery of the +king:-- + + "Then he was aware of the king's coming, + With hundreds three in company, + I wot the muckle deel * * * * * + He learned kings to lie! + For to fetch me here frae amang my men, + Here like a dog for to die." + +I believe the reader will think, with me, that the catastrophe is +better, as now printed from Mrs. Cockburn's copy. The deceit supposed +to be practised on the Outlaw, is unworthy of the military monarch, +as he is painted in the ballad; especially if we admit him to be King +James IV. + + _Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right_.--P. 101. v. 1. + +In this and the following verse, the ceremony of feudal investiture is +supposed to be gone through, by the Outlaw resigning his possessions +into the hands of the king, and receiving them back, to be held of +him as superior. The lands of Philiphaugh are still possessed by the +Outlaw's representative. Hangingshaw and Lewinshope were sold of +late years. Newark, Foulshiels and Tinnies, have long belonged to the +family of Buccleuch. + + + + +JOHNIE ARMSTRANG. + + * * * * * + + +There will be such frequent occasion, in the course of this volume, to +mention the clan, or sept, of the Armstrongs, that the editor finds +it necessary to prefix, to this ballad, some general account of that +tribe. + +The Armstrongs appear to have been, at an early period, in possession +of great part of Liddesdale, and of the Debateable Land. Their +immediate neighbourhood to England, rendered them the most lawless of +the Border depredators; and, as much of the country possessed by them +was claimed by both kingdoms, the inhabitants, protected from justice +by the one nation, in opposition to the other, securely preyed upon +both.[110] The chief was Armstrong of Mangertoun; but, at a later +period, they are declared a broken clan, i.e. one which had no lawful +head, to become surety for their good behaviour. The rapacity of this +clan, and of their allies, the Elliots, occasioned the popular saying, +"Elliots and Armstrongs ride thieves all."--But to what Border-family +of note, in former days, would not such an adage have been equally +applicable? All along the river Liddel may still be discovered the +ruins of towers, possessed by this numerous clan. They did not, +however, entirely trust to these fastnesses; but, when attacked by a +superior force, abandoned entirely their dwellings, and retired into +morasses, accessible by paths known to themselves alone. One of +their most noted places of refuge was the Tarras Moss, a desolate and +horrible marsh, through which a small river takes its course. Upon its +banks are found some dry spots, which were occupied by these outlaws, +and their families, in cases of emergency. The stream runs furiously +among huge rocks, which has occasioned a popular saying-- + + Was ne'er are drown'd in Tarras, nor yet in doubt, + For e'er the head can win down, the harns (brains) are out. + +The morass itself is so deep, that, according to an old historian, two +spears tied together would not reach the bottom. In this retreat, the +Armstrongs, _anno_ 1588, baffled the Earl of Angus, when lieutenant +on the Border, although he reckoned himself so skilful in winding a +thief, that he declared, "he had the same pleasure in it, as others in +a hunting a hare." On this occasion he was totally unsuccessful, and +nearly lost his relation, Douglas of Ively, whom the freebooters made +prisoner.--_Godscroft_ Vol. II. p. 411. + +[Footnote 110: In illustration of this position, the reader is +referred to a long correspondence betwixt Lord Dacre and the Privy +Council of England, in 1550, concerning one Sandye Armstrang, a +partizan of England, and an inhabitant of the Debateable Land, who +had threatened to become a Scottishman, if he was not protected by +the English warden against the Lord Maxwell.--See _Introduction to +Nicholson and Burn's History of Cumberland and Westmoreland_.] + +Upon another occasion the Armstrongs were less fortunate. They had, +in one of their incursions, plundered the town of Haltwhistle, on the +borders of Cumberland. Sir Robert Carey, warden of the west marches, +demanded satisfaction from the king of Scotland, and received for +answer, that the offenders were no subjects of his, and that he +might take his own revenge. The English warden, accordingly entered +Llddesdale, and ravaged the lands of the outlaws; on which occasion, +_Sim of the Cat-hill_ (an Armstrong) was killed by one of the Ridleys +of Haltwhistle. This incident procured Haltwhistle another visit from +the Armstrongs, in which they burnt great part of the town, but not +without losing one of their leaders, by a shot from a window. + +"The death of this young man (says Sir Robert Carey) wrote (wrought) +so deep an impression upon them (the outlaws), as many vowes were +made, that, before the end of next winter, they would lay the whole +Border waste. This (the murder) was done about the end of May (1598). +The chiefe of all these outlaws was _old Sim of Whittram_.[111] He had +five or six sonnes, as able men as the Borders had. This old man and +his sonnes had not so few as two hundred at their commands, that were +ever ready to ride with them to all actions, at their beck. + +[Footnote 111: Whittram is a place in Liddesdale. It is mistaken +by the noble editor for Whithern, in Galloway, as is Hartwesel +(Haltwhistle, on the borders of Cumberland) for Twisel, a village on +the English side of the Tweed, near Wark.] + +The high parts of the marsh (march) towards Scotland were put in a +mighty fear, and the chiefe of them, for themselves and the rest, +petitioned to mee, and did assure mee, that, unless I did take some +course with them, by the end of that summer, there was none of the +inhabitants durst, or would, stay in their dwellings the next winter, +but they would fley the countrey, and leave their houses and lands to +the fury of the outlawes. Upon this complaint, I called the gentlemen +of the countrey together, and acquainted them with the misery that the +highest parts of the marsh towards Scotland were likely to endure, if +there were not timely prevention to avoid it, and desired them to +give mee their best advice what course were fitt to be taken. They all +showed themselves willing to give mee their best counsailles, and most +of them were of opinion, that I was not well advised to refuse the +hundred horse that my Lord Euers had; and that now my best way was +speedily to acquaint the quene and counsaile with the necessity of +having more soldiers, and that there could not be less than a hundred +horse sent downe for the defence of the countrey, besides the forty I +had already in pay, and that there was nothing but force of soldiers +could keep them in awe: and to let the counsaile plainly understand, +that the marsh, of themselves, were not able to subsist, whenever the +winter and long nights came in, unlesse present cure and remedy were +provided for them. I desired them to advise better of it, and to see +if they could find out any other meanes to prevent their mischievous +intentions, without putting the quene and countrey to any further +charge. They all resolved that there was no second meanes. Then I told +them my intention what I meant to do, which was, that myselfe, with my +two deputies, and the forty horse that I was allowed, would, with what +speede wee could, make ourselves ready to go up to the Wastes, and +there wee would entrench ourselves, and lye as near as wee could to +the outlawes; and, if there were any brave spirits among them, that +would go with us, they should be very wellcome, and fare and lye as +well as myselfe: and I did not doubte before the summer ended, to do +something that should abate the pride of these outlawes. Those, that +were unwilling to hazard themselves, liked not this motion. They said, +that, in so doing, I might keep the countrey quiet the time I lay +there; but, when the winter approached, I could stay there no longer, +and that was the theeves' time to do all their mischiefe. But there +were divers young gentlemen, that offered to go with mee, some with +three, some with four horses, and to stay with mee as long as I would +there continue. I took a list of those that offered to go with mee, +and found, that, with myself, my officers, the gentlemen, and our +servants, wee should be about two hundred good men and horse; a +competent number, as I thought, for such a service. + +The day and place was appointed for our meeting in the Wastes, and, +by the help of the foot of Liddisdale[112] and Risdale, wee had soone +built a pretty fort, and within it wee had all cabines made to lye in, +and every one brought beds or matresses to lye on. There wee stayed, +from the middest of June, till almost the end of August. We were +betweene fifty and sixty gentlemen, besides their servants and my +horsemen; so that wee were not so few as two hundred horse. Wee wanted +no provisions for ourselves nor our horses, for the countrey people +were well payed for any thing they brought us; so that wee had a good +market every day, before our fort, to buy what we lacked. The chiefe +outlawes, at our coming, fled their houses where they dwelt, and +betooke themselves to a large and great forest (with all their +goodes), which was called the Tarras. It was of that strength, and +so surrounded with bogges and marish grounds, and thicke bushes +and shrubbes, as they feared not the force nor power of England nor +Scotland, so long as they were there. They sent me word, that I was +like the first puffe of a haggasse,[113] hottest at the first, and +bade me stay there as long as the weather would give me leave. They +would stay in the Tarras Wood till I was weary of lying in the Waste; +and when I had had my time, and they no whit the worse, they would +play their parts, which should keep mee waking the next winter. Those +gentlemen of the countrey that came not with mee, were of the same +minde; for they knew (or thought at least), that my force was not +sufficient to withstand the furey of the outlawes. The time I stayed +at the fort I was not idle, but cast, by all meanes I could, how to +take them in the great strength they were in. I found a meanes to send +a hundred and fifty horsemen into Scotland (conveighed by a muffled +man,[114] not known to any of the company), thirty miles within +Scotland, and the businesse was carried so, that none in the countrey +tooke any alarm at this passage. They were quietly brought to +the back-side of the Tarras, to Scotland-ward. There they divided +themselves into three parts, and tooke up three passages which the +outlawes made themselves secure of, if from England side they should +at any time be put at. + +[Footnote 112: The foot of Liddisdale were the garrison of King James, +in the castle of Hermitage, who assisted Carey on this occasion, as +the Armstrongs were outlaws to both nations.] + +[Footnote 113: A haggis, (according to Burns, "the chieftain of the +pudding-race,") is an olio, composed of the liver, heart, &c. of a +sheep, minced down with oatmeal, onions, and spices, and boiled in +the stomach of the animal, by way of bag. When the bag is cut, the +contents, (if this savoury dish be well made) should spout out with +the heated air. This will explain the allusion.] + +[Footnote 114: A Muffled Man means a person in disguise; a very +necessary precaution for the guide's safety; for, could the outlaws +have learned who played them this trick, beyond all doubt it must have +cost him dear.] + +They had their scoutes on the tops of hills, on the English side, +to give them warning if at any time any power of men should come to +surprise them. The three ambushes were safely laid, without being +discovered, and, about four o'clock in the morning, there were three +hundred horse, and a thousand foote,[115] that came directly to the +place where the scoutes lay. They gave the alarm; our men brake down +as fast as they could into the wood. The outlawes thought themselves +safe, assuring themselves at any time to escape; but they were so +strongly set upon, on the English side, as they were forced to +leave their goodes, and betake themselves to their passages towards +Scotland. There was presently five taken of the principall of them. +The rest, seeing themselves, as they thought, betrayed, retired into +the thicke woodes and bogges,[116] that our men durst not follow them +for fear of loosing themselves. The principall of the five, that were +taken, were two of the eldest sonnes of _Sim of Whitram_. These five +they brought to mee to the fort, and a number of goodes, both of sheep +and kine, which satisfied most part of the countrey, that they had +stolen them from. + +[Footnote 115: From this it would appear, that Carey, although his +constant attendants in his fort consisted only of 200 horse, had, upon +this occasion by the assistance, probably, of the English and Scottish +royal garrisons, collected a much greater force.] + +[Footnote 116: There are now no trees in Liddesdale, except on the +banks of the rivers, where they are protected from the sheep. But the +stumps and fallen timber, which are every where found in the morasses, +attest how well the country must have been wooded in former days.] + +"The five, that were taken, were of great worth and value amongst +them; insomuch, that, for their liberty, I should have what conditions +I should demand or desire. First, all English prisoners were set at +liberty. Then had I themselves, and most part of the gentlemen of the +Scottish side, so strictly bound in bondes to enter to mee, in fifteen +dayes warning, any offendour, that they durst not, for their +lives, break any covenant that I made with them; and so, upon these +conditions, I set them at liberty, and was never after troubled with +these kind of people. Thus God blessed me in bringing this great +trouble to so quiet an end; wee brake up our fort, and every man +retired to his owne house."--_Carey's Memoirs_, p. 151. + +The people of Liddesdale have retained, by tradition, the remembrance +of _Carey's Raid_, as they call it. They tell, that, while he was +besieging the outlaws in the Tarras they contrived, by ways known +only to themselves, to send a party into England, who plundered the +warden's lands. On their return, they sent Carey one of his own cows, +telling him, that, fearing he might fall short of provision during his +visit to Scotland, they had taken the precaution of sending him some +English beef. The anecdote is too characteristic to be suppressed. + +From this narrative, the power and strength of the Armstrongs, at +this late period, appear to have been very considerable. Even upon the +death of Queen Elizabeth, this clan, associated with other banditti of +the west marches to the number of two or three hundred horse, entered +England in a hostile manner, and extended their ravages as far as +Penrith. James VI., then at Berwick, upon his journey to his new +capital, detached a large force, under Sir William Selby, captain of +Berwick, to bring these depredators to order. Their raid, remarkable +for being the last of any note occurring in history, was avenged in an +exemplary manner. Most of the strong-holds upon the Liddel were razed +to the foundation, and several of the principal leaders executed at +Carlisle; after which we find little mention of the Armstrongs in +history. The precautions, adopted by the Earl of Dunbar, to preserve +peace on the borders, bore peculiarly hard upon a body of men, long +accustomed to the most ungoverned licence. They appear, in a +great measure, to have fallen victims to the strictness of the new +enactments.--_Ridpath_, p. 703.--_Stow_, 819.--_Laing_, Vol. I. The +lands, possessed by them in former days, have chiefly come into the +hands of the Buccleuch family, and of the Elliots; so that, with one +or two exceptions, we may say, that, in the country which this warlike +clan once occupied, there is hardly left a land-holder of the name. +One of the last border reivers was, however, of this family, and lived +within the beginning of the last century. After having made himself +dreaded over the whole country, he at last came to the following end: +One--, a man of large property, having lost twelve cows in one +night, raised the country of Tiviotdale, and traced the robbers into +Liddesdale, as far as the house of this Armstrong, commonly called +_Willie of Westburnflat_, from the place of his residence, on the +banks of the Hermitage water. Fortunately for the pursuers he was +then asleep; so that he was secured, along with nine of his friends, +without much resistance. He was brought to trial at Selkirk; and, +although no precise evidence was adduced to convict him of the special +fact (the cattle never having been recovered), yet the jury brought +him in _guilty_ on his general character, or, as it is called in our +law, on habite and repute. When sentence was pronounced, Willie arose; +and, seizing the oaken chair in which he was placed, broke it into +pieces by main strength, and offered to his companions, who were +involved in the same doom, that, if they would stand behind him, he +would fight his way out of Selkirk with these weapons. But they held +his hands, and besought him to let them _die like Christians_. They +were accordingly executed in form of law. This was the last trial at +Selkirk. The people of Liddesdale, who (perhaps not erroneously) still +consider the sentence as iniquitous, remarked, that--, the prosecutor, +never throve afterwards, but came to beggary and ruin, with his whole +family. + +Johnie Armstrong, of Gilnockie, the hero of the following ballad, is a +noted personage, both in history and tradition. He was, it would seem +from the ballad, a brother of the laird of Mangertoun, chief of +the name. His place of residence (now a roofless tower) was at the +Hollows, a few miles from Langholm, where its ruins still serve to +adorn a scene, which, in natural beauty, has few equals in Scotland. +At the head of a desperate band of freebooters, this Armstrong is said +to have spread the terror of his name almost as far as Newcastle, and +to have levied _black mail_, or _protection and forbearance money_, +for many miles around. James V., of whom it was long remembered by +his grateful people, that he made the "rush-bush keep the cow," about +1529, undertook an expedition through the border counties, to suppress +the turbulent spirit of the marchmen. But, before setting out upon his +journey, he took the precaution of imprisoning the different border +chieftains, who were the chief protectors of the marauders. The Earl +of Bothwell was forfeited, and confined in Edinburgh castle. The +lords of Home and Maxwell, the lairds of Buccleuch, Fairniherst, and +Johnston, with many others, were also committed to ward. Cockburn +of Henderland, and Adam Scott of Tushielaw, called the King of the +Border, were publicly executed.--_Lesley_, p. 430. The king then +marched rapidly forward, at the head of a flying army of ten thousand +men, through Ettrick Forest, and Ewsdale. The evil genius of our +Johnie Armstrong, or, as others say, the private advice of some +courtiers, prompted him to present himself before James, at the head +of thirty-six horse, arrayed in all the pomp of border chivalry, +Pitscottie uses nearly the words of the ballad, in describing the +splendour of his equipment, and his high expectations of favour +from the king. "But James, looking upon him sternly, said to his +attendants, 'What wants that knave that a king should have?' and +ordered him and his followers to instant execution."--"But John +Armstrong," continues this minute historian, "made great offers to the +king. That he should sustain himself, with forty gentlemen, ever ready +at his service, on their own cost, without wronging any Scottishman: +Secondly, that there was not a subject in England, duke, earl, or +baron, but, within a certain day, he should bring him to his majesty, +either quick or dead.[117] At length he, seeing no hope of favour, +said very proudly, 'It is folly to seek grace at a graceless face; +but,' said he, 'had I known this, I should have lived upon the borders +in despite of King Harry and you both; for I know King Harry would +_down-weigh my best horse with gold_, to know that I were condemned to +die this day.'--_Pitscottie's History_, p. 145. Johnie, with all his +retinue, was accordingly hanged upon growing trees, at a place called +Carlenrig chapel, about ten miles above Hawick, on the high road to +Langholm. The country people believe, that, to manifest the injustice +of the execution, the trees withered away. Armstrong and his followers +were buried in a deserted church-yard, where their graves are still +shewn. + +[Footnote 117: The borderers, from their habits of life, were capable +of most extraordinary exploits of this nature. In the year 1511, Sir +Robert Ker of Cessford, warden of the middle marches of Scotland, +was murdered at a border-meeting, by the bastard Heron, Starhead, +and Lilburn. The English monarch delivered up Lilburn to justice +in Scotland, but Heron and Starhead escaped. The latter chose his +residence in the very centre of England, to baffle the vengeance of +Ker's clan and followers. Two dependants of the deceased, called Tait, +were deputed by Andrew Ker of Cessford to revenge his father's +murder. They travelled through England in various disguises till they +discovered the place of Starhead's retreat, murdered him in his bed, +and brought his head in triumph to Edinburgh, where Ker caused it to +be exposed at the cross. The bastard Heron would have shared the same +fate, had he not spread abroad a report of his having died of the +plague, and caused his funeral obsequies to be performed.--_Ridpath's +History_, p. 481.--_See also Metrical Account of the Battle of +Flodden, published by the Rev. Mr. Lambe_.] + +As this border hero was a person of great note in his way, he is +frequently alluded to by the writers of the time. Sir David Lindsay +of the Mount, in the curious play published by Mr. Pinkerton, from the +Bannatyne MS., introduces a pardoner, or knavish dealer in reliques, +who produces, among his holy rarities-- + + --The cordis, baith grit and lang, + Quhilt hangit Johnnie Armistrang, + Of gude hempt, soft and sound, + Gude haly pepill, I stand ford, + Wha'evir beis hangit in this cord, + Neidis nevir to be drowned! + +_Pinkerton's Scottish Poems_, Vol. II. p. 69. + +In _The Complaynt of Scotland_, John Armistrangis's dance, mentioned +as a popular tune, has probably some reference to our hero. + +The common people of the high parts of Tiviotdale, Liddesdale, and +the country adjacent, hold the memory of Johnie Armstrong in very high +respect. They affirm also, that one of his attendants broke through +the king's guard, and carried to Gilnockie Tower the news of the +bloody catastrophe. + +This song was first published by Allan Ramsay, in his _Evergreen_, who +says, he copied it from the mouth of a gentleman, called Armstrong, +who was in the sixth generation from this John. The reciter assured +him, that this was the genuine old ballad; the common one false. By +the common one, Ramsay means an English ballad upon the same subject, +but differing in various particulars, which is published in Mr. +Ritson's _English Songs_, Vol. II. It is fortunate for the admirers of +the old ballad, that it did not fall into Ramsay's hands, when he +was equipping with new sets of words the old Scottish tunes in his +_Tea-Table Miscellany_. Since his time it has been often reprinted. + + + + +JOHNIE ARMSTRANG + + * * * * * + + + Sum speikis of lords, sum speikis of lairds, + And sick lyke men of hie degrie; + Of a gentleman I sing a sang, + Sum tyme called laird of Gilnockie. + + The king he wrytes a luving letter, + With his ain hand sae tenderly, + And he hath sent it to Johnie Armstrang, + To cum and speik with him speedily. + + The Eliots and Armstrangs did convene; + They were a gallant cumpanie-- + "We'll ride and meit our lawful king, + And bring him safe to Gilnockie." + + "Make kinnen[118] and capon ready then, + And venison in great plentie; + We'll wellcum here our royal king; + I hope he'll dine at Gilnockie!" + + They ran their horse on the Langhome howm, + And brak their speirs wi' mickle main; + The ladies lukit frae their loft windows-- + "God bring our men weel back agen!" + + When Johnie cam before the king, + Wi' a' his men sae brave to see, + The king he movit his bonnet to him; + He ween'd he was a king as well as he. + + "May I find grace, my sovereign liege, + Grace for my loyal men and me? + For my name it is Johnie Armstrang, + And subject of your's, my liege," said he. + + "Away, away, thou traitor strang! + Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be! + I grantit nevir a traitor's life, + And now I'll not begin wi' thee." + + "Grant me my life, my liege, my king! + "And a bonny gift I'll gie to thee-- + "Full four and twenty milk-white steids, + "Were a' foaled in ae yeir to me. + + "I'll gie thee a' these milk-white steids, + "That prance and nicker[119] at a speir; + "And as mickle gude Inglish gilt[120], + "As four of their braid backs dow[121] bear." + + "Away, away, thou traitor strang! + "Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be! + "I grantit never a traitor's life, + "And now I'll not begin wi' thee!" + + "Grant me my life, my liege, my king! + "And a bonny gift I'll gie to thee-- + "Gude four and twenty ganging[122] mills, + "That gang thro' a' the yeir to me. + + "These four and twenty mills complete, + "Sall gang for thee thro' a' the yeir; + "And as mickle of gude reid wheit, + "As a' their happers dow to bear." + + "Away, away, thou traitor strang! + "Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be! + "I grantit nevir a traitor's life, + "And now I'll not begin wi' thee." + + "Grant me my life, my liege, my king! + "And a great gift I'll gie to thee-- + "Bauld four and twenty sister's sons, + "Sall for thee fecht, tho' a' should flee!" + + "Away, away, thou traitor strang! + "Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be! + "I grantit nevir a traitor's life, + "And now I'll not begin wi' thee." + + "Grant me my life, my liege, my king! + "And a brave gift I'll gie to thee-- + "All between heir and Newcastle town + "Sall pay their yeirly rent to thee." + + "Away, away, thou traitor strang! + "Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be! + "I grantit nevir a traitor's life, + "And now I'll not begin wi' thee." + + "Ye lied[123], ye lied, now king," he says. + "Altho' a king and prince ye be! + For I've luved naething in my life, + "I weel dare say it, but honesty-- + + "Save a fat horse," and a fair woman, + "Twa bonny dogs to kill a deir; + "But England suld have found me meal and mault, + "Gif I had lived this hundred yeir! + + "Sche suld have found me meal and mault, + "And beif and mutton in a' plentie; + "But nevir a Scots wyfe could have said, + "That e'er I skaithed her a pure flee. + + "To seik het water beneith cauld ice, + "Surely it is a greit folie-- + "I have asked grace at a graceless face, + "But there is mine for my men and me! + + "But, had I kenn'd ere I cam frae hame, + "How thou unkind wadst been to me! + "I wad have keepit the border side, + "In spite of al thy force and thee. + + "Wist England's king that I was ta'en, + "O gin a blythe man he wad be! + "For anes I slew his sister's son, + "And on his breist bane brake a trie." + + John wore a girdle about his middle, + Imbroidered ower wi' burning gold, + Bespangled wi' the same metal; + Maist beautiful was to behold. + + There hang nine targats[124] at Johnie's hat, + And ilk are worth three hundred pound-- + "What wants that knave that a king suld have, + But the sword of honour and the crown! + + "O whair got thou these targats, Johnie, + "That blink[125] sae brawly abune thy brie?" + "I gat them in the field fechting, + "Where, cruel king, thou durst not be. + + "Had I my horse, and harness gude, + "And riding as I wont to be, + "It suld have been tald this hundred yeir, + "The meeting of my king and me! + + "God be with thee, Kirsty,[126] my brother! + "Lang live thou laird of Mangertoun! + "Lang may'st thou live on the border syde, + "Ere thou see thy brother ride up and down! + + "And God be with thee, Kirsty, my son, + "Where thou sits on thy nurse's knee! + "But and thou live this hundred yeir, + "Thy father's better thou'lt nevir be. + + "Farewell! my bonny Gilnock hall, + "Where on Esk side thou stand est stout! + "Gif I had lived but seven yeirs mair, + "I wad hae gilt thee round about." + + John murdered was at Carlinrigg, + And all his gallant cumpanie; + But Scotland's heart was ne'er sae wae, + To see sae mony brave men die-- + + Because they saved their countrey deir, + Frae Englishmen! Nane were sae bauld, + Whyle Johnie lived on the border syde, + Nane of them durst cum neir his hauld. + +[Footnote 118: _Kinnen_--Rabbits.] + +[Footnote 119: _Nicker_--Neigh.] + +[Footnote 120: _Gilt--Gold_.] + +[Footnote 121: _Dow_--Able to.] + +[Footnote 122: _Ganging_--Going.] + +[Footnote 123: _Lied_--Lye.] + +[Footnote 124: _Targats_--Tassels.] + +[Footnote 125: _Blink sae brawly_--Glance so bravely.] + +[Footnote 126: Christopher.] + + + + +SUPPLEMENT TO THE BALLAD OF JOHNIE ARMSTRANG. + + * * * * * + + +The editor believes, his readers will not be displeased to see a Bond +of Manrent, granted by this border freebooter to the Scottish warden +of the west marches, in return for the gift of a feudal casualty of +certain lauds particularized. It is extracted from _Syme's Collection +of Old Writings, MS. penes_ Dr. Robert Anderson, of Edinburgh. + + +BOND OF MANRENT. + +Be it kend till all men, be thir present letters, me, Johne +Armistrang, for to be bound and oblist, and be the tenor of thir +present letters, and faith and trewth in my body, lelie and trewlie, +bindis and oblissis me and myn airis, to are nobil and michtie lord, +Robert Lord Maxwell, wardane of the west marches of Scotland, that, +forasmikle as my said lord has given and grantit to me, and mine airis +perpetuallie, the nonentries of all and hail the landis underwritten, +that is to say, the landis of Dalbetht, Shield, Dalblane, +Stapil-Gortown, Langholme, and--with their pertindis, lyand in the +lordship of Eskdale, as his gift, maid to me, therupon beris in +the self: and that for all the tyme of the nonentres of the samyn. +Theirfor, I, the said Johne Armistrang, bindis and oblissis me and +myne airis, in manrent and service to the said Robert Lord Maxwell, +and his airis, for evermair, first and befor all uthirs, myne +allegiance to our soverane lord, the king, allanerly except; and to be +trewe, gude, and lele servant to my said lord, and be ready to do +him service, baith in pece and weir, with all my kyn, friends, and +servants, that I may and dowe to raise, and be and to my said lord's +airis for evermair. And sall tak his true and plane part in all maner +of actions at myn outer power, and sall nouther wit, hear, nor se my +said lordis skaith, lak, nor dishonestie, but we sall stop and lett +the samyn, and geif we dowe not lett the samyn, we sall warn him +thereof in all possible haist; and geif it happenis me, the said Johne +Armistrang, or myne airis, to fail in our said service and manrent, +any maner of way, to our said lord (as God forbid we do), than, and +in that caiss, the gift and nonentres maid be him to us, of the said +landis of Dalbetht, Schield, Dalblane, Stapil-Gortown, Langholme, +and--with the pertinentis to be of no avale, force, nor effect; but +the said lord and his airis to have free regress and ingress to the +nonentres of the samyn, but ony pley or impediment. To the keeping and +fulfilling of all and sundry the premisses, in form above writtin, I +bind and obliss me and my airis foresaids, to the said lord and his +airis for evermare, be the faithis treuthis in our bodies, but fraud +or gile. In witness of the whilk thing, to thir letters of manrent +subscrievit, with my hand at the pen, my sele is hangin, at Drumfries, +the secund day of November, the yeir of God, Jaiv and XXV. yeiris. + + JOHNE ARMISTRANG, with my hand + at the pen. + +The lands, here mentioned, were the possessions of Armstrong himself, +the investitures of which not having been regularly renewed, the +feudal casualty of non-entry had been incurred by the vassal. The +brother of Johnie Armstrang is said to have founded, or rather +repaired, Langholm castle, before which, as mentioned in the ballad, +verse 5th, they "ran their horse," and "brake their spears," in the +exercise of border chivalry.--_Account of the Parish of Langholm, apud +Macfarlane's MSS_. The lands of Langholm and Staplegorton continued +in Armstrong's family; for there is, in the same MS. collection, a +similar bond of manrent, granted by "Christofer Armistrang, calit +_Johne's Pope_," on 24th January, 1557, to Lord Johne Lord Maxwell, +and to Sir Johne Maxwell of Terreglis, knight, his tutor and governor, +in return for the gift of "the males of all and haill the landis whilk +are conteint in ane bond made by umquhile Johne Armistrang, my father, +to umquhile Robert, Lord Maxwell, gudshore to the said Johne, now Lord +Maxwell." It would therefore appear, that the bond of manrent, granted +by John Armstrong, had been the price of his release from the feudal +penalty arising from his having neglected to procure a regular +investiture from his superior. As Johnie only touched the pen, it +appears that he could not write. + +Christopher Armstrong, above-mentioned, is the person alluded to in +the conclusion of the ballad--"God be with thee, Kirsty, my son." +He was the father, or grandfather, of William Armstrong, called +_Christie's Will_, a renowned freebooter, some of whose exploits the +reader will find recorded in the third volume of this work. + + + + +THE LOCHMABEN HARPER + +NOW FIRST PUBLISHED. + + * * * * * + + +_The castle of Lochmaben was formerly a noble building, situated upon +a peninsula, projecting into one of the four lakes which are in +the neighbourhood of the royal burgh, and is said to have been the +residence of Robert Bruce, while lord of Annandale. Accordingly, +it was always held to be a royal fortress, the keeping of which, +according to the custom of the times, was granted to some powerful +lord, with an allotment of lands and fishings, for the defence and +maintenance of the place. There is extant a grant, dated 16th March, +1511, to Robert Lauder of the Bass, of the office of captain and +keeper of Lochmaben castle, for seven years, with many perquisites. +Among others, the_ "land, stolen frae the king," _is bestowed upon the +captain, as his proper lands.--What shall we say of a country, where +the very ground was the subject of theft_? + + * * * * * + + O heard ye na o' the silly blind Harper, + How lang he lived in Lochmaben town? + And how he wad gang to fair England, + To steal the Lord Warden's Wanton Brown! + + But first he gaed to his gude wyfe, + Wi' a' the haste that he could thole-- + "This wark," quo' he, "will ne'er gae weel, + Without a mare that has a foal." + + Quo' she--"Thou hast a gude gray mare, + That can baith lance o'er laigh and hie; + Sae set thee on the gray mare's back, + And leave the foal at hame wi' me." + + So he is up to England gane, + And even as fast as he may drie; + And when he cam to Carlisle gate, + O whae was there but the Warden, he? + + "Come into my hall, thou silly blind Harper, + And of thy harping let me hear!" + "O by my sooth," quo' the silly blind Harper, + I wad rather hae stabling for my mare." + + The Warden look'd ower his left shoulder, + And said unto his stable groom-- + "Gae take the silly blind Harper's mare, + And tie her beside my Wanton Brown." + + Then aye he harped, and aye he carped[127], + Till a' the lordlings footed the floor; + But an' the music was sae sweet, + The groom had nae mind of the stable door. + + And aye he harped, and aye he carped, + Till a' the nobles were fast asleep; + Then quickly he took aff his shoon, + And saftly down the stair did creep. + + Syne to the stable door he hied, + Wi' tread as light as light could be; + And when he opened and gaed in, + There he fand thirty steeds and three. + + He took a cowt halter[128] frae his hose, + And o' his purpose he did na fail; + He slipt it ower the Wanton's nose, + And tied it to his gray mare's tail. + + He turned them loose at the castle gate, + Ower muir and moss and ilka dale; + And she ne'er let the Wanton bait, + But kept him a-galloping hame to her foal. + + The mare she was right swift o' foot, + She did na fail to find the way; + For she was at Lochmaben gate, + A lang three hours before the day. + + When she cam to the Harper's door, + There she gave mony a nicker and sneer--[129] + "Rise up," quo' the wife, "thou lazy lass; + Let in thy master and his mare." + + Then up she rose, put on her clothes, + And keekit through at the lock-hole-- + "O! by my sooth," then cried the lass, + Our mare has gotten a braw brown foal!" + + "Come, haud thy tongue, thou silly wench! + The morn's but glancing in your e'e."-- + I'll[130] wad my hail fee against a groat, + He's bigger than e'er our foal will be." + + Now all this while, in merry Carlisle, + The Harper harped to hie and law; + And the[131] fiend thing dought they do but listen him to, + Until that the day began to daw. + + But on the morn, at fair day light, + When they had ended a' their cheer, + Behold the Wanton Brown was gane, + And eke the poor blind Harper's mare! + + "Allace! allace!" quo' the cunning auld Harper, + "And ever allace that I cam here! + In Scotland I lost a braw cowt foal, + In England they've stown my gude gray mare!" + + "Come! cease thy allacing, thou silly blind Harper, + And again of thy harping let us hear; + And weel payd sall thy cowt-foal be, + And thou sall have a far better mare." + + Then aye he harped, and aye he carped; + Sae sweet were the harpings he let them hear! + He was paid for the foal he had never lost, + And three times ower for the gude GRAY MARE. + +[Footnote 127: _Carped_--Sung.] + +[Footnote 128: _Cowt halter_--Colt's halter.] + +[Footnote 129: _Nicker and sneer_--Neigh and snort.] + +[Footnote 130: _Wad my hail fee_--Bet my whole wages.] + +[Footnote 131: _Fiend thing dought_--Nothing could they do.] + + + + +NOTES ON THE LOCHMABEN HARPER. + + * * * * * + + +The only remark which offers itself on the foregoing ballad seems +to be, that it is the most modern in which the harp, as a border +instrument of music, is found to occur. + +I cannot dismiss the subject of Lochmaben, without noticing an +extraordinary and anomalous class of landed proprietors, who dwell +in the neighbourhood of that burgh. These are the inhabitants of four +small villages, near the ancient castle, called the Four Towns of +Lochmaben. They themselves are termed the King's Rentallers, or kindly +tenants; under which denomination each of them has a right, of an +allodial nature, to a small piece of ground. It is said, that these +people are the descendants of Robert Bruce's menials, to whom he +assigned, in reward of their faithful service, these portions of land, +burdened only with the payment of certain quit-rents, and grassums or +fines, upon the entry of a new tenant. The right of the rentallers is, +in essence, a right of property, but, in form, only a right of lease; +of which they appeal for the foundation on the rent-rolls of the lord +of the castle and manor. This possession, by rental, or by simple +entry upon the rent-roll, was anciently a common, and peculiarly +sacred, species of property, granted by a chief to his faithful +followers; the connection of landlord and tenant being esteemed of +a nature too formal to be necessary, where there was honour upon +one side, and gratitude upon the other. But, in the case of subjects +granting a right of this kind, it was held to expire with the life +of the granter, unless his heir chose to renew it; and also upon +the death of the rentaller himself, unless especially granted to his +heirs, by which term only his first heir was understood. Hence, in +modern days, the _kindly tenants_ have entirely disappeared from the +land. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the Four Towns of Lochmaben, +the maxim, that the king can never die, prevents their right of +property from reverting to the crown. The viscount of Stormonth, as +royal keeper of the castle, did, indeed, about the beginning of +last century, make an attempt to remove the rentallers from their +possessions, or at least to procure judgment, finding them obliged to +take out feudal investitures, and subject themselves to the casualties +thereto annexed. But the rentallers united in their common defence; +and, having stated their immemorial possession, together with some +favourable clauses in certain old acts of parliament, enacting, that +the king's _poor kindly tenants_ of Lochmaben should not be hurt, they +finally prevailed in an action before the Court of Session. From the +peculiar state of their right of property, it follows, that there is +no occasion for feudal investitures, or the formal entry of an heir; +and, of course, when they chuse to convey their lands, it is done by a +simple deed of conveyance, without charter or sasine. + +The kindly tenants of Lochmaben live (or at least lived till lately) +much sequestered from their neighbours, marry among themselves, and +are distinguished from each other by _soubriquets_, according to +the ancient border custom, repeatedly noticed You meet, among their +writings, with such names as _John Out-bye, Will In-bye, White-fish, +Red-fish_, &c. They are tenaciously obstinate in defence of their +privileges of commonty, &c. which are numerous. Their lands are, +in general, neatly inclosed, and well cultivated, and they form a +contented and industrious little community. + +Many of these particulars are extracted from the MSS. of Mr. Syme, +writer to the signet. Those, who are desirous of more information, may +consult _Craig de Feudis_, Lib. II. dig. 9. sec. 24. It is hoped the +reader will excuse this digression, though somewhat professional; +especially as there can be little doubt, that this diminutive republic +must soon share the fate of mightier states; for, in consequence of +the increase of commerce, lands possessed under this singular tenure, +being now often brought to sale, and purchased by the neighbouring +proprietors, will, in process of time, be included in their +investitures, and the right of rentallage be entirely forgotten. + + + + +JAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD. + + * * * * * + + +_There is another ballad, under the same title as the following, in +which nearly the same incidents are narrated, with little difference, +except that the honour of rescuing the cattle is attributed to the +Liddesdale Elliots, headed 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 Tiviotdale 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 Buccleuch_. + + * * * * * + + It fell about the Martinmas tyde, + When our border steeds get corn and hay, + The captain, of Bewcastle hath bound him to ryde, + And he's ower to Tividale to drive a prey. + + The first ae guide that they met wi', + It was high up in Hardhaughswire; + The 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 ye'll gae to the fair Dodhead, + Mony a cow's cauf I'll let thee see." + + And whan they cam to the fair Dodhead, + Right hastily they clam the peel; + They loosed the kye out, are and a', + And ranshackled[132] the house right weel. + + Now Jamie Telfer's heart was sair, + The tear aye rowing in his e'e; + He pled wi' the captain to hae his gear, + Or else revenged he wad be. + + The captain turned him round, and leugh; + Said--"Man, there's naething in thy house, + But ae auld sword without a sheath, + That hardly now wad fell a mouse!" + + The sun was na up, but the moon was down, + It was the gryming[133] of a new fa'n snaw, + Jamie Telfer has run ten myles a-foot, + Between the Dodhead and the Stobs's Ha'. + + And whan he cam to the fair tower yate, + He shouted loud, and cried weel hie, + Till out bespak auld Gibby Elliot-- + "Whae's this that brings the fraye to me?" + + "Its I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead, + And a harried man I think I be! + There's naething left at the fair Dodhead, + But a waefu' wife and bairnies three." + + "Gar seek your 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 e'e-- + "I'll ne'er pay mail to Elliot again, + And the fair Dodhead I'll never 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!" + + He has turned him to the Tiviot side, + E'en as fast as he could drie, + Till he cam to the Coultart Cleugh, + And there he shouted baith loud and hie. + + Then up bespak him auld Jock Grieve-- + "Whae's this that bring's the fray to me?" + "It's I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead, + A harried man I trew I be. + + "There's naething left in the fair Dodhead, + But a greeting wife and bairnies three, + And sax poor ca's[134] stand in the sta', + A' routing loud for their minnie."[135] + + "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," + + Then he has ta'en out a bonny black, + Was right weel fed wi' corn and hay, + And he's set Jamie Telfer on his back, + To the Catslockhill to tak the fraye. + + And whan he cam to the Catslockhill, + He shouted loud, and cried weel hie, + Till out and spak him William's Wat-- + "O whae's this brings the fraye to me?" + + "Its 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!" + + "Alas for wae!" quo' William's Wat, + Alack, for thee my heart is sair! + I never cam bye the fair Dodhead, + That ever I fand thy basket bare." + + He's set his twa sons on coal-black steeds, + Himsel' upon a freckled gray, + And they are on wi' Jamie Telfer, + To Branksome Ha' to tak the fraye. + + And whan they cam to Branksome Ha', + They shouted a' baith loud and hie, + Till up and spak him auld Buccleuch, + Said--"Whae's this brings the fraye to me?" + + "It's I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead, + And a harried man I think I be! + There's nought left in the fair Dodhead, + But a greeting wife, and bairnies three." + + "Alack for 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! + + "Gar warn the water, braid and wide, + Gar warn it sune and hastilie! + They that winna ride for Telfer's kye, + Let them never look in the face o' me! + + "Warn Wat o' Harden, and his sons, + Wi' them will Borthwick water ride; + Warn Gaudilands, and Allanhaugh, + And Gilmanscleugh, and Commonside. + + "Ride by the gate at Priesthaughswire, + And warn the Currors o' the Lee; + As ye cum down the Hermitage Slack, + Warn doughty Willie o' Gorrinberry." + + The Scots they rade, the Scots they ran, + Sae starkly and sae 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 his men before, + And saw the kye right fast driving. + + "Whae drives thir kye?" can Willie say, + To mak an outspeckle[136] o' me?" + "Its I, the captain o' Bewcastle, Willie; + I winna layne my name for thee." + + "O will ye let Telfer's kye gae back? + Or will ye do aught for regard o' me? + Or, by the faith of my body," quo' Willie Scott, + "I'se ware my dame's cauf's skin on thee!" + + "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 Scot that's here." + + "Set on them, lads!" quo' Willie than; + Fye, lads, set on them cruellie! + For ere they win to the Ritterford, + Mony a toom[137] saddle there sall 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[138] 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 wav'd it in the air-- + The Dinlay[139] 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'll ne'er see Tiviotside again, + Or Willie's death revenged sall be." + + O mony a horse ran masterless, + The splintered lances flew on hie; + But or they wan to the Kershope ford, + The Scots had gotten the victory. + + John o' Brigham there was slane, + And John o' Barlow, as I hear say; + And thirty mae o' the captain's men, + Lay bleeding on the grund that day. + + The captain was run thro' the thick of the thigh, + And broken was his right leg bane; + If he had 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 Tividale he had led the way. + + "I wad lourd[140] have had a winding-sheet, + And helped to put it ower his head, + Ere he had been 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,[141] + Cried--"On for his house in Stanegirthside, + If ony man will ride with us!" + + When they cam to the Stanegirthside, + They dang wi' trees, and burst 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-- + "Whae dar loose out the captain's kye, + Or answer to him and his men?" + + "Its 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." + + When they cam to the fair Dodhead, + They were a wellcum 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 e'e. + +[Footnote 132: _Ranshackled_--Ransacked.] + +[Footnote 133: _Gryming_--Sprinkling.] + +[Footnote 134: _Ca's_--Calves.] + +[Footnote 135: _Minnie_--Mother.] + +[Footnote 136: _Outspeckle_.--Laughing-stock.] + +[Footnote 137: _Toom_--Empty.] + +[Footnote 138: _Knapscap_--Headpiece.] + +[Footnote 139: _The Dinlay_--is a mountain in Liddesdale.] + +[Footnote 140: _Lourd_--Rather.] + +[Footnote 141: _Wudspurs_--Hotspur, or Madspur.] + + + + +NOTES ON JAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD. + + * * * * * + + + _It was high up in Hardhaughswire_.--P. 140. v. 1. + +Hardhaughswire is the pass from Liddesdale to the head of Tiviotdale. + + _It was laigh down in Borthwick water_.--P. 140. v. 1. + +Borthwick water is a stream, which falls into the Tiviot, three miles +above Hawick. + + _But, gin ye'll gae to the fair Dodhead_.--P. 140. v. 2. + +The Dodhead, in Selkirkshire, near Singlee, where there are still the +vestiges of an old tower. + + _Now Jamie Telfer's heart was sair_.--P. 140. v. 4. + +There is still a family of Telfers, residing near Langholm, who +pretend to derive their descent from the Telfers of the Dodhead. + + _Between the Dodhead and the Stobs's Ha'_.--P. 141. v. 1. + +Stobs Hall, upon Slitterick. Jamie Telfer made his first application +here because he seems to have paid the proprietor of that castle +_black-mail_, or protection-money. + + _Gar seek your succour at Branksome Ha'_.--P. 141. v. 4. + +The ancient family-seat of the lairds of Buccleuch, near Hawick. + + _Till he cam to the Coultart Cleugh_.--P. 142. v. 2. + +The Coultart Cleugh is nearly opposite to Carlinrig, on the road +between Hawick and Mosspaul. + + _Gar warn the water, braid and wide_.--P. 144. v. 4. + +The water, in the mountainous districts of Scotland, is often used to +express the banks of the river, which are the only inhabitable parts +of the country. _To raise the water_, therefore, was to alarm those +who lived along its side. + + _Warn Wat o' Harden, and his sons_, &c.--P. 144. v. 5. + +The estates, mentioned in this verse, belonged to families of the name +of Scott, residing upon the waters of Borthwick and Tiviot, near the +castle of their chief. + + _Ride by the gate at Priesthaughswire_.--P. 145. v. 1. + +The pursuers seem to have taken the road through the hills of +Liddesdale, in order to collect forces, and intercept the foragers +at the passage of the Liddel, on their return to Bewcastle. The +Ritterford and Kershope-ford, after mentioned, are noted fords on the +river Liddel. + + _The gear was driven the Frostylee up_.--P. 145. v. 3. + +The Frostylee is a brook, which joins the Tiviot, near Mosspaul. + + _And Harden grat for very rage_.--P. 146. v. 4. + +Of this border laird, commonly called _Auld Wat of Harden_, tradition +has preserved many anecdotes. He was married to Mary Scott, +celebrated in song by the title of the Flower of Yarrow. By their +marriage-contract, the father-in-law, Philip Scott of Dryhope, was to +find Harden in horse meat, and man's meat, at his tower of Dryhope, +for a year and a day; but five barons pledge themselves, that, at +the expiry of that period, the son-in-law should remove, without +attempting to continue in possession by force! A notary-public signed +for all the parties to the deed, none of whom could write their names. +The original is still in the charter-room of the present Mr. Scott of +Harden. By the Flower of Yarrow the laird of Harden had six sons; +five of whom survived him, and founded the families of Harden (now +extinct), Highchesters (now representing Harden), Reaburn, Wool, and +Synton. The sixth son was slain at a fray, in a hunting-match, by the +Scotts of Gilmanscleugh. His brothers flew to arms; but the old laird +secured them in the dungeon of his 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, released his sons, and +shewed them the charter. "To horse, lads!" cried the savage warrior, +"and let us take possession! the lands of Gilmanscleuch are well worth +a dead son." The property, thus obtained, continued in the family +till the beginning of last century, when it was sold, by John Scott of +Harden, to Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch. + + _John o' Brigham there was slane_.--P. 147. v. 3. + +Perhaps one of the ancient family of Brougham, in Cumberland. The +editor has used some freedom with the original in the subsequent +verse. The account of the captain's disaster _(tests laeva vulnerata_) +is rather too _naive_ for literal publication. + + _Cried--"On for his house in Stanegirthside_.--P. 148. v. 3. + +A house belonging to the Foresters, situated on the English side of +the Liddel. + +An article in the list of attempts upon England, fouled by the +commissioners ar Berwick, in the year 1587, may relate to the subject +of the foregoing ballad. + + October, 1582. + + Thomas Musgrave, deputy {Walter Scott, laird } 200 kine and + of Bewcastle, and {of Buckluth, and his} oxen,300 gait the + tenants, against {complices; for } and sheep. + +_Introduction, to History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, p. 31. + + + + +THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE. + + * * * * * + + +This poem is published from a copy in the Bannatyne MS. in the +hand-writing of the Hon. Mr. Carmichael, advocate. It first appeared +in _Allan Ramsay's Evergreen_, but some liberties have been taken by +him in transcribing it; and, what is altogether unpardonable, the MS., +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 Carmichael, 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 complainer, was +fouled (_i.e._ found a true 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 compensation +for the felony, bade him "play fair!" to which the haughty English +warden retorted, by some injurious expressions respecting Carmichael's +family, and gave other open signs of resentment. His retinue, chiefly +men of Reesdale and Tynedale, the most ferocious of the English +borderers, glad of any pretext for a quarrel, discharged a flight of +arrows among the Scots. A warm conflict ensued, in which, Carmichael +being beat down and made prisoner, success 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 arriving at that instant, the skirmish terminated in a +complete victory on the part of the Scots, who took prisoners, the +English warden, James Ogle, Cuthbert Collingwood, Francis Russel, +son to the Earl of Bedford, and son-in-law to Forster, some of the +Fenwicks, and several other border chiefs. They were sent to the Earl +of Morton, then regent, who detained them at Dalkeith for some days, +till the heat of their resentment was abated; which prudent precaution +prevented a war betwixt the two kingdoms. He then dismissed them with +great expressions of regard; and, to satisfy Queen Elizabeth,[142] +sent up Carmichael to York, whence he was soon after honourably +dismissed. The field of battle, called the Reidswire, is a part of +the Carter Mountain, about ten miles from Jedburgh.--See, for these +particulars, _Godscroft, Spottiswoode_, and _Johnstone's History_. + +[Footnote 142: Her ambassador at Edinburgh refused to lie in a bed of +state which had been provided for him, till this "_oudious fact_" had +been enquired into.--_Murden's State Papers_, Vol. II, p. 282.] + +The editor has adopted the modern spelling of the word Reidswire, to +prevent the mistake in pronunciation which might be occasioned by the +use of the Scottish _qu_ for _w_. The MS. reads _Reidsquair. Swair_, +or _Swire_, 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. + + + + +THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE. + + * * * * * + + + The seventh 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 I'll ne'er forgett! + Was sure sae feard, and then sae faine-- + They came theare justice for to gett, + Will never green[143] to come again. + + Carmichael was our Warden then, + He caused the country to conveen; + And the Laird's Wat, that worthie man, + Brought in that sirname weil beseen[144]: + + The Armestranges, that aye hae been + A hardie house, but not a hail, + The Elliot's honours to maintaine, + Brought down the lave[145] o' Liddesdale. + + Then Tividale came to wi' speid; + The sheriffe brought the Douglas down, + Wi' Cranstane, Gladstain, good at need, + Baith Rewle water, and Hawick town. + Beanjeddart bauldly made him boun, + Wi' a' the Trumbills, stronge and stout; + The 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 hae taen the fell, + And planted down palliones[146] there to bide. + We looked down the other side, + And saw come breasting ower the brae, + Wi' Sir John Forster for their guyde, + Full fifteen hundred men and mae. + + It grieved him sair, that day, I trow, + Wi' Sir George Hearoune of Schipsydehouse; + Because we were not men enow, + They counted us not worth a louse. + Sir George was gentle, meek, and douse, + But _he_ was hail and het as fire; + And yet, for all his cracking crouse[147], + He rewd the raid o' the Reidswire. + + 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 enough, + Begun wi' merriement and mowes, + And at the brae, aboon the heugh, + The clark sate down to call the rowes.[148] + And some for kyne, and some for ewes, + Called in of Dandrie, Hob, and Jock-- + We saw, come marching ower the knows, + Five hundred Fennicks in a flock. + + With jack and speir, and bows all bent, + And warlike weapons at their will: + Although we were na weel content, + Yet, be my trouth, we feard no ill. + Some gaed to drink, and some stude still, + And some to cairds and dice them sped; + Till on ane Farnstein 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 him as vainlie, + Began to reckon kin and blood: + He raise, and raxed[149] 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 nought but bow and speir, + And every man pulled out a brand; + "A Schaftan and a Fenwick" thare: + Gude Symington was slain frae hand. + The Scotsmen cried on other to stand, + Frae time they saw John Robson slain-- + What should they cry? the king's command + Could cause no cowards turn again. + + Up rose the laird to red the cumber,[150] + Which would not be for all his boast;-- + What could we doe with sic a number? + Fyve thousand men into a host. + Then Henry Purdie proved his cost,[151] + And very narrowlie had mischiefed him, + And there we had our warden lost, + Wert not the grit God he relieved him. + + Another throw the breiks him bair, + 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. + + Then raise[152] the slogan with ane shout-- + "Fy Tindaill, to it! Jedbrugh's here!" + I trow he was not half sae stout, + But[153] anis his stomach was asteir. + + With gun and genzie,[154] bow and speir, + Men might see monie a cracked crown! + But up amang the merchant geir, + They were as busie as we were down. + + The swallow taill frae tackles flew, + Five hundreth flain[155] into a flight, + But we had pestelets enow, + And shot amang them as we might. + With help of God the game gaed right, + Frae 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 turned again; + And had not been the merchant packs, + There had been mae of Scotland slain. + But, Jesu! if the folks were fain + To put the bussing on their thies; + And so they fled, wi' a' their main, + Down ower the brae, like clogged bees. + + Sir Francis Russel ta'en was there, + And hurt, as we hear men rehearse; + Proud Wallinton was wounded sair, + Albeit he 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 has cause to mak great sturt, + For laiming of the laird of Mow. + The Laird's Wat did weel, indeed; + His friends stood stoutlie by himsel', + With little Gladstain, gude in need, + For Gretein kend na gude be ill. + + The Sheriffe wanted not gude will, + Howbeit he might not fight so fast; + Beanjeddart, Hundlie, and Hunthill, + Three, on they laid weel at the last. + Except the horsemen of the guard, + If I could put men to availe, + None stoutlier stood out for their laird. + For did the lads of Liddesdail. + + 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 back. + Gude Ederstane was not to lack, + Nor Kirktoun, Newtoun, noble men! + Thirs[156] all the specials I of speake, + By[157] others that I could not ken. + + 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, + Garr'd Tindaill lads begin the quarrel. + +[Footnote 143: _Green_--Long.] + +[Footnote 144: _Weil beseen_--Well appointed. The word occurs in Morte +Arthur: "And when Sir Percival saw this, he hied him thither, "and +found the ship covered with silke, more blacker than any beare; +and therein was a gentlewoman, of great beautie, and she was richly +_beseene_, that none might be better."] + +[Footnote 145: _Lave_--Remainder.] + +[Footnote 146: _Palliones_--Tents.] + +[Footnote 147: _Cracking crouse_--Talking big.] + +[Footnote 148: _Rowes_--Rolls.] + +[Footnote 149: _Raxed him_--Stretched himself up.] + +[Footnote 150: _Red the cumber_--Quell the tumult.] + +[Footnote 151: _Cost_--Signifies loss or risk.] + +[Footnote 152: _Raise_--Rose.] + +[Footnote 153: _But, &c_.--Till once his anger was up.] + +[Footnote 154: _Genzie_--Engine of war.] + +[Footnote 155: _Flain_--Arrows; hitherto absurdly printed _slain_.] + +[Footnote 156: _Thirs_--These are.] + +[Footnote 157: _By_--Besides.] + + + + +NOTES ON THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE. + + * * * * * + + + _Carmichael was our warden then_.--P. 157. v. 2. + +Sir John Carmichael was a favourite of the resent Morton, by whom +he was appointed warden of the middle marches, in preference to the +border chieftains. With the like policy, the regent married Archibald +Carmichael, the warden's brother, to the heiress of Edrom, in the +Merse, much contrary to the inclination of the lady and her friends. +In like manner, he compelled another heiress, Jane Sleigh, of Cumlege, +to marry Archibald, brother to Auchinleck of Auchiuleck, one of his +dependants. By such arbitrary practices, Morton meant to strengthen +his authority on the borders; instead of which, he hastened his fall, +by giving disgust to his kinsman the Earl of Angus, and his +other friends, who had been established in the country for +ages.--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. Pages 238. 246. Sir John Carmichael, the +warden, was murdered 16th June, 1600, by a party of borderers, at a +place called Raesknows, near Lochmaben, whither he was going to hold +a court of justice. Two of the ring-leaders in the slaughter, Thomas +Armstrong, called _Ringan's Tarn_, and Adam Scott, called _the +Pecket_, were tried at Edinburgh, at the instance of Carmichael of +Edrom. They were condemned to have their right hands struck off, +thereafter to be hanged, and their bodies gibbeted on the Borough +Moor; which sentence was executed, 14th November, 1601. "This +_Pecket_, (saith Birrel in his _Diary_), was ane of the maist notalrie +thieftes that ever raid:" he calls his name Steill, which appears, +from the record, to be a mistake. Four years afterwards, an Armstrong, +called _Sandy of Rowanburn_, and several others of that tribe, were +executed for this and other excesses.--_Books of Adjournal of these +dates_. + + _And the Laird's Wat, that worthie man_.--P. 157. v. 2. + +The chief, who led out the sirname of Scott upon this occasion, was +(saith Satchells) Walter Scott of Ancrum, a natural son of Walter of +Buccleuch. The laird of Buccleuch was then a minor. The ballad seems +to have been popular in Satchells' days, for he quotes it literally. +He must, however, have been mistaken in this particular; for the +family of Scott of Ancrum, in all our books of genealogy, deduce their +descent from the Scotts of Balwearie in Fife, whom they represent. The +first of this family, settled in Roxburghshire, is stated in _Douglas' +Baronage_ to have been Patrick Scott, who purchased the lands of +Ancrum, in the reign of James VI. He therefore could not be the +_Laird's Wat_ of the ballad; indeed, from the list of border families +in 1597, Ker appears to have been proprietor of Ancrum at the date of +the ballad. It is plainly written in the MS. the _Laird's Wat_, i.e., +the Laird's son Wat; notwithstanding which, it has always hitherto +been printed the _Laird Wat_. If Douglas be accurate in his genealogy, +the person meant must be the young laird of Buccleuch, afterwards +distinguished for his surprise of Carlisle Castle.--See _Kinmont +Willie_. I am the more confirmed in this opinion, because Kerr +of Ancrum was at this time a fugitive, for slaying one of the +Rutherfords, and the tower of Ancrum given in keeping to the +Turnbulls, his hereditary enemies. His mother, however, a daughter of +Home of Wedderburn, contrived to turn out the Turnbulls, and possess +herself of the place by surprise.--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. p. 250. + + _The Armestranges, that aye hae been_.--P. 158. v. 1. + +This clan are here mentioned as not being hail, or whole, because +they were outlawed or broken men. Indeed, many of them had become +Englishmen, as the phrase 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 Dalyell's Fragments_, +p. 1. There was an old alliance betwixt the Elliots and Armstrongs, +here alluded to. For the enterprises of the Armstrongs, against their +native country, when under English assurance, see _Murdin's State +Papers_, Vol. I. p. 43. From which it appears, that, by command of +Sir Ralph Evers, this clan ravaged almost the whole west border of +Scotland. + + _The sheriffe brought the Douglas down_.--P. 158. v. 2, + +Douglas of Cavers, hereditary sheriff of Teviotdale, descended from +Black Archibald, who carried the standard of his father, the Earl of +Douglas, at the battle of Otterbourne.--_See the Ballad of that name_. + + _Wi' Cranstane, Gladstain, good at need_.--P. 158. v. 2. + +Cranstoun of that ilk, ancestor to Lord Cranstoun; and Gladstain of +Gladstains. + + _Wi a' the Trumbills, stronge and stout; + The Rutherfoords, with grit renown_.--P. 158. v. 2. + +These were ancient and powerful border clans, residing chiefly upon +the river Jed. Hence, they naturally convoyed the town of Jedburgh +out. Although notorious freebooters, they were specially patronised by +Morton, who, by their means, endeavoured to counterpoise the power +of Buccleuch and Ferniherst, during the civil wars attached to the +queen's faction. + +The following fragment of an old ballad is quoted in a letter from +an aged gentleman of this name, residing at New-York, to a friend in +Scotland: + + "Bauld Rutherfurd, he was fow stout, Wi' a' his nine sons + him round about; He led the town o' Jedburgh out, All bravely + fought that day." + + _Wi' Sir John Forster for their guyde_.--P. 158. v. 3. + +This gentleman is called, erroneously, in some copies of this ballad, +_Sir George_. He was warden of the mid-marches of England. + + _Wi' Sir George Henroune of Schipsydehouse_.--P. 159. v. 1. + +Sir George Heron of Chipchase-house, whose character is contrasted +with that of the English warden. + + _Had Tindaill, Reedsdaill at his hand_.--P. 159. v. 2. + +These are districts, or dales, on the English border. Hebsrime seems +to be an error in the MS. for Hebburn upon the Till. + + _Five hundred Fennicks in a flock_.--P. 159. v. 3. + +The Fenwicks; a powerful and numerous Northumberland clan. + + _Then raise the slogan with ane shout_.--P. 161. v. 3. + +The gathering word, peculiar to a certain name, or set of people, was +termed _slogan_, or _slughorn_, and was always repeated at an onset, +as well as on many other occasions, as appears from the following +passage of an old author, whom this custom seems much to have +offended--for he complains, + +"That whereas alweys, both in al tounes of war, and in al campes of +armies, quietnes and stilnes without nois is principally in the night, +after the watch is set, observed (I need not reason why.) Yet, +our northern prikkers, the borderers, notwithstanding, with great +enormitie, (as thought me) and not unlyke (to be playn) unto a +masterless hounde houyling in a hie wey, when he hath lost him he +wayted upon, sum hoopyng, sum whistelyng, and most with crying, +a _Berwyke_! a _Berwyke_! a _Fenwyke_! a _Fenwyke_! a _Bulmer_! a +_Bulmer_! or so ootherwise as theyr captein's names wear, never linnde +those troublous and daungerous noyses all the night long. They +sayd they did it to fynd out their captein and fellowes; but if the +soldiours of our oother countries and sheres had used the same maner, +in that case we shoold have oftymes had the state of our campe more +lyke the outrage of a dissolute huntyng, than the quiet of a wel +ordred army."-- + +_Patten's Account of Somerset's Expedition_, p. 76.--_Apud Dalyell's +Fragments_. + +Honest Patten proceeds, with great prolixity, to prove, that this was +a custom more honoured in the breach than in the observance; and, like +Fluellen, declares, "that such idle pribble prabbles were contrary to +all the good customs and disciplines of war." Nevertheless, the custom +of crying the _slogan_ or _ensenzie_, is often alluded to in all our +ancient histories and poems. It was usually the name of the clan, or +place of rendezvous, or leader. In 1335, the English, led by Thomas +of Rosslyne, and William Moubray, assaulted Aberdeen. The former was +mortally wounded in the onset; and, as his followers were pressing +forward, shouting _Rosslyne! Rosslyne_! "Cry _Moubray_," said the +expiring chieftain; "_Rosslyne_ is gone!" The Highland clans had also +their appropriate slogans. The Macdonalds cried _Frich_, (heather); +the Macphersons _Craig-Ubh_; the Grants _Craig-Elachie_; and the +Macfarlanes _Lock-Sloy_. + + _The swallow taill frae tackles flew_.--P. 162. v. 2. + +The Scots, on this occasion, seem to have had chiefly fire-arms; the +English retaining still their partiality for their ancient weapon, +the long-bow. It also appears, by a letter from the Duke of Norfolk to +Cecil, that the English borderers were unskilful in fire-arms, or, +as he says, "our countrymen be not so commyng with shots as I woolde +wishe."--See _Murdin's State Papers_, Vol. I. p. 319. + + _And had not been the merchant packs_.--P. 162. v. 3. + +The 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 merchants to attend border-meetings, +although one would have thought the kind of company, usually assembled +there, might have deterred them. + + _Sir Francis Russel ta'en was there_.--P, 163. v. 1. + +This gentleman was son to the Earl of Bedford. He was afterwards +killed in a fray of a similar nature, at a border-meeting, between the +same Sir John Forster (father-in-law to Russell), and Thomas Ker of +Fairnihurst, A.D. 1585. + + _Proud Wallinton was wounded sair_.--P. 163. v. 1. + +Fenwick of Wallinton, a powerful Northumbrian chief. + + _As Collingwood, that courteous knight_.--P. 163. v. 1. + +Sir Cuthbert Collingwood. Besides these gentlemen, James Ogle, and +many other Northumbrians of note, were made prisoners. 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 as the +English. When the prisoners were brought to Morton, at Dalkeith, and, +among other presents, received from him some Scottish falcons, one of +his train observed, that the English were nobly treated, since they +got live _hawks_ for dead _herons_.--_Godscroft_. + + _Young Henry Schufton_,--P. 163. v. 2. + +The name of this gentleman does not appear in the MS. in the +Advocates' Library, but is restored from a copy in single sheet, +printed early in the last century. + + _For laiming of the laird of Mow_.--P. 163. v. 2. + +An ancient family on the borders. The lands of Mowe are situated upon +the river Bowmont, in Roxburghshire. The family is now represented by +William Molle, Esq. of Mains, who has restored the ancient spelling of +the name. The laird of Mowe, here mentioned, was the only gentleman of +note killed in the skirmish on the Scottish side. + + _For Gretein kend net gude be ill_.--P. 163. v. 2; + +Graden, a family of Kerrs. + + _Beanjeddart, Hundlie, and Hunthill_.--P. 163. v. 3. + +Douglas of Beanjeddart, an ancient branch of the house of Cavers, +possessing property near the junction of the Jed and Tiviot. + +_Hundlie_,--Rutherford of Hundlie, or Hundalee, situated on the Jed, +above Jedhurgh. + +_Hunthill_.--The old tower of Hunthill was situated about a mile above +Jedburgh. It was the patrimony of an ancient family of Rutherfords. +I suppose the person, here meant, to be the same who is renowned +in tradition by the name of the _Cock of Hunthill_. His sons were +executed for march-treason, or border-theft, along with the lairds of +Corbet, Greenhead, and Overton, A.D. 1588.--_Johnston's History_, p. +129. + + _But auld Badreule had on a jack_.--P. 164. v. 1. + +Sir Andrew Turnbull of Bedrule, upon Rule Water. This old laird was so +notorious a thief, that the principal gentlemen of the clans of Hume +and Kerr refused to sign a bond of alliance, to which he, with the +Turnbulls and Rutherfords, was a party; alleging, that their proposed +allies had stolen Hume of Wedderburn's cattle. The authority of +Morton, however, compelled them to digest the affront. The debate (and +a curious one it is) may be seen at length in _Godscroft_, Vol. I. p. +221. The Rutherfords became more lawless after having been deprived +of the countenance of the court, for slaying the nephew of Forman, +archbishop of St. Andrews, who had attempted to carry off the heiress +of Rutherford. This lady was afterwards married to James Stuart of +Traquair, son to James, Earl of Buchan, according to a papal bull, +dated 9th November, 1504. By this lady a great estate in Tiviotdale +fell to the family of Traquair, which was sold by James, Earl of +Traquair, lord-high-treasurer of Scotland, in consequence of the +pecuniary difficulties to which he was reduced, by his loyal exertions +in favour of Charles I. + + _Gude Ederstane was not to lack_.--P. 164. v. 1. + +An ancient family of Rutherfords; I believe, indeed, the most +ancient now extant. The family is represented by Major Rutherford of +Edgerstane. His seat is about three miles distant from the field of +battle. + + _Nor Kirktoun, Newtoun, noble men_!--P. 164. v. 1. + +The parish of Kirktoun belonged, I believe, about this time, to a +branch of the Cavers family; but Kirkton of Stewartfield is mentioned +in the list of border clans in 1597. + +_Newtoun_.--This is probably Grinyslaw of Little Newtoun, mentioned in +the said roll of border clans. + + + + +KINMONT WILLIE + + * * * * * + + +In the following rude strains, our forefathers commemorated one of the +last, and most gallant atchievements, performed upon the border. The +reader will find, in the subjoined extract from Spottiswoode, a minute +historical account of the exploit; which is less different from that +contained in the ballad than might perhaps have been expected. + +_Anno, 1596_.--"The next year began with a trouble in the borders, +which was like to have destroyed the peace betwixt the two realms, and +arose upon this occasion. The Lord Scroop being the warden of the west +marches of England, and the laird of Bacleuch having the charge of +Liddesdale, they sent their deputies to keep a day of truce, for +redress of some ordinary matters.--The place of meeting was at +the Dayholme of Kershop, where a small brook divideth England from +Scotland, and Liddesdale from Bawcastle. There met, as deputy for the +laird of Bacleuch, Robert Scott of Hayninge; and for the Lord Scroop, +a gentleman within the west wardenry, called Mr. Salkeld. These two, +after truce taken and proclaimed, as the custom was, by sound of +trumpet, met friendly, and, upon mutual redress of such wrongs as were +then complained of, parted in good terms, each of them taking his +way homewards. Meanwhile it happened, one William Armstrong, commonly +called _Will of Kinmonth_, to be in company with the Scottish deputy, +against whom the English had a quarrel, for many wrongs he had +committed, as he was indeed a notorious thief. This man, having taken +his leave of the Scots deputy, and riding down the river of Liddel on +the Scottish side, towards his own house, was pursued by the English, +who espied him from the other side of the river, and, after a chase of +three or four miles, taken prisoner, and brought back to the English +deputy, who carried him away to the castle of Carlisle. + +"The laird of Bacleuch complaining of the breach of truce (which +was always taken from the time of meeting, unto the next day at +sun-rising), wrote to Mr. Salkeld, and craved redress. He excused +himself by the absence of the Lord Scroop. Whereupon Bacleuch sent +to the Lord Scroop, and desired the prisoner might be set at liberty, +without any bond or condition, seeing he was unlawfully taken. +Scroop answered, that he could do nothing in the matter, it having so +happened, without a direction from the queen and council of England, +considering the man was such a malefactor.--Bacleuch, loth to inform +the king of what was done, lest it might have bred some misliking +betwixt the princes, dealt with Mr. Bowes, the resident ambassador of +England, for the prisoner's liberty; who wrote very seriously to the +Lord Scroop in that business, advising him to set the man free, +and not to bring the matter to a farther hearing. But no answer was +returned: the matter thereupon was imparted to the king, and the queen +of England solicited by letters to give direction for his liberty; yet +nothing was obtained; which Bacleuch perceiving, and apprehending both +the king, and himself as the king's officer, to be touched in honour, +he resolved to work the prisoner's relief, by the best means he could. + +"And, upon intelligence that the castle of Carlisle, wherein the +prisoner was kept, was surprisable, he employed some trusty persons to +take a view of the postern gate, and measure the height of the wall, +which he meant to scale by ladders, and, if those failed, to break +through the wall with some iron instruments, and force the gates. This +done, so closely as he could, he drew together some two hundred horse, +assigning the place of meeting at the tower of Morton, some ten miles +from Carlisle, an hour before sun-set. With this company, passing the +water of Esk, about the falling, two hours before day, he crossed Eden +beneath Carlisle bridge (the water, through the rain that had fallen, +being thick), and came to the Sacery, a plain under the castle. There +making a little halt, at the side of a small bourn, which they call +Cadage, he caused eighty of the company to light from their horses, +and take the ladders, and other instruments which he had prepared, +with them. He himself, accompanying them to the foot of the wall, +caused the ladders to be set to it, which proving too short, he gave +order to use the other instruments for opening the wall nigh the +postern; and, finding the business likely to succeed, retired to the +rest whom he had left on horseback, for assuring those that entered +upon the castle against any eruption from the town. With some little +labor a breach was made for single men to enter, and they who first +went in, broke open the postern for the rest. The watchmen, and some +few the noise awaked, made a little restraint, but they were quickly +repressed, and taken captive. After which, they passed to the chamber +wherein the prisoner was kept; and, having brought him forth, sounded +a trumpet, which was a signal to them without that the enterprize was +performed. My Lord Scroope and Mr. Salkeld were both within the house, +and to them the prisoner cried "a good night!" The captives taken in +the first encounter were brought to Bacleuch, who presently returned +them to their master, and would not suffer any spoil, or booty, as +they term it, to be carried away; he had straitly forbidden to break +open any door, but that where the prisoner was kept, though he might +have made prey of all the goods within the castle, and taken the +warden himself captive; for he would have it seen, that he did intend +nothing but the reparation of his majesty's honor. By this time, the +prisoner was brought forth, the town had taken the alarm, the drums +were beating, the bells ringing, and a beacon put on the top of the +castle, to give warning to the country. Whereupon Bacleuch commanded +those that entered the castle, and the prisoner, to horse; and +marching again by the Sacery, made to the river at the Stony-bank, on +the other side, whereof certain were assembled to stop his passage; +but he, causing to sound the trumpet, took the river, day being then +broken, and they choosing to give him way, he retired in order +through the Grahams of Esk (men at that time of great power, and +his un-friends), and came back into Scottish ground two hours after +sun-rising, and so homewards. + +"This fell out the 13th of April, _1596_. The queen of England, having +notice sent her of what was done, stormed not a little. One of her +chief castles surprised, a prisoner taken forth of the hands of the +warden, and carried away, so far within England, she esteemed a great +affront. The lieger, Mr. Bowes, in a frequent convention kept at +Edinburgh, the 22d of May, did, as he was charged, in a long oration, +aggravate the heinousness of the fact, concluding that peace could not +longer continue betwixt the two realms, unless Bacleuch were +delivered in England, to be punished at the queen's pleasure. Bacleuch +compearing, and charged with the fact, made answer--'That he went not +into England with intention to assault any of the queen's houses, or +to do wrong to any of her subjects, but only to relieve a subject of +Scotland unlawfully taken, and more unlawfully detained; that, in the +time 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 offered 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 commissioners that it should please their +majesties to appoint, and submit himself to that which they should +decern.'--The convention, esteeming the answer reasonable, did +acquaint the ambassador therewith, and offered to send commissioners +to the borders, with all diligence, to treat with such as the queen +should be pleased 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 thereafter; and the business being of new agitated, +it was resolved of as before, and that the same should be remitted to +the trial of commissioners: the king protesting, 'that he might, +with great reason, crave the delivery of Lord Scroope, for the injury +committed by his deputy, it being less favourable to take a prisoner, +than relieve him that is unlawfully taken; yet, for the continuing of +peace, he would forbear to do it, and omit nothing, on his part, +that could be desired, either in equity, or by the laws of +friendship.'--The borders, in the mean time, making daily incursions +one upon another, filled all their parts with trouble, the English +being continually put to the worse; neither were they made quiet, +till, for satisfying the queen, the laird of Bacleuch was first +committed in St. Andrews, and afterwards entered in England, where +he remained not long[158]."--_Spottiswood's History of the Church of +Scotland_, p. 414, 416, _Ed. 1677_. + +Scott of Satchells, in the extraordinary poetical performance, which +he has been pleased to entitle _A History of the Name of Scott_ +(published 1688), dwells, with great pleasure, upon this gallant +achievement, 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 gentlemen 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 to past events, and from which he sometimes +pirates whole verses, as noticed in the annotations upon the _Raid of +the Reidswire_. In the present instance, he mentions the prisoner's +_large spurs_ (alluding to the fetters), and some other little +incidents noticed in the ballad, which was, therefore, probably well +known in his days. + +[Footnote 158: The bishop is, in this last particular, rather +inaccurate. Buccleuch was indeed delivered into England, but this was +done in consequence of the judgment of commissioners of both nations, +who met at Berwick this same year. And his delivery took place, less +on account of the raid of Carlisle, than of a second exploit of the +same nature, to be noticed hereafter.] + +All contemporary historians unite in extolling the deed itself as +the most daring and well-conducted atchievement of that age. "_Audax +facinus cum modica manu, in urbe maenibus et multitudine +oppidanorum munita, et callidae: audaciae, vix ullo obsisti modo +potuit_."--_Johnstoni Historia, Ed. Amstael. p_. 215. Birrel, in his +gossipping way, says, the exploit was performed "with shouting and +crying, and sound of trumpet, puttand the said toun and countrie in +sic ane fray, that the like of sic ane 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 shew +the light in which the men of the border were regarded, even at this +late period, by their fellow subjects. The author is talking of the +king's return to Edinburgh, after the disgrace which he had sustained +there, during the riot excited by the seditious ministers, on December +17, 1596. Proclamation had been made, that the Earl of Mar should keep +the West Port, Lord Seton the Nether-Bow, and Buccleuch, with sundry +others, the High Gate. "Upon the morn, at this time, and befoir this +day, thair wes ane grate rumour and word among the tounesmen, that +the kinges M. sould send in _Will Kinmond, the common thieffe_, and +so many southland men as sould spulye the toun of Edinburgh. Upon the +whilk, the haill merchants tuik thair haill gear out of their buiths +or chops, and transportit the same to the strongest hous that wes in +the toune, and remained in the said hous, thair, with thameselfis, +thair servants, and luiking for nothing bot that thai sould have +been all spulyeit. Sic lyke the hail craftsmen and comons convenit +themselfis, thair best guides, as it wer ten or twelve householdes +in are, whilk wes the strongest hous, and might be best kepit from +spuilyeing or burning, with hagbut, pistolet, and other sic armour, +as might best defend thameselfis. Judge, gentill reider, giff 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 terms to his fanatic metropolis. Good discipline was, +however, maintained by the chiefs upon this occasion; although the +fears of the inhabitants were but too well grounded, considering what +had happened in Stirling ten years before, when the Earl of Angus, +attended by Home, Buccleuch, 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 Historia_, p. 102. _Ed. Amstael_.--_Moyse's +Memoirs_, p. 100. + +The renown of Kinmont Willie is not surprising, since, in 1588, the +apprehending that freebooter, and Robert Maxwell, natural-brother to +the Lord Maxwell, was the main, but unaccomplished, object of a royal +expedition to Dumfries. "_Rex ... Robertum Maxvallium ... et Gulielmum +Armstrangum Kinmonthum latrociniis intestinis externisque famosum, +conquiri jubet. Missi e ministerio regio, qui per aspera loca +vitabundos persequuntur, magnoque incommodo afficiunt. At illi +latebris aut silvis se eripiunt."--Johnstoni Historia_, p. 138. About +this time, it is possible that Kinmont Willie may have held some +connection with the Maxwells, though afterwards a retainer to +Buccleuch, the enemy of that tribe. At least, the editor finds, +that, in a bond of manrent, granted by Simon Elliot of Whytheuch, +in Liddesdale, to Lord Maxwell, styled therein Earl of Morton, dated +February 28, 1599, William Armstrang, called _Will of Kinmond_, +appears as a witness.--_Syme's MSS_. According to Satchells, this +freebooter was descended of Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie (See +_Ballad, p. 105, of this volume_.)--_Est in juvencis, est et in equis, +patrum virtus_. In fact, his rapacity made his very name proverbial. +Mas James Melvine, in urging reasons against subscribing the act of +supremacy, in 1584, asks ironically, "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 borders!"--_Calderwood_, p. +168. + +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 Liddesdale, and wasted the country, the laird +of Buccleuch retaliated the injury by a _raid_ into England, in which +he not only brought off much spoil, but apprehended thirty-six of the +Tynedale thieves, all of whom he put to death.--_Spottiswoode_, p. +450. How highly the Queen of England's resentment blazed 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.--_Rymer_, Vol. XVI. p. +318. Indeed, so deadly was the resentment 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 Buccleuch.--_Rymer_, Vol. +XVI. p. 107. The matter was at length arranged by the commissioners 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. Buccleuch, 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.--_Rymer_, Vol. +XVI. p. 322.--_Spottiswoode_, p. 448.--_Carey's Memoirs_, p, 131. _et +sequen_.--When at length they appeared, for the purpose of delivering +themselves up to be warded at Berwick, an incident took place, +which nearly occasioned a revival of the deadly feud which formerly +subsisted between the Scots and the Kers. Buccleuch had chosen, for +his guardian, during his residence in England, Sir William Selby, +master of the ordnance at Berwick, and accordingly gave himself into +his hands. Sir Robert Ker was about 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 Merse men, to +preserve order, a dreadful tumult would probably have ensued. As it +was, the English commissioners returned in dismay 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 been placed in circumstances of so much danger. Sir Robert Ker, +however, appeased all parties, by delivering himself up to ward in +England; on which occasion, he magnanimously chose for his guardian +Sir Robert Carey, deputy-warden of the east marches, notwithstanding +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[159]. + +[Footnote 159: Such traits of generosity illuminate the dark period of +which we treat. Carey's conduct, on this occasion, almost atones +for the cold and unfeeling policy with which he watched the closing +moments of his benefactress, Elizabeth, impatient till remorse and +sorrow should extort her last sigh, that he might lay the foundation +of his future favour with her successor, by carrying him the first +tidings of her death.--_Carey's Memoirs_, p. 172. _et sequen_. It +would appear that Sir Robert Ker was soon afterwards committed to the +custody of the archbishop of York; for there is extant a letter from +that prelate to the lord-treasurer, desiring instructions about the +mode of keeping this noble hostage. "I understand," saith he, "that +the gentleman is wise and valiant, but somewhat haughty here, and +resolute. I would pray your lordship, that I may have directions +whether he may not go with his keeper in my company, to sermons; +and whether he may not sometimes dine with the council, as the last +hostages did; and, thirdly, whether he may sometimes be brought to +sitting to the common-hall, where he may see how careful her majesty +is that the poorest subject in her kingdom may have their right, and +that her people seek remedy by law, and not by avenging themselves. +Perhaps it may do him good as long as he liveth."--_Strype's Annals, +ad annum, 1597_. It would appear, from this letter, that the treatment +of the hostages was liberal; though one can hardly suppress a smile +at the zeal of the good bishop for the conversion of the Scottish +chieftain to a more christian mode of thinking than was common among +the borderers of that day. The date is February 25. 1597, which is +somewhat difficult to reconcile with those given by the Scottish +historians--Another letter follows, stating, that Sir Robert, having +been used to open air, prayed for more liberty for his health's sake, +"offering his word, which it is said he doth chiefly regard, that he +would be true prisoner."--_Strype, Ibid._] + +Buccleuch appears to have remained in England from October, 1597, +till February, 1598.--_Johnstoni Historia_, p. 231,--_Spottiswoode, ut +supra_. According to ancient family tradition, Buccleuch was presented +to Elizabeth, who, with her usual rough and peremptory address, +demanded of him, "how he dared to undertake an enterprize so desperate +and presumptuous." "What is it," answered the undaunted chieftain, +"What is it that a man dares not do!" Elizabeth, struck with the +reply, turned to a lord in waiting; "With ten thousand such men," +said she, "our brother of Scotland might shake the firmest throne of +Europe." Luckily, perhaps, for the murtheress 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 Laws_, p. 103. By article sixth, all wardens and keepers +are discharged from seeking reparation of injuries, in the ancient +hostile mode of riding, or causing to ride, in warlike manner, +against the opposite march; and that under the highest penalty, unless +authorized by a warrant under the hand of their sovereign. The +mention of the word _keeper_, alludes obviously to the above-mentioned +reprisals, made by Buccleuch in the capacity of keeper of Liddesdale. + +This ballad is preserved, by tradition, on the west borders, but much +mangled by reciters; so that some conjectural emendations have been +absolutely necessary to render it intelligible. In particular, the +_Eden_ has been substituted for the _Eske_, p. 193, the latter name +being inconsistent with geography. + + + + +KINMONT WILLIE. + + * * * * * + + + O have ye na heard o' the fause Sakelde? + O have ye na heard o' the keen Lord Scroop? + How they hae ta'en bauld Kinmont Willie, + On Hairibee to hang him up? + + Had Willie had but twenty men, + But twenty men as stout as he, + Fause Sakelde had never the Kinmont ta'en, + Wi' eight score in his cumpanie. + + They band his legs beneath the steed, + They tied his hands behind his back; + They guarded him, fivesome on each side, + And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack. + + They led him thro' the Liddel-rack, + And also thro' the Carlisle sands; + They brought him to Carlisle castell, + To be at my Lord Scroop's commands. + + "My hands are tied, but my tongue is free! + And whae will dare this deed avow? + Or answer by the border law? + Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch!" + + "Now haud thy tongue, thou rank reiver! + There's never a Scot shall set ye free: + Before ye cross my castle yate, + I trow ye shall take farewell o' me." + + "Fear na ye that, my lord," quo' Willie: + "By the faith o' my body, Lord Scroop," he said, + "I never yet lodged in a hostelrie,[160] + But I paid my lawing[161] before I gaed." + + Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper, + In Branksome Ha', where that he lay, + That Lord Scroop has ta'en the Kinmont Willie, + Between the hours of night and day. + + He has ta'en the table wi' his hand, + He garr'd the red wine spring on hie-- + "Now Christ's curse on my head," he said, + "But avenged of Lord Scroop I'll be! + + "O is my basnet[162] a widow's curc[163] + Or my lance a wand of the willow tree? + Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand, + That an English lord should lightly[164] me! + + "And have they ta'en him, Kinmont Willie, + Against the truce of border tide? + And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch + Is Keeper here on the Scottish side? + + "And have they e'en ta'en him, Kinmont Willie, + Withouten either dread or fear? + And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch + Can back a steed, or shake a spear? + + "O were there war between the lands, + As well I wot that there is none, + I would slight Carlisle castell high, + Tho' it were builded of marble stone. + + "I would set that castell in a low,[165] + And sloken it with English blood! + There's nevir a man in Cumberland, + Should ken where Carlisle castell stood. + + "But since nae war's between the lands, + And there is peace, and peace should be; + I'll neither harm English lad or lass, + And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!" + + He has call'd him forty marchmen bauld, + I trow they were of his ain name, + Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, call'd + The laird of Stobs, I mean the same. + + He has call'd him forty marchmen bauld, + Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch; + With spur on heel, and splent on spauld,[166] + And gleuves of green, and feathers blue. + + There were five and five before them a', + Wi' hunting horns and bugles bright; + And five and five came wi' Buccleuch, + Like warden's men, arrayed for fight: + + And five and five, like a mason gang, + That carried the ladders lang and hie; + And five and five, like broken men; + And so they reached the Woodhouselee. + + And as we cross'd the Bateable Land, + When to the English side we held, + The first o' men that we met wi', + Whae sould it be but fause 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?" + Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell me true!"' + "We go to catch a rank reiver, + Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch." + + "Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads, + Wi' a' your ladders, lang and hie?" + "We gang to herry a corbie's nest, + That wons not far frae Woodhouselee." + + "Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?" + Quo' fause Sakelde; "come tell to me!" + Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, + And the never a word o' lear had he. + + "Why trespass ye on the English side? + Row-footed outlaws, stand!" quo' he; + The never a word had Dickie to say, + Sae he thrust the lance thro' his fause bodie. + + Then on we held for Carlisle toun, + And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we cross'd; + The water was great and meikle of spait, + But the nevir a horse nor man we lost. + + And when we reached the Staneshaw-bank, + The wind was rising loud and hie; + And there the laird garr'd leave our steeds, + For fear that they should stamp and nie. + + 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'. + + We crept on knees, and held our breath, + Till we placed the ladders against the wa'; + And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell + To mount the first, before us a'. + + He has ta'en the watchman by the throat, + He flung him down upon the lead-- + "Had there not been peace between our land, + Upon the other side thou hadst gaed!-- + + "Now sound out, trumpets!" quo' Buccleuch; + "Let's waken Lord Scroop, right merrilie!" + Then loud the warden's trumpet blew-- + "_O whae dare meddle wi' me_?"[167] + + Then speedilie to work we gaed, + And raised the slogan ane and a'. + And cut a hole thro' a sheet of lead, + And so we wan to the castle ha'. + + They thought King James and a' his men + Had won the house wi' bow and spear; + It was but twenty Scots and ten, + That put a thousand in sic a stear![168] + + Wi' coulters and wi' fore-hammers, + We garr'd the bars bang merrilie, + Untill we cam to the inner prison, + Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie. + + And when we cam to the lower prison, + Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie-- + "O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, + Upon the morn that thou's to die?" + + "O I sleep saft,[169] and I wake aft; + Its lang since sleeping was fleyed[170] frae me! + Gie my service back to my wife and bairns, + And a' gude fellows that speer for 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'll pay you for my lodging maill,[171] + When first we meet on the border side." + + 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! + + "O mony a time," quo' Kinmont 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' Kinmont Willie, + "I've pricked a horse out oure the furs;[172] + But since the day I backed a steed, + I never wore sic cumbrous spurs!" + + We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank, + When a' the Carlisle bells were rung, + And a thousand men, in horse and foot, + Cam wi' the keen Lord Scroope along. + + Buccleuch has turned to Eden water, + Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim, + And he has plunged in wi' a' his band, + And safely swam them thro' the stream. + + He turned him on the other side, + And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he-- + "If ye like na my visit in merry England, + In fair Scotland come visit me!" + + All sore astonished stood Lord Scroope, + He stood as still as rock of stane; + He scarcely dared to trew his eyes, + When thro' the water they had gane. + + "He is either himsell a devil frae hell, + Or else his mother a witch maun be; + I wad na have ridden that wan water, + For a' the gowd in Christentie." + +[Footnote 160: _Hostelrie_--Inn.] + +[Footnote 161: _Lawing_--Reckoning.] + +[Footnote 162: _Basnet_--Helmet.] + +[Footnote 163: _Curch_--Coif.] + +[Footnote 164: _Lightly_--Set light by.] + +[Footnote 165: _Low_--Flame.] + +[Footnote 166: _Splent on spauld_--Armour on shoulder.] + +[Footnote 167: The name of a border tune.] + +[Footnote 168: _Stear_--Stir.] + +[Footnote 169: _Soft_--Light.] + +[Footnote 170: _Fleyed_--Frightened.] + +[Footnote 171: _Maill_--Rent.] + +[Footnote 172: _Furs_--Furrows.] + + + + +NOTES ON KINMONT WILLIE. + + * * * * * + + + _On Hairibee to hang him up_?--P. 188. v. 1. + +Hairibee is the place of execution at Carlisle. + + _And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack_.--P. 188. v. 3. + +The Liddel-rack is a ford on the Liddel. + + _And so they reached the Woodhouselee_.--P. 192. v. 1. + +Woodhouselee; a house on the border, belonging to Buccleuch. + + * * * * * + +The Salkeldes, or Sakeldes, were a powerful family in Cumberland, +possessing, among other manors, that of Corby, before it came into +the possession of the Howards, in the beginning of the seventeenth +century. A strange stratagem was practised by an outlaw, called Jock +Grame of the Peartree, upon Mr. Salkelde, sheriff of Cumberland; who +is probably the person alluded to in the ballad, as the fact is +stated to have happened late in Elizabeth's time. The brother of this +freebooter was lying in Carlisle jail for execution, when Jock of the +Peartree came riding past the gate 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. + +In the list of border clans, 1597, Will of Kinmonth, with Kyrstie +Armestrange, and John Skynbanke, are mentioned as leaders of a band of +Armstrongs, called _Sandies Barnes_, inhabiting the Debateable Land. +The ballad itself has never before been published. + + + + +DICK O' THE COW. + + * * * * * + + +This ballad, and the two which immediately follow it in the +collection, were published, 1784, in the _Hawick Museum_, a provincial +miscellany, to which they were communicated by John Elliot, Esq. of +Reidheugh, a gentleman well skilled in the antiquities of the western +border, and to whose friendly assistance the editor is indebted for +many valuable communications. + +These ballads are connected with each other, and appear to have been +composed by the same author. The actors seem to have flourished, while +Thomas, Lord Scroope, of Bolton, was warden of the west marches of +England, and governor of Carlisle castle; which offices he acquired +upon the death of his father, about 1590; and retained it till the +union of the crowns. + +_Dick of the Cow_, from the privileged insolence which he assumes, +seems to have been Lord Scroope's jester. In the preliminary +dissertation, the reader will find the border custom of assuming _noms +de guerre_ particularly noticed. It is exemplified in the following +ballad, where one Armstrong is called the _Laird's Jock_ (i.e. the +laird's son Jock), another _Fair Johnie_, a third _Billie Willie_ +(brother Willie), &c. The _Laird's Jock_, son to the laird of +Mangerton, appears, as one of the men of name in Liddesdale, in the +list of border clans, _1597_. + +_Dick of the Cow_ is erroneously supposed to have been the same with +one Ricardus Coldall, de Plumpton, a knight and celebrated warrior, +who died in 1462, as appears from his epitaph in the church of +Penrith.--_Nicolson's History of Westmoreland 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 Stanemore, did not save him from 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 1556. An allusion to it likewise occurs in +_Parrot's Laquei Ridiculosi_, or _Springes for Woodcocks_; London, +1613. + + Owenus wondreth, since he came to Wales, + What the description of this isle should be, + That nere had seen but mountains, hills, and dales. + Yet would he boast, and stand on pedigree, + From Rice ap Richard, sprung from Dick a Cow, + Be cod, was right gud gentleman, looke ye now! + +_Epigr. 76_. + + + + +DICK O' THE COW. + + * * * * * + + + + Now Liddesdale has layen lang in, + There is na riding there at a'; + The horses are grown sae lither fat, + They downa stur out o' the sta.' + + Fair Johnie Armstrang to Willie did say-- + "Billie, a riding we will gae; + England and us have been lang at feid; + Ablins we'll 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 lee: + Quo' Johnie--"I'd rather in England die, + "Ere thir sax sheep gae to Liddesdale wi' me." + + "But how ca' they the men we last met, + Billie, as we cam owre the know?" + "That same he is an innocent 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' Cumberland, billie," 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 o' the Cow's three ky, + And ta'en three co'erlets frae his wife's bed. + + Then on the morn when the day was light, + The shouts and cries rase loud and hie: + "O haud thy tongue, my wife," he says, + "And o' thy crying let me be! + + "O had thy tongue, my wife," he says, + "And o' thy crying let me be; + And ay where thou hast lost ae cow, + In gude suith I shall bring thee three." + + Now Dickie's gane to the gude Lord Scroope, + And I wat a dreirie fule was he; + "Now hand 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 gi' me leave, my lord, + To gae to Liddesdale and steal." + + "I gie thee leave, my fule!" he says; + "Thou speakest against my honour and me, + Unless thou gie me thy trowth and thy hand, + Thou'lt steal frae nane but whae sta' frae thee." + + "There is my trowth, and my right hand! + My head shall hang on Hairibee; + I'll 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! + He's bought a bridle and a pair of new spurs, + And pack'd them up in his breek thie. + + Then Dickie's come on to Pudding-burn house, + E'en as fast as he might drie; + Then Dickie's come on to Pudding-burn, + Where there were thirty Armstrangs and three. + + "O what's this come o' me now?" quo' Dickie; + "What mickle wae is this?" quo' he; + "For here is but ae innocent fule, + And there are thirty Armstrangs and three!" + + Yet he has come up to the fair 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. + + "I'm come to plain o' your man, fair Johnie Armstrang + And syne o' his billie Willie," quo he; + "How they've been in my house last night, + And they hae ta'en my three kye frae me." + + "Ha!" quo' fair Johnie Armstrang, "we will him hang." + "Na," quo' Willie, "we'll him slae." + Then up and spak another young Armstrang, + "We'll gie him his batts,[173] and let him gae." + + 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 o' thy ain cow's hough I'll gie ye." + + But Dickie'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. + + Then 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 kye!" + + It was then the use of Pudding-burn house, + And the house of Mangerton, all hail, + Them that cam na at the first ca', + Gat nae mair meat till the neist meal. + + The lads, that hungry and weary were, + Abune the door-head they threw the key; + Dickie he took gude notice o' that, + Says--"There will be a bootie for me." + + Then Dickie has into the stable gane, + Where there stood thirty horses and three; + He has tied them a' wi' St. Mary's knot, + A' these horses but barely three. + + 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 fast as he can hie. + + But on the morn, when the day grew light, + The shouts and cries raise loud and hie-- + "Ah! whae has done this?" quo' the gude Laird's Jock, + "Tell me the truth and the verity!" + + "Whae has done this deed?" quo' the gude Laird's Jock; + "See that to me ye dinna lie!" + Dickie has been in the stable last night, + And has ta'en my brother's horse and mine frae me." + + "Ye wad ne'er be tald," quo' the gude Laird's Jock; + "Have ye not found my tales fu' leil? + Ye ne'er wad out o' England bide, + Till crooked, and blind, and a' would steal." + + "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 again, + 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' the Cow has awa twa horse; + I wish na thou may make him three." + + He has ta'en 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 gallopped on to follow Dickie. + + Dickie was na a mile frae aff the town, + I wat a mile but barely three, + When he was o'erta'en by fair Johnie Armstrang, + Hand for hand, on Cannobie lee. + + "Abide, abide, thou traitour thief! + The day is come that thou maun die." + Then Dickie look't owre his left shoulder, + Said--"Johnie, hast thou nae mae in cumpanie? + + "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 ae word I mark but three. + + "The first and second is--Faith and Conscience; + The third--Ne'er let a traitour free: + But, Johnie, what faith and conscience was thine, + When thou took awa my three ky frae me? + + "And when thou had ta'en awa my three ky, + Thou thought in thy heart thou wast not weil sped, + Till thou sent thy billie Willie ower the know, + To take thrie coverlets off my wife's bed!" + + Then Johnie let a speir fa' laigh by his thie, + Thought well to hae 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 fell'd him wi' the plummet under the e'e. + + Thus Dickie has fell'd fair Johnie Armstrang, + The prettiest man in the south country--- + "Gramercy!" then can Dickie say, + "I had but twa horse, thou hast made me thrie!" + + He's ta'en 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, I'll tell my master I met wi' thee." + + When Johnie wakened out o' his dream, + I wat a dreirie man was he: + "And is thou gane? Now, Dickie, than + The shame and dule is left wi' me. + + "And is thou gane? Now, Dickie, than + The deil gae in thy cumpanie! + For if I should live these hundred years, + 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 his; + "Now, Dickie, I'll neither eat nor drink, + Till hie hanged thou shalt be." + + "The shame speed the liars, my lord!" 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." + + "But what garr'd thee steal the Laird's Jock's horse? + And, limmer, what garr'd ye steal him?" quo' he; + "For lang thou mightst in Cumberland dwelt, + Ere the Laird's Jock had stown frae thee." + + "Indeed I wat ye lied, my lord! + And e'en sae loud as I hear ye lie! + I wan the horse frae fair Johnie Armstrong, + Hand to hand, on Cannobie lee. + + "There is the jack was on his back; + This twa-handed sword hang laigh by his thie, + And there's the steil cap was on his head; + I brought a' these tokens to let thee see." + + "If that be true thou to me tells, + (And I think thou dares na tell a lie,) + I'll gie thee fifteen punds for the horse, + Weil tald on thy cloak lap shall be. + + "I'll gie thee are o' my best milk ky, + To maintain thy wife and children thrie; + And that may be as gude, I think, + As ony twa o' thine wad be." + + "The shame speed the liars, my lord!" quo' Dickie; + "Trow ye aye to make a fule o' me? + I'll either hae twenty punds for the gude horse, + Or he's gae to Mortan fair wi' me." + + He's gien him twenty punds for the gude horse, + A' in goud and gude monie; + He's gien him ane o' his best milk ky, + To maintain his wife and children thrie. + + 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 Armstrong's horse?" + "Where did I get him? but steal him," quo' he. + + "But wilt thou sell me the bonny horse? + And, billie, wilt thou sell him to me?" quo' he: + "Aye; if thoul't tell me the monie on my cloak lap: + "For there's never ae penny I'll trust thee." + + "I'll gie thee ten punds for the gude horse, + Weil tald on thy cloak lap they shall be; + And I'll gie thee ane o' the best milk ky, + To maintain thy wife and children thrie." + + "The shame speid the liars, my lord!" quo' Dickie; + "Trow ye ay to make a fule o' me! + I'll either hae twenty punds for the gude horse, + Or he's gae to Mortan fair wi' me." + + He's gien him twenty punds for the gude horse, + Baith in goud and gude monie; + He's gien him ane o' his best milk ky, + To maintain his wife and children thrie. + + Then Dickie lap a loup fu' hie, + And I wat a loud laugh laughed he-- + "I wish the neck o' the third horse were broken, + If ony of the twa were better than he!" + + Then Dickie's come hame to his wife again; + Judge ye how the poor fule had sped! + He has gien her twa score English punds, + For the thrie auld coverlets ta'en aff her bed. + + "And tak thee these twa as gude ky, + I trow, as a' thy thrie might be; + And yet here is a white-footed nagie, + I trow he'll carry baith thee and me. + + "But I may nae langer in Cumberland bide; + The Armstrongs they would hang me hie." + So Dickie's ta'en leave at lord and master, + And at Burgh under Stanmuir there dwells he. + +[Footnote 173: _Gie him his batts_--Dismiss him with a beating.] + + + + +NOTES ON DICK O' THE COW. + + * * * * * + + + _Then Dickie's come on to Pudding-burn house_.--P. 205. v, 3. + +This was a house of strength, held by the Armstrongs. The ruins at +present form a sheep-fold, on the farm of Reidsmoss, belonging to the +Duke of Buccleuch. + + _He has tied them a' wi' St. Mary's knot_.--P. 207. v. 4. + +Hamstringing a horse is termed, in the border dialect, _tying him +with St. Mary's Knot_. Dickie used this cruel expedient to prevent a +pursuit. It appears from the narration, that the horses, left unhurt, +belonged to Fair Johnie Armstrang, his brother Willie, and the Laird's +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 his arrival. + + _Hand for hand, on Cannobie lee_.--P. 209. v. 1. + +A rising-ground on Cannobie, on the borders of Liddesdale. + + _Ere the Laird's Jock had stown frae thee_.--P. 211. v. 4. + +The commendation of the Laird's Jock's honesty seems but indifferently +founded; for, in July 1586, a bill was fouled against him, Dick of +Dryup, and others, by the deputy of Bewcastle, at a warden-meeting, +for 400 head of cattle taken in open forray from the Drysike in +Bewcastle: and, in September 1587, another complaint appears at the +instance of one Andrew Rutledge of the Nook, against the Laird's Jock, +and his accomplices, for 50 kine and oxen, besides furniture, to +the amount of 100 merks sterling. See Bell's MSS., as quoted in the +_History of Cumberland and Westmoreland_. In Sir Richard Maitland's +poem against the thieves of Liddesdale, he thus commemorates the +Laird's Jock: + + They spuilye puir men of thair pakis, + They leif them nocht on bed nor bakis; + Baith hen and cok, + With reil and rok, + The _Lairdis Jock_ + All with him takis. + +Those, who plundered Dick, had been bred up under an expert teacher. + + + + +JOCK O' THE SIDE. + + * * * * * + + +The subject of this ballad, being a common event in those troublesome +and disorderly times, became a favourite 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 unnecessary and disagreeable repetition, has used the freedom +of appropriating them to that, in which they seem to have the best +poetic effect. + +The reality 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 Chrystie 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_. + + He is weil kend, Johne of the Syde, + A greater theif did never ryde; + He never tyris + For to brek byris. + Our muir and myris + Ouir gude ane guide. + +The land-serjeant, mentioned in this ballad, and also in that of +_Hobble Noble_, was an officer under the warden, to whom was committed +the apprehending of delinquents, and the care of the public peace. + + + + +JOCK O' THE SIDE. + + + Now Liddesdale has ridden a raid, + But I wat they had better hae staid at hame; + For Michael o' Winfield he is dead, + And Jock o' the Side is prisoner ta'en. + + For Mangerton house Lady Downie has gane, + Her coats she has kilted up to her knee; + And down the water wi' speed she rins, + While tears in spaits[174] fa' fast frae her e'e. + + 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 ta'en my son Johnie." + + "Ne'er fear, sister Downie," quo' Mangerton; + "I have yokes of ousen, eighty and three; + "My barns, my byres, and my faulds a' weil fill'd, + And I'll part wi' them a' ere Johnie shall die. + + "Three men I'll send to set him free, + A' harneist wi' the best o' steil; + The English louns may hear, and drie + The weight o' their braid-swords to feel. + + "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." + + Now Hobbie was an English man, + In Bewcastle dale was bred and born: + But his misdeeds they were sae great, + They banish'd him ne'er to return. + + Lord Mangerton them orders gave, + "Your horses the wrang way maun be shod; + Like gentlemen ye mauna seim, + But look like corn-caugers[175] ga'en the road. + + "Your armour gude ye mauna shaw, + Nor yet appear like men o' weir; + As country lads be a' array'd, + Wi' branks and brecham[176] on each mare." + + Sae now their horses are the wrang way shod. + And Hobbie 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'. + + Then up and spak the Laird's ain Jock; + "There's naething for't; the gates we maun force." + But when they cam the gate untill, + A proud porter withstood baith men and horse. + + His neck in twa the Armstrangs 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 sune 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?" + + Jock answers thus, wi' dulefu' tone; + "Aft, aft, I wake--I seldom sleep: + But whae's this kens my name sae well, + And thus to mese[177] my waes does seik?" + + Then out and spak the gude Laird's Jock, + "Now fear ye na, my billie," quo' he; + "For here are the Laird's Jock, the Laird's Wat, + And Hobbie Noble, come to set thee free." + + "Now hand thy tongue, my gude Laird's Jock; + For ever, alas! this canna be; + For if a' Liddesdale was here the night, + The morn's the day that I maun die. + + "Full fifteen stane o' Spanish iron, + They hae laid 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, we'll work without, + And I'll be sworn we'll set thee free." + + The first strong door that they cam at, + They loosed it without a key; + The next chain'd door that they cam at, + They garr'd it a' to flinders flee. + + The prisoner now upon his back, + The Laird's Jock has gotten up fu' hie; + And down the stair, him, irons and a', + Wi' nae sma' speid and joy, brings he. + + "Now, Jock, my man," quo' Hobbie Noble, + "Some o' his weight ye may lay on me." + "I wat weil 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: + + "O Jock! sae winsomely's ye ride, + Wi' baith your feet upon ae side; + Sae weel ye're harneist, and sae trig, + In troth ye sit like ony bride!" + + The night, tho' wat, they did na mind, + But hied them on fu' merrilie, + Until they cam to Cholerford brae,[178] + Where the water ran like mountains hie. + + But when they cam to Cholerford, + 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 hae lived here threty years and thrie, + 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!" + + "Puir faint-hearted thief!" cried the Laird's ain Jock, + "There'l nae man die but him that's fie;[179] + I'll guide ye a' right safely thro'; + Lift ye the pris'ner 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-serjeant the water saw, + "It winna ride, my lads," says he; + Then cried aloud--"The prisoner take, + But leave the fetters, I pray, to me." + + "I wat weil no," quo' the Laird's Jock; + "I'll keep them a'; shoon to my mare they'll be, + My gude bay mare--for I am sure, + She has bought them a' right dear frae thee." + + Sae now they are on to Liddesdale, + E'en as fast as they could them hie; + The prisoner is brought to's ain fire side, + And there o's airns they mak him free. + + "Now, Jock, my billie," 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." + +[Footnote 174: _Spaits_--Torrents.] + +[Footnote 175: _Caugers_--Carriers.] + +[Footnote 176: _Branks and brecham_--Halter and cart-collar.] + +[Footnote 177: _Mese_--Soothe.] + +[Footnote 178: _Cholerford brae_--A ford upon the Tyne, above Hexham.] + +[Footnote 179: _Fie_--Predestined.] + + + + +HOBBIE NOBLE. + + * * * * * + + +We have seen the hero of this ballad act a distinguished part in the +deliverance of Jock o' the Side, and are now to learn the ungrateful +return which the Armstrongs made him for his faithful services.[180] +Halbert, or Hobbie Noble, appears to have been one of those numerous +English outlaws, who, being forced to fly their own country, had +established themselves on the Scottish borders. As Hobbie continued +his depredations upon the English, they bribed some of his hosts, the +Armstrongs, to decoy him into England, under pretence of a predatory +expedition. He was there delivered, by his treacherous companions, +into the hands of the officers of justice, by whom he was conducted to +Carlisle, and executed next morning. The laird of Mangerton, 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 Maynes, 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 Hobbie's +death. Such is, at least, the tradition of Liddesdale. Sim o' the +Maynes appears among the Armstrongs of Whitauch, in Liddesdale, in the +list of clans so often alluded to. + +[Footnote 180: The original editor of the _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_ +has noticed the perfidy of this clan in another instance; the delivery +of the banished Earl of Northumberland into the hands of the Scottish +regent, by Hector of Harelaw, an Armstrong, with whom he had taken +refuge.--_Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, Vol. I. p. 283. This Hector of +Harelaw seems to have been an Englishman, or under English assurance; +for he is one of those, against whom bills were exhibited, by the +Scottish commissioners, to the lord-bishop of Carlisle.--_Introduction +to the History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, p. 81. In the list +of borderers, 1597, Hector of Harelaw, with the Griefs and Cuts of +Harelaw, also figures as an inhabitant of the Debateable Land. It +would appear, from a spirited invective in the Maitland MSS. against +the regent, and those who delivered up the unfortunate earl to +Elizabeth, that Hector had been guilty of this treachery, to +redeem the pledge which had been exacted from him for his peaceable +demeanour. The poet says, that the perfidy of Morton and Lochlevin was +worse than even that of-- + + --the traitour Eckie of Harelaw, + That says he sould him to redeem his pledge; + Your deed is war, as all the world does know-- + You nothing can but covatice alledge. + +_Pinkerton's Maitland Poems_, Vol. II. p. 290. + +Eckie is the contraction of Hector among the vulgar. + +These little memoranda may serve still farther to illustrate the +beautiful ballads, upon that subject, published in the _Reliques_.] + +Kershope-burn, where Hobbie met his treacherous companions, falls +into the Liddel, from the English side, at a place called Turnersholm, +where, according to tradition, turneys and games of chivalry were +often solemnized. The Mains was anciently a border-keep, near +Castletoun, 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 Liddesdale, +emphatically termed the Waste of Bewcastle. Conscouthart Green, and +Rodric-haugh, and the Foulbogshiel, are the names of places in the +same wilds, through which the Scottish plunderers generally made their +raids upon England; as appears from the following passage in a +letter from William, Lord Dacre, to Cardinal Wolsey, 18th July, 1528; +_Appendix to Pinkerton's Scotland_, v. 12, No. XIX. "Like it also +your grace, seeing the disordour within Scotlaund, and that all the +mysguyded men, borderers of the same, inhabiting within Eskdale, +Ewsdale, Walghopedale, Liddesdale, and a part of Tividale, foranempt +Bewcastelldale, and a part of the middle marches of this the +king's bordours, entres not this west and middle marches, to do any +attemptate to the king our said soveraine's subjects: but thaye come +throrow Bewcastelldale, and retornes, for the most part, the same waye +agayne." + +Willeva and Speir Edom are small districts in Bewcastledale, through +which also the Hartlie-burn takes its course. + +Of the castle of Mangertoun, so often mentioned in these ballads, +there are very few vestiges. It was situated on the banks of the +Liddel, below Castletoun. 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 arms of the lairds of Mangertoun, and +a long broad-sword, with the figures 1583; probably the date of +building, 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 +Mangertoun, except those rude ballads, which the editor now offers to +the public. + + + + +HOBBIE NOBLE. + + * * * * * + + + Foul fa' the breast first treason bred in! + That Liddesdale may safely say: + For in it there was baith meat and drink, + And corn unto our geldings gay. + + 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. + + Now Hobbie was an English man, + And born into Bewcastle dale; + But his misdeeds they were sae great, + They banish'd him to Liddesdale. + + At Kershope foot the tryst was set, + Kershope of the lilye lee; + And there was traitor Sim o' the Mains, + And with him a private companie. + + Then Hobbie has graithed his body fair, + Baith wi' the iron and wi' the steil; + And he has ta'en out his fringed grey, + And there, brave Hobbie, he rade him weel. + + Then Hobbie is down the water gane, + E'en as fast as he could his; + Tho' a' should hae bursten and broken their hearts, + Frae that riding tryst he wad na be. + + "Weel be ye met, my feres[181] five! + And now, what is your will wi' me?" + Then they cried a', wi ae consent, + "Thou'rt welcome here, brave Noble, to me. + + "Wilt thou with us into England ride, + And thy safe warrand we will be? + If we get a horse, worth a hundred pound, + Upon his back thou sune shalt be." + + "I dare not by day into England ride; + The land-serjeant has me at feid: + "And I know not what evil may betide, + For Peter of Whitfield, his brother, is dead. + + "And Anton Shiel he loves not me, + For I gat twa drifts o' his sheep; + The great Earl of Whitfield[182] loves me not, + For nae geer frae me he e'er could keep. + + "But will ye stay till the day gae down, + Untill the night come o'er the grund, + And I'll be a guide worth ony twa, + That may in Liddesdale be found. + + "Tho' the night be black as pick and tar, + I'll guide ye o'er yon hill sae hie; + And bring ye a' in safety back, + If ye'll 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. + + But word is gane to the land-serjeant, + In Askerton where that he lay-- + "The deer, that ye hae hunted sae lang, + Is seen into the Waste this day." + + "Then 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. + + "Gar warn the bows of Hartlie-burn; + See they sharp their arrows on the wa': + Warn Willeva, and Speir Edom, + And see the morn they meet me a'. + + "Gar meet me on the Rodric-haugh, + And see it be by break o' day; + And we will on to Conscouthart-green, + For there, I think, we'll get our prey." + + Then Hobbie Noble has dreimt a dreim, + In the Foulbogshiel, where that he lay; + He dreimt his horse was aneath him shot, + And he himself got hard away. + + The cocks could craw, the day could daw, + And I wot sae even fell down the rain; + Had Hobble na wakened at that time, + In the Foulbogshiel he had been ta'en or slain. + + "Awake, awake, my feres five! + I trow here makes a fu' 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, + That away brave Hobbie might na gae. + + "Yet follow me, my feres five, + And see ye kelp of me guid ray; + And the worst cloak o' this company + Even yet may cross the Waste this day." + + But the land-serjeant'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 clear'd Conscouthart green, + Had it not broke o'er Jerswigham's head. + + Then 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 him on the brae. + + They hae ta'en him on for west Carlisle; + They asked him, if he kend the way? + Tho' much he thought, yet little he said; + He knew the gate as weel as they. + + They 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[183] hound, + Has been fighting in a dirty syke."[184] + + They hae had him up thro' Carlisle toun, + And set him by the chimney fire; + They gave brave Noble a loaf to eat, + And that was little his desire. + + They gave him a wheaten loaf to eat, + And after that a can of beer; + And they a' cried, with one consent, + "Eat, brave Noble, and make gude cheir! + + "Confess my lord's horse, Hobbie," they said, + "And to-morrow in Carlisle thou's na die." + "How can I confess them," Hobbie says, + "When I never saw them with my e'e?" + + Then Hobbie has sworn a fu' great aith, + Bi the day that he was gotten and born, + He never had ony thing o' my lord's, + That either eat him grass or corn. + + "Now fare thee weel, sweet Mangerton! + For I think again I'll ne'er thee see: + I wad hae betrayed nae lad alive, + For a' the gowd o' Christentie. + + "And fare 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'. + + "Yet wad I rather be ca'd Hobbie Noble, + In Carlisle, where he suffers for his fau't, + Than I'd be ca'd the traitor Mains, + That eats and drinks o' the meal and maut." + +[Footnote 181: _Feres_--Companions.] + +[Footnote 182: _Earl of Whitfield_--The editor does not know who is +here meant.] + +[Footnote 183: _Forfoughen_--Quite fatigued.] + +[Footnote 184: _Syke_--Ditch.] + + + + +NOTES ON HOBBIE NOBLE. + + * * * * * + + + _Aft has he driven our bluidhounds back_.--P. 234. v. 2. + + "The russet blood-hound wont, near Annand's stream, + "To trace the sly thief with avenging foot, + "Close as an evil conscience still at hand." + +Our ancient statutes inform us, that the blood-hound, or sluith-hound +(so called from its quality of tracing the slot, or track, of men and +animals), was early used in the pursuit and detection of marauders. +_Nullus perturbet, aut impediat canem trassantem, aut homines +trassantes cum ipso, ad sequendum latrones.--Regiam Majestatem_, +Lib. 4tus, Cap. 32. And, so late as 1616, there was an order from the +king's commissioners of the northern counties, that a certain number +of slough-hounds should be maintained in every district of Cumberland, +bordering upon Scotland. They were of great value, being sometimes +sold for a hundred crowns. _Exposition of Bleau's Atlas, voce +Nithsdale_. The breed of this sagacious animal, which could trace the +human footstep with the most unerring accuracy, is now nearly extinct. + + + + +ARCHIE OF CA'FIELD. + + * * * * * + + +It may perhaps be thought, that, from the near resemblance which this +ballad bears to Kinmont Willie, and Jock o' the Side, the editor might +have dispensed 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 +particulars, 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.--_History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, Vol. +I. _Introduction_, p. 33. "_Mettled John Hall, from the laigh +Tiviotdale_," is perhaps John Hall of Newbigging, 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 been 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 +indifference of the elder brother with the zeal and spirit of his +associates, they add considerably to the dramatic effect of the whole. + + + + +ARCHIE OF CA'FIELD. + + * * * * * + + + As I was a walking mine alane, + It was by the dawning of the day, + I heard twa brithers make their mane, + And I listened weel to what they did say. + + The youngest to the eldest said, + "Blythe and merrie how can we be? + There were three brithren of us born, + And ane of us is condemned to die." + + "An' ye wad be merrie, an' ye wad be sad, + What the better wad billie Archie be? + Unless I had thirty men to mysell, + And a' to ride in my cumpanie. + + "Ten to hald the horses' heads, + And other ten the watch to be, + And ten to break up the strong prison, + Where billy[185] Archie he does lie." + + Then up and spak him mettled John Hall, + (The luve of Teviotdale aye was he) + "An' I had eleven men to mysell, + Its 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 Murraywhate, + 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 its unkensome[186] we wad be." + + "There lives a smith on the water side, + Will shoe my little black mare for me; + And I've a crown in my pocket, + And every groat of it I wad gie." + + "The night is mirk, and its very mirk, + And by candle light I canna weel see; + The night is mirk, and its very pit mirk, + And there will never a nail ca' right for me." + + "Shame fa' you and your trade baith, + Canna beet[187] a gude fellow by your myster[188] + But leez me on thee, my little black mare, + Thou's 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. + + "There's five of us will hold the horse, + And other five will watchmen be: + But wha's the man, amang ye a', + Will gae to the Tolbooth door wi' me?" + + O up then spak him mettled John Hall, + (Frae the laigh Tiviotdale was he) + "If it should cost my life this very night, + I'll gae to the Tolbooth door wi' thee." + + "Be of gude cheir, now, Archie, lad! + Be of gude cheir, now, dear billie! + Work thou within, and we without, + And the mom thou'se dine at Ca'field wi' me." + + 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. + + He took the prisoner on his back, + And down the Tolbooth stair cam he; + The black mare stood ready at the door, + I wot a foot ne'er stirred she. + + They laid the links out ower her neck, + And that was her gold twist to be;[189] + And they cam down thro' Dumfries toun, + And wow but they cam speedilie. + + The live long 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," + + They had na filed a shackle of iron, + A shackle of iron but barely thrie, + When out and spak young Simon brave, + "O dinna ye see what I do see? + + "Lo! yonder comes Lieutenant Gordon, + Wi' a hundred men in his cumpanie; + This night will be our lyke-wake night, + The morn the day we a' maun die," + + O 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,[190] + And in o' the weil[191] she will drown me; + But ye'll take mine, and I'll take thine, + And sune through the water we sall be." + + Then up and spak him, coarse Ca'field, + (I wot and little gude worth was he) + "We had better lose are than lose a' the lave; + We'll lose the prisoner, we'll gae free." + + "Shame fa' you and your lands baith! + Wad ye e'en[192] your lands to your born billy? + But hey! bear up, my bonnie black mare, + And yet thro' the water we sall be." + + Now they did swim that wan water, + And wow but they swam bonilie! + 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." + + "Throw me my irons," quo' Lieutenant Gordon; + "I wot they cost me dear aneugh." + "The shame a ma," quo' mettled John Ha', + "They'll be gude shackles to my pleugh." + + "Come thro', come thro', Lieutenant Gordon! + Come thro' and drink some wine wi' me! + Yestreen I was your prisoner, + But now this morning am I free." + +[Footnote 185: _Billy_--Brother.] + +[Footnote 186: _Unkensome_--Unknown.] + +[Footnote 187: _Beet_--Abet, aid.] + +[Footnote 188: _Mystery_--Trade.--See Shakespeare.] + +[Footnote 189: The _Gold Twist_ means the small gilded chains drawn +across the chest of a war-horse, as a part of his caparaison.] + +[Footnote 190: _Skeigh_--Shy.] + +[Footnote 191: _Weil_--Eddy.] + +[Footnote 192: _E'en_--Even, put into comparison.] + + + + +ARMSTRONG'S GOODNIGHT. + + * * * * * + + +_The followng verses are said to have been composed by one of the_ +ARMSTRONGS, _executed for the murder of Sir_ JOHN CARMICHAEL _of +Edrom, warden of the middle marches, (See_ p. 165.) _The tune is +popular in Scotland; but whether these are the original words, will +admit of a doubt_. + + * * * * * + + This night is my departing night, + For 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! + + * * * * * + + + + +THE FRAY OF SUPORT. + +AN ANCIENT BORDER GATHERING SONG FROM TRADITION. + + * * * * * + + +Of all the border ditties, which have fallen into the editor's hands, +this is by far the most uncouth and savage. It is usually chaunted in +a sort of wild recitative, except the burden, which swells into a long +and varied howl, not unlike to a view hollo'. The words, and the +very great irregularity of the stanza (if it deserves the name), +sufficiently point out its intention and origin. An English woman, +residing in Suport, near the foot of the Kershope, having been +plundered in the night by a band of the Scottish moss-troopers, is +supposed to convoke her servants and friends for the pursuit, or _Hot +Trod_; 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 blood-hounds and horns, to raise the country +to help. They also used to carry 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 chace, under pain of death. With +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 copy +is corrected from four copies, which differed widely from each other. + + + + +THE FRAY OF SUPORT. + + * * * * * + + + Sleep'ry Sim of the Lamb-hill, + And snoring Jock of Suport-mill, + Ye are baith right het and fou';-- + But my wae wakens na you. + Last night I saw a sorry sight-- + Nought left me, o' four-and-twenty gude ousen and ky, + My weel-ridden gelding, and a white quey, + But a toom byre and a wide, + And the twelve nogs[193] on ilka side. + Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a', + My gear's a' gane. + + Weel may ye ken, + 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; + But they hae run him thro' the thick o' the thie, and + broke his knee-pan, + And the mergh[194] o' his shin bane has run down on his + spur leather whang: + He's lame while he lives, and where'er he may gang. + Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a', + My gear's a' gane. + + But Peenye, my gude son, is out at the Hagbut-head, + His e'en glittering for anger like a fierye gleed; + Crying--"Mak sure the nooks + Of Maky's-muir crooks; + For the wily Scot takes by nooks, hooks, and crooks. + Gin we meet a' together in a head the morn, + We'll be merry men." + Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a' + My gear's 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, + Ay ready to mak a puir man help. + Thou maun awa' out to the cauf-craigs, + (Where anes ye lost your ain twa naigs) + And there toom thy brock-skin bag. + Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a', + My gear's a' taen. + + Doughty Dan 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 lads! 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 has na left the value of an oak rod, + But if you had had ony fear o' God, + Last night ye had na 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'll fang them a' in a net! + For I hae a' the fords o' Liddel set; + The Dunkin, and the Door-loup, + The Willie-ford, and the Water-slack, + The Black-rack and the Trout-dub o' Liddel; + There stands John Forster wi' five men at his back, + Wi' bufft coat and cap of steil: + Boo! ca' at them e'en, Jock; + That ford's sicker, I wat weil. + Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a', + My gear's a' ta'en. + + Hoo! hoo! gar raise the Reid Souter, and Ringan's Wat, + Wi' a broad elshin and a wicker; + I wat weil they'll mak a ford sicker. + Sae whether they be Elliots or Armstrangs, + Or rough riding Scots, or rude Johnstones, + Or whether they be frae the Tarras or Ewsdale, + They maun turn and fight, or try the deeps o' Liddel. + Fy 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: + For I hae little Will, and stalwart Wat, + And lang Aicky, in the Souter moor, + Wi' his sleuth dog sits in his watch right sure: + Shou'd the dog gie a bark, + He'll be out in his 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: + They'll make a sicker, come which way they will. + Ha lads! shout a' a' a' a' a', + My gear's a' ta'en. + + Captain Musgrave, and a' his band, + Are coming down by the Siller-strand, + And the muckle toun-bell o' Carlisle is rung: + My gear was a' weel won, + And before it's carried o'er the border, mony a man's + gae down. + Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a', + My gear's a gane. + +[Footnote 193: _Nogs_--Stakes.] + +[Footnote 194: _Mergh_--Marrow.] + + + + +NOTES ON THE FRAY OF SUPORT. + + * * * * * + + + _And there, toom thy brock-skin bag_.--P. 254. v. 1. + +The badger-skin pouch was used for carrying ammunition. + + _In the Nicol forest woods_.--P. 254. v. 3. + +A wood in Cumberland, in which Suport is situated. + + _For I hae a' the fords o' Liddel set_.--P. 255. v. 1. + +Watching fords was a ready mode of intercepting the marauders; the +names of the most noted fords upon the Liddel are recited in this +verse. + + _And thro' at Fargy Grame's gap_.--P. 256. v. 1. + +Fergus Grame of Sowport, as one of the chief men of that clan, became +security to Lord Scroope for the good behaviour of his friends +and dependants, 8th January, 1602.--_Introduction to History of +Westmoreland and Cumberland_, p. 111. + + _Wi' his sleuth dog sits in his watch right sure_.--P 256. v. 1. + +The centinels, who, by the march laws, were planted upon the border +each night, had usually sleuth-dogs, or blood-hounds, along with +them.--See _Nicolson's Border Laws_, and _Lord Wharton's Regulations, +in the 6th of Edward VI_. + +Of the blood-hound we have said something in the notes on _Hobbie +Noble_; but we may, in addition, refer to the following poetical +description of the qualities and uses of that singular animal: + + --Upon the banks + Of Tweed, slow winding thro' the vale, the seat + Of war and rapine once, ere Britons knew + The sweets of peace, or Anna's dread commands + To lasting leagues the haughty rivals awed, + There dwelt a pilfering race; well trained and skill'd + In all the mysteries of theft, the spoil + Their only substance, feuds and war their sport. + Not more expert in every fraudful art + The arch felon was of old, who by the tail + Drew back his lowing prize: in vain his wiles, + In vain the shelter of the covering rock, + In vain the sooty cloud, and ruddy flames, + That issued from his mouth; for soon he paid + His forfeit life: a debt how justly due + To wronged Alcides, and avenging Heaven! + Veil'd in the shades of night, they ford the stream; + Then, prowling far and near, whate'er they seize + Becomes their prey; nor flocks nor herds are safe, + Nor stalls protect the steer, nor strong barr'd doors + Secure the favourite horse. Soon as the morn + Reveals his wrongs, with ghastly visage wan + The plunder'd owner stands, and from his lips + A thousand thronging curses burst their way. + He calls his stout allies, and in a line + His faithful hound he leads; then, with a voice + That utters loud his rage, attentive cheers. + Soon the sagacious brute, his curling tail + Flourish'd in air, low bending, plies around + His busy nose, the steaming vapour snuffs + Inquisitive, nor leaves one turf untried; + + Till, conscious of the recent stains, his heart + Beats quick, his snuffling nose, his active tail, + Attest his joy; then, with deep-opening mouth + That makes the welkin tremble, he proclaims + The audacious felon; foot by foot he marks + His winding way, while all the listening crowd + Applaud his reasonings. O'er the watery ford, + Dry sandy heaths, and stony barren hills, + O'er beaten tracks, with men and beast distain'd, + Unerring he pursues; till, at the cot + Arrived, and seizing by his guilty throat + The caitiff vile, redeems the captive prey: + So exquisitely delicate his sense! + +SOMERVILLE'S _Chase_. + + + _Methinks it's the Captain of Newcastle, &c. + Coming down by the foul steps of Catlowdie's loan_.--P. 256. v. 2. + +According to the late Glenriddell's notes on this ballad, the office +of captain of Bewcastle was held by the chief of the Nixons. + +Catlowdie is a small village in Cumberland, near the junction of the +Esk and Liddel. + + _Captain Musgrave and a' his band_.--P. 256. v. 3. + +This was probably the famous Captain Jack Musgrave, who had charge of +the watch along the Cryssop, or Kershope, as appears from the order of +the watches appointed by Lord Wharton, when deputy-warden-general, in +6th Edward VI. + + + + +LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT. + +NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED. + + * * * * * + + +This beautiful ballad is published from a copy in Glenriddel's MSS., +with some slight variations from tradition. It alludes to one of the +most remarkable feuds upon the west marches. + +A.D. 1585, John, Lord Maxwell, or, as he styled himself, Earl of +Morton, having quarrelled with the Earl of Arran, reigning favourite +of James VI., and fallen, of course, 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;[195] who, following up his advantage, burned Johnstone's +castle of Lochwood, observing, with savage glee, that he would +give Lady Johnstone light enough by which to "set her hood." In +a subsequent conflict, Johnstone himself was defeated, and made +prisoner, and is said to have died of grief at the disgrace which +he sustained.--See _Spottiswoode_ and _Johnstone's Histories_, and +_Moyse's Memoirs, ad annum_ 1585. + +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 subscribed 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 following Ballad and Introduction_.] 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 ottering +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, or protection, by which he bound himself, in usual form, +to maintain their quarrel against all mortals, saving his loyalty. +Thus, the most powerful and respectable families in Dumfries-shire +became, for a time, the vassals of Lord Maxwell. This secret alliance +was discovered to Sir James Johnstone by the laird of Cummertrees, +one of his own clan, though a retainer to Maxwell. Cummertrees +even contrived to possess himself of the bonds of manrent, which he +delivered to his chief. The petty warfare betwixt the rival barons was +instantly renewed. Buccleuch, a near relation of Johnstone, came to +his assistance with his clan, "the most renowned freebooters (says +a historian), the fiercest and bravest warriors, among the border +tribes"[196] With Buccleuch also came the Elliots, Armstrongs, and +Graemes. Thus reinforced, Johnstone surprised and cut to pieces a +party of the Maxwells, stationed at Lochmaben. On the other hand, +Lord Maxwell, armed with the royal authority, and numbering among his +followers all the barons of Nithesdale, displayed his banner as the +king's lieutenant, and invaded Annandale, at the head of 2000 men. In +those days, however, the royal auspices 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 far 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 tall man, and heavily armed, was struck from +his horse in the flight, and cruelly slain, after the hand, which he +stretched out for quarter, had been severed from his 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, Closeburn, and Drumlanrig, +escaped by the fleetness of their horses; a circumstance alluded to in +the following ballad. + +[Footnote 195: It is devoutly to be wished, that this Lammie (who was +killed in the skirmish) may have been the same miscreant, who, in the +day of Queen Mary's distress, "hes ensigne being of quhyt taffitae, +had painted one it ye creuell murther of King Henry, and layed down +before her majestie, at quhat time she presented herself as prisoner +to ye lordis."--_Birrel's Diary, June_ 15, 1567. It would be some +satisfaction to know, that the grey hairs of this worthy personage did +not go down to the grave in peace.] + +[Footnote 196: _Inter accolas latrociniis famosos Scotos Buccleuchi +clientes--fortissimos tributium et ferocissimos_,--JOHNSTONI +_Historia, ed. Amstael_, p. 182.] + +This fatal battle was followed by a long feud, attended with all the +circumstances of horror, proper to a barbarous age. Johnstone, in +his diffuse manner, describes it thus: "_Ab eo die ultro citroque +in Annandia et Nithia magnis utriusque regionis jacturis certatum. +Caedes, incendia, rapinae, et nefanda facinora; liberi in maternis +gremiis trucidati; mariti in conspectu conjugum suarum, incensae +villae lamentabiles ubique querimoniae et horribiles armorum +fremitus_." JOHNSTONI _Historia, Ed. Amstael_. p. 182. + +John, Lord Maxwell, with whose _Goodnight_ the reader is here +presented, was son to him who fell at the battle of Dryffe Sands, +and is said to have early vowed the deepest revenge for his father's +death. Such, indeed, was the fiery and untameable 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 reconciled himself to the court, but +even obtained the wardenry of the middle-marches, in room of Sir John +Carmichael, 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 Dumfries-shire, he sought an amicable +interview with Johnstone, under pretence of a wish to accommodate +their differences. Sir Robert Maxwell, of Orchardstane (mentioned +in the Ballad, verse 1.), who was married to a sister of Sir James +Johnstone, persuaded his brother-in-law to accede to Maxwell's +proposal. The two chieftains met, each with a single attendant, at a +place called Achmanhill, 6th April, 1608. A quarrel arising betwixt +the two gentlemen who attended them (Charles Maxwell, brother to the +laird of Kirkhouse, and Johnstone of Lockerby), and a pistol being +discharged, Sir James turned his horse to separate the combatants; at +which instant Lord Maxwell shot him through the back with a brace of +bullets, of which wound he died on the spot, after having for some +time gallantly defended himself against Maxwell, who endeavoured to +strike him with his sword. "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, _Edition_ +1677, _pages_ 467, 504. JOHNSTONI _Historia, Ed. Amstael_. pp. 254, +283, 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 Caithness, and brought to trial at Edinburgh. The royal +authority was now much strengthened by the union of the crowns, and +James employed it in staunching the feuds of the nobility, with a +firmness 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 of _fire-raising_, which, according to the +ancient Scottish law, if perpetrated by a landed man, constituted a +species of treason, and inferred forfeiture. Thus, the noble purpose +of public justice was sullied, by being united with that of enriching +some needy favourite. John, Lord Maxwell, was condemned, and beheaded, +21st May, 1613. Sir Gideon Murray, treasurer-depute, had a great share +of his forfeiture; but the attainder was afterwards reversed, and +the honours and estate were conferred upon the brother of the +deceased.--LAING'S _History of Scotland_, Vol. I. p. 62.--JOHNSTONI +_Historia_, p. 493. + +The lady, mentioned in the ballad, was sister to the Marquis of +Hamilton, and, according to Johnstone 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 +share, 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 family 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 +executioner. + +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 allusion to that event. It must therefore +have been composed betwixt 1608 and that period. + + + + +LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT. + + * * * * * + + + Adieu, madame, my mother dear, + But and my sisters three! + Adieu, fair Robert of Orchardstane! + My heart is wae for thee. + Adieu, the lily and the rose, + The primrose fair to see: + Adieu, my ladie, and only joy! + For I may not stay with thee. + + "Though I hae slain the Lord Johnstone, + What care I for their feid? + 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 I've got what lang I sought, + And I may not stay with thee. + + "Adieu! Drumlanrig, false wert aye, + And Closeburn in a Land! + 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 my love and me, + + Adieu! Dumfries, my proper place, + But and Carlaverock fair! + Adieu! my castle of the Thrieve, + Wi' a my buildings there: + Adieu! Lochmaben's gates sae fair, + The Langholm-holm 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[197] will ding them down, + And will them sair compell. + But I'll avenge their feid mysell, + When I come o'er the sea; + Adieu! my ladye, and only joy, + For I may not stay wi' thee." + + "Lord of the land!"--that ladye said, + "O 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." + + Then he tuik aff a gay gold ring, + Thereat 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 day's lease, + Tho' I may not stay wi' thee." + + 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 did na spair, + Even in that gude lord's sight-- + Sae now he's o'er the floods sae gray, + And Lord Maxwell has ta'en his Goodnight. + +[Footnote 197: _Bangisters_--The prevailing party.] + + + + +NOTES ON LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT. + + * * * * * + + + _Adieu! Drumlanrig, &c_.--P. 268. v. 1. + +The reader will perceive, from the Introduction, what connection the +bond, subscribed by Douglas of Drumlanrig, Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, +and Grierson of Lagg, had with the death of Lord Maxwell's father. For +the satisfaction of those, who may be curious as to the form of +these bonds, I have transcribed a letter of manrent,[198] from a MS. +collection of upwards of twenty deeds of that nature, copied from the +originals by the late John Syme, Esq. writer to the signet; for +the use of which, with many other favours of a similar nature, I am +indebted to Dr. Robert Anderson of Edinburgh. The bond is granted by +Thomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, to Robert, Lord Maxwell, father of +him who was slain at the battle of the Dryffe Sands. + +[Footnote 198: The proper spelling is _manred_. Thus, in the romance +of _Florice and Blancheflour_-- + + "He wil falle to thi fot, + "And bicom thi man gif be mot; + "His _manred_ thou schalt afonge, + "and the trewthe of his honde." + + +BOND OF MANRENT. + +"Be it kend till all men be thir present lettres, me Thomas Kirkpatrik +of Closburn, to be bundin and oblist, and be the tenor heirof, bindis +and oblissis me be the faith and treuth of my body, in manrent and +service to ane nobil and mychty lord, Robert Lord Maxwell, induring +all the dayis of my lyfe; and byndis and oblissis me, as said is, to +be leill and trew man and servand to the said Robert Lord Maxwell, +my master, and sall nowthir heir nor se his skaith, but sall lat the +samyn at my uter power, an warn him therof. And I sall conceill it +that the said lord schawis to me, and sall gif him agane the best +leill and trew counsale that I can, quhen he ony askis at me; and that +I sall ryde with my kin, freyndis, servandis, and allies, that wil do +for me, or to gang with the said lord; and do to him aefauld, trew, +and thankful service, and take aefauld playne part with the said lord, +my maister, in all and sindry his actionis, causis, querrellis, leful +and honest, movit, or to be movit be him, or aganis him, baith in +peace and weir, contrair or aganis all thae that leiffes or de may +(my allegeant to owr soveran ladye the quenis grace, her tutor and +governor, allanerly except). And thir my lettres of manrent, for all +the dayis of my life foresaid to indure, all dissimulations, fraud, +or gyle, secludit and away put. In witness, &c." The deed is signed at +Edinburgh, 3d February, 1542. + +In the collection, from which this extract is made, there are bonds +of a similar nature granted to Lord Maxwell, by Douglas of Drumlanrig, +ancestor of the Duke of Queensberry; by Crichton Lord Sanquhar, +ancestor of the earls of Dumfries, and many of his kindred; by +Stuart of Castlemilk; by Stuart of Garlies, ancestor of the earls +of Galloway; by Murray of Cockpool, ancestor of the Murrays, lords +Annandale; by Grierson of Lagg, Gordon of Lochmaben, and many other of +the most ancient and respectable barons in the south-west of Scotland, +binding themselves, in the most submissive terms, to become the +liegemen and the vassals of the house of Maxwell; a circumstance which +must highly excite our idea of the power of that family. Nay, even +the rival chieftain, Johnstone of Johnstone, seems at one time to +have come under a similar obligation to Maxwell, by a bond, dated 11th +February 1528, in which reference is made to the counter-obligation of +the patron, in these words: "Forasmeikle as the said lord has oblist +him to supple, maintene, and defend me, in the peciabill brouking and +joysing of all my landis, rentis, &c. and to take my aefald, leill and +trew part, in all my good actionis, causis, and quarles, leiful and +honest, aganes all deedlie, his alledgeance to our soveraigne lord the +king allanerly excepted, as at mair length is contained in his lettres +of maintenance maid to me therupon; therfore, &c." he proceeds to bind +himself as liegeman to the Maxwell. + +I cannot dismiss the subject without observing, that, in the dangerous +times of Queen Mary, when most of these bonds are dated, many barons, +for the sake of maintaining unanimity and good order, may have chosen +to enroll themselves among the clients of Lord Maxwell, then warden +of the border, from which, at a less turbulent period, personal +considerations would have deterred them. + +_Adieu! my castle of the Thrieve_.--P. 268. v. 2. + +This fortress is situated in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, upon an +island about two acres in extent, formed by the river Dee. The walls +are very thick and strong, and bear the marks of great antiquity. It +was a royal castle; but the keeping of it, agreeable to the feudal +practice, was granted by charter, or sometimes by a more temporary and +precarious right, to different powerful families, together with lands +for their good service in maintaining and defending the place. This +office of heritable keeper remained with the Nithesdale family (chief +of the Maxwells) till their forfeiture, 1715. The garrison seems to +have been victualled upon feudal principles; for each parish in the +stewartry was burdened with the yearly payment of a _lardner mart +cow_, i.e. a cow fit for being killed and salted at Martinmas, for +winter provisions. The right of levying these cattle was retained by +the Nithesdale family, when they sold the castle and estate, in +1704, and they did not cease to exercise it till their +attainder.--_Fountainhall's Decisions_, Vol. I. p. 688. + +This same castle of the Thrieve was, A.D. 1451-2, the scene of an +outrageous and cruel insult upon the royal authority. The fortress was +then held by William VIII. Earl of Douglas, who, in fact, possessed a +more unlimited authority over the southern districts of Scotland, +than the reigning monarch. The earl had, on some pretence, seized +and imprisoned a baron, called Maclellan, tutor of Bombie, whom he +threatened to bring to trial, by his power of hereditary jurisdiction. +The uncle of this gentleman, Sir Patrick Gray of Foulis, who commanded +the body-guard of James II., 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 commission: "it is +ill talking between a full man and a fasting." While Gray was at meat, +the unfortunate prisoner was, by Douglas's command, led forth to the +court-yard 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 come too late. Yonder lies your sister's son, +without the head: you are welcome to his dead body." Gray, having +mounted his horse, turned to the earl, and expressed his wrath in a +deadly oath, that he would requite the injury with Douglas's heart's +blood.--"To horse!" cried the haughty baron, and the messenger of +his prince was pursued till within a few miles of Edinburgh. Gray, +however, had an opportunity of keeping his vow; for, being upon guard +in the king's anti-chamber at Stirling, when James, incensed at the +insolence of the earl, struck him with his dagger, Sir Patrick rushed +in, and dispatched him with a pole-axe. The castle of Thrieve was the +last of the fortresses which held out for the house of Douglas, after +their grand rebellion in 1553. James II. writes an account of the +exile of this potent family, to Charles VII. of France, 8th July, +1555; and adds, that all their castles had been yielded to him, +_Excepto duntaxat castro de Trefe, per nostres fideles +impraesentiarum obsesso; quod domino concedente in brevi obtinere +speramus.--Pinkerton's History, Appendix_, Vol. I. p. 486.--See +_Pitscottie's History, Godscroft, &c._ + +_And most part of his friends were, there_,--P. 269. v. 3. The +ancestor of the present Mr. Maxwell of Broomholm is particularly +mentioned in Glenriddell's MS. as having attended his chieftain in his +distress, and as having received a grant of lands, in reward of this +manifestation of attachment. + +_Sae now he's o'er the floods sae gray_.--P. 269. v. 3. + +This seems to have been a favourite epithet in old romances, Thus in +_Hornchilde_, and _Maiden Rimuild_, + + Thai sayled ower the _flode so gray_, + In Inglond arrived were thay, + Ther him levest ware. + + + + +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 Johnstone. +The following song celebrates the skirmish, in 1593, betwixt the +Johnstones and Crichtons, which led to the revival of the ancient +quarrel betwixt Johnstone and Maxwell, and finally to the battle of +Dryffe Sands, in which the latter lost his life. Wamphray is the name +of a parish in Annandale. Lethenhall was the abode of Johnstone of +Wamphray, and continued to be so till of late years. William Johnstone +of Wamphray, called the _Galliard_, was a noted freebooter. A place, +near the head of Tiviotdale, retains the name of the _Galliard's +Faulds_, (folds) being a valley where he used to secrete and divide +his spoil, with his Liddesdale and Eskdale associates. His _nom +de guerre_ seems to have been derived from the dance called _The +Galliard_. The word is still used in Scotland, to express an active, +gay, dissipated character.[199] Willie of the Kirkhill, nephew to the +Galliard, and his avenger, was also a noted border robber. Previous +to the battle of Dryffe Sands, so often mentioned, tradition reports, +that Maxwell had offered a ten-pound-land to any of his party, who +should bring him the head or hand of the laird of Johnstone. +This being reported to his antagonist, he answered, he had not a +ten-pound-land to offer, but would give a five-merk-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 gray horse, rushed upon the +enemy, and earned the reward, by striking down their unfortunate +chieftain, and cutting off his right hand. + +Leverhay, Stefenbiggin, Girth-head, &c. are all situated in the parish +of Wamphray. The Biddes-burn, where the skirmish took place betwixt +the Johnstones and their pursuers, is a rivulet which takes its course +among the mountains on the confines of Nithesdale 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 Annan, below Moffat. Wamphray-gate was in these +days an ale-house. With these local explanations, it is hoped the +following ballad will be easily understood. + +From a pedigree in the appeal case of Sir James Johnstone of Westeraw, +claiming the honours and titles of Annandale, it appears that the +Johnstones of Wamphray were descended from James, sixth son of the +sixth baron of Johnstone. The male line became extinct in 1657. + +[Footnote 199: Cleveland applies the phrase in a very different +manner, in treating of the assembly of Divines at Westminster, 1644: + + And Selden is a _Galliard_ by himself. + And wel might be; there's more divines in him. + Than in all this their Jewish Sanhedrim. + +Skelton, in his railing poem against James IV., terms him _Sir Skyr +Galyard_.] + + + + +THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY. + + + 'Twixt Girth-head and the Langwood end, + Lived the Galliard, and the Galliard's men; + But and the lads of Leverhay, + That drove the Crichtons' gear away. + + It is the lads of Lethenha', + The greatest rogues amang them a': + But and the lads of Stefenbiggin, + They broke the house in at the rigging. + + The lads of Fingland, and Hellbeck-hill, + They were never for good, but aye for ill; + 'Twixt the Staywood-bush and Langside-hill, + They stealed the broked cow and the branded bull. + + 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 horse but they made it their ain. + + The Galliard to Nithside 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 aboon his hide." + + Simmy Crichton's mounted then, + And Crichtons has raised mony a ane; + The Galliard trowed his horse had been wight, + But the Crichtons beat him out o' sight. + + As soon as the Galliard the Crichton saw, + Behind the saugh-bush he did draw; + And there the Crichtons the Galliard hae ta'en, + And nane wi' him but Willie alane. + + "O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang, + And I'll nevir mair do a Crichton wrang! + O Simmy, Simmy, now let me be, + And a peck o' gowd I'll give to thee! + + O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang, + And my wife shall heap it with her hand." + But the Crichtons wad na 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's death avenged shall be!" + + Back to Wamphray he is gane, + And riders has raised mony a ane; + Saying--"My lads, if ye'll be true, + Ye shall a' be clad in the noble blue." + + Back to Nithisdale they have gane, + And awa' the Crichtons' nowt hae ta'en; + But when they cam to the Wellpath-head, + The Crichtons bade them 'light and lead. + + And when they cam to the Biddes burn, + The Crichtons bade them stand and turn; + And when they cam to the Biddess strand, + The Crichtons they were hard at hand. + + But when they cam to the Biddes law, + The Johnstones bade them stand and draw; + "We've done nae ill, we'll thole nae wrang, + "But back to Wamphray we will gang," + + And out spoke Willy o' the Kirkhill, + "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 Crichtons Willie he ran, + And dang them down baith horse and man; + O but the Johnstones were wondrous rude, + When the Biddes burn ran three days blood. + + "Now, Sirs, we have done a noble deed; + "We have revenged the Galliard's bleid: + "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'll hae 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's the king of men." + +THE END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Minstrelsy of the Scottish border (3rd +ed) (1 of 3), by Walter Scott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SCOTTISH MINSTRELSY *** + +***** This file should be named 12742-8.txt or 12742-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/7/4/12742/ + +Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Jonathan Ingram, Bill Hershey and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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