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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:55 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:40:55 -0700 |
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diff --git a/12882-h/12882-h.htm b/12882-h/12882-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ec26022 --- /dev/null +++ b/12882-h/12882-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10307 @@ +<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> +<html> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content= + "text/html; charset=UTF-8"> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of Minstrelsy, by AUTHOR. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[ XML blockout */ +<!-- + P { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + } + HR { width: 33%; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + } + BODY{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .note {margin-left: 2em; margin-right: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} /* footnote */ + .blkquot {margin-left: 4em; margin-right: 4em;} /* block indent */ + .sidenote {width: 20%; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em; padding-left: 1em; font-size: smaller; float: right; clear: right;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem p {margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem p.i2 {margin-left: 2em;} + .poem p.i4 {margin-left: 4em;} + .poem .caesura {vertical-align: -200%;} + // --> + /* XML end ]]>*/ + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12882 ***</div> + +<br><h1>MINSTRELSY +OF THE +SCOTTISH BORDER:</h1> +<br> + +<p>CONSISTING OF +HISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC BALLADS, +COLLECTED +IN THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND; WITH A FEW +OF MODERN DATE, FOUNDED UPON +LOCAL TRADITION.</p> +<br> + +<p>IN THREE VOLUMES.</p> +<br> + +<p>VOL. II.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">The songs, to savage virtue dear.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">That won of yore the public ear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Ere Polity, sedate and sage,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Had quench'd the fires of feudal rage.—WARTON.</span><br> +<br> + +<p>THIRD EDITION.</p> + +<p>1806.</p> + +<br> + +<p>CONTENTS + +TO +THE SECOND VOLUME.</p> +<br> + +<p> +<a href="#l">LESLEY'S MARCH</a><br> +The Battle of Philiphaugh<br> +The Gallant Grahams<br> +The Battle of Pentland Hills<br> +The Battle of Loudon-hill<br> +The Battle of Bothwell-bridge</p> + +<br> + +<p>PART SECOND.</p> + +<p><a href="#b">ROMANTIC BALLADS.</a></p> +<br> + +<p>Scottish Music, an Ode<br> +Introduction to the Tale of Tamlane<br> +The Young Tamlane<br> +Erlinton<br> +The Twa Corbies<br> +The Douglas Tragedy<br> +Young Benjie<br> +Lady Anne<br> +Lord William<br> +The Broomfield-Hill<br> +Proud Lady Margaret<br> +The Original Ballad of the Broom of Cowdenknows<br> +Lord Randal<br> +Sir Hugh Le Blond<br> +Graeme and Bewick<br> +The Duel of Wharton and Stuart, Part I.<br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Part II.</span><br> +The Lament of the Border Widow<br> +Fair Helen of Kirkonnel, Part I.<br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Part II.</span><br> +Hughie the Graeme<br> +Johnie of Breadislee<br> +Katherine Janfarie<br> +The Laird o' Logie<br> +A Lyke-wake Dirge<br> +The Dowie Dens of Yarrow<br> +The Gay Goss Hawk<br> +Brown Adam<br> +Jellon Grame<br> +Willie's Ladye<br> +Clerk Saunders<br> +Earl Richard<br> +The Lass of Lochroyan<br> +Rose the Red and White Lilly</p> + +<br> + +<p>MINSTRELSY +OF THE +SCOTTISH BORDER.</p> +<br> + +<p>PART FIRST.—CONTINUED.</p> + +<p><i>HISTORICAL BALLADS.</i></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="LESLYS_MARCH"></a><h2>LESLY'S MARCH.</h2> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, O my country! how shall memory trace</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thy glories, lost in either Charles's days,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"When through thy fields destructive rapine spread,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor sparing infants' tears, nor hoary head!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"In those dread days, the unprotected swain</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Mourn'd, in the mountains, o'er his wasted plain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor longer vocal, with the shepherd's lay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Were Yarrow's banks, or groves of Endermay."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">LANGHORN—<i>Genius and Valour.</i></span><br> +<br> + +<p>Such are the verses, in which a modern bard has painted the desolate +state of Scotland, during a period highly unfavourable to poetical +composition. Yet the civil and religious wars of the seventeenth century +have afforded some subjects for traditionary poetry, and the reader is +here presented with the ballads of that disastrous aera. Some prefatory +history may not be unacceptable.</p> + +<p>That the Reformation was a good and a glorious work, few will be such +slavish bigots as to deny. But the enemy came, by night, and sowed tares +among the wheat; or rather; the foul and rank soil, upon which the seed +was thrown, pushed forth, together with the rising crop, a plentiful +proportion of pestilential weeds. The morals of the reformed clergy were +severe; their learning was usually respectable, sometimes profound; +and their eloquence, though often coarse, was vehement, animated, and +popular. But they never could forget, that their rise had been achieved +by the degradation, if not the fall, of the crown; and hence, a body of +men, who, in most countries, have been attached to monarchy, were in +Scotland, for nearly two centuries, sometimes the avowed enemies, always +the ambitious rivals, of their prince. The disciples of Calvin could +scarcely avoid a tendency to democracy, and the republican form of +church government was sometimes hinted at, as no unfit model for the +state; at least, the kirkmen laboured to impress, upon their followers +and hearers, the fundamental principle, that the church should be solely +governed by those, unto whom God had given the spiritual sceptre. The +elder Melvine, in a conference with James VI., seized the monarch by the +sleeve, and, addressing him as <i>God's sillie vassal</i>, told him, "There +are two kings, and two kingdomes. There is Christ, and his kingdome, the +kirke; whose subject King James the sixth is, and of whose kingdome he +is not a king, nor a head, nor a lord, but a member; and they, whom +Christ hath called and commanded to watch ower his kirke, and govern his +spiritual kingdome, have sufficient authorise and power from him so to +do; which no christian king, no prince, should controul or discharge, +but fortifie and assist: otherwise they are not faithful subjects to +Christ."—<i>Calderwood</i>, p. 329. The delegated theocracy, thus sternly +claimed, was exercised with equal rigour. The offences in the king's +household fell under their unceremonious jurisdiction, and he was +formally reminded of his occasional neglect to say grace before and +after meat—his repairing to hear the word more rarely than was +fitting—his profane banning and swearing, and keeping of evil +company—and finally, of his queen's carding, dancing, night-walking, +and such like profane pastimes.—<i>Calderwood</i>, p. 313. A curse, direct +or implied, was formally denounced against every man, horse, and spear, +who should assist the king in his quarrel with the Earl of Gowrie; and +from the pulpit, the favourites of the listening sovereign were likened +to Haman, his wife to Herodias, and he himself to Ahab, to Herod, and +to Jeroboam. These effusions of zeal could not be very agreeable to the +temper of James: and accordingly, by a course of slow, and often crooked +and cunning policy, he laboured to arrange the church-government upon +a less turbulent and menacing footing. His eyes were naturally turned +towards the English hierarchy, which had been modelled, by the despotic +Henry VIII., into such a form, as to connect indissolubly the interest +of the church with that of the regal power.<a name="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1"><sup>[A]</sup></a> The Reformation, in +England, had originated in the arbitrary will of the prince; in +Scotland, and in all other countries of Europe, it had commenced among +insurgents of the lower ranks. Hence, the deep and essential +difference which separated the Huguenots, the Lutherans, the Scottish +presbyterians, and, in fine, all the other reformed churches, from that +of England. But James, with a timidity which sometimes supplies the +place of prudence, contented himself with gradually imposing upon the +Scottish nation a limited and moderate system of episcopacy, which, +while it gave to a proportion of the churchmen a seat in the council of +the nation, induced them to look up to the sovereign, as the power to +whose influence they owed their elevation. But, in other respects, James +spared the prejudices of his subjects; no ceremonial ritual was imposed +upon their consciences; the pastors were reconciled by the prospect of +preferment,<a name="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2"><sup>[B]</sup></a> the dress and train of the bishops were plain and decent; +the system of tythes was placed upon a moderate and unoppressive +footing;<a name="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3"><sup>[C]</sup></a> and, perhaps, on the whole, the Scottish hierarchy contained +as few objectionable points as any system of church-government in +Europe. Had it subsisted to the present day, although its doctrines +could not have been more pure, nor its morals more exemplary, than those +of the present kirk of Scotland, yet its degrees of promotion might have +afforded greater encouragement to learning, and objects of laudable +ambition to those, who might dedicate themselves to its service. But +the precipitate bigotry of the unfortunate Charles I. was a blow to +episcopacy in Scotland, from which it never perfectly recovered.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Of this the Covenanters were so sensible, as to trace +(what they called) the Antichristian hierarchy, with its idolatry, +superstition, and human inventions, "to the prelacy of England, the +fountain whence all these Babylonish streams issue unto us."—See their +manifesto on entering England, in 1640.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> Many of the preachers, who had been loudest in the cause of +presbytery, were induced to accept of bishoprics. Such was, for example, +William Cooper, who was created bishop of Galloway. This recreant Mass +John was a hypochondriac, and conceived his lower extremities to be +composed of glass; hence, on his court advancement, the following +epigram was composed: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>"Aureus heu! frugilem confregit malleus urnam."</i></span></p></div><br> + +<a name="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> This part of the system was perfected in the reign of +Charles I.</p></div> + +<p>It has frequently happened, that the virtues of the individual, at least +their excess (if, indeed, there can be an excess in virtue), have been +fatal to the prince. Never was this more fully exemplified than in the +history of Charles I. His zeal for religion, his family affection, the +spirit with which he defended his supposed rights, while they do honour +to the man, were the fatal shelves upon which the monarchy was wrecked. +Impatient to accomplish the total revolution, which his father's +cautious timidity had left incomplete, Charles endeavoured at once to +introduce into Scotland the church-government, and to renew, in England, +the temporal domination, of his predecessor, Henry VIII. The furious +temper of the Scottish nation first took fire; and the brandished +footstool of a prostitute<a name="FNanchor_A_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_4"><sup>[A]</sup></a> gave the signal for civil dissension, +which ceased not till the church was buried under the ruins of the +constitution; till the nation had stooped to a military despotism; and +the monarch to the block of the executioner.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_4">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> "<i>Out, false loon! wilt thou say the mass at my lug +(ear)</i>," was the well known exclamation of Margaret Geddes, as she +discharged her missile tripod against the bishop of Edinburgh, who, +in obedience to the orders of the privy-council, was endeavouring to +rehearse the common prayer. Upon a seat more elevated, the said Margaret +had shortly before done penance, before the congregation, for the sin of +fornication: such, at least, is the tory tradition.</p></div> + +<p>The consequence of Charles' hasty and arbitrary measures were soon +evident. The united nobility, gentry, and clergy of Scotland, entered +into the SOLEMN LEAGUE AND COVENANT, by which memorable deed, they +subscribed and swore a national renunciation of the hierarchy. The walls +of the prelatic Jericho (to use the language of the times) were thus +levelled with the ground, and the curse of Hiel, the Bethelite, +denounced against those who should rebuild them. While the clergy +thundered, from the pulpits, against the prelatists and malignants (by +which names were distinguished the scattered and heartless adherents of +Charles), the nobility and gentry, in arms, hurried to oppose the march +of the English army, which now advanced towards their borders. At the +head of their defensive forces they placed Alexander Lesley, who, with +many of his best officers, had been trained to war under the great +Gustavus Adolphus. They soon assembled an army of 26,000 men, whose +camp, upon Dunse-law, is thus described by an eye-witness.</p> + +<p>"Mr Baillie acknowledges, that it was an agreeable feast to his eyes, +to survey the place: it is a round hill, about a Scots mile in circle, +rising, with very little declivity, to the height of a bow-shot, and the +head somewhat plain, and near a quarter of a mile in length and breadth; +on the top it was garnished with near forty field pieces, pointed +towards the east and south. The colonels, who were mostly noblemen, as +Rothes, Cassilis, Eglinton, Dalhousie, Lindsay, Lowdon, Boyd, Sinclair, +Balcarras, Flemyng, Kirkcudbright, Erskine, Montgomery, Yester, &c. +lay in large tents at the head of their respective regiments; their +captains, who generally were barons, or chief gentlemen, lay around +them: next to these were the lieutenants, who were generally old +veterans, and had served in that, or a higher station, over sea; and the +common soldiers lay outmost, all in huts of timber, covered with divot, +or straw. Every company, which, according to the first plan, did consist +of two hundred men, had their colours flying at the captain's tent door, +with the Scots arms upon them, and this motto, in golden letters, "FOR +CHRIST'S CROWN AND COVENANT." Against this army, so well arrayed and +disciplined, and whose natural hardihood was edged and exalted by a high +opinion of their sacred cause, Charles marched at the head of a large +force, but divided, by the emulation of the commanders, and enervated, +by disuse of arms. A faintness of spirit pervaded the royal army, and +the king stooped to a treaty with his Scottish subjects. The treaty was +soon broken; and, in the following year, Dunse-law again presented the +same edifying spectacle of a presbyterian army. But the Scots were not +contented with remaining there. They passed the Tweed; and the English +troops, in a skirmish at Newburn, shewed either more disaffection, +or cowardice, than had at any former period disgraced their national +character. This war was concluded by the treaty of Rippon; in +consequence of which, and of Charles's concessions, made during his +subsequent visit to his native country, the Scottish parliament +congratulated him on departing "a contented king, from a contented +people." If such content ever existed, it was of short duration.</p> + +<p>The storm, which had been soothed to temporary rest in Scotland, burst +forth in England with treble violence. The popular clamour accused +Charles, or his ministers, of fetching into Britain the religion of +Rome, and the policy of Constantinople. The Scots felt most keenly the +first, and the English the second, of these aggressions. Accordingly, +when the civil war of England broke forth, the Scots nation, for a time, +regarded it in neutrality, though not with indifference. But, when the +successes of a prelatic monarch, against a presbyterian parliament, were +paving the way for rebuilding the system of hierarchy, they could no +longer remain inactive. Bribed by the delusive promise of Sir Henry +Vane, and Marshall, the parliamentary commissioners, that the church of +England should be reformed, <i>according to the word of God</i>, which, they +fondly believed, amounted to an adoption of presbytery, they agreed to +send succours to their brethren of England. Alexander Lesly, who ought +to have ranked among the <i>contented</i> subjects, having been raised by the +king to the honours of Earl of Leven, was, nevertheless, readily induced +to accept the command of this second army. Doubtless, where insurrection +is not only pardoned, but rewarded, a monarch has little right to expect +gratitude for benefits, which all the world, as well as the receiver, +must attribute to fear. Yet something is due to decency; and the best +apology for Lesly, is his zeal for propagating presbyterianism in +England, the bait which had caught the whole parliament of Scotland. +But, although the Earl of Leven was commander in chief, David Lesly, a +yet more renowned and active soldier than himself, was major-general of +the cavalry, and, in truth, bore away the laurels of the expedition.</p> + +<p>The words of the following march, which was played in the van of this +presbyterian crusade, were first published by Allan Ramsay, in his +<i>Evergreen</i>; and they breathe the very spirit we might expect. Mr +Ritson, in his collection of Scottish songs, has favoured the public +with the music, which seems to have been adapted to the bagpipes.</p> + +<p>The hatred of the old presbyterians to the organ was, apparently, +invincible. It is here vilified with the name of a "<i>chest-full of +whistles</i>," as the episcopal chapel at Glasgow was, by the vulgar, +opprobriously termed the <i>Whistling Kirk</i>. Yet, such is the revolution +of sentiment upon this, as upon more important points, that reports have +lately been current, of a plan to introduce this noble instrument into +presbyterian congregations.</p> + +<p>The share, which Lesly's army bore in the action of Marston Moor, has +been exalted, or depressed, as writers were attached to the English or +Scottish nations, to the presbyterian or independent factions. Mr Laing +concludes, with laudable impartiality, that the victory was equally due +to "Cromwell's iron brigade of disciplined independents, and to three +regiments of Lesly's horse."—Vol I. p. 244.</p> + +<br> + +<p><a name="l">LESLY'S MARCH.</a></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">March! march!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Why the devil do ye na march?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stand to your arms, my lads,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fight in good order;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Front about, ye musketeers all,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till ye come to the English border:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Stand til't, and fight like men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">True gospel to maintain.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The parliament's blythe to see us a' coming.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">When to the kirk we come,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">We'll purge it ilka room,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Frae popish reliques, and a' sic innovation,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That a' the warld may see,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">There's nane in the right but we,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of the auld Scottish nation.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Jenny</i> shall wear the hood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Jocky</i> the sark of God;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the kist-fou of whistles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That mak sic a cleiro,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Our piper's braw</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Shall hae them a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Whate'er come on it:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Busk up your plaids, my lads!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cock up your bonnets!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;"><i>Da Capo.</i></span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH.</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad is so immediately connected with the former, that the editor +is enabled to continue his sketch of historical transactions, from the +march of Lesly.</p> + +<p>In the insurrection of 1680, all Scotland, south from the Grampians, was +actively and zealously engaged. But, after the treaty of Rippon, the +first fury of the revolutionary torrent may be said to have foamed off +its force, and many of the nobility began to look round, with horror, +upon the rocks and shelves amongst which it had hurried them. Numbers +regarded the defence of Scotland as a just and necessary warfare, who +did not see the same reason for interfering in the affairs of England. +The visit of King Charles to the metropolis of his fathers, in all +probability, produced its effect on his nobles. Some were allied to +the house of Stuart by blood; all regarded it as the source of their +honours, and venerated the ancient in obtaining the private objects of +ambition, or selfish policy which had induced them to rise up against +the crown. Amongst these late penitents, the well known marquis of +Montrose was distinguished, as the first who endeavoured to recede from +the paths of rude rebellion. Moved by the enthusiasm of patriotism, or +perhaps of religion, but yet more by ambition, the sin of noble +minds, Montrose had engaged, eagerly and deeply, upon the side of the +covenanters He had been active in pressing the town of Aberdeen to take +the covenant, and his success against the Gordons, at the bridge of Dee, +left that royal burgh no other means of safety from pillage. At the head +of his own battalion, he waded through the Tweed, in 1640, and totally +routed the vanguard of the king's cavalry. But, in 1643, moved with +resentment against the covenanters who preferred, to his prompt and +ardent character, the caution of the wily and politic earl of Argyle, or +seeing, perhaps, that the final views of that party were inconsistent +with the interests of monarchy, and of the constitution, Montrose +espoused the falling cause of royalty and raised the Highland clans, +whom he united to a small body of Irish, commanded by Alexander +Macdonald, still renowned in the north, under the title of Colkitto. +With these tumultuary and uncertain forces, he rushed forth, like a +torrent from the mountains, and commenced a rapid and brilliant career +of victory. At Tippermoor, where he first met the covenanters, their +defeat was so effectual, as to appal the presbyterian courage, even +after the lapse of eighty years.<a name="FNanchor_A_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_5"><sup>[A]</sup></a> A second army was defeated under the +walls of Aberdeen; and the pillage of the ill-fated town was doomed to +expiate the principles, which Montrose himself had formerly imposed upon +them. Argyleshire next experienced his arms; the domains of his rival +were treated with more than military severity; and Argyle himself, +advancing to Inverlochy for the defence of his country, was totally +and disgracefully routed by Montrose. Pressed betwixt two armies, +well appointed, and commanded by the most experienced generals of the +Covenant, Mozitrose displayed more military skill in the astonishingly +rapid marches, by which he avoided fighting to disadvantage, than even +in the field of victory. By one of those hurried marches, from the banks +of Loch Katrine to the heart of Inverness-shire, he was enabled to +attack, and totally to defeat, the Covenanters, at Aulderne though he +brought into the field hardly one half of their forces. Baillie, a +veteran officer, was next routed by him, at the village of Alford, +in Strathbogie. Encouraged by these repeated and splendid successes, +Montrose now descended into the heart of Scotland, and fought a bloody +and decisive battle, near Kilsyth, where four thousand covenanters fell +under the Highland claymore.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_5">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Upon the breaking out of the insurrection, in the year +1715, the earl of Rothes, sheriff and lord-lieutenant of the county of +Fife, issued out an order for "all the fencible men of the countie to +meet him, at a place called Cashmoor. The gentlemen took no notice of +his orders, nor did the commons, except those whom the ministers forced +to goe to the place of rendezvouse, to the number of fifteen hundred +men, being all that their utmost diligence could perform. But those of +that countie, having been taught by their experience, that it is not +good meddling with edge tools, especiallie in the hands of Highlandmen, +were very averse from taking armes. No sooner they reflected on the name +of the place of rendezvouse, Cashmoor, than Tippermoor was called to +mind; a place not far from thence, where Montrose had routed them, when +under the command of my great-grand-uncle the earl of Wemyss, then +generall of God's armie. In a word, the unlucky choice of a place, +called <i>Moo</i>, appeared ominous; and that, with the flying report of the +Highlandmen having made themselves masters of Perth, made them throw +down their armes, and run, notwithstanding the trouble that Rothes and +the ministers gave themselves to stop them."—M.S. <i>Memoirs of Lord St +Clair.</i></p></div> + +<p>This victory opened the whole of Scotland to Montrose He occupied the +capital, and marched forward to the border; not merely to complete the +subjection of the southern provinces, but with the flattering hope of +pouring his victorious army into England, and bringing to the support of +Charles the sword of his paternal tribes.</p> + +<p>Half a century before Montrose's career, the state of the borders was +such as might have enabled him easily to have accomplished his daring +plan. The marquis of Douglas, the earls of Hume, Roxburgh, Traquair, and +Annandale, were all descended of mighty border chiefs, whose ancestors +could, each of them, have led into the field a body of their own +vassals, equal in numbers, and superior in discipline, to the army of +Montrose. But the military spirit of the borderers, and their attachment +to their chiefs, had been much broken since the union of the crowns. The +disarming acts of James had been carried rigorously into execution, and +the smaller proprietors, no longer feeling the necessity of protection +from their chiefs in war, had aspired to independence, and embraced +the tenets of the covenant. Without imputing, with Wishart, absolute +treachery to the border nobles, it may be allowed, that they looked with +envy upon Montrose, and with dread and aversion upon his rapacious and +disorderly forces. Hence, had it been in their power, it might not have +altogether suited their inclinations, to have brought the strength +of the border lances to the support of the northern clans. The once +formidable name of Douglas still sufficed to raise some bands, by +whom Montrose was joined, in his march down the Gala. With these +reinforcements, and with the remnant of his Highlanders (for a great +number had returned home with Colkitto, to deposit their plunder, and +provide for their families), Montrose after traversing the border, +finally encamped upon the field of Philiphaugh.</p> + +<p>The river Ettrick, immediately after its junction with the Yarrow, and +previous to its falling into the Tweed, makes a large sweep to the +southward, and winds almost beneath the lofty bank, on which the town +of Selkirk stands; leaving, upon the northern side, a large and level +plain, extending in an easterly direction, from a hill, covered with +natural copse-wood, called the Harehead-wood, to the high ground which +forms the banks of the Tweed, near Sunderland-hall. This plain is called +Philliphaugh:<a name="FNanchor_A_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_6"><sup>[A]</sup></a> it is about a mile and a half in length, and a quarter +of a mile broad; and, being defended, to the northward, by the high +hills which separate Tweed from Yarrow, by the river in front, and by +the high grounds, already mentioned on each flank, it forms, at once, +a convenient and a secure field of encampment. On each flank Montrose +threw up some trenches, which are still visible; and here he posted his +infantry, amounting to about twelve or fifteen hundred men. He himself +took up his quarters in the burgh of Selkirk, and, with him, the +cavalry, in number hardly one thousand, but respectable, as being +chiefly composed of gentlemen, and their immediate retainers. In this +manner, by a fatal and unaccountable error, the river Ettrick was thrown +betwixt the cavalry and infantry, which were to depend upon each other +for intelligence and mutual support. But this might be overlooked by +Montrose, in the conviction, that there was no armed enemy of Charles +in the realm of Scotland; for he is said to have employed the night in +writing and dispatching this agreeable intelligence to the king. Such an +enemy was already within four miles of his camp.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_6">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The Scottish language is rich in words, expressive of local +situation The single word <i>haugh</i>, conveys, to a Scotsman, almost all +that I have endeavoured to explain in the text, by circumlocutory +description.</p></div> + +<p>Recalled by the danger of the cause of the Covenant, General David Lesly +came down from England, at the head of those iron squadrons, whose force +had been proved in the fatal battle of Long Marston Moor. His array +consisted of from five to six thousand men, chiefly cavalry. Lesly's +first plan seems to have been, to occupy the mid-land counties, so as to +intercept the return of Montrose's Highlanders, and to force him to an +unequal combat Accordingly, he marched along the eastern coast, from +Berwick to Tranent; but there he suddenly altered his direction, and, +crossing through Mid-Lothian, turned again to the southward, and, +following the course of Gala water, arrived at Melrose, the evening +before the engagement How it is possible that Montrose should have +received no notice whatever of the march of so considerable an army, +seems almost inconceivable, and proves, that the country was strongly +disaffected to his cause, or person. Still more extraordinary does it +appear, that, even with the advantage of a thick mist, Lesly should +have, the next morning, advanced towards Montrose's encampment without +being descried by a single scout. Such, however, was the case, and it +was attended with all the consequences of the most complete surprisal. +The first intimation that Montrose received of the march of Lesly, +was the noise of the conflict, or, rather, that which attended the +unresisted slaughter of his infantry, who never formed a line of battle: +the right wing alone, supported by the thickets of Harehead-wood, and +by the entrenchments which are there still visible, stood firm for some +time. But Lesly had detached two thousand men, who, crossing the Ettrick +still higher up than his main body, assaulted the rear of Montrose's +right wing. At this moment, the marquis himself arrived, and beheld +his army dispersed, for the first time, in irretrievable route. He +had thrown himself upon a horse the instant he heard the firing, and, +followed by such of his disorderly cavalry as had gathered upon the +alarm, he galloped from Selkirk, crossed the Ettrick, and made a bold +and desperate attempt to retrieve the fortune of the day. But all was +in vain; and, after cutting his way, almost singly, through a body of +Lesly's troopers, the gallant Montrose graced by his example the +retreat of the fugitives. That retreat he continued up Yarrow, and over +Minch-moor; nor did he stop till he arrived at Traquair, sixteen miles +from the field of battle. Upon Philiphaugh he lost, in one defeat, the +fruit of six splendid victories: nor was he again able effectually to +make head, in Scotland, against the covenanted cause. The number slain +in the field did not exceed three or four hundred; for the fugitives +found refuge in the mountains, which had often been the retreat of +vanquished armies, and were impervious to the pursuer's cavalry. Lesly +abused his victory, and dishonoured his arms, by slaughtering, in cold +blood, many of the prisoners whom he had taken; and the court-yard of +Newark castle is said to have been the spot, upon which they were +shot by his command. Many others are said, by Wishart, to have been +precipitated from a high bridge over the Tweed. This, as Mr Laing +remarks, is impossible; because there was not a bridge over the Tweed +betwixt Peebles and Berwick. But there is an old bridge, over the +Ettrick, only four miles from Philiphaugh, and another over the Yarrow, +both of which lay in the very line of flight and pursuit; and either +might have been the scene of the massacre. But if this is doubtful, +it is too certain, that several of the royalists were executed by the +Covenanters, as traitors to the king and parliament.<a name="FNanchor_A_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_7"><sup>[A]</sup></a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_7">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> A covenanted minister, present at the execution of these +gentlemen observed, "This wark gaes bonnilie on!" an amiable +exclamation equivalent to the modern <i>ça ira</i>, so often used on similar +occasions.—<i>Wishart's Memoirs of Montrose.</i></p></div> + +<p>I have reviewed, at some length, the details of this memorable +engagement, which, at the same time, terminated the career of a hero, +likened, by no mean judge of mankind<a name="FNanchor_A_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_8"><sup>[A]</sup></a> to those of antiquity, and +decided the fate of his country. It is further remarkable, as the last +field which was fought in Ettrick forest, the scene of so many bloody +actions. The unaccountable neglect of patroles, and the imprudent +separation betwixt the horse and foot, seem to have been the immediate +causes of Montrose's defeat. But the ardent and impetuous character +of this great warrior, corresponding with that of the troops which he +commanded was better calculated for attack than defence; for surprising +others, rather than for providing against surprise himself. Thus, he +suffered loss by a sudden attack upon part of his forces, stationed at +Aberdeen;<a name="FNanchor_B_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_9"><sup>[B]</sup></a> and, had he not extricated himself with the most singular +ability, he must have lost his whole army, when surprised by Baillie, +during the plunder of Dundee. Nor has it escaped an ingenious modern +historian, that his final defeat at Dunbeath, so nearly resembles in its +circumstances the surprise at Philiphaugh, as to throw some shade on his +military talents.—LAING'S <i>History</i>.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_8">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Cardinal du Retz.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_9">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> Colonel Hurry, with a party of horse, surprised the town, +while Montrose's Highlanders and cavaliers were "dispersed through the +town, drinking carelessly in their lodgings; and, hearing the horse's +feet, and great noise, were astonished, never dreaming of their enemy. +However, Donald Farquharson happened to come to the causey, where he was +cruelly slain, anent the Court de Guard; a brave gentleman, and one of +the noblest captains amongst all the Highlanders of Scotland. Two or +three others were killed, and some (taken prisoners) had to Edinburgh, +and cast into irons in the tolbooth. Great lamentation was made for this +gallant, being still the king's man for life and death."—SPALDING +Vol. II. p. 281. The journalist, to whom all matters were of equal +importance, proceeds to inform us, that Hurry took the marquis of +Huntly's best horse, and, in his retreat through Montrose seized upon +the marquis's second son. He also expresses his regret, that "the said +Donald Farquharson's body was found in the street, stripped naked: for +they tirr'd from off his body a rich stand of apparel, but put on the +same day."—<i>Ibid.</i></p></div> + +<p>The following ballad, which is preserved by tradition in Selkirkshire, +coincides accurately with historical fact. This, indeed, constitutes its +sole merit. The Covenanters were not, I dare say, addicted, more +than their successors "to the profane and unprofitable art of +poem-making."<a name="FNanchor_A_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_10"><sup>[A]</sup></a> Still, however, they could not refrain from some +strains of exultation, over the defeat of the <i>truculent tyrant</i>, James +Grahame. For, gentle reader, Montrose, who, with resources which seemed +as none, gained six victories, and reconquered a kingdom; who, a poet, a +scholar, a cavalier, and a general, could have graced alike a court, +and governed a camp; this Montrose was numbered, by his covenanted +countrymen, among "the troublers of Israel, the fire-brands of hell, the +Corahs, the Balaams, the Doegs, the Rabshakahs, the Hamans, the Tobiahs, +and Sanballats of the time."</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_10">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> So little was the spirit of illiberal fanaticism decayed +in some parts of Scotland, that only thirty years ago, when Wilson, +the ingenious author of a poem, called "<i>Clyde</i>," now republished, was +inducted into the office of schoolmaster at Greenock, he was obliged +formally, and in writing, to abjure <i>"the profane and unprofitable art +of poem-making."</i> It is proper to add, that such an incident is <i>now</i> as +unlikely to happen in Greenock as in London.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On Philiphaugh a fray began,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">At Hairhead wood it ended;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Scots out o'er the Graemes they ran,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sae merrily they bended.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir David frae the border came,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Wi' heart an' hand came he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' him three thousand bonny Scotts,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To bear him company.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' him three thousand valiant men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A noble sight to see!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A cloud o' mist them weel concealed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As close as e'er might be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When they came to the Shaw burn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Said he, "Sae weel we frame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I think it is convenient,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That we should sing a psalm."<a name="FNanchor_A_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_11"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When they came to the Lingly burn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As day-light did appear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They spy'd an aged father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And he did draw them near.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Come hither, aged father!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sir David he did cry,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And tell me where Montrose lies,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"With all his great army."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, first, you must come tell to me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"If friends or foes you be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I fear you are Montrose's men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Come frae the north country."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"No, we are nane o' Montrose's men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Nor e'er intend to be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I am sir David Lesly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That's speaking unto thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If you're sir David Lesly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As I think weel ye be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'm sorry ye hae brought so few</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Into your company.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's fifteen thousand armed men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Encamped on yon lee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye'll never be a bite to them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For aught that I can see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, halve your men in equal parts,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Your purpose to fulfil;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Let ae half keep the water side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The rest gae round the hill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your nether party fire must,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Then beat a flying drum;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And then they'll think the day's their ain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And frae the trench they'll come.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then, those that are behind them maun</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Gie shot, baith grit and sma';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And so, between your armies twa,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye may make them to fa'."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O were ye ever a soldier?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sir David Lesly said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O yes; I was at Solway flow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Where we were all betray'd.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Again I was at curst Dunbar,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And was a pris'ner ta'en;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And many weary night and day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"In prison I hae lien."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If ye will lead these men aright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Rewarded shall ye be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, if that ye a traitor prove,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I'll hang thee on a tree."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Sir, I will not a traitor prove;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Montrose has plundered me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll do my best to banish him</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Away frae this country."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He halv'd his men in equal parts,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">His purpose to fulfill;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The one part kept the water side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The other gaed round the hill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The nether party fired brisk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Then turn'd and seem'd to rin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And then they a' came frae the trench,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And cry'd, "the day's our ain!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The rest then ran into the trench,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And loos'd their cannons a':</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thus, between his armies twa,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He made them fast to fa'.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, let us a' for Lesly pray,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And his brave company!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For they hae vanquish'd great Montrose,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Our cruel enemy.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_11">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Various reading; "That we should take a dram."</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON THE BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>When they came to the Shaw burn.</i>—P. 27. v. 1. A small stream, that +joins the Ettrick, near Selkirk, on the south side of the river.</p> + +<p><i>When they came to the Lingly burn.</i>—P. 27. v. 2. A brook, which falls +into the Ettrick, from the north, a little above the Shaw burn.</p> + +<p><i>They spy'd an aged father.</i>—P. 27. v. 2. The traditional commentary +upon the ballad states this man's name to have been Brydone, ancestor to +several families in the parish of Ettrick, particularly those occupying +the farms of Midgehope and Redford Green. It is a strange anachronism, +to make this aged father state himself at the battle of <i>Solway flow,</i> +which was fought a hundred years before Philiphaugh; and a still +stranger, to mention that of Dunbar, which did not take place till five +years after Montrose's defeat.</p> + +<p>A tradition, annexed to a copy of this ballad, transmitted to me by Mr +James Hogg, bears, that the earl of Traquair, on the day of the battle, +was advancing with a large sum of money, for the payment of Montrose's +forces, attended by a blacksmith, one of his retainers. As they crossed +Minch-moor, they were alarmed by firing, which the earl conceived to +be Montrose exercising his forces, but which his attendant, from the +constancy and irregularity of the noise, affirmed to be the tumult of an +engagement. As they came below Broadmeadows, upon Yarrow, they met their +fugitive friends, hotly pursued by the parliamentary troopers. The earl, +of course, turned, and fled also: but his horse, jaded with the weight +of dollars which he carried, refused to take the hill; so that the earl +was fain to exchange with his attendant, leaving him with the breathless +horse, and bag of silver, to shift for himself; which he is supposed +to have done very effectually. Some of the dragoons, attracted by the +appearance of the horse and trappings, gave chase to the smith, who +fled up the Yarrow; but finding himself as he said, encumbered with the +treasure, and unwilling that it should be taken, he flung it into a +well, or pond, near the Tinnies, above Hangingshaw. Many wells were +afterwards searched in vain; but it is the general belief, that the +smith, if he ever hid the money, knew too well how to anticipate the +scrutiny. There is, however, a pond, which some peasants began to drain, +not long ago, in hopes of finding the golden prize, but were prevented, +as they pretended, by supernatural interference.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE GALLANT GRAHAMS.</p> +<br> + +<p>The preceding ballad was a song of triumph over the defeat of Montrose +at Philiphaugh; the verses, which follow are a lamentation for his final +discomfiture and cruel death. The present edition of <i>"The Gallant +Grahams"</i> is given from tradition, enlarged and corrected by an ancient +printed edition, entitled, <i>"The Gallant Grahams of Scotland"</i> to the +tune of <i>"I will away, and I will not tarry,"</i> of which Mr Ritson +favoured the editor with an accurate copy.</p> + +<p>The conclusion of Montrose's melancholy history is too well known. The +Scottish army, which sold king Charles I. to his parliament, had, we may +charitably hope, no idea that they were bartering his blood; although +they must have been aware, that they were consigning him to perpetual +bondage.<a name="FNanchor_A_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_12"><sup>[A]</sup></a> At least the sentiments of the kingdom at large differed +widely from those of the military merchants, and the danger of king +Charles drew into England a well appointed Scottish army, under the +command of the duke of Hamilton. But he met with Cromwell, and to meet +with Cromwell was inevitable defeat. The death of Charles, and the +triumph of the independents, excited still more highly the hatred and +the fears of the Scottish nation. The outwitted presbyterians, who saw, +too late, that their own hands had been employed in the hateful task +of erecting the power of a sect, yet more fierce and fanatical than +themselves, deputed a commission to the Hague, to treat with Charles +II., whom, upon certain conditions they now wished to restore to the +throne of his fathers. At the court of the exiled monarch, Montrose also +offered to his acceptance a splendid plan of victory and conquest, and +pressed for his permission to enter Scotland; and there, collecting the +remains of the royalists to claim the crown for his master, with the +sword in his hand. An able statesman might perhaps have reconciled these +jarring projects; a good man would certainly have made a decided choice +betwixt them. Charles was neither the one not the other; and, while he +treated with the presbyterians, with a view of accepting the crown from +their hands, he scrupled not to authorise Montrose, the mortal enemy of +the sect, to pursue his separate and inconsistent plan of conquest.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_12">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> As Salmasius quaintly, but truly, expresses it, +<i>Presbyterian iligaverunt independantes trucidaverunt</i>.</p></div> + +<p>Montrose arrived in the Orkneys with six hundred Germans, was furnished +with some recruits from those islands, and was joined by several +royalists, as he traversed the wilds of Caithness and Sutherland: but, +advancing into Ross-shire, he was surprised, and totally defeated, +by colonel Strachan, an officer of the Scottish parliament, who had +distinguished himself in the civil wars, and who afterwards became a +decided Cromwellian. Montrose, after a fruitless resistance, at length +fled from the field of defeat, and concealed himself in the grounds of +Macleod of Assint to whose fidelity he entrusted his life, and by whom +he was delivered up to Lesly, his most bitter enemy.</p> + +<p>He was tried for what was termed treason against the estates of the +kingdom; and, despite the commission of Charles for his proceedings, he +was condemned to die by a parliament, who acknowledged Charles to be +their king, and whom, on that account only, Montrose acknowledged to be +a parliament.</p> + +<p>"The clergy," says a late animated historian, "whose vocation it was to +persecute the repose of his last moments, sought, by the terrors of his +sentence, to extort repentance; but his behaviour, firm and dignified to +the end, repelled their insulting advances with scorn and disdain. He +was prouder, he replied, to have his head affixed to the prison-walls, +than to have his picture placed in the king's bed-chamber: 'and, far +from being troubled that my limbs are to be sent to your principal +cities, I wish I had flesh enough to be dispersed through Christendom, +to attest my dying attachment to my king.' It was the calm employment of +his mind, that night, to reduce this extravagant sentiment to verse. +He appeared next day, on the scaffold, in a rich habit, with the same +serene and undaunted countenance, and addressed the people, to vindicate +his dying unabsolved by the church, rather than to justify an invasion +of the kingdom, during a treaty with the estates. The insults of his +enemies were not yet exhausted. The history of his exploits was attached +to his neck by the public executioner: but he smiled at their inventive +malice; declared, that he wore it with more pride than he had done the +garter; and, when his devotions were finished, demanding if any more +indignities remained to be practised, submitted calmly to an unmerited +fate."—<i>Laing's History of Scotland,</i> Vol. I. p. 404.</p> + +<p>Such was the death of James Graham, the great marquis of Montrose, over +whom some lowly bard has poured forth the following elegiac verses. To +say, that they are far unworthy of the subject, is no great reproach; +for a nobler poet might have failed in the attempt. Indifferent as the +ballad is, we may regret its being still more degraded by many apparent +corruptions. There seems an attempt to trace Montrose's career, from his +first raising the royal standard, to his second expedition and death; +but it is interrupted and imperfect. From the concluding stanza, I +presume the song was composed upon the arrival of Charles in Scotland, +which so speedily followed the execution of Montrose, that the king +entered the city while the head of his most faithful and most successful +adherent was still blackening in the sun.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE GALLANT GRAHAMS.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, fare thee weel, sweet Ennerdale!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Baith kith and countrie I bid adieu;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For I maun away, and I may not stay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To some uncouth land which I never knew.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To wear the blue I think it best,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Of all the colours that I see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And I'll wear it for the gallant Grahams,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That are banished from their countrie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I have no gold, I have no land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I have no pearl, nor precious stane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But I wald sell my silken snood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To see the gallant Grahams come hame.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Wallace days when they began,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sir John the Graham did bear the gree,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through all the lands of Scotland wide;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He was a lord of the south countrie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And so was seen full many a time;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For the summer flowers did never spring,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But every Graham, in armour bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Would then appear before the king.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They all were dressed in armour sheen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Upon the pleasant banks of Tay;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Before a king they might be seen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">These gallant Grahams in their array.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At the Goukhead our camp we set,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Our leaguer down there for to lay;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, in the bonnie summer light,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">We rode our white horse and our gray.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Our false commander sold our king</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Unto his deadly enemie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who was the traitor Cromwell, then;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">So I care not what they do with me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They have betrayed our noble prince,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And banish'd him from his royal crown;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But the gallant Grahams have ta'en in hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For to command those traitors down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Glen-Prosen<a name="FNanchor_A_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_13"><sup>[A]</sup></a> we rendezvoused,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">March'd to Glenshie by night and day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And took the town of Aberdeen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And met the Campbells in their array.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Five thousand men, in armour strong.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Did meet the gallant Grahams that day</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At Inverlochie, where war began,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And scarce two thousand men were they.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gallant Montrose, that chieftain bold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Courageous in the best degree,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Did for the king fight well that day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The lord preserve his majestie!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nathaniel Gordon, stout and bold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Did for king Charles wear the blue;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But the cavaliers they all were sold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And brave Harthill, a cavalier too.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Newton Gordon, burd-alone</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And Dalgatie, both stout and keen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And gallant Veitch upon the field,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A braver face was never seen.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, fare ye weel, sweet Ennerdale!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Countrie and kin I quit ye free;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Chear up your hearts, brave cavaliers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For the Grahams are gone to high Germany.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now brave Montrose he went to France,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And to Germany, to gather fame;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And bold Aboyne is to the sea,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Young Huntly is his noble name.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Montrose again, that chieftain bold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Back unto Scotland fair he came,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For to redeem fair Scotland's land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The pleasant, gallant, worthy Graham!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At the water of Carron he did begin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And fought the battle to the end;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where there were killed, for our noble king,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Two thousand of our Danish men.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gilbert Menzies, of high degree,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">By whom the king's banner was borne;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For a brave cavalier was he,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But now to glory he is gone.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then woe to Strachan, and Hacket baith!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And, Lesly, ill death may thou die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For ye have betrayed the gallant Grahams,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Who aye were true to majestic.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the laird of Assint has seized Montrose,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And had him into Edinburgh town;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And frae his body taken the head,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And quartered him upon a trone.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Huntly's gone the selfsame way,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And our noble king is also gone;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He suffered death for our nation,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Our mourning tears can ne'er be done.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But our brave young king is now come home,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">King Charles the second in degree;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Lord send peace into his time,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And God preserve his majestie!</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_13">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Glen-Prosen, in Angus-shire.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON THE GALLANT GRAHAMS.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>Now, fare thee weel, sweet Ennerdale.</i>—P. 38. v. 1. A corruption of +Endrickdale. The principal, and most ancient possessions of the Montrose +family lie along the water of Endrick, in Dumbartonshire.</p> + +<p><i>Sir John the Graham did bear the gree.</i>—P. 39. v. 1. The faithful +friend and adherent of the immortal Wallace, slain at the battle of +Falkirk.</p> + +<p><i>Who was the traitor Cromwell, then.</i>—P. 39. v. 5. This extraordinary +character, to whom, in crimes and in success our days only have produced +a parallel, was no favourite in Scotland. There occurs the following +invective against him, in a MS. in the Advocates' Library. The humour +consists in the dialect of a Highlander, speaking English, and confusing +<i>Cromwell</i> with <i>Gramach,</i> ugly:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Te commonwelt, tat Gramagh ting.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gar brek hem's word, gar do hem's king;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gar pay hem's sesse, or take hem's (geers)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We'l no de at, del come de leers;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We'l bide a file amang te crowes, (<i>i.e.</i> in the woods)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We'l scor te sword, and wiske to bowes;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And fen her nen-sel se te re, (the king)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Te del my care for <i>Gromaghee</i>.</span><br> + +<p>The following tradition, concerning Cromwell, is preserved by an +uncommonly direct line of traditional evidence; being narrated (as I am +informed) by the grandson of an eye-witness. When Cromwell, in 1650, +entered Glasgow, he attended divine service in the High Church; but the +presbyterian divine, who officiated, poured forth, with more zeal than +prudence, the vial of his indignation upon the person, principles, and +cause, of the independent general. One of Cromwell's officers rose, +and whispered his commander; who seemed to give him a short and stern +answer, and the sermon was concluded without interruption Among the +crowd, who were assembled to gaze at the general, as he came out of the +church, was a shoemaker, the son of one of James the sixth's Scottish +footmen. This man had been born and bred in England, but, after his +father's death, had settled in Glasgow. Cromwell eyed him among the +crowd, and immediately called him by his name—the man fled; but, at +Cromwell's command, one of his retinue followed him, and brought him +to the general's lodgings. A number of the inhabitants remained at the +door, waiting the end of this extraordinary scene. The shoemaker soon +came out, in high spirits, and, shewing some gold, declared, he was +going to drink Cromwell's health. Many attended him to hear the +particulars of his interview; among others, the grandfather of the +narrator. The shoemaker said, that he had been a playfellow of Cromwell +when they were both boys, their parents residing in the same street; +that he had fled, when the general first called to him, thinking he +might owe him some ill-will, on account of his father being in the +service of the royal family. He added, that Cromwell had been so very +kind and familiar with him, that he ventured to ask him, what the +officer had said to him in the church. "He proposed," said Cromwell, "to +pull forth the "minister by the ears; and I answered, that the preacher +was "one fool, and he another." In the course of the day, Cromwell held +an interview with the minister, and contrived to satisfy his scruples so +effectually, that the evening discourse, by the same man, was tuned to +the praise and glory of the victor of Naseby.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Nathaniel Gordon, stout and bold,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Did for King Charles wear the, blue.</i>—P. 40. v. 5.</span><br> + +<p>This gentleman was of the ancient family of Gordon of Gight. He had +served, as a soldier, upon the continent, and acquired great military +skill. When his chief, the marquis of Huntly, took up arms in 1640, +Nathaniel Gordon, then called Major Gordon, joined him, and was of +essential service during that short insurrection. But, being checked +for making prize of a Danish fishing buss, he left the service of the +marquis, in some disgust. In 1644, he assisted at a sharp and dexterous +<i>camisade</i> (as it was then called), when the barons of Haddo, of Gight, +of Drum, and other gentlemen, with only sixty men under their standard, +galloped through the old town of Aberdeen, and, entering the burgh +itself, about seven in the morning, made prisoners, and carried off, +four of the covenanting magistrates and effected a safe retreat, though +the town was then under the domination of the opposite party. After the +death of the baron of Haddo, and the severe treatment of Sir George +Gordon of Gight, his cousin-german, Major Nathaniel Gordon seems to have +taken arms, in despair of finding mercy at the covenanters' hands. On +the 24th of July, 1645, he came down, with a band of horsemen, upon the +town of Elgin, while St James' fair was held, and pillaged the merchants +of 14,000 merks of money and merchandize.<a name="FNanchor_A_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_14"><sup>[A]</sup></a> He seems to have joined +Montrose, as soon as he raised the royal standard; and, as a bold and +active partizan, rendered him great service. But, in November 1644, +Gordon, now a colonel, suddenly deserted Montrose, aided the escape of +Forbes of Craigievar, one of his prisoners, and reconciled himself to +the kirk, by doing penance for adultery, and for the almost equally +heinous crime of having scared Mr Andrew Cant,<a name="FNanchor_B_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_15"><sup>[B]</sup></a> the famous apostle of +the covenant. This, however, seems to have been an artifice, to arrange +a correspondence betwixt Montrose and Lord Gordon, a gallant young +nobleman, representative of the Huntley family, and inheriting their +loyal spirit, though hitherto engaged in the service of the covenant. +Colonel Gordon was successful, and returned to the royal camp with his +converted chief. Both followed zealously the fortunes of Montrose, until +Lord Gordon fell in the battle of Alford, and Nathaniel Gordon was taken +at Philiphaugh. He was one of ten loyalists, devoted upon that occasion, +by the parliament, to expiate, with their blood, the crime of fidelity +to their king. Nevertheless, the covenanted nobles would have probably +been satisfied with the death of the gallant Rollock, sharer of +Montrose's dangers and glory, of Ogilvy, a youth of eighteen, whose +crime was the hereditary feud betwixt his family and Argyle, and of Sir +Philip Nisbet, a cavalier of the ancient stamp, had not the pulpits +resounded with the cry, that God required the blood of the malignants, +to expiate the sins of the people. "What meaneth," exclaimed the +ministers, in the perverted language of scripture—"What meaneth, then, +this bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the lowing of the oxen?" The +appeal to the judgment of Samuel was decisive, and the shambles were +instantly opened. Nathaniel Gordon was brought first to execution. He +lamented the sins of his youth, once more (and probably with greater +sincerity) requested absolution from the sentence of excommunication +pronounced on account of adultery, and was beheaded 6th January 1646.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_14">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Spalding, Vol. II. pp. 151, 154, 169, 181, 221. <i>History of +the Family of Gordon,</i> Edin. 1727, Vol. II. p. 299.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_15">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> He had sent him a letter, which nigh frightened him out of +his wits.—SPALDING, Vol. II. p. 231.</p></div> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And brave Harthill, a cavalier too.</i>—P. 40, v. 5.</span><br> + +<p>Leith, of Harthill, was a determined loyalist, and hated the +covenanters, not without reason. His father, a haughty high-spirited +baron, and chief of a clan, happened, in 1639, to sit down in the desk +of provost Lesly, in the high kirk of Aberdeen He was disgracefully +thrust out by the officers, and, using some threatening language to the +provost, was imprisoned, like a felon, for many months, till he became +furious, and nearly mad. Having got free of the shackles, with which he +was loaded, he used his liberty by coming to the tolbooth window where +he uttered the most violent and horrible threats against Provost Lesly, +and the other covenanting magistrates, by whom he had been so severely +treated. Under pretence of this new offence, he was sent to Edinburgh, +and lay long in prison there; for, so fierce was his temper, that no one +would give surety for his keeping the peace with his enemies, if set at +liberty. At length he was delivered by Montrose, when he made himself +master of Edinburgh.—SPALDING, Vol. I. pp. 201; 266. His house of +Harthill was dismantled, and miserably pillaged by Forbes of +Craigievar, who expelled his wife and children with the most relentless +inhumanity.—<i>Ibid.</i> Vol. II. p. 225. Meanwhile, young Harthill was the +companion and associate of Nathaniel Gordon, whom he accompanied at +plundering the fair of Elgin, and at most of Montrose's engagements. He +retaliated severely on the covenanters, by ravaging and burning their +lands. <i>Ibid.</i> Vol. II. p. 301. His fate has escaped my notice.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And Dalgatie, both stout and keen.</i>—P. 41. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>Sir Francis Hay, of Dalgatie, a steady cavalier, and a gentleman of +great gallantry and accomplishment. He was a faithful follower of +Montrose, and was taken prisoner with him at his last fatal battle. He +was condemned to death, with his illustrious general. Being a Roman +catholic, he refused the assistance of the presbyterian clergy, and was +not permitted, even on the scaffold, to receive ghostly comfort, in the +only form in which his religion taught him to consider it as effectual. +He kissed the axe, avowed his fidelity to his sovereign, and died like a +soldier.—<i>Montrose's Memoirs,</i> p. 322.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And Newton Gordon, burd-alone.</i>—P. 41. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>Newton, for obvious reasons, was a common appellation of an estate, or +barony, where a new edifice had been erected. Hence, for distinction's +sake, it was anciently compounded with the name of the proprietor; +as, Newtown-Edmonstone, Newtown-Don, Newtown-Gordon, &c. Of Gordon +of Newtown, I only observe, that he was, like all his clan, a steady +loyalist, and a follower of Montrose.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And gallant Veitch, upon the field.</i>—P. 41. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>I presume this gentleman to have been David Veitch, brother to Veitch of +Dawick, who, with many other of the Peebles-shire gentry, was taken +at Philiphaugh. The following curious accident took place, some years +afterwards, in consequence of his loyal zeal.</p> + +<p>"In the year 1653, when the loyal party did arise in arms against the +English, in the North and West Highlands, some noblemen and loyal +gentlemen, with others, were forward to repair to them, with such forces +as they could make; which the English, with marvelouse diligence, night +and day, did bestir themselves to impede; making their troops of horse +and dragoons to pursue the loyal party in all places, that they might +not come to such a considerable number as was designed. It happened, one +night, that one Captain Masoun, commander of a troop of dragoons, that +came from Carlisle, in England, marching through the town of Sanquhar, +in the night, was encountered by one captain Palmer, commanding a troop +of horse, that came from Ayr, marching eastward; and, meeting at the +tollhouse, or tolbooth, one David Veitch, brother to the laird of +Dawick, in Tweeddale, and one of the loyal party, being prisoner in +irons by the English, did arise, and came to the window at their +meeting, and cryed out, that they should <i>fight valiantly for King +Charles</i>, Where-through, they, taking each other for the loyal party, +did begin a brisk fight, which continued for a while, til the dragoons, +having spent their shot, and finding the horsemen to be too strong for +them, did give ground; but yet retired, in some order, towards the +castle of Sanquhar, being hotly pursued by the troop, through the whole +town, above a quarter of a mile, till they came to the castle; where +both parties did, to their mutual grief, become sensible of their +mistake. In this skirmish there were several killed on both sides, and +Captain Palmer himself dangerously wounded, with many mo wounded in each +troop, who did peaceably dwell together afterward for a time, untill +their wounds were cured, in Sanquhar castle."—<i>Account of Presbytery of +Penpont, in Macfarlane's MSS.</i></p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And bold Aboyne is to the sea,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Young Huntly is his noble name.</i>—P. 41. v. 3.</span><br> + +<p>James, earl of Aboyne, who fled to France, and there died heart-broken. +It is said, his death was accelerated by the news of King Charles' +execution. He became representative of the Gordon family, or <i>Young +Huntly</i>, as the ballad expresses it, in consequence of the death of his +elder brother, George, who fell in the battle of Alford.—<i>History of +Gordon Family.</i></p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Two thousand of our Danish men.</i>—P. 41. v. 5.</span><br> + +<p>Montrose's foreign auxiliaries, who, by the way, did not exceed 600 in +all.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Gilbert Menzies, of high degree,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>By whom the king's banner was borne.</i>—P. 42. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>Gilbert Menzies, younger of Pitfoddells, carried the royal banner in +Montrose's last battle. It bore the headless corpse of Charles I., with +this motto, <i>"Judge and revenge my cause, O Lord!"</i> Menzies proved +himself worthy of this noble trust, and, obstinately refusing quarter, +died in defence of his charge. <i>Montrose's Memoirs</i>.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Then woe to Strachan, and Hacket baith.</i>—P. 42. v. 2.</span><br> + +<p>Sir Charles Hacket, an officer in the service of the estates.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And Huntly's gone, the selfsame way.</i>—P. 42. v. 4.</span><br> + +<p>George Gordon, second marquis of Huntley, one of the very few nobles in +Scotland, who had uniformly adhered to the king from the very beginning +of the troubles, was beheaded by the sentence of the parliament of +Scotland (so calling themselves), upon the 22d March, 1649, one month +and twenty-two days after the martyrdom of his master. He has been much +blamed for not cordially co-operating with Montrose; and Bishop Wishart, +in the zeal of partiality for his hero, accuses Huntley of direct +treachery. But he is a true believer, who seals, with his blood, his +creed, religious or political; and there are many reasons, short of this +foul charge, which may have dictated the backward conduct of Huntley +towards Montrose. He could not forget, that, when he first stood out for +the king, Montrose, then the soldier of the covenant, had actually made +him prisoner: and we cannot suppose Huntley to have been so sensible of +Montrose's superior military talents, as not to think himself, as equal +in rank, superior in power, and more uniform in loyalty entitled to +equally high marks of royal trust and favour. This much is certain, that +the gallant clan of Gordon contributed greatly to Montrose's success; +for the gentlemen of that name, with the brave and loyal Ogilvies, +composed the principal part of his cavalry.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF PENTLAND HILLS.</p> +<br> + +<p>We have observed the early antipathy, mutually entertained by the +Scottish presbyterians and the house of Stuart It seems to have glowed +in the breast even of the good-natured Charles II. He might have +remembered, that, in 1551, the presbyterians had fought, bled, and +ruined themselves in his cause. But he rather recollected their early +faults than their late repentance; and even their services were combined +with the recollection of the absurd and humiliating circumstances of +personal degradation,<a name="FNanchor_A_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_16"><sup>[A]</sup></a> to which their pride and folly had subjected +him, while they professed to espouse his cause. As a man of pleasure, he +hated their stern and inflexible rigour, which stigmatised follies +even more deeply than crimes; and he whispered to his confidents, that +"presbytery was no religion for a gentleman." It is not, therefore, +wonderful, that, in the first year of his restoration, he formally +reestablished prelacy in Scotland; but it is surprising, that, with his +father's example before his eyes, he should not have been satisfied +to leave at freedom the consciences of those who could not reconcile +themselves to the new system. The religious opinions of sectaries have a +tendency like the water of some springs, to become soft and mild, when +freely exposed to the open day. Who can recognise in the decent and +industrious quakers, and ana-baptists the wild and ferocious tenets +which distinguished their sects, while they were yet honoured with the +distinction of the scourge and the pillory? Had the system of coercion +against the presbyterians been continued until our day, Blair and +Robertson would have preached in the wilderness, and only discovered +their powers of eloquence and composition, by rolling along a deeper +torrent of gloomy fanaticism.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_16">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Among other ridiculous occurrences, it is said, that some +of Charles's gallantries were discovered by a prying neighbour. A wily +old minister was deputed, by his brethren, to rebuke the king for this +heinous scandal. Being introduced into the royal presence he limited +his commission to a serious admonition, that, upon such occasions, +his majesty should always shut the windows.—The king is said to have +recompensed this unexpected lenity after the Restoration. He probably +remembered the joke, though he might have forgotten the service.</p></div> + +<p>The western counties distinguished themselves by their opposition to the +prelatic system. Three hundred and fifty ministers, ejected from their +churches and livings, wandered through the mountains, sowing the seeds +of covenanted doctrine, while multitudes of fanatical followers pursued +them, to reap the forbidden crop. These conventicles as they were +called, were denounced by the law, and their frequenters dispersed by +military force. The genius of the persecuted became stubborn, obstinate, +and ferocious; and, although indulgencies were tardily granted to some +presbyterian ministers, few of the true covenanters or whigs, as they +were called, would condescend to compound with a prelatic government, or +to listen even to their own favourite doctrine under the auspices of the +king. From Richard Cameron, their apostle, this rigid sect acquired the +name of Cameronians. They preached and prayed against the indulgence, +and against the presbyterians who availed themselves of it, because +their accepting this royal boon was a tacit acknowledgment of the king's +supremacy in ecclesiastical matters. Upon these bigotted and persecuted +fanatics, and by no means upon the presbyterians at large, are to +be charged the wild anarchical principles of anti-monarchy and +assassination which polluted the period when they flourished.</p> + +<p>The insurrection, commemorated and magnified in the following ballad, as +indeed it has been in some histories, was, in itself, no very important +affair. It began in Dumfries-shire where Sir James Turner, a soldier +of fortune, was employed to levy the arbitrary fines imposed for not +attending the episcopal churches. The people rose, seized his person, +disarmed his soldiers, and having continued together, resolved to march +towards Edinburgh, expecting to be joined by their friends in that +quarter. In this they were disappointed; and, being now diminished to +half their numbers, they drew up on the Pentland Hills, at a place +called Rullien Green. They were commanded by one Wallace; and here they +awaited the approach of General Dalziel, of Binns; who, having marched +to Calder, to meet them on the Lanark road, and finding, that, by +passing through Collington, they had got to the other side of the hills, +cut through the mountains, and approached them. Wallace shewed both +spirit and judgment: he drew his men up in a very strong situation, and +withstood two charges of Dalziel's cavalry; but, upon the third shock, +the insurgents were broken, and utterly dispersed. There was very little +slaughter, as the cavalry of Dalziel were chiefly gentlemen, who pitied +their oppressed and misguided countrymen. There were about fifty killed, +and as many made prisoners. The battle was fought on the 28th November, +1666; a day still observed by the scattered remnant of the Cameronian +sect, who regularly hear a field-preaching upon the field of battle.</p> + +<p>I am obliged for a copy of the ballad to Mr Livingston of Airds, who +took it down from the recitation of an old woman residing on his estate.</p> + +<p>The gallant Grahams, mentioned in the text, are Graham of Claverhouse's +horse.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF PENTLAND HILLS.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>This Ballad is copied verbatim from the Old Woman's recitation.</i></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The gallant Grahams cum from the west,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' their horses black as ony craw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Lothian lads they marched fast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To be at the Rhyns o' Gallowa.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Betwixt Dumfries town and Argyle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The lads they marched mony a mile;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Souters and taylors unto them drew,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their covenants for to renew.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The whigs, they, wi' their merry cracks,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gard the poor pedlars lay down their packs;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But aye sinsyne they do repent</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The renewing o' their covenant.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A the Mauchline muir, where they were reviewed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ten thousand men in armour shewed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, ere they cam to the Brockie's burn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The half o' them did back return.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">General Dalyell, as I hear tell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was our lieutenant general;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And captain Welsh, wi' his wit and skill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was to guide them on to the Pentland hill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">General Dalyell held to the hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Asking at them what was their will;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And who gave them this protestation,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To rise in arms against the nation?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Although we all in armour be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It's not against his majesty;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor yet to spill our neighbour's bluid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But wi' the country we'll conclude."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Lay down your arms, in the king's name,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ye shall all gae safely hame;"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But they a' cried out, wi' ae consent,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We'll fight a broken covenant."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O well," says he, "since it is so,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A willfu' man never wanted woe;"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He then gave a sign unto his lads,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they drew up in their brigades.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The trumpets blew, and the colours flew,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And every man to his armour drew;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The whigs were never so much aghast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As to see their saddles toom sae fast.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The cleverest men stood in the van,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The whigs they took their heels and ran;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But such a raking was never seen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As the raking o' the Rullien Green.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF LOUDONHILL.</p> +<br> + +<p>The whigs, now become desperate, adopted the most desperate principles; +and retaliating, as far as they could, the intolerating persecution +which they endured, they openly disclaimed allegiance to any monarch +who should not profess presbytery, and subscribe the covenant.—These +principles were not likely to conciliate the favour of government; and +as we wade onward in the history of the times, the scenes become yet +darker. At length, one would imagine the parties had agreed to divide +the kingdom of vice betwixt them; the hunters assuming to themselves +open profligacy and legalized oppression; and the hunted, the opposite +attributes of hypocrisy, fanaticism, disloyalty, and midnight +assassination. The troopers and cavaliers became enthusiasts in the +pursuit of the covenanters If Messrs Kid, King, Cameron, Peden, &c. +boasted of prophetic powers, and were often warned of the approach of +the soldiers, by supernatural impulse,<a name="FNanchor_A_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_17"><sup>[A]</sup></a> captain John Creichton, on +the other side, dreamed dreams, and saw visions (chiefly, indeed, after +having drunk hard), in which the lurking holes of the rebels were +discovered to his imagination.<a name="FNanchor_B_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_18"><sup>[B]</sup></a> Our ears are scarcely more shocked +with the profane execrations of the persecutors,<a name="FNanchor_C_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_19"><sup>[C]</sup></a> than with the +strange and insolent familiarity used towards the Deity by the +persecuted fanatics. Their indecent modes of prayer, their extravagant +expectations of miraculous assistance, and their supposed inspirations, +might easily furnish out a tale, at which the good would sigh, and the +gay would laugh.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_17">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> In the year 1684, Peden, one of the Cameronian preachers, +about ten o'clock at night, sitting at the fire-side, started up to his +feet, and said, "Flee, auld Sandie (thus he designed himself), and hide +yourself! for colonel——is coming to this house to apprehend you; and +I advise you all to do the like, for he will be here within an hour;" +which came to pass: and when they had made a very narrow search, within +and without the house, and went round the thorn-bush, under which he was +lying praying, they went off without their prey. He came in, and said, +"And has this gentleman (designed by his name) given poor Sandie, and +thir poor things, such a fright? For this night's work, God shall give +him such a blow, within a few days, that all the physicians on earth +shall not be able to cure;" which came to pass, for he died in great +misery.—<i>Life of Alexander Peden.</i></p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_18">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> See the life of this booted apostle of prelacy, written by +Swift, who had collected all his anecdotes of persecution, and appears +to have enjoyed them accordingly.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_19">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> "They raved," says Peden's historian, "like fleshly devils, +when the mist shrouded from their pursuit the wandering whigs." One +gentleman closed a declaration of vengeance against the conventiclers +with this strange imprecation, "Or may the devil make my ribs a gridiron +to my soul!"—MS. <i>Account of the Presbytery of Penpont.</i> Our armies +swore terribly in Flanders, but nothing to this!</p></div> + +<p>In truth, extremes always approach each other; and the superstition of +the Roman catholics was, in some degree, revived, even by their most +deadly enemies. They are ridiculed by the cavaliers, as wearing the +relics of their saints by way of amulet:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She shewed to me a box, wherein lay hid</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The pictures of Cargil and Mr Kid;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A splinter of the tree, on which they were slain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A double inch of Major Weir's best cane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rathillet's sword, beat down to table-knife,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which took at Magus' Muir a bishop's life;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The worthy Welch's spectacles, who saw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That windle-straws would fight against the law;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They, windle-straws, were stoutest of the two,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They kept their ground, away the prophet flew;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And lists of all the prophets' names were seen</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At Pentland Hills, Aird-Moss, and Rullen Green.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Don't think," she says, "these holy things are foppery;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They're precious antidotes against the power of popery."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>The Cameronian Tooth.—Pennycuick's Poems,</i> p. 110.</span><br> + +<p>The militia and standing army soon became unequal to the task of +enforcing conformity, and suppressing conventicles In, their aid, and to +force compliance with a test proposed by government, the Highland +clans were raised, and poured down into Ayrshire.<a name="FNanchor_A_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_20"><sup>[A]</sup></a> An armed host +of undisciplined mountaineers, speaking a different language, and +professing, many of them, another religion, were let loose, to ravage +and plunder this unfortunate country; and it is truly astonishing to +find how few acts of cruelty they perpetrated, and how seldom they added +murder to pillage<a name="FNanchor_B_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_21"><sup>[B]</sup></a> Additional levies of horse were also raised, under +the name of Independent Troops, and great part of them placed under the +command of James Grahame of Claverhouse a man well known to fame, by +his subsequent title of viscount Dundee, but better remembered, in the +western shires, under the designation of the bloody Clavers. In truth, +he appears to have combined the virtues and vices of a savage chief. +Fierce, unbending, and rigorous, no emotion of compassion prevented his +commanding, and witnessing, every detail of military execution against +the non-conformists. Undauntedly brave, and steadily faithful to his +prince, he sacrificed himself in the cause of James, when he was +deserted by all the world. If we add, to these attributes, a goodly +person, complete skill in martial exercises, and that ready and decisive +character, so essential to a commander, we may form some idea of this +extraordinary character. The whigs, whom he persecuted daunted by his +ferocity and courage, conceived him to be impassive to their bullets,<a name="FNanchor_C_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_22"><sup>[C]</sup></a> +and that he had sold himself, for temporal greatness, to the +seducer of mankind. It is still believed, that a cup of wine, +presented to him by his butler, changed into clotted blood; and +that, when he plunged his feet into cold water, their touch +caused it to boil. The steed, which bore him, was supposed +to be the gift of Satan; and precipices are shewn, where a fox could +hardly keep his feet, down which the infernal charger conveyed him +safely, in pursuit of the wanderers. It is remembered, with terror, that +Claverhouse was successful in every engagement with the whigs, except +that at Drumclog, or Loudon-hill, which is the subject of the following +ballad. The history of Burly, the hero of the piece, will bring us +immediately to the causes and circumstances of that event.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_20">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Peden complained heavily, that, after a heavy struggle with +the devil, he had got above him, <i>spur-galled</i> him hard, and obtained a +wind to carry him from Ireland to Scotland, when, behold! another person +had set sail, and reaped the advantage of his <i>prayer-wind,</i> before he +could embark.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_21">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> Cleland thus describes this extraordinary army: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—Those, who were their chief commanders,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As sach who bore the pirnie standarts.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who led the van, and drove the rear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Were right well mounted of their gear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With brogues, and trews, and pirnie plaids,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With good blue bonnets on their heads,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Which, oil the one side, had a flipe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Adorn'd with a tobacco pipe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With durk, and snap-work, and snuff-mill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A bag which they with onions fill;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, as their strict observers say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A tup-born filled with usquebay;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A slasht out coat beneath her plaides,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A targe of timber, nails, and hides;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With a long two-handed sword,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As good's the country can afford.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Had they not need of bulk-and bones.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who fought with all these arms at once?</span><br> +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 4.5em;">* * * *</span><br> +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of moral honestie they're clean,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nought like religion they retain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In nothing they're accounted sharp,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Except in bag-pipe, and in harp;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For a misobliging word,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She'll durk her neighbour o'er the boord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And then she'll flee like fire from flint,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She'll scarcely ward the second dint;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If any ask her of her thrift.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forsooth her nainsell lives by thift.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Cleland's Poems,</i> Edin. 1697, p. 12.</span><br> +</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_22">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> It was, and is believed, that the devil furnished his +favourites, among the persecutors, with what is called <i>proof</i> +against leaden bullets, but against those only. During the battle of +Pentland-hills Paton of Meadowhead conceived he saw the balls hop +harmlessly down from General Dalziel's boots, and, to counteract the +spell, loaded his pistol with a piece of silver coin. But Dalziel, +having his eye on him, drew back behind his servant, who was shot +dead.—<i>Paton's Life.</i> At a skirmish, in Ayrshire, some of the wanderers +defended themselves in a sequestered house, by the side of a lake. They +aimed repeatedly, but in vain, at the commander of the assailants, an +English officer, until, their ammunition running short, one of them +loaded his piece with the ball at the head of the tongs, and succeeded +in shooting the hitherto impenetrable captain. To accommodate Dundee's +fate to their own hypothesis, the Cameronian tradition runs, that, in +the battle of Killicrankie, he fell, not by the enemy's fire, but by the +pistol of one of his own servants, who, to avoid the spell, had loaded +it with a silver button from his coat. One of their writers argues thus: +"Perhaps, some may think this, anent proof-shot, a paradox, and be ready +to object here, as formerly concerning Bishop Sharpe and Dalziel—How +can the devil have, or give, power to save life? Without entering upon +the thing in its reality, I shall only observe, 1. That it is neither +in his power, or of his nature, to be a saviour of men's lives; he is +called Apollyon, the destroyer. 2. That, even in this case, he is said +only to give enchantment against one kind of metal, and this does not +save life: for, though lead could not take Sharpe and Claverhouse's +lives, yet steel and silver could do it; and, for Dalziel, though +he died not on the field, yet he did not escape the arrows of the +Almighty."—<i>God's Judgement against Persecutors.</i> If the reader be not +now convinced of <i>the thing in its reality</i>, I have nothing to add to +such exquisite reasoning.</p></div> + +<p>John Balfour of Kinloch, commonly called Burly, was one of the fiercest +of the proscribed sect. A gentleman by birth, he was, says his +biographer, "zealous and honest-hearted, courageous in every enterprise, +and a brave soldier, seldom any escaping that came in his hands." <i>Life +of John Balfour.</i> Creichton says, that he was once chamberlain to +Archbishop Sharpe, and, by negligence, or dishonesty, had incurred +a large arrear, which occasioned his being active in his master's +assassination. But of this I know no other evidence than Creichton's +assertion, and a hint in Wodrow. Burly, for that is his most common +designation, was brother-in-law to Hackston of Rathillet a wild +enthusiastic character, who joined daring courage, and skill in the +sword, to the fiery zeal of his sect. Burly, himself, was less eminent +for religious fervour than for the active and violent share which he had +in the most desperate enterprises of his party. His name does not appear +among the covenanters, who were denounced for the affair of Pentland. +But, in 1677, Robert Hamilton, afterwards commander of the insurgents at +Loudon Hill, and Bothwell Bridge, with several other non-conformists, +were assembled at this Burly's house, in Fife. There they were attacked +by a party of soldiers, commanded by Captain Carstairs, whom they beat +off, wounding desperately one of his party. For this resistance to +authority, they were declared rebels. The next exploit, in which Burly +was engaged, was of a bloodier complexion, and more dreadful celebrity. +It is well known, that James Sharpe, archbishop of St Andrews, was +regarded, by the rigid presbyterians, not only as a renegade, who had +turned back from the spiritual plough, but as the principal author of +the rigours exercised against their sect. He employed, as an agent of +his oppression, one Carmichael, a decayed gentleman. The industry +of this man, in procuring information, and in enforcing the severe +penalties against conventiclers, having excited the resentment of +the Cameronians, nine of their number, of whom Burly, and his +brother-in-law, Hackston, were the leaders, assembled, with the purpose +of way-laying and murdering Carmichael; but, while they searched for him +in vain, they received tidings that the archbishop himself was at hand. +The party resorted to prayer; after which, they agreed, unanimously, +that the Lord had delivered the wicked Haman into their hand. In the +execution of the supposed will of heaven, they agreed to put themselves +under the command of a leader; and they requested Hackston of Rathillet +to accept the office, which he declined alleging, that, should he comply +with their request, the slaughter might be imputed to a private quarrel, +which existed betwixt him and the archbishop. The command was then +offered to Burly, who accepted it without scruple; and they galloped off +in pursuit of the archbishop's carriage, which contained himself and +his daughter. Being well mounted, they easily overtook and disarmed the +prelate's attendants. Burly, crying out, "Judas, be taken!" rode up to +the carriage, wounded the postillion and ham-strung one of the horses. +He then fired into the coach a piece, charged with several bullets, so +near, that the archbishop's gown was set on fire. The rest, coming up, +dismounted, and dragged him out of the carriage, when, frightened and +wounded, he crawled towards Hackston, who still remained on horseback, +and begged for mercy. The stern enthusiast contented himself with +answering, that he would not himself <i>lay a hand on him</i>. Burly and his +men again fired a volley upon the kneeling old man; and were in the act +of riding off, when one, who remained to girth his horse, unfortunately +heard the daughter of their victim call to the servant for help, +exclaiming, that his master was still alive. Burly then again +dismounted, struck off the prelate's hat with his foot, and split his +skull with his shable (broad sword), although one of the party (probably +Rathillet) exclaimed, "<i>Spare these grey hairs</i>!"<a name="FNanchor_A_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_23"><sup>[A]</sup></a> The rest pierced +him with repeated wounds. They plundered the carriage, and rode off, +leaving, beside the mangled corpse, the daughter, who was herself +wounded, in her pious endeavour to interpose betwixt her father and his +murderers. The murder is accurately represented, in bas-relief, upon a +beautiful monument erected to the memory of Archbishop Sharpe, in the +metropolitan church of St Andrews. This memorable example of fanatic +revenge was acted upon Magus Muir, near St Andrews, 3d May, 1679.<a name="FNanchor_B_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_24"><sup>[B]</sup></a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_23">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> They believed Sharpe to be proof against shot; for one of +the murderers told Wodrow, that, at the sight of cold iron, his courage +fell. They no longer doubted this, when they found in his pocket a small +clue of silk, rolled round a bit of parchment, marked with two long +words, in Hebrew or Chaldaic characters. Accordingly, it is still +averred, that the balls only left blue marks on the prelate's neck and +breast, although the discharge was so near as to burn his clothes.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_24">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> The question, whether the bishop of St Andrews' death was +murder was a shibboleth, or <i>experimentum crucis</i>, frequently put to the +apprehended conventiclers. Isabel Alison, executed at Edinburgh, 26th +January, 1681, was interrogated, before the privy council, if she +conversed with David Hackston? "I answered, I did converse with him, and +I bless the Lord that ever I saw him; for I never saw ought in him but +a godly pious youth. They asked, if the killing of the bishop of St +Andrews was a pious act? I answered, I never heard him say he killed +him; but, if God moved any, and put it upon them, to execute his +righteous judgment upon him, I have nothing to say to that. They asked +me, when saw ye John Balfour (Burly), that pious youth? I answered, +I have seen him. They asked, when? I answered, these are frivolous +questions; I am not bound to answer them." <i>Cloud of Witnesses</i>, p. 85.</p></div> + +<p>Burly was, of course, obliged to leave Fife; and, upon the 25th of the +same month, he arrived in Evandale, in Lanarkshire, along with Hackston, +and a fellow, called Dingwall, or Daniel, one of the same bloody band. +Here he joined his old friend Hamilton, already mentioned; and, as they +resolved to take up arms, they were soon at the head of such a body of +the "chased and tossed western men," as they thought equal to keep the +field. They resolved to commence their exploits upon the 29th of May, +1679, being the anniversary of the Restoration, appointed to be kept as +a holiday, by act of parliament; an institution which they esteemed a +presumptuous and unholy solemnity. Accordingly, at the head of eighty +horse, tolerably appointed, Hamilton, Burly, and Hackston, entered the +royal burgh of Rutherglen, extinguished the bonfires, made in honour +of the day; burned at the cross the acts of parliament in favour of +prelacy, and for suppression of conventicles, as well as those acts +of council, which regulated the indulgence granted to presbyterians. +Against all these acts they entered their solemn protest, or testimony, +as they called it; and, having affixed it to the cross, concluded with +prayer and psalms. Being now joined by a large body of foot, so that +their strength seems to have amounted to five or six hundred men, though +very indifferently armed, they encamped upon Loudoun Hill. Claverhouse, +who was in garrison at Glasgow, instantly marched against the +insurgents, at the head of his own troop of cavalry and others, +amounting to about one hundred and fifty men. He arrived at Hamilton, +on the 1st of June, so unexpectedly, as to make prisoner John King, a +famous preacher among the wanderers; and rapidly continued his march, +carrying his captive along with him, till he came to the village of +Drumclog, about a mile east of Loudoun Hill, and twelve miles south-west +of Hamilton. At some distance from this place, the insurgents were +skilfully posted in a boggy strait, almost inaccessible to cavalry, +having a broad ditch in their front. Claverhouse's dragoons discharged +their carabines, and made an attempt to charge; but the nature of the +ground threw them into total disorder. Burly, who commanded the handful +of horse belonging to the whigs, instantly led them down on the +disordered squadrons of Claverhouse, who were, at the same time, +vigorously assaulted by the foot, headed by the gallant Cleland,<a name="FNanchor_A_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_25"><sup>[A]</sup></a> and +the enthusiastic Hackston. Claverhouse himself was forced to fly, and +was in the utmost danger of being taken; his horse's belly being cut +open by the stroke of a scythe, so that the poor animal trailed his +bowels for more than a mile. In his flight, he passed King, the +minister, lately his prisoner, but now deserted by his guard, in the +general confusion. The preacher hollowed to the flying commander, "to +halt, and take his prisoner with him;" or, as others say, "to stay, +and take the afternoon's preaching." Claverhouse, at length remounted, +continued his retreat to Glasgow. He lost, in the skirmish, about twenty +of his troopers, and his own cornet and kinsman, Robert Graham, whose +fate is alluded to in the ballad. Only four of the other side were +killed, among whom was Dingwall, or Daniel, an associate of Burly in +Sharpe's murder. "The rebels," says Creichton, "finding the cornet's +body, and supposing it to be that of Clavers, because the name of Graham +was wrought in the shirt-neck, treated it with the utmost inhumanity; +cutting off the nose, picking out the eyes, and stabbing it through in +a hundred places." The same charge is brought by Guild, in his <i>Bellum +Bothuellianum</i>, in which occurs the following account of the skirmish at +Drumclog:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mons est occiduus surgit qui celsus in oris</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">(Nomine Loudunum) fossis puteisque profundis</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Quot scatet hic tellus et aprico gramine tectus:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Huc collecta (ait) numeroso milite cincta;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Turba ferox, matres, pueri, innuptaeque puellae;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Quam parat egregia Graemus dispersere turma.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Venit, et primo campo discedere cogit;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Post hos et alios, caeno provolvit inerti;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At numerosa cohors, campum dispersa per omnem,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Circumfusa, ruit; turmasque indagine captas,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aggreditur; virtus non hic, nec profuit ensis;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Corripuere fugam, viridi sed gramine tectis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Precipitata perit, fossis, pars plurima, quorum</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Cornipedes haesere luto, sessore rejecto:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tum rabiosa cohors, misereri nescia, stratos</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Invadit laceratque viros: hic signifer eheu!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Trajectus globulo, Graemus quo fortior alter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Inter Scotigenas fuerat, nec justior ullus:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hunc manibus rapuere feris, faciemque virilem</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Faedarunt, lingua, auriculus, manibusque resectis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Aspera, diffuso, spargentes saxa, cerebro:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vix dux ipse fuga salvus, namque exta trahebat</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vulnere tardatus, sonipes generosus hiante:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Insequitur clamore, cohors fanatica, namque</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Crudelis semper timidus si vicerit unquam.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>MS. Bellum Bothuellianum.</i></span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_25">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> William Cleland, a man of considerable genius, was author +of several poems, published in 1697. His Hudibrastic verses are poor +scurrilous trash, as the reader may judge from the description of the +Highlanders, already quoted. But, in a wild rhapsody, entitled, "Hollo, +my Fancy," he displays some imagination. His anti-monarchical principles +seem to break out in the following lines:— +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fain would I know (if beasts have any reason)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>If falcons killing eagles do commit a treason?</i></span><br> +</p><p> +He was a strict non-conformist, and, after the Revolution, became +lieutenant colonel of the earl of Angus's regiment, called the +Cameronian regiment. He was killed 21st August, 1689, in the churchyard +of Dunkeld, which his corps manfully and successfully defended against +a superior body of Highlanders. His son was the author of the letter +prefixed to the Dunciad, and is said to have been the notorious Cleland, +who, in circumstances of pecuniary embarrassment, prostituted his +talents to the composition of indecent and infamous works; but this +seems inconsistent with dates, and the latter personage was probably the +grandson of Colonel Cleland.</p></div> + +<p>Although Burly was among the most active leaders in the action, he was +not the commander in chief, as one would conceive from the ballad. That +honour belonged to Robert Hamilton, brother to Sir William Hamilton of +Preston, a gentleman, who, like most of those at Drumclog, had imbibed +the very wildest principles of fanaticism. The Cameronian account of +the insurrection states, that "Mr Hamilton discovered a great deal of +bravery and valour, both in the conflict with, and pursuit of the enemy; +but when he and some others were pursuing the enemy, others flew too +greedily upon the spoil, small as it was, instead of pursuing the +victory: and some, without Mr Hamilton's knowledge, and against his +strict command, gave five of these bloody enemies quarters, and then let +them go: this greatly grieved Mr Hamilton, when he saw some of Babel's +brats spared, after the Lord had delivered them to their hands, that +they might dash them against the stones." <i>Psalm</i> cxxxvii. 9. In his own +account of this, "he reckons the sparing of these enemies, and letting +them go, to be among their first stepping aside; for which, he feared +that the Lord would not honour them to do much more for him; and says, +that he was neither for taking favours from, nor giving favours to the +Lord's enemies." Burly was not a likely man to fall into this sort of +backsliding. He disarmed one of the duke of Hamilton's servants, who had +been in the action, and desired him to tell his master, he would keep, +till meeting, the pistols he had taken from him. The man described Burly +to the duke as a little stout man, squint-eyed, and of a most ferocious +aspect; from which it appears, that Burly's figure corresponded to his +manners, and perhaps gave rise to his nickname, <i>Burly</i> signifying +<i>strong</i>. He was with the insurgents till the battle of Bothwell Bridge, +and afterwards fled to Holland. He joined the prince of Orange, but died +at sea, during the expedition. The Cameronians still believe, he +had obtained liberty from the prince to be avenged of those who had +persecuted the Lord's people; but through his death, the laudable design +of purging the land with their blood, is supposed to have fallen to the +ground.—<i>Life of Balfour of Kinloch.</i></p> + +<p>The consequences of the battle of Loudon Hill will be detailed in the +introduction to the next ballad.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF LOUDONHILL.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">You'l marvel when I tell ye o'</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Our noble Burly, and his train;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When last he march'd up thro' the land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wi' sax and twenty westland men.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Than they I ne'er o' braver heard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For they had a' baith wit and skill</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They proved right well, as I heard tell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As they cam up o'er Loudoun Hill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weel prosper a' the gospel lads,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That are into the west countrie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ay wicked Claver'se to demean,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And ay an ill dead may he die!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he's drawn up i' battle rank,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' that baith soon an' hastilie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But they wha live till simmer come,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Some bludie days for this will see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up spak cruel Claver'se then,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wi' hastie wit, an' wicked skill;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gie fire on yon westlan' men;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I think it is my sov'reign's will."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up bespake his cornet, then,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It's be wi' nae consent o' me!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I ken I'll ne'er come back again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' mony mae as weel as me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There is not ane of a' yon men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But wha is worthy other three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There is na ane amang them a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That in his cause will stap to die.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An' as for Burly, him I knaw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He's a man of honour, birth, an' fame;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gie him a sword into his hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He'll fight thysel an' other ten."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up spake wicked Claver'se then,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I wat his heart it raise fu' hie!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has cry'd that a' might hear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Man, ye hae sair deceived me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I never ken'd the like afore,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Na, never since I came frae hame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That you sae cowardly here suld prove,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' yet come of a noble Graeme."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up bespake his cornet, then,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Since that it is your honour's will,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Mysel shall be the foremost man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That shall gie fire on Loudoun Hill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"At your command I'll lead them on,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But yet wi' nae consent o' me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For weel I ken I'll ne'er return,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And mony mae as weel as me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up he drew in battle rank;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I wat he had a bonny train!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But the first time that bullets flew,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Ay he lost twenty o' his men.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then back he came the way he gael,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I wat right soon an' suddenly!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He gave command amang his men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And sent them back, and bade them flee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up came Burly, bauld an' stout,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wi's little train o' westland men;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wha mair than either aince or twice</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">In Edinburgh confined had been.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They hae been up to London sent,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' yet they're a' come safely down;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sax troop o' horsemen they hae beat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And chased them into Glasgow town.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF BOTHWELL-BRIDGE.</p> +<br> + +<p>It has been often remarked, that the Scottish, notwithstanding their +national courage, were always unsuccessful, when fighting for their +religion. The cause lay, not in the principle, but in the mode of its +application. A leader like Mahomet, who is, at the same time, the +prophet of his tribe, may avail himself of religious enthusiasm, because +it comes to the aid of discipline, and is a powerful means of attaining +the despotic command, essential to the success of a general. But, +among the insurgents, in the reigns of the last Stuarts, were mingled +preachers, who taught different shades of the presbyterian doctrine; +and, minute as these shades sometimes were, neither the several +shepherds, nor their flocks, could cheerfully unite in a common cause. +This will appear from the transactions leading to the battle of Bothwell +Bridge.</p> + +<p>We have seen, that the party, which defeated Claverhouse at Loudoun +Hill, were Cameronians, whose principles consisted in disowning all +temporal authority, which did not flow from and through the Solemn +League and Covenant. This doctrine, which is still retained by a +scattered remnant of the sect in Scotland, is in theory, and would be in +practice, inconsistent with the safety of any well regulated government, +because the Covenanters deny to their governors that toleration, which +was iniquitously refused to themselves. In many respects, therefore, we +cannot be surprised at the anxiety and rigour with which the Cameronians +were persecuted, although we may be of opinion, that milder means would +have induced a melioration of their principles. These men, as already +noticed, excepted against such presbyterians, as were contented to +exercise their worship under the indulgence granted by government, +or, in other words, who would have been satisfied with toleration for +themselves, without insisting upon a revolution in the state, or even in +the church government.</p> + +<p>When, however, the success at Loudoun Hill was spread abroad, a number +of preachers, gentlemen, and common people, who had embraced the more +moderate doctrine, joined the army of Hamilton, thinking, that the +difference in their opinions ought not to prevent their acting in the +common cause. The insurgents were repulsed in an attack upon the town +of Glasgow, which, however, Claverhouse, shortly afterwards, thought it +necessary to evacuate. They were now nearly in full possession of the +west of Scotland, and pitched their camp at Hamilton, where, instead of +modelling and disciplining their army, the Cameronians and Erastians +(for so the violent insurgents chose to call the more moderate +presbyterians) only debated, in council of war, the real cause of their +being in arms. Hamilton, their general, was the leader of the first +party; Mr John Walsh, a minister, headed the Erastians. The latter so +far prevailed, as to get a declaration drawn up, in which they owned the +king's government; but the publication of it gave rise to new quarrels. +Each faction had its own set of leaders, all of whom aspired to be +officers; and there were actually two councils of war issuing contrary +orders and declarations at the same time; the one owning the king, and +the other designing him a malignant, bloody, and perjured tyrant.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, their numbers and zeal were magnified at Edinburgh, and great +alarm excited lest they should march eastward. Not only was the foot +militia instantly called out, but proclamations were issued, directing +all the heritors, in the eastern, southern, and northern shires, to +repair to the king's host, with their best horses, arms, and retainers. +In Fife, and other countries, where the presbyterian doctrines +prevailed, many gentlemen disobeyed this order, and were afterwards +severely fined. Most of them alleged, in excuse, the apprehension of +disquiet from their wives.<a name="FNanchor_A_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_26"><sup>[A]</sup></a> A respectable force was soon assembled; +and James, duke of Buccleuch and Monmouth, was sent down, by Charles, +to take the command, furnished with instructions, not unfavourable +to presbyterians. The royal army now moved slowly forwards towards +Hamilton, and reached Bothwell-moor on the 22d of June, 1679. The +insurgents were encamped chiefly in the duke of Hamilton's park, along +the Clyde, which separated the two armies. Bothwell-bridge, which is +long and narrow, had then a portal in the middle, with gates, which the +Covenanters shut, and barricadoed with stones and logs of timber. This +important post was defended by three hundred of their best men, under +Hackston of Rathillet, and Hall of Haughhead. Early in the morning, this +party crossed the bridge, and skirmished with the royal vanguard, +now advanced as far as the village of Bothwell. But Hackston speedily +retired to his post, at the western end of Bothwell-bridge.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_26">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> "Balcanquhall of that ilk alledged, that his horses were +robbed, but shunned to take the declaration, for fear of disquiet from +his wife. Young of Kirkton—his ladyes dangerous sickness, and bitter +curses if he should leave her, and the appearance of abortion on his +offering to go from her. And many others pled, in general terms, that +their wives opposed or contradicted their going. But the justiciary +court found this defence totally irrelevant."—Fountainhall's +<i>Decisions</i>, Vol. I. p. 88.</p></div> + +<p>While the dispositions, made by the duke of Monmouth, announced his +purpose of assailing the pass, the more moderate of the insurgents +resolved to offer terms. Ferguson of Kaithloch, a gentleman of landed +fortune, and David Hume, a clergyman, carried to the duke of Monmouth +a supplication, demanding free exercise of their religion, a free +parliament, and a free general assembly of the church. The duke heard +their demands with his natural mildness, and assured them, he would +interpose with his majesty in their behalf, on condition of their +immediately dispersing themselves, and yielding up their arms. Had the +insurgents been all of the moderate opinion, this proposal would have +been accepted, much bloodshed saved, and, perhaps, some permanent +advantage derived to their party; or, had they been all Cameronians, +their defence would have been fierce and desperate. But, while their +motley and misassorted officers were debating upon the duke's proposal, +his field-pieces were already planted on the eastern side of the +river, to cover the attack of the foot guards, who were led on by Lord +Livingstone to force the bridge. Here Hackston maintained his post with +zeal and courage; nor was it until all his ammunition was expended, and +every support denied him by the general, that he reluctantly abandoned +the important pass.<a name="FNanchor_A_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_27"><sup>[A]</sup></a> When his party were drawn back, the duke's army, +slowly, and with their cannon in front, defiled along the bridge, +and formed in line of battle, as they came over the river; the duke +commanded the foot, and Claverhouse the cavalry. It would seem, that +these movements could not have been performed without at least some +loss, had the enemy been serious in opposing them. But the insurgents +were otherwise employed. With the strangest delusion, that ever fell +upon devoted beings, they chose these precious moments to cashier their +officers, and elect others in their room. In this important operation, +they were at length disturbed by the duke's cannon, at the very first +discharge of which, the horse of the Covenanters wheeled, and rode off, +breaking and trampling down the ranks of their infantry in their flight. +The Cameronian account blames Weir of Greenridge, a commander of the +horse, who is termed a sad Achan in the camp. The more moderate party +lay the whole blame on Hamilton, whose conduct, they say, left the world +to debate, whether he was most traitor, coward, or fool. The generous +Monmouth was anxious to spare the blood of his infatuated countrymen, by +which he incurred much blame among the high-flying royalists. Lucky it +was for the insurgents that the battle did not happen a day later, when +old General Dalziel, who divided with Claverhouse the terror and hatred +of the whigs, arrived in the camp, with a commission to supersede +Monmouth, as commander in chief. He is said to have upbraided the +duke, publicly, with his lenity, and heartily to have wished his own +commission had come a day sooner, when, as he expresses himself, "These +rogues should never more have troubled the king or country."<a name="FNanchor_B_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_28"><sup>[B]</sup></a> But, +notwithstanding the merciful orders of the duke of Monmouth, the cavalry +made great slaughter among the fugitives, of whom four hundred were +slain. Guild thus expresses himself:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ei ni Dux validus tenuisset forte catervas,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Vix quisquam profugus vitam servasset inertem:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Non audita Ducis verum mandata supremi</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Omnibus, insequitur fugientes plurima turba,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Perque agros, passim, trepida formidine captos</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Obtruncat, saevumque adigit per viscera ferrum.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>MS. Bellum Bothuellianum.</i></span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_27">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> There is an accurate representation of this part of the +engagement in an old painting, of which there are two copies extant; +one in the collection of his grace the duke of Hamilton, the other at +Dalkeith house. The whole appearance of the ground, even including a few +old houses, is the same which the scene now presents: The removal of the +porch, or gateway, upon the bridge, is the only perceptible difference. +The duke of Monmouth, on a white charger, directs the march of the party +engaged in storming the bridge, while his artillery gall the motley +ranks of the Covenanters. An engraving of this painting would be +acceptable to the curious; and I am satisfied an opportunity of copying +it, for that purpose, would be readily granted by either of the noble +proprietors.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_28">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> Dalziel was a man of savage manners. A prisoner having +railed at him, while under examination before the privy council, calling +him "a Muscovia beast, who used to roast men, the general, in a passion, +struck him, with the pomel of his shabble, on the face, till the blood +sprung."—FOUNTAINHALL, Vol. I. p. 159. He had sworn never to shave his +beard after the death of Charles the First. This venerable appendage +reached his girdle, and, as he wore always an old-fashioned buff coat, +his appearance in London never failed to attract the notice of the +children and of the mob. King Charles II. used to swear at him, for +bringing such a rabble of boys together, to be squeezed to death, while +they gaped at his long beard and antique habit, and exhorted him to +shave and dress like a Christian, to keep the poor <i>bairns</i>, as Dalziel +expressed it, out of danger. In compliance with this request, he once +appeared at court fashionably dressed, excepting the beard; but, when +the king had laughed sufficiently at the metamorphosis, he +resumed his old dress, to the great joy of the boys, his usual +attendants.—CREICHTON'S <i>Memoirs</i>, p. 102.</p></div> + +<p>The same deplorable circumstances are more elegantly bewailed in +<i>Clyde</i>, a poem, reprinted in <i>Scotish Descriptive Poems</i>, edited by Dr +John Leyden, Edinburgh, 1803:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where Bothwell's bridge connects the margins steep,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Clyde, below, runs silent, strong, and deep,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The hardy peasant, by oppression driven</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To battle, deemed his cause the cause of heaven:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Unskilled in arms, with useless courage stood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">While gentle Monmouth grieved to shed his blood:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But fierce Dundee, inflamed with deadly hate,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In vengeance for the great Montrose's fate,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Let loose the sword, and to the hero's shade</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A barbarous hecatomb of victims paid."</span><br> + +<p>The object of Claverhouse's revenge, assigned by Wilson, is grander, +though more remote and less natural, than that in the ballad, which +imputes the severity of the pursuit to his thirst to revenge the death +of his cornet and kinsman, at Drumclog;<a name="FNanchor_A_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_29"><sup>[A]</sup></a> and to the quarrel betwixt +Claverhouse and Monmouth, it ascribes, with great <i>naiveté</i> the bloody +fate of the latter. Local tradition is always apt to trace foreign +events to the domestic causes, which are more immediately in the +narrator's view. There is said to be another song upon this battle, once +very popular, but I have not been able to recover it. This copy is given +from recitation.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_29">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> There is some reason to conjecture, that the revenge of the +Cameronians, if successful, would have been little less sanguinary than +that of the royalists. Creichton mentions, that they had erected, in +their camp, a high pair of gallows, and prepared a quantity of halters, +to hang such prisoners as might fall into their hands, and he admires +the forbearance of the king's soldiers, who, when they returned with +their prisoners, brought them to the very spot where the gallows stood, +and guarded them there, without offering to hang a single individual. +Guild, in the <i>Bellum Bothuellianum</i>, alludes to the same story, which +is rendered probable by the character of Hamilton, the insurgent +general. GUILD'S <i>MSS.</i>—CREICHTON'S <i>Memoirs</i>, p. 61.</p></div> + +<p>There were two Gordons of Earlstoun, father and son. They were descended +of an ancient family in the west of Scotland, and their progenitors were +believed to have been favourers of the reformed doctrine, and possessed +of a translation of the Bible, as early as the days of Wickliffe. +William Gordon, the father, was, in 1663, summoned before the privy +council, for keeping conventicles in his house and woods. By another act +of council, he was banished out of Scotland; but the sentence was never +put into execution. In 1667, Earlstoun was turned out of his house, +which was converted into a garrison for the king's soldiers. He was not +in the battle of Bothwell Bridge, but was met, hastening towards it, by +some English dragoons, engaged in the pursuit, already commenced. As +he refused to surrender, he was instantly slain. WILSON'S <i>History +of Bothwell Rising—Life of Gordon of Earlston, in Scottish +Worthies</i>—WODROW'S <i>History,</i> Vol. II. The son, Alexander Gordon +of Earlstoun, I suppose to be the hero of the ballad. He was not a +Cameronian, but of the more moderate class of presbyterians, whose sole +object was freedom of conscience, and relief from the oppressive laws +against non-conformists. He joined the insurgents, shortly after the +skirmish at Loudoun-hill. He appears to have been active in forwarding +the supplication sent to the duke of Monmouth. After the battle, he +escaped discovery, by flying into a house at Hamilton, belonging to one +of his tenants, and disguising himself in female attire. His person +was proscribed, and his estate of Earlstoun was bestowed upon Colonel +Theophilus Ogilthorpe, by the crown, first in security for L.5000, +and afterwards in perpetuity.—FOUNTAINHALL, p. 390. The same author +mentions a person tried at the circuit court, July 10, 1683, solely for +holding intercourse with Earlstoun, an intercommuned (proscribed) rebel. +As he had been in Holland after the battle of Bothwell, he was probably +accessory to the scheme of invasion, which the unfortunate earl of +Argyle was then meditating. He was apprehended upon his return to +Scotland, tried, convicted of treason, and condemned to die; but his +fate was postponed by a letter from the king, appointing him to be +reprieved for a month, that he might, in the interim, be tortured for +the discovery of his accomplices. The council had the unusual spirit +to remonstrate against this illegal course of severity. On November +3, 1653, he received a farther respite, in hopes he would make some +discovery. When brought to the bar, to be tortured (for the king had +reiterated his commands), he, through fear or distraction, roared like a +bull, and laid so stoutly about him, that the hangman and his assistant +could hardly master him. At last he fell into a swoon, and, on his +recovery, charged General Dalziel and Drummond (violent tories), +together with the duke of Hamilton, with being the leaders of the +fanatics. It was generally thought, that he affected this extravagant +behaviour, to invalidate all that agony might extort from him concerning +his real accomplices. He was sent, first, to Edinburgh castle, and, +afterwards, to a prison upon the Bass island; although the privy council +more than once deliberated upon appointing his immediate death. On 22d +August, 1684, Earlstoun was sent for from the Bass, and ordered for +execution, 4th November, 1684. He endeavoured to prevent his doom by +escape; but was discovered and taken, after he had gained the roof of +the prison. The council deliberated, whether, in consideration of this +attempt, he was not liable to instant execution. Finally, however, they +were satisfied to imprison him in Blackness castle, where he remained +till after the Revolution, when he was set at liberty, and his doom of +forfeiture reversed by act of parliament.—See FOUNTAINHALL, Vol. I. pp. +238, 240, 245, 250, 301, 302.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE BATTLE OF BOTHWELL-BRIDGE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O Billie, billie, bonny billie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Will ye go to the wood wi' me?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We'll ca' our horse hame masterless,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An' gar them trow slain men are we."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O no, O no!" says Earlstoun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For that's the thing that mauna be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I am sworn to Bothwell Hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Where I maun either gae or die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So Earlstoun rose in the morning,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' mounted by the break o' day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' he has joined our Scottish lads,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As they were marching out the way.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, farewell father, and farewell mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An' fare ye weel my sisters three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An' fare ye weel my Earlstoun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For thee again I'll never see!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So they're awa' to Bothwell Hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An waly<a name="FNanchor_A_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_30"><sup>[A]</sup></a> they rode bonnily!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the duke o' Monmouth saw them comin',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He went to view their company.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye're welcome, lads," then Monmouth said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye're welcome, brave Scots lads, to me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And sae are ye, brave Earlstoun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The foremost o' your company!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But yield your weapons ane an' a';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O yield your weapons, lads, to me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For, gin ye'll yield your weapons up,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye'se a' gae hame to your country."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out up then spak a Lennox lad,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And waly but he spak bonnily!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I winna yield my weapons up,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To you nor nae man that I see."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then he set up the flag o' red,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A' set about wi' bonny blue;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Since ye'll no cease, and be at peace,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"See that ye stand by ither true."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They stell'd<a name="FNanchor_B_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_31"><sup>[B]</sup></a> their cannons on the height,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And showr'd their shot down in the how;<a name="FNanchor_C_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_32"><sup>[C]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' beat our Scots lads even down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Thick they lay slain on every know.<a name="FNanchor_D_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_33"><sup>[D]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As e'er you saw the rain down fa',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or yet the arrow frae the bow,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sae our Scottish lads fell even down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' they lay slain on every know.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O, hold your hand," then Monmouth cry'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Gie quarters to yon men for me!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But wicked Claver'se swore an oath,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">His cornet's death reveng'd sud be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hold your hand," then Monmouth cry'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"If ony thing you'll do for me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hold up your hand, you cursed Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Else a rebel to our king ye'll be."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then wicked Claver'se turn'd about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I wot an angry man was he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has lifted up his hat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And cry'd, "God bless his majesty!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then he's awa to London town,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ay e'en as fast as he can dree;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fause witnesses he has wi' him ta'en.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' ta'en Monmouth's head f'rae his body.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Alang the brae, beyond the brig,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Mony brave man lies cauld and still;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But lang we'll mind, and sair we'll rue,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The bloody battle of Bothwell Hill.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_30">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Waly!</i> an interjection.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_31">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Stell'd</i>—Planted.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_32">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>How</i>—Hollow.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_D_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_33">[D]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Know</i>—Knoll.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON THE BATTLE OF BOTHWELL-BRIDGE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Then he set up the flag of red,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>A' set about wi' bonnie blue.</i>—P. 91. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>Blue was the favourite colour of the Covenanters; hence the vulgar +phrase of a true blue whig. Spalding informs us, that when the first +army of Covenanters entered Aberdeen, few or none "wanted a blue +ribband; the lord Gordon, and some others of the marquis (of Huntley's) +family had a ribband, when they were dwelling in the town, of a red +fresh colour, which they wore in their hats, and called it the <i>royal +ribband</i>, as a sign of their love and loyalty to the king. In despite +and derision thereof, this blue ribband was worn, and called the +<i>Covenanter's ribband</i>, by the hail soldiers of the army, who would not +hear of the royal ribband, such was their pride and malice."—Vol. I. p. +123. After the departure of this first army, the town was occupied by +the barons of the royal party, till they were once more expelled by the +Covenanters, who plundered the burgh and country adjacent; "no fowl, +cock, or hen, left unkilled, the hail house-dogs, messens (i.e. +lap-dogs), and whelps, within Aberdeen, killed upon the streets; so that +neither hound, messen, nor other dog, was left alive that they could +see: the reason was this,—when the first army came here, ilk captain +and soldier had a blue ribband about his craig (i.e. neck); in despite +and derision whereof, when they removed from Aberdeen, some women of +Aberdeen, as was alleged, knit blue ribbands about their messens' +craigs, whereat their soldiers took offence, and killed all their dogs +for this very cause."—P. 160.</p> + +<p>I have seen one of the ancient banners of the Covenanters: it +was divided into four copartments, inscribed with the words, +<i>Christ—Covenant—King—Kingdom</i>. Similar standards are mentioned in +Spalding's curious and minute narrative, Vol. II. pp. 182, 245.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Hold up your hand, ye cursed Graeme,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>Else a rebel to our king ye'll be.</i>—P, 91. v. 5.</span><br> + +<p>It is very extraordinary, that, in April, 1685, Claverhouse was left out +of the new commission of privy council, as being too favourable to the +fanatics. The pretence was his having married into the presbyterian +family of lord Dundonald. An act of council was also past, regulating +the payment of quarters, which is stated by Fountainhall to have been +done in <i>odium</i> of Claverhouse, and in order to excite complaints +against him. This charge, so inconsistent with the nature and conduct of +Claverhouse, seems to have been the fruit of a quarrel betwixt him and +the lord high treasurer. FOUNTAINHALL, Vol. I. p. 360.</p> + +<p>That Claverhouse was most unworthily accused of mitigating the +persecution of the Covenanters, will appear from the following simple, +but very affecting narrative, extracted from one of the little +publications which appeared soon after the Revolution, while the +facts were fresh in the memory of the sufferers. The imitation of the +scriptural stile produces, in some passages of these works, an effect +not unlike what we feel in reading the beautiful book of Ruth. It is +taken from the life of Mr Alexander Peden,<a name="FNanchor_A_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_34"><sup>[A]</sup></a> printed about 1720.</p> + +<p>"In the beginning of May, 1685, he came to the house of John Brown and +Marion Weir, whom he married before he went to Ireland, where he stayed +all night; and, in the morning when he took farewell, he came out of the +door, saying to himself, "Poor woman, a fearful morning," twice over. "A +dark misty morning!" The next morning, between five and six hours, the +said John Brown having performed the worship of God in his family, was +going, with a spade in his hand, to make ready some peat ground: the +mist being very dark, he knew not until cruel and bloody Claverhouse +compassed him with three troops of horse, brought him to his house, and +there examined him; who, though he was a man of a stammering speech, yet +answered him distinctly and solidly; which made Claverhouse to examine +those whom he had taken to be his guides through the muirs, if ever they +heard him preach? They answered, "No, no, he was never a preacher." He +said, "If he has never preached, meikle he has prayed in his time;" he +said to John, "Go to your prayers, for you shall immediately die!" When +he was praying, Claverhouse interrupted him three times; one time, that +he stopt him, he was pleading that the Lord would spare a remnant, and +not make a full end in the day of his anger. Claverhouse said, "I gave +you time to pray, and ye are begun to preach;" he turned about upon +his knees, and said, "Sir, you know neither the nature of preaching or +praying, that calls this preaching." Then continued without confusion. +When ended, Claverhouse said, "Take goodnight of your wife and +children." His wife, standing by with her child in her arms that she had +brought forth to him, and another child of his first wife's, he came +to her, and said, "Now, Marion, the day is come, that I told you would +come, when I spake first to you of marrying me." She said, "Indeed, +John, I can willingly part with you."—"Then," he said, "this is all I +desire, I have no more to do but die." He kissed his wife and bairns, +and wished purchased and promised blessings to be multiplied upon them, +and his blessing. Clavers ordered six soldiers to shoot him; the most +part of the bullets came upon his head, which scattered his brains upon +the ground. Claverhouse said to his wife, "What thinkest thou of thy +husband now, woman?" She said, "I thought ever much of him, and now as +much as ever." He said, "It were justice to lay thee beside him." She +said, "If ye were permitted, I doubt not but your cruelty would go that +length; but how will ye make answer for this morning's work?" He said, +"To man I can be answerable; and for God, I will take him in my own +hand." Claverhouse mounted his horse, and marched, and left her with the +corpse of her dead husband lying there; she set the bairn on the ground, +and gathered his brains, and tied up his head, and straighted his body, +and covered him in her plaid, and sat down, and wept over him. It being +a very desart place, where never victual grew, and far from neighbours, +it was some time before any friends came to her; the first that came was +a very fit hand, that old singular Christian woman, in the Cummerhead, +named Elizabeth Menzies, three miles distant, who had been tried with +the violent death of her husband at Pentland, afterwards of two worthy +sons, Thomas Weir, who was killed at Drumclog, and David Steel, who was +suddenly shot afterwards when taken. The said Marion Weir, sitting upon +her husband's grave, told me, that before that, she could see no blood +but she was in danger to faint; and yet she was helped to be a witness +to all this, without either fainting or confusion, except when the shots +were let off her eyes dazzled. His corpse were buried at the end of his +house, where he was slain, with this inscription on his grave-stone:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In earth's cold bed, the dusty part here lies,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of one who did the earth as dust despise!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Here, in this place, from earth he took departure;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, he has got the garland of the martyrs.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_34">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The enthusiasm of this personage, and of his followers, +invested him, as has been already noticed, with prophetic powers; but +hardly any of the stories told of him exceeds that sort of gloomy +conjecture of misfortune, which the precarious situation of his sect +so greatly fostered. The following passage relates to the battle +of Bothwell-bridge:—"That dismal day, 22d of June, 1679, at +Bothwell-bridge, when the Lord's people fell and fled before the enemy, +he was forty miles distant, near the border, and kept himself retired +until the middle of the day, when some friends said to him, 'Sir, the +people are waiting for sermon,' He answered, 'Let them go to their +prayers; for me, I neither can nor will preach any this day, for our +friends are fallen and fled before the enemy, at Hamilton, and they are +hacking and hewing them down, and their blood is running like water." +The feats of Peden are thus commemorated by Fountainhall, 27th of March, +1650: "News came to the privy council, that about one hundred men, well +armed and appointed, had left Ireland, because of a search there for +such malcontents, and landed in the west of Scotland, and joined with +the wild fanatics. The council, finding that they disappointed the +forces, by skulking from hole to hole, were of opinion, it were better +to let them gather into a body, and draw to a head, and so they would +get them altogether in a snare. They had one Mr Peden, a minister, with +them, and one Isaac, who commanded them. They had frighted most part +of all the country ministers, so that they durst not stay at their +churches, but retired to Edinburgh, or to garrison towns; and it was sad +to see whole shires destitute of preaching, except in burghs. Wherever +they came they plundered arms, and particularly at my Lord Dumfries's +house."—FOUNTAINHALL, Vol. I. p. 359.</p></div> + +<p>"This murder was committed betwixt six and seven in the morning: Mr +Peden was about ten or eleven miles distant, having been in the fields +all night: he came to the house betwixt seven and eight, and desired to +call in the family, that he might pray amongst them; when praying, he +said, "Lord, when wilt thou avenge Brown's blood? Oh, let Brown's blood +be precious in thy sight! and hasten the day when thou wilt avenge it, +with Cameron's, Cargil's, and many others of our martyrs' names; and oh! +for that day, when the Lord would avenge all their bloods!" When ended, +John Muirhead enquired what he meant by Brown's blood? He said twice +over, "What do I mean? Claverhouse has been at the Preshil this morning, +and has cruelly murdered John Brown; his corpse are lying at the end of +his house, and his poor wife sitting weeping by his corpse, and not a +soul to speak a word comfortably to her."</p> + +<p>While we read this dismal story, we must remember Brown's situation +was that of an avowed and determined rebel, liable as such to military +execution; so that the atrocity was more that of the times than of +Claverhouse. That general's gallant adherence to his master, the +misguided James VII., and his glorious death on the field of victory, at +Killicrankie, have tended to preserve and gild his memory. He is still +remembered in the Highlands as the most successful leader of their +clans. An ancient gentleman, who had borne arms for the cause of Stuart, +in 1715, told the editor, that, when the armies met on the field of +battle, at Sheriff-muir, a veteran chief (I think he named Gordon +of Glenbucket), covered with scars, came up to the earl of Mar, and +earnestly pressed him to order the Highlanders to charge, before the +regular army of Argyle had completely formed their line, and at a moment +when the rapid and furious onset of the clans might have thrown them +into total disorder. Mar repeatedly answered, it was not yet time; till +the chieftain turned from him in disdain and despair, and, stamping with +rage, exclaimed aloud, "O for one hour of Dundee!"</p> + +<p>Claverhouse's sword (a strait cut-and-thrust blade) is in the possession +of Lord Woodhouselee. In Pennycuik-house is preserved the buff-coat, +which he wore at the battle of Killicrankie. The fatal shot-hole is +under the arm-pit, so that the ball must have been received while his +arm was raised to direct the pursuit However he came by his charm of +<i>proof</i>, he certainly had not worn the garment usually supposed to +confer that privelage, and which is called <i>the waistcoat of proof, or +of necessity</i>. It was thus made: "On Christmas daie, at night, a thread +must be sponne of flax, by a little virgine girle, in the name of the +divell: and it must be by her woven, and also wrought with the needle. +In the breast, or forepart thereof, must be made with needle work, two +heads; on the head, at the right side, must be a hat and a long beard; +the left head must have on a crown, and it must be so horrible that it +maie resemble Belzebub; and on each side of the wastcote must be made a +crosse."—SCOTT'S <i>Discoverie of Witchcraft,</i> p. 231.</p> + +<p>It would be now no difficult matter to bring down our popular poetry, +connected with history, to the year 1745. But almost all the party +ballads of that period have been already printed, and ably illustrated +by Mr Ritson.</p> +<br> + +<p>END OF HISTORICAL BALLADS.</p> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="MINSTRELSY_OF_THE_SCOTTISH_BORDER"></a><h2>MINSTRELSY OF THE SCOTTISH BORDER.</h2> +<br> + +<p>PART SECOND.</p> +<br> + +<p><i><a name="b">ROMANTIC BALLADS.</a></i></p> + +<br> + +<p>SCOTTISH MUSIC, AN ODE,</p> + +<p>BY J. LEYDEN.</p> + +<p>TO IANTHE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Again, sweet syren, breathe again</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That deep, pathetic, powerful strain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Whose melting tones, of tender woe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fall soft as evening's summer dew,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That bathes the pinks and harebells blue,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Which in the vales of Tiviot blow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such was the song that soothed to rest.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Far in the green isle of the west,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The Celtic warrior's parted shade;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such are the lonely sounds that sweep</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O'er the blue bosom of the deep,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Where ship-wrecked mariners are laid.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ah! sure, as Hindú legends tell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When music's tones the bosom swell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The scenes of former life return;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ere, sunk beneath the morning star,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We left our parent climes afar,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Immured in mortal forms to mourn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or if, as ancient sages ween,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Departed spirits, half-unseen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Can mingle with the mortal throng;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Tis when from heart to heart we roll</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The deep-toned music of the soul,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That warbles in our Scottish song.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I hear, I hear, with awful dread,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The plaintive music of the dead;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They leave the amber fields of day:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soft as the cadence of the wave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That murmurs round the mermaid's grave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They mingle in the magic lay.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sweet syren, breathe the powerful strain!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Lochroyan's Damsel</i><a name="FNanchor_A_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_35"><sup>[A]</sup></a> sails the main;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The chrystal tower enchanted see!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now break," she cries, "ye fairy charms!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As round she sails with fond alarms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Now break, and set my true love free!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Barnard is to greenwood gone,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where fair <i>Gil Morrice</i> sits alone,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And careless combs his yellow hair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ah! mourn the youth, untimely slain!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The meanest of Lord Barnard's train</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The hunter's mangled head must bear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or, change these notes of deep despair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For love's more soothing tender air:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sing, how, beneath the greenwood tree,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Brown Adam's</i><a name="FNanchor_B_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_36"><sup>[B]</sup></a> love maintained her truth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor would resign the exiled youth</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For any knight the fair could see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sing <i>the Hawk of pinion gray</i>,<a name="FNanchor_C_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_37"><sup>[C]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To southern climes who winged his way,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For he could speak as well as fly;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her brethren how the fair beguiled,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And on her Scottish lover smiled,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As slow she raised her languid eye.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair was her cheek's carnation glow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Like red blood on a wreath of snow;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Like evening's dewy star her eye:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">White as the sea-mew's downy breast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Borne on the surge's foamy crest,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her graceful bosom heaved the sigh.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In youth's first morn, alert and gay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ere rolling years had passed away,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Remembered like a morning dream,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I heard these dulcet measures float,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In many a liquid winding note,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Along the banks of Teviot's stream.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sweet sounds! that oft have soothed to rest</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The sorrows of my guileless breast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And charmed away mine infant tears:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fond memory shall your strains repeat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Like distant echoes, doubly sweet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That in the wild the traveller hears.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thus, the exiled Scotian maid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By fond alluring love betrayed</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To visit Syria's date-crowned shore;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In plaintive strains, that soothed despair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Did "Bothwell's banks that bloom so fair,"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And scenes of early youth, deplore.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Soft syren! whose enchanting strain</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Floats wildly round my raptured brain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I bid your pleasing haunts adieu!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet, fabling fancy oft shall lead</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My footsteps to the silver Tweed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Through scenes that I no more must view.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_35">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>The Lass of Lochroyan</i>—In this volume.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_36">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> See the ballad, entitled, <i>Brown Adam.</i></p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_37">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> See the <i>Gay Goss Hawk.</i></p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON SCOTTISH MUSIC, AN ODE.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Far in the green isle of the west.</i>—P. 103. v. 2.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The <i>Flathinnis</i>, or Celtic paradise.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Ah! sure, as Hindú legends tell.</i>—P. 104. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>The effect of music is explained by the Hindús, as recalling to our +memory the airs of paradise, heard in a state of pre-existence—<i>Vide</i> +Sacontala.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Did "Bathwell's banks that bloom so fair."</i>—P. 106. v. 3.</span><br> + +<p>"So fell it out of late years, that an English gentleman, travelling in +Palestine, not far from Jerusalem, as he passed through a country town, +he heard, by chance, a woman sitting at her door, dandling her child, to +sing, <i>Bothwel bank thou blumest fair</i>. The gentleman hereat wondered, +and forthwith, in English, saluted the woman, who joyfully answered him; +and said, she was right glad there to see a gentleman of our isle: and +told him, that she was a Scottish woman, and came first from Scotland to +Venice, and from Venice thither, where her fortune was to be the wife of +an officer under the Turk; who being at that instant absent, and very +soon to return, she entreated the gentleman to stay there until his +return. The which he did; and she, for country sake, to shew herself the +more kind and bountiful unto him, told her husband, at his home-coming, +that the gentleman was her kinsman; whereupon her husband entertained +him very kindly; and, at his departure gave him divers things of good +value."—<i>Verstigan's Restitution of Decayed Intelligence.</i> Chap. <i>Of +the Sirnames of our Antient Families.</i> Antwerp, 1605.</p> + +<br> + +<p>INTRODUCTION TO THE TALE OF TAMLANE.</p> +<br> + +<p>ON THE FAIRIES OF POPULAR SUPERSTITION.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>"Of airy elves, by moon-light shadows seen,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>The silver token, and the circled green.</i>—POPE.</span><br> + +<p>In a work, avowedly dedicated to the preservation of the poetry and +tradition of the "olden time," it would be unpardonable to omit this +opportunity of making some observations upon so interesting an article +of the popular creed, as that concerning the Elves, or Fairies. The +general idea of spirits, of a limited power, and subordinate nature, +dwelling among the woods and mountains, is, perhaps common to all +nations. But the intermixture of tribes, of languages, and religion, +which has occurred in Europe, renders it difficult to trace the origin +of the names which have been bestowed upon such spirits, and the primary +ideas which were entertained concerning their manners and habits.</p> + +<p>The word <i>elf</i>, which seems to have been the original name of the +beings, afterwards denominated fairies, is of Gothic origin, and +probably signified, simply, a spirit of a lower order. Thus, the Saxons +had not only <i>dun-elfen, berg-elfen</i>,and <i>munt-elfen</i>, spirits of +the downs, hills, and mountains; but also <i>feld-elfen, wudu-elfen, +sae-elfen</i>, and <i>water-elfen</i>; spirits of the fields, of the woods, +of the sea, and of the waters. In low German, the same latitude of +expression occurs; for night hags are termed <i>aluinnen</i>, and <i>aluen</i>, +which is sometimes Latinized <i>eluoe</i>. But the prototype of the English +elf, is to be sought chiefly in the <i>berg-elfen</i>, or <i>duergar</i>, of the +Scandinavians. From the most early of the Icelandic Sagas, as well as +from the Edda itself, we learn the belief of the northern nations in +a race of dwarfish spirits, inhabiting the rocky mountains, and +approaching, in some respects, to the human nature. Their attributes, +amongst which we recognize the features of the modern Fairy, were, +supernatural wisdom and prescience, and skill in the mechanical arts, +especially in the fabrication of arms. They are farther described, as +capricious, vindictive, and easily irritated. The story of the elfin +sword, <i>Tyrfing</i>, may be the most pleasing illustration of this +position. Suafurlami, a Scandinavian monarch, returning from hunting, +bewildered himself among the mountains. About sun-set, he beheld a large +rock, and two dwarfs, sitting before the mouth of a cavern. The king +drew his sword, and intercepted their retreat, by springing betwixt +them and their recess, and imposed upon them the following condition of +safety:—that they should make for him a faulchion, with a baldric and +scabbard of pure gold, and a blade, which should divide stones and iron +as a garment, and which should render the wielder ever victorious in +battle. The elves complied with the requisition, and Suafurlami pursued +his way home. Returning at the time appointed, the dwarfs delivered to +him the famous sword <i>Tyrfing</i>; then, standing in the entrance of their +cavern, spoke thus: "This sword, O king, shall "destroy a man every time +it is brandished; but it shall "perform three atrocious deeds, and it +shall be thy bane." The king rushed forward with the charmed sword, and +buried both its edges in the rock; but the dwarfs escaped into their +recesses.<a name="FNanchor_A_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_38"><sup>[A]</sup></a> This enchanted sword emitted rays like the sun, dazzling +all against whom it was brandished; it divided steel like water, and was +never unsheathed without slaying a man—<i>Hervarar Saga,</i> p. 9. Similar +to this was the enchanted sword, <i>Skoffhung</i>, which was taken by a +pirate out of the tomb of a Norwegian monarch. Many such tales are +narrated in the Sagas; but the most distinct account of the <i>-duergar</i>, +or elves, and their attributes, is to be found in a preface of Torfaeus +to the history of Hrolf Kraka, who cites a dissertation by Einar +Gudmund, a learned native of Iceland. "I am firmly of opinion," says the +Icelander, "that these beings are creatures of God, consisting, like +human beings, of a body and rational soul; that they are of different +sexes, and capable of producing children, and subject to all human +affections, as sleeping and waking, laughing and crying, poverty and +wealth; and that they possess cattle, and other effects, and are +obnoxious to death, like other mortals." He proceeds to state, that the +females of this race are capable of procreating with mankind; and gives +an account of one who bore a child to an inhabitant of Iceland, for whom +she claimed the privilege of baptism; depositing the infant, for that +purpose, at the gate of the church-yard, together with a goblet of gold, +as an offering.—<i>Historia Hrolfi Krakae, a</i> TORFAEO.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_38">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Perhaps in this, and similar tales, we may recognize +something of real history. That the Fins, or ancient natives of +Scandinavia, were driven into the mountains, by the invasion of Odin and +his Asiatics, is sufficiently probable; and there is reason to believe, +that the aboriginal inhabitants understood, better than the intruders, +how to manufacture the produce of their own mines. It is therefore +possible, that, in process of time, the oppressed Fins may have been +transformed into the supernatural <i>duergar</i>. A similar transformation +has taken place among the vulgar in Scotland, regarding the Picts, or +Pechs, to whom they ascribe various supernatural attributes.</p></div> + +<p>Similar to the traditions of the Icelanders, are those current among the +Laplanders of Finland, concerning a subterranean people, gifted with' +supernatural qualities, and inhabiting the recesses of the earth. +Resembling men in their general appearance, the manner of their +existence, and their habits of life, they far excel the miserable +Laplanders in perfection of nature, felicity of situation, and skill in +mechanical arts. From all these advantages, however, after the partial +conversion of the Laplanders, the subterranean people have derived no +farther credit, than to be confounded with the devils and magicians of +the dark ages of Christianity; a degradation which, as will shortly be +demonstrated, has been also suffered by the harmless Fairies of Albion, +and indeed by the whole host of deities of learned Greece and mighty +Rome. The ancient opinions are yet so firmly rooted, that the Laps of +Finland, at this day, boast of an intercourse with these beings, in +banquets, dances, and magical ceremonies, and even in the more intimate +commerce of gallantry. They talk, with triumph, of the feasts which +they have shared in the elfin caverns, where wine and tobacco, the +productions of the Fairy region, went round in abundance, and whence +the mortal guest, after receiving the kindest treatment and the most +salutary counsel, has been conducted to his tent by an escort of his +supernatural entertainers.—<i>Jessens, de Lapponibus.</i></p> + +<p>The superstitions of the islands of Feroe, concerning their +<i>Froddenskemen</i>, or under-ground people, are derived from the <i>duergar</i> +of Scandinavia. These beings are supposed to inhabit the interior +recesses of mountains, which they enter by invisible passages. Like the +Fairies, they are supposed to steal human beings. "It happened," says +Debes, p. 354, "a good while since, when the burghers of Bergen had +the commerce of Feroe, that there was a man in Servaade, called Jonas +Soideman, who was kept by spirits in a mountain, during the space of +seven years, and at length came out; but lived afterwards in great +distress and fear, lest they should again take him away; wherefore +people were obliged to watch him in the night." The same author mentions +another young man, who had been carried away, and, after his return, was +removed a second time upon the eve of his marriage. He returned in a +short time, and narrated, that the spirit that had carried him away, was +in the shape of a most beautiful woman, who pressed him to forsake his +bride, and remain with her; urging her own superior beauty, and splendid +appearance. He added, that he saw the men who were employed to search +for him, and heard them call; but that they could not see him, nor could +he answer them, till, upon his determined refusal to listen to the +spirit's persuasions, the spell ceased to operate. The kidney-shaped +West Indian bean, which is sometimes driven upon the shore of the +Feroes, is termed, by the natives "the <i>Fairie's kidney</i>."</p> + +<p>In these traditions of the Gothic and Finnish tribes, we may recognize, +with certainty, the rudiments of elfin superstition; but we must look to +various other causes for the modifications which it has undergone. These +are to be sought, 1st, in the traditions of the east; 2d, in the wreck +and confusion of the Gothic mythology; 3d, in the tales of chivalry; +4th, in the fables of classical antiquity; 5th, in the influence of the +Christian religion; 6th, and finally, in the creative imagination of +the sixteenth century. It may be proper to notice the effect of these +various causes, before stating the popular belief of our own time, +regarding the Fairies.</p> + +<p>I. To the traditions of the east, the Fairies of Britain owe, I think, +little more than the appellation, by which they have been distinguished +since the days of the crusade. The term "Fairy," occurs not only +in Chaucer, and in yet older English authors, but also, and more +frequently, in the romance language; from which they seem to have +adopted it. Ducange cites the following passage from Gul. Guiart, in +<i>Historia Francica</i>, MS.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Plusiers parlent de Guenart,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Du Lou, de L'Asne, de Renart,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">De <i>Faëries</i> et de Songes,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">De phantosmes et de mensonges.</span><br> + +<p>The <i>Lay le Frain</i>,enumerating the subjects of the Breton Lays, informs +us expressly,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Many ther beth <i>faëry</i>.</span><br> + +<p>By some etymologists of that learned class, who not only know whence +words come, but also whither they are going, the term <i>Fairy</i>, or +<i>Faërie</i>, is derived from <i>Faë</i>, which is again derived from <i>Nympha</i>. +It is more probable the term is of oriental origin, and is derived from +the Persic, through the medium of the Arabic. In Persic, the term <i>Peri</i> +expresses a species of imaginary being, which resembles the Fairy in +some of its qualities, and is one of the fairest creatures of romantic +fancy. This superstition must have been known to the Arabs, among whom +the Persian tales, or romances, even as early as the time of Mahomet, +were so popular, that it required the most terrible denunciations of +that legislator to proscribe them. Now, in the enunciation of the Arabs, +the term <i>Peri</i> would sound <i>Fairy</i>, the letter <i>p</i> not occurring in +the alphabet of that nation; and, as the chief intercourse of the early +crusaders was with the Arabs, or Saracens, it is probable they would +adopt the term according to their pronounciation. Neither will it be +considered as an objection to this opinion, that in Hesychius, the +Ionian term <i>Phereas</i>, or <i>Pheres</i>, denotes the satyrs of classical +antiquity, if the number of words of oriental origin in that +lexicographer be recollected. Of the Persian Peris, Ouseley, in his +<i>Persian Miscellanies</i>, has described some characteristic traits, with +all the luxuriance of a fancy, impregnated with the oriental association +of ideas. However vaguely their nature and appearance is described, they +are uniformly represented as gentle, amiable females, to whose character +beneficence and beauty are essential. None of them are mischievous or +malignant; none of them are deformed or diminutive, like the Gothic +fairy. Though they correspond in beauty with our ideas of angels, their +employments are dissimilar; and, as they have no place in heaven, their +abode is different. Neither do they resemble those intelligences, whom, +on account of their wisdom, the Platonists denominated Daemons; nor +do they correspond either to the guardian Genii of the Romans, or the +celestial virgins of paradise, whom the Arabs denominate Houri. But the +Peris hover in the balmy clouds, live in the colours of the rainbow, +and, as the exquisite purity of their nature rejects all nourishment +grosser than the odours of flowers, they subsist by inhaling the +fragrance of the jessamine and rose. Though their existence is not +commensurate with the bounds of human life, they are not exempted from +the common fate of mortals.—With the Peris, in Persian mythology, are +contrasted the Dives, a race of beings, who differ from them in sex, +appearance, and disposition. These are represented as of the male sex, +cruel, wicked, and of the most hideous aspect; or, as they are described +by Mr Finch, "with ugly shapes, long horns, staring eyes, shaggy hair, +great fangs, ugly paws, long tails, with such horrible difformity and +deformity, that I wonder the poor women are not frightened therewith." +Though they live very long, their lives are limited, and they are +obnoxious to the blows of a human foe. From the malignancy of their +nature, they not only wage war with mankind, but persecute the Peris +with unremitting ferocity. Such are the brilliant and fanciful colours +in which the imaginations of the Persian poets have depicted the +charming race of the Peris; and, if we consider the romantic gallantry +of the knights of chivalry, and of the crusaders, it will not appear +improbable, that their charms might occasionally fascinate the fervid +imagination of an amorous troubadour. But, further; the intercourse of +France and Italy with the Moors of Spain, and the prevalence of the +Arabic, as the language of science in the dark ages, facilitated the +introduction of their mythology amongst the nations of the west. Hence, +the romances of France, of Spain, and of Italy, unite in describing the +Fairy as an inferior spirit, in a beautiful female form, possessing many +of the amiable qualities of the eastern Peri. Nay, it seems sufficiently +clear, that the romancers borrowed from the Arabs, not merely the +general idea concerning those spirits, but even the names of individuals +amongst them. The Peri, <i>Mergian Banou</i> (see <i>Herbelot, ap. Peri</i>), +celebrated in the ancient Persian poetry, figures in the European +romances, under the various names of <i>Mourgue La Faye</i>, sister to <i>King +Arthur; Urgande La Deconnue</i>, protectress of <i>Amadis de Gaul</i>; and the +<i>Fata Morgana</i> of Boiardo and Ariosto. The description of these nymphs, +by the troubadours and minstrels, is in no respect inferior to those of +the Peris. In the tale of <i>Sir Launfal</i>, in Way's <i>Fabliaux</i>, as well as +in that of <i>Sir Gruelan</i>, in the same interesting collection, the reader +will find the fairy of Normandy, or Bretagne, adorned with all the +splendour of eastern description. The fairy <i>Melusina</i>, also, who +married Guy de Lusignan, count of Poictou, under condition that he +should never attempt to intrude upon her privacy, was of this latter +class. She bore the count many children, and erected for him a +magnificent castle by her magical art. Their harmony was uninterrupted, +until the prying husband broke the conditions of their union, by +concealing himself, to behold his wife make use of her enchanted +bath. Hardly had <i>Melusina</i> discovered the indiscreet intruder, than, +transforming herself into a dragon, she departed with a loud yell of +lamentation, and was never again visible to mortal eyes; although, even +in the days of Brantome, she was supposed to be the protectress of her +descendants, and was heard wailing, as she sailed upon the blast +round the turrets of the castle of Lusiguan, the night before it was +demolished. For the full story, the reader may consult the <i>Bibliotheque +des Romans</i>.<a name="FNanchor_A_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_39"><sup>[A]</sup></a>—Gervase of Tilbury (pp. 895, and 989), assures us, +that, in his days, the lovers of the Fadae, or Fairies, were numerous; +and describes the rules of their intercourse with as much accuracy, as +if he had himself been engaged in such an affair. Sir David Lindsay also +informs us, that a leopard is the proper armorial bearing of those +who spring from such intercourse, because that beast is generated by +adultery of the pard and lioness. He adds, that Merlin, the prophet, was +the first who adopted this cognizance, because he was "borne of faarie +in adultre, and right sua the first duk of Guyenne, was borne of a +<i>fee</i>; and, therefoir, the armes of Guyenne are a leopard."—<i>MS. on +Heraldry, Advocates' Library,</i> w. 4. 13. While, however, the Fairy of +warmer climes was thus held up as an object of desire and of affection, +those of Britain, and more especially those of Scotland, were far +from being so fortunate; but, retaining the unamiable qualities, and +diminutive size of the Gothic elves, they only exchanged that term for +the more popular appellation of Fairies.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_39">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Upon this, or some similar tradition, was founded the +notion, which the inveteracy of national prejudice, so easily diffused +in Scotland, that the ancestor of the English monarchs, Geoffrey +Plantagenet, had actually married a daemon. Bowmaker, in order to +explain the cruelty and ambition of Edward I., dedicates a chapter to +shew "how the kings of England are descended from the devil, by the +mother's side."—<i>Fordun, Chron.</i> lib. 9, cap. 6. The lord of a certain +castle, called Espervel, was unfortunate enough to have a wife of the +same class. Having observed, for several years, that she always left the +chapel before the mass was concluded, the baron, in a fit of obstinacy +or curiosity, ordered his guard to detain her by force; of which the +consequence was, that, unable to support the elevation of the host, she +retreated through the air, carrying with her one side of the chapel, and +several of the congregation.</p></div> + +<p>II. Indeed, so singularly unlucky were the British Fairies that, as has +already been hinted, amid the wreck of the Gothic mythology, consequent +upon the introduction of Christianity, they seem to have preserved, with +difficulty, their own distinct characteristics, while, at the same time, +they engrossed the mischievous attributes of several other classes of +subordinate spirits, acknowledged by the nations of the north. The +abstraction of children, for example, the well known practice of the +modern Fairy, seems, by the ancient Gothic nations, to have rather been +ascribed to a species of night-mare, or hag, than to the <i>berg-elfen</i>, +or <i>duergar</i>. In the ancient legend of <i>St Margaret</i>, of which there is +a Saxo-Norman copy, in <i>Hickes' Thesaurus Linguar. Septen.</i> and one, +more modern, in the Auchinleck MSS., that lady encounters a fiend, whose +profession it was, among other malicious tricks, to injure new-born +children and their mothers; a practice afterwards imputed to the +Fairies. Gervase of Tilbury, in the <i>Otia Imperialia</i>, mentions certain +hags, or <i>Lamiae</i>, who entered into houses in the night-time, to oppress +the inhabitants, while asleep, injure their persons and property, and +carry off their children. He likewise mentions the <i>Dracae</i>, a sort of +water spirits, who inveigle women and children into the recesses which +they inhabit, beneath lakes and rivers, by floating past them, on the +surface of the water, in the shape of gold rings, or cups. The women, +thus seized, are employed as nurses, and, after seven years, are +permitted to revisit earth. Gervase mentions one woman, in particular, +who had been allured by observing a wooden dish, or cup, float by her, +while washing clothes in a river. Being seized as soon as she reached +the depths, she was conducted into one of these subterranean recesses, +which she described as very magnificent, and employed as nurse to one of +the brood of the hag who had allured her. During her residence in this +capacity, having accidentally touched one of her eyes with an ointment +of serpent's grease, she perceived, at her return to the world, that she +had acquired the faculty of seeing the <i>dracae</i>, when they intermingle +themselves with men. Of this power she was, however, deprived by the +touch of her ghostly mistress, whom she had one day incautiously +addressed. It is a curious fact, that this story, in almost all its +parts, is current in both the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland, with +no other variation than the substitution of Fairies for <i>dracae</i>, and +the cavern of a hill for that of a river.<a name="FNanchor_A_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_40"><sup>[A]</sup></a> These water fiends are thus +characterized by Heywood, in the <i>Hierarchie</i>—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Spirits, that have o'er water gouvernement,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Are to mankind alike malevolent;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They trouble seas, flouds, rivers, brookes, and wels,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Meres, lakes, and love to enhabit watry cells;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hence noisome and pestiferous vapours raise;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Besides, they men encounter divers ways.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At wreckes some present are; another sort,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ready to cramp their joints that swim for sport:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One kind of these, the Italians <i>fatae</i> name,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Fee</i> the French, we <i>sybils</i>, and the same;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Others <i>white nymphs</i>, and those that have them seen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Night ladies</i> some, of which Habundia queen.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;"><i>Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels,</i> p. 507.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_40">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Indeed, many of the vulgar account it extremely dangerous +to touch any thing, which they may happen to find, without <i>saining</i> +(blessing) it, the snares of the enemy being notorious and well +attested. A poor woman of Tiviotdale, having been fortunate enough, as +she thought herself, to find a wooden beetle, at the very time when +she needed such an implement, seized it without pronouncing the proper +blessing, and, carrying it home, laid it above her bed, to be ready +for employment in the morning. At midnight, the window of her cottage +opened, and a loud voice was heard, calling upon some one within, by a +strange and uncouth name, which I have forgotten. The terrified cottager +ejaculated a prayer, which, we may suppose, insured her personal +safety; while the enchanted implement of housewifery, tumbling from the +bed-stead, departed by the window with no small noise and precipitation. +In a humorous fugitive tract, the late Dr Johnson is introduced as +disputing the authenticity of an apparition, merely because the spirit +assumed the shape of a tea-pot, and of a shoulder of mutton. No doubt, +a case so much in point, as that we have now quoted, would have removed +his incredulity.</p></div> + +<p>The following Frisian superstition, related by Schott, in his <i>Physica +Curiosa</i>, p. 362, on the authority of Cornelius a Kempen, coincides more +accurately with the popular opinions concerning the Fairies, than even +the <i>dracae</i> of Gervase, or the water-spirits of Thomas Heywood.—"In +the time of the emperor Lotharius, in 830," says he, "many spectres +infested Frieseland, particularly the white nymphs of the ancients, +which the moderns denominate <i>witte wiven</i>, who inhabited a +subterraneous cavern, formed in a wonderful manner, without human art, +on the top of a lofty mountain. These were accustomed to surprise +benighted travellers, shepherds watching their herds and flocks, and +women newly delivered, with their children; and convey them into their +caverns, from which subterranean murmurs, the cries of children, the +groans and lamentations of men, and sometimes imperfect words, and all +kinds of musical sounds, were heard to proceed." The same superstition +is detailed by Bekker, in his <i>World Bewitch'd</i>, p. 196, of the English +translation. As the different classes of spirits were gradually +confounded, the abstraction of children seems to have been chiefly +ascribed to the elves, or Fairies; yet not so entirely, as to exclude +hags and witches from the occasional exertion of their ancient +privilege.—In Germany, the same confusion of classes has not taken +place. In the beautiful ballads of the <i>Erl King</i>, the <i>Water King</i>, and +the <i>Mer-Maid</i>, we still recognize the ancient traditions of the Goths, +concerning the <i>wald-elven</i>, and the <i>dracae</i>.</p> + +<p>A similar superstition, concerning abstraction by daemons, seems, in +the time of Gervase of Tilbury, to have pervaded the greatest part of +Europe. "In Catalonia," says that author, "there is a lofty mountain, +named Cavagum, at the foot of which runs a river with golden sands, in +the vicinity of which there are likewise mines of silver. This mountain +is steep, and almost inaccessible. On its top, which is always covered +with ice and snow, is a black and bottomless lake, into which if a +stone be thrown, a tempest suddenly rises; and near this lake, though +invisible to men, is the porch of the palace of daemons. In a town +adjacent to this mountain, named Junchera, lived one Peter de Cabinam. +Being one day teazed with the fretfulness of his young daughter, he, in +his impatience, suddenly wished that the devil might take her; when she +was immediately borne away by the spirits. About seven years afterwards, +an inhabitant of the same city, passing by the mountain, met a man, who +complained bitterly of the burthen he was constantly forced to bear. +Upon enquiring the cause of his complaining, as he did not seem to carry +any load, the man related, that he had been unwarily devoted to the +spirits by an execration, and that they now employed him constantly as +a vehicle of burthen. As a proof of his assertion, he added, that the +daughter of his fellow-citizen was detained by the spirits, but that +they were willing to restore her, if her father would come and demand +her on the mountain. Peter de Cabinam, on being informed of this, +ascended the mountain to the lake, and, in the name of God, demanded his +daughter; when, a tall, thin, withered figure, with wandering eyes, and +almost bereft of understanding, was wafted to him in a blast of wind. +After some time, the person, who had been employed as the vehicle of the +spirits, also returned, when he related where the palace of the spirits +was situated; but added, that none were permitted to enter but those who +devoted themselves entirely to the spirits; those, who had been rashly +committed to the devil by others, being only permitted, during their +probation, to enter the porch." It may be proper to observe, that the +superstitious idea, concerning the lake on the top of the mountain, is +common to almost every high hill in Scotland. Wells, or pits, on the +top of high hills, were likewise supposed to lead to the subterranean +habitations of the Fairies. Thus, Gervase relates, (p. 975), "that he +was informed the swine-herd of William Peverell, an English baron, +having lost a brood-sow, descended through a deep abyss, in the middle +of an ancient ruinous castle, situated on the top of a hill, called +Bech, in search of it. Though a violent wind commonly issued from +this pit, he found it calm; and pursued his way, till he arrived at a +subterraneous region, pleasant and cultivated, with reapers cutting down +corn, though the snow remained on the surface of the ground above. Among +the ears of corn he discovered his sow, and was permitted to ascend with +her, and the pigs which she had farrowed." Though the author seems to +think that the inhabitants of this cave might be Antipodes, yet, as +many such stories are related of the Fairies, it is probable that this +narration is of the same kind. Of a similar nature seems to be another +superstition, mentioned by the same author, concerning the ringing of +invisible bells, at the hour of one, in a field in the vicinity of +Carleol, which, as he relates, was denominated <i>Laikibraine</i>, or <i>Lai ki +brait</i>. From all these tales, we may perhaps be justified in supposing, +that the faculties and habits ascribed to the Fairies, by the +superstition of latter days, comprehended several, originally attributed +to other classes of inferior spirits.</p> + +<p>III. The notions, arising from the spirit of chivalry, combined to add +to the Fairies certain qualities, less atrocious, indeed, but equally +formidable, with those which they derived from the last mentioned +source, and alike inconsistent with the powers of the <i>duergar</i>, whom +we may term their primitive prototype. From an early period, the daring +temper of the northern tribes urged them to defy even the supernatural +powers. In the days of Caesar, the Suevi were described, by their +countrymen, as a people, with whom the immortal gods dared not venture +to contend. At a later period, the historians of Scandinavia paint their +heroes and champions, not as bending at the altar of their deities, but +wandering into remote forests and caverns, descending into the recesses +of the tomb, and extorting boons, alike from gods and daemons, by dint +of the sword, and battle-axe. I will not detain the reader by quoting +instances, in which heaven is thus described as having been literally +attempted by storm. He may consult Saxo, Olaus Wormius, Olaus Magnus, +Torfaeus, Bartholin, and other northern antiquaries. With such ideas of +superior beings, the Normans, Saxons, and other Gothic tribes, brought +their ardent courage to ferment yet more highly in the genial climes of +the south, and under the blaze of romantic chivalry. Hence, during the +dark ages, the invisible world was modelled after the material; and the +saints, to the protection of whom the knights-errant were accustomed to +recommend themselves, were accoutered like <i>preux chevaliers</i>, by the +ardent imaginations of their votaries. With such ideas concerning the +inhabitants of the celestial regions, we ought not to be surprised to +find the inferior spirits, of a more dubious nature and origin, equipped +in the same disguise. Gervase of Tilbury (<i>Otia Imperial, ap. Script, +rer. Brunsvic,</i> Vol. I. p. 797.) relates the following popular story +concerning a Fairy Knight. "Osbert, a bold and powerful baron, visited +a noble family in the vicinity of Wandlebury, in the bishopric of Ely. +Among other stories related in the social circle of his friends, who, +according to custom, amused each other by repeating ancient tales and +traditions, he was informed, that if any knight, unattended, entered an +adjacent plain by moon-light, and challenged an adversary to appear, he +would be immediately encountered by a spirit in the form of a knight. +Osbert resolved to make the experiment, and set out, attended by a +single squire, whom he ordered to remain without the limits of the +plain, which was surrounded by an ancient entrenchment. On repeating the +challenge, he was instantly assailed by an adversary, whom he quickly +unhorsed, and seized the reins of his steed. During this operation, his +ghostly opponent sprung up, and, darting his spear, like a javelin, at +Osbert, wounded him in the thigh. Osbert returned in triumph with the +horse, which he committed to the care of his servants. The horse was of +a sable colour, as well as his whole accoutrements, and apparently of +great beauty and vigour. He remained with his keeper till cock-crowing, +when, with eyes flashing fire, he reared, spurned the ground, and +vanished. On disarming himself, Osbert perceived that he was wounded, +and that one of his steel boots was full of blood. Gervase adds, +that, as long as he lived, the scar of his wound opened afresh on the +anniversary of the eve on which he encountered the spirit."<a name="FNanchor_A_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_41"><sup>[A]</sup></a> Less +fortunate was the gallant Bohemian knight, who, travelling by night, +with a single companion, came in sight of a fairy host, arrayed under +displayed banners. Despising the remonstrances of his friend, the knight +pricked forward to break a lance with a champion who advanced from +the ranks, apparently in defiance. His companion beheld the Bohemian +over-thrown horse and man, by his aërial adversary; and, returning to +the spot next morning, he found the mangled, corpse of the knight and +steed.—<i>Hierarchie of Blessed Angels,</i> p. 554.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_41">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The unfortunate Chatterton was not, probably, acquainted +with Gervase of Tilbury; yet he seems to allude, in the <i>Battle of +Hastings</i>, to some modification of Sir Osbert's adventure: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So who they be that ouphant fairies strike,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their souls shall wander to King Offa's dike.</span><br> +</p><p> +The entrenchment, which served as lists for the combatants, is said by +Gervase to have been the work of the pagan invaders of Britain. In the +metrical romance of <i>Arthour and Merlin</i>, we have also an account of +Wandlesbury being occupied by the Sarasins, i.e. the Saxons; for all +pagans were Saracens with the romancers. I presume the place to have +been Wodnesbury, in Wiltshire, situated on the remarkable mound, +called Wansdike, which is obviously a Saxon work.—GOUGH'S <i>Cambden's +Britannia,</i> pp. 87—95.</p></div> + +<p>To the same current of warlike ideas, we may safely attribute the +long train of military processions which the Fairies are supposed +occasionally to exhibit. The elves, indeed, seem in this point to be +identified with the aërial host, termed, during the middle ages, the +<i>Milites Herlikini</i>, or <i>Herleurini</i>, celebrated by Pet. Blesensis, +and termed, in the life of St Thomas of Canterbury, the <i>Familia +Helliquinii</i>. The chief of this band was originally a gallant knight and +warrior; but, having spent his whole possessions in the service of the +emperor, and being rewarded with scorn, and abandoned to subordinate +oppression, he became desperate, and, with his sons and followers, +formed a band of robbers. After committing many ravages, and defeating +all the forces sent against him, Hellequin, with his whole troop, fell +in a bloody engagement with the Imperial host. His former good life was +supposed to save him from utter reprobation; but he and his followers +were condemned, after death, to a state of wandering, which should +endure till the last day. Retaining their military habits, they were +usually seen in the act of justing together, or in similar warlike +employments. See the ancient French romance of <i>Richard sans Peur</i>. +Similar to this was the <i>Nacht Lager</i>, or midnight camp, which seemed +nightly to beleaguer the walls of Prague,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"With ghastly faces thronged, and fiery arms,"</span><br> + +<p>but which disappeared upon recitation of the magical words, <i>Vezelé, +Vezelé, ho! ho! ho!</i>—For similar delusions, see DELRIUS, pp. 294, 295.</p> + +<p>The martial spirit of our ancestors led them to defy these aërial +warriors; and it is still currently believed, that he, who has courage +to rush upon a fairy festival, and snatch from them their drinking cup, +or horn, shall find it prove to him a cornucopia of good fortune, if he +can bear it in safety across a running stream. Such a horn is said to +have been presented to Henry I. by a lord of Colchester.—GERVAS TILB. +p. 980. A goblet is still carefully preserved in Edenhall, Cumberland, +which is supposed to have been seized at a banquet of the elves, by one +of the ancient family of Musgrave; or, as others say, by one of their +domestics, in the manner above described. The Fairy train vanished, +crying aloud,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If this glass do break or fall,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Farewell the luck of Edenhall!</span><br> + +<p>The goblet took a name from the prophecy, under which it is mentioned, +in the burlesque ballad, commonly attributed to the duke of Wharton, but +in reality composed by Lloyd, one of his jovial companions. The duke, +after taking a draught, had nearly terminated the "luck of Edenhall," +had not the butler caught the cup in a napkin, as it dropped from his +grace's hands. I understand it is not now subjected to such risques, but +the lees of wine are still apparent at the bottom.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">God prosper long, from being broke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The luck of Edenhall.—<i>Parody on Chevy Chace.</i></span><br> + +<p>Some faint traces yet remain, on the borders, of a conflict of a +mysterious and terrible nature, between mortals and the spirits of the +wilds. This superstition is incidentally alluded to by Jackson, at the +beginning of the 17th century. The fern seed, which is supposed to +become visible only on St John's Eve,<a name="FNanchor_A_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_42"><sup>[A]</sup></a> and at the very moment when +the Baptist was born, is held by the vulgar to be under the special +protection of the queen of Faëry. But, as the seed was supposed to have +the quality of rendering the possessor invisible at pleasure,<a name="FNanchor_B_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_43"><sup>[B]</sup></a> and to +be also of sovereign use in charms and incantations, persons of courage, +addicted to these mysterious arts, were wont to watch in solitude, to +gather it at the moment when it should become visible. The particular +charms, by which they fenced themselves during this vigil, are now +unknown; but it was reckoned a feat of no small danger, as the person +undertaking it was exposed to the most dreadful assaults from spirits, +who dreaded the effect of this powerful herb in the hands of a cabalist. +Such were the shades, which the original superstition, concerning the. +Fairies, received from the chivalrous sentiments of the middle ages.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_42">[A]</a><div class="note"> +<p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ne'er be I found by thee unawed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On that thrice hallowed eve abroad,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When goblins haunt, from fire and fen.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wood and lake, the steps of men.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">COLLINS'S <i>Ode to Fear.</i></span><br> +</p><p> +The whole history of St John the Baptist was, by our ancestors, +accounted mysterious, and connected with their own superstitions. +The fairy queen was sometimes identified with Herodias.—DELRII +<i>Disquisitiones Magicae,</i> pp. 168. 807. It is amusing to observe with +what gravity the learned Jesuit contends, that it is heresy to believe +that this celebrated figurante (<i>saltatricula</i>) still leads choral +dances upon earth!</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_43">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> This is alluded to by Shakespeare, and other authors of his +time: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We have the receipt of <i>fern-seed</i>; we walk invisible."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Henry IV. Part 1st, Act 2d, Sc. 3</i>.</span></p></div><br> + +<p>IV. An absurd belief in the fables of classical antiquity lent an +additional feature to the character of the woodland spirits of whom we +treat. Greece and Rome had not only assigned tutelary deities to each +province and city, but had peopled, with peculiar spirits, the Seas, the +Rivers, the Woods, and the Mountains. The memory of the pagan creed was +not speedily eradicated, in the extensive provinces through which it was +once universally received; and, in many particulars, it continued long +to mingle with, and influence, the original superstitions of the Gothic +nations. Hence, we find the elves occasionally arrayed in the costume of +Greece and Rome, and the Fairy Queen and her attendants transformed into +Diana and her nymphs, and invested with their attributes and appropriate +insignia.—DELRIUS, pp. 168, 807. According to the same author, the +Fairy Queen was also called <i>Habundia</i>. Like Diana, who, in one +capacity, was denominated <i>Hecate</i>, the goddess of enchantment, the +Fairy Queen is identified in popular tradition, with the <i>Gyre-Carline, +Gay Carline</i>, or mother witch, of the Scottish peasantry. Of this +personage, as an individual, we have but few notices. She is sometimes +termed <i>Nicneven</i>,and is mentioned in the <i>Complaynt of Scotland</i>, by +Lindsay in his <i>Dreme</i>, p. 225, edit. 1590, and in his <i>Interludes</i>, +apud PINKERTON'S <i>Scottish Poems</i>, Vol. II. p. 18. But the traditionary +accounts regarding her are too obscure to admit of explanation. In the +burlesque fragment subjoined, which is copied from the Bannatyne MS. the +Gyre Carline is termed the <i>Queen of Jowis</i> (Jovis, or perhaps Jews), +and is, with great consistency, married to Mohammed.<a name="FNanchor_A_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_44"><sup>[A]</sup></a></p> + + +<a name="Footnote_A_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_44">[A]</a><div class="note"> +<p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In Tyberius tyme, the trew imperatour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Quhen Tynto hills fra skraipiug of toun-henis was keipit,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thair dwelt are grit Gyre Carling in awld Betokis bour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That levit upoun Christiane menis flesche, and rewheids unleipit;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thair wynit ane hir by, on the west syde, callit Blasour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For luve of hir lanchane lippis, he walit and he weipit;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He gadderit are menzie of modwartis to warp doun the tour:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Carling with are yren club, quhen yat Blasour sleipit,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Behind the heil scho hat him sic ane blaw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Quhil Blasour bled ane quart</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Off milk pottage inwart,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The Carling luche, and lut fart</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">North Berwik Law.</span><br> +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king of fary than come, with elfis many ane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sett are sege, and are salt, with grit pensallis of pryd;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And all the doggis fra Dunbar wes thair to Dumblane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With all the tykis of Tervey, come to thame that tyd;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thay quelle doune with thair gonnes mony grit stane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The Carling schup hir on ane sow, and is her gaitis gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Grunting our the Greik sie, and durst na langer byd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For bruklyng of bargane, and breikhig of browis:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The Carling now for dispyte</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Is maieit with Mahomyte,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">And will the doggis interdyte,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">For scho is queue of Jowis.</span><br> +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sensyne the cockis of Crawmound crew nevir at day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For dule of that devillisch deme wes with Mahoun mareit,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the henis of Hadingtoun sensyne wald not lay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For this wild wibroun wich thame widlit sa and wareit;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the same North Berwik Law, as I heir wyvis say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This Carling, with a fals east, wald away careit;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For to luck on quha sa lykis, na langer scho tareit:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All this languor for love before tymes fell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Lang or Betok was born,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Scho bred of ane accorne;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The laif of the story to morne,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">To you I sall telle.</span></p></div><br> + +<p>But chiefly in Italy were traced many dim characters of ancient +mythology, in the creed of tradition. Thus, so lately as 1536, Vulcan, +with twenty of his Cyclops, is stated to have presented himself suddenly +to a Spanish merchant, travelling in the night, through the forests of +Sicily; an apparition, which was followed by a dreadful eruption of +Mount Aetna.—<i>Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels,</i> p. 504 Of this +singular mixture, the reader will find a curious specimen in the +following tale, wherein the Venus of antiquity assumes the manners of +one of the Fays, or Fatae, of romance. "In the year 1058, a young man +of noble birth had been married at Rome, and, during the period of his +nuptial feast, having gone with his companions to play at ball, he put +his marriage ring on the finger of a broken statue of Venus in the area, +to remain, while he was engaged in the recreation. Desisting from the +exercise, he found the finger, on which he had put his ring, contracted +firmly against the palm, and attempted in vain either to break it, or to +disengage his ring. He concealed the circumstance from his companions, +and returned at night with a servant, when he found the finger extended, +and his ring gone. He dissembled the loss, and returned to his wife; +but, whenever he attempted to embrace her, he found himself prevented +by something dark and dense, which was tangible, though not visible, +interposing between them; and he heard a voice saying, 'Embrace me! for +I am Venus, whom this day you wedded, and I will not restore your ring.' +As this was constantly repeated, he consulted his relations, who had +recourse to Palumbus, a priest, skilled in necromancy. He directed the +young man to go, at a certain hour of night, to a spot among the ruins +of ancient Rome, where four roads met, and wait silently till he saw a +company pass by, and then, without uttering a word, to deliver a letter, +which he gave him, to a majestic being, who rode in a chariot, after the +rest of the company. The young man did as he was directed; and saw a +company of all ages, sexes, and ranks, on horse and on foot, some joyful +and others sad, pass along; among whom he distinguished a woman in a +meretricious dress, who, from the tenuity of her garments, seemed +almost naked. She rode on a mule; her long hair, which flowed over her +shoulders, was bound with a golden fillet; and in her hand was a golden +rod, with which she directed her mule. In the close of the procession, +a tall majestic figure appeared in a chariot, adorned with emeralds +and pearls, who fiercely asked the young man, 'What he did there?' He +presented the letter in silence, which the daemon dared not refuse. +As soon as he had read, lifting up his hands to heaven, he exclaimed, +'Almighty God! how long wilt thou endure the iniquities of the sorcerer +Palumbus!' and immediately dispatched some of his attendants, who, with +much difficulty, extorted the ring from Venus, and restored it to +its owner, whose infernal banns were thus dissolved."—FORDUNI +<i>Scotichronicon,</i> Vol. I. p. 407, <i>cura</i> GOODALL.</p> + +<p>But it is rather in the classical character of an infernal deity, that +the elfin queen may be considered, than as <i>Hecate</i>, the patroness of +magic; for not only in the romance writers, but even in Chaucer, are the +Fairies identified with the ancient inhabitants of the classical hell. +Thus Chaucer, in his <i>Marchand's Tale</i>, mentions</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Pluto that is king of fayrie—and</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Proserpine and all her fayrie.</span><br> + +<p>In the <i>Golden Terge</i> of Dunbar, the same phraseology is adopted: Thus,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thair was Pluto that elricke incubus</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In cloke of grene, his court usit in sable.</span><br> + +<p>Even so late as 1602, in Harsenet's <i>Declaration of Popish Imposture,</i> +p. 57, Mercury is called <i>Prince of the Fairies.</i></p> + +<p>But Chaucer, and those poets who have adopted his phraseology, have only +followed the romance writers; for the same substitution occurs in the +romance of <i>Orfeo and Heurodis</i>, in which the story of Orpheus and +Eurydice is transformed into a beautiful romantic tale of faëry, and +the Gothic mythology engrafted on the fables of Greece. <i>Heurodis</i> is +represented as wife of <i>Orfeo</i>, and queen of Winchester, the ancient +name of which city the romancer, with unparalleled ingenuity, discovers +to have been Traciens, or Thrace. The monarch, her husband, had a +singular genealogy:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His fader was comen of King Pluto,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And his moder of King Juno;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That sum time were as godes y-holde,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For aventours that thai dede and tolde.</span><br> + +<p>Reposing, unwarily, at noon, under the shade of an ymp tree,<a name="FNanchor_A_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_45"><sup>[A]</sup></a> +<i>Heurodis</i> dreams that she is accosted by the King of Fairies,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With an hundred knights and mo,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And damisels an hundred also,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Al on snowe white stedes;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As white as milke were her wedes;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Y no seigh never yete bifore,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So fair creatours y-core:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The kinge hadde a croun on hed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It nas of silver, no of golde red,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ac it was of a precious ston:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As bright as the sonne it schon.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_45">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Ymp tree</i>—According to the general acceptation, this only +signifies a grafted tree; whether it should he here understood to mean a +tree consecrated to the imps, or fairies, is left with the reader.</p></div> + +<p>The King of Fairies, who had obtained power over the queen, perhaps from +her sleeping at noon in his domain, orders her, under the penalty of +being torn to pieces, to await him to-morrow under the ymp tree, and +accompany him to Fairy-Land. She relates her dream to her husband, who +resolves to accompany her, and attempt her rescue:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A morwe the under tide is come,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Orfeo hath his armes y-nome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wele ten hundred knights with him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ich y-armed stout and grim;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And with the quen wenten he,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Right upon that ympe tre.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thai made scheltrom in iche aside,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sayd thai wold there abide,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And dye ther everichon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Er the qeun schuld fram hem gon:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ac yete amiddes hem ful right,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The quen was oway y-twight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With Fairi forth y-nome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Men wizt never wher sche was become.</span><br> + +<p>After this fatal catastrophe, <i>Orfeo</i>, distracted for the loss of +his queen, abandons his throne, and, with his harp, retires into a +wilderness, where he subjects himself to every kind of austerity, and +attracts the wild beasts by the pathetic melody of his harp. His state +of desolation is poetically described:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that werd the fowe and griis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And on bed the purpur biis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now on bard hethe he lith.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With leves and gresse he him writh:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that had castells and tours,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rivers, forests, frith with flowrs.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now thei it commence to snewe and freze,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This king mot make his bed in mese:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that had y-had knightes of priis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bifore him kneland and leuedis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now seth he no thing that him liketh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bot wild wormes bi him striketh:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He that had y-had plente</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of mete and drinke, of ich deynte,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now may he al daye digge and wrote,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Er he find his fille of rote.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In sorner he liveth bi wild fruit,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And verien hot gode lite.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In winter may he no thing find,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bot rotes, grases, and the rinde.</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His here of his herd blac and rowe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To his girdel stede was growe;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His harp, whereon was al his gle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He hidde in are holwe tre:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, when the weder was clere and bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He toke his harpe to him wel right,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And harped at his owen will,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Into al the wode the soun gan shill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That al the wild bestes that ther beth</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For joie abouten him thai teth;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And al the foules that ther wer,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come and sete on ich a brere,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To here his harping a fine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So miche melody was therein.</span><br> + +<p>At last he discovers, that he is not the sole inhabitant of this desart; +for</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He might se him besides</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Oft in hot undertides,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king of Fairi, with his route,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come to hunt him al about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With dim cri and bloweing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And houndes also with him berking;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ac no best thai no nome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No never he nist whider thai bi come.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And other while he might hem se</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As a gret ost bi him te,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Well atourued ten hundred knightes,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ich y-armed to his rightes,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of cuntenance stout and fers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With mani desplaid baners;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ich his sword y-drawe hold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ac never he nist whider thai wold.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And otherwhile he seighe other thing;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Knightis and lenedis com daunceing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In queynt atire gisely,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Queyete pas and softlie:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tabours and trumpes gede hem bi,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And al mauer menstraci.—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And on a day he seighe him biside,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sexti leuedis on hors ride,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gentil and jolif as brid on ris;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nought o man amonges hem ther nis;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ich a faucoun on bond bere,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And riden on hauken bi o river.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of game thai found wel gode haunt,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Maulardes, hayroun, and cormoraunt;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The foules of the water ariseth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ich faucoun hem wele deviseth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ich fancoun his pray slough,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That seize Orfeo and lough.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Par fay," quoth he, "there is fair game,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hider Ichil bi Godes name,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ich was y won swich work to se:"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He aros, and thider gan te;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To a leuedie hi was y-come,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bihelde, and hath wel under nome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And seth, bi al thing, that is</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His owen quen, dam Heurodis;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gern hi biheld her, and sche him eke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ac nouther to other a word no speke:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For messais that sche on him seighe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That had ben so riche and so heighe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The teres fel out of her eighe;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The other leuedis this y seighe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And maked hir oway to ride,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sche most with him no longer obide.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Allas!" quoth he, "nowe is mi woe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Whi nil deth now me slo;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Allas! to long last mi liif,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"When y no dare nought with mi wif,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor hye to me o word speke;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Allas whi nil miin hert breke!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Par fay," quoth he, "tide what betide,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Whider so this leuedis ride,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The selve way Ichil streche;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Of liif, no dethe, me no reche.</span><br> + +<p>In consequence, therefore, of this discovery <i>Orfeo</i> pursues the hawking +damsels, among whom he has descried his lost queen. They enter a rock, +the king continues the pursuit, and arrives at Fairy-Land, of which the +following very poetical description is given:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In at roche the leuedis rideth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he after and nought abideth;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When he was in the roche y-go,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wele thre mile other mo,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He com into a fair cuntray,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As bright soonne somers day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Smothe and plain and al grene,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hill no dale nas none ysene,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Amiddle the loud a castel he seighe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rich and reale and wonder heighe;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Al the utmast wal</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was cler and schine of cristal;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An hundred tours ther were about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Degiselich and bataild stout;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The butrass come out of the diche,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of rede gold y-arched riche;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The bousour was anowed al,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of ich maner deuers animal;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Within ther wer wide wones</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Al of precious stones,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The werss piler onto biholde,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Was al of burnist gold:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Al that loud was ever light,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For when it schuld be therk and night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The riche stonnes light gonne,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bright as doth at nonne the sonne</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No man may tel, no thenke in thought.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The riche werk that ther was rought.</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Than he gan biholde about al,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And seighe ful liggeand with in the wal,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of folk that wer thidder y-brought,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thought dede and nere nought;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sum stode with outen hadde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And some none armes nade;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sum thurch the bodi hadde wounde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sum lay wode y-bounde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sum armed on hors sete;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sum astrangled as thai ete;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sum war in water adreynt;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sum with fire al for schreynt;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wives ther lay on childe bedde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sum dede, and sum awedde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wonder fere ther lay besides,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Right as thai slepe her undertides;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eche was thus in this warld y-nome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With fairi thider y-come.<a name="FNanchor_A_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_46"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There he seize his owhen wiif,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dame Heurodis, his liif liif,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Slepe under an ympe tree:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bi her clothes he knewe that it was he,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And when he had bihold this mervalis alle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He went into the kinges halle;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then seigh he there a semly sight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A tabernacle blisseful and bright;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ther in her maister king sete,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And her quen fair and swete;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her crounes, her clothes schine so bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That unnethe bihold he hem might.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Orfeo and Heurodis, MS.</i></span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_46">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> It was perhaps from such a description that Ariosto adopted +his idea of the Lunar Paradise, containing every thing that on earth was +stolen or lost.</p></div> + +<p><i>Orfeo</i>, as a minstrel, so charms the Fairy King with the music of +his harp, that he promises to grant him whatever he should ask. He +immediately demands his lost <i>Heurodis</i>; and, returning safely with +her to Winchester, resumes his authority; a catastrophe, less pathetic +indeed, but more pleasing, than that of the classical story. The +circumstances, mentioned in this romantic legend, correspond very +exactly with popular tradition. Almost all the writers on daemonology +mention, as a received opinion that the power of the daemons is most +predominant at noon and midnight. The entrance to the Land of Faëry is +placed in the wilderness; a circumstance, which coincides with a passage +in Lindsay's <i>Complaint of the Papingo:</i></p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bot sen my spreit mon from my bodye go,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I recommend it to the queue of Fary,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Eternally into her court to tarry</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In <i>wilderness</i> amang the holtis hair.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">LINDSAY'S <i>Works</i>, 1592, p. 222.</span><br> + +<p>Chaucer also agrees, in this particular, with our romancer:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In his sadel he clombe anon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And priked over stile and ston,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An elf quene for to espie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Til he so long had riden and gone</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That he fond in a privie wone</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The countree of Faërie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wherein he soughte north and south,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And often spired with his mouth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">In many a foreste wilde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For in that countree nas ther non,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That to him dorst ride or gon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Neither wif ne childe.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Rime of Sir Thopas.</i></span><br> + +<p>V. Other two causes, deeply affecting the superstition of which we +treat, remain yet to be noticed. The first is derived from the Christian +religion, which admits only of two classes of spirits, exclusive of the +souls of men—Angels, namely, and Devils. This doctrine had a necessary +tendency to abolish the distinction among subordinate spirits, which had +been introduced by the superstitions of the Scandinavians. The existence +of the Fairies was readily admitted; but, as they had no pretensions to +the angelic character, they were deemed to be of infernal origin. The +union, also, which had been formed betwixt the elves and the Pagan +deities, was probably of disservice to the former; since every one +knows, that the whole synod of Olympus were accounted daemons.</p> + +<p>The fulminations of the church were, therefore, early directed against +those, who consulted or consorted with the Fairies; and, according to +the inquisitorial logic, the innocuous choristers of Oberon and Titania +were, without remorse, confounded with the sable inhabitants of the +orthodox Gehennim; while the rings, which marked their revels, were +assimilated to the blasted sward on which the witches held their +infernal sabbath.—<i>Delrii Disq. Mag.</i> p. 179. This transformation early +took place; for, among the many crimes for which the famous Joan of Arc +was called upon to answer, it was not the least heinous, that she +had frequented the Tree and Fountain, near Dompré, which formed the +rendezvous of the Fairies, and bore their name; that she had joined in +the festive dance with the elves, who haunted this charmed spot; had +accepted of their magical bouquets, and availed herself of their +talismans, for the delivery of her country.—<i>Vide Acta Judiciaria +contra Johannam D'Arceam, vulgo vocutam Johanne la Pucelle.</i></p> + +<p>The Reformation swept away many of the corruptions of the church of +Rome; but the purifying torrent remained itself somewhat tinctured by +the superstitious impurities of the soil over which it had passed. The +trials of sorcerers and witches, which disgrace our criminal records, +become even more frequent after the Reformation of the church; as if +human credulity, no longer amused by the miracles of Rome, had sought +for food in the traditionary records of popular superstition. A Judaical +observation of the precepts of the Old Testament also characterized the +Presbyterian reformers. <i>"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live,"</i> was +a text, which at once (as they conceived) authorized their belief in +sorcery, and sanctioned the penalty which they denounced against it. The +Fairies were, therefore, in no better credit after the Reformation than +before, being still regarded as actual daemons, or something very little +better. A famous divine, Doctor Jasper Brokeman, teaches us, in his +system of divinity, "that they inhabit in those places that are polluted +with any crying sin, as effusion of blood, or where unbelief or +superstitione have gotten the upper hand."—<i>Description of Feroe.</i> The +Fairies being on such bad terms with the divines, those, who pretended +to intercourse with them, were, without scruple, punished as sorcerers; +and such absurd charges are frequently stated as exaggerations of +crimes, in themselves sufficiently heinous.</p> + +<p>Such is the case in the trial of the noted Major Weir, and his sister; +where the following mummery interlards a criminal indictment, too +infamously flagitious to be farther detailed: "9th April, 1670. Jean +Weir, indicted of sorceries, committed by her when she lived and kept a +school at Dalkeith: that she took employment from a woman, to speak in +her behalf to the <i>Queen of Fairii, meaning the Devil</i>; and that another +woman gave her a piece of a tree, or root, the next day, and did tell +her, that as long as she kept the same, she should be able to do what +she pleased; and that same woman, from whom she got the tree, caused her +spread a cloth before her door, and set her foot upon it, and to repeat +thrice, in the posture foresaid, these words, <i>'All her losses and +crosses go alongst to the doors,'</i> which was truly a consulting with the +devil, and an act of sorcery, &c. That after the spirit, in the shape of +a woman, who gave her the piece of tree, had removed, she, addressing +herself to spinning, and having spun but a short time, found more +yarn upon the pirn than could possibly have come there by good +means."<a name="FNanchor_A_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_47"><sup>[A]</sup></a>—<i>Books of Adjournal.</i></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_47">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> It is observed in the record, that Major Weir, a man of +the most vicious character, was at the same time ambitious of appearing +eminently godly; and used to frequent the beds of sick persons, to +assist them with his prayers. On such occasions, he put to his mouth +a long staff, which he usually carried, and expressed himself with +uncommon energy and fluency, of which he was utterly incapable when the +inspiring rod was withdrawn. This circumstance, the result, probably, of +a trick or habit, appearing suspicious to the judges, the staff of the +sorcerer was burned along with his person. One hundred and thirty years +have elapsed since his execution, yet no one has, during that space, +ventured to inhabit the house of this celebrated criminal.</p></div> + +<p>Neither was the judgment of the criminal court of Scotland less severe +against another familiar of the Fairies, whose supposed correspondence +with the court of Elfland seems to have constituted the sole crime, for +which she was burned alive. Her name was Alison Pearson, and she seems +to have been a very noted person. In a bitter satire against Adamson, +Bishop of St Andrews, he is accused of consulting with sorcerers, +particularly with this very woman; and an account is given of her +travelling through Breadalbane, in the company of the Queen of Faëry, +and of her descrying, in the court of Elfland, many persons, who had +been supposed at rest in the peaceful grave.<a name="FNanchor_A_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_48"><sup>[A]</sup></a> Among these we find two +remarkable personages; the secretary, young Maitland of Lethington, and +one of the old lairds of Buccleuch. The cause of their being stationed +in Elfland probably arose from the manner of their decease; which, being +uncommon and violent, caused the vulgar to suppose that they had been +abstracted by the Fairies. Lethington, as is generally supposed, died a +Roman death during his imprisonment in Leith; and the Buccleuch, whom I +believe to be here meant, was slain in a nocturnal scuffle by the Kerrs, +his hereditary enemies. Besides, they were both attached to the cause +of Queen Mary, and to the ancient religion; and were thence, probably, +considered as more immediately obnoxious to the assaults of the powers +of darkness.<a name="FNanchor_B_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_49"><sup>[B]</sup></a> The indictment of Alison Pearson notices her intercourse +with the Archbishop of St Andrews, and contains some particulars, worthy +of notice, regarding the court of Elfland. It runs thus: "28th May, +1586. Alison Pearson, in Byrehill, convicted of witchcraft, and of +consulting with evil spirits, in the form of one Mr William Simpsone, +her cosin, who she affirmed was a gritt schollar, and doctor of +medicine, that healed her of her diseases when she was twelve years of +age; having lost the power of her syde, and having a familiaritie with +him for divers years, dealing with charms, and abuseing the common +people by her arts of witchcraft, thir divers years by-past.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_48">[A]</a><div class="note"> +<p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For oght the kirk culd him forbid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He sped him sone, and gat the thrid;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ane carling of the quene of Phareis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That ewill win geir to elpliyne careis;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through all Brade Abane scho has bene,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On horsbak on Hallow ewin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ay in seiking certayne nightis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As scho sayis with sur silly wychirs:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And names out nybours sex or sewin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That we belevit had bene in heawin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scho said scho saw theme weill aneugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And speciallie gude auld Balcleuch,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The secretar, and sundrie uther:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ane William Symsone, her mother brother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whom fra scho has resavit a buike</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For ony herb scho likes to luke;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It will instruct her how to tak it,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In saws and sillubs how to mak it;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With stones that meikle mair can doe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In leich craft, where scho lays them toe:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A thousand maladeis scho hes mendit;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now being tane, and apprehendit,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Scho being in the bischopis cure,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And keipit in his castle sure,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Without respect of worldlie glamer,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He past into the witches chalmer.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Scottish Poems of XVI. Century,</i> Edin. 1801,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Vol. II, p. 320.</span></p></div><br> + +<a name="Footnote_B_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_49">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> Buccleuch was a violent enemy to the English, by whom his +lands had been repeatedly plundered (See <i>Introduction,</i> p. xxvi), and +a great advocate for the marriage betwixt Mary and the dauphin, 1549. +According to John Knox, he had recourse even to threats, in urging the +parliament to agree to the French match. "The laird of Buccleuch," says +the Reformer, "a bloody man, with many Gods wounds, swore, they that +would not consent should do worse."</p></div> + +<p>"<i>Item,</i> For banting and repairing with the gude neighbours, and queene +of Elfland, thir divers years by-past, as she had confest; and that she +had friends in that court, which were of her own blude, who had gude +acquaintance of the queene of Elfland, which might have helped her; but +she was whiles well, and whiles ill, sometimes with them, a'nd other +times away frae them; and that she would be in her bed haille and feire, +and would not wytt where she would be the morn; and that she saw not the +queene this seven years, and that she was seven years ill handled in the +court of Elfland; that, however, she kad gude friends there, and that +it was the gude neighbours that healed her, under God; and that she was +comeing and going to St Andrews to haile folkes thir many years past.</p> + +<p>"<i>Item,</i> Convict of the said act of witchcraft, in as far as she confest +that the said Mr William Sympsoune, who was her guidsir sone, born in +Stirleing, who was the king's smith, who, when about eight years of age, +was taken away by ane Egyptian to Egypt; which Egyptian was a gyant, +where he remained twelve years, "and then came home.</p> + +<p>"<i>Item,</i> That she being in Grange Muir, with some other folke, she, +being sick, lay downe; and, when alone, there came a man to her, clad in +green, who said to her, if she would be faithful, he would do her good; +but she, being feared, cried out, but naebodye came to her; so she said, +if he came in God's name, and for the gude of her saule, it was well; +but he gaid away: that he appeared to her another tyme like a lustie +man, and many men and women with him; that, at seeing him, she signed +herself and prayed, and past with them, and saw them making merrie with +pypes, and gude cheir and wine, and that she was carried with them; and +that when she telled any of these things, she was sairlie tormentit by +them; and that the first time she gaed with them, she gat a sair straike +frae one of them, which took all the <i>poustie</i><a name="FNanchor_A_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_50"><sup>[A]</sup></a> of her syde frae her, +and left ane ill-far'd mark on her syde.</p> + +<p>"<i>Item,</i> That she saw the gude neighbours make their sawes<a name="FNanchor_B_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_51"><sup>[B]</sup></a> with panns +and fyres, and that they gathered the herbs before the sun was up, and +they came verie fearful sometimes to her, and flaide<a name="FNanchor_C_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_52"><sup>[C]</sup></a> her very sair, +which made her cry, and threatened they would use her worse than before; +and, at last, they took away the power of her haile syde frae her, which +made her lye many weeks. Sometimes they would come and sitt by her, and +promise all that she should never want if she would be faithful, but if +she would speak and telle of them, they should murther her; and that Mr +William Sympsoune is with them, who healed her, and telt her all things; +that he is a young man not six years older than herself, and that he +will appear to her before the court comes; that he told her he was taken +away by them, and he bidd her sign herself that she be not taken away, +for the teind of them are tane to hell everie year.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_50">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Poustie</i>—Power.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_51">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Sawes</i>—Salves.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_52">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Flaide</i>—Scared.</p></div> + +<p>"<i>Item,</i> That the said Mr William told her what herbs were fit to cure +every disease, and how to use them; and particularlie tauld, that the +Bishop of St Andrews laboured under sindrie diseases, sic as the riples, +trembling, feaver, flux, &c. and bade her make a sawe, and anoint +several parts of his body therewith, and gave directions for making a +posset, which she made and gave him."</p> + +<p>For this idle story the poor woman actually suffered death. Yet, +notwithstanding the fervent arguments thus liberally used by the +orthodox, the common people, though they dreaded even to think or speak +about the Fairies, by no means unanimously acquiesced in the doctrine, +which consigned them to eternal perdition. The inhabitants of the Isle +of Man call them the "<i>good people</i>, and say they live in wilds, and +forests, and on mountains, and shun great cities, because of the +wickedness acted therein: all the houses are blessed where they visit, +for they fly vice. A person would be thought impudently prophane who +should suffer his family to go to bed, without having first set a tub, +or pail, full of clean water, for those guests to bathe themselves in, +which the natives aver they constantly do, as soon as ever the eyes of +the family are closed, wherever they vouchsafe to come."—WALDREN's +<i>Works</i>, p. 126. There are some curious, and perhaps anomalous facts, +concerning the history of Fairies, in a sort of Cock-lane narrative, +contained in a letter from Moses Pitt, to Dr Edward Fowler, Lord Bishop +of Gloucester, printed at London in 1696, and preserved in Morgan's +<i>Phoenix Britannicus,</i> 4to, London 1732.</p> + +<p>Anne Jefferies was born in the parish of St Teath, in the county of +Cornwall, in 1626. Being the daughter of a poor man, she resided as +servant in the house of the narrator's father, and waited upon the +narrator himself, in his childhood. As she was knitting stockings in an +arbour of the garden, "six small people, all in green clothes," came +suddenly over the garden wall; at the sight of whom, being much +frightened, she was seized with convulsions, and continued so long sick, +that she became as a changeling, and was unable to walk. During her +sickness, she frequently exclaimed, "They are just gone out of the +window! they are just gone out of the window! do you not see them?" +These expressions, as she afterwards declared, related to their +disappearing. During the harvest, when every one was employed, her +mistress walked out; and dreading that Anne, who was extremely weak +and silly, might injure herself, or the house, by the fire, with some +difficulty persuaded her to walk in the orchard till her return. She +accidentally hurt her leg, and, at her return, Anne cured it, by +stroking it with her hand. She appeared to be informed of every +particular, and asserted, that she had this information from the +Fairies, who had caused the misfortune. After this, she performed +numerous cures, but would never receive money for them. From harvest +time to Christmas, she was fed by the Fairies, and eat no other victuals +but theirs. The narrator affirms, that, looking one day through the +key-hole of the door of her chamber, he saw her eating; and that she +gave him a piece of bread, which was the most delicious he ever tasted. +The Fairies always appeared to her in even numbers; never less than two, +nor more than eight, at a time. She had always a sufficient stock of +salves and medicines, and yet neither made, nor purchased any; nor did +she ever appear to be in want of money. She, one day, gave a silver cup, +containing about a quart, to the daughter of her mistress, a girl about +four years old, to carry to her mother, who refused to receive it. The +narrator adds, that he had seen her dancing in the orchard among the +trees, and that she informed him she was then dancing with the Fairies. +The report of the strange cures which she performed, soon attracted the +attention of both ministers and magistrates. The ministers endeavoured +to persuade her, that the Fairies by which she was haunted, were evil +spirits, and that she was under the delusion of the devil. After they +had left her, she was visited by the Fairies, while in great perplexity; +who desired her to cause those, who termed them evil spirits, to +read that place of scripture, <i>First Epistle of John,</i>, chap. iv. v. +1,—<i>Dearly beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, +whether they are of God,</i> &c. Though Anne Jefferies could not read, she +produced a Bible folded down at this passage. By the magistrates she was +confined three months, without food, in Bodmin jail, and afterwards +for some time in the house of Justice Tregeagle. Before the constable +appeared to apprehend her, she was visited by the Fairies, who informed +her what was intended, and advised her to go with him. When this account +was given, on May 1, 1696, she was still alive; but refused to relate +any particulars of her connection with the Fairies, or the occasion on +which they deserted her, lest she should again fall under the cognizance +of the magistrates.</p> + +<p>Anne Jefferies' Fairies were not altogether singular in maintaining +their good character, in opposition to the received opinion of the +church. Aubrey and Lily, unquestionably judges in such matters, had +a high opinion of these beings, if we may judge from the following +succinct and business-like memorandum of a ghost-seer. "Anno 1670. Not +far from Cirencester was an apparition. Being demanded whether a good +spirit or a bad, returned no answer, but disappeared with a curious +perfume, and most melodious twang. M.W. Lilly believes it was a Fairie. +So Propertius,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Omnia finierat; tenues secessit in auras,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mansit odor possis scire fuisse Deam!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">AUBREY'S <i>Miscellanies,</i> p. 80.</span><br> + +<p>A rustic, also, whom Jackson taxed with magical practices, about 1620, +obstinately denied that the good King of the Fairies had any connection +with the devil; and some of the Highland seers, even in our day, +have boasted of their intimacy with the elves, as an innocent and +advantageous connection. One Maccoan, in Appin, the last person +eminently gifted with the second sight, professed to my learned and +excellent friend, Mr Ramsay, of Ochtertyre, that he owed his prophetic +visions to their intervention.</p> + +<p>VI. There remains yet another cause to be noticed, which seems to have +induced a considerable alteration into the popular creed of England, +respecting Fairies. Many poets of the sixteenth century, and, above all, +our immortal Shakespeare, deserting the hackneyed fictions of Greece and +Rome, sought for machinery in the superstitions of their native country. +"The fays, which nightly dance upon the wold," were an interesting +subject; and the creative imagination of the bard, improving upon the +vulgar belief, assigned to them many of those fanciful attributes and +occupations, which posterity have since associated with the name +of Fairy. In such employments, as rearing the drooping flower, and +arranging the disordered chamber, the Fairies of South Britain gradually +lost the harsher character of the dwarfs, or elves. Their choral dances +were enlivened by the introduction of the merry goblin <i>Puck</i>,<a name="FNanchor_A_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_53"><sup>[A]</sup></a> +for whose freakish pranks they exchanged their original mischievous +propensities. The Fairies of Shakespeare, Drayton, and Mennis, +therefore, at first exquisite fancy portraits, may be considered as +having finally operated a change in the original which gave them +birth.<a name="FNanchor_B_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_54"><sup>[B]</sup></a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_53">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Robin Goodfellow, or Hobgoblin, possesses the frolicksome +qualities of the French <i>Lutin</i>. For his full character, the reader is +referred to the <i>Reliques of Ancient Poetry</i>. The proper livery of this +sylvan Momus is to be found in an old play. "Enter Robin Goodfellow, in +a suit of leather, close to his body, his hands and face coloured russet +colour, with a flail."—<i>Grim, the Collier of Croydon, Act 4, Scene 1.</i> +At other times, however, he is presented in the vernal livery of the +elves, his associates: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Tim.</i> "I have made</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Some speeches, sir, ill verse, which have been spoke</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"By a <i>green Robin Goodfellow</i>, from Cheapside conduit,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To my father's company."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>The City Match, Act I, Scene 6.</i></span></p></div><br> + +<a name="Footnote_B_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_54">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> The Fairy land, and Fairies of Spenser, have no connection +with popular superstition, being only words used to denote an Utopian +scene of action, and imaginary or allegorical characters; and the title +of the "Fairy Queen" being probably suggested by the elfin mistress of +Chaucer's <i>Sir Thopas</i>. The stealing of the Red Cross Knight, while a +child, is the only incident in the poem which approaches to the popular +character of the Fairy: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—A Fairy thee unweeting reft;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There as thou sleptst in tender swadling band,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And her base elfin brood there for thee left:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Such men do changelings call, so chang'd by Fairies theft.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Book I. Canto</i> 10.</span></p></div><br> + +<p>While the fays of South Britain received such attractive and poetical +embellishments, those of Scotland, who possessed no such advantage, +retained more of their ancient, and appropriate character. Perhaps, +also, the persecution which these sylvan deities underwent, at the +instance of the stricter presbyterian clergy, had its usual effect, in +hardening their dispositions, or at least in rendering them more dreaded +by those among whom they dwelt. The face of the country, too, might +have some effect; as we should naturally attribute a less malicious +disposition, and a less frightful appearance, to the fays who glide by +moon-light through the oaks of Windsor, than to those who haunt the +solitary heaths and lofty mountains of the North. The fact at least is +certain; and it has not escaped a late ingenious traveller, that the +character of the Scottish Fairy is more harsh and terrific than that +which is ascribed to the elves of our sister kingdom.—See STODDART'S +<i>View of Scenery and Manners in Scotland.</i></p> + +<p>The Fairies of Scotland are represented as a diminutive race of beings, +of a mixed, or rather dubious nature, capricious in their dispositions, +and mischievous in their resentment. They inhabit the interior of green +hills, chiefly those of a conical form, in Gaelic termed <i>Sighan</i>, on +which they lead their dances by moon-light; impressing upon the surface +the mark of circles, which sometimes appear yellow and blasted, +sometimes of a deep green hue; and within which it is dangerous to +sleep, or to be found after sun-set. The removal of those large portions +of turf, which thunderbolts sometimes scoop out of the ground with +singular regularity, is also ascribed to their agency. Cattle, which are +suddenly seized with the cramp, or some similar disorder, are said to be +<i>elf-shot</i>; and the approved cure is, to chafe the parts affected with +a blue bonnet, which, it may be readily believed, often restores the +circulation. The triangular flints, frequently found in Scotland, with +which the ancient inhabitants probably barbed their shafts, are supposed +to be the weapons of Fairy resentment, and are termed <i>elf-arrow heads</i>. +The rude brazen battle-axes of the ancients, commonly called <i>celts</i>, +are also ascribed to their manufacture. But, like the Gothic duergar, +their skill is not confined to the fabrication of arms; for they are +heard sedulously hammering in linns, precipices, and rocky or cavernous +situations where, like the dwarfs of the mines, mentioned by Georg. +Agricola, they busy themselves in imitating the actions and the various +employments of men. The brook of Beaumont, for example, which passes, +in its course, by numerous linns and caverns, is notorious for being +haunted by the Fairies; and the perforated and rounded stones, which are +formed by trituration in its channel, are termed, by the vulgar, fairy +cups and dishes. A beautiful reason is assigned, by Fletcher, for the +fays frequenting streams and fountains. He tells us of</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A virtuous well, about whose flowery banks</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The nimble-footed Fairies dance their rounds,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By the pale moon-shine, dipping oftentimes</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their stolen children, so to make them free</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">From dying flesh, and dull mortality.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Faithful Shepherdess.</i></span><br> + +<p>It is sometimes accounted unlucky to pass such places, without +performing some ceremony to avert the displeasure of the elves. There +is, upon the top of Minchmuir, a mountain in Peebles-shire, a spring, +called the <i>Cheese Well</i>, because, anciently, those who passed that way +were wont to throw into it a piece of cheese, as an offering to the +Fairies, to whom it was consecrated.</p> + +<p>Like the <i>feld elfen</i> of the Saxons, the usual dress of the Fairies +is green; though, on the moors, they have been sometimes observed in +heath-brown, or in weeds dyed with the stoneraw, or lichen.<a name="FNanchor_A_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_55"><sup>[A]</sup></a> They +often ride in invisible procession, when their presence is discovered by +the shrill ringing of their bridles. On these occasions, they sometimes +borrow mortal steeds; and when such are found at morning, panting and +fatigued in their stalls, with their manes and tails dishevelled and +entangled, the grooms, I presume, often find this a convenient excuse +for their situation; as the common belief of the elves quaffing the +choicest liquors in the cellars of the rich (see the story of Lord +Duffus below), might occasionally cloak the delinquencies of an +unfaithful butler.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_55">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Hence the hero of the ballad is termed an "elfin grey."</p></div> + +<p>The Fairies, beside their equestrian processions, are addicted it would +seem, to the pleasures of the chace. A young sailor, travelling by night +from Douglas, in the Isle of Man, to visit his sister, residing in Kirk +Merlugh, heard the noise of horses, the holla of a huntsman, and the +sound of a horn. Immediately afterwards, thirteen horsemen, dressed in +green, and gallantly mounted, swept past him. Jack was so much delighted +with the sport, that he followed them, and enjoyed the sound of the horn +for some miles; and it was not till he arrived at his sister's house +that he learned the danger which he had incurred. I must not omit to +mention, that these little personages are expert jockeys, and scorn to +ride the little Manks ponies, though apparently well suited to their +size. The exercise therefore, falls heavily upon the English and Irish +horses brought into the Isle of Man. Mr Waldron was assured by a +gentleman of Ballafletcher, that he had lost three or four capital +hunters by these nocturnal excursions.—WALDRON'S <i>Works</i>, p. 132. +From the same author we learn, that the Fairies sometimes take more +legitimate modes of procuring horses. A person of the utmost integrity +informed him, that, having occasion to sell a horse, he was accosted +among the mountains by a little gentleman plainly dressed, who priced +his horse, cheapened him, and, after some chaffering, finally purchased +him. No sooner had the buyer mounted, and paid the price, than, he sunk +through the earth, horse and man, to the astonishment and terror of the +seller; who experienced, however, no inconvenience from dealing with so +extraordinary a purchaser.—<i>Ibid.</i> p. 135.</p> + +<p>It is hoped the reader will receive, with due respect, these, and +similar stories, told by Mr Waldron; for he himself, a scholar and a +gentleman, informs us, "as to circles in grass, and the impression +of small feet among the snow, I cannot deny but I have seen them +frequently, and once thought I heard a whistle, as though in my ear, +when nobody that could make it was near me." In this passage there is a +curious picture of the contagious effects of a superstitious atmosphere. +Waldron had lived so long among the Manks, that he was almost persuaded +to believe their legends.</p> + +<p>From the <i>History of the Irish Bards</i>, by Mr Walker, and from the +glossary subjoined to the lively and ingenious <i>Tale of Castle +Rackrent</i>, we learn, that the same ideas, concerning Fairies, are +current among the vulgar in that country. The latter authority mentions +their inhabiting the ancient tumuli, called <i>Barrows</i>, and their +abstracting mortals. They are termed "the good people;" and when an eddy +of wind raises loose dust and sand, the vulgar believe that it announces +a Fairy procession, and bid God speed their journey.</p> + +<p>The Scottish Fairies, in like manner, sometimes reside in subterranean +abodes, in the vicinity of human habitations or, according to the +popular phrase, under the "door-stane," or threshold; in which +situation, they sometimes establish an intercourse with men, by +borrowing and lending, and other kindly offices. In this capacity they +are termed "the good neighbours,"<a name="FNanchor_A_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_56"><sup>[A]</sup></a> from supplying privately the wants +of their friends, and assisting them in all their transactions, while +their favours are concealed. Of this the traditionary story of Sir +Godfrey Macculloch forms a curious example.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_56">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Perhaps this epithet is only one example, among many, of +the extreme civility which the vulgar in Scotland use towards spirits of +a, dubious, or even a determinedly mischievous, nature. The archfiend +himself is often distinguished by the softened title of the "good-man." +This epithet, so applied, must sound strange to a southern ear; but, as +the phrase bears various interpretations, according to the places where +it is used, so, in the Scottish dialect, the <i>good-man of such a place</i> +signifies the tenant, or life-renter, in opposition to the laird, or +proprietor. Hence, the devil is termed the good-man, or tenant, of the +infernal regions. In the book of the Universal Kirk, 13th May, 1594, +mention is made of "the horrible superstitioune usit in Garioch, and +dyvers parts of the countrie, in not labouring a parcel of ground +dedicated to the devil, under the title of the <i>Guid-man's Croft</i>." Lord +Hailes conjectured this to have been the <i>tenenos</i> adjoining to some +ancient Pagan temple. The unavowed, but obvious, purpose of this +practice, was to avert the destructive rage of Satan from the +neighbouring possessions. It required various fulminations of the +General Assembly of the Kirk to abolish a practice bordering so nearly +upon the doctrine of the Magi.</p></div> + +<p>As this Gallovidian gentleman was taking the air on horseback, near his +own house, he was suddenly accosted by a little old man, arrayed in +green, and mounted upon a white palfrey. After mutual salutation, the +old man gave Sir Godfrey to understand, that he resided under his +habitation, and that he had great reason to complain of the direction of +a drain, or common sewer, which emptied itself directly into his chamber +of dais, <a name="FNanchor_A_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_57"><sup>[A]</sup></a> Sir Godfrey Macculloch was a good deal startled at this +extraordinary complaint; but, guessing the nature of the being he had +to deal with, he assured the old man, with great courtesy, that the +direction of the drain should be altered; and caused it be done +accordingly. Many years afterwards, Sir Godfrey had the misfortune to +kill, in a fray, a gentleman of the neighbourhood. He was apprehended, +tried, and condemned.<a name="FNanchor_B_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_58"><sup>[B]</sup></a> The scaffold, upon which his head was to be +struck off, was erected on the Castle-hill of Edinburgh; but hardly had +he reached the fatal spot, when the old man, upon his white palfrey, +pressed through the crowd, with the rapidity of lightning. Sir Godfrey, +at his command, sprung on behind him; the "good neighbour" spurred his +horse down the steep bank, and neither he nor the criminal were ever +again seen.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_57">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The best chamber was thus currently denominated in +Scotland, from the French <i>dais</i>, signifying that part of the ancient +halls which was elevated above the rest, and covered with a canopy. +The turf-seats, which occupy the sunny side of a cottage wall, is also +termed the <i>dais</i>.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_58">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> In this particular, tradition coincides with the real fact; +the trial took place in 1697.</p></div> + +<p>The most formidable attribute of the elves, was their practice of +carrying away, and exchanging, children; and that of stealing human +souls from their bodies. "A persuasion prevails among the ignorant," +says the author of a MS. history of Moray, "that, in a consumptive +disease, the Fairies steal away the soul, and put the soul of a Fairy in +the room of it." This belief prevails chiefly along the eastern coast of +Scotland, where a practice, apparently of druidical origin, is used to +avert the danger. In the increase of the March moon, withies of oak and +ivy are cut, and twisted into wreaths or circles, which they preserve +till next March. After that period, when persons are consumptive, or +children hectic, they cause them to pass thrice through these circles. +In other cases the cure was more rough, and at least as dangerous as the +disease, as will appear from the following extract:</p> + +<p>"There is one thing remarkable in this parish of Suddie (in +Inverness-shire), which I think proper to mention. There is a small hill +N.W. from the church, commonly called Therdy Hill, or Hill of Therdie, +as some term it; on the top of which there is a well, which I had the +curiosity to view, because of the several reports concerning it. When +children happen to be sick, and languish long in their malady, so that +they almost turned skeletons, the common people imagine they are taken +away (at least the substance) by spirits, called Fairies, and the shadow +left with them; so, at a particular season in summer, they leave them +all night themselves, watching at a distance, near this well, and this +they imagine will either <i>end or mend them</i>; they say many more do +recover than do not. Yea, an honest tenant who lives hard by it, and +whom I had the curiosity to discourse about it, told me it has recovered +some, who were about eight or nine years of age, and to his certain +knowledge they bring adult persons to it; for, as he was passing one +dark night, he heard groanings, and coming to the well, he found a man, +who had been long sick, wrapped in a plaid, so that he could scarcely +move, a stake being fixed in the earth, with a rope, or tedder, that was +about the plaid; he had no sooner enquired what he was, but he conjured +him to loose him, and out of sympathy he was pleased to slacken that, +wherein he was, as I may so speak, swaddled; but, if I right remember, +he signified, he did not recover."—<i>Account of the Parish of Suddie,</i> +apud <i>Macfarlane's MSS.</i></p> + +<p>According to the earlier doctrine, concerning the original corruption of +human nature, the power of daemons over infants had been long reckoned +considerable, in the period intervening between birth and baptism. +During this period, therefore, children were believed to be particularly +liable to abstraction by the Fairies, and mothers chiefly dreaded the +substitution of changelings in the place of their own offspring. Various +monstrous charms existed in Scotland, for procuring the restoration of a +child, which had been thus stolen; but the most efficacious of them was +supposed to be, the roasting of the suppositious child upon the live +embers, when it was believed it would vanish, and the true child appear +in the place, whence it had been originally abstracted.<a name="FNanchor_A_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_59"><sup>[A]</sup></a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_59">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Less perilous recipes were sometimes used. The editor is +possessed of a small relique, termed by tradition a toad-stone, the +influence of which was supposed to preserve pregnant women from the +power of daemons, and other dangers incidental to their situation. It +has been carefully preserved for several generations, was often pledged +for considerable sums of money, and uniformly redeemed, from a belief in +its efficacy.</p></div> + +<p>The most minute and authenticated account of an exchanged child is to be +found in Waldron's <i>Isle of Man</i>, a book from which I have derived much +legendary information. "I was prevailed upon myself," says that author, +"to go and see a child, who, they told me, was one of these changelings, +and, indeed, must own, was not a little surprised, as well as shocked, +at the sight. Nothing under heaven could have a more beautiful face; +but, though between five and six years old, and seemingly healthy, he +was so far from being able to walk or stand, that he could not so much +as move any one joint; his limbs were vastly long for his age, but +smaller than any infant's of six months; his complexion was perfectly +delicate, and he had the finest hair in the world. He never spoke nor +cried, ate scarce any thing, and was very seldom seen to smile; but if +any one called him a <i>fairy-elf</i>, he would frown, and fix his eyes so +earnestly on those who said it, as if he would look them through. His +mother, or at least his supposed mother, being very poor, frequently +went out a chareing, and left him a whole day together. The neighbours, +out of curiosity, have often looked in at the window, to see how he +behaved while alone; which, whenever they did, they were sure to find +him laughing, and in the utmost delight. This made them judge that he +was not without company, more pleasing to him than any mortals could be; +and what made this conjecture seem the more reasonable, was, that if he +were left ever so dirty, the woman, at her return, saw him with a clean +face, and his hair combed with the utmost exactness and nicety." P. 128.</p> + +<p>Waldron gives another account of a poor woman, to whose offspring, it +would seem, the Fairies had taken a special fancy. A few nights after +she was delivered of her first child, the family were alarmed by a +dreadful cry of "Fire!" All flew to the door, while the mother lay +trembling in bed, unable to protect her infant, which was snatched from +the bed by an invisible hand. Fortunately the return of the gossips, +after the causeless alarm, disturbed the Fairies, who dropped the child, +which was found sprawling and shrieking upon the threshold. At the good +woman's second <i>accouchement</i>, a tumult was heard in the cow-house, +which drew thither the whole assistants. They returned, when they found +that all was quiet among the cattle, and lo! the second child had been +carried from the bed, and dropped in the middle of the lane. But, upon +the third occurrence of the same kind, the company were again decoyed +out of the sick woman's chamber by a false alarm, leaving only a nurse, +who was detained by the bonds of sleep. On this last occasion, the +mother plainly saw her child removed, though the means were invisible. +She screamed for assistance to the nurse; but the old lady had partaken +too deeply of the cordials which circulate on such joyful occasions, to +be easily awakened. In short, the child was this time fairly carried +off, and a withered, deformed creature, left in its stead, quite naked, +with the clothes of the abstracted infant, rolled in a bundle, by its +side. This creature lived nine years, ate nothing but a few herbs, +and neither spoke, stood, walked nor performed any other functions +of mortality; resembling, in all respects, the changeling already +mentioned.—WALDRON'S <i>Works, ibid.</i></p> + +<p>But the power of the Fairies was not confined to unchristened children +alone; it was supposed frequently to extend to full grown persons, +especially such as, in an unlucky hour, were devoted to the devil by the +execration of parents, and of masters;<a name="FNanchor_A_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_60"><sup>[A]</sup></a> or those who were found asleep +under a rock, or on a green hill, belonging to the Fairies, after +sun-set; or, finally, to those who unwarily joined their orgies. A +tradition existed, during the seventeenth century, concerning an +ancestor of the noble family of Duffus, who, "walking abroad in the +fields, near to his own house, was suddenly carried away, and found the +next day at Paris, in the French king's cellar, with a silver cup in his +hand. Being brought into the king's presence, and questioned by him who +he was, and how he came thither, he told his name, his country, and the +place of his residence; and that, on such a day of the month, which +proved to be the day immediately preceding, being in the fields, he +heard the noise of a whirlwind, and of voices, crying, <i>'Horse and +Hattock!'</i> (this is the word which the Fairies are said to use when they +remove from any place), whereupon he cried, <i>'Horse and Hattock'</i> also, +and was immediately caught up, and transported through the air, by the +Fairies, to that place, where, after he had drunk heartily, he fell +asleep, and, before he woke, the rest of the company were gone, and had +left him in the posture wherein he was found. It is said the king gave +him the cup, which was found in his hand, and dismissed him." The +narrator affirms, "that the cup was still preserved, and known by the +name of the <i>Fairy cup</i>." He adds, that Mr Steward, tutor to the then +Lord Duffus, had informed him, "that, when a boy, at the school of +Forres, he, and his school-fellows, were upon a time whipping their tops +in the church-yard, before the door of the church, when, though the day +was calm, they heard a noise of a wind, and at some distance saw +the small dust begin to rise and turn round, which motion continued +advancing till it came to the place where they were, whereupon they +began to bless themselves; but one of their number being, it seems, a +little more bold and confident than his companions, said, <i>'Horse and +Hattock, with my top,'</i> and immediately they all saw the top lifted up +from the ground, but could not see which way it was carried, by reason +of a cloud of dust which was raised at the same time. They sought for +the top all about the place where it was taken up, but in vain; and +it was found afterwards in the church-yard, on the other side of the +church."—This puerile legend is contained in a letter from a learned +gentleman in Scotland, to Mr Aubrey, dated 15th March, 1695, published +in AUBREY'S <i>Miscellanies,</i> p. 158.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_60">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> This idea is not peculiar to the Gothic tribes, but extends +to those of Sclavic origin. Tooke (<i>History of Russia,</i> Vol. I. p. +100) relates, that the Russian peasants believe the nocturnal daemon, +<i>Kikimora</i>, to have been a child, whom the devil stole out of the womb +of its mother, because she had cursed it. They also assert, that if +an execration against a child be spoken in an evil hour, the child is +carried off by the devil. The beings, so stolen, are neither fiends nor +men; they are invisible, and afraid of the cross and holy water; but, on +the other hand, in their nature and dispositions they resemble mankind, +whom they love, and rarely injure.</p></div> + +<p>Notwithstanding the special example of Lord Duffus, and of the top, it +is the common opinion, that persons, falling under the power of the +Fairies, were only allowed to revisit the haunts of men, after +seven years had expired. At the end of seven years more, they again +disappeared, after which they were seldom seen among mortals. The +accounts they gave of their situation, differ in some particulars. +Sometimes they were represented as leading a life of constant +restlessness, and wandering by moon-light. According to others, they +inhabited a pleasant region, where, however, their situation was +rendered horrible, by the sacrifice of one or more individuals to the +devil, every seventh year. This circumstance is mentioned in Alison +Pearson's indictment, and in the <i>Tale of the Young Tamlane,</i> where +it is termed, "the paying the kane to hell," or, according to some +recitations, "the teind," or tenth. This is the popular reason assigned +for the desire of the Fairies to abstract young children, as substitutes +for themselves in this dreadful tribute. Concerning the mode of winning, +or recovering, persons abstracted by the Fairies, tradition differs; but +the popular opinion, contrary to what may be inferred from the following +tale, supposes, that the recovery must be effected within a year and a +day, to be held legal in the Fairy court. This feat, which was reckoned +an enterprize of equal difficulty and danger, could only be accomplished +on Hallowe'en, at the great annual procession of the Fairy court.<a name="FNanchor_A_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_61"><sup>[A]</sup></a> +Of this procession the following description is found in Montgomery's +<i>Flyting against Polwart,</i> apud <i>Watson's Collection of Scots Poems,</i> +1709, Part III. p. 12.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In the hinder end of harvest, on All-hallowe'en,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">When our <i>good neighbours</i> dois ride, if I read right.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Some buckled on a bunewand, and some on a been,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ay trottand in tronps from the twilight;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Some saidled a she-ape, all grathed into green,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Some hobland on a hemp-stalk, hovand to the hight;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king of Pharie and his court, with the Elf queen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">With many elfish incubus was ridand that night.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There an elf on an ape, an unsel begat.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Into a pot by Pomathorne;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That bratchart in a busse was born;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They fand a monster on the morn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">War faced nor a cat.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_61">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> See the inimitable poem of Hallowe'en:— +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Upon that night, when Fairies light</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On Cassilis Downan dance;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or o'er the leas, in splendid blaze,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">On stately coursers prance," &c. <i>Burns.</i></span></p></div><br> + +<p>The catastrophe of <i>Tamlane</i> terminated more successfully than that of +other attempts, which tradition still records. The wife of a farmer in +Lothian had been carried off by the Fairies, and, during the year of +probation, repeatedly appeared on Sunday, in the midst of her children, +combing their hair. On one of these occasions she was accosted by +her husband; when she related to him the unfortunate event which had +separated them, instructed him by what means he might win her, and +exhorted him to exert all his courage, since her temporal and eternal +happiness depended on the success of his attempt. The farmer, who +ardently loved his wife, set out on Hallow-e'en and, in the midst of a +plot of furze, waited impatiently for the procession of the Fairies. At +the ringing of the Fairy bridles, and the wild unearthly sound which +accompanied the cavalcade, his heart failed him, and he suffered the +ghostly train to pass by without interruption. When the last had rode +past, the whole troop vanished, with loud shouts of laughter and +exultation; among which he plainly discovered the voice of his wife, +lamenting that he had lost her for ever.</p> + +<p>A similar, but real incident, took place at the town of North Berwick, +within the memory of man. The wife of a man, above the lowest class of +society, being left alone in the house, a few days after delivery, was +attacked and carried off by one of those convulsion fits, incident to +her situation. Upon the return of the family, who had been engaged in +hay-making, or harvest, they found the corpse much disfigured. This +circumstance, the natural consequence of her disease, led some of the +spectators to think that she had been carried off by the Fairies, +and that the body before them was some elfin deception. The husband, +probably, paid little attention to this opinion at the time. The body +was interred, and, after a decent time had elapsed, finding his domestic +affairs absolutely required female superintendence, the widower paid +his addresses to a young woman in the neighbourhood. The recollection, +however, of his former wife, whom he had tenderly loved, haunted his +slumbers; and, one morning, he came to the clergyman of the parish in +the utmost dismay, declaring, that she had appeared to him the preceding +night, informed him that she was a captive in Fairy Land, and conjured +him to attempt her deliverance. She directed him to bring the minister, +and certain other persons, whom she named, to her grave at midnight. Her +body was then to be dug up, and certain prayers recited; after which the +corpse was to become animated, and fly from them. One of the assistants, +the swiftest runner in the parish, was to pursue the body; and, if he +was able to seize it, before it had thrice encircled the church, the +rest were to come to his assistance, and detain it, in spite of the +struggles it should use, and the various shapes into which it might be +transformed. The redemption of the abstracted person was then to become +complete. The minister, a sensible man, argued with his parishioner upon +the indecency and absurdity of what was proposed, and dismissed him. +Next Sunday, the banns being for the first time proclaimed betwixt the +widower and his new bride, his former wife, very naturally, took the +opportunity of the following night to make him another visit, yet more +terrific than the former. She upbraided him with his incredulity, his +fickleness, and his want of affection; and, to convince him that her +appearance was no aërial illusion, she gave suck, in his presence, to +her youngest child. The man, under the greatest horror of mind, had +again recourse to the pastor; and his ghostly counsellor fell upon +an admirable expedient to console him. This was nothing less than +dispensing with the further solemnity of banns, and marrying him, +without an hour's delay, to the young woman to whom he was affianced; +after which no spectre again disturbed his repose.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Having concluded these general observations upon the Fairy superstition, +which, although minute, may not, I hope, be deemed altogether +uninteresting, I proceed to the more particular illustrations, relating +to the <i>Tale of the Young Tamlane.</i></p> + +<p>The following ballad, still popular in Ettrick Forest, where the scene +is laid, is certainly of much greater antiquity than its phraseology, +gradually modernized as transmitted by tradition, would seem to denote. +The <i>Tale of the Young Tamlane</i> is mentioned in the <i>Complaynt of +Scotland;</i> and the air, to which it was chaunted, seems to have been +accommodated to a particular dance; for the dance of <i>Thorn of +Lynn</i>, another variation of <i>Thomalin</i>, likewise occurs in the same +performance. Like every popular subject, it seems to have been +frequently parodied; and a burlesque ballad, beginning</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Tom o' the Linn was a Scotsman born,"</span><br> + +<p>is still well known.</p> + +<p>In a medley, contained in a curious and ancient MS. cantus, <i>penes</i> J.G. +Dalyell, Esq., there is an allusion to our ballad:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Sing young Thomlin, be merry, be merry, and twice so merry."</span><br> + +<p>In <i>Scottish Songs</i>, 1774, a part of the original tale was published, +under the title of <i>Kerton Ha';</i> a corruption of Carterhaugh; and, +in the same collection, there is a fragment, containing two or three +additional verses, beginning,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with you," &c.</span><br> + +<p>In Johnson's <i>Musical Museum</i>, a more complete copy occurs, under the +title of <i>Thom Linn</i>, which, with some alterations was reprinted in the +<i>Tales of Wonder</i>.</p> + +<p>The present edition is the most perfect which has yet appeared; being +prepared from a collation of the printed copies, with a very accurate +one in Glenriddell's MSS., and with several recitals from tradition. +Some verses are omitted in this edition, being ascertained to belong to +a separate ballad, which will be found in a subsequent part of the work. +In one recital only, the well known fragment of the <i>Wee, wee Man</i>, +was introduced, in the same measure with the rest of the poem. It was +retained in the first edition, but is now omitted; as the editor has +been favoured, by the learned Mr Ritson, with a copy of the original +poem, of which it is a detached fragment. The editor has been enabled to +add several verses of beauty and interest to this edition of <i>Tamlane</i>, +in consequence of a copy, obtained from a gentleman residing near +Langholm, which is said to be very ancient, though the diction is +somewhat of a modern cast. The manners of the Fairies are detailed at +considerable length, and in poetry of no common merit.</p> + +<p>Carterhaugh is a plain, at the conflux of the Ettrick and Yarrow, in +Selkirkshire, about a mile above Selkirk, and two miles below Newark +Castle; a romantic ruin, which overhangs the Yarrow, and which is said +to have been the habitation of our heroine's father, though others place +his residence in the tower of Oakwood. The peasants point out, upon the +plain, those electrical rings, which vulgar credulity supposes to be +traces of the Fairy revels. Here, they say, were placed the stands of +milk, and of water, in which <i>Tamlane</i> was dipped, in order to effect +the disenchantment; and upon these spots, according to their mode of +expressing themselves, the grass will never grow. Miles Cross (perhaps a +corruption of Mary's Cross), where fair Janet waited the arrival of the +Fairy train, is said to have stood near the duke of Buccleuch's seat of +Bowhill, about half a mile from Carterhaugh. In no part of Scotland, +indeed, has the belief in Fairies maintained its ground with more +pertinacity than in Selkirkshire. The most sceptical among the lower +ranks only venture to assert, that their appearances, and mischievous +exploits, have ceased, or at least become infrequent, since the light of +the Gospel was diffused in its purity. One of their frolics is said to +have happened late in the last century. The victim of elfin sport was a +poor man, who, being employed in pulling heather upon Peatlaw, a hill +not far from Carterhaugh, had tired of his labour, and laid him down +to sleep upon a Fairy ring.—When he awakened, he was amazed to find +himself in the midst of a populous city, to which, as well as to the +means of his transportation, he was an utter stranger. His coat was left +upon the Peatlaw; and his bonnet, which had fallen off in the course of +his aërial journey, was afterwards found hanging upon the steeple of +the church of Lanark. The distress of the poor man was, in some degree, +relieved, by meeting a carrier, whom he had formerly known, and who +conducted him back to Selkirk, by a slower conveyance than had whirled +him to Glasgow.—That he had been carried off by the Fairies, was +implicitly believed by all, who did not reflect, that a man may have +private reasons for leaving his own country, and for disguising his +having intentionally done so.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE YOUNG TAMLANE</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O I forbid ye, maidens a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That wear gowd on your hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To come or gae by Carterhaugh;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For young Tamlane is there.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There's nane, that gaes by Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But maun leave him a wad;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Either goud rings or green mantles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or else their maidenheid.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now, gowd rings ye may buy, maidens,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Green mantles ye may spin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, gin ye lose your maidenheid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Ye'll ne'er get that agen.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up then spak her, fair Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The fairest o' a' her kin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll cum and gang to Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And ask nae leave o' him."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Janet has kilted her green kirtle,<a name="FNanchor_A_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_62"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A little abune her knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she has braided her yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A little abune her bree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And when she cam to Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She gaed beside the well;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there she fand his steed standing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But away was himsell.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna pu'd a red red rose,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A rose but barely three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till up and starts a wee wee man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">At Lady Janet's knee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Says—"Why pu' ye the rose, Janet?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"What gars ye break the tree?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or why come ye to Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Withoutten leave o' me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Says—"Carterhaugh it is mine ain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My daddie gave it me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll come and gang to Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And ask nae leave o' thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Amang the leaves sae green;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And what they did I cannot tell—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The green leaves were between.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Amang the roses red;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And what they did I cannot say—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She ne'er returned a maid.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When she cam to her father's ha',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She looked pale and wan;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They thought she'd dried some sair sickness,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or been wi' some leman.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She didna comb her yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nor make meikle o' her heid;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ilka thing, that lady took,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Was like to be her deid.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Its four and twenty ladies fair</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Were playing at the ba';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Janet, the wightest of them anes,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Was faintest o' them a'.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Four and twenty ladies fair</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Were playing at the chess;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out there came the fair Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As green as any grass.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out and spak an auld gray-headed knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lay o'er the castle wa'—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ever alas! for thee, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But we'll be blamed a'!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now haud your tongue, ye auld gray knight!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And an ill deid may ye die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Father my bairn on whom I will,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I'll father nane on thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out then spak her father dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And he spak meik and mild—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ever alas! my sweet Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I fear ye gae with child."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, if I be with child, father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Mysell maun bear the blame;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's ne'er a knight about your ha'</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Shall hae the bairnie's name.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And if I be with child, father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"'Twill prove a wondrous birth;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For well I swear I'm not wi' bairn</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To any man on earth.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If my love were an earthly knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As he's an elfin grey,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wadna gie my ain true love</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For nae lord that ye hae."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She princked hersell and prinn'd hersell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">By the ae light of the moon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she's away to Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To speak wi' young Tamlane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And when she cam to Carterhaugh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She gaed beside the well;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there she saw the steed standing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But away was himsell.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna pu'd a double rose,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A rose but only twae,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When up and started young Tamlane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Says—"Lady, thou pu's nae mae!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Why pu' ye the rose, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Within this garden grene,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And a' to kill the bonny babe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That we got us between?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The truth ye'll tell to me, Tamlane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A word ye mauna lie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin ye're ye was in haly chapel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or sained<a name="FNanchor_B_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_63"><sup>[B]</sup></a> in Christentie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A word I winna lie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A knight me got, and a lady me bore,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As well as they did thee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Dunbar, Earl March, is thine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We loved when we were children small,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Which yet you well may mind.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"When I was a boy just turned of nine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My uncle sent for me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To hunt, and hawk, and ride with him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And keep him cumpanie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There came a wind out of the north,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A sharp wind and a snell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And a dead sleep came over me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And frae my horse I fell.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The Queen of Fairies keppit me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"In yon green hill to dwell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I'm a Fairy, lyth and limb;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Fair ladye, view me well.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But we, that live in Fairy-land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"No sickness know, nor pain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I quit my body when I will,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And take to it again.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I quit my body when I please,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or unto it repair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We can inhabit, at our ease,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"In either earth or air.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Our shapes and size we can convert,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To either large or small;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An old nut-shell's the same to us,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As is the lofty hall.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We sleep in rose-buds, soft and sweet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"We revel in the stream;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We wanton lightly on the wind,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or glide on a sunbeam.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And all our wants are well supplied,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"From every rich man's store,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Who thankless sins the gifts he gets,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And vainly grasps for more.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then would I never tire, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"In elfish land to dwell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But aye at every seven years,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"They pay the teind to hell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I am sae fat, and fair of flesh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I fear 'twill be mysell.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"This night is Hallowe'en, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The morn is Hallowday;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, gin ye dare your true love win,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye hae na time to stay.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The night it is good Hallowe'en,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"When fairy folk will ride;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And they, that wad their true love win,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"At Miles Cross they maun bide."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or how shall I thee knaw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Amang so many unearthly knights,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The like I never saw.?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The first company, that passes by,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Say na, and let them gae;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The next company, that passes by,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Say na, and do right sae;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The third company, that passes by,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Than I'll be ane o' thae.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"First let pass the black, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And syne let pass the brown;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But grip ye to the milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And pu' the rider down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I ride on the milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And ay nearest the town;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Because I was a christened knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"They gave me that renown.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My right hand will be gloved, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My left hand will be bare;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And these the tokens I gie thee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Nae doubt I will be there.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An adder and a snake;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But had me fast, let me not pass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Gin ye wad be my maik.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An adder and an ask;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A bale<a name="FNanchor_C_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_64"><sup>[C]</sup></a> that burns fast.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A red-hot gad o' aim;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But had me fast, let me not pass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For I'll do you no harm.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"First, dip me in a stand o' milk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And then in a stand o' water;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But had me fast, let me not pass—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I'll be your bairn's father.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, next, they'll shape me in your arms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A toad, but and an eel;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But had me fast, nor let me gang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As you do love me weel.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They'll shape me in your arms, Janet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A dove, but and a swan;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, last, they'll shape me in your arms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A mother-naked man:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Cast your green mantle over me—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I'll be mysell again."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gloomy, gloomy, was the night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And eiry<a name="FNanchor_D_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_65"><sup>[D]</sup></a> was the way,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As fair Janet, in her green mantle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To Miles Cross she did gae.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The heavens were black, the night was dark,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And dreary was the place;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But Janet stood, with eager wish,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her lover to embrace.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Betwixt the hours of twelve and one,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A north wind tore the bent;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And straight she heard strange elritch sounds</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Upon that wind which went.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">About the dead hour o' the night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She heard the bridles ring;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Janet was as glad o' that,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As any earthly thing!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Their oaten pipes blew wondrous shrill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The hemlock small blew clear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And louder notes from hemlock large,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And bog-reed struck the ear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But solemn sounds, or sober thoughts,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The Fairies cannot bear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They sing, inspired with love and joy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Like sky-larks in the air;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of solid sense, or thought that's grave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">You'll find no traces there.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The dreary heath upon;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And louder, louder, wax'd the sound,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As they came riding on.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will o' Wisp before them went,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sent forth a twinkling light;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And soon she saw the Fairy bands</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">All riding in her sight.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And first gaed by the black black steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And then gaed by the brown;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But fast she gript the milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And pu'd the rider down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She pu'd him frae the milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And loot the bridle fa';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And up there raise an erlish<a name="FNanchor_E_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_66"><sup>[E]</sup></a> cry—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"He's won amang us a'!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They shaped him in fair Janet's arms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An esk<a name="FNanchor_F_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_67"><sup>[F]</sup></a>, but and an adder;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She held him fast in every shape—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To be her bairn's father.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They shaped him in her arms at last,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A mother-naked man;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She wrapt him in her green mantle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And sae her true love wan.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Up then spake the Queen o' Fairies,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Out o' a bush o' broom—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She that has borrowed young Tamlane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Has gotten a stately groom."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Up then spake the Queen of Fairies,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Out o' a bush of rye—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She's ta'en awa the bonniest knight</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">In a' my cumpanie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But had I kenn'd, Tamlane," she says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A lady wad borrowed thee—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wad ta'en out thy twa gray een,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Put in twa een o' tree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Had I but kenn'd, Tamlane," she says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Before ye came frae hame—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wad tane out your heart o' flesh,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Put in a heart o' stane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Had I but had the wit yestreen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That I hae coft<a name="FNanchor_G_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_68"><sup>[G]</sup></a> the day—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'd paid my kane seven times to hell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ere you'd been won away!"</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_62">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The ladies are always represented, in Dunbar's Poems, with +green mantles and yellow hair. <i>Maitland Poems,</i> Vol. I. p. 45.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_63">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Sained</i>—Hallowed.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_64">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Bale</i>—A faggot.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_D_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_65">[D]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Eiry</i>—Producing superstitious dread.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_E_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_66">[E]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Erlish</i>—Elritch, ghastly.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_F_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_67">[F]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Esk</i>—Newt.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_G_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_68">[G]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Coft</i>—Bought.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON THE YOUNG TAMLANE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Dunbar, Earl March, is thine,</i> &c.—P. 185, v. 5.</span><br> + +<p>Both these mighty chiefs were connected with Ettrick Forest, and its +vicinity. Their memory, therefore, lived in the traditions of the +country. Randolph, earl of Murray, the renowned nephew of Robert Bruce, +had a castle at Ha' Guards, in Annandale, and another in Peebles-shire, +on the borders of the forest, the site of which is still called +Randall's Walls. Patrick of Dunbar, earl of March, is said by Henry the +Minstrel, to have retreated to Ettrick Forest, after being defeated by +Wallace.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>And all our wants are well supplied,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;"><i>From every rich man's store;</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Who thankless sins the gifts he gets, &c.</i>—P. 187. v. 3.</span><br> + +<p>To <i>sin our gifts, or mercies</i>, means, ungratefully to hold them in +slight esteem. The idea, that the possessions of the wicked are most +obnoxious to the depredations of evil spirits, may be illustrated by the +following tale of a <i>Buttery Spirit</i>, extracted from Thomas Heywood:—</p> + +<p>An ancient and virtuous monk came to visit his nephew, an inn-keeper, +and, after other discourse, enquired into his circumstances. Mine host +confessed, that, although he practised all the unconscionable tricks of +his trade, he was still miserably poor. The monk shook his head, and +asked to see his buttery, or larder. As they looked into it, he rendered +visible to the astonished host an immense goblin, whose paunch, +and whole appearance, bespoke his being gorged with food, and who, +nevertheless, was gormandizing at the innkeeper's expence, emptying +whole shelves of food, and washing it down with entire hogsheads of +liquor. "To the depredation of this visitor will thy viands be exposed," +quoth the uncle, "until thou shalt abandon fraud, and false reckonings." +The monk returned in a year. The host having turned over a new leaf, and +given christian measure to his customers, was now a thriving man. When +they again inspected the larder, they saw the same spirit, but woefully +reduced in size, and in vain attempting to reach at the full plates and +bottles, which stood around him; starving, in short, like Tantalus, in +the midst of plenty. Honest Heywood sums up the tale thus:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In this discourse, far be it we should mean</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Spirits by meat are fatted made, or lean;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet certain 'tis, by God's permission, they</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May, over goods extorted, bear like sway.</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All such as study fraud, and practise evil,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Do only starve themselves to plumpe the devill.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Hierarchie of the Blessed Angels,</i> p. 577.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>ERLINTON. NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad is published from the collation of two copies, obtained from +recitation. It seems to be the rude original, or perhaps a corrupted +and imperfect copy, of <i>The Child of Elle</i>, a beautiful legendary tale, +published in the <i>Reliques of Ancient Poetry</i>. It is singular, that +this charming ballad should have been translated, or imitated, by the +celebrated Bürger, without acknowledgment of the English original. As +<i>The Child of Elle</i> avowedly received corrections, we may ascribe its +greatest beauties to the poetical taste of the ingenious editor. They +are in the truest stile of Gothic embellishment. We may compare, for +example, the following beautiful verse, with the same idea in an old +romance:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The baron stroked his dark-brown cheek,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And turned his face aside,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To wipe away the starting tear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He proudly strove to hide!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Child of Elle.</i></span><br> + +<p>The heathen Soldan, or Amiral, when about to slay two lovers, relents in +a similar manner:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Weeping, he turned his heued awai,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And his swerde hit fel to grounde.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Florice and Blauncheflour.</i></span><br> + +<br> + +<p>ERLINTON.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Erlinton had a fair daughter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I wat he weird her in a great sin,<a name="FNanchor_A_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_69"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he has built a bigly bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' a' to put that lady in.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' he has warn'd her sisters six,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' sae has he her brethren se'en,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Outher to watch her a' the night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or else to seek her morn an' e'en.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna been i' that bigly bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Na not a night, but barely ane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till there was Willie, her ain true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Chapp'd at the door, cryin', "Peace within!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O whae is this at my bower door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That chaps sae late, nor kens the gin?"<a name="FNanchor_B_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_70"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O it is Willie, your ain true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I pray you rise an' let me in!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But in my bower there is a wake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An' at the wake there is a wane;<a name="FNanchor_C_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_71"><sup>[C]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I'll come to the green-wood the morn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Whar blooms the brier by mornin' dawn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then she's gane to her bed again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Where she has layen till the cock crew thrice,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then she said to her sisters a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Maidens, 'tis time for us to rise."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She pat on her back a silken gown,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' on her breast a siller pin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' she's tane a sister in ilka hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' to the green-wood she is gane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna walk'd in the green-wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Na not a mile but barely ane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till there was Willie, her ain true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Whae frae her sisters has her ta'en.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He took her sisters by the hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He kiss'd them baith, an' sent them hame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' he's ta'en his true love him behind,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And through the green-wood they are gane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They hadna ridden in the bonnie green-wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Na not a mile but barely ane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When there came fifteen o' the boldest knights.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That ever bare flesh, blood, or bane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The foremost was an aged knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He wore the grey hair on his chin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Says, "Yield to me thy lady bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An' thou shalt walk the woods within."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For me to yield my lady bright</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To such an aged knight as thee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"People wad think I war gane mad,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or a' the courage flown frae me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up then spake the second knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I wat he spake right boustouslie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yield me thy life, or thy lady bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or here the tane of us shall die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My lady is my warld's meed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My life I winna yield to nane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But if ye be men of your manhead,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye'll only fight me ane by ane."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He lighted aff his milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' gae his lady him by the head,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Say'n, "See ye dinna change your cheer;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Until ye see my body bleed."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He set his back unto an aik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He set his feet against a stane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' he has fought these fifteen men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' kill'd them a' but barely ane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he has left that aged knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">An' a' to carry the tidings hame.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When he gaed to his lady fair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">I wat he kiss'd her tenderlie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou art mine ain love, I have thee bought;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Now we shall walk the green-wood free."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_69">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Weird her in a great sin</i>—Placed her in danger of +committing a great sin.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_70">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Gin</i>—The slight or trick necessary to open the door, from +engine.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_71">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Wane</i>—A number of people.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE TWA CORBIES.</p> +<br> + +<p>This poem was communicated to me by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq. +jun. of Hoddom, as written down, from tradition, by a lady. It is a +singular circumstance, that it should coincide so very nearly with the +ancient dirge, called <i>The Three Ravens</i>, published by Mr Ritson, in his +<i>Ancient Songs;</i> and that, at the same time, there should exist such a +difference, as to make the one appear rather a counterpart than copy of +the other. In order to enable the curious reader to contrast these two +singular poems, and to form a judgment which may be the original, I take +the liberty of copying the English ballad from Mr Ritson's Collection, +omitting only the burden and repetition of the first line. The learned +editor states it to be given <i>"From Ravencroft's Metismata. Musical +phansies, fitting the cittie and country, humours to 3, 4, and 5 +voyces,</i> London, 1611, 4to. It will be obvious (continues Mr Ritson) +that this ballad is much older, not only than the date of the book, but +most of the other pieces contained in it." The music is given with the +words, and is adapted to four voices:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There were three rauens sat on a tre,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They were as blacke as they might be:</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The one of them said to his mate,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where shall we our breakfast take?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Downe in yonder greene field,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There lies a knight slain under his shield;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"His hounds they lie downe at his feete,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"So well they their master keepe;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"His haukes they flie so eagerly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's no fowle dare come him nie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Down there comes a fallow doe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"As great with yong as she might goe,</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She lift up his bloudy hed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And kist his wounds that were so red.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She got him up upon her backe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And carried him to earthen lake.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She buried him before the prime,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She was dead her selfe ere euen song time.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"God send euery gentleman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Such haukes, such houndes, and such a leman.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Ancient Songs,</i> 1792, p. 155.</span><br> + +<p>I have seen a copy of this dirge much modernized.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE TWA CORBIES.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As I was walking all alane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I heard twa corbies making a mane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tane unto the t'other say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where sall we gang and dine to-day?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"In behint yon auld fail<a name="FNanchor_A_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_72"><sup>[A]</sup></a> dyke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wot there lies a new slain knight;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And nae body kens that he lies there,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"His hound is to the hunting gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"His lady's ta'en another mate,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"So we may mak our dinner sweet.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye'll sit on his white hause bane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I'll pike out his bonny blue een:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Wi' ae lock o' his gowden hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We'll theek<a name="FNanchor_B_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_73"><sup>[B]</sup></a> our nest when it grows bare.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Mony a one for him makes mane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But nane sall ken whare he is gane:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O'er his white banes, when they are bare,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The wind sall blaw for evermair."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_72">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Fail</i>—Turf.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_73">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Theek</i>—Thatch.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE DOUGLAS TRAGEDY.</p> +<br> + +<p>The ballad of <i>The Douglas Tragedy</i> is one of the few, to which popular +tradition has ascribed complete locality. The farm of Blackhouse, in +Selkirkshire, is said to have been the scene of this melancholy +event. There are the remains of a very ancient tower, adjacent to +the farmhouse, in a wild and solitary glen, upon a torrent, named +Douglas-burn, which joins the Yarrow, after passing a craggy rock, +called the Douglas-craig. This wild scene, now a part of the Traquair +estate, formed one of the most ancient possessions of the renowned +family of Douglas; for Sir John Douglas, eldest son of William, +the first Lord Douglas, is said to have sat, as baronial lord of +Douglas-burn, during his father's lifetime, in a parliament of Malcolm +Canmore, held at Forfar.—GODSCROFT, Vol. I. p. 20. The tower appears to +have been square, with a circular turret at one angle, for carrying up +the staircase, and for flanking the entrance. It is said to have derived +its name of Blackhouse from the complexion of the lords of Douglas, +whose swarthy hue was a family attribute. But, when the high mountains, +by which it is inclosed, were covered with heather, which was the case +till of late years, Blackhouse must have also merited its appellation +from the appearance of the scenery.</p> + +<p>From this ancient tower Lady Margaret is said to have been carried by +her lover. Seven large stones, erected upon the neighbouring heights of +Blackhouse, are shown, as marking the spot where the seven brethren were +slain; and the Douglas-burn is averred to have been the stream, at which +the lovers stopped to drink: so minute is tradition in ascertaining the +scene of a tragical tale, which, considering the rude state of former +times, had probably foundation in some real event.</p> + +<p>Many copies of this ballad are current among the vulgar, but chiefly in +a state of great corruption; especially such as have been committed to +the press in the shape of penny pamphlets. One of these is now before +me, which, among many others, has the ridiculous error of "<i>blue gilded</i> +horn," for "<i>bugelet</i> horn." The copy, principally used in this edition +of the ballad, was supplied by Mr Sharpe. The three last verses are +given from the printed copy, and from tradition. The hackneyed verse, of +the rose and the briar springing from the grave of the lovers, is common +to most tragic ballads; but it is introduced into this with singular +propriety, as the chapel of St Mary, whose vestiges may be still traced +upon the lake, to which it has given name, is said to have been the +burial place of Lord William and Fair Margaret. The wrath of the Black +Douglas, which vented itself upon the brier, far surpasses the usual +stanza:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">At length came the clerk of the parish,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As you the truth shall hear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And by mischance he cut them down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Or else they had still been there.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE DOUGLAS TRAGEDY.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Rise up, rise up, now, Lord Douglas," she says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And put on your armour so bright;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Let it never be said, that a daughter of thine</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Was married to a lord under night.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Rise up, rise up, my seven bold sons,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And put on your armour so bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And take better care of your youngest sister,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For your eldest's awa the last night."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's mounted her on a milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And himself on a dapple grey,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With a bugelet horn hung down by his side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And lightly they rode away.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord William lookit o'er his left shoulder,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To see what he could see,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there he spy'd her seven brethren bold</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Come riding over the lee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Light down, light down, Lady Marg'ret," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And hold my steed in your hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Until that against your seven brethren bold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And your father, I mak a stand."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She held his steed in her milk-white hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And never shed one tear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Until that she saw her seven brethren fa',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And her father hard fighting, who lov'd her so dear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hold your hand, Lord William!" she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For your strokes they are wond'rous sair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"True lovers I can get many a ane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But a father I can never get mair."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O she's ta'en out her handkerchief,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">It was o' the holland sae fine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ay she dighted her father's bloody wounds,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That ware redder than the wine.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O chuse, O chuse, Lady Marg'ret," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O whether will ye gang or bide?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll gang, I'll gang, Lord William," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For ye have left me no other guide."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's lifted her on a milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And himself on a dapple grey,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With a bugelet horn hung down by his side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And slowly they baith rade away.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O they rade on, and on they rade,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And a' by the light of the moon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Until they came to yon wan water,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And there they lighted down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They lighted down to tak a drink</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Of the spring that ran sae clear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And down the stream ran his gude heart's blood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And sair she gan to fear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hold up, hold up, Lord William," she says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For I fear that you are slain!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"'Tis naething but the shadow of my scarlet cloak;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That shines in the water sae plain."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O they rade on, and on they rade,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And a' by the light of the moon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Until they cam' to his mother's ha' door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And there they lighted down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Get up, get up, lady mother," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Get up, and let me in!—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Get up, get up, lady mother," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For this night my fair lady I've win.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O mak my bed, lady mother," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O mak it braid and deep!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And lay Lady Marg'ret close at my back,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And the sounder I will sleep."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord William was dead lang ere midnight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lady Marg'ret lang ere day—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And all true lovers that go thegither,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">May they have mair luck than they!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord William was buried in St Marie's kirk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Lady Margaret in Mary's quire;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out o' the lady's grave grew a bonny red rose,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And out o' the knight's a brier.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they twa met, and they twa plat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And fain they wad be near;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And a' the warld might ken right weel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They were twa lovers dear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But bye and rade the Black Douglas,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And wow but he was rough!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he pull'd up the bonny brier,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And flang'd in St Mary's loch.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>YOUNG BENJIE. NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p>In this ballad the reader will find traces of a singular superstition, +not yet altogether discredited in the wilder parts of Scotland. The +lykewake, or watching a dead body, in itself a melancholy office, is +rendered, in the idea of the assistants, more dismally awful, by the +mysterious horrors of superstition. In the interval betwixt death and +interment, the disembodied spirit is supposed to hover around its mortal +habitation, and, if invoked by certain rites, retains the power of +communicating, through its organs, the cause of its dissolution. Such +enquiries, however are always dangerous, and never to be resorted to +unless the deceased is suspected to have suffered <i>foul play</i>, as it +is called. It is the more unsafe to tamper with this charm, in an +unauthorized manner; because the inhabitants of the infernal regions +are, at such periods, peculiarly active. One of the most potent +ceremonies in the charm, for causing the dead body to speak, is, setting +the door ajar, or half open. On this account, the peasants of Scotland +sedulously avoid leaving the door ajar, while a corpse lies in the +house. The door must either be left wide open, or quite shut; but the +first is always preferred, on account of the exercise of hospitality +usual on such occasions. The attendants must be likewise careful never +to leave the corpse for a moment alone, or, if it is left alone, to +avoid, with a degree of superstitious horror, the first sight of it. +The following story, which is frequently related by the peasants of +Scotland, will illustrate the imaginary danger of leaving the door ajar. +In former times, a man and his wife lived in a solitary cottage, on one +of the extensive border fells. One day, the husband died suddenly; and +his wife, who was equally afraid of staying alone by the corpse, or +leaving the dead body by itself, repeatedly went to the door, and +looked anxiously over the lonely moor, for the sight of some person +approaching. In her confusion and alarm, she accidentally left the door +ajar, when the corpse suddenly started up, and sat in the bed, frowning +and grinning at her frightfully. She sat alone, crying bitterly, unable +to avoid the fascination of the dead man's eye, and too much terrified +to break the sullen silence, till a catholic priest, passing over the +wild, entered the cottage. He first set the door quite open, then put +his little finger in his mouth, and said the paternoster backwards; when +the horrid look of the corpse relaxed, it fell back on the bed, and +behaved itself as a dead man ought to do.</p> + +<p>The ballad is given from tradition.</p> + +<br> + +<p>YOUNG BENJIE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of a' the maids o' fair Scotland,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The fairest was Marjorie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And young Benjie was her ae true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And a dear true love was he.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wow! but they were lovers dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And loved fu' constantlie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But ay the mair when they fell out,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The sairer was their plea.<a name="FNanchor_A_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_74"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae quarrelled on a day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Till Marjorie's heart grew wae;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she said she'd chuse another luve,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And let young Benjie gae.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he was stout,<a name="FNanchor_B_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_75"><sup>[B]</sup></a> and proud-hearted,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And thought o't bitterlie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he's ga'en by the wan moon-light,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To meet his Marjorie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O open, open, my true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O open, and let me in!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I dare na open, young Benjie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My three brothers are within."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye lied, ye lied, ye bonny burd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Sae loud's I hear ye lie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"As I came by the Lowden banks,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"They bade gude e'en to me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But fare ye weel, my ae fause love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That I hae loved sae lang!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It sets<a name="FNanchor_C_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_76"><sup>[C]</sup></a> ye chuse another love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And let young Benjie gang."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then Marjorie turned her round about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The tear blinding her ee,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I darena, darena, let thee in,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But I'll come down to thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then saft she smiled, and said to him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O what ill hae I done?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He took her in his armis twa,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And threw her o'er the linn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The stream was strang, the maid was stout,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And laith laith to be dang,<a name="FNanchor_D_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_77"><sup>[D]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, ere she wan the Lowden banks,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her fair colour was wan.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up bespak her eldest brother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O see na ye what I see?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out then spak her second brother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Its our sister Marjorie!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out then spak her eldest brother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O how shall we her ken?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out then spak her youngest brother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"There's a honey mark on her chin."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then they've ta'en up the comely corpse,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And laid it on the ground—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha has killed our ae sister,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And how can he be found?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The night it is her low lykewake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The morn her burial day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And we maun watch at mirk midnight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And hear what she will say."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' doors ajar, and candle light,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And torches burning clear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The streikit corpse, till still midnight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They waked, but naething hear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">About the middle o' the night.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The cocks began to craw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And at the dead hour o' the night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The corpse began to thraw.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha has done the wrang, sister,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or dared the deadly sin?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Wha was sae stout, and feared nae dout,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As thraw ye o'er the linn?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Young Benjie was the first ae man</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I laid my love upon;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He was sae stout and proud-hearted,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"He threw me o'er the linn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Sall we young Benjie head, sister,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Sall we young Benjie hang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or sall we pike out his twa gray een,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And punish him ere he gang?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye mauna Benjie head, brothers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye mauna Benjie hang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But ye maun pike out his twa gray een,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And punish him ere he gang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Tie a green gravat round his neck,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And lead him out and in,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the best ae servant about your house</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To wait young Benjie on.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ay, at every seven year's end,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye'll tak him to the linn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For that's the penance he maun drie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To scug<a name="FNanchor_E_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_78"><sup>[E]</sup></a> his deadly sin."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_74">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Plea</i>—Used obliquely for <i>dispute</i>.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_75">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Stout</i>—Through this whole ballad, signifies <i>haughty</i>.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_76">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Sets ye</i>—Becomes you—ironical.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_D_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_77">[D]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Dang</i>—defeated.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_E_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_78">[E]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Scug</i>—shelter or expiate.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>LADY ANNE.</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad was communicated to me by Mr Kirkpatrick Sharpe of Hoddom, +who mentions having copied it from an old magazine. Although it has +probably received some modern corrections, the general turn seems to +be ancient, and corresponds with that of a fragment, containing the +following verses, which I have often heard sung in my childhood:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She set her back against a thorn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there she has her young son borne;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O smile nae sae, my bonny babe!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An ye smile sae sweet, ye'll smile me dead."</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' when that lady went to the church,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She spied a naked boy in the porch,</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O bonnie boy, an' ye were mine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'd clead ye in the silks sae fine."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O mither dear, when I was thine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To me ye were na half sae kind."</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<p>Stories of this nature are very common in the annals of popular +superstition. It is, for example, currently believed in Ettrick Forest, +that a libertine, who had destroyed fifty-six inhabited houses, in order +to throw the possessions of the cottagers into his estate, and who added +to this injury, that of seducing their daughters, was wont to commit, to +a carrier in the neighbourhood, the care of his illegitimate children, +shortly after they were born. His emissary regularly carried them away, +but they were never again heard of. The unjust and cruel gains of the +profligate laird were dissipated by his extravagance, and the ruins of +his house seem to bear witness to the truth of the rhythmical prophecies +denounced against it, and still current among the peasantry. He himself +died an untimely death; but the agent of his amours and crimes survived +to extreme old age. When on his death-bed, he seemed much oppressed in +mind, and sent for a clergyman to speak peace to his departing spirit: +but, before the messenger returned, the man was in his last agony; +and the terrified assistants had fled from his cottage, unanimously +averring, that the wailing of murdered infants had ascended from behind +his couch, and mingled with the groans of the departing sinner.</p> + +<br> + +<p>LADY ANNE</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair lady Anne sate in her bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Down by the greenwood side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the flowers did spring, and the birds did sing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">'Twas the pleasant May-day tide.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But fair lady Anne on sir William call'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">With the tear grit in her e'e,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O though thou be fause, may heaven thee guard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"In the wars ayont the sea!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out of the wood came three bonnie boys,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Upon the simmer's morn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they did sing, and play at the ba',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">As naked as they were born.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O seven lang year was I sit here,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Amang the frost and snaw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A' to hae but ane o' these bonnie boys,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A playing at the ba'."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spake the eldest boy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Now listen, thou fair ladie!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ponder well the read that I tell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Then make ye a choice of the three.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"'Tis I am Peter, and this is Paul,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"And that are, sae fair to see,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But a twelve-month sinsyne to paradise came,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"To join with our companie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I will hae the snaw-white boy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"The bonniest of the three."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And if I were thine, and in thy propine,<a name="FNanchor_A_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_79"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"O what wad ye do to me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"'Tis I wad clead thee in silk and gowd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"And nourice thee on my knee."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O mither! mither! when I was thine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Sic kindness I could na see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Before the turf, where I now stand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"The fause nurse buried me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thy cruel penknife sticks still in my heart,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"And I come not back to thee."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_79">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Propine</i>—Usually gift, but here the power of giving or +bestowing.</p></div> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"> + +<br> + +<p>LORD WILLIAM</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad was communicated to me by Mr James Hogg; and, although it +bears a strong resemblance to that of <i>Earl Richard</i>, so strong, indeed, +as to warrant a supposition, that the one has been derived from the +other, yet its intrinsic merit seems to warrant its insertion. Mr Hogg +has added the following note, which, in the course of my enquiries, I +have found most fully corroborated.</p> + +<p>"I am fully convinced of the antiquity of this song; for, although much +of the language seems somewhat modernized, this must be attributed +to its currency, being much liked, and very much sung, in this +neighbourhood. I can trace it back several generations, but cannot +hear of its ever having been in print. I have never heard it with any +considerable variation, save that one reciter called the dwelling of the +feigned sweetheart, <i>Castleswa</i>."</p> + +<br> + +<p>LORD WILLIAM</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord William was the bravest knight</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">That dwait in fair Scotland,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, though renowned in France and Spain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Fell by a ladie's hand.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As she was walking maid alone,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Down by yon shady wood.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She heard a smit<a name="FNanchor_A_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_80"><sup>[A]</sup></a> o' bridle reins,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She wish'd might be for good.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Come to my arms, my dear Willie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"You're welcome hame to me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To best o' chear and charcoal red,<a name="FNanchor_B_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_81"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And candle burnin' free."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I winna light, I darena light,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Nor come to your arms at a';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A fairer maid than ten o' you,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"I'll meet at Castle-law."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A fairer maid than me, Willie!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"A fairer maid than me!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A fairer maid than ten o' me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Your eyes did never see."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He louted owr his saddle lap,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">To kiss her ere they part,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wi' a little keen bodkin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">She pierced him to the heart.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ride on, ride on, lord William, now,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"As fast as ye can dree!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your bonny lass at Castle-law</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Will weary you to see."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out up then spake a bonny bird,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Sat high upon a tree,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">How could you kill that noble lord?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"He came to marry thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Come down, come down, my bonny bird,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"And eat bread aff my hand!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your cage shall be of wiry goud,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Whar now its but the wand."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Keep ye your cage o' goud, lady,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"And I will keep my tree;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"As ye hae done to lord William.,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Sae wad ye do to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She set her foot on her door step,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">A bonny marble stane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And carried him to her chamber,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">O'er him to make her mane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she has kept that good lord's corpse</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Three quarters of a year,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Until that word began to spread,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Then she began to fear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then she cried on her waiting maid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Ay ready at her ca';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There is a knight unto my bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"'Tis time he were awa."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The ane has ta'en him by the head,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">The ither by the feet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thrown him in the wan water,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">That ran baith wide and deep.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Look back, look back, now, lady fair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"On him that lo'ed ye weel!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A better man than that blue corpse</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Ne'er drew a sword of steel."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_80">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Smit</i>—Clashing noise, from smite—hence also <i>(perhaps)</i> +Smith and Smithy.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_81">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Charcoal red</i>—This circumstance marks the antiquity of +the poem. While wood was plenty in Scotland, charcoal was the usual fuel +in the chambers of the wealthy.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE BROOMFIELD HILL.</p> +<br> + +<p>The concluding verses of this ballad were inserted in the copy of +<i>Tamlane</i>, given to the public in the first edition of this work. They +are now restored to their proper place. Considering how very apt the +most accurate reciters are to patch up one ballad with verses from +another, the utmost caution cannot always avoid such errors.</p> + +<p>A more sanguine antiquary than the editor might perhaps endeavour to +identify this poem, which is of undoubted antiquity, with the <i>"Broom +Broom on Hill,"</i> mentioned by Lane, in his <i>Progress of Queen Elizabeth +into Warwickshire</i>, as forming part of Captain's Cox's collection, +so much envied by the black-letter antiquaries of the present +day.—<i>Dugdale's Warwickshire,</i> p. 166. The same ballad is quoted by one +of the personages, in a "very mery and pythie comedie," called <i>"The +longer thou livest, the more fool thou art."</i> See Ritson's Dissertation, +prefixed to <i>Ancient Songs,</i> p. lx. "Brume brume on hill," is also +mentioned in the <i>Complayat of Scotland</i>. See Leyden's edition, p. 100.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE BROOMFIELD HILL.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There was a knight and a lady bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Had a true tryste at the broom;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The ane ga'ed early in the morning,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The other in the afternoon.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ay she sat in her mother's bower door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And ay she made her mane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Oh whether should I gang to the Broomfield hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or should I stay at hame?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For if I gang to the Broomfield hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My maidenhead is gone;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And if I chance to stay at hame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My love will ca' me mansworn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Up then spake a witch woman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Ay from the room aboon;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O, ye may gang to the Broomfield hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And yet come maiden hame.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For, when ye gang to the Broomfield hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye'll find your love asleep,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"With a silver-belt about his head,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And a broom-cow at his feet.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Take ye the blossom of the broom,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The blossom it smells sweet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And strew it at your true love's head,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And likewise at his feet.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Take ye the rings off your fingers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Put them on his right hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To let him know, when he doth awake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"His love was at his command."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She pu'd the broom flower on Hive-hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And strew'd on's white hals bane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And that was to be wittering true,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That maiden she had gane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O where were ye, my milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That I hae coft sae dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That wadna watch and waken me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"When there was maiden here?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I stamped wi' my foot, master,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And gar'd my bridle ring;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But na kin' thing wald waken ye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till she was past and gane."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wae betide ye, my gay goss hawk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That I did love sae dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That wadna watch and waken me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"When there was maiden here."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I clapped wi' my wings, master,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And aye my bells I rang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And aye cry'd, waken, waken, master,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Before the ladye gang."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But haste and haste, my good white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To come the maiden till,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or a' the birds, of gude green wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Of your flesh shall have their fill."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye need na burst your good white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wi' racing o'er the howm;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nae bird flies faster through the wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Than she fled through the broom."</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>PROUD LADY MARGARET.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>This Ballad was communicated to the Editor by Mr.</i> HAMILTON, +<i>Music-seller, Edinburgh, with whose Mother it had been a, favourite. +Two verses and one line were wanting, which are here supplied from a +different Ballad, having a plot somewhat similar. These verses are the +6th and 9th.</i></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas on a night, an evening bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">When the dew began to fa',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lady Margaret was walking up and down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Looking o'er her castle wa'.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She looked east, and she looked west,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To see what she could spy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When a gallant knight came in her sight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And to the gate drew nigh.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"You seem to be no gentleman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"You wear your boots so wide;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But you seem to be some cunning hunter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"You wear the horn so syde."<a name="FNanchor_A_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_82"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I am no cunning hunter," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Nor ne'er intend to be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I am come to this castle</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To seek the love of thee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And if you do not grant me love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"This night for thee I'll die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If you should die for me, sir knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"There's few for you will mane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For mony a better has died for me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Whose graves are growing green.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But ye maun read my riddle," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And answer my questions three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And but ye read them right," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Gae stretch ye out and die.—</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, what is the flower, the ae first flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Springs either on moor or dale?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And what is the bird, the bonnie bonnie bird,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sings on the evening gale?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The primrose is the ae first flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Springs either on moor or dale;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the thistlecock is the bonniest bird;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sings on the evening gale."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But what's the little coin," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wald buy my castle bound?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And what's the little boat," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Can sail the world all round?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hey, how mony small pennies</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Make thrice three thousand pound?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or hey, how mony small fishes</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Swim a' the salt sea round."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I think you maun be my match," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My match, and something mair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"You are the first e'er got the grant</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Of love frae my father's heir.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My father was lord of nine castles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My mother lady of three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My father was lord of nine castles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And there's nane to heir but me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And round about a' thae castles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"You may baith plow and saw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And on the fifteenth day of May,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The meadows they will maw."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hald your tongue, lady Margaret," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For loud I hear you lie!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your father was lord of nine castles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Your mother was lady of three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your father was lord of nine castles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But ye fa' heir to but three.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And round about a' thae castles,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"You may baith plow and saw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But on the fifteenth day of May</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The meadows will not maw.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I am your brother Willie," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I trow ye ken na me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I came to humble your haughty heart,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Has gar'd sae mony die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If ye be my brother Willie," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As I trow weel ye be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"This night I'll neither eat nor drink,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But gae alang wi' thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hold your tongue, lady Margaret," he said.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Again I hear you lie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For ye've unwashen hands, and ye've unwashen feet,<a name="FNanchor_B_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_83"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To gae to clay wi' me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For the wee worms are my bedfellows,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And cauld clay is my sheets;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And when the stormy winds do blow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My body lies and sleeps."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_82">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Syde</i>—Long or low.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_83">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Unwashen hands and unwashen feet</i>—Alluding to the custom +of washing and dressing dead bodies.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE ORIGINAL BALLAD OF THE BROOM OF COWDENKNOWS.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>The beautiful air of Cowdenknows is well known and popular. In Ettrick +Forest the following words are uniformly adapted to the tune, and seem +to be the original ballad. An edition of this pastoral tale, differing +considerably from the present copy, was published by Mr.</i> HERD, <i>in 1772. +Cowdenknows is situated upon the river Leader, about four miles from +Melrose, and is now the property of Dr</i> HUME.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O the broom, and the bonny bonny broom,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And the broom of the Cowdenknows!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And aye sae sweet as the lassie sang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I' the bought, milking the ewes.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The hills were high on ilka side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' the bought i' the lirk o' the hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And aye, as she sang, her voice it rang</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Out o'er the head o' yon hill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There was a troop o' gentlemen</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Came riding merrilie by,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And one of them has rode out o' the way,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To the bought to the bonny may.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Weel may ye save an' see, bonny lass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' weel may ye save an' see."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An' sae wi' you, ye weel-bred knight,"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And what's your will wi' me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The night is misty and mirk, fair may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And I have ridden astray,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And will ye be so kind, fair may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As come out and point my way?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ride out, ride out, ye ramp rider!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Your steed's baith stout and strang;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For out of the bought I dare na come,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For fear 'at ye do me wrang."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O winna ye pity me, bonny lass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O winna ye pity me?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"An' winna ye pity my poor steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Stands trembling at yon tree?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wadna pity your poor steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Tho' it were tied to a thorn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For if ye wad gain my love the night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye wad slight me ere the morn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I ken you by your weel-busked hat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And your merrie twinkling e'e,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That ye're the laird o' the Oakland hills,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' ye may weel seem for to be."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I am not the laird o' the Oakland hills,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye're far mista'en o' me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I'm are o' the men about his house,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' right aft in his companie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's ta'en her by the middle jimp,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And by the grass-green sleeve;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's lifted her over the fauld dyke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And speer'd at her sma' leave.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O he's ta'en out a purse o' gowd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And streek'd her yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, take ye that, my bonnie may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Of me till you hear mair."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O he's leapt on his berry-brown steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' soon he's o'erta'en his men;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And ane and a' cried out to him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O master, ye've tarry'd lang!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I hae been east, and I hae been west,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' I hae been far o'er the know,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But the bonniest lass that ever I saw</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Is i'the bought milking the ewes."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She set the cog<a name="FNanchor_A_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_84"><sup>[A]</sup></a> upon her head,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' she's gane singing hame—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O where hae ye been, my ae daughter?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye hae na been your lane."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O nae body was wi' me, father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O nae body has been wi' me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The night is misty and mirk, father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye may gang to the door and see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But wae be to your ewe-herd, father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And an ill deed may he die;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He bug the bought at the back o' the know,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And a tod<a name="FNanchor_B_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_85"><sup>[B]</sup></a> has frighted me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There came a tod to the bought-door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The like I never saw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ere he had tane the lamb he did,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I had lourd he had ta'en them a'."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O whan fifteen weeks was come and gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Fifteen weeks and three.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That lassie began to look thin and pale,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' to long for his merry twinkling e'e.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It fell on a day, on a het simmer day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">She was ca'ing out her father's kye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">By came a troop o' gentlemen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A' merrilie riding bye.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Weel may ye save an' see, bonny may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Weel may ye save and see!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Weel I wat, ye be a very bonny may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But whae's aught that babe ye are wi'?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Never a word could that lassie say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For never a ane could she blame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">An' never a word could the lassie say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">But "I have a good man at hame."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye lied, ye lied, my very bonny may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sae loud as I hear you lie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For dinna ye mind that misty night</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I was i' the bought wi' thee?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I ken you by your middle sae jimp,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' your merry twinkling e'e,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That ye're the bonny lass i'the Cowdenknow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An' ye may weel seem for to be."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Than he's leap'd off his berry-brown steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An' he's set that fair may on—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Caw out your kye, gude father, yoursell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For she's never caw them out again.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I am the laird of the Oakland hills,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I hae thirty plows and three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ah' I hae gotten the bonniest lass</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That's in a' the south country.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_84">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Cog</i>—Milking-pail.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_85">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Tod</i>—Fox.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>LORD RANDAL.</p> +<br> + +<p>There is a beautiful air to this old ballad. The hero is more generally +termed <i>Lord Ronald;</i> but I willingly follow the authority of an Ettrick +Forest copy for calling him <i>Randal;</i> because, though the circumstances +are so very different, I think it not impossible, that the ballad may +have originally regarded the death of Thomas Randolph, or Randal, earl +of Murray, nephew to Robert Bruce, and governor of Scotland. This great +warrior died at Musselburgh, 1332, at the moment when his services were +most necessary to his country, already threatened by an English army. +For this sole reason, perhaps, our historians obstinately impute his +death to poison. See <i>The Bruce</i>, book xx. Fordun repeats, and Boece +echoes, this story, both of whom charge the murder on Edward III. But it +is combated successfully by Lord Hailes, in his <i>Remarks on the History +of Scotland</i>.</p> + +<p>The substitution of some venomous reptile for food, or putting it into +liquor, was anciently supposed to be a common mode of administering +poison; as appears from the following curious account of the death of +King John, extracted from a MS. Chronicle of England, <i>penes</i> John +Clerk, esq. advocate. "And, in the same tyme, the pope sente into +Englond a legate, that men cald Swals, and he was prest cardinal of +Rome, for to mayntene King Johnes cause agens the barons of Englond; but +the barons had so much pte (<i>poustie</i>, i.e. power) through Lewys, the +kinges sone of Fraunce, that King Johne wist not wher for to wend ne +gone: and so hitt fell, that he wold have gone to Suchold; and as he +went thedurward, he come by the abbey of Swinshed, and ther he abode II +dayes. And, as he sate at meat, he askyd a monke of the house, how moche +a lofe was worth, that was before hym sete at the table? and the monke +sayd that loffe was worthe bot ane halfpenny. 'O!' quod the kyng, 'this +is a grette cheppe of brede; now,' said the king, 'and yff I may, such a +loffe shalle be worth xxd. or half a yer be gone:' and when he said the +word, muche he thought, and ofte tymes sighed, and nome and ete of the +bred, and said, 'By Gode, the word that I have spokyn shall be sothe.' +The monke, that stode befor the kyng, was ful sory in his hert; and +thought rather he wold himself suffer peteous deth; and thought yff +he myght ordeyn therfore sum remedy. And anon the monke went unto his +abbott, and was schryvyd of him, and told the abbott all that the kyng +said, and prayed his abbott to assoyl him, for he wold gyffe the kyng +such a wassayle, that all Englond shuld be glad and joyful therof. Tho +went the monke into a gardene, and fond a tode therin; and toke her upp, +and put hyr in a cuppe, and filled it with good ale, and pryked hyr in +every place, in the cuppe, till the venome come out in every place; an +brought hitt befor the kyng, and knelyd, and said, 'Sir, wassayle; for +never in your lyfe drancke ye of such a cuppe,' 'Begyne, monke,' quod +the king; and the monke dranke a gret draute, and toke the kyng the +cuppe, and the kyng also drank a grett draute, and set downe the +cuppe.—The monke anon went to the Farmarye, and ther dyed anon, on +whose soule God have mercy, Amen. And v monkes syng for his soule +especially, and shall while the abbey stondith. The kyng was anon ful +evil at ese, and comaunded to remove the table, and askyd after the +monke; and men told him that he was ded, for his wombe was broke in +sondur. When the king herd this tidyng, he comaunded for to trusse; but +all hit was for nought, for his bely began to swelle for the drink that +he dranke, that he dyed within II dayes, the moro aftur Seynt Luke's +day."</p> + +<p>A different account of the poisoning of King John is given in a MS. +Chronicle of England, written in the minority of Edward III., and +contained in the Auchinleck MS. of Edinburgh. Though not exactly to our +present purpose, the passage is curious, and I shall quote it without +apology. The author has mentioned the interdict laid on John's kingdom +by the pope, and continues thus:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He was ful wroth and grim,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For no prest wald sing for him</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He made tho his parlement,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And swore his <i>croy de verament</i>,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That he shuld make such assaut,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To fede all Inglonde with a spand.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And eke with a white lof,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Therefore I hope<a name="FNanchor_A_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_86"><sup>[A]</sup></a> he was God-loth.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A monk it herd of Swines-heued,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And of this wordes he was adred,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He went hym to his fere,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And seyd to hem in this manner;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The king has made a sori oth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That he schal with a white lof</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fede al Inglonde, and with a spand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Y wis it were a sori saut;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And better is that we die to,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Than al Inglond be so wo.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ye schul for me belles ring,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And after wordes rede and sing;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So helpe you God, heven king,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Granteth me alle now mill asking,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Ichim wil with puseoun slo,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ne schal he never Inglond do wo."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">His brethren him graunt alle his bone.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He let him shrive swithe sone,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To make his soule fair and cleue,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To for our leuedi heven queen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That sche schuld for him be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To for her son in trinité.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Dansimond zede and gadred frut,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For sothe were plommes white,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The steles<a name="FNanchor_B_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_87"><sup>[B]</sup></a> he puld out everichon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Puisoun he dede therin anon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sett the steles al ogen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That the gile schuld nought be sen.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He dede hem in a coupe of gold,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And went to the kinges bord;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">On knes he him sett,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king full fair he grett;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Sir," he said, "by Seynt Austin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This is front of our garden,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And gif that your wil be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Assayet herof after me."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Dansimoud ete frut, on and on,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And al tho other ete King Jon;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The monke aros, and went his way,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">God gif his soule wel gode day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He gaf King Jon ther his puisoun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Himself had that ilk doun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He dede, it is nouther for mirthe ne ond,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bot for to save al Iuglond.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The King Jon sate at mete,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His wombe to wex grete;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He swore his oth, <i>per la croyde</i>,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">His wombe wald brest a thre;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He wald have risen fram the bord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ac he spake never more word;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thus ended his time,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Y wis he had an evel fine.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_86">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Hope, for think.</i></p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_87">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Steles</i>—Stalks.</p></div> + +<p>Shakespeare, from such old chronicles, has drawn his authority for the +last fine scene in <i>King John</i>. But he probably had it from Caxton, who +uses nearly the words of the prose chronicle. Hemingford tells the same +tale with the metrical historian. It is certain, that John increased the +flux, of which he died, by the intemperate use of peaches and of ale, +which may have given rise to the story of the poison.—See MATTHEW +PARIS.</p> + +<p>To return to the ballad: there is a very similar song, in which, +apparently to excite greater interest in the nursery, the handsome young +hunter is exchanged for a little child, poisoned by a false step-mother.</p> + +<br> + +<p>LORD RANDAL.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O where hae ye been, Lord Randal, my son?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O where hae ye been, my handsome young man?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I hae been to the wild wood; mother, make my bed soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where gat ye your dinner, my handsome young man?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I din'd wi' my true-love; mother, make my bed soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What gat ye to your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What gat ye to your dinner, my handsome young man?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I gat eels boil'd in broo'; mother, make my bed soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What became of your bloodhounds, Lord Randal, my son?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What became of your bloodhounds, my handsome young man?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O they swell'd and they died; mother, make my bed soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I'm weary wi' hunting, and fain wald lie down."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I fear ye are poison'd, Lord Randal, my son!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I fear ye are poison'd, my handsome young man!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O yes! I am poison'd; mother, make my bed soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wald lie down."</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>SIR HUGH LE BLOND.</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad is a northern composition, and seems to have been the +original of the legend called <i>Sir Aldingar</i>, which is printed in the +<i>Reliques of Antient Poetry</i>. The incidents are nearly the same in both +ballads, excepting that, in <i>Aldingar</i>, an angel combats for the queen, +instead of a mortal champion. The names of <i>Aldingar</i> and <i>Rodingham</i> +approach near to each other in sound, though not in orthography, and the +one might, by reciters, be easily substituted for the other.</p> + +<p>The tradition, upon which the ballad is founded, is universally current +in the Mearns; and the editor is informed, that, till very lately, the +sword, with which Sir Hugh le Blond was believed to have defended +the life and honour of the queen, was carefully preserved by his +descendants, the viscounts of Arbuthnot. That Sir Hugh of Arbuthnot +lived in the thirteenth century, is proved by his having, in 1282, +bestowed the patronage of the church of Garvoch upon the monks of +Aberbrothwick, for the safety of his soul.—<i>Register of Aberbrothwick, +quoted by Crawford in Peerage.</i> But I find no instance in history, in +which the honour of a queen of Scotland was committed to the chance of +a duel. It is true, that Mary, wife of Alexander II., was, about 1242, +somewhat implicated in a dark story, concerning the murder of Patrick, +earl of Athole, burned in his lodging at Haddington, where he had gone +to attend a great tournament. The relations of the deceased baron +accused of the murder Sir William Bisat, a powerful nobleman, who +appears to have been in such high favour with the young queen, that +she offered her oath, as a compurgator, to prove his innocence. Bisat +himself stood upon his defence, and proffered the combat to his +accusers; but he was obliged to give way to the tide, and was banished +from Scotland. This affair interested all the northern barons; and it +is not impossible, that some share, taken in it by this Sir Hugh de +Arbuthnot, may have given a slight foundation for the tradition of the +country.—WINTON, B. vii. ch. 9. Or, if we suppose Sir Hugh le Blond +to be a predecessor of the Sir Hugh who flourished in the thirteenth +century, he may have been the victor in a duel, shortly noticed as +having occurred in 1154, when one Arthur, accused of treason, was +unsuccessful in his appeal to the judgment of God. <i>Arthurus regem +Malcolm proditurus duello periit.</i> Chron. Sanctae Crucis ap. Anglia +Sacra, Vol. I. p. 161.</p> + +<p>But, true or false, the incident, narrated in the ballad, is in the +genuine style of chivalry. Romances abound with similar instances, nor +are they wanting in real history. The most solemn part of a knight's +oath was to defend "all widows, orphelines, and maidens of gude +fame."<a name="FNanchor_A_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_88"><sup>[A]</sup></a>—LINDSAY'S <i>Heraldry, MS.</i> The love of arms was a real +passion of itself, which blazed yet more fiercely when united with the +enthusiastic admiration of the fair sex. The knight of Chaucer exclaims, +with chivalrous energy,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To fight for a lady! a benedicite!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It were a lusty sight for to see.</span><br> + +<p>It was an argument, seriously urged by Sir John of Heinault, for making +war upon Edward II., in behalf of his banished wife, Isabella, that +knights were bound to aid, to their uttermost power, all distressed +damsels, living without council or comfort.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_88">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Such an oath is still taken by the Knights of the Bath; +but, I believe, few of that honourable brotherhood will now consider it +quite so obligatory as the conscientious Lord Herbert of Cherbury, who +gravely alleges it as a sufficient reason for having challenged divers +cavaliers, that they had either snatched from a lady her bouquet, or +ribband, or, by some discourtesy of similar importance, placed her, as +his lordship conceived, in the predicament of a distressed damozell.</p></div> + +<p>An apt illustration of the ballad would have been the combat, undertaken +by three Spanish champions against three Moors of Granada, in defence of +the honour of the queen of Granada, wife to Mohammed Chiquito, the last +monarch of that kingdom. But I have not at hand <i>Las Guerras Civiles +de Granada</i>, in which that atchievement is recorded. Raymond Berenger, +count of Barcelona, is also said to have defended, in single combat, the +life and honour of the Empress Matilda, wife of the Emperor Henry V., +and mother to Henry II. of England.—See ANTONIO ULLOA, <i>del vero Honore +Militare</i>, Venice, 1569.</p> + +<p>A less apocryphal example is the duel, fought in 1387, betwixt Jaques le +Grys and John de Carogne, before the king of France. These warriors were +retainers of the earl of Alencon, and originally sworn brothers. John de +Carogne went over the sea, for the advancement of his fame, leaving in +his castle a beautiful wife, where she lived soberly and sagely. But +the devil entered into the heart of Jaques le Grys, and he rode, one +morning, from the earl's house to the castle of his friend, where he was +hospitably received by the unsuspicious lady. He requested her to +show him the donjon, or keep of the castle, and in that remote and +inaccessible tower forcibly violated her chastity. He then mounted his +horse, and returned to the earl of Alencon within so short a space, that +his absence had not been perceived. The lady abode within the donjon, +weeping bitterly, and exclaiming, "Ah Jaques! it was not well done thus +to shame me! but on you shall the shame rest, if God send my husband +safe home!" The lady kept secret this sorrowful deed until her husband's +return from his voyage. The day passed, and night came, and the knight +went to bed; but the lady would not; for ever she blessed herself, +and walked up and down the chamber, studying and musing, until her +attendants had retired; and then, throwing herself on her knees before +the knight, she shewed him all the adventure. Hardly would Carogne +believe the treachery of his companion; but, when convinced, he replied, +"Since it is so, lady, I pardon you; but the knight shall die for this +villainous deed." Accordingly, Jaques le Grys was accused of the crime, +in the court of the earl of Alencon. But, as he was greatly loved of +his lord, and as the evidence was very slender, the earl gave judgment +against the accusers. Hereupon John Carogne appealed to the parliament +of Paris; which court, after full consideration, appointed the case to +be tried by mortal combat betwixt the parties, John Carogne appearing as +the champion of his lady. If he failed in his combat, then was he to +be hanged, and his lady burned, as false and unjust calumniators. This +combat, under circumstances so very peculiar, attracted universal +attention; in so much, that the king of France and his peers, who were +then in Flanders, collecting troops for an invasion of England, returned +to Paris, that so notable a duel might be fought in the royal presence. +"Thus the kynge, and his uncles, and the constable, came to Parys. Then +the lystes were made in a place called Saynt Katheryne, behinde the +Temple. There was soo moche people, that it was mervayle to beholde; and +on the one side of the lystes there was made gret scaffoldes, that the +lordes might the better se the batayle of the ii champion; and so they +bothe came to the felde, armed at all peaces, and there eche of them was +set in theyr chayre; the erle of Saynt Poule gouverned John of Carongne, +and the erle of Alanson's company with Jacques le Grys; and when the +knyght entred in to the felde, he came to his wyfe, who was there +syttynge in a chayre, covered in blacke, and he sayd to her thus:—Dame, +by your enformacyon, and in your quarrell, I do put my lyfe in +adventure, as to fyght with Jacques le Grys; ye knowe, if the cause be +just and true.'—'Syr,' sayd the lady, 'it is as I have sayd; wherefore +ye maye fyght surely; the cause is good and true.' With those wordes, +the knyghte kissed the lady, and toke her by the hande, and then blessyd +hym, and soo entred into the felde. The lady sate styll in the blacke +chayre, in her prayers to God, and to the vyrgyne Mary, humbly prayenge +them, by theyr specyall grace, to send her husbande the victory, +accordynge to the ryght. She was in gret hevynes, for she was not sure +of her lyfe; for, if her husbande sholde have ben dyscomfyted, she was +judged, without remedy, to be brente, and her husbande hanged. I cannot +say whether she repented her or not, as the matter was so forwarde, that +both she and her husbande were in grete peryll: howbeit, fynally, she +must as then abyde the adventure. Then these two champyons were set +one agaynst another, and so mounted on theyr horses, and behauved them +nobly; for they knewe what perteyned to deades of armes. There were +many lordes and knyghtes of Fraunce, that were come thyder to se that +batayle. The two champyons justed at theyr fyrst metyng, but none of +them dyd hurte other; and, after the justes, they lyghted on foote to +periournie theyr batayle, and soo fought valyauntly.—And fyrst, John of +Carongne was hurt in the thyghe, whereby al his frendes were in grete +fere; but, after that, he fought so valyauntly, that he bette down his +adversary to the erthe, and threst his swerde in his body, and soo slewe +hyrn in the felde; and then he demaunded, if he had done his devoyse or +not? and they answered, that he had valyauntly atchieved his batayle. +Then Jacques le Grys was delyuered to the hangman of Parys, and he drewe +hym to the gybbet of Mountfawcon, and there hanged him up. Then John of +Carongne came before the kynge, and kneled downe, and the kynge made +him to stand up before hym; and, the same daye, the kynge caused to +be delyvred to him a thousande franks, and reteyned him to be of his +chambre, with a pencyon of ii hundred pounde by yere, durynge the terme +of his lyfe. Then he thanked the kynge and the lordes, and went to his +wyfe, and kissed her; and then they wente togyder to the chyrche of our +ladye, in Parys, and made theyr offerynge, and then retourned to their +lodgynges. Then this Sir John of Carongne taryed not longe in Fraunce, +but went, with Syr John Boucequant, Syr John of Bordes, and Syr Loys +Grat. All these went to se Lamorabaquyn,<a name="FNanchor_A_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_89"><sup>[A]</sup></a> of whome, in those dayes, +there was moche spekynge."</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_89">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> This odd name Froissart gives to the famous Mahomet, +emperor of Turkey, called the Great.</p></div> + +<p>Such was the readiness, with which, in those times, heroes put their +lives in jeopardy, for honour and lady's sake. But I doubt whether the +fair dames of the present day will think, that the risk of being burned, +upon every suspicion of frailty, could be altogether compensated by the +probability, that a husband of good faith, like John de Carogne, or a +disinterested champion, like Hugh le Blond, would take up the gauntlet +in their behalf. I fear they will rather accord to the sentiment of the +hero of an old romance, who expostulates thus with a certain duke:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Certes, sir duke, thou doest unright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To make a roast of your daughter bright;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I wot you ben unkind.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Amis and Amelion.</i></span><br> + +<p>I was favoured with the following copy of <i>Sir Hugh le Blond</i>, by +K. Williamson Burnet, Esq. of Monboddo, who wrote it down from the +recitation of an old woman, long in the service of the Arbuthnot +family. Of course the diction is very much humbled, and it has, in +all probability, undergone many corruptions; but its antiquity is +indubitable, and the story, though indifferently told, is in itself +interesting. It is believed, that there have been many more verses.</p> + +<br> + +<p>SIR HUGH LE BLOND.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The birds sang sweet as ony bell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The world had not their make,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The queen she's gone to her chamber,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">With Rodingham to talk.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I love you well, my queen, my dame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"'Bove land and rents so clear</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And for the love of you, my queen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Would thole pain most severe."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If well you love me, Rodingham,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I'm sure so do I thee:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I love you well as any man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Save the king's fair bodye."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I love you well, my queen, my dame;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"'Tis truth that I do tell:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And for to lye a night with you,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The salt seas I would sail."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Away, away, O Rodingham!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"You are both stark and stoor;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Would you defile the king's own bed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And make his queen a whore?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To-morrow you'd be taken sure,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And like a traitor slain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I'd be burned at a stake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Altho' I be the queen."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He then stepp'd out at her room-door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">All in an angry mood;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Until he met a leper-man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Just by the hard way-side.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He intoxicate the leper-man</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">With liquors very sweet;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And gave him more and more to drink,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Until he fell asleep.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He took him in his arms two,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And carried him along,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till he came to the queen's own bed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And there he laid him down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He then stepp'd out of the queen's bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As switt as any roe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till he came to the very place</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Where the king himself did go.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king said unto Rodingham,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"What news have you to me?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He said, "Your queen's a false woman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As I did plainly see."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He hasten'd to the queen's chamber,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">So costly and so fine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Untill he came to the queen's own bed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Where the leper-man was lain.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He looked on the leper-man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Who lay on his queen's bed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He lifted up the snaw-white sheets,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And thus he to him said:</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Plooky, plooky,<a name="FNanchor_A_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_90"><sup>[A]</sup></a> are your cheeks,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And plooky is your chin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And plooky are your arms two</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My bonny queen's layne in.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Since she has lain into your arms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"She shall not lye in mine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Since she has kiss'd your ugsome mouth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"She never shall kiss mine."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In anger he went to the queen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Who fell upon her knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He said, "You false, unchaste woman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"What's this you've done to me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The queen then turn'd herself about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The tear blinded her e'e—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There's not a knight in all your court</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Dare give that name to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He said, "'Tis true that I do say;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For I a proof did make:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"You shall be taken from my bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And burned at a stake.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Perhaps I'll take my word again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And may repent the same,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If that you'll get a Christian man</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To fight that Rodingham."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Alas! alas!" then cried our queen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Alas, and woe to me!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's not a man in all Scotland</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Will fight with him for me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She breathed unto her messengers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Sent them south, east, and west;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They could find none to fight with him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Nor enter the contest.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She breathed on her messengers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">She sent them to the north;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there they found Sir Hugh le Blond,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To fight him he came forth.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When unto him they did unfold</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The circumstance all right,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He bade them go and tell the queen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That for her he would fight.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The day came on that was to do</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That dreadful tragedy;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Hugh le Blond was not come up</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To fight for our lady.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Put on the fire," the monster said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It is twelve on the bell!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Tis scarcely ten, now," said the king;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I heard the clock mysell."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Before the hour the queen is brought,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The burning to proceed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In a black velvet chair she's set,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A token for the dead.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She saw the flames ascending high,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The tears blinded her e'e:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where is the worthy knight," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Who is to fight for me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spake the king himsel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My dearest, have no doubt,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For yonder comes the man himsel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As bold as ere set out."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They then advanced to fight the duel</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">With swords of temper'd steel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till down the blood of Rodingham</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Came running to his heel.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sir Hugh took out a lusty sword,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">'Twas of the metal clear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has pierced Rodingham</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Till's heart-blood did appear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Confess your treachery, now," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"This day before you die!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I do confess my treachery,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I shall no longer lye:</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I like to wicked Haman am,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"This day I shall be slain."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The queen was brought to her chamber</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A good woman again.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The queen then said unto the king,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Arbattle's near the sea;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Give it unto the northern knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That this day fought for me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then said the king, "Come here, sir knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And drink a glass of wine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, if Arbattle's not enough,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To it we'll Fordoun join."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_90">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Plooky</i>—Pimpled.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON SIR HUGH LE BLOND.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Until he met a leper-man. &c.</i>—P. 268. v. 4.</span><br> + +<p>Filth, poorness of living, and the want of linen, made this horrible +disease formerly very common in Scotland. Robert Bruce died of the +leprosy; and, through all Scotland, there were hospitals erected for +the reception of lepers, to prevent their mingling with the rest of the +community.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>"It is twelve on the bell!"</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>"Tis scarcely ten, now," said the king, &c.</i>—P. 272. v. 2.</span><br> + +<p>In the romance of Doolin, called <i>La Fleur des Battailles</i>, a false +accuser discovers a similar impatience to hurry over the execution, +before the arrival of the lady's champion:—<i>"Ainsi comme Herchambaut +vouloit jetter la dame dedans le feu, Sanxes de Clervaut va a lui, si +lui dict; 'Sire Herchambaut, vous estes trop a blasmer; car vous ne +devez mener ceste chose que par droit ainsi qu'il est ordonnè; je veux +accorder que ceste dame ait un vassal qui la diffendra contre vous et +Drouart, car elle n'a point de coulpe en ce que l'accusez; si la devez +retarder jusque a midy, pour scavoir si un bon chevalier l'a viendra +secourir centre vous et Drouart."</i>—Cap. 22.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>"And, if Arbattle's not enough,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>"To it we'll Fordoun join."</i>—P. 274. v. 1.</span><br> + +<p>Arbattle is the ancient name of the barony of Arbuthnot. Fordun has long +been the patrimony of the same family.</p> + +<br> + +<p>GRAEME AND BEWICK.</p> +<br> + +<p>The date of this ballad, and its subject, are uncertain. From internal +evidence, I am inclined to place it late in the sixteenth century. Of +the Graemes enough is elsewhere said. It is not impossible, that such +a clan, as they are described, may have retained the rude ignorance +of ancient border manners to a later period than their more inland +neighbours; and hence the taunt of old Bewick to Graeme. Bewick is an +ancient name in Cumberland and Northumberland. The ballad itself was +given, in the first edition, from the recitation of a gentleman, who +professed to have forgotten some verses. These have, in the present +edition, been partly restored, from a copy obtained by the recitation of +an ostler in Carlisle, which has also furnished some slight alterations.</p> + +<p>The ballad is remarkable, as containing, probably, the very latest +allusion to the institution of brotherhood in arms, which was held so +sacred in the days of chivalry, and whose origin may be traced up to the +Scythian ancestors of Odin. Many of the old romances turn entirely upon +the sanctity of the engagement, contracted by the <i>freres d'armes</i>. In +that of <i>Amis and Amelion</i>, the hero slays his two infant children, that +he may compound a potent salve with their blood, to cure the leprosy of +his brother in arms. The romance of <i>Gyron le Courtois</i> has a similar +subject. I think the hero, like Graeme in the ballad, kills himself, out +of some high point of honour towards his friend.</p> + +<p>The quarrel of the two old chieftains, over their wine, is highly in +character. Two generations have not elapsed since the custom of drinking +deep, and taking deadly revenge for slight offences, produced very +tragical events on the border; to which the custom of going armed to +festive meetings contributed not a little. A minstrel, who flourished +about 1720, and is often talked of by the old people, happened to be +performing before one of these parties, when they betook themselves to +their swords. The cautious musician, accustomed to such scenes, dived +beneath the table. A moment after, a man's hand, struck off with a +back-sword, fell beside him. The minstrel secured it carefully in +his pocket, as he would have done any other loose moveable; sagely +observing, the owner would miss it sorely next morning. I chuse rather +to give this ludicrous example, than some graver instances of bloodshed +at border orgies. I observe it is said, in a MS. account of Tweeddale, +in praise of the inhabitants, that, "when they fall in the humour of +good fellowship, they use it as a cement and bond of society, and not +to foment revenge, quarrels, and murders, which is usual in other +countries;" by which we ought, probably, to understand Selkirkshire and +Teviotdale.—<i>Macfarlane's MSS.</i></p> + +<br> + +<p>GRAEME AND BEWICK.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gude lord Graeme is to Carlisle gane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Sir Robert Bewick there met he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And arm in arm to the wine they did go,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And they drank till they were baith merrie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gude lord Graeme has ta'en up the cup,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sir Robert Bewick, and here's to thee!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And here's to our twae sons at hame!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For they like us best in our ain countrie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O were your son a lad like mine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And learn'd some books that he could read,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They might hae been twae brethren bauld,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And they might hae bragged the border side."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But your son's a lad, and he is but bad,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And billie to my son he canna be;</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye sent him to the schools, and he wadna learn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye bought him books, and he wadna read."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But my blessing shall he never earn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till I see how his arm can defend his head."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gude lord Graeme has a reckoning call'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A reckoning then called he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he paid a crown, and it went roun';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">It was all for the gude wine and free.<a name="FNanchor_A_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_91"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has to the stable gaen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Where there stude thirty steeds and three;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's ta'en his ain horse amang them a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And hame he' rade sae manfullie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Wellcome, my auld father!" said Christie Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But where sae lang frae hame were ye?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It's I hae been at Carlisle town,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And a baffled man by thee I be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I hae been at Carlisle town,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Where Sir Robert Bewick he met me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He says ye're a lad, and ye are but bad,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And billie to his son ye canna be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I sent ye to the schools, and ye wadna learn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I bought ye books, and ye wadna read;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Therefore, my blessing ye shall never earn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till I see with Bewick thou save thy head."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, God forbid, my auld father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That ever sic a thing suld be!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Billie Bewick was my master, and I was his scholar,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And aye sae weel as he learned me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hald thy tongue, thou limmer lown,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And of thy talking let me be!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If thou does na end me this quarrel soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"There is my glove I'll fight wi' thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then Christie Graeme he stooped low</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Unto the ground, you shall understand;—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O father, put on your glove again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The wind has blown it from your hand."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What's that thou says, thou limmer loun?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"How dares thou stand to speak to me?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If thou do not end this quarrel soon,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"There's my right hand thou shalt fight with me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then Christie Graeme's to his chamber gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To consider weel what then should be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whether he suld fight with his auld father</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Or with his billie Bewick, he.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If I suld kill my billie dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"God's blessing I sall never win;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But if I strike at my auld father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I think 'twald be a mortal sin.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But if I kill my billie dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It is God's will! so let it be.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I make a vow, ere I gang frae hame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That I shall be the next man's die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then he's put on's back a good ould jack,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And on his head a cap of steel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sword and buckler by his side;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">O gin he did not become them weel!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">We'll leave off talking of Christie Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And talk of him again belive;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And we will talk of bonnie Bewick,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Where he was teaching his scholars five.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When he had taught them well to fence,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And handle swords without any doubt;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He took his sword under his arm,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And he walked his father's close about.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He looked atween him and the sun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And a' to see what there might be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till he spied a man, in armour bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Was riding that way most hastilie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha is yon, that came this way,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sae hastilie that hither came?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I think it be my brother dear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I think it be young Christie Graeme."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye're welcome here, my billie dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And thrice you're welcome unto me!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I'm wae to say, I've seen the day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"When I am come to fight with thee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My father's gane to Carlisle town,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wi' your father Bewick there met he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He says I'm a lad, and I am but bad,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And a baffled man I trow I be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He sent me to schools, and I wadna learn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He gae me books, and I wadna read;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Sae my father's blessing I'll never earn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till he see how my arm can guard my head."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O God forbid, my billie dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That ever such a thing suld be!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We'll take three men on either side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And see if we can our fathers agree."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hald thy tongue, now, billie Bewick,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And of thy talking let me be!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But if thou'rt a man, as I'm sure thou art,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Come o'er the dyke, and fight wi' me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I hae nae harness, billie, on my back,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As weel I see there is on thine."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But as little harness as is on thy back,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As little, billie, shall be on mine."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then he's thrown aff his coat of mail,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">His cap of steel away flung he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He stuck his spear into the ground,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And he tied his horse unto a tree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then Bewick has thrown aff his cloak,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And's psalter-book frae's hand flung he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He laid his hand upon the dyke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And ower he lap most manfullie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O they hae fought for twae lang hours;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">When twae lang hours were come and gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The sweat drapped fast frae aff them baith,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">But a drap of blude could not be seen.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till Graeme gae Bewick an ackward<a name="FNanchor_B_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_92"><sup>[B]</sup></a> stroke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Ane ackward stroke, strucken sickerlie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He has hit him under the left breast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And dead-wounded to the ground fell he.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Rise up, rise up, now, hillie dear!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Arise, and speak three words to me!—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Whether thou'se gotten thy deadly wound,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or if God and good leaching may succour thee?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O horse, O horse, now billie Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And get thee far from hence with speed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And get thee out of this country,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That none may know who has done the deed."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I have slain thee, billie Bewick,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"If this be true thou tellest to me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I made a vow, ere I came frae hame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That aye the next man I wad be."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He has pitched his sword in a moodie-hill,<a name="FNanchor_C_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_93"><sup>[C]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And he has leap'd twentie lang feet and three,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And on his ain sword's point he lap,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And dead upon the grund fell he.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas then came up Sir Robert Bewick,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And his brave son alive saw he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Rise up, rise up, my son," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For I think ye hae gotten the victorie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hald your tongue, my father dear!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Of your prideful talking let me be!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye might hae drunken your wine in peace,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And let me and my billie be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gae dig a grave, baith wide and deep,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"A grave to hald baith him and me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But lay Christie Graeme on the sunny side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For I'm sure he wan the victorie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Alack! a wae!" auld Bewick cried,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Alack! was I not much to blame!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'm sure I've lost the liveliest lad</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That e'er was born unto my name."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Alack! a wae!" quo' gude Lord Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I'm sure I hae lost the deeper lack!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I durst hae ridden the Border through,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Had Christie Graeme been at my back.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Had I been led through Liddesdale,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And thirty horsemen guarding me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And Christie Gramme been at my back,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sae soon as he had set me free!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I've lost my hopes, I've lost my joy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I've lost the key but and the lock;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I durst hae ridden the world round,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Had Christie Graeme been at my back."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_91">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The ostler's copy reads very characteristically— "It was +all for good wine and <i>hay</i>."</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_92">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Ackward</i>—Backward.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_93">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Moodie-hill</i>—Mole-hill.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE DUEL OF WHARTON AND STUART. IN TWO PARTS.</p> +<br> + +<p>Duels, as may be seen from the two preceding ballads, are derived from +the times of chivalry. They succeeded to the <i>combat at outrance</i>, +about the end of the sixteenth century; and, though they were no longer +countenanced by the laws, nor considered a solemn appeal to the Deity, +nor honoured by the presence of applauding monarchs and multitudes, yet +they were authorised by the manners of the age, and by the applause of +the fair.<a name="FNanchor_A_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_94"><sup>[A]</sup></a> They long continued, they even yet continue, to be appealed +to, as the test of truth; since, by the code of honour, every gentleman +is still bound to repel a charge of falsehood with the point of his +sword, and at the peril of his life. This peculiarity of manners, which +would have surprised an ancient Roman, is obviously deduced from the +Gothic ordeal of trial by combat. Nevertheless, the custom of duelling +was considered, at its first introduction, as an innovation upon the law +of arms; and a book, in two huge volumes, entituled <i>Le vrai Theatre +d' Honneur et de la Chivalerie</i>, was written by a French nobleman, +to support the venerable institutions of chivalry against this +unceremonious mode of combat. He has chosen for his frontispiece two +figures; the first represents a conquering knight, trampling his enemy +under foot in the lists, crowned by Justice with laurel, and preceded by +Fame, sounding his praises. The other figure presents a duellist, in +his shirt, as was then the fashion (see the following ballad), with his +bloody rapier in his hand: the slaughtered combatant is seen in the +distance, and the victor is pursued by the Furies. Nevertheless, the +wise will make some scruple, whether, if the warriors were to change +equipments, they might not also exchange their emblematic attendants. +The modern mode of duel, without defensive armour, began about the reign +of Henry III. of France, when the gentlemen of that nation, as we learn +from Davila, began to lay aside the cumbrous lance and cuirass, even in +war. The increase of danger being supposed to contribute to the increase +of honour, the national ardour of the french gallants led them early to +distinguish themselves by neglect of every thing, that could contribute +to their personal safety. Hence, duels began to be fought by the +combatants in their shirts, and with the rapier only. To this custom +contributed also the art of fencing, then cultivated as a new study in +Italy and Spain, by which the sword became, at once, an offensive and +defensive weapon. The reader will see the new "science of defence," as +it was called, ridiculed by Shakespeare, in <i>Romeo and Juliet</i>, and +by Don Quevedo, in some of his novels. But the more ancient customs +continued for some time to maintain their ground. The sieur Colombiere +mentions two gentlemen, who fought with equal advantage for a whole day, +in all the panoply of chivalry, and, the next day, had recourse to the +modern mode of combat. By a still more extraordinary mixture of ancient +and modern fashions, two combatants on horseback ran a tilt at each +other with lances, without any covering but their shirts.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_94">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> "All things being ready for the ball, and every one being +in their place, and I myself being next to the queen (of France), +expecting when the dancers would come in, one knockt at the door +somewhat louder than became, as I thought, a very civil person. When he +came in, I remember there was a sudden whisper among the ladies, saying, +'C'est Monsieur Balagny,' or, 'tis Monsieur Balagny; whereupon, also, +I saw the ladies and gentlewomen, one after another, invite him to sit +near them; and, which is more, when one lady had his company a while, +another would say, 'you have enjoyed him long enough; I must have him +now;' at which bold civility of theirs, though I were astonished, yet it +added unto my wonder, that his person could not be thought, at most, but +ordinary handsome; his hair, which was cut very short, half grey, his +doublet but of sackcloth, cut to his shirt, and his breeches only of +plain grey cloth. Informing myself of some standers by who he was, I was +told he was one of the gallantest men in the world, as having killed +eight or nine men in single fight; and that, for this reason, the ladies +made so much of him; it being the manner of all French women to cherish +gallant men, as thinking they could not make so much of any one else, +with the safety of their honour."—<i>Life of Lord Herbert of Cherbury,</i> +p. 70. How near the character of the duellist, originally, approached to +that of the knight-errant, appears from a transaction, which took place +at the siege of Juliers, betwixt this Balagny and Lord Herbert. As +these two noted duellists stood together in the trenches, the Frenchman +addressed Lord Herbert: <i>"Monsieur, on dit que vous etes un des plus +braves de votre nation, et je suis Balagny; allons voir qui fera le +mieux."</i> With these words, Balagny jumped over the trench, and Herbert +as speedily following, both ran sword in hand towards the defences +of the besieged town, which welcomed their approach with a storm of +musquetry and artillery. Balagny then observed, this was hot service; +but Herbert swore, he would not turn back first; so the Frenchman was +finally fain to set him the example or retreat. Notwithstanding the +advantage which he had gained over Balagny, in this "jeopardy of war," +Lord Herbert seems still to have grudged that gentleman's astonishing +reputation; for he endeavoured to pick a quarrel with him, on the +romantic score of the worth of their mistresses; and, receiving a +ludicrous answer, told him, with disdain, that he spoke more like a +<i>palliard</i> than a <i>cavalier</i>. From such instances the reader may judge, +whether the age of chivalry did not endure somewhat longer than is +generally supposed.</p></div> + +<p>When armour was laid aside, the consequence was, that the first duels +were very sanguinary, terminating frequently in the death of one, and +sometimes, as in the ballad, of both persons engaged. Nor was this all: +The seconds, who had nothing to do with the quarrel, fought stoutly, +<i>pour se desennuyer</i>, and often sealed with their blood their friendship +for their principal. A desperate combat, fought between Messrs Entraguet +and Caylus, is said to have been the first, in which this fashion of +promiscuous fight was introduced. It proved fatal to two of Henry the +Third's minions, and extracted from that sorrowing monarch an edict +against duelling, which was as frequently as fruitlessly renewed by his +successors. The use of rapier and poniard together,<a name="FNanchor_A_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_95"><sup>[A]</sup></a> was another cause +of the mortal slaughter in these duels, which were supposed, in the +reign of Henry IV., to have cost France at least as many of her nobles +as had fallen in the civil wars. With these double weapons, frequent +instances occurred, in which a duellist, mortally wounded, threw himself +within his antagonist's guard, and plunged his poniard into his heart. +Nay, sometimes the sword was altogether abandoned for the more sure +and murderous dagger. A quarrel having arisen betwixt the vicompte d' +Allemagne and the sieur de la Roque, the former, alleging the youth and +dexterity of his antagonist, insisted upon fighting the duel in their +shirts, and with their poniards only; a desperate mode of conflict, +which proved fatal to both. Others refined even upon this horrible +struggle, by chusing for the scene a small room, a large hogshead, or, +finally, a hole dug in the earth, into which the duellists descended, as +into a certain grave.—Must I add, that even women caught the phrenzy, +and that duels were fought, not only by those whose rank and character +rendered it little surprising, but by modest and well-born maidens! +<i>Audiguier Traité de Duel. Theatre D' Honneur,</i> Vol. I.<a name="FNanchor_B_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_96"><sup>[B]</sup></a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_95">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> It appears from a line in the black-letter copy of the +following ballad, that Wharton and Stuart fought with rapier and dagger: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With that stout Wharton was the first</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Took <i>rapier</i> and <i>poniard</i> there that day.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Ancient Songs,</i> 1792, p. 204.</span></p></div><br> + +<a name="Footnote_B_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_96">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> This folly ran to such a pitch, that no one was thought +worthy to be reckoned a gentleman, who had not tried his valour in at +least one duel; of which Lord Herbert gives the following instance:—A +young gentleman, desiring to marry a niece of Monsieur Disaucour, +<i>ecuyer</i> to the duke de Montmorenci, received this answer: "Friend, it +is not yet time to marry; if you will be a brave man, you must first +kill, in single combat, two or three men; then marry, and get two or +three children; otherwise the world will neither have gained or lost by +you." HERBERT'S <i>Life</i>, p. 64.</p></div> + +<p>We learn, from every authority, that duels became nearly as common in +England, after the accession of James VI., as they had ever been in +France. The point of honour, so fatal to the gallants of the age, was no +where carried more highly than at the court of the pacific <i>Solomon</i> +of Britain. Instead of the feudal combats, upon the <i>Hie-gate of +Edinburgh</i>, which had often disturbed his repose at Holy-rood, his +levees, at Theobald's, were occupied with listening to the detail of +more polished, but not less sanguinary, contests. I rather suppose, that +James never was himself disposed to pay particular attention to the laws +of the <i>duello;</i> but they were defined with a quaintness and pedantry, +which, bating his dislike to the subject, must have deeply interested +him. The point of honour was a science, which a grown gentleman might +study under suitable professors, as well as dancing, or any other +modish accomplishment. Nay, it would appear, that the ingenuity of +the <i>sword-men</i> (so these military casuists were termed) might often +accommodate a bashful combatant with an honourable excuse for declining +the combat:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">—Understand'st them well nice points of duel?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Art born of gentle blood and pure descent?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Were none of all thy lineage hang'd, or cuckold?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Bastard or bastinadoed? Is thy pedigree</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As long, as wide as mine? For otherwise</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou wert most unworthy; and 'twere loss of honour</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">In me to fight. More: I have drawn five teeth—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If thine stand sound, the terms are much unequal;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, by strict laws of duel, I am excused</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To fight on disadvantage.—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Albumazar,</i> Act IV. Sc. 7.</span><br> + +<p>In Beaumont and Fletcher's admirable play of <i>A King and no King</i>, there +is some excellent mirth at the expence of the professors of the point of +honour.</p> + +<p>But, though such shifts might occasionally be resorted to by the +faint-hearted, yet the fiery cavaliers of the English court were but +little apt to profit by them; though their vengeance for insulted honour +sometimes vented itself through fouler channels than that of fair combat +It happened, for example, that Lord Sanquhar, a Scottish nobleman, in +fencing with a master of the noble science of defence, lost his eye by +an unlucky thrust. The accident was provoking, but without remedy; nor +did Lord Sanquhar think of it, unless with regret, until some years +after, when he chanced to be in the French court. Henry the Great +casually asked him, how he lost his eye? "By the thrust of a sword," +answered Lord Sanquhar, not caring to enter into particulars. The king, +supposing the accident the consequence of a duel, immediately enquired, +"Does the man yet live?" These few words set the blood of the Scottish +nobleman on fire; nor did he rest till he had taken the base vengeance +of assassinating, by hired ruffians, the unfortunate fencing-master. The +mutual animosity betwixt the English and Scottish nations, had already +occasioned much bloodshed among the gentry, by single combat; and James +now found himself under the necessity of making a striking example of +one of his Scottish nobles, to avoid the imputation of the grossest +partiality. Lord Sanquhar was condemned to be hanged, and suffered that +ignominious punishment accordingly.</p> + +<p>By a circuitous route, we are now arrived at the subject of our ballad; +for, to the tragical duel of Stuart and Wharton, and to other instances +of bloody combats and brawls betwixt the two nations, is imputed James's +firmness in the case of Lord Sanquhar.</p> + +<p>"For Ramsay, one of the king's servants, not long before Sanquhar's +trial, had switched the earl of Montgomery, who was the king's first +favourite, happily because he tooke it so. Maxwell, another of them, had +bitten Hawley, a gentleman of the Temple, by the ear, which enraged the +Templars (in those times riotous, and subject to tumults), and brought +it allmost to a national quarrel, till the king slept in, and took it up +himself.—The Lord Bruce had summoned Sir Edward Sackville (afterward +earl of Dorset), into France, with a fatal compliment, to take death +from his hand.<a name="FNanchor_A_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_97"><sup>[A]</sup></a> <i>And the much lamented Sir James Stuart, one of the +king's blood, and Sir George Wharton, the prime branch of that noble +family, for little worthless punctilios of honor (being intimate +friends), took the field, and fell together by each others +hand."</i>—WILSON'S Life of James VI. p. 60.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_97">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> See an account of this desperate duel in the <i>Guardian</i>.</p></div> + +<p>The sufferers in this melancholy affair were both men of high birth, the +heirs apparent of two noble families, and youths of the most promising +expectation. Sir James Stuart was a knight of the Bath, and eldest +son of Walter, first lord Blantyre, by Nicolas, daughter of Sir James +Somerville, of Cambusnethan. Sir George Wharton was also a knight of the +Bath, and eldest son of Philip, lord Wharton, by Frances, daughter of +Henry Clifford, earl of Cumberland. He married Anne, daughter of the +earl of Rutland, but left no issue.</p> + +<p>The circumstances of the quarrel and combat are accurately detailed in +the ballad, of which there exists a black-letter copy in the Pearson +Collection, now in the library of the late John duke of Roxburghe, +entitled, "A Lamentable Ballad, of a Combate, lately fought, near +London, between Sir James Stewarde, and Sir George Wharton, knights, +who were both slain at that time.—To the tune of, <i>Down Plumpton Park, +&c</i>." A copy of this ballad has been published in Mr Ritson's <i>Ancient +Songs</i>, and, upon comparison, appears very little different from that +which has been preserved by tradition in Ettrick Forest. Two verses have +been added, and one considerably improved, from Mr Ritson's edition. +These three stanzas are the fifth and ninth of Part First, and the +penult verse of Part Second. I am thus particular, that the reader may +be able, if he pleases, to compare the traditional ballad with the +original edition. It furnishes striking evidence, that, "without +characters, fame lives long." The difference, chiefly to be remarked +betwixt the copies, lies in the dialect, and in some modifications +applicable to Scotland; as, using the words <i>"Our Scottish Knight."</i> +The black-letter ballad, in like manner, terms Wharton <i>"Our English +Knight."</i> My correspondent, James Hogg, adds the following note to this +ballad: "I have heard this song sung by several old people; but all +of them with this tradition, that Wharton bribed Stuart's second, and +actually fought in armour. I acknowledge, that, from some dark hints in +the song, this appears not impossible; but, that you may not judge +too rashly, I must remind you, that the old people, inhabiting the +head-lands (high grounds) hereabouts, although possessed of many +original songs, traditions, and anecdotes, are most unreasonably partial +when the valour or honour of a Scotsman is called in question." I +retain this note, because it is characteristic; but I agree with my +correspondent, there can be no foundation for the tradition, except in +national partiality.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE DUEL OF WHARTON AND STUART.</p> + +<p>PART FIRST.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It grieveth me to tell you o'</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Near London late what did befal,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twixt two young gallant gentlemen;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">It grieveth me, and ever shall.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">One of them was Sir George Wharton,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">My good Lord Wharton's son and heir;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The other, James Stuart, a Scottish knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">One that a valiant heart did bear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When first to court these nobles came,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">One night, a gaining, fell to words;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in their fury grew so hot,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That they did both try their keen swords.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No manner of treating, nor advice,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Could hold from striking in that place;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For, in the height and heat of blood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">James struck George Wharton on the face.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What doth this mean," George Wharton said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To strike in such unmanly sort?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, that I take it at thy hands,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The tongue of man shall ne'er report!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But do thy worst, then," said Sir James,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Now do thy worst! appoint a day!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's not a lord in England breathes</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Shall gar me give an inch of way."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye brag right weel," George Wharton said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Let our brave lords at large alane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And speak of me, that am thy foe;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For you shall find enough o' ane!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll alterchange my glove wi' thine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I'll show it on the bed o' death;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I mean the place where we shall fight;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"There ane or both maun lose life and breath!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We'll meet near Waltham," said Sir James;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To-morrow, that shall be the day.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We'll either take a single man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And try who bears the bell away."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then down together hands they shook,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Without any envious sign;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then went to Ludgate, where they lay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And each man drank his pint of wine.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No kind of envy could be seen,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">No kind of malice they did betray;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But a' was clear and calm as death,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Whatever in their bosoms lay,</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till parting time; and then, indeed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">They shew'd some rancour in their heart;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Next time we meet," says George Wharton,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Not half sae soundly we shall part!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So they have parted, firmly bent</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Their valiant minds equal to try:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The second part shall clearly show,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Both how they meet, and how they dye.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE DUEL OF WHARTON AND STUART.</p> + +<p>PART SECOND.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">George Wharton was the first ae man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Came to the appointed place that day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where he espyed our Scots lord coming,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As fast as he could post away.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They met, shook hands; their cheeks were pale;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Then to George Wharton James did say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I dinna like your doublet, George,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It stands sae weel on you this day.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Say, have you got no armour on?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Have ye no under robe of steel?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I never saw an English man</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Become his doublet half sae weel."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fy no! fy no!" George Wharton said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For that's the thing that mauna be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That I should come wi' armour on,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And you a naked man truly."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Our men shall search our doublets, George,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And see if one of us do lie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then will we prove, wi' weapons sharp,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ourselves true gallants for to be."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then they threw off their doublets both,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And stood up in their sarks o' lawn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, take my counsel," said Sir James,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wharton, to thee I'll make it knawn:</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"So as we stand, so will we fight;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Thus naked in our sarks," said he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fy no! fy no!" George Wharton says;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That is the thing that must not be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We're neither drinkers, quarrellers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nor men that cares na for oursel;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor minds na what we're gaun about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or if we're gaun to heav'n or hell.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Let us to God bequeath our souls,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Our bodies to the dust and clay!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With that he drew his deadly sword,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The first was drawn on field that day.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Se'en bouts and turns these heroes had,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Or e'er a drop o' blood was drawn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Our Scotch lord, wond'ring, quickly cry'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Stout Wharton! thou still hauds thy awn!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The first stroke that George Wharton gae,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He struck him thro' the shoulder-bane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The neist was thro' the thick o' the thigh;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He thought our Scotch lord had been slain.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Oh! ever alak!" George Wharton cry'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Art thou a living man, tell me?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If there's a surgeon living can,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He'se cure thy wounds right speedily."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"No more of that!" James Stuart said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Speak not of curing wounds to me!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For one of us must yield our breath,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ere off the field one foot we flee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They looked oure their shoulders both,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To see what company was there;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They both had grievous marks of death,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">But frae the other nane wad steer.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">George Wharton was the first that fell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Our Scotch lord fell immediately:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They both did cry to Him above,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To save their souls, for they boud die.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW.</p> +<br> + +<p>This fragment, obtained from recitation in the Forest of Ettrick, is +said to relate to the execution of Cokburne of Henderland, a border +freebooter, hanged over the gate of his own tower by James V., in the +course of that memorable expedition, in 1529, which was fatal to Johnie +Armstrang, Adam Scott of Tushielaw, and many other marauders. The +vestiges of the castle of Henderland are still to be traced upon the +farm of that name, belonging to Mr Murray of Henderland. They are +situated near the mouth of the river Meggat, which falls into the lake +of St Mary, in Selkirkshire. The adjacent country, which now hardly +bears a single tree, is celebrated by Lesly, as, in his time, affording +shelter to the largest stags in Scotland. A mountain torrent, called +Henderland Burn, rushes impetuously from the hills, through a rocky +chasm, named the Dow-glen, and passes near the site of the tower. To the +recesses of this glen the wife of Cokburne is said to have retreated, +during the execution of her husband; and a place, called the <i>Lady's +Seat</i>, is still shewn, where she is said to have striven to drown, amid +the roar of a foaming cataract, the tumultuous noise, which announced +the close of his existence. In a deserted burial-place, which once +surrounded the chapel of the castle, the monument of Cokburne and his +lady is still shewn. It is a large stone, broken into three parts; but +some armorial bearings may be yet traced, and the following inscription +is still legible, though defaced:</p> + +<p>HERE LYES PERYS OF COKBURNE AND HIS WYFE MARJORY.</p> + +<p>Tradition says, that Cokburne was surprised by the king, while sitting +at dinner. After the execution, James marched rapidly forward, to +surprise Adam Scott of Tushielaw, called the King of the Border, and +sometimes the King of Thieves. A path through the mountains, which +separate the vale of Ettrick from the head of Yarrow, is still called +the <i>King's Road</i>, and seems to have been the rout which he followed. +The remains of the tower of Tushielaw are yet visible, overhanging the +wild banks of the Ettrick; and are an object of terror to the benighted +peasant, from an idea of their being haunted by spectres. From these +heights, and through the adjacent county of Peebles, passes a wild path, +called still the <i>Thief's Road</i>, from having been used chiefly by the +marauders of the border.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE LAMENT OF THE BORDER WIDOW.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My love he built me a bonny bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And clad it a' wi' lilye flour;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A brawer bower ye ne'er did see,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Than my true love he built for me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There came a man, by middle day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He spied his sport, and went away;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And brought the king that very night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Who brake my bower, and slew my knight.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He slew my knight, to me sae dear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He slew my knight, and poin'd<a name="FNanchor_A_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_98"><sup>[A]</sup></a> his gear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My servants all for life did flee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And left me in extremitie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I sew'd his sheet, making my mane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I watched the corpse, myself alane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I watched his body, night and day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No living creature came that way.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I took his body on my back,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And whiles I gaed, and whiles I satte;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I digg'd a grave, and laid him in,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And happ'd him with the sod sae green.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But think na ye my heart was sair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When I laid the moul on his yellow hair?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O think na ye my heart was wae,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When I turn'd about, away to gae?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nae living man I'll love again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since that my lovely knight is slain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' ae lock of his yellow hair</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I'll chain my heart for evermair.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_98">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Poin'd</i>—Poinded, attached by legal distress.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>FAIR HELEN OF KIRCONNELL.</p> +<br> + +<p>The following very popular ballad has been handed down by tradition in +its present imperfect state. The affecting incident, on which it is +founded, is well known. A lady, of the name of Helen Irving, or Bell,<a name="FNanchor_A_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_99"><sup>[A]</sup></a> +(for this is disputed by the two clans) daughter of the laird of +Kirconnell, in Dumfries-shire, and celebrated for her beauty, was +beloved by two gentlemen in the neighbourhood. The name of the favoured +suitor was Adam Fleming, of Kirkpatrick; that of the other has escaped +tradition; though it has been alleged, that he was a Bell, of Blacket +House. The addresses of the latter were, however, favoured by the +friends of the lady, and the lovers were therefore obliged to meet in +secret, and by night, in the church-yard of Kirconnell, a romantic spot, +surrounded by the river Kirtle. During one of those private interviews, +the jealous and despised lover suddenly appeared on the opposite bank of +the stream, and levelled his carabine at the breast of his rival. Helen +threw herself before her lover, received in her bosom the bullet, and +died in his arms. A desperate and mortal combat ensued between Fleming +and the murderer, in which the latter was cut to pieces. Other accounts +say, that Fleming pursued his enemy to Spain, and slew him in the +streets of Madrid.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_99">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> This dispute is owing to the uncertain date of the ballad; +for, although the last proprietors if Kirconnell were Irvings, when +deprived of their possession by Robert Maxwell in 1600, yet Kirconnell +is termed in old chronicles <i>The Bell's Tower;</i> and a stone, with the +arms of that family, has been found among its ruins. Fair Helen's +sirname, therefore, depends upon the period at which she lived, which it +is now impossible to ascertain.</p></div> + +<p>The ballad, as now published, consists of two parts. The first seems to +be an address, either by Fleming or his rival, to the lady; if, indeed, +it constituted any portion of the original poem. For the editor cannot +help suspecting, that these verses have been the production of a +different and inferior bard, and only adapted to the original measure +and tune. But this suspicion, being unwarranted by any copy he has been +able to procure, he does not venture to do more than intimate his own +opinion. The second part, by far the most beautiful, and which is +unquestionably original, forms the lament of Fleming over the grave of +fair Helen.</p> + +<p>The ballad is here given, without alteration or improvement, from the +most accurate copy which could be recovered. The fate of Helen has not, +however, remained unsung by modern bards. A lament, of great poetical +merit, by the learned historian Mr Pinkerton, with several other poems +on this subject, have been printed in various forms.</p> + +<p>The grave of the lovers is yet shewn in the church-yard of Kirconnell, +near Springkell. Upon the tomb-stone can still be read—<i>Hie jacet +Adamus Fleming;</i> a cross and sword are sculptured on the stone. The +former is called, by the country people, the gun with which Helen was +murdered; and the latter, the avenging sword of her lover. <i>Sit illis +terra levis!</i> A heap of stones is raised on the spot where the murder +was committed; a token of abhorrence common to most nations.<a name="FNanchor_A_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_100"><sup>[A]</sup></a></p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_100">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> This practice has only very lately become obsolete in +Scotland. The editor remembers, that, a few years ago, a cairn was +pointed out to him in the King's Park of Edinburgh, which had been +raised in detestation of a cruel murder, perpetrated by one Nicol +Muschet, on the body of his wife, in that place, in the year 1720.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>FAIR HELEN.</p> + +<p>PART FIRST.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O! sweetest sweet, and fairest fair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of birth and worth beyond compare,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thou art the causer of my care,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Since first I loved thee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet God hath given to me a mind,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The which to thee shall prove as kind</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As any one that thou shalt find,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of high or low degree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The shallowest water makes maist din,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The deadest pool the deepest linn.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The richest man least truth within,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Though he preferred be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Yet, nevertheless, I am content,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And never a whit my love repent,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But think the time was a' weel spent,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Though I disdained be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O! Helen sweet, and maist complete,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My captive spirit's at thy feet!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Thinks thou still fit thus for to treat</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Thy captive cruelly?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O! Helen brave! but this I crave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of thy poor slave some pity have,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And do him save that's near his grave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And dies for love of thee.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>FAIR HELEN.</p> + +<p>PART SECOND.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I wish I were where Helen lies!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Night and day on me she cries;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O that I were where Helen lies,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On fair Kirconnell Lee!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Curst be the heart, that thought the thought,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And curst the hand, that fired the shot,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When in my arms burd<a name="FNanchor_A_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_101"><sup>[A]</sup></a> Helen dropt,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And died to succour me!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O think na ye my heart was sair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When my love dropt down and spak nae mair!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There did she swoon wi' meikle care,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On fair Kirconnell Lee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As I went down the water side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None but my foe to be my guide.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">None but my foe to be my guide,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On fair Kirconnell Lee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I lighted down, my sword did draw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I hacked him in pieces sma,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I hacked him in pieces sma,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For her sake that died for me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O Helen fair, beyond compare!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I'll make a garland of thy hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Shall bind my heart for evermair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Untill the day I die.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O that I were where Helen lies!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Night and day on me she cries;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out of my bed she bids me rise,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Says, "haste, and come to me!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O Helen fair! O Helen chaste!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If I were with thee I were blest,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Where thou lies low, and takes thy rest,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On fair Kirconnell Lee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I wish my grave were growing green,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A winding sheet drawn ower my een,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And I in Helen's arms lying,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On fair Kirconnell Lee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I wish I were where Helen lies!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Night and day on me she cries;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And I am weary of the skies,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For her sake that died for me.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_101">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Burd Helen</i>—Maid Helen.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>HUGHIE THE GRAEME.</p> +<br> + +<p>The Graemes, as we have had frequent occasion to notice, were a powerful +and numerous clan, who chiefly inhabited the Debateable Land. They were +said to be of Scottish extraction, and their chief claimed his descent +from Malice, earl of Stratherne. In military service, they were more +attached to England than to Scotland; but, in their depredations on both +countries, they appear to have been very impartial; for, in the year +1600, the gentlemen of Cumberland alleged to Lord Scroope, "that the +Graemes, and their clans, with their children, tenants, and servants, +were the chiefest actors in the spoil and decay of the country." +Accordingly, they were, at that time, obliged to give a bond of surety +for each other's peaceable demeanour; from which bond, their numbers +appear to have exceeded four hundred men.—See <i>Introduction to</i> +NICOLSON'S <i>History of Cumberland,</i> p. cviii.</p> + +<p>Richard Graeme, of the family of Netherbye, was one of the attendants +upon Charles I., when prince of Wales, and accompanied him upon his +romantic journey through France and Spain. The following little +anecdote, which then occurred, will shew, that the memory of the +Graemes' border exploits was at that time still preserved.</p> + +<p>"They were now entered into the deep time of Lent, and could get no +flesh in their inns. Whereupon fell out a pleasant passage, if I may +insert it, by the way, among more serious. There was, near Bayonne, +a herd of goats, with their young ones; upon the sight whereof, Sir +Richard Graham tells the marquis (of Buckingham), that he would snap one +of the kids, and make some shift to carry him snug to their lodging. +Which the prince overhearing, 'Why, Richard,' says he, 'do you think you +may practise here your old tricks upon the borders?' Upon which words, +they, in the first place, gave the goat-herd good contentment; and then, +while the marquis and Richard, being both on foot, were chasing the kid +about the stack, the prince, from horseback, killed him in the head, +with a Scottish pistol.—Which circumstance, though trifling, may yet +serve to shew how his Royal Highness, even in such slight and sportful +damage, had a noble sense of just dealing."—<i>Sir</i> HENRY WOTTON'S <i>Life +of the Duke of Buckingham.</i></p> + +<p>I find no traces of this particular Hughie Graeme, of the ballad; but, +from the mention of the <i>Bishop</i>, I suspect he may have been one, of +about four hundred borderers, against whom bills of complaint were +exhibited to Robert Aldridge, lord bishop of Carlisle, about 1553, for +divers incursions, burnings, murders, mutilations, and spoils, by them +committed.—NICHOLSON'S <i>History, Introduction</i>, lxxxi. There appear +a number of Graemes, in the specimen which we have of that list of +delinquents. There occur, in particular,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ritchie Grame of Bailie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will's Jock Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fargue's Willie Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Muckle Willie Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will Grame of Rosetrees,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ritchie Grame, younger of Netherby,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wat Grame, called Flaughtail,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will Grame, Nimble Willie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Will Grahame, Mickle Willie,</span><br> + +<p>with many others.</p> + +<p>In Mr Ritson's curious and valuable collection of legendary poetry, +entitled <i>Ancient Songs</i>, he has published this Border ditty, from a +collation of two old black-letter copies, one in the collection of the +late John duke of Roxburghe, and another in the hands of John Bayne, +Esq.—The learned editor mentions another copy, beginning, "Good Lord +John is a hunting gone." The present edition was procured for me by +my friend Mr W. Laidlaw, in Blackhouse, and has been long current in +Selkirkshire. Mr Ritson's copy has occasionally been resorted to for +better readings.</p> + +<br> + +<p>HUGHIE THE GRAEME.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Gude Lord Scroope's to the hunting gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He has ridden o'er moss and muir;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has grippit Hughie the Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For stealing o' the Bishop's mare.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, good Lord Scroope, this may not be!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Here hangs a broad sword by my side;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And if that thou canst conquer me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The matter it may soon be tryed."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I ne'er was afraid of a traitor thief;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Although thy name be Hughie the Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll make thee repent thee of thy deeds,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"If God but grant me life and time."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then do your worst now, good Lord Scroope,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And deal your blows as hard as you can!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It shall be tried, within an hour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Which of us two is the better man."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But as they were dealing their blows so free,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And both so bloody at the time,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Over the moss came ten yeomen so tall,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">All for to take brave Hughie the Graeme.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then they hae grippit Hughie the Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And brought him up through Carlisle town;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The lasses and lads stood on the walls,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Crying, "Hughie the Graeme, thou'se ne'er gae down!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then hae they chosen a jury of men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The best that were in Carlisle<a name="FNanchor_A_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_102"><sup>[A]</sup></a> town;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And twelve of them cried out at once,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Hughie the Graeme, thou must gae down!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up bespake him gude Lord Hume,<a name="FNanchor_B_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_103"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As he sat by the judge's knee,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Twentie white owsen, my gude lord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"If you'll grant Hughie the Graeme to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O no, O no, my gude Lord Hume!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For sooth and sae it manna be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For, were there but three Graemes of the name,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"They suld be hanged a' for me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">'Twas up and spake the gude Lady Hume,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As she sate by the judge's knee,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A peck of white pennies, my gude lord judge,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"If you'll grant Hughie the Graeme to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O no, O no, my gude Lady Hume!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Forsooth and so it mustna be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Were he but the one Graeme of the name,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He suld be hanged high for me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If I be guilty," said Hughie the Graeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Of me my friends shall hae small talk;"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has loup'd fifteen feet and three,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Though his hands they were tied behind his back.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He looked over his left shoulder,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And for to see what he might see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There was he aware of his auld father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Came tearing his hair most piteouslie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hald your tongue, my father," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And see that ye dinna weep for me!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For they may ravish me o' my life,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But they canna banish me fro' heaven hie.'</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fare ye weel, fair Maggie, my wife!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The last time we came ower the muir,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"'Twas thou bereft me of my life,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And wi' the Bishop thou play'd the whore.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Here, Johnie Armstrang, take thou my sword,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That is made o' the metal sae fine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And when thou comest to the English<a name="FNanchor_C_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_104"><sup>[C]</sup></a> side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Remember the death of Hughie the Graeme."</span><br> + + +<a name="Footnote_A_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_102">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Garlard</i>—Anc. Songs.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_103">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Boles</i>—Anc. Songs.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_104">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Border</i>—Anc, Songs.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTE ON HUGHIE THE GRAEME.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>And wi' the Bishop thou play'd the whore.</i>—P. 326, v. 9.</p> + +<p>Of the morality of Robert Aldridge, bishop of Carlisle, we know but +little; but his political and religious faith were of a stretching and +accommodating texture. Anthony a Wood observes, that there were many +changes in his time, both in church and state; but that the worthy +prelate retained his offices and preferments during them all.</p> + +<br> + +<p>JOHNIE OF BREADISLEE.</p> + +<p>AN ANCIENT NITHESDALE BALLAD.</p> +<br> + +<p>The hero of this ballad appears to have been an outlaw and +deer-stealer—probably one of the broken men residing upon the border. +There are several different copies, in one of which the principal +personage is called <i>Johnie of Cockielaw</i>. The stanzas of greatest merit +have been selected from each copy. It is sometimes said, that this +outlaw possessed the old castle of Morton, in Dumfries-shire, now +ruinous:—"Near to this castle there was a park, built by Sir Thomas +Randolph, on the face of a very great and high hill; so artificially, +that, by the advantage of the hill, all wild beasts, such as deers, +harts, and roes, and hares, did easily leap in, but could not get out +again; and if any other cattle, such as cows, sheep, or goats, did +voluntarily leap in, or were forced to do it, <i>it is doubted</i> if their +owners were permitted to get them out again."—<i>Account of Presbytery +of Penpont, apud Macfarlane's MSS.</i> Such a park would form a convenient +domain to an outlaw's castle, and the mention of Durrisdeer, a +neighbouring parish, adds weight to the tradition. I have seen, on a +mountain near Callendar, a sort of pinfold, composed of immense rocks, +piled upon each other, which, I was told, was anciently constructed for +the above-mentioned purpose. The mountain is thence called <i>Uah var</i>, or +the <i>Cove of the Giant</i>.</p> + +<br> + +<p>JOHNIE OF BREADISLEE.</p> + +<p>AN ANCIENT NITHISDALE BALLAD.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Johnie rose up in a May morning,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Called for water to wash his hands—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gar loose to me the gude graie dogs</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That are bound wi' iron bands,"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Johnie's mother gat word o' that,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Her hands for dule she wrang—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O Johnie! for my benison,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To the grenewood dinna gang!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Eneugh ye hae o' the gude wheat bread,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And eneugh o' the blude-red wine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, therefore, for nae venison, Johnie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I pray ye, stir frae hame."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But Johnie's busk't up his gude bend bow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">His arrows, ane by ane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has gane to Durrisdeer</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To hunt the dun deer down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As he came down by Merriemass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And in by the benty line,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There has he espied a deer lying</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Aneath a bush of ling.<a name="FNanchor_A_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_105"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Johnie he shot, and the dun deer lap,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And he wounded her on the side;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, atween the water and the brae,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">His hounds they laid her pride.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Johnie has bryttled<a name="FNanchor_B_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_106"></a><a name="FNanchor_B_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_113"><sup>[B]</sup></a> the deer sae weel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That he's had out her liver and lungs;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And wi' these he has feasted his bludy hounds,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As if they had been erl's sons.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They eat sae much o' the venison,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And drank sae much o' the blude,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That Johnie and a' his bludy hounds</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Fell asleep, as they had been dead.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And by there came a silly auld carle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An ill death mote he die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he's awa to Hislinton,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Where the Seven Foresters did lie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What news, what news, ye gray-headed carle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"What news bring ye to me?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I bring nae news," said the gray-headed carle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Save what these eves did see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"As I came down by Merriemass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And down amang the scroggs,<a name="FNanchor_C_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_107"><sup>[C]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The bonniest childe that ever I saw</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Lay sleeping amang his dogs.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The shirt that was upon his back</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Was o' the Holland fine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The doublet which was over that</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Was o' the lincome twine.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The buttons that were on his sleeve</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Were o' the goud sae gude;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The gude graie hounds he lay amang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Their months were dyed wi' blude."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spak the First Forester,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The held man ower them a'—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">If this be Johnie o' Breadislee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nae nearer will we draw."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But up and spak the Sixth Forester,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">(His sister's son was he)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If this be Johnie o' Breadislee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"We soon snall gar him die!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The first flight of arrows the Foresters shot,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">They wounded him on the knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out and spak the Seventh Forester,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The next will gar him die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Johnie's set his back against an aik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">His fute against a stane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And he has slain the Seven Foresters,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">He has slam them a' but ane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He has broke three ribs in that ane's side,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">But and his collar bane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He's laid him twa-fald ower his steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Bade him cany the tidings hame.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"O is there na a bonnie bird,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"Can sing as I can say;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Could flee away to my mother's bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"And tell to fetch Johnie away?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The starling flew to his mother's window stane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">It whistled and it sang;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And aye the ower word o' the tune</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">Was—"Johnie tarries lang!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They made a rod o the hazel bush,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Another o' the slae-thorn tree,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And mony mony were the men</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">At fetching our Johnie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spak his auld mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And fast her tears did fa'—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye wad nae be warned, my son Johnie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Frae the hunting to bide awa.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Aft hae I brought to Breadislee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The less gear<a name="FNanchor_D_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_108"><sup>[D]</sup></a> and the mair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I ne'er brought to Breadislee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"What grieved my heart sae sair!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But wae betyde that silly auld carle!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An ill death shall he die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For the highest tree in Merriemass</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Shall be his morning's fee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now Johnie's gude bend bow is broke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And his gude graie dogs are slain;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And his body lies dead in Durrisdeer,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And his hunting it is done.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_105">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Ling</i>—Heath.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_106">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Brytlled</i>—To cut up venison. See the ancient ballad of +<i>Chevy Chace</i>, v. 8.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_107">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Scroggs</i>—Stunted trees.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_D_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_108">[D]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Gear</i>—Usually signifies <i>goods</i>, but here <i>spoil</i>.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>KATHERINE JANFARIE.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>The Ballad was published in the first edition of this work, under the +title of</i> "The Laird of Laminton." <i>It is now given in a more perfect +state, from several recited copies. The residence of the Lady, and the +scene of the affray at her bridal, is said, by old people, to have been +upon the banks of the Cadden, near to where it joins the Tweed. Others +say the skirmish was fought near Traquair, and</i> KATHERINE JANFARIE'S +<i>dwelling was in the glen, about three miles above Traquair house.</i></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There was a may, and a weel far'd may.,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Lived high up in yon glen;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her name was Katherine Janfarie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">She was courted by mony men.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Up then came Lord Lauderdale,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Up frae the Lawland border;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has come to court this may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A' mounted in good order.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He told na her father, he told na her mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And he told na ane o' her kin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he whisper'd the bonnie lassie hersel',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And has her favour won.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But out then cam Lord Lochinvar,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Out frae the English border,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">All for to court this bonnie may,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Weil mounted, and in order.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He told her father, he told her mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And a' the lave o' her kin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he told na the bonnie may hersel',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Till on her wedding e'en.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She sent to the Lord of Lauderdale,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Gin he wad come and see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has sent word back again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Weel answered she suld be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has sent a messenger</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Right quickly through the land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And raised mony an armed man</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To be at his command.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The bride looked out at a high window,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Beheld baith dale and down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she was aware of her first true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">With riders mony a one.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She scoffed him, and scorned him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Upon her wedding day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And said—"It was the Fairy court</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To see him in array!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O come ye here to fight, young lord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or come ye here to play?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or come ye here to drink good wine</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Upon the wedding day?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I come na here to fight," he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I come na here to play;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll but lead a dance wi' the bonnie bride,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And mount and go my way."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It is a glass of the blood-red wine</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Was filled up them between,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And aye she drank to Lauderdale,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wha her true love had been.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And by the grass-green sleeve;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's mounted her hie behind himsell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">At her kinsmen spear'd na leave.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now take your bride, Lord Lochinvar!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Now take her if you may!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, if you take your bride again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"We'll call it but foul play."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There were four-and-twenty bonnie boys,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A' clad in the Johnstone grey;<a name="FNanchor_A_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_109"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They said they would take the bride again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">By the strong hand, if they may.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Some o' them were right willing men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">But they were na willing a';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And four-and-twenty Leader lads</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Bid them mount and ride awa'.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then whingers flew frae gentles' sides,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And swords flew frae the shea's,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And red and rosy was the blood</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Ran down the lily braes.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The blood ran down by Caddon bank,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And down by Caddon brae;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, sighing, said the bonnie bride—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O waes me for foul play!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My blessing on your heart, sweet thing!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wae to your willfu' will!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">There's mony a gallant gentleman</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Whae's blude ye have garr'd to spill.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now a' you lords of fair England,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And that dwell by the English border,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Come never here to seek a wife,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For fear of sic disorder.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They'll haik ye up, and settle ye bye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Till on your wedding day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then gie ye frogs instead of fish,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And play ye foul foul play.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_109">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Johnstone grey</i>—The livery of the ancient family of +Johnstone.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE LAIRD O' LOGIE</p> +<br> + +<p>An edition of this ballad is current, under the title of "The Laird of +Ochiltree;" but the editor, since publication of this work, has been +fortunate enough to recover the following more correct and ancient copy, +as recited by a gentleman residing near Biggar. It agrees more nearly, +both in the name and in the circumstances, with the real fact, than the +printed ballad of Ochiltree.</p> + +<p>In the year 1592, Francis Stuart, earl of Bothwell, was agitating his +frantic and ill-concerted attempts against the person of James VI., +whom he endeavoured to surprise in the palace of Falkland. Through the +emulation and private rancour of the courtiers, he found adherents even +about the king's person; among whom, it seems, was the hero of our +ballad, whose history is thus narrated in that curious and valuable +chronicle, of which the first part has been published under the title +of "The Historie of "King James the Sext," and the second is now in the +press.</p> + +<p>"In this close tyme it fortunit, that a gentelman, callit Weymis of +Logye, being also in credence at court, was delatit as a traffekker with +Frances Erle Bothwell; and he being examinat before king and counsall, +confessit his accusation to be of veritie, that sundrie tymes he had +spokin with him, expresslie aganis the king's inhibitioun proclamit in +the contrare, whilk confession he subscryvit with his hand; and because +the event of this mater had sik a succes, it sall also be praysit be +my pen, as a worthie turne, proceiding frome honest chest loove and +charitie, whilk suld on na wayis be obscurit from the posteritie for the +gude example; and therefore I have thought gude to insert the same for a +perpetual memorie.</p> + +<p>"Queen Anne, our noble princess, was servit with dyverss gentilwemen +of hir awin cuntrie, and naymelie with are callit Mres Margaret +Twynstoun,<a name="FNanchor_A_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_110"><sup>[A]</sup></a> to whome this gentilman, Weymes of Logye, bure great +honest affection, tending to the godlie band of marriage, the whilk was +honestlie requytet be the said gentilwoman, yea evin in his greatest +mister; for howsone she understude the said gentilman to be in distress, +and apperantlie be his confession to be puueist to the death, and she +having prevelege to ly in the queynis chalmer that same verie night of +his accusation, whare the king was also reposing that same night, she +came forth of the dur prevelie, bayth the prencis being then at quyet +rest, and past to the chalmer, whare the said gentilman was put +in custodie to certayne of the garde, and commandit thayme that +immediatelie he sould be broght to the king and queyne, whareunto thay +geving sure credence, obeyit. Bot howsone she was cum bak to the chalmer +dur, she desyrit the watches to stay till he sould cum furth agayne, and +so she closit the dur, and convoyit the gentilman to a windo', whare she +ministrat a long corde unto him to convoy himself doun upon; and sa, +be hir gude cheritable help, he happelie escapit be the subteltie of +loove."</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_110">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Twynelace, according to Spottiswoode.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>THE LAIRD O' LOGIE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I will sing, if ye will hearken,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">If ye will hearken unto me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king has ta'en a poor prisoner,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The wanton laird o' young Logie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Young Logie's laid in Edinburgh chapel;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Carmichael's the keeper o' the key;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And may Margaret's lamenting sair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A' for the love of young Logie.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Lament, lament na, may Margaret,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And of your weeping let me be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For ye maun to the king himsell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To seek the life of young Logie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May Margaret has kilted her green cleiding,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she has curl'd back her yellow hair—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If I canna get young Logie's life,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fareweel to Scotland for evermair."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When she came before the king,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She knelit lowly on her knee—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O what's the matter, may Margaret?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And what needs a' this courtesie?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A boon, a boon, my noble liege,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A boon, a boon, I beg o' thee!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the first boon that I come to crave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Is to grant me the life of young Logic."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O na, O na, may Margaret,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Forsooth, and so it manna be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For a' the gowd o' fair Scotland</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Shall not save the life of young Logie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But she has stown the king's redding kaim,<a name="FNanchor_A_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_111"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Likewise the queen her wedding knife;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sent the tokens to Carmichael,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To cause young Logic get his life.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She sent him a purse o' the red gowd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Another o' the white monie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She sent him a pistol for each hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And bade him shoot when he gat free.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When he came to the tolbooth stair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">There he let his volley flee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It made the king in his chamber start,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">E'en in the bed where he might be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gae out, gae out, my merrymen a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And bid Carmichael come speak to me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I'll lay my life the pledge o' that,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That yon's the shot o' young Logie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Carmichael came before the king,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He fell low down upon his knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The very first word that the king spake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Was—"Where's the laird of young Logie?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carmichael turn'd him round about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">(I wot the tear blinded his eye)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There came a token frae your grace,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Has ta'en away the laird frae me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hast thou play'd me that, Carmichael?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And hast thou play'd me that?" quoth he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The morn the justice court's to stand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And Logic's place ye maun supply."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Carmichael's awa to Margaret's bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Even as fast as he may drie—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O if young Logie be within,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Tell him to come and speak with me!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">May Margaret turned her round about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">(I wot a loud laugh laughed she)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The egg is chipped, the bird is flown,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye'll see na mair of young Logie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The tane is shipped at the pier of Leith,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The tother at the Queen's Ferrie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she's gotten a father to her bairn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The wanton laird of young Logie.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_111">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Redding kain</i>—Comb for the hair.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTE ON THE LAIRD O' LOGIE.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>Carmichael's the keeper o' the key.</i>—P. 344. v. 2.</p> + +<p>Sir John Carmichael of Carmichael, the hero of the ballad, called the +Raid of the Reidswair, was appointed captain of the king's guard in +1588, and usually had the keeping of state criminals of rank.</p> + +<br> + +<p>A LYKE-WAKE DIRGE.</p> +<br> + +<p>This is a sort of charm, sung by the lower ranks of Roman Catholics, in +some parts of the north of England, while watching a dead body, previous +to interment. The tune is doleful and monotonous, and, joined to the +mysterious import of the words, has a solemn effect. The word <i>sleet</i>, +in the chorus, seems to be corrupted from <i>selt</i>, or salt; a quantity of +which, in compliance with a popular superstition, is frequently placed +on the breast of a corpse.</p> + +<p>The mythologic ideas of the dirge are common to various creeds. The +Mahometan believes, that, in advancing to the final judgment seat, he +must traverse a bar of red-hot iron, stretched across a bottomless +gulph. The good works of each true believer, assuming a substantial +form, will then interpose betwixt his feet and this <i>"Bridge of Dread;"</i> +but the wicked, having no such protection, must fall headlong into the +abyss.—D'HERBELOT, <i>Bibiotheque Orientale</i>.</p> + +<p>Passages, similar to this dirge, are also to be found in <i>Lady Culross's +Dream</i>, as quoted in the second Dissertation prefixed by Mr Pinkerton +to his <i>Select Scottish Ballads</i>, 2 vols. The dreamer journeys towards +heaven, accompanied and assisted by a celestial guide:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through dreadful dens, which made my heart aghast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He bare me up when I began to tire.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sometimes we clamb o'er craggy mountains high.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sometimes stay'd on uglie braes of sand:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They were so stay that wonder was to see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, when I fear'd, he held me by the hand.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Through great deserts we wandered on our way—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Forward we passed on narrow bridge of trie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O'er waters great, which hediously did roar.</span><br> + +<p>Again, she supposes herself suspended over an infernal gulph:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ere I was ware, one gripped me at the last,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And held me high above a naming fire.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The fire was great; the heat did pierce me sore;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">My faith grew weak.; my grip was very small;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">I trembled fast; my fear grew more and more.</span><br> + +<p>A horrible picture of the same kind, dictated probably by the author's +unhappy state of mind, is to be found in Brooke's <i>Fool of Quality</i>. The +dreamer, a ruined female, is suspended over the gulph of perdition by +a single hair, which is severed by a demon, who, in the form of her +seducer springs upwards from the flames.</p> + +<p>The Russian funeral service, without any allegorical imagery, expresses +the sentiment of the dirge in language alike simple and noble.</p> + +<p>"Hast thou pitied the afflicted, O man? In death shalt thou be pitied. +Hast thou consoled the orphan? The orphan will deliver thee. +Hast thou clothed the naked? The naked will procure thee +protection."—RICHARDSON'S <i>Anecdotes of Russia.</i></p> + +<p>But the most minute description of the <i>Brig o' Dread</i>, occurs in the +legend of <i>Sir Owain</i>, No. XL. in the MS. Collection of Romances, W. +4.1. Advocates' Library, Edinburgh; though its position is not the same +as in the dirge, which may excite a suspicion that the order of the +stanzas in the latter has been transposed. Sir Owain, a Northumbrian +knight, after many frightful adventures in St Patrick's purgatory, at +last arrives at the bridge, which, in the legend, is placed betwixt +purgatory and paradise:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The fendes han the knight ynome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To a stinkand water thai ben ycome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He no seigh never er non swiche;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It stank fouler than ani hounde.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And maui mile it was to the grounde.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And was as swart as piche.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Owain seigh ther ouer ligge</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A swithe strong naru brigge:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The fendes seyd tho;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Lo! sir knight, sestow this?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"This is the brigge of paradis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Here ouer thou must go.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And we the schul with stones prowe,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the winde the schul ouer blow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And wirche the full wo;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou no schalt tor all this unduerd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Bot gif thou falle a midwerd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To our fewes[A] mo.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And when thou art adown yfalle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Than schal com our felawes alle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"And with her hokes the hede;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We schul the teche a newe play:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou hast served ous mani a day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And into helle the lede."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Owain biheld the brigge smert,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The water ther under blac and swert,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And sore him gan to drede:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For of othing he tok yeme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Never mot, in sonne beme,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Thicker than the fendes yede.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The brigge was as heigh as a tour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And as scharpe as a rasour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">And naru it was also;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the water that ther ran under,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brend o' lighting and of thonder,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">That thoght him michel wo.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ther nis no clerk may write with ynke,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No no man no may bithink,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No no maister deuine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That is ymade forsoth ywis.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Under the brigge of paradis,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Halvendel the pine.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">So the dominical ous telle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That is the pure entrae of helle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Seine Poule berth witnesse;<a name="FNanchor_A_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_112"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whoso falleth of the brigge adown,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Of him nis no redempcioun,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Noîther more nor lesse.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The fendes seyd to the knight tho,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ouer this brigge might thou nowght go,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"For noneskines nede;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fle peril sorwe and wo,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And to that stede ther thou com fro,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Wel fair we schul the lede."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Owain anon be gan bithenche,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fram hou mani of the fendes wrenche,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">God him saved hadde;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He sett his fot opon the brigge,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No feld he no scharpe egge,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">No nothing him no drad.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the fendes yseigh tho,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That he was more than half ygo,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Loude thai gun to crie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Alias! alias! that he was born!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"This ich night we have forlorn</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Out of our baylie."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_112">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Fewes</i>—Probably contracted for fellows.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_113">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> The reader will probably search St Paul in vain, for the +evidence here referred to.</p></div> + +<p>The author of the <i>Legend of Sir Owain</i>, though a zealous catholic, has +embraced, in the fullest extent, the Talmudic doctrine of an earthly +paradise, distinct from the celestial abode of the just, and serving as +a place of initiation, preparatory to perfect bliss, and to the beatific +vision.—See the Rabbi Menasse ben Israel, in a treatise called +<i>Nishmath Chajim</i>, i.e. The Breath of Life.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE DOWIE DENS OF YARROW.</p> + +<p>NOW FIRST PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad, which is a very great favourite among the inhabitants of +Ettrick Forest, is universally believed to be founded in fact. The +editor found it easy to collect a variety of copies; but very difficult, +indeed, to select from them such a collated edition, as may, in any +degree, suit the taste of "these more light and giddy-paced times."</p> + +<p>Tradition places the event, recorded in the song, very early; and it +is probable that the ballad was composed soon afterwards, although +the language has been gradually modernized, in the course of +its transmission to us, through the inaccurate channel of oral +tradition.—The bard does not relate particulars, but barely the +striking outlines of a fact, apparently so well known when he wrote, +as to render minute detail as unnecessary, as it is always tedious and +unpoetical.</p> + +<p>The hero of the ballad was a knight of great bravery, called Scott, +who is said to have resided at Kirkhope, or Oakwood castle, and is, in +tradition, termed the Baron of Oakwood. The estate of Kirkhope belonged +anciently to the Scotts of Harden: Oakwood is still their property, +and has been so from time immemorial. The editor was therefore led to +suppose, that the hero of the ballad might have been identified with +John Scott, sixth son of the laird of Harden, murdered in Ettrick +Forest by his kinsmen, the Scotts of Gilmanscleugh (see notes to <i>Jamie +Telfer</i>, Vol. I. p. 152). This appeared the more probable, as the common +people always affirm, that this young man was treacherously slain, and +that, in evidence thereof, his body remained uncorrupted for many years; +so that even the roses on his shoes seemed as fresh as when he was first +laid in the family vault at Hassendean. But from a passage in Nisbet's +Heraldry, he now believes the ballad refers to a duel fought at +Deucharswyre, of which Annan's Treat is a part, betwixt John Scott of +Tushielaw and his brother-in-law Walter Scott, third son of Robert of +Thirlestane, in which the latter was slain.</p> + +<p>In ploughing Annan's Treat, a huge monumental stone, with an +inscription, was discovered; but being rather scratched than engraved, +and the lines being run through each other, it is only possible to +read one or two Latin words. It probably records the event of the +combat.—The person slain was the male ancestor of the present Lord +Napier.</p> + +<p>Tradition affirms, that the hero of the song (be he who he may) was +murdered by the brother, either of his wife, or betrothed bride. The +alleged cause of malice was, the lady's father having proposed to endow +her with half of his property, upon her marriage with a warrior of such +renown. The name of the murderer is said to have been Annan, and the +place of combat is still called Annan's Treat. It is a low muir, on the +banks of the Yarrow, lying to the west of Yarrow Kirk. Two tall unhewn +masses of stone are erected, about eighty yards distant from each other; +and the least child, that can herd a cow, will tell the passenger, that +there lie "the two lords, who were slain in single combat."</p> + +<p>It will be, with many readers, the greatest recommendation of these +verses, that they are supposed to have suggested to Mr Hamilton, of +Bangour, the modern ballad, beginning,</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bonny bride."</span><br> + +<p>A fragment, apparently regarding the story of the following ballad, but +in a different measure, occurs in Mr Herd's MSS., and runs thus:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"When I look cast, my heart is sair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But when I look west, its mair and mair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For then I see the braes o' Yarrow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And there, for aye, I lost my marrow."</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>THE DOWIE DENS OF YARROW.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Late at e'en, drinking the wine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And ere they paid the lawing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They set a combat them between,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To fight it in the dawing.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O stay at hame, my noble lord!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O stay at hame, my marrow!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My cruel brother will you betray</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"On the dowie houms of Yarrow."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O fare ye weel, my ladye gaye!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O fare ye weel, my Sarah!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I maun gae, though I ne'er return,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Frae the dowie banks o' Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She kissed his cheek, she kaimed his hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As oft she had done before, O;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She belted him with his noble brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And he's awa' to Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As he gaed up the Tennies bank,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I wot he gaed wi' sorrow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till, down in a den, he spied nine arm'd men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On the dowie houms of Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O come ye here to part your land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The bonnie forest thorough?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or come ye here to wield your brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"On the dowie houms of Yarrow?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I come not here to part my land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And neither to beg nor borrow;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I come to wield my noble brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"On the bonnie banks of Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If I see all, ye're nine to ane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And that's an unequal marrow;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yet will I fight, while lasts my brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"On the bonnie banks of Yarrow."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Four has he hurt, and five has slain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On the bloody braes of Yarrow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till that stubborn knight came him behind,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And ran his bodie thorough.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gae hame, gae hame, good-brother<a name="FNanchor_A_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_114"><sup>[A]</sup></a> John,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And tell your sister Sarah,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To come and lift her leafu' lord;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He's sleepin sound on Yarrow."——</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yestreen I dream'd a dolefu' dream;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I fear there will be sorrow!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I dream'd, I pu'd the heather green,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wi' my true love, on Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O gentle wind, that bloweth south,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"From where my love repaireth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Convey a kiss from his dear mouth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And tell me how he fareth!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But in the glen strive armed men;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"They've wrought me dole and sorrow;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They've slain—the comeliest knight they've slain—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He bleeding lies on Yarrow."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As she sped down yon high high hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">She gaed wi' dole and sorrow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And in the den spyed ten slain men,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On the dowie banks of Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She kissed his cheek, she kaim'd his hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">She search'd his wounds all thorough;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She kiss'd them, till her lips grew red,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">On the dowie houms of Yarrow.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, haud your tongue, my daughter dear!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For a' this breeds but sorrow;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll wed ye to a better lord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Than him ye lost on Yarrow."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O haud your tongue, my father dear!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye mind me but of sorrow;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A fairer rose did never bloom</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Than now lies cropp'd on Yarrow."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_114">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Good-brother</i>—Beau-frere, Brother-in-law.</p></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;"> +<a name="THE_GAY_GOSS_HAWK"></a><h2>THE GAY GOSS HAWK.</h2> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>This Ballad is published, partly from one, under this title, in Mrs.</i> +BROWN'S <i>Collection, and partly from a MS. of some antiquity,</i> penes +Edit.—<i>The stanzas appearing to possess mo st merit have been selected +from each copy.</i></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O waly, waly, my gay goss hawk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Gin your feathering be sheen!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And waly, waly, my master dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Gin ye look pale and lean!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O have ye tint, at tournament,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Your sword, or yet your spear?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or mourn ye for the southern lass,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Whom you may not win near?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I have not tint, at tournament,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My sword, nor yet my spear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But sair I mourn for my true love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wi' mony a bitter tear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But weel's me on ye, my gay goss hawk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye can baith speak and flee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye sall carry a letter to my love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Bring an answer back to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But how sall I your true love find,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or how suld I her know?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I bear a tongue ne'er wi' her spake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An eye that ne'er her saw."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O weel sall ye my true love ken,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sae sune as ye her see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For, of a' the flowers of fair England,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The fairest flower is she.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The red, that's on my true love's cheik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Is like blood drops on the snaw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The white, that is on her breast bare,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Like the down o' the white sea-maw.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And even at my love's bour door</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"There grows a flowering birk;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ye maun sit and sing thereon</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As she gangs to the kirk.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And four-and-twenty fair ladyes</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Will to the mass repair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But weel may ye my ladye ken,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The fairest ladye there."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord William has written a love letter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Put it under his pinion gray;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he is awa' to Southern land</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As fast as wings can gae.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And even at that ladye's bour</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">There grew a flowering birk;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he sat down and sang thereon</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As she gaed to the kirk.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And weel he kent that ladye fair</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Amang her maidens free;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For the flower, that springs in May morning,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Was not sae sweet as she.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He lighted at the ladye's yate,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And sat him on a pin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sang fu' sweet the notes o' love,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Till a' was cosh<a name="FNanchor_A_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_115"><sup>[A]</sup></a> within.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And first he sang a low low note,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And syne he sang a clear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And aye the o'erword o' the sang</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Was—"Your love can no win here."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Feast on, feast on, my maidens a':</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The wine flows you amang:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"While I gang to my shot-window,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And hear yon bonny bird's sang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Sing on, sing on, my bonny bird,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The sang ye sung yestreen;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For weel I ken, by your sweet singing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye are frae my true love sen'."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O first he sang a merry sang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And syne he sang a grave;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And syne he peck'd his feathers gray,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To her the letter gave.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Have there a letter from Lord William;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He says he's sent ye three:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"He canna wait your love langer,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But for your sake he'll die."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gae bid him bake his bridal bread,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And brew his bridal ale;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I sall meet him at Mary's kirk</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Lang, lang ere it be stale."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The ladye's gane to her chamber,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And a moanfu' woman was she;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As gin she had ta'en a sudden brash,<a name="FNanchor_B_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_116"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And were about to die.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A boon, a boon, my father deir,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"A boon I beg of thee!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ask not that paughty Scottish lord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For him you ne'er shall see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, for your honest asking else,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wee! granted it shall be."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then, gin I die in Southern land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"In Scotland gar bury me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the first kirk that ye come to,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye's gar the mass be sung;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the next kirk that ye come to,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye's gar the bells be rung.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And, when ye come to St Mary's kirk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye's tarry there till night."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And so her father pledged his word,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And so his promise plight.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She has ta'en her to her bigly bour</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As fast as she could fare;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she has drank a sleepy draught,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That she had mixed wi' care.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And pale, pale grew her rosy cheek,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That was sae bright of blee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And she seemed to be as surely dead</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As any one could be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then spak her cruel step-minnie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Take ye the burning lead,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And drap a drap on her bosome,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To try if she be dead."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They took a drap o' boiling lead,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">They drap'd it on her breast;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Alas! alas!" her father cried,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"She's dead without the priest."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She neither chatter'd with her teeth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Nor shiver'd with her chin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Alas! alas!" her father cried,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"There is nae breath within."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up arose her seven brethren,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And hew'd to her a bier;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They hew'd it frae the solid aik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Laid it o'er wi' silver clear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and gat her seven sisters,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And sewed to her a kell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And every steek that they pat in</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Sewed to a siller bell.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The first Scots kirk that they cam to,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">They gar'd the bells be rung;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The next Scots kirk that they cam to,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">They gar'd the mass be sung.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when they cam to St Mary's kirk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">There stude spearmen, all on a raw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And up and started Lord William,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The chieftane amang them a'.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Set down, set down the bier," he said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Let me looke her upon:"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But as soon as Lord William touched her hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Her colour began to come.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She brightened like the lily flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Till her pale colour was gone;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With rosy cheik, and ruby lip,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">She smiled her love upon.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A morsel of your bread, my lord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And one glass of your wine:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I hae fasted these three lang days,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"All for your sake and mine.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gae hame, gae hame, my seven bauld brothers!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Gae hame and blaw your horn!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I trow you wad hae gien me the skaith,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But I've gien you the scorn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Commend me to my grey father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That wish'd, my saul gude rest;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But wae be to my cruel step-dame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Gar'd burn me on the breast."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ah! woe to you, you light woman!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An ill death may you die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For we left father and sisters at hame</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Breaking their hearts for thee."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_115">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Cosh</i>—Quiet.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_116">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Brash</i>—Sickness.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON THE GAY GOSS HAWK.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>The red, that's on my true love's cheik,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Is like blood drops on the snaw.</i>—P. 362. v, 5.</span><br> + +<p>This simile resembles a passage in a MS. translation of an Irish Fairy +tale, called <i>The Adventures of Faravla, Princess of Scotland, and +Carral O'Daly, Son of Donogho More O'Daly, Chief Bard of Ireland.</i></p> + +<p>"Faravla, as she entered her bower, cast her looks upon the earth, which +was tinged with the blood of a bird which a raven had newly killed; +'Like that snow,' said Faravla, 'was the complexion of my beloved, his +cheeks like the sanguine traces thereon; whilst the raven recals to my +memory the colour of his beautiful locks."</p> + +<p>There is also some resemblance, in the conduct of the story, betwixt the +ballad and the tale just quoted. The Princess Faravla, being desperately +in love with Carral O'Daly, dispatches in search of him a faithful +confidant, who, by her magical art, transforms herself into a hawk, and, +perching upon the windows of the bard, conveys to him information of the +distress of the princess of Scotland.</p> + +<p>In the ancient romance of <i>Sir Tristrem</i>, the simile of the "blood drops +upon snow" likewise occurs:</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A bride bright thai ches</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">As blod open snoweing.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>BROWN ADAM.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>There is a copy of this Ballad in Mrs.</i> BROWN'S <i>Collection. The Editor +has seen one, printed on a single sheet. The epithet, "Smith," implies, +probably, the sirname, not the profession, of the hero, who seems to +have been an outlaw There is, however, in Mrs.</i> BROWN'S <i>copy, a verse +of little merit here omitted, alluding to the implements of that +occupation.</i></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O wha wad wish the wind to blaw,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Or the green leaves fa' therewith?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Or wha wad, wish a lealer love</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Than Brown Adam the smith?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But they hae banished him, Brown Adam,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Frae father and frae mother;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae banished him, Brown Adam,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Frae sister and frae brother.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae banished him, Brown Adam,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The flower o' a' his kin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he's bigged a hour in gude green-wood</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Atween his ladye and him.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It fell upon a summer's day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brown Adam he thought lang;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, for to hunt some venison,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To green-wood he wald gang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He has ta'en his bow his arm o'er,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">His bolts and arrows lang;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he is to the gude green-wood</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As fast as he could gang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O he's shot up, and he's shot down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The bird upon the brier;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he's sent it hame to his ladye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Bade her be of gude cheir.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O he's shot up, and he's shot down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The bird upon the thorn;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sent it hame to his ladye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Said he'd be hame the morn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When he cam to his ladye's bour door</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He stude a little forbye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there he heard a fou fause knight</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Tempting his gay ladye.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For he's ta'en out a gay goud ring,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Had cost him mony a poun',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O grant me love for love, ladye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And this shall be thy own."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I lo'e Brown Adam weel," she said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I trew sae does he me:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wadna gie Brown Adam's love</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For nae fause knight I see."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out has he ta'en a purse o' gowd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Was a' fou to the string,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O grant me love for love, ladye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And a' this shall be thine."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I lo'e Brown Adam weel," she says;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I wot sae does he me:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wad na be your light leman</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For mair than ye could gie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out he drew his lang bright brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And flashed it in her een;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now grant me love for love, ladye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or thro' ye this sall gang!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then, sighing, says that ladye fair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Brown Adam tarries lang!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then in and starts him Brown Adam,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Says—"I'm just at your hand."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's gar'd him leave his bonny bow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He's gar'd him leave his brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's gar'd him leave a dearer pledge—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Four fingers o' his right hand.</span><br> + +<br> + +<p>JELLON GRAME.</p> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p>This ballad is published from tradition, with some conjectural +emendations. It is corrected by a copy in Mrs Brown's MS., from which +it differs in the concluding stanzas. Some verses are apparently +modernized.</p> + +<p><i>Jellon</i> seems to be the same name with <i>Jyllian</i> or <i>Julian</i>. "Jyl of +Brentford's Testament" is mentioned in Warton's <i>History of Poetry,</i> +Vol. II. p. 40. The name repeatedly occurs in old ballads, sometimes as +that of a man, at other times as that of a woman. Of the former is +an instance in the ballad of <i>"Knight and the Shepherd's +Daughter,"—Reliques of Ancient Poetry,</i> Vol. III. p. 72.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Some do call me Jack, sweetheart.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And some do call me <i>Jille</i>.</span><br> + +<p>Witton Gilbert, a village four miles west of Durham, is, throughout the +bishopric, pronounced Witton Jilbert. We have also the common name of +Giles, always in Scotland pronounced Jill. For Gille, or Julianna, as +a female name, we have <i>Fair Gillian</i> of Croyden, and a thousand +authorities. Such being the case, the editor must enter his protest +against the conversion of Gil Morrice, into child Maurice, an epithet +of chivalry. All the circumstances in that ballad argue, that the +unfortunate hero was an obscure and very young man, who had never +received the honour of knighthood. At any rate, there can be no reason, +even were internal evidence totally wanting, for altering a well known +proper name, which, till of late years, has been the uniform title of +the ballad.</p> + +<br> + +<p>JELLON GRAME.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O JELLON GRAME sat in Silverwood,<a name="FNanchor_A_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_117"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He sharped his broad sword lang;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has call'd his little foot page</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">An errand for to gang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Win up, my bonny boy," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"As quickly as ye may;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For ye maun gang for Lillie Flower</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Before the break of day."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The boy has buckled his belt about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And thro' the green-wood ran;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he cam to the ladye's bower</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Before the day did dawn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O sleep ye, wake ye, Lillie Flower?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"The red sun's on the rain:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye're bidden come to Silverwood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But I doubt ye'll never win hame."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna ridden a mile, a mile,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A mile but barely three,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Ere she cam to a new made grave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Beneath a green aik tree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O then up started Jellon Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Out of a bush thereby;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Light down, light down, now, Lillie Flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For its here that ye maun lye."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She lighted aff her milk-white steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And kneel'd upon her knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O mercy, mercy, Jellon Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For I'm no prepared to die!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your bairn, that stirs between my sides,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Maun shortly see the light;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But to see it weltering in my blood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Would be a piteous sight."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O should I spare your life," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Until that bairn were born,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Full weel I ken your auld father</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Would hang me on the morn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O spare my life, now, Jellon Grame!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My father ye need na dread:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll keep my babe in gude green-wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or wi' it I'll beg my bread."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He took no pity on Lillie Flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Tho' she for life did pray;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But pierced her thro' the fair body</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As at his feet she lay.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He felt nae pity for Lillie Flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Where she was lying dead;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he felt some for the bonny bairn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That lay weltering in her bluid.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Up has he ta'en that bonny boy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Given him to nurses nine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Three to sleep, and three to wake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And three to go between.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he bred up that bonny boy,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Called him his sister's son;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he thought no eye could ever see</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The deed that he had done.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O so it fell, upon a day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">When hunting they might be,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They rested them in Silverwood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Beneath that green aik tree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And mony were the green-wood flowers</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Upon the grave that grew,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And marvell'd much that bonny boy</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To see their lovely hue.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What's paler than the prymrose wan?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"What's redder than the rose?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What's fairer than the lilye flower</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"On this wee know<a name="FNanchor_B_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_118"><sup>[B]</sup></a> that grows?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O out and answered Jellon Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And he spak hastelie—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your mother was a fairer flower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And lies beneath this tree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"More pale she was, when she sought my grace,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Than prymrose pale and wan;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And redder than rose her ruddy heart's blood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That down my broad sword ran."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' that the boy has bent his bow,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">It was baith stout and lang;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And thro' and thro' him, Jellon Grame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">He gar'd an arrow gang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Says—"Lie ye there, now, Jellon Grame!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My malisoun gang you wi'!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The place my mother lies buried in</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Is far too good for thee."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_117">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> Silverwood, mentioned in this ballad, occurs in a medley +MS song, which seems to have been copied from the first edition of the +Aberdeen caurus, <i>penes</i> John G. Dalyell, esq. advocate. One line only +is cited, apparently the beginning of some song: +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Silverwood, gin ye were mine.</span></p></div><br> + +<a name="Footnote_B_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_118">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Wee know</i>—Little hillock.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>WILLIE'S LADYE.</p> + +<p>ANCIENT COPY.</p> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p>Mr Lewis, in his <i>Tales of Wonder</i>, has presented the public with a copy +of this ballad, with additions and alterations. The editor has also seen +a copy, containing some modern stanzas, intended by Mr Jamieson, of +Macclesfield, for publication in his Collection of Scottish Poetry. Yet, +under these disadvantages, the editor cannot relinquish his purpose of +publishing the old ballad, in its native simplicity, as taken from Mrs +Brown of Faulkland's MS.</p> + +<p>Those, who wish to know how an incantation, or charm, of the distressing +nature here described, was performed in classic days, may consult the +story of Galanthis's Metamorphosis, in Ovid, or the following passage in +Apuleius: <i>"Eadem (Saga scilicet quaedam), amatoris uxorem, quod in sibi +dicacule probrum dixerat, jam in sarcinam praegnationis, obsepto utero, +et repigrato faetu, perpetua praegnatione damnavit. Et ut cuncti +numerant, octo annorum onere, misella illa, velut elephantum paritura, +distenditur."</i>—APUL. Metam. lib. 1.</p> + +<p>There is also a curious tale about a count of Westeravia, whom a +deserted concubine bewitched upon his marriage, so as to preclude all +hopes of his becoming a father. The spell continued to operate for +three years, till one day, the count happening to meet with his former +mistress, she maliciously asked him about the increase of his family. +The count, conceiving some suspicion from her manner, craftily answered, +that God had blessed him with three fine children; on which she +exclaimed, like Willie's mother in the ballad, "May Heaven confound +the old hag, by whose counsel I threw an enchanted pitcher into the +draw-well of your palace!" The spell being found, and destroyed, the +count became the father of a numerous family.—<i>Hierarchie of the +Blessed Angels,</i> p. 474.</p> + +<br> + +<p>WILLIE'S LADYE.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Willie's ta'en him o'er the faem,<a name="FNanchor_A_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_119"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's wooed a wife, and brought her hame;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He's wooed her for her yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But his mother wrought her meikle care;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And meikle dolour gar'd her drie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For lighter she can never be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But in her bower she sits wi' pain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Willie mourns o'er her in vain.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And to his mother he has gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That vile rank witch, o' vilest kind!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He says—"My ladie has a cup,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Wi' gowd and silver set about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">This gudely gift sall be your ain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And let her be lighter o' her young bairn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Of her young bairn she's never be lighter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor in her bour to shine the brighter;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But she sall die, and turn to clay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And you shall wed another may."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Another may I'll never wed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Another may I'll never bring hame."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, sighing, said that weary wight—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wish my life were at an end!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yet gae ye to your mother again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That vile rank witch, o' vilest kind!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And say, your ladye has a steed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The like o' him's no in the land o' Leed.<a name="FNanchor_B_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_120"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For he is silver shod before,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And he is gowden shod behind;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"At every tuft of that horse mane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's a golden chess<a name="FNanchor_C_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_121"><sup>[C]</sup></a>, and a bell to ring.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"This gudely gift sall be her ain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And let me be lighter o' my young bairn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Of her young bairn she's ne'er be lighter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor in her bour to shine the brighter;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But she sall die, and turn to clay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And ye sall wed another may."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Another may I'll never wed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Another may I'll never bring hame."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, sighing, said that weary wight—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wish my life were at an end!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yet gae ye to your mother again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That vile rank witch, o' rankest kind!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And say, your ladye has a girdle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It is a' red gowd to the middle;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And aye, at ilka siller hem</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Hang fifty siller bells and ten;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"This gudely gift sall be her ain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And let me be lighter o' my young bairn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Of her young bairn she's ne'er be lighter,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Nor in your bour to shine the brighter;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For she sall die, and turn to clay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And thou sall wed another may."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Another may I'll never wed,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Another may I'll never bring hame."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, sighing, said that weary wight—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wish my days were at an end!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spak the Billy Blind,<a name="FNanchor_D_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_122"><sup>[D]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">(He spak ay in a gude time:)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yet gae ye to the market-place,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And there do buy a loaf of wace;<a name="FNanchor_E_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_123"><sup>[E]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Do shape it bairn and bairnly like,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And in it twa glassen een you'll put;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And bid her your boy's christening to,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then notice weel what she shall do;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And do ye stand a little away,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"To notice weel what she may saye.</span><br> + +<hr style="width: 45%;"><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">[<i>A stanza seems to be wanting. Willie is supposed to follow</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>the advice of the spirit.—His mother speaks.</i>]</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha has loosed the nine witch knots,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That were amang that ladye's locks?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wha's ta'en out the kaims o' care,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That were amang that ladye's hair?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wha has ta'en downe that bush o' woodbine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That hung between her bour and mine?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wha has kill'd the master kid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That ran beneath that ladye's bed?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wha has loosed her left foot shee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And let that ladye lighter be?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Syne, Willy's loosed the nine witch knots,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That were amang that ladye's locks;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Willy's ta'en out the kaims o' care,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That were into that ladye's hair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he's ta'en down the bush o' woodbine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Hung atween her bour and the witch carline;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has kill'd the master kid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That ran beneath that ladye's bed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has loosed her left foot shee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And latten that ladye lighter be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And now he has gotten a bonny son,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And meikle grace be him upon.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_119">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Faem</i>—The sea foam.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_120">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Land o' Leed</i>—Perhaps Lydia.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_121">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Chess</i>—Should probably be <i>jess</i>, the name of a hawk's +bell.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_D_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_122">[D]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Billy-Blind</i>—A familiar genius, or propitious spirit, +somewhat similar to the <i>Brownie</i>. He is mentioned repeatedly in Mrs +Brown's Ballads, but I have not met with him any where else, although he +is alluded to in the rustic game of <i>Bogle</i> (i.e. <i>goblin) Billy-Blind</i>. +The word is, indeed, used in Sir David Lindsay's plays, but apparently +in a different sense— +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Preists sall leid you like ane <i>Billy Blinde</i>."</span><br> +</p><p><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">PINKERTON'S <i>Scottish Poems</i>, 1792, Vol. II. p. 232.</span></p></div><br> + +<a name="Footnote_E_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_123">[E]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Wace</i>—Wax.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>CLERK SAUNDERS.</p> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p>This romantic ballad is taken from Mr Herd's MSS., with several +corrections from a shorter and more imperfect copy, in the same volume, +and one or two conjectural emendations in the arrangement of the +stanzas. The resemblance of the conclusion to the ballad, beginning, +"There came a ghost to Margaret's door," will strike every reader.—The +tale is uncommonly wild and beautiful, and apparently very ancient. +The custom of the passing bell is still kept up in many villages of +Scotland. The sexton goes through the town, ringing a small bell, and +announcing the death of the departed, and the time of the funeral.—The +three concluding verses have been recovered since the first edition +of this work; and I am informed by the reciter, that it was usual to +separate from the rest, that part of the ballad which follows the death +of the lovers, as belonging to another story. For this, however, there +seems no necessity, as other authorities give the whole as a complete +tale.</p> + +<br> + +<p>CLERK SAUNDERS.</p> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Clerk Saunders and may Margaret</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Walked ower yon garden green;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sad and heavy was the love</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That fell thir twa between.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"A bed, a bed," Clerk Saunders said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"A bed for you and me!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Fye na, fye na," said may Margaret,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till anes we married be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For in may come my seven bauld brothers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wi' torches burning bright;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They'll say—'We hae but ae sister,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And behold she's wi' a knight!'</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Then take the sword frae my scabbard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And slowly lift the pin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And you may swear, and safe your aith,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye never let Clerk Saunders in.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And take a napkin in your hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And tie up baith your bonny een;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And you may swear, and safe your aith,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye saw me na since late yestreen."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It was about the midnight hour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">When they asleep were laid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When in and came her seven brothers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wi' torches burning red.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When in and came her seven brothers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wi' torches shining bright;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They said, "We hae but ae sister,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And behold her lying with a knight!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spake the first o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I bear the sword shall gar him die!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out and spake the second o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"His father has nae mair than he!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out and spake the third o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I wot that they are lovers dear!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out and spake the fourth o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"They hae been in love this mony a year!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spake the fifth o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It were great sin true love to twain!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out and spake the sixth o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It were shame to slay a sleeping man!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and gat the seventh o' them,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And never a word spake he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he has striped<a name="FNanchor_A_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_124"><sup>[A]</sup></a> his bright brown brand</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Out through Clerk Saunders' fair bodye.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Clerk Saunders he started, and Margaret she turned</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Into his arms as asleep she lay;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sad and silent was the night</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That was atween thir twae.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they lay still and sleeped sound,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Until the day began to daw;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And kindly to him she did say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It is time, true love, you were awa'."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But he lay still, and sleeped sound,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Albeit the sun began to sheen;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She looked atween her and the wa',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And dull and drowsie were his een.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then in and came her father dear,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Said—"Let a' your mourning be:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I'll carry the dead corpse to the clay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And I'll come back and comfort thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Comfort weel your seven sons;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"For comforted will I never be:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I ween 'twas neither knave nor lown</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Was in the bower last night wi' me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The clinking bell gaed through the town,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To carry the dead corse to the clay;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Clerk Saunders stood at may Margaret's window,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">I wot, an hour before the day.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Are ye sleeping, Margaret?" he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or are ye waking presentlie?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Give me my faith and troth again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I wot, true love, I gied to thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your faith and troth ye sall never get,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nor our true love sall never twin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Until ye come within my bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And kiss me cheik and chin."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My mouth it is full cold, Margaret,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It has the smell, now, of the ground;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And if I kiss thy comely mouth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Thy days of life will not be lang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O, cocks are crowing a merry midnight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I wot the wild fowls are boding day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Give me my faith and troth again,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And let me fare me on my way."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thy faith and troth thou sall na get,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And our true love sall never twin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Until ye tell what comes of women,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I wot, who die in strong traivelling?"<a name="FNanchor_B_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_125"><sup>[B]</sup></a></span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Their beds are made in the heavens high,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Down at the foot of our good lord's knee,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Weel set about wi' gillyflowers:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I wot sweet company for to see.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O cocks are crowing a merry mid-night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I wot the wild fowl are boding day;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The psalms of heaven will soon be sung,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And I, ere now, will be missed away."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then she has ta'en a crystal wand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And she has stroken her troth thereon;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She has given it him out at the shot-window,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Wi' mony a sad sigh, and heavy groan.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I thank ye, Marg'ret; I thank ye, Marg'ret;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And aye I thank ye heartilie;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin ever the dead come for the quick,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Be sure, Marg'ret, I'll come for thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Its hosen and shoon, and gown alone,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She climbed the wall, and followed him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Until she came to the green forest,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And there she lost the sight o' him.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Is there ony room at your head, Saunders?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Is there ony room at your feet?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or ony room at your side, Saunders,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Where fain, fain, I wad sleep?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There's nae room at my head, Marg'ret,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"There's nae room at my feet;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"My bed it is full lowly now:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Amang the hungry worms I sleep.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Cauld mould is my covering now,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But and my winding-sheet;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The dew it falls nae sooner down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Than my resting-place is weet.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But plait a wand o' bonnie birk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And lay it on my breast;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And shed a tear upon my grave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And wish my saul gude rest.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And fair Marg'ret, and rare Marg'ret,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And Marg'ret o' veritie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin ere ye love another man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ne'er love him as ye did me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and crew the milk-white cock,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And up and crew the gray;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Her lover vanish'd in the air,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And she gaed weeping away.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_124">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Striped</i>—Thrust.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_125">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Traivelling</i>—Child-birth.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON CLERK SAUNDERS.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>Weel set about wi' gillyflowers.</i>—P. 394. v. 5.</p> + +<p>From whatever source the popular ideas of heaven be derived, the mention +of gillyflowers is not uncommon. Thus, in the Dead Men's Song—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The fields about this city faire</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Were all with roses set;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Gillyflowers</i>, and carnations faire,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Which canker could not fret.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">RITSON'S <i>Ancient Songs</i>, p. 288.</span><br> + +<p>The description, given in the legend of <i>Sir Owain</i>, of the terrestrial +paradise, at which the blessed arrive, after passing through purgatory, +omits gillyflowers, though it mentions many others. As the passage is +curious, and the legend has never been published, many persons may not +be displeased to see it extracted—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair were her erbers with flowres,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Rose and lili divers colours,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Primrol and parvink;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Mint, feverfoy, and eglenterre</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Colombin, and mo ther wer</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Than ani man mai bithenke.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It berth erbes of other maner,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Than ani in erth groweth here,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Tho that is lest of priis;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Evermore thai grene springeth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For winter no somer it no clingeth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And sweeter than licorice.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>But plait a wand o' bonnie birk</i>, &c.—P. 396. v. 3.</span><br> + +<p>The custom of binding the new-laid sod of the church-yard with osiers, +or other saplings, prevailed both in England and Scotland, and served to +protect the turf from injury by cattle, or otherwise. It is alluded to +by Gay, in the <i>What d'ye call it</i>—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Stay, let me pledge, 'tis my last earthly liquor,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When I am dead you'll bind my grave with <i>wicker</i>.</span><br> + +<p>In the <i>Shepherd's Week</i>, the same custom is alluded to, and the cause +explained:—</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">With <i>wicker rods</i> we fenced her tomb around,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">To ward, from man and beast, the hallowed ground,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lest her new grave the parson's cattle raze,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">For both his horse and cow the church-yard graze.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;"><i>Fifth Pastoral.</i></span><br> + +<br> + +<p>EARL RICHARD.</p> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>There are two Ballads in Mr.</i> HERD'S <i>MSS. upon the following Story, +in one of which the unfortunate Knight is termed</i> YOUNG HUNTIN. <i>A +Fragment, containing from the sixth to the tenth verse, has been +repeatedly published. The best verses are here selected from both +copies, and some trivial alterations have been adopted from tradition.</i></p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O lady, rock never your young son young,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"One hour langer for me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I have a sweetheart in Garlioch Wells,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"I love far better than thee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"The very sole o' that ladye's foot</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Than thy face is far mair white."—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, nevertheless, now, Erl Richard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye will bide in ray bower a' night?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She birled<a name="FNanchor_A_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_126"><sup>[A]</sup></a> him with the ale and wine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As they sat down to sup;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A living man he laid him down,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But I wot he ne'er rose up.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spak the popinjay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That flew aboun her head;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Lady! keep weel your green cleiding</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Frae gude Erl Richard's bleid."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O better I'll keep my green cleiding</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Frae gude Erl Richard's bleid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Than thou canst keep thy clattering toung,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That trattles in thy head."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She has call'd upon her bower maidens,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She has call'd them ane by ane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"There lies a deid man in my bour:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I wish that he were gane!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They hae booted him, and spurred him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As he was wont to ride;—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A hunting-horn tied round his waist,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A sharp sword by his side;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae had him to the wan water,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">For a' men call it Clyde.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spak the popinjay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">That sat upon the tree—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"What hae ye done wi' Erl Richard?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye were his gay ladye."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Come down, come down, my bonny bird,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And sit upon my hand;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And thou sall hae a cage o' gowd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Where thou hast but the wand."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Awa! awa! ye ill woman:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nae cage o' gowd for me;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"As ye hae dune to Erl Richard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Sae wad ye do to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna cross'd a rigg o' land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">A rigg, but barely ane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When she met wi' his auld father,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Came riding all alane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Where hae ye been, now, ladye fair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Where hae ye been sae late?"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We hae been seeking Erl Richard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But him we canna get."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Erl Richard kens a' the fords in Clyde,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"He'll ride them ane by ane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And though the night was ne'er sae mirk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Erl Richard will he hame."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O it fell anes, upon a day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The king was boun' to ride;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And he has mist him, Erl Richard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Should hae ridden on his right side.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The ladye turn'd her round about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wi' meikle mournfu' din—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It fears me sair o' Clyde water,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That he is drown'd therein."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gar douk, gar douk,"<a name="FNanchor_B_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_127"><sup>[B]</sup></a> the king he cried,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Gar douk for gold and fee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha will douk for Erl Richard's sake,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or wha will douk for me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They douked in at ae weil-head,<a name="FNanchor_C_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_128"><sup>[C]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And out ay at the other;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We can douk nae mair for Erl Richard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Although he were our brother."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It fell that, in that ladye's castle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The king was boun' to bed;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And up and spake the popinjay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">That flew abune his head.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Leave off your douking on the day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And douk upon the night;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And where that sackless<a name="FNanchor_D_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_129"><sup>[D]</sup></a> knight lies slain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The candles will burn bright."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O there's a bird within this bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That sings baith sad and sweet;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O there's a bird within your bower,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Keeps me frae my night's sleep."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They left the douking on the day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And douked upon the night;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, where that sackless knight lay slain,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The candles burned bright.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The deepest pot in a' the linn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They fand Erl Richard in;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">A grene turf tyed across his breast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To keep that gude lord down.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spake the king himsell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">When he saw the deadly wound—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha has slain my right-hand man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That held my hawk and hound?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spake the popinjay,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Says—"What needs a' this din?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It was his light lemman took his life,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And hided him in the linn."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She swore her by the grass, sae grene,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Sae did she by the corn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She had na' seen him, Erl Richard,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Since Moninday at morn.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Put na the wite on me," she said;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"It was my may Catherine."</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then they hae cut baith fern and thorn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To burn that maiden in.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">It wadna take upon her cheik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Nor yet upon her chin;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nor yet upon her yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">To cleanse the deadly sin.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The maiden touched the clay-cauld corpse,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A drap it never bled;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The ladye laid her hand on him,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And soon the 'ground was red.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Out they hae ta'en her, may Catherine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And put her mistress in:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The flame tuik fast upon her cheik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Tuik fast upon her chin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Tuik fast upon her faire bodye—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">She burn'd like hollins green.<a name="FNanchor_E_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_130"><sup>[E]</sup></a></span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_126">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Birled</i>—Plied.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_127">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Douk</i>—Dive.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_C_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_128">[C]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Weil-heid</i>—Eddy.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_D_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_129">[D]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Sackless</i>—Guiltless.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_E_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_130">[E]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Hollins green</i>—Green holly.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>NOTES ON EARL RICHARD.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>The candles burned bright.</i>—P. 403. v. 4.</span><br> + +<p>These are unquestionably the corpse lights, called in Wales <i>Canhwyllan +Cyrph</i>, which are sometimes seen to illuminate the spot where a dead +body is concealed. The editor is informed, that, some years ago, the +corpse of a man, drowned in the Ettrick, below Selkirk, was discovered +by means of these candles. Such lights are common in churchyards, and +are probably of a phosphoric nature. But rustic superstition derives +them from supernatural agency, and supposes, that, as soon as life has +departed, a pale flame appears at the window of the house, in which the +person had died, and glides towards the church-yard, tracing through +every winding the route of the future funeral, and pausing where the +bier is to rest. This and other opinions, relating to the "tomb-fires' +livid gleam," seem to be of Runic extraction.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>The deepest pot in a' the linn.</i>—P. 403. v. 5.</span><br> + +<p>The deep holes, scooped in the rock by the eddies of a river, are called +<i>pots;</i> the motion of the water having there some resemblance to a +boiling cauldron.</p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>Linn</i>, means the pool beneath a cataract.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>The maiden touched the clay-cauld corpse,</i></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"><i>A drop it never bled.</i>—P. 405. v. I.</span><br> + +<p>This verse, which is restored from tradition, refers to a superstition +formerly received in most parts of Europe, and even resorted to, by +judicial authority, for the discovery of murder. In Germany, this +experiment was called <i>bahr-recht</i>, or the law of the bier; because, +the murdered body being stretched upon a bier, the suspected person was +obliged to put one hand upon the wound, and the other upon the mouth +of the deceased, and, in that posture, call upon heaven to attest his +innocence. If, during this ceremony, the blood gushed from the mouth, +nose, or wound, a circumstance not unlikely to happen in the course of +shifting or stirring the body, it was held sufficient evidence of the +guilt of the party.</p> + +<p>The same singular kind of evidence, although reprobated by Mathaeus and +Carpzovius, was admitted in the Scottish criminal courts, at the short +distance of one century. My readers may be amused by the following +instances:</p> + +<p>"The laird of Auchindrane (Muir of Auchindrane, in Ayrshire) was accused +of a horrid and private murder, where there were no witnesses, and which +the Lord had witnessed from heaven, singularly by his own hand, and +proved the deed against him. The corpse of the man being buried in +Girvan church-yard, as a man cast away at sea, and cast out there, the +laird of Colzean, whose servant he had been, dreaming of him in his +sleep, and that he had a particular mark upon his body, came and took up +the body, and found it to be the same person; and caused all that lived +near by come and touch the corpse, as is usual in such cases. All round +the place came but Auchindrane and his son, whom nobody suspected, till +a young child of his, Mary Muir, seeing the people examined, came in +among them; and, when she came near the dead body, it sprang out +in bleeding; upon which they were apprehended, and put to the +torture."—WODROW'S <i>History</i>, Vol. I. p. 513. The trial of Auchindrane +happened in 1611. He was convicted and executed.—HUME'S <i>Criminal Law</i>, +Vol. I. p. 428.</p> + +<p>A yet more dreadful case was that of Philip Standfield, tried upon the +30th November, 1687, for cursing his father (which, by the Scottish law, +is a capital crime, <i>Act 1661, Chap</i>. 20), and for being accessory +to his murder. Sir James Standfield, the deceased, was a person of +melancholy temperament; so that, when his body was found in a pond near +his own house of Newmilns, he was at first generally supposed to have +drowned himself. But, the body having been hastily buried, a report +arose that he had been strangled by ruffians, instigated by his son +Philip, a profligate youth, whom be had disinherited on account of his +gross debauchery. Upon this rumour, the Privy Council granted warrant to +two surgeons of character, named Crawford and Muirhead, to dig up the +body, and to report the state in which they should find it. Philip +was present on this occasion, and the evidence of both surgeons bears +distinctly, that he stood for some time at a distance from the body +of his parent; but, being called upon to assist in stretching out +the corpse, he put his hand to the head, when the mouth and nostrils +instantly gushed with blood. This circumstance, with the evident +symptoms of terror and remorse, exhibited by young Standfield, seem to +have had considerable weight with the jury, and are thus stated in the +indictment: "That his (the deceased's) nearest relations being required +to lift the corpse into the coffin, after it had been inspected, upon +the said Philip Standfield touching of it (<i>according to God's usual +mode of discovering murder</i>), it bled afresh upon the said Philip; and +that thereupon he let the body fall, and fled from it in the greatest +consternation, crying, Lord have mercy upon me!" The prisoner was found +guilty of being accessory to the murder of his father, although there +was little more than strong presumptions against him. It is true, he was +at the same time separately convicted of the distinct crimes of having +cursed his father, and drank damnation to the monarchy and hierarchy. +His sentence, which was to have his tongue cut out, and hand struck off, +previous to his being hanged, was executed with the utmost rigour. He +denied the murder with his last breath. "It is," says a contemporary +judge, "a dark case of divination, to be remitted to the great day, +whether he was guilty or innocent. Only it is certain he +was a bad youth, and may serve as a beacon to all profligate +persons."—FOUNTAINHALL'S <i>Decisions</i>, Vol. I. p. 483.</p> + +<p>While all ranks believed alike the existence of these prodigies, the +vulgar were contented to refer them to the immediate interference of the +Deity, or, as they termed it, God's revenge against murder. But those, +who, while they had overleaped the bounds of superstition, were still +entangled in the mazes of mystic philosophy, amongst whom we must +reckon many of the medical practitioners, endeavoured to explain the +phenomenon, by referring to the secret power of sympathy, which even +Bacon did not venture to dispute. To this occult agency was imputed the +cure of wounds, effected by applying salves and powders, not to +the wound itself, but to the sword or dagger, by which it had been +inflicted; a course of treatment, which, wonderful as it may at first +seem, was certainly frequently attended with signal success.<a name="FNanchor_A_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_131"><sup>[A]</sup></a> This, +however, was attributed to magic, and those, who submitted to such a +mode of cure, were refused spiritual assistance.</p> + +<a name="Footnote_A_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_131">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> The first part of the process was to wash the wound clean, +and bind it up so as to promote adhesion, and exclude the air. Now, +though the remedies, afterwards applied to the sword, could hardly +promote so desirable an issue, yet it is evident the wound stood a good +chance of healing by the operation of nature, which, I believe, medical +gentlemen call a cure by the first intention.</p></div> + +<p>The vulgar continue to believe firmly in the phenomenon of the murdered +corpse bleeding at the approach of the murderer. "Many (I adopt the +words of an ingenious correspondent) are the proofs advanced in +confirmation of the opinion, against those who are so hardy as to doubt +it; but one, in particular, as it is said to have happened in this +place, I cannot help repeating.</p> + +<p>"Two young men, going a fishing in the river Yarrow, fell out; and so +high ran the quarrel, that the one, in a passion, stabbed the other to +the heart with a fish spear. Astonished "at the rash act, he hesitated +whether to fly, give himself up to justice, or conceal the crime; and, +in the end, fixed on the latter expedient, burying the body of his +friend very deep in the sands. As the meeting had been accidental, he +was never from gaiety to a settled melancholy. Time passed on for +the space of fifty years, when a smith, fishing near the same place, +discovered an uncommon and curious bone, which he put in his pocket, +and afterwards showed to some people in his smithy. The murderer being +present, now an old white-headed man, leaning on his staff, desired a +sight of the little bone; but how horrible was the issue! no sooner had +he touched it, than it streamed with purple blood. Being told where it +was found, he confessed the crime, was condemned, but was prevented, by +death, from suffering the punishment due to his crime.</p> + +<p>"Such opinions, though reason forbids us to believe them, a few moments +reflection on the cause of their origin will teach us to revere. Under +the feudal system which prevailed, the rights of humanity were too often +violated, and redress very hard to be procured; thus an awful deference +to one of the leading attributes of Omnipotence begat on the mind, +untutored by philosophy, the first germ of these supernatural effects; +which was, by superstitious zeal, assisted, perhaps, by a few instances +of sudden remorse, magnified into evidence of indisputable guilt."</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE LASS OF LOCHROYAN.</p> + +<p>NOW FIRST PUBLISHED IN A PERFECT STATE.</p> +<br> + +<p>Lochroyan, whence this ballad probably derives its name, lies in +Galloway. The lover, who, if the story be real, may be supposed to have +been detained by sickness, is represented, in the legend, as confined by +Fairy charms in an enchanted castle situated in the sea. The ruins of +ancient edifices are still visible on the summits of most of those +small islands, or rather insulated rocks, which lie along the coast of +Ayrshire and Galloway; as Ailsa and Big Scaur.</p> + +<p>This edition of the ballad obtained is composed of verses selected from +three MS. copies, and two from recitation. Two of the copies are in +Herd's MSS.; the third in that of Mrs Brown of Falkland.</p> + +<p>A fragment of the original song, which is sometimes denominated <i>Lord +Gregory</i>, or <i>Love Gregory</i>, was published in Mr Herd's Collection, +1774, and, still more fully, in that of Laurie and Symington, 1792. The +story has been celebrated both by Burns and Dr Wolcott.</p> + +<br> + +<p>THE LASS OF LOCHROYAN.</p> + + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha will shoe my bonny foot?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And wha will glove my hand?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wha will lace my middle jimp</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"W' a lang lang linen band?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wha will kame my yellow hair</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"With a new made silver kame?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wha will father my young son</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till Lord Gregory come hame?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thy father will shoe thy bonny foot,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Thy mother will glove thy hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thy sister will lace thy middle jimp,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Till Lord Gregory come to land.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thy brother will kame thy yellow hair</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"With a new made silver kame,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And God will be thy bairn's father</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Till Lord Gregory come hame."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I will get a bonny boat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And I will sail the sea;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I will gang to Lord Gregory,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Since he canna come hame to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Syne she's gar'd build a bonny boat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To sail the salt salt sea:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The sails were o' the light-green silk,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The tows<a name="FNanchor_A_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_132"><sup>[A]</sup></a> o' taffety.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She hadna sailed but twenty leagues,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But twenty leagues and three,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When she met wi' a rank robber,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And a' his company.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now whether are ye the queen hersell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"(For so ye weel might be)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or are ye the lass of Lochroyan,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Seekin' Lord Gregory?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I am neither the queen," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Nor sic I seem to be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I am the lass of Lochroyan,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Seekin' Lord Gregory."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O see na thou yon bonny bower?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Its a' covered o'er wi' tiu:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"When thou hast sailed it round about,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Lord Gregory is within."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And when she saw the stately tower</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Shining sae clear and bright,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whilk stood aboon the jawing<a name="FNanchor_B_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_133"><sup>[B]</sup></a> wave,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Built on a rock of height;</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Says—"Row the boat, my mariners,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And bring me to the land!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For yonder I see my love's castle</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Close by the salt sea strand."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She sailed it round, and sailed it round,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And loud, loud, cried she—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now break, now break, ye Fairy charms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And set my true love free!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She's ta'en her young son in her arms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And to the door she's gane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And long she knocked, and sair she ca'd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">But answer got she nane.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O open the door, Lord Gregory!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O open, and let me in!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For the wind blaws through my yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And the rain drops o'er my chin."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Awa, awa, ye ill woman!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Ye're no come here for good!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye're but some witch, or wil warlock,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or mermaid o' the flood."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I am neither witch, nor wil warlock,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nor mermaid o' the sea;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I am Annie of Lochroyan;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O open the door to me!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin thou be Annie of Lochroyan,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"(As I trow thou binna she)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now tell me some o' the love tokens</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That past between thee and me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O dinna ye mind, Lord Gregory,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As we sat at the wine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"We chang'd the rings frae our fingers,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And I can shew thee thine?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O your's was gude, and gude enough,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But ay the best was mine;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For your's was o' the gude red gowd,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But mine o' the diamond fine.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And has na thou mind, Lord Gregory,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As we sat on the hill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Thou twin'd me o' my maidenheid</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Right sair against my will?</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, open the door, Lord Gregory!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Open the door, I pray!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For thy young son is in my arms,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And will be dead ere day."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"If thou be the lass of Lochroyan,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"(As I kenna thou be)</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Tell me some mair o' the love tokens</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Past between me and thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair Annie turned her round about—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Weel! since that it be sae,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"May never woman, that has borne a son,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Hae a heart sae fu' o' wae!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Take down, take down, that mast o' gowd!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Set up a mast o' tree!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It disna become a forsaken lady.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To sail sae royallie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When the cock had crawn, and the day did dawn.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And the sun began to peep,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and raise him, Lord Gregory,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And sair, sair did he weep.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I hae dreamed a dream, mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I wish it may prove true!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That the bonny lass of Lochroyan</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Was at the yate e'en now.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O I hae dreamed a dream, mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The thought o't gars me greet!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That fair Annie o' Lochroyan</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Lay cauld dead at my feet."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin it be for Annie of Lochroyan</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That ye make a' this din,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She stood a' last night at your door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"But I trow she wanna in."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wae betide ye, ill woman!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"An ill deid may ye die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That wadna open the door to her,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nor yet wad waken me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O he's gane down to yon shore side</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As fast as he could fare;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">He saw fair Annie in the boat,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">But the wind it tossed her sair.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And hey Annie, and how Annie!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"O Annie, winna ye bide!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But ay the mair he cried Annie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The braider grew the tide.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And hey Annie, and how Annie!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Dear Annie, speak to me!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But ay the louder he cried Annie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The louder roared the sea.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The wind blew loud, the sea grew rough,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And dashed the boat on shore;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair Annie floated through the faem,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">But the babie raise no more.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Lord Gregory tore his yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And made a heavy moan;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Fair Annie's corpse lay at his feet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her bonny young son was gone.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O cherry, cherry was her cheek,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And gowden was her hair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But clay-cold were her rosy lips—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nae spark o' life was there.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And first he kissed her cherry cheek,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And syne he kissed her chin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And syne he kissed her rosy lips—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">There was nae breath within.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wae betide my cruel mother!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An ill death may she die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She turned my true love frae my door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Wha came sae far to me.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wae betide my cruel mother!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"An ill death may she die!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She turned fair Annie frae my door,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Wha died for love o' me."</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_132">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Tows</i>—Ropes.</p></div> + +<a name="Footnote_B_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_133">[B]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Jawing</i>—Dashing.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILLY.</p> + +<p>NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.</p> +<br> + +<p><i>This legendary Tale is given chiefly from Mrs.</i> BROWN'S <i>MS. +Accordingly, many of the rhymes arise from the Northern mode of +pronunciation; as</i> dee <i>for</i> do, <i>and the like.—Perhaps the Ballad may +have originally related to the history of the celebrated</i> ROBIN HOOD; +<i>as mention is made of Barnisdale, his favourite abode.</i></p> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O Rose the Red, and White Lilly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Their mother deir was dead:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And their father has married an ill woman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Wished them twa little guid.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But she had twa as gallant sons</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">As ever brake man's bread;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the tane o' them lo'ed her, White Lilly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And the tother Rose the Red.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O bigged hae they a bigly bour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Fast by the roaring strand;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there was mair mirth in the ladyes' bour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nor in a' their father's land.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But out and spake their step-mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As she stood a little forebye—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I hope to live and play the prank,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Sall gar your loud sang lie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She's call'd upon her eldest son;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Cum here, my son, to me:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It fears me sair, my bauld Arthur,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That ye maun sail the sea."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin sae it maun be, my deir mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Your bidding I maun dee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, be never waur to Rose the Red,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Than ye hae been to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She's called upon her youngest son;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Cum here, my son, to me:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"It fears me sair, my Brown Robin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That ye maun sail the sea."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin it fear ye sair, my mother deir,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Your bidding I sall dee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But, be never waur to White Lilly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Than ye hae been to me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now hand your tongues, ye foolish boys!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For small sall be their part:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"They ne'er again sall see your face,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Gin their very hearts suld break."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sae Bauld Arthur's gane to our king's court,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">His hie chamberlain to be;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But Brown Robin, he has slain a knight,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And to grene-wood he did flee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When Rose the Red, and White Lilly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Saw their twa loves were gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sune did they drop the loud loud sang,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Took up the still mourning.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And out then spake her White Lilly;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My sister, we'll be gane:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Why suld we stay in Barnisdale,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"To mourn our hour within?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O cutted hae they their green cloathing,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A little abune their knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sae hae they their yellow hair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">A little abune their bree.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And left hae they that bonny hour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">To cross the raging sea;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae ta'en to a holy chapel,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Was christened by Our Ladye.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae changed their twa names,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sae far frae ony toun;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And the tane o' them's hight Sweet Willie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And the tother's Rouge the Rounde.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Between the twa a promise is,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And they hae sworn it to fulfill;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Whenever the tane blew a bugle-horn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The tother suld cum her till.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sweet Willy's gane to the king's court,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Her true love for to see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And Rouge the Rounde to gude grene-wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brown Robin's man to be.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O it fell anes, upon a time,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">They putted at the stane;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And seven foot ayont them a',</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Brown Robin's gar'd it gang.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She lifted the heavy putting-stane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And gave a sad "O hon!"</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out bespake him, Brown Robin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But that's a woman's moan!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O kent ye by my rosy lips?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Or by my yellow hair?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or kent ye by my milk-white breast,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Ye never yet saw bare?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I kent na by your rosy lips,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Nor by your yellow hair;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, cum to your bour whaever likes,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"They'll find a ladye there."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O gin ye come my bour within,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Through fraud, deceit, or guile,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Wi' this same brand, that's in my hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I vow I will thee kill."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yet durst I cum into your bour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And ask nae leave," quo' he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And wi' this same brand, that's in my hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Wave danger back on thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">About the dead hour o' the night,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The ladye's bour was broken;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And, about the first hour o' the day,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The fair knave bairn was gotten.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">When days were gane, and months were come,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">The ladye was sad and wan;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And aye she cried for a bour woman,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For to wait her upon.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then up and spake him, Brown Robin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"And what needs this?" quo' he;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or what can woman do for you,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That canna be done by me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"'Twas never my mother's fashion," she said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Nor shall it e'er be mine,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"That belted knights should e'er remain</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"While ladyes dree'd their pain.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But, gin ye take that bugle-horn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And wind a blast sae shrill,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I hae a brother in yonder court,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Will cum me quickly till."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O gin ye hae a brother on earth,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That ye lo'e mair than me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Ye may blaw the horn yoursell," he says,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For a blast I winna gie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She's ta'en the bugle in her hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And blawn baith loud and shrill;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sweet William started at the sound,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And cam her quickly till.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O up and starts him, Brown Robin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And swore by Our Ladye,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"No man shall cum into this hour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"But first maun fight wi' me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O they hae fought the wood within,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Till the sun was going down;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And drops o' blood, frae Rose the Red,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Came pouring to the ground.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">She leant her back against an aik,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Said—"Robin, let me be:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For it is a ladye, bred and born,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That has fought this day wi' thee."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O seven foot he started back.</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Cried—"Alas and woe is me!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"For I wished never, in all my life,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"A woman's bluid to see:</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And that all for the knightly vow</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"I swore to Our Ladye;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But mair for the sake o' ae fair maid,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Whose name was White Lilly."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spake her, Rouge the Rounde,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And leugh right heartilie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"She has been wi' you this year and mair,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Though ye wistna it was she."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Now word has gane through all the land,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Before a month was gane,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">That a forester's page, in gude grene-wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Had borne a bonny son.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The marvel gaed to the king's court,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And to the king himsell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, by my fay," the king did say,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The like was never heard tell!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spake him, Bauld Arthur,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And laugh'd right loud and hie—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I trow some may has plaid the lown,<a name="FNanchor_A_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_134"><sup>[A]</sup></a></span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And fled her ain countrie."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Bring me my steid!" the king can say;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My bow and arrows keen;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And I'll gae hunt in yonder wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And see what's to be seen."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin it please your grace," quo' Bauld Arthur,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My liege, I'll gang you wi';</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And see gin I can meet a bonny page,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That's stray'd awa frae me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And they hae chaced in gude grene-wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The buck but and the rae,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Till they drew near Brown Robin's hour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">About the close o' day.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and spake the king himsell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Says—"Arthur, look and see,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Gin you be not your favourite page,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That leans against yon tree."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O Arthur's ta'en a bugle-horn,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And blawn a blast sae shrill;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Sweet Willie started to her feet,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And ran him quickly till.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O wanted ye your meat, Willie,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Or wanted ye your fee?</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Or gat ye e'er an angry word,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That ye ran awa frae me?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I wanted nought, my master dear;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"To me ye aye was good:</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I cam to see my ae brother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"That wons in this grene-wood."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out bespake the king again,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My boy, now tell to me,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Who dwells into yon bigly bour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"Beneath yon green aik tree?"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O pardon me," said Sweet Willy;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"My liege I dare na tell;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And gang na near yon outlaw's bour,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For fear they suld you kill."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O hand your tongue, my bonny boy!</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"For I winna be said nay;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But I will gang yon hour within,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Betide me weal or wae."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They have lighted frae their milk-white steids,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And saftly entered in;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And there they saw her, White Lilly,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nursing her bonny young son.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, by the mass," the king he said,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"This is a comely sight;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"I trow, instead of a forester's man,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"This is a ladye bright!"</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">O out and spake her, Rose the Red,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And fell low on her knee:—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"O pardon us, my gracious liege,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And our story I'll tell thee.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Our father is a wealthy lord,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Lives into Barnisdale;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"But we had a wicked step-mother,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"That wrought us meikle bale.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Yet had she twa as fu' fair sons,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"As e'er the sun did see;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"And the tane o' them lo'ed my sister deir,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"And the tother said he lo'ed me."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then out and cried him, Bauld Arthur,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">As by the king he stood,—</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Now, by the faith of my body,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"This suld be Rose the Red!</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king has sent for robes o' grene,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">And girdles o' shining gold;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And sae sune have the ladyes busked themselves,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Sae glorious to behold.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Then in and came him, Brown Robin,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Frae hunting o' the king's deer,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But when he saw the king himsell,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">He started back for fear.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king has ta'en Robin by the hand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And bade him nothing dread,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">But quit for aye the gude grene wood,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And cum to the court wi' speed.</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">The king has ta'en White Lilly's son,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And set him on his knee;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Says—"Gin ye live to wield a brand,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"My bowman thou sall be."</span><br> + +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">They have ta'en them to the holy chapelle,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">And there had fair wedding;</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">And when they cam to the king's court,</span><br> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">For joy the bells did ring.</span><br> + +<a name="Footnote_A_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_134">[A]</a><div class="note"><p> <i>Lown</i>—Rogue.</p></div> + +<br> + +<p>END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.</p> + +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 12882 ***</div> +</body> +</html> |